Chapter VII: We're Weak

All Might leaped off the stairs and knocked out all the fodder villains instantly, then grabbed Sasuke, Aizawa, and Midoriya and got them farther away from the villains. "Everyone to the entrance! Take Aizawa. He's unconscious, so hurry!"

The man, now known as Shigaraki, slowly rose to his feet, Grovelling and saying something to himself. Sasuke's eyes turned toward All Might, "All Might, you should watch out for the one with the exposed brain. When I punched it with all I had..." He stared down at his hand with a scrunched brow, "It was like I hit a stiff pillow, and all the impact was sucked out-"

"Sasuke, my boy, it's all right," he said as he made his signature hand sign.

He charged at the beast, "Carolina Smash!" but the blow did nothing. As they fought, Shigaraki explained his quirk the whole time.

He ducked under a grab and hit him again, although each hit did nothing, so he suplexed it. The ground beneath them cracked, and dust and dirt blew through the air.

Sasuke carried Aizawa to a safe distance. Then they all looked back to see All Might in a bad position. The Nomu he tried to suplex went through Kurogiri's portal and grabbed All Might's sides, digging his black fingers in and making blood seep through his five-year-old wound.

Sasuke tensed up, 'They really managed to wound him! We can challenge them; we gotta do something,' he looked over at Midoriya. His whole expression was tense, "Don't lose focus, Midoriya!"

Sasuke charged in, and Midoriya followed after, 'If I take out Kurogiri right now, maybe it'll cut Nomu in half,' he reached the villain and grabbed Kurogiri with a Susanoo arm, and slammed him into the ground.

Kurogiri tried to spread his fog, but Bakugo came out of nowhere and blasted away any fog he attempted to spread. Right after, ice had covered half of Nomu's body, freezing it in place, although, unfortunately, it got out of the gate before it closed. Midoriya called out, "Kaachan! Everyone!"

Sasuke became a little less tense, 'Backup, that's good,' his gaze turned to Kurogiri, "Try anything right now, and I'll end you."

Kirishima smiled nervously, "That's not a very heroic thing to say."

Kurogiri chuckled to himself. Sasuke knelt down and glared, "What are you laughing about?"

"You've never killed in your life, yet you somehow expect me to believe you'd kill me here and now in front of your fellow classmates?"

Saauke strengthened his grip on him, and the purple fingers dug into the metal mass of Kurogiri's metal body, "Well, there's a first time for everything."

"Tch, foolish child... What is your plan exactly? Vengeance?"

Sasuke's tone was deadly serious, "Simple, everyone involved in my parent's death will fall by my own hands."

Kurogiri paused and then let out a chuckle which soon turned into full-on laughter. Of all his possible reactions, laughter took Sasuke aback but was pushed out of the way by All Might. When Sasuke looked back, his eyes followed two-foot marks that tore through the ground all the way to All Might, 'If All Might didn't take that hit just now... I'd be...'

"Wow, Sasuke, you dodged him?!"

He stood up, "No," his eyes scanned the three villains, and his face twisted into a glare, 'He... Laughed?!' he walked alongside Deku, Kirishima, and Todoroki.

Deku stated, "It's Three vs. Five! Now we know the shadow guys' weak point!"

Kirishima followed up, "These guys are outrageous, but if we give All Might some support, then we'll send them packing with no problem!"

All Might held his arm out, "No! Please escape!"

Todoroki raised his arm, "If we hadn't come to the rescue earlier, things would have been pretty bad for you."

Midoriya's brow scrunched, "But All Might, you've got blood... And shouldn't you already be out of time..."

All Might gave a thumbs up, "Right, you are Todoroki, my boy. Thanks a ton!! But now I'll be okay! All you need to do is watch a pro hero show you how it's done!!"

All Might let out a deep breath, and he disappeared before anyone could even blink. Then a sudden gust of wind sent everyone flying. All Might's fist met the Nomu's, and they started trading so many blows that it all blurred together at a speed that was incomprehensible to the students.

