Capítulo 2346: 88
Chapter 88: Scion
A/N: Freedom. Or at least, the closest thing to it that Izuku's had in some time. And while it may be true that Izuku has finally escaped the confines of Garaki's lab, he's only been thrust into another deadly situation. One battle ends, and another one begins. The question to ask: How will it end?
"It's not stopping!"
"I'm well aware of that!" Ryukyu yelled back towards one of the many heroes clinging onto her draconic form. She was flying straight out of the tunnel that they had found themselves in, keeping care to avoid the surrounding walls with heavy vigilance as the wave of destruction edged nearer with every second.
Despite all the jostling around, Izuku was able to keep his mind straight. Miraculously, he found himself feeling a bit more coherent than before. Not as capable as if he was in tip-top shape, of course, but much more alert and able of moving himself with some effort.
It was because of this that he was able will his head to turn and look at their path of escape. Gran Torino was carrying Present Mic and the damned Doctor — and all doing so while flying by using his quirk. It was a bit of a surprise to see, though considering the nature of the man's quirk Izuku supposed it shouldn't have been an all too far off assumption to make. Even further behind was Endeavor, boosting himself through the air with his fire whilst holding onto a heavily injured Miruko.
The blacked surge of incoming ashen destruction did little to ease the panic Izuku's already exhausted and fragmented mind, but with nothing he himself could do about the situation, he just had to hope that Ryukyu pulled through.
"Midoriya?"
Izuku almost didn't hear the voice, considering the wind rushing past his ears and the many screams and yells of anguish surrounding them. Still, he did notice the voice, just barely, and turned to face it, brushing against Ashido's face in return.
Oh, that's right. I got squished together with Ashido due to the way Ryukyu caught us. Our bodies are pressed together pretty tightly at the moment.
"Hey," Izuku breathed out. "You alright? Sorry about our… positions at the moment, but I couldn't have really done anything about it, right?"
Ashido's eyes widened. "I don't care about that! You spoke a full sentence!" she beamed, a strained smile coming up on her face despite their situation. "Are you feeling better?"
Izuku tilted his head to the side. "Kinda… It's like my mind got clearer all of a sudden. But I'm still straining to move my body, you see. It's not ideal, but it's better than nothing, eh?"
Before Ashido could answer back, a loud rumbling sound filled the air.
"The building's coming down!" Gran Torino called out.
"I'm not sure that matters considering the situation!" an irate Rock Lock yelled from Ryukyu's back.
"Doesn't matter in general!" Ryukyu called out, gesturing towards the steadily growing source of light at the end of the tunnel. "Just hang on tight! We're nearly there!"
Within just a few seconds — and not a moment too soon — Izuku found himself bathed in the outside light for the first time in days. It wasn't as a welcome as a sight as he would have wished, however, considering the ongoing conflict around him.
As Ryukyu flew them higher into the air, Izuku could only gawk at the wave of destruction that pulsed out of the hospital — unstopping, and heading towards the city. Buildings began to topple and disappear, the screams of numerous echoing in his ears.
Eventually, as the initial wave of disintegration passed and died off, and no signs of a second attack seemed to be, Ryukyu and the others landed a fair distance away from the crater that once was known as the Jaku General Hospital.
"Alright everyone!" Ryukyu called out as she touched the ground. "Off you all go! But remember; we're still in an active battlezone! Tend to the wounded, but stay vigilant! We still don't exactly know what we're facing!"
Endeavor landed not long after, depositing the injured Miruko in the arms of another hero. He didn't waste a second, immediately launching himself off back in the direction of the hospital.
Ryukyu, meanwhile, began to dismiss her passengers. Ashido met the ground first, barely being able to steady herself before catching the still-exhausted Izuku in her arms.
"Eraser!" Ryukyu called out, flapping her wings in preparation for flight. "Deal with your kids! I'm off to help Endeavor!" She flew off not a moment later, leaving the rest of the heroes to their own devices.
Izuku found himself glued to Ashido's side, leaning against her as she supported his body. It was by her insistence, despite Izuku's claims that he could stand himself just fine. Of course, his wobbling legs did little to dispel Ashido's worries — hence his current standing.
Izuku didn't want to be a burden, especially since he was indirectly involved with her being taken by Toga and entrapped in Garaki's lab. Sure, Garaki never actually got the time to actually experiment on her — and for that Izuku was eternally grateful — but nevertheless she had ended up witnessing Ruka's unsettling demise and the Doctor working on his brain.
