Chapter 8: Darkness in the horizon

"How did you do that Deku!" Katsuki asked as he grabbed Izuku in a noogie. After the end of the exercise, Izuku and Ochako released their friends, and Katsuki, being himself, jumped up to interrogate his long time friend.

"Ouch! Kacchan stop!"

"Then start talking!" Katsuki said, releasing Izuku anyway.

Izuku backed away. He didn't want to get caught in another headlock, "Okay! I got the idea after doing something like that in a dream, but the Team Attack was a surprise for me too." Izuku explained to his three curious friends while they made their way back to the viewing room.

"I have to say, that was an incredible performance, Izuku-san." Tenya said, doing his signature hand chops, "Your quirk capability to enhance others will surely be extremely useful in your future as a hero."

"Yeah, it was amazing! I felt so strong! And we were like shush and bam!" Ochaco made gestures and noises to illustrate their movements, the entire experience was nothing she had ever seen or felt before. She just couldn't put into proper words, making the others laugh at her childish enthusiasm.

Nana's playful voice echoed in the back of Izuku's mind, "Good to know you're all having fun, but I have to ask something." Her tone became more serious, "When you jumped up the building, did you feel something different?"

Izuku looked down at his hands, he hadn't really thought about it, it had come so natural to him at the time, 'Now that you mentioned it, I felt lighter, like I was using a high jump, but I still couldn't get the hang of it, so how did I jump so high? Even with Full Cowling, I shouldn't have enough strength to reach that high.' The more Izuku thought about it, the more confused he became.

"Just focus on the class for now, I'm gonna ask some questions and see if I can discover anything." Nana was sure that if anyone knew what happened, it was the Other, so she was going to do her job as the 'spiritual guide' and try to help Izuku. She was way over her head when the subject was the 'Guardian of all worlds' thing, but she sure is willing to try her best to support the new holder of One For All with everything she can.

Deciding to follow Nana's idea, Izuku and his friends made their way to the viewing room. In there All Might called them to the front of the class, "NOW, FOR YOUR SCORES, YOU ALL DID EXTREMELY WELL FOR YOUR FIRST FIGHT! YOU ALL WORKED WELL TOGETHER, AND EVEN IF NOT INTENTIONAL, TAKING THE BATTLE TO THE ROOF LIMITED COLLATERAL DAMAGE TO A MINIMUM." He then turned to the rest of the class, "NOW WHO CAN TELL ME? WHO WAS THE MVP OF THE MATCH?"

A tall girl with black hair in a spiky ponytail and revealing costume was about to raise her hand, until Mina threw her hand up in the air, jumping in place excitedly, "Me! Me!"

All Might chuckled at her enthusiasm, He gestures to her, "GO AHEAD, YOUNG ASHIDO." Seeing the disappointment on the other girl's face, he makes a mental note to call the other girl, young Yaoyorozu, next.

"Both Midori and Ochaco-chan were MVPs!"

All Might raised a brow, "AND WHY DO YOU THINK THAT?" He asked voicing his, and a great part of the class', question.

"Because they were a team, and they won as a team, knowing Midori he would say that it was all a team effort and tell you he didn't deserve it because he was only doing his part."

"You did okay Roxas, but the MVP here was Izuku."

"Hey, it was a team effort, I only did my part Axel."

"You've gotta give yourself a little bit more credit than that, you took more than half the Heartless out alone! You deserve a pat on the back."

"If you think he deserves something why don't you pay for the ice cream today?"

"I agree with Roxas on that one, hahaha."

Izuku got a wake up call in the form of an elbow on the side, courtesy of Katsuki. Quickly looking around, he saw his friends, both at his side and the ones with the rest of the class, were giving him concerned glances. All Might too noticed, but he continued talking to give him time to get his bearings.

"NOW ONTO THE NEXT MATCH!" As All Might was preparing the next match, Izuku and his friends walked to the rest of the group. The new additions noticed the worry they were showing to Izuku, but before anyone could ask anything, Katsuki took the lead, "Anything important?"

