Izuku cursed as he ran up the hill towards where Kota was.
He jumped forward, passing through the attacking arm and grabbing Kota, pulling the boy back.
"Whoa! You're Midoriya right? You were on the list!"
"You should be on a list" Izuku muttered as he got up "Trying to kill a kid is something I wouldn't even expect a villain to do."
"I just wanted the hat" the man shrugged as he straightened up "you're supposed to already be pro-level right? Then I'll play around with you a bit before completing my mission."
"And what's that? What is the league of villains after?"
The man shrugged.
"hell if I know. I'm just here to have fun."
…this guy wasn't even kidding right now.
Having had enough, Izuku stood in front of Kota, whispering assurances to the boy.
"Don't worry about this guy. Just stay back, and I'll take you to your aunt once I beat him"
The boy nodded, but the fear in his eyes said something else.
So did the whisper of 'mama…papa'.
Izuku winced as he remembered that particular news report, the death of the water hose duo being displayed along with the culprit's profile.
Muscular.
The same person Izuku was about to go against.
.
.
"Will you keep jumping around or will you fight!?" Muscular yelled in annoyance as Izuku dodged another attack before it came, running to the side of the cliff before jumping off and using a burst of air to propel himself into the giant mess of muscles that was his opponent.
With a grunt, the man went flying into the cliffside while Izuku dashed to Kota.
He handed him his phone before quickly ushering him to the way back to camp.
"I have Aizawa-sensei's contact open right now. Call him once you've walked for like 2 minutes back alright? Don't worry about anything else, just focus on moving."
The boy nodded before shaking in place as he heard the sounds of Muscular getting up.
Izuku gave the boy a grin.
"What, are you worried about me? I haven't gotten hit yet, and I won't let him get the chance either."
With a gentle smack to the kid's back, Izuku turned back around to face his enemy, green lightning erupting from his body.
.
.
Izuku grit his teeth as he clapped his hands together and sent out a continuous burst of [10% PIERCING LIGHT] at Muscular, the villain being forced to pile muscle fibre upon muscle fibre at the hand that was blocking his attack.
'His body is bulky, but he's been keeping up with me completely. If it wasn't for Observation Haki he'd have gotten me by now.'
He tried groaned as he tried to keep up [PIERCING LIGHT] up for longer, but he wasn't proficient enough to use it for more than 40 seconds continuously.
As a last resort, he layered his own hands with light using [BLOOD MANIPULATION], stacking layers upon layers of energy he pushed his hands forward.
The moment the laser attack ended, Muscular surged forward, slamming into Midoriya so hard the ground around them cracked.
Kota was still there, trembling.
"GO!" Izuku yelled as he hit the mass of flesh that was Muscular with a Haki enhanced Headbutt. "IT'S GOING TO BE ALRIGHT! JUST GO!"
He heard the boy whimper, but his legs still didn't move.
'He's frozen in fear' Izuku cursed in his mind as he managed to take a step forward, freeing his leg for a second for…
[HAKI BOOST+ LIGHT LAYERING+ 100% ST LOUIS SMASH]
The villain went skidding back as Izuku dashed forward.
He layered his fists again with light and dashed forward with the freshly regenerated leg, releasing a barrage of [80% DETROIT SMASH] at the momentarily stunned villain.
'If he layers muscles, all I have to do is chip away until I reach his real body!'
[RIGHT SIDE]
Izuku ducked back, back parallel to the ground as Muscular's enhanced leg went right where his head would have been.
With a corkscrew kick mid-air, he reached out.
The way the battle was going right now, both of them would chip away at each other until they both fell.
Izuku wouldn't accept that.
There was a kid to take home, not to mention the other shit that was no doubt going on in the forest.
So he pushed himself further than ever before grabbing hold of a feeling, deep inside.
He couldn't help but liken it to that same rush he had felt when he used one for all for the first time.
It was like he was being drowned by power his body was trying to absorb.
He had feared then, that his body might crack before it managed to adjust and the energy would burst out and destroy everything around him, releasing far more destruction than any bomb he'd ever heard of.
That was what he needed to throw at this villain right now.
He cocked back his right hand, surpassing his own limits as he put everything he had into this one punch.
"[1,000,000% DETROIT SMASH}!"
