Angel: Yes, Tomura's mind is playing tricks on him, so Izuka is not Hana's reincarnation. And yes, it does come back up again several times, so get ready for that. To the guest who said that they liked the fact I complimented their persistence over more romance and OCs, that's the only compliment I can give at this point. Because otherwise, I'm still not inputting those changes, and people can rewrite the story for themselves for changes they want. And another request to add those two things—no, write the story yourself, moving on.
Okay, this comment I know I've addressed before in the past. Izuka's not gonna be Quirkless, I said before she's not losing her Quirk anytime soon. And no, nothing I wrote has depicted this, not even in season 7. Something does happen to her that season, but it has nothing to do with her Quirk. Nothing's been suggested towards her losing her Quirk, at least I hope not. So don't worry, that's not what will happen to her.
Someone suggested I have Izuka prevent almost all the deaths from the war...first off, there's 2 of them, specifics are necessary here. And second, I literally just said some chapters ago in comparison to that of giving All for One's stolen Quirks back would be losing all the tension. I never said I'd actually commit to these things. There's a reason for why the plot happens as it does in the anime, you know. Not everything in every show is all 'yay! happy go lucky!', because otherwise you lose the stakes. So no, I'm not going to do that change, you can write that yourself. You basically chalk that into the same pile of stuff like giving Overhaul his arms, having Ida's brother not get attacked by Stain, or having all the stolen Quirks be returned by either Nine or All for One in plot points that would change the story and contradict later events. I get it, people don't want All for One to be OP, but he's still a villain at the end of the day. Like I said though, if I do this, it loses the tone the anime is going for. Plus it would make Izuka OP when her moment is not there yet like I want.
The alarms were blaring as there was now no known signal of Endeavor. "Endeavor, come in!" One of the operators urged, but no one said anything. And none of the members from Endeavor's team was answering. "Respond! Hello? Endeavor! Are you there?"
"We still haven't heard from any of the heroes who were fighting in Jaku Hospital!" Another one reported as they tried to get the feed back.
"Do we know the extent of the damage?" One of the commissioners called out from behind.
"The effects of the blast extended in every direction from the hospital, and the resulting dust cloud is blocking our visuals." The screen came up as the signals being invisible, hence why there had been no contact from the comms. Nor were there any visuals.
The commissioners looked very anxious now as they feared for the heroes...
Back at Jaku, the dust cloud was settling while the surrounding area was a mess.
Shigaraki slowly got onto his feet, his cape flowing in the wind. "To me, Machia..." He instructed into a phone that was meant to contact the creature when he was awake. "Bring the others with you." He was speaking through the radio that Gigantomachia had with him. "From this moment on...I'll destroy everything," He declared with an evil smile.
A few minutes earlier
Fat Gum was panting heavily while running as fast as he could through the forest. He was on his way back to Gunga Villa.
"Hawks was in that blast!" Fumikage called out in concern while flying off. "He's in deep trouble."
"You sure?" Fat Gum yelled up as they watched him fly into the sky.
"I'll help him!"
He narrowed his eyes at Fumikage's stubbornness, which was sure to get him hurt. Some League members were still there, and they would no doubt kill him on sight. "Tokoyami..." He then gasped sharply as he saw some liberation army members falling backwards from the ice wall. "Whoa, what is that?!" He stopped in shock, gasping again...as Mt. Lady was falling right towards him. "Ohhhh! Booty incoming!" He shouted as he ran away in a panic and her landing was enough to cause a big impact.
"Ouch..." She murmured as she had knocked down some trees while falling.
"That came outta nowhere," He looked up at the woman.
"Fat Gum!" He heard Fumikage's voice, looking up to see him flying towards the two. Hawks was in his arms, unconscious.
"Tsukuyomi!" Fat Gum cried out in relief that they were okay...and then when he saw Hawks, he gave a small glare. "There's a medic team with the rear guard!" He called out, pointing towards the forest. "Head there!"
"Roger!" Fumikage screamed as he flew right past as quickly as he could.
Inside the destroyed villa, Yoroi Musha attacked some army men. Kamui Woods jumped up and used his Lacquered Chain Prison to capture a good number of them. The rest were duking it out with heroes amongst all of the ice chunks. Another wave of ice appeared to knock back Cementoss onto his back.
"Are you okay, Cementoss?" One of the heroes nearby questioned in concern.
"Yeah," He got onto his knees. "I've got this. Stand back!" He looked up at all of the ice surrounding the destroyed mansion.
"You state-sponsored pawns love to provoke us," Geten spoke up from his spot, pissed. "But I won't let you get in Re-Destro's way!" He swung up his hands to fire an icicle, and it hit some rock pillars, to his shock. The pillars weren't even frozen either, when he would be capable of doing so no problem. "What is this...?"
Cementoss was controlling the ground again to reinforce the shield he had put up against the attack.
"That's fine," Geten gritted his teeth, as he wasn't going to let this phase him. "I'll attack from above instead!" He held up his arms to create even more ice, swinging down his arms to attack. Cementoss gasped sharply before something came in to stop the attack. Geten gasped, as Mt. Lady had thrown a rock to protect Cementoss.
"So it was you," She grunted while slowly standing up, looking very angry. "Do you have any idea how much that hurt?!"
