Chương 2290: 32
Chapter Text
"SMASH!"
The shout and the subsequent impact shook the building with ease. Dust and rubble flew every which way, lowering visibility with smoke that filled the room within seconds.
"Who would dare—"
"Kurogiri! Warp—"
Those little—"
"Oh no! The coppers! — Take me in, boys!"
Among the shouts and yells of discourse and surprise, Izuku remained in place within his restraints. His head immediately jerked towards the back wall, aiming to see through the thick wall of debris and smoke.
Out of nowhere, a sudden explosion of wood stretched out every which way, branches wrapping themselves around single every member of the League.
When the smoke cleared, Izuku caught sight of Kamui Woods hanging from the roof, with one hanging from the roof while the other extended into the hideout, trapping the various villains with little resistance.
Below him, All Might stood as imposing as ever, his face in a strange mix of anger and his usual happy smile. Beside All Might was a short, old man in yellow sporting a similar grimace minus the smile.
Turning to look at the villains, Izuku noticed the slumped form of Dabi — no doubt as a precaution by the heroes if Caustic's earlier remark of "fire boy" was anything to go by.
Along with Dabi, Harrow was slumped over too, most likely due to the fact that her arms would pose too much of a risk if they wanted to keep her restrained.
Izuku also noticed that there were a few openings now around the building, some of the muck that Caustic had placed likely having been displaced with the stampede of police outside.
Izuku let a few bugs in, but now so much as to impede on the work of his saviors. The few flies and spiders had called landed in his hair, their presence comforting him with their extra eyes and hearing. They all flicked over to All Might as he spoke.
"There's no escape for you, League of Villains. Why, you ask? Because we are here!"
He then turned towards Izuku, his smile as radiant as ever. "Izuku, my boy, are you alright?"
Izuku hesitated. "Yeah, but… I… I'm sorry All Might."
All Might tilted his head in confusion. "Whatever for, my boy?"
Izuku sighed. "It was… Their leader… I couldn't keep him here. He only just left a minute ago."
All Might's eyes snapped even further open than they were, his eyes holding a glare unlike Izuku had ever seen. "Their leader!? What was his name?"
"He said it was All For One," Izuku replied.
All Might's face grew into a minute grimace. "I see." He took a breath. "Don't worry about that for now, my boy. What matters is that you're safe. It seems that the raid has been successful."
The door to the room began to open then, a short tuft of sticking out from behind. "Indeed. One must never neglect defense, especially when attacking," came a familiar voice.
"Edgeshot!" Izuku exclaimed.
Behind said hero, the door slammed open, revealing a large swath of police officers. As the heavily armored police force swarmed in, two others trickled in through the doorway as well.
They were out of place compared to the rest, wearing normal police wear in place of the standard body armor.
Of the two, Izuku recognized one of the women as Asano Saya, one of the detectives that had questioned him all the way back after the U.S.J. Incident. The other was unfamiliar, her orange hair styled to a shape reminiscent of a crab. And, if anything, their next actions further cemented the strangeness of them being present.
"Alright! We all good? The baddies secured?" the one with orange hair asked.
"Be quiet and on guard, Kaniyashiki," officer Saya said. "We're still on enemy grounds."
"Oof. Come on, Saya! You don't have to be all grumpy anymore! We already cleared away that stinky glob stuff with Endeavor's fire. It doesn't stink anymore!"
"Hmph."
"Midoriya," Edgeshot said, gaining Izuku's attention as the stampede of footsteps settled down. "I'm glad to see that you're in good health. I hope the villains weren't too rough with you?" he asked.
"No," Izuku said. "They were actually kind of nice, all things considered. And this sludge is pretty comfortable, too."
"Hah! It better be, brat!" Caustic spouted. "Any less gratitude and I'd be going off to melt your skin!"
"You aren't in any position to be making threats, villain," All Might said.
