Chapter 19: The Immovable Object and The Biological Nightmare
Shigaraki Tomura stepped out of the Nomu's massive arms. He dusted off his clothes with twitchy, neurotic movements, though he was physically unharmed thanks to the beast's intervention. He stared at the crumbling, gray ash that used to be Kuma's trench coat, then shifted his gaze to the towering giant standing protectively over the trembling students.
The villain raised a hand to his neck.
Scritch. Scritch. Tear.
The sound of dry skin peeling away was audible in the sudden silence.
"That hurt..." Shigaraki muttered. His voice was low, vibrating with a childish, petulant rage. "You hurt me. You broke the rules. Students aren't supposed to be this strong. It disrupts the balance of the game. It's a glitch."
His scratching became frantic. Blood began to bead on his neck as his fingernails dug deeper.
"Nomu," Shigaraki pointed a shaking, pale finger at Kuma. "Kill him. He's a high-level obstacle. Clear the path. Leave nothing but dust."
The Nomu opened its beak.
GRAAAAAAAH!
It was a sound that defied categorization—a cacophony of a predatory bird's screech and a human's dying scream, amplified through vocal cords that were never meant to exist. The glass dome of the USJ vibrated violently, threatening to shatter.
Then, the beast moved.
There was no buildup. No tensing of muscles. No martial artist's stance. Just pure, unadulterated violence.
One microsecond, the Nomu was thirty meters away.
The next microsecond, the air displaced with a thunderous crack, and the monster was directly in front of Kuma.
A fist the size of a boulder, black and rippling with exposed muscle fibers, swung toward Kuma's head. The sheer wind pressure from the swing alone blew Tsuyu's hair back violently.
"Look out!" Tsuyu screamed, her voice breaking.
Kuma didn't dodge. He couldn't dodge. If he moved even an inch, the shockwave would liquefy the students behind him.
He planted his heavy boots into the concrete. He raised his right hand, palm open. The pink pad glowed faintly.
"Tsuppari Pad Cannon."
He thrust his palm forward to meet the apocalypse.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
Fist met Pad.
The collision was catastrophic. It created a spherical shockwave so powerful it instantly vaporized the water from the nearby artificial lake, turning it into steam. The concrete floor beneath Kuma's feet didn't just crack; it pulverized into fine sand, creating a crater five meters wide.
But Kuma did not budge.
His feet were sunken deep into the bedrock. His arm, thick as a tree trunk, held firm. The pink paw pad had stopped the Nomu's fist dead in its tracks, compressing the air between them into an impenetrable, invisible wall.
"He... he stopped it?" Mineta squeaked, his eyes bulging, his brain unable to process the physics. "He stopped the monster that broke Aizawa-sensei like a twig?!"
Midoriya, watching from the water's edge, clutched his chest. Kuma-kun is holding him back... but look at the strain!
Kuma grit his teeth. The force pushing against him was immense. His shoulder joint screamed in protest. He could feel the raw, mindless horsepower of the creature trying to crush him.
He possesses physical strength rivaling All Might, Kuma analyzed rapidly, sweat beading on his forehead. I cannot maintain this stalemate indefinitely.
Kuma narrowed his eyes. "Repel!"
He unleashed a massive, concentrated shockwave into the Nomu's fist.
WHAM.
The Nomu was blasted backward. It slid across the pavement, its claws tearing deep gouges in the cement to slow its momentum. But it didn't fly away like Shigaraki. It didn't break bones. It simply slid, stopped, and stood up straight.
It looked at Kuma with empty, dead brain-eyes. It didn't flinch. It didn't rub its arm.
"It didn't work?" Kuma frowned deeply. I hit him with enough force to shatter the hull of a battleship.
Shigaraki laughed from the sidelines, a dry, raspy cackle. "Nice try, Bear-boy. But Nomu has Shock Absorption. You can punch him, blast him, or repel him all day long. Unless you can gouge out his flesh slowly, blunt force is meaningless against him."
