Despite the tight spot they were in, quite figuratively and literally, the news brought the team of the flying coffin no less joy.
" Todoroki did it!" Sora cried out to Yuu, just as he and Komainu skidded under another stream of Shigaraki's fingers.
" It's Todoroki-san!" He retorted as they skidded to a stop a little far from the maelstrom. " Of course he would do it!"
" Quit yapping and get your job done yourselves!" Bakugo wheezed by, blasting at the mass of flesh, making charred chunks of it rain down on them.
Despite that, they could hear him express his own delight at the news. Perhaps those blasts were even just some fireworks of celebration, they had thought.
They continued like that, trying to peel Shigaraki's defense or make their way through.
But the stream was so much to control that maneuvering through it became hard.
If they were actively shearing away at the gigantic twisted mass, the whole platform might have been crushed under its weight, and they would have been squashed as well.
Even with Sora's speed and Yuu's stellar navigation, they couldn't get close enough.
Trying to work together seemed futile, as Shigaraki appeared to be set on keeping them separated.
Given a chance to coordinate their efforts, making a way through might have been easier.
Yuu clicked his tongue as he continued to run in between the twisting appendages.
The only saving grace they got was that Shigaraki was unable to activate his decay, or they would have all been dead with these many fingers.
Shigaraki continued to blabber about something that none of them had any interest in hearing, and Bakugo vocalized it for all of them.
The boy stepped back, the grenades attached behind his shoulders expanded and formed several machine guns powered by his sweat.
" I'll blow some holes right through you!" He flew at him with a large blast. " We'll crush your main body! All of us, together!"
Hearing that, Sora and Yuu's eyes widened, grasping the chance.
" Everyone! Follow Bakugo-san!" Yuu instructed as he prompted Komainu to jump behind the boy, blowing his way through the tentacles of fingers.
Smoke rose up, and while it made it hard to see for them, it meant that Shigaraki, too, was unable to see them without his additional sensory Quirks.
Best Jeanist extended several wires for the others to run on as they followed the boy's lead.
The tentacles changed direction in an attempt to close on him, but the rest wouldn't let it happen.
" Like hell we're letting you touch him!" Sora cried out as she slashed at the fingers extending towards Bakugo from behind.
" Go on, Bakugo-san!" Yuu cried over his shoulder, a twister of air and water raging around him as he diced any appendage daring to approach.
" We have your back!" Edge Shot slithered among the masses, squeezing and cutting them with his fine, thread-like body.
" Blow a hole in his head!" Miroko shouted, her prosthetic machine gun arm tearing through the incoming fingertips, and her rapid, sharp kicks making short work of them.
" Great Murder Explosion God... Dynamight!" Best Jeanist's wires wound around the largest of the chunks, restraining them for the others to finish.
" Howitzer Impact..." All they could hear were the loud sounds of explosions filling the air. " Cluster!"
Not before long, smoke and light overwhelmed them.
Anyone might worry about the inner mechanism of the flying coffin upon seeing the great explosion. But they didn't have to.
It's Bakugo-san we're talking about. Yuu thought.
Sora couldn't help but smirk amidst the cloud of smoke. " There is no way he didn't consider his surroundings."
As the dust cleared, they could see the barrier was still in place, not even scathed.
But something else disturbed them.
Shigaraki, with half his face burned, was holding Bakugo up by the arm as the other boy dangled in his grasp, his arm broken and bloodied.
" Bakugo-san!"
" Bakugo-kun!"
" Dynamight!"
Everyone rushed ahead to save him, but there was little they could do against his main body.
Even though they managed to get close, they had forgotten a critical detail.
A deadly one.
His strength was beyond that of All Might in his prime.
Shigaraki threw Bakugo away like a piece of trash.
All it took was one swing from the thousands of clenched hands and fingers sprouting out of his ginormous hand, and they were flung back with the shock wave.
Sora rammed backward into the barrier, and it took a moment for her to get away from the electric shock by hardening all the feathers on her body, blocking the electricity.
Yuu and Komainu wrapped themselves in a red cloud right before contact and bounced off the barrier safely.
Thankful, no one else had to deal with electrocution.
By the time they managed to gather their bearings, they saw Shigaraki grabbing Bakugo by the neck. And despite his best efforts, the injured boy could do little against him. Not even his machine guns could affect the monster of a villain he was facing.
