All Might stood in the center of the destruction, steam rising from his body, chest heaving with exertion. Blood continued to drip from his mouth and nose.
"In my heyday, five of those punches would've been enough," All Might said, his voice carrying despite his exhaustion. His smile returned, that bright, reassuring smile of the Symbol of Peace, even as blood stained his teeth. "But that was over 300 hits just now."
FSSHHH.
Steam exploded from All Might's body in thick clouds. More than before. The telltale signs that his time was almost up.
His legs trembled slightly, but he kept them locked, refusing to fall.
'My time's up,' he thought, feeling the transformation beginning.
But he couldn't show weakness. Not yet. Not in front of the students. Not in front of the villains.
All Might's smile widened despite the pain, despite the exhaustion, despite everything. "Well, villain."
"How about we hurry up and finish this?"
Tomura stood frozen, staring at the hole in the ceiling where Nomu had disappeared. His hand moved to his neck.
GRRATCH.
The scratching sound was audible even from a distance. Frantic. Desperate.
"You've weakened? Not that I can see… We're completely outmatched."
"How dare you do that to my Nomu…"
"You cheated...!" Shigaraki's voice was trembling, childlike in its accusation.
"He's not weak at all!!" He was scratching so hard now that chunks of skin were coming off. "They… They lied to me?!"
"Well? Coming to get me?!" All Might said.
"If you can take me, then bring it on!!"
"UOHHHHHH!" Shigaraki shrieked.
"Well? What's keeping you?!"
"If only we still had Nomu!! If only!! He was taking those hits so well…!" Shigaraki yelled out as scratched at his neck.
All Might was still standing, but even from a distance, something was wrong. He was hunched slightly, his breathing labored, more steam rising from his body than before.
"Tomura Shigaraki… Calm Yourself." Kurogiri said. "It's apparent that Nomu did manage to deal some damage."
"The kids are holding back for some reason and reinforcements from the school are bound to arrive in a few minutes," Kurogiri said firmly, "But if the two of us double-team him, we still have a chance..."
"Yes… Yes, Yes…" Shigaraki stared at him, and slowly, a different kind of smile spread across his face. "Right… Right… Right... We can do this… The final boss is standing right there…"
"All Might'll take care of the big bads."
"Let's go see if we can help the others..."
Shigaraki's hand twitched, his body language shifting from defeated to dangerous.
The students began to move away, trusting in their teacher.
But then Shigaraki moved.
"This is... revenge for Nomu."
His hand shot forward, reaching desperately toward All Might.
Kurogiri moved as well, expanding his mist, trying to swallow All Might.
Midoriya suddenly broke from the group at the entrance, running toward All Might despite his own injuries.
Midoriya saw it happening. Saw Shigaraki's hand reaching for All Might's neck. Saw the hero too exhausted to react in time.
His body moved before his mind could catch up.
"M-Midoriya?!"
His legs screamed in protest.
His legs gave out mid sprint, bones fracturing under the strain of pushing his body beyond its limits.
But he'd made it. His fist was already in motion, aimed at Kurogiri's brace.
"Get away from..."
"...All Might!"
But they reacted on time.
Kurogiri's portal opened instantly, a perfect defensive maneuver.
And through that portal, Shigaraki's hand shot out.
But he needn't have worried.
Because Shigaraki suddenly jerked, his hand stopped mid-reach as bullets struck his hand.
"They're here!!"
Pro heroes were flooding through the entrance. Snipe, his gun smoking, stood at the front with several others.
"Sorry, everyone. We're a little late. We brought everyone we could."
And behind them, breathing hard, glasses askew but determined, was Iida.
"President of Class 1-A, TENYA IDA!" Ida shouted. "REPORTING FOR DUTY!!"
More heroes poured in, Cementoss, Present Mic, Ectoplasm, and others. The USJ was suddenly filled with professional heroes.
Shigaraki looked around, at the heroes, at All Might still standing despite everything, at their plan falling apart.
"Ahhh, they're here... game over," he said, his voice flat with barely contained fury. "Guess we gotta try again another time, Kurogiri..."
Kurogiri's mist began to expand, preparing for their escape.
BLAM BLAM BLAM!
