p class="MsoNormal""I'll have you return everything, All For One!"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Will you kill me again, All Might?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Izuku and the villains around him brace themselves, arms coming up to shield their faces from the intense winds blowing out from where All Might and All For One have met in battle. The winds strengthen, enough to blow everyone back and off their feet./p
p class="MsoNormal"He lands, tucking into a roll to protect himself, and comes up on his feet. The dust stings his eyes and he turns, back and forth, trying to catch sight of the League./p
p class="MsoNormal""You're pretty late. It's a little more than five kilometers from the bar to here. It was easily thirty seconds after I sent the Noumus that you arrived. You've gotten weaker, All Might."/p
p class="MsoNormal""What about you? What's with that industrial mask you've got on? Aren't you overexerting yourself?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"The dust clears, blown away by the residual winds from the clash so that Izuku can see the two titans facing each other./p
p class="MsoNormal""I won't make the same mistake as I did six years ago, All For One! I will take Young Midoriya back! And this time, I will throw you in prison for sure, along with all of your League of Villains as well!"/p
p class="MsoNormal"With his declaration, All Might leaps forward, one fist drawn back to punch./p
p class="MsoNormal"All For One raises a hand./p
p class="MsoNormal""There's so much to do. It'll be tough for both of us." A crackle of red and black up his arm, a shift as more quirks come to the front, and All For One repels All Might's attack, throwing him back into a building./p
p class="MsoNormal""Air Cannon plus Springlike Limbs, Kinetic Booster times four, Strength Enhancer times three. This combination is fun. Maybe I'll try to add a few more enhancer-types."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Izuku can barely breath. "All Might?" he whispers, flinching back as All For One turns around./p
p class="MsoNormal""He won't die from something like that," the man says, a self-assured smirk in his voice. "So run away from here, Tomura, and take your brother with you."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Not brothers," Izuku growls, and he can feel Shigaraki's red-eyed glare on him, even as All For One raises a hand, red and black covering his fingers./p
p class="MsoNormal"Talons—so much like Moonfish's teeth—extend from the tips of All For One's fingers, spanning the gap between the man and the unconscious Kurogiri, burying themselves in his chest./p
p class="MsoNormal"Now that he's truly looking, Kurogiri's quirk looks emwrong/em. There's two colors to it, swirling light blue mixing with a dark, shimmering purple, and Izuku's new to his quirk-sensing ability but he has yet to see multiple colors on anything except the Noumu and All For One./p
p class="MsoNormal"But he shelves that thought for now, because those talons are buried in Kurogiri's chest./p
p class="MsoNormal""Kurogiri, get everyone away from here."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Hey, wait!" That's the red-haired villain, the one who fought Tiger. She steps in between All For One and Kurogiri. "He's unconscious! I'm not sure what's going on, but if you can use Warp, then you should get us away!"/p
p class="MsoNormal""I just got mine, Magne. On top of only being able to transport short distances, unlike his coordinate transport, I can only bring people to me or away from me. And, I can only send them away to someone I am very familiar with. So, I'll have Kurogiri do it."/p
p class="MsoNormal"With that, Kurogiri emexplodes/em into a warp gate./p
p class="MsoNormal""Forcible Quirk Activation," All For One says. "Now go!"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Shigaraki turns back towards him. "Master, what…"/p
p class="MsoNormal"The sound of someone taking off nearby draws everyone's attention. All Might has shot up from where he'd landed, and turns midair, coming back down for All For One./p
p class="MsoNormal""Think constantly, Tomura. You still have much more room to grow!"/p
p class="MsoNormal""I won't let you get away!"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Shigaraki is left, staring up at his master as All For One and All Might clash again./p
p class="MsoNormal""Let's go, Shigaraki!" That's Compress, crouching down to collect Dabi into one of his marbles. "While that pipe mask has All Might occupied! Get your brother!"/p
p class="MsoNormal"The whole league turns to face Izuku, and he sinks back into his fighting stance. Shigaraki's turning, looking at him. Something between a smile and a sneer crosses his face./p
