Chapter 16: Through the Fire and Flames
Shouto's fist went through the punching bag, sinking into the sand. He panted and pulled his hand out, and sand spilled from the hole on to the floor. He shook out his hand, dislodging the ice that had covered it again. He'd been finding it hard to control himself ever since he and Kirishima talked with Yaoyorozu.
The conversation hadn't gone as planned. He'd hoped, since it was him asking, that Yaoyorozu would agree to help.
She hadn't.
"I'm sorry. But with Sasaki safe, he can help guide them to Bakugou. I don't think it's a good idea for us to get involved."
She was right. He knew she was right, but that didn't change this awful feeling crawling in his chest. He'd come home overflowing with restless energy and the strong desire to punch something, so he'd ended up in the training room.
It wasn't as satisfying to punch a faceless punching bag. Even imagining that patchwork villain's face didn't make him feel better.
He flexed his hand. Nothing was broken, despite the force he must have used to break the bag. He must have had more ice shards on his hand than he'd realized. Not surprising, considering how deep in his head he was. His quirk had always been affected by the strength of his emotions. It was why he'd learned to suppress his feelings, otherwise he would have burned or frozen the house down by now.
"Sho?" Fuyumi timidly called from the doorway.
He turned to her.
"Um. Dinner's ready."
There was nothing he wanted to do less at this very moment than sit down and eat. He needed to be out there doing something to help Bakugou. But without Yaoyorozu's help, he and Kirishima didn't even have a starting place.
They were stuck at home, waiting, useless.
He hated this.
Xx
Staying awake for forty-five hours in high stress situations apparently caused Izuku's body to then sleep for fourteen hours out of spite.
He woke up confused and disoriented, and it took him several minutes to remember where he was and what was happening. Hizashi was in the hall on the phone with someone, his voice drifting in through the door. He didn't know where Aizawa was.
Hizashi came in when he was still rubbing sleep from his eyes. "Hey, you're up! I was starting to get worried."
"Sorry," Izuku said. "What time is it?"
"A little after five."
"At night?" Izuku asked, glancing at the window. The blinds were drawn, blocking the sun.
Hizashi chuckled and sat down. "Yeah, at night. You needed the rest."
"That seems excessive," Izuku mumbled. He dragged his hand over his face.
"Nah. Between your day of training and then all that stress and how much you used your quirk, I'd say fourteen hours is about right."
They'd have to agree to disagree. "What about Kacchan? Did you rescue him yet?"
Hizashi sighed and shook his head. "We've got it planned, though, don't worry. Shouta is doing a press conference with Nedzu later, and they're going to make it sound like we still need a few days to find Bakugou. Once the conference is over, the strike teams will move in. They should be able to catch the League off guard, which hopefully means they can take Kurogiri down before they know what's happening."
Izuku chewed his lip. Katsuki had now been with the league another entire day. Had they tried anything? Was he okay?
"Hey, don't worry," Hizashi said. "Bakugou's going to be fine. He's smart and about as tough as they come."
Izuku tried to smile.
"There we go. Now, I bet you're starving. Let's get a nurse in here and see what you're allowed to eat!"
He was hungry, and thirsty. He downed about five cups of water while they waited for the nurse, and after she came it was another half hour before she came back with dinner for him.
Izuku's anxiety kept coursing through him. He wanted to be part of the strike team to get Katsuki back, but they'd never let him join. For one, he didn't have his license. For another, he was injured. He could work around his arm, and hopefully his leg wouldn't be too bad. But none of the pros would let him try.
If he could escape the hospital, could he find that bar again? At the very least, he wanted to be there when Katsuki came out.
"So when am I allowed to leave?" Izuku asked.
"Doctor should be coming up soon to clear you. We wanted to let you sleep as long as you needed," Hizashi said.
Izuku nodded and finished his dinner. It took the doctor another hour to finally make it in. In the meantime, Hizashi had filled him in on what happened to the rest of his classmates.