"I… I don't know" Izuku started to note his vision down, he could feel the inquisitive stare from Katsuki so he tried his best to explain, "It didn't have anything important in it, but what it could mean is what worries me."

Despite those words though Izuku couldn't help but smile, especially when he thought of the name he'd just heard. Roxas… what a familiar name. He placed a hand over his heart, "Maybe there is something I'm just not seeing." Who was Roxas?

"We'll talk more later" Katsuki saw that Izuku wasn't comfortable talking about it now, seeing that they were attracting attention, he decided to put it on hold for now. The ones out of the loop were confused, but the stare with a promise of pain from Katsuki was enough to make them let it go for now.

"HERO TEAM WINS!" All Might's shout got their attention, what they saw was the building completely covered in ice. Everyone stared at the screen in shock, the match didn't even last a minute.

The sound of Izuku muttering a mile a minute got their attention. He was writing so fast his journal smoked, while some were staring, his friends let a relieved sigh. He did the same when they talked about their quirks, so it's a good sign, as it meant he was back to normal.

More matches happened, Izuku studied his classmates' quirks, while Koji, Denki and Yuga got to know the ever growing group of friends. Izuku friendliness ended even letting the shy giant Koji feel at ease.

"Didn't I tell you all? The second day and he's already friends with half the class!" Katsuki said, grumbling under his breath he should have betted on it.

Izuku's advice ended up helping his friends in their matches, while not all of them won they were sure their scores would be good, after all they were still being graded.

Seeing the class was at its end he discretely made his way to All Might, "Can I talk to you after class?"

Toshinori discreetly gave him a thumbs up and whispered back, "Meet me at the teachers lounge."

After giving the base overview of the last match, All Might ended his class, "NOW KIDS WATCH HOW A PRO MAKES AN EXIT LIKE HE HAS SOMEWHERE ELSE TO BE!" With that he was gone.

As the class started to prepare to leave for the day, Izuku rushed to the exit, holding his phone up, "Hey, guys! Before we go, can I get a picture of all of us in our hero costumes?"

His question was answered with the bigger part of the class agreeing, those who were uncertain ended being dragged into the photo. In the end, with a little help from Momo who used her quirk, Creation, to make a tripod, he took a picture of the entire class 1-A.

Izuku asked for everybody's contacts, and created a group chat for the class. There he sent the picture, and also to his mother, who he could almost hear crying in joy, and All Might.

The class then got back in their uniforms, made their way back to the classroom, as time was almost up, they simply chatted, waiting for the bell, "Hey, guys I have something to ask All Might, so you don't have to wait for me."

Eijiro gave Izuku a pat on the back, "Don't worry Izu-bro, we have to wait for the train anyway, we can wait for you"

"Thanks guys!"

As Izuku left the classroom his friends couldn't help but laugh, "He really is gonna ask for an autograph isn't he?" Ochaco said, between laughs.

"That's Deku for you, he got an autograph out of every hero he's met." Katsuki snickered remembering Izuku running after heroes after battles to get his notebooks signed.

Meanwhile, Izuku quickly made his way to the teachers lounge, opening the door he saw that only Toshinori was there. He was in a yellow oversized pinstripe suit, in case he needed to go in his buff form. He was seated on a couch that was facing another, in the middle was a simple coffee table, with two cups of tea on it.

"All Might!" Izuku greeted, while Izuku knew the pro's name was Toshinori even in his 'Small Might' form All Might is always All Might no matter how he looks.

All Might smiled, "Young Izuku, I have to say your performance today was really surprising, and your class was really cool in that picture! But I don't think that's what you wanted to talk about." His light hearted tone became more concerned.

Izuku nodded, taking a deep breath, he started to explain what he had learned to Toshinori. About what Eri did during practice and what that could possibly mean for All Might himself. To say that the symbol of peace was surprised would be an understatement, "Are you sure that it's possible?"

