(chap title according to the request)
RIKO POV
The central plaza was hell.
I crouched behind the jagged remains of a stone archway, my heart hammering frantically against my ribs. Beside me, Momo, Ochaco, and Jiro were huddled low, their breathing shallow and ragged. Even from this distance, the view was agonisingly clear.
Aizawa-sensei was down.
In the anime, the scene was brutal, but seeing it in person was a different kind of trauma. The "original" Nomu held him down with the casual indifference of a child pinning an insect. Aizawa's goggles were shattered, and his arms….fuck the arms that had fought off dozens of thugs….were bent at angles that made my stomach churn.
The realisation hit me like a physical blow: one wrong step, one miscalculation, and that was me…lying there.
"I know you brats are out there hiding," Shigaraki's voice rasped, cutting through the heavy silence of the plaza. He didn't look toward us, he didn't have to, for it had its intended effect. "Come out, or I'll kill your teacher right now"
I looked at the others. Jiro was already on her knees, her hands trembling so violently she couldn't even grip her jacks. Ochaco looked like she was one second away from a total collapse, and even Momo, the most composed of us, had a haunted, hollow look in her eyes.
I opened my mouth to say something….to be the leader, to offer some anime motivation…..but the words died in my throat. My voice was gone. My lungs felt heavy. The image of Iida lying in a pool of blood near the entrance flashed behind my eyes. The three Nomus. The broken plot.
fuck
I can't do this, the coward in my head whispered. This isn't a story anymore.
Then, the air shifted.
A sudden, violent gust of wind whipped past our hiding spot, followed by a desperate roar that shattered the tension.
"GET AWAY FROM AIZAWA-SENSEI, YOU VILLAIN!"
A smear of green electricity blurred past us. It was Izuku. He didn't seem to have a plan… He wasn't even calculating the odds…..He was just a boy who couldn't stand to see someone hurt.
He launched himself through the air, his fist wound back with the weight of one for all. He swung a 100% Smash directly at Shigaraki's head. However, just then, the original Nomu intercepted the blow, the shockwave of the impact screaming through the plaza. The aftershock was so immense it sent Izuku reeling back and swept Aizawa's unconscious body several meters away, finally putting some distance between our teacher and the villains.
I watched Izuku scramble to his feet. His arm appeared a bit red, but still, it seemed better than his anime counterpart. His face was twisted in pain, yet his eyes... his eyes were still burning.
A slow, jagged grin helped itself across my face, seeing Izuku. I felt my body getting lighter.
That's right, I thought, my fingers digging into the stone of the archway until it cracked. How could I forget? How could I let myself fall behind when he's still moving?
I was the one who pushed him. I was the one who told him to lift weights instead of sobbing. Now, as the self-proclaimed "Future Greatest," I couldn't let a guy who didn't have a quirk till about a month ago outshine me. fuck is the crybaby can, then I can't be the one bitching about.
I turned to my classmates. The fear was still there, but my grin was infectious. I could see the spark returning to Momo's eyes as she saw me finally snap out of it.
"Guys, stay here," I commanded, my voice returning. "Find the rest of our classmates and group them up. We need to hold the line until the pros arrive. The flares are out there; they're coming. It won't be long."
I looked away from the plaza at the other zones….that idiot and Todoroki would be finishing up their zones soon….I just need to hold on a bit longer.
"Momo," I said, looking back at her with a terrifyingly focused expression. "I need you to make a few things"
THIRD PERSON POV
In the centre of the plaza, the air felt suffocating. Izuku Midoriya stood between the downed Eraserhead and the architect of the chaos. His right arm was a mess of bruising and microfractures, while his left hand trembled, steam rising from his skin.
Tomura Shigaraki stood motionless, the hand on his face obscuring his expression, yet his gaze was heavy. "Impressive," he rasped, his voice echoing in the hollow dome. "As expected of a future hero… you didn't fail my expectations. You appear strong, but I can see using that Quirk has taken its toll on you, hasn't it? I wonder… how much longer can you hold on?"
Izuku's heart hammered against his ribs. What is this guy? he thought, sweat stinging his eyes. He analyzed the drawback of One For All from a single observation. And that monster… the Nomu didn't even flinch at a 100% smash.
Izuku looked back at the battered, bleeding form of Aizawa-sensei. I have to hold on. I can't let him hurt anyone else. I can't let All Might down!
"Stand down, vi-"
"End it, Nomu."