Shock Absorption, Kuma thought, his mind racing. My ability is based on impact and pressure. I am a hammer hitting a sponge. This is a catastrophic matchup.
The Nomu charged again.
This time, it didn't stop at one punch. It unleashed a barrage.
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
Kuma's hands became a blur. He utilized the ancient Sumo technique of Tsuppari—rapid, open-palm thrusts.
Left pad. Right pad. Parry. Repel.
Each deflection created a sonic boom that shook the facility. The air around them turned into a chaotic storm of pressure and wind. Kuma was parrying the blows, deflecting the Nomu's fists into the ground (shattering the floor) or into the air (dispersing the clouds), but he was being pushed back.
Inch by inch. Foot by foot.
His stamina was draining rapidly. The ache from absorbing Midoriya's pain the previous night—the accumulation of fatigue he had taken into his own body—flared up in his muscles like fire.
"You're slowing down!" Shigaraki cackled, dancing with glee. "Nomu doesn't get tired. He doesn't feel pain. He is the perfect soldier! He is the anti-symbol!"
The Nomu saw a micro-opening. It feinted a right hook, causing Kuma to commit to a block, then spun with unnatural agility for a backhand strike.
Kuma raised his left arm too late.
SMACK!
The blow connected with Kuma's ribs.
"Guh!"
Kuma grunted—a heavy, wet sound. He slid sideways, his heavy boots carving trails in the concrete as he fought to stay upright. He nearly fell, but he slammed his hand into the ground to stabilize himself, cracking the stone.
A trickle of blood ran down from the corner of his mouth—the internal wound from last night reopening under the stress.
"Kuma-chan!" Tsuyu cried, preparing to jump in, terrified but willing to die to help him.
"Stay back!" Kuma barked. His voice was strained, heavy with exertion.
He stood up again, panting heavy breaths that rattled in his chest. He wiped the blood from his chin with his thumb.
"I am... not finished yet."
He adjusted his glasses, which now had a hairline crack running down the left lens.
The Nomu screeched, sensing weakness. It prepared for a final, crushing blow. It raised both fists high, intending to hammer Kuma into the ground like a nail.
Kuma raised his hands slowly.
I have no choice, Kuma thought. I must use the stored pain bubble. I must extract the damage from my own body and weaponize it. It is risky. The blast radius might kill the students if I cannot compress it enough.
But death was descending.
The Nomu leaped into the air, blotting out the lights.
Kuma prepared to fire.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
Suddenly, the world stopped.
The massive steel doors of the USJ entrance didn't just open. They exploded.
They were ripped off their hinges and sent flying into the facility as if hit by a meteor. A cloud of dust and smoke billowed into the entrance plaza.
The Nomu stopped its attack mid-air, landing awkwardly and turning its head. Even the mindless beast sensed a predator entering the ecosystem.
Heavy footsteps echoed.
THUD. THUD. THUD.
Every step shook the ground. Every step was a heartbeat of pure power.
A voice cut through the chaos. It wasn't the usual, cheerful voice of a TV star. It was a voice filled with suppressed, volcanic rage. A voice that promised retribution.
"I AM HERE..."
All Might stepped through the smoke. He wasn't smiling. There were no teeth showing. His eyes were shadowed, glowing with blue flames of fury. He ripped off his tie as he walked, discarding it like a shackle.
"...AND IT IS FINE. BECAUSE I AM ANGRY."
The atmospheric pressure in the USJ shifted instantly. The dread evaporated, replaced by an overwhelming presence of absolute power.
Kuma let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. He lowered his hands, canceling the dangerous technique. His trembling arms finally relaxed. The tension in his shoulders dropped as the burden was lifted.
He looked at the towering figure of the Number One Hero walking toward them, radiating heat and anger.
Kuma allowed himself a small, tired smile, blood staining his teeth.
"You are late," Kuma whispered to himself, adjusting his cracked glasses one last time. "But... right on time."
.
.