They did not know what to expect.
All they could do was hope for the time being.
But upon arriving, that hope was crushed just as much as their teacher was into the ground.
Izuku, Tsu, and Mineta stared, mouths agape and wide eyes full of fear.
This fear came from seeing Aizawa being beaten without mercy, his head being used as a hammer.
The… thing that was doing this stood over the broken hero like a looming demon waiting for its victim to finally perish.
The trio felt sick to their stomach at seeing one of Aizawa's arms twisted and limp in the giant burly fingers of the black-skinned beast. In the other hand, it held their teacher's pained expression as his face was forcefully bashed against the cracking concrete.
"W-we… we have to do something." Izuku didn't sound nearly as confident as he did minutes ago. His throat was barely able to speak the words. However, there was something that was able to burn brighter in that moment; an urge that grew with each passing second he saw Aizawa's life being torn away. "They're going to kill him." A growl came from his throat as anger began to boil in his blood. That, or it was his quirk being as equally hate-filled toward the beaked villain. Izuku took a sturdy step forward. He was on the verge of just rushing out from his hiding spot and attacking the villain.
At least, he was until he realised he was being held back. Looking down, he found a familiar long pink appendage, Tsu's tongue, wrapped around him. He turned to look at her with a look of confusion and betrayal.
The expression she returned caught him off guard. Tsu actually looked upset herself.
"This is exactly why I came along. If Aizawa couldn't take out that guy, then you probably won't be able to either. You'll only be putting yourself in danger or get yourself killed." Tsu whispered hastily. She was obviously keen on keeping Izuku where he was.
While Izuku must admit that she was thinking logically, he doubted she knew of his full capabilities. But would it not be enough? Izuku turned back to look at the villain above Aizawa. Was he not able to erase the villain's quirk? Evidently not, as it seemed to have a sort of mutation. If that was the case, then Izuku could most likely overpower it.
Could he?
"Tomura Shigaraki."
Izuku pulled out of his inner debate when another figure appeared on the field. Next to the man with the assortment of hands, the same black mist with yellow eyes warped out of thin air.
He didn't know what was going on, but Izuku ultimately decided to hang back for the time being. A decision he couldn't say that he was proud of.
"Kurogiri." The pale-blue haired man greeted the other. "I assume that you have succeeded in killing Thirteen." The man, Shigaraki, said expectantly.
"Thirteen will no longer be a problem for us." Kurogiri confirmed his colleague's statement. While Shigaraki looked pleased with his answer, the three students watching nearby paled at the dreadful news. "However, during the skirmish, one of the students was able to get away from me using a speed quirk. Due to some resistance, I was unable to catch him in time." There was a trace of guilt in his explanation as the smile on Shigaraki's face dropped.
The same couldn't be said for the three students hidden in the water's edge of the lake.
"He must be talking about Iida." Tsu croaked next to him. Izuku shared the same ray of hope that he was able to hear in her voice.
"Yes. That means he's gonna come back with help. We're saved." Mineta was bursting into tears of joy, falling into a small celebratory dance in the water.
This was good. This was just what they needed. If other pro heroes could show up in time, Izuku won't have to risk himself or, more importantly, anyone else.
The black-eyed teen couldn't help but smile just a bit as he watched Shigaraki get visibly upset at this news. He began to scratch furiously at his neck with both hands scraping into old scabs and scars.
A tempered groan came from the man that progressed into an irritated growl. The scratching just kept getting worse.
" Kurogiri , if you weren't our only way in and out of this place, I wouldn't hesitate to reduce you to dust ." Shigaraki hissed with ire. He continued to take out his aggression on his poor neck. That was until it suddenly stopped. The villain seemed to compose himself enough to pull his hands away. "That's it… It's game over once more pros show up, all because you failed to catch one stupid kid. This will set us back in our schedule and I was so looking forward to getting this done today. But… I guess we have no choice. Let's go home."
"Holy crap. Did you guys hear that? They said they're leaving. We get to live another day." Mineta sobbed with relief as he expressed his joy once more. Perhaps he did so a little too much, clinging to Tsu's side in a rather inappropriate manner. This quickly led to the midget being drowned by the same girl.
Unlike the other boy, Izuku couldn't bring himself to feel reassurance this time. There was an unknown sense that was lurking in the back of his head that told him that this wasn't actually over just yet.
Please. Let this be the end.
"But before we go."
Chills ran up Izuku's spine.
Shigaraki turned in place. His red eyes stared directly at them. A smile that spread fear just as far as the smile itself was directed at the three teens who froze under the man's haunting gaze.
The horrifying realization that Shigaraki had known they were there the whole time struck Izuku like a truck. Figuratively and almost literally. He felt Grimm surge within him, an outraged roar shaking him down to the core.
For this man to affect the beast as much as he did. It was a dreadful thought.
Dare Izuku to say it, but for the first time in his life, he feared something else other than his own quirk.