p class="MsoNormal""Yes," he says. "My embrother/em."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Izuku grits his teeth. He can hear All Might call his name, just for a moment, but he can't take his attention off the waiting villains./p
p class="MsoNormal"Toga and Twice attack first, and it's all Izuku can do to dodge. If he can just disarm Toga, grab one of her knives… He may not be familiar with it, but it would still be a weapon, still be better than fighting bare-footed, weaponless and quirkless./p
p class="MsoNormal"Six against one—/p
p class="MsoNormal"Footsteps, and Izuku ducks underneath Compress's hand. He can't let this fight be drawn out, he needs to find an opening to escape, and whatever he does, he emcannot/em let Compress touch him./p
p class="MsoNormal"He dodges Twice again, whirling around the grey-skinned woman—emRarewater/em, if he remembers right—as she tries to kick his back. As he ducks and dodges, he catches glimpses of the clash between All Might and All For One, and he realizes something./p
p class="MsoNormal"All Might can't fight while he's here. All Might won't be able to go all-out until Izuku and the League are gone, one way or another./p
p class="MsoNormal"He ducks Toga's knife, kicks her knee, knocks her down and grabs her wrist. He twists, and with a cry of pain she drops the knife. He scrambles to pick it up, turning and slicing Compress's hand as the magician reaches for him. Compress hisses and recoils and Izuku darts away between him and Rarewater./p
p class="MsoNormal"His feet are torn and bleeding from fighting on rocks and rubble, but he can't stop, he needs to put some distance between them, he just needs a moment to emthink/em—/p
p class="MsoNormal"The temperature drops and a wall of ice snakes around, cutting Izuku off from the villains./p
p class="MsoNormal"Todoroki? He turns towards the origin point of the ice to see Ochako and Mashirao flying towards him, holding each other (what in the emhell/em are they emwearing/em), and Ochako reaches out. Meters away, All For One turns, an attempt to intercept, but All Might is there, demanding the villain's attention./p
p class="MsoNormal"Izuku reaches back, and her hand locks around his, snaking down to find bare skin to press all five fingers to. His stomach lurches as he goes weightless, the light pink glow of her quirk covering his skin as a spike of ice rises up beneath their feet, pushing them skyward. Mashirao's tail smacks down, and the three of them kick off the iceberg together, flying through the air./p
p class="MsoNormal"Izuku glances back just in time to see the wall of ice falling apart, a combination of Shigaraki's quirk and Rarewater tearing through it. Twice and Compress are glowing blue in Magne's hands, and then—oh./p
p class="MsoNormal"Compress is flying through the air, towards them, faster than they're moving away./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mt. Lady is there. Growing giant in the space of a few seconds, she intercepts, Compress smacking into her face./p
p class="MsoNormal""Mt. Lady!" Ochako cries as the hero falls./p
p class="MsoNormal""Prioritize… the rescue!" Mt. Lady orders. "Go, you stupid kids!"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Magne says something, gesturing to the others around her, but Izuku is out of earshot and there's another hero there, intercepting them anyways./p
p class="MsoNormal""Izuku… my belt…grappling gun!"/p
p class="MsoNormal"He can't make out every word that Ochako says, but he hears the important parts and reaches for the shiny black gun sitting on her belt./p
p class="MsoNormal""I need both hands!" he yells back as he pulls the gun from its holster. There's quirk residue on it, a shimmering, iridescent white that reminds him of—emYaoyorozu./em/p
p class="MsoNormal"Ochako shifts her grip, her hand fisting in his hoodie as he pulls his right arm out from her shoulder. They're rising, still rising, and as he aims the grappling gun at a rooftop below he hopes it's long enough, that his aim is good enough…/p
p class="MsoNormal"Inhale./p
p class="MsoNormal"Exhale./p
p class="MsoNormal"Fire./p
p class="MsoNormal"It catches, the hook burying itself in the material of the roof. He presses a button on the grip, and it starts reeling them in. They separate, tucking and rolling onto the roof as Ochako releases her quirk and doubles over, puking./p
p class="MsoNormal""Oh my god." That's Mashirao. "Izuku."/p
p class="MsoNormal"He doesn't resist at all as Mashirao's arms encircle him, instead melting into the embrace and wrapping his own arms around the taller boy's torso, dropping the grappling gun in the process./p
p class="MsoNormal""Oh… Oh, emIzuku/em," that's Ochako, and he feels her hand, warm against his as she inspects the glove-cuffs./p
p class="MsoNormal"A boom startles all of them, Mashirao and Izuku falling apart as they whirl around to look, just in time to get wind in their eyes./p
