Ch. 9: The Birth of A Hero, Pt. 2

[???, ???, Hell]

3rd Person POV

Gazing deeply seemingly into nothing, only the sight of pillars of flames and crimson wasteland would be seen if someone was in his place, Azeryth yawned and stretched his arms, joints popping sending a feeling of satisfaction into his being. A satisfied smile formed on his face as he sighed.

"Whew~ That felt so good.." He muttered dreamily as he continued to stretch his arms.

"Wearing this flimsy armor every day's a pain. It doesn't even protect me. Sitting on this prickly throne's not helping either...Welp, at least I can take it off when I sleep..." He continued as he began stretching his back. As soon as his back bent backward, a pop was heard, sending a wave of pleasure that made him shiver and moan in satisfaction.

As he was still bending his back backward, still not satisfied enough as he couldn't bend it too much because he was still sitting on the uncomfortable, oversized, weird, prickly chair that was his throne, an idea popped up inside his mind. A childish smirk appeared on his face as he began to chuckle menacingly. He then looked around the room cautiously, like a child looking for a midnight snack in the kitchen while the parents are asleep.

"Okay! There's no one here. I just need to carefully take this off..." Azeryth whispered to himself as quietly as he could, cautiously taking off the plate of gold wrapped around his shoulder.

As soon as his finger touched the gold plating, a fierce aura suddenly appeared right in front of him, making him flinch as shivers slither down his spine. Sweat ran down his forehead profusely as he felt a glare piercing through his soul.

"What are you doing?" A voice bellowed.

Azeryth let out a shriek, snapping his head towards the one who questioned him.

It was a man that was almost on par with All Might in terms of physique, standing over two meters tall with iron-like muscles under his skin. He had short, spiky silver hair that was styled into an undercut, with a single long lock of hair that reached past his ears. He had peridot-colored pupils, and at the very edge of those pupils slithered out four black lines that made his eyes look even more terrifying. An ominous tattoo of a blade serrated into five points was also seen decorating below his right eye.

He was wearing a silver pauldron on his right arm. Ominous-looking carvings decorated it and three big spikes sprouted out of the shoulder part of the pauldron, its outlines glowing light green that pulses brighter every few seconds.

"Why are you taking it off?" He asked. Just the mere tone of his voice made Azeryth's knees felt weak.

"H-hey... brother..." Azeryth squeaked.

"Just answer my question." Azeryth's brother's expression hardened, making him flinch, immediately hiding his hand behind his back.

'Since when did he...'

"C-c'mon... T-that's not how to g-greet your brother whom you haven't met for 450 years now, is it..?" Azeryth tried to calm his brother down. The silver-haired man looked at his brother who was giving him a nervously done grin. It was a pathetic sight of The Tyrant of Hell himself, but it was somewhat comedic. The one that rules all of the underworlds is a nervous wreck when his brother's in front of him. The silver-haired man's intense expression softened as he then gave his brother a closed-eye sigh before looking back with a face that says 'It can't be helped, isn't it?'.

"Well... How's my little bro doing?" He asked, giving the ever-so-shaking Azeryth the sense of relief washing over his consciousness. Azeryth's tense shoulders relaxed as the terrifying aura his brother emitted faded away, disappearing into thin air. A sigh of relief came out of The Demon King's mouth as his crooked grin relaxed and became a genuine smile.

"Phew~... Well, becoming The King of Hell is boring, to say the least. So, VERY bored is your answer." He replied, ending it with a chuckle that brought a slight smile upon his brother's face.

"That's why I wanted to take these off! I want to have at least a day with me not being a king! This armor's itchy and uncomfy! I can't scratch my groin when I'm wearing it! It doesn't even protect me from anything! It's only for decoration! My body's trillion times harder than this! Even if someone throws a planet at my buck-naked body, you know that it'll only leave a speck of scratch right?! So, PLEASE! Let me take off this damn thing for once!!" Azeryth begged with his hands both clasped together. An expression of desperation was plastered on his face, making his brother who towers over him looked upon him in disgust.