"Mt. Lady!" Cementoss called out to her. "For you!" He created something in front of him, and it was a baseball bat made out of stone.
"Thanks!" She grabbed it while running past. "I like my ice...crushed!" She swung down the bat to break the ice into pieces. Geten grunted while creating more to get away. "Take that!" She shouted as she destroyed the ice easily. "And that!"
As the ice fell, more heroes ran into the villa to find as many liberation members as they could. "She's opening a path! Arrest as many as you can!"
"Oh, hey," Someone turned to...Eel Boy, strangely enough. "I thought you were dealing with Toga and Compress."
However, Eel Boy didn't say anything. Instead, he grabbed a knife, and sliced the hero's neck with it! The hero in front gasped as 'Eel Boy' came in fast, taking down all of the surrounding heroes.
"My, my, my," Mr. Compress commented at the chaos down below, and he was noticeably alone. "This is a catastrophe."
"Hey," Dabi ran down the stairs that weren't damaged to meet up with him. He jumped over the railing to check out the action for himself.
"Dabi!" Mr. Compress turned to him in alarm.
"What, are you hiding out here?" He wondered as he stepped up, though he wasn't doing anything either.
"Where have you been? You're a lieutenant!" Mr. Compress reminded him in disdain.
"Yeah, and so are you," Dabi retorted back to his comrade. "This whole 'commanding troops' thing isn't working for me. Where is everybody else?"
Mr. Compress let out a sigh, turning back to watch. "Twice helped us, but...I believe he's dead," He spoke up gravely. "Toga insisted on fighting despite my objections. I've never seen her lose composure like this before."
Eel Boy, who was actually Toga, sliced at a hero's arms to draw blood. He grunted while falling backwards, her Quirk already wearing off. She had gotten the blood from the dead hero after Twice died, and she was lucky that she did. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to exact her revenge for her friend's death. Being alive is hard. The memory of giving Twice the handkerchief came crawling back. She reached out to slice at another hero, her mud flying away from her hands. I just wanna make the world easier. She then remembered his 'funeral' over the Himiko clone he lost. She jumped up onto the ice, some of the heroes staring in disbelief. She made it to a higher level, with the mud disintegrating from her body quickly. And then...she remembered seeing the muddy face of the Twice clone for the last time. It should be full of things I love. She then got onto her feet, her real body revealed. Nothing else. Losing Twice, however...broke that mentality for her. Because Himiko Toga...lost something that she loved. Which she didn't think was even possible...
Gang Orca grabbed a liberation member by the face, and then felt a shake. Kamui Woods, Mt. Lady, and Cementoss froze from what they were doing. The floor cracked as Himiko glared at the heroes, her mud falling from her face. And she looked PISSED. And you're in the way...heroes...
Gigantomachia's hand rose from the ground...
"Machia's moving!" Mr. Compress stood up in alarm.
"You know what that means," Dabi stated and gave a knowing smirk. "The boss is awake."
Shigaraki continued to stare out into the dusty area, waiting for the others. "Until Machia gets here, I can-" He felt the same flash again from before.
One for All. Shigaraki shook from All for One's voice as he was very confused on what was going on. One for All...and the girl who knows the most about it. He could see...the twins, but not too clearly. He let out a breath as he knew...that they were of interest to him.
Shigaraki felt like he couldn't breathe as he couldn't make sense of it all. "What...was that voice?" He then flinched as he looked up, seeing an orange glow in the sky, above all of the dust.
"Halt, Shigaraki!" Endeavor himself flew down towards the villain, all alone.
He gave a smile at the attention he was getting. He never thought he'd get a welcome like this, even though he didn't think too highly of Endeavor. Heh. The number-one hero right after I wake up?
Endeavor's hand was on fire as he recoiled it back, his flames circling his body. "Hell's Curtain!" He screamed as he unleashed fiery flames onto Shigaraki's body. "A vast wave of hellfire! There's no escape!" He could see Shigaraki's wide, creepy eyes in the midst of the flames. The villain wasn't even screaming in pain... Can't let him take a single step forward. He's too dangerous! I have to take him out of commission He wasn't going to let another incident like Mirko happen to the others. So he was going to stop Shigaraki by himself. And as the number one hero, he felt that it was solely up to him. The entire area was covered in flames. He gritted his teeth while moving his fist back again. "Jetbur-"
A hand reached out amongst the flames and he ducked his head, otherwise he would've been decayed on the spot. Shigaraki had jumped out of the flames, perfectly fine. Endeavor looked up in horror that his flames did nothing against the villain.
Only someone with heat resistance could overcome Hell's Curtain. No... He noticed...that Shigaraki's skin was growing back into his arm. Just like how the High-End Nomu had generated before. He's just regenerating instantly. He fired up his wrists, spinning around the villain to be behind him. The same way they did! With his firepower, he pushed Shigaraki towards the ground, causing an explosion. "This is Endeavor, does anybody copy?" He shouted into the comm device, surrounded by fire.
"I'm here!" Burnin answered him first, in the forest with some of the civilians during evacuations.
