Chapter 27
₊˚⊹✷ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄
⤷ don’t take any knives to the head.
“SOUNDS LIKE YOU’VE got your work cut out for you,” All For One replied calmly, lifting one hand. His entire arm swelled grotesquely, muscles and power bulging outward as red electricity crackled and danced along his skin. “This will be hard for us both.”
A massive wave of compressed air exploded from his palm the instant All Might struck.
The force stopped All Might mid-charge and hurled him backward, smashing him through one building after another in a violent chain of destruction that carved a straight path through the city. Concrete disintegrated, metal screamed, and the night shook with the impact.
“All Might!” Katsuki yelled hoarsely, watching in horror as the hero vanished into the distance, flung what felt like a mile away through a storm of collapsing structures.
“Don’t you worry,” All For One told him, turning his head slightly in Katsuki’s direction, as though this were all an expected outcome. “It’ll take more than that to kill him.”
He shifted his attention back to his followers. “Get off the battlefield, Tomura. And take those children with you.” Thin, glowing red lines shot out from All For One’s body and drove themselves into Kurogiri’s form, embedding deep. “Kurogiri, warp them away.”
“Be careful!” one of the League members called out frantically. “One of the heroes messed with him and he’s unconscious! I’m not sure what’s going on, but if you can teleport, then why don’t you get us out of here?”
“My warp power is still new, Magne,” All For One replied, his voice steady and instructional even now. “There is still much I need to learn about it. Its distance is limited, and while he can teleport to specific coordinates, I only transport people to and from my own location. Or, with focus, to or from someone I am very familiar with. That is all. It is easier to have Kurogiri do it.”
As he finished speaking, a warp gate snapped open over Kurogiri’s body, the purple vortex twisting and churning ominously, ready to swallow them all.
“Forcible Quirk Activation,” All For One finished calmly, the words settling over the battlefield as he turned his head slightly toward his pupil. “Leave this place.”
“What about you?” Shigaraki asked, the uncertainty in his voice betraying the bravado he’d clung to moments before.
His question was swallowed by a violent crash as All Might erupted back out of the ruined buildings, stone and steel exploding outward as the hero launched himself into the air. He didn’t slow, didn’t hesitate, instead arcing high before diving straight back down toward All For One like a living meteor.
“You’re not thinking, Tomura,” All For One told Shigaraki evenly as he rose to meet the charge, hovering up into the sky as though gravity itself no longer applied to him. “There remains much room for you to grow.”
All Might’s fist tore through the air and connected, the impact reverberating like thunder, but instead of being sent flying, All For One absorbed the blow, his body flexing under the force as shockwaves blasted outward and rattled the remains of the warehouse.
“Master,” Shigaraki let out, staring up at the clash, torn between awe and panic.
“Let’s go, Shigaraki,” Compress said briskly, already moving as he touched Dabi’s unconscious body and compressed him into a small marble with a practiced flick of his fingers. “While our masked lead is keeping All Might entertained, claim your prizes.”
The shift in attention was immediate and suffocating.
All eyes turned toward Katsuki, then slid to the motionless form of Edogawa sprawled nearby, pale and unresponsive against the rubble.
“Huh. Screw this,” Katsuki let out, the decision snapping into place with the sharpness of instinct.
“Young Bakugo, don’t!” All Might warned, trying to lunge toward him, but the red threads from All For One lashed out and caught him, halting his movement midair and forcing him back.
Katsuki didn’t listen.
He surged forward in a burst of motion, scooping Edogawa off the ground and hauling him over his shoulder without slowing, the weight unfamiliar but not enough to stop him. His other hand detonated with an explosion that blasted him backward, putting precious distance between himself and the closing circle of villains.
Twice’s measuring tape snapped out toward him, sharp and whistling through the air, and Katsuki twisted mid-flight to dodge it, the fabric slicing past where his head had been a split second earlier. The schoolgirl lunged next, knife flashing in the dim light, and Katsuki answered with another explosion that forced her back, heat and pressure ripping through the space between them.
He was screwed.
They knew it, he knew it, everyone knew it.
He was carrying a passed-out classmate, his movements restricted, his options shrinking by the second, while six villains closed in with the clear intent to drag them away by force if they had to. This wasn’t a fight he could win head-on.
