—USJ—
"We've gotta do something!" Kirishima yelled at his peers, all of whom were watching Renji dance around villain after villain with a joyous smile.
Bakugo gritted his teeth in anger, light sparks flashed on the palms of his hands. Meanwhile, Iida turned to Thirteen with a serious expression.
"Sensei!" Iida struggled to keep his face calm as he spoke. "Shouldn't we go get backup?"
Thirteen nodded her head gravely, pointing toward the exit. "Exactly. While I don't want to leave your friend behind, he seems more than capable of handling himself. With Aizawa there as well, it's best if we evacuate."
Hagakure raised her hands in protest, waving them urgently. "Evacuate?!"
She looked at her fellow classmates with a desperate expression. "Renji is down there fighting villains all alone and you just want to leave?"
"I can't let any more of you get hurt." Thirteen said before anyone could protest. "My duty is to protect you, and that means leaving—now."
Before the Space Hero could say more, Bakugo split from the group, blasting his way down the stairs and towards the villains below.
"Hey—! Get back here!" Thirteen yelled, but Bakugo's explosion seemed to ignite a fire within the others as they all raced down the stairs in hot pursuit.
Only Iida stayed behind, a shocked expression on his face as he watched his classmates run head into danger.
"Shit…" Thirteen muttered beneath her helmet.
Iida stepped forward, eager to prove himself, when Thirteen abruptly spoke. "I need you to run back to the main campus to call for help."
He froze, snapping his head back to the teacher. "I… I can't abandon them, sensei. A hero—"
"We don't have time for that!" She yelled back, shaking her arms frantically. "We've got no communications here! No one even knows that villains have breached the premises! You're the fastest one of us all, you need to go!"
A grimace fell upon his face as he listened. Everything in his heart was screaming at him to follow his friends. To show them that he was hero, that he could be just like his brother.
But the logic behind Thirteen's word struck like a drum, echoing through his mind constantly.
Grinding his teeth, Iida breathed in deeply, raising his head before snapping it back firmly with newfound resolve.
"Understood, sensei!" He saluted her, and took a running stance. "I'll run like never before and get assistance as soon as possible."
With that, he bolted through the doors with laser like speed, running back along the road that had led them here in the first place.
The wind rushed past him as he flew like an arrow, each step filled with purpose and conviction.
Stay safe friends… Iida ran with all his might, pushing beyond his limits to maintain his breakneck speed. I'll save you by doing what I do best!
—
Good work, Iida. Renji ducked under a wild swing from the Nomu as he shifted in and out of his Quirk to watch Iida run to get help.
A quick punch forced Renji to focus on his fight again. Sliding a hair's width away from it, Renji ducked under the monster's arm and behind it while pulling out his coilgun in one smooth movement.
BANG!
The Nomu instantly raised its arm behind its back to block the shot. Even though it could not see Renji, it seemed the Nomu possessed some level of instinct to realize the metal clank of the gun being pulled out.
The shot bounced off the muscular arm, the nanobots inside the bullet slithering away from it and back towards Renji, hiding within one of his pockets.
Had the Nomu not blocked it, the nanobots would've wreaked havoc inside the Nomu's exposed brain.
What a design flaw… Renji thought distastefully, whoever made this Frankenstein must be an amateur.
Although he did take note of the beast's immense strength and durability. It seemed as if nothing phased it.
With a sharp flick of his wrist, Renji sent a canister spinning through the air before the Nomu, and then lunged forward.
In response, the creature snarled and cocked its arm back to smash the can with ease. Exactly as Renji expected.
Upon contact, the canister exploded like a firework. But unlike a traditional firework bursting with flames and light, all that came out was a spreading cloud of black that swallowed the air in a choking haze.
Roaring, the Nomu swiped furiously as the swarm closed in on its eyes.
Within the cover, Renji raised his arm calmly as he got in position. Before the Nomu could react, fragments broke formation, streaming toward Renji's arm. And in an instant, a jagged blade of shifting metal grew along his forearm, gleaming with menace.
Sliding past the Nomu, Renji swung violently at its side, pushing forward with all his artifical might.
A large gash formed as the blade sliced through dense muscle, a spurt of blood rushing out of the wound.
Renji turned around with a hint of surprise on his face as he watched the wound close rapidly.
"Now that's hardly fair!" He barked at no one in particular. "Healing and enhancements? Since when did my tech become public property?"
He paused, smirking as his hand brushed his chin. "Although… let's be honest. I'm still the devilishly handsome one here."
As if it could understand his words, the Nomu roared as it angrily crushed the remaining nanobots from the distraction.
In the distance, a large explosion blasted a couple villains back as Bakugo strode in, large grenade like bracers on his forearms.
