THIRD PERSON POV
Riko was sprinting toward the central plaza, her boots skidding against the cracked pavement. Her mind was a whirlwind of frantic calculations. I need to get Izuku out of there. Now. Before the Behemoth catches up. If something happens to Izuku before, All Might arrives, it's game over.
As she cleared the last row of ruins and reached the fountain, her heart plummeted. Izuku Midoriya was lying unconscious at Shigaraki's feet, his body battered and limp.
"Shit… Izuku, you better be alive, you punk," she muttered under her breath. But as her gaze swept the immediate area, a cold realisation struck her. The original Nomu was missing. Did Izuku kill it? No. Impossible.
Her eyes snapped into focus as she felt the air behind her neck ripple and distort. Without looking, Riko dropped instantly into a low leg-split. A massive, taloned hand whistled through the space where her head had been a millisecond ago. The original Nomu had attempted a sneak attack while she was distracted by Izuku.
Riko didn't waste a heartbeat. She spun on her heel, using her momentum to execute a desperate judo manoeuvre. She locked her legs around the Nomu's thick waist and used the leverage to hoist her upper body onto its back, as if reaching for a chokehold. But she wasn't going for the neck.
From her sleeve, she produced two straight cylindrical pipes, high-density carbon coils she had requested from Momo earlier, specifically designed to store massive amounts of her kinetic charge. With a guttural snarl, she stabbed both pipes directly into the Nomu's exposed, pulsing brain.
She kicked off the creature's back to create distance, and as she flew through the air, the pipes ignited with a blinding neon-yellow glow.
BOOM!
The explosion was catastrophic. It didn't just rattle the beast; it vaporized the upper half of the Anti-All Might Nomu's torso in a spray of purple fluid and charred meat.
Riko landed in a crouch, panting heavily, her vision swimming for a moment. The entire sequence had taken less than five seconds. She watched the remains of the Nomu twitch on the ground, the flesh already beginning to knit itself back together with sickening wet sounds.
"Tsk… fucking monster," she spat.
Slow, deliberate clapping echoed through the plaza. Riko turned to see Shigaraki standing near the fountain, his head tilted.
"Incredible. Absolutely incredible," Shigaraki rasped. "What reflexes… what reaction time. And that explosion… that Nomu was built to tank All Might's 100% punches, yet you dealt such a blow. Wonderful. Seems like you are the MVP of this match."
"Oi, oi, oi…" Riko paused, then slowly folded her arms, tilting her nose upward in a smug, defiant pose despite the blood dripping down her arm. "…don't stop now. Go on, praise me more. Maybe I'll even give you an autograph after this mess is over."
"Ha. Ha. Ha… you can still joke," Shigaraki's voice dropped an octave, turning icy. " You know, I had considered all the possible aspects of this attack, even the possible interference of students and reinforcements in this plan, yet I failed to consider a variable like you. It's a humbling experience to be honest, sadly.....I can't have you running around ruining the Fun, I guess it's time we deal with the variable, don't you say."
"Bla… bla… bla… stop blabbing, you bastard. Let's finish this." Riko mimed picking her ear before dropping into a low fighting stance, steel pellets clutched in both hands.
"Kurogiri."
On command, the purple mist surged, obscuring Shigaraki from view. A portal spiralled open beside Riko. She braced for a physical strike, but instead, a crack of gunfire rang out. A bullet grazed her temple, severing a few strands of hair. She didn't hesitate; she tossed two lightly charged pellets into the air and detonated them, the concussive force dispersing Kurogiri's smoke.
Damn it, Riko thought, her eyes darting around. I can't use full-charge blasts here with Izuku lying right there. I need to close the gap.
She dodged two more rounds, moving with a frantic, possessed energy. She abandoned all strategy and rushed the fountain, but as she burst through the remaining mist, she found nothing. Shigaraki was gone. Izuku was gone.
Shit...he took him!
The thought was cut short by a loud sound that shook the very foundation of the USJ. A massive boulder crashed into the plaza where she stood, the shockwave throwing her backwards. Out of the rising dust cloud, a red glow cut through.
A ten-foot-tall nightmare stepped out. The Behemoth Nomu had finished its evolution. Its exposed brain was now encased in a thick, skull-like helmet of bone. Two glowing red orbs served as eyes, and its mouth was a jagged maw of bone spikes. Its entire body was encased in an obsidian, plate-like shell. (author - for better envisioning, think of doomsday from Batman vs Superman, but edgier)
Riko cursed and let fly her maximum-charge pellets. But the Behemoth didn't just take them this time....it swatted them away with its massive claws, the pellets exploding harmlessly in the air.