"What's with you? You look pathetic right now." His brother said to Azeryth, sending an arrow labeled 'Pathetic' straight through The Demon King's heart. The silver-haired man huffed seeing his brother's lifeless expression and flicked his forehead, bringing reality back to his majesty.

"That armor you're wearing has existed beyond eternity and has been passed on by the previous Demon Kings to the next. It is said to have a fragment of power so powerful, it was capable to injure God itself before this universe was created. Though it's only just a legendary tale since no one remembered who told it." The silver-haired man explained to the golden-haired man who began to slump down his prickly chair with an annoyed expression on his face.

'Of course I know that dumbass, I was the one who did it. You don't need to explain it to me all over again. Though I dunno where the other fragments went, since that idiot of a brother shattered it to pieces. Fuckin' jerk.' Azeryth thought, beginning to grow more and more annoyed. Not towards the silver-haired man he calls his brother in front of him, but towards his other brother from a time way before eternity.

"Kings have their pride to uphold, their identity as the one who rules above them all. You must wear this armor to make yourself known as 'The King of Hell', or 'Satan', Azeryth. I know it barely protects you from anything, bu-"

"OKAY, OKAY!! I GET IT!! Jeez, hearing you talk all serious like that for more than a minute makes me wanna punch you in the face." Azeryth lashed out, silencing his silver-haired brother who was taken aback at the sudden outburst.

"I'll wear this damn scrap metal if that'll make you stop rambling about me having to uphold my identity as a king or something like that." Azeryth continued as he adjusted his seating, leaning his head on his hand that rested above the armrest.

"Now, if you have nothing else to say, scoot aside. I wanna watch how this project of mine is going." He said, gesturing his brother to scoot aside, in which the silver-haired man complied.

The Demon King then snapped his fingers, resulting in a pillar of fire erupting out of the middle of the grand hall. The raging flames slowly began to shapeshift, taking the shape of two people that were trading blows with each other. Other colors then began to appear like inks spreading on water, making it looked like a TV screen, albeit much spookier and demonic.

What they saw was All Might and the red-haired teenager trading flurries of blows with each other with a speed so fast, their hands looked like afterimages. Each time their fists collided, gigantic shockwaves exploded out of them, sending tremors after tremors down towards the ground and powerful gusts of wind towards their surroundings, blowing the trees and dirt high into the air.

The number one hero was in a really bad condition, and if he keeps on going all out against his opponent, he wouldn't even last thirty minutes. All Might looked as if he showered blood, drenched from head to toe in the red liquid with the only thing still shiny was his mighty grin and V-shaped hair. Cuts and bruises were stapled all over his body, increasing in quantity every few seconds because he couldn't parry all of the clawed fists that were coming at him. Hot steam was constantly emitting out of his body, with golden sparks of lightning appearing once in a while. He was very slowly but surely losing his muscle mass, yet he didn't falter upon facing the man in front of him, who didn't look like he received damage at all.

"As...The Symbol...of Peace...I WILL NOT LOSE!!!" He roared with a bleeding mouth as his deep blue eyes shined bright. Golden lightning swirled around him intensely. The speed of his attacks slowly began to get faster and faster, beginning to overwhelm the clawed hands that were going at him with the speed of a buffed minigun.

"Whoa, that big man is capable to trade blows with someone that even a high-ranking HellBloods couldn't even last a second with. He's pretty strong... The Symbol of Peace, huh? He's an admirable one." The silver-haired man looked at the screen with astonishment, giving the Blonde, V-shaped hair man his appraisal.

"Hmm...Why is his face shadowed like that though? It's like seeing a man straight out of a comic book." Azeryth laughed mockingly at All Might's face.

"By the way, are all the HellBloods you sent already dead? It looks far too quiet than what I expected..." The giant man asked his brother with his eyes still glued to the screen. Hearing his question, the golden-haired man rubbed his chin with his eyes squinted and his bottom lip puffed.

