"Ninth…Ninth… Wake up…"

'Ugh… What just happened?' Izuku groaned, feeling dizzy.

"Ninth, you need to wake up! I don't know how, but we can feel his presence approaching!'

'Feel who's presence? Wait, who am I talking too again?' Izuku felt his head begin to ache.

"There's no time to explain! Open your eyes and fight!"

At the command, the memory of the last few minutes came flooding back. He remembered Danger Sense activating, yanking the wheel in Melissa's hands to the side just in time to not run into a flaming truck. And then there was someone there, who knocked them into the wall with some kind of laser beam.

Izuku finally awoke fully, feeling Danger Sense slowly growl in the back of his head. He snapped his eyes open to see that he was still in his seat within the front of the Nezu-Mobile. His helmet had encased his head automatically, likely in an automatic response to the crash.

He could hear voices coming from the radio, shouting about the convoy being cut off and reinforcements coming, but not soon enough. Looking immediately to his right, he could see Melissa passed out in the driver's seat.

'She must have fainted in the crash. Doesn't look like anything's broken though.' Izuku thought while he reached over to her. But before he could wake her up, he heard the back doors of the vehicle creak. Izuku whipped his head as he jumped out of his seat, quickly noticing the three kids were awake and uninjured in the back. 'That man from before, who shot the lasers from his fingers. He must be trying to enter.'

Izuku didn't know how that person had a Quirk, but that wasn't important. What was important was that he was likely after the kids. And he couldn't let that happen. "You three! Stay where you are!" He told the children, before activating Smokescreen and filling the vehicle with purple smoke. His visor immediately switched to an infrared mode, and he saw the figure of an adult male open the doors and stumble back as the wave of smoke flooded out. 'Now!'

[One for All | Output: 5000 AP]

[Estimated time operational at current output: 20 minutes]

'25% Detroit Smash!' Izuku called upon One for All and thrust forward with his fist, launching the assailant out of the vehicle. Izuku took this chance to leave the Nezu-Mobile and distance them from the children. He strode out of the fog he had created, vision switching to normal just in time to see the Villain straighten up from his landing.

The two stared at each other for a few moments, and as Izuku prepared Full Cowling to his current maximum of 25%, he noticed an odd golden glimmer in his opponents' eyes. The unknown man was wearing a lilac blazer and dress pants, but one could clearly see the advanced armored suit being worn underneath it. There was also a mask covering his mouth and nose, along with two metal cylinders of unknown liquid protruding from his shoulder blades.

The man chuckled suddenly, and Izuku prepared for an attack. He was still thrown completely off guard by what he had said next.

"So, we finally meet in person… One for All." The man said ominously.

"You-?! How do you know that name?!" Izuku couldn't help but cry out in surprise. There weren't many people who would know One for All. It only took him another second to put the dots together. The monsters from before almost certainly had multiple Quirks, and if the voices from within his Quirk were reacting to his presence, then that left only one answer, despite how inexplicable it would seem. "All for One?! That's impossible, you should be dead!"

"Well, you're half right." The man said. "I am Nine. While I may not be the dreaded Demon Lord of Japan, I still wield his power all the same."

'Seriously?! Someone else with All for One?' Izuku hadn't expect that. From what little he had heard of the Supervillain, he didn't seem like one who would allow another to run around with his power. This made things more complicated but helped to narrow down the reasons for the attack. 'I doubt he knew I would be here before seeing me, so the most likely reason behind this attack would be… the kids' Quirks.'

"While there's a part of me that says it would be a mistake to let you go, I truly don't have any quarrel with you, boy." Nine said, unaware of Izuku's internal monologue. "I care little for the centuries long feud carried by your two powers. Leave now, and I'll let you live another day."

"It's Deku! And no, I won't let you take all these kids' Quirks!" Izuku shouted, getting ready to attack.

"Ah. I have no need for all their Quirks. In fact, I only plan on taking a single one tonight." Nine revealed, as he held out a hand. "How about a deal boy? You let me take the Quirk of one of the kids in that truck there, and me and my friends will leave in peace. Sounds like a fair trade, yes?"

"Forget it!" Izuku spat out, silently wondering how he even knew what Quirks the kids behind him had.

"Figures you would play the Hero. Oh well." Nine let out a sigh, before the fingertips of his outstretched hand brightened, and Izuku felt Danger Sense flare up.

He rolled out of the way just as a purple bullet of energy passed where he had been standing, flying past and digging into the concrete wall behind him. 'One hit from any of those would be bad. Good thing for Danger Sense.' He began to advance toward Nine, dodging the beams that kept flying towards him. Even when the projectiles began to curve towards him instead of firing straight forward, he was able to determine how not to get hit.

"You're certainly a nimble one." Nine noticed as the gap closed, seemingly unconcerned at his approaching opponent. When Izuku finally was close enough and threw another fist forward, he merely held the hand shooting the beams up, palm towards the swing.

"Detroit Smash!" Izuku shouted as he swung with his current strength.

