Chapter 19

USJ Part 3 - Darkness Beckons

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Izuku called out into the dark abyss all around him; a slight echo of his voice rang out before eventually being swallowed up by the nothing around him. The green-haired boy frowned as his eyes continued to look out and try to make sense of his current surroundings.

If he could relate it to something, it felt similar to when he first awakened his powers during the sludge villain fight. However, unlike then, there was no vast field of stars around him or any indication of outer space entirely.

No, this was just pure darkness, within the hues of pitch blackness fettered about with what could be considered faded and dull streaks of purple and red, similar to curtains blowing lazily in the wind. Izuku called out a few more times to receive the same results as before, which further annoyed him, and he grumbled low to himself.

His thoughts started to retrace his steps to see exactly what was going on, starting with how that villain with all those hands covering him had made an attempt to grab hold of Tsuyu, followed by Izuku smashing the hell out of him and that Nomu thing that had protected him clear and far away from the small group.

Then Tsuyu, Yuga, and himself had made their way to check on Aizawa and make sure he had survived his beat down by the Nomu creature.

Of course, that's when things went further downhill as Yuga had stepped in the way of a piece of the concrete to protect Izuku, and it ended up killing his friend and classmate. The rest from that point went hazy.

He remembered rushing off to take out the Nomu but was sent flying back after his ax was destroyed by the creature. He jumped back into the fight as his dragoon form, but then whatever slashes he made mended just as quickly as he could create them. He then faintly remembered casting a few spells at full force against the Nomu, only to be knocked back with the creature attempting to jump onto his chest with it's large foot, shifting to his Paladin form to keep the thing from crushing his ribs. After that, it was this place.

Wherever here was.

Sighing gently to himself and coming to the conclusion that this was somehow a part of his blessing, Izuku looked about for a few moments, frowning slowly and with utter frustration, shouted into the either, "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!"

"To stop yelling for one thing."

Izuku whirled around upon hearing the ethereal-like voice and looked upon the strange person that appeared behind him. The clothes they were wearing looked like simple plate mail one would find from an American-themed role-playing video game, with a dark red cloak hanging off their back and shoulders. The hood was up upon the person's head and covered their face. However, Izuku could see faint wisps of black mist dissipating from inside of the hood to keep the person's identity a secret, much to his jargon, "Are you the one that brought me here?"

"In a sense, sadly, we do not have time for pleasantries or grand explanations. While it feels like time has stopped, similar to when the 'crystal mother' reawakened your blessing, that is not the case now…" The being before him spoke sternly, causing Izuku to take a step back at that short answer. Still, his eyes frowned in confusion as he thought back to what the person in front of him just said.

"Wait… what do you mean 'reawakened my blessing'?"

"That's not important right now-" "Well, I think it is important!" Izuku interrupted with a snarl to his voice, causing the teenager to walk up to the heavily armored being and poking his finger hard against the metal chest piece, green irises staring into the misty blackness within the hood, "I am sick and tired of people holding information from me in regards to my blessing! You clearly know what's going on, and I want some goddamn answers! So help me if you don't tell me what I want to know, I will-"

"Strike me? Force the information out of me? Tell me, Izuku Midoriya, is that how a hero… no… a rational person would act?" The person interrupted as they walked around and past Izuku, who had been stunned by the accusations the armor-clad person had thrown out.

No, they weren't accusations. Izuku was thinking those thoughts and was about to say them in the heat of the moment. The pit he felt within his stomach hurt severely as he was taking slow and deep breaths to calm himself down. As he did though, he heard the annoyed sigh of the only other person with him, "You're doing it again."

"W-what?"

"Bottling everything down, keeping it deep within you, never owning up to your own feelings and emotions, and all for what? To keep yourself small and hidden." The person shouted loudly as Izuku could feel a rush of air around him shift. He clenched his eyes, only opening once he felt the pressure move off of him, and he gasped.

Izuku moved his gaze from the stranger floating before him to look at what had happened. That pit in his stomach felt much heavier considering where he was standing now. It was the roof edge where he almost committed suicide. He looked down to see nothing more than the abyss to his surroundings already, then he looked behind himself. All he saw was a vast empty white floor that continued on into the horizon.

