Chapter 18 - Once more, a Clashing Sword
The entire situation had gone downhill.
Avenger had gotten stronger in such little time, very much so. Shirou needed to reinforce his body as much as possible to match it.
From the smell that the body gave, Shirou knew that it wasn't the same body the servant used against him before. Even then, Shirou wasn't even sure that he was a servant anymore. Was he possessing this body or perhaps it was conceptually bound to him?
Shirou didn't know… and from the looks of the situation around him, he wasn't going to.
Avenger cackled.
Shirou barely managed to drag Kanshou and Bakuya away from the Twin Fang Grinders to block against a thrown kick. However, it didn't stop the sheer force from the kick to send Shirou flying back.
Luckily, Shirou dug his heel into the ground and prevented himself from tumbling back too far. There was some distance between them now, but Shirou knew that wouldn't be true for too long.
Avenger saw it as an opening and closed the gap.
Shirou grit his teeth and once again brought both married blades to block the attack, feeling his arms wither and shake.
He couldn't block with just one sword. Otherwise, Avenger would break through his guard again. The angle that he was slashing with the Fang Grinders also made it hard to parry.
In short, Shirou was in a pinch... but that didn't mean he was helpless.
Shirou pivoted on his heel, allowing an attack to graze his cheek, but that left Angra Mainyu's side wide open.
Opportunity.
Shirou thrust Kanshou towards the opening, hoping to maul into his side and cripple him.
Only Avenger managed to see it coming and dodge by weaving his body in a surprising display of flexibility and back flipped away, back to where he first stood.
Avenger somehow had strengthened himself by an absurd amount in only a few months. That thought alone worried Shirou than he was willing to admit.
"Emiya!"
Shirou turned to see Sato running up to him, worry and concern clear in his eyes.
That was a mistake.
Angra Mainyu leaped the distance again. However, instead of bolting towards Shirou, he made an appearance behind Sato, a frown etched onto his face.
Shoji saw it first and reacted. "Behind you, Sato!"
Shirou's first instinct was not to warn him, but take action. Shirou took off and threw both Kanshou and Bakuya towards the partially confused teen.
Sato flinched in surprise and braced himself for the feeling of cold steel cutting into him, only for the two married blades to sing as they cut across the air and curved around him towards the Avenger.
"Don't turn your back on the enemy." Shirou berated as he rushed towards Sato.
The yellow-costumed teen realized what had happened and pivoted on his heel with a fist reared back, clenched as hard as his teeth were grit.
"Eat this!"
Angra Mainyu merely scoffed and sidestepped the blow, "Too slow, 'Tinkerbell'!"
He lashed out another kick, sending Sato flying towards the rest of the U.A. group. Luckily, he was caught mid-air by Uraraka, who didn't show the slightest strain as she let him down gently onto the floor.
Shirou allowed himself a sigh of relief.
Good, he was safe now.
"Stay out of my fight!" Angra Mainyu shouted, "I'm settling a score damn it!"
"Attacking people from behind?" Sero ranted, "You dirty no good villain!"
Angra Mainyu sighed, "Geez… who in the world taught you? Never let your guard down kiddo–!"
Angra Mainyu brought up his Fang Grinders to block Shirou's newly traced Kanshou and Bakuya. He smiled and pushed back.
"–because you never know who's going to stab you in the back!"
"Emiya, get back!" Thirteen shouted. Shirou was sure that it was out of concern, but right now it was the least of his worries.
The opportunity to end their little battle was lost. Luckily he had a backup plan.
The area they had fought before was an alleyway with barely any space between them to use other weaponry effectively. Their current location though was an open space, which let Shirou use his married blade's other ability.
Angra Mainyu twitched as he heard the sound of whirling swords. The villain didn't think much about it and let his body react. A single leap to the side was enough to dodge two blades flying pass where his chest and head were.
If the blades had continued their path, then they would have stabbed into Shirou, but he wasn't an amateur and turned them back into prana before they made contact.
Once he was at a safe distance, the villain smirked. "Going straight for the kill? Just like before, right!? I can't wait to pay you back for all the shit you put me through."
"You're going on like a broken record." Thirteen declared, "You've taken over a dozen innocent lives. If anything, what happened to you was justice."
He sneered at the Professional Hero's direction, "What would you know? You weren't even there, now were you?"
Thirteen narrowed his eyes and prepared to use his quirk, "Iida, we need you to get out of here, now! We'll keep the two of them preoccupied!"
"Are you really going to take your eyes off of me?" Angra Mainyu shouted as he brought his Fang Grinders up, "You're going nowhere! You'll all be too busy with me anyway!"
He was going to do something and Shirou wasn't going to let it happen. He traced a bow and notched a shot.
"Shut it 'Tinker bell'!" Sato shouted.
Avenger paused in what he was doing to glare at the costumed teen.
"… The same insult twice is just lame, kid…"
Sato was inclined to sheepishly frown.
The pause ended when the Fang Grinders were brought down– Shirou shot the arrow, the distance between them becoming moot as the arrow pierced through Avenger's arms, locking them in place together above his head.
If there hadn't been a pause, then Shirou wouldn't have been able to notch and aim in time. Rin would have called it a wonderful stroke of luck.
The following silence wasn't really to his cup of tea though.
Shirou grew confused and turned to see the horrified looks his classmates held.
What's wrong? Shouldn't they be focusing on the fight?
The silence on the battlefield was only stopped once Tawrich and Zarich clattered on the ground
"Well, that was just rude." Angra Mainyu complained as he looked at the arrow piercing his palms. "Well, I guess this will do~"
What?
Shirou sent another glance at Avenger, only for him to be pointing the arrow edge towards his body.
He should have turned the arrow back into prana, yet the act that Avenger pulled confused Shirou greatly.
Using the arrow…
… Avenger split open his chest.
Shirou swore he heard one of his classmates almost retch.
Familiar black blood flowed from his open wound, yet his condescending smile remained despite the surreal situation. "Say hello to my quirk, you little shits!"
A Quirk!?
Avenger had a quirk!?
