chapter 10
The Nomu wasted no time in rushing All Might head on, releasing a ghastly roar as its battle cry. The hulking monster clenched a fist and swung at the pro hero with all it had, just for All Might to catch the punch in his palm.
"So, you're volunteering, huh?", the symbol of peace joked through a confident smile. "Delaware Smash!", All Might boomed as he counter attacked the beast. The move All Might had used would normally send an opponent crashing through several buildings.
Izuku Midoriya had to fight back a smile under his mask, being the only one unphased by seeing the impact have no effect. Nomu cocked its head with its own smile, as if to say 'is that all you got?'. Despite the creature's ability to withstand powerful attacks, Izuku & Stain were conflicted about the situation. Midoriya worried they weren't ready to confront someone such as All Might just yet while Stain still idolized the hero and outright refused to fight him.
"What in the-", before All Might could finish out his sentence, Nomu retaliated with a powerful uppercut. Any relief Class 1-A had was quickly diminished as they watched the cavalry so easily tossed aside. Even though the impact was strong and sent All Might flying into one of the simulation zones, it wouldn't keep the symbol of peace down for long. Nomu leaped in the direction he had sent his enemy, prepared to continue the fight.
Aizawa snapped back into action upon losing the backup, binding the hero killer with his cloth restraints. Izuku rushed Shota before the erasure gaze could claim him, ramming into Eraserhead and freeing Stain. Midoriya then took notice of the fleeing school students, the class was using the opportunity to escape. "Stain, stop them.", Izuku ordered as he targeted one of the students in particular. Tomura Shigaraki wasn't expecting to be put into a choke hold as he ran alongside the other children. "Hello old friend, you and I need to catch up for a bit.", Izuku whispered into the blue haired boy's ear before pulling him away at unbelievable speed.
Tomura cried out in pain as Izuku tossed him into one of the concrete pillars within the Landslide Zone. "You being here only further proves my point, these so called 'heroes' are all hypocrites! After inducing such havoc with the other Nomus, it's a wonder why they let you stand amongst them.", Midoriya seethed. Tomura forced himself to one knee, battling the pain his body had been inflicted. Shigaraki could only offer a dull look as he wiped blood from his torn lip.
"Unless.. Oh, that's rich. They don't know, do they?", Izuku laughed upon reading Tomura's body language.
"Don't! Please, no! Don't tell them!", Young Shigaraki pleaded as he staggered towards Izuku. The pain after receiving such a forceful blow still kept Tomura on his hands and knees, unable to fight back as Izuku sped behind him.
"Oh, but how much pleasure it would bring me to invoke such distraught as you caused me..", Midoriya replied from behind the blue haired boy. Izuku didn't bother using his quirk to kick Tomura, the force from that attack alone was enough to break a few bones.
"I just wanted to share the same acceptance that All For One gave you..", Tomura sobbed through flowing tears as he tried to justify the use of his Nomus at U.A.
"All water under the bridge.. but there's something you're leaving out.", Izuku grew agitated as he proceeded to kick Tomura a second time. "I want to hear you say it, confess what you've done.", Midoriya growled.
Before the reunion could go any further, the two were interrupted by the arrival of another battle. Nomu and All Might came crashing through the dome as they grappled with one another. Midoriya had to jump back in order to evade the massive crater both muscular beings caused on impact. Tomura used this as a distraction in order to roll away and hide behind debris.
Izuku watched in distress as All Might held the creature by its throat and smacked aside one of the attempts to free itself. Midoriya didn't hesitate to use his speed and punch All Might with strong enough force to blow the three back in separate directions. Each one of them struggled to gain their bearings, surveying one another to get a full understanding of what had just happened.
"You there.. you look.. familiar..", All Might squinted at Izuku.
Midoriya didn't think about the consequences of removing his mask to look All Might in the eye. "That's because you made me, All Might.", Izuku only wanted his former idol to feel the immense guilt of causing someone to lose hope in their dreams.
"Whatever do you mean?", the pro hero wondered.
"Do you remember? ..Do you remember what you said to me?", Izuku did his best to hold back tears. All crying did was remind Midoriya of the fragile young boy he once was, and it tore the man apart to look back on how naive he had been.
All Might had trouble fighting back his own waterworks as he recalled the past with his current opponent. It seemed like a faded memory at first, but resurfaced like a submarine. The green hair stood out to the pro hero, making him think of a conversation he had on a rooftop so long ago.
"I used to be quirkless.", the statement only confirmed All Might's dread. Despite the circumstances, the pro hero wanted to reach out to the man holding resentment. At one point, All Might had been quirkless too, he could relate. The much needed talk never escaped the hero's lips as a fist sealed them shut. "But now, I have a quirk far greater than your own!", Izuku taunted as he punched the pro hero's jaw.