"Let's be sure to tear apart All Might's pride by leaving him some dead kids to find." Shigaraki's words were the very definition of sinister itself. It felt as if a curse had been put onto the three students.
Izuku very well knew that this villain was going to stay true to his word.
That was the only reason why he was able to react fast enough when Shigaraki dashed towards them with terrifying speed.
He was going for Tsu.
The girl was barely able to see it coming. Her facial features only changed to fear once Shigaraki's hand was merely a few feet away.
*Slap!*
The sound of skin hitting skin entered their ears.
However, Shigaraki had not met his target.
Izuku stood between the two. His left arm was outstretched, countering the attack of the villain. The slap had come from Shigaraki's hand being blocked by the greenette's forearm. He looked surprised to have seen someone manage to keep up with his speed.
Meanwhile, Izuku gave him the meanest glare he could make. He was not very fond of this villain trying to hurt his classmate, and he was sure to show it.
"Well, well, well. It would seem that this brat thinks they are some hero. While I have to admit that your sacrifice was quite noble, it will all be in vain." Shigaraki mocked without an ounce of fear for Izuku's hateful black eyes.
"Sacrifice?" Izuku didn't know what the man meant by that. To his dismay, he realized he was about to find out when the villains squeezed all his fingers tightly against Izuku's skin.
Then there was pain.
A quiet scream forced itself out of Izuku's throat as he clenched his teeth as hard as he could. Utter agony, an agony that felt like the cells in his arm were being ripped away one by one, rippled throughout his limb. The searing pain poured in like a broken dam that Izuku was forced to bear.
"Hehehehe. Do you feel it? The deterioration of your skin. Your muscle fibres being torn apart. All of your nerves being decayed into nothing." Shigaraki's sadistic words throbbed in Izuku's ears as did his heart. It was beating fast with the amount of pain he was in; adrenaline rushing through his veins.
Yes. Yes, he could feel it. The sensation was similar to using his own quirk, but Izuku had never experienced pain when doing so. The transition was always smooth and natural feeling. But this hurt like hell.
And Shigaraki wasn't finished yet.
"And finally," The villain spoke again. Izuku's attention was drawn towards his arm where Shigaraki's hand had sunk deeply into his flesh. "The bone."
Rough fingers clamped around smooth bone.
Nothing.
Shigaraki's insane look morphed into confusion as he looked at the unaffected skeleton of Izuku's arm.
He tightened his grip on just to make sure.
Nothing.
He took off one finger before placing it back down.
Still nothing.
"I've had my suspicions for a while now, especially after that strange reaction from Uraraka's quirk." Shigaraki took his annoyed eyes off the bone and into the boy's black eyes. The expression they had annoyed him even further. This boy had the gall to look confident before him. "It would appear that my skeleton is immune to the effects of quirks." The eyes behind the hand mask widened.
"That… That's cheating! No one is just immune to someone else's quirk!" Shigaraki was mad with disbelief that such a thing even existed, let alone that it was in the hands of a UA brat. Izuku could feel the hand on his bone tighten even more, but to no avail of even harming him.
"Sounds like someone is a sore loser." The greenette mocked with a trace of a grin on his lips. This, of course, pissed the villain off even more as another growl rumbled in his throat.
"The only sore loser here is the one who can't use his hand anymore." He hissed; fully convinced that Izuku had lost his left hand.
"I wouldn't be so sure." At Izuku's response, the flesh on the hand end of his left arm began to shed away even further. It definitely caught Shigaraki's attention as he stared wide-eyed at Izuku's bones being exposed. Only a second later and the boy's entire hand was skeletal.
"The hell?" Shigaraki pondered at the strange sight, that for once, wasn't the doing of his quirk.
"You really shouldn't underestimate us." The villain met Izuku's bright green irises. "That's exactly why you failed to notice my quirk when you had the chance." Izuku brought his right arm out from behind him. It was still skeletal and transformed from when it had shifted earlier.
Right now, it was reared back and ready to smash against this bastard's face. Just as Shigaraki's eyes widened with realization, Izuku pulled back his left arm that was still being held, thus bringing the villain attached.
Izuku sent the bony fist forward and felt his knuckles collide straight against the side of Shigaraki's face. The receiver of this attack shouted in pain as he was flung backwards. He spun through the air for a few meters before crashing back down onto the ground.
Izuku now stood halfway out of the water with one foot planted on the ground. His quirk was activated on both his arms as small cracks formed around his eyes. Pinprick green irises glared at the downed villain; daring him to get back up.
"Y-you." The students heard Shigaraki hiss on the ground. His body shook for a moment before leaning upwards to face them with his wrathful eyes. He was no longer wearing that hand he used as a mask. Sparing a glance, Izuku saw it lying a few feet away from him. The villain's face was scared with dry lips and worn out patches around the eyes. "I'll make sure that you and your friends are dead by the end of today."
"Yeah? I would like to see you try." Izuku warned. He stepped completely out of the water to walk towards the villain. "Your quirk is ineffective against me while mine can easily beat you to a pulp." Both of the boy's hands balled into fists as he was preparing to do just that.