Katsuki fired another blast and vaulted into the air again, narrowly avoiding Compress as the magician reached for him. He couldn’t let that man touch him, not even for a second.
Below and behind him, All Might was hurled into yet another building by All For One, the impact shattering concrete and sending debris raining down. The hero couldn’t cut loose, couldn’t use his full power, not with Katsuki and Edogawa still in the line of fire.
They were boxed in.
The night felt smaller, tighter, every breath sharp in Katsuki’s lungs as he adjusted his grip on Edogawa and scanned for any opening at all.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
The schoolgirl’s arm snapped forward and the knives left her hand in a glittering arc, metal catching the ruined light as they screamed toward him. Katsuki twisted on instinct, blasting hard with his free hand, the explosion throwing him sideways through smoke and dust. One blade was knocked off course, skittering away into the rubble.
The other didn’t.
It flew straight at his face, too fast, too close—
And then the world lurched.
A sudden red glow slammed into place around his body like an invisible wall, the pressure so abrupt it knocked the breath from his lungs. Katsuki hit the ground hard on his feet as the knife bounced harmlessly off the unseen barrier and clattered away across the concrete.
For half a second he just stood there, stunned, ears ringing, heart slamming against his ribs.
This wasn’t his quirk.
Katsuki’s eyes widened as realization hit him, sharp and immediate. He turned just enough to look over his shoulder, glare burning even as adrenaline flooded his system.
“Hey. Idiot. You awake?” he demanded, voice rough, edged with panic he refused to acknowledge.
A breath rasped against his back, uneven and strained. “Barely.” A rough voice replied, low and hoarse. “…I can’t move. Sorry.”
The words were confirmed instantly by the dead weight slung over Katsuki’s shoulder. Edogawa was folded there completely limp, arms hanging uselessly, head lolling just enough that Katsuki had to tighten his grip to keep him from slipping. If this were any other situation, Katsuki knew, the bastard would’ve already shoved him away or mouthed off. The fact that he didn’t sent a sharp spike of unease through his chest.
“Don’t use your quirk, you’ll overdo it,” Katsuki snapped as he stared down the semicircle of villains regrouping in front of them. They weren’t charging now but they were watching.
“It’s fine,” Edogawa let out, the words sounding like they scraped their way out of his throat.
“No, it’s not—”
“If you’re gonna carry me out of here then at least lemme make sure you don’t take any knives to the head,” Edogawa cut in sharply, irritation bleeding through the pain. “I can’t move but I can control my output. Just tell me if you stop being able to breathe.”
“Idiot,” Katsuki muttered, the word landing somewhere between an insult and a curse as his jaw clenched.
Movement yanked his attention back forward.
Compress and the lizard lunged at the same time.
The lizard’s arm snapped up and another knife flashed through the air. Katsuki dodged left, shoes scraping hard against broken concrete, and immediately fired off an explosion toward Compress, who was closing in from the opposite side, clearly trying to get close enough to touch him. The blast swallowed Compress in smoke and fire, but the bastard came straight through it, arm outstretched.
His hand slammed into the red field around Katsuki and Edogawa—and bounced off like it had struck solid steel.
“Like I’d let you do that again,” Edogawa snapped, the glow around them pulsing faintly as Katsuki jumped left again and widened the distance between them and Compress. His lungs burned, his shoulder screamed from the weight he was carrying, but he didn’t slow.
He’d gotten lucky.
Katsuki knew it. The second Edogawa passed out again, that barrier would vanish, and then it would just be him—alone, exhausted, surrounded.
Still, he couldn’t deny the relief clawing through him. That red field was the only thing keeping them from being captured again.
But the problem loomed larger by the second.
All Might was still fighting All For One, and Katsuki could see it even from here—see how the hero was holding back, how every move was measured because they were still on the field. As long as Katsuki and Edogawa were here, All Might couldn’t go all out.
And Katsuki couldn’t see a single clean way out.
To run, he’d have to turn his back on the villains. To fight, he’d have to rely on Edogawa’s quirk, and that was a gamble he might lose at any second. One blackout, one misstep, and it was over.
His teeth ground together as he tightened his hold on Edogawa, explosions crackling faintly in his palms.