Shirou didn't have time to be shocked as his black blood flowed out of him like a river, covering the ground all around him like viscous tar. Shirou had to squint to see it, a hand pulling itself out of the black mud.
Within seconds, it wasn't the villains that were outnumbered anymore.
They were.
Breathe in.
Her chest rose as her beating heart attempted to calm itself.
Breath out.
Her chest fell as her eyes opened once more in determination.
"Anyone have a plan?" Jiro asked.
Kaminari shook his head, "Nope, I got nothing."
All Yaoyorozu could do was sigh and shake her head.
After they had been separated from the rest of their class, Yaoyorozu found herself with Jiro and Kaminari in the mountainous district. They weren't alone though, several villains surrounding them with menacing sneers.
She swore that a few of them even leered at her, much to her displeasure.
Yaoyorozu held her trust iron staff and scanned their surroundings.
They were surrounded on all fronts with their backs to each other. A few villains displayed caution in attacking them, but they had swiftly dealt with those and knocked them out.
All that was left were the more sturdy and opportunistic villains, those who were waiting for their chance to strike.
Remember what you were taught.
Yaoyorozu's thoughts roamed, remembering every book she read with combat-related items, every martial arts video she watched on the internet from decades ago, and even the words of advice that had been imparted to her from numerous Professional Heroes.
Although what stood out the most was what she was practically taught from her sparring session with her fellow classmate.
A villain tried his luck once he saw her thoughts roam and tried to slam a pipe on her cranium.
He must have had a minor speed boosting quirk because it was hard to react, but Yaoyorozu had seen faster, namely the speed of Emiya Shirou's attacks. He certainly didn't know how to hold back but this time it worked to her favor.
Not to mention by looking at the villain's eyes, it was easy for Yaoyorozu to tell where he was aiming.
She rose her staff to batter a strike away before it could even hit her side, stunning her opponent in shock. Using the opening that it provided, she thrust her trusty iron staff towards his chin, most likely breaking his jaw with the force but better him than her.
The other villains saw how quickly he was beaten and remained cautious once more.
This was good, they could use the time to think up a plan.
Unfortunately, this also meant that the villains could think of one as well.
"Kaminari-san," Yaoyorozu asked, "How strong are you able to make your electricity?"
"A big discharge that can take them all out, but I can't control it." Kaminari answered, "I don't want to take you guys out too. It'll be me versus the rest of them if I do. Not to mention…"
… Not to mention his quirk's weakness of reduced mental cognition.
They were limited, yet Yaoyorozu could feel a plan already rising from within.
"Can you two distract them?" She whispered just loud enough for them to hear, "I have an idea, just try and conserve your energy Kaminari-san."
"What am I supposed to do then? I don't have a weapon…" He seethed, sending wary glances around them. "Can I get something to use at least?"
"Stop whining…" Jiro muttered as she turned to him, leg raised, "And FIGHT!"
A swift yet gentle kick shoved Kaminari from his position, only to end up bumping into a villain who was surprised at the action.
He was surprised yet again when he felt the agonizing pain of electricity surging throughout his body.
The villain's cry of agony snapped a few villains from their stupor and charged at the group.
Yaoyorozu was already at work enacting her plan, already half of the material had been created. A villain with a scythe for an arm raised it to swipe at her, but Jiro leaped and cut him off with a kick of her leg, followed by a blast of sonic waves from the speakers from the very same leg.
Done!
"Jiro-san! Come to me!" Yaoyorozu shouted, "Let it loose, Kaminari-san!"
Jiro wasted no time and sliding under the giant sheet of insulated rubber that she had generated.
They couldn't see it, but a flash of light surrounding the blanket gave the two girls something to smile about.
Once they were done here, they'd go and help the others.
Because that's what Heroes do.
Shirou's eyes glided around as he shuffled just a bit closer to the group of students.
Outnumbered.
That was the easiest way to describe their situation at the moment. Angra Mainyu's 'quirk' had generated a countless number of human-sized deformed monstrosities, all surrounding the group of students and preventing any semblance of an opening for Iida to run through.
If this were chess, he could say that they had been at a 'check'.
"This doesn't look good for us…" Shoji muttered, "Iida, do you see an opening anywhere?"
"No," Iida answered, "They're all cluttered without any space. I can't find a way out."
"There ain't anywhere to run now, kiddos~" Angra Mainyu cackled, his wounds closing at a surprising speed, surprising them further.
He now had regeneration as well!?
Did he have two quirks? That thought was one that Shirou didn't want to be true.
If Avenger had two possible quirks, then could it be so that he had much more at his disposal? Perhaps his recently enhanced strength and speed could be attributed to another quirk?
Too many unknown variables, something that any veteran of combat disliked.
He had to suck up his frustration though, losing his cool here like he did at the cafeteria, or subtly panicking like he did when the villains first appeared, would do nobody any good.
"We need to cut open a path." Thirteen stated, once more pushing the idea of getting Iida to run for it. "At this rate, everyone will be at a higher risk. Be careful, we don't know what other effects these black bl– tar monsters could have."
He purposely avoided saying blood, most likely because a few of the students were a little queasy at the display.
"Do you like my black blood vanguards?" Angra Mainyu asked from behind the wall of tar, "Each of them are dumb as rocks but they're strong as hell!"
Seeing one of the tar monsters move and crush some stray debris with a step, only affirmed his claims.
"Don't tell them something they can exploit, Angra Mainyu." The other villain scolded. "Well, no matter. I suppose we can torture a few to learn of All Might's whereabouts."
At the mentioning of torture, Shirou tightened his grip on Kanshou and Bakuya. His bow had been dissipated earlier due to how unsuited it was to fight against groups, but he was sure that the married blade's anti-monster properties had a benefit against these tar monsters.
All he had to do was remain calm and focus on a strategy.
Avenger giggled to himself. "How about a sample?"
A tar-monster with two lance-like arms leaped forward towards Uraraka, who widened her eyes in surprise.
She didn't react in time so the speared edge managed to graze her side, but Shoji managed to punch it and send it flying back into the crowd of tar monsters before sending a concerning glance towards her.
"Are you okay, Uraraka-san?" He asked.
