While Ibara hugged Reiko, Izuku took stock of the class. All in all, he was satisfied. There wasn't a single casualty among 1A, unless you counted Kirishima—but even that was a success in Izuku's eyes. Not only was he alive, he was also stable—not to mention dreaming. He was probably having a better time than them, counting sheep.
Who surprised him the most was Satou. Though he clutched his shoulder like it was going to fall off, he seemed otherwise healthy. He didn't know when the boy woke up, but he was happy Satou was alright. Plus, on a strategic level, him regaining his autonomy was perfect. Izuku spent most of his time since Darkshadow fell doing two things. First, he'd been worrying out of his mind over Satou. If, on the off-chance everyone made it outside alright, it would still be his responsibility to double-back and retrieve him.
Second, he'd been using little puffs of Smokescreen to scrub away Uraraka's vomit. Moving on from Satou, Izuku continued to assess the class. His eyes met Uraraka's for a moment—but the contact didn't last. She pulled her eyes away and glued them to the ground, her normal rosy cheeks more crimson than normal.
It seemed Reiko, Sero, and Kouda had concussions. Aoyama, Mezou, and Jirou bordered on Quirk Exhaustion. Kirishima was comatose. Uraraka was deaf in one ear. Ibara had a broken leg—as did Tokoyami and Sero, but to lesser degrees. Sero also had a broken elbow. Ojiro's tail was crooked—broken. Satou's shoulder wasn't set right in his socket. No one else seemed injured—though they were all winded.
As his eyes bounced through the crowd, many eyes returned his attention—and then crept a little upwards.
He'd almost forgotten his balloons. Izuku turned, gazing up at the Proto-Nomu's. One snarled at him, a whine in its throat. It took a swipe at him, but its hardened fingertips met nothing but air. The Blackwhips holding them sprouted from his shoulders, and the duration was beginning to wear on him. Unfortunately, releasing them was impossible. Thank the heavens for Uraraka, at least—carrying them was a cake walk. All he worried about was his limits, not his ability.
No one stood within six meters of him—but for once, he didn't feel isolated. Everyone stared at him with thinly-veiled patience, waiting for something. He didn't say anything until Ibara pulled away from Reiko's embrace.
She hovered a few inches off the floor, a new gleam in her eyes. With no gravity, her vines floated around her heedless of Earth's pull. It gave her head a mermaid-like impression, but that wasn't all. Her calm demeanor mixed with her flight and sun-kissed skin reminded him of angelic artwork. With the sun bathing her in light, he could see what Kirishima meant earlier. The ends of her vines were dark green, nearly brown—but he could see that beginning to change under the sun. Slowly, the brown was fading to dark green, and the dark green was growing brighter by the moment. It was a rather slow process, but she was recuperating well..
Their eyes met, and Izuku shuddered. She seemed different—in a good way, he decided. A very good way. Before, when their eyes met, she seemed very reserved, very tired, and very standoffish. Now he saw nothing but warmth in her irises and determination in her brow. Despite the gorey state of her legs and the torn dress, she'd never seemed more confident.
So, despite everyone looking up to him, he kept a steady gaze on Ibara, and her on him. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out a small tin bag.
"What's next, Vice?" He asked, before tossing her the tin bag. It froze mid-air. After a split second, it drifted into her palm with grace. She looked at Reiko, who shrugged.
Turning back, she glanced between him and the tin bag, her eyebrow raised.
"Kirishima." He answered, and her eyes widened. Looking back down, she tore open the bag and pulled out the beige ration. It didn't excite his own appetite—but Ibara stared at it like it was gourmet. With a sun beam highlighting her tan skin and viridian hair, their dignified vice president stuffed her face with Izuku's nutrient-rich biscuit. It disappeared in seconds. With a careful knuckle, she wiped the crumbs from her face.
A wave of growth spread from her scalp down her vines. The growth chased off the last of the withered brown and dying green, leaving her hair as healthy as he'd ever seen it. Bundles of thorns and foliage sprouted throughout the greenest parts of her hair. She took a silent moment for herself before glancing at Uraraka, Sero, and Reiko.
"Sero, you can let go of Kirishima and Tokoyami. Reiko, I need you to hold them. Uraraka, stand by and don't release anything. Is there anyone who can't walk on their own?"
Jirou spoke up. Kaminari was on her shoulder, melted into her side. His face screamed "fried."
"Kaminari isn't all there right now, ma'am." She said. Ibara nodded, then pointed Uraraka his way. With a touch, Kaminari began to float away. He seemed to enjoy it for a moment, giggling to himself like a child. Reiko reeled him in a moment later, however, turning his little laugh into a pout. She also took control of Tokoyami and Kirishima, pulling them from Sero's grasp. The three revolved around her like planets.
"Can you maintain that?" Izuku asked, looking at the pale girl. She glanced at him, surprised, before cooling her expression. Reiko nodded.
