Izuku pulls Eri close to his chest, gently pressing her head into the crook of his shoulder. "I need to protect you, okay?" he murmurs, "Try not to let go."
He darts into the mess of spiked pillars without a second thought, doing his best to keep the two of them out of sight as he makes his way closer to the exit. His heart thunders in his chest as they take shelter behind an outcropping of rock. He presses his back into the stone, listening to the ongoing fight. The hole they'd crawled in through is still a good thirty feet away, but if Nighteye and Lemillion can distract Overhaul for long enough they'll be able to make it. If he can find the other heroes, find Aizawa, then their win here will be guaranteed.
Izuku holds Eri tighter, giving himself a moment to breathe before he takes off again. There's more shouting from behind him as Lemillion's tossed in their direction, half phasing through the floor in an attempt to slow his momentum.
Izuku's quick to find shelter again. Overhaul had likely forgotten about the exit he'd carved through the wall for now, but if the villain thinks for even a moment that they could use it to escape with Eri he'd undoubtedly seal it again.
Lemillion rushes back into the fight, landing a solid kick in Overhaul's side with assistance from Nighteye.
Another few moments and he could try again for the exit. Izuku's gaze trails up to the way out, surprised when he finds two figures framed by the crumbling hole in the wall, familiar in all the best ways. Something hopeful flutters in his chest at the sight of Aizawa and Naomasa, looking for any of the others behind them, finding none.
"Red!" Aizawa barks wasting no time in leaping down, Naomasa hot on his trail. The shout, unfortunately, garners Overhaul's attention.
Izuku can see from the corner of his eye when Overhaul slams a hand into the ground next to Chronos' body. A single spike erupts from the ground before stalling only a foot into its journey, dwarfed by those surrounding it. Aizawa's eyes burn a brilliant red as he streaks past Izuku, headed straight toward the villain.
There's a furious growl from Overhaul: "ERASER!"
Naomasa reaches Izuku soon after, trying to pull him towards the opening into the hall. "Come on, kid!" But Izuku hesitates, watching Aizawa and Nighteye as they coordinate an attack against Overhaul. This could be it after all. This could be the end of the chapter he'd left unwritten. This could be the conclusion of everything Piper had worked for.
With Eri in his arms and Overhaul on the ropes. This could be his epilogue.
There's a streak of white that whips out from beside Overhaul, and at first, Izuku thinks it's Aizawa's capture weapon. But, it's arrow-like, bursting not from around the hero's neck but instead from the cover of Chronos' hood. Aizawa doesn't have enough time to dodge, barely managing to avoid the attack where it grazes past his cheek, drawing a thin stripe of blood as Chronos pushes himself up on shaking limbs.
"Those hit by the minute hand—" he mutters, "must slow down."
Izuku and Naomasa shout his name in unison as the hero's stride stutters: "Eraser!"
The detective rushes forward, weapon drawn. Chronos pauses, hair hovering around his head in the shape of pointed arrows. Aizawa tries to look back at Naomasa, head inching towards him in minuscule increments as he fights against the effects of the villain's quirk.
Naomasa throws a furtive glance his way.
This is all it takes for the villain to take his chance, arrow-tipped hair whipping towards him. Naomasa fires the gun without hesitation, catching the man in the shoulder and sending him back with a cry of pain, hair falling uselessly back around his face.
Overhaul regains quick control of his quirk as Aizawa's eyes fall off him, sending spiked pillars toward Nighteye and Lemillion, forcing them to retreat back. They keep him distracted as Naomasa rushes to help Aizawa.
"Come on, Eraser," Naomasa grunts, slinging the man's arm around his neck, taking the brunt of his weight as he drags him away from the fight.
"Eraser!" Nighteye bellows. He sends another high-density stamp flying towards Overhaul. It clips the edge of a newly forming spike that the villain raises instead, sending out a shower of rock and dust.