But instead of hitting Nine's hand, his punch pressed against a yellow circular shield. Nine moved his hand, dragging the shield and Izuku himself to the side. A wave of air pressure shot out of the shield, and Izuku was launched down the road Nine had just pointed him down. He rolled with the hard landing, his new Costumes armor padding the blow.

'Damn, he already has multiple Quirks somehow! That was some kind of wall of pressurized air that he can create and release from his hands, if that last attack was any indication. The shield didn't even budge against 25% power, and it isn't worth using one of my few 100% blasts to attempt breaking it unless I have a clear plan of action.' Izuku quickly thought how his and his opponent's Quirks could interact as he began rushing towards Nine, who had already used the distance between them to move towards the Truck. His opponent may have had good offense and defense, but Izuku had the advantage in utility.

As Izuku got closer, he pressed the button on his right gauntlet to move the covers forward and pointed it directly at Nine. The man noticed he was being aimed at and quickly formed another Air Wall, but Izuku had planned on that. He released Smokescreen solely in his hand like he had trained before on truck, but this time he flicked his fingers at the same time. 'Delaware Smokeshot!'

Instead of a plume of purple smoke slowly pouring out from the gauntlet, Smokescreen was carried forward in concussive 'bullets' of air, created from the flicks of his fingers and the funneled attachment. The four shots Izuku had fired connected with Nine's barrier and exploded like smoke bombs, completely engulfing him.

"What?" Nine said in surprised from within the smoke as the glow of the Air Wall disappeared.

'Now's my chance!' Izuku ran past Nine so that he was now to his side and threw another Detroit Smash forward. 'He still has to aim his lasers and shields through his hands. If he doesn't know where I am, then he can't block my attacks!'

But as he lunged into the smoke where Nine had just been standing, Danger Sense blared. As he plunged into the smoke, his visor switched to its Infrared vision just in time to see Nine snake out of the way and point his palm forward.

"So, you really do have multiple Quirks." Nine said curiously before blowing both Izuku and his Smokescreen away with a blast of pressurized air.

Izuku rolled with the landing (He was getting good at it now) and he stared in confusion at Nine. 'He knew exactly where I was the entire time. Danger Sense was going off before I had entered the Smokescreen, but how?'

He then noticed the golden glow in Nine's eyes from before being more pronounced. He had thought he was just seeing things before, but now it was obviously the effect of a Quirk, but what could it be? He thought of what Nine had said a moment ago though and realized something important.

'He knew I could use multiple Quirks beforehand! He also said he was after a specific Quirk earlier, and somehow knew it was in the truck. It's some sort of Quirk Vision?! Of course, someone with All for One would use an ability like that.'

Izuku stared at Nine with grit teeth under his mask. His opponent had only shown three Quirks but was already nearly invincible to him. Who knew how many trump cards were still unused by the Villain. But Izuku wasn't out of tricks either. He ran forward again as Fa Jin finally built up enough in his right arm.

'I don't need to beat him. I just need to keep these kids safe until help arrives!'

Nezu assessed the situation for the dozenth time and found he was disappointed in himself. While he had spoken about preparing for every eventuality, the current predicament was wildly outside his originally planned possibilities. Still, he focused on the present, and took note of the current situation like any Pro Hero would in an emergency.

Firstly, there were two blown up tanker trucks barricading either side of the street block the convoy was currently trapped in.

Secondly, there were three Villains attacking him and the police escort currently. One seemed to be bulletproof, another had telekinesis and laser vision, and the final one was a shapeshifter that kept switching forms between the previous two.

Thirdly, said Villains were currently decimating him and the police force.

Nezu scampered away as the police cruiser he was hiding under was lifted into the air and tossed into a nearby building. He pulled out the gun he was using to train Eri with and shot a Quirk-Erasing bullet towards the lanky Villain who had just uprooted his cover. But the Bulletproof Villain stepped in front, blocking the projectile as it bounced harmlessly off him like the police's own bullets had.

"You must be the one with the Quirk." The large man said, staring down in amusement as Nezu ran to new cover. "I had feared there was a Hero here at first, but to think it was just some rat."

'This is certainly a fine predicament I've found myself in.' Nezu thought, glancing around at his allies' current conditions. Most of the police had either been thrown away with their cars, currently suffering from laser-inflicted burns, or beaten down by the bulletproof brute and the shapeshifter. 'They used the shapeshifter to double their offense while we were off-guard, and to increase their defense against the few of us that remained. There's not enough of us left to land a lucky shot at this rate.'

The silence from his students was also concerning. They had been cut off from the rest of the convoy, but had yet to call in. Whatever the issue was on the other side of the flaming wreckage, Young Midoriya wouldn't be arriving anytime soon, leaving Nezu to deal with this threat. As more and more of his cover disappeared, he continued to think.

'It won't be long before all my cover is gone and I myself am grabbed by that telekinesis. What options remain? The police are nearly defeated, and the Villains are situated in front of the only exit, preventing an evacuation. Many of the children likely have powerful Quirks that could prove useful in this fight but getting them involved is far to risky. The only option is to stall until backup arrives, but how-'

Nezu's planning was cut short as he realized the cover he was running to had begun to float away. He also realized too late that the police's gunfire had completely ceased, indicating they had all been defeated, and that the shapeshifter had turned back into their telekinetic ally. Nezu was quickly picked up by one of them, losing his grip on his gun as he floated hopelessly towards the trio of Villains.

