22

Chapter 22: Fire, Fury and HopeSummary:

The conclusion of the USJ.

Notes:

Thanks again to Epsilon110, epicderpybro2 and mattybeach for being my betas for this chapter.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Toshinori cursed himself under his breath for being so late. He couldn't have known that the USJ was under attack, but he didn't push himself as hard as he could have to get here. He turned to look behind him at the green dragon laying in a crater behind him, his heart sinking further as he saw the burn marks on his scales and heard the labored, ragged breaths rattling from his throat.

'Young Midoriya…' There was nobody else that the dragon could be. 'You, your father, you both trusted me…' He scanned around the plaza, looking desperately for anybody else. 'Your entire class trusted me. I failed all of you.' He hopped down into the crater, kneeling next to Young Midoriya's head.

"I'm so sorry you had to stand up to this villain, but I'm proud of you for doing it." The dragon's eyes look at him weakly. "I am here, Young Midoriya, I will keep everyone safe, you have my word. Nobody else will be hurt because of these villains today."

The dragon shut his eyes and nodded, his power seeming to collapse back into his body as he shrunk back down to his normal, human shape.

The child spoke, his breath weak and soft. "Thank you, All Might…" He barely managed to finish his thanks before he went limp, unconscious. Toshinori scooped him up from the ground carefully and in an instant, he was standing before the two girls he had seen earlier.

"Young Ashido, Young Uraraka, can I ask for you to keep Young Midoriya safe?" He placed the boy gently on the ground.

"With my life." Young Uraraka spoke with such grim determination that it gave Toshinori pause. She looked deadly serious, an energy almost seeming to emanate from her that bolstered his confidence.

The pink student quickly moved over to Young Midoriya, gently placing her hand on his chest to feel his breathing. "We'll take good care of him, All Might." Her voice was shaky, but seemed to be doing her best to keep it together.

'These poor students, they never should have had to experience this,' Toshinori lamented before refocusing. "Where are the other students?" He didn't have time to comfort them right now, not when others could still be in mortal danger.

"We got teleported all over the complex," Young Uraraka explained. "Tsu and Mineta took Aizawa back to the entrance, but the rest are probably still around in the different zones."

"Aizawa?" Toshinori froze.

"A villain got him, but he's alive… I-I think."

'Dammit…' The true scope of Toshinori's failings was becoming clearer by the second. He stood up and turned back towards the villain pulling himself out of the hole Toshinori had put him in. "It's safe now, children. I've got this." With that, he took several bounding steps away to get a safe distance from the students before leaping high and landing in front of Terrorflame.

"All Might…" The monster's voice dripped with pure rage. "I've thought about what I would do if I got my hands on you every day for twenty-five years."

"Yeah?" Toshinori postured, making sure to grow his trademark smile once again, "How about I break your other horn this time?"

Terrorflame roared in rage and surged forward, his gigantic claw swiping down at Toshinori. He quickly dodged to the side as the concrete shattered like glass against the villain. Despite the great power surging through Toshinori, if the villain got a good hit on him with those massive, razor-sharp claws, he would be in serious trouble.

"You've gotten slow, old-timer." Toshinori taunted, causing the dragon to howl in renewed fury and lunge at him with his titanic jaws. Toshinori jumped back the other direction and kicked off of Terrorflame's planted arm. He reared his fist back and delivered a full-bodied punch to the dragon's jawline, sending him careering across the central plaza and crashing into the the lake.

As the torrent of water shot into the air, Toshinori took the opportunity to dash into the large domed structure to his right, tearing through the faux-city and the rain until he found his targets. He scooped Young Tokoyami and Young Kouda in his arms and shot out of the Downpour Zone, depositing the boys at the entrance before they realized what was happening.

Toshinori paused for a moment. He counted nine students, including the two he had just rescued. He saw Thirteen laying on the ground with a destroyed suit next to Aizawa, who was also unconscious. Toshinori felt his guilt deepen, but this wasn't the time for him to feel sorry for himself. He had met Young Iida on his way to the USJ and he knew of the students making their way here, which left seven students for him to rescue.

He dashed back to the central plaza in an instant, before any of the students could even realize he was there. Terrorflame had recovered and launched himself into the air, his great wings unfurling around him as he opened his jaw and breathed a massive torrent of fire down at Toshinori. He planted his feet and brought his fist back.