"You've suppressed these feelings all your life, Izuku." continued the shadowy being in front of Izuku, gaining his attention once again as it crossed its arms over their chest, "Putting others' feelings and opinions over your own, even if it meant getting beaten or forgotten in the process."

"Yet here you are, shining brightly still with so much darkness building up inside of you, a ticking time bomb just waiting to explode."

"W-what do you mean?" Izuku asked, still standing on the edge of the rooftop from that day while the heavily armored shadow sighed gently, shaking its head.

"Aside from your little outburst a few moments ago, need I remind you of everything that happened to you ever since you were told you were quirkless? The times you wished you could get back at your tormentors?"

"W-what? N-no! I would never do that!" Izuku exclaimed, looking horrified at the idea of taking revenge on those from his past. He could somehow feel the deadpan look staring at him from within the darkness under the hood.

"Deny it as much as you want, Izuku… but I know you are smarter than that. Do you not remember how you felt after wrecking Bakugo's shit during the battle trial?"

Of course Izuku remembered; how could he not? Especially after re-watching the video footage of the fight afterward in class. In his warrior 'kit', Izuku had felt delighted and joy from how he stood up to the blonde after so many years of Bakugo putting him down, though he did not show it at the time. However, the feelings that came afterward were nothing pleasant, seeing how mangled Bakugo truly had been after the fight, nearly crushing his ribcage with that swing from 'Onslaught'.

"I-I went too far, and I got too a-angry and nearly k-killed Bakugo." Izuku whimpered out, the tears slowly starting to fall down his cheeks. The silence within the void did nothing to hide the gentle sobs of the teenager standing on the rooftop precipice, the shadow figure remaining silent for a few moments as he watched the green-haired teenager break down.

"And that's what I'm talking about, and it's what Hound Dog has been telling you these last few days. You have been suppressing all these dark and negative emotions with no true way to release them. What happened to Bakugo was… not a mistake per se… but more proof that you need a proper outlet, and this is where I come in."

The being moved closer to Izuku, a cold metallic hand resting on his shoulders, "Here in this void, you can release all those pent-up feelings and emotions without any judgment from anyone."

"I-I can?" Izuku asked, looking up with a few tears streaming down his cheeks still; he sniffed as the being's 'head' nodded at him.

"Yes, give it a try, start small and build up from there."

"O-O.k…" Izuku spoke gently, then cleared his throat. He slowly looked around the vast darkness of the void, taking a deep breath as he thought of the first thing to come to his mind, "Um… I-I… I dislike how some heroes are only doing their jobs for fame, to i-inflate their ego's when they should be focusing on saving people."

"Good start, go on…"

"... I hated the fact that my old teachers and schools would use me to help prop up Bakugo's 'greatness'." Izuku spoke once again, getting a little more into it, the various frustrations he felt deep within his soul slowly trickling out.

"I hate how mom sometimes still coddles me like I'm made of glass at times."

"I want to tell those closest to me how I feel about them, tell them just how beautiful and wonderful they are in my eyes… and hope to god they don't think of me as a creep." Izuku was blushing gently, ignoring the huff of amusement from the shadowed figure as he continued.

"I wish I could rub it in the faces of everyone that told me I couldn't be a hero, even if it's because I have this blessing now. Even mom and All Might."

"Speaking of my blessing, I am so incredibly frustrated that people know more about it than I do but are purposely holding information back that could help me master it!" Izuku started to growl low in his throat now, the being beside him crossing their arms again, and watched on as the teenager continued to rant and rave.

"And If I am "Hydaelyn's Chosen," then why haven't I met her yet? All this time, it's been those three fucking words in my head, and the headaches?! Why so many gods damn headaches?"

"And why…" Izuku began to speak in a harsh but calm tone of voice, tears flowing once again, "... why even with all this power, my friend had to protect me and die? Why am I still such a pathetic Deku."

"Because you are not a god…" the being spoke in a calm tone as well, "You are mortal, and like the rest of them, you make mistakes and cannot protect everyone. Some people need to be reminded that a 'Warrior of Light' is still just a person, and relying solely on you will be their downfall. I'm sure you don't need a reminder of the condition that All Might is in, correct?"

Izuku's head shot up at that, his eyes wide as he began to think about the shadowy being's words, and he concluded that it was right. All Might had been the number one hero for such a long time that people began to rely solely on him, worship him even; in fact, they kept doing that despite his injury limiting him to only a few hours of the day and was slowly killing himself to keep up the illusion that he was fine.

