Chapter 16: USJ Battle
We drove along on the bus. Strangely, the longer we drove, the calmer I felt. As though the mere fact we were getting closer to the endgame I'd been prepping a year for made me more relaxed. Enough that I could actually join in on conversations.
"-Quirk is kind of like All Might's," Tsuyu said to Deku, who immediately started stuttering in surprise.
Such a perceptive frog.
"Y-Y-You think so?" Deku stuttered quickly, looking panicked as hell.
"She has a point," I said, cutting in on the conversation. "Maybe he'll have some advice for training. That or you could ask him who helped him with his quirk."
"They aren't that similar though, are they?" Kirishima said, scratching the back of his neck. "I mean, All Might's quirk doesn't hurt him."
"All Might is one of the oldest and most powerful heroes in the world. Of course he can handle his quirk," I pointed out to Kirishima.
"I guess so," Kirishima said thoughtfully. "Still, I kinda wish I had flashy quirks like you guys," he hardened his arm a bit, the rocklike skin drawing the eye. "My quirk is pretty good, but even Tetsutetsu's quirk is more impressive than mine if we're talking about flashiness."
"Sure, but you could say that about a LOT of useful quirks, couldn't you?" I said. "There is something to be said about simplicity being the most effective thing. I don't know how Momo doesn't just freeze up in combat when she has to think through a thousand items to make the right one."
"Actually, I do have some trouble with that at times," Momo pressed a worried hand to her cheek. "I'm working on it, but it can be harrowing, having so many options I have to decide between."
"Well I think your quirks are amazing. Definitely worthy of a pro's!" Deku said with real admiration in his voice. When Kirishima and Momo saw the open and honest awe on his face, both blushed, Kirishima rubbing the back of his head.
"Well, it may be a good quirk, but you need to think of popularity as a hero, you know?" Kirishima said, looking over at his hand again. I noticed Mina was eyeing him for some reason, a blank expression on her face instead of her usual smirk.
"Nah, the flashiness of a quirk doesn't matter. Otherwise, Bakugo's explosion would make up for his shit personality."
"What did you say to me you fucking turtle bastard!?"
"That you have the personality of a spoiled brat," I looked over at him. "Your powers are strong. But you're a dick chūnibyō."
"You wanna fight, bastard?" the kid snarled.
"I did, but you decided not to come to the UA Sentei meetings," I scoffed. "Aren't you supposed to be some kinda badass? Why not come to the club specifically made to help each other get stronger?"
Bakugo scoffed. "As though I needed help from a bunch of worthless extras."
I felt a shot of rage fill me. A small flame left my lips as I leaned forward, glaring at him. "Every person in this class is worthy of being one of the greatest heroes of this generation. And if you actually believed you were as good as you say you are, you wouldn't be afraid to come and take me on."
Bakugo calmed, going from angry to smugly challenging. "Oh? You think you're that good, eh?"
"I don't think. I know."
We glared at each other for a good moment, ignoring some of the others staring, while Deku mumbled to himself.
"We're here," Aizawa said from the front. "Settle down, now."
Bakugo settled back in his seat. "Tch."
I leaned back in my own seat, sighing as the massive structure of the USJ approached from the distance. Well… showtime.
------
Once inside the place I took stock of it with the students. Big. Very big. The whole place was the size of an amusement park. Seriously, what sort of budget did UA have? Their finances must challenge small countries in size…
And standing there was Thirteen, the Space Hero, dressed like an astronaut. We couldn't see her smile, but she had a very cheery voice coming from the speakers in her suit. I say her, but I was actually unsure on that. I don't think it had even been confirmed back home? Hm.
"Good afternoon everyone!"
As everyone reacted to the presence of the Rescue expert, I was taking deep breaths, clenching and unclenching my claws. Come on dammit. My emails must have been sent by now. Everything had been set up. Someone should be arriving. And if no one appeared in time… I'd need to be careful. I couldn't respond to the villains before Aizawa and Thirteen, but I still wanted to respond. Balance, balance in all things. Calm. Calm.
As Thirteen began breaking down her philosophy on quirks and the responsibility we had to learn how to use them safely (she was so damn cool) Tsuyu noticed how I was acting.
"You okay?" Tsuyu asked me.
"Yeah," I said reflexively. "Just getting ready. Taking deep breaths and such."
"Ah. Okay. I thought you were nervous."
"...More excited."
She hummed in understanding.
I kept my eyes nailed on Thirteen. But my peripheral vision was on the open courtyard behind her. Any second. Any second I would find out if the heroes were arriving, or if I'd need to fight-
The lights flickered above. The fountain in the center of the courtyard flickered.
A violet puff of smoke. I held in a lick of flame. It was time.
The smoke grew more and more, widening outwards into a large swirling pool of shadows like something out of Kingdom Hearts. Then it exploded outwards.
"Get back, now!" Aizawa shouted, staring at the portal. "Thirteen-!"
"I'll protect them," she was already standing in front of us, her hands raised.
Aizawa and Thirteen were already looking at it. Leave it to the experienced pro heroes to see what was happening ahead of everyone else. A portal in space opened up. A pale hand came from the darkness, joined by another. They clutched the edges of that small portal before a face came with it. A face with another hand clutching to it, pale white hair framing the macabre image. A single red eye glowing in between the hands fingers.
The portal opened wide, spreading across the ground. And they came out.
Dozens of men and women, wearing an assortment of clothes, with a wide range of appearances. Some looked around curiously. Some glared at us. A couple were laughing. They ranged from truly threatening to clear jokes.
And he stood at the center of them all. The skinny man wearing a purple sweater and pants, a pair of red sneakers on his feet. And the hands. Two on his forearms and biceps, one on his face, one on his head. Wow. That was just freaky to see in real life.
Next to him was…
My claws flashed. I wanted to grin even as a bead of sweat dropped from my forehead.
Taller than me. Wide with muscle underneath violet skin. A face shaped like a bird's, with jagged teeth, a pair of eyes set into an exposed brain, staring out at nothing.
The Nomu.
------
As the army of villains appeared, I could see the portal form two eyes. In the anime, that shadow guy had been saying something, but I couldn't hear it from where I was standing.
"What's that?" Kirishima asked, stepping forward with a hand over his eyes to stare at the bad guys coming towards us. "Is this like the Entrance Exam where the lesson's already started?"
Aizawa snapped something out, but I wasn't listening. Instead I was snapping my eyes around. Okay. No teachers had shown up yet. The trespasser alarm wasn't working, and that electricity guy was going to be jamming our phones.
It was likely we'd need to fight.
That was fine.
To be honest, it's what I wanted.
My nervousness was gone. Now all I felt was a raging heat in my belly. I felt the same heat in my eyes. Pony once told me when I felt that heat that my eyes would start to glow. I believed it.
"-surprise attack was carefully planned-" Shoto was saying in the back.
I crouched down, snarling just a bit.
"Bowser, no," Aizawa snapped.
I looked over at him. He glared at me through his goggles. "You are in training. For now, keep trying to contact the school. I'll take care of this while Thirteen protects you."
...Contact the school.
Oh right. The plan.
I spun around. "Iida!"
"Bowser?" the speedster, surprised by my sudden shout.
"I can get those doors open! You run out and inform the school while Aizawa takes down the villains!" I shouted as I rushed for the doors.
The second I said that, it was like all the students came alive. Aizawa let out a small scoff of annoyance, but leaped upwards, rushing for the villains with his bandages fluttering behind and around him.
"I'll help you!" Sato shouted, pouring sugar into his mouth and chasing me.
"Me too!" Shoji said, his multi-arms stretching.
"I'll be ready!" Iida said, following after us.
"I'll help defend your back!" Momo barked, forming a few flashbangs along her arms.
"This is bullshit!" Mineta said even as he followed, pulling out some of his sticky balls.
We started running as a group, Thirteen leading the others.