Shigaraki didn't wait for the hero's speech. The monster, now known as Nomu, that had dismantled Aizawa vanished, breaking the sound barrier as it reappeared inches from Izuku's face. Izuku's instincts screamed. With a desperate roar, he swung another 100% punch. The shockwave rattled the plaza, and though the Nomu barely moved, the recoil managed to push Izuku back, creating a sliver of breathing room.
"And try not to kill him," Shigaraki added, his tone bored. "Until All Might comes, at least."
The battle that followed was a nightmare of biological horror versus raw willpower. Izuku leapt and dodged, his body a blur of green sparks, but every time he struck, the Nomu simply absorbed the impact. His left arm was now turning a sickening shade of violet, like his anime counterpart. His breath came in ragged gasps, his vision tunnelling from the sheer agony of his ligaments tearing.
The Nomu lunged, its massive fist winding back for a blow that Izuku knew he couldn't block. He braced himself, closing his eyes for the impact-
Whirr-whirr-whirr!
A heavy industrial gas cylinder, ripped from its moorings in the nearby ruins, came whistling through the air like a guided missile. It slammed into the side of the Nomu's head with a resounding CLANG, the force of the projectile actually staggering the beast.
The Nomu regained its balance almost instantly, catching the cylinder in its massive hands to crush it. But as the creature's fingers dug into the metal, the entire canister began to pulse with a violent, neon-orange light.
BOOM!
The explosion was concentrated and deafening, a localised sun that engulfed the Nomu's upper body in a cloud of fire and shrapnel.
Izuku stumbled back, shielded from the heat, and heard a heavy thud behind him. He turned to see Riko Akabane slowly pushing herself up from a three-point landing.
"Damn," she muttered, shaking out her hands. "He was right. The 'hero pose' hurts like a bitch."
She stood up, her eyes narrowing as the smoke cleared to reveal the Nomu, singed and smoking, but already knitting its flesh back together. She clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Knew that wasn't enough to kill that fucking monster."
She glanced over at Izuku, her gaze softening for a fraction of a second before a grin split out. "Yo, Izuku. You crying?"
"R-Riko-chan?!" Izuku gasped, his voice cracking. "You shouldn't be here, it's too dangerous!"
"Zip it, nerd," she said, stepping in front of him. She reached out, steadying his shaking shoulder for a moment. "Listen. You take care of the bird-brain for a bit. Keep it busy. I'm going to have a word with the man-child over there."
"But he is—"
"Go!" Riko barked.
Izuku nodded, his jaw setting. He didn't have time to argue. He turned and sprinted toward the regenerating Nomu, using his remaining strength to lead it away from the centre.
Riko turned her attention to Shigaraki. They held a silent, heavy staring contest across the plaza. Riko tilted her head, a dangerous, mocking smirk playing on her lips. "What's the matter, dusty? Haven't seen a beauty before?"
Shigaraki let out a low, unsettling laugh that turned into a hacking cough. "Ha… interesting. I have so many questions I want to ask… but they can wait. For now, All Might is my target. It's unfortunate, but…"
He glanced back at the third Nomu, the massive, scaled behemoth that hadn't moved an inch since the start of the raid. It stood like a dark god of destruction, silent and terrifying.
"Nomu," Shigaraki commanded. "Take her down. Also… try to keep her alive."
The scaled titan began to move. It didn't blur like the first one; it walked, each step cracking the concrete. But with every stride, its speed increased exponentially.
Riko didn't waste a heartbeat. She lunged toward Aizawa's unconscious body, hoisting the man onto her shoulder with a grunt of effort. She began to retreat, her hand snapping toward her pouch.
"Eat this!"
She began a rapid-fire volley, flicking charged steel pellets at the oncoming titan.
Flick. BOOM. Flick. BOOM.
The scaled Nomu didn't even try to dodge. It walked through the explosions, the orange fire washing over its obsidian scales without leaving so much as a scratch.
"The fuck?!" Riko hissed, her eyes widening. "What are those scales made of, tank armour?"
.
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.
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(a few minutes later)
"Ugh, fuck… fine! Fuck it, I'll just throw stronger ones!"
Riko's voice was strained, her lungs burning from the exertion of carrying Aizawa's dead weight while maintaining a high-speed retreat. She reached into her pouch, but instead of the usual rapid-fire hail of pellets, she pulled out only two. She didn't just flick them; she held them for a heartbeat longer, pouring a staggering amount of energy into the steel until they glowed a blinding, angry white-orange.