Uraraka winced in response but nodded, "Yeah, just peachy…" Thankfully she didn't seem to have any bleeding so the tar monster hadn't hit anything serious. She was relatively fine.
Less could be said of the tar monster that seemed to have its throat caved in. It didn't get up but turned back into a puddle of black blood. While he wasn't as strong as Sato, Shoji had power and strength that couldn't be ignored.
Although he shouldn't have been strong enough to destroy it though… Did the location of the punch have something to do with it?
"A lot of power there~" Angra Mainyu sang, "But can you guys keep that up forever? That other guy looks like he's having trouble staying on his feet~"
Shirou winced as he saw Sato stumble just a bit.
His quirk's weakness was getting to him and reducing his cognition. After using it for quite a while, Sato should be feeling both sleepy and tired, a lethal combination when you think of the situation they were in.
Sooner or later, he would become a liability.
All the more reason to get Iida out of here before that happened.
"Kurogiri, deal with the fatty!" Angra Mainyu shouted, "These little shit-stains are going to die!"
All the tar monsters leaped towards them, arms or whatever mandibles they had were raised with the promise of prolonged pain. The ectoplasmic villain – now named Kurogiri – surged forward and engaged Thirteen, who was preoccupied using his quirk against him as a deterrent.
Their teacher was locked down and everyone else was in danger.
Shirou wasn't going to let that happen.
Trace… On!
Kanshou and Bakuya spun in his hand before being flung towards the wall of tar, shearing through the monsters with ease due to the married blades anti-monster properties. However, Shirou did not let it end there and traced more, throwing more and more blades around until it became a circus of blades.
The blades would cut into tar monsters before they stepped close, and those that did get close were quickly dealt with by another layer of married blades cutting into them.
It was a cage of spinning blades, protecting each and every student.
Angra Mainyu clicked his teeth in annoyance, "Damn brat…"
"We don't have much time," Shirou whispered loud enough for them to hear, sending a glance at Sato specifically. "We can open up a path for Iida to run while Thirteen keeps the other villain – Kurogiri – busy. All we have to do is destroy as many of the tar monsters behind us."
Uraraka and Sero nodded, Sato did as well but at a slower pace.
Iida gritted his teeth and ignited his leg engines.
"On my count…" Shirou muttered, "Now–"
"–AGH!"
A scream cut off their thoughts. Shirou and the others stopped and turned swiftly at the origin of it.
They saw Thirteen standing there, his backside being ripped apart by his own quirk.
"Sensei!"
Yaoyorozu crawled out from under her recently created insulated blanket and kept an eye on their surroundings.
After Kaminari let loose his great burst of electricity, things had quietened down in their area. Jiro took a sigh of relief but kept sending her odd glances.
She had mentioned it had something to do with violent growth, but Yaoyorozu still didn't know what that meant.
She decided to pay no heed to it and repaired her own costume with relative ease.
Yaoyorozu was low on lipids, which meant she could only create a handful more things, but she had enough to create her favored polearm once more.
If she hadn't learned hand-to-hand combat basics from Emiya Shirou, then she would have run out of lipids far earlier than before.
She managed to conserve her energy, which was a massive boon to her.
"Is Kaminari alright?" Yaoyorozu asked as she fastened the last bit of her now repaired costume.
"Yeah, he's just a little out of it right now." Jiro answered as she pointed off behind her, "He's still bumbling around like an idiot. His quirk's drawback is inconvenient as hell."
Yaoyorozu giggled just a bit, "But it got us out of a pinch, didn't it?"
Jiro sent another glance at Kaminari, "I guess you're right… oh man, I'll have to thank him later, don't I?"
"Yes, it's common courtesy if you do," She said, "After all–"
"–He saved us big time, I know…" Jiro repeated, "Speaking of which… do you see where he went?"
Yaoyorozu blinked and stared at the area around them.
There were scorch marks from Kaminari's powerful electric outburst alongside the unconscious forms of random villains, and yet Kaminari was nowhere to be seen.
… Oh no.
"… You don't think he fell down a hole, do you?" Jiro muttered, "Because if he did, I'm calling dibs on teasing him about it."
"This is serious!" Yaoyorozu insisted, "We need to find him quickly before–"
"–Before I catch this idiot walking right into me?"
Both girls widened their eyes, Jiro leaping back with her fist raised and Yaoyorozu with her staff raised.
There they saw Kaminari, yet he was held by his collar by a villain wearing a mask reminiscent of a skull.
"I don't want to kill someone with an electric-type quirk, like me," The villain mused, his raised arm crackling with electricity, "But I guess I have to, right?"
Kaminari was caught.
Yaoyorozu cursed herself. If only they had been more vigilant, then they would have noticed that Kaminari had wandered off! They should have kept a closer eye on him!
Ignore that for now, Momo!
Analyze the situation first!
What would ensure Kaminari's safety?
The first thing they should do was to raise their arms in surrender. If they continued to hold up their arms, this villain would no doubt see it as a sign that they were still raring to fight, further endangering Kaminari's life.
Not something that she wanted to risk.
Yaoyorozu did this and Jiro followed, prompting a surely pleased grin from the electric villain…
"… Electric-type?" Yaoyorozu found herself muttering, a conclusion coming to mind, "He was probably the one that Todoroki said was jamming communications…"
Jiro brow raised in silent realization.
The villain let his grin grow as he took tentative steps forward, caution still within him. "I'm going over to you. Don't move a muscle."
What was the most optimal strategy to follow…?
"Electric-types like you and Kaminari are born winners, right?" She heard Jiro start.
"Huh?" The electricity surrounding his palm faded as confusion rose from within him.
What in the world was she doing?
"I mean even if you aren't a hero, there are a ton of jobs you could do," Jiro continued, "You're in great demand, right? It's just an innocent thought."
In that split second, Yaoyorozu saw Jiro's earphone quirk extend behind her, trailing down towards her ankle speakers.
So that was her plan…
She could attack without moving as long as her earphone jacks connected to the speaker itself.
True, her ankle speakers would most likely stun the electric villain, giving them a split second to grab Kaminari and take out the villain… However, surely she must have another plan than that?
