Chapter 35: Are You Proud?

Gravity girl whispered her panicked thoughts over to Bakugo and the others. She was right, they did have to get the two of them out of there if All Might was gonna beat this guy. But Bakugo didn't need to hear that. What he did need to hear, was whatever the hell was being said to Deku right now.

Midoriya felt sick. He'd never felt so twisted and pulled and knotted. And this horrible feeling in his stomach wasn't from his dreadful experience of teleportation.

It was a mix of the fear on All Might's face, of the comforting hand on his shoulder; not at all cold nor harsh. It was his friend in the distance, needing help that Midoriya knew he could not give him.

It was because half his mind screamed at him in disgust for standing by this villain and not running the moment that he had the chance – and the other half rooted his feet to the floor, whispering exciting promises and prospects in his ears, of the life he'd always wanted, there for the taking.

And so he held that chess piece tight and stared back at All Might, unsure of the expression he displayed. But what he could be sure of, was the slight tremble to the hero's form; the dribble of blood at the corner of his lips; his time limit, drawing near.

"Let him go," All Might thundered, not a shout, no raising of his voice, simply a rumbling promise of the lightning strike soon to come should All for One not do as he said.

"You speak as though I have been holding him captive," the villain replied innocently. "Yes, my student did take young Midoriya here against his will. I did then take him from that environment, and ensured he was treated well, did I not?"

Midoriya felt as though the conversation was being directed at him, he was supposed to answer this. Strange, he was more used to these kinds of people assuming they knew best and pushing him around. Being involved in such a moment filled him with a feeling of importance and power that he tried to push back down. He simply gulped and nodded.

"I know your tricks," the hero hissed. "Bite your silver tongue. The boy wants nothing to do with you! Free him, immediately!"

"Tricks? All I have done is healed his wounds and spoken to him. I haven't uttered a single lie. Why don't you explain, Midoriya? I don't mind what you say. My offer won't change, although I must admit, you are running out of time for it."

He shifted his hand away, but Midoriya didn't move. After a moment, he furrowed his brow, trying to think.

The silence was soon broken by Shoto, "Midoriya, get out of there!" he yelled, trying to run towards him, but was soon stopped by the other members of the League. The fight between them continued.

"I-I –" Midoriya stammered. But then he remembered something, his expression darkening, "You… you were Quirkless."

All Might's eyes widened, teeth clenching. It was confirmation enough for Midoriya – All for One really was telling the truth.

"You told me I couldn't be anything with the way I am! Y-You're… you're a hypocrite."

Why was he saying this now? He didn't know – it couldn't have been a worse time, but he was so… lost. So lost. And no one was there to help him. Certainly not the heroes.

Bakugo shifted back down the wall, "The freaking Leech was right," he muttered to himself.

"What?" Kirishima frowned at him.

"Listen to Round Face," he snapped back. "We need to get them the hell out of there."

Uraraka nodded at him, determined.

"We need to make a plan," said Four Eyes.

"Screw a plan," Bakugo retorted, glancing back at Deku as he clenched his fists, glaring at All Might with a fearsome glint in his eyes. "We need to move now."

But before he could vault over the wall and dive in, Kirishima grabbed his wrist and forcefully held him down.

"What the hell are –"

"We could do more damage than good! We need to think this through at least a bit, man!"

Before he could reply, Yaoyorozu stepped in. "We have two targets," she acknowledged. "All Might can hold back the man in the suit. But the rest of the League will follow us if we dare to take either one of Shoto or Midoriya."

"So we have to take down the League?" supposed Frog Girl.

"Or forcefully get them through that portal," added Tail.

As they planned, Bakugo gritted his teeth and turned back to where Deku was standing, now slightly in front of the villain, as he faced the wrong guy.

"No one ever gave me a chance," Midoriya told him, feeling his voice shake and the lump in his throat rise. "I-I had to fight for everything. And I only get what I want when people get fed up with trying to stop me!"

Ready to dismiss him again, All Might said, "Young Midoriya this is not the time to –"

"–It's never the time!" he yelled; his voice shrill. "I'm never good enough!"

"–He is trying to get into your head!"

"Well maybe he has! Maybe you have! According to you – I can't be a hero, but I can be put in UA because I'm a villain! What's the difference?! What did I do wrong?! What did I ever do right?! What do I do?!"

