The air was tense as the villains continued to pour through the black wall, and Aizawa looked primed to enter combat.
"The trespassing the other day must have been the work of these scumbags, huh?" Aizawa muttered.
"What! Those are actually villains?" Kirishima said, my hand still holding him back. "There's no way they could get into a hero school!"
"Well, they just did, so try to remain focused," I said, narrowing my eyes at the crowd below.
It was hard to see exactly, but that skinny guy standing next to the giant man… was that the leader?
Or was it the purple mist that formed next to him?
Thinking about it, the purple mist that they walked out of must be his Quirk… so a warper, huh?
Troublesome.
"Teacher, what about the trespasser sensors?" Yaoyorozu asked, walking up to my side.
"We have them, of course, but…" Thirteen said, looking up at the wall.
"The lights flashing… it must have been taken out at that time," I finished, lowering my goggles. "These aren't just some regular thugs… this was meticulously planned."
"It seems so," Yaoyorozu added.
"Did they just appear here, or around the school?" Todoroki asked.
Good question.
But…
"It took a while to drive here… they must have wanted to attack us while we were isolated for a reason," I said.
"Then it is probably just these guys…" Todoroki said. "But what is their goal?"
I was wondering that too, but in the end, it didn't change what we had to do.
Survive, and ensure everyone in our class survived.
"Thirteen, start the evacuation," Aizawa said, walking up to the edge of the staircase. "Try calling the school as well. These villains have something to counteract the sensors. It's possible that someone with radio wave-type powers is interfering."
"What about you, sir? Will you fight by yourself?" Midoriya suddenly shouted. "With that many villains, even if you can erase their Quirks… your fighting style is capturing after erasing the enemy's Quirk, so-"
"You can't be a hero with just one trick," Aizawa said, crouching down. "I'm leaving it to you, Thirteen-"
"Wait!" I interrupted, taking a step forward while pointing at Aizawa. "Take this!"
I then activated Empowerment, enhancing Aizawa-sensei as much as I could as he turned his head back to me, the two of us sharing a nod.
And then, he jumped down the stairs, his body gliding across the ground as he approached the first group of villains.
Ah… now I understood.
For my movement technique, I didn't want to aim for Tsu or Bakugo… no, I wanted to aim for that.
"Alright! Everyone, let's go-"
"I'm afraid I cannot allow you to do that," a calm voice said, interrupting Thirteen, as a shadow suddenly appeared to block our path to the exit. "Greetings, students of U.A. High. Unfortunately, as the primary guest is not in attendance, I will have to ask you all to-"
"Die!" Bakugo shouted as he and Kirishima leapt into action.
Those two fucking idiots!
"You two! Stay back!" Thirteen shouted.
But it was too late.
Bakugo's palms crackled as he released an explosion, while Kirishima hardened his arms before going on the attack.
But their combined assault led to… nothing, as the cloud villain reformed as if nothing had happened.
"Quite the violent reception. Although I suppose I should expect nothing less from hero students," he said. "But I believe introductions are in order. I am Kurogiri of the League of Villains… and I suppose I am here to lead you to your doom."
I narrowed my eyes as I moved to the side, keeping my eye on Thirteen and the villain before I found the taller boy.
"Ida," I said, causing him to look at me. "When you find the chance… you are going to run out that door, and towards the main campus for help. Understand?"
"W-What? Aren't we all-?"
"Unfortunately, it doesn't look like that guy is going to let us," I said, looking him in the eye. "This is a job for you and your speed, okay?"
"Lukas… but I can't just leave my classmates behind!" he shouted.
"This is an order as your president, Ida," I said, pointing towards the exit. "You're going to find a moment where that 'Kurogiri' is distracted, and you're going to run as fast as you can to the main campus, trying to call the authorities while you do, understood?"
That seemed to quiet him up.
Thankfully, with him being a diligent rule follower, he also was quick to submit to authority.
Now as for-
"Aagh!"
My head snapped towards the source of the scream, watching as Thirteen's back began to get sucked into a portal.
Shit… that villain had used Thirteen's Quirk against her?
Dammit, she needed medical attention, now!
I ran out of the crowd, heading towards Thirteen and preparing to activate Empathy Healing, but right before I got there…
"Ah, you must be… I see," the villain said, a black cloud forming right under my feet. "Unfortunately… I'll need you to take your leave, Tsugai."
Wait… he knew my name?
But I couldn't worry about that at the moment, as I felt myself get quickly enveloped by the shadow, and the next moment… I was somewhere else entirely.
