After the winners of the robot "whack-a-mole" event had been declared, they were given a short break before being guided by a camera drone to a building two blocks north of the bustling party plaza. Despite how far it was from the party, it was still several blocks south of the skyscraper where All Might was perched, a indication that the size of the mock city was nothing to scoff at. Upon reaching the four story apartment building, the camera drone informed them with a robotic voice that the top of the building is supposed to be their starting point for the battle, with the intent that the fight would take place between the skyscraper and this building, in order to avoid endangering the crowd.
Without a word, Endeavor shot ahead, his flames igniting with a roar as he propelled himself directly upward, two pillars of fire trailing behind him as he flew his way to the top. The sudden blast made the others flinch; with Crust dismissing his shock with a laugh, and Gang Orca nodding in disapproval as he watched him ascend. Once the flames had cleared up, he crouched, his powerful legs launching him into the air, leaving a crack on the pavement behind him.
Crust's eyes followed the large man fly through the air in an arc, landing on the roof just after the zenith of the jump. With an impressed whistle Crust, crust turned and began walking to the front of the building to find its entrance. While he would love to join in the fun of showing of their quirks, he knew his own quirk didn't offer anything that would allow him such unconventional methods of reaching the roof. Instead, he opted to take the stairs, undeterred by the mundanity of his route to the top.
As the minutes ticked by, Gang Orca and Endeavor waited, facing each other in a strained silence that neither attempted to break. Gang Orca kept a distance, both because of the uncomfortable heat radiating from Endeavor's ever-burning facial flames, which would dry his skin and make it itch, and due to his personal distaste for the man. Endeavor might have once held the esteemed position of the Number Two Hero, but that was around a decade ago, since then the hero had begun rapidly descending the hero ranks due to decreased hero activity.
Then of course, there was that one incident that took his reputation and popularity to new lows for active heroes. That was over five years ago, and many have forgiven and forgotten over time, allowing him to return to the top 20. Clearly the benefit of a well paid PR team, or perhaps part of it was his rumored connected to the HPSC.
However, Gang Orca was very proud of the fact that he never forgets, and believed that forgiveness had to be earned. Thus far, Endeavor had done nothing to make up for the damage he'd done to Fahren. The retired ice hero was still being held in a mental facility last he heard.
On the other hand, Endeavor's attention flickered between the large mutant beside him and the distant tower where All Might waited. His glare sharpened, frustration simmering as he glanced between his rival and the inhuman before him, as if both presenting their own brand of irritation.
The tension thickened, each man's unspoken grievances building until even Gang Orca, stoic as he was, felt tempted to say something. Just as he opened his mouth, the stairway door clanged open, and Crust stepped onto the roof, oblivious to the atmosphere as he strode toward the pair with a beaming smile.
"Gang Orca, Endeavour, it's a great pleasure to work with you." Crust smiled, walking towards them as if completely oblivious of the tension. "Should we talk strategy? I think All Might is enough of a good sport not to go easy on us."
Endeavor scoffed, turning away from the two to face directly at the number 1 hero standing in the distance. Gang Orca held back an eye roll to maintain his professionality as he turned towards Crust.
"Long way up the stairs?" He joked, walking up to the new arrival and extending his hand for a handshake.
Now Crust was not a small man by any means, but the Japanese people had never been known as a tall people either. So when standing before someone who was nearly 12 feet tall, he looked positively tiny by comparison. However, going by his unwavering grin, the man looked completely unbothered as he extended his own hand for the handshake, which was entirely enveloped by the black, clawed fingers of his fellow hero.
"Barely an inconvenience," Crust replied with a chuckle once their handshake ended. "My quirk doesn't give me much in the way of mobility, so I'm used to taking the longer route."
"Interesting," Gang Orca mused. "Mobility tends to be pretty important for high-ranking heroes. The faster you respond, the more cases you can rack up. I take it your expertise lies in other areas?"
"Yeah, most of my work is either rescue or evacuation, where my quirk really shines," Crust explained. "But I'm not too bad in a scuffle."
"You destroyed the fourth-highest number of robots in the competition," Gang Orca pointed out.
"Not too bad, eh?" Crust grinned confidently. "My quirk lets me create a 'crust' around my body and objects I touch. The crust's nearly indestructible, and I can adjust its texture—smooth as a baby's bottom or as sharp as thousands of little blades."
"Nearly indestructible? What can break it?" Gang Orca asked, curious.
At that, Crust's confident smile wavered a bit. "All Might," he admitted after a moment's hesitation.