That was when Shigaraki smiled.
"My quirk may not have an effect on you, but I'm sure his does." His words were all the warning needed for Izuku to stop in place.
The large black figure of the beaked villain that Izuku had made sure to keep within his field of vision disappeared; leaving behind an unconscious Eraser Head.
"Midoriya, behind you!" The voice of Tsu shouted from where she had told him to look. He didn't have to as he saw a large shadow loom over him.
Izuku's quirk screamed just as much as his instincts.
He was in danger.
He turned just in time to see the massive black hand cover his vision.
A large eruption blew up on the spot of rock and dust. The ground broke apart into cracks. An explosion of dust filled the area that kept everyone from seeing the villain crush Izuku's head.
But they were able to see the aftermath as it began to clear. All of them watched with their hearts pounding in their chests. Tsu and Mineta stayed close and still, their eyes glued to the spot where they had last seen their classmate. Shigaraki felt his grin growing even wider as his confidence in his pet was stronger than ever.
Then, all was revealed.
The beaked villain was hunched over; its hand was pressed into the ground. In that exact spot, they found a mop of dark green hair sticking out between its burly fingers. The rest of Izuku's body was pressed into the rock, forming a small crater.
And he wasn't moving.
Whatever hope that lingered within the two students who had just watched the murder of Izuku left without a trace. The wave of dread that washed over them was colder than the water they resided in.
"Hehehahaha!" All the while, Shigaraki was overjoyed to see Izuku squashed. He shot up onto his two feet and glared down at the unmoving body. "How does karma taste, you annoying NPC!? Like dirt I'm sure! You think you can just make yourself an essential character in my game!?" Shigaraki howled with amusement before bending over to pick up the hand that had dislodged from his face. He carefully put it back on as the beaked villain let go of Izuku's head to stand up straight. "Well then, allow me to introduce you kids to my Nomu. A bio-engineered super warrior built specifically to take down the Symbol of Peace himself. I'm sure that you've already gotten a good idea of its power, but would you like to experience it firsthand?" Shigaraki asked with every intent to set the beast on the two remaining teens, regardless of their answer.
The two whom the question was directed to knew this just as well, but I couldn't be helped that one was slightly hopeful.
"U-u-um-um, n-no?" Through trembling lips, Mineta answered the villain.
Shigaraki said nothing, but just grinned like the devil. He held up his hand with his thumb and middle finger touching. In that moment, Tsu and Mineta knew that the moment he would snap his fingers, Nomu would kill them both.
"Too ba- uh…" Shigaraki's words died in his throat. His eyes stared in awe, as did the two students. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. Kurogiri, who had been watching silently, was also bewildered at the sight. Even the Nomu itself, who seemed to display no emotion, looked confused as to why the kid, thought to be killed, had placed a skeletal palm on the ground.
Izuku slowly rose from the crater he was embedded in. Both arms were at his sides lifting him upwards until he was able to put his knees beneath him. Debris and dust rolled off him back onto the ground.
This was beyond unprecedented. That attack from the Nomu should have instantly killed the boy, and Shigaraki knew it.
So, why? How was it that he could still be moving?
All he really did know was that he felt nervous afterwards. His gaze was trained on the mop of dirty green hair that covered the face of the boy.
Then there were the horns.
Two pearly white horns on the right side of Izuku's head grew from nowhere. His left skeletal arm entered a transformation that made it grow bigger and deadlier to match his right.
Ever so slowly, he lifted his head.
At that moment, Shigaraki wondered whether he was looking at a human anymore.
Pitch-black cracks grew like endless vines from both of the voids that were his eyes. Again, on the right side, the cracks were noticeably more dominant, taking over half of the boy's face. The glowing iris on his right was nowhere to be seen in the open darkness of his socket.
His other eye, the one that remained, glared with immeasurable ferocity. Overall, his entire face was full of cuts, bruises, and blood leaking from several injuries.
Yet he didn't falter in the slightest.
Izuku stood tall. His glare never leaving his face, nor his scowl. Shigaraki was beginning to become really irritated with this boy.
"Nomu." Was all the villain needed to say for the stationary beast, standing just a few feet away from Izuku, to fall into action.
It raised one massive arm in a wide arc to smash against Izuku's side. The boy saw it coming a mile away, even with the beaked villain's speed.
Yet, he took it anyway.
The sound of flesh bashing against meat rang in their ears like a drum. Izuku was expectantly thrown from the force behind it. Upon leaving contact, everyone noticed something immediately.
Izuku's feet were still planted in the ground. As he slid across several meters, his heels dug into the rock that quickly slowed the live projectile. He stopped with his body leaning backwards, as if he were playing limbo. And being very good at it.
With his feet still lodged into the ground, he rose back up. Nothing about his expression had changed. The only thing that did change was the left side of Izuku's body, now visibly disfigured. It was if the skin and flesh on his bones were out of place. Or, at least, they were until the disfigured flesh shifted across his body, back into place.
