When Toshinori began walking towards the U.S.J., he didn't know what to expect. He had unfortunately used up much of his time limit earlier in the day, stopping several trouble makers, criminals and other undesirables while on his way to U.A. One would call him unlucky, but saving people always brought a smile to his face. Sadly however, this meant that he had to wait for a while before being able to join with class 1-A, unless he wanted to reveal his true form.
After a good amount of time, All Might left the building, and was expecting to have an uneventful walk to the rescue training facility, before simply observing and helping out his class, and his two kids. It still troubled him greatly. Izumi was progressing well, and was able to use a maximum of 15% of One for All and even then she couldn't hold it for long. Izuku was... interesting. When he watched Izuku defeat Izumi, and that's putting it lightly, during training, he was stunned. If only he could take back what he said those years ago.
Nevertheless, it was in the past and what was done was done. He simply needed to move forward, and help Izuku now where he wouldn't in the past. That was his train of thought when a small blue speck with a sizeable dust cloud entered his view in the distance. He stopped walking and squinted. As the speck grew closer, he realized it was one of Izumi classmates, Tenya Iida. He noticed he looked worried, almost panicked and this set of alarm bells in his head. Toshinori quickly grew into his All Might form and hoped Iida didn't notice.
"All Might!" Iida shouted as he neared, but refused to slow down..
"Young Iida! Is something wrong? Why aren't you at class?" All Might inquired. He needed to find out what was happening.
"U.S.J.! Villains! Attack! Help!" Iida shouted as he sped by at the speed of a race car. All Might assumed he was going to alert the other teachers. Curse him for not having his phone on him.
All Might didn't need to hear anymore. With an expression screaming determination while masking the fear he held in his heart, he dashed towards the rescue facility at Mach 1. He had to get there now. His colleagues were in danger, his students were in danger, his kids were in danger! It didn't take long at all before the facility came into view. He leaped up to the front door before reeling back a fist. "Detroit... SMASH!" He shouted, and the doors blew off its hinges.
"WHO ARE THE VILLAINS THAT DARED TO ATTACK MY STUDENTS?" He bellowed, followed by him shouting "WORRY NOT! FOR I AM HERE!". He quickly took in the scene. Thirteen was on the grown, her back looked like something had exploded outward from it. Several students were gathering around her, Sero, Uraraka Mina and Shoji just to name a few but they looked physically intact.
His eyes trailed onwards towards the plaza and his heart sank. Aizawa was on the ground, presumably unconscious, surrounded by the bodies of many villains. He also saw some students. On the right side of the plaza in the direction of the fire zone was Ojiro, whose face looked petrified. To the left, from the flood zone were 3 more students. Mineta, Asui and his beloved daughter Izumi. While the only one who was seriously injured was Ojiro, they all had some forms of minor injuries such as scrapes and bruises. They all shared Ojiro's expression but Izumi looked as if her brother was... Just killed... Wait...
All Might trailed their line of sight and if he wasn't furious before, well now he was absolutely livid. He saw his son, Izuku, clutching his side while sitting against a small wall near the stairs. He was coughing up blood and he noticed an indent in the wall. Was he thrown into it? No matter, Izuku was alive and that's all that mattered. It was time to act!
He immediately bent his knees and rushed forward, knocking over any and all villains in his path in the blink of an eye as he made it to the plaza. Izuku was injured, but he wasn't in immediate danger aside from his injuries but that wouldn't change if he was rescued first. He made it towards Mineta, Izumi and Asui before picking them up and charging over to Aizawa. He ran towards Izuku and set them down, before doing the same with Ojiro.
"Are you kids alright?" He asked. It was visible that he was beyond worried.
"We're... Fi-fine... Just defeat th-that... villain *cough*" Izuku muttered out, his voice growing hoarce.
"But you're hurt, I- I can't just-" He tried to say but Izuku wasn't having it.
"GO! NOW! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO BE WORRIED NOW AFTER ALL THIS TIME!" He shouted, despite the sharp and excruciating pain in his side. That got All Might to act somewhat but the others near him, aside from Aizawa who was unconscious and Izumi who had a guilty yet knowing look, had expressions of confusion. He looked towards Izumi and the rest of the students before standing up and rushing over to the bird villain.
"DETROIT... SMAAASH!" He shouted, his right fist flying with immense force into the villain's chest.
"Hahahaha... That won't work Symbol of Peace. Nomu has shock absorption." The blue haired villain, Shigaraki explained with a chuckle. "The only way for you to actually hurt him, would be to slowly gouge out his flesh. Whether or not he lets you is another matter entirely."