"There's no real stamina drawback to my quirk, just limits. So long as Ura keeps them weightless, I can hold them."
Uraraka nodded.
"I-I'll do my best. So…" She said, turning to Ibara. "What now?"
Ibara blinked at her, before a small smile pinched the corners of her cheeks.
"Now we get moving. Alright everyone! To the exit! And Jirou—status on your radio?"
Jirou dialed a knob at her waist as she put a palm on her ear. She only spent a second doing so before shaking her head.
"There's less static, but that's all. I need to get outside."
Ibara nodded. Glancing behind her, she gave Reiko a thumbs up. Almost immediately, she flew into the air, ascending the pile of rubble alongside their three injured classmates.
Izuku watched in silence as their able-bodied peers scrambled after her. The mountain of rubble, once a hospital, Izuku learned, was directly below the gaping hole in the wall. It swallowed the true exit, so the only answer was to climb. Some took to the task easier than others.
Tsuyu was first after Ibara. She helped facilitate the process with everyone, being the most nimble climber in class. In one leap, she jumped half-way up the two-story mountain. From there, she helped stragglers by offering her tongue as support. Hitoshi gripped her tongue as he struggled over a large pillar. Kouda needed similar help, as did Uraraka. Her balance failed her more than once—not that he could blame her. Anxiety beyond the situation burned within him, seeing her wobbly state.
He took perfect care of his ears—kept them clean, didn't listen to too-loud music, covered them when things got dicey—so losing his hearing was nightmarish. Despite being intimately familiar with deep, personal loss—but he could only imagine her fear. It was almost worse that her ear could be healed. That limbo of not knowing for certain was cruel. When his arm… unraveled… he accepted his fate. There was no hope for recovery.
In a way, its instant obliteration was a blessing. It made accepting the situation that much easier—but Uraraka didn't have that luxury. Izuku knew her mind was riddled with doubts—doubts she could ill-afford to consider right now.
Sero, after some serious effort, managed to climb to Tsuyu's level. He dealt out his tape in much the same way she did, offering his services to any who needed it. Jirou grabbed on, as did Mezou—though it took two tapes to pull him up. Reiko struggled up the mountain as well, but she didn't bother with tape or tongue assistance. Instead, she focused on careful ascension, making sure to not release her mental grasp on Ibara and the injured.
All the while, Izuku didn't move an inch.
Only Ashido seemed to notice. She took one step onto the rubble before glancing at him, her confusion evident.
"The hell are you doing, Mido? We need to get going!"
He waved her on. Behind his head, a Proto-Nomu drifted close enough to take a swing at him. Izuku ducked, before flexing Blackwhip. It took a second of focus, and another dodge on his end, but it eventually extended the monster as far from him as possible.
"I'll be last. I can't exactly join you guys while holding onto these."
She hovered on the precipice for another second. With a pout on her lips and a grave acceptance in her eyes, she turned back to the mountain and began her ascent.
Izuku took a breath, happy her attention was off him. Once her back turned, he let out a deep sigh. His shoulders quivered for a brief second before he regained his self-control.
With Danger Sense, he extended his range whilst maintaining a low sensitivity. Mr. Aizawa and Thirteen were still alive, he noted. They were both in rather poor shape, but alive. Looking up, he tracked Jirou as she managed her way up the hill. Beyond the gates of the USJ was fuzzy, but that didn't matter. So long as she got outside, help would be on its way.
An ugly feeling perverted his sense of relief, however. No matter what, he couldn't enjoy the pure satisfaction of helping his friends get out alive—not when the little voice in the back of his head wouldn't shut up.
Izuku turned around and faced the Plaza. He couldn't see all of it from here, given the crumbling skyline—but he could see small slivers. Darkshadow wasn't exactly sparing in terms of destruction—what once was a rather large faux-city was now closer to a village.
They were little smudges in the distance, but he felt the pull regardless. He felt the muscles in his quad clench before he noticed he'd lifted his foot, taking a step forward.
His vision warped, sharpening and loosening as his eyes fixed on the Plaza. Perhaps it was Danger Sense, perhaps it was an exhausted delusion, but he swore he could see Overhaul from here. The tug in his gut dragged him forward—but he held fast.
In his peripheral vision, Five emerged, looking odd. His shiny forehead shone even more. Sweat dripped down his face in a way Izuku'd never seen. On instinct, he turned to face him—but no matter when his head turned, Five always remained in his vision's outermost corner.
"Are you alright?" He asked, speaking with his real voice. Nobody was close enough to hear except the monsters on his leash. Five grunted.
"Hell no. I've been doing my goddamn best, but you keep making shit harder."
"What are you talking about?"
Five grunted again before drifting a little closer to Izuku's central vision. Instantly, alarm bells went off in his head. Banjo looked worse than sweaty—he looked diseased. His appearance was skinnier than normal—and the further Izuku inspected him, the more he began to notice the background shining right through his skin. He was translucent.
"I've been picking up your slack, brat. Your hold over Blackwhip is basically non-existent."