Sasuke landed and held up his hand to guard himself against all the dust flying through the air, 'Even just their rapid punches produce this much power?! I can't even see it!'

"He was made to withstand my 100%?! In that case, I'll just give it more than 100%!" His punches slowly overpowered Nomu and pushed it back while he was spitting up blood. "A Hero is someone who smashes through every obstacle someone puts in their way!" Nomu stumbled back, and All Might wound up one last right haymaker, "Do you know of what I speak, villain?!" his fist nearly went straight through Nomu and its body looked like many explosions spread throughout it as it tried to absorb the damage, "Plus, ULTRAAA!" The blow had sent it through the dome and far into the sky out of sight.

Sasuke's mouth was agape, 'Is the distance between us really that big?!'

On the villain's side, Shigaraki was scratching himself endlessly, and his voice was shaky. Kurogiri got closer to him, "Shigaraki Tomura... Please calm yourself. If you look closer, you can clearly see the damage that Nomu managed to inflict on him," he looked towards the students, "It appears the children are rearing away. Reinforcements are indeed certain to make their way here in mere minutes; however, I tender the proposal, Shigaraki, that with our combined efforts, there might still be ample chance to murder him."

Shigaraki stopped scratching and gazed back down, "Yeah... You're right... Totally... Utterly... On the nose. After all this trouble, how could we fail to defeat the final boss?"

Both of them charged at All Might, who braced himself, 'Damnit! He's too far away!' Sasuke couldn't get there in time, but Midoriya disappeared and reappeared in front of Kurogiri and aimed his fist at him. He missed, and Shigaraki's arm reached for Midoriya's face, but when mere inches away, his hand was pierced by a bullet which signaled the arrival of reinforcements.

"Class 1-A President, Iida Tenya! Reporting for duty!'' All of the staff of UA arrived, and Snipe shot up both Kurogiri and Shigaraki, making them finally retreat. "For the time being, we've failed... But we'll get you next time! Symbol Of Peace!"

The USJ was finally silent.

Midoriya struggled to lift himself while his face cringed, "I was completely useless..."

"That's not true, young one..." the line of sight of All Might was blocked by smoke, "If you hadn't given me those precious seconds..." All Might's voice faded away for Sasuke as he lowered his voice.

Sasuke eased up and plopped down. Some of the other students came down to check on everyone, and Ashido ran toward Sasuke. She scanned him over, and she sighed in relief, seeing that he wasn't hurt, "I'm glad you're ok, but..." she looked down.

Sasuke kept looking forward and spoke in a melancholy tone, "Ashido, you knocked me out earlier, didn't you?"

She froze for a second with pursed lips, but then glared a little, "I did," she waved her hands, "Do you have any idea how stupid that was?! Sasuke, you could have been killed! Did you see what All Might did to that thing?!"

She waved her hands at the big hole in the dome, "That would have been you if I didn't stop you!..." she paused and caught her breath, and her expression eased up.

The events of two days ago when Sasuke told her off flashed through her mind, and she held her hands together, "What you said a couple of days ago..." she looked down, "You probably-"

"No, it's a good thing you did," Sasuke interjected.

She looked back up, and her eyes went wide, "Huh?"

Sasuke stared at the ground, pondering everything that had happened. He hit that thing with his hardest punch possible, which had about as much effect as a sloth chasing down a cheetah. Had he dashed toward them when they first arrived, he definitely would have been annihilated immediately. Also, Kurogiri hadn't even said anything in response to Sasuke's ambition; despite being at his mercy, he just laughed at him. He grits his teeth. Lastly, he remembered how Midoriya, who only just recently even got a quirk was able to react and take action much faster than Sasuke himself to the villains. He clenched his fist, "I'm not an idiot! I knew that I wasn't strong enough to beat them all yet... But to think that..."

