Side: Midoriya Izuku
After being thrown into the flood zone, Tsuyu Asui, Mineta, and I managed to defeat all the villains there using a combination of Mineta's Quirk and my One For All.
Since we needed to create a massive impact and slam the water with great force, I deliberately let One For All go out of control even though I'd recently gotten better at controlling it, and ended up damaging another finger... but I told myself there was no helping it in this situation.
The pain has mostly subsided now, and I can move without any problems.
We rushed back to the central plaza to rescue Aizawa-sensei, only to find him pinned down and brutally beaten by a massive black villain.
His arm was bent at an unnatural angle. I saw that black creature... the one called Nomu, snap it like a twig with its monstrous strength.
These villains were clearly on a different level from the ones in the flood zone. That guy covered in hands and the monstrous black giant... they were in a completely different class.
Even without facing them directly, I could tell.
And now that black mist-like villain had joined them, someone who seemed just as dangerous.
However, the report brought by the one called Kurogiri was that one student had escaped... Upon hearing this, the hand-covered guy, apparently named Tomura Shigaraki, didn't even try to hide his irritation as he cursed but then said, "Let's go home," suggesting they retreat.
Though I felt something unsettling about his words, we were relieved that it might be over...
"But before that, let's break just a little of the symbol of peace's pride before we leave."
The moment he said this, Shigaraki charged at us with blinding speed, extending his hand toward Tsuyu's face. The same hand that had just "decayed" Aizawa-sensei's elbow with just a touch.
The moment I recognized that... no, almost reflexively, my body moved.
My body moved faster than my mind could process, sparks of Full Cowl enveloping my entire body. I kicked off the water, launching myself forward, and punched his arm upward just as it was about to touch Tsuyu's face.
With a huge splash and the sound of water, my fist deflected Shigaraki's arm, and in that instant he quickly leaped back to create distance.
I immediately moved to stand on dry land, keeping my eyes fixed on Shigaraki as I took a defensive stance.
"What the... You're faster than I expected. Damn... You should've just stayed frozen in fear..."
"Midoriya-chan... just now...?"
"M-M-Midoriya!? Wha, what's with... those sparks!? What..."
"Sorry you two, there's no time to explain."
Standing in a position to protect both of them, I focused on Shigaraki who was slowly rising before me.
The bulging eyes visible through his hand-covered mask looked terribly creepy.
"...Hmm... Just a kid, but playing the hero, huh? Making that face, forcing yourself to act tough to protect your friends?"
"...!"
"If I had a mirror, I could show you that sweaty face that looks like it's about to cry any second... Ah, whatever."
In that instant, Shigaraki's hand shot toward my face at incredible speed... I barely managed to twist my body sideways to avoid it. Though I couldn't completely dodge it, it only grazed the mask covering my chin with a "tch" sound... but I managed to avoid being grabbed.
However, I couldn't just keep dodging by jumping sideways. If I did that, he'd probably go after Tsuyu and Mineta.
I tried to grab Shigaraki's extended arm... but before I could, his other hand shot out. I managed to avoid this one too, but this time a fairly strong impact transmitted through my waist area, shattering one of the pouches on my belt.
But now I was in close. Quickly making myself smaller, I thrust my elbow toward his solar plexus...
(...Damn, no good!)
Faster than my elbow could reach his solar plexus, Shigaraki's hand moved to position itself defensively.
If I struck now, my elbow would be decayed just like what happened to Aizawa-sensei.
Forcing myself to cancel the move and losing my balance, Shigaraki extended his hand toward me again...
—THUD!!
"Guh!?"
A desperate kick, using my off-balance momentum, connected with his chin!
A complete lucky punch (well, kick). But it was still an opportunity. Using the momentum to perform a back handspring and regain my stance while creating distance.
"Impressive, but... still just a kid after all."
The next moment, I was slammed into the ground with tremendous force, my breath knocked out of me.
I thought I might have blacked out for a second. But the pain and suffocation kept me conscious.
"Wh-at...!?"
Pinned face down, with such force that cracks formed in the concrete, I managed to turn my head to look up... The black villain that had been pinning down Aizawa-sensei was now holding me down with one hand.
"If you were wary of my hands, that means you saw our earlier fight, right? And yet you lost the same way as that teacher over there... Guess U.A. doesn't teach you much after all."
The pressure was so strong I could barely breathe.
Would I suffocate like this? Or would I be crushed by sheer force like Aizawa-sensei before that? Or perhaps turned to dust by Shigaraki's hand...
I found it somewhat eerie, even abnormal, how calmly my mind was working. Or maybe this is that phenomenon where time seems to slow down when you're about to die...
In the distance, I could hear Mineta shouting "Midoriya!"
I wanted to somehow tell them "Forget about me and take Aizawa-sensei to safety!" but... I couldn't even speak properly. This is bad, if this continues everyone will...
Then, in that instant... a tremendous explosion echoed, and almost simultaneously, the pressure pinning my back vanished.
Though my whole body still hurt, I managed to stand up and look toward the source of the sound... What could have happened in that single moment? The area was now a sea of fire. Scattered around were what looked like mechanical parts that definitely weren't there before...
Shigaraki had fallen backward onto his butt... and standing protectively in front of him was that Nomu creature, like a fierce temple guardian. Like the surrounding ground, Nomu's body was burning. I could see areas that looked like severe burns. Yet, it showed no sign of pain or panic. Just standing there motionless, which looked terribly creepy.
As I wondered what had happened, the voice reached my ears.