The mere thought of being healed elated him, but he was missing a lung and a stomach and no one in the world is known to be capable of undoing or healing such damage. He didn't understand how his student could even get such ideas, but he appreciated the thought nonetheless.

It's better than the well meaning attempts to get him to retire.

Izuku nodded, taking the journal he made for Eri's training, the title being simply her name. He opened it to a page with diagrams and calculus that made Toshinori's head spin, "I made the math, and it'll work, I just need to teach Eri a little more control of her magic."

He looked Toshinori in the eyes, his teacher saw the burning determination of a hero that could save a life, "We can save you!"

Toshinori took a deep breath. He bit his lip at that, but he didn't really think such a thing was possible. He knew about his future and his student is still a hopeful youth who truly believed anything was possible. Toshinori probably had a hand in that line of thought considering he gave Izuku a literal quirk. He knew One for All was a literal miracle for him.

In any case Toshinori bowed his head, he couldn't deny the hope and determination in his students' eyes. Maybe there was a little part of the older man who wanted to believe his student. "Then I'm counting on you, Young Izuku" He already trusted Izuku with One foe All, so trusting him with his life wasn't any harder.

After that Toshinori and Izuku continued to talk. Most of the conversation was about how All Might felt about teaching his first class and what Izuku thought of it. It was some time before either realized how late it was getting, "You should spend your time with your classmates, not an old man like me. They'll be your fellow heroes someday, the bonds you form now will matter in the battles and years to come."

He laughed while doing his best to keep his smile. When the door closed, he couldn't hold back the tears anymore, he felt awful about giving his successor false hope. His successor gave him a light in the end of the dark tunnel that he was trapped in since that fateful battle so many years ago. The pro didn't have the heart to tell his student that his fate was already sealed.

At one point maybe Toshinori would have been okay with dying. He would have preferred to help as many people as possible before his life ended. Being a hero is the one thing he has done right in his entire life...but that wasn't really the case anymore. Somewhere along the way the older man had gotten a spark, a spark in his heart of welcoming warmth, undying devotion and endless determination. These are the feelings he's felt continuously since meeting Izuku Midoriya.

Toshinori Yagi wants to live. He wants to live for the young man who inspired him and saved himself from being a hypocrite. He wants to live for the young man who wants him to live.

After drying his tears, he once again promised in his heart to be there for Izuku, whether or not Izuku could heal him didn't matter, but Toshinori would be damned if he just gave up without a fight, 'I don't have an excuse for having one foot in the grave. But it doesn't mean I'll act like it.'

Chuckling at the slightly morbid thought, he looked at the window and watched the sunset, knowing that he would be there to watch it rise.

In a dark bar, a man was drinking. He had messy blue hair, and red eyes that were full of a deep hatred, on his face a disembodied hand hid his features, "They think that their precious heroes will protect them from the dark." He grabbed a picture of All Might, when all of his fingers touched it the picture crumbled into dust, "Why don't we show them just how wrong they were?"

"Are you sure it's possible?" A boy completely covered by his black cloak asked Izuku.

"I did the math and it'll work, we can save them!" He answered with conviction. The sunset basked on them and the clocktower with a golden glow.

"Huh, why am I not surprised? You always try to save everyone." The boy in the cloak turned, starting to walk away, "I'll trust you on this then."

Izuku smiled, nodding, "Thanks, Riku." He turned to the tower and started to walk. In a minute he was on top of it, sitting on the edge, he watched the sunset and waited. Some time later three other people in cloaks appeared, "Took you all long enough, I was starting to think you wouldn't show up!" Izuku greeted them with a smile that betrayed his tone of fake annoyance.

"Sorry! Xion and Roxas didn't want to take my shortcut." The tallest one with a mane of spiky red hair and green eyes, with marks that looked like reversed teardrops, said while sitting at Izuku's right.

"The last time we took one of your 'shortcuts' we ended up surrounded by Gargoyles!" A boy seemingly Izuku's age, with spiky blonde hair and blue eyes, seated at his left while complaining with the redhead.

