Chapter 11: Forced Progression
Itsuka Kendo had always prided herself on her fighting spirit and overall positive attitude towards life. Her general determination and tenacity was something that anyone would be hard pressed to find outside of the hero community. And just in general, it was always safe to assume that no matter what was thrown her way, she would at least find a way to wrap her head around it.
However, right now, she wasn't afraid to admit she was freaking out.
Everything had just been on a constant decline from the moment they had walked into this crazy facility.
Obviously the biggest surprise factor was the villains themselves. As soon as they arrived, All Might took off and tried to take the fight to them, but that plan quickly fell through as soon as it formed.
Needless to say, the situation went off a cliff from there.
Great, just great, Itsuka thought to herself as she enlarged her hands and ran up to a villain covered in purple spheres, introducing him to the floor as she tried to gather her thoughts.
First, that teleporting freak separates the class and spreads out the villains so All Might can't solo them. Then he comes back for seconds, bringing backup while also sending Thirteen and Aizawa-sensei to who knows where!
Grunting in both frustration and worry, the orange haired teen almost didn't realize her classmate was talking to her.
"Yeah! Great job, Red! We make a pretty good pair! Don't ya think?" Mineta said with a smirk, some obvious second meanings behind his words.
"Sure, but focus up, we took down the few that came for us, but more could be coming any minute," she reminded, keeping a sharp eye while holding in her nerves.
"You tell him Kendo-chan!" Tsunotori said from behind the two as she grew a new set of horns. It looked as though she already had some sort of issue with the small hero in training.
"Ugh, will you two lighten up? I swear, the hotter a girl is, the more trouble her personality is. Listen, I was scared at the beginning too! But relax, all these flunkies they sent after us are a bunch of pushovers! And All Might is here! Remember? He's totally kicking ass!"
Both girls rolled their eyes at the first sentence the boy muttered to himself, Kendo in particular was starting to understand why Yaoyoruzu mentioned such a negative first impression with the boy.
"Plus! We have Monoma-san going to get help, remember? Everything's gonna be fine!" The purple haired teen continued nonchalantly, even going as far as to yawn.
While not exactly agreeing with her classmate on the direct amount of danger they were in, she did have to admit that she found comfort in the fact that help was on the way.
Even if the person going to get it wasn't on her best list…
Rather than think about the blonde though, Kendo smiled as she instead thought about how he got to them. Or rather, who sent him.
Monoma quickly explained that Midoriya sent him back to the main entrance for a variety of reasons. First as a distraction for the villains they were facing, secondly so he would be safe, and thirdly so he could make himself useful with different classmate's quirks.
And while he didn't exactly use anyone's quirk to make himself useful, the boy volunteered almost instantly to run out of the facility and go find help.
But hey, he still technically got all three objectives out of Monoma in the end. Pretty impressive.
And speaking of impressive, she really needed to ask the boy more questions when she saw him again. That was the third time he'd saved her! And even though this time wasnt life or death, she was still very curious about how he could almost see things coming before they actually happened.
Ironically enough, the boy surrounding her thoughts was also the very reason she was broken out of them a moment later.
"ALL MIGHT!"
"Huh?" Kendo, Mineta and Tsunotori all looked up in unison, their eyes widening as they saw Izuku flying through the air, noting that his speed was about the same as Monomas's was.
"He's… Going straight for the bosses!? Is he insane!?" Mineta yelled, his fear apparently coming back with a fiery vengeance.
"Look!" Tsunotori pointed, her Japanese still sounding very rough. "It looks like All Might is cornered!"
Looking closer, it was obvious that this was the case, but not to any fault of the symbol of peace, it seemed as though the three main villains had teamed up to put him in a not so advantageous position.
"B-but, that's three against one! No fair!" Mineta yelled in a panic as he attempted to chew his nails through his yellow gloves.
This seemed to strike a cord with Itsuka, because she was quick to respond to the boy with a realization of her own. "It's just like Aizawa-sensei said, the world doesn't care about that…"
Gulping heavily, the purple haired teen was about to bite back at the girl for provoking his fear, but he didn't get the chance, because she took off in a dash for the heart of the facility.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing! Not you too Red!"
But she wasn't alone, because a few seconds after her, Pony took off with impressive speed as well.
"C'mon Mineta-san! You wanna be a hero don't you!?" The horned girl yelled back, not really expecting or waiting for a response.
"S-stop it! Not like this! This is insane! You're both too pretty to die!" He cried out, both girls rolling their eyes again at the boy's maturity, or lack thereof.
Focusing back in however, Itsuka was happy to have some kind of backup with her. She knew the task ahead would be a challenging one.