The doctor cleared him pretty quickly, and Izuku changed into some extra clothes Hizashi had brought along. His leg bothered him a little, not quite taking his full weight, but his limp wasn't that bad. In the heat of battle, he wouldn't even feel it.
After that, Izuku expected a long drive home, but Hizashi took them to the local police station instead.
"We're going to wait here in case I'm needed as back up, since I'm already in the area and all," Hizashi explained.
Izuku nodded, more than fine with that plan. If Hizashi was needed, then he would go, too.
Hizashi narrowed his eyes at him. "You are not back up, little listener. You are staying here, no matter what."
"I can help!"
"Do you even have a lighter?"
Izuku patted his pockets and pulled out his half empty one. Hizashi snatched it from his hand.
"No lighter, no quirk."
"That's not going to stop me." Izuku glared at him. One of these cops had to be a smoker, so someone in this building had another lighter. Or he'd nab some from a convenience store along the way, this wasn't the only lighter in the world.
"Don't make me cuff you to one of the desks," Hizashi warned.
Izuku sighed and threw his head back. "Okay, fine." He didn't like it, but he didn't have a choice about trusting others to save Katsuki for him.
They better not screw it up.
They killed time in the break room, chatting with some of the cops. Some of the cops asked him about his fight the night before, double-checking that he was okay. Izuku thought it was because they were the local cops who'd picked him up at first, but after a while it was pretty obvious they knew more than they should.
That was when he learned about the video. Its existence made him panic at first. He'd been trying so hard to avoid the media for so long, it was instinct. His face was clearly recognizable on that.
Then common sense smacked him upside the head and reminded him it didn't matter. The point of hiding was so his dad wouldn't find him. Clearly, that was no longer an issue. He knew exactly where Izuku was now.
"Something wrong? You got quiet all of a sudden," Hizashi asked. He balanced his chair on the back two legs, rocking back and forth ever so slightly.
"The game's over," Izuku said. The words echoed in his head. He felt hollowed out and raw. Numb. "Dad knows I'm at UA."
He could leave UA and go into hiding again. Aizawa and Hizashi wouldn't let him be Alley Cat, and they'd probably still keep an eye on him. But with the school's resources, he could disappear off the grid once more.
The cost was giving up on being a hero forever.
He wasn't sure he was strong enough to walk away now that he was so close.
Hizashi exhaled and lowered his chair back to all four legs. "Yeah. And, now might not be the best time to mention this, but your mom does, too."
The emotional whiplash made him want to scream. "Mom knows? How did she find out?"
Hizashi gave a defeated chuckle. "Your face is all over the news right now. There wasn't anything we could do."
"Oh, man, she's going to be so mad." He laid his head on the table and tugged at his hair. His mom wouldn't actually kill him for the last few years, but she would absolutely ground him until the end of time. He'd never be allowed to leave her side again. She'd probably get one of those baby leashes for him.
And he couldn't even be mad at her because he was the worst son in the world for what he did.
Hizashi rubbed his back. "Yeah, she's upset. Extremely worried, too, because finding out your missing son has been kidnapped again is really a terrible way to find out he's alive in the first place."
"You're doing a terrible job at making me feel better."
He laughed. "Sorry. It's a sticky situation to be in. She wants to see you, as soon as all this is over."
Izuku smiled, eyes tearing at the thought. That was possible now. The cat was out of the bag, so there wasn't any more use hiding. And with Hizashi and Aizawa and the rest of UA helping him, he could reunite with his mother and keep her safe.
"I want to see her, too," he said. He'd finally get that hug he wanted three years ago.
He rubbed at the tears in his eyes. He'd missed her so much. He couldn't wait to see her again.
"We'll make it happen," Hizashi promised softly.
Izuku nodded. They passed the rest of the time until the conference watching dumb cat videos on Hizashi's phone. Izuku's phone was MIA, lost at some point during the camp attack. With how much he'd been thrown around, he honestly wasn't sure when it had fallen from his pocket.
When the conference started, the two of them joined the police in the bullpen to watch it on the main TV.