"I already said I'm sorry, can't you let that go?!"

"Hey! If you two keep fighting then I'm eating your share!" A girl with black hair and blue eyes with a darker tone, like the ocean, said while sitting at the blonde boy's left. In her hands were four blue popsicles.

Izuku laughed at their antics, these precious moments under the warm light of the setting sun would always be remembered in his heart, that's what gave him strength, that was what made him choose the harder path, the path that would lead them all to their happy ending.

'After all, that's the job of the story's hero, isn't it?'

"You've got to be kidding me!" Kyoka's exasperated voice broke Izuku from his thoughts of the dream he had last night. The group of now ten were walking to UA, but found the entrance blocked by a mob of reporters.

"What are we going to do now?! Aizawa-sensei won't like half of his class being late!" Eijiro said with no small amount of panic.

Izuku saw that they would need a distraction, it was clear that the mob had no plans on leaving anytime soon especially when he heard the reporters wanting to talk to All Might, he thought of the perfect plan, "Guys! I have an idea, prepare to run." Before they could ask anything, Izuku made his way to the mob.

"Hey!" Izuku's shout caught their attention, without giving them the chance to swarn him, he continued pointing towards a random direction, "If you guys want an interview with All Might, then why don't you ask him, he's right there!" He pointed to a place behind the crowd. They all turned, only to see an empty street, turning back they saw Izuku and his friends already inside UA, running to the main building, laughing.

On the way they passed their teacher, who openly smirked as nothing made him happier than seeing the media being made a fool. They all passed by his sides greeting him in their own ways, Aizawa let them go and walked to the gates. When he reached the reporters his face was already in the perfect mask of indifference.

"You're inconveniencing our students, leave." He turned, walking away, unwilling to waste even one more second with these vultures, as he liked to call them.

One tried to follow him, as always, and he heard the incredibly satisfying sound of the UA barrier closing on their face.

What he didn't notice was the figure hidden in the shadows watching everything.

Aizawa made his way to class finding the second pleasant surprise of the day, his students already in their seats, waiting in silence. That put him in a good enough mood to ignore the thumbs up and grateful looks sent Izuku's way, even if he was curious as to how he knew he was arriving.

"Midoriya."

Izuku, jumped up, "Yes, sir!" The action earned chuckles from the class.

"Good thinking, that little stunt saved both you and your classmates time. Time that could be used for other things."

That simple praise made Izuku beam with happiness.

"Now for today" Aizawa's tone took a serious edge that put his students on edge, some looked at him in despair while others braced themselves. What got the teacher's attention was how both Izuku and Katsuki looked ready for anything. They were tense, but also excited whatever they might face they'll face it head on.

"You will choose your class president." The whole class let out a collective sigh of relief.

He was just waiting for the usual outburst, but to his surprise, Izuku who was still up started to walk towards the chalkboard.

"What are you doing, Midoriya?"

"I'm just preparing the election, if we vote then it'll be fair for everybody, right? I was already standing so I thought 'why not do it myself, Aizawa-sensei will probably use his time to catch up on his sleep, last night he helped the police bust a car dismantle operation', that was so cool by the way!" Izuku explained while writing the names of the whole class in the board, ending it with a little fanboy moment.

That made the class nod seeing his logic or laugh at his turn around from serious to starstruck, "That is a great idea Izuku-san, in face of your foresight I would like to give you my vote!"

"Me too!"

"Me three!"

"Yeah, Midori for president!" Izuku blushed as his classmates voted for him, he scratched his head in embarrassment, seeing all his friends voting for him, even Katsuki. Izuku didn't think what he did was a very big deal but they seemed to think so. At the end he was elected with fourteen votes, he voted for Momo, who became vice-rep with six votes.

They were now standing in front of the whole class, Izuku bowed at the crowd, "Thank you for the vote of confidence, don't worry we're going to do our best!", Izuku threw his arm up in a fist to show some confidence and to mask his nervousness. Momo followed his lead, and while she would have liked to be the president she was happy that the one that got the position was at least someone competent.