"What?" Izuku asked, glancing behind him. Blackwhip still held up his prisoners. "What are you talking about?"
"Word for word, kid. Haven't you noticed Blackwhip acting up? Your control is slipping, and I'm getting tired."
"My control is fine, thank you. I don't need this right now—if you want to complain, do so after this is all over."
"I'm not complaining, kid, I'm warning. The only reason you're still the captain of this ship is thanks to me, your first mate. Blackwhip only heels to discipline, you hear? Real authority. You've always been good about that—but you're still green. Prone to slipping. Your stress has been rupturing your control—both over yourself and your power."
Izuku almost bit out a retort, but just barely managed to squeeze it back down his throat. It was a hard-fought battle. Five got on his nerves. He licked his lips, trying not to frown and failing.
"I…" Izuku began, pausing to take a breath. "Am fine. Better than fine, actually. Reinforcements should arrive soon."
Five scowled.
"Kid, this is serious. You're barely even holding onto Blackwhip right now—hell, I'm the only thing keeping it activated. Remember: Blackwhip isn't like your other quirks. It's more alive, more willful—more dangerous. If you don't reign yourself in, then—"
"I don't care!" Izuku said, snapping. "This isn't an exercise, Five—my friends are dying. If you can help, I'm not going to forgive you if you stop. I-I'll fix it later. Just—just keep doing what you're doing."
The thick pinch between Five's eyebrows softened a little bit. He frowned, then, and floated back into Izuku's peripherals.
"Izuku." He said, and his voice sent a shiver down Izuku's spine. It was soft. "I'm dead. You can't rely on me. Remember, true strength is a decision. It's all in your head. Dig deeper."
His eyes stung as Five drifted deeper into his peripherals and faded away. He swallowed down a thick globule of saliva. It went down dry.
"I'm digging as deep as I can." He muttered.
Five's voice echoed in his ears as he turned around to inspect his class. It was all well, he saw—Ibara and the injured were floating around the exit's precipice, and Jirou was nearly at the mountain's apex. For a split second, he relaxed, regardless of the ugly feeling in his gut—but that was when the world chose to shake.
"W-w-woah!" Jirou said, crying out as a concrete slab shifted below her. It was long and skinny—canoe-shaped, and shook like one in rapids. Before anyone could do anything, it cracked in half, and the loose-half tumbled down.
"Oh crap!" Ashido echoed, right as the same stone came hurtling down on her. Izuku moved instantly, feeling the disturbance with Danger Sense. Smokescreen blasted out of his heels as he ran forward. With a downward blast, he blew off what remained of his shoes and went flying. Spinning forward, he willed Voidlimb into existence, using his rotation for extra power. In a split second, he cut his rotation and unleashed his momentum into the limb, using that extra force as a high-powered whip.
Just barely, the hit connected, shattering part of the stone before it hit Ashido—but something was off. Voidlimb wasn't in his socket—in fact, he didn't even have a Blackwhip-braid. It only took a single glance for him to notice how only one Blackwhip formed, and a pathetic one at that.
The world spun in slow motion below him. His feet were over his head as his eyes refocused on his concrete victim—and his gut plummeted. Without his full strength, he'd only managed to sheer off half the stone. The remaining 150 kilos continued to tumble straight at his friend. With his slowed perception, the moment stretched out for years longer than it should've.
Ashido's arm turned neon-pink with her mucus-like acid—but it wasn't enough. She was still exhausted after attacking Darkshadow. With all her strength, she managed to melt part of the stone in an instant, reducing its overall mass and diverting its trajectory. Instead of barreling straight through her, crushing her whole torso, it clipped her shoulder.
It knocked her off her feet with a pained scream. She spun with the hit, spiraling out of control. Izuku didn't scream—instead, he inhaled and sent a blast of Smokescreen her way. It was a formless, shapeless cloud at first—but a moment later, he managed to imitate his own hand. Five massive fingers caught her before she hit the ground—but all at once, his quirk's abuse caught up with him. A horrible cough wracked his throat. Iron tainted his tongue, and the distraction stole his smoke-construct's strength.
She fell the final few feet—but didn't land hard.
"No!" Reiko screamed, reaching a hand out. A vein bulged in her forehead as her quirk grabbed onto Ashido—but it wasn't enough to stop the whole fall. It only slowed the crash to a gentle descent.
Izuku's world sped back up as he crashed straight into the concrete-pile, too distracted with his throat to reorient himself. Something sharp jabbed into his side, but it only took a second to confirm minimal damage. He got up just as fast, and began down the path to check on her. Before he even got half-way down, however, he slowed. Like wrung sponges, his legs lost feeling. His mind numbed over. Black splotches filled his vision. Pressure built up between his ears, culminating behind his eyes.
Despite being perfectly lucid for all of this, he had no control—like crashing a car with a cut engine.
