Nothing New (a my hero academia fanfiction, volume two of the Nothing Series)

Foretold

In an abandoned corner of town, where plastic bags drifted and the wind whispered indistinctly through peeling walls and parched drainage pipes-

KA BOOM!!!

Fire and heat ferociously ripped through the frail buildings and heaped mounds of garbage and filth. Scraps of rotting things were raining from the sky as All For One stood upright in his now destroyed chemical chamber. 

Mirio slowly uncurled his body to release Katsuma, and sat back to scan his immediate surroundings for civilians and casualties. He nodded slightly to himself upon finding none, and glanced back at their captor.

This was bad...

All For One's full strength and health had returned.

Katsuma was deathly pale, and he panted shallowly as he collapsed, to become absolutely still.

Mirio had been waiting for that, and set his make-shift plan into motion. His eyes shone with tears as he pretended like his friend had suffered the worst. "KATSUMA!!" Mirio's horrified cry caught the villain's attention. Mirio listened at the Regeneration Hero's chest for a heartbeat, and smiled slightly to himself with relief that there was a faint cadence still. He sat back up to give All For One a look of utmost loathing.

 All For One grunted. "Good Riddance. I'm surprised the little welp lasted this long."

Mirio roared with the tenacity of his being. "MURDERER!!"

He had to keep up the act, for Katsuma's sake at least. The Symbol of Hope deep down prayed that his friend was using this "dead act" time, to use his quirk and heal. If Mirio put enough effort into the charade- All For One would abandon Katsuma for dead. 

Then it would just be him and All For One.

How it should be.

The villain scoffed dismissively. "That's nothing new. Where was I before Midoriya ruined everything? Ah yes-" The towering man walked closer to his captive, picking through rubble and weaving through the metropolitan ruins as he went. 

Mirio flexed his hands behind his back- trying to gauge how much strength he had left. 

Not Much-

Then there was a distinct voice that called out, that caused All For One to freeze in his tracks. "You know, I could have sworn someone called my name."

Mirio turned to see the speaker, eyes wide with disbelief. 

The man was out in the open, dressed in simple combat armor. He was easily 40 yards away, and most features were indistinct due to that fact. But the tuft of green hair gave him away in a hearbeat-

"Midoriya..."

It was all according to plan. Things were right on track-

Izuku winced and clutched his aching, bleeding wounds in his side as he stumbled. His legs felt heavy as he falteringly kept running away from the target. 

Bakugo slightly peeked out of his hiding place to see Point Blank running past. The Number One Pro Hero felt an anvil of regret drop in his gut- 

There was genuine fear in Izuku's green eyes-   

Izuku turned a corner too sharply and stumbled hard. The fumble slowed him down enough to the point were large fingers clamped around his throat at vicious speed. Point Blank dryly cried out as his new captor slowly lifted him into the air. 

All For One growled deeply. "What a waste of so much ability and tactical brilliance- The heroes only hold you back from what you are truly capable of- but no matter. You abandoned true greatness many years ago." Deku clawed uselessly against All For One's fingers to no avail... Pain-filled tears silently streaked down his face as he feebly resisted. 

Ignoring his cue in the plan, Bakugo charged out of his hiding place much to Deku's dismay- But the Pro Hero ignored his friend's reaction, as small cracking explosions bursted angrily in his palms. "YOU WANNA BET BASTARD?!!!" Fiery hatred burned in his ruby red eyes with a conviction that filled every inch of his body with strength.

Katsuki wasn't about to let this villain take out Izukuchan. Especially after all the hard work to get him back home safely- to his loving mother, and fantastic friends-

Izuku Midoriya was NOT going to die today.

All For One purred. "Oh, you actually care about this pathetic nuisance?" He squeezed and Deku wheezed sharply in pain as more terrified tears poured from his eyes. 

Deku's brain was whirring with alarm. He thought. "Ka- cchan- You were supposed to stay hidden until-"  Terrified of Bakugo getting hurt, Izuku called out to his partner earnestly- "Kacchan, go, Run, SAVE YOURSELF-" 

The villain's deep voice racked shivers in Izuku's soul- "You really should be thinking of yourself."  All For One squeezed again and Deku cried out in pain even louder. The tone was significantly sharper...more dire-

Midoriya trembled powerfully in pain as he very weakly tried to pry All For One's fingers off his neck.  He panicked. "Yowameru....where are you?! The time to attack is NOW."  His vision started to fade in and out- Izuku croaked horsely in a whisper: "No..."

He had promised Tsuyu-

"Don't die on me, you got that?!" Her voice was firm but hardly contained tears swam in her dark hued eyes. 

Izuku hugged her emphatically, and held her consolingly. "I'll be fine, I promise."

Deku rasped for air, feeling his starving lungs urgently clench. He was shaking from head to toe. He was trying to calculate what delayed Yowameru's entrance when a horrible epiphany dawned on him-

 She had betrayed him.

Abandoned the plan and run off.

Izuku mentally kicked himself in disappointment. He should have guessed that would happen-

Deku thought as his eyes squeezed shut in agony.....his whole body was starting to loose feeling and become limp- "Yowameru....why?" 

A woman leapt off her perch and landed on All For One's spine, slamming both hands into his shoulder blades. All For One bellowed in surprise and dropped his victim, who collapsed in a hapless heap on the ground.  

Bakugo surged forward and gently scooped his sidekick into his arms. He quietly pulled back, to give Yowameru the all clear. The Explosion Hero softly reassured. "You did amazing out there." His ruby gaze locked with ice blue for a moment. 

She was waiting for the next order.

The next phase in the plan-

Bakugo held Midoriya closer to him as he slowly nodded, trusting the woman to pick up on the signal that he had privately discussed with her before.

It was the confirmation to terminate the target.

Yowameru glared at her prey, focusing her quirk to max power. Her platinum blonde hair glowed white and started to levitate of its own accord as her eyes glowed a bright molten gold. Her voice was level enough to make Katsuki shudder. "Night night Master."

All For One started to formulate a confused response before roaring in agony.

In just a few seconds- All For One's heart stopped beating altogether, and the renowned villain face planted into the ground with a loud crash. 

Yowameru relaxed and her eyes returned to their natural ice blue color and her hair stopped glowing as well. 

She didn't say a word.