Snipe's bullets landed, disrupting their escape.
"Only ne'er do wells we got a shot at wranglin' from this distance are..."
Then Thirteen crawled forward, their black hole suit immediately recognizable.
Their hand extended toward the forming warp gate.
The air around Kurogiri's portal began to distort, being pulled in a different direction. Thirteen's Black Hole quirk activated, interfering with the warp gate's formation, destabilizing it.
"It's me…!! Thirteen's voice rang out.
The portal flickered, struggling against the competing force.
But Kurogiri pushed harder, his mist thickening, his quirk fighting against Thirteen's pull.
Shigaraki's hand emerged one last time from the swirling darkness, pointing directly at All Might even as the portal destabilized around them.
"I may have failed here, Symbol of Peace..."
"But the next time we meet..."
Shigaraki's eyes, visible through the hand's fingers, burned with hatred and promise.
"...you're dead, All Might."
The portal collapsed inward with a final surge of power, Kurogiri managing to force it closed despite Thirteen's interference.
They disappeared into the portals, leaving only darkness behind.
The moment they were gone, All Might's form wavered.
Steam exploded from his body, and suddenly he was deflating, shrinking, his muscle mass disappearing.
"What in tarnation..." Snipe said as he watched them teleport away.
"They just fled?" Midnight added. "And after such a dramatic invasion...?
"They took us completely off guard..." Vlad King said firmly. "But let's concern ourselves with the students' well-being for now,"
"Oh, and…" Cementoss said as he neared the central plaza.
"Midoriya!! You okay?!" Kirishima shouted, concern evident in his voice.
Before Kirishima could reach Midoriya, Cementoss put up a wall to stop from All Might's secret being exposed.
"We need to make sure all you students are safe, so head over to the gate," Cementoss approached Kirishima. "I'll deal with the wounded."
"Makes sense! Roger that!!" Kirishima responded.
"Thanks... that was close, Cementoss." All Might said in his shrunken form as he watched Kirishima jog to the entrance.
"I'm a fan of yours, y'know..." Cementoss said as he smiled at All Might. "So, let's get you to the nurse's office without revealing that side of yours."
"But honestly, you've got to stop overdoing it..." he said, noting All Might's condition.
All Might's smile faded as the adrenaline wore off. "I'd be dead if I hadn't overdone it."
"They were... just that strong."
The next hour passed in a blur.
Detective Tsukauchi moved among the students, checking them over, counting.
"16... 17... 18..." he noted. "Besides Midoriya and Fushiguro..."
"Looks like they're all unharmed."
Class 1-A gathered near the entrance, exhausted, shaken, but alive.
"Ojiro... looks like it was into the fire for you this time." Hagakure said. "And all alone...? Nice going."
"I thought everyone was alone... I only survived with hit-and-run tactics..." Ojiro replied. "Where were you, Hagakure?"
"The landslide area! That Todoroki's crazy strong." Replied Hagakure as she remembered almost being frozen by him.
"As for my location..." Aoyama said as he looked to see if anyone was interested. "Anyone have an idea?"
"Right. Guess those lowlifes were spread out, waiting for us." Tokoyami said not having heard Aoyama
"Looking down on us cuz we're kids," Kirishima said as he thumped his fist into his palm.
Tsukauchi interrupting their conversations, "We're gonna get you kids back to the classroom back for now. This is no time to take your statements."
"Detective. What about Aizawa-Sensei…?" Tsuyu asked the question everybody had.
"Both were smashed into splinters. His face is also fractured. Thankfully, he doesn't have any brain damage. But… His eye sockets have been pulverized… There's a chance he may suffer long-term loss of vision."
"Or so I hear..."
"Ribbit..." Asui murmured, her expression worried.
"Thirteen has terrible lacerations across their back and upper arms, but their life isn't in danger."
"All Might's injuries aren't life threatening either."
"It's possible that Recovery Girl's healing will be enough for him, so he's gone off to the nurse's office."
"And Deku...?!" Uraraka added, worry clear in her voice.
"What of Midoriya...?!" Iida asked urgently.
"What about Fushiguro?" Momo asked.