Something hit his chest and shins, and he was somewhat aware of a warm trickle on his face. Copper and iron filled his nostrils. Something soft pressed against his face—something comfortable. Freezing liquid replaced the piping hot blood in his veins, stealing his strength. He should get up, yes, but he was so tired…and comfortable…
A sound hit his ears—loud, brass, and powerful—but it was little more than a blip in his mind. Like listening for beach-side screams under water.
He took a deep breath—and immediately regretted it. Knife-like lacerations tore at his larynx, stabbing him with a million pricks of pain.
"—ya… Midori—"
His stomach twisted in knots as his body refused him.
"Midoriya… help…"
All at once, it returned to him.
Peeling his face off the concrete, he saw Ashido crumpled beside him, her eyes foggy but lips moving. She had a half-hearted hand raised up, as if to block something. The appendage was crooked.
"...Help…"
Five stones hurtled on them like rain. Instantly, he dove over the pink-skinned girl and let Smokescreen loose. From his back, a massive cloud burst out and solidified into a shield. Four inches thick, it weathered the stone maelstrom even as he coughed up more blood. It spilt all over Ashido's neck, but he hoped she didn't mind.
The nanosecond the onslaught ceased, he pulled away and rose to his feet. Almost immediately, his knees weakened by the same phenomenon as before—but he was ready this time. A terrible ache wracked his shin, and his left pec felt torn to shreds—but the damage was surface-level. He must've hit the ground hard when he fell.
Closing his fist, the immense shield warped and melted into his body, clinging to his form like a second skin. He took a step forward with the second-skin, and it felt easier than he knew it would've been without.
His eyes bounced around the mountain like ping-pong balls as he stepped between it and the fallen Ashido. Already, his heart screamed at him, furious at his rapid subsequent failures, but that couldn't slow him. He compartmentalized them, searching for the next threat. It didn't take long.
During his lapse in consciousness, several parts of the mound exploded.
Heart-freezing roars echoed around the mountain as, from the craters of rubble, three sets of beaks broke into the light. His eyes shot to Tokoyami—and Darkshadow slumbering within. He'd assumed throwing the hospital was nonsensical and malicious. But was he aiming at these monsters?
He didn't have time to consider that. A large specimen managed to pull an arm free. Its brethren were still mostly trapped, but already he could see the mountain's apex quivering. All around it, many of his friends fell. Jirou seemed stranded on the only stable ground—whilst Tsuyu and Sero were only managing to stay together by sheer willpower. Uraraka and Reiko had fallen like Ashido and himself. The injured were still floating above, but their trajectory was loose—uncontrolled..
Reminders of Uraraka's quirk brought him spinning around. No Blackwhips sprouted from his shoulders. Tearing his eyes upwards, he spotted them—the three thrashed in the air, swiping at nothing as they drifted away, powerless.
"Reiko!?" Ibara shrieked, waving her arms to keep from floating away..
"She's alright!" Izuku screamed back, spotting her sit up whilst clutching her head. "They both are!"
Ibara was steadily growing further away—but they caught each other's eyes. He conveyed as much as he could within them. Before, he didn't have the confidence to meet her gaze like this—but now, her demeanor made it trivial. Her worry washed out of her face.
From her scalp, vines exploded outward, surging towards their class. One vine wrapped around a stone at the mountain's apex, anchoring her as she collected the injured. With one vine alone, she was able to grab Tokoyami, Kaminari, and Kirishima. With another, she snagged the nearest person—Ojiro.
In the same moment, Izuku willed Voidlimb into existence again. This time, however, he took his time. It took far, far more effort than it usually did, but he managed to make a half-braid. Extending his Void-fingers, he was missing his pointer and thumb. Good enough. Using the smoke encasing his body, he sent his pinkie towards Ashido and scooped her up. He tried to be mindful of her shoulder, but in the same moment, the large Proto-Nomu freed its other arm. With a wet, squelching wrench, it freed its leg from its hip. With a teeth-clenching crack, it twisted the other leg out in a similar manner, but without tearing it off. Pulling it from the stone, it lay crooked and broken—but it was already starting to heal. After that, Izuku didn't let Ashido's comfort supersede her life.
Half-dashing, half-flying forward, he brought Ashido and himself towards Reiko and Uraraka. He didn't wait for their compliance—instead, he used his remaining two whips to scoop up the girls. His shoulder already ached from the strain, and the usually thick and nearly solid whips seemed almost rubbery and wispy. Still, he pushed through, and flew himself and the girls up and over the Nomu.
Turning into his right shoulder, he flipped over himself and flung Reiko and Uraraka as hard as he could. They screamed, and he felt sorry for Uraraka, but it was a calculated throw.
Like serpents, Ibara's green vipers snapped out and caught them both. Not slowing for a moment, she willed more and more whips to gather their classmates. She grabbed Aoyama and Sero in a blink, then sent two whips each for Satou and Kouda. The strain slowed her for a second, but she brought each student as close as she could to herself one-by-one. Each passed Uraraka, and by now, the girl had recovered. Uraraka tapped each student who went by, and Reiko took control of them, combining strength with Ibara's vines.