A few seconds of silence passed before Crust continued, clearly wanting to qualify his answer. "It's not like he punches right through it—he's gotta work for it. There was one time I was holding up part of a collapsing building, and he needed to get through to save a civilian I hadn't seen in the rubble. But if I was focusing on blocking his attacks, I could probably hold off a few of his full-strength punches."
Gang Orca nodded, weighing this information. He wasn't expecting any tools that could help them against All Might, so even if this wasn't a perfect counter, he was grateful they had something.
"What about you? From what I saw earlier, I assume super strength?" Crust asked.
The camera drone buzzed as it interrupted the conversation. "5 minutes until we begin."
Gang Orca looked back to Crust, both acknowledging they should speed things up.
"Yes, super strength along with durability, and endurance. My size limits my mobility, but helps me when I need to throw some weight behind a punch. I have a bite strength that has yet to fail me, claws and I'm also able to eject sonic blasts from my head."
"How strong are the blasts?"
"I've never pushed it hard enough to find out, but I've been able to put down B-rank villains with it alone. If we're talking about All Might? I don't know if it will even disorient him."
"I hope it is. How about you, Endeavour?"
The two fell silent, looking towards Endeavour, who was still glaring towards the horizon. Seemingly ignoring them in the progress.
"I don't know how much of a team player he is, from the rumors I've heard about what his sidekicks felt like working with him, he's probably going to try and fight All Might alone, and we're going to have to try our best not to get in his way. Something I'm glad to do. I don't do well with fire."
Crust nodded. "That's the same reason Hawks dropped out, right?"
"He said that it was he preferred fighting solo, but yes, I suspect that was also part of his reasoning."
"Katsu!"
...
"Katsu!"
...
"Do you think he's ignoring me, or he actually just hasn't heard me call him?" Mitsuki muttered, glancing over at her husband. He shrugged, settling onto the couch with a large box of popcorn in his hands.
"Either way, yelling louder usually works. Or angrier," he suggested the tiniest of smiles pulling at the corners of his mouth. "he's highly responsive to angry yelling."
"Tch. Right," she huffed, giving him a playful shove before pausing, then unleashing her full-volume shout. "KATSUKI!"
"CALM DOWN! I'M BUSY WITH MY SHITTY HOMEWORK!"
"YEAH? WELL, TOO FUCKING BAD, BECAUSE ALL MIGHT'S ON THE TV!"
...
Upstairs, a loud pop followed by a door slamming open didn't faze them. Seconds later, Katsuki barreled down the stairs, "Why didn't you say so, you old hag? I'd have..." Katsuki half-yelled only to come a standstill on the last few steps as he spotted his mom's hands firmly planted on her hips.
"What the hell did you call me?" She said, raising an eyebrow.
"Old hag?" he quipped, continuing his journey down the steps but at a slower pace that barely contained his excitement. "What—am I suddenly supposed to watch my language?"
"Watch it," she warned, her tone hardening.
"Or what?" Katsuki smirked, glancing sideways at the TV as if trying to spy on what was showing. "You're gonna ground me for a few more days?"
Mitsuki shot a look at her husband. "Are you also seeing this attitude?"
"Oh, I see it." Masaru nodded, although he didn't look in their direction. "Although if grounding's not getting through to him… maybe we should stop doing that altogether."
Bakugo couldn't stop his eyes from lighting up at the prospect of freedom.
"Maybe we can try something else." He said with mock seriousness. "I know. Maybe we can finally try those friendship-rekindling sessions Inko's been suggesting. I'm sure she'd love that."
Bakugo's eyes widened comically for a split second before he quickly reigned his expression back to its usual scowl. Although unfortunately his mother had caught his look and began snickering at his expense, causing him some embarrassment.
"Tch. I never should have told you about the damn deal." He said, avoiding eye contact with either parent.
"Damn right you shouldn't have!" Mitsuki yelled, swapping on a dime from from snickering to serious.
"Then wide did you ground me?" He asked, a baffled look on his face.
"Because I don't want a dickhead snitch of a son!"
"And because no bullying."
"That too."
"And because honesty."
"That too. But mainly the snitching."
Katsuki protested, "He was trying to get into U.A.! I just—"
Masaru held his hand up, stopping his son in his tracks.
"Son. I think if there's one thing we don't want you to be even more than a snitch. It is someone petty enough to get grounded just to sabotage someone else's dreams."
"Yeah, what he said!" Mitsuki echoed.
"But—" Katsuki began, only to pause when his dad patted the couch beside him.
"Sit down before you hurt yourself more, son. It's starting," Masaru said with a gentle smile.
