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Eijirou’s POV
The roads burned, and the night sky was alight with fire. Glass shattered, both screams and laughter in the distance. The streets, littered with blood, bodies of civilians and heroes alike. Battered, lay to rest fighting and defending their friends.
It was more manly than Eijirou could say for himself. At least it would be two years ago give-or-taken. The faux redhead was backed against the wall, cornered and his quirk activated. In front of him were Iida, Mina, and Yaomomo. The heat was blazing as he ran up and broke another one of Cementoss’ concrete walls with a hardened kick. Yaomomo had pulled out a sledgehammer, smashing away as Mina’s acid burned and away at the manipulated cement, smoke curling from handprints where Mina had melted it.
Cementoss kept creating more and more walls. This wasn’t getting them anywhere, somebody had to act fast before they all got fatigued. Yet luckily it sounded like Iida had a plan. Iida ran up an untouched wall over the pro hero’s defenses with a Recipro burst. It still marveled Eijirou how the teenager could defy physics and do flips in the air using his quirk; even though they’d been working together for a little over a year.
The blue-haired teen successfully flew over the Concrete hero’s walls before he had the time to react, and kick him in the head with a crack.
“ Go, Blood Riot! We got this!” The pink-skinned teenager called, finally able to crumble the wall with her quirk and run through.
Eijirou nodded, dashing off into the blazing night.
----- ----
The redhead didn’t know how far he’d ran, only that he stopped. The scenery had changed not all that greatly, yet it was still an extreme. It was dark, shady, unnerving even for him; who had worked in the scariest of back-alleys with Katsuki, Iida, and Akaguro-sensei. The air was still, almost suffocatingly-stiff. It terrified him to no end, that his skin burned, even though he was far enough away from the flames.
‘You’re being watched’ his instinct told him as he listened to the ongoing chatter of his friends through his earpiece.
“Team Firestarter on the South Side, this is Mockingjay and I'd like an update on the status of everyone.”
“Toxin from Team Shatter, we finished off Cementoss and sent Blood Riot off to cover more ground. Riot, are you alright?” He heard Mina’s voice from his earpiece.
Ejirou sighed, pressing‘talk’.
“Yeah, I’m alright, but I'm feeling pretty uneasy, I think someone is watching me.”
The war cry that sounded behind him was only further proof. He hardened, turned around, and his arm clashed with the arm of a silver-colored man. Only sheer aggression in his steely eyes; similar to a mother trying to protect or save her son.
Absurd that he vaguely recognized this man, around his age.
----- ----
"Kiri, bro, there’s this dude who’s scarily like you. Like, his quirk is steel, and it’s almost just like yours.” Kaminari had suddenly brought up as they were playing video games on the TV. Now what he said did intrigue Eijirou. A person, like him at Yuuei? Would they ever meet? If so, would they clash?
Kaminari then shivered. “...Even his teeth are similar to yours. His name is Tetsutetsu, err... his hero name is Real Steel, in case you meet him.”
----- ----
Is what he realized as he came face-to-face with this familiar stranger.“You’ll know him when you see him.” Kaminari had reassured him and smiled.
So, this was “Tetsutetsu”? Eijirou smiled.
“So, you’re the one they call ‘Real Steel’?” The villain chuckled as he parried another one of the ash-head's strikes. “Denki told me all about you.” That made Tetsutestsu wince, before his eyes became fiercer, and his strikes harder.
Eijirou only stepped back, on the defensive to the Yuuei student’s relentless attacks. Clash after clash until the villain decided to throw a right hook, catching Tetsutetsu off guard. He lost his balance and fell backwards.
The hero-in-training wheezed, before jumping back to his feet. “Didn’t recognize you at first. You’re Blood Riot from the Zerosquad, aren’t you? What’s it like working with The Second Hero Killer?” He asked, hoping to distract the redhead in front of him, but his gaze only hardened.
“This fight is between us, not Ground.” Eijirou said, his voice unwavering.
