"One!"
Izuku slammed the push bar forward and swung the door open with a metallic groan. Once it opened the alarm blared with a piercing shriek that tore through the silence of the underground garage. The family flinched at the sound, their son burying his face against his mother's shoulder, but Izuku snapped his voice over the noise, urgent and unyielding.
"Go! You don't have much time!"
"Thank you!" The father thanked him one last time
The mother echoed it as well in a hurried whisper, clutching her child as they bolted through the threshold. The door shook slightly as they disappeared into the stairwell beyond. Izuku exhaled hard and shoved the door closed with both hands.
The alarm still wailed but the family's footsteps faded quickly. Even while knowing that, he still kept his palms pressed against the cold metal of the bar, holding it shut as though his very will might keep danger from bleeding through.
His shoulders trembled once with a shaky breath escaping him. For a fleeting moment, he allowed himself to feel the weight of the raw fear, the uncertainty, and the suffocating dread clawing at the edges of his resolve before he straightened himself. His chest rose and fell in a calm rhythm to steady his breathing while letting his hands slide from the bar slowly like he was sealing his choice in place.
"No turning back. They'll survive and leave this place and that's enough for me" Izuku stepped away from the door, eyes narrowing toward the dark rows of cars stretching before him.
"It doesn't matter if One For All isn't working or not because power isn't what makes someone a hero. Heroes aren't measured by what they can unleash" The alarm was a beacon announcing his position and he knew exactly what that meant.
"So if I have to throw myself at that thing without a Quirk then fine. I still have my fists, I still have my conviction to be a hero, and that's more than enough power for me" He flexed his hands, the leather of his gloves creaking as his fists clenched tight.
After those words left his lips, something shifted deep inside him. Unseen and unfelt was a resonance stirred within the core of One For All that was dormant and waiting. It began to flicker to life with a faint glow in the darkness of his being, a heartbeat that was not just his own. With each pulse there were threads of golden light that seeped into the current of power already coiled there.
The two energies within him, one being his inherited burden and the other was pure golden force. Instead of clashing they mingled, circling one another like sparks trying to remember what fire felt like. The glow was weak, almost imperceptible but it was there.
Izuku reached down and pulled on his respirator mask, fixing it over his mouth. Then he tugged the cowl of his hero costume over his head allowing the shadows to swallow his features until the boy's face vanished.
The weight in his chest lifted just slightly, replaced by the familiar fire that had carried him through impossible moments before. His gaze sharpened with that emerald determination burning through the gloom.
From the far corner near the ramp leading back up to the second floor, the shadows began to ripple like water disturbed by something massive just beneath the surface. A wet drip echoed across the garage from the shadows before splattering onto the concrete.
The sound grew into a steady rhythm as the black viscous substance bled down from the ceiling, gathering itself into a large puddle. It began to rise, stretching upward like a puppet by invisible strings. The shape grew taller and taller until it nearly scraped the ceiling, hunched and unnatural, its very form wrong against the geometry of the garage.
Izuku's breath was steadied beneath the respirator as his eyes locked forward as the entity completed itself. It stood fully now, its mass shifting with a liquid unease with it's shoulders rolling in unnatural jerks. From its head if it could be called that were two swirling white voids piercing the dark. They churned endlessly, no pupils, no lids, just spirals of nothing that stared straight through Izuku.
The creature's chest rose and fell with that slow cavernous breath, its void-like eyes swirling with a hypnotic pull. Izuku's jaw clenched beneath the respirator, he wasn't afraid of it. Not from its size nor from it's grotesque form but his thoughts betrayed him. The family, all alone in that narrow stairwell.
The curse tilted its head sensing the fracture in his focus and fear not of what was in front of him but of some far behind. The voids began to whirl faster, white spirals twisting into a maelstrom. Izuku's gaze locked to them before he could stop himself.
The garage melted sideways in his vision, shadows folding like curtains in a storm. His pulse spiked. In a blink, the hulking figure was gone from where it had stood, leaving only dripping echoes on the floor. Izuku's breath hitched, chest heaving as he tried to reorient.
"Whe-?" Before he could fully register his surroundings, pain erupted from his body.
A sickening shhhk tore the silence as an oily black spike burst clean through his torso from the behind. The slick unnatural blade shimmering with the same substance that had birthed the curse. His body stiffened with his breath stolen, his eyes went wide and his pupils shrank as the realization hit him faster than the pain.
He looked down to the spike jutting from his ribs, gleaming black against the faint light. His heartbeat thundered in his ears, every pulse flashing his vision white then dark then white again.
The alarm still blared behind him but it was drowned beneath the roar of blood in his skull. His fingers twitched reflexively, reaching toward the wound but his mind lagged behind. Shock bound him in place, tethered between disbelief and agony.
"Why didn't you come with us?" Izuku's gaze dragged down.
Izuku stood in a dark puddle with the hands of the family he had just saved, holding him in place. Only their faces weren't faces anymore instead an oily blackness masked their skin and in the place of eyes were two white spirals churning slowly.
"W-why didn't you save us?" The daughter's voids tilted up.
The father reached further from the abyss with the same grateful hand that had shaken Izuku's. Now it was reaching again but this time to clutch his calf
"Why did you let yourself be defeated?"
Izuku tried to move his foot back and found that the floor was thicker than concrete or like he'd stepped into syrup that had set. The mother's head cocked back, reaching towards his ankle. Their shapes wavered at the edges, deciding whether to be people or stains.
"This isn't real....it can't be" The thought fell apart as pain finally clawed its way up his side and seized his breath.
They closed in with their hands tugging at his legs and their words sharpening and fraying all at once.
"Why didn't you go with us."
"Why didn't you save us."
"Why did you. why did you. why-"
Their mouths unstitched into drips. Then like wax under a hot lamp the family sagged and sloughed off their own bones, melting into glossy pools that lapped around Izuku's shoes. From those pools came Lesser curses that took shape, each with a hint of the family's posture still trapped inside them. A tilt of the head, a trembling hand, and the height of a child made wrong.
They gripped his ankles, his shins, his wrists when he tried to lift his arm. Dozens of points readied at once with slick spears hemming him in and all aimed for soft places. Time stretched like the oil around him and for on the stretched moment Izuku stared past them, past the garage, and past the alarm.
He thought of the stairwell and the way he'd pressed the door closed with both hands like he could squeeze fate into staying put. He thought of the trap that tore open the world and the way the air had twisted when he was taken.
He thought of Vortex's portal that was a choice made for him in a blink. He thought of All For One's shadow sitting behind every breath and every fear and how even here in a city that didn't belong to his story, the shape of that shadow knew his name.
"Why...why am I here?..." He'd told himself that a thousand times until it was a prayer with edges worn smooth.
"Because someone has to stand where it's worst"
"Because you can move when other's can't even if you're body moves before you're mind can react"
"Because the pain is mine and the running is theirs"
The words felt small against the dark.
His chest trembled but beneath the pain, beneath the terror wearing the family's voices like a mask, he found another fear one he had feared for a long time.
"What if I'm not enough here? What if this world asks for something I don't have? What if that's why I was brought here, not as a cure but as a test. A vessel to fill with other people's last hopes until he cracked." The spike in his side throbbed again.
Somewhere very deep, something answered that pulse. A faint light, patient and distant tapped back from inside him. The lesser curses tightened their grips as the main entity watched from the ceiling's shadow, the white churn of its eyes steady as tides.
"Why didn't you come with us?" the child's voice whispered again, almost a lullaby.
Izuku let the grief pass through him like breath, let the shame lap at his knees and then fall back. If he was a vessel, then he would choose what he held.
"Because I can't save everyone but I can save someone and I chose...all of you" He lowered his eyes to the glistening hands on his legs, not with hate but with a quiet aching sorrow.
