Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Eraserhead was making short work of the villains that invaded the USJ. Entangling people in his capture weapon, swinging them around and throwing them like the hammer throwers from the Olympics. The fighters being knocked out before even attempting to activate their quirks. The hero, expertly and efficiently dancing and dashing between the ranks, spreading them out and thinning the crowd.

29 seconds…

Eraserhead ran from a four-armed mutant, leading him to another group before deftly dodging out of the way. The mutant’s momentum bulldozing through the unaware victims.

23 seconds…

Some of the ranged fighters were attempting a volley of energy beams and projectiles, hoping to at least clip him. Their quirks were erased but the attacks still went flying, the bigger physical projectiles being caught and slung back to their originators.

18 seconds…

The bigger mutants started standing up again, attempting to surround him, but their movements were too slow, allowing Eraserhead to slip through and knock them back down.

Eraserhead was slowly but surely taking out the villains, practically steamrolling through them with skill that only years of training and experience could accomplish. He never stopped moving, never appeared to run out of energy, and never spent more time than strictly necessary on taking his opponents down. This was the mark of a hero, someone who stood up against all odds to bring safety to the masses.

It would only make sense for the mark of a villain to be able to take one of them down.

Amid the dispatching of another group of three villains, the one who appeared to be the leader started to move. Unwilling to let a single movement go to waste, Eraserhead sent out a strand of his capture weapon at the new opponent, but unlike the rest, this one looked to know what he was doing. The leader caught the end in the air, and instead of attempting to throw it away like others tried, he wrapped it around his arm, forcing Eraserhead to keep his attention on him.

The leader yanked hard, surprising him with strength that didn’t match the physique. Leaning into the momentum of the pull, Eraserhead intercepted the villain with an elbow strike to his diaphragm, earning him a quiet oof. Satisfied that the leader was at least temporarily stunned, he tried pulling away to follow up with a more definite strike but found he couldn’t.

“You know, Eraserhead, your quirk is pretty cool,” the leader started, his grip on his elbow heating up ever so slowly, “It’s so simple, yet you’ve made it so effective, and the way you’re incorporating that into how you fight is nothing short of incredible.”

Behind his slitted goggles, Eraserhead’s eyes widened as his shirt burst on fire. “However, it still isn’t without fault,” the leader taunted. Eraserhead realized too late that Erasure was no longer active, and the fire probably came from the villain. In such close quarters, his attacks were limited, but he still had to try something.

Eraserhead aimed his left knee towards the leader’s ribs, hoping to get some breathing room. The leader noticed and ducked under the attack. In a feat of strength and speed, the leader swept out Eraserhead’s right leg out from under him and kicked him into the air. Immediately following, the villain brought his leg up above the airborne hero and delivered an axe kick to his back on the way down. Eraserhead landed hard on the ground, stunned and out of breath. He tried to get up but found himself pinned, the leader had his right knee on his back, left foot stepping on his left elbow, left hand on the back of his head, and the other holding his right arm at an awkward angle.

The leader leaned in close to Eraserhead’s ear, “You’re not suited to drawn out battles, Eraser. You specialize in ambush attacks, nigh on guerilla tactics, yet you still jumped in to greet us. Why? You knew you were outmatched, but you still rushed in like a fan to a meet up. What’d you hope to achieve? Giving your students some peace of mind?” The villain smashed Eraserhead’s head into the ground, “The outcome of this fight was decided the moment you chose to come fight us.”

Blood started to trickle down his forehead, bleeding into his eyes. Eraserhead turned slightly to get a better look at the leader and grunted out, “My life is nowhere near as important as the students’. So as long as they’re safe from you, I’d have done my job.”

The leader hummed almost thoughtfully, “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind, Eraser.” The last word was spat out with malice as the villain smashed Eraserhead into the ground again, hard enough to crack the cement.

With Eraserhead out of commission for now, the leader stood up and looked around. Under any other circumstance, he would’ve loved to get a tour of the USJ. So many different zones to explore, so many scenarios to try out, so many places he would’ve loved to just have some fun.

“You’re kidding me. This has to be a joke, right?” a small boy with purple balls on his head whined loudly, “We barely survived getting off that stupid boat and escaping those villains in the Flood Zone, but now this!? The monster mask guy took out Aizawa-sensei like no big deal!”

The girl next to him had big eyes and a round face. Her hands were proportionately bigger than a normal person’s, and her figure was slightly hunched, which gave her a frog-like look. She quickly wrapped her hands around his mouth, shushing him, “Mineta, please be quiet. It looks like the villain hasn’t noticed we’re here yet. If you start yelling, we’ll be in bigger trouble."

“But we’re already in bigger trouble,” Mineta hissed, “Our teacher got taken down, that other hero is at the entrance, which, by the way, is nowhere near us, and the only way to get back there is by going directly through where the main villain is.”

A curse could be heard further to Mineta’s right.

“I hate that all of those points made sense,” the voice rasped out. Mineta and the frog-girl turned to face who spoke. The voice belonged to a boy with messy black hair, grey eyes, and a small mole under his lips on the right side, “But we’ve got to do something. We can’t just sit here waiting for help to come. The villains that Aizawa-sensei took out are getting back up, and it doesn’t look like he’s moving at all either. He’s a sitting duck!”

The frog-girl pointed her finger at her chin in thought, “So what do you suggest, Shimura-kun? As much as I hate to admit it as well, Mineta has a point. We were barely able to escape the villains in the Flood Zone because we were at a major disadvantage. If we go out there, we’ll just be putting ourselves in greater danger.”

Shimura lightly scratched at his neck before crossing his arms in thought, “We’re all mainly close-range fighters, with Asui-“

“Tsu,” Tsu interjected.

“Tsuyu-san-“ Shimura tried again.

“Tsu.”

Shimura gave her a pained expression, “Tsu-chan.” He leveled a challenging glare at her, but she just nodded in acceptance, “Tsu-chan and Mineta, you both have some ranged attacks, but nothing that could really get us through safely, right?” Mineta nodded in agreement, but Tsu spoke up.

“I can use my tongue as a weapon, but with how that villain dealt with Aizawa-sensei, I don’t want to risk it.”

Shimura nodded in understanding and looked down at his hands. There’s gotta be something I can do. He flicked between looking at his hands and the entrance, eventually his gaze found the floor. A thought suddenly popped in his head, “I could burrow us through!” The other teens looked at him confused, unperturbed he continued, “I could decay us a spot to enter here, and then tunnel underneath the ground and resurface at the bottom of the stairs.”

Tsu quirked her head to the right while Mineta nodded up and down in clear agreement. Before Shimura could touch the ground, Tsu stopped him, “But how will you know where we’re going afterwards? We could end up cutting through something important like powerlines, or end up in a completely different disaster zone. We won’t know which way is straight, and we don’t know how far it is from here to the stairs.”

Shimura hung his head in shame, he hadn’t thought that far ahead yet. Tsu, still trying to stay positive, pat his back, “It’s alright, Shimura-kun, it was a good idea. How about we just get out of the water and hide a little better while we wait for the other teachers to get here?”

The trio moved out of the water as quickly and quietly as they could and settled behind some bushes that were dotting the edge of the zone.

Underneath his breath, Mineta muttered, “If they come.”

Still reveling in the chaos that’s happening around him, the villain feels a shift in the atmosphere and looks to his left. A purple and black mist with yellow eyes materialized, “Kagero Shigaraki, I regret to inform you that I failed in my objective. The herolings prevented me from keeping them contained, and one of them slipped outside. The heroes are sure to be inbound.”

A small puff of fire escaped the mouth of the mask he was wearing, “So it’s like that, huh? Don’t worry too much, Kurogiri, while it is indeed unfortunate, things are still going more or less to plan. After all,” Kagero turned to face Kurogiri fully, eyes blazing with anticipation, “How can we introduce ourselves properly if the whole party isn’t here?”

Chapter Text

“And that, Yagi-kun, is why you should always have a rubric,” a small, white furred creature explained, “Even if your assignments don’t necessarily require one, it’s always good to plan out beforehand how you would grade the students by separating your expectations into tiers. Just remember to not set them too high, they are still students after all.”

The man opposite the creature nursed his teacup as he tried to digest the veritable lecture he was receiving. He had yellow hair, splayed wildly in all directions with two main long bangs framing his face. His eyes were sunken in so deep it cast a shadow over them, but piercing blue irises shone through the darkness. The man’s gaunt figure was still crouched on the floor, hugging his ankles.

He coughed into a handkerchief, “Yes, well, thank you very much for the advice, Principal Nezu. I am aware that I am a little lacking in teaching young students, but this is still not enough to deter me!”

Nezu looked Yagi over, his beady eyes scanning every inch of him before responding, “But of course! This is your first year of teaching after all, even some of our tenured teachers still struggle from time to time.”

Yagi puffed a sigh of relief, finally seeing the lull he needed to sneak away, “I’m sure I’ll be able to get the hang of it in no time, sir. By the way-“

“You haven’t been able to get in touch with Aizawa-kun or Thirteen-san either then, I take it.”

Yagi sputtered, “You- you were aware of the lack of contact as well? Why did you keep me here? What if they are in trouble!?” Yagi started to stand up and was just about to rush out the window before he saw the principal raise his paw.

“Firstly, there is nothing that happens on this campus, the businesses directly connected to us, and the buildings we own that I do not have, at the very least, an inkling of what’s going on. Secondly, it’s precisely because they might be in trouble that I chose to keep you here.”

“But why?” Yagi asked exasperatedly, “If the students or teachers are in trouble and I’m not there, then I am failing in my duty as a hero! I already failed them as a teacher for not being there from the beginning!”

“Yagi-kun, I kept you here because you needed to rest,” taking the sudden stillness from him as a sign to continue, Nezu moved on, “You’ve already used up most of your valuable time. That’s why you were hiding out in the teacher’s lounge and not with Class 1-A at the USJ, is it not? Had you gone out the second you noticed you weren’t getting a response from Aizawa-kun or Thirteen-san, would you have been able to take care of the problem, maintain your form after its resolution, and then keep it until you were behind closed doors?”

Yagi sighed in defeat and shook his head, “No. If I’m being honest, if I went right then I probably would have changed right as I entered through the doors.”

Nezu hummed and walked towards the door, “Then with your break, I believe I have bought you another thirty minutes. Please ensure the safety of my students and staff, All Might.”

Shigaraki heard the groans of the fodder he brought out for the occasion as they slowly stirred. Unsurprisingly, the mutants were mostly recovered and already were staggering towards him. He studied the one closest to him, off-handedly remembering him to be the one that Eraser threw into another group of fodder.

“So, boss,” the man coughed out, “I hear that right? The heroes are on their way? We should probably get gone soon.”

With Shigaraki’s focus now solely on him, the villain faltered in his steps. The villain had never actually gotten a good look at who their boss was, but now that he has, the villain was glad that he didn’t get the chance before.

Shigaraki’s mask was colored a deep forest green and fashioned to look like a dragon’s maw, covering everything except his eyes. The hood was up on his black and green jacket, keeping the top half in a perpetual shadow, his eyes almost shining in the darkness. Under his sleeves, the villain could make out some sort of bracers, but all that was visible was a little part protruding at the base of his palms. Black pants were tucked into steel toed combat boots, with three knives holstered to both thighs.

If the villain was being honest, Shigaraki didn’t look all too dangerous besides the mask, but the intense aura that surrounded him and the cold, calculating eyes said otherwise. The villain knew that one wrong move could end up with him being dead, so he didn’t voice his thoughts.

“No,” Shigaraki replied, “far from it. Grab two other mutant types, I want you on guard duty.”

The villain quirked an eyebrow, “Guard duty? It’s not like we have anything to defend here.”

Shigaraki turned and pointed to where Eraserhead was still laying, “You’re guarding him. Mutant types aren’t affected by his quirk, and are generally stronger than the others. Just make sure he stays down. I don’t want to have to deal with him too on top of whoever else is coming.”

“You can’t just-“

Shigaraki was already walking away, “I’m not wrong, though. Just shut up and do your job. Kurogiri!” The mentioned villain materialized next to him once again, “I want you to bring it in.”

If Kurogiri was surprised, he didn’t show it, “Are you sure, Kagero Shigaraki? We were told it hasn’t been tested yet.”

“Exactly. What better way to perform a test than on the heroes? If it gets defeated, we get good data. If it doesn’t, we get good data. It’s already been programmed to take commands and’s already keyed in to my voice. This’ll give us a good baseline to work with.”

“Very well,” Kurogiri did as he was told and opened another portal.

This time a hulking figure came out. Large muscles lined its body, but it was far from natural. Its skin was black and littered with bright red scars, but its head was the most disturbing part. A birdlike beak lined with sharp teeth sat where the mouth should be, its brain exposed to the air, and it had round soulless eyes set into it. In all aspects of the word, this was an abomination. A monster. Something that shouldn’t exist and went against reality.

“Shoji-kun, do you have any updates?” a girl clad in a pink and blue bodysuit asked.

“Give me a second,” the multi-limbed boy replied as he formed more eyes and ears on his appendages, “I can’t hear Iida’s engines anymore, so he’s probably close to if not already at the school. It’s hard to tell what’s going on in the Downpour and Conflagration Zones due to the ambient weather, but the other zones seem like their fights are dwindling down.

“Shimura, Asui, and Mineta made it safely to the edge of the Flood Zone, and are hanging out at the edge,” as he was reporting, he heard a massive boom to the left, “That was definitely Bakugo, so he’s still out there. I can’t hear anything from over in the Landslide Zone, so either everybody there is knocked out or it was empty from the start. I can only hear the barest of whispers from the Mountain Zone, so something is still happening there.”

Another student was hunched over the prone form of Thirteen, patching up their back with strands of tape coming from his elbow, “Wow, you can get all that info from all the way up here? Man, am I glad you’re with us, otherwise we’d be completely in the dark.”

“If that’s how you feel here,” another chimed in, this one wearing a yellow bodysuit and had big lips, “Just imagine what it’s like for our classmates out there.”

“What about Aizawa?” another voice croaked out. The students followed the voice to Thirteen, who was still laying down.

Shoji gulped before answering, “Aizawa-sensei still looks and sounds unconscious. The main villain told one of the other ones down there to watch and make sure he doesn’t get back up, but they’re all just standing around him. I don’t think he’s in any more immediate danger.”

“That’s good, that’s good. And what about Iida and the rest of you?”

A pink-skinned girl that was still kneeling next to Thirteen replied, “Shoji-kun said that he can’t hear Iida anymore, so he was probably able to get help. As for the rest of us here anyway…”

“We’re doing all right,” the girl from before picked up, “It’s kinda like we’re in that weird time before something big happens. We haven’t been attacked since Iida-kun managed to get out, so I guess we have some good news.”

Thirteen groaned and tried to turn on to their side, “We’re in one of the most critical times of a fight, the calm. I wish I could’ve helped more, I’m sorry for being such a burden.”

The hero students, minus Shoji, all started waving their hands, showing that they don’t blame them for what’s happening. The tape-elbowed boy was in the middle of saying his reassurances when he saw Shoji tense.

“Hey, uh, Shoji. You alright over there, man?” he asked cautiously.

“I believe we are now entering the second wave of the attack.”

Everybody tensed at the serious tone of his voice and prepared themselves as best as they could.

“Let’s see if we’re missing anything,” the leader started, his thumb tracing the outlines of the teeth on his mask, “Eraser’s out cold still and I’ve got people watching over him, it’s here to run interference for the stronger pros, ah. That’s right. Kurogiri, we’re leaving this place.”

Still observing from the edge of the Flood Zone, Mineta started rejoicing loudly, “They’re leaving!? We’re safe! It’s over!”

Once again, Tsu wrapped her hands around his face to silence him, “Shimura-kun, I don’t like this one bit.”

Shimura nodded slightly, eyes bulging as his hands found his way to his throat as he started scratching, “Yeah… why would they leave when they’re right at the brink of winning? They even brought out that thing.”

The students saw a portal open, all of them holding their breath in hopes that this is truly the end of this nightmare. None of the figures made to step into it, not even the villains still scattered in the pavilion.

“But before that, how about we leave a little parting gift for the little herolings over by the water?”

All three students tensed at hearing them being mentioned, but they were all frozen in their spots. They saw the leader turn and rush in their direction, faster than they could expect. Their vision was filled by fire shooting out of his hands before abruptly being cut off. The leader froze, hands still in firing position.

“You had one job!” he yelled, his head turning to glimpse behind him, “Don’t kill him yet, just make sure he stays down this time! I really underestimated you, Eraser. You’re a lot more stubborn than I gave you credit for.”

The villains standing around Eraserhead were in shock as they saw him looking up, his gaze settled directly on their boss. The one closest grabbed Eraserhead’s head and smashed it into the floor multiple times while the others were kicking his body. Each blow Eraserhead grunted in pain until he slumped down again.

Shimura’s mind finally caught up to what was happening, and his body started to move. He tugged at the parts covering his right ring and pinky fingers, the fabric receding from covering his fingertips. He reached his hand out to grasp the villain, “Get away from us!”

Quieter than ever before, the villain spoke again, “Nomu.”

A black blur came between the villain and Shimura and let out a piercing inhuman scream. The part that Shimura’s hand was touching turned grey and immediately started decaying, turning the flesh into meat chunks and ash. Shimura was once again frozen in shock as his hand stayed where it was, the decay spreading further and further along the Nomu’s body, its screams growing in a crescendo. Shimura stumbled back, finally ending contact.

“What’s this?” the leader asked aloud, “A five-point contact requirement, with a spreading effect on the contacted area? Almost like a poison in that it immediately starts spreading, and by the looks will keep going if the areas aren’t immediately amputated? How fascinating.”

The leader was now staring directly at Shimura, “And you were willing to use it on an enemy combatant when it’s clear that you could kill with a single touch. Are you sure you want to be a hero?”

Shimura felt a massive hand close around his fist and felt it squeeze hard, breaking it into pieces. Shimura let out a pained scream and fell to the ground, crawling back to his friends as they crowded around him. To their horror, the Nomu’s body started to regenerate with a terrible squelching sound. Internal organs were regrown and reconnected, bones and muscle fibers wrapping around the organs, until finally the skin had grown to cover the areas. Less than a few seconds later, the Nomu looked like nothing happened to it.

The leader stood up fully, lightly dusting himself off, “A valiant attempt, heroling. Truly. Had you kept touching the Nomu, I’m sure you would’ve been able to defeat it single handedly. A shame you won’t get to try that again.”

The Nomu grabbed his other hand and was about to squeeze as the doors to the USJ flew open. A single silhouette was in the doorway, but everyone in the building knew exactly who it was. The students that had a line of sight to the door, no matter where they were, all released small tears of joy. Their hero was finally here, but where that bright smile usually was, a deep frown was in its place.

All Might wasn’t smiling, nor was he projecting his voice like he normally does. This was quiet, showing the fury and anger he currently feels, “I am here.”

The leader glanced up to meet his gaze, “About time, Number One.”

Chapter Text

A chorus of “All Might”s could be heard throughout the USJ, from villains and students alike. The villains said it out of fear and intimidation, the students said it out of relief and joy. All Might himself paid them no mind, simply staring down at the figures below. His steps were carefully measured and his arms were swinging stiffly.

“I apologize for not being here earlier,” All Might stated, his frown turning into a grimace, “I had made a poor mistake in the morning, one that you students are unfortunately paying the price for. Fear not, everything is fine now. I am here!”

The leader stood up fully, “I was beginning to wonder if that heroling actually made it out. It’s like I went for an autograph but came out with a phone number!”

All the villains Eraserhead initially knocked out were already standing, but were slowly taking steps back. They knew that if they couldn’t stand up against a nobody, there was no way they could stand up to the All Might. All Might crouched down in preparation for a jump, and the villains tensed in hopeful response. All Might suddenly vanished from view, and they all went down when he reappeared.

In the blink of an eye, All Might took out the villains standing in front of him and was already standing back at the base of the stairs, holding an unconscious Eraserhead in his arms, “I’m sorry, Aizawa.” He faced the leader and the students, again disappearing and reappearing with them in his other arm, a safe distance away from the villain.

Sometime during All Might’s dash, he landed a glancing blow on the leader, enough to blow his hood off and tear the mask from his face. the leader’s face was partly covered by windswept hair, but he pushed it out of the way, crouching down to pick up his mask.

“Amazing, simply amazing!” the leader exclaimed with joy, puffs of flame coming out of his mouth, “So fast. To be able to move that fast while carrying a full-grown man, three teenagers, and hit me without me even reacting? You’re something else, Number One!”

The students shifted uncomfortably while All Might took on a readied stance, finally able to get a look at the leader’s face. His hair was the same forest green as his mask with black undertones, a wild and curly mess. His face was round, but with a slightly chiseled jaw, and fair skinned if a little on the paler side. His eyes were an iridescent green that looked as if they were glowing, but what was most noticeable was the scar on his face. A gash led from the middle of his left cheek down to his chin, continuing on his neck.

The leader replaced his mask and took a deep breath to calm himself, “But I was still able to follow you. I’ve heard rumors, but it seems like there was a grain of truth in them. You really are getting weaker.”

The students picked up Eraserhead and were about to leave before Shimura spoke up, “Unc- All Might, that brain villain, the Nomu. It has super regeneration or something, I- I touched it and it came back! I don’t know what else it can do, but those muscles must mean it’s strong too!”

“Young Shimura, if it’s only super regeneration and strength, this will be much easier than I was expecting!” All Might flashed him a smile and a thumbs up. Shimura and the others walked away, fully trusting him to deal with the villains.

With the students out of harm’s way, All Might went in for the attack, crossing his arms in an X position, “Carolina Smash!”

The leader didn’t move a muscle, “Nomu.”

Again, the beast came between him and the attack. Taking the full force of All Might’s smash, the Nomu was flung backwards, forcing the leader to step aside to avoid getting caught up. The Nomu flew through the air, skipping a few times before hitting the walls of the Downpour Zone, chest caved in, and arms mangled.

All Might was never one to gloat, but with the day he’s been having, he let himself slip a little in appearances, “It appears those muscles were all for show after all.” He turned to the leader, “Now, villain, surrender now and we can call this attack a failure.”

The leader tilted his head to the left in confusion, “Surrender now? Call this a failure? You seem to misunderstand, Number One, this is only the beginning.”

With his mask covering his face, All Might couldn’t see it, but with how the leader’s eyes were crinkling, he could tell that he was smiling. Not willing to let things continue, All Might pressed the attack.

“Nomu, stop playing around and fight.”

All Might raised his eyebrow in confusion but moved on anyway. As he threw a fist straight at the leader, he found himself interrupted once again.

A cloud of smoke was in his way, but he knew his fist was solidly in the body of the Nomu, completely healed. So that confirms Tenko’s claim for super regeneration. The rest of the smoke cleared, showing the Nomu standing there completely unaffected. His brows raised and his eyes widened a fraction, but why didn’t it go flying like last time? The Nomu raised its arms trying to grapple him, but All Might dodged out of the way.

“Confused?” he heard the leader call out. He would’ve looked at him, but his focus was now on avoiding getting grabbed. “The heroling, Young Shimura, you called him? He was right, Nomu does have super regeneration. He saw it in action after he nearly took it down.”

Through dodging and counterattacking, All Might grunted out, “Keep his name out of your mouth, villain!”

“Shimura-chan only guessed one of its quirks right.”

Hearing that, All Might froze for a fraction of a second. The Nomu took advantage of this and tightly gripped All Might’s waist, picking him up and suplexing him, bringing up a massive cloud of dust. When it settled, All Might found himself pinned, much like the leader had Eraserhead before.

The leader walked up and crouched down in front of All Might, confident he wouldn’t break out, “What happened, Number One? Something catch you off guard?” All Might struggled in response, but the leader waved him off, “No matter. Care to take another guess? Here, I’ll even give you a free shot. Nomu, let him up.”

The Nomu did as it was told and got off All Might. All Might himself got up slowly, carefully watching the villain and Nomu for any signs of deceit. He rolled his right arm out a little, moving away to a position where he could see both opponents, eyeing them both.

“What tricks do you have up your sleeve?”

“No tricks,” the leader just shrugged, “Nomu has two quirks. One you already know as super regeneration, the other still unknown. Go ahead, one clean hit. Figure it out.”

All Might didn’t move a muscle, “Who are you?”

“Kagero Shigaraki, leader of the League of Villains. Now are you going to take your chance or not? I promise you, you won’t get another one. Just hurry up and do it. I have other things still to do.”

“How will I know you won’t attack me when my back is turned?”

“You won’t.”

All Might stood there, watching Shigaraki closely. Nothing about his body language suggested he was lying, and his tone seemed genuine enough, but that could very well just be a ruse. Shigaraki crossed his arms and started to tap his finger, seemingly losing patience. Not wanting to have to deal with two dangerous villains at once, All Might heaved a sigh, nodding.

Shigaraki seemed to light up upon seeing this, “Perfect! Remember, you can strike the Nomu only. I’ll give you a little time to think before continuing the fight.”

All Might nodded and squared up to the Nomu, its eyes looking at him but not seeing, arms hanging limply at its side. All Might closed his eyes and took a deep breath, opening them again he rushed forward, “SMASH!”

Unlike before, no cloud of dust kicked up and the Nomu didn’t go flying either. In fact, the Nomu looked completely unaffected. All Might stared at the beast in shock. No one has ever taken a hit like that before, not since that villain a few years back, but there was no way this was him. All Might couldn’t find his voice, his mouth opening and closing.

Shigaraki seemed to be grinning behind his mask, his voice giving it away, “No guesses? I thought you were smarter than that, Number One.” All Might regained enough of his senses to remember he was still in the middle of his fight and prepared himself again. “Its second quirk is shock absorption. Have fun, Number One. Nomu, three seconds.”

All Might was still busy processing the new information, completely missing the fact that Shigaraki had slipped through a portal and was gone. All Might caught a glimpse of movement and immediately snapped back to attention. The three seconds Shigaraki mentioned must have been a countdown to let him get away.

Looks like he has his work cut out for him.

Kagero stepped out of the portal, finding himself at the top of one of the buildings in the Collapsed Zone with a clear view of the fight between the Nomu and All Might. Next to him, the mist coalesced and receded, changing its form into the shape of a body, clothed in attire that looked akin to a bartender at a fancy restaurant.

“Was it wise to tell All Might the Nomu had multiple quirks?” Kurogiri asked, “Master wanted to stay hidden for a while longer.”

Kagero brought his hand up to his mask, pressing on the two lower canines, causing it to recede into pieces stuck behind his ear, “Master is still presumed to be dead to those in the know, and is completely unknown to the general public. Regardless of me telling All Might Nomu’s quirks, he would’ve found out eventually.”

“But now All Might knows for certain that there are beings with multiple quirks. There is only one person who has the power to-“

“There are two, and countless others are close to achieving it, perhaps within my lifetime. Master is of course the first, original, and the main, but times have changed. The idea of producing a multi-quirked being has been in the works since the advent of quirks. All major countries will deny this, but they all have scientists attempting to achieve this goal. Me telling All Might this has only shaken his belief that he already completely defeated Master.

Kagero rolled his neck, a few pops sounding out, “He’ll most likely try to re-confirm everything from their fight - the location, the people involved, even the documents he signed off on to keep things under wraps. He’ll go through everything before coming to the conclusion Master has his hand in this. When he finds out nothing everything is just as he remembers it, he’ll relax a little, but the thought of possibly having failed will stay with him.”

Kurogiri stayed silent, knowing that arguing the point further will only cause them both to lose focus. Turning his head, he studied Kagero’s expression. He could see his eyes moving about wildly as he tracked the movements of the fighters, he could see his mouth slightly moving, no doubt providing a silent commentary on the battle, he could see Kagero’s right hand move as if it were writing and his left hand move as if it were typing, already making extensive notes about what was going on below.

Kurogiri heard an explosion behind them and looked to Kagero to see if he had noticed as well. Considering the only response he got was a barely noticeable gesture in the direction of the noise, Kurogiri was on his own to investigate. He moved from building to building, trying to find the source of the noise, only to find the villains he sent to the zone in various states of disarray.

Their clothes were sporting burn marks, or their gear cracked and shattered on the ground. Scorch marks and fist-sized holes could be seen on all the surfaces. Whether those came from the villains or from the students he dropped in here, he couldn’t tell. Moving slowly, he delved deeper into the building, following the trail of unconscious bodies on the floor.

Eventually, he heard voices. One was loud and abrasive to the ears, the other cheerful and reassuring. Fading into the shadows, Kurogiri moved himself into the room to get a look at the people inside.

“Is this really what villains are like? They’re so damn weak!” the loud voice yelled out, belonging to a teen with spiky, ash blond hair.

“It’s not manly to talk down on people, bro,” the other responded, this one with bright red hair in a ridiculous fashion, “Especially if they’re not here, or well, awake to defend themselves.”

“It’s not talking down if it’s true. You go do whatever, I’m gonna find that mist fucker. He was the one who brought them here, so he’s probably the one to bring them out.”

“Shouldn’t we look around the zone for an exit? Or try to regroup? I’m worried about the others. From what I saw during the battle trials, not everyone is comfortable being in a fight.”

“Didn’t you hear what I just said, spiky-hair for brains? If you wanna worry about the others and go help them, then go!”

Kurogiri was getting a headache listening to the conversation when he noticed something on the wall. It appears that one of the villains has a camouflage ability and was sneaking to get an attack in.

“Listen good, cause I’m not gonna repeat myself again. You wanna save the others? Go save the others, I’m gonna,” the camouflaged villain took their chance and jumped in. Without missing a beat, the blond stuck his hand out and released a little explosion, the smoke cleared to show the villain covered in soot, “I’m gonna find the misty shit. You wanna stick together? Then keep up.”

Kurogiri felt like watching them any further was a waste of time. He was about to portal back to Kagero when he found himself in the middle of an explosion, being blown outside. The blond landed on top of him, his hand on the metal bracer around his neck, releasing little pops in warning.

“Found you,” the blond growled, an almost manic smile on his face. Kurogiri’s eyes squinted a little as he attempted to open a portal below him, but he felt the pops get stronger, “Hup bup bup, no moving misty bitch. I don’t know what this is, but it seems kinda important. You move in any way I don’t like, and I’ll blow you to bits.”

The red head finally caught up to them, “Dude, are you alright? We were walking out and then- Is that the warp guy!? How did you find him so fast? So manly!”

“For whatever reason, purple punk’s portals make the air in the area a little colder. When we were in the room, I felt the temperature drop, so I knew he was close. I just didn’t know where exactly until foggy here tried to leave,” the blond leaned in, “So, you shitty fog machine, where’s your boss at?”

At being mentioned, a figure turned around to look at the scene. The two teens noticed they weren’t alone where they landed. The building they were in previously overlooked the one that Kagero was originally transported to. After the explosion, they landed right behind Kagero.

“I’m right here,” Kagero replied, “Kurogiri, you let yourself be captured? I’m disappointed.”

Kurogiri answered, “My apologies Kagero Shigaraki, the loud blond is far more perceptive than I could’ve guessed. He got the better of me.”

A bigger puff of fire escaped from Kagero’s mask, “Unfortunate. You, brat, what do you want?”

Briefly stunned at the incredible stroke of luck, the blond didn’t respond immediately, “Hah? What do I want? What do you want, lizard face? You came in here guns blazing with villains up the ass. For what? You’re just gonna get beat anyway.”

“Hey, um, bro? You might not want to antagonize him. I’m getting a bad feeling just being in the area as him,” the red head tried to reel the other back, but he wouldn’t listen.

“I’ve got the leverage here,” he released more crackles into the bracer, “Without cloudy boy, the villains can’t leave, and All Might’s here. They have no chance.”

Kagero nodded, “All good points, but I do need my warp gate back. So again, brat, what do you want?”

“Give up.”

“No.”

“Are you blind too? I’m in control of this situation. Give up.”

Kagero stayed quiet, studying the boy. The boy’s quirk is explosion, or something related given what I saw, heard, and the grenade shaped gauntlet. Quirk is focused around the hands, but what causes the explosions? There’s always some kind of catalyst.

He looked closely at the boy, noting how he was significantly sweatier than the other. He took a deep breath in from his nose and caught scent of something sweet. Sweet? Not black powder, that would’ve been obvious. Maybe the sweat? But no, sweat doesn’t smell sweet, not even the best deodorant can stop the stench. Nitroglycerin? That could pass as sweat, but that’s odorless. So maybe it’s something like that?

The blond watched as Kagero seemed to freeze, unsure of what to do. Kagero’s gaze was still piercing him, tracing him up and down, “Oi! Lizard brain! I’m talking to you!” Lifting his right hand, he released more mini explosions.

The sudden sound seemed to bring Kagero back, his eyes regaining the intensity they had before, “Make me.”

Caught off guard by the sudden switch of personality, the blond let out a confused, “What?”

“Make me give up. You said it yourself, you’ve got the power. So why don’t you use that power to make me give up?” Kagero egged him on, “Or maybe you’re not as strong as you think you are?”

The blond tried to hide his reaction, but still flinched at the implication. Underneath Kagero’s mask, he was smirking, Bingo. The blond raised his right palm as Kagero was emptying his lungs, “I’ll show you who’s weak!”

The blond let loose a large explosion, but just as it came out, it suddenly fizzled away, “What!?”

Kurogiri took advantage of the confusion and portaled out from under him, reappearing next to Kagero once again. Kagero was taking a deep breath in, smoke pouring out from his mouth. The red head’s eyes widened in realization, tackling the blond as he activated his quirk, shielding them both.

“See you around, herolings,” Kagero gasped out, finally releasing his breath. What came out was a massive stream of fire, completely blanketing the teenagers and the entire zone behind them.

Shimura, Asui, and Mineta finally made it to the entrance of the USJ, regrouping with the others there. The pink-skinned girl was the first to notice them, “Guys! You made it! Thank god!”

Hearing the exclamation, the others hurried to receive the others, gently picking up Aizawa and laying him next to Thirteen.

“I’m so glad you’re all alright!” the girl in the pink and blue body suit yelled, her brown bangs shaking back and forth, “Shoji-kun told us you made it out but were stuck down there. You must’ve been terrified.”

Tsu hugged the girl, “Ochaco-chan… We were lucky to get out of there. The villain was about to attack us, but Aizawa-sensei saved us at the last second.”

Ochaco tried to stop the tears from coming, but couldn’t, instead choosing to bury her head into the crook of her friend’s neck.

The tape-armed teen walked up and placed his arm around Shimura who was still clutching his hand, the other on Mineta’s shoulder, “Are you two alright? I mean, you faced down that big scary thing right? What happened?”

Mineta was first to respond, “It was crazy! We were just sitting behind the bush, hearing the mask villain talk about leaving and then boom!” he raised his hands in exaggeration, “He was right on top of us! I thought for sure we were gonna die. And then Shimura went crazy and tried touching the villain but then the big black thing-“

“Nomu,” Shimura supplied numbly.

“But then the big black Nomu thing was right there, and then Shimura was touching it. It was super gross, and the Nomu thing started screaming, and then it started healing itself, and then All Might was there! And now we’re here.”

At the end of Mineta’s recap, he was hyperventilating from the lack of breathing. Everyone listened in, nodding and crying as they heard what the trio went through. Shimura just stood still, holding his broken hand close to his chest while staring at the other.

The teen with big lips and in the yellow costume awkwardly cut in, “But at least All Might’s here now, right? We’ll be good until the other heroes get here.”

Shoji maintained vigilance as he was watching the fight between All Might and Nomu, reporting what he saw, “At the start it looked like All Might was losing, but the Nomu is on the backfoot now. All Might is giving it way more blows than taking any.

Small cheers came up from the gathered students, “That was a big blow. I think the Nomu is done for.”

From down in the pavilion, the students could hear the final blows of the fight, “PLUS… ULTRA!” With a resounding boom, the Nomu was sent flying in the air, through the dome of the USJ.

At the same time, a bright light and explosion brought everyone’s attention to the Collapsed Zone, they all gasped in horror as it was covered in a wave of fire so intense they could feel it.

Shoji collapsed to his knees, the others looking to him and waiting to hear what happened, “That’s where Bakugo and Kirishima were…”

Everyone else followed suit, falling to their knees and let out a disheartening wail.

Chapter Text

All Might’s victory against the Nomu was hard fought but unfortunately short lived. All Might landed the finishing blow on the Nomu, launching it through the USJ roof, but he had no time to celebrate or take a break. He felt the wave of heat before seeing it and followed the sound of the explosion. What greeted his eyes worried him to the core - one of the zones was on fire, and it wasn’t the one that’s supposed to be. All Might turned and leapt, crossing the distance from the pavilion to the Collapse Zone in a single bound.

All Might landed on the same building Shigaraki and Kurogiri were on, but there was no one in sight. All Might clapped his hands together hard, releasing a shockwave of wind, blowing out the fires. Curled up on the ground before him, he saw two bodies, one clearly attempting to shield the other. The former’s skin had boils on the back while the latter looked relatively unharmed save for the reddened skin.

All Might’s heart sank at the realization that the students, that his students had to fight for their lives so early in their careers. All Might moved forward, attempting to separate the two to better assess their injuries, but found the grip to be locked.

All Might gulped heavily, Please still be alive. He raised two fingers to the students’ necks, desperately praying for a pulse. When he felt a response in both, forgoing any attempt at being gentle, he picked the two up together and jumped to the entrance, depositing them along with the others.

Taking a head count, All Might only counted eight students, ten including the two he just brought over. He turned around, scanning the rest of the zones, trying to calculate how much time he had left before changing but immediately cringed, What am I thinking? The students’ safety comes first, I’ll just have to push through.

“Students,” he commanded, “Does anyone know where the rest of your classmates are?”

Shoji replied in a subdued tone, “I know for a fact there are people in the Mountain Zone, and most likely the Landslide, but I don’t know how many are in each. I’m also sure there are some in the Downpour and Conflagration.”

“Thank you, Young Shoji,” All Might nodded and leapt off again, in search for anyone else.

“Shoji-kun,” Ochaco sniffled, “Do you- Do you know where the villains are? All Might didn’t say anything about them when he came back with Bakugo-kun and Kirishima-kun, so they must be gone. Are they still…”

Shoji attempted to get up but felt a hand on his shoulder, a pinky raised up, “There’s no need to look,” Shimura answered instead. He lifted his pointer finger and placed his pinky back down, pointing forward, “They’re right there.”

Everyone followed the direction of his finger and saw the two villains in front of the fountain, the masked one sitting lazily on its edge while the mist one standing at attention next to him. They all cowered under the masked villain’s gaze, but no one moved.

Shimura looked back down at them, holding his gaze before taking a step forward. He felt something wrap around his good arm, “Woah man, where do you think you’re going?” tape-elbow asked.

“I’m going to go talk to them,” he replied, wishing his other hand wasn’t broken so he could decay the strand of tape.

“Yeah, no. Bad idea. Out of everyone here, you know what he can do. Not calling you weak or anything, but you don’t stand a chance. You’re still injured!”

“Let me go, Sero-kun. Because I know what he can do, it has to be me.”

Tsu spoke up, “But why you, Shimura-kun? What are you going to do? What if he kills you?”

He looked back and answered resolutely, “He won’t.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because he hasn’t killed anyone yet.”

“That doesn’t mean he won’t change his mind. But you ignored my questions. Why you and what are you going to do?”

Shimura stared into Tsu’s eyes, searching for something but couldn’t find it. His left hand found its way to his neck and started scratching, “Arrggh, I don’t know. I just feel like I need to do something. I had it! The Nomu, I could’ve stopped this attack from going any further if I wasn’t such a wimp! I feel so weak just staying here when there’s something I know I can do.”

“Shimura-kun, if you’re thinking about doing what I think you are, then you’d be the same as them. The villain knows what you can do too, do you really think he’ll let you try?”

The pink-skinned girl chimed in with a raised hand, “Uh, guys? Care to let the rest of us know what’s going on?”

“He almost defeated the Nomu, and is thinking about trying again with the villain, Mina-chan,” Tsu replied bluntly.

Mina didn’t appear to understand, knitting her eyebrows together in confusion, but everyone else caught the underlaying message. Before it could completely settle in their minds, Shimura attempted to ease their worries, shaking his hands wildly.

“Tsu-chan, everyone, no! I couldn’t, wouldn’t do that! Never! I just, they’re just sitting there! We should be doing something to apprehend them.”

“Shimura,” a tired voice cut through. The students turned their heads, surprised to see Aizawa sitting up, the wounds on his face no longer gushing blood, “We’ll talk about that later, but everyone else is right. You going down there for whatever reason is beyond irrational. No one is leaving this platform for any reason. Sero, if anybody attempts to leave, tape them down.” The boy nodded, “Now, tell me everything that’s happened.”

All Might arrived at the Mountain Zone to find three of his students, one, a blond boy with a black lightning bolt design on his hair was a clear hostage. The other two were both girls, the taller one was wearing a red bodysuit with yellow trim, her black hair up in a spiky ponytail while the shorter was wearing what looked like a biker’s outfit, her purple hair in a short bob with two longer bangs framing her face. They had their hands up in surrender, but upon seeing him, both girls gave a relieved smile.

“What’re you two smiling at?” the skull-masked villain asked confused, “You that happy your classmate’s about to get fried? You know, that’s pretty messed up for kids wanting to be a hero.”

The girl in the biker outfit smirked, “Nah, we’re just so happy that All Might’s here.”

The skull-masked villain’s eyes widened, he turned around and came face to chest with All Might. His grip on the boy released out of shock, “A-All Might…”

All Might simply pounded his fist on the villain’s head and he was out cold. He immediately picked up the boy in his left arm and the other two in the other, “I apologize for being so rough with the handling, but I need to move quickly,” he explained as he carried them out of the Mountain Zone, “I’m bringing you to this zone’s emergency room. You are to stay there until you are retrieved by another hero.”

The girl with the spiky ponytail replied through being jostled, “All Might… Where are… The others?”

“A group of the others are currently at the entrance of the facility, and I’m going around the other zones to find everyone else. This was the last zone I had to check.”

“Are… They safe?”

“Yes. Fortunately your classmates were able to handle the villains in their zones. From what I saw, you three were the only ones that ran into that sort of problem.”

The girl looked down, disappointed, “I see.”

At this point, they all arrived at the emergency room. It was situated off to the side, set in one of the caves, looking more like a doomsday bunker than anything else. All Might gently placed the teens down and kneeled in front of the girl with the spiky ponytail.

“Young Yaoyorozu, please do not look down on yourself. You were thrust into a situation that should never have happened on your third day of high school, and despite having slightly more trouble than your classmates, you, Young Kaminari, and Young Jiro all performed admirably. So please, instead of thinking ‘I was so weak’, or ‘I’m not ready’, or ‘I wasn’t good enough’, take what happened here and use it as motivation to get better and stronger. Remember what it was like so that you or anyone else will never have to feel that way again.”

Yaoyorozu’s eyes teared up as she nodded, “I will, sir! Thank you!”

All Might gave her one of his famous smiles, “Wonderful! Now please stay here until you are retrieved by another hero. They should be close, but the main villains are still out there.”

“Wait,” Jiro cut in, “You mean that big boom earlier wasn’t you beating them?”

All Might shook his head, “Unfortunately, no. That was more of a diversion, the real villains are still out there.”

“Go kick their asses, All Might.”

All Might grinned cheekily and gave her a thumbs up before closing the door.

Kagero was still sitting on the fountain, watching the group at the entrance intently. He saw one kid attempt to walk down the steps, Shimura-chan, but was brought back by someone out of view. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t disappointed about seeing it happen.

“I wonder what’s going on in their minds,” Kagero wondered aloud.

Kurogiri paused for a second, debating on if it was a rhetoric question or not, “How do you mean?”

“I mean, just think about it,” Kagero sat up, explaining further, “That one heroling that got out, he left how long ago? Twenty, thirty minutes maybe?” Kurogiri hummed, “I get that not all heroes are as fast as All Might, but they’re sure taking their sweet time.

“According to the info we got earlier, this facility is around three kilometers away from the main campus. It takes the average person around twenty minutes to run that far, fifteen-ish if they’re in shape, and even less than that if they’re taking a vehicle or some other form of movement or have a speed quirk. Besides that, the doors are wide open thanks to All Might, and none of them are even attempting to leave. I get that these are students, but they’re severely lacking in common logic. The hell are they waiting for?”

“I could ask the same of you, Kagero Shigaraki,” Kurogiri shot back, “All Might defeated the Nomu, both Thirteen and Eraserhead are still alive, all the villains we brought along have been defeated, and to my knowledge, none of the herolings were killed or otherwise seriously injured, even the two we ran into. Why are we still here if we have been defeated so thoroughly?”

Kagero stood up and stretched his arms above his head, “And that, Kurogiri, is you misunderstanding the purpose of the attack. We came here to land a blow against the heroes, sure, but killing them? That was never the plan.” Kagero was now in Kurogiri’s face, his eyes gleaming, “No, killing them only creates more, kind of like the hydra from Greek mythology; you take off one head, two more grow back. The same principle could be said for heroes.”

Kurogiri’s eyes narrowed, “It almost sounds as if you want the heroes to get better. Does your loyalty truly lie with Master?”

“Don’t try to take that tone with me, Kurogiri,” Kagero replied, his voice taking a dangerous edge, puffs of fire escaping his mouth, “Just because my expectations for this attack doesn’t match yours, it doesn’t mean I’m disobeying or betraying Master, not in the slightest. Anybody worth their salt could kill a hero should they so choose, and anybody that isn’t stupid can kill a teenager.”

“Then why leave them alive?”

“Because killing them is too easy. No, I want to shake them to their core, I want to haunt their dreams, I want to break them,” Kurogiri backed off slightly, offput by the intensity of Kagero’s words, “You’ve been around Master longer than I have, so you tell me. What does Master love doing more than finding and taking quirks?”

“Building up hope before crushing it completely,” Kurogiri answered eventually.

“Exactly,” Kagero nodded, “Master doesn’t take quirks or kill people immediately, he plays with his prey beforehand, lulling them into thinking they’re safe and then yanking the rug out from under them. Even then, sometimes he doesn’t kill them. He lets them go, letting them live out the rest of their lives in fear.

“So no, Kurogiri. Killing them is far from what I want to do. I want them to know that they aren’t at the top of the food chain, that heroes aren’t untouchable, that they can be broken. If, after this, we find out that there are new or missing faces, then that means I got to them. If they’re the same, then that means that the game is still on. It’ll take some time, but I will win.”

Kurogiri studied Kagero before relenting, “Very well. I still do not understand why we’re still here, though. The heroes are surely seconds away at this point, and despite our best efforts, I’m not sure we can defeat All Might and whoever else is arriving.”

Kagero sighed heavily, “To be honest, I wanted to see how UA responds and who they could scrounge up in an emergency. The rat’s paws are in a lot of plates, I’m sure of it, so I wanted to get an idea of the breadth of his influence. But you’re right, we can’t afford to stay here any longer. I guess we’ll have to find out some other time. Open a portal, I’ll cover our escape.”

A portal opened behind them as Kagero conjured two balls of fire on his hands. He took a deep breath in, causing the flames in his hands to reduce to nothing. At the edge of his vision, he saw a shadow move from the lower left to in front of him, growing in size as whatever it was came closer to the ground. Too slow, Number One. He let out another wave of fire, aimed directly at the group at the top of the stairs.

All Might was just exiting the Mountain Zone when he saw two figures standing in front of the fountain in the middle. He crouched down for a jump and leapt, ready to finally put an end to this attack. Still in the air, he saw the figure on the left, who appeared to be Shigaraki, produce balls of fire in his hands as a portal opened behind them. His eyes widened as he realized that they were about to leave. The light emanating from Shigaraki’s hands vanished as he saw the makings of another fire-based attack.

He turned himself midair, aiming a punch behind him to shoot himself downward faster, hoping to intercept the attack in time. As he grew closer to the ground, he found himself washed in a wave of fire. He aimed another punch at where he thought the villains were, dispelling the fire. Once again, when his vision was clear, he found no one there.

Filled with a feeling he hadn’t felt since his fight all those years ago, he released an angered yell, “NOOOOO!”

At the entrance at the top of the stairs, an assortment of heroes appeared, poised and ready for to fight, but all they were met with was a group of students in various states of shock, two heroes in need of medical attention, and the sound of the Number One hero’s cry.

One hero stepped forward, clothed in a leather outfit, a set of speakers resting on his neck, and his blond hair slicked back in a way reminiscent of a mohawk, “What happened here?”

Chapter Text

The students didn’t even register the heroes’ arrival nor them being ushered outside where cop cars and ambulances were strewn about, all still too caught up in the fact that All Might, the Symbol of Peace, the Number One Hero looked like he lost the fight. Their minds all rationalized that he did fight and beat arguably the most dangerous villain there, but their hearts knew that that wasn’t the villain that they had to worry about. That villain, the Nomu, wasn’t the one that orchestrated the attack, wasn’t the one that attacked them, it wasn’t even the one there from the beginning. No, that honor was held for the villain in the dragon mask, the one who set ablaze a disaster zone made of rock, the one who took down a pro hero single handedly and with ease, the one who taunted All Might like they were playing games on a playground.

Shimura was sat on the back of an ambulance, completely unmoving. He was vaguely aware of the paramedic fidgeting his hand around so that it could be properly set and healed, but thought nothing of it. His thoughts still bringing him back inside, where the villain looked at him with those cold, green eyes.

‘And you were willing to use it on an enemy combatant when it’s clear you could kill with a single touch, he said, ‘Are you sure you want to be a hero?’

Shimura looked over the area, his classmates were huddled in small groups or being checked out like he was. All of them fought for their lives today, so why don’t they look more worried? Is it because they weren’t even in any danger because they’re already so strong? Am I that weak? No! It can’t be, I almost beat that Nomu, I doubt anyone else could’ve done that.

“Shimura-san…”

And those villains, it’s clear that the dragon-masked one was way stronger than the others, so why didn’t he have that thing kill me? Why didn’t he kill All Might? But the way he looked at me, he was impressed. What could he-

“Shimura-san,” he snapped to attention as the paramedic tried talking with him, “Shimura-san, we’ve done everything we could for your hand at this point in time, but you’ll have to be moved to get it healed completely, and to be sure that you’ll still be able to use your quirk properly.”

He nodded numbly, “Right. Are we going to the hospital, then?”

“We’ve been instructed to bring all the injured back to the school to be looked at by your nurse. If you’re ready, we can head over immediately.”

“Yeah, let’s go,” Shimura followed the paramedic to the front of the ambulance and sat down in the front seat. Through the window he could see that the paramedic was checking in with whoever was in charge.

The ride back to campus was short, not giving the paramedic enough time to ask the questions he knows he wants to. Shimura was thankful for it, opting to stare out the window as he was still absorbed in his thoughts.

Why did that villain look at me like that? Was I really going to kill him before that Nomu got in the way? Why do I feel so weak?

Still inside, Nezu and two others were observing the destruction the attack caused. The only major damage they could see was collateral damage from All Might’s fight against the Nomu, and whatever happened in the Collapsed Zone. At any other point, the damage would’ve been the focus, but that’s not what they were assessing.

“It appears there is a lapse in our school’s security that evaded even me,” Nezu spoke, breaking the almost solemn silence, “To think that villains were able to bypass the alarms and have total access to this facility is troubling.”

The hero on his right, with long dark purple hair, clad in a thin white bodysuit with a black leather corset and a set of broken handcuffs on each wrist added on, “Not to mention they also have access to a warper. Teleportation quirks are rare enough as it is, but to think one is aligned with villains? It’s giving me shivers, and not in the fun way.”

Nezu stayed quiet as he studied her face, unfamiliar with the emotion that flashed on it. Looking back down, he couldn’t help but wonder if there were other things that he had overlooked. How many times must his students and staff pay the price for his carelessness? Once had better be enough.

All Might was sitting in the teacher’s lounge once again, replaying the events in his head, thinking about what he could’ve done better, what he could do next time, when he heard the door slide open. He immediately puffed up to look at the newcomer to find a familiar face.

“Pardon the intrusion,” the man said, “I heard from Recovery Girl that you might be here.”

“Naomasa!” All Might deflated back into his small form, ushering him into a room that had a lock, “It’s no problem, please.”

All Might led Naomasa into another room, gesturing to the couch as he set some tea out for them. Naomasa Tsukauchi was a plain-faced man with dark hair and eyes, dressed in a tan trench coat with a matching hat. All Might always joked that he looked just like the detectives in the old black and white period pieces, but instead of denying it, Naomasa just laughed along with it.

Naomasa placed his hat on the table before starting, “I’d like to start off by asking you about…”

“Sorry, but tell me about the students first,” All Might interrupted, his hands raised to stop him, “Are they alright? What about Aizawa-kun and Thirteen-san?”

“Always the hero first huh?” Naomasa chuckled lightly, “Let’s see… In that order, all of the students minus the two you picked up from the Collapse Zone and Shimura-kun are in good health. They all just had minor bruises and cuts, most likely from…” he paused to check his notes, “From falling through the warp gate, and from fighting whatever villains they came across.

“And before you worry about that, all of the villains in the zones are clocked in at D-listers or below, petty criminals and the sorts. The two main villains are currently listed at A-ranks as they’re previously unknown but were able to successfully infiltrate, attack UA, and escape, and the one you fought hasn’t been given a designation yet as you’re the only one who can speak on their behalf. The two students you picked up were treated for second and third degree burns but are expected to have minimal scarring. Shimura-kun’s hand was thankfully healed all the way after Recovery Girl got to it, and initial testing shows his quirk is still functional, but he’s scheduled to check in at a later date to see if any problems arise.”

All Might heaved a sigh, relief flushing over him, “That’s very good, it would’ve been a shame to have his career as a hero be cut short.”

“Agreed. As for Aizawa, he got off relatively easily. A few cracked ribs and some facial scarring from the attack. We’re not entirely sure if his quirk was damaged since they sorta wrapped his head up all the way."

“Well perhaps he’ll finally look the part of being a mummy then,” All Might gave a light laugh.

Naomasa paused, his mouth hung open, “All Might! You’ve never made a joke that funny before.”

“I can’t take all the credit, everyone from the students to the teachers here say Aizawa-kun looks like a mummy what with his capture weapon wrapped around him.”

Having regained his composure, Naomasa continued his report, peering at his notes as he goes along, “Thirteen was probably the most injured out of everyone. Their suit was completely destroyed from having their quirk turned against them, as well as a portion of their actual body. It’s nothing too serious, but they will be out of commission for a little longer. Needless to say, given the reports I’m hearing about the leader of the attack, Kagero Shigaraki, everyone being relatively unharmed is nothing short of luck.”

All Might’s expression darkened at this, “I don’t believe it to be luck at all.”

Realizing he was about to get All Might’s statement, he pulled out a recorder, silently asking for permission to record everything. All Might nodded and took a deep breath.

All Might settled more comfortably in his chair, regaling Naomasa on the events of the day from his morning saving people, the talk he had with Nezu, arriving at the USJ, and finally his fight with the Nomu. He paused at this point to better collect his thoughts.

When the silence lasted a few beats longer than expected, Naomasa prompted him, “All Might? What do you have to say about your fight with the Nomu?”

Naomasa could see conflict in his eyes, something that is rarely ever seen on the hero, which only deepened his worries. When All Might spoke again, it wasn’t with words but with sign language. Naomasa’s eyes widened as All Might finished gesturing.

I’m going to omit parts of this fight, mainly about Shigaraki. After, I’ll come back and tell you. Off the record, he signed.

With the little hiccup out of the way, All Might recapped his talk with Shigaraki before the actual fight started, and against his better judgement, he told the detective about the Nomu having multiple quirks.

“I’m sorry, pause there for a second,” Naomasa interrupted, “You are saying that the creature, this, Nomu, has multiple quirks, correct?”

“Correct,” All Might nodded grimly, “You are familiar with Young Shimura’s quirk, right? At the start of my fight, Young Shimura mentioned it has super regeneration, as he touched it for a prolonged period of time, but when released it healed completely. He saw this quirk in action prior to my engagement, and this Shigaraki confirmed it.”

“When my men recovered the Nomu from wherever you launched it to, we all thought it was a mutant type.”

“I can’t speak for its appearance, but I can confirm that it has super regeneration and shock absorption. It hit hard as well, so maybe a strength quirk as well, but I can’t confirm that. When I was given a free chance to attack, I hit it with enough strength to level a city block and the beast didn’t move one centimeter. It felt like all the power I had in the punch simply became nothing.”

“The way you worded it suggests you believe that there is more to this Nomu than the two quirks. Can you expand on that?”

“Without speaking negatively of those with mutation quirks, its entire appearance screamed like it was made in a lab.”

“Very well, and you said that the leader, Shigaraki, confirmed the Nomu’s quirks?”

“Yes, he told me outright that its quirks were super regeneration and shock absorption.”

All Might continued his story, with Naomasa’s expression getting more and more grim. When he finally reached the end, both men settled into an uncomfortable silence. Naomasa stopped recording when All Might was finished, but made no move to continue with the parts that All Might left out. He looked to the teacup All Might set in front of him and took a massive swig, shuddering lightly.

“Toshinori, I almost don’t want to ask but at this point I need to know. What exactly didn’t you tell me?” Naomasa groaned out, dropping all formalities.

All Might was completely splayed out on his chair, his head resting on the back, staring at the ceiling, “The leader, Shigaraki, he reminds me of him.”

Naomasa sat up straight, his eyes focused once again, “Are you sure? You said that you defeated him.”

“And I believe I did,” All Might replied, now sitting properly again, “But from how he acted, it was almost like I was back on the battlefield with him. Shigaraki, he was completely relaxed and nonchalant the entire time, he didn’t take any of it seriously, like he knew he’d win if he actually fought. When that Nomu had me pinned, he didn’t go for a killing blow like others would. He taunted me when I was down, laughed when I failed, enjoyed seeing me squirm. And not to mention the fact that he apparently has access to someone or has the ability to transfer quirks to another being. The picture he’s painting isn’t a pretty one.”

Naomasa shook his head in clear denial, “The picture you’re painting isn’t a good one either, Toshinori. Are you saying that he has a successor? Or that he’s somehow involved with all of this?”

“I’m not saying any of this, but I can’t think of any other good explanations. He may not have been the one I was fighting, but Shigaraki was in control of the fight the whole time, he knew it and flaunted it. The Nomu was clearly an experiment of sorts - its strength was unnatural and given the quirks it had, it was most likely made to fight me specifically. Shock absorption to tank the hits I can give, and super regeneration to heal any damage that I could’ve inflicted on it.

“I know I defeated him, but who else could’ve created something like this? And I’m not just talking about the Nomu. I’ve run into my fair share of villains over my career, but only he and Shigaraki have made me feel almost inadequate. The similarities between the two are too close to be a simple coincidence.”

“Toshinori, breathe,” Naomasa placated, “I can’t speak to how much this guy has affected you, but I do know that you’re not one to lie down and take whatever this is.”

“I know!” he shouted, immediately backing down, “I’m sorry for my outburst, but this Shigaraki, he’s in another league entirely, I just know it. We met for not even five minutes but he’s left a lasting impression on me. That’s not an easy feat.”

Naomasa sighed, rubbing his temples, “If it’ll give you any peace of mind, I’ll personally look into this matter and see if I can’t prove that he really is back. I’ll also request some lab work be done on the Nomu to see if I can verify its origins. But Toshinori, I can’t imagine what you must be feeling right now, but you’re not alone in this fight. I and so many others have your back, and I promise you I’ll do everything I can to bring this guy in.”

All Might took a deep breath, shook his head and stood up. Naomasa did the same, walking together to the door, “Thank you, Naomasa. I truly appreciate the work you do. I pray that my worries are just those, but in the off chance, please be careful.”

“I will,” Naomasa gave him a warm smile, “You should probably visit Shimura-kun and the rest of the class. I’m sure they could use a little pick-me-up.”

A disheveled man walked the halls of UA, following a route that’s been walked multiple times before by countless people in the past. The man was dressed in a loose black outfit, walking with his hands in his pockets, face wrapped in bandages and his long black hair tied up in a loose bun, much different than how he usually wears it.

The halls were empty and quiet, but the man didn’t mind it in the slightest, preferring it this way than how it usually is. Eventually he made it to his destination, walking right up to the door without breaking his stride as it opened before him.

The room is fairly standard, two couches face each other in the middle of the room with a dark oak coffee table between them. Beyond that was a desk, made of the same material, facing the door, with Principal Nezu sitting on a lush black chair behind it.

The man walked around and sat himself on the back of the couch closest to the desk.

“Aizawa-kun! I’m glad to see you moving about so quickly. I heard that Recovery Girl was generous with the healing,” Nezu greeted cheerfully.

Aizawa grunted in acknowledgment, “The old lady basically healed me fully but insisted I wear the bandages. Such a waste of supplies.”

“Yes, she does tend to go overboard for after-care, but her heart is always in the right place. What do you have for me?”

“Unfortunately, not as much as I would like,” Aizawa drawled on, “I engaged the leader, whom I’m being told is called Kagero Shigaraki, at the start of the attack. To my disappointment, I was taken out quickly and efficiently, and was kept down for the rest of the time. I eventually came to in time to see Shimura attempt to go confront the villains.”

“Oh? I knew that there was an argument of sorts, but I wasn’t aware that this was the case.”

“I don’t know what to make of it, but there was something in Shimura’s eyes that didn’t belong there. It almost looked like he was wanting to prove something, whether that’s to himself or someone else, I’m not sure. Regardless, I think we should monitor him more closely, as well as have him and the rest of the class visit a counselor.”

“Agreed. I’m also aware that a few of your students had extremely close calls thanks to Shigaraki, so it’s best to address any lingering issues immediately.” Aizawa grunted again, “And what do you make of the leader?”

“I’m going to hold off on my full report for tomorrow so I won’t have to repeat myself, but my preliminary is that he’s dangerous, much more than any other villains we’ve come to face recently.”

Without waiting for a dismissal, Aizawa walked back out the door, leaving Nezu alone in his office. He hopped off his chair and turned to face out the window, clasping his paws behind his back. The sun was already going down, painting the sky in a beautiful orange hue.

“What are you going to do now?” Nezu wondered aloud, “Kagero Shigaraki.”

Chapter Text

Kagero walked down a dimly lit corridor, lightly stretching, his back popping a few times. He was dressed in a loose-fitting and wide-necked grey t-shirt, slim fitting black pants with the legs pinrolled, and dark green athletic shoes quietly smacking with every step. Turning down another corridor he came to face stairs leading down with a door at the bottom.

Beyond the door was a decently sized bar, the counter in an L-shape with a wall of bottles backlit in amber light. There were red topped stools with a low back lined up at the bar, with booths situated behind them. At the end of the counter sat a small TV screen, displaying the light snow of electronic static.

Kurogiri stood behind the bar and poured Kagero a glass as he sat down on one of the stools, silently sliding it in front of him. Kagero nodded, swirling the glass around, smelling the liquor within, “Bourbon?”

“Scotch,” Kurogiri corrected, “Single malt, Highland.”

Kagero let out an annoyed tsk but took a sip anyway. The TV screen blinked, no longer showing static but a black screen, indicating the presence on the other side to be present.

A voice crackled to life, sounding over the speakers, “I hope you have a more detailed report regarding your attack, Kagero, seeing as you chose to postpone it.”

Kagero placed his glass down, spinning in his chair so he was facing the TV fully, “I wanted to postpone the meeting to see if I could recover the Nomu before the police or heroes got their hands on it, but by the time I found it, the police already had it in a Maiden. I don’t know where exactly it is, but I can take a guess as to where it was transported to and spring it.”

“An unfortunate loss, but it’s nothing we can’t recover from. If we need it again you can do so, but don’t bother with it for now. I’m assuming you have data from its fight?”

“Of course,” Kagero reached into his pocket and grabbed a thumb drive, showing it off to the unseen camera, “That was another reason why I wanted to wait longer. I know how the Doctor is picky about ‘being accurate’” he said with air quotes, “and it was difficult to quantify it, but that should be good enough.”

He tossed the drive to Kurogiri, who motionlessly created a portal, sending it off.

“What of your personal account?”

Kagero took another sip of the scotch, letting out a sigh before continuing, “As you know, we launched an attack against UA. The purpose of the attack was to unsettle and shake the heroes. The schedule that we-“

“Why didn’t you kill any of the heroes that were there?” the voice interrupted, “Kurogiri tells me you had ample opportunity to kill a few students as well as Eraserhead.”

Kagero glared at Kurogiri, who ignored it as he picked up his glass and started cleaning it. Kagero didn’t respond immediately, choosing his words carefully, “I don’t believe killing heroes, or killing in general, will help us in the long run. That’s still not to say I won’t do it should the need ever arise.”

Taking the quietness as a sign to continue, he gulped, trying to hide his obvious unease, “Master, I am to be your successor, yes?” He received nothing in reply again, moving forward, “If I am to be the next Symbol of Evil, I can’t do things that close-minded.”

He closed his eyes and took deep breaths, knowing full well the things he said are borderline treasonous. They were too close too doubt, too close to insulting, and too close to being an outright denial.

“Kurogiri.”

A portal opened in front of Kagero, who looked at it worriedly. He knew exactly where the portal went and what it meant. He sighed heavily before walking through. When he reemerged, he found himself in the warehouse. The portal didn’t drop him off directly in front of master, but in the middle of rows of tanks.

Thick wires and tubes were running along the floor, each feeding into their respective places. The tanks themselves show suspended figures in various forms of development, some being as small as a fetus, others fully grown into hulking or lanky figures. Each one displayed a different Nomu. No one the same as the last.

Kagero weaved around the wires with practiced ease, making his way to the back corner of the warehouse where he knew was expected. When he got to his destination he paused before the door before him, the last thing that was separating him between him and his Master beyond. Taking one more deep breath, he stepped forward and turned the knob.

He was immediately engulfed in a wave of pain. His body collapsed at the intensity of it, his limbs were uncooperative as he tried to fight through it, willing himself to not make a noise to show any further weakness.

“Master!” he rasped out, “Please, I meant no disrespect when I said that!”

He was on his knees at this point, weakly reaching a hand towards the source. The back of the chair was still facing him, but the pain didn’t stop.

“Master! I can explain! Please, allow me this!”

After what felt like another hour of this, the pain suddenly stopped. He collapsed onto all fours as he tried to catch his breath, heaving heavily. As the pain subsided, he slowly stood back up, wiping the drool from his mouth and the sweat off his face.

“Master-“ he started, a raised hand stopping him.

The figure in the chair turned around to face him. He was dressed in a black suit and white dress shirt, top buttons undone, but his outfit was the only thing almost normal about the man. His head was bald, his face lacking the prominent features of a nose and eyes, his ears just little mounds where they should be, in their place was terribly scarred skin. Tubes were stuck into his throat, facilitating his breathing, giving the voice of the man an almost mechanical tone to it.

“I don’t allow such insolence to be spoken in my presence, Kagero,” he spoke, “Are you suggesting that I am close-minded? That I’m as simple as the common thief? That I am but a shadow of my former self?”

“No Master, never!” Kagero responded, “I am saying that killing heroes wouldn’t change things how we want.”

Again, he was met with silence, and again he slowed himself down, carefully forming his explanation, “I mentioned this to Kurogiri, and considering you know I didn’t kill any heroes, you probably already know this, but I don’t want to kill the heroes.

“Killing heroes is easy enough. I could ambush them and slit their throat before they could react, or hire a semi-competent hitman to get the job done, but there’s nothing more to it. You came to power through overwhelming force and controlling the underground with an iron fist and fear, and I want to do the same. Killing heroes spreads fear, but it’s superficial at best. It just makes them more cautious, and the only attention it garners from the underground is a sense of respect and villains whose only goal is to kill or destroy.”

“What is the problem with having strong comrades? In my time I had only fifty people behind me, and it was enough to take down the government and destabilize the country for a period.”

“Master, with all due respect, raw power isn’t everything. Surely you could agree to that. You have all of the power in the world, no one can stand up to you, but you don’t flaunt it about. You prefer to hide in the shadows and bide your time. You like to play the long game because you know that there is fun in pulling the strings.”

“Be mindful of your next words, Kagero,” he rumbled out.

Kagero gulped, he knew that he was at the edge of his Master’s patience, but he needed to get his point through if he wanted to succeed, “Master, if killing heroes was your goal you would’ve showed up at the Hero Commission’s headquarters and destroyed it, then you would’ve went to every hero school from the big ones like UA to any small school that had the slightest mention of a heroics program in the works and done the same. You would’ve razed Japan to nothing, but you didn’t. Because with everything destroyed, there would be nothing left to rule.”

The longer he spoke the more he felt his tongue loosen, he felt power in confidence in standing his ground, “I want the heroes to fear me like how children fear for monsters under the bed. I want them to know that the only reason they’re alive is because I’m the one who allows it. If I kill every hero I come across, my message won’t get spread, my influence won’t grow. No, I needed those hero students, and Eraserhead, and Thirteen, and All Might alive so that they could spread the word that I am coming. I will do anything I have to to accomplish my dream.”

At the end of his spiel, Kagero stayed quiet, maintaining his gaze on where his Master’s eyes would be. His hands were flexing in preparation for a possible attack, with smoke already pooling at the corners of his lips. The next few moments would be critical, and if played out wrong, he would be in for more pain than before. His Master looked at him impassively, the only sign of movement was a slight tapping of his finger on the arm rest and the slow breaths.

Without warning and faster than he could react, his Master shot his hand out, placing it over his head. Kagero tensed, expecting pain or maybe a tug as he fought for his quirk, but instead he felt his hair being ruffled. Confused, he looked up and saw a smile on his Master’s face.

“That’s what I was looking for,” his voice laced with pride, “Kagero, I understand why you didn’t kill anyone during your attack. Kurogiri explained to me your reasoning for doing so but I wanted to hear it from you. I needed to hear the conviction and determination in your voice before approving of your plan.”

Kagero felt his mouth open in confusion, “You’re not angry with me? Why? I know what I said, I all but directly insulted you.”

His Master removed his hand from his head, still giving him a smile, “Because you understood the danger and stood your ground. Heroes, villains, and government officials alike have insulted me but all cowered in fear the moment I gave them a fraction of my attention. They were all bark and no bite, for lack of better terms. But you didn’t back down. I could sense it in your voice, the minute changes in your posture, the heat rising from you. You were ready and willing to attack me if I acted in a way that went against your goals.

“You found your hill, and you were ready to die on it. Why would I be upset with you when you’re finally understanding the lessons I’ve been teaching you since I brought you under my wing? My hill is what I’ve built. I wanted to rule Japan, and I do. No, from this point on, I will support you with all that I have. You have my word, on the name of All For One.”

“I apologize for keeping you all here after school has been let out, but this is a problem that’s better dealt with as soon as possible,” Nezu addressed the room.

The teachers were sat in a conference room, with the desks situated in a U-shape with Nezu sitting in the middle of the bend. To his right was Eraserhead, on his left, All Might in his deflated form. The other heroes that made it to the USJ filled up the remaining seats. Stood at the top of the U was Detective Tsukauchi, giving his report and acting as facilitator for the meeting.

“Thank you,” he nodded at Nezu, “To start, the leader of this attack is called Kagero Shigaraki. According to the statements we’ve received, we aren’t able to pin what his quirk is, but they all agree that it has something to do with fire. There are mixed accounts saying that the fire can be shot from his hands or mouth, but even with this, attempting to find him through the registry will take much longer than we’d like since fire quirks are extremely common. We were also unable to find any matches regarding the warp gate user called Kurogiri.

“At this time, we’re assuming that neither quirks are registered, and the names are most likely aliases, so we’re unfortunately at a dead end there. According to the statements as well, it appears that neither Shigaraki or Kurogiri received any injuries throughout the attack, so we unfortunately don’t have a possible timetable on when the next attack could be since they’re presumably in perfect health.”

A hero in a gas mask, wearing a red cloak and a hat that made him look like a cowboy spoke up, “So we’re basically shootin’ blind, and I reckon we should be preparin’ for another attack soon. Damn, if this ain’t just a headache I don’t know what is.”

“If it’s alright with the rest of you,” Tsukauchi cut in, “I’d like to hear All Might’s and Eraserhead’s accounts regarding the attack seeing as they were the first responders. Unfortunately, Thirteen is still unavailable to give their statement, but this should provide everyone here a better clue as to what and who we’re dealing with.”

Eraserhead grunted, indicating he’ll speak first, “The short version of my account is that Shigaraki is exceptionally skilled and far more dangerous than what we’re normally used to dealing with.” At the shortness of his statement, everyone else looked at him expectantly, wanting more information. He just sighed before continuing, “I was there from the very beginning of the attack and unfortunately had minimal contact with him. The majority of my time was spent on taking out the mob of villains they brought out, but I did eventually get to him. Or more accurately, he came to me.

“He ran at me while I was dealing with a group of villains. I sent out my capture weapon to intercept, but he used it against me, pulling on it so I’d be forced to fight him; it’s also worth mentioning that he yanked hard enough to pull me off my feet and through the air. The strength was surprising to say the least as he didn’t look particularly large. He blocked my attack and my shirt sleeve caught fire, presumably from his quirk.”

“He was able to use his quirk on you, Aizawa?” the long, purple-haired heroine interrupted, “But you’re normally so good at keeping them off.”

Eraserhead sighed again, irritated at being interrupted, “Yes, he was able to use his quirk on me, Midnight. In the initial strike, he called me Eraserhead and pointed out that I’m not good for prolonged battle, indicating he knew who I was. It’s not a well-known facet of my quirk and I’ve never told anybody how my quirk works exactly, but for the sake of this meeting, I will. The longer I use my quirk, any successive use immediately afterwards drops. I can use it for as long as I keep my eyes open, but it’ll stop as soon as I blink.

“I can start it again right afterwards, but there’ll be a delay when I can activate it again, and the time it’s active will be shorter. It’s like being in a staring contest. The longest stare is the one as soon as you start, but once the first blink happens, you won’t be able to keep your eyes open for as long. Let’s say I use it for thirty seconds. Once I blink, there’ll be a delay of two seconds before it’ll activate again. The next use will be twenty-seven seconds before I blink. Then there’ll be a delay of five seconds. The numbers are random and I don’t know the rate at which the delay increases and usage decreases, but that’s essentially how it works.

“Shigaraki attacked me during that delay. The very fact that he either knew about the weakness or was able to figure it out during battle speaks wonders to his observational skills.”

In the corner of his eye, he could see Nezu perk up a little. Rolling his eyes, he continued, “Afterwards, he had me pinned and I was promptly knocked out. When I came to the first time, I noticed that villains with mutant quirks were around me, which shows that he also knows that my quirk won’t work on them, and he was attacking Shimura, Asui, and Mineta. I was able to stop the attack but was then knocked out again.

“When I came to for the second and final time, I was at the top of the stairs, surrounded by a group of students. My contact with Shigaraki was limited, but from the brief encounter I can definitively say that he is smart, tactical, and strong. A horrible combination for a villain to be.”

The others murmured in agreement, slowly ingesting the new information. Tsukauchi was writing notes down, “Thank you for that. All Might?”

All Might coughed into his hand before speaking, “Similar to Aizawa-kun, my contact with Shigaraki was short. I would also like to preface this by saying that this attack felt very focused yet not. I’ll expand on this later, let me just go over my experience first.”

Everyone nodded, silently shelving their questions, “The majority of my time was spent fighting the Nomu, and then afterwards it was ensuring the students still spread out in the disaster zones were safe. The only time we interacted was before my fight with the Nomu started properly.

“When I first arrived, I took out the remaining villains in the plaza, recovered Aizawa-kun and the students that were down there with him, as well as got a good look at the villain.” Tsukauchi took this as his cue and passed out sketches of Shigaraki for the teachers to see. “When he spoke to me, I didn’t get the same feeling of him being this cold and dangerous villain that we’ve been hearing about. I can definitely see how they came to that conclusion, but from what I saw, he seemed happy. Ecstatic even, when seeing me in the flesh whereas the other villains all cowered.”

A man with white spiky hair, wearing a yellow visor and red and black suit scoffed, “So he’s a little crazy, that’s still within the ballpark of a villain.”

“Well, yes,” All Might awkwardly replied, “But he didn’t seem crazed. His happiness seemed genuine, but then it was like a switch flipped and then he became what we know him as, but I’m getting a little off the point. That’s part of what I want to talk about later. When I went to attack Shigaraki directly, he used the Nomu as a shield. I already knew beforehand that it had super regeneration from Young Shimura, and when I hit it, it went flying and it ended up a crumpled mess. I went to attack Shigaraki again, but it’s what he said that didn’t sit well with me.

“He told it to, ‘stop playing around and fight’. When my fist connected with it again, nothing happened. It didn’t go flying, it felt like I was hitting air almost. And then, Shigaraki told me that it has more than one quirk.”

At that, everyone stilled, not expecting to hear this. Most notably, Tsukauchi and Nezu looked the palest, a detail that wasn’t missed by Eraserhead.

“The Nomu had me pinned and Shigaraki had me dead to rights. Instead of going for a killing blow like others would have, he let me up and even let me have a free shot to attack the Nomu. Of course I didn’t believe him, but at the time I didn’t want to risk Shigaraki growing impatient and attacking me alongside the Nomu, so I did as was told. I told Tsukauchi this when I gave my statement, but I aimed a punch at the Nomu with enough strength that would’ve leveled an entire city block and it didn’t budge. Not a bit. He told me that the second quirk the Nomu has was shock absorption. That was the last interaction I had with him.”

The room settled in an uncomfortable silence as everyone was processing the new information. The silence persisted for a few beats longer before Nezu spoke up, breaking it, “So you’re saying that Shigaraki is also an emotional manipulator.”

Everyone gawked at the statement, with surprise shown most on the face of Present Mic, the hero clad in a leather outfit and long yellow hair. His gaze moved between All Might and Nezu, his eyes begging for either of them to explain.

Nezu brought his elbows onto the desktop, clasping his paws and rest his chin on them, “All Might described Shigaraki as having a ‘switch’ to his personality, which in and of itself isn’t too concerning as everyone here has a switch of sorts – hero and civilian, but is still something to note. Perhaps what All Might said about him being happy is his actual personality, and the cold one is the villain persona.

“Additionally, Shigaraki was also able to get the better of All Might, not using brute strength or anything of the like, but by using words to knock him off balance. He somehow was able to hit chords within All Might that allowed him to gain the upper hand. He did the same to Aizawa-kun, but on a much smaller scale. He threw Aizawa-kun’s weaknesses in his face, and actively exploited them.

“And then there was All Might’s initial note, saying how the attack seemed focused and yet not at the same time. There has to be a reason for this, but I can’t think of it right now. From what I’ve heard and the information I gathered from my own investigation, Shigaraki was able to kill at the minimum seven people directly but chose not to do so. If his attack was as focused as All Might claims, then we surely would’ve had to send out letters of condolences, and possibly been forced to shut down but we weren’t.”

Nezu didn’t speak up more after that, appearing to lose himself in his own thoughts.

“Yes, I agree,” All Might nodded, “If this attack was really as harebrained as to simply kill me or anyone else, then we’d already be dead. I believe there was more to this than we’ve been led to believe. But then that leaves us with the biggest question: What do we do now?”

Before anyone else could speak, Eraserhead answered him, “There isn’t much we can do. We know next to nothing about the instigators of the attack, we don’t know if or when there will be another one, and we don’t know the motive. Logically, what we should do is ensure the safety of the students as well as the mental health of 1-A.”

“Surely there’s more that we can do than just that, Aizawa. Come on,” Present Mic replied, waving his hand up and down.

“Do you have any better ideas, Mic? We’re essentially chasing ghosts, and if Shigaraki is as smart as we believe him to be, he’s not going to make another big move to keep the heat off him. If we try chasing him the traditional way, it’ll end up in a wild goose chase, or worse, he’ll disappear completely.”

Tsukauchi cleared his throat, “Unfortunately, we at the station are of the same mind. As much as I hate to admit, this is a situation where we can’t move proactively, but reactively. The best we can do at this point is to help the students in what ways we can, bolster security where it’s needed, and hope we won’t have to deal with them soon.”

“I don’t like this one bit,” Nezu sighed, “But I agree with Aizawa-kun and Tsukauchi-kun. There are far too many unknown variables in this to be able to respond appropriately. Everyone, I’d like to ask you all to do your best to support the students moving forward, as well as keep your ears to the ground. Detective, I believe that this covers this meeting’s purpose?”

“It does. If we have any follow up questions, I’ll be sure to reach out.”

Tsukauchi bowed and exited the room, leaving the heroes to discuss amongst themselves. No one was willing to speak up, still thinking over the dump of information given over the meeting. Everyone’s faces were set in hard frowns, trying and failing to come up with countermeasures, blaming themselves for not doing more, praying that their integrity as heroes remains intact as the media no doubt is already writing their downfall.

How could none of them, not even Nezu, see the purpose of the attack when its unfolding all around them?

Chapter Text

Kagero didn’t return to the bar after his meeting with All For One, instead he chose to aimlessly roam Kamino, taking in the night sights.

The streets were bustling with the nightlife, billboards and signs blazing in their bright neon colors, practically begging people to come in and enjoy what they have to offer. Groups of drunks were stumbling along the sidewalk, loud and obnoxious. He would’ve crossed the street and kept walking, but he was never one to move out of the way for someone else, save Master. So ahead he kept walking, purposefully moving towards the middle of the group, shoving whoever was even slightly in his path out of his way. When he heard shouts of discontent from the group behind him, he just smirked to himself.

He continued walking, no destination in mind, reflecting on his latest encounter with Master.

He approves and accepts my plan, so what should I do now? Way too soon to do something else so big, but I don’t want to lose any momentum. Maybe recruit some new members? I only went for fodder last time, but moving forward there should be at least some people who can think beyond petty crimes.

By the time Kagero finally made up his mind, the moon was already high in the sky, but he still had more to do. He dipped into an alleyway, using the dumpsters and fire escapes to make his way onto the building’s roof before pulling out his phone and dialing. It rang four times before the line was picked up.

“Giran,” Kagero spoke, less of a question and more of a statement.

“Depends on who’s asking,” a sleezy, lazy voice replied.

“Shigaraki. I want to put a line out.”

“Oh? And what are we hoping to catch?”

“Allies.”

“I heard that your attack on UA was unsuccessful and whoever was with you was arrested. Finding people who are willing to join you after such a failure will be difficult.”

“Those weren’t allies, they were fodder. Their role was specifically to get captured, why else would I bother with purse-snatchers and convenience store robbers? I want actual villains this time, people who are willing to put in the work for the bigger payout.”

“Still a bit of a tall order, but nothing that I can’t do. Anything in particular? How many you hoping for?”

“Normal vetting, I don’t want any loose cannons or outright psychopaths. If they have some sort of honor or moral code, even better. Bring as many as you can find to the bar, but I’m capping the ones I take in at eight.”

“And my fee?”

“You’ll be compensated accordingly. If I don’t let them join, you get half, if they do, paid in full.”

There was a slight pause before he answered, but when Giran spoke up again Kagero could tell he was smiling, “I’ll see what I can do.”

The line clicked and Kagero was left alone, staring over the city. He took a big breath, allowing some fire to escape his mouth, giving him temporary warmth. He took a running start to the edge of the building and leaped across to the next.

Now to start phase two.

“Shimura-kun!” Three knocks on his door sounded, Uraraka’s voice behind it, “Shimura-kun are you all right? Everyone’s been asking where you were after you didn’t show for dinner.”

Shimura sat on the floor of his room, back against his bed facing the TV. The curtains were drawn closed and the lights were off, the room only illuminated by the TV. He sat hugging his knees, staring at the “GAME OVER” screen displayed on the game he was playing.

His mind was still playing back the events of the USJ. The scream of the Nomu, the piercing gaze of Shigaraki, the words spoken to him, everything on a constant loop in his mind. His eyes peer at the screen from just over his arms. Beyond the words, it shows his character in a bloody mess, panning to whatever it was that killed him in the first place.

That could’ve been me. That would’ve been me. Why the hell wasn’t it me?

More knocks pounded on his door, this time much louder and aggressive with an equally loud and aggressive voice behind it, “Oi, nerd! Bring your sorry ass out here before I blast your door down!”

He heard even more voices call out after this, one of them sounding like the earnest voice that could only belong to Iida. Despite the war in his mind, he still smiled as he imagined the scene outside his door. Kat yelling at whoever dared to tell him otherwise, Iida chopping his hands as he tries to explain the importance of some rule, and Uraraka’s head shaking back and forth like she was watching a tennis match as the two others go at it.

Feeling his mood lighten a little, he slowly stood back up, shuffling quietly as he made his way to the door. He opened it slowly to allow his eyes to adjust to the light in the hallway and was greeted by exactly the sight he conjured up in his mind. He raised his hand up to scratch his neck but stopped himself before he made contact.

“Hey guys,” he greeted, “Sorry for worrying everyone, it’s just been really tough since… You know.”

All three friends stopped mid action to look at him.

“Shimura-kun!” Uraraka jumped at him, hugging him tightly before immediately backing off, “Sorry about that.” She sheepishly scratched at the back of her head.

Bakugo studied him closely, his eyes flitting from him to his room behind him, eyeing the game over screen on the TV, “Some gamer you are, still stuck on that easy ass level?”

Iida was quick to admonish him, “Bakugo-kun, it isn’t polite to insult people on their skill in their hobbies!”

“Was I talking to you, Four Eyes? Not my fault the nerd is trash.”

Bakugo and Iida devolved into another arguing session, but Shimura didn’t take what he said to heart. He’s known him for years and has learned how to differentiate how he talks. This wasn’t him telling him off, this was him silently asking if he was alright.

“No,” he interrupted them, “I was just trying out a glitch I found. It was supposed to make me invincible from that point on, but I guess I did something wrong. My character reverted just before I made it to the boss.”

Again, Shimura found himself under Kat’s eyes, “Whatever. You done then?”

“Nope. I wanna get it down, the boss is still really hard to beat, even after playing it over again.”

“Shimura-kun, I must advise that you take a break for now. It isn’t healthy to play video games for so long, and in the dark at that.”

Uraraka took this as her cue, “Yeah! Anyways, we came up here because Ashido-chan and Hagakure-chan are setting up a movie night down in the lounge since we’re off school for a few days. You should come down and watch with us!”

“Ah, thanks,” Shimura gave her a small smile, “Yeah that sounds great. You go ahead, I’ll meet you down there.”

Iida and Uraraka waved as they left to round up whoever else was still in their rooms, but Bakugo stayed behind, not saying a word. Once they were out of view, Shimura let his shoulders droop and let out a long sigh.

“Listen, Ka-“

Bakugo grabbed Shimura’s shirt and dragged him back into his room, slamming the door behind them. He threw Shimura onto the bed, walked over to his curtains, pulled them apart, and opened his windows to let in the fresh air.

Grabbing the wooden chair sitting at his desk, he placed it facing the TV and plopped into it, arms resting on the back as he stared at Shimura.

Neither boy spoke a word, staring at each other, reading each other’s emotions, trying to glean some information from the look in their eyes. Shimura shifted uncomfortably on his bed as the silence dragged on, but he knew that Katsuki wasn’t going to be the one to break it, so he bit the bullet.

“Kat, listen. I- I don’t really know what you want from me. I’m a little down from what happened, so what? We’re all safe now, that’s what matters right?”

Bakugo scoffed, “As if you actually believe that. If you did you wouldn’t be holed up in your room playing that shitty game. So what actually happened that messed you up so badly?”

“Like you don’t already know, come on.”

“No, I don’t,” Bakugo stated, “I was out cold the entire time. All I remember is being transported to the mountain zone with shitty Hair-For-Brains, hearing a loud scream, finding the warp freak, then getting tackled. I woke up in a hospital bed wrapped in gauze. You know I don’t like repeating myself, so tell me. What happened?”

Shimura stared defiantly at Katsuki before finally relenting, “I almost died.”

“Yeah, no shit. Me too. And Shitty Hair, and Hobo, and Michelin Man, and apparently Frog and Grape. We might as well throw in the entire class for that matter since the extras had to fight too.”

Shimura groaned, “You’re really going to make me say it, huh? Well fine. I almost killed the Nomu, the Nomu almost killed me, and then I almost went and got myself killed again by wanting to go talk to the villains.”

“Still doesn’t explain anything.”

“Do you believe that I can be a hero?”

The question threw Bakugo through a loop, coming completely out of the blue. He froze out of confusion, his eyes blinked slowly before his mind finally caught up.

“That was our plan from the beginning. You and me, being heroes together. I’ll be Number One, you’ll be number whatever because you’ll never be as good as me. I’ll blow them to bits, and you clean up after me.”

Shimura adjusted himself on his bed, sitting cross-legged at this point, desperation bleeding into his voice, “But do you believe that I can be a hero? That I’m supposed to be a hero?” Bakugo stayed silent, not understanding what’s being said, “Something happened when I was down there with the Nomu, before All Might came back. I wasn’t thinking, I was just moving, and when my mind finally caught up to my body, my hand was on the Nomu. It was crumbling before me, screaming.

“I nearly took that thing down on my own, and then the dragon-mask villain, Shigaraki. He spoke to me. He broke down my quirk in an instant, mentioned how my quirk could be used to kill people so easily, asked if I wanted to be a hero. Of course I’d want to be a hero right? That’s why I’m here.

“But a part of me wanted to keep going. After All Might defeated the Nomu and the villains were just waiting, I started to walk towards them. I didn’t realize it at the time, but looking back, I just really wanted to touch them. Reduce them to dust. That’s not what a hero does, right?”

Shimura was scratching at his neck frantically, parts of it starting to bleed from the irritation. Bakugo was in front of him in a second, grabbing onto his hands to stop him.

“Stop that, Tenks. You know you’re not supposed to do that,” he made his way to Shimura’s bathroom, searching through the drawers until he found his ointment. He tossed it to Shimura who caught it and silently started applying it to his neck.

“You never answered me, Kat.”

“Because you already know the answer to that,” Bakugo retorted, sitting back down on the chair, “I might be Number One, but that doesn’t mean you’re gonna be nothing. You’re gonna be a hero, even if I have to beat that into you until you realize that.”

“Then why do I feel like I’m not?”

“Shit Tenks, I’m not a therapist, I don’t know. Go talk to Hobo or something, I’m sure he’ll have a better answer.”

At the mention of their teacher, Shimura’s eyes widened in remembrance, “Fuck! Aizawa-sensei wanted to talk with me about the USJ! I’m so screwed.”

Bakugo smirked, “Have fun with that, nerd.”

Aizawa was pouring over the notes he’d been given by Tsukauchi. Reading over every statement from each of his students, paying more attention to the ones that either came into contact with, or were able to view Shigaraki from where they were at. All the stories lined up, each going over the same events in the same fashion, but he couldn’t help but feel that something was missing.

He moved from his coffee table where the papers were spread out to the computer on the counter behind him, rewatching the footage they were able to recover from the USJ. Luckily, whatever quirk they used to knock out the security system didn’t affect the cameras, but watching over the footage only filled him with more anguish.

Each time he watched the clips over, he was reminded of his faults as a teacher, as a hero. Not only was he unable to protect his students from danger, but he was also taken out easily. He was sidelined not even ten minutes into the attack, completely unaware of what was happening behind and around him. When he came to, all he could do was hope that his students could fend for themselves long enough until more help arrived.

He leafed through the clips to when Shigaraki was reported to being in the Mountain Zone. Unfortunately, none of the cameras in the zone had the best angle, but it was clear that Shigaraki was watching the fight between the Nomu and All Might intently, only taking his eyes off when he was addressed by Bakugo. He continued to watch, noting down what Bakugo stated about Kurogiri’s quirk – extremely helpful for any future instances.

As the clip got to the point when Bakugo attacked Shigaraki, he paid closer attention. Through the pixelation, it was hard to make out, but he could see Shigaraki’s body move as if he was taking a deep breath. At the same time, he saw that the explosion Bakugo was releasing dissipate, and smoke started to billow out of Shigaraki’s mask.

He clicked through the different cameras again, trying to find one that had a better angle. He replayed the same moment, watching as Shigaraki took a breath, and Bakguo’s explosion disappearing. He let the clip play through to completion, noting that the strength of the attack Shigaraki released looked eerily similar to the explosion that came from Bakugo’s full gauntlet.

Aizawa rubbed his eyes, fatigued from working for so long but pushed through. Looking through the footage for when Shigaraki used his quirk again, to right before his coworkers made it to the entrance. This time, there was no explosion, but he noticed that Shigaraki had sizable balls of fire from his hands. Shigaraki looked to take a deep breath again, but this time the fires at his hands disappeared, and what came out from his mask looked exactly like them.

Aizawa’s eyes widened in realization, quickly going back to the Mountain Zone’s cameras and watching through again. He watched the clip at the plaza over again, comparing to what he did before.

So, Shigaraki can pull fire from an external source and release it through his mouth. He must have a support item that could make a fire he could use in case there isn’t already one going.

He walked to his couch, letting himself fall over the edge and landing on it laying down, an arm covering his eyes.

An unregistered warp quirk and a sort of flamethrower quirk, both extremely powerful from the looks of it. That’s one checkmark on the “What do we know” list, but that’s still nowhere near enough information.

Unwilling to work any longer, he let himself drift off to sleep. His dreams were haunted by Shigaraki’s dragon mask and toxic green eyes.

Chapter Text

A bell jingled as the bar door closed shut. Kurogiri didn’t look towards the door, preferring to finish polishing a glass with a white towel. Kagero was sitting at the bar, silently writing down notes in his notebook. The only sounds in the bar are the light scratching of his pen on paper and the low hum of the air conditioner.

“What do you want?” he called out, not stopping his writing.

The man at the door smirked. He was wearing a purple suit jacket with matching slacks, a white dress shirt underneath with the top buttons undone, and a thick gold chain could be seen resting on his neck just peeking out from under his shirt. He combed the longer fringe of his grey hair, and popped a cigarette in his mouth.

“Is that any way to greet your name twin?” he responded, opening his arms wide as if asking for a hug.

Without looking, Kagero shot his right hand out, two fingers pointing, a thin line of smoke trailing from the tips.

Kagero Okuta, better known as Giran to the underground, has a reputation of being sleazy, walking with a swagger in his step, and being worth every yen paid. He was an information broker of the highest regard, with customers and clients on both sides of the law, some as low as muggers, others as high as the Hero Public Safety Commission itself. As one could expect, he’s met with extremely dangerous people, so when he finds a scorch mark smoking next to his head, level with his mouth, he didn’t flinch in the slightest. He let out a disappointed sigh, the joke he attempted to open with fell on deaf ears.

He took a few more steps deeper into the bar, his left hand stuck in his pocket while he motioned to Kurogiri for a glass. He silently complied, pouring him a glass, placing it on a napkin and an ashtray at the seat next to Kagero.

“Since you’re here alone, I assume you’re out of luck,” Kagero guessed.

Giran took a puff of his cigarette, belatedly realizing that it was already lit, “As much as it pains me to say, that I am.” He took a swig of the glass, “It’s been a week already, and while there are people out there, no one is willing to side with you. Even knowing your backer.” He raised his glass to the TV.

Kagero closed his notebook, sitting up straighter on the stool, “Anyone you feel worth putting on a waitlist?"

"There are a few,” Giran shrugged, taking a sip of his glass, “but they’re more hung up on another character, the Hero Killer Stain.”

“Stain… He sounds familiar. He’s based in Tokyo, right?”

“Not exactly. Sources and reports say he started in Tokyo, but he’s been reported to be bouncing around the country. One month he’s in Tokyo, the next he’s up in Sapporo, then so on and so forth.”

“Well where is he now?”

“Somewhere in Kanagawa. If you want specifics, that’ll cost you.”

Kagero snorted, “No, that’s more than enough. So Stain is the reason why things are moving slowly…”

“If this Stain is a hindrance, then we should take care of him immediately,” Kurogiri interjected.

“There’s no need for that,” Kagero waved him off, “Maybe we can start a dialogue with him, see if he’s willing to join. If we can get him on our side, then all the holdouts will follow. Can you arrange a meeting with him?”

Giran took a long drag before replying, “The best I can do is put another line out. He’s notorious for flying under the radar despite the high-profile kills, and even more selective when it comes to making contact. If he wants to talk, he’ll find you.”

The conversation lapsed into silence, Kagero thinking over his options while Giran just sat enjoying his drink.

“Guess I’ll have to shake some trees and see what falls,” Kagero stated, breaking the silence, a small puff of smoke escaping his mouth.

He stood up and walked to the door that lead further into the building, leaving the two other occupants staring at each other, Giran raising an eyebrow in a question. The two stayed quiet until Kagero returned, dropping an envelope of money next to Giran’s glass.

“That’s for your work so far. Give me the shortlist, and I’ll follow up with them on my own time.”

Kagero ripped a page out of his notebook and slid it over to Giran, who took it and the offered pen, “So I’m assuming this is the end of the current deal?”

“It’s a pause. Depending on how it goes with Stain, I’ll be calling you again.”

Giran downed the rest of his drink and put his cigarette out on the ashtray. He stood up, grabbing the envelope and putting it in his jacket pocket, “Then for now, I’ll see you around.”

Kagero and Kurogiri watched him as he ambled to the door, not waving goodbye or any other form of acknowledgement. As the door clicked and the bell jingled again, Kurogiri passed a glass to Kagero.

“What will you do now, Kagero? With Stain in the picture, you won’t be getting the new members you’d like,” Kurogiri pointed out.

Kagero lightly groaned, “It’s to be expected. While we went dark following the attack, Stain has apparently been making his rounds and making a name for himself. We need to get a move on before any respect we might have had is gone.”

“Are we not going to try and meet with this Stain?”

“No. Not yet,” Kagero shook his head, “As we are now, there is only one thing to our name, and even though we know that our attack was a success, everyone else sees it as a failure and an embarrassment. No, first we need to show everyone that we aren’t a joke.”

“What will we do?”

“Killing heroes will make people think we’re copycats. Robberies and kidnappings aren’t front page stories anymore. Unless…” Kagero swirled his glass as he was lost in thought. “Master, is the Facility still up and running?”

Tsukauchi stood in front of the rolling whiteboard that showed any and everything he had regarding the attack on the USJ. At the top of the board were the sketches they have for Shigaraki and Kurogiri, the clear leader or leaders of the attack. Off to the side, just slightly below the two was the mugshot they had for the Nomu.

Having interviewed all the villains that were arrested, it was clear to him that they were nothing but pawns, and thus weren’t worth placing them on the board. Sticky notes and lists were sprawled all over, asking any and all questions.

Beneath the sketches, a checklist was written for each: Name, quirk, alias, allegiance – anything to help them complete the picture.

One clear leader, a getaway, and a strong asset. A mob of villains, no casualties, no demands, nothing. Where is the connection?