"Probably so, or maybe their numbers have dwindled out since three of the strongest humans are in the same place..." Azeryth replied.

"Why don't you add more then?" His brother asked. Azeryth clicked his tongue hearing his question. 'What a stupid thing to ask!'

"This is a long-term project. I ain't gonna end it in only like...two earth-time hours, it's not fun like that. If all the devils I sent have been eradicated, then so be it, it ends there..." Azeryth shrugged, gesturing towards his brother that it can't be helped.

The silver-haired man raised an eyebrow at what his brother said, before brushing it all off aside and looked back at the screen, focusing his attention on the destructive battle. But behind the giant man, Azeryth slowly bent down his head so that shadows cover his amethyst eyes. The purple jewels then shined as he stared at the screen with a menacing gleam.

'I have to acquire that boy. His powers, later on, will be troublesome to deal with. If I don't awaken my full power soon, I'll struggle to deal with him. If Bastrael also fails his task like Vhesvia...'

==/OOO\==

[Mountainside Musutafu, 11:01 AM JST]

All Might was slowly overpowering his opponent with his broken and bloodied fists. Each moment passed, the speed of his barrage of attacks increased, making it easier for the number one hero to parry the clawed fists that Bastrael was sending his way. But it still hurt like hell nonetheless, as the claws were gouging his skin out. Their flurry of punches was so powerful, the force of their collide sent powerful gusts of wind that slowly erased the greeneries surrounding them high up in the air. The sundered ground beneath them cracks and lifts itself each time their fists collided with each other, only to be shattered by the shockwave of their fists.

"GRRRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!" All Might roared with all his might. Steam bursts out even more intensely out of his body, with golden lighting crackling around him even more often intensely than before, indicating that he was forcing his body to go over the limit. The pain was unbearable, but he kept pushing through. He didn't care that he was slowly destroying his own body, as all that was in his mind at that moment was to win. To overcome the opponent in front of him so that at least more lives will be saved.

The red-haired aggressor slowly got pushed back as his back began to arch down towards the ground, overwhelmed by the flurry of punches the number one hero was sending his way. Seeing the situation he was in, the lifeless expression on his face slowly contorted into annoyance. His eyebrows became slightly narrowed as his flat-lined mouth shifted into a frown.

'What a pain. Output, 35%.'

All Might gasped in shock as the barrage of smashes he sent suddenly didn't do a thing towards Bastrael. His flurry of attacks didn't manage to push Bastrael backward anymore, as it felt like he was pushing against an immovable object. The red-haired teenager was slowly able to bent his body back up again as the speed of his attacks gradually became on par with the number one hero.

'His speed and power increased?! How is that possible?! Or maybe he increased the pressure of his limbs so that they release more force outward since his limbs are elastic and work just like rubber. If that's the case, then how is he able to keep up with my speed?! He's just like that Luffy character! A spiky-limbed Luffy!' All Might thought as he looked at his opponent.

He noticed a slight change in Bastrael's body. The black lines that were on his body had increased into four, with the other two wrapped around his biceps. His muscles were slightly bigger and denser. His skin also had a slight red tinge down from his upper arms to his fists.

In a flash, Bastrael ducked down and avoided All Might's monstrous left hook. In his forward momentum, he cocked back his right arm while compressing his forearm at the same time. He then quickly drove his arm towards All Might's abdomen, stopping his spiky fist just a few inches away from it.

All Might look down in shock and fear as time went into slow motion. He brought his right arm down as fast as he could in an attempt to block the incoming attack that could be fatal. But unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough.

"You were a thorn in my side these past 7 minutes. Die." He uttered with a lifeless tone. Bastrael then relaxed the compression of his forearm, sending his clawed fist forward towards All Might's gut at the speed of sound.

All Might couldn't shout in agony as the fist dug deep inside his stomach, overwhelmed by the unbearable pain he was feeling. The only thing that came out of his mouth was blood. The fist then sent the number one hero flying at incredible speeds, crashing down on a mountain quite far from where they were in a huge explosion, causing a big portion of it to cave in.