"Because I sent you somewhere I couldn't follow while I'm still here" he whispered
The lesser curses swarmed, their oily hands dragging at his arms and legs, pulling him down into the floor as though it were a black ocean opening just for him. More peeled themselves free from the shadows, scuttling and crawling with jagged limbs, rushing forward to end what their brethren had begun.
Izuku did not fight them he only closed his eyes. Behind the respirator, a faint smile curved his lips, It wasn't reckless but it was acceptance.
"I did what I had to, I did what a hero would do and I...I dont have any regrets" Izuku's words held firm and the fear loosened its grip on him.
The cold coil in his chest unwound. He wasn't afraid anymore qnd because of that, cracks formed in the curse's illusion. The swarm around him faltered, their claws losing shape, their voices distorting into nothing more than echoes.
At the same time, the core within Izuku surged. What had been flickers of light before now became an ignition. The pulse shifted from faint to constant, thumping with purpose the way an engine rumbles to life before taking hold.
The golden energy that was once shy and fleeting now expanded was now flooding through him. Light filled the hollow places the curse had tried to smother. Izuku's eyes flew open, his pupils shrinking against the sheer brightness and what he saw made them widen even more.
Standing above him framed in gold was a figure he knew down to the marrow of his soul. Tall, broad, indomitable and draped in sunlight as the golden vestige of All Might reached a hand toward him.
The garage snapped back into focus like a rubber band. The pain in his side was gone, leaving only a phantom ache. Overhead the entity was already dropping, its massive fist descending like a hammer hitting a nail.
Danger Sense detonated in his skull like needles poking across his nerves. At the same instant, One For All roared awake with those familiar red veins flaring to life across every inch of his body, racing like hot circuitry beneath his suit. They climbed his throat, seared across his cheeks, and locked into the sharp X between his eyes. His emerald irises brightened then glowed casting an eerie light in the eye sockets of his cowl
Both of his arms shot up to meet the falling fist with a clap that cracked the air. The impact drove him half a step down but he held his ground. Concrete spiderwebbed from his shoes in jagged lines. A shallow crater buckled under him, hurling chunks of slab and rebar out in popping bursts and parked cars rattling along with it.
Heat surged through his forearms with that engine-deep thrum rising in his chest. The red traceries of One For All were no longer alone, they were accompanied by fine threads of gold flickering and weaving through them. The oily material of the curse's arm deformed under his grip, rippling around his fingers as if trying to escape contact.
The entity's swirling white voids stuttered from surprise as Izuku drew a controlled breath. His stance was set, his heels dug in, and spine straightened against the weight pressing down. He began to push back inch by inch pushed back an inch along with moving forward inch by inch.
"You're not getting past me!.." he said with a raised voice
The curse growled with a cavernous grinding sound from it's depths. Izuku's eyes burned brighter in response which only made the engine inside him climb even higher. He forced the curse's fist off him, making concrete beneath his boots cracked again as he surged upward, shoving the arm aside with a burst of raw power.
The momentum freed him just enough to snap his fingers forward for two quick flicks of compressed air blasted from his fingertips. Twin Air Force shots that ripped across the garage like cannon fire. They slammed into the entity's torso with concussive force, its oily frame distorting, staggering it backward with an inhuman groan.
Even though curse reeled from the attack it recovered with terrifying speed with a slick appendage slicing downward to intercept him. Izuku dropped low to slide under the strike, he could feel the rhythm of One For All thrumming through him now, every vein lit like fire, every muscle primed. His left leg planted forward to ground him like a pillar of steel.
His right fist drew back to coil it tight as he twisted his torso along his entire frame to align in unison for maximum output. He didn't just cock his arm, he aligned his shoulder, his spine, even the pivot of his heel into one perfect motion.
"Detroit Smash!"
The roar of the attack tore through the garage as his fist shot upward in a brutal uppercut. The strike connected squarely with the curse's diaphragm, the force detonating outward in a shockwave that blew apart car windows, flipped a sedan onto its side, and sent chunks of concrete ceiling plummeting.
The sheer pressure compressed the monster's oily body for a heartbeat before releasing it like a slingshot. The entity was blasted skyward, its massive bulk tearing through the second floor above them, concrete from the roof exploding outward in showers of dust and rubble.
A thunderous BOOM followed as it punched a gaping hole straight through the first floor above which left a cratered scar in its wake. Finally with one last deafening rupture, the curse erupted through the roof itself, shattering steel beams and allowing the moonlight or what little filtered through Shibuya's haze pouring into the garage.
The entire building structure shook along with a low tremor running through the foundation as fragments of rebar and plaster rained down. Izuku's cape billowed from the force of his own strike, his glowing eyes tracking the creature's path even as the dust cloud enveloped him.
He held his stance for a breath, every fiber of his body still locked in the motion as the imprint of his power carved into the air itself. Izuku adjusted his stance before bending down low allowing the muscles in his legs to act like compressed springs. The red veins of energy wrapped around him like living armor, pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat, while those faint golden wisps threaded themselves through.
"It's coming back to me, my body...it's remembering. But I can't just rely on muscle memory alone so I need to test a few things, shake off the rust before I really push it" he thought
He lowered his center of gravity further, fingers brushing the ground for balance. Then with a powerful spring he launched himself upward, the cracked concrete beneath him exploding in as he rocketed into the air. The wind tore past him, his cape snapping violently as his emerald eyes locked onto the curse.
Despite being blasted through multiple floors, the entity had twisted midair unnaturally until it righted itself against gravity. From its limbs came slick black strands lashed outward like spears, snapping through the air with deadly precision. They shrieked as they cut through the wind, all converging toward Izuku.
His Danger Sense flared but Izuku was ready. He crossed both arms in front of his chest, forming an X guard and let his power surged through him. His entire body thrummed as he twisted into the motion.
"Carolina Smash!"
Izuku uncrossed his arms with explosive force, a spinning cross arm blow that generated a shockwave powerful enough to rattle the rooftops below. The strands shattered on impact, torn apart in bursts of oily mist, the cursed material dissipating before it could reach him. The force of the strike didn't stop there however, it carried through the air like a battering ram before slamming directly into the curse.
The monster howled as its body distorted from being driven back further. Izuku didn't give it a chance to recover this time and snapped his wrist, letting Blackwhip lashout from the holes in his gloves like a living tether. The black tendrils wrapped around the entity's form, binding it tight despite its thrashing.
"The family said this prefecture was already evacuated. If that's true then it should be fine to cause a little noise right?" The thought sharpened in his mind as he tightened his grip
With a roar Izuku spun, twisting his body into a full rotation. Blackwhip strained from the curse being dragged in a violent arc around him like a ball and chain. His teeth clenched as he aimed his trajectory for the the empty streets below.
The curse became an airborne projectile, its hulking body spinning uncontrollably before crashing down into the street. The impact was both devastating and deafening as asphalt split open in jagged lines from the creature being slammed into the ground, forming a massive crater at the center of the strike.
Abandoned cars closest to the epicenter flipped end over end, crashing into storefronts and crumpling against lampposts, while those further away shook violently with their alarms blaring into the hollow emptiness of the evacuated district.
Glass windows shattered in a chorus of destruction, the force echoing down the empty avenues. Izuku's eyes burned as the curse's body plummeted into the cratered street below, the impact still echoing through the empty district. Without wasting a breath he fired multiple Blackwhip tendrils outwards from both hands to latched them onto the steel frames of opposing buildings.
The cords stretched taut as he extended and retracted his legs over and over again. Each push built more and more pressure in his muscles, stockpiling the explosive force of Fa Jin. The cords thrummed like bowstrings drawn to their limit. Every extension made the air sing with tension until he could feel the energy coiled through him like a string ready to snap.
"This thing...It's a monster that's fed on fear, on people, on pain. How many families like theirs has it hunted? How many more would have died if I wasn't here?" Izuku released everything.