Muscular stood no chance.
.
.
Izuku chuckled as he looked at Muscular's unmoving body, only showing signs of life by the laboured breathing the man's body was unconsciously performing.
"Might have gone a bit overboard…"
Obviously, he hadn't actually used a million percent of one for all in that attack. He was pretty sure that didn't even exist, but it had felt like he used that much power when he harnessed that feeling of energy bursting.
"Wh-why?"
Izuku blinked, turning to see a crying Kota.
With a grin, Izuku raised his right hand for a thumbs up.
Or he would have, if he had a right hand.
Oh shit, he forgot about that side effect.
He scrambled, rushing forward to console the kid while his right hand slowly regrew.
.
.
"Wait, Midoriya!"
Izuku paused, turning back to look at his teacher.
"Your arm…you did it again didn't you?" Aizawa-sensei said, gesturing at the glowing stump where Izuku's arm was finishing on healing his fingers.
"Have you forgotten about Hosu?"
Izuku paused, before shaking his head.
"Under the name of Hero Beacon, all students have permission to fight using quirks" he said, staring straight at Aizawa "and I'm sure Hero Dynamight will agree."
Aizawa shook his head "You may have the authority, but you're too young to face the consequences that would bring, no matter what the HPSC thinks. I want you to do it under my name, and tell Mandalay to use her quirk to tell everyone."
Izuku gave his teacher a thumbs up and an appreciative nod, before leaving with a quick "Leave it to me!"
Aizawa looked on at where Izuku had disappeared to before sighing.
"That kid acts way too much like All Might sometimes."
.
.
Katsuki scoffed as he stood in front of the teeth villain's unconscious body.
"This is the guy they sent? Bastards are underestimating me"
"…that was fast" Todoroki commented idly. He clearly understood after seeing that fight why Midoriya and Bakugou had been declared to be pro level. It wasn't just his fighting capability. Reaction time, judgement, predicting the enemy's moves; he was proficient at all of those and more at an insane level.
'UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF PRO HERO ERASERHEAD, ALL KIDS ARE ALLOWED TO FIGHT BACK USING THEIR QUIRKS'
Katsuki scoffed, grabbing the unconscious villain and slinging him over his back.
"Like we haven't already been doing that. Come on Icyhot, there's bound to be somewhere we can keep this maniac locked up.
Todoroki nodded, turning back to walk towards the main camp area, still silent in thought.
.
.
Izuku grunted as he crossed blades with the lizard-like man covered in Stain merch.
"I was in the group that defeated Stain you know?" he said, trying to rile up the man as he jumped back to create distance while holding the chipped remnants of the katana he had made.
Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he tossed it aside before starting to make a new one. He'd really have to work on increasing the durability if he was gonna keep using those.
The man nodded.
"I am aware. You are one of the few he deemed to be a true hero. That is why I do not wish to kill you."
Izuku paused, tilting his head in confusion.
"I…appreciate it? You know, if you come quietly right now, you'd only be booked for assault against a Pro-hero. You haven't really hurt anyone from what I can see, and it seems like you're not a very evil guy."
The man shook his head.
"I am here because I truly believe that this society needs to be changed. Punishment, no matter how severe, will not scare me."
Well, he was determined that was for sure.
Izuku shrugged, adding a final layer of Haki over his light katana, giving it a metallic black colour as he slashed the air a couple of times to test out the weight before pointing the tip at the man.
"I don't really understand, but I'll take that as a no Mr…what was your name again? I'd call you a nickname but I feel like that might end up sounding Mutantist."
The man's eye twitched.
"I am Spinner. And I am not stupid enough to think I can beat you. That is why…Nomu!"
Haki didn't react, so Izuku didn't even flinch.
He did raise an eyebrow.
"Either you're bluffing or you didn't give your pets enough treats. Either way, good for me."
With that, he rushed forward before having to duck under a blast of blue flames .
"I didn't think one kid could be so troublesome you'd call Nomu to help" a Black-haired man drawled as blue flames danced on his arms while a Nomu actually did show up, crashing through the trees to come up beside Spinner.
"Kid!"
Tiger abandoned his own fight against the magnetism guy(gal?), instead jumping back to stand by Izuku.
