Warning: Murder and blood

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Shouta's POV

Ever since we confirmed that Izuku was going, I can feel the tension growing constantly as we get closer and closer to our destination. Even before, when we were redressing Izuku into his underground costume with a new arm to give him any safety precautions we could, it didn't stop.

We know that we are practically guiding Izuku to death's door, even if we don't plan on letting him die. Between All for One's want to destroy the place for Izuku and Izuku wanting revenge, we don't have a choice.

It doesn't help that Izuku has not shown any signs of waking up. For how much we have been moving around, I would expect some sort of reaction from Izuku, but nothing. He's out like a light, and it's ironic that I am worrying about him sleeping for too long now. If this was any other time, I would let him sleep for as long as he wants, but his life is on the line. He needs to wake up soon.

We haven't said a word since we left. Hizashi took over driving while Nemuri and I took the back with Izuku. Izuku is resting between us with his weight on me without realizing it.

"Guys," Hizashi says, breaking the silence as he slows to a stop.

I look up at Hizashi only for my attention to be captured by what is in front of him through the window. Blue flames are scattered across the area as only remnants of buildings stand with rubble creating uneven ground. Heroes and villains are fighting in said remnants with the noise of quirks and guns and whatever else they may be using causing a ruckus. Smoke fills the air, and we're starting to smell it in the car.

It looks just like the last battle. We're having to go through this again.

A whoosh interrupts our distraught, and I catch Hawks from the corner of my eye waiting just outside the door. I hesitate before opening the door.

"How is he?" Hawks asks before anything.

I shake my head, "He's been out the whole time."

"Shit. Well, we can always play hot potato-"

"No."

"Hey, I'm just kidding, man."

"At a time like this?"

"He would be doing that same thing if he wasn't constantly getting shit on," Sadly, that's true, "Anyway, do we have a way of waking him up or is he zonked out?"

I turn my attention to Izuku and lift my shoulder, "Mikumo, wake up," No response. I look back at Hawks, "He's too out of it."

"Damn," Hawks mutters, "Well, you guys did bring him as asked. He didn't ask him to stay."

"Do you really want to push his buttons?"

"Would you rather throw him on the field asleep? Because, no matter what, it isn't going to go well. He has the collar on, right?"

Hizashi speaks up, "Yeah, that's the quirk suppressant."

"And he was shit last time he had it on. Even if he woke up right now, it would just be a suicide mission for him."

"So you want us to run?" I clarify. I know that was the plan, but I thought part of the plan would be to show that Izuku is there and then run. I didn't think we would just be appearing and leaving.

"Yeah. That's the safest option for everyone. He sees everything, so he knows his request has been followed through. We'll try and stop him. Just stomp on it."

With that, Hawks slams the door shut and flies off at the blink of an eye. There is hesitation, but the engine roars to life as Hizashi takes the chance. We are forced back into our seats as the speed builds up and up.

However, All for One is one step ahead.

Blue flames appear in front of the car, and Hizashi does his best to swerve the car to avoid them, but there isn't enough room to stop safely.

"Get out!" Hizashi yells as he opens his door to jump out.

Without hesitation, I gather Izuku into my arms, open the door, grab Nemuri's arm, and jump out before the car slides into the flames.

I wrap my arms tightly around Izuku, and Nemuri quickly wraps her arms around both of us to firmly protect Izuku. Our bodies crash to the ground hard, but we manage to roll to reduce the momentum overtime rather than at once. We roll quite a distance away before stopping.

"Is everyone okay?!" Hizashi calls as he rushes over to us. I can see out of the corner of my eye that he got roughed up, but it's not as bad as Nemuri and I. Still, the adrenaline must be kicking in if he is moving as easily as he is.

"Yeah!" Nemuri returns as she lets go of me. I can hear other people approaching, however, that is the least of my worries.

When I check on Izuku yet again, his eyes are slowly opening.

"Mikumo," I say, getting Hizashi and Nemuri's attention, but Izuku doesn't react. He seems distant, almost as if he doesn't hear me, "Mikumo, can you hear me?"