Aizawa was kicking some serious ass based on the loud shouts of pain. But my focus was ahead. Not on the door. I was waiting for him to show up.
I got down on all fours, running along with my claws digging into the ground. Bakugo was suddenly next to me, his eyes white with rage.
Then, the spot just in front of us sprouted a purple pool of energy. I dug my claws into the ground, carving the stones. As I did, I twisted around, turning my braking maneuver into a circular one, my claws ripping through the stone as I did. I pulled upwards, lifting the large chunk of cement I'd just carved out.
The pool of energy popped upwards, a shadowy figure coming from it and rising upwards.
"I won't let yo-
"Bakugo, the brace!" I shouted at the top of my lungs as I tossed the boulder. "Iida, around!"
"Students-" Thirteen shouted after us, shocked while the boulder flew towards the shadow guy. He shut up, flickering a bit before the boulder landed. He began to reform. And as he did, a flicker of silver could be seen.
Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Bakugo's gaze flicker in confusion. Then, realization. He launched forwards in an instant. Iida's eyes narrowed in determination as he went speeding around to the right side.
Portal guy (Kurogiri, I think?) snapped out tendrils of violet from his main body, forgoing his speech for an all out attack.
Fuck! He was so much faster than I'd expected! I ran forward, breathing out a stream of fire. The blaze of heat spread along the right, smashing into the violet waves before they could hit Iida. As it faded, ice sprouted directly in it the same path, blocking the waves of purple from Iida. Sato and Shoji followed after him, using the makeshift blockade to protect them.
The villain tried to attack again, only for Bakugo to be leaping towards him.
"DIIIIE!" he screamed, blowing up the villain across his silver brace.
"Guh!" the villain stumbled. Iida, Sato, and Shoji got to the doors. The two strongmen started pulling it apart. The villain sent purple tendrils flying towards them.
I grabbed onto his metal bracer. My blood was pumping. I felt flames drip from my lips like water. The excitement and heat made my brain pound in my skull. Yellow eyes widened as I watched. I wanted to laugh. Instead I roared.
"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!"
The villain suddenly exploded before I could dig my claws into his bracer. Violet surrounded me like a storm. I felt a hand I couldn't see grab my wrist, Aoyoma screaming something on the other side of me. My claws scratched along metal. Then I was pulled away.
------
I fell to the ground moments later, landing on cement. I looked around. A city on fire surrounded me. Flames were burning in the windows, cars were eternally alight with flame, smoke and darkness filled the air.
"...Fuck," I said softly.
That hadn't been the plan. The plan had been to drive off Kurogiri long enough to get Iida outside. But I wanted to confirm that he'd made it out. Instead… Sato and Shoji had been pulling the door open. Iida was pushing through that gap. They had to have gotten out. Right?
I wanted certainty about that. Instead I was in the middle of a city on fire. I didn't know if any teachers had even gotten my messages. I thought I'd covered everything I could, but…
In the distance, I heard someone scream. I recognized his voice immediately. Aoyama.
Fine. I wasn't sure if the teachers were coming early. If Iida had managed to get his speedy ass out. But that was fine. I had somewhere to vent my anger.
I stepped forward into the fire.
------
Yuga Aoyama
Aoyama fired another laser from his belly, wincing at the nausea that followed. The blast hit a villain in the face, sending him to the ground.
Aoyama had been approaching Bowser when the violet shadow attacked him. He had hoped that his navel laser could at least hurt the strange villain, maybe the shadow would have a weakness to intense light like his dazzling self. But before he could, he was wrapped up in a strange storm of shadows that exploded from the man Bowser was holding.
Then, he was in the middle of a city on fire. For a terrifying moment, he'd thought he'd been sent to the future. A lone warrior of light sent to the future to battle the darkness!
Until he saw the UA symbol on a few items around him.
And then, the villains appeared. They rushed after him, and he'd immediately taken two out, his sparkling quirk a wonderful shine in this city of shadow!
But Aoyama had his limits. He fired again, missing this time, then once more. Fear filled him as a man with teeth like a dog's rushed for him, jaws outstretched-
Boom!
A building to Aoyoma's side shattered apart. A massive shadow shattered a section of wall, sliding to a stop in front of Aoyoma. The dog-fanged man's teeth smashed into it.
And shattered across a shell that looked harder than titanium.
A fire nearby leapt upwards, highlight Aoyoma's savior, whose back was turned to the villains who had been attacking. "Bowser!"
"Hey, Sparkly," Bowser said with a savage grin, ignoring the crying villain that had shattered his teeth on Bowser's back. "Looks like you found the fun."
One of the villains, a heavily set man with a large belly, shouted. "Get that bas-"
"NO."
Bowser looked over his shoulder at the villains. All the joviality in his voice was gone. Liquid fire dripped from his lips. His eyes began to glow a dark red. His claws and scales shined in the light.
"There is no 'getting' me. You don't kill me, beat me, or win against me!" he turned fully. In that moment, a dragon in the center of a city on fire, Bowser had never looked more at home. "You came to a school to kill teenagers? Well your objective has changed."
One of the villains panicked, raising an arm that looked like a cannon. It fired a bulbous tumor of some sort. Aoyoma ducked when the projectile exploded against Bowser. The villains seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as the giant dragon-turtle disappeared in the smoke..
Then a clawed hand snapped out of the smoke, grabbing a musclebound female villain by the neck. She screamed as he lifted her up into the air, then smashed her brutally into the ground, a clawed foot pounding into her face to shatter the asphalt beneath her into a crater. As the muscle-bound woman passed out, Bowser roared.
"One objective! Survive!"
Another villain punched Bowser in the face. He took the blow, a small sound like steel on steel filling the air. And he laughed happily, punching that villain right back.
Aoyoma grit his teeth and leaped into the air, firing a laser past Bowser. Looks like they stood a chance now!
Chapter 17: Amateur Brawling
I felt an explosion crack against my skin. I swam through it and smashed my fist across my attacker's face. A pair of villains rushed me, punching as fast as they could. They had none of Cow Lady's skills. I parried their fists across my arms, their superstrength giving their fists some extra pepper, but not enough to truly hurt. I cracked one across the face with a right, then blasted the other with a fireball that sent him flying into a building in a heaping mess.
What a relief it was, to let loose again.
A blast of light flew past me, smashing into a woman who had been trying to jump onto me. Another smacked aside a guy made of tinfoil, with the last hitting a flying asshole. I glanced over my shoulder.
Aoyoma was just behind me, sweating as he danced around the battlefield. When I looked back, he gave me a confident wink marred by the grimace he was trying to hide as his knees quivered.
Damn. Give the guy credit, his aim was impeccable. And he had guts, continuing to fire while his stomach was currently screaming at him. I was impressed.
"Got you!" a pair of long white metal wires suddenly wrapped around each of my arms. I blinked at them, then followed them to the young white-haired woman currently smirking at me, her hair extending outwards to grab onto me. "I'll hold him! The rest of you, grab the lines and start hitting him!"
"On it!" a pair of muscular types grabbed onto the metal wires, pulling hard, while a guy with fire wrapped around his fist dropped in front of me, punching towards my face.
"Eat this!" he shouted out.
"POOR CHOICE OF WORDS!" I opened my mouth and wrapped it around his flame enveloped fist. His eyes widened in horror before I pulled my head, arms, and legs into my shell.
Then I started spinning.
"OH GOD, NOOOOO!" he screamed as he was pulled into a spin cycle. The metal threads tightened, then pulled with more force than the muscleheads were expecting.
"Oh shit," the white-haired woman had time to say before she was lifted into the air. I spun at high-speed, pulling the four bad guys along with me as they screamed in unison. The muscleheads let go only to get tossed into the buildings nearby, while the white-haired woman became a living bludgeon, smashing into another group. As her grip on my arms loosened, I came out of my shell, spitting out the arm of the now dizzy fire-user and punching him 'gently' in the stomach.
