Todoroki lost Ida in whatever the fuck just happened to the island. On one hand, he knew Ida would be fine simply being magnetically launched into the sky, and would probably be more worried about whoever that attack was meant for. On the other hand, he was currently focused on fighting Chimera alone. But that had its own advantage … no holding back, at all.
He let his body freeze as the villain tried to push his way through. "You weren't kidding about not holding back, maybe in another life, you could've been a part of the world we're creating."
Shoto barely held himself still as the ice formed around Chimera. Just like how Prominence Burn focused all the heat in a single blast, he could do the same with his ice, the side of his power he had the most experience in. Focusing all the coldness on a single area. "Any world you make can't possibly be anything good."
"Of course it's a-" The villain let out a cough. The first sign of damage yet. "-a good world. It's one where the strong rule over the weak. No discrimination, no bullshit laws, just power and skill making you right." He tried to let off another punch, which Todoroki retaliated with another Prominence Burn.
"A world like that is filled with nothing but discrimination." Shoto countered. "A world like that doesn't allow change or growth." A world like that would justify every action of his asshole father, who'd then never seek to be a better person.
"Who cares about all that when some weak ass person on the street with a quirk that lets his eyes sparkle calls you a freak?" Chimera spoke with a growl, clutching onto the cauterized wound of his torso, letting out another fire breath. "Here you just judged on what you can offer!"
"I've been raised all my life to be nothing less than the strongest." Shoto shot his hand forward and let the ice pour out, even as the fire melted it. He kept building up the coldness. "And it was the biggest hell I could've lived in."
"Then you clearly … haven't-" The man hacked frozen blood. "Clearly … need some more … so give it to me." Somehow Chimera walked, even as their bones cricked and cracked with every step. "Show me what it means … to be the strongest!"
"You asked for this!" Todoroki screamed, holding out both hands straight into the chest of the villain. Filling both of his sides with hot or cold. Wounds either spewed boiling blood or froze over with frostbite.
"So…strong…heh….some random ass bastardized kid is stronger than me?" The villain laughed with thin breathing. He was wrong. This wasn't the act of someone strong. It was an act of a desperate kid trying to keep his friends as safe as possible.
"If it's any consolation … My classmates are even bigger powerhouses than I am …" He muttered. "And I was raised by Endeavor." An absolute monster, who was slowly changing out of the mindset this man had.
"Guess….I wasn't…" The villain fell over, half his body burned beyond recognition, the other frozen to the point it was practically made up of ice. "As monstrous … as I thought." The villain let out a broken chuckle. "Thanks for … that kid … it helps." The breathing went on for a few more moments, before it stopped.
Shoto… killed a man. His first act as a hero, after getting his license and everything, was murdering a villain … focused on combat … just like Endeavor was … how was that for dark humor?
"Being strong…doesn't mean being right….Being a hero….doesn't mean being a good person." He recalled his friend's words as he fell over himself, completely exhausted. "Let's…strive to be…better people than them….Iruma." Now was a good time for sleep … well it wasn't, but apparently his body thought so.
==
Bakugo groaned as he tried keeping on his toes. "Fucking hell." He muttered, trying to get his bearings. He killed his fucking pride for a moment and worked with the entire class, and yet he STILL wasn't good enough to beat these bastards back.
"How the hell … Can we do anything?" Uraraka asked weakly, trying to stand up. "We hit him with everything and it didn't even scratch them. He just decided he hated the island and blew it up."
"That man…is holding on to a lot of spite." Dodger growled, staring at the freaking tornado made up of whatever bullshit that was powering these fuckers. "Why are you even doing this to begin with? If you just wanted to live, you could've just asked Katsuma! Why start with attacking the Island first!?"
"You see, I had three options. Come back every month when I need a recharge, kidnap the kid and have him use his quirk whenever, or take his quirk for myself." Tubes told Dodger coldly. "I'm going to change the world where strong quirk users can do what they want, there's not a force on the planet that will convince me or slow down my goals on that." The bastard shrugged. "So I decided to keep him out of it, take his quirk, and leave him here to deal with it." Tubes began walking away, leaving them wrapped up in hydras they were too injured to avoid. "Now I'll be leaving now."