Bastrael sighed and rolled his shoulders, thinking that it was over. He then walked away from the scene towards the city, facing the direction where the highest energy level was located. But suddenly, he heard a rustle in the bushes. He quickly turned around and flailed his right arm in a horizontal line, having it covered in spikes before he does so. The bush and its surroundings exploded into a cloud of dirt and shredded leaves as his arm came into contact with it, temporarily blinding him of what's to come. Of course, he still knew what--or who's inside the smoke since he can sense the energy levels around him, but he ignored that at the moment.

The red-haired teenager stared at the smoke for a few seconds before he sensed a particularly bigger energy level coming from...underground?

"POOOWWEEEEERRRRR!!!!!!"

Suddenly a fist emerged out of the ground below Bastrael and struck him right in the cheek, stunning him as his eyes widened in shock. The strike was powerful enough to leave a graze on his cheek, causing him to get even more confused. How did the attacker even get the chance to land a blow on him?

Bastrael looked at the culprit of his bruise with an upset yet surprised expression. Leaving a bruise on his face was a rare sight to behold, so he was a bit impressed by what he just experienced but still annoyed nonetheless.

The one that left a bruise on his face was a teenager looking a bit younger than him. He had light blonde hair arranged into a cowlick on the top part of it while the bottom section is swept backward. He had a very muscular build, standing just a little bit taller than Bastrael by hair. Some noticeable scars were also seen on his forearms.

His face was a bizarre-looking one. He had blue, oval-shaped eyes with no visible scleras and a round-looking nose that made him look like a character from a certain comic book.

Another bizarre thing about him was that...he was buck naked.

~OOO~

Azeryth and his brother choked on their breaths as soon as they saw a stark-naked boy appearing out of the ground near Bastrael. The golden-haired man then began to laugh like a madman on crack at the ridiculous sight while his silver-haired brother adorned a disturbed expression on his face, surprised yet horrified at the same time seeing the male genital being shoved to his face right then and there.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!! What the hell's going on?! Why is he naked?! HAHAHA, His dick is dangling all over the place! His face also looks weird as hell! It looks like Tintin! HAHAHAHAHAHAH!" Azeryth cried out with tears of laughter coming out of his eyes, mockingly pointing his finger at the unusual sight that he was seeing.

"What the hell am I seeing? Why is he naked?" His brother asked no one.

After the crazy laughing fit that he had, which for quite a while, Azeryth wiped the tears on his eyes with small chuckles still coming out of his mouth and stared at the screen with an amused smile on his face.

"But it seems that he's also an interesting fella. He did catch Bastrael by surprise, which is a rare feat in itself. To top it all off, he socked him right in the face! Hah! We got ourselves another interesting monkey here!" Azeryth remarked. But his amused smile slowly contorted into an excited yet sadistic smirk. 'Hope he doesn't die so soon~...'

"That blue-haired girl also seems quite formidable. Her power is also an interesting one." His silver-haired brother said referring to Nejire Hado who was seen blasting Bastrael with a giant energy blast, caving the ground below in an explosion. Unfortunately, Bastrael got up in only a second with little to no struggle at all. He looked a bit more aggravated than usual.

"What's with him though? Why does his body consist of different earth-animal limbs?" He referred to the dark-haired boy who was seen flying in the air while dodging the whip-like limbs of Bastrael that were sent his way, albeit a little struggling to do so. His left hand looked like a clam while his right looked like a bundle of tentacles. His legs were that of an ox, while some sort of protective shell was seen covering his face.

"They all look like an interesting bunch for a warm-up event. Except for that brunette over there who can't seem to do anything." Azeryth said referring to Ochako who was stuck in place with sweat running down her face. She was pale as ice and her breath was shaky. Her eyes showed horror and her stomach felt heavy. Why was she like this?