Hado tried to attack him from behind, but he turned around, holding Bakugo as a shield, to which the girl had to switch the direction of her attack at the last moment, leaving her a target for the stream of fingers.
" Senpai!"
Sora shot off, sweeping her away before she could be hit.
Just as Shigaraki's eyes followed them, something struck him from behind and prevented his retaliation.
Sora could see it, an aura that was hiding right behind the other boy.
Amajiki-senpai?!
Yuu's eyes widened slightly as he saw Shigaraki's skin shift color. Poison! Was he able to use such a trick?!
Albeit, it didn't work. Much to everyone's disgust, a mouth manifested right at that area and spat the poison out.
Again, the stream of appendages flooded the place, but this time, several mouths were added.
" Can he get any uglier?!" Sora clicked her tongue as she and Hado flew away while everyone tried to move further from Shigaraki's uncontrollable growth.
It was then that Togata stepped in, phasing right through the mayhem and snatching Bakugo away before throwing him up in the air for Jeanist to grab.
" Bakugo-san!" Yuu and Sora hurried over to their classmate to make sure he was fine, finding Jeansit working on patching his broken arms.
What caught them off guard was the stream of tears streaking the other boy's face.
Bakugo...
Was crying...
But something was off.
Sora's eyes widened at his aura.
" It's best if you step back now, all three of you." Jeanist looked at Sora and Yuu as he spoke. " Shigaraki is on a whole different level now. We can not benefit from past experience against him."
It wasn't like they could deny it. But it didn't feel right.
As his eyes drifted back to Bakugo in a silent apology, he continued. " You did a good job so far."
" Bakugo-san didn't give up yet..." Yuu finally spoke, getting Jeanist's attention.
" Right... finger... feint..." Bakugo murmured, and Jeanist snapped back to him.
" His consciousness... In his mind..." Sora continued, confirming Yuu's words. " He's still fighting against Shigaraki's every move."
The boy's eyes never left the battle scene before him.
" You expect us to back off... after this? There is no way." Yuu's glowing purple eyes narrowed on those of the older man. " We have only one way left for us. To go beyond!"
Those kids... Even Jeanist found no words against that.
The maelstrom of fingers split apart to let through Shigaraki as he headed towards the injured boy.
Sora and Yuu quickly stood before him, ready to defend him. Although one glare from Shigaraki had sent shivers running down their bodies. But they wouldn't let the villain through.
A whip of fingers shot off towards them, only to be blocked off with a purple, translucent hexagonal shield that Yuu summoned.
As the mass enlarged, so did the shield, expanding to block more and more of the appendages.
Komainu shot over them, his golden eyes locking on Shigaraki. " Don't get any closer!"
He bore down on him in a whirlwind that tore at the masses of flesh trying to thwart him, fangs and claws bared.
Jeanist tried to hold the villain in place for the Yokai using his cloak. But Shigaraki shed it off.
He swung his fist up, hitting the dog spirit in the abdomen, and throwing him high in the air till he hit the ceiling, and got electrocuted.
" Komainu!"
" Take that!" Hado came at him from behind, which only succeeded in incurring his irritation, making her a target for his stretching fingers.
Yet she didn't give up, shooting her energy at him nonstop.
But Sora could see it was all a ruse. There was another stream of energy that was shooting elsewhere.
" It's Amajiki-senpai..." Yuu grunted, fighting to keep the energy shield up. " Senpai... might be the only one who could turn the tables right now... because his Quirk... has no limits..."
" Enough of your games!" Shigaraki turned to where Amajiki was hiding, apparently having noticed the building energy too. He was ready to ambush him. And with his heavy hybrid cannon, the older boy was as good as rooted in place.
" It's you who should stop!"
Before he knew it, Komainu shot down from the ceiling, coated in electricity as he severed the masses of flesh shooting towards Amajiki.
" Thanks for the meal! I'm a mass of energy, so you can't electrocute me!"
True for that, Komainu seemed rather refreshed.
" Senpai!"
" Vast Hybrid: Plasma Cannon!"
Not before long, a bright blue beam of energy decimated the sea of twitching fingers.
So bright it was that Yuu and Sora had to shield their eyes from it.
By the time they opened them again, all three of their upper classmates were panting heavily as the dust began to settle.
