Toshinori was late. That was it, having used up most of his time with One for All today on his way to school, using it to help the people, whether they needed their cat saved from a tree, or helping a young group of Pro-Heroes to save a rich family from a villain that held them hostage. All Might was the World Symbol of Peace, the Number One Hero, it was his duty to fight, save, and rescue those who needed help. He wished he could do more, but all he could do now was do his best to guide Young Midoriya, and continue to persevere even as the last embers of One for All slowly left him.
He sighed softly and leaned back against the couch. At least he managed to help others, it was instinctive. Wherever people needed help, All Might was there! Still, that didn't mean he should allow his teaching to be interrupted, regardless of what happened outside of his work hours. Toshinori gave his phone a glance. Thirteen and Aizawa weren't picking up for some reason, which meant that they must be extremely busy. Perhaps he should go and say a few words of encouragement? He had about ten minute left in his alternate form. Yes, that sounded like a plan.
Allowing the power of One For All to surge through his body, Toshinori's loose fitting suit no longer hung off of his body, his transformed form filling it perfectly.
"Time to go-" All Might formed his signature grin and was about to leave when the door opened, and a small figure stepped in.
"Principal Nezu!" Toshinori felt himself cough up some blood, immediately wiping it with one of his many handkerchiefs. He sat back down on the couch to be able to see the shorter Hero face to face. He still towered over him seated.
"Yes! It is me! Am I a mouse? A dog? How about a bear!" Principal Nezu said cheerfully, his white muzzle having a large grin. "If you answered any one of those you are wrong! For I am the principal!"
"Hello sir! Your fur is well groomed today, as usual." All Might said, just as cheerful. Nezu was a good person.
"I'll let you in on my secret." Principal Nezu's enthusiasm was contagious. "It's Keratin. Humans just can't get this time of color and shine, even with Mt. Lady's newest conditioner, but we can discuss that later." The Principal pulled out a tablet out of nowhere.
"I hear that you've been rather busy today, solving three incidents in less than an hour." Uh-oh, Toshinori already knew where this was heading.
"You really haven't changed, have you?" Principal Nezu said with a smile. "Still, you can't solve every incident you come across. That's why we're here to train the next generation of top Pro-Heroes, including your successor."
Toshinori returned to his original form, a hard look on his face.
"In order to remain the Symbol of Peace, which you insisted on, was to come teach at UA to find your successor." Principal Nezu turned to look at Toshinori, his cheerfulness never leaving him. "I suggest resting up a bit longer." He started crawling up onto the couch across from Toshinori.
"Please try to prioritize your classes. There are plenty of Hero agencies in the area, so don't try to run yourself ragged!" Nezu served himself a cup of tea.
"You're right." Toshinori spoke carefully. "That's why I was planning on heading over to the USJ right now."
"Even if you left right now, you're almost out of time for today. You would have to return as quickly as you left." Nezu took a small sip of his tea. "Let me ask you a few questions as you relax."
"Of course, sir." Toshinori said, the muscles in his throat flexing nervously.
Principal Nezu placed his teacup and saucer back on the table.
"What do you know about Miss Schnee?"
Schnee? Aside from her music and the one time he personally spoke to her, the two hadn't interacted much. Her answers to his questions seemed to come from the heart, but that didn't erase the fact that she might be one of All For One's agents. That villain would stop at nothing to get his revenge, even from the grave. Was she acting on orders given before his death? Toshinori didn't know, he only had speculation and no evidence aside from how strong she was. A girl her age with such a versatile quirk? Toshinori gave the results of Aizawa's physical test a glance, and there was no way a girl her age and size could be physically that strong when it came to grip strength. Something about her was off putting.
"I know that she sings very well, sir." Toshinori said, which earned him a laugh from Nezu.
"I must agree with you, but haven't you noticed anything else about her? The lyrics to her songs, her demeanor, the way she holds herself as she heads to class?" Nezu grabbed his tea and took another sip. "How about the way she fights?"
He saw the recordings? Was the Principal having the same thoughts as Toshinori was?
Nezu finished his tea and jumped off of the couch. "I shall leave you with these questions to ponder. Thank you for the tea! I'll let you head off to your class now. I'm sure you would go even if I told you not to."
"Enjoy the rest of your day, Sir." Toshinori said as Nezu left the room without another word. Transforming himself back into All Might, and allowing muscle memory to form his grin, Toshinori was ready to join Class 1-A at the USJ!