A growl of frustration then came from Shigaraki, the sound primal and infused with rage. "All that planning… all that scheming… and the final boss just ends up showing up at our front door!"
All Might's eyes narrowed. "And what are you going to do about that, Shigaraki?"
Shigaraki scoffed. "Ohhhh. Plenty," he drawled. "It's a good thing that we're not the only ones you should be worrying about." His head swerved. "Kurogiri! Bring them all over to play!"
The heroes tensed, and the various police officers readied their guns, preparing for the oncoming onslaught.
But then… silence.
"Was something supposed to happen?" Kaniyashiki asked.
Kurogiri was the first to respond, more out of surprise than as a response to Kaniyashiki's question. "I'm sorry, Tomura Shigaraki. But all the nomu put away for us… they're all gone!"
All Might gave off a hearty laugh. "Looks like you still have a lot to learn, Shigaraki."
"What did you just say?!?" he roared.
"Your little League here has underestimated much," All Might continued without pause. "Your mischief has gone on for long enough. It all ends here, Tomura Shigaraki."
"'Ends here,' huh? You think it all ends here?!? No, I've already started gathering allies. It all begins here. Kurogiri!—"
And then the teleporter slumped in his restraints, too.
"What the heck happened?" the gas masked villain said.
"I merely rendered him unconscious," Edgeshot said, emerging from Kurogiri's body as a thin string.
"Ah! You used the 'Thousand Sheet Pierce!'" Izuku said.
"I did indeed, Midoriya."
"Heckin!" shouted Caustic, again gaining the attention of the heroes. "Hey, kid!" he said, looking towards the gas mask villain. "We lost our transport! Use your gas!"
"That's a stupid idea!" the boy shrilled. "My quirk will just knock all of us out! What would be the point? Heck, if anything, you have the most chances out of any of us. Why don't you just squirm out of the suit you're wearing, huh? Oh wait, that's right. You have control problems."
"Why, you little—"
"Quiet!" yelled the short old man. "Stop bickering. There's nowhere left to run. For any of you."
He turned towards Mr. Compress. "Atsuhiro Sako."
Then towards the other villain in the skintight suit. "Jin Bubaigawara."
And he continued on. "Himiko Toga."
"Gerald Sheldon," he said, moving to Bombastic.
"Noburu Taro." He spoke to Caustic.
Then towards the gas mask villain. "Inouye Hajime."
The man scanned them all for a moment before continuing. "I suggest that you all make it easier on yourselves. Surrender now," he finished.
"But one last thing. Now, tell me, Shigaraki, where is your boss?"
"No… Defeated… Just like this?" Shigaraki mumbled, his eyes darting back and forth in fury. "No freaking way!"
"Shigaraki!" All Might yelled. "Where is he?! Where's All For One?!?"
And that was when the black ooze came out, spawning various Nomus all around the heroes.
Izuku felt the same ooze spurting out oh his mouth, slowly growing to encapsulate his body.
The last thing he saw was the outstretched hand of All Might reaching out for him, only to miss as Izuku was engulfed in darkness.
Izuku came into being with the bubbling sound of the black ooze. He appeared in a slanted position midair, his body fixed as if he was still strapped down. He fell with his back facing downwards, his eyes facing upwards to the dust and smoke covered sky.
"My apologies, young Midoriya," came the eerily deep voice of All For One. "I hope the ride here wasn't too rough?"
Izuku instantly moved, rising from the ground to face the leader of the League of Villains. Behind him, the effervescent blub blub blub of the ooze came not too long after. Rather than turning, Izuku used the bugs on his head to take a look. He found the rest of the League standing behind him, just as shaken and confused as he was.
Of course, it wasn't long until Izuku took note of another thing. He was in a new place, completely unaffected from the gases emitted by Caustic. There was a whole three block radius of insects and bugs and arachnids all to himself for the taking. He took hold, basking in the feeling of millions of the little creatures tingling his mind. He sent an order, and then—
"Oh ho. We can't have you doing that now, can we?" laughed All For One.