"Nice work Komodo!" The bulletproof Villain laughed, watching Nezu spin around in the telekinetic grip.

"I'm Chameleon, idiot." The shapeshifter said in annoyance.

"C'mon, give Dragon a brake. We literally look exactly alike!" The true telekinetic Villain said.

'Well, looks like it's time to break out the old stalling staple.' Nezu thought as he floated helplessly. Luckily, they looked like the kind to be susceptible to such tactics. He fixed them his best glare as he finally spoke. "What is it you Villains are after?"

All three of them looked up at Nezu in surprise.

"The hell?! You can talk?" Komodo cried out.

"Must be part of his Quirk." Chameleon guessed.

"Wait a minute." Dragon seemed to remember something. "I heard that U.A.'s principal wasn't human, but I always figured they were speaking metaphorically."

"You would be correct. I am the principal of U.A. High School, Nezu." He introduced himself politely. "You wouldn't happen to be able to introduce yourself. I don't recognize you as any known Villain group."

"Probably because those stupid Heroes think only someone with a Quirk can be a Villain." Dragon said, glaring up at Nezu. "Us Purple Oni's have been around for ages, but now that we've teamed up with our new boss, we can finally get the recognition we deserve."

"You mean All for One?" Nezu guessed.

It seemed the only logical choice. The man's wording made it clear they were originally Quirkless, meaning they had to have been given a Quirk by some outside force. And there was only one option. While Nezu had believed the Supervillain to be dead, it wouldn't be impossible that he used some Quirk to cling on. And Eri and Midoriya proved that the Rapture's effects weren't impossible to avoid.

"Who?" Dragon seemed to not recognize the name, much to Nezu's own surprise. "I don't know what you think, but we work for Nine! With the Quirks he's given us, we'll toss away all those that threw us down and take our place as kings!"

'There's someone else who can give and receive Quirks?' Nezu had never heard of this 'Nine' person before, but it did little to change the fact that they apparently had the same power as that mythical Supervillain.

"And to start our new reign, we'll burn everything related to that stupid school of yours! Starting with you!" Komodo said, eyes charging up a bright red as he stared down Nezu. "Looks like roast rat is on the menu tonight!"

Any other man would have likely given up, but Nezu wasn't an ordinary man. Or a man in general. He continued to scan his surrounding for anything could use. Wracking his brain for anything else he could say to delay them. But much to his horror, there was nothing he could come up with.

Right as he was about to give up though, he spotted a baseball sized cylinder fly out of the alleyway directly behind the Villains. It flew over their heads, before bouncing of the pavement in front of them, clicking as it did.

"What the fuck is that-"

Dragon was cut off as the blinding light of the flashbang blinded all three of the thugs. Nezu had, of course, immediately recognized the object and had already closed his eyes. He felt himself drop to the ground as Chameleon lost their grip and managed to land on his feet.

Nezu then opened his eyes just in time to see a muscular man jump out of the dark alley and land a haymaker right in Komodo's face. And then another, and another, until the lanky man lay bloody and unconscious on the pavement. As the other two Oni's regained their vision, they turned to see the interloper and froze.

"Who the hell are you?!" Dragon shouted. "What did you do to Komodo?"

"I'm just a concerned citizen, doing my part to keep the streets safe." The mysterious interloper said, cracking his iron-studded knuckles threateningly. He was dressed in a trench coat and jeans, with a black mask that covered his clearly scarred face.

'His flashbang disabled both of that Villains Quirks momentarily, and he immediately took him down while everyone was distracted.' Nezu noticed as he slowly retreated backwards. 'Was that just dumb luck, or something more?'

"You prick, I'll show you-" Chameleon, still transformed as Komodo, began to say. He stopped himself when his opponent held up another flashbang threateningly. The two Oni's glanced at each other, and Chameleon switched their appearance to Dragon's.

"You want to do this the old-fashioned way then? C'mon old-timer, let's dance!" Dragon ran at his opponent, and their two fists met.

Neither budged from the force, but Dragon's opponent quickly swerved to the side and delivered a punch to his gut. Nothing happened though, and Dragon let the man attempt a couple more attacks before scoffing.

"That won't work you know. I can absorb any physical blow you throw at me." Dragon explained with a cocky grin. "Not that it matters, since I could regenerate from any wound you gave me anyways."

"Is that so?" The older man said unintimidated, jumping back as Chameleon barely grazed him with a fist. "You people are all the same, thinking a fancy power or two makes you immortal. Take it from me buddy, pride comes before the fall."

"Oh? Speaking from experience here?" Dragon asked, looking over his opponent carefully. "Y'know, I just remembered we're still in Naruhata. This place used to be crawling with famous Vigilantes like the Crawler, but his supposed Master always stood out more to me. Apparently, he was a no-nonsense brawler who could kick teeth in despite being Quirkless. The name Knuckleduster ring any bells?"