"MIDORIYA!" and Shoto was pulled back again, by a blue, magnetic force that yanked him towards a clone of the villain with the sunglasses, glowing red-pink.

His shaking fists clenched even harder around the king piece, the cross on the top imprinting on his skin.

What do I do? What do I do?

– A cry for help that even he couldn't interpret. So many questions buzzed around his mind, tearing him to pieces. Questions he'd been asking all along – what he'd thought he'd answered and what he never did. But above all, it was why.

Why – why?

He was falling to pieces.

"Kaminari, the one who's making the clones, in the black and white suit – he needs to be taken out," Yaoyorozu ordered.

The dunce grinned and cracked his knuckles, "Couple of thousand volts, coming right up!"

"We don't know if the clones themselves will be neutralised as soon as he's out of the picture," she continued. "But it seems that they definitely disintegrate if enough damage is dealt."

"So, we know if we've got the real one if when we hit them, they don't turn to mud," Kirishima nodded.

"We've gotta avoid that freaking magician," Bakugo snarled, watching Shoto try his best to avoid multiple copies of him. "One touch and we're done for."

"Likely why Shoto's being so careful," said Ojiro.

"Yeah, man," Sero frowned, "Shoto should be able to easily take on the lot of them. He must be weakened or something."

"He's focusing on trying to get to Deku," Bakugo told them.

"Right! He keeps darting in that direction, but the magnet guy keeps pulling him back…" acknowledged Racoon Eyes.

"How does that Quirk work, anyone have any ideas?" Ojiro asked no one in particular.

For some reason, Bakugo turned to Uraraka.

"What?" she asked.

"I don't freaking know!" he snapped, making sure to keep his voice low, "You seem to have been freaking infected by Deku's stupid notebooks – how does the Quirk work?!"

She blinked at him, before grinning. After a moment of observing the battle, she reported back with, "Ok, ok, it's a magnet Quirk, right? The blue is attracted towards the pink and vice versa. But the villain can only make other people have the blue and makes themselves the pink! Hm… but the clone which activates the power only ever seems to activate it on a copy of themselves…"

"I have an idea too," Iida interjected. "I am quite positive the other villains referred to the one with the magnet Quirk with feminine pronouns…"

"Ah ha!" Uraraka smiled even wider, "Good point Iida! Other idea, girls are one pole of the magnet and guys are the other pole! And she can't magnetise herself which is why she's using the clones!"

"That's gonna be real problematic when we dive in," Kirishima complained.

This was taking too much time.

"Do not take anything he has offered you, Midoriya!" All Might exclaimed. He knew that he could take a Quirk.

"Why not?!" he yelled in response, almost asking himself the question. "What difference would it make?! I'm fed up with being too dangerous to be normal – and too normal to be anything!"

He stepped forwards and away from All for One, feeling the hand move away, physically – but some part of him still knew that whatever hold the villain had on him was only tightening.

"All I ever wanted to do was help people – that's all! Why has no one ever helped me?!"

A helicopter rumbled overhead. They knew that at this point, everything around them was being televised.

"Bakugo, remember the vigilante laws!" Iida yelled at him as he grew more and more desperate. "We must only fight back!"

"We are freaking fighting back!" he retorted, not caring if he was heard at this point. "Against freaking everybody! Screw it all! If they want us as heroes, then they take us as we freaking are! We don't abide to their rules – they abide to ours."

The class stared at him, just a moment of shock, before beaming smiles shone back at him. It was like just another escape plot – another scheme – another training exercise. The direness of the situation faded from their minds in shared, manic clarity.

"With Midoriya distracting the villain and All Might, we have more of a shot at taking on the rest of the League and saving Shoto," Yaoyorozu concluded, her eyes serious and sure. "We each target a villain – who is best against the magnet Quirk?"

"She needs to be taken out quickly!" Uraraka stepped in, "We don't know if it's activated by touch and we don't have time to find out! So, the original clone must be knocked unconscious as soon as possible!"

"But we've gotta take the clone guy first!" said Mina.

"And avoid the magician!" interjected Kaminari.

But that must have given Yaoyorozu an idea. She perked up, eyes sparkling, and a wide grin spread across her face.

"I've got it."

"– Just a useless Deku!" Midoriya cried, feeling the tears prick at his eyes, pain only ever skin deep, never truly comprehending how much rot had consumed him, in his hidden rage. "Well I'm giving that name a new meaning! It's my life – my choice – my power."

