Koichi Haimawari vs. Number 6: Finale

The Crawler vs. Number 6: Finale is the final confrontation between the Vigilante The Crawler and the Villain Number 6.

Prologue[]

After apparently avoiding Number 6 and the Anonymous, Koichi meets with Soga, who informs him of the current situation: Knuckleduster had returned and intended to kill Number 6 with a large explosion, sacrificing his life in order to achieve it. They quickly come up with a plan to avoid this.

Soga goes to the rooftop where a wounded Knuckleduster had the villain held after beating him up, ready to blow up the building they are on, but when he presses the detonator, the bombs don't explode. Soga appears and tells the old vigilante that he had deduced his plan hours ago, and he had deactivated all the explosives. Laughing at this unexpected turn of events, Number 6 escapes Knuckleduster's grip, mocking that his plan backfired in such a way. Then, he dares Soga to try to kill him now that he has the chance before his wounds heal.

But Soga is not there to confront him but to distract him. Without giving Number 6 time to react, Koichi tackles him and uses his Quirk to blast off into the sky, intending to drag him out of Naruhata himself, since he knows the only thing he can't do his fly. Number 6's fury and hatred towards Koichi grows due to the fact that he has once again stood in his way. The desire to kill him is so massive that it reaches a breacking point where the scar on his face begins to crack before exploding in midair.^[1]

Battle[]

Despite holding onto Number 6 when he blew himself up, Koichi uses his Quirk to shield himself from the blast, confused by the apparent self-destruction of the villain. As the smoke clears, the young vigilante is stunned to see that Number 6 is not only not dead, but has also taken a new form: a skeleton surrounded by fiery plasma.

Before Koichi has time to understand what's going on, Number 6 blasts his way to attack him, and though the Vigilante manages to block his fiery punches, he soon opts to escape from him as quickly as possible through the air. All For One is impressed by the way Number 6 has used the bomber cells in his body to transform it into combusting plasma, naming this new form as Lightning Style.

Number 6 chases Kocihi through the air, causing explosions as he passes. Holding up two fingers, the villain shoots two energy projectiles that chase after Koichi, who launches his Shooty-Go-Blam to intercept them and make them explode, although he takes some damage from the blowback. Number 6 fires more blasts of energy at him and, while flying away, Koichi manages to destroy several of them with his own shots, but soon realizes that there are too many for him to shoot all down. Plus, he sees Number 6 is still speeding his way towards him, so he continues to flee while a flurry of explosions is filling the air.^[2]

The situation is dire for Koichi, whose only way to defend himself is to speed up to buy himself more distance and height, before taking a deep breath, turning around and firing repulsion blasts to destroy more projectiles from a safe distance. The flurry of explosions are seen by everyone else in Naruhata below.

A news copter arrives on the scene, reporting the flying battle. Koichi is comforted by this, because if the fight is being broadcast nationwide it means that sooner rather than later several Pro Heroes will end up showing up to deal with the villain, relieving him since he just needs to keep running in the meantime. At the same time, All For One informs Number 6 that he has drawn too much attention and advises him to move on to the retrieval phase. Number 6 replies that it won't be necessary since all he has to do is kill Koichi with all the power he has at his disposal.

Saying that, Number 6 launches directly at his hated nemesis while shooting a barrage of missiles. Instead of going directly at Koichi, the projectiles curve around him and explode behind him to create a wall of fire to prevent any escape, as Number 6 begins to launch his punches at Koichi. With no way out, Koichi uses his defensive skills to the fullest to protect himself from the Villain's attacks.

After a few seconds of defending himself, Koichi is surprised when Number 6 suddenly runs out of power and his skeletal remains fall into a dark alley. Koichi wonders if he is dead when he sees a whole bunch of Anonymous in the alley, ready to catch Number 6. All For One realizes Number 6's plan: he used the scant power left in his body to buy enough time to summon all the Anonymous to his crash landing site so he can fuse with their bomber cells, for one final Detonation.^[3]

Koichi is being blown back by the explosion, although he manages to attach onto the facade of a building, confused that Number 6 got swallowed by the blast. Meanwhile, All For One excitedly watches as all of Anonymous' bomber cells combust, merging all of the power into Number 6. Much to Koichi’s shock, Number 6 suddenly emerges from the blast, but this time as massive giant made of fire, piloted by the last of his physical body.