It's gaining intelligence, she realised with horror. It's learning.
Suddenly, she felt a second presence. She side-stepped a swipe just in time to see the original Nomu, now fully regenerated, closing in. (author - damn...shes cooked, bakugo where are you...)
"Oi, you for real?" Riko gasped, dodging a punch from the original only to be nearly crushed by a stomp from the Behemoth. "One versus two? How the fuck is that fair? Is this what I get for cursing that slime basta-"
Unfortunately, she was not given the luxury of time to think as she was forced into a desperate dance of survival. She barely matched the original's nomu, speed backed with pure adrenaline, backflipping over a kick and using the height to land on the Behemoth's shoulders. She prepared another charged pipe to drive into its head, but before she could strike, a dozen bone spikes erupted from the Behemoth's back.
"Agggh!" Riko screamed as the spikes impaled her thighs and shoulder.
Still, Riko's battle instinct prevailed, and it forced her to suppress the pain as she slammed a still-charged pipe against its behemoth back to create an explosion that blew her off the monster, creating distance between them. She hit the ground hard, gasping for air. With trembling hands, she reached for a jagged spike embedded in her gut and tore it out with a guttural cry.
She looked up. The original was behind her and was closing in on her. while the Behemoth in front of her had recovered and was back, charging towards her as well. Riko, without delay, slammed her hands on the ground.
"AGHHH COME ON YOU FUCKIN CUNTS!" Riko roared, pushing through the agonizing pain. She sprinted toward the Behemoth, the original Nomu hot on her heels. As the Behemoth swiped, she slid between its massive legs, throwing three maximum-charge pellets at its heels.
BOOM!
The Behemoth stumbled forward, crashing face-first into the original Nomu. As they tangled on the ground, the ground suddenly glowed and exploded, consuming both the nomu's.
The explosions didn't stop.
Riko was losing blood rapidly, her vision blurring, her skin pale from blood loss. But she kept going. She kept on throwing maximum-charged pellets, one after another, until eventually her pouch was empty, yet it didn't stop her. She then began grabbing chunks of rubble, that had broken off from their prior fight and used them as replacements for the pellets she started charging them, and hurling them into the smoke.
One more... just one more... I can win this...
BANG.
The crack of gunfire shattered the air, echoing off the dome's curved walls.
Riko's body jerked violently. For a heartbeat, then there was nothing, just a sudden, icy numbness spreading out from her skull.
Huh? The thought was sluggish, detached. Why am I... falling?
The ground rushed up to meet her. As she collapsed into the dust, the last thing she saw was her world beginning to liquefy into a hazy, suffocating red. The red pooled at the edges of her sight, blooming inward until the light died and the darkness swallowed her whole.
THIRD POV
Standing over Riko's motionless form, Tomura Shigaraki lowered his arm. The barrel of the handgun was still warm, a thin wisp of smoke curling into the stale air of the USJ. He looked down at her, his expression unreadable behind the severed hand masking his face, though his eyes flickered with a strange, detached pity.
"Such a waste of potential," Shigaraki muttered. Before him, the wet, rhythmic squelch of regenerating Nomus provided a gruesome soundtrack to the moment. "It's a pity I had to end you here. You almost had them."
BAKUGO POV
The air in the plaza was a cocktail of freezing mist and blistering heat. The "half-and-half" bastard was looking like he was on his last legs, but he was still pushing out walls of ice that the slim, freakish Nomu kept melting with those damn green flames.
That "half-and-half" bastard looked like he was on his last legs, but he was still churning out walls of ice that the slim, freakish Nomu kept melting away with those damn green flames.
"Move it, Icy-Hot! You're in my way!" I roared, propelling myself forward with a series of rapid-fire blasts.
Beside us, Kirishima was playing the human shield, his skin hardened into jagged, prehistoric rock. He intercepted every close-range strike the Nomu threw our way. I hate to admit it, but the damn monster was faster than me.
"Focus, Bakugo! This thing won't stay down!"