Classes followed like usual, and now at lunch time Izuku's group had the addition of Momo, who couldn't say no to Izuku with the sheer friendliness and insistence in his tone when he asked if she would like to sit with them.

"So Greenie, enjoying the new found power." Kyoka asked sarcastically, Tenya went into a tirade of the responsibility of a class president, while the others laughed.

Momo had to ask, "Are you always like that?"

"Yup, I wouldn't want it any other way" Izuku's words made everyone smile, they wholeheartedly agree with him, "Don't worry, you'll get used to it too Momo." The girl in question was surprised of him simply using her first name, but seeing that no one batted an eye she asked, her privileged upbringing and experience with those with second intentions trying to befriend her making her cautious, "Why did you call me by my first name Midoriya-san"

"Because we're friends, right? You can call me, Izuku." He responded like it was obvious, his brilliant smile easing Momo's worries, that was something about him that simply reassured her, her mind couldn't help but compare him with All Might.

"Yes, I think we are." She answered with a smile of her own, but she wasn't ready for Izuku to seemingly freeze, a vacant look in his face.

That sent his friend's that knew about it in red alert, "What did he get from that! It was just five words!" Katsuki didn't know if he should be pissed at whatever set Izuku off, or the fact that no one said something like that until now.

Those who didn't understand what was happening were both confused and concerned, a sentiment that spread when Izuku let a tear drop fall. The light was back in his eyes and with it he started to laugh while drying his tears.

"What did you see?" Katsuki's voice was leveled, but every single one of them could feel the concern in it. Izuku took off his journal from… somewhere, and responded while writing, "Don't worry, is just that… I saw the first time I got a friend to smile." His voice was heavy with emotion, tears were still falling, but even then, his smile was there.

"Okay, I think you guys need to explain what the hell is happening." Denki voiced the question from all those who still didn't know. Izuku finished his notes and dried his tears again, but then an alarm sounded, a familiar feeling sent alarm bells on his mind.

In a second he was standing, looking at the doors of the cafeteria, from there a student came stumbling and falling. But Izuku's focus was on the dark creature that was jumping on her. In a second his Keyblade was in his hand, he sailed through the air, leaving a trail of green lightning behind him.

With a swing, the creature burst in a cloud of darkness, "You okay?" He asked the student, a girl from Gen Ed, she nodded and shakingly stood up again, "Go, I'll handle the others, Momo! Get everybody out!" The girls followed his commands.

Izuku turned to the doors, and saw the mob that came from them, it was insane. These are the creatures which kept showing up in his dreams, Izuku eyed each on as they headed towards him, "One Large Body, two Soldiers and a bunch of Shadows? I know Heartless can't exactly think, but coming with only that is preatty stupid." Izuku's taunt seemed to anger the Dwellers of Darkness, but he wasn't afraid, in the visions he took an entire army of Heartless like these, and now?

He wasn't alone

Izuku felt One For All flooding his body with power, the lightning cracking threateningly over him, "You want him, then you'll have to pass me!" Nana's voice wasn't heard by others, but the sound of the energy bursting from him conveyed the message.

Izuku took a deep breath, and moved. With Full Cowling at 10% he took out all the Shadows before they could move. One Soldier jumped at him and tried to hit him with an axe-kick, Izuku side steeped the attack and countered with a kick of his own. The strength behind it sent it in the other Soldier, and both flying against the wall hard enough to make both burst, letting cristaline hearts out.

The Large Body swung an arm at him, what once would have made Izuku slide back from the force trying to block, now he stopped with a hand. Izuku then threw the Heartless up and jumped, slicing it in half with a single slash, freeing another heart.

Izuku fell back to the ground and looked around, the cafeteria was now completely empty. Behind him, a Shadow emerged from the ground and bounced at his back, "WHERE DO YOU THINK YOUR GOING!" A large hand grabbed the Heartless head and held it in the air.

