Reset and Rewind

Chapter 28 - An Eye for an Eye

Everything around him was chaos. Izuku really shouldn't be surprised, things had been quite hectic the first time around, too. But things were chaotic for a whole different reason this time. It was all different. Changed. Altered. Izuku didn't know how things happened the way they did, but then again, fate had a way of coming back to bite you no matter what. Himiko had been reckless, she'd changed things without a care in the world, and now here she was, being pierced by spikes that would normally be piercing Lemillion. Only these wounds... These injuries were fatal.

And as much as the scene shocked him, he couldn't let it distract him. They still had to take care of Overhaul, they still needed to save Eri. The girl seemed to be fine, safely in Mirio's arms. Izuku briefly wondered whether he'd already been shot by the quirk erasure dart, whether he'd lost his power yet. He couldn't be sure, not with how things turned out to be. And then the ceiling caved in, much sooner than it should've, or so Izuku thought. Maybe they'd just been late to get here, maybe their timing was off. It didn't matter, not really. They just needed to block Overhaul's escape and keep Eri safe.

"Deku, this is no time to be distracted," Eraserhead called out, making Izuku blink. He'd been watching Sir Nighteye retrieve Mirio and Eri from the battlefield as the roof collapsed on top of them. His eyes had wandered over to Himiko more than he'd liked, to her injuries, to the blood... So much blood... He was sure he was making a face, which is probably why Aizawa had called out to him in the first place. "Stay focussed, the fight isn't over yet."

"But Toga, she..." Izuku trailed off. She wasn't supposed to die here. She wasn't even supposed to be here.

"Let's worry about that later," Aizawa said, and Izuku only now noticed his eyes stayed trained on Overhaul as Ryukyu tried to contain him. "Check on Eri, make sure she's okay."

Izuku nodded, his eyes quickly darting around the place. Sir Nighteye had brought Mirio and Eri back to the entrance, or at least the place through which they'd entered this underground battle ground. Eri was squirming in Mirio's hold, tears stinging in her eyes as she tried to escape.

"I don't want this!" she cried out. "I don't want people getting hurt because of me!"

Her horn was starting to glow as she continued to struggle. Izuku locked eyes with Sir Nighteye at that moment. They both knew what was coming, what needed to happen. Izuku had told him all about Eri's quirk before they started this raid. The alliance had given him every piece of information they could give him to assure things would go smoothly. Things hadn't gone smoothly, not at all, but there was no time to linger on that.

"You can't stop him! He's too strong!" she cried. "I need- I need to go back to him! I-I can fix this! He'll let you go, I just-"

"No!" Izuku yelled, taking her aback. "We're not giving up on you, Eri-chan!"

He forced a wobbly smile on his face, silently motioning for Mirio to put her down. After that he kneeled down in front of her, seeing her horn glow more steadily now. It was starting... He needed to be quick about this.

"Your power isn't a curse, okay? You're not to blame for any of this," he started, taking her hands. "And I know it's none of my business, but when I saw you cry... I couldn't just leave you here. I'm going to save you, Eri-chan, no matter what! No one will get hurt because you want to be happy!"

As if to symbolize his words, a loud crash was heard behind them, sending a gust of wind their way. Eri's quirk was getting out of control, though, so they couldn't simply stand aside and watch the others take care of it.

"Please lend me your strength. What do you say, Eri-chan?" Izuku asked, trying to keep her from freaking out completely. She hesitated, but only for a moment, before nodding. Okay, alright, let's do this. Izuku picked her up on his back, activating One For All as her quirk started rewinding him. God, he hated this part. He almost forgot how much it actually hurt to break his body over and over and over again. At least he wouldn't have to hold back...