I ignored him. My ears were twitching, tuned to the rhythmic, massive concussions echoing from the central fountain.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
The ground beneath my boots shivered. I knew exactly who was behind those blasts, and it only pissed me off more. She was likely taking on the ringleader while I was stuck here with this small fry, yet a knot of unease twisted in my gut at the sheer, desperate frequency of her explosions.
Hold on, Riko, you idiot! Don't you dare finish this without me!
The flaming Nomu screeched, taking to the air on leathery wings to rain down more of that green hell.
"Oh no, you don't!" I snarled. I launched myself upward, spinning like a top. I used the centrifugal force to amplify my speed, coming at the bird-freak from a blind spot. I didn't aim for the head, I aimed for its wings. "Howitzer... MINI!"
I blasted both of its wings point-blank. The leathery appendages shredded into blackened confetti, forcing the Nomu into a chaotic tailspin toward the ground.
"Now, Todoroki!" Kirishima yelled.
Todoroki didn't waste the opening. He slammed his foot down, and a massive glacier erupted from the right while a torrent of fire surged from his left. The Nomu was pinned, trapped in a cycle of thermal shock that cracked its regenerating flesh faster than it could heal. Yet to Todoroki's credit, he didn't stop; he continued spamming the nomu with fire and ice.
The creature was reduced to a mangled, skeletal frame, wiggling in the debris like a dying insect. It looked up with its eyeless face just as I reached the apex of my jump, looking down at it with nothing but pure, unadulterated intent.
"Suck on this! HOWITZER IMPACT!"
The explosion was just shy of being called a mini sun. The shockwave blew the surrounding rubble back for fifty yards, vaporising the Nomu.
As the smoke cleared, I touched down, my palms stinging and smoking. I glanced at Todoroki. He was panting, his hair matted with sweat, but he was alive. I opened my mouth to talk, but my attention was immediately snatched away by the fountain area.
The explosions over there had reached a fever pitch. It sounded desperate. It was so unlinke riko, yet what was more troubling was that whatever she was fighting had pushed her to that
"Something's wrong," Todoroki muttered, his eyes narrowing toward the smoke, which brought me back. And true to his words
Suddenly, a mangled, scorched shape lunged out of our own debris. The flame Nomu or whatever was left of it, without wings, even with half its skull and torso gone, wasn't dead. It leapt at my throat, its remaining hand glowing with a lethal heat. I was mid-breath, my hands still cooling from the Howitzer. I knew I wouldn't be able to generate a big enough blast in time.
"Get back!" Kirishima's voice boomed.
He tackled the Nomu mid-air, his hardened arms wrapping around its neck as he slammed it into the dirt. "Finish it, guys!"
Todoroki, without hesitation, unleashed a final, concentrated beam of fire and ice, brittle-fying the creature's remaining limbs. I didn't waste the opportunity. I leaped into the air, my heart hammering against my ribs, fueled by anger....to think this monster dared to attack me
"DIEEEE!"
I unleashed a point-blank blast that finally silenced the flaming freak for good.
I landed, gasping for air. My Quirk was overused to the point that my forearms felt like they were full of needles. I looked toward Kirishima; he gave me a shaky thumbs-up before slouching to the ground to catch his breath. I hated to admit it, but that thing took a lot out of me. Todoroki didn't look any better.
Just then, a single, sharp sound cut through the air.
BANG.
The sound of a gunshot.
Then followed by slience the continuous explosion that had become a constant for a while was suddenly cut out.
My blood turned to ice. I looked toward the fountain where the riko was fighting, and then my eyes met Todoroki's. He looked just as pale. There were no more explosions. No more shouting. Just the sound of the wind whistling through the hole Riko had made in the ceiling.
"We're coming, Riko," I hissed through gritted teeth, my vision tunneling as I broke into a dead sprint toward the center. Every muscle in my arms screamed in agony, my nerves frayed and sparking like blown fuses, but I didn't care. I shoved past the debris, my boots skidding on the cracked tile.
"Don't you dare die on me!" I roared into the vacuum of the plaza, my voice cracking with a desperation I refused to acknowledge. "You hear me, you idiot?! Don't you dare!"
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It's Authorin time...
Hello readers.... your dear author is going through some shitty time work and studies, which I was kindly ignoring, have come to bite me...ahem, oh, and those wondering bout riko fate...yeah.... shes ded....sad ): rip her
Naa for real, wait for next chapters I got you, and dont cruse me, meanwhile.
also review people, what you waiting for?
also hint for future...