Mandalay, who had discreetly retrieved the unconscious Pixie-Bob earlier, came up beside the larger man as well as the magnetism villain came to stand by the fire guy.
"What do we do about the Nomu?" Tiger muttered to Izuku, who had the most experience there regarding dealing with the mindless beasts.
"There's not much that can be done other than just beating it. I can handle it, but can you both handle a 2v3 till then?"
"We wouldn't really be Pros if we couldn't Mandalay said with a wry grin "Eraser says that he trusts your judgement, so we'll do the same. Good luck, kid."
With that, the three jumped away to dodge a blast of flames before Izuku dashed forward, grabbing the Nomu and dragging it to the other side of the clearing..
.
.
It screeched, and Izuku felt Haki go wild all of a sudden.
He released it from his grip, and not a moment too soon as its entire body erupted in metallic spikes as a chainsaw erupted from its mouth.
It already had some blood on it, which was never a good thing.
And what was that black circle at the left side of its back?
[FRONT!]
Izuku blinked, the Nomu hadn't moved yet, so what was that about?
His question was answered when what he had assumed to be the night sky moved.
Both he and the Nomu looked on as what was now a rampaging dark shadow slowly came towards them.
Well, that was convenient.
He quickly ran behind the Nomu and kicked it so hard it landed right beside dark shadow.
The giant bird monster roared before slamming its giant fist again and again at where the Nomu had landed. Poor bastard.
Izuku dashed forward, jumping from tree to tree as he neared the out-of-control quirk to calm it down.
Before he could get there though, he heard a yell nearby, and turned to see Katsuki jump up using his explosions before cupping his hands together to release a flashbang so bright it actually felt like morning had come early.
Izuku landed near where Katsuki had caught Tokoyami, while Shoji and Todoroki quickly reached them as well.
"Couldn't have given a warning?" Izuku grumbled.
"You're one to talk"
Izuku sighed, before turning to the other two classmates.
"Who's the guy with the straightjacket?"
And then he saw Shoji's stump of an arm.
Shoji quickly assured Izuku that much like the green-haired boy, his arms could grow back too.
"I…can't thank you enough, Bakugou" Tokoyami said through pants.
Izuku just pat the guy on the shoulder while Katsuki just grunted.
"Do we know what they're after?" the blonde asked as the group started running together "the one I dealt with was too crazy to question"
"Mine was just there to fight. He didn't have any info either" Izuku said as they finally broke through the trees to see their two mentors on the backfoot against the fire villain while the magnet guy and Spinner just watched on from their places on the ground.
.
.
Izuku and Katsuki moved as one, Katsuki rushing to meet the black-haired villain in a battle of firepower while Izuku quickly knocked out Spinner and the other one.
Todoroki joined them a second later, the villain Katsuki had taken down thrown on the same pile as the ones Izuku had just taken down.
"What, you already beat Nomu?" the black-haired man drawled as he stood alone against them now.
[BEHIND]
Izuku tensed, turning around to see…nothing?
Still on guard, he extended his senses, feeling nothing but trees until he felt a man standing on one branch high up.
He pointed at the branch, releasing a blast of [PIERCING LIGHT] that was easily dodged considering he had barely added any pressure.
The masked man landed beside Dabi, giving the group a deep bow.
"It appears my time in the shadows has come to an end"
Behind him, black mist erupted out of nowhere as Kurogiri appeared, followed by a cheerful blonde girl being chased by Uraraka and Tsuyu from the trees.
"I have already retrieved Nomu. It was in bad shape, but it can be healed. Please collect the target and return" Kurogiri was as formal as ever.
'Collect a target? So they have a specific person or object they're after'
Todoroki launched a glacier attack that was blasted away almost instantly by the black-haired man.
The man didn't even glance at the attack he had blocked, instead saying something into an earpiece in his right ear.
Kurogiri moved up, spinning into a portal out of which walked out…
Tomura Shigaraki.
Followed by two more Nomu, one of which had teeth that had an ominous green glow.
"Weren't you locked up!?" Izuku yelled in shock as he saw the man walk out in all his hand-covered glory.
"Oh that? I killed all the heroes who were there" Shigaraki said with an uncaring shrug before pointing a finger at Izuku "and you're next."
