When Yagi regained consciousness he awoke to find himself in a familiar medical ward. He tried to move his left arm but found he was unable to, his whole left side was in too much pain. He winced as he gave up and resigned himself to staring at the ceiling.
"How long was I out?" He asked his nurse. At the side of his bed, waiting patiently was a short elderly woman.
She looked up at him with a sigh of relief. "A little over twelve hours." She noted, however, as she spoke a scowl formed on her face. "You were pushing yourself again, weren't you?" She asked.
"I had no choice." All Might answered. He had thought, hoped, that some hero would arrive who could have done a better job. Someone else could come and save the day while he was out. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.
"Is the boy alright?" He questioned. He had the vaguest memories of what happened. The moment things had gone south, he pushed himself, running on only adrenaline his memories had become a blur. The only distinct memory he could recall was screaming, lots of loud screaming.
"He'll live but the damage to his arms was severe. From what his doctors tell me, he was struck in both shoulders as well as in the groin." She admitted. She could see the visible wincing on All Might's face. "For the most part, he is expected to recover but there will be some complications."
"I failed." All Might noted. "I was supposed to save him but I was too slow." He sighed.
"He's alive All Might. That's what matters right now." Recovery girl reassured him. "I've talked to the doctors and they said if he goes to therapy and takes his time he can recover and with some luck, live a semi-normal life."
All Might didn't say anything, but the nurse could see from the way his body loosened up that it had at least put his mind at ease. "That's right. That's what matters." He sighed. The boy may have been injured but he was still safe, he could still be with his family and friends.
However, a scowl crossed his face as another thought soon invaded his mind. "What about the villains?" All Might asked bitterly. "What happened to them?"
"Well, that's a little more tricky." Recovery Girl exhaled. "The slime villain is dead. He was burnt to death from the boy's quirk overtaxing itself. When he was injured the pain, fear, and adrenaline must have really pushed him over the edge. There is good news; due to the circumstance, no charges will be pressed."
"It would be foolish if there were." All Might grumbled. "I can't think of any judge or jury who would pronounce him guilty for defending himself."
"What about…the girl?" All Might asked with a rougher tone. "What happened to her?"
"As far as we know, she vanished without a trace." Recover girl answered. "That said you clearly seemed to have damaged her, but she was still standing in the end. Right now there are various agencies on the lookout for her. She's gotten quite a reputation after all the damage she cost before the fight."
"Damage?" All Might questioned. This was the first he heard of there being any damage. Then again he had only seen her when she had appeared.
Recovery Girl shot him a sorrowful look before handing him his phone with a recent news article opened. All Might glanced at the article, reading its content. His eyes widened in disbelief. The nurse had to quickly act before he could crush the phone in his bare hands.
"From what I heard there were a lot of injuries but so far no deaths." Recovery Girl added.
"Has there been any info found about her? An address or something that can be used to track her?" All Might questioned.
"The police and other agencies are working on it, but so far nothing has surfaced beyond one thing, her name." Recover Girl answered.
"Her name?"
"She calls herself, the Herrscher of the Void."
Izuku's eyes snapped open as he shot forward. His body was drenched in sweat. He looked around trying to discern where he was, only to sigh in relief when he noticed a familiar set of posters. He reached for the lamp next to him and turned it on. He was in his bedroom, back in his mother's apartment.
"What happened?" He muttered to himself. He tried to recall what happened, yesterday. His memories were hazy, at best, but he could make out some details. "Oh."
Yesterday had not been the best day for him. He had almost died of a villain attack. He had his dreams crushed by his hero. His bully had told him to commit suicide. On second thought, maybe it was for the best, he didn't dwell too much on the past. It wasn't so good anyway.
As he got out of bed, a sharp pain jolted through his shoulder. "Ouch." He winced as he held his arm. His body felt sore. Not that it was anything new, whenever Bakugo got him in his sights, he was usually far worse for wear.
"Weak."
Izuku's eyes widened as he looked around. Who had said that? He got no response, and he didn't see any sources around his room. Maybe he should take the day off…after yesterday, his head probably wasn't in the right place.
Leaving his room, Izuku dragged himself to the kitchen. He opened the fridge, scanning for anything to eat. Cereal and milk didn't seem appealing. He could try making a sandwich or something or….
"Ramen."
Oh, right there was ramen. He took the cup of noodles and began to prepare breakfast. After he had finished cooking he took the ramen and went to turn on the news. Maybe he could see something interesting, who knows maybe a new hero debuted. Hero…. that word felt a little sour in his mouth. Nevertheless, he still turned it on, if only out of habit. He grabbed the remote and turned on the tv, before resting it on the table before him.
