Chapter 19: The USJ Incident [3]
[Shota Aizawa's POV]
I whirled around, my capture weapon snaking out to ensnare a villain with a wind manipulation quirk. He had been trying to catch me off guard with sudden gusts, but I had anticipated his moves. With a powerful yank, I sent him flying into a nearby wall, his body crumpling upon impact.
My lungs burned with each breath, and I could feel the sweat dripping down my face. The constant use of my quirk was taking its toll, the familiar dryness and irritation in my eyes growing more pronounced with each passing minute.
A glint of light caught my attention, and I instinctively ducked, a razor-sharp blade of energy slicing through the space where my head had been moments before. The villain responsible, a lanky man with a mohawk, grinned maniacally as he prepared another attack.
I focused my gaze on him, my quirk erasing his ability. The energy blade flickered and dissipated, and I seized the opportunity. I closed the distance between us in a heartbeat, my elbow slamming into his jaw with a satisfying crack.
He staggered back, his eyes glazed and unfocused. A quick follow-up strike to his temple, and he crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
I allowed myself a brief moment to assess my condition. My muscles ached, and I could feel the fatigue settling deep in my bones. How long had I been fighting? Time seemed to blur together in the heat of battle.
Suddenly, a voice cut through the chaos, cold and calculating. "Eraserhead. I've heard of you."
I turned, my eyes narrowing as I caught sight of the speaker. He was a tall, gaunt man, his face obscured by what looked like a severed hand. But it was his eyes that caught my attention - a cold, dead blue that seemed to stare right through me. "You're the final boss."
"You're quite the pro," the man continued. "But even you have your limits."
He moved, faster than I could have anticipated. One moment he was standing there, the next he was right in front of me, his hand reaching out to grasp my elbow.
I felt a sudden, searing pain, my skin and muscle disintegrating under his touch. I leaped back, gritting my teeth against the agony that shot through my arm.
The man's eyes glinted with a cruel amusement. "You're quick, Eraserhead. But not quick enough."
He lunged forward again, his speed even greater than before. I braced myself, my mind racing as I tried to anticipate his next move. But he was like a blur, his movements erratic and unpredictable.
The second I blinked, his hand grazed my shoulder, and I bit back a scream as I felt the flesh begin to decay. I lashed out with my capture weapon, trying to gain some distance, but he dodged effortlessly.
The man's eyes glinted with cruel amusement as he leaped back, putting distance between us. Just then, I noticed a swirling mass of dark mist appear beside him, taking the form of the villain who had first confronted us.
The mist villain, leaned in close to the gaunt man, whispering something I couldn't quite catch. However, the reaction it elicited was unmistakable.
The gaunt man's face contorted with rage, his eyes blazing with a fury that sent a chill down my spine. "If you weren't our ticket out of here, Kurogiri," he snarled, his voice low and dangerous, "I would kill you."
Kurogiri seemed to recoil slightly, his glowing yellow eyes widening in what might have been fear. But he quickly regained his composure, bowing his head in a show of deference.
The gaunt man took a deep breath, visibly trying to reign in his anger. When he spoke again, his voice was calm, but there was an undercurrent of menace that set my nerves on edge.
"I appreciate the flattery, Eraserhead," he said, "but I'm not the final boss."
A sense of foreboding settled in the pit of my stomach at his words. If this man, with his terrifying speed and decay quirk, wasn't the mastermind behind the attack, then who—or what—was?
I turned slowly, my body tense and ready for action. And then I saw it. Looming over me, its form casting a shadow that seemed to swallow the light, was a hulking beast of a creature.
It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. Its exposed brain pulsed and glistened, a sickening reminder of its unnatural existence. Muscles bulged and rippled beneath its dark, scarred skin, each fiber filled with a raw, untamed power.
But it was the eyes that truly sent a shiver of fear through my very core. They were empty, devoid of any hint of humanity or mercy. This was a being created for one purpose and one purpose alone: destruction.
The gaunt man's voice cut through the sudden silence, his tone filled with a perverse glee. "Get him, Nomu."
The creature - Nomu - let out a roar that shook the very ground beneath my feet. In a blur of motion, it lunged forward, its speed rivaling that of All Might.
I barely had time to react. I leaped to the side, my capture weapon lashing out in a desperate attempt to slow the beast's advance. But it was like trying to stop a freight train with a piece of string.
Nomu barreled through my defense as if it were nothing, its massive fist slamming into my gut with the force of a wrecking ball. I felt the air rush from my lungs, my body folding around the point of impact like a rag doll.
I flew backwards, my vision swimming as I struggled to draw breath. I hit the ground hard, the taste of copper flooding my mouth.
Through the haze of pain, I could see Nomu advancing, its steps shaking the earth. I tried to push myself up, tried to muster the strength to keep fighting.
But my body wouldn't obey. My arms trembled and gave out beneath me, my muscles screaming in protest. I had pushed myself beyond my limits, and now, in the face of this unstoppable monstrosity, I was paying the price.