"I'm fighting Shigaraki where the hospital stood!" He informed, as the rest of his team could hear him. "If there's anyone who can move without touching the ground, form a perimeter!" Shigaraki's hand reached out again, but this time, he grabbed it. "Hands to yourself!" He growled out, and a glow came from the hand. He let out a grunt as he was engulfed in it, causing another explosion. The wind from it managed to douse out the surrounding flames. Endeavor let out a grunt as he hit the ground hard.
"It's almost as though I've had my master's stockpiled Quirks since the day I was born," Shigaraki spoke up from the spoke, slowly stepping up. "I feel like I'm...omnipotent..."
Garaki chuckled as he examined Shigaraki. "For the next four months, you'll suffer indescribable pain. If you can endure it...the world will rest in the palm of your hand."
Shigaraki walked over and took all of the bullets, destroyed or intact, and put them in his pocket. He then took the only remaining hand he had. His skin, despite it suffering burns, was starting to regenerate slowly. "So why do I feel...unsatisfied?" He questioned and as soon as his skin was back to normal, he felt another flare throughout his body. The man felt like he was missing something important...hence why he didn't feel as happy as he should be waking up. It was like a piece of him was cut off, and he wouldn't be whole unless he got that piece back.
One for All...
Shigaraki leaned back in the chair while Garaki was preparing for the process. "He wanted to acquire that Quirk so desperately. Especially before Galaxy could connect to One for All as promised. But in the end, those were the one powers that eluded him."
His eyes widened as he realized...that those Quirks were what All for One wanted right now. And that they were what he needed...
Endeavor grunted as he flew out of the smoke, heading straight for Shigaraki. He glanced back, seeing the angry glare from the number one hero. Something deep inside is urging me to act. As Endeavor prepared another Flashfire Fist, Shigaraki held out his hand. He then created a shield that stopped the hero with ease.
As I feared, he has multiple Quirks. Like the High Ends!
Shigaraki was holding him back without so much as a cramp. I must have it...
"Where is One for All...and the girl associated with him?" He spoke up simply, causing Endeavor's eyes to widen. Obviously, he had no idea what the Quirk was. But the simple fact that Shigaraki was looking for them was interesting. Although part of him was a little grateful he didn't know what Shigaraki was talking about, because what he could do with them were terrifying thoughts...
"One for All? The girl associated with him?" He asked in utter confusion.
"Huh?" Burnin wondered in bewilderment as everyone heard him...including the twins. "Wait, what's a One for All? What girl? Endeavor, are you there?!"
It felt like a pit had dropped in both of their stomachs hearing Endeavor ask about those...Izuku was frozen in place while Izuka was shaking, trying to catch her breath...
No...don't tell me...is this really happening? She thought to herself, trying not to panic.
At the Pussycats office, Ragdoll was in the office alone at work. "So frustrating," She lamented with a frown, looking up. "If I still had Search, I could be out helping the heroes right now..." She wished that her Quirk didn't get stolen, knowing that the villains would no doubt use it...And she missed being a part of the action with her team as well.
Search! The Quirk All for One stole from Ragdoll. It shows the location and weaknesses of someone you've seen!
For Shigaraki, his perspective had changed as he was looking out into the city, and could see multiple lights that represented people. "One for All..." He murmured while searching for it.
"I've gotta get over there and help him out!" Burnin screamed as she took flight. "You kids should fall back and evacuate."
"Burnin, wait!" Izuku called out to her as the other heroes left them behind. Katsuki, Koji, Shoto, the twins, Tenya, Ochaco, and Tsuyu all stared at them.
"Listen to the police and keep your distance!" She warned the 8 students.
Izuka bit her thumb in terror, as Izuku knew...that Shigaraki wouldn't stop until he got what he wanted. And the fact that Shigaraki was even asking about them to begin with made them realize...that this was the start of what One for All was supposed to do. Because without it, more people were going to suffer...
"One for All..." Shigaraki used his eyes to continue searching. "Ah, there you are," He gave a delighted grin, still pushing Endeavor back with the shield. He then used the power to push Endeavor away, as he got a closer look...and there was one light shining brighter than the others. The one right next to it shined a little less brighter, but it was enough to distinguish it from the others. "And that must be the girl." He then swung down his arms, releasing a burst of wind into the sky. He then jumped away from the structure as he took off into the sky. As he flew, Endeavor came in from behind, putting his hand to his ear.
"Shigaraki is heading straight toward the evacuees!" He warned his team loudly. "The battle zone is expanding! Clear the area surrounding the city!"
Izuku let out a small gasp, turning to the people leaving. He knew that the longer he stayed...the more chance there was of them getting hurt. The city was already bad enough, but if he allowed Shigaraki to find all of those innocent people...they'd be killed.
Izuka's mouth wavered as she clenched a fist to her heart.
"Wait for me! You're too fast!"
"Hurry up!" One of the heroes called out to them. "Every single second counts right now!"
Izuku was at a loss for words as he looked around, as people were already hurt, already away from home, not that they could return...
"Funkman. Wake up," One of the heroes stated in tears as the man in front of her wasn't moving. "You can't be dead!"
"Mourn him later!" Another one pulled her away, and she couldn't do anything to stop him.
The twins then looked towards a group of people. "If that destruction wave comes again, we're dead! Keep the line moving!"
