"Of all the times for that guy to be absent."
Aizawa cursed under his breath. Said guy being All Might, who had apparently used up his transformation time and had asked for a time-out.
Thirteen was a decent hero, but her Quirk isn't really very suitable for head-on fights against villains- not unless they want the battle to end in a massacre.
"Thirteen, have you contacted the school?"
"There's no signal, Aizawa-senpai! The comms can't get through!"
"Tsk. Figures they came prepared. Thirteen, begin the evacuation and call the school as soon as you can. Kaminari, try using your Quirk to signal for help. There's a good chance an electric user is jamming the signal. I'll hold them off."
"But sensei, you can't fight them all alone! With so many villains…you can't disable all their Quirks!"
"Midoriya, no good hero is a one-trick pony. Thirteen, take care of them!"
Leaving those words, Aizawa rushed down the flight of stairs and met the charging group of villains.
The bandage on his neck flung through the air, and his goggles slid down his eyes, signifying his battle mode.
"Rushing at us all alone? Then get ready to die!"
A villain with projectile-shooting hands laughed and pointed his fingers at Aizawa. But to his utter confusion, his Quirk didn't activate, causing him to just stand there as his body was wrapped in bandages and thrown to the other rushing villains.
Similar results happened to every villain that tried to attack, causing panic and confusion. Even when a mutant Quirk user appeared whose Quirk Aizawa can't disable, they were just defeated head-on.
"Aizawa-sensei is amazing!"
"Yeah! He handled them so easily!"
"Students, follow me! Trust your Aizawa-sensei to hold them off. Right now, the best help we can offer him is to quickly contact the school."
Thirteen said, causing the 1A students to finally stop gawking. But when they just began to run towards the gate, a black smoke appeared in their path.
"Greetings. We are the League of Villains. Today, we've come to UA, this bastion of heroism, to end the life of All Might, the Symbol of Peace."
The smoke coalesced, revealing a tall guy wearing a butler uniform and metal bracer on his neck.
"However, it seems All Might's schedule was revised? But even so, I won't-"
Before he could finish, his body slammed heavily on to the floor, the smoke around him dissipating.
"You talk too much. Thirteen-sensei, go ahead. I'll help Aizawa-sensei hold the villains off."
With his hands in his pocket, Hiro stepped on the metal bracer on Kurogiri's neck as he calmly surveyed the distant battlefield. Then, without waiting for Thirteen's response, he headed straight for Aizawa's side.
The reason he didn't take action right away was because he was waiting for Kurogiri to show up. This guy's Warp Gate was very troublesome- a strategic asset for the League of Villains which allows them to come and go as they please.
He also wanted to avoid his classmates from being teleported to different parts of the venue.
Although it ended well in canon, that was hugely due to plot armor. If Kurogiri had decided to drop them a few kilometers above, only some like Bakugo would be able to survive the fall.
"Student, don't go!"
Thirteen cried out in panic as Hiro's figure vanished.
"Thirteen-sensei, don't worry. Hiro is the strongest in our class. He'll be fine. Right now, our priority is to call for back-up."
"I didn't call him just because of that. But because of…"
"Bastard! Don't think you're the only one who can fight!"
"Dude! I got your back!"
Thirteen held her helmet in despair as Bakugo, Todoroki, and Kirishima followed Hiro's lead. Kaminari and some of the boys hesitated, before gritting their teeth and following along.
"...oh."
…
Hiro didn't care what his actions had triggered. He landed right beside Aizawa, knocking down the mobs surrounding him.
"Ryugamine, what are you doing here!? Get back!"
"I'm here to help, Sensei. One of the villains intercepted us and said they're here to kill All Might. I'm worried what kind of weapon they possess to have the confidence to say that."
"Kill All Might?"
Aizawa muttered, stopping in place as the villains around fell in droves courtesy to Hiro.
Although he was reluctant to admit it, his student coming to help really alleviated a huge amount of pressure off his shoulders. He even gained a moment of reprieve for his eyes that were beginning to sting.
"Sensei! We've also come to help!"
Aizawa sighed as Kirishima's voice sounded behind him. Ice spread in one direction, freezing a large group of villains. Meanwhile, explosions sounded from another side.
"Huh? Hey, Kurogiri. What happened to your task? Why are these students here? Kurogiriiii!!"
The blue-haired villain boss irritably said as the thugs he hired fell en masse. And when he received no response, his temper tantrum just got even worse.
"If you're talking about the smoky guy, I'll be happy to send you to meet each other."
Walking over a pile of villain bodies, Hiro chuckled as he stopped in front of Shigaraki. His gaze briefly flickered to the muscular creature with an exposed brain behind, before locking eyes with the man-child.
"Oh. You're the one who foiled my plans? Just a mere NPC…"
Shigaraki gritted his teeth and rushed forward, his palms wide open as reached out for Hiro's face. For such a lanky guy, his speed was commendable.
However, when his hand was only an inch away from his target, he froze.
