My Hero Life!

Chapter 2: Respite

Izuku reached for Kirishima with a pace that surpassed even his fastest time. He stopped at the very end of the warehouse and bent down to check on his classmate who was slumped against the wall in an ugly manner. He was still half hardened, most likely from protecting himself earlier, Izuku thought, but he was breathing normally and didn't seem to suffer from any other major injuries.

"Midoriya! You came. Thank All Might." Sero descended from the top level of the warehouse and crouched down by Izuku, glad to be out of the firing line.

"Don't worry about it, anytime!" Izuku gave him a reassuring smile. He picked up Eijiro and turned to look at the other side of the building. "If Dark Shadow actually paid attention to me, then there's no way I could just run to the exit without him getting hit, even if my hands weren't occupied."

Sero sighed as he looked upwards. "Then we'll go higher again. Using my quirk this much... it's beginning to hurt, and it's making my skin a little dry" he stood up firmly, "but I should have enough energy left for this." Immediately as Sero lifted his elbows, streams of tape flew out forming a web of platforms about 20 feet above the ground, all the way to the entrance. The two battling below were oblivious to the situation, too focused on each other.

Breathless he spoke, "Midoriya... hold on... tight." 2 final lines of tape came from each elbow, attaching to a pillar each on the left and right side of the building. He snapped it at the end and joined it together, forming a makeshift catapult.

Izuku powered up and stretched the tape as much as he could by walking back into it. "Sero, will you be alright?"

He gave a hearty smile. "I... I think I'm gonna walk after this... I'll stay hidden but... if he attacks me, I can manage."

Midoriya hesitantly nodded his head. It was time for the last stretch. Was that a pun?

In his head, so that Sero couldn't catch on, "One for All: Full Cowling!" Izuku was flung about 15 metres through the air, and high enough so that he was level with the lines of tape. He landed elegantly on the first platform that was set out, and from then on, he jumped from each one to the next like a frog.

The plan was working out. Izuku looked all around him. Kirishima was safe, Sero was safe - using the environment to stay hidden as he made his way back. Izuku looked downwards as a large thud rippled through the building. A significantly smaller Dark Shadow was hurt, and Todoroki was smiling. Now Izuku was smiling. "Our plan worked. We di-"

"MIDORIYA, WATCH OUT!"

Izuku gasped as his view was engulfed by a screen of ice. Without his hands to reposition himself, and without a path now to land on if he could manage to break such an attack with his kick, he had no remaining choices. He turned his back to the ice as he continued to fly through the air and held on tighter to his downed friend to ensure his safety. Izuku braced himself for pain.

BOOM!

Izuku opened his eyes carefully. Boom? That wasn't the correct noise. He could feel the wind coming from behind his cheeks as he continued to descend from the air until he was caught by a surprisingly comfortable slope of ice.

"HEY ICY-HOT! WHY DON'T YOU FOCUS ON KEEPING A LEVEL-HEAD!" Yelled Bakugo condescendingly, as he stood there with his smoking uninjured hand pointed to the sky - a hailstorm of shining ice particles enveloping the area around him.

With Shoto, Izuku and Kirishima all safely on the ground, Katsuki took a step forward in front of them and pierced Dark Shadow's soul with a murderous look. "BASTARD! HOW COME I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO HAVE ANY FUN!" He aimed his uninjured arm at a scared but still unwavering Dark Shadow and began to light up his hand with various small explosions. "It'll be weaker, but all of you failures still need to look away. HEY TAPE ARMS!" He called out to Sero who had just jogged to the group. "Get behind me!"