The cords whipped him forward like a slingshot let loose, his body exploding across the sky in a green streak. Wind blasted against his face as the gap between him and the beast shrank in an instant. The curse reacted, sending out it's oily limbs preemptively to impale him mid-charge.
Danger sense flared and he twisted midair, he shot a leg downward with violent force, propelling his body up and over the curse in a controlled vault just as the black strands sliced past him. Before gravity could reclaim him, Izuku flung a Blackwhip tendril to the pavement in front of the curse.
It latched deep into the broken asphalt, anchoring him like a tether. The cord pulled taut, arresting his momentum and snapping him back toward the monster with punishing velocity. Izuku reeled his right fist back, every muscle screaming, the Fa Jin energy spiraling into his arm. But in that suspended heartbeat before the strike, his thoughts weren't of victory but of weight.
Of the people already lost to creatures like this, of the family who had called him their hero, of All Might's hand reaching out to him. As his fist reeled back, the golden strands surged again before threading into the veins of One For All. His emerald eyes widened as the curse began to turn toward him, its voids locking onto him at the last possible second.
"Take this...!" He roared as he swung, unleashing everything.
"Texas Smash!"
His fist connected with the left side of the curse's face. The world detonated around them. A shockwave burst outward, rippling through the city like a cannon blast. Windows shattered for blocks, the pavement split in violent cracks, and a sound like an explosion tore through the abandoned streets.
The curse's form distorted violently under the strike, its body hurled sideways as the golden flare illuminated the night like a second sun. Izuku's body followed through the punch, landing hard against the ground, cape and tendrils whipping in the wake of the shockwave.
Izuku slid across the cracked asphalt, sparks flying from his iron soles as the shockwave of his punch rippled outward. Twisting his body mid-slid, he locked eyes on the staggering curse and coiled his legs beneath him. In one explosive motion he lunged forward, propelling himself with a burst of power that made the fractured street collapse further beneath his launch.
"St. Louis Smash!"
The air popped as he rocketed skyward, he arched his leg back while channeling Full Cowl: Shoot Style to focus the surging power of One For All into his right leg. The limb burning with energy as he spun through the air. His body moved with fluid precision, momentum gathering as he swung the leg in a perfect vertical roundhouse.
The kick connected with a resounding crack, striking the side of the curse's head with enough force to twist its hulking frame. The impact reverberated like before sending the creature plummeting into the ground below. Asphalt and concrete burst upward in a violent crater as the curse slammed into it, black ichor spraying outward as its form distorted against the earth.
Before gravity could reclaim Izuku he lashed out a Blackwhip tendril behind him without even looking, the cord snapping to the corner of a building. Yanking himself higher, pulling him above the crater. The wind rushed past him, howling against his ears as he spun into a frontal somersault to gather momentum.
"California Smash!"
The curse began to rise but Izuku was already descending. From above his silhouette cut through the dust clouds, glowing veins and golden streaks illuminating him against the night sky. As he arced downward, his mind flickered with thoughts of everything that had led to this moment.
Golden energy flared around his arm, spiraling upward like a cyclone wrapping his fist in light. The glow intertwined with One For All, the two energies no longer separate but feeding into each other, burning brighter together. Izuku's emerald eyes glowed as he glared down at his enemy.
"This ends now!" Izuku's fist came down like judgment itself.
The spiraling energy around his arm screamed in unison with his heartbeat, red veins of One For All entwined with radiant gold that pulsed brighter with every fraction of distance closed. The instant his knuckles collided with the crown of the curse's head, the world erupted.
A blinding flash tore across the city block, brighter than lightning, sharper than fire. Golden radiance burst outward from the point of impact, swallowing everything in its path. The cursed flesh burned as it unraveled as though the light itself denied its existence. The oily body writhed violently, thrashing like a creature being ripped apart not by force but by purity.
The ground cratered beneath the strike, a shockwave ripping outward in all directions which made the ground shake. The result was trenches being carved down the street and splitting into jagged fractures while nearby buildings shuddered.
The carcasses of abandoned cars were hurled onto their sides like toys once again. Glass rained from shattered windows, tinkling into the streets as the radiance washed through them, the sound drowned out by the roar of Izuku's impact.
The curse let out no scream, only a low howl that broke apart as its body was exorcised piece by piece. Its swirling white void eyes flickered once in confusion, recognition, maybe even fear before they too dissolved in the golden storm. The light spread like wildfire, being poured through every strand, every droplet of black ichor until nothing remained.
In that brilliance there was no malice or no corruption, only release. The radiance tore the curse from the world in a single moment of finality making the air itself tremble as the last remnants evaporated. Izuku stood at the center of the crater, fist still buried in the ground where he had driven the strike. The glow still lingered faintly along his arm, the golden threads weaving into One For All once more before dimming back into silence.
Izuku slowly raised his head, scanning the now dust filled street. The alarms in the distance had died, leaving only the groan of broken steel and the whisper of settling debris. The curse was gone, not defeated, not driven off but erased, exorcised completely by the radiance that had awakened within him.
Izuku slowly pulled his fist free from the fractured earth, dust and fragments of asphalt tumbling away from his knuckles. His chest heaved as he drew in a long breath, the taste of concrete and ozone thick in the air. He straightened with his shoulders rising and falling and for the first time since arriving in this world he felt the familiar weight of his power once again.
"One For All..." Izuku muttered in silent excitement
The power thrummed through him like a living thing where it had once been silent and distant. His body responded instantly, yet even as relief spread through his chest, there was something off about One For All now.
He glanced down at his arms, the faint traces of red still pulsing across his skin, marking the familiar pathways of power he knew by heart. But interwoven with them were faint strands of gold. Izuku flexed his hands while watching the light coil and fade, the sensation was strange with equal parts being exhilarating yet alien.
"What is this? Why now?" His brows furrowed behind the cowl.
It wasn't just One For All anymore. Something else had joined it, something that didn't belong yet refused to be separated. The warmth it carried didn't feel hostile instead it was somehow familiar in a way he couldn't place like encouragement whispering at the edge of his consciousness but that only made it stranger.
"It feels weird not using it for so long then suddenly it's here again. But this golden light...just what are you?" he muttered under his breath.
His hand hovered near his chest, over the core where the energy pulsed steadily. The question hung in the air unanswered. Above him, the wind carried through the broken skyline, scattering dust in lazy spirals. The silence pressed on, continuing to offer no explanation to his situation.
Whatever it was, it was his now and if this world intended to bury him beneath curses and shadows then he'd wield both the fire of One For All and this light until neither could be denied.
His legs moved almost automatically, carrying him forward over the fractured street. His fists clenched and unclenched at his sides as his thoughts shifted away from the fight and back to what truly mattered.
The family, they ran when he told them to. If they were trying to escape the area, the safest bet would have been to head toward Meiji-Jingumae Station. That route would give them a direct connection out back the way he had come. It made sense. But as he walked, doubts pressed in like weights on his shoulders.
The newspaper he had picked up earlier burned in his mind with the words Shibuya Halloween Festival. The words clawed at him now even if the event had still been underway when the chaos started, there could've been crowds in the very heart of the ward. Even if the area had been evacuated he couldn't shake the image of people trapped, scattered, orleft behind.
Izuku's mind spun like gears in overdrive, every scenario branching into ten more, cogs turning as he worked the problem the way he always did but there were too many variables, too many risks, not enough time. His shoes echoed against the broken pavement as he moved but inside he was already mapping the city.
"Meiji-Jingumae Station...if I remember right, it's basically a straight shot into central Shibuya" He grit his teeth, recalling memories he hadn't thought of in years.