With that, they clashed again.
Hitoshi’s POV
The part of the city that the plum-haired boy was in was as silent as it could be, as well as dark. His legs dangling off the roof as wailing could be heard in the distance, as well as glass shattering.
It was almost... cold, as a weak breeze blew from behind him, giving his arms goosebumps and making the hairs of his neck stand on end.
He of course could see the smoke from here, as well as the shouting coming from the streets below. Smaller criminals had of course, taken the battle as an opportunity to rob stores and banks, wreaking more havoc and making everyone’s job a little bit easier.
Yet, as more damage was made to the city, he winced, more and more. With every glass break, or the overwhelming smoke in the distance caused by Team Firestarter. His friend’s voices coming from the crackling earpiece that Tokoyami heard too.
“Shock... leading Team Bolt on the east side, we broke into a warehouse.” Denki whimpered through the earpiece.
“Are you alright in there?” A voice he recognized as Mina’s asked.
A nervous chuckle. “I’ve been better, but I'll manage.”
He stopped listening, sighing and leaning back.
“I used to want to protect this city.” He said wistfully, turning to the feather-coated boy next to him, the boy’s shadow reclining as all three of them watched the siege from above.
“What changed?” Tokoyami asked, turning to Hitoshi.
Hitoshi only exhaled again, looking to the sky. It was too polluted with smoke and gas to see the stars, yet he was sure somewhere around the world, somebody saw them; and they thought they were beautiful. Hitoshi let out a dry laugh, before answering the bird-headed teen’s question.
“’Guess I wasn’t good enough.”
Ochako’s POV
It wasn’t going as well as Ochako hoped it would, Ojirou trapped in solid air by a kid’s quirk certainly wasn’t helping their situation. They were against two Yuuei kids in an alley, the flames from Team Firestarter just outside on the main street. Blue flashes occasionally as well.
She tapped her earpiece, speaking into it.
“We need help on the north side from Team Outlier, preferably Gleam or Tripwire, stat. Mutant’s incapacitated.” Before turning it off to face her opponent.
What was his name again? Kamakiri, was it?
She was virtually alone in this corner, Tsu-chan busy lashing out at the guy with the solid air quirk while trying to break Ojirou free in a different corner. So focused on her own mission, unable to give Ochako aid. That was fine, though. Ochako was perfectly capable.
She bared her teeth at Kamakiri. What was the green teenager's quirk again, Blades? Well, it was time to fight fire with fire and test which person’s blade was the strongest. The hero’s or the villain’s? Whenever she was intertwined with a hero’s tale, there was never a happily ever after; and she intended of keeping it that way- no exceptions.
“What’re you gonna do now, pussy? Shaking in your boots, now that the frog freak can’t protect you?”
That was it.
This fucker just signed his death warrant.
Her face flushed in anger as she lunged for him, blade in hand. He immediately activated his quirk and swung at her, causing Ochako to jump back. She leaped and slashed at the green-faced teen, getting a good hit on his shoulder.
“Normally I’d chop your fucking quirk off, but I’ve heard it cuts steel so I’m not sure how productive that would be to try.” She snarled, slapping him as he swung at her another time.
“Pussy move! When you let me down, I’ll kick your ass!” Kamakiri barked as he floated.
Ochako smiled. “Who said I was gonna let you down?”
A crash from beside her, Ojirou was free. But how? Tsuyu had the solid air guy captured. That only left... The brunette had to try it out.
“Ghost, now!” She shouted. Instantly she felt a whoosh of air by her body, before Kamakiri was slammed into a wall. “...And release!” She shouted, slamming Kamakiri into the ground.
“Thanks, Ghost.” Ochako grinned at where she believed the invisible girl was.
"Noooo problem!” Tooru cheerfully shouted.
She then frowned, walking and crouching in front of Kamakiri.
“It’s a shame that I had to be the hero in this story, isn’t it? Ever heard of Zero Gravity?” She smirked at his groaning, twitching figure at the ground.