His body curved inwards like a shrimp. Pain spread from his stomach and to his entire body. Then, he flew backwards.
Fortunately for him, before he could suffer a secondary damage from impact, he was caught by the black, brain-exposed creature he brought along.
"For someone so weak, you're a bit too arrogant."
Hiro said, slowly walking towards the downed Shigaraki who was coughing up a copious amount of blood.
He was lucky he still needed him alive to command the Nomu. If he hadn't held himself back, this guy would already be in a similar situation to Kurogiri. And by similar situation, he meant dead.
That's right. For an irredeemable, brainwashed villain like Kurogiri with such troublesome Quirk, Hiro wouldn't give him a second chance to cause more casualties.
He was already used to killing monsters in the world of One Punch Man, so he didn't feel much remorse when he did so.
Only a dead villain is a good villain.
He knew from experience how much damage even weak bandits can cause to ordinary humans. Although he didn't aspire to become a hero, he's not averse to doing some good for humanity when they don't inconvenience him.
"Nomu! Kill him!!!"
Shigaraki roared, stumbling as he tried to steady himself.
His pale face, disheveled hair, and bloodshot eyes made him look like an addict looking for a fix.
Under his command, the Nomu screeched and disappeared in place, appearing in front of Hiro almost in the blink of an eye.
BOOOM!
The earth exploded, and dust flew all through the air. From afar, Todoroki and the others who had almost finished off the surrounding mobs, turned to the direction of the explosion.
As the dust settled, they saw Hiro standing in the center of a crater, his right hand clenching the Nomu's fist.
"I see. So they're about that strong, huh…"
Hiro muttered. All the energy from that punch had been redirected to his feet, causing him no damage. And in doing so, it allowed him to measure how powerful the Nomu was, and correspondingly make an estimate of All Might and AFO's level of power.
"Ryuga! Watch out!"
Kirishima's voice suddenly rang out. When the Nomu saw Hiro still alive, it raised its other fist and swung down.
From the distance, Aizawa's hair flew up as he deactivated the Nomu's Quirk. But it was no use. The creature's fist still landed squarely in Hiro's face, causing the boy to spin…and kick the Nomu away?
Yes. That's right. After being punched, it was the Nomu who was sent flying while Hiro stood there, perfectly fine.
"Tsk, tsk. So impatient. Don't worry, I'll accompany you for a bit. A sturdy punching bag is quite hard to come by, so please last for a while."
Hiro grinned, cracking his knuckles as he stepped forward. Then, with a boom, he disappeared, appearing in front of the still disoriented Nomu.
"Ora ora ora ora!"
The ground crackled and rubble flew all over as Hiro and the Nomu exchanged blows.
Theoretically, with the Nomu's strength that matched the now weakened All Might, along with its Shock Absorption and Super Regeneration Quirk, engaging it in a fist-to-fist close combat was a suicidal decision.
But in the ensuing battle, the Nomu was thoroughly suppressed. Its body was like a ping-pong ball, flying all over the place.
"Ryugamine-san…is that strong?"
"That bastard, he didn't even use a fraction of this strength in our fight!"
Todoroki and Bakugo, along with Aizawa and the other 1A students who chose to stay, watched in shock as Hiro and the Nomu moved at a speed their eyes can barely perceive, with sonic booms occurring in each clash.
"No. No! This is impossible! How can Nomu be matched by a mere student?! This is unfair! Yo-you're cheating!!!"
Shigaraki clutched his hair, gritting his teeth as he watched the Nomu get pummeled. But slowly, his lips turned into a sneer.
This Nomu was designed to counter All Might. This cheating student may be winning now, but when he gets exhausted later, the Nomu will tear him limb from limb.
Once. Twice. Thrice. Shigaraki watched the Nomu being repeatedly slammed more than a dozen times. Each time it gets back up, he'll look up in glee, wanting to see the desperate expression on the cheating student's face. However, he was repeatedly disappointed.
Until at a certain moment, when the Nomu was slammed on to the ground, Shigaraki's face slowly contorted in panic and anger.
The Nomu didn't get back up again. It just lay there, its body twitching.
"Hmm, have you reached your limit? Well, it was fun while it lasted."
Hiro appeared above the Nomu, stepping over its body and pinning it to the floor. He could feel it squirm underneath, its Super Regeneration working full time to try and recover from its internal injuries.
But it was no use. Quirks don't just work out of thin air, they use the energy stored in the body in order to function.
During their confrontation, every attack he redirected and strengthened broke through the Nomu's Shock Absorption Limit- causing its body to work in overdrive to restore its injuries.
With two Quirks simultaneously operating at full capacity, it was no wonder the Nomu was quickly drained.
"Here, have your pet back."
Hiro kicked the Nomu towards Shigaraki who was cursing in the distance, hitting the blue-haired villain and causing his injuries to relapse.
"FEAR NOT! I…am here?"
And right at that exact moment, the gate of USJ slammed open and All Might's figure appeared.