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Toshinori had already known there was a strong possibility that he would die when he entered the battlefield to face All for One...despite what he’d told Naomasa.
“Not once in my entire life...have I gone into battle expecting to lose!”
A wheezing chuckle passed his lips to accompany his crooked, enervated smile.
He didn’t consider dying a loss at this point. Not really.
He'd accomplished what he’d intended to do…which was serve as a distraction for as long as possible.
His suit had done its job and then some, but now it was a dented heap of broken parts.
The helmet had crumbled away to reveal his matted blonde hair. His long bangs were splayed on the gravel on either side of his face.
Almost all of the armor on his left arm had perished to reveal the shattered limb underneath while the right had been torn away completely.
“I WILL OBLITERATE YOU PIECE BY PIECE, LIMB BY LIMB...STARTING WITH THE ARM THAT HAS SMASHED SO MANY-!”
AFO had proceeded to use a quirk combination so brutally over the top, Toshi wasn’t even fully aware his right arm was gone until he had crashed into a building and was lying amongst the rubble. He'd tried lifting himself up only to realize there was nothing below his elbow. All that remained was jagged bone and dripping, torn flesh and muscle.
Yet, still, his smile had remained on his face as though permanently stuck there.
Hell, it’s not like he hadn’t had decades of practice holding it up even in dire situations.
“AND WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU STILL SMILING AT?!”
His left leg had been next.
AFO used yet another combination to clamp so powerfully on his leg that it immediately snapped and warped. He’d then yanked away the limb like a predator would rip up the meat of its prey.
AFO had belted a roar of anger before throwing him into yet another building.
And now he lay a wrecked form on the ground…the only limbs he had left were shattered and the armor that remained was struggling to hang on. His comm link had long since gone dead along with Hercules’ status updates.
“Now...” AFO landed on the ground a few feet away. “Now what do you have to smile about, All Might?”
The hissing tone let Toshinori know that he was still getting under his nemesis’ skin, and that was good. It meant he was still doing his job.
AFO’s footsteps sounded abnormally loud, rubble crunching with each menacing stride. He angrily kicked aside a chunk of Toshi’s mech suit. It clanged loudly across the gravel.
“Pathetic...” AFO said as he hovered over his bleeding, broken body. “Absolutely pathetic.”
AFO brought a foot down against Toshi’s old wound and it caused an explosion of pain to shoot throughout his body. AFO grinned maniacally at the scream that ripped from his enemy’s throat.
OFA could kill him right then and there if he really wanted to...but no. He hadn’t made him suffer enough. Not nearly enough…
OFA brought his foot down again and he could hear titanium ribs crack.
Blood sprayed from Toshi’s mouth as his eyes rolled back.
The pain was unbearable. It was absolutely agonizing.
But he had to hang on. He had to continue what he came here to do.
He...had...to...
AFO laughed darkly as he grabbed him by the throat and lifted him effortlessly off the ground, the rest of the mech suit crumbling away to rest where he once lay. Toshinori choked wetly and coughed, causing blood to drip even thicker down his chin and onto the clenched fist holding him.
“Pitiful. Absolutely pitiful,” AFO scorned. “And here I thought you couldn’t sink any lower...but now look at you. A quirkless, bleeding bag of bones with delusions of actually winning.”
Toshi wheezed, struggling to get even a little bit of air into his remaining lung. His side was still screaming with pain, but he was able to gather enough clarity to look his enemy dead in the eyes.
“Then...wh-why haven’t y-you killed m-me already?”
AFO’s eyes flashed dangerously.
“C-can’t even kill a quirkless bag ‘bones...” Toshinori continued as he flashed as bright a smile as he could muster. “Talk...’bout...pathetic...”
AFO’s face darkened with anger and pure hatred. His grip on Toshinori’s neck tightened, completely cutting off any hope and attempt at breathing.
Toshinori struggled to keep his smile up despite this.
“I’m going to tear out your other lung...then your heart...” AFO snarled. “Then I’m going to rip your head from your disgusting, weak body and take it to your successor...so he can see all that remains of his worthless, pathetic- AGH!”
There was a burst of light, and then suddenly they were both tumbling across the ground. AFO’s grip had loosened enough for Toshi to breathe in a little bit of air before he was choking on the dust and dirt around him.
AFO was quick to gain his footing again.
“What the-” he growled before a familiar, shouting voice from overhead cut him off.
“HEY! WHY DON’T YOU FIGHT ME INSTEAD, YA DAMN WANNABE?!”
AFO barely had time to look up before a blast to the chest sent him careening backward and through the air. Toshinori had only traveled a minor distance with him before the grip on his throat loosened and he was sent tumbling across the ground.
He came to a halt and choked in as much oxygen as he could. He coughed and blood spattered against the rocks. He vaguely thought to turn himself over, but he couldn’t even manage that with his lack of working limbs and adrenaline quickly leaving his body…not to mention the blood loss.
He fully expected to just lay there and listen to the battle until his world went black, but instead, he felt a warm hand on his arm. The person turned him over.
Toshi couldn’t even muster the shout of pain that wanted to burst from his bruised throat, so what came out instead was a rough groan.
“Dumbass...what the hell were you thinking?”
Toshinori opened his eyes. It took a moment for them to focus, but he would know that gruff voice and spiky, pale blonde hair anywhere.
“Kid-” Toshi started, only to choke on more blood.