Eventually, whilst the duo continued to fuss about each other's well-being, Gran Torino slowly made his way to face the two kids. He stood in front of them, eyeing each of them with a narrow glare, staying silent until the two kids themselves noticed who had finally come to see them.
"Ah, Gran Torino!" Izuku finally took notice of the man, subsequently recalling a certain memory from not all too long ago. "If I'm not mistaken, I think that I saw you with Garaki awhile?"
"What!?" Ashido screeched, hugging onto Izuku tighter, her gaze moving back and forth all around. "Where?!"
"Don't worry about him," Gran Torino said. "The Doctor's with — what's his face? That loud fellow. The one who's a teacher of yours."
"Present Mic?" Ashido asked.
Gran Torino nodded. "That one. He's taking the Doctor to a secure location; you don't have to worry about him." He pointed a finger at the duo. "What you do have to worry about is Eraser. He's not exactly happy with you two, you know?"
Izuku let out a nervous chuckle. "I can imagine."
Gran Torino shook his head. "Look, we'll have to save the greater pleasantries for later. Aizawa asked me to get you two, so come with me, and make it quick. We still have an enemy to deal with."
"Right…" Izuku looked off in the distance, towards the ongoing battle between Endeavor and Shigaraki. Their group wasn't too far off from the battle itself, and from where he was Izuku could see the massive clouds of dust plowing up into the air. Shigaraki was tanking blasts of Endeavor's fire rather casually, and the aforementioned villain moving at speeds that any normal person — even someone as trained as Stain — shouldn't have been capable of without some sort of speed quirk.
How'd he get so powerful?
"That's an easy one; the Doctor did say he was working on him, after all. Turns out, Shigaraki has All For One now."
What!?
"Aizawa-sensei!" Ashido smiled, relief obvious in her expression. "It's good to see that you're alright! I was so worried awhile ago!"
Izuku blinked. He hadn't realized it, but during his brief examination of the ongoing battle Ashido had led him straight towards Aizawa, who himself was being supported by Rock Lock — whom Aizawa was leaning heavily upon — and Manual — who was keeping Aizawa's eyes moist to prevent him from blinking.
Aizawa didn't turn to look at either of them, but it was clear that simply hearing Ashido's voice eased him up a bit, his face growing a little less on edge and his shoulders becoming less tense than before.
"No need to worry about me," Aizawa said. "I'm fine Ashido. Considering everything that's going on, a sprained ankle is nothing but a minor inconvenience. It should be me who's worrying about you."
"Oh come on!" Ashido stammered a foot on the ground. "Not you too! You're sounding just like Midoriya right now!"
"And would the little troublemaker happen to be with you as well?"
"He is!" Ashido exclaimed. "And draped over my shoulder, in fact!"
Izuku smirked, letting out a small chuckle. "Like you said, sensei. All things considered, I'm actually pretty alright. I hope that my absence didn't worry you all too much?"
Aizawa shook his head, letting out a sigh. "You and I are going to need another talk, brat. But that's for later. Right now, I need you two to get out of here. You're in no condition to do anything, especially with how Shigaraki is now. Ashido, you're in charge. Just in case Midoriya gets any ideas."
Ashido nodded her head. "You heard the man, Midoriya! Time to get you out of here!"
"What?!" Izuku flailed, attempting to break free of Ashido's iron grip as she began to carry him off in the other direction. "Wait, no! I can help!"
Aizawa let out a grunt. "This isn't the time for misguided bouts of heroism, Midoriya. I didn't miss the fact that Ashido mentioned you being draped over her. Can you even walk at the moment?"
"I can!" Izuku refuted.
"Okay, he might be able to right now," Ashido started, "but he couldn't a while ago! He could barely talk at all—"
"Ashido—"
She didn't take heed of Izuku's rebuttal. "And like you said, he couldn't even walk! I had to carry him. And then this fri—"
"Not now, Ashido!" Izuku interrupted with a shout. He took a breath before continuing. "Sorry for yelling. But please don't… talk about… that. At least not yet. We can talk about it later, in private. And we can figure out what to do then. Please?"
Ashido looked into his pleading eyes, and at that moment she knew that Izuku wouldn't take no for an answer. "Okay, okay. Fine, you win," she said.