Either Izuku has lost his hearing, which seems unlikely, or the quirk collar is messing with him that much.

Izuku sits up slowly and looks around. It doesn't take long for him to realize where he is at when empty eyes fill with panic. Without a warning, he scrambles to his feet and tries to rush to the scene. I get up to chase after him, but Izuku doesn't last long when he trips on his feet and crashes on the ground. Despite that, he tries to get up once more.

I try to get to Izuku's side as quickly as possible, but I get intercepted by someone else.

"So glad that you could join us, Mikumo! Oh wait, I forgot you go by something else now. Care to remind me of what it is?"

All for One appears in front of Izuku with mockery dancing in his figure. He looks down at Izuku with amusement. It's as if the battlefield froze. Everyone is watching the interaction, curious about what is going to happen.

Yet nobody is moving. It feels like I am frozen by a quirk, but I am aware that it is fear.

Izuku doesn't say anything, only getting on all fours slowly.

"No response? That is highly unusual, even with your lack of self," He bends down to Izuku's height, and I don't need to see his face to know that he is smirking, "Are you finally giving up, Izuku?"

I wish I could do something, but I can't. If someone does something, Izuku could end up dead.

However, All for One stands up suddenly and runs his sleeve over his face. Did Izuku just spit in his face? I guess his germaphobia is still blocked because he would have never done that otherwise.

Izuku's creative response entertains All for One more, "Good. It would be boring if I was fighting a corpse. However, this version of you would not satisfy. I want to see you, Izuku. I want to destroy you in front of everyone so they can see how foolish they were to rely on a quirkless child. Hold still."

In the blink of an eye, All for One would have his palm on Izuku's head while ripping the anti-quirk collar from his neck. Izuku's body starts to repulse, but it suddenly stops. At the same time, Izuku's hair color would change from black back to the familiar green with less familiar white curls mixed in.

When All for One lets go, Izuku falls forward, cradles his head, and curls up. I can easily see him shaking and his back raising and lowering rapidly.

"Ah, I forget it does that. My apologies. Well, you are just going to have to work with it," All for One walks a few steps away from Izuku before turning to face him again, "I am ready for my fight now, Izuku."

Izuku doesn't get up. He doesn't even react.

All for One sighs, "Perhaps you need a little encouragement," Faster than I can interpret, I feel my position change and a hand tight around my neck, "If I remember correctly, you are close to Eraserhead here, yes? Either you fight me or he is gone as well."

I can see panic in everyone's eyes, especially Hizashi's and Nemuri's, as I am being used as bait. However, that's the least of my worries because Izuku is going to do something now no matter how stupid it is. The extent is whether Izuku is himself or Mikumo. If he is Mikumo, he may react somewhat reasonably. However, given Izuku's color is back, I assume it is him.

Again, I don't see any form of a response from Izuku. He is still recovering from whatever the hell All for One just did.

"You can't play me for a fool, Izuku-"

All for One finally gets interrupted by the only person who can now.

"It's Midoriya to you, All for One," Izuku remarks haggardly. It's not Izuku's typical tone. It sounds weak and tired and empty, which is expected given Izuku's circumstance. However, those are his words.

All for One sighs, "Is that really such an issue?"

"Yeah. Yeah, it is," Izuku states as he starts to slowly unwind himself from his ball. He looks up, and I can tell that it is Izuku by his eyes alone. However, I can also see that he isn't like how he was before. He's exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally. His face shows signs of illness.

In a rare sight, Izuku's expression is truly neutral.

Izuku slowly brings himself up until he is on his feet before he continues, "It's an issue now that I understand."

All for One becomes intrigued, "Oh? Do tell me. What do you understand?"

"You're scared of me," Izuku simply says like it's the most obvious thing, "Why else would you take my memories and throw me away? You're afraid of me even when my body is nearly destroyed."

"Let us not get overzealous here-"

"You told me before you did it why that was your plan. You were afraid I was going to figure it out if I stayed by you and fuck shit up. If that isn't fear, I don't know what is. You should know this better than me given your obsession of bringing fear and your addiction to comic books and musicals and what not," All for One tries to intervene, but Izuku keeps going, "You know, it's funny. You're scared of me, but I'm not scared of you."

