Katsuki heard the screams before he saw the first Nomu appear. Shoto was able to freeze one shut before they were able to meet up with the Wild Wild Pussy Cats and their other classmates. Yet the one person Katsuki was looking for wasn't there.
"Where the hell is Deku?!" he hissed, glaring at the pro heroes.
"We don't know, we haven't been able to locate him-"
"Bullshit!"
"Bakugou, calm down!" Todoroki frowned.
"I'm sure Midoriya is fine"
"You don't fucking understand icyhot!" Katsuki hissed.
"We get that you're worried, but I'm certain Midoriya-" Iida tried, only to get cut off.
"Shut the fuck up, four eyes! If no one here is gonna be any help, I'm going back in there!"
"We'll be guiding all of you back to camp, no strays!" Tiger stated.
"Midoriya will be fine, Bakugou. He's smart, he won't pick fights he can't win and he'll find a way to hide and find his way back to camp. Don't you trust him?" Yaoyorozu asked, trying to deescalate the situation.
"He won't be the one to pick the damn fight, ponytail! These things won't leave him alone! He's the one they're chasing!"
"How do you know for certain Midoriya is their target?"
They turned around to see Aizawa sensei run up to them, clearly distressed and displeased by the situation. His class was getting attacked by monsters the pro heroes back in Hosu could barely contain, so you would be pissed off and worried for less shit then this. And now he heard Midoriya wasn't here with them either? Ugh, this was just one big mess!
"The same way you know, right?" Katsuki scoffed, knowing at least his homeroom teacher should understand the urgency of the situation.
"The Nomu are after Deku, so why the hell aren't we doing something?!"
"Tiger, guide them back to camp. Pixie-Bob and I will go check on the students of 1-B and make sure they get back to camp as well. All Might is taking care of the Nomu as we speak and after the students are safe, we'll join him"
"You can't expect me to stand aside and watch!" Katsuki hissed, being held back by Todoroki as he wanted to attack his teacher.
"Stand down Bakugou. You're a student, not a hero" Aizawa told him.
"When attacked, you're all allowed to use your quirks in self defense. No unprovoked combat, do you understand?"
Katsuki was still pissed off, not answering any questions about why he knew those monsters were after their classmate while they were escorted back to camp. Izuku better be fine or else he'll kill someone! So when he saw Shinsou back at camp, the one that was supposed to be partnered up with Deku for the test of courage, he completely flipped.
"Where the fuck is Deku?! Why the hell aren't you with him hah?!"
"It wasn't my choice! We were surrounded and he sent us away!" Hitoshi hissed back, still frustrated by the way Izuku just sent them off like that. The girls had been asking questions he couldn't possibly answer. That idiot completely exposed himself! But he also knew there was no other option in which neither of them got hurt...
"He what?" Katsuki breathed.
"He sent us away. Some sort of teleportation quirk, I don't know" Shinsou groaned.
"He'll have a better chance when he doesn't need to hold back and we both know it"
"That moron isn't going to go full out, not with All Might around!" Katsuki grunted.
"He's fucked if the pros don't find him!"
"They will find him" Hitoshi stated, more to convince himself than Katsuki. The ash blonde wasn't so sure about whether or not he should be happy about that idea...
...
Izuku was panting as he ran through the forest to try and lure the Nomu away from camp. As of now, there were six of them following him. Six! This was getting ridiculous! His plan wasn't working all that well because there were more than six of them in total, that much Izuku knew. Fuck! He needed to contact Aizawa sensei! Or his dad! Someone! At one point he was able to loop back around, stumbling upon the large open area they used for training. He'd never been so happy to see All Might!
"All Might!" he exclaimed, running towards the hero the moment he came into his field of vision. Izuku wasn't able to stop in time, running into the larger man, causing him to jump back.
"Calm down, young Midoriya. Everything is fine now, because I am here!" All Might stated, looking up from the green to the monsters that were now standing in the treeline. Why did they stop..? He didn't trust this...