"Sounds familiar, but that was a long time ago." The man grunted, letting a deep breath as he brought his fists up again. "Nowadays, I'm just an old man who can't keep his nose out of others' business."

"Well then, I guess we'll have to teach you the meaning of futility!" Dragon said as he ran at Knuckleduster, fist raised. But the Vigilante weaved out of the way, grabbing the outstretched arm and tossing the large man over his shoulder in a Judo throw.

"Don't think I'm a one-trick pony due to my name! Just because your tougher, it doesn't mean you're stronger or smarter than me!" Knuckleduster said as he put the man in a hold. He then reached a hand into his trench coat and pulled out a giant blocky object, holding it in his fist like a set of brass Knuckles. "And immunity to physical attacks has a dozen workarounds!"

"What?" Dragon titled his head back just in time to see the object Knuckleduster was holding spark dangerously. "Nononono, wait-!"

His cries were cut off as the taser was shoved into his back, and he began to spasm at the electricity flowing into him. After a few moments Knuckleduster released the Taser Knuckle's trigger, and Dragon flopped limply on the ground.

"Dragon!" Chameleon cried in concern.

'He may give off the impression of an airheaded brawler, but he had the tools and plans to deal with an opponent immune to his fists. Though I shouldn't be surprised, if my theory on Knuckleduster's true identity is correct.' Nezu thought to himself as he watched the fight silently. He kept inching back, trying not to draw attention to himself while the Villain was distracted. 'Just a bit farther back and I should find it. Just keep them busy a bit longer, Knuckleduster.'

"Don't worry, I lowered the max voltage a while ago. He'll live… probably." Knuckleduster said, clearly unconcerned by his opponents worry. He began to walk towards the final Oni, Taser Knuckle in one fist and a flashbang in the other. "So, what'll it be? Do you want to be blinded and punched out, or get acquainted with over fifty thousand volts of electricity?"

"How about the third option? You probably didn't notice, but I grazed you with my fist back there." Chameleon said, and their form suddenly melded into that of Knuckleduster himself. "If you think you're hot shit, then let's see how you deal with fighting yourself!"

Chameleon took a single step forward with their right leg, only to crumple to the floor as it gave out under them.

"Gah! The fuck?" Chameleon tried to get to their feet, right leg clearly shaking under the weight. "What is wrong with you?! Your right leg is completely busted, you're missing an eye, and there's chronic pain everywhere. This entire damn body is breaking at the seams! How are you able to even stand?!"

"The only thing I can't stand is you Villains causing trouble in my town!" Knuckleduster shouted, taking a step forward with his own right leg without even flinching. "I've always done the work that Heroes couldn't. If you thought them being gone gave you free reign to start shit, then prepare for the consequences!"

"Eep!" Chameleon quickly changed into a thin, androgenous form, skipping away from Knuckleduster in a panic. But they quickly put on a brave face, smirking dangerously as they reached into a pouch on their waist, pulling out a small tuft of hair. "I didn't want to have to use the Boss's form, but this is an emergency. Prepare yourself, Heroes!"

Chameleon's form shifted into that of a man with long white-haired, and with a lift of their hand the very air seemed to change. As they continued raising their arm up, the very clouds seemed to circle above ominously.

But right as they threw their arm down, a bang rang out, and they stumbled back in surprise.

"What?!" Chameleon stumbled back as they reverted back to their original form. They felt down to where they had been hit and held some sort of dart in their hand. Both them and Knuckleduster looked back to see Nezu holding a comically small and smoking gun.

"I must thank you for providing an ample distraction, Knuckleduster." Nezu said, putting the gun to his side and walking forward. "Now then, I think it's time you three surrendered and explained what your boss's master plan was."

Chameleon glanced nervously between the imposing figure of Knuckleduster and the somehow even more intimidating smile of Nezu. They seemed to decide on their next course of action quickly and blew out a whistle.

"Nomu! Get us out of here!" They shouted out.

A second later there was an inhuman screech, and one of the multi-Quirked creatures from before swept down from a nearby building. It had webbed wings like the one from the military blockade but was much larger in size. It quickly gathered the three Purple Oni's in its arms as it dived into the street, before pulling up and beginning to fly away.

Nezu snapped out of his surprise and tried to shoot the flying monster with the Quirk-Erasing gun, but it clicked with each pull of the trigger, out of bullets. He watched as the Villains flew around the corner out of view. "… So, they've gotten away."

"Don't matter. Kid's are safe." Knuckleduster said, collapsing onto a nearby bench. He reached into his coat for a small bottle, popping it open and downing the few remaining painkillers inside. "Seriously… How does Naruhata always end up with freaks like those, even after nearly everyone's disappeared?"

"I believe we both know how these Villains exist, Mr. Oguro." Nezu replied, noting how the man didn't seem surprised that he used his real name. "That said, you are right. The kids are safe, and that should be enough for now."