Naomasa settles Aizawa up against one of the pillars, reaching over to carefully peel one of Aizawa's eyelids open. Overhaul's next attack fails as the hero's eye burns a brilliant red. He takes a hard punch from Lemillion in the process, knocking the mask from his face.
Beneath it, he is no more than a man, his face twisted with rage and rapid bruising. There's blood trickling from his nose, from his cheek, from a gash above his brow. There is fury in his eyes, the likes of which sends a spark of terror through Izuku as he looks on.
He cannot fight with the girl in his arms, cannot afford to put her in danger. He takes a careful step back, closer to the exit. He takes another, and another. He should've left when Naomasa told him to.
He wants to see the end of Overhaul, now that he's here, now that he's this close. But Eri is still in danger.
For now, this is enough.
Eri is enough.
Movement comes back to Aizawa slowly, too slowly for such a fight and it's not long before Naomasa's grip on his eyelid slips with a loud curse.
Overhaul's eyes are drawn to the detective, to Izuku who spins and races towards the exit, to Eri who's clutched securely in his arms.
The hole in the wall reseals itself before Izuku can reach it, rock smoothing over as if it had never existed to begin with. The boy skids to a halt with dawning horror.
"None of you will leave here alive," Overhaul snarls. He swipes at the blood beneath his nose with a scowl. It's a threat, a promise that Izuku can feel deep within his marrow as he turns slowly to face the villain that'd once killed him.
To the villain's right, Chronos keeps a careful hand pressed against his shoulder, expression marred with a pained scowl as he leans against a pillar for support. He's shaking too much to keep steady for long. Pain and blood loss send a tremor through his limbs.
Overhaul casts a quick glare back at him. "Make yourself useful, Chrono." He tosses a case of something at Chronos who catches it with a hiss of pain before Overhaul's power spreads through the ground, the terrain smooths out around them momentarily before it explodes again. Knife-sharp spikes of earth burst from the floor; shouts go up. Izuku throws himself back with a curse when one shoots up less than a foot in front of him.
Naomasa struggles to help Aizawa back to his feet as the effects of the villain's quirk wears off. They don't see the newly loaded gun Chronos carefully levels at them.
"Do us a favor," the man grunts, "and test our latest formula." He doesn't have to be a steady shot to hit a sitting target.
Izuku's eyes widen, arms tightening around Eri as a shout rips through his throat: "Detective!" Izuku won't reach them in time, can't jeopardize the girl in his arms. He runs forward anyways.
His desperation crescendos.
The gun goes off just as Lemillion throws himself between Chronos and the others, boots skidding across the ground as he slides to a halt, cape fluttering out behind him, dust kicking up around his feet. His arms are spread wide to cover more area, to protect Aizawa at all costs. Aizawa––the only one with a chance of stopping Overhaul's quirk.
Eri flinches at the sound of the gun firing, clinging to him tighter. Soft reassurances lodge themselves in his throat as he finds cover to duck behind. His heart pounds heavy in his esophagus––pulse a living thing with a mind of its own.
Lemillion takes the dart-like bullet with a grunt. Nighteye is yelling something; Aizawa is still seconds too slow to have any sort of meaningful reaction.
Izuku bites at the inside of his cheek. He chances a peek towards Lemillion just in time to see him pull the dart from his shoulder, discarding it amongst the uneven terrain. He takes a confident step forward before faltering, looking down at himself in confusion. He raises his hands, turning them over.
There's a laugh from Overhaul at the sight, breathless, relieved. "Eri will help us cure the disease that has spread through hero society!" he pants, "This is... just the beginning..."
"My quirk's gone!" Lemillion warns with a shout, eyes wide before he clenches his fists, determination settling like a fire under his skin as he gets a running start for Chronos.
Izuku, in turn, feels something cold seep into his chest, something bottomless, something heavy. They hadn't prepared for something like this––bullets that could disable one's quirk. Was it permanent? Temporary? Either way, they can't afford for Aizawa's quirk to fail here for even a moment.