I can almost see the battlefield. C'mon All Might! You're the best around! You can do this! She thought frantically. It didn't take long for her to catch her stride and begin sprinting, but somewhere along the way her mind broke away from All Might and back to her green haired friend.
And Midoriya, you better not get yourself killed before I get there!
No way, this isn't happening! The super powered teen thought to himself as he flew through the air, tightening his body in order to streamline himself.
The boy was on his way to a head on collision with three villains and one former idol. And it wasn't a hopeful sight in the slightest.
The large blue humanoid creature seemed to have All Might in a powerful hold from underneath, its left hand leaking with fresh blood from where it was digging into the hero's side.
What!? All Might is bleeding!? His skin should be basically impervious! They must have caught him by surprise. But still, that doesn't make any sense…
Realizing he was getting lost in thought, the boy shook his head and forced himself to focus.
Ok focus Spider-Man, All Might needs you. It looks like that huge monster is halfway inside that teleporting mist. And now that scary hand guy is approaching too! What's the plan…
…
Wait… Scary hand guy!?
"Agh!" All Might choked out, spitting up more blood into the air as the grip of the Nomu tightened.
"Ahahaha! How do you like that, you fake!" Shigaraki cackled once again, very much enjoying himself as he approached the symbol of peace in his helpless position.
Crap, to escape this I'll have to use more power, I only hope it doesn't burn up all the time I've saved today.
"Prepare to die! You false symbol of peace!" The deranged leader cried out, reaching out with one hand and placing it firmly on the number one's elbow.
Instantly, All Might knew what the man's quirk was. Whether it was the sight of his very own highly durable costume being turned to dust, or the feeling of his skin going numb, he knew he was in trouble.
Getting ready to power up and break free at the expense of his body, All Might tensed up and gathered his energy. Preparing to cut loose and deliver an all out attack.
"ALL MIGHT!"
"Huh?" Both Shigaraki and Kurogiri questioned as they turned to the source of the newfound disruption.
Needless to say, both men were flabbergasted when a flying teenager adjusted himself in mid-air and shot a pair of weblines at Nomu, pulling himself toward it at an incredible speed.
Those… Look like webs… Shigaraki thought darkly, his instincts clearly reminding him of something that his mind couldn't quite catch up to.
Of the three men present however, none were more surprised than the symbol of peace himself.
"Y-young Midoriya!?"
Now propelled even faster by his arms, Izuku realigned his body, shifting from flying head first to feet first. no longer holding anything back considering his target was an 'All Might' level villain.
The boy's brain couldn't really fathom what was happening anymore. He was pretty sure he recognized the leader of this group of villains, but he had no time to worry about or process this, because All Might was in trouble!
When the boy finally did land his very own spider version of a drop kick, he surprised himself with the results.
Not only was he not used to putting all of his strength into one attack, but he also wasn't quite imagining how solid his target would be.
Tch, what the heck!? How dense is this thing? The super powered teen thought incredulously as he felt the impact in his legs.
While the sheer sturdiness of the creature was obvious after his feet made initial contact, Izuku's full power and momentum combined were easily enough to knock the monster back and out of the purple mist it resided in.
In the blink of an eye, All Might felt the grip of the monster vanish completely, easily allowing him to get back on his feet a moment later.
Turning to his student in a satisfied smile, the symbol of peace looked on impressively as Midoriya stood atop of the Nomu.
Impressive, young Midoriya… I'm unsure if I should be impressed that you have the strength to knock down that monstrosity, or more so confused that it's you who's helping me…
Grabbing his left side with a grunt and dusting off his costume's residue on his elbow, All Might shrugged and took a fighting stance once again. Not hesitating to give his student a signature smile.
"Thank you, young Midoriya! I am ever grateful for your assistance. I only ask now that you stay on the defensive and allow me to handle this. This has gone on long enough."
Nodding at his teacher with a kind smile gracing his lips, Izuku aimed his web shooter downwards and gave the Nomu a healthy dosage.
"R-right! I'll stay out of the way!" The boy said slightly, the reality of the situation in front of him beginning to set in a bit.
I really just did that… This is awesome!
"You bastard! That's my Nomu! How dare you sully his artificial body with that disgusting quirk of yours! Get that sticky white stuff off of him!" Shigaraki complained, his other ally, Kurogiri, now by his side as well.
While still trying to keep his head in the game, the green haired boy almost giggled at the villain's choice of words. He already knew without a doubt that Peter would've had a field day with that comment.
"Young Midoriya,"All Might boomed in his heavy voice, instantly breaking the boy's thoughts. "Be very wary of that man with the severed hands all over his body. Do not let him touch you, I suspect he has some sort of corrosion quirk. Understood?"
"Understood All Might! I'll keep my distance."
The symbol of peace nodded to the boy, smiling even more when he saw him jump up and out of the way of the fight.