Izuku looked toward the villain. "What?" He tried to play innocently.
All For One chuckled. And then he began to speak: "Heatwave. Blast Radius. Sphere of Influence. Range Enhancer."
Then, in a blink of an eye, a blast of heat came emanating out from All For One, pulsing out into the surrounding area. The result was instant; while the heat may not have been enough to kill a human, it was enough to make them uncomfortable in a few more seconds.
Unfortunately, that also meant that it was good enough to take care of a majority of the bugs in Izuku's range. Even the bugs on his head were dead, with some of his hair singed from the searing heat. The few bugs still alive in his range were either on the verge of death or buried fairly deep within the confines of rubble that would take minutes to escape from.
"Wonderful."
"Aww! come on, Mr. Bossman!" started one of the villains. "Did you really have to do that? That was way too hot! — But is was just what I needed! That hideout of ours was getting a bit cold with the draft we had!"
Izuku had to look back to confirm that yes, the two voices were actually one in the same and from the same man.
"That should take care of a good amount of your minions, Midoriya," All For One said, unaffected by the contradictory words being spoken before him by one of the members of his League.
"My apologies," he continued, " but I had to ensure that your quirk did little to hinder us. It is quite a troublesome power to deal with, after all."
Izuku gulped. He was surrounded on all sides, and completely without his immediate access to bugs. His own skills wouldn't overcome the fact that he was unnumbered, and All For One…
"You've failed again, Tomura," All For One spoke to his protégé. "But do not lose heart. There are still many chances ahead of you to set things right and learn tour path. That is why I brought along your little band," he motioned towards the others, "as well as young Midoriya here," his head tilted towards Izuku.
"So," he continued, "try again, because that is why I am here. To guide you along on your own path. It's all for you."
All For One looked down towards Izuku. "Oh, and Midoriya," he spoke, the sound of his voice filled with mirth," I do hope that you refrain from dying anything soon. We still have much to talk about, after all."
All For One straightened himself, chuckling while tilting his head slightly upwards. "Now, if you'll excuse me."
"ALL FOR ONE!!!" screamed the voice of All Might, his form shooting down from the skies to collide with the villain.
The initial impact blasted Izuku and the other villains away, launched somewhere among the rubble of the destroyed section of the city.
All For One and All Might began a trade of blows unlike anything anyone had ever seen, hit after hit causing devastating damage to their surroundings and each other.
After the initial awe and wonder wore off, however, Izuku — still just rising from the ground — remembered that he was still surrounded by a bunch of other villains.
The same seemed to be the case for the villains too, for they just now were turning their heads towards Izuku.
Of course, that was the moment All Might was hit, the force of All For One's attack throwing the Symbol of Peace across the ground like a stone skipping across water.
Izuku only stood still in place, too frozen in shock in fear of All For One targeting him next.
"Tomura," All For One began, "you and Ruka must escape. Kurogiri will help you with that."
"But sir!" Gerry — Bombastic, Izuku was calling him — began. "Mr. Kurogiri is incapacitated at the moment! He can't help us!"
All For One's fingers turned black and spindly, branching out until they stabbed right into the teleporter's unconscious body. A rift open behind Kurogiri, the familiar black mist growing in size into a moderately foreboding portal.
"Oh," Bombastic said. "I suppose that you could do that."
"Indeed," All For One confirmed. He then looked to Shigaraki. "Now go."
"But what about you, sensei?" Shigaraki asked, his voice shaking.
An impact shook the ground, All Might appearing once more.
"Always think ahead, Tomura. You have much to learn and grow into still."
Then All For One and All Might collided once more, and only then had the battle truly begun.
"Time to go Shigaraki!" uttered Compress. "Let the nice gentleman in the pipe mask hold All Might back!"
Izuku turned his head, spotting the magician compressing the form of Dabi and Harrow into his signature marbles.