"Whoa," Izuku said. He'd never seen Aizawa look so…awake.
Hizashi chuckled. "Cleans up well, doesn't he?"
"He must hate this," Izuku said.
"With every fiber of his being," Hizashi confirmed. "But since he was one of the teachers at the camp, he has to be the one to do this."
Izuku nodded idly, attention focused on the conference. The reporters were quick to verbally attack, condemning Aizawa's decision to let the students fight.
"I don't get it," Izuku said. "Would they rather we stand there and let the villains kill us?"
"Nah, they're just trying to twist the story to put us in a bad light. The more controversial the story, the more people follow it, and therefore check out whatever news station they're from," Hizashi explained.
Aizawa defended his decision, and the reporter switched to attacking Bakugou's character. It infuriated Izuku, so much his whole body shook with anger. Hizashi put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. Or keep him in place, Izuku was considering making a run for it. He could find wherever this conference was being held and set them all straight.
But Aizawa defended Bakugou, too, and then he went on to defend Izuku when the reporters finally got around to him. He refused to answer questions on Izuku's current status, and Nedzu took over to reiterate that they were doing all they could at the moment with the limited intel they had, cutting off further questions.
From an outsider's perspective, it didn't sound like they had much. Izuku would have been convinced they had no leads and that Katsuki was lost to the League forever.
Izuku started pulling on his lower lip, an old nervous habit of his.
Hizashi squeezed his shoulder. "The strike teams are probably already moving."
"They are," a cop confirmed, tapping a radio at his desk. "They just surrounded the bar."
Izuku relaxed immensely. They'd have Katsuki back any minute now.
The detective's voice filtered through the radio. Izuku listened intently, listened as the detective finally confirmed that they'd secured the bar, and All Might had Bakugou.
He wiped away fresh tears.
"See, we had everything under control," Hizashi said.
"Yeah." Izuku gave him a watery smile.
Then everything went wrong. "Best Jeanist! What the hell is going on over there?"
The detective's voice was panicked, and there were gunshots in the background.
"Oh no," Izuku said. His heart dropped to his feet. The League must have had another trick up their sleeve.
"Just wait," Hizashi said, though his voice was tenser than before. "Trust the police and the pros already there."
It was easy to say, much harder to do.
Especially when the whole building shook. The lights flickered, and dust fell from the ceiling.
"Was that an earthquake?" someone asked.
Considering the timing, it wasn't likely. Something was going wrong, really wrong.
His feet moved before he consciously decided to run.
"Izuku, stop!" Hizashi yelled.
"I have to help!" Izuku yelled back. He jumped the steps outside the station, landing carefully on his good leg, and sprinted down the sidewalk. Hizashi chased after him, of course, but Izuku was smaller and faster. Hizashi was too used to the radio show and teaching.
And when Izuku passed by someone lighting up a cigarette, he didn't think twice before nabbing the lighter from the man's hand. "Sorry about this!"
"Izuku, don't!" Hizashi yelled.
Izuku flicked the lighter and pulled out all the fire he could from it, creating a surfboard under his feet to lift him above the buildings.
It wasn't hard to find the source of the quake. Dust still drifted into the air from where a few warehouses had been demolished. There was a whole section of the city in a black out.
He made a beeline for it, leaving Hizashi behind. They could act as high and mighty as they wanted, but Izuku knew what he was capable of. They all wanted to hold him back and treated him like a kid, but he'd grown up a long time ago. His best friend was in trouble, and he had the power to help. That's all there was to it.
All Might flew in from another direction. He tried to punch someone as he descended, but Izuku couldn't tell who it was from so far away. It didn't look like anyone from the League that he'd seen while he was there. But Katsuki was there, barely ten feet away from All Might. He didn't look any worse off than he'd been before.
There were still too many League members, but at least it looked like Kurogiri was down for the count. That would make this a little easier. He still needed a plan.
Looking around, his blood froze when he saw the pro heroes knocked out on the ground. Mt. Lady sprawled over the road, and Best Jeanest with a dark stain over his stomach.
