Chapter 14: UNFORSEEN SLAUGHTER JOINT

Deku POV

Wading through the shallows, I looked over my allies. Tsu was unharmed and still had most of her stamina, as opposed to Mineta, whose adrenalin appeared to have worn off. I was now dragging him by the cape through the water, the med kit in my injured hand.

Letting the purple midget float, I opened the med kit and pulled out a roll of gauze as well as a tongue depressor. As I talked to the other two, I wound the badly injured finger as I held the wooden stick to it.

"We were lucky that that worked. The gamble paid off, but it took everything I had to keep a poker face- ah!"

"Are you okay?" Tsu looked at me with concern. I smiled and nodded in return. It was difficult with one hand, but I managed to create a splint for my finger to keep the bone in place.

"I'll be okay. Don't worry about me, getting help should be our first priority. If we follow the water that way, we can avoid the central plaza altogether."

The frog-like girl nodded, a thoughtful look on her face. "Good idea. By doing that, we can also avoid the villains that Mr. Aizawa is fighting."

I glanced towards the exit, and back to the central plaza, where sounds of combat and shouts of pain could be heard. How long could Mr. Aizawa hold out against a big group like that? I thought back to what I saw of his group fighting. He wouldn't be able to last much longer.

"He's going to over-exert himself. He's going to be taken down because he was protecting us."

Mineta chose now to speak up, fear evident in his voice. "Hold up, you're not suggesting…"

I pinched the bridge of my nose, slightly irritated with his constant cowardice. "I'm not saying we leap straight into the battle, but if we can maybe take a few of those guys out, we can lighten his load so he doesn't exhaust himself."

My eyes hardened with courage, steel from combat training with Kacchan for most of my early teen years. I know enough fighting moves to take those weaker villains down one on one!

My POV (a few minutes later…)

I sped across the landscape, a low-flying rocket to all besides myself. Kirishima was running a ways behind, but I knew he could take care of himself. Oh, wait, I'm reaching the edge.

Using a frontal blast to slow my momentum, I skidded to a halt. Skidding to a halt at the edge of the stairs, I watched and waited as the Erasure Hero fought against the scoundrels below. Okay, the Nomu hasn't-

Wait, he was only using one arm. Don't tell me Shigaraki got to him already! Was I too slow?

I looked closer, squinting through my mask as the battle raged on. There was a distinct fractured spot on his elbow. Even from here, he looked ragged, like he was at the end of his rope. I'm too late to spare him that.

I could see and even hear Shigaraki faintly from my vantage point, the cockiness in his voice evident even from here. "Even now, you stand and fight. You really are so cool! Oh, and by the way, Hero, I am not the final boss."

The Nomu stood tall, emotionless and yet full of killer instinct. The exposed brain shone in the light as its vacant eyes zeroed in on its target. It reeled back to strike I looked on in horror, and I could see I wasn't the only one. Deku, Mineta, and Tsu all watched from the water, and I from the stairs as Mr Aizawa's blood was spilled. With a single swing, the Nomu had caused a severe head injury without breaking a sweat before grabbing Mr. Aizawa's head and slamming him to the ground, breaking his other arm in the process.

"What do you think of him Eraserhead? He's the bio-engineered anti-Symbol of Peace, but you can call him Nomu."

Dammit, enough standing around!

*VWSH* *BOOM!* "HAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Bakugo, wait!"

Ignoring Kirishima's cry from behind, I focused on my target. With the fury of a caged tiger, I flew straight at the Nomu, shouting the whole three-second trip. Readying my Sword-Skill-covered hands to seriously injure the creature, the only thing in my mind right then was to make the black monstrosity back off so I can make an opening for Asui and Mineta to get a wounded Mr. Aizawa to the entrance. All eyes on me, Villains,

"Kacchan?!" Deku looked at me like I was a total moron, which I guess I would have to be to attempt this.