As soon as he threw the girls, he refocused his efforts on Ashido—but before he could use the other two whips to stabilize her, they faded into black vapor. Gritting his teeth, he willed the gaseous whisps back together, grinding his jaw as they faded away. He reached out with his real fingers, as if to grab every piece and put them back together—but there was nothing left.
He willed another set out—but all he earned were little black buds. They were no longer than his finger was thick.
Cursing, he cut his flight and touched down on a stable piece of the rubble mountain. He still had one Blackwhip left, but carrying Ashido was more difficult than it should've been. With her help, he slung her over his shoulder. If he put the stress on his body instead of his quirk, his stamina might last longer. Izuku wasn't invincible, and his body was already beginning to fail—but it didn't matter.
He had no say in what was necessary.
Holding onto Blackwhip's form with all his concentration, he flung himself up the mountain. Likewise, his peers began to match his intensity, scrambling up what rocks they could. Before he could manage to get to the top, however, the ground shifted.
Below him, some ten odd feet down the pile, the massive Proto-Nomu's leg regrew. With a roar, it tore up the mountain, aiming straight for him. It was bigger, faster, and clearly less tired than Izuku—but Izuku had the high ground.
Not slowing, he encircled a medium sized concrete slab with Blackwhip and twisted. He didn't have the power to fling it full-speed, but it was enough to dislodge it and send it down. Like with Ashido, it hit the monster, exploding into shards as it impacted its shoulder. Unlike Ashido, however, it only stopped for a moment before continuing its chase.
Six meters away and to the left, a dark green limb burst out from the concrete pile, and another, skinnier Nomu wrenched itself free from the hospital tomb. Its eyes didn't set on Izuku's—instead, it turned aside, looking at the nearest student: Hitoshi.
Izuku opened his mouth, trying to warn him—but only specks of blood and air escaped him. His voice was gone.
This second Nomu was fast—real fast. It was light on its feet, allowing it to traverse up the uneven terrain without any delay. With its bony, skinny frame, its steps were shallow, nearly silent—and with its green complexion, the perfect wilderness hunter. With its heron-like beak, it reached out and tried to bite the back of Hitoshi's neck—but Izuku said no. The single whip snapped out and wrapped around the tip of the Proto-Nomu's beak, keeping it closed.
Hitoshi spun around just as Izuku yanked the beast's head aside, forcing it into the ground.
"Holy cra—" Hitoshi began, before something cut him off. Before the beast could break out of Izuku's hold, a vine shot around Hitoshi's shoulder and scooped him up. Like the rest, she added him to her collection of 1A. With rapid glances, Izuku assessed where everyone else was—and almost felt glad. He was the lowest on the mountain.
Surround Ibara, within her vines and outside, was 1A in its entirety. He almost relaxed—but then a shadow darkened his world, and his sixth sense screamed. Dodging out of the way, he leapt onto another concrete slab. The one he just stood upon shattered, the large Nomu's fist disintegrating his previous pedestal. Over his shoulder, Ashido groaned.
The Proto-Nomu swung at him again—but this time, Izuku let the blow land. The punch came charging at his chest like a battering ram, wind whistling around its five fingers. It connected, but there was no pain. Jumping early, he managed to bring his feet to chest-level before the attack landed home. He kicked his legs out, planting both heels on the dinner-plate sized fist. In the same moment the monster's elbow locked, he leapt, using their combined power to fling him up the mountain-side.
With Smokescreen, he spun overhead once, twice, and a third time before throwing Ashido as far as he could. Immediately, she entered Ibara's comfortable range and landed in her vines' grasp. Throwing Ashido killed his own momentum, so he flung Blackwhip out to the nearest rock and used it as a leverage point to soften his fall. Landing with his feet facing the mountain's apex, he got one last glimpse of his class conglomerate.
With Ibara at the center, their class looked like a floating tree. Spreading out from the source, green branches connected each student. Floating in the air, they were like fantastical yggdrasil. It was… majestic.
Then, a shape leapt from behind the mountain's silhouette. It was a third Nomu—but this one was hard to look at. Instead of being merely dark or green, this thing was like a hole in the world—not unlike Darkshadow. Like a window in the dead of night. It loomed over the hill, behind where everyone was looking—and when it opened its drooling maw, it wailed.
The scream stabbed his ears like daggers—likewise prompting an agonized cry from Uraraka. While they staggered under the immense power of the scream, it lunged forward, eyes on 1A's trunk, Ibara. Izuku was already moving, however.
In a flash, he leapt over every loose stone, ascending the mountain faster now that he was unburdened. He sprinted under and past his classmates. With his single remaining Blackwhip, he leapt past the Proto-Nomu and clotheslined it, catching it by the neck. Looping the whip around, he guided it back to himself and grabbed it. Letting himself fall, he used all of his momentum to bring the banshee-like Nomu tumbling down the mountain.