The League had done this?
Izuku landed in the street and took cover behind some of the debris. Everyone was so fixated on All Might and the guy he was facing off with that they hadn't noticed him. Even Katsuki hadn't, and he usually had a sixth sense when it came to Izuku.
The next thing Izuku knew, a huge gust of wind blew everyone back. He clung to the shattered wall next to him and ducked his face into his arm to protect his eyes. The fire he'd brought with him he flattened against the ground, managing not to lose too much of it.
When things settled a little and he chanced another look, All Might was racing forward with a smash. His opponent, some guy in a business suit with a weird face mask, held up one arm and shot a massive air cannon at All Might, sending him hurtling through a building.
"No way," Izuku whispered. This guy could push All Might back this easily?
"All Might!" Katsuki yelled, disbelief in his face as he pushed himself to his feet.
"Don't worry," the villain said. "It will take more than that to kill him. Get off the battlefield, Tomura, and take that child with you." The man held up his other hand, fingers glowing red, and shot five spears out towards Kurogiri.
A warp gate appeared over him. Compress used his quirk on an unconscious Dabi, and then the League turned towards Katsuki.
All Might returned, and the unfamiliar villain met him in the air. Whoever this guy was, he was strong. All Might would have his hands full with him. Even if he wanted to, he wasn't going to have the chance to help Katsuki against the rest of the League. He wouldn't even be able to go all out against this villain for fear of Katsuki getting hit in the backlash.
Izuku sent his fire towards Katsuki. "Kacchan!"
Katsuki whipped his head around to him, jaw dropping. "The fuck are you doing here?"
"Get on!"
Katsuki eyed the flames warily for a moment, but he'd seen Izuku use them enough that he stepped on without much hesitation.
"No!" Shigaraki yelled.
Izuku pulled him back, taking Katsuki's hand to jump on behind him, and flew them up towards the rooftops. He needed to get out of here, too, and let All Might fight at his full power.
Magne sent Compress and Spinner after them. Growling, Katsuki blew them back with an explosion.
"You're an idiot," Katsuki stated.
"A regular 'Thank you' would be fine, you know." Izuku shot back.
"Where's your piece of shit of a dad?"
"Don't know. Escaped him last night and spent all of today at the hospital and trying not to think about him."
Katsuki grunted. "I still want to punch him in the face."
"A lot of people do. My fight with him went viral." Judging them to be in the clear, Izuku lowered them back down to street level. Adrenaline still raced through him, and he wrapped the fire around his cast like a sleeve. There were a lot more people out now, watching the jumbo screens on the buildings. They were all showing the fight from a news helicopter, so he and Katsuki watched, too.
The League had disappeared through the warp gate, leaving All Might and this new villain. The two were going to town on each other, their punches so powerful loose debris kept flying in the aftershocks.
"Who is this guy?" Izuku asked.
"All for One," Katsuki replied. "That's what All Might called him. Handsy called him Master. I think he's the boss villain for the League."
"You mean Shigaraki isn't the leader?" Izuku asked.
"Apparently not."
Well that had terrifying connotations. At least when they'd thought Shigaraki was the leader, they could guess at the League's motivations and their goals. But if someone else was pulling all the strings, then who knew what their true objectives were?
The ground shook with the impacts of the fight. Watching was a twisted kind of torture. Usually when he watched All Might fight, it was with the sure confidence that All Might could win. He was All Might, the Symbol of Peace. Villains trembled at his name.
But he'd admitted he wasn't as strong as he used to be. He'd admitted he was looking to retire.
And this All for One? He was crazy strong. He took a smash to the face and got up like it was nothing. Every time they blinked, he had another quirk.
Izuku twitched. It was presumptuous to assume All Might needed help, egotistical to think he could tip the balance in the hero's favor. Being reckless had never stopped him before, but it was an argument his mind threw out to keep him rooted to the spot.
But no one else was doing anything. The heroes closest to the battle were unconscious, and no one else knew what he knew. No one else knew All Might was weaker.
