"The symbol of peace… Must die."


My mind was blank. Not the normal kind of blank, like a Buddhist monk Zen, or when you are taking a test where you come up completely empty for an answer no matter how hard you try; the sort of 'blank' that I was feeling at that moment was very different. It was as though an insurmountable number of things were running through my mind at once, so much so that they canceled each other out before I could latch onto even a single thought.

It was information overload.

"V-villains?" Eijiro's voice warbled across my mind, though I paid him very little attention. "Get out of here- like villains can just waltz onto the UA campus!"

"What about the alarm sensors?" I heard Izuku ask Mr. Thirteen.

"Of course we have some set, but something must've overridden that…"

Mr. Thirteen mumbled between glances down to where my father was fighting. Dull thuds met my ears every time he landed a punch.

"That blackness…" I said, at last managing to choke words past my lips, which suddenly felt very dry. "I think there's one among them with a warp Quirk."

"That's unfortunate," replied Mr. Thirteen. He cast his eyes in the direction of my father, who was still going at it with the villains. A loud grunt met my ears as he sent one flying with his scarf.

"They picked this time and place on purpose," I murmured.

At last I had turned to face the class, though I was still feeling very sick. My eyes prickled, hot tears threatening to spill over at any moment. I was sweating quite a lot, it almost felt like the cold sweats one gets when they have a fever.

"We're in the USJ, which is pretty isolated. All Might was supposed to be here, too… Is it out of the question to think that maybe they're targeting him?"

"That's a good point." Shouto said darkly. He was gazing past me, still watching my father's fight, which I was now ignoring. "They must have some clear-"

"Enough of this." Mr. Thirteen had at last overcome his confusion, brought on by being blindsided by an enormous group of villains. He waved to the class, motioning for us to follow. "We need to get out, now, while we still have the chance. Everyone, follow me, quickly,"

Izuku was standing still, glancing down the flight of stairs. He was watching my father's fight with immense interest, his wide eyes following his movements eagerly. I grabbed his arm roughly, jerking him along behind me as I ran.

"This is no time for analyzing, Izuku!" I snapped.

We were bringing up the rear of the group, along with Ochaco and Shouto. I felt a heaviness sinking into the pit of my stomach; somehow, I knew we weren't going to be able to get out. Without warning, the blackness that I had seen at the start of the attack materialized suddenly in front of our group. Mr. Thirteen halted in his tracks, gazing up at it with surprise; the inky blackness was something one could easily get lost in.

"I cannot allow you to leave."

With a jolt I realized that the pool of darkness had a head, and a face, which was regarding us in a manner that resembled how an animal looks at something it's about to eat. Just beneath what I assumed was the head, the villain wore what appeared to be a metal choker of some kind, which glimmered in the bright light of the USJ. I gulped, releasing Izuku's arm.

"Greetings," he began again. For a villain, he was surprisingly polite. "We are the League of Villains. I apologize for the intrusion, but we took it upon ourselves to into UA academy, the base for all of you heroes, in order to engage with Mr. All Might, the symbol of peace."

I narrowed my eyes: I had been spot on.

"We were hoping to be allowed the opportunity to extinguish him, you see. I had been under the assumption that Mr. All Might would be attending this meeting- perchance, has something been altered…? No matter-"

I cast my eyes around the class, realizing as a small click met my ears that Mr. Thirteen meant to engage in battle with the blob of darkness that had appeared in front of us. I bit my lips, continuing to glance around at my classmates; one false move, and things could get ugly. As if on cue, none other than Eijiro and Katsuki leapt forth from our group, snarling in an enthusiastic manner. Their charge interrupted Mr. Thirteen's plan, and the darkness's attention turned instead to the two young heroes-in-training who were now fast approaching him.

"You morons!" I cried out over a loud explosion, the result of Katsuki's attack. "He's a warper- you won't be able to attack him that way!"

"Daichi-san, what do you mean?" Izuku muttered from beside me. The darkness was saying something to Eijiro and Katsuki, whose attack had failed.

"That guy is clearly how the villains got in here." I said. I felt my core temperature spike, my eyes refusing to move away from the warp villain in front of me; I needed a plan. "It seems like he's a portal- like, his whole body is nothing but a portal. If that's the case, then we can't let him get too close-"

Before I had even finished my warning, my fears were realized. In a single swoop our class was swallowed by the dark mass in front of us, while his disembodied voice made us illicit promises of fear and torture. I felt bodies moving around me, but I was unable to see who they were; they came and went, though I was never sure if they were the same people.

Then, suddenly, the blackness parted, and I was able to see clearly once more. As I glanced around me, I realized that I was falling through the air. I took a breath, both to steady my own concentration as well as to try and feel less like throwing up. A moment later, an enormous chunk of earth had flown up to meet me. I hit it rather roughly, letting out a grunt and stretching as I flipped over onto my stomach before crouching on top of the rock.