"Ashido…" Aizawa warned.
"I want to hear him out, at least," Ashido said. She focused back on Izuku. "So what do you want me to do?"
"Just… set me down."
"What?" Ashido asked, surprised. "Midoriya—"
"Look," Izuku interrupted her, "I need a second to think. And I'd rather not be taking up more of your energy in case we need it later. Point is, I… have a theory. I think that there's something I can do to help in the fight by a huge margin. Of course, I'm not certain if I can actually do what I'm thinking, but I need to try at least, right? And, if what I think I can do is not something that I actually can do, then you can drag me off to whatever triage area the heroes have set up, okay?"
Ashido hesitated, unsure if going through with Izuku's proposal would be the best course of action. But with another quick look at his eyes — eyes that shone in determination and had preserved through days of experimentation — she steeled herself and relented to Izuku's plan.
"Okay," she finally said, bending down and placing Izuku on the ground. "Okay, fine. Do it. Put your brain to work like you usually do."
"One minute, Midoriya," Aizawa called out. "Otherwise you're out of here."
Izuku nodded, not that Aizawa could actually see the motion, but Izuku did it nonetheless. "Of course, sensei. Be back with you in a bit."
He closed his eyes, took a long, deep breath, and lost himself to his mind once more.
"Huh. I didn't think that you'd be able to actually get back here all by yourself. Call me surprised."
Izuku opened his eyes. Taylor was in front of him, and he found himself in his mindscape once again; just as planned.
"I take it you have a specific reason for coming here of your own volition?" Taylor asked.
Izuku stood up, removing himself from the same sitting position he had placed himself in back in the living world. "Yeah. I thought of something and I wanted to talk to you about it."
"And you had to come here for that, despite the fact that we can talk quite easily through your thoughts?"
"Time flows differently here, right?" Izuku gestured to his surroundings. "Or, at least my perception of time. And I don't know if you've noticed, but I believe that every second counts with what Shigaraki has become."
Izuku got right to the point. "You said that he received All For One?"
Taylor nodded. "Courtesy of the Doctor himself. And that's not all — Shigaraki's the culmination of Garaki's work; the man's magnum opus, so to say. Shigaraki is essentially a perfected Nomu, with the enhanced physiology and capabilities expected of a High End. Of course, the main difference is the preservation of a complete and sane mind, and the addition of all the quirks entailed with All For One."
"That's why he's able to brust off Endeavor's fire despite getting massive burns, and why he's so fast despite Aizawa using his quirk," Izuku summed up. "But I already deduced that myself."
Taylor arched an eyebrow. "If you already had, then what is it that you wanted to talk about?"
"It's about what you…" Izuku cleared his throat. "What you did with... Ruka."
Taylor scoffed. "Thought of that already; it isn't a viable strategy."
"What?" Izuku's eyes widened. "You— Why ever the heck not?"
"Like I said, his mind is already escalating beyond what's normal for a normal human — heck, even a parahuman. There isn't much hope that I can fully take control of his body — at least, not without more time for me to hone the ability. You saw what happened with Appendage Shard, I lost control due to a simple punch; and her mind was much less resilient!"
"Then don't take control of him!" Izuku countered. "You just need to mess him up a bit, make it so he misses attacks or messes up in the middle of a dodge!"
Taylor tilted her head, humming in thought. "Hmm… You mean like Alec? Seems like you're thinking outside the box already." She paused, tapping her finger against her thigh. "I… suppose that could work."
"Great!" Izuku cheered. "Then—"
"But!" Taylor interrupted, causing Izuku to stop himself from continuing. She continued on. "It still isn't a feasible plan, all things considered."
Izuku looked at her with a flat expression. "And why, exactly?"
Taylor crossed her one arm across her chest, narrowing her eyes towards Izuku.
"Well?" Izuku asked again.
Taylor sighed. "Look, it's true that I would be able to affect him in short bursts; make it so his muscles spasm at inopportune moments. I can hamper his ability to land otherwise devastating attacks, or make it so he stumbles in the middle of getting blasted by one of Endeavor's signature moves."
"The problem," Taylor tilted her head forward, looking Izuku straight in the eyes, "is range."
Izuku groaned in frustration, all but ready to rip some of his hair out from his scalp. "Range? You're kidding? It's not like with our bugs?"
Taylor shook her head. "The range for… taking over people's bodies via their shards is a lot smaller."
