Author's Note: The Chainsaw Nomu has received a power boost in this fanfiction, so it poses a larger threat for its encounter with (L/N). Think of it as on par with the Nomu from the USJ, with regenerative capabilities to rival Hood's.

With the poisonous gas gone, no longer interfering with his quirk, (L/N) was able to extend his search radius and locate Yaoyorozu. She was just under half a mile (0.8 km) away, and from what he could tell, being chased by another villain. He flew as quickly as he could, and the closer he got the more trouble he could tell she was in. The first thing he sensed was the size of the thing chasing her, well over eight feet (2.5 meters) tall, it's six arms flailed madly, and its footsteps shook the ground. He wasn't sure if it was even human. The next thing he picked up on was the feint scent of iron, like rust. He realized what he was smelling was blood, and it encouraged him to push himself even faster.

The light of the moon and stars cut through the canopy of leaves and shone upon their fleeing figures so (L/N) could feel their every movement. One of the students from Class B was dragging Yaoyorozu in his arms, doing his best to outrun the creature, but it was gaining on them. Eventually, they came to a stop, and Yaoyorozu was just seconds away from being killed.

Crashing through the trees, he screamed her name and barreled into the beast just as it was about to strike, tackling it around the midsection. Using his quirk to boost his strength, (L/N) planted his feet in the dirt and spun on his right heel, throwing the beast deep into the forest.

"Get her out of here!" (L/N) shouted at the other student.

"R-Right." He nodded. Wrapping Yaoyorozu's arms over his shoulders, Awase took off towards the camp, carrying her on his back.

From the trees he could hear the shifting of rock as the Nomu got back to its feet. He heard its heavy footfalls, and then it was on top of him. It moved faster than he'd anticipated, launching itself off the ball of its foot so it covered the gap between them in a flash. (L/N) barely had time to shield himself with his arms when one of its large fists crashed into him. The force of the punch launched him backwards and sent him flying past Awase and Yaoyorozu. His back hit the ground painfully as he crashed into the earth. Lying on his back, he quickly rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding a large drill attached to one of six arms growing out of the Nomu's back.

Extending both palms outwards, a hot white light blasted from (L/N)'s hands and took off two of the creature's appendages. A sickly squelching sound reached his ears and his brow furrowed in disgust, horror, and shock as he felt the photons disperse around two new, freshly regenerated arms.

Four sets of chainsaws came crashing down upon him, but they were met with a blockade of hardened light. The teeth ground against the shield as the chain spun, slowly cracking the barrier. Getting on one knee, (L/N) ducked beneath the Nomu's arms just as his structure shattered and once again grabbed the creature by the middle, this time taking it upwards to the top of the tree line before turning to drive it back into the ground.

Awase stuttered at the impact, and a chunk of soil sent up from the crater hit him in the side of the head and knocked him off his feet. Wiping the dirt from his eyes, he nervously glanced over his shoulder to see (L/N)'s glowing body flying around the Nomu in the middle of the impact crater as he avoided its arms, and occasionally found an opportunity to strike. It was almost like watching someone trying to swat at an annoying fly.

Pushing himself back to his feet, Awase took off again. He was exhausted but he had to keep moving. He used the adrenaline coursing through his system to force one foot in front of the other. It wasn't very fast, but it was all he could do to get them away from the fight. The sound of shattering bark caused him to look back again, and his eyes widened in panic as he saw (L/N) hit across the face by the Nomu's hammer arm. Awase shouted in fear as the creature's head snapped in his direction, and he forced himself to run even faster.

(L/N) coughed at the pain in his lung, the harsh movement creating a throbbing in his chest. He wiped at the warm trickle of blood oozing from his mouth and refocused his attention. The Nomu had seemingly lost interest in him and was once again chasing down Awase and Yaoyorozu. It jumped from the impact greater and soared through the air, threatening to land atop the two. Reaching out his hand, he caught it in a bubble just before it landed on them. It clawed and hammered at the walls of its prison, but (L/N) kept his strength, forcing the barrier to stay up. If there was still a human inside that thing, he hoped what he was about to do wouldn't kill it, but he didn't have any other choice.