Neither Shigaraki nor Kurogiri could believe that a child had just taken a full hit from the Anti-Symbol of Peace… and come out with no lasting injuries.
"So… this is the so-called weapon that you're going to use to kill All Might." A pause followed as the other's waited for his next sentence. "I'm disappointed."
Shigaraki went red with rage.
" Yooooouuu ! You have been nothing but a constant nuisance! No matter what, I will have your corpse broken at the feet of All Might for him to grieve in your sad pathetic death!" Shigaraki lost every ounce of temper as his fury leaked in every word. "Nomu." It perked up to look at him, like a trained dog awaiting orders. " Eliminate him "
With that, the Nomu was gone in a blur.
A devastating punch was barely felt by Izuku, who was able to bring up both his arms in time. The Nomu's fist smashed against Izuku's defence, but his bones held strong. Even so, the force would be plenty to send the boy flying once more.
Instead, Izuku directed his arms to the side, where the fist followed and flew past his side, colliding into the ground next to Izuku's feet. He took this chance of vulnerability to bring each of his fingers in his right hand together into a point.
In one powerful thrust, the clawed digits stabbed straight into the Nomu's gut. It shrieked for a moment with pain. However, that moment didn't last long before a great backhand met Izuku's side. He was unable to counter this time, being flung into the air a great distance away.
The Nomu quickly ran in pursuit.
Shigaraki watched the two opposing dots go at it in the distance. His anger was boiling over at having a wannabe hero, let alone a child, get the better of him. The side of his face, where Izuku had punched him, still throbbed with pain, but he refused to show it.
"The gall of that annoying imp." The villain hissed. He needed some way to let off some steam before finally making his way out of here. If he couldn't kill All Might today, then he would at least take out some of his students. "Now, where were we?" Shigaraki craned his neck to face Tsu and Mineta.
Or at least, where he last saw them.
"What!? Where did they go!?" He seethed in frustration as he spun around to locate the other two students. No matter where he looked, there was no trace of them nor the broken body of Aizawa anywhere. "Grrrrraaaaaa! These kids are infuriating!" Shigaraki made no effort to stop himself from falling into hi bad habit, scratching vigorously at his neck.
Kurogiri wouldn't admit that he too had not noticed either of their disappearances, but he wasn't about to gain the attention of another temper tantrum from the man. He simply watched on, waiting for the right time.
..............................
Izuku's pretty sure he'd bitten off more than he could chew.
Twice.
The first being that this 'Nomu' thing was just as powerful as it was relentless. It didn't matter how strong Izuku's defence or his bones were. The attacks, which all had the intention of killing him in a single strike, were overwhelming. He could barely keep his ground by putting everything he can into a perfect block using the sturdiness of his skeleton. However, the amount of pain that followed in the form of a shockwave across the rest of his body was almost too much. It was like an entire earthquake shook within him each time the goliath's fist met his figure. Dodging was just as difficult as this villain was extraordinarily fast. Way faster than Iida, that was for sure.
But even so, Izuku had to keep this thing occupied until the pros arrived. If this was really the villain's weapon to killing All Might, then he needed to keep it away from his classmates by any means necessary. Izuku knew that he was the only one capable of surviving a confrontation with this kind of power.
His teacher's bloody body was proof of that.
Izuku barely ducked beneath the straight punch to his chest before using the same attack as before to send his claws deep into the Nomu's thigh. Hopefully, that would slow it down.
He jumped backwards to gain some distance but was shocked to see it still on him. The gaping puncture wound in its leg was nowhere to be seen.
"Right. Forgot about that." Izuku had quickly learned by now of this creature's apparent ability to heal anything that Izuku can dish out. Except in terms of raw strength, both were even against one another.
A round-house kick brutally crashed against Izuku's ribs. He hadn't been fast enough to dodge or block this one. As a result, he was sent tumbling into the ground as rock tore at his skin. He managed to regain himself with a roll and land back on his feet, but his quick breather was interrupted by yet another attack from his opponent.
Then there was the other thing.
His quirk.
There were two things that he noticed. He once again felt that same surge of power from the entrance exam. He had no idea what had activated it or anything that could be the cause. But it was there. His bones felt bigger than what they really were. Each of Izuku's own attacks whizzed through the air fast enough to hear.
Without this extra boost, Izuku would be nothing but a punching bag for this thing. Even then, he was still having difficulty keeping up.
An attempt to grab hold of Izuku shot past him, the Nomu's hand grazing his nose. The black-eyed teen used his left hand to rake his fingers along its side, the cuts leaking dark blood onto the ground.
And finally, there was his strange predicament of control.
Despite the added horns on his head and the disappearance of one of his eyes, Izuku felt no battle against his quirk. But that didn't mean he couldn't feel it lingering just beneath, waiting to lunge forth. However, it was docile for the time being. Seemingly working with Izuku to give him enough strength to combat this freak of science.