"How small?" Izuku interrogated.
Taylor gestured with her hand. "Erm… give or take a hundred feet."
Izuku's face scrunched up in confusion. "That… still sounds pretty decent?"
Taylor scoffed. "With speed like Shigaraki's?"
Izuku opened his mouth to counter that point, but closed it after a second's hesitation. "Good point," he sighed. "Nowhere even close to a single city block, eh?"
"Not that there's much of a city left."
"Wha— Taylor!"
Taylor looked at him with an innocent expression. "What?"
"What? What do you mean what?"
"I'm just trying to lighten the mood! Sheesh!"
"With dark humor? After countless people have already died?"
Taylor shrugged.
Izuku shook his head. "Nevermind. Can you send me back now?"
Taylor smirked. "Can't you do that yourself?"
"Taylor…"
Taylor rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah." She snapped her fingers. "And done."
"Shit! Endeavor's down!"
"Is that sick fuck mocking us with that pose?!"
"He's looking right at us!"
"Midoriya! What are you doing! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! We've got a problem!"
Izuku woke up to Ashido's yelling and the shaking of his unmoving body. His eyes shot open, meeting Ashido's own panicked look.
"Aha! Thought I was going to have to slap you awake!" She abruptly pulled him up to his feet, forcibly gluing him to her side. "I got him sensei!" She called out, shouting in Aizawa's direction. She immediately turned afterwards, starting off in the direction away from the battle whilst pulling Izuku along. "Starting evac now—!"
"Wait!" Izuku interrupted, fighting against Ashido's hold.
Aizawa visibly tensed. "Midoriya—"
"No, I figured it out!" Izuku argued.
His fight against Ashido's grip didn't last long after that. Izuku's claim led Ashido to loosen her grip, though keeping a firm enough handle to continue in aiding him to stand.
"I figured it out!" Izuku asserted. "Something that can really mess with Shigaraki's effectiveness in battle!"
"Spit it out Midoriya!" Aizawa shouted, still keeping his eyes on his target. "We don't have much time!"
"Right! First off, I just need to get closer—!"
"Absolutely not!"
"Are you telling me that I shouldn't help when I can?"
"Not in your current condition, Midoriya!"
"Argh! Sensei, you need to—"
"LOOK OUT! INCOMING!"
All of those not already looking towards the battle zone jerked their heads in that direction. The first, and only, thing that they all saw was the burnt and battle-worn form of Shigaraki zooming through the air, closing in on their very position.
Very few were able to react to the incoming danger, Shigaraki's speed proving to be too much for the average eye to track. There were a few who could, though, and those individuals were the ones to act.
Rock Lock left Aizawa to Manual, running forward to do whatever he could to hamper Shigaraki's arrival. Gran Torino also shot forward, the air erupting from his feet and propelling him forward towards the enemy.
It was a hopeless struggle, that much Izuku knew for sure from just a glance. Shigaraki's sheer strength and speed would shred past Rock Lock, push aside Gran Torino with ease, and would obliterate Aizawa with the flick of a finger.
And yet, despite the odds, Izuku still steeled himself to act. All that was needed was Shigaraki to fall into range, and however many seconds such a hindrance would grant could prove crucial to the final outcome of the battle.
300 feet… 280 feet… 230 feet… 150 feet… 120 feet...
Izuku almost didn't see it — a slight movement erupting from the ground catching his attention despite the incoming threat of an All For One-empowered Shigaraki. Soon, the bulge evolved into a whole arm, the whole arm turning to a body, all culminating to reveal a rather miraculous sight indeed.
The unexpected punch catching the villain by complete surprise, Shigaraki being forcibly pushed back and launched back in the direction he had come from. It was true that Shigaraki wasn't even close to Izuku's range anymore, but it didn't matter.
"POOOWWWEERRR!"
Togata's smiling form appearing in the nick of time meant only one thing: the fated ongoing battle between One For All and All For One was set to commence once again.
And despite all the uncertainty floating around in the air, there was one thing that was for certain — Izuku would do all he could to ensure the bearer of One For All would continue on, this time. No matter the cost.
A/N: Shigaraki has the heroes pushed into a corner, but Togata's timely arrival may prove to be a turning point in the battle. What's going to happen next? How will Shigaraki fare against this newcomer? And just how far is Izuku willing to go? Find out next time on Flight of the Dragonfly!
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