Clenching his hand into a fist, sharp spikes suddenly formed on the inner walls of the sphere, impaling the Nomu dozens of times over. They drove through its arms and legs and chest, drawing green blood from the beast. It howled in pain and fell to its knees, or at least it would have, were the spikes not holding its body up. From the ground erupted another spike, this one the size of a pillar. The orb disappeared as the Nomu was speared through the belly and lifted high into the night sky before the skewer vanished and dropped it back to the earth.

(L/N) heard no movement from the beast as it laid bleeding on the ground, filled with holes. Holding what he was sure was a broken rib, he cautiously approached it, listening for any sign of life over the sound of his own heavy breathing. Awase came up beside him, carrying a still dazed Yaoyorozu on his back. Together, the three looked upon the bloodied creature with relief.

Then he heard the squelching.

With his quirk he sent Awase and Yaoyorozu as far back as possible before a large arm collided with his stomach, causing him to spit up more blood. He felt four more of his ribs crack, and his shoulder popped painfully out of socket as his back crashed into a tree. When he came to, the Nomu was once again pursuing the others. Grimacing at the pain in his chest, side, and shoulder, (L/N) forced himself back into action.

Flying at the Nomu, his left arm dangling uselessly by his side, he used his right to clothesline the beast right in the ribs. For the third time, he wrapped his arm around it and once again brought it high into the sky. The Nomu brought its fists down upon his back, but (L/N) ignored the pain and continued pressing on. He kept flying, higher and higher, past the trees, past the clouds, until he was five miles (eight kilometers) from the ground.

This creature, whatever it was, wasn't human. It expressed no thoughts, no intelligence, and no emotion. It was just instinct. There would be no intimidating it into retreating, and at this point (L/N) was too injured to outrun it. If only he had just grabbed the others and run, just like at the USJ. That's what he should have done, but he didn't have the strength for it now. Now, just like at the USJ, he was being forced to fight, but no matter how many times he hit this thing, it just wouldn't stay down. He tried knocking it unconscious, he tried maiming it, he even tried delivering what would normally be a fatal blow, but it's powers of regeneration meant that killing it was impossible. Well, almost.

(L/N) was smart. In his life he'd read hundreds of books and hundreds more journals. He'd read the textbooks on human biology and the leading theories on quirk anatomy. He was familiar with the most advanced understanding of cellular regeneration and knew what it would take to counter it. For any of the other students, even for the pros, such a feat would be impossible. The only other person he could think of that might be capable of pulling it off would be Todoroki, but the effort would be monumental. He was inexperienced with his flames as it was, and the level of heat he would have to generate would put an enormous amount of strain on his body. But for (L/N), all he had to do was open his eyes.

Twelve years. He had kept his eyes closed for twelve years. Every waking moment of his life had been spent in fear of accidentally slipping up and every time he slept, he was plagued by nightmares where he accidentally did. For so long he had trained himself, disciplined himself to keep them closed, because within them lie destruction. Power so strong it incinerated anything it touched. It was a power he feared all his life, and now, it was a power he needed.

Swinging his right arm, he threw the Nomu into the sky above him and opened his palm towards the creature to blast it even further. His hand reached up towards his face and his fist grabbed at the fabric around his eyes. He tore the blindfold away from his face. What would happen next?

The heat would be felt by every living creature for miles around , the light would free Tokoyami from Dark Shadow's rage, and the energy would ripple through the forest and send a gale force through the trees. It would frighten the woodland creatures and wake the nearby towns. Citizens would see the light from all across Japan, and hero and villain alike would pause and shield their eyes. And, once the light faded, everyone would wonder where it had come from.

For the first time in twelve years, (L/N) broke the promise he'd made to himself when he was four. For the first time in twelve years his lids parted and his (E/C) eyes saw the stars. For the first time in twelve years, he let go of control, and the world saw the fire in his eyes.