(Pov: Izuku Midoriya)
"Stay calm. Something is wrong."
Aizawa's voice was quiet as he signaled the students to huddle up. His gaze was focused on Shindai, his body tense.
Izuku noticed that. But he didn't get why. Not immediately.
'Huh? Why does Aizawa seem wary of... Shindai?'
Ît wasn't just him. Bakugo's look was one of concentration as he did not spare the villains a glance, his red eyes fixed on their Mutant classmate. His tense expression did not change as he spoke.
"Oi. Shindai. Snap out of it, dumbass."
'...Shindai?'
Their classmate did not react. His posture was slightly hunched, his arms hanging limply at his sides. His wings and tails remained rigid, and his mouth hung slightly parted. The only movement was his swaying head, like a sleepy person forcing themselves to stay awake.
Izuku's nervousness grew. His gaze shifted to the villains, nearly all of their grunts were immobilized, but they had enough men to press on the attack.
But they didn't. Their attention too was focused on Shindai.
The villain's leader had stopped his grumbling. He simply stood there, quietly stroking the hand he wore on his face. The Dark Mist next to him, spoke.
"Tomura Shigaraki. This scuffle is not going in our favor. Our target too, is not present. With so many uncertain variables, perhaps it'd be best to retreat?"
But the villain in question did not answer, his gaze focused on the unmoving white-skinned figure.
"...i wonder why?"
Izuku felt himself tense even more at the villain's voice. The lack of irritation, anger, even frivolity was frightening.
"Why is... what is his Quirk?"
This time, his gaze shifted to Aizawa and the students. The teacher however, did not react in any meaningful way. And the students only flinched beneath the villain's gaze, not giving an answer.
'Is he knocked out? While standing?'
Shindai had still not moved. He still stood there in awkward pose, ignoring everything and everyone. The inheritor of One for All grit his teeth before calling out, immediately garnering everyone's attention.
"...Shindai?"
"Shindai! Snap out of it! The villains are still here!"
No reaction followed form their classmate. Aizawa however, raised his arm, signing Izuku to stop shouting.
The villains were in a similar state to that of the students. They slowly reorganized, waiting for their Leader to give instructions, but nervousness was palpable on their faces. Despite them still outnumbering the students, they had already come to understand that there was a major gap in power.
"...Nomu. Kill him. Kill that DaMn cHeAtEr."
Tomura Shigaraki's voice rang out, changing to a shriek mid-sentence. With that scream, he broke into a run.
Aizawa moved at the same time, his eyes turning a blazing red as his hair floated up, a clear sign of him erasing someone's Quirk. He immediately engaged Shigaraki, using his scarf to restrain him while simultaneously avoiding the other grunts attempting to stop him.
Meanwhile, the Nomu moved. Izuku felt his heart jump in his chest as the ground below the Nomu shattered and it shot towards Shindai in a straight line.
BAAM. Shindai was blasted away as the Nomu's fist connected to his chest. The shockwave of the punch blasted away rubble and dust, but not an ounce of noise escaped from neither the Nomu, nor Shindai.
'Whats wrong with him?! Why didn't he defend himself?!'
Izuku just stood there frozen, not knowing what to do. He had managed to use One for All twice without breaking his arm, but could he do so again? Should he engage the villains and help his teacher? But what if those two times had been a fluke? What if he killed someone?
Still, with All Might's teachings resonating in his head, he sprinted forwards, closing in onto the villains alongside his classmates. In the corner of his vision, he noticed Shindai's large frame burst out of the rubble and charge back to the Nomu.
'Good! If Shindai is back in the fight, then we'll win!'
Hope sparked in his chest, until he heard the unnatural growl and the sound of something slicing through the air.
Then a soft thud. To that, followed the feeling of a warm liquid on his face.
'...huh?'
Izuku stopped running and turned his head.
"Huh?"
"What...?"
His classmates did the same. Aizawa disengaged from his scuffle, retreating back to his students.
On the ground, was a leg. It laid in a small red puddle, but drops of the same red liquid seemed to have splashed further.
Then, there laid the Nomu. His leg underwent the disgusting process of regeneration, making it click in Izuku's mind as to what had happened.
Shindai's blade was stained red. His sword was raised above his head as he prepared to swing it down.
Izuku felt his eyes widen at the sight. 'Heroes aren't supposed to do this.'
"SHINDAI! WAIT!"
The fact that the Nomu could regenerate didn't matter. Heroes weren't supposed to act like...
Blood splurted. The Nomu didn't scream of react in any meaningful way as Shindai's blade cut through his arm, slicing it clean off. Regeneration began.