Izuku had absolutely no idea why it was suddenly working with him, but he was by no means complaining.
It reminded him of his fight with Tokoyami. There were differences and similarities that Izuku was able to catch onto. Izuku wanted to ignore Dark Shadow and focus on the mission. However, Grimm seemed to want nothing more than to beat the living hell out of the other sentient quirk. That was what led to his battle to become messy, Grimm becoming a burden on Izuku's mind. Both he and his quirk fought for control as they were at the same time trying to fight Tokoyami.
But this time, both he and Grimm wanted to go up against this villain. Izuku could feel the instinctual urge to take out the Nomu. He wasn't sure, but this very well could be Grimm's influence in his mind. The exact same thing from the battle exercise.
This was it. Their compromise. This was how Izuku could learn to work with his quirk.
The only problem was…
What did Grimm want?
Izuku failed to dodge. He fell to the ground as one of his legs was swept from beneath him. Instantly, he felt a massive grip tighten around his left leg. He's then dragged backwards to which Izuku retaliates by digging his fingers into the ground. His efforts were in vain, the strength behind the Nomu was far greater.
Suddenly, Izuku was brought up into the air. As he hung by his leg for a moment, he saw the Nomu use its other arm to grip around Izuku's torso. The sheer power in its grip would have been enough to crush him instantly if it weren't for his absurdly strong ribcage.
Although, it would seem it wouldn't protect him for what was about to come.
Izuku found this out when he realized what the Nomu was about to do. He has no time to try and escape as he feels the grip on his leg pull in the opposite direction of his chest.
The Nomu was trying to tear off Izuku's leg.
Now was one of those times that Izuku was grateful for his indestructible skeleton. At least, he thought it was anyway. Ever since he manifested his quirk, times that would make it seem he would have come out with broken bones or fractures left the boy unharmed.
He just really hoped that now would be one of those times.
Izuku grunted under the building force of the Nomu attempting to rip off his limb. He used his arms to try and hit his opponent in any way, but it didn't so much as flinch. Any wounds he would inflict would heal faster than he could make them. The pull just kept getting stronger.
That was when Izuku felt the first sting of pain in his thigh. The teen realized that it wasn't his bones, but rather his flesh around it. The Nomu's grip was crushing his muscles and nerves. But there was something else that he wasn't sure of yet. Again, he tried anything he could reach or get a hold of to try and get the Nomu to back off. Again, nothing worked.
This time, a jolt shot up his body. It came from the same spot in his thigh. Only now, it didn't go away.
No, instead, it kept getting worse. It doubled in pain that brought forth a pained grunt from the greenette.
That was when the entirety of his skin, muscle, nerves, everything was ripped clean off of Izuku's bone.
He screamed in complete agony in the torture he had just endured. Just below the fabric of his hero costume, Izuku's flesh was peeled away. His skeletal leg had nothing left except for some bloodstains. That was why it was strange to still feel pain course through his stripped limb.
The Nomu obviously didn't care one bit as he took the same hand that still had the boy's flesh in its grip and punched Izuku square in the stomach.
There were unfortunately no bones there to protect him this time. He feels his organs rupture from the impact. He practically choked on his own blood as it gushed from his burning throat.
The pain-filled teen was shot into the air from the attack. His bloodied body flew above the ground for many seconds. Soon enough, he crashed back into the dirt. His figure skidded and rolled across the floor.
He felt blessed when he finally came to a stop. Pain still riddled within him, but at least he finally had the chance to breathe. Izuku lay on his stomach, limbs spread out however they saw fit. He didn't bother to move until he had recovered all of his damaged organs. The blood that flowed from his throat was coughed out or accidentally swallowed as he gasped for air.
Overall, he felt like hell.
It was really beginning to piss the boy off.
A strained grunt escaped his throat as he lifted himself up. Lifted up on his shaky skeletal arms he was now able to see the Nomu approaching him. For something that doesn't appear to have emotion, it sure did know how to mock him with how it slowly walked towards the injured teen.
He let out a shaky breath. The ache in his leg was still fresh. His body shook with real fear and a flood of adrenaline.
Izuku couldn't keep going like this.
He felt weak. He felt sick. His head was spinning as the image of the Nomu swung between focus and a blur.
There was a large weight on his body that closed in on him like a trap.
A sickening realization dawned upon him.
Izuku brought his left arm to gently touch against his left cheek. Although he couldn't see it, he could feel it all the same. His remaining iris was fading.
But why? He didn't feel any sort of struggle within his body for control that his quirk always so hungrily fought for.
Or was it… was it perhaps that he no longer had the strength to fight back? In his defeated state, Izuku was ripe for the picking. Without any resistance, Grimm was taking over.
He lowered his hand to look at it. Clawed fingertips were growing. The bones were expanding and growing thicker. He could feel the power held within. A small lick of his tongue and he could feel his jagged teeth turning into sharp points. Another pair of horns protruded from the back of his head to complete the set. Both of his legs, sitting weakly beneath him, shed their flesh and too began to transform. Just as they did in the entrance exam, his legs morphed into digitigrade limbs that ended with more vertical claws.