His office door opened, revealing Aizawa coming through with two cups of coffee in his hands. He handed one to Tsukauchi who took it gratefully, pulling the cap off to smell the drink. He sighed contentedly as he took his first sip.

“Thanks for that, Aizawa,” Tsukauchi sat up against his desk, “I hope you’ve got something new to add.”

Aizawa grunted an affirmative, “I believe I’ve figured out Shigaraki’s quirk, or at least understood enough of it to maybe help narrow down searching through the registry.”

Tsukauchi looked at him with wide eyes and a marker in his hand, “Well what is it?”

“Some form of pyrokinesis,” Aizawa himself took a drink of his coffee and sat in the spare seat.

“We already know that much-“

“He’s a fire breather that can’t produce his own flames,” Aizawa walked over to Tsukauchi’s computer and plugged in a drive. He scrolled through the files until he found what he was looking for. “This is the first instance of where we see Shigaraki use his quirk, in the Mountain Zone when he encountered Bakugo and Kirishima.”

He pressed play, stepping back so that Tsukauchi could have a full view. He let it play to completion before changing it. “And this is when we see him use it again right before he escapes.”

He let Tsukauchi watch the clips on his own, turning his attention to his coffee. When he noticed Tsukauchi stand up straight again, he looked at him expectantly.

“I’m not sure I’m following how you made that jump,” Tsukauchi shook his head, “The clips are in good quality, but I can’t make out what you’re saying.”

“When he faced off Bakugo, we can see that Bakugo did release an explosion right before it suddenly disappeared. If you focus on Shigaraki, you can almost see him taking an extremely deep breath at the same time. When he releases it, the flames that come out are in the same magnitude, if not greater, than what the explosion was.

“Right before he escapes, we can see that he has two fireballs on his hands. Again, we can see him take a deep breath and the flames disappear. When he lets it out again, the fire looks to be twice as strong. I hate the word, but my theory is that whenever he inhales, he draws in whatever fire is in his vicinity, and breathes it out just as or twice as strong as the source.”

“But you said that he can’t create his own fire,” Tsukauchi pointed out, “The reports from Asui, Shimura, and Mineta all say that when he moved to attack them directly, they saw the making of flames coming from his hands.”

“This is why I hate the word ‘theory’ because it’s nothing but guesswork,” Aizawa groaned, “But I still maintain that Shigaraki can’t create his own fire. It’s easy enough to create a support item that could create fire. For all we know he could probably get away with using a simple lighter. And considering the fact that Bakugo himself stated that it felt like his explosion got taken from him, I believe that’s his actual quirk.”

Tsukauchi rubbed at his forehead, “I don’t know, Aizawa, it’s still not too much to go off. Even if you were able to figure out his quirk, there’s no guarantee it’s even in the registry.”

Aizawa stared blankly at Tsukauchi before slightly nodding, “I’m aware of that, but regardless of whether this is enough to find them, it’s still best to get an understanding of what we’re dealing with.”

“Fine,” Tsukauchi relented, “I’ll look again, but you owe me more than one cup of coffee next time I see you.”

Aizawa nodded and grunted, leaving Tsukauchi behind to his musings.

Kagero sat in his room on his computer, pouring over the files the Facility had in the last fifteen years.

The Facility was one of All For One’s projects that he had been running around the time he came upon Kagero. A chain of quirk counseling offices spread throughout Japan. All were situated in poorer regions, and almost exclusively took in anybody that society deemed to have a “villainous” quirk or anything “non-flashy or non-combative”. It was the perfect setup for All For One to cherry pick the best quirks that came through.

Despite its ties, the Facility and its proponents were completely legal and had all the proper certificates and qualifications to run as a quirk counseling office. The counselors there were some of the best, and those that came in almost always ended up in a hero school, some of them even making it to UA or Shiketsu. Those that were lucky enough to eventually make it in the Top 100 became the pride and joy of the Facility.

It wasn’t an indoctrination center or anything along those lines, it did exactly what was expected. The only reason All For One bothered with it past its initial phase was because he saw the potential it had. By keeping documents and files about every quirk and user that entered its doors, he was able to keep track of any quirk he liked. This way, when he took the quirk, he wouldn’t need to train it to increase its strength. That would already be done.

Kagero opened one last folder, quickly reading over its documents. His eyes glinting in the low light, he read aloud the file name.

“Kanagawa Branch – Active Heroes, year 2XXX,” Kagero let out a light chuckle, “Let’s see who the better hunter is, Stain.”

Chapter Text

“You may not have been my original target, but you will do just fine,” an almost crazed voice declared, the man’s hand raised in the air, a katana pointing down, hovering inches above the prone hero’s heart, “May your sacrifice usher in the coming of a new era of heroes.”

“Wait! Please, I can-“, the hero’s eyes widened in pain and shock before rolling into the back of his head. The villain removed his katana, swinging it to the side, flinging off the blood that clung to the blade.

He stood over the body, taking in the pathetically distasteful costume. The fallen hero was wearing a deep blue bodysuit, complete with a tight-fitting hood. Plastered on his chest was a picture of the planet Saturn minus its rings, pebbles and rocks lay flat on his chest, having fallen from their “orbit” when the hero died.

The villain scoffed, “To think you were able to make it this far shows how rotten the system is. If only I could find my actual target, removing the small fries changes nothing.”

He walked further into the alleyway, blending into the shadows before jumping onto the roof.

The hero woke with a start, her head still foggy. She looked around the room, completely barren save for the chair in front of her and the singular lightbulb hanging between the two. The walls looked to be made of smooth concrete, with only a door on the wall facing her.

She tried to move but found herself bound to the chair she sat on. Craning her neck as far back as it could go, she found that her arms were bound behind her, attached directly to the chair’s back. Struggling a bit, she found no wiggle room and what felt like metal covering the entirety of her forearms. Looking down at her legs, she saw they were attached to the chair legs, her ankles wrapped in thick metal clamps. She huffed, realizing her arms were probably bound the same way.

Despite her bonds she still tried to struggle free. After what felt like ten minutes she stopped, realizing she was completely stuck, she puffed at a lock of hair that got loose in her struggles. Luckily, she could still move her hands, which means she could still use her quirk. Flicking her right wrist, a dark mass of shadows sprang to life. As quickly as it came to life, it was immediately dispelled. She didn’t want to risk her captor knowing she could still use her quirk.

Before long, the door opened, revealing her kidnapper. When they finally came into the light, her eyes narrowed at the sight of the mask he was wearing - a green dragon maw.

“Kagero Shigaraki,” she spat out, her struggling began anew as she tried to attack him.

To her credit, he blinked in surprise, “Well that saves time on the introductions.” He crouched down, placing a glass on the floor next to his chair before walking towards her with another drink in hand, a straw swishing with the movement. He raised it to her mouth, “Drink. I’m sure you’re thirsty.”

She turned her head to the side, “Like I’d ever drink anything you give me.”

Shigaraki rolled his eyes, keeping the glass up, “It’s not poisoned. Why would I go through the trouble of keeping you contained if I was just going to kill you right off the bat? You apparently know who I am. If I wanted you dead, you already would be.”

She eyed him a few seconds longer before relenting. She took the straw in but stared Shigaraki down the entire time. Shigaraki just watched impassively before suddenly pulling the drink away, deciding that was enough. He sat down in the chair before her and crossed his arms, just watching her.

She met his gaze head on with a glare of her own.  When seconds turned to minutes, she started to shift uncomfortably, “Look, whatever it is-“

“Esmeray Kaya, also known as the Dream Hunter Hero: Ruya. Quirk, Nightmare,” he stated, the now named hero’s eyes narrowing again as he went on, “Twilight Hero, ranked 247 overall. Forced to leave your home country, Turkey, after accidentally placing everybody in your apartment complex in a nightmare upon your quirk’s awakening.”

At the last sentence, Ruya lost started to writhe in her bonds again, “How do you know that!? What do you want!?”

“Moved to Hiratsuka with your mother at five years old,” Shigaraki ignored her, he stood up and started to circle her. “Still living with her in a nice, lush apartment overlooking the sea, using your earnings as a hero to give your mother a life of comfort. How noble, to stay true to the tradition of providing for your parent as they grow older as they provided for you growing up.

Ruya let out a scream, her normal harsh and abrasive personality being dropped entirely as panic started to seep in.

“Joined up with an agency with like-quirked heroes hoping to find a place where you could fit in, but even among the heroes there you were still an outcast.”

“ENOUGH!” Ruya screamed, the mass of shadows appearing once again. Its features forming horns, glowing red eyes peaked out from the front as a mouth opened, revealing jagged teeth and a red abyss within. With the short distance between her and Shigaraki, the shadow leapt at him.

Immediately Shigaraki’s vision darkened and his senses dulled. He felt himself stumble backwards into the chair, but all he could hear were echoes of voices long forgotten playing in the back of his mind.

I told you to stay out of my office!

Your father loves you ___, he’s just stressed from work.

Hisashi, don’t! Stop!

You want to be a hero!? I thought you loved your family!

After what felt like an hour, but only lasted for barely fifteen seconds, his senses came back to him in full force. He was once again back in the non-descript room, with a captured hero in front of him. He shuddered violently before taking a few seconds longer to regain his breath. He shakily raised his hand to his mask, retracting it so that he could take full breaths unhindered. As he finally managed to bring his heart rate under control, his focus shifted to Ruya.

Ruya herself didn’t look too good either. She was sunken into her chair as much as she could, out of breath as well. Her black-to-white hair was stuck to her face by the sweat that had accumulated. Her blue and amber yellow eyes were slightly glazed over.

“Incredible,” he spit out a glob of blood, off-handedly noticing he bit his cheek sometime during Ruya’s assault, “Your, what do you call them, Prowlers? Those don’t induce the nightmares, do they? No, no, your victims say that when they get hit they just get nearsighted. That- that must have been everything you had.” He let out an incredulous laugh, “And I’m still standing! In any other situation that would’ve ensured your victory.” He sighed, having sobered up a little.

“That was really stupid of you,” Shigaraki hissed, his tone dipping. Ruya recovered from her attack, but instantly paled as she felt ice creep up her veins. Despite being spent she picked up her efforts of escape once again. She felt one of the braces break as she pulled an arm free. She gasped in delight before freezing, Shigaraki having caught her arm with one hand and cupping her face in the other. He brought his face in close, “You should’ve tried that after getting your arm free.”

A villain stood on top of a building, listening to the sounds of the city, looking for any more fakes he could cull tonight before disappearing.

His hunt in this city, while successful, felt far less rewarding. Someone was getting in his way, reaching his targets before he could get to them. Even after his targets showed themselves, they were no longer worth culling, that much he could tell.

The first time he found his target after they had gone missing, they all but begged for him to kill them. Instead of fear or regret in their eyes, he would see something that almost looked like relief. Completely thrown off, he momentarily forgot that he was going to kill them, but instead asked them what happened.

Each time he found his target, the reply was the same. I don’t want to be a hero anymore, I’m retiring, they all said. Somehow, someone knew exactly who he was going after and beat him to them. Someone was doing his job of ridding the world of fakes. He growled in frustration, about to take a leap onto the next building when he felt a shift in the air.

He turned around, katana already drawn and at the ready when he saw a figure made of mist.

“I apologize for the suddenness, Stain, but I must ask you come with me,” the figure greeted.

Stain narrowed his eyes, raising his katana towards them, “Who are you and how did you find me?”

“I am called Kurogiri,” he replied as he bowed, “As for your second question, that is better reserved for our leader. We don’t want to take too much of your time, and after we’re done talking, I’d be happy to transport you to any city you wish so that you may continue your hunt.”

Stain eyed Kurogiri a little longer before sheathing his blade, “One conversation. Ten minutes.”

“Of course,” Kurogiri swept his arm, bringing another portal to life, “After you.”

Stain entered the purple portal and emerged in the bar. The only other person inside was a man with green hair, wearing an oversized black long sleeve shirt and ripped grey jeans. Stain didn’t need any more introductions, already aware of who he was.

Shigaraki was standing behind the bar, wiping his hands clean with a towel as he saw who came through. Kurogiri materialized in his place behind the bar beside him as Shigaraki pulled out two glasses, gesturing to one of the seats. He turned around to search the bar for a bottle before grabbing it.

“Would you like a drink?” Shigaraki asked, already pouring himself one, “I know that this is a rather last-minute meeting, so it’s the least I could offer.”

Stain didn’t move from where he exited the portal, nor did he give any sort of indication he was going to sit otherwise, so Shigaraki just shrugged. He moved around to the other side of the bar and stood in front of Stain, “Tell me something, are you aware of the influence you hold? It’s amazing, despite being a villain, you have people praising your actions on both sides. So tell me, how can a guy like you, who leaves no witnesses, have a bigger following than me? Why is it that you’re being praised while I’m being ridiculed?”

Stain’s hunched form took a step forward, slightly closing the distance between the two, “What do you want? You want me to join you on your pointless crusade? Follow someone who doesn’t know what they want?”

“Pointless? I don’t know what I want?” Shigaraki paused and swirled his glass before sitting on his stool, “You make me sound as if I’m some sort of child that’s throwing a tantrum. Stop trying to take the high ground, from what I’ve learned about you, we do the exact same thing.”

“Oh? And what is it you think that I do?”

“You kill heroes you deem unworthy, using criteria that no one but you knows,” Shigaraki threw his head back and downed his drink in one go and set the glass down. He swiveled so he was facing Stain directly, “You think yourself the judge, jury, and executioner when really you’re just like any other serial killer. You kill heroes because you like doing it.”

“That is where you’re wrong. I kill because somebody has to. Every hero I killed has been a fake. They use their status as a hero to gain fame and fortune, while simultaneously taking the title “hero” and turning it into a job. The standard for a hero has dropped, and only a select few actively stay true to the essence and history of what a hero should be.

“Nobody is willing to take action to make the changes that needs to be done,” Stain ranted on, an aura of conviction radiating off of him, “But I am! Through my hunts, I have removed the weak links, the bad eggs, the dead branches. I alone am increasing the quality of the heroes!”

Shigaraki stared at Stain, impressed by his statement before chuckling, “You’re a villain and you’ve taken lives, but the reason why you’re doing it is for the greater good, right? I bet you were even a hero hopeful once, it would answer so many questions regarding your actions.”

Stain growled and lunged, a knife appearing in his hand. He slashed at Kurogiri, nicking his arm before he could form a portal. He then threw a knife at Shigaraki, implanting itself in his shoulder as he was thrown off the chair. Stain followed up, immediately setting himself on top of Shigaraki, grasping the hilt of the embedded blade and twisting, causing him to let out a cry.

“Guess I hit a nerve with that one, huh?” Shigaraki groaned, “Kurogiri? How are you doing over there?”

Kurogiri replied through a strained voice, “I can’t move. It must be his quirk.”

“I came here because the mist man said you wanted to talk, that you had a proposition for me,” Stain snarled, “But since arriving, all that’s happened is you insult me. So, I’m going to give you one last chance. What do you want?”

Stain applied more pressure on the blade in Shigaraki’s shoulder. He groaned a little but still let out a chuckle, “You and I really are alike. You feel dissatisfied with the current state of heroes, so you take out the ones that aren’t up to snuff. I feel dissatisfied with the current state of heroes, so I break them. Our methods differ but our goal is the same, we want society to stop placing anybody with a good quirk on pedestals. You want true heroes, but I only want the best.”

Shigaraki took a deep breath, fire coming to life in the back of his throat. Stain’s eyes widened as he jumped off, just missing the stream of fire as it was released. Stain raised his katana in preparation as Shigaraki stood up.

“I don’t want you to join me,” Shigaraki touched the knife in his shoulder but winced, “Just from our little interaction I could tell that you and I won’t get along. So what I’m proposing instead is a truce of sorts.” Stain dropped his blade a few centimeters, Shigaraki took that as a sign he’s listening. “I’ll stop taking your targets if you send people my way.”

Stain’s posture faltered for a second before recovering, “What do you mean to ‘send people your way’? I work alone, I have no followers.”

“Do you not remember the first thing I asked you when you came in? Whether they’re aware of your true intentions or not, people have been following your movements since you surfaced. You’ve gained a following in the underground, and because of that, my own plans have been halted.”

“I don’t know if this is asking too much,” he started as he walked away through the door.

At the complete lack of caution or respect to what was happening, Stain dropped his katana entirely, dumbfounded by Shigaraki’s actions. Kurogiri let out an audible sigh as the silence stretched long, “I apologize, Stain. Kagero Shigaraki has a tendency to go on a bit of a tangent mid conversation. He will be back shortly. If you would be so kind as to let me free, I can prepare you a drink as we wait.”

Stain grunted and sheathed his sword, finally taking up residence on a stool, “Just get me a sake.”

Now free of Stain’s influence, Kurogiri bowed and pulled out a bottle, placing it in front of him.

“It seems that all I do is apologize for Kagero Shigaraki’s actions, but he truly does mean what he’s saying. We sought you out because we heard that everyone that would be willing to join us is too busy being caught up in your actions.”

The door opened again, and Shigaraki walked out, his shoulder patched up and now wearing a tank top. As he walked, he idly flipped Stain’s knife in the air. Not even taking a moment to take in the scene, he continued his conversation as if nothing happened, “I don’t know if it’s asking too much, but could you at least meet with some of your followers? Explain to them that you work alone, but you know of a group who you’re allied with.”

“I never agreed to an alliance with you.”

“A non-aggression pact, whatever. If you do this, everyone will win. You get to go on your hunts unhindered by me, or anyone else crazy enough to try to seek you out, I get new allies for my League, and the people that join would be able to do what they want, just under a new banner. How does that sound?”

“Your terms are agreeable, but there’s still one problem,” Stain responded, “Your group, the League of Villains, you’ve done one thing and failed. If I start promoting you, it’ll make me look bad.”

“I thought you weren’t concerned with your reputation so long as you achieve your goals,” Shigaraki shot back, crossing his arms. He shook his head before adding on, “Everyone misunderstood the purpose of the attack on UA, not like I didn’t expect that since I didn’t announce our goals, but it’s still annoying to have to explain it all the time. I attacked UA to show them, to show the rest of the country, that even the best of the best is vulnerable. Like I said, you kill heroes because they don’t live up to your standards. I break them because they’re too weak to stand up to mine.”

Stain sat quietly, contemplating his next moves. He leaned over and grabbed Shigaraki’s empty glass, pouring some sake in it and handed it over.

"I accept.”

He reached out with his own cup, toasting with Shigaraki to a successful deal.

Chapter Text

“Thank you all for coming,” Nezu greeted his teachers, “With the Sports Festival days away, I wanted to touch base with everyone and see if there are any last-minute requests.”

Aizawa immediately raised his hand, “No, Aizawa-kun, we can’t cancel the Sports Festival.” Aizawa grumbled as he lowered his hand, sinking into his capture weapon. “Even if there wasn’t a threat to our students’ safety, canceling it this late into the process would be disastrous for not just UA, but for everybody involved. Majima-kun, how are things progressing with updating security?”

A short, bare-chested man sat up straighter in his chair. His orange hair covering the entire upper half of his face, an excavator claw shaped helmet sat on the table in front of him, “They’re about as good as they can get given the widescale changes you wanted,” he tapped on the conference table, a holograph popped up, displaying a camera feed. From the looks of it, the view was of the conference room itself, “All of the cameras have been upgraded to have facial recognition with a direct link to multiple precinct servers for any and all processed criminals. The analysis is done in real time, and can work with a minimum of thirty percent facial clearance, with a ninety-seven percent accuracy rating.”

“Wonderful!” Nezu chirped, “And the sensor array?”

Majima scratched his head, dismissing the holograph, “That one is still in the works, unfortunately. The villains that attacked the USJ had the forethought of ensuring we were completely blocked out for the duration of the attack, and because warp slash teleporting quirks are rare, I don’t know exactly how to track it, let alone develop a way to scramble it. The footage we had from the attack helps, but there isn’t much data I can pull from that.”

He paused, taking in the confused looks of his coworkers and Nezu’s expectant gaze, “Oh come on now, that wasn’t even actual technical language!” Majima groaned, rubbing his temples. Under his breath he mumbled something, but no one was able to catch what he said. “No, the sensor array and scrambler aren’t working yet. I know far too little about the warp quirk to develop any dependable means to work against it. Which means,” he stressed this word a bit more, hoping that everyone else was still following, “There is still a chance that we could be attacked while the Festival is going on.”

He sat back in his chair, crossing his arms, his fingers drumming annoyedly. A heavy silence fell on the room as they processed the fact that there was still a major threat to security.

“It’s unfortunate, but this shouldn’t be a problem,” the spiky white-haired hero spoke up, trying to boost the morale, “We’ve already increased our in-person security five-fold. Principal Nezu said he was able to contract heroes to patrol around the grounds, and we’ll have who knows how many plain-clothed cops walking around as well. Adding the upgraded cameras to the mix, I’d say we’re pretty well covered. If someone tries to start something, they’ll be shut down immediately.”

“Vlad, while I appreciate your optimism, I don’t think you truly understand the scope of the villains we’re worried about,” Aizawa spoke up, “These villains, Shigaraki and Kurogiri, they aren’t your run of the mill bank robbers. Shigaraki is smart, and Kurogiri is an asset that we have no way of confronting.”

“And I think you’re overestimating them,” Vlad replied gruffly, “I’m not going to act like I know what I’m talking about when it comes to the villains, because that would be an insult to everyone that was affected, but from what I’ve heard regarding them we don’t need to worry about an attack during the Sports Festival.”

The other teachers stared at Vlad, silently asking him to carry on, “If they’re half as smart as you make them out to be, then a widespread attack is the last thing on their mind. All Might and Principal Nezu both said that there could be some ulterior motive to the attack, and I think we’re witnessing it right now.

“Aizawa, your whole gimmick is making rational and logical decisions, but you pushing so hard to cancel the Festival is the exact opposite. Take a step back and think.” Vlad could tell he had everyone’s attention when he saw everyone’s heads turn between Vlad and Aizawa. Anyone who has ever met Aizawa knows that he prides himself on non-biased and logic-based decisions, so being called out like this is unheard of. “You were attacked, but you came out relatively unscathed. All Might was attacked and came out no worse than he normally is. Your students were attacked and the worst injury was a broken hand. Shigaraki could’ve killed you and everyone there but didn’t. Do you ever wonder why?”

Aizawa hissed, “Every day since. But what about Thirteen, then?”

“Thirteen was attacked and survived, had the worst injuries out of everyone, but will make a full recovery.”

“Vlad-kun,” Nezu interjected, his paws steepled on the table, “As much as I love hearing your opinion, might I remind you that we are still on a bit of a schedule. I have an idea of your point, but I would like for it to be made in a timely manner.”

Vlad sighed, shaking his head, “I believe Shigaraki’s ulterior motive was to create fear and panic, while making us doubt ourselves. He purposefully attacked the USJ and wanted to get in our heads. He wants us to fear him, and he did that by showing us exactly how easy it was for him to do it.”

Aizawa was stunned into silence. Not only did Vlad call him out on irrationality, but it seems that he also was able to solve the problem that evaded himself, and even Nezu.

The staff liked to joke around a lot, and generally gravitated towards having Vlad on the receiving end because of his reactions, but they all forgot one thing: Vlad King was still a pro with a respectable record. He reacts accordingly based on the joke because he takes everything in at face value. With him being so far removed from the problem, he had the clearest look at the situation.

“What makes you so sure that he won’t attack the Festival?” a voice asked. Vlad turned his head to face the hero it belonged to. The hero, in simple terms, looked like a block of cement, with small eyes set near the top of his head and mouth set in a perpetual frown, “If his goal was to create fear, then wouldn’t the Festival be the perfect opportunity? Thousands, if not millions of people watch it from home, and at least tens of thousands will be present in person.”

“Because of what All Might said,” Vlad pointed at the man, who coughed up blood into a handkerchief.

“Wha- What did I say?” All Might spluttered.

“You said that he didn’t seem crazed,” Vlad pointed directly at him, “The type of people that would launch an attack of that magnitude on that many people has to be unstable to a certain degree. They want chaos for the sake of chaos.”

“But because Shigaraki acted as if he had a certain goal, he doesn’t fit that category,” Aizawa finished. He sat slouched in his chair, seemingly deflating as his head dipped ever further within his capture weapon.

“The Sports Festival should go off without a hitch, yes,” Vlad concluded.

After an undeterminable amount of time, Nezu spoke up again, “Does anybody have anything more to add?” He was met with a resounding silence, everyone still caught up in what they just witnessed, “Then I believe this meeting is adjourned. Please resume your preparations. The Sports Festival will begin in two days’ time.”

“Kagero,” the speakers on the TV crackled to life, “The Sports Festival is soon. What do you plan to do about it?”

Kagero stopped typing on his laptop to peek at the TV. As always, no video was shown, but there was no mistake that All For One was on the other end. He glanced at Kurogiri, who stood at his place behind the bar, his eyes asking if he called. With no response from him, Kagero turned to face the TV fully.

“The only plan I have for that is simply to watch it from here. I would try to go in person, but All Might and some of the students saw my face,” he responded, “I’m also certain that UA upped their security since the attack, so getting in and out of there unnoticed won’t be as easy as before.”

“Surely that isn’t enough of a deterrent for you.”

“It isn’t, but I would have nothing to gain from seeing it in person. The entire event is televised, so I would arguably get a better idea of the students’ skills than if I were confined to the stadium. The longer my exposure out there, the greater the risk I’d get found out.”

“Your penchant for caution is admirable but there are times when you must take a bold step forward. If you continue to hide out, you not only eventually lose any courage you have to take that step, but you also lose any hope of growing. You have stated multiple times that you don’t want to lose the momentum you gained, yet all you’ve done since is take heroes out of the picture behind the scenes.

“The only people aware of what you’ve done are in this room, the heroes themselves, and the Hero Killer. I heard your conversation with him, I heard the plans that you were making after Giran left, I heard what you did with the heroes. I may have given you my blessing for the long term goal, but you haven’t been making any real progress towards reaching it.”

Kagero could hear the subtle shift in All For One’s voice the longer he talked. He heard it change from inquisitive, to lecturing, to almost impatience, “Do I have to step in for you?”

Kagero lightly bristled at the tone and implication, even Kurogiri’s form faltered for a second. Kagero slowly turned his head to Kurogiri, silently he mouthed ‘water’ at him. A glass was immediately pushed forth, Kagero took a long sip before answering, trying to come up with an appropriate response.

“N-no, Master. That will be unnecessary,” he eventually choked out.

“Is it not? You’ve shown me great potential with your work, yet ever since we had our talk, you have yet to truly take initiative. Your lack of action makes me wonder if you truly have your heart set on the motion.”

“Master, if I may-“ Kurogiri tried to placate.

“No,” All For One cut him off, “I want to hear this from him.”

Kagero felt like he was back in the room in front of All For One. He could feel the oppressing force he exudes, and couldn’t help but stumble his way through as his mind raced to find a way out of the situation as close to amicably as he could, “I want to buy as much time as I can before I start making my moves. I used the USJ as a test.” He paused, trying to find the words, “Society’s been lulled into a state of relative peace because of All Might, and I learned that because of that, UA has become just as lax as everyone else. The rat calling himself principal isn’t as omniscient or omnipotent he likes to believe, and because they’re a school first, they have no real authority outside of school matters.

“The Sports Festival will be filled to the brim with heroes and civilians alike, and will probably be decked out with the best security UA could upgrade to in the time between. If I were to attack it, I’d be announcing myself to the whole world, which I’m not ready to do yet.”

“Yet you’re willing to show yourself to UA, one of the best hero schools in the country, with no problem.”

Kagero perked up a little. He heard the tone change, but he didn’t dare to get his hopes up too high, “I can deal with the heroes they have on staff, that much I’m sure of.” He shifted a little in his seat, “I can deal with random heroes showing up in the city, but having everyone on the look out for me isn’t something I want to deal with right now. That’s why I want to recruit people first, bolster my numbers and cover my blind spots.”

“Kagero, if you are looking to recruit, would it not be better if we ask around ourselves?” Kurogiri spoke up, “We have the list we received from Giran, so should we not follow up?”

He shook his head, “No, if we start going after them ourselves, we’ll make ourselves look needy and desperate. And Master,” he leveled a look toward the TV, “I’m sorry to say, but if you get more involved than you already are, we might end up with way more heat on both sides than I’d be comfortable with.”

The bar stilled, anxiously waiting for a response. Kagero tentatively finished his water and passed the glass to Kurogiri, who carefully and quietly started to clean it off.

“That was well thought out, Kagero,” All For One’s voice cut through the silence, “Very well. I’ll stay my hand for now, but I do expect results.”

Kagero bowed his head towards the TV, “Thank you, Master. I promise I won’t disappoint.”

“See to it you don’t.”

The TV clicked off, leaving Kagero and Kurogiri to stare at each other, both releasing a relieved sigh.

“Kagero, do you truly plan on not attending the Sports Festival?” Kurogiri asked, “It would be no bother to me to warp you in undetected.”

“I really wasn’t planning on it, but after that I feel like I have no choice,” Kagero lamented. “At the very least I’ll get an idea of what kind of upgrades UA made, and maybe see who they can get to work as security.”

Kagero puffed a little smoke in the air, leaning back into the chair he scratched the back of his head.

Getting into UA wouldn’t be a problem. Getting recognized would be a pain. Getting out would be even more so. Maybe I’ll see if our little helper can’t do anything about that…

His phone rang, taking him from his thoughts. Not looking at who was calling, he picked it up, “What?”

On the other side of the call, an annoyed grunt came out, “Nice to hear from you too. Listen, I don’t know what you did or said to the Hero Killer, but now I’m getting contacts and requests left and right.”

Kagero sat up, his attention fully on the conversation, “I went through most of them, but only three stood out so far. Do you want me to tell them to go to your place or are you going to pick them up?”

“Hmm, tell them to gather at Buraka Scrapyard tonight at nine, I’ll have Kurogiri bring them over. I want you here as well. You can either join them or get here however you normally do.” Kagero ended the call there.

“I assume Giran came through?”

“He did,” Kagero tapped on the bar top in thought, “Maybe there is something to do about the Sports festival after all.”

Chapter Text

Twenty minutes before nine hit, Giran walked through the door, his cigarette already lit. He sauntered up to the bar top to the seat he was at last time, Kurogiri passed him an ash tray as Giran ordered a drink. A glass of whiskey on the rocks was pushed forward, the round ice cube swirling in the liquid. Giran picked up the glass, nodding and toasting to both Kurogiri and the TV.

Taking a swig, he let out a pleasured sigh, “So where’s the Young Master at? He wanted me to come by but didn’t have the decency to greet me when I come in?”

“Kagero Shigaraki had to step out for a moment,” Kurogiri narrowed his eyes, “He mentioned something about wanting to make sure something’s ready. He should be back momentarily.”

Giran let out an unamused grunt, returning to his cigarette and drink. Seeing as Kurogiri no longer wanted to engage in conversation, he took the quiet moment to appreciate the absolute normality of the bar. The shelves were stocked with a wide variety of spirits, most of them Giran couldn’t even recognize. Licenses and certificates were displayed on one of the walls, and it had a cozy feel to it. Had someone accidentally stumbled onto it, aside from the misty bartender, they would assume it was any other dive bar.

A phone dinged from behind the bar, and wordlessly Kurogiri opened a portal. Kagero walked through, dressed in what looked like his villain outfit minus the knives sheathed on his legs, affixing his mask to his face before lightly dusting himself off. He glanced at Giran and then to the clock hanging on the wall opposite to the bar and shrugged.

“Thanks for making it out here,” he greeted.

Giran puffed a few times on his cigarette before putting it out, “Think nothing of it, but even if you hadn’t asked, I still would’ve come with them. It’s only right I introduce them myself, and besides,” he swirled his glass, watching the ice ball spin with the movement, “Figured if I got here early I could enjoy myself a bit.”

“By all means,” Kagero lazily swept his arm out, gesturing to the bar. “Kurogiri, it’s nearly nine, why don’t you bring them in.”

Kurogiri bowed as he disappeared within the mist. Returning his attention to Giran, “So what can you tell me before they get here?”

“Well, only one of them has a real record, the other two are relatively green.”

Kagero paused, his head quirked to the right, “Didn’t I ask for seasoned criminals? If they’re green, that means I’d have to babysit them.”

“And here I thought you were smart,” Giran retorted, downing the rest of his drink, “You also said you wouldn’t mind if they have a code of sorts. If they’re green, you can change them to whatever form or color you want.”

Kagero’s eyes crinkled as he smiled, his eyes taking on a dangerous glint. He was about to reply but was cut off by the swirling purple of Kurogiri’s portal. He stopped mid-thought and stepped back, allowing for more room on the floor.

Three figures walked through the portal, with Kurogiri materializing at the back. The first and tallest of the trio had spiky black hair, piercing blue eyes, and horribly burned and purple skin, staples lined the borders between the healthy and burned skin holding them together. He wore a loose fitting shirt under a ratty black jacket, black chino highwater pants and shoes.

The second was a teenage girl with ash-blonde hair and twin messy buns. Her eyes were yellow and cat-like with excitement shimmering just beneath the surface. She wore a slightly oversized beige cardigan over what looked like a sailor suit uniform, with knee-length black socks and brown loafers.

The third looked even younger than the girl. He was dressed in a standard gakuran with teal gloves and white shoes, light brown tousled hair rested on his head. Under his arm he held a gas mask and green helmet that looked like they came from a military surplus store.

Kagero didn’t move to talk with them, opting to study the new arrivals and get a clue of what he was dealing with. None of the three looked like they were going to speak either. The black-haired man was looking over the bottles on the shelves instead, and the girl looked more lost and confused the longer the silence dragged on. The boy was the only one among them that tried to appear professional, trying to match the stare he was receiving from Kagero.

Giran, while thoroughly enjoying the standoff, decided he needed to be the one to start the conversation. He stood up from his stool and hooked an arm around the black-haired man, who looked displeased by the contact.

“Guess I’ll have to be the adult in this situation,” he opened, “Shigaraki, may I present to you Himiko Toga, Dabi, and Mustard.” The girl, Toga, perked up and waved animatedly. The black-haired and burnt man, Dabi, just barely nodded his head in acknowledgement while shoving Giran off his shoulders. The young boy, Mustard, readjusted his helmet and mask under his arm.

Giran stuck a thumb out, pointing to Toga, “Let’s start with girlie over here-“

With initial introductions out of the way, whatever trepidation or nervousness that held Toga were gone, “I’m Himiko Toga! And you’re the one Mr. Stainy was talking about!” she cut Giran off, her expression dropped to a serious glare. A knife appeared in her hand as she leveled it in front of her, “Is it true? Are you really working together?”

Kagero took the change in tone in stride, “My definition of working together may be different than yours. I can tell you had more to say, so just finish it up.”

Toga held her glare for a second longer before her wide smile came back, the knife disappearing. Kagero didn’t notice at first, but now that he’s focusing on her, he sees defined canine teeth. Mild carnivore mutation?

“I wanna live in the world Mr. Stainy is trying to make. This world isn’t fun, too many people are mean. Without the meanies in the world, I can finally feel at home!”

Kagero nodded and gestured to Dabi to start. Dabi looked Kagero over before starting, “What, you don’t want to know her quirk? Don’t think I didn’t see you eyeing her.”

“Impressive,” Kagero’s eyes darted to Dabi’s, “You’re sharper than you look. But no, I’m saving that question for the end. What’s your piece?”

“I go by Dabi,” he huffed, “As for my piece, I plan to carry on the Hero Killer’s will long after he passes. If he doesn’t want me, fine. I’ll join you and help him from the sidelines.” Dabi stared Kagero down, daring him to make a comment, “He may have pointed me towards you, but ultimately I follow his will. If there’s one thing I want most out of this partnership, it’s the death of Endeavor.”

At that, Kagero was intrigued. He was used to hearing people spout about how they want to kill All Might and any other hero, but those were always weak shows of strength. Dabi though, Dabi meant what he said and truly believed he could do it.

Getting restless from having to wait, Mustard spoke up without his prompt, “I’m Mustard. My quirk lets me release a gas that puts people to sleep and-“

“I’m stopping you right there,” Kagero cut him off, “Do you even know what this is? What’s happening right now? This isn’t the first day at school, kid.”

Dabi rolled his eyes and Toga stifled a giggle, “Why are you here?”

Mustard paused, looking between the occupants of the bar, searching for a lifeline that wouldn’t be thrown. He sighed, hunching his shoulders in defeat. Kagero felt his breath hitch, his vision flickering, overlapping Mustard and a shadow of an old memory.

“I’m bullied at school and I’m unwanted at home,” Mustard confessed, “My parents, if you could even call them that, don’t care what I do so long as the only reason I’m home is to sleep. At school I’m forced into a literal bubble because they don’t want my quirk accidentally going haywire. The kids kick it around and cover the vents so I run out of air to breathe. I’m tired of being put down for something that I had no power in choosing.”

Mustard looked up at Kagero, his eyes shining with determination, “I’m here because the heroes made my life turn to absolute shit. They preach about how ‘anyone can be a hero’, but what they’re really saying is ‘anyone with a cool and flashy quirk can be a hero’. Because my quirk isn’t cool, it gives everyone the right to push me down, and I’m sick of it. I want to change how society looks at quirks.”

Kagero was impressed. Not only are their goals aligned with his, but there was also enough wiggle room in their goals to fit his. He made eye contact with Giran, who just smirked.

Giran started a slow clap, “Well done everyone, I couldn’t have said it better myself. Now Shigaraki, anything you have to say to these wonderful, upstanding citizens?”

“You all aren’t half bad, but only one of you has a body count, and while that’s not necessary, I need to know just how far you’re willing to lose yourself, particularly you,” Kagero pointed at Mustard, “You’re just a kid. You’re jaded and have a major chip on your shoulder, but you’re way too young to seriously be considering this path.”

“Are you actually a villain?” Dabi laughed, “What villain tries to make others reconsider their life’s choices?”

“The kind of villain that isn’t single minded.” Kagero shot back, “Or an absolute scum of a person. I may be a villain, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have standards. Now Mustard, are you one-hundred percent certain that you want to continue down this path? It won’t be easy and it will involve blood.”

Mustard fiddled with his helmet and mask in thought. All the while this was going down, Toga sat herself down on one of the stools and was lazily spinning herself around, seemingly lost in her own world while she waited for whatever was happening next. Mustard finally came up with his answer.

“I’m sure. There’s nothing at home for me, and no one I care about. I’m starting over, and if it means I’ll have to kill someone to prove it, then I will.”

Kagero studied him closely, Young, impressionable, willing to get his hands dirty. He moved on to Dabi, who noticed and matched the look, Arrogant, observant, clear motivation. Finally he looked at Toga, who was now sipping on a drink that Kurogiri must have given her, Outcast, carefree, already ingrained in the life.

Kagero reached up to his mask and retracted it, “Fine. Kurogiri, get Giran his payment for the lot.” Hearing that, Giran gave a lazy bow in gratitude. “As for you three, welcome to the League. As a formal introduction, my name is Kagero Shigaraki, over there behind the bar is Kurogiri. Toga, Dabi, what’re your quirks? And Dabi, Mustard, your names.”

Having received his payment, Giran cut in quickly before they got started, “I’ll take my leave, then. Shigaraki, I’ll let you know if there are any more.”

Again, now that the boring stuff was out of the way, Toga was back to her cheery self, “My quirk is called Transform! It lets me change into anybody I want so long as I drink their blood. The more blood I have, the longer the transformation holds.” She pointed to her teeth, “My canines are sharp so that I can bite into people and drink their blood directly, but I don’t like doing that unless they’re cute!” She crossed her arms in an X.

That explains the teeth, but what was the source for the change?

Toga seemed done with her explanation and was looking towards Dabi with interest. He sighed and brought his hand up, conjuring a ball of blue fire. Kagero’s eyes sparkled, That will pair perfectly. “That’s my quirk. As for my name, I don’t know you well enough to give it to you, so you’re stuck with Dabi. I’m not budging on this.”

Mustard shifted on his feet, “I’m not giving you my name either. If I’m starting anew, then I want to leave everything of my old life behind.”

“Kurogiri, bring them to the warehouse,” Kagero abruptly changed the topic. He addressed the group, “I want to get a feel for your skills, so we’re going to have a little test.”

That was all the warning they got before portals opened beneath them, swallowing them in the darkness.

Shimura grunted as he was slammed onto the mats once again. He immediately swept his legs around, catching his opponent off guard. Getting back on his feet, he jumped at the downed opponent. From there, the fight devolved into intense grappling. He made sure to always keep a finger up so he doesn’t accidentally disintegrate his opponent, a weakness that was constantly exploited as his opponent kept grabbing the extended finger and wiggling out of a hold.

Shimura was able to secure the opponent’s arm, seconds away from getting them into an arm bar before he felt a jolting pain in his right hand. He let go in shock, scrambling away.

“Shimura? You okay, man?” Kaminari questioned. “I swear you had me for good right then.”

Shimura cradled his right hand, shaking it off lightly, “Yeah, I’m good. My hand just acted up.”

“Is that normal? I thought you said Recovery Girl healed it for you,” Kaminari asked as he stood back up. He grabbed a water bottle and handed it over.

“She did,” Shimura nodded thanks, “Like, I can still use it and my quirk just fine, but my hand just randomly flares up in pain from time to time. I already asked her what’s wrong, but she couldn’t find anything.”

“That’s the hand that got crushed, right?” Shimura flinched at the memory, Kaminari immediately back tracked, “Right, right, sorry about that.”

Shimura waved him off, instead busying himself with taking a long swig of the water.

“But hey! Thanks for agreeing to spar with me! I know I’m not the best fighter in the class, but if I can keep up with you, I know I can do well in the Sports Festival,” Kaminari tried to lighten the mood.

Shimura smiled, happily taking the change in topic, “You and me both. But if I’m being honest, I think you’d do better than I will.”

“What do you mean?” Kaminari frowned in confusion.

“I mean, your quirk is way more versatile than mine,” Shimura explained, “You’ve got good offense and defense, while I’m only really good for offense and clearance.” And killing… his mind added on.

Kaminari waved his hands in front of him, “What? No way man. I have basically no control over it, and a limited amount. Not to mention, if I go over that, I get all ‘wheey-ie’,” he emphasized as he acted out his “Whey State” as he jokingly called it.

Shimura hummed in agreement and gave a small smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes, “But you can still touch people and have decent range. I have my gloves, but something tells me I won’t be able to use them for the Festival, and the only way for me to use my quirk is if I’m in close contact. If I make it to the final round, I won’t be able to fight properly.”

“Okay, first. It’s when you make it to the final round,” Kaminari quickly reassured, holding up his fingers as he counted his points, “And B, you don’t even need to fight to win a match. All you gotta do is grab their arm or something and boom! They’re forced to surrender.”

“I thought the whole point of the Sports Festival was to show off your quirk?”

“Oh yeah,” Kaminari quickly conceded, “But when you make it to first place, I don’t think people will care about your quirk since all they’ll want is to work with the winner. Besides, there’ll be what, three events total? I bet you could show them what you can do in the first two rounds.”

Shimura’s eyes widened in realization. He turned to Kaminari and gave a real smile, “I totally forgot about the first two events! Thanks, Kaminari!”

Kaminari flashed him a smile and gave him a thumbs up, “No problem, dude! Now come on, let’s get cleaned up. I hear Bakugo’s making dinner tonight, and I wanna hide all the super spicy spices before he gets started. He makes great food, but I swear he no longer has taste buds.”

“You’re just weak against spice.” Kaminari stuck his tongue out and headed to the showers.

Shimura chuckled and shook his head, amused at his friend’s antics. The Sports Festival is my chance to prove I can be a hero, I can’t let this go to waste. He shook his head in determination. He was going to win the Festival, and when he did, he’d give a nice big middle finger to Kagero as he bit into his gold medal.

I am a hero, damn it.

Chapter Text

Shimura felt the crowd as soon as he and his class entered the tunnel. He could feel the soundwave of the crowd get funneled in and focused on the students waiting for their cue. If he placed his hand on one of the walls, he could feel it rumble from the spectators in the stands above him. He was in complete awe at the whole spectacle before him.

“Wow,” Sero remarked, “It’s like an earthquake in here. It’s crazy to think how many people are probably standing right over us. It’s pretty intimidating.”

“Speak for yourself, man,” Kirishima knocked his hardened fists together, “Hearing those screams out there is amping me up! I can’t wait to start this thing!”

“Everyone!” Iida’s voice cut through the conversations, “The Sports Festival is going to begin momentarily! Let us all prepare to exit and give our best performance for all!”

“Not the best rallying speech, Vice Pres,” Kaminari chuckled, “But it’s alright cause I’m ready to go!”

Shimura stood besides Uraraka and Bakugo, letting his classmates’ excitement and nerves wash right over him. He was too busy trying to think about how he could stand out in the Festival.

Everyone’s going to be trying their hardest today, but here I am, about to willingly handicap myself. How can I even bother to stand in the same stands as them if I won’t try my hardest myself?

He felt a nudge on his arm, looking over he saw Uraraka giving him a concerned look, “Are you alright Shimura-kun? You’re looking kinda…” she waved her hands above her head aimlessly, unable to find the word.

He gave her a shy smile, he brought his arms up and lightly rubbed on them, “I think I’m okay. I’m just getting a little nervous about this whole thing.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” she gave him a warm smile. “It’s crazy to think we’d be doing this so early into the year, especially when we barely got any training done.”

“That’s intentional, Round Face,” Bakugo cut in. “This is when we first get looked at by pros. If we show them how good we are with only a few weeks of training, they’ll know we’re the real deal and they’ll want to work with us.

Uraraka brought a finger up to her chin, “Yeah, that makes sense! I hope I-“

She was cut off as Present Mic’s voice sounded out over the speaker system, “YEAAAAHHHHH!! Swarm, mass media! Gather around, one and all! The UA Sports Festival is about to begin!”

“Guess it’s time to go,” Uraraka flashed Shimura a determined smile.

“Alright class!” Yaoyorozu’s voice sounded out over a megaphone, trying to talk over Present Mic’s introductions, “We’re about to head out! Even though this is a competition, I’d still like for us all to work together if given the chance so that we can all make it to the finals! Good luck to everyone!”

A chorus of cheers came up from the gathered students. Shimura shook himself out, willing his nerves to calm down. He felt Bakugo slug him in his arm. The silent reminder that he had his friend next to him helped calm down all the way.

I got this.

“… you know who they are! The rising stars who faced down villains and came out stronger and brighter than ever! From the first-year’s Hero Course, CLASS 1-A!”

The class exited the tunnel and nearly stumbled as they were met with the combined force of the bright sun and the intensity of the crowd’s excitement. Every seat in the stadium was filled, the occupants yelling and cheering and shouting as they finally got to see the competitors.

“Wow, I guess what we felt in the tunnel wasn’t exaggerated at all,” Kaminari remarked, smiling and waving at everyone, playing up the crowd.

“Next up! They may not have gotten the attention, but that doesn’t mean they’re pushovers, introducing Hero Course, CLASS 1-B!” Present Mic continued his introductions as the other classes came out of their respective tunnels. The cheers were still deafening, but noticeably less than for their own entrance.

Class 1-B came out of the tunnel to their left, all of them in similar states of awe at the spectacle. Shimura glanced over to see the members of his sister class. He saw a wide variety of people, but what stood out the most was the number of stink-eyes he was getting. A fair amount of the students were glaring at both him and the rest of his class, most notably was from a boy with slicked blond hair and light blue eyes. Not knowing what to make of it, he returned the glares with a confused look of his own before turning away to look over the crowd again.

“Now, coming from our General Education track, Classes 1-C, D, and E! Don’t take your eyes off these students, they’re full of underdogs that can turn the tides!”

“Man, is there really any reason for us to be here?” he heard someone from the General Education voice, “We’re only here to make the Hero Course look good.”

“Well that may be true, but at least we aren’t from Management,” another replied, pointing a thumb behind them.

Shimura followed the thumb to what he assumed was the Management slash Business course. They were still waiting in their own tunnel, waiting for their cue, but Shimura saw their point. Every one of them looked utterly disinterested, choosing to stand in small groups, huddled together talking about whatever it is they’re going over.

“Coming out of the tunnels looking like some crazy cyborgs, our Support Course students, Classes 1-F, G, and H! Last but not least, rounding out the classes, we have those from our Business and Management Course, Classes 1-I, J, and K!”

There wasn’t much pomp for the last few groups, as it was clear the only reason they were there was because they were forced to be. With all eleven first-year classes out on the field, they gathered in front of the small stage set up in the middle.

From behind the stage, the students could see who the referee for this year’s Festival would be. A smock of dark purple and spiky hair showed up behind the stage, followed by red domino shaped glasses. A few steps later, the R-Rated Hero: Midnight came to view in all of her sultry glory. With the referee properly introduced, the crowd’s yells seemed to reach a second crescendo.

She took center stage, brandishing her cat-o-nine-tails whip and flicking it to the side, causing another round of ‘whoops’ to be heard.

“Welcome to this year’s UA Sports Festival!” she opened, “Now that all the classes have gathered, a word from our student representative…” She paused for dramatic effect, the audience waiting with bated breath as she let it ride out, “Tenko Shimura!”

He heard his classmates’ jaws drop on the floor. Shimura himself blanched in shock.

“Woah, Shimura. I didn’t know you beat Bakugo in the entrance exam,” the big-lipped student, Sato, commented.

“It would make sense that the student representative is the person who placed first,” Iida commented.

“Shut it, Big Lips,” Bakugo bit, “The nerd only beat me by a few points for some bullshit reason. But I scored more in Villain Points!”

Off to the side, another snide remark came from a girl from General Education, “First place in the entrance exam for the Hero Course, maybe.”

“Tenko Shimura, come on up!” Midnight prompted again, completely ignoring his inner turmoil.

The people in front of him parted, making a path for him up to the stage. He anxiously scratched at his throat and stepped forward. When he finally made it to the stage, he stared out at the audience.

“Uhh,” he tapped on the microphone, causing feedback to sound out through the speakers. He saw his classmates and teacher wince in response, “Uhh, to be completely honest, I had no idea I was doing this. So, here I go?” He took a deep breath, looking over at Midnight for reassurance. She smiled and gave him a nod.

He cleared his throat again, “Everyone standing before me earned their right to be here, whether in the Hero, Gen Ed, Support, or Business Course.” He paused again, trying to gather his thoughts, taking in the audience’s silence as he was searching for motivation. As if on cue, his hand flared up in pain again, immediately reminding him of what he bore witness to at the USJ.

“On the first day, my class was told that it’s a hero’s job to correct the unfairness in the world. Then, on the fourth day of class, we saw just how unfair the world could be.” He saw some of his classmates nod their heads solemnly, clearly remembering the USJ.

“It’s unfair that some of the students in Gen Ed couldn’t make it into the Hero Course when I’m sure they have amazing quirks for a hero.” He heard gasps come from the General Education area, more than a few of the students’ eyes were wide and had their jaws open.

“It’s unfair to the students who are here competing today when they’d probably rather be tinkering,” he gestured towards the Support Course, getting a few nods, “Or… whatever it is the Business students do.”

One of the students in the back yelled out, “Fair enough!”

Shimura looked straight into one of the cameras he knew that was focused on him, “It’s unfair that my class was attacked. But you know what? That’s fine, because we’re all still standing. We’re putting ourselves out there to show that we. Are. Strong. We’re all heroes, whether in name or ideals, and we will do anything and everything we can to make everything fair again.

“So this is a challenge for you. I’ll be giving it my all today to win this, and I’ll be giving it my all to make my dream come true. The same could be said about everybody here. We’re all going to move forward, and nothing, nobody will stand in our way. We’re all going to go beyond…” Shimura trailed off.

“PLUS ULTRA!”

The stadium and students alike erupted in unity at the school’s motto.

Shimura stood stunned on the platform, both ashamed and proud of what he just said. He went completely off track with where he wanted to go with his speech. He didn’t mean to say half of the things he did, and he certainly didn’t mean to call out a certain villain that was no doubt watching this very moment, but he somehow turned it into a pretty inspiring speech. He lit a fire under everyone’s seats, one that he’s sure wasn’t going to go out, no matter what was thrown at them. He felt pride in his classmates at their tenacity as he stepped down.

As he rejoined his class back on the field, he received more than a few back pats and words of thanks and encouragement. He was sure that his friends and classmates were praising him for his passionate speech, but he wasn’t paying attention.

What the hell did I just do? That was so stupid! As if we needed another reason to have a target painted on our backs. My stupid mouth is gonna get me killed.

Midnight retook her place on the stage, “What a way to start off the Festival! What do you all think?” She was met with yells once again, flashing a smile before cracking her whip. “Now hush, Mommy’s speaking. It’s time for the first event!”

Kilometers away in the bar, Kagero, Dabi, and Kurogiri were watching the Sports Festival kick off. Kagero sat at his normal bar stool, nursing his gin and tonic, staring intently at the TV. He saw Shimura-chan step up to the stage, he leaned forward in interest, cranking the volume up so he could hear what he was saying.

“… and nothing, nobody will stand in our way. We’re all going to go beyond…” the little Shimura-chan said on the TV. He was staring right into the camera, making it look as if he was staring right at Kagero.

“Oh? Is that a dare, little Shimura-chan?” a dark chuckle left his mouth, a puff of smoke soon after.

Dabi caught his comment, “So that’s the brat you were talking about? He looks crustier than me. What’s so special about him?”

“He’s a wolf trying to live among sheep. I know it.”

Dabi gave him an unimpressed stare, “Uh huh. Right. As much as I enjoy day drinking with my new illustrious leader, why keep me here when you’ve got the other two out?”

“You’re way too noticeable. Even if you cover up, you’ll look even more suspicious. Mustard’s still a kid with a clean slate, and Toga’s quirk lets her look like anyone. Why would I send someone that stands out so much to spy around a place crawling with heroes?”

“I’m not talking about why I’m not at the Festival. I’m not stupid enough to think I could sneak around there,” Dabi drawled, swirling his own glass. “I’m talking about why keep me cooped up here when I could be doing literally anything else.”

Kagero turned the volume back down on the TV, spinning in his stool so he faced Dabi, “Because you and I will pair together well. I wanted us to get a little closer.”

“I don’t swing that way,” Dabi immediately shot out.

“I’m talking about quirks, idiot. I’m not gay either,” Kagero rolled his eyes. He took another sip of his drink before pushing it away and rolled up a sleeve, conjuring a ball of fire just like Dabi did, “I’m a fire type as well, but I’m limited to white.” Kagero’s eyes focused a little as he willed the fire hotter, the color changing from orange to yellow to white, emphasizing his point.

“Kagero Shigaraki, please don’t start fires in here. I don’t want the alarms to go off again,” Kurogiri admonished.

Kagero let a breath out, releasing the fire as well.

Dabi continued to look unimpressed, “So? I’ve seen plenty of fire quirks. Yours is nothing special.”

“Maybe, but neither is yours.” Kagero shrugged, swiveling so he’s back to facing the bar. “You can produce blue, but based on your scarring, you can’t maintain it too long else you’ll burn up. I’ll bet you learned that the hard way, right?”

Dabi tensed ever so slightly. Kagero smiled in amusement and kept talking, “Every fire user has the same basic weakness: we can’t sustain the fire too long or we risk burning ourselves. Your threshold is probably a lot lower than most of ours.”

“What’s your point?” Dabi asked, still slightly on edge. “Unless you’re saying you can somehow get rid of that problem, I’m no longer interested in this conversation.”

Kagero gave an amused huff, “Lighten up a little. I’m just trying to figure out what makes you tick, but I am serious about me wanting to get to know you better. With your fire and my quirk, there really isn’t too much that can stand in our way.”

“What is your quirk?” Dabi inquired, “There’s no way you’re just a simple thrower. Your mask looks like a dragon and you release puffs of smoke from your mouth, but you just showed me a fireball.”

“Misdirection,” was all Kagero said, as he blew a small plume of smoke at Dabi.

Dabi’s nose scrunched as he inhaled it. He waved at the smoke to dispel it, and when it cleared he tried to shoot back a response, but Kagero already turned the volume back up on the TV, his attention glued to the events, apparently finished with the conversation. Thrown off by the complete lack of a proper conversational flow Kagero follows, he shook his head and downed the rest of his drink, the liquid burning down his throat. That was a can of worms for future Dabi.

“Kurogiri, let me get another one.”

Mustard walked around the stalls that littered UA’s grounds, utterly disgusted by what he was seeing but doing his best to hide it. He dressed in his casual clothes with a simple white t-shirt with blue trim and matching blue shorts. Besides him strolled a teenaged girl with the mid-length hair, the same shade as his, wearing a light pink skirt with a hood under a biker-styled jacket with long brown boots. She was carrying a small peach colored purse, swinging it around as she walked with a skip in her step. To everyone else, it just looked like a sister taking her little brother out to the Festival.

“I don’t get why we’re here,” Mustard lamented, “It’s not like we’re actually going to be watching the events go on."

The girl giggled and pat his head, “Aww, don’t be so bummed out. Shi-kun wanted you to get more experience with this sorta stuff! So you get to hang with your favorite big sis all day long!”

Mustard groaned, “But what do we even do? All we’ve done so far is walk around looking at the stalls. I thought we’d be sneaking around the stadium or school.”

He was immediately pulled to the side, away from the main crowd. In front of him, the face of the girl whom Toga was impersonating was right in front of him. He felt a knife lightly press itself into his shirt.

“First things first,” Toga started, her voice taking a serious tone. “When out on a mission, a stealth and recon mission, you never talk about it. You don’t know who could be listening in.” She pressed the knife further.

“Second thing, whatever you think you know about sneaking around from movies or whatever, it’s nothing like that. What did you notice when we were walking around just now?”

Mustard’s eyes were filled with fear. He completely misread Toga when he met her a few days ago. He knew that she could be serious, but she’s downright terrifying right now. It took a little while for him to realize that she asked him a question, but he was drawing a blank.

Toga seemed to pick up on that as well, heaving a large sigh before she withdrew her knife. She stepped back and took a calming breath, “If you want to survive, you need to take this seriously. The people here aren’t your friends. Heroes haven’t, aren’t, and won’t save you. You either live or you die in this world, and how you’re acting, you’re going to die. Go call Kurogiri, I’ll do this myself.”

Like a switch was flicked, Toga went back to the preppy girl that he met her as. A carefree and deceptively genuine smile plastered on her face as she skipped away to fade into the crowd.

Mustard watched her go as he released a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. He stayed against the wall he was pushed against as he reined his heart rate in. Exactly what did he get himself into?  

Chapter Text

The UA Sports Festival, a yearly televised event that showcases UA’s students. Civilians and pro heroes alike watch the three-day spectacle in awe as they see the best-of-the-best duke it out in a tournament style competition.

The event is held once a year, spanning three days to cover the three different years of the students attending. After the advent of quirks, tried as they did, the world could no longer hold the centuries-old Olympics like they used to. Quirks were an unknown and untested factor, and given that some quirks gave people boosts that increased their strength, speed, or stamina, it was deemed unfair to those who were unfortunate enough to develop quirks that gave none of those benefits.

Over the years, the Olympics lost its worldwide popularity, and people moved on. Now, at the very least, the citizens of Japan have flocked to watching the UA students beat each other up. For civilians, it was a great way to see the skill of the future heroes that graduated out of the school. They had security in knowing their future was safe and secured. For pro heroes, it was a great way to measure and gauge a student’s potential, see if they’re worth investing their time and efforts in to mold them into an even better hero. Of course, having the bragging rights of saying you helped mentor some of the newest rising stars is its own rewards.

To any child, adult, and even other pro heroes that didn’t go to UA, competing in the Sports Festival would be a dream come true. It would be the absolute best time of their life.

Tenko Shimura was having the worst time of his life.

“I can’t believe this!” Shimura wailed as he looked at the scoreboard. “After I talked up such a big game, I come in at thirty-fifth place!”

A few snickers could be heard from the people who finished near him. The blond from 1-B that was glaring the hardest at his class was laughing crazedly with his arms spread wide palms up, “So much for mister ‘I placed first in the entrance exam’. Guess you’re not as strong as you thought.”

“Monoma-kun,” a quiet girl spoke up. She had straight black, shoulder length hair in a bob-cut, her face showing a neutral look, “He placed ahead of you.”

Unphased by the demure girl’s comment, Monoma continued his cackles. Shimura sent him the hardest glare he could muster. Everyone that caught a glimpse of it felt a tinge of hostility and turned away, heckles caught in their throats. The classmates that caught it gave sympathetic smiles and waves, all eventually awkwardly looking away. He scratched at his neck before sulking away to the outskirts of the designated area.

He didn’t want to stand around his friends despite their clear attempts at trying to wave him over. He ignored them in favor of wallowing in his own self-pity. That didn’t stop them from trying to reach him.

“Shimura-kun!” Uraraka yelled, her hands cupped around her mouth, “Shimura-kun, over here!”

I could’ve easily come in the top fifteen if not for that rope bridge and pit. You try crossing that thing with only eight fingers, see how well you do. Only a monkey could do it that easily. Who the hell designed the course anyway?

Midnight gave the gathered students a few more moments to catch their breath before moving forward, “Only the top forty-two from this round gets to move on! If you didn’t make it, don’t worry! We have some things lined up for you to show off in that’ll happen before the final event!

“But now, onto the next round!” Midnight raised her whip into the air and pointed to the jumbotron screen in the stadium, “Anyone have any guesses as to what it is? Anyone just dying in suspense?”

The screen displayed a colorful spinning wheel with all the possibilities. It was going just fast enough so that no one without enhanced perception could read, something that Shimura found annoying.

The wheel finally stopped spinning, and the screen was filled with ‘CAVALRY BATTLE’ spelled out proudly. Shimura couldn’t stop the groan that came out of his mouth. The students around him couldn’t help but chuckle at his obvious displeasure.

“A cavalry battle…” Kaminari trailed off.

“I wonder how this is gonna work,” Sero commented, scratching at the back of his head.

Midnight was getting visibly irritated, pointing her whip at the two, “If you give me a little time, I’ll explain it to you! Now shut up and don’t interrupt me again, or else you’ll be paying for it later.”

Both boys immediately shut their mouths, nodding in understanding.

“The basic rules of this event are the same as what you’re familiar with – you’ll form teams of two to four, with three ‘horses’ and one ‘rider’. This time, only the rider will be wearing a bandana, and if you lose it, you’re not out. The big difference is that each of you have been assigned a point value, based on how you ranked in the first event!

“The points start at five at the bottom, so forty-second place is worth five points, forty-first is ten, and so on and so forth. You following? Pop quiz! What’s first place is worth, then?”

One of the more scholarly students raised their hand, “Miss Midnight! I believe they’re worth-“

“That’s right!” Midnight talked over them. “First place is worth ten million points!”

Everybody’s attention immediately turned towards the first-place winner. Those that were standing near them spread out, giving them a wide berth so they were standing all on their own. In the middle, a boy with red and white hair split right down the middle, stood. The white side sported a grey eye while the red side had a bright blue eye with a hideous burn surrounding it. His face sat expressionless, nothing betraying any emotions he may have felt.

Midnight’s eyes shone with mischief, “As the son of a top pro, you’re probably aware of your situation, but for those who aren’t, listen up! Those at the top are surrounded by pressure on all sides, so we here at UA are doing what we can to prepare you for the future. You know our motto, right? The match will last fifteen minutes…”

Shimura drowned out the rest of Midnight’s explanation, having heard enough to get the gist of the event.

These events are stacked against me. No chance to really showcase my skill, especially in a team-based setting like this. How the hell am I supposed to make it past this round?

“You have fifteen minutes to form your teams!” Midnight announced.

A portal swirled behind Kagero and Dabi at the bar. Dabi craned his head to see who came through, but Kagero kept his attention to the TV, already knowing who it was. Mustard walked through, no worse than when he left, but with noticeably red eyes, as if he were crying. Dabi looked him over again before smirking.

“Aww, did someone’s feelings get hurt?” Dabi fake cooed. “What happened, little guy? Get separated from your mommy?”

Mustard quickly wiped at any residual tears that remained on his face, “Fuck you.”

Dabi chuckled, “Woah, aren’t you a little young for using such adult words?”

A balled-up napkin hit Dabi in the forehead, “That’s enough, Dabi.”

Kagero had muted the TV, the screen displaying a wide shot of everyone participating in the second round. He was now facing the new arrival, a lazy but sharp eye looking him over, “Why are you here and not with Toga?” Disappointment apparent on his voice.

Mustard balled his fists, trying to appear more sure of himself than he felt, “Toga sent me back, said that she wanted to finish the mission on her own. That she works better alone.”

“Not bad for your first try. Not bad, but could use more work on sticking to it,” Kagero slowly replied, his arms crossed, nodding his head.

Mustard stilled in confusion, “Thank… You? That’s basically what Toga said, that’s why I’m back here.”

Dabi was leaned up against the counter, he snickered at Mustard’s obliviousness.

“That’s not what he’s talking about, twerp.”

Mustard looked between Dabi and Kagero, utterly confused. Kagero still looked like he was following exactly what Mustard was saying, but Dabi’s snickers were slowly growing into a chuckle.

“What is it?” Dabi’s laughs were getting on his nerves, and Kagero’s silence wasn’t helping. He was growing more frustrated the longer both went on. Mustard crossed his arms and was seconds away from stamping his foot before Kagero spoke again.

“How are you supposed to learn if you’re given all the answers?” Kagero replied, already turning his attention back to the TV, “You’ve got until the end of the second event to figure it out.”

Kagero unmuted the TV and swirled his glass before downing the rest.

“So… uh,” Mustard started, “What should I do now?”

Both Kagero and Dabi gave a lazy wave, a clear dismissal as any. Mustard swallowed and awkwardly walked up to the counter so he too could watch the Sports Festival. He motioned to Kurogiri for a drink, his finger raised up as he was about to order, Kurogiri cut him off.

“Nothing alcoholic.”

Mustard’s finger dropped a little.

“I wasn’t expecting to get one anyway,” he grumbled, “I was going to ask for a smoothie.”

Kurogiri hummed and started on the drink. Mustard turned his attention to the TV, the screen showing the competitors spread throughout the stadium. They were all bunched in groups of three or four, with someone clearly riding on top. The announcer, whom he identified as Midnight, stood on a platform.

“Ready? Begin!” her onscreen counterpart yelled. All but one team rushed forward, either to evade or to attack. The one that stood still had a boy with white and red hair sitting atop. The camera view switched to something a little closer, where Mustard saw the boy sweep his right arm in front of him, a thick layer of ice following its movement.

The Cavalry Battle has begun.

Mustard could’ve walked right through the gates since he was still a normal middle schooler, but Toga couldn’t. Kagero warned her that because she was connected to the murder of a classmate, even though she was never caught by the police, they still had access to her face. So there they were, standing in the mouth of an alleyway, looking for a disguise for Toga to don.

They didn’t have to wait long before they found someone who matched what they were looking for. They stalked the girl until she was in a more deserted area before they pounced. A few minutes of a struggle later, Toga was dressed in the girl’s outfit, her features slowly changing to match the bound girl in front of her.

She was no longer Himiko Toga, but Sachiko Namba. A second-year student at some public school that was on her way to meet with her friends to watch the Sports Festival. Toga waved her ticket in the air in triumph before leaning down to lick the blood still dripping from where Toga cut her on the arm. Mustard used his gas on the girl to knock her out before heaving her into a dumpster.

Toga hummed happily as she skipped along the grounds, flanked on either side by food or game stalls. She jumped between them all, trying the wide variety of foods available and playing every game until she got bored.

Her head was on a swivel, taking note of every lamp post, every security camera posted on a building’s corner, every person that was wearing a baggier shirt than the rest whose heads were also on a swivel.

Those guys were cops in plain clothes, not very good at hiding in plain sight. Toga made sure to keep a running tally in her head. The man in front of her was wearing jeans with a pastel green short sleeve button down, with a baseball cap that displayed the logo of a hero she didn’t recognize. This guy was as easy to spot as the others because she could clearly see the holster that held his .38 caliber, double-action, five shot revolver on his hip under his shirt. This guy was number forty-two.

She was also on the lookout for heroes, but they were even easier to spot than the cops since they were all in costume. She giggled at some of the heroes with a sillier costume and moved on.

“Ready? Start!”

She heard Midnight’s voice ring out over the stadium’s speakers, signaling the start of the second round. She picked her pace up a little, trying to find a way into the stadium that had the least amount of coverage. After all, she had a special message to deliver.

Her answer came in the form of a loose panel that was partially hidden behind some bushes. The entrance was too good to be true, so Toga looped the area twice before deeming it safe to enter. She quickly dipped behind the bushes, struggling slightly as she pried the panel open further so she could slide through.

Once inside, she took extra care to cover her tracks. Moving swiftly and silently through the halls, she used a compact mirror she found in Namba’s purse. She peeked the mirror portion around corners, screwing her eyes in concentration to see if there were any cameras that awaited her.

The halls of the stadium were a labyrinth, but not winding enough for her to lose her way back. She stalked along quietly, taking note of anything that looked important before she stumbled onto a staircase. Creeping up a few steps to the landing, she heard some voices talking.

“Next event’s the one-on-ones, right? Who do you think will make it to the final round?” the first voice asked.

“That Todoroki kid for sure, and probably the one that has explosions. Did you see what they did?” the second voice asked, slightly more animated but definitely more masculine than the first. “Endeavor’s kid literally skated his way to victory in the obstacle course, and the explosion kid’s got the fire to win it all.”

Toga heard the first voice hum before replying, “But what about the kid that did the pledge? Shimura? With how he performed, it’s a wonder how he placed first in the entrance exam.”

The other voice laughed as they continued their conversation. Toga waited until their voices slowly died out before reaching the next floor.

If there are people patrolling on this level, there’s something worth guarding. Access to the student stands? Public area?

If there were heroes patrolling, and if it was a public area, Toga didn’t want to take any chances. She’s been lucky to stay undetected thus far. She shook her head before she went back downstairs to find a room to hide out in until the second event ended. She turned on her phone to the live broadcast of the Sports Festival so she knew what was going on. Once the third event started, part two of her mission came into play.

The screen of her phone showed the camera focusing on a particular student. The camera perfectly caught the intense look in his eyes as he chased down another student, his hand stretching out towards the other’s headband. The other student’s eyes grew wide as the hand encompassed their head before switching to a different student.

Toga giggled quietly in anticipation.

Chapter Text

The timer on the screen displayed three minutes left in the round, and the cameras were catching every intense expression on the competitors’ faces.

Shimura’s team, consisting of the bird-headed Tokoyami, Uraraka, and a girl with pink dreadlocks who boisterously demanded she be called Mei because, “saying Hatsume-chan takes too long,” started off with a meager 365 points and struggled to get more to add to their pool.

Their team had a decent composition, but it was focused more on defense and maneuverability than offense, something that Shimura found grating, but accepted it. Shimura himself was the rider since that position didn’t run the risk of accidentally disintegrating his teammates, with Tokoyami as the head horse, Uraraka his left, and Mei his right.

With them doing a variety hit-and-run tactics, they were able to snag a few more headbands, bringing their overall total to somewhere near one thousand points. Shimura glanced up at the board, ahead of them was Todoroki with his imposing 10,000,410 points, and Bakugo sitting in second with a respectable 1360 points. Shimura’s team was firmly in third place, with the silver-haired boy Tetsutetsu following in fourth.

Torn away from his musing, Shimura was jerked to the side to avoid the swipe of another team.

“Shimura-kun!” Uraraka yelled from below him, “Are you alright? You’re zoning off and we can’t keep running forever.”

Shimura shook his head out as he took in his surroundings. Todoroki had managed to create an ice wall all around them, leaving them with one way out: through Todoroki’s team. To his right and left were other teams who got caught in Todoroki’s attack, leaving them frozen in place. Further behind Todoroki, he could see Bakugo’s team running up to gather any last-second points.

Shimura’s gaze fell to Todoroki’s glare, “So I guess standing still and letting the clock run out isn’t an option?”

Todoroki’s glare hardened, “It never was. Iida.”

Through the frosty haze that sat on the tournament grounds, Shimura could see Iida crouching down, his exhaust pipes glowing with heat. Over the roar of the crowd, he could make out the sound of an engine revving, much like drag racers do before immediately taking off down the strip.

“Recipro…” Iida started, the exhausts in his legs turning a cherry red as the flames in his legs started to burn hotter.

Shimura’s eyes widened, realizing what was about to happen, “Uraraka-chan! Mei! We need to get airborne. Now!”

Ice flew out from Todoroki, creeping up his teammates’ legs, keeping them grounded, “You’re not going anywhere, Shimura.”

“Uraraka-chan! Make me float, hurry!”

“But we’ll be disqualified if you touch the ground!”

“Then catch me after, I don’t care, just get me up!” Desperation was starting to leak into Shimura’s voice as the chances of moving on grew slimmer the longer they hesitated.

“Uraraka!” he looked down at Uraraka, pleading with all his might. She met his gaze, her eyes still showing hesitation, “Please! You need to do this now!”

She paused for a moment longer before she nodded resolutely. She slapped his calf and gave him a boost in the air.

“Burst!”

Iida shot forward faster than any of them could register. Uraraka blinked and Todoroki’s team was no longer in front of her. She twisted around to where she figured they stopped. In his hand raised high, Todoroki held a headband.

A pit formed in her stomach. She was too slow.

Breaking her out of her self-deprecation, she noticed that Shimura was no longer right above them. Iida’s slipstream caught him and was now slowly but surely hurtling him towards the boundaries of the field, screaming the whole while.

“Tokoyami-kun!” she yelled, “We have to catch Shimura before he goes out!”

Tokoyami, having been frozen facing forward acted immediately, “Dark Shadow!”

A dark mass emerged from his stomach, taking the shape of a bird with arms, “On it!” The shadow twisted behind them, stretching impossibly far to grab their ride before he got too far, bringing him back towards the safety of his team.

Dark Shadow situated Shimura back on top before retreating closer to Tokoyami while Uraraka released her hold on him. The group grunted as they came under his weight again.

“Thanks guys,” Shimura breathed a sigh of relief.

“AND THAT’S TIME! With a nice rider recovery to end it all!” Present Mic shouted over the speakers, enticing the crowd to roar in applause. “Everyone please turn your attention to the screen to see the final results of this round!”

The screen blinked before showing the results.

“In first place, the team that couldn’t be stopped! Team Todoroki, who were able to keep the ten million points the whole time, and then some! In second place, Team Bakugo! In third place, Team Shimura! And finally, in fourth place, Team Mon- I mean Team Shinso!? What a last-second upset!”

Todoroki’s team stayed at the top with a total of 10,000,480 points. In second place, Bakugo’s team had 1485 points, their score having increased from grabbing more points from the frozen teams. In third came Shimura and his team with 975 points. Ending in fourth place was Shinso’s team with 730 points.

Present Mic’s commentary faded into the background as the mentioned teams all digested the results. They all made it to the next round, a fact that hit Uraraka like a truck. She turned towards Todoroki’s team, “Wait! What headband did you grab!? I thought for sure you got our big points!”

Yaoyorozu held the headband up so she could see, “Iida-kun was faster than any of us were prepared for. It seems Todoroki-kun missed and ended up grabbing the seventy-point headband by mistake.”

Shimura stared at the screen in shock, “Holy shit. I actually made it to the final round. You guys!” He turned to face the rest of his teammates, “I couldn’t have done it without you! Thank you thank you thank you!”

Tokoyami had his arms crossed, but nodded in acknowledgment, Dark Shadow appearing briefly to give a thumbs up and what looked like a smile. Mei just waved her hand lazily, preferring to tinker with her support items that got damaged. Uraraka gave him a full-faced smile.

“With the end of the second round, we’ll be having a one-hour lunch break! Make sure to check out the stalls if you haven’t already! We’ll catch you afterwards for our recreational activities for those who couldn’t make it further! See you there!” Present Mic finished making his announcements and immediately dropped to a more conversational tone, still mic’d up, “Yo Eraser, you wanna get some food?”

Toga put her phone back into her borrowed purse as the stream changed to highlights of the first and second rounds, once again leaving her in the darkness of the room she hid in. Her eyes adjusted to the dark slower than usual, something that she didn’t miss, but quickly dismissed it as she wasn’t exactly herself at the moment.

With the second round over, and at least two hours before the final round started, it was time to start phase two.

She hopped off the chair she was sat on and quietly opened the door, peaking through the slimmest of cracks. Once again, she was met with nothing. Quietly opening the door wide enough to enter, she slipped back into the hall, stalking through it as she hopped from cover to cover, pillar to pillar.

She made her way back to the staircase she was on before and noticed it was significantly louder than it was before the second round started.

Guess this is a public area.

She crept up to the landing and paused, keeping her ear open for anything that sounded out of the ordinary. Hearing the constant chattering of people, she quickly ascended the steps, seamlessly weaving herself into the crowds. She easily matched the excitement the crowd was feeling, talking about the rounds with everybody and nobody at once.

Having ingratiated herself with another group of girls that looked the same age, she brought up the next topic, “OH my god, do you think if we’re lucky we’ll get to eat lunch with the competitors?”

The girls all squealed in excitement.

One of them, a girl with light blue skin and hair puffy like clouds spoke up, “I never thought about that! I hope so. Maybe if I’m lucky I’ll get that Todoroki boy’s number.”

“Todoroki? No, it’s all about that loud blond with explosions,” her friend replied, her black and red hair in twin pig tails swishing side to side as she shook her head, “Nothing beats a bad boy with the skills to back it up.”

She swooned and pretended to faint. Her friends all laughed at her antics.

“What about you, Namba-chan?” the first girl asked, “Who do you have eyes for?”

Toga easily came back to the conversation, having been distracted by looking for access to the student stands, “Hmm? Oh no, you’d make fun of me.” She puffed her cheeks in a fake pout.

“Aww, come on don’t be like that! There’s nothing to be shy about,” the pig tailed girl whined, “Unless you’re talking about him?”

Toga picked up on her tone, “Him?”

“Oh, you know. Mister shaggy hair whines-a-lot.”

“Him?” Toga looked away, twirling her hair, a light blush dusting her cheeks, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The girls she was with all gasped over dramatically, giggling at Toga’s “obvious” crush, “It is him! You’re something else, girlie.”

They continued like this until they eventually made their way to the cafeteria, a lot slower than Toga would’ve liked. When they finally arrived, Toga’s eyes never stopped moving. Her head was a radar that looked back and forth, scanning for either of her targets. Eventually she found what she was looking for, the students wearing the bright blue athletic uniforms, their backs turned as they were already on their way out. She scanned the group of students until they landed on target.

A side profile showed Shimura, caught up in conversation with Uraraka, Iida, and Bakugo, laughing at an unheard joke. The quartet nearly out of sight behind the crowd.

The smile that would’ve been natural on her normal face looked skewed on Namba’s, just a hair too wide, something that her “friends” were quick to point out.

“Hey Namba-chan, are you alr…” the cloud-haired girl started but trailed off as she followed her gaze. “Oooh, gonna make your move already? How bold.”

She pushed Toga forward a few steps, who stumbled but ultimately started walking that way. She turned back and stuck her tongue out to the girls, who stuck theirs out in turn, “You guys get food. I’ll catch up!”

As soon as her back was fully turned, her smile dropped. She deftly weaved through the crowd, picking up her pace so she didn’t lose sight of Shimura.

Ten meters… seven… four…

Shimura called out to his friends, smiling as he turned back towards the cafeteria. Toga could see his eyes pass over her, locking on for a second longer than normal, before being dismissed. She smiled inwardly.

Way too easy.

Shimura was ecstatic.

He might not have placed the best in the first round and eked out enough points to come in third in the second, but he still made it to the finals! He was way more successful than he thought he’d be.

After the second round, he was quick to get some food, wanting to get in line before they got too long. He all but ran straight to the cafeteria as soon as they were dismissed. Bakugo, Iida, and Uraraka eventually found him carefully eating chicken wings.

As they all finished their food and were heading back to the field for the recreational events, Shimura decided to hang back. Something felt off, like they were being watched. All things considered, it’s not surprising, they were in the middle of a competition, and all four of them made it to the final round, but it didn’t feel like the normal “enjoying from afar.”

Turning around he scanned the room, scouring to find the source of his discomfort. Nothing stood out. A brown-haired girl was looking at him too, but he dismissed her as one of the “enjoyers”.

He lingered a little longer on her though, she was quite cute.

The moment was too short. Someone walked in front, hiding her from view, and she was gone. Shrugging, he turned back, but as he did so, something else caught his eye. At the edge of his vision, he swore he caught a glimpse of toxic green.

He paused. He looked around the cafeteria, confirming what cameras he could see. If he saw him, then the cameras did too. Right? He hardened his resolve and planted a foot forward to confirm his suspicions. He took a step forward before he was shoved into one of the many rooms that lined the hallway.

The room was pitch black and the door slammed shut behind them, a click sounded a second later, indicating the door was locked. Shimura quickly recovered, moving himself further into the room to create distance. Through the darkness he thought he could make out some desks, a stack of chairs piled up on the side, a few shelves set up across from them. A storage room in all intents and purposes. He cautioned a look behind him and wasn’t surprised to find a blank wall facing him. He was trapped.

He could barely make out a figure still facing the door, their back towards him, hand still on the handle. They slowly turned around. It was difficult, but he was certain that it was a girl. She looked a few centimeters shorter than him with a slender build. Shimura shut his eyes in a quick prayer.

Please let this be like one of those mangas where this is where I become a man.

As he slowly opened his eyes, the girl’s presence was gone. He immediately took a defensive stance, backing himself up against the wall. With the wall behind him, he only had to worry about what came from in front and to the sides, three avenues of attack instead of four.

He forced his breathing to slow, calming himself. He strained his senses, willing his hearing and sight to increase in effectiveness. All sense of time vanished as he waited.

“You’ve got decent enough battle sense, Shimura-chan,” the girl’s voice whispered in his right ear.

He immediately swung his left arm across his body, hoping to get a solid hit, but contacted nothing.

From behind him the voice spoke out again, “A little slow on your feet, though.”

He aimed a back kick with his right leg at the voice, again contacting with nothing. He growled in frustration.

“Show yourself, you damn coward!” he yelled to the empty room.

The lights turned on, momentarily blinding him. He took a kick to the gut, his back slamming against the wall. He weakly swung out an arm, but it was caught. He felt it be rotated and swung upward. His fingers pointed down and his palm facing forward, his arm locked in a painful position.

His attacker leveraged his arm, pain coursing through it as he felt his elbow bending further in the wrong direction.

Blinking as his eyes finally adjusted to the light, he came face to face with Toga, still disguised as Namba.

“Is that really how you treat a girl that’s coming on to you?” she asked, her voice almost purring.

Shimura swung his free hand at her face, but she leaned back, catching it in his other. Toga kneed Shimura in the stomach again, grabbing both of Shimura’s wrists, pinning them above his head. Shimura felt a knife get pressed on his throat.

“If you keep going like this, you’re gonna make me wanna make you bleed even more,” she giggled. He felt the pressure of the knife increase before she withdrew it. She let him go and stepped back a few steps.

Shimura clutched at his stomach, already feeling bruises forming underneath his shirt. He stayed leaned up against the wall, eyeing Toga carefully.

“What do you want?”

Toga smiled, her mouth growing a little wider as she let the disguise drop a smidge, “Shi-kun wanted me to tell you something.”

Despite the circumstances, Shimura scoffed, “Shi-kun? Who the hell are you talking about? Who are you?”

“Shi-kun! You know, green hair, dreamy green eyes? All…” Toga’s demeanor immediately changed, her eyes taking on the toxic green he’d grown afraid of, looking him up and down. Before long she returned to normal, her arms spread open as if she finished the best performance of a lifetime, “Shi-kun!”

Shimura stilled, having figured out exactly who she was talking about. Shimura felt his hands raise as he scratched at his throat, trying to use that to ground him, but all it did was make him more anxious.

“What do you want?” Shimura gasped out, his scratching intensifying, “Are you here to kill me? To finish the job?”

The girl giggled, her left hand brought up to hide her laugh, “Of course not, silly! Shi-kun just wanted me to say that he’s rooting for you. And should you ever feel… dissatisfied, that he’d be willing to lend an ear.”

Shimura felt his fingers dig a little deeper. He pulled his hands away, seeing the tips dyed in blood. Quicker than he could react, Toga was on him, her tongue lapping up some of the blood before retreating. He recoiled at the feeling.

She swooned at the taste, “Oooh, you’re sweet. Kinda like Shi-kun, but he’s sweet like fruit. You’re sweet like candy.”

Shimura was too shocked to respond, “You’ve been gone too long, people might get suspicious. I can’t wait to see you again, Shimura-chan!”

Even though Shimura was staring right at her, it was as if she disappeared into thin air. No portals swallowed her up, the door didn’t open and close, it was as if she never existed. She was there one moment and gone the next.

Coming to his senses, he plowed out of the room, running straight to the announcer’s box where he prayed Present Mic and Eraserhead were. People scurried to get out of his way, sounds of surprise following him.

Finding the door locked, he pressed all five fingers on the handle, reducing it and the locking mechanism to dust. Kicking the door open he found it as he expected the box to look like, save for a lone sheet of paper on the table. Before he could read what it said, he heard a voice behind him.

“Shimura-kun? What are you doing here, Little Listener? What’s wrong?” Present Mic questioned.

Shimura breathed a sigh of relief, but wordlessly raised the paper up so his teacher could read it. On it was a single sentence, signed with a lip sticked kiss, “Kagero Shigaraki says good luck to the finalists.”

“The League was here,” was all Shimura could say before promptly fainting.

Chapter Text

Present Mic rushed forward, catching Shimura before he hit the ground, “Shimura-kun!”

Mic reached up to Shimura’s neck for a pulse. It was still there, a little weak, but steady. He laid Shimura down softly on the ground, momentarily leaving him be as he reached for the lone phone in the booth. He pulled the phone off the receiver, it already dialing the preset number. It didn’t even get through a full ring before he heard another voice on the other end.

“Yamada-kun!” the voice answered, chipper as ever. “I hope the Sports Festival has been moving along smoothly!”

“Event-wise, it’s going off without a hitch, which is rockin’!” Mic easily replied, “But we have a situation that requires some advisement, Principal.”

Both off and on the job, it’s very rare for Present Mic to take on such a serious tone. He much rather prefers to be upbeat and positive, as he’s found that it generally helps people calm down after a harrowing event. Even rarer does he, or anyone really, use Nezu’s hero name. The major shift in tone and grammar Present Mic employs when he’s in one of his “moods” is enough to sober up even the most laidback of heroes.

“Acknowledged. Give me the situation, I’m pulling the footage now,” the Principal replied, down to business immediately.

Present Mic nodded, knowing at this point the Principal is already watching through his multiple cameras trying to get a handle on the situation, “I returned from my lunch break and found the door to the announcer’s booth open. Upon investigating I found Shimura-san in it. When I asked what was going on, he showed me a piece of paper that read ‘Kagero Shigaraki says good luck to the finalists’ that was signed by a kiss. He then relayed ‘The League was here’ to me before fainting.

“We have been infiltrated by at least one hostile, most likely female and aligned with the League of Villains. Should we cancel the Festival or proceed as planned?” Present Mic stayed crouched on the floor, hovering near Shimura as he awaited guidance.

“Proceed as planned,” the Principal answered eventually, “If we move towards a Code Three and Red Alert, we’d be causing far more harm than good. We have a high volume of people within our grounds, if we raise the alarm, we’d be inducing chaos that doesn’t and shouldn’t happen.”

“How should we proceed?”

“You said Shimura-san fainted? Find a replacement to cover for your absence and bring him to Recovery Girl. I assume he is our first contact?”

“It appears so, yes.”

“Bring him to Recovery Girl for the time being. I’m going through the footage now. You said that you just came back from your lunch break, so I assume the League made themselves known within the past forty-five minutes at the minimum. Stay with Shimura-san until he wakes up.”

“Yes, sir.”

Present Mic hung up the phone and folded the note before placing it into one of his many jacket pockets. He crouched back down and scooped Shimura back into his arms, turning around to exit the room. On his way out, Eraserhead turned the corner, nursing a cup of coffee in one hand and the other in his pocket.

He came to an abrupt stop, taking in Shimura’s unconscious form in Present Mic’s arms, “Mic? What happened?”

“We’ve been infiltrated. The Principal instructed me to take Shimura-san to Recovery Girl and to find a substitute announcer,” Present Mic tersely responded, he continued walking but stopped a few steps behind Eraserhead, “He also said to keep the Sports Festival going.”

Without waiting for a response, Present Mic walked off. Eraserhead cursed before raising a hand to his ear, activating the comm link that was always present, “This is Aizawa. I need another teacher up in the announcer’s box with me. We have a situation and Present Mic will apparently be unavailable for the near future.”

He sat back down in his chair, taking a big sip of his coffee before he got a response.

“Ectoplasm,” the comm crackled, “I’ll send a clone to you.”

“Copy.”

Eraserhead slouched further into his chair as he waited for his new companion, grumbling the whole while about how ‘nobody listens to him, ‘why does Mic get to leave, this is literally what he does’, and ‘even though I can understand the logic behind it, why aren’t we canceling this’. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a jelly packet, opening it with one hand, and quickly emptying the contents before tossing the container in the trash.

“I don’t get enough respect around here.”

The Principal was perplexed.

While not certain, as many things rarely are, he was confident that with the updates to security and increase in number of heroes and police walking the grounds, any potential threat could be dealt with quickly and decisively. He was aware that despite the precautions taken, there would always be a blind spot in the security, whether that be due to human or mechanical error. He was even aware that there were indeed convicted criminals walking amongst the crowds also enjoying the festivities.

At the push of a button, he could have all 357 criminals pinged and their exact whereabouts sent to the nearest hero or police officer that was spread throughout the grounds. He wouldn’t do that, of course, because they have yet to commit any crimes, but he still had the ability to do so.

What he didn’t have the ability to do, however, was find who the League sent, where they were slash are, when they made themselves known, and how they bypassed every camera and personnel. He shortly entertained the idea of the intruder being invisible like the expressive and mischievous Toru Hagakure, and toggled the camera views between infrared, ultra-violet, and x-ray vision, but found that to be a fruitless endeavor. The sheer amount of people present made it extremely difficult to discern one individual from another.

Kurogiri, the warp quirk user, was a thought as well, but he dismissed it just as quickly. They might not currently have a countermeasure for his portals, but they did against physical entities. Even if they chose to enter in a secluded part of the forest surrounding the grounds or in one of the more isolated gyms, the second the intruder set foot on the ground, a sensor would’ve triggered, and a staff member alerted. The response to the intruder might be delayed, but at that point, the intruder would have already been tagged and tracked.

He took a sip of his tea, sighing at the pleasant taste. As the Principal sat back in his chair, mulling over the problem, he found himself recalling the words of an author from long before the Age of Quirks came about.

“Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” He mused aloud, “You walked in right through the front gates, in plain view of everything.”

With renewed vigor, he changed the scope of his search. Instead of looking for someone suspicious, he was now looking for someone that was normal. Someone that fit in a little too well. He thought back to Present Mic’s rushed report. Present Mic said he came back from his lunch break and found Shimura in the announcer’s booth, along with the note.

This brought a few instances on when and where he would be able to identify the intruder. The first was when they entered to leave the note. The second was when they came into contact with Shimura, whenever that happened.

Confirming the note should be easy enough.

He saw Present Mic and Shimura’s actions in reverse and continued watching through. Once the room was empty again, two minutes before, the note suddenly appeared on the table. The Principal paused, rewound, and played it back again, twice as slow. The feed slowly made its way to when the note appeared, the Principal’s eyes scanning everything down to the individual pixels to see any evidence of tampering. He poured over the short moment multiple times before seeing it.

The shadows made by the microphones were slightly longer than they should be after the note appeared.

The Principal’s mouth formed a thin line. This does not bode well in the slightest.

Wanting to be thorough, he went through up to when Present Mic and Eraserhead exited the room. The display didn’t change as he went further back. The only indication the feed wasn’t frozen was the very minute movement of the shadows going east to west. He eventually made it back to the point when Present Mic and Eraserhead’s backs entered the room. He rewound all the way to when lunch break started and nothing looked out of place.

He clicked his tongue in annoyance and moved on. There was nothing else he could gather for the note.

Moving on to Shimura’s side of the story, the Principal retraced his path before making it to the booth through the cameras. Minutes before, he found when Shimura burst out of a storage room on the second floor of the stadium. Going back a little further, he found something interesting.

The Principal moved to a closer camera and watched the scene play out, “And who might you be?”

The camera quality was excellent, but much to the Principal’s dismay, none of the cameras had a good shot of her face. He watched as Shimura get shoved into the room by a brown-haired girl. He quickly flicked through the cameras until he found the one inside the room, but again, the girl’s face was hidden from view.

Moving back to the camera in the hallway, he fast forwarded to before Shimura ran out, trying and failing to find when the girl left the room. He stayed on the camera well after Shimura was gone. The feed didn’t show the girl exit. Too focused on the door, the Principal missed the very subtle jump in the feed, a faint shadow receding into the top of the camera’s frame.

Abandoning this path, he shifted to following the girl’s tracks.

Attempting to follow the girl through the cameras proved difficult. There were multiple times when she was visible, but every time she came up, her face was somehow always obscured. Other times, he would lose her entirely, until he eventually found her in a completely different location. Eventually, he found the moment her ticket was scanned, and her face displayed in full view.

He froze the feed, bringing up her face so it was in full view on his screen. He ran the algorithm Power Loader created, letting his computer think before the results came back. The computer dinged, signaling it was finished. He took another sip of his tea before pausing.

“Well that doesn’t make sense now, does it?”

The bell jingled as the door to the bar opened.

The occupants all turned their heads, curious to see who the new arrival was. A head peeked in the frame, mid-length brown hair framing her smiling face before the rest of her body followed. Dabi eyed the girl lazily while Kurogiri visibly tensed at the sudden entrance of the newcomer.

She walked up to the bar, arms swinging exaggeratedly before seating herself at the bar. Kurogiri recovered enough to compose himself as the bartender and host and provided her with a coaster, a glass of water followed a moment later. Dabi eyed her suspiciously, while Kagero sat in silence, his head tilted in clear thought.

The air became thick with suspense, to the point of it being near suffocating before she finally caved, “Is no one going to say welcome back!?”

At once, everything clicked for Kagero, “Ah, Toga. Sorry, we didn’t recognize you.” Dabi rolled his eyes and grumbled. Kurogiri relaxed minutely, still a little wary of her.

Toga pouted, puffing her cheeks out, “What do you mean you didn’t recognize me? I’m-“ She cut herself off, catching a glimpse in the mirror settled behind the glasses for the bar. “Oh, I’m not me.”

Toga’s disguise as Namba slowly turned to grey sludge. As it slowly fell off her frame, her blonde hair and messy twin buns became visible, golden, catlike eyes shone dimly.

The sludge kept falling to the floor, Kurogiri gave an audible sigh as he looked over the mess he’d have to clean. As more sludge fell from her body, everyone averted their eyes, realizing she wasn’t wearing anything under.

“Jeez, Toga. Don’t you have any shame?” Dabi whined, his head turned up and away from her. “Imagine if Mustard were still here.”

Kurogiri produced a bath towel from behind the bar and handed it to Toga, who wrapped it around her, letting the remaining sludge either fall completely to the floor or get caught up in the towel.

“Simply fascinating. I wonder if the sludge is fresh enough, and we have enough of the material, we could synthesize a clone of the person Toga took blood from,” Kagero muttered. Everyone turned to look at him, Kurogiri quickly realizing he probably watched the entire transformation happen, regardless of what was shown.

“Kagero Shigaraki,” Kurogiri quickly admonished. “I understand your fascination for quirks, but there are limits to what you can do, even as a villain.”

Kagero had enough sense to look slightly embarrassed, averting his eyes down to the floor, but only just, “Sorry.”

Toga turned away from everyone, wrapping her arms around herself as she held the towel tighter, hiding her blush as she caught on to what Kurogiri was hinting at. Dabi watched as the bar lapsed into an awkward silence, smirking at the two’s antics.

He was about to speak up, teasing the two before Kagero beat him to it, “So, Toga, seeing as you’re back, I assume you were successful?”

Dabi gawked. He was hoping to drag on the awkwardness for as long as possible, always ready to sow what small seeds of mischief he could, but Kagero recovered way too quickly.

“Mhm,” Toga softly replied, still not fully facing everyone, “Was able to deliver the message and then some.”

“Oh?” Kagero responded, curiosity obviously piqued.

Toga nodded, her side profile now facing the group. She dug into her towel for something, causing Dabi to groan and turn away again. Kagero watched until he felt a thump on his head, he looked at Kurogiri who gave him a disapproving look. He huffed and turned away as well.

“I got this little sample from Shimura-chan,” calling attention back to herself. She was holding a little vial of blood, containing barely enough to fill a pipette, “I looked for him as instructed, and was able to swipe some blood. He made it really easy too.”

“It was the neck scratching thing right?” Kagero guessed, holding his hand out for the vial.

“Yep!” Toga replied, popping the “P” as she handed the vial over. Seemed like she was finally getting over her embarrassment, “When I cornered him, he started scratching his neck hard enough to bleed, it was so pretty! I even got to taste a little bit!”

Kagero held the vial up to the light, the blood slowly moving as he turned it over, “This is incredible. Good work, Toga! I’ll have to pass this off to the Doctor for holding. I don’t know what to do with it yet, but I know it’ll come in handy.”

Toga gave a wide smile, nodding her head up and down.

“I believe we can continue this chat later,” Kurogiri intervened. “Toga, please go put on some clothes. This is still an actual running bar; we don’t want to attract any undue attention should a real customer come in.”

“Okie!” she hopped off her stool, bare feet plopping in the sludge, leaving a trail behind her. Seeing the mess increase, Kurogiri silently moved into the back room to grab a mop.

Kagero and Dabi were left in the bar, both looking at the TV but not really watching the recreational games go down. One oblivious to the elephant in the room, the other unwilling to let it go. He saw Kagero take a long sip of his drink before speaking up.

“So…” Dabi drawled, “Did you enjoy the show?”

Kagero grunted as he felt the alcohol burn his throat, “What? No one cares about the recreational games. They’re no different than any other sports festival.”

Dabi chuckled. Despite being so observant, Kagero really is as blind as a bat, “Yep. Cause that’s what I was talking about.”

Kagero picked up on the tone, eyes narrowing. Sarcasm was something he easily identified, “What would you be talking about, if not for the Festival?”

“Nothing, nothing. Just forget it.” Dabi propped his head on his arm, lazily sliding his glass side to side with his left hand.

Kagero said nothing, mentally picking apart the short conversation to figure out what Dabi was getting at. The door that leads further into the bar opened again, revealing Toga dressed in her normal sailor uniform and oversized cardigan.