"Whoa, I brought it thinking it might be useful, but damn this flamethrower... I didn't know it had this much power."
"Well, that's definitely not the intended use for a flamethrower... Though either way it's still dangerous."
At that moment, Tsuyu's tongue wrapped around me and pulled me back to her position, and simultaneously... Fumiko and Ojiro, who had just returned to the central area, arrived at the same spot.
☆☆☆
After dealing with the villains in the fire zone and incidentally stealing a flamethrower and other equipment that looked useful, Ojiro and I hurried back to the central plaza.
What we found there was Aizawa-sensei collapsed and battered, Midoriya pinned down by a black villain, Tsuyu and Mineta frozen at the pool's edge, and the hand-covered guy who seemed to be the mastermind along with the warp guy beside him.
Without hesitation, I threw the flamethrower I was carrying on my back with all my strength at the hand guy.
But then that black creature, moving with incredible speed despite its size, stepped in as a shield, standing like a fierce guardian. When it collided, fuel scattered everywhere, ignited, and exploded. The surrounding area became a sea of fire, and the black creature became a human torch.
...I aimed for the ground in front of him to avoid a direct hit, but then he suddenly jumped in front of it...
However, it didn't seem to have much effect, which struck me as odd as I joined Midoriya. Of course, I didn't forget to retrieve Aizawa-sensei along the way.
"Ojiro, Fumiko... you're safe..."
"That's my line, Midoriya!? Are you okay?"
"I'm, okay... Still having a little trouble breathing, but I think it'll pass soon."
"Hope so... Tsuyu, Mineta, are you two injured?"
"No. But, Aizawa-sensei..."
"We need to treat him fast! That black guy wrecked him... but he kept fighting to the end...!"
While listening to Mineta's words, I glanced at that "black guy" and saw an astonishing sight.
The fire being out was one thing. Rolling around or brushing it off might have extinguished it.
But the problem was... the burn wounds were squirming and rapidly healing. Does this guy have a regeneration Quirk?
Well, that doesn't matter now... Either way, this isn't a situation where we can let our guard down, so...
"Tsuyu, Mineta, please take care of Aizawa-sensei. He needs medical attention, take him to No. 13 and the others. It should be safer there than here."
"Right... If that black mist villain is here, there might not be any significant enemies over there. They immediately went for retreat when they heard a student escaped..."
"Ojiro, please go with them just in case. We can't be sure there aren't any obstacles... Oh, here, take this."
As I spoke, I took out small bottles of milk (energy charged) from my pouch and handed them over.
"One is for Aizawa-sensei. It won't heal wounds much, but it should restore some stamina. The other two are spares. Ojiro can use them or give them to someone else. Use them well."
"...Got it. Fumiko, Midoriya... be careful."
With those words, he evacuated with Mineta and Tsuyu, carrying Aizawa-sensei.
I gave the remaining small milk bottles to Midoriya.
Maybe because he drinks similar stuff every day, Midoriya immediately understood how to use them before I could explain, and chugged one down in one go. His complexion seemed to improve slightly... I think.
"...What's that, a recovery item? School uniform girl... are you a healer character?"
Then the hand guy, who had been hiding behind the black creature, started scratching at his neck area while muttering,
"That's so unfair, really... someone like you. We don't have any convenient healers on our side... Ah, this is such a shitty game, always favoring the Heroes, while we get burned and our throats hurt."
He rambled on like a child throwing a tantrum...
But the next moment, his eyes snapped wide open,
"Nomu, do it!"
With that command, both Midoriya and I reflexively kicked off the ground to jump sideways... almost simultaneously, the black enemy's fist embedded itself where we had been just a moment before.
So they're targeting us instead of Aizawa-sensei... Actually, that works in our favor... What, are they trying to take out the healer first?
Wait, I could barely see that move... both its movement and attack were super fast!
However, having avoided the attack, this is also an opportunity.
"Energy Charge... Permissible limit 500%! Raaaahhh!"
I charged the maximum energy my arms could contain, strengthening my arm strength to its peak, and drove my fist into the black enemy's solar plexus... But what? The moment I punched, there was a strange sensation...
And... it's not working!? My, and I say this myself, full-powered strike!?
Could that weird sensation I felt the moment I punched, like there was no impact despite definitely hitting, be related to this?
"That was a loud sound... So you're a power type too? You're really something else... But too bad, attacks like that won't work on Nomu. After all, that thing is..."
"A secret weapon designed to defeat All Might, apparently."
At that moment, as I leaped back... a wave of cold air rushed past me, freezing half of the black enemy called Nomu with a crisp "crack" sound.
Someone who can do this...
"Todoroki!"
"Sorry I'm late. And..."
"This black mist guy is wide open!"
—BOOOOM!!
"Guuuh!?"
"Kacchan!"
Following Todoroki, Bakugo who had charged in from the side punched the black mist guy (you can hit that thing?) and pinned him to the ground.
Moreover, Kirishima, who seemed to have returned at the same time as Bakugo, joined us as well.
"...One after another... What's with these brats... I hate kids, and yet you keep getting in my way..."
"If you're raiding a school, of course there are going to be kids here."
"And let me add, you're getting in the way because you're doing things that deserve to be interrupted. We won't let the likes of you touch the symbol of peace."
Midoriya, Bakugo, Todoroki, Kirishima, and me, Fumiko.
Our combat forces are steadily gathering. Of course, I know these aren't opponents we can let our guard down against... but at the very least, it seems we have enough to start over, and that's what matters most.
•••
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