Even Izuku was guilty of doing that.

"I see you realized it, good…" The shadowy being spoke as it seemed to be staring at Izuku, "And while it was unfortunate about Yuga, there is a chance to save him."

Izuku's eyes widened at that but then turned sharply, the look of determination once again on his face, "How? What do I need to do to save my friend?"

"You may already have what you need, but you must first deal with the monster and its master."

"Already have it? But I have nothing that could-" Izuku stopped as he suddenly realized what the being had said as he whispered, "It's 'Verraise'... that spell can bring back Yuga."

"Perhaps, though not the most potent revival spell, it will have to do." the being spoke and crossed his arms, "However, there are dangers to using the spell over and over again, not only for those you cast it upon but also yourself… it's not a "quick fix" like it was back on Eorzea."

Izuku slowly nodded, noting the word 'Eorzea' for later, he clenched his fist, "Then how can we subjugate the Nomu?"

"You cannot."

"Huh?"

"You cannot merely subjugate the monster." Spoke the shadowed figure before him, "As stated by that manchild, it was designed to kill All Might."

"So… you're telling me I have to- heroes don't kill villains!" Izuku protested, glaring at the thing before him as it gave off a huff of air in amusement.

"It would be best to beat them and knock them out, yes, but that 'thing' is not normal. I wouldn't even call it a 'beast', given how it acts. It only obeys the call of its master, and you cannot harm the master as the monster will always protect him." The shadowed being kept its arms crossed, speaking in that same calm tone throughout the explanation, "There is no other way out of this scenario… either you take it out… or it will kill you and everyone in your class."

"B-but All Might and the other heroes could be-"

"And you would rather wait on the off chance they are? Like those heroes who waited while Bakugo was drowning in sludge?"

Izuku froze when the shadow spoke of that day; his chest tightened at the memory of seeing his former tormentor struggling against all odds to survive while the 'heroes' did nothing but wait at the sidelines. The silence in the void was deafening for a bit before Izuku relaxed and spoke in that once again determined tone of voice, "Your right, we can't wait… and I cannot hold back this time… what must I do?"

"You mean, what must 'we' do."

"Eh?"

"Izuku… I know you figured out who I am; you're not that dense to put the clues together."

"They say that the brightest light casts the deepest shadows, like two sides of the same coin... if there must be a Warrior of Light…" spoke the armored clad man as the shadows slowly disappeared off of his face as his hood was lowered, revealing messy dark green hair and the very recognizable diamond-shaped freckles upon his cheeks. However, the one key difference was the dulled orange irises his "doppelganger" had, "then there must also be a Warrior of Darkness."

The two stared at one another, taking in the opposites of themselves before the Izuku, now in dark-clad armor once the hood was moved down and had disappeared into the void, spoke once again while smiling gently, "A long time ago, I asked if you ever wished to end the "charade" of being a hero, you need only ask for me to take the reins… but as time passed, that wasn't needed, as I learned, at that time that we are both the same."

"The brave hero, the tortured soul, the altruist, the pragmatist… I can tell you that after all this is done, others will see us differently than what they perceived us to be, but you and you alone know what and who we are." The smile faded slowly to a face of calmness as the tone of the doppelganger dropped and became more serious in nature, "Your body can keep going, but the shift from the light to the powers of darkness is something your mind can't handle under these current conditions. I would suggest that-"

"Do it."

The darker side of Izuku blinked and flinched from the sudden response from the boy in front of him, especially since he could see the gentle smile on his lips, "You said it yourself, I can't handle the shift mentally right now, and if I'm correct in what you were about to suggest… You need to take the reins." The manifestation slowly nodded in response as Izuku continued, "Well, if I can't trust myself, then who can I trust, right?"

The shade huffed in amusement as he shook his head, a smirk on his lips, "You know your classmates may think and act differently towards you after all this is over."

"Yea, but let's face it… when hasn't that been the case before?" Izuku chuckled lightly while the shade leaned back with a raised eyebrow, a smirk still remaining.

"And where did this sassiness come from? You think because you got a kiss from one girl while also grinding and teasing another that you're 'mister big shot' now?" It quipped, which caused Izuku to pause and chuckle nervously; the dust of pink on his cheeks was evident more so with what little light there was.