He ran into Iida on his way out.
Izuku felt his breath become trapped in his throat. Shortly after that Purple-Mist villain teleported him away from the entrance, he found himself drowning in water, until As-uh Tsuyu saved him and Mineta. After some quick thinking and teamwork, the trio now found themselves back on dry land, hidden behind a ditch as they observed Mr. Aizawa fight a group of thugs, with more lying unconscious on the ground.
"Stop touching you, you heathen! The only girl I have in my life is our glorious Queen Weiss Schnee." Mineta whispered angrily as he glared at Tsuyu, who stared back with a deadpan expression on her face.
"You bumped into me, ribbit." Tsuyu said accusingly. Mineta seemed like he was going to fire back a rebuttal, but Izuku covered his mouth with a gloved hand. They didn't need to attract the other villain's attention while they weren't prepared. Aside from their one combat class with All Might, they had no experience! They got lucky back at the ship, so they would need to be smarter here.
A shadow flew over them, and landed close to the group of villains, just as Mr. Aizawa was fighting with who seemed to be the leader. Turning his eyes to the newcomer, Izuku's eyes widened. Schnee? What was she doing here? How did she get here so fast? Her quirk was so interesting?! Izuku wondered how it worked-
Izuku lightly slapped his cheek. No, it wasn't time for that. He could ask her questions later once they made it out of here alive. Still, that sword of hers was interesting, and he didn't get to see what her quirk was exactly since he was in the nurse's office with Recovery Girl after his battle ended.
"The Goddess has returned! We must assist her-" Mineta was cut off when Schnee launched herself forward, thrusting her blade into one of the criminals that had surrounded Mr. Aizawa while Izuku was thinking.
Izuku held Mineta back as the shorter boy tried climbing up the slight slope. "Shhh, we'll just get in the way. We need to come up with a plan first!"
"B-But Queen needs us!" Mineta tried forcing himself out of Izuku's grip, and failed. He didn't spend all that time training his body into peak physical condition for no reason!
"Ribbit, Midoriya is right ya know." Tsuyu added. That seemed to calm Mineta, albeit grudgingly. They turned their attention back to Mr. Aizawa and Schnee.
"-not the final boss here." The villain leader said cheerfully. "Nomu, get Eraserhead, don't kill him yet though. I'll handle the Bard."
The villain with the exposed brain immediately rushed Mr. Aizawa, moving way faster than their homeroom teacher, and slammed him into the ground, its large hand on Mr. Aizawa's head. Its other hand grabbed one of Mr. Aizawa's arms and squeezed, a loud crunch filling the air. Izuku's eyes turned into pinpoints. Just how strong was that thing?!
Any further line of thought was interrupted by a blood curdling scream, and a spray of red liquid. Izuku forced his eyes away from Mr. Aizawa and turned to Schnee, a finger lying on the ground not far from where she was, the Hand villain clutching one of his bleeding hands. Schnee was about to swing again when the villain shouted again.
"Make her suffer Nomu!"
The bird-faced villain rushed Schnee, leaving Mr. Aizawa on the ground, bloodied and defeated.
"Time dilation!" Schnee shouted, and she turned into a blur of white that danced around Nomu. Snowflakes formed around them, a white blur bouncing in between, with a black blur appearing causing a black and white coloration.
"Let's get Mr. Aizawa out of here!" Izuku said, tearing his eyes away. He would definitely need to study Schnee's quirk later. Tsuyu and Mineta nodded, starting their dash towards their fallen homeroom teacher.
Schnee appeared out of nowhere, landing on one of her snowflakes, which then launched her backwards, avoiding a strike from Nomu that turned the ground she was just on into rubble.
"Mr. Aizawa! Are you ok?" Izuku shouted as he knelt by the fallen hero. He mumbled something that Izuku couldn't catch. "Put him on my back. I'll carry him."
Tsuyu grabbed Mr. Aizawa's smashed arm gently, with Mineta grabbing the other. Eraserhead's blood started to stain Izuku's gym uniform, but the successor to the World Symbol of Peace ignored it.
"Ahahahaha, do you think that's going to stop Nomu!" The Hand-villain screamed, focused on Schnee who had somehow frozen the bird villain in place with ice, a snowflake beneath it. There was no way she had that many quirks! Unless…
"Get going, we'll help you balance." Tsuyu said, holding Mr. Aizawa's legs. Their homeroom teacher was much taller than them, heavier too. Izuku nodded and started walking, almost stumbling on his first step.