"They're here for you, aren't they?" All Might asked, making Izuku freeze up. How did he know? Maybe Aizawa sensei knew something... Or Kacchan? Yeah, Izuku told him about the Nomu, didn't he? But how did that information get to All Might..?
"I won't let them take you, not until I'm done with you" All Might added.
"I know about All For One, but so do they, am I right?"
"Without proof it's still just a hunch" Izuku mumbled, not realizing he was talking out loud as his eyes scanned the treeline in search of the Nomu that were hopping around, waiting for the right moment to strike.
"Well, if you really do have the quirk I think you have, I'd appreciate some assistance" All Might commented, also waiting around for the Nomu to strike first. They had the advantage here, where they could see the enemy coming.
"Never thought I'd hear you asking for help from your mortal enemy, All Might"
Izuku's eyes instantly darted over to the voice, to the small man that walked so casually out of the forest. He must be the doctor, the one his dad told him about, the one who created the Nomu... Before any of them could attack the man, one of those monsters stepped out, holding onto a struggling child. A child Izuku recognized all too well.
"Kota!" Izuku yelled.
"Let the kid go!" All Might demanded, making the doctor laugh.
"You really think I'll just let him go because you ask? How naive are you, number one hero?" the doctor asked with a smile.
"No wonder you weren't able to unmask All For One! Oh, but that's not the name you go by now, is it kid? What was it again..? Deku?"
"Shut up! You can't call me that!" Izuku yelled in anger, green lightning sparking up around him as his quirk fired up inside of him. His eyes started glowing and his hair started floating like when Aizawa sensei used his quirk.
"Ah, getting all worked up hm? I remember your father acting like that whenever someone ruined his plans" the doctor chuckled. His father... So All Might's suspicion was right...
"DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT MY DAD!"
With that he charged at the man, only to be blocked by a Nomu. It was the one with the strength and absorption quirks, Izuku noted. He was able to blow him away in one hit, turning the enemy into an unregenerable pile of mush. The next Nomu that appeared in front of him wasn't punched back, but instead Izuku used forced quirk activation to overload his brain and make it explode.
"Don't worry Kota! I'll save you!"
All Might was watching on in horror as this kid plowed through those monsters as if they were nothing. So this was the kind of power he was holding back this entire time... And only now that the life of an innocent child was on the line, he revealed his true colours. All Might could see the shadow of young Midoriya's father lingering above the boy, watching over him, whispering things into his ear as he continued fighting. Was Izuku consciously aware of him? Or was it more like an instinct? All Might didn't know for sure...
"What the hell are you just standing around for?!"
All Might could see Eraserhead run by before the man went to assist his student, not asking questions but simply adapting to the new situation. A true underground hero, All Might noted, yet this wasn't the time to admire the strong suits of his colleagues. It didn't take long for Izuku to grab a hold of Kota, jumping back and out of reach as soon as he had him firmly in his arms. Just as he was about to use his teleportation quirk to get Kota out of here, Eraserhead yelled at him.
"Both of you get back to camp! Now!" Aizawa commanded. He didn't want any children near the battlefield. Besides, it was the problem child these things were after, so getting Midoriya to safety was one of his top priorities. Izuku nodded, knowing that getting Kota and himself away from this place was the best thing they could do, even though he wished he could stay and bash the doctor's head in for trying to use an innocent child against him.
"Okay, hold on Kota, I'm going to get you out of here" Izuku whispered, feeling the green light around him dissipate as he calmed down and started running. It was then that he started to truly feel the aftereffects of going overboard with his quirk. His energy was drained! He instantly felt exhausted but there was no way he could stop now! He had to continue! He had to get back to camp and bring Kota to safety!
So the moment he arrived at the building, his body completely gave out. Izuku put down Kota before collapsing onto the ground, barely able to register the portal opening in front of him or the worried look of his father that came through it. He felt someone pick him up, vaguely heard voices ringing in the background, but nothing he could comprehend. It didn't really matter anyway. Izuku did his part. Now all that was left was for All Might to win, like he always does.