"You must be disconnected from reality if that is what you truly believe."

"Says the man who wants to be a villain because he wants the villains to win," Izuku sighs, "I am done with this bullshit. Let go of Eraserhead or you're dead."

It's a surreal experience. Izuku is there. His words are there. However, he isn't emotionally there. It's almost like he has emotionally distanced himself from everything. If this were to happen in the past, Izuku would have already attacked while screaming his head off. Now?

This is a different type of scary coming from Izuku. This is someone who simply wants the story to finally end so he can move on. Someone who has been beaten over and over and over who is struggling to conceptualize what has happened at this point. The Motel meant the world to Izuku, and it is clear he cared for it if his reaction said anything. However, now that it is destroyed, it doesn't seem to be clicking with him now that his memories are returned. It's the same situation with me. Perhaps later he will, but I think he's too tired to react. He just knows what needs to be done, and that is his only target now.

"What are you going to do? You can hardly do a thing!" All for One teases, his grip tightening around my neck, but I hardly notice it when Izuku is pulling out one of his batons and a knife.

"So be it," Izuku responds without a second thought.

I can't scream at Izuku to stop when he sparks his baton and uses his boosters to blast at All for One. He's not going to make it. He is far too slow. Yet, I notice something off when Izuku's baton extends out into its whip form, and it's not flying towards All for One but at me instead.

I see what Izuku is doing.

All for One doesn't bother to move since he knows it's going to miss him. However, I reach and grab the electrified baton. Just like Izuku's costume, my entire suit sparks up. It is quickly neutralized with one of All for One's quirks, but it still does damage to his mask, practically destroying it within an instant. At the same time, I see a knife flying towards All for One. I take that as a chance to struggle out of All for One's grip until I swing my leg right at his stomach during his distraction.

Finally, I'm dropped, and that's when the chaos starts. Multiple heroes fly at All for One now that I'm not leveraged over them, but I ignore that because my priority is Izuku. I expect Izuku to be in the crowd except I don't see him. I scan where Izuku originally was to find him running away from the scene. That is out of character, but I won't complain.

I chase after Izuku, but I wouldn't consider it a chase since I catch up with Izuku relatively easily, "On my back," I command as I get in front of him and bend down slightly. Izuku listens, and I feel him clamber onto my back and wrap his arms and legs tightly (as tightly as he can because his grip is weak) around me. He's far lighter than he should be, but that works to our advantage here.

What is concerning me is how Izuku's body is shaking, and I can feel his heart pounding against my back. Unfortunately, I can't focus on that. I need to get us out of here.

I run as fast as I possibly can with Izuku secured on my back, "You're going to be okay, kid. I got you. Just keep a grip on me."

I don't get a verbal response. Instead, I feel him rest his head on my shoulder, and I can feel his heavy breathing on my neck. It just encourages me to run faster.

It doesn't take long to get into a portion that hasn't been destroyed, and I rush into an alleyway. I weave through alleyway after alleyway, trying to get as far away as possible while coming up with a plan because I don't know where to take Izuku. I deny I can take him back to UA. I don't know if Nezu's 'leaving the country' scheme will work this time.

We just need to be away long enough for the heroes to take down All for One.

As I am running, I nearly jump in shock when Izuku speaks with a dull tone, "He has Search."

I slow down so I can hear him better, "Don't worry about it, Izuku-"

"He can track us. He will follow me." I don't say anything at first because I know he isn't wrong. In fact, that's part of the plan. However, I am hoping that the heroes will get rid of him before they reach Izuku. Unfortunately, that's optimistic thinking. If Izuku is bringing it up, it's a concern.

"We just need to keep moving. It will give the rest of them a predictable path to plan on.There's nothing else we can do."

"I don't mean this in a shitty way, but you can't run forever."

"Let me get some distance. Then, I'll figure something out. Just...just try to stay calm, kid."