A cold tingle ran down his spine as he heard the tearing of his shirt. Izuku was sure that would be his spine piercing out of his back. This continued all the way down to his tailbone. From there, it sprouted outward into a long spiny tail.
Izuku was witnessing himself lose every bit of control he had worked so hard to keep. His movements didn't feel like his own. He didn't feel as if he were actually looking through his own eyes. It was almost like looking through a T.V screen.
In this distorted vision, Izuku took one last glance at the incoming Nomu.
He must have been more distracted than he thought as the villain was already upon him.
It raised a fist up high.
With all its power, it brought it down.
..............................…
"Die, you bastard!"
That was all the warning that the villains got, but it was too late.
Kurogiri slammed down to the ground with a force bashing against his neck, which he thought was concealed. Shigaraki span in place to find that his companion had been taken down by a student with spiky blond hair and red eyes. One of his hands was firmly holding down the villain.
"It seems that all UA students want to die so bad but just can't unless they find the right person for the job." Shigaraki growled at this kid's sudden appearance. He charged towards him, trying to kill the boy without a second thought.
Too bad he couldn't do that either. He had to jump away as yet another young male attempted a sneak attack. It was slower, easier for the villain to move out of the way.
This brat had red hair that spiked upwards and rough-looking arms.
"Did any of the villains I brought kill any of you?" Shigaraki cast some of his ire onto the useless thugs that had tagged along. He knew that they were dumb and weak, but they were experienced enough to kill a few kids, right? Apparently not.
"Back for round two. Nice one, Bakugo." Kirishima called out while keeping an eye on the villain.
"Can't say the same for you. The hell did ya miss for?" Bakugo retorted.
"Yeah, yeah. My bad, I'll admit. But as long as we got the guy that can move all these villains around, then we're good to go until the pros show up." Kirishima replied more light-heartedly. The redhead stayed in a defensive position between Shigaraki and Bakugo. The blue-haired villain let out a long sigh of annoyance.
"I can't tell who to be more upset with. The damn little heroes running around, or my colleagues who can't seem to do anything right." Shigaraki sent some of his venom towards the downed Kurogiri who fidgeted under the oppressing glare. "Alright kiddies, who wants to die first?"
Both students tensed in their spot as they prepared to defend themselves. That was before the sound of footsteps caught their attention.
All of them turned towards the approaching figure.
"Aaaah, Nomu. Just in time. I trust that you managed to take care of the boney brat." Shigaraki felt a satisfied smile creep onto his face. Especially when he saw the blood dripping from its fist. The villain's words caused the two students to pale.
"M-Midoriya?" Kirishima asked hesitantly. If this freaky beaked monster was able to take down one of their strongest of 1-A, then Kirishima was fearful for himself and his friend.
"Hmm? Oh, yes. Now that I think about it, that big-eyed girl did say that his name was Midoriya. Tch, the nuisance had it coming." Shigaraki mocked as the Nomu stood loyally at his side. "But now that he's taken care of, I would very much like to take back my mode of transportation." The villain smiled evilly behind the hand.
Honestly, the two students weren't feeling so confident anymore. Kirishima was starting to feel his heart pump faster as he subconsciously clenched his teeth.
Bakugo still held a firm hand on Kurogiri's neck armour, but he too was a little unsure under the situation that this black beast was truly able to kill Izuku. Guess he'll just have to take the upper hand.
"Yeah, sure. You can have him back." Bakugo said to gain Shigaraki's attention. He flashed a deviant smile that rivalled the villains. "If you want him back in pieces that is." Bakugo finished with a few small explosions going on off on the metal brace. Kurogiri grunted with pain under his hold.
"Amusing." Bakugo flinched at the single word of Shigaraki. He didn't look affected at all by his threat. If this was true, then both he and Kirishima were in real danger. "Nomu." A bead of sweat dripped down Bakugo's forehead. The redhead in front of him settled into a wider stance. Once again, Shigaraki only smiled. "Kill- "
Shigaraki never finished that command.
His last word was drowned out by another noise that filled the USJ.
It was bellowing and high in pitch.
This was the thundering screech of something that was among them. It was so painfully loud that all who heard were forced to cover their ears or risk going deaf.
The shrill cry grated against Bakugo's eardrums that he had no choice but to let go of Kurogiri and step away. Both his hands were pressed tightly against the sides of his head to block out the noise from entering his ears, yet he was still able to hear it perfectly.
Kirishima was in the same boat. He had deactivated his quirk on his hands so that he could drown out the roar any way possible.
The villains, only a few feet away, were in the same boat. They could not do anything else other than to protect themselves from the audio attack.
Who or whatever might be doing this, they could tell that the source of this screech was beyond pissed.