Katsuki hesitated, then sighed and dropped onto the couch, folding his arms but keeping one eye on the screen. Mitsuki joined them, her initial tension softening as she settled in next to her husband.
"Chili popcorn, anyone?" Masaru offered, extending the bowl in his hands.
"Hell yeah!" both mother and son cheered, snatching generous handfuls of the spicy snack, any lingering conflict instantly forgotten.
Until a few seconds went by, and Mitsuki remembered something.
"Oh, yeah! I forgot I wanted to say." She said, throwing a sidewards glance at Katsuki. "Izuku never got grounded, so your little ploy was for nothing."
"Fuck!"
"You're telling me you knew about this?" Madam President asked, pinching the bridge of her nose to stave off the frustration building in her tone.
"I… think so?" Mera Yokumiru slurred, sounding dazed. "Sorry, my memory's a little hazy right now."
Madam President fought against the urge to throw him out of her office on the spot. "When was the last time you slept?" she asked, noting that the dark circles that were usually around his eyes were absent.
"Mmmm?" Mera blinked, the question seeming to replay in his head. "Last night. I think? I was so tired, I couldn't stay awake any longer."
"It's fine," she said, though the word tasted bitter. "Take a short holiday and come back fully unrested. I can't have you bumbling around the office like a buffoon."
"Yes, ma'am!" he said, managing a weak salute before stumbling out the door. She watched him leave with a long, loud sigh, sinking back in her chair.
That man was reckless and incompetent; if it weren't for his inexplicable ties to half the HPSC leadership, she would have fired him long ago. His inability to control his quirk's side effects during critical moments had cost her dearly. She could have seized this chance to question Nezu's ambitions to reshape heroics, but instead, she was caught flat footed, and by the time she would be able to try to sow any dissent towards UA, the public would be too wowed by the spectacle to care.
Worse, All Might's involvement only confirmed rumors that she'd lost his support altogether, and that the most influential man in Japan had cast his lot with her opposition.
She didn't like it. The last time she felt like control over the HPSC was slipping from her grasp was when that man was ruling from the shadows. She only hoped history wouldn't repeat itself.
"One minute remaining" The camera drone echoed. "It would be wise to get into position."
Gang Orca pushed himself off the wall of the stairway entrance, and approached the ledge facing in All Might's direction. While he and Crust had discussed their strategy it had become increasingly clear that Endeavor was intent on acting alone.
Still, as much as he despised Endeavor they were still brothers in arms, and he was willing to extend a hand of temporary friendship in order to increase their slim chances of defeating the number one.
He had a feeling his patience with the man would be in vain, but patience was not truly patience if it wasn't tested.
"I take you have a plan then?" Gang Orca commented as he stopped next to the flaming hero, choosing to ignore the feeling of the heat already beginning to dry his skin.
Endeavor's stance didn't even shift, only his eyes glared upwards at the orca, who chose to interpret the look as a request to elaborate.
"You ignored us in favor of sizing up the big guy. If you're willing to forgo the benefit of teamwork, I'm guessing you're somewhat confident in your own plans. Care to share?"
"30 seconds remaining."
Crust let out a light groan as he stood up, hoping to his feat. He'd chosen to sit on the floor during the wait.
"Perhaps you're right. I should enlighten you to my plan otherwise you might end up injured." Endeavor remarked coldly.
"We're fighting All Might, of course we're gonna get hurt," Crust said, still grinning.
Endeavors eyes glint with fierce determination. "We're not fighting him. I am." He spat. "I've waited a long time for this. I'm taking him on alone."
"15 seconds remaining."
Crust raised his hands in mock surrender. "Sounds personal. Count me out."
Though Gang Orca was less convinced. "You think you can take him in a fight?"
Endeavor's eyes narrowed as he looked back toward All Might, and in his glare, Gang Orca could see something lurking beneath the fury—a spark of resentment, and perhaps even fear.
"10 seconds."
"It doesn't matter if I can or can't." The flames around Endeavor surged hotter, the dark red lines of his suit beginning to glow with heat, forcing Gang Orca to take a step back.
"8 seconds."
"What matters is that I'll do it alone. The two of you would only get in my way."
"Hey! I can hold my own!" Crush protested.
"6 seconds."
"Against All Might? I guess you're almost as mentally slow as you are physically."
"What does that say about you then?" Despite his words, the Orca's patience had not yet run dry. He was more curious than anything, and couldn't resist the jab.
"3."
The former no.2 sent a heated glare as he raised a finger and pointed it at him. "You especially stay out of my way."
"2."
A dark tingle ran down Gang Orca's spine, a primal sense of rivalry flaring up in response. "Why should I?" He challenged in return.