"Both Midoriya and Fushiguro have been taken to the nurse's office. Midoriya has suffered several fractures in multiple limbs. Fushiguro is suffering from severe quirk exhaustion and possible internal bleeding from overexertion, but both should recover fully with Recovery Girl's help and rest."
A collective sigh of relief rippled through the students.
"Sansa! I'll leave the rest to you," Tsukauchi called out.
"Understood."
"We'll need to completely revamp our security systems. Teleportation quirks are rare enough. Shame one of them had to go and turn villain..." Nezu said already thinking ahead despite the situation.
An officer ran up to Tsukauchi as he was leaving.
"Detective Tsukauchi! I have a report. We've apprehended what seems to be a villain in a thicket about 400 meters from here!"
"In what condition?" Tsukauchi asked.
"He seems unharmed and he didn't resist arrest..." The officer responded. "Oddly enough, he's not resisting in any way. He appears to be mute..."
Bakugo stood apart from the others, arms crossed, jaw clenched. His eyes stared at nothing in particular, but his mind was elsewhere on two people already in the nurse's office.
'He fought that thing,' Bakugo thought, remembering Fushiguro's exhausted face, the blood, the information he'd gathered.
And Bakugo had been sent away. Protected.
The thought felt worse than any injury.
'Two people now,' he thought. 'Two people I have to surpass.'
Deku with his mysterious quirk that seemed to appear out of nowhere.
And Fushiguro with his quirk that let him stand against that monster.
Not far away, Todoroki stood in silence, his heterochromatic eyes distant. His left side still felt cold from the ice he'd created the chill that was his comfort, his rebellion.
'Midoriya,' he thought, remembering the way the green-haired boy had pushed himself, the power that seemed to echo something familiar. Something he'd seen before in the Symbol of Peace.
'And Fushiguro.' The calculating way he'd fought, the way he'd adapted, survived against that monster.
His father's face flashed in his mind. The number two hero. The man who had crafted him to surpass All Might, to be the perfect hero using only the fire he refused to touch.
'I'll prove him wrong,' Todoroki thought, his fists clenching at his sides. 'I'll become the number one hero using only my ice. I don't need his power. I don't need his fire.'
But he couldn't deny what he'd witnessed today.
'They're strong. Both of them.'
Bakugo's jaw tightened.
'I'll beat you both,' Bakugo promised himself. 'I'll become Number One. I'll never be the one who needs saving again.'
Todoroki's eyes narrowed with determination.
'I'll surpass them all. Without using his flames. I'll prove I can become number one with my own power.'
Their thoughts converged on a single point.
'Just watch me.'
...
Megumi woke to the smell of antiseptic and the soft beeping of medical equipment.
His entire body ached. Not the sharp pain of injury, but the deep, bone-weary exhaustion that came from pushing his quirk far beyond its limits.
"Ah, you're awake," a kind, elderly voice said.
Recovery Girl appeared in his field of vision, her small frame somehow commanding despite her size. She was holding a clipboard and wearing her usual nurse's outfit.
"How do you feel?" she asked, though her tone suggested she already knew the answer.
"Like I got hit by a truck," Megumi said, his voice hoarse.
"That's putting it mildly." She moved to check his vitals, her movements practiced and efficient. "Severe quirk exhaustion. Normally I'd heal you right up, but my quirk uses the patient's own stamina to accelerate healing. Since you have none left to spare, all we can do is let you rest."
Megumi tried to sit up. His body protested immediately.
"Easy," Recovery Girl said, gently pushing him back down. "You're not going anywhere for a while. Your body needs time to recover naturally. Quirk exhaustion isn't something you can rush."
"How long was I out?"
"A few hours. It's evening now. The other students have been sent home for the day."
"The others?" he asked.
"All alive. Some minor injuries and major, but everyone's recovering. Midoriya broke both legs, but I've treated him. Aizawa took the worst of it though." Her expression grew serious. "Multiple fractures, severe damage around his eyes from overusing his quirk. He'll recover, but it'll take time."
Guilt twisted in Megumi's stomach.
"Don't," Recovery Girl said sharply, as if reading his mind. "Don't you dare blame yourself for what happened. Aizawa did his job. He protected his students. That's what heroes do."