"Oi, where are you going?" Katsuki asked.
Had he started moving? He had. His legs were moving on his own again. "All Might needs help."
"Hah?"
Izuku broke into a run. "I have to help!"
"Oi!"
The crowd was dense now, everyone packed into the street to watch the fight. Izuku had to push his way past people, Katsuki at his heels. If Katsuki had been properly rested, if he hadn't been running at a hundred percent for the last three days, he probably would have been able to keep up.
The truth was, Katsuki wasn't properly rested. He'd been running full steam ahead for three days and had almost no sleep. His reactions were slowed. Adrenaline only made up for so much.
Izuku didn't even know when he'd lost him. In this moment, he was smaller and faster, and he could fit through gaps between people that Katsuki needed an extra second or two to push past. All he knew was one second Katsuki was swearing behind him, the next he wasn't.
He'd apologize later. The priority was All Might.
When he started getting closer, the shockwaves almost knocked him off his feet. The winds blasted past him every few seconds, making him glad he'd chosen to stay on the ground. He'd never have kept his balance on his fire, and it would have given away his approach anyway.
He crept over the debris until he was just outside the battle, carefully peeking over a slab of concrete.
All Might wiped blood from his mouth. Half his hair fell in his face, and his right hand looked smaller than his left. All for One had lost his mask, revealing heavy scar tissue over his eyes.
Izuku almost threw up. This guy was so powerful he could stand up against All Might without sight?
"What the hell am I doing here?" Izuku muttered. If he jumped into the middle of this, he'd get himself killed.
All Might threw a punch, and All for One caught it. Izuku ducked under the gust of wind. The ground under the fighters cracked from the sheer power the two were putting out.
All Might's left leg buckled, and All for One loomed over him.
Izuku's heart squeezed. He waited for All Might to get back up, but the seconds ticked by. His arms started to buckle. Izuku gripped the edge of the concrete. "Come on, All Might."
All Might's arms gave out. All for One slammed him into the ground, and then he smashed his fist across All Might's face again.
When he tried it again, Izuku caught his arm with his fire. His knees knocked together as he stepped out of hiding, and it was all he could do to stand tall. The fire that wasn't holding All for One back spread out behind him.
"Ah, Izuku Midoriya," All for One said. He seemed a little too at ease with Izuku holding him back. "I see Dragon wasn't able to handle you, after all. How interesting."
Shivers raced up Izuku's spine. All for One spoke like he knew far more than he should, like he was peering into Izuku's mind. Maybe he was, he seemed to have every other quirk under the sun.
"Young Midoriya," All Might said, pushing himself up on his hands and knees. Half his face looked like it was sagging. "You need to leave immediately!"
"I'm not just going to stand by and watch when I can help!" Izuku said.
All for One laughed. "He sounds just like you. Is he your successor?"
All Might's response was a punch in All for One's stomach. "You will leave my student alone!"
All for One flew back and tumbled over the ground, fire still wrapped around his arm. He carefully rolled onto his feet and shot an air cannon at them.
Izuku didn't even get a chance to blink before All Might wrapped him in his arms and took shelter behind the concrete slabs.
"Please evacuate, young Midoriya," All Might said, peering over the edge.
"Wait! You can't do this alone," Izuku insisted. He grabbed at All Might's wrist. He couldn't just let him go, not against a villain like this. "You're…" He didn't know how to describe what All Might was right now. The word 'deflating' came to mind.
All Might put a hand on his shoulder and smiled back at him. "Your concern is touching, but you have no need to fear."
It wasn't his normal "Everything is alright because I am here" smile. It was an "I'll hold them off while you run" kind of smile.
"Don't I?" Izuku asked. He gripped All Might's wrist tighter. "You said it yourself, you're not as strong as you used to be. Let me help! I can pin him down for you." He was doing that now, in fact.
"No, Midoriya." He pried Izuku's fingers from his wrist. "This is my fight, my burden."
Did he mean the burden he'd talked about before? The task he didn't want to leave to his successor?