She snapped her wrist, sending the "supercharged" pellets whistling through the air.
BOOM! BOOM!
If the earlier ones were firecrackers, then these ones were equivalent to dynamite. The shockwaves rippled through the plaza, actually forcing the Scaled Nomu to skid backwards. The sound of obsidian cracking echoed like a gunshot. Visible fissures appeared on the monster's chest plates, and chunks of charred bone protrusions splintered off into the dust.
Shigaraki watched from the sidelines, his scratching hand falling still. A slow, twisted grin formed under the hand on his face. "Incredible," he whispered. "She's adjusting her damage output on the fly. A real-time adjustment to her own power level."
Kurogiri shifted his misty form behind his leader. "Tomura Shigaraki, isn't it wise to simply save the Nomu for All Might? If she continues like this, she may cause permanent structural damage to the weapon. Allow me to incapacitate her myself."
"Save the Nomu? Ha…" Shigaraki sighed, the sound dry and rasping. Without turning his attention from the fight, he asked, "Kurogiri, do you know which of Sensei's Nomu has the most potential?"
Kurogiri pondered for a moment, his yellow eyes glowing. "The Anti-All Might model, surely? It was built to absorb the peak of physical strength."
"Your answer is wrong," Shigaraki replied, finally glancing back at the mist-man. "It's actually you. Your utility is unmatched." He then turned back to the behemoth Riko was currently hammering. "But in terms of combat evolution? The Anti-All Might Nomu is only the third most potential-heavy model here. The one that brat is fighting… that has even more potential than anti-all might nomu, he is a masterpiece...."
Kurogiri chose to remain silent, trusting in Shigaraki's judgment and continued observing the fight. Still, he couldn't help but glance at Shigaraki...
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Meanwhile, the battle seemed to be swinging in Riko's favour. The Scaled Nomu looked broken. Its armour was shattered in a dozen places, and thick, black fluid leaked from the burns covering its torso. It had stopped its aggressive charge, standing hunched over as smoke rose from its obsidian skin.
Riko didn't wait to see if it would get up. She took the opening and sprinted toward the edge of the Flood Zone, finally setting Aizawa down behind a pile of rubble. She was panting, her chest heaving, her costume soaked in sweat.
Looking over the water, she spotted two familiar figures crouching near the shoreline.
"Tsuyu! Mineta!" Riko roared, waving them over. "Get over here and carry Aizawa-sensei away from the plaza! Get him to the entrance or somewhere safe, now!"
She saw Tsuyu's green hair bobbing as she leapt toward the shore, followed by a trembling Mineta. There was a visible look of relief in Tsuyu's eyes as she reached Riko, her hands reaching out to take the unconscious teacher.
Riko let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, a small, tired smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. If I can just get him out of the crossfire, I can focus on-
The smile on Riko's face froze.
She saw the reflection in Tsuyu's wide, honest eyes. The relief in the frog-girl's expression was instantly replaced by a paralyzing, soul-deep terror.
Riko's instincts screamed danger, the hair on her arms standing on end. She didn't even have time to look back. She shoved Aizawa's body with all her remaining strength toward Tsuyu, trying to pivot her own body to face the threat-
But she was too slow.
An arm thick as a tree trunk, now bristling with massive, jagged bone spikes, slammed into Riko's side. It was like being hit by a speeding semi-truck. The force sent her hurtling across the plaza, her body skipping over the concrete like a stone over water until she crashed into the ruins of the earthquake Zone.
"RIKO-CHAN!" Tsuyu screamed, standing frozen as she clutched the unconscious Aizawa.
Standing where Riko had stood a moment ago was the creature. It was no longer just scaled; it had evolved. Its armour had become twice as bulky, layered like tectonic plates, and bone spikes the size of broadswords protruded from its elbows, shoulders, and spine. It looked less like a biological experiment and more like a prehistoric demon.
The behemoth didn't even acknowledge Tsuyu or the half-dead teacher in her arms. It was a mindless predator with a singular target. It turned its head toward the pile of rubble where Riko had been thrown and let out a guttural, vibrating roar.
With a single, earth-shaking bound, the monster leapt into the air, its massive shadow falling over the ruins as it descended toward the girl who had dared to break its shell.
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Author's Bazooka
SUP... comment and review the chap....and ugh....throw em stones too.
Also, Rip my behemoth nomu, he got hit with a bazooka...
...who that is
...what that was
...oh that behemoth, oh hes done
Comment the chapter title here, the most liked one wins -
FIN