Izuku cleared his throat gently to calm himself down, looking at the shade again, "So… how do we do this?"

The shade at first said nothing; his orange eyes shifted down before looking back to Izuku. As Izuku caught the meaning of the eye gesture, the shade slowly began to fade back into the darkness, his voice echoing out into the void as it spoke, "We both know the answer to that…"

Izuku was now alone, standing upon the rooftop edge from the same building nearly a year ago where his heroic journey had truly started. Izuku looked back to the endless white behind him, understanding now what it had represented after this little talk with his doppelganger. He then chuckled lightly to himself, and like he had done reaching for the ball of light back then with no hesitation, Izuku did not merely walk off the edge.

He jumped.

The bloody roar of pain that came out of the Nomu caught the attention of those around the scene where it had pinned the green-haired hero in training to the ground. Shigaraki's inane laughter halting as his eyes widened in absolute horror and shock, as where the fist and arm that was coming down upon the head of the wannabe hero had been sliced off by a rather large and dark looking blade that seemed to be emitting some deep purple mist around it.

As everyone, both around the central plaza and within it, stared at the raised-up sword that looked more like a sharped hunk of metal, the mist around it thickened for a brief moment before exploding out; the sound of another slice echoed in the air as the Nomu was sent hurtling onto its back, now without its legs.

The purple mist that surrounded the sword billowed and pulsed around the now standing silhouette of the sword wielder, everyone around them covering or cowering slightly from the intense pressure given off by it. The Nomu began pushing itself up by its remaining arm as its other limbs started to regenerate, albeit slowly. Its head was suddenly slammed back onto the ground when the blade of the claymore-like sword sliced through its upper beak and part of its brain, catching one of the eyes in the cut as well.

The monster screamed in agony as blood sprayed out of the wound like a small fountain, while also pouring out from the entry point of the injury, covering the blade and the pure ebony armor of its assailant in it's blood. However, due to how black the rancid-smelling liquid was, it only had a wet sheen look on said armor. The purple mist quickly retracted itself into the blade as the sword wielder slowly lifted the weapon up slightly before driving it down with a roar, "FLOOD OF SHADOW!"

A hum of pure power burst straight down the blade into the Nomu's head; it screeched more in pain as wave after wave of the purple mist spewed out of the edge as the assailant kept thrusting the blade up and down until the cries of agony from the creature went silent

The dark armored being tugged the sword tip out of the small crater he had made with his last attack, straightening his back as he stepped over the now lifeless body of the monster and began to slowly walk his way towards Shigaraki, the mist on the sword still billowing out of it slightly, but not in the same amount as it was while fighting the fallen creature. And because of said lack of obscuring mist, the students that were watching and the two villains could now see the armor.

If the class of 1-A had thought that the Dragoon kit looked wicked before, it couldn't compare to this demonic armor before them. It was covered head to toe in plates that looked more akin to sharp-looking pieces of chitin, to the few that would know; however, it would be considered a more sinister mockery of Izuku's paladin armor, although lacking a helmet.

That was the one thing Tsuyu wished for now; well, she hoped for many things currently. Still, the one on the top of her list was the wish that whatever this new 'kit' of Izuku's was currently, was that it had a helmet or something because she hated seeing the face of her crush as it was right now.

It was a cold imitation of the boy she knew, a good part of it covered in the blood of the monster he had just slain as his once emerald eyes were now this dull orange color that seemed lifeless as if it wasn't Izuku at all. It also didn't help that her damn "instincts" had kicked in again, keeping her rooted to the spot beside her dead classmate and unconscious teacher, but unlike before where it was both the fear of a predator and the desire of a powerful mate, this time it was a pure terror that kept her at bay.

The sudden shout of indignation and frustration coming from the villain covered in hands snapped the frog girl out of her own thoughts, making sure she remained quiet to keep her presence hidden from the three towering behemoths before her as she watched the scene play out in front of her.

"You cheater!" Shigaraki roared and pointed at Izuku, whose face remained emotionless as the villain snarled at him, "You absolute cheater! You can't just get some power up during a fight!" He raved on and continued to do so as Kurogiri just watched the hero student come to a stop, causing Shigaraki to cease his shouting and speak in a dark tone with a smirk underneath the hand covering his face, "Well, aren't you going to say anything for yourself? Didn't realize they were teaching you to KILL your enemies… not very heroic, I'd say."

