Pyro - A My Hero Academia Story

Chapter 9

Izuku was scared. His heart beat in his throat, giving voice to his silent terror.
He wasn't prepared for this. None of them were. The slime villain had been different. He'd been running on pure adrenalin, no time for fear to set in. And this was different.
The villain that had stepped from the shadows exuded an aura of dark intelligence, as though he knew just how he was going to kill each one of the terror-stricken students before him.

Izuku felt a hand grasp his own. Uraraka's face was pale, her breathing shallow.

The shadows advanced towards the group.

"No." He thought. "Not like this."

His hand slipped from Uraraka's, a force beyond his control propelling him forward.

In a wave of amber, his entire body erupted with the flames of his righteous fury.

Charging forward, he found Kacchan at his side, their hearts as one. Side by side, as it had always been, they attacked.

The villain staggered, falling under the ferocity of their combined assault. When Kacchan stepped back to avoid the villains flailing punches, Izuku closed in, raining down blows. As Izuku ducked under the villain's wild swings, Kacchan went high, his explosive power blinding the villain, driving him backwards. Striking as one, they burned through his defences, forcing him backwards into his shadows.
"We're winning!" Izuku thought, skipping through the villains frantic attacks. "We can do this! We can sa-"
Then the shadows exploded.
***
Tomura Shigaraki was impressed. He hadn't expected much resistance, but this sole hero was proving quite the adversary. Well, he suppose he could be forgiven for having underestimated a school teacher.
Still, he couldn't help but admire the efficiency with which this figure in black was dismantling the main body of his assault group.

He rolled his shoulders, limbering up.
All Might had yet to grace them with his presence; he might as well have some fun while he waited.
***
Aizawa was just beginning to enjoy himself. His opponents were amateurs. Unskilled. Untrained. They weren't posing much of a challenge.
What, then, was their goal?
The students?
Was their goal as simple as kidnapping?
No. Too elaborate. Too many villains.
And why target them while they were in school, under the protection of pro-heroes?
He glanced towards the centre of the compound, where a slender man, their leader, he assumed, was watching him with an expression of mild amusement. Behind him, a hulking mass of muscle stood unmoving.
Experience told Aizawa that if there was any real threat on this field, it lay with those two.
Those, and that shadowy villain he had seen before, the one he assumed was responsible for the portal.
Wait, where was he? Shit. SHIT. The students! Spinning back towards the entrance where 13 was guarding them, he was just in time to see the shadows expand to envelop the group.
***
Izuku struck out wildly at the shadow that had consumed him. The suffocating darkness snuffed out his flames, leaving him feeling drained. Suddenly, the blackness retreated, leaving him disoriented.
Where was he? What was going on? He took in the scene around him, trying to make sense of his surroundings.
Fire. Why was there fire?
Had he..?
No. This wasn't him.
Suddenly, it clicked. The fire zone! Okay. He was still in the USJ.
That villain must have had a warp quirk if some description.
Made sense. Divide and conquer.
A shape lunged from the shadows. Acting on instinct, he dispatched the villain with a flaming fist.
Shit. Villains.
They must have spread out and taken over the entire compound.
That meant...
That meant that the rest of his classmates were in a similar situation to himself, and most of them couldn't defend themselves as well as he could. He set off at a run, back towards the main entrance. With any luck, some of the others would have come to the same conclusions as he had, and would be seeking the safety that lay in numbers.
Something slammed into him from behind, pinning him to the ground. Izuku struggled in vain against the immense force. His quirk flared, and he was surprised when the figure recoiled, hissing. He rolled to his feet, hands alight in preparation to deal with this new threat. Drawing on the flames around him, he aimed a huge blast of fire at the shadowy villain.
"Midoriya! Wait!"
Tokoyami appeared from behind the shadowy mass, drawing it into him. Perspiration beaded his face.
"Return, Dark Shadow!" He ordered, his voice strained. "Return!"
Izuku stared. "Is that..?"
Tokoyami nodded, the effort of reining in his dark passenger showing on his face.
"Dark Shadow. I-it's dark here. Makes him more powerful. More volatile, too."
Tokoyami stumbled, but Izuku caught him.
"I'm not meant to use my quirk when I'm angry or scared. Makes it harder to stay in control." He righted himself.
"I apologise for attacking you. We thought you were a villain."
Izuku nodded.
"Likewise. We need to find the others.
Our quirks are suited to combat, but theirs aren't. I'm making my way back to the entrance.
If we skirt the central field we should be able to avoid most of the villains. We'll have to hope that the others are heading the same way."
Tokoyami nodded his concurrence. "This is what we've been training for, after all.
Protecting people who can't protect themselves is our job."
                                ***
"Deku! Hey Deku!" A voice called out across the field. Izuku turned to see Uraraka stumbling towards then, struggling under the weight of 13's limp body.
"Uraraka! Thank God you're okay! What happened to 13?"
"I-I don't know." Izuku and Tokoyami took 13's weight.
"Everything went black, and then when it cleared, we were in the flood zone. There were villains there, but 13 was able to hold them off. Then something went wrong with his quirk. It was like he collapsed inwards on himself!"
Tokoyami examined the lacerations on 13's back.
"He needs medical attention, but he's not critical. If memory serves, 13's quirk is called Black Hole.
His suit must be designed to deal with the backlash of the increased gravity.
If I were to guess, I'd say that his suit sustained too much damage in the fighting, and buckled."
Izuku nodded, and they started hauling 13's limp form between them.
"Uraraka, have you seen anyone else? Were you and 13 the only ones deposited in the flood zone?"
She shook her head.
"No. Iida was there too. 13 sent him to get help. He said there was a second exit at the base of the landslide zone."
They pulled 13 over the crest of a hill, and surveyed the scene below them. The sounds of combat filled the air. Amidst the mob, Izuku could make out Mr Aizawa's lonely figure, a blur of hair and fists. Villains fell like bowling pins before him, but there were always more to take their place.

It was clear that he couldn't sustain this. It was only a matter of time before he was overwhelmed.
Izuku clenched his fists. He felt that familiar power course through his body.
"Uraraka, take 13." He said.
"S-sure Deku. A-are you okay?"
He nodded.
"Mr Aizawa can't hold them off forever. His quirk isn't suited to a mêlée like that." He set off at a run.
"But mine is."

* Hey there readers! I'm doing my best to adapt the plot for this arc, but it seems to be stubbornly gravitating towards the canon. Don't worry, though. I've got big things in mind for the Sports Festival 😏 In the meantime, enjoy and drop a vote. *