Heyo! I had A LOT of fun writing this chapter. Actually, really this whole USJ arc has been fun to write. I say that a lot. Ughhhh I'm annoying, I know--
No song today because I'm BORINGGGGGGGGGGG~ <3
Akiara's POV
I watched in fear as Midoriya's fist was still against Nomu's stomach, with no effect.
"They are pretty powerful," Shigaraki cooed. "This smash of yours. Are you one of All Might's disciples? Doesn't matter. I'm done with you now." He growled that last part.
Nomu grabbed onto Midoriya's forearm, and I gritted my teeth as I tried to get back up on my feet, my wounds still searing with pain. "M-Midoriya!" I called out, my breath hitching on a sob. Nomu lifted Midoriya off the ground with one large pull, and brought up his other hand to smash him down into the ground. Shigaraki reached out to Tsu, who deflected his hand and reached her tongue out to Midoriya. But his hand was still going in the direction of her face, and his other going for Mineta.
My eyes widened when I realized that I couldn't do anything.
I was broken.
I was sore.
I was heavily breathing.
I was burned.
I was crying on the ground.
I was completely, and utterly useless.
Right before the worst happened, the doors to the USJ smashed open, revealing a cloud of smoke at the top of the stairs. I was several meters away, and couldn't see what was happening, but I sure hoped it was All Might.
My suspicions were correct when I heard his voice, "Have no fear students. I am here."
"LOOK!" Mineta called, tears in his eyes. "WE'RE SAVED!"
All Might stood at the top of the stairs, in his work uniform. He threw his yellow jacket to the side. There was something off about his smile, though. It looked like more of a grimace if you asked me. Was he okay?
"Ah...." Shigaraki said, standing up straight and pulling away from my classmates. "Looks like we get to continue."
"It's All Might!" Everyone cheered, and my tears suddenly turned to those of joy.
"I couldn't shake the feeling that something had gone wrong here when Aizawa and Thirteen didn't answer my calls." All Might exclaimed, stepping through the crowd of students. "So I hurried over, running into young Iida along the way. He told me of the villainy at work here." He stomped his foot on the ground and repeated, "Have no fear students! Because I AM HERE!" He ripped his tie off, shredding it into three pieces.
Shigaraki turned to face the stairs. "After all this waiting, a heroic piece of trash shows up."
"Holy crap, it's All Might!" One of the minor villains commented. "I've never seen him in person before."
Another one spoke up. "I didn't expect him to be so huge!"
One with brownish red hair clenched his fists as he addressed his comrades. "This is no time to talk, you idiots! If we strike now we can kill him--" That was the last thing he said, before All Might moved at the speed of light and punched him right in the face. He was soon followed by the other villains.
I bit my lip as I pulled myself up from the ground, flapping my already sore wings to get me airborne. My limbs were seething with pain and screaming at me to just let the darkness take over and pass out, but I willed myself to stay awake. I can't go down that easily if I want to be a hero. I have to be strong. I have to.
All Might stopped with his assault, and quickly made his way to Aizawa, picking him up. I, too, hurried over.
"All Might! Is he going to be okay?!" I cried, hovering in the air in front of the two.
All Might looked up from Mr Aizawa and to me. His eyes widened. "Young Saki! What happened to you--"
I shook my head rapidly. "Doesn't matter! Is he going to be okay? He's badly injured... the Nomu thing smashed his head into the ground so many times!" I wiped my tears away as I stared at my teacher's bloodied up face. "And then... that weird guy with all the hands made his elbow turn into dust and I can see muscle and blood!" I indicated his elbow, and All Might grimaced, staring back down at my teacher.
"I'm sorry Aizawa, I should have been here." Was all that All Might said in response before turning to me. "Get yourself out of here, Saki."
I nodded, and took a deep breath before ascending higher into the air. That's when I saw All Might's eyes widen before he shot like a bullet and picked up Midoriya, Asui and Mineta all in one large swoop. He landed somewhere in the clearing and put the three conscious ones back down on the ground, laying Aizawa next to them.
"Everybody back to the entrance, and take Aizawa with you. He doesn't have much time." All Might instructed them. He stood up and faced the villains.
"Y-Yes sir!" Mineta stuttered, and he helped Asui to pick Aizawa up.
Shigaraki mumbled things about his father, and how it wasn't supposed to go this way. I bit my lip and despite what All Might told me to do, I landed next to Asui and the others. Pain shot up my legs as I set them down onto the ground, and I choked back a sob.
Midoriya propped Aizawa up onto him, slinging his arm around his shoulders. Mineta stood behind the green-haired boy, Aizawa's holding onto Aizawa's feet. Midoriya looked up at All might and said, "All Might you can't that brain villain took one for--" He paused mid sentence, but I knew what he was going to say. I mean, I had my suspicions anyway. After he told me that he got his quirk passed down to him by All Might, I've been noticing all the signs. "I smashed him," Midoriya continued, "and didn't break my arm this time, but he wasn't fazed at all! He's so strong!"