Just then, an explosion rang out from behind the flaming tanker truck that had blocked their retreat. From behind the blaze a flash of light was seen, and Nezu remembered that his students had been radio silent for a while now.

"Can I leave you to watch the children, Mr. Oguro? I believe my student needs me." Nezu said, and the man gave a wave in acknowledgement as he began running on all fours down the sole alleyway out of their current location.

'Reinforcements should be here soon. I can only hope Young Midoriya has learned enough from my lessons to hold out for a bit longer.'

"Detroit Smash!"

Nine let out a sigh as he summoned a couple layers of circular shields with Air Wall. As the energy around the Deku's fist began to glow, he swung forward in a punch much stronger than usual.

But still not enough to break his barrier.

Nine released the air pressure gathered in the shields and watched the little Hero fly like a ragdoll down the street. He would have found the sight amusing, if it wasn't the dozenth time he'd seen it tonight. The boy landed and rolled to his feat immediately upon landing and rushed forward to repeat the process again.

'This has been utterly droll.' Nine had decided as he mindlessly shot his Laser Bullets forward, not even bothering to aim as he knew his opponent would dodge easily. It had been fun at first to try and figure out his opponents numerous Quirks, but after some time it became clear he had little control over them.

First there was his strength augmentation, which he was only using a quarter of at most. It was obvious that the only reason he wasn't using more was due to not being able to withstand the power.

Then there was his warning system that flashed in Nine's eyes whenever he attempted an attack. Combined with his boosted body, he could dodge almost any attack Nines threw out.

After fighting some time, the third ability would form on his limbs, allowing for a momentary increase in strength. His opponent was quite clever at using these bursts to try and sneak past Nine's guard, but each attempt had failed so far.

The smokescreen technique was utterly ineffective against Nine, as Scanning could easily bypass the potential hazard. The only reason the boy seemed to use it now was to annoy Nine.

He could tell there were more Quirks hiding in his body. But it was likely that he was unable to use them, judging by the lack of use despite the current stalemate. Though Nine had to be careful. He could see one Quirks color almost writhe within the boy's body with each failed attack, as if waiting for a chance to escape.

'Enough of this.' Nine finally decided. He should stop playing with his food. It was only a matter of time before his opponent either awakened a new Quirk or went past his limits in a suicidal attack. Either of which would prove a headache to Nine.

He turned away from Deku, running toward the children within the still unmoving truck. He saw out of the corner of his eyes the way Deku panicked and jumped towards him with less focus than before. Instead of putting up an Air Wall immediately, he backstepped quickly in a feint so that his opponents attacked whiffed right where he had been standing. Nine then held a hand over his defenseless opponent.

"Game over." A disc of wind immediately formed and released above Deku's head, slamming him into the pavement. Just for good measure, he summoned a couple more blasts, until the Hero lay unmoving in the indented concrete. Nine picked the boy up by the helmet, pressing a button to reveal his face. Deku barely appeared conscious as he gripped his forehead in his hands, calling upon All for One.

"Now then, what's yours is mine." Nine said as he felt himself 'grip' Deku's Quirk with his own. He tried to pull it into himself but found after a few moments that nothing was happening. "What?"

He forced as much strength as he could into All for One, but no matter how hard he pulled, something seemed to pull back. With Scanning, he could see the lights of Deku's Quirk fight against his in a united front, fighting back against his assault with ease.

'It's not just a matter of insufficient space then? But the boy's barely conscious! How is he fighting against my power so easily?' Nine stared down at his opponent with frustration. As he did, he saw one of the lights reach into his own for a single moment. Before he could try and grab it, a voice echoed in his head.

"You aren't worthy of this power. Begone."

As soon as the voice cut off, so did All for One's grip. Deku's eyes focused as Nine's hands literally flew from him with seemingly explosive force, immediately balling up a fist.

"Texas Smash!" Deku shouted as the very wind bent with his swing.

Nine could see through Scanning that this attack was far beyond the strength he had released before, but with both hands still recoiling from his failed use of All for One, he could only stare as the attack connected and he was sent flying across the street.

It was as if he had been struck by a whirlwind, and he landing roughly near the intersection next to the flaming tanker truck. He stared up in rage for the first time since he awoke. How dare some child overpower the legendary Quirk of All for One so effortlessly.

"You bastard…" Nine growled, feeling his breathing grow ragged as the wind began to shift. As he saw Deku standing yet again, he pulled further on the skies above. He could wipe him off the face of the earth in a single moment. It didn't matter if Nine suffered the usual drawbacks of Weather Manipulation, not with the Quirk to heal himself just out of reach.

'Wait, what is he doing?' Nine saw the Hero saying something as he held a hand to the side of his helmet. Before he could stop him, Deku launched forward. He let out an Air Wall to defend himself, but Izuku instead began to circle around him as smoke flew from his body. 'He knows I can still see him with Scanning. What is that boy planning?'

As Nine watched Deku circle him, the sound of an engine rippled through the fog. He quickly snapped around to where the U.A. Truck had last been, expecting to see them escaping, and sure enough the three children's lights were moving away slowly. But despite that, the sound of the engine continued to grow louder, and he glanced around with Scanning wildly while trying to keep one eye on his opponent.