"It's been 14hrs since the Herrscher of the Void appeared and local law enforcement have not given any word on whether she's been apprehended or not." The news anchor announced. Izuku perked up as the screen displayed the news.
A woman with long beautiful white hair, stood on screen, in an alleyway. The area around her was in flames as an all too familiar slime villain was behind her. "The slime guy." Izuku noticed. "Oh no…when I grabbed All Might…." Izuku realized in horror. He had let a villain loose.
If he hadn't grabbed onto All Might, then the villain wouldn't have escaped. Way to go Izuku, you really just allowed a dangerous villain to roam free. Now someone was hurt or worse and it was all your fault.
"Stay back…or the kid gets it." The villain had taunted the woman. Wait a kid…oh no, Izuku's breathing hitched. Please, don't say it was another kid who got hurt because of him. As the camera changed the reporter explained the situation further. That's when Izuku felt his heart drop.
The bowl of ramen fell from his hands as the reporter named the kid that was captured. "Katsuki Bakugo." The spoke as a familiar image was shown. Bakugo had been captured by the villain. Izuku's hands trembled at the scene.
This was a nightmare, it had to be a nightmare. He reached to grab the remote only to find it had disappeared from where he had left it. Surprised he had looked down at the table, only to find his bowl of ramen, resting untouched in front of him. Wait…didn't he just drop it? How did it land on the table? He didn't hear it hit the floor.
The news continued to play, showing the woman's face against the villain. At first, he had thought her to be a hero. Possibly a vigilante, since those frequently showed up every now and then, before being labeled as a criminal. She had seemed to hesitate at first when the villain announced he had a hostage.
That's when Izuku saw it. A confident smile, adorned her lips as she flicked her wrist forward. Three white and gold lances appeared out of nowhere and fired at the villain. Izuku had thought maybe she'd have some pinpoint accuracy, shoot to immobilize or something…he was very wrong.
He saw blood splat as Bakugo's shoulders were both pierced by the lances, with a third finding its way just below his belt before the video was censored. Izuku had thought maybe it was an accident. Maybe the woman had missed or the villain had moved Bakugo into harm's way.
"Right on target." The woman spoke. Izuku heard her voice clear as day, despite the footage showing her so far away from the one recording it. Izuku heard the screams and gasps of the crowd. He saw the pro heroes try to arrest the villain…but they couldn't. When they tried to touch her, she just phased right through them.
She then turned to the camera, pulling it closer to her with what Izuku assumed was her quirk. That's when he saw it. The haunting gold eyes from his nightmare before. The woman looked at the camera with a confident and arrogant smirk, before clenching her fist and destroying the camera.
The rest of the news recapped the remaining events. It didn't get better. According to the reports numerous heroes in the area had tried to arrest the villain after she acted, and all of them were injured soon after. The list of casualties was not limited to just one or two people. Yet that wasn't even the worst part.
"Last of all, All Might had stepped in to thwart the villain. Suffice to say he had put up a valiant effort as per usual however the situation then took an unexpected turn."
A series of images appeared documenting the fight. All Might had been at an advantage at the start, but that soon disappeared when the Herrscher retaliated. However, the most noticeable similarity in all these pictures was how much often All Might's face scrunched up in agony as the Herrscher struck his side or attacked it using some other method.
The fight had quickly risen the ranks to be proclaimed as one of the pro-hero's most brutal fights. However, that wasn't the only honor it had. It had another title, the one that had most people talking.
"All Might's first draw." He hadn't lost, but he hadn't won either. To the surprise of many, this young villainess had put up more than a decent fight for the hero.
No one seemed to know who this girl was. All she did was give her name, her villain name at least, the Herrscher of the Void. She had no confirmed identity, no human alias. She was a dangerous threat at large. Someone who upon arrival, already showed her power by reaching a stalemate with All Might. Just the thought of a villain being on equal terms with All Might…that alone was bone-chilling.
Izuku turned his television off too shocked by what he had witnessed. This couldn't be real right?
"And I'm just getting started." Izuku heard her whisper. Wait…what? He looked at the television seeing it still turned off. That's when he realized…that the sound didn't come from the TV…it was coming right next to him.
Izuku slowly turned his head, hoping that whatever God existed he was hearing things. Golden glowing eyes met green, as Izuku froze on the spot. His blood running cold and his hair standing on the ends. Before him floated the Herrscher of the Void, an amused smile on her face as she glanced at him with predatory eyes.
"Hello…little insect,"