“I’m back!” she announced. “Kurogiri, can I get a Shirley temple, with extra red?”

“Of course, Toga-san. A moment please,” called out from behind the bar, putting away his cleaning supplies.

Toga swiveled in the bar stool, looking between Dabi who was snickering silently and Kagero who was still lost in his thoughts, “Hey guys, where’s Mustard?”

Chapter Text

Shimura opened his eyes, taking in the lights and the high domed ceiling above him. As the fog in his head cleared and his vision slowly adjusted, they opened wide in shock. He bolted upright and found himself in the middle of the pavilion at the USJ.

All around him were jeering villains, taunting him with every insult imaginable, slowly forming a tight circle around him.

He tried to break out of the ring but was harshly shoved back in. In desperation he grabbed at the leg of one of the closer villains, all five fingers closing on their ankle. He could see the villain jolt with pain, letting out a short scream before disintegrating entirely. The decay spread from the first villain onto the next, who similarly was reduced to ashes. One by one, slowly picking up pace, the decay that started on one villain spread, taking out every single one of them.

Shimura gaped at the horror, a terrible mix of blood and guts and ash pooled all around him.

He stared at the floor, watching the refuse combine and flow until it was touching his shoes. He knelt down, staring at the warped reflection of himself in the puddle. He could barely make out his features, but as his face got closer the image rippled, now changing into the disturbing face of the Nomu.

Shimura startled, jumping back but hitting something solid behind him. He slowly turned around, coming face to stomach with the Nomu. He immediately swept his hand at the Nomu, only for it to grab it again. He braced himself for the pain, but was lifted up in the air. The Nomu swung him around, his back hitting a wall, his arm pinned above his head.

The scene shifted to the storage room he found himself in earlier, but instead of the girl he came face to face with Shigaraki, his green eyes piercing into his red. He felt the grip on his pinned hand tighten, the sensation a few steps below what he experienced from the Nomu, as Shigaraki brought his face closer.

“Are you sure you want to be a hero, Shimura-chan?”

“How’s the Little Listener looking?” Mic asked, worry evident in his voice.

An old woman, wearing a slightly too long lab coat over a yellow and red vest and pink boots with her greyed hair up in a high bun, hopped off her stool where she was sat, quickly referencing her notes before replying, “No sign of any physical injuries, no head trauma, glucose levels looking normal, he’s perfectly healthy. At this point, all we can do is wait until he comes to again.”

Present Mic nodded numbly, fully aware that Shimura wasn’t in danger anymore, but he still couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong.

The older hero, Recovery Girl, studied him before nodding to herself, “What do you think of the students so far?”

Present Mic shot her a smile, appreciating the blatant distraction, “Oh, the little listeners are absolutely killing it! They’re doing so good! Todoroki-kun has been dominating the competition with Bakugo-kun right on his heels. And then there are the absolute underdogs, like Shinso-kun and his team! They came out of nowhere in the second event.

“But I’m most excited for the final event. There are a lot of scrappers this year, in Aizawa’s class alone! Did you see the line up? Twelve of the sixteen that made it to the final round are 1-A. Can you believe it?”

“I’m more relieved there haven’t been any major injuries yet,” she tutted, “Whose brilliant idea was it to put zero-pointers, a chasm, and a minefield in one event!?”

“Recovery Girl,” Present Mic shushed, arms waving all around, “He’ll hear you.”

“I’m not scared of Nezu. He knows that without me he wouldn’t get away with half of the things he does,” she quickly retorted.

“And for that, I am forever grateful,” one of the speakers spoke up, Nezu clearly keeping tabs on the situation. “How is Shimura-kun doing?”

Recovery Girl scoffed, “As if you don’t already know. But-”

Before Recovery Girl could give her report again, movement caught Present Mic and hers’ eye. Shimura tossed a little before sitting up straight, screaming in pain as he clutched at his hand. Present Mic immediately flung himself to Shimura’s left, trying to calm him down while Recovery Girl flanked his right side, appraising his hand.

“Woah there, Little Listener,” Present Mic started, “You’re safe here. It’s Present Mic, your favorite hero. Recovery Girl is here too, by the way.”

“They were here. I saw him.” Shimura gasped out, his head whipping around as if he were searching for something. “I know I did. And-” Shimura groaned in pain as his hand flared up again, “and there was this girl and…”

“Whoever was here, they’re long gone now. You can count on it.” Present Mic stated.

It was a poor move on his part, and he knew it. As soon as the words left his mouth, Present Mic knew he made a mistake. You never bring up a potential trigger to someone, especially if it was the direct cause for the problem. He internally winced as Shimura started to freak out even worse.

Shimura’s breaths started to increase in frequency, becoming more erratic. He started to hyperventilate as his eyes bugged out as he renewed his frantic search, “How can you be so sure? They were here! They were in the cafeteria, in the announcer’s booth, in the building, in the…”

“Deep breaths, Little Listener, deep breaths,” Present Mic consoled, cutting him off before he could spiral any further. Present Mic set himself a little closer to Shimura exaggerating his breaths and slowly tapping on the bed’s railing so Shimura could follow. Breathe in, tap, tap, tap; breathe out, tap, tap, tap.

Shimura slowly quieted, focusing more on Present Mic’s breathing and tapping than anything else. He was aware Recovery Girl was in the room fussing about, but he couldn’t spare her anything more than a passing glance. They fell into a spell of relative silence, the only sounds were the exaggerated breaths, one steady and strong while the other slowly changing from haggard and wild to quiet and calm.

Once he felt grounded again, Shimura was the first to break the silence, “Did you really call yourself my favorite hero?”

Present Mic squawked, “Wha- I am offended. How could I not be your favorite? I’m funny, likeable, approachable. I could keep going on, don’t tempt me. I won’t stop until you say I am.”

Shimura chuckled lightly. Present Mic gave a small smile, silently saying he’s happy he’s feeling better. Shimura gave him a smile back, still not fully looking up, but his intentions were clear as day.

Recovery Girl took the lapse in conversation as her cue, handing a glass of water to Shimura, “Are you feeling alright, Dearie? Any dizziness? Hard time focusing? Headache?”

“Nothing of the like,” Shimura hummed, taking a sip of the water, “My hand is a little sore, but that’s it.”

“I noticed you were clutching your hand when you woke up,” she nodded, “I didn’t want to touch you earlier to check it out. Do you mind if I do now?”

Shimura nodded, raising his hand up for inspection.

She turned it this way and that, asking him to flex and relax, ball it up and open again, stick one finger out at a time. Once she was done, she handed him a tongue depressor.

“Go ahead and use your quirk on this,” she instructed.

He nodded and did as he was told, holding it with four fingers before pressing down his pinky. The wooden stick instantly decayed.

She concluded, “I’m not seeing anything wrong with your hand, Dearie.”

“Then why does my hand hurt sometimes?”

“My best guess is you’re experience phantom pains.”

“Phantom pains? I thought you only get those when you get a limb amputated.”

“It has been described as that way, yes,” she nodded, “But there are also instances where those that have some form of post-traumatic stress felt pain at their point of injury when they were reminded of it. The simplest explanation of this is when you witness a man getting kicked in the groin.”

Immediately, both Present Mic and Shimura’s faces cringed at the picture.

“Exactly that. It’s inevitable that it’s happened to you at some point, and when something reminds you of that instance, you feel that same pain, or a version of it. With regards to your hand, I’m assuming that whenever you think of the USJ, whether it be of the Nomu, Shigaraki, or just the event in general, your mind is reliving that pain.”

“So you’re saying I just have to live with that pain?”

“I wouldn’t phrase it as that, but it is something that you will need to address moving forward. I know for a fact that Aizawa and Nezu are trying to set your class up with some preliminary meetings with Hound Dog to help you process the USJ.”

Shimura sat quietly, thinking over the new information. He looked at his hand, completely healed yet still hurting, “Will I still be able to compete in the Festival?”

Recovery Girl sighed in exasperation, but Present Mic cut her off, glancing at the clock, “There are still forty-ish minutes left in the recreational games. You should just spend the rest of the time here, but before that, you will need to tell us what happened.”

Shimura’s mood dropped significantly.

“I’m not going to rush you into it, and I’m not saying you do it right this instant, but the sooner you get it done the better. Nezu has no doubt already gotten what he could, so we can wait a little until you’re feeling up to it.”

“If I answer his questions, can I still compete?” Shimura directed his question to Recovery Girl instead.

Recovery Girl’s eyebrow raised, “Only if you promise to rest here until the fifteen-minute warning.”

“Deal,” Shimura nodded resolutely.

Present Mic looked flabbergasted, “Did you just bargain your way back into the Festival?” When he received nod, he took a second to recover. Once he did, he took a more serious look, “Are you sure you’re up to it? I don’t want to push you too far or anything.”

Shimura shrugged, “It’s fine, nothing too bad happened anyway.”

Recovery Girl and Present Mic shared a look, not liking how quickly Shimura bounced between moods. A casual dismissal of an event that caused him to pass out like that doesn’t bode well for his state of mind, but it’s something that can be dealt with in a more comfortable sense.

“Alright then, but feel free to stop or take a break whenever you need,” Present Mic acquiesced, “Recovery Girl, can I borrow a pen and paper?”

Present Mic settled himself more comfortably in the chair, flipping to a clean page. When he was ready, he gave Shimura a nod.

“So where do you want to start?” Shimura asked.

The nerd’s been gone a long time now.

When Shimura ditched and left him with Round Face and Glasses, Bakugo thought nothing of it. He might have been all smiles when talking, but he could see something simmering just below the surface. The nerd had that look in his eyes that said he needs to go think about something. Having long since learned that he prefers to be alone when he gets in those moods, Bakugo brushed it off as normal. As time kept creeping and there was no sign of him, that’s when the faintest whispers of worry started creeping.

The nerd’s thought walks always went a little long, but there was no way he’d knowingly miss the Festival. Even if it was as boring as the recreational games, he would’ve still made an effort to watch it. After all, it is UA, and even normal games can become something way cooler.

As if his thoughts were on display, Glasses had to speak up, “I wonder what happened to Shimura-kun. He’s been gone for quite a while.”

“Yeah, I wonder what he got up to,” Round Face added on, her pointer finger brought up to her chin. “Hey Bakugo-kun, do you know where he went?”

Bakugo scoffed, “Why do you think I know where the nerd went? I’m not his babysitter.”

“I just figured he might’ve told you or something.”

“You were there when he left, Round Face,” Bakugo rolled his eyes, “You heard the same thing I did.”

“Well yeah, but you two always seem to know everything when it comes to each other. So I thought you might know more.”

“Indeed!” Glasses cut in, “It’s pretty evident you two knew each other before coming to UA.”

Bakugo groaned, regretting giving the nerd’s new friends a chance, “I’m not telling you shit about how we know each other. You wanna know? Ask him.” He paused to gauge their reactions. Neither of them looked put off by his outburst, just looking like they were expecting elaboration, much to his dismay. “The nerd’s probably out thinking. He gets into his head sometimes and just, wanders.”

Glasses nodded along, “Ah, I see. He’s probably nervous about facing off against Shinso-kun. He is the first fight in the third round, after all.”

“Who?”

“Shinso-kun!” Round Face exclaimed, “The kid from gen-ed that declared war on us a few weeks ago. Don’t tell me you forgot about him?”

Bakugo gave her a blank look despite knowing exactly who they were talking about. There was no way he’d forget anyone who had enough balls to declare war, especially on him. Bakugo would crush everyone in the competition regardless, but now he has to make sure to crush Eyebags even more for thinking he could stand in the same ring as him.

“No idea who you’re talking about,” he replied flatly. “Don’t know why you’re worried about the nerd when you should be worried about yourself.”

Bakugo let loose a few sparks in his hands to emphasize his point, but Round Face didn’t back down.

She faced him head on, eyes filled with determination but her wobbly smile betraying her, “Why would I be worried about winning?”

Bakugo barked out a laugh but didn’t reply. He turned his attention back to the games, watching the extras try so hard in these was actually hilarious.

“I wonder what happened to Mic-sensei,” Dunce Face mused aloud.

That caught Bakugo’s attention. He looked towards the announcer’s box trying to see what he meant, but couldn’t see in. He listened to the commentary and was surprised to hear someone else.

He couldn’t help himself, “The fuck? Isn’t this like basically Loud Mouth’s job? Where’d he go?”

So now two things weren’t adding up. First the nerd disappears and stays missing, then the guy who does commentary for a living doesn’t actually do his job? Something isn’t right.

Bakugo stood abruptly, making for the aisle, but Shitty Hair caught his arm, “Where you headed Bakubro?"

"Out,” Bakugo yanked his arm free.

Shitty Hair took the comment in stride, “Well alright. Can you get me some snacks on your way back?”

Bakugo thought for a second, “No.”

Out in the main area, Bakugo noticed that something was different. There was a weird tension in the air that he couldn’t place. Some people had their fingers up to their ears and were walking with purpose. The heroes he could see all looked just as serious instead of the faked carelessness you see on patrols. It was honestly astounding how everybody else just completely missed the signs that something was obviously wrong.

Heroes weren’t as happy, the tension was getting thick enough to cut with a knife, and Present Mic, the Present Mic, who hosts a talk radio show and loves talking, isn’t talking in one of Japan’s biggest events.

What the fuck did you do this time, nerd?

The phone rang twice before it was picked up on the other side.

“Principal Nezu, I wasn’t expecting to hear from you so soon. I hope everything is alright?” Tsukauchi asked.

“In a manner of speaking, yes.” Nezu replied, courteous as ever, “However, we’ve had a series of events that are most unpleasant.”

“The League.”

Tsukauchi phrased it less of a question and more of a factual statement. There wasn’t a hint of a doubt in his voice, something Nezu appreciated.

“Were there any casualties?”

“No, but we may have identified one of their members.”

There was a pause on the other line, “Well that’s both a good and bad thing. Do you at least have them in custody?”

“Unfortunately, no. The intruder was very good at sticking to our blind spots. They presumably left, but if they were able to come in undetected, I wouldn’t be surprised if they left undetected as well. However, I was able to get a description of them.”

“Why didn’t you start with that?”

“Because she is currently at Musutafu General for acute chemical inhalation. She was admitted shortly before the Festival even started.”

“Shit. That opens up a whole new set of problems we’ll have to deal with. Okay, give me her name and I’ll follow up on that lead. Did they do anything else while on the premises?”

“Nothing that we can’t handle. Shimura-kun encountered them. He’s uninjured, but he did faint and is currently being looked at by Recovery Girl. It is my understanding that Present Mic has already gathered his side of the story.”

“Guess I’ll have to let Toshinori know about that as well.”

“No, Detective, I’ll tell him. This happened under my watch. It is only fair I break the news.”

Tsukauchi sighed, “I’ll leave you to that, then. Who was your supposed intruder?”

“Sachiko Namba, a second-year student at Zefuro High School. Shall I let the hospital know you are on the way?”

Despite the circumstances, Tsukauchi snorted. It was just like Nezu to be the perfect mix of order and chaos, “No, thank you. I’ll do that. I’ll update you once I speak with her.”

“I’ll look forward to your call.”

Nezu hung up the phone, spun around and hopped off his chair. He clasped his paws behind his back as he gazed out of his window, appreciating the calmness of the city despite the excitement happening in the stadium below. He wondered how long it’ll last now that truly horrendous villains are starting to make their moves.

Chapter Text

A soft knock was heard on the hospital door before it was slid open. Tsukauchi was stood in the doorway with his hat off, covering his breast in a slight bow.

“Pardon the intrusion, I was told by the nursing staff I could find Sachiko Namba here?” Tsukauchi greeted.

Sat up on the bed was Namba, the real one, awake but still slightly dazed. Dressed in a hospital gown with her brown hair looking flat. Sat on the chair present in the room was an older woman, clearly her mother. She had elbow-length brown hair in a low ponytail, wearing a long sleeve V-necked shirt, with a strip of black following the collar and light blue jeans.

“I didn’t know we were expecting guests,” the mother replied.

“My apologies, I probably should have introduced myself first,” Tsukauchi bowed again, “I am Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi with the police, on temporary assignment with the Musutafu Police Station. I was wondering if I could ask your daughter some questions regarding the situation with which she found herself here.”

“I see. My name is Hitomi Namba,” Hitomi turned to look at Sachiko, “Are you alright with answering his questions?”

Sachiko nodded but didn’t reply. Tsukuachi gave them both a nod before moving to make himself more comfortable. Hitomi did the same as she moved to sit on the bed, squeezing her daughter in support.

“I’ll try to keep this as brief as possible. Namba-san, are you aware of the circumstances surrounding your daughter’s hospitalization?”

She shook her head, “Not the full story, I was only told she was found unconscious and brought in. The tests the doctors ran said that they found trace amounts of an ‘unidentifiable substance’ in her blood.” She said this with air quotes, “I know she doesn’t do drugs, so that didn’t make sense to me. What exactly is this about?”

Tsukauchi nodded, jotting down notes. He raised his head to look Hitomi in the eye, choosing to rip the band aid off now, “We believe your daughter was ambushed and attacked by villains.”

Hitomi blanched and hugged her daughter tightly, tears starting to form. Sachiko hugged back, still not saying a word, “Will she be alright? She isn’t a target is she?”

Hitomi started to rapid fire questions at Tsukauchi, who could only answer and placate where possible, “We don’t believe her or your family to be in any immediate danger, but we are willing to place you in temporary protective custody to ensure there won’t be any retaliation or follow ups.”

This seemed to calm both of them down, but their worries still plastered on their faces. Tsukauchi allowed them a little time to find their bearings before continuing.

“Why me?” Sachiko quietly asked.

Tsukuachi gave her a reassuring smile, “That’s what I was hoping you could help me figure out as well.”

Sometime later, Tsukauchi walked out of the hospital, his little notepad tucked into one of his jacket’s inside pockets. He looked up in the sky, the sun still shining brightly. Over the sounds of the city, he could just barely make out the roar of the crowds still watching the Sports Festival, no doubt the third event had already begun. He made a mental note to find the recordings later and watch it back.

Still under the hospital’s awning, he pulled out his phone and dialed Nezu. It rang once before it was picked up.

“Detective!” Nezu greeted, “Wonderful to hear from you again. How did your talk go?”

“I’ve got good news and bad news,” Tsukauchi reported, “The bad news is that Namba is a dead end. It was most likely a one-off attack and she’s completely clean, no connection with the League at all. She was on her way to the Festival when she was attacked, and has no memory of what happened between getting off the train and walking a few blocks up until she awoke in the hospital.”

Nezu hummed, “That is most unfortunate. And you’re certain that she was in the hospital the entire time?”

“Positive. According to the staff, she was unconscious until maybe an hour before I arrived.”

“Then that means the intruder is either a body double, a clone of sorts, an impersonator, or a shape shifter. Any one of those options will prove to be very troublesome when trying to find the original face. What is Namba’s quirk?”

“Good Fortune, a passive quirk that makes her slightly luckier than the average person.”

“That eliminates Namba as our intruder. It is extremely ironic that she came under such ill circumstances, though.”

“Ironic and extremely fortunate, actually. Pardon the pun,” Tsukuachi chuckled, “The doctors ran tests to see if they could figure out why she was unconscious and found something in her blood. When she woke up again, they tested again to see if anything changed, and they said the amount of the substance still present should’ve kept her down for much longer. The concentration of whatever it was that was used was a few steps short of fatal.”

Nezu’s expression turned grim hearing this, “What about the good news?”

Tsukauchi cringed at his response, “I was actually leading into that. They reported the substance as ‘unidentifiable’, meaning it didn’t line up with any of the standard chemicals or drugs that are generally used to render someone unconscious. Nine times out of ten, when they can’t identify the substance, it’s believed to be quirk-based.”

In his office, Nezu’s ears quirked in excitement at the news. “If it’s quirk-based, then we have a better chance at finding them. Did the hospital keep a sample of it?”

Tsukauchi noted the change in Nezu’s tone and hurriedly wrote down a note to check, “I’m not certain, but I can go ask. I haven’t left yet.”

“Yes, please do so. Do you have anything more to add?”

“Assuming Namba was attacked by someone with a poison quirk and she was confirmed to be at the hospital in the time frame you’re working with, I don’t believe them and your intruder to be the same person. We may be looking at more than one intruder, which means…” Tsukauchi trailed off.

“The League is recruiting,” Nezu finished, “This time they’re adding villains that are good at their jobs. Thank you, Detective. You’ve given me a lot to think about.”

Tsukauchi sighed, “I’m sorry I couldn’t give you anything more. I’ll keep you updated as things progress, however.”

“Not at all, Detective,” Nezu consoled, “You have given me much insight into the matter. I just hope that we won’t be too late in putting a stop to this before more people get involved, both innocent civilians and new villains.”

A hero clad in white armor came down from the air, jets of air pouring out of exhaust pipes on their elbows, blowing as they slowed the hero’s descent. His armor most notably having a protruding V starting at his collar bone and helmet having a horn-like shape. On his left shoulder the letters “ING” were clearly visible.

“I’ve found him!” he proclaimed, “The Hero Killer!”

Stain paused, his back half turned so he can get a look at the hero, “Ingenium. Eldest son of the Iida family, current head of Team Idaten.”

Ingenium fell into a wary battle stance, “It seems my reputation precedes me. Sorry, but you gotta forgive me if I’m not as friendly right now.”

Turning his back on Ingenium, he started to make his way out of the alley. Stain quietly growled out a response, “I have no quarrel with you, Ingenium. Leave.”

“Your string of murders ends here, Stain. You’re surrounded and have nowhere to go. You have crimes to answer for, Stain.”

Stain stopped walking, “And I will answer for them, as soon as my job is finished and my dream a reality.”

“If you don’t surrender right now, I will be forced to engage. I don’t want to fight you, but I will if you resist.”

Stain heard the metal of Ingenium’s armor shift. Before, Ingenium took on a balanced stance, but now he’s shifted his weight. Ingenium placed his left leg forward into a runner’s stance, quietly priming the thrusters in his arms.

“This is your last chance, Ingenium. Leave now, or you shall become my next victim.” Stain brought his left arm up, grasping hold of the katana on his back.

“Running away while having the power to stop people like you isn’t what a hero would do.”

“But it is something that you should do.”

Before Stain finished his sentence, Ingenium shot forward, right fist aimed in the small of Stain’s back. Stain spun, swinging his right arm backwards, knocking the fist off target. Stain retaliated with a swing of his katana, going for an overhead slash, but Ingenium followed the changed momentum of his punch, arcing his left leg out for spinning hook kick. The blow landed, sending Stain a few steps back.

Stain grunted but immediately jumped back in, his katana in his right hand. He swung the sword laterally, looking to bisect Ingenium, but he backflipped out of the way. As soon as Ingenium’s feet were on the ground, he shot forward again, this time making it inside Stain’s bubble. Using the engines in his arms, Ingenium started a flurry of punches, getting a few good hits in. As he brought his right arm back for a heavy blow, Stain slipped the punch, swinging his left arm up with a dagger in his hand.

Ingenium winced behind his helmet as he felt the blade cut through his right shoulder pad and into his arm. Stain got behind Ingenium and followed with a devastating sidekick to his spine. Ingenium flew forward, his arms splayed out as he landed hard on the ground. He tried to move but his body seized. Nothing was responding to his call. His arms weren’t moving, his legs were frozen, his head was plastered to the ground. He screamed in pain as he felt a blade stab into him.

The fight was over not even a minute after it started.

“Fame…” Stain growled, his foot stomped on Ingenium’s head.

“Money…” a kick to his ribs.

“Power…” the katana was twisted and yanked out, the slightly chipped blade ripping everything in its path.

“Impostors calling themselves heroes. Heroes acting like celebrities. Heroes acting like villains. Dragging the title of Hero through the mud. They are fakes. Bastards that use their quirk for their own self-interest, only helping if there’s a camera pointed at them.”

Stain walked and crouched in front of Ingenium where he could see.

“I know who you are, Tensei Iida. I know where you came from. You became a hero out of obligation to your family, not for the people.” Stain reached down and yanked Ingenium’s helmet off and throwing it to the side, revealing the face beneath. What he was met with was a square face with big grey eyes, thin eyebrows that ended in an arrow, and spiked blue hair, now matted with sweat and blood. A rivulet of blood ran down his face where Stain stomped on his head.

“That’s not true!” Ingenium refuted, “It may have started like that, but it’s different now! I help everyone I can, from the little boy who lost his balloon to the old lady crossing the street to the police who need my help bringing down a dangerous villain! It brings me genuine joy seeing their smiles after I help them.”

Stain let Ingenium stew in his anger before replying, “I know. I’ve been watching you. You’ve shown yourself to be a true Hero, which is why you will not die today.”

Ingenium didn’t let himself feel any relief, he knew that there was a catch.

“Had you walked away when I warned you to, you could’ve continued being a hero. A paragon in your own right, but you didn’t. Instead, you chose to remain true to form, giving it your all to bring down a dangerous villain so that others may live in peace. You walked right into the face of danger and didn’t back down, as a Hero should.”

Ingenium’s face drained of color, picking up on Stain’s particular choice of words.

“You may be a true Hero, but you aren’t worthy enough to take me down. The only one that can do so, is All Might. May you find solace in knowing your sacrifice can help forge the next generation of true Heroes, Ingenium.” Stain’s blade came down once again, right into Ingenium’s spine.

Stain quickly removed the blade, flicking off the excess blood. He walked over to where he tossed Ingenium’s helmet, placing it right in his view. A reminder of who he used to be. He walked deeper into the alley. Just as Stain disappeared from view, a team of Ingenium’s sidekicks came around the corner.

“Ingenium! We came as fast as we could…” one of them called out. Their sentence dying in their throat as they came upon the bloody scene. “Quick! Call an ambulance, now!”

Ingenium felt the hold that gripped his body release, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He finally let himself relax as he knew that he was no longer in immediate danger. As he slipped to unconsciousness, he noted to himself that he could no longer feel his legs.

Kagero, Toga, Dabi, and Mustard all moved from the bar into the living room above it. As the day grew older, the bar would be seeing more patrons, and none of them wanted to deal with a loud, obnoxious, and drunk crowd.

The room had a massive 203-centimeter flat screen TV mounted on the main wall above a white TV stand, highlighted by a strip of amber light in a cut out alcove. Facing it was a coffee table that stood on skinny legs, beyond that was a matching pair of a dark grey sofa and loveseat, nestled at the corner where the two seats met was a small round table.

Kagero, Toga, and Mustard all sat on the sofa while Dabi claimed the loveseat for himself, sprawling over the arms. Kagero sat on one end, leaning against the arm wholly invested on the TV while Toga was not-so-subtly inching herself closer to him. Mustard saw what Toga was doing and instead of risking her shifting her focus to him, he pressed himself up against the other arm as much as possible. Dabi was watching it all go down and smirked, winking at Mustard.

The TV was showing the third event of the Sports Festival, the stage had just finished being fixed up by Cementoss after the fight between Bakugo and Kirishima. Kagero noted that Kirishima’s quirk was amazing, but how he was applying it was a waste of its potential. Instead of applying his quirk to his whole body the entire time, he should’ve only hardened the places that were affected.

On screen, Present Mic was announcing the first round of the semi-finals would be between Shimura and Iida.

“Oooh, Shi-kun,” Toga asked, turning her head to look at him, “Who do you think will win? Shimura-chan or the other one?”

Kagero tapped his chin in thought, “It depends on if he can last longer than Iida’s special move.”

Toga’s eyes sparkled, “Oh, you mean that one where he went super fast in the cavalry battle?”

He nodded, looking at Toga as he responded, “I’m not sure, but it looks like it only lasts for maybe ten seconds. If Shimura-chan can avoid high speed attacks for ten seconds, then his win is in the bag. If he can’t, then the fight will be over immediately, just like when Iida went against Shiozaki.”

Toga nodded in agreement and turned her attention back to the TV. Kurogiri materialized shortly after, whispering a message in Kagero’s ear before disappearing just as quickly.

Kagero puffed out a small plume of smoke and chuckled, “Let’s hope Shimura-kun does win, then.”

He said it quietly, more to himself than anything. Because Toga was all but directly laying on him, she was the only one that heard. She turned her head curiously to see if he would tell her. Kagero noticed, but didn’t say anything, simply waving as if it were nothing.

Maybe I should meet up with Stain again…

Changing his mind, he spoke up, “Hey Toga, Dabi. Do either of you want to find Stain for me and set up a meeting?”

Toga jumped up and faced Kagero while Dabi leaned in closer, obviously interested as well.

“You mean it!?” Toga squealed, “Are you really going to be working together this time!?”

“About time I did something worthwhile,” Dabi replied, trying and failing to hide the joy in his voice.

Mustard complained, “Why didn’t you ask me that?”

“We’ll even make it a little interesting,” Kagero teased, “First one to set up the meeting, I will do you exactly one favor. Within reason.”

Toga squealed even louder, Dabi sported a wild grin, and Mustard groaned at being ignored.

“You better not bitch out when I set it up,” Dabi warned.

“Are you going to work together!?” Toga asked again, jumping on Kagero.

Kagero caught her wrists standing up and threw her onto the couch, Mustard scrambled to get out of the way, “That depends on how the talk goes, Toga. Dabi, do you honestly think I’d go back on my word? Imagine how that’d make me look. And Mustard, because you’re a kid and you’re just starting out. You have no connections yet.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Dabi responded, already on his way out of the door to get a head start.

Toga was still laying on the couch where Kagero threw her, as if in a daze. He looked at her with a question on his face, “What, you’re not going to try to catch up with Dabi?”

She just shook her head, too busy fantasizing about what would happen when Kagero and Stain worked together. She could just imagine the streets running red. Kagero shrugged, taking his place back on the sofa, moving Toga’s feet out of the way and letting them rest on his leg.

In the corner of his eye, he could see Mustard brooding, saddened that he’s being left out again. Kagero sighed and shook his head, “Mustard.”

The boy perked up at being called.

“If you really want to be involved, you can come with me if or when we meet with Stain. I’ll show you a few things about how to make a deal.”

Mustard smiled, nodding his head, his happiness coming back to him. Kagero gave him a light smile and nodded as well, turning his attention back to the TV.

Sat in his chair at the Nomu warehouse, All For One listened in on the conversation and smiled to himself.

Yes. Kagero is developing quite nicely.

Chapter Text

Shimura stared down his opponent, picking them apart as he worked from the bottom up. Iida stood opposite him, doing the same thing. Shimura noticed that his eyes focused more on his hands than anything else. He tested it by flexing them, seeing Iida’s eyes squint ever so slightly. Shimura smiled to himself. If he could get Iida fixated on watching his hands, he’d be able to clinch the win.

“Are you ready?” Midnight started, her whip poised in the air.

“Win or lose,” Shimura called out to Iida, dropping into a readied stance, “No hard feelings, right?”

“Of course not! May the best man win.” Iida easily replied, dropping into a stance of his own.

Midnight looked between the two boys, satisfied that they’re ready to begin, “Start!”

Immediately, Iida rushed forward, timing his steps so he would lead with a roundhouse kick to the head. Shimura gaped in surprise, barely dodging the kick. He felt the air rush past his face as Iida’s foot passed harmlessly over his head. Iida’s foot landed, causing him to run out and away as jets do as they swoop around for a second run. Shimura couldn’t even bring his hands up to defend himself. Iida was moving faster than he could respond, and from what he could tell, he hasn’t even pulled out his super move.

Iida came out of his go-around approach and was closing in quickly. In the back of his mind, Shimura remembered what Iida said to himself when they went through Aizawa’s quirk apprehension test.

For fifty meters, I can only go up to third gear, he remembered.

Shimura studied the arena, each concrete slab looked about three meters by three meters, and the platform itself looked like it was set up six slabs by ten. Realizing he was about to attempt a complicated equation in the middle of a fight, Shimura shook his head, dismissing the thought, before running to meet Iida in the middle. If he could close the distance faster than Iida could kick it into a higher gear, then his speed would count for nothing.

Shimura ran out, his right arm outstretched, looking to clothesline Iida. To his credit, Iida didn’t change his speed, momentum, or direction, but chose to barrel through the obstacle. Shimura felt Iida slam into his arm, feeling it nearly come out of its socket before he realized his feet were no longer planted on the floor. Iida had grabbed his arm and was dragging him towards the boundaries.

“Like hell you’re doing that to me,” Shimura grunted.

He flexed his arm in Iida’s grip, making his body as rigid as possible so he could maneuver his way into a position with more base. Shimura’s feet skipped once, then twice, on the ground as he finally gained enough control before jumping on Iida’s back, Shimura’s legs wrapping around Iida’s torso.

Iida stumbled as he came onto the added weight, nearly falling head over heels. Shimura wrestled his arm out of Iida’s grip. Iida fought against him, attempting to throw Shimura off his back, but only succeeding in bringing them both to the ground. Shimura laid under him, but despite being stuck, he was in a much more advantageous spot.

Iida knew that as soon as he hit the floor it would only be a matter of time before Shimura had him pinned, so he scrambled as hard as he could. Iida grunted, fighting his way up as Shimura did his best to drag him back down.

“I apologize for this, Shimura,” Iida warned.

Shimura paused momentarily, “What are you-“

Iida threw his head back, slamming into Shimura’s face. Shimura felt his nose crumple under the assault, his head slamming into the ground. He yelled out in pain, his grip loosening just enough for Iida to get free. Now out of his grasp, Iida scrambled back to his feet, getting as far back on the arena as he could. Shimura recovered from his attack and shot back up as well, but didn’t chase.

He blinked the tears out of his eyes, wiping away the excess as Iida resituated himself.

“And here I thought you didn’t know how to play dirty, Vice Pres,” Shimura taunted. “What happened to the strait-laced Iida I’ve come to appreciate?”

Iida balked at the insinuation, “Wha- I would never. I have always…”

Shimura let Iida stutter through his denials, using the time to recover from the headbutt. Iida eventually recovered, shaking his head of the thought and crouched down into a runner’s stance. Shimura tensed in response; this was what he was expecting from the very beginning of the fight. He didn’t need to hear Iida to know what was happening. Over the roar of the crowds, he could make out the engines in Iida’s legs revving.

Ten seconds. Ten seconds is all I need. That, or bank on getting a solid hold without losing my arms in the process.

“Recipro Burst!” Iida yelled for the second time today.

Iida’s form blurred into a mess of blue, white, and red as he closed the distance in a blink. Shimura felt his legs leave the ground again, as Iida grabbed the back of his shirt, dragging him along like a sack of potatoes. On instinct, Shimura reached back to grab at the offending hand. He felt Iida’s wrist in his palm, and clamped down as hard as he could, making sure to leave his pinkie fingers up.

“You let me go now, or you lose your hand!” Shimura screamed over the howl of the wind.

Iida ran for a few seconds longer before abruptly stopping, using his forward momentum to aid in throwing Shimura through the air. He skipped a few times before rolling to a stop, landing just short of the arena’s boundary. Moving on instinct, he jumped back up and braced himself for the final blow that would take him out of the competition. He brought his arms up in an X to block his face, clenching his eyes in suspense, but the punch, kick, push, whatever he was expecting never came.

He opened his eyes slowly, seeing Iida standing still a few meters away, his face screwed in frustration.

Iida cursed himself, “I was certain that I was rested enough and drank enough orange juice to perform it again.”

Midnight paused in confusion as she took in the sight, but figured it out soon enough, “Iida, are you able to continue?”

Iida tried to move his legs but found that he was rooted to the ground. He shook his head dismally, “I am not.”

Midnight raised her whip in the air, “Iida is unable to continue. Shimura moves on to the final round!”

The crowd stayed quiet for a beat, not expecting such an anti-climactic result to the match, but quickly found their fervor again, bursting into their normal frenzy of excitement again.

Shimura slowly walked up to Iida, his hand raised for fist bump, “That was a good fight, Iida. You had me on the backfoot the entire time.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Iida shook his head, returning the fist bump, “I wasn’t sure how to proceed knowing how your quirk works. Whenever you grabbed me, I had to refrain from giving up right then.”

Shimura gave him a small smile, “I’m sure you would’ve figured out how to beat me. Can you walk, or do you need me to carry you?”

Iida gave him an embarrassed look, “If you wouldn’t mind.”

Shimura huffed and rolled his eyes good naturedly, walking in front of Iida so he could piggyback him. Iida hopped on, trying his best to remain composed as he was carried off the stage.

“And look at that sportsmanship!” Present Mic boomed, “That right there, Listeners, is the true spirit of competition!”

Safely hidden from sight in the tunnels again, Iida spoke up, “I do hope my brother was able to watch my fight. I’m just worried I might’ve disappointed him. Oh, you can put me down now, I think I can walk again.”

Shimura chuckled, squatting a little so Iida’s legs were touching the ground. When he felt the weight release off his back, he sighed in relief.

“If I know anything about your brother between what I’ve read myself and what you’ve said about him, I think he’d be proud of what you accomplished,” Shimura replied easily.

Iida nodded, content to let the conversation drop as they fell into companionable silence. As they were reaching the door for the section reserved for Class 1-A, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

“Ah, that must be him,” Iida excused himself, “I shall catch up with you and the rest of the class soon.”

Answering the call, he was surprised to find his mother’s voice on the other side.

“Mother, I lost my match, I’m sorry if I disappointed you or…” Iida greeted.

“Oh, Tenya,” his mother cut him off, “I’m not worried about that, you performed admirably. But that’s not why I called.”

“Mother?”

“Tenya, please stay calm, but it’s about your brother, Tensei.”

Iida heard his mother sob over the phone, worry leaking into his voice, “Mother? Are you alright? What happened to Tensei?”

“He- Your brother is in the hospital. A villain attacked him.”

Iida didn’t hear the rest of the call. He dropped his phone, too shocked to really process what he was just told. His mind flashed to moments of his brother, both in and out of his costume, seeing him smile and laugh alongside family and sidekicks alike. He knows that being a hero is a dangerous job, but he also knows that his brother is extremely skilled, and has never been injured to the point of needing to go to the hospital.

What villain could attack and injure my brother so grievously and get away with it?

Stain sat atop a water tower overlooking Hosu, basking in the city’s lights and sounds and cleaning his blade. He had just finished dealing with another fake, the scent of blood still lingering on his clothes.

“This city is a cesspool,” he spoke to himself. “Far too many fakes in one city, it’s no wonder crime runs wild here. There is no one to enforce law and order.”

He finished cleaning his sword, swinging it around and sheathing it on his back in one fluid motion, “Four is simply not enough this time.”

He jumped off the water tower, plunging into the city’s depths, looking for the next fake.

All For One turned off the audio feed from Kagero’s living room, satisfied with the way things were progressing now on his end. It was unfortunate that Kagero and Stain didn’t see eye to eye on things when they first met, but now that it seems that Kagero is willing to try again, he has high hopes for the next phase of Kagero’s plan.

“Doctor,” he called out to the room.

A few seconds passed before he received a response, one of the many speakers crackled to life, “Yes, my lord? I apologize for my tardiness, it won’t happen again.”

“It’s no problem,” All For One dismissed, “How is the latest batch of Nomu coming along?”

“Progress is going at the expected rate. I’m able to successfully create Lower Ends near consistently, and with each success for the Lowers, I get that much closer to perfecting the later iterations,” the Doctor reported, “Were you looking to evaluate them yourself?”

“No, not yet, I trust in your work. How many are available for action?”

The Doctor hummed, “Currently I have ten Nomus: four Lowers, three Middles, and three Upper Ends. There are also those in various stages of the development process, but they’re not stable enough to be brought out of their tanks yet.”

“I see. Reserve one of each for Kagero. I want them on standby for him to use until I say otherwise.”

“Of course, my lord. It will be done.” The Doctor signed off with a click.

All For One steepled his fingers in thought for a moment. He went through all the possibilities that could come of Kagero’s next meeting with Stain. Having plotted out a path that would work best, he opened the audio channel.

“Kagero,” he spoke.

“Master,” Kagero eventually replied.

“You are alone now.”

It was a simple statement, but one that commanded respect and fast obedience.

“I am,” Kagero confirmed.

“What do you think of your new recruits?”

Kagero let loose a chuckle, “I think they’re pieces of work, but they all bring something helpful to the table. Dabi and Mustard have decent offense and widespread attacks, and both can use them for isolation. Toga’s arguably the most useful out of all of them so far; I know I’ll be utilizing her skillset more than the others’.”

“Do you trust them to follow your orders to the very end?”

“I trust them to know what’ll happen if they don’t. Dabi’s the most problematic because I know his true loyalty lies with Stain, but he at least knows to respect his superiors. Mustard’s main issue is he’s too young to comprehend what’s happening, but that can be fixed with time, and Toga seems fully on board.”

“Don’t grow complacent with any of them.”

“Of course, Master. It’s as you’ve said, ‘only trust someone after they’ve died in front of you’.”

All For One smiled in his chair, a feeling almost akin to pride bubbled in his chest, “Very good, Kagero.”

“Was that all, Master?”

“No. Was there anyone else besides Shimura that caught your eye?”

“Among the herolings? Sure, but none of them in the same way Shimura has.” When All For One didn’t reply, Kagero added on. “Of the finalists, the ones that stood out were Shinso, Tokoyami, Yaoyorozu, and Uraraka.”

“You didn’t mention the powerhouses.” All For One noted.

“I didn’t, and it’s because their quirks are one dimensional, and their users even more so.” Kagero scoffed, “They know they have strong quirks, and flaunt them. But the others, there is so much untapped potential. Shinso has a mental quirk, I’m certain of it. Tokoyami and his Dark Shadow is something that I would love to explore, as I’m sure so would the Doctor. Yaoyorozu’s quirk has limitless capabilities, and Uraraka’s breaks all the known laws of physics and logic. If I had the chance to work with one or all of them, I could increase their effectiveness.”

“Then I suppose we should create an opportunity for you to do so.”

“I suppose we should,” Kagero agreed, “But first I need to bolster my numbers. Multiple targets require more eyes, after all.”

Chapter Text

As the third day of the Sports Festival was coming to a close, All Might found himself in Nezu’s office, sitting on the couch opposite of the principal himself.

“Yagi, now that you’ve had a chance to look over who and what UA has to offer outside of class, have you come any closer to making a decision?” Nezu inquired.

Yagi took a sip of his offered tea, considering his words, “I can see that we don’t have to worry about the future at all. All the students showcased brilliant displays of talent, skill, and ingenuity.”

“But…” Nezu prodded.

“The third years are amazing and strong. All of them have the drive to become top heroes in their own rights. The second years are still a little rough around the edges, but I’m seeing a few diamonds in the rough, and the first year is full of promising students.”

“Yagi, you’re deflecting.”

Yagi sighed, suddenly feeling his age, “I can definitively say that I will not be passing One For All along to any of the third years.”

“Oh? Can you elaborate?” Nezu perked up.

“I’ve already touched on it a little,” Yagi placed his tea down and cupped his chin, “But the third years have a solid grasp on how best to utilize their quirk. If I were to introduce One For All in the mix now, they’d need to learn how to use a brand new quirk to the same skill and proficiency as their original one in under a year so they don’t fall behind. I just don’t believe that anyone is truly that talented. I, myself, took years to master the quirk, and I was able to utilize most of its strength almost immediately.”

“You make good points,” Nezu conceded, “It would be rather counterintuitive to send an already promising hero into the field with the knowledge and skill as a five-year-old. I take it that means that you will be declining Sir Nighteye’s request, yes?”

“You knew-“ Yagi cut himself off, hanging his head in defeat. “Of course you did. It would be foolish to think otherwise. All Might’s one and only sidekick takes on a student that has one of the brightest smiles for a work study. It’s not the most subtle move.”

“If not any of the third years, then perhaps a second year?” Nezu continued, ignoring the comment.

Yagi shook his head, “I would prefer it to be a first year. That way they will have the entirety of their time here to grow into the quirk and I’d be able to have a direct hand in mentoring them. There were some promising students, but none of them had it.”

Nezu sipped his tea, nodding at Yagi, “And what is this ‘it’?”

“That’s just the thing,” Yagi frowned in thought, “I don’t know what ‘it’ is either. Calling it a gut feeling is wrong, but I don’t think there is any other way to put it.”

“Perhaps you’re looking for someone that reminds you of yourself?” Nezu pondered, “Someone that has a dream, but no feasible way of attaining it without the extra help?”

Yagi crossed his arms, “I’d like to assume I’m not as self-centered or idealistic as that, but it is possible. I’m just afraid that I missed the chance to meet the one I would proudly declare as my successor.”

“It is a worrying thought, but we have no control over that, just like how we have no control over the future. We can only hope to be prepared enough to confront it.” Nezu finished his tea and hopped on the coffee table, stopping in front of Yagi. “Whether or not you find the perfect successor, I do want to advise that you at least have someone in mind, should the worst-case scenario come to pass. They don’t need to be your final decision, but having someone to watch over would be helpful. I know you have a personal stake in Shimura-san, so why not consider him?”

Hearing the suggestion, Yagi’s expression darkened, “Absolutely not. I am not considering him because I have a personal stake. I refuse to willingly place an even bigger target on his back by giving him the one thing that man wants more than anything else. He has already lost so much.”

Nezu studied him, his beady eyes searching the other’s face for the words not spoken, “So you truly believe he is still around.”

Nezu spoke it with the solemn finality one would hear when receiving news that their loved one didn’t survive the surgery. What anger and frustration Yagi may have felt dissipated as he heard his worst fears vocalized.

“What other explanation is there? If you have one that would suggest otherwise, please enlighten me. I just-“ Yagi nearly pleaded. He stopped himself to take a deep breath. “Once I am certain that he is dead and I see his body reduced to ashes with my own eyes, then I will consider Tenko or anyone else. I will not send my mentor’s grandson to face off against her killer, nor a bright-eyed child to their early grave.”

Silence fell upon the room. The two stared into each other’s eyes, Yagi daring Nezu to say otherwise, Nezu searching for a crack in Yagi’s resolve.

“Very well,” Nezu eventually gave in. “But do remember that this fight is just as much Shimura-san’s as it is yours, and everyone here is learning to be a hero. It’s rather grim, but every hero is one step closer to the grave than everyone else, no matter how strong or careful they are. I cannot pressure you in to finding a successor quickly, but the sooner you do, the more secure the future will be.” Nezu hopped off the coffee table and made his way back to his desk, his chair moving and spinning as he jumped on it. “I believe that is all that I have for you today, Yagi.”

Yagi took the dismissal gladly, the topic having devolved into a rather depressing one. He stood and bowed slightly at Nezu before walking to the door. Before his foot left the room, he heard Nezu call out to him.

“I do wonder if you’re keeping Shimura-san away as a way to protect him, or yourself?”

Yagi turned his head to look back at Nezu, his attention now focused on some paperwork. He didn’t deign to respond, only nodding silently to himself.

Stain’s extended stay in Hosu didn’t go unnoticed. Shortly after the fourth dead hero was found, while still a tragedy, the city let out a relaxed breath. Precedent showed Stain killed four heroes before moving on, so everyone felt a huge weight lift off their shoulders. When the fifth body was found, they were apprehensive, thinking it was a new player or one of Stain’s crazed followers trying to pick up where he left off. When the sixth and seventh turned up, the police felt it best to initiate a curfew and unofficial lockdown, urging the citizens to stay indoors as much as possible, but did very little to enforce it. The heroes continued their patrols while the sun was up, but as soon as the sky showed the tiniest hints of a sunset, they all called it a day. The absence of heroes at night sucked up the last bits of warmth in the city.

Dabi laughed at the misplaced fear.

Citizens were and will never be the target for Stain’s crusade, they don’t need to be in fear of falling victim to his blades. Only fake heroes and the occasional villain that was back out on the street because of the corrupt system. Every hero that stopped patrolling once it got dark was evidence that they were never safe to begin with. After all, a Hero’s job is never over.

Dabi was skulking around the streets, making sure to keep his head down and his ears open. The sidewalks were emptier now than they used to be, save for the groups of friends making their way to the next bar or the people still trying to live like nothing was happening. With less people on the street, it was harder for Dabi to stay inconspicuous, so he was forced to stick to alleyways.

The back alleys of Hosu were winding like a maze. He took a random right and came up to a dead end, back tracking he kept moving about aimlessly but with a purpose.

Dabi huffed as he came upon another dead end. Checking his phone, the clock showed twenty-hundred thirteen in military time. He dropped the phone in his pocket as he stared at the buildings’ facades, the orange-pink hues of sunset reflecting off the multitude of windows. It had been two days since Kagero gave him the task of finding and setting up a meeting with Stain, and Dabi hadn’t had any luck so far. Every slight whiff that he could’ve gotten was blown away as quickly as he caught on to it.

How the hell did I find him in the first place? I found him easily enough once I- Giran.

He made his way back closer to the main street, walking an alley that ran parallel until he came upon his destination. He was faced with a nondescript door, with a sliding panel at eye height. He banged on it three times - pound, pound, knock. Two solid thumps with the meat of his hand and a normal knock with his knuckles.

The panel slid open immediately. Although he couldn’t see them, he knew that there was a pair of eyes beyond. The panel slammed shut and he heard a latch unhook. The door swung open inwards. Walking in, he nodded at the door man who sat on a stool, grey skin like stone with his burly arms crossed, his face obscured by shadows. Dabi felt, more than saw, a single nod from him in acknowledgement.

The interior looked like any other lounge with a bar. Multiple sets of leather chairs facing each other with a table in between them made from half of a barrel. The patrons all paused their conversations, their eyes all looking at Dabi, all of them assessing the potential threat before going back to their conversations.

Dabi meandered up to the bar and sat himself down, a glass of water immediately presented itself in front of him.

“Can I get you anything?” the bartender asked.

Dabi tapped the bar in thought, “Bourbon. On the rocks.” The bartender nodded and turned around to prepare his drink. “Is Giran around?”

The bartender didn’t respond, instead he placed a napkin down first, with a message scrawled on it. Dabi read it quickly and flipped it over. His drink followed soon afterward. He took a sip, relishing the burn as he felt it trickle down his throat before standing up again. He slowly made his way to a booth situated in the corner. Sitting on the bench with his back to the wall he found Giran in a dark suit, smoking a cigarette and reading some papers while idly spinning his lighter shaped like a revolver around his finger. Dabi walked up and unceremoniously dropped himself in the seat opposite.

Giran looked up, surprise evident in his face before he schooled it, “Dabi! Long time no see, how have things been with the young master?”

“Young master? Gross. Don’t call him that,” Dabi cringed, “Outside of creeping on quirks, his extremely vague statements, and crazy girl’s incessant flirting, it’s working out fine. I guess I was on some kind of probationary period since he’s had me cooped up for a bit, but now I get to stretch my legs some.”

Giran chuckled, “Oh ho, sounds like you’re really enjoying yourself. So what brings you here? Don’t tell me he’s got you on shakedown duty.”

“I wish, that’d be fun.” Dabi took a sip of his drink, “But no, he’s got me and crazy girl on a mission. He wants to meet with Stain again. You know how I can find him?”

Giran took a drag of his cigarette and blew the smoke in Dabi’s face. He clicked his tongue in fake disappointment, “I’ve said it once before, but I thought he was smart one of the group. Stain’s a ghost, a shadow passing over the wall at best. If he wants to talk, he’ll find you, not the other way around.”

“But you got me him before. Just call him again.”

“That was a unique situation.” Giran shook his head, “But that’s just not how it works, kid. My advice? Do what Shigaraki did and take out some heroes. He’s bound to notice you then.”

Giran took one last drag before putting it out on his ashtray. He holstered his lighter under his jacket and stood up, finished with the conversation, “I’ll count that as a free consultation. The next time you find me, expect to pay double. And tell the young master I’ve a few more people lined up. If he wants, I’ll bring them to Buraka like last time.”

Dabi growled but didn’t move from his seat. The talk went about as well as he was expecting, but at least instead of being at square one, he’s now at square one and a half. He downed the rest of his drink, leaving a bill on the table.

“Maybe Shigaraki will let me borrow some of those files he mentioned,” Dabi asked himself as he walked back out into the city.

Shimura was hunched over in concentration as he fiddled with the controller in his hands. His character, Kamui Woods, jumped in the air and attacked with a flying kick. His enemy bounced off the floor and into the air, leaving him wide open for Shimura to unleash a combo.

Shimura’s fingers seemingly blurred as they input the proper combination, Kamui Woods on screen unleashed branches from his arm, wrapping around the opponent and swinging them around before slamming them on the ground. The character bounced again, Kamui Woods shuffled forward leading with an elbow strike, followed by a knee to the gut before swinging around an arm with a branch that looked like a flail. His opponent was dazed from the attack, letting Kamui Woods grab their arm and perform a judo flip.

The flip took out the last sliver of health, leaving his opponent standing dazed.

“Shimura, be a bro and don’t do me like this!” Kaminari cried.

Shimura turned his head, a smirk on his face. He stared Kaminari dead in the eyes, “Suffer.”

Shimura’s fingers blurred again as Kamui Woods performed his super move, the screen changing to a cut scene. The Kamui Woods on screen screamed out, “Preemptive Binding: Lacquered Chain Prison!” The branches wrapping around the opponent before throwing them into an Iron Maiden off screen. Kamui Woods quipped, “That’s enough of your dastardly deeds, villain,” before stylized words fell from the screen saying “HEROIC TAKEDOWN”.

Kaminari fell over in dramatic fashion, “How could you do this to me!? After all that I’ve done for you, this is how you pay me back!?”

Shimura threw a pillow at Kaminari’s head, “Just get better. You should be happy I didn’t use my main on you.”

“He wasn’t your main!? I was only able to get one hit on you.”

“You were button mashing the entire time,” he deadpanned.

“Well, when you put it like that…”

Someone passed by Kaminari’s open door that caught boys’ attention. They peeked their heads out of the door to see who it was. What they saw was Iida rushing out of the hallway with a bag packed and his phone to his ear.

“Yo Iida!” Kaminari called out before Shimura could stop him, “Where you headed off to?”

Shimura elbowed Kaminari for his bluntness.

Iida looked up, surprised, before muttering into his phone and placing it to his chest, “Ah! Kaminari-kun, Shimura-kun, I’m sorry if I disturbed you. There has just been a family issue that I need to attend to, I should be back by tomorrow for class, no worries.”

Iida gave them a smile that was obviously fake. Shimura could see pain in his eyes, and even a bit of anger. He bit his lip, worry starting to creep in. He wanted to reach out to Iida, but felt that it wouldn’t be appropriate.

“I hope everything’s alright,” he replied instead.

“It should be, mother just wanted me home to go over some things,” Iida gave a sharp nod, “It’s nothing to be worried about, I assure you.”

“If you say so.” Shimura reluctantly agreed, “But if there’s anything that we can do to help, let us know.”

In his peripheral vision, he saw Kaminari nodding his head as well, “Yeah man, that’s what friends are for right?”

“Thank you, both of you. I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.” Iida pressed the elevator button, “But if you’ll excuse me, I must be going.”

The elevator dinged and the door slid open and Iida walked in. Shimura and Kaminari turned to each other before retreating into the room closing the door behind them.

“I wonder what that was about,” Kaminari asked.

“You didn’t hear?” Shimura pulled out his phone, already searching for something. He finally found what he was looking for and passed it over. “Iida’s brother was attacked by the Hero Killer.”

Kaminari took the offered phone and looked it over. His expression dropped as he finished reading, “Dude. That’s just- Wow. Ingenium’s really fast too. To think that even he couldn’t take Stain down, that’s…”

Kaminari couldn’t find the words to express his shock and sadness for Iida. While he wouldn’t go so far as to say they were close like Shimura was, he respected Iida enough to consider him a friend-by-extension.

“I hope Iida will be fine,” Kaminari decided to settle on.

Shimura muttered quietly, “The ones who refuse to bend are the ones that are easily broken.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing!” Shimura replied too quickly, “I was just saying we should probably check in on him tomorrow when he gets back.”

Kaminari eyed him suspiciously before letting the topic drop, smiling to ease the tension, “Ha ha! Yeah, you’re right. No use worrying about it if he won’t let us in right? Now come on! I wanna see what it’s like when you use your main.”

“Your funeral,” Shimura smiled.

Kaminari kept the smile on his face as they continued playing. While he was definitely trying his hardest to pay attention to the game, he couldn’t help but think about what he heard Shimura mutter.

What did he mean by that?

Chapter Text

Uraraka slammed her hands on the table, accidentally letting all fingers touch and declared, “I’ve decided to go with the Battle Hero: Gunhead for my internship!” The table itself glowed pink indicating her quirk was active but remained fixed to the floor due to the other trays full of food, “Oops. Release.” She brought her hands together, touching all fingertips together.

“Gunhead?” Shimura asked around his food, “I thought you were planning on being a rescue hero.”

Iida was quick to chop his arms at Shimura in admonishment, “Shimura-kun! It is impolite to speak with your mouth full.”

Shimura swallowed his food and wiped his face for good measure, hoping to appease him, “Fine. I thought you wanted to be a rescue hero.”

“I do!” Uraraka readily agreed. She brought a hand up to scratch the back of her head, “But after the Sports Festival, I saw how far you got, and noticed how far behind I was compared to everyone else when it comes to fighting. It made me realize I need to round myself out. What kind of a hero would I be if I were a one trick pony, you know? Kinda like what Aizawa-sensei said at the USJ.”

Iida, Kaminari, and especially Shimura, all involuntarily winced at the mention of the USJ, the event having long been over but still extremely fresh in their memories.

Iida was the first to recover from the short mental relapse, “Yes, well, that is a very wise decision Uraraka-san. I admit that I am not familiar with Gunhead, but he sounds like a good choice for you. I have decided on where I would like to go as well.”

“Who would that be?” Kaminari perked up, “I’m sure you had some pretty good options to choose from.”

Iida took a bite of his food before replying, “I’ve decided to go with the Normal Hero: Manual.”

All three blanked at the name, “Who?”

“The Normal Hero: Manual. Currently ranked 222 and based out of Hosu.” Iida repeated, as if it would clear away any confusion.

Shimura and Kaminari shared a look, both uncomfortable with the idea of him going to Hosu. They held a silent argument before Shimura apparently won.

“Um,” Kaminari broached the subject, “Doesn’t that seem, I don’t know, kind of pointless? I’m not the most book smartest in the class, but even I can see that there probably isn’t much you can learn from him. I mean, none of us even knew who he was before you just mentioned him, right? Why would you want to go to someone so unknown?”

Shimura spoke up, pleased with how Kaminari broke the ice, “Yeah, do you really think Aizawa-sensei would let you do something like that? I mean, he always preaches about being rational in your decisions and whatnot.”

Uraraka was silent throughout the exchange, nodding along, but spoke up, “They’ve got a point, Iida-kun. You’ve already got a head start with you being part of a hero family and all, so why not take advantage of the connections you have through them?”

Iida took his friends’ arguments in stride, nodding along with a fake smile, “I assure you I did not make this decision half-heartedly. I do not wish to rely solely on the connections my family has made, but to carve out a path on my own while still running parallel with my family’s ideals and goals. And to do that, I feel like I should start very small with a lower-ranked hero and work my way up. After all, you can’t run before you crawl.”

Kaminari snorted at Iida, who was unaware of the puns he just made.

“I am aware that Aizawa-sensei is rather strict about being rational,” Iida continued, “so if I have to explain to him my choice to get it approved, I’m sure he’ll understand. But that’s enough about me, who have you chosen, Kaminari-kun, Shimura-kun?”

“I haven’t decided yet,” Shimura grumbled, “There were way too many to get through during homeroom.”

Iida nodded, “Of course. Coming second in the Sports Festival, it’s only natural you’d get far more than others.” He turned expectantly to Kaminari.

“I think I’m going with Conduit. He’s a twilight hero that bounces around the country, but from what I hear he’s currently in Fukuoka.”

“Oh!” Uraraka exclaimed, “I think I know who you’re talking about! He came by my hometown a few years back and took down a villain that the heroes there couldn’t defeat. He’s got electric powers too, travels by gliding on the powerlines, and wears a yellow jacket with a sash, right?”

Kaminari shot finger guns at her, “Bingo! That’s him.”

“He seemed brutal, though. The villain was all messed up and had electrical burns on his body after their fight from what I heard,” Uraraka frowned. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“Meh. As long as I can learn something from him, I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

The group devolved into more lighthearted conversation, letting Shimura fade into silence. He studied Iida closely, watching how he was interacting with everyone. His smile was fake. His eyes were focused but not on what was before him. His movements were just a little too rigid to write off as his normal.

Iida’s reasons for choosing Manual made enough sense, were almost noble even.

So why did hearing his explanation rub him the wrong way so much?

Shimura knew that Iida was devastated by his brother’s injury and subsequent retirement from heroics, it would be more of a surprise if he wasn’t.

Iida’s probably looking to pick up where his brother left off. Unfinished duty in the city maybe. Maybe hoping to do his brother proud by picking up the slack.

Shimura sat there, content with his conclusion. Iida glanced at him, having noticed he wasn’t contributing to the conversation as much as normal. Their eyes met and it clicked in Shimura’s mind.

He’s going to pick up where his brother left off, but it’s not because he wants to make him proud.

Toga skipped down the alleyways without a care in the world, floating on cloud nine. She was happy as could be. Once she set up the meeting between Shi-kun and Mr. Stainy, then not only would her two favorite people in the world be working together but she would also get to have a date with Shi-kun! If she weren’t on a mission she would’ve squealed in delight.

She had been roaming the city aimlessly, following where the wind blew her and where the blood flowed. She followed the scent of blood like a shark would in the ocean. As soon as she caught a whiff of the metallic scent she craved, she bounded in that direction as quick as she could. When the scent grew strong enough, she started to salivate. After all, where there was blood, she knew that Stain would be nearby.

That’s how she came upon where she was at now. Laying in a growing pool of blood was a hero wearing a red cape with a white underlayer and black tactical vest under it, his face covered in a yellow mask with four slits that form a cross. He was still breathing, although they were growing shallower. She could make out where he was attacked – a small nick on the inside of his arm and a stab wound through their left lung. Stain must have purposely avoided the heart to make sure the hero suffered as he suffocated to death.

The hero must have noticed her as his mask was now facing her full-on. He weakly raised his gloved hand and pointed at the rooftop behind and to her left, “Run.”

Toga quickly turned around and caught a glimpse of a scarf disappear behind the roof’s ledge. Her eyes widened and she called out after the figure, “Mr. Stainy!”

She ran off in pursuit, using a closed dumpster as a springboard before jumping onto a lower hanging fire escape. She climbed up the ladder as fast as she could and bounded up the stairs two at a time. As soon as she got to the roof, she caught another glimpse of the scarf disappear behind the corner of the building’s rooftop entrance. She ran around it and found herself facing sheets hanging on clotheslines let out to dry.

She slowed her pursuit, silently drawing the knife she always had strapped to her leg. She tilted her head into the air, sniffing it for any flecks of blood that may have landed on Mr. Stainy during his short bout with the hero. Toga walked into the maze set up by the sheets, keeping her ears open and moving silently on the balls of her feet, ready to jump at a moment’s notice.

The breeze blew hard, billowing the sheets. Around one of them, she saw a dark figure unmoving at the ledge of the building. She pushed past the sheets and sheathed her knife, forgoing her earlier caution in favor of haste, feeling her excitement rising, her prize just meters away. The figure still didn’t move.

“Mr. Stai-“ Toga called out, her arm outreached as she placed a hand on their shoulder. The figure felt wrong in her hand, she twisted the figure around and saw that it was a fighting dummy, “-ny?”

She stilled in confusion for a second, “Who keeps a fighting dummy on the roof?”

A shadow jumped up from beyond the edge of the building, faster than she could react. She felt a knife cut into the back of the hand that was still on the dummy, her other fumbling for her knife to defend herself.

She swung around quickly but felt her body tense up, her form collapsing to the floor. She was frozen, her left arm outstretched with the knife held tightly in her hand. She fell facedown, unable to see her attacker.

She heard the gravel on the roof crunch under the attacker’s foot as they made their way around to her knife. She felt a spiked boot poke into her hand, wrenching the knife free and kicking it out of reach. Toga held her breath, both in fear for her life and excitement as she was certain that she was in Stain’s presence. The attacker crouched down, using their hand to roll her over so she could face up.

Now able to see, Toga’s sight was greeted by Stain, his hunched form backlit by the building behind him, the loose tails of his scarf and mask blowing in the wind. Had Toga not been paralyzed, she would’ve brought her hands to her face and squealed like a schoolgirl getting a photo with Hawks with his arm wrapped around her shoulders.

“So you’re the one who has been following me,” Stain spoke, “Who are you?”

Toga’s eyes twinkled, “I’m Himiko Toga! I’m so happy I found you again, Mr. St- Stain-sama.” She cut herself off, making sure she gave him the respect he deserved and not the silly title she gave him.

“What do you want, girl?”

“I want to live in a world-“

“Why are you following me?” Stain clarified.

“I have a message for you, from one of your associates.”

Stain crouched to get a better look at her, “I have no associates. I work alone. If I find you following me again, I won’t be as lenient in letting you live.”

He stood, made his way to the edge of the roof and prepared to jump to the next building. He crouched down, but before he could jump, Toga called out to him.

“Do you really not remember me?” she asked, sadness leaking in her voice. “You found me. Two weeks ago. It happened just like tonight. I was following the scent of blood and stumbled upon one of your murders, in a haze, thirsty. You watched me as I drained the hero of their blood, I know you did.”

Toga was too caught up in retelling her first encounter that she missed the paralysis let up. She stayed on the ground, “When I was done and the haze in my mind gone, I saw you there. You threw me a blood bag and told me to call the number on it, that you knew people who could help me.

“I called it and you were right. The people there did help me, so now I’m trying to help pay them back. I want you to meet them.”

Stain never left the ledge of the building, he was still crouched and primed to jump, but he looked over his shoulder as Toga started to pour her heart out. The mention of the blood bag was the final piece he needed to remember everything.

“I remember you now.” Toga was now kneeling patiently on the roof, her eyes starting to glimmer with hope, “You must be here on behalf of Shigaraki. I already told him that I have no interest in working together outside of our ‘non-aggression pact’ as he put it. Our goals may be similar, but we couldn’t be any more incompatible as individuals. This was already decided.”

Toga pouted inwardly, disappointed that this wasn’t going in the direction she wanted, “Would you at least hear him out?”

Stain didn’t reply, considering his options. Toga held her breath, sensing this would be the last chance she got before he made himself scarce again, possibly moving to another city if he determined the effort wouldn’t be worth it.

“On my own time.” Stain finally replied before jumping to the next building.

Toga immediately stood up and ran to the ledge, watching as Stain’s form shrank in the distance. She saw him jump one last time before vanishing in the city. She heaved a sigh, torn between being elated that Stain knew who she was and was at least entertaining her by almost agreeing to a meeting, and disappointed because it wasn’t set up, meaning she couldn’t go on her date with Shi-kun.

“Maybe Shi-kun will still be happy with me,” Toga reasoned with myself, “Mr. Stainy didn’t say no after all.”

Kagero slouched in one of the booths of the bar, lightly bobbing his head to the rhythm of an unheard song. Things were moving far too slowly for his liking. He wasn’t seeing any progress with Toga or Dabi, and was minutes away from doing something himself before the bell jingled. Kurogiri and Mustard looked to see the newcomer.

“You’ve still got the files you grabbed from that one place, right?” Dabi asked, beelining straight to the booth Kagero was at.

Kagero knew exactly what he was talking about, but decided to play dumb for a bit, “You’re going to have to be more specific than that. What files? What place?”

“Don’t bullshit me,” Dabi countered, “You mentioned that you had some intel on some heroes to get to Stain. I want them.”

“Assuming I have these files, what would you need them for?”

“All of my contacts came up as dry, and every lead I had on him turned cold before I could follow up on them.”

“And these supposed files will help you… how?”

Dabi groaned, “Seriously? It’s like I’m dealing with a thirteen-year-old that just learned what sarcasm is.”

“Hey!” Mustard refuted from his stool at the bar.

“Can it brat, the adult is speaking,” Dabi shot back. ”So do you have them or not?”

Kagero snorted and rolled his eyes, “Of course I have them. They’re also updated. The heroes that Stain took out that were also among them are now gone.”

“So I can have them.”

“You never answered my question.”

Dabi stared at him unimpressed, “You’re a real pain in the ass, you know that?”

“Takes one to know one,” Kagero grinned, “Seriously though, why do you want them? Do you honestly think you can find Stain like how I did?”

“I wouldn’t know, since I don’t have them.”

Dabi and Kagero stared each other down, neither of their expressions changing from feigned disinterest. Kagero stood up and motioned for Dabi to follow him, “Fine, just know that what you plan on doing goes against the deal I have with Stain. If you hurt our tentative relationship, I won’t hesitate to cut you off. You want to go poke the bear? Be my guest, but the second things go to shit, you’re done.”

Dabi huffed, his hands stuck in his pockets as he followed Kagero through the winding halls of their hideout. Kagero took the huff as an affirmative and lead him to their destination.

Kagero opened the door, gesturing inside as a doorman would letting in guests, “Everything you’d need is in here. These are all copies anyway, so I couldn’t care less about what you do with them. Nothing can be tied to me, my benefactor, or any of our connections, so don't bother trying to do something public with them.”

Kagero slowly closed the door, leaving Dabi with one last thought, “Think long and hard about how much you want to kill Endeavor. If you fuck up anything, I’ll make sure all you can do is watch as I kill him in front of the entire nation.”

The door closed and Dabi was left in a state of shock. He looked over the room, two opposite walls covered in shelves and folders sandwiching a computer station, the door to their back.

“Fuck.”

Dabi was now back at square one.

Chapter Text

Flipping through his students’ applications for internships, Aizawa couldn’t help but hold back a disappointed sigh. Some of them made smart choices, most didn’t. Unsurprisingly, the majority of the unwise decisions were made solely on the fact that they were the highest ranked hero that they got an offer from. Aizawa leaned back in his chair, sliding down it, groaning at his students’ irrationality.

The door slid open, Yamada was speaking animatedly with Kayama, both holding their own stacks of papers to grade. Aizawa groaned again, lamenting the lounge’s absence of quiet that he so loves.

Yamada was quick to pick up on his mood, “Oh come on, Shota! Lighten up! Your two best friends are here to make your day amazing!”

“My day was already amazing, now you’re just bringing it down,” Aizawa grumbled.

Kayama gasped in faked pain, bringing a hand to cover her heart, “Shota, how could you say that? You looooove hanging with your friends.”

“Whatcha workin’ on anyway?” Yamada asked. Picking up the papers on his desk, he began to leaf through them, standing over his right shoulder, “Internship applications? All you gotta do is say yes or no. Doesn’t take that long to do.”

“I know that. I was just about finished with them.”

“So why are you being so grumpy?” Kayama asked from over his other shoulder, “You hate doing any kind of paperwork.”

“Because my students are making illogical decisions based off desire and popularity and not with their futures in mind.” Aizawa motioned at Yamada, asking for the papers back. “Here, let’s start off with the most obvious ones. Minoru Mineta applied for Mount Lady. Momo Yaoyorozu applied for Uwabami. Katsuki Bakugo applied for Best Jeanist. I could go on, but I’m hoping you get the picture.”

Yamada and Kayama nodded along, in clear agreement. Kayama grabbed the papers out of Aizawa’s hands and looked through them herself, “But you’ve approved of every single one of them? Couldn’t you just deny and pick heroes for them?”

“Just because I can doesn’t mean I will.” Aizawa agreed, “I told my class that who they pick is their choice, and if they want any help, they need to ask for it. Not one of my students came to me, and thanks to the rat’s excessive supervision, I know for a fact that outside of asking each other who they’re going with, none of them asked for a second opinion. If they go on their internship and they find it was less than satisfactory, it’ll be an important lesson to think ahead.”

Kayama was still going through the papers, having separated them into two piles of “good pick” and “bad pick”. She was on the second to last sheet before she froze, “And you’re not going to do anything about little Tenya’s?”

Noticing the change in her tone, Yamada looked over as well to see what shook her. He winced when he saw the hero’s city of operations, “Sho… You can’t seriously be thinking about letting the little listener go to Hosu of all places.”

Aizawa looked at his friends faces, seeing multiple emotions flit across, but the ones that remained were fear and worry. When he didn’t respond, Kayama brought a hand to her mouth, stifling the cry that nearly came out.

“Shota, I know you have a reputation to maintain, but this… Allowing Tenya to go to Hosu, that’s… What will Tensei say when he inevitably finds out?” It was a low blow, and everyone knew it. Kayama stared at Aizawa, waiting his answer, “Well?”

“Nem, Zashi, I know what you’re thinking, but this is honestly the best-case scenario.” He gave a tired sigh, Aizawa could see that Yamada was working himself up to loudly refute but he continued talking, "I know that this is a terrible situation, and I’m a shitty person for letting it go through, but it’s better than the alternative. You’ve seen how Tenya is.

“He’s grieving, but he’s stuck in the anger phase. It wouldn’t matter who he talks to, not even if it came from Tensei himself, he won’t listen. So I’m going to give him a nudge in the right direction.”

“By pointing him at a serial killer and the person responsible for his brother’s early retirement. Great idea, Shota,” Kayama replied flatly.

“I never said it was a good idea, it’s just better than-“

“Better than the alternative, right?” Yamada cut him off. “What is this ‘alternative’ you keep talking about?”

Aizawa narrowed his eyes at him, not happy that he was being ganged up on, but he could see why, “The alternative, Hizashi, is forcing him to go to another hero somewhere far away, only for us to lose him too.”

His friends’ tirade was cut short. The wind in their sails suddenly stopped. They felt like the rug was swept out from under them. Kayama looked on with worried eyes, “What do you mean by that?”

“Tenya isn’t good at processing his feelings, not like I’m any better, but that’s beside the point. He lacks any sense of flexibility, and when things don’t go the way they’re expected, he’s left floundering. If I were to deny his request, in his current mental state, he would rationalize it’s because I know the reason why and I don’t trust him to do the right thing. He wouldn’t lash out, he would go about his internship dutifully, because a person of authority instructed him to. However, he’d compartmentalize as well as he could, leaving the anger he’s feeling to grow unattended.

“In the back of his mind, he wouldn’t trust his mentor, another person in authority fully, to do the right thing because he felt betrayed by me. Eventually, everything would boil over, and one day, I’d say the third day of the internship, when his hero mentor does their daily meeting or whatever and Tenya doesn’t show up, the hero will find an empty room.”

“You’re not suggesting…” Kayama trailed off, not wanting to say it.

Aizawa didn’t want to say it either, but nodded, “Letting Tenya go to Hosu ensures that we will most likely know where he’ll be at all times. I’ve already sent word ahead to Manual and briefed him on Tenya’s situation and cautioned that he might go AWOL. If or when he does, Manual will at least have an idea on where he might be and will alert us immediately.”

His friends only looked slightly relieved, but still wary at how insensitively Aizawa was responding to their current dilemma. Noticing their discomfort, Aizawa attempted to placate them, his voice growing a little softer, “Out of everyone here, you two should know that I take the lives of my students seriously. If I didn’t believe in Tenya, I wouldn’t have let him get this far. I know he has the potential to be a great hero, even without his familial ties. All he needs is the chance to broaden his horizons.”

Yamada and Kayama shared a look, both still terribly uncomfortable with the decision. Aizawa saw Yamada take a grounding breath and turned to face him, his gaze hardening, “If things fall apart, you’re the one breaking the news to Tensei.”

The discussion effectively ended, they split off to their respective desks, letting the room fall into a tense silence. Aizawa sighed as he rubbed at his temples. At this point, all he’d like to do now is take a nap. He moved to drop his head onto the desktop, but his attention was pulled to his computer monitor as it pinged. A notification bubble in the bottom right corner.

Curious, he clicked on it. A news article popped up, the headline stating that a rash of blue fires were showing up throughout Hosu. The article itself didn’t give anything worthwhile, but the comment section did. A few of the comments speculated that someone else was trying their luck committing crimes while the city was under siege by a serial killer. It was a decent idea, but Aizawa didn’t think it was anything that desperate. He scrolled back to the top, now reading it with a finer-toothed comb. He made note of the locations given, and the statements left by the first responders. The fires seemed random, but he saw a pattern clear as day.

The fires all originated from back alleys, the prime location for Stain’s kills.

Aizawa felt his blood run cold, worry painting his features. Is Stain no longer working alone?

“Again,” Kagero demanded as he stood over Mustard’s prone form.

Mustard was dressed in a white t-shirt and blue athletic shorts, most likely his school’s PE uniform, his shirt drenched in sweat. Kagero was wearing a navy long lined t-shirt with loose black joggers, still looking fresh. Mustard laid on his back on the matted floor, his chest heaving with exertion. Kagero had dragged Mustard to the training room somewhere below the bar, saying that Mustard needs to know how to take care of himself.

Mustard groaned as he peeled himself off the floor, grabbing the knife that fell out of his hand. He stood on tired legs, bringing his hands up to a meager fighting position. He breathed heavily but didn’t stand down.

Kagero appraised Mustard’s form, “Go.”

Mustard hesitated a little before running forward. He brought his knife hand up and went for a slash that Kagero easily dodged.

“Keep going.”

Mustard responded by performing a back handed swing, hoping to catch Kagero on the way. When that didn’t work, Mustard ran forward, his knife arm brought up again for an overhead slash. Kagero caught the arm easily, but Mustard used his left arm to punch him in his exposed torso.

“Good.”

Swinging his arm down and around to the right, Mustard broke out of Kagero’s hold. Mustard pushed away from Kagero to gain a little distance before thrusting the knife forward. Mustard didn’t get close as Kagero simply brought his leg up and kicked him away. Mustard tumbled a few times before coming to a stop. He stayed down this time, too spent to try to pick himself back up.

Kagero walked over to Mustard, his hands in his pockets, “That was a good move, but you made a mistake. Any guesses?”

Mustard groaned in response. Kagero chuckled, “You’re fighting against someone bigger than you and has more reach. You want to win a fight? Stay close to tangle them up, not push them away and give them the chance to use the distance against you.” Kagero reached down and picked up Mustard be the scruff of his shirt, placing him back on his feet, “And your swings are way too big and slow. You’re in a knife fight; you attack quickly and precisely. The longer you stay extended, the greater the chance your opponent will catch and disarm you.”

Mustard skulked over to the bench where his water bottle was and plopped himself down. The bench was on the far side of the room, opposite the door. Mustard took a large gulp before responding, “We’ve been at this for hours, I think I deserve a little slack. Besides, I thought you’re supposed to learn how to fight without weapons beforehand.”

Kagero nodded, “Usually that’s the case, but if you haven’t noticed yet, I don’t exactly follow a normal flow of learning.” Mustard shivered, the first night in the warehouse came rushing in his mind before disappearing again. “If you learn how to properly wield a knife in combination with your quirk, you could become a more accurate definition of cloak-and-dagger. You also seem to be decently competent with the knife anyway, so it all works out.”

Mustard tried not to preen at Kagero’s praise, even as an off-hand remark. Instead, he caught sight of Toga entering the training room, silently stalking towards them. Kagero was still talking to Mustard, but he wasn’t hearing anything, too entranced by Toga. He saw her draw a knife before she made eye contact with him. She brought a finger to her mouth, silently telling him to stay quiet.

“Mustard.” Kagero’s voice cut him out of his musing, his tone indicating he’d been trying to get his attention for a little while already. He chanced a quick peak behind Kagero, but found that Toga was gone, “Do you want to start up again?”

Mustard squeaked, shaking his head vigorously, “Nope! No sir, I think I’ve learned my lesson. More practice fighting, got it.”

Kagero narrowed his eyes before suddenly turning around. He intercepted Toga’s attack, trapping her knife arm with his left and elbow striking her in the face. He pulled her down a little, clasping his hands behind her neck as he dragged her forward to the ground. He kneeled on her, keeping her arm extended and pinned between his legs. Kagero disarmed her and pinned her arm behind her back.

Time seemed to catch up to Mustard as he watched Kagero’s flawless takedown. He blinked and Toga was on the ground, lightly squirming beneath Kagero’s weight.

“Got to try harder than that, Toga,” Kagero chided. He got off, helping her to her feet. Toga pouted as she reached for her knife, but he swept it away.

“No fair, Shi-kun!” she complained. She aimed a finger at Mustard, “He gave me away! Even after I shushed him.”

Mustard gawked at being thrown under the bus. He pointed to himself, “What was I supposed to think was going to happen? Who sneaks in and tries attacking their boss like it’s some sort of game?”

“Me!” Toga exclaimed, clearly annoyed that she was unsuccessful.

“That’s enough, both of you,” Kagero interrupted, “Mustard, Toga’s right. You did give her away. While I’m glad that you’re able to pick up sudden movement, you need to work on splitting your focus. It was obvious you were distracted when you weren’t replying to me, so I knew something was up.”

Mustard deflated a little at being scolded, but Kagero kept going, turning it into a teaching moment, “Think of it like this: You’re cornered by a hero with nowhere else to go and you’ve already called for backup. You don’t know how far out they are, but you know they’re coming, so now you’re stuck and your only option is to stall. You keep the hero distracted and you eventually see your backup. They motion they’re going to go for a sneak attack.

“You get the message but your eyes widen in surprise, your breathing changes, your speech speeds up, your tone becomes too relaxed – any and all of these are indicators that something’s going to happen that the hero isn’t aware of. The hero picks up on these cues, and now they’re taking down your backup. You screwed up and now both of you are getting locked away.”

Mustard stayed quiet as he thought about the scenario Kagero laid out for him, seeing the point he was making, “I think I get it. I’ll be sure to work on that. I don’t want anybody else paying for my mistakes.”

“And you,” Kagero turned to Toga, giving her an unimpressed look, “When I said you can practice your stealth techniques on me, I didn’t mean you could attack with intent to maim.”

Hearing the disappointment in his voice, Toga looked down at her feet and scuffed her shoes, “I just wanted to make you bleed a little… It wasn’t going to be a big cut, just a small one.”

“Why?”

She paused before relenting, “Because I love blood. I love the color, I love the smell, I love the taste, I love the way it looks on people, especially on those I love. Giran said that we could do what we wanted if we joined up, so why aren’t you letting me?” Her voice grew hard, glaring at Kagero, “Are you going to reject me like everyone else?”

Kagero said nothing, contemplating her words. The growing silence was grating on Toga, who grew fed up with it. She growled and jumped at him again, “I knew it was too good to be true! I thought you were different!”

Mustard vaulted over the bench, hoping to put a little distance between him and the other two. Toga threw Mustard’s water bottle at Kagero, who dodged it. When he brought his attention back towards Toga, she was gone. He looked to Mustard who looked just as confused. Kagero whirled around, checking behind him before being knocked to the ground, her knife clattering away.

Somehow Toga got to him from above.

Toga scrambled and grabbed the knife, settling into a stance while Kagero got back up. Now wielding the blade, she lunged again, the knife swinging in a wide arc. Kagero could’ve easily dodged it, but he didn’t. The blade was aiming right for his throat, but he redirected it just enough so that it slashed down his chest. At the sight of the blood, Toga dropped the knife and tackled Kagero again, her pupils dilating as she went to lap up the blood as it started to flow. Instead of falling back over, Kagero caught her in a hug.

“I’m sorry,” Kagero apologized. “I’m not mad at you, and I won’t turn against you, I promise.” He turned his head to look at Mustard, who was shocked at the brief fight, “You either. I won’t abandon any of you, cause if I did that, well that would make me just like the heroes wouldn’t it?”

Toga gasped, her temporary frenzied stated having abated now that she drank blood. When Kagero’s words registered, she pushed away in embarrassment, “Sorry.” She apologized quietly and walked away.

Kagero watched her leave, sighing as he realized he should probably stitch himself up before long. “We’re done for today, Mustard. Go ahead and relax.”

Mustard nodded and hurried out. Kurogiri materialized next to him, silently scrutinizing Kagero’s state.

“Kagero Shigaraki, you may want to clean yourself up,” Kurogiri advised, “Giran is upstairs, he brought along another potential new member for you.”

Kagero hummed, “Fine. I’ll be up in ten.”

Kurogiri nodded and disappeared again. Kagero poked at his chest to see how deep it was, trailing his finger over the cut on his shirt, “This was one of my favorites too.”

Upstairs in the bar, Giran sat at his usual stool nursing a dirty martini, his signature cigarette resting on the ashtray. Next to him sat a man wearing a white Henley shirt under a black jacket, what stood out was the brown paper bag over his head. He too was smoking a cigarette, bringing his hand under the bag so he could take a drag.

“Where is he at? I hope he stays away from me,” the masked man asked, immediately contradicting himself.

Giran chuckled at his companion’s nervousness, ”Not to worry, Jin. The young master will be with us soon enough." He looked to Kurogiri and quirked an eyebrow, “Right? He’s been gone longer than usual.”

“That is correct,” Kurogiri responded, “Kagero Shigaraki had some personal issues to tend to beforehand, I apologize for the delay.”

“So long as you’re alright with me drinking you dry, I’ve got no problems with waiting,” Giran waved off.

“Can I get a soda, then? Give me the hardest shit you’ve got!”

Despite being featureless, Giran could see the perplexed expression he was getting from Kurogiri, “I’ll explain when the young master gets here. For now, just get him a cola.”

“Thank you. I’m not a damn baby!”

Eventually, the inner door opened revealing Kagero. He was wearing a black tank top, bandages peeking out from underneath, a light blue jacket over top. He took a second to look over the room, “Someone’s a little shy, it seems.”

Giran turned to look at Kagero, “Shigaraki! Good to see you!” he threw an arm over the masked man’s shoulders, “This here is Jin Bubaigawara, he’s a real earnest guy that I know you’ll find a real help.”

“That so?”

Bubaigawara got off his stool and stood in front of Kagero, seemingly staring him down from behind his mask, “Call me Jin, I’m in your care. I will only be addressed as Bubaigawara-sama you lowly peasant!”

Kurogiri bristled at his ward being talked down on. Kagero saw his eyes narrow to yellow slits, no doubt deciding the worst destination he knows so he could drop Jin into it. Kagero glared at him, giving him a silent warning. Kurogiri relaxed only slightly, still eyeing him with disdain.

“Split personality?” Kagero guessed, “First one’s the actual response. Second one is a contradiction or inner thoughts?”

Giran gave a lazy clap, “I’d expect nothing less. You’re right on all three points. Jin here’s been a little down on his luck, been turned away from every job he’s ever had.”

“I just want to find people that’ll trust me so I can trust them. Fuck everyone, I’m a lone wolf.”

Kagero nodded in sympathy, “And your quirk?”

“Oh, I can make doubles of anything, living or not.” He demonstrated by grabbing the cola bottle he’d been drinking out of in his right hand. In his left, a mass of mud shot out from his hand and a perfect copy of the bottle minus the liquid inside was created. “The durability of the copy is about half, so when it reaches that point it just turns into mud again.”

Kagero’s eyes were sparkling, the fact that Jin didn’t contradict himself wasn’t lost on him. He was brimming with questions and fought hard to restrain himself, “Oooh, yes. I will absolutely take you in. I’m excited to see what more you can bring to the table. What’s the deal with the bag, though?”

“Gotta cover myself up so I don’t split apart,” Jin replied, “I’m all good, can’t and won’t split.”

Kagero hummed, “We’ll address that later. Giran, thank you very much. We’re about halfway done with the new recruits now. I expect the rest to be just as good.”

Giran scoffed, “You wound me with your lack of confidence, young master.” A small portal opened above the bar top, dropping a small bag of cash. Giran smirked, “Always a pleasure, Shigaraki.”

As Giran walked out the door, Jin stayed standing in front of Kagero. The bar fell quiet as Kagero was thinking about the possibilities that just opened up with the newest addition.

Jin chuckled nervously, “So, what’s the word, boss? I don’t work for anyone.”

Chapter Text

Class 1-A chattered amongst themselves excitedly as they waited on the train platform. All of them carrying around a metal briefcase with a number on it plus their backpack and duffel bags. All except for one.

“I can’t believe you’re interning with Thirteen!” Uraraka gaped, “How did you manage that?”

Shimura lightly scratched at his neck, “I don’t know. I was going through the list of offers and saw their name. I didn’t even think teachers could do that sort of thing, but it makes a lot of sense.”

“I guess, but we learn from them every day. Wouldn’t that just be like extra lessons?”

“Well, yes, but they teach normal school subjects. Outside of Foundational Heroics, we only really learn how to be heroes from Aizawa-sensei and All Might. All of the teachers are pro heroes, so why wouldn’t they be able to take us on for internships?”

“Huh, I never thought of that before. Maybe I could’ve asked Aiz-“

“Absolutely not,” Aizawa immediately shut down, “If you ever see me take on a student for a work study or internship, assume it’s because I have a gun to my head.”

Uraraka looked at Aizawa with worry, “Figuratively, right?”

“Everybody, listen up!” Aizawa addressed his class, glossing over Uraraka, “You lot will be attending a week-long internship with the pro hero of your choice. I can’t speak for each individual hero, but the expectation is that you will only be tagging along with them, purely for supervision. Outside of paperwork, you should not be actively assisting them in the field unless the hero gives explicit permission to you.”

He stared down at his class, his gaze lingering on the more trouble-prone students, “Remember, you are all representing UA, but you are also putting yourself out there in the public eye. It isn’t common, but it’s also not unheard of for students to make a name for themselves during this time. This does not mean you should jump at the chance should it arise. Now get going. I will not have your first impressions be ruined because of your inability to follow a schedule.”

Everyone said goodbye to each other as they made their way to their respective trains. Shimura looked around for Iida, hoping to catch him before he got too far. Seeing him briskly walking to his train, he ran after him.

“Iida-kun!” he called out.

Hearing his name, Iida paused before performing a proper about-face, “Shimura-kun, I would love to chat but Aizawa-sensei said we must be on our way.”

“I’ll be quick,” Iida looked conflicted, but nodded anyway. Now that he had Iida’s attention, Shimura was at a slight loss of words. He could still see pain in his eyes, but it was giving way to a burning anger, “I just wanted to say that you can always call me if you want to talk. Doesn’t have to be anything important, just calling to say hi or something, I don’t know.”

Iida looked beside himself. Shimura could see him mentally debating, the anger in his eyes momentarily fading to sadness before it was roughly shoved back aside, “I appreciate the sentiment Shimura-kun, but I highly doubt we will have a lot of time for ourselves during the internships. I’ll be sure to catch up with you when we return. If there is nothing else, then I must be on my way. If we aren’t fifteen minutes early to the expected time, then we are late.”

Iida turned back around before Shimura could reply, leaving him to dumbly scratch at his neck. Shimura hung his head in disappointment. He knew that he should’ve done more before, but every attempt he made at reaching out to Iida, he was met with a brick wall. This interaction was only marginally better than all previous attempts.

“You can’t help someone if they don’t want it,” Aizawa spoke up from besides him. “All you can do is to be there for them when they need it the most.”

Shimura nodded sadly, “I just think I should’ve done more. He’s my friend.”

Aizawa shrugged non-committedly, “Like I said, you can only do so much. Now come on, let’s get you back. Thirteen’s been too excited since you chose to go with them, and I need you to put a damper on it.”

“Harsh.”

“Deal with it.”

The ride back to UA was uneventful. The shuttle they took to the station was empty and devoid of the liveliness it had when the class was still on it. Aizawa didn’t speak once to initiate any small talk, he had never been very good at it, and always preferred to stay in silence. Shimura didn’t mind it either since he too wasn’t good at holding a conversation.

Shimura sat in the passenger seat, his forehead resting against the window as he watched the city go by. Admittedly, he was ecstatic about his internship, but he couldn’t bring his body to reflect it when all he could think about was how he had somehow failed his friend. He could see the pain and conflict Iida was going through. It was right there, and Shimura knew all he had to do was push a little more before finally getting through the walls Iida put up. Whenever he saw the chance, he let it slip away, too scared of accidentally pushing him away instead. Shimura huffed in frustration.

UA’s four main buildings eventually came into view beyond the wall, its glass panels shining like a beacon as it reflected the sun. Aizawa followed the path to the side of the campus, passing by the main building and various storehouses. He pulled up outside of a garage door, easily big enough to house a small plane. They waited as the door slowly opened, revealing rows of vehicles, both school-issued and personal.

“Thirteen still has classes to teach, so you’ve got the rest of the school day to yourself,” Aizawa explained as they walked to the dorms together. “Normally I would suggest you catch up on your homework or training, but for now, just don’t cause trouble for your fellow students and teachers.”

Aizawa opened the door to 1-A’s dorm and stalked off to his room without another word, stopping only briefly in the kitchen to grab a jelly pouch from his locked stash.

Shimura stood in the threshold, surrounded by the utter quietness of the dorm, unsure of what to do. His friends were gone and there was no way he’d do any homework if he was given a free day. He stayed there, dumbly swinging his head back and forth across the common room searching for inspiration when he heard the audible slam of Aizawa’s door.

Still debating what to do, he didn’t have to wait long before a knock sounded at the door. Confused, he opened the door revealing All Might in his smaller form.

“Uncle Tos-!” Shimura started before cutting himself off, “Yagi-san, what’re you doing here?”

Yagi chuckled as he waved his hand, “No need for the formality, Tenko, my boy. Would you care to join me for a walk?”

“Oh! Yeah, sure give me a sec,” Shimura closed the door on Yagi. It reopened moments later with Shimura stuffing his pocket with his personal effects he didn’t bring with him to the station, “Alright, let’s go!”

The pair walked towards one of the many paths that line UA’s property. Because the school was surrounded by a small forest, there were a plethora to choose from, and no worry of being too crowded. They walked around in silence for a spell, just enjoying each other’s company and the scenery around them.

The sun was shining and there was a nice breeze, overall, a perfect spring day.

They continued in silence before Yagi broke it, “How have you been, my boy? I meant to check in with you after the Sports Festival, but I couldn’t find the time. I’m sorry for that.”

“I’ve uh- I’ve been better if I’m being honest.” Shimura scratched timidly at his neck, briefly remembering his encounter with that girl, “Things just seem to keep piling up and it feels like it’s all circling around me. But you don’t need to apologize, I know how busy you can get.”

Yagi paused in his step. He was fully prepared to have to coax Shimura into sharing, so when he heard his reply, he was thrown through a loop, “My boy, you know that’s no excuse. A hero saves hearts as well as bodies, right? If I can’t save the hearts of those closest to me, then I must be a lousy hero.”

Shimura immediately turned around, pointing a finger at Yagi, “Don’t you say that! You’re the best hero there ever was. You’ve saved the hearts of plenty.”

“The hearts of plenty, not the hearts of everyone,” Yagi somberly corrected. “But that was meant to be a joke – looks like I’m a lousy excuse for a comedian as well.” He gave a self-deprecating laugh, “On a more serious note, do you want to talk about it?”

The argument Shimura had died in his throat, instead he turned back around and started walking again. He picked up his pace as he started looking for a bench. He grumbled to himself, “That’s just not fair.”

Seeing that Shimura wasn’t stopping, Yagi walked after him, “Hey, wait. Tenko, come back here!” Yagi didn’t want to buff up to catch up to Shimura, especially because of something so trivial, so he broke into a light jog.

A bench came into view around the path’s bend. Shimura made a beeline for it and sat down, Yagi a few steps behind.

Slightly panting, Yagi sat himself down next to Shimura, “I’m sorry if I upset you, my boy. I meant to make this talk more upbeat, but I guess we both have a few things to get off our chests.”

Shimura shrugged apathetically, “No, I’m sorry for running off. It’s just, a lot is happening in such a short time frame, that I barely have any time to process anything.” He let out a humorless laugh, “I was just barely getting over the USJ and then the Festival came up, and then I stupidly challenged a villain that’s out to get me on live TV. Then in the same day, some chick finds me and says that the same villain is expecting me. Like he’s expecting me to change sides and join him.

“And then Iida’s brother got attacked by the Hero Killer, and since finding out, Iida’s been all cagey and it’s really getting on my nerves. I’m trying to be a good friend, but every time I try talking to him about it, he shuts me out. Then the internships come up and Iida goes and chooses a hero that offers him nothing solely because he operates in Hosu where his brother was attacked, and now he’s off on a train with a stupid vendetta in his head and I can’t do anything about it! Fuck! It’s so unfair. Why my class?” He gave a choked sob, his voice falling quiet, “Why me?”

Throughout his rant, Shimura doubled his scratching, both hands leaving the skin around his neck red and raw. Yagi was at a loss. He knew that things hadn’t been going smoothly but had no idea the extent at which it was affecting everyone, let alone the one he holds so close to his heart. Yagi’s internal conflict hit a peak when he heard Shimura’s comment, no doubt meant to be kept to himself.

“Am I really not meant to be a hero?”

Immediately Yagi grabbed Shimura and hugged him, one arm around his body while the other holding the back of his head. Shimura yelped in surprise as he felt the embrace, but quickly melted into it. It pained Yagi to hear Shimura, the grandson of the greatest hero Yagi had ever seen and had the privilege to learn from, doubt himself so heavily.

“Of course you’re meant to be a hero,” Yagi consoled. “You also don’t need to take on everything by yourself. You have friends and people that will support you. Take it from a guy who’s done most of his work alone. In my many years of being a hero, I’ve only had one sidekick by my side, but that was only for a few scant years. Everyone else that works for me is only there so that they can do paperwork while I run off again.”

“How am I meant to be a hero?!” Shimura demanded, Yagi’s second half completely lost on him. “My quirk has no off switch. If I touch anything with all five fingers, it disintegrates. If I touch anyone with all five fingers, they could die. My quirk is meant to destroy things, not to save people. Hell, at the USJ, my first instinct was to kill Shigaraki after he tried attacking us. And I wanted to try again after you fought with him! That’s not what a hero does, but at the time it just felt so right.”

Shimura was openly crying at this point, tears flowing down his face as he tried mopping them up with his uniform’s sleeves, “I fight dirty. I’m not friendly with people I just meet. I hesitate to take that first step towards helping someone while others run ahead. Nothing about me or what I do is heroic.”

Yagi was kneeling in front of Tenko now, both hands placed on his shoulders, “Tenko, look at me.” Hearing the tone of his voice, Shimura sniffled one last time before shakily looking into Yagi’s eyes, “You’re scared. Believe me, I understand that feeling more than anyone. But you can’t let that fear lead your life, you can’t let it hold you down and break you, you can’t begin to doubt yourself. Because if you do, then the villains will have truly won. Tell me, my boy, do you know what makes a hero?”

Shimura silently shook his head.

“Someone isn’t a hero based on how popular they are, how strong their quirk is, not by how many criminals and villains they put away, not even how many people they save,” Yagi shook his head as he dismissed the most common thoughts. “A hero is determined by how well they can pick themselves up after they’ve been beaten down again and again and still face the next challenge that comes their way; never stopping until the goal they’ve set out to achieve has been accomplished outright.