"All Might!" Izuku turned around and saw his teacher in his buff form, dwarfing the Shadow in his hand, "I CAME THE MOMENT I HEARD THE ALARM, BUT SAW THAT YOU HAD EVERYTHING UNDER CONTROL, OR AT LEAST ALMOST EVERYTHING!" He laughed pointing at the struggling Heartless.

Izuku scratched his head embarrassed, "Sorry, I'm used to having someone to watch my back during fights." He had said it without thinking slashing the Heartless, making it burst in another dark cloud, "Now we have to hurry, you make sure all the students are safe, I'll go take care of the other Heartless."

Izuku could feel the Darkness of the Heartless in the school, and that made him worry about his friends.

"YOUNG IZUKU YOU CAN'T EXPECT THAT I'LL LET YOU GO ALONE AFTER THESE THINGS!" All Might knew that his successor was capable of fighting those things, but he was still a boy and his student, it was his job as teacher and hero to make sure he was safe.

"Don't worry Toshinori-kun he won't be alone!" A squeaky voice called behind them, they turned and saw Nezu entering the cafeteria, "After all, even Heartless can't expect to simply invade my school and threaten my students." His cheerful voice had a dark undertone, "I will personally accompany Midoriya-san as he is the only one properly equipped to deal with this situation." He said indicating toward Izuku's Keyblade.

Toshinori was concerned, both for his successor's safety and for how Nezu could possibly know about Izuku's Keyblade being capable of vanquishing these creatures. The fact that the principal knew the name of these creatures brought a new list of questions but now wasn't the time. He was sure of one thing, nothing was more important to Nezu than his students' safety.

Nezu had a distrust for humanity as they were responsible for the experiments he had to endure, but he never included children in his distrust, when asked he always says, "An old friend said 'children are the little lights that can make a future bright', and I couldn't agree more." Even if he never said who this friend was, those words had an impact on the scarred principal, he always did his absolute best to protect his students.

All Might nodded, "OKAY, I'LL LEAVE HIM IN YOUR CARE PRINCIPAL." Toshinori gave Nezu and Izuku one last nod to them before speeding off. Nezu made his way to Izuku, and with quick movements, perched himself on the boy shoulder, "Now Izuku-san, I believe you know where we have to go, I too don't like to put you in risk, but being the only one capable of dealing with this threat, I have to ask for your cooperation."

Izuku was surprised with the turn of events, but feeling the sincerity in Nezu's words, he had to comply, "You can count on me Principal Nezu!" They traded a nod. In a second Izuku was off, using Full Cowling he jumped from wall to wall in UA's hallways.

Feeling the darkness getting closer, Izuku took a turn and saw Midnight, one of his teachers, fighting a mob of Heartless.

There were mainly Shadows and Soldiers, but there were three Emerald Blues that were making the battle difficult for Midnight as her quirk liberated a sleep gas. The wind controlling Heartless blowing it away made her quirk useless in the situation, and while still a hero, fighting a whole group alone was proving too much for her.

Just as a Soldier was about to jump at her back, Izuku dashed into the battle and slashed it in half, "You okay Midnight-sensei?" Izuku asked, putting himself between her and the Heartless.

The Dwellers of Darkness felt the instinctual threat that a Keyblade posed to them, and now are all focusing solely on Izuku.

Nezu jumped from his shoulder, and started to explain to Midnight before she could say anything, "Kayama-san, Midoriya will deal with this, please step aside."

The hero wasn't about to let a kid at a mob of monsters without saying nothing, "Principal, you can't be serious! He is only a first year and even if he wasn't I will not let a kid risk his life!" Nezu's answer was to point to Izuku.

He was already in the middle of the battle, having taken out the Shadows, he now used his superior speed to destroy the Emerald Blues before they could throw him in the air with their magic.

Jumping from a wall to the ceiling, Izuku dived down Keyblade first. The moment Heroes Rising touched the ground, a shockwave blew the Heartless away, with some quick Fire spells, the battle was over.