I was still several feet above the ground, hovering alone in the middle of what looked like the Landslide Zone of the USJ. I arched an eyebrow, rolling my eyes despite the terror within me that was lurking just beneath my brief fit of annoyance; were these villains idiots? Had they really just dropped a girl with an earth element Quirk into the Landslide Zone? Before I could consider this any further, a noise to my right drew me out of my thoughts.

A punch to the side of my face sent me flying in the opposite direction. I bounced several times against the dirt covered ground, a low grunt escaping my lips as I finally slid to a halt a few feet from where my chunk of earth continued to float several feet above the ground.

Standing next to the rock that I had used to land was a young man- at least, I assumed that he was young. His skin was chunky, brown, but his appearance was otherwise fairly nondescript. He wore a triumphant smirk, no doubt in response to the air I'd caught as a result of his punch; my face throbbed slightly where he had struck me, and I glowered.

"Well, well, well," he growled, shifting his position slightly as he spoke. I was suddenly aware of the fact that he was flanked by two other villains; all three of them looked slightly animalistic. "Lookie what we've got here, boys- a pretty little girl hero!" The men behind him chuckled- they were getting closer.

"Is it just her?" muttered another from behind the leader, who shook his head.

"The other group is taking care of the second kid that warped here- I'm sure they'll be wrapping up soon."

While they spoke I closed my eyes, gathering my energy and collecting my thoughts. Around me pebbles began to rise, levitating at eye level as I activated my Quirk. Chills ran down my back as sand grazed my exposed skin. It was as though the tiny granules were wanting to tell me: We're ready.

"Anyways, let's take care of this kid fast, and-"

I silenced them before they could get out another word. I stretched out one arm, not bothering to move from the spot where I had fallen. My legs were covered in dust, and the cuts that my bare legs were now covered with stung as sand burrowed into my exposed flesh, sand mixing with blood in a delightfully unpleasant way.

As I stretched out my hand I felt my core temperature rise, a light sweat breaking out across my temple; I ignored it. The villains watched with unguarded horror and surprise as an enormous pile of earth, molded by my Quirk into the shape of my arm, sprung out of the ground. The familiar crumbling noise of rock against rock met my ears as the ground below shifted to make up for the empty space left over.

"What the- ?" shouted one villain, backing away very swiftly. I made a face; despite their intimidating appearance as a group, the villains I was facing now were surprisingly unimpressive.

"What th'hell was Black Mist thinkin', sendin' an earth element Quirk kid to the landslide area?" yelled the leader as he crouched low to the ground, as though he were preparing to fight. I smirked.

With a quick movement of my wrist, with very little flourish, I sent the earth arm soaring towards them. The leader jumped out of the way while another attempted to fight it with what I could only assume was some kind of strength-enhancing Quirk. I scowled, and with a flick of my wrist and a small mental push I squashed him like a bug. I heard a tiny oof as the villain became trapped beneath the arm's rocky fingers.

"Dammit, Black Mist!" growled the leader, who was now glowering at the ground. His comrade squirmed as he struggled to escape from my clutches.

I stayed seated, content with continuing to lazily battle these subpar villains while remaining flat on my ass. Clearly, whoever was in charge of this shindig had not expected for the students to be able to hold their own- that was the only explanation for the embarrassingly low level of skill that the villains in front of me possessed.

I moved my hand, flipping my palm as I rotated my free arm in a clockwise motion in front of me. The rock from earlier that I had used to break my fall flew through the air towards the second villain. His reaction time, slow it was, was not quick enough to allow him to dodge the simple attack. The rock hit him squarely in the gut, knocking the wind out of him before sending him flying far, far away from me. His limp body gliding unceremoniously through the air slightly resembled a rag doll thrown by a child.

I was sweating more, now, but I ignored my own discomfort, instead shifting my arms in front of my face to follow the first forms of Hakkeshou. I raised up both arms, staggered slightly, palms facing up; a low rumble met my ears from behind me, and I saw the remaining villain's eyes widen in shock.

"Well, what did you expect?" I muttered from the ground. Behind me an enormous wave of earth rose like the tide, crashing through the USJ arena with a force that shook the ground beneath me. "This is the landslide zone, after all."

The current of dirt and rock parted around me like red sea, earth and various debris churning across the ground, burying the final villain and his trapped comrade beneath layers of sediment. Dust filled the air, though I made sure that it went nowhere near my face- I did not much fancy inhaling a cloud of dust. I sighed, at last able to drop my arms and rest. I felt slightly out of it, but I was not quite sure why- even though my core temperature was broiling away within me, it had been a fairly short fight.

"Daichi?"

My head snapped to my right, blue eyes meeting the familiar mismatched pair of Todoroki Shouto, who was climbing over a mound of rock to get closer to me. He did not look afraid; or, should I say, he looked more frustrated than afraid. The sand crunched beneath his shoes as he walked towards me, his eyes looking bored as he scanned the area around us for potential threats.

"Hey, Shouto," I muttered from my place on the ground, covered in dirt and dust. "Is it just you?" He nodded.

