The Emperor's Dragon II

There Is No Second Chance

Izuku almost wished he had the pain from his broken back to keep him centred as he ran but he had pain of another type to help. He didn't want to run. He'd promised himself he wouldn't run from All Might again but...

He hissed and gritted his teeth. He couldn't think about that now. He had to get away. If he didn't then...

There were so many things that wouldn't happen, if he was incarcerated or worse. His dad would never be freed and... that hurt. More than him running, that thought hurt because he knew it was his fault. If he hadn't killed Tomura then... Then there would have been another chance.

But he had. So he was the only chance. And he couldn't be reckless.

So for the moment he focused on running. He had Compress securely held in a pearl but could feel All Might closing in on him. The Hero had a time limit but he was tired. The light of the city didn't do anything for his energy levels... and that didn't matter, he had to get away. He fired several more scales at the hero but All Might simply batted them away. Izuku dodged the grab he felt coming and then realised there was one place he could run that All Might couldn't follow.

He'd joked about it with Mr Compress on the way here.

All Might couldn't fly.

He could.

There was a risk though. If he didn't rise fast enough, then All Might could jump to intercept him and if the Hero grabbed on to him, Izuku had a feeling that he'd never let go. It was a risk but it was a risk he'd have to take since with All Might following him so closely on foot, it was unlikely that he'd get away, if he just continued to run. There weren't enough civilians around for him to change his hair colour and disappear into them.

Izuku concentrated, looking ahead of him. There was an alley ahead. It was likely he could turn faster than All Might and if he could just get a moment or two ahead of the Number One Hero then he could potentially put some blockers in front of him. Izuku dodged into the alley and thankfully All Might over shot but he was quick to recover. In that time, Izuku had activated two of his quirks. Kilo to lighten himself and Caeli Imperium to fly. He shot into the sky. He used a platform to fly on and while he wasn't sure if it would work, he made a series of other platforms beneath him. They might not do much but All Might would have to crash through them to get to him and even if they slowed the hero by a little, that might make the difference.

He cleared the buildings almost instantly and kept driving upwards. Izuku didn't want to look back but knew he had to. All Might was watching him and then Izuku could tell he was gathering himself for a leap. That made him drive himself up harder. Height was important. Everyone had seen footage of All Might leaping but Izuku knew the man was being careful with those leaps. He had to be to ensure he didn't damage buildings or the footpath or road. To capture him though, Izuku knew All Might would pay the insurance, probably personally.

The buildings weren't that high. Despite that lack of space, Japan had never really built upwards but Izuku knew there was the possibility All Might would land on the roof of a building and use the extra height to leap again. All Might suddenly loomed closer as he jumped. Izuku hissed and growled but didn't stop his upward trajectory.

It took him an instant to realise that the Number One Hero was dropping away and another one to know that it wasn't just his imagination. All Might was falling back. He hadn't gotten enough height. Izuku sucked in several lungfuls of air as he brought himself to a stop. He kept an eye below him. He couldn't afford to have All Might surprise him with a higher jump but the Hero didn't appear happy. He couldn't see exactly but he could see the flashing lights that were around the bar.

Izuku shook his head. All Might must have rushed ahead, which would explain why they hadn't been interrupted by other heroes. He hadn't thought about that at the time. He couldn't afford to be so short sighted.