If Yaoyorozu noticed the action, when she stood adjacent to her, not even facing the earphone quirk user, then surely the villain in front, with an ideal view over them, had noticed too?
"I'm just wondering, why is someone like you a villain?" Jiro continued, her earphone jack nearing the orifice of her speaker, "It's fine if you don't answer–"
This isn't good.
He noticed.
What should she do? Kaminari is in risk! What did she learn that could help her in this situation? There must be something that she could–
…look at the attacker's expression and gauge his intent…
Where was the villain focusing?
The moment that question popped into her head, time slowed to a crawl around her. It was as if there was nothing else that mattered except what he was looking at.
The villain was staring intently at Jiro, or more specifically the earphone jack that would be connecting to her speakers.
He wasn't looking her direction!
She needed an object that didn't take long to create.
Something that could take him out or stun him at the very least.
An item that would give them enough time to grab Kaminari and leave–
That's it!
"Give it up." The villain called, his palm crackling with electricity. Kaminari flinched away despite his reduced state, acknowledging the danger that it possessed, and Jiro winced as her ruse was discovered.
Within that split second, Yaoyorozu created her object out of his view. Forming at the back of her hand.
The villain spoke.
"Did you think–"
NOW!
A person was most distracted while they were speaking, so that gave Yaoyorozu the perfect opportunity! She curled her left wrist as she lashed forward, the item that she had been creating flew out complete towards him.
He was an experienced villain, so he shot a bolt of electricity and destroyed the item she threw.
That was his downfall.
"Jiro! Eyes and ears!"
Four words that conveyed her meaning. Luckily, Jiro realized what it was so she shut her eyes and covered her ears.
The villain wasn't so lucky, his eyes widening in contrast as he realized his mistake.
Magnesium and potassium nitrate encased within steel with only a few plastic orifices that allowed her to see the chemicals within. That was what Yaoyorozu made and threw.
In other words?
A flashbang.
The resulting explosion was excruciatingly loud and bright, hurting the villain's eyes and shattering his eardrums in full force. Both Jiro and Yaoyorozu were only affected for a few seconds, but the villain took the full brunt of the damage.
He had let go of Kaminari, who had regained enough cognition to stumble away, yet his eyes were in the same condition as the villain.
That was fine, Recovery Girl could heal him at least.
The villain, on the other hand, was busy stumbling and shooting electricity in a completely opposite of them, his sense of direction being basically murdered by her act.
Yaoyorozu wasted no time as she created her trusty polearm and swung it as hard as she could.
The iron impacted his helmet once but it only sent him stumbling, she swung it again and impacted his head once more.
Two close-to-simultaneous impacts to the cranium. Yaoyorozu had once read that such an action would create a very helpful effect.
A concussion.
The villain stumbled only once before falling over.
A moment of silence befell them alongside Yaoyorozu's heavy breathing.
… Did it work?
At the wind blowing, Yaoyorozu let a smile grow to match her rising glee.
It worked!
It was good that she added some sulfur within the flashbang. The electricity ignited the mixture and caused the flashbang to trigger. Otherwise, it might not have triggered.
"Holy hell…" Jiro muttered, her eyes clearing up so that she could finally see something other than a blur. "… remind me not to make you mad."
She heard the villain groan once more as he twitched.
Yaoyorozu didn't want to risk it and slammed her polearm over his head once more, just to ensure he was knocked out.
They weren't safe yet, there was no telling when the rest of the villains would get up again. They had to leave quickly.
She still had lipids in reserve, so they'd at least stand a fighting chance against any additional villains that could appear along the way.
"Jiro-san," Yaoyorozu asked, "Can you grab Kaminari and follow me? We're heading back to the rest of the entrance."
Jiro nodded and helped Kaminari onto his feet, who stumbled as his reasoning began to return.
"D-Damn…" Kaminari muttered, "… My eyes and ears feel like shit…"
"Just be glad you're not dead." Jiro berated, "Compared to that, you're fine."
They were fine.
As Yaoyorozu turned towards the path that led outside of the clearing, all she could do was hope that her classmates were the same.
She prayed that they were fine too.
Sero widened his eyes in panic. "Sensei!"
He shot out his tape around Thirteen and pulled him towards the group. He didn't need much force because Sato aided him. Shoji acted as a baseball mitt and caught the teacher before he could be harmed further.
"Are you alright, Thirteen-sensei?" Shoji asked, but he didn't get a proper response from him, only a groan and twitch of his finger.
They were down an ally and a significant one at that.
Thirteen wheezed a bit, bits and pieces of his armor falling off him like wilting petals, "G-Get Iida out of here…!"
Iida's jaw tightened as he eyed the exit.
"Sero, Uraraka, you'll both have to distract the teleporter. Don't worry, I'll help a bit." Shirou ordered hastily. The two of them nodded even though they looked unsure. "Shoji, protect Thirteen-sensei. Sato, we'll have to clear open a path."
Sato nodded and faced the exit, more specifically the tar monsters that prevented their escape. Shoji didn't like the order, but heaved their teacher behind him and wrapped his arms protectively around him.
They'd only have one shot before they'll end up overwhelmed by Angra Mainyu's monsters. If they failed then everyone within USJ would be doomed.
Shirou saw one of the monsters shift its foot.
Now was the time.
"GO!"
Everyone burst into action, even the tar monsters around them.
Shirou threw a married blade, affecting the rest of the circling blades and cutting into several of Avenger's creatures with ease.
The trajectory of the dozens of blades was now unpredictable, yet Shirou made sure to throw a new blade whenever their path would harm his classmates and change their trajectory.
The blades cut into each and every monster which only left a few stragglers left for Shirou and Sato to take out. Powerful punches and slashes across their body were enough to reduce them back into their black blood state.
Kurogiri flinched at the sudden shift and coiled in on himself in an attempt to close the gap between them without much hassle.
Sero saw that as an opportunity leaped and shot his tape accurately at Kurogiri's metal segment, who widened his eyes at the act.
Sero didn't have much power in him, but he heaved the entirety of his body back, pulling Kurogiri and disrupting him mid-warp. Uraraka leaped forward towards the gaseous entity and slapped the segment of metal, avoiding a tendril being shot at her at the same time.
