Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night or My Hero Academia
...
Bakugo could feel the force emanate off of the two combatants in front of him, their sheer willpower radiating forth in a powerful wave that threatened to knock him off his feet. Likewise, it was doing the same to the bastards who were still fighting him.
Which meant that he had to make the most of this opportunity. Clasping his hands together he allowed only the smallest of gaps to form as he aimed at the bitch who had taken him out of his holding cell. The sword swinging prick might have been able to remain standing after having taken this attack, but he was an exception. He had little doubt that this would put the person opposite him down for good.
Amongst all the chaos, he charged his most piercing attack, his gaze set on the target before him. He wasn't the only person who had reacted however as Twice charged into action, having seen what Bakugo was preparing and acted accordingly to his own set of morales. If he did this correctly, he would save Toga who was yet to sense the danger she was in and he wouldn't be struck at the same time.
How wrong he had been.
Toga felt herself being shoved out of the way, Twice having leapt in and used all his strength to push her aside mere moments before a beam of explosive energy pierced through where she had been standing. As she fell she was able to glance at her saviour right as the powerful strike pierced through Twice's abdomen.
Bakugo clicked his tongue in annoyance at having missed his intended target but was grateful that he had managed to strike down one of these annoying pests. Before he could follow on however, the temperature around them dropped dramatically in an instance as a glacier burst out of nowhere, encompassing a nearby wall.
Before anybody could truly react, Bakugo watched as a squad of the lesser beings in his class soared overhead with the use of the glasses guys leg engines. With him were some other schmucks that had butted their nose into his business, including the crafting chick who, and if he wasn't mistaken, was grasping on to a semi automatic rifle. Reaching towards him was the hardening student who had sponged off of him in order to get a better score in class, calling him to join them.
For a moment he hesitated, knowing full well that after having taken one of the shitstains down he had a moment of reprieve to unleash his next assault. He did know however that the longer he hung around, the longer All Might had to ensure his safety.
It was with that thought that he flew upwards, consecutive explosions rocketing from his palms as he made his way to where the people his age were gliding overhead. As he reached out, and suppressive fire started being shot behind him as the crafting girl unleashed a hail of bullets towards those below, he merely hoped All Might would finish what he started.
...
Toga applied pressure to Twice's wound, ignoring the rain of bullets pelting the landscape around her. It didn't matter if she got struck down during this moment, so long as she could try and keep her friend alive.
For once, the sight of blood did not fill her with pleasure.
"It hurts," he said softly, gripping at her arm with trembling fingers. "It hurts but I'm still here."
"Of course you're here, you're not going anywhere!" decreed Toga as she kept her hands in place despite the tears swelling in her eyes.
The rest of the battlefield had become nonexistent for her as she solely focused on the person whose life she held in her hands. The concept of time had lost all meaning as she felt the blood continue to flow against the skin of her hands.
It was for this reason that perhaps she missed the entrance of Gran Torino, the veteran fighter striking at a number of her comrades. It was perhaps for this reason that she missed the black portal opening up behind her, despite the fact that Kurogiri was still out of commission. It was perhaps for this reason she missed her fellow villains soaring at her towards the portal.
All she focused on was the man she was doing her best to keep alive, focusing on the words he continued to say over and over again as if it were on loop.
"It hurts, but I'm still here."
...
All Might knew that for his own safety he should dodge this oncoming attack. Yet the singular plea for help from behind him demanded that he stay. It didn't matter if he moved out of the way, All For One would still unleash his strike, one capable of decimating suburbs in an instance.
The person trapped beneath the rubble wouldn't stand a chance.
Thus he braced himself as All For One pulled back his arm, poised to strike. Likewise he mimicked the motion, prepared to cancel out the blow that was about to come his way. He would not allow innocent people to get caught up in his battle.
Yet the strike didn't come. There was a brief pause as something rippled through the air so fast that if the situation hadn't been as tense as it was, chances were that it would have gone unnoticed. All For One did see it coming however, altering the trajectory of his strike and aiming to counter the projectile soaring towards him. Whoever was attacking him was a fool for thinking for even a moment that...
Another pause, this time of confusion. All For One looked over his shoulder at the ground behind him where he had heard the definitive crack of the ground where the weapon had pierced the surface. Likewise, in front of him two fingers had collapsed to the floor after having been separated from the rest of his hand. The weapon had pierced through his enclosed fist, despite the vast amount of powerful quirks that he had had flowing through his body at the time, continuing its journey through his arm before bursting out of his shoulder. The wound may very well have been stitching itself together through the use of a regenerative quirk but one thing was very, very clear.