"No! You can't –"

But he turned back to All for One, chess piece about to fall from his grasp as he held out his free hand to the villain.

He didn't care whose hands he was playing into, what grand plan he was apart of. For once – just once – he knew that he deserved –

And there was a yell – a bang – and a scream –

– and Midoriya's world shifted.

Bakugo vaulted over first, "Hey LOSERS!"

Shoto whipped his head around first, hair clinging to the sweat on his forehead – or maybe that was ice.

Bakugo shifted his stance as the villains turned too; he cupped his hands and let his power pop and crackle as it lay in waiting.

"Bring it."

The closest clone – the lizard bastard with a sword, unsheathed his weapon, ready to dart forwards, when –

A long, pink tongue wrapped around him, pinning his arms to his side, and seconds later, a petite girl with a powerful kick came flying forwards, slamming into his head and turning him to mud in an instant.

Before the others could react, Sero swooped in, tying a whole bundle together.

"Acid rain!" yelled Mina hand in hand with Uraraka as they darted above with the grappling bolt, dropping acid on the heads of the screeching clones – thank freaking god Iida was right about which ones were actually the originals.

Speaking of which, he was right behind Bakugo one second, and on the other side of the battlefield the next. With a kick that not even Tsuyu could rival, the clone making bastard was lying on the floor.

The clones didn't immediately disintegrate. But all the more fun for Bakugo.

With his best battle cry, he propelled himself forwards and started to take out any copies of the magnet chick who showed any indication of trying to use her Quirk at all.

And whilst they did their best to take out as many as possible, and the likes of Tokoyami focused on pushing Shigaraki back towards the portal the best they could, the main team made their mark, running past towards Shoto, who stood bewildered and probably barely conscious in the centre of it all, still protecting himself against any villains that slipped through their fingers.

And then Yaoyorozu sent up a flare – everyone who could took to the skies, or at least paired up with someone who could – she pulled a great, white blanket over Shoto and that central group, and a brilliant, blinding, flash of light, Kaminari let out the biggest wave of electric power he possibly could.

Every remaining clone melted to nothingness, and the originals slumped to the ground, unconscious.

But now wasn't the time for celebration.

Midoriya stared at the scene before him.

His class – and it looked to be all of them – were here.

Kaminari's power sent what felt like a static shock rippling through his system, but he was a little too far away to leave his nerves quite as fried as anyone in close proximity.

Yaoyorozu, Shoto, and the others under that blanket though, appeared to be perfectly fine – she must have made it as a kind of insulating shield.

The surprise attack had served as a distraction for Midoriya. He wasn't sure if it was a welcome one yet.

However, All Might saw its potential. Before Midoriya knew what was happening, he was pushed to the side with a power that left him winded, and All for One was hit with its brunt force, one that he barely managed to hold back, grasping All Might's approaching fists with his own as he pushed back.

Midoriya coughed and wheezed. He tried to get to his feet, but the shock waves of the ongoing battle kept pushing him down.

Shielding his eyes, Midoriya turned back to his class. He saw them heave the fallen figures of the villains into a pile and tie them together – even Shigaraki.

All for One must have seen this, because he pushed All Might away for just enough time to reach out his hand and shoot tendrils of black and red from his fingertips, darting towards Midoriya's friends.

"No! RUN!" Midoriya yelled, voice hoarse.

But he got the message across, Uraraka grasped whoever was in the vicinity, yanking them away from the approaching attack and heaving them into the air. What seemed to be Midoriya's grappling bolt was shot towards a nearby building, which had toppled to the ground, but still served as a higher vantage point. The class backed off and seemed to gather up there.

Although, that attack never seemed to be for them. All for One had aimed for Kurogiri. As soon as he was hit, his portal expanded exponentially, just for a brief second – enough to engulf the tied bundle of villains.

In a vortex of purple, they were gone.

Even Dabi – even Shigaraki.

Shoto was safe.

Midoriya was the only one left.

"DEKU!" Uraraka yelled, standing on the edge of the broken building they'd gathered on top of.

She started to run forwards as the grappling bolt was freed from the rock.

Bakugo reached out and grabbed her arm just in time.

"It's too dangerous!" Iida agreed to Bakugo's silent motion. "The villain doesn't seem to be wanting to harm Midoriya – and All Might certainly will not! We are a different matter altogether."