Now weightless, Sero had a far easier time simply raising his limbs and spinning. Sending Kurogiri round and round above them like a roller coaster.
"Shit!" Avenger shouted and rushed the group in an attempt to aid him.
But both Shirou and Sato were already prepared.
Shirou threw several married blades his direction, the continual tracing was tiring but the circus of blades shifted once more, shearing through black blood and narrowed towards Angra Mainyu.
Sato ingested the remaining amounts of sugar in his pouch and directed his focus to the exit. He threw a single punch at a rather large tar creature, whose size ended up being its downfall as it acted as a boulder, clearing a path easily.
Sato finally felt the last bit of his sanity fade. "GO, IIDA!"
Iida who had remained with Shoji and Thirteen saw his chance to act. His leg's engines burned, the heat searing himself painfully, yet he did not flinch nor did he cry out in pain as embers of blue flickered in the flames.
All he did was howl as he blasted forward, leaving a trail of soot and smoke as tar creatures of black blood tried and failed to catch him.
Within seconds he was at the exit, through sheer force of will he pried it open.
Tar monsters abandoned the group of U.A. students and rushed towards the exit in an attempt to stop him, yet Shirou foresaw that outcome.
More married blades flew that direction, cutting and severing Avenger's creatures before they could make it.
With one last burst of effort, the door creaked open…
… and Iida slipped through.
The U.A. group could not hide the smiles on each of their faces as they saw his retreating figure.
Get help, Iida.
Shirou hardened his eyes and traced more blades.
Our classmates need it.
"Well, that's not good…" Angra Mainyu muttered, "Right, we're getting outta here."
One of the Black Blood Vanguard charged Sero, who stumbled away dizzy from spinning, but at the same time, he let go of his tape, sending Kurogiri flying.
However, once he was stable in the air, he coiled in on himself and warped next to Angra Mainyu.
"Can you catch up to the brat!?" He shouted.
"He could be going through the forest, straight down the path, or even going the long way around." Kurogiri stated, "If I leave USJ, then I'll trigger the alarms too. It's over, we need to retreat."
"Thought so…" He muttered, "I'll be back for you shit stains!"
Shirou noticed the Black Blood Vanguards turn back into their liquid states and flowed back towards him, "Especially you, Emiya Shirou!"
Shirou widened his eyes.
He knew his name...? Despite the fact that Shirou was sure he didn't even mention his first name?
They researched him… of course Avenger would do that.
Kurogiri wrapped his ectoplasmic body around Angra Mainyu and warped away.
That wasn't the last they were going to see of him, that much Shirou was certain. However, seeing as the danger had faded, Shirou let all the copies of the married blades turn back into prana.
He was still confused as to why Angra Mainyu dragged back his Black Blood Vanguards. Perhaps they had a range limitation? If so, then it'd make sense for them to disappear back into him before leaving.
"We're safe now…" Shoji muttered as he let Thirteen down, "What do we do next?"
"S-Stay here and w-wait for backup." Thirteen winced as he tried talking. "D-Don't do anything reckless, u-understand?"
"We understand, sensei." Uraraka answered.
Shirou walked back up to the edge and reinforced his eyesight.
Avenger had made it here without much hassle, which must have meant that Aizawa must have been taken out.
Shirou focused on the central plaza and found the answer to his queries…
… Aizawa was there, yet a black being similar to Angra Mainyu without his tattoos sat atop of him…
… And both of his arms were broken, a pool of blood leaking from underneath him.
Shoji saw it before Shirou even noticed.
"Don't go, EMIYA!"
Shirou didn't listen.
Aizawa was down.
Aizawa was in pain.
Aizawa needed to be saved.
So as Shirou bolted down the stairs, he didn't feel bad for dodging the two strands of tape flying pass him. With reinforcement flooding his body, prana reserves still relatively high, he was prepared to aid his homeroom teacher.
I'm coming, Aizawa!
Yu sighed on her way home from the agency.
She finished all the paperwork and looked forward to a day of peaceful rest. She was allowed that, right? She worked hard… just let her rest already!
That mountain of paperwork will forever haunt her nightmares…
She suppressed a shiver down her spine as she entered her apartment.
She threw her bag onto the sofa, several magazine articles spilled out. Several covers depicted either All Might, Endeavor, and other top heroes posing confidently– or lewdly but she wasn't one to judge.
One cover though depicted Uwabami with a child nervously looking around to her right. That child was without a doubt Shinso Hitoshi. Yu remembered how her friend had described him.
Definitely looked lethargic as hell, yet nobody could mistake the determination found in those eyes.
The headlines surrounding the image talked about him being a protege, but most were talking about the hesitation that most people had towards him, or more specifically his quirk.
Hypocrites.
Yu knew that there were other Professional Heroes with quirks that could just as easily perform acts of evil, some were more efficient than this child's quirk. An example would be Edgeshot, who could easily assassinate someone without being noticed by triggering a heart attack and escape without being noticed.
Luckily, those heroes were throwing support towards the educational reform that Uwabami was pushing for, which was a lucky break for her.
Yu really wanted her friend to be successful in the campaign. If it succeeded, then there would be fewer villains with lethal quirks. Granted there would be a rise of students with hard to measure quirks, but a reform wasn't a reform without bumps along the road.
As Yu was about to change out of her costume, she noticed a box sitting on the table.
Isn't that Shirou's lunch box?
Did he forget it?
Yu laughed a bit to herself as she considered the possibility, which was near zero.
Still, even a less than one percent had the chance of being true, so Yu was now debating on what to do with it.
A mischievous thought came to mind. What if she went to U.A. and surprised him with it? He wouldn't be able to eat it because it'd be four pm by the time Shirou came back to the school, but his reaction of exasperation and the shocked faces of his classmates…
Yeah, that'd be a fun thing to see. Yu was definitely going to do that.
It'd be evil and childish as heck, but after a whole day of stress and paperwork, Yu needed the retreat.
She'd take her time and shower though, it's not like Shirou was waiting for her anyway~
I wonder if he's having fun on the field trip?