All of those people...they were technically responsible for. If Izuku didn't have One for All, none of this would be happening right now. And there wouldn't be so much panic and death going on around them...
"Where's my mom?"
A small sweatdrop ran down Izuku's face and then he gritted his teeth. Izuka narrowed her eyes as she knew exactly what he was going to do. The two then turned around and ran off. Izuku blinked while glancing at his sister, surprised that she was following him. He then narrowed his eyes a bit.
I already affect her so much because of One for All...I can't let her fight my battles for me too.
"Izuka, you should-"
"No way. I'm not leaving you behind," She interrupted while keeping her eyes forward. He gasped a bit from her determined look on her face. "You'd do the same for me if I was in your situation. You need all the help you can get, so I'm not staying with the others."
He pressed his lips together, sighing in defeat. She wasn't wrong; he'd do anything for his big sister. "Yeah...you're right. Okay, let's do this!"
"You can't tell them his secret." They looked to the side in bewilderment as Katsuki was running up to them. "The heroes would try to split their forces to protect you and the civilians."
"Yeah, we know!" Izuku informed the blond.
"Did you come up here just to tell us that, Katsu?" Izuka looked back up ahead while running to Izuku's right.
"The only thing they know right now is that he's after One for All, and the girl associated with him. It's not a lot to go on." Although, when he heard it...he was no doubt angry that Shigaraki was looking for Izuka, though he could take a good guess why. "It's a hero's job to protect the people. So you only have one choice!"
Once the three reached the fence, they powered up and took to the sky. Izuka's flying star appeared to catch her as she followed the boys, flying over their heads.
"I need to make sure that the evacuees can be protected," Izuku declared as he kept his destination in sight.
"Yeah, which means you gotta get outta here quick," Katsuki agreed while gritting his teeth.
"Don't worry. We'll make sure Shigaraki won't find any of them," Izuka narrowed her eyes up ahead.
"Who said I was worrying?" He denied in annoyance; even though him coming along and warning the twins already proved Izuka's point. Izuka glanced down at him in a bit of confusion. He had been acting...a bit more hostile towards her, and she had no idea why. But she also didn't have the time to question it, there were way more important things to do than to worry about her relationship with Katsuki.
"Hey! Where are you guys going?" Shoto called out to the trio as the others looked up in confusion.
"Uh, I left something! I'll be right back!" Izuku lied to the group.
"I...forgot to tell Eri Baki's favorite food! You know how he gets!" Izuka looked back a bit nervously, though Katsuki didn't give a reason as to why he was going with them.
"Huh?" Ochaco furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "That's not right..." The others turned to her curiously, wondering what she was talking about. "Mido said that she made sure that Baki had everything he needed with Eri..."
As they were heading to what was left of the hospital, Izuku was swinging past with Blackwhip. As he moved, he grabbed multiple objects. Katsuki flew behind him with his explosions. Izuka swooped around with ease above them, swiftly moving.
There's debris everywhere, and a good amount of distance between us. He probably can't see me Izuku thought as he took note of all of the damage they were going past. Unless...he has some other way of tracking me down. Given that Shigaraki was on his way to the evacuees, it made sense...
It's a hunch, but...I think he's using Ragdoll's Quirk somehow Izuka thought while narrowing her eyes. Something had to have told him to head for the direction of where we were. And I remember the Wild, Wild Pussycats telling us what All for One said about letting him out to give Ragdoll back her power. And if I am right on this...then we're dealing with more than just Decay here.
As the three were moving, Shigaraki was on the move as well. Endeavor hadn't caught up with him, but he was flying fast enough to be able to see him.
Come on. This way!
Shigaraki looked up, and noticed the change of location. The bigger light was in the lead, as well as the other less brighter one. However...while Katsuki was still with the two...there was someone else following the three from a good distance so that they weren't noticed.
There Shigaraki immediately changed courses.
Izuku went over some dilapidated buildings, Katsuki soaring after him. Izuka was still over their heads.
"Deku here," Izuku spoke up to Endeavor on a private line so that no one else would hear them. "Sorry for using a private line. It's highly possible that my sister and I are the ones Shigaraki's after!" He informed the number-one hero.
"What are you talking about?" He was very confused on why Shigaraki would want the twins specifically. As far as he knew, there was nothing to suggest that Shigaraki had even talked to them that much. He knew about the times the League had attacked UA, but there hadn't been anything to indicate Shigaraki was targeting Izuku and Izuka. Izuka was more understandable given the Kamino Incident, but the reason why wouldn't make sense. If it was to get her DNA, Shigaraki would've been after her much sooner.
"There's no time!" Izuka told him as she got into the conversation as well. He blinked as judging from her tone, she had some idea of what was going on.
"I might be able to lure him to an unpopulated area!" Izuku explained as he landed on his feet and then took off again. "Please keep this channel open!" He took to the sky as they moved as quickly as they could.
Katsuki gritted his teeth angrily. I'll crush the scumbag!
Izuku gave an uneasy smile, hoping that this would work. Follow me. I'm the one you want!
Izuka's hand shook a little. I'll do what I can to help my brother...but I have a bad feeling about this.