All Might cut him off, turning around and throwing a hand in front of him. "Young Midoriya!" He flashed the boy a peace sign. "I've got this."
The four of us students turned around, and I walked next to Midoriya. "Here, let me help you with him--"
"No," Midoriya said, looking me in the eyes. "You've got your own injuries to worry about. Look at your arms and legs, Saki. You're banged up."
I stared down at my wounds. My limbs had swirling patterns of bright red flesh, which indicated where I had been burnt. I couldn't feel much pain in my face, which hopefully meant I wouldn't have permanent wounds there. But my arms and legs on the other hand, I'd definitely have these scars for a lifetime. I held my hands up to observe them. They had the same red patterns. Maybe... I thought. Maybe the scars will actually end up looking cool. I'll have these awesome battle wounds, and if I become a hero my fans will ask questions about how I got them, and I'll tell them this freaky yet entertaining line of events.
There's that word again. If.
It's been replaying in my head for years now. I always knew I wouldn't get far with just a healing quirk, but lately, I've been having more self doubt than usual.
I snapped back into reality, to find Asui helping Midoriya carry Aizawa. I was following behind, my legs screaming with pain that hasn't gone away. I grit my teeth.
I closed my eyes, trying to recall all that has happened today.
This morning, I fell asleep on Todoroki.
Then we drove to the USJ, ready to do some rescue training.
Next a whole ton of villains showed up.
Suddenly we were all warped into different areas of the USJ.
I was severely burnt all over my body.
Bakugou carried me to Todoroki.
I tried to stab a giant multi-quirk creature in its brain.
I saved Tsu from getting disintegrated.
Which resulted in almost disintegrating myself.
Then I got blown away by one of Midoriya's punches, causing me to land right on my sore wings.
Holy macaroni. A lot happened.
Tsu moved to the front of the group, while the boys carried Aizawa. We were all staring back at the situation. All Might was fighting Nomu, and every single punch he threw had no affect.
What if... what if All Might can't beat it? What if they do have a way to kill him, and they follow through with their plan. What if this is All Might's last fight, and we're merely standing on the sidelines watching it all go down? I thought, biting my lower lip. Questions were bubbling up inside me, one after another. It killed me inside to know that I could be helping, whatever way I can, but I'm not. I'm walking away from the situation, and it hurts. Not only does every step I take hurt my body physically, but it hurts emotionally, too. How can I ever call myself a hero if I stay put?
I directed my gaze to Midoriya, who was watching the fight with the same intensity I was. I know he feels the same way. I clenched my fists at my sides. He has a knack for running into crazy situations. I mean, at the start of this attack he was about to just hop in and help Aizawa fight. But he's staying put, because All Might told him to. He believes All Might can stop this guy, at least, that's what he's making it look like he believes.
"Woah!" Mineta exclaimed after All Might had stepped behind Nomu, wrapped his arms around his waist, and pulled him to the ground with an epic gust of power. "Are you guys seeing this? That looked like a giant explosion! All Might's on a whole other level!"
Tsu brought a finger up to her chin as she always does. "And yet he still has to look at his notes when he's teaching us."
I let a weak laugh escape my lips, despite the sting I felt when my cracked lips stretched. "Yeah, he can save a whole ton of citizens, but he can't teach a class."
There wasn't any response to my comment, and I'd rather that be the case. I glanced up at Midoriya again, who hadn't even acknowledged our observations. He was staring at the fight with a furrowed brow and clenched teeth. He turned his attention back to the ground and narrowed his eyes with a worried expression on his face. He was definitely deep in thought, probably figuring out a way to help All Might.
"GET THAT GUY!" Mineta called back to All Might, tears in his eyes. "PUNCH HIM RIGHT IN THE BALLS!"
I gave a winded giggle again as Tsu responded. "Maybe we were worried about these bad guys for nothing. All Might's unstoppable!"
I bit my lower lip. I'm not so sure about that. These guys seem really dangerous. I could tell by the look on Midoriya's face that he was thinking the same thing, or something of the sort.
I could feel the air getting tenser when the smoke still hadn't cleared. Midoriya looked back to the fight, Mineta was still shouting incoherent things to All Might, our classmates were cheering him on with desperate cries, Tsu was still mumbling on to us, but I couldn't hear it. I could see everything, but the whole world was muffled in my ears. I started breathing heavily, not quickly, but my chest rose and fell slowly with weight.
I brought a hand up to my forehead again and forced my legs to keep moving. Stop, Akiara! Stop, stop, stop! Don't have a panic attack right now! You need to focus. Get back to the others, find Todoroki, end this nightmare.
Midoriya's mouth fell agape and in curiosity, I turned around to examine the current situation with All Might. My eyes widened when I saw blood seeping through his shirt on the left side of his stomach.