I hurtled towards the creature at high speed, planting my feet firmly in its face, pushing the creature off of Eraserhead with all of my built-up momentum. It was so focused on the lazy ninja, it wasn't expecting my attack. Landing on my feet, I raised my arm and stood strong, ready for the recoil of my next move. The energy-coated explosion fired away, giving me a good amount of kickback as it struck true to the intended target.

The smoke cleared, revealing that the beast's arm had been completely blown off at the shoulder, the forearm laying on Mr. Aizawa's back, sizzling like a cooked pork chop. The smell of cooked flesh filled the air, and blood dripped from the place the arm should have been.

But it didn't stop there. As the Nomu stood to attack me, I reeled back with another blast, taking off its other arm. The wounds were cauterized, so the nerve endings and other points-

Shigaraki grunted, scratching his neck in irritation. "You brat. That monster's not meant for you. But it will kill you all the same. It has regeneration and shock absorption, sonI'm afraid you can't kill him lime that."

The creature's arm was already regenerating, despite the cauterized wounds. I threw my hands in the air. The wounds musn't be fully cauterized, and given the current strength of my Quirks, it would be a while before I could completely cauterize them in one shot. "I'll just have to blast him harder then!"

I ran forward and threw a couple more explosions, the energy searing the abomination's flesh as it was pushed back little by little. Sparing a brief second, I turned to Deku and signaled him to get Mr. Aizawa out of there and turned back to see the beast fully reformed.

"I feel like I live in a world made of tissue paper." I used another energy explosion, burning away its flesh and eating its heart. The creature seized up for a moment as I pushed it back with another blast. Even if it's a bioengineered puppet, it's still technically human. It needs organs to function.

"Always trying not to hurt someone, to not burn something down. But you can take it, CAN'T YOU BIG GUY?!"

I reeled back both hands, cutting Sword Skill, and threw a max power explosion at the bird-faced hulk, forcing it back and blasting the flesh away. If I boosted with Sword Skill for that attack, I would probably burn the creature to an ashy death, leaving no easily obtainable evidence of All For One's tinkering. As it stood now, the monstrosity's skeleton was bare in places, the tendons slowly regenerating as it found the ability to regain control of its body. Unsheathing my swords, I reactivated Sword Skill, the cyan blades burning as the Nomu approached. With a quick slash, I lopped off both arms as they reached for me, the severed limbs falling like logs behind me. I dropped my swords and raised my arms, blowing out its legs with another boosted explosion.

"Now it's time for me to cut loose, and show you just how powerful I am… BY PROTECTING MY FRIENDS!"

*BOOM!*

Deku POV

I caught Kacchan's signal clear as day. Turning to Tsu and Mineta, I clambered out of the water towards Mr. Aizawa. He was unconscious when the pair picked him up. I took a look over my shoulder at Kacchan to see bursts of orange and cyan light, and sounds of steel meeting flesh and bone.

I knew that Kacchan had a temper, but I had only seen glimpses of it before. Even with that monologue, I could hear barely restrained fury in his voice. This bloodthirst, this anger, it was nothing like I had ever seen from him. He really wasn't messing around. And it was drawing the Villains attention, so I'm not complaining this time.

But Kacchan took off that monster's arm without a second thought. Did he know it had regeneration? No, he couldn't have. His emotions must have thrown him off, but this is still concerning.

Wait a second, that brain guy has multiple Quirks. Several abilities that appear unrelated, but work off each other well.

That beast is just like Kacchan, in a twisted way. Did they have something to do with… no, that's ridiculous.

"After we get Mr. Aizawa to safety, we should go back and get Bakugo to come back." The purple midget had a look of concern on his face as he spoke, worry in his tone. Under normal circumstances he would be right, but not this time.

"I'm not sure that's wise. By putting himself between us and the Villains, Kacchan is the only thing keeping that brain guy back. Not to mention, it looks like he has multiple Quirks, just like Kacchan. So, until All Might gets here, he's our best shot at holding the big one off."

They seemed to think about this for a moment before Mr. Aizawa grunted and shifted around in his unconscious state. Seeing that there was no time to argue, they nodded and continued walking. Mr. Aizawa… I'm sorry we weren't here sooner. I don't know what we could have done, but we could have done something.