All Might turned to go back to the fight, but he paused. With a heavy sigh, he turned back to Izuku. "But, just in case…I do have one favor to ask you." He plucked a hair from his head and held it out. "I need you to eat this."
Izuku blinked. "Excuse me?"
"Eat this. If I can, I'll explain later. But…if not…"
If he died.
"Then Nedzu can explain."
"All Might…" He'd come because he'd been scared that All Might couldn't handle this alone. That didn't compare to All Might himself being worried.
"Please, Midoriya."
All for One struggled against Izuku's fire. Not seriously, more in a curious examination kind of a way. But All Might didn't have time. He wouldn't be asking if he wasn't serious.
Izuku took the hair. "You said eat it?"
He nodded.
Izuku balled it up and tossed it in his mouth. He gagged at the sour taste, gagged when it caught in his throat, and felt sick to his stomach when the hair finally made it there.
All Might hadn't stayed to watch. Once it was past Izuku's lips, he'd flown off to fight All for One. The fire pinning him down dispersed in Izuku's distraction, and he didn't have another chance with the way they fought.
"Oi, you fucker!" Katsuki hissed, squatting down next to him.
"I just ate All Might's hair," Izuku said, because that was weird and he couldn't get the taste out of his mouth.
Katsuki's face twisted. "What?"
"He told me to. I don't know why." It sounded like preparation in case he didn't make it out of this fight, but for the life of him Izuku couldn't figure out why.
Katsuki blinked. "Idiot. We're in All Might's way here. That's why we left the first time!" He tugged on Izuku's arm.
The ground shook, and they peeked over the slab to check on the fight. All Might was pushing himself to his feet again. His whole body sagged now, his famous muscles nowhere in sight.
"What the hell?" Katsuki asked.
"Toshinori?" Izuku asked. The guy who'd babysat him during the festival had been All Might? How had he not realized that? This was a lot to process on a day when he already had too much to process.
All for One spread his arms wide. "Hollow cheeks and sunken eyes…to think that you're their greatest hero. Now the adoring public knows your true form. Try not to be ashamed."
"True form?" Izuku repeated.
"What the hell is he talking about?" Katsuki muttered. He shifted closer to the concrete, no longer trying to drag Izuku back.
Did this have something to do with the hair All Might had given Izuku?
"Even as my body grows weak and frail…even as you expose my weakened state…I remain the Symbol of Peace! And there's nothing you can do to take that from me!" All Might held his fist in front of his face, some kind of power glowing between his fingers. His muscles came back, but there was a fragility to it that hadn't been there before.
"Is that so? Ah well, I'd forgotten how stubborn you are. I guess I'll just give up. Oh, but there is one thing you might be interested to know…Tomura Shigaraki, my apprentice, is Nana Shimura's grandson."
Izuku and Katsuki shared a look. They recognized Shigaraki's name, of course, but they didn't know Nana Shimura or why she was important.
"I kept wondering what would destroy your golden heart, and I found Tomura. Groomed him to hate you, and watched you grin so proudly as you beat your master's descendent."
Knowing was worse.
"That's sick," Katsuki hissed. "The hell is wrong with this guy?"
"That's a lie," All Might whispered. He lost his grip on his hero form, and the skeletal man stood there again.
"Oh, come now. That's clearly something I would do. Well, well, that's strange, All Might. Where is your smile now?" All for One prodded at his own cheeks with his thumb.
"She was my master's grandchild?" All Might asked. "What would she think of how he turned out?"
"His mind's not on the fight anymore," Izuku realized. If All for One was going to strike, now would be the time. All Might was defenseless right now, and this weakened form of his would never withstand one of those air cannons.
"We have to do something," Katsuki agreed. They shared another look and nodded.
"I'll pin him, you blast him," Izuku said.
Katsuki grinned and punched a fist into his palm. "Perfect."
They threw themselves over the concrete slab with feral battle cries. All Might whipped around and yelled for them to stay back, but neither of them listened.