Damn it.
Then—
Suddenly, there was a boom that rattled the air hard enough to vibrate through Katsuki’s bones.
A nearby wall detonated outward, concrete exploding into chunks that sailed through the smoke. Katsuki’s head snapped toward the sound on instinct, heart leaping into his throat as his eyes tracked the destruction.
Then the ground split again with a sharp, familiar sound.
Ice—massive, violent, unmistakable—erupted upward in a towering barrage, jagged spires clawing toward the sky as if trying to spear the clouds themselves. The cold cut through the heat of the battlefield in an instant, frosting the air.
Three figures charged up the ice together, clinging to one another as they ran straight up the frozen incline. Green electricity crackled wildly around the one in front, bright and reckless.
Katsuki’s stomach dropped.
Fucking Deku.
Behind him, engines roared—sharp, mechanical bursts that Katsuki would recognize anywhere. Four-eyes, legs blazing as he pushed them faster. And behind them, a flash of shitty red hair, teeth bared in a grin even now.
Kirishima.
Kirishima, who might as well be his only real friend at UA, was flying over the war zone.
“Come on!” the red-haired loser yelled over his shoulder, voice ringing out as he waved Katsuki forward without hesitation.
For half a second, Katsuki just stared, stunned, breath caught somewhere painful in his chest.
Then his instincts kicked back in.
“Edogawa,” Katsuki snapped, voice sharp and immediate.
“What?” came the strained reply against his back.
“Hang on.”
Katsuki didn’t wait for an answer. He dropped both hands and detonated two massive explosions at once, the blasts slamming into the ground beneath them and hurling them skyward like a cannon shot. The force tore the air out of Katsuki’s lungs as they shot upward.
Edogawa nearly slipped free in the sudden weightlessness, his body sliding dangerously, but at the last second he hooked an arm over Katsuki’s shoulder and under the other, clinging on with everything he had left. The red glow flared around them again, thin but stubborn.
Katsuki twisted midair, set off another explosion, and then reached out hard—
His hand slammed into Kirishima’s forearm, fingers locking tight as Kirishima hauled them in without missing a beat.
“You idiots!” Katsuki roared, rage and relief tangling into something raw and explosive in his chest and he grinned.
“Bakugo!” Four-eyes shouted, already calculating, eyes flicking rapidly across the battlefield. “On my mark, you give us a giant—”
“Don’t tell me what to do, damn you!” Katsuki snapped back automatically, even as his grip tightened and his body adjusted without conscious thought.
“It’s not the time to fight, you guys,” Kirishima cut in quickly.
Below them, Magne let out a shout and launched Compress upward like a projectile, the magician spinning through the air straight toward them, arm already reaching.
Katsuki’s teeth bared—
And then the ground itself seemed to rise.
A massive figure burst upward from below, towering and solid, her movement shaking the battlefield.
“Titan Cliff!” the female hero shouted.
Compress slammed straight into her face with a dull impact, his momentum completely stolen as Mt. Lady caught him midair.
“Whoa, Mt. Lady!” Deku gawked, eyes wide even as electricity snapped around him.
“The rescues are priority,” she let out, voice booming with authority as she fell back toward the ground, dragging Compress with her. “Go home, you dumb kids.”
The four of them dropped through the air together, the battlefield rushing up fast and unforgiving. Wind tore at Katsuki’s face as he twisted his body, muscles screaming as he fired off a controlled explosion beneath them to slow their descent.
They slammed down hard into one of the shattered zones left behind by All Might’s fight with All For One, rubble crunching beneath their boots as Katsuki absorbed the impact, barely managing to keep Edogawa upright.
The dust swirled around them, thick and choking.
But they were alive.
They didn’t stop running until their lungs burned and the sounds of the battle dulled into something distant and thunderous.. By the time they finally slowed, the villains were far behind them, swallowed ruined buildings, and the overwhelming presence of heroes flooding the area.
They paused in the shadow of a half-collapsed storefront, all of them bent forward and panting, adrenaline still screaming through their veins. The ground trembled faintly beneath their feet as another shockwave rippled through the city, All Might and All For One still tearing chunks out of the skyline somewhere far off. Even from here, the pressure of it made the air feel thick, heavy, like it was pressing down on their chests.
