A Hero's Resolve (Part 12)

Shoto entered the stairwell, her fire ready to go. She scanned up and down before waving forward with her other arm. Chris, still carrying Endeavor, entered. Jason shut the door behind them, protecting their rear. "We're pretty high up, but the elevator is too unreliable with all of the fighting going on. No choice but to take the stairs all the way down." Endeavor grabbed Chris. "Put me down. I think I can walk." Chris slowly set the hero down. Endeavor, supporting himself on the wall, managed to remain upright without Chris. He then held up his hand and created a fireball. Endeavor smirked. "I'm back in the game." Shoto sighed. "I guess stubbornness runs in the family. Alright, fine, Endeavor, you can join us, but you need to remain in the back as support." Endeavor nodded. Jason looked up at him. "I'm not used to seeing you listen to others." "This isn't my operation. It's theirs." Tokoyami came up the stairwell, nearly causing the four heroes to have heart attacks. Chris shouted. "Damn it, Tsukuyomi! Be careful!" Tokoyami landed next to them as Dark Shadow retreated into himself. "Apologies, Impact. I couldn't identify you all based on your voices because of the echo in this stairwell, so I thought you may have been villains. I see Endeavor and Endgame have decided to join us." Jason just sighed. "Alright, let's focus. Catch me up to speed." Tokoyami faced him. "I'm sure you all are aware of the death of both Twice and Void. Team Two, composed of Suneater, Fatgum, and several police officers have taken the lobby and are using it as a staging area as special teams search the floors one by one. I passed them on floor three. Wake has been captured. Mr. Compress is being escorted downstairs by Chargebolt and Battle Fist." Jason nodded. "Denki and Itsuka, huh? What else?" Tokoyami lowered his head. "We've lost contact with the rest of Team One." Chris tensed up. "Did they report finding Shigaraki?" Tokoyami shook his head. Then they felt the floor shake ever so slightly. Shoto glared. "That came from the floor beneath us."

Mina jumped backwards as Kirishima's fist slammed into the wall. Kirishima swung the same arm at her. She ducked, but rubble from the broken wall flew everywhere. Momo had dropped her sword and created a staff so she wouldn't risk causing permanent damage to her friend. "Snap out of it, Red Riot!" She delivered a powerful blow to Kirishima's head. However, in his 'Unbreakable' form, all it did was make Kirishima turn towards her and grab her arm. He used his other arm to deliver a powerful punch to Momo's gut. Her eyes widened as her feet were lifted off the ground as a result of the punch. She collapsed onto the ground. She had never been hit that hard before. This meant that Kirishima wasn't holding back in the slightest.

Mina jumped on Kirishima's back. "Snap out of it!" Kirishima let go of Momo and took a few steps back. He then slammed himself against the wall behind him. Mina screamed out in pain and fell off of Kirishima. She managed to duck under Kirishima's punch, which easily made a hole in the wall where her head had been. Momo looked around. She saw Shinso further down the hallway, smiling. Momo picked up her staff and sprinted towards him. Shinso locked eyes with her. "Kirishima, protect me." Momo turned her head. Kirishima was now ignoring Mina as he charged towards her, his joints creaking and cracking from his hardened skin. Momo was actually surprised by how fast he was. Momo closed her eyes as Kirishima reared his fist back.

Momo heard the punch hit something. Heard, not felt. She opened her eyes. Then she brightened up. Chris was standing in between her and Kirishima, having caught his punch. "Sorry we're late." Momo looked behind her. Shinso also turned around. Jason, Shoto, Tokoyami, and Endeavor were all running up. Shinso took a step back. "Shit. This is bad." Jason glared. "Wait, is that Shinso? The guy from last year's tournament?" Tokoyami glared too. "It is. What is he doing here?" Shinso smiled slightly. "I'm here to do what society already expects of me. What are you doing here?" Chris turned his head towards the group. "Don't answer him! His quirk is mind control! He can brainwash anyone who responds to something he says!" Kirishima reared his other arm back and punched Chris in the face. Chris stumbled slightly, but quickly turned to face his redheaded friend. "I don't want to do this, Red Riot, but you leave me no choice." Chris punched forward, but Kirishima surprisingly dodged it. Chris was shocked when Kirishima landed a powerful blow against him. Chris coughed and then got rocked by three more punches. Chris fell on his back, but rolled with it back onto his feet. "Oh, I get it. Because you're brainwashed, you aren't holding back." Chris smiled. "Because you hold back in training, I never realized how strong you've gotten." Chris charged forward, using 40% of One for All. Kirishima reared his fist back again, but it was a fake. His left fist hit Chris in the gut again. Chris clenched his teeth and he punched back. Kirishima was thrown back a bit, but he didn't seem harmed. Chris watched as some of his hardened skin fell off, but was immediately replaced by additional armor. "...The only way to stop the effect is to hit him really hard… but his natural armor, especially in 'Unbreakable', is too intense for any of my hits to truly land. But if I use too much power, I might do some permanent damage. What to do, what to do…?" Kirishima charged again.

Jason ran up to Shinso. The purple haired student tried to run, but Jason was faster. Shinso was tackled to the ground. He turned and threw a punch, but Jason blocked it and used his other hand to grab the guy's neck. "That's enough! Release Kirishima right now!" Shinso smiled. "Or what?" Jason clenched his teeth, making sure not to answer. Shoto ran past them and towards the fight. "Impact!" Chris kicked Kirishima in the chest before jumping up into the air. He knew what she had in mind. Shoto put her right hand on the ground. Ice traveled across the ground and struck Kirishima, freezing him in place. He was no longer able to move. Mina and Momo let out relieved sighs. Shinso sighed. "...Fine. You win." Kirishima blinked, the empty expression gone. "...huh? What happened?" Shoto put her left hand on the ice and it started to melt. "You were brainwashed by Shinso, and he made you attack us." Kirishima looked around. He saw Tokoyami helping a bruised up Mina, and saw Chris go to comfort Momo, who was holding her stomach. Kirishima's eyes started to water. "...oh my god… what have I done…?"