"Texas Smash!"

His punch unleashed an rush of wind so great that it split Terrorflame's inferno around him, spinning them around him like a red tornado. He jumped straight towards the villain, through the eye of the vortex his punch had conceived.

"I don't remember it being this easy!" He caught the villain in the jaw, snapping his mouth shut with an uppercut. He used one of the spikes on Terrorflame's chin as leverage and swung down, landing a solid punch on the dragon's chest, sending him flying backwards into the massive water slide in the Flood Zone. "You're gonna have to do better than that , villain!"

He scanned the water for any students and finding none, he threw another mid-air punch, flying backwards as Terrorflame's body cracked the cliff behind the water slide. Toshinori landed and dashed off to the red-domed building. He found no students there either and ran to the next zone.

Toshinori saw Young Kaminari being held hostage by a villain and his blood boiled . Before any of them could even notice him, he put the villain in the dirt and tucked the dazed student under his arm. He scooped up the two girls and whisked them off to safety.

That only left four students unaccounted for. Before he could grab them, a massive crash announced the dragon's return to the central plaza, steam rising off of him in his rage.

In a flash, Toshinori was on him. He swung with a left hook, which the villain blocked with his arm. "Come on, lizard, is that the best you've got?"

Terrorflame's eyes twitched with liquid fire and fury as he flung Toshinori back with a swing of his arm. Every single one of his motions carried murderous intent as he slowly stalked towards Toshinori.

'Keep him focused on me and get him angry ,' Toshinori repeated in his mind. He recalled well the strategy that kept him alive and brought him victory twenty-five years ago. Keeping him too mad to think would keep all of them alive today.

As you grow up, you learn things about yourself. You learn what you like, what you dislike, what you love, what you hate and so on. Momo didn't know everything about herself, of course; nobody does. But what she did know, was that she hated not being in control.

That's not to say that she needed to be in command of every situation, but whenever she was in a situation she didn't have a firm grasp on, she couldn't help but get nervous and uncomfortable. She liked knowing all the facts and she didn't like surprises.

Since she came to UA, she had been in control. She had studied for over a year for the recommendation exam and had gone out of her way to prepare for her classes at UA. During the quirk assessment test, she was presented with clear challenges that she could apply herself to, and at the battle trial, she had completely controlled the battle from beginning to end; her opponents never got a chance to fight back.

Momo didn't feel like she could be blamed for feeling that way either. Her entire quirk depended on her being prepared; if she didn't know the molecular composition of something, she couldn't make it. In a grim sense, once she became a hero, her success and survival depended on her being prepared.

She knew that she couldn't always be in control if she was a hero, surprise attacks and other unexpected events were sure to happen, but that's why she was at UA. To best prepare herself to know what to do in these situations and learn how to get a firm footing. She wasn't expecting everything to go off the rails so soon.

And things had certainly gone off the rails.

Ever since Wednesday night, she had been even more wary of Midoriya than she normally was; he brought up too many old feelings she just wasn't sure what to do with yet. Hearing Mina and Ochako talk about Midoriya… just being around him made her nervous. He seemed so harmless, so kind, so sincere, so adorable; the same way he had always seemed, ever since they were kids. But was it all a ruse? Was Midoriya a wolf in sheep's clothing?

Then she had seen him snap when that warp villain had attacked them. Was that who he truly was? A monster ready to attack? He didn't seem to be in control of it, either. Ochako was trying to stop him, he looked like he was trying to stop himself , but it didn't matter. He lost the battle as he transformed into a seven-foot-tall scaled draconic humanoid and lunged at the villain with real intent to kill.

What if Momo set him off accidentally? What if she said something or did something that caused Midoriya to lose it? There were too many questions surrounding him, too much uncertainty.

But then… then Terrorflame happened and Midoriya turned into a real monster. How was something that gigantic and deadly hiding in his admittedly buff, but still human-sized frame?

She had to admit, however, that if it wasn't for Midoriya, they would probably all be dead. Terrorflame was a real supervillain and Midoriya held his own against him, at least for a while. He stood before the gigantic dragon, even when he used his full, terrible power and protected them with no concern for his own safety.