He'd never been here before since Musutafu had been his whole world until now and Shibuya was distant, almost foreign to him. But one night long ago he and his mother had sat together, planning a trip. They had Moogle open along with Moogle Maps tabs scattered across the laptop screen with excitement brewing in his chest.
All Might was scheduled to make an appearance here, a rare chance for Izuku to see his idol outside the new reports and online videos. He had traced routes, memorized streets, and highlighted stations. He could still remember the way his mom had smiled at his enthusiasm.
Unfortunately like most things in life you don't always get what you want. Something came up whether that be school, money, timing he couldn't even remember what anymore. All he remembered was the regret and the feeling of missing something he'd wanted so badly and that sting had never left him.
Izuku didn't let the thought linger any longer, he needed to focus on the present rather than the past. He couldn't change it hell nobody can but he can the future even if it's set in stone but his thoughts were cut short by footstep that wasn't his and a voice that wasn't recognizable.
"Don't take another step!"
Izuku froze mid-step and lifted his head toward the sound. A figure stood just beyond him with a low posture and fists balled so tightly the knuckles whitened. His eyes were wary, never leaving Izuku.
"What the hell are you?" the boy demanded like he was ready to strike at the first hint of danger.
The tension in the air thickened. Izuku could hear his breathing echo faintly behind the respirator, could feel his pulse quicken. He didn't move, his cloak shifting slightly in the breeze and the faint glow of his emerald eyes catching what little light seeped through the ruined street.
The boy's stance didn't waver. His voice dropped lower into a harsher tone. He had already decided that this stranger in front of him wasn't to be trusted.
"Answer me..."
.
.
.
.
.
.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Act 3: Crossroads]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
.
.
.
.
.
.
The damp chill of the subway tunnel clung to Yuji's skin as he walked beside Mei Mei and Ui Ui. Their footsteps echoed off the concrete walls with the silence punctuated only by the faint hum of electricity in the rails.
The light ahead opened into Jingumae Station, the wide boarding platform stretching out in sight. Yuji squinted his eyes immediately catching the jagged scars gouged into the concrete pillars and tiled walls.
"Looks like we're on the right track" He raised a hand, pointing toward them.
Mei Mei said nothing, allowing her gaze to sweep the platform while Ui Ui walked silently at her side. Yuji started to move forward when a sudden skittering sound scraped against the ceiling above. He snapped his head upward just as something small and fast leapt at him.
Without thinking, his reflexes kicked in with his hand snapping out and clamping down around the object mid-air. His grip tightened, ready to crush whatever cursed insect had decided to ambush him but then shouted.
"Stop! Don't crush me!" Yuji froze, It wasn't a bug at all but a strange, disc shaped drone with faint mechanical whirrs. Its little propellers spun nervously and a familiar voice crackled from within.
"Wait, Mechamaru?" Yuji blinked.
"Yeah, it's me! Don't squish me Itadori!" The drone twisted in his hand, the voice sounding urgent but undeniably familiar.
"What the hell are you doing in something this tiny?" Yuji eased his grip, holding the odd device out in front of him. Relief mingled with confusion, and he tilted his head at the small machine
"Not much of a choice...this is all I've got left to work with." he responded
"So you survived after all" Mei Mei's eyes narrowed as she stepped closer
There was a long pause but when Mechamaru finally spoke his tone didnt change but you could notice the weight of the pause.
"I didn't" Yuji's eyes widened.
"I lost against Mahito. My body is gone but even before that fight, I knew the odds weren't in my favor. So I prepared these drones and scattered them across Shibuya. Contingencies in case I failed. In case I... died." His words carried a hollow finality, but there was no time to dwell on it.
"But that's not what's important right now. This drone was programmed to activate if something specific happened and it has."
"What do you mean?" Yuji felt his stomach twist.
"Satoru Gojo...has been sealed" Mechamaru delivered the words with blunt finality:
The air in the tunnel seemed to collapse in on itself. Mei Mei's eyes widened just a fraction, though her face betrayed little else. Yuji on the other hand felt his blood run cold.
"Gojo has been sealed?!" His voice cracked against the tunnel walls.
"Yes. Shibuya's balance has already been broken and from here on out everything changes" Mechamaru's drone dipped lower as if sagging under the weight of the news.
"You have to tell the others. Gojo's sealing isn't something we can sit on and it's the endgame they've been planning for. If word doesn't spread now then this entire operation collapses. You need to move quickly."
"Speaking of changes we encountered a curse, one unlike any I've seen" Mei Mei stepped forward.
"Explain" Mechamaru asked with urgency
"It wasn't acting alone, It was leading lesser curses and directing them like pawns. It was abnormal like Its cursed energy was supercharged" she said, her tone edged with intrigue rather than fear.
"...That shouldn't be possible" Mechamaru's lens flickered.
"It's not just that. Weird stuff's been happening since before we even made it down here." Yuji added
"When I was on the stairs earlier, everything around me shifted. The air, the walls, the whole damn place changed into something else like a void. For a moment I wasn't in the tunnel anymore and I saw a figure of a person"
"I don't know if it was a curse or something else entirely but it wasn't normal" He swallowed, the image of that silhouette flashing in his mind.
"Then this is worse than I thought. Gojo's sealing was just one piece. If curses with that kind of abnormality are moving freely then the battlefield is reshaping from the inside out."
"Which means the situation has escalated beyond what we expected" Mei Mei's eyes glinted, unreadable.
"There's more. When we were caught inside that curse's domain we felt a ripple. It was as if reality itself shifted for an instant" Mei Mei's eyes flicked between Yuji and the drone
"That ripple, did something neither I nor the curse anticipated. It shut the domain off entirely. One moment we were trapped and the next... it collapsed around us as if it had been unraveled from the outside" Mei Mei continued
"...She's right. When it happened, Sukuna's tattoos...they appeared or reacted to it" The words echoed through the tunnel, heavy with implication.
"I don't know if it was him or whatever caused that ripple but it was real" Yuji's fists clenched tighter.
"If Sukuna's influence is bleeding into moments like that, tied to distortions in space itself... then Shibuya is already far beyond a simple battlefield. Something is twisting the very foundation of this city."
Yuji looked down at his hands then back toward the platform ahead. The thought of Sukuna intruding like that burned in his chest but what chilled him more was the unanswered question of what caused the ripple in the first place.
"We'll worry about that curse and the distortions later. Right now, there's something bigger. Gojo's sealing changes everything. If the others don't know, this whole operation is already lost and that has to be our top priority."
"Once we regroup and tell them, we can come back to this with more people and a plan but not before"
"I agree, Information before confrontation" Mei Mei gave a single nod, her expression as sharp and composed as ever.
Yuji's lips pressed into a thin line. His fists clenched at his sides, the memory of the ripple and Sukuna's tattoos burning hot in his mind. Part of him wanted to argue that they finish what they'd started. That thing was still out there and every second they spent walking away was another chance for it to come back and bite them
"If we leave it, it'll just cause more problems later on and it might even end up killing people. But if we don't tell everyone about Gojo then everyone's in even bigger danger. Damn it..." He didn't speak aloud to anyone after that, Instead he argued with himself in silence.
He hated it, Hated walking away, hated the thought of leaving things unfinished but even he knew Mechamaru was right. He trailed behind Mei Mei and Ui Ui as they resumed their march toward the station, his mind still buzzing with conflict.
On the surface he followed orders but inside he swore to himself once they'd told the others about Gojo, he'd make sure they circled back. And when they did he'd be the first one standing against whatever was waiting in Shibuya's shadows.
The three of them moved quickly, the silence of the tunnel pressing on their backs. When they reached the edge of the boarding platform, Yuji jump upward in a single bound, his shoes hitting the tile with a sharp thud. Mei Mei followed then help Ui Ui effortlessly before setting him down beside her.