Izuku summoned Blackwhip again and swung out further. Katsuki flew to his side as Izuka boosted the star to give herself more speed. All of them were determined to find Shigaraki...and stop him for their own personal reasons.
Shigaraki flew out of the dust cloud, essentially ignoring Endeavor, who was still hot on his tail. "Why would Shigaraki be coming after you and your sister?" He couldn't help but wonder. "Explain yourselves now!"
The twins glanced at each other, knowing that Endeavor wasn't going to let this go when this was over. But they hoped that they wouldn't have to tell him, since they knew Toshinori would not like it if they said anything. "It'll have to wait," Izuku answered while Katsuki was flying behind him. "We're too far away to have eyes on him, especially given all the dust in the air. If it looks like he's changing directions, can you give me a heads up?"
"And I won't be able to spot him if I go into a bird's eye view, not with the speed he's going at," Izuka informed, as there was too much dust in the area to see him from above. "You're the only one with eyes on him right now, Endeavor! We need you to do this."
"I don't like being in the dark," He growled out, as he wanted to know everything Shigaraki was aiming for in order to stop him.
Shigaraki's eyes were still in search mode as he flew. I can access the data this Quirk's previous user accumulated Because Ragdoll could look at 100 people at a time...he had all of their stats now. And they saw One for All right before their power was stolen. He gave a small grin at the advantage he had, as he would've been lost without it. Lucky me.
Endeavor gasped sharply as Shigaraki then fell over. "He's down!" As Shigaraki was being dragged against the ground, Endeavor flamed up his fist with a growl. He then curled up into a ball to head for the villain. "New course! He's moving to the southwest!"
"Yeah!" Izuku gritted his teeth while jumping up, as he had changed direction. "Pretty much what I expected! I can buy you more time. You evacuate the civilians!"
Endeavor was not pleased to hear this; because it meant leaving a child to deal with Shigaraki, and he felt like he as the number-one hero should handle it. "What?!"
"We can't explain it now, okay?" Izuka glared towards her comm.
Shigaraki finally acknowledged Endeavor as he could hear him talking. Not to mention that it was giving his opponents time to strategize, and he couldn't have that. Their communicators are a pain. I'm sure I can get rid of them.
"Okay, heads up!" Endeavor shouted while keeping his eyes on Shigaraki. "Shigaraki is now heading southwest! He has super regeneration somehow! Nobody underestimate him!" Although he was still questioning everything right now in his head. Targeting the Midoriyas? Why? I don't understand, but he did take the bait. I have to catch up He narrowed his eyes, knowing that the twins would not be able to stop Shigaraki on their own no matter what the reason was. I won't leave them on their own...even if Callista is still upset at me, she can't face that monster with him.
"Right! He said he's following us," Izuku reported to Katsuki behind him.
"I heard!" He retorted back to the boy. "You're the ones who aren't listening! That creep has leveled-up into a final boss! You better make damn sure you don't get caught!"
"Yeah, we get it!" Izuka glared a bit while looking over her shoulder. "But you know why he has to do this! One for All is the only thing that's gonna stop him..."
However...there was one thing bothering Izuku that he just realized. He looked back in bewilderment at Katsuki. "Um, Kacchan, why are you following me?!" He never asked Katsuki to follow, even if he knew the secret for a while now. And he didn't mind Katsuki coming with them, but he couldn't help but question why he decided on his own to come along. Usually, Katsuki would never follow them no matter what the reason.
"You wanna die?!" Katsuki yelled back at him.
"What?!" The two yelped towards the boy.
"What the hell? Since when did you start going back to that?" Izuka grunted towards him; it had been a while since he said that. Or even threatened to do it against Izuku...
"There's no time to explain the situation, so I'm the only one who gets what's happening!" He reminded the both of them. "I had to come!"
"Wow!" Izuku looked at him wide-eyed; he had almost forgotten that Katsuki was the only student who knew the secret of One for All. And he never expected his childhood friend to come for his sake. "Thank you!"
"You idiot," Katsuki grunted in annoyance, looking up towards the two. "I am not doing it for you or for Izuka. Don't think you're the main character on the battlefield. I just owe that piece a' crap villain a beat down."
Izuka blinked as she realized why Katsuki wanted to come.
"Will you two join the League of Villains?"
The wall was busted open from the outside. All Might came in, followed by his team.
"Ah, you must've been scared, the both of you," All Might looked towards Katsuki and Izuka. "But you stayed strong for each other."
Katsuki's lip quivered from at his childhood hero saving him. Izuka gave a weak smile towards him.
Toshinori held up his arm and Izuka's in victory, gaining some muscles.
"It's my fault All Might had to hang up his costume and retire. And that Izuka had to fight off All for One with him," He spoke up, alarming the girl as he kept his eyes forward. He could still remember confessing that to Izuku during their fight at Ground Beta...
Izuku didn't falter as he had a strong feeling that Katsuki wanted to prove himself, and protect Izuka. "Katsuki...you're still on that?" Izuka looked up ahead, her eyes a bit softened. She could've sworn that he didn't blame himself as much for it. She certainly didn't, it hadn't even crossed her mind for months. "I told you back then that-"
"I don't wanna hear it," He interrupted, causing her to glance down at him. He refused to look up at her, and it only further confirmed that something was wrong. She had no idea what could've caused him to act this way towards her. "You can act out as bait. And once he gets close, I'll have revenge for what happened! I will defeat him!" Katsuki declared with one of his signature fierce smiles. "And I'll prove that I'm a hero!" He gained speed to catch up with Izuku. "Just don't let your guard down or get in my way, got it?" Izuku landed and jumped immediately back into the air.