The gigantic monster attacks Koichi with a flaming punch, smashing the building. The young vigilante barely protects himself from the impact, and lands on the ground amongst the rubble. He thinks that he had narrowly dodged the attack, but when he tries to get back up, he realizes that his right leg is broken, just as Number 6 prepares to stomp him. Koichi is able to avoid that attacks as well, but he is blasted away by the shockwave and a large chunk of rock hits him, breaking his left arm and several ribs, making it difficult for him to breathe. Seeing Koichi at his mercy, Number 6 attacks him again, but using his still-intact limbs and his meager strength, Koichi slides away from the impact, and goes to hide in a nearby parking lot, leaving a trail of blood behind him.

While he is safe for the moment, Koichi is aware that he is dealing with serious injuries. Hearing that the helicopter is still outside, Koichi wonders how long it will take for All Might to arrive. Meanwhile, following the trail of blood, Number 6 arrives outside the parking lot. All For One wonders what he plans to do now that The Crawler is hiding there.

Number 6 is deep in his own thoughts, thinking how burning hot he is feeling in his combustive state. However, he feels his brain is even hotter, overheating beyond belief inside his skull, so he decides to unleash all he has. His skull blasts open, bursting out his internal fire, transforming into “Number 6: Destruction Style" and smashes the entire building with overwhelming violence. All For One congratulates him, comparing his decision as something typical of All Might.^[4]

The building collapses, and Koichi is completely entombed by the rubble around him. After spending some time unconscious he wakes up surrounded by complete darkness. He thinks he probably won't survive the battle, but suddenly "Knuckleduster" appears in front of him. Sseeing him, Koichi really thinks that he is going to die, but "Knuckleduster" tells him that he can still continue fighting.

Koichi replies that he can't move due to his fractures, but his master suggests to use his Quirk all over his arm, to try to bind it and make it into like a cast, which ends up working. Koichi then gets the idea to channel his Slide and Glide throughout his entire boy, similar to Captain Celebrity's Flight. Thanks to this, Koichi can move again, and decides to escape from the place.

As he cautiously moves through the darkness, "Knuckleduster" talks to him, telling him how proud he is of how far he's progressed on his own, until they finally reach a dead end. Koichi believes that he’s reached the end of the line, but "Knuckleduster" tells him that what he has to do now is to move forward into the next stage, using his fists to hit the villains, the same way he did with the help of his brass knuckles.

Outside the collapsed building, Number 6 continues to pummel it to make sure Koichi doesn't survive, when suddenly the rubble underneath burst open. Koichi emerges from the debris, having punched his way out of it. He is ready to fight again, with his Slide and Glide barriers on his four points of his knuckles, a new technique dubbed "Knuckle Style".^[5]

Koichi is amazed at the power of his new technique, but soon loses his surprise when he is attacked by a furious Number 6 once he spots him. As he dodges the blows, Koichi is aware that he is in a dilemma, since he cannot use a new technique against the villain precisely because of how powerful it is. "Knuckleduster" appears to tell him that Number 6's weak point is the skeleton on the flaming giant's head, and urges him to use his punch or any other technique to destroy the remains and kill him, since otherwise he will die. Koichi precisely does not want to use the Knuckle Style attack to kill anyone, replying to his master that his idea is not precisely okay.

An illusion of Pop☆Step then suddenly appears supporting Koichi's decision, much to his shock before he continues running away from the villain's attacks. As he runs, "Pop" asks him why he picked a fight with such a dangerous foe, to which he replies that it's not his fault, but that he must do it to prevent Number 6 from destroying the entire neighborhood. "Knuckleduster" tells him all he needs to do is to scramble the villain's brain, and "Pop" adding without trying to kill.

Koichi tells "Pop" that he doesn't want to fight back because he doesn't want her to get mad at him. She is annoyed by such an excuse that makes her look like someone to fear, but Koichi clarifies he just doesn’t want her to hate him. Blushing, "Pop" tells him that her “getting mad” and “hating him” are two completely different things, and nothing he ever does will make her hate him, saying she’ll always love him.