So no, Midoriya wasn't a monster. Maybe his quirk was monstrous, maybe he had a dark side she didn't understand, but Midoriya… her Zu… he was no monster.

Who was a monster, besides Terrorflame of course, was the villain standing in front of her and Kyouka. He had an electric quirk just like Kaminari and had been unaffected by his attack. She and Kyouka could only stand with their hands up while the villain threatened their lives.

And then… the three of them were standing back at the entrance.

Momo blinked a few times, trying to make sure she wasn't dreaming or delusional, but no, there they were, back at the entrance. Kaminari was still drooling as he made dopey sounds, but Kyouka looked as stunned as she did. Momo panned around, she saw Tsu, Mineta, Aoyama, Pony, Shouji, Sero, Kouda, Tokoyami, Aiza-

"Oh no," Momo clapped her hands over her mouth again. Aizawa was unconscious, and Thirteen was next to him in worse shape.

"How the crap did we get here?" Kyouka asked the obvious question.

"All Might," Tsu answered flatly. "He's been running around and bringing the others here. We're only missing seven right now."

"We moved so quickly though," Momo put a finger to her chin as she began to think. "If he just grabbed us a moved us over here, we would certainly have been killed instantly by the G-forces of such a rapid acceleration, but we're no worse for wear. It must be a part of his quirk."

"You're sounding a bit like Midoriya there, Yaoyorozu," Satou said, laughing nervously as the ground continued to shake from All Might and Terrorflame's clashing.

"Speaking of…" Tokoyami muttered ominously, causing Yaoyorozu to look up at him, and then to where he was looking.

Ochako and Mina had come over the crest of the stairs… carrying Midoriya between them. The two women were both bloody and bruised, but at least they were still conscious and on their feet, albeit Ochako with a slight limp and a missing boot.

The man they were carrying was a mess. He was bruised and scraped all over, and the skin on his right shoulder was burnt horrifically. Small rivulets of green blood dripped from his arms and his face was completely slack. Only the rattling, forced rising and falling of his chest told Momo that he was still even alive.

Today had been a terrible day, that was evident. Momo had been stumbling and panicking since the villains arrived, unable to feel like she was in control for more than a few seconds at a time. But as she looked down on Midoriya, bruised, bleeding and broken before her, she was reminded of the times they spent together at all those hero galas and gatherings, all those times he was genuinely interested in being her friend when everyone else just cared about ingratiating themselves to her parents. She remembered those laughs and smiles they shared, all of the silly jokes and fun games, all those smiles on both of their faces.

His face, which should be covered with his kind, enthusiastic smile and his big, wonder-filled eyes, was instead covered in blood and soot. Midoriya might be an unknown factor, but he was her friend, and dammit, she could help him.

"We need to raise the burn above his heart," she instructed, immediately taking charge. Mina responded promptly, kneeling down and pulling Midoriya's head and neck onto her lap, suspending his burn a few inches off of the ground. Momo produced a soft cloth from her arm and doused it with a small cup of water she made after.

With a rush of wind, Todoroki appeared with the group as All Might made another pass.

"Oh, I left my shoes and gloves behind!" Apparently, Tooru was there with him.

"Todoroki," Momo began before Tooru could continue, "can you chill this rag? I need to treat Midoriya's burn."

The stoic boy paused for a second, seemingly taking some time to adjust to his new situation, which Momo couldn't blame him for. He nodded and produced a chilling wind from his hand as he held it to the rag, quickly cooling it down. She covered the burn with the cloth and held it there.

"I'll hold it." Pony had walked up and knelt down next to her. Momo nodded and handed responsibility of the wet cloth to the American and began to prepare the next part of her first aid. The ground around them shook as All Might landed another solid blow on Terrorflame, sending the villain flying into the side of the great dome and leaving a massive dent.

She produced more small bottles of water, this time with some soap in them, as well as several cloths. She handed one of each to Ochako. "We should clean his wounds to make sure they're not infected. There's not much we can do here for broken ribs other than keeping him still."

Ochako nodded, the fire in her eyes dampened slightly by barely-noticeable worry behind them as the two women got to work. Momo passed out the remaining bottles and cloths to some of her classmates, instructing them to begin tending to Aizawa and Thirteen. Fortunately, it seemed the teachers were in better shape than Midoriya.