"Why do the villains keep getting dumber!?" Dodger yelled in frustration. "They're either super petty or delusionally stubborn!"
"So Bakugo then …" Round cheeks laughed before coughing. "Damn it … kept myself too heavy …" She turned to them. "We need a plan … it's just the three of us. Nobody else is available at the moment."
"I know … but … we're … we're not strong enough to take them on…" Bakugo relented, feeling years and years of ego and pride wash away, showing him the painful reality. "We can't do jack shit against them. We're not All Might." God it felt horrible … being pathetic and unable to do a thing about it … fucking hell, Karma was a bitch.
"All Might…." Dodger repeated. "We don't have All Might … but…" Dodger managed to pull out his bruised and bloody arms. "We have his power."
"We have his what?" He was inclined to agree with the confused girl. "What are you on about-"
"Listen …" He spoke in a serious voice. "I have Bunny-sensei's quirk, he gave it to me by passing it on. He had 'embers'." The boy explained, pulling some broken wood and shaping it. "He could still use it while I could, like on I-island." And crushed it into a bowl. "That means we can do the same …" He began bleeding into it.
"Dodger….you can only pass it on to one person..." Bakugo frowned, ignoring Uraraka's staring at him in shock.
"It's my quirk, I can tell it what to do." Dodger spoke adamantly. "We either drink the embers, or One For All. It's a three way gamble …" He looked at it. "But Bunny-sensei said a person could only have it once so …"
"Do-Suzuki…" Bakugo felt his throat dry.This couldn't be happening. "You know what this means, right?" He'd lose….his power, he'd lose … so that everyone else could win.
"Is my name even Suzuki?" The boy asked, tears in his eyes as he smiled. "I got adopted … it should be Iruma Rabbit-mama." He tried to joke.
Of course the happy moron didn't know his own mom's last name. "Miruko's last name is Usagiyama…" Uraraka tried to laugh, and failed spectacularly. "I don't understand but … if you lose the 'gamble' … it's a one way trip right?"
"... Yep …" He admitted, spinning it as he poured it into three more bowls, almost like Sake Cups. "Mirio-senpai said the big three did this when they were about to go on a serious mission … it meant they were family …" He stated, holding them out. "Well not the blood, they had adult juice."
"It does feel a little more fitting … if disgusting. We don't all have your iron stomach, Suzuki." Bakugo couldn't help but laugh, even though this was far from funny.
"Hey, I ate hair." The boy spoke with a frown. "You're getting off easy, it got stuck in my throat."
"You ate All Might's hair?" Uraraka joined in, also letting out a laugh as she sat down, free from the hydra along with him. "So … to whatever comes next?"
"I'm fine either way." The boy shrugged. "If it works I can keep going on … if not I'm not a hero anymore … not like they were good anyway." The laughter was more broken. "Besides, Ochaco, you can help your family more now." He turned to him. "And you're the one that wants to be like All Might, Bakugo. I…I was just the kid that got in the way…"
Bakugo frowned. "I would have abused it." The boy spoke honestly. "I'm still learning." If he had this he'd have All Might's power … scary thought. He didn't trust himself with it.
"Well, you've helped me with learning about it, I'll try to do the same." Bakugo was actually doing this…he was taking away Suzuki's chance at being a hero, at being a great hero…just like he took away Izuku's. "Toast?" Everyone nodded.
"To helping people." Suzuki raised his glass.
"To kicking ass." Bakugo raised his own.
"To fighting together as a family." Uraraka raised her own. "All For One…And One For All."
With a clink they all drank … instantly trying to shove it down. God he did not regret missing out on that. "Just one note." Suzuki added as his eyes began glowing, as Bakugo could feel the energy flowing into him. "Don't slow down, it hurts more when you stop fighting to take a breath."