"You wanted to kill us!?" I ran forward on all fours, revelling in the fear in the eyes of the bad guys before I slammed into one in a solid tackle, sending him rolling back. I breathed a short burst of flame, forcing them to split up, then headed right. "We're just innocent kids!"
"This thing is a kid!?" one guy squeaked before I grabbed him and tossed him up into the air, backhanding his friend.
Well, as far as anyone in this world knew at least.
My short tail smacked another guy in the face as I spun around. Aoyoma sent another blast into the face of a girl with a bat trying to hit him, knocking her out.
"These guys aren't very good fighters," I noted to Aoyoma as I blocked a thrown boulder with my arm.
"Y-Yeah!" he said shakily, looking sweaty.
"You doing okay there, Sparkles?" I asked him, hiding my genuine concern a bit with some humour.
"I need a break," he admitted. "I only have a few more big shots in me."
"Hmm," I pretended not to notice when a small rock lifted up by itself and hit a thin gray-skinned man in the head, knocking him out. So that's where Toru ended up…
As the invisible girl lifted up the dropped baseball bat, I looked around. Fifteen guys and girls left. Fourteen after Toru hit a guy on the chin, finishing him up with a kick to the crotch based on his squeal and dropping into the fetal position.
"How about one big blast?" I moved to shield Aoyoma with my back. "I can act as a platform for you if you need it."
Aoyoma thought about that for just a moment before nodding. "Very well, Mon Ami! Carry us to victory! Lift me high and sweep across the battlefield! I will take care of the rest!"
I wrapped a hand around his waist, looking over my shoulder. "Ready?"
"Ready!"
I spun around as the next bunch of idiots ran toward us. Aoyoma grit his teeth.
"Raie Dragon Scintillante!!!"
I almost stumbled back at the surprising amount of recoil I felt, but held steady. I held him in front of me, and the kid let loose. A long drawn-out blast erupted from his belly as I slowly turned him in my grip, sweeping it across the field. The bad guys tried to dodge, but they learned the hard way that you can't dodge light. One thug tossed a rock at Aoyama, but I blasted it out of the air with a fireball, leaving Aoyoma free to finish him off.
When we were done, 13 guys were knocked out, leaving one terrified guy standing there, staring at us.
"...H-Ha! I'm still here!"
A bat smacked him between the legs. He stared at us as he lifted up into the air, then fell to his knees. "...EEEEeeeeeeeeee…"
The guy fell to the ground still wheezing in pain, clutching at his nuts. He didn't even have the energy to scream. Just drolled on the ground in horror. I lowered my new weapon, Aoyoma falling to his knees to clutch at his belly.
"Damn, Toru, you had to do him in like that?" I mumbled.
"Well unlike some people I don't have super strength! I gotta take down villains the easiest way I know how!" a girlish voice said.
"We got to get someone to teach you how to fight," I mumbled. "But with that, we're clear, I think."
"What do we do next?" Aoyoma asked as he sat down cross legged. "While I am happy we have defeated these hooligans, the rest of the class might need help."
"Those badasses? Well, maybe," I scratched my chin. "Well, we can't stay here. How are you guys breathing?"
"I'm fine," Toru said. "I think this place has ventilation, to keep the smoke from hurting students. It's still really hot though. You can see the sweat all over me."
"..." Aoyoma and I stared in the direction she was speaking for a moment.
"D-Don't stare!"
We coughed, turning our heads. "Anyways. I want to get back to the fight."
"You want to fight more people?" Aoyoma asked.
"Always. But in this case, for a purpose," I cracked my knuckles. "Those guys came here to fight All Might. The more we take down, the easier we make it for him to clean up. It's what heroes do, right? Stop bad people from doing bad things, right?"
"Hm, hm!" Toru agreed in that cute way Japanese girls in anime would do. "Which way do we go?"
------
"YAAAAA!" Toru and Aoyoma screamed as I carefully carried them each in one hand, storming towards a wall just ahead of us.
"Aoyoma!" I yelled.
"Ahhhh!" even as he screamed, he fired quickly. Eight blasts of light cracked the concrete in a semicircle.
As he lay back against my chest, I crouched low to protect Toru and him, charging forward at full speed. I slammed into the wall, and felt it crack against me, then shatter apart. We smashed through the wall, erupting on the other side in a spray of dust and concrete, light replacing the darkness and fire we had been surrounded by.
"Woo!" I stretched my arms out gently, putting Aoyama and Toru down. "You guys okay?"
"Hak, hak!" a dust covered invisible girl breathed deeply once her lungs were clear. "Y-Yes! What should we be doing now?"
"I personally think we should head towards where the heaviest fighting is, and I have good money on it being where we last saw our teachers and classmates," I said like it hadn't always been on my mind. "I'm going to rush over there. You guys good?"
"I-I need a minute," Aoyoma said while clutching his stomach. "Go ahead without me."
I hesitated. Damnit. I didn't want to leave him alone, but I really wanted to-
"Go ahead!" Toru said, the young girl sounding enthusiastic. "I'll watch over him, and we'll come help later. We'd likely slow you down anyway."
"...Okay. But later we need to talk to Momo about making some kind of comm units for all of us," I turned around, but still glanced back. "Stay safe. We don't know how many of those idiots are around. I know it's tough for you two, but try not to shine too brightly, all right?"
Aoyoma grinned, during which I could see a bit of dust dance happily in the air. "No promises, mon ami."
I could only snort at that, then I turned and started running on all fours, heading to the courtyard in the distance.
------
Midoriya Izuku/Deku
Moments Ago
On a boat in the middle of a fake lake, Izuku looked out at villains bobbing up and down in the water. "...We have a fight to win!"
It wasn't a conclusion that he came to lightly. A whole small army of villains in the water around them, and teachers on the way to help. The smart thing to do was to simply bunker down and wait for help. They weren't trained for this, not really.
But the villains were here to attack All Might. Which meant they thought they had a real chance to kill him. His mentor, his hero. The greatest hero.
Izuku couldn't let that happen.
"Wha- are you serious?" Mineta grumbled, staring up at him. "The teachers are already coming, right? So they'll be able to help him! They can't kill All Might and every teacher here. Besides, if they have something that can kill All Might, then it can kill us too. We shouldn't go out there."
"But we won't be safe here for long either," the two boys looked over at Asui, the young frog currently looking over at the water. "Once those villains decide to attack, we'll need to start fighting them off."
Mineta started. He looked terrified, but quickly recovered. "...You're right. What should we do?"
"Strike first," Izuku said, swallowing a bit. "If we can move first, we can leave the boat and get to the others."
"You just want to go fight," Mineta pointed out.
"Yes, I do," Izuku admitted. "But that's my choice!"
Asui pressed a finger to her lips. "Well. It might work, since they don't know our quirks."
It was something he'd noticed. Why send Asui to a water zone? Because sending everyone across USJ had been random.
"Well… at least we all know each others Quirks already," Izuku mumbled. That was one benefit of the UA Sentai classes. Everyone had spoken enough to be familiar with their basic quirks.
Mineta swallowed. "O-Okay then! I-If we can gather them in one spot, I can stick them together!"
"All of them?" Asui blinked. "How do we do that?"
Easy enough. "We could sink the ship," Izuku mumbled. As Mineta stared at him in shock, Izuku rubbed his chin. "The undertow would drag them in. But I could also do that with my own power!"
Izuku smacked his fist into his palm, looking up. In another time, another place, Izuku, Mineta, and Asui would have been just slightly less familiar with each other. They would have spent a bit more time discussing things, talking over their quirks. A villain would have attacked the ship after they took too much time, forcing Izuku to break a finger getting away.
This time though. Izuku's plan formed almost in moments. "If I can do a smash into the water, it'll create displacement, forcing the villains into one spot!"