“Shut up, idiot. Don’t try to talk right now,” Bakugou growled. “You and Izuku really are one and the same, you know that?”
It took a short moment for Toshinori to get enough breath into his lung to utter, “H-had to...d-distract...”
Bakugou’s face actually softened, “I know. I heard. And you did. But now we need to get you somewhere that’s at least somewhat safe.”
“N-no, my boy. You-” Toshi protested weakly.
“Would you shut up? I don’t have time to deal with your shit before Reborn Ugly comes around again!”
“B-but...you’re...hurt too, m’boy.”
Bakugou bristled a little.
It was true. He had literally just underwent what was essentially heart surgery on the battlefield…not that All Might needed to know that.
Needless to say, he definitely didn’t feel the greatest, but he was most definitely ready to kick some All for One ass.
“I’m fine. I’ll be fine. Now, come on.”
Before Toshinori could protest further, Bakugou hoisted him up and onto his back.
The trudge to “safety” was difficult for multiple reasons. One reason being the extreme height difference between he and his teacher, and the other being the fact that, essentially, no where was safe. He did find a spot not too far away, however, amongst the wreckage.
Bakugou eased his teacher against the brick wall of a building, then he quickly got to work on first aid. He ripped away fabric from his own torn shirt and tied it around the man’s leg right above the knee of the forced amputation. He then removed All Might’s large sock from his only remaining foot and tied it above where his left arm used to be. Once he was finished with the makeshift tourniquets, he looked around for anything else he could possibly use.
It didn’t take long before he noticed that the building All Might was leaning against was actually an apartment building.
Perfect.
“Stay here,” Bakugou ordered.
Toshinori gave a tired, lopsided smile, “Where could I poss’bly go, m’boy?”
“Tch...” Bakugou scoffed over the poor joke before slamming his gauntlets against the window over his teacher’s head.
Toshi didn’t even flinch as the shattered glass rained down on him.
Bakugou quickly found what he needed within the evacuated apartment: utility tape and t-shirts.
Bakugou leaped back through the window, haul in hand.
“Alright, this might hurt but I need you to stay a-“
Bakugou stopped short and his stomach flipped as he saw his teacher’s eyes were closed.
“HEY!” he shouted before slapping him hard across the face (if Izuku were there he would’ve scolded him for hitting their teacher too hard).
All Might’s eyes immediately flew open, though, which was the goal.
“Wake up, damn it! If you die, Izuku will never stop crying! So don’t fall asleep, you idiot!”
Toshi coughed quietly, eyelids drooping again as he was being yelled at. They remained open, though, as he murmured an obedient, “Mhm.”
Bakugou made quick work of taping down the t-shirts to the bleeding stumps. He was far from an expert at medical care, but as long as he could get All Might to stop bleeding to death, he’d consider it a win. He had lost way too much blood already.
There was suddenly a crash a few yards away, along with an outraged shout.
Bakugou glared over his shoulder in the direction.
“Time to kill that bastard,” he growled before turning back to his teacher. “Hey...you stay alive, alright?”
Toshi smiled at his student’s threatening words, “I’ll try m’best, young Baku...gou...”
Bakugou suddenly felt tears swelling in his throat, “N-no, don’t try. Just do it.”
His teacher just looked at him. He would’ve given a thumbs up if he could’ve...but he couldn’t. So, instead, he mustered up enough energy to open his eyes a little more and smile a little wider.
“’m proud...of you...” Toshinori murmured.
Bakugou’s lip quivered and he lowered his head. He let out a choked noise that sounded suspiciously like a sob as he angrily tried to blink away tears.
Another blast rocked the city, vibrating the buildings around them and the earth beneath them.
Bakugou whipped his head up so he was looking All Might in the eye. A lone tear dripped down his cheek as he fished for the All Might collector’s card in his pocket. When he found it, he shoved it into his teacher’s upturned palm that was laying limp on the ground. He made sure to curl the man’s bloody, lax fingers around it.
Toshi looked curiously down at it.
“Y-you have to stay alive, idiot,” Bakugou ground out. “So you can sign my All Might trading card. I’d n-never been able to ask you before...but n-now...”
He furiously wiped his elbow over his eyes.
“If you don’t stay alive long enough to sign it, I’ll forever be pissed at you, you got that?!” he shouted, voice cracking.
Toshinori stared at him, smile having faded from his face. His lacking words could only partly be explained by the blood loss.
Soon enough, though, a smile found its way onto his face again. It was lopsided and bloody, but it was still very much there. One eye was more half-lidded than the other due to swelling and sheer exhaustion, but his gaze was sharp and unwavering on his student’s face.
“Fine,” he rumbled. “But...only if you sign mine...when I get your hero trading card, my boy...”
Bakugou’s wet, tear-filled eyes widened in surprise, but he quickly shook it off, “Yeah, well, you’re going to have to get in line.”
Another crash sounded, and it was far too close.
“Time to go kick some ass,” Bakugou growled dangerously, blood on his face making him look all the more threatening. “Stay alive, All Might! And that’s an order from the future Number One!”
Toshinori didn’t have a chance to say anything more as Bakugou took off into the air. He watched him disappear over a building, hot breeze from his take-off rustling through his hair.
Toshi looked down at the card in his hand. Its corner was ripped and it was covered in bloody fingerprints.
With what little strength he had left, he managed to curl his fingers a little tighter over his student’s prized possession.
“I’ll do my best, kid...I promise.”
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