“My master, your grandmother, once told me that a true hero saves not only their lives…” Yagi trailed off.

“… but also their spirits,” Tenko continued, “So no matter how scary things get, give ‘em a smile, as if to say, ‘I’m a-okay.’”

Yagi smiled warmly, seeing the light return to Shimura’s eyes, “Exactly. It’s alright to be scared, Tenko. There isn’t a hero out there that isn’t. Just know that you’re never alone.” Yagi stood up tall, his hand stretched out for Shimura to take, “You’re far too young to be worrying about these kinds of things, so for now, take a step back. Take the time to learn everything you can now from your teachers and friends so that you can be more prepared in the future. Let the adults handle Shigaraki, and Stain, and whoever else may rear their heads. It’s our job to clear the path, it’s your job to help guide everyone through it.”

Dabi stood over the burning husk of a hero with a bored expression, his forearms smoking. He had been out hunting heroes for days with no luck. Between himself and Stain, the only heroes left in the city were no-namers and sidekicks, hardly worth the effort he was going through. Despite that he still hadn’t had any run-ins with Stain.

He groaned in frustration as he tilted his head up to watch the smoke rise in the air, “Another hero down and still nothing. Stain should’ve been all over this one, so where is he?”

As if his prayers were answered, he felt a presence drop behind him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, “Unless your name is Stain, I suggest you move along.” He raised a hand up, displaying a ball of blue fire, “I don’t mind adding one more body to my ledger.”

“Blue fire…” the figure rasped, Dabi’s ears perking up on the grating voice, “At last we finally meet.”

Dabi lazily half-turned, his hand still lit up, keeping his body a side profile as he looked at the new arrival. He smiled as he caught sight of the unmistakable hunched figure of Stain, his katana still sheathed on his back.

“It’s not like I’m trying to hide myself. You could’ve approached me after the first one.” Dabi replied, “I’m the one that should be saying that.”

“That is because I keep it that way. You’re obviously one of my more fanatic followers if you’re going to such lengths just to find me.”

“I wouldn’t call myself fanatic,” Dabi dropped his arm, letting the fire out. The alleyway fell into a heavier darkness, “just motivated. I’ve got a lot riding on this, so as payment, the least you can do is hear me out.”

Stain harumphed at Dabi’s abrasiveness, “If only to get you off my back, very well, but not here. If you fall behind and lose me, you will be joining the next hero you kill.”

“A test, right? Whatever, lead the way.”

Without further prompting, Stain ran at the nearest wall and walked up it a few steps before jumping across to the other building, zig zagging until he was on the roof. Dabi watched him go before shaking his head. He crouched down before jumping, jets of blue fire shooting out from his feet.

On the roof, Stain ran. He vaulted over vents and railings with practiced ease. As he reached the edge of the building, he didn’t break his stride, instead he placed his foot on it and leapt. Dabi ran behind him near step-for-step, only using his fire to aid him in the jumps he couldn’t make otherwise.

Stain took random turns, dropped into alleyways before reappearing on another roof blocks away. Dabi tried his best to hide it, but he was quickly running out of stamina, unused to the amount of running and using his quirk in quick succession. Stain must have caught on and increased his pace, the distance between the two growing with each step. Dabi’s lungs were burning, and his legs were on fire.

He looked down quickly to ensure he wasn’t actually engulfed in flames.

The momentary look away was enough for Stain to give Dabi the slip. Eyes widening in worry, Dabi ran up to the edge of the building he was currently on and stood on the ledge, looking down the alley and across to the other rooftops. He cursed when he couldn’t find Stain anywhere.

“Shigaraki is gonna kill me,” Dabi lamented.

“So that’s what this is all about,” Stain said from behind him. On instinct, Dabi unleashed a torrent of fire where he heard the voice come from. When the flames dispersed, he could see a scorch mark on the wall Stain must have been leaning against.

Dabi’s vision was filled with gravel has he felt himself get yanked off the ledge. He immediately got back up and retreated so his back was against the ledge, still seated on the ground. He raised an arm up, ready to unleash more fire but felt his body tense and freeze.

“I would say I’m surprised, but I’m not,” Stain said as he nonchalantly flipped his knife in his hand, “The girl found me first and not a day later I find you standing over my quarry. How many more dogs will your master unleash until I heed his call? Does he think me one of his pets as well?”

“No one’s my master,” Dabi growled. “No one holds my leash. I work with him, not for him.”

Stain crouched down and placed his face in front of Dabi’s, “Then why are you out here doing his bidding? You’re not doing it to sate yourself.” Stain brought his knife up and placed it against Dabi’s throat. If he could, he would’ve shivered at the touch, “I should kill you now, deliver your head to him as a message. I’ve held up my end of the bargain just fine, it seems like he hasn’t.”

“But you won’t.”

“And why is that?”

Dabi hesitated before pulling complete nonsense out of nowhere, “Because you know you can’t afford to make an enemy out of him too.” Feeling the blade slowly release against his throat, internally he whooped with relief, “You must’ve felt it too, right? It’s not just him you need to worry about. Shigaraki is dangerous, no question about it, but there’s someone else involved too. Someone leagues above Shigaraki, controlling everything from the shadows.”

The knife was now safely away from his throat, so he kept talking. What started off as a last-ditch effort to save his skin was actually starting to make a lot more sense, “Shigaraki is the face, but he’s not the leader, the true one anyway.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I have no interest in whatever scheme Shigaraki or the mystery leader may be cooking up in their heads, but I know it won’t be pretty. I’m only with him because I can’t do shit on my own, and you’ve made it abundantly clear you work alone. He’s the next best shot I’ve got at reaching my goal. You may not want to work with him, but you’re smart enough to know that when the storm hits, it’s best to be on the inside than out.”

The timer on Dabi’s paralysis reached its end. Feeling in control of himself again, Dabi dashed to the side and rolled to his feet. Stain didn’t move to pursue. He looked at Dabi pensively, obviously weighing the choices laid out in front of him.

“Tell Shigaraki I will meet with him in three days’ time. I will hear him out once more, but afterwards you will not contact me again.”

Dabi nodded once before turning his back on Stain and walked away. A simple gesture, but one that conveys trust. A literal example of ‘you don’t stab my back, I won’t stab yours.’ Dabi reached the other end of the roof and felt no sharp pain. He stood on the ledge before looking back, seeing Stain was long gone. He smirked and jumped off the edge, his hands in his pockets.

Time to pay up, Shigaraki.

Chapter Text

“What kind of hero do you want to be?” the hero asked as Kaminari walked besides him, still carrying his suitcase and duffle. Conduit was dressed in a blue and yellow leather jacket with brown cargo pants, two soft pouches strapped to his legs. Slung across his shoulder was a bag, the strap holding a communication device on it. He was fair skinned and had a shaved head, his voice gravelly as it came out. Instead of stopping off at an agency or a building to drop off his stuff like Kaminari was expecting, once he got to the meeting place Conduit gave him ahead of time, he stated they’re going on patrol.

“Getting into the serious questions already?” Kaminari joked, swapping the items in his hands, “I want to be a popular but really down-to-earth kind of hero. Super dependable and relatable. Like I want people to see me and know that I’m the same as them.”

“Decent enough, kid,” Conduit shook his head as he chuckled, “but I meant what type of hero. Since you want to be seen and heard, I’m guessing you want limelight.”

Kaminari would’ve knocked himself on the head if his hands weren’t full, “Oh duh. I’ve been spending too much time with smart people, too many open-ended questions.” Kaminari froze as he realized what he said, quickly shaking his head back and forth as he tried to apologize, “Not that I don’t think you’re smart! I mean, I’m sure you’re plenty smart being a hero and all, but like-“

Conduit rolled his eyes, “Cool it, kid. Little words like that don’t mean anything to me. So, limelight?”

“I think I know what you mean, but how about you explain to me the differences just to make sure we’re thinking the same thing,” Kaminari answered slowly.

“This is going to be a long week,” Conduit grumbled to himself. “You should’ve learned about the different types of heroics in school as well as the different subclasses, but here’s a quick run-down. Heroes are generally split into two categories: Combat and rescue. Should be self-explanatory.” He looked down to Kaminari who was nodding along.

“Combat and rescue have their own subsets that I’m not going to get into, but you can break it down again into the types of heroes. These are most referred to as limelight, underground, and the lesser-known twilight heroes. There’s also a fourth type, but they’re strictly combat oriented, and I’m legally not allowed to tell you about under threat of suspension until your second year. You following?”

“Oh yeah, I remember this. Limelight heroes are like, pretty much everyone that you see on the streets or on the billboard, right?”

“I would’ve said any hero that has a public presence and following, but sure. What about the other two?”

“Underground heroes are the exact opposite of limelight, like Aizawa-sensei. He’s an underground hero and he hates the media, being in public, and people.”

Conduit laughed at the last comment, “Got that right. Underground heroes are generally unknown to the public and only kind of looked down upon by the hero community.”

“Why?” Kaminari asked, his eyebrow raised in confusion.

Conduit didn’t reply immediately. He walked in silence before he ducked into an alleyway, motioning Kaminari to follow, “Underground heroes get their hands dirty. They work in the cover of the night with usually no backup, so their methods can be more hardcore than their sunshine counterparts. Anything is on the table so long as it falls within their moral standards first, and law, second.”

Conduit let the comment hang, studying Kaminari as he waited for the implications to hit. It was slow, but he could see the exact moment when understanding flowed through. All Kaminari could do was open his mouth and utter quietly, “Oh”.

“That’s not to say they’re bad heroes or people at all, some would argue that that would make them the greatest of all time,” Conduit only slightly amended. “Because undergrounders don’t have to worry about media backlash, public opinion, or reputation, they’re allowed a lot more leeway. I’m sure if you ask your teacher, he could give you a better snapshot.

“And then there are those like me, who are called twilight heroes. We toe the line between limelight and underground. We allow ourselves a public presence for the sake of support and a form of immunity – I’ll explain that later if you want. We also generally operate at night, follow the standards of limelight heroes, but aren’t afraid to get dirty.”

Kaminari hummed and nodded along, “I still don’t get it.”

“Jeez kid. We’re gonna have to work on that, too.” Conduit rubbed his head, “Alright. Imagine this. If you take Endeavor and make him work at night, that’s a twilight hero.”

Kaminari gaped at the revelation, “Oh! So someone who’s popular, a good hero, but doesn’t have to be nice and is okay with getting aggressive. Gotcha!”

Conduit gave him a flat look, “Sure. Let’s go with that. So now that you know the main differences between the different types of heroes, what’s calling your name?”

“Definitely limelight. I think I’d be fine as a twilight, but I don’t like being mean to people.”

“You don’t have to be-,” Conduit resisted groaning, “I only used Endeavor cause he’s an easy comparison. You know what? Forget it. Guess you’ll be doing a little bit of everything until you find what clicks.”

Conduit walked out of the alley and made his way to a normal looking brick building. Kaminari readjusted his backpack and fell into step behind him.

“Hey, Conduit-san,” Kaminari called out. “How come we didn’t stop off at your agency or somewhere before going off on patrol? Wouldn’t it make sense if I were in costume too?”

“I needed to get a feel for you first before committing to anything,” Conduit replied. “I’ll be showing you how I operate while dipping into the different styles. Since I now know you’re basically a clean slate, we can get started. But first, we’re headed there.”

Kaminari followed his gaze. Conduit was looking at and fast approaching a tall, grey, and mortar building. He could make out some fences lining parts of the perimeter and some structures at the top, but other than that, the building was entirely unassuming.

“Uh, what is this place?”

“This is The Office: Fukuoka branch. A sort of hub for independent heroes that float around, not tied down to any one agency. Since I’m operating in Fukuoka for the time being, this is where I stay and work out of.”

Kaminari’s eyes were wide with wonder, “Wow. And you said Fukuoka branch? That means there are other buildings just like this everywhere?”

“Not everywhere, but in the places that matter,” Conduit nodded. “They’re all run by the Hero Public Safety Commission, so anyone that’s a hero has full access to it whenever they want. They’re all outfitted with bedrooms, training rooms, a full kitchen staff, and even a small staff of support engineers to fix or make any gear you might need. We’ll be using this place as a base for your internship.”

Conduit walked up the stairs leading to the entrance and paused, “Once we get you settled, we’re going up to the roof to see what you can do and test your upper limits on absorption and output.”

He briefly let arcs of purple electricity snake around his arms to give Kaminari an idea of what to expect. Kaminari gulped, “I’m going to be in a lot of pain, aren’t I?”

Conduit chuckled and walked in.

Iida walked stiffly and tensely a few steps behind Manual as they walked the streets of Hosu. Manual wore a skin-tight, blue and white shirt that was tucked into light orange gloves and dark pants. He wore white boots and a matching light blue helmet with a dark visor and a fin adorning the top. His whole ensemble was reminiscent of a shark, despite not having the quirk.

Iida’s head was on a swivel, but he wasn’t looking for petty theft and crime. His sights were set on something more sinister, looking down any alley that looked darker than the rest, hoping to get a glimpse of his target. While walking, Manual used his silence to get his introductory spiel out of the way. Iida heard none of it.

“Sorry to bring you out on patrol on the first day, Tenya,” Manual apologized, bringing Iida out his reverie, “I’m usually on-call, but since the city has… seen better times and days, everyone that’s able has been asked to fill in some of the gaps.”

“It’s no problem, Manual. I’m glad to get a first-hand experience of being a hero so soon,” Iida thanked.

Manual joked, “That makes one of us. I had a whole speech and presentation all set up back at the agency I was hoping to have you sit through. Your loss, though.”

“Nonsense! I’m sure after we’ve finished patrolling, we will still have enough time afterwards for you to go through your presentation. I’m looking forward to hearing what you have to say.”

“It wasn’t that important,” Manual dismissed, laughing at Iida’s earnestness. “I was going to use it as a slight hazing of the newbie, so you lucked out. But man, am I happy you’re here. Having Ingenium’s little brother here is sure to bring the city out of its stupor.”

Iida froze at the casual mention of his brother. For a brief second, he saw nothing but red. How can a hero talk so brazenly about another’s misfortune, let alone right in front of the subject’s brother?

The more rational part of Iida’s brain knew that Manual meant no harm with his comment, only trying to keep a light atmosphere, but the part that was being blinded with rage writhed at it. Iida wanted to give in to the rage and yell at Manual, telling him to keep his brother’s name out of his mouth and spoken with only due respect, but he stamped it down. There was no point in being angry with him. Manual was his mentor for the week, and a hero. He wasn’t a villain.

Iida bottled up his anger and screwed the lid tight. The anger would be used when he saw a villain. The true villain. He would save it for when he found Stain.

As soon as he mentioned Ingenium, Manual wanted to bite his tongue. Tenya had been silent for most of their patrol, but the silence now coming from behind him was different. Instead of it being subdued and respectful, this was laser focused and oppressing. He turned his head to look at him and even though his face was covered by a helmet, Manual knew that Tenya was lost in himself. He was walking robotically, more so than he was before. His head wasn’t turning as obviously as before, but when it did, Manual caught that it always lingered on an alley that was just a little too shadowed for the time of day.

Manual sighed heavily. Good going, Masaki. Now Eraserhead has a reason to kill you. He shook his head, looking to a clock, seeing it was almost lunch time, “Say, Tenya. How about we grab an early lunch? I know this shop that has the best rice bowls.”

Iida physically shook himself out of the funk he fell in after hearing his name, pausing as his mind was catching up to the situation, “Would that be alright? What if there is a villain attack while we are eating?”

“Then we’ll take them to go,” Manual replied, smiling cheekily.

Iida took a second to think before eventually nodding. Manual smiled and led the way. He knew that Iida was only indulging him because he was the superior of the two, but he would gladly take this over risking Iida doing anything foolish like Eraserhead seems convinced he will do.

“Shigaraki! You owe me my… favor…” The bell jingled as Dabi entered the bar, his proclamation dying as he was met with an empty room. The stool that Shigaraki usually occupies was empty, even Kurogiri wasn’t behind the counter drying and polishing a glass to crystal clarity. Moments passed and nothing changed. There wasn’t the slight shift of air that signified Kurogiri’s arrival, nor did the door that led further into the building open.

Dabi shrugged and made his way behind the counter, eyeing the multiple bottles on the shelves, “Let’s see… What to celebrate with. A bourbon? No, too standard. Scotch? Possibly. Maybe…”

As Dabi reached for a bottle at random from the highest shelf, a voice called out, “Might I suggest a cognac? Kurogiri has one that he reserves only for the most special of occasions.”

Dabi froze, his hand stopping just as he was about to grab a bottle. Dread creeped up his spine as the voice that called out was too sweet and cordial to be anything but genuine. He slowly turned around, confirming that there was no one else in the room. The seats were empty, the air conditioning unit hummed quietly, and the TV that sat in the corner was showing static. Everything looked normal minus the absence of the two main bodies.

He scanned the room again, searching for the owner of the voice, but coming up empty. Something shifted in the corner of his eye. Snapping his head, the TV was now a blank screen instead of static.

“What the f-“ Dabi leaned towards the TV, trying to inspect it before the floor disappeared beneath him. He yelped as he went through one of Kurogiri’s portals, landing with a solid thud on padded ground.

“Oh, Dabi,” he heard Shigaraki call out to him, “nice of you to drop in. I sure hope you weren’t planning on stealing anything from Kurogiri. He hates it when people try that.”

Dabi sat up, taking in the sight before him. Toga and the brat were sparring with a knife, some dude with a bag over his head was making a mess of things with mud, and Shigaraki was staring at him, his face showing slight irritation like he had interrupted something. He bent down and held his hand out to help Dabi up.

“Fuck you. That was a shitty joke and you know it,” Dabi bat Shigaraki’s hand out of the way and stood on his own, “You owe me now.”

The irritation on Shigaraki’s face was replaced with confusion, “What do you mean?”

“You said that whoever was able to set a meeting up with Stain gets a favor from you. Stain said he’ll meet you in three days. I want my favor.”

“Ah,” Shigaraki nodded, “I did say that. Except Toga said that she was the one to set up the meeting before you.”

Dabi looked over to where Toga and the brat were still knife fighting, “Oi! Crazy girl! Shigaraki’s favor belongs to me!”

His declaration surprised Toga enough for the brat to get a decent slash on her. At his success, the brat whooped loudly before Toga grabbed one of his arms and flipped him over. He groaned and called out something about it being a tie.

Toga skipped over, her arms swinging widely. She stopped next to Shigaraki, hugging his arm. Dabi raised an eyebrow when Shigaraki made no move to shake her off but decided to bring that up later.

“Shi-kun, what does he mean?” she asked Shigaraki, looking up at him.

“He says he was able to get Stain to agree to a meeting three days from now. Didn’t you say that Stain was willing to meet after you found him?” Toga nodded twice in response. He looked to Dabi, “The way I see it, Toga was first and opened the line. All you did was get him to decide on a time.”

Dabi gawked, “You can’t be serious. There’s a huge difference between saying yes and getting a solid confirmation. What did Stain say to you, then?”

Shigaraki looked at Toga expectantly. She screwed her face in though as she remembered when she found Stain, “He didn’t say no.” Dabi looked unimpressed at the response, “He said he would meet with Shi-kun on his own time.”

Dabi looked at Shigaraki incredulously and gestured at Toga, “There you have it. He probably only said that to get her off his back.” He brought his hands up and air quoted, “’on his own time’ could mean right then or literal years from now. The ball was entirely in his court, he would be calling the shots. But me, I got a date.”

Shigaraki looked at the ceiling and tilted his head side to side like he was physically weighing the pros and cons. His mouth was moving but no words were said, silently talking through the points brought up. Eventually he finished his musings, “But you can’t be sure that he agreed to an actual date because Toga got to him first.” Dabi was about to rebuke before Shigaraki stopped him with a glare, “I also don’t trust Stain enough to not pull a move like that, so good on you for making sure we get a confirmation.”

Dabi looked almost hopeful while Toga was trying to give Shigaraki her best attempt at puppy dog eyes, but in her case, it looked more like a kitten’s curious stare.

Shigaraki nodded, coming to a decision, “Both of you get one small favor from me, but enough of that. Jin, Mustard, get over here!”

Dabi wanted to ask what the difference was between a small favor and a normal one, but Shigaraki’s focus was already on to the next thing. The man with a bag over his head looked up from what he was doing and walked over. Mustard ambled over while draining his water bottle.

“Since everyone’s here,” Shigaraki addressed the group, “I think some introductions are in order. Everyone, introduce yourselves again.”

Bag-head, Jin, walked forward and bowed slightly, “I love meeting new people. Call me Jin. I’m already taken, move along bub.”

Mustard screwed the cap back on his water bottle and waved using it, “I’m Mustard.”

From Shigaraki’s arm, Toga gave an enthusiastic wave, “I’m Himiko Toga! I love blood and Shi-kun.”

Dabi could feel the sarcastic comment coming, but a glance at Shigaraki had him hold his tongue, “Yeah, sure. Nice to meet you too, I guess. What’s with the bag?”

“Jin has a special condition that requires him to cover his head,” Shigaraki explained for him, finally shaking Toga off his arm as he moved to place an arm around Jin’s shoulders. “Outside of saying he’ll split apart, he hasn’t explained much.”

Jin nodded in agreement, “Don’t want to risk anything, so I cover myself up. My face is too pretty for the likes of you.”

“Exactly. Jin is the newest member of the League, so play nice and get to know each other.” Shigaraki pat Jin on the chest, “Jin and I still have some things we need to try out. Everyone else, you’re on your own for the rest of the time.”

Dabi immediately turned and left the training room, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He felt Toga fall into step behind him, with Mustard bringing up the rear. He could sense Toga’s excitement bubbling just beneath the surface.

If he ignored her, maybe she’ll get a clue.

“Dabi. Dabi,” she tapped on his shoulder immediately. He dipped his head, resigned to his fate, “What are you gonna ask Shi-kun for? Are you gonna save it? Me? I’m gonna take him out on a date!”

That got a reaction out of him. He stopped and turned around, seeing Toga with a wide smile. Mustard was catching up, but made eye contact with Dabi. He glanced down at Toga, then back to Mustard and nodded his head away. Mustard understood what he was getting at and gave them as wide a berth as he could in the hallway and continued walking.

“Why are you so hung up on him anyway?” he couldn’t help but ask. “I don’t even think he would know what to do even if you asked him.”

“That’s just part of the fun! I love seeing how he reacts when I flirt with him!”

Dabi looked mildly amused. He could try tell her that she was far off the mark, but he knew she wouldn’t listen. He also enjoyed watching her fail time and time again to get any sort of reaction out of him too much to put a stop to it now.

“Well I wish you two the best.” Dabi moved to pat her on the head as condescendingly as he could, but she snaked out of the way.

“Only Shi-kun can pat my head.”

He rolled his eyes and turned back around.

He was pleased with how things were turning out, but thought back to the conversation he had with Stain. He replayed it in his head, reliving the moment, remembering how desperate he felt to come out of it alive, how things started to clear up once certain things were spoken.

“Why do you think Shigaraki wants to meet with Stain so badly?” he asked Toga.

“I don’t know, but I don’t really care either.” She hummed, her reply more serious than he would’ve thought her capable, “Mr. Stainy and Shi-kun were the only people who accepted me without a second thought, and Shi-kun even gave me a warm bed, food, and all the blood I would want. If Shi-kun wants to meet with Mr. Stainy, then what reason would I have to deny him that?”

Dabi grunted in response, but that wasn’t enough for him. He thought back to the voice he heard upstairs when he first arrived, “Aren’t you the least bit curious about any of this? I know what I signed up for, but I don’t like knowing the whole picture.”

“So long as you get to do what you want, why do you care?” Toga’s tone was changing. Her normal singsong voice replaced with iron, “Why are you asking questions? What’s your gain?” She pulled a knife out, loud enough for Dabi to hear it be removed from its sheath.

She wasn’t serious. Yet.

“Relax. I don’t plan on getting in between you and Shigaraki, nor between Shigaraki and whatever he’s planning,” he tried to defuse the situation. “Like I said, I don’t like not knowing all the angles. Sue me for trying to make sure my ass is covered.”

Toga concealed her knife again, then trailed a hand across Dabi’s back as she walked past him, “If you want to know the full picture so badly, why not just ask him yourself?”

She skipped forward, done with the conversation. Toga’s tone set Dabi on edge. There was a reason she said it like that.

“Ask me what?”

Dabi sighed as he heard Shigaraki call out from behind him. Of course.

Chapter Text

“Ask me what?”

Dabi sighed as he heard Kagero call out from behind him. Of course.

“Aren’t you busy with your new member? Why are you here and not with him?”

Kagero shrugged, “I am with him. But I’m also here. That’s the neat thing about his quirk. He can make doubles of anything, living or not. Granted, he can only make two at a time, but that can be more than enough.”

Dabi squinted, looking Kagero over for any noticeable differences, “So am I talking with a clone or with the real one?”

“Does it matter either way? The clones are the same as the original as far as I was able to find out, albeit less sturdy.”

Dabi responded by shooting a wave of fire at Kagero, who split the attack in half with his own, setting the walls beside him aflame. Kagero took a deep breath in and the flames on the wall receded, showing up again in Kagero’s left hand, the fire still burning a bright blue before it went out. Kagero’s hand started to drip.

“Well that wasn’t very nice,” Kagero tutted, now confirmed to be a clone. Dabi just looked at him impassively, the Kagero clone rolled his eyes and turned back around, waving his good hand dismissively, “Fine, fine. I’ll go get the real one. He’ll meet you up top.”

Dabi left to go find his way back upstairs. Before long, the Kagero clone couldn’t hold its shape anymore and broke down into a pile of mud.

In the training room, Jin perked up from his seat on the floor, “Oh. Looks like your clone met its threshold. Wow, you’re a really weak boss.”

Kagero was writing in a notebook, “So you can sense when your clones are damaged. Is it completely gone or is it just injured?”

“It feels like it’s gone. Living and breathing just fine!” Jin replied, his hand resting on where his chin would be.

“Do you know what caused it to break?”

“Nope. Of course I do.”

“Do you know what it was doing before?”

This was the main reason why Kagero was testing Jin. If the clones Jin makes retained any sort of experience after it had been destroyed and he was able to relay that, then the return on investment for Jin multiplies.

“Don’t reply immediately,” Kagero commanded. “I want you to focus. I don’t know what you’re feeling, but whatever signal or indication you get when a clone gets destroyed, leaf through it. Filter it. Try to put yourself in the clone’s shoes.”

Jin does as he’s told and falls into a position that looks like he’s meditating. Kagero can hear him breathing beneath his bag, starting slowly, but gradually getting more erratic.

“I- I can’t. It’s too much! There are too many of them!” Jin started to claw at his bag, making sure that it’s covering his entire face. Whatever he was going through, it was enough to keep from contradicting himself, “They’re the clones! I’m the clone! I’m the real one! They’re the real one!”

Kagero wasn’t expecting this kind of reaction and was caught way off guard. Not sure what to do, he resorted to something he knew would make Jin stop. He took his notebook and whacked Jin in the head. Immediately he crumpled.

He looked over Jin’s prone form, “Fuck. That didn’t turn out like what I was expecting.” He carefully took the bag off Jin’s head, finally getting a proper look at his face. Jin’s hair was brown-blond and he had some stubble over his lip and chin, the most prominent marking was a scar that lined from the top of his hairline down to the middle of his eyebrows. That might explain some of his problems. Kagero pulled back one of Jin’s eyelids to see if there was any reaction, but he was solidly out. “Hope I didn’t cause any further damage.”

Kagero maneuvered Jin’s body so he was laying on his back and grabbed his right leg. Rolling forward over his body, he brought Jin over onto his shoulder and stood up, bringing him into a fireman’s carry and carrying him to his room, “Guess we’ll finish whenever he wakes up.”

Upstairs, Dabi looked as bored as ever but he was growing more anxious. The Kagero clone had said he would be up soon, but it’s bordering on ten minutes now and still nothing. He knows that Kagero likes to follow his own schedule, but that didn’t ease his worry. He has questions he wants to ask, and now he was finally going to get some answers, but then why did it feel like he was walking on a razor’s edge?

He hid his worry by idly tapping on the bar top, pretending he was deep in thought.

Kurogiri was back behind the bar, but he couldn’t bring himself to order a drink, too afraid of the spirit loosening his tongue a notch too far. Toga and Mustard were doing something together in one of the booths, surprisingly not making any loud noises, so he couldn’t even scold them to pass time.

Eventually Kagero showed up wearing dark pants, a white t-shirt, and a dark green jacket, leafing through his notebook, going over what he found out with Jin.

“Finally,” Dabi dragged out. “I was beginning to think you actually blew me off.”

Kagero looked up from his notebook with confusion on his face. He flitted his eyes between Dabi and Kurogiri to see if they were in a conversation, “What?”

“You. Your clone said you would meet me earlier. Where have you been?”

Recognition dawned on Kagero, “Oh, you’re the reason why the clone died. How did you kill it?”

“Kill? It was still walking when I last saw it. And I attacked with my fire, but you- it, redirected it for the most part.” He shook his head, “We’re getting off topic. You free to talk?”

Kagero finished writing his notes down and closed it, “Sure. Kurogiri, to the tower.”

Toga stood up from her seat and started to scoot out of the booth, “Ooh, ooh. Can I come?”

“No.” Dabi stonewalled, standing between her and Kagero.

Kurogiri wordlessly opened a portal. Kagero walked through first, Dabi following a few seconds behind, after making sure Toga wasn’t going to follow. When he re-emerged, Kagero was standing at the edge of the building they were apparently on.

His jacket was blowing in the breeze. Night was in full swing, but the view before them was breath taking. The Ferris wheel’s cabins were glowing with an amber light, a few booths and cafes still had their lights on, some people were seen milling about on the streets, everything being reflected off the water.

“Never took you for a sightseer,” Dabi commented, walking to stand next to Kagero. “I’ve never been to Yokohama.”

“Well now you have. What’d you want to talk about?” Kagero asked, his gaze still overlooking the city.

Dabi took a second to contemplate how to ask the questions, taking in the view before him. He lamented wasting the time he had at the bar. He didn’t want to stay quiet too long, but he also didn’t want to ask a stupid question.

“Before that,” Kagero interrupted his thoughts. He turned his head, seeing Kagero looking at him, his green eyes showing hints of gold from the lights below, “Do you want this to be your favor?” Dabi opened his mouth, but Kagero raised his hand, silencing him, “If this is your favor, then I’ll answer your questions as fully as I can. If this is just a normal talk between two people, then I won’t.”

Dabi’s mouth hung open, unbelieving of what Kagero just said. He thought he had everything planned out, but Kagero had him hook, line, and sinker and he was none the wiser. The way Kagero was looking at him, Dabi knew he was found out.

He gave a small smile and chuckled, “Don’t look too shocked, Dabi. There is very little that happens in the bar, hideout, or any of the businesses we frequent in the underground, that I don’t have at the very least, an inkling about, especially if it’s about something or someone connected to the League.”

Dabi was gob smacked. He was sure that he was conducting himself in a covert manner, but somehow Kagero saw through it.

“So you know what this is about,” Dabi stated more than asked. “You’re dancing around the subject just for the hell of it.

“More or less,” Kagero shrugged. He turned back to face the city and sat sideways on the edge, his left leg dangling over the edge and right tucked up, leaning on his left hand while resting his right on his knee, “I know you’re starting to have questions, but not exactly about what. Is this your favor?”

“Unbelievable,” Dabi ran a hand through his hair. “You planned this from the start, didn’t you? Do you even want to meet with Stain? Or did that have an ulterior motive as well?”

Kagero stared up at him, his gaze looking over every inch of Dabi’s face. He said nothing.

Dabi stared back, trying and failing to win a battle of wills. He eventually gave in, “Fuck it. Yes. This is my favor, now answer my questions.”

Kagero smirked and puffed a small flame, briefly illuminating Dabi, the shadows giving him a ghoulish look, “No, I didn’t plan this from the start. I fully intended to owe either you or Toga a favor if you set up a meeting with Stain, whom I do want to speak with again. A good strategist can adjust their plans on the fly when an unknown variable is introduced. I expected someone to be sniffing around a little, but didn’t expect it to be you, nor have it happened so soon.”

Dabi hummed, “If you were expecting one of us to betray you from the beginning, why bring in anyone at all?”

“Being betrayed implies that there’s trust between the involved parties. Out of everyone in the League and those you’ve met in the underground, who would you trust with all your schemes and secrets?”

“Nobody,” Dabi replied immediately. “They’d sell me out the second they could make a profit.”

“Exactly.” Kagero nodded, “So explain to me why I should tell people, whom I’ve known for barely a week, why I do the things I do? What exactly have you done to earn my trust, other than try to find Stain, with whom you have a somewhat personal stake in interest in?”

“So all of this is just a waste of time?” Dabi spread his arms out wide, “Even if I ask questions, I’m not gonna get a straight answer from you?”

Kagero turned his head to look over the city again, “I never said that. I told you that I would answer you as well as I could, and I never go back on my word. Whether or not you believe it is up to you.”

Dabi growled in frustration. Talking to Kagero was like asking a teacher for help. They’d give you hints and nudges in the right direction, but at the end, you would be the one that helps yourself. It’s backwards logic that Dabi always hated. There was a reason he was so blunt. He couldn’t be bothered with trying to filter and guide his thoughts.

Kagero was more than content to let Dabi stew in his thoughts, his attention now on the skyline instead of him. The tower fell into silence, with only the ambient sounds of the city below and the wind blowing. Dabi stayed stood across from Kagero before dropping to the ground, his arms loosely hugging his knees. Kagero turned his head back, a question obvious in his posture.

“What would’ve counted as a favor?” Dabi eventually asked, ultimately deciding to ask small questions.

Another puff of flame occupied the space between them, Kagero’s voice was light as he chuckled, “Atta boy. Whatever you asked, so long as the result was worth the effort.”

“So I could’ve asked you to… assassinate the Prime Minister.”

“Sure. I might’ve asked you to change it because there would be little reward for me, and the result wouldn’t have been worth the effort, but possible.”

“All Might.”

“Pass. That’s not my fight.” Kagero replied bitterly.

Dabi quirked an eyebrow but didn’t press for more, “How many more people do you plan on adding to the League before you’re satisfied?”

“Probably about three. We’ve got a decent spread of skills, but I wouldn’t mind some more combat types. Maybe a jack of all trades, but no more than that.”

They lapsed into another lull of silence. Dabi really wanted to ask the big questions, but Kagero was really leaning into the role of the teacher that helps you by making you help yourself, so he doesn’t. He hung his head between his arms, deep in thought. He tried putting the pieces he held together, but they weren’t fitting.

“Remember what I said when we were watching the Festival?” Kagero asked after an indeterminate amount of time.

Dabi made an ‘I don’t know’ type of sound as his response.

“I said that I wanted us to get a little closer. Maybe not as friends, but at the very least, as proper teammates. I can’t be the only person making plans and have the League rely on me. If for whatever reason I get taken out, the League would crumble without my guidance, especially in its infancy.”

Another non-verbal affirmative.

“Toga isn’t leadership type, Mustard is a kid, and Jin isn’t stable. Anyone else that we pick up are obviously out of the question.” Dabi looked up when he heard this. There was no way Kagero was saying what he thinks he was. “How about another deal? Exclusive. Take as long as you need. Investigate on your own, answer your questions, then let me know what you think’s going on. If you’re close, you’ll be second in command in all but name.”

“What’s in it for you? Not to complain about getting a promotion, but this sounds way too stacked in my favor.” Dabi pointed out, “I thought you said you didn’t trust anyone. Why would you put someone new in such a high place of power?”

“Insurance.”

After his breakdown with Yagi, Shimura was feeling frayed at the seams, too emotionally raw. When Thirteen finally finished their teaching duties, he was notified to meet at Gym Gamma. He made a quick stop at the locker room, changing into his hero costume.

Its overall design looked reminiscent to a space suit’s underlayer, mainly white with two black rings around his forearms, and black armored padding covering his torso that looked like defined muscles. White lines trailed his chest that followed the muscle fibers. Around his neck sat a silver brace, its front portion slightly raised so that it could act as a breathing apparatus. Crossing his chest in an X shape were red straps, with a matching belt around his waist, lined with pouches filled with first aid supplies and snacks. In the middle of his belt was a silver buckle, shaped just as his grandmother’s was in homage to her. On his left thigh was a tactical hard case where he kept his phone and other, more delicate objects. He wore yellow boots that laced up to just above his calves, black knee pads topping them off. On his hands were black gloves that covered only his ring and pinky fingers. When he flicked his ring and pinky fingers against his thumbs, they retracted, granting him access to use his quirk.

Walking through the excessively massive doors, he stuttered and almost tripped when he caught sight of Cementoss and Nezu in attendance as well, the former waving while the latter nodded his head.

He shifted awkwardly on his feet as he came to stand in front of them, “I uh, I didn’t know that anyone else was going to be joining us, Thirteen-san.”

Despite their head being covered in a helmet, Thirteen appeared to be embarrassed, “I would’ve preferred to handle your internship differently, but you can’t exactly turn down Nezu. When he brought Cementoss into the mix, with some ideas for training, I knew it had to be done.”

Shimura looked to the two for an answer. Nezu was first as he walked forward, paws clasped behind his back, “I do apologize for hijacking a portion of your internship, Shimura-kun, but I felt that this was an opportunity that we couldn’t pass up. Simply put, we would like to see and test how much control you have over the spread of your quirk.”

Shimura winced at the mention of his quirk, already understanding what is to come. Thirteen picked up on the change of expression and spoke up before Nezu could continue, “I know that it isn’t exactly what you’re expecting, but I promise you that this is for the best. When I was still training, the most instruction I had when practicing with Blackhole was ‘don’t aim it at someone’. I imagine you had similar instruction, yes?” He nodded, “As I said to your class, quirks aren’t meant to harm people, but that doesn’t mean they can’t. I didn’t know, or rather, I wasn’t aware of how strong a vacuum was needed for injuries to be inflicted on a person, so when I got to my internship, my instructor had me work on control and focus.”

“Well put, Thirteen,” Nezu agreed. “I understand that you haven’t had the opportunity to practice finer control, instead just letting the decay spread until your target was ash, correct?”

Another nod.

“There is nothing wrong with that. It is a tried and true use, but imagine this: You need to enter a building through an alternate way and choose a wall at random, but unknown to you, someone was laying against it on the other side. If you used your quirk right then, would the decay spread to the person as well? Would the decay continue to spread to the rest of the building even after you removed your hand?”

Shimura brought a hand up to retort but paused. He moved the hand to his chin as he thought over Nezu’s scenario. Nezu’s eyes twinkled at the sight of someone taking his words seriously. Before long, Shimura nodded resolutely, “I’m in. So how are we going to do this?”

Nezu clapped his paws, “Excellent! We shall get started immediately. Cementoss, if you will?”

Cementoss nodded and knelt to the ground, his hands glowing as his quirk went into effect. Suddenly, cement fixtures sprouted from the ground, some as simple as a series of walls that increase in thickness, others as intricate as a small house. When he was done, Nezu produced a small remote and clicked a button. One of the gym’s walls opened and a small army of realistic robots walked out and stood at attention in front of the new structures.

“These robots will act as human stand-ins,” Nezu explained. “They have been set up by the Support Course with artificial pain sensors and responses so we will know if they are affected through secondary contact with your quirk.” Nezu had more to say but paused. He thought over the next portion of his explanation, thinking about the best way to bring it up. When he spoke again, it was slowly and carefully, “Should you feel up to it, we could also test to see how a body reacts if in direct contact as well.”

Shimura’s hand flared up in pain, his mind bringing him back to the USJ when he was touching the Nomu. The echoed scream of the Nomu was giving him a headache. He fell to his knees, clutching his head and covering his ears as he tried to block it out.

“Shimura-kun?” he heard through his hands, the voice warbled as if they were speaking from behind thick glass.

He registered movement as Thirteen, Nezu, and Cementoss closed in on him, worry painting their features. None reached out to him, afraid of upsetting him further. He could see their mouths moving but couldn’t hear their voices. Instead, he focused on Cementoss, arguably the calmest looking out of the few. Thankfully, he noticed and took the lead on bringing Shimura back down.

Cementoss started to move his hand as a conductor would, following a slow four-fourths count. He mouthed the count as well and exaggerated his breathing, matching it so he breathed in for four counts and out for another four. Shimura followed Cementoss’ guidance and eventually calmed back down, slowly bringing his hands down from his ears. When he gave a signal that he was alright, Nezu walked up and bowed.

"I apologize for springing that on you, Shimura-kun,” his body still bent over, his voice rueful. “I promise you that we will not be tackling that portion of training unless you say that it is okay. Given the circumstances, I am more than happy to stand down and have Thirteen take over as they initially planned. Should you want to continue, just say the word, but please, do not feel rushed into this.”

Shimura took a few more beats to compose himself before responding, “Thank you, but I think that would be for the best, sir. I don’t- I’m not up for that just yet.”

Nezu nodded, “Of course. Cementoss-“

“No, I mean,” Shimura cut him off, “I still do want to try what you have in mind, but I don’t want to do the… second option. I know I should get to it soon, but when I think about it, well…”

“I understand,” Nezu replied. “If you feel uncomfortable with anything, please let us know.”

Thirteen used this time to speak up, “Shimura-kun, you don’t need to force yourself to do this. I’m more than willing to help you run through some simulations instead, or give you my perspective on how to deal with a particularly… volatile quirk.”

He shook his head, “Thank you, Thirteen-san, but at least for today, I would like to see what Principal Nezu has in mind. He did bring up some points that I hadn’t considered, and I would rather test them out with someone who could add a little more in-depth explanation.”

Thirteen looked a little downtrodden but understood, “Very well.” In a short burst of confidence, they turned to Nezu, “I will be setting up the scenes and creating scenarios for Shimura-kun to work through that could lead him to running into situations like these. This is still my internship, so I would like to take the lead on this.”

Nezu smiled at them, “Of course! I had no intentions of taking over, I only wanted to use your internship to help Shimura-kun figure out any nuances that might show up with his quirk.”

Appeased, Thirteen set about moving the robots into various states of disarray. Shimura sat back and waited for Thirteen to finish, flexing his hand and testing the dexterity of his fingers dutifully, exactly how Recovery Girl instructed him should the pain flare up again.

After some time, and a little adjusting on Cementoss’ end, Gym Gamma was redesigned to look like a city suffering from an earthquake.

“Alright!” Thirteen clapped, “The stage is set. The scenario is this: An earthquake of a seven-point-two magnitude has hit City Gamma!” They giggled at the cheeky reference, “Buildings have collapsed, people are trapped under falling debris, and you show up as a first responder. There are fifteen people buried under the rubble. You’ll have to think quickly and critically to save them all before the aftershock hits but be careful! One wrong move, and the rest of the buildings will fall, crushing both you and the victims. Genesis!”

Shimura lit up, hearing his hero name called out, “Their lives are in your hands now. Let’s make sure you get them to safety.”

Shimura smiled brightly, warmth spreading throughout his body as he prepared to take his first step into heroics. For a quick second, all shadows of a doubt left his mind. Being a hero just felt so natural and freeing, “Right!”

Chapter Text

Manual stretched as he pushed himself away from his desk, yawning as he did so, “I gotta hand it to you, Tenya. You’re really good at doing paperwork. It took me nearly a year to get to an acceptable level of doing this, and here you are showing me some neat tricks. Just goes to show the difference between self-made and legacy heroes, a UA student as well!”

“Thank you for your kind words, Manual!” Iida replied, “But what I’m doing or showing you is nothing special. I’m certain you would have come into it on your own. I’m just glad I can pull my own weight around here.”

Manual buzzed his lips, waving Iida’s compliment away, “You’re selling yourself short. I’m telling you, I wouldn’t have even thought about half of the things you’ve done.”

“Regardless, I’m happy to help out how I can.”

“Same here!” Manual took his helmet off and placed it on a desk, “I’m honestly surprised we even had some things to report on. The city’s been real quiet recently, like the villains just don’t wanna come out anymore. But that just means we have to remain vigilant, right?”

“Yes, I suppose we shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” Iida replied, a tad too sharply.

Manual smiled in agreement, but inwardly frowned. He was really hoping Iida would open up over the course of the week, even just a little, but it’s been a few days already and he’s still shutting himself off. That isn’t to say that he’s been slacking, far from it in Manual’s eyes. If anything, Iida was taking his internship far too seriously, already treating it as if he were a sidekick, if not a fully-fledged hero already.

If someone were to ask him what he thought of Iida’s performance thus far, he would’ve said he’s impressed to say the least. Everyone already knows he’s grateful to get a hint at what it’s like working under the efficiency of Team Idaten, but he was truly impressed at how the youngest of the Iida family performed when emotionally compromised.

Iida wears his heart on his sleeve. He would say he’s fine, but anyone that’s semi-competent at reading body language could see that he wasn’t. Manual didn’t make him take a break, or pull him out of anything because he truly didn’t see the need. Iida didn’t let his emotions get in the way of his priorities, plus, he figured if he could keep him busy, then there’d be a less likely chance of him going rogue and falling down the path of vigilantism at best.

Manual would’ve been content to let it stay like that – him passing off his work to Iida, who would get it done with no fuss or complaint. But that’s not what the internship was about. It was to teach their student-for-a-week a thing or two about being a hero, and he has been slacking in that respect. He sighed, loud enough for Iida to turn his attention to him.

“Is everything alright?”

“I’m just trying to think about what to do for the rest of our time together, is all,” Manual responded, trying to deflect the question. “This is my first time getting an intern in a couple of years, and my last one was completely different than you. I practically had to teach them everything from the ground up, but with you, it almost feels like you’re the hero here and I’m the student.”

Iida blinked a few times, before immediately bowing, his body at a perfect ninety degrees, “I apologize if I have been stepping out of line! You are completely right. I was supposed to use this time to learn from you, yet I haven’t given you any opportunity to do so! Reprimand me as you see fit, I am nothing but deserving of it.”

“Woah, easy there, Tenya!” Manual tried to wave him off, uncomfortable with the sudden apology, “I wasn’t saying that was a bad thing, it’s just I’ve been trying to keep you at a beginner’s level when you’re clearly past that point. No one’s getting punished here.”

“Thank you, sir!”

This is about as good a time as any. Please don’t kill me, Eraser! Manual crossed his arms, attempting to channel his “hero-in command” persona, “That’s well and good, but if I’m going to bump up what we’re doing, I need you to level with me.”

Manual saw Iida immediately put himself on guard. His head dipped down just a little, his eyes’ focus sharpening, one leg pulled back as if he were readying himself for a kick. Seeing such a visceral response on a teenager had Manual falter a little, but he pushed that aside. This was far too important to sweep it away as if it were a joke.

“I’ve been pretty relaxed about it, all things considered, but I do know why you’re really here. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled you chose to come to me for your internship, but it’s rather obvious, isn’t it?” Manual commented, his expression turning serious. “You’re after the Hero Killer.”

Iida blanched and his body went rigid before he relaxed just a little, “Well…”

“Tenya. No, Iida-kun. Don’t let yourself be overcome with a grudge. Don’t let that grudge turn into something ugly like a vendetta. And even more importantly, don’t let that vendetta turn you into a criminal. Heroes aren’t the judge, jury, and executioner. We’re civil servants. We’re little more than glorified police officers, but we don’t have the authority to make arrests or mete out punishments on a whim. We get to use our quirks, sure, but at the end of the day, we aren’t exempt from the laws.

“Heroes are only allowed to use their quirks after they’ve proven themselves to be competent and not a hazard to public safety, but even then, there are still regulations in place.” Manual sighed and shook his head sadly, “I hate being the bad guy here, but I need to say this, and I need to know you’re on board. You do know what vigilantism is, right?”

Iida silently nodded, but Manual looked on expectantly, “Vigilantism is when a person or group of people use their quirks to enforce the law without any legal authority.” Iida responded robotically as if reading straight out of a textbook.

"Good intentioned or not, successful or not, vigilantes are criminals in the eyes of the law, and when they get caught, they are tried under the same pretenses as villains.” Manual fixed him with a serious stare, “Trust goes two ways, Iida-kun. If I start upping the curriculum in the days we have left and bringing you in to a tighter circle, can I trust you to not go off on your own?”

Iida stared hard back at Manual, the muscles in his jaw moving as he clenched his teeth in anger and frustration. Iida tried hiding his intentions for interning under Manual, thinly veiled as they were, but being called out like this was beyond humiliating for him. Manual was scolding him as if he were a child that got caught cheating on a test, like he truly understood what he was thinking.

Did Manual truly think that little of him? But if he did, then why was he willing to give Iida more responsibilities, and potentially more freedom? What is his game?

After the intense stare down, Iida relented, giving him the slightest nod. Manual looked pleased, but his expression didn’t soften, “I need to hear you say it, Iida-kun. Can I trust you to be smart and stick with me instead of going off on your own if the chance comes?”

Iida’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second, Manual’s words giving him the faintest flickers of hope. Will we be actively searching for Stain? I can finally act on the anger I’ve been holding. This is my chance! Renewed with a sick sense of motivation, Iida relaxed his body, feeling lighter than he had in a week. He nodded once again with purpose, his eyes shining with determination, “Yes, Manual-san. You can trust me to follow you and stay by your side, so please, let us move on with a more involved internship.”

Manual studied Iida’s face before nodding his approval. Iida felt his heart leap with joy at being given more to do, but in the back of his mind, his conscience wailed in pain at having lied so confidently to someone he knows is only trying to look out for him.

Kaminari groaned in discomfort as he maintained his crouched position, very similar to the horse stance practiced in martial arts. His arms were outstretched as he held on to jumper cables connected to a series of high-capacity batteries.

Ever since he arrived at the Office with Conduit, his days have been spent on the rooftop where Conduit grills him, both literally and metaphorically. His nights were spent patrolling Fukuoka, and more recently, branching out to other cities. His free time was spent in a delicate balance that teetered between being completely whey-ie and lucid. He never lost time, but he also felt like he never experienced it.

Kaminari could feel it coming. He could feel his coherent thoughts slipping as he poured every ounce of electricity into his hands so that it’ll get sucked into the batteries. He yelled in effort as he steadily reached his limit. He opened his eyes, nearly bugging out of their sockets as they were rimming red. The edges of his vision getting darker as he reached his output maximum. His grip loosened on the jumper cables as exhaustion kicked in, his eyes starting to roll back into his head.

Before collapsing to the floor he jolted violently, his body being wreathed in purple electricity. Immediately the fatigue vanished, clarity came back to him, and his senses felt like they were working overtime.

Conduit was leaned against one of the posts, an arm stretched out with his electricity still snaking around.

"Not bad, kid. Not bad,” Conduit commented. He walked over to a panel the batteries were connected to, looking at the screen to see the results of Kaminari’s sustained charge. He swiped through some screens before finally landing on what he was looking for. The screen showed six bars, all green, and all maxed out. “Each battery had a capacity of about half a million volts. Do the math.”

Kaminari scrunched his face in thought, but the number came surprisingly quicker than it would have, “Three million!? You’re saying my max is around three million now? It’s only been three days!”

“You’ve just got great potential.”

“Was that a pun?” Kaminari snorted, “But seriously, how!?”

“Come on, kid. It’s really not that difficult to understand. Think of quirks as muscles. How much can you bicep curl?”

“Fifteen kilos comfortably, twenty-five if I really wanted to.”

“And did you start off lifting fifteen kilos?”

“No. I worked up to it.”

Conduit crossed his arms and nodded, “And to get up to twenty-five, did you just jump up to there, or did you slowly increase in weight until fifteen got easy, and then twenty?”

“I increased in…” Kaminari smacked himself in the forehead. “Oh. Yeah that makes sense. But it took me months to get that far. How is my quirk getting stronger so quickly.”

“All thanks to yours truly,” Conduit smirked and jabbed a thumb at himself. “Don’t ask me how or why, but since you need to absorb electricity to ‘recharge’ so to speak, every time I zap you, I bring you back up to one hundred.”

Kaminari may not be the smartest when it comes to academics, but because of his quirk, he at least made an effort to understand the basics of electricity and batteries. He nodded in agreement.

“Don’t count on an instant recharge, though,” Conduit advised, “Like with actual batteries, charging them faster than they’re meant to drops their overall capacity in the long run. I’m only doing this right now so we can create a buffer zone for you. Since your limit practically tripled, it’s time we get to the real training.”

Kaminari’s eyes sparkled as electricity idly sparked around him, “Yes! I’ve got so many ideas. Lightning blade, lightning whip, lightning cloak, lightni-“

Conduit fixed him with a flat look and deadpanned, “You’ve seriously got no creativity. No, we’re not doing that. Those all sound like super moves, which is not what we’re doing. First, you’ll learn to fight. Then, we’ll work on the best way to travel. Along the way I’m gonna do things, and you’re gonna try to figure out how I do them. They may not work for you, but they’ll definitely be better than whatever ideas you can cook up.”

“I don’t know if I should be looking forward to it, or offended you think my ideas are boring. Let’s do it!”

“Shi-kun!” Toga whined, dragging out the kun. Ever since they came back and Dabi wasn’t being a complete ass, she hasn’t stopped hounding him about what happened between the two. “Why won’t you tell me what you and Dabi were talking about? It has to do with Mr. Stainy, right? I should be part of it!”

They were all lounging in the living room above the bar. With no real plans until their meeting with Stain, everyone was left to their own devices. Mustard occupied himself reading some books he found in one of the rooms. Dabi seldomly stayed at the base, preferring to be out and about and doing his own thing until he’s called. Jin floated around the building, trying to make himself useful. Currently, he was helping Kurogiri clean the bar. Kagero shifted his focus between his laptop, training, and planning. Toga was more like a child, her attention split between annoying everyone around her or diving headfirst into the newest trend she saw on the internet.

Kagero sat at the kitchen counter, his back to the TV, busy on his computer. A simple black window with white text was on the screen, what looked like the computer’s Command Prompt was a chat room he set up. The person on the other side was relaying details, nothing incriminating, but sensitive enough that it would cause trouble for everyone involved if the information was leaked.

He tried his best to stay focused on his conversation, but with Toga draped over his back and poking his cheek, he could only do so much. He let out a defeated sigh and sent one more message before closing the window and turning his head to look at Toga. She blinked in surprise when she suddenly found herself face-to-face with him, only centimeters apart.

“You do realize that if I haven’t told you yet, I’m probably not going to ever, right?” he asked. Toga got off him and stepped away, her hands clasped behind her back, Kagero leaned against the counter. “Information is always either on a need to know or pay to find out basis. What happened between Dabi and me is something you don’t need to know. Simple as that.”

Toga puffed her cheeks out and pouted, “But it’s not fair! You’ve been hanging out with Dabi more often, and when you’re not you’re either training Mustard, testing Jin’s quirk, or doing something on your own. When can we do something together?”

Kagero blinked owlishly as he took in her complaint. He looked over to Mustard who was now watching instead of reading and nodded, “She’s right.”

Kagero hummed and shrugged, his head quirking to the left, “I didn’t realize I had been neglecting you, I’m sorry. I’ve been busy prepping and coordinating some things for the future that I guess it just flew over my head. If it was bothering you so much, why didn’t you say something earlier?”

“You always looked so busy that I didn’t want to distract you,” she replied, scuffing her shoe on the ground.

Kagero’s gaze softened as he took a step towards her, placing a hand on her shoulder, “None of that. Remember what I said? I won’t turn on you. You’re part of the League now, and the League looks after their own. I might’ve been busy, but if you asked, I would’ve made the time.”

A small smile graced Toga’s face as she nodded. Kagero smiled as well, “Since you brought it up, did you have anything in mind? We’re not expected to meet with Stain until tomorrow, and we’re not exactly struggling to keep up with work.”

Toga’s smile turned beaming as she nodded her head vigorously, “Yes! My favor! Let’s go out on a date!”

Toga’s proposal hit Kagero like a truck. He was expecting her to ask for some extra training or even some new knives maybe. Hell, he would’ve expected her to ask to go on a hero hunt before even considering something as mundane as a date.

“O- oh,” he stuttered, “that’s- that’s not what I was expecting in the slightest. Do you already have a plan, or…”

“We’re going out!” she declared, grabbing Kagero’s wrist as she dragged him out of the living room.

Toga rushed Kagero out of the bar quickly, with him just barely having enough time to grab a jacket, his mask, and some money. It was still early evening, and the streets weren’t bustling with the nighttime goers yet, but they were still in the shady parts of the town that they didn’t need to hide themselves. Toga still looked like herself and was wearing her usual outfit while Kagero wore skinny black pants and a long, baggy white shirt with a moto jacket on top, his sleeves cuffed and slightly pushed up.

They walked side by side, with Kagero’s hands tucked in his pockets and Toga’s arm linked with his.

“Any idea on what to do?” Kagero asked, trying to sound casual but unsure of how to act in a situation so normal. He was far out of his depth, and while he wasn’t too proud to admit he didn’t have the slightest clue about what to do on a date, he didn’t want to make the fact too obvious.

Toga hummed as she brought a finger to her chin, “I was thinking we could maybe walk around a bit, find something to eat. Then after, maybe do something fun like mug people.”

“Wow. The leader of the League of Villains, feared by heroes, reduced to petty crime and back-alley muggings. Maybe we are a fraud.”

She shoved him slightly, giggling at his joke, “Well we can’t do anything too big or go anywhere too crowded, right? What if we get spotted?”

He looked down at her, “Do you honestly think that if we get spotted, that hero would be able to stop us? Or do anything before we get away?”

“No, but I hope they would at least try,” she replied, her tone growing serious. “I’ve been watching the heroes closer since I found Mr. Stainy, seeing if I could see what he does.”

“And?”

“And he’s right. The heroes these days are nothing but phony and rotten. Mr. Stainy is making sure Hosu is only filled with true Heroes, and in the cities he’s already visited, crime went down and the quality of the heroes went up, but they’re starting to falter again.”

Kagero suddenly stopped walking. Surprised by the stop, Toga was about to ask what was wrong but followed his line of sight. A few blocks down from them was a hero with a blue mohawk, a purple star over his left eye, and dressed in a black tank top with light armor padding on it with a spiked collar around his neck and two studded armbands resting above his biceps. The hero was looking around as he was on his evening patrol. Toga nearly hissed and went to attack before Kagero squeezed the arm Toga was holding onto tighter to his body and ushering them down an alley.

Once behind cover, Kagero ran at a wall and caught the lip of a window. He pulled himself up and crouched on thin frame before jumping to the opposite building’s roof. Once on top, he looked back over to see Toga was making her way up as well. He looked Toga over before nodding.

“We’ve got two options here,” he brought a hand up, counting his fingers. “First, we let Mohican continue about his patrol and continue on like nothing happened. We'll walk around, get food, then have some fun. Or second, we follow him and have some fun first, then get some food.” He was sure he knew which option Toga would choose, but he puffed a small fireball to make sure the point got through.

Toga smiled widely, baring her teeth a little, her eyes taking on a dangerous glint.

“That’s what I thought.” Kagero walked over to the edge of the roof and looked down, seeing which way Mohican went. He waved at Toga to follow him, the pair moving parallel to Mohican on the rooftops. “So what were you saying? Heroes are faltering? I didn’t think you followed any trends.”

“It’s nothing like what you’re thinking. I don’t have super-secret files like you, or have the best connections. I was just curious and looked it up on the internet. I didn’t understand much, but I could tell that crime went down right after he left, but now it’s picking up like nothing changed.”

He clicked his tongue. That was exactly why he didn’t kill heroes. Fear only delays the inevitable. Heroes are afraid of being next on Stain’s list, so they up their efforts for a little bit. The villains are afraid of being caught by the heroes, so they either cut down on activity or go to ground. When the fear that the heroes felt fades to the background, they suddenly find themselves back to how things were once again.

But a broken spirit? There’s no coming back from that. They could try to pick up the pieces and put them together again, but it would never be the same. It’s like trying to repair a shattered glass. There would always be that one, tiny piece missing that would make it whole again, but no matter where you look or how carefully you sift through the garbage, it’s just not there. That little gap will let the water out, and the water itself would take along even smaller pieces with it until eventually there would be no glass left at all.

They continued in silence. Kagero was too busy thinking about the multitude of ways he would make sure only the best of the best would remain, and Toga was too busy watching Kagero’s expressions change.

She saw how his eyes would narrow in thought and widen when he came to an idea. How he would effortlessly move his body over the rooftops and the various pipes, ventilation shafts, and whatever else littered them without a second thought. How he would absently crack the knuckles on his right hand, with each pop a small tongue of fire danced around.

She came to a stop as Kagero lifted his arm. He turned to face her, and she felt her breath hitch. He had his mask on, the teeth looking menacing in the fading sunlight. His eyes glowed as he was now focused on the task at hand.

“Mohican’s stopped for a little break, and we’re in a pretty quiet part of town,” he reported. “Now’s a good a time as any if you want to play with him.”

Toga walked to the ledge and peered over. Sure enough, Mohican was leaned against the wall at an alley’s entrance, chewing on a protein bar. She felt Kagero walk next to her, “This is your favor, so I’ll let you choose: Do you want to do it or do you want me to?”

Toga was suddenly aware that outside of the glimpses she caught of him training with Mustard or when she tried attacking him, she’s never truly seen him in action. She licked her lips at the image her mind was bringing up. She turned her head to see Kagero looking at her, waiting for an answer.

“Can you do it, Shi-kun? I want to see everything.”

His eyes crinkled; his smile hidden behind the mask. He puffed a small plume of smoke, “Do you think Stain would appreciate it if we gave him a gift?”

Without waiting for a response, he walked off the building. Toga threw herself at the ledge, craning her neck to make sure she could see everything that happened.

Kagero dropped quietly; not loud enough to be distracting for any bystanders, but enough to catch Mohican’s attention. She could hear Mohican say all the normal things: “Who goes there?”, “What do you want?”, “Do you know who you’re dealing with?” She rolled her eyes at the monotony of them. Eventually, he must’ve recognized his attacker because Mohican suddenly attacked, exclaiming “Mohi Cutter!”

The fight was short but vicious. Toga was blown away at how Kagero moved. He dodged, weaved, and slipped every attack and counterattacked with devastating effect. Before long, Mohican was on the ground unconscious. Kagero picked him up and made his way back to the roof. He wasn’t even breathing hard from the effort.

Toga didn’t mind in the slightest that the date she had in mind became so skewed. She was far too pleased with how it was going, and seeing what Kagero was like when he was serious was just the cherry on top. She couldn’t find the words to describe her feelings, but it was at that point when she knew that Kagero was exactly who she was looking for.

Chapter Text

“So what do you do in your off time?” Shimura asked as he dusted himself off.

True to his word, Shimura tried out the suggestions Nezu brought up, save for the more direct application, and he found that his decay is dependent on intentions. However that works. If he wanted a portion of a wall gone, it stopped when it was gone. The decay wouldn’t spread like cancer. It was localized at best and distant if he wanted to disintegrate the object entirely. If someone was against that wall, they would be safe from the decay spreading.

Finding that out lifted a weight he didn’t know was on his shoulders.

He and Thirteen spent most of their time at the USJ, something that terrified him to begin with, but Thirteen knew how to take things slow. They weren’t one of the best rescue heroes for no reason. They eased him into it, making use of UA’s multiple gyms and grounds to simulate disaster scenarios, and slowly ramping up the intensity until they were nearly at the USJ’s medium difficulty setting.

To no one’s surprise, Shimura thrived in zones that were set up like earthquakes and landslides. Being able to remove the rubble easily or creating the fastest way to the victim while making sure the structures were still stable felt all too natural for him.

Thirteen was stood at the Collapsed Zone’s control panel, fiddling with settings and dials, “What do you mean?”

“You’re a rescue hero, but your specialty is widespread disasters. I’m grateful there haven’t been many disasters, believe me, but are you always just on-call?” He hefted a mannequin onto his shoulder while he picked up a smaller one and tucked it under his arm. He walked back to the zone’s control area and deposited them there, “Are you called out all the time? Are you on reserve?”

“Just because I specialize in disasters doesn’t mean I don’t help out where and when I can,” they replied sagely. “I’m still a hero, and while I’m primarily rescue, that doesn’t mean I can’t help out with a villain encounter, especially if said villain has a particularly destructive quirk. Beyond that, I’m almost always running through simulations here, or planning a talk at a seminar, convention, or conference, or even just doing my work at UA.”

“So you never get any time off.”

They chuckled, “A hero’s job is never over. You’ll come to know that soon enough.”

Shimura opened his mouth to ask the next question but stopped himself, the question at the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed it back down. Now isn’t the time for that one.

Instead, he pursed his lips in thought but didn’t carry on the conversation. He went back to retrieving the dummies so they could move to the next exercise. Up next was the Flood Zone, and he wasn’t looking forward to it. Thirteen tried and offered to put it off in consideration of him, but he knew that he couldn’t avoid it forever. Thankfully the zone wasn’t just centered around that boat, but also had a portion that looked like a port-side town. Little wins.

The “town” was situated behind a dividing wall, on the other side was the open water and boat. A portion of the wall was opened, allowing the water to spill into the town, simulating a dam breaching.

He ran through the simulation much slower than those previous. The longer he took, the more the water slowly started to rise, and the amount of time spent walking was slowly giving way to time spent swimming or diving. The longer he took, the less air the victims had access to. Just like with every other disaster, time was of the essence, but it’s more prominent in this scenario.

Minutes went by, and if his count was right, he had two more dummies to rescue, but they were stuck in a two-story building closer to the hole, and he was in a higher one. What air pockets they would’ve been using would be shrinking quickly. He was running out of time.

Dropping down onto the building’s ceiling, he made a hole to enter. If things went according to plan, that would be his exit as well. He searched the floor room by room before confirming they weren’t there. He ran back to below his entrance hole and crouched, making another right beneath him.

The floor gave out and he dropped into water, yelping in surprise. He quickly swam back up to get a big gulp of air before plunging back down.

The underwater portion was completely lit up, something he was grateful for, but made a mental note to add flashlights to his costume. He swept the first floor much like how he did the second, clearing it room by room, and periodically decaying holes above him so he could catch a full breath, but he couldn’t find his last two targets.

He was starting to worry. He might be dealing with mannequins and dummies, but Thirteen made it clear to treat them as if they were real people. It’s been far longer than any normal person could hold their breath for, and unless they had an aquatic mutation, their chances would be looking slim. He did one more sweep as quick as he could before he found a door blocked by a fallen over cabinet, probably toppled by the initial onslaught of water. The hinges displayed on the outside. His heart sunk.

He swam as hard as he could toward the door and decayed it. Immediately, two bodies floated into him, a large one and a smaller one. He looked over the mannequins for their “vital” readings and saw a flatline. The building had a basement. The cabinet against the door and the added weight of the water would’ve made it extremely heavy to push against to open.

He sullenly grabbed the last two victims and swam his way back out towards the way he came, using the holes he made on the way in to catch a breath. Once he was out, an alarm sounded signaling the end of the exercise. His chest heaved as he laid down on the building’s roof, the two victims besides him. He heard Thirteen’s hurried steps as they ran to meet him.

“Shimura!” they cried, kneeling next to him as they moved their hands over his body, “I’m so sorry. That wasn’t supposed to happen. I made sure to at least make the start of the exercise at sixty percent to an actual, but sixty percent is still more than enough to cause damage.”

“Does it bother you that you’re a rescue hero sometimes?” he asked suddenly, his voice shaky. Thirteen’s attention snapped to him, “You’re always on the site after the disaster happens, right?”

The eyes on Thirteen’s helmet displayed full circles, the equivalent of someone’s eyes widening in surprise or realization. Thirteen adopted the tone of voice they would use when comforting someone, “Shimura…”

He brought his arm up and covered his eyes, “How often do you get there and no one’s alive to save?” He sniffled and brought his arm back down. He turned his head to look at Thirteen, tears pooling at the edge of his eyes, “What do you do if you’re too late?”

Following their talk, Manual pulled Iida off to his office. Iida sat in the chair offered while Manual punched in a code on the keypad to his right. The wall receded and pulled up, hidden behind was a map of the city marked with X’s, O’s, and small pictures of heroes.

“I know we just went over this, but I’m really sticking my neck out here, Iida-kun. What I’m about to go over is extremely confidential, and not to mention way above yours and my paygrades combined,” Manual warned. “Please don’t make me regret this.”

Iida gave him a serious nod, but no verbal response. Manual shook his head and sighed, “Let’s do this, then.”

Manual explained the map and the markings. The black X’s show where a hero was found dead. The blue X’s was where a hero was found but the area was burnt to a crisp. The red X’s were Stain-confirmed kills. The red O’s were where heroes were found and recovered. There was only one of those.

Iida was soaking up everything Manual was throwing at him, committing every little fact or theory regarding the killings to memory.

“The locations where the heroes were found all checked the same criteria: back alley, quiet, and three blocks away from the nearest agency, police station, or location the hero was known to frequent.” Manual debriefed. As he gave the last point, his expression soured, “It’s like he’s taunting us with these locations. It would’ve taken less than three minutes for reinforcements to come, but they were always too late.”

Iida studied the map intently, already mentally marking locations for possible sites Stain would use. Minutes ticked by before Iida realized Manual had stopped talking, the tunnel vision he was feeling suddenly receded and he looked to Manual.

“Forgive me, Manual, I got distracted. Could you please repeat the last part?”

“There wasn’t much left to say, so I let you have some time to yourself. I guess at this point, I suppose you have questions?”

Iida thought hard. He had questions, but if he asked them, then Manual would know for a fact Iida was planning something else. “Are we going to do anything regarding this information?”

“Stain’s long broken his pattern of four kills per city, but we’re banking on the other half of it. Stain never stayed in a city longer than a month, and we’re almost two and a half weeks in, and as much as I am loathe to admit it, this city is lacking in heroes.”

He tapped the map twice, “Between Stain and our arsonist, Hosu has lost nearly the top twenty biggest and strongest heroes it had to offer. All that are left are either small-time heroes like me, or the stronger sidekicks. To make up the difference, the HPSC is bringing in other heroes to crack down on the city and try to find Stain before he leaves. Since there aren’t many left, they’re assuming he’s going to pack up and go somewhere else soon.”

“You’re going to try to keep him in the city,” Iida summarized. “If heroes are coming in, then how come we haven’t seen them when we go out for patrol?”

Manual’s gaze turned serious, “Because they’re all expected to start trickling in tonight. We’re going to comb the city and not leave a single stone unturned. Until Stain is found, we’ll have heroes patrolling the city twenty-four seven.”

Which means all I have to do is find him first. “Then we should get some rest for tonight.”

“Start packing, Sparkplug. We’re leaving.” Conduit said as he passed by the bathroom, Kaminari sitting on the toilet applying ointment to the numerous bruises that marked his legs and arms. Hearing Conduit say that, Kaminari nearly fell to the ground. He hurried to the door, gripping the door frame as he leaned into the hall.

“Where we headed? Kitakyushu? Kumamoto? Nagasaki!?” Kaminari asked, growing more excited as he listed out cities and prefectures.

“Hosu.”

Kaminari’s mood dampened immediately, “Oh. But uh, that’s like a half a day away. I don’t think I can line ride for that long yet.”

“You can keep your balance just fine, and you’re constantly connected to electricity, negating your exhaustion. The only reason you say that is because you’re scared,” Conduit listed out.

“Well when you put it like that…”

Conduit rolled his eyes, “If you really can’t do it for that long, we’ll catch a train on the way.” Kaminari still looked uneasy despite the generous compromise. Conduit would’ve written it off as nerves, but he took a long hard look at Kaminari. “You’re scared of Stain.”

“Is it that surprising?!” Kaminari exclaimed, “And it’s not just Stain. One of my friends is in Hosu, and I may be me, but it’s pretty obvious he’s going after Stain.”

“You’re not expected to fight him. Hell, the only reason you’re coming along is because the HPSC put an all-hands and all-points bulletin out. All independents able are expected to join the hunt, and since I’m independent, you’re stuck with me.” Kaminari blanched, “Kid, seriously. I wouldn’t want you coming along regardless. My hands are tied, but at least this way you’ll get the truest glimpse at the dirty side of heroics. I’d rather you go through that with me than with literally anyone else. Or even worse, on your own.”

Kaminari still looked scared, but he could see Conduit’s logic. He gulped and nodded shakily, “Fine, but when we go, we’re meeting up with my friend, and we’re sticking with him the entire time.”

“I’m not babysitting another snot-nosed brat.”

“Then you go off and leave me with him.”

“Kid…”

“Let me have this!” Kaminari pleaded, “When this is all over, I’ll do whatever you say, no questions. I’ve got a real bad feeling about this.”

Conduit studied Kaminari, scanning his face for any hints of hesitation, searching his eyes for a crack in his resolve, but found nothing. He growled, “You’re lucky you’re not the only one that feels like this whole thing is bullshit. We leave in twenty.”

Kaminari fist pumped and ran off to his room.

An excited air filled the bar, but tension still bled through. After nearly a week of searching and another three days of waiting, their efforts have paid off. Stain is due to meet with them today.

“This goes without saying, but I’m doing it anyway because you all act like children when it comes to him,” Kagero addressed the League, his gaze lingering longer on Dabi and Toga. They were all sat in the bar, Dabi and Toga in their usual attire and Mustard with his helmet sitting in front of him. Jin was now dressed in a black and grey bodysuit and matching grey boots. His head was covered with a mask, the top half grey with white eye sockets, the lower half a solid black that blended in to his suit. He wore rounded red wristbands with a green band on his arms, “Outside of greetings, if we even do that, none of you are to speak unless spoken to. We’ve been treading on thin ice since I first spoke to him, but now the ice is cracking, and Stain has a hammer. We do not want to be enemies, so don’t do anything that could provoke him any further than what we’ve already done.”

He was met with a round of nods, everyone slightly cowed by the venom and emphasis he put into his last sentence. Kagero nodded once, “Mustard.” He sat straighter in his seat, “This is your first real contact with a villain outside of this group, and he is dangerous. What is your job?”

He swallowed before answering, looking straight ahead, “I sit there, I say nothing, and I take notes.”

“What do you do if Stain talks about you, or speaks to you directly?”

“I say nothing.”

“Wrong,” Mustard flinched. “If he talks about you, you say nothing. If he talks to you, you answer. What did I say before?”

Mustard searched his memory, “You said not to speak unless spoken to.”

Kagero hummed and moved on. He took a step and stood in front of Dabi and Toga, “You two. Either through your combined efforts or sheer luck, you were able to get Stain to meet with us, so credit where credit’s due. Regardless, you two are on an even shorter leash. I may have instigated it, but you were the ones that actively went against our initial agreement. Again, I don’t need to say it, but you will give Stain his due respect. This shouldn’t be a problem for either of you, correct?”

Both nodded, both with a serious expression. Toga’s cheeriness and Dabi’s nonchalance were replaced by focus and attention, but excitement was still brimming just beneath the surface.

“Good.” Kagero reached up and clicked a button on his right earpiece, his mask folded out and covered his face, “Kurogiri, bring him in.”

Kurogiri’s portal opened in the middle of the bar. It sat undisturbed for a few seconds before it wavered a little. Stain’s spiked boot came through first. His hunched figure caused his face to come through next before the rest of his body. His eyes were immediately taking in the surroundings, taking stock of everybody in the room, gauging the distances to the door to the outside and the one leading into the rest of the building, scanning the hallway that led to the bathrooms, everything.

The League couldn’t help but be impressed at his instincts, the air around him radiated with barely restrained displeasure. Mustard felt a chill run up his spine and fought to keep himself from cringing. Jin looked anxiously between Stain and Kagero, unsure if he should do anything to release the tension. Toga’s eyes were wide and dilated as she swayed ever so slightly on her stool. Dabi was stricken with awe, his mouth slightly opened as if he was looking upon the face of God.

“Kagero Shigaraki,” his grated voice spoke, “You had better make this worth my while. I left this bar under the assumption we would stay out of each other’s hair, yet your little puppets were out making a show.”

“Stain,” Kagero greeted evenly, “Sorry about all of that, but the more I thought about our last conversation, I realized there was still some stuff to gain if we… amended our current agreement.”

“So your first thought was to immediately renege it.”

“Would you have done anything else if you were in my shoes?” Kagero bit out, temporarily losing his composure. He took a breath to center himself, “If you were chasing a ghost, how would you find it? Play nice? Bring it something to connect with? No. You’d provoke it into giving you a response.”

Stain huffed, “So what is it you want this time? By the looks of things, you’re no longer desperate for new members.” He swung his arm, gesturing to everyone else, “Money? Respect? Prestige? Do you not already have those?” Stain hunched forward a little more, his eyes boring into Kagero’s, the tension in the room rising a notch, “Or maybe you’re looking to remove me from the picture entirely?”

Stain slowly reached for one of the daggers sheathed to his side. Toga leaned forward as well, her hand sliding to the knife strapped to her leg. Dabi’s hand started to smoke. Kurogiri’s form bristled at the perceived danger and he caught the slightest hint of Mustard’s quirk in the air, Impressive reaction. He’s improving, but Kagero held a hand up, staying them.

He knew Kurogiri would side with him, Mustard too. Jin probably would as well, but he saw how he was becoming friends with Toga. If it came to blows, with Stain in the room, Toga and Dabi were no longer with him. They might be on the fence, but their toes were already on Stain’s side. He couldn’t count on them, and if Jin sided with Toga, he would need to go first. It would be a shame to lose two promising assets and a gold mine, but sacrifices would have to be made.

He kept his hand up, slowly bringing his other to his mask. He pressed on the lower canines, retracting his mask, showing Stain his full face. To show he wasn’t above fighting as well, he puffed a small ball of fire, “Let’s all calm down a little, yeah? Just like last time, I only want to talk. I’ve got a proposition that you might want to hear before we tear each other’s heads off. Maybe a drink to settle our nerves? If not, the least I ask is that we move outside. I’d hate to make a mess here, and I’m sure Kurogiri would appreciate that as well.”

Stain continued to stare, but slowly removed his hand from the knife’s handle. Seeing Stain stand down, Toga and Dabi did as well. Kagero kept his hand up until everyone settled back down. He glared at Kurogiri in warning before he eventually dropped his hand as well.

“No drinks. No bullshit. No stalling,” Stain stated.

Kagero smirked, the right corner of his mouth pulling a little higher, “I understand you’ve hit a plateau of sorts while in Hosu. As such, I’ve got a warning and an offer.”

Stain watched every muscle in Kagero’s face, listened to every tone and syllable in his voice. He gave the tiniest nod to continue.

“My warning is this: If you stay in Hosu any longer, you will be caught. It’s not a matter of if anymore, but when. They know your pattern of four heroes per city, with a maximum of a month residency. You’re running out of heroes to cull, so now you’re planning to move on. They’ve caught on to that as well. As we speak, heroes from all over are converging in Hosu, casting a net, and preparing to reel it in. With the mess you’ve caused there, I wouldn’t be surprised if Numbers One and Two showed up too.”

In the corner of his eye, he saw Dabi tense a little, trying to disguise it as a sound of disgust. He smiled inwardly, that confirms that. “My offer is a choice: I’ll transport you out of the city to your next location or…” he trailed off.

Stain leaned forward ever so slightly, clearly enticed by the prospect of making a clean getaway, but not completely hooked yet. Kagero could see his companions’ reactions as well, they were just as entranced despite the offer not extending to them.

“… you can use this opportunity to take out as many of the Fakes you hate so dearly in one fell swoop.”

The tension in the bar dissipated in an instant. Stain wasn’t the most expressive outside of near-manic grins, but Kagero could read him just fine. Stain stood a little straighter, the aura surrounding him vanished and the look in his eyes lost their sharpness, but there was still the slightest bit of hesitance.

“What do you gain from this? Everything I’m hearing only benefits me,” Stain eventually commented. Dabi shifted on his stool, watching and listening carefully. The deal Kagero was making was lined up almost exactly like his own – stacked too heavily on one side. Is this how he wins people over? Similarly, Mustard was jotting down his observations, soaking up everything about Kagero’s actions in hopes of one day being able to emulate him.

Kagero put on a fake offended scoff, “Is it so wrong to want to help out a potential partner and fellow villain every once in a while?” He nodded towards everyone in the room, “Relations like ours is a give-and-take. All I’ve been doing is taking from you, so now I want to do a little giving.”

Stain growled, “I said no bullshit, Shigaraki. What is your stake in this?”

Kagero smiled lightly, “I get to put the heroes through the wringer without having to lift a finger. We’ve established our goals are similar, but our methods differ. You like being quiet, while I don’t mind a little bit of chaos. You like going at heroes one at a time, while I enjoy group tests.

“I’ll sprinkle some chaos in Hosu as a stress test for the heroes while you sit back and observe. Instead of ambushing on random days, use the cover of my attack for your hunt. Find the heroes you were already gunning for and judge them when their true character shines through, take them out like you planned. Anyone you leave alone I’ll deal with.”

Kagero could see that he was slowly winning Stain over, but there was still something holding him back from agreeing completely. He chanced a glance at everyone else in the room and saw them all looking expectantly at Stain, none more than Toga. He could tell that she was begging as much as she could without speaking that Stain would accept, her hands clasped as if in prayer and her eyes were wide and pleading.

Stain was quiet for a stretch, clearly debating with himself and weighing the options. Kagero shrugged and turned his attention to Kurogiri, silently asking him for a drink. If Stain wanted to think, then he would give him all the time he needed. There’s no point in pressing the issue when the ball wasn’t even in his court.

Everyone was shocked at how easily Kagero dismissed his guest. Dabi felt a brief spark of anger towards Kagero for the blatant disrespect. He nearly scolded Kagero before Stain surprisingly moved to sit next to him, also ordering a drink.

“Why would you go so far for me? Why offer this now instead of when we first met?” Stain asked in quick succession.

Kagero swirled his glass idly and took a sip before responding, “You changed your MO and threw the heroes through a loop. I’m just making the best of the opportunity you created. Like I said, I’m doing a little bit of giving this time. Helping you is out of courtesy.”

They fall into another silent spell, the only sounds in the bar were the air conditioner’s hum, bated breaths, and the sound of glass on wood. Kagero kept his eyes focused on his drink, watching it swish and swirl against the glass while he let Stain continue to think.

Mustard and Jin relaxed minutely at the lapse in conversation, using this time to stretch and move around, taking extra caution to make sure Stain knows he wouldn’t be attacked. Dabi gave in and ordered a glass for himself as well. Toga dropped her chin to the bar top, quietly blowing raspberries to herself.

“I prefer working alone, at my own pace, and in the quiet,” Stain finally broke the silence, everyone’s heads turning to look at him. “If what you say is true about heroes coming in to Hosu, then it saves me a lot of trouble and planning.”

Kagero hummed, his expression giving nothing away but he was extremely pleased all the same. He turned to look at Stain, who was looking at him with begrudging respect, “So what are you going to do about it?”

“This is it. We will work in tandem this one time. Afterwards, you are to never contact me again. We are to go our separate ways and you will never seek me out for any reason. I will still honor the original agreement of sending anybody who comes to me your way. If I’m bothered by them, they will be nothing but a burden for me. I expect you to hold up your original end,” Stain laid out his terms.

Kagero smiled, nodding to Kurogiri who produced another bottle and filled their now empty glasses. Stain noticed it was the same sake he had the first time around. Kagero grabbed his glass and lifted it up, Stain did the same. They clinked their glasses like old buddies and downed the contents.

Toga squealed with glee at the sight while Dabi released a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“I don’t doubt your skills, but are you planning on laying siege to the city all by yourself?” Stain asked, trying to gauge Kagero’s plan, “Or are you going to employ your members?”

Kagero chuckled darkly, “While that would be delightful, I’ve prepared some gifts for the heroes. Kurogiri.”

A portal opened and Kagero walked through. Stain followed a few steps behind, everyone else bringing up the rear. Kurogiri came in at the end, the portal receding into him.

When they exited, they were stood on a rooftop overlooking Hosu. Night had fallen, but they could all see an increased number of heroes patrolling the streets, their bright costumes hard to miss. Kagero walked to the edge and turned back around to address the group.

“While I would love to attack this city on my own, I know my limits. That’s why I have these instead.” He gestured to the side where another portal opened, and three figures emerged at the same time. The League cringed in disgust as they saw what exited, Mustard nearly throwing up at first sight.

The biggest of them had black skin covered with muscles and bright red scars, wearing only a pair of blue jeans and what looked like a baseball catcher’s shin guards. Its head displayed its brain, much larger than normal with only the lower jaw showing, its lips gone displaying nothing but gums and teeth.

The yellow one had a pair of massive wings, pointed at the tips and torn on the webbing. A rebreather-looking device was fixed on its mouth, its feet deformed to look like a raptor’s claws.

The final was pale green and lanky, its limbs longer than normal. Its mouth hung open while four beady eyes were settled on its exposed brain.

“Nomu!” Kagero yelled, the three beasts snapping to attention, awaiting orders. “Wreak havoc. Cause chaos. Scatter.”

In response, all three let loose inhuman screams and jumped off the building. Moments later, terrified screams filled the air.

Chapter Text

An eerie silence filled the rooftop despite the city crying in horror.

The League knew Kagero had a mean side to him, every half-decent villain does, but seeing it take the forefront of his interactions was something that they weren’t expecting. He had always presented himself as carefree and aloof but almost disturbingly aware and alert, sure of himself but always just a step before cocky, maybe even a little caring and compassionate, but there was no hint of the sadism that they were witnessing now.

A near predatory look graced his features as he ordered his Nomu, his eyes glowing their toxic green that became a thing of nightmares for those who were unfortunate enough to fall short of his grace. Kagero replaced his mask, the wind blowing enough to tousle his hair, the bangs slightly covering his eyes.

His gaze rested on Stain, “You’re free to stay back here while I let the Nomu do their thing, or you can go about on your own, I don’t care either way. The rest of you,” he addressed Toga, Dabi, Mustard, and Jin, “you’re going back to the bar.”

Their jaws dropped.

“What!?” they all exclaimed, Toga and Dabi voicing their dissent much louder. Toga took a step forward, her hands outstretched as she placed them on his shoulders, shaking him slightly, “You have to let me play around with the heroes too, Shi-kun! I can get some blood from them! Or… or…” she trailed off, trying to think of her reasons.

“You can’t be serious,” Dabi complained, “If you’re going to let Stain hunt some heroes, let me at them too. Especially if Endeavor’s here.” He mumbled the last part to himself, but Kagero heard him all the same.

Mustard looked disappointed, but more frustrated than anything, “How am I supposed to learn anything if I don’t actually see anything happening?”

“Come on, boss, you gotta let us stay for this. Things were just getting exciting! Take me home! Those things were ugly.” Jin added his two cents.

“This is non-negotiable.” Kagero removed Toga’s hands from his shoulders, holding them together by her wrists. She struggled lightly in his grip, but he held strong. Moving her off to the side a little so could look at everyone, he could see more complaints coming but he glared at them, silencing their protests, “The city is a hot zone now, and the hero presence has increased. These aren’t just no-namers anymore. They’re a mix of the Top Hundred and independents, none of which are pushovers. My Nomu will be making the news…”

As if on cue, they heard the beat of a helicopter steadily growing louder. They all turned their heads to see it flying closer, the news station’s letters displayed proudly on its body, its path pointed directly to the city center. Kagero cursed, calling for Kurogiri to move them. Portals opened beneath everybody, swallowing them whole. When they came out the other end, they found they were on a different rooftop under a covering.

“News response was much faster than I anticipated,” Kagero muttered to himself. He raised his voice back up to speaking level, “It’s too early for the public to have visual confirmation of my recruitment. You all will get your chance to shine and make yourselves known, but tonight is not that time. Tonight belongs to Stain.”

“What if we promise to not be discovered?” Toga bargained. Kagero released her hands, she immediately pointed to herself and used her other hand waving at the others, “You know I can be really sneaky. Mustard should be fine, and Jin can just follow me around! Send Dabi home, he’s the only one that can be recognized!”

Mustard and Jin nodded along, both voicing their support for Toga’s idea.

“Hey!” Dabi rebuked, “My kills left a scene, but I was never found. I know how to disappear when I want to!

“Enough! Shigaraki, I thought you had more control over your pets,” Stain interjected, surprising the group. “I have already deviated far enough away from my original path, and I now have confirmation that the heroes are on higher alert. I cannot afford to be distracted any further, especially not by over-eager children biting off more than they can chew.”

“I do apologize for my members being so troublesome, I’ll be sure to deal with them accordingly.” Kagero coolly replied, his words professional but the tone laced with ice and a promise of punishment. Toga and Dabi’s mouths snapped shut, everyone’s postures straightening to attention, “Did I not say to only speak when spoken to? You all will be going back to the bar. Now.”

A portal opened behind them, patiently waiting for them to enter. Toga, Dabi, Mustard, and Jin all looked at the portal in defeat and slowly walked towards it. Mustard and Jin hung their heads and walked through without any further fuss. Toga tried giving her best pouty face to Kagero as a last-ditch effort, but he didn’t budge. Only Dabi had the guts to look back and glare at Kagero before he disappeared, the portal closing behind him. With the only occupants of the roof being himself, Stain, and Kurogiri, Kagero heaved a sigh and shook his head.

“Troublesome, the whole lot of them,” he commented. “Kurogiri, I need to see what kind of trouble my Nomu have created.”

For the fourth time tonight, Stain walked through one of Kurogiri’s portals. This time they emerged on a water tower. Immediately, he walked forward and landed on the platform it was sat upon, crouching down at the edge like a gargoyle. Above him, he heard Kagero sit himself down, his legs hanging over the reservoir’s lid.

“What do you think? Magnificent, isn’t it?” Kagero marveled. Their skyline was filled with fires and smoke. People were screaming and sounds of fighting sounded out from the streets below. Huge crashes, explosions, glass shattering, everything coming together in a sick symphony. If Kagero wanted to be truly dramatic, he would’ve waved his arms around on the tower as a musical conductor would a baton on their rostrum.

Stain made a disgusted sound, “Your definition of beauty and mine are something that we look at differently. I see nothing but disorder, chaos, a bid for attention.”

“Tell me about your definition, then.”

“I see a world where there are only true Heroes. Those that save people to save them, and for no other reason than that. They never stop moving forward, always trying to make the world a better place. They wear their heart on their sleeve and hold themselves accountable.”

“That’s your dream. I asked about your definition of beauty.”

“Can they not be one and the same? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and in my eyes, beauty is a world where there are nothing but true heroes.”

Kagero had to stop himself from audibly snorting. When it came down to it, Stain really was on the side of the heroes. His actions were despicable, but they were done with the motivation of a pure heart. It was ironic that a killer wanted to make a better world.

He hummed in fake thought, letting the sounds of the attack wash over him. Kurogiri stood at attention, unmoving and unfeeling. From below, he saw Stain suddenly tense. He muttered some words before jumping off, no doubt finding the first of many heroes he would kill tonight.

“Kagero Shigaraki,” Kurogiri spoke as soon as Stain disappeared, “should we not chase after him?”

“Let him have his fun. He’s already served his purpose, we just need to make sure we smile for the cameras.”

“What if the heroes catch him? Would it not be better to tie up the loose ends? He knows where our base is, and the faces and names of our new members.”

“Stain has only ever been to the bar through use of your portals, and everyone save for Mustard is already known one way or another. By the time the heroes find out anything worthwhile, it wouldn’t matter anymore.” Kagero rolled his eyes. He was always appreciative of Kurogiri’s need to at least attempt keeping everything a secret, but there were times when it felt like he was talking to a ten-year-old who kept asking ‘why?’. Rather than go through twenty questions with him, Kagero moved to shut down any further concerns, “I gave Stain the choice of getting away or staying and getting caught. Obviously, he decided to stay. When he suddenly gets surrounded by heroes, well that’s just unfortunate for him.”

Kaminari wished he had a smoother wake up. He had been roughly woken when their train came to a screeching halt, the conductor announcing over the intercom that they ran into issues on the track and will be resolved shortly. Before the strange calm that comes from knowing it was a temporary inconvenience could settle, the entire train shuddered and bucked as if something slammed into it. The car they were in suddenly burst open, the unconscious form of a hero the cause of it.

Conduit immediately burst into action, looking over the hero before deeming them in good enough health to remain in the car, where they would eventually be helped. With no further words, he grabbed Kaminari and jumped out onto the city, aided by a burst of electricity and Kaminari’s shrieks of panic.

Kaminari hasn’t stopped screaming since, even after they’d landed and started running around. He was shut up by a pebble hitting him squarely on his forehead.

“Shut up,” Conduit admonished, “You screaming not only alerts villains to our position, but it’s also adding to the mess that’s happening. You’re training to be a hero, you don’t lose your cool.”

Kaminari stared bug-eyed at him before slapping both cheeks, “You’re right, sorry. This just isn’t what I thought hunting a serial killer would look like.”

The buildings were on fire, cars were flipped, crushed, and strewn about all over the street, and he could hear the screams and cries of the civilians who were unfortunate enough to get caught up in the disaster. The two were running around, trying to aid in evacuation and putting out the fires. Everyone they came across were frantic and whimpering, their skin and clothes covered in scorch marks and holes. The more coherent victims pointed towards the city center, talking about brainless monsters.

“That’s because we’re no longer hunting a serial killer, we’re fending off an attack.” Conduit responded, his purple lightning snaking around his arms. “Do you know what they’re talking about? Brainless monsters?”

Kaminari shifted uneasily and wrung his hands, “Not exactly, but I have a clue. I just really hope that I’m wrong.”

“Don’t leave me hanging, kid. I don’t like going in blind.”

“Well there was this thing at the USJ. Big, black, strong, beaked, and apparently had its brain exposed. I didn’t see much of it because I was separated from the class, but from what I heard, it’s called Nomu.”

Recognition dawned on Conduit’s face before he frowned, “I heard about that. A massive monster that fought All Might to a standstill. The police recovered it, but it hasn’t moved since. Reports say it only moved when it was given a command. Does that mean the League is here too?”

“I really hope not,” he shivered, “I still get nightmares from it, and I know my other friend is suffering. If he’s here, then I think it’s even more important that we find Iida. If not to save him from Stain, but to save him from Shigaraki.”

“Shigaraki?” Conduit questioned.

Kaminari stiffened slightly before answering, “Oh. I thought you already knew that.” He let out a nervous chuckle, “Shigaraki is the League’s leader. I never met him, but some of my classmates did, and from what they’re telling me, he’s someone you need to stay clear of.”

Conduit looked at him suspiciously. Kaminari wasn’t the brightest light bulb, but he also knew that he wasn’t actually dumb, just distracted. That being said, it doesn’t explain why he’s suddenly able to relay what is most likely extremely accurate information, when neither of them even have a full grasp on the situation. If he was as removed from the incident as he claims, then the intel would be spotty at best, but Conduit felt like everything would line up exactly as he said. Just who was he dealing with?

“I’ll keep that in mind. For now, we need to-“ He was cut off by the yellow Nomu swooping down and taking a stab at him. Conduit reacted in time, but only just barely. He raised his left arm to protect his face. The yellow Nomu’s claws scratched through his jacket and cut down to bone. Conduit screamed out in pain. His arm started bleeding profusely, but thankfully it went down and not across. He would’ve lost the arm if it did. He immediately followed up with a lightning bolt that just barely missed, the Nomu banking to the side to avoid it. Conduit stayed on guard while Kaminari frantically looked around the buildings, keeping an eye for a follow up attack.

“Mother fuck-“ Conduit gritted out after a few moments. He fell to his knees, using his good arm to attempt to dress the wound. “Chargebolt, you’re taking point now.” He wrapped his arm in gauze as best as he could, one end in his mouth as he tied it off, grunting with effort, “We’ll keep moving towards the center of the city. Hopefully they have a first aid zone already set up so I can get this dealt with. I give you full authorization to use your quirk to make it to safety, and to defend anybody you come across from danger. I’ll help out where I can, but you’re taking the lead now.”

Kaminari was shell shocked. Whether it was from seeing the gauze steadily growing redder, the sudden attack from a Nomu, being called ‘Chargebolt’ and not ‘kid’ or ‘brat’, being given a leadership position, or any combination of the previous, it was unclear.

“Kid!” Conduit growled, his face looking noticeably paler than before. He was losing blood, fast. He stumbled a little as he walked towards Kaminari, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Can’t have you zoning out like that here, especially now. Remember what I said about making sure you get the truest glimpse of the dark side of heroics? This is it. Right now, we’re no longer teacher and student, but heroes in the field, and you’re my only backup. I need you to step up.”

An inhuman scream pierced the air again, and both tensed in preparation, fearing another attack from the yellow Nomu. Kaminari still looked scared, but he hardened his resolve, nodding firmly, “You got it. Let’s get going.”

Everything was going as expected.

After he and Manual went different ways, Iida made his way to his room and set an alarm to wake up again at precisely seven o’clock, which would give him roughly an hour and a half before they were due at the police station for a general debrief and quick sit-down with the heroes that volunteered to help find Stain.

When the time came to leave for the station, he noticed that Manual was acting different, more serious. When he was getting scolded, Iida brushed him off when he said he had been pretty relaxed with things, but it turned out Manual was telling the truth. He still smiled and greeted everyone who stopped them, but as soon as they were gone, his face dropped and the look in his eyes hardened. Before, he was the ideal mentor, friendly and easy to get along with. Now, he was a man on a mission with a single thought in his head. Iida only briefly wondered if that’s what he has been like, but immediately stamped that thought out.

Thoughts like those were distracting and often led to doubt. There was no room for that in his mind.

The briefing was short and sweet: Find Stain at all costs, never travel alone, and only use yourself as bait if you’re confident in your partner’s abilities and speed. They had regretfully little intel on Stain outside of what Manual already explained to him, so they made it a point to proceed with extreme caution and heavy prejudice.

He looked around at the heroes assembled and only recognized a few, but from the tension in the room he could feel the power they collectively had. He caught sight of Endeavor, his idle flames unmistakable, scowling the whole time. Besides him stood his son, Todoroki, whose face betrayed nothing.

Todoroki looked up and met his gaze, recognition and surprise quickly passing over his face before it was lost. He made no move to greet him or say anything outside of a tiny nod, so little that Iida didn’t think he saw it. He nodded back all the same, worry only slightly tickling the back of his head at the sight of one of his classmates in a city that had been bathed in blood for weeks now.

He was alright with pro heroes looking for Stain, but something about seeing someone he almost considered a friend so close to the fight rubbed him the wrong way. Todoroki didn’t need to be in Hosu, even though it was most likely because of Endeavor. Todoroki didn’t need and shouldn’t be looking for a serial killer, he should be spending his internship learning how to be a hero from a pro. Todoroki didn’t need to have to be prepared to fight for his life, he was too young to even be considering it. Couldn’t Todoroki see the risks in being here?