"All Might..." I mumbled to myself. I don't think anyone heard it, except for Midoriya. I turned around and shut my eyes tight, trusting the sound of the others' footsteps to guide me. I couldn't watch this anymore. Nomu was too strong, and All Might seemed in a bad position.
Kurogiri was saying something to the number one hero, and all I heard was, "I'm going to enjoy tearing you to pieces."
Midoriya grit his teeth. "Asui."
The frog-like girl in question turned to him. "Yeah, what is it Midoriya?"
"Will you carry Mr Aizawa for me?"
Asui blinked. "Ribbit, sure." She walked forwards and Midoriya helped her slip Aizawa onto her shoulders. "But what are you going to do?"
He didn't answer.
Midoriya began to step forwards, one foot at a time towards the battle. My eyes widened when I realized he was going to go help All Might fight. "No, Midoriya!" I called, grabbing a hold of his forearm. The burns on my hands screamed from the contact, but I ignored it. "You can't go in there, Midoriya!" He ripped his arm from my grasp, the movement tearing at my burns. I yelped in surprise and stumbled forwards. "MIDORIYA!" I called for him again, but he was already running at full speed in the direction All Might, tears flowing freely from his eyes.
"I'M COMING!" He screamed, jumping forwards. But his path was blocked.
Kurogiri had gone in front of him, opening a warp gate from his body. "How foolish--"
He didn't finish his sentence, because a certain hothead exploded him out of the way. "Get the heck out of my way, DEKU!"
"Bakugou!" I announced, resting my shoulders.
He didn't seem to hear me, because he let out a battle cry and grabbed onto the metal part around what I assumed to be Kurogiri's neck, and slammed it into the ground.
My heart leaped with joy when I felt a familiar chill roll up my spine, which I turned to. Ice spread quickly across the ground, and soon enough covered Nomu's body, who was still trapped between two warps, holding onto All Might. I looked away from the Nomu to see Todoroki standing a few meters away, clearly ready for a battle. My dry lips cracked into a smile when I saw him, but I knew he hadn't noticed me yet.
"One of your poorly trained thugs told me you were here because you think you can kill All Might." Todoroki said, with a completely straight face. I desperately wanted to go and hide in his arms, but I knew I didn't have the stamina to do that. My strength was slowly fading away as I stood there.
I laughed gratefully when I saw All Might flip out of Nomu's hands, landing on the ground next to Todoroki. All Might held his side tenderly when he touched the ground, and Midoriya noticed, saying, "Are you okay?!"
He wasn't able to answer, because Kirishima came into view, falling from the sky with a battle cry, ready to grab Shigaraki. Shigaraki dodged, and Kirishima retreated a few feet. "Dang it! That was gonna be cool!" He told Handyman.
Bakugou grinned menacingly down at Kurogiri, who he still had slammed against the ground. "Guess I found your body that time, you smoky idiot!"
Todoroki tipped his chin up. "The symbol of peace will not be defeated by delinquents like you." Again, he had a completely serious look on his face, and his determination made me smile.
That's when one of my burns decided this was the absolute best time to send pin-pricks up my limbs, on all the tender spots. I screamed breathlessly, but it wasn't loud enough to draw the attention of anyone in the battle. I collapsed to my knees, my hands held together at my chest. Tsu on the other hand, definitely heard it.
"Saki! Saki, ribbit, are you alright?" She asked, still holding onto Aizawa. Behind her, Mineta was staring at me, with both a worried and perverted expression. I knew exactly where he was actually staring, but I was too exhausted to care.
I waved her worry away, gritting my teeth. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine." I indicated the stairway and the rest of the class. "Get back to the others, I'll catch up. I just need to rest for a second." Tsu nodded, and she and Mineta carried Aizawa in that direction.
Meanwhile, the battle was still going on.
Midoriya said something to Kirishima, Bakugou and Todoroki, but I didn't hear it.
In fact, I couldn't hear anything. A quiet buzz filled my ears, and my vision went blurry. My hands slowly dropped from my chest to my sides, and then my whole body fell to the ground with a thud. My wings grew limp against my back, and my clenched fists gradually relaxed before the whole world went dark.
SOMEONE TELL ME IF THIS BOOK IS BAD BECAUSE ITS SO CRAPPY AND I KEEP FORGETTING DETAILS AND I SUCK AT DESCRIBING THINGS AND OMG I CAN'T WRITE AND MIGHT MUFFIN CRUMBS IM SO WEIRD WITH ALL THESE THINGS LIKE WHAT I JUST SAID, I MEAN WHAT KIND OF EXCLAMATION IS MIGHTY MUFFIN CRUMBS AND I ALSO SAY SNICKERDOODLES AND BUTT NUGGET AND GOSH IM WEIRD AND NOT IM RAMBLIMG OKAY YOU GUYS CAN HATE ME I'LL UNDERSTAND NOW BYE.
That was a long sentence.
Bye now. <3
~Dream