My head turned on a swivel to get a read on my surroundings, and it only took a moment to get over the disorientation and understand where I had been warped to.
The plaza.
My sense blared from the side, causing me to dodge out of the way as a fist whipped past my face, and with practiced ease, I unsheathed my sword before sending a strike towards the villain.
Wrist, knee, face. In that order.
And with the villain temporarily disabled, I delivered the final blow in the form of a strike to the back of the neck, causing him to crumple to the ground.
That villain… he was easier to take down than my classmates in our Quirkless combat lesson the other day.
To go through the intense planning, risk, and trouble to infiltrate U.A. High… why did they use such unskilled thugs?
"Tsugai! What are you doing here?" Aizawa-sensei said as he appeared at my side, kicking away a villain before slamming him to the ground with his capture weapon. "Did I not tell your classmates not to interfere?"
"I was teleported by that cloud villain, he's named Kurogiri," I said, blocking a set of claws that I parried to the side, using the rotational momentum to elbow the woman in the side of the head. "He's trying to keep us here. Thirteen has been taken out, but I told Ida to run and get help. Though I'm not sure if he has, or will be able to, escape."
Aizawa pulled a villain towards him, and seeing another trying to strike him from behind, I covered his back by striking the villain with Critical Hit, sending him tumbling across the ground.
"Dammit. These guys are weak, but whoever planned this is no fool," he said, grinding his teeth. "Whatever. Return to your classmates, Tsugai."
"Respectfully, Aizawa-sensei," I said, pulling a villain to block one of his comrade's punches, and taking the momentary confusion to strike the other with my sword. "I don't think it will be that easy. Besides, keeping these guys occupied seems more important."
"Tsk. Fine… just don't do anything stupid," he replied, yanking a mutant-type villain off its feet, while I kicked him in the face, knocking him out.
"Don't worry, Aizawa-sensei. I'm not the top scorer for nothing," I replied with a smirk.
He simply shook his head, though I swore I could see the ghost of a smile on his face as well.
We continued fighting together for a minute or two, with each of us covering each other's back, but it was mostly Aizawa-sensei doing the work while I acted as support, finishing off after he had already disabled them.
Our teamwork was actually quite amazing, although I knew that it was due to Aizawa synching up with me rather than my skill.
But eventually, as we knocked down the last of the rabble… we came across an opponent stronger than the others.
I felt my steps grow heavy, as if I were carrying an extra fifty kilograms of weight, and from how Aizawa changed his stance, he felt it too.
"Yo! Mind if I come play with you two?"
A confident, cocky voice said as a masked man stepped towards us.
So this feeling… it must be his Quirk. An area-based one that doesn't discriminate based on ally or enemy, and causes the person to be weighed down…
"Lukas. Go," Aizawa said as he activated his Quirk, the feeling disappearing as I approached the masked man, his red hair flowing down his bulky frame.
But as soon as I approached him, ready to activate Critical Hit… a flash of light exploded from his hand.
My vision was completely gone, replaced with nothing but a plane of white as I struggled to maintain my balance.
I felt a pang near my head, causing me to dodge, before I felt something wrap around my waist, pulling me back.
Ah, that must have been Aizawa.
"What!? I erased his Quirk… Lukas, are you okay?" he said.
"Y-Yeah… I'm getting there," I said, blinking away the blindness.
What… what the hell happened?
I looked back to the masked villain, only to see another thinner one walking towards him, his body covered in hands.
"Vainglory… you went against the plan," he growled, scratching his neck. "Whatever. Eraser Head and this brat took out all those guys, so I'm a little pissed off."
"Hah. Whatever you say, 'boss'. I'm gonna take this brat," he said, charging towards me.
"That works fine," the hand-man said, rushing towards the side.
No… this was good for us.
From what it seemed, Aizawa's Quirk didn't have an effect on this 'Vainglory'.
Or… maybe he had multiple Quirks?
Either way, he would be able to deal with the other one easier, while I would need to hold my opponent off long enough for Aizawa to join back.
Luckily, my teacher seemed to think the same thing, as he ran up to intercept the hand-man.
"Alright, son. Let's get this party started!" Vainglory shouted as I ran up to him, and this time, I didn't feel the oppressive weight from before.
Did he deactivate it due to his ally fighting nearby? Or perhaps… if his multiple powers were similar to mine… then he could only activate one at a time.
I moved close to the ground on my approach, holding my sword forward as I pounced for a strike.
But just before I struck his body… I felt like I hit a wall, before I was then sent flying back.
What the hell?
I scrambled to my feet as I raised my sword again, keeping my breath steady as I analyzed my opponent.