...........................…
"Aaaaaah! What is this!?" Mina called out in pain. She looked to her friends for an answer, but they had not heard her. Mina hadn't even heard herself. The fuzzy fur collar of her costume was brought up to muffle the sound invading her ears.
The rest of the UA students at the top of the stairs near the exit were doing similar actions. Their newest additions, Tsu, Mineta, and Aizawa were huddled together in the group.
All, except for Aizawa, did whatever they could to ease the strain on their ears.
..............................…
Tokoyami not only had to deal with the overwhelming painful sound, but Dark Shadow was going on a frenzy. Even within the thick dome of the windstorm zone, it was simply too loud to not cover his ears.
It only got worse from there as he could feel the dread from his quirk freaking out all over the place.
"The void! The void is awake and here!" Dark Shadow flailed about with no sense of direction, nearly hitting Koda a few times.
Tokoyami didn't know exactly what that meant, but he had a pretty good idea.
..............................…
"Hold on, Jiro!" Yaoyorozu hated to do so, but she took her hands from over her ears to get ready to grab for the pair of noise-cancelling earmuffs. The screech was agony to her head, but she could only imagine the torture that the purple-haired girl was enduring in front of her.
Jiro lay on the ground, pain taking hold of every facial detail on her expression. Yaoyorozu could see that her mouth was open but couldn't hear anything else other than the roar that drowned out everything else.
Kaminari, despite his current condition of quirk overuse, was also being affected by the call.
The muffs were done. She grabbed them and quickly set them over Jiro's head. The moment they were perfectly over her ears, relief washed over Jiro's face. She then proceeded to pass out right then and there.
Looking at her own hands, Yaoyorozu saw that blood had stained them red.
As much as it was painful to listen to, she got to making two more pairs.
..............................…
Todoroki didn't know what the cause of such a horrifying howl would be, but he would very much appreciate it if it stopped.
He held his ears as tightly as he could, but it didn't do much in the end. He had just barely begun his way back to the front gate when it started.
Whatever this was, it didn't sound very happy.
..............................…
Ojiro was so caught off guard from the dazing shriek that he had accidentally fallen from his low perch and crashed to the ground. He was lucky that he had not fallen into any of the flames, but at least he would be able to get rid of them if it were to happen.
This high-pitched bellow was simply too much to handle. He could only hope that the villains were just as affected by it as he was.
What on earth could possibly make such a sound?
..............................…
Even though Kurogiri had been set free, he was put right back into another hold, one that raked his sense of hearing. He squirmed on the ground, trying his best to use his misty hands to shield his ears from the roar
Bakugo had managed to back away closer to Kirishima. The two were simply trying to get past this strange attack.
That was when they realized something even stranger.
Was this call so loud that it could drown out the light? Bakugo peered up at the ceiling. What he found was stunning. The lights that were spread out across the dome were being shattered by the ear-piercing screech. First went the protective glass panes, then the light bulbs inside. It was causing their only source of light to dim as more bulbs broke.
Bakugo watched as more and more panes gave way, contributing to the building darkness.
It went on until they were plunged into a black world. From there, the roar finally ceased. Their ears were graced with silence other than their own heads throbbing. However, it came at the cost of their vision.
Nowhere was there a source of light that could illuminate the field. However, upon closer inspection, Bakugo and Kirishima spotted the faint ray of light leaking through the barely open doors of the front entrance.
"What the hell is this? Nobody in my party has this kind of quirk. Gah! I have such a headache." Both students could hear Shigaraki groan not too far from them.
"Master Shigaraki, I suggest that we make our escape in this given cover. I'm not certain of our advantage anymore to come out cleanly anymore." Kurogiri mumbled close to him. The mist villain must have moved away the moment the screech stopped.
"Tch! I can't see anything now. I don't have a high enough skill to fight in the dark. Maybe we should-"
"Ah!"
Silence followed after Kirishima involuntarily let out a small yelp. Bakugo legitimately thought about hitting the redhead for giving away their positions, but before he could, he felt something cut his shoulder.
It was faint, but he heard the smallest sound of a tink hitting the ground just afterwards. Before he could begin to figure it out, he felt a force tackle into his chest.
"Get down!" The voice of Kirishima called out above him as Bakugo hit the ground with his back.
Not a moment later, a shower of hundreds of small objects rains down upon them. It was the broken glass from the lights above. Kirishima had hardened himself to act as a human shield to the blond from the sharp falling debris.
"And then there's this!? Ah! Kurogiri!" The greatly annoyed voice of Shigaraki made it obvious he had gotten a few cuts himself before calling to the mist man.
"Yes, sir!" No one could see it, but Kurogiri created a warp above the other villain to act as a sort of umbrella.
The shower of cuts lasted for a few seconds, but thankfully no longer than that. The noise of a thousand little glass pieces could be heard all around them as it began to slow. Another second later, it came to a stop.
As soon as it did, Bakugo pushed Kirishima back and stood up. He made sure not to put his hands in a safe spot where it wouldn't get stabbed with glass as he did. Just a little bit away, they could hear the crunch of even more glass as they assumed the two villains to be moving around.