"Yeah, I got it." He felt like he didn't need to question Katsuki further, knowing that admitting his feelings was a lot for him.
Izuka stayed silent as she stared and then looked back up ahead. "Well, after hearing that, I won't stop you," She stated, deciding not to pry either. Despite it all, she knew that she could put her faith in him...even if she was putting her romantic feelings aside so he could focus on his goals.
Deku can consistently use Full Cowling at 30 percent without hurting himself. Izuka can consistently use Solar Power without reaching her limits... in order to keep his body from getting wrecked, he only brings it up to 45 percent at the moment of impact. In order for her to still have energy, she only uses her Quirk at a controlled point. Their time at Endeavor's agency. All Might's special training. Every time Deku improves, I have to grit my teeth and try to match him. Every time Izuka unlocks and masters a new ability, I have to keep my head on track so that I don't worry the crap out of myself He then gave a big grin. That's not a problem at this 30-percent speed. But as they get stronger...
"Well, I can do the exact same thing and keep getting better myself," Katsuki glanced at Izuku while they were leaving with All Might and Izuka. "I'll go higher than even you, Chosen One."
As he kept his resolve, his grin got just a little bigger. "I won't lose to a damn nerd." He thought about how they grew up together...and then powered up his hands. He soared right past the twins. "And there's no way I'm gonna give up when I'm still behind!"
Izuka blinked towards him and smiled at him acknowledging that he had to get stronger. Not that he was weak already...she'd argue that in terms of how he interacted with others, he was already strong.
"Yeah. Don't worry, Kacchan, we'll make sure Shigaraki doesn't get Izuka's DNA again. I know you're worried about her, but we can do this!" Izuku declared, causing Katsuki to freeze in place and stop his explosions. And because he was no longer moving, he fell straight into the debris.
"Huh?!" Izuka froze in place as she stared down at him in surprise for his reaction. Izuku blinked as he came to a stop as well. Never did either of them think that the Katsuki Bakugo would actually lose focus and fall.
"The hell did you just say to me?!" Katsuki got onto his feet, trying not to blush. The fact that Izuku managed to guess it correctly was getting him a little pissed. He certainly didn't want Izuku saying that he was worried right in earshot of the girl. Especially since he was adamant regarding talking about his current feelings towards her right now. "I ain't worried over a shorty!"
"Was that nickname really necessary?" Izuka sighed while crossing her arms. She teased Katsuki sometimes about him worrying, but she'd never use it to describe his behavior right now. Because then that would suggest that she was a weakness for him when she didn't want that.
"Let's get one thing straight," Katsuki grunted, hands on his hips. "I'm not worried because Izuka's one of the strongest people I know," She blinked at him and stared, her mouth opening a little. "She's an idiot sometimes, but she's not stupid when it comes to her Quirk. I've seen her fight for a while now, I don't need proof of that. So saying that I'm worried is gonna earn anyone who says I am a quick death, you got that?!" He yelled into Izuku's face.
Of course, he was lying somewhat, but he wasn't going to say it. And his current weird standoffish behavior towards her was being ignored in favor of setting things straight with both of the twins. He didn't doubt Izuka's abilities against a villain. But against Shigaraki...that was a different story. This was the same man who got her DNA, his master in a deathly battle with her, and was already going after Izuku. It was only inevitable he would go after the girl, but Katsuki did not want her going near him. Which was another reason why he came along.
"Sorry! You're right, she is strong," Izuku gave him a nervous smile, hoping Katsuki wouldn't kill him later.
"I'm right here..." Izuka murmured towards the two, though what Katsuki said wasn't lost on her. She gave a tiny smile for his faith in her. "But...thank you, Ka-"
"Shut it! I don't need your gratitude," He huffed as he got back in the air. She blinked at his response, wondering if she said or did something wrong. Izuku turned back to her in bewilderment and she just shrugged in confusion.
"Let's see...this should work," Shigaraki mused while flying. He slid to a stop and then jumped up again, alarming Endeavor. He watched the villain take to the sky. Shigaraki held his arm while above the dust. The Air Blast from earlier, plus Radio Waves. Endeavor was attempting to catch up as he put down his hand. Sorry, Number One. I don't have time to play with you His hand glowed orange and purple as he sent out a huge shockwave towards the hero.
Endeavor let out a painful groan as he was sent back flying, unable to stop it. The shockwave then affected the entire area, with the heroes around bracing themselves. Burnin's comm then started to spark.
"Why is my comm on the fritz?" She called out, and the same effect happened to the team's rear guard students.
Back with the Heroes Safety Commission, all heroes lost their signal. "Emergency! Our audio's down. We've lost contact with Team Endeavor!" One of the operators reported, to the unease of the commissioners.
"What's happening over there?" They wished that they could get a read on what was happening, still unfortunately unaware of Shigaraki's return.
"I don't know. Some new interference!"