He released his fist, and Ashido strolled over next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, and smiled. "We're like fifteen, Sasuke. It's not that bad that we're weak."

He rose to his feet and grunted, "I don't consider that a good enough excuse."

Ashido rolled her eyes, "Uh huh."

Sasuke trudged over to the rest of the class as Ashido stared at him. Her head rested on her hand, 'I'm not sure if there's anything we can do to stop him from trying to go through with this,' her eyebrow twitched, and she looked up at the sky, 'Just let us help you somehow, idiot.'

As the distance between Sasuke and the rest of the class grew shorter, he was getting a lot of stares from the other students. Some were scrunched brows, and others were whispering among themselves. He stared at them for a moment before narrowing his eyes and trying to make his way through the crowd with his hands in his pockets. A sudden heavy pressure was placed on his shoulder, "Dude, what's up with you? You really could have gotten yourself killed out there."

Sasuke looked to his side, and his eyes met with Kirishima, and he shrugged off his arm, "I don't need to get lectured by everyone here. Forget about it."

Kirishima put his hands up, "I don't wanna lecture you, but it's not manly to just rush ahead and put everyone in danger. We gotta... You know."

Kirishima looked up, and Yaoyoruzu stepped forward, "I think that what Kirishima is trying to say is that we'll get much more done fighting together as a class than separately."

Sasuke paused, and his mind went back to how with Midoriya's help, they managed to land a hit on Shigaraki and how they escaped the boat. However, he didn't say anything and continued.

At the same time, in a bar, Shigaraki lay on the ground, unable to stand due to his bullet wounds, while sharing what happened to his master. "Even though I went as far as loading him up with the power to rival All Mights... What a shame. Oh well, it can't be helped.

"Power like All Might... That reminds me. There was this kid whose speed was comparable to All Might."

"...Oh?"

"And if he hadn't interfered, we very well could have killed All Might! It was that kid... That kid! And there was another one! He-"

"There's no use crying over it. After all, it's not like today was entirely in vain. Let's gather a new group! Hand-picked for efficiency! And let's take all the time we need! Remember, we can't move freely. That's why a symbol like you is necessary. Shigaraki Tomura! Next time you must show the world the true horror of your existence!"

Kurogiri spoke up, "Master. There was one other child of interest there. It was the boy belonging to the late Uchiha family."

"The Uchiha boy? Haha! That's great!"

"Apparently, the foolish child refuses to use your quirk and plans to kill everyone involved in his parent's death."

"...Hahaha... HAHAHAHA! If that's what he wants, then there's no reason to stop him. He can come right here. He's more than welcome to give me my quirk back, along with his own! Contact Jobo."

The next day school started later than usual, and when Aizawa entered the classroom, he was covered in so many bandages that the class could only see his eyes and hair. Iida raised his hand, "Sensei! You're alright?!"

Uraraka held her hand near her mouth, "Can you really call that alright?"

"Don't concern yourselves with me. After all, the battle hasn't ended for you yet."

Bakugo asked, "The battle?"

Midoriya straightened up, "You don't mean..."

Mineta followed up while grabbing his head, "More villains?!"

"UA's sports festival is approaching, boys and girls!"

"Oh yeah, this is a school!"

Sasuke put his hands under his chin, 'The Sports festival... It'll be a good opportunity to test out what I've learned... And to see if I'm strong or not.'

Uraraka tilted her head, "What will we do if villains attack again?"

"All of the top heroes will be there; I doubt they'd risk that."

Uraraka smiled with lowered eyelids and leaned in, "Well, if we do get attacked. Hopefully, you won't jump right at them this time, right?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Hn."

Aizawa continued, "Naturally, entering the squad of a famous hero will get you higher status and more experience. Remember, time is limited if you get noticed by a pro, that gives you a higher standing for the future than otherwise. This is your chance you'll get only once a year. If you aim to be a hero, this is a chance you can't overlook."

