Izuku screamed hoarsely. His voice tore itself apart screaming his friend's name.
Shigaraki's hand closed over Ochako's face... And nothing happened.
*Erasure!*
Izuku blasted a knockback round at the brick between Shigaraki and Ochako, blowing them away from one another.
"Eraserhead.. and the damn brat?! Nomu!!" Shigaraki screeched.
The hulking beast moved, looking over at it's master.
"Kill the girl! I'll deal with Eraserhead and the masked kid!" He ordered.
Nomu lumbered over to where Ochako was thrown.
"Mask, go and help Uraraka! I'll deal with the leader! Go!" Aizawa said.
Izuku nodded, running after the Nomu, hopping over the ledge before it.
"Kill them both Nomu!" Shigaraki ordered, advancing on Aizawa.
Izuku grabbed Ochako's hand and ran away from Nomu. The beast kept pace however, even with Aizawa erasing it's quirk from afar.
"Hurry up!" Shigaraki yelled.
Nomu's hand darted out and grabbed Ochako's arm. Izuku released the blade in his arm and sliced, carving easily through the Nomu's wrist, removing it's hand.
"Run! I'll handle it!" Izuku clicked.
"I'm not leaving you here on your-"
Ochako was cut off when the Nomu's regenerated hand punted her into the staircase.
Izuku stood still for a moment, staring at the bloody rubble around where she'd hit the stone.
Nomu reached out towards Izuku, but had its fingers quickly removed by his arm blade.
Izuku hacked and slashed with a hot fury, removing fingers, hands, forearms. Every time something grew back, it came back a little slower than before.
Nomu reached out to grab him again, and got its fingers removed. Izuku extended his metal claws and raked the beast's eyes out, clambering up it's torso and ripping it's exposed brain to shreds.
Less than a second, and it's brain healed itself.
Izuku dug his claws in and ripped the whole thing out. It took a second, but the brain regenerated. Izuku ripped it out again, and it took two seconds to grow back this time.
The scarred teen continued shredding the beast's exposed brains over and over. He was thrown off at one point, but charged straight at Nomu, slitting its throat in a single swipe of his metal arm. He stabbed the beast in the throat and carved down, splitting it open from throat to belly button. He reached in and tore out organs and ribs, cracking cartilage and crushing the beast's heart, over and over.
Izuku ripped out it's eyes a second time. He climbed back up, and continued his gruesome assault on Nomu's brain.
Three seconds to grow it's brain back. It left the rest of it's wounds open, in a desperate effort to keep regenerating it's brain.
Four seconds.
Five.
Six.
Nomu slumped to the floor, leaving the blood drenched Izuku as the victor, it's weakly beating heart still in his metal grasp.
Izuku's mask had been broken and fallen off at some point. His right arm was held together by metal splinters and prayers.
The red haired boy turned to Shigaraki, crushing the beating heart in his fist.
"Who's next?"
_______________
Izuku woke up in Recovery Girl's office. He felt... Strangely okay. He was no longer drenched in blood, although his arm had been removed for repairs. Or probably scrap. It hadn't been in good condition.
Recovery Girl came over to Izuku's bedside, sighing tiredly.
"Good, you're awake. You only had a few minor cuts and bruises, by some miracle. Your prosthetic arm was trashed, but other than that you're fine. Probably a bit exhausted, but a good night's sleep will fix that." She said.
Izuku sat up, looking around the infirmary in a panic.
"Ochako.." he whispered hoarsely. "Where is she??"
Recovery Girl sighed.
"She was hurt badly. A few broken ribs, fractured femur, broken arm, and cut and bruised to hell. She will be fine however. I healed the worst of it, and stopped the bleeding, but she might be out for a while. She's in the bed at the end, in the corner." Recovery Girl explained.
The healing hero left Izuku to get changed behind his curtain. Once he'd struggled one armed into a pair of jeans and his 'shirt' shirt, Izuku staggered over to the curtained off bed.
He pulled the curtain back slightly and slumped down into one of the chairs beside the bed.
Her arm was in a cast, and the other was wrapped up in bandages. The bandages wrapped around her shoulders, chest and throat too, and probably over the rest of her body beneath the blankets.
Recovery Girl came over and inspected the machine that read Ochako's vitals, then nodded to herself, returning to her desk. She walked back over with Izuku's spare mask.
"Aizawa brought it over an hour ago. Nobody else was badly hurt, thanks to you two. If the villains hadn't left when they did.. there'd be a lot more people in here sonny. Thank you for that." She said quietly.
Izuku took the plain green mask silently, putting it down on the bedside table.
Izuku sat with Ochako for hours, not speaking to anyone that came by to check on him. Aizawa brought him food, and Powerloader brought his spare arm. He'd taken them without a word, or a smile. He didn't touch the katsudon, but he did slot the arm into place, good as new.
Recovery Girl allowed Izuku to stay in the infirmary after hours. Mainly because nobody could get him to move.
Ochako opened her eyes at 11:24.
Izuku began clicking frantically.
"Ochako? Can you hear me?"
"Are you okay?"
"Can you move?"
"Ochako?"
"Ochako?"
The brunette looked down at herself.
"How... Did I get in the infirmary? Izuku?" She asked.
Izuku slumped in relief.
"There was an attack on the school, at the USJ. You got badly hurt.. because of me. I'm glad you're okay now though. When you got thrown into the stairs... I thought it had killed you. I got so.. angry. At myself, the villains, Nomu. I killed it Ochako. I killed it because I thought it had killed you. I was going to kill Shigaraki too, but he ran away. I would have done it, I'm a murderer, I killed that monster so many times.."
Ochako's bandaged hand held his own.
"You're rambling Izuku.. but I got the idea. I kinda remember what happened now anyway.. it wasn't your fault. I didn't listen to you, and it got me. But everything's okay now, it doesn't matter anymore. Is everyone else okay?" She asked.
"You were the worst injured. Everyone else was just bruised." He clicked.
Ochako sighed in relief.
"That's good. I'm glad everyone's okay. What time is it?"
Izuku looked down at his metal wrist.
"11:33. It's pretty late, you should sleep."
Ochako frowned.
"What are you doing here so late? You should be at home with Mr Aizawa!" She said.
Izuku scratched the back of his head.
"I didn't want to leave you.. so I ignored everything else but you.."
The brunette huffed, prodding his chest.
"You need sleep mister! I don't care if you can wrestle an evil All Might monster and win, you need to sleep!"
Izuku huffed, crossing his arms as best he could whilst holding her hand.
"And what if I don't?" He asked.
Ochako thought for a moment, before laughing.
"I'll take away hand holding privelages!" She exclaimed.
"No, anything but that!! Have mercy, oh terrible one!" Izuku clicked with a grin.
Ochako laughed, struggling to sit up.
"Help me up. If you won't go sleep, then I want to sit up." She said.
Izuku slid his metal arm under her back and lifted her up, letting her lean against the headboard.
"Are you hurt anywhere?" He asked worriedly.
Ochako shook her head.
"I'm a little stiff.. and my right arm does ache a bit, but I feel fine otherwise." She said.
Izuku sighed, slumping back into his chair, taking her bandaged hand into his flesh one.
____________________
Recovery Girl found them the next morning sitting on the bed fast asleep, leaning on eachother. Ochako's good arm was around Izuku, while his metal hand rested on her head. Izuku was clicking in his sleep.
".-.. --- ...- . -.-- --- ..-"