Once again, I don't get another word. As much as that is a worry given this is Izuku, my main priority is to get us out of here. I can already feel everything start to burn for how long I have been running, but I need to keep going. I need to at least be far enough to come up with a new plan.

As I am about to cross the road, I'm forced to stop when a unique car suddenly swerves in front of us to stop.

Before I can continue, the passenger window rolls down to reveal Nighteye, "Get in."

I don't even think about his command. I get into the back seat with Izuku and close the door behind me. The interior would be beyond the typical car given all the buttons on the dash. Even if the buttons were not an indicator, the inside is practically similar to a luxury car. The insignia on the dash particularly catches my interest as it looks familiar, but I don't know how. I try to hide my surprise when I realize that it is Yagi driving it.

As soon as I close the door, Yagi stomps on it, and the car speeds off to wherever they plan on taking us. I shuffle Izuku off my back and set him on the seat beside me. Thankfully, Izuku helps out where he can when it comes to movement and puts on the seatbelt without needing to be asked.

"Our apologies for taking so long. Are you two okay?" Nighteye asks once we're settled in the back.

"We're okay as we can be. How did you find us?"

"We tracked your phone," I don't want to know how they did that, "How is he?"

I am about to respond for Izuku when he speaks softly, surprising all of us, "I'm right here, you know. Since you practically asked me, I feel like shit."

I can tell that Nighteye is rolling his eyes, "Glad to see that some of your attitude is still there...?"

"Izuku. You're quiet, Yagi." Now that he mentions it, Yagi hasn't said a thing.

Yagi lets out a chuckle while focusing on the road, "Sorry, my boy. I'm just trying to decide the next path."

"Next path? Were we on a path?"

Nighteye looks over his shoulder at me, "Does he not know?"

I sigh, "Not specifically," I shift myself to face Izuku, "You're bait. All for One is meant to follow you, and heroes will fight him while he is distracted with you."

I can tell that Izuku is trying, but his eyes are unfocused. I don't know if it's because of how he feels or if he's disassociating. With his luck, it's both. However, it seems like he is with us enough to understand what is going on. It's going to make things harder though.

I reach forward and put my hands on Izuku's shoulders, "I'm sorry, kid. I wish you didn't have to go through this, but this is our only chance. You don't have to do anything. Just trust us. You just need to be here, that's all."

Izuku slowly blinks, and it's difficult to tell what he is thinking. However, I am only slightly shocked by his response, "I want to kill him."

I really can't help myself at this point as I shift myself closer to Izuku and pull him into a hug, "I know, but not this time." I feel Izuku lean into me and nod, and I don't get a verbal response. I don't know if that's a good thing or not.

Nothing else would be said as Yagi focuses on getting us as far away as possible. We don't hear anything else until right before we are about to get out of town from the radio.

"One for All is on his way so be prepared! He is definitely slowing down, but we need time for a new plan!"

Hawks calls over the radio, and I can feel the intensity increase. Izuku sits up slowly from my grasp, and I let go of him without a word.

"Izuku, whatever you are thinking, no," Nighteye tells Izuku before anything as he turns around, "We have a plan. Hopefully, we'll have enough time to get into the forested area so we're away from any cities. Once we're in, we get out, and Yagi will be the distraction," Nighteye glares at Yagi, "Just distract. Don't do anything stupid."

Yagi lets out an awkward laugh and a smile, "I know what I am doing, no worries."

I give them a confused look, "And what is Yagi supposed to do? As far as I know, he's in the same position as Izuku," Yagi coughs up blood, "Point taken."

Yagi wipes away the blood onto his sleeve, "Not by myself, no. I got a little bit of help before everything went down."

"What are you talking about-?"

Izuku interrupts, "Transformer." I can't help but look at him confused.

"Transformer?"

Yagi lets out a chuckle, "Good eye, young Midoriya. You must have recognized the insignia on the dash. Melissa Shield built this car so it could turn into a suit of armor specially built for me."

"Could have been clear about that before." If anyone's work can take down All for One that isn't Izuku's, it would be hers.

"I'm sorry."