The response the villain had got from Izuku was not the one he was expecting; no, Shigaraki was hoping for the typical heroic speech that 'heroes don't kill, but he had no choice', and then the pale-skinned man would retort that he didn't even try and attempt to subdue the Nomu and would hope in breaking the student's spirit long enough to reach into a portal and grab the cheater's head and dust him. Instead, all he received was a deep chuckle, which soon blew out into laughter that caused both villains to flinch at the somewhat ethereal tone it had.

"Don't… don't even start trying to pull that bullshit." Izuku spoke with a smug smirk on his lips, still chuckling slightly, "You don't get to say that when you broke into a hero school with a monster designed to kill All Might, all the while bringing a few dozen thugs and petty criminals to cause havoc and attempt to kill the other staff members and students."

"And why not? It's to change society and end the reign of All-"

"Yes, yes… 'need to change and/or destroy society' and all that…" Izuku said in a deadpan tone with a look to match, "You think this is the first time I've heard this speech before? Does it make you think you're 'special'?" The gaze of the orange eyes bore into Shigaraki as he continued to speak.

"You'd like to think you're some sort of 'mastermind', with the perfect plan to kill the number one hero, but you're not. You are nothing but a petulant child throwing tantrums left and right when things don't go your way."

Shigaraki snarled at the accusation, his fingers twitching on his right hand as he really wanted to grab this student's face and dust him to shut him up, "How fucking dare you-."

"I'd bet money you're not even the one to come up with the plan." Izuku interrupted the coming rebuttal, "It's painfully obvious considering you probably never took into account what would happen if All Might hadn't shown up; IF you did, then you would have allowed some communication to get through so we could warn the school and 'lo and behold', He shows up!"

"I mean, one of us did escape, so good job on fixing THAT mistake." Izuku said with a smirk and a thumbs up to Kurogiri, who merely squinted at the dark-clad boy.

"And who the hell do you think you are to question me?!" Shigaraki snarled again, his fingers wiggling stiffly as he kept his eyes on the student, "You're nothing but an ignorant brat! How dare you lecture me like I'm nothing."

"That's because you ARE nothing, or have I not been making that painfully clear yet?" Izuku shot back with a condescending look, earning him another snarl from Shigaraki, "You think of this as nothing but a game, something to amuse yourself with while you had that monster do your dirty work for you, and look what happened to it."

The reminder that the person before him had killed his 'ultimate weapon' was the final straw for the villain, quickly raising his hand and thrusting it forward into a dark portal created by Kurogiri, as the misty being had anticipated his young master to need one eventually, Shigaraki grinned widely as his hand quickly made its way towards the face of the green-haired bastard that dared to insult him.

However, that grin turned into shock as time had slowed to a crawl to allow those that could see what was transpiring. As the dark armored boy shifted to one side, making Shigaraki's hand miss its intended target, only for his wrist to be grabbed harshly by the clawed gauntlet of his 'victim' and his arm pulled more into the portal while also watching the large sword rise up into the air.

What followed next was the loudest blood-curdling scream ever to echo within the giant dome of the USJ, which caused everyone not aware of what was transpiring in the central plaza to stop and look towards where it originated from.

Shigaraki collapsed back, his left hand gripping the end of the long sleeve of his right arm, which was profusely bleeding as he backpedaled against the ground. Kurogiri had warped himself to be beside his master, helping the young man quickly tie up the wound.

"SHIT! FUCK! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?! WHAT SORT OF HERO CUTS A MAN'S HAND OFF!" The pale blue-haired man screamed at Izuku, whose blade now had the much more distinct color of red upon it. The green-haired boy lazily looked towards the screaming man, flicking his sword as if to messily get the blood off of it before he slowly began to walk towards them.

"What sort of Hero am I?" asked Izuku with his orange eyes glowing brightly and causing both villains to flinch a little, "I'm the sort that knows when to send a puppet back to their master with a message." The giant sword was raised up to a point directly at Shigaraki, the sheen off of the blade still present from not only the Nomu's blood but his own as the dark warrior continued, "Tell him or her that if you or ANY of their other followers dare set foot upon the soil of UA ever again… Well, it won't be just a hand next time."