He grunted and shook his head, determined to do everything he could to convince Todoroki to stay away. Before he could take a step or voice his concerns, Manual intercepted him. It was time to go on patrol. Resolved to visit the topic again, he shelved the conversation for a later time and nodded.

Iida and Manual followed their normal patrol route, taking extra time to investigate the mouths of alleys they knew led to Stain’s prime kill zone. The night so far had been beyond quiet, not even thugs, drug dealers, or gang members seemed to be out. They made idle conversation, more to help keep themselves awake and alert than anything else.

Periodically, they crossed paths with another hero. They would swap notes, share anything that looked out of the ordinary, and move on without another word.

The sound of a glass bottle rolling around came out of the alleyway they were passing, and both jumped on guard. Manual took point, directing Iida behind him.

“Is everything alright down there?” Manual called out, “I’m the Normal Hero: Manual, if you need any assistance, I’d be glad to help you out.”

He looked back at Tenya and hand signaled to him like a soldier would, instructing him to stay alert and watch out for anything or one trying to make a break for it. He nodded in agreement. Iida only knew what he was saying because of his family. Alongside basic heroic teaching and the normal school subjects, Iida was taught hand signals because they were used by heroes as well as the military.

Manual crept further into the alley, checking behind the dumpsters and garbage cans that sat to the sides. Eventually he came upon the bottle that rolled around. He plotted out the probable starting point of the bottle and came out to a dryer vent. He removed his glove and placed his hand under it, feeling the warm flow of the air. Someone must’ve just started a load and the bottle got blown over by it.

Manual made his way back to Tenya, “False alarm, nobody there.” Iida would be lying if he said he was glad it was nothing, so he didn’t respond. “Something doesn’t feel right, Tenya. Things are too quiet.”

“I agree.” Iida nodded. He had been ignoring the pit of worry settling in his stomach, and this wasn’t helping it, “None of the heroes we talked with had anything to report either, not even the errant criminal or loud drunk.”

“I’ve noticed that too.” Manual raised a finger to his ear, activated his comm piece, “This is Manual, requesting an all-around check-in. Has anybody seen anything tonight? We’ve almost finished our first circuit and we’ve come across absolutely zero crimes.”

Through his own earpiece, Tenya heard a chorus of negatives, everyone stating that they haven’t witnessed anything either. He even heard Endeavor’s gruff voice reply in, saying that this was a waste of time. The worry was starting to spread.

“What do you think is-“ Tenya got cut off by piercing inhuman screams. Suddenly glass was being broken, chunks of the buildings were being broken off and falling to the street. The sounds of parked cars being upended, alarms of all kinds, and fire hydrants bursting filled the air.

Tenya stilled in shock as the city went from a serene quiet to a cacophony of screams and destruction. He looked up and caught sight of a yellow figure flying above them, the body too lanky and unnatural to be a hero doing an aerial swoop of the city. Though short, he saw something he had only heard stories of from his classmates from back at the USJ. Back when he turned his back on his classmates and teachers.

There was no mistaking it. The flying figure’s brain was exposed. It didn’t look like what his classmates described, but there wasn’t a doubt in his mind. Hosu was under attack by a Nomu, which could only mean that the leader of the League of Villains was in the city as well. The same city that Stain has been plaguing for weeks. Stain and the League of Villains must be working together.

Stain will be making his final move tonight, and Ingenium will be there to make sure of it.

Chapter Text

Too much was happening too suddenly. As soon as they heard the first sign of destruction and Tenya catching sight of a flying Nomu, it seemed like the city finally woke up but on the wrong side of the bed and it was flipped over.

They ran towards the building closest to them that had a good portion of its top floor completely open to the air from where the Nomu smashed through. Small tongues of fire were already licking at the pieces of furniture and pictures that got thrown over the stovetops, the dinners that were being prepared left unfinished. The sound of gas hissing out of the pipes could be heard in the rooms. Those that were still inside ran out as fast as they could once they realized what was happening.

As Manual and Tenya got closer, one of the rooms must’ve reached the ignition point as a huge explosion sounded out, creating a chain reaction amongst the apartments. One by one they saw what windows that weren’t already broken being blown out, destroying what was left of the top floor.

They ducked reflexively, staring in desperation as the building was starting to come down. The front doors burst open, the residents covering their heads with their hands, some covered in ash and soot, others bleeding from unseen injuries, many of them carrying their children in their arms, all of them screaming or coughing. Manual and Tenya shared a look and nodded in understanding, they jumped into action, assessing the victims, applying first aid where needed, and ushering them to a safer location.

They continued like this as they made their way closer to the city center, the crowd growing steadily with every building that got affected. Both had tried calling out to the other heroes for support, but all they were met with was static silence. Either all heroes were too preoccupied to answer, which would be expected, or there was an electrical outage or energy disruption. A quick look around disproved the outage. Manual tried to keep the worry from his face, and judging from the looks he was receiving, he was doing a decent job at it. He swallowed heavily, watching over Tenya as he was checking over another civilian.

A communications blackout, on top of an enemy attack with an undetermined number of dangerous individuals, on top of a citywide search for a serial killer known to kill heroes who are alone. Manual wasn’t remotely religious, but right then he prayed to any and every god out there that the heroes would make it through the night.

He was snapped out of his spiral by Tenya roughly gripping his arm, “Manual! I can’t get in touch with any heroes. What should we do?”

Manual took stock of the people gathered around them, noting how they were all able to walk with only superficial wounds. At this point they were shepherding a small mob, trying to corral them would only slow them down, and trying to protect everyone was far outside their capabilities. He raised his head to address the people following them, “Tenya and I will escort you all to the safety shelters. The fit may be tight all things considered, but if that’s the case, we will continue to protect you all to the best of our abilities until each and every one of you are safe.”

Eventually, they were able to get everyone deposited at one safety shelter or another until it was just the two of them once again. Manual and Tenya broke into a jog, hoping to get a wider view of the carnage. Neither of them could believe the scope of the damage they were seeing. They were only able to confirm one of those Nomu, but it looked like the city got run over by an army of them. Mercifully, they didn’t see any dead civilians among the wreckage, but he wasn’t willing to hold his breath.

Iida stopped jogging abruptly, his arms nearly shaking in anger, “Manual, don’t you see what’s going on? This is all a distraction. While the heroes are busy with the Nomu, Stain is making his getaway. We need to be searching for him, not helping suppress the attack!”

“Are you serious-“ Manual groaned in frustration, “Tenya, you need to forget about Stain, at least for right now. Do you not see what’s happening in the city? Heroes are meant to protect and save, first. Despite your grievances with and the risk of letting Stain walk away, we need to prioritize rescue and first aid where needed. We have no idea the scope of this attack, the instigation, the involved parties, nothing.”

Iida tried to press the issue, but Manual’s firm glare discouraged his attempt. “Stain getting away is a risk we need to take. It may not be us who takes him down, but he will be brought to justice, just not tonight. But here? Right now? All that matters is helping the civilians, suppressing the attack, and supporting each other. Heroes are strongest when they work together, and that’s exactly what we need if the city is going to last through the night.”

Iida stared for a few seconds longer at Manual, but eventually huffed in subdued agreement. Even if Stain wasn’t the cause, a hero shouldn’t abandon people in need, and right now, everyone in Hosu needs a hero. He jogged next to Manual in a contemplative silence.

A thought eventually passed through Iida’s head. That didn’t mean he had to be with Manual, right? Manual said heroes are strongest together, and Stain likes to go after heroes who are alone. He just had to be with a hero, and if that hero happened to be targeted by Stain? Well, that’s just the icing on the cake.

Sounds of fighting and screams were growing, indicating they were probably getting close to ground zero of the attack. It was then that Iida made up his mind. Once they made contact with the enemy and Manual would be sufficiently distracted with trying to take them down, Iida will go looking for a hero who’s all alone.

As they rounded a corner, they could see what the commotion was. Seeing what was happening stopped both in their tracks. The heroes weren’t fighting one Nomu. They were fighting two, and neither was the one they saw flying around. Hosu was under attack by at least three Nomus and the heroes were losing the fight badly.

A scattered group of heroes attempted surrounding the Nomus. A pale green one was causing damage with reckless abandonment, attacking heroes at random and then turning right around to smash the walls of a building in, all the while wailing like a banshee. Any attack that it got hit with was eventually returned two-fold, further exacerbating the damage in that area. The other was black and muscular, actively attacking the heroes nearby. Other than seeing them at the debrief, Tenya had no idea who the assembled heroes were, but he knew that they weren’t enough to bring the two Nomu down.

The black Nomu slowly walked to a bus that was abandoned on the street, paying no heed to the attacks that it was receiving from the heroes spread around it. Bringing its hands underneath, the Nomu heaved and lifted the bus above its head, throwing it past the assembled heroes. Those in the car’s path ducked as it soared overhead, following it as it crashed into a row of cars, exploding on impact. Too distracted by the display of strength and destruction, the heroes took their eyes off the Nomu.

The black Nomu lifted its tree trunk of an arm and swung out, catching the heroes off guard, throwing each of them a distance. Those that weren’t hit all jumped back, giving themselves extra space between them and its next attack. A bare-chested hero with ram horns on his head was crouched next to a fire hydrant, ripping the top off with his hands.

“Manual!” the hero called out, “Hurry up and put the fires out before it spreads to the buildings!”

“Already on it!” Manual pointed his fingers at the spray of water, directing it towards the fire, “Tenya! Do a quick sweep of the surrounding area! Make sure there aren’t any stragglers.”

“Sir!” Tenya saluted and turned to run off, finally seeing his chance to look for Stain.

“And Tenya!” Manual added on, almost as if he was reading his mind. He was grunting with exertion as he focused the stream of water as far and wide as he could. “Once you confirm the area is clear, you are to go with the police and help with evacuation. No detours. This is beyond your capabilities.”

“But Manual, I can still help! I can do more!“ Tenya faltered in his step only a little. He knew that Manual knew that he was going to use the opportunity to go looking for Stain, and he cursed him for having yelled his instructions in the presence of multiple other heroes.

“Listen to your mentor, kid!” another hero called out, this one dressed in a green and white body suit with a solid red bandana around her neck. She stepped between Tenya and the Nomu to shield him from any attacks. “You’re more in the way here. We’ve got this, you keep yourself and the civilians safe!”

Tenya ground his teeth, the frustration and humiliation on his face hidden by his helmet. He silently swore and nodded, “I understand. Please stay safe!” He turned and fled the scene, tears of anger in his eyes. It was just like at the USJ. He was the one that was forced to run away while his comrades stayed back to fight for their lives. Now he’s being forced to run away again.

He couldn’t do anything to help his classmates back then. He couldn’t do anything for his brother when Stain attacked him. He couldn’t even do anything right now even though there were problems right in front of him!

Through blurry eyes he still scanned the surrounding area like he was told, looping around the vicinity one block away, and then two blocks, before confirming no one was there. As he ran to the evacuation areas, in the very corner of his eye he saw a flash of red turn a corner. He stopped in his tracks, studying the corner where he saw it disappear behind. He turned his head to look at the street sign.

“Five-one-eight Ekou Street…” Iida spoke to himself, his eyes narrowing in thought. He drew a sharp breath in realization and ran towards the alley, a twisted grin finding its way on his face. Manual said no detours, but he also said that heroes are stronger together, and if what he saw was accurate, there’s a hero that’s alone and needs support. He can do something after all.

As he jumped off the tower, Stain begrudgingly acknowledged Kagero’s plan. It was simple and kept all parties satisfied, though how he went about it was far too drastic in his opinion. Regardless of his personal feelings, it did bear fruit.

From the water tower he acquired his first target. Too far away to make out any defining details so he couldn’t identify which hero it was, but it didn’t matter. Looks meant nothing to him, it was the actions the heroes took and this one was displaying truly unheroic ones.

The over exaggerated movements of the hero was the first clue, the second was the direction they were headed. The hero was running wildly, their arms flailing as though they were wading through chest-high water. They didn’t stop once to look back, nor did they stop to answer a civilian that poked their head out of their front door, probably having heard the first explosion and trying to figure out the cause. The hero just ran past them, not paying them any attention. Most disappointingly, the hero’s back was squarely facing the action, where they were needed most. They were heading out of the city, away from the attack, away from the danger, away from the endangered citizens, and that’s just not what a hero does.

Stain licked his lips in anticipation as he bounded across the rooftops to catch his prey. He decided to give the hero one last chance, though he was certain the hero would miss it.

Stain ran ahead of the hero to get into his path. He dropped down to the street level and made himself reasonably visible, hanging out just barely hidden in the shadows of an alley that was within the hero’s line of sight. He heard the slap of the hero’s shoes on the concrete, the labored breaths from running,  the swishing of what sounded like a cape flowing behind him as they got closer. As the hero came into view, Stain was finally able to recognize the hero turned coward.

The red headband with a feather sticking out of it, the red markings under their eyes and the brown suit with a large “N” plastered on their chest was enough for Stain to recognize the hero as Native. Stain smiled contemptibly; Native was number three on his list for the next city.

Native got closer, his eyes sweeping ahead of him, with Stain standing out in the open. Stain could see the moment Native finally noticed him, could see the very short argument he held within himself before Native finally made up his mind. Native shook his head and muttered something before adjusting his course to run straight at Stain. His arms stopped flailing and Native fought to bring his breathing back under control. Stain smirked and turned his back, heading deeper into the alley. He heard Native maintain his course, trying to hype himself up by saying if he brought Stain in, then he would be worshipped among the rookie pros and forgiven for going a little AWOL when the attack started.

Stain silently growled, disappointed but not surprised. Native failed the last test, although he was doomed to from the start.

In the safety of the back alleys, Stain picked up the pace, but never went too fast. He wanted to make sure he kept Native on his tail, but far enough away so that he could still have time to properly set up his ambush. Native followed him like a search dog would a scent, his vision tunneling as he homed in on every small glimpse of Stain’s scarf he caught.

Native followed Stain like this through a few twists and turns, but as he turned right around a corner, his tunnel vision became his downfall. Stain stood right at the other side, a dagger held in a reverse grip in his left hand. Native didn’t have time to react as Stain swung his arm, clotheslining him and stabbing his left shoulder. Native cried out in shock and pain. Before he could activate his quirk to counterattack, Stain pulled him close, grabbing the back of his neck with his right hand and pulling him deeper into the alley.

He yelled as the dagger removed itself from his shoulder. Through the pain, he brought his hands up in the position for a shadow puppet bear. “Give me strength,” he prayed, as his body was briefly covered in a brown hue, the aura shaping into bear paws as it covered his hands.

As if sounding the start of the fight, an explosion boomed in the distance. Invigorated and now armed, Native swung at Stain who leaned back to dodge. Native pressed the attack, swinging wildly and without purpose as Stain calmly ducked and parried, moving both deeper into the alley and out towards the street, wearing Native’s stamina down, completely in control of the flow of the fight. Eventually, Stain attacked back. Native swung wide with his left arm but Stain raised his right to block it. With a quick jab, Stain struck the stab wound on Native’s shoulder, immediately earning himself a cry in pain. Stain didn’t let up. Each and every attack Native tried, stain blocked and returned with a pointed strike at his injury.

Through the blood loss and pain, the aura surrounding Native eventually faded, leaving him tired and battered. Too spent to put up a proper fight, Stain effortlessly grabbed him by the face, pressing him up against the wall. Unseen by Native, Stain brought the dagger he stabbed him with to his mouth, his long tongue licking at the blood still on the blade. In his hand, he felt Native tense and freeze.

“I… I can’t move,” Native commented. “What did you do?! You bastard! I’ll get you, I swear on…”

Native was interrupted by another explosion, Stain looked up to the sky at the direction he heard the explosion come from, “Too loud. Too chaotic. Too excessive. No matter, it’s nothing but a means to an end. As for you…” Stain took his dagger and wiped the blood off on Native’s chest, intentionally leaving a thin cut that followed the down slash on his “N”, before re-sheathing it, “Do you really want your last words to be that of promising revenge? How unheroic and fake of you.”

Stain reached up with his free hand to the katana on his back, the chipped metal making a haunting trill and not the clean shing of a treated and cleaned blade. He flicked it out to the side, poised for the kill, “May your death help usher in a new era of…”

Before he could finish his sentence, he let go of Native, letting him fold to the floor, swinging his sword out to the side. A loud clang filled the air as metal hit metal, his sword making contact with a white helmet. The helmet went flying as the person that wore it spun around at the impact as they fell.

Stain looked upon the newcomer, seeing the white armor and helmet, the navy-blue hair, the exhaust pipes sprouting out of their legs like another hero he came across. The connection was made instantly, “The youngest of the Iida family. Run along now, this is no place for a child.” Stain turned his attention back to Native.

“A blood red scarf,” Tenya commented in a low voice, standing up slowly. “Three blocks away from the nearest agency, police station, or location frequented by a hero. In a quiet back alley, armed with a multitude of knives and blades. There’s no doubt. You’re Stain.”

Tenya was hunched over and shaking with fury. He raised his head, glaring at Stain, hatred burning brightly in his eyes, “I’ve been looking for you. Chasing after your shadow, learning all your tricks, memorizing everything I could. I was praying for the chance I could meet you, if only so that I could take you down…!”

His tirade cut short as Stain pushed his katana right in his face, Tenya slightly going cross-eyed as he stared at the tip of the blade, “I’ve seen your eyes before, boy. They’re filled with pain and anger. You didn’t come looking for me to arrest me. If you did, you would’ve brought heroes along with you. No, you came for me to get revenge.” Stain pushed his katana closer so that it was just resting on the bridge of Tenya’s nose, “Mind your next words. Not even your age can save you if you prove yourself to be a Fake.”

Despite the situation, Tenya couldn’t help but laugh dryly, “What a joke. Only someone as deluded as you would attempt to convince someone to walk away just so he could kill someone else. Listen up, villain. I am the younger brother of a hero you attacked and crippled! The brother of a hero beyond measure! One who is loved by family, civilians, and sidekicks alike!”

Tenya batted the katana away from his face, Stain allowing it to be swept aside. Face-to-face with the cause of his anger, he was letting it all out, “I have come to finish what my brother has started! To succeed in what he failed at! Remember my name, Stain. For it will be the one you will be cursing as you descend to the deepest pit in Hell. I am Ingenium. The hero that will bring. You. Down.”

For all the vitriol Tenya put into his words, Stain was unimpressed. If his head were clearer, Iida would’ve seen the almost disappointed look that quickly passed over Stain’s face before it was replaced with a wide-eyed and manic grin.

“Is that so?” Stain asked, his pupils shrinking to slits, “Then come! Let’s see if your Ingenium is any better than your brother’s!”

Ingenium shot forward, the engines in his legs turning over as blue flames blew out of the exhaust pipes, “I’ll kill you!”

The distance between the two closed in an instant as Ingenium ran forward, his steps perfectly timed as if he were going to punt a ball. His left leg swung up, looking to kick Stain where it would hurt the most, but he was already moving. Stain jumped high, easily clearing Ingenium, and kicked out with his left foot, the spikes on his boot digging into Ingenium’s shoulder.

“Is this the best that your Ingenium can do?” Stain taunted. “Your brother’s was far more impressive, your father’s even more so before him. I almost broke a sweat fighting your brother, but you?” Stain stomped his right foot down on Ingenium’s head, forcing him to faceplant on the ground. Ingenium grunted as he felt Stain’s boot dig into his skull, forcing him to eat the concrete. “You thought you could hold a candle to your brother? You’re nothing more than a singular spark on wet wood.”

Stain reversed the grip on his katana, driving it down into Ingenium’s other shoulder, earning him a cry of pain, “You and your brother are weak, but at least he was a Hero. Why else would he still be alive?”

“Alive, but at what cost!?” Ingenium cried out, “He’s paralyzed from the waist down, his days of being a hero are over, all because you picked a fight with him! He was a Hero! You said it yourself! So why? Why did you take away his ability to help others?” He fought hard to choke back the tears that was building, his voice cracking slightly, “He was a Hero who inspired many, who is loved by many, who inspired my dreams to become a hero. My brother was- is my Hero. I’ll never forgive you for what you did to him! I’ll kill you if it’s the last thing I do!”

Stain looked down at Ingenium, he face expressionless, “And what would you do if your brother heard you say that right now? If he saw you in this pathetic state? Do you think he’d be proud?” Beneath his boot, Iida drew a sharp breath. Stain pointed to Native behind him, “And what about him? Were you too blinded by your rage to see that there was someone else here? You let your anger blind you to the point you couldn’t see past your own nose.

“Forgetting about yourself and trying to save others. Wielding your power for the sake of the many rather than for the few or yourself. Putting everyone else before yourself. These are the tenets which make a true Hero. These are what your brother followed. Getting consumed by anger and hate, acting on your emotions and self-interest, openly proclaiming your intent to kill. You are the furthest from being a hero than any Fake that I have killed to date.”

Stain twisted his katana before yanking it out of Ingenium’s arm, eliciting a sharp cry of pain. He licked at the blood on his blade, Ingenium felt Stain’s quirk instantly, as if he were under increased gravity. Stain raised his katana up once more, aiming it above Ingenium’s heart, “That is why you will die tonight, and the hero Ingenium will die with your brother, for you are nothing.”

“Shut up… shut up… shut up! It doesn’t matter your reasons or goals, you’re nothing more than a lowly criminal who crippled my brother!” Iida closed his eyes, the tears he fought to keep back now streaming down his face. He braced himself, accepting his death but cursing Stain in every way he could imagine.

Iida heard Stain hum. His mind was replaying every memory he had of his brother. Every time Tensei told a silly joke or embarrassed himself. Every time Iida was reminded of just how great of a hero and person Tensei was. Iida was ashamed to admit that Stain was right. Tensei wouldn’t be proud of how he acted tonight. Instead of doing his brother proud, he no doubt disappointed him beyond comparison.

His thoughts came to his parents. His stern but loving father chastising the both of them when they rough-housed a little too hard in the house. His caring mother who always made sure to smother them in hugs and kisses whenever she saw them.

His thoughts came to the friends he’s made along the way. Remembering the antics they got into while in school with him scolding them the whole time, never truly trying to lecture them, but trying to guide them to being model citizens. Thinking of his friends led him to remember Kaminari and Shimura, the only two that tried reaching out to him when he was hurting. He remembered when they first asked if he was alright, and he gave them a fake smile and told them he was fine. He remembered the last time he saw Shimura, back at the train station. Shimura was trying once again to reach out before they went their separate ways, but he pushed him away. He remembered the defeated look Shimura had on his face before he turned away without any further discussion, his last words to him were callous and impersonal.

Everyone. I’m sorry. He thought to himself before he felt the blade pierce his armor, his body racked with pain. In the moments he had left of consciousness, he thought he heard someone yell out to him, but he must’ve been imagining it.

No backup would be coming, he stupidly made sure of that himself. He was alone. The pain faded into nothing.

Chapter Text

Kaminari had just dropped Conduit off at one of the many first aid stations set up, only lingering long enough to hear that Conduit should make a full recovery, even with the meager supplies they had available, when he caught a glimpse of a figure clad in white armor running off. Conduit must’ve noticed also because as Kaminari was about to walk off in pursuit, he grabbed his arm.

“That your friend?” He asked, Kaminari nodded. Conduit took a deep, annoyed breath before nodding as well. “Go after him, keep him safe. I’ll send some heroes to back you up as soon as they’re able.” Conduit winced as he turned on his left side, his injured arm briefly trapped under his body, his right hand groping behind him to a small pouch he had on his right butt cheek. Once he had what he was looking for, he handed it over to Kaminari. “That’s a tracker. Keep that on you, it’ll be the only way the heroes can get to you.”

Kaminari nodded once, his eyes full of fear, but a brief glimmer of determination could be seen. Conduit chuckled, and poked his heart, “I like that look in your eyes, it means you know what’s at risk and what you’re fighting for. Remember, fight hard, fight fast, and fight dirty if you need to. Do whatever you need to do to keep your friend safe, and in the unfortunate event you’re too late…”

Kaminari was hung on every word, “… fight like hell to make sure no one else meets the same fate,” he finished.

“Attaboy.”

Kaminari ran off in pursuit of Iida, briefly contemplating riding the wires, but then decided against it. If Iida was following who he thinks he was, then he couldn’t risk freaking Stain out. Instead he chose to follow from a distance as quickly and quietly as he could.

Kaminari abandoned all pretenses of stealth as he turned the corner and saw Stain thrust his katana down into the Iida’s prone form. His eyes widened in shock as he realized what was happening.

“Iida, no!” He yelled out. Without a second thought, he channeled electricity into his right arm, rearing it back as he threw a bolt of lightning right at Stain, “Get away from him!”

The arc soared through the air, crackling with energy as it met its target. Stain let out a strangled yell as his body seized. No sooner after he had he stabbed Iida and pulled his blade out, his own body convulsed in pain. Eventually it passed, Stain falling to his knees as his muscles gave out from under him, suddenly feeling as if he’s been running a marathon.

Kaminari stood a little awestruck at the fact that he finally was able to fire electricity accurately before he quickly remembered where he was. Stain didn’t stay down for long, as soon as he was in control of his body again, he threw a knife at Native, who was still downed. Kaminari watched helplessly as it flew through the air and strike true, embedding itself in Native’s heart, his already shallow breath hitching before it stopped entirely.

Kaminari gaped in horror as he just witnessed Stain coldly end the life of another person in less than a minute, without thinking anything of it. Not only did he let himself and Iida down for being too slow, he had let Conduit down as well. Conduit had tried hammering into his head that a hero never freezes, but there he was, rooted to the ground, too late to save two people right in front of him.

“Your death will help usher in a new era of Heroes,” Stain rasped before standing up. He looked to Kaminari, who was still stood in the final position of his throw, looking every bit like a deer caught in the headlights. “Are the heroes so pathetic and weak that they send children out to do their jobs? I must fix this. Leave, boy. You don’t belong here.”

Kaminari straightened and gulped, “Uh, yeah. I will. I just need to… uh…” He shook his head before he fell into the fighting stance, his prior nervousness gone, “I can’t let you go, not after having witnessed you murder two people.”

Stain made an amused grunt as he looked over Kaminari, “And you believe you can stop me?”

“I believe I can try my hardest to.” Kaminari took a deep breath and let electricity course through his body, a light hum of energy emanated from him.

Within the first two days of his internship, he and Conduit had literally fried his hero costume. The damage started with small holes that progressively grew bigger as the loose fibers were ignited by the constant stream of electricity. Instead of an open black jacket, white shirt, and matching pants, it had been upgraded with some inspiration pulled from Conduit’s own costume. They had to make a rush order at the Office’s support labs to get a new suit in working order so Kaminari wouldn’t be naked whenever they went out on patrols. It was good timing on their part that it was finished in time for them to make it to Hosu.

Now, he was wearing a black jacket zipped most of the way up, with thick strips of white lines rimmed with yellow designed like lightning bolts running across his chest and down the sleeves. More subtly, he had thin black lines running along the “solid black” part of his jacket that looked like a circuit board. If you looked closely, you could see small sparks of electricity running through them, just as live as the lightning bolts. He wore matching black pants, a similar design of lightning bolts that started from the cuffs of his pants up, covering his shins, and ending at his knees. He kept the earpiece on his right ear, but it was now integrated into his blue-lensed glasses.

“Last chance for you to surrender,” Chargebolt offered.

“I could be saying the same to you. You’re not even a hero yet, I would hate to end your career so soon, though don’t think yourself safe. You could let me go about my unfinished business. You’d even be able to retrieve your friend and that Fake with no problems.”

“Out of the question. Only one of us will be making it out of this alley. Either it’ll be me while dragging you behind me, or you after having killed me, because there is no way I’m letting you go after what you just did.”

Stain barked a laugh, “A good answer! Arrogant, but I suppose it’s to be expected at your age. You may become a true Hero yet.”

“I’m not looking for your approval.”

Chargebolt dashed forward, his arm raised up for a punch, the muscles in his legs overcharged as he channeled electricity through them, giving him the boost needed to catch Stain by surprise. Judging by Stain’s widened eyes and hastily brought up guard, he succeeded.

Stain blocked the attack, but he still froze as he felt his body seize from making contact, Chargebolt’s electrical current running through the channels in his costume, briefly stunning him. Chargebolt took advantage of the brief second when Stain froze, taking a half-moon step forward, his right hand still up from the strike. He thrust his left hand forward in straight punch to Stain’s diaphragm, the combined force of overcharged muscles and electrical output flinging Stain back multiple meters.

Stain coughed as he fought to catch his breath again, his body feeling more lethargic. Far too quickly, Stain realized he had no way of defeating him. Any punch or kick with Chargebolt’s body would result in him seizing up again as if being tased. Any slash by his sword would result in the electricity snaking through the blade, into the hilt, and into his body. He could try using throwing knives, but those only work on distracted opponents, not ones whose focus was entirely on him.

The only avenue he had left was retreat, and while he wasn’t against it, he knew the second he turned his back, he would be giving Chargebolt the satisfaction of knowing he was stronger. The already tipping scales of the fight would lean heavily to Chargebolt’s side and he would be at a distinct disadvantage. Stain growled at his luck. He was trapped.

“Bad matchup, it seems,” Chargebolt commented, having noticed Stain coming to the same conclusion. He slammed a hand on the concrete, sending an electrical current into the ground all around him. Stain tried jumping back to avoid getting hit, but found his boots rooted to the ground. He saw the electricity snake closer to him and braced himself for the inevitable shock, but it never came. Instead, his body slammed to the ground. He grunted in surprise, trying to push himself back up, but found he couldn’t move his arms from where they were stuck.

“Surprised?”

“Who the hell are you?” Stain grunted. “You’re no mere child, that’s for sure. You’re not a hero either.”

“Does it really matter? After tonight, we’ll never see each other’s faces again.” Chargebolt brought a hand up, electricity crackling on his palm, “And good riddance too. You killed my friend over there.” Chargebolt nodded his head in Iida’s direction. Stain tried to follow, but his head was stuck, his left cheek plastered to the ground, and Iida’s body was out of his sight.

“He was a real stick in the mud, really uptight and uncompromising when it came to rules and proper procedure, but he was earnest in his actions and had the heart of a hero.”

“You must be talking about someone else, because all I saw in him was a heart of hate and eyes of anger.” Stain tried pushing himself up again, but couldn’t move, his body felt magnetized to the ground, without any sign of slack. “The kind of anger that isn’t superficial, but buried, raw, true, overwhelming. They let themselves become consumed by it. Who you called a friend was nothing more than a wolf in sheep’s clothing. You should be thankful I removed the threat.”

“Yet I’m not.” Chargebolt positioned himself above Stain’s frozen body, his hand showing a finger gun, aimed directly at Stain’s body. “This’ll hurt a lot, and then it won’t.”

Before he could fire, his earpiece crackled to life, immediately he was assailed by yelling, requests, call outs, all sorts of info that the heroes had been missing throughout the attack. Chargebolt yelped in surprise before bringing his hand up to adjust the settings. He cycled through the different channels, filtering through the noise until he was met with a voice of a hero.

“Chargebolt!” the hero called through the comm, “Chargebolt come in! ”

Chargebolt blinked a few times in confusion before replying, immediately breaking back down into the hysterics he was feeling prior to the fight, “Hi! Yes! Chargebolt here, I’m in need of assistance! Badly!”

Stain was still stuck to the ground, but he perked his eyebrows, noting the drastic change in personality Chargebolt was displaying. Gone was the cold-hearted fighter that was there moments before.

“I’m at, uh…” Kaminari glanced around the alley he was in before running out briefly to get his bearings, “Four-two-ten Ekou Street and-“ he screeched out loud as he looked upon the scene before him.

The first thing he noticed was the growing pools of blood from under Iida and Native. He rushed to Iida, who was closer to him and placed two fingers on his neck, looking and praying for a pulse. Nothing. He looked at Native and let out a depressed sigh, the knife in his heart was proof enough it was too late. His gaze finally settled on the third prone form on the ground, devoid of any blood around them.

Curious, he walked closer, rounding around so he could get a glimpse of the face. When he got there, he found Stain staring at him, very much alive and glaring daggers. He yelped again, falling to his butt, and scooted himself as far back as he was willing to go, bringing his arms up to cover his face and closing his eyes in anticipation of an attack. When he wasn’t immediately overcome with pain, he brought his arms down slowly and peeked out from under them. Stain was still glaring at him, but he didn’t move a muscle.

His earpiece crackled again, “Chargebolt? Come in, what happened?”

“I- how far away are you?” he asked instead, “The- there are two confirmed KIAs, and I’m currently staring down the Hero Killer.”

“Kid, get away from there. Now!”

“I’m not in any danger, I swear! He’s just laying here, like he’s paralyzed or something. I have no idea what’s going on.”

“Hang tight, kid! We’re nearly there now, with some heavy reinforcements.”

Stain only heard the conversation from one side, but noticing the lapse in words, he spoke up, “Who are you, really?” Kaminari froze, Stain’s grating voice filling his ears, “Too well trained to be a student, too cold-hearted to be a child, too insensitive to reality to be innocent. No. I was wrong. I didn’t remove the wolf in sheep’s clothing. He was nothing but a child too willing to be tainted by anger. The true wolf is you.”

He turned around, his face devoid of any emotion, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Chargebolt! We’re right here!” he heard from his earpiece. The voice was heard around the next corner as well, seconds away.

“Oh, there’s my cue.” He stomped on the ground, his foot sparking with electricity. He took a deep breath in, “HE’S LOOSE AGAIN! HELP!”

Suddenly, whatever force that kept Stain locked to the ground was released. Not wasting any time, Stain leapt at Kaminari, hoping to cut him down before the incoming heroes could interfere. Kaminari started to scream again, just barely dodging out of the way. He tried to mount a solid counterattack, but unlike before, it was like he really was fighting a kid. Kaminari’s attacks were still wreathed with electricity, but his movements were wild and sloppy. While dodging, Kaminari tripped over one of Native’s outstretched legs. Stain immediately pounced on him, taking care to look in his eyes to see when he would stop acting. If he learned anything during his hunts, it’s that a person shows their true self in the moments before death. He raised his katana, preparing to thrust it down, staring straight into Kaminari’s eyes, searching for the first hint of the fighter he was before. The blade was still coming down, but all he saw was true fear. The blade kept falling.

Just before it could pierce Kaminari’s jacket, Stain was thrown off of him by a torrent of fire.

Stain was sent deeper into the alley, turning over a few times before he skidded to a stop. When he recovered, he knew he was outnumbered and likely outclassed, but he couldn’t help but smile widely at the assortment before him.

Intentional or not, the heroes were stood in an arrowhead formation, Endeavor at the head with two of his sidekicks and son standing in row behind him. Beyond them was the assortment of heroes that were caught up fighting the black and pale green Nomus. Manual was among them as well, but immediately went to Iida’s side despite knowing that he was gone. He could see some shuffling behind the numbers, assuming that was where they ferreted Chargebolt too.

“You are caught, Stain. Surrender peacefully,” declared Endeavor, his voice commanding respect but also almost begging for him to act out so he could fight.

“Why would I surrender to piles of trash?” Stain replied, his grip on his katana tightening. “Does the hammer succumb to the nail? Does wood snuff out fire already ablaze? You all think yourselves as heroes but you’re nothing more than fakes, frauds, has-beens and wannabes, utter insults to the title of Hero. None more prominent than you, Endeavor.”

If Endeavor was affected by his words, he didn’t show it, only making a grunt of acknowledgement before taking a step forward, “Good. We get to do this the hard way.”

Stain’s eyes widened as far as they could, his smile turning manic, “Come! Just try me! I alone will correct this world. I will rid it of Fakes. I will let the world know the folly of their ways for creating and nurturing False Heroes!”

Stain lunged forward the same time Endeavor did.

The beat of the helicopter’s blades grew louder, the air displaced by it was buffeting around Kagero and Kurogiri. Neither of them bothered looking at the helicopter, both keenly aware that there was at least one camera pointed at them. Kurogiri bent at the hip and whispered in Kagero’s ear.

“Should we move to another location? We lost sight of Stain, and I can only assume the feed from the camera is live. The heroes may be able to find us if they’re watching it.”

Kagero chuckled, “Kurogiri, if there are any heroes watching what’s happening here from their TVs right now, then they’re too far away to do anything and will be too late by the time they get here. The heroes in this city are the biggest threat to us right now, but they should be too busy dealing with the Nomu and Stain to even think about trying to find us.” Kagero lightly stretched before standing back up, turning himself so he was facing the helicopter head on, his eyes searching the body for the camera lens he knew was pointed at them, “But you’re right, it would be nice for a change of view.”

Kagero pointed to the explosions and back to himself, pantomiming to the camera that the attack was because of him. Satisfied that even the slower thinkers of those watching got the message, he gave a lazy two-fingered salute before walking through the portal Kurogiri created. When he re-emerged, he found himself looking over the small battlefield between the heroes and the two Nomu. The heroes were still having trouble containing the threats, with only one being remotely successful. Kagero looked on with a glint in his eyes.

“Was it wise to let the news know the attack was our doing?” Kurogiri asked. “I thought the goal was to stay off of the radar.”

Manual was still on fire control, but instead of the one, there were now three more hydrants torn off, their streams looking like geysers going off. He stood in between two of them, his arms and hands splayed out, eyes screwed shut in concentration. He had enough fine control over the water to where small branches of water spread out from the geysers, making it look like the area was surrounded by trees of water. Kagero watched, impressed with Manual’s display of skill.

“Citizens and heroes aren’t the only people that watch the news.” Kagero replied smiling, thoroughly entertained by the heroes’ attempts at defeating the Nomu.

The other heroes were still fighting off the Nomus to the best of their abilities, but they weren’t making any progress. He saw a pair of heroes throw what looked like shuriken at the back of the black Nomu. He laughed at their futility. They might as well be throwing pebbles against a brick wall hoping to knock it down.

The pale green Nomu stopped wrecking the buildings around them and was now fully on the offensive. They may be mostly mindless, but at least the Doctor and Master gave them enough processing power to create a barebone strategy. While the black Nomu fought the heroes hand-to-hand, the pale green one would intercept any non-physical attacks sent its way and fling them back twice as strong. At times, it would even take hits by the hero with the ram horns only to hit them right back with more effectiveness.

Mindless, but not dumb. A perfect combination for tools of destruction.

“Nomu,” Kagero spoke, his voice entirely lost in the chaos but still heard crystal clear by the two below him. The Nomus stopped what they were doing in mid-action and craned their heads in Kagero’s direction.

Confused by the sudden stop, the heroes followed their gaze. Stood on the ledge, Kagero’s figure was clearly seen, the light from the fires illuminating him from below, painting him in a grim light. Some heroes tensed in response upon seeing him, others cursed at their luck. They had been entirely unsuccessful at removing two threats, but now what tiny sliver of a chance they had left was gone as the new arrival displayed control over the monsters. Kagero raised a hand, the Nomus and heroes all turned to follow the direction he was pointing. Manual was the target, the only hero that didn’t shift their attention.

At a command unheard by the heroes but by the Nomu, they screamed in response and jumped back into action, both gunning straight for Manual. Three steps behind, the heroes connected the dots, running off in pursuit, yelling to each other a quick plan of action. The screams of both the Nomu and his comrades caused Manual finally opened his eyes, releasing his hold over the water. His sight took a second to readjust to the inconsistent light and to blink through the smoke, but when they came into focus, he was staring at the exposed brain of the black Nomu, one of its arms brought down to its torso, preparing for a devastating blow to his body.

He screamed out in terror, his eyes going wide as saucers before they shut again, his whole body getting ready to receive the killing blow. He heard two heavy thumps of footsteps and winced, expecting the hit. Instead of hearing the scream the Nomus let out, he heard a deep grunt and felt the temperature in front of him rise dramatically. Stunned, he opened his eyes again, only to be blinded by the brilliance of fire right in front of him.

His eyes trailed upwards as he followed the flames that consistently flowed on Endeavor’s costume, seeing his face set in a sneer, arm outstretched from the punch. The black Nomu was sent backwards, its feet scraping against the concrete but not falling over, the arm that Endeavor struck hung limply to its side, a portion of its arm showing the bright red of muscle fibers, the skin on its arm having melted off.

The pale green Nomu screamed as it attacked Endeavor from behind, who swung around, prepared to catch it, but the temperature suddenly dropped. Ice started creeping up the Nomu until it reached the base of its skull, leaving it completely immobile. Endeavor grunted in acknowledgement to his son who was stood further back, his right leg forward, a trail of ice leading out of it. Without hesitation, Endeavor grabbed the Nomu’s head and sent a stream of fire into it, the color changing from orange to yellow to white to blue, the ice encasing it sublimating instantly. As the fire died down, the Nomu’s skull was nothing more than a charred chunk.

“Endeavor…” Manual gasped, unable to stop himself from gaping at the sight.

“I alone will be enough to handle this, go-“ Endeavor was cut off as he heard another scream followed by a crack. He turned his eyes to the black Nomu he hit away, the arm that was hanging limply and bent at an awkward angle snapped back into place, the skin that was melted started to grow and expand, covering the arm completely once again. “Regeneration, huh? So that’s how it’s going to be…”

Endeavor ran forward, the black Nomu doing the same, but before they could connect, the smell of ozone filled the air. Endeavor stopped abruptly, letting the Nomu close the distance a little more before it was hit by a massive lightning bolt, illuminating the entire area in a purple hue before the crack of thunder rumbled in the air.

Stood atop the crumpled body of the Nomu was Conduit, his right foot planted directly on the Nomu’s head. He applied more pressure on the brain, his purple lightning coursing through his leg before he channeled into the Nomu.

For the first time that night, the Nomu let out a scream of pain, its regeneration unable to keep up with the steady current. Conduit kept it up until the screams faded into nothing and, like the pale green Nomu, its head was nothing more than a charred husk.

Put off by someone stealing his glory, Endeavor stomped up to Conduit, “I didn’t ask for any of your help. Your assistance wasn’t necessary.”

“Yeah, I know. That’s why I did it. Here,” Conduit replied, breathing a little heavily. He tossed a responder to Endeavor, who caught it without breaking his stride, “If you’re quick enough, you might be able to catch my intern fighting the Hero Killer.”

Endeavor grunted an acknowledgement, “Shoto! We’re moving. Kido, Onima, I saw a flying monster on the way here, bring it down. Everyone else, with me. We’re going to put an end to this show once and for all.”

Endeavor ran off without waiting for a response, expecting everyone to fall in step behind him. After a moment of confusion, they ran after him.

A hero walked up to Conduit, watching Endeavor and the rest run off, “You’re not going along with him? You said it was your intern that’s fighting the Hero Killer.” He was dressed in dark clothes with a deep purple tactical vest with a high collar, his face covered in bandages with only his eyes showing. “Shouldn’t you be the one making sure he’s alright?”

“I gave him near-full authority to use his quirk to fight back, and he’s a monster when he actually tries. I’m not worried.” Conduit shrugged and raised his injured arm, the gauze that was wrapped around it bleeding red, “Plus, I’m injured. Can’t be going into a fight in this sorry state.

The hero, Kido, cocked his head to the side, pointedly gesturing down at the Nomu’s body Conduit was still standing on.

“That wasn’t a fight. The thing broke my fall.”

“Sure,” Kido raised a hand to where his ear was, “Open line. Give me a sitrep.” He waited a few seconds, the static in his ear the only response he got. “Damn, communication’s still down.”

“I’ll deal with that. Good luck hunting,” Conduit bid his farewell, jumping into the sky aided by lightning, landing on a powerline.

Kagero watched the entire exchange happen.

He saw Endeavor running to the area, the light of his fires illuminating his entire route, a stark contrast from the otherwise darkened city. When he came busting into the scene, he half expected him to attack the Nomu with fire, with no regard to anybody or thing in the surrounding area but was pleasantly surprised to see that Endeavor had at least half a brain.

He saw his son’s red and white hair coming from a different direction, flanked on his sides by two of Endeavor’s sidekicks. The way his body tensed even before the ice came was a clear indication he saw the pale green Nomu sneaking up to attack his father. Instead of calling out, directing Endeavor’s attention to where his son was instead of the imminent threat, he opted to freeze it. Smart, but ultimately unnecessary. The Nomu screamed its intentions and Endeavor was fast enough to be ready to block. Endeavor grabbed its head and unleashed a torrent of flames, killing the Nomu. Kagero clicked his tongue, Damn Lowers.

He saw Conduit making his way to the area, but at the time he couldn’t put a name to the hero, just that he was familiar. He saw him jump off the roof and seemingly call upon a massive lightning bolt, striking down the Nomu. The Nomu went down, but he knew that it wouldn’t stay that way, the regeneration would kick in soon enough. He saw Conduit stomp his foot down again and heard the Nomu cry out. The electricity coursing into its brain and down its body, making its muscles tense where they were, unable to move to attack. He saw Conduit keep the flow going until the screams died along with the Nomu. Kagero’s eyes widened at the sight, impressed that someone was able to deal damage faster than regeneration could keep up.

When Endeavor and Conduit had their conversation, he watched as the other heroes just stood around in awe. None of them checked to make sure the Nomus were down. None of them moved to contain the fire, not counting Manual, who was clearly still coming to grips at how close he was to dying. None of them bothered telling either Endeavor or Conduit that there was still an enemy in the area. Kagero was still stood on the ledge, not trying to conceal himself in any way, and nobody checked to see if he was still there or tried attacking him now that they had the chance. They ran off as soon as Endeavor barked orders, none of them bothering to look back.

He shook his head.

“It’s pathetic how whipped the heroes are,” he complained. “They were outgunned and fighting their hardest not even twenty seconds ago, but the second someone else who was stronger came along, they immediately bowed down to them. Such weak wills.”

Kurogiri hummed, “What would you like to do? Perhaps we can pick off a few from the back of the pack.”

“And do what? They’re not even worth trying to break. There would be no fight, just defeated acceptance. Like I said, they’ve been whipped already. Once it’s clear they’re not the strongest person in the room anymore, they’ll duck their heads and stick their tails between their legs. I don’t want pets.”

Kagero broke into a run in the direction Endeavor went in, leaping across the rooftops with ease, looking for the moving light along the walls of the buildings. As he got closer, he heard voices. How did I beat them here?

He slowed, following the voices silently. He came to an alley and was immediately hit with the stench of ozone and blood. He peered over the ledge and found the reason why. He counted three bodies on the ground, maybe three deaths, and a blond teenager. His mind supplied that this was Denki Kaminari, electricity-type quirk. That explains the ozone. So then one of those bodies must be Stain. Did he kill him?

Kaminari yelped, causing Kagero to duck reflexively, wondering if he had been seen. He doubted it, but it never hurt to be cautious. He stood up slowly, seeing Kaminari fiddle with something on his ear. He said something, ran off, then came back. Seemingly done with the conversation, he heard Stain speak up, “… too well trained to be a student, too cold-hearted to be a child, too insensitive to reality to be innocent. No. I was wrong. I didn’t remove the wolf in sheep’s clothing. He was nothing but a child too willing to be tainted by anger. The true wolf is you.”

Kagero felt Kurogiri materialize next to him, “Interesting…”

“What is it?”

“Someone else just caught my eye.”

Kurogiri’s eyes became slits as he scrutinized the scene, “The child? Should we bring him back now? He is alone.”

Kagero opened his mouth to reply but stopped, hearing a hero’s voice ring through the alley. Right afterwards, Kaminari screamed at the top of his lungs with Stain lunging for him. The alley filled with the flickering light of fire another second later. Again, Kagero was stood looking over the heroes, watching them as they moved Kaminari further behind them, adding more bodies between him and Stain.

He watched as Stain and Endeavor jump at each other, engaging in a fight, “Interesting indeed.”

Chapter Text

The fight between Stain and the heroes quickly devolved from a heated battle between good and bad, and more of a session of playground bullying, except Stain was the victim and the heroes were the bullies.

Stain lashed out at Endeavor, who ducked under his swing and followed with a flaming punch to his ribs. With the first strike made, the heroes behind Endeavor spread out into the alley as best as they could, getting behind Stain and cutting him off from behind and the exit. Endeavor was the main instigator and attack force, with the rest of the heroes taking upon a supporting role, fitting in potshots here and there where they could.

Their behavior turned unsavory, but the heroes couldn’t help themselves. Stain had caused them much trouble over the past month, and with the attack, their nerves were running high, and they were wound tight. Now that they had Stain in their sights, they felt like they could let loose a bit and breathe a little easier. After tonight, they wouldn’t have to worry about getting killed in a back alley. The heroes made an unspoken agreement before they even arrived. What would happen in the alley would stay in the alley.

They jeered at and insulted Stain. If he got a little too close to the line they made, they roughly shoved him forward, throwing off his balance and timing for a counterattack. Endeavor grinned nastily. They had shoved Stain in the perfect direction, he wound up for a massive haymaker and let it sail. His fist contacted Stain’s face. Had he still had his nose, it would’ve crumpled under the attack. Stain’s head whipped back, momentarily blanking out before he snapped back.

His hands quickly went to the knives on his torso, flinging them at the heroes behind him blindly. Cries of pain sounded out, telling him his knives hit their targets. He grinned, turned around quickly, and dashed towards the injured heroes. He was on them before they could react, his hands finding the hilts as he violently twisted and yanked them out of heroes, blood flying as he reclaimed them.

Stain stuck his tongue out to catch the flying droplets, no longer caring to hide how his quirk worked. The heroes’ bodies froze the second their blood touched his tongue, their forms looking like they were caught in a snapshot. One hero was clutching their leg where the knife hit them, the other was placed over their stomach. Stain stomped on each of their heads before bringing the knives back down and slitting their throats on the way up.

Seeing the death of two of their comrades in such a gruesome way gave the less battle-hardened heroes pause. Even Endeavor stopped, baffled at Stain’s actions. In their moment of confusion and shock, Stain yelled in frustration before sheathing one of his knives and running to reclaim his katana. As he picked it up, he sheathed it and jumped up in one fluid motion. He caught the bottom rung of a fire escape with his free hand and climbed up, ascending quickly, trying to put as much distance as he could before the heroes snapped out of their reverie.

He bounded up and around the staircase and platforms, over railings and under beams. Shortly, he made it to the top, his gaze briefly glancing over Kagero. Their eyes met for a brief moment, indecision and wariness flickering over Stain’s face before Kagero nodded his head in the direction of the street. Stain nodded and headed in that direction, the sounds of the heroes stirring below him added urgency to his movements.

Kagero walked through a portal before Endeavor and the rest could follow Stain up to the roof, not wanting to get caught out in the mess that was being made. As Stain made his way to the street, Kagero appeared on a different roof, while the heroes mobilized. The more agile of the group climbed to the roof to chase, the others backtracked to the street, hoping for a glance.

Stain quickly leapt over the rooftops, but the lead he had was being consumed. Endeavor was hot on his trail, and he could see other heroes positioning themselves for an intercept. He growled to himself before getting clipped on the leg from below. His momentum was interrupted, and he missed the landing on the next roof. He hit the edge before scrabbling for a handhold, stabbing the knife in his other hand into the wall to slow his descent. He kept sliding down the wall, but he couldn’t get himself to stop. Realizing it was a fruitless attempt, he jumped off, falling the rest of the way down.

Stain landed in a roll and glanced around, looking for who or what hit him. He patted his leg where he was hit, but found no injury, just a wet spot the size of a baseball. He poked it and felt a little soreness. That bruised quickly. He searched the heroes before landing on Manual, his left hand cupping his right, with his pointer finger and thumb sticking out aimed at him, as if he were holding an actual gun. Endeavor and the other rooftop pursuers made their way back down, falling into an arrowhead formation once again.

“Do you truly think yourselves heroes?” Stain rasped as he stood up, sheathing the knife he used to help his descent. He took a step forward, drawing his katana again.

“Aren’t heroes supposed to end the fight quickly?” He flicked his eyes to Endeavor, who was known to end villain attacks shortly after, or even sometimes before, they had started.

“Aren’t heroes supposed to ensure the general populace?” His eyes darted around to the others.

“Aren’t heroes supposed to lift the spirits of those who have been beaten down, not to insult them as they try to stand back up? Aren’t heroes supposed to support the dreams of everyone else!?” Stain’s voice reached a crescendo, his voice dripping with a nightmarish mix of bloodlust, anger, determination, conviction, and resolve. The bravado that surrounded the heroes moments before was being overwhelmed and suffocated by it. Everyone faltered in their place as they felt an almost primal fear take over them.

“You would beat down a man who is only working to make his dreams a reality. You would insult him, belittle him, attack him, because he doesn’t fit into your perfect picture of a society? Pathetic. You aren’t just fakes and frauds. You’re bullies. Thugs. You use your quirks to beat others down and flaunt your authority over those you deem are below you. Do you know what those kinds of people are called?”

Stain took a menacing step forward. The heroes unconsciously took a step back. They were no longer seeing Stain, but a personification of conviction and bloodlust. They could see a red aura surrounding him. A shadow-like visage of Stain was hovering above him, its features sharp, red, and demonic, “Those people are called villains. How ironic that in your pursuit for ‘justice’ tonight, you embodied the very thing you swore to get rid of. Your actions tonight did nothing but validate mine. I am no longer removing fakes. I am ridding the world of villains with permission.”

Endeavor was the first to recover, but only just barely. He scoffed, attempting to hide his unease by trying to swipe it to the side, “You dare call us villains when you yourself is a murderer? You dare try the high ground? Who do you think you are?”

“Someone who knows their true worth and where they stand in the world. Someone who isn’t afraid to take action to make the changes happen. Someone who isn’t bound by something as flimsy as laws and morals,” Stain leveled his katana at Endeavor, “I know and accept I’m a villain. Do you?”

Endeavor growled, feeling anger rising within him as hot as the flames he shoots, “As if you know anything about me!” Endeavor’s fist started to glow, the telltale sign he was charging his ultimate move, Flashfire Fist: Jet Burn.

Stain smiled and brought his sword up, “Come! Strike me down and prove yourself no better than the villains you put away!”

From his perch on the roof looking over the confrontation, Kagero spoke, his voice just a little above normal speaking volume, “Recall. Nomu. Cover.”

Immediately the air filled with the screech of the yellow Nomu, its form bursting through one of the buildings. The heroes jumped at the sudden intrusion of the last Nomu, now free of the hold Stain had over them. They all tried doing something, anything, to take it down, but the Nomu dodged out of the way.

Endeavor paid no attention to the Nomu, only focusing on what was in front of him. The fire he’d been building up now a blinding white. He skip-jumped twice towards Stain before throwing his fist out, firing his attack. The Nomu screamed once more, swooping in between Endeavor and Stain, using its wings to unleash strong gusts of wind.

Endeavor smiled wide, his eyes looking just as crazed as Stain’s was, “Don’t you know wind just makes flames burn brighter!?”

The Nomu kept beating its wings, the wind it was blowing growing in strength and intensity, trying to keep Endeavor back, but true to his words, it wasn’t working. The flames changed from white to blue, burning through the air and engulfing the Nomu. The Nomu screamed in pain before it cut out, the only sounds left in the street was the roar of the fire and the crackling of the body. The flame died out, but Stain used the attack to counter. He jumped over the Nomu, his blade poised to stab Endeavor. Surprised by the sudden attack, Endeavor didn’t have enough time to dodge or block. He watched as the blade came closer and closer.

Stain’s mouth was open, his tongue licking his lips in anticipation. He was moments away from ridding the world of the greatest fake he had the misfortune of meeting. Before his blade could make contact, his body convulsed again, jolting in pain. He fell forward, all momentum he had was lost to the attack.

Endeavor stood there in shock. He was unhappy with his early death, but ultimately accepted it. Nothing he could’ve done would’ve saved him, yet somehow he was still alive. As Stain fell over, Conduit was walking up from behind him, his arm still raised and snaking with electricity, with Kaminari following behind him timidly.

“You’re welcome,” Conduit called out as he walked up. Stain groaned as he tried standing back up. Without breaking his stride, Conduit kicked stain in his temple, knocking him out cold with the casualness of kicking a ball. “Stain’s accounted for, the Nomus have been dealt with, and everyone was either evacuated or are being tended to. Damage to the city, thankfully and surprisingly, was mostly contained to a five-block radius all around where we took out the other two of those things. Good job team.”

“I didn’t need your help.”

“Sure you didn’t,” Conduit replied dismissively. He walked over to the Nomu’s burnt husk, prodding it with his foot. He looked at the rest of the heroes, who all were in various states of relief, “Anybody know where or why this thing came down now instead of earlier?”

Everyone shook their heads no, except for the hero with the red bandana. She looked as if she were remembering something, her hand raised like a student, her mouth opening and closing as she tested the words on her mouth. Conduit and Endeavor shared a look.

“Speak up,” they both commanded.

The hero made a surprised ‘eep’ before talking, “Um, I guess I should say my hero name is Shrink. It was taking orders, like the other two were.” She paused, trying to gather her thoughts, “When we were fighting the other two, they just stopped, like their attention was pulled away. They looked like they were looking at something.”

“That’s right,” another hero spoke up, this one wearing a purple ninja-like outfit with a black vest and yellow tinted goggles, one of the two that were throwing shuriken at the black Nomu, “I followed where they were looking and there was a figure on the roof that wasn’t there before. They pointed at Manual and must’ve said something because the monsters… went after him…”

Realization dawned on everybody, but none looked nearly as shaken as Kaminari, whose face paled. Even Todoroki, who bore witness to Stain’s killing up close and didn’t even bat an eye at the time, looked a little shaken up. Like Kaminari, he didn’t really see much of the actual villains behind the attack at the USJ. He was confined to the Landslide Zone, but even though he was confident he could make it out of the area unscathed, he could tell that there was something far more sinister that he couldn’t account for. After hearing his classmates’ retellings of their experiences, and how the leader led everyone, even All Might, around by the nose, he couldn’t help but privately give a sigh of relief that he didn’t come face-to-face with him.

“Shigaraki was here?” Kaminari whispered, his voice filled with fear.

He was answered with a laugh that came from Stain, who was suddenly awake, but not strong enough to move outside of repositioning himself so he was sitting. The heroes tensed and raised their hands to fight, but dropped them when they saw the state he was in. He was breathing raggedly, and blood was trailing from a wound on his face. After being attacked and beaten so many times, even he couldn’t muster the strength to fight any further.

“Yet more proof that heroes are nothing more than bullies. I wasn’t the one who started this attack, yet you were all focused on me like I was the true enemy here. The real mastermind is still at large, and he is laughing at your incompetence and failure.” Stain turned his head to the sky, his eyes searching the rooftops, “Take me down, fine. I am nothing more than a cog in a machine, useful but easily replaced if broken. I’ve served my purpose, but my work will be carried on. You hear that, Shigaraki!? We have our differences, but I know that you will keep good on your word!”

Conduit shocked him again, this time keeping the stream up until he was slightly smoking, but still breathing, “Enough of that, damned cockroach.”

As Conduit and Endeavor discussed plans for how to deal with Stain and the fallout he alluded to, movement on one of the rooftops caught Shrink’s eye. She looked up and could’ve sworn she saw a figure give a lazy salute before they disappeared into a black and purple mass. After it was gone, she stomped her foot on the ground, “Shit.”

Her outburst caught everyone else’s attention, but she didn’t care. She dropped to the ground, hands hanging over her knees exhausted, the adrenaline now leaving her system, “He was here. He was watching everything. He was right here, and we didn’t do anything. Stain was right. We failed tonight.”

Training with Thirteen ended hours ago, so Shimura was left to his own devices. Being alone in the dorm wasn’t ideal. There was no one to talk to or hang out with, it was way too quiet all throughout the day, and at night he ate alone in the common room. He’s even gotten to the point where playing video games only kept him occupied for so long. He could go explore the campus more, maybe go to one of the numerous gyms and train or work out, he could even go to the Support Labs to make some changes to his costume, but that involved being productive after being put through the wringer that was his internship.

He was caught listlessly walking around the dorm like one would expect a ghost to act when his phone rang. The sudden blare of his ringtone startling him enough to cause him to physically jump in surprise. He brought his phone up and saw Uraraka’s name on the screen. He smiled and thanked any higher being for someone to talk to that wasn’t Thirteen or another teacher.

“Ura-“ he started, but she talked over him.

“Shimura! Turn on the news, something’s happening in Hosu,” she exclaimed, “I’ve been calling around to spread the word in case people weren’t aware. Are you watching now? I’ve been trying to get in touch with Iida, maybe you can try?”

Shimura didn’t hear anything past ‘Hosu’. He dropped his phone and immediately ran to the couch to find the remote. He clicked the TV on, surfing through the channels until a news station came on. The video showed footage from a helicopter, the feed shaky and grainy, but it was clear there was destruction. He read the caption, Hosu on Fire. For the first time in a long while, he accidentally placed all fingers on the remote, reducing it to dust. He fell back onto the couch, stunned into silence.

Shimura sat hunched over on the dorm’s couch, his elbows resting on his knees as he watched the news report with rapt attention, his phone laying on the coffee table in front of him, his screen displaying that he was still on a call with Uraraka, a small pile of dust sat on the edge of the table and continued on the floor right beneath it.

He wasn’t taking in any of the commentary the reporter was making, but focusing on the feed, trying to see if he could glean any more information from it. Whenever the screen shifted to an on-the-ground reporter, he looked over every face that popped up, searching for anyone he knew, but mainly looking for Iida. Or Manual, since Iida was supposed to be with him.

The video on the screen was heart wrenching. People were screaming in pain, crying with loss, begging for assurance. Buildings were on fire, others were crumbling from extensive damage, cars were flipped or crushed, and intermittently a screech could be heard over the chaos. The camera moved, following the sound, but the source wasn’t in sight, he could hear the cameraman asking what that was. Shimura felt his blood curdle at hearing it, immediately recognizing it as the Nomu from the USJ.

He has more? Why- how does he have more? Why are they in Hosu?

He reached for his phone slowly and brought it up to his ear, “Uraraka, you must be watching it too, right?”

“Yes.” She replied subdued, like she was trying to not cry, or like she was in a closet hiding from intruders.

“Then you heard it too, right?”

She didn’t answer, the silence was telling enough.

“You don’t think that he’s there too, right?”

Another stretch of silence followed, but he got his answer soon enough. The screen switched back to the camera in the helicopter, the video blurring in and out of focus as it settled on a duo atop a water tower. One of them was sitting down, the other stood behind him, their hands clasped behind them. The one standing bent over, apparently speaking to the other. The one that was sitting stretched and stood up, turning around to look at the helicopter. Before the camera could get in focus enough to see their features, Shimura already knew who they were. His hand was starting to cramp.

He could see the toxic green eyes clear as day. Shigaraki stared right into the camera, as if he could see everybody watching on their TVs. He pointed between himself and the destruction in the distance. Shimura could see his eyes crinkling as if he was smiling under his mask before he disappeared into a portal.

Shimura dropped his phone as the cramp escalated into an intense pain. He grunted as he dropped his phone again. He could hear Uraraka sounding her concern in response. He clumsily went after his phone.

“Shimura-kun? Are you alright? You’re not hurt are you?”

Shimura grimaced, his other hand finding his throat, “I’m fine. It’s just… my hand again.”

“Oh. Oh right, but I thought you got it taken care of?”

“I did. Recovery Girl and Hound Dog says the pain is all mental at this point, that it only triggers when things associated to the USJ comes up. And seeing Shigaraki… well, you know.”

Uraraka hummed, unsure of what to say. She wanted to say something encouraging, but it felt like it would be a moot point, “Are you going to Hosu?”

“I want to. I really do, but I don’t think I’m allowed.”

“But you’re interning with Thirteen, who’s a rescue hero, and it looked like there was a lot of damage. I’m sure they’ll get called in to help with cleanup. And I bet they could use your help.”

Shimura’s eyes widened. He hadn’t thought of that. If the damage was as bad as it looked and was widespread enough, Thirteen might be called to help. Then, he might be able to break off from Thirteen and go help somewhere else. Maybe he could find Iida and see if he could do anything for him. Maybe make sure he doesn’t do something stupid.

“That’s a great idea! I’ll go see if Thirteen got a call, hopefully we won’t be too late. Thanks, Uraraka-chan! I’ll talk to you later.”

He hung up without waiting for her response and looked around for the remote so he could turn the TV off. He noticed the pile of dust on the table and floor, “Damn it.”

He ran out of the dorm’s front door, leaving the TV on. As the door closed, the news report showed the on-the-ground team again, this time the reporter was on a street, backlit by red and white and blue lights from the gathered ambulances and police cars. In the background, Stain was being escorted by Endeavor and Conduit into a cruiser, his body bound in lightweight Iron Maidens. Following Stain were three gurneys, the first contained the burnt husk of the yellow Nomu. The second carried Native and was being escorted by Shrink. The third and final one carried Iida, flanked on both sides by a despondent looking Manual and Kaminari.

The fight was already over. Shimura was far too late.

Kagero exited the portal and into the bar. The League was spread around the room, most of them had their heads down, resting on an arm while the other scratched idly at the table. Dabi idly swirled a recently emptied glass, the ice cube still a decent size, the side was still dripping with condensation, leaving wet rings on the bar top. As Kagero walked out and Kurogiri took his place up behind the bar again, they perked up seeing the new arrival, but ducked their heads back down in shame when they realized who it was.

Kagero looked them over, Good, they know they’re still in trouble.

“Anybody want to try to plead their case?” He asked.

The room was silent before Toga stood up and tentatively walked over. She hugged herself and bit her lip a little before she bowed properly, “I’m so so so super sorry for what I said and did, Shi-kun! Please forgive me!”

She stayed bowed, her eyes screwed shut, not moving until Kagero said something, anything. Kagero looked her over and hummed, “Anyone else?” Toga stood back up slowly, looking at him with the faintest glimmer of hope. He didn’t sound mad, but he didn’t accept the apology.

Jin was next, walking up with purpose but still visibly shaking in his boots, “Listen, boss. I know what you said and what I did, but please don’t throw me out. I can’t take it, not again. Let me do something to make it up to you.”

Kagero waited for the inevitable second reply that would contradict the first, but it never came. He quirked an eyebrow in contemplation but said nothing. He just nodded and looked to the remaining two.

Mustard swiveled on his chair and bowed his head, far less formal than Jin and Toga, “I’m sorry for speaking out of turn, but I don’t take back what I said. I know what you expect of me, but how can I meet those expectations if you don’t let me experience things first hand? You keep making the point that I’m a child, but that’s exactly why I need to be there when things go down.”

Kagero nodded at Mustard, who nodded back. He turned his gaze to Dabi, his head cocked to the side a little.

“Anything you’d like to say?” Kagero prompted. Dabi grumbled but didn’t reply, his gaze was still settled on his glass. Kagero clicked his tongue and retracted his mask, his face scrunched in a mocking way, “See, I would’ve thought that out of everyone here you would be the one to grovel and beg the most.”

Toga, Mustard, and Jin looked between the two in confusion.

“We even had a little thing going on, you and me. Did you forget about that?” Kagero continued. “Did that cross your mind before you opened your mouth? Obviously not. Do you remember what I said?”

Kagero took a step towards Dabi with his chest puffed up, smoke slightly falling from the edges of his mouth. Kagero stepped into Dabi’s personal space, his left arm wrapped around his neck in an awkward side hug. Dabi tried to put up a brave front, but couldn’t help but cower in Kagero’s overbearing presence. Kagero’s voice was right in his ear, a low, dangerous, whisper, “The only reason why I’m not throwing you out right now is because, believe it or not, you didn’t fuck anything up with Stain. Not when you were looking for him, not when you made contact, not even when you embarrassed me in front of him. You should thank your lucky stars.”

He released Dabi, who let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, and looked to everyone else. They all had various expressions of fear on their face, each flinched when his eyes passed over them, “Stain’s been arrested. We won’t be breaking him out any time soon, or maybe even at all. He’s on his way to Tartarus, and even I don’t have the capability of getting someone out of there.”

“But if it comes to it, we’ll get him out, right?” Toga asked, her eyes pleading.

Kagero thought about it, “Only time will tell. Right now, it’s not possible and not worth the effort. But that’s not what you should be concerning yourself with.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed heavily, just wanting to be done with the night and start again tomorrow.

“Jin, don’t worry about it.” He placated, “I’m not going to throw you out over something as relatively minor as this, but in the future, I would appreciate it if you reserve those kinds of comments and whatnot to the appropriate time and place. Meeting with villains who may potentially become our allies is not the time to be questioning your boss, got it?

“Mustard,” he moved on, “I understand where you’re coming from, believe me, I do, but like with what I just said, there is a time and place to voice your opinion on the matter, but in the midst of other people that aren’t part of the League, that is the exact time not to. You showing your dissent or anything that isn’t following my command is a sign of weakness and poor leadership. I cannot afford to let anyone think I don’t have control over the people under me. You will be making your splash into the world of villainy, but like I said, tonight is not that time.

“And Toga,” she looked up at him, “In hindsight, your idea of using the attack to gather blood from some of the heroes was great, so I apologize for not letting you go through with it. At the time, I was more concerned with secrecy and the long game, and even though I know you excel at stealth, I wasn’t willing to leave anything up to chance.”

Toga preened at the praise she was receiving. It may have been a spur of the moment idea, but she was glad that it was being acknowledged.

“However,” he added on, “just because it was a good idea doesn’t mean I’m going to let the fact that you disobeyed my orders slide. And this goes for all of you. I don’t care your reasons why, I only care that you did.”

Mustard almost didn’t want to ask, but he felt that if he was the one that asked, they’d get a lighter punishment, “So what does that mean for us? Are we in trouble?”

Kagero chuckled, “Of course you’re in trouble.”

“What’s our punishment?”

“I hope you’ve had a good night’s rest recently,” he replied instead and walked towards the door. As an afterthought he turned back to the room, “And Dabi has to reimburse Kurogiri for the bottle he helped himself to as well.”

Chapter Text

After getting off the phone with Uraraka, he ran straight to the teacher’s dorms where he knew Thirteen would be. He banged on the front door until it was opened.

“Shimura, what brings you…“ Cementoss greeted, but Shimura walked right in, ignoring what he was saying, heading straight to the kitchen where he caught a glimpse of Thirteen’s arm, “…here?”

“How can you just sit by while there’s an entire city under attack?” Shimura demanded, completely unaware that his outburst was being watched by the entirety of the UA staff. “It’s in your job description, and you’re not going? Not even going to go assess the situation for yourself?”

“Nice to see you, too Shimura,” Kurose replied happily. Thirteen was no longer wearing their helmet, but was still mostly in costume. Shimura briefly paused in surprise when he actually saw what they looked like beneath the helmet. What graced his eyes was a round, androgynous face with short, orange-brown hair that matched the nebulas in space, in a bob cut with their bangs curled to the left. Their eyes were the same color, with a horizontal slash through their irises. They looked expectantly at Shimura, who was still lost in shock, “… you were saying?”

Shimura blinked twice before he shook his head, remembering why he was there in the first place, “Why aren’t we going out to Hosu?”

Hearing that sobered Kurose up, “What’s happened in Hosu? What’s wrong? Did the Hero Killer strike again?”

“You… you don’t know?” Shimura looked at them astonished. He turned around, seeing the rest of the faculty in similar states of confusion and worry, “None of you know? What have you been doing all day? Turn on the TV! Now! The news, anything, there’s no way it’s not on every channel yet.”

At the desperation and forcefulness of his voice, Yamada spurred into action. He was lounging on one of the couches, but tumbled off, startled by Shimura’s outburst. He pawed at the coffee table for the remote and clicked the TV on. Out of habit, he turned the volume up on the TV even though it was already more than loud enough. The teachers gathered around the TV, fully engrossed with what was showing on screen.

What was showing was the same broadcast Shimura was watching before he ran out. The network must have looped the coverage, which could only mean there were no new developments. Shimura had a bitter taste in his mouth from realizing this.

The teachers all made noises of distress when they saw the damage that wrecked Hosu. When the Nomus’ scream rang out over the speakers, they looked alarmed, but only one of them had a truly negative reaction.

The door swung shut, causing everyone else to jump. They turned their heads to the newcomer and saw Aizawa frozen in fear, his already pale skin growing paler still, “No. That’s impossible.”

Seeing the most stoic and hardened teacher display such raw emotion only added to the rising worry in the room. Kayama found her voice and gently asked, “Sho… what is it?”

Aizawa made a disbelieving sound, words escaping him. He wasn’t looking at Kayama at all, his eyes glued to the TV. She followed his sight, the screen now showing the two figures on the water tower. Like Shimura, before the camera could focus on them, he already knew exactly who they were.

“Kagero Shigaraki is the one sitting- now standing up. The other one is called Kurogiri. Those two are the main villains from the attack at the USJ, with Shigaraki as the leader,” he reported, “They’ve gone dark ever since then. The trail went entirely cold, no leads were found, no random sightings, not even a mention by name in the underground. They just, disappeared.”

The camera finally focused and zoomed in on Shigaraki and the entire room felt a chill crawl up their spines. Those that weren’t part of Nezu and Tsukauchi’s debrief after the USJ shivered, feeling like his gaze was staring into their souls. Even those that were still felt the unease. The picture they were provided with was decent at best, but now they had a crystal clear view of him. The only pluses that they could find was that they now have a detailed description of Shigaraki and Kurogiri, and they knew where they were for the time being.

“This… this is the varmint you had a standoff with? The way he’s staring, I reckon he thinks the sun comes up just to hear him crow,” Snipe drawled, his American Southern saying completely lost on everyone in the room, “and seeing him like this, I would believe it too.”

Shigaraki pointed away from him, the camera following, showing the fire and smoke in the distance, then panned back, now pointing at himself. At once, everything clicked for Aizawa. The lack of activity from the League, the lack of progress with the investigation, the uptick in hero deaths, the reports of blue fires around Hosu.

Aizawa drew in a steep breath, his eyes going wide as they darted around the room as if he were seeing things appear and disappear, trying to track them. His heart started thumping heavily in his chest, beating faster and faster.

“Shigaraki and Stain are working together,” he deduced. “That’s why there are more hero deaths reported. The silence, the fires, everything. Shigaraki wasn’t lying low, he was making moves, gathering allies.”

If he didn’t have everyone’s attention when he came in, he certainly did now. Everyone looked to him for his take, “A little while back, there was a news report about random blue fires around the city. There wasn’t much to go off and the media wrote them off as a serial arsonist on the loose, but it was indisputable that the fires originated in Stain’s prime kill zones.”

“You’re saying that Shigaraki and Stain split up the work?” Ectoplasm surmised, “But that doesn’t explain why Stain remained in Hosu. At that point, he’d already surpassed his quota.”

“And you said the fires are blue,” Cementoss added on. “From the intel we have, Shigaraki didn’t display the ability.”

Aizawa shook his head, “Do you go into a fight with your most powerful attack first?” He was met with shaking heads, “Exactly. Shigaraki was testing our ability as heroes at the USJ, we all agreed to it. Now he’s displaying his abilities to his new ally or any potential allies that would head his way. As to why Stain stayed in Hosu, my guess is as good as yours, but I’m willing to bet that Shigaraki is the cause of it.”

Kurose, who was quiet throughout the whole thing, had turned their attention back to the TV. They brought their teacup to their lips for a drink, but released it in shock, the glass shattering on the ground. They brought both hands to their mouth, covering it, “Stain used the attack to kill more heroes. And… Is that- is that Kaminari? And Todoroki? I see Manual, but who is… Who was interning with Manual?!”

Dread filled Aizawa’s gut, who ran towards the TV, his eyes scanning the screen. Stain had been apprehended and there was a trail of gurneys following. Todoroki stood near his father who was in conversation with Conduit. Kaminari and Manual were walking next to the third gurney. Aizawa brought his face right up to the screen as if he could see more detail the closer he got. It was hard to make out, but what was visible had him close his eyes and sigh heavily in defeat. He knocked his head on the TV screen before turning around, sliding to the ground, his head in his hands.

Yamada timidly approached Aizawa, his voice quiet and tender, “Sho… was that…?”

Aizawa slowly raised his head, his expression showing pain, regret, and exhaustion twenty times over, “I’ve failed my students. I’ve failed my friends. I’ve failed myself.”

Shimura’s jaw dropped, his hands reaching his throat as he began to scratch, “No. That can’t be. There’s no way… I- That’s got to be a mistake. It’s not Iida, it’s not. He wouldn’t do something so reckless and stupid.” He looked to his teachers, to Aizawa, who was going through his own bout of denial, “You know Iida. There’s no way. He’s- he’s probably just injured badly. Yeah! That as to be it, he was helping another hero and got caught up in the attack.”

Even as he kept making excuses and trying to rationalize every possibility that wasn’t his friend’s death, he knew it was true. He saw Iida losing himself bit by bit in the days up to their internships. He saw the burning anger in his eyes, how he shut himself off from his friends. The signs were there. Even if Iida himself wasn’t truly aware of the thought, his intentions were clear. He would kill Stain or die trying. Shimura stopped scratching his neck and crouched down, his hands gripping his head, hunched over his knees into a ball.

“I should’ve done more. I should’ve reached out. I should’ve said something. I should’ve told someone. I should’ve been there. I should’ve been a better friend. I should’ve-“

Shimura could feel himself working up to a panic attack. He felt the constriction starting in his throat, how his breath was growing more rapid and shallow. He could see the edges of his vision darkening, his perception of the world distorting as if he were looking out of a fishbowl. He heard people calling out to him but their voices were warped, garbled, unnatural, like someone was backmasking on a vinyl but the message itself was backwards and could only be understood at half-speed. He became vaguely aware of the bodies crowding in on him but jumped back as if bitten. He didn’t realize it, but he growled at them like a cornered dog.

The last coherent thought he had before succumbing to the darkness was something he would find himself regretting later, but right then, it was the only thing that came through.

Iida, you absolute, god damned idiot. This is your fault.

After dealing with the mess that happened in Hosu, the two crashed at a cheap motel, unable to travel back to the Office in Fukuoka due to all trains in and out of the city being stopped. They barely made it into the room before Kaminari rushed to the bathroom, sounds of him throwing up came out moments later. Conduit dropped himself in the arm chair, his legs spread wide and head hanging over the back of it, groaning in both exhaustion and pain. Eventually Kaminari came out of the bathroom and sat on the edge of one of the beds, looking more haggard than when he went in.

“How do you do it?” Kaminari asked.

Conduit brought his head up, appraising Kaminari. Seeing how down he looked, Conduit sighed heavily before sitting up, scooching his chair so he was sat right in front of him.

“Let me start by saying that I’m sorry,” Conduit replied, his tone soft and patient for once. “I forced you into a role that you weren’t prepared for, and as your mentor, I should’ve done a better job at being more receptive to how you actually are and not focusing on what you can be. I saw how scared you were and decided to throw you into the deep end because I’m a firm believer in do or die, except I didn’t realize that ‘die’ was a little more literal this time around.”

Kaminari replied, “Don’t blame yourself. There’s no way you could’ve known.”

“I’m not blaming myself, I’m stating it as it is. The life of a hero is a hard one, and sooner or later, everyone learns that what they see on TV with interviews and bright smiles and flashy takedowns is only a fraction of what being a hero really is. My only regret is that I couldn’t be there with you when you faced down Stain.”

Kaminari shrugged, he ruefully hummed a response, “Could be worse. I could be dead too.”

Conduit flicked him on his forehead, earning a whine of protest, “That’s the worst takeaway you can get from this. And believe it or not, that would’ve been the best outcome.”

“How could me being dead be the best-case scenario?” a flicker of rage flashed in Kaminari’s chest, “How could you even say that? My friend died. At least three other heroes died. Hosu was in flames and there was an unknown number of civilian casualties and probably an even greater amount of injuries. Do you not feel anything for that? Maybe there’s a reason some people call you the Demon or Beast.”

“If you were dead, you wouldn’t be going through what you are right now,” Conduit replied flatly.

Hearing those words knocked the wind out of Kaminari’s lungs. He rocked forward like he was punched in the gut.

“You feel like shit, right? You’re feeling anger at not being strong enough, sadness at losing a friend, loss for not knowing if you could’ve done more, regret for being too slow, fear for your future. Ringing any bells? If you were dead, your problems would vanish instantly,” he snapped his fingers, “like that. Since you’re not, you now have to deal with the outcome.”

“So how do I do it? How do I pick myself up and keep going? I let it flow through me just as easily as the electricity does.” He created a spark at the tip of his pointer finger and let it flow down his hand, up his arm, into his chest, out to this other arm, and through to his other fingertip. “You can remember everything, you can feel everything, but you can’t let it stick in here,” he poked Kaminari’s forehead again, “or here,” he poked his heart.

“If you let it stay in your head, you’ll never be able to move forward. You’ll be trapped in the ‘what if’ and ‘should’ve, could’ve, would’ve’ mindset. If you keep it in your heart, you’ll never forgive yourself for something that you had no control over and wasn’t your fault.”

Kaminari sighed and fell back onto the bed, his arms splayed to the side, “You make it sound so easy.”

“I’ve been at this for years at this point. You only have three hours’ worth of experience. Learning to accept and let go is both the hardest and easiest thing to do.”

The room fell into silence. Kaminari closed his eyes and took deep breaths, trying to do what Conduit said. He replayed the scene in his head, from when he first caught sight of Iida running down some street to seeing him get stabbed to… when Endeavor and the heroes showed up.

He opened his eyes, and sat up, looking around the room. Conduit had all but fallen asleep on the chair he was on, his breath growing slow and steady. He laid back down again and closed his eyes tight, but this time in concentration. Again, he replayed the scene.

He saw Iida running. He saw Iida get stabbed through the back and flinched at the memory. He saw himself shoot a streak of lightning at Stain. He saw Stain throw his knife and kill Native. He saw Stain turn his attention to him and felt the same fear he felt right then. And then he saw Stain lunge and attack him, moments away from being stabbed himself, but then being saved by Endeavor.

He would’ve let it lie and tried to let it flow, but something about that encounter didn’t feel right. He knew that Endeavor was nowhere near him when he chased Iida down, and he knew that there must’ve been some sort of fight between the two, his sore body confirming it, but for the life of him he couldn’t remember what happened. He was sure there was a memory there, but it was just out of reach, like it was behind an invisible wall. The feeling was almost familiar.

He sat up again, resting his elbows on his knees and holding his head in his hands, “What happened?”

The day after the attack on Hosu was a quiet affair. The League walked around the bar and living room above on eggshells, trying not to draw attention to themselves. Kagero’s ominous comment about their sleep hung above them, but as far as they could tell, he hasn’t done anything to them. Yet.

Kagero confined himself to his room, in a meditative silence. He thought of the attack and the results it yielded. He thought about how he would go about the next phase in his plans, but something didn’t feel right. He sat and thought about it but couldn’t figure out what it was. He shook himself out of it and headed down to the bar.

Kurogiri was in his usual place, cleaning a glass when Kagero walked in, “Greetings, Kagero. Is there something I can help with?”

“Bring me to him,” Kagero commanded.

Kurogiri nodded his head, a portal forming. Kagero stepped through as he was adjusting his jacket, finding himself in the middle of the Nomu warehouse. He walked with purpose over the cables and around the tanks that held Nomus in stasis. He made his way to the door in the back and knocked twice.

“Enter,” a voice responded from the other side.

Kagero walked in, quietly closing the door behind him, “Kagero, what a surprise. I wasn’t expecting you here.”

All For One was sat in his chair, the wires and tubes still connected to him. His mouth was covered by a respirator, but by how his face crinkled and how light his tone was, he was smiling. Kagero dropped to a knee, “Sensei.”

“Oh? It’s been a while since the last time, hasn’t it?” All For One stood up, the tubes popped out of their casings. They hissed and flailed like snakes whipping to attack as the air still fed through. “Walk with me.”

He stepped past Kagero who fell into step behind him. All For One led them around the warehouse, idly stopping at some of the tanks, admiring the Nomu held within. He placed a hand on the glass and hummed.

“Springlike Limbs, Kinetic Booster, Tongue Web, and of course, Super Regeneration, such a unique combination of quirks all in one body; this one is definitely meant for mobility. The Doctor has truly outdone himself with these Nomus.”

“You mentioned Super Regeneration as if it’s a given every Nomu would have it. If that’s the case, then how come only one of the Nomu I brought to Hosu showed any signs?”

“Would you have done anything different if they did?”

Kagero huffed and stuck his hands in his pockets, refusing to answer.

“You haven’t come to me to talk for some time, what brings you now? Are you dissatisfied with your endeavors in Hosu? Maybe how your members acted?”

“I’m dealing with my members, there’s no need to worry about that. While on the topic, however, has the Doctor been able to fully synthesize Nightmare?”

“I must admit I am not too keen on his progress on things, but given the time since we’d acquired it, I wouldn’t doubt he has. I assume your want for it has to do with your members’ outburst?”

Kagero hummed an affirmative, “Sensei, tell me. When you were building your empire, how often did things go exactly as planned?”

All For One paused and turned around. He no longer had eyesight, but through a clever combination of quirks, he was able to manage. He glanced down at Kagero, taking in what he was “seeing.” Thermal Sense confirmed Kagero was in front of him. A mix of Hyper Sense and Mental Imaging gave him a rough estimate of his position, which relayed to All For One he still had his hands in his pockets and was rolling his neck to loosen it. Heartbeat Monitor told him Kagero’s heart was beating slow and strong, no sense of nervousness or anxiety, no doubt or lie. Kagero was genuinely curious.

“The difference between what I went through and what you’re going through is society itself,” All For One explained, “In my rise to power, society was in shambles. Quirks had just started to develop, and people didn’t know how to react. As you would expect, society splintered. There were those that hid their quirk to escape discrimination. There were those that hated, feared, or coveted those with quirks. There were those that wanted to get rid of theirs. There were those that wanted to just move on with their lives, quirks be damned. And then there were those that that used theirs to instill a new hierarchy.

“Time went on, people adjusted, but governments were still trying to pick up the slack. Do quirks make a person no longer human? Can you consider those that mutated as human? Should quirks be allowed for common use or strictly regulated? All of their focus went on to fixing laws rather than enforcing safety and security. They wanted to protect themselves instead of those that they were meant to serve.”

All For One laughed, “Pardon me. It’s ironic that how I’m phrasing this makes it sound like I’m a hero, but I assure you my actions were anything but noble. I picked those up that were downtrodden by society and laws and rules and gave them a place where they could feel welcomed and free. I crushed those that tried to fit us into their tiny boxes. I became the original Symbol of Hope for the commonfolk the same time I became the Symbol of Fear for those in power. I had a vast trove of quirks to choose from and use. I had no shortage of people indebted to me. I had all the power in the world in the palm of my hand.”

They had finished a full lap of the warehouse and found themselves back in All For One’s room. Kagero sat down in one of the available chairs, All For One sat himself back down, taking time to attach the wires where they’re supposed to go.

“Humans either fear that which they do not know, understand, or can’t control, or they follow it. It’s a learned trait through evolution that keeps them alive and safe, but also satisfies their innate curiosity. What they know is good, what they understand is better, and for those that like power, what they can control is paramount. It’s why those that followed me worshipped me as if I were a god and why those that were against me wanted me dead. My plan was always to rise to the top of the food chain. My quirk made it easy. The government focusing on itself and not me made it possible. I saw my destiny, and I went for it.”

All For One took a breath, “My plans, in comparison to yours, were child’s play. The main steps were to amass a following and to gather support. Then I would exploit my strength and their weakness. Of course, I had a bigger picture in mind, but each step was small and calculated.”

“But did it always go as you expected?” Kagero asked again.

“Are you dissatisfied with your recent successes?” All For One asked instead.

“I-“ Kagero paused. Was that really it? If things were going as planned, why was he complaining? He shook his head, “I don’t think dissatisfied is the proper word. Maybe disappointed?”

All For One hummed, encouraging him to explain, “It’s just that I was expecting more of a challenge. So far, everything has gone off without a hitch. I shook the trust the public has in UA and heroes with the USJ. I’m gathering people with unique skills that will be helpful in plans to come, and I’ve removed a problematic piece from the board.

“I went into this treating it like poker, where it’s me against everyone else, but the heroes are treating it like blackjack. They think it’s them against the dealer only.”

“And who is the dealer in this analogy?”

“Me. You. Villains. Good and evil, right and wrong, day and night. They think there are only two parties involved, them and not them. It makes it pathetically easy to pull the wool over their eyes.”

“And who are you playing against?”

“Heroes, society, the government, other villains. Everyone’s been dealt a hand and we’re waiting for the dealer to deal so we can see who comes on top or who bluffed it till the end.”

“So why not let it play out? Poker isn’t a one-round game. You go until you drain the pockets of the other players or you choose to cut your losses, whether it be to quit while you’re ahead or you yourself have run dry.” All For One crossed his legs and clasped his hands in his lap, “So the question you need to ask yourself now is ‘are you going to stop now or keep going?’”

Kagero almost scoffed, “Of course I’m going to keep going. I built my momentum, I need to keep it going.”

“So then why did you ask me for help? What you should do next seems clear to me.”

“I don’t know if I should focus more on the heroes, or if I should start working on spreading my reach with the villains.”

“You’re thinking too far ahead again,” All For One clicked his tongue. “A skyscraper is worthless without a solid foundation.”

Kagero sat quietly in the chair, bringing up a hand to pinch at his lower lip in thought. He mumbled to himself as All For One looked him over, entertained at how quickly Kagero would lose himself to his thoughts if given the chance. All For One quietly hummed a tune as he waited for Kagero to come to his decision.

“I need to spread my reach, grow my numbers,” Kagero eventually responded. “That is my current goal. Stain endorsed me right before he was arrested, I need to be ready to receive people when they come out of the woodwork.”

“Very good, Kagero. You have ambition and a knack for planning ahead, but you still lack living and acting in the moment. You speak about pulling the wool over the heroes because they’re shortsighted, yet you’re doing the exact same thing, but in opposite. By focusing too much on the future, you blind yourself to what’s right in front of you. You need to find that balance.”

“Of course, you’re right, as always, Sensei,” Kagero stood and bowed. “Thank you for speaking with me.”

A portal swirled behind Kagero, “It is my duty to help guide you, Kagero. I pledged myself to help you with all of my power. If you ever need any help, you need only ask.”

Kagero nodded and turned to the portal. Before he could take a step, All For One spoke again, “As for Nightmare, should I have the Doctor send a Nomu with it over to you?”

“No,” he responded, “I’ll go to him. That was a quirk I’d like to try for myself, if you would be so inclined. Have him prepare four tables instead. I think that their punishment should be done personally.”

All For One chuckled, with a small smile on his face, “Like I said, you need only ask.”

Kagero walked through the portal without another word. All For One’s smile didn’t fade even though he was no longer there.

“Doctor? Did you catch that?” he asked.

One of the speakers crackled before the response came, “Of course, my lord. Truthfully, I am curious as well to see how the quirk works. When he had captured that hero asking if I could copy her quirk, I looked into it a little more. Nightmare would be excellent for interrogation and perhaps even minor brainwashing if done correctly. Should I prepare another copy for you?”

“No, that won’t be necessary, I’ll just take the one Kagero will use. He wouldn’t want to keep it anyway, he is very fond of the ones he has.”

“Very good, my lord.”

Chapter Text

Following the events that transpired in Hosu, UA found itself in the middle of crisis management, the likes of which they haven’t seen since the unfortunate death of Oboro Shirakumo thirteen years ago. The circumstances a near mirror to what they were seeing now, but much less involved, and far less high-staked.

While that had been a travesty, as would be the bare minimum for the early and unfortunate death of a promising hero student, it was nowhere near as bad as it is now. Shirakumo had been a second year on his work study, and came upon the scene in response to a villain attack. What made the difference was that that event was a one-off. Shirakumo hadn’t been called out for a manhunt, nor had the villain in question been connected. He had been on a standard patrol when the villain attacked and did the most he could when that villain eventually came around to his position.

After the villain had been apprehended and rescue and emergency crews were on the scene sorting through the rubble and destruction that followed, they came upon his body, announced dead on arrival.

Eyewitness and victim reports all claimed that before he died, he had saved a group of children and their daycare worker from falling debris that the villain had caused. Shirakumo wasn’t as fortunate. When word got back to UA about the death of one of their students, they had canceled classes and held a memorial service.

Reporters had tried to spin the details of his death to paint UA in a harsh light and pin the blame on them, but they had nothing substantial to go off of. The heroes on scene applauded Shirakumo’s skill and commended his sacrifice. The people he saved thanked him with tears in their eyes. His friends that were there on the scene when he was found just wanted their friend back.

These thoughts reared their ugly head in Aizawa’s mind once again as he sat in the teacher’s lounge. While hazy on what happened last night, he was pretty sure that as soon as Shimura fainted, multiple things happened at once. Somebody had caught Shimura before he hit the ground and moved him to the couch while someone else had called Recovery Girl about the issue. The teachers that were present in the lounge - Zashi, Nem, and Kurose for sure, Ectoplasm, Ishiyama, Snipe, and maybe Kan as well, dropped everything and bolted out of the room and headed for UA’s main building. Aizawa was pretty sure he passed out as well, or possibly blacked out entirely, because he couldn’t remember anything past that. All he knew was that he was suddenly in the lounge and the sun was shining outside.

“Aizawa!” Kan hissed, snapping his fingers in front of Aizawa’s face. Aizawa minutely stiffened before he lazily looked to Kan, “Finally. Nezu’s holding a meeting. He wants everyone there. Everyone’s already left.”

Aizawa blinked before taking a look around the room, finally noticing the bustling and movement that surrounded him was replaced with stark absentness. It was only him and Vlad in the room. He shook his head wearily before standing up, “Thanks. Let’s not keep him waiting any longer than he already has been.”

“They just left,” Kan answered his unspoken question, “You were really out of it there. Is everything alright?”

Aizawa turned to him with a flat stare. Kan cleared his throat, “Let me amend that. Barring the obvious, is everything alright? It’s not like you to zone out like that.”

Aizawa ran a hand through his hair, searching for the words. He knows that Kan knows he’s not alright and was just asking to be polite, so he wasn’t going to answer him that way. He also didn’t want to dump his problems on someone else when they’ve just been given a whole truckload’s worth. His wellbeing isn’t the priority right now, “I’ll get over it. I always do.”

Vlad made a non-committed sound in response, not buying Aizawa’s attempt at pushing things off, but also not wanting to push the issue. They fell into silence as they walked the distance to the conference room. Despite it being morning, the hallways were empty and quiet. Nezu must’ve sent an email out canceling class. They eventually made their way to the conference room where they heard voices and a loud discussion happening on the other side.

Aizawa paused before the door, I thought we were right behind them. Was I really that out of it? He shrugged, bracing himself for whatever awaited him on the other side. He opened the door and was assaulted with the sudden noise of many voices overlapping, each one trying to speak over the other to get their points cross.

“We need to mobilize and go assist with recovery efforts in Hosu!” someone argued.

“And do what? Stand around and twiddle our thumbs? At this point the event has long since been resolved,” another refuted.

“We need to pull out Kaminari and Todoroki. If Thirteen identified them, it’s only a matter of time before the news outlets and their viewers do as well and plaster their names all over the place.”

“Why stop at just those two? Why not pull everyone back as well? If everyone is back at UA, then it’d be easier to contain any further leaks or additional problems.”

That’s not a bad idea, but then it would make us look like we’re hiding something.

As if someone was reading his thoughts, one of the responses he caught said the exact same thing. Aizawa huffed and silently slunk to one of three open seats, which were unfortunately at the bend of the table, where Nezu usually sat. Guess he wasn’t as late as he feared. He felt their attention turn to him as soon as he sat down and dutifully ignored their looks that ask for his opinion on the matter. He didn’t need to ignore them for long as the door opened once again, with Nezu and Yagi coming through.

“Thank you all for coming at such a short notice,” Nezu greeted. He walked around the U-shaped conference table and sat at the chair directly in the middle, with Aizawa on his right and Yagi on his left. Sensing the meeting was about to start, everyone settled down in their seats.

“Before we truly get started, I would like to address some of the things I heard on the way in, particularly the comment about whether or not we should continue the internships or cancel them altogether,” Nezu placed his paws flat on the table and looked at each of the people gathered. “Both Majima-kun and Inui-kun bring up good points. We should definitely bring our students back to where we can protect them, but we can’t do so in a way that makes it look like that we have something to hide.”

Ishiyama spoke up, “Do we not? It’s all but confirmed that among the casualties in Hosu, one of our students was among them.”

“Why would we need to hide that?” Nezu countered, “If anything, any attempts at trying to cover that up will have an even more negative response than if we came clean. Our integrity and ability to teach and protect may be brought into question, but we should never hide the truth, especially if it’s already out there. If this were a contained incident, perhaps, but it’s not.

“It’s inevitable at this point that we will need to host a press conference in light of recent events, so rather than discuss about how what we should be doing about an event that’s already happened, we need to focus on what’s to come. Are we all in agreement?”

Nezu posed it as if it were a question, but it left no room for further discussion. He moved on, “First things first, we need to gather the facts of the situation. Let’s start at the earliest point and move forward from there, yes?”

The following discussion was spent creating a rough timeline of events leading up to and through Hosu, with the catalyst they all agreed on was the injury and retirement of Ingenium, Iida’s older brother. Ingenium was the first of the victims that didn’t fit Stain’s M.O, and it was shortly afterwards that the blue fires started to show up. When they got to this point, they looked to Aizawa for further elaboration.

Aizawa sighed and recapped his theory regarding the League’s involvement with Stain. As he finished explaining it, he saw Nezu perk up and internally groaned. He was not prepared to have Nezu drill holes in a theory he felt confident in, even if he could admit to making some decent leaps in logic.

“That is a very astute observation, Aizawa-kun,” Nezu remarked, “but I think that you’re still a little off the mark. Judging by your face, you’re already aware of the holes in your theory, so I won’t be restating them. Regardless, it does explain some of the things that we’ve witnessed.”

Nezu produced a remote and clicked a button. A holographic screen popped up in front of each of the teachers, displaying a highlight reel of sorts that showed footage from the USJ and now from Hosu.

“Shigaraki is clearly intelligent and extremely capable. He is able to cover his tracks entirely and hit people where it hurts, capitalizing on his enemy’s weakness.” Nezu spoke in tandem with the video that was playing, the scene that showed on screen was him taking down Eraserhead, slamming his head to the ground. Everyone winced at the sight, Aizawa absently rubbed the heel of his hand on his forehead where it made impact, “He was able to amass a significant number of villains under one banner without garnering any attention from the multiple heroes that frequent and monitor the underground, nor have any sign of in-fighting, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since before All Might’s rise.”

On his left, Yagi’s face was set in a hard frown. He was staring at the screen, remembering everything about the attack on the USJ. He knew what Nezu was doing. Nezu was setting the stage for when the big reveal would happen, slowly and carefully painting the background in their minds that Shigaraki could very well be the harbinger of a second Dark Age. The successor of All For One, one that’s been carefully groomed and meticulously molded into the villain they’re facing now.