At the same time, he could already hear the cries of the other two Proto-Nomus as they scrambled up the mountain's other side. The banshee in his grasp squawked, but the power of its voice, much like his own, was painfully diminished.
"Midoriya!" Sero said, wriggling in place so he could face him. "Come on, let's get out of here!"
He could only mouth the words he wanted Sero to hear. Looking up, he gave the tape-wielding boy one last look—a familiar one. The same he used in that alleyway before Darkshadow began his rampage. Raising his fist, he pulled the Blackwhip even tighter around the Nomu's throat. It landed on its stomach, so Izuku took the opportunity to stomp its spine, and then neck. Then, Izuku waved them on, towards the exit.
The class tree shifted as Ibara turned to face him, sending Sero away like he was in a revolving door.
"What are you doing Midoriya!? Hurry up and—"
Just then, the massive gorilla-like beast leapt over the mountain, aiming for the lowest-hanging person, Reiko. In a snap, Ibara pulled the girl up just in time, making the creature miss by a hair. Instead of resigning itself to a failure, however, the beast readjusted in the air, and let the fall carry him down the mountain. With its massive size, it came hurtling at Izuku with a frightening speed.
He flinched, cowering for a split second even as he continued to choke the other beast. The flying one screamed as it fell, its war-cry following its fall.
The Proto-Nomus only shared three things in common. They were all relentless. They all feared strength. And, of course, they couldn't help but attack the weak.
Milliseconds before they would've crushed him, Izuku ceased the act and side-stepped, releasing the banshee. The monstrous Nomu's speed and extraordinary strength all came crashing down at once. Its twin fists interlocked shattered its brethren like a kinetic bomb. Bone shrapnel went everywhere, alongside hot, steaming black-green blood—but knowing these creatures, that wouldn't keep it down forever.
When the gorilla-like monster retrieved its arms, they came back crooked—nearly broken at 90 degree angles. Izuku, not wasting any time, turned tail and ran. The green one was still unknown.
Overhead, Uraraka groaned, and a familiar sparkle fell down to earth.
"I-I can't hold e'ryone up much longer…" Uraraka said, clutching her stomach tight. She was the only one not weightless, now, besides him.
"You hear that, Midoriya? We don't have much time! Hurry up and come on!"
Izuku almost didn't see it coming—only Danger Sense saved him from decapitation. The green one slashed at his head, its long claw-like fingers sharpened to devilish points. It was skinnier than the others, so once Izuku ducked under its attack, he tested out a round-house. It hit the creature in the jaw, knocking it off balance. Clearly, raw attacks were more effective on it—but not effective enough, he saw, as it bounced back to its feet in a second.
The creature paused, as if reconsidering its assault. Had he hit it too hard? Crap.
Danger Sense screamed again. Like before, he swung Blackwhip wide, catching the gorilla by the neck. Instead of using his momentum against it, however, he used its momentum for himself. Missing him by a few feet, it charged straight past him on still-broken forearms. His Blackwhip tightened as he swung backwards in a semicircle, putting distance between himself and the green one.
Glancing up, he saw his class was still hovering, unsure. His eyes narrowed on Uraraka, whose face was growing greener by the second. She shivered all over and she couldn't control the flow of vomit slipping from her lips every few breaths. It was an undignified, unfortunate symptom of quirk abuse.
The green one came charging forward, throwing its whole upper body into a two-handed downwards claw-swipe. It wasn't hard to dodge—but he couldn't risk putting in a counter. He needed their attention squarely on his shoulders, and if he countered them too effectively, they'd lose interest. So, he feigned a limp, and they bought it hook, line, and sinker. Unfortunately, his classmates did too.
"Midoriya! Please, come on!" One cried.
"Dude, they're gonna rip you to shreds!"
"Behind you!"
"Midoriya!"
"Mmnnh arghh… M-mid…mm…oriyam…"
He grit his teeth, preventing himself from lashing out. They needed to quit worrying about him so much.
1A was good. This whole, awful, nightmarish sequence opened his eyes to that. They were far, far better than he'd given them credit for, he admitted—but they were still green. So, so green.
If they all escaped out of that massive hole, together, at the same time, where the hell did they think the Nomus would go? Where did they think they were? Because if somehow, some way, these prototype spawns of hell decided 1A wasn't worth the trouble… where would they go?
Straight to campus. Where Support Students built. Where General Education Students studied. Where Business Students took notes. Where the non-heroic staff worked. Hell, they were closer to the gates than the actual building—what if they just leapt the fence and started attacking civilians?
That wasn't even the worst scenario. 1A was more a clinic lounge than a heroic class now—there were only a few able-bodies remaining. These beasts would just tear apart Kirishima, overpower Sero, crush Reiko, and do other thinkables to his friends. Someone needed to stay—no, someone needed to keep them contained for as long as possible—and that responsibility fell to him. He wasn't the Class President anymore—that was Kirishima and Ibara's job. So, with Kirishima gone, it was Ibara's duty to lead her peers to safety. But... he wasn't one of her charges. He had responsibilities separate from his peers. It was out of his hands.
