Chapter Text
Midoriya felt another punch from a too-large fist impact his stomach, making it violently toss and twist as he was sent flying yet again.
The day had started fine. Class 1-A had taken a trip to the USJ, for rescue training, and it had ended up being a fight for their very lives. Midoriya had been tossed with Tsuyu into the shipwreck zone, the two of them against about forty villains.
If Mineta hadn’t been expelled a couple of days before, maybe he would have been with them. Alas, he was not, so Midoriya had to work without him. And they had! They’d gotten off the ship and huddled near the main plaza, out of sight of the villains.
Then the man with a hand covering his face spoke.
“Kurogiri, All Might isn’t coming.” The man made of mist replied, his calm timbre contrasting the hand man’s high pitched raspy voice.
“Yes, but no one is going to come. Everyone’s been warped to their own zones. It’s not a total loss, Shigaraki.”
Shigaraki, huh?
The hulking creature that Shigaraki had addressed as Nomu was still perched just over Aizawa-sensei, holding his arm back threateningly. The other hand was forcing his head into the pavement, just hard enough that the pro-hero couldn’t lift his head up.
He was still alive. Injured, but alive. And Midoriya personally wanted to keep it like that.
“Well, if he isn’t here to die we can pass a message. Kurogiri, find the plain-looking one. That one… that one’s powerful. What better a message for the No. 1 hero for the one with the most potential to die?” The mist man nodded, at least Midoriya thought he nodded, and disappeared in on himself.
Midoriya analyzed the situation to himself.
The mist man could appear from nowhere and warp people anywhere he knew, which was dangerous. Shigaraki… Midoriya didn’t exactly know his Quirk, but his skin was dry and he kept itching his neck. In his own opinion, the man probably had a five-point contact Quirk, almost like Uraraka’s. And it was most likely that it was something to do with dust. Maybe disintegration? Yeah, that makes sense. Midoriya couldn’t think of a way to counter the mist villain, but five-point contact Quirks were pretty easy to avoid. Just don’t let their bare hands touch you, and you’re golden-
“Ah, you got off the boat. Optimal.” A smooth voice interrupted Midoriya’s thought process, and then he was surrounded by freezing mist. Tsuyu’s frightened shriek was cut off as his world folded in half around him, then he was stumbling out onto the stone making up a familiar platform. From right behind him, Aizawa-sensei grunted from his place being smashed into the stone.
And then the villain with the hand on his face was right in front of him, and all his senses froze.
Midoriya’s eyes were fixed on the hand right in front of his face, covering a chapped face. The world quietened, and he couldn’t feel his trembling fingers anymore. He felt eyes looking him up and down, and unconsciously OFA came to light.
But this time, it felt different. Instead of the burning he had gotten used to, it was more like warmth flooding inside him. In his brain, something snapped, and he felt himself draw up straight. A flash of what seemed like surprise flit across Shigaraki’s face.
“Huh. You didn’t light up like that before. Perhaps you are more than just an NPC.” Midoriya cocked an eyebrow, confidence welling up from the warmth.
“Yeah? You don’t look that much like a boss yourself, handyman.” And just like that, the man’s face twisted in anger.
But then…
A low, raspy chuckle rang out. Midoriya felt himself step back, body trying to get away from the sound of insanity. The laughing got louder and louder, until it was bouncing off the ceiling of the USJ and ringing through every zone. He shook his head, hands hovering around his chest. Only then did he notice the green lightning arcing off and spiraling around his forearms.
Huh. Cool.
Shigaraki had finally stopped laughing.
“Oh, no no no, little hero. I’m not a boss. Not the final one, at least.” His eyes flicked up to right behind Midoriya, and the greenette felt himself freeze.
“It is.” Midoriya whipped around, only just getting a sparking green arm up before a huge black fist smashed into where his head would have been. As it was, Midoriya was thrown across the stone platform, crashing into yet another fist.
How fast is this thing?
Shigaraki cackled again from his place on the platform.
“Meet Nomu, bio-engineered specifically to kill All Might! But, he isn’t here, so you’ll have to do instead. Don’t take it personally, you’re a side quest.” And with that, Midoriya felt seven voices at once shrieking through his head to-
JUMP!
His legs tensed, and with a rush of energy, he was in the air. A meaty fist swung where his ribs had been seconds before, and he decided to try a trick.
Whipping around, he crunched his core and did a sort of half-flip half-barrel roll move. The green lightning was still arcing off his body as he tensed his leg again and sent a gust of wind at the Nomu. The blast caught the hulking beast in the face, sending him skidding back a couple of steps. Midoriya’s leg throbbed, but it wasn’t broken.
Small mercies, right?
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tsuyu dragging Aizawa out of the danger zone. That was smart. Now Midoriya didn’t have to worry about hurting anyone but the villains and himself.
Nomu made a weird roaring-grunting noise, lifting a hand above its head again. Midoriya felt his eyes close for just a second, then there was a huge hand around his ankle and he was being swung down into the stone.
His senses came back to him one-by-one. The ringing in his ears gave way to terrified screams, and his vision went from spotty to almost painingly clear.
A thick glob of saliva fell on his aching shoulder, and he stared into the eyes of the Nomu. Shigaraki was cackling again, the raspy sound grating on his popped ears.
“Oh, I love seeing bratty NPCs getting what they deserve… but I guess it’s time to leave a message. Nomu?”
“Kill him.”