"But we have to do something!" she retorted.

"I agree," Tsu croaked. "We can't leave him there, ribbit."

"He just needs to get a bit closer to us," Kirishima concluded, "Then we can jump down and get him!"

"N-No," that was Shoto. He stumbled forwards, Yaoyorozu's blanket still draped over his shoulders. Now that Bakugo could get a closer look at him, he could see how much of a bad condition he was in.

Shoto tended to impulsively use his ice powers, and forget he had access to fire. It was something Bakugo had taken a mental note of back at the Sports Festival. They didn't know how well he'd been treated over the last few days; how much energy he had, but he clearly had little fight left in him. He had been fighting solo against all those clones and villains for longer than any of them would have liked, whilst they tried to get a hold of themselves and figure out a plan. Shoto held a small flame against his chest, careful to cup it away from the likely flammable fabric that now kept in his heat.

Still shivering, he continued to explain, "I haven't seen Midoriya all this time," he breathed, breath rising before him, "I-I don't know what he's been through, but…"

That leech's voice echoed in Bakugo's head.

"He has to want to leave," he hissed.

Shoto blinked at him, perhaps surprised that it had been him who figured it out.

Bakugo turned back to the battlefield. He'd done so just in time.

In time to see the world as he knew it, fall apart.

"Are you ok?"

Midoriya looked up to see All for One before him, his eyes flickered between the outstretched hand and All Might, gathering his bearings, ready to launch another attack.

"I-I –"

"I'm awfully sorry about this. This man has been nothing but harsh to you, hasn't he?"

Midoriya knew this was just some sick form of manipulation. He knew this wasn't a good man. But… did he really care?

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" All Might cried once again.

Midoriya, still on the ground, turned to him. His eyes grew wide at his battered state. How much longer did he have until –

"He doesn't deserve to have that power, does he?" All for One sighed. "It's a shame he's already passed it on. What remains is only a dwindling flame." He raised his hand, "How about we put it out?"

"No –" Midoriya started, but it was too late.

He could only shield his eyes again from the light and the rubble, as pure, undeniable power rippled through the air, right at the hero he had once idolised.

And as the dust faded, the world silent, holding its breath, and waiting. Midoriya squinted at the sight of the hero, still standing, fist still raised to block that attack.

He stumbled to his feet, almost falling over again, as he realised what had happened.

Yes, All Might still stood, but…

His time was up.

And in the silence, Midoriya could hear the blades of the helicopter above document it all, sending images of All Might's weakened, almost skeletal form, for all the world to see.

"Show them your truth, oh so mighty, Symbol of Peace," All for One leered, a bubbling excitement evident in his voice.

Midoriya could only stare in horror. The secret he'd been trusted to keep, one where the fate of society hung in the balance, came toppling down.

Much like the Monopoly board.

"But of course, you knew this already," All for One said to Midoriya. "It was only a matter of time. This is one of the reasons they put you in UA, no?"

He couldn't speak. He only locked eyes with All Might, taking in the shame across the man's face – his weakness – his… defeat.

All for One rested his hand on Midoriya's shoulder again. "Now, where were we?"

Silence.

"Did you want that power?"

Yes – No…

"It's right here." He held out a hand and showed a glowing orb within it. Whether this was actually a manifestation of a Quirk or not, Midoriya wasn't quite sure. It could have been just for show. "You can take it. I do not mind what you do with it. You could even fight me if you so desire. But you deserve this, you know you do."

SLAM – and All for One was hurtled across the sea of rubble.

Midoriya stumbled backwards in shock.

All Might stood beside him – almost halfway between his hero form and what remained.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "You're right, I'm a hypocrite."

"Your… your Quirk, it's –"

"About to fade, yes," he admitted. "I passed it on barely a month after we met. It is a miracle it has lasted this long; I must admit."

"To… to Lemillion – Mirio… t-that's why he said his Quirk has gotten stronger."

"I had been searching for a worthy successor for quite some time," he said whilst they watched All for One get up again. "In fact, when you stepped in and saved young Bakugo, from the sludge villain. I… I considered you."

"…You… me?"

"Yes. I thought… I thought you could take that fire in you – and fix the mistakes hero society has made. But it's clear to me now, that you don't need a Quirk to do that."

He couldn't say anymore before he was shot back by All for One again.