“On the surface, his attack at the USJ failed. The villains he brought were all apprehended, no casualties were reported, and All Might was able to suppress the monster, the Nomu, that’s supposedly touted as their ultimate trump card. Are we all in agreement so far?” He asked the room, receiving a round of nods.

“Nezu,” Kan interjected, “We’ve already gone over Shigaraki’s motivation when we met before the Sports Festival. Do we really need to do that again? I feel like our focus should be on how we’re going to respond to why three of our students were present in Hosu in the same frame Stain was captured and dead bodies were.”

Murmurs of agreement sounded around, glad that someone brought it up, but no one was brave enough to do so. Not until Kan, at least.

Nezu took Kan’s comment with a small smile, “Because it’s entirely connected. Please refresh us on what we decided Shigaraki’s motivation was, Kan-kun.”

Kan blinked, not expecting to be put on the spot. He looked around to the other teachers, all of whom were interested as well. He grunted and cleared his throat, “What we decided on was that Shigaraki wanted to create fear and panic, but not just for the sake of it. He wanted to get in our heads.”

“Precisely, but why? What’s the point of having people fear him? Why do people, no. Put yourself in his shoes. Why would you want to get in someone’s head?”

“Because it makes people easier to control?” Kayama suggested. “If people fear you, they’re prone to do what you want.”

Nezu hummed, “A good guess, Kayama-san. Anybody else?”

“If you get into someone’s head, you can do a lot of damage,” Inui spoke up. He growled as he was mulling it over, “In a fight, if you get into your opponent’s head, it’s easy to trip them up and secure victory. Outside of a fight, if you do that, you can make them doubt themselves. You can condition them how you want in extreme cases.”

That got the rest of the teachers thinking. The perks of the entire staff being heroes was that they all had their fair share of villains that have affected them in one way or another, whether physical or emotional. They also had experience in helping victims once they got them out of a bad situation. They knew that some villains commit crimes to commit crimes, with no other reason than they wanted to, and others had a reason behind it. They knew that heroes and villains weren’t black and white.

“Are you suggesting that Shigaraki’s actual goal is to make us inherently doubt ourselves?” Ishiyama asked after a spell.

Nezu shook his head, “No, you are all still thinking too close-minded. Shigaraki is using fear as a tool, and he is actively showing us that he is better, smarter, and stronger than us.”

The table cracked, startling everyone in the room. Yagi, who was sitting quietly the whole time had been stewing in his thoughts, had buffed up in barely restrained anger, his fingertips digging into the tabletop. He had already been tense when he walked in, his mood having dipped as he caught the broadcast of Hosu under attack, and soured even further because he simply didn’t have the time left to go aid. Now, it had rotted entirely, caused by the path that Nezu had chosen to take. Their discussion was inadvertently reminding him of every story Nana had told him of All For One, every interaction that she had with him before and up to when she died, every line of banter he managed to catch during their fight before he was whisked away. He heard the fear in her voice when she spoke about him, he saw the cracks in her smile, he saw how she was slowly being eaten away by it with every moment that All For One remained free.

“Shigaraki is using fear as a means to break our spirits,” his voice sounding deeper and strained. “He means to not only cement himself in each of our minds as an insurmountable obstacle, but he also wants to make it so that we won’t put up a fight when we inevitably clash because we’ve already exhausted ourselves fighting ourselves.”

The teachers were stunned, all of them visibly deflating in their seats. All Might looked over each of them, as if he could gauge their mental states from how they reacted. For the most part, everyone stared back, but they all looked away the second he projected the persona he reserves for villains.

Kayama blew a strand of hair from her face, “Ok, great. We know his motivation and his possible goal. How is this connected to Hosu? How does this relate to how we react to the media coming for us?”

“Other than the obvious connection of Shigaraki being present and claiming responsibility for it and the USJ? Think of who was there.” All Might replied, “Nezu, can you pull up the after-action reports from the heroes?

“Of course, give me a moment please.”

Nezu swiped and tapped on the holographic screen in front of him. A moment later, the other screens were updated with the reports, some long and detailed, others as short a paragraph. All Might nodded his thanks and motioned for everyone to scroll through. He scrolled through as well to confirm, his frown deepening.

“That bastard,” he commented quietly.

Majima scratched his chin and spoke up, a little confused, “I’m sorry, but I think I’m missing something here. These all look like normal reports. What are we looking for?”

“The bigger picture,” Aizawa answered. “Look at the reports again. They all start with absolutely no activity, then immediately they’re swamped. They go from a quiet night to a citywide attack. No matter how good of a hero you are, that sort of whiplash is enough to throw you off. And then, they come into contact with not one, not two, but three Nomus. One was enough to fight All Might, what hope would they have for fighting three of them?”

“But the reports also say that they were defeated,” Ishiyama commented, “So they weren’t as strong as the one from USJ.”

“They were defeated by Endeavor and Conduit, both of whom have strong quirks that can surpass the regeneration factor they were reported to have. But before they came along, how were they faring?”

Snipe scoffed, “About as well as a pile of hay in a windstorm.”

“The heroes that were left in Hosu after Stain and Shigaraki were rookies and sidekicks. The heroes that went in to catch Stain were strong, but none had the real capability to do significant damage. Shigaraki threw them in the deep end with a weight tied to their feet, and then he showed his face. He showed how easy it was for him to control the fight, and how weak they were in comparison.

“Their reports show they admitted to feeling useless, whether in response to suppressing the Nomus or seeing how easy it was for someone else to do what they were struggling with. If Shigaraki was able to make pro heroes, rookie or not, feel useless, how do you think the students that saw everything firsthand feel?”

Yamada looked at them, worry painting his features, “He’s targeting the students?”

Nezu picked up the conversation from here, “Yes, it appears that Shigaraki is attempting to cut off the flow of heroes from the very beginning. If he can make them feel weak, worthless, insignificant, or useless before they can grow into themselves, then heroes, as we know them, will cease to exist.”

“Well, we can’t just close the school off!” Kan expressed, “We can teach them just fine, but knowledge and experience are two very different things. For them to be the best heroes they can be, they need to be out in the field.”

“And I wholeheartedly agree,” Nezu replied, “However, if he is targeting our students, that would be the same as serving them up on a silver platter.”

“So what do we do now? We’re stuck between a rock and a hard place.” Ectoplasm asked.

“I do not know.”

“How do we make sure Kaminari and Todorki are still of sound mind? What about Shimura? He’s made progress, but I’ve noticed that he’s still struggling with things.”

Inui answered this time, “We watch and observe. We support them to the best of our ability while making it so we aren’t suffocating them.”

Ishiyama asked, “How do we make sure Shigaraki can’t affect us?”

Nezu shook his head ruefully, “The very fact that you’re asking that question means that it’s too late.”

“Can we stop him?” Kayama almost pleaded.

“We have to,” All Might replied, standing up and exiting the room.

Kagero walked through the portal and was met with All For One and the Doctor standing side by side in front of a simple operating table with straps and clamps placed where the arms and legs would rest. The Doctor was a small, bald, and rotund man with a bushy brown mustache and big circular goggles resembling gears. He wore a white lab coat with a grey button up shirt with a loose black tie and brown pants.

All For One was holding a small vile in his hands, the sticker on the front looking like a family tree. The vial was filled to the brim with a slightly viscous fluid, saturated with the strands of DNA that contained a person’s quirk factor.

“Young lord, welcome, welcome,” the Doctor greeted. “Master says that you would like to try out another quirk.”

“Is it ready?” Kagero asked, skipping all pleasantries.

“I started working on it as soon as you left with that hero. I must say, you brought a fascinating specimen to me.”

All For One hummed in agreement, “I agree. I couldn’t help myself and took it for a test run.” He demonstrated by flicking his wrist the same way Ruya had done and the same dark mass of shadows with jagged teeth and red eyes came to life. All For One waved his arm this way and that, the mass following his movements like a puppet on strings. He brought his arm down and the mass disappeared.

Kagero’s eyes were sparkling the whole time, his hands twitching as he wished he brought his notebook along as well so he could write down his notes and observations. All For One chuckled and produced a notebook from within his jacket and handed it over. Kagero graciously took it, bowing deeply.

“I never thought I’d see the day you would come to the lab and not have your notebook, young lord,” the Doctor teased.

“In all honesty, I was expecting to swap quirks and then leave immediately,” Kagero replied a little sheepishly, “But having seen that, I can’t believe I didn’t even think to try it out beforehand. May I?”

“Of course.”

Kagero walked towards the table behind them and began to take his shirt off but a hand from All For One stopped him, “You won’t need to get on the table for this. I assume you’ll want your quirks back after you’re through with using this one, correct?” Kagero nodded, “Then there’s no need. I will do it, it is in my possession already.”

Kagero nodded again and took a knee before All For One, staring straight ahead.

“If you don’t fight, it will hurt less,” All For One advised before placing his hand on his head.

Kagero felt the tug on his quirks and pulled back on instinct but immediately stopped himself. The extremely miniscule tug back caused a searing pain to rack his body, eliciting a small cry from him. It felt like being sucked into a vacuum through a hole the size of a 500-yen coin. The pain started off as a small pinch but expanded as it felt like it was tearing away from the body. As he continued to stamp down his efforts to fight back, the pain lessened, but only just.

Kagero lost track of time as he felt his quirks be torn from him like ripping out stitches one at a time, with each rip bringing it closer and closer to the hole that was All For One. Eventually the final stitch was ripped and the pain stopped, but now he felt cold and empty, like entering an abandoned house. What was once full of life and warmth was now nothing but a shell with the memories etched into the seams and surfaces.

Without his quirks, he was powerless. Weak. Small. Helpless. Useless. He hated it. He loathed it. He wanted it to stop. Then it did. He felt the new quirk come in and felt it settle in his body. Now, the cold was welcoming. Where his quirks brought him warmth, Nightmare made him comfortable with the cold, as if he were in a cold sweat. It felt sickly, but comforting at the same time.

The transfer wasn’t as seamless as he would’ve liked. Other than the initial tug he felt from Kagero, the quirks came with no problem. The issue was Nightmare. All For One had to search for it, as if it was hiding in the recesses of his inventory of quirks he had acquired over the years, trying to never be used by someone that wasn’t its owner. If it were a person, they would’ve been running blindly in a massive library among shelves and shelves of books, taking random turns. He found it, it was only a matter of time. He saw their foot peeking out behind a cover, and with sick satisfaction, he yanked it by its ankle and felt it claw at the ground, trying to fight back.

He brought it to the yen-sized hole and shoved it through.

He felt Kagero eagerly tug at the quirk and helped him assimilate it in his system, ensuring that it would work properly. When he was satisfied that it would, he closed the hole, leaving it trapped on the other side.

He took his hand off Kagero’s head and sensed him breathing a little heavily. He stepped back, allowing the Doctor to give him a quick look over.

“Looks like a standard emitter-type quirk, no visible mutations,” the Doctor reported, “Look up for me, young lord.” Kagero did and the Doctor froze, “I stand corrected, one visible mutation. Heterochromia in the eyes.”

“What? Let me see,” Kagero walked towards the small sink in the room to the tiny mirror that sat above it.

Instead of their normal green they were now heterochromatic, his left eye an amber yellow and his right an ocean blue. Looks like the quirk comes with a slight mutation as well.

“Other than that, how do you feel?”

Kagero flexed his hands and hopped a few times on the balls of his feet, shaking his arms out as if he were warming up for an exercise, “Good. Solid. Cold, but not uncomfortable.”

“How does the quirk feel?” All For One asked.

Kagero closed his eyes and concentrated. He focused on the quirk, not what it could do, but how it felt, “It feels anxious and scared. Like a child hiding under the covers.”

“Can you activate it?”

Kagero focused the quirk’s power in his right hand and flicked it like how All For One did it earlier. The black mass appeared again, his mind supplying that Ruya had called it a Prowler. He waved his arm around as it moved forward, following his movements. A few seconds after it appeared and traveled, it dissipated once again.

All For One smiled, “Wonderful. Would you like to test out its full capabilities?”

“You have a volunteer?”

“He’s been here for a while now.” All For One waved to a door on the side.

In the next room over, the volunteer was sat on a chair, his hands strapped to the arms and his ankles to the legs. He had a metallic band around his mouth gagging him. His head was down, staring at the floor, but he looked up sensing a new presence.

Kagero looked at him and smiled, “Mohican. What a wonderful surprise. I’m so glad you’ve decided to help me try out this new quirk.”

Kagero created another Prowler and had it circle around him. Mohican struggled in his bonds, his screams completely muffled by the gag. As the Prowler rounded again and came to the front, it jumped at him.

Mohican screamed in terror.

Chapter Text

UA had decided to keep the internships going on, provided that the hero mentors stuck to their designated patrol routes, declined requests for team-ups if their participation wasn’t crucial, or kept the students within the confines of their agency buildings working on paperwork.

UA received a little pushback from some of the heroes, claiming that it would be no different than a simulated exercise in one of their training classes if they did so, but ultimately changed their minds when they were told that the students themselves may be the actual targets of Shigaraki’s schemes. That was enough to sway their opinions.

By the time Friday rolled around, so did a new development in the situation revolving around Stain and the League of Villains.

Someone somewhere had leaked a video of the final fight between Stain and the heroes that apprehended him. The video was dark and the view came from above, but the audio was crisp and through the darkness it was clear who was involved with it.

The video showed Stain getting shoved around and verbal insults could be heard. It was like something one would see between a group of nasty kids at the playground. It was clear from the video that Stain was tired and fatigued, but instead of being subdued and arrested, he was continually attacked. The video showed him take down and kill two heroes, who were later identified as Jetstream and Zero Point, and while it was despicable, the actions that Stain followed were dripping with desperation. To the average viewer, he was simply just desperate to escape and killed two heroes to give him that opportunity. While that was mostly true, to anyone who watched the video for what it was, the desperation more closely compared to how an animal would lash out when it was cornered and scared.

What caused the most controversy surrounding the video was Stain’s words to the heroes, both before and after Conduit came to the scene. He called out the heroes. He pointed out that they weren’t acting as heroes should be. He called them villains with permission.

And right before he was knocked out again, he openly endorsed Shigaraki, effectively opening the floodgates within the villain underground.

The HPSC, media corporations, even heroes and contracted specialists whose experience lies within the digital sphere tried in vain to remove every last trace of that video, but it was too late. It had been saved on countless computers, reposted on every forum even remotely connected to heroics, and shared among every circle and group of villains.

The video of Stain’s actual takedown and everyone’s opinion on the matter dominated the media and online chatrooms for the remainder of the week. The heroes that were positively identified were harangued by reporters trying to get a statement, but without fail they were turned away or ignored.

People had started to criticize the heroes and called for reform. Others had voiced their support in those heroes, applauding their actions and thanking them for removing a murderer from the streets. A smaller portion of the people agreed with Stain, not as openly, but not denying it if they were asked either.

Despite the divide, all three groups agreed on one thing: What was happening now because of Hosu was only the tip of the iceberg.

Monday morning came and class 1-A sat in the classroom in a somber silence. Everyone heard the news of Iida’s death and were still grieving it in their own ways. The quiet students looked the same but the downcast eyes and closed off aura around them kept everyone away. The students that normally gathered in their small groups still hung out together, but no one was making the effort to speak, all were content to sit in silence while in each other’s presence. The more energetic and lively students like Ashido, Hagakure, Kirishima, and Kaminari tried getting everyone excited about being back in school, hoping and willing their positivity to infect the others around them, but it wasn’t enough. No one was biting, and their normally radiant smiles were lacking their usual luster. Before long, everyone made their way to their seats, the only sounds in the room was the breathing and idle tapping of fingers or pencils on the desk.

The front door opened the same time the bell rang, displaying Aizawa looking no better than how his students were feeling. He made his way to the podium and looked at the class. No one perked up or jolted at the sudden blaring of the bell, nor when he slid the door shut, not even when he was at the front. He saw their eyes move, but he was met with apathetic stares.

Aizawa closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This was going to be a hard day.

“Welcome back,” he greeted. “I hope you’ve all had an insightful and fruitful time with your mentors. What you learned will only help you on your path.”

No response. Aizawa inwardly groaned.

“Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Open floor, but raise your hands if you want to talk. Ask anything you have in mind, and if I can, I’ll answer to the best of my ability.”

Hearing that, the students stirred, but it was in the form of hunched shoulders and turning heads, all trying their hardest to not make eye contact with either Aizawa or anyone else. It was what he was expecting, so Aizawa gave them a little time to settle their thoughts and find their voices.

A raised hand caught his attention, he looked down to see that it belonged to Asui. He gave a curt nod to her, and she brought a finger up to her chin, tilting her head to the side, “Will we be getting a new student to fill the opening?”

The rest of the class almost collectively gasped in shock. They all knew that Asui was never one to beat around the bush and mince her words, but hearing her ask it like that felt too impersonal.

Aizawa walked around to the front of his podium and leaned back against it, his hands tucked into his pockets, “Short answer, yes.” Asui continued to look at him, unsatisfied with the reply, “Long answer, the seat will either be filled by someone from 1-B moving over, or the person who ranked thirty-seventh in the entrance exam will be offered it. If thirty-seventh place has either been accepted to a different school, are content with being where they are in Gen-Ed, Business, or Support, then the offer will be extended to the next place and so on and so forth. If, for whatever reason, that doesn’t pan out, then it’ll stay empty and everyone after seat four will move up, leaving seat twenty empty until further notice.”

Asui nodded her thanks. Aizawa looked over his class expectantly. Now that Asui had asked a hard question and broken the ice, he was expecting everyone to speak up. He counted to fifteen in his head and by the time he got to eight, more hands were raised.

Ojiro had his hand up first, “Will we have a formal assembly to… talk about what happened?”

“No. While we normally would, considering the circumstances, Nezu felt it best that everyone goes over it in the comfort of their homeroom and at their own pace. He did want us to impress upon all of you that we do offer counseling. If anybody would like to talk about anything, whether that be any lingering issues with the USJ,” more than a few people still flinched at the mention, “what happened in Hosu, or some other personal issue, that is always an option. Nobody will force you to go if you don’t want to, and nobody will judge you for it. I can guarantee you, however, that talking about your issues instead of bottling everything up will help you feel much better in the long run.”

“What happens now?” Jiro asked.

That was the big question. It’s the same question that’s been rattling around in his and the other teachers’ heads. Aizawa had a million and one things he could’ve said to answer her, but they all boiled down to two options: change nothing and keep going like they originally planned or change everything and make it up as they go. Neither of them were things he wanted to say because there was no longer any certainty.

Aizawa was lost in his head, the silence growing longer as he still hasn’t answered the question. Jiro grew a little worried, “Sensei?”

He blinked to clear his head. He brought a hand up and coughed into his fist, “Sorry. What happens now depends on all of you.” He could tell he had everyone’s undivided attention with how they leaned forward ever so slightly, “My personal stance on the matter is that nothing should change. We’ll continue going about classes as normal while making the necessary adjustments to accommodate, but of course how I process and react to things is drastically different than all of you, so it’s a moot point. What do you want to do?”

He was met with furrowed brows as his class was seriously thinking over what Aizawa asked. He studied each of their faces, but came to rest on Shimura’s, whose hasn’t changed once since he came into the room. Shimura looked forward with a thousand-yard stare, his eyes open but unfocused and dull.

Heads started turning as they finished making their mind up and was going to respond, but saw that Aizawa was no longer waiting. Aizawa’s focus was on Shimura, who was extremely out of it. Curious, Hagakure leaned over and waved her hand in front of his face, seeing if he was responsive at all despite how he wouldn’t be able to see her hand to begin with because it was invisible. She seemed to realize her mistake and sat back down in her seat, the sleeves of her jacket crossing as she let out a huffed pout.

Shimura startled, as if coming out of a trance. He looked scared for a moment before he realized where he was and calmed down. He zeroed in on Aizawa, his eyes intense but not yet burning with a fiery passion, “We need to be out there.” Aizawa opened his mouth to respond but Shimura talked over him, “I don’t care about anything else. I just lost one of my best friends, and you’re suggesting we take that lying down. I don’t care if we’re students. We’re here to be heroes, so it’s our job to be out there to make the world a fairer place.”

“Exactly, but you’re still students. The key words are right there, you said it yourself. I understand what you’re saying and would like nothing more than to help you in that way, but the fact of the matter is that you’re just not ready.”

“Okay? And that changes what?” Shimura argued, “You just said that your stance of the matter is that nothing changes, so go with that. Look at the class, does anyone look like they’re going to back down now?”

Aizawa did as he was told and saw that Shimura was right. While he could see that they were all a little scared and nervous, none of them showed that they were going to give up. He saw determination in each and every one of their eyes, some shining brighter than others, but still there and not wavering in the slightest. He ducked his chin down to hide the small smirk of pride he was feeling.

Shimura sat back and slouched in his chair, his arms crossed, “Nothing changes. We’ll follow your lead. I’ll follow your lead, because I can’t just sit back here and let Iida’s death be in vain. I have to believe that there was a reason behind it.” Shimura dropped his voice, a little sadness leaking in, “I need to.”

A pensive silence permeated the room before it was broken again, with Kirishima standing up abruptly, his chair falling over at the sudden movement, “Yeah! That’s exactly what I’m talking about. It wouldn’t be manly of us to stop now. Vice Pres would want us to be the best heroes we could be. Us not doing that would be totally unmanly and would spit on his memory.”

More voices of assent slowly made themselves known, all of them saying some form of the same thing. Aizawa was torn between pride that his students are standing strong, and fear that his students were standing strong. Logically he knew that this was inevitable. He knew that he had a good batch of students despite how much he complained about them. He knew that if one person could convince everyone to do something, nothing and no one could change their minds. He also knew that if they were going to do anything, then he needed to let them know the risks, the potential that they are the ones in danger, but Nezu had his tongue under lock and key.

Knowing all of these things did little to assuage his worries because, while they’re more than willing to move forward, they’re letting their heart lead the way and not their heads. If they stopped themselves from jumping to conclusions and took the time to ask the right questions, they would see why it’s a terrible idea. Being their teacher, he could shut them down right now, but doing so would crush their spirits even further. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place, somewhere he should be familiar with at this point.

Aizawa let out a small, almost sad smile, allowing himself to appear softer than he normally does. He really was blessed to have such a good bunch of kids with bleeding hearts, but that was exactly why he’s so worried. They had a taste of the true dark side of heroics, and while he was proud that they were refusing to break, he was terrified about what’s to come.

If their introduction to the darkness of the real world were a five-course meal, then USJ was the hors d’oeuvre and Hosu was the appetizer, which some people have already started on. What’s coming next? What would it be like when they finally made it to the entrée? What would the dessert be? Aizawa chuckled remorsefully to himself when the answer presented itself.

Death. Death is the dessert, because if Shigaraki had his way, then everyone would be calling for the sweet release of it.

He took another look at his class, his eyes lingering a little longer on Iida’s empty seat and hardened his resolve right there. If they wanted to put themselves out there, he’d make damn sure they were ready for everything, “Summer break is coming up.” The students suffered whiplash from the tone change, “You’d have a whole month to relax, enjoy the weather, go on trips, sleep in all day and stay up all night…”

His class eyed him suspiciously. They knew there was a catch coming, and some of the more observant students already figured it out.

“… and you’d lose all of the progress you’ve made since the year started. It’d be irrational for you to spend that time wasting away, wouldn’t it?”

Kirishima had a worried look on his face, “Don’t tell me…”

Kaminari turned around a flicked a spark of electricity, hitting him on the forehead, “Don’t say it, man. Don’t jinx me like this.”

“You’ll all be going on a one-week summer intensive training camp.”

Aizawa was met with mixed reactions. Some were lamenting the fact they’d be doing more work over summer, others were excited at the prospect of training, and those that were a little slow rejoiced at the idea of camping out in the woods and eating s’mores, telling ghost stories, and staring at the stars while sat around a campfire.

“Before that, you have your finals coming up. Anybody that doesn’t pass both portions doesn’t get to go.” He stared down his class to get them to settle down, flashing his quirk for emphasis. He looked back at Shimura, who was staring right back at him, “You want to be out there? Prove it to me. Work your hardest to pass the exams, because the real hell starts afterwards.”

“Dabi,” Mustard hissed as he kicked his shin, trying to wake him up. “Dabi, wake the fuck up you burnt piece of wood.”

Dabi blearily opened his eyes, blinking the drowsiness away as he slowly woke up. When everything came into focus, he jumped back, kicking the chair out behind him as he raised a lit-up hand. Mustard had jumped back into a fighting stance but relaxed when he realized he wasn’t going to be burnt to a crisp. Dabi took another second to look around the room they were in.

They were in a fair-sized room with smooth concrete walls and floor, a heavy-duty looking metal door on one of them. There were two fluorescent light fixtures set flush in the ceiling, bathing the room in a soft white color. Four metal chairs with a high back were the only furniture in the room. Mustard, Toga, and Jin were spread around the room, the latter two playing a game of Omochio Tsukimasho in one of the corners while Mustard was waiting patiently for him to finish getting his bearings.

“Where are we?” he finally asked.

Mustard shrugged, “No idea. I was the first awake and saw that we were all sitting in those chairs facing each other. Everyone was knocked out.”

Dabi rubbed his eyes, “Why do I feel like you’ve been awake longer than you let on and you let me stay down?”

“I can deal with them,” Mustard pointed a thumb over his shoulder at Toga and Jin, “Between dealing with two people who act much younger than they are or dealing with you and your… everything, I picked the lesser of two annoyances.”

“Put a sock in it, brat. You’re not Shigaraki.” Mustard slightly tensed, “You think I can’t see what you’re trying to do? I know he’s been teaching you since you’re the youngest or whatever, and you can try all you want, but you can’t and won’t ever be him. Stop trying to be something you’re not.”

Dabi walked around the room, taking it in. He ran a hand on the wall, feeling the smooth texture and knocking on it to confirm if it was solid or just for show. He picked up one of the chairs and lightly hit it on the floor and walls to see how sturdy it was. His eyes raked the edges and noted the lack of any clear sign of ventilation. He looked towards the door. There was no gap at the bottom where it met the floor, no panel for a window, and no handle on the inside.

The room looked every bit like a holding or prison cell.

He walked towards the door and raised a hand to knock on it but stopped himself, he heard a slight hum of electricity, “And I’m guessing one of you idiots found out it was electrified the hard way.”

He turned back and saw them all sheepishly looking away. He was unimpressed, “Mustard, I get since he was the first one awake supposedly, but surely you two aren’t that stupid. You did tell them it was electrified, right?”

Mustard crossed his arms and huffed, “Of course I did. They just wanted to make sure it was.”

Dabi looked at Toga, who threw her arms in the air, “What? It’s like telling someone not to press the button. It’s just one of those things you gotta do.”

“I was just curious, I’ve never been electrified before,” Jin explained, “Mustard dared me to!”

“I’m surrounded by idiots,” Dabi moaned and sighed heavily. “Okay sure. And none of you thought about trying to get out?”

They shook their heads and Dabi groaned in annoyance. He looked around the room again, softly humming in thought. Maybe this was Shigaraki giving him a chance to redeem himself? This could be a test for Dabi’s critical thinking and gauge his leadership skills. He shook his head, dismissing that thought. Shigaraki wasn’t that forgiving. If this was Shigaraki doing his punishment, he sure as hell knew how to make Dabi suffer, trapping him in a room with everyone else. But what if this really was a test? Shigaraki was cunning enough to make it a double bluff. On the off chance this actually was a test and Shigaraki was offering him a way to get out of the dog house, he’ll gladly play. Only an idiot would turn down that opportunity.

“We weren’t captured or arrested,” Dabi pointed out.

Toga cocked her head and pointed to the door, “But there’s no way to get out? We seem pretty captured right now.”

He rolled his eyes, “We’re neither bound nor separated, and we all can still use our quirks. If we were captured, then whoever did it isn’t very bright.”

The door opened right then, everyone jumping back in preparation to fight. The figure was shadowed by the overhead light, “You wound me, Dabi. I thought you’d rather be in a room with all your friends instead of all alone while I finish setting some things up.”

Hearing Shigaraki's voice both soothed and unnerved Dabi. He gulped as he took another half-step backwards, allowing more space in the room. Toga squealed in happiness and lunged at him, her arms wrapped around his neck and her legs hanging in the air.

“Shi-kun! I knew you would get us out of here. I was getting really bored,” she cried. She looked up at him, expecting to see the green eyes she’s grown to love but was instead met with amber and blue. She immediately released him and drew her knife, “You’re not Shi-kun. What’d you do with him?”

Shigaraki walked further into the room completely illuminated now. He was wearing a grey oversized and ripped long sleeve shirt with a pair of slim black pants. His hair was swept to the side and his mask was absent, his large scar on full display. The only difference was his eyes.

“I assure you, Toga, I am him. I’m just trying out a new look, what do you think?” He received weak replies and compliments from the group, “Yeah, I’m not as enthused about the eyes as I thought I would be either. No matter. Come, come.”

He turned around and beckoned for them to follow, not caring to make sure they were following. He led them through long hallways with unmarked doors, each one the same as the last.

Jin couldn’t help his curiosity, “Where are we, boss? Don’t tell me, I don’t want to know!”

“At a different facility. In case you didn’t piece it together already, this is where we keep our guests.”

A chill went up their spines, the underlaying message clear as day. Jin looked to the side and back at the group, “Sorry I asked. It was obvious, you’re all just stupid.”

“Where are we going?” Mustard hazarded asking.

“Just up ahead. We’re almost there now.”

At the end of the hall there was a wide, circular chamber. As the group came into it, they saw four operating tables in the middle under a large surgical lamp with multiple big white bulbs. The tables were set in a cross with the heads in the middle. Spread throughout the room were rolling cabinets and tables with an assortment of medical tools and less than savory items displayed on top, all shining and clean.

On one of the walls was a wide window with glass tinted so heavily it looked like a black mirror. As they passed by it, they couldn’t help but stare at their reflections, trying to look at the person or people sitting on the other side they just knew were there.

Shigaraki walked off to the side and leaned against the wall, gesturing with his chin, “Pick a table.”

Toga, Mustard, Dabi, and Jin all looked to each other apprehensively. They eyed the tables with suspicion, looking them up and down and just now noticing the metal restraints and thick nylon belts on it. Their eyes darted to the rolling tables with the tools on them.

“Uh, Shigaraki. We’re not- you’re not gonna, you know,” Mustard spoke up, “cut into us and stuff, right?”

Shigaraki didn’t respond, instead gesturing again. They slowly walked up, and timidly sat on the tables. If the viewing window was twelve o’clock, then at the seven, twenty-three, thirty-seven, and fifty-three minutes laid Toga, Mustard, Dabi, and Jin respectively. Once they were settled, he began strapping them in, the sound of metal clamping and fabric sliding filled the air.

As Shigaraki got around to Toga, she tried breaking the heavy atmosphere with a joke, “You know, Shi-kun. If you wanted to tie me up, all you had to do was ask. Oooh oooh, or don’t. I wouldn’t mind getting overpowered if it were you.”

Dabi and Mustard gagged in disgust while Jin just shook his head, “Toga-chan, not the time for that. You’re really kinky! I can respect that.”

Shigaraki was just about to fasten the restraint on her left ankle when she said that and he froze in shock. She felt the movement and lifted her head up, smiling widely, “Oh? Is that something you’re interested in?”

“Get a room!” Dabi complained, “I don’t need to hear this shit right when he’s about to do something probably extremely fucked up to us.”

The restraint clamped closed and Shigaraki walked back towards the middle where their heads met at the intersection, “Are you familiar with how the military trains its soldiers? Or I guess how the American military does its special forces? They put them through intense rigorous training, both physical and mental, for weeks at a time. They break them down until they’re essentially clean slates so that they can become the best soldiers possible. By the time they’re through with them, the soldiers are stronger than ever before.

“In theory, it’s the same as gaining muscle. You break and tear the muscle fibers and let them grow back stronger than before, and then you do it over and over again. The military will break down even the strongest of people until they’re little more than bodies going through the motions while their mind gets molded into whatever that specific unit needs. It’s genius, really, but extremely rudimentary. The process hasn’t been changed for hundreds of years because it works.”

“So what, are you going to brainwash us? Take us apart and replace the weak parts with something stronger? Make us into one of those Nomus you keep hanging around?” Dabi snarked, trying to sound unafraid but his voice quivered a little.

“I would, but that process takes too long and I would lose the skills that each of you have carefully crafted over the years. It would be a waste of potential.”

Shigaraki brought his hands together, a solid black orb formed in his right while he tugged on a strand of it in his left. It snapped back like a rubber band and the orb changed from solid black to red on the inside with black strands wrapped around it. He tossed the ball up and down in the air a few times. Toga and Jin, whom Shigaraki was stood in-between, saw the mass and tried moving away, but they were stuck. They struggled against the bonds but they didn’t move a centimeter.

“I’m not going to turn you mindless. I’m not putting any of you under the knife. I’m just going to remind you why you chose the path you’re on, why you did the things you did, dredge up the memories you keep suppressed and locked away. People tend to crumble and fall when they’re faced with their fears and traumas. The tables and straps are to make sure you don’t hurt yourselves.”

The group started struggling harder now, fear painting their features and distress leaking into their movements as they finally understood what their punishment was. He asked if they’d had a good night’s sleep not to keep them on their toes, afraid of something happening to them over the night, but because he knew that after today, that might be a thing of the past.

Shigaraki walked to one of the few tables that were empty on top and wheeled it so it sat directly in the middle. Satisfied with its placement, he walked towards one of the doors, tossing the red and black orb behind him. It landed on the table and immediately tendrils of black and red shot out, latching themselves onto their heads. Strangled cries came out from the four of them as it spread out and covered their entire face, then receding and thinning so three connections could be seen coming out of their eyes and mouth, leading back into the main body of the tendril. Their bodies wriggled and writhed on the tables but the restraints held strong.

“I expect you to come out on top.”

Chapter Text

Toga sat up straight in her bed, her hair was slightly matted with sweat, and she was heaving deep breaths. She looked around the room, trying to reorient herself. Her head throbbed slightly with the telltale signs of blood deprivation. She physically shook her head as if it would dispel it from her. The alarm clock that sat on her bedside table read five thirty-seven in the morning in the standard bright red digital font. She puffed her cheeks and blew the air out, disappointed that she woke up before her alarm. Seeing no point in going back to sleep just be woken up again, she rubbed her eyes tiredly and stretched her arms out.

She threw the covers off her and shivered lightly at the change in temperature. Her feet touched the floor and she shivered again, immediately bringing one foot up and rubbing it against her pajama pant leg to get some warmth flowing through her before repeating with her other foot. She forgot how cold the house could get overnight. She padded barefoot silently to her door and into the hallway, making the short trip to the bathroom a few doors down, passing by the staircase that led downstairs. She could hear voices whisper-yelling below her like they were trying to have an argument but were still cognizant of the early hour and were trying their best not to wake anyone else up. She couldn’t make out any of the words, but figured because she wasn’t being dragged out of her room or yelled at, she didn’t need to worry about it.

Today was the day she decided she was going to confess to Saito, so she couldn’t let anything else distract her. She entered the bathroom to get ready for her exciting day.

She didn’t notice, but a thin black and red mist was slowly moving, following the path Toga took.

Dabi groaned as he woke up from a restless slumber, his body aching all around. He absentmindedly rubbed at the bandages that wrapped his arms and around his throat. He looked down at his shirt and found it was sporting burn holes throughout the body with the hem looking like it caught fire and burned up so it was now a crop top with ratty fringes. The fabric was worn so thin it looked like he was wearing sheer.

With a sound of disgust he grabbed the shirt by the middle and ripped it off his body and set it on fire, the flames consuming it quickly and entirely so that only ashes landed on the floor. He walked to his dresser and grabbed another shirt at random, throwing it on before he left his room. He slid his door open and paused, listening for the heavy thumping of footsteps, or maybe the sounds of food being made in the kitchen, or maybe even the whines of his siblings. He smiled to himself when he heard none of that. He slammed his door shut thinking he was home free and ran towards the living room, but bumped into something hard and tall. The sudden obstruction caused him to fall on his butt.

“Good, you’re awake. We can continue now,” a deep voice spoke to him, the tone suggesting they were smiling cruelly.

Neither person noticed, but the black and red mist was pooling beneath their feet.

Jin woke up on a hard metal bed, with urine and other human-made scents invading his nose, his head pounding with a hangover, and his back aching like no tomorrow. These were sensations he’s unfortunately grown accustomed to in recent months. He was in a holding cell again, for why, he had no recollection, but considering he was all alone and he had a massive hangover, it must’ve been because of a bar fight. Again. He groaned and sat himself up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, resting his elbows on his knees and holding his head in his hands.

He heard the muffled sound of a door opening, and then again from the door that led into the cell room. The footsteps of a probably heavyset man came down the hall and stopped in front of his cell. The officer looked a little shorter than him, but much rounder, and had the distinct mutation of a hog, with two tusks sprouting where his mustache would be.

The officer stuck the keys into the hole, “You’re lucky that lady you ‘defended’,” he said the word with air quotes, “paid your bail. She said it’s the least she could do to pay you back for what you did.”

The officer spat on the ground in front of him and walked away, slamming the door shut behind him.

Jin sullenly stood up and made his way out to the desk outside to gather his belongings. Once he signed off on everything, he looked at the clock and saw the time.

“Shit!” he yelled, bolting out of the precinct, “I can’t be late again. Boss said no more. This is my last chance!”

Each step Jin made was marked by little patches of black and red mist, leaving behind him a trail of demonic looking footsteps.

Mustard was startled awake when he felt something smack against his face. He jumped so hard he nearly fell out of his chair at his desk, causing the students around him to snicker. He looked around and saw he was still in class, his teacher looking seconds away before blowing up at him. Not wanting to give her any more reason to punish him, or force him into that stupid bubble, he sat back down and ducked his head down and muttered a quiet “sorry” to the class. His teacher continued to glare at him before rolling her eyes and going back to what she was explaining.

He tried focusing on what she was saying, but he couldn’t help but notice the glares he was receiving from the people around him. He knew what they were thinking. He knew that as soon as the bell rang, it’d be open season, so he had to be ready to run for it, his notebooks and school supplies be damned. He’ll just have to sneak in later that day to get them.

Class eventually ended, with the teacher walking out moments before the bell rang. She gave herself plausible deniability and permission to what was going to happen once she was gone. As soon as the first trill of the bell sounded, Mustard ran for the door but someone stuck their foot out and tripped him up.

“Where do you think you’re going, you villain?” a kid sneered while standing over him. He cracked his knuckles, which grew a little larger and thicker, “What were you thinking about earlier, huh? How to kill the entire school with your villain’s quirk? Easiest way to gas out the teacher’s house so she can’t come to school anymore?”

Mustard frantically shook his head no and tried to say it, but his jaw was frozen shut, fear making it so.

“Don’t worry everyone,” the kid called to the class, “I’ll make sure this villain won’t hurt us.”

As the kid started pummeling down on Mustard, black and red mist was pouring out of the vents.

Kagero watched from behind the viewing glass as the League were taken over by their nightmares and personal hells. The ball of black and red energy still sat on the table it landed on, but now in the middle of a circle marked by a thin black outline, moving and shifting around in an almost ethereal way, vibrating and humming with energy. The League’s struggling died down, leaving them look like they’re sound asleep. They even had the hypnic jerk that’s displayed while someone was dreaming. If not for the setting and the black and red tendrils pouring out of their orifices, it would’ve looked they were sleeping peacefully.

“How long will they be like that?” Kurogiri asked after materializing next to Kagero.

Kagero shrugged, “As long as it takes. From what I understand, they’ll be experiencing their nightmares until either it runs its course or they break themselves out of it.”

“And if they don’t? Is there not a risk that they may never come to again?”

“I keep saying, I don’t want dolls.” Kagero deadpanned, “If there was a chance they wouldn’t wake up again or wouldn’t be the same afterwards, then I wouldn’t have done this.”

Kurogiri hummed but didn’t press the matter, “Are you able to view what they are seeing? Ruya was said to taunt villains with their nightmares in a fight after she got to them.”

Kagero closed his eyes and concentrated. He tried accessing their dreams, seeing what they saw, feeling what they felt, ”I can only get a general idea of what they’re dreaming about and feeling in the moment.” Kagero nodded to the League, “Toga’s feeling a little anxious with an underlying feeling of intense desire. I’m getting flashes of people, but no description. Mustard’s feeling fear and deep-seated anger. Dabi is just overall anger and… longing? No way. And then Jin…”

Kagero sighed and shook his head, “Jin is just a mess but in the worst way. I honestly feel a little bad for him.”

Kurogiri looked to Kagero, his eyes didn’t change shape but you could tell he would’ve been raising his eyebrow, “You feel compassion for your members? Did Master not say compassion is a weakness?”

“Compassion is a double-edged sword. When someone uses it against you, it’s a weakness. When you use it yourself, it’s a strength. Why else do you think heroes are both so easy to predict but so hard to take down sometimes?”

“By that logic, you’re willingly creating a weakness for yourself. Why would you do such a thing?”

“I’m human,” he responded, as if the answer was obvious, “I can try all I want, but it’s inevitable that the more I spend time with others, with them, the more I get attached. Even Master had attachments. And if those attachments give me the extra step I need to get stronger, then who am I to reject them?”

Kurogiri studied Kagero closely, noting how he normally would be watching the scene before them with sadistic glee, but now he looks almost apprehensive and unsure. It was a side of him that Kurogiri hadn’t seen in a long time, a side of him that he was sure that Kagero had crushed long ago.

“I’m confident that they will come out of this ordeal stronger than before,” Kurogiri commented, trying to support Kagero but not knowing the best way how.

Kagero turned his head, looking Kurogiri up and down. He didn’t respond, but he gave a slight nod. He looked back to the tables in front of him and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath in and let the emotions his League members were experiencing wash over him.

The school day was nearly over and Toga had a free period, so did Saito. She had slipped him a note in his locker, telling him to meet her at the southwest hall of their school that’s always empty, following a very specific route. Saito had gotten the note and brought it up to his friends, who all encouraged him to go see who his admirer was at the specified time.

Toga was waiting in the hallway, her back turned to the direction where Saito would’ve been coming from. She had her hair down instead of their normal messy twin buns and her hands clasped behind her back as she was twisting side to side at the hip like a washing machine. She felt the headache coming and was trying to fight it down. She heard Saito coming from behind her and turned around with a wide smile on her face.

Saito was surprised to find that it was her, but nevertheless greeted her warmly, “Hey! You’re Toga-san right? You were the one who left me the note?”

“Yes and yep!” Toga replied cheerily, “I know it seems out of nowhere, but I realized I couldn’t bottle up these feelings.”

Saito cocked his head to the side as she took a step forward, her head was angled a little down like she was too scared to look him in the eyes, “Saito-kun, I can’t pin down how, but I know exactly when I found that I liked you. I saw that you got into a fight with the bullies in the school, and you just looked so cool fending them off. You looked like a hero. You were all bloodied but you still kept fighting to make sure Hanate-kun got away from them, just like a hero would. I really admired that.”

Saito scratched the back of his head abashedly, giving a few nervous chuckles, “Yeah, that wasn’t the best day. I may have gotten suspended, but I don’t regret what I did at all.”

“And that’s what I like about you the most,” Toga answered, she was now right in front of him, leaning forward so her face was right in front of his, “You have the spirit of a hero, and I can’t stop thinking about that, nor about how you looked in that fight. The blood leaking from your nose and the corner of your mouth, the look in your eyes…” she swooned at the memory, “I can’t get enough of it.”

Saito was starting to get a little nervous, not liking how Toga was fixated on the blood and how he looked. He took a step backwards, “That’s great, Toga-san, but uh… I don’t…”

Saito didn’t get to finish his sentence. Toga swung her arm in a wide arc with a box cutter suddenly in her hand, not slicing his throat, but nicking the side where a vampire would sink their fangs. A ribbon of blood came from the slash, painting the window with a streak of red. Toga pounced on him, producing a straw she took from the cafeteria and stuck it in his wound, sucking him dry.

The feelings she suppressed wasn’t her love or liking of him. She realized in that moment that she was in love with blood, and decided that she couldn’t go back to her normal life. Not again. The more blood she drank, the more the headache abated, the more she felt a mental clarity she hadn’t had in years, the more she truly felt like herself.

The darkness of the hallway encompassed her, bathing her in the black and red mist.

Dabi was slammed against the wall of the training room in his home, sliding down and crumpling on the floor.

“You’re weaker than before,” his father growled. “You haven’t been training on your own again, have you?”

Dabi resisted bringing a hand and rubbing at the burns he knows marks his chest. He knows that his father doesn’t like it when he goes off on his own, but how else was he supposed to get strong? He shook his head unconvincingly. His father’s eyes narrowed and walked forward, grabbing Dabi by the wrist and lifting him back up. With his other hand he lifted his shirt and saw the burns Dabi tried hiding.

Anger filled his father’s eyes, as he dropped him like a sack of potatoes, “You’ve been going out training on your own when I specifically told you not to?”

Dabi couldn’t help himself, “Of course I have! How else can I get strong when you won’t let me use my quirk at home? All you do with me is quirkless sparring, it’s boring and pointless! Teach me how to use my fire!”

His father growled at him, “No! You’re too weak! A strong quirk means nothing if you don’t have the capability to wield it.”

“Then teach me how to use it! Help me build the tolerance I need to make sure I don’t get burned!” Dabi yelled back. His father just looked at him with disdain, “Why are you bothering with training me at all? I’m a failure, right? I know you’re trying to get a kid with the perfect quirk, so why are you wasting your time on me? I’m weak and a failure, surely you can find better things to do with your time, like knocking mom up again.”

His father punched him in the face, Dabi getting thrown back against the wall again and falling to his knees, “It’s because you’re a failure that I need to train you. You’re already an embarrassment and a weakling. I can’t have you being a pushover as well.”

His father stormed out of the training room leaving Dabi to himself, cupping his face where he was hit and fighting to hold the tears in. He stared after his father, pain and anger swirling in the pit of his stomach, looking for an outlet. A yell of rage came out of his throat, still on his knees Dabi pounded on the ground with the meat of his fists, each hit throwing out small bursts of fire. Each time the fire came out, it was hotter than the last. The color changed from cherry red to orange to yellow to white.

Dabi pounded on the ground one last time and yelled at the top of his lungs, “I HATE YOU!”

The flame persisted at white before the faintest hints of blue seeped into it. The room was engulfed in a bright light from the fire. As the fire died out, the black and red mist took its place.

Jin was breathless as he made his way into the foreman’s office. He hadn’t even made it three steps on the worksite before someone told him the foreman was looking for him. Jin quickly redirected himself towards the office without breaking stride. He pushed the doors open, the suddenness surprising the man inside.

Seeing who the new arrival was, the look of surprise suddenly turned to a look of outrage. The man stepped up and slugged Jin in the face, knocking him down.

“Bubaigawara!” he yelled, “Because of you I just lost my number one client!”

Jin rubbed at his face, “What are you talking about, boss?”

His boss dragged a hand down his face, “That person you got into a bar fight with last night, which I do know happened so don’t go try denying it, is the son of one of our top clients. He complained to his father about how one of my employees got drunk and attacked him in a bar and now they’re pulling all of our contracts!”

Jin knew he messed up, but he couldn’t just take the beating without saying his side of the story, “Boss! I didn’t know who he was, there was no way! I got into a fight with him, sure, but it was because he was making moves on a lady that kept saying no!”

“It doesn’t matter! Because you decided to play hero, I’m the one who’s suffering for it. After everything I’ve done for you, given you a job, got you a place to stay, and you throw it all back in my face. Get out of here. You’re done.”

Jin couldn’t stop his jaw from hitting the ground. In the span of one night, he lost everything, and given his apparently growing criminal record, no reputable job would bring him on. He stood up slowly and hung his head in defeat, taking off his work lanyard and jacket and handing it over.

He spent the rest of the day walking around aimlessly in the city and eventually settled under a bridge. He used his quirk to create a double of him, but instead of a double, what came out was the black and red mist in the shape of him.

Mustard walked home with a slight limp, black eye, and impossibly bruised body beneath his uniform. The bully was more thorough than he should’ve been considering Mustard didn’t even do what he was accused of, but it was still well within what Mustard was expecting when he couldn’t escape.

Mustard had his hands tied. He could’ve stopped everything from happening if he just let the tiniest clouds of his quirk loose, but then he would’ve been labeled a villain and proven everybody right that that’s all he would amount to. He couldn’t fight back because then everyone else would’ve reported him as starting the fight and he’d be spending the rest of the year in that stupid bubble indefinitely. He couldn’t report the bullies to the school because no one in the administration staff would take him seriously and claim he was probably looking for attention. He couldn’t go to his parents because they wouldn’t listen.

All he wanted to do was to live a normal life but he couldn’t even do that. He had no friends and his parents weren’t any better. He was alone in a world that was out to get him.

Mustard bitterly laughed. He didn’t even do anything to deserve it. When his quirk came in, it was little more than a puffy pink cloud. He was so ecstatic because it looked just like Midnight’s quirk, which meant he could be a hero just like her, but that’s not what his parents saw. They caught one glimpse of it and instead of seeing awe in their eyes, he saw nothing but anger and disgust and he didn’t understand why.

Why was his life so shitty? Why did he have to go through so much torment when all he ever wanted to do was be a hero and help?

The anger was eating at him, so much so that his quirk activated in response. He let it swirl around him like a purple vortex, completely obscuring himself from view if someone looked from the outside. He reveled in the cyclone his quirk produced. He felt powerful, but before he could get lost to it, he deactivated it, the cyclone dissipating into nothing. The absolute last thing he needed was for a hero or police officer to catch him for unlicensed use of a quirk. If he did, that’d be the final nail in the coffin for him.

He finally made it back home and was greeted by his parents yelling at him. He didn’t respond because it would just make them angrier. He stood in the doorway letting his parents’ verbal assault wash over him as he normally did whenever he got home. A nod here and there, eyes pointed down to the ground, maybe even a fake sniffle would be enough to let his parents enter the house.

It was going like normal until he heard his mother’s last sentence, obviously meant as a side comment to herself, “If we keep letting the kid-villain into the house, it’ll make us look like we’re aiding and abetting him when he finally gets arrested.”

Hearing that caused something in Mustard to snap. He held out the briefest glimmer of hope that his life would eventually get better, but hearing something like that come from his own mother immediately crushed that thought.

You know what? Fuck it. If that’s what they want from me, that’s what they’ll get.

Once safely inside his room, he turned on the fan to its highest setting and let his quirk loose, but instead of the purple gas he was surrounded by the black and red mist.

One by one the connections to the knot disappeared and the League were waking back up like they were a battery that finished charging.

Kagero was watching with his arms crossed, “Looks like it’s finished.” He entered the room with Kurogiri following close behind, “Help me undo their restraints.”

They all groaned as they came to, all of them immediately bringing a hand to their heads to massage a headache away. They blinked their eyes slowly as they looked around the unfamiliar environment. Suddenly remembering where they were, they jumped off the tables but their legs gave out from under them.

“I would’ve said to take it slow, but I am glad to see you all jump into action like that. Makes me happy to see there’s at least one thing you learned from me.”

Their heads snapped to the side following Kagero’s voice, seeing him standing calmly in front of the viewing window with his hands clasped behind his back.

Dabi brought an arm up to the table, using it to push himself back up into a somewhat standing position, “What the hell was that? What did you do to us?”

Kagero looked Dabi over, but focused on his eyes, scrutinizing every last detail. They say that they are the window to the soul, and that no matter how good of a poker face you have, your eyes give away your intentions. Some would even say that maturity is easily gauged by their eyes, not their actions. Dabi squirmed as Kagero took longer to respond, uncomfortable with being the one under the magnifying glass that is his gaze.

“Why did you show us those memories?” Mustard asked quietly. Kagero shifted his focus to Mustard now, who refused to meet his eyes.

“I didn’t show you anything. I have no idea what you saw. All I did was shake the trees and loosen the locks. What came through was all you. What did you see?”

“My lowest point,” Jin responded.

“My turning point,” Mustard answered.

“My darkest moment,” Dabi begrudgingly replied.

“My first kill. And the moment I chose to live for myself,” Toga added on.

Toga’s response was met with wide eyes and eventual understanding. Dabi, Jin, and Mustard furrowed their eyebrows and thought, reliving the moment they saw. Sure, it was a moment they’d much rather forget, but now they can see it was also the moment that their lives changed forever.

Kagero gave them all a warm smile when he saw that they were finally seeing the point of this, “Like I said. The military breaks people down to nothing, but then right afterwards they build them up stronger than ever before. If you forget why you started, you’ll never know where to end. As cliché as it is, things do get a lot worse before they begin to get better. What you saw is the worst point in your life, right?”

He was met with small nods. Toga was a little hesitant on her response, but she could see what he was getting at. What she encountered was the culmination of years and years of torment and forced suppression of her instincts, of herself. She was already at her lowest point with no hope of getting better by the time Saito came along.

“Think of this as your official rebirth, because now the only way to go is up. I will be with you every step of the way. I will support you with all that I have. You have my word, on the name of Kagero Shigaraki.”

Chapter Text

With final exams coming up and the looming threat of being unable to go to the summer camp should they fail them, class 1-A threw themselves into studying and training with gusto. They only had a few weeks before the written portion of the exams and then their practical portion right afterwards. Every minute outside of class had to be accounted for or else people would fall behind.

In one of the few nights Bakugo had allowed himself to relax, he was unable to do so. The common room was bustling with extras who were either coming back from their own study or training sessions, relaxing like Bakugo was doing, or finishing up their dinner. He came out of the elevator looking at who was there but frowned when he didn’t see Shimura. He did catch the brown hair of Round Face, so at least he wasn’t completely at a loss.

Round Face was among the group of students that were taking the night off, sitting on one of the couches reading a book. Bakugo looked at what she was reading and rolled his eyes when he saw it wasn’t an actual book but one about space. Typical.

“Where’s the nerd?” he asked.

She looked up from her book and frowned when she saw who it was, “Hi to you too, Bakugo, did you have fun training today?” Bakugo gave her an unimpressed look. Round Face’s frown turned more rueful, worried, “He’s not here obviously. And he didn’t sneak off to his room, I’ve been down here the longest.”

Bakugo quirked an eyebrow, “He’s still training?”

“I assume so, he hasn’t been answering my texts or calls, and since you’re asking me, I guess he hasn’t been answering you either.”

“You know where he could be?”

“Last I heard he was going to Gym Gamma. When you find him, make sure you bring him back. He hasn’t stopped training since we got back from the internships,” Round Face’s eyebrows were knitted with worry, “I don’t want him to overwork himself, and I also think he’s blaming himself for… what happened in Hosu.”

Bakugo looked Round Face up and down, nodding and grunting in acknowledgment. He stuck his hands in his pockets and left the dorms.

The evening air was perfect. It was slowly making its way from spring into summer, so it was still warm even at this hour. The walk to Gym Gamma was both close enough to the dorms to make it a common place for Hero Course students of all years to go for their own training, but far enough away so that whatever chaos or explosions that would ensue at the facility wouldn’t be a bother to anyone else. The walk gave Bakugo time to think.

Bakugo slowly made his way to Gym Gamma, face set in a scowl and slightly hunched over. He was feeling the effects of Hosu, and USJ to a lesser degree, but unlike literally all of the extras in his class, he wasn’t stupid enough to throw himself into the deep end of training and ignore his feelings. The shit that the class had gone through wasn’t nothing, and he knew that it was something that couldn’t be pushed to the side and forgotten. He may be terrible at expressing his feelings, but he wasn’t ignorant of them.

As he got closer to Gym Gamma, his scowl became less bitter but more worried. To everyone in class, it was evident that the nerd, and arguably Dunce Face, were the ones who were affected most by Four Eye’ death, the former due to being his closest friend and the latter due to actually seeing the deed done, but only he could see how much it really was affecting Shimura. He always waved off any question or concern about how he was doing and always had a small smile that could easily be interpreted as ‘you know, I’m just trying to make it through this just like you’ when he was really just suppressing everything. It was really grinding on his gears.

As he got closer to the gym, he heard the telltale sounds of people sparring. He kicked the doors open to see Shimura fighting against two robots, though fighting was a loose term here. The robots were humanoid in design, not like the machines UA likes to employ for the tests and events, and they were stationary. Shimura was beating on them like one would on training dummies, but periodically they would move or attack back, forcing Shimura to act accordingly.

Hearing Bakugo’s entrance, Shimura turned around to view the newcomer. The robot he was facing up against brought an arm up and placed its hand on his shoulder. Without thinking, Shimura threw his left elbow into the robot’s torso and followed up with a backfist to its face. He swung his arm up and over the robot’s and trapped it in his armpit. He turned inwards so he was facing the robot and struck the robot’s chin with a palm strike and finished off with a stronger punch to the torso with his right arm. He let go of the trapped arm and let it fly back a few meters.

Slightly winded, Shimura swept at the sweat dripping from his face, “What’s up, Kat?”

Bakugo took a moment to take the sight in and school what surprise may have come across his face when he saw Shimura’s response and takedown of a sneak attack, “What’re you doing?”

Shimura gestured to the room, “Practicing for UA’s gaming club tryouts. What do you think?”

Bakugo stared at him unimpressed, a small frown forming on his face. Shimura kept up his happy façade before eventually dropping it entirely, recognizing there was no way Bakugo would accept anything less than the truth. His own smile turned to a frown as he turned back around to gather the robot he hit away, “Why are you here?”

“Because someone has to drag your ass back to the dorms. Round Face says you’ve been here all day with nothing to eat.”

“I have too!” Shimura quickly refuted, “I went to the cafeteria to eat not too long ago.” Bakugo’s expression didn’t change, “Okay, maybe like ten hours ago, but it’s better than nothing!”

“A whole lot of training for just a final exam, don’t you think?”

“That’s rich coming from you, Mister Number-Two-In-Class.”

“Fuck you, you know what I mean.”

“What do you want me to say, huh?” Shimura challenged. He had retrieved the robot and set it up so it was standing facing the other robot. Shimura placed himself in the middle and took on a fighting stance, “You want me to say that I’m doing alright? That I’m going through this healthily? That it’s okay for me to let myself grieve? I know that I’m doing this wrong, but I can’t go about it any other way.” An unspoken timer must’ve hit between the robots as both sprung to attack Shimura at the same time.

“I’m not trying to get you to say anything, dumbass,” Bakugo spoke over Shimura’s response. He ducked to the ground and swept his leg around like a breakdancer performing a helicopter, tripping up the robot that was on his right. When it fell face down, Shimura hopped on top of it and delivered a heavy blow to the back of its head, “Just stop fucking doing whatever you’re doing and listen to me!”

Shimura jumped at the other robot, hugging its ankle and driving his shoulder into it, forcing it to fall over. Once on the ground, Shimura pulled the ankle he was latched on to and maneuvered himself around the robot so he had it in a strangle hold. The robot fought a little but after a few seconds it went limp, like a human would when deprived of air. Shimura tossed the robot off of him and stood up, “No! I can’t stop. I’m not strong enough yet. I’m still weak. I need to get better to keep everyone safe! If I stop now, then more people will suffer.”

Bakugo’s already thin patience was dangerously close to running out at this point, “And you working yourself to the bone will make you stronger? What kind of backwards ass logic is that? Ever heard of the saying ‘too much of anything is bad for you?’ Same shit applies to training. You can’t do shit if you can’t stand up for shit. All your training will be for nothing if you don’t give yourself time to recuperate.” Bakugo couldn’t believe he had to be the one trying to get Shimura to see the logic. He was the worst possible choice out of literally everyone in the school for trying to get someone to calm down because he himself was quick to anger.

“I don’t care!” Shimura exploded at him, “I need to keep going, I need to keep pushing myself.”

“Like hell you do!” Bakugo retaliated with equal force, “I’m not like those extras that accept your sorry attempt at hiding your feelings. I know why you’re really here. You blame yourself for what happened to Four Eyes. Four Eyes fucked up, that has nothing to do with you. What happened was all because of Stain. He was the one that injured Ingenium, and he was the one that offed Four Eyes. You weren’t even there to help him in the first place! There’s no point in getting mad over something you couldn’t do anything about. Get that through your thick skull.”

Shimura stalked up to Bakugo, placing his face right in front of Bakugo’s as he poked his chest. His red eyes were boring into Bakugo’s with anger burning brightly in them, “And get it through yours that maybe it has everything to do with me,” Shimura replied in a low voice, “I could’ve stopped everything from escalating to the point it’s at now. I could’ve ended USJ in less than a minute. I had the Nomu in my hand. A few more seconds, and it would’ve been nothing but a pile of dust. It can’t regenerate if there’s nothing left of it. Right afterwards I could’ve had Shigaraki and Kurogiri in my hands. They were right there.

“But I was too much of a wimp and coward to see it through to the end. Because of that, I’m being targeted by Shigaraki, Iida’s brother is in forced retirement, Hosu is in ruins, and Iida is dead. If I had just been stronger, we wouldn’t have to be dealing with this shit!” Shimura stepped away from Bakugo, a hand scratching at his throat, a humorless laugh left his throat. He walked around in circles, “I knew what Iida was going to do, from the very beginning, did you know that? I knew he was going to go after Stain, and whenever I thought about confronting him about it, I backed down like a coward. I could’ve told Aizawa about it but didn’t. I could’ve told All Might about it but didn’t. I could’ve told Nezu about it but didn’t. You know why I didn’t? Because I was afraid Iida would stop being my friend. How stupid is that? I was worried about losing my friend and didn’t want to risk him pushing away from me, but then a few days later I lost my fucking friend. I’d rather he hate my guts and not talk to me, because then he’d probably still be alive! Iida is dead because I was too much of a coward to TAKE THAT FUCKING STEP TOWARDS HELPING SOMEONE IN NEED!”

Shimura walked to the robot he choked out and touched it with all five fingers. The metal at the contact point rusted and broke down like it was subjected to years of wear and tear and slowly spread throughout the body, eventually reducing the whole thing to dust, “That could’ve been the Nomu if I didn’t wuss out and let go. It was so close to being nothing, and I wasn’t even thinking.” He walked over to the robot he tripped up and touched it, but this time the entire body turned ash gray and broke down entirely in less than three seconds, “See the difference when I actually want to destroy something? That could’ve been Shigaraki and Kurogiri if I were stronger and faster.”

He was suddenly exhuasted, like the hours of non-stop training was finally catching up with him and he collapsed to his knees, his hands in front of him palms up. His voice became a whisper, “So don’t try telling me that I had nothing to do with this. I had the power and opportunity to stop everything. I know I’m not supposed to think like this. Killing is wrong and should never be an option, not even as a last resort, but I keep thinking about it and it’s the only answer I can find.”

Bakugo was seconds away from blowing up at Shimura as soon as he felt him poke his chest. Friendship didn’t mean anything if he was physically provoked, and he was all too willing to remind Shimura about that fact. That all changed when he could see just how much Shimura was hurting. His eyes held anger, but his tone, as grating and annoying as it was, was soaked with anguish. It became more evident the longer he talked, and it was obvious that he shifted all of the blame on himself. But that wasn’t what Bakugo was focused on.

“The fuck you mean you’re being targeted?”

Shimura huffed, a sad smile appeared on his face, “Out of everything I just unloaded on you, that’s what you picked out? Unbelievable.”

Bakugo took a step forward, worry slowly coiling in his chest, “Tenks, what the fuck do you mean that you’re being targeted?” When Shimura didn’t respond immediately, the worry was slowly turning to anger, “You’re being targeted by a lunatic villain and you want to go back into the field? What the fuck are you even thinking? I know you’re an idiot but I didn’t think you’d be this stupid!”

“The Sports Festival,” Shimura replied, Bakugo’s anger dissipated as the pieces were fitting into place, “When I broke off from you and the others I had a run-in with a girl. I thought she was just a fan at first, but turns out she works with the League. She cornered me in a room and told me that Shigaraki is ‘willing to lend an ear’.”

Bakugo sat down next to Shimura, “So that’s what happened. Do the teachers know?”

“Yep.”

“And you think Shigaraki is after you.”

“Yep.”

“And you think that you’re the only one who can stop him.”

“Yep.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“… I know.”

They sat together in companionable silence. There wasn’t anything left to say at that point. Bakugo knew that once Shimura set his heart on something, the only thing that would stop him is if he died. Shimura knew that he wasn’t handling his grief in the best way, which was enough for Bakugo, at least for now. Eventually, a robotic voice sounded over Gym Gamma’s speakers announcing curfew was an hour away.

Bakugo shoved Shimura so he fell over, “Let’s get back, nerd. Round Face has been worried about you.”

Shimura chuckled, “And you staying here with me this whole time must mean you’re worried too. I’m touched, Kat, really.”

“Shut up you damn nerd.”

Kagero looked over the three new potential members Giran brought up. As always, he had them wait at Buraka Scrapyard for Kurogiri to pick them up while Giran got to the bar and enjoyed a drink before getting down to business. When they walked out of the portal, Kagero was met with a far more colorful group than the first time.

The first member was wearing an extremely loud outfit with an unbuttoned dark yellow double-breasted overcoat on top of a dark orange dress shirt and black vest with red glvoes on his hands. Around his neck he wore a green bolo tie with a green gem brooch. On his head was a top hat with a red ribbon tied around it and a big feather sticking out. Covering his face was a featureless white mask with black lines that formed something that looked like eyes and smile.

The second one had an obvious reptilian mutation, but besides that he had bright purple hair and was wearing a costume that was nearly identical to Stain’s outfit minus the blue-spotted padded vest. Kagero could see he only carried two visible blades, one resting horizontally on his lower back and one strapped across his back.

The third and final one was the only one not dressed up in a getup. They wore a simple white v-neck under a muted orange short sleeved shirt with blue jeans and brown boots. The only thing that stood out to them was the item they had wrapped in bandages that they were slightly leaning on.

Giran took one last sip of his drink before sighing in satisfaction, “Let’s get this ball rolling, shall we? Young master, the floor is yours.”

“I want names and skills,” Kagero commanded. He pointed at the one in the mask, “You first, since you’re obviously used to extra attention.”

The man did a deep bow like a performer would at the end of their show, “Fantastic! It warms my heart to see that you, too, are an enjoyer of the finer arts. I am Ats-“

“No real names unless you’re comfortable letting that information loose,” Kagero interrupted.

“But of course! I have nothing to be ashamed of, for I am Atsuhiro Sako, the great-great-grandson of the Peerless Thief, Oji Harima!” Sako bowed again, “You may call me Mr. Compress, for it is my stage name. As for my skills, perhaps a demonstration instead?”

He looked to Kagero for permission, but when he didn’t get a no, he took it as the go-ahead. Sako reached into his pocket and produced three small teal marbles held between his fingers, “Tell me, have you heard of the three coin trick? Mister bartender, would it be alright for me to step behind the counter? I would like to use it as my stage.”

Kurogiri and the rest of the room looked to Kagero who had an amused look on his face, wondering if this really was alright. Again, Kagero didn’t say no, so Kurogiri moved off to the side to give Sako more room.

“Thank you, my good sir,” Sako nodded to Kurogiri. “As I was saying, have you heard of the three coin trick? This is my own variation of it.”

He placed the marbles on the table, “Marble number one goes in my left hand.” Sako picked one up with his right hand and placed it in his open left. “Marble number two, also in my left hand.” He picked up the third one and displayed it for the room, “Marble number three, now pay attention because this is the magic marble. Marble number three goes back into my pocket. How many marbles did you see go in my left hand?”

Nobody spoke for a beat before the reptile mutant replied, “Two.”

“Ah, thank you sir. I’m not used to such a cold crowd, but sadly you’re mistaken,” he opened his hand letting three marbles roll on the counter, “There are three, because this is the three marble trick.”

Seeing the three marbles roll around, Mustard, Toga, the mutant, and Twice all looked on with awe.

“I’ll do it once more. Two marbles go in my left hand. How many marbles are in my hand?”

Toga was entranced, “Two!”

Sako transferred the marbles to his right, “How many marbles in the right hand?”

Mustard was watching him sharply but held up two fingers. Sako maneuvered the marbles so he held them between his pointer and middle finger, “Now watch as I put these two marbles into my left hand, and marble number three,” he picked it up and showed it around, “goes in my pocket.”

He opened his hand to display he wasn’t holding the marble anywhere, “How many marbles did I put in my left hand?”

“Two! He’s bluffing, his hand’s empty!” Twice answered.

“Wrong once again! There are three, because this is the three marble trick,” he let the marbles roll on the counter and there were three. He looked quickly to Kagero to see if he would be allowed to continue, who nodded, but spun his finger in a circle to tell him to wrap it up, “Okay, one last time. Marble one goes into my left hand. Marble two also goes into my left hand.” He sandwiched his hands together to transfer them over, now showing two marbles in his right hand and none in his left. He tossed the marbles back into his left hand, holding it closed, “Two marbles in my hand, right?”

He received nods all around, even from Giran and the third new member. “Marble three goes into my pocket. How many marbles now?”

He received “threes” from everyone this time. The energy that Sako was building up and feeding off of from the crowd disappeared, and although his face was covered by a mask, based off of his body language, he was deadpanning at the room, “Well it’s no fun now that everyone knows the answer. Since you ruined the trick,” He made a show of wiping his hands like he was washing them and showed they were empty, “I’m not going to do it anymore.”

Toga leaned across the counter, staring intently at his hands, “How did you do that!? You definitely put three in your hand right then!”

“Uh uh, young lady,” Sako tutted, “A good magician never reveals his tricks.”

Kagero was watching the entire performance with a hawk’s eye and saw what Sako did and chuckled, “Sleight of hand, deception, and diversion. Great skills for a magician. Or for a thief. Impressive.” Sako bowed for a third time and went to join the rest of the new arrivals. Kagero pointed to the mutant, “You next.”

The mutant took a step forward and scratched the back of his head, “There’s no way I can top that introduction. You can call me Spinner. If you can’t guess, I am a follower of Stain and my ultimate goal is to spin his dreams into reality. I consider myself decent with blades, and other than my obvious mutations, my quirk lets me stick to walls, so I can fight in three dimensions.”

He stepped back and the third person stepped forward, “I’m Magne. I’ve been told I’m quick thinking and cold hearted. I do have murders under my belt, so I’m not even going to deny being cold blooded. I just want to live life how I want to, free of all constraints. I hear that you’ve got a bone to pick with hero society, so I want to help you upend it to make my dream come true. I can see your question, and let me tell you right now, I’m a girl. You got a problem with that?”

“We live in a world where people look like animals and monsters,” Kagero cooly replied, before adding on, “No offense, Spinner. You say you’re a girl, fine, I really couldn’t care less. But sure. If I slip up, let me know. Good enough for you?”

Magne crossed her arms and huffed but nodded. Kagero felt this was a solid group. He did say he wanted a few more fighters, and having a thief on hand was always good. If he lets them join, then he’s looking at a minimum of two fighters, minimum two stealth operators, two wide-spread and long-range attackers, and Jin. The absolute gold mine that’s Jin. He could do so much with the new additions.

Spinner spoke up, “Uh, sir? Is there a reason why you didn’t want to know our quirks to open with? I know I brought mine up, but I felt that added to my pitch.”

Off to the side, Dabi leaned over and commented to Mustard, “He has a point. He had us give our quirks up almost immediately.”

“Not immediately,” Mustard corrected. “Not including me because I was stupid, he learned yours after you gave your intentions.”

“Doesn’t he seem more relaxed than he was for us? He even let magician man do a trick. That doesn’t seem like him.”

Mustard hummed in indecision and turned his attention back to Spinner and Kagero.

“Unlike most people, I don’t put a huge emphasis on quirks. I care more about what you can do than what your quirk can. Quirks are tools, the same as your blades and Magne’s…”

“It’s a magnet,” she supplied.

“So what does that mean now?”

Kagero smirked, “Now you get to tell me if I’m right or wrong. Do you want me to call you Mr. Compress or Sako?”

“Whatever you would like, I go by either and all,” he replied.

“Compress it is,” Kagero decided, “Your quirk has something to do with your hands. You’re dexterous, which could come from your background, but I’m more inclined to believe it’s because of your quirk. You have teal marbles, a strange color choice that could be your gimmick, but given your stage name and no denial of your history as a thief, those marbles are probably objects you compressed, stole, and keep on hand until you either pawn them off or you use them yourself.”

An astonished gasp released from Compress, “He’s right. On all of it.”

Jaws dropped and Dabi shivered. The four that have been with Kagero the longest knew he was insanely observative and had a knack for picking apart quirks, but to get that much information from Compress’ performance and short interaction and be accurate? It was scary to say the least. The new members felt a chill run up their spine when they realized they were next on the chopping block.

“Spinner, yours is obvious. Reptile-like mutation and you said you can cling to walls, so lizard to be a little more precise. If I were to take a shot in the dark, I’d say a gecko.”

Spinner made a strangled noise as confirmation.

“Magne, yours is magnetism of some kind. Since you carry around a magnet with you, I assume you can’t magnetize yourself and use that to help direct it. You made a point of defining your gender, which is a relatively common thing to do if there are perceived questions regarding it, but I can’t help but think there’s something more to it. I could be overthinking that, so really it’s a tossup.”

To her credit, Magne didn’t outwardly react as much as the previous two, but she did draw in a deeper breath.

“Well? How did I do?” Kagero smiled, already knowing he was as close to spot on as he could get without a proper demonstration or explanation.

Nobody made a sound in the bar until there was a loud slurp on a straw that came from Giran who finished up his drink, “Young master, I believe you broke them. But that’s a good thing, right?”

“It is,” he confirmed, “Thank you, Giran, for finding and bringing them to me. I’ll be sure to contact you if something else comes up.”

Kurogiri produced a briefcase and spun it open so Giran could confirm the contents. Giran shot Kagero his signature sleazy smile and sent a lazy salute his way before closing the briefcase and left the bar without another word.

Waiting until he was sure Giran was long out of ear shot, Kagero clapped loudly, startling everyone in the room and getting their attention.

“Welcome, Compress, Spinner, Magne, to the League of Villains,” Kagero greeted, “You may have heard of me or seen me around, but if not, I am Kagero Shigaraki. ‘Mister bartender’ is Kurogiri.” Kagero turned to the first four members, “Introduce yourselves.”

Toga went first, “I’m Himiko Toga! Another follower of Stain that found a new home here with the League. If you disrespect either Stain-sama or Shi-kun, you will answer to me first.”

“I’m Dabi. And yeah, also a follower.” Dabi paused before adding on, “Try your hardest not to piss off Shigaraki.”

“I’m Mustard,” was all Mustard contributed.

Jin stepped up last, “Call me Jin, nice to have you. Why do we need these losers?”

Kagero smiled again, this time a little more wickedly, “Perfect, now that introductions are out of the way, we have a lot to do and an unknown deadline to work with. To get started with that, I need to get a feel for your skills.”

Like with the first group, that was the only warning they got before portals opened on the floor, swallowing them whole. Kagero heard a few snickers from behind him and rounded to look at them. Dabi and Mustard were laughing at seeing the new members go through the same thing they did. Toga was hiding a smile behind her hand, but wasn’t making any sounds.

“What’s so funny?” he asked. Dabi and Mustard shut up immediately but didn’t respond, “Oh, I get it. You thought you weren’t joining them.”

Mustard paled as realization dawned on him. He got off his chair and slowly backed towards the door that led deeper in, “N-no. Why would we be joining them? Y-you already know our skills, right?”

Dabi doubled down, “Nope. No way, that’s not fair. You already punished us, this is just abuse now.”

Jin ping-ponged his head with Mustard and Dabi on one side and the other as if watching a tennis match in confusion, “What’re you talking about?”

Dabi wrapped his hands around Jin’s mouth to shut him up and hissed in his ear, “Shut up. Don’t say anything.”

Toga grabbed Kagero’s arm and tugged on it gently, “Shi-kun, we don’t need to do that again, right? I mean, it wasn’t that bad, but we already did it, so there’s no point.”

Kagero shook his head and laughed lightly, a smile pulling on his lips, “That’s right, Jin never did get a round in the warehouse, did he? How silly of me.”

Everyone took more steps back, preparing to run away, “You all have been with me for a little while now, don’t you want to see how much you’ve improved? I sure do. Besides, we’ve got a big event coming up. Can’t have you all slacking off just because summer is almost here.”

They were caught with one leg up in the air as they were turning around to run away. Portals swallowed them up again.

“Was teasing them necessary?” Kurogiri asked in the now empty bar.

“Nope, but now I understand why people do it so often. It really is an easy way to get under their skin and make them uncomfortable. Let’s go see how they’re doing.”

Chapter Text

The week before final exams had the teachers in a meeting once again, but this time discussing matters that didn’t involve threat assessment and mitigation.

“Are we are all in agreement that we will not be using robots for our final exams?” Nezu confirmed. He was met with nods from all except one.

“If I may, Nezu, and with respect, Aizawa,” Kan coughed into his hand, “Only Aizawa’s class has had… issues, so to speak, while my class has been following the curriculum and schedule. Why do we need to change the finals for both classes?”

Aizawa was quick to sit up and try to refute but Nezu’s raised paw stopped him, “Need I remind you, Kan-kun, that while Aizawa-kun’s class may have been attacked and some of his students been directly involved, that doesn’t mean that your class, or even the second or third years for that matter, is safe from any future schemes that Shigaraki may come up with? Shigaraki may have started with 1-A, but that doesn’t mean he’ll stop there.”

Kan grumbled under his breath but didn’t speak up again. Nezu hummed happily and addressed the rest of the staff, “This is also the perfect time to implement some changes I’ve been mulling over. Given All Might’s inevitable retirement, there are bound to be villains, or groups of villains, like the League, that will rise up out of the woodwork to take advantage of the lack of a Symbol. While we have historically done a slightly modified version of the entrance exams for the first round of final exams, that doesn’t really test the students’ ability to think critically.”

Yagi hung his head in his hands, “Yet another example of the flaws in my idea of creating the Symbol of Peace. I may have brought crime rates down, but I didn’t dispose of it, just forced it into hiding. I apologize for the struggle the future will bring.”

“Please don’t blame yourself, Yagi-san. If it wasn’t you, then someone else would’ve come up with the same idea,” Nezu consoled, “But now we know for the future to use instead of a single pillar to support society, we use a multitude.”

“What are you suggesting, then?” Majima asked a little excitedly. If they were moving away from robots, then he could finally turn his attention to other things.

“Robots are very limiting. They only do what they’re programmed to, and while we have made significant advances, we are still nowhere near the level of artificial intelligence that is displayed in the media,” Nezu posited instead, “They don’t think outside of what they’re told to.”

Ectoplasm spoke up, “You’re not suggesting…”

“…the students fight other people,” Ishiyama finished.

“Not just other people, but you all!” Nezu chirped.

The room burst into light disagreements, most of them speaking against the idea.

“We don’t even have the third years do that for their own final exam at the end of the year. Why should only the first years go through that?” Kayama noted.

Nezu kept his smile up and answered in a happy tone, “They won’t! I propose we change up the exam for all three years to account for Shigaraki’s emergence.”

Aizawa ground his teeth, “You’re forcing the students to accept that failure is a possibility despite their strength and progress. Do you realize how detrimental that may be for some students?”

“All the more reason for them to experience it in a safe and controlled environment instead of out there where every choice and decision matters, is it not?”

“Isn’t this a little… I don’t know, cruel?” Yamada asked, looking between Aizawa and Nezu, “If the little listeners go against us and fail, then their spirits would be crushed.”

“I’m not asking you to ensure they fail, far from it. Of course, the tests will be designed with ways for the students to pass, I would just like for them to understand that there are times when the smart move is to retreat and regroup instead of fight until they’re unable to continue.”

“You’re acting as if we won’t be able to stop Shigaraki when the time comes,” Yagi commented coldly. “Are you saying that we will fail?”

The tension in the room was rising. The teachers had been focusing on the exam changes themselves and what that would entail for the students. They were thinking about the exams as an academic event. Even though the changes were being made specifically with the future in mind, they forgot that it may not be as bright as it used to be. Yagi, who was still a novice at teaching at best, was thinking about the changes and how well they would translate outside of school.

Nezu turned his head to study Yagi, though in this moment he was more All Might than Yagi despite still being in his deflated form, “I mean no offense by this, All Might. I have every confidence that we will come out on top, though that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t prepare for the worst-case scenario. As the saying goes, ‘by failing to prepare, you’re preparing to fail.’”

“There’s another saying that goes ‘if you expect to fail, then you will,’” All Might countered not backing down.

All Might and Nezu stared each other down in a deadlock, neither giving any ground. Both known and regarded as some of the most influential people in the country. Both stubborn to a fault. Both willing to fight the right fight but through very different means.

The tension was growing thick enough to cut with a knife as their staring contest grew longer. A cough caused the tension to snap, making the other teachers to jump in surprise, and drawing the combined attention of Nezu and All Might onto the offender.

Aizawa had his hand up to his mouth as he cleared his throat again, “I’ll do it. I understand both of your points, but ultimately it comes down to the students. Regardless of the changes we may or may not make, the fact of the matter is that if they fail, then we’ll know that they have a ways to go. If they pass, then we’ll know that they’re at least smart enough to know when they’re outmatched and will act accordingly.”

Kan nodded along, “And even if things go terribly wrong when we come to heads with Shigaraki, that doesn’t mean it’s over. So long as there are still heroes left standing and willing to fight, we haven’t failed, we’ll just be on the backfoot. I’ll do it as well.”

Murmurs of agreement sounded out, causing Yagi to sigh in defeat. Years of moving forward single-mindedly and unwilling to accept failure had made him cynical to what sounds like a defeatist’s plan of action, but he could see the logic behind Nezu’s argument, “Very well. The classes being tested are yours, so I will defer to your judgement and trust you know what’s best for them. I will participate as well.”

Nezu closed his eyes and nodded happily, “Then it’s settled! Now we need to decide how to divide up the classes and what the objectives will be.”

With the new members he had acquired, Kagero made sure to have them interact with the older members as much as possible. He had Spinner spar with Toga and Mustard to see how they fared against each other. He had Magne go with Dabi whenever there was an errand Kagero needed done to see how much of a quick thinker she really was and how much of it was just luck. He had Compress and Toga working against each other to test how well their respective forms of stealth work against someone who’s also familiar with the art, a thief against an assassin. As for Jin, he had him rotate between all of them so he could get used to their personalities. There was nothing supporting the theory, but Kagero believed the more familiar he was with a person, the closer his clone of them would be to an exact replica.

It also helped Jin form the sort of camaraderie Kagero was certain he was lacking in all his previous occupations.

Kagero spent his time providing his input where he felt necessary, but let them go about things on their own, opting to study them and their quirks, both personality and ability-wise. Seeing how they interacted and the ins and outs of their skills had Kagero believing he now had exactly the team he needed moving forward.

Currently, they were lounging in the bar just hanging out. The TV was turned to some news channel and there were conversations ringing out from all around. Instead of at the bar where he normally was, Kagero was in one of the booths to the back, sitting on the bench with his back to the wall and everything in front of him. He was working on his laptop and sipping on a smoked Manhattan, the vapors still lightly pooling out of the glass.

He had the small chat window open and was speaking to the person on the other side when Dabi dropped himself in the seat across from him. He frowned at being disturbed and kept his attention at the conversation being typed out. He could see Dabi watching him, and when he opened his mouth to speak Kagero held a hand up.

“Not yet,” Kagero commanded. Dabi closed his mouth and waited while Kagero finished. The sound of Kagero typing on the keyboard was all he heard until the distinct click of the trackpad sounded indicating the chat box was now closed. Kagero took a swig of his drink and closed the laptop before looking at Dabi, “What is it?”

“What are you planning?” Dabi asked.

Kagero narrowed his eyes at him, “I don’t recall you needing to know what I’m doing.”

“But you are planning something. You have us training and working together with the newbies and you’re participating in it. Something’s going down.”

“Maybe I just want you all to grow comfortable with each other. You’re teammates now, so it only makes sense to get you used to working with each other so there aren’t any hiccups later on.”

Dabi sighed, he knew this wouldn’t be an easy conversation. On top of Kagero potentially still being angry with him, he now has to deal with his stupid “I’ll help you help yourself” roundabout answers. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to gather his thoughts and organize them in a way that would have him ask all of the right questions the first time.

Kagero was watching him with a hint of amusement in his eyes and a slight smirk forming on his lips. Great. He already knew what this was all about.

“I’m going to say some things. You don’t need to answer or react to anything, but at least wait till I’m finished before you do,” Dabi carefully started.

Kagero took another sip and nodded. He settled into the bench and crossed his arms to get comfortable.

“You’re the leader of the League, but you’re not the leader,” Dabi paused and studied Kagero’s face for any hint of a reaction but found none, not even a glimmer of recognition in his eyes. “The big boss is the one really in charge and he’s using you as a figurehead.”

No reaction. Dabi bit the inside of his lip trying to ease his nervousness, and Kagero’s stonewall wasn’t helping in the slightest. When he said he didn’t need to react, he wasn’t expecting him to take it so literally. If Kagero displayed even micro-expressions it would’ve made this that much easier, but there was nothing.

Dabi knew he was playing a dangerous game, and while Kagero was indulging him for the moment, there was no telling if that courtesy would be extended to after he was done. He had to watch his words carefully to make sure he didn’t end up insulting Kagero accidentally.

Dabi started again slowly, “The attack at the USJ was designed to fail from the start, so you chose thugs at random. It was meant to fail, but your specific goal lay in who was going to be there, All Might. That’s why you had a Nomu at the ready, because you somehow found out All Might had a weakness and you were going to use it to get rid of All Might but it failed. When you realized you couldn’t rely on a brainless monster and common criminals, you reached out to Giran and found us. You wanted a small elite team.”

Kagero took a sip of his drink and relaxed back.

“Fast forward to when you sent Toga and Mustard to the Sports Festival. The crusty brat that did the pledge was at the USJ too, right? He caught your attention, so you used Toga and Mustard to get under his skin and into his head. I don’t know what happened at the USJ, but I think crusty brat impressed you there, but because he’s training to be a hero, you want to have him turn and join you.

“When it comes to Stain, you only really interacted with him because he was in your way when you were trying to build your team, but you found that you and he had similar goals, so you wanted to use him, and you did,” Dabi thought for another second, “And you used me as well for that matter. You got me and Stain to get rid of heroes while you hung back. And then you used Stain being in Hosu to lure even more heroes and the media out of their holes. You showed your face to the cameras and heroes there to show that you’re still around and display what you’re capable of. Now that Stain’s been arrested and your team has been made, you’re preparing for something big, which explains all of this extra training and ‘team bonding’ you have us doing.”

“I don’t know how real or deep your ‘care’ for your teammates goes, but it’s obvious you see us more as pieces on a chessboard to move around than actual people,” Dabi rested his chin on his hands, “The only thing I can’t figure out is why you would go to the lengths you did, or what your end game is.”

Kagero made a contemplative face before leaning forward. He downed the rest of his drink and then answered, puffing some smoke into the air that smelled of alcohol and brimstone, “How does that make you feel?”

Confusion fell on Dabi’s face, not expecting that to be the first thing Kagero said after listening to his whole theory. Kagero chuckled and tapped his glass on the table twice, “You have all of these threads and you put them together in a barely passable knitted scarf, and at the end you’ve come to the conclusion that I’m using you for my own benefit. How does that make you feel? Angry? Sad? Disappointed? Relieved?” he paused for a beat, “Betrayed? What? Tell me.”

Dabi blinked twice as he processed Kagero’s question. Did he just admit that he doesn’t see us as actual teammates and people? “Well right now I’m feeling kind of mad. So everything that you’ve said to Toga and Mustard was a lie? You don’t care about them?”

“I never said that. I confirmed I used you, sure, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about you all. What do I keep saying?”

“At this point, a whole lot of bullshit probably.”

Kagero deadpanned and repeated the words he said to him weeks ago, “I never go back on my word. Whether or not you believe it, that’s all up to you.” Dabi narrowed his eyes at him, “You’re not mad about how I see you all, you’re scared that I’ll replace you with someone else. That’s why you came here, right? Why you sat down and laid out that admittedly well-thought-out story. You’re still hoping you’ll get bumped up.”

It took all of Dabi’s willpower not to visibly react to Kagero’s rise, “But I will, right? That was the deal. I get close to figuring out what’s going on and you make me second in command.”

“I did say that,” Kagero confirmed.

“And you don’t go back on your word,” Dabi pressed. He risked an arrogant smile thinking he had Kagero cornered, “By the terms you laid out and your self-imposed rules, I’m now the second in command.”

Kagero barked a laugh, “I’m almost impressed by your audacity, I’ll give you that. But no, you’re not.”

“How? You said it was a solid story.”

“Doesn’t mean it’s right, but I will admit you’re close. What you’ve got is only a little more than what everyone else has. You're closer to the source, so I was expecting a more complete picture. Maybe my expectations were too high?”

Dabi wanted to rip his hair out. Every time he thought he had the advantage over Kagero, it turns out he was three steps behind and Kagero was abusing loopholes.

“That isn’t fair!” he complained, sounding like a child arguing with their parent, “You can’t just add a caveat whenever you feel like it!”

“Can’t I?” Kagero raised his eyebrow, “I was the one that made the deal, we never shook to seal the terms, and I’m not changing anything, just asking for clarification. After all, you’re going after a position of significant power. Why shouldn’t I make sure you’re up to the task? Why shouldn’t I see if I can trust the person that would take over for me if I’m indisposed of? If they can’t do something as simple as read between the lines, then they’re not worth it.”

Kagero stood up and tucked his laptop under his arm and grabbed his glass, ending the conversation. Dabi wanted to refute but he couldn’t argue with that logic. If it were him, he’d make sure that the person was about as clean as you could get in the underground. He sighed heavily and stood up as well.

He walked towards the bar, “Kurogiri, I’m going out.”

Dabi felt heads turn at hearing his request, but he didn’t care. He was so close yet still so incredibly far away from his goal. He needed to clear his mind.

Kurogiri paused what he was doing and looked to him, “Where would you like to go?”

“The tower.”

Kurogiri hummed and a portal opened in front of him. Dabi walked through without another word.

Kaminari groaned as he sat back from his computer. He had been on it far longer than normal today and he was starting to feel fatigued from staring at the screen for so long and his mind was mush from all of the studying he’d been trying to get done.

Yaomomo was honestly a godsend. She was so smart and friendly, and the fact that she was also gorgeous beyond words and comprehension definitely was a plus. When she announced she’s more than willing to host a study group, it took everything in Kaminari not to drop to his knees and bow his thanks. He would be so screwed if he was going to study alone. Even with her help though, he wasn’t confident he’d pass. There was just too much to remember and learn in too short of a time.

He sighed and walked to his bed, hopping on top and crossing his legs in a meditative pose. Maybe if he spent some time on something else, what he went over would settle better.

Before his internship officially ended, he came out to Conduit saying that he was sure something happened between him and Stain, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember what it was. In his normal gruff fashion, Conduit shrugged and suggested two options: meditate on it or go ask the source. Kaminari paled at the thought of having to go to Tartarus to ask Stain what happened, so he jumped at the first suggestion.

He had no idea how to meditate in the first place, so he subtly asked around the class for any tips and was pleasantly surprised at how many of them not only helped him out, but didn’t ask why he was wondering.

He drew a deep breath in through his nose and slowly let it out from his mouth. He tried clearing his mind, but as usual it was cluttered with any and everything that he witnessed throughout the day. He drew another deep breath and forced himself to focus on breathing alone. Eventually he was able to rid his mind of the clutter, but now that he was there, he didn’t know what to do. The most his classmates advised was it was a good way to clear your head, which he did, and center yourself, which wasn’t what he was going for.

Instead of keeping it empty, he let his mind wander back to Hosu. The blank canvas that was his mind distorted and changed, taking the appearance of Hosu and eventually filled out to the alleyway. The night played out exactly as he remembered it, but then once Stain talked to him the scene turned black with a jolt, not dissimilar to what it felt like when he was struck by one of Conduit’s bolts.

He physically reacted to the jolt, tearing himself away from his memories and mental plane he found himself in. He felt his quirk activate on instinct, the low humming he’d associated to himself when he spread his quirk throughout his body filling the room. He turned his hands over in confusion before releasing his quirk. He’d tried meditating like that multiple times now, but never has he gotten that kind of a reaction.

What was that? Did I black out in the middle of a fight? Was I attacked from behind or something? He thought to himself.

He didn’t get to think any further on that as he heard a knock on his door, and Kirishima’s voice from the other side, “Kami-bro! You in there? Jiro sent me to get you, dinner’s just about done.”

Kaminari quickly replied, “Yeah! Gimme a sec.”

He hopped off the bed and grabbed his phone. He stopped to look at himself in the mirror and quickly pulsed his quirk throughout his body, watching as the electricity caused his skin to glow before fading away.

He opened the door to find Kirishima and Ashido waiting for him, smiling when they saw him exit. He returned their smiles with one of his own as they walked down to the common room.

“So Kami,” Ashido asked, “How you feeling about finals? Think you’ll be fine?”

“Like you have any room to talk, you’re just as bad as me when it comes to tests,” he teased back.

She stuck her tongue out at him, “Rude! I’ll have you know I studied for two hours today!”

“In one go or in total with more time spent on your phone instead of studying?” Kirishima asked with a wink.

“Kiriiii,” she whined, lightly shaking Kirishima by his shoulders, causing Kaminari to chuckle, “You’re supposed to be on my side! This is bullying, I want my friend back!”

“Seriously, though. How are you feeling about the finals?” Kirishima asked.

Kaminari scratched the back of his head, “No matter how much or how hard I study, I know I’m going to have trouble on the written portion, but I’m sure I’ll get enough points so I at least don’t fail it. But when it comes to the practical, I think I’m pretty set.” He flashed them a thumbs up, letting off a little spark that shot out of his thumb, “Conduit really whipped me into shape, so no matter what they throw at us I know I can do it.”

Kirishima clenched his fist and hardened his arm in front of his chest, “That’s the spirit! It’s super manly of you to admit to your shortcomings but not let it get you down.”

They made it down to the common room where people were holding plates and bowls full of food. The trio got into line behind Uraraka and Shimura. Uraraka was talking to Shimura but he wasn’t paying any attention to her. If she noticed, she wasn’t bothered by it in the slightest and kept going on. Kaminari approached Shimura and bumped into him.

“Yo!” he greeted, “Glad you finally graced us with your presence.”

Shimura rolled his eyes and laughed dryly, “Believe me, so is everyone else. You’re probably the sixth person that’s said something similar to me already, but I can’t exactly not eat so…” He spread his arms wide and gave jazz hands, “here I am. What have you been up to?”

“Oh, you know. Little bit of this, little bit of that, the usual.”

“Procrastinating and playing video games while doing the bare minimum of training, got it.”

Ashido and Kirishima snickered at the jab. Kaminari spluttered, “Wha- I’ll have you know I have been studying, thank you very much. You can ask Yaomomo, and Jiro, and Ashido. They were there, they saw me.” He turned to Ashido and gestured with his head, “Tell him.”

Ashido took a step forward and leaned in, whispering conspiratorially, “I have no idea what he’s talking about. I haven’t seen him anywhere near the study group. Y’know, before Kiri and I got him out of his room, I heard him mashing on his keyboard and laughing maniacally.”

Kirishima lightly thumped Ashido on her head, “No we didn’t. Kami-bro’s really been hunkering down with his studies and training. I’ve seen him with Yaoyorozu and her study group, and we train together once in a while.”

“See? Told you so.” Kaminari bragged, “I’m super smarticles and responsible now.”

Shimura snorted, “Sure you are, man. Sure you are.”

Uraraka, who had stopped talking when Kaminari walked up and was listening in on the conversation, “Oh! You’ve been going to Yaomomo’s study groups? I’ve been thinking about showing up sometimes, but I don’t want to make the group too big.”

“I don’t think she’d mind, honestly,” Kaminari replied, “If anything she’d be even more happy. And I can definitely feel myself getting smarter after every session, which should be all the proof you need about how well it’s going.”

Uraraka nodded along, “Alright, you’ve convinced me! I’ll ask Yaomomo when the next study session is. Are you coming along, Shimura-kun?”

They were finally at the front of the line and Shimura was scooping himself some of the beef curry someone made, “Oh. I uh- I think I’m good actually, thanks for the offer, though.”

Uraraka frowned, “Are you sure? I don’t think I’ve seen you study once, and when I do see you, you’re always at one of the training grounds.”

“I study in my room,” Shimura cringed at his flimsy excuse, “It’s just a little too busy in the common room and too quiet in the library. It’s just easier for me to focus there, you know?”

“Yeah, I totally get it, man!” Kirishima jumped in. Shimura shot him a grateful smile, “You know what works for you, and I can respect that.”

“Well alright,” Uraraka resigned, “But I do miss hanging out with you. You gotta make some time to relax and destress every once in a while, and nothing helps with that than being with your friends, right?” She looked around to Kirishima, Ashido, and Kaminari who all nodded and gave a thumbs up. Uraraka turned back to Shimura and held her pinky finger out, her eyes shining with resolve, “Promise me you’ll take a break tomorrow after class. A real one. No sneaking off to the gym, no locking yourself in your room, none of that.”

Shimura eyed her outstretched pinky warily. He looked between her pinky and her face before sighing. He knew that he’s been overdoing it with training and prepping, but just couldn’t bring himself to stop. If Uraraka was all but forcing him to take a break, then it was probably a lot worse than he thought it was.

He gave her an embarrassed smile and hooked his pinky with hers, “You’re right. I promise I’ll take a break tomorrow.”

Ashido squealed as she watched the entire interaction. She took a deep breath. Her expression turned serious, “As witness of the sacred rule of the ‘pinky promise’,” she snorted at the unintentional use of her hero name, “If Shimura-kun breaks said promise, he will owe Uraraka-chan a mochi of her choice.”

Kaminari and Kirishima nodded along seriously and replied in unison, “As witnesses to the witness of the pinky promise, this is valid.”

Shimura half-heartedly glared at them, “Yeah, yeah whatever. I’m going to eat.”

Chapter Text

“In case you haven’t figured it out yet, for your final exams, you will face off against us,” Aizawa announced.

Class 1-A took a bus to one of the multiple training grounds UA had. Upon exiting they found that they were expected. Standing in front of the gates was their teachers minus Cementoss. Only Midnight and Present Mic happily waved at them. Some of the students awkwardly waved back.

Sero chuckled nervously, “We are so screwed.”

“Aizawa-sensei,” Yaoyorozu called out, “It was our understanding that our final exams were to be us against the robots that you used in the entrance exams.”