~OOO~

"Tamaki watch out!" Nejire shouted towards the dark-haired teen who was flying in the air. The teen heard her shout and dodged an incoming spiked whip in the last second. He shuddered at the sight of the gruesome-looking spiked whip going past him.

"Why did I agree with this..." The boy now known as Tamaki muttered to himself defeatedly, continuing to fly high above the ground to distract the red-haired monster they were facing against.

The blond-haired student from before suddenly emerged out of the ground and struck Bastrael in the gut, catching the red-haired aggressor by surprise. 'This brat is an even bigger hindrance!' Bastrael thought aggravated. He couldn't seem to pinpoint the blonde's energy level since it was as if he was one with the ground, invisible to the energy level detection.

"Nejire-chan, now!!" The blonde shouted before disappearing into the ground again, avoiding a strike from Bastrael who became even more infuriated. Nejire then shot another giant swirl of energy that collided with Bastrael, creating another explosion of smoke and dust.

While all of this was happening, Ochako was frozen in place with anxiousness clearly shown on her face. 'My stomach feels heavy... Why can't I move?' She asked herself as sweat kept running down her face. She looked down at her feet and tried to move it, but it was stuck in place.

'Move! Help them! You were the one who wanted to go here in the first place! Deku wouldn't just sit still on the sidelines and do nothing! He would've tried to do the best he can to help others!' Ochako mentally shouted, attempting to wash her fears away.

"Uraraka! Go and help All Might! We can handle it over here!" The blonde-haired student said before a clawed fist went straight through his stomach, making Ochako's stomach drop in horror. Her pupil shrank in fear as her eyes widened at the sight of a kid who was just two years older than her being impaled straight through the gut.

'No way...I asked for their help and one of them is now at death's door because of me. They don't even know me, yet they're sacrificing their lives for my sake, a stranger's sake. I can't even move my legs, yet they're over there is racing against death.'

"Togata!!" She shouted towards the blonde-haired student now known as Togata as the pit in her stomach becomes deeper with the guilt she had. She killed him...she was the one that killed Togata, not the red-haired opponent that he was facing, because she was the one that brought Togata and the others to help her. Tears formed at the edges of her eyes as her lips began to twitch and quiver, slowly letting out sniffles and sobs.

But suddenly, Togata turned around to face the brunette while flashing a shiny grin and a thumbs up, confusing and scaring the brunette a little bit.

"It's all good! It's my quirk! Now, go!!" He said before striking Bastrael with a hook to the ribs and an uppercut to the gut. He then quickly used his quirk to sink into the ground again, avoiding another strike from Bastrael that lifted the earth as it impacted the ground beneath.

Ochako was hesitant. She couldn't choose what to do, help the three of them? Or lift the rubble and save All Might? She wasn't one hundred percent sure that the three of them can handle an opponent like the one they're facing on their own, as Bastrael didn't look too damaged at all. She wasn't also sure that she's brave enough or even capable to lift all of those rocks and debris to free All Might and help him. As Ochako began to overthink it, she started to feel hopeless as the feeling of inferiority began to darken her heart.

'Ah... It's no good. I'm no good at all... I can't do this. I'm not capable. I'll just make it even harder and weigh them down if I do so... I'm weak. I'm weak! Deku's wrong! I'm not strong like he always said to me! I'm a coward! I'm hopeless! I'm a dead weight! I trained as hard as I could for years, but even still, I got beaten by the likes of Bakugou! What can I do against a monster like this one?! I couldn't even do a single thing except choke on my breath against that woman before! I can't lift the rubble and save All Might! It's too heavy! I'm useless! Why did I even-'

Her negative thoughts were interrupted as she felt a sensation she had never felt before. It was alluring, calming, and it was addictive. Just a whiff of it could make any man get on their hands and knees and beg for it.

It was calling for her. Waiting for her to come and take it.

'What is this...?'

Ochako looked at the source of the sensation, only to feel like her body was moving on its own towards it.

