Lonely Rabbit

Chapter 23: USJ Part 2

Izuku was on edge the whole time that he and Eraserhead were fighting the villains. Normally, he would have gone back-to-back with the man and take out villains together, but Izuku had never fought with Eraser before, Rabbit was the one who could team up flawlessly with him. Not Izuku.

So he kept his distance and they picked off villains separately. A decision he regretted the moment he saw a blur and heard a loud crack.

Instantly turning his head, Izuku felt fear flood his body. He knew the thing, that Nomu was bad news. But he hadn't realized it was this bad. Eraser was pinned to the ground with a bleeding head, limp. And for a moment, Izuku feared he was too late.

Eraser shifted slightly and groaned a bit, and that allowed a brief relief to spread before pure rage took over his emotions. To make things more complicated, he spotted Hitoshi, Mei, and Tsu watching the whole thing from the side of the plaza.

When he finally got Hitoshi's attention, he signed quickly, thanking his paranoid ass that he taught his friend hero sign as part of his training months ago. He could use his friends as a way to make sure Eraserhead would be alright.

While the trio began to move quietly to an actual hiding spot behind him, Izuku engaged the Nomu. The thing was large and Izuku listens as Shigaraki began to boast about the beat as All Might level.

Had the situation not been this dire, Izuku might have had a feral grin on his face at the prospect of being able to fight something like that. Instead, his face was carefully blank while he twisted and flipped around the nomu. None of his attacks were doing anything, so he opted to keep this thing distracted until the other heroes showed up.

Shigarki was scratching his neck when Kurogiri told him a student escaped and Izuku inwardly smiled. Help would be here soon. But not soon enough it seemed.

"You aren't an NPC! How are you keeping pace with my nomu, impossible." The crusty villain began to break skin with his scratching while he stomped a foot, like a child. He suddenly froze and a grin spread across his face. "A cheat. You must be a cheater."

Izuku shivered and locked his eyes with the villain's red ones full of anger, violence, and interest. In that small moment. The Nomu landed a punch to his chest, and he was sent flying into a wall. He was now very grateful for his paranoia once again as he had worn a shock absorbent suit under his gym uniform. It still hurt obviously, but at least he wasn't dead.

That thought didn't last for long as he was grabbed by the nomu and thrown like a ragdoll. Pain shot through his whole body and through blurry vision, he saw Hitoshi and Mei, along with Tsu and now Aizawa, watching with wide, teary eyes. Well, Aizawa wasn't teary, dry eye and all.

And then, he saw Shigaraki notice them as well. He couldn't let them get hurt. 'GET UP' He willed his broken and burning body to move. The nomu had stopped slamming him around at some point, and seemed to think he was dead or about to be. And based on how Izuku currently felt, it was probably right.

But he didn't care. He rushed forward.

Shigaraki outstretched a hand to grab Tsu's face, and Izuku desperately pushed himself forward at the image of his new friend turning to dust.

But that image never came.

"You really are cool Eraser."

Izuku saw his chance and pounced on the villain, kicking his side hard enough that some cracks of his definitely broken ribs echoed. The villain did manage to wrap his hand round Izuku's arm before he went flying, losing use of his left arm. He was aware of his friends and the man he has come to see as a father figure's eyes. The fear in them, the worry. He must really look like shit.