Crimson Empress (FemDekuxToga)

37 - USJ Pt. V

The Nomu thrust its fist towards Bakugo who had no time to react. In those fractions of a second as he watched its fist rush towards him, he instinctively knew that if it were to reach him he would not be walking away from this fight alive. However a cloth wrapped tightly around his waist and yanked him to the side to avoid the fist. A wall of ice shot up but the Nomu's fist still managed to break through it. Finally the rigid back of Kirishima appeared and stood in front of Bakugo in a protective stance. Bakugo glanced to his left and found majority of the class rushing towards the central plaza, the only ones missing were Jiro, Ochaco, and Aoyama, who were stuck between Izumi and Tomura, and Toga who was still missing.

Shinso was the one to take charge of the situation.

"The teachers and Iida should be here any minute get up to the entrance! Ojiro, Shoji, and Yaoyorozu get Mr. Aizawa out of here and give him basic first aid!"

"No you all need to leave!"

Aizawa watched as his son took command while Bakugo, Todoroki, and Kirishima did their best to hold off the Nomu.

"If that thing leaves the plaza we're all as good as dead. Besides we have no idea what the handy guy can do and one of them is who knows where. We can hold the weird bird thing here bit most of the class is exhausted. They'll only get in the way. Having them group up in the safest location is our only option right now."

Aizawa grit his teeth but didn't argue against Shinso's logic. There were too many unknown variables so taking the safest route they could was the best option.

"It's got super strength and speed, regeneration, and some kind of kinetic absorbing quirk. Keep it contained and don't get too close."

That was the last piece of advice Aizawa could give before he was dragged up the stairs. He watched his son, Izumi whom he would call a daughter but never admit to it out of shyness, and his students stand before the two villains. A different kind of pain swelled in his chest, one he did not think he could ever recover from.

-----

"You three hurry up and get out of here while we hold them off, the teachers should be here soon."

Izumi calmed her shaking hands and protesting body as she readied her sword to strike at Tomura. She was unsure if she could beat the villain before her in her current state, using Overdrive and one of her super moves put too much strain on her body. Without any extra blood vials to help recover her stamina Izumi needed to prioritize safety above all else.

"I-I think we should listen to her!"

"Jiro we need to move now kero!"

Jiro was still visibly shaken and had to be dragged away by Tsuyu.

"I thought we could have a peanut gallery but I suppose there will be other times for it."

Tomura scratched his neck as he stepped forward. He had barely taken a single step before he had to jump away to avoid Izumi's blade.

"You were holding back earlier weren't you?"

A light gash appeared across Tomura's chest.

"Guess you were too handsy."

A small piece of Izumi's coat turned to dust.

Neither spoke as they charged, a blurr of crimson and black clashing without a clear winner. Cuts continuously appearing across Tomura's limbs as pieces of Izumi's coat turned to dust and fell gently to the floor.

A sudden pain made Izumi stumble for a moment which allowed Tomura to grab onto her gauntlet. She pulled back but not before the gauntlet turned to ash and her skin began to peel off, revealing the redish pink flesh and whites of her bones beneath. But she didn't care and started looking around for the source of her pain.

"Toga!"

"Getting distracted?"

Tomura grabbed onto Izumi's wrist and squeezed with enough force that an audible crack was heard. She managed to pull away and slash at the villain but he only evaded with a smirk. At the end of their exchange it was Izumi left with a broken and decayed right hand whose wrist was in the same condition.

"Where is she? Where is Toga?"

Tomura glanced towards the forest area.

"Ah so that's the little blonde who went over there. I think Jin went over there too, he should be done any minute now."

A black and crimson aura surrounded Izumi as the thick metallic scent of blood began to diffuse into the surrounding air. The crimson wing, a sign of her power, was now a dark void that seemed to suck in the surrounding light and the same dark gauntlet with crimson claws had taken its place on her right arm.

Izumi disappeared for a moment and the hairs on the back of Tomura's neck stood on end. He ducked and barely managed to avoid the blade aimed for his neck. Tomura was much too close to dodge another attack and recieved a knee to his face which sent him stumbling backwards. When he looked back up all he could see was a flash of crimson and silver darting into the forest section.

"Young Master!"

Tomura rolled to the side barely avoiding the capture scarf that embedded itself into the ground where he had once been sitting.

"You hero students aren't very heroic you know. Each of your attacks could easily kill."

Standing before Tomura was Shinso who had retrieved his scarf with a skilled flick of the wrist. Behind the hero student stood Bakugo, continuously firing off the most powerful explosions he could muster; Kirishima, who had taken to barely managing to catch the Nomu's attacks; and Todoroki; who kept trapping the Nomu in ice to allow Bakugo to attack it. However they had barely managed to so much as leave a scratch on the massive bird headed villain.

"What's your purpose here?"

"Kurogiri."

Dozens of miniature portals surrounded Shinso from all angles and without warning Tomura's hands began to shoot out from them. Majority of the grabbing was simply meant to keep Shinso within that range of the portals however it was nearly impossible to read where each portal lead too and when a sudden deviation would lead to an attack. He had seen what the villain had done to Izumi's hand and wasn't eager to have the same done to himself.

"You said that you were here to destroy the Symbol of Peace, what makes you think you'll be able to do that? You can't even handle us heroes in training."

Desperation leaked into Shinso's voice. He and the other three boys were already worn out, training and sparring was one matter but fighting with your life on the line was an entirely different experience. Between a villain who could turn anything to ash with a touch, a villain who could make dozens of portals to who knows where, some kind of engineered monster, and a villain whose abilities were unknown the odds were not in the favor of the hero students. Most of the class was too shaken and exhausted to continue fighting and from a quick glance it would seem that the misty bartender had rectified his mistake and truly trapped them within the USJ.

The weight of not only his own life but the lives of his classmates, his friends, and his family were like a mire that dragged Shinso into despair. This was the weight that heroes had to bare, the weight his father felt as he watched his students force themselves to fight.

BANG BANG BANG

Tomura was instantly surrounded by portals to protect him from the incoming bullets. The Nomu on the other hand simply let the bullets pierce through itself in a gruesome display of its endurance and regenerated the wounds in an instant.

The world seemed to hold its breathe as everyone took a moment to spare a glance to the entrance. There stood Nezu riding atop All Might, both with grim expressions that sent shivers down the spines of the students. The rest of the teachers and some of the staff who were also heroes stood behind the Principal and titan who had led them, including Snipe whose anger was hidden beneath his gas mask.

Even beneath his mask of hands anyone could see Tomura's smile of pure joy.

"Our prey has finally arrived."