'It's the mountain where All Might crashed... Why am I moving towards it? I can't help him...' She hopelessly thought, without noticing that the speed of her movement became faster and faster. As she saw the surrounding slowly becoming more and more blurry, she looked down in horror and saw that she was full-on sprinting towards the mountain. 'Why am I running?! I can't go there! I can't do anything to lift it! Only Deku can! Let's just wait for him! He'll come to help us for sure! So stop moving!'

She was desperately trying to stop her legs from moving, but each of her attempts was fruitless. And since she trained her body ever since she was young from dawn break until sunset, the speed of her run is on par with that of professional athletes. Without her even noticing, she had already arrived at the mountain where the alluring voice resonated from, that had become a pile of rubble and soil.

Ochako immediately bent down to lift the pile of rubble. She was trying to make her body stop because she knew that she couldn't possibly do it on her own. But then again it was a bit selfish of her not helping those who need saving. But what can she do? The weight limit of her quirk is 4 tons, and tens–if not hundreds of tons of dirt and rocks were currently pinning the one she wanted to save. She couldn't possibly do it on her own, her quirk drawback will incapacitate her for the whole day if she forces herself to do so.

But is waiting for help the right thing to do?

'Yes! Let's just wait for Deku to arrive here! He'll surely notice this crash site!' She thought to herself seemingly answering an unknown question, but her hands kept digging and digging, making the rubble she dug float into the air.

"Stop it already! I'll just slow things down if this keeps on going! I can't do this alone!" The brunette shouted trying to stop her hands from making the rubble float out of the way, but her effort was fruitless, as her limbs ignored her command.

A true hero is supposed to help others in any way they can right? Aren't they supposed to sacrifice their lives for those in need?

'There are no more heroes! Heroes don't matter anymore! Society's destroyed! Everyone's in danger! Not only the civilians but everyone! We all need saving! ...It all doesn't matter anymore...'

Wouldn't Deku do the same? Wouldn't he help someone in need with the best of his ability to the extent of even sacrificing his own life for the sake of the greater good?

Ochako widened her eyes as she heard what the voice said to her.

Deku, the nickname of the boy she loved ever since they were little. The once green-haired boy who turned into a black-haired young man had always dreamt of being a hero. Even though there were a lot of obstacles in his path, each harder than the rest, he never gave up on his dream. His dream to become a hero and save everyone.

Ochako remembered how weak and powerless he was back when they were little. He used to be so skinny and frail, even a simple nudge would make him fall face-first onto the ground. And his innocent-looking eyes made him an easy target for harassment and bullying.

What made it worse was the fact that he was quirkless.

A stain in society. A black swan amongst white swans. Trash that should've been thrown out. Cancer to the society. A lesser being. An eyesore to behold. Weak. Powerless. Pathetic.

That's how he was viewed by society. By everyone around him.

Yet he never gave up.

Deku trained and trained and trained until he felt that it would've been nicer if he was dead. Every day he would break his body down and rebuild it to become stronger than before. Yet every day he would get beaten up, both physically and mentally, by those he once called friends. It was as if he couldn't do anything.

But he endured everything.

The physical and psychological pain he got from the harassment and bullying he received ever since childhood, the physical pain and stress from his hellish training, the pressure of school life, the discrimination and disgust he received from society, and most of all...

His resentment towards himself for being powerless. For being weak.

For being a 'Deku'.

He endured it all.

And even after all of that, his fiery dream of becoming a hero never wavered. Instead, it became brighter and stronger than before.

Even after all of the rains and storms that fall on the fire that he calls his dream, its embers would rekindle and explode, blazing into a bigger flame, becoming stronger and stronger.

Ochako came to a realization, that no matter how awful it is, a true hero must endure and prevail all the troubles that the world laid on them. Being a hero is to become an example to the people that they protect, so that those who are behind them can become better human beings.

A true hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure despite the overwhelming obstacles in front of them, never giving up, and always moves onward.