"Oh!" Mineta clued in immediately. "Then my sticky balls will make them stick to each other!"
"I can jump far enough to get us over them, kero," Asui said, the frog girl looked very happy.
"We'll go on three!" Izuku squeaked, unable to help his nervousness. It would work. It would work! Just stay calm.
Izuku kneeled down next to Asui, while Mineta was grabbed and lifted into her arms. Her tongue wrapped around Izuku's waist. Mineta started throwing balls from his head out into the water, gritting his teeth in fear even as he kept tossing them. Izuku could hear the villains outside begin to freak out in confusion. Perfect.
"One!"
Stay calm.
"Two!"
He could do this!
"THREE!"
Asui exploded from her crouched stance so fast she was a blur before Izuku felt himself get lifted into the air. He screamed in surprise, but twisted to face the water as they flew through the air, one hand extending outwards towards the surprised villains below.
Focus his power. Let it flow through his muscles instead of just one part. A finger flick would do it. Just reinforce all the parts. Muscle, bone, from the tip of the finger, through his hand, up along his arm, all the way to the shoulder.
Then, force the energy through! His arm came alight, electricity snapping around it.
"Delaware SMAAAASH!"
His finger flicked outwards. He felt his muscles spasm, his finger bruising. The air in front of him exploded, sending them high. The water below them exploded, a massive hole appearing the in the water before it began to flow back in to refill the empty space, dragging the villains along with it. One of them tried to follow, only for a sticky ball to attach to his face, distracting him long enough to get pulled into a big ball of villains attacked to each other by Mineta's quirk.
"It worked!" Mineta cheered.
Izuku stared at his hand. His right index finger was bruised and throbbing. But… he could still use it! He'd made progress!
"Nice job you two!" Asui said as the water behind them fountained upwards. "You were pretty reliable, kero!"
Izuku almost blushed. But his fears brought him focus. All Might. The villains were still preparing to kill him. He needed to stop them!
As Izuku fell from the sky held in Asui's tongue, his fists clenched tightly. "The fight isn't over yet!"
Asui nodded, while Mineta swallowed nervously.
They landed in the water at the shallower end. Izuku immediately began swimming.
"M-Midoriya!" Mineta called out.
"I'm going to help!" Izuku called back, now running through the water as his feet hit the bottom of the pool. He approached the shore and saw Aizawa-sensei fighting in the center of the courtyard. Izuku stopped at the shore, climbing up and running for it.
"Midoriya, we shouldn't go rushing in!" Asui shouted.
Izuku looked back. "I'm not! But if I can help Aizawa-sensei take down a few of them-" then he stopped, watching in awe for a moment.
Aizawa ducked under a punch, snapped a series of quick punches into the villains throat, face, and solar plexus, then backflipped away from someone trying to tackle him from behind. Aizawa then threw out those long bandages of his, wrapping them around two villains and lifting them into the air as he fell, the two smashing into each other's heads. His bandages snapped back to him in time for him to slide around a missed kick that he punished with two quick elbows to the face of the fighter.
It was amazing. Aizawa-sensei really was… amazing.
Then… that man, with the hands all across his body, suddenly started running towards Aizawa-sensei. Izuku barely noticed Asui and Mineta joining him to stand on the shore. The man was mumbling something as he approached.
Aizawa moved in to attack… only for the man to dive aside.
"Sorry, hero!" the man with many hands said with a smirk. "But I'm not the final boss."
Then, that creature with the bird beak… it moved so fast! It appeared behind Aizawa-sensei in a blur. It reached a hand out towards Aizawa-sensei.
"Meet Nomu. Usually I'd take my time about this, but since the teachers are coming, I'll have him-"
Another blur. Gold and green spinning across the ground, before it snapped out in front of the creature. Claws snapped outwards, digging deep into violet skin, before lifting up and pushing hard. A blast of flame followed, sending the Nomu back several feet.
Aizawa froze. Izuku stared.
And Bowser, standing in front of Nomu, his back to Aizawa and the man with the hand on his face, crouched low, his claws flashing, fire blazing in his throat.
"Final Boss?" Bowser grinned as liquid fire dripped from his lips. "Sorry, Mr. Hands, but there's no beating the original."
The Nomu roared, rushing forward. Bowser blasted flames outwards and ran forward on all fours. The two smashed into each other in the middle with an explosion of fire, sending everyone back a step, before the two monsters began to brawl.
Chapter 18: Cracked
I had a plan. I promise!
I didn't just attack Nomu for the hell of it. I was one of maybe five people in the area who could conceivably survive his attacks and give as good as I could get. Todoroki could freeze huge portions of the guy and All Might could body him. But neither of them was there.
So I moved in on him. Flames blasted across him, but he pushed through it even as the claw marks I'd put in his chest earlier scorched over into cooked flesh. I had enough time to realize what that meant before he suddenly was in my face, his fist pressing into my cheek.
And I took a hit harder than anything that had ever hit me, in Bowser or my former human form.
I felt blood fill my mouth. Red filled my vision. I instinctively pulled back into my shell when a pair of purple arms reached out to wrap around me. Just when the Nomu grabbed me, I began to spin.
I felt resistance. Insane resistance, harder than even stone or dirt was when I did the Bowser Spin. That must have been shock absorption at work. I forced myself to continue spinning.
I heard my spikes slice and tear flesh, the horrific sounds filling my ears before I was forced to come to a stop by a squeezing pressure around my body. I popped from my shell to find the Nomu trying to crush my shell, ignoring the bleeding wounds carved into his muscles. He was on my left now. Perfect. I twisted my left arm back, my right head grabbing his head as my feet pressed on the ground.
I began a judo throw. The Nomu's strength, even greater than mine, tried to fight against it, but my tail smacked into his ankles, unbalancing him enough for me to lift him off the ground. I tossed him upwards, then tackled him on the way down, breathing fire as I went running through the courtyard, smashing through the fountain that stood on a hill in the center off the courtyard. His fists bounced off my shell as I ran, but still smashed on my arms and legs.
The pain of it. Nothing, not the building falling on top of me, not Izuku, not even Cow Lady's strongest blows had hurt me that much. But the Nomu was a creature made to kill All Might. It wasn't breaking my shell, but the rest of me was tearing apart.
"RAAAAGH!"
My fire burned the cuts on his body, cauterizing the flesh where my spikes opened up his skin. My plan was simple. I couldn't beat him without severely weakening him first. My claws were barely ripping through as I held on and smashed into a grove of trees. Nomu smashed me in the chest hard enough to finally loosen my grip on him, forcing us apart. I unleashed a huge ball of fire, the burst of heat sending him back a step.
In a forest grove, we faced each other, eyes meeting. Damn it was tall. Until now, All Might had been the only person I knew personally who really matched me in height. But the Nomu was even taller than I was.
"Hrrrrgh. Hrrrgh," he swayed forward, creepy-ass eyes spinning, his exposed brain pulsing momentarily. God. He was so... unsettling. Seeing him in reality, outside anime and fanart, with those wandering insane eyes... he really was a monster.
Blood burned to steam on my lips as I stared right back, fallen to one knee. I tried to stand.
"F-Fuck!" I buckled briefly, my leg shaking. I looked down at it. My scales looked deformed. Same with my arms. They were throbbing. God. Were my bones broken? Could that even happen to Bowser?
The smell of cooked flesh made me smile though, a small and vindictive smile.
"...That's what I thought," I mumbled to myself as I watched the cuts on his body heal… until they didn't. Where my flames had burned, at those openings I'd clawed and spiked out, the regeneration struggled.
I struggled to raise my fists in front of me. My win condition was obvious now.
His shock absorption meant my strength was useless. I was powerful. But I wasn't All Might strong, not yet anyway. So my only chance was my claws and fire. My fire couldn't burn his skin, and he would regenerate the damage of my claws. But when I combined the two? Rip open the skin, cauterize the flesh below. I had a chance.