Now that I focused… there seemed to be a distortion in the air right in front of him.
A shield?
And how I had been flung back… it was as if I had been struck by myself.
Was that it?
Some sort of recoil aspect?
And aside from that… that was three separate Quirks he had just shown.
Light generation, some sort of area-wide weight increase, and now that invisible shield.
Those had nothing to do with each other.
So… what was going on?
My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of crushed rock and the feeling of the ground trembling beneath my feet, and looking to the side, my eyes widened in horror at the scene.
That giant, hulking villain from before… he was crouched over Aizawa, holding his hand over my teacher's body, as if he had just finished slamming him into the ground.
And from the blood beginning to pool under his body… this wasn't good.
I moved before I could even think, running back to my teacher as the hulking villain stood up, the hand-man watching from a few meters away.
"Aizawa-sensei!" I said, appearing by his side as I immediately began healing, a flood of pain entering my body as soon as I did so.
"Huh? Is this guy a healer class, then? No, more of a monk… hey, Vainglory, weren't you supposed to stop him?" the hand-man said.
While the villains seemed to be in a conversation, I began pulling him away, keeping my eyes peeled for any movement from the hulking beast that was staring at me.
"Hey, I just wanted to see what he can do, Shigaraki. It doesn't have to be in a fight," Vainglory replied.
Shigaraki… so that was his name.
And why was that beast unmoving? Was it a consequence of his Quirk or something?
"Grr… Lukas… you…?" Aizawa said, slowly coming back to consciousness.
"It's almost done!" I said, trying to increase the flow of Quirk energy.
Dammit, I was going too slow!
"That so? Well… I guess you can get to know him all you want later," Shigaraki continued. "For now, I really don't want an annoyance like that messing things up. Nomu-"
"Lukas!" Aizawa-sensei shouted from under me. "Run!"
"-Attack."
My senses screamed at that moment, the clearest activation of Precognition that I had ever felt behind, approaching from behind, and fast.
I flicked my arm upward, opening my palm to block the strike as a giant purple fist slammed into it, the feeling of Kinetic Dampening activating as soon as it did.
But no… this was way too much!
The energy seeping into me was overwhelming, brimming with the need to be released, while my arm practically shattered from the impact, as I was not able to dampen the force enough.
And the pain… it was as bad as how it felt when healing Aizawa.
I felt blood drip from my nose as I overcame the momentary shock, the 'Nomu's fist still remaining in my hand as Aizawa lifted his body, his eyes shining red as he stared at the beast.
Fuck! Now!
With me transferring the stored energy into my sword, I swung as hard as I could, hitting the Nomu directly in the midsection as I felt the energy release.
An explosion echoed from where I struck, and with my sword shattering to pieces, the Nomu was sent flying back, skidding across the ground before he slammed into a distant wall.
Fuck… dammit! Good thing that monster was gone, but my arm!
"H-Huh? What? How… how!? Unfair!" Shigaraki screeched, scratching his neck as he looked at us. "You… so Eraser Head nullified his Shock Absorption… dammit! That's so unfair!"
He then rushed towards us, but I… couldn't move.
It wasn't only my arm that had felt that strike, my entire body felt like it had been dipped into lava.
"Focus on yourself, Lukas!" Aizawa-sensei said as he rushed forward to intercept.
I did as he asked, healing my body as I focused on my Quirk energy reserves.
They were low… really low.
I would probably only be able to heal Aizawa like before one more time, but I hadn't finished getting myself back to normal yet.
"Alright! You really are something, haha!"
My heart thumped as I heard Vainglory's voice, the still-masked man slowly approaching as he folded his hands behind his neck.
"Now, how about you come with me, alright? I even got a nice room saved for you," he continued, stopping right in front of me as he reached down to grab my collar, slowly lifting me into the air as my shattered goggles fell to the ground.
Dammit… I couldn't move… not anything more than a faint struggle.
"And would you look at that? You even got your mother's eyes-"
"Get away from my student!" Aizawa-sensei shouted, his capture weapon wrapping around Vainglory's wrist before launching a kick at his face.
And thankfully… this guy had already gone through the trouble of bringing me close to him.
Reaching up to his hand, I activated Nullification just as Aizawa's boot dug into his cheek.
I dropped to the ground as Vainglory was launched back, Aizawa quickly moving to engage while I struggled to get back to my feet.
"Lukas!"
I looked up as two people ran towards me from the side of the plaza.
Tsu and Midoriya.
"Let's get out of here!" Midoriya said.