"1."
"I'd hate to turn you into an oversized grilled tuna in the middle of my fight." Endeavor grinned with sick intensity as, without warning, he let the fire erupt from him, forcing both heroes to leap back from the sudden burst, Crust even reflexively generating crust over some parts of his skin.
"FIGHT!"
A roar of flames billowed from beneath Endeavor's hands and feet, rocketing him into the sky like a missile. Crust and Gang Orca, who'd already stepped back, were just far enough to avoid the worst of the heat. Still, Gang Orca could feel a faint sting on the exposed skin of his forearm where he'd raised it against the blast's brightness. The heat had still gotten to him.
"Damn," Crust muttered, an impressed whistle escaping his lips as he pointed to where Endeavor had just stood. Gang Orca followed his gaze to see the gravel below. Some of the stones had melted, pooling into patches of gleaming black glass, while others were charred to a crisp. The scorched earth, still radiating heat, held two distinct footprints as if a devil had just stood there, its unholy flames tainting the earth.
Gang Orca let out a snort, unable to keep back a wry grin. Hellfire, he thought, recalling the name Endeavor had chosen for his quirk. The irony wasn't lost on him.
Crust noticed and tilted his head. "Huh? Something funny?"
"Nah, just a dumb thought," Gang Orca replied, shaking his head.
Crust chuckled, eyes glinting. "Dumber than mine?"
Gang Orca raised a brow, genuinely confused for a moment. Then he caught the mischievous grin on Crust's face, and the meaning clicked. He couldn't help it—his own grin spread across his face, a savage expression that had in the past caused the media to brand him as the most villainous-looking hero.
"It might be."
As the camera drone announced the start of the fight, All Might closed his eyes as he stretched his muscles once again. There was a good mile between him and his opponents, and he was intent on staying put. Now that One for All was with Izuku, his remaining stockpile of power would only start shrinking from here, and playing defense against weaker opponents was far less draining than going on the offense.
It'd be a while until...
He could feel the heat before he heard anything, years of experience compelled him to dodge even if he was uncertain if there was any danger at all. Allowing the remnants of One for All to flow through his body, he flung his body to the side, prioritizing speed over grace. Having foolishly closed his eyes, he was uncertain what level of power was needed to dodge the attack.
Having darted to the side, his eyes snapped open just quick enough to see that he had overreacted, his assailant flying past where he had been standing long after he had reacted. A slight bit of alarm passing over All Might as shortly after came the explosion of a sonic boom, Endeavor had broken the sound barrier, he wasn't anywhere near that level of speed the last time they'd met.
"ALL MIGHT!" Endeavor yelled, surprising All Might again with his maneuverability at that speed as he managed to redirect himself back at All Might in less than a second.
Although this time All Might saw him coming, and prepared a counter attack. "FLORIDA SMASH!"
Slamming his hands together, he created a jet of air aimed straight at Endeavor, this attack was especially useful at swatting down flying opponents.
But Endeavor surprised All Might yet again, as he rotated his body in an instant before stopping. Using the leftover momentum to carry him out of the path of the attack, stabilizing himself in the air above All Might with some well placed blasts of fire.
All Might took a tense stance, ready for another attack, but Endeavor seemed to content to float above the number one, glaring down at him.
It was then that All Might noticed how muscular Endeavor had become, the other hero had always been a large and muscular man, but right now, if not for the height difference, Endeavor seemed nearly as large as All Might. What sort of training had the man been doing since he practically isolated himself from the rest of hero society?
"All Might." Endeavor practically spat the name. "Your eyes were closed. Do you think me that little of a threat?"
"No no no." All Might jumped at the accusation. "I was just not expecting your speed."
"But you still reacted to me, despite being me catching you off guard." Endeavor said, tone devoid of emotion, as if merely stating fact. "It seems despite everything, I still don't compare to you."
"That sounds rather defeatist, don't you think?" All Might joked with a smile. "Don't bail on me yet, we need to put on a good show for the television." He reminded.
Though the smile quickly grew nervous as Endeavor began to laugh.
"Oh, I'm not done yet." Endeavor grinned violently, bringing his fists to his shoulders, arms across each other in an x-shape. "HELL SPIDER'S WEB!"
Flinging his arms forward Endeavor ejected narrow and compact streams of fire that seemed to form into ropes, though it was when Endeavor pulled his arms down violently with a shout that the move suddenly resembled its namesake, the interlocking ropes forming a web pattern that allowed All Might no avenue of escape as they wiped downwards, almost moving at a speed too fast for him to react to.
Almost.