Right until he disappeared in a blur. I pulled my head into my shell, feeling a fist brush past my hair. I pulled back out and clawed at him, only for the speedier monster to back away.
Shit! I needed him to hold still! If only Todoroki or Mineta were there to slow him down with ice or sticky balls.
A lightning-fast blow struck my chest. I gasped in pain, then shock, as a snapping sound filled the air. I stared down.
My shell, across the chest of it, had cracked.
Ah… shit.
The Nomu stood tall over me, mad eyes swiveling, then raised his fists high. I grit my teeth, clenched my fists, and ran in.
"All right then! Raaugh!"
Moving into the stance Cow Lady taught me, I started clawing and punching, keeping my guard up and breathing flames, while the speedy super-strong monster began beating the shit out of me.
------
Izuku Midoriya
"Bowser!" Izuku shouted in shock as Bowser carried the Nomu out of the courtyard, moving into a grove of trees.
"Are you kidding me!?" the man with hands across his body, the one Bowser called Mr. Hands, shouted, moving to follow. Aizawa shifted to block him, glaring at the other man, who sank down. "Was that thing really a student?!"
"Yes," Aizawa grabbed his bandages, moving into a stance as Mr. Hands (it was easier than thinking of him as 'the man with hands across his body' every time) and the remaining villains surrounded him. "A disobedient one. But a good one."
"Rrrrrr," Mr. Hands began scratching at his neck in apparent frustration. "How. How could this all have gone so wrong?!"
The villains rushed for Aizawa, the exhausted teacher preparing to attack.
"Rhode Island Smash!" Izuku felt his fist slam into a female villain's face before he knew what he was doing. She flew back, eyes rolling into the back of her head. "Aizawa-sensei!"
"Midoriy-" Aizawa was about to say, before he was cut off by Mr. Hands rushing him.
Then the villain stumbled, his foot stuck fast. He staggered, looking down at his foot.
A purple ball attached Mr. Hand's foot to the floor. "W-What the hell?!"
"GRAPE ASSAULT!" Mineta screamed, throwing dozens of purple balls at the villains. His head began to bleed, but even as he teared up in pain, he kept attacking. "You aren't touching him!"
"Get that ki-AUGH!"
A beefy villain rushing for Mineta was kicked in the face by Asui, who followed by twisting around to smash him in the face again with her tongue and sending him flying.
"I'll have to discipline you all later," Aizawa said in amusement. He wrapped a villain in bandages to hold him, then twisted to roundhouse him in the stomach, folding him over.
Izuku ducked under a villain punching at his face, and snapped his fist up in an uppercut that sent the villain backflipping backward. He winced at the soreness that filled his arms and back, muscles tearing apart, but forced himself onwards. "Y-Yes, sensei!"
"Stupid brats!" Mr. Hands dropped to a knee and grabbed Mineta's purple ball. To Izuku's surprise, the ball turned to dust, falling apart. "I'll-"
"Yah!" Mineta tossed another ball, trapping the villain again. "You aren't going anywhere, Mr. Hands!"
"Stop calling me that, you don't even know what it means!" Mr. Hands shouted, turning the ball to ash again. "I'm going to-"
"Tomura," the dark shadow man appeared at his side. He brought a small army of villains with him, increasing the number of enemies dramatically. They must have been from the other parts of USJ.
"WHAT?!" Mr. Hands asked, looking at him.
"We have to leave. The other teachers are here."
The white-haired villain stared at the other villain. "Are you kidding-"
"You aren't getting away!" in a burst of explosive fire, Bakugo appeared, blowing away two villains that Mineta had attached to the ground.
Kirishima smashed his fist into another villain, grinning at Asui. "Hey Tsuyu-chan!"
"Kero!" she said cheerfully, twisting to kick a strange villain that looked like a Venus Flytrap to the ground.
A beam of light smacking a villain to the floor was followed by a flamboyant knight dancing into view. "Bonjour les méchants!"
Mr. Hands reeled back as the reinforcements the shadow villain bought were attacked by the young heroes. "Oh, come on!"
A wave of ice-covered three more and left them unable to shift. Todoroki slid across the ice, barely noticing Izuku kicking a villain past him.
"We can still-" Mr. Hands said weakly.
"VILLAINS!" Thunder. A sensation fell across them all. The room turned to face the source of the voice.
And Izuku stared in shock.
The footsteps of a god echoed in the room. All Might ripped his necktie off. He wasn't smiling.
"Students… You've done well. But the fight is done. It's fine now. Why!?" All Might roared.
And he wasn't alone.
Every teacher in the school stood behind him. Midnight, Snipe, Power Loader, Ectoplasm, Cementoss, and a few more who rushed off to other parts of USJ.
"Because we are here!"
A group of villains tried to rush them. One raised hands surrounded in strange pink fluid, while another raised a hand shaped like a rocket launcher.
Aizawa-sensei, moving quickly, glared at them, their quirks shutting down before they could fire. One of the villains threw a boulder his direction, forcing Izuku to jump in his way and shatter the boulder with a kick. The young man almost screamed at the feeling of his toes breaking, but he'd given the teachers enough time.
The stairs moved on Cementoss's command, tossing the villains into the air on pillars of stone. Midnight unleashed a stream of her aroma, knocking them out. Another group tried to follow, only for Snipe to fire insanely accurate shots, rubber bullets sending them to the ground.
Just like that, around 40 villains turned to 20 or so.
All Might took a step forward.
And Mr. Hands gave in.
"GO, GO, GO NOW!"
"Damnit!" Aizawa snapped his head around, trying to get a look at the teleporting villain, but the chaos of the battle allowed the shadowy figure to hide from his sight behind the remaining villains.
Shadows surrounded him and Mr. Hands. Aizawa moved to get a better line of sight.
"This is just… unfair," the villain said as he ran.
"Get back here, Mr. Hands!" Mineta shouted.
"For the love of-" the villain disappeared, just before an enraged Bakugo came rushing in, barely missing them as they faded away into a dot of shadow.
"GODDAMNIT!" Bakugo roared. He turned and exploded against a villain made of stone, sending him flying. "They got away!"
All Might appeared at Aizawa's side in a flash. "Aizawa! Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," Aizawa said, sounding exhausted. "But Bowser needs help."
"Where is Bowser-ku-"
In the forest beyond, an explosion rang out in the distance. All Might's face turned into something like stone, golden pupils glowing with rage.
"I see… I'll be right back."
"All Migh-" Izuku began to say, trying to warn him.
All Might disappeared in a flash, forcing Izuku and Aizawa to block their eyes from the dust kicked up in his wake.
"Damnit, rushing off like that," Aizawa grumbled.
"Aizawa-sensei!" Izuku began to say.
"I know! That thing is likely what they thought could kill him," Aizawa barked. "Ectoplasm! Get the kids out of here!"
"Right!" the math teacher sent off dozens of white blobs that transformed to copy his appearance, each one landing next to a student and pulling them out.
"Aizawa-sensei," Izuku was about to say something, staring after All Might.
"He'll be okay," Aizawa said reassuringly. "Help get your fellow students out. Okay?"
Izuku bit his lip. For a moment, just a moment, he wanted to go anyways. To help All Might.
But then Snipe went running after him. Then Cementoss, Midnight, a few of Ectoplasm's clones. Professional heroes.
Izuku swallowed and went to help.
"Kaachan, come on-"
"Shut up, Deku!!!"
Maybe he could have picked someone less abrasive to help first.
------
Bowser Koopa
He was so goddamn hard to cut!
Shock absorption made it so that any 'slash' attack I made on the Nomu just didn't have the impact it should have. I'd slam my claws into him. Then my claws would stop, and I'd have to 'dig' my claws into his skin, ripping rather than slicing into his flesh. So all the cuts I made were shallow. It was like sawing into a sofa. A sofa that bled.