...
Hisashi shot up from his chair the moment he felt it. The sheer surge of panic. A wave of anxiety and adrenaline. It could only mean one thing...
"Dear, everything alright?" Inko asked. Everyone was staring at him since he got up so suddenly while they were still talking after dinner. Basically everyone was there to see how his breathing picked up pace, trying his best to stay calm and rational. It wasn't working all that well.
"Dad? What's wrong? You're looking really pale" Tenko pointed out, now also getting up to make sure Hisashi was okay.
"I-it's Izuku... He's- Something is happening, I- I need to go there- I need to-"
"Hey, calm down. Why do you think something is wrong with Izuku?" Tenko asked, trying to control the situation, to make sense of this sudden outburst.
"I can feel it, Tenko. Izuku is in danger, I have to see him right now!" Hisashi stated, his head snapping aside to Kurogiri.
"Do you know where their training camp is held? I need you to bring me there right away!"
"It was in the info sheet, I'll go look it up again" Kurogiri supplied, swiftly leaving the room in order to search for the right documentation.
"If you're so certain about that, then I'm coming with you" Tenko stated.
"Tenko!" Inko gasped before looking back at her husband.
"Are you absolutely sure it's a good idea to go there? You could only make things worse by showing up out of nowhere like that!"
Hisashi heard what she was saying, knew what she meant by those words, and yet...
Yet he was willing to risk exposing the bond he and his son shared in order to save him. Hisashi didn't trust UA to save his son when it came down to it, definitely not when All Might was there with him!
"Then I'm coming with you too" Dabi stated, standing up as well.
"If there's really something dangerous out there, you better have someone that's got a quirk with range, don't you?"
"Oh, oh, oh! I wanna come too! I wanna help save Izu-kun too!" Toga called out while raising her hand.
"No one is coming with me!" Hisashi frowned.
"I'm not putting any of you in danger by letting you tag along! This isn't up for discussion!"
There was whining and complaining after that, but Hisashi stood his ground.
"We're totally sneaking through the portal after him, aren't we?" Dabi whispered towards his boyfriend.
"Well of course we are" Tenko snorted. This was his little brother they were talking about! No way was his dad going to announce something like that without expecting them to tag along.
"Let me join too! Please~" Himiko pleaded, making Tenko roll his eyes.
"Fine, but behave okay? Not like back at the sportsfestival"
"I won't run off, promise" she nodded, but the way she smiled said otherwise. She'll definitely be running around trying to find Izuku, Hitoshi and probably Katsuki too, if not others she laid her eyes on during the festival. It's not like she had any ill intentions, but sometimes her presence can be a bit overwhelming if you're not used to it...
"I've found the location of Izuku's training camp, sir" Kurogiri stated as he returned to the room, instantly gaining all the attention.
"Great! Come on, let's get going! There is no time to waste!"
Once the portal opened up and Hisashi stepped through, Tenko quickly pulled Dabi through with him, Toga being dragged behind as she grabbed Dabi's shirt.
When they arrived at the scene, Hisashi was already all over Izuku, who was lying unconsciously on the floor. There was a young boy with him, but he instantly backed away and ran into the cabin.
"Hm, if I use my quirk here, I'll probably light the whole forest on fire" Dabi mumbled, trying to assess the situation. Some old instinct that'd been drilled into his mind by Endeavor that always resurfaced in situations like these.
LIke when he went to the mall with Tenko and he almost killed someone for trying to pickpocket. His boyfriend had been furious, definitely after he scared Izuku's friends an hour later. They were all instincts he learned, yet never refined. Always way too violent, too reckless... That's one of the reasons why his father preferred Shoto, Dabi was sure of it. Speaking of the devil-
"Mr Midoriya..?"
Dabi never thought he'd see that face again. Well, guess you can never say never, right baby bro?