I Am Here! Texas Smash!
I'm here! Squish! "Guh-?!" A wet, squelching sound echoed through the underpass along with Midoriya's agonized scream. Right in front of me, a black, viscous slime-like creature was forcing its body into Midoriya's nose and mouth without mercy.
"Ugh— I, I can't breathe...!"
"It's fine~ I'm just borrowing your body for a bit, so relax. The pain only lasts about 45 seconds, then it'll feel great in no time? Kehehehe!!!"
This guy's a villain. He's trying to forcibly take over Midoriya's body right now. Midoriya must have realized it too, because he was flailing his arms desperately, trying to grab the slippery liquid that wouldn't hold in his hands, kicking and thrashing.
"What, trying to grab my body? As if you could! My body's fluid, after all! Why don't you just give it up nicely without wasting your strength?!"
Crunch! "Gahk-!?"
The slime villain squeezed Midoriya even tighter. If things stayed like this, Midoriya was obviously going to suffocate to death. I had to do something here. My head knew I had to save Midoriya somehow. But my body wouldn't move. My breathing was ragged, my arms and legs had no strength, and I couldn't even stand up. Still, my body was instinctively crawling toward the underpass exit, wriggling desperately. It felt like I had to get away from that thing.
"Oh? No way, your friend threw himself in to save you, and you're just gonna run? What a guy with no loyalty or friendship."
Run? What else could I do in this situation besides run? My bag had pens and books, but junk like that wouldn't take down a villain. And I'm quirkless, dealing with that ridiculous slime is even more impossible. The only silver lining was that strength was slowly returning to my legs. Plus, it seemed like the slime couldn't move while taking over a host. The villain had definitely said earlier, 'The pain only lasts about 45 seconds.' That probably meant the time until Midoriya became its host. And about 22 seconds had passed since it said that. 23 seconds left. In that time, I could escape this underpass and report to the police right away. Sorry, Midoriya, but there's nothing I can—
"Mi—tchan...!"
"?"
Suddenly, Midoriya shouted. I ended up locking eyes with him without thinking. Tears streamed from his eyes, and the villain's liquid was still crammed into his mouth and nostrils, making it hard to breathe. Even so, Midoriya was staring at me with everything he had. And he yelled at me with all his might.
"Run... away—!!!"
The moment I heard that, I remembered what kind of guy Midoriya was. The type who recklessly reaches out to others despite having nothing going for him. No matter what situation he was in, if someone was nearby, he'd sacrifice himself without hesitation, a foolish idiot like that. That was all Midoriya had. That's why he seemed similar to me but worlds apart. That's why I hated Midoriya. Because I didn't even have that.
So I immediately jumped to my feet and sprinted out of the underpass with everything I had.
"Damn—! In the end, your friend ditched you and ran! But don't worry. I'll make sure you're not lonely!"
"—!"
Even as I ran nonstop, I could hear the villain's disgusting laughter and Midoriya's weakening screams from behind. But I didn't look back even once. About 12 seconds until Midoriya became the villain's host. And exactly when it hit 6 seconds, Midoriya's screams stopped echoing from the underpass. Now, 5 seconds left. In those 5 seconds—
Whoosh!
"Gaaahk?!"
I rushed back into the underpass and sprayed the villain with a powder fire extinguisher. This underpass was on my way home, so I knew the area pretty well. I even knew exactly where the extinguisher was placed, right at the left of the exit. I didn't know the specifics of the slime's quirk, but it was definitely liquid. The powder extinguisher contained monoammonium phosphate, which generally contaminates a liquid's original properties when mixed. Plus, the powder particles absorb moisture and turn into a viscoelastic substance, half solid, half liquid. That should harden the villain's body or make it hard to move.
"Fuuuuck!? What the hell did you do to me, you little shit!!!"
The villain's movements slowed. I immediately rushed to Midoriya, grabbed his shoulders, and yanked him out by force.
"Hey, you idiot! Don't lose your damn mind in a place like this!!!"
Squelch!
"Uwheeeek—! *Cough cough!!!*... Mi, Mitchan?"
Midoriya was still conscious—good, I wasn't too late. But the real problem started now.
"You little brats... I was going easy on you, and you dare fight back? Fine, change of plans. I'm gonna kill you both for sure!!!"
Compared to the amount of powder, the villain's body was too big. The damage I inflicted was probably just minor burns at best. And saving Midoriya didn't mean we could beat it either. Now we really had to run!
"Midoriya, run!!!"
"Uwaaaah!?"
We bolted out of the underpass toward the bustling streets, running like mad. It was a bit of a distance, but this neighborhood was sparse, so it would take time for police or heroes to arrive.
"Mitchan, wait! If we go that way, it's downtown!"
"That's why we're going! It's where heroes and police patrol the most!"
"But what if innocent people get caught in the crossfire?!"
"Don't think stupid shit like that, just—"
"You know~ you think I can't catch up just 'cause you're running full speed?"
"?!"
What the—?! When did it—
Bam!
"Grahhh!!!"
"Mitchan!?"
It happened in an instant. The villain closed the insane distance to my side and slammed its body down on me, crushing me.
"You—do you have any idea how much that hurt earlier? It fucking burned! So I've been thinking about how to kill you..."
Crack!
"Gaaaaahk?!!!"
My, my back is bending! It's snapping!
"Yeah, that's the scream. Ahh, music to my ears! Let me hear a bit more! Show me that agonized face of yours!!!"
"Stop it!!! Give Mitchan back!!!"
"What, you wanna die too? Begging like that? Just wait a sec! I'll finish him quick!!!"
Crunch!
"Guhk...!"
It hurts. I could hear my spine cracking from my back. And it was crushing my lungs, I could barely breathe. If this kept up, I was really gonna die—
"It's alright now, young men!"
...Huh? That voice was incredibly familiar. The line too. I'd heard it tons of times somewhere, but never this vividly. And it had a resonance. I could feel that resonance right in front of me now.
"I'm here!"
'I'm here'—the hero famous for that line. Japan's top hero, the symbol of peace to everyone. That man.
His name was All Might. The man Midoriya idolized, Bakugo wanted to surpass, the one living in a different world from me, he was really standing there before my eyes.