They regrouped and exchanged a quick glance before they pressed toward the stairs leading up to the main floor of the subway station. As Yuji adjusted his pace Mechamaru spoke, giving him a suggestion.
"Itadori, put me on your ear. You'll free up your hands and I'll still be able to talk to you" Mechamaru's voice crackled
"On my ear? Like a headset?" Yuji blinked
"Exactly. I designed these drones to attach if needed"
"Guess that's better than holding you like a frisbee" Yuji sighed, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
The small drone latched gently to the side of his head just above his ear. It folded into a sleeker form that clung snugly like a comms device. A faint buzz tickled his skin as it secured itself.
"Alright, Let's keep moving" Yuji rolled his shoulders and gave a small nod.
Mei Mei led the way up the last stretch of stairs, her gaze as sharp and unreadable as ever. Yuji followed close behind, the weight of Mechamaru's words about Gojo still heavy in his chest.
The moment they stepped out of the station, the air hit heavier, thick with lingering dust and the acrid sting of cursed energy that clung to every surface. The storefront shutters outside rattled in the breeze and scattered debris littered the sidewalks like breadcrumbs of the chaos that had swept through.
"Listen carefully. We can't scatter aimlessly so we need coordination. Itadori, you'll notify Nanami's team. Mei Mei, you and Ui Ui will link with the Zenin group. Once they all know about Gojo's sealing we regroup and act together. That's the only way we'll have the numbers to face what's coming."
Mei Mei gave a curt nod but Yuji only half heard her reply. His mind was still on the weight of what Mechamaru had said earlier, the thought of Gojo sealed dragging at his chest. He flexed his fists as if to anchor himself, then forced a determined nod.
"Right, I'll find Nanami then" The plan was settled
A pulse suddenly rippled through the air violently with a raw surge of cursed energy that tore through the air like a lightning strike. Yuji staggered a half step as it rolled over him, his skin prickling, and heart hammering.
Then the ground answered with a low rumble spread beneath their feet, it was subtle at first before swelling into a deep growl that rattled loose glass in the windows and made the cracked pavement tremble.
"We can't ignore that! It's gotta be that curse again, we have to take it out now!"" he shouted, eyes blazing as he spun toward Mei Mei and Ui Ui.
"I'm not turning around, not after feeling that! If we walk away, things will only get worse for us. I'm not letting that happen!" His voice echoed down the empty street with urgency. He took a step forward, body already leaning toward the direction of the spike.
"Itadori don't be reckless! Remember our prior-" Mechamaru's voice was cautionary.
"If Gojo-sensei's sealed then it's on us now. If I can stop even just one of these curses to make things easier then I will. Priority or not I'm not walking away." Yuji cut him off, every word trembling with conviction.
His knuckles cracked as he flexed his fists, his whole frame tense and ready to snap. The raw honesty in his voice filled the silence that followed, daring anyone to argue. The rumble in the ground quieted into an uneasy stillness but the cursed energy remained.
"I'm going so you can either follow me or don't but I won't turn my back on it" Yuji declared
"Fine but we'll need eyes ahead" Mei Mei didn't waste time arguing and with a flick of her fingers, one of her ravens shot upward into the sky.
Yuji nodded once and then they were bolting down the main road. The raven soared overhead while scouting as it's vision fed straight back to Mei Mei. She ran alongside Yuji with her gaze never wavering from the distance
"Turn left up ahead and keep going straight! There's a small group no more than 3 people" she suggested
Yuji didn't give it a second though as he skidded into the turn, pivoting into the new street. They tore past shattered glass, overturned vehicles, the eerie emptiness of a city that should have been alive with festival noise.
It didn't take long before they spotted a family of two adults and a child. They stumbled into view. They looked half-dead from exhaustion with torn clothes and skin streaked with grim. The mother clutched the child to her chest while the father tried to lead them forward, his body barely keeping pace with his shallow and ragged breaths while clutching his knees
Yuji rushed forward, stopping just as the father nearly collapsed. He managed to gasp out a sentence between labored breaths, his face pale with terror.
"There's...a monster...p-past Cat Street... to the left and into an underground parking l-" He wheezed as his words broke off into coughing but the fear in his eyes was clear enough.
"Please help us..." The mother tightened her grip on the child
"That's where we're going" he said while glancing back to Mei Mei. Yuji was just about to move when a trembling hand latched onto his arm. The father's grip was weak but desperate enough to stop him mid-step. s.
"There's...one last thing, there's a boy there...He stayed behind so we could escape. He...he might still be alive" he rasped, voice broken by exhaustion.
The words struck Yuji like a physical blow. His mind flashed instantly to the spike of cursed energy they'd felt, the rumble that rattled the ground. Someone was there holding out against that monster alone.
"Itadori, Ui Ui and I will take the family somewhere safe. You'll have to deal with the curse by yourself"Mei Mei looked from the father to Yuji then back down the street toward Cat Street.
The words rang heavy in Yuji's ears but he didn't flinch. He could feel his heart pounding, the memory of that boy's choice lingering in the father's voice. That's when his grandfather's words hummed in the back of his mind.
"You're a strong kid so try to help others" The answer was simple.
His fists clenched tight, whatever monster was waiting in that underground lot and whatever boy had chosen to stay behind it was on him now. Mei Mei gave the faintest nod, turning to guide the family with her raven circling overhead.
That left Yuji alone at the edge of the street and the silence of Shibuya seemed to lean in as Yuji Itadori prepared to face what waited in the shadows. Yuji sprinted straight down the road, the city around him was a graveyard of violence with cars overturned and crumpled like toys, buildings split open as if torn apart by claws, fragments of glass crunching beneath his feet.
"That curse must've been chasing them. They barely made it out alive..." He thought grimly
The silence of the streets was broken when the ground rumbled again. It was subtle at first, just a faint tremor before it grew enough to rattle the wreckage around him. The vibration snaked up through his feet, stealing his balance as he stumbled forward.
"Damn!" He caught himself, skidding across the cracked pavement.
Then the air tore open as the sound of the sky itself breaking rang out like a thunderclap. It was the kind of noise that came when something crossed the sound barrier. A heartbeat later, an explosion-like boom followed, echoing through the ruined streets.
Yuji's head snapped up before he spotted a figure being launched high into the air, silhouetted against the fractured skyline. They weren't some flying debris, this was someone fighting, someone trading blows hard enough to shake the entire district.
"That's it... that has to be the monster the family told me about" Yuji's pulse spiked.
What he'd just witnessed replayed over and over in his head, the sheer power and the way the figure had lashed out with those tendrils and hurled that monster into the ground like it was nothing.
"I've never seen strength like that before. Gojo-sensei, sure since I saw his power first hand against that volcano-head curse. Not to mention Sukuna's strength...those two are a whole other level but outside of them? No one I can think of matches what I just saw." The thought gnawed at him. If it wasn't a sorcerer he recognized then what the hell was it?
"Another curse? but the size, the energy, even the strange golden light that flashed during that strike doesn't add up" His mind turned to the other possibility, one that made his gut clench.
The idea lodged in his head anyway. If it was, it wasn't some weak lower grade it had to be special grade maybe even grade 1 at the least.
"If that's true, then why would two curses be fighting each other?" His brow furrowed with confusion cutting through the adrenaline.
The image of those tendrils seared in his mind again and the way the figure had moved wasn't feral like a curse usually was. There was clear intent there, no doubt that it was something human.
"So what the hell am I about to find?" Yuji grit his teeth, the question twisting tighter the closer he ran toward the ruined street where the battle still shook the earth.
Yuji's pace quickened as the cracked sign for Cat Street came into view, half-bent from earlier tremors. Just as he was about to pass the intersection, the night split again with a deafening shockwave.
BOOM!
"There's another one..." The ground shuddered, lifting him off the ground just barely, Yuji hissed under his breath as he lost his balance
Before he could utter a thought or another word a surge of power slammed through the air. It was so strong it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand straight.