Izuku hurled all his fire forward, splitting it up to cover each leg and limb. All for One blasted the fire from his arms with wind cannons, but he was slowed down enough to have little time to block Katsuki's explosions. All for One flew back, using some kind of levitation to keep himself in the air.
Izuku planted himself in front of All Might, Katsuki just a few feet in front of him.
"You two need to get out of here!" All Might said.
"Not a chance," Katsuki growled.
"You don't have to do this alone," Izuku said. "This guy is too powerful for that."
"But you're just children!"
"So what?" Katsuki demanded. A few small explosions popped in his palms.
"It doesn't matter how old we are," Izuku said, manipulating the fire around All for One to keep him from getting out of reach. "We're here."
All Might chuckled. "You really do sound like me. All right then, let's take this guy down." He stepped beside Izuku, body growing to his hero form again.
"Is this all that's left of your power?" All for One taunted. "Tell me, how long can you truly hold that form now?"
"Shut up!" Katsuki barked. "Are you gonna fight or what?"
Izuku pulled All for One down within reach of Katsuki's explosions, and Katsuki wasted no time taking advantage of it. All for One attempted to use another air cannon, but Izuku pushed his arm up at the last second and the blast went harmlessly to the sky. Katsuki landed a solid punch in All for One's face, smashing him into the ground.
"My turn!" All Might said, warning Katsuki to get out of the way.
Katsuki leapt aside, and All Might smashed his fist into All for One's chest. He would have gone flying, but Izuku's fire around his limbs kept him in place.
"I've had enough from you two," All for One said, voice dangerously low. He used another air cannon behind him to blast himself forward, ripping through Izuku's controlled fire. He shot a smaller one at Katsuki and sent him flying, and then used two in Izuku's face.
Izuku went flying back towards the concrete slab. Branches caught him out of the air, swinging him around with the momentum and setting him on his feet. "Wha-Kamui Woods!"
Halfway across the battlefield, Katsuki had been caught by Edgeshot. Tiger pulled a trapped civilian free and carried her to safety. Endeavor held All for One back with a wall of fire.
The rest of the pros were finally here.
All for One floated up in the air again, unrestrained. "Those noumu weren't particularly strong, but I'm still surprised you took care of them so quickly."
"Damn it, All Might," Endeavor said. "Stand up and show them why you're better!"
He always did have an interesting way of encouraging others.
"If the only reason you're here is to cheer him on, I'd prefer you to remain silent!" All for One said, readying another air cannon.
Izuku jerked forward, but Kamui Woods picked him up again, while also picking up Best Jeanest, Gang Orca, and Mt. Lady. "Leave this to the pros, kid. We've got it from here."
Every muscle in him argued against those orders, but he knew they were right. Edgeshot had already gotten Katsuki out of the way and disrupted the air cannon, and Endeavor sent another wall of fire to incinerate All for One. More air cannons blasted the flames away.
Kamui set Izuku down next to Katsuki. Police and paramedics were already on the scene, helping the civilians who'd been caught in the initial blast that leveled the city. The injured heroes were loaded up into the ambulances right away, and Izuku and Katsuki were passed off to the first police officer they found. Kamui rushed off to see who else he could help.
The officer was about to lead the two of them off when Katsuki crushed him in a hug. "Wha—Kacchan?"
"Don't do that again," Katsuki mumbled into his neck. "Don't just…run off like that. You're already injured. You could have been killed."
Izuku sagged against him. "I'm sorry. My body moved on its own. I just knew All Might was going to need help."
Katsuki's grip tightened. "I can't lose you again, Izucchan. You don't understand what it was like, how much it hurt."
Izuku wrapped his good arm around Katsuki. "I'm so sorry."
"Stop trying to do everything by yourself."
"Like you're one to talk," Izuku scoffed.
"Not important stuff," Katsuki argued. "Not life or death things like this."
There was room for debate in that, and Izuku made a mental note to sit down and have a long talk with him about this later, when he was rested and they had more time.
For now, he apologized again and let Katsuki hang onto him for another minute, until the ground shook beneath them again.
