Chapter 45
The city was a blur of steel and screams. Hosu was burning, not literally, but under the oppressive weight of the Nomu. Each one a grotesque mockery of life, a twisted pinnacle of power. Diamond and I were a whirlwind of motion, my punches leaving sonic booms in their wake, her lightning crackling, splitting the air with each strike. We moved with a practiced synergy, honed over years of shared combat, a dance of destruction.
The comms crackled to life, Alex's voice strained and panicked. "Repeat that?" I demanded, my heart drumming a frantic rhythm against my ribs. "SOME U.A. STUDENTS ARE IN THE AREA FIGHTING!" His words, raw with fear, hit me like a physical blow.
"What, no way!?" I yelled, my focus faltering for a split second. Diamond's head snapped toward me, confusion etched on her face. I relayed the news, and a curse tumbled from her lips. U.A. students? This was a disaster. They were kids, barely out of school, thrown into a battlefield they weren't ready for. And my little brother, Izuku, was probably right in the thick of it. We couldn't abandon our post, not with Nomu still throwing their weight around, but the thought of Izuku in danger...it sent a cold wave through me.
"Diamond, we need to end this, now!" I roared, the urgency driving me forward. "Right, ok, let's do this, Anos!" she replied, her eyes flashing with a shared determination. Together, we unleashed everything we had. I accelerated to speeds that left afterimages, each punch a tectonic force, while Diamond summoned a storm of lightning that seared the Nomu's flesh. It fell, finally, a smoking wreck of muscle and malice. I glanced over at Endeavor and Gran Torino, their faces grim as they struggled against the remaining Nomu, and saw the arrival of more. 'Shit' I thought, looking to my other friends Marcus, Eliza, Katsume, Hannah, Anix, Ryan and Riley they all nod and told me and diamond to go ahead and that they got the situation under control. Diamond and i nodded and blasted off towards the city, the journey feeling like an eternity.
The scene that greeted us was a tableau of devastation. Izuku, Shoto, and Tenya, battered, bruised, and on the edge of collapse, stood over the unconscious form of Stain, the Hero Killer. My blood ran cold. "What the fuck happened?" I roared, my voice laced with a potent cocktail of fear and rage. Izuku, pale and shaky, stumbled, and I was there in an instant, catching him before he fell. Diamond, her face a mask of concern, barked into her comms, calling for backup.
We arrived at the hospital a while later. The boys were being attended to. Diamond placed a hand on my arm, stopping me from storming into their room. "Hey, easy. You need to take it easy on them, remember?" she reminded me her voice soft, "we were all like them once and still are doing this shit Anos, remember?" I sighed, the anger slowly ebbing away. She was right, as usual. I wasn't mad, not really, I was just terrified.
We walked into the room, the boys in beds, bandaged and exhausted. "Look, im not mad…but what you did was dangerous as hell. Stain is dangerous! What possessed you guys to even go after him?" I asked, my voice hard despite my attempt to stay calm.
Tenya spoke first, his voice quiet, "Revenge…for my brother." A cold understanding settled in. Tensei, our best friend, was still recovering from his injuries, and his brother, bless his soul, almost destroyed his future for him. I felt a surge of sympathy for Tenya, and my anger shifted, morphing into a heavy weight of responsibility.
"I get it..." I said, my voice softened, "But you almost ruined your futures... You need to think before acting. We will deal with the villains, ok?" They all nodded, shame and exhaustion etched on their faces. Diamond and I exchanged a look, unspoken words passing between us, before we left the room.
We sought refuge in a small coffee shop, the smell of roasted beans a meagre comfort against the lingering tension. "This will be a long night…" I said, taking a long sip of my coffee, the caffeine doing little to soothe the gnawing anxiety in my chest. "No shit…" Diamond sighed, swirling her frappe thoughtfully, "We're going to have so much paperwork because of this."
"Yeah..." I agreed. Then, changing the subject I asked "So, how are things with Ryan?" A blush crept up her neck, making her cheeks flush. "We're good. Like, really good." She smiled, a genuine, happy smile that softened the hard edges of her face. "And you and Momo?" she questioned. I smiled and laughed a bit "We're great, she is amazing" We both smiled, our minds drifting to thoughts of our lovers.
"I better get home and tell my parents about Izuku," I said, pulling myself from my happy daze. She nodded, the thought of returning home suddenly daunting. "Yeah, see you tomorrow?" She asked. I nodded, "Yeah". We went our separate ways, As I began the trek home, each step heavier than the last.
I took a deep breath and walked in, only to be greeted by the sight of my mom and dad making out in the hallway wall. My face twisted into a mixture of disgust and amusement. "Uhhh, am I interrupting?" I asked, my voice dry. They broke apart, panting and flushed. My mom's face was a vibrant shade of red, while my dad smirked, a sheepish glint in his eyes. "Nope, not at all," my dad chuckled, but my Mom just shook her head embarrassed. I took a seat on the couch, and said that I needed to talk to them, and they both sat down immediately, sensing the gravity. This was going to be a long night indeed.