'What is going on here?! I had assumed that the boy had been the one driving. Don't tell me that there was a Quirkless driver! And is the truck leaving or approaching? I can't see it though the smokescreen!' Two actual lights began to peak through the fog, and Nine spun to face them, producing a multiple layered Air Wall moments before the armored truck bowled him over. As he pushed against the vehicle, he quickly realized what his opponents plan was. Glancing over his shoulder, he could see Deku had moved to attack exactly opposite of the truck.

'He knew that both my offense and defense came from my hands and coordinated with an ally to lock up my use of them. Clever.' Nine admitted, as he saw the attack fly towards his seemingly vulnerable back. But unfortunately, he was well aware of such weakness, and had planned accordingly. He would be sure to savor the look on the boy's face the exact moment his warning sense kicked in. The way confidence shifted to horror.

"Wha-?!" Deku was immediately cut off as a giant snake-like appendage flew out of Nine's back and grabbed him in its jaws. The blue serpent raised him up, before flying into the pavement and attempting to crush him.

"So, you've forced me to use another Quirk." Nine said, staring as the serpent pushed Deku into the pavement mercilessly. With a release of Air Wall's pressure, he finally sent the truck flying back and over, and it flipped onto its back with a clang. "I was planning to finish you another way, but this seems much more effective. Hydra is quite fun to control in its own right."

"Grraah!" Deku cried out as Hydra's head chomped down, crushing the boy even further. Nine stared at the boy for a few moments before calling the serpent to raise him off the pavement. "You certainly have a useful Quirk, and I want it. But for some reason you can resist All for One's effect."

"You can never have One for All!" Deku spat out, letting out another cry as Nine squeezed the Hydra's jaw.

"I happen to know someone who's very knowledgeable about Quirks. I'm sure they'll be able to truly determine the validity of that statement." Nine responded smugly. He pointed a finger at the boy's legs that dangled beneath the Hydra's jaw. "But I need you to stay out of trouble in the meantime."

Multiple beams shot through Deku's legs with Laser Bullets, and Nine tossed him roughly back onto the floor a moment later. Seeing that his opponent had been thoroughly defeated for the time being, he turned back to the children, ready to finally take that much needed Quirk for himself.

"C'mon! We need to get the hell out of here!" Kota ran down the street, Katsuma and Eri not far behind him. The moment that the Villain pulled out that weird snake Quirk out of his back, Kota knew they needed to run away.

He knew it was stupid to have relied on an idiotic Hero.

The three of them had barely made it a few feet before a purple beam shot past and turned a garbage can ahead of them into a ball of flames.

"Ah!" Kota tripped back at the force, and the others were knocked over as well. He looked over his shoulder to see the Villain approaching slowly, Deku laying on the ground far behind him. He gave them all a look with his glowing eyes, before turning to stare at Katsuma specifically.

"So, you're the one with the Quirk I need." The man said mysteriously. "You have some sort of Cellular Activation Quirk, yes? Hand it over already."

'This guy want's Katsuma's Quirk?' Kota thought, seeing the other boy panic at being addressed directly by the Villain.

"W-What?" Katsuma looked up at the Villain with tears in his eyes. Kota could tell he was clearly afraid. Eri appeared to be frightened as well but was eerily quiet, as if too afraid to make a sound. The two of them were huddled together on the ground, watching as the Villain slowly approached.

'If they are just after Katsuma, then I'm okay, right? I can leave and he won't care at all. He wouldn't want a weak Quirk like mine.' Kota thought as he got to his feet. The Villain and Katsuma's attention were focused on each other. If he ran right now, he would get to live. He didn't have to get involved in this.

'There's no point getting in a stupid fight!'

He took a single step.

'That Villain's so much stronger, so it'd basically be suicide to even try!'

He took another one.

'I've barely known Katsuma for a few days! I don't even know this girl! Why would I ever stick my neck out for them?!'

He practically shouted the words in his own head, taking a final step… forward.

Before Kota could even realize it, he was standing between the other kids and the Villain. He had his arms outstretched, ready to use his own Quirk.

"Oh?" The Villain stared down at him with amusement. "You saw how this went for the boy before. Why would you even try?"

'Why?!' Kota screamed at himself, shaking in his boots. 'He's right! Why did I do this? Why would I risk my life for someone I don't even know instead of running away?! Who would do something like this?!'

A hero would.

His parents did.

'Oh… I think I get it now.'

He stared up at the Villain with a sudden burst of determination. "B-Because that's what my parents would do! They'd stand up to a shitty Villain like you, no matter how tough you said you were!"

"Is that so?" The Villain quirked an eyebrow, before raising a hand. "Then they sounded like true fools."

"No, they weren't fools! They were Heroes!" Kota shouted, firing off his Water Gun Quirk as hard as he could.

The villain summoned a barrier from his hands, blocking the measly attack with ease. A moment later there was a burst of wind, and him and the rest of the kids were sent flying through the air.

"Kota!"