"The power of the girl you're trying to save..." Overhaul shouts, "will rob you of everything you've worked so hard to achieve! It will reduce this world to nothing!"
Izuku feels useless here, even with the girl in his arms. What has he done? What can he do?
Eri shivers in his hold and Izuku glances down at her. Eri's power gave her the ability to reverse time on someone, she'd healed Izuku's wounds that way all those months ago, reopening old ones in their stead. The heroes had theorized that the Shie Hassaikai had been using her for those healing abilities. But what Overhaul was saying... it seems like it was far more than that.
A blunt pillar slams into Lemillion from the side, throwing him towards Nighteye. The hero just manages to catch him, eyes going wide behind his glasses as a wall bursts from the floor with a deafening rumble, sealing them off from the rest of the group.
They can just hear shouting from the other side, barely audible through the rock.
Naomasa twists Aizawa around, shielding the hero with his body as a second shot goes off. A dart slams into Naomasa's back.
"Eraserhead!" Overhaul barks viciously from across the room, "You have to hit Eraserhead!" Aizawa's capture weapon whips out in time with the words, yanking the gun from Chronos' hold
before it can be used again. The hero drags himself away from Naomasa, eyes a glaring red, hair half risen around his shoulders. His eyes remain steady on Overhaul, preventing another wave of spiked terrain, but his capture weapon sweeps around Chronos, pulling the startled villain towards the hero as he drives a knee straight into his face. There's a sharp crack as Chronos collapses, making no move to get back up.
With Aizawa back in the fray, Izuku rushes towards Naomasa, crouching next to him as the man pulls the dart from the padding of his vest, unharmed. A breath Izuku hadn't realized he'd been holding escapes him. "You're alright then?" Izuku asks warily, casting a glance over his shoulder at the ongoing fight.
The fight has only just begun and Aizawa isn't anywhere near losing, but he won't be able to keep his eyes on Overhaul forever. It's a split-second decision that has Izuku shifting Eri in his hold, preparing to pass her over to Naomasa, resolve hardening in his eyes. Eri clings to him a little tighter. "He's safe," Izuku reassures her, "He'll protect you." She looks up at him, cherry eyes swirling with reluctance—fear—and the last thing he wants to do is let go after he'd spent so long tracking her down. But her fingers uncurl slowly from his vest; she offers him a barely-there nod. His attention returns to Naomasa. "Take her," he murmurs, and the irony of the situation doesn't escape him. Piper had once entrusted Eri's case with the man kneeling before him, the same man that now takes the girl into his arms with an amount of care even Piper had never borne witness to. It's a mixture of worry, a strained relief.
"But–"
"Find somewhere to hide," Izuku instructs, casting another backward glance at Aizawa. "Eraser won't be able to hold him off forever, not alone."
Naomasa looks like he wants to argue, even with the girl already in his arms. Because Izuku is only a teenager, one that shouldn't be expected to face off against a villain the likes of Overhaul— not like Piper had. But they've been cut off from Nighteye and Lemillion, and Aizawa is fighting alone, and out of the two of them, Izuku is better suited to take on this fight. Even though he shouldn't have to––even though he's just a kid.
Naomasa nods, tucking Eri closer to his chest. "Be safe." There's a glint of a promise in their eyes, emerald and dark obsidian, both hardened with resolve, both prepared to make a liar of the man who'd said they'd die here.
Izuku rises, staff settling in his palm, extending out in preparation of what was to come. He doubts Reo would be happy with the current situation. Because Izuku was about to face Eri's captor, his killer. And he's scared, like anyone would be, but he's angry too. Angry at the man who had stolen Eri's childhood; who had killed him, leaving scars that could be observed but not seen.
In his chest a red eye burns like a blazing sun—Piper who was dead—Piper who had never quite died.