As the smoke cleared, wires were sparking.
Down in the underground lab, pods were coming to life.
"Hey, Deku, Izuka!" Katsuki called out to the two. "You guys feel that?"
Yeah...I feel it Izuku didn't answer the question as he looked up ahead. It was the same feeling he had...when All for One showed up in Kamino. I've felt it before...
"Is this why our comms are out?" Izuka glared a little, having a feeling that the lack of communication was deliberate.
Before they could move any further, a huge gust of wind came in, along with smoke. Izuku gasped as Katsuki growled, holding up his hands. Izuka immediately stopped moving, bracing herself as her hair flew behind her.
Suddenly, Shigaraki appeared, engulfing them.
This echo in my brain...I know what it wants...
He held out his hand...as it felt like the three were decaying. It's the same omen of death I had that summer night in Kamino.
Shigaraki dreamed of the three decaying before his eyes. "Izuku Midoriya and Izuka Midoriya...Give me One for All...and the girl's corpse!"
Something flew in and grabbed the three students before Shigaraki could touch them. They looked up in shock to see Gran Torino holding them.
"Gran Torino!" Izuku exclaimed in shock to see him.
"After I heard One for All and the girl associated with him over the radio, I was afraid he would track you down," He explained to the trio. "Were you three planning to fight him by yourselves? Nonsense. Shigaraki's Decay destroys everything it touches! The smallest piece of debris could kill you on contact. He's not someone you can handle on your own." He knew that Izuku would've taken things into his own hands, given how he acted in Hosu. So he was right to follow them.
"Well, we can try," Izuku looked back as Shigaraki prepared to jump.
"Don't forget, the pro heroes aren't dead yet!" Gran Torino declared as a wing opened up, Endeavor's flames burning. Shigaraki turned to the side. "Those of us left will handle him."
Ryukyu opened up her wings, flapping them hard so that the wind would hit Shigaraki. He grunted while being flown back a good distance. She flew straight towards him, reaching out her claws. Shigaraki held out his hand...and managed to catch hers before she could hit him. She pushed him away and he spun around in the sky.
Gran Torino just grabbed three people, A familiar voice thought while stepping up. Looked like the Midoriyas and Bakugo? Why are they here? He was surprised by not only the team, but the fact that they had managed to find Shigaraki. Mr. Aizawa was being held by Locklock, looking towards the villain. Was he chasing after them? Crust, our number-six hero... The death of Crust was still fresh in his mind. Your sacrifice saved me. "While I draw breath...my Quirk..." He thought of Oboro's death...and how much his friendship ended up meaning to him. "My life...has one purpose. To take you down," He was determined to deter Shigaraki so that he wouldn't hurt his students. And to avenge Oboro. He glared up at the villain, his eyes glowing red. "I will not let you lay a finger on my students!"
"Wow," Shigaraki remarked as he saw Mr. Aizawa. "You're still pretty cool, aren't you, Eraser Head?" He then held up the phone. "Kill everyone you see on the surface."
The pods activated as Endeavor flew as fast as he could to the scene. "Now, Kido!"
"Figured you might need an adjustment!" Kido called out while adjusting his scarf.
Endeavor then flew into the hoop that Kido had made, causing him to change direction from going straight to upwards.
Endeavor's sidekick, Kido! Quirk: Traject. He can change a moving object's path!
He watched as Endeavor burst to the sky. "Go!"
He headed straight for Shigaraki, covering himself in flames.
"Guess we should've found a hiding spot first," Mr. Aizawa murmured while keeping his eyes upwards.
"But we couldn't risk him touching the ground again, right?" Manual held out a finger to Mr. Aizawa's eyes. Some water came from it to keep Mr. Aizawa's eyes from blinking.
"Thank you, Manual," He said gratefully to the Normal Hero.
"No problem. If I go overboard, the water's gonna force you to blink, I'm afraid. We'll work together," Two more heroes appeared behind them.
Endeavor flew in front of Shigaraki, staring down the villain, who had a creepy smile on his face... "Tomura Shigaraki. This is the end for you!" The flames got hotter, while on the inside...Shigaraki was actually a bit worried.
Uh-oh.
Endeavor let out a roar as he unleashed a stronger Hell Spider, which Shigaraki dodged with ease. He looked towards his opponent in disbelief for his speed.
"That hurt!" Smoke was coming from him, but he wasn't burnt.
I haven't released Erasure yet Mr. Aizawa looked up in bewilderment.
He should be powerless! He knew that Shigaraki wasn't physically strong at all. Was that his physical strength? And the jump from before...he can fly through the air with a simple swing of his arms! I've seen abilities like this... He thought specifically...of All Might, which further raised his suspicions that there was definitely something going on. And it all went back to the twins, since they were students of his.
"Even though he's got tremendous power, he's still not as strong as All Might in his prime, I'm afraid," Garaki explained while Present Mic could see the flames. "I focused on altering his brain instead of overpowering his body," Even though he was saying this, he was still glad that now, the League didn't have to worry about losing.
"What kinda monstrosity did you create?" Present Mic murmured in horror, his eyes shaking.
