The battlefield cracked under her boots. Hikari stood face-to-face with the man responsible for the chaos.
Shigaraki’s pale hand twitched at his side, itching to destroy. Behind him, the monstrous creature known as Nomu lurked like a nightmare made flesh, muscles bulging, skin stitched tight like a horror out of a butcher’s lab.
For a moment, the world went quiet.
Shigaraki tilted his head, studying her with a curiosity that made her skin crawl.
“So you’re her,” he rasped, his voice brittle with excitement. “This couldn’t have gone any better.”
Hikari’s eyes narrowed, her body lowering into a defensive stance. The air around her shimmered faintly, invisible threads of power weaving tightly against her skin.
“You came for me,” she said flatly.
“Of course,” Shigaraki said, almost gleeful. “You’re our perfect gift.”
Without warning, Nomu lunged.
The ground quaked as the monster’s fist slammed down—
—but Hikari was already gone, a blur of motion.
She reappeared above Nomu’s head, twisting midair. With a graceful sweep of her hand, a concussive force rippled outward, slamming into Nomu’s back and sending the beast staggering forward.
The watching villains stiffened. Even Shigaraki’s fingers twitched with sudden doubt. Nomu roared and charged again.Hikari didn't flinch this time. She planted her feet, sinking one boot into shattered concrete, and as Nomu's punch hurtled towards her, she caught it.
One-handed. The force reverberated through the walls, dust crumbling from the ceiling.The raw might of Nomu's power battering her bones, Hikari gritted her teeth and stood. Not yet, she thought ruthlessly. Not today.
Nomu's red mindless eyes widened. He pushed harder with a low growl. Too bad for him Hikari’s arm didn’t budge.
“You’re strong,” she said, her voice low and steady. “But strength without will is useless.”
With a sudden twist of her wrist, she threw Nomu over her shoulder, crashing the monster into the ground hard enough to leave a crater.
Shigaraki flinched. Just barely.
'So that’s why they want her…'
He stretched out his fingers, ready to disintegrate the ground beneath her feet—but Hikari snapped her fingers first.
A barrier, invisible but crackling with energy, formed instantly between them. His decay power fizzled uselessly against it, sparks dancing in the air. “You’ll have to do better than that,” she said coldly.
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Meanwhile—
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At the entrance to the USJ, a copy of Hikari—shimmering slightly at the edges—stood protectively before her classmates, tension stiff in her frame. Thirteen lay unconscious with a deep wound in her back.
The smoky villain loomed closer with his golden eyes gleaming. Everyone was frozen with fear.
Ochaco trembled beside Hikari’s clone, her fists clenching uselessly at her sides. Mina wiped her palms against her skirt, breathing fast.
The copy of Hikari did the only thing she could do to help her classmate at this time. "Come on, guys! We're heroes, right!?" shaking Ochaco by the shoulders.
"Get a grip! We can't afford to be scared."
"But—" Mina was trying her best not to shake with fear.
"No buts. Focus. Use your Quirk. Right now we have to help Iida get out of here. He's our only hope for backup."
Ochaco swallowed hard, then nodded curtly. Hikari spun to face the others—Sero, Mina, Shoji, and Sato—meeting each of their wide, panicked eyes in turn.
“Listen up!” she barked, her voice cutting through the chaos. “You’re not students today. You’re heroes. Act like it!”
For a heartbeat, no one moved. Then Shoji tightened his massive hands into fists. Sato cracked his knuckles. Sero raised his arms, tape spooling from his elbows. They nodded. From across the fractured plaza, the smoke villain chuckled low and deep, mist swirling hungrily around him.
“Brave words from children…” he sneered.
Before he could strike, Hikari’s clone thrust her palm forward—a barrier of shimmering force materialized just in time, absorbing the first crushing wave of portal attacks. The smoke villain twisted in frustration, shadows shifting. He was trying to split them up—trap them.
“Iida!” Hikari snapped. “Get moving! Now!”
Iida hesitated only a second before sprinting toward the shattered main entrance, engines roaring.
The class scattered into action. The smoke villain lunged to intercept—but Sero lashed out with his tape, wrapping a section of a broken pillar and yanking it down like a barrier between the villain and Iida.
“Not happening!” Sero shouted, anchoring himself.
The smoke villain shifted, slipping through gaps, but Shoji moved next, his multiple arms expanding outward like a shield wall, physically blocking the way.
“You will not pass!” Shoji growled.
Another surge of mist. Another portal slicing through the ground.
Sato charged, muscles bulging, and punched the collapsing floor, sending debris flying to block the portal mid-formation. Dust exploded everywhere.The smoke villain roared in frustration, reforming faster now—aiming directly for Iida.
“He’s going for him!” Mina screamed.
Hikari gritted her teeth, both hands outstretched now—
Her barrier thickened, pulsing with raw light, cutting off the smoke villain’s path at the last second.
“I said MOVE, Iida!” She screamed, her voice shaking with strain.
Iida didn’t look back. He ran harder—past the threshold, through the broken gates—until he vanished from sight, engines echoing down the ruined corridors.He was free.
The moment he was gone, the smoke villain’s attacks intensified.
Portals slashed the air. The ground warped and twisted. The shield flickered under the strain.
But Hikari stood tall, heart pounding against her ribs.
Around her, Sero, Shoji, and Sato fell into position, bruised but unyielding.
They weren’t running.
They weren’t students anymore.
They were heroes.
Ready for whatever came next.
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