"Damn, is that guy still fighting even with all those pros?" Katsuki asked.
"We need to get you two back to the station," the officer said, trying to hurry them along.
They went, but only as far as the closest jumbo screen. The fight was still going on, and even the officer wasn't eager to tear his eyes away from it. Katsuki gripped Izuku's hand.
All for One had done something to his right arm. It was enlarged, monstrous. It looked like it was all All Might could do to block him. They were locked together, fist against fist.
Izuku tightened his hand around Katsuki.
All Might pulled off a left hook, but it didn't seem to do much. All for One still stood there, barely knocked back.
"Come on, All Might," Izuku prayed.
His right hand was mangled. That was easy to tell even from whatever distance the camera was, the skin dark and unnatural. Still, All Might made a fist and drew power into that arm again.
"He's got this," Katsuki said.
All Might yelled and smashed his fist one last time. The backlash blew the news helicopter off course, and they lost visual for a minute. The whole crowd around them waited with bated breath until it came back. For a moment, the whole country stood together.
Eventually, a lifetime later, the cameras came back. All for One lay still on the ground, All Might standing over him victoriously.
The crowd exploded with cheers. Izuku wasn't the only one to burst into tears from all the overwhelming emotions. The officer in charge of them gave them a few moments to celebrate with the crowd, and then he continued herding them to the station.
It was only the start of a busy night for them. They had to give their statements to the police, and Izuku was chewed out again for getting involved and using his quirk on other people when he didn't have a license yet. The only reason Izuku wasn't facing serious consequences for it was because he hadn't actually hurt anyone with his quirk, and they were taking the stress of his recent kidnapping into consideration.
He was on thin ice, though, and getting caught a third time would likely mean kicking him out of UA.
So, while his spirits were low with that and Katsuki was still giving his statement, Hizashi came back to the station.
And he was not happy.
The walls shook while he laid out how grounded Izuku was, his quirk leaking through his temper.
It was fully deserved, Izuku admitted, but it'd be nice to be thanked for saving someone, for once. Everyone was so hung up on him acting without a license, no matter how much it helped people.
To make everything worse, once Hizashi was done with him, he called Aizawa and made Izuku talk to him over the phone.
"Hizashi already grounded me until graduation," Izuku opened with. "He's taking my laptop when we get home."
Aizawa hummed. "That's not going to stop you from doing it again."
He couldn't make that promise, no. If someone in front of him needed help, he didn't care about the consequences.
But like hell was he going to say that out loud in front of Hizashi right now. He was in enough trouble as it was.
His silence was answer enough for Aizawa. "You need an official license. There's an exam for it before the term starts that I'm going to train you for. Possibly the rest of your class, too. This isn't a reward."
No, Aizawa's training certainly was not a reward. His training was more terrifying than the thought of losing his laptop, especially if Aizawa was deliberately using it as punishment.
"Give Hizashi the phone," Aizawa instructed.
Izuku did as asked. He still didn't regret his choices from the night. Whether it made a difference or not in the long run, he'd done what he had to do to live with himself, and he'd make the same choices again if he had to.
Once Katsuki finished his statement, he came out to find Izuku and all but collapsed on top of him. "M'so tired," he slurred.
"Have you eaten?" Izuku asked, holding him up with his one arm as best he could.
"Yeah."
"Then get comfy and go to sleep."
They were on a row of plastic chairs, uncomfortable in every sense of the word, but Katsuki spread out on them anyway with his head on Izuku's lap. He was unconscious in minutes, one hand weakly holding onto Izuku's shirt.
Somehow, Katsuki had made it through the last few days without injury. Even the few blows they'd exchanged with All for One hadn't left a scratch on him.
Not a physical one, at least. As Izuku watched his best friend sleep for the first time in three days, he had to wonder if there'd be any psychological repercussions of all this.
And as his eyes wandered over to the TV, every station replaying the fight and showing All Might's weakened form, he had to wonder what repercussions there'd be for the rest of the world.