Story 1 - Chapter 2: MHA - Liberation

In the middle of the flooded zone, a lone boat rocked gently on the surface. That vessel had become Tsuyu’s target, the only safe spot nearby where she could get both Izuku and Mineta out of the water. Every splash around them carried danger. The waters weren’t calm at all—countless aquatic villains lurked beneath, waiting for the chance to drag them under. The boat wasn’t much, but for now it was the closest thing to a breather they could get.

Izuku clung to Tsuyu’s shoulder, his mind racing even while she swam. He already had a clear impression of Mineta from the past few days, and it wasn’t exactly favorable. The boy was a shameless pervert. During class, Izuku had often caught him ogling their female classmates or blurting out inappropriate comments. The fact that they were in the middle of a life-or-death battle didn’t change that side of him—in fact, it only made it worse.

While Tsuyu risked her life hauling them to safety, Mineta was busy abusing the situation, pressing against her chest with obvious intent. Izuku’s blood boiled, and if this weren’t a battlefield swarming with villains, he would have smacked Mineta away without hesitation. But now wasn’t the time for personal fights. Any mistake, even a small one, could cost them all their lives.

Fortunately, the moment Tsuyu leapt aboard the boat, justice came naturally. She tossed Mineta onto the deck with no care for gentleness. The boy bounced against the planks with a painful thud. Izuku landed right after, catching his breath.

“Thanks, Asui…” he said between gasps.

“Call me Tsu,” she corrected immediately, puffing out her cheeks. “And wow… we’re really in a pickle, ribbit.”

Izuku gave a bitter laugh. “Well, there goes the class, huh?” His head was already spinning, analyzing every piece of information he had. “Actually, if you think about it, yesterday’s ‘media break-in’… maybe that wasn’t random. Maybe it was just to gather intel. Like Todoroki said at the entrance—they were waiting for the right chance. Looks like their preparations are complete.”

Mineta’s lips trembled as he latched onto a shred of hope. “B-but! There’s no way they could kill All Might, right? Once he shows up, he’ll go POW! and BAM! and KABLOOIE!” His trembling voice made it clear he was clinging more to fantasy than logic.

Izuku clenched his fists. He knew better than anyone else how fragile All Might truly was. The wounds he carried, the three-hour time limit… but before he could say anything, Tsuyu spoke up first.

“Mineta, think about it calmly.” Her voice was level, steady in a way that made Izuku respect her even more. “If the villains didn’t have some way to kill All Might, why go through all this trouble? It’s not like it’s beneath them. They already said they’d torture us to death, remember? Do you really think they’d stop at something less? The question is—if All Might does arrive, will he actually be all right?”

Her words hit harder than any villain’s punch. Mineta instantly broke down again, whining and shaking in panic.

Around them, the water began to ripple. One by one, dark silhouettes surfaced, surrounding the boat. The villains weren’t in a rush. They didn’t have to be. With every route of escape cut off, it was only a matter of time before they struck.

Izuku’s heart pounded. These villains had a plan. They must have a trump card, some weapon prepared to take down the Symbol of Peace. His visions echoed in his head again—those strange glimpses of the future he still didn’t fully understand. The clearest one yet was of that monstrous bird-like creature, something inhuman, terrifying. Could that be their weapon? It made too much sense.

But right now, Izuku couldn’t afford to dwell on it. The more pressing issue was survival. The villains were cautious for now, but they wouldn’t stay that way. Time was running out.

Taking a deep breath, he steadied himself. “If those bastards really do have some trick to take down All Might,” he said firmly, his eyes sharp with determination, “then there’s only one option left to us right now. We fight to win!”

The conviction in his voice reached Tsuyu, and she gave a small nod. Even surrounded, she didn’t look shaken. But Mineta, on the other hand, nearly fainted on the spot.

“Wha—fight?! Are you insane?” he shrieked, his voice cracking as he waved his arms. “These villains might be able to kill All Might! And you think we can fight them? Your idea makes no sense, Midoriya! We should just hide, keep quiet, and wait for the U.A. teachers to save us! That’s the only smart move!”

His desperation only made the danger feel heavier. The three of them stood trapped on the boat, villains closing in, the waters around them alive with killers. And yet, Izuku’s eyes didn’t waver.