There was something interesting though. While the Nomu was fireproof, I could see that he wasn't heatproof. As the forest around us burned and I continued unleashing my flames, he got easier and easier to cut into. In fact, I guess my own heat was rising too. It was like a hot knife slicing into already warm and melty plastic. My white-hot claws tore easier into the thing. Shock absorption did not prevent that part from working.
Or maybe something else was coming into play? In the (literal) heat of the moment, I couldn't think about that stuff outside of a general awareness of it.
We dueled in the burning forest. I stood in the center of a clearing of ash, taking blows across my arms, shell, and chest, as the Nomu advanced on me, returning them with claws ripping and tearing, with gouts of flame, punches smashing into it's chest and stomach when I couldn't claw it.
I grabbed the Nomu's arms just as it punched me in the stomach. I belched fire across his face on reflex at the pain that followed that blow, but dug my claws in deep into his arms. He pushed against me, arms and legs flexing, but I used my greater height and weight to force him to stand still, glaring down at the slightly smaller monster.
"Come on, you stupid..." I growled. Clearly I both underestimated just how tough this Nomu was and overestimated my own durability. This thing was made to kill All Might! Even in his weakened state Japan's number one could punch so hard he could alter the local weather. I might have been tougher than most but I was still green as heck compared to the average pro hero, and now I was paying for it by being slowly broken down by a super tough and fast brain dead Frankenstein monster. I needed a way to turn the odds!
Wait… what was All Might's original plan to deal with this thing before Kurogiri interfered? Drive him into the ground head first so he couldn't move?T I mean, my plan was still sound, it just needed some… addendums.
Held in place, the Nomu began punching me in the stomach, fists cracking against my scales, ignoring my flames scorching his skin as I tore chunks out of his triceps. I took I don't know how many blows before I slid around a right hook, tearing my claws out of flesh. The Nomu stumbled past me as his superfast punch whiffed, before I wrapped my arms under his armpits, then locked my hands around his neck, then into his neck, ripping handholds into flesh.
Just like that, a classic full nelson.
"Not so tough with no leverage are you, you bastard!" I cried as I held on for dear life as Nomu did his damndest to break my hold on him.
It let out an inhuman screech, bucking and bouncing in my arms. I squeezed hard, pulling it close and standing tall, using my leverage and weight to get his legs off the ground.
I roared before biting deep into his neck. My fangs tore and ripped, my flames heated up those wounds. Over and over, I dug into it, hot blood entering my mouth before cooking into steam. Damnit, where was All Might-!
The Nomu flexed its legs and abs. My teeth tore a chunk out of it's back. It's neck slipped down my chest then it's legs were pointed up into the air. I gaped in shock as it flipped over me in a display of impossible flexibility and strength. Then it was punching down towards my head.
I pulled into my shell and spun at high speed, breathing flames as I went. The Nomu's fist slammed into a blender of fire, the rotations sending his fist bouncing before his shoulder landed and he landed next to me on his knees.
Using the speed of my spinning rotations, I snapped out of my shell in a single movement, my claws out and clenched before they dug into its stomach. I forced myself to push through shock absorption, the horrific sound of ripping flesh joining the roaring flames around us, and tore out a section of abdomen before I forced up a fireball that exploded against his stomach, sending him back a step.
"Gah!" I fell to a knee, trying to breathe. My freaking chest and stomach was beginning to hurt. I'd never breathed so much fire before, not even against Todoroki. It felt like I was on my last bit of flame.
"GROOOO!" howling mindlessly, the Nomu disappeared in a blur. I raised my arms up-
Crack!
I was sent flying back like I'd been shot out of a cannon. It was twenty feet before I bounced off the ground, then slammed into a boulder, the stone shattering around me. I fell to my knees.
"Ahhhh…" I squeaked out weakly, trying to breath. "H-Holy shit…" I brought my left arm forward and pushed against the ground. And my arm bent the wrong way. As pain screamed through my body, I let out an anguished howl.
My arm was limp and hanging loose. I couldn't move it. I tried to stand up.
Then the Nomu surprised the hell out of me. It grabbed the section on the back of it's neck that I'd turned to burnt hamburger.
And ripped it off.
A massive chunk of cauterized flesh, removed like tearing a piece of cheese out of a larger mass to reveal blood soaked spin and ribs.
"Holy-" I said in horror.
In a blur, the Nomu was in front of me. He grabbed me by the neck and lifted me off the ground, then punched me in the stomach. I wanted to scream, only for another punch to slam my mouth shut and rattle my brain. I grabbed his arm and started clawing at it desperately with my right hand. My left arm continued to hang limp. I pulled and tore, but the Nomu ignored it, punching me in the stomach, chest, and head. Then he stopped.
I swallowed blood as the clawed up and cooked Nomu glared up at me. Then I kicked him in the stomach. The big asshole barely budged. I wanted to say something pithy, but I couldn't think of anything.
Then I saw it. The chunk it had ripped out. It was healing back completely. I suddenly realized what happened. THe Nomu had pulled off the chunk of cauterized flesh to allow it grow back. Like in the original timeline, when Todoroki had frozen it, and it shattered it's limbs to let it regrow.
Well. At least the rest of him was still covered in cauterized wounds...
I didn't have long for that thought to pop into my head. The Nomu raised its hand up, preparing to punch me again.
Then a white and yellow blur smashed into it like an approaching storm. I fell for a moment before a warm hand caught me, gently lowering me to the floor.
"Bowser-kun! Are you okay!?" All Might said, looking me over. The Number One Hero smiled down at me.
I wanted to laugh. "Heh… leave it to the hero to show up in the nick of time."
All Might let out a small sound of surprise. Then he smiled. "Ha. Of course, Bowser-kun. Everything is okay now!"
He turned around, facing the Nomu and standing tall. "Because I am here!"
I couldn't help the relief I felt, hearing that. Still, I had to help.
"All Might. This thing has shock absorption and high-speed regeneration. That guy, Mr. Hands, said he was meant to kill you."
"Oh?" All Might chuckled. There was a dangerous edge to it. Like an engine revving up. "There are many who have said things like that. As far as I know…" he stepped forward, a gust of wind erupting around him. "I'm STILL HERE!"
He exploded forward. The Nomu raised its hands, but was a hair too slow. All Might unleashed a combination of punches across it's chest, ducking and parrying returning blows. All Might's smile widened. "Bowser-kun. Thank you for weakening this beast for me!"
Weakening? Then I saw it. The cuts I'd torn into the Nomu. On its back, arms, legs, and stomach. Burnt sections of flesh that even now were struggling to heal. The Nomu was trying to fight back, but had to work with less muscle. It was slower, weaker than it would otherwise be!
My plan worked!
"As your teacher, allow me to impart a lesson!" All Might's fist slammed into the Nomu's fist. Then again, and again, and again. First, All Might punching directly into the Nomu's fists, shutting down its attempts to counter-attack. Then, hitting the Nomu's actual body, his flurry of blows sending shockwaves outwards. I felt my jaw drop. "Shock absorption is not nullification! Which indicates a limitation! All I have to do… is overcome it!!!"
The Nomu began to fall back. I felt the earthquake, gusts of wind following the massive blows. All Might's punches felt like the blows of a god establishing his reign. Power almighty, unleashing it's wrath. The Nomu's back cracked, burnt flesh cracking and sending out sprays of blood. All Might's smile widened.
The Nomu moved faster, trying to catch up, but All Might began to laugh. "Made to fight me!? Let's see about that!"
Someone landed next to me. Ectoplasm. "Bowser. Come along-"
"No," I brushed him off, standing up. "I… need to see this."
"Final lesson for the day!" All Might roared. He grabbed the Nomu's arm, spun around and slammed it into the ground in a perfect throw. The Nomu rolled to its feet, trying to face him. But All Might was already there, inside it's grasp. "Remember this! Go Beyond! Pluuuuuus…"
His fist, reared back, moved into the monster's belly. The shockwaves put out the fire that had burned the forest around us, sending trees flying.