"Can this damn mission get any more annoying!? I've just about had it with this crap!" Shigaraki screamed with all his frustration. Bakugo couldn't help but grin at the villain's annoyance.
That grin didn't hold for very long as it sounded like he was about to say something more, but quickly cut himself off.
It was now a deathly silent.
All except for the sound of distant footsteps and the crunch of glass.
"Who is that? Identify yourself!" Shigaraki called out into the darkness. He must have heard it just before Bakugo did. Ever since Kirishima had told him to get down, he had not heard a word from the redhead since. He could only think that he was still next to him and was also able to hear the slow approach.
The footsteps were getting closer.
There was something undeniable about them. They were too loud and easy to pick up for them to be by mistake. Whoever was making coming towards them wanted to be heard. Sometimes even kicking up glass shards to roll on the ground.
Then there was the second thing he noticed.
The pattern of the sound… it seemed as if they were walking on all fours.
Who the hell in their right mind would put their hands down on the ground?
Bakugo did not get an answer as he was instead fixated on his next question.
Why did the footsteps stop?
There was something different about the silence that fell upon them. It was simply because of the fact that it was too quiet.
No sound of breaths, no small ruffles of clothing, no more glass shards moving around or being crushed underfoot, nothing.
Just.
Complete.
Silence.
Just as Bakugo had thought he had actually somehow died and was in the empty abyss of death, he was graced with one sound that proved he was still among the land of the living.
However, he could say the same for whatever the source of the noise was. The sound nearly caused him to hurl up the contents of his stomach.
Without a doubt, one of the villains was being ripped into shreds. The sound of tearing flesh and crushing bone met their ears and filled their hearts with fear. Wet splatters of what could only be gallons of blood accompanied the fleshy rips of meat and limbs.
There were some things that crunched, and then there were others that squished. All of it together combined into a chorus of dread.
The foul stench of warm flesh and organs was enough to make anyone gag. It took the two teens everything they had not to cough, let alone not to puke.
They only covered their mouths as they stared wide-eyed into the darkness in hope that whatever this was wouldn't find them.
Part of the remains fell onto the ground, emitting a thud and a splat. This happened a few more times until one last larger smack hit the ground. From what they could tell, it sounded like it had fallen into a puddle.
Shigaraki was sure of this.
He had been close enough to whatever caused this to have sent some of the flying blood onto his figure. He couldn't see it, but he could very well feel and smell it covering him.
The villain would never admit it, but he was terrified.
The sounds have completely stopped now.
All that was left was the rhythmic drop of a liquid hitting the ground.
Every single bit of it had come from a mere couple yards away from him. But even as he stared in the direction where it came from, he could not see anything but darkness.
That was until he saw them.
A pair of glowing green dots that are barely shown in the lightless dome. They were staring directly at him.
Shigaraki was instantly reminded of the eyes of the boy he had sent the Nomu to go kill. At first, he felt anger that his weapon had also failed to do as instructed. But then there was more fear than ever as the villain realized something about these eyes.
They absolutely towered above him.
"N-Nomu! Attack!" Shigaraki called for the beast to fight whatever stood before him. There was nothing that responded. "Nomu!" Again, nothing.
The only reply to the villain's command was a crackling growl.
It made Shigaraki feel like a child confronting one of their greatest nightmares as he stared into the green orbs.
They began to get closer.
His breath hitched as he tried to move, but fear had gripped the joints in his body.
The eyes lowered until they were level with his own eyes, still getting closer as they went.
Only Shigaraki's hands were able to budge as he brought them up to protect himself. He didn't know how well it would work in the end, but his drive to live on was enough. However, the heavy terror felt almost too much for him to so much as keep standing.
That was until the eyes were now directly in front of him.
Then, all Shigaraki felt… was death.
"Kurogiri!" He reacted almost immediately. The mist villain was petrified with horror, but he would not dare to risk Shigaraki getting seriously harmed or especially killed.
A warp gate appeared over the blue-haired man as did one over its user.
Just as it did, the green eyes launched forward.
A loud crack rang out in the USJ.
The villains were gone.
The green eyes remained motionless for a minute. A growl of annoyance that the villain had managed to escape rumbled past its jaws.
However, its prey had not gotten away unscathed.
Long jagged fangs parted as it opened its snout. A small object could be heard falling onto the ground below.
It may have lost its primary target, but there was still plenty to hunt.
Green eyes swiveled to face the other two occupants of the central plaza.
White masses that outlined the shapes of two boys who looked on with fearful expressions. They came close to making eye-contact with it, but never quite meeting its gaze.
It recognized both but was only really interested in one.
The boy with one large gauntlet on his right arm and the short spiky hair.
Tempting… but no.
It turned away before either of the afraid boys could finally notice it. Its steps were silent and carefully placed.
There was much to be done.
This was the first time in 11 years that it's had this chance. It was not going to waste it.
Grimm was among them.