The courtyard held its breath.
Dust drifted through the fractured air, settling over broken stone and twisted rebar. Izuku felt every heartbeat in his throat—sharp, uneven—while his eyes stayed fixed on the two threats in front of them. Chisaki stood hunched near the collapsed wall, trembling in ragged jerks, one hand twitching like it kept searching for something to destroy. And a few steps beyond him—
Dabi watched them with a lazy amusement that didn't match the scorch marks still smoldering at his boots.
No one moved.
Izuku tightened his grip in the rubble, Blackwhip buzzing faintly under his skin—ready but not summoned. Katsuki shifted beside him, shoulders tight with impatience, palms sparking soft, volatile light. Shoto stood to his right, breath shallow but steady, frost ghosting off his fingers where heat exhaustion hadn't burned it away.
Dabi's smile widened by a fraction.
"Let's liven this up."
Blue fire detonated from his hand without warning.
Izuku flinched back instinctively, heat ripping across his face. The blast wasn't aimed for him—or Katsuki. It arced toward Shoto in a sweeping, deliberate strike that sent the ground buckling beneath its path.
Shoto reacted instantly.
A wall of ice surged upward, catching the flames head-on. Steam burst between them, rolling into a blinding cloud that swallowed half the courtyard. The shock rattled Izuku's ribs.
Katsuki cursed under his breath.
Dabi laughed softly.
Shoto didn't hesitate. He stepped forward, jaw set.
"I'll handle him. Go!"
"Shoto—!" Izuku reached toward the fading outline of his friend, but steam tore the silhouette from view.
Shoto sprinted straight into the haze, ice crackling sharply under his feet. Another flare of blue fire flashed behind the wall of steam—followed by the violent crack of ice shattering.
Then Dabi's voice drifted through the smoke, low and almost pleased.
Izuku's stomach turned to ice.
The battlefield behind the steam roared again—flame meeting frost, explosions echoing through the broken corridors. Shoto's silhouette flickered once between the smoke columns, then vanished entirely.
Katsuki snapped, "Eyes front, Deku. He chose that fight."
Izuku swallowed hard and forced his gaze back to their remaining threat.
Chisaki.
Still breathing.
Still dangerous.
They had to move.
Before the courtyard devoured them too.
A pulse rippled through the cracked ground—subtle at first, then violent enough to force Izuku to widen his stance. Chisaki dragged himself upright with a ragged breath, fingers twitching like nerves misfiring beneath the skin.
Katsuki exhaled sharply through his nose.
"Great. He's still kicking."
Izuku didn't answer—there wasn't time.
Chisaki lunged.
Izuku reacted on instinct, Blackwhip snapping from his palm and spearing down into the ground. He yanked himself sideways just as Chisaki's hand tore upward, splitting the tile into jagged spikes where Izuku had been standing.
YOU ARE READING
~BNHA~ Everything That I Am
RomanceIzuku thought his luck had finally changed when he was chosen by his idol All Might to be his successor. Everything was supposed to change for him that day on the beach. But then the Villain's attacked. They tore down the Hero society Midoriya had l...