Knowing Shirou, he'd be taking training seriously and not even consider having fun like a normal kid, but that was fine. Shirou was just Shirou, nothing could change that.
She still needed to work out that altruism of his, but she had time.
Besides, the teachers must be hard a work with him.
He'd be fine~
Now, where did I put the cherry soap…?
This is bad.
This is bad. This is bad. This is BAD!
Midoriya tried to still his heartbeat as he saw the enormous black being, a Nomu it was called, slam his homeroom teacher onto the cement.
Mineta and Asui were with him when they arrived in time to witness their teacher's brutalization. From the expression's of horror on their faces, Midoriya knew it was hard to take.
Even he was close to emptying his stomach, but he knew that the moment he did it they'd be noticed and all of Aizawa's work would be in vain.
He had to remain calm. Otherwise, trouble would be inevitable.
"AGH!"
Aizawa's scream of pain dragged their attention.
"You can erase quirks," The villain with hands over his body said, "That's wonderful but it's nothing impressive." He took steps towards their teacher, "In the face of this Nomu's overwhelming power, you might as well be quirkless…"
Aizawa-sensei seemed to struggle, turning to face the giant being and glaring, most likely using his quirk–
"AGH!"
The black being– this 'Nomu' had slammed his other hand down Aizawa-sensei's other arm, breaking it entirely.
It didn't even look like it took any effort.
This thing… it was powerful. It wasn't a statement to be made haphazardly, this monster had power in spades. It wasn't even due to a quirk, as Aizawa-sensei's would have canceled it out already.
No… it just had that much natural power.
Once more it raised their teacher's head…
And slammed it back onto the concrete.
"Midoriya…" Mineta quietly muttered, his eyes wildly flickering as fear rose within him. "What do we do? We need to get out of here!"
Midoriya nodded but even that simple action required extreme amounts of effort.
He was afraid, but if he didn't take charge now then both Mineta and Asui could pay the price for it.
"Okay…" Midoriya muttered, "We'll have to circle around–"
A black portal erupted at the plaza, out came the villain with a teleportation quirk and… a person that looked remarkably similar to the Nomu but had tattoos covering his body alongside a bone-white mask.
Was that another Nomu?
"Shigaraki Tomura…" The teleportation villain called out hesitantly.
The villain, Shigaraki Tomura, didn't seem to notice. "Kurogiri, did you and Angra kill Thirteen?"
"I've managed to put Thirteen out of action, but there were students we were unable to disperse and…"
The new Nomu didn't seem to care and interrupted. "Boss, we failed. One of them got away."
Shigaraki froze and turned to the two of them.
"Huh?"
"Couldn't you at least display just a slight bit of tact, Angra Mainyu!?"
"Shut it Kurogiri!" The one named Angra Mainyu shouted. "You should have been able to teleport all of them away in the first place!"
"Stop."
A single order from the man with hands wrapped around his body stopped them.
"What do you mean one of them ran away?"
Angra Mainyu snorted, "Got away, ran like the wind. He's out of here, man– and calling reinforcement as we speak."
The man with hands fell silent at the answer and simply stared at the two of them.
Within seconds he was rubbing his throat with his own hands, a look of haggard frustration escaping his throat with a guttural howl. His hands hastened and soon there were bruises appearing on his neck, even more so than before.
"Kurogiri, you…" He started, "If you weren't our warp gate, I would have turned you to dust…!" He stopped scratching suddenly and sent Angra Mainyu a glance, "I can't say the same for you."
He snorted. "You put your hand on me and I'll just regenerate–"
The man stepped in and grabbed his throat, allowing a splash of blood to splatter around them as his throat was turned into mush.
"Shut up."
Midoriya found it hard to keep his stomach in check but remained strong.
The same couldn't be said of Mineta, who was slowly about to retch at the sight. Luckily, Asui managed to stop it inadvertently when Mineta instinctively groped her.
She let him off gently this time, only because if he made a loud retch, then all of them would be dead. One grope to stay alive? It was worthwhile to stay alive.
Mineta didn't push his luck and removed his hand from her once he retained control of his stomach.
Once the man with hands let the other black Nomu go, he stumbled back and rubbed his throat, which had already started regenerating.
"God damn it Shigaraki! Control you're temper already!"
"I'm already calm though?"
"Using me as stress relief isn't controlling yourself!" He argued, "Ugh, whatever. We got to get out of here man."
Shigaraki nodded with a sigh.
"Yeah… we can't win against dozens of pros… It's game over." He muttered with a sigh, "It's game over this time. You're right, let's go home."
Mineta widened his eyes in hope. "They're going home? Did he say they're going home?"
Asui nodded, "That's definitely what I heard…"
Mineta smiled in childish glee. "All right! We're saved!"
He had also groped Asui once more, but this time she didn't have the tolerance and shoved him head first into the water.
"I have a bad feeling about this, Midoriya-chan."
All Midoriya could do was simply nod at her. "For them to simply retreat after doing all this…"
Wasn't their goal to kill All Might? Why back out now? If they left then U.A. would just increase security measures.
That was the ideal scenario, but Midoriya knew it wouldn't just end there. His gut was saying something to him, but he didn't know what it was just yet.
"Oh yeah," Shigaraki muttered, "Before we leave, let's–"
–Midoriya saw his eyes. Those two red eyes of blood staring right back at him.
This was what his gut was telling him.
When Shigaraki appeared in front of them with his arm raised, Midoriya knew.
"–Smash some of his pride as the symbol of peace–!"
He had always known they were there.
It had been too sudden.
Asui wasn't even able to react as the palm came close to her face.
It had been too sudden.
Mineta was only just rising out of his submersion.
It had been far too sudden.
Midoriya could say that in that brief second, he saw Asui Tsuyu's death.
Once his fingers grasped her face like a gentle specter of death…
… nothing happened.
Shigaraki let out a sigh of minor exasperation as he sent a glance behind him "You really are cool… Eraser Head."
Right at the irritated, glowing, and bloody red eye of their teacher, staring right their way.
That ended the moment the huge Nomu slammed him back into the pavement.
Shit!