He felt a bile rise in his throat. This...This wasn't...
'What... why is Aizawa not doing anything!?'
Izuku turned his head at his classmates brutality, searching for Aizawa with his gaze. The teacher in question did not do anything, simply watching his white-skinned Mutant raise his blade again, a dark look in his eyes.
The Nomu did not even attempt to protect himself. His Leg, nearly fully regenerated as he pivoted his body threw a single straight punch into Shindai's abdomen.
BAM
Again, the white-skinned Mutant was thrown back, a fist sized imprint formed on his stomach. But his body recovered mid-air as he flipped and landed on his legs. Then, while staying in a low stance, he rushed forward.
'...he is...'
SPLURT.
It happened once more. The same leg, which had just finished its process of regeneration, was sliced clean off. Again, the Nomu collapsed but ultimately ignored it, finishing the Regeneration on his arm, then reaching out to Shindai, attempting to grab his leg. But Shindai simply raised his leg and stomped onto the Nomu's chest.
KRRRNNK-CLANG
'...again?'
The wheel turned, performing its spun with a quickness and decisiveness it had lacked before. Shindai's blade rose once more, this time covered in a white hue.
Izuku did not have it in him to give any sort of reaction as it descended, once more cutting through flesh, muscles and bone.
Gasps emanated from himself and his classmates as blood pooled off the sliced arm...until they noticed something. Izuku's eyes fixed themselves onto the patch of skin covering the stump of Nomu's arm.
'...Why is the Nomu... not bleeding?'
The Nomu still did not react, not a scream nor a grunt escaping his grotesque frame. But the stump on his arm...
"Huh?" Shigaraki's voice rang out. "Nomu has high-speed regeneration... why is he...?"
The stump on his arm was closed. No blood, flesh or bone was visible as a layer of skin covered the supposed wound.
'huh?'
Izuku's gaze remained fixed on the sight. His classmates did the same, their eyes trailing off onto the Nomu's for some reason closed wound. It bulged a little, as though something formed beneath the lay of skin, then stopped.
"What the hell...Shindai? Did he do this?"
Kirishima's voice rang out, quiet and filled with disbelief. Their eyes were too absorbed by the Nomu's closed and not-regenerating wound, to notice Shindai grab the Nomu's leg, stretching it out underneath his blade while it writhed, seemingly attempting to move what had been once its arm.
Aizawa did not do anything beyond staring, his gaze fixed on the scene as he watched Shindai's blade sever the leg, the wound closing the moment it passed through.
It did not regenerate.
"So... i guess this is what Principal Nezu meant... the limits of..."
He broke up his sentence, as a cold expression bloomed on his face. It looked as though he was smiling, but his eyes were filled with rage as he turned towards the villains, turning his expression into something like an animal baring its fangs.
"Guess thats it for Nomu. Now, wanna take my offer and pack it up?"
Izuku's gaze shifted to Aizawa, filled with shock and disbelief. That a teacher, a Pro Hero would act like this, simply overlook his student inflicting such cruelty upon someone...
Another splurt of blood. He did not turn his head to look at the scene, his eyes transfixed on Aizawa who simply stood there, his gaze fixed on the villains.
Shigaraki stared at the scene, his body trembling. "Nomu... why is he not..."
His demeanor had changed. He was not scratching away at his neck. At some point, the hand covering his face had fallen off, revealing his face for everyone to see, but he did not seem to care.
A last splurt. Izuku's legs were heavy but he managed to keep standing. He turned his gaze back while stopping himself from gagging at the smell of blood.
There, laid the Nomu. Shindai stood above him, as unreadable as ever. No, even more so.
Several arms and legs laid around the Nomu. But the creature itself, had none of them. It still attempted to move, 4 little stumps twitching occasionally, but it did not manage to even break out in a crawl.
Izuku felt his blood go cold. To that, followed a numb sensation in his head. His gaze shifted up a bit, to Shindai but it took him noticeable effort.
The large white-skinned Mutant did not move beyond what he had done, its attention not fixated on classmates, teacher or villain. It simply stood there, as though nothing concerned it, the wheel above its head as still as its body.
Izuku's vision swam. Blackness appeared at the edge of his sight and he felt his legs give out.
Someone caught him. He did not recognize who. The weakness in his body spread, then Izuku Midoriya lost consciousness.
-
-
(Tenya Iida)
He was out. Out of the hell USJ had become. He had left his classmates behind, if only to call for reinforcements.
'I need to hurry!'