"UUUUULTORAAAAA!"
The Nomu exploded. Thunder filled the air. In a flash of violet, it slammed into the wall of USJ, then through, shattering the wall apart.
Just like that. All Might stood. He smiled, turning to look at me. "Lesson's over."
"...You absolute fucking badass," I mumbled to myself. Goddamnit, I had a dopey grin on my face. I chuckled. "That was… awesome…"
Why was the world spinning?
Suddenly, my cheek was on the ash-covered floor. The last thing I remembered before I passed out was the sound of Ectoplasm calling my name.
------
Toshinori Yagi/All Might
"Bowser!" All Might rushed forward, stopping next to Ectoplasm. The math teacher kneeled next to the fallen dragon-turtle. "Is he-?"
"He's okay," Ectoplasm said, sighing as he looked over the injured student. "He'll need Recovery Girl of course, but he's alive. Took heck of a beating though."
"Thank god," All Might sighed in relief.
"All Might!" Snipe, Cementoss, and Midnight showed up, rushing over. Snipe looked down at Bowser. "Is he-?"
"He's fine."
"Looks like he took quite a few hits," Cementoss noted idly.
"A few?" Snipe looked over Bowser. "His scales are cracked! And I'm pretty sure those are his teeth over there…"
All Might sobered. It was true. The young hero looked as though he had been beaten to hell. "I'll take him to Recovery Girl. Let me just- ugh!"
He winced, falling to a knee. In a burst of smoke, All Might shrank, his muscles deflating in a moment and leaving him in his weaker form. "Hurk."
"All Might," Midnight moved to him, helping him up. The beautiful superhero looked worried. "Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah," All Might said weakly, coughing a little blood. "Just did a bit more than usual today."
"Uh… how do we move the kid?" Snipe noted, looking around. "Also is he bigger?"
All Might blinked, then looked down at Bowser. Now that Snipe mentioned it, the young man did look bigger. When he first met him, Bowser was of a height with his larger form. Around eight feet tall. Right now, however, he looked to be at least a couple of feet taller. He was already a giant of a student, so it had been hard to tell, but it was obvious when you knew what to look for.
"A transformation of some sort?" Ectoplasm asked.
"Whatever it is, we need to move him to the infirmary… does anyone know where Power Loader went?" Cementoss asked. "Or I could lift him with my quirk... maybe."
As Bowser snored, All Might let out a small breath.
The USJ assault was over. All that was left was to clean up.
Chapter 19: I Don't Know Man, He's Pretty Sus.
It took me a moment to wake up. I was feeling… well, like absolute shit. My mouth hurt, my chest hurt, my arms hurt, and my damn head hurt like hell.
"Ahhhh, fuck me," I mumbled softly. That had… sucked. Like, my god that sucked. I slowly blinked my eyes, trying to fight past the pain.
"I'd rather not," the voice drew my attention to my right, where Recovery Girl was frowning up at me. "And really, the younger generation is so filthy-mouthed."
When I spoke to her, every word was kind of mushy. Were my teeth missing?
"An't hel it," I said with a chuckle before wincing in pain. When I spoke again it was slower "Ahhh. Sorry. God, this hurts."
"I should think so," Recovery Girl shook her head and walked over to me. "The shell on your chest and stomach was cracked. You lost most of your teeth. Torn ligaments and tendons in your left arm, likely a concussion, it looks like you swallowed a portion of your cheek, bruises all over you. If it wasn't for your scales, you would likely look like a black and blue tapestry."
Well… damn. I sighed. "Gaaah," couldn't get much more out.
Then Recovery Girl kissed me on the cheek. I felt something like, I don't know, a siphon? Almost like a pull on something I'd never been in touch with before? Then I felt my teeth grow back. My arms, chest, legs, and head, throbbing with pain, were back to normal so fast that it threw me.
Healing is a process after all, weeks or months. Sometimes you get so used to the pain that you don't even notice when it leaves. 'Oh hey, my arm doesn't hurt anymore.' So going from 'Oh god, kill me,' to fine levels of pain left me a bit shocked.
"My, my, you have quite a bit more stamina than I expected!" Recovery Girl said, her outstretched lips pulling back. "More than many of my pro hero patients."
"I make sure to eat my veggies," despite the joke, I couldn't help a grateful smile. "Thank you, Recovery Girl. That really sucked."
"Be more careful from now on," she admonished. "I heard what you did, pulling that monster away from everyone. Brave. But it could have killed you if you hadn't been careful. You're lucky we have a room set aside for our larger students."
Come to think of it, the room I was in did look more like a very clean storage room than a nurses office.
"I, uh… Didn't have much choice," I rubbed the back of my neck as I rose off the bed. "That guy. He was strong. Very strong. If I left him there, I think he could have done a lot of damage. I mean, I tried to be careful, but…"
"I know, dear," she sighed, patting my knee. It was a funny image, this tiny elderly woman reaching up to pat my giant knee. "No one could really help it. We were all shocked when we got the message."
"I'm glad Iida managed to get the teachers to us," I said with a sigh. "All Might saved my ass."
"It wasn't Iida-kun," Recovery Girl frowned. "Every teacher in the school got a message to our public email addresses… Oh, but that isn't anything for you to worry about, Koopa-kun. I'm just happy we were able to help the students. Really, a small army of thugs," she shook her head. "What is the world coming to?"
"Indeed," a voice drew our attention to the door. Then a bit lower. The speaker was quite short after all.
"Principal Nezu?" I asked, surprised to see him.
"Good afternoon!" he walked over to join us. Like Recovery Girl, he was tiny, shorter than my knee. But unlike her, he was a bipedal mouse, with a scar on his right eye and a pair of ears wiggling cheerfully on his head. "It's good to see you up and healthy. How are you feeling?"
"Good, considering I was run over by a truck in the shape of a beaked bodybuilder," I said without much heat behind it.
"If you consider all of life by such a metric, you will likely go far in it," Nezu chuckled.
"He's healing well," Recovery Girl said, patting my knee fondly. "Likely an effect of his more lizard-like DNA boosting his healing. I'll have to wait and see what else I get from my tests."
"...tests?"
I asked that because I was worried about what would happen if anyone, at all, looked into my body's makeup. What Nezu and Recovery Girl got out of it must have been more general worry about my health. They shared a look.
The mouse-like principal coughed into his hand. "...Bowser-kun. We have a record of your history. Or, the lack thereof. I spoke to Ranma."
"My social worker?"
"Yes," Nezu continued. "He told us that you had no memories or history beyond when you were found in the street. We had some idea about that, but when Ranma sent your medical file on hearing about your injuries, we discovered something about your body."
"...I'm not human," I mumbled. I was basically confirming what I already knew, but Nezu nodded.
"Indeed. You are, much like me, an intelligent being with only as much in common with human DNA as… well, as an animal."
I stared at him. I mean… I knew that. I was a Koopa now, one of the more powerful ones like Bowser and his kids. But hearing it again, after I'd spent so much time working past my body image issues?
"Oh."
Nezu smiled gently. "I would understand, child, if this is something you suspected."
"...I never really had proof," I mumbled. "Did Ranma know?"
"Not as far as I know," Nezu said. "But I would ask him. Regardless, it may be that your origins are similar to my own. In addition, we may have discovered a new aspect of your quirk."
"What do you mean?"
"Size changing," he looked me over. "When you passed out, you were around 350 centimeters tall," around 11 and half feet or so. "And now you are back to your original height of 244 centimeters I believe," 8 feet.
"I grew?" I rose to my feet, eyes wide. "I can change my size?"
Yes! Bowser's gigantification thing! I'd never figured out how to do it, to activate it on purpose like he seemed to!
"Indeed, you can," Nezu stroked his chin. "Strange. Your dragon-turtle quirk has more aspects to it than I believed."