"Whoa…so weird…" Uraraka stared at her own arms in awe. "It feels warm…" Well shit, looks like Suzuki understood this fucking power more than he assumed.
==
Tokoyami panted with exhaustion. So on the plus side, whatever the hell happened to the island prevented Slice from escaping, by virtue of a cave in. Downside? The girl was now insistent on killing Kirishima and himself in order to force Ashido into digging a tunnel for them both.
"For a second I thought this would be like Kamino, but no, it's nothing like it … it honestly feels worse!" Kirishima cried out as the girl tried to either pierce or cut through the shell he had. "It's like Rappa but somehow MORE violent! That shouldn't even be possible!"
"Never underestimate the power of dark worship." He spoke to his friend. "We must stand strong!"
"Bullshit, you haven't attacked in the last five minutes!" Ashido shouted at him, trying to block another attack.
"Yes, because we lost our only light source, and Dark Shadow is seconds away from a rampage!" Tokoyami felt his companion do everything he could to break out of him. And even if he wanted to use the seal, Ronove would be completely useless in this situation, aside from being a meat shield they could use for maybe three minutes.
"Just bring him out, he couldn't possibly make this any worse!" Kirishima shouted out.
"Talking strategy in front of me?" Slice commented, preparing darts. "You must really be desperate!" She screamed in rage before firing a frenzy. "Just know it's your damn stubbornness that's going to kill you all today! The only thing I wanted to do was save the only good person I've ever met in my life!"
"By taking an innocent child's quirk!?" Kirishima shouted out at her vehemently.
"I would kill a child for him!"
"Forget it." Ashido made her way over. "Red Riot, go unbreakable and buy us time. I'll talk with Tsukuyomi." He nodded before running off. She then turned to the bird headed student-and slapped him in the face. "Stop being a bitch!"
He frowned. "If I let him go, he'll attack indiscriminately! There's no telling what he'll do to all of you!" It was a double edge sword he couldn't risk using lightly!
"Look at our class! Bakugo is an over talented asshole, Todoroki talked about murdering someone in cold blood, Ida's an uptight hypocrite, Hagakure would kill us all if we slept with Iruma, and let's not even get started with the boy in question!" She shouted firmly. "And you're scared you're gonna lose control of a sentient quirk that's known and chatted with us for almost a year, that he'll kill us all just cause it's a little dark!?"
"Listen to the girl!" Kirishima let the hair bounce off and break on his bare chest. "It's all or nothing now! We live by Plus Ultra for a reason!"
"You'll die by Plus Ultra!" The villain shouted, generating more hair. "So make it easier and I'll make it hurt less!"
"Come on!" Ashido shouted at him, encouraging. "You've dealt with Dark Shadow all your life! He's not a monster, he's just your quirk! He's just a part of you!"
'A … part of me.' He thought to himself with shock. He always assumed it was a darkness he inherited, some form of sentient soul latched onto him. He never thought it was inner darkness … but why would it act friendly then?
"JUST DIE ALREADY!" Slice sent out a barrage towards Kirishima, who blocked it…except the few that were aimed right towards Ashido…which made her fall off a ledge….
"MINA!" Kirishima cried out to his friend…to their friend…Tokoyami wanted friends….he didn't want to be alone all his life.
"Dark Shadow!" He screamed … letting go.
The being of darkness wrapped its hands around his friends, almost in a crushing manner. "The lights are off … I'm free as hell … chaos is mine!" The inner demon laughed, before letting them down behind him. "Now I'll remind the bitch why she should be afraid of the dark!" Dark shadow was just … his shadow. There was nothing to fear.
==
Anima patted the children with reassurance. "Look, it's fine. Everything is fine."
"Our entire town flew over our heads!" The little girl shouted incredulously. "Everything's destroyed, our neighbors are trapped underground, and we only have a dog whisperer and an invisible girl watching over us! We're far from fine!"