We walked a few more steps as I retreated deeper into my thoughts. Mr. Aizawa is a Pro, and Kacchan has little to no formal training as of yet. He excels in one on one fights as well as crowd control with his big blasts, but the explosive blonde has a hyper-aggressive fighting style, and will wear himself out soon. Just like Mr. Aizawa…

I stopped in my tracks before turning and running back the way we came. I know what I just said, but someone needs to keep an eye on Kacchan until All Might gets here. That, and I failed to help before, so maybe I can help this time!

I heard the bursts of energy and noise, watching as they lit up the very air around the two fighters. Nomu has the power to put Kacchan down, but he can't use it if he has to keep regenerating his arms.

But my best friend was starting to get sloppy. Raging attacks with roars of fury, telegraphed strikes that the beast could avoid, but it chose not to. It took the hits, the injuries clearly worsening as it screeched in pain. but even from here I could tell Kacchan was almost at his limit.

"RAAAAHH!" *BWOOOM!* Another big blast with his right arm, taking out the heart and causing it to seize up for a moment. The boy's movements were more sluggish, telling me that he had used Sword Skill way too much, which was a big part of why he was so tired.

But with what happened next, I watched in shock and horror.

Uraraka POV (Earlier…)

All of our classmates could see Mr. Aizawa being beaten by that large Villain. That monster guy terrified us all. Was it even human?

"Look, it's Bakugo!" Ashido pointed to the left side of the plaza. I looked to see an airborne boy blasting towards the Villain.

Why was he going to fight? Iida went for help, so we should just wait for the real heroes to take care of this. I suppose the sight of Mr. Aizawa being hurt like that was too much for him to stand.

*BOOM!* Even from our vantage point, the explosion rang clear. I couldn't quite make out what the damage was, but that was when the creature moved, revealing it's blown-off limb… ugh, I'm gonna be sick...

"Holy crap, did he just blow that monster's arm off?" Sato said, staring wide-eyed at the damage. The others showed varying degrees of shock. Our class representative blew a Villain's arm off? Just what kind of person was hidden underneath when he got mad?

Sero moved to the front row and began defending the explosive dual-wielder, glancing toward the plaza as he spoke. "He doesn't like seeing people hurt, and these guys did it so casually. Not to mention, wherever he came from, he probably just came from a fight, so emotions must be running… high…"

We all watched as the Nomu regrew its limb. That thing can regenerate? Well, that makes it partially better, but Bakugo had no way of knowing that. He would dismember someone if it meant they were harming his friends and loved ones? That seems like he's going too far.

What kind of person is he really? Whoever he is, I'm glad he's on our side.

My POV

Darn it… it just keeps coming, It may be a puppet, but it's still basically human. So why wasn't it getting tired too?

The blades were getting duller, and Ember Vindicta was spent. I didn't even have enough time to reload them as I kept up my assault.

I growled and gripped Caliburn again, sheathing Sunlit Heart on my back. Putting both hands on the hilt, I decided for a new approach. Rushing the creature, I reeled back and stabbed the abomination through the arm, the point entering the palm and coming out the back of the elbow. This way it couldn't grab properly with that arm, what with something sticking out of the palm and all.

I pushed it in further until it sank to the hilt, trying to keep on my feet as I pushed. In my Sword-Skill-induced tiredness, I left myself wide open. The Nomu grabbed my left forearm and lifted me off the ground. I struggled, adrenaline coursing through my veins now as I tried to escape the hold of the monster. I began to reach for my other sword when-

*CRACK!*

I saw red, letting loose a guttural scream of pain as Nomu's grip on my arm tightened, badly breaking my bones and crushing the gauntlet overtop like a gum wrapper.

No, it wasn't going to end like this, Not here, not now!

In that single moment, I snapped. I let go of all control on my anger, letting my hatred flow straight into this last-ditch attack. In my anger, I heard something, a voice. It may have been my imagination, my rage and pain given manifest for a brief moment in time, but whatever it was, it said exactly what I needed to hear.

"Destroy him, ya damn nerd."

