this is it !! it all happens quickly --- with eraserheadâs erasure finally inactive, shigarakiâs decay spreads rapidly. deku leaps into the air with all of his might, and activates his black whips to an extent he has had yet to achieve until now. he manages to hoist everyone off of the ground, but suddenly, pain shoots up his arms and down his spine --- the tendrils dissipate, releasing everyone from their grasp. when he tries to summon them again, he can only manifest three whips. in this moment where he has no time to think, he catches three people at random, the three closest to him --- eraserhead, kacchan, and todoroki.
all of the other heroes fall to the ground. some are able to avoid being instantly destroyed, maintaining serious injuries but their lives nonetheless. endeavor is one of these. others are disintegrated on contact, and deku lets out a gasp of anguish as he watches. he is given no time to mull over his guilt --- in the distance, a massive form appears, leaving nothing but destruction in its wake. it is alive --- and huge --- and seems to be carrying multiple figures on its back. he quickly identifies those figures as the remaining members of the league of villains.
at this moment, he is addressed by endeavor. the pro hero shouts at deku to take those he has caught and flee. deku shouts back that he cannot leave all of these people to die when he can help. before endeavor can respond, eraserhead, barely conscious, tells him to escape with whoever he can --- to survive, to listen to the pros, and to live to get stronger and fight another day. with tears in his eyes, deku nods and hurries away with the three others in tow. he can still remember the sound of the wave of destruction he assumes ended endeavor.
izukuâs gaze is fixed blankly on the floor, his knees drawn up against his chest and wrapped around by his arms. he listens to the radio playing its constant news reports, intermittently interrupted by a crackle or some white noise. every day he listens for it --- some sign that his classmates survived. anything that might indicate whether his mother is still alive. so far . . . all that he ever hears is the rising death toll as more and more heroes who survived the initial purge are found and murdered. every day he is worried that the villains will find where they are hiding, or get close enough for shigarakiâs search to pick up on them . . . and then his friends and teacher will die, too.
a sudden noise draws his attention and he stands and heads to the kitchen, where it came from --- he sees aizawa there, apparently trying to wash the dishes. izuku approaches carefully so that he will not jostle his teacherâs crutches, and offers to take the cup his teacher is holding.
â iâll take over, â he says in an empathetic voice. â you should rest. â