Aizawa nodded, “Very good. I’ll be sure to adjust your individual scores accordingly to consider how you used your resources to help you gain information. It’s important for heroes to understand that just because you weren’t given any information doesn’t mean there isn’t any to get. That being said, your assumption was correct up until a week ago. So let this be another lesson for you to make sure you verify your intel is recent and accurate before leaping to conclusions. A slip up like that in the field could be the difference between life and death.”

A chorus of groans and affirmatives sounded from the class.

Uraraka raised her hand, “Sensei, there are nineteen of us and…” she paused to count the teachers before her, “… seven of you. My mind is still a little mushy from the exams, but there aren’t any easily divisible numbers. How are we splitting up?”

A shadow appeared on the ground and grew rapidly. A figure dropped from the sky and kicked up a cloud of dust. From within the dust, it was clear who it was based off the outline that they could make out. All Might stepped forward with Nezu standing on his open palm.

“An excellent observation Uraraka!” Nezu praised, “And as you can see, there are now nine opponents before you.”

Their jaws dropped to the floor. One unlucky group of students would be going against one of the smartest beings alive, and the other would have to go against the uncontested number one hero.

Aizawa picked up explanations again, “You will be paired up and will face off against one of us. Your partners and opponents have already been chosen. Since we have nineteen students, one group will have three members. The teachers will be acting as villains while you are acting as heroes. Any questions so far?”

Yaoyorozu raised her hand, “What is the criteria for passing?”

“To balance out the difficulty, you will only need to complete one of two objectives,” Nezu answered instead, “The first is to either capture or render the teacher incapacitated. This can be done through use of these handcuffs...”

Behind him, Midnight proudly brandished hexagonal shaped handcuffs and slapped one on her wrist and turned around, clasping the other behind her back. She lightly modeled them before turning back around and purred, “To the students who will go against me, I’m not an easy lady. I want you to work me real hard, make me submit to you.”

More than a few of the boys gulped heavily with a light blush dusting their cheeks at the statement while Mineta looked on with barely restrained lust. The girls cringed away with disgust at the aura Mineta was radiating, but similarly shuffled awkwardly with blushes of their own as they too caught on to Midnight’s double entendre.

Present Mic chopped her head, “Bad. No flirting with the students.”

Midnight let her persona fade back as her expression changed to shock and then slight embarrassment. She turned to Present Mic, “Umm, could you let me out?” she asked sheepishly, bringing her cuffed hands around to the front as far as she could. “I forgot these aren’t easy release and my key isn’t in the most accessible spot.”

Nezu continued explaining the rules, unphased by Midnight’s antics, “…or by rendering them unconscious. While unlikely and frowned upon, if you are able to pull that off, it will also count as a passing grade. The other objective to pass is to escape through a designated gate in your testing area.”

“Yaoyorozu and Todoroki will go against me,” Aizawa continued, his unsettling smile on his face, “Asui and Tokoyami, Ectoplasm. Jiro and Koda, Present Mic. Sero and Ojiro, Power Loader. Uraraka and Aoyama, Thirteen. Mineta and Kirishima, Midnight. Shimura and Hagakure, Snipe. Kaminari and Ashido, Nezu. Bakugo, Shoji, and Sato against All Might.”

Upon hearing their assignments, the students voiced their sentiments, none louder than Bakugo, “Hah!? Why the hell am I the one who gets two extras? I don’t need anyone’s help! I can beat All Might all on my own!”

Aizawa fixed him with a flat look, “Then it should be three times as easy to beat him with help. We’ll begin the exams once you are all at your designated testing grounds, and will start at the same time.”

“We won’t be able to watch how everyone else does in their exams?” Kaminari asked.

“Only if you somehow finish quickly.” Aizawa quickly replied, “If you have any further questions, please wait until you get to your grounds and ask them to your teacher then. We’re burning daylight.”

Kaminari and Ashido stood outside Ground Gamma’s front gates, having been instructed to wait for the exam start message, while Nezu goes in and sets himself up.

“Still think your mentor whipped you into good enough shape?” Ashido asked as she gaped at the entrance.

Kaminari shook his head numbly, “Nope. I don’t think any amount of prep work could be enough when going against Nezu.”

“Got any ideas?”

“Just to run for our lives. We’ve got no chance at finding Nezu here. He’s small and we’re at Gamma. He could be anywhere.”

“Nice. Looks like we’re on the same page, then.”

Kaminari pulsed his quirk quickly, feeling slightly better as the power hummed beneath his skin. Feeling the power also turned his thoughts towards what he couldn’t remember. He turned to look at Ashido, seeing how nervous she was but still trying to keep up a confident face. He shook his head. They were partners, and partners should know what they’re getting themselves into.

He cleared his throat, “Hey, um, Ashido. If I do anything that’s… not like me in the exam, I apologize in advance.”

“What do you mean? I know you won’t make any moves on me, because I’ll just kick your butt if you do,” she joked, trying to ease the tension she sensed in Kaminari.

Kaminari waved his hands frantically, “No, not that! It’s something else.” He scratched the back of his head trying to find the right words. He pulsed his quirk, “I don’t know how to describe it, but if anything about me seems off, please tell me as soon as I’m back to normal.”

“You’re starting to worry me, Kami.”

“I know, I know, and I’m sorry about the timing, I just really needed to get it out before anything happened,” Kaminari bit at the pad on his thumb, “I promise I’ll explain everything as well as I can afterwards, just, please.”

Ashido stared into Kaminari’s eyes, seeing how the normally cheeky and funny glint in them was replaced by worry and concern, “I don’t get it, but okay. On top of that, you’re buying me lunch for a week if we end up failing.”

“That’s not fair! You know that our chances are already really low,” he complained.

She smiled when the Kaminari she was familiar with came back with full force immediately, “Then you better hope that you pull through!”

The speaker system came to life in that moment, a tinny robotic voice spoke out, “Hero Course 1-A, final exams commencing in three… two… one…”

A blaring alarm sounded, echoing across all of the active grounds and arenas. Ashido and Kaminari shared a look and ran straight into the industrial maze.

Everyone was gathered in the bar talking amongst themselves. Kagero had summoned them for something, and by now they knew better than to ask why or wonder why they were expected to be there yet he was nowhere to be found.

Toga walked up to Dabi, who was staring at the glass he was drinking from as if it held all the answers he was looking for. She bumped into him, earning her an annoyed grunt.

“Say, Dabi, what’s gotten into you?” she asked. “Ever since you walked out that one time, you’ve been even more broody and irritable than usual.”

Dabi didn’t respond immediately, still staring at the glass, “Doesn’t concern you.”

She hummed, “Maybe, but you were talking with Shi-kun before that, and you looked pretty into it. Shi-kun looked pretty interested as well. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so focused on something before.”

“Like hell he was. I gave him exactly what he was looking for and he brushed it all off like-“ Dabi clamped his mouth shut and stilled. He sat in his chair for a few seconds before quietly cursing to himself, realizing too late that he shared more than he ever intended to. “God dammit. Each and every one of you are a pain in the ass.”

Toga covered her mouth with her hand and giggled, “Despite you being an asshole yourself, you’re way too honest. Try to keep a tighter lid on it next time, ‘kay? But don’t worry! I don’t really care what you and Shi-kun are doing and I can keep a secret. So long as I still get to be around Shi-kun, it doesn’t matter!”

The door opened showing Kagero in his villain outfit, shrugging off his jacket and tossing it onto the counter. He retracted his mask with a relieved sigh and twisted the bracers that adorned his forearms, causing them to shrink into a pair of matching bracelets. His hair was a bit messier than normal and for once he showed signs of fatigue. He looked every bit like a person who was in back-to-back meetings and this was the last thing he had to do before calling it a day. He looked over the group with tired but still unnervingly alert eyes and popped his neck a few times before properly addressing them.

“Good, you’re all here. We can get started, then.”

“Are you alright, boss? You look a little tired,” Jin asked, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so lively! You’ve been getting your full eight hours, I can tell.”

Kagero didn’t acknowledge Jin’s worry, “It’s been a week since we’ve added new members to our roster and nearing a month with the older members. I’ve seen how you work in a controlled environment and through my own digging around, seen how you operate in your normal field. Individually, you’re impressive, but as a team, that’s yet to be seen.”

The League looked amongst themselves, eyeing each other up. Kurogiri handed Kagero two folders, who looked them over briefly before speaking to the group again.

“I’ve got two things I need taken care of, and I want you all to complete them.” He handed Spinner the first folder since he was the closest to where he was standing. “If you want do them one at a time as a whole group, or if you split into two teams and tackle them in tandem, that’s up to you. Just make sure you complete them.”

Spinner, who was still looking over the folder, flipped through a few more pages before nodding and passed it along.

“The first mission: Goto Imasuji, better known as the villain Muscular,” Kagero started, “He is an A-ranked criminal who has evaded capture by both police and heroes since he emerged three years ago, through both sneaking around and killing his pursuers. After his most recent murders of the Water Hose duo, there is now a flee-on-sight order for the police and a stop-at-all-costs for the heroes.”

“Meaning the HPSC gave the green light for the heroes to kill him,” Magne surmised.

“This is exactly the type of thing that Stain-sama was fighting against. Heroes are meant to save people, not act as the government’s personal hitmen,” Spinner griped, with Toga and Dabi nodding along.

Mustard was the last to receive the file, “So what do you want us to do? And why?”

“Is it not obvious? I want you to find and bring him in before someone else does. If he’s strong enough to evade police and kill heroes for three years on his own, we’d be idiots to not take care of him.”

His declaration caused an uproar in the group, even causing Kurogiri to speak up in surprise, albeit much quieter and in his ear, “Kagero Shigaraki, you specifically mentioned to Giran to not include people like him. Have you changed your mind?”

“If heroes couldn’t take him down, what makes you think we can!?”

“He’ll kill all of us!”

“I’m not working with a bloodthirsty psychopath.”

Kagero let them voice their concerns and worries before attempting to speak again. He was about to release a small fireball to catch their attention, but Dabi beat him to it.

“Shut up!” he yelled to the group, “Did you not hear what he said? Fucking listen and think before jumping to conclusions. He said to bring him in. There are other ways to do that instead of fighting.”

Spinner spoke up, “What else is he gonna do when he sees a bunch of people approaching him? He’s gonna think he’s being jumped and then slaughter us!”

“So don’t go in a big group, dumbass. You really are stupid if that’s the first thing you think of.”

Kagero cleared his throat, shutting down their argument before it could escalate any further. Heads turned to see Kagero growing impatient and Toga clinging onto his arm, surprising the new members. They hadn’t noticed her move from Dabi’s side to Kagero’s at all, “That’s enough. You have total control over how you want to go about it, I just want him brought in.”

Compress raised his hand, “Shigaraki, sir, this should be no issue for me. I’m more than willing to do it by myself.”

Kagero made an amused hum, “I couldn’t agree more. That’s why when you all leave to do this, you and Mustard aren’t allowed to use your quirks, nor can Jin make copies of you.” He raised his hand before anyone could disagree, “This isn’t a debriefing for a mission, this is just an introduction. Any further questions or complaints you may have, you will hold onto until you’ve decided on when you go about completing this.”

Grumbles could be heard from among the group, but no one spoke again. He looked at each of them before nodding and moving on, “The second mission is easier in comparison. You may have noticed that there is little to no drug circulation in this region, and if there is, it’s always done through the businesses, and never on the streets. My sources have caught some upstarts trying to push their product in my region. All I want is for you to dismantle them. I don’t care how or what you do, just make sure you bring back a sample of their product.”

Mustard huffed, “That sounds an awful lot like something a hero would do. Why not just leave a tip for them to deal with it?”

“Because that would bring hero scrutiny to this area. I would’ve assumed you all appreciated the near-zero hero presence here, but maybe you’re a bunch of adrenaline junkies looking to get a fix.”

Toga tugged at his arm lightly, “Shi-kun, Shi-kun, what do we get when we finish them?”

“The satisfaction of knowing you’ve done a job well done.” Multiple pairs of eyes rolled at the tacky response, all expecting something more rewarding. Kagero rolled his own eyes and sighed disappointedly, “Are none of you the least bit curious as to why I had you do all of things you did over the week? Dabi shut your mouth.”

Dabi wasn’t even going to reply but still clicked his mouth shut at the command. Heads turned to Dabi, all curious as to what the answer was and why he was the only one called out. Dabi glanced at Kagero in the corner of his eye and shook his head, “Nope. Not telling. You did this yourself.”

Kagero shook Toga off and crossed his arms, looking expectantly at the group.

Toga rocked back and forth on her feet, “I tend to not question why you tell me to do things. I know you wouldn’t steer me wrong.”

“I just assumed we were doing team building exercises and the like,” Mustard fessed up.

“I thought that’s just how you ran things,” Magne confessed.

Kagero pinched the bridge of his nose and cursed under his breath, “You’re all not entirely wrong, but you’re nowhere near being right. Something to keep in mind if you want to stay with me, let alone survive out there: learn to read between the lines.” He dropped his hand and stared at the group, his eyes starting to glow their toxic green and his tone growing impatient, “Since you’re all a little slow, I’ll help you out this one time. I need to see how you all work as a unit. I need to see how you play off each other’s strengths and how you cover each other’s weaknesses. I need to see if you’re worth my time, especially you newbies. Capturing Muscular? That’s to see how well you can fare against opponents obviously stronger than yourselves. Dismantling the little shit trying to push their product and influence into my region? How good you are at following a trail with only a few clues to guide you.”

Kagero’s frustration and the hardness in his voice caused the League to unconsciously edge themselves further away, as if they were physically being pushed by his voice. His eyes seemed to glow brighter. If it were any darker in the bar, there wasn’t a doubt in their minds that they would’ve been bathed in the sickly green light they put off.

“Everything I do has a reason behind it. I don’t care if you figure it out or not. I honestly would prefer it if you don’t, but that’s besides the point. I only care if you at least tried. Never take anything you see at face value. Always assume there is an ulterior motive unless you’re proven otherwise.” He grabbed his jacket off the bar top, “I was going to let you complete both tasks at your leisure, but not anymore. I want Muscular within a week. The drugs within two, but if this other thing I’m working comes up before then, all your focus should shift towards prepping for that.”

Kagero left the room without another word, leaving the group in stunned silence. Being the older members, Dabi, Toga, Mustard, and Jin recovered quicker and more gracefully than Spinner, Compress, and Magne. Compress slid his mask up on his head, revealing he was wearing a balaclava beneath it and tugged at his collar. Magne fanned herself like she was caught out in the heat. Spinner let out a small chirp of fear before he darted to a booth and covered his head with his hands.

Compress gulped and chuckled nervously, “And here I thought my own presence was larger than life. Is Shigaraki normally that… intense?”

“No, but he is when he gets angry. Frustrated?” Mustard answered. Then he tilted his head in thought, “I don’t think we’ve seen him actually get angry. Have we?”

Jin perked up, “He was angry in Hosu. He’s never mad at us because we’re perfect angels.”

The older members shivered at the memory.

“Dabi…” Toga spoke quietly, her voice lacking its usual brightness, “Why did Shi-kun call you out earlier? Why did he sound like he knows you know more than the rest of us?”

Everyone turned their heads to Dabi again. They noticed as well but didn’t think too much of it. They just assumed Kagero was cutting him off before he could make another snide remark.

Dabi sensed the danger he was in and immediately brought his hands up in surrender, trying to get ahead of it, “Hey, woah, don’t get it twisted. It’s nothing like what you’re thinking. He wasn’t mad at ‘us’ he was mad at ‘you’. See, I’ve-“

He was cut off by the feeling of cold steel on his throat and Toga in his face. He never heard her release it from its sheath, she was serious this time, “You said you weren’t trying to get in between me and Shi-kun, or between Shi-kun and his plans. Shi-kun doesn’t like it when people know what he’s doing, so what are you planning on doing with what you know? Sell us out?”

“Geez, calm down, I already told you, it’s nothing like that,” Dabi spoke through gritted teeth, trying to pull away from the knife, “It’s part of the thing Shigaraki and I talked about before we met with Stain. Remember what he said? ‘Always assume there’s an ulterior motive’, I’ve already caught on to it and was confirming what I found with him. Turns out I was mostly right.”

“So what is it?” Mustard asked.

“Can’t tell you, Shigaraki’s orders.” He stared at Toga, “Would you please get that knife off me.”

Toga squinted her eyes at him before relenting. She sheathed her knife and took a step back, “Glad we got that little misunderstanding cleared up! Let’s go get Muscular!”

Dabi rubbed at his throat, trying to feel through his burned skin if she drew blood or not, “We’ll need a plan for that. One that doesn’t involve jumping him, Compress, or Mustard. Kurogiri, do you have any tips?”

Kurogiri had never moved from his station behind the bar, watching the entire conversation and interaction with silent and morbid interest, “I am not permitted to assist you in this endeavor other than to provide transport.”

“Ever the helpful one,” Dabi drawled.

Chapter Text

The pairs of students and their respective teacher and opponent broke off to get to their designated zone. Snipe waved for Shimura and Hagakure to follow him towards a golf cart.

“Your ranch is Ground Beta so we’ve got a little time before the rodeo starts,” Snipe explained. “Do y’all have any questions?”

Shimura turned to look at where he assumed Hagakure’s eyes were and nodded. Might as well get the most obvious question out of the way, “Are you going to be shooting at us with live rounds?”

Snipe hooted as a laugh, “Of course not! I don’t even use live rounds when I’m out on the pasture, only as an absolute last resort. When we get to Beta I’ll give ya a look-see and demonstration to prove it. Anything else?”

Shimura and Hagakure shared another look. Shimura hoped that they were on the same page, that they needed to plan, but with Snipe being so close to them and would be acting as a villain, they couldn’t do it right then. Hagakure answered brightly, “Nope! Well, at least not right now, but when we get to Ground Beta, maybe.”

Snipe grunted in response and the golf cart fell into silence. Shimura fussed with his costume, making sure all of his pouches were fully stocked and closed shut. In the few minutes left before they made it to their testing site, Shimura went over the scenario in his head.

This is a test designed for failure, he looked at Snipe and Ground Beta coming into view, Hagakure-san and I are both close range fighters and we’re put up against someone that fights mid to long range with projectile-based attacks. Ground Beta is set up like a city, which means I can’t go knocking down walls to cut a path to the exit, but that doubles as a risk factor because it would give Snipe a clear line of sight and in a real scenario that amount of property damage would reflect poorly on me…

The cart pulled to a stop and Snipe hopped out, with Hagakure shortly after him. She expected the cart to rock with the absence of their weight, but it didn’t. She looked back to see Shimura still lost in his head. She waved her hand in front of his face, gloved this time, but still got no response. She gently nudged his shoulder, causing him to jump.

“Where- what? Oh, are we here already?” he asked quickly.

She giggled, “You looked pretty out of it, Shimura-kun. You got a plan all cooked up?”

“Simmering.”

Snipe was waiting for them at the front gate and motioned for them to follow. Confused, the pair ran to catch up.

“The test doesn’t involve the whole grounds?” Shimura asked.

“I ain’t the only sheriff in this town. Aizawa ‘n All Might are here too, but in their own plot.” Snipe led them to a twenty-story building with large glass windows. They walked up three flights of stairs and came out onto a completely open floor with only support pillars spread throughout. At the far end of a room was a doubledoor decorated pink and white with a cutout of Nezu over the frame, “This ‘ere is where your exam takes place. Yer free to leave this buildin’, floor, come at me from any angle, whatever, but for it to count as pass, you need to exit through that there.”

Snipe drew one of his revolvers from their holster and spun it a few times around his finger before popping the cylinder out in one fluid motion and emptied its contents onto his hand to show Shimura and Hagakure. They peered at his hand, seeing instead of the brass casing they would’ve expected the bullets to be, they were bright red.

“These aren’t the rounds I normally use, but their purpose is the exact same,” Snipe explained, dropping his accent and drawl entirely, “In the field I tend to lean towards rubber bullets as they’re nonlethal but still hurt a lot. These are much closer to paint balls, but formed so that they could work with my revolver.”

He loaded a round and aimed at one of the pillars. Shimura and Hagakure tried to get their hands to cover their ears once they realized what he was going to do but they were too late. Snipe had pulled the trigger, causing them to instinctively crunch their face and duck their heads in preparation of the deafening sound. Instead of the loud BANG, a quiet pew came out. They didn’t see the paint bullet travel, but they did see the result. A red splatter the size of a basketball painted the pillar in the direct middle.

“To ensure you don’t come out bruised and deaf, Support made it so they’re fired through compressed air.”

“Kinda like those air cylinder things for air soft guns,” Shimura mused.

“Exactly like that. It goes without saying, but if you get painted red, consider yourself dead. Splash damage doesn’t count, so if you get hit by the splatter, you’re still alive. Well that spells the end of my explanation, do you have any questions?” Shimura shook his head, and with no sound from Hagakure they assumed she was shaking her head as well. Snipe tipped his hat and started walking to the other end of the floor, “I’d say you’ve got about five minutes before the exam starts. Good luck.”

Once they were sure he was out of earshot, Shimura immediately bowed towards Hagakure with his hands clapped above his head, “I am deeply sorry for this, but the exam rides entirely on your shoulders, Hagakure-san.”

Hagakure stayed silent for a beat before her gloves started waving about wildly, “WHAT!? I thought you had a plan going on, I was totally relying on you for this one!”

It was Shimura’s turn to be stunned before reacting, “HAH!?” He grabbed Hagakure’s wrist and brought them behind one of the many pillars, “But- you- you’re invisible! You can just sneak right past him and exit the gate, or sneak up close enough to handcuff him!”

“Come on, Shimura-kun. There is no way it’s that simple. This is UA we’re talking about, they don’t know what that word means! You were the one that had a helpful internship. All I did was sit around and help with paperwork. I only went on patrol once!”

“It was an internship centered around rescue,” Shimura groaned. He scratched his neck, and thought quickly, he was sure they didn’t have much time left, “Okay. Quick plan that has the highest chance of success. I create a diversion to draw his fire while you sneak around and escape or capture him.”

“Nuh uh, I don’t want to do all the work,” she immediately denied. Her gloves moved so it looked like she had her right arm wrapped around her chest supporting her left arm as she cupped her chin. She stayed like that for a few seconds before the left glove changed to a pointed finger, “Wait! He said we can leave the building and floor, right?”

“Uh huh,” he confirmed.

“So what if we split up? I’ll take my shoes and gloves off so I’m completely invisible and hide somewhere on this floor while you can go either up or down one floor. If you go down, maybe you can make Snipe-sensei fall to the floor below us where he can’t shoot at us and he has to run back up the stairs to get back.”

“And if I go up, I could drop from above and capture him,” Shimura puzzled together. He was in awe at the brilliance of the plan, “That’s amazing! You’re actually really smart, Hagakure-san!”

She huffed, “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that second part.”

“But how will I know where to go?” Shimura continued undeterred.

“Dummy, that’s why I’ll stay here. We have those communicators, right? You tell me where you are and I can tell you where Snipe-sensei is.”

Shimura smiled, “I knew I could count on you. You got it!”

No sooner had they finished making their plan did a robotic voice call out over the system. As if Snipe were in a standoff, waiting for the faintest hint of movement from his opponent, as soon as Shimura’s muscles twitched to run out of the door, Snipe had already leaned back and drew his revolver and fired off all six shots. They didn’t even hear a click of the hammer puncturing the bullet’s air pocket. The floor all around the pillar they hid behind was suddenly covered in red paint. There was a brief pause before they heard more paint splatter on the edge of the pillar. More paint splattered the floor where they would be walking around.

Shimura’s eyes widened as he saw some flecks of paint floating in the air above the cuff of Hagakure’s boot and a little further up from her glove. Snipe was making sure he could always find Hagakure. If she took her boots off, the paint would stick to her socks. If she went barefoot, then she’d leave tracks.

They heard Snipe whoop and holler before releasing a loud ‘yee-haw’, “Go on, git, you dirty heroes! Ya won’t take me alive!”

Dabi begrudgingly led a small party consisting of himself, Toga, Magne, and Spinner to one of the many underground bars he would frequent whenever he’s not at Shigaraki’s. He turned to the people around him, “Stand behind me and shut up.”

Before they could ask why, he walked up to the nondescript door and knocked. The panel at eye height slid open and stayed like that. With the lack of words spoken between Dabi and whoever opened the slot, they couldn’t help their curiosity. Starting with Toga, one by one, each of them leaned either to their left or right behind Dabi to see what was going on. They saw the panel, but where they would expect to see a pair of eyes, or maybe the shadow of the doorman, they only saw darkness. The silence stretched but still no words were spoken, the group couldn’t help but feel like they were being evaluated and judged.

“These are my three.”

The panel slammed shut and the sound of a latch unhooking came out from behind the door. A moment later, the door opened but no one was stood behind it. Dabi walked forward without another word with Toga, Magne, and Spinner falling in step behind him, stopping only to give a nod to the doorman. He led the group into the bar, deliberately moving a little slower to let everyone take the interior in. He smirked to himself when he heard someone release a gasp of wonder.

He left the group and walked to the bar, “Whiskey sour, with egg white. Let Giran know we’re here.” The bartender nodded and got to work on the drink. Dabi turned his back to the counter, resting his elbows on the top as he looked over the occupants, trying to see if his mark was already there. He doubted it, but Shigaraki’s words had him double checking. Toga, Magne, and Spinner finally finished their musings and were making their way towards Dabi. Toga and Magne met up with him while Spinner took Dabi’s lead and went to order a drink.

Toga skipped up to him, “Dabi, Dabi, what is this place? It’s so cool!”

“I knew places like this existed, but I’ve never actually been in one,” Magne added, still in awe.

“You’re welcome, by the way. You’re allowed three referrals for life, but if one of those falls through and gets banned, you don’t get them back.” The bartender placed Dabi’s drink on the counter behind him, with Dabi nodding his thanks, “Don’t make me regret bringing you here.”

“What is ‘here’?” Spinner asked, coming up on Dabi’s side, with his own drink in his hands and sipping it through a straw.

Dabi took a sip of his drink and let out a pleased sigh. Pushing himself off the bar, he made his way to one of the bigger empty booths, motioning for them to follow. He gestured for someone else to get into the booth first before he slid in at the end.

“There isn’t an official name for this place. Most people just call it ‘the bar’ while others refer to it as ‘out’, ‘there’, or ‘it’,” Dabi explained.

“Wow, so specific,” Toga drawled rolling her eyes, “How do you make plans to meet here?”

“Very difficultly. Context clues are your best friend in those cases.”

Magne sat forward, resting her elbows on the table, “I don’t get it. I’ve been a villain and criminal for years and have never been here. How are you a member?”

Dabi chuckled, “It’s not an exclusive thing, believe me. You must’ve been running around in the wrong, wrong circles. Ask me about it another time, we’re on the clock now.”

The group got the hint and shifted, their postures and body language changing. They went from being relaxed and treating it like a night out with friends to being cold and treating everybody outside of the table as a threat. They stayed like that until Dabi finally caught a glimpse of Giran, slowly sauntering his way to the table.

“If it isn’t Young Master’s entourage,” Giran greeted, spreading his arms out wide, “I was wondering how long it’d take you to finally make your way here. Kurogiri makes some good drinks, but there really is nothing like enjoying a cocktail at a place you consider a second home.”

Giran grabbed a chair from a nearby table, placed it at the head of the booth, and sat himself down, “Toga, how have things been? You’re looking well. Magne! How’re you liking your new group? Just as good as I said, right? Spinner, you’re looking more comfortable in your skin than I’ve ever seen you before. It looks good on you.” Giran finished with his proper greetings, not bothering to listen to any of the responses before looking at Dabi, “Somebody’s been making some moves, I hear.”

Dabi narrowed his eyes, “Not now. We’re here to see if you’ve got any information on a certain someone.”

“I’m insulted you think there’s someone out there that I don’t,” Giran reached into his coat pocket for a pack of cigarettes and offered one to everyone at the table. When he got no answers, he shrugged and lit it with his revolver-shaped lighter. “So, who’s this certain someone that’s got you so interested?”

Dabi shared a look with the table before nodding, “Muscular.”

The sleazy smile that was always present on Giran’s face dropped for a beat before it was replaced with a frown and Giran leaning in closer, “Well that information comes with a price. Why are you looking for him, if I may ask?”

“Shig-,“ Spinner started, but Dabi clamped his hand over his mouth before he could say anything more.

Dabi answered instead, “Don’t know why, just that we’re supposed to find him.”

Giran looked over the group again, taking in their expressions. Toga’s face was set in a curious stare, her head tilting side to side like a cat. Magne had a remarkable poker face, her sunglasses only adding to it. Spinner looked put off by Dabi interrupting him, a question of ‘why?’ clear on his face but he didn’t act on it. Dabi just looked at him expectantly. Eventually, Giran came to a decision as he smirked and leaned back.

“Information is my business. Secrets don’t tend to stay buried for long in my experience, but I commend your efforts. Payment first, information after.”

“How much?”

“Fifty.”

“Oh, that’s a lot less than what I expected,” Toga commented.

“Thousand,” Giran finished. Dabi sighed as the rest of his party paled, “Oh, my mistake. It’s actually a hundred.”

“What?!” Dabi demanded, “How can you just double it like that?”

“Firstly, it’s my business. I choose how much I charge. Secondly, as payment for last time.”

“Last time…? Oh. Fine.”

Giran’s smirk grew in amusement as he watched how everyone but Dabi gawked at the price and tried to get him to haggle it down. It only grew when Dabi nonchalantly pulled out his phone, moved his thumb around the screen, and placed it face down on the table. A few seconds later, Giran’s phone pinged. He quickly checked the screen and confirmed the transfer.

“Not sure why he has you looking for Muscular when he told me to avoid people like him, but that’s not my concern anymore. Anyway, as he’s probably told you, since killing Water Hose, he’s been on the run. My sources say he’s currently hiding out in Chiba,” he pulled a notepad out of his jacket pocket and scribbled some notes on it. He tore the page out and slid it over to Dabi, “somewhere within the Inage Ward. It’s been said that he leaves his hideout early in the morning and doesn’t return until late at night.”

Spinner had pulled out his own notebook and was writing down the details, “Anything we need to know about him before going in?”

Giran scoffed as he stood up, “Like I need to state the obvious. Now, I believe that concludes our transaction. Unless you have any other business with me, this is my goodbye. Feel free to stay for a while. Eat, drink, mingle.”

The group watched as Giran slunk away. He moved to another table, probably to broker a deal or maybe as a social visit, but from what they saw, how he greeted them was the exact same he did here. He had a brand to maintain, after all.

Having stayed silent for most of the time there, Toga couldn’t help the slew of questions that came from her mouth. She quietly slammed her hands on the table and sat forward, leaning into Dabi’s face, “Where are we? How did you know about this place? Are you rich? Why didn’t you want Giran knowing what we were gonna do with Muscular?”

Dabi couldn’t move fast enough to clamp his hands around her mouth as well, so he settled with loudly shushing her and waving his hands in front of her face. He quickly stood up to look over the booth’s walls to see if anyone was giving them any more attention outside of the normal curious sweeps. Satisfied there was no one watching or listening, outside of someone doing so through their quirk, he sat back down.

“Should I get you a megaphone so you could yell at the nearest police station that we’re wanted criminals while you’re at it?" Dabi hissed, “If you’d just give me a little time to explain, I’m sure your questions would’ve been answered.”

Spinner gave a so-so hand gesture, “She kinda has a point, though. You didn’t tell us anything when we left the bar, just that we’re going out.”

“And what’s the deal with villains and bars?” Toga added. “Why can’t they have coffee shops, or a bakery, or something less cliche?”

Dabi groaned and explained what he could.

He had already given them the gist of where they were andexplained a little further that they aren’t at a villain-only bar. It was one of the many establishments spread throughout Japan that allowed anyone from all walks of life in, but only through a membership or referrals, like they were. Any business was allowed within the building so long as no fights broke out, and in the case that a hero or any sort of law enforcement agent acted on any information they may have overheard while within it, when asked where they got the information, they were to say it came from an “anonymous tip”.

“Listen, that’s all I’m giving you, because the specifics don’t really matter at all,” Dabi finished as he wrapped up his explanation, “What matters now is that we have what we came for so we need to make a plan for how we’re going to nab Muscular. We don’t have that much time.”

The group grew quiet as they thought about what they could do. Per Shigaraki’s instructions, they couldn’t use Mustard or Compress to aid in the mission, and Kurogiri was relegated to transportation only. They knew where Muscular was, had an idea of how he was as a character, so even if they did choose to talk with him, the chances of that working were next to nothing.

The group knew this was a test and didn’t want to fail it, fearing what the consequences may be, but the only person who was really being tested was Dabi. He knew that Shigaraki wouldn’t call their deal off, so he technically had all the time in the world, but he had a feeling that something big was coming up, and soon, hence the accelerated timetable. That was the ulterior motive Dabi found. Shigaraki was pushing for a more unified group and looking to Dabi to step up to lead them because that something would cause Shigaraki’s focus to be split in more ways than even he could manage.

What did Shigaraki say? Dabi thought to himself, A good strategist can adjust a plan on the fly? That doesn’t work because we don’t even have a plan.

“We can’t fight Muscular, because then we’ll lose,” Spinner spoke up, “I don’t know too much about him, but he also doesn’t seem like the type to talk.”

“He’s a very single-minded man. I came upon one of his-,“ Magne started, but was cut off by Dabi.

He was looking at everyone with an intense expression, “What were Shigaraki’s exact words when he told us about the mission?”

Toga brought a finger to her chin, her face scrunching in thought before she answered, “Shi-kun said, ‘I want you to find and bring him in before someone else does.’ And then he said a lot more after that.”

Dabi nodded and then pointed at Spinner and Magne, “And then you two said some stupid things,” the two bristled at that but didn’t comment, “And then I said there are other ways to bring him in. Then Shigaraki said he just wants him brought in and then he lectured us. When asked for help, Kurogiri said that he’s only responsible for transport. ”

Spinner frowned, “I’m not following.”

Dabi laughed disbelievingly. He brought his head into his hands and shook it lightly, “There is no way it’s that simple. Fucking Shigaraki and his fucking mind games. God dammit.”

The group was entirely lost, looking at Dabi like he lost his mind. Unsure of what to do, they waited until his laughs died down and he calmed down again. He grabbed his glass and downed the rest of its contents in one gulp.

“Here’s what we’re going to do.”

It wasn’t very often, but Toshinori Yagi was growing more and more worried.

The time he could wield his quirk was steadily declining and he was no closer to finding a successor. He had hoped to use UA as a means to find someone worthy of carrying on the torch that is One For All, but nobody struck him as just right. He would’ve been content to bide his time and set up a proper search, but unfortunately, that wouldn’t be possible at the rate things were moving.

The incident at the USJ had exacerbated his problem, bringing his time limit from three hours down to a little under two. The need to be in his muscle form for the entirety of both first years’ heroics course and whenever he was expected somewhere as All Might and not Yagi had also been constantly eating away at his time. Even though he wasn’t doing anything too exhausting anymore, he was realistically looking at maybe ninety minutes a day if he was lucky.

The incident at the USJ, the contact that Tenko had with the intruder at the Sports Festival, and then the debacle in Hosu. All of these events were making it apparent that with the escalation that Shigaraki had been going with, something was on the horizon. If it turned out the event was the fight Mirai had foreseen his death in, he would need to be entirely focused on the fight. He couldn’t do that if he was still worried about the future of One For All.

If that was it, then All For One needed to die in the fight. If that meant he had to tear his head off and reduce it to a bloody mush with his bare hands, then so be it. He may also die, but he would die knowing that he rid the world of the greatest evil imaginable and could pass on without any regrets. But that was only if he had a successor, which he doesn’t.

He was running out of time, in all senses of the phrase.

Perhaps getting the chance to review the footage from the students’ final exams will help him make his decision.

“Just fucking DIE ALREADY!” Bakugo yelled before unleashing a massive explosion into All Might’s side. All Might grunted as he felt the attack, but it looked more like he was just startled out of his thoughts. All Might retaliated and idly swiped with his hand, but with enough force behind it to attack with a stream of air. Bakugo had to shoot himself away to avoid being hit. The fucker wasn’t even taking the fight seriously!

“Bakugo, we need to break off and regroup, we can’t beat All Might like this,” Mask Face tried reasoning again.

Big Lips roared stupidly so Bakugo wasn’t sure if he was in agreement with Mask Face or just was making noise. Heavy footsteps told them that Bakugo’s attack wasn’t effective at all. Bakugo stood up and faced All Might, ready to continue, but Big Lips and Mask Face grabbed both of his arms and carried him off.

“Let go of me you shitty extras!” he roared as he fought against them, his legs kicking uselessly in the air since both were decently taller than him. “Like hell I’m running away from a fight! I got him right where I want!”

“Then it’s a good thing we’re carrying you,” Mask Face quipped.

All Might had to hold back a chuckle as he watched Young Bakugo struggling as he was carried away by his teammates and decided to give them a little reprieve. There was no point pursuing them any further, they were running in the opposite direction of the gate. If he chased after them, it would also bring him further from the gate, giving them a better window of opportunity of sneaking past him and escaping. He would only allow that if they came at him with a plan in mind, and not like what they’ve been attempting.

Chapter Text

Kaminari and Ashido were screaming while they were running for their lives as the buildings all around and behind them started to collapse. They made it the equivalent of a couple of city blocks within Ground Gamma when Kaminari heard a pipe bursting above their heads, which started the chain reaction they’re trying to run away from. The falling debris and walls and pipes were deafening, but even through all that, they could hear more sounds of destruction. From the brief glimpses they caught between buildings, it was being caused by a wrecking ball being swung around by a yellow crane.

“Nezu is insane!” Ashido cried out, “Is he trying to crush us!?”

Kaminari kept pumping his legs as he tried to stay ahead of the falling structures, “I don’t know but I don’t want to find out! Which way is the exit!?”

The two kept running with reckless abandonment. They kept turning corners randomly, and sometimes they got lucky, with the path of destruction that followed them seemingly done. Other times they would turn the corner only to be met with the path either already blocked or the sounds of collapse starting up again with pipes and infrastructure falling. If they weren’t in a delicate balance of terror and panic, they would’ve noticed that they were only getting blocked off when they were headed in the wrong direction.

They were in the middle of getting blocked off again when Nezu’s overly cheerful voice rang out over the multitude of speakers that littered the grounds, taunting them, “Tick tock, my little mice. You have less than half the time left to find your way through the maze and get the cheese or to come and capture me.”

The speaker clicked off, but they swear they heard Nezu’s maniac cackling as the feed was shut off.

“Isn’t Nezu himself a mouse? That’s kind of sick that we’re being treated like lab rats,” Ashido complained.

“No one knows what Nezu is. I heard he was tested on in some lab, so maybe this is cathartic for him.”

“That’s reassuring.”

They continued running around, finally feeling like they’re making progress, when they turned another corner and found it already blocked. Kaminari skidded to a stop. Noticing him stopping, Ashido did the same, taking the short break to catch her breath, her hands on her knees as she leaned over gasping for air.

“Nope. No. I’m done with this,” Kaminari stated as he started to walk around in a circle, shaking his head, “No more running. We’re almost out of time, and I’m pretty sure we’re somehow further away from the gate than we started, which means we need to capture Nezu.”

Now having recovered a little, Ashido was looking at Kaminari like he’d grown a second head. He stopped his pacing and was now scanning the buildings with an intensity she’s only seen on Bakugo when training or Shimura when he was playing one of his video games. Seeing it on Kaminari, who never takes anything seriously and is always more than happy to join in on any and all of her antics without a second thought or question why, unnerved her.

“Do you know how to climb?” Kaminari asked her suddenly, she startled but gave a so-so gesture, causing him to click his tongue, “That’s better than nothing. Alright, we’re going to need to get to higher ground. Being down here, we have no idea which way to go or what direction the exit or Nezu is. There aren’t any clear landmarks that I can see, and if there were, they’re probably destroyed now.”

Kaminari was suddenly wreathed in his electricity. He crouched and jumped, the electricity leaving streaks of light that looked like lightning as it followed his path. Ashido watched in awe as he cleared the building’s height like it was nothing. It took a couple of seconds for Ashido to realize that she should probably start making her way higher as well or get left behind. She scrambled to find anything that resembled a foot or handhold and made her way up as quickly as she could.

As she finally heaved herself up to where Kaminari was, she saw he was staring intently over the skyline at the yellow crane with a wrecking ball hanging from it.

Tentatively, she walked up to stand beside Kaminari. She looked between Kaminari and the crane with a nervous smile, “So… Kami. That was a pretty nifty trick there. Your mentor teach you that?”

When there wasn’t an immediate answer, Ashido didn’t know what to think. She observed his face. His mouth was set in a light frown and eyebrows ruffled like he was angry. His eyes were darting up and down, left and right, scanning for a path that would take them to their destination. She didn’t want to speak up again, risking that it would snap Kaminari out of whatever this was, and they’d be back with no progress again.

The silence stretched longer. It started off as awkward, then uncomfortable, and now it was stifling. Ashido nervously bit her bottom lip and shifted on her feet as she waited, not sure of what to do. Eventually, Kaminari turned towards her and pointed, “Nezu is in that crane over there.” Ashido followed his finger and shaded her eyes, her face scrunching as she saw the details on it. Kaminari pointed further out, “The exit gate is all the way over there. We’re much closer to Nezu than we are to the gate, and because I don’t know how much time we have left before the exam is over, we need to make it to Nezu immediately.”

Ashido nodded slowly, just barely connecting the dots together, “Okay, great. So how exactly are we supposed to make it to him? From up there he could see everything.”

“We just run straight at him. Nezu’s been blocking us off, but he left a more-or-less direct path straight to him when it became clear that escaping through the gate was no longer a viable option for us. He wants us to take him down.”

“How do you know that?”

“Just trust me.”

The way he said it sounded exactly like the Kaminari she knew. Just like every time he talked her into doing something silly and moments before they both ended up getting in trouble, either with Aizawa or Iida, that was the Kaminari she was friends with. She perked up hearing it but was dismayed when it was still the strange not-Kami. She grumbled, “Fine. Since I don’t want to fail and have no other plans, I’ll do it.”

Kaminari flashed a smile, not his smile, but still familiar, “Perfect. We’ll attack at the same time. I’ll go at him from above and you go at him from below. Between the two of us, we’ll force him to surrender.”

“How?”

“You threaten to melt the base of the crane, or I threaten to electrocute the whole thing while he’s still inside. Or both.”

She stilled. Both of those were rather hardcore options, neither of which sat well in her stomach, but she couldn’t fault the logic in it. She wanted to try and bring up an alternate method, but Kaminari had already jumped away and landed on one of the powerlines, skating it with ease. Downtrodden, she made her way back to the ground and started skating on her acid in the same direction.

She couldn’t help the worry that was starting to settle.

Kami did do an internship with a hero known to be brutal, she tried rationalizing to herself. Hopefully he didn’t pick up his habits on top of the new skills.

It was one of the rare moments when it was just him and Kurogiri in the bar. Dabi had taken Toga, Spinner, and Magne out earlier and were still gone, Mustard was upstairs, and Compress took Jin out for a night on the town. Whether that meant going out on a theft spree or getting their kicks out, he wasn’t sure. All that mattered was that he had the bar to himself. He should be preparing for Muscular’s arrival since he has a particularly volatile personality and defaults to violence if he doesn’t get his way, but he’s been planning and prepping almost every day for a month, so he figured he deserved the break.

He lounged on his normal stool with two of its legs in the air, leaning against the railing that separated the bar from the seating area as he held his glass of rum with a singular ice cube by the lip, swirling it idly. Kurogiri busied himself as he normally does, polishing every individual glass to spotless perfection. He took another sip of his drink and let out a contented sigh.

Kurogiri glanced up from his focus on the glass and saw Kagero’s relaxed expression, “It’s good to see you taking the night off, Kagero. I was beginning to worry about you working yourself too hard.”

“Thanks. It’s just been nonstop recently,” Kagero replied, “So many pieces to move around, sources and information to verify, things to double and triple check, the list just goes on.”

“I must admit, I have been keeping Master updated with your progress and exploits, but my reports feel incomplete. I wish you would share the details of your plans with me so I am not entirely in the dark.”

Kagero’s expression darkened a little, “Why are you reporting to Master in my stead?”

“It is my duty as your guardian to inform Master of what you’ve been doing,” Kurogiri responded matter-of-factly.

Kagero frowned at his easy confession. He brought the stool back down onto four legs and leaned forward, “I understand that, but how often and how specific are you getting into?"

"Every other day and from what I observed.”

Kagero gave an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes. It’s not ideal, but it is expected to a degree. He isn’t truly free to do as he pleases. He is always expected to stay within the limits Master set for him, and to periodically give reports on his doings, which he does, but for Kurogiri to do it so often and with incomplete information? That was a little redundant and not a true reflection of progress.

Changes like what Master is probably expecting and Kurogiri is hoping to provide don’t show themselves like that. It’s like when someone takes progress pictures of their weight loss or muscle gain. If they take a picture every day at different times, with different poses, in a different mirror, there won’t be any noticeable changes in their physique; in every picture they would look the exact same. If they do it every week on the same day, at the same time, in the same pose, in the same mirror, the difference becomes night and day. That’s the progress you should be seeing and reporting.

“You do realize that I already update Master, right?”

“I do.”

“Could you at least run your report by me before sending it off? That way I don’t end up doubling up on things.”

“No. I was instructed to recount things as I see and understand them. That way it remains unbiased, whole, and unembellished.”

Kagero was speechless, and if he was being honest, a little offended, “You think I-“

“Kagero,” the TV clicked on, All For One’s voice ringing over the bar, cutting off Kagero’s bitter remark. “Don’t blame Kurogiri, he is only doing as he was told.”

Kagero clicked his mouth shut. He glared at Kurogiri and ground his teeth. He wanted to snap at him, but he knew that Kurogiri wasn’t at fault. Slowly, he turned to the TV, “Master, do you believe that I am lying to you?”

“I know that you don’t.”

“Then why are you having Kurogiri give his version of events?”

“You already know why. You do it yourself with your own information network. Having multiple sources reporting on the same thing gives a much more complete and clearer picture. I know you don’t lie, but that doesn’t mean you don’t omit some things.”

Kagero didn’t respond immediately, understanding exactly what All For One was saying, “I understand, Master. I’ll do better next time.”

“There is no need. Just as I don’t tell you everything, I don’t expect you to tell me everything either. You may be my student and successor, but that doesn’t grant you access to all of my secrets. You must work hard to hope to learn them. I have taught you to keep things close to your chest, even from your closest companions, even from me. I can’t fault you for simply doing as I’ve taught.”

“Thank you, Master. Your understanding is a blessing,” Kagero replied genuinely.

“That isn’t to say that if what you’re keeping to yourself is harmful to my plans, I will not hesitate to teach you another lesson.”

Kagero ducked his head, his heart rate increasing as he shivered at the thinly veiled threat, “Of course, Master. Everything I do is done in your glory. I would never dream of doing anything against your wishes.”

The TV clicked again, the screen now showing the silent static snow. Kagero gripped his glass tightly with his eyes slightly bugging out, wrestling to get his heart under control. It took a few long minutes before he brought it down to a steady beat. He took a long swig of his drink, draining it and grunting as he felt it go down his throat as thick as molasses. When it finally went down, he gasped for air.

Kurogiri pushed forwards a glass of water, which Kagero drank graciously, “Please understand that I am not attempting to undermine you, Kagero. I am simply doing my duty.”

Kagero wiped his mouth with his sleeve and stood up, walking towards the door, “I’m going out.”

Kurogiri sighed disappointedly, “Very well. Should I-“

“No. I’ll get back on my own. Wouldn’t want to distract you from your observations, after all.”

Kagero walked around Kamino, meandering the sidewalks and alleys. He didn’t have any destination in mind, he just needed to get out of the bar. Even though it was empty, it felt like it was packed full of people after that conversation. Of course, Master would be keeping tabs on everything he does. Of course, he wouldn’t just take one person’s account as truth. Of course, he’d use Kurogiri as his in. It suddenly made sense as to why Kurogiri asked so many questions. It wasn’t to make sure all their bases are covered; it was to hopefully get more information to give a complete run down of events. Kagero would be a fool to assume he’s not being watched this second, but out of everything that had happened, there was only one gold nugget.

For all of All For One’s powers, omniscience isn’t one of them.

All For One knows that Kagero has a secondary objective outside of his main goal, but he doesn’t know what it is, and that bothers him. It’s the only explanation why he would want to be updated so frequently, and why he would close out with a threat. He himself acknowledged that the plans Kagero has in motion are more complex than his own when he started out. All For One may have the time and widespread influence over Kagero, as well as one or two more easily attainable goals that he needs to accomplish, but the steps towards achieving those are one dimensional and shallow.

Do this, then that will happen. Do that, then this will happen. If this doesn’t go as planned, then we’ll need to throw out the plan entirely. If that event doesn’t happen, then our schedule will be skewed. If there is a mistake, we’ll need to stop and assume the mission is irrecoverable. Very linear and inflexible.

All For One has all the time in the world to accomplish his plans, but he forgets that the pawns and pieces he has on the board don’t have that luxury. He can afford to wait a little longer until more favorable conditions show up, or until his target, All Might in this case, has run himself ragged and can no longer fight back. Kagero and all of the people he has under his thumb can’t. Their usefulness to him is always on the decline.

Kagero won’t be swept to the side and forgotten, and if it means he has to suffer a little more to ensure that future, then he will gladly embrace it. Even if he is to become the next Symbol of Evil, that didn’t mean he wasn’t replaceable. If Master found someone else more suited to the role, there was nothing stopping him from cutting Kagero out.

Ruminating on what could be and what has happened left Kagero feeling bitter.

He had been walking around with no presence of mind and when he finally brought himself back down to earth he found himself standing outside the nondescript door. He walked up to it and knocked – knock, knock, thump. Two knocks with his knuckles close to the eye panel and a thump with the meat of his fist in the middle of the door. The door opened immediately, granting Kagero access inside.

Where the entryway was normally empty, the doorman stood to the side, half-visible in the light. Kagero walked through and the doorman bowed ever so slightly, “Welcome.”

Kagero hummed in acknowledgement and walked through. The bar wasn’t as busy as it normally was, but it nowhere near empty either. At least half of the booths had parties and more people were strewn about at the bar and at the tables. Looking over the occupants, he was pleasantly surprised to find Dabi and the rest of them still there. He made his way to the counter and ordered the bartender’s special with the base spirit being gin.

With his drink now in hand, he made his way to the booth they were at and slid in next to Toga, “Scooch over some.”

The group made sounds of surprise when he sat down, with Toga squealing in delight and Dabi going on edge. Magne, who was on the inside, slid around the bend of their ovular booth to make more room for him.

“Shi-kun! I didn’t know you were going to meet us here!” Toga greeted.

Dabi looked at him with narrowed eyes, “Me neither. I specifically chose to stay here after meeting with Giran to get away from you.”

Kagero took a sip of his drink, the bartender surprised him with a gin julep, and waved his hand, “Relax. This is purely coincidental and entirely social. I was out on a walk and found myself here, I wasn’t even thinking about it.”

Dabi relaxed a little, “I didn’t know you knew how to take a day off.”

“I’m not a total workaholic. I have hobbies and whatnot.”

“Somehow I doubt that.”

“Shi-kun,” Toga interjected, “What are your hobbies?”

“Training, quirk analysis,” he paused to think of some more, but nothing came to mind, “Well those are the main ones at least.”

Toga blew a raspberry, “Boo, no that’s boring. Those don’t count. Take me for example! I like to sharpen my knives, take long strolls out at night, and if I’m feeling really inspired, I like meeting new people and seeing how cute they are!”

Magne chuckled, “Toga-chan, if Shigaraki’s hobbies don’t count then I don’t think yours do either. That’s just what you normally do.”

“Yeah, those aren’t actual hobbies. For me, I like playing video games and I’m trying to learn the guitar, but my fingers and claws make it a little difficult. I keep snapping the strings,” Spinner added.

Magne nodded in agreement, “When I’m not doing crime and stuff, I like doing a bit of macrame and weaving. Not like the big decorations, mainly just little bracelets and whatnot.”

“Oh, that’s actually really cool,” Kagero complimented, “I bet you know lots of neat knots.”

She scratched at her chin, “Well that’s a little more towards camping and sailing. I know a few, but they’re mainly just to keep it from unraveling.”

The group looked to Dabi next, expecting him to divulge some of his hobbies. Dabi sighed, “I don’t have any. I just do whatever I feel like at the time, which is either doing nothing or doing something.”

“I get it, man,” Spinner sighed, “There are times when you just want to do nothing at all, or when you just want to do something but don’t know what. Whatever floats your boat.”

Kagero took in the relaxed atmosphere and let it wash over him. He was glad that he came out here, even if it was on accident. Being surrounded by people that weren’t Master, the Doctor, or Kurogiri was refreshing. In the back of his mind, a dark voice told him that these people and relationships are superficial. That they’re nothing more than a means to an end. He promptly ignored those thoughts, choosing to focus on the here and now instead of the future.

Master said he needed to work on that, so that’s what he would do.

The group fell into a comfortable silence. Kagero melted into the booth a little, sighing in relief and threw his head back, gazing up at the exposed ceiling beams of the bar. Toga moved closer, leaning on his arm a little. He let her stay there for a bit but it was uncomfortable like that, so he raised his arm and brought it onto the back of the bench behind her. Seizing the opportunity, Toga quickly pushed herself into his side.

Magne, Spinner, and Dabi were in a quiet conversation but paused at seeing the interaction, their eyes wide open. Magne looked like she was about to start gushing, Spinner’s jaw just hung open as he stared at them, and Dabi couldn’t help the remark that came out.

“Finally making moves, Shigaraki?”

Toga startled as Kagero’s head snapped forward, staring at Dabi, “What? No. We already went over this, I’m taking the night off. Besides, there isn’t much to do right now since I don’t have Muscular or haven’t heard back from my contact. I’ve already done all the planning for those.”

Dabi smirked knowingly and flashed a wink at Magne and Spinner, “Of course, of course. Sorry boss, I just forgot.”

Kagero didn’t trust the look Dabi had on his face, nor understand why that interaction was laced with sarcasm, but couldn’t find it in him to care enough to figure out why. He took another sip of his drink and settled back down with Toga shifting with him.

Kagero had to make use of his downtime as fully as possible. He had a feeling the message from his contact would be coming in soon, and when it did, it would be all gas and no brakes.

Chapter Text

Kagero woke up suddenly, snapping to attention with alertness in his eyes. His head was pounding like he had a hangover, but he was sure it wasn’t full blown; he cut himself off after only a few drinks despite Dabi and Spinner’s goading and teasing, and to drink an excess of water. He took in his surroundings, finding himself in his room.

His bed was messy, which was to be expected since he just woke up, and his desk was a little unorganized like he was working on something before going to sleep. The desk had a dual-monitor setup with a small keyboard, wireless mouse, and a cup filled with pencils and pens. The desk was set in a small alcove that was lined with shelves filled with books, notebooks, files, and random knickknacks and the rare pieces of hero memorabilia he acquired over time.

Everything looked like it was where it belonged, but something felt off about the whole situation. The last thing he remembered was peeling Toga off of him as he dropped her off at her room with her whining about not getting tucked in and being given a goodnight kiss. Who knew she was so clingy and childlike when she was sleepy? He had said goodnight to her and a “fuck you” to Dabi as a farewell and then promptly fell asleep in his bed.

He looked over the desk and the papers that littered the table to get some context, but the notes were all regarding future plans he was already aware of. He jiggled his mouse to wake up the computer and was met with his home screen and no open applications or files. The time in the bottom right of the screen showed that it was a little past nine in the evening. He was sure they got back to the bar around one-thirty in the morning, which means he had lost nearly a whole day. There was no way he was asleep for nearly twenty hours.

He puffed a small ball of fire, briefly illuminating the room in an orange glow. Frowning, he made sure he was at least wearing pants before walking out. In the hallway he was met with the quiet and dark, the only lights visible were small strips of it that came out from under some of the doorways. Having the entire layout memorized, he recognized the doors that had light under them belonged to Mustard, Toga, and the staging area of sorts that led to one of their soundproof rooms.

He walked down the hall, quietly stopping outside of Mustard and Toga’s rooms and putting his ear to their doors to see if there was any activity inside. He heard somebody talking in Mustard’s room, but he recognized it as a TV personality. In Toga’s room, he heard faint shuffling and what sounded like music. He moved on to the third room and entered, seeing that one of the shelves had a duffle bag on it, one he didn’t recognize. He looked at the door at the end of the short hallway in confusion.

Whose stuff is that?

He walked towards the second door and heard the muffled but still telltale sounds of someone’s fist against another’s face. Pushing it open he came upon Jin and Dabi attempting the ‘good-cop bad-cop’ routine, with some guy tied down on the chair. His left eye was swollen shut, his lip busted, and he was shaking his head desperately trying to get it through to Dabi and Jin that he knew nothing. The chair was positioned so the occupant could see the door open and close, so he saw Kagero first.

Kagero saw a brief glimmer of hope shine across his eyes before the expression turned to absolute dread when he realized who the newcomer was. Dabi paused with his fist up, reared back and ready to deliver another punch when he saw the change in their captive’s face. He looked over his shoulder and saw Kagero looking on with blatant interest.

“What is it with you showing up right when things were getting fun?” Dabi asked annoyedly.

Jin had his arm reared back as well, with his tape measure hanging out like he was about to whip the guy. Based off the bloodied cuts on his shirt, it wasn’t the first time this session, “Shigaraki! Welcome back, he’s all ready for ya. Go away! I wasn’t done beating up this low life yet.”

“What the hell is going on?” Kagero asked, “Who is this guy? Where did he come from? And what are you doing?”

Dabi took a second to look Kagero over before doubling over and laughing, “Holy shit! There is no way that actually happened! Shigaraki, the Shigaraki that’s a pain in the ass on the best of days and always knows what’s happening, has no idea what’s going on? This can’t be real!”

If Dabi could still cry he would’ve wiped his tears away from the laughter. Still chuckling, he bent down and placed a hand on the man’s shoulder, smiling and shaking his head, “You, my friend, might just be the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time.”

Kagero watched the exchange and screwed his face in thought. He racked his memories for anything relating to this guy or as to what happened in the previous day, but he was drawing a blank. He wanted to ask again what was going on, but Dabi probably wouldn’t answer him in hopes of keeping his lead for once and Jin probably wouldn’t be the best person to get a detailed summary from. That left one more option.

He stalked forward at a leisurely pace but let off an aura of cold fury strong enough to cut Dabi’s laughter off entirely and have him back away. Kagero walked in front of the man and crouched down, making himself eye level with him, “Explain. Name, quirk, what you’re doing here, everything.”

The man gulped heavily and shifted in his seat as well as he could. He answered between labored breaths, “My name… is Ken… Ikamura, but people call me Blackout. My quirk is called Amnesia… it makes it so… the people I activate it on has no memory of… the previous day up until they last slept.”

Kagero narrowed his eyes, “That would explain how I lost an entire day. How does it activate, and what are you doing here?”

“Extended close contact. Like an arm around the shoulder as if you’re hugging your buddy at the bar or an awkwardly long handshake.”

“How did you activate it on me?”

“I- you asked me to, right after I told you what it does.”

Kagero quirked an eyebrow at that. He didn’t see any hint of a lie in Ikamura’s eyes, but if that were the case, why weren’t there any notes laying around as he broke down the quirk?

He looked to Dabi and Jin for confirmation, Dabi nodded and Jin gave him a thumbs up, “He’s right, you asked him to activate it on you. He got the drop on you! Didn’t know that was possible.”

“Look man,” Kagero glared at him at being addressed so lightly. Ikamura cringed and amended it, “Look, Shigaraki, sir. Sama? I don’t… I don’t really know why I’m here either. That’s what I keep trying to tell these other two.”

“I don’t appreciate you lying to me,” Kagero rumbled at Ikamura, who gulped at being so easily found out. He looked to the side at Dabi, directing his question to him, “Care to fill me in the rest of the way?”

Dabi sighed, “Long story short, this guy is one of the runners you were talking about. Jin and Compress found him by chance while they were out last night and nabbed him. He was carrying that bag on him.”

“Is that so? Jin, good job bringing him in so quickly. I was expecting Muscular to be easier, but since we’ve already got one of the runners, it’s only a matter of time now.”

Jin puffed his chest out in pride, and although he was wearing his mask, the way it shifted it was clear he was smiling widely if not outright beaming. He saluted to Kagero, “All in a day’s work, boss! I don’t get paid enough to be productive. Give me back the time I lost!”

Dabi looked a little disappointed, “So I’m assuming you want us to leave while you go at him?”

“Not at all. Maybe you’ll learn a thing or two watching how I have a nice conversation with him,” Kagero dismissed as he popped his neck and knuckles, “Plus, when he breaks and gives me what I need, you’ll already know everything instead of just me. It’ll sure make your job easier.”

“Why am I sensing there being a catch?” Dabi squinted his eyes at him.

“You want to miss out on some firsthand info? Be my guest,” Kagero answered, “You know where the door is.”

Dabi grumbled and moved to the side of the wall, leaning against it, “Fine.”

“Count me out,” Jin answered as he walked to the door, “I want to know all the juicy secrets!”

“Now then, let’s see just how much you know, Ken-chi.”

Ikamura started struggling as he realized he was in for a world of hurt if he couldn’t get out, “I.. I swear it. I don’t know anything!”

“Maybe, maybe not. But it doesn’t hurt to make sure. Kurogiri!”

At being called, Kurogiri partially materialized, only his face visible in the small portal, “Yes, Kagero Shigaraki?”

“Can you bring me some of my things? I wasn’t expecting to have a guest join us today.”

“As you wish,” Kurogiri said as he disappeared. Moments later, another portal opened above the floor, dropping a small pouch.

Kagero picked it up, unraveling the tie and peering at the contents. He walked up to Ikamura and placed his hand on his shoulder, Ikamura flinching at the contact. Kagero leaned in close, his eyes glowing their toxic green, “Let’s try this again. Explain. Name, quirk, what you’re doing here. Everything.”

Aizawa stood in front of his class, just watching. School hasn’t officially started yet so he has no reason to shut them up, and it was apparent they were taking full advantage of it. For once, he was early instead of exactly on time with the morning bell, and chose to hang out in the classroom in the meantime. A decision he was regretting now. He had finished making his notes and observations on the students’ exams more quickly than expected, leaving enough time to ensure he wasn’t late, but not enough to entertain the idea of taking a short nap. His choices were to either be hounded in the teacher’s lounge or put up with his students. He took the latter.

He rested his eyes as he leaned against his podium, counting down the seconds until the bell would ring, freeing him of the noise he chose to suffer through. The clock in his head said it was time as the bell rang. The chatter stopped immediately, causing him to let out a huff of amusement.

“Good. You’ve finally learned and put into practice the importance of knowing when and when not to speak,” he greeted the class. “I’ve had a chance to look over your final exams. I’m pleased and surprised to say that nobody failed the written portion.”

He delivered it in a flat voice devoid of any emotion, but that didn’t matter to the students. Hearing nobody failed was a major relief. The less academically inclined students nearly jumped out of their seats to surround their tutors, but they felt Aizawa’s quirk take effect. They sat back down, wisely choosing to wait for Aizawa’s announcement to finish.

Aizawa shut his quirk off and rolled his eyes, “Yes, yes. Good job to everyone. The physical portion has been graded and most of you did pass. Kirishima, as a group you passed, but because they were scored individually as well, your performance was found lacking.”

Kirishima deflated in his seat, “I had a feeling I failed. I only passed because I was literally carried through it. Sorry, Mineta, but great job passing! It was really manly of you to keep going despite being at a disadvantage!”

“Kaminari and Ashido, you two failed as well. You stumbled your way through the first half of the test and appeared to bounce back a little while later, but you didn’t have enough time to secure the victory in the end. Your plan wasn’t bad and it was the smart thing to do in your case, but once you make the decision to change tactics, you need to go through with it all the way and immediately to make up for the lost ground. In any other situation where you’re not constrained by time, it would’ve worked out, so take pride in that. Understand?”

Both students dropped their heads dejectedly but nodded as they took the criticism. Kaminari looked apprehensive while Ashido shot him a look. Aizawa didn’t miss the exchange, but because the look Ashido gave wasn’t blame, regret, anger, or any of those negative reactions one would expect when hearing they failed, he didn’t feel the need to follow up on that.

“As mentioned before, we have a week-long training camp coming up and those that didn’t pass both exams couldn’t go.” Kirishima, Kaminari, and Ashido all sank further into their seats.

Ashido wailed in overexaggerated sadness, “Nooo! It’s too cruel! Don’t forget me when you’re out having fun camping and telling stories and making s’mores! I’ll be all alone and sad at home with my phone as my only company!”

“It was another logical ruse,” Aizawa deadpanned, unbothered by Ashido, too used to Nem and Zashi’s antics.

Ashido’s mood made a full one-eighty, “Aha! Yes! I knew it! Aizawa-sensei wouldn’t be so cruel as to deny us an experience at normal life!”

Bakugo rolled his eyes, “Seriously, Raccoon Eyes? That was probably the most obvious one yet. I know you’re not that slow.”

“While I don’t share the same... comment,” Yaoyorozu diplomatically added, “I agree with Bakugo-kun. Aizawa-sensei's claim to withhold the camp from us if we failed, while also stating it would be a waste if we let our skills deteriorate over the break, would go against his word to begin with.”

“Huh?”

Aizawa changed his posture, “Your classmates are right. It’d be illogical to have those that failed not take part in the camp, especially when the express purpose of it is to improve your skills. We designed your exams to push your limits in both strategy and abilities. They were designed to make you fail. The fact that most of you passed and only a handful of you didn’t is a testament to your growth already. Those of you that failed, all that means is you still have more to learn, but then again, the same goes for everyone as well.”

The class groused at being told that they were expected to fail the exams, but beamed when they received Aizawa’s rare praise.

“I will continue throwing logical ruses at you throughout your time here, but I expect you all to figure out which ones are real and which are fake. As a hero, you must be able to discern the truth from the lies, even if they come from your superior.” Aizawa gave the class a hard stare, “This does not mean you ignore what they say and do whatever you want. People lie for many reasons, some to protect you, some to harm you. Figure out which one applies and act accordingly.”

The students nodded in understanding with thoughtful looks on their faces. Aizawa reached behind his podium and grabbed a stack of papers and handed them to the people in the front of the classroom, “In any case, a failure is still a failure, and there will be a punishment to match. This is a list of things that you may or may not need for the trip. Homeroom dismissed.”

Aizawa was already in his sleeping bag and tucked in the corner by the time the papers reached the last person in the rows. Once everyone had their sheet the class burst into conversation, but not loudly since they didn’t want to have Aizawa waking up and giving them any extra work to do over the break.

“Hey!” Hagakure suddenly called out to the class. Unseen to the rest of the students, her head was whipping back and forth trying to follow all of the conversations when she picked up on all of them saying the same things, “I know what we can do! Tests are done and we’re off tomorrow, so how about…”

Ashido, ever the social butterfly and always looking for a reason to hang out caught on immediately. She put a foot on her chair and threw a fist in the air and finished Hagakure’s suggestion, “… we all go shopping at the mall!? Class 1-A’s first outing as a whole to kick off summer vacation!”

“That’s a great idea! Let’s do it!”

“Bakubro, you’re coming too!”

“As if you could make me, Shitty Hair! I already have what I need.”

“Excellent! We can all get what we need at the same time and make sure everyone has everything beforehand.”

“It’d be nice to finally do some actual teenager activities.”

“Alright, it’s decided!” Ashido declared, “We can head to the Kiyashi Ward shopping mall! I hear it’s got everything anyone could ever need for anything!”

A chorus of cheers followed.

The next morning, Aizawa saw most of his class waiting for him right outside of his room and didn’t bother to hide his displeased frown. He would’ve slammed the door shut and ignored them, but then he was sure someone would’ve started knocking on it incessantly until he opened it again, so he took a deep breath and braced himself for whatever nonsense they were cooking up.

Their request was to get permission to leave campus to go shopping for any supplies they’d need for the camp, of which he was able to instantly see the pros and cons of it. On one hand, he could say yes and he’d be left in silent bliss as there wouldn’t be anyone to bother him for the hours they’d be gone. On the other, he and the rest of UA’s staff wouldn’t be able to protect them from any possible threats.

He continued weighing the pros and cons as he impassively stared at the class but ultimately came to the decision that he just didn’t want to deal with them today. He gave them his permission which resulted in cheers, but he glared at them with his quirk active.

“I expect you to conduct yourselves in a proper manner befitting of your standings as UA students, prospective heroes, and just model citizens. I am also requiring that you stick in groups of at least three. If you see trouble of any kind, do not act on your own. Report it to the proper authorities, stay long enough to ensure the problem is resolved if you’d like, but do not involve yourselves any more than that. If I hear that any of you caused problems, I will force the entire class into a remedial course at the summer camp alongside the training, regardless of your grades. Am I understood?”

He received ‘yes sirs’ from everyone. Aizawa hummed and shut the door on them and sighed, Hopefully that’ll be enough for now.

Sounds of awe came from the group as they stood in the Kiyashi Ward mall. The mall was massive with the entire thing shaped like the bend of a straw with three floors above them and shops upon shops lining the walls. It was a nice sunny day so the mall was more packed than normal.

Yaoyorozu stood at the front of their assembled group which consisted of Shoji, Tokoyami, Kirishima, Uraraka, Shimura, Mineta, Kaminari, Jiro, Hagakure, Ashido, and herself, “Okay everyone! You heard what Aizawa-sensei said, stay in small groups! If we break off together depending on what we need, this should be simple to do.”

People started calling out what they needed but were cut off by some of the mallgoers recognizing them from the Sports Festival.

“Hey! You’re those first years from the Fest. You were amazing!”

Kaminari and Kirishima flashed them smiles and waved while Uraraka and Jiro both gawked at people still recognizing them from that.

With the hiccup out of the way, the class split off in their groups and all agreed to meet at the food court in a few hours. Everything happened so fast that Shimura didn’t notice everyone had already dispersed, but was glad to see that Kaminari and Uraraka were still with him.

“Where you headed, man? Uraraka?” Kaminari asked, “I need to get some shoes.”

Uraraka placed a finger to her chin, “I need some bug spray and some wool socks. I can probably get both of those at the same place you’re going.”

“Oh, I don’t need much at all,” Shimura answered, “Like Bakugo, I’ve already got most of everything. Our families go backpacking and camping every once in a while, so I’m good on supplies.”

“Oh right, right. I always forget that you and Bakugo like grew up with each other. I figured you two would be joined at the hip or something like that,” Kaminari commented.

“Nah. We’re close but in case you haven’t noticed, we both can get pretty intense. We stick with each other long enough, a fight will break out.”

Uraraka giggled, “I can totally see that! But you’re also the only one that Bakugo doesn’t yell at.”

Shimura shrugged, “That’s just how it is with him. Now come on, I thought you needed some socks and stuff.”

“You’re right! Let’s go!” Kaminari walked off in a random direction before he stopped and turned around scratching his head sheepishly, “I’ve actually never been here so I don’t know where anything is.”

“I’m sure we can find a map somewhere,” Uraraka suggested.

“Why are we at the mall?” Toga asked, “I’m super happy you asked me to come with you, Shi-kun, but why are we here? Oh my gosh! Are we on a date?! Are we dating now!?”

He was wearing a baseball cap backwards to cover his hair but other than that he was walking around in full view of everyone. He wore a white shirt under a dark jacket, blue jeans and sneakers. When Kagero told Toga that they were going to a mall, she squealed and ran to her room to change. She swapped out her normal outfit for a white t-shirt with a tabby cat caught up in a ball of yarn tucked into a black skirt. Instead of the oversized cardigan she wore a pink jacket loosely around her arms and had a black choker around her neck.

Kagero looked down at Toga who was hugging his arm as usual with a confused expression, “How did you come to that conclusion? I told you, we’re checking out a lead I got. Come on, focus up.”

“But that’s no fun, and I was so happy to come along too! I even put on this cute outfit I just got,” she pouted. Tugging on his arm she looked up at him with pleading eyes, “Pleeeeaase? I promise to do the mission too! Let’s just pretend it’s a date. It’ll be the perfect cover!”

Kagero adjusted his cap and sighed, rolling his eyes good naturedly. Kagero pulled her along to his destination, “Fine, whatever. That’s not a bad idea anyway. Come on.”

Through his conversation with Ikamura, Kagero had confirmed that he really was just a runner and didn’t know much. He said that he got the product from a small tea shop tucked into corner at the mall in Kiyashi Ward and was supposed to deliver it to another drop location in Kamino to be distributed to the actual dealers. He had already dropped off the product at the location, so the bag he had on him was empty. He didn’t know who did the drop, who the supplier was, or even who the dealers were. The only information he got from higher up the ladder was a text from an unlisted number saying the next shipment was ready, which was already available. The text said he had three days to pick it up.

When he first started out, he asked where the product came from, the only answer he got was that ‘they’ve been around for a long while.’ On the surface, there wasn’t much to go off, but to Kagero it meant that the person, or group, trying to push the drugs in had old connections. Possibly ancient even. Since they weren’t connected to Master, nor any of the current groups that run in the drug trade, that only left one viable option. The Yakuza.

The Yakuza was a cancer that Japan couldn’t get rid of. They had been entrenched in Japan’s underworld for nearly a thousand years so their roots run deep. Even with the advent of quirks, new villain groups, and even the presence of heroes, the Yakuza persisted. Their popularity, relevance, and influence declined every generation, but they were never eradicated, they just fell into the background. Now it seems that they’re trying for a resurgence.

“Shi-kun, Shi-kun,” Toga called, bringing his attention to her. She pointed at a group of kids that were walking away, “Look! Isn’t that Shimura-chan and some of his friends?”

Kagero followed her finger and was surprised at the sight. Shimura-chan, Kaminari, and Uraraka were talking animatedly as they walked to a store for outdoor things. He debated if he should follow them or continue with their original objective.

Toga asked, “What do you want to do?”

“The tea shop will still be here, and we’ve got two more days to get the product. Shimura-chan and friends won’t be. Do you have any blood in stock?”

Toga hummed, searching within herself the blood she’s ingested already and looking through the small stock of vials she keeps in a pouch, “Nobody that isn’t in the League.”

“Go find someone to borrow from. I’ll follow them around. Text me when you’ve got some and I’ll let you know where we are.”

“’kay!” she hugged him and ran off.

Kagero didn’t return the hug, instead turned to follow the trio. Because the mall was so crowded it was easy to follow them without being found out. He stuck close enough to catch snippets of their conversation.

"...do you think the camp will be like?" Uraraka asked.

Shimura-chan was referencing a sheet of paper, “…lots of hurting…”

Kaminari added, “…who do you think’s… there? No… just 1-B and…”

Kagero quietly hummed in interest, They’re leaving to go on a training camp? He checked his phone and looked for any new messages from his contact. Why wasn’t I made aware of this? They better be holding off on telling me until they confirm more intel.

Shimura-chan hung back, waving off Kaminari and Uraraka as they went inside. Shimura-chan walked a little further away towards a bench right in front of the store’s entrance and sat down, immediately busying himself with his phone. Sensing the perfect opportunity, he sent Toga a text about where they were and what to do when she got there. Pocketing his phone and quickly checking to see how far away people were from Shimura-chan, he called out to him.

“Hey!” he greeted. He walked closer to Shimura-chan with a bright smile and arm waving in the air. Shimura-chan looked up at him confused and pointed to himself, Kagero snickered, “Yeah, you! You’re from UA right? I’m pretty sure you’re one of the finalists from the Sports Fest!”

Shimura smiled and waved back at him politely, “Yeah, that’s me. Heh heh.”

As Kagero got closer he played up his excitement, “I knew it! You’re also the guy that did the student pledge, right? Man, that was some inspiring stuff. You had me rooting for you from the very beginning!” He got close enough and sat down next to him, hanging an arm around him like they were friends. Through jostling him around, Kagero caught a glimpse of his phone to see if there was anything worthwhile, but was disappointed to see he was playing a mobile game.

“Man, what are the chances I’d get to meet a UA star here, huh?”

Shimura was starting to grow a little uneasy at Kagero’s display of familiarity but still tried to be nice. He chuckled awkwardly “I’m glad I’ve got a fan already. To be honest, I didn’t think I did all that well, but it’s nice to hear I made a good impression.”

Kagero laughed along with him, “You sure did! But to be honest, it’s nice seeing you again. Last time we met we were so rudely interrupted.” Shimura-chan froze, signaling to him that he made the connection. Shimura-chan turned his head with fear in his eyes and on his face, “I guess the last time you saw me was at the USJ, right? Or maybe you caught that broadcast of Hosu? I’d be surprised if you didn’t see that, the media sure loved milking that event for the views.”

Kagero tightened his grip around Shimura-chan and leaned in closer, hissing in his ear, “Keep your phone unlocked and hand it over to me. Nice and slowly.”

Shimura-chan gulped and slowly handed his phone over to Kagero with the screen up and set to the home page, “Let’s have a nice little chat, Tenko Shimura. Don’t worry about your friends, they’ll join us soon enough.”

Shimura-chan nodded very slowly, allowing himself to be led away.

Shimura didn’t want to make a big deal about it, but his hand was throbbing in pain.

Chapter Text

Shimura was feeling nothing but abject terror.

The day started off just fine. The group that wanted to go to the mall was able to get Aizawa to let them leave campus albeit with some caveats, but they were more than reasonable. The trip to the mall itself was fun, with Ashido, Hagakure, and Kaminari singing some of the latest pop songs rather terribly as they walked from the train to the mall. The mall was busy but not completely packed like he was fearing, and to top it all off, from what he was able to see, everyone was having a great time so far. Seeing they timed their visit when there was a sale going on was a nice bonus as well.

Despite all those pros, there was one major con to it.

He could admit to taking some blame for the circumstances he found himself in. It was him that insisted Kaminari and Uraraka go into the store while he stayed outside to wait for them so he could have a few moments to recharge himself and make sure his fortress wasn’t currently under siege. He didn’t think there could be any harm in a few minutes away from his friends, but there was no way he could’ve foreseen him getting accosted and practically kidnapped by the man who is feared by him and so many other heroes.

He felt his body stand up and move on its own along with Shigaraki. His hand felt like it was back in the Nomu’s vice-like grip, but he didn’t dare cry out in pain, fearing it might draw unwanted attention to the duo even though that was what he desperately needed right now.

As Shigaraki led him further away from the store his friends were at, he couldn’t help but be shocked at how easily people would turn a blind eye to an obviously uncomfortable and potentially dangerous situation.

He knows for a fact that Shigaraki’s face has been spread around, but that was with his mask on. Was the maw really that good at hiding his identity? Shimura knows that at the very least, four people, including himself, saw him without the mask when All Might arrived at the USJ and gave the detective his description. The massive scar on his face should be a key identifying feature for him, along with his green eyes and hair. Was that not circulated as well? Or was it because people actually did recognize him, but didn’t say anything because they weren’t a hero? Was that it? Were they expecting a hero to come and deal with it? Was it because of him? He was a UA student, the second-place finisher of the Sports Festival, and the Student Representative, so were they expecting him to take care of the problem? He’s still only a student!

Shimura knew he shouldn’t, but he couldn’t help but disassociate just a little. He tried fighting it off, but once he realized that no one was going to do anything, it overcame his willpower. He felt his body get shoved into a chair and startled. He must’ve been more out of it than he realized because they were maybe only a few stores away and sat at an open table with benches instead of individual chairs. Whether out of consideration or a sick joke, Shigaraki placed him so that he could see the store’s entrance and exactly when his friends would exit and find he was missing.

“Hands on the table, palms up,” Shigaraki instructed.

Shimura numbly obeyed the command, his right hand flaring in pain, protesting the movement, but he eventually was able to get it opened as well. He kept his gaze focused on the store’s entrance, not wanting to look at Shigaraki, “What do you want?”

He felt Shigaraki take his arm off his shoulders, “Relax first. If I wanted to do anything to you, don’t you think I would’ve done it back at the USJ? Or maybe at least teleported you to a more secluded location, away from any witnesses?”

“The day’s still young. I don’t know how a psycho villain’s mind works, so maybe you’re waiting for my friends to come back to traumatize them too,” Shimura bitterly replied before he could stop himself, “What’s going to happen now? You gonna kill me?”

“Why is that always the first assumption?” Shigaraki asked aloud with amusement in his voice, “Not every villain you meet is a blood thirsty murderer. This all happened because of you, you know? I saw you at the USJ, after All Might came and saved you from the Nomu. I saw that you tried making your way back down to the plaza after the fight. I couldn’t help but think there were some things you wanted to say to me. I tried reaching out to you, surely you got my message? What’d you want to say?”

Shimura’s mind brought him back. The memory of the girl from the Sports Festival flickered in his mind before rapidly changing to the USJ. All Might had just defeated the Nomu and was going around the disaster zones to rescue everyone else that was still out there. The group of students and their teachers at the entrance of the USJ were all standing around while Shigaraki and Kurogiri were at the fountain doing the same. He tried to go down there to face them head-on, but Sero pulled him back. He can’t remember the words spoken, but he knows what he was feeling. Unsatiable anger and bloodlust.

Shigaraki smirked, “Ah. So that’s what it was. Let me ask you again, Tenkkun.” Shigaraki placed a hand on Shimura’s head and forced him to look him in the eyes. Green calculating eyes bore into red unsure ones. Shimura felt like he was placed under a microscope with the level of attention he was receiving, “Are you sure you want to be a hero? No hero, not even an undergrounder’s, first instinct is to go for the kill. Heroes might resort to it eventually if nothing they try can bring the villain down, but as a starting move? That’s just not a thing.”

Shigaraki took his hand off Shimura and shook his head. He ‘tsk’-ed him three times in disappointment, “Not even a serial killer’s first move is to go for the kill. Sure, they get to it eventually, but usually they like to play with their prey first. Not even a soldier’s first order is to kill. If an enemy combatant has their own gun pointed at them, they follow de-escalation procedures. They only pull the trigger when theirs and their squad’s lives are in immediate danger. I admit I’m not too familiar with how the military works, but I believe that outside of open conflict, I’m right. Tenkkun, nobody goes for the kill first, let alone heroes.”

Shimura shook his head, throwing Shigaraki’s hand off. He brought a hand up to refute, “Just be-“

The look in Shigaraki’s eyes changed from calculating to cold and dangerous, “Hands. On. The. Table. Palms up.”

Shimura slammed his hand back down, feeling his heart rate spike from the sudden appearance of Shigaraki’s overbearing aura.

“Better.” Shigaraki’s aura subsided a little but remained, “You were saying?”

“Just because I wanted to kill you for a moment doesn’t mean I don’t want to be a hero,” Shimura replied, his gaze now fixed on his hands. “People make mistakes, right? They slip up, but that doesn’t make them bad people.”

“True, but that wasn’t a mistake, was it? The first time I’ll give it to you as a fluke. You were in dire straits and acting out of fear for your friend, right? People do the craziest feats imaginable when they’re faced with a situation that endangers them or someone they care about. But the second time? No, that was intentional.”

“If this is your attempt at trying to get me to turn sides, you’re doing a pretty lousy job at it.”

Shigaraki laughed brightly. If he weren’t a villain, Shimura would’ve found it comforting, “Give it time. I’ve been told I can be quite convincing. I just want to make sure you know what you want even if you don’t want to acknowledge it.”

“I’m not a villain,” Shimura asserted.

“But you’re not a hero either.”

“I will be. Like All Might, like my teacher, like my grandmother before me.” Shimura found the courage to lift his head and look Shigaraki in the eyes, “I went through my whole childhood with my father, my mom, and her parents all trying to discourage me from being a hero. From ending up like my grandmother on my father’s side, yet here I am. What makes you think you have a better shot at stopping me from reaching my goal?”

“Do you really want to find out?” Shigaraki whispered in his ear.

Before Shimura could reply, he caught sight of Kaminari and Uraraka walking out of the store with bags in hand. Shimura felt a wave of relief wash over him despite the circumstances. If he could get their attention, then they could hopefully bail him out. They were moving their heads left and right searching for him, but before he could even entertain the idea of waving them over to where he was, a girl came up and blocked him from their sight.

She was moving animatedly and no doubt speaking to them with energy to match, and before long she had her arms around the two of them just like Shigaraki had done to him, but obviously in a more friendly manner. She guided them closer to the table he was sat at, and as they got closer their faces morphed from recognition, to relief, and settled on worry and fear when they saw who else occupied the table.

“There they are,” Shigaraki commented. He smiled and waved at them, “I told you they’d be joining us shortly.”

Uraraka and Kaminari put on strained smiles and awkwardly waved back while the other girl had a wide smile and flashed a peace sign on both hands.

Toga couldn’t help the giggle that bubbled in her throat. She was feeling as if she were on cloud nine. Shi-kun asked her out to the mall and even agreed to pretend it was a date! She knew that he was only playing along with her and that they were on a mission, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t multitask and dream! When she pointed out Shimura-chan and some of his friends, she could tell Shi-kun was now serious, which meant no more playing around. She hugged him, briefly relishing his warmth before she too put on her work face.

She skipped away from him, more to keep up appearances instead of what people would consider being a major shift in personality.

She didn’t want to move too far away from where they split off. This was her first time at this mall and it was massive, so she didn’t want to get lost trying to find them again. What if something happened while she was gone? She trusted and believed in Shi-kun’s skill, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t worry about him.

Finding someone to impersonate was easy enough, especially in a place so ripe for picking. She hung out outside of the women’s bathroom, just looking at who’s going in and who is also remotely cute. When she finally found someone she wouldn’t mind being, it was easy work to follow her in, force her into a stall, knock her out, and assume her identity.

As she looked down at her willing donor, she contemplated whether she should do anything more or not. Currently, she was knocked out and slumped while seated on the toilet, but Toga had no idea how long she would stay like that. Would it be better to just drain her entirely? No, that wouldn’t work because that tends to leave behind a bit of a mess, and then someone else would notice the blood on the ground and call the police. Should she tie her up and gag her? She could use their clothes for the bonds, but Toga still needed her outfit for when she let go of the transformation, and using the donor’s clothes would only bring up more questions and worry when she came to. No, that wouldn’t work either because then someone would definitely hear her muffled cries and struggling when she woke up and inevitably started freaking out. She couldn’t move her to a cleaning closet, because then it would be beyond suspicious when people saw her exiting the bathroom with an unconscious person over her shoulder.

In the end, she chose to drink a little more blood than normal to make her more lethargic, but not enough to have her die from blood loss. Wiping the excess blood from her mouth with the toilet paper, she nodded in satisfaction and headed out.

Exiting the bathroom, she made sure to walk a little slower but still happily, just like how her donor did when she walked in. She dug into the borrowed purse for her phone to text Shi-kun that she was ready but found there was a message already waiting for her as well as instructions on what to do. Checking the nearest map, she made her way there.

Luckily, she didn’t have to go too far to find where Shi-kun was. Even if she wasn’t looking for him specifically, she would’ve been able to point him out in a crowd immediately. Something about him always made it so he wouldn’t be missed even though civilians and heroes could never seem to find him. He was sitting next to Shimura-chan in some sort of conversation. She wanted to creep closer and listen in too, but Shi-kun’s head snapped in her direction. The look was one of suspicion and a clear warning to stay away, but then it changed to understanding.

He recognized her as Toga despite looking different! That was a step up from the first time she showed up at the bar, still disguised as Namba-chan.

Shi-kun pointed with his chin to a store for outdoor things, and she nodded back, understanding her task for now. She moved closer to the store and made herself look busy at the kiosks that were set up nearby as she waited for Shimura-chan’s friends to come out. As she looked over the goods that were up for sale, she couldn’t help the genuine feelings of intrigue as she shopped. The kiosk itself wasn’t anything too special, just selling what looked like handmade pieces of jewelry that used the color schemes of many of the top heroes and then some, but they were done so in a way that looked truly professional.

Bouncing around between the nearby kiosks, she finally saw Shimura-chan’s friends come out of the store. Their heads swept back and forth, probably looking for Shimura-chan, but they couldn’t find him for some reason. Toga checked her phone to refresh herself with the instructions and walked towards to them.

It was easy to get into the character of an overly excited fan. She took a moment to hype herself up a little before approaching them, “Oh my gosh oh my gosh, you’re from UA right?! I recognize you two! You’re some of the finalists!”

Upon being greeted by a cute girl with long flowing black hair, blue eyes, and twin pig tails that was wearing a flowing blue blouse half tucked into short white shorts and sneakers, Kaminari gave her his best suave smile, “Hey there. Denki Kaminari, Sports Fest finalist, UA hero student. What can this guy do for you?”

Uraraka shoved him playfully, “That was terrible, Kaminari-kun! I thought you were better at that! I’d introduce myself too, but something tells me you already know who I am.”

Toga nodded rapidly, “Ochaco Uraraka! You’re an inspiration! You were so cool and hardcore in your fight with Blasty. I thought for sure you were going to beat him.”

Uraraka’s cheeks blushed even more red than normal, “Aw, shucks. You don’t need to go that far, but thank you!”

“Hey hey,” Kaminari jumped back in, “What about me? Wasn’t I super neat and cool too?”

Toga giggled, eyeing him up and down, “Sure you were. That thing you did with the electricity really shocked me.”

Kaminari snorted, “Aha! Someone that finally appreciates and understands my brand of humor!”

“Um…” Uraraka started, “Not to be rude, but we’re trying to find our friend. He was supposed to be waiting for us out here, and if our teacher finds out we lost him he’s going to be really mad at us.”

“Sorry, sorry!” Toga bowed up and down, “I forgot that’s why I came to you, well, outside of saying ‘hi’. See, my friend is here too and I think he ran into him. Umm…” She fished into her purse for her phone to pretend she was reading a text, “Yeah! He said he ran into a UA student too and they’re busy chatting. You guys must be on a shopping trip if there are so many UA people here. Maybe he’s with your friend! I can bring you to them if you’d like.”

Uraraka gratefully smiled at her, “Thank you! You have no idea what you just saved us from. Uh…”

Toga tilted her head to the side but got the request and bowed again, “Oh, sorry. My name is Aoi Mizuhara, but just call me Aoi! Come on, they’re this way!”

Toga got in between the two and draped her arms across their shoulders, Kaminari on her left and Uraraka on her right, and led them to where Shi-kun and Shimura-chan were. It was astounding how they completely overlooked where Shimura-chan was. It’s not like Shi-kun took him far away, he was still in plain sight! Shouldn’t hero students be better at being aware of their surroundings?

She felt Uraraka and Kaminari jolt in her arms when they saw Shimura-chan’s companion. Shi-kun smiled and waved at them.

“Come on now,” Toga purred into their ears, “I’m sure your parents taught you it’s rude to not wave back.”

They both tentatively waved back while Toga herself flashed Shi-kun peace signs since her arms were occupied. She guided them over to the table they were at and sat them down in the same position they were walking in.

Shi-kun smiled amicably, “Now that we’re all here, let’s have a nice little chat. Uraraka-chan, Kaminari-kun, phones on the table, unlocked and screen up please. Then hands on the table, palms up, just like Tenkkun here. There’s no need to make this a big deal, this really is just going to be a chat. Isn’t that right, Tenkkun?”

Shimura-chan didn’t look up when addressed, but he flinched when Shi-kun patted him on the shoulders. Kaminari and Uraraka both shared a look with only a hint of defiance in their eyes. Shi-kun noticed that as well, “If you make any moves I don’t like, heroic or otherwise, I will turn this entire floor into a burnt crisp. Now, be good little herolings and do as you’re told.” He puffed a ball of fire.

Hearing the threat and seeing the ball of fire, normally orange but now white, Uraraka paled and threw her flip phone on the table and placed her hands palms up. Kaminari let off a surprised spark, nowhere near strong enough to be effective, but enough for it to be visible and did the same, fumbling with his phone to get it unlocked and did the same. Shi-kun eyed Kaminari a bit longer before he threw Shimura-chan’s phone on the table, already unlocked.

Kagero hummed quietly as he looked over the new additions to the table. Toga obviously found a new disguise, but he didn’t know her name, and if he said something different than what she might’ve already given the herolings, it could be a little bothersome.

“It’s normal to start with introductions, right?” he looked at Uraraka, “How about you start, and we move clockwise around the table. Sound good?”

Uraraka’s eyes widened at being called out. Quietly, she mumbled to herself, “But you already know who we are.”

“Let’s pretend I don’t.”

Uraraka ‘eep’-ed at being heard and spoke normal volume, “I’m Ura-“

“Full names.”

She sighed in defeat, “I’m Ochaco Uraraka, but you already knew that, didn’t you?”

Toga was next, “Aoi Mizuhara! But just call me Aoi.”

Kagero nodded, his eyes conveying to her that that’s what he’ll call her until they’re done. He looked at Kaminari who shuffled in his seat, “Denki Kaminari.”

“Kagero Shigaraki.”

“Tenko Shimura.”

Kagero clapped, causing everyone at the table to jump, “Perfect! Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get to the real meat of the conversation.” He fixed Uraraka and Kaminari a look, granting Shimura a brief reprieve, “Why are you still trying to be a hero?”

The question blindsided everyone. They looked at him incredulously, even Aoi. Kagero continued undisturbed by the reaction, “Seriously, I’m curious. Thanks to my help, you’ve seen what the world is really like, what a hero deals with on a daily basis. It isn’t flashy costumes, photo ops, strong quirks, or fantastic fights. It’s dark, dirty, dangerous. Rotten. It’s fragile and weak, oppressive and unforgiving, stubborn and mean. Uraraka, what happened at the USJ was just the tip of the iceberg, make no mistake. Kaminari, you were there in Hosu. You witnessed the threats that lurk just a little deeper under the surface. You witnessed Stain in his full and bloody glory when he killed Native and your friend. You witnessed what the world does to people who aren’t strong enough in Iida. And you, Tenkkun, well something tells me that you feel more at home in the dark than you do in the light.”

All three of the herolings looked at each other, eyes wide in curiosity and shock as they ingested the things Kagero casually listed out. Uraraka and Shimura knew that Kaminari was in Hosu during the attack, but they didn’t know he witnessed Stain’s murders. Shimura and Kaminari were busy with their own problems at the USJ that they couldn’t pay any mind to what was happening at the entrance when they were split up. They didn’t know that Uraraka witnessed Thirteen get torn to shreds by their own quirk or that even though she wasn’t in immediate danger, the fear of being attacked again never went away. Kaminari and Uraraka didn’t know what was going on in Shimura’s mind during the USJ, but Uraraka was there when he tried to go back down the stairs. She thought that he was just trying to be brave, but Kagero made it seem like there was possibly something more nefarious going on.

“Simply put, you just don’t have what it takes. You can’t hide it from me, I see the fear and anxiety in all of you. No matter how much you train and prepare, you know you’ll never be enough. Why exercise in futility? The world has been messed up since society was first created. The concept of a hero dates back millennia, and while we may have ‘heroes’ now, are we anywhere near the utopia we expected to be in? What makes you think you can make a difference?”

He let his words hang in the air as they processed what he said. Aoi had a question written all over her face, but he ignored it. He was genuinely curious why people wanted to be heroes. He got the gist of it from the heroes he captured and from what is preached about, but those were blanket statements, things said to sound noble. He wanted the real reasons. The personal ones.

“Can I ask a question?” Uraraka quietly broke the silence. She had a sheepish look on her face and Kagero could tell she was fighting to stop herself from fidgeting, but she powered through it to look up at him. “Why are you a villain?”

“Why indeed?” Kagero tapped on his chin slowly, “Is it because I was rejected by society for being an outcast? Is it because I was born to a family in poverty and had nowhere else to turn to? Is it because I was deemed a failure by my peers and finally reached my breaking point?”

With each of his hypotheticals, one of the students flinched, as if they resonated with them. Shimura flinched because of the destructive nature of his quirk, and while he was never isolated by his classmates and friends growing up, there was a noticeable gap between them. Uraraka flinched because she came from a poorer family that barely managed to scrape by. Kaminari flinched because he was never the smartest in the class and was always looked down on. He had his family that supported him, and he was never bullied for it, but even he could tell that all anyone saw when it came to him was someone that could never make it on their own.

Kagero watched as Uraraka shut down and the others didn’t look any better, “Oh? Did those hit a little too close to home for you? That’s the thing most people don’t understand, let alone heroes. Villains are never born. They’re made. They’re products of a society that rejects the very notion of someone that doesn’t fit their standards, and incensed by the continuing support and popularity of heroes that seem to embody those norms. With every hero that comes up, there are at least two more villains looking to bring them down.”

As if on cue, their phones chimed with a text message. The students looked at them and went to grab theirs but froze as Kagero released his oppressive aura once more, “Hands on the table. Palms up.”

The students obeyed once again. Aoi had one of the phones in her hand already, reading the text, “Shi-kun. Looks like there are a whole bunch of other UA kids here and waiting for them at the food court.”

Shimura, Kaminari, and Uraraka all looked at each other, the same thought flowing through their heads. To them, it felt like they just recently broke off from their group and were at the table for maybe ten minutes, but now they’re finding out that hours had passed.

Kagero hummed in acknowledgement, “Looks like you herolings better get going, I know how important it is for you to get your nutrients. Gotta stay healthy, right? Don’t worry about not answering my question, next time we meet I’m sure you’ll have plenty to say and more people to bounce your thoughts off of.”

He stood up with Aoi following suit. The students didn’t suddenly move to grab their phones or attempt to stop them, too caught up with their thoughts.

“Shigaraki,” Kaminari called out eventually. Turning back around, Kagero could tell that this wasn’t Kaminari the teenager anymore. “You can’t possibly believe you’ll be able to walk out of here a free man.”

Kagero ‘hmphed’ at his claim, “I don’t believe. I know. You can’t do anything to me. If you attack me, quirked or otherwise, it’s assault. I’m not committing any crimes, it’s not illegal for me to walk around a public venue, and I didn’t cause you any bodily harm. If you attack me, I may be a villain, but you’d be the one facing charges.” His face turned mocking, “But good try. Can’t wait to see more of what you can try to do.”

He waved again at the students, whom could do nothing but watch as Shigaraki and Aoi’s forms move further and further away. Through the passing crowds they could still see them, but a bigger form crossed their path and all traces of them vanished.

Chapter Text

Tsukauchi exited his vehicle as he looked over the latest scene of a supposed crime. The Kiyashi Ward mall had been evacuated, closed, and taped off, with the only occupants inside being the officers that responded, the mall’s operating staff and a few members of their security detail, and a group of teenagers all huddled around three particular people.

He had gotten the call that there was an incident at the mall involving three teenagers and was about to brush it off as a normal case of adolescent rowdiness, but regardless, a call was a call, so he was obligated to respond. He personally thought the incident was a little below his paygrade, but coming upon the scene and learning exactly who the said teenagers are, it made sense why the call came to him.