Midoriya had leapt away as he saw that blow coming. The shock wave coming off it tossed him further, but he managed to fall safely, something he'd learnt from Mr Aizawa.

Learnt from… UA.

And so now they knew.

That was what Deku was keeping secret – All Might's big weakness; why he jumped in front of him at the USJ.

"Give me a sword," Bakugo snarled at Yaoyorozu, he hadn't meant for it to come out so harshly, but this wasn't the time for niceties.

His hero was going to die.

"A what?" she breathed, clearly running out of energy. She'd already done a lot that day.

"A sword," he repeated.

"Why do –"

"For freaking De– Midoriya, obviously!"

After another precious moment of uncertainty, she reached slowly towards her arm, and with a soft glow, pulled a shining, new sword, before passing it hesitantly to Bakugo.

He stepped towards the edge of their platform. Staring down at the ongoing fight once more, as Midoriya was tossed to the side again, catching himself elegantly.

He glanced back at the others, "You."

Uraraka blinked at him, "M-Me?"

"Yes, you. The moment he takes the bloody sword you jump down with that grappling bolt and grab him, and the rest of you get moving."

"And…" she wavered, "if he doesn't… take the sword."

"Then we go."

"But Bakugo!" Kirishima interjected. He wasn't the only one ready to protest.

"It's his freaking choice!" he yelled. That shut them up.

"Then maybe someone other than you should go down there," Shoto said darkly.

Bakugo didn't respond.

It had to be him.

He leapt off the building, letting himself fall, and then with the sword tucked loosely through his belt, he used his power to propel himself forwards. He landed not far from where the League disappeared from.

"Midoriya!" he yelled. The name sounded so wrong coming from his mouth.

But it caught his attention.

He locked eyes with Kacchan.

"Come on, you bloody idiot! We've got to get the hell out of here!"

Midoriya slowly turned back to the hero and villain, locked in battle. He knew that neither of them were really using their full power at this point – not even All Might. They couldn't risk Midoriya getting hurt. Every blow was directed away from him. The longer he was here, the longer the fight would be prolonged.

But he also knew, if he were to stand up and yell to All for One – say he wanted that Quirk, then he would toss All Might away like a rag doll for just enough time to hand it over.

He pulled himself to his feet as Kacchan trudged closer.

"I don't want you here!" Midoriya cried out to him, tears pricking at his eyes once again.

"I know!" he replied.

He didn't know what answer he'd been expecting, but it wasn't that.

"Leave!" he yelled again. Definitely crying now. "You'll only get hurt! When are you going to get it through your thick skull! You can't help here! You're not my friend – and you're certainly not my hero! You can't save me! LEAVE!"

"I'm not anyone's freaking hero, am I?!

"But you are."

Midoriya stared at him. He stared as he pulled a sword from his belt, holding it out to him.

"I don't know what the hell that sick bastard said to you!" he cried over the sound of the fight, over what toxic words All for One spat at All Might. Midoriya couldn't hear them, but he could hear his anguish in response, as he failed to block more blows, failed to land them – "I don't know what he's offered! But I can take a freaking guess!

"It's a place, right?!

"…Somewhere to belong?"

He didn't know how to respond, but what else was new? But he didn't care. He didn't want to listen to Kacchan – anyone but him.

"Just go," he said, too quietly for him to hear.

"EH?! Ugh! What the hell, you freaking idiot?! You have a place – with them! Us! What the hell was that stupid motivational speech for if you're gonna back of it last minute, huh?!"

He ran his fingers along the chess piece.

"We came all this way to save your butt!"

"I don't need saving!"

"Maybe not from the freaking villains! But you do need saving from your-freaking-self, don't you?!"

"You've become a monster."

"Maybe that's something we have in common."

He wiped his eyes with the back of his sleeve. For that moment, they weren't in Kamino. There was no fight – no helicopter up ahead.

It was just him and Kacchan – by the creek at home where they'd play as kids, with the other from the neighbourhood. Except it was just them. All alone. And Kacchan was still holding that sword.

"I guess I never said…" Kacchan gritted his teeth and stared up at the sky for a moment. It was blue – a gentle, summer breeze passed them by, as they stood on either side of the little river. "I never said… thanks."

"…For what?" Midoriya asked, tearing his eyes away from the grass.

"…Getting me into UA."