All Might staggered from the impact, placing his hand on the throbbing spot. The pro hero was shocked to feel a warm & wet residue, the liquid mixed with his fingers as he pulled them back. All Might's smile faltered as he realized the red substance was blood. "I didn't mean to hurt you in any way, I was just speaking the truth..", All Might tried to argue but got cut off by another swift attack. The symbol of peace was rendered helpless as Izuku whizzed in a zig zag fashion.
"I was just a boy who needed his hero to console him.", Midoriya cried out as he punched his old idol again. "You broke my heart that day..", Izuku muttered before regaining his composure. "But, you also woke me from my dream. You made me see the truth.", Midoriya continued saying.
"What truth?", All Might gagged on his own blood as he asked the question.
"That there are no heroes to idolize, least of all you.", Izuku's words pierced All Might worse than any blade could have. Much like Midoriya had wanted, the pro hero strived to save people with a smile. All Might only wanted what he thought he had become, to be the symbol of peace for people. Now, Izuku was rubbing the title in his face, proving that any reassurance he had given was just as easily vanquished.
"I'm sorry. I should have stayed to explain things better to you. Maybe you wouldn't have turned out this way.", All Might apologized.
Izuku chuckled, "You'd say just about anything to keep your title, wouldn't you? You're a disgrace.", Midoriya said in a disgusted tone.
"It's clear that there is no getting through to you. I'm sorry that things had to be this way.", All Might apologized one last time before preparing to attack.
"I'm not..", Izuku replied despite not being so sure of his own answer. The creeping doubt would have been enough to let All Might make his mark, "Carolina Smash!", had it not been for Nomu stepping in between the two to take the punch for Izuku.
The sudden change of pace snapped Midoriya out of his thinking, "Ah, so you still haven't figured out that it's no use. None of your attacks will effect Nomu, his shock absorption makes sure of that.", Izuku made note of the situation.
"Thanks for the hint!", All Might retorted before slamming the beast's head into the ground. So he plans to use his environment to combat Nomu.. two can play at that game., Izuku thought before leaving the fight. As the muscular beings fought it out, Midoriya found his way to the control panel so he could activate the Landslide Zone's simulation functions. An avalanche of dirt and rocks buried All Might & Nomu.
Meanwhile, Stain had cut the last of Aizawa's weaponized cloth strands. Shota retaliated by kicking the last of the hero killer's blades aside. The two then resorted to hand to hand combat, neither opponent missed a beat as they traded blows. Aizawa attempted to sweep out the hero killer's legs, but Stain remained on the tips of his toes despite such a disruption. With the ground being limited, the hero killer leaped as high as he could before delivering continuous kicks aimed for Shota's head. Each hit was received by Aizawa's palms, but what came as unexpected was the 'bionic elbow' move that made its mark. Shota began staggering in a daze, not prepared for Stain's next barrage of punches. With the pro hero down, Stain reclaims his knife and prepares to finish the fight. All the while, Class 1-A had evacuated from the premises.
All Might climbed out from the burial like a pool, unscathed from the landslide despite his suit being dirtied. The pro hero then took a moment to catch his breath, preparing to continue the battle. The break was short lived when Nomu's hand came clawing out from the ground beneath All Might's stomach. Before the symbol of peace could pull away, Nomu jabbed its claws into the hero's side. The attack would have hurt enough as is, but resulted in a stronger force since All Might had a wound from a previous battle in that certain place.
"Cut it out, that's my weak point!", All Might cried out in pain as he tried prying the beast's fingers from his side. During the pro hero's distraction, Nomu erupted from the rest of his burial and jabbed its other hand into the opposite side. Though not as pain inflicting, it harmed All Might even further. The pro hero struggled all he could, but in the end, he was ultimately held down and sustained too many injuries to break free.
Tomura had been watching from his hiding spot the entire time, too afraid & injured himself to intervene. Upon watching Izuku claim victory and his fellow classmates flee though, young Shigaraki eventually found the courage to run out into the battle field. Due to his time working with All For One, the Nomu didn't react to the blue haired boy's charge, allowing for Tomura to get close enough in order to use his quirk. Only when Shigaraki clasped his hands onto the monster's arm did it work, Decay began deterioration of the beast and forced it to let go of All Might.
Nomu waved its arm around as the rotting limb began spreading, letting out an ear bursting screech that could only mean it felt pain. All Might clutched his bleeding sides as Tomura helped the pro hero back to his feet. "I don't know whether I should thank you for saving me or scold you for getting involved, kid..", All Might told the child.
Nomu's left arm detached itself, giving off a loud thud before it completely rotted. Then, instantaneously, the limb began regrowing itself. "How is that thing still moving?!", All Might wondered.
"It's hyper regeneration..", Tomura answered the hero's question. "And I don't think that's all it can do..", Shigaraki added. Rather than question the boy how he knew all of this, All Might just raised his fists and prepared to continue fighting.
