The Cosa Nostra (Part 15)

Jason punched through Overhaul's man-made door that had blocked the entrance to the cavern. The hero in training looked around. "...What the hell did I miss…?" He froze up as his eyes locked on Nighteye. "...Oh no…" He ran down to him. Momo was securing the concrete tendril that was inside him, since pulling it out would only make things worse. "What happened?!" Nighteye coughed. "...Overhaul…" Jason looked around. "Where's Overhaul?! And Eri? And Chris?!" The pro hero weakly pointed up at the hole in the ceiling. Jason swore. "I'm too late." Ryukyu looked down at Jason. "Endgame, you need to get Nighteye to the surface so paramedics can stabilize him." Jason nodded and wrapped his arms around Nighteye. Momo hung on too. With that, Jason used Inner Strength to jump to the surface.

One for All, Full Cowling. 100%. Chris smirked as he stared up at Overhaul. "Eri." The little girl, still on his back, looked at him. "Your quirk is a blessing Eri. We'll beat Overhaul together." She didn't really know what he was talking about, but hung onto the student. Chris stood up straight and smiled. "Let's do this." As he said that, Chris clenched his fist. That small gesture alone was enough to create a small crater where he was standing. His hand had broken, but Eri's quirk had repaired it before the pain could even set in. Overhaul used his massive hands to grab the buildings on either side of him. Both buildings turned into a hundred concrete tendrils and flung themselves at Chris. The student watched the tendrils come closer. Then, in the blink of an eye, he disappeared. Overhaul looked around, wondering where he had gone. "Texas…" Overhaul looked down. In less than a second, Chris had closed the gap between the two, and was now directly underneath him. "...Smash!" With a powerful uppercut, Overhaul was now flying up into the air. Chris leaped up with all of his strength to intercept the enemy, shattering the ground as he jumped.

Overhaul roared as he grabbed himself. His giant form exploded and reassembled. He used the body mass to make his arms and legs gigantic. "Why do you continue to persist?!" Chris was using high powered kicks to fly through the air, just like how All Might flew with the New Hampshire Smash. Chris felt his muscles tighten up. Eri's quirk was accelerating, which meant Chris had to hurry. He rocketed towards Overhaul. Their punches collided. Overhaul's giant arm exploded, not being able to rival Chris's 100% punch. Chris was moving so fast that it was almost like he was teleporting. He appeared behind Overhaul and put several powerful punches into his back. Overhaul was sent flying again. He reconstructed his body, giving himself one massive arm, and threw another punch. Chris spun over the fist and ran up the giant arm. "I promised myself I would save everyone!" He spun and kicked Overhaul across the sky, then rocketed towards the villain again. He grabbed the villain by the arm and threw him back towards the direction of the base. "If I can't save one little girl right in front of me…" He appeared in front of Overhaul, punching him several times in the gut. "...then how can I dare call myself the next Symbol of Peace?!" Overhaul reconstructed his body to give himself four giant limbs again. The mobster was desperate. He had gone from dominating to losing, and he couldn't understand why. Chris grabbed his leg and threw him straight up into the air. "How can I dare call myself...?" Chris raced upwards and punched Overhaul, rocketing the villain several miles up. "...a hero?!" Chris vanished and reappeared behind Overhaul. The thug looked up, fear in his eyes. The sun silhouetted Chris as he looked down at Overhaul. With all of his might, Chris punched Overhaul. The resulting shockwave shattered every window in a two block radius down below. The villain rocketed towards the ground, landing in the giant pit created from their fight earlier. Jason and Momo did their best to shield Nighteye from the dust and debris that was flying everywhere. Neijire couldn't believe what she had just witnessed. Nighteye watched as Chris landed nearby, panting. Chris stood upright and shoved his fist into the air. Nighteye tensed up. He immediately recognized All Might's victory pose. The pro hero smiled. "...I see it now…" He passed out from blood loss only a second later.