"You have nothing to worry about, but I would be grateful if you accompany us." Nezu chuckled at Nemuri's shocked face, but the mirt quickly faded to seriousness as even while Izuku proved himself capable, he was still his student.

Izuku was taking deep breaths to help calm down after the fight, but then he felt it. A great darkness appeared, and he had to take care of it now, before it finds someone else or destroys the school, "Principal! We have to go! A big one just showed up and I have to defeat it before someone gets hurt!"

The tone Izuku used conveyed just how serious the situation was, Nezu nodded, "Let's make haste, Midoriya would you kindly?" Izuku nodded back and rushed at them, Nezu hopped in his shoulder and Izuku grabbed Midnight in his free arm.

Normally he would be blushing up a storm seeing that her costume was basically a dominatrix suit, but in the current circumstances he barely noticed it and with 10% of One For All he didn't slow down at all, even with the extra passenger weight.

Izuku jumped and with a swift kick on the wall, he was crossing the hallway like a rocket, "I normally would say that you're enjoying this, but I know how worried you are, so I've got some good news for you." Izuku listened to Nana while making his way to the school courtyard. When she finished talking Izuku opened a smile knowing he had a trump card.

'Thank him for me later, now let's save my school!' Izuku arrived at the courtyard and put his passengers down, "That sure was a ride kid, but why are we out here?" Nemuri's question was answered by the sound of Present Mic screaming as he was sent flying.

Izuku bolted from his place, grabbing his teacher before he could crash to the ground, landing he cast a quick Cure spell on the hero, "Huf, thanks for the save listener, that would have hurt." Mic smiled and gave Izuku a thumbs up, but the moment was interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps approaching.

Looking up Izuku glared, because towering over him was a Guard Armor.

Midnight used her whip to grab them bringing both towards her, "Midoriya-san, are you familiar with this creature?" Nezu asked, his voice calm even while his fur was standing on end.

The information came to Izuku easily, "Yes, that's a Guard Armor, it's really sturdy, it's arms and legs can attack on their own, and the worst part is that it can use its torso as a cannon."

The heroes deadpanned at him, "You serious?" Present Mic asked with a tone between frustration and disbelief.

"Unfortunately, it doesn't matter what, don't let the cannon hit you because it'll hurt a LOT." Having said this, Izuku sprung into action. Hizashi was about to protest but Nezu quickly explained to him the situation and the plan, that was basically follow Izuku's lead and keep him safe.

"I really hope you know what you're doing..." Nemuri sighed, rushing towards the Heartless, Hizashi right behind her.

Izuku successfully attracted the Heartless away from the school, but the rain of attacks thrown at him left him on the defensive. That changed when the pros joined the fray, dividing its attention.

Izuku saw the Gauntlets focusing on Present Mic while Midnight kept the Hammerlegs occupied, "Keep them busy, I'll try to destroy the Armored Torso!" The pros were still reluctant to let their student fight, but nodded and followed his plan.

Izuku jumped at the Torso and started to strike it, swinging his Keyblade the fastest he could, "Shouldn't you take out the other parts first?" Nana's question didn't stop Izuku's attacks even while he answered, 'The core is in the Armored Torso, if I destroy it then the whole Heartless will vanish.'

The monster didn't just take the assault. Spinning in its axis like a top, it started to dash at Izuku. The greennet quickly started to dodge, jumping away from the charges.

"Look out!" Izuku turned and saw Present Mic and Midnight being tossed aside by the disembodied limbs. The parts reconnected, and Izuku knew what it meant.

The Gauntlets held the bottom of the Torso, pulling it and aiming at the downed heroes. Energy started to charge and form a sparkling orb, Izuku blitzed at the pros and put himself between them and the Heartless.

"Kid get out of the way!" Hizashi said breathless, while trying to get up, the hit from the ghostly limbs had knocked the air out of his lungs.

The Heartless fired, the orb moved across the air with a dull buzz. Izuku planted his feet on the ground and focused One For All in his Keyblade, the ancient quirk overcharging his magic, making the spell break the natural limits of its level, "Reflect!"

