Chapter 43

Everything ached and throbbed. Their arms, legs, head, side, everything. Katsuki's hands burned an angry red, pulsating as he willed them to keep creating explosions. Izuku's arms were bruised, ugly black and purple lining them.

Hisashi wasn't doing so well either. He struggled to breathe, chest heaving as he glared at the teens. His stupid fancy suit was wrinkled and tattered, an entire sleeve ripped off and shredded to pieces somewhere in the battleground. No teacher or pro hero has gone to their aid, being completely held off by the rest of the League.

"Surrender already!" Hisashi sneered, body trembling in anger.

"The lack of oxygen is making you fucking delirious!" Katsuki scoffed, already charging towards him with Izuku right behind him.

All for One pushed them away with his quirks, struggling in the slightest. Why haven't his stupid pawns killed everyone else already?! Fucking pathetic!

The crumbled walls beside them suddenly were engulfed in flames, a mix of blue and orange. Hisashi smirked, watching as the two teens jumped away from it. Ice shards shot through the air, Todoroki sliding over them as he fought Dabi just above the three.

The distraction was enough for All for One.

Black and red sparks surrounded his body, sharp tendrils rapidly sprouting from his fingertips as they surrounded Katsuki's body. The blond's eyes widened in the slightest, wrapping his hands around the tendrils and activating his quirk. "Let me go you, bastard!"

"How pitiful," All for One mocked, making the tendrils tighten around Katsuki's body. "No wonder you were easily kidnapped at first."

"Hisashi!" Izuku snapped, having gone around the man's body. Green lighting surrounded his body, eyes going white. Hisashi stumbled to the side, not having detected Izuku's movements. He hastily dodged Izuku's kicks, making sure to not let loose the explosive blond who trashed against his quirk. "Let him go!"

"Then surrender your quirk to me!" the bald man sneered, his free hand reaching toward Izuku's face.

"Don't you fucking dare!" Katsuki shouted in warning. The tendrils were squeezing his torso painfully, but like hell would he let that asshole get what he wants!

A yelp left his mouth as he was slammed harshly into the ground, concrete scratching his face and digging into his skin. "You are extremely annoying."

"I said, let him go!" Izuku snarled, landing a punch to Hisashi's face and sending him barreling to the side. The action caused the man to involuntarily deactivate his quirk, setting Katsuki free.

The blond hissed, bringing a finger up to lightly graze his bleeding and bruised cheek. "Motherfucker."

"Watch out!" Someone yelled, Izuku's danger sense going off right before a wave of blue flames came crashing from above them. Katsuki managed to jump out of the way, but Izuku's leg got engulfed in the scorching heat making him yelp in pain. The fabric of his torn pants melted into his skin, making the burning sensation much more painful.

"Shit!" Katsuki exclaimed as he bolted to Izuku's aid, watching as the boy clutched his leg and screamed. Todoroki managed to land next to Izuku, having escaped Dabi's attacks for just a moment.

"I'll have to put ice on it, but it's going to scar," the heterochromatic rushed out, not waiting for a sign of approval before extinguishing the flames. Izuku hissed, gritting his teeth as his entire leg burned from the combination of fire and ice.

Danger sense went off once again, prompting Izuku to grab the other two boys and jump out of the way despite his leg. A mix of air and blue flames barely grazed them, Dabi and Hisashi both having cruel smirks on their faces as they stood side by side.

"Shigaraki should be here after he's done killing that scarf guy," Dabi informed the man, catching the attention of the three teens. Their eyes widened, worrying for their homeroom teacher as rage built up inside them.

"Die!" Katsuki exclaimed, lurching forward. Todoroki almost rolled his eyes but focused on Hisashi who was raising his arm. Izuku leaped over to the man, using Fa Jin to boost his speed before kicking Hisashi's arm up.

The burst of air shot through the air, granting Katsuki easy access to Dabi who clicked his tongue in annoyance. The explosive blond managed to take a hold of Dabi's shirt, forcing them up in the air. It proved to be slightly difficult to propel them both with only one of his hands, but he was Katsuki fucking Bakugo, nothing was fucking impossible to him.

"Geez, All for One was right. You are a pain in the ass," Dabi grumbled, letting himself be pulled into the air.

"So the old man talks about me?" Katsuki smirked as Dabi wrapped his hand around his wrist, making him let go of his shirt.

"Only because you seem to have such a great quirk," Dabi rolled his eyes, sounding bored. "I don't see what the big deal is, honestly."

"Then I'll fucking show you," Katsuki said with a smirk, raising his hand and readying an explosion.

Meanwhile, Todoroki and Izuku tried holding Hisashi back, but Izuku's injuries seemed to be slowing him down. He had an obvious limp, making it harder to attack, and it was starting to frustrate him. Todoroki noticed, so he did his best to stay by his side and help him.