He has a bioengineered physique Mr. Aizawa recalled the USJ Incident of the fight All Might was in, as well as the High-End Nomu from Kyushu. It's almost like...he's the perfect Nomu And since Shigaraki was in the pod like the other Nomu...that wasn't a good sign.
"Strength is great, but the number one and number ten heroes can take him," Manual spoke up while also supporting Mr. Aizawa. He had faith in them since they weren't that high on the charts for no reason.
"You're an atrocity!" Ryukyu shouted as she flew towards Shigaraki. He swung his leg to release some wind, flying past her claw. Endeavor then flew in from behind to release his flames again, gritting his teeth as Shigaraki dodged it.
His movements are getting even faster!
Shigaraki wasn't fazed at all, looking too relaxed. "That was a nice warmup," He grinned as he spun around to avoid a fireball.
Gran Torino flew out of range, tossing the three students to the ground. "You should be safe here."
"His power," Izuku looked back in disbelief towards the battlefield. "Erasure took it just now, right?"
"Yes," Gran Torino looked towards the area as well. "He's weakened, if only slightly."
"That's insane...he's not even showing any weak points for them to use," Izuka murmured while dusting herself off.
"What, did you get tired?" Katsuki glanced back at him. "Why are we still so close to him?"
"I trust Gran Torino," Izuku stated without hesitation, staring at the man.
"So, Bakugo knows your secret, right?" Gran Torino asked knowingly and Izuka blinked in surprise. "Toshinori told me. We can't go much further. Shigaraki's moving faster than anyone could have expected. Few will be able to follow him. And now that our comms have gone down...if he chases you too far out, no one will be able to catch up. You stopped him temporarily. Got him away from the civilians, and put him within Eraser's field of vision. Those are quite the accomplishments. I'll go back and keep your teacher on the move."
The three looked at him in disbelief for what he was telling them. "Wait, are you saying we're just supposed to hide?" Izuku asked in a bit of anger, his eyes narrowed.
"He might target Mr. Aizawa since he knows about Erasure!" Izuka glared a little as she sat up. She hadn't forgotten her talk with her teacher about Oboro, and how he was worried she would become like Kurogiri. So she had to keep her promise to him that she could take care of herself.
"All for One's Quirks were transplanted into Shigaraki," He informed the trio. "That's what Present Mic said, anyway."
The three of them flinched in alarm at the news. "So that means that he can..."
"All for One. It allowed its user to take Quirks from others. Then the user could keep the Quirks for himself or give them to someone else."
"I can't imagine a worse scenario than him stealing One for All," Gran Torino dreaded the thought of it occurring the longer Izuku stayed around Shigaraki. "Who could defeat him then? Right now...he's just one person. If we can't stop him, then what's the point of there being so many heroes in this world?"
Burnin and other heroes were on their way over.
"Which is why you can't be here, Izuka. It's too much," Katsuki glanced down at her.
"Excuse me?" She looked offended by the warning; after everything the League put herself AND Katsuki through, she wasn't going to back out now. Plus, she had been with Izuku during the very beginning of the battle of him versus Shigaraki. "I'm just as involved as you are with this, remember?" She huffed, crossing her arms. "So don't patronize me, please. That's the last thing I need from you of all people."
He recoiled back a bit in alarm; she didn't understand why after hearing it now that he insisted she had to leave. But he wasn't going to spell it out for her. "Do you really think I'm doing that?! For god's sake, I-" He growled and turned to Izuku. "Deku, she's your sister. Get her to back down."
"I can't do that! Even if I wanted to, she'd never let me live it down..." Izuku thought back to when she found out Himiko Toga was Camie during the provisional exam, and didn't want a repeat...
"And if All for One believes that he deserves Callista's power as well...it's almost like Shigaraki has a strong resentment for her. As if she reminds him of someone he used to know..." Gran Torino trailed off in thought.
"Which is why she needs to get out of here!" Katsuki reminded them and she looked away, exasperated.
"Not again," She touched his right cheek, leaning in to kiss his left.
"Uh!" He flinched as his face turned red, practically frozen.
"Good, you stopped. I appreciate it, really, but it'll be okay. Can we focus now please?" She closed her eyes as he didn't respond.
"Wow, you actually froze Kacchan," Izuku chuckled a bit nervously towards the two.
Katsuki then realized what just happened and grunted, his face red. "D-don't go around just kissing me whenever you want! I didn't give permission for you to do that!" He yelled down at the girl.
"Get your revenge later, but we can't just continue to let this happen," She looked towards Gran Torino. "We both know he's not going to stop fighting unless we do something!"
In the distance, shadows were in the smoke, catching Burnin and Kido off guard.
"Are those...?"
A bunch of High-End Nomu revealed themselves, growling.
The twins, Katsuki, and Gran Torino heard it as well, looking towards the source. "No!" Izuku murmured with dread in his voice.
"What?!" Izuka gasped a little upon realizing what was going on.
"Where did they come from?" Katsuki questioned in bewilderment; they thought that they had defeated the Nomu. All four of them couldn't close their mouths as they looked up ahead in utter shock.
"The whole lab should've crumbled to dust in that Decay Wave!" Gran Torino muttered, wondering how they were even still standing. "So how are there Nomu here?"
And this time around, they looked a lot more menacing than the ones Mirko faced by herself...