"Hey, our friend's are giving everything they got and then some." Hagakure defended. "There's no way the villains are going to lay a hand on your brother or anyone else today."
"Oh, a sparrow." He looked at the bird. "They won't fight, so I had them on recognizance." He explained. "How's it going?"
"Shits fucked! Everything is on fire and two big strong monsters are walking here as the rest of your class is dead! Our poor forests will never recover!"
"So did King Explosion Murder blast all the bad guys away?" Katsuma said with innocent eyes he's seen way too many times on Iruma's face.
"… He's close, he has them begging for mercy." He told the boy, sweating. "On an unrelated note, we should probably get moving."
"I knew it, I knew we were all screwed!" Mahoro screamed in the air as Hagakure picked her up. "There's only one hero here that speaks any sense, and even then he's a bit dumb!"
"Hey, Kettei is a lot tougher than we give him credit for." Hagakure spoke with a frown in her voice. "He survived way too much for this to be the end, he'll get back up and do something nobody will believe."
"I highly doubt that." His blood froze, the children looking in horror at the sight behind him. "Invisible quirks don't work on us … and the other one is laughable." Nine walked slowly towards them, a giant fiery tornado following his path. "Your class was…tenacious, I'll give them that, but in the end, they were too weak to survive the new world about to come."
"What new world?" Hagakure got in front of him, leaving the kids in his care.
The villain's stare was blank, intensely unfeeling. "The world I'll create, where labels like hero and villain won't even exist. Where everyone's place in the world is decided by strength alone. That's how a true super human society should operate."
"And you're going to put a quirkless boy in that world?" She asked, a growl in her voice.
"I'll let him live. I don't care if the world kills him or not." He shrugged. "Now you better cooperate. I don't know if my associate can destroy the island again." A loud cry of thunder from the pillar of fire was heard. "But I know I can definitely shoot a lightning bolt onto you." Nine spoke, groaning as his tubes bubbled.
"Or I can just punch you. If you thought the others were challenging." Ten laughed from within the tornado. "Oh you're dead wrong."
"There's nothing you can do." Nine continued, reaching out an open hand. "Your allies are weakened, no help will arrive in time, and we are far beyond any powers or tricks any of you can come up with." The glow on his fingers were aimed right at them.
"Stay behind me. I bend light, so maybe I can block it..." Hagakure waved.
"Oh, good to know." Now the light was aimed straight at him specifically. Koda sent out a minor glare to his partner.
"Don't hurt them!" Katsuma slipped out of their grasp and ran towards the villain, looking anxiously worried for them. "It's my quirk you want, right!? Well come and get it!"
"Good." Nine wasted no time turning his full attention on the kid. "Glad to see that someone sane exists on this island."
"Katsuma!" Mahoro tried to run to her brother, but Ten just kept them away with his sound quirk. Damn it, there was nothing they could do to stop Nine from…!
"SMASH!" A blue figure blinked into existence and punched the villain out of the way. "You should learn how to avoid danger before charging headfirst into it." Iruma, lit up more brightly than he's ever seen him, spoke determinedly. "And I thought Mahoro would've been able to keep you out of trouble."
"Alright brat!" Ten snarled, bulking up. "I was avoiding you because of your smell, but now it's time to teach you a lesson…!"
"DIE!" A powerful and compressed explosion came along with Bakugo. "You have made one too many mistakes, assholes!" He growled with a scary smirk, glowing just like Iruma was.
"Did … Iruma-Kun….did you …" Hagakure muttered, her voice incredulous and…sorrowful.
"The sun …" Nine muttered. "How the hell did you …?"
"I am!" Uraraka, glowing just like the other two, planted her hands into the ground. "One hundred and ten percent!" There was a glow brighter than anything she's given before. "Done with today!" She yelled in all her might, ripping half the fucking mountain from the ground up. "Now leave my friends alone!" Uraraka threw it at them, sending both villains backwards.
"Kettei!" Mahoro called out to Iruma, looking relieved as she started to cry. "You...you're still alive! You're still fighting!"