"Sorry Mr. Aizawa." Izuku mumbled under his breath as Mineta made sure he didn't slide off of Izuku's back.
A flash of light came from behind, but Izuku pressed onwards. Schnee was buying them time to escape and he wasn't going to waste a single second.
"Hey! Now that's cheating!" Someone shrieked. Mr. Aizawa mumbled something else, but Izuku was too busy to hear exactly what he said. His legs burned, his back felt drenched with blood, but Izuku pressed onward.
Be strong and hit stuff.
That was what Schnee sang right? Izuku had memorized that song while cleaning up the beach. Isn't that what most of the Schnee songs that Izuku likes are about? Keep pushing forward, do your best, and be yourself. Izuku avoided tripping on his own feet.
"Fuck that I'm killing the kids."
"No!" Schnee screamed, causing Izuku to pause and turn his head slightly. The hand villain was running straight towards them, the hand that was missing a finger dripping blood as he ran. Oh no. Gritting his teeth, Izuku tried walking faster, when a loud noise came from the entrance, a large cloud of dust and smoke covering the top of the stairs.
Everyone stopped where they were, including the villains, their eyes turning to the giant cloud. The shadow of a tall figure reached the top of the stairs, with Izuku's breath being caught in his throat.
It was All Might!
"It's fine now…" All Might's voice echoed loudly, a serious look on his normally cheerful face.
"Because I AM HERE!" All Might tore off his blue tie, with an angry look replacing his usual grin.
Everything would be just fine. Izuku released a sigh of relief and WHERE DID THAT GIANT KNIGHT COME FROM?
Weiss didn't release her hold on the Arma Gigas, whose blade barely held back Nomu's fist at bay. Thankfully, the bird-brain villain had stopped moving with All Might's arrival. Myrtenaster's Dust chamber rotated back to electricity. Using this lull in the fighting to prepare herself would be the best move.
"I had a feeling that something weird was going on." All Might said as he approached the stairs, his voice clearly echoing. Weiss had never seen him without his usual grin.
A few thugs had gotten back up, mostly recovered from Mr. Aizawa's attacks. Were they tougher than they looked, or did Weiss overestimate how competent her homeroom teacher was? Either way, they wouldn't be getting back up without help once Weiss was done with them-
All Might jumped from the top of the stairs, disappearing into a blur that slammed into each of the gathered thugs, sending them back into the ground without another word. T-This power! That self control, using just enough to not kill the villains! Weiss had never seen anything like this before.
All Might gave her a brief nod, and sped towards Midoriya, Tsuyu and Mineta, who were still struggling with Mr. Aizawa, and took them into his strong arms. He dropped them off away from Handman.
"Head to the entrance. I'll handle this." All Might said. Without another word, he disappeared into a blur, and he was standing next to Weiss not even a few seconds later.
"Is he on our side?" All Might asked, giving the Arma Gigas a glance. He stepped in front of her, blocking her view of the Handman, while the Arma Gigas blocked Nomu.
"Yes. He'll do whatever I command him to do." Weiss said, standing up slowly. All Might was fast, but how much faster could he go if she used time dilation on him? Or even if she used it to slow down Nomu?
"I see. A two on one has its advantages." All Might said grimly. Nomu had finally backed off, staring down the Arma Gigas and All Might with a blank stare.
"Nomu! Take down the knight then kill All Might!" Handman shrieked, parts of his ripped shirt wrapped around his missing finger.
Nomu rushed the Arma Gigas, which swung its massive blade, cutting into Nomu's shoulder. The beast ignored its wound and started pummeling the summoned body. The Arma Gigas pulled its blade out of Nomu's shoulder and started hacking away, chipping off bits of flesh and limbs. Nomu ignored its mortal wounds as it regenerated, countering the Arma Gigas with its own punches.
"I suggest that you rejoin your classmates." All Might said, his back to Weiss. "You did well Young Schnee, but I shall handle it from here."
Weiss nodded, and turned her attention back to the others. By now, more of their classmates were starting to arrive, several of them assiting Midoriya with Mr. Aizawa. All Might rushed Nomu, and punched it where its kidneys should be. The beast ignored that still as the Arma Gigas carefully swung its blade, avoiding the Symbol of Peace. All Might delivered a mighty punch to Nomu's face, which also didn't faze the monster. A windstorm starting to form from the strength of their punches.