Kurogiri took this opportunity to create a portal large enough for himself and his ward, taking the boy's medical needs into consideration. Kurogiri began pulling the raving and delusional from blood-loss Shigaraki through the portal he had made, not even bothering to retrieve the dead Nomu or the lost limb as he didn't know how long of a window their adversary would give them a chance to flee.

Izuku watched the two villains disappear into the portal of darkness, his gaze never leaving the spot for a few seconds more; he slowly sheathed the massive sword onto his back and sighed heavily, "Well, that was a bit anticlimactic…"

His gaze soon turned towards Tsuyu and the two bodies lying close to her, his orange eyes staring at the usually overdramatic boy's dead body. As he began to walk towards the pair, the being known as Izuku currently felt his mind go ablaze with flashbacks to a similar situation long ago, a valiant knight that had saved his life and had given him some advice before dying in his arms.

A croak caught his attention and out of his thoughts as standing between the body and the dark-clad warrior was Tsuyu, ready in a defensive stance and her fists raised up. While it usually was hard for her to show emotions, he could clearly see the rage within her eyes as she continued to give croaks of warning.

"Stay away! Don't you dare come any closer and give me back Izuku!" the frog girl demanded, forcing herself to remain rooted in place. She kept her eyes upon this… stranger… before her while questions ran through her mind as to what exactly was going on with Izuku. Usually, when he would get a new kit, it would only slightly shift his personality and he would still remain virtually the same.

However, this was far more different.

The way the 'person' before her carried himself was like they only ran on pure cold logic, a set path forward with no alternative course of actions even considered. She could feel her 'instincts' telling her to back off or flee. Still, Tsuyu knew she couldn't, not with her guarding over Aoyama and Aizawa's bodies as well as hopefully seeing if she could break Izuku out of whatever hold he was currently under.

As she kept looking over the person in front of her, Tsuyu's beady black eyes soon found it's way to where Izuku's usually green ones were supposed to be. When she got herself a good look at the now pure orange irises that he sported, her mouth went agape a tiny bit as she finally figured it out, "It was you...you're the one that's been making Izuku act differently."

"Differently?" asked the being with the still ethereal tone of voice that still sent shivers down her spine; Tsuyu took a step back if only to get into a better defensive stance as the dark armored person crossed his arms over his chest, "Oooh… were you referring to when the boy called out the blonde screamer or the way he teased and toyed with the pink-skinned woman?" The smirk that formed on his lips sent more shivers of uneasiness throughout Tsuyu's body; it looked and felt wrong upon the visage of her crush's own features.

"I would take full credit where it was due, but no… that wasn't entirely me, though I did have a hand in it." he shrugged as he leaned back a little, arms still crossed, "No, what happened was more of me letting all that 'inner darkness' within his heart flow out… you'd be surprised how much he has bottled up in there."

Tsuyu tilted her head in confusion, glaring at the person still who merely raised an eyebrow at her reaction. He then sighed heavily and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "To put it simply, everyone has those dark thoughts or emotions that they tend to bottle up deep inside, whatever the reason being, it normally stays that way." He looked at her again, his hand away from his nose and resting overtop the other arm again, "However, for Izuku, because of his 'gift', it can manifest into another aspect of himself, one that can and will act out those things he wishes to keep buried deep down if he didn't come to a compromise with it at least."

The look of utter confusion on the frog girl's face wasn't outwardly projected. Still, one could sense how confused she was by blinking her eyes a few times with that, oddly, cute tilt of her head, "...From the way you're wording it, it sounds like you are said manifestation."

"In a sense, but while I do harbor his darker tendencies, I'm not exactly his…"

"And what does that make you? You came from his quirk; no, you should be a part of it."

"Ah, yes… I forgot that is what you call the powers of this world." The being before her shrugged his shoulders, his orange eyes half-lidded as he continued to stare at her, "I am a part of his power, but I am not his power."

"That… doesn't make sense." Tsuyu spoke suddenly, "How can you be a part of his quirk, but not be his quirk, kero?" She asked as she frowned and readied herself again, "What are you?"

"A ghost... from a time long past."