Hmm, perhaps I was too hasty to judge him…
"Texas Smash!" The oversized man cried out as he pushed his fist through the air. He would have all the time in the world to think about his conspiracies later. Right now, it was time to protect his students.
"Shigaraki-san! Get closer! I can-" Kurogiri began only to be silenced by a ball of webbing hitting his head.
"What!?" Shigaraki yelled in frustration as he looked up to where the boy had jumped. He seemed to still be in midair, as well as far away from the action, but that didn't necessarily mean he wouldn't help.
It was at this point that the hand themed villain finally got a good look at the boy, and not just his appearance either. No, the particular detail that had his attention right now was the action the boy displayed with his fingers in order to rain hell on them with his projectiles…
The webs… They're coming from the devices on his wrist…
However, the evil doer's internal revelation was cut short by the massive gust of wind from the symbol of peace's attack pushing them off their feet and into the air.
"Gah! Damn it! Do something Kurogiri!"
"Agh! I can't Shigaraki-san, the wind is too strong!"
Landing on his feet with a small thud, Izuku observed as the villains were blown away, finally letting his thoughts settle on the man that appeared to be their leader.
I know that's him, I will never forget that day…
But what did it mean? Why were these people here at U.A? The boy doubted that they were here for him, that would be way too much of a coincidence
I should report to Aizawa-sensei that I know these guys… It's the right thing to do…
But wait, then that might lead into more questions about my powers…
"Young Midoriya! Watch out!"
"Huh!?" The green haired boy jolted as he broke from his thoughts to a loud familiar ringing in his head.
Turning just in time to widen his eyes in fear, the super powered teen gaped as a large, blue fist came crashing down on his midsection, sending him flying down the battlefield.
"NO!" The number one hero screamed angrily, not hesitating to take off and meet the genetic creation blow for blow.
"Tch, I knew those shitty webs couldn't hold Nomu!" Shigaraki grumbled as he regained himself, getting to his feet much quicker than his purple shrouded partner.
This shitty kid… Who is he… I must know…
Izuku winced as he skidded across the floor like a stone skipped across a river, his arms protecting him as much as possible.
Agh, my ribs! The boy moaned inwardly, his body creaking even more every time he met the pavement. For a moment it almost felt like his monutum would never end, but soon a sweet release was presented to him in the form of the lake within the facility, but even that was short lived.
Before the super powered teen could land somewhat comfortably in the water, a purple mist appeared before him, swallowing him up.
He couldn't see much through the mist, and even when it cleared up to show his new location, Izuku's world was still spinning much too fast for his sight to be of any use.
Luckily, the green haired boy had one sense that never failed him.
Snapping his eyes open, Izuku jerked as his spider sense unthawed his fuzzy mind, waking him up like an alarm clock and hyper focusing his brain.
Ok, I'm still moving so my momentum hasn't stopped, the teleporter just changed my direction, noted. But where am I…
The words died in his mind before they had a chance to consider being uttered.
Now standing a good ten meters in front of him with a familiar terrifying smile, was the leader of the villain group, his arm outstretched with his hand wide open and ready to catch him.
Crap! There's not enough time! I can't change my direction!
"Yes! Come here you little sh-"
"Shigaraki-san! Lookout!"
Suddenly a pair of horns came soaring out of nowhere, lodging themselves right into the villain's arm with a concerning sound of tearing skin.
"Ahh! What the hell!?" Shigaraki screeched violently as he stared down at his wound. The pair of horns had almost made it cleanly through his wrist.
For a moment, the evildoer appeared to be considering whether or not to pull the horns from his damaged appendage, but something quickly derailed his train of thought.
"Hiya!" Kendo yelled from behind as she delivered a powerful slap with an enlarged hand. It seemed as though sending people flying with attacks was the common theme today. "I've gotcha Midoriya!" The girl focused quickly on her flying friend, not hesitating to enlarge her other hand and catch the boy as softly as she could.
Landing as softly as one could inside a giant pair of hands, the super powered teen did his best to grin. "Ugh, Kendo-san, that was amazing…" the boy groaned out through very visible pain.
The orange haired teen matched his smile, gently placing her friend onto his feet before assessing his many visible bruises.
"It's no problem Midoriya, I owe you for all those times you saved me. Are you ok?"
"Hehe, yeah, I'm fine," he said before attempting to straighten up before wincing in pain. "That huge monster definitely broke a few ribs though. Gonna feel that one in the morning."
Itsuka briefly wondered how the boy could crack a joke right now with the condition he was in, but put that thought aside when another voice captured her attention.
"Hey, uh, guys? Sorry to interrupt! But I can't keep this guy busy for long!" Pony shouted as she ran in their direction. Her horns were now growing back at a slower rate, and she appeared to have a good amount of cuts riddling her body as well.