"W-Wait," I said, shaking my head. "Aizawa-sensei… I'm enhancing him… need to stay close…"
It was hard to speak, but I managed.
Plus, aside from the enhancement, I wanted to stay near Aizawa in case he got injured again.
I was almost out of energy… but I could heal him one more time if he got caught by that Nomu thing.
Wait… where was-?
Another blaring alarm echoed in my mind, and with the last of my physical strength, I pulled Tsu and Midoriya to the ground.
A gust formed right where the two had been standing as a blur of black shot across my vision.
That fucker!
And he wasn't alone!
My Precognition blared again as Shigaraki's hand approached my face, and while I was able to raise my arm to defend… I wasn't able to dodge.
I felt an indescribable, searing pain spread through my forearm, causing me to release a scream of agony as I pulled away.
Thankfully, Midoriya was able to react right after.
"Smash!" he screamed as he punched forward.
But before he could, the three of us were blown back, only to see that the Nomu was standing between us and Shigaraki.
And it was… undamaged.
Thankfully, Midoriya's arm was also undamaged, but that didn't matter right now.
No… what mattered was that the Nomu was now looming over us, it's dead eyes staring right into my soul as it cocked its fist back.
I… no, we couldn't dodge.
Not before it chased us.
Really… all this, just to die during some training exercise, without even having saved anyone?
Pathetic.
And then Nejire… she'll be devastated.
Dammit, why couldn't I have just told her I liked her?
But regrets… well, I guess everyone must have them in their final moments.
But… just before the Nomu struck… a gale blew past, and I suddenly found myself near the edge of the stairs.
"Young Midoriya… Young Asui… Young Tsugai… I am sorry for being late," All Might said, his eyes staring forward. "But do not fear… for I am here."
Those words were usually met with All Might's trademark smile.
But no… he was not smiling at the moment.
He disappeared a moment later to attack the Nomu, their fists meeting each other's as Shigaraki was teleported away by Kurogiri.
"Lukas! Lukas, are you okay!?" Hagakure said as she ran down the staircase.
I looked down at my body.
While the injuries from the Nomu weren't life-threatening, they had essentially fractured every bone in my body from the pure shock.
And as for Shigaraki's attack…
I looked at my forearm, the sleeve of my hero suit having been completely ripped off, and the muscles of my forearm left exposed to the air, as if my skin had completely disintegrated.
"You're injured!" Hagakure shouted with worry.
"I've got… medical supplies… in my belt," I said with laboured breaths as the pain started to get to me.
Shit… that hurt a lot… but at least it was my arm and not my neck.
Hagakure and Tsu quickly got to work by taking out my medical kit, getting the antiseptic and bandages, and quickly wrapping my injury as blood began to pour outward.
"Okay… that should be good for now," Tsu said, looking up at me with worry. "Are you sure you need to stay here, Lukas?"
Nodding, I felt Hagakure wrap her arms under my armpits, pulling me upright and against her chest.
"Not… yet," I replied, gritting my teeth. "Not… until we win."
My body relaxed into Hagakure's hold as I focused on maintaining the boost on Aizawa, who was still locked in battle with Vainglory, and was holding his own.
No… he was more than holding his own.
Perhaps Vainglory had run out of stamina? Or had Aizawa-sensei found a weakness to exploit?
"Hagakure… thanks," I said. "I… I can't leave yet. I need to focus on them…"
"O-Oh… okay! Then I'll stay here with you!" she said, her gloves wiping my face. "Ida was able to get away right after everyone got teleported, so more help should be coming soon!"
Ah… that made sense.
I was wondering how Midoriya and Tsu got there… I just hope that the rest of the class was safe.
And as for All Might…
"He's… not winning…" Midoriya said in shock.
Indeed.
Instead of the overwhelming power everyone had come to expect from the man, the Nomu was matching his every punch.
And more than that… while the Nomu seemed to take his punches with ease, the same couldn't be said for All Might.
So rather than it being a stalemate… he was losing.
My eyes narrowed on his shirt, or more specifically, the growing patch of blood forming on it.
Wait… was he injured?
The more I watched their fight, the more I was convinced.
"You four! Why are you still here?" Aizawa said, running towards us.
It seemed that his battle with Vainglory had finished, as the masked man had returned to Shigaraki's side.
"Lukas needed to be here to enhance you, but with All Might here, we don't-"
"Aizawa-sensei… All Might is hurt," I said, interrupting Tsu as I stared into Aizawa-sensei's goggles. "He's losing against that monster, but if I can heal him… we can win."