"Thank you for your help, but its time you make haste and leave!", the pro hero worried for Tomura's safety. Young Shigaraki was baffled, concern was never a concept given to him by All For One and that was the same man who said compassion didn't exist in All Might who had just proved otherwise.
Then, in the blink of an eye, All Might rushed the beast again. However, the pro hero's speed was diminishing due to overextending the time frame of his power & wasn't fast enough to avoid another uppercut from Nomu. "This guy doesn't hold back..", All Might complained as he was hurdled through another dome.
Once the pro hero is no longer in ear shot, Tomura decides to try something. "Nomu, stop!", Tomura begs the beast. Hopefully he still listens to me.., Young Shigaraki hoped as the hulking creature stomped towards him. Nomu lingered for a moment, just looking down at the boy as he towered over him. Tomura thought his command had worked, until the monster clenched its fists and raised its arms over its head. "No, wait!", Shigaraki cried.
Just as the monster was about to pound the boy into the pavement, All Might returned with a powerful punch. "Missouri Smash!", the pro hero exclaimed as he knocked the creature back a few feet. "I find myself continuously thanking you kid, you were the perfect distraction for me to get a hit on this villain.", All Might told the blue haired boy.
Izuku Midoriya returned to the battlefield at the end of All Might's sentence. "You're good, I'm evil. Heroes and villains both thrive on violence, and yet we're both categorized in such a manner. THAT PISSES ME OFF! You know what, All Might? In the end, you're just a tool for violence, made to keep others down. Symbol of PEACE? HAH! I'll show the world this truth by eventually killing you.", Izuku vowed as he put his mask back on. The frown shape reflected All Might's vanished smile.
The speech sounded like something Tomura would have said if he had stayed with All For One. The parallel was uncanny for the boy, and he was proud to be the one standing at All Might's side rather than next to his previous master's. "I used to want All For One's affection..", the statement from young Shigaraki gained All Might's horrified & shocked attention."Now, I couldn't be happier with the way things turned out. Thank you for getting me here Midoriya, I just wish we didn't have to trade places for it to happen this way..", Tomura sincerely confessed.
"All For One..?", was all that All Might could muster to say.
"You.. You bastard..", Izuku growled under his breath. The words had struck Midoriya worse than any insult he had received when getting bullied as a child. And my master.. All Might knows of him.., Izuku's thoughts ran a mile a minute in the dire situation.
"You must run! I'm weakening faster than expected, but I've got no choice here. I barely have a minute left..", All Might informed Tomura despite the boy not fully grasping what the pro hero meant.
Izuku found the remark from All Might interesting, but had no chance to comment about it as the pro hero pulled a full on assault. The punches were nonstop, causing updraft as each impact radiated off of the beast. Nomu roared as it tried to retaliate but couldn't get a single movement in as All Might never let up with the hits. "I told you, he has shock absorption. You're wasting your time.", Izuku scoffed.
"It's 'absorption', not 'negation', so he must have a limit!", All Might shouted back, not once letting up with his speed nor hits. The pro hero was using his full power, spitting up blood from the over extensive use of his quirk.
"Yes.. but you have your own limit as well.", Izuku snickered. All Might looked hopeless as he gave it his all to combat Nomu, something Midoriya didn't think he would ever enjoy seeing.
All Might let out a shout of effort with one final blow, uppercutting Nomu through the building like the beast had done. Izuku and Tomura were amazed to see the monster bested in combat, even if it hadn't been killed or knocked unconscious. Young Shigaraki knew the creature had survived and would return, the monster had been specifically created to match All Might's abilities, but he couldn't help but cheer & relish in the victory. Steam emitted off of the pro hero, clouding the area in a sort of fog. All Might looked although he were a steam engine that ran out of gas.
"Dammit..", Izuku said under his breath.
The situation with Stain had reached its breaking point as well, the hero killer was pressing down against Aizawa with his dagger. Eraserhead desperately resisted the blade, but it slowly inched closer and closer to the pro hero's chest. Aizawa gasped as the knife dug itself into his chest, it felt like he had simply been poked by a finger. Stain jutted the blade into his enemy a second time just to be safe, the next stab wound inflicted more pain than the first. Aizawa didn't fight back the closing of his eyelids as he fell asleep for the final time.
It was then that the true calvary arrived, Cementoss was the first to act by creating a barricade in between the zone in which All Might was facing off against Izuku. Midnight used her quirk to try and render Stain unconscious while Present Mic used a sonic attack on Midoriya. Izuku was fast enough to evade the soundwave and focused on moving Stain from Midnight's vapor. Once his teammate was clear, Midoriya grabbed Shota Aizawa's body and said a second time, "Dammit!".
When the supposed villains were gone, All Might turned to face Tomura & said, "You and I are going to have a little chat."