Overhaul casts a frenzied fistful of dirt at Aizawa's face, expression twisted with disgust. The hero stumbles back, eyes pinching shut as Izuku rushes forward. He intercepts the hand that reaches out toward Aizawa with the intent to kill. His staff slams into Overhaul's wrist with a sharp crack that has the villain pulling back, cradling it to his chest with a hiss of pain. He heals it in the few moments Aizawa's eyes are still off him, but Izuku doesn't slow his assault. His staff spins dangerously between his hands, movements well practiced, easy, mindless. He takes a wide swing for Overhaul's head, the villain dropping low, hands slamming into the ground, but Aizawa's eyes are back on him, hair rising back around his shoulders.
"Chrono!" Overhaul barks desperately, backed against invisible ropes. Chronos does not rise. "Eri!" he snaps, a final wretched attempt at control. The name is like a command, his voice dark, murderous. "Don't you remember what I told you about the last person that tried to 'save' you?! You'll only kill them if you try to stay!"
Fury slams through Izuku, a silent snarl on his lips when there's a shout from Naomasa. He risks a single glance back, barely catching sight of the detective stopping Eri with a firm hand around her arm. She strains against the hold, but eventually gives in with a frustrated sob, falling back into his chest.
Izuku swings a vicious kick towards Overhaul climbing spikes digging into the villain's palm where he raises his hand to block the attack. Blood patters against the ground, soaking greedily into the dry earth. Overhaul curses, pulling back when Izuku raises his boot again, slamming it down to just catch the edge of the villain's coat as he throws himself back. Aizawa's capture weapon whips out to wrap around the villain, pinning one arm to his side.
The other one reaches for Izuku.
Overhaul's hand wraps tightly around his ankle, yanking hard to unbalance Izuku and for a moment the boy thinks he's dying again. There's no spark of a quirk beneath his palm but for a moment it feels as if the hand around his ankle burns furiously, as hot as the hands of the first criminal he'd ever stopped. For a moment he's suffocating beneath the blazing heat of the USJ; for a moment he's faced with the fist of a monster; for a moment he's stood on a dark street as Overhaul's hand brushes against his. His chest rises with a choked breath, memories flickering as he throws himself away from the villain, all but crawling–– desperate for distance.
He falls back, keeping low to the ground. His ponytail falls out, hair fanning around his shoulders and slipping into his face. It clings to his forehead where sweat has formed, brushing against his lashes. His eyes are fully dilated, blown wide with an overwhelming fear as Aizawa reaches to steady him.
And there must be something in that moment that Overhaul hangs onto: a memory, or a feeling of some kind. A gentle furrow of his brow, a slight narrowing of his eyes as if he's studying something particularly annoying.
Izuku takes another shuddering breath, letting Aizawa's touch ground him as he's pulled back to his feet.
There's a spark of recognition in Overhaul's eyes. "I know you," he growls, slowly pushing himself up from the ground, still half-bound.
Izuku stills in shock, resting some of his weight against the hero holding him up. His emotions flare wildly, uncontrollable and all-consuming–– fear, terror, dread.
"Surprise," Izuku croaks, panic threatening to choke him.
Chisaki Kai, alias Overhaul. He doesn't know how the villain keeps recognizing him.
Maybe it's because Izuku's the only one crazy enough to keep coming back.
Overhaul's scowl deepens. "I warned you what would happen the next time you got in my way."
Beside him, Aizawa tenses but does not look away as Izuku pulls away, steadying himself. He falls into a defensive stance, body following familiar moves even when his mind stalls. His mouth proceeds without him: "Seems I'm not very good at listening."
Aizawa's hand falls away from Izuku as he takes a similar stance next to him. "A fatal flaw of yours," Overhaul sneers.
"Fatal?" Izuku laughs nervously, grip tightening around his staff. "I don't know about that. I have no plans on dying today."
"Few people ever do," the man responds coldly. "You certainly didn't the last time we met, now did you?"
Izuku swallows, eyes flickering to Aizawa. "Can't say that I did."
"Red—" Aizawa rumbles, a warning, a question.
Overhaul's lip pulls up in disgust, ignoring the hero. "Despite your notorious title of vigilante, it seems that you are, in the end, nothing but a child, Piper."