Now that Koichi's received reassurance from "Pop☆Step", he can finally go all out in his fight against Number 6. With Pop cheering him on, Koichi swings and throws a flurry of punches with his Knuckle Style, piercing Number 6's flaming body several times.^[6] However, the villain quickly reforms it without problems. "Pop" remarks to Koichi that his attacks aren't doing much, being more surprised that he is relieved by this fact. Koichi realizes that he can buy time using his new technique only against Number 6's fake body without the risk of killing him.

But his courtesy isn’t reciprocated by the villain as he’s going for the kill with every blow, forcing him to run once again for safety. Pop and Knuckleduster's illusions follow Koichi and don’t hesitate to tell him the flaws of his strategy. The impact of Number 6's attack affects the surrounding buildings, with one of them collapsing and nearly falling on Koichi, who comments that he made the smart move of confronting Number 6 in the abandoned old town to avoid innocent casualties.

"Pop" suggests him to flee and seek shelter, but Koichi comments that he’s surprisingly feeling at the top of his game and that he's sure it's only a matter of time before the heroes show up. He slides all the way up the top of a building, landing a few punches on Number 6’s body. Number 6 quickly regenerates the holes and counterattacks, forcing Koichi to dodge the blows. "Knuckleduster" suggests him to wait for an opening and hit back.

"Pop" warns Koichi of an incoming attack, and this time he jumps towards Number 6, countering his blow with a punch of his own. As he falls, Koichi thinks that despite the dangerous situation he finds himself in, he is enjoying the sensation of being a hero, reflecting that his naive dreams of youth have come to an end, as back all alone, Number 6 sends another flaming blow forward toward him,^[7], supposedly obliterating Koichi and leaving his tattered hoodie as his last remains.

The illusion of All For One rejoices at the outcome, deeming it a worthwhile experiment despite not being able to get their hands on Koichi's body. The villain praises Number 6 for his victory, and though he will soon dissipate into nothingness, All For One assures him that all that experience will serve him well. Number 6 only responds with an agonized roar as his body continues to combust.

Suddenly, both villains see that Koichi is still alive, sliding back with his right leg busted, thinking that despite being broken and badly injured, and that no one would blame him for running away at that point, he has decided to return, because Number 6's roar sounded like he was asking for help. Either way, Koichi has faith that the heroes will eventually arrive and do the right thing, but until then, he'll keep the villain busy. The monstrous Number 6 launches another fiery punch at Koichi, blasting him away, but out of sheer determination, Koichi rises back up to face the giant villain, leading to a fierce exchange of blows between the two.^[8]

Koichi manages to get past Number 6's defenses and shatters his right arm, causing the flaming limb to fall to the ground. But as he prepares to position himself better, the apparently severed arm attacks him from below, catching Koichi by surprise. The villain had managed to attach his missing member faster than Koichi anticipated, and although the young vigilante manages to dodge the blow, it leaves him defenseless against the next attack, in which Number 6 smashes him between his hands like he was smashing an insect.

Koichi is severely injured from the attack, losing consciousness as he falls to the ground. He then suddenly hears the Narufest gang encourage him to continue fighting. This allows him snap out of it enough to put his hand onto the side of a building and use his Quirk to slow down his descent, softening the impact of his fall onto another building’s roof.^[9]

Aftermath[]

After recovering from the slamming, Koichi sees that not only the Narufest gang is there, but several citizens have come over, rooting for him too. Fearing for their safety, the young vigilante tries to tell them to leave the fight, but they're unable to hear him. Debris of a damaged building are about to fall on them, but luckily the Hopper's Cafe staff saves them, and together with the Narufest gang, they begin to evacuate and guide the people to a safe place, much to Koichi's relief.

From above, a reporter in the news copter announces for the locals to evacuate the place and get as far away as possible. Number 6 notices the copter and with a swipe destroys the rotor system, causing everyone to fall out of it from a great height. Koichi immediately jumps to save them, but realizes he won’t make it in time. Just when he thought he is too far to prevent the fall, Best Jeanist appears and uses his Fiber Master Quirk to save them.

The Fiber Hero declares to everyone that even in the daunting crisis, their thread of hope remains in tact, and alongside Edgeshot, Ingenium, and Eraser Head elsewhere in the city, the city still has its Heroes.^[10]

References[]

Site Navigation[]