“Mineta, we don’t have time to just sit around waiting for the teachers,” Izuku said firmly, trying to keep his voice steady despite the pounding in his chest. “But at the same time, we actually have a decent chance here. Think about it—if these villains were really that strong, they wouldn’t be wasting this much time circling us. They’re obviously specialized for water and underwater combat.” His eyes darted over the dark waves as he pieced it all together aloud. “That means they must have studied the USJ layout beforehand and gathered people with quirks that matched the zones. They came prepared for the attack… but for some reason, they’re still holding back. That’s strange.”

He took a quick breath and glanced at the girl beside him. “And there’s another important point. Tsuyu is with us. This is the flood zone. If they had information on the students’ quirks, they would never have left her here. They would’ve sent her to the mountain zone, or the fire zone, where she’d be at a disadvantage. The fact that she’s here means—”

“They don’t know our quirks,” Tsuyu finished for him, her tone calm and matter-of-fact. She gave a small nod of agreement. “That is true. With my quirk, I would’ve been completely useless in the fire zone, ribbit.”

Izuku nodded back, relief flashing across his face that someone understood what he was getting at. “Exactly! And that’s our only advantage right now. They don’t have intel on what we can do. Sure, they’ve got us beat in numbers and experience, but they’re hesitating because they have no clue how dangerous we really are. That hesitation—that’s our key to victory!”

Even as he said it, his mind ran wild in the background. But can we actually turn that into a win? He clenched his fists. If I use One for All, I’ll shatter my bones again. And one finger might not be enough to stop this many enemies at once. I need to save my strength. If they really have something prepared to take down All Might, then I have to be ready for that. I can’t waste myself here.

And then, like an uninvited thought, an image flickered in his mind. He saw himself staring at his own hand—his fist wrapped in some strange energy. It darkened, condensed, almost like it was crushing itself inward. What… was that? Some kind of new way to use my quirk? Can I really do that?

He shook his head quickly. This wasn’t the time to lose focus. “Alright, what are your quirks exactly?” he asked, pulling himself back to the present. “We need to act fast, so no holding back.”

Tsuyu answered first, steady as always. “With my quirk Frog, I can do most of the things a frog can. I can leap very high, climb up walls, and my tongue can extend up to twenty meters. I can also inflate my stomach outward. It’s lined with a stinging mucus. Not exactly poisonous, but unpleasant enough. Oh, and I can secrete that mucus too.”

Mineta twitched at the word secrete, his eyes practically lighting up despite the danger.

Tsuyu didn’t acknowledge him, simply continuing, “The last two abilities aren’t really practical here, so you can forget about those.”

“I thought as much, but still… you’re strong, Tsuyu,” Izuku said honestly, admiration plain on his face. “My quirk is really powerful too, but every time I use it, I break my own bones. So I’m basically a glass cannon.”

Finally, all eyes turned to Mineta. He swallowed hard, then reluctantly plucked one of the purple balls from his head and stuck it to the side of the boat. It clung tightly. “These are super sticky,” he explained nervously. “Depending on how healthy I am, they can stay in place for about a day. A new one will grow back where I pulled it out. If I pull too many, I start bleeding. Only I’m immune to the stickiness. To me they just bounce around—see?” He tapped it with his hand, and it came off easily, bouncing harmlessly in his palm.

Izuku leaned in, analyzing every detail, but Mineta didn’t notice. His gaze lingered on them for a long, tense moment, then suddenly his nerves snapped. “See? I told you! My quirk isn’t made for combat at all!” His voice cracked as panic took hold again. “We should just sit tight and wait for rescue! That’s the only safe option!”

“Wait, no—hold on!” Izuku said quickly, realizing too late that his silence had made the smaller boy spiral. “It’s actually an amazing quirk, Mineta! We just have to think of a way to use it to its fullest! Don’t sell yourself short—we need it.”

His words carried urgency, not just to reassure Mineta, but because deep down, he already knew they couldn’t afford to waste anything. Every quirk, every scrap of effort, would matter here.

Time was up. The villains’ patience finally snapped.

“You’re getting annoying. Let’s end this farce!” one of them roared, raising his hands.