"I can't believe you're actually teaching that boy." Terrorflame's booming voice got the attention of all the students as it echoed clearly throughout the USJ. "You know what he is. It's in his blood, it's in his brain. He doesn't have a choice."

"W-what's he mean by that?" Sero asked nervously.

"You know you're training the next me. "

A nervous muttering rose up around the students as they all shifted their gazes to the unconscious man being tended to on the ground.

"He doesn't know what he's talking about," Ochako spat bitterly.

"That boy is a hero!" All Might's boisterous confidence shone through his voice. "He did what he had to do… to keep his classmates safe!" With a grunt and a thunderous punch, Terrorflame was smashed into the Conflagration Zone, his massive body collapsing half of the structure.

Another great gust of force rushed past them as Bakugou and Eiko appeared. Momo let out a sigh; that was all twenty students and two teachers accounted for.

Bakugou recovered faster than anyone else who had gotten rescued by All Might. "Izuku!" he yelled as he rushed over to his friend, nearly bowling Ochako over. Eiko moved over in front of Midoriya, her back to him as if she was standing guard over him.

He kneeled down and looked over the ravaged body of Midoriya, his whole body shaking with emotion. What emotion exactly, Momo couldn't tell. He looked he wanted to cry, but that he also wanted to possibly strangle Midoriya.

Terrorflame had gotten back to his feet again and flown at All Might, claws bared. Momo paled at the sight; no creature that large should be able to move that fast. All Might dodged again as the villain skidded to a halt on the other side of the central plaza. 

"The boy can already use a full transformation and you're still taking a chance on him? UA must truly be desperate." Pure malice dripped from the villain's sneer.

Bakugou stood up furiously, which Momo was secretly curious how he managed to do, and turned away from the rest of the class, his shoulders still shaking. "You all better make it worth it. You better be worth it."

"Worth what?" Pony said curiously, still holding the cool, wet cloth to Midoriya's burn. Bakugou refused to acknowledge anyone as he stared swords at Terrorflame.

All Might dodged another blast of fire as he retorted. "That was the first time he did it. He pushed himself beyond to stop you!"

"Um, Momo…" Mina's voice was filled with worry, but Momo was too focused on the conversation between hero and villain to give her any mind at the moment.

"His first time? And he pushed himself that hard?" Terrorflame began to chuckle, his deep, cruel laugh reverberating around the USJ and unsettling the students. "I suppose I was wrong, you won't have to worry then…"

"Momo, he's not breathing!" Mina's worry turned into panic as she shouted.

"Corpses don't make very good villains."

Screams and gasps rang out from the students of class 1-A, as Momo whipped around towards Midoriya. Mina was absolutely right, the faint rising and falling of Midoriya's chest had ceased, and no air passed through his lips.

Momo didn't have time to think, she only had time to react. She tossed the bottle and rag she was using to clean his scrapes away and scooted to her left so her knees were at his shoulders as she leaned over on top of the man. "Mina, put him on the ground!" The woman reacted quickly and gently, moving his head to the floor. Momo leaned his head back, straightening his neck out.

She placed the palm of her right hand in the center of his chest and then covered it with her left, keeping her shoulders over her hands and her elbows straight. She put the whole weight of her upper body into each motion, compressing his chest two inches up and down in the rhythm she was taught, just barely under two compressions a second.

If there was anything else going on around her, she didn't notice it. Her entire focus was on giving Zu CPR. She counted as she pushed her weight down and as she counted to 30, she quickly moved her hands to his head. Momo tilted his head back slightly and lifted his chin, opening his airway. She pressed her mouth to his as she took a deep breath, forming a seal with Zu's lips.

She breathed forcefully but gently, pushing her breath down his throat for one second, nearly beginning to cry as she saw his chest move up with her breath. She inhaled again and repeated the rescue breath, pushing more air into his lungs.

She leaned back up and placed her hands back on his chest to repeat the compressions. Thirty compressions later, she leaned his head back and pressed her lips to his again, pushing air into his lungs. After her fourth breath, his chest expanded rapidly, a flash of scales running across his neck and torso before vanishing as he started to breathe under his own power once again.