He heard Katsuma shout out in concern, and he saw his friend's concerned face below him. He had seemingly taken the brunt of the attack and flew higher into the air than the other two. They might walk away with a couple bruises due to his actions, but Kota knew that he wouldn't be so lucky.

'Guess this was expected, huh?' Kota thought as he began to fall back to the road face first. It sucked, but something told him he'd have felt even worse if he had simply ran. He closed his eyes right before he hit the ground, accepting the pain.

"Damn it!" Izuku cursed as he crawled after Nine, who was walking towards the children completely uncontested.

He tried to get on his feet, only to stumble back onto the ground after only a step. Pain coursed through his legs from the holes Nine had just put in them, but Izuku kept moving forward despite it. As he saw one of the boy's move in front of the others, he began thinking at a mad pace.

'What can I do? Smokescreen wouldn't matter to him, Danger Sense is only a reactive ability, and I couldn't charge Fa Jin even if I wanted too!' He brought another hand forward to pull himself forward. 'Could I use a 100% Smash? Try and blow him away? No. I wouldn't be able to throw an attack with enough force on the ground, even if he didn't block it. Think! Think damn it! What else can I do?'

As he pulled himself forward with his arm, his mind went back to what Nezu had told him before, and he thought of a solution.

'The Fifth's Blackwhip!' Izuku lifted his hand forward, trying to picture the black tendrils he had seen in the images before. He felt something building up under his skin, but after a few futile pushes, his arm flopped limply to the floor.

"Shit!" He couldn't help but curse out in frustration, staring at his fist. Why wasn't it working? He could feel some sort of new power flowing throughout his body, making it clear that Blackwhip was ready to be awakened. But no matter how he pushed, nothing came out.

'Is there some sort of activation requirement that I don't know about? It's clearly more complicated than the other Quirks I've used, but even then, why does it not activate at all?!' He felt something flow through him with each wave of annoyance. He needed this Quirk to save someone, yet couldn't use it. What was he missing?!

He heard Eri scream out, and he looked back up just in time to see Nine launch her and the two boys into the air with one of his Quirks. The moment he saw them go flying, he felt something in him snap, and a swarm of black exploded from him.

[Quirk #5 | Output: 10000 AP]

"YOU BASTARD!" Izuku felt himself scream in rage as a wave of black appendages flew across the street. How dare he hurt Eri! How dare he try and hurt these kids! That bastard would pay! He won't hurt them ever again!

Three of the tendrils shot past Nine in a blur, catching the children mere moments before they hit the ground. As they were lifted back towards Izuku, Nine turned in confusion.

"What?!" Nine exclaimed, turning right as the dozens of tentacles produced from Izuku wrapped around him in a crushing grip. The Villains hands were pushed against his sides, and his back was completely covered as well. Izuku raised his other arm and a second wave of Blackwhip shot forward, encasing the Hydra head that tried to emerge to the ground. Nine looked over at him enraged. "This is-! Another Quirk, now?!"

"I won't let you hurt anyone anymore!" Izuku growled out as the tendrils set the three children down behind him. They then joined the rest of them in keeping Nine still. He grunted in pain but didn't drop Blackwhip for a single second, vaguely noticing a warning pop up in the corner of his vision.

[Warning! Current output is beyond projected limit! Please cease use of Quirk immediately!]

'No! I can't stop now! Not until everyone is safe!' Izuku thought, feeling the strain in his arms. The right arm with the Full Gauntlet was less damaged, but he could already feel the muscles tear and bones fracturing in his left arm. But that didn't matter! He could see Nine try and produce lasers and shields from his hands at his side to cut and blast away the swarm of black energy. But anytime he landed a hit another whip was produced from Izuku's arm.

"Damn you! I'm so close to realizing my dream!" Nine cried out, struggling against the restraints. Izuku merely tightened the tendrils, and he let gasped breaths as the air was squeezed from his lungs. "You-! I'll... Kill… You!"

Izuku ignored his ramblings, focusing on trying to wrestle enough control of Blackwhip to properly knock the Villain out of commission. All he could think about was crushing this bastard with his Quirk. Normally he would be worried about such violent thoughts, but it appeared that they were what was powering Blackwhip, so he'd just have to keep it coming for now.

'Let's see, what else gets me angry? Villains, hurting kids, bullying those weaker than you, random explosions… hmm, I think these all have a common link.' Izuku noticed as he tried to keep his focus from faltering while his arms were being ripped apart by the violent force of his newly emerged Quirk.

"That's… it! You die… Now!" Nine screamed out through the crushing force.

Danger Sense exploded in Izuku's head, and he barely had time to knock the children away with Blackwhip before a bolt of lightning fell from the sky. Millions of Volts suddenly flowed through him, and the black energy dispersed in a flash of light.

"Ah… Uhhh…" Izuku could barely even speak as he lay limp on the pavement, twitching from the electricity that flowed through his body. He couldn't even hear, as the lightning strike had produced an explosive sound greater than anything he'd heard even Bakugo's Explosion produce.

But his eyes still worked, and he could see Nine standing free. The man looked worse for wear but was still standing and walking towards them, if unevenly.