p class="MsoNormal""We, we need to get off this roof," Izuku says, crouching down to pick up the grappling gun. "Ochako, can you, can you use your quirk on us again? And I'll bring us back to the sidewalk."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Mhm!" Ochako nods, giving him a thumbs-up. She touches Mashirao and then herself. Izuku walks to the edge of the roof, pulling the two of them behind him. "Izuku, can I touch your arm to use my quirk?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"He nods, holding out his left arm. "Wait until I've taken the shot, though." She nods and pushes up his sleeve, holding his forearm with one hand, pinky finger up, while she clutches his upper arm with her other hand. Mashirao is clinging to his other arm. They're outside of the evacuation zone, which means the streets are crowded with people fleeing from the fight. He needs to be careful with his aim, because the grappling gun could kill someone if he hits them with it./p
p class="MsoNormal"His eyes scan the street, cataloguing and discarding options and ideas. The wind is strong, threatening to blow them away, but Mashirao's tail is wrapped around a pipe, holding himself down, and Ochako is sheltered on the leeward side of Izuku, almost untouched by the wind./p
p class="MsoNormal""Found it. Ochako, release your quirk on my signal," he says, taking aim and shooting at a building across the street. The hook buries itself in the bottom corner of the second story, right beside the opening of an empty alleyway. Ochako activates her quirk on him and he hits the retract button as he goes weightless again. They fly through the air, subject to wide-eyed gazes and shouts from the crowd./p
p class="MsoNormal""Ochako, now!" he yells, and she taps her fingers together as they fly into the alleyway, rolling to a stop on the concrete surface. Mashirao has some spots of road rash on his tail and they're all a little dizzy and Ochako's throwing up again, but they're not dead and they're not seriously injured./p
p class="MsoNormal"He hands the grappling gun back to Ochako, and she holsters it as a couple of people run into the alley with them./p
p class="MsoNormal""Hey! What's going on? Are you okay?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Izuku keeps his head down as Ochako replies./p
p class="MsoNormal""Yes, we're okay," she replies./p
p class="MsoNormal""Hey, wait! Aren't you some of the U.A. first years who were involved in the camp attack?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Don't you think there are bigger things to be worrying about right now?" Izuku asks as another boom shakes the city. One of the strangers yelps and covers her head./p
p class="MsoNormal""The two of you need to get somewhere safe," Mashirao adds. "Take care of yourselves. Like you said: we're hero students! We can take care of ourselves."/p
p class="MsoNormal""If—if you're sure," one of the strangers says before the two of them turn and run out of the alley./p
p class="MsoNormal"Ochako sighs. "Phew. That was close! Come on. We should get you to a police station."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Mashirao and Ochako begin pulling him to his feet until Mashirao pauses./p
p class="MsoNormal""Wait," he says. "Izuku, I'm going to carry you—Uraraka, look at his feet."/p
p class="MsoNormal"She does, and she gasps. "Oh. Oh no. That's—That's emright/em, he was fighting the League, barefoot, on that rubble."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Are you okay with me carrying you? Izuku?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Oh, that's right. He's being asked a question. He blinks, ignoring the way Mashirao's eyes go wide when he looks at him./p
p class="MsoNormal""Yeah, no, that's fine," he replies, his words starting to slur together. There's darkness pressing in at the corners of his vision, but, but he can't… he's emso tired/em but he can't pass out now. The ground falls away and, no, that's just Mashirao, crouching down and picking Izuku up on his back./p
p class="MsoNormal"He's glad his friend isn't carrying him bridal style. His fingers curl and clench at the white fabric of Mashirao's vest and the three of them slip into the flow of civilians fleeing the clash of titans behind them./p
p class="MsoNormal""Should, should we take him to a hospital instead, you think?" Ochako asks. Izuku feels Mashirao's shoulders shrug, up and down, underneath him./p
p class="MsoNormal""The hospitals are… they're probably going to be flooded, with this kind of fight," Mashirao replies. Izuku nods, slowly, his hair brushing against Mashirao's neck./p