He stared at me for a few moments before releasing a sigh.
"I did not expect you to be the biggest problem child of this class, but here we are," he said, looking over to the battle. "All Might needs to keep that thing busy, and I can't erase its Quirk like before since All Might is blocking my view…"
While Aizawa had come over, things seemed to be getting even worse, as Kurogiri had joined the Nomu in fighting All Might, creating portals to divert All Might's punches while creating openings for the monster to easily exploit.
If before was All Might at a disadvantage, now would be more accurate to say he was getting overwhelmed.
"Dammit… you four, stay there, and do not engage, do you understand? Defend each other, and escape if it gets too dicey," he said, raising his capture weapon as he prepared to intercept.
But just before he was about to leap into action… a glacier suddenly appeared, completely encasing the Nomu.
Todoroki… he had arrived.
And with Kurogiri momentarily stunned, I then heard the sound of crackling explosions as Bakugo appeared, pinning the warp villain to the ground as Kirishima ran to his side.
"…I'm going to kill those damn kids," Aizawa muttered. "All Might! Get back for a moment!"
All Might nodded, and in an instant, he appeared before us, with my three classmates held in his arms.
"Huh…? All Might! I was holding that guy down!" Bakugo shouted as he realized what had happened.
"Do not worry, Young Bakugo. I made sure to disable that villain while I grabbed you," All Might replied.
And from how the cloud villain wasn't moving, that did seem to be the case.
"All Might… my hand," I said, raising my hand.
He seemed to get the message, as his hand reached out to grab mine as I activated Empathy Healing.
Pain.
Deep, relentless pain.
That was what I felt as soon as I activated my Quirk, the last of my energy draining from my body as I struggled to maintain my breathing.
"All Might!" I gasped, coughing out a large wad of blood as All Might let go, his face marred with concern. "Just… win."
He nodded seriously.
"I will, Young Tsugai."
His words were finalized by the crash of the Nomu breaking out of its temporary ice prison, its eyes instantly snapping to our group before All Might disappeared, the two meeting to continue their battle.
But this time… it was obviously different.
"Hahaha! Villain, you have made a grave mistake today!" All Might shouted, his words reverberating across the plaza as his fists continued to drive into the monster's body. "Because today! I feel like I'm in my prime!"
"Lukas! You're bleeding e-everywhere!" Hagakure said, her voice trembling.
"Move. I'll provide medical aid," Aizawa-sensei said, crouching down in front of me. "Stay awake, Tsugai. Bakugo, Todoroki, and Midoriya, you three watch over the other villains, but do not engage. And Asui, go to the top of the stairs to explain the situation to the others once help arrives."
Everyone quickly understood their directions, with Bakugo growling about not being able to fight, but I noticed that he was a bit distracted by All Might's fight.
No… in fact, everyone was, save for Aizawa.
Even though we were so far away, the wind from his strikes still caused my hair to flutter, the dust from the destroyed ground billowing like a cloud.
"When faced against the odds, there's only one thing a hero can do!" All Might shouted, the Nomu falling back down after being sent flying from a punch. "You have to surpass your limit! Go! Plus! Ultra!"
And with a final punch, an explosion of sound erupted, loud enough to shatter windows, as I felt the shockwave pass through my body.
And the Nomu… it was sent flying, crashing through the ceiling and soaring further into the sky.
He… had one, and the single arm All Might kept raised high in the air.
"Bullshit! Cheater! He and that damn support class asshole!" Shigaraki screamed, his hands feverishly scratching his neck. "Dammit! Get us out of here!"
Hah.
Well, unluckily for him, Kurogiri was still motionless, though now being held by Vainglory.
"Got it… boss," Vainglory then said, his hand reaching up to his mask. "And I agree. I didn't think he'd grow so much."
Wait.
I widened my eyes as a black fog sprouted beneath the two, and they widened even further as the man's face was revealed.
A large scar across his chin. Sharp, black eyes. Long red hair.
An eerily familiar face.
A face I never planned on seeing, and that would have been better as a forgotten memory.
But no… that photo from my mother's album would not leave my mind.
Because that was the only image I had of my father.
Vainglory- no, my father, sent me a wide smile as he sank into the portal, and a moment later, he, Shigaraki, and the unconscious Kurogiri were gone.
A part of me was upset that they were able to escape, while another was glad it was over.
But more than that… I was confused and in shock.
That had been my father… Vainglory.
And confusion, because my father… he could do nothing of what Vainglory did, at least from what I knew.
But before I could think any further, I felt my vision slowly darken, and before I knew it… I was out.