"These villains didn't really do their homework, did they?" he chuckled, eyeing the enormous pile of rock that now covered my former foes. "Dropping you, of all people, into the landslide zone?" I made a pfft sound, scoffing in agreement.

"That's what I was just thinking." His eyes regarded me coolly, watching my every miniscule movement oh-so carefully. It was beginning to annoy me. "What?" I growled under my breath. He shrugged.

"Just making sure you're feeling alright." he replied nonchalantly. "About your father, I mean." My heart stopped momentarily as I jolted back to reality. That's right- my father had his life on the line right now. "You looked worried earlier. It made me worry." Despite my tiredness I felt myself blush.

"Did you do alright on your end?" I asked, changing the subject quickly. He nodded, and I noticed that with every breath he was also letting out a visible puff of air. "You seem chilly." His only response was to glare at me.

"Did you talk to them at all?" he asked; it was now his turn to quickly change the subject.

"Who- the villains?" He nodded. "No, I was a little preoccupied with kicking their asses to ask questions." was my sassy reply.

Shouto rolled his eyes, extending a hand to me and helping me stand. My shoes, which had been forced upon me by my father while exiting the bus, scraped against the sand in an irritating sort of way as I walked.

"Well, I talked to them." Shouto began, casting his gaze towards the far side of the landslide zone. "I'm not sure how much to believe of what they said… But I know that they're trying to get to All Might, for sure."

"With these shoddy skills?" I scoffed, jerking my thumb in the direction of my precious earth pile. I heard a faint groan emerge from its depths. "They're a bunch of dreamers if they think they can take All Might on like that." Shouto shook his head, looking grim.

"They were… talking about some sort of weapon…" he murmured.

I froze, our eyes meeting again; I wondered if that was a part of his Quirk, being able to make people freeze with just a single look. I chuckled internally at the thought, but was quickly brought back to reality by the gravity of the situation.

"Weapon… What sort of weapon?" I asked. He shook his head and shrugged.

"I didn't get much out of them after that," he said. "They were pretty cold by that point, so I knocked them out… But I got the feeling that it's more like they've got a pretty powerful person up their sleeves, rather than an object." My heart skipped a beat nervously.

"My dad is back there," I whispered. I could not conceal the terror in my voice. "He's good at what he does, but my dad can't fight a person meant for All Might…" Shouto nodded knowingly.

"I know…"

"We have to get to him!" I cried, suddenly in a panic. "We have to warn him- help him!"

"Daichi, hold on-"

"Why?" I exclaimed, feeling almost enraged.

His hand was gripping my arm tightly, holding me back as I attempted to charge full speed towards the fountain where I knew my father would still be fighting.

"Calm down," he murmured softly. His hand on my body was soothing, but I refused to think about that just then. I needed to get to my father. "Just think about what you're saying…"

"I'm sorry, Shouto," I whispered. My eyes met his once again, trying to convey what I was feeling to him. "I have to go- you can't stop me."

Shouto paused, his gaze looking thoughtful as he looked into my eyes. He pursed his lips, clearly feeling conflicted, but then nodded very slowly. His grip on my arm loosened, his rough fingers pulling away from my bare wrist as he resigned himself to letting me do as I please. Shouto continued to nod, as though doing it was some sort of self-assuring action.

"I heard some explosions coming from the area next to ours," he said, casting his eyes to our collective left. "I'm going to go check it out- maybe some of our classmates are there and need help."

"That's the mountain area." I informed him. He nodded, showing me he had understood.

"Go do what you need to do." he continued. He shoes scraped against the sand as he turned away from me, taking several steps in the opposite direction. "Don't say I didn't warn you… You've no clue what you'll be in for if you go to him, now."

"I know…" I murmured. I turned away from him, too, facing in the direction that I knew my father would be. "Thanks, Shouto."

And then I was running, sprinting as fast as I could straight through the center of the USJ. The soles of my shoes tip-tap-ed along as they hit the concrete walkway that connected all of the various arenas within Mr. Thirteen's precious facility. In the back of my mind, I felt rather bad for him; each explosion I heard or rumble that I felt meant that part of his facility was likely being destroyed.

I stopped running when I reached the edge of the lake: I had reached the flood zone. I cast my eyes to my right, slightly able to make out my father fighting several people from where I stood. I paused, removing my shoes by the water's edge- all shoes had ever done for me was slow me down. I flicked my wrist before stepping into the water, the bottoms of my feet resting on a thin bridge of earth that I had raised to the top of the water.

My feet sloshed quietly with each step that I took, the noise lost beneath the shouts and other noises surrounding me, filling the area within the USJ. I had stopped looking at the fight as I walked, not wanting to see my father getting hurt while I was in the process of sneaking up on our enemy.

"Daichi-chan?"

A monotonous ribbit broke through my internal worrying- a panicked rambling that had been filling my head since the very first moment I had seen the hand-man emerge from the darkness of the warp villain's Quirk. My head snapped up, blue eyes coming to rest on three of my classmates: Tsuyu, Izuku, and Mineta. They were wading tiredly through the water, save for Mineta, who was being dragged by his scarf- which was held tightly in Tsuyu's fist- through the water.