I calmed down a bit. "...So, I mean… what happens now? I'm not human? Can I even still go to-"
The realization of what I was about to say hit me, and I stopped with some embarrassment. Nezu chuckled, clearly already understanding where I was going with that.
"You can still continue your schooling. If you couldn't then as the non-human principal of the school, I would have some objections to you leaving for such arbitrary reasons."
My inhumanity was arbitrary? Hail to the new age I guess.
"Regardless," the super-intelligent teacher said. "I imagine you may want some rest. The day has been full of revelations for you, yes?" when I nodded slowly, he chuckled. "Go ahead and go home then. And if you need anything, please let the school know. We are always available to help, and Hound Dog has made himself available for those students needing assistance."
"Dismissing students without my permission?" Recovery Girl asked.
"Ah!" Nezu waved his hands quickly. "My apologies-"
"It's fine, it's fine," she waved her hands back. "He's perfectly healthy now. And I imagine his friends are waiting for him."
"...Thank you," I said after a bit. Then I stood up and walked out, keeping my thoughts to myself.
There were a lot. Felt like my head was going to explode with the implications. Not the whole 'not human thing', I'd long since gotten used to the obvious possibility. So having it confirmed was no big deal.
It was all the other stuff, really. The last event I could ever remember from My Hero Academia, one of the most fun anime I had ever watched, was over.
Where did I go from here?
------
Nezu
After watching Bowser walk out and saying his goodbyes to Recovery Girl, Nezu let himself think. He kept his thoughts in order, nodding as he passed some of his students, humming cheerfully to himself.
There was a lot to do. He'd checked on his students personally, spoken to the police, looked in on the villains that had been captured, taken in the statements of his teachers on the events that had gone down/the villains that had escaped. Aizawa in particular had been a wealth of information, but Thirteen had given a better explanation of Kurogiri, the warping villain. Of them, he was the most worrying.
And then. The anonymous tip. One, sent as a text message to every public phone address the teachers of UA had, and another to their public emails. And then the one All Might and Nezu himself had received. Whoever had sent it knew.
All Might's Quirk is inherited and can be passed down from person to person.
An anonymous tip about an attack, from someone who knew the truth about All Might's quirk. At the least, whoever had sent it was an ally, or pretending to be, and was interested in hiding their identity.
The police had tracked the phone that sent the text messages to an alley in town. It was taped securely to the bottom of a dumpster. The phone itself had no fingerprints and was a burner phone that could be bought over the counter at any store. The email had apparently been made only recently, had no other accounts tied to it, and the IP address it had been sent by was masked by a program anyone could buy, likely a proxy service or the like. Very simple counter-espionage tactics.
Still. He had some thoughts on that.
Nezu worked slowly through his thoughts as he entered his office. He sat behind his desk and mentally checked boxes, made plans, and began thinking over the various profiles in his mind.
And as he did, he pulled a real file up on his computer. Bowser Koopa.
Nonhuman. Like himself.
"Now… what secrets are you hiding, young man?" Nezu asked quietly. He reached for a cup of tea resting on his desk, and prepared to get to work.
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Bowser Koppa
I shouldn't have been surprised that once I left the storage area masquerading as a nurse's office when I turned a corner and a tiny blonde slammed into me.
"Bowser!" Pony said, arms wrapped around my neck and forcing me to hold her up. "What happened?! Everyone said you got attacked, and you got hurt, and Toru-chan was worried, and we couldn't find you in the nurse's office, and-"
"Calm down, calm down!" I patted her on the back, laughing a bit as she spoke frantically. "I'm okay. Mostly."
"Bowser," Iida, Momo, and Kendo came over to us, Momo being the one who spoke. She looked relieved. "I'm glad you're okay. We heard you were really beat up."
"Only my ego and organs," I joked lightly. Pony dropped down to look up at me, worried.
"Got a lot of the school talking about it," Kendo said with a shake of her head. "I can't believe a whole army of villains attacked you guys."
"Not really us," I corrected.
"All Might," Iida adjusted his glasses. "How devious, attacking the USJ to attempt to kill the Symbol of Peace! Not to mention interrupting a very important lesson!"
"Iida…" Momo sounded aghast at his sense of priorities while Kendo, Pony, and I chuckled a bit.
"You fought that thing, right?" Pony punched my arm, looking annoyed. "What were you thinking!? That thing was made to kill All Might!"
I winced. "Yeah… In retrospect, I should have waited around for help. But all I could think was that I had to get it away from everyone else."
Pony glared up at me, but she looked more worried than angry. "Toru-chan said your shell was broken."
"..." I placed a hand on top of Pony's head and rubbed her head gently between her horns. "I'm okay, Pony. It sucked. But I'm okay now. I walked away from a fight with a guy who was a hell of a lot more than I was ready for, and I'm alive."
I looked everyone over. "We're heroes. Going to be at least. Eventually, we were going to face something like this. We don't choose the ballroom, we just dance."
Stole that from Spider-Man Noir. But it was true. Heroes can actively hunt down villains, lay down ambushes even. But usually? They ended up working with what they had. Being a hero, in terms of the day to day job, was reactive, same as police.
"We don't choose the ballroom…" Pony stopped frowning a bit. "That makes sense."
"I'm saddened I was unable to help you in your battles," Iida said regretfully. "If I'd known the teachers were already on the way-"
"How could you have known?" Kendo said, stopping Iida before he could get going full steam. "I don't think the teachers have explained how they knew actually. Vlad stopped in the middle of our lesson and got us ready for an attack."
"Maybe one of the villains got cold feet?" Momo asked, though she looked like she didn't believe it.
"What were they like?" Kendo asked Iida, Momo, and I.
"The villains?" Momo asked. When Kendo nodded, Momo tapped her lips with one finger thoughtfully. "...Unprofessional."
"That's a weird thing to call them," Pony said.
"Well, untrained might be better?" Momo corrected. "They had some dangerous members, but none of them knew how to fight, not really."
"They attacked the school with an army that couldn't fight?" Pony looked up at me, wide eyes blinking. "That seems dumb."
I nodded in agreement, while Kendo hummed to herself. "Maybe. But if they were trying to kill All Might, then they would just need to distract you guys and the other teachers, right?"
Iida nodded. "So because their plan broke down so early, the little weaknesses in it became exponentially worse!"
We started walking as a group, Kendo, Momo, and Iida moving forward and leaving Pony and I alone.
"Hey," Pony looked up at me. There was an odd look on her face. "You… you would tell me if something was wrong, right?"
I thought about that. "Not every time."
Her head snapped to look at me. "What!?"
"Calm down, calm down," I chuckled. "There are some things I just wouldn't want to say to my female best friend. If I had a crush on someone we knew for example."
"That's not what I mean," Pony shook her head quickly. "I mean big things! Things that matter…"
"...It would depend," I said weakly.
Internally though, I was panicking. The look on her face was so strange. You ever have someone you care about look both worried and suspicious all at once?
I had that look on my face, in another world, when one of my brothers had done something life-changing and I'd suspected it.
"Bowser," Pony continued giving me that look, her big blue eyes watering. "I-"
"Hey, you guys okay?" Kendo asked, turning to look at us.
"Yeah, we are! Just a sec," I waved the trio off. Kendo looked curious, but walked off, with Momo giving me a smile and Iida a nod. As they turned away, I turned to Pony. "We're in school right now."
She got what I was saying immediately. Her eyes widened. The short blonde nodded. "After school?"
"Well, the club is probably cancelled for today, so sure. Let's go to your house."
I sighed internally as she nodded furiously.
Well… fuck. I always was a bad liar. Guess it was going to turn against me today unless I could come up with an explanation that would work.
What did she even suspect of me? How much was I supposed to tell her?
I was finally done with the final event I'd been preparing for, and now I had a whole host of things to worry about next.
At least life stayed interesting?