"I thought you said you hated this class. It was all my fault. You were supposed to be in the hero course."

"Yeah, but we've already established I didn't deserve that now, did I?!" Kacchan sighed, kicking at the ground and watching a pebble drop into the water and sink to the bottom. "But I kind of ended up on the hero course anyway."

Midoriya almost laughed, "I guess you did."

"…So did you."

"I don't think I'm going to stay, Kacchan, at UA." He held out the chess piece, ready to drop it into the water, like that stone. "I… I don't belong there."

"Yeah, you do."

"No, I don't."

"Yeah, you do! Why the hell do I even bother? You're such a freaking idiot. You can't see two feet in front of you. How do you not get it?! It's like you convinced everyone else – got them to see it, all the while you couldn't yourself!"

Midoriya sighed too, rolling the king piece side to side in his open palm. "I don't know…"

"Well, I'm not your bloody therapist."

"I know." A tear dropped down into the water.

"…Hey," Kacchan stepped into the creek and waded a little closer, sword still swinging by his side. "We're… err… I'm not very freaking good at this, ok?!"

"I figured. Why didn't you send someone else? They probably would have convinced me to go with them by now."

"Yeah, but that wouldn't have really worked, would it? You'd go with us, but you'd still be… here." He indicated at the trees around them. "Stuck in this weird freaking in between that you managed to get everyone else out of, but not yourself, you idiot."

"You're not my friend."

"And I'm never gonna be! Why the hell is that on the table?!"

"Well, usually this kind of thing is talked out with friends," Midoriya said, still staring at the chess piece. "What they're gonna do with their lives – why they're here, all that."

"Now's really not the freaking time."

"I'm aware. But there's no other time to do it."

"I know you want me to convince you to come with us. So why the hell is it so darn difficult for you, huh?! Just take the sword –" he held it out to him again – "Be your own… I don't know – hero."

Midoriya finally looked up at him.

"…That was freaking awful, wasn't it?" Kacchan grimaced.

"Just a little," Midoriya smiled softly.

"Do you want to be a hero or not?"

In the distance, he could hear someone shouting for him. It could have been All Might – could have been All for One. Maybe it was both.

"Well?!"

Midoriya gazed at the sword. He must have gotten Yaoyorozu to make it – as a kind of symbolic gesture. Perhaps he didn't realise quite how good of a metaphor it was.

The sword – the power he has.

He glanced back down at the chess piece, the pitiful king, only moving one square at a time.

He could turn it into a queen.

Take real power.

But when he looked up at Kacchan, seeing the face of his tormenter, someone he'd hated more than anything, he saw… he saw someone entirely different. Sure, he wasn't there yet. But… he was on his way. If Mr Aizawa were here, he'd say that he was ready to graduate, ready to move on.

Was Midoriya?

"Come on, Midoriya."

"Why do you call me that?" he suddenly asked. "You've never done that before."

Kacchan rolled his eyes melodramatically. "Because you clearly don't like Deku."

Midoriya cocked his head to one side, thinking.

"I think the name Deku sounds like dekiru – can! So it's like… you can do it! And I thought that was fitting."

"I didn't like it because you said it meant useless," he explained. "But… it doesn't have to. It can mean whatever I want it to."

Kacchan gave him a weird look, clearly having no idea what he was on about.

"Do you… really think it could be the name of a hero?"

He saw him hesitate.

But then he looked back at Midoriya – square in the eyes, and said, "Yes."

"…Really? You're not just saying that to –"

"You saved Shoto, right? And everyone thought he was a freaking goner years ago. So yeah, maybe you can't take on villains like… this guy – but you can save the villains. Isn't… isn't that what class A was for in the first place?

"Isn't that why we're here?"

Midoriya felt himself smile. Because for the first time, he could truly see Kacchan's sincerity.

He… he didn't need a Quirk.

In fact, to gain the power of a queen – he'd lose what a king had, wouldn't he?

Because, after all –

"There's power in powerlessness," he grinned.

And he stepped into the creek and took the sword.

A cloud of dust blew over them, making both Kacchan and Midoriya cough and splutter.

All Might slammed into the ground nearby, All for One floating effortlessly above the ground not far behind him.

"All Might!" the two of them yelled at once.

"–Poor Shimura. She'd be ashamed. You couldn't even save Tomura. That grand pillar you'd made for yourself raised you too high to see what was right under your nose." All for One turned to Midoriya again, who raised his sword defiantly.