"Ahaahaaa! None of that's going to work. One of his quirks is shock absorption." Handman gloated, the mist villain next to him. Weiss narrowed her eyes and started walking towards them, a line of glyphs forming on the ground towards him. Myrtenaster's Dust chamber switched to wind Dust. The mist man started to shift.
Weiss aimed Myrtenaster at them, and formed another wall of glyphs that surrounded the villains. She wouldn't be able to get close with that teleporting villain there, but she still had her glyphs. A wall of wind surrounded them, forcing the mist man in place.
"No! I can't get close." Misty shouted, their disembodied voice angry. Handman found himself flying in different directions while in the middle of a monologue.
"That's the point, stupid." Weiss growled. She turned her attention back to the fight. By now, the Arma Gigas' blade was snapped in half, its armor dented and battered, but All Might was still going strong. Taking a punch from Nomu head on, All Might returned the favor with one of his own. Suddenly, Nomu twisted its body, and slammed into the Arma Gigas, tearing it apart.
Damn it…
All Might didn't have much time left in this form. He had used most of his time for the day trying to help everyone. Principal Nezu was right, he shouldn't be trying to run himself ragged. He wouldn't be able to save anyone if he continued to do that.
The white knight disappeared in a flash of light, with only the healing chunks of flesh on Nomu's muscular body. It was obvious that it was created to defeat him, after all, that villain said quirks, not quirk. All Might already counted three, its regeneration, its shock absorption, and some type of super strength.
"So, you're able to take One Hundred percent of my power!" All Might grinned, so that the students watching could be reassured. "I guess that means I'll have to go beyond!"
The two started exchanging a flurry of blows, each one of All Might's being a direct hit. Nomu punched him where his old wound was, but Toshinori pushed past the pain, pushed past one hundred percent. The wind around them started to swirl, as All Might felt some of his blood splatter on his cheek. He was a disappointment of a teacher. He should have been here from the very beginning, protecting the children. Schnee had blood stains all over her costume, and who knows how the others were faring.
All Might should have been here earlier, and he wouldn't make the same mistake twice. His power was starting to drain faster than he expected, and he probably only had a few minutes left in this form.
It was time to end the fight, because..
"I am the World Symbol of Peace and Justice!" All Might gritted through his grin. It was his duty to carry everyone's burdens! He increased the strength and intensity of his punches, each one a direct hit, each blow calculated. Nomu matched each of his hits.
"Wooohhooooo! I told you about his shock absorption!" The villain with hands from earlier shouted. He sounded dizzy.
All Might ignored him as a weird yellow snowflake-clock formed beneath his feet, causing Nomu's fists to fly slower than before. A snowflake? Schnee! Just what was her quirk? Nomu's quirk wasn't shock nullification, but shock absorption! That meant that he had a limit, one that All Might needed to surpass! To go beyond!
"I'll just force you to surrender!' All Might's fist were just a blur as they impacted the gouged and skin body that belonged to Nomu. The snowflake-clock beneath him was still working, increasing his speed.
Another punch sent Nomu flying, with All Might jumping in pursuit, his dress shirt now torn.
"A hero keeps fighting no matter the odds!" All Might delivered another haymaker straight into Nomu's face, who had tried charging him. The two grappled each other in the air, and using all of his might, Toshinori threw Nomu to the ground, causing the once flat surface to be turned into rubble.
All Might landed with a thud quickly, just as Nomu was recoiling back into the air.
"I'm sure you may have heard these words before, but I'll remind you if you haven't." All Might channeled the power of One For All into his right fist, the power starting to overflow.
"Go beyond!"
All Might reared his fist, and slammed it into Nomu's chest with everything that he had.
"PLUUUUSSSS ULLLLLTRAAAAAA!"
That sent Nomu flying through the air, slamming into the dome roof of the USJ, and even then that did little to stop its flight. All Might turned to look at the two villains that Schnee had trapped with her snowflakes and narrowed his eyes as steam started to let off from his body, combining with the cloud of dust around him.
"Who's next."
A/N
This is now the longest chapter that I have ever written. I'm so proud of myself for going beyond. I managed to write this in between breaks, and man now I'm going to take a break for real.
Enjoy the early chapter!
Till next time on Schnee: Hero or Huntress!