Midoriya wasted no time and leaped forward out of the water, his fist raised back and his thoughts going into overdrive.
This is bad! this is bad! THIS IS BAD!
Their opponent was clearly different from the small fry that Aizawa took care of.
One punch was what he needed.
He needed to blow him away to save Asui-san and run away!
A single punch was what he needed.
At the same time, he didn't want his arm destroyed at all.
No hesitation in this one fist.
"Get your hand off of her!"
Shigaraki turned his head to stare at him, eyes wide in minor surprise.
Midoriya grit his fist.
JUST A PUNCH!
"SMASH…!"
The world cracked around him. The air around his fist burst like an explosion, the water surrounding them flew back like a tidal wave. Villains surrounding them were blasted back, loose grass flew away alongside poles and light stands, and glass from the lights above shattered.
"Damn it!" Angra Mainyu shouted as he flew away from the sheer force alone, Kurogiri's body was naturally affected by the air so he flew back as well.
It was like All Might had come and delivered his own punch.
Midoriya widened his eyes at his unbroken and unharmed fist.
Did he get One for All to work?
I finally got a good smash! I finally–!
It was then that Midoriya noticed the shadow above him… the shadow of the huge Nomu from before, with Midoriya's fist buried into its chest.
When did it appear!?
How wasn't its insides turned to mush!?
Why was it still fine!?
Is this… is this how they were planning to kill All Might…?
"You move well." Shigaraki muttered from behind the giant Nomu, "Your 'Smash', are you a follower of All Might?"
When he received no reply, he sighed. "Well… I'm done with you anyway."
The Nomu glared down at him and grabbed his still extended arm.
He couldn't get away!
The black giant raised its hand, ready to crush him. At the same time, Shigaraki reached forward with his hands, once each for Mineta and Asui.
All Midoriya could do was… absolutely, nothing…
… except listen to the sound of whirling blades.
The Nomu leaped back with Shigaraki in tow as several blades pierced the area where they stood, indenting into the ground as if they were shoved through clay.
"… What?" Mineta muttered.
The three of them turned to face the distance, where the outstretched arm of their classmate, Emiya Shirou, was held out.
"Get away from my classmates, villains."
They had been saved.
That was far too close.
If Shirou had been just a second too late, then he'd have three dead classmates before him.
Luckily, there was a huge beacon in the form of an explosion that called him over, alongside a blast of air that threw him off his feet for a few seconds straight.
That was certainly servant level strength. There was only one classmate Shirou knew that had that.
Midoriya Izuku.
That black thing resembling a buffer Angra Mainyu noticed him and leaped away with the boss in tow. Allowing his reinforced blades to sink into the concrete instead of their flesh.
"Aizawa! Are you okay!?" Shirou shouted, hoping for some form of movement from their teacher.
Shirou winced at his condition.
His arms were bent and broken in areas that shouldn't be bent. He had an elbow that lacked skin entirely which revealed his muscle fibers to the world. He also had his head buried deep into the concrete, blood clearly flowing out of his wounds.
However, he was going to bleed out if he doesn't receive treatment soon, but judging from the rising and falling off his chest, he was still breathing.
He was still alive, but that wouldn't be true for long. Hopefully, Iida came back with help quickly.
Otherwise…
Shirou didn't even want to think about that.
As long as Shirou didn't draw attention to the fact that he was still alive, the villains wouldn't give his dying body a second glance.
Instead, Shirou took the moment to run towards his classmates, "Are you three okay? We need to get out of here."
Mineta Minoru wasted no time nodding and getting out of the water with Asui in tow. Midoriya sent him a thankful glance as he did the same.
"Oi…" A voice called out, "You ruined our fun…"
Shirou twitched in the direction that the black giant had run. He traced Kanshou and Bakuya in case the battle started instantly.
The one who had complained was the man that had hands clenched all over his body, a clear look of disdain in his eyes. From behind him, Kurogiri appeared with Angra Mainyu in tow.
"Damn, that kid packed a punch." He said as he sent a glare towards Midoriya, but then Shirou's presence caught his eye. "Oh– are you kidding me– you followed us!? Are you a dumb ass!?"
Shirou didn't respond and kept his blades trained on them.
"Was this the brat that beat you, Angra Mainyu?" He asked.
Angra Mainyu growled, "Shut it Shigaraki! If the dumb shit wasn't there then that brat with engines for legs wouldn't have escaped!"
"If he was a 'dumb shit'…" Shigaraki mused, "Then you could have beaten him, right?"
"As embarrassing as it sounds," Kurogiri admitted, "Angra Mainyu speaks the truth. He displayed skill to ward us off long enough for them to come up with a plan."
"Whatever you say…" Shigaraki grunted and raised a hand forward, "Whatever, we're not leaving until we gut a few brats."
"Are you sure that is a wise decision, Shigaraki Tomura?" Kurogiri advised, "Should we not retreat whilst we are still able to?"
Silence followed it.
"Kurogiri… if we're leaving, then we leave after we hurt his reputation," He ordered as he glared right at the allied villain, "Understand…?"
Kurogiri could only offer him a glance of understanding. He sighed with a swift nod.
"I understand, Shigaraki Tomura."
"You're not seeing me complain!" Angra Mainyu just laughed at the implied threat, "Besides, I have a score to settle…"
"Wait just a moment, you dropped your daggers," Kurogiri added as he created a portal above the Avenger. Both Tawrich and Zarich fell into his hands as Kurogiri handed them over. "I got them back when we retreated."
He smirked. "Thanks, mate,"
Shirou frowned.
This was bad, none of them could retreat while these villains focused on them. Especially since Angra Mainyu was here, not to mention the giant black being behind them.
The way it stood and stared at them mindlessly reminded Shirou of Berserker, yet he knew that this creature wasn't anything as strong as it.
"What do we do, Midoriya!?" Mineta panicked, "I'm too young to die! I don't even have a girlfriend!"
"Calm down," Shirou ordered, to which the short boy obeyed. "What can you tell me about their abilities. I already know Kurogiri and Angra Mainyu's abilities."
"Angra Mainyu…?" Midoriya muttered, "You mean the one with the mask?"