And in these times full of grief, crisis, and hardships, when the sky is ashen and the ground is asunder, the 'hero' in every human being is revealed.

Ochako finally gained control of her limbs and stopped digging for a moment. A light chuckle escaped her mouth, as a pitiful smile formed on her lips.

'I'm so pathetic. How can I be so stupid?' Ochako thought while mockingly chuckle to herself. 'I'm no hero if I don't give it all I got until I accomplish it!'

With a newfound determination, she began to dig the ground again, but unfortunately, the drawback of her quirk and the pain of her injuries began to surface, as the trance of her thoughts had disappeared.

'Come on! Come on! Bruises like these are nothing! You've felt worse before!' She thought as she tries to ignore the pain and intense nausea, continuing to float the giant rocks into the air.

'Damn it! I'm so close! Don't give in to the pain now!' She thought as a glimpse of the number one hero was seen under the rubble. 'I need to prove myself too! I'm not catching up with Deku, but I'm running alongside him!'

'I wanna be a hero he can be proud of!!'

"RRRRRRAAAAAAAGGGGHHH!!!!" Ochako screamed as she threw the last rubble high into the air, finally freeing All Might. She then began to pant like a dog, trying to regain her breath and stamina so that she can go back to help the three UA students.

But then suddenly, Ochako felt a sharp pain in her head. It felt like someone was ripping her brain apart. She instantly got on one knee and gritted her teeth in pain, growling in agony.

'It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!!! Make it stop!!!!' The brunette thought as she clasped her head in pain. She had gone way past her limit, and the immense drawback of her quirk has finally overcome the willpower that she had.

'I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die!' Ochako thought in fear, thinking that this was her way to go. 'Damn it! Why does it have to be in this moment?!' She thought, referring to the end of the world. But then suddenly, an all but familiar voice was heard calling for her.

"Young...Ura...raka..."

Ochako snapped her head in the direction of the voice and saw All Might with half of his body in a skeletal and frail state, bloodied and broken. Steam was slowly seeping out of his body and his muscle mass was shrinking at a slow pace. There wasn't anything broken, at least that she could see, but seeing him being bloodied and battered like that brought guilt towards her, as she couldn't imagine how Deku would react to it.

The number one hero then tried to bring his body back up, only to fail miserably. Ochako tried to approach him, but the immense pain from her drawback stopped her from doing so by sending a jolt of pain, making her shout in shock and agony, falling onto one knee again.

"A-All Might...you don't n-need to...force yourself..." The brunette said ignoring the stinging pain, but All Might paid her no mind as he then shakily got onto his feet. He then slowly walked over to the brunette and knelt to face her so that his gentle and deep blue eyes met her shaky brown ones.

"I know. I'm trying not to fall butt first onto the ground again right now. But if you add another 300 pounds to float into the air, you'll puke out blood until next week." All Might said before a small chuckle came out of his mouth. Ochako let out a breath of amusement hearing the number one hero's attempt at a joke as a small smile formed on her face. All Might then lifted the brunette with the only muscular arm he has left and walked away from the crash site.

"Re...Release..." Ochako weakly muttered as she brought her fingertips together, making the mountain of rubble she floated rain back down to the ground. All Might looked back at the scene before looking at the exhausted brunette with a smirk on his face.

"Looks like you got yourself a quirk awakening~." All Might teased. The brunette ignored the remark and looked down to the ground.

"I can puke here right?" Ochako bluntly said, making the number one hero flinch in surprise.

"NO! IT'LL SPLATTER ALL OVER ME! I JUST GOT SPLATTERED BY SLIME THE OTHER DAY AND THE SMELL'S STILL THERE!!" All Might yelled in panic as blood comically spurted out of his mouth. Ochako let out a small laugh hearing the response before a small 'Ow' came out of her mouth.

"Heh, it's my time to shine now Deku..." Ochako said as a satisfied smile formed across her lips, knowing nothing of what was about to happen.

[11:23 AM JST]

To be continued.