He didn't say a word, so Midoriya spoke up instead, "I know your game," he snarled. "Because it's mine –" he tossed the chess piece at his head. He didn't even flinch as it bounced off his mask. "I don't want your stupid power."

"Hm…" the villain hummed. "Not even… a copy of my own ability?"

Midoriya hesitated.

"The power to take other powers. Did you not masquerade with such a Quirk not so long ago?"

"Shut up," Kacchan interjected. "Didn't you freaking hear?! Or does that stupid mask make you deaf as well as blind? He doesn't want anything you could give him!"

Blind…

"A shame, really," All for One sighed. "Then, at the very least, say goodbye to your hero."

Heat sensitivity!

"Kacchan! As much heat as you can muster – now!"

And for once, no questions were uttered.

With a reckless yell, Kacchan darted forwards and sent out a white-hot blast in the face of the villain.

He stumbled backwards, confused, whilst Midoriya run over to All Might, hoisting him out of the crater he had found himself in, all the while keeping a firm grip on his sword.

"Young Midoriya…" he coughed. "You –"

"I'm sorry," he replied. "But now's not the time. You have to beat this guy – because we can't."

He stared back at him, his sullen, dark eyes lacking the strength and fire they once yielded. "I… I can't – I'm sorry –"

"Oh, yes you can," Midoriya said, shaking his head. "Because… you're All Might! And you're going to do this – and you're going to live. Because afterwards, I'm going to be talking to you and Mirio and giving you a piece of my mind."

And despite the situation, All Might smiled.

"DEKU!" yelled Bakugo, sending another blast in All for One's direction for good measure. "We've got to get the hell out of here!"

As he said that, he waved up at where Midoriya knew the rest of the class were waiting.

"He's very sensitive to heat!" Midoriya told All Might as quickly as he could, "He sees with infrared vision, so heat disorientates him! I-I don't know if you can do anything with that but –"

All Might rested a hand on his shoulder, "Thank you. I have a think or two to learn from you."

Midoriya smiled.

"Now go!" he insisted as Uraraka arrived, passing the grappling bolt over to Midoriya. "And tell the rest of your class… they should be proud of themselves. You'll make great heroes someday."

"We already do," Midoriya smiled.

As All for One gathered his bearings, and All Might's muscles swelled with what remained of his power, Kacchan leapt into the air, Uraraka grabbed his arm, and Midoriya shot at the building side, hoisting them high above the battlefield.

The class whooped and cheered as they arrived.

"Let's go, come on!" Sero announced, pulling a rather frazzled Kaminari along with him, tied up in a length of tape.

"Whheeeeeeeee –" he said as they ran off, jumping from building to building.

"I-I'm so sorry!" Midoriya told them all as they started to run.

"We understand, Midoriya," said Shoto, tossing a blanket off his shoulders as they went. "If anyone can – we will."

"I-I'm not sure how the press are going to like how much I just stood around there for though!"

"Screw the press!" Uraraka yelled, "You're safe – and Shoto too! That's all we care about!"

"Then…" that was Iida, he slowed to a halt, and in the growing distance, as mushroom clouds of dust erupted from the ongoing fight, he said, "do we need to go back?"

They stopped stared at him, because… he was right.

"We… we escaped UA," Mina voiced.

"Yeah, all we're missing is Jiro and Hagakure, and it shouldn't be that hard to break them out of the hospital when they come to," acknowledged Ojiro.

"We could actually be vigilantes," Kirishima blinked in realisation.

Slowly, they all turned to Midoriya.

He blinked, "W-What?"

"Well, you're the leader," Mina scoffed, rolling her eyes and letting go of Aoyama's hand to put hers on her hips. "What do you think?"

"Um, didn't I just… almost stay with the villains?"

"Nearly all of us have done that at some point, Midori," Tsu croaked.

"Yeah, stop thinking that you're special," Sero joked, so Uraraka punched him in the shoulder. "Ow! I was kidding!"

"Well," Yaoyorozu stepped in. "I do believe we have ruled out being villains. So, vigilantes, or heroes?"

For once, they had a real choice. Midoriya, had a real choice.

And so, he smiled, and asked one, simple question.

To which, they all raised their hands.

"Well then," he grinned slyly, "The answer to our questions is clear, isn't it?"