"DIIIEEE!" Aiming my right arm, I snarled in fury and blasted the thing in the throat, blowing the head from the body in a burst of cyan, causing the body itself to topple. It fell, taking my arm, and by proxy the rest of me, with it, eliciting a grunt of pain from me when we hit the ground. I could see the head resting a few feet away, the vacant eyes staring into space.

Collapsing the Ember Vindicta on my right arm, I pried my broken arm from the now-limp grasp of the Nomu. Grimacing in pain, I stood, examining the shattered appendage. It was in one piece, bloodied, the collapsible gauntlet overtop now a mangled piece of metal. Blood leaked out from underneath, dripping on the ground as it hung, useless until it was healed. Not to mention, it was also incredibly painful.

"You… you beheaded Nomu! You little bastard! You're lucky he can regenerate!"

I turned my head to see Tomura Shigaraki staring directly at me, scratching his neck furiously. Looking behind him, I could see the head slowly regrowing a new body. The beast's neck and shoulders were reforming now as previously unconscious mooks began to rouse from their forced slumber.

Kurogiri squinted at me, as if analyzing something. "You harness the power of multiple Quirks. You truly are an impressive individual. I wonder… how will the Master react to you?"

Holding my sword out in front of me, I stood defiant. I'm not going to let these guys kill any of us, or kidnap me. Shigaraki ran at me from his spot in the pavilion, his hand raised to rot me to dust. Breathing heavily, I stood on my last legs. I'm not going to die here.

"KACCHAN!" Startled, I whipped around to see Deku charging at me like I was about to die. Just like the alleyway. I saw the splint on his left hand. He already used up a finger? That meant four shots left on his left hand. Both the main Hero and main Villain were charging at me with a hand outstretched, ready to save or kill me.

At the moment my best friend and greatest enemy were each five yards away, the front doors of the USJ burst open with a cloud of smoke. Everyone's eyes turned to see a hulking figure in the doorway.

"I COULDN'T SHAKE THE FEELING THAT SOMETHING WAS WRONG WHEN THIRTEEN AND AIZAWA DIDN'T ANSWER MY CALLS. SO I HURRIED OVER HERE, AND RAN INTO YOUNG IIDA ALONG THE WAY. HE TOLD ME OF THE VILLAINY OCCURING HERE. EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT NOW. YOU KNOW WHY?" All Might tore off his tie, glaring down at the Villains below.

"BECAUSE I AM HERE!"

"Come on, now's our chanc- AGH!" The Villains who had awoken didn't stand a chance as the Symbol of Peace tore through their ranks, scattering them like bowling pins before he stopped.

All of a sudden Deku and I were at the far end of the plaza, All Might standing in front of us. That was so fast, I didn't even register what happened.

"YOUNG BAKUGO… WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?" The man-mountain had a look of concern and worry as he stared at my mangled arm.

I waved him off before responding. "A round with the big guy. Listen carefully. That Villain with the exposed brain has regeneration, super strength, and some form of shock absorbing. My explosions ate away at him and my swords pierced him, but he reformed and kept coming, not even blown back. Not to mention he barely reacted when I cut his arms off. If I were to guess, I'd say that thing is brain dead, has limitless stamina, and is acting on someone else's control. He can punch on par with you."

All Might appeared surprised that I wasn't concerned about my own well-being, but he nodded. "ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU FOR THE INFORMATION. BUT WE WILL DISCUSS YOUR RECKLESSNESS AFTER THESE VILLAINS ARE BEATEN. GET TO THE ENTRANCE."

With that, I nodded and dropped to my knees, the adrenalin wearing off. Between the various uses of my Quirks and the injuries, I was out of the fight for now. I think the only reason I was still conscious was because of the pain. Deku crouched beside me with an open med kit, tending to me as best he could. I saw tears welling up in his eyes, but the bone-abusing boy stayed focused.

"I'll patch you up enough to stem the bleeding for now, but then we need to move

A mute nod was all I gave in reply. Keeping myself up with my unbroken arm, I watched the fight unfold.

