Saving Me [Monoma x Reader]

18. Go Beyond: PLUS ULTRA!!

"Woah, [L/N]! Are you okay?" Hagakure sprinted over to Aoyama and me after our victory against the villains in our area.

"What..? Oh- yeah, I think so. Just a little tired," I breathed out. I was still leaning against Aoyama's back and my head felt light. Both of us were slumped over on the ground.

"Are you sure?? Your skin is kinda blue!"

My eyes drifted upwards to where I thought my friend's head would be as she hovered above me. As a result of using my quirk too much, the coloration of my skin would start fading into a bluish color from the lack of oxygen. I would also start feeling light-headed, and I could pass out if I went too far.

"Oh... right. It's just a part of my quirk," I explained, waving a hand to let her know that I was okay. "If I use it too much, this is what happens... but, I'll be okay. I just need to catch my breath..."

"What about meeeeee!!! My stomach's killing me over here..!" Aoyama cried, still clutching onto his lower torso.

"We probably shouldn't stick around here for too long. Who knows if there are more villains out there," Hagakure began to help me up.

"Yeah. We've gotta check on everyone else, too, and make sure they're okay," I added.

Hagakure nodded while she and I each had one of Aoyama's arms slung over behind our shoulders. "I don't think I can hold out for another battle," he groaned with rivers flowing out of his eyes.

"It's okay, Aoyama. You did great. Let's go regroup with the others."

I tried to encourage him as we dragged him along, searching for rest of our classmates. There were sounds of another battle raging on in the distance, and when the three of us looked down from a cliff side, we saw All Might fighting off against what looked to be three villains, including the strange purple, cloud-like one who tried to stop us from escaping earlier.

"It's All Might!! He's here! We're saved!!!" Hagakure cheered.

It was as if a heavy weight had lifted off our chests, and we all beamed with hope at the sight of the number one hero coming in to save the day. 

"Crap, is that Mr. Aizawa?" I gestured with my chin to another part of the USJ. Sure enough, Midoriya and Mineta were carrying our battered homeroom teacher, with Asui walking alongside them.

Hagakure nodded. "Yeah, it looks like it. Let's go help them out! I'm sure All Might has everything else covered."

By then, Aoyama had thankfully recovered and was able to walk on his own. We rushed over to our classmates.

"Heeeeeey!!" Hagakure called out. "Glad to see you guys are okay!"

"Ribbit? Oh hey, it's [L/N], Hagakure, and Aoyama. Looks like you're okay, too!"

Still carrying Aizawa, Midoriya turned his head and and gave us a relieved smile. "H-hey!"

"Good, now that thereth more of uth, at leatht we'll have a better chanth if more villainth attack again!" Mineta spouted.

I blinked at the grape-headed kid. What he said made sense, but the way he said it made it sound like the three of us who just arrived were supposed to be meat shields.

"We saw you guys and came to help." My eyes drifted over to Aizawa's beaten form. He was incredibly bloodied, and a part of his elbow had skin that was completely missing. "How... how is he?" I stuttered, afraid of the answer.

"H-he's not that great... but he's alive," Midoriya replied. "We've gotta get him outta here... and to Recovery Girl..!"

We all nodded our heads. Hagakure moved to take a leg, Aoyama moved to take another arm, and just as I was about to move to support his torso, we felt a huge tremor and jerked our heads to see a pillar of smoke billowing into the air. What we saw when the smoke cleared made us all gasp. 

All Might was caught in between what looked like two portals, with a bizarre-looking villain that had its brain exposed digging its fingers into our hero.

Without warning, Midoriya ran off, his body frantically sprinting towards All Might like it was the last thing he'd ever do.

"What are you, cRATHY?!" Mineta screamed.

"Midoriya, WAIT-!" I shouted after him, but it was no use.

He's gonna get himself killed..!

I didn't know why he took off like that. None of us did. Sure, All Might was caught in a tough spot, but he was All Might. He'd get out of it, right? He always did. He had to!

"Take care of Mr. Aizawa," I frantically huffed. "I'm going after Midoriya!"

I was only maybe ten meters behind the green-haired boy, but it felt way too far when I tried to catch up to him. "MIDORIYA!"

I didn't know what possessed him to do this, but whatever it was, it was also enough to make him ignore me. My eyes widened as he leapt straight for All Might, reaching out with a single hand towards him. The purple cloud villain suddenly materialized in front of Midoriya, and I thought it was game over. Even if I did try to fly again, I was still too far back to do anything, and my eyes filled with fear for what would happen to my classmate. My hand reached out in vain.

"NOO-!"

"-GET OUT OF MY WAY, DEKU!"

Out of nowhere, Bakugo exploded onto the scene and tackled the warping villain onto the ground. Todoroki and Kirishima came in right on time, too, and by the time I'd reached there, it was the five of us, and All Might, who had successfully wrangled himself from the hulking, bird-brain villain that held him in place. I had never felt so relieved to see my classmates come together.

The battle that followed changed my life forever. Watching All Might send blow after blow after mighty blow into that thing was a breathtaking sight within itself. Even when the villain with hands all over his body told us that "Nomu" had shock-absorption, along with some other crazy abilities, All Might gave his everything until he had indisputably defeated it, and all with a huge smile on his face.

So this is what it means... to be a true hero.

We could only watch in astonishment as we saw All Might's courage and show of strength. Everyone knew how powerful he was, but witnessing it for ourselves firsthand was a completely different thing within itself. Seeing Midoriya run in to try and help him during this fight showed me what I was missing. Seeing All Might throw one last punch into the Nomu and sending it flying through the roof of the USJ showed me what I needed to grow.

It was then that I understood, that it wasn't that I couldn't fly because I needed more training. I couldn't fly because I was holding myself back.

I couldn't just keep waiting for things to push me to my limit, like when Todoroki went for the warhead during the Battle Trials, or when Hagakure and Aoyama fell through the air today. I needed to give my all at every moment that I breathed. I needed to grow on the inside, to capture that spark that would allow me to face any challenge with unwavering determination, no matter how afraid I was. And once I did that, I'd be able to grow on the outside.

Though I think they didn't know it, that was what Midoriya and All Might taught me today, and it was a lesson I would carry with me forever.