A Tarnished Hero

Chapter 7: Folly of the Elderly

Izuku looked at All Might, a tired smile hidden underneath his helmet. The figure before him cut an intimidating sight: His white shirt barely hid the muscles rippling underneath, while the frown marred on his face was able to bring any villain down on their knees.

"VILLAIN! SURRENDER NOW AND I PROMISE YOU'LL BE SPARED FURTHER INJURY!" All Might snarled, clearly not in his best mind right now. Looking to the side, Izuku spotted the frog girl opening her mouth to speak, only for him to focus back on All Might, his large fist hurtling towards him at rapid speeds.

Izuku dodged this as well by tilting his body sidewards, the tip of his helmet's nose barely scraping against All Might's skin. Izuku's eyes trailed downward and saw a knee heading for his gut, to which he responded with a knee of his own.

Metal met flesh and the resounding boom from the clash caused the nearby rubble to shake. Izuku managed to hear a grunt coming from All Might, but other than that, the frown on his face didn't change much.

His welcome quite outstayed, Izuku kicked off of All Might and launched himself away from the tall, muscular blond. While in mid-air, he saw All Might tense his legs as he propelled himself towards him like a speeding comet, fist cocked back ready to knock him into the next life.

With a grunt, Izuku hefted All Strike to block the incoming punch. Flesh met metal once more and a loud boom echoed throughout the dome.

Normally, when the flat of a blade was subjected to the force of All Might's punch, it would've snapped right in half. All Strike was not most weapons.

The blade that felled a demi-god didn't buckle under the strain, its shape holding firm against the impact of All Might's punch. The force behind it threw Izuku backward far enough he slammed into the gigantic set of stairs that led to the exit.

A groan left Izuku's lips, his armored body deeply embedded into the concrete. Grunting, he pried himself off of the Izuku-shaped hole and stood back on his two feet. He was about to glare at All Might's direction for the hostility, only for him to blink when All Might was already right in front of him with another fist ready to pummel him.

Already fed up with the misunderstanding, Izuku backhanded All Might's arm away and delivered a half-hearted uppercut right into where it hurts. His weakness.

From the way All Might's knees buckled, Izuku assumed it to be super-effective. If he wanted even more proof, look no further than the blood leaking down his lips.

Credit where it was due, though. All Might didn't utter a single groan or yelp when Izuku gave the wound on All Might's flank the fist. But it wasn't enough. All Might was still going strong, and Izuku decided that he wanted a little payback for what happened to him.

After all, when he ran to save Katsuki, he glimpsed a familiar set of blond hair peeking from the crowd, watching... Staring... Unmoving... He was just standing there with the power to help... Even with his time limit, with the power he held, just a few seconds was enough to get rid of the Slime villain and dash off into the sunset.

So yes, Izuku somewhat blamed All Might for his death, but the man before him didn't hold the entire blame. That anger went directly into the Slime villain for obvious reasons, and himself for being a weak person.

Katsuki was right. All Might even more so. All it took were a few deaths in the Lands Between to get it through his thick skull that trying to be a hero without power was just plain impossible.

Izuku kicked All Might away and the muscular blond was pushed back a few meters, his feet skidding across the ground as debris went flying.

"All Might, it's been months since we last met." Izuku's muffled voice gave pause to the conflict between the two. "You changed... Haven't you...?"