p class="MsoNormal""So… Police station, then," Ochako says, jumping as her phone dings. She pulls it out of the pocket of her pants—she's wearing a blue blazer with white jeans, white jeans that are now covered in dirt, oops—and checks it. "It's Yaoyorozu. They got away safely and want to meet up." She glances at Izuku and Mashirao. "I think we should. Safety—Safety in numbers and all that, right?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Izuku nods./p
p class="MsoNormal""Yeah, I agree," Mashirao says. "We'll meet up with them and then head to a station. They'll want to get all our statements after all, right? Might as well do them now."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Ochako sighs, nodding. "We are in emso/em much trouble."/p
p class="MsoNormal""I'd do it again in a heartbeat, though," Mashirao replies, and Izuku feels a pressure in his chest that's so unlike anything he's felt in the past few days. He presses his hands into Mashirao's chest and leans his chin on his friend's shoulder, screwing his eyes up tight and trying not to cry./p
p class="MsoNormal"Ochako's hand on his arm, pinky finger gently lifted, snaps his attention to her, and she smiles as soon as his gaze lands on her. "I would, too," she says./p
p class="MsoNormal"He can't hold back the tears anymore, and he buries his face in Mashirao's neck as his shoulders begin to shake, again, and the tears start to fall, again./p
p class="MsoNormal"His tears have mostly dried up by the time he hears three voices calling their names. He glances up to see Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, and Kirishima running forward./p
p class="MsoNormal""Midoriya," Yaoyorozu gasps. "I—You—I'm so glad you're, you're emsafe/em," she says./p
p class="MsoNormal""We need to get to the nearest police station," Mashirao says. "Yaoyorozu, do you know where it is?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Oh, uh," Yaoyorozu glances around for a moment. "Yes, I think I do." She's wearing a pink dress, and… Oh. Oh, they're all wearing disguises./p
p class="MsoNormal""You all look like delinquents," he slurs, blinking twice as Todoroki looks at him./p
p class="MsoNormal""Yes. That was the idea," Todoroki replies./p
p class="MsoNormal"Yaoyorozu leads the way, Kirishima next to her and helping push people out of the way, making a path for Mashirao and Izuku while Ochako and Todoroki follow behind./p
p class="MsoNormal"They don't make it very far as Kirishima freezes./p
p class="MsoNormal""Look!" he points to one of the screens over the square. "They're—someone's catching the fight between All Might and that villain on camera!"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Sure enough, there's aerial footage being broadcast, showing All Might and All For One clashing, over and over, until—/p
p class="MsoNormal"Izuku recognizes the form of, of… of the man All Might is? His brain isn't working like it should, exhaustion is dragging at his limbs, but he recognizes that form…/p
p class="MsoNormal"They watch the final blow, they watch All Might raise his fist in the air, they listen as the people in the square around them burst out cheering./p
p class="MsoNormal""We need to keep moving," Mashirao hisses, nudging Yaoyorozu, who twitches and nods./p
p class="MsoNormal""Kirishima," she says, grabbing the red-haired boy's arm. He looks over at her. "We need to go."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Kirishima nods and takes the lead, listening to Yaoyorozu's instructions as he pushes through the crowd. It feels like it takes forever to shove their way through, but finally, inevitably, they do, and the streets away from the square are slightly less packed. Yaoyorozu guides them, taking them the shortest route./p
p class="MsoNormal"Izuku fights off unconsciousness the entire time. It takes… fifteen? Twenty? Thirty minutes? Izuku's not sure. It takes some amount of time to get to the police station, Yaoyorozu opening the door and allowing for the five other teens following her to file inside./p
p class="MsoNormal"The beat cop at the front desk, busy on the phone, glances over and then emdrops/em the phone. His eyes widen as he scrambles to pick it back up./p
p class="MsoNormal""I-I'm sorry, sir, I'll have to place you on hold," he says before setting the phone back down and turning to the teenagers. "Is, is that—"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Midoriya Izuku," Yaoyorozu says, nodding./p
p class="MsoNormal""Uh, go upstairs, top floor," the cop says, pointing at the elevator. "They, they'll get in contact with the detective in charge of the investigation."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Yaoyorozu nods and leads the group forward, through the maze of desks to the elevator. All six of them pile in, fitting with just a little room to spare, and Kirishima presses the button for the fifth floor./p
p class="MsoNormal"When the doors open, someone wearing a captain's uniform is already there, her hands clasped behind her back./p