Momo slumped back, away from Midoriya and onto the ground as adrenaline rushed out of her system and the rest of her perception came crashing back. She nearly fell over as Ochako threw her arms around her, and it wasn't until the brunette's tears began to stain Momo's shoulder that she realized that she was crying too.

A few seconds later, a shockwave rushing through the megastructure did cause Momo to fall over, Ochako tumbling down on top of her. The brunette scrambled off of her as the two got up to stare at what had knocked them down.

All Might and Terrorflame had clashed in the center of the plaza, where the fountain had once been. The red dragon radiated pure fury, but it seemingly paled next to the righteous anger emanating from All Might. The hero was holding back one of the villain's titanic limbs with a single hand, seemingly effortlessly.

"Normally, I'm the one teaching my students, but today, I learn from them." All Might threw the dragon's arm behind him, catching the lunging dragon with an uppercut that sent him skyward.

He jumped into the air, chasing the villain. All Might crashed into the back of Terrorflame, the impact sending another rush of wind that threatened to bowl Momo over flying through the USJ. He grabbed one of the dragon's wings with each of his hands, pinning them behind his back. "Young Midoriya exemplified one of the most important ideals of a hero: a willingness to give your all!"

The two powerhouses fell toward the earth, Terrorflame flailing, trying to dislodge All Might from his back. With a mighty kick, All Might flipped the dragon over, and with a furious roar, he flung the supervillain to the ground, the impact cracking some of the glass panels around the dome of the USJ.

All Might crashed down next to the villain, rising to his feet slowly. "Now for a lesson. You may have heard these words before, but let me teach you what they really mean! " All Might reared his fist back, squaring up to the dragon's massive head. "Go beyond…"

"PLUS ULTRA!"

All Might's fist flew forward and impacted the skull of the dragon with a force that Momo wouldn't have believed came from a human being. The dragon was driven deeper into the earth, the crater widening as if a meteor had crashed through the makeshift skylight of the USJ. A gigantic crack opened up in the floor, spreading and splintering as it shot like a lightning bolt across the complex. The ground rumbled like an earthquake was ravaging the complex as the entire structure buckled and bent, the tempered glass above them bending and cracking, but not shattering.

The rumbling came to an end as Momo and her classmates dared to open their eyes. In a day of surprises and firsts, their jaws fell open once again. The entire USJ was split down the middle, a height difference of several feet ran along the two sides of the man-made faultline that emanated from All Might's impossible attack.

All Might himself was panting slightly as he pulled himself out of the crater, carrying the unconscious but finally human body of Terrorflame in one hand. He set the villain down on the ground and took a steadying step, breathing deep as he straightened himself out. After a few seconds to catch his breath, he made a run for the students, amazingly fast, but slow enough for Momo to actually track him this time.

He appeared before the students, looking them over and counting. He visibly relaxed as he saw all twenty of them accounted for. "I apologize for the devastation of that attack, but I learned that you have to hit like you mean it to take a monster like that down. Terrorflame escaped too many times because of my restraint in the past." He looked to the three injured, regret appearing on his face. "How are they?"

"We need to get them medical attention fast ," Momo urged the hero. "Z- uh, Midoriya already stopped breathing once."

All Might grimaced. "The UA faculty are on the way, ambulances should be here soon as well. You've done well, performing first aid. Caring for the wounded is an important part of being heroes... and don't get confused," All Might looked around to the students, "after what you've done here today, you're all heroes."

"Monsieur All Might, look!" Aoyama called out, causing 19 heads to turn. A purple vortex had appeared under Terrorflame, whisking him away.

"Dammit." All Might cursed himself under his breath but quickly regained composure. "These things happen, students. I chose between securing the villain and protecting my students. I do not regret my decision."

Momo hoped he wasn't lying.

As if on cue, the doors of the USJ slid open, revealing the rest of their teachers. The lot of them relaxed significantly, seeing All Might standing guard over the group.

"You work damn fast, All Might," Snipe commented as he looked over the destruction with a whistle.

"I only fought one villain," All Might responded grimly.

Vlad King's eyes went wide as he scanned the devastated USJ. "But who could have…"

"Right now it's our top priority to ensure everyone's safety!" Nezu interrupted the exchange brightly. "How many are injured?"