To their advantage, All for One was clearly struggling. His breathing was heavy and uneven, chest heaving as he steadied himself. Part of his clothes was now torn and stained, showing some cuts and bruises. The older male was fuming, furious that things weren't going the way he wanted.

Having Katsuki accompany Izuku was frustrating enough. Now Todoroki's presence was making things difficult for him, so he had to get rid of him.

The heterochromatic was subtly cooling the air around them, being attentive to All for One's movements. He was waiting for Hisashi to make a move, calculating. His plan could backfire greatly, but their opponent wasn't someone that could be taken lightly. He had experienced All for One's power beforehand, after all.

"Shoto Todoroki, came to join the party?" Hisashi mused, concealing his irritation. Dabi was supposed to keep him distracted to prevent any more interruptions. He already had to handle Katsuki and it was such a pain in the ass.

"I don't see any cake or balloons around here," Todoroki replied flatly, making Hisashi throw his head back, laughing fakely.

"You sure got your sense of humor from your father," the male mused, sarcasm dripping from his tone. "I'm surprised he hasn't arrived to rescue his little quirk experiment."

This earned him a glare from the heterochromatic, who squared his shoulders in response. Izuku gritted his teeth, becoming annoyed by the useless chatter. He knew Hisashi was trying to buy himself time to compose himself, and Izuku couldn't let that happen. He had to wear him down enough to finally defeat him.

The greenette willed his aching body to jump in the air, blackwhip shooting from his fingertips and rapidly going towards Hisashi's body. The male sensed it, and quickly jumped out of the way, lifting his arm and loading his air cannon. Todoroki's eyes widened, activating his fire quirk, lifting his left hand and aiming the attack at Hisashi.

The sudden change of quirks caused the air around them to heat and expand, sending a powerful blast that almost knocked Todoroki out of his feet. He quickly created an ice wall behind him to steady himself, covering his face with his arms as debris flew everywhere.

Izuku's eyes widened, recognizing the attack. It was the technique the heterochromatic had used against him back at the sports festival. It was intriguing watching it unfold just below him, even more so when Hisashi was sent flying by it. He couldn't watch for long as the gush of wind pushed him backward in the air, arms going up to cover his face.

A shout caught his attention, recognized as Katsuki's raspy voice. He turned his body in the air to look over at where the blond fought Dabi, eyes widening as he took notice of Katsuki's bloodied state. "Kacchan!"

"Take this you motherfucker!" Katsuki snarled, grabbing Dabi's arm tightly and using his explosions to twirl them in mid-air, spinning them both until Dabi was facing the ground. A sinister smirk displayed on Katsuki's features, extending his arm behind him to unleash a big explosion.

The blond kept a firm grip behind Dabi's neck as they went shooting to the ground, Dabi's body hitting the concrete quite harshly. The male screamed in pain, rubble piercing his skin as it scratched and drew blood from his face. Katsuki was panting above him, pinning his arms behind his back and holding him down. "Hope you enjoyed the fucking ride."

His palms stung, the smallest of movements irritating his skin since he overused his power. It annoyed him that he had to rely on his gauntlets to use his quirk ultimately, but like hell would he let that small detail hold him back. He'll keep fighting even if his hands burn to a crisp.

"Where the fuck is that bastard when he's needed?" Dabi grumbled under his breath, turning his head the best he could to glare up at the blond. Even if Katsuki had him held down, he had the upper hand. "You really think this is going to stop me?"

A strangled curse left Katsuki's mouth as his hands got lit up by blue flames. It burned like one couldn't imagine. Even with his body accustomed to the nitroglycerin it naturally produced, the mix of the flammable substance and Dabi's hellish flames made the burning ten times worse. It forced him to let go of the male's arms, body being pushed to the ground as he cradled his abused hands.

Purple fog surrounded his body as he was hurriedly pulled into familiar arms, moving away from Dabi. Green lighting surrounded Izuku's body as he flew towards Todoroki, who was barely holding himself against All for One. The greenette moved insanely fast, holding Katsuki against him with both arms as blackwhip shot out of his fingertips to the heterochromatic's aid.

Upon noticing the smoke, Hisashi clicked his tongue in annoyance, not able to sense any of the teens momentarily. He could barely make out their presence shifting, close then far. Despite his aching arms and burning lungs, he fired up his air cannon, dispersing the lingering fog encircling him.

"Himura," Hisashi snarled, Dabi rolling his eyes in response. He knew what the man wanted him to do, but it annoyed him. The only reason he had joined that stupid League was to get back at the now proclaimed number one hero, Endeavor. He had yet to see his face around there.

"You're all so fucking annoying," Dabi grumbled under his breath, hands in his pockets as he walked away without a care in the world.