"He can create monsters from his blood called the Black Blood Vanguard," Shirou informed, "They're slow and don't have intelligence, but they're strong enough to crush concrete with a step."
"Right," Midoriya confirmed, "Shigaraki can turn anyone and anything to dust with a touch. He got Aizawa-sensei's arms this way." Shirou frowned at the thought, "–and the big guy is something called a Nomu. He's strong, extremely strong. He can take a punch from me without any issue."
What?
Midoriya's arm wasn't broken so did that mean he used a weakened punch? Even then, it should have destroyed bones and tore muscle fibers, enough to render someone either half-conscious or dead.
To Shirou, this Nomu's threat level rose significantly.
"We'll need someone to distract the Nomu if we want to survive." Asui Tsuyu added, "There's four of them and four of us. This might end up being a one-on-one scenario. The one in the mask seems to want you, Emiya-chan."
Of course Shirou would want to, after the history they shared, he would be surprised at himself if he hadn't. Shirou was confident that he was the only one capable of defeating him at the present.
There was just one problem.
"In any other situation, I'd be fine with fighting him…" Shirou muttered, "But there's that Nomu…"
It would take him time to beat Angra Mainyu while being wary of any additional quirks and his own Noble Phantasm. In that time, that Nomu would be able to defeat and kill his classmates.
Shirou didn't want that to happen, not one bit.
"Can you deal with the big guy?" Midoriya asked, "It's stronger and faster than you. Brute force won't be enough to take it down."
Stronger and faster?
"That's fine." Shirou declared. "I'll be able to handle it."
He had already fought heroic spirits who could take his head off. Fighting this monster would be similar to that experience, but Shirou knew one thing.
This Nomu was still weaker than a servant.
That was enough for Shirou to know that he'd be able to deal with him. Maybe not kill it permanently, but stalling the giant was definitely possible.
"Someone will have to deal with Shigaraki though," Midoriya added, "… and from the looks of it, he's going to be fighting alongside that warp villain."
"They'll have lots of teamwork… not a battle that anyone should be able to deal with alone." Shirou said, "There's a more pressing concern, Angra Mainyu. Can anyone deal with him? He'll be trouble if someone wounds him. He'll be able to summon his Black Blood Vanguard with the blood."
"Then all we need to do is restrain him, right?" Asui muttered.
"Restraining him will be a big part of whether or not we're getting out," Midoriya muttered, "If it's just restraining then…"
Asui sent a meaningful glance at Mineta. "Mineta-chan, can you handle him, the one in the mask?"
"Are you crazy!? There's no way I can do that!" He complained.
"We'll all be dead if you don't." Shirou calmly added, which made the young Mineta wince in minor fear. "You're training to become a hero, right?"
Mineta nodded slowly, "Yeah, what does that have to do with anything?"
"Then it's simple, be a hero." Shirou said, "None of us can restrain him as efficiently as you. Your quirk is perfect for our situation."
Shirou was sure he could trace some chains to restrain him too, but he wasn't too sure on how strong his chains could be. Enkidu could work, but those work better on divine entities, something that Angra Mainyu lacked, even more so with his current body.
No, what they needed was something that could restrain him that wasn't also affected by his enhanced strength.
"There's no one else that can do this better than you."
Mineta's quirk was the perfect answer.
The young Mineta stared at him uncertainty still in his eyes, but then with one glance at the villains, his eyes hardened as he pulled a ball out of his head, his resolve steeled.
"Okay… I got this. I just need to restrain the guy with the mask, right?" He asked.
"Make sure to do that," Shirou said, "He'll try to harm himself with his two daggers. Make sure to keep his arms bound to the ground if you can, there's less chance for self-harm that way."
Mineta nodded hesitantly, but there was just a small bit of determination in his eyes. "… Got it."
Shirou was still worried about that pairing. As long as Mineta didn't get hit and kept Angra Mainyu at bay, there was a chance he could survive long enough for reinforcements to come back.
Shirou had plenty of prana, but he didn't have enough to deal with all the villains at once. If he tried that, then it was likely that he'd be overwhelmed by them.
The black giant would be able to tank his attacks and assault him quickly. Angra Mainyu would rush straight towards him and engage in a close one-on-one. Kurogiri could easily close the gap and allow Shigaraki to harm him with his quirk.
No, he would not be able to do it alone, not without his Reality Marble, which he did not have enough prana to create without Rin.
If only she were here…
"That leaves me and Asui to deal with the duo…" Midoriya muttered, "We should be able to fight them, but Kurogiri will be a problem."
"Keep the warp villain in motion," Shirou added, "If you do, he won't be able to teleport. Sero kept him busy by swinging him around. The only place you can touch though is the metal segment around his neck, so be careful about it."
"Swing him around…?" Asui muttered, "I see, I'll have to try that out."
"Shigaraki is able to deal with me though," Midoriya said, "I don't have good enough control of my quirk to deal with him."
"He'll destroy your gloves if you punch," Asui added, "However, if you take him out before that happens, then you should be fine. Use the same punch as you did last time, Midoriya-chan."
"So I just need to not fail a smash…" He frowned with a grimace, "… Okay, I can do that."
Shirou narrowed his eyes. "They're coming!"
Asui got into position, keeping an eye trained on Shigaraki and Kurogiri. "Prepare yourself, Midoriya-chan, Mineta-chan!"
Shirou exhaled and calmed his breathing, eyeing the hulking mass of muscle charge forward.
Shirou anticipated it and moved to intercept, dragging the mindless heap of meat along with him to the side of the courtyard where their battle would not interrupt Mineta's attempt at restraining Avenger or the crucial battle of Midoriya and Asui against Kurogiri and Shigaraki.
Their next battle– their next struggle for survival had begun.
As Shirou dodged a sweep from the Nomu and sliced into its side, blood spraying the sidewalk, he could only hope that Iida made it in time.
If things go south, then Shirou was without a doubt, going to destroy his nerves until he had enough to create his marble, even if it wasn't possible.
No one was dying today.
"Trace–" He mouthed. "–On!"
Shirou was going to make sure of it.