Suddenly, there was a roar that resounded throughout USJ. Kai frantically checked in with all of his zerglings to figure out what that came from. He cursed as he realized that it came from the central plaza.
The brain-eel guy was pushing Aizawa-sensei's head into the pavement.
Unfortunately, this whole incident was actually a terrible situation for Kai. He was spread too thin. As much as he had the potential to watch everything, his attention would only be drawn to what the zerglings alerted him to. So far, they and the people they watched were, to them, perfectly fine. In fact, if Kai hadn't been watching at the time, they would have considered Jiro and company to be just fine, even though they were surrounded and in a tight spot right up until Kaminari shocked everything.
Even though he could have eyes everywhere, he couldn't have his focus everywhere. He had mostly been unable to teach them to judge the safety of others like he would. The most he had been able to do was to teach them who the class was, and to consider them allies.
A teaching that came into use as Kai changed the orders on all of his zerglings. The Zergling from the mountain zone turned to join the two that were entering the conflagration zone. One that was at the entrance turned to join the two at the ruins. The other remained, helping to distract the Black Mist as Iida made a break for the exit to get reinforcing teachers. All of these had orders to tackle anyone who didn't belong to UA, and stomp/jump on them until they stopped moving. Now, Kai wouldn't have to give them specific instructions anymore.
All five of the others converged on the central plaza. Same general order, but with Kai's full attention on them, he could help with their coordination and micromanage them onto specific targets, rather than whatever they considered most important.
One time he'd done just that and lost the full wave because they focused on a metal-morph. Zerglings were cannon fodder for a reason.
Well, more than that they were literally the cheapest unit the zerg had to offer him.
Kai set three to the task of dealing with the villains' cannon fodder. The remaining two went directly for Aizawa with the intent of freeing him from the eel man.
Unlike before, Kai went straight for the kill. They clawed and hacked with their scythes.
There were several factors that went into this decision. The first was that he was currently in the process of killing Aizawa. The second was a more nuanced detail of that fact- if he was being taken down by Aizawa, then this guy had a Quirk and strength that couldn't be taken away. Kai hadn't seen everything that happened, but that had to be the case.
Once the zerglings reached him, Kai was both vindicated and disappointed. As big and bulky as the eel man was, he was damn fast. The zerglings only got one attack in each before they were grabbed, thrown to the ground, and smashed into a paste. Eel man (Kai wished he had his real name) was brutal and thorough, only stopping when Handy Manny ordered him to stop.
Kai opened his eyes. This just kept getting worse. He could clearly see that the zerglings hadn't left a mark on eel man.
Now that some of the pressure had been relieved, though the loss of the zerglings left a sour taste in his mouth as he thought of their dying moments, Kai got up and headed toward the exit of the downpour zone. He needed some reinforcements on that area.
Suddenly, he remembered that he had two zerglings and a changeling with Tokoyami. Thankfully, he hadn't had Tokoyami try to help Aizawa like he had been thinking to do before. This eel man was nothing to be trifled with. He had to be the villains' answer to All Might.
Kai ordered one Zergling to morph into a gumball baneling, and had the changeling relay his thoughts on the situation to Tokoyami. For now, he had to stay hidden.
Until Kai had an answer for eel man, nobody should even get close.
The problem was, he couldn't think of anything. The gumball would take care of everyone else, but probably not be strong enough to hold eel man. As for a regular baneling, he would have to get Aizawa-sensei out first. The same went even for roaches. Acid attacks were just too dangerous with an ally in the way.
Suddenly, a scream interrupted Kai in the middle of wracking his brains for a solution. He'd completely forgotten about Deku, Asui and Mineta. They had been hiding in the water near the central plaza watching everything. Unfortunately, their position let them hear more of what the villains had to say than Kai could hear.
This meant that when he heard that the villains might simply 'port away, Mineta was really excited. Handy Manny was not going to miss that, or Asui's reaction to Mineta's overexcited groping.
Kai facepalmed as Handy Manny sped over to them, intent on having a victory, even if it wasn't the one that he had come for.
Curse this sudden yet inevitable situation.
The gumball wasn't ready. Kai could summon another, but it would have to roll over there. Arachne or Minerva could be summoned and send in a spike, but both Handy Manny and eel man had shown great reaction speeds. He could end up losing the queen.
All he could do was send the other Zergling that was with Tokoyami and hope that it would be able to be enough of a distraction to let everyone GTFO.
But as the Zergling burst into a sprint for Asui, Handy Manny was just as fast, reaching his hand for Asui's face. The Zergling was fast, but it still had some distance to cover. Kai urged it to go faster.
With Handy Manny's creepy hand obsession, it was clear that whatever else happened, Kai could not allow him to lay a finger on her.
However, it was too late. Handy Manny had closed his hand over her face.
But nothing happened. He turned around to look exasperated at Aizawa.
"You really are a cool guy, Eraserhead," he said. He let go of Asui and turned to intercept the Zergling that was diving at him. He ducked below it and grabbed by the throat, carrying its momentum into the ground and flipping it onto its back. Then, he held his grip as his Quirk took effect.
The zergling's skin cracked and crumbled. It stopped wriggling and trying to scratch him as its spine was laid bare. Now dead, the disintegration accelerated, until it was just a pile of dust.
Everyone watching felt a chill go down their spines. Especially Asui and Kai. Asui, since that was quite nearly her fate. Kai, because he felt it himself. It was a death unlike any other he had experienced. Excruciating and numbing at the same time. And… cold.
Kai watched as Deku punched towards the pale man. There was a rush of air- apparently, the chill had spurred him into using his Quirk.
"Don't touch her!" he shouted.
The wind drew up a cloud of dust. But when it settled, there were two surprises. The first was that Deku was completely unharmed. However, the excitement over that development was far overshadowed by the fact that the powerful blow had been completely absorbed by the eel man. He didn't even budge. With a rumble, he grabbed a stunned Deku by the arm and lifted him off the ground. The eel man grabbed Deku's head with his other hand as Handy Manny reached for Asui once again.
But then everyone stopped when they heard a crash from above.
"Have no fear, for I am here!!!" A familiar voice boomed through the building.
All Might had arrived.
Really, almost more rain today than with the hurricane.
Anyways, as I reread the manga for this incident, I realized how hard it would be for Kai to spread out like this. Luckily, many of the fights were nothing of consequence.
Also, I just started playing Starcraft again because there is a wifi at my house that is a little better than potato. Dies whenever it rains, though. But I forgot how hard it is to keep your mind on everything. Or at least, enough things to not die to the first zerglings.
That's when I switch to Doom.
I mean, write.
Yes, I am always writing.
I didn't even play Starcraft.
... No, I didn't think you'd believe me. You see my upload schedule.