A massive construct of water surged upward, taking the shape of a colossal hand. With a single crushing motion, it slammed into the boat, splitting the vessel into two pieces. Wood groaned and cracked beneath their feet as the structure began to sink, tilting dangerously toward the water’s surface.

The broken ship wouldn’t last. Within moments, it would be nothing but debris drifting at the bottom of the flood zone.

Panic hit Mineta first. He flailed desperately and began yanking the sticky balls from his head, throwing them wildly into the water as if that alone could scare the villains off.

“Stop it, Mineta! Don’t panic!” Izuku shouted, grabbing the smaller boy’s wrist before he could throw more. “You’ll just reveal your quirk to them!”

His eyes immediately shifted toward the villains, watching carefully. The reaction was telling. None of them dared touch the sticky orbs directly. Instead, they used blasts of water to swat them away, never making direct contact. That single detail told Izuku everything—these enemies were still cautious. They didn’t want to risk the unknown.

But their hesitation didn’t change the fact that the boat was going under fast. Time was bleeding away, second by second.

“Mineta,” Tsuyu said suddenly, her wide eyes steady despite the chaos. “Did you really come to U.A. to become a hero?”

The question made him freeze for an instant, but only long enough for fear to twist his face further. “Shut up!” he screamed, voice cracking. “It’s crazier that you two aren’t scared! Just a few days ago, we were normal middle school students! We’re not supposed to be fighting villains! We could die here! I—I don’t care anymore, at least let me touch Yaoyorozu’s boobs before I die, God!”

Izuku’s expression hardened. Whatever sympathy he’d had for Mineta evaporated at that outburst. There was no time for this. No time for selfish wishes or excuses. Their enemies were right in front of them, circling like sharks.

Can I really do it? Izuku clenched his fist, focusing inward. That strange memory resurfaced in his mind—his arm coated in energy, his will made real. The sensation wasn’t just imagination. He could feel it now, pulsing faintly inside him, waiting to be drawn out. His hand trembled, not from fear but from the pressure of that power trying to burst free.

Yes… it’s there. My willpower, taking form. If this works, then maybe—

“There’s no other way,” Izuku muttered under his breath, his voice carrying new weight. His eyes sharpened with determination. “It’s do or die.” He turned to the others, raising his voice. “I’ll take the lead! Follow right behind me!”

“W-wait, what are y—” Mineta started, but the words died in his throat.

Izuku had already moved. He leapt from the shattered edge of the boat, launching himself into the air without hesitation. The villains below sneered at his recklessness, their overconfidence plain in their grins. They were ready to tear him apart the second he touched the water.

But Izuku’s focus didn’t waver. No hesitation. No second-guessing. He raised two fingers, the energy surging within him bursting outward as he shouted at the top of his lungs—

“Delaware SMAAAASH!”

The shockwave exploded forward, ripping through the surface of the flood zone. The water was forced outward violently, shoving toward the edges of the zone. For a split second, a hole opened in the water, a raw gap where the surface should have been. Then gravity rushed in to reclaim it, and the collapsing force spiraled into a whirlpool.

The whirlpool grew instantly, its current dragging everything nearby into its center. Villains were caught by surprise, swept into the spinning vortex before they could resist.

Tsuyu wasted no time. She leapt after Izuku, her tongue snapping out to grab the boat’s remains as leverage, keeping her balance even as the whirlpool grew. Behind her, Mineta cried out but began tossing more sticky balls into the chaos. The purple orbs were pulled in by the current, sticking to the villains thrashing inside, immobilizing them further as they were dragged down by both the water and the adhesive.

“It’s… working,” Izuku gasped, lowering his hand. His fingers throbbed with pain, his bones aching. But this time, nothing had broken. Not yet. He stared at his trembling hand in disbelief. “I did it… I actually did it. I harnessed my willpower and turned it into strength… but how? How did I know to do that? Haki? No… where does it really come from?”

He didn’t get the chance to ponder further. Tsuyu wrapped her arm around him and dragged him toward the shore, her leaps strong and practiced. Mineta stumbled after them, panting but alive.

“For now, we’ve overcome the first obstacle!” Tsuyu said, her voice firm but encouraging. “You two were great out there, ribbit!”

Izuku let himself breathe for just a moment, relief flooding in. The battle wasn’t over, but for now… they’d bought themselves another chance.