All Might tried again, this time letting loose a left hook to the villain's face followed by a right hook to the other side. Both attacks had the same effect, which was pretty much no effect at all. "Enough of this. Nomu." Shigaraki muttered and the next thing that happened was All Might getting thrown a few meters back from a punch from Nomu but he managed to stay upright, his feet digging into the ground.
'What is this?! He can handle my attacks at full power? In any case I can't let him past me!' All Might thought, as he flung himself back at Nomu. The two kept exchanging blows, both neither losing nor gaining much ground. Luckily, it was obvious that the monster was seemingly a mindless brute, which met he couldn't think, nor strategize to flip the battle to his advantage. That inability caused Nomu to leave himself open, and that moment was all All Might needed.
"CAROLINA... SMAAASH!" He shouted, swinging his arms in a downward X like motion with immense strength. While the attack didn't do much damage to Nomu at all, he still forced the villains arms to his sides, most likely due to Nomu protecting Shigaraki who was behind him rather than the attack's strength, leaving him largely unprotected for only a moment. All Might then circled around before grabbing Nomu by the waist and lifting him into the air, before slamming him back onto the ground in a suplex motion with a ferocious battle cry.
Or so he thought. Right as the villain's head was to smash into the ground, a vortex opened and the villain passed through harmlessly, his upper half emerging from a second vortex right underneath the number one hero. Right after, Nomu grabbed All Might's side, where his weak point just so happened to be, causing him to cry out in pain while he coughed up blood. 'What the hell?! Shit!' All Might thought once he realized what had happened, his arms forced to let go of Nomu to try and pry his hands from his weak spot.
"An impressive, although futile attempt, All Might." The mist villain, Kurogiri spoke. "The Nomu is built to fight on par with you. Even if you could somehow manage to win, you still have us to deal with. Your mentality of everyone being weaker than you has allowed you to fall into our trap. Now all that is left is to have the Nomu pull you through before I close it once your body is in half way, cutting you in half." Kurogiri explained with an almost amused attitude.
All Might's eyes widened at the villain's words but he had no time to think them over. He needed to free himself before he was killed! The Nomu pulled and pulled and slowly but surely, All Might inched closer and closer into the portal head first. Right when his head was about to pass through, All Might heard the scraping of ice along with a distant blast.
"DDIIIEEEE!" A voice cried out, right as Nomu was frozen over all the way to the villains upper torso. All Might managed to free himself right before the portal closed, only to find an indifferent but concerned Shoto Todoroki, with Katsuki Bakugo having pinned down Kurogiri and Kirishima backing him up, pinning down another weaker villain who was nearby.
"Back at the entrance when we attacked...! You wouldn't have called us dangerous if we didn't have a way to harm you! I figured you had some kind of physical body under that mist and it looks like I was right!" Bakugo shouted at Kurogiri causing him to wince at the sheer volume of the angry Pomeranian holding him down.
"DON'T MOVE A MUSCLE WARP BASTARD! IF YOU DO I WON'T EVEN THINK TWICE ABOUT BLOWING YOUR ASS UP!" He shouted even louder, while simultaneously letting off small explosions against Kurogiri's neck guard. Kurogiri's ears were not enjoying today.
"Oooooh~ That doesn't sound very heroic!" Kirishima teased Bakugo whose face contorted into fury. "SHUT UP SHITTY HAIR!" He retorted, before refocusing on Kurogiri.
"You're lucky we got here in time All Might..." Todoroki spoke as he approached the still encased Nomu but made sure not to get too close.
"Young Bakugo! Todoroki! Kirishima! While I thank you for the assistance, I need you all to get to safety!" All Might told them with urgency, wiping some of the blood from his chin after he escaped from Nomu's clutches.
"You would have died were it not for us. You need our help. Don't throw it away." Todoroki spoke with indifference, a neutral expression lining his face.
"While I admit, your help would be appreciated, I cannot risk your lives!" All Might retorted.
Before any more words could be said, Nomu broke free from the ice, all of his encased body being torn off, before it rapidly reformed.
"What in the?! I thought you said his quirk was shock absorption!" All Might shouted.
"I never said that was his only quirk... This is super regeneration. Like I said, built to fight on par with you!" Shigaraki cackled. "Regardless, we need our warp gate back. Got to secure our means of escape after all. Nomu." Shigaraki muttered, before Nomu burst forward, rushing Bakugo, leaving him no time to dodge.
"KATSUKI!" Izumi and Shoto shouted as Nomu neared their friend. Right before Nomu could reach him, a gust of wind blew through the plaza, before both Bakugo and Kirishima were standing next to Izumi.
"Wait, did you dodge it? That's amazing!" Izumi said. "It would have been, If I was the one to actually move my feet!" Bakugo retorted in mild annoyance. "Then what...?" Izumi muttered, before noticing All Might standing back where Bakugo had previously been, blocking a hit meant for the blonde, explosive Pomeranian.