"D… Daichi…" Izuku choked out. He was holding his hand and wincing- he had used his Quirk.

"Are you all alright?" I whispered, being careful to keep my voice down. I was not yet sure how close we were to any potential enemies.

Izuku nodded as I reached out to them. I pulled him up onto my land bridge, careful to grab his uninjured hand as I did so. He gave me a grateful smile, which I returned before taking Mineta off of Tsuyu's hands. I grabbed him roughly by the collar, giving him a look of distaste before dropping him unceremoniously onto the bridge beside Izuku. Tsuyu ribbitted a word of thanks as I at last helped her out of the water.

"How are you, Daichi-san?" Izuku murmured at last.

We were now all standing on my bridge, which was barely submerged beneath the water's surface. We almost appeared as though we were walking on water.

"I'm fine," I replied easily. A low rumble from beyond the water's edge made me jump, and a lump rose in my throat; that had come from the direction of my father's fight. "These lowlifes dumped me in the landslide zone-" Tsuyu scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I know, right?"

"Did these guys really have a plan up their sleeves?" Izuku said. I could sense that he was on the verge of one of his classic Izuku muttering fits. "At first it really seemed as though they did- waiting for us to be separated from the rest of UA, stealing the schedule to be sure who'd be here, separating us from one another-"

"Izuku!" I hissed, grabbing him roughly by the shoulders. A firm yet gentle shake brought him to his senses. He gave a nervous chuckle before settling down again. "Anyways, it really seems like that was the extent of their plan- they even dropped Tsuyu in the flood zone. Tsuyu loves floods."

"I love floods." Tsuyu echoed with a croak.

We began to walk very slowly forwards, Mineta bringing up the rear. Izuku was nursing his hand, holding it gingerly in front of him as we walked. The rumbling had not stopped since I had heard it the first time, and in the distance I could begin to make out several figures on the concrete shore of the lake. The fountain that took up the center of Mr. Thirteen's USJ was still bubbling away happily, without a care in the world, ignoring the widespread panic within the facility and simply continuing to pour clear water from its spout.

I was now looking down at my feet, knowing that I needed to keep moving forward, but now feeling too scared to look at my father's fight. Then it would be real- whatever injuries my father had sustained, however badly he had been beaten- that would all materialize the moment I decided to look.

I did not want to see… I was not ready to see just how hurt he had gotten by fighting so many villains at once, all on his own. The edge of the lake was far enough away that all we heard were distant mutters as my father spoke to his opponents, and dull thuds as they struck each other; I flinched every time, imagining it was my father who was being hit.

My eyes shifted, my gaze moving ever so slightly, coming to rest on Tsuyu. I had not realized that she had dismounted from my bridge, clearly content within the coolness of the water. As she was crouched at the edge of the water, half submerged, clinging to the concrete edge of the man-made lake that comprised the flood zone, I realized with a jolt that she looked scared, sad, awe-struck… What was going on?

"Tsuyu…" I whispered. My eyes were fixed on her. I did not want to see what was happening. Tsuyu's eyes were wide; I did not like this feeling. "Tsuyu, what's-"

A loud screech overpowered my words. It was a sickening noise, one that rang through my body and viscerally repulsed me to my very core. The sound was strangely human, and yet so far from a human's cries that it was unrecognizable to me; it was coming from in front of us. From where my father was.

"Midoriya-chan…" Tsuyu whispered, meeting my eyes and then glancing back at our comrades. I followed her gaze, realizing with a jolt of horror that Izuku had become so terrified that he was sweating. "Midoriya-chan… This is too much for us to help with…"

"We've gotta be having second thoughts about coming here, right?"

Mineta's voice came out slightly garbled, his palms clapped over his mouth. A mixture of surprise and pure terror contorted his features. I heard a strangled sound of pain come from the area where my father was fighting; my heart stopped.

Finally, very slowly, I forced my eyes to travel away from Tsuyu. They moved forwards, in the direction that I knew my father would be. Rubble littered the area surrounding the fountain, and in some places there were huge chunks of earth missing. Debris lay scattered every which way, evidence of the fight that had taken place. At last, my blue eyes fell on my father, and my breath caught in my throat.

Above him was one of the most sickening beings I had ever laid eyes upon. Its brain, which was exposed at the top of his head, bulged in an unnerving way with every movement that it made. It was enormous, bigger than All Might, its muscled hands gripping my father much too tightly. My father's face was bloody, broken; he looked like he was in an immense amount of pain. The creature above him screeched threateningly when my eyes met its gaze. The noise sent chills down my spine. I felt frozen.

"Oh…?" A snide voice cut into my shock, jolting me from my shocked stupor. I realized suddenly that the hand-man was standing a few feet away from my father, watching gleefully as the monster toyed with him. "What do we have here…?"