“Oh, you’ll live.” She said softly, before getting back up.
She looked behind her at her team.
Tsu-chan had ditched the solid air kid, Ojirou was free, and Hagakure was somewhere around them.
“Team Whiplash, we’re done here.” She declared. “Let’s roll out.”
Shouto’s POV
Bounding around the sieged city and making it burn with Bakugou, Jirou, and his brother was probably the last thing he’d ever thought himself of doing. But everything he’d worked for would all come down to this day, would it not? It was high time they took to the streets, wasn’t it? Even so, he couldn’t shake the hollowness of his chest away as easily.
------- ----
“Kacchan, Shouto, Dabi, and Jirou on Team Firestarter. You guys will be out first. Blow shit up, be sure to catch heroes off guard, whatever. Just make sure to destroy most buildings in sight so they won’t have any strongholds left in the city to plan or stage a counterattack.” Izuku smiled.
“Mina, Kirishima, Yaomomo, and Iida on Team Shatter....” Shouto stopped listening.
If Izuku wasn’t going to cause havoc with Team Firestarter, then what the hell was he doing?
“...And I’ll be on Team Outlier. Scavenging for any useful quirks I might take. Remember, guys. After tonight, I expect this city to be a part of our territory. Got that?” Izuku smirked. Everyone nodded. “Yessir.”
“Great!” He smiled, clapping his hands together enthusiastically. “Let’s roll out!”
The group broke up into their new teams with relative ease. Shouto’s team was the first to go.
“Let’s move it, assholes!” Bakugou called out to them.
“Like you're one to talk.” Jirou smirked, walking to stand beside Bakugou.
“You gonna join them, Shouto, or are you just going to stand and stare?” A voice laughed from behind him.
He almost jumped.“I-I think I’ll manage.” The red-and-white haired teen stuttered to the greenette as he spun around .
But what if he couldn’t manage? What if there was a call and he couldn’t arrive on time? What if someone from his team dies? Or the leader of the siege? What would they do then? They would have to retreat and grieve. They’d all be arrested and probably sent to Tartarus or worse for their crimes. Or worse, he’d be separated and sent to his father.
These were the questions racing through his mind, metaphorical chills going down his spine, as his expression darkened.
“Hey. Shouto. Look at me.” Izuku said, his light expression hardening into one of determination as Shouto met his eyes.“You already know we’ve been going over this plan for days. Whatever you’re thinking right now, I can guarantee you it won't come to pass; and if it does...” The greenette didn’t finish his sentence, just standing up on the tips of his toes and pecking Shouto on the cheek.
“Then you’ll have a happy memory to keep before everything goes to hell.” He continued, before smiling again.
“Now get out there. Kacchan looks just about ready to kick our asses.” Izuku laughed.
Shouto slowly nodded. “Right...”
------- ----
Those thoughts were returning to him as he leaped from building to building using his ice, Bakugou right beside him, using his quirk to boost him through the air.
Looking at Shouto, he scowled. “Deku is going to be fucking fine. He could kick both of our asses 2 times over and still have some stamina left, got that?”
That's what shook Shouto awake. He gave the ash blond a small smile. “You know what, Ground Zero? You might actually give the best advice out of all of all.”
That made Bakugou glare and look down. “Whatever.”
Then, he looked up and his eyes widened. “Hey, eyes on the road, asshole!” He shouted, abruptly stopping. Shouto looked up, ducking behind some debris to find some familiar.... oh no...
Endeavor had completely annihilated one of the noumu sent to scope out before them, and Shouto’s stomach dropped in fear. Jirou and Touya had finally caught up to them, jogging and out of breath.
“What’s-” Jirou panted, before Bakugou cut her off.
“Get down!” He shouted.
Touya sat down and made himself comfortable next to his brother.
“It’s him.” Shouto said, before his brother had any time to ask.