The engines on his leg pushed a steady pulse as he retraced the path the bus had taken from UA to USJ. His goal was the Hero school, where teachers and Pro-Heroes would be, capable of saving his classmates from the predicament they were in.
Soon enough, the large gates of the school loomed in front of him, through which he dashed, the engines on his Legs increasing his speed even more. He did not stop his Quirk, even when entering the building, simply screaming out loud for students to get out of the way as he made his way through the teacher's office.
He talked the very same moment he entered.
"WE... USJ IS UNDER ATTACK BY VILLAINS! AIZAWA AND THIRTEEN SENT ME TO ASK FOR REINFORCEMENTS!"
"What do you... wait what?"
Chairs rattled as the few teachers in the room stood up, urgency filling their demeanor. In an instant, the pro-heroes went into motion, coordinating someone to go warn the Principal and go get more Heroes while the likes of Snipe and Ectoplasm prepared to rush to USJ.
Iida did not rush back with them and instead went to the Principal's office with Midnight, abruptly shouting the same sentence as earlier. This was his first time seeing the Principal, but there was no time to linger.
Nezu's eyes sharpened at the message and picked up the phone, no hesitation in his movement.
"All Might. The students at USJ, they are under attack. Yes, this is undoubtedly related to the trespassing."
The call ended immediately as Nezu barked a few more orders, calling a few teachers out of their classes to move for USJ. Then he addressed Iida, his tone polite but curt.
"You did well to report this. All Might is currently on patrol, but is on the way. You can accompany the teachers back to your classmates. Make sure to inform them about everything you know on the way."
Iida simply nodded, then immediately headed out, alongside a battalion of Pro-Heroes, hurrying to USJ.
-
-
(Pov: Tokoyami)
'Riku? What is...'
Fumikage Tokoyami and Mashirao Ojiro were running around the artificial lake, edging closer and closer to the entrance of USJ. In the distance, the two were able to make out a number of people they had not recognized from afar and had quickly deemed it as the main battleground.
The two classmates however, had been in the conflagration Zone. An artificial city built to simulate a raging fire consuming a city. In that environment, they had met numerous villains, whom they did dispatch, but not without taking hits.
'This... is partly my fault.'
Fumikage had not been able to fight well. While he didn't exactly consider himself dependent on Dark Shadow, this battle environment had made it excruciatingly difficult to maintain Dark Shadow's form, leading to him having to rely on Martial arts.
That, had slowed them down tremendously. Frankly, if it wasn't for Ojiro, whose movements were far more seamless than his own, he doubted he'd have made it out of there this quickly.
But then, they had encountered another Dilemma. Go around to save their classmates, or head straight to the exit?
They chose the latter. Not because they planned to leave, but because far away, beyond the lake and the central Plaza, a white figure had arisen. It looked small throughout the distance, but the fact that it moved made it everything clear.
Riku Shindai.
The color and physiology of his classmate was something Fumikage was confident he'd never err about. And if he, had adapted into becoming gigantic, then that wasn't because he suffered an easy fight. That became even more clear, when the figure collapsed.
So, the two students ran. Fumikage could only appreciate Ojiro's cooperation, as he did not hesitate to agree to run what seemed to be the villain's hotspot.
'...And that only with a Quirk emulating a single one of Riku's aspects!'
Ojiro's Quirk was "Tail" and was quite self-explanatory. Despite the simplicity of his Quirk, he proved himself a skilled and resourceful warrior who used Martial arts adapted to the tail he had, in order to fight.
But the skill he showed was staggering. If it wasn't for Dark Shadow, Fumikage doubted himself able to defeat him.
The two of them did not talk much during their run, their gazes focused on their surroundings, especially when passing by the bodies of knocked out villains. Fumikage then soon felt a wave of relief hit him as a familiar feeling coursed through his mind.
"Dark Shadow."
The black entity appeared, noticeably larger as it soaked in Riku's cursed energy, while simultaneously weakened by the light of day. Next to no strain interfered with his Quirk.
Ojiro only threw a glance, though his eyebrow did twitch at the large mass of darkness appearing at their side. Despite that, no comment was made and soon enough, the two finally saw their classmates.
"Tokoyami! Ojiro! To me, NOW!"
Aizawa's order came in sharp and immediate. The two students made a beeline, changing course while taking in their environments.
'Riku... what happened?'
Fumikage felt his eyes narrow. The environment around him were littered with bodies of villain, most of which unmoving, presumably knocked out. Some were still conscious, but restrained by small purple balls. He recognized it being Mineta's Quirk.
But the ground was cracked in numerous places. Several craters, one noticeably bigger than the others, were present.