"DIE!" He shouted a battle cry, launching himself with his explosions right into the fray next to Aizawa.
"You—!" Aizawa started as he watched Bakugo zoom past him with a murderous gleam.
Eyes burning, he turned to watch the rest of Class 1-A following close behind.
Aizawa's gaze flicked to Thirteen who was still running down the stairs as his scarf tripped one of the villains who thought they could catch him off guard.
"SORRY!" Thirteen yelled, "Your students are too stubborn, Aizawa!"
"Help is on the way so we just need to hold out!" She announced, watching the students group to fight together.
Before she could join in and help the class, a large dark portal formed in front of her, stopping Thirteen in her tracks.
Out stepped Kurogiri, his sharp suit contrasting to the villainous aura surrounding him.
BANG!
Another shot rang out as Renji saw an opportunity to take down the tall man. But having expected it, Kurogiri formed a portal before the bullet could get close, sending it spiraling back toward Renji.
Without a second to spare, Renji twisted his body and evaded the bullet rushing back through another portal.
"Haha!" Renji laughed at the man's ploy. "I told you I could see everything."
—
In the distance, Shigaraki clawed at his neck, dragging raw red lines across his deathly pale skin.
"Stupid brats!" He snarled. "Why aren't they running? this isn't how it was supposed to go!"
He stomped the ground, fists trembling at his sides, nails digging so deep into his palms that flecks of blood dotted the ground.
He watched as his men were slowly picked off by the hero students, slowly closing in. And worst of all, the irritating boy was handling his Nomu like it was NOTHING!
Who cares about Eraser Head when his main weapon was being toyed with!
The students weren't scattering, they weren't screaming. They were fighting, as if this was some common occurrence.
"No, no, no, no!" Shigaraki screeched, his voice spiraling higher with every word. "Heroes are supposed to break! They're supposed to beg! Why won't they just die?!"
A crazed laugh tore from his throat, raw and ugly, as he dragged his shaking hands through his hair.
BANG!
The bullet whizzed past villains and heroes alike the moment Renji saw an opportunity to strike at Shigaraki.
His eyes widened in surprise as the bullet ripped through the air. Having already seen Renji point the gun at his master, the Nomu sprinted with all its might to reach him.
The monster managed to hurl Shigaraki aside, but not fast enough. His shoulder ruptured in a sickening burst, flesh tearing and bone shards jutting out as a torrent of blood painted the ground in violent splatter.
Shigaraki hit the ground with a strangled yelp, his body skidding across rubble as his hand instinctively clutched at what was left of his shoulder. His pale fingers came away slick, dripping red that stained his already filthy clothes.
A raw scream ripped from his throat, half agony, half fury. "Nomu!" he bellowed, his voice hoarse. "Kurogiri! Get me out of here—now!"
The Nomu let out a guttural roar, throwing itself between Renji and its master with renewed ferocity, swinging wildly to keep the boy at bay.
Across the plaza, Thirteen was locked in a frantic struggle with Kurogiri, her Black Hole threatening to tear his misty form apart. But the moment Shigaraki's scream tore through the chaos, the warp villain's golden eyes flickered.
"Understood," Kurogiri's voice resonated, calm and cool despite the battlefield burning around him. He thrust an arm outward, summoning a massive swirling portal that split the ground before him.
Renji leaped at the Nomu, flexing his body to weave past its attacks and landing on top of its shoulders as the nanobots on his arm shifted into a vicious stake.
Renji's eyes burned with a savage gleam as he rammed the stake in deep, twisting viciously while his gun roared point-blank, each bullet burrowing straight into the Nomu's exposed brain, shredding gray matter in a spray of blood and pulp.
Its eyes shook violently as its brain exploded in a cruel display of violence. Within moments the light in its eyes faded to a dull blank stare.
Renji turned just in time to see Kurogiri's mist coil hungrily around Shigaraki's mangled body.
Waving his hand like he was saying goodbye to an old friend, his grin stretched wide from ear to ear.
"Careful now—wouldn't want you falling apart before our next date," he drawled. "Try to hold yourself together till then."
Rage seething in his eyes, Shigaraki let out one final gutteral scream before the portal closed with a thump.
"Phew…" Renji exhaled, the adrenaline finally thinning from his veins. A crooked laugh slipped out as he shook his head. "So that was the League of Villains? Hah—guess I expected more."
"That portal Quirk is pretty handy, though." He noted as he climbed off the dead Nomu's body.
Looking around, he watched as the villains dwindled one by one as his classmates fought together. It only got easier with Kurogiri out of the way, allowing Thirteen to properly assist the group.
Renji turned back to gaze down at the broken monster, a fanatic shine in his eyes. "I can't wait to pick you apart."