"And take the boy, as well!" And then the other villains were looking right at him.
Izuku jerked his head side to side, searching for something to help him out of the predicament he found himself him.
Fortunately, he found a piece of rebar sticking out of the ground. He grabbed it, testing its weight; it would work as a makeshift eskrima stick for now.
"Stay back!" Izuku yelled, waving the rod of rebar forward. "I know how to use this!"
Caustic, for one, erupted in laughter. "You think that little piece of metal will do anything for ya?!?"
"Heh… yeah…" And then Izuku turned, sprinting off in the other direction.
"Izuku!" Toga whined. "Don't leave yet!"
Izuku didn't get too far, unfortunately. It only took about ten seconds before he was covered on his front side and back. Bombastic's speed carried him in front of Izuku while the others covered his back.
When Izuku tried for a path right, a large outpouring of Caustic's slurry shot out, nearly hitting him head on before he dodged backwards.
"Come on, kid," Bombastic said. "Don't make this so hard on yourself. There's no chance of escape."
"Midoriya!" All Might yelled, moving towards him. However, he didn't get far before he was pulled back into battle by All For One.
Izuku panned his attention back and forth for an opening among the villains' ranks or any little thing that could turn the tide in his favor.
"Caustic, fetch him," Shigaraki ordered.
"Gladly." The man stepped forward, the metallic clang of his feet echoing on the rubble below him.
Izuku couldn't see much he could do to escape, but that didn't stop him from acting. His hand jutted forward in a blur. The piece of rebar in his hand found itself lodged into Caustic's suit, right in between the joints of his right leg.
Caustic attempted to make another step, but promptly fell forward. "You brat!" he cursed. "Just wait until I get out of here, then you'll see—"
"Don't ditch the suit, you idiot," the gas masked villain berated. "We won't be able to get you a new one at this point if things go sour!"
Caustic growled from his position on the ground. "Don't think that just because we're on the same side that that means I won't melt your mouth off!"
"Gentlemen, please!" Compress begged. "We have little time as it is! Maybe we should—"
The villains' bickering went on. Some joined in, others refrained and simply watched Izuku, making sure he wouldn't make a break for it.
Izuku took the chance to scan his surroundings more, and that was when he saw… "Bakugou?"
"Hey!" Bakugou yelled, having appeared from behind a destroyed wall. "You little shits need to learn when to shut up!"
"Where the heck did you come from?!" the gas masked villain demanded.
Rather than respond, Bakugou — because of course he would — sparked his hands up as a challenge.
All the villains were facing away from Izuku. He was about to make a run for it, but stopped when he heard the faint voice of Setsuna whispering in his ears.
"Heya Izuku! Hope we didn't take too long?" her voice whispered, somehow still bearing a tinge of amusement despite the situation.
"What—"
"Shh!! Don't talk. It's just an FYI, but you should probably get ready and brace for impact, Away from the wall, anyways. Oh! And get ready to hold on when they pass by. Now!!"
Izuku did have much time to act or process whatever Setsuna had said other than by facing away from the wall.
The next thing he knew, a thundering 'KA-BOOM' shook the ground, launching rubble and smoke everywhere. It was just like before at the hideout, with the villains temporarily stunned and visibility all but dropped to zero.
A wave of ice arrived in the wake of the explosion, shooting out from among the smoke like a burst dam. Out front was Todoroki creating the ice. Or at least, he thought it was Todoroki. It was a bit difficult to tell under his disguise.
Behind Todoroki was a large metal sled being pushed by a much more identifiable Iida. And on the sled was a Kirishima with two metal horns protruding from his head with his hair down, and his hand held out for Izuku to take.
Taking no time to hesitate, Izuku took the offered hand, his body pulled onto the sled and whisked away from danger.
Izuku found himself hanging onto dear life onto the sled, sitting just behind Kirishima.