Then, the two took in the sight of their classmates and teacher. And the villains opposing them.
The first one they noticed, was Aizawa. His body was covered in numerous wounds but his stance remained sharp and vigilant. His eyes seemed to be glaring, but Fumikage knew that he wasn't the target of that look.
Behind him, stood the Students. Most of them were huddled together, their expression and body language portraying fear, dread and tiredness. Midoriya was not moving, his body perched upon Mezo Shoji's back.
Bakugo and Todoroki stood closest to Aizawa, seemingly being the most composed of individuals. Despite that, Todoroki's hand was noticeable shaking while Bakugo's expression was uncannily focused.
"You two. Report."
Ojiro was the one to answer Aizawa's question.
"We were in the Conflagration zone. There were loads of villains and we had to fight our way through them before coming here. We're a bit roughed up, but still in good enough state to keep going."
Ojiro's answer was met with a nod, and their teacher's attention remained fixed onto the villains.
'They are not in good state...'
The numbers upon the villain's arrival had been overwhelming, littering nearly the entire Plaza. But now, only a handful remained, spread in a loose formation around the villain's leader, the one wrapped in black mist and... Riku?
'...Riku?! What is he...?'
His white-skinned comrade stood there, neither among his classmates, not among the villains. His body bore no wound, with the exception of an imprint on his stomach. Dark Shadow stirred as Fumikage felt his rage rise at the sight, but something distracted him...
'Why is he...like that?'
Riku was his childhood friend. And Fumikage knew him well. Despite first impressions, his friend was expressive, not necessarily in speech, but in behavior. His wings twitched. His tail lashed. He tilted his head when confused. He snarled or growled when annoyed.
And Fumikage was confident in understanding all of these mannerisms. But in addition to that, he had another way of understanding his friend...
Cursed Energy
Dark Shadow's form writhed and grew. He already felt a light strain build itself in his head as Dark Shadows cravings mounted, its dark mass starting to shiver and fidget.
'No. Riku is out of it. His control is usually better than this.'
He felt his eyes narrow as his gaze settled on his friend, while dismissing Dark Shadow. Then, he noticed it.
'...a blade.'
It did not surprise him much. Riku's Quirk was something he was... moderately familiar with. He knew that changes and alterations could take place on Riku, especially given the weak control he had over his Quirk.
Then, he felt his blood go cold.
Limbs. Several of them. All around his friend.
To his feet, lied a Mutant man. It was the bird-headed muscle-clad villain who had appeared before everyone got dispersed.
And he had no limbs.
A bile rose up in his throat and he felt his breath hitch as he noticed the blood on Riku. The blade he wore on his arm shimmered with a white glow, but did nothing to hide the red stains on it.
'Riku?'
Whether his friend was out of it, was momentarily forgotten. The twitching body at his feet took every ounce of attention from him.
'He... mutilated him?'
Heroes were allowed to take things far when it came to villains. They could even go as far as to kill them. Some had Quirks better suited for different situations and some Quirk were bound to injure villains when utilized.
But all of these, were injuries which could be healed.
A man losing both all of limbs, was not the same.
"Riku?"
He didn't really register his own voice as he spoke. The white figure of his friend did not react to being addressed in any way he recognized. His wings did not twitch. His tail did not lash. No growl or snarl escaped his throat.
His only action was a slow turning motion of his head.
'Adaptation...?'
A chill ran down his spine. He knew Riku to have next to no control over his wheel, so he had to have adapted naturally in order to become... like this.
"Teacher, what happened before he became... like that?"
His voice was dry as he asked his question. His attention momentarily shifted to the villains, but they did not attack, nor retreat. Riku blocked the way.
Aizawa did not turn around to answer. His tone was calm, even cold.
"Got himself hurt. Then healed. Became a giant. Was under fire by nearly every villain in sight, then got knocked out."
The Pro-Hero paused.
"Then, he stood back up. Had the blade. Did this. Now we're here."
'Got knocked out?'
Understanding dawned on him, along with slowly rising anxiety.
Riku's wheel did not usually adapt to what he wanted.
It only adapted to what he needed. Anything else which Riku forced onto the wheel, was simple and temporary.
But his natural Adaptation, was something Riku had no control over. It simply chose the most effective route to solve a problem.
'...what would be most effective to counter being knocked out...?'
The simplest one? Reflex override. His body reacts, guided by instinct. That was a boost in fighting capability. And it was a counter to the situation he had been in.
'...and its hopefully reactive.'
The last thing they needed was Riku going feral.
Still, his heart raced. It was obvious that his friend was not himself, and that his instincts had taken over the show. And if his instincts told him everyone was a threat...