“It’s him.” He repeated, breathless.
Touya was silent for a moment, before turning to Bakugou. “What’s the probability that we’re going to die within the next 10 minutes?” He demanded.
“If we engage? Pretty fuckin high.” The ash blond grunted.
“Well, we might as well go out with a bang.” Jirou smirked.
He could almost feel Bakugou rolling his eyes. Shouto expected them to charge in, but they were waiting. But for what?
Me. He realized with a start. They were smart enough to not charge in against Endeavor unless everyone was on board with it. Good, they needed all hands on deck with this one.
With that, Shouto’s cold, eyes became alight with a hunger, a desire to see Endeavor be burnt by his own flames.
Shouto grinned. “Let’s make sure this bastard doesn’t see the next sunrise.”
“Alright!” Bakugou cheered, jumping up. Jirou followed, then Shouto himself.
What the red-and-white haired teen didn’t notice was that Touya lingered, for at least 3 seconds. Watching with warmth and pride in his eyes as his little brother charged ahead. But some things are best left unseen.
Izuku’s POV
Where Izuku was, the air reeked of blood. The fear coming from the civilians was suffocating, and he loathed it. Why again had he agreed to take that empath quirk? It was beyond him currently.
“Get away, villain!” The ginger girl in front of him tries to sound brave, when she activated her quirk, but he could feel the fear coming off of her in waves. “I’ll torch your ass, you hear me?!” The redhead girl screamed. Fire replaced her hands in a show of panic. “I’m not scared of you!”
Her fear-scent said otherwise, and so did her actions. The greenette was completely unamused by her lies. In his mind, rushing a million miles a minute, he grabbed onto one idea.
'Let’s up the stakes.' He smirked.
“Damn, you mean you don’t remember me? I guess I disappeared in that explosion for nothing. Kacchan’s gonna be so smug about this.” Izuku shrugged, watching her become bug-eyed.
She inhaled sharply, almost in a gasp. “D-deku?” She backed away, her flames extinguishing. The fear was coming out of her in violent waves of nausea as she became paler; almost as if she’d seen a ghost. It was disorienting to Izuku; he had to act fast.
In a flash of purple-green lightning, he lunged at her, and it was all over.
Whenever he activates All for One, everything becomes a blur. All he can see is the quirk that he wants; and only once it’s deactivated does he truly see again. That’s how he noticed that he was in a different position than he was before he activated the quirk. The redhead backed up against the wall, her teeth bared.
She surged her hands forward.
…
Nothing happened.
She surged them forward again.
…
Again, nothing.
This show was getting old.
She tried again, again and again and again. But nothing happened. The strongest emotion Izuku could sense coming from her was Panic. Panic, confusion, anger.
Finally, Izuku took pity on the redhead. “What’cha tryna use?” He smirked.
He raised up his hands, and to the girl’s absolute horror, they set ablaze with her own quirk.
It was only a short burst of flame, but it was enough to have her burst into tears.
Quirk: Torch – You can generate fire from your fingertips, and blow it out for long-range attacks. Like fire-breath.
A quirk he probably could’ve had, had Hisashi actually existed. But that was not his reality. Instead, he walked out of the alley, feeling quite satisfied with his new quirk, and strided along the empty street of the centre. He pressed 'talk’ on his ear piece.
“Deku from Team Outlier in the centre. I got a new quirk. Give me status updates before reporting to the centre square.”
“Blood Riot from Team Shatter on the east side. I finished up my fight with Real Steel. Regrouping with the rest of my team and then heading to the centre."
“Mind Blank, Erebus, and Dark Shadow already in the centre. Heading to the centre square.”
“Shock from Team Bolt on the south side. We got the supplies for Hatsumei. We’re going to the centre right now.”
“Ground Zero from Team Firestarter on the west side. We had to retreat as we got into a squabble with Endeavor. We’re alright... mostly. We’re making our way to the centre .”
“Wait, you guys did what? ” That was Kaminari.