Right here, right now, he had to be more than a peer, more than a friend, and more than a student. Even if it meant his life.
He leveled the gorilla-like Nomu with a stare. It snarled at him, and charged again—faster, now that its arms were partly healed—but not fast enough to catch him. Twirling out of the way, he ducked under the green one's follow-up.
1A was still there, floating above him—even as he continued to hold off the monsters bent on killing them. Why? Why wouldn't they just leave? Gods above, he knew they had strong morals, he knew he'd hesitate too—but why couldn't they just do what needed to be done?
"Uh… G-guys…" Izuku heard Sero say, barely a whisper over his crazed heartbeat. "...Let's m-move. Kirishima could go unstable any moment, and Jirou needs to get out of here, and—"
"We can't do that! Midoriya's still—" Ibara began, her voice high-pitched and thick.
Uraraka vomited again, sparkles raining down from the sky to splatter against the rubble.
"...Trust him. Like with Mr. Aizawa." Sero said, after a short pause.
"I-I…But you…? A-alright…" Ibara said. Internally, Izuku screamed with the decision, finally satisfied they were going to make progress—but his heart sang too soon.
"W-woah!" Reiko cried out. Izuku only got a single glance the Nomus forced him to look away, but it was enough. Throughout the class-tree, people were beginning to fall. First, Reiko sagged in Ibara's clutches—but then so too did Pony. Uraraka was already near the bottom, being the heaviest, and the girls began to hover near her. It was like the tree branches were dying one by one. Ibara fought to keep them all upright, but with so many people falling, the whole tree was beginning to sag. Any further, and they'd all be within the Nomus' range.
Throughout it all, a single sob overpowered all the other concerns—Uraraka's.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I can't—it's too much, too much—t-t-too much! I'm at my limit!"
The air pressure distorted enough that Danger Sense wasn't even mandatory. Izuku ducked under the massive beast's fist and rolled between its legs, popping upright on the other side. Leaning back, he just barely evaded the heron-like beak of the other. Though it was faster, it had little to no technique, making its attempts to get him pitiful. Still, he fended both off as best he could, without scaring them off. It was a tight dance, and a delicate one. His strategy would have to change once the… banshee healed.
Uraraka was at the end of her ability. Before, she'd had plenty of time, but after lifting over a dozen people in addition, she met her limit far faster than anticipated. Taking away twenty peoples' gravities… including behemoths like Kouda, Satou, and Mezous'…
Running up the hill, he baited the monsters to follow before jumping backwards full-strength. Flipping, he got a perfect line of sight of the gorilla's nape. Snaking Blackwhip around its neck, he pulled them together, planting his feet on the beast's shoulders. The green one tried to attack, but by pulling his mount's neck aside, he twisted the creature's whole body and used it as a shield. The impact was powerful—far more powerful than he thought the skinny creature should've been capable of—but no more than the gorilla's durability.
The gorilla didn't retaliate, however, and only continued to struggle beneath him. Alright, Izuku noted—they're programmed to recognize allies.
Standing on the creature's back, he glanced up, and saw his real target. Some four hundred feet in the air, his three monsters flailed. Two clung to each other, and another drifted further along—but they hadn't gone too far. From this distance, they were tiny—no larger than pennies in his palm. However, he was already familiar with their true mass, and consequently, their true weight. They alone must've been worth half of Uraraka's strength—and at this height…
Pushing through the pain in his throat, Izuku looked up to the class-tree.
"Ura—" He began, before choking on blood. Inhaling, he swallowed some back down and tried again. "Uraraka! S-singular release the three Nomu! I'll hold them off! Get out of here! I won't l-let them follow!"
Uraraka continued to sob through his pleas.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry—I'm so sorry… I c-can't—"
"Ochako Uraraka!" Izuku screamed, and the blood in his throat stained the back of the Nomu's neck. "Do you remember the school motto!?"
More of their classmates began to fall. Hitoshi joined the girls towards the bottom, and with their combined weight, dragged the whole tree down to the ground. If this went on any longer—
"Y-you have to remember," he continued. Their eyes met for a single, microscopic moment. Her eyes were clouded over—but he knew there was still fire within. There had to be. "...Go beyond!"
With a pained, nauseating moan, Uraraka touched her fingers together.
"...Plus Ultra!"
Danger Sense warped as he reached out to feel for someone else's danger—but not his classmates'. With three sharp pings, the three Nomus became flushed with the fear of heights. She'd done it—and with Ibara's quick maneuvering, brought their heavy peers within range of Uraraka's quirk. With her powers renewed, they managed to fly back into the sky, air born again. The four were still on the very bottom, but they were off the ground again as Ibara and Reiko all guided them towards the exit.