He spits the name like a curse as Izuku freezes, heart plunging low. A black hole yawns open, dragging him with it. Despite Aizawa's steady glare, Izuku feels as if the ground is crumbling beneath him. It takes far less than a touch to undo him, a simple word—a single name.
Piper.
It takes everything he has in him not to glance at Aizawa, at Naomasa who has undoubtedly heard as well. Maybe they won't understand the jab. Maybe they'll understand it all too well. Maybe this is how he's found out as the final puzzle piece clatters before them, glaringly obvious.
Izuku's body jerks into motion, staff crackling with electricity. There's an indescribable mix of emotions swelling within him, rising like the sun over the sea. A boiling lake of fury and terror and righteous judgment cast out in the blow that breezes across Overhaul's chest. Anger and fear, he finds, aren't so far separated. Electricity dances along the villain's skin, biting as he stumbles back with a snarl. "You're sick, did you know?" Overhaul spits, "You've got a disease. But you're the anomaly! You wanted to be a hero, Piper?! Despite being powerless––despite having no quirk! You keep coming back!" Overhaul yells, belligerent, "A normal person wouldn't be so stupid! People will give up once their quirks are gone! They won't be so brave–so foolish!" he shouts, face twisted with a rage beyond reason, "They wouldn't dare to mess with us then; I'll revive the Hassaikai. That's what I set out to do. You're all infected...with that modern idea, but... with Eri's power––" he pants, struggling against his restraints, "I'll cure you heroes!"
He gets his free hand around Aizawa's capture weapon before throwing himself behind the nearest pillar, dragging himself out of the hero's eyeline. It takes only a moment for the world to explode around them. Izuku raises an arm to shield his face, Aizawa's capture weapon ripping away from Overhaul to snag Izuku by his torso, yanking him out of the way. The hero catches him, righting him back on his feet. "Careful," Aizawa states, something soft in his voice that neither have time to unpack, "Don't go dying on me, kid."
Izuku nods and they break apart, flanking the villain on either side as Aizawa's quirk reactivates. Izuku sweeps their surroundings with a careful eye, finding Naomasa and Eri tucked behind one of the newly formed spikes. There's a gash on Naomasa's arm, bleeding sluggishly, but he holds Eri tightly to him regardless. The detective's eyes are wide, flickering with some unanswered something as he tracks Izuku across the battlefield.
The fight is a ruthless one, even with Aizawa's quirk all it takes is a single blink, a single moment of broken eye contact to put their lives back on the line. It's a dance, a back and forth, a push and
pull. Izuku lands a harsh blow to Overhaul's ribs and receives a vicious kick in retaliation. Aizawa's leg is bleeding from some stray attack and Izuku's definitely sporting what feels like a sprained ankle, but neither of them can afford to stop, to stall, to hesitate for even a moment. And all Naomasa can do is watch as it plays out.
Because Piper is alive; because Piper is Midoriya––Reo's best friend. The kid that'd been hiding under his nose all this time. All those months ago when he'd interviewed the boy his statement: 'I'm not a vigilante' had come back as a lie. But Midoriya had explained the phenomenon away and Naomasa hadn't even thought to push any deeper. He'd spent months chasing Piper's shadow, desperate to help.
And then Piper died. Or, at least, that's what everyone was made to believe. But Piper is fighting just ahead of him. He has a new name, a new disguise, but underneath it all the same boy remains.
Midoriya Izuku.
He'd never been able to save Piper. And even now he feels powerless to prevent this fight, to save anyone.
Then his eyes find Chronos' unconscious form, trailing to the discarded gun laying just out of the villain's reach, still loaded with bullets engineered to suppress quirks in a way they'd never seen before.