'Not yet!' Izuku spasmed as he tried to move his hands forward. Luckily the overwhelming pain from the lightning had overwritten the pain in his arms from Blackwhip, and he flopped his right hand in front of him, Full Gauntlet still enveloping it, but heavily damaged. 'I've still got a shot! I won't stop yet!'

He brought his finger back, as if to flick the air. He called on 100% of One for All, and aimed square at Nine. As Nine noticed the attack and began to create an Air Wall, Izuku released one final attack.

"Delaware Smash!"

With a flick of his finger, a great blast of wind shot forward as the Full Gauntlet finally crumbled to pieces. Nine's shield held for a moment, before breaking and Nine was sent flying himself. He landed roughly on the ground, unlike previous attacks, and took far longer to get back on his feet.

But get back on his feet Nine did. Izuku panicked for a moment as the Villain took a step forward, but it immediately turned to confusion when he leaned over and violently coughed up blood onto the road beneath him. As Nine fell to his knees due to his coughing fit, Izuku stared in bewilderment.

'There's no way I've done enough internal damage to cause that, even with Blackwhip. And that Delaware Smash broke through his defense like wet tissue paper, even in my weakened condition. What's going on?' Nine appeared to be struggling to even stand now, and his attempts to approach could be better equated to hobbling. Izuku noticed that Nine wasn't looking at him anymore, but was staring at the boy behind him. 'Is this why he needed that boy's Quirk? Is it some form of healing?'

As Izuku's hearing slowly returned to his ears he heard tires screech, and a couple police cars came wheeling around the corner. He let out a sigh of relief at the sight. 'Reinforcements… finally!' He turned back to Nine, who still had a look of insane determination despite the blood leaking from his mouth. It seemed that he was going to either get that Quirk he wanted or die trying.

It seemed that not everyone got that message however, as a great shadow passed overhead. A second later a flying version of one of those Frankenstein monsters appeared, grabbing Nine in its clutches and flew off with three others in its arms.

"No! I'm so close! Turn around! It's right there!"

He could hear Nine's deranged shouts as his pet monster dragged him off to safety, but Izuku filtered them out as he tried to look back to make sure Eri was okay.

"Izuku!"

Sure enough, he could see Eri running over to him, along with the two boys. Out of the corner of his eyes, he also saw Melissa climb out of the overturned truck. She appeared fine, with only a couple bruises from getting thrown around in her seat, and immediately ran over to him as well.

"Oh my god, Izuku! Are you okay?!" Melissa cried out, looking like she wanted to help him up but was too afraid of making his injuries worse.

"H-Hey Melissa." Izuku tried to croak out, feeling his body struggle to breath correctly. "Sorry, but I totally broke your gauntlet, along with the rest of the Costume-"

"I'm not worried about that right now, you idiot!" Melissa cried, before letting out a sigh. "Please worry about yourself for once. You're a lot harder to replace than some pieces of equipment."

"S-Sorry… old habit." Izuku said.

"Izuku, are you going to be okay?" Eri asked sadly as she stared down at his crumpled form.

"I'll live." Izuku said, hopefully telling the truth. "I just need some bed rest. Don't worry."

"I-I think I can help." One of the boy's said, stepping forward. "My Quirk won't be able to fix everything, but it should help heal you."

Eri turned to the boy desperately. "Please help my big brother, please!"

"Eri…" Izuku couldn't help but smile despite the pain. That Eri thought of him so importantly made him happy. The boy did as Eri pleaded, and a green light began to sparkle from him to Izuku. As the light spread, he could feel parts of his body slowly begin to repair, confirming his suspicions. 'No wonder Nine wanted this Quirk. It really can heal someone.'

Flashing red and white lights drew his attention, and everyone looked up to see an ambulance rush around the corner and park next to the police cars. The officers turned towards the sudden appearance with guns raised, but a woman's voice rang out.

"Wait, don't shoot! I'm a Nurse!" A woman's voice shouted as two hands poked out the side window. The door opened and a lady that appeared in her early twenties wearing nurse's scrubs emerged. "I'm from Jaku General Hospital! I had heard about U.A. needing help with the children and rushed over, but then I heard something about Villains?" She looked around confused, before crossing eyes with Izuku. "I know it was stupid to come but I was worried someone was hurt. Please, let me help!"

The officers looked between each other for a moment, before giving the Nurse the go-ahead. She quickly grabbed a stretcher from the back of the ambulance and wheeled it over to Izuku. As the officers helped her put him on it, she took his hand.

"Don't worry, Hero sir." She said with a kind smile as he pushed her into the Ambulance. "I won't let you out of my sight for a second."

"Thank god! you came just in time!" Melissa said as she and the kids followed them into the ambulance. "You're a real lifesaver miss…?"

"Oh, sorry where are my manners! I'm a Nurse from Jaku General Hospital. My name is Kagome Mirai." She said, introducing herself before bowing politely, hiding her smirk. "I greatly look forward to returning to U.A. with the rest of you."

Next Chapter: Hearth and Home