"W-what the hell...?" Yuji muttered, breathless.
A blinding light tore across the skyline, flooding the district in golden brilliance. Yuji threw an arm over his eyes, squinting against the intensity as the glow swallowed the rooftops and broken streets. The earth rumbled once more, harder this time, enough to knock loose debris from the already fractured buildings.
To his left was an old shop sign gave way with a metallic screech, crashing onto the sidewalk in a shower of sparks. Yuji's heart hammered while his gaze snapped back toward the light even as dust and smoke swirled violently around him.
Yuji pushed himself up against the pavement before sprinting again. As he passed Cat Street,he veered left just as the father had described. But the route had changed, he was going towards the clash.
"What am I even going to do once I get there? If it's that curse or if it's whatever caused those shockwaves...can I even stand against it?" His fists clenched as he pushed harder.
"And what if it's already gone by the time I get there? What if all I find is rubble?" The questions clawed at him but he didn't slow down.
The street ahead stretched endlessly, every corner littered with reminders of the chaos. The shattered glass, overturned cars, and fractured pavement only made his pulse hammer harder in his ears as he tried to drown out the doubt.
"On your right.." A voice slithered up from the depths of his chest, curling around his thoughts like smoke. Yuji's eyes went wide with his stride faltering for half a heartbeat. His stomach twisted with cold recognition.
It wasn't a scream or a laugh this time just a faint whisper, quiet enough to unsettle him more than if the King of Curses had roared. Yuji skidded to a stop the end of cat street looked to the right of the next street.
"Why? Why the hell would Sukuna point me in the right direction?" The questions churned like fire in his gut but they were cut short by movement.
A shadow shifted just up ahead and Yuji's body went rigid. He watched as a figure emerged from the dust filled aftermath with each step dragging dust and gravel. Yuji's eyes narrowed, realization slamming into him like a cold wave. His mind flashed back to the father's words, the boy who had stayed behind, the one who gave them time to escape.
"Wait...could it be?" he muttered under his breath but the thought was strangled as soon as his eyes fully registered what was dangerously close to him
The figure's clothes were shredded, burned, and torn until they barely resembled anything human. The cowl was jagged and frayed and the cracked metal mask around its face with black grime and blood painted streaks across its entire being. Combined with the glowing veins of energy still faintly pulsing beneath the ragged robes and the heavy aura radiating off him, the figure looked less like a survivor and more like a curse.
"That's not a boy but it isn't moving like a curse either so what the hell am I looking at?" Yuji's fists clenched without thinking, cursed energy sparking faintly at his knuckles.
"Don't take another step!"
Izuku's head looked up to the sound and a boy stood just in front of him, not too close but not too far either. His posture low and ready with fists balled so tightly the knuckles whitened.
"What the hell are you?" the boy demanded like he was ready to strike at the first hint of danger.
"Answer me..." Yuji wasn't sure why but every instinct in his body was on fire.
"Itadori, I would advise you move with caution" Mechamaru chipped in
The figure standing across from him didn't move yet something about him felt off about him. His stance looked as if he was he'd been living in fights his whole life although it wasn't like a sorcerer's nor was it like a non-sorcerer. What was all too noticeable however was the energy rolling off him, it pressed against Yuji's skin in a way he had never felt before.
Izuku's eyes narrowed beneath his cowl, flicking to the small device on Yuji's ear as soon as he noticed it. Even though it was muffled, he could catch a faint distorted voice spilling out of it. Someone was speaking to him or at the very least guiding him which also meant that he wasn't alone.
"Are they heroes or are they something else? Could they help me figure out what's going on? Or are they just another threat?" The questions seemed never-ending even as the faint sting of Danger Sense sparked in the back of his mind.
"Itadori, I can't make heads or tails of this. You said the curse you were fighting brought illusions to life yes? so what if this is another one of those illusions" Mechamaru's voice buzzed in Yuji's ear.
Yuji felt his pulse hammer quicker, his skin prickled like static with his gut instinct screamed at him louder with every passing second. "Something about this guy wasn't normal" wasn't even close to how he felt. That raw electric current in the air...it wasn't cursed energy but it clung to his lungs and weighed down his body all the same.
He swallowed before his shoulders began to tense up and the silence between them was suffocating. The last time he felt this amount of pressure was standing in front of a special grade when Fushigoro, Kugasaki, and himself were at that detention center or when he stood next to a high level sorcerer.
"Could this really be one of those illusions? or could this be a curse user?" Yuji thought wearily
Izuku's lips parted with the instinct to speak tugging at him but he forced the words back down. His fists curled slightly at his sides as he lowered his gaze for half a heartbeat to think about the situation at hand.
"This place...this guy in front of me...I can't just reveal information so freely. I need to be careful if I'm going to sur-" A sharp sting flared in the back of his skull.
At first it was a prickle but then it became a steady needle burrowing deeper, stronger with every second he stood in front of this guy. The warning wasn't vague and this wasn't the ambient threat of a collapsing building or the immediate malice of an attack meant for him.
The presence bleeding from the boy wasn't like the feral essence of the monster he fought. This was different, more refined and malicious in a way that ran deeper than instinct. His Danger Sense screamed at him as if the thing standing across from him was a blade drawn and pressed to his throat.
What he didn't know or rather what he couldn't have known was that the danger clawing at his nerves wasn't from Yuji alone. It was the evil that lurked within, it was something far older and far worse stirred beneath the veil. A malice older than Shibuya and as old as jujutsu itself, the kind of presence that polluted the very air itself
Izuku's looked past the feeling and continue to study the person across from him. Every line of his body was taut, this wasn't someone about to lower their guard and Izuku wasn't about to either.
"He sees me as a threat but that malice rolling off him..." Izuku's eyes flicked over Yuji's fists, the faint glow of energy sparking there.
He couldn't trust anyone right now. Not when even this boy carried power that felt so familiar to the monster that prowled Shibuya. Izuku let the air hiss through his respirator as he shifted his stance, his foot sliding half an inch back.
He allowed the faint trace of One For All to spark across his frame. Full Cowling bled into existence with arcs of green lightning crawling up his arms and legs. His silhouette was no longer just a battered figure but a weapon coming alive.
Yuji's eyes snapped wide as instinct took over before his own thoughts could catch up to him. His gut screamed danger and he didn't wait for explanations. Izuku's skull flared with a searing spike of Danger Sense.
WHOOOOSH!!
The warning barely finished flashed through his nerves before Yuji's fist cut through the air. Izuku moved his body along with his shoulders rolling back just in time. The knuckles of his opponent grazed past his mask, the force was so great it peeled the dust from his mask and ripped the lingering particles into a swirl between them.
"He's fast!" Izuku was surprised by the attack
It may have been from the heat of the moment or maybe he was flat out seeing things but just as the fist went past him, he swore he saw an eye open up on the side of this guy's face for a brief moment.
"I can't let this guy make the first move! I have to stay ahead of him instead!" Yuji felt whatever it was that was rolling off of this guy and it made his senses go haywire.
"Oi Itadori! Don't just rush in like that!" Mechamaru shouted in his ear
"Sorry but I can't just ignore this guy!" Yuji barked back as he sent an attack from above
"Above!" Izuku leapt backwards to avoid it but when Yuji's fist hit the ground the sheer force of it cracked the pavement.
He didn't give Izuku a second to recover after his first strike missed. His body pivoted sharply with his momentum flowing seamlessly into a roundhouse kick. The whistle of air off his shin was sharp and Izuku barely managed to bring his arm up in time.
The impact was like being hit with a steel beam. The mid-gauntlets on his forearm absorbed the impact as his boots scraped back. The follow up attack forced Izuku out of the lot's broken entrance and into the open street.