"He's not a good opponent for her," Izuku observed. "He can just redirect her horns right back at her."
Well, is he a good opponent for anyone? Is what Itsuka wanted to ask, instead she just took on a fighting stance and prepared herself. "Well, now he's up against three of us. Let's see how good those odds are.
Despite how grim the current situation looked, Izuku couldn't help but smile at his friend as he too adopted a fighting stance. "Thanks again for saving me, both of you."
As the pair prepared themselves to fight alongside their classmate, Shigaraki could be seen a little ways away picking himself off the floor with muttered profanities.
"Damn these kids!" The villain leader cursed under his breath as he assessed the battlefield.
The three students who had gotten involved were all currently confronting Kurogiri, if you could even call it that. Running around and just barely avoiding him was a more proper description. But that didn't matter as much to the deathly pale man.
No, what really concerned him was the fact that the fight between his Nomu and All-Might was now reaching its climax, and it was very clear the creature was on the losing end.
"I will not allow you all to harm my students!" The symbol of peace shouted, his anger boiling over into his punches causing his opponent to falter.
"No! NOMU!" Shigaraki screamed to no avail.
Even Kurogiri stopped his assault on the heroes in training to pay attention, his surprise shown on his face as well.
With everyone's attention on the conclusion of the battle, All Might didn't hesitate to end things quickly
"We must go beyond!" The number one hero bellowed, his punches speeding their pace and his teeth gritting in struggle.
Having already fallen off tempo from the barrage of attacks, Nomu could do nothing but stand there and endure the cluster of earth shaking punches from the symbol of peace.
Said symbol of peace noticed this and quickly realized that the creature's shock absorption was at its limit, granting him a clear path to wrap this fight up.
"PLUS ULTRA!" He shouted out with more passion than ever, reaching back with his right fist and preparing a finishing blow.
All around the battlefield, pairs of eyes were glued to the action, and none were more curious as to how the fight would end than Izuku Midoriya.
The boy really did try to look away from the action, after all, he should have been focusing on the task at hand that was evading Kurogiri. But even the purple shrouded villain was gawking at the scene before him.
That's why the super powered teen was somewhat confused when his spider sense began going off with a villain in plain sight…
Already knowing what he needed to do, Izuku took action, shoving a very distracted Pony away from him and tackling Itsuka who was a bit further away in the opposite direction.
All before an enormous glacier came crashing through the battlefield right where they all stood a moment ago.
After that, everything blurred together. With loud sounds beginning to blare all around, the boy's senses overloaded as his head began to throb.
Welp, I hope I pushed Tsunotori-san far enough away from the ice. At least Kendo-san is ok…
Feeling the girl shift around under him, Izuku let his eyelids fall heavy for a moment and just relaxed. His mind moving a mile a minute trying to distinguish all the sounds around him through his raging headache.
He could have sworn at one point that he heard the glass from the ceiling take a massive hit, along with chatter and some explosions signaling the arrival of other students.
"Where the hell are all the villains!" A revved up Bakugo demanded no one in particular.
Fluttering his eyes open at the familiar voice, Izuku noticed a frazzled head or orange hair directing its attention toward him.
"Damn it Midoriya! How do you keep doing that!? Are you ok? You don't look so good," Kendo spilled out rapidly.
"What, this? It's nothing, I'm fine," he said nonchalantly, though it came out as more of a groan. In reality, the green haired boy couldn't help but feel touched at the genuine concern she was showing as she looked around for any sort of help. The girl must have found what she was looking for, because her face soon lit up like a Christmas tree.
Ignoring his dismissal, Kendo didn't hesitate to take charge of the situation. "Oh look, there's Aizawa sensei with some of the others! Do you think you can stay here while I-"
"I AM HERE!"
Suddenly appearing before the pair with a proud pose, All-Might's unexpected presence got a small squeak out of Itsuka, which Izuku would have found cute had he not been waiting for an update on the current situation.
"All Might, that huge villain… Is it-"
"Fear not young Midoriya, for I have dispatched the issue. What is it you kids say these days? I raised the roof on him!"
Both teenagers looked at each other blankly as a singular sweat drop formed on their foreheads…
It was only when the dust finally began to clear out that everyone was finally starting to become visible. Aizawa, along with a handful of students stood a good ways away, not appearing to have seen them yet. But that wasn't who the trio was focused on.
Instead they all looked forward about twenty meters to the two remaining villains as a purple shroud washed over them.
Kurogiri and Shigaraki stood perfectly still as they slowly sunk into the dark mist, only the ladder reaching out and pointing a finger directly at Izuku once they were almost out of sight.
"I know your secret…"