“He took down a Noumu, he was going to kill us otherwise.” Izuku could imagine Dabi shrugging when he said that, and he was sure everyone else could, too.
“Err... Toxin from Team Shatter, still on the east side. We got into a teensy tiny squabble with some amateur hero named Black Smoke. It’s alright though. Going to the centre right now.”
More all clears came from Team Outlier and Team Whiplash confirming that they were indeed going to the centre.
“Great! Meet you guys there!” The greenette exclaimed.
----
Izuku didn’t take as many shortcuts as he thought he might going to the centre. When he arrived, there was absolute chaos. This was the extent of the damage, eh? Random debris on the streets had caught fire from possibly Shouto and Dabi. They were here, weren’t they? In some other part of the city centre. The screams in the near area proved it.
He picked up the pace of his run, dissolving in the process. But midway through, it stopped. He had stopped fucking dissolving. That only had to mean one thing, didn’t it? He realized as he was restrained by an off-white piece of cloth. A “capture scarf”.
He had encountered a pro hero. But not just any pro hero, the underground Erasure Hero: Eraser Head. Izuku turned to face him, exasperated. The noiret man’s lips were drawn in a scowl, and Izuku was sure that his eyes held the same ferocity. Yet they were obscured by the golden goggles he wore on his eyes.
All he needed to do is find the interval in which he blinks and take it down from there.
Yet his strategy wouldn’t’ve worked anyway, considering the shiver that went down his spine.
He’s here. The villain realized with a start, seeing the muscular silhouette appear through the smoke. Both All Might and Eraser Head? There was absolutely no way he could win this fight alone now.
“Young Midoriya, there is no need for this battle to continue. Please, let the raid end. We can save you all from All f or One.” There was a hint of desperation and exhaustion in All Might’s voice that wasn’t there before, and Izuku could feel it, too. The Symbol of Peace was pleading with him. Yagi was worn out, guilty.
Good. Izuku bared his teeth. He should be.
“ Save us? ” The villain snarled. “Didn’t you throw that opportunity away two years ago, Yagi-san? It’s funny that the one time you told me to choose a new path, I listened. So did everyone else who’s joined me tonight.” There was a wild look on his face as he threw his head back in laughter. It was almost absurd, that this was the same weak, bright-eyed child who asked All Might if he could ever become a hero; even if he didn’t have a quirk.
All Might would find himself guilty for everything that had happened since then. If you’d ask him the events leading to the downfall of Midoriya Izuku, and the rise of Deku, he’d hang his head in shame. It was his own actions, his very words that led to the domino effect for this battle to have even taken place. So, he might as well take the blame for it. The destroyed city? That too. But most of all, not bringing Inko’s son back home to her.
Yet this was no longer Inko's innocent son, who risked death to save his best friend. He’s a villain.
But the words seemed to leave a bad taste in Toshinori’s mouth as he tried to say.... anything. But he couldn’t. His time was running out, and they might overpower him.
Izuku smirked as he felt Eraserhead’s capture weapon loosen on him, as he heard his comrades through the earpiece.
"Deku’s been captured!”
“Really?”
“Yea, I can see it from my angle.”
“Deku, if you’re hearing this, give the fucking signal.”
They were staying true to their word, as he could sense them gathering behind him through the smoke.
This is it.
A frown and a sad sigh from Yagi. “If it is your wish to continue, Deku.” he sounded remorseful.
Yet the greenette just laughed again. “Now that’s what I'd like to hear.” He said, smacking away Eraserhead’s capture weapon with a snap. He saw the remaining heroes’ silhouettes gather behind All Might through the smoke, as Eraserhead seemingly left as quickly as he arrived.
The villain gave the signal, raising one hand; almost as if he was halting. Purple-Green lightning gathering around his body.
With that, the Dark Symbol of Justice and the Symbol of Peace led their forces to the last battle.
The worst and bloodiest of that Sunday still yet to ensue.