She patted his arm gently.
"Now, there are some people who need to speak with you. The police need statements from everyone who was there. Are you up for it?"
Before Megumi could answer, there was a knock at the door.
Detective Tsukauchi entered, followed by Principal Nezu. The detective looked tired but alert, while Nezu's expression was unreadable as always.
"Fushiguro," Nezu said, his voice gentle. "How are you feeling?"
"Been better," Megumi admitted.
"I imagine so." Nezu hopped onto a nearby chair, his small paws folded neatly. "Detective Tsukauchi needs to take your statement about the incident. Since your guardian isn't able to be present. I'll be present as your guardian in an official capacity, as is protocol for minors involved in villain attacks. Is that acceptable?"
Megumi nodded.
Tsukauchi pulled up a chair beside the bed, setting a recorder on the side table. "This will be recorded for the official investigation. Take your time, and if you need breaks, just let me know."
He pressed record.
"Please state your name and class for the record."
"Fushiguro Megumi. Class 1-A."
"Good. Now, tell me everything you remember from the USJ incident. Start from the beginning."
Megumi took a breath, organizing his thoughts.
"We arrived at the USJ for rescue training. Thirteen was giving us the orientation when the lights flickered. Then the villains appeared through some kind of portal quirk."
"The warp gate villain," Tsukauchi noted, writing something down.
"Yeah. There were dozens of them. Maybe more. Aizawa-sensei and Thirteen told us to evacuate, but the warp villain blocked our path. He tried to scatter us across the facility."
"What happened then?"
"Kirishima and Bakugo attacked him, created an opening. Some students managed to escape through the entrance. I got caught in the warp and ended up in a resuce zone alone."
Tsukauchi leaned forward slightly. "Alone?"
"Yes. Surrounded by villains. Low-level thugs, mostly. I fought my way through them."
"And then?"
Megumi's jaw tightened. "Then I saw Aizawa-sensei. He was already down, unconscious. The villain had overwhelmed him. That's when I encountered the villain."
The room went quiet.
"Describe it," Tsukauchi said gently.
"Massive. Humanoid but wrong. Exposed brain, eyes that didn't focus properly. It moved faster than something that size should be able to move. Strong too."
"You engaged it in combat?"
"Didn't have much choice. It came at me. I used my shikigami to defend myself and tried to figure out its abilities."
"And what did you discover?"
This was important. Megumi knew the information he'd gathered had been crucial.
"Two primary abilities that I could identify: shock absorption and regeneration. Any physical impact got dampened significantly. Punches, kicks, even my shikigami's attacks. And it healed almost instantly from damage."
Tsukauchi wrote quickly. "Almost instantly?"
"The brain regenerated slower than the body. I noticed it prioritized major damage over minor wounds. If you could damage multiple areas at once, it couldn't keep up with everything."
"That's very detailed observation under extreme circumstances," Nezu observed quietly.
Megumi didn't respond to that.
"What happened after you discovered this?" Tsukauchi asked.
"I kept fighting. Tried to stay alive long enough to get the information to someone who could use it."
"Did you get any other information? Names, locations, other members?"
"The warp villain called the leader Shigaraki. The warp villain's name is Kurogiri."
"How did the fight with the Nomu end?"
"It didn't really end. My quirk gave out. Quirk exhaustion. I'd pushed too far. Then All Might arrived."
He paused, remembering.
"I told him what I'd learned about the Nomu's abilities. He fought it, but then Kurogiri trapped him. The warp villain had him restrained. Bakugo and Kirishima helped me go back to the plaza. We worked together to free All Might from Kurogiri's hold."
"And after that?"
"I passed out. Quirk exhaustion finally caught up with me."
"You didn't see how the fight ended?"
"No. I was unconscious."
Tsukauchi nodded, turning off the recorder. "Thank you, Fushiguro. This information is valuable for our investigation."
He stood, then paused.
"What you did, gathering that intelligence while fighting for your life, then helping to free All Might when he was trapped, that took real courage. All Might confirmed that the information about the Nomu's weaknesses was crucial to his victory. You saved the lives of your classmates."
"I just did what I had to do to." Megumi said flatly.