"After all this waiting, the heroic piece of trash shows up. Nomu!"

The called creature rushed forward at Shigaraki's call, having fully regenerated from my attacks earlier.

"CAROLINA SMASH!" *WOOOOSH* Muscular arms struck the monstrosity with a cross chop, the winds created throwing up the water behind it. The creature threw a punch in return, only for it to be blocked by All Might.

The attacks continued back and forth as the two muscular individuals slugged it out, testing each other's limits. I blinked as I remembered someone. Flicking my eyes around the battlefield, I eventually spotted Kirishima. The hardener was watching the fight from the bottom of the stairs. He was looking at me like I was some kind of madman, facing off against a villain solo like I did. He was lucky that he hadn't been noticed.

"I'VE JUST GOTTA WEAR YOU DOWN!"

I snapped to attention as All Might lifted the beast for a suplex. Oh no, this was the part where-

*BOOM!*

A shockwave rippled through the air, causing a dust cloud to erupt from their location. Everyone in the plaza flinched as the wind, dust, and dirt washed over them.

It cleared slowly, to reveal All Might with a firm grasp on the Nomu. But the creature also had hold of him. The bioengineered grip was crushing down on All Might's wound, blood seeping from that spot.

I stood. No more time on the sidelines. My left arm was still useless, but my right arm-

"All Might!" Deku shouted, ready to charge in and take them on to free his idol, when something else took charge.

"RAAAAH!" *BAM!*

An angry red blur lunged through the air and slammed into Kurogiri, pinning the smog villain to the ground. Kirishima stayed put, holding the undead man by the neck armour. A sheet of ice traveled swiftly across the plaza, travelling up the Nomu's leg and stopping at the wrist. Todoroki is here!

"Red, Freezerburn, 'bout time." I said, the pain and tiredness evident on my face.

"I couldn't just stand around and do nothing!" The hardener shouted from his spot on the concrete.

The half and half student looked more confused than anything now. "What did you call me?"

As the Symbol of Peace pried himself free, I looked back at Deku to see that he was done wrapping my arm. I stood, trying my best to hide the exhaustion.

Shigaraki stood, not doing anything. Simply watching as his two best shots at killing All Might were taken down in one go.

"Kurogiri. How could you let that brat best you? You've caused a real jam here."

Kirishima grinned. "This was easy to figure out. Bakugo's explosion hurt you, but my attack didn't. That meant that the mist you used was to hide your real body. Not to mention, you wouldn't be wearing your armour if you didn't have anything solid under there."

I stepped forward, wincing with every step. "A well-reasoned idea, Kirishima. Now, I can end this."

"YOUNG BAKUGO, STAY BACK! YOU'RE ALREADY HURT, AND THERE'S NO TELLING WHAT ELSE THEY CAN DO! NOW YOU ALL GET BACK, I'LL HANDLE THESE VILLAINS!"

I halted. I knew what they could do, but in my present state, I would only get in the way. Even before that, all I could do was buy time until All Might got here. I really am pathetic. Backing up to Deku, I fell to my knees, pain and drowsiness filling me.

"Nomu." At Shigaraki's command, the creature's limbs shattered as it pulled out of the warp gate. They began to grow back quickly, but slower than before. That's right, cells don't regenerate nearly as fast when they're cold!

Before I could shout to Todoroki, the Nomu had reformed and charged towards Kirishima. And in that moment, the hardener seemed to teleport, appearing beside us on the ground.

"What the heck? Why am I over here?"

Deku glanced between the red-head and the impact zone. He knew All Might better than any of us, so he knew that the man was fast.

Todoroki walked over to me, looking down at me impassionately. "You should have waited for All Might. All you did was get hurt trying to stop them."

"I bought us some time. I might have fought a losing battle, but I'll do what I need to in order to win in the long run, and save as many others as possible."

The heterochromatic boy looked at me strangely before returning his attention to the foes in front of us.

I looked towards the two muscular beings and waited. All Might would have a bit of extra time left in his muscle form thanks to Gentle, but would it be enough?