The question and answer given were left hanging in the air, filling it with tension as the frog girl was clearly trying to weigh her options. On the one hand, she could possibly try to restrain him, keep him still, and hope that the staff would get there soon. The problem with that was clearly before her as she could still see the headless corpse of the Nomu, as well as the dismembered hand of the villain that escaped, was not too far from the person before her. Clearly, attacking or trying to subdue the 'ghost' as he called himself was out of the question.

That only left Tsuyu with the one option given to her. To stall for time.

"When you said you let some of Izuku's… 'inner darkness' out… What did you mean by that? I know it would be naive to think that anyone wouldn't have any dark thoughts or things they would want to keep secret, kero, but this is Izuku we are talking about."

"And you think he wouldn't have such dark intentions?" The 'ghost' questioned with a raised eyebrow, "The times where he could show all those that tormented him how much stronger he is now, rubbing it in their faces that HE made it to UA? Hell, the battle with Bakugo was nothing to what he could have done to the boy." The sly smirk returned and grew across his lips, which again made Tsuyu shiver slightly once more, "Or better yet, his true thoughts towards you and the other close to him…"

Tsuyu froze instantly at this, her face blank with emotion and a dusting of red on her cheeks; the look he was giving her was not helping in the slightest as he chuckled softly, "Curious? Do not worry; he's currently asleep and unaware of our little talk right now."

"That would still be a betrayal of his trust though, kero."

"True, but you have seen some of those thoughts already, those lovely little notes he made in his notebooks." He said with that smirk still plastered on his lips, slowly walking towards her as he continued to speak, "Take, for example, when you kissed him in his room, oh the things he wanted to do…"

Tsuyu was frozen as he kept approaching her. Eventually, he was standing right in front of her, a good foot away as he continued to speak, "How Izuku wanted to keep that kiss going, to run his hands all along your body as if to worship you like the goddess he believes you are… he thought about the possible future then as well, working side by side while being heroes, returning home after a long hard day on the job to spend time together… dinners at fancy restaurants, spending the holidays with one another and your families…" The 'ghost' leaned in and began to whisper, while the poor frog girl's heart was starting to rapidly beat as he continued, "marriage… the prospects of how cute the children would look… raising them…"

"I don't… I don't understand…" Tsuyu rasped a gentle breath as if to calm herself down to speak, "Those don't sound like anything dark or wrong… at all... "

"It's quite simple." whispered the person with the ethereal voice, "Despite everything he would think of, the darkness of all that can be summed up with one simple little phrase so ingrained in him, that he believes it to be one hundred percent truth."

What was said next had completely broken Tsuyu to the core; the ache in her heart nearly tore it in two, as with a perfect mimicry of Izuku's voice, he spoke gently.

"Who would fall in love with a quirkless deku like me anyway?"

Leaning back and walking away from the visibly distraught-looking frog girl, a sudden explosion could be heard coming from the front entrance of the USJ.

"TO THINK YOU HAD THE GALL TO ATTACK MY STUDENTS!" Shouted the number one hero, the scowl on his face as he took in the various states of the students at the entrance of the USJ, the looks of despair turned to bright smiles upon seeing him as All Might made his way towards the stairway to look over and assess the situation, "IT'S FINE NOW, FOR I AM- - " but his iconic catchphrase halted as his blue eyes caught the sight of the central area.

All Might was no stranger to horrific scenes throughout his hero career, but this one was one of the far more brutal ones he had witnessed. He looked on to what could be seen as a headless corpse with black blood slowly oozing out of the body into a small crater in the ground, the bloodied hand on the floor with an extensive trail of red a few meters away. Finally, to the two bodies beside Tsuyu Asui, one of which looked beaten to hell but alive while the other, another of his students, was pale in his skin tone, and the piece of debris lodged in his chest made it evident that the boy had not survived.

However, what got his full attention was Izuku Midoriya, wearing the evilest looking set of armor he ever did come across, which was saying something given how many villains he had fought. All Might could see the boy staring up at him with pure orange eyes that looked far older than they should have on the teenager from his perch above.

He heard the small gasps of the other students who had come close to the edge to look on with him; he heard a soft and almost frightened gasp coming from Mina Ashido, "Iz… Izuku?"

"I'm sorry, young Ashido…" All Might said quietly as the mentioned boy narrowed his eyes at the pro hero above, "But I don't think that's young Midoriya anymore…"