His eyes, which were barely visible behind the fake hand that adorned his face, were red and ravenous as they fell on us. Behind me I heard an audible gulp escape Mineta; Tsuyu was wide-eyed from her place in the water; Izuku was completely silent.

"Daichi!" I jolted, coming out of the near trance-like state I had been in at the sound of my father's voice. He was yelling- I had never heard him yell like that. "Daichi, no! Run! Go, now!"

"... papa…"

My words came out in a whisper so quiet I was surprised that anyone knew I had spoken. The hand-man perked up. He was walking towards us, edging closer and closer like a predator.

"What's that now?" he chided.

His mouth was curled in a strained sort of smirk, the kind that's so wide that it looks as though your face might crack. My stomach churned, and I suddenly began to feel very sick. My body was frozen, suspended on top of the water by my land bridge beneath me. I felt my body twitching; I did not know if it was out of fear or anger.

"Daichi! Please, just run!" my father screamed again.

The creature shoved my father's face deep into the dirt, and I heard a pained grunt escape his mouth. The creature squawked, apparently very pleased with itself.

"Papa…"

"Daichi-san, why do you keep saying that?" Izuku hissed from behind me. "We need to go… Daichi-san, we need to-"

"Are you… saying 'papa'?" the hand-man asked. He had stopped walking, and was now perched on the edge of the lake. We were only a few feet apart. "You are the daughter of Eraserhead?" I said nothing, though I heard a few confused murmurs from the direction of Tsuyu and Izuku. "I thought you looked familiar…"

Familiar…? What did he mean by that? I wanted to ask, but no matter how hard I tried, I could not get my lips to move; no matter how hard I tried, my eyes refused to leave my father's body. He was now completely immobile, and I struggled to push my fear of his death farther into the back of my mind as it squirmed through my consciousness. A few splashes to my rear indicated that my friends were backing away; I did not blame them.

"Well, well…" the man sighed. He sounded rather mad, his voice warbled like a broken radio speaker. This person belonged in an asylum. "Noumu, we're going to play a little game…" the man continued. The creature made a noise that I did not like. "This girl is old man Aizawa's little girl… Let's see how she fares…"

"Papa…" I said again, louder this time. My fingers, which had previously felt very numb, began to regain feeling.

"Let's see what happens when I do this-" He snapped his fingers and the creature lifted up my father's body; it was very limp. "Noumu-" My eyes widened as I suddenly regained my sensibility.

"Papa!"

With my defiant snarl came an enormous pillar of earth, springing forth from the ground and hitting the hand-man squarely in the face. He went flying, soaring through the air before hitting the fountain. I kept the earth following him, crashing into him again when he landed; the fountain burst into smaller chunks of rock, which scattered themselves across the floor.

I snapped my head to the right, angry blue eyes falling on the creature. It was still gripping my father, but was casting a confused expression every which way. I raised one arm as I stepped from the water to the concrete. The pads of my feet scuffed lightly against the cold stone surface, though their sound was lost amongst the noise of the crumbling fountain.

Following the motion of my arm, a swarm of concrete granules squirmed fluidly in between my father and the creature before solidifying into a block. Momentarily confused, the creature released my father's arms, focussing instead on the new obstacle in front of it. I smirked- despite our enormous strength differences, I clearly had the advantage in intelligence; that was the only thing that I had going for me. I stomped the ground with one foot before pushing my arms through the air- away from my body- forcing the creature back from my father.

The creature's weight and strength pressed against my consciousness as I forced it back inch by inch. The concrete block seemed to be of little hindrance to it, physically, but its presence alone as well as its incessant pushing seemed to cause the creature a fair amount of confusion. Without his master, the hand-man, to give it orders, the creature appeared to be fairly useless, albeit horrifyingly strong.

Without a second thought I ran to my father's side. My stomach felt heavy as it churned anxiously within me; my body was a nervous tangle of thoughts and over stimulated nerves. I crouched down, reaching out to him with my sweaty palms. Heat was now radiating through my body quite uncomfortably, as every few seconds I was having to wave my arm to resurrect my concrete distraction each time the monster pummeled it into bits.

"Papa…" I whispered, picking up his head and resting it on my bent knees. "I'm going to get you out of here, alright?"

My voice was cracking, though my eyes seemed to be unable to shed any tears. I was unsure of what to call the emotion that I felt at that time- a mixture of terror, sadness, hopelessness and stress. I doubted there was any one word that would be able to fully convey my internal state of being.

"Errm… Daich… i…"

My father could barely speak through his pain; the hero Eraserhead seemed on the brink of death. His eyes, which were almost lost within the pulverized mess of his face, searched for mine through the haze of blood that clouded his vision. I squeezed his shoulders tightly with my hands- just briefly- before gently replacing him on the concrete. I flipped my arm upwards again, the sound of crumbling rock indicating that Noumu had destroyed yet another concrete slab.