His iron soles scrapped and caught just slightly on the road from being at an odd angle. Before he could even draw a breath, Yuji was already upon him once again. Izuku gritted his teeth, he didn't want to fight since he was still trying to figure things out but his opponent wasn't giving him a choice.
The way Yuji moved, the way he attacked wasn't just aggression but it was caution. Izuku ducked under a vicious elbow strike, it cut so close he felt the wind graze his hair. Izuku on the other hand was still held back from attacking.
"How much of One For All can I even risk using against someone from this world? If I go too far..." Every nerve screamed at Izuku to counter, to end it with a single decisive blow but hesitation rooted him and clouded his mind.
"Why isn't he dishing anything back at me?" Yuji thought warily
Yuji launched another strike from above, he came crashing down before Izuku could finish the thought. Yuji's body spun with a leg raised hig, bringing down an axe kick infused with cursed energy.
"That energy again.." Izuku threw both arms up to block. The collision resonated throughout his gauntlets and the asphalt beneath his boots spiderwebbed with cracks exploding outward.
"Whatever this is it feels the same as those weird strands I interacted with in that hidden basement. Screw it, I'll just fight without One For All for now"
He ducked under another hook before planting his hand on the ground and using the momentum to swing a kick at Yuji's ribs. Yuji in turn side stepped the attack then blocked with his forearm before retaliating with a knee to Izuku's stomach. The impact had Izuku staggering as Yuji capitalized, stepping in with a brutal straight punch to Izuku's jaw.
Izuku rolled with the punch before going on the defensive once more. Izuku moved on instinct, weaving between blows where he could the air itself rippled and whooshed from the force, each hit carrying weight. He recognized that this wasn't just raw power but also skill.
"This guy isn't just fast but he also hits like a truck. His movements are refined but still a little wild. He's used to close-quarters combat but there's no wasted motion and every strike has purpose" Izuku took a mental note
Izuku's eyes tracked the slight shifts in Yuji's stance, the way he planted his feet before a punch, how his core twisted to maximize force. Izukus analysis engine raced to break down Yuji's offense, he was leading with his right while trying to force openings with sheer pressure.
Yuji kept his footwork light but springy, using the fluid low to high kicks from Taido. However, when Yuji threw hands the cadence changed into knee strikes and snapping jabs with the occasional elbow strike from kickboxing.
In the midst of all that speed there were sudden bursts of raw flexibility of Karate, straight-line thrusts, and airborne axe kicks. Izuku could feel the weight of each style bleeding together into a hybrid rhythm that should've been unpredictable to most people.
For someone like Izuku on the other hand who has lived his entire life analyzing quirks, fighting styles, and movements in form classmates and pro heroes it was like peeling apart layers of a puzzle.
If this guy was going to come at him with this kind of power then he couldn't afford to just turtle behind blocks. He needed to read him, break him down layer by layer. Izuku's vision sharpened as he took in every detail even as Yuji pressed on with the assault.
"Taido, kickboxing, karate..." Izuku has entered the zone
Yuji was in his space again, lowering his stance as he stepped in while launching a brutal punch toward Izukus mid section as his cursed energy flared once again.
Divergent fist!
Danger Sense flared and Izuku's forearms slammed together and once it had hit there was nothing else to it which confused Izuku. Within the next second however was the second impact which made his bones underneath his gauntlets rattle.
The force from the second impact sent him sliding back, making his iron soles carve trenches into the ground. Despite that he still stood tall as dust rose up before settling as a brief pause took place. Yuji's eyes widened in shock as normally Divergent Fist had even the likes of Mahito reeling.
But when it landed flush against Izuku forearms it did nothing. The delayed impact, the second wave of force that always caught opponents off guard just dispersed, Izuku didn't even budge. The timing of his hits wasn't just a matter of speed or brute force, there was a delay and it was one that Izuku recognized.
"What the hell?! That was a clean hit!" Yuji mumbled as his mind raced.
"Itadori get it together! This is no normal sorcerer. Whatever he is you need to end this quickly before he retaliates" Mechamaru's voice crackled over his ear
"I'm trying but this guy can take one hell of a hit not to mention he's one slippery bastard" Yuji exhaled, his knuckles tightening with his cursed energy lowering just a bit.
"Divergent Fist? A delayed shockwave? No...it's the force of his energy catching up after the initial strike in order to catch people by surprise" The realization sent a rush of adrenaline through Izuku's system.
"Gojo sensei is counting on me to give my all during this operation. Hell everyone's counting on each other to come out of this alive and tonight has no room for games" Yuji said with determination
Yuji rushed in again but this time he lead with his left but Izuku deflected it with his forearm although, the impact sent a ripple up his arm. Yuji was relentless, the moment his punch was blocked, he transitioned into a swift spinning hook kick, Izuku hopped back just in time. The moment his feet touched the ground, Yuji was already on him again pressing the attack.
"He fights like me" The thought struck him hard.
The way Yuji threw himself into battle, his fighting may not be polished but it was adaptive and sometimes stringed together on the fly. It all felt eerily familiar and it reminded Izuku of his earliest fights in his world, the ones where he had nothing but sheer willpower and an ever-growing understanding of combat with One For All.
Underneath all of that was something else, something in Yuji's eyes. That raw burning determination was the same look Izuku had when he swore to become a symbol just like All Might.
"He's not just fighting for himself" Izuku dodged another punch, stepping back just in time to catch his breath.
"His breathing was steady but it's getting heavier now, his movements are still fast but the slightest amount of hesitation is creeping in" His mind kept working, processing every detail.
"Feels like this guy's starting to slip.." Yuji lunged again, snapping his fist toward Izuku's face.
"I can't afford to hold back anymore.." Izuku clenched his fists.
Izuku slid his head just off the line of Yuji's attack. The jab hit nothing but air while Izuku finally countered with an uppercut to the jaw. The hit landed clean, forcing Yuji's head to snap back but he rolled with it before throwing his weight into a spinning backhand.
The hit connected making Izuku's head snap to the side and cracking his mask. The small moment of victory was fleeting however since his gaze snapped back almost instantly with his eyes burning with an emerald intensity that sent a chill down Yuji's spine.
"If you can hit this hard then i doubt you'd have any issue handing the power I dish out.." Izuku said with slight frustration
Yuji was already sending out another jab but Izuku's palm shot out, meeting Yuji's fist mid-swing and a powerful thud resonated from the contact. Yuji's momentum crumpled like a car hitting a wall as Izuku's grip clamped tight.
One For All 15%
His hand tightened to white knuckles that refused to let go and waste this opening. Yuji's eyes flew wide open in an instant from his instincts screaming louder than ever, every nerve telling him to get away. Izuku's head tilted down which made the emerald glow catch within the shadows of his hood.
"My turn" One For All surged across his entire being as he locked eyes with Yuji.
Izuku's grip on Yuji's fist tightened until the tendons in his arm burned. Then without warning Izuku pulled Yuji towards him while his other fist shot upward in a brutal uppercut towards the gut.
"OH SHI-" Yuji couldn't finish his curse
"SMASH!" The blow slammed into Yuji's stomach with bone rattling force.
"GUH!" Yuji's breath exploded out of his lungs.
The sheer impact lifted him off the pavement, sending a small shockwave rippling through the street. Before Yuji's feet could even find the street again Izuku's hand shot forward to seize him by the collar.
Izuku reeled back his fist and drove it into Yuji's face. Yuji's body shot backward, bouncing hard off the asphalt before ricocheting into the side of a parked car. The side of the vehicle crumpled inward on impact with it's glass shattering.
The momentum didn't stop there as Yuji's body rebounded once more, skidding across the street. Izuku didn't let up. Blackwhip snapped forward like a coiled viper, latching onto Yuji's arm before he could recover.