Leaping back, All Might narrowly avoided most of the attack, though a tip of the web struck his leg, nearly drawing a yell of pain as it nearly burned through his suit. Thankfully, he managed to pull his leg away just in time, sparing him from deeper injury.
That was a new move. The fire was almost liquid in nature, as if he'd molded it into tangible plasma. All Might realized Endeavor must have pushed his quirk to the very limits to even discover he could do that, let alone turn it into a viable move.
Though he had little time to ponder how it changed things, as he was now in freefall from the skyscraper, with Endeavor closing in fast.
All Might weighed his options. A well-placed air burst could buy him enough time to hide among the buildings, perhaps locate the two other heroes who were mysteriously absent, and deal with them to prevent having to worry about external factors when fighting Endeavor.
He could also use the cover of dusk to set up a surprise attack on Endeavor, who was easy to spot against the darkening sky thanks to the light emanating from his flames.
But a voice echoed in the back of his mind, reminding him of Nezu's instructions.
"I understand you have limited resources now," the rat had said over tea. "But the goal is to remind the world of your power, to reassure them. This will be your last public fight. Go all out—overwhelm them with sheer strength. You won't need to use One for All like that going forward, so make the most of it."
All Might had to use All his Might.
He he.
Forcing his mind from the excellent pun he had just made, he looked back at Endeavor and recognized the stance the hero was beginning to shift into. Apparently Endeavor didn't have too many new tricks, since he was defaulting back to his iconic Jet Burn ultimate move.
All Might might have been caught off guard by something new, but he knew exactly how to counter a move he already knows.
With a loud crack, All Might swung his arms downward, propelling himself upward with an air blast that sent him soaring toward Endeavor. That move required a charge-up time, closing the distance was the best option. Sure Endeavor could detonate it prematurely, but then it'd lose most of its punch, and more importantly, heat.
Reacting as All Might darted towards him, Endeavor fired his half-charged attack, but it was too late—All Might burst through the flames, too fast for the lower heat to toast him. In an instant, he buried his fist in Endeavor's stomach, doubling him over as the punch rocketed him a hundred yards into the air within less then a second.
Not one to give his enemy time to recover, All Might pushed himself towards the skyscraper, and began racing up the side of the it. Despite his speed, he managed to pay careful attention to his footing, ensuring that every step was placed upon the metal beams supporting the windows rather than the glass itself. The tempered glass might not have supported his weight, a concern increased with the risk of it being warped by the heat of Endeavor's quirk.
Reaching the top of the building, All Might leapt from its edge, aiming to intercept Endeavor just as his ascent began to slow. But a flash of awareness crossed Endeavor's eyes, and a fierce grin broke over his face. As All Might closed in, he saw Endeavor's figure begin to blaze, forcing him to shield his face from the blinding heat.
"PROMINENCE BURN!"
"Why is he so strong?" Izuku murmured as the blacked-out livestream on his screen flickered back on. The replaced camera drone, now stationed farther away, captured what looked like the smoking form of All Might hurtling back toward the faux cityscape like a meteor. Izuku watched, eyes widening, as the melted top of the skyscraper dripped molten cement and steel, cascading down the building's side like a candle.
"He's a top hero, kid," Gran Torino remarked from his seat, eyes fixed on his own phone. "Did you expect him to be weak?"
"No, but…." Izuku hesitated, still searching for the right words. "I've seen him on the TV a few times, also seen a few recordings of his top achievements that put him in the top nationally 5 in terms of power alone. So I know how strong he was before he shut down his agency, and he was strong, but never strong enough to throw All Might around."
"True." Gran Torino admitted. "I fought alongside him back in the day, he wasn't anywhere near this."
"Maybe if he was things wouldn't have gone to hell so damn fast." He grumbled under his breath.
"Huh?" Izuku looked up, "What do you mean?"
Gran Torino didn't answer, instead stared of into the distance before Recovery Girl coughed from her desk, looking up from her computer. The two shared a stern, wordless look that Izuku couldn't make out.
Shortly afterwards, Gran Torino sighed.
"Forget it, kid. My mind isn't what it used to be." His words were clipped, final.
"But—"
"I said forget it." Gran Torino's tone was stern, and Izuku turned his eyes back to the screen, reluctant but silent.
Then, a hint of amusement returned to Gran Torino's voice. "What was it you said? Strong enough to throw All Might around?"
Izuku nodded, a bit confused. "Yeah?"
Gran Torino chuckled, his eyes fixed on the screen. "Endeavor may be powerful. But compared to All Might?"
As if on cue, a low, rumbling sound built from the speakers, trembling the phones in their hands.
"He ain't shit."