He, the strongest of them all, had taken damage.
It wouldn't be the only damage, All Might having taken this moment to burst forward and embed his fist directly into his face, shattering the mask he had covering his face. Despite the strength of the blow, All For One Remained standing, driving a short jab square into All Might's stomach, blowing the hero back dozens of metres. As soon as he was in the open however, another projectile pierced through his body, this time his left leg.
All For One couldn't help but be somewhat impressed by the ranged support being supplied to All Might. The opponent was far enough away that it was almost impossible for him to distinguish the correct location during the heat of battle. Considering the range the person had to be firing from and the speed at which the projectile likely travelled, the man had shot at him before he had knocked All Might away. The person had predicted something like that to happen. Or, perhaps the person had aimed for the leg so that even if All Might hadn't moved out of the way, it wouldn't have been a fatal blow to the hero.
Interesting.
All Might meanwhile used the back of his hand to wipe the trickle of blood from his lips, using this brief moment of reprieve to contemplate what it was that was happening. Shirou, the damn brat, was giving him cover fire despite the fact he had nearly been cleaved in two only a handful of days prior. While he would love to reprimand the boy for failing to look after his wellbeing, he knew that this was not the first time the teen had acted in such a way. So long as the boy remained at a distance, doing what he could from afar then it would more than suffice. Were he to try and compete against All For One in close combat with his blades however, he knew that he would not be able to adequately protect the boy.
"I must say, this is a play unbefitting of you," declared All For One. "I would have believed your pride would have been incapable of allowing such underhanded tactics to disrupt our fated battle."
"These are no tactics of mine," All Might stated boldly. "This is merely the will of another who wishes to protect those they can."
"I truly find that difficult to believe..."
...
Shirou desperately prevented himself from rubbing at his eyes, opting instead to keep his next shot locked on target. If his reinforced eyesight was telling him correctly, the bad guy down there was currently conversing with All Might.
They were chatting.
On the battlefield.
Amongst a sea of destruction.
Shirou altered his aim ever so slightly before letting loose with his arrow, the weapon piercing the ground mere centimetres away from All Might's foot. Raising his aim back to the threat, he hoped that would get the man's mind back on the job at hand.
...
Bakugo watched the nearby television inside the sea of people masking his presence. Nearby were those who had assisted him in his escape, regardless of the fact that he was doing perfectly fine on his own and didn't need their shitty help. Mere minutes ago he had been fighting for his life, now he was watching All Might alongside all these other people, fighting for all their lives.
He wasn't a fool, he knew when he was outclassed. That message had been beaten into his head repeatedly ever since he had started studying at U.A and as such he knew he had no place fighting anywhere close to where All Might was. From watching the footage, it seemed as if the shitstains he had been fighting also knew that they had no place fighting alongside their leader against All Might. That was just what level of fight was taking place.
The footage also shot around to where various heroes were rushing about, rescuing anybody nearby trapped beneath rubble who could potentially get caught in the upcoming conflict. Even they knew that this was all they could do. If they had no point in being anywhere near the fight when the blows started flying, then nobody did.
It seemed however that there was one person who didn't get the message. One person who felt it necessary to butt into the fight between the greatest hero of all time and the scum standing before him. And, of course, it was the freaking sword wielding bastard.
Shirou Emiya had the sheer nerve and audacity to find his way into helping All Might, albeit from a distance but that wasn't the point. The point was that someone their own age believed they were capable of standing on the same battlefield as the number one hero.
Many of those watching wouldn't have known who it was that was aiding All Might in his battle against this foe. Many just would have thought it was some up and coming hero who thought the best way to make a name for themselves would be to help in what very well could be the biggest fight of the century and take some of that glory for themselves.
Perhaps, however, that was why he was most annoyed that Shirou was sending projectile after projectile into the heat of battle. Unlike anybody who would happily boast about how they had struck a decisive blow which had granted All Might a greater chance at victory, Shirou wouldn't do that. He may have only known him for a small amount of time but he did know that Shirou would take no joy from victory; he would not celebrate the overcoming of a damn near impossible obstacle that many would dare not face. Heck, the bastard wouldn't even bring it up in conversation unless asked first. He would just hold the fact that he had been a part of such a monumental fight close to his chest and not think twice about it.
Bakugo could guarantee that ninety nine percent of the children wishing to one day be heroes did so because they wanted to be popular, to be adored by the masses, to show just how strong they were. He couldn't deny that he had wished to be a part of that group alongside all the pebbles from years gone by, dreaming of adoration as he was proclaimed the strongest hero of them all.