The ground shuddered three times as the Nomu fell to earth. Izuku didn't have time to assess them. Echoing Uraraka's resolution was the banshee's deafening scream as it half-ran, half crawled to the top. Using the Nomu below his feet as a springboard, he chased after it. Running up the rubble mountain, he just barely outpaced the green beast on his heels, but couldn't reach the one ahead. Despite now being air-born, Uraraka was still like an anchor, slowing 1A. They still flew, but the flight was low—and the banshee's mangled waltz was rapidly speeding up as it ascended the mountain.
His legs burned as he ran up the hill. Izuku's lungs screamed with his throat as he huffed and puffed. Each eye complained, dilating and undilating as his color perception took a turn for the dull. The gap between him and the banshee closed—but not entirely. With wild, frantic abandon, the banshee reached the mountain's peak and leapt from it, aiming directly at the lowest fruit possible: Uraraka.
Ibara tried to move, but the brunette was too heavy, and the window of opportunity dwindled to nothing. The Nomu snagged Uraraka's ankle, wrenching her from Ibara's vines and Reiko's control—but Izuku was still running. Reaching the mountain's peak himself, he lassoed Blackwhip to the banshee's void-black ankle and took flight with Smokescreen. With all his might, he pulled the Banshee off Uraraka's ankle and leapt past it, catching her as she fell. Though his control over his smoke was waning, he managed to counteract her falling momentum with his own propulsion. Then, he shot Blackwhip upwards and snagged the tail end of Uraraka's vine. Like a grappling hook, he reeled Blackwhip inwards and closed the distance between them and the vine.
Below them, the Nomus gathered together and snapped at their feet, howling. Being so far above was comforting—like seeing lions in a zoo—but also foreboding. There were lions not twenty feet away, after all.
The vine encircled her waist just as most of her weight disappeared under Reiko's influence. He hovered there for a moment, making sure she was alright before pivoting in the air. Before he could fly back down, however, a hand pulled on the back of his suit.
"Where are you goin'?" She asked. It was hard to look at her—really, it was hard to look in her general direction. The light outside haloed her hair, growing brighter every moment. His class was nearly out..
"...I can't let them follow you out." Izuku whispered, his throat spent.
He allowed himself to fall, angling himself right back at the lions far below. Taking the dive didn't require any courage on his part—the decision was out of his hands, after all. Uraraka yelled something fierce as he fell—but he didn't hear any of it. The shadows of his classmates flying away flickered over the lion's den.
Izuku couldn't help but notice three newly-added shapes in the mix—but that was fine. He landed in an explosion of green smoke, blowing all six Nomus away. Blood dripped down his lips. The fresh taste of iron flavored his tongue like a strong tea. Waving a hand, the smoke regathered around his body, reinforcing it like a suit of armor. His one functional Blackwhip grew back to size, but no more followed suit.
The Nomus rose to their feet, but didn't attack him immediately. He straddled the balance between dead and alive, weak and strong. They recognized his ability—but didn't rule out his weakness. Blood still flowed down his chin freely.
His class was home free, and this was his last stand.
Or so he thought, before his legs sank halfway into the cold concrete and the sunlight snuffed out. Izuku turned, and couldn't quite comprehend how the sun was blotted out—but he did understand one thing.
Six baritone growls, surrounding him from every side, was terrifying.
[x]
AN: This chapter is a little messy, so I'm sorry, but my motivation this week has been in the crapper. Mostly, that's thanks to my current object of interest, a new writing project-but also because of the... odd reviews. Of course, I always appreciate my regulars, and I even appreciate frostedfruit, despite my inability to actually reach out and talk lol. I did not, however, appreciate most of the guest reviews.
I'm not even going to check what was said again, because it was upsetting-but also because I haven't forgotten. I got a great laugh when somebody actually called me a fetishizer-and then that laugh died when I read someone write out the word Yuri, and I realized they weren't joking. Listen, I could care less if you don't think the ship was properly built up(especially since they're harmless support characters), and I care even less if you simply don't like the ship-but I draw the line at being accused of fetishizing. It'd be a totally different issue if I actually was, but I wasn't. Referring to a chaste kiss as "yuri" and attacking me for "liking girl on girl" is simply asinine and self-reporting. Like, those reviews were truly awful. I've had bad reviews, but I can't remember ever being HALF as uncomfortable reading bad reviews as I was last week.
The discomfort has faded, because I realize creeps like that are pervasive in every space, not just my own fic's-but it was surprising. A little jarring, too. When the reviews first rolled in, I even wondered if I'd made a genuine miscalculation-but then I realized the absurdity of it all. Not only are they side characters, not only was there established emotional tension, and not only was the scene compelling, but at the end of the day they're my characters in my story, and if you get upset over two girls sharing an emotional peck on the lips... that's a personal problem you should self-reflect on.
Anyways, as always, I'm interested to see frost's chapter reaction. Hope you liked this one, bro.
Review!~~