Sasuke smirked, "Getting noticed by a top hero is almost a guarantee, but who would I really benefit from? Maybe Best Jeanist or Edgeshot."

Close to the end of the class, while everyone was talking, Aizawa stood near the door, "Sasuke, I need you to step out in the hall with me."

Sasuke stood up and put his hands in his pockets, and walked out while getting some stares. When he closed the door behind him, Aizawa looked him dead in the eye, "You know why I called you out here."

Sasuke looked to the side, "Yeah, I got lectured about it a few times already."

"Did the lectures go through to you?"

Sasuke glared, "... Yeah."

Aizawa stared at him for a moment before sighing, "You really should learn to speak more. I was about to expel you, but Midoriya told me in the Infirmary about how your teamwork was integral to stalling for All Might and saving him. So you're in the clear for now, but if you step out of line again and endanger the class, you're done."

Soon enough, the bell rang, and the students left. While sauntering together, Midoriya asked Uraraka why she wanted to be a hero, "You wanna be a hero for money?!"

She rubbed the back of her head and looked at the ground, "Yeah, I guess ultimately," she held both her cheeks, "Man, I'm sorry. I know it sounds lame, like I'm not being pure as a hero. Iida especially is doing it for high-minded principles and stuff, so I'm embarrassed!"

Iida began shaking his head wildly like he was doing a sun ritual, "Don't be! Why? What on Earth is there not to admire about applying yourself to be able to live a comfortable life?"

"Yeah... Though it is unexpected. Sasuke, what do you think?"

Sasuke turned around, "Huh? You don't have to include me; I just happen to be walking in the same direction."

"But Sasuke, this way to your class is much further than two halls back."

Sasuke turned his back to them, "I don't need to get to class right away."

Uraraka giggled, "You're such a tsundere, Sasuke."

He raised a brow, "What even is that? Anyway," he turned back towards them, "I don't see anything wrong with her reason to be a hero. Being a hero isn't an illegal passionate hobby like in comic books; it's a paid occupation. As long as you're still giving your all to saving people, then I don't think the reason matters for why you want to do it. Ultimately, you're all still saving people. People try to hate on Endeavor for having a mean face and not being as nice as All Might... but he's still the only reason why thousands of people still have kids to help grow, siblings to hang out with, and why kids still have moms and dads waiting at home for them, so I have no issue with what he acts like from what I know."

The three of them had fixed gazes the whole time, and Iida adjusted his glasses, "That was beautifully worded, Sasuke! I'm glad to have you as a fellow classmate!"

Uraraka smiled and pushed her hair away from her face, "I'm working at a construction company, but there's just no work out there. We're flat broke! I tried to tell my dad how much my quirk can hurt, but he insisted I should follow my passion," her face became serious, "So I'm going to become a hero and earn money without fail, and I'm going to give my mom and dad the easy life they deserve!"

Iida held his hands out, "Uraraka! Bravo!!" Midoriya just looked on with wide eyes.

Uraraka laughed and rubbed the back of her head, "So, hopefully, we'll all get spotted by top heroes!"

Midoriya rubbed the back of his head, "I don't know about that... my quirk probably isn't developed enough to get noticed by a top hero."

Sasuke shook his head, "I'm sure you'll be among the first to get noticed by top heroes; you're already among the top in the class to me."

Midoriya smiled and scrunched his brow, "What makes you so sure of that?"

"Because," he thought of Midoriya disappearing and nearly blitzing the villains and smiled, "You're one of the people I want to fight."

Midoriya stiffened up, and his eyes went wide, but before he could say anything, All Might peeked around the corner, "Oh, there you are, Midoriya, my boy! He held up a wrapped-up bento box, "Would you care to eat your rice with me?"

Uraraka became hysterical, "You sound like a teenage girl!!"

'Damn, I didn't have the opportunity to confront him about All Might. Well... whatever, there's always next time."