Izuku didn't hesitate, upping his [FLOW STATE] to 40% as he made yet another sword out of light.
"try it, handjob."
Beside him, Katsuki tensed, crouching slightly as tiny sparks came out of his palms.
"a summer day like this is perfect" he muttered with a grin " I warm up quickly.
Todoroki stepped up beside them, right arm already ablaze.
Tiger walked up beside him, but Mandalay decided to jump back to observe where she could help.
"That green teeth Nomu's probably your counter" Katsuki muttered to Izuku "So I should deal with it, and you go for Shigaraki. Icyhot, the other Nomu's yours."
"Right."
"And what about the blue flames guy?"
"I'll hold him off" Tiger said gruffly "he shouldn't be able to hit me easily as long as I stay mid-range and keep dodging. The blonde one is busy for now with those two girls from your class."
With the plan set, they all dashed forward.
.
.
Izuku dashed forward, adding layers on the sword to increase the length.
He thrust forward, before bringing it down into a large sweep that Shigaraki effortlessly dodged.
The makeshift spear landed heavily on the ground, and Izuku opted to bury it rather than bring it back up, using the momentum of the attack to go into a spin kick with the spear acting as a pivot.
Shigaraki cursed as Izuku's legs crashed straight into his raised arms, sending the villain back skidding with a curse.
Izuku left the spear behind, clapping his hands together for a quick [5% PIERCING LIGHT] that Shigaraki couldn't completely dodge, clipping the man's left arm and breaking through the hands that were attached to it.
Izuku walked forward, another sword already forming in his hands.
"I'll be honest, it's starting to feel like this is personal" he said as he dashed forward, a kick aimed for the stumbling villain's face.
[BACK!]
Izuku let out a blast of light from his left palm, redirecting him to the side to dodge where a pillar of blue flames had almost clipped him.
He glanced there to see Tiger doing weird yoga poses to dodge an increasingly frustrated flame-guy.
"Eyes on me brat!"
Izuku didn't even turn to dodge Shigaraki, spinning on his right leg to kick away the hand that had been about to touch his arm while his sword arm thrust forward, aiming for the man's right palm.
The villain managed to pull back his arm, leaving with only a stab wound on the hand.
He jumped back with a snarl.
"it IS personal! It's personal against this whole pathetic society! You, who smile like idiots because that mentor of yours exists!"
Izuku dashed forward, using [LIGHT LAYERING] on his left hand to increase its damage while the sword in his right hand swung in a wide arc.
Shigaraki dodged the swing before catching the fist with speed and agility Izuku hadn't seen from him before.
Izuku didn't hesitate to go for the chest, unleashing a devastating Haki enhanced [45% SMASH] into the man's ribcage to jump back.
While Shigaraki went back flying into the trees, Izuku looked at his crumbling left hand, using his sword to quickly cut it off and grow back a new one.
"that's cheating" Shigaraki muttered as he walked out of the tree line "things should have been different once I graduated from character to player, but you're ruining things for me again!"
Izuku smirked, using [blood manipulation] to increase his left hand's speed of regeneration.
"that's what I'm here for. Ruin things for villains."
They both turned to the side when they heard a villain, and Shigaraki had to step back as the Nomu with sea-prism teeth was thrown at him with an explosion.
Behind Izuku, there was a shout of [FLASHFREEZE HEATWAVE] as Todoroki blasted the Nomu he had been fighting, releasing the same 'final attack' he had against Izuku in the sports festival.
Unlike Izuku though, the Nomu didn't do very well against it.
Shigaraki swore again as he stood back up, left hand grabbing where his right hand had been pierced.
Izuku grinned as Katsuki rushed forward, spinning in the air as he readied his ultimate move.
Not one to be left behind, Izuku clapped his hands again, aiming for Shiggy's legs as he let out another [PIERCING LIGHT] at 5%.
Somehow, the villain jumped away from the beam-type attack, leaving the still fallen Nomu to take the attack as Katsuki finished his charge-up.
[HOWITZER IMPACT]
Izuku raised his sword high above his head, channeling most of the energy he had left into a [SOLAR FLARE] he'd throw into the still running Shigaraki's path.
And then he felt a prick in his back.
He didn't even get to see the madly grinning girl behind him as he fell on the ground, green knife sticking to his back.