His eyes flicked over to the villains. Their leader was silent, so was the figure wrapped in mist.
They had come here with a goal... the goal the mist-wrapped figure had said to be "killing All Might."
That was a tall order. An unbelievable one too. Killing the symbol of peace was not something anyone would think possible.
But...if this man had been the one to break into UA... which had been a reason for All Might's class-schedule being changed.
'...they broke in for information on All Might. They thought he'd be here today.'
They were confident.
Fumikage didn't see how. As far as he could tell, things were going rather wrong for the villains. Whatever idea of... killing All Might they may have had, had gone up in smoke.
And they knew that. They were wary of him. Of Riku.
BAAM
Doors flew open. In an instant, everyone's attention shifted to the entrance of USJ. Fumikage felt his heartbeat ease as he saw the new arrivals.
'Pro Heroes... Iida?... they're here!'
Midnight, Ectoplasm, Edgeshot, Present Mic and more. It looked like nearly the entire staff had come in.
And in the middle of them, stood All Might.
"FEAR NOT!"
'We're saved.'
"DO YOU KNOW WHY?"
The Symbol of peace scanned the Plaza with his blue-shining eyes as he spoke.
"FOR I AM HERE!"
The effect was immediate. The students, their expressions filled with fear and panic had shifted to awe and hope. Whatever tiredness they had, seemed to evaporate as they looked at the beacon of their society.
On the villain's side, things went the opposite. The grunts did not remain silent and screamed, practically begging their leader for a retreat. The Leader in question trembled, although seemingly more in rage than fear.
He spoke up, voice filled with frustration.
"Kurogiri... We're getting out... there is no point... Not with everyone... Ahhh, And this cheater... there is no point with him here, i'm not hAviNg fUn!"
Their gazes remained on the large figure of All Might. The grunts visibly exhaled and cheered in relief at their leader's call of retreat and immediately inched closer to the figure wrapped in mist.
Fumikage turned his head and stared at Aizawa, who did not move to stop them. His other classmates slightly calmed, but fear remained prevalent on their faces. Especially when the villain continued, bending down to pick up the hand-shaped mask on the ground.
His gaze shifted around between Riku and All Might as he spoke.
"But... mark my words...You. I will kill you. One day."
'...you won't.'
Black mist spread around the villains, many of the grunts disappearing. The black mist appeared below the Nomu as well, but Riku reacted to that, thrusting his blade into the body and pulling it away from the portal with startling speed.
More such portals appeared, but the Pro Heroes acted, rushing towards the scene, forcing the figure wrapped in Mist to rush his teleportation.
"...LeT iT gO, Kurogiri... He was useless anyway... He could never have killed All Might..."
The villain's words echoed through the mist as his figure disappeared along with those of many others.
And just like that, the Mist faded. Only students, Heroes and few villains remained, who did not have any chance of escape with the newly arrived battalion of Heroes.
The Students got swarmed. The Heroes and teachers approached the students and grouped them up, asking and checking for any missing ones as Ectoplasm split up and started searching for other missing classmates or lingering villains.
'...Riku!'
Fumikage's heart dropped. His gaze shifted back to where he had stood and noticed him having turned around, seemingly facing... All Might?
Aizawa noticed too. He pointed towards the Mutant as he spoke, and the temporarily hopeful atmosphere shifted.
"Oi Hizashi, one of my Students got knocked out. How about you wake him up?"
The Pro hero's voice had a slightly strange tone as he spoke about Riku, but Fumikage did not pay attention to that.
'Wake him up? How does he think can...'
"HEY, Aizawa! Sure, I'll wake him up!"
-
-
CHAPTER END
AN:
Sorry bout that, i'm in my exam phase rn. I've got one exam left, and i'll fucking crush it. Nothing below a 90 for this guy.
And i know some of you... all right, maybe all of you, expect MC to start throwing hands with All Might, but that is just not viable.
The most difficult thing about fights like these, is ending them. And All Might, unless deciding to kill Riku in one punch, is not beating him. So it'd have to become a long scuffle, with Ass-pulls like: "Erasure stops adaptation... until he adapts to it." I wouldn't know how to end it properly.
If i start writing shit like that, the direction of the plot is stuck in that direction. Stuff will escalate, and pretty much the entire build up to UA will collapse. No way, could he stay a student at UA.
Fighting All Might to near-death was not included in Masaki's email of non-liability.
That is, unless you want the fic to completely deviate from normal fics. Most of the stuff i planned would absolutely fall apart... but i guess it'd be interesting at least.