Chris fell to his knees and screamed in pain. Eri's quirk was still on full blast, rewinding his body. Suddenly, the pain stopped. Chris looked around. Aizawa was there. He had used his quirk to stop Eri's. Tamaki ran forward and pulled Eri off of Chris as he stood up. Aizawa looked down into the pit. He then turned to Chris. "Good work." Chris forced a slight smile.

All Might drove as quickly as he could to the hospital. The phone call from Aizawa had been brief, but it got the message across. He rushed into reception. "Hello?! Where is Nighteye's room?!" "All Might?" The retired hero turned and saw Chris standing up from his seat, still wearing his tattered uniform. "Chris?!" All Might rushed over. The student and teacher hugged each other. "What happened to you guys?!" Chris just sighed. "...We got our butts kicked… but we won…" All might nodded, understanding that statement all too well. The two parted from the hug. "Where are the others?" "Jason is outside on the phone with Shoto, Momo and Mina are getting some minor injuries looked at, and Kirishima is in the recovery room. He had some really bad injuries, but the nurse said that he should be fine." All Might took a shaky breath. "...What about Nighteye…?" Chris grimaced. "...The doctor said all they could do was stabilize him… and give him some painkillers..." All Might's heart sank. The doctor assigned to Nighteye walked up. "All Might? Impact?" The two heroes looked over. "Nighteye is awake. It… It would be wise to say your goodbyes…"

Mina had finished crying a few minutes ago. Kirishima blinked, his eyes slowly opening. Mina stood up, wincing slightly from her leg injury. "Eijiro!" Kirishima was a little startled, not used to hearing his first name. He preferred his last name, after all. "...Mina…?" She hugged the redhead. He winced in pain. "Ow! Hey, Mina, I'm still healing!" She didn't let go. Kirishima laid there, frozen in place. Mina slowly let go, beginning to tear up again. "Fatgum told me what you did! What were you thinking?! You could've died!" Kirishima winced in pain as he forced himself to sit up. He smiled. "I did what any hero would do." Mina sighed as she stared at the floor. "...I know… I just… I don't know what I would've done if you died…" Kirishima just sat there. Mina looked him in the eyes. "Kirishima, I can't take this anymore. Life is clearly too short. I have to tell you something that I should've told you a long time ago. I lo-" Kirishima grabbed Mina by the collar and pulled her into a kiss. Mina completely froze up. After a minute, Kirishima pulled away. He slightly smiled as Mina touched her lips. "...Sorry, Mina… I… I've had strong feelings for you for years now… I… I tried to respect your feelings, but… but I can't wait anymore. I love you, Mina Ashido." Mina hopped up on the bed, straddling Kirishima. He looked up, a little confused. She smiled down at him. "I've been waiting since High School for you to say that." The two shared another kiss, truly together at last.

Mirio was in tears as Nighteye comforted his sidekick. Then All Might and Chris walked in. Nighteye looked at his former teacher. "...hello… sir…" "...It's been a long time, Nighteye…" The dying hero looked over at Chris. "...Come closer…" Chris stood next to the bed. Nighteye nodded to Mirio, who stood up and walked out. Nighteye smiled up at Chris. "...I'm proud of you… You stopped Overhaul… and the Cosa Nostra… and you saved Eri... " Chris looked down. "...But I couldn't save you…" Nighteye coughed a little. "...Don't weep for me… I treated you like a joke… but… but…" He was struggling to speak now. "...You… you proved me wrong…" Nighteye was almost crying now. "...All Might… was… right to give you… One for All…" Chris bowed his head respectfully. "...Thank you, sir…" All Might put a hand on Chris's shoulder. Chris nodded understandingly and left. All Might sat in the seat next to Nighteye's bed. Nighteye stared up at the ceiling. "...You… are silent for… years, and then… you… come only when… I'm… dying…" All Might was tearing up. "...I am so sorry, Nighteye…" Nighteye was still smiling. "...I'm… glad I could… see you…" The former Number One hero held his friend's hand, and he stayed there with his former sidekick until his time came.