"Of course, I promised to keep you guys safe, and I'm determined to keep that promise." Iruma smiled slightly. "Koda, Toru, keep them back. It might get a little messy." The boy sprouted two black whips. "Come at me you multi powered bullshit pulling assholes!" He shouted, jumping after them.
"We're bullshit!?" Ten called out indignantly. "How the fuck does your own even function!?"
"It's my power…. I do what I want with it!" The boy replied as he punched the villain in the gut … leading to a cry of agony that rivaled that of even the light forest creatures.
==
Iruma watched the horn villain hit the ground, holding his stomach, gasping. "It burns! It fucking burns! Why does it burn!?"
"Probably because you've reached your own limit, asshole." Bakugo blasted a huge explosion in Ten's face. "Looks like your gamble worked, Dodger. We can actually win this now."
"Yeah, but we need to hurry." They destroyed some water hydras. "I don't know how long the embers will last using this much power." He was literally running on leftovers. He didn't even know if Ochaco or Bakugo would lose the quirk or if they would both keep it. All he knew was that his own use of One For All was almost up.
"Also our bones won't last!" Ochaco held her arms. "I already feel woozy from the mountain combo."
"Don't stop." He demanded resolutely. "Just hit them over and over without taking a moment to rest, let the blood take care of the rest."
"Your power … whatever it is…can never defeat me!" Nine shouted in open rage, the cloud looking like it was about to rain lighting down on them.
"Fuck that bullshit!" Bakugo flew into the air, flipping around. "It's the power meant specifically for an asshole like you! X BURNER!" And let off an explosion that looked like it cut straight into space itself, clouds being forced away.
"Don't let up!" Iruma let himself rush, throwing a punch that compressed Nine's shield until it finally shattered. "They're getting weak!"
"Damn you all!" Ten roared in an animalistic fury, throwing sound waves at them combined with miniature tornados. "Damn you! Damn you!" The waves were much bigger than last time, and drilled through whatever ground they hit.
"You're the one that's supposedly a demon! So damn yourself right back to hell!" Ochaco lifted dozens, maybe even hundreds of boulders right at them. All exceeding her previous weight limits. The boulders began to spin around her, and spin really fast. "I have a fucking orbit! If I wasn't so emotionally broken I'd find this amazing!" She shouted before launching them like a gatling gun at the villains.
"Yeah, that's how I started with it." It was fitting, he first used One For All to save Ochaco, and now the power was hers to use. Iruma rushed ahead. "Altogether now, one final strike should finish the fight!"
"If you name this wrong I'll kick your ass after this is over Suzuki!" Bakugo shouted, flying right by him as Ochaco shoved the villains together into a compressed spinning rock storm.
"I know, I know…It has to fit." He rolled his eyes. He would miss the little back and forth he had with Bakugo, the fun times he had shopping with Ochaco, the safety he felt with Toru hugging him in his sleep, Ida always teaching him to be smarter, Momo reading First Love Memories with him, Ibara guiding him on a good path, Minoru showing him so many new things in life. He'd miss it all …
"Detroit...SMAAAAAAAASH!" They all swung forward their strongest attacks, creating a small ball of compressed air and light.
"Goodbye, One For All…" The power that changed his life for both the worst and better….the power that led to him gaining friends, the power that gave him a family…a power that he loved…. That gave him a life he needed to let go of now. "Thank you."
BOOM
The resulting explosive force split the very ocean in half. Miles and miles it stretched on, to the very horizon they couldn't see. The three of them hit the ground, panting. "Did … we do it?" Ochaco gasped.
"I can't see their fucking bodies." Bakugo looked around, wincing. "How the hell did you work with broken arms post combat?"
"I mostly blacked out when the adrenaline finally stopped pumping." Iruma smiled weakly. He could trust his friends to keep the power safe. "I...oh, yep, I'll be passing out now."
"Right behind you." Both Bakugo and Uraraka said at the same time. Their collective thumps into the ground were the last things he heard.