"Aizawa, Thirteen and Young Midoriya. Everyone else appears to be mostly unharmed." All Might scanned over the students, looking for anybody disagreeing with him. "But there are still loose villains all around the complex. They'll need to be rounded up."

Momo shakily stood to her feet as the teachers dispersed around the USJ, All Might and Nezu remaining behind to monitor the students. It wasn't long after that ambulances arrived and carried off Midoriya and the two injured pros, Momo and the rest of the class watching as their classmate was carted out of the building.

Soon after, the police arrived. The detective in charge had some questions for all of them, but after only another hour or so, the 19 students of class 1-A were back on their bus and heading for the dorms, escorted by All Might and Midnight. The bus ride was almost entirely silent, Ochako probably wouldn't have noticed anyone talking even if it wasn't.

Once they got back to the dorms, Midnight stayed with them to make sure everyone was safe and accounted for. They had explicit orders from Nezu to stay in the dorms for the rest of the day, but Ochako noticed All Might trying to sneak away and rushed outside after him.

"Where are you going?" she demanded once she caught up to the massive, muscled man.

"Uh, well, you see," the number one hero was significantly less intimidating when he wasn't in battle. He was almost adorable in a blundering way.

"You're going to see Deku, aren't you?"

He grew a look of confusion. "De- oh!" He slapped his head. "You mean Young Midoriya. Well, yes. I feel it's my duty to go check on him. It's because I wasn't there that he had to push himself like that."

Ochako felt sympathy to the giant man, and placed a comforting hand on his arm, keeping her pinky free. "I think I know what you're feeling... can I come with you? I need to know if he's okay."

All Might looked like he was having an internal debate, but the sad look in Ochako's eyes seemed to win him over. "Alright, fine."

Ochako smiled softly, trying to hide how much her heart hurt. "Can I bring a couple people? I'm not the only one who's worried about him."

All Might groaned, clearly nervous. "Hrmm, fine. But only if they're subtle about it. You're supposed to be in your dorms."

"I can't think of a better escort than you, sir," Ochako said respectfully, hoping to ease his reservations. She quickly ran back inside the building, returning a few minutes later.

"They'll be along shortly," Ochako said to All Might, who had taken to leaning up against one of the trees outside the dorm.

After another minute or so, Bakugou came stalking around from the back of the building, staring at the ground and grumbling quietly to himself. Ochako looked around curiously. "Where's Mina? She said she'd be right out…"

After another five minutes, the three were getting impatient. "Young Uraraka, we don't have all night…" All Might warned her.

"I know, I don't know- oh! There she is!" Ochako pointed as the front door opened, Mina emerging… dragging Momo by the hand.

"Hey guys, I brought Yaomomo!" Mina said cheerfully as the other three stared at her. The black-haired woman was blushing slightly, clearly embarrassed. "She saved Midori's life, I figured she deserves the chance to come as much as any of us."

All Might opened his mouth to protest, but no words came out. Eventually, he just shook his head slightly. "Fine, let's get going. Keep this between us, okay?"

Ochako didn't know why she was surprised that All Might owned a custom-fitted American truck with tinted windows, but looking back, it probably should have been obvious. Bakugou sat in the front next to All Might while the women piled in the back. Even with his seat nearly on the floor of the truck, All Might was still taller than the blonde.

They arrived at a hospital near UA, driving to the bottom of the parking garage to a level marked with 'No Public Access', but the gate opened automatically when All Might's truck approached. The four students exited the truck after they parked and followed the pro hero to the elevator.

Before he pressed the button, the man turned around and looked down at all of them. "I know I don't need to say this, but I'm going to anyway. You four are here as my guests, so please be on your best behavior. Stay quiet and respectful, please. Emotions are riding high for everyone involved."

Ochako and the others nodded. Seeing their affirmation, All Might swiped his hero ID card through a scanner and the elevator door opened. Despite the spacious elevator, being in any sort of enclosed space with the giant that was the number one hero was a little cramped.