However, it was not over.
" Watch out!" No sooner than the words left Sora's lips, the flesh masses flooded again.
Amajiki was nearly crushed against the barrier by the extending appendages when Komainu snatched him by the hood and bolted out of the way.
Hado and Togata suffered deep wounds, however.
" Why..."
" Think about it! Would Golden Age All Might have died from something like this? Just think about it!"
Yuu couldn't help but grit his teeth at how right those words were.
What could have stopped All Might then? Even Sora couldn't find an answer to that.
Suddenly, their eyes widened as someone stepped between them.
The very boy they were trying to protect.
And Yuu's eyes widened as if he got a hint of an answer.
" I'll be the one to surpass All Might!"
Bakugo stepped before them, arm wrapped in Jeanist's wire, like he was trying to shield them this time.
And the message became clear to Yuu.
" Like the hero training, we're going to watch your back, Bakugo-san." Yuu's tone was firm and unwavering.
" Leave the support to us." Sora cracked her knuckles.
Bakugo sucked in a deep breath as he tilted his head back towards Jeanist. " Take care of the others."
As he took another step towards Shigaraki, Yuu's eyes widened as he saw that the boy was still bleeding, leaving a trail of blood on the ground behind him.
Bakugo-san... the purple eyes softened as he looked at his back. You're really... A strong and amazing hero...
" No! Don't!" But Jeanist had no hope of catching Bakugo.
The boy blasted off at high speed, leaving nothing but a series of explosions in his wake.
What's this speed?!
In a blink, he was right before Shigaraki, his left hand extending before the other boy's face as he blew as hard as he could.
Right before Shigaraki could retort, Bakugo was out of reach, as if he had predicted that.
The villain flung with his left next, its form expanding.
But Sora caught it midair, locking him in place as she held onto it tightly, her hardened feathers working as a shield between her and the fingers that could have pierced through her body.
Bakugo appeared right behind Shigaraki, ready to unleash another blast.
Shigaraki could not use his left transformed arm, as Sora kept hold of it.
Any extension he tried to shoot out of it was severed using unseen blades of wind and Komainu's claws and fangs.
An eruption caught him from behind, and he was flung forward, rolling on the ground.
Again, before he could even regain his bearings, Bakugo was waiting for him with another blast that sent him skywards.
And it continued like that. Wherever Shigaraki turned, Bakugo was there, ready to sear him.
Any attack he tried to launch, Bakugo saw through it.
The masses of fingers sprouting from his left arm were either interrupted by Sora and Komainu or tethered by Yuu's lightning whips before they were completely shorn away by Bakugo's explosions.
All they had to do was prevent him from retaliating, and Bakugo would reduce him to charred meat.
As the other heroes gathered themselves to join the attack, they ought to have the upper hand.
Or, that's what they thought.
Clearly, Shigaraki was beyond infuriated that he was being tossed around by Bakugo like that.
Just as the boy was about to deliver another attack, the villain snapped.
" Piss off! You little insects!"
Something didn't feel right.
Sora saw it.
The expanding aura from every direction.
Although she and Yuu were holding his left hand tightly.
There was no way more fingers would have spread.
Or there was.
Who said it was all about his left arm?
Didn't they just see him manifest a mouth on his back?
" Get Back! Bakugo!"
Everyone tried to reach him.
But it was already late.
From his back surged the multitude of fingers and mouths. Piercing through anything nearby.
Sora hit the ceiling and convulsed for a moment before dropping.
Yuu crashed right through the wall of the school building.
And Bakugo was thrown backwards, cartwheeled in the air, before falling to the ground, unmoving.
Yuu managed to push the rubble off himself, half his face covered in black, glistening scales that were slowly receding as they fulfilled their role of shielding him. He looked at Bakugo, and his eyes widened seeing his still form, with a small card fluttering down next to him, soaking in his flooding blood.
Sora climbed up to her feet, taking a look around. She wasn't the only one who had been knocked back. Everyone was struggling to stifle their bleeding.
As thunder rumbled overhead, she glared at the monster that was looking less and less like a human, with odd-shaped tentacles sprouting from his back and left arm, rambling about their story.
Jeanist rushed over to Bakugo to patch him up, only for his blood to run cold at the sight he was met with.
The boy's heart...
Had been pierced...