"NOW THEN... LET US FINISH THIS."
The moment All Might stepped forward, the suffocating tension that had paralyzed the students finally snapped. Hiroki didn't wait. He was a blur tearing across the cracked plaza to reach Takeru's side.
"Takeru! Hey, look at me!" Hiroki's voice was raw, but he kept his hands steady enough to check for a pulse. He was joined quickly by Kirishima, Midoriya, and Asui. They hovered over their friend. They had just watched a classmate stand toe-to-toe with a nightmare and refuse to back down.
"He actually did it," Kirishima whispered, his voice thick. "He defeated that monster before All Might even arrived. That's... that's Top Hero stuff. He's so manly." A single, manly tear slid down with cheek.
Across the plaza, Shigaraki was a wreck. He was clawing at his neck, his fingers drawing thin lines of red as he twitched from the lingering effects of the energy drain. He looked at the Nomu—the creature that was supposed to be his "Anti-Symbol of Peace."
"Kill him..." Shigaraki rasped, his eyes bloodshot behind the severed hand on his face. "NOMU! Get up and kill him! That damn mini-boss... he broke the game! He cheated! Kill All Might! You were made to kill him!! DO YOUR JOB!!"
The Nomu let out a gurgling sound. With a monumental, bone-creaking effort, it forced its mangled limbs to move. It lunged at All Might, but the sound-breaking speed it had used against Kazama was gone. It moved with the sluggish speed of a dying animal.
All Might didn't even flinch. He stepped into the creature's guard, his golden fist sinking deep into the monster's caved-in abdomen.
"CAROLINA... SMASH!"
In that single moment of impact, Kurogiri saw the end, and he knew the "win condition" for the villains had evaporated.
"Tomura Shigaraki," Kurogiri rasped. "We must retreat. The Nomu is spent. If we stay another second, the Symbol of Peace will ensure we never leave."
"I'll kill him! I'll kill that brat!" Shigaraki howled, his ego bruised worse than his body. He stared at the unconscious Kazama with a newfound, obsessive hatred.
But Kurogiri didn't give him a choice. Before All Might could even turn his head, a jagged portal opened beneath Shigaraki and the mist villain. In a flash of purple smoke and ozone, they were gone.
All Might spun around, his fist still smoking, but the spot where the leaders had stood was empty. He stood there for a beat, his shoulders dropping in a rare display of disappointment. He turned his full attention back to the Nomu, which was struggling to its feet one last time. He knew it had tried to kill his students, and the Symbol of Peace was finished being patient.
"You're hurt because I wasn't fast enough... forgive your worthless teacher!!" All Might's voiced more to himself than the students"But I'm ending this NOW!!"
"You've caused enough pain," All Might declared, his aura flaring.
"DETROIT... SMASH!"
The fist connected. The shockwave stripped the remaining tiles from the floor and cleared the dust from the dome in an instant. it was launched like a rocket, punching through the reinforced glass of the dome and trailing a wake of white vapor as it disappeared into the clouds.
The plaza went still.
As the dust settled, the true toll became clear. Near the center, a medical team was lifting Aizawa. He was conscious, his eyes scanning the area with a sharp clarity despite the pain. Both of his legs were shattered, and his right hand sat at an unnatural angle. He winced as they moved him, his gaze lingering on Kazama's stretcher as it passed.
"He... held the line," Aizawa managed to wheeze. "Take... good care... of him."
Hiroki walked alongside the stretcher, his hand white-knuckled on the railing.
"You did it, brother. You were shining like a beacon," Hiroki whispered, his voice thick with a fierce, quiet pride. "But... You broke our promise, man... You told us that we would become heroes together, but you went ahead and became one already. Now I have to work extra hard just to see your back."
Outside the dome, the sun was far too bright for the mood of the students.
Detective Tsukauchi stood with All Might, who was now in his gaunt, coughing form, hidden behind the open doors of an ambulance to avoid prying eyes.
"Sixty-eight villains in custody, Toshinori," Tsukauchi said, rubbing his eyes. "But the leaders and that... thing... they're gone. We've never seen anything like it. A coordinated strike on U.A. property? They're getting bolder."
"They knew my schedule, Naomasa," All Might said. "They came for me. They wanted to tear down the Symbol of Peace in front of his own students. But they didn't account for the next generation."
"Kazama Takeru," Tsukauchi looked at the preliminary report, a look of disbelief on his face. "The kids are calling him a hero. My sensors say he output enough energy to power ten houses for a month. Where does a fifteen-year-old get that kind of resolve? It's almost unnatural."
"I don't know, my friend, but his resolve to protect the others was strong enough. I don't like seeing them hurt, but everyone is safe and no one died, so I'm thankful to him," All Might said. "We need to watch him, Naomasa. Not because he's a threat to us, but because he's a threat to those villains. They will try to end him before he can grow. And we need to be prepared for that."
Far from the school, in a dark, gloomy pub, the only light came from the flickering blue glow of a television screen.
Shigaraki Tomura was having a complete meltdown. He was throwing glasses against the wall, the sound of shattering crystal puncturing the heavy silence.
"He cheated, Sensei!" Shigaraki screamed at the TV monitor, his voice cracking with rage and genuine fear. "The mini-boss! He wasn't supposed to be this powerful! He wrecked my Nomu! It was a masterpiece built to break the Symbol of Peace! But that brat... he had a move we didn't account for! He broke everything!"
"Calm yourself, Tomura," the voice of All For One vibrated through the speakers. "A glitch in the system is merely an opportunity for an update. We have learned something valuable today. We have found a new variable that we must account for."
"I want to kill him," Shigaraki hissed, his nails digging into his own neck. "I want to take that light and snuff it out. I want to see him crumble and beg for his life. He looked at me like I was... like I was nothing."
"Patience," the voice replied. "Kazama Takeru... a boy who can command energy. We shall see how much more he can endure before he crumbles. For now, let him play the hero. The higher they stand, the further they fall. We will watch his progress with great interest."
Shigaraki slumped into his seat, his eyes glowing with a hateful, renewed purpose. The USJ incident was over.