Nighteye interrupts, "Pull into the forest here, Yagi. We can run from there."

Yagi follows his request and drives right into the forest despite the lack of a road. Thankfully, this is Melissa's work, so it will be fine. As soon as he parks, I signal for Izuku to get on my back again. Once he has a grip, I quickly get out.

As soon as I am out, Nighteye would already be ahead, "This way!"

Nighteye and I rush through the forest, trying to get as far away from Yagi as possible, but, no matter how long we run, it doesn't feel far enough. It feels like we can get trapped at any moment.

We never get far enough.

All of the sudden, I feel Izuku shove all his weight into my back as he screams, "GET DOWN!"

I trust Izuku's judgment without a second thought. I let Izuku's body force me to the ground, and he rolls off of me to get beside me. I understand why quickly when I feel a strong gust of wind brush across the back of my body.

I manage to lift my head enough just to see Sir Nighteye snatched by the wind and smashed hard into a tree. As soon as the gust is gone, he drops like a ragdoll.

I don't see him breathing.

Before I can do anything, All for One talks loudly in the distance, "Ah, I should have known that would not bring you down! But the same can not be said for your friend, I see."

This isn't good: All for One is here, All Might isn't, Sir Nighteye is gone, and Izuku can hardly move-

I quickly turn my attention to Izuku to see him staring at Sir Nighteye, as if expecting him to get up. However, that does not last long when he starts to get up.

I immediately jump to my feet and grab his arm to help him, "Izuku-"

Izuku interrupts, "I can't run," Izuku manages to get to his feet and turns around to face All for One with, once again, a neutral expression, "But neither can he. At least, not until I am dead. This whole thing is about beating me and then killing me, remember? He wanted a fight. However, I think his agenda has changed to killing me."

I look at Izuku, "That's obvious," I state as I shift myself to inspect All for One. The mask is gone, revealing his mutilated face. It's clear he has been hit a few times given the damage to his suit, but he still has a smile. I see why Hawks said he may have slowed down, but my only assumption for why Izuku is stating all that is to waste time. All for One does like giving speeches, and he is more than willing to listen to Izuku as shown before.

"Because this is his final gambit. Look at him. He is always above us, remember? He's not doing that now. In simplistic terms, he's fucked. Think of all the ways we have stopped him. He's a failure. He may be a rat, but he's a rat in a trap. Bet you hate that I'm even taking your wonderful speech from your comic insert, huh, All for One?"

Now that Izuku points it out, All for One is always floating. Right now, he's standing on his feet. I'm quite shocked that Izuku is able to notice that, let alone communicate to me and mock him. If anything, I would expect Izuku to get vengeance, but he's still neutral. He's stalling for something.

Neither of us know what will come though.

No matter, Izuku is not wrong. Every one of his plans has been thwarted. Most of his power is gone. That is not to say that he does not have another plan because he likely does. The issue is that those plans may not be near enough for him

All for One chuckles, "Perhaps you are more of my son than I thought," Excuse me? "No matter, your egotistical tendencies get in the way at the end."

"No. That's you," Izuku simply says. As if on cue, Yagi would appear from the woods with armor that looks similar, though far from exact, to Izuku's armor. There would be no hesitation as Yagi goes straight for the uppercut. It would easily land as it brings All for One into the air for a moment. Then, before he can do anything, Yagi grabs him once more and slams him into the ground.

I expect All for One to try and get up at least, but nothing. It feels anti-climatic, but it makes sense. Considering every way that he has been stopped, perhaps there isn't a lot of fight left in him. There were multiple times that he was supposed to get stronger, but Izuku stopped him.

He never got the chance to grow. Every chance was taken.

"You're done now, All for One," Yagi declares, but it wouldn't have his usual enthusiasm. It's like he is expecting something to happen, and I agree. After all this, is this the end?

I am broke from my thoughts when I see Izuku quickly stumble his way over to All for One,

"My boy?" Yagi asks with a confused look as Izuku approaches, and I don't understand either.

All for One starts chuckling, "Oh, now you come over after HE-?"