Somewhere along the way, that was what he had truly believed the greatest hero. The greatest hero was the one who was most adored by the public, hailed by all as the strongest atop an ever growing mountain of those chasing the same dream. Looking to the side there were heroes like Aizawa sensei, those who didn't have the flashiest of powers but did more than many of those in the public spotlight. No increased strength, no showy quirk, just pure skill capable of taking down enemies many times stronger than him and for minimal recognition. Eraserhead wasn't a hero for the adoration of the masses, he was a hero because it was the right thing to do.
While hundreds, if not thousands, of professional heroes clambered over one another for ratings of all things, did that truly make them heroes? Amongst his classmates, was Shirou the only one who truly understood what it meant to be a hero?
A cheer from those around him forced his attention back on the screen to see that All Might had knocked the bastard he was fighting into the air where he had been peppered with a barrage of projectiles. Bakugo found his features hardening ever so slightly as he watched on, biting at the inside of his lip as he did so. The country was currently watching three people fight but they would only ever mention All Might and the villain who he had been fighting. The third fighter would vanish out of memory, unrewarded for his efforts in trying to help stop one of the strongest villains of recent time.
That didn't sit well by him, not in the slightest.
...
Stain watched the television in his hotel room with curiosity. While he had thought they would have returned to their base of operation as soon as their issues with the Meta Liberation Army was done, Rin had had other plans. Plans which included using some of their newly acquired finances to rent out a fancy hotel room far from where the battle was currently taking place. Stain sincerely doubted that Rin had foreseen the fight occurring and had adjusted their arrangements accordingly. Far more likely was that she wanted to spend a bit of time getting pampered.
Which, considering she was on another floor getting an intense oil massage, was exactly what she was doing.
He wasn't particularly sure how many people were witnessing the same exchange that he was. All Might, the one true hero he respected above all others, was able to hold his own in a slugfest against his opposition. That spoke immensely about the level of villain that was threatening the city. It also spoke highly of the defences that Rin had crafted surrounding their abode.
He simply couldn't wait for all the people knocking on their door enquiring as to what they did to solidify their walls to a level capable of withstanding such powerful strikes. There would likely be business opportunities with powerful corporations wanting to capitalize on the fear of the masses, ensure them that their homes would be safe with the power gifted to them by Rin Tohsaka. Knowing Rin however, they would be thrown out onto the street without a second thought, cursing and screaming their names all the while and how they would rue the day. He pondered how many times it would happen before the message finally got through.
With the fight however, it was clear that there was a third party in action, providing support fire. He didn't particularly know how much damage each volley did when the weapons landed in their intended target but there was clear skill being applied. As far as he could tell, not a single shot had been wasted, each landing on target despite the speed at which the two people on the ground were fighting.
Precision, control, dedication.
Part of him truly wished that they were back in town at that moment of time. He wanted to see this person in action for himself and perhaps even test their worth to see if they were a true hero or merely a pretender riding on All Might's coattails.
Regardless, it looked as if the battle was coming to a close.
...
All Might couldn't help but pant desperately in an attempt to regulate his breathing. Beneath his feet was the unconscious body of All For One. The battle had been hard fought but he had stepped away victorious. There was still work to be done however. The world needed to see him smile, to see that all was right and that he would protect them until he was unable to do so anymore.
All Might took a single step away from the body before he paused, his ears picking up a sound that he had become highly accustomed to in the heat of battle. It was the sound of another one of Shirou's weapons, piercing through the air towards its target. Had Shirou let loose the weapon unaware that the battle was over.
All Might thrust his arm out to the side, over the prone body of All For One. Intense pain ripped through his arm as an arrow struck true, embedding itself in his tricep. Instead of focusing on the pain however, All Might focused on where the arrow would have struck had he not put his arm in the way.
It had been aiming for the head, square between the eyes if he wasn't mistaken. All throughout the battle, Shirou had landed hit after hit but none of them had been in lethal locations. This time however, not only had it seemingly been intent on ending All For One once and for all, but it had been done while the villain in question had been unable to defend himself.
Had it been an accident, or had Shirou truly been aiming and prepared to take this man's life?
...
Hope you enjoyed.
Thank you all for joining me on this roller coaster of a ride. I never believed that I would have a story reach 1500, let alone 2000 reviews. I read each and every one of them (including the essays flaming me) and once again, thank you.
This isn't the end but I am going to step away from this story for a little while, figure out where I'm going to go from here. I have a general idea but I do want to flesh it out a bit more before I start posting updates. I look forward to seeing your thoughts on what's to come next.
Until then, stay safe and look after yourselves.
Raz