I stood up, slowly, straight as I could manage through my fear; my eyes had come to rest on the hand-man, who was gingerly removing himself from the pile of rubble that had previously been the USJ fountain. My mouth was set in a firm line as I stepped carefully over my father, deftly avoiding his hand as he weakly attempted to grab my ankle. The expression on my face was one that I hoped conveyed a sense of determination, but behind my lips I was biting my tongue, willing my body to stop shaking.

My right fist clapped against my left palm as I assumed the bow that began the first form of my Hakkeshou; my hands slipped against each other, my palms more sweaty than I could recall them ever having been in the past. A nondescript moan escaped my father's mouth as he began to lose his grip on his actions, succumbing to the pain and blood loss. I glanced over my shoulder, making a lifting motion with both palms. Three tall walls of rock sprouted up around my father, curving over him like a cave.

I waved my arm again, and the concrete that I had been using to distract Noumu shifted its shape to resemble a body. I had to keep him occupied- he would fight an opponent made of concrete as I fought the dirtbag who wounded my father.

"... That hurt…"

The hand-man had at last erected himself. He was hunched amidst the rubble of the fountain, his unsettling gaze fixated on me from behind the fake hand that was his mask. His body was shaking, and I suddenly realized that he was laughing. The queasy feeling had returned to my stomach; this man gave me the chills.

"Do you mean to hold us both off until help arrives?" he asked me, turning to face me completely as he spoke. I swallowed thickly, a nervous ball rising in my throat at the realization of what I was doing. I did not reply. "That's plucky…"

"I won't let you hurt him anymore…" I whispered.

I cursed myself for my lack of conviction, moving my hands all the while as I made the stone person I had created dance around Noumu in a taunting fashion. The man continued to laugh at me.

"Hmm…" the man mused. His voice sounded like an eerie melody. "Well, it would be a shame not to get in a few jabs at All Might's pride, so long as I'm here…"

"What are you waiting for, then?" I hissed back. Sweat trickled down my back. "You're stalling."

This simple comment seemed to be enough to spur him. A scathing tch noise was his only reply to my weak taunt while he crouched slightly lower to the ground. I stiffened as I prepared to fight, pushing through the waves of heat that now lay siege to my body. I stopped waving my arms, placing my hands in their typical staggered position and ignoring the uncomfortable coolness as the air hit the damp parts of my leotard, which was now mostly drenched in sweat. I was counting on the concrete having been under my influence long enough to follow my movements.

And then the man was running, charging straight towards me with all of his might. I dragged my left foot out in a semicircle in front of me, making concrete rise directly behind it, following the path of my foot while increasing in height. A pause, and then a stomp of the foot; the concrete disconnected from the ground. I clenched my fists, parting my arms away from one another and moving them perpendicular to my body, causing the concrete to break apart into chunks and disperse through the space around me. Through the floating rubble I caught a glimpse of my opponent, who had chosen to rush towards my father rather than attack me directly.

A glower contorted my features, a combination of pure anger and the effort of fighting. With a low growl I spun around to face the direction of my father, twirling my arms across and then around each other before flattening my hands and pushing them through the air in a forward motion, palms facing towards the hand-man. A chunk of concrete soared through the air, landing in front of his foot as him made to move closer to my father. The villain dodged and parried, but I continued with my pattern of twirling and pushing, my arms dancing through the air as I sent a continuous stream of rubble in his direction.

A low snarl escaped the man as a flying chunk of concrete caught him in the shoulder only feet away from my father's resting place. He stumbled back, scuffling across the concrete floor from the force of the impact. Out of my periphery I watched as Noumu stared dumbly at the the twirling concrete body in front of him, which was copying my movements. It seemed that without direct orders, the creature could barely do much at all.

The momentary distraction of checking up on Noumu was enough to give my opponent an opening. A low exclamation of triumph caught my attention to my right, and I turned just in time to see the hand-man's face come within inches of my own. My eyes widened in shock, nearly tripping over my feet as I scuttled clumsily backwards to put distance between the two of us. His arm was outstretched, groping the air in an attempt to grab some part of me. I waved a single palm in front of my face, blocking his hand with a hardened wall of crushed concrete.

The man ducked down low, swerving and attempting to grab me for a second time. I grimaced, ignoring the sweat that was stinging my eyes while barely managing to block his hand with another wall of hardened dust. Again and again this occurred: the man struck, I barely dodged, only to find that he had moved to strike again before I could even recover from his last attempt. I was slowing down, and he knew it.

Resigning myself to the possibility of injury, I did the one thing I could think to do: I did not react. He struck, which I once again barely blocked, which was followed by him immediately shifting his weight and parrying around in another direction to try again. This time, I did not spin my body to follow his movements. I forced my aching, sweating, terror-stricken body to freeze, following his movements with eyes and ears alone as I waited for the opening that had always been there. In my haste to divert his blows I had continuously ignored the time it took for him to get into a position to strike. I had let my fear override my better judgement, and I knew that if I were to let it go on any longer I would eventually tire and be killed.