All Might pressed the button to go up to the fourth floor and the elevator lurched to life. The ride was silent, each of them coping in their own ways. All Might and Bakugou just stared at the walls, silently thinking. Momo was adjusting her hair, while Mina was fidgeting with a pencil between her fingers. Ochako herself, out of habit, was touching her fingers to her hands and then together, rolling her weight around with her quirk. It had been long enough that her body was rested enough to at least pretend she had powers.

The door opened to the fourth floor and the four students followed All Might as he exited. No introductions were necessary it seemed as a nurse quickly approached the hero and began to debrief him. When questioned, All Might informed the man that the students were here as his guests, which seemed to appease the nurse.

Ochako and her classmates were directed to a small waiting space near the elevators with only about a dozen chairs in it while All Might spoke with the staff. The four students waited patiently for about twenty minutes, or at least as patiently as they could manage, until the hero returned.

"How is he?!" Mina shot out of her chair as the blonde man turned the corner.

"He's stable," All Might said grimly. "Thanks to modern medicine and quirks, his broken bones are already mended. They mentioned that there was some aggravated fractures on his ribcage, especially around his sternum."

"That must have been me, I'm sor-" Momo began.

"On the contrary, Young Yaoyorozu," All Might cut her off. "The doctors wanted to pass on their thanks for your quick reactions. A few cracked ribs is much better than death, which is what would have happened to Young Midoriya if you hadn't intervened."

The black-haired woman relaxed visibly, but she was still clearly stressed and nervous.

"He's going into surgery now for a skin graft, but as for…" The hero trailed off as the hairs on Ochako's head began to float even more than they normally did.

Ochako looked around confused as a charge seemed to fill the room. The lights flickered as she winced in pain, a small arc of electricity hopping from her hand to the chair she was sitting on, giving her a small static shock. Momo and Mina were also shifting nervously and looked around, their own hair rising up slightly as the lights flickered again.

The woman noticed that only Bakugou seemed to be unphased by the phenomena as the elevator door behind him dinged.

The doors slid open and out stepped a well-built and tall man wearing a tailored black suit with one arm conspicuously missing. While he was not as well-built or tall as All Might, he radiated an intimidating intensity that caused Ochako to shrink back.

A set of black horns swept back across his bronze hair, electricity arcing around between them and around his head. His slitted eyes were otherwise familiar to her and glowed with a green light that, while much darker than Deku's, were no less intense. He turned to the five standing before him and stared straight at All Might as one of the lamps next to Ochako had its bulb spark and break.

The man opened his mouth into a snarl, Ochako's eyes spotting his long fangs as lightning seemed dance around them. It was only then that the woman noticed the bronze scales formed along the man's thick neck.

"Where is my son? "

Shigaraki stepped out of the warp gate, grumbling in rage as he wrenched the hands from his arms. "He was useless, Master!" he yelled at the television in the bar as the unconscious old man landed roughly behind him. Kurogiri reformed himself behind the bar and resumed cleaning a glass as if they had never left.

"Hmm?" An ominous voice responded from the television speakers.

"This overgrown lizard refused to take the Trigger! He said he refused to use the 'crutch'…" Shigaraki stopped. "There was another dragon there."

"Oh?" The voice was intrigued. "Very interesting...and Terrorflame refused to take the Trigger when he fought this other dragon?"

"Yes, Master. And then before he could do anything, All Might showed up and wiped the floor with him. He didn't even land a single hit on the blonde oaf. I don't even think any of the students died. This was a total failure!" Shigaraki turned around and kicked the bruised and beaten man on the ground. "And it's all his! Damn! Fault!" Each word was accented by another kick. "He was completely useless without that Trigger!"

"What is your judgement then, Tomura Shigaraki?" The voice was unphased by Shigaraki's tantrum.

"I'm done with him. I'll find another way to kill All Might." Shigaraki stomped over and sat down at the bar, sulking.

"Very well," the mysterious voice said coldly. The unconscious man began to seemingly vomit a strange gray sludge. The goop expanded until it covered his entire body, upon which both him and the gray substance vanished. "The man is of no further use to us."

Shigaraki heard the sludge appearing on the other end of the television connection.

"But his quirk is."

Notes:

This ends the USJ arc! Leave a comment down below telling me your reactions!

Now that I've finished this arc, it's back to work on The Director. Expect episode 9 of that before another chapter of this.

See you guys next time :)