"So he protected the kid huh?" Shigaraki mused as Kurogiri stood back up.
"You vile bastard! I'm your target! Leave the students out of this!" All Might shouted in fury at Shigaraki, who responded by chuckling amusingly.
"I was simply trying to help my friend. Besides, those two over there... The one with blonde hair tried to kill me. The one in green almost took me by surprise. I'm simply trying to protect myself and my associates." Shigaraki explained with half ass seriousness.
'This monster! I won't let him harm my children!' All Might thought, before composing himself and speaking to Shigaraki. "You villains are all the same. Always running your mouths to bring false justification to your deeds. You're only doing this for fun aren't you?!"
"It looks like you've found me out... It doesn't matter. You won't be alive for much longer. Nomu! End this!" Shigaraki shouted, before Nomu responded with a flurry of actions, causing All Might to do the same.
The two exchanged blows but neither budged in any direction. The shockwaves from the battle kept anyone from getting too close. Shigaraki found All Might's struggle amusing. He could tell just by looking at him that he had no way of fighting back. Since Nomu's shock absorption rendered him theoretically invincible, All Might could do nothing but delay the inevitable.
All Might on the other hand was panicking. Nomu really was just as powerful as he was, if not more so. Every hit Nomu received, he returned just as hard. It was a battle of attrition and he was losing. He had no idea what to do. 'Think... THINK! YOU CAN'T LOSE! YOU CAN'T DIE! NOT YET!' All Might thought frantically, his usual smile plastered on his face to defend his internal struggle.
He remembered Kurogiri's words in that moment. "Your mentality of everyone being weaker than you has allowed you to fall into our trap." All Might grimaced at the realization. The villain was right. He had let his power blind him into thinking anyone who couldn't approach a similar level wasn't suited for heroics. Then, his son's words echoed in his mind.
"When I grow up, I'm going to be the greatest hero! Just like All Might!"
"I want to save people with a smile! That's what real heroes do!"
"It... It doesn't matter that I don't have a quirk! I wont stop trying Izumi!"
The last one made All Might frown internally. He had heard that and just brushed it off as a sister being concerned and asking her brother to reconsider his dream. What a blind fool he was. It was just then that All Might's eyes flashed over in recognition, another memory playing in his mind.
~flashback, three years prior~
All Might has been running through the sewers for nearly half an hour now. He spotted a villain with a sludge-like body running with a bag full of cash, presumably a bank robber. The what's and how's didn't matter though. He needed to be brought to justice and he was going to do it.
Finally, he came across a sewer grate, bits of sludge leaked off of the ladder leading up to it. 'I found him!' All Might thought excitedly. 'Time to bring this evil doer to justice!'
All Might crouched down, preparing to leap up onto the surface above, he heard maniacal laughter. 'That must be the sludge villain!' All Might thought. He was confused as to why he was laughing, when he realized that he might have found a means of escape. He didn't have time to think further, he blasted up through the manhole, the cover blowing off, before stepping onto the pavement with a reassuring smile. Then his blood ran cold.
All Might immediately spotted the sludge villain, though that wasn't what spooked him. What made his blood freeze, was the villains supposed 'means of escape'. In the villains clutches, was a young, 12 year old boy, with green hair and eyes, in a middle school uniform. It was his son, Izuku Yagi. At the time, it looked like Izuku was too weak to struggle against the villain. Now though, Toshinori knew better...
Nevertheless, his past self simply thought of one thing. 'Save. My. Son.'. Those 3 words were all he needed in his head, for him to blast towards the villain. He wound up his arm and shouted one of his signature moves "TEXAS... SMAAAAAAAASH!". The force of the punch forced the villains body to tear itself apart and the sludge immediately splattered across the tunnel.
Immediately after, Izuku fell unconscious. After making sure he was okay, Toshinori began to clear up all the sludge into a bottle he found, before moving onto Izuku's belongings. It was there he saw it, yet it didn't click for him at the time. Izuku's Quirk Analysis notebook.
All Might looked through it, noting that it was well made, albeit unprofessionally. It listed hero after hero, quirk after quirk, weaknesses, strengths, strategies and more. He was honestly impressed. At the time though, he didn't think of what he then saw as 'writing some notes into a book' proper qualification for heroics. After everything was said and done, he signed the notebook on an empty page, then proceeded to wake Izuku up, unknowingly about to make the biggest mistake of his life.