Shigaraki bared his hands, ready to rot us away as he charged. Deku, Todoroki, and Kirishima got ready to fight, but they needn't have bothered.

The twin titans in human form threw a punch at each other, creating a shockwave that blew both sides of the conflict back.

"Weren't you listening? Nomu has shock absorption." Shigaraki said, somehow heard over the ruckus of the fight.

"YEAH? WHAT ABOUT IT? YOU SAID IT WAS ONLY ABSORPTION, NOT NULLIFICATION. THAT MEANS THERE'S A LIMIT TO WHAT YOU CAN TAKE, RIGHT?!"

Fists flew so fast that I could barely track them, the impacts visible as their battle seemed to cause ripples through the very air itself.

"Then he'll have… to go… beyond…" I rattled my head, trying to stay awake. Deku noticed and grabbed onto my uninjured arm so I wouldn't go flying back. Barely keeping myself upright, I watched as All Might sent the Nomu hurtling through several trees before he slammed it to the ground.

"NOW FOR A LESSON. YOU MAY HAVE HEARD THESE WORDS BEFORE, BUT I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT THEY REALLY MEAN!"

All Might reeled back a punch, gathering nearly all he had left in the tank. I smiled, even as everyone else was panicked or otherwise flustered. Checkmate.

"PLUS… UULLLLTRAAAAAAAAAAA!"

With 110% of his power, All Might struck the Nomu, sending it flying upward with a mighty shockwave. It smashed through the ceiling a second later and sailed off into the blue.

My favourite moment of Season 1, hands down.

I smiled weakly before the exhaustion took its toll. I slumped, falling unconscious between all the fighting, the Quirk uses, and the earlier blood loss from my-

*FLUMP*

Deku POV

I watched amazed as the fight played out. So this is what it takes to be a pro.

*FLUMP* Kacchan collapsed from his spot on the ground, now laying sprawled out on the concrete. I'm surprised he didn't tap out sooner.

The hand villain was twitching, scratching his neck in an agitated fashion. "No… it wasn't supposed to go this way…"

All Might stared the Villains down, his smile now firmly in place. We had won.

"WHAT'S WRONG, AFRAID NOW THAT YOU'VE LOST YOUR TRUMP CARD?" He clenched his fist, subtle anger seeping into his expression.

"A TRUMP CARD THAT HURT MY STUDENT, WHO ONLY SURVIVED BY USING HIS QUIRK IN A HORRIFIC WAY? SURRENDER. WE ALL WANT THIS TO END QUICKLY." All Might reeled back, ready to give these guys what for.

The grey-haired villain was more agitated now, acting like a spoiled brat. "No… no no no NO!" He charged, his hands raised and ready to turn All Might to dust.

*BANG!*

A gunshot rang out, blood splattered on the pavement, mixing with the stuff already there. Three more shots were heard, the lanky man crumpling to the ground. He was shot in all four limbs? Snipe is here!

"I'm sorry we're late everyone. I assembled the teachers as quickly as possible!" Principal Nezu spoke, riding the shoulder of Vlad King at the top of the stairs. A collective sigh of relief went up as we all knew that the heroes would save us.

Between Present Mic's shouting and Ectoplasm's clone rampage, I slung Kacchan's unbroken arm over my shoulder and began to carefully make my way through the chaos and towards the stairs. Kirishima and Todoroki followed, instinctively taking up guard positions on either side.

As I practically dragged my best to the entryway, I began to ponder these events. Now that we're safe, it's time to heal and reflect. Why did those Villains want to kill All Might? I don't know, but whatever is going to happen, we'll need to all get stronger.

This is the beginning of something big. I just hope we can all weather the coming storm.

Geez Louise, this took a long time to write. Between the interactions, the long fight scene, and the other ideas I had during the writing of this, this chapter was a lot longer than I initially planned it it to be. I couldn't have predicted this, but I guess this was just how it went. I hope I wrote this better than the fight scene in Chapter 9, because I tried to make it better. That being said, what do you guys think?

With all that said, please review, PM me if you like, and keep an eye out for the next chapter.