The opening came just when I knew it would. The man parried my defense, ducking low and swerving to my other side. His foot, which always came off of the ground briefly when he spun, landed on the ground with a scuff- and this was where he had to pause. The split second that the hand-man needed to regain his balance after parrying was all the time that I had to attack him, and I had missed it each time as my fear spurred my instinctive and reactionary defenses. This time, I took it.

"Got you-"

A loud crack cut off the villain's words as I whipped my right hand in a downwards parabola- front to back- before swinging it around and up, ending at the top of my head. A fluid arch of concrete broke the surface of the floor like a wave, smacking into the man's face and sending him careening clear in the opposite direction. I heard a growl of anger and pain as his back hit the ground- once, twice, three times- before he at last slid to a halt on the other side of the central plaza. He landed several yards away from the edge of the downpour zone, a cloud of dust following in his wake.

I wiped the sweat from my brow with my sleeve, an audible splash meeting my ears as my sweat hit the ground. My breathing was labored, and it was becoming very difficult for me to see clearly. I felt feverish, lightheaded, my vision swirling ever so slightly as I stared intently at where the hand-man had fallen.

He pushed his torso off of the ground, propping himself up on his hands. His head was hung, hiding his face, and I realized that his hand mask had been knocked off by my attack. My gaze shifted, falling on the false hand that now lay directly in between my opponent and myself; he did not seem happy at all. A strangled cry broke our silence, making me jump with surprise. Sweat dripped down the sides of my face with the force of the jolt.

"It's no good!" he cried, pushing himself into a crawling position. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"

He continued to murmur nonsensically as he clawed his way towards the hand, grasping at it desperately when he finally made his way to where it rested on the cold concrete. His muttering did not stop as he replaced his mask, staring at the ground all the while. I heard my father shift from behind me, but the noise stopped quickly; he no longer had the strength to move.

The appearance of the familiar black warp of the hand-man's villain companion shook me out of my temporary trance. Ripping my eyes away from the man on the ground, I watched as the second villain materialized in a spiral of darkness. His sharp eyes regarded the man on the ground with a reserved manner, though it was difficult to read his emotions due to the fact that his face was nothing more than a nondescript darkness with eyes. I did not move from where I was standing, unsure of how to proceed or what was going to happen.

"Shigaraki Tomura…" the portal villain muttered, his metal neckpiece glimmering in the light of the USJ.

The man on the floor perked up, though he did not stand. My eyes widened in shock as my exhausted brain made a faint connection: Shigaraki Izanami was the name I had read on the old newspaper clipping.

"Black Mist…" the man called Tomura said faintly, standing up at last. His body wobbled as he stood. "Then, Thirteen is dead?" My heart sank.

"I have incapacitated him," Black Mist replied rigidly. "Though I'm afraid the students that I could not scatter impeded me… He was therefore able to escape with his life." I let out a small sigh of relief; I felt dizzy.

Tomura's response was to let out a sickening wail, a ghostly low warble of a whine that was nearly too much for me to bare in my exhausted state. His body shook, as did his voice, though I could not tell if it was from insult or injury.

"Black Mist, you… If you can't be a proper warp gate, then our plans've crumbled!" he choked out, his eyes downcast and enraged. "If they throw dozens of pros at us, we can't win… No… No… It's game over for now."

I cast my eyes to my right, checking up on my father while the villains murmured about their next move. His breathing was heavy, and he lay in an uncomfortable-looking position, his body tangled in an odd way within the confines of the concrete cave that I had built for him. His eyes were darting back and forth between me and the villains, and I could tell that he was clinging to consciousness desperately, determined to not take his eyes off of me. Several yards behind him, Noumu had stopped moving, his gaze fixated on Tomura intently.

"Well… Shall we hop back…?"

Tomura and Black Mist exchanged a glance, the warp villain gesturing in a way that slightly resembled a nod. Tomura sighed, rubbing his head and squirming slightly where he stood; he seemed to be trying to make up his mind about something.

"Just one thing… I have to do before…" he began. His right arm snaked towards Black Mist, whose eyes were now fixed on me. My breath caught in my throat. "... I have a score to settle, here…"

"DAICHI!"

My father's scream and the pain hit me simultaneously; without having realized it, Black Mist had created a warp gate between Tomura and myself. Tomura, whose arm was now submerged within the depths of Black Mist's portal, wore a gleeful expression, though it was hidden beneath his mask for the most part. His hand, which had appeared out of the air next to me, gripped my elbow tightly. His fingertips dug into me, the shock of his attack frying my nerves as my costume and skin began to dry out and peel.

I was no longer hot. The feverish feeling that had previously filled me was now replaced by a cold sweat, stabbing pains, and the feeling that I might vomit at any moment. The pain in my arm was more than I had the ability to describe; my father's cries were lost to me as my mind went blank, my ears filling with a monotonous, high-pitched noise that resembled the sound of a flatline on a heart monitor. My vision shook, my eyes rolling back and forth in my head, unable to fixate on anything but the pain that I felt. Blood dribbled down my arm, pooling at my feet. Warm blood bathed my toes.

