A Villain's Journey

Chap. 13

After the smoke had cleared, Izuku saw that Nomu had flipped All Might so that he could get a better hold on him. Izuku held his breath and squinted his eyes, almost closing them when he saw Nomu dig his fingers into All Might's stomach. As much as he needed All Might gone, that was still the man that Izuku had looked up to when he was a child. Now that man was in a twisted situation with blood spilling down his shirt and Izuku guessed that All Might might just not make it today.

Shigaraki noticed Nomu and All Might as well and voiced his thoughts on the matter. Izuku debated taking a step closer but Shigaraki held out his arm when Izuku had put one foot forward, blocking his way. Izuku grumbled quietly and put his foot back in his normal position.

Shigaraki giggled. "Nice work, Kurogiri."

"Mr. Giggly," Izuku said to himself, not even sure what it meant, just knowing that it would annoy Shigaraki. Shigaraki backhanded Izuku's forehead and Izuku groaned.

All might struggled against Nomu, looking as though he was going to collapse at any second. All Might shouted at Shigaraki, though it sounded strained and All Might was having a hard time trying to say the words. Kurogiri began talking to All Might, Izuku listening attentively now. Kurogiri's quirk started and Izuku guessed Kurogiri was going to take him somewhere where they could all be alone.

Izuku was wrong.

Izuku was very, very wrong.

Kurogiri had planned on sucking in All Might halfway through his warp gate and then splitting All Might in half. How utterly gruesome. Izuku clenched his eyes shut but then abruptly opened them when he heard a loud explosion.

The air was far too hazy to see past it, mixed with smoke and Kurogiri, he couldn't see who had caused the explosion. This time, Izuku stepped forward and cleared the smoke with his hand, coughing as he did so. When the air was clear, he saw what had happened. Izuku's hand went to cover his mask and his eyes widened.

Bakugou Katsuki, or as Izuku liked to call him, Kacchan, was there, kneeling over Kurogiri, a hand over Kurogiri's metal. In an instant, a kid with red and white hair froze Nomu. This was bad.

"We should go," Izuku whispered to Shigaraki.

"How the hell are we gonna do that when our escape route is being pinned down by a blonde bitch with an explosive quirk?" Shigaraki whispered back.

Izuku faced his head down at the ground but looked at Kacchan from under his eyelashes. Then, a boy with striking red hair came flying at Izuku and Shigaraki. Izuku gasped and ran one way while Shigaraki the other. Izuku was quick to stand by Shigaraki again.

"Guess I found your body that time ya smokey bastard," Kacchan said.

Kacchan decided to look over his shoulder and Izuku looked back at him in horror. Without even knowing what he was doing, he was taking a few steps closer before Shigaraki pulled him back by his shirt.

"It's like an owner with their dog," Kacchan said with a smirk. "What'd you do to have such a tight leash?"

He didn't recognize him.

Izuku didn't know whether to feel thankful or offended that he wasn't so easily recognized. Izuku huffed in a few deep pants before watching what else was about to go down, not bothering to answer Kacchan. Kacchan tch'd and went back to facing the other way.

"Kurogiri," Shigaraki started. "How did you let this brat get the best of you?"

"He's not a brat," Izuku whispered in defense but Shigaraki ignored him.

"You've gotten us into a real jam, here," Shigaraki said.

"Heh. You got careless, you dumb villain. It wasn't hard to figure you out. Only certain parts of you turned into that smoking warp gate. You used your mist to hide your actual body, as a kind of distraction. Thinking that made you safe! That's why we missed," Kacchan said and Izuku hung onto every word, wanting to remember his voice, wanting to remember how he pronounced certain words and what he said. Kacchan was a part of his past and he was just not ready to let certain parts of his past go yet.