Katsuki shifted Edogawa’s weight again, jaw clenched as he adjusted his grip. Edogawa was barely conscious now, his body slack against Katsuki’s back, breaths shallow and uneven. The red glow of his quirk had faded completely, leaving him pale and clammy, his head lolling slightly no matter how Katsuki tried to steady him.
“Hey,” Kirishima said, stepping in closer, his voice dropping instinctively. “We’re clear for now. You can put him down.”
Katsuki hesitated for half a second before lowering Edogawa carefully onto the ground, easing him down so his back rested against a cracked wall. The moment Katsuki let go, Edogawa sagged, chin dipping to his chest as a faint, wet cough shook him.
Blood spotted the concrete.
“Shit,” Katsuki muttered, crouching without thinking. “Stay awake, idiot.”
Edogawa didn’t answer, but his eyelids fluttered.
Deku dropped to his knees on Edogawa’s other side and leaned in close, eyes sharp with concern.
“He’s in bad shape,” Deku said quietly, voice tight. “Way worse than during camp.”
“I know,” Katsuki snapped, then swallowed hard and forced himself to breathe. “We need an ambulance. Now.”
Four-eyes straightened, scanning the street beyond their hiding spot. Sirens wailed in the distance, layered over shouting voices and the crackle of emergency broadcasts echoing through the city. Civilians were pouring out of side streets and broken buildings, herded along by police officers and heroes.
“There,” he said, pointing. “The evacuation route.”
They moved fast but carefully, Kirishima flanking them instinctively while Deku hovered close, refusing to leave Edogawa’s side. Katsuki stayed rigidly upright, eyes constantly flicking back toward the skyline where flashes of impossible power still lit the night.
All Might was still fighting.
That knowledge sat like a weight in his gut.
They merged into the flow of evacuees, blending into a long, tense line of civilians being guided away from the destruction. No one questioned them. No one stopped them. Everyone was too busy surviving.
Edogawa’s condition drew looks, though—wide-eyed stares, gasps quickly swallowed back, whispers passed behind cupped hands. A teenage boy covered in blood, barely standing, supported by another kid with scorched hands and a furious expression. It didn’t take a genius to realize they were part of what had just happened.
“Ambulance,” Deku kept murmuring under his breath, eyes darting desperately. “There has to be one nearby.”
And then they saw it.
Red and white lights flashed at the end of the block, an ambulance parked crookedly near a police barricade, its back doors open as paramedics rushed stretchers in and out.
“Hey!” Kirishima shouted, waving an arm as they broke from the line. “We need help—now!”
The paramedics spotted them almost immediately. One look at Edogawa was enough to make their expressions sharpen into professional urgency.
“Set him down,” one of them ordered, already moving forward with a stretcher. “Easy, easy.”
Katsuki helped lower Edogawa onto the stretcher, hands lingering longer than necessary as the paramedics worked quickly, checking vitals, hooking up monitors, calling out numbers that made Katsuki’s stomach twist tighter with every word.
“Internal injuries,” one muttered. “Severe strain. Possible organ trauma.”
“What zone was he in?” Asked another.
“He wasn’t in a zone.” Four-eyes answered. “He was one of UA students kidnapped by the league.”
“You might wanna get the police on the line.” Kirishima added.
The paramedics stared a moment, shell shocked at the situation and how calm the kids were before their attention snapped back to their jobs. One of them must have radioed for the cops because a police truck came into view a few minutes later.
As the paramedics wheeled Edogawa toward the ambulance, a pair of police officers approached, their expressions serious but not hostile.
“Katsuki Bakugo?” one of them asked.
Katsuki straightened immediately, shoulders squaring. “Yeah.”
“You’re going to need to come with us,” the officer said. “We just need a statement, and then we’ll get you somewhere safe.”
Katsuki glanced once more at the ambulance, watching as the doors swung closed around Edogawa, lights flashing brighter as the vehicle pulled away into the chaos.
“…Fine,” he said finally, voice rough.
The officer nodded. As Katsuki allowed himself to be guided away, he looked back one last time at the ruined skyline, where two titanic forces were still clashing, shaking the world with every blow.
All Might was still out there.
And this wasn’t over yet.