~flashback end~
'I was an idiot. "He couldn't be a hero," I said... Who says hero's need to fight on the front lines...? Who said heroes have to be able to fight the strongest villains?! Who says you need a goddamn quirk?! Wanting to help people is what matters! JUST BECAUSE I WAS A LOSER WHO COULDN'T FULFILL HIS DREAMS DOESN'T MEAN ANYONE ELSE IS THE SAME!' All Might thought, if it wasn't for the image he needed to keep up while fighting Nomu, he would have shed a few tears. 'Wait... That's it! Izuku my son... Thank you for the idea...' All Might thought, before the smile that was missing when he arrived at the U.S.J. found itself on his face again, before refocusing on the battle.
Immediately, his brain went into overdrive. He took a note from his son's book. He analyzed. He watched, he broke down what his opponent was doing and how he operated. Then, knowing that he could win, that he could live, that he could see and help his kids for a little longer, he put his heart and his soul into his next actions. Just then, All Might began to actually fight back, landing blow after blow to any openings the Nomu left open. Power didn't always translate into skill. Something his own son indirectly taught him.
"You idiot. Don't you remember? Nomu has Shock Absorption." Shigaraki taunted, his face frozen with confidence at his imminent victory.
"Call me what you like, in fact I deserve your words, but there is a big flaw in your plan." All Might began, earning a confused look on Shigaraki's face. "You said he has Shock Absorption! Not Nullification! That means there's a limit to how much he can take!" All Might said, increasing the frequency, consistency, power, precision and speed of his punches. "Built to fight me in my prime you said?! At 100% of my power?! Well then, I'll just have to go beyond that!" He shouted with conviction.
Just then, Shigaraki's face contorted into horror as he witnessed what was happening. Nomu, his bio engineered masterpiece, the Anti-Symbol of Peace, was losing. The Nomu began to falter under All Might's punches. One after another he was pummeled until he couldn't keep up. One after another until his shock absorption broke under the strain.
"I'LL HAVE TO GO BEYOND! PLUS... ULTRA!" All Might shouted, sending a maximum power punch right into Nomu's gut, uppercutting him, which lifted him into the air, before an explosion of raw kinetic force, generated a massive shockwave which shot Nomu out of the ceiling of the U.S.J. at high speeds, blowing a giant hole in the facilities ceiling in the process. "Now that was a battle. In my prime, it would have been over in about 5-6 punches. But now, it took over 300 mighty blows! I really have gotten weaker." All Might said, mumbling the last part so no one would hear.
Shigaraki immediately began to throw a tantrum like a spoiled child. "No, no no NO NO! NOMU! You... YOU CHEATED! YOU USED HACKS! CHEATS! I BET YOU TURNED ON GOD MODE!" Shigaraki yelled to himself before asking himself "Why did he lie to me?! All Might hasn't gotten weaker!"
'Shit... I've reached my limit and I can barely move after that. It's over though. The students are all safe. Now I just need to buy time.' All Might thought, before turning his already steaming body, barely keeping up his Buff form, to face Shigaraki and Kurogiri.
"It seems I was right. Your flaw was your downfall. Now then, you said you were going to kill me didn't you? Come on then!" All Might bluffed, it wasn't visible but he was sweating bullets.
"YOU! YOU, YOU, YOU CHEATER! KUROGIRI! WE'RE LEAVING! THE PLAN FAILED!" Shigaraki roared in pure rage, scratching his neck until he bled. One could also say he was salty.
"Now, now Tomura Shigaraki. Look carefully. While the Nomu may have been defeated, it still significantly weakened All Might. The rest of the faculty have yet to arrive, and we still have a sizable amount of fodder villains. The rest of the students are either too weak, too cowardly or too far away to intervene. If you and I work together, we could still kill All Might." Kurogiri calmly explained.
The instant those words were said, All Might and Shigaraki both froze in unison, the former turning white and the latter bringing his hands down from his neck. "Yeah... Yeah... You're right. I can still kill him..." Shigaraki said to himself in an eerily calm tone. Not even a second later Shigaraki rushed forward with insane speed, stretching his hand out and yelling "THIS PLACE WILL BE YOUR GRAVE! ALL MIGHT!".
In an instant, Shigaraki's hand was only a ruler's length away from All Might's face. Time seemed to slow. All Might, still wore his signature smile, fearful but accepting of his demise. He'd done his duty to protect the students after all. Shigaraki practically radiated killing intent, his crazed, bloodshot red eyes filled with hatred, zeroed in on All Might's face. The students nearby watching, whose faces were all contorted with shock and horror. The silence was all broken by a single sound. The sound of a rifle round.
A/N: Wassup people. It's me again. I just wanted to apologize for not updating last week. School kinda got a hold of me so I needed to prioritize that. To make up for it though, I'm releasing another chapter, most likely today but if not, then tomorrow. I have no intention of getting rid of my schedule but if this happens again then I might be forced to. Anyways I hope you all enjoyed!