With a forceful yank Izuku reeled him in, and with Yuji only having a split second to react with his instincts redirected the momentum, using the pull to slingshot himself towards Izuku instead of resisting.
Yuji spun once then twice as the tendril had more slack to it, ready to bring down a devastating overhand punch. His fist was wrapped in cursed energy as it came down but as it was on a collision course towards Izuku he activated Full Cowling and let go of Blackwhip.
One For All: Full Cowling 20%
One For All surged through body as he jumped to the side before rebounding off the side of a building with immense speed. In the process of doing this Yuji's punch met only air and the force of his own momentum sent him off balance as he tried to place his feet.
"he got faster?!" Yuji's shock was short lived
"Manchester Smash!" Izuku capitalized immediately by flipping and twisting his body and flowing into an axe kick of his own.
The kick connected with Yuji's back, the force sent him into the asphalt making it crater. Pain laced up Yuji's body but he wasn't out of the fight just yet. He quickly placed his hands onto the ground before springing himself out of the of the small crater.
A split second later Izuku's fist and the pavement caved in under the sheer force. Yuji had barely escaped but before he could even steady himself Izuku was already there. Yuji decided to met him head on to regain control of the offensive but Izuku's eyes tracked it all.
Once Izuku Midoriya has analyzed something there was no room for argument and Yuji Itadori had become an open book. Yuji snapped a fast jab at Izuku but he just side stepped its motion while he shot his right hand out to catch Yuji's wrist mid-motion.
Izuku then latched onto Yuji's elbow with his left hand and with a sharp tug he pulled Yuji off balance. His right hand let go of the wrist before he drove his elbow down into the shoulder joint, striking the muscle where it met the upper arm.
Yuji hissed as the nerves fired as the arm briefly became numb. In the same motion Izuku snapped his arm towards the side of Yuji's neck with a Karate chop that sent a shock through his frame before releasing him.
"Damnit...I cant even make a move..." Yuji staggered back a step with gritted teeth.
Yuji moved in and sent out a double karate kick, the left leg was a feint while the right leg was the real kick. Izuku shot his arm up, deflecting the shin with the back of his forearm allowing him to step into striking distance.
Izuku's other hand shot forward, smashing into Yuji's sternum with a palm strike that rattled his lungs. Yuji coughed as the air was knocked out of him again but due to the coughing fit and the difficulty breathing, his movements became sloppy.
He lashed forward with a back kick but Izuku angled his head just enough to let it graze by, stepping into Yuji's blind spot. His knuckles hammered into Yuji's exposed oblique, followed by a quick upward knee that collided with his back once more.
Yuji staggered forward but the pin point strikes were catching up, he swung a wide backhand swing but Izuku dropped low and delivered a jab at Yuji's right kneecap. His footing faltered from the joint buckling, his body slumping down to catch himself but by the time he looked back up it was too late.
"Double...Wyoming..." Izuku clasped both hands together to form a double slam strike.
Yuji braced with his arms snapping up in a desperate guard, his body still sluggish from the pinpoint damage Izuku had been inflicting. Time seemed to stretch as Izuku's eyes locked onto Yuji's and for the first time since their fight began, Izuku truly looked at Yuji not as an enemy, not as an obstacle but as a person.
He was fighting with everything he had despite the pain and the odds stacked against him. The fierce determination, the refusal to give up even when his body screamed at him to collapse hit Izuku like a mirror held too close. He remembered what he saw early, this guy in front of his wasn't fighting for himself but for others.
"He's... like me" It was the same thing that had once burned in his own eyes when he was cornered, beaten down, and written off as powerless.
The slam halted inches above Yuji's forearms, the force dispersing with a sharp crack of air instead of shattering down onto him. Dust swirled between them, both fighters frozen in the tension of that moment.
Yuji who was still braced for impact opened one eye, startled by the strike that never came. He lowered his arms slowly, placing them on the ground to support his weight. Izuku's fists hovered above Yuji's guard as the sparks started to turn into faint embers.
"W-why...Why did you stop?" Yuji said with a hoarse voice
Izuku's hands slowly unclasped before he let them fall to his sides, his stance loosening for the first time since they'd faced each other. He exhaled through the respirator as the last sparks of One For All faded into the night.
"I'm...I'm not trying to end your life. To tell you the truth I'm not even from around here and I don't know who I can trust" Izuku admitted
Yuji blinked at the words, they were filled with the weight of something strange yet honest. He didn't sense any deceit from the words meanwhile Izuku glanced away briefly, as though ashamed before bringing his gaze back to Yuji.
"Since I got here it's felt like everything was a threat and when that monster showed up to kill me so I just though everything here was going to be an enemy but when I looked at you..." His voice trailed for a second
"I didn't see an enemy. Instead I saw someone the same age as me, fighting for something bigger than himself"
Izuku reached up, tugging the cracked mask loose and with a quiet hiss he pulled the respirator away and then flipped back his torn cowl. His face was worn, smeared with dirt and sweat but his expression was earnest.
"How about we start over, you can call me Deku" Izuku extended a hand toward him.
Yuji blinked at the gesture then gave a short almost awkward laugh as he accepted it. Izuku's grip was firm, hauling him back to his feet with surprising ease. The moment felt less like a clash of fighters and more like meeting someone who understood even if neither of them had the full picture yet.
"Yuji Itadori, man Deku...you sure know how to beat the breaks off someone " Yuji said as he brushed the dust off his uniform
"y-yeah my bad" Izuku rubbed the back of his head nervously.
"So uh... if we're the same age do you go to the sorcerer school in Kyoto or something? Cause I've never seen you around Tokyo Jujutsu High before" Yuji asked curiously
"Sorcerer school? What the heck is that?!" Izuku on the inside was confused.
"Uh, not exactly" Izuku let out a nervous chuckle while scratching his cheek.
"I Knew it! You've got that whole out of town tough but humble thing going on! Definitely countryside vibes" Yuji nodded with his thumb and index finger under his chin.
"I guess coming from the country side is my origin now...first the family now this guy..." Izuku thought with mild annoyance as he slumped slightly
"Hey don't sweat it there's plenty of great people that I've met that come from small places. Like this girl I know, she's strong, fierce, and determined as hell but man she can be so full of herself..." Yuji said with a grumpy look on his face.
"Let me guess...hot tempered, outspoken, brash, and trash talks..." Izuku matched Yuji's tone
"You got one too huh?.." Yuji exhaled
"You have no idea..." Izuku was exhausted just by mentioning Kacchan
"That's right...I need...to find a way back home..." Izuku said in a low voice. Yuji didn't quite catch what he said but decided not to say ask about it.
For a few paces they walked in silence but the tension that once threatened to choke the air between them was gone. It was now replaced by a relaxed shift in tone and It felt like they were just two kids talking after class instead of two strangers who were trying to kill each other.
"You know, we're not that different. Both of us ended up fighting without really thinking about what it meant" Izuku spoke first
"Yeah I guess we both can't walk away from a fight or if people need help. Actually that's the reason why I'm over here in the first place. I ran into a family on the way here talking about a curse hunting them along with someone staying behind" Yuji nodded with his expression softening.
"So they made it out ok? Im so glad..." Izuku felt like the weight of All Might was lifted off his shoulders
"Oh wait a minute! your the one they were talking about! Wait why didn't I figure that out sooner?...." Yuji exclaimed while Izuku just shrugged
"Anyways countryside or not you definitely don't fight like someone who's new. You sure you didn't get secret lessons from some old mountain hermit or something?" Yuji suddenly piped up with a grin.
Izuku was caught off guard buy the words but a small laugh quickly escaped him. It was genuine and unguarded and Yuji snorted right after unable to keep a straight face.
Just like that, in the middle of the empty streets of Shibuya laughter echoed between them. Two boys the same age, both scarred by battle but finding in each other the beginnings of a friendship.