"Got you." Tomura goaded.

I could no longer feel my own presence within my mind. I was only very clearly aware of two things: My pain, and the one who had caused it.

"No…" I replied, my voice warped from effort of speaking through my pain. My head flopped to one side as a wide sneer broke out across my face; it hurt. "Got you!"

The blood on my toes sprang upwards, twirling like snakes through the air. It gripped Tomura's wrist tightly, holding his hand in place where he still grasped my arm. I did not move, my head limp and body numb, as a thin but sturdy sheet of concrete shot out of the ground directly below Tomura's arm. The edge of the sheet hit Tomura, jabbing into his elbow roughly and with excessive force. A loud snap! from his arm told me that the bones were broken.

A cry of pain escaped Tomura from across the plaza. Before Black Mist could do anything, the coils of blood that gripped Tomura's wrist yanked on his now useless arm, pulling him through the warp gate on my end and sending him crashing into the ground behind me. I heard a choke as he hit the ground, the force of the impact being rough enough to crack the weakened cement floor.

The faint whoosh that met my ears was all that alerted me to Black Mist's movements. My eyes could not stop rolling around in my head, back and forth within my sockets, my eyelids spasming in a painful and unpleasant way. I could no longer see what was going on around me.

Black Mist appeared in front of me, though I could barely register his presence with my eyes. My body would not move, and my mind no longer seemed to possess any semblance of rational thought. I felt like a sick person trapped in a fever dream, no longer able to think clearly or control my actions. Black Mist moved towards me, meaning to warp me away from Tomura. My Quirk stopped his actions quickly, even though my body made no movements; his metal collar dented as he was pushed away from me.

The chinking sound of shattering glass filled the air. Tomura was struggling to stand, pushing his body up with his one good arm while Black Mist regained his composure elsewhere. The glass roof of Mr. Thirteen's USJ shattered in multiple places, pulling away from the rest of the dome that comprised the training facility before shooting down towards Tomura as fast as my Quirk could move them.

"Noumu!"

Tomura's shout drew the creature out of its unhelpful stupor. In a flash Noumu was in front of him, on top of him, shielding Tomura from the onslaught of glass that had been sent flying in his direction- thousands of razor sharp projectiles, buzzing through the air like swarms of gnats. The shards hit Noumu's back, one after the other. Some bounced off of his back to return to the air, while others shattered into still smaller shards. Several others stayed near him, spinning themselves like drill bits until their sharp tips were embedded just below the surface of his skin. The creature let out a small whimper and a growl, but did not move.

My body, still numb and uncontrollable, had begun to wobble. I felt sick, and I knew that I had to stop- but stop what? I could no longer remember what was happening around me. As I struggled to grab ahold of any semblance of rational thought, several pillars of concrete sprang up around Noumu, pummeling and pushing him again and again. The creature did not move, but the attacks drew his attention away from Tomura.

Delicately, a tendril of collected debris snaked his body out from underneath of Noumu, who was growling ferociously at the onslaught of glass and concrete. My Quirk pulled Tomura closer to me, the tips of his toes dragging along the floor as the ropes of blood and dust suspended him in the air. My head flopped lazily to the other side, my cheek resting on my shoulder. I still could barely see.

"Tomura, does it hurt?"

No, that didn't feel right to say… Did it?

The sounds of Tomura choking were the only replies I received.

"This is how you made my father feel."

My vision suddenly grew dark, a shadow impeding my already compromised vision. Someone- someone much bigger than I was- had appeared behind me. I felt their chest against my back; the sound of the flatline that had been filling my ears ceased, and with a thump that resembled a pile of laundry being tossed onto the floor, Tomura crumpled to the ground.

"Please forgive me, Young Aizawa,"

The familiar voice of All Might drew me back to my senses ever so briefly. A debilitating tiredness washed over me, and I felt a sudden pressure on my neck. I blinked, my vision recovering itself at last; the scene in front of me was nothing but blood and debris.

"You have done quite enough."

That was when my consciousness at last slipped away from me.


A very big thank you to all of those who have read, reviewed, followed or favorited! your support is much appreciated and I hope I can continue to write something you all enjoy.

In response to the comment about Daichi's appearance, I apologize for any confusion. Firstly- yes, the cover art is supposed to be her. The color of her hair, however, was not what I wanted (it's a little too dark). Creamy is not the same thing as orange- I was using it to try and paint a picture of the exact shade I had in mind. Initially I thought of using the word "peachy", but that seemed too bright. I think, after some thought, the colors I would use for reference for those of you who'd like a more clear picture of her are Fuzzy Navel and Papaya... After looking through a lot of shades of orange and pink and cream, I think that the color I am envisioning falls somewhere on a spectrum between those two. Very sorry for any confusion in regards to that!

As always, thanks very much for reading! I look forward to any thoughts or feedback and will endeavor to update again as soon as I can.

Thanks!

Shi-chan