"That's usually what heroism looks like," Tsukauchi replied. "It's not about wanting to be a hero. It's about doing what needs to be done when it matters."
He left, leaving Megumi alone with Nezu and Recovery Girl.
Nezu regarded him thoughtfully for a long moment.
"You don't see yourself as a hero, do you?" the principal asked.
"Mm." Nezu hopped down from his chair. "You're quite similar to Aizawa in that regard. Both of you focus on the practical, the survival, the strategy. Neither of you sees the heroism in what you do."
He moved toward the door, then paused.
"School will be closed tomorrow to give everyone time to process what happened. We'll be conducting interviews with all the students and implementing new security measures. What happened today will not happen again."
"It's not your fault," Megumi said.
"It is," Nezu said firmly. "You're students. You should never have been put in that position. We failed to anticipate this attack, failed to protect you adequately. That responsibility falls on us, not on you students."
He looked back at Megumi with those intelligent, calculating eyes.
"Rest tonight. We'll talk more in the coming days. For now, just focus on recovering."
Then he left.
Recovery Girl checked his vitals one more time. "You'll be staying here overnight for observation. I want to make sure there are no complications from the quirk exhaustion."
"I'm fine."
"You're exhausted," she corrected. "And stubborn. But mostly exhausted. Your guardian has been notified and will be by to see you shortly. Until then, rest."
Megumi wanted to argue, but his body was already pulling him back toward unconsciousness.
As he drifted off, one thought echoed in his mind.
This isn't over. This was just the beginning.
...
Meanwhile, in a dark building on the outskirts of the city, the League of Villains licked their wounds.
Shigaraki laid slumped on the floor against the bar. Blood dripped from his injured arms and legs.
"I was shot. Both arms and both legs… We got crushed..." Shigaraki said with anguish in his voice.
"He got Nomu too. Our cannon fodder was taken down in a flash... even those kids were strong..."
Kurogiri stood nearby, his misty form reforming slowly.
Blood continued to drip slowly from Shigaraki's injuries as he stared at nothing, processing their defeat.
"The Symbol of Peace is in perfect health...!"
"You were wrong, Master..."
There was a long pause. Then, from the darkness, a voice emerged. It was distorted, layered, coming from a screen mounted on the wall.
"No, I wasn't."
Both villains reacted to the voice.
A white screen on the tv.
"We merely got ahead of ourselves."
"Yes... we underestimated him. Good thing that League of Villains came cheap anyway..."
Shigaraki's frustration was evident despite his injuries. His scratching intensified.
"What of our creation? Nomu? Did you retrieve him?"
"He was sent flying. And unless we ascertain his precise coordinates..." Kurogiri responded, "...No amount of warping will let us find him."
"I just couldn't spare the time back there."
Kurogiri's form rippled with what might have been regret.
"After all the trouble we went through to make him as strong as All Might..." The voice from the screen said.
"Well... that's too bad. Real shame."
There was a pause.
"Right... strong..."
"There was one... one kid... Fushiguro Megumi."
The screen went completely silent. Even through the distortion, the shift in atmosphere was palpable.
"...Fushiguro, you said?"
The voice had changed.
"Oh?"
Shigaraki, sensing the reaction, continued with renewed fervor.
"Without that pest, we might have killed All Might..."
"But that kid... that brat...!"
"No use crying over spilled milk!"
"This endeavor was not a complete loss."
"Find stronger troops! Take all the time you need!"
Shigaraki's visible eye widened with frustration and rage.
His scratching became frantic despite the pain, his hand trembling with the effort.
"We can't move freely!"
"That's why we need a symbol like you."
There was weight to those words, calculation and planning already in motion.
"Tomura Shigaraki!! Next time, the world will know of the terror you represent!"
Shigaraki's hand clenched into a weak fist, his entire body trembling with rage and anticipation despite his injuries.
Next time. Next time would be different.
In the darkness, Kurogiri said nothing, but his yellow eyes glowed with calculation.
The screen remained lit for a moment longer, the figure behind it still silent, as if lost in thought.
Fushiguro.
That name stirred something. A memory, perhaps.
The League of Villains had suffered their first defeat.
But the war had only just begun.
End of Volume 1