"Midoriya!" Iida exclaimed from behind. "You not feeling too hurt anywhere, see you?"
"Uh… no. I feel pretty fine, actually."
"You do?" asked Kirishima. "That was the hold League going onto you! You sure you're okay, man?"
"Yeah… yeah. I'm fine."
Izuku was fine physically, at least. In his mind, everything was still in chaos. As they furthered away from the villains, and the sound of battle faded to the background, Izuku still worried.
Taking a small peak behind, All For One and All Might were only specks on the horizon. He didn't have time to worry about it awhile ago, but now that he was safe, the worry had creeped back into his mind.
And that was what troubled Izuku, because he knew something that the others didn't. Izuku knew that under that strong, indomitable image that All Might always showed, that there was still a frail man, one who couldn't always hide behind his disguise of muscle and strength.
Izuku shook his head, focusing on ahead of him. He just had to trust that All Might would make it through.
"Alright. Uh huh. You guys all good? … The Akabi Toy Warehouse? Sure… gotcha. We'll be there in a jiffy."
Kirishima took his hand away from the headpiece and turned towards the other three people present.
He took a pause as he spotted the swarm of insects congregating above the boy they had rescued, almost acting as if some sort of watch dog. If watch dogs could fly and go everywhere at once, that is.
He found Iida and Todoroki still tending to the fatigued Izuku despite the swarm, making sure that he was in fairly good health and that his bandages were still in proper condition.
Kirishima cleared his throat, gaining the three's attention. "The others are meeting up in the Akabi Toy Factory. Yaoyorozu said that it's been abandoned for a while now, so we should be fine in there."
"Where is that?" Todoroki asked, his eyes narrowing. "It's not that far, is it? We still aren't sure of Midoriya's injuries."
"I said that I'm fine, Todoroki," Izuku whined. "Promise."
"Glad to hear it, Midoriya!" Kirishima exclaimed. "You guys don't need to worry, though. It's just down the street. Yaoyorozu made sure it wasn't too far from us just in case Midoriya needed to be carried or something."
"That's good!" Iida praised. "This looks like a job well done. I may have not approved of this at all, but it seems that the outcome was satisfactory in the end."
He stood, going over to pick up the discarded pieces medical supplies they had brought just in case. "I'll start to pack. You three ready up and prepare to leave. Take whatever's necessary."
That prompted Todoroki looked over at the sled that they had used to arrive at their current hiding place. "Does Yaoyorozu want her sled back?"
Kirishima laughed. "Wow, she was right! Somehow, she guessed that you would ask that."
Todoroki simply raised an eyebrow in response.
"Right..." Kirishima continued. "Anyway, no. 'I can make plenty of more' were more or less her words."
"Oh?" questioned Izuku. "Yaoyorozu made that sled?"
"She did, yeah."
"Huh," Izuku huffed. "Wait… how many of you guys are there? I mean, I know Setsuna and Manga were here. Setsuna for her mouth and Manga… also for his mouth… words… His quirk.
"And then there's you guys and Yaoyorozu, too, apparently... Oh! And Bakugou… Right…"
"That just leaves Kaminari, then," Kirishima said.
Izuku's eyes rose in intrigue. "Kaminari is here too?"
"Yup! Plus, he's the one who actually came up with the plan for saving you." Kirishima's smile widened. "You should have seen how manly he was when he started ordering us around! It was completely unlike him!"
"Huh," Izuku mused with a smile. "Guess I'll have to thank him when we meet up."
"Of course, Midoriya," Iida added, his backpack all ready to go. "Any other questions you have before we go?"
Izuku truly considered to question for a moment, and that was all he needed for the thought to come to mind.
"Is everyone else wearing weird costumes like you guys?"
Notes:
So, there's that! Not much for any new or unique things that deviate from canon for this chapter, unfortunately. But hey, that's what the next chapter is for!
Hope to see you all next time. 'Till then!
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