Izuku interrupts with the same neutral tone he has been holding, "You don't get another line in this story, All for One."

It felt like time slowed down despite how quick it went. There wouldn't be a hint of hesitation from Izuku when he pulls out his katana.

Nobody can stop Izuku when he cuts All for One's head clear off despite his struggling just starting to appear. Blood explodes everywhere on him and Yagi, but it doesn't stop him from stabbing the katana clean through All for One's head to keep it in place.

There's silence. Nobody moves for a moment as the smell of iron fills the air.

All for One doesn't move- he's gone. He's dead. I don't even know how to feel about it because it is so sudden. Everyone here expected a fight to the death, and perhaps it was supposed to be. However, all it took was a typical weapon to kill him. I don't think All for One even considered the fact that Izuku would kill him. He probably thought that Yagi would protect him ironically, but Izuku didn't give him that chance.

Izuku is the first to move. He steps away from All for One with a shaky breath and starts making his way over to Nighteye's body.

Yagi lets go of All for One, "Young Midoriya..."

Yagi doesn't continue as Izuku gets to Nighteye's side, drops down, and places a hand on the center of his back.

I finally break from my frozen state and quickly make my way to Izuku's side, "Izuku-"

Izuku interrupts once again, but this time, his voice cracks as he demands, "He's alive. Call an ambulance, please!"

This time, I don't follow what Izuku says immediately. Instead, I drop to his side to inspect Nighteye myself. Since I am closer, I can actually see him breathing now. It's not strong, but it's there.

I pull out my phone to call an ambulance as Izuku shifts Nighteye into a better position. I help him to the best of my ability as I send the details of our location to the hero app.

Before Izuku can pull out a medkit, Yagi bends down beside us and stops him, "I got this. You two don't need to be here. Give me your medkit, young Izuku," This time, Izuku hesitates, "Please. I have everything under control."

I intervene by wrapping an arm around Izuku, "It's okay."

To be frank, I didn't expect Izuku to give it up, but I can't tell anymore. I never have before, but I can garner some guesses based on his typical traits. I can't now. Never have I felt so distanced from him. I can't even look at his face to tell because he's still neutral.

Either way, Izuku hands the medkit to Yagi with shaky hands and stands up, and I immediately follow.

"Watch over him, Aizawa," Yagi gently warns me before he begins to work on Nighteye. I decide not to say anything, especially since Izuku is trying to escape.

I carefully guide Izuku around All for One's body and back through where we came from. While I know the general direction, I have no idea how long it will take to get back out given we were running for our lives.

We manage to get far away to where we can't see the scene anymore when I notice Izuku's body starting to shake under my arm.

"Izuku, are you okay?" I softly ask. When he stops, I stop with him as I become more concerned.

Then, Izuku spins around and tackles me into a tight hug. His hands grip the back of my costume as harsh cries quake his body. I hear words, but the words are so rushed and mispronounced that I can't understand. However, there is a word I can understand because he is saying it over and over in his mixture of words:

Sorry.

I tighten my grip on him as my free hand cards itself through his hair.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Izuku," I tell him softly but firmly, "You did what you had to do. Everything that happened was because of All for One, not you. Nobody blames you. We're just happy that you're alive. Just let us take care of everything, problem child."

I didn't think it would be possible for Izuku to sob harder, but he does. It's like everything he has been holding back is finally released.

Carefully, I guide Izuku to sit down right there, I wrap my arms around him, and I lean him against my chest as I rock him slowly. I should be taking him somewhere safer, but I don't think I can with him in this state. If we have to move, we will. Otherwise, we're staying.

I don't know how long we stay like that. All I know is that the town quieted down, the forest got louder, and then it went quiet again and never changed. I know it was enough time for Hizashi and Nemuri to find us, which probably took them a while. They chose to stay back when they saw it was happening, and they only approached once Izuku stopped.

Izuku only stopped because he passed out.

I carried him to a car that the two managed to find, and we drove him to the hospital to get checked out.

Everything is done. We can finally focus on Izuku without anything else getting in the way.

Izuku may not be okay now, but he will be okay because we are by his side now.