p class="MsoNormal""I've already contacted Detective Tsukauchi," she says. She's tiny, shorter than all of them, but she has a commanding presence that keeps all six teenagers quiet and sharp golden eyes that seem to catch every motion. "My name is Captain Hatsume. Some of my detectives will take your preliminary statements until he gets here. Itou, Kobayashi," two detectives stand and walk over, "use the briefing room."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Itou, an old man with two small, curled horns on his head, nods, while the junior, Kobayashi, a tall woman with sharp black nails strides over to the briefing room./p
p class="MsoNormal""Follow me," Itou says, and the teenagers proceed to follow him into the briefing room. Kobayashi's already set up six chairs in a loose arc, opposite a table with two chairs./p
p class="MsoNormal""Why didn't you take him to a emhospital/em?" Kobayashi asks, raising her eyebrows when she catches a glimpse of Izuku's feet as Mashirao sets him down on a chair./p
p class="MsoNormal""We figured they would all be flooded from the fight," Mashirao replies, sitting down on one side of Izuku while Ochako takes the other. Todoroki sits next to Ochako, with Yaoyorozu on his other side, while Kirishima sit next to Mashirao./p
p class="MsoNormal""I'll go get first aid stuff," Itou grumbles, leaving the briefing room as Kobayashi sits down at the table, a notebook in front of her and a pen in her right hand./p
p class="MsoNormal""To start, I need all of you to state your names."/p
p class="MsoNormal"They go down the row, starting from Yaoyorozu, and do so./p
p class="MsoNormal"Kobayashi is thorough, starting with the five members of the rescue squad. Itou returns after a couple minutes, a large medkit in his hands. Kobayashi stands and takes the medkit while Itou takes over questioning. She shoves Izuku's chair forwards so she can put his feet up on the table and lays out a towel underneath them. The statement-taking continues, even though Kobayashi and Izuku are now in the middle of it./p
p class="MsoNormal""Holy shit, kid," she mutters, holding Izuku's foot still as she washes the scrapes and gouges out with saline. "There's rocks in here." She has tweezers, which she wipes down with an alcohol wipe before picking out the bits and pieces of gravel from the cuts. He just leans back and tries to block out the stinging, even as Mashirao and Ochako scoot their chairs forward and hold his hands in theirs./p
p class="MsoNormal"Tsukauchi is the next to arrive, wearing a bulletproof vest and missing his usual trench coat and hat. The captain of the precinct opens the door to the briefing room to let him in, and Kobayashi and Itou both pause. Izuku's feet have long-since been seen to and are now wrapped in bandages, and he, Mashirao, and Ochako have moved their chairs back to the arc./p
p class="MsoNormal""Detective Tsukauchi," Itou says, dipping his head./p
p class="MsoNormal""Detective Itou, good to see you again," Tsukauchi says. "I've already called Midoriya's mother and she's on her way over."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Itou nods. "Good. We were in the middle of taking their statements for… how they came upon Midoriya," he says. "Will you be joining us?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Tsukauchi glances over the group of teenagers and shakes his head. "I'll be taking Midoriya's full statement, though, after he's rested…" the detective pauses, glancing at Izuku's hands. "What are those?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""We assume those were placed on him to prevent him from using his quirk," Kobayashi says, and Izuku nods. "Skeleton's already on her way over, she'll take a look at them and try to come up with the key for them. They're beyond any of our skill to pick."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Okay." Tsukauchi nods. "I have other statements to be taking, so I'll leave the six of them in your hands for now."/p
p class="MsoNormal"And with that, he leaves./p
p class="MsoNormal"Izuku drifts, barely able to pay attention to the statements being given around them. At one point he is aware of Yaoyorozu quoting what seems to be like half a lawbook at the detectives in a way that has them shrugging and nodding and agreeing with her./p
p class="MsoNormal"He does notice when Ochako calls for a break and helps him wash his face. He would be embarrassed, but, well, he doesn't have the energy to be./p
p class="MsoNormal"And then his mom's there, and so are Kayama and Fukukado, and it's all he can do not to pass out right then and there. People are talking around him, someone's messing with his hands, and then Kayama's picking him up, and then he finally, finally passes out sometime between the precinct and Fukukado's car./p