Nomu reached down, its massive hand closing around my arm. With a sickening crunch, I felt the bone snap, white-hot agony lancing through my body.
I screamed, the sound tearing from my throat as the beast lifted me effortlessly into the air.
Through the red haze of agony, I saw the gaunt man watching, his eyes alight with a sadistic pleasure. He was savoring this moment, reveling in my suffering.
As consciousness began to fade, as the darkness crept in at the edges of my vision, I could only think of my students. I had failed them. Failed to protect them from this nightmare.
I could only pray that someone, anyone, would come to their aid. That the heroes would arrive in time to save them from the horrors that awaited.
And then, with a final, wrenching twist, Nomu slammed me into the ground. As the blackness claimed me, as the last flicker of light faded from my world, I whispered a silent apology to the students I had sworn to defend.
I'm sorry.
[Izuku Midoriya's POV]
A few minutes prior
Making it to the entrance, we approached the group of students gathered there, I could see the worry and fear etched on their faces. Thirteen lay on the ground, their suit torn and their body still.
The sound of Shoji's voice, usually so calm and measured, was tight with barely-restrained panic. "The mist villain, Kurogiri... he caught Thirteen off guard. Used his quirk to turn their own power against them."
I felt my stomach drop, a cold weight settling in my gut. Thirteen, one of our teachers, one of the pro heroes meant to guide and protect us... taken down.
I knelt beside their prone form, my fingers shaking as I checked for a pulse. It was there, thready and weak, but unmistakable. They were alive. Barely.
"What else?" I asked, my voice sounding distant to my own ears. "Did anyone else get hurt?"
Shoji shook his head, his duplicate mouth twisting into a grim line. "Iida got away. He's headed to the main campus for reinforcements."
A scream ripped through the air, raw and agonized. The sound of it sent a jolt through my body, every nerve suddenly alight with dread.
I whirled around, my eyes drawn to the central plaza like a magnet. And there, I saw a scene straight out of a nightmare.
A monster, a hulking brute of exposed muscle and scar tissue, loomed over a prone figure. Its brain pulsed obscenely, a glistening mass of gray matter atop its misshapen head.
And beneath it, lying in a spreading pool of crimson... was Aizawa.
His arm was bent at a sickening angle, jagged bone piercing through torn flesh. His face was a mask of pain, his eyes wide and glassy.
Everything else faded away. The shouts of my classmates, the distant crashes of ongoing battles... it all became white noise, static in the face of the horror before me. The flames of the Tandava roared within me, a raging inferno demanding to be unleashed. It was the same feeling I'd had during the entrance exam, facing down the zero-pointer. That overwhelming surge of power, the need to act, to protect.
But I couldn't lose control. Not here, not now. If I let the flames consume me, if I gave in to the raw, untamed fury of the Tandava... I wouldn't be able to help anyone. I'd be a liability, a danger to my classmates and teachers. Controlled rage is what I needed.
I heard someone call my name, a desperate plea. But I was already moving, my feet carrying me forward as if of their own accord.
The man with the disembodied hand obscuring his face turned towards me, his voice a raspy drawl. "Kurogiri, deal with this brat."
Purple mist swirled to life around me, reaching out with tendrils of inky darkness. But I refused to be ensnared. Not now. Not when Aizawa needed me.
I channeled some of the power of the Tandava into my legs, feeling the familiar surge of heat and energy. I leapt, soaring over the grasping mist, the wind whipping at my face.
"Impossible!" Kurogiri gasped, his glowing eyes wide with shock. "How did he-"
But I wasn't listening. My focus was locked on the monster, on the hulking beast that had dared to lay a hand on my teacher.
I cocked my fist back, feeling the power build and build within me, a raging inferno begging for release. And as I reached the apex of my leap, I let it loose with a roar that tore from the depths of my being.
"HEAT SEEKER!"
My fist slammed into the creature's exposed brain with the force of a meteorite. I felt the impact shudder up my arm, felt the sickening give of flesh beneath my knuckles.
The monster reeled back, a high, keening wail erupting from its throat. But I wasn't done. Even as I landed, I was already pivoting, already channeling the momentum into a kick aimed at its knees. The creature stumbled, its balance compromised.
Seizing the opportunity, I grabbed my teacher and carried him to the top of the stairs.
Gently, I set Mr. Aizawa down next to Thirteen. I could see the extent of his wounds, the toll this battle had taken. But there was no time to dwell on it.
Without a word to the others, I turned and rushed back into the fray, ready to face the villains head-on. I stood before them, my eyes blazing with fury. The man with the white glove stared back, his gaze calculating and cold.
"Well, well," he mused, "It seems we have a hero in our midst."
I said nothing, my fists clenching at my sides. I could feel the weight of my classmates' eyes on me, the hope and fear mingling in the air.
The villain spread his arms, a mocking invitation. "Come then, little hero. Let us see what you're made of."
I stepped forward, for my teachers, for my classmates, for everyone counting on me...
I would not fail. I could not fail.
With that, I charged forward, ready to meet my destiny head-on.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone