Chapter 23: What it Really Means

All Might's arrival was heralded by a hurricane as he covered the distance from the entrance to the plaza in the blink of an eye, his landing shaking the foundations of the USJ and forcing Shigaraki to retreat towards Nomu. Assessing the situation for no more than an instant, All Might addressed me while keeping his eyes fixed on Shigaraki and the Nomu.

"Young Midoriya, take Aizawa back to the entrance." He commanded.

"Unless you disabled the warp villain, I can't leave. The hand guy has a disintegrator quirk with five-point touch activation, and the bird one is as strong and fast as you are. The warp villain will be here any second. The three of them together can beat you, and I trust you know what it means for me of all people to say that." I lowered my voice so only All Might could hear me. "I think our worst fears have been realized, All Might. I'd bet my life that the bird guy has multiple quirks, and I don't mean one from each parent."

All Might stiffened beside me before beginning to tremble. "You're absolutely certain, Izuku?" He replied with barely contained rage.

"Positive. The only reason Aizawa and I are still alive is because the hand guy is in charge and wanted to kill me himself. Bird brain only hit me once, and even with him under Aizawa's quirk, I was ragdolled twenty yards." I confirmed.

Having received enough information on our enemies, All Might burst forward towards Shigaraki without another word, but just before making contact, Nomu interceded, absorbing the blow without flinching.

"I guess he wasn't wrong when he said you were strong!" All Might said as he began testing Nomu for weak points, primarily focusing on the exposed brain. "Doesn't even matter where I punch you, does it?" All Might asked rhetorically as he began throwing more powerful blows into Nomu in an attempt to overwhelm the chimera's defenses with sheer force.

"That's because Nomu here has Shock Absorption, All Might. The only way you're going to hurt him is to slowly gouge out his flesh. Of course, I don't think he'll sit back and let you do that. You've finally met your match." Shigaraki boasted.

"Thanks for telling me how to beat him! All I have to do is wear him down, and it's on to you!" All Might countered.

All Might piledrived Nomu into the ground, kicking up a massive cloud of dust and debris. As the air cleared, I immediately cursed under my breath and charged forward.

Fuck! I forgot this was when Kurogiri returned. I've been too caught up in my anxiety and anticipation today. I needed to sit down and force myself to remember how everything went down. Now it's too late.

Flying past the warp split Nomu and the pinned All Might, I pulled my arm back and aimed directly for Shigaraki's head. As expected, a warp gate appeared in front of me before I could get too close, and I immediately redirected away from Kurogiri and Tomura to avoid any potential trickery from the latter putting his hands through the warp gates.

Spinning along the ground to dissipate my momentum, I whipped around and fired off a full powered Delaware Smash with my left pointer finger. The force of the attack caught both villains off guard, sending the two flying to the far end of the court yard.

Grimacing from the pain, I cast a glance over my shoulder and smirked at the sight of All Might easily dislodging himself from the hands of Nomu, who had been bisected as soon as Kurogiri lost his concentration from my attack.

"DIE!"

I snapped my head back towards Shigaraki and Kurogiri just as Katsuki and Kirishima burst from the treeline behind them. Katsuki slammed into Kurogiri, forcing him to the ground with his hand held against the warp villain's armored body. Kirishima likewise attempted a surprise attack on Shigaraki, but Tomura's reflexes proved superior and he easily jumped away.

Right as I opened my mouth to warn my two classmates about Shigaraki's quirk, a line of ice shot across the plaza towards Shigaraki, forcing him to back off even further as Todoroki casually walked up beside me.

As All Might, still holding his bleeding flank, slowly staggered to stand alongside Todoroki and I, Shigaraki calmly clasped his hands together in front of him as he observed the sudden turn of fortune.

"Four students escaped our trap uninjured and disabled my two strongest men. Kids these days really are amazing. They make the League of Villains look like amateurs. Can't have that." Shigaraki stated with cool indifference that sent a shiver down my spine.

When the victorious grins on Bakugou and Kirishima faded, I knew they felt the same.

Shigaraki turned to stare down at the motionless remains of Nomu, who, despite being split in two, had not produced a single drop of blood.

"Nomu."

A blood curdling screech sounded through the air as Nomu began to writhe on the ground, his flesh bubbling and expanding from his torso to begin reforming his lost lower half. Beside me, even Todoroki's iron composure cracked as he gasped in shock at the display.

"Stay back, everybody!" All Might ordered.

Shigaraki began laughing hysterically. "What do you think, All Might? Nomu also has Super Regeneration! He has been modified to take you on, even at one hundred percent of your power. He's basically a highly efficient punching bag that hits back."

Nomu stood upright, and I noticed All Might clenching his fists so hard his knuckles turned white, his smile looking more akin to a sneer of abject hatred.

"I fear you may have been correct, Izuku." He stated monotonously.

"First, we need to free our method of escape." Shigaraki announced as he turned back towards where Katsuki and Kirishima had Kurogiri pinned down. "Get him, Nomu."

Before Shigaraki could finish his sentence I was in motion, but less than halfway to Katsuki's position on the other side of the plaza, I was tossed aside by a gust of wind as All Might moved faster in his wounded state than I could ever hope to achieve at my current level.

An instant later, Nomu made contact, and I was forced to reset my feet to avoid being tossed away by the air pressure of his and All Might's clash. My fellow classmates were left gaping at how All Might had managed to cover the distance and protect Bakugou in the time it took them to register that Nomu was even moving.

While Shigaraki began to monologue at All Might, I decided enough was enough. "Todoroki, you're the fastest when you ride your ice, you and Kirishima take Aizawa and get him to the entrance!"

Kirishima looked conflicted, but nodded his acceptance. Todoroki shot me a glare and opened his mouth to argue, but All Might cut him off.

"Get out of here, all of you. It's gonna be alright. Just sit back and watch a pro at work." He ordered as he positioned himself between my three classmates and the villains.

Shoto narrowed his eyes at All Might's back, but after a moment conceded and turned to follow Kirishima towards where Aizawa remained motionless.

Please, God. Please let him still be alive.

"Kaachan, the hands guy has a disintegrator quirk that will kill you if he gets a hand on you. You're better with ranged combat, so he's all yours. I'll take the warp asshole. We'll keep them occupied until All Might can put that bird freak in the ground." I called out as I jumped over to where Bakugou remained just behind All Might.

Katsuki growled resentfully but didn't argue. Looking over his shoulder, All Might gave me a frustrated look before sighing, his smile picking up somewhat. Flashing us a quick thumbs up, he turned back towards the villains.

"Nomu, Kurogiri, kill him. I'll deal with the children." Shigaraki commanded coldly.

All Might's shoulders straightened as he breathed in deeply and shifted into a combat stance.

"Let's clear this level and go home." Shigaraki said tiredly before he began sprinting towards us.

A moment later, All Might stepped forward, rocketing towards the villains while Nomu came forth to meet him. As I remembered from the anime, the impact of the two sent a burst of pressure that sent all of us skidding backwards, unable to advance in the face of the wind emanating from their clash. I watched in awe as the two giants battled, their blows moving faster than the eye could see.

I'm the only one who can get closer, but I can't do anything against Nomu. I'll just get in the way.

The two battled head-on, both refusing to yield to the hail of blows they were absorbing. Slowly, All Might began to gain ground, breaking down Nomu's stance and forcing him back towards the treeline. The two briefly separated after a particularly savage exchange of blows, but swiftly converged again in the air, only for All Might to redirect Nomu's momentum and launch him into the ground, shattering the sandstone below and sending tremors through the earth beneath us.

A wide smile split my features as All Might slammed into the ground before the stunned Nomu.

"Now for a lesson. You may have heard this saying before, but I'll show you what it really means!" Cocking his fist back, All Might inhaled deeply as he wound up.

"GO BEYOND! PLUS ULTRAAAAAAAAA!"

All Might's fist impacted Nomu's torso, the chimera remaining locked in place for almost a full second before the force exploded outward, sending Nomu hurtling through the USJ's roof and out into the clear blue sky beyond.

I stared in awe at the gaping hole in the dome for a moment before barely audible mumbling drew my attention back to the seething form of Shigaraki, who was scratching furiously at his neck, rivulets of crimson blood streaming down his fingers.

"What's wrong? Not attacking me? Didn't you say you were going to 'clear this level', earlier? Well, come and get me. If you dare." All Might challenged.

I grit my teeth at All Might's bluff. The lingering dust from his battle with Nomu was partially obscuring him, but I could see the steam beginning to pour out of All Might, and for those that knew him well, it was obvious he was physically smaller than he normally was in his muscle form.

All Might's taunts threw Tomura into another fit of rage, and he began viciously clawing at his own neck. Not waiting for Kurogiri to spur Shigaraki into a last ditch attack, I walked forward to stand next to All Might and allowed a small smile when Bakugou came up alongside me in turn.

Shigaraki froze abruptly, his blood stained fingers still latched to his neck as his head twisted unnaturally to allow crazed, bloodshot eyes to peer balefully out at me.

"You…" The words peeled from Shigaraki's lips with more malice than I thought was possible from a human being. "You're the reason this happened. If you hadn't butt in, Nomu and Kurogiri would've killed All Might and I'd be at the victory screen right now."

Watching the deranged villain shake and contort in anger was deeply unsettling, but I held my nerve, keeping my eyes locked on both him and Kurogiri.

"Tomura Shigaraki, we should withdraw. This is no defeat if you live to fight another day." Kurogiri advised.

My eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected reversal of what had happened in canon. Looking around us at the dozens of dead small time villains, the change became self-explanatory.

I've shown myself to be a threat, and Bakugou can't be ignored either. Combine that with their lackeys being dead instead of slowly rejoining the fight, and it makes sense that Kurogiri doesn't like their odds.

Tomura began throwing a tantrum, kicking his feet and clawing at his neck with a fervor that made me think he would kill himself by sheer blood loss. Finally, after nearly a minute, Shigaraki calmed somewhat.

"Fine. Let's go." He muttered disdainfully.

Just as Kurogiri's warp gate opened and Shigaraki turned to enter it, shots rang out, and bullets punctured through both of Tomura's legs and his shoulders. Immediately expanding to cover his screaming leader, Kurogiri quickly teleported the two away, leaving the plaza in an eerie calm as gunshots and Present Mic's audial attacks continued to ring out through the USJ.

The three of us watched as the rest of the U.A. staff descended on the surviving villains throughout the USJ, but after a few moments, All Might broke the silence.

"Young Bakugou, could you please ensure young Todoroki and young Kirishima didn't run into any trouble escorting Mr Aizawa back to the entrance?" He requested with a faltering smile.

Bakugou arched his eyebrow skeptically before casting me a suspicious look, but instead of arguing he merely scoffed and stomped off.

"Thank you, young Izuku. You've saved me once again." All Might said sincerely once Katsuki had moved far enough away.

Turning around, I winced at All Might's exhausted and partially transformed figure. Rushing forward, I put his arm over my shoulder and my mentor almost immediately collapsed, leaning entirely on me to hold him upright.

"Damn, I just realized. When I first showed up to help Aizawa, I should've yelled, 'I am here!'" I replied sorrowfully.

I was immediately made to regret my joke as All Might's spluttered laugh immediately segued into a bloody cough.

"Fuck, don't make me laugh."


Author's Note:

That brings us to the end of 'season one'. Next up is the sports festival arc.