Translucent hexagons, seemingly made of glass, enveloped the three heroes in a dome. The bomb hit the barrier, exploding with a deafening boom and a blinding flash of light.

Izuku took heavy breaths, the strain caused by his stunt catching up with him. The dome was cracked, small fissures running along its entirety, but it stood.

Focusing the force absorbed by the spell, Izuku pushed his magic and the hexagons shattered. The shards flew and rained against the Guard Armor like hail, each fragment exploded with a portion of the power of the Heartless' own attack.

"You two, okay?" Izuku asked over his shoulder, not letting his enemy out of his sight.

"Yeah, thanks to you, you weren't kidding, saying that that would have hurt," Nemuri said while helping Hizashi stand, "Got any idea of what to do now? Because I doubt you can pull that off again".

"I'll try to-" Izuku was interrupted when the Gauntlets shot at him. He prepared to block the blow, but that wasn't its intention. The floating hands grabbed Izuku by his sides and pulled him.

They brought him in front of the still raised Torso, it started once again to charge. Izuku struggled but couldn't shake off the metal hands.

"Oh, no you don't!" Nemuri ran at them swinging her wip, it hooked on one of the Hammerlegs, pulling the harder she could, she threw it at Hizashi, "Your turn!"

He took a deep breath, and with a mighty shout, sent the disembodied feet in a collision route with one Gauntlet.

Izuku felt the hand loosen, taking his chance, Izuku escaped his restraints and swung Heroes Rising. The strike sent the pile of limbs on the still forming orb, causing it to destabilize and explode.

"Thanks! Now time to end this!" Izuku jumped up and pointed his Keyblade at the pile of metallic parts on the ground. Time seemed to slow down and Izuku started to Focus in the weak spots in the Guard Armor body.

"Lightning Plasma!" Izuku was enveloped by golden lightning with a green hue to it. He shot down and pierced through the armor as it started to rise once more. Stepping on the air itself, he shot out again.

Midnight and Present Mic watched amazed as Izuku transformed the monster in swiss cheese. The trail of electricity forming a grid of high voltage.

Izuku in a final move jumped high in the sky before diving down, swinging his Keyblade overhead. It fell like a guillotine on the Heartless head, hitting it with all the energy built by the move.

The moment Izuku's feet touched the ground, he jumped away. The Guard Armor head shook for a moment before falling in the Torso, hitting the ground a second later. Darkness started to ooze out of the Heartless, forming a cloud of dark smoak.

They all watched as a crystalline heart floated out of the dark cloud, before disappearing in a flash of light.

"It's over now?" Hizashi asked Izuku, tilting his glasses down, raising an eyebrow. The boy nodded with a smile, "Yup, that was the last one".

Despite the smile though, Izuku couldn't help but feel that something was off about the entire situation.

"It better be, because that Shotlock really tired you out." Nana's voice was laced in concern, she could feel the exhaustion of Izuku.

"That was truly a marvelous display, Midoriya-san." Nezu clapped while walking closer, "You are certain that the threat is gone?"

"Yes Principal, the school is safe now." Izuku said, dismissing his Keyblade.

"That is a relief, but there is one thing that I still do not understand, how a Heartless that powerful came here? I know they are attracted to the Keyblade, but is it normal for one of that proportion to go after you?"

Izuku's eyes widened, "No, there's no reason for a Guard Armor to come here, unless…"

"Unless someone commanded it to come here" Nezu completed Izuku's train of thought, Midnight and Present Mic growing solemn at its implications.

Izuku couldn't forget it. In every dream where he defeated such a monster there was always someone controlling it. Heartless are mindless, they would never be smart enough to gather together for such an assault.

"That was what I feared, that this attack was not an isolated occurrence..." Nezu turned and started to walk back to the building, his mind already running with precautions.

"But a declaration of war."

This chapter full of foreshadowing was made by me, and edited by the amazing keeperofhounds!

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