The detective finds himself standing without realizing, weaving his way toward the weapon; Eri tucked close to his chest. He bends, the gun a familiar weight in his hand. "Eri," he murmurs
softly, "I need you to cover your ears." The girl looks up at him with wide eyes and he can understand fully now why Piper had never stopped his pursuit to save her. "You and me, we're gonna keep him from hurting anyone else, yeah?" There's fear in her eyes, bravery in her actions as she presses her hands up to her ears, giving him a firm nod, signaling that she's ready.
Naomasa's aim is as steady as it's always been. He waits calmly for his opening, the whirlwind of discoveries safely stowed in his chest for the moment. He needs a clear mind, a firm demeanor, as he tracks Overhaul's movements, seizing the first opportunity he receives. Even with an unfamiliar gun in his hand, he doesn't miss. The dart takes an unsuspecting Overhaul in the back, sending him jerking forward with a surprised grunt. Izuku's staff catches him in the temple seconds after, snapping his head to the side. The villain stumbles a step, blinking sluggishly.
"I should've... kept you dead that day––" Overhaul struggles to right himself. He shakes his head, expression wrought with fury. "Maybe then––maybe this..." He struggles to find the words.
"Maybe," Izuku offers softly, something almost like weary agreement in his voice as Aizawa slams a final fist into the villain's face with a sharp crack that has Overhaul's eyes rolling back in his head. Izuku watches him fall almost numbly. "Guess we'll never know, will we?"
Izuku turns away as Aizawa moves to cuff the villain. Naomasa and Eri stand farther off, waiting. He walks slowly towards them, exhaustion written in every line of his body.
"Eri," Izuku hates how his voice cracks.
Naomasa gently sets the girl back on her feet, a light hand on her back pushing her in his direction.
Izuku carefully pulls the mask from his face, letting it hang limply in his grasp as he kneels. His hand is outstretched softly towards her, an invitation, an apology, a promise. "I'm sorry it took so long to find you again."
He watches her eyes, filled first with confusion, then with surprise, hope, desperation. "You're––" Her next words die in her throat. She takes an unsteady step towards him; a single, small hand reaches out to meet his.
That's all he needs.
Izuku bites back his tears, taking her hand and pulling her in close, he smiles into her hair, eyes crinkling shut. "That must've been scary, right?" She pulls away from the hug, looking up at him with wide eyes, studying his face. "Hello again," he smiles. There's a relieved softness that paints his face, a lingering flicker of guilt––grief––dancing in his eyes. "It's been a while since we've seen each other, huh?" he croaks. He watches as those brilliant, scarlet eyes fill with tears before she throws her arms back around his neck; tiny hands pressing against the burn scar on his nape. "Sorry if I scared you back then," Izuku whispers, "I'm alright." She cries silently into him and he can feel his chest shutter with an indescribable grief as his adrenaline fades.
Naomasa approaches from the side looking him over as if to memorize his face or check him for wounds. "You're him." It's not a question. His voice is soft, reverent, his face twisted in a mask that's four parts disbelieve and six parts awe.
Izuku glances up at the man, fear returning like Mercury in retrograde. He looks between the detective and Aizawa. "No one can know," Izuku whispers hoarsely, a desperate plea, a prayer he doesn't expect to be answered.
But Naomasa crouches next to them, quiet, studying him before slowly, surely, pulling the both of them into a tight hug. "You're alive," he murmurs. Izuku relaxes minutely into his hold as the detective's breath shudders in his chest. "...Did Reo ever—"
But, Izuku knows what he's going to ask. "No."
Even without the use of a quirk, it's obvious that it's a lie. But Naomasa holds his tongue, pushing no farther, squeezing him tighter––a reminder that it's real.
Izuku locks eyes with Aizawa over the man's shoulder. He pulls gently away from Naomasa, the hero's presence like a stone skipping across water, rippling waves of anxiety rolling through him. "Eraser..."
Aizawa sighs, crouching in front of the boy. His hand rises, ruffling softly through Izuku's sweaty hair. "The day's not over, problem child," and though Izuku can't read the man's expression, he can hear the fond relief in his voice. "Let's get out of here first."
Izuku can only nod.