Another car pulled up next to him, a van with UA’s logo plastered on the front doors. The driver popped out quickly, barely sparing him a glance, but stopped when he saw who it was.

“Aizawa,” Tsukauchi greeted, “Why is it that whenever something happens, your class is always at the center of it?”

Aizawa rolled his eyes as he walked towards the building, “Believe me, I ask myself that every day. What’s the situation?”

“I only just got here myself, but from what I was briefed on, dispatch was called at twelve-hundred twelve hours. The call came from a teenager that identified themselves as Eijiro Kirishima claiming that his friends were attacked.” Tsukauchi reported as he fell into step next to Aizawa.

“I didn’t get much on my side. I was just alerted that some members of my class ran into some trouble on their outing. Imagine my surprise when I pulled up and found the damn mall closed and surrounded by police cruisers.”

They had made it to the entrance and ducked under the yellow tape. Police officers with notepads were strewn about the ground, speaking amongst each other or with one of the mall staff, but all paused their conversation when they noticed the newcomers. One of the officers, a detective by the looks of it, that was speaking with one of the students came over and met them.

“Detective, Eraserhead, thanks for coming out,” the detective greeted. The detective was an older man with messy black hair and brown eyes, wearing a dark grey shirt, yellow tie, brown pants, and an orange trench coat.

Aizawa looked him over and quickly concluded that this was probably what Tsukauchi would look like in ten years. The man may technically be the superior detective, but still deferred to Tsukauchi meaning he was only ahead of him in age, or the incident is related to a case that he’s heading.

Tsukauchi gave a tired nod and Eraserhead grunted, “Abe. So what’s the full story?”

Abe stuck a thumb out to the group of students, “Three of them said they encountered Kagero Shigaraki and one of his co-conspirators. They were shopping for supplies for an upcoming camping trip…?” He looked at Eraserhead, knowing he was their teacher and seeing a slight nod to confirm the story so far, “Three of your students were reported to be speaking with Shigaraki. Nobody was hurt, thankfully, but they’re properly shocked.”

“Which ones?” Aizawa asked, referencing the three that was mentioned but not identified.

“I think it’ll be pretty obvious when you see them for yourself.” Abe stood to the side, using his arm to beckon them towards his class.

The trio walked towards the huddle. Jiro and Shoji, both having keen senses, looked up when they heard them get closer. Between the two of them, they either nudged or elbowed everyone else so they were aware. Startled and confused, everyone else lifted their heads and looked around, but when they caught sight of Aizawa they had mixed reactions of relief and worry.

Yaoyorozu and Jiro moved to the front and intercepted them, both bowing deeply.

“I apologize for breaking your trust, Aizawa-sensei,” Yaoyorozu expressed, “As my duty as Class President I have failed both my fellow students and myself in keeping everyone safe.”

“As Vice President, I’ve failed my duty as well. I should’ve been able to tell that there was something wrong. I tried keeping an ear on everyone, but it was just so hard to do with the mall being as busy as it was,” Jiro apologized in her own way.

Aizawa and Tsukauchi watched as more students broke out of the huddle to give their own apologies and voice their regrets. Tsukauchi was about to placate them, but surprisingly, Aizawa beat him to it. One of his hands was already raised to stop them.

“Stop apologizing for something that you had no control over. I’m not angry with any of you, nor blame you for what happened. If what I’ve heard is true, I’m more grateful that none of you were harmed.”

His students looked up at him with relief all over their faces. Tsukauchi chuckled quietly to himself as he watched over the scene. He saw Aizawa gearing himself up for a major ‘but’ and decided to save the students.

He cleared his throat and took his hat off, placing it over his heart as he bowed slightly in greeting, “I’m Detective Tsukauchi in case you don’t remember, and the lead investigator in the case of the League of Villains. I’m sure you’ve already given your statements to my colleague, Abe, here, but if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to go over it again with you.”

Gladly taking the subject change, as they also saw Aizawa getting ready to go into a lecture, they sobered themselves up. Since she was already closer to the front, Yaoyorozu took it upon herself to recount the events.

She told Tsukauchi and Aizawa everything she could. Starting with when they first arrived and their plan to split off into small groups, how they were almost immediately recognized by fans, and how they made plans to meet up at the food court after a few hours of shopping. The others all chimed in where they could and nodded along with the story, which was all the confirmation he and Aizawa needed to know that this was all agreed on and followed by everyone. He trusted Yaoyorozu to not lie to him, but years of being on the force and in spite of his quirk, he’s always looking for multiple sources to confirm an alibi.

When Yaoyorozu finished her retelling, she and the rest of the students broke apart their improvised wall where he found Shimura, Uraraka, and Kaminari all sitting together with Shimura sandwiched in the middle and Kaminari on his left with Uraraka on his right. Aizawa suppressed a sigh when he saw Shimura among the group. Out of all of his class, he was definitely the trouble magnet.

Tsukauchi walked up to them and gingerly knelt so he was more level with them, “Would any of you three be comfortable enough to tell us what happened?”

As if just now coming to realize that they weren’t surrounded by their classmates anymore, they looked up startled and frantic. Seeing Tsukauchi, and then eventually Aizawa, they calmed down, but then turned their heads away as if in shame. Not expecting that reaction, Tsukauchi looked at Aizawa for an explanation, which only earned him a tired sigh from Aizawa.

“I told them that if there was any trouble while out, I would give the entire class remedial lessons over the break.” Aizawa explained.

“Aizawa, that’s cruel even for you,” Tsukauchi joked, “Not to mention the extra effort and work you’d have to put in to actually make up a lesson plan. It almost sounds like you like doing more than what’s expected of you.”

Aizawa narrowed his eyes at him, “I will assign you a ten-page essay on why you should always stay professional on the scene. I don’t care if you’re my student or not.”

Hearing the banter between Tsukauchi and Aizawa brought the students out of their shells a little bit, with them cracking a small smile. Seeing his effort not going to waste, Tsukauchi smiled to himself. Shimura looked up between the two, but then ducked his head as he mumbled something.

That caught Tsukauchi and Aizawa’s attention immediately, cutting off their remarks so they could hear what was said.

“I’m sorry, Shimura-kun, could you repeat that? I couldn’t quite understand you,” Tsukauchi asked.

Uraraka nudged Shimura gently and whispered some words of encouragement, which must have been enough, because Shimura looked up and tried again.

“This was all my fault. All of it.” He turned his attention to Aizawa, “Don’t punish the rest of the class because of me. It was my decision to leave them. Kaminari and Uraraka and Yaomomo and everyone else did exactly what you said, but I didn’t. I thought it would be fine to be alone for a few minutes. Don’t punish them, punish me instead.”

Tsukauchi and Aizawa shared a look. It was Aizawa’s turn to come closer and crouch in front of the students. He went to place a hand on Shimura to ground him, but to his surprise and worry, he flinched away in fear. Aizawa quickly retracted his hand and settled for sitting on his ankles in front of them with his hands in his lap.

“Shimura, none of this is your fault, I promise you that,” Aizawa stated.

“Yes it is!” he shot back, “We all heard your conditions for coming out to the mall. I heard your conditions and threats and still thought it was okay to be alone. Given my luck with being singled out, I really shouldn’t be surprised at this point.”

“Singled out?”

Tsukauchi took the question to step in again, “Shimura-kun, could you please explain what you mean by this? We’ve been hearing that Shigaraki spoke with the three of you, but you’re suggesting that this isn’t the case?”

“That’s right,” Uraraka interjected with her hand raised, “Me and Kaminari-kun went into the store while Shimura-kun stayed outside. We were in there for a little bit and by the time we came out, Shimura-kun was gone and we were intercepted by Aoi. I thought I told you that?”

The question was directed towards Abe who frowned and looked down at his notes, “If you did, I must’ve missed that part. My mistake.”

“That’s a pretty big detail to conveniently leave out,” Aizawa remarked.

“Now now, no need to rip into each other over something that’s already happened,” Tsukauchi attempted defusing the rising tension he could see growing in Aizawa’s shoulders, “What’s done is done, and we’re hearing about it now. Let’s just take the time now to make sure we have all the details.”

Aizawa lightly growled but didn’t press the issue. Abe scratched the back of his head, ashamed that he was being lectured.

Tsukauchi took out his recorder and notepad, “I’ll be recording from this point on, if that’s alright with you three?”

Receiving nods from all of them, he started the interview from the very beginning. He got matching stories from Kaminari and Uraraka first to allow Shimura a few more minutes to gather himself and calm down a little. Everything they were telling him rang true and didn’t present any immediate flags, but when they got to the part when they retold about their interaction with the girl, Aoi Mizuhara, that was something he couldn’t ignore.

“I’m sorry, you said that the girl that you spoke with prior to sitting down with Shigaraki called herself Aoi Mizuhara?”

Uraraka and Kaminari looked at each other and nodded.

“And you already gave the descriptions for both this Aoi and Shigaraki?”

More nods.

He jotted a note down and turned to Abe, “Run a search for anyone under that name. It’s more than likely a false name, so if or when it turns up negative, also put an inquiry to any nearby hospitals for anyone admitted within the day that matches the description.”

“What sort of injuries am I looking for in specific if they ask?” Abe noted, also writing in his own notebook.

“Acute chemical inhalation, knife wounds, anything. They might’ve admitted themselves or were brought in by a good Samaritan or came in through emergency services.”

“So nothing specific.” Abe stuffed his notepad into a jacket pocket, “It’s your case and I trust your instinct, though, so you got it.”

Kaminari spoke up, “Um, is there something we’re missing here?”

“The person that called herself Aoi. How you described her is like another girl that Shimura-kun interacted with during the Sports Fest.”

“You’re suggesting that this girl and the one from then is the same person,” Aizawa explained to the group.

Tsukauchi nodded, “That, or Shigaraki is recruiting individuals that specialize in stealth and blending in, particularly of the femme fatale variety.”

Tsukauchi caught sight of Shimura bristling at the mention of the girl, “Please let it be the same person. I don’t need to know that there are than one of them.”

“Be that as it may,” Tsukauchi smiled at him, “Even if we don’t know who they are specifically, we at least have an idea of what they’re like. With Uraraka-san and Kaminari-kun’s statement done, we need yours now.”

Seeing no way out of it now, Shimura took a deep settling breath and told his version of events. It started off the same as everyone else’s, going to the mall en masse, agreeing to split up based on needs or wants, and then the slip in judgement where he chose to stay on his own.

Shimura tried again, “Aizawa-sensei, this whole thing was my fault. Don’t punish everyone else. Please.”

Outwardly, Aizawa maintained his stoic composure, but inwardly his heart was breaking at seeing his student so vulnerable, “Let’s finish this up before I make up my mind, but that doesn’t mean you’re escaping punishment.”

“No, please, don’t hold back on me. I deserve it.”

Tsukauchi, Uraraka, and Kaminari looked on with worry clear on their faces. There was something in Shimura that wasn’t there before.

After the slight outburst, Shimura finally got into the main topic of their talk.

“I didn’t do much talking, really. I don’t think Shigaraki wanted me to talk at all, just listen. He said some things to me.” He paused, looking at everyone and silently wishing that he wouldn’t have to say what the things were out loud, but he only saw expectant looks from Aizawa and Tsukauchi. He hung his head and sighed in defeat, “He didn’t say it explicitly, more as part of his argument, but he said that I’m not a hero.”

Aizawa tried to break him out of the spiral he saw Shimura going into but he was talked over, “Shimura, you can’t-“

“Heroes don’t try to kill people. They don’t go for the kill, they don’t think about it, they stay as far away from killing as possible. But me? I was ready, able, and willing to.”

Uraraka covered her mouth with her hands, stifling the gasp that she let out. Kaminari paled, briefly feeling like he was back in the presence of Stain. Tsukauchi, only through years of being on the force was able to keep his expression neutral but couldn’t help how his body turned rigid. Aizawa’s attention and worry for Shimura only increased.

“Shigaraki noticed that immediately when I attacked him after he tried roasting Tsu-chan, Mineta, and me. He saw me try to go back down to the plaza when All Might was going around the USJ, and even though I didn’t say it, when he asked what I wanted, he knew that at that moment I wanted to kill him.”

“But you’d never do that, right? You’re not a killer.” Uraraka placed her hand on top of his, “You’re a good person, Shimura-kun, and I know you’re going to be a great hero.”

Kaminari piped up, “Yeah! There’s no way Shigaraki is telling the truth. He’s just trying to psych you out.”

Shimura smiled sadly, “I know he’s probably lying, just trying to get in my head. But I feel like he hit the nail on the head.”

Awkwardly, Tsukauchi tried steering the conversation towards the original objective and trying to get this over with for Shimura’s sake, “Was that the bulk of the conversation prior to your friends joining you?”

“Mostly, but uh, before they came, I may have challenged him? Again?” Shimura squeaked.

“How so?”

“I may have said that if I made it this far despite my childhood and experiences growing up, then what could he do to make me stop.” Shimura was ducking his head, “And then he asked, ‘do you really want to find out’”.

Aizawa groaned loudly.

“I know I know! That was stupid and irresponsible and irrational of me, but I couldn’t help it! He was so condescending and sure of himself, it made me think he was bluffing, so I felt a little more confident.”

“Shimura,” Aizawa was rubbing his eyes, “And this goes for you too, Uraraka and Kaminari, and I’ll tell the rest of the class as well. Normally, when it comes to villains, and even some heroes, there is a fair bit of posturing and bluffing happening. Trying to make yourself seem stronger than you are or the opposite, trying to establish the pecking order, whatever. The majority of the time, that’s all it is, but not Shigaraki. He walks the walk and talks the talk, never underestimate his skill.”

“Yes sir,” the students replied.

Tsukauchi took this time to hopefully wrap up the interview, “I believe with that, we’re all caught up with the incident, unless you heard anything else?”

Uraraka scrunched her face in thought, “Oh! There is one more thing. Before they left, he said something about the next time we meet.”

“Yeah,” Kaminari agreed, frowning, “He also said there’ll be more people to talk with the next time.”

“I see. Thank you for sharing that with me. Go ahead and rejoin your classmates, I need to speak with Eraserhead for a little.”

Aizawa quirked an eyebrow at the use of his hero name and nodded subtly. Tsukauchi walked away with Aizawa a few steps behind, letting the class surround them like they did before. When they were out of the students’ earshot, barring Jiro and Shoji, Tsukauchi turned to him.

“Jiro and or Shoji,” Aizawa grumbled, “Anything you may hear between me and the detective, you are not to breathe a single word about to the rest of the students. If you need someone to talk to, you come to me, or if you’re comfortable with someone else among the staff, go to them. Look at me to confirm you understand.”

He turned back to the group and saw Jiro looking at him with confusion and worry on her face but gave a thumbs up. Shoji had an eye and thumbs up on one of his appendages facing him while his head and body were towards the group.

Aizawa turned back and beckoned Tsukauchi out further.

“Nothing about this bodes well,” Tsukauchi opened with as soon as they stopped walking, “The target on Shimura’s back is even bigger now, and it seems like we can confidently add Uraraka and Kaminari to the list as well. There’s also the comment about ‘next time’ and ‘more people’. Does that mean he’ll actively be attempting to get into contact with them? Does ‘more people’ mean the people Shigaraki recruited?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t like any of this. I don’t like that he’s worming his way into Shimura’s head and slowly but effectively having him question himself and his resolve. I don’t like that we can’t make any preemptive actions on him because he either disappears too quickly or is too many steps ahead of us to even try and get the drop on him. I don’t like that he was able to get away with walking around in public in plain view and not one phone call or report was made about a sighting.”

“When’s the next time the students will be off campus? Do your students know when or where?”

Eraserhead glared at him, “What does it matter to you?”

Tsukauchi hummed, ignoring the brief hostility from him, “Think about it. Whenever Shigaraki has made a public appearance, it happened when your class was off campus. The USJ, Hosu, here. It can’t be a coincidence, can it?”

“What are you suggesting?”

“Nothing yet, but there has to be some kind of common denominator. He appeared at the USJ and vanished. Then he came back with a bang in Hosu and vanished again. Now he made an appearance at a mall and is gone. The only things that all three events have in common are students from your class.”

Eraserhead’s eyes went wide then narrowed in anger, “No. You are not telling me that there may be a traitor at UA, in my class. That’s not possible.”

“The next time he shows up will definitely be an attack, and Uraraka and Kaminari made it sound like they’d be seeing him again soon.”

“No,” Aizawa was shaking his head, “You’re telling me that not only do you think there’s a traitor at UA, but you’re saying that Shigaraki is planning on kidnapping students the next time he makes an appearance.”

Tsukauchi smiled ruefully, “I didn’t say any of that. That was a conclusion you came to on your own. How much do you trust your gut?”

Aizawa looked back at the class, all still huddled up around Shimura, Kaminari, and Uraraka, all still offering their presence as a comfort, all still trying to get everyone to try and forget what just happened. He could see the solidarity in the class, but also how they were still much more subdued than before. He would never admit it, but he’s come to appreciate the loud and chaotic noise that comes from his class, and seeing it absent doesn’t sit right with him.

“God dammit.” Aizawa pulled out his phone and dialed. It rang a few times before it was picked up, “Call a meeting. We need to adjust our plans.”

Dabi was sitting on a bar stool bored out of his mind. While Shigaraki was out with Toga, he called a meeting with whoever was left to plan how they were going to get Muscular out of Chiba. The plan was simple, stakeout the city for when he would make an appearance, and then when he settled down somewhere, have Kurogiri drop him into one of the holding cells that they have. It was honestly foolproof, which was why he was so bored. They could nab Muscular whenever they wanted, so the sort of urgency that Shigaraki impressed on them was lost.

He couldn’t even really do much when it comes to the drugs either. Between him, Spinner, and Magne, they combed the entirety of Kamino for any more runners and even watched the drop-off point Ikamura left the drugs at for whoever it was that would pick them up, but they were either given a false location or they somehow knew that he got busted. Now he has to wait for Shigaraki to come back with the results from analyzing the drug for the next steps.

Mustard came up and sat next to him, causing him to roll his eyes in annoyance, “What do you want, brat?”

The response didn’t come immediately, something that wasn’t really typical for him. Dabi looked at him and found Mustard was shifting in his seat. That really wasn’t typical for him.

“Spit it out or I’m leaving.”

Mustard sighed, “I want your help.”

“I’m not good at homework, ask someone else. Compress might be a better choice.”

“It’s not- fucking. It’s not that. I’m serious.”

Dabi spun in his chair so he was facing him entirely, “Well? Out with it.”

“I’m tired of being left on the sidelines,” Mustard looked up at him, “I don’t know if it’s because Shigaraki still thinks of me as a kid, or if it’s because I’m a kid that he doesn’t have me doing much, but I’m getting sick of it. I’ve been training my ass off and been studying things, and been practicing with my quirk, and I haven’t had the opportunity to prove it.”

“Sounds like a problem between you and Shigaraki. Why come to me?”

“You have the freedom to pretty much do what you want. So I want you to help me.”

Dabi rolled his eyes again, “You’re gonna need to give me a lot more information than that.”

“I think Shigaraki still doesn’t believe I have what it takes, so I want you to help me prove it to him.”

“How?”

“Help me kill a hero.”

Dabi studied Mustard, something he’s found himself doing a lot more recently. Having seen Shigaraki do it so often, he thought it was more for intimidation tactics, but as he did it more, he found that it helped him read a person’s intentions, regardless of their words. When he didn’t find anything to indicate Mustard would fold when the time came, he huffed a smile.

“Well look who’s finally trying to reach the big leagues. Alright. I’ll help you, but you decide who, when, where, and how.”

Mustard’s hard look briefly vanished as he gave Dabi a grateful smile before he schooled his features and hopped off the stool.

Kurogiri slid a drink to Dabi, having watched their conversation quietly, “If you would like, after the deed is done, I can bring Kagero Shigaraki the body. Depending on the hero he chooses, they could still be useful.”

Dabi didn’t know what to make of the comment, but he wasn’t going to turn down a free drink and easy getaway. He grabbed the glass and brought it into the air, toasting Kurogiri, “Cheers.”

Chapter Text

Once Aizawa brought the students back to UA, he had grounded them as much as he could without throwing them into one of UA’s “temporary group housing” rooms, which were little more than glorified prison cells. He could’ve taken their phones away as well, but he’s not their parent and doesn’t have that right, so he had to settle.

No leaving campus for any reason, no making use of the school’s swimming pool, and chores duty every day until they left for the training camp. If they had plans to visit their parents before the trip, the parents had to go to UA, and they still couldn’t leave campus. On top of that, he assigned them a ten-page essay, single spaced, twelve-point font, about the history of heroics and how the heroes that were written about in comic books XXX years ago played into how heroics is looked at in common times. Full citations.

Truth be told, he wasn’t going to place his class in a remedial course after the debacle at the mall. The incident being so far outside of what he was expecting to happen and three of his students being directly affected having made it seem like the punishment would’ve been excessive and unnecessary. But that only applied to after the trip had started. There was still a week or so before they left.

As he thought about what he could do in the time before the trip, he pushed his way into the conference room where the staff was already assembled, Tsukauchi was looking over his notes, and Nezu was waiting patiently at his seat at the table. All Might wasn’t present.

“Ah! Looks like we are all here. Detective, Aizawa, if you would,” Nezu officially starting the meeting.

“Where’s the blond oaf?” Aizawa asked.

“All Might is currently tending to another matter. He has expressed his regret at being absent for this meeting, but I assure you that he will be brought fully up to speed when he returns.”

Aizawa grunted and Tsukauchi nodded, “Right. In case not everyone is caught up, earlier this afternoon, a group of eleven students from Aizawa’s class went to the Kiyashi Ward mall to buy supplies for an upcoming trip. We don’t have an established time, but at some point in the late morning, a trio consisting of Shimura, Uraraka, and Kaminari were cornered by Shigaraki and a co-conspirator.”

Like he did the first time they held a meeting regarding Shigaraki, Tsukauchi passed around a document that showed his and his companion’s likeness, without the mask this time. Once everyone got a sheet, he let them look it over and waited for any questions they may have.

Present Mic was the first to speak up, “Do we know who this girl is?”

“No. The name that the students were given for her was Aoi Mizuhara, but we’ve found it to be fake. I had a colleague of mine follow up on the name and description for the girl and it came back negative. It is our understanding that this is a situation similar to what happened during the Sports Festival. It would honestly be better to forget about this girl moving forward.”

Present Mic frowned. Having been the first responder to the incident, he was filled in on the full details of the investigation, which bore no fruit. He crossed his arms and huffed, “Well that’s a big bummer.”

“Can you fill the rest of us in?” Ectoplasm had his hand raised, “I feel like this deserves more context.”

“You remember when I had to disappear for a bit, and you filled in for me commentating? Thanks again, by the way, you did awesome!” Present Mic flashed him finger guns and a smile before coming back to his explanation, “Shimura was essentially kidnapped by a girl that called herself Namba Sachiko during lunch and the recreational events. It was later found out that Sachiko was actually admitted to Musutafu General at the time of the attack.”

“Exactly so,” Tsukauchi picked up, “The timing of the attack and her presence at the hospital didn’t line up, which led us to believe that whoever interacted with Shimura is a shapeshifter, impersonator, or clone.”

“And how does this connect with what happened today?” Cementoss asked.

Aizawa rolled his eyes, “You’re beating around the bush, Tsukauchi. We believe that ‘Sachiko’ and ‘Mizuhara’ are in fact the same person, based off how their personality and mannerisms are described similarly. And with that, we also believe and feel like we have enough confirmation that Shigaraki has at least one new member in the League of Villains.”

“On top of that, setting aside the obvious problem of Shigaraki supposedly recruiting and being able to walk around a public space without being reported, there is also the issue with which Aizawa wanted to call this meeting.” Tsukauchi added.

“When Tsukauchi interviewed Shimura, Uraraka, and Kaminari, the students said some worrying things, which prompted an even more worrying concern,” Aizawa paused, sharing a glance with Tsukauchi to see who would be the one to break the news. Tsukauchi nodded his head up toward him and down towards himself, “The first issue is the seemingly high potential that Shigaraki will be making contact with the students again. Soon.”

Murmurs arose from the room, but were silenced by Nezu raising a paw. He gestured for Aizawa to finish, “I’m quoting from Uraraka and Kaminari here. In order, Uraraka said, ‘Before they left, he said something about the next time we meet.’ Kaminari said, ‘he also said there’ll be more people to talk with next time.’”

Nezu hummed, “Yes, that is rather worrying. How certain are you that Shigaraki will step forward again?”

“We know distressingly little of the man, but from what we can gather, I wouldn’t bet against it. He has shown himself to be far more capable than we could ever hope to expect, and if we are still banking on the idea of his goals being to break a hero’s spirit, then it’s the next logical step. He’s already started to affect Shimura, and now it appears he’s working on Kaminari and Uraraka. Even with the short meeting he had with them, I can tell that he said something to them that is making them rethink and reevaluate. He’s already sown the seeds, now he just needs to nurture them.”

“And what is the other concern you mentioned?”

Tsukauchi took a step forward, “This is all postulation and theory, but looking at this objectively, I fear that it holds some water. Shigaraki has shown himself three times: the USJ, Hosu, and the mall. The USJ wasn’t broadcast with the full details, but Shigaraki was there and then afterwards he went to ground. Hosu was a highly publicized event, and despite there being an overwhelming hero presence, he got away. I’m only assuming that you want to keep the mall incident under wraps, but there, he made an appearance and then disappeared. There’s a pattern here. Appear but not public, appear but public, appear but not public. Assuming this keeps, when he appears next time, it will be a public event, and likely on the scale of Hosu.”

“I mean, I think I see what you’re getting at, but those could all just be coincidences, though,” Midnight scratched at her chin.

“I did think about that as well,” Tsukauchi nodded, “But then I thought about what else they have in common. The students. Each time Shigaraki appeared, the students, particularly those from Aizawa’s class, were present. Seems a little targeted, doesn’t it?”

“We did believe that the USJ attack did seem to have an ulterior motive despite it appearing random,” Vlad King relented.

“An interesting theory, Detective,” Nezu spoke up, with interest in his voice, “If I am understanding correctly, you believe that each of these events were orchestrated by someone behind the scenes.”

A grave silence fell upon the room, everyone immediately understanding the point Tsukauchi was building up.

“It would make a modicum of sense, especially if you think of it objectively as the Detective suggested. A few days into the school year, and the first time the students leave the main campus, they get attacked. A month later, while the students were out on their internships, three of them were involved in the attack on Hosu. Another few months later, while the students are off campus, Shigaraki makes an appearance.

"While they all bear no similarities on a surface level, it seems highly unlikely that all of these events happened coincidentally. How did that quote go? ‘Once is happenstance. Twice is a coincidence. Three times is enemy action’?”

Midnight and Present Mic both mumbled under their breaths, “Fleming.”

“The first attack could be happenstance, but you are correct that it seems targeted. Nobody outside of the staff should’ve known about the trip to the USJ. Hosu could be easily dismissed as a coincidence given how widespread it was, but I’ll keep it in mind. As for the mall trip, the only people that would’ve known about it is you, Aizawa-kun, and presumably the rest of the class. There should’ve been no way that Shigaraki would’ve known where to go without the information being shared with him.”

Nezu placed his paw on his forehead and shook his head, “Oh dear, what a conundrum you have brought up, Detective. You may be right. We may have a traitor in our midst.”

Unconsciously, the staff looked at each other, each believing that they’re not the traitor but not being completely sure someone else isn’t. Eyes darted around, sizing each other up, looking for any indication of fear or worry that their cover has been blown.

Aizawa took this time to place the final nail in the coffin, “If that’s the case, then we need to completely reevaluate how we move forward, and what we need to do with regards to the upcoming trip. If Shigaraki really is planning on making another move on the students, it’ll most likely happen during the trip when they’re most vulnerable. And if we do have a traitor, it won’t matter where we go or what we do, because once we tell the class or make a decision, it’s only a matter of time before that gets passed along as well.”

“Before all of that, there is one thing that needs to be addressed first,” Nezu took the time to look at each and every single one of his staff members, “If there is indeed a traitor, are they in this room right now, or are they one of the students?”

Everyone stilled at the indirect accusation, but the surprise quickly morphed into a very low simmering anger. Anger at Nezu and Tsukauchi for even entertaining the idea of the traitor being among them. Anger at themselves for becoming so careless in the midst of the perceived peace that society was going through. Anger at each other because on the off chance that there was a traitor, how could they turn their back on their own?

With his piece said and done, Tsukauchi fell into the background, and once it was clear that the conversation was one that he wasn’t permitted to be a part of, he quietly excused himself.

With the detective gone, Nezu tried steering the conversation towards what they could do to minimize the risk and danger for the upcoming trip, and while the staff still participated and gave their own ideas, the responses were stilted and curt. He knew that it would’ve been smarter to hold off on his accusation until after they had discussed preventative measures, but he had to do it. How they would react towards such a statement would lend a great deal to figuring out if the traitor was amongst the staff.

He observed how they interacted, and while he could see each person acting like they normally would, there was an unmistakable amount of wariness to their actions, and it showed on everyone. To himself, he acknowledged that this could also be another of Shigaraki’s mind games. It was as All Might said, Shigaraki wouldn’t have to do much to them when they fought if they were already doing it to themselves. Being able to sow distrust in an extremely tight-knit group while not even being present is something that would fit right up his alley.

The conversation wasn’t going anywhere without someone leading the way, and he was more than happy enough to be that person, but he needed to attempt to clear the air.

“Everyone,” Nezu addressed, “I would like to apologize for bringing up the idea that one of us could be this supposed traitor. I assure you that I don’t suspect anybody within this room, as each and every one of you have proven your loyalty to not only me, but to the goals of this school and the students that have come through it. In your own ways, you have poured your very soul into teaching the future generations of heroes, support inventors, and upstanding citizens, and I fully believe that none of you have lost that path.”

To accentuate his point, he stood on his chair and bowed to them.

Hearing and seeing Nezu apologize wasn’t a common occurrence, but when it happened, he never did so without genuine feelings behind it. Feeling ashamed that they let the darker parts of their minds take more control than normal, everyone started their own apologies. Nezu smiled to himself, while there was still an air of unease, it was no longer as apparent as before. It was still progress.

“That being said, we do still need to address our plans for the upcoming trip. Originally, the plan was to have the summer camp for the first years take place at the usual place, but with the possibility of that becoming a target, should we instead have them take place here?”

“Why not keep the location the same, but increase the security?” Ectoplasm suggested, “With her there, it’ll be easy to know if and where any newcomers show up. Usually it’s just the homeroom teachers and them, but even with everyone there, their focus is primarily on training the students. With all that area, we could have other people patrolling the grounds.”

“Are you volunteering yourself to go along as well?”

“I’m not against it.”

Present Mic slouched in his chair, “But would that even be enough? We did the same thing during the Festival and they still got past all of our security.”

“No plan is foolproof, but it is a good idea. She can tag everyone, including all of Ectoplasm’s clones. Between the two of them, we have a good early-detection system,” Thirteen commented.

“And what of the students? Should we tell them where they’re headed?” Vlad King asked, “They already know they’re going camping.”

“No. I say we confiscate everything and don’t tell them where they’re going until they’re already on location.” Eraserhead immediately shut down, “No phones, no electronics outside of any support tech that a student needs to stay alive and healthy, nothing that can be tracked. To my knowledge, the only student that falls into that category is Aoyama.”

Cementoss spoke up, “But what if there is an emergency? We can’t solely rely on them. We need to have our own indicators as well.”

“Majima-kun,” Power Loader perked up at being called, “Can you create tracking devices and monitors? Something small and unobtrusive.”

“Easily,” Power Loader waved his hand, showing his confidence.

“Perfect. I would like you to create one for everyone going along, and to have them directly linked to UA’s servers and nowhere else. I want you to be the only one doing this, and I will work with you directly to ensure it.”

Power Loader gulped heavily. Having Nezu work alongside him would be terrifying, “You got it.”

“Is this really all we can do?” Midnight asked, still unsure at having the camp so far away, “Can’t we just have them train here? It’d be much easier to protect them.”

“Kayama-san, that would bring us back to the issue we addressed in the wake of Hosu.” Nezu quietly replied, “There is only so much we can teach them here. Being out there introduces factors and variables that we can’t properly simulate here, and while I agree that it would be immensely easier to protect them here, we also need to think of the students. If we only confine them to the campus, they will begin to feel trapped.

“If Detective Tsukauchi and Aizawa-kun are correct in their hunches, and the attack will be of the same magnitude as Hosu, then we not only put at risk the rest of the students still on campus, but everyone else within Musutafu.”

“Sacrificing the few for the many? Seems a little heartless.”

“Such is life.”

The room fell silent again, but now it was a depressive atmosphere. There was no winning solution here, everything that they could think of presented its own set of problems that endangered some other group. Shigaraki was playing chess with them and was predicting all of their moves, forcing them to follow the path he set out for them.

Normally, Nezu would gladly welcome the challenge. There were very few things that he would consider to be worth his time, so when a problem such as the one he was facing right now presented itself, he would immediately jump on it. The thrill of trying to outsmart the opposition was exhilarating, and the feeling of accomplishment he would get when he inevitably came out on top was addicting, but there was no such feeling now. In those cases it would be him against someone else, but now that someone else was involving people and using them as obstacles that he needed to get past, except he couldn’t just clear them and keep moving. He had to stop at every point and ensure that they were fine.

Shigaraki was using the heroic spirit against itself. It wasn’t just a game of chess. It was a war of attrition, and Nezu didn’t know how much longer they could hold out. They were only just barely managing to keep their footing.

Nezu would need a miracle to keep from falling too far behind.

Yagi sat timidly at the table as he looked over the people sitting across from him. On his left was a short old man with greyed spiky hair, a trimmed beard, deep wrinkles, and wearing a brown button up shirt. On his right was a lanky man with green and yellow hair, yellow-rimmed glasses, and wearing a crisp white suit with a red and white polka dotted tie. Both men had frowns on their faces.

Yagi had felt that it was a meeting long overdue, and with Shigaraki seemingly ramping things up, he felt that it was now or never. Thankfully, Naomasa told him what the meeting at UA would be about and his personal opinion on the matter, so regardless of how things turned out, something productive should come out of it. At the absolute very least, he had to air his concerns about him not being as dead as he originally thought to the two people who were with him through the thick of it.

Not being known for his tact, he started with pleasantries, and just as they finished, he blurted out, “I fear that All For One is preparing to reveal himself to the world once again.”

Whatever comments the men wanted to make died in their throat. The older man’s face briefly went pale and then turned serious. The lanky one’s went from shock to frustration.

“How is that possible? I was there, he had nothing left of his face,” the older man demanded.

The lanky one’s eyes went wide as a vein popped in his head, “And you’re still refusing to hand over your quirk to Mirio!? You don’t have the time or power to fight him a second time.”

Yagi coughed into a handkerchief, clearing his throat of blood. He chanced a glance at the lanky man but quickly averted his eyes, “I realize this isn’t exactly what you were expecting.”

“No! It’s not!” Quicker than expected of an old man, he shot out of his seat and kicked Yagi in the face. Yagi could’ve dodged it, but not without buffing up first nor without taking the follow up attack that would’ve been aimed for his gut, “You blond meathead, that is not something that anyone would expect to be the first words exchanged after years of silence. And how long have you been suspecting this? Why didn’t you tell me immediately?”

“You need to name Mirio your successor. Immediately. I can’t have you dawdling any longer waiting around for someone that clearly doesn’t exist, especially not if he is coming back,” the lanky man bit out.

“I wasn’t completely convinced that he would be returning. They were nothing more than theories that held no ground,” Yagi rubbed his face where he was kicked and defended himself weakly, “He hasn’t made any appearances, but I believe that his successor has, which is as good a confirmation as any to me that he is still alive moving pieces in the shadows.”

The lanky man stilled before pushing his glasses up, “You’re talking about Kagero Shigaraki.”

Yagi blinked owlishly, “Yes, exactly him. Mirai, how did you-“

“I don’t sit around idle in my work. I specialize in intelligence gathering and investigation, in case you’ve forgotten, Toshinori,” Mirai did very little to hide the sarcasm in his voice, causing Yagi to wilt a little, “I have multiple contacts within the criminal underworld, and although very faint, they all whisper about him. I have yet to investigate him completely, as I’ve been more focused on another case, but his name has come up, if only tangentially.”

The older man grumbled, “You youngsters keen on sharing with the class?”

“My apologies, Torino-san. You have heard of the attack on UA’s USJ? Or perhaps the attack on Hosu? Kagero Shigaraki is touted as the main perpetrator for both of them.”

“And you think this Shigaraki is his successor? What gave you that idea?” Torino asked.

“I fought with him at the- or rather he was present, while I was fighting a beast they call Nomu at the USJ,” Yagi explained, “He might not be the one that threw the punches, but I swear the feeling was almost exactly like how it was when I fought him. Additionally, the Nomu I fought and the ones that rampaged in Hosu had multiple quirks. Because they only show up whenever Shigaraki is present, I can only assume that he either has a steady supply of them, or has connections to people or a person that can create them.”

Upon revealing the Nomus had multiple quirks, Torino’s expression darkened, “That sounds almost exactly like those… more eager followers of his that had multiple abilities. But from what I remember, they still looked like humans.”

“It would seem that he has chosen to forsake humanity in order to create perfect tools of destruction.”

“If you believe that Shigaraki is his successor, all the more reason to name someone yours. Again, why haven’t you chosen Mirio?” Mirai repeated.

“Because!” Yagi shouted, losing his patience with Mirai’s nagging, “Young Togata is a promising hero already. Under your tutelage, he went from the bottom of his class to the very top.”

“Which is why-“

“You chose him, Mirai! You did. I didn’t. Passing my power onto the next wielder is my responsibility, not yours. I cannot deny that Young Togata is a good choice, but I don’t want my successor to be a new me. I want them to be better than me.”

“That’s enough,” Torino thumped Mirai on the back of his head. “Toshinori doesn’t want to choose this kid, that’s fine. Whatever. Mirai, stop being an ass about it. You know just as well as I do that once Toshinori has his mind set on something, no matter how stupid, nothing can persuade him.”

Mirai did a sharp inhale through his nose and adjusted his glasses. He wasn’t happy about it, but he knew Torino, and begrudgingly Yagi, were right.

Torino turned to Toshinori, “If not that kid, then tell me you at least have someone else lined up.”

Yagi didn’t respond immediately, causing Torino to roll his eyes, “Unfortunately no. There are promising students at UA, but none of them strike me as the one.”

“Nana’s grandson is there, right? Why not him?”

“I will not burden him with hers and my problems. Once I know for certain that he has been eradicated completely, then and only then, will I even consider passing it to Young Tenko.”

Mirai couldn’t believe what he was hearing, “You’re telling me that you’re not going to pass it on at all? What if you’re entirely wrong, and Shigaraki is just another upstart? What if he does show himself, but you no longer can fight back due to not being able to utilize your strength? What then? We all just bow down to him? Your time is running out and you’re the only one that has the power to stop him, but instead of being smart and training a successor, you’re choosing to be selfish and stubborn?”

“Mirai, it’s not like that,” Yagi tried explaining. “It’s not like I don’t want to pass it on, it’s just that I want to make sure I make the right choice.”

“The right choice is to pass it on!” Mirai slammed his hands onto the table standing up, “If not to Mirio, then someone else. The fact of the matter is that you don’t have the time to be picky anymore. Be it Shigaraki or All For One, you fear that something is on the horizon and you know that you might not be able to stop it when it comes.”

The anger and frustration Mirai felt building up suddenly washed away, leaving him exhausted. He sank back down into his chair but still found the strength to lean forward, staring into Yagi’s eyes, pleading, “Please. Please do the smart thing and listen to me this time. The world doesn’t have to revolve around All Might. It shouldn’t. You don’t need to do everything alone.”

Yagi was growing frustrated as well. Mirai just wasn’t listening to what he was saying and kept trying to push a matter that he has no say in, but when he saw the look in his eyes, he knew it wasn’t because Mirai was being selfish or trying to make the choice for him.

He was scared.

Yagi remembered the day in the hospital after his fight with All For One. When he tried rushing out of the hospital room to go back out heroing instead of taking the time to recover. When they had their fallout. He had been too stubborn to see Mirai’s points, and the bluntness at how he delivered them didn’t help the matter, but that moment stayed with him. Looking back on it, he could see the worry in Mirai’s eyes. How everything he said and suggested were all for the sake of helping him, for saving him from that thing he foresaw.

Mirai has that same look in his eyes now as he did back then. Yagi would be a fool to ignore it this time, because he had a feeling that whatever was coming up might be that.

Yagi sighed heavily, “I hear you, I do. And I understand the risks that I’m taking and know it isn’t smart of me. I haven’t been entirely truthful with you. It’s not that I haven’t found a successor, it’s that I haven’t been looking.”

“So you’re saying…”

“No, I still won’t choose Young Togata. As I said, he is already a fine hero and doesn’t need the extra help. I just haven’t been looking because I don’t want to send a child with a promising career towards their death. This quirk comes with a death sentence, and if he is still out there, then there is still unfinished business that they don’t need to be caught up in. But I promise you, from this point on, I will make the effort to find a successor. I will not leave this world without One For All in the capable hands of a new Symbol.”

Chapter Text

“Are we all clear on the plan, then?” Dabi asked the group.

Everyone had assembled in the bar as usual, but instead of Shigaraki being the one to address them, it was Dabi. Shigaraki wasn’t present. The week they had to capture Muscular was drawing to a close, which meant that Shigaraki’s deadline was coming up, and nobody wanted to risk finding out what would happen if they missed it or if they did it too late.

“I understand the plan just fine,” Compress spoke, “I just don’t really get why myself and Mustard need to come along. Shigaraki told us that we were not to participate, did he not?”

“He said you couldn’t use your quirks to bring him in, nothing about not participating. Besides, all you’re doing is keeping an eye on him from a distance. You don’t need your quirk to do that.”

“If we’re going with a non-confrontational approach, then why are we all going?” Magne asked. “I’m pretty sure Toga-chan, Compress, and Spinner would be more than enough to complete this.”

“We’re all going in case the plan goes wrong. Kurogiri won’t be there to provide support with his portals to redirect Muscular or anything like that, and there’s a bit of a delay between when we notify him and when he could get one up. If Muscular starts moving, we need to try and keep him in the same place.”

The door that led deeper into the base clicked closed, with everyone craning their heads to see who it was. Shigaraki walked out wearing black joggers, dark green shoes, and a baggy white tank top, displaying a multitude of scars that lined his arms and torso that they saw peeking out. He was wearing a towel around his neck and holding a water bottle with a light sheen of sweat still on his body. He must’ve just finished training.

He was making a beeline straight to the counter when he paused in his steps, noticing he wasn’t alone. He turned his head to scan over everyone in the room and noticed what they were wearing, “Oh, finally going out to get Muscular are you? You’re cutting it a little close.”

Dabi heard Toga squeal as she ran to claim her “usual” spot on Shigaraki’s arm and rolled his eyes. Choosing to ignore that for once and focus on the matter at hand, he looked to everyone else, “Anybody have any questions for our illustrious leader before we head out? Now’s the time.”

Shigaraki nodded and walked next to Dabi, leaning against the tabletop to show he was willing to answer any question they had.

Spinner was the first to speak, “Where are we supposed to put Muscular once we get him? How are we supposed to contain him? Don’t suppose you’ve got some Maidens lying around.”

Before answering, Shigaraki looked back at Kurogiri, “Are you going to be their transport?” Kurogiri nodded in confirmation. He looked back at Spinner, “You don’t need to know the specific location. Since Kurogiri is helping, all you need to worry about is getting Muscular through the portal. Once he arrives on the other side, he’ll no longer be your problem. Anything else?”

“We heard that when you were recruiting, you wanted to steer away from him,” Mustard commented, “Why do you want him now?”

“Nope.”

The League waited briefly for any further explanation, but when they realized nothing was coming, they let it drop.

“If there’s nothing else you need, I suggest you get moving. It could be hours before you get him, and just because you’re now doing it doesn’t mean my clock stopped ticking.”

That spurred the League into action, with Kurogiri creating a portal for them to enter. Dabi and the rest of them walked through after briefly looking over themselves to make sure they had everything while Toga lingered a little longer.

Toga rubbed her cheek on Shigaraki’s arm like a cat would to its owner’s leg before she let go of him. She took a step towards the portal but stopped right in front of it and turned around, “Wish me luck?”

Shigaraki rolled his eyes and walked forward, he gave a reassuring smile and gently placed a hand on her head. Toga’s breath hitched at the unexpectedly soft gesture and stood on her tip toes, pushing into his hand further. The moment was fleeting, however, as she felt him readjust his hand and tighten his fingers on her head. He swiveled her around so she was facing the portal.

“You don’t need luck. Just trust in your team and it should turn out fine,” was the last thing she heard before he lightly shoved her through the portal.

The portal closed, leaving Kurogiri and Shigaraki in the quiet bar. Kurogiri and Shigaraki shared a long look before moving on like nothing happened. Shigaraki sat down at his stool and Kurogiri placed a drink in front of him.

Dabi counted heads after stepping out of the portal, finding they were one short. He sighed, not surprised in the slightest. When she finally came out, she stumbled like she was pushed and had a light blush dusting her face. When she found her footing, both of her hands went to her head like she had a headache, but instead of frowning in pain like one would expect, she had a light smile on her face. Filing that away for a later time, he quickly checked their location on his phone to confirm that they were at their chosen drop point.

Satisfied that everyone was present and paying attention, he called out to the group, “Alright. Giran’s intel told us Muscular is somewhere within Inage Ward. It’s about,” he checked the time, “six-thirty in the evening, so we have a little under six hours to find him.”

“I thought Shigaraki gave us until tomorrow. Due tomorrow do tomorrow. We have plenty of time,” Jin chimed in.

“We’re playing it safe. We don’t know if he will count midnight as being late, or if it’s up to when he gave us the assignment.” Dabi explained, “You all remember your roles. Muscular is said to be active all day long, and then call it a night, whenever that may be. Look for crumbs, stay in contact, and keep your heads down.”

The League separated into their prearranged groups. The adults of the party, Dabi, Magne, Jin, Compress, and Spinner all went to the bars and underground businesses to scope out the scene, leaving Toga and Mustard to reprise their roles as brother sister and go for a walk around town and keep an ear to the ground and an eye to the sky.

The plan was simple but tedious and a little reckless.

Making his way to the bar, Dabi couldn’t help but feel a little anxious about the whole thing. He was sure that Giran didn’t feed them false intel on Muscular because he didn’t have any reason not to, but that didn’t mean much when it came to an information broker. If there was a way to ensure they still got paid despite giving bad intel and not have any bad review trace back to them, all the more reason to keep doing what they’re doing. If that meant potentially leading people to get killed by a murderer, then even better. Dead people couldn’t spread rumors.

Muscular was someone that people wouldn’t get within fifty meters of if it could be helped, and people liked to pretend he didn’t exist. They still needed to know where he was, however, so that they could avoid running into him at all costs. Asking for his whereabouts is a relatively normal thing some of the weaker villains do, especially if they had stupidly double-crossed him and were trying to stay alive, and so far, no one has been reported as a red paste, but again, that didn’t mean you could blindly trust the intel.

There was always the potential that someone paid Giran off to always feed false information when it came to Muscular, but Dabi was confident that nobody would willingly go through that effort.

It was a waiting game at this point. Dabi checked the time again and saw an hour had passed, and despite his mingling with some other people at the bar, he wasn’t getting any solid leads or hints as to where Muscular could be. He did spot some obvious cops and off-duty heroes around and only briefly considered asking them if they were willing to disclose anything about him, but he wasn’t willing to stoop so low yet.

Time kept ticking, and the updates he received from the team all said that they still had no luck finding him.

Maybe they should’ve started this earlier instead of procrastinating to literally the day before it was expected to be completed. If they came back without Muscular, Shigaraki is going to have a field day with them.

With his glass dry and the bar empty, Kagero figured it was about time to check Muscular’s temporary room. He stood up, the stool scraping against the floor as it moved with him, “Kurogiri, let’s go.”

Kurogiri placed a fist over his heart in a bow, “As you wish.”

A portal swirled open across from Kagero, allowing him to walk through. When Kagero came out he found himself stood in the circular room. The portal swirled closed as Kurogiri formed from within it.

The room lacked the four tables it once had which were now replaced with one bigger table with heavy metal clamps placed where the arms and legs would rest. There were also a few towards where the head would be. Kagero walked past the table and into one of the identical hallways, looking over every door he passed until he found one he was satisfied with.

He undid the lock on the outside and heaved the door open. The door itself was fifty centimeters thick of solid metal with large metal rods inserted that would slot into the corresponding holes in the frame and wall. The room was 152 centimeters by 243 centimeters and empty with a soft white light shining from the fixture in the ceiling. The walls were smooth concrete and the flooring was lined with seamless black tiles with a strange texture.

Entering the room, Kagero walked around and knocked on the walls, feeling the thickness of the reinforced concrete. He conjured a ball of fire in his hand and crouched down, placing his other hand on the ground. As soon as it made contact, the ball of fire sputtered out and died. Kagero tried conjuring the ball again, but the quirk wasn’t responding. He tried puffing out a ball of fire through his mouth, but all that came out was a warm breath. He lifted his hand and tried again, now successful in creating the fire ball. He inhaled the flame and released a stream of fire from his mouth. While blowing it out, he touched the floor again and the fire died immediately, leaving him coughing at how it was suddenly cut out. Standing up, he nodded in satisfaction.

He turned to Kurogiri, “This’ll do. When you get the call, drop him here.”

“Of course, but should we not take precautions to ensure he can’t break out? After all, it only worked when it touched your skin,” Kurogiri pointed out.

“Good point.”

Kagero pulled out his phone and dialed. It rang a few times before it was picked up.

Dabi answered with annoyance clear on his voice, “What do you want now?”

“When you get Muscular, send Mustard too. I’ll need him for a little.”

“The brat? Sure, fine, whatever. Now leave me alone, I don’t want you breathing down my neck for this shit too.”

The line clicked off. Kagero put his phone back in his pocket and walked out, locking the door after him. He made his way back to the circular room and was surprised to see the Doctor fussing about the table. Not wanting to startle him and risk something not being set up properly, Kagero made his footsteps more prominent.

The Doctor looked up from the table as he heard Kagero’s footsteps come closer, “Ah! Young lord, what a pleasant surprise. Is there anything you need?”

Kagero waved dismissively, “Just checking out the facility. By the looks of things, you’re ready to receive Muscular.”

“Indeed I am,” the Doctor pat the table, “Once we get him properly sedated and secured, there shouldn’t be any problems. I tested out the strength with our more physically strong Nomus, and even they had trouble breaking free.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“If I may ask, young lord, why bother with that trash? Nothing about him is unique and the only thing that is of some value is his quirk, but even then, it’s just a normal muscle augmentation. It is stronger than most, I will admit, but it’s still basic.”

Kagero hummed in thought, then gestured for the Doctor to follow him. Seeing the silent invitation, the Doctor quickly but neatly put down what he was doing and scurried to fall into step behind him. Kagero moved from the room and started down another hallway.

“Muscular’s capture is multifaceted.” He eventually spoke, “As a solo individual, he’s nothing more than a pest that I’d be more than happy to ignore, but things are starting to move. Groups that have been content to stay in the background are suddenly emboldened. Those same groups just so happen to also be the ones that Muscular would flock to if they give him enough incentive. Are you familiar with the sentiment that alone you’re weak, but together we’re strong?”

“Not in those exact words, but I have heard very similar things.”

“It’s like that with Muscular. Right now, he’s in a relatively weak state. Before, he was able to get by just fine, but since killing Water Hose, he’s probably running on fumes now. Constantly on the run and active, and even though he has seemingly endless stamina, even he can’t keep going like this forever. If Muscular joins up with another group, he would suddenly have a stable place to stay, some cash to spend, food to eat, and maybe even access to some specific resources. With enough time, he’d be back to being that unstoppable force.”

“So it’s in our best interest to keep him from joining with anybody else, I see. But we won’t be the ones to provide the help he needs, will we?”

“He’ll be the one providing us with what we need.” Kagero agreed with a dark smile, “A troublesome piece will be removed from the board, his quirk can only aid in strengthening both the Nomus and Master, and he would no doubt prove to be a good base for a Nomu. Master, you, and I will all benefit from his capture.”

The Doctor clapped with a wide smile on his face, “Oh, brilliant. Brilliant. Young lord, I am moved that you would do so much for me along with Master. I will make Muscular into the finest Nomu yet, I just know it.”

The two had done a full lap around the building and were back in the circular chamber so the Doctor could get back to work, suddenly hit with inspiration he hadn’t felt for a while.

Walking around Inage Ward with Toga, Mustard was certain he drew the short stick. He couldn’t complain about it either because he knew it was the most logical choice. He’s too young to go to the bars to drink and mingle with other criminals, and because he’s young, if he went to other brokers or even some of the shadier businesses, no one would take him seriously and brush him off. For him to earn the respect of the rest of the underground, at the very least, he would need to pull off a successful, public, and profitable heist of any kind. On the other end of the spectrum, he would need to kill a popular hero with his bare hands. Mustard has his sights set on the latter.

He knew he should be on the lookout for Muscular, but he and Toga took a train and ended up in a wealthier section of the city, so the chances of him being there were low. It took them longer than it should’ve for them to realize that they were probably in the completely wrong area, but they agreed that they might as well take the time to case out the city and its inhabitants. Just in case they ended up having to come back out for another mission.

Toga had been talking his ear off near-nonstop since they split off from the group, so he tuned her out and started thinking about his plan to kill a hero. He would never forget his first experience working with Toga, so even though he was focused on something else, he made sure to take note of everything and periodically compared observations with Toga to prove that he took her lesson and Shigaraki’s lessons to heart.

“I’m boooooored,” Toga whined after a while of walking in relative silence. She found herself another brown-haired girl to disguise herself as, “My feet hurt from walking for so long and all of the fun places are closed for the night already. I don’t even think he’s gonna show up. Maybe we should go somewhere else.”

“If a killer wasn’t good at hiding, then they’d be in jail,” Mustard countered in a hushed tone. “I thought you would’ve known that. And weren’t you the one to tell me that you shouldn’t be talking about your mission while on it? I feel like you should be taking your own advice.”

Toga gasped exaggeratedly, “Rude. I’ll have you know that I never killed anyone. They were always still alive when I left. And yeah, I told you that, but take a look around you. There hasn’t been anybody anywhere near us for the past twenty minutes and I never said anything special.”

“What if there was a hero patrolling nearby? Or a cop or something?”

“So what? I didn’t say anything.”

“So what…?” Mustard was lost, “Oh so it’s fine if you can talk about things but if I do it I’m blowing our cover?”

Toga wrapped her hands around his face and shushed him, “Yes! Because you still say things like that. You’ve gotten better, but you’re still reaaallly loose with your tongue.”

Mustard tried arguing but playing back what she said in his head showed she was right. She never said anything that could incriminate them, but said it in a way that could be interpreted as something completely harmless. Then there was him, who announced what they were doing out loud, even if quietly.

He sighed in disappointment then pushed Toga away, “Fine, fine. I see your point, got it. We should probably head somewhere else anyway. There’s no way he would hang out in this area.”

Toga smiled, “That’s better! Let’s go!”

Leaving the wealthier area, the two made their way to the industrial part, that was filled with warehouses, both abandoned and still operating. They walked amongst the buildings, briefly peering into each of them to see if any showed any signs of being recently lived in.

Mustard kept catching Toga stealing glances at him when she thought he wasn’t paying attention, and she’d been doing it ever since they split up. Seeing that they’re practically alone, he decided to finally ask about it.

“What do you want? You keep looking at me and it’s getting irritating,” he complained.

Toga stopped walking, “Your mind isn’t all here. You’re thinking about something else. What is it?”

Mustard scoffed, annoyed that he was so easy to read, “Nothing you need to know about. This just isn’t my top priority right now.” He looked at her, hoping that she would get the hint and drop it, but she kept looking at him, expecting more explanation. As his silence stretched longer, he could tell she was going to start attempting her “puppy dog eyes” if he didn’t start talking. “You do know that doesn’t work on like, anyone you try it on, right?”

Toga pouted, dropping the look, “You’re no fun. You’re like a more boring version of Shi-kun. At least he would’ve pretended to take the bait.”

Mustard looked at her like she’d grown a second head, “I have literally no idea what you’re talking about. Shigaraki wouldn’t give you a millimeter.”

“We’re getting off topic here. What are you thinking about, and why isn’t this your priority?”

“Why are you prying?” Mustard narrowed his eyes at her, “Isn’t your whole thing not caring about anything else so long as you get to do what you want? Stay out of my business.”

“It’s my business too if you’re too busy thinking about that instead of focusing on the plan. Even if we’re not going with direct combat, that doesn’t mean it’ll work. Your lack of focus could get me killed,” Toga icily replied. “So you either tell me exactly what you’re thinking about, or you put that off until we’re back at the bar.”

Mustard stared back at Toga, frustration clearly showing on his face, “You don’t get to tell me what to do. I don’t care if you’re the senior of the two of us, you’re not my boss. Lay off.” His quirk slowly started leaking out from beneath his clothes, “Or I’ll make you.”

Toga drew her knife, dropping into a fighting stance, “You really want to try it? You haven’t beaten me yet. Maybe I’ll kill you and say that you died fighting Muscular. Pretty sure Shi-kun wouldn’t mind.”

Mustard and Toga stared each other down, waiting for the other to make the first move. Beneath his shirt, he was slowly building up pressure from his gas so he could quickly launch it at Toga, which would secure his victory.

Before either could make their move, the sound of concrete cracking drew their attention. Neither dropped their guards when they turned to look who the newcomer was.

“Oh? What do we have here? Two little runts trying to play villains?” The figure walked forward into the light. They were wearing black pants, a black tank top, and their arms were covered in red muscle fibers, “I did just finish up with some heroes earlier and was looking for a cooldown. Maybe you two could provide that for me?”

Mustard and Toga risked a glance at each other, both agreeing that if they made it out of this alive, they would drop whatever they were arguing about entirely. They were sorely underprepared for what was about to happen and needed backup. Now. The only problem was that there was no chance Muscular would give them the opportunity to call for it.

Mustard swore and made eye contact with Toga, “I hope to god that Shigaraki won’t be pissed at me. Hold your breath.”

Muscular shrugged, “Probably not, but at least try to last longer than a second!”

Muscular surged forward, arms outstretched as he went to grab them. Mustard unleashed his gas, letting it envelope the entire area.

Chapter Text

Thankfully Toga understood immediately what he was going to do as he caught her in the corner of his eye take a deep breath and duck too just as Muscular flew at them. Mustard felt Muscular’s fingertips brush against him, literally a hair length away. If they were even a millisecond too slow, he was sure that his head would’ve been nothing more than a red splatter.

“You dodged that? You’re better than I thought!” Muscular landed some distance away outside of his cloud, “And you think this purple mist is gonna help you fight me? Fat chance!”

Mustard dropped to the floor going prone as soon as he felt Muscular enter the cloud, extremely thankful that Shigaraki helped him work on his quirk’s sensory application, as he felt the wind rush over his head, just missing him again. Laying still, he searched the cloud for a third presence, or rather a second one now, as he felt Muscular exit it again. Taking a moment to gather himself,  he tried to sense Toga within his gas. He could stand to be in the gas cloud for a little bit after inhaling some of it, but for everyone else, they had seconds before they dropped. After a long moment of searching, he couldn’t feel anyone else in the gas, but that didn’t ease his worry.

The gas helped him feel movement, but if nothing was moving, then he was just as blind as an outsider. He knows Toga got the message and prepared for it as well as she could, but was she able to make it out? Was she able to geta call out to everyone else? Did he overestimate her, and she inhaled the gas? If Toga was too late at getting out and got knocked unconscious, she could become a casualty, either by his own doing or Muscular’s. Either way, if he returned to Shigaraki with an unconscious Muscular due to his quirk and a dead Toga, then it was only a matter of time before he joined her too, and that was something he wanted to avoid at all costs.

Confirm Toga first, deal with Muscular second, he thought to himself.

He slowly stood back up, keeping his focus on sensing for any sudden movement, but then immediately got clipped by a rushing Muscular. His body spun around with the impact, and he let out a yell of pain, feeling like his arm got torn out of its socket.

Screw that! Hide first, Muscular second, Toga later.

From outside of his gas, he heard Muscular laugh and call out, “Oh ho! Almost gotcha that time. Now I know where you are. Bleed for me!”

Shocked by the sudden pain, Mustard stumbled as quickly as he could to get to a different location before Muscular could jump back in for the killing blow. Cradling his left arm so it wouldn’t jostle too much, Mustard ran as quietly as he could to the opposite end of his cloud, not a second too late either as Muscular jumped back in with his fist reared back and voice bellowing as he expected it to make contact.

“Little brat, you’re quick on your feet! Fight me like a man! Make this fun for me!”

Mustard felt Muscular jump back out of the cloud a second later, and winced when he realized it wouldn’t be as easy as he thought. Muscular was seemingly smart enough to realize that if he stayed within the cloud, he would be at a distinct disadvantage, so he kept jumping out to get a breath of fresh air and reevaluate.

Mustard ran out of his fresh air as soon as he hit the floor the first time, his body instinctively letting out an ‘oomph’ at the sudden movement, so he was running on borrowed time. Already, he could feel the effects of his gas getting to him, but he could keep going, if only to stall for time for the rest of the team to show up. But that was also assuming Toga got out and made the call. He racked his brain for any information he could gather and for a way to make it out alive.

How thick did he make the gas again? Was it a swirling vortex that he liked to do when he was angry? Was it leaking out to other parts of the city? Was it big enough to warrant a hero’s intervention?

Mustard couldn’t help the gasp he made at the last thought. If he could make a plume of smoke big enough, or spread it out wide enough, then someone has to notice it and call for the police or hero, right? Maybe the rest of the League will see it also and come running. Then whoever shows up first would be the perfect distraction for Muscular, and he could use it to get out and regroup. Doubtful, but maybe whoever shows up could even take Muscular out and save them the trouble. That would be great. Focusing on his quirk once more, he let it build up beneath his clothes again.

Last time he just let it spread all around him, but now he has a different direction: Up. Feeling the quirk reach its bursting point again, he unleashed it again, trying to make it as thick and as big as possible, hoping its color wouldn’t get lost in the night sky and that it reaches to above the buildings. Suddenly feeling very drained, he leaned up against the wall to catch his breath, or as much of it as he could.

Mustard risked calling out, “Why don’t we just calm down a little and talk for a bit?” He immediately dashed to a different location as soon as he finished talking so Muscular wouldn’t hit him where he was just at.

He heard a cackle immediately come from his last spot, “Already begging for your life? Pathetic. I barely even scratched you. If you won’t put up a fight, just stand still and let me kill you so I can start working on your pretty little girl friend already.”

Instead of feeling Muscular jump out of the cloud like he’d done multiple times before, Mustard registered Muscular as moving right in his direction. Mustard scrambled to get out of the way, but Muscular was too close and too fast. Mustard felt his throat get grabbed in a massive hand, choking as he was picked up off the ground.

Muscular’s grip on Mustard’s throat was vice-like, no amount of scratching, clawing, prying, or struggling against his fingers would’ve freed him from it.

“Gotcha.” Through the haze of the purple gas, he saw Muscular smiling nastily at him, “Your game of cat and mouse was really boring. I was hoping you’d be a little better since you dodged my first attack, but turns out that was just a fluke.” Muscular squeezed a little harder. “This is usually the part that people start begging for their life, so if you’ve got any last words, might as well say them now.”

Mustard’s eyes were slowly rolling up into the back of his head due to a combination of inhaling too much of his gas and the lack of air. He tried responding but was only able to let out strangled gargles.

Muscular chuckled and brought Mustard closer to his face, releasing his grip by a fraction, “Sorry, didn’t quite catch that. What’d you say? ‘Sorry for being such a weakling. Thank you for erasing my sad existence’? My pleasure!”

Mustering up the last of his strength, Mustard glared at Muscular with as much ferocity as he could manage. Slowly, he raised his hands, one going for Muscular’s fingers again while the other was raised like he was going to claw at his face. Focusing on getting the words out loud and clear, he managed to choke them out, “Fuck. You.”

From the hand that was closer to Muscular’s face, he unleashed a jet of his gas, hitting him point blank. The gas rushed forward, engulfing Muscular and entering his body through every opening it could find. Muscular recoiled at the sudden attack and threw Mustard to the side, his body skipping a few times before slamming against a dumpster, denting it with the impact. Quirk, physical, and mental exhaustion took over as Mustard slumped to the ground.

“You little rat!” Muscular screamed, “I was gonna kill you quickly but now I’m gonna do it nice and slow, so you feel every bit of it!”

With Mustard unconscious, the gas cloud that surrounded them slowly faded away. Now able to see clearly again, Muscular looked around to see where he threw Mustard and homed in on his limp body. He turned to stalk towards it, thinking about the best way to punish him.

Muscular took the first step and stumbled a bit, suddenly feeling a little off-balance and dizzy. His sight was a little unfocused, but still good enough to make out defining features. Shaking his head to rid the blurriness away only turned out to be a worse move as it made him even more dizzy. Regardless of how he was feeling, he stumbled over towards Mustard, determined to make sure the only thing that remained of him was a bloody paste and stained clothing.

Nearly there, he activated his quirk, wrapping his arms in muscle fibers multiple times over so it looked closer to a grotesque tree trunk instead and brought both above his head, primed for an overhead smash.

“I don’t know what you did, but I know it’s your fault. Time to pay up,” Muscular said to himself as he swung his arms down.

Before he could turn Mustard’s head into a red splatter, a teal marble came into view and expanded just before hitting him, revealing a full-sized cargo truck. The suddenness of the attack and Muscular’s delayed reaction resulted in him getting the full brunt of the attack, only somewhat dampened by whatever muscles he already he had activated. He was thrown away from Mustard and landed in the wall of one of the warehouses opposite them.

“The insurance company should be able to tell that he was at fault for the damages to the car,” Compress quipped, “But just to be certain, we should take pictures for proof.”

“Really? That’s the best you can do for a one-liner. I’m disappointed,” Dabi scoffed.

“I’m an entertainer and magician, comedy has never been my strong suit. I leave the rest to you.”

Compress bowed and stepped back, making room for the rest of the League to come forward, with Magne staying back to check on Mustard.

“Oh, Mustard, honey,” Magne cooed even though he couldn’t hear her. She started tending to the visible wounds as best as she could, “It’s alright. You did great. Let big sis Magne and the rest of us deal with Muscular. You go ahead and take a break.”

With Mustard’s arm set in a makeshift sling and moved safely outside of the to-be combat zone, Magne rejoined the rest of the group, unwrapping the magnetic bar she carries with her. Muscular was moving again, but sluggishly and visibly swaying on his feet. He wobbled on unsteady legs, but there was still a fair amount of alertness in his eyes.

“More punching bags?” he laughed, “Today must be my lucky day. Even if I’m not at a hundred right now, it’s still more than you could ever hope to achieve.”

Toga spoke up, just loudly enough for the rest of the group to hear, “He must’ve inhaled some of Mustard’s gas. We just need to keep him moving so it spreads faster.”

“Weren’t you exposed to it as well? How are you still good to go?” Spinner asked, brandishing his odachi.

“Mustard gave me enough of a heads up before he let loose,” Toga replied, holding her knife in a reverse grip and ready to move at the slightest muscle twitch from Muscular.

Dabi laughed, “I really don’t envy your position. Now you owe the little shit something for saving you.”

“He’s the reason we’re in this mess right now. If anything, he’s the one that owes me.”

“Deal with that later,” Compress urged, now lazily sitting atop one of the dumpsters, content to not have to be fighting right now, “you’ve got more pressing matters to attend to right now.”

“Here he comes! Slow poke can’t do shit!” Jin warned. He raised an arm and made a copy of Dabi, immediately he addressed it, “You’re the clone.”

The Dabi clone rolled its eyes and looked at the actual, who stared back with a mirrored expression, both of them smirking at each other, “God damn. Alright, someone get ready to call Kurogiri. This should be over quickly.”

“You done planning yet? I’m done waiting!” Muscular bulked his calves up to the point they were straining against his pants and jumped forward with an animalistic roar.

Spinner and Toga tensed as they readied themselves for the attack as Muscular got closer, but he was suddenly enveloped in a blue aura. They looked to the side to see that both of the Dabis, who were the closest to Muscular, were surrounded by it as well. As if he was suddenly frozen in air, Muscular’s advancement stopped, his fist just short of connecting with one of the Dabis’ face.

Dabi smirked again, mirrored on the copy’s as both of them raised a hand and fluttered his fingers in a goodbye before it burst in his blue fire, “Buh bye.”

The Dabis hit Muscular with their flames the same moment the repulsion between them finally came into effect, flinging Muscular back the way he came and into the cargo area of the truck and through the front. Spinner and Toga ran forward to press the attack, eager to keep the fight tilted in their favor.

The sound of metal shearing could be heard from the truck as Muscular tore himself out of the wreckage caused Spinner and Toga to falter in their step. His arms were burned black from the fire, but with a quick deactivation and reapplication of his quirk, Muscular’s arms were back to their normal color. He stood at the entrance of the cargo area of the truck with a hand gripping the lip, visibly panting.

“That didn’t hurt at all,” he slurred.

Muscular lifted a leg to step outside of the back and Toga took the chance. Erasing her presence, she ran towards Muscular and sliced his Achilles tendon before it could touch the ground. When it did, Muscular crumpled and yelled in pain. He tried standing up again, but fell back down, unable to support himself.

“What the fuck!?” he yelled confused and daze. He looked around to see what hit him, finding Toga with a bloody knife and Spinner nodding along, “You- you bitch. What did you do to me?”

“Did you see? Did you see?” Toga ignored him and was asking Spinner, “If you aim for right there, you can cut the tendon. Then people can’t run away. You try!”

Toga handed Spinner her knife and walked up with him, pointing to the area on his ankle.

“Like fuck you’re-,” Muscular bulked an arm up and swung it around to hit them back, but the gas was finally taking effect, “getting away with that again.”

Instead of it being a fast swipe, it came out overextended and slow, causing him to flop over again. He tried with his other arm, but it was just as sloppy and even slower. Spinner and Toga kept their steady approach. As they got closer, Muscular tried attacking again, this time using his good leg to try and kick at them, but the gas was too strong. He had no more strength left in his body, making it easy enough for Toga to catch it with both hands and hold it out for Spinner to get a clean cut on him.

“Here, it’s even easier now that he’s not moving,” Toga pushed Muscular’s foot towards him.

Spinner looked between the knife and Muscular’s ankle, indecision painting his features, “I don’t know. He’s already knocked out, do we really need to do this?”

“But you were ready to fight just a minute ago?” Toga quirked her head to the side, “And you were gonna use that big sword that could easily cut his arm off if you wanted.”

“That’s different. He was awake and fighting, but now he’s defenseless. There’s no honor in beating down a person that can’t fight for themselves. Stain would never bring himself that low.” He returned the knife to Toga and pulled out his phone, “Kurogiri, we got him. Portal on my position.”

A second later, one of Kurogiri’s portals opened nearby. Spinner waved Magne over and had her help pull him through. Compress walked up next, carrying Mustard in his arms and walked through. Jin and the two Dabis were next, but before walking through, Jin canceled his quirk and made the Dabi copy break down back into mud.

“Who’s gonna tell him Stain actually did kill people that couldn’t defend themselves?” Jin asked, stopping before he walked through. “I’ll do it! I love bursting peoples’ bubbles.”

Dabi waved his arm dismissively, “Let him figure it out himself. If he’s uncomfortable with the truth, then he doesn’t belong. Shigaraki’ll probably deal with him if it ever gets to that point. Speaking of, I’m glad this is finally over. Consider our asses saved for the time being.”

“Shi-kun said that Mustard isn’t allowed to fight. But if it weren’t for him, we probably wouldn’t have been able to take Muscular down,” Toga noted. “There’s no way he won’t know Mustard had something to do with it. What if he gets mad?”

“Mustard is clearly injured and we gotta report back anyway, so you’ll be able to tell him what happened and why. Shigaraki can put two and two together. Besides, there was no way we could’ve predicted this.” Dabi pointed out, “But on the off chance that he does gets mad, it’s your head and mine on the chopping block. If it comes to it, I’ll help you and you help me.”

Jin hooked an arm around Dabi and Toga, bringing them into a loose hug, “Cheer up guys, Shigaraki won’t care about the details this time. You’re so dead.”

The trio walked through the portal without another word.

Shota found himself watching over his students’ independent training in Gym Gamma with Cementoss on call to help with any structures the students may need. For once, he was actively watching his students instead of “watching” them while wrapped up and asleep in his sleeping bag like he normally does. Given the recent revelations, last minute changes, and worry for his students, he felt he at least owed them his full divided attention.

Having confined them to the campus following the mall incident, the students had grown understandably restless and needed an outlet to deal with all of the excess energy they had. Even those who had their parents visit the campus couldn’t sit still, unsatisfied with their restricted freedom. Though there never was one to begin with, quiet times in the dorms were far and few in between, if not just a thing that simply didn’t exist. He couldn’t even do his normal thing and sequester himself in his room and claim he couldn’t hear them anymore. There were multiple instances when he would find his door being pounded on only to open it and find that a student or two, usually a duo or combination of Kaminari, Ashido, Hagakure, Kirishima, and Sero were having an argument that he could only describe as something that siblings would have and were looking to their parent for mediation and resolution.

He wasn’t paid enough to deal with the household antics and spats of a bunch of teenagers.

Having had enough of that, he announced that he would reserve Gym Gamma for the class to train in. He made the mistake of making the announcement in the common room with everyone present, because at the mention of doing something, even if it was just training he was all but forcing them to do, he was swarmed by the class as thanks. Before he deftly dodged out of the way, he noted that even his more reserved students had clear looks of gratitude on their faces.

Focusing his attention back on the present, he was pleased with what he was seeing. Nobody was slacking off, and some were even working in pairs or groups to bounce ideas off and train with. In particular, he kept his eyes on Uraraka, Kaminari, and especially Shimura.

Uraraka was practicing her grappling with Ojiro, who had a little experience in it and would give her pointers here and there where he could. Currently, she was being attacked by Ojiro who went at her with only slightly exaggerated movements so that she could get used to looking for openings against someone who also knew how to fight.

A few more exchanged blows and Uraraka must’ve found one because Ojiro grabbed her left wrist and she immediately ducked under his arm and swung around, hugging him from the side. Now perpendicular with Ojiro, she hooked her right leg behind his left knee and sat down, bringing Ojiro on top of her. Hooking her legs around both of his, she quickly put him in a chokehold and held him there until Ojiro pat her arm. They stood up and bowed to each other and repeated the process.

Kaminari was working alone, but he was stood across a target Cementoss set up for him and was throwing his arms towards it. Shota squinted to get a better view, and it looked like his arms were constantly streaking with his electricity, not dissimilar to how Conduit would be when in an active combat situation, and was accurately throwing the electricity at the target like lightning bolts.

That was something Shota had meant to follow up on but could never find the time to. Out of everyone that went out to their internships, Kaminari had shown the most progress with his training. That wasn’t to say that others were lacking, though he would admit some weren’t as far ahead as he would’ve liked them to be, it was just that the difference between Kaminari before and after the internship was as clear as night and day. He was still the same person in and outside of class, but it was like as soon as he put on the costume, he was a completely different person.

He became more snarky, more confident, maybe even a little more intense. He was no Bakugo in terms of ruthlessness in a fight, but he moved so efficiently that the fight would be over just as quickly as Bakugo’s or Todoroki’s would be. What the hell did he and Conduit get up to in their week together?

Then there was Shimura, who was doing a version of the training Nezu had him do during his internship with Thirteen.

Because his internship was mainly done on campus or the USJ, Shota was granted permission to review the footage so he could take notes on how much or little Shimura was improving and could adjust how he taught him moving forward. Watching over the training session that Nezu led was eye-opening and extremely helpful. Confirming that his decay wouldn’t cause collateral damage unless he explicitly wanted to eased some of his worries, and seeing his very clear hesitation when applying it to the training dummies soothed out the rest.

He had kept his eyes on Shimura ever since his little outburst back at the USJ, and even more so after he talked with him. From his talk and further observation, he was able to confirm Shimura did have the potential for leaning towards a more destructive fighting style and personality, but Shimura was more than aware of that and was actively trying not to do anything of the sort. He still had his moments, but Shota couldn’t blame him for those. Having grown up alongside Bakugo, there were bound to be some things that rubbed off on him, plus, he was still a teenager.

Slightly destructive tendencies aside, the most pressing concern was the focus that Shigaraki seemed to have on him. Shimura apparently placed himself on his radar the day of the USJ, and since then has had one too many points of contact, of which were clearly affecting Shimura to some degree.

Shota shook his head as he recalled what All Might disclosed to him and how he was after their encounter at the mall.

Whatever it was that Shigaraki said to him was shaking Shimura to his core, and the continued harassment through the female associate wasn’t helping. Shimura needed time to sit back and adjust, to evaluate the situation and lean into the support provided by his friends, but now even that may not be enough. Knowingly or not, Shigaraki got his hands on two of his closest friends and most likely indirectly was the reason for the death of a third. Shigaraki was taking away Shimura’s support slowly and methodically, and there was very little Shota could do to stop it except to try and act as the glue to keep them together.

He could nip it in the bud, but that option was still too far outside of his reach, of anybody’s, to even be considered.

Shota sighed heavily and checked the clock. It was almost time for his meeting with Nezu. Walking up to where Cementoss was, he let him know what was going on, “Ishiyama, I’ve got a meeting with Nezu coming up soon. Ectoplasm should be here to help with the training for the rest of the time. If any of them want to call it early, then go ahead and let them leave. This was mainly for my sanity anyway.”

Ishiyama chuckled lightly, “Of course. Is everything alright with Nezu?”

“I’m not sure,” Shota shrugged, “It could be any number of things with him.”

Shota waved goodbye and left the gym without another word.

Eventually making it into Nezu’s office, he found that he wasn’t alone. A teenager with wild purple hair and a tired disposition that Shota deeply understood was sitting on one of his couches nursing a recently made cup of coffee. Nezu was at his desk and perked up when he saw him.

“Ah! Aizawa-kun, right on time as usual. Please, take a seat,” Nezu gestured at the couch opposite the boy.

Shota grunted an affirmative and sat down as instructed. Nezu hopped off his chair and made his way to sit next to him.

Never one to start a conversation, Shota looked the kid up and down. He was wearing black pants and a dark grey UA-branded pullover sweatshirt. He was a little pale and had lidded eyes like he was just barely keeping awake, and bags under his eyes that spoke to countless nights of restless sleep or none at all.

Despite appearances, he noticed that he was getting looked over as well, by very judgmental eyes. They weren’t hostile, but definitely defensive and held with suspicion.

In a chipper voice, Nezu called to attention, “Now that you’ve had a chance to familiarize yourselves with each other, Aizawa-kun, may I please introduce you to-“

“Hitoshi Shinso,” Shota cut him off. Shinso took a sharp inhale through his nose in surprise that he was recognized, “Made it to the final round. Gen-Ed Course, class 1-C. Failed the hero practical exam and was hoping to use the Festival to transfer into the Hero Course. Probably hoping to fill the empty seat in my class.”

Shinso’s eyes were widening with every sentence Shota said with casualness as though he was talking about the weather.

“I think I have a clue of your idea, and it’s a bad one.”

Shinso couldn’t stop the indignant response even if he tried, “You’re not even going to give me the chance to catch up? I heard you were hardass from whispers around the school, but I didn’t think it would be this bad.”

Shota glared at Shinso, causing him to shrink back, “Not the best first impression. And it’s nothing against you, it’s just the timing of everything is bad. I don’t know what Nezu told you, but whatever it was, it’s not worth it right now. Believe me, I would like for you to be in my class, but right now isn’t a good time.”

“Then when is?”

That’s just the question, isn’t it, Shota thought to himself. He turned his attention to Nezu, “I appreciate the effort, but I refuse.”

“Refuse all you like, Aizawa-kun, but this was merely a formality,” Nezu replied, his voice now lacking its brightness.

Shota stared at Nezu incredulously, “How could you possibly come to the conclusion that bringing along a potential transfer student is a smart move?”

“You’re assuming we’re thinking of the same thing.”

Sensing that the discussion might be dipping into things he wasn’t privy to, Shinso raised his hand, “Should I still be here? If this was already decided, then thank you very much for the opportunity, but I don’t think this is something I’m allowed to hear.”

“Yes, you’re quite right,” Nezu agreed, “I apologize for Aizawa-kun’s attitude, it has been a rather stressful time for all of us teachers. Please know he doesn’t mean what he’s saying in how you may be interpreting it.”

“Uh, thanks.”

Shinso quickly bowed and made his way out of the office, eager to get out of the room before something bad happened.

Shota waited ten seconds after the door closed before he reopened his argument, “For all of the decisions you’ve ever made, I think this one has to take the cake as one of the dumbest. Sir.”

Nezu moved from the couch and to the coffee table so that he could look him in the eyes, “Your complaint has been noted and taken under advisement, but my decision still stands.”

“Care to explain to me the reason why?”

“Tell me what it is you think I’ve decided on.”

Shota griped, “You want Shinso to come along to the summer camp. Take advantage of the training so he can get a feel for the course and hopefully give him a better chance at catching up if or when he transfers over.”

“I will admit that that was my original plan, as it would’ve been the perfect opportunity for Shinso to get some valuable training and hopefully aid in easing him into working and learning with the others, but that had to be adjusted. Now, I simply want you to spend the remainder of this week working with him. It’s my understanding that you’ve had your eye on him since the Festival, and understandably haven’t had the time to reach out as you normally would. I also understand that you are nearing the end of your rope when it comes to dealing with your students’… hijinks.”

Shota’s eyebrow twitched at the mention.

“You could use this opportunity as a breather of sorts.”

“My break from dealing with rowdy teenagers is to spend time with another teenager,” Shota grumbled.

Nezu smiled at him nonplussed, “I have a feeling that Shinso will be a pleasant breath of fresh air.”

Shota didn’t like the sound of that. With Nezu’s silence, he rolled his eyes, accepting it, “Was that it?”

“Majima-kun has finished designs on our trackers and is working on mass producing them. I’ve also gone ahead and let them know of our concerns so that they may also be prepared should our fears come true.” Nezu responded, “I am taking this threat very seriously. If Shigaraki does make a move on the students, we will know immediately and respond just as quickly.”

Shota hummed an affirmative and walked out.

A week and change’s worth of prep time for something that might not even happen, Aizawa thought to himself, It needs to be enough. For them.

Chapter Text

The Doctor was looking through his microscope at what was on the slide and taking notes in a notebook on his side.

“Fascinating,” he drawled, “The compound is attacking the quirk factor in the cells and eliminating them as if they were antigens in the body.”

The Doctor sat back and rolled on his wheeled chair to another microscope station and peered through the eye piece. He pulled back a little to take note of the time he had the sample marked as and then glanced at the clock in the room. It has been about an hour since he introduced the drug to the blood sample. Looking through the eye piece again, he was starting to see little hints of the quirk factor growing in the cells again. Jotting down his observations again, he moved on to the next station and repeated the process.

On the slide was a blood sample that was marked as being two hours old. Looking into the eye piece again, he found that the quirk factor was back and looking just as healthy as ever.

“It appears the drug is a temporary quirk eraser,” he noted, “and its effects fully wear off after a few hours. I imagine the end goal was to permanently erase quirks, oh what a brilliant idea indeed. Instead of boosting their effects, get rid of them. What a wonderful way to deal with the heroes.” He chuckled gleefully, “Oh, young lord, you are truly too generous. We could revolutionize the underground with these. I wonder where it came from?”

“The Yakuza,” a deep voice answered from the opened lab door.

Turning around in surprise, the Doctor found All For One walking in. All For One’s form towered over him, but the Doctor didn’t feel the intimidation that normally garnered. He immediately bent into a bow, “My lord! I wasn’t expecting you. Is something the matter? Feeling any pain?”

All For One hummed amusedly, “Just stretching my legs a little. Years of moving and planning and then being confined to a chair for the better part of the last six years or so has left me feeling a little antsy. You were analyzing the drugs that Kagero and his team retrieved for you?” He walked around the lab tables and picked up an empty cartridge and turned it over, examining it through his other means.

The Doctor nodded, “I was. The product we acquired from the mall was primarily Trigger, although it was of a higher quality. It had the effects of standard Trigger, and even slightly dipped into the boosts provided by Ideo Trigger, but none of the normal detriments such as the decreased cognitive functions, minor mutations, and berserker-like rampage.”

“And the other product?”

“A quirk erasing drug,” the Doctor eventually responded.

Internally, All For One bristled at the mention, suddenly extremely wary of the cartridge he was holding. He set it down carefully after making sure to cover the hypodermic needle with its cap so there was no risk of it accidentally pricking his finger.

“It’s temporary.” The Doctor quickly added, “The effect is immediate, but after an hour or so the drug starts to wear off and will be completely gone after a mere two hours. With your permission, I would like to see if I can refine this drug.”

“Refine it how?”

The Doctor fidgeted on his feet, “For one, the obv- logical change would be to make it so that the effect is permanent. Beyond that, I would like to isolate whatever it is that appears to be the cause and see exactly how it erases the quirk. If it’s something more complex than just having it attack the quirk factor like it’s a virus, it would be interesting to see if there are any other applications. Currently, it’s acting like a vaccine, but what’s attacking the quirk factor isn’t catalogued anywhere that I can find, nor can I identify it. I would need a bigger sample of the drug, or maybe the source of the ‘antibody’ for lack of better terms. You said the Yakuza are the ones behind this?”

All For One tempered his anger, “That is what Kagero believes. Not many groups of villains actively participate in the drug trade anymore, let alone are bold enough to do so in my territory without my say-so.”

“Are the Yakuza not under your thumb or completely disbanded? They’re nothing but a shadow of who they were in the past.”

“There is a small group that is trying to cling to ancient ways, but no, they’re not. Out of respect of their history, and their adherence to honor, when I was making my waves in my rise to power, I let them be.”

“With this new drug, I would assume that you want them out of the picture for good now, yes? Or maybe absorbed entirely?”

“I’ve kept an eye on them when I heard that there was a coup in the works that the old boss was trying to stem, but they’ve been awfully quiet recently. Perhaps it’s already happened, and we have a new Head. Whatever the case, they’re starting to overstep their bounds.”

“What will you do?”

“Set Kagero on them to remind them where the line is, of course.” All For One replied with a lightness in his voice like he was smiling, “He was the one to bring it up in the first place. Can’t have him not finishing something once he’s started on it.”

“What of the drug?”

“Do what you can with it. We would be foolish to ignore the opportunities a quirk erasing drug could give us.”

All For One walked out of the lab, with the Doctor bowing him out, “As you wish, my lord.”

Kagero sat by himself in one of the booths of the bar, his back to the wall and everything and everyone in front of him. He was on his laptop checking on some things when the chat window popped up with a short string of messages.

>summer training camp
>few days out
>location unknown at this time
>specific details to come

The other user logged off as soon as they sent the last message, but the chat box stayed open. Kagero read the messages repeatedly, processing the new information and thinking about what his next moves would be.

Getting to the location would be simple enough, he just needs that information from his contact. Retrieving his targets shouldn’t be a problem, the hardest thing would be finding them when he gets there. Keeping what heroes that would be present on location would be easy enough with the League, especially now that he has an idea of how they work together.

Having already debriefed with the League individually, he was confident that at the very least, they show promise and can function efficiently as a team, so there shouldn’t be a problem if he deployed them. He was a little annoyed that Muscular was ultimately taken down by Mustard despite his instructions not to, but considering their circumstances, he would let it slide. What mattered more to him was how well the rest of the group performed after the fact.

Magne responded beautifully with Muscular’s attack, using Dabi as a point of repulsion and slowly bringing them closer together before letting him fly back was an extremely smart move. Jin made a copy of one of their strongest hitters and wisely didn’t choose Kagero. Dabi didn’t do anything noteworthy, but that was expected. Toga and Spinner made the right decision to keep the balance of the fight on their side and didn’t waste any opportunities.

Overall, he was pleased with the outcome.

Still thinking about the best way to crash the training camp, Kurogiri had walked to his booth. Out of habit, he closed out of the chat window and locked the computer.

Kurogiri bowed so he was level with Kagero’s ear, “Master would like to speak with you.”

Kagero stood up without another word and grabbed his laptop, “Take me to my room first, then I’ll go.”

A portal opened to Kagero’s room where he dropped off his laptop. Kagero stood outside of the portal for Kurogiri to change locations for a moment before walking in again. Walking out, he found himself in the middle of the Nomu tanks again. Wondering if the Doctor made any new Nomus recently, he walked along the tanks looking for any new additions. Due to the liquid the Nomus were suspended in, discerning which tier they were was a little difficult, but he saw what looked like a few more upper to high ends than there were before.

The Doctor must have hit a recent breakthrough.

Finished with his inspection, he made his way to the door in the back and knocked.

“Come in,” All For One answered.

Kagero entered and immediately dropped to a knee, “You summoned me?”

“Stand. I was expecting you a little earlier.”

“I got curious about the Nomus. I noticed that there are more higher ends than there were before.” Kagero bowed slightly, “I apologize for keeping you waiting.”

“It isn’t a bother, but do try to keep your curiosity contained. As it is, it isn’t a problem, but there is a reason why the saying became popular. How confident are you that the Yakuza are the ones that are pushing their products?”

Kagero noted the change in subject but didn’t react to it, “On a scale of one to ten? I’d say nine. Whoever it is can’t be any of the smaller groups because they’d have to be a special kind of stupid to try that and think they wouldn’t get caught. The only groups that really deal in drugs are either already under us or in another city entirely.”

“So what makes you think it’s the Yakuza?”

“It makes the most sense,” Kagero shrugged, “That guy we caught, Ikamura, knew next to nothing about the whole scheme, but the tea shop we lifted the shipment from bared the crest of the Yamaguchi-gumi. That, along with knowing their history of always wanting to expand their territory, and their involvement in drug trafficking seemed like a pretty clear indicator.”

“I see.”

“Is there a reason for this?”

All For One pressed a button on his chair and stood up, “Brace yourself.”

Not knowing what he meant, Kagero wasn’t ready for the feeling of something viscous coming up his throat. He coughed hard to get it out of his body, but what came out was a metallic grey sludge. He briefly panicked, fearing that All For One finally decided to cut his ties and move on to his next project, but through his teary eyes he could see he was in a similar state. The sludge continued to come out of his mouth, eventually enveloping his whole body.

His vision became black for a second and then the sludge suddenly dispersed, flying in all directions but not making a mess. Coughing hard to rid the remains of it from his throat, he looked around and found himself in a dark room only lit up by purple lights coming from the multiple rows of Nomu tanks and the monitors mounted on the wall.

Sat in front of the monitors with a small Nomu on his lap like it was a pet was the Doctor. The Nomu hopped off his lap when the Doctor stood up and bowed, “My lord, young lord, welcome. What you just experienced was little Johnny’s warp quirk. Far less refined, elegant, and limited than Kurogiri’s but still useful. It does have a nasty drawback. Little Johnny gets tonsilitis if he uses it too much.”

Kagero rolled his eyes, “Fascinating. What does any of this have to do with…” Kagero trailed off as he looked over what the Doctor was reviewing on the monitors.

He wasn’t as versed in the medical side of the experiments that they as a group had running in the background, but he knew enough to recognize certain things. On the main screen was what looked like a live feed of whatever it was the Doctor was observing, and on it he could see the obvious shapes of cells and something that didn’t look like it belonged. He watched as the unknown party made its way to the cells and attached itself to them.

The view flickered and zoomed in, clueing him in to the fact that this was a recording instead.

With the view closer, he saw that whatever attached to the cells made one thing disappear. One thing he recognized because he sat in on the Doctor’s experiments from time to time and had him explain everything step by step. One thing that proved evolution never stops. One thing that changed the lives of everyone.

He felt anger blossom in his chest. The anger turned into heat that made itself visible in the form of fire that spilled out of the corners of his mouth. He turned to find All For One and the Doctor looking at him, watching him, waiting for his reaction.

“The fuck is that?” he spat, the anger causing him to drop all pretenses of formality.

“That is the Yakuza’s bid to a resurgence,” All For One answered, “The drugs that you gathered were Trigger and this. A quirk eraser.”

The Doctor added on, “I was able to confirm that the drug is immediately effective, erasing the quirk factor at first sign of contact, but the change isn’t permanent. At least not yet.”

“For obvious reasons, you understand why this cannot stand, yes?”

Kagero scoffed in response.

“Find the Yakuza responsible for creating this. Bring me their research and what materials they used, then destroy the rest. The only person that gets to decide who keeps their quirk or not is me.”

Kagero knelt to one knee, “Of course, Master. It will be done.”

“Has anyone else noticed that Shigaraki seems… distant? Like more than usual?” Spinner asked in a hushed tone.

It had been a few days since they successfully brought in Muscular, but despite the comfort that should’ve given Shigaraki, he only seemed to grow more impatient and on edge. Everyone, barring Toga for obvious reasons, tried to give him the space he so clearly needed, but that only seemed to set him off further.

“Maybe he’s finally having a break down?” Magne suggested as she sucked on her drink through a straw, “He has been busy, so maybe things are just piling up and he can’t deal with it all at once.”

“Doubtful,” Mustard denied. His arm was now in a proper sling, but other than that, he looked healed.

Jin took a drag of his cigarette, “Why don’t you just ask him what’s wrong? That’s a can of worms I don’t wanna open.”

“And risk putting myself in his line of fire? Hard pass.” Spinner crossed his arms.

“I, for one,” Dabi started, “am just glad that-“

The door opened just as Dabi was going to contribute to the conversation, causing him and everyone else to snap their mouths shut and look at who just entered. Shigaraki entered with Toga close on his heels, the former completely ignoring the latter’s attempts at getting cheered up. He stopped with his back to the bar top and rested his elbows on it. He tilted his head back and released a small stream of fire.

He dropped his head and lazily looked at the assembled group, “Where’s Compress?”

Dabi answered helpfully, “Out.”

“Thanks,” Shigaraki fixed him with a flat stare, causing Dabi to give a cheeky grin.

“Should we call him back?” Magne asked, her phone already in hand.

Shigaraki waved his hand, “It’s fine. Dabi’ll just have to fill him in later.”

Dabi gasped at being given an order, causing everyone else to snicker. Shigaraki shooed Toga away as he felt her slowly making her way to his side. She pouted at that but still obeyed and sat at the open space on the table everyone was gathered at.

“Remember how I said there were multiple things that needed to be done?”

He received nods.

“Anybody have updates on the other thing?”

Dabi replied, seriously this time, “Other than that guy Jin and Compress nabbed, nah. Some of us tried finding more of the runners and dealers, but that was a dead end. You and Toga got the stash that guy was supposed to pick up, so you probably have more information than the rest of us.”

“Did you try expanding your net?”

“Spinner and Magne went out to the bordering wards, Compress and I went out to other cities, Toga and Mustard tried their luck in the shittier districts with the street rats and got nothing.”

“That was more effort than I was expecting,” Shigaraki mumbled to himself, a little impressed. He spoke up again, “Send me any and every note you made. There’s been a development that I need to attend to myself regarding it. As for the rest of you, my contact came through.”

Hearing that piqued their interest, everyone leaning forward a little in anticipation.

“UA is having a summer training camp and both first-year hero classes will be going. Information is extremely limited right now, but what is confirmed is that it will take place in the presence of other heroes and their location will be in the woods. The students Toga and I ran into at the mall were talking about it in passing, and my contact later confirmed it.”

Toga raised her hand, “Do you know which heroes will be there?”

“At least the two homeroom teachers, Eraserhead and Vlad King, but considering it would be two heroes for forty teenagers, there are bound to be more in attendance.”

“When does the camp start?” Spinner asked.

“Unknown.” The group did a doubletake at that, surprised Shigaraki didn’t have all of the information, “UA is doing their damndest to keep the information secure, and my contact can only poke around so much before drawing suspicion. I do know that it’ll most likely start this Sunday and will run for a week.”

Magne tapped her chin in thought, trying to think of what else they need to know, “Can we kill them?”

“No killing.” Shigaraki immediately shut down.

“What? Why?”

Shigaraki smiled coldly, all of them feeling a brief chill run down their spines, “I want them to internalize the fact that they’re not dead because we decided to let them live. Beat them to a pulp for all I care, but don’t kill them. I want them lying awake at night realizing that their lives were entirely in our hands and there was nothing they could do about it.”

Taking a few moments to recover, Jin asked one last question, “What’re we supposed to do? Fuck shit up like we always do!”

“Other than sow chaos and sweep past the defenses the heroes will try to put up? Retrieval.”

“What are we retrieving?” Mustard asked.

Dabi hummed in contemplation, “Who’s the lucky, grand prize winner?”

Chapter Text

The night before the classes left for their summer training camp, Nezu called one last meeting with Aizawa, Kan, Ectoplasm, with Majima tagging along as well, in his office. Aizawa and Kan shared one couch while Ectoplasm and Majima were on the other, Nezu stood at the head of the coffee table that was in between them.

“I’ll cut right to the chase, as you all have quite the eventful road up ahead,” Nezu opened with as soon as everyone was settled on a couch. “It goes without saying that the students’ safety is our number one priority, so I must impress upon each of you again that I expect you to do your absolute best in that regard.”

Ectoplasm and Kan gave a serious nod while Aizawa gave his usual grunt of acknowledgment.

“As we agreed, Majima-kun has developed these,” Nezu gestured to Majima to produce his latest creation.

Majima brought a metal case onto the coffee table before him and opened it up. He spun it around so that Aizawa and Kan could look over the contents. Leaning forward to see better, the inside of the case had twenty horizontal slits that held black bands all neatly arranged with a twenty-first closer to the handle. It looked like a novelty shop’s display of mood rings.

Aizawa grabbed the one that was on its own and turned it over in his hand, “Small, streamlined,” he banged it a few times on the table and looked at Majima, “probably extremely durable too?”

Majima wasn’t wearing his helmet so his face was covered by his hair, but you could sense how hard he was rolling his eyes, “Obviously. You’re going to the camp to help strengthen quirks. What makes you think I wouldn’t make them as indestructible as possible?”

“You three, the students, as well as the Pussycats themselves will all have one on you at all times.”

Kan placed a hand in front of him, stopping Nezu, “Hang on. Us, I can understand, but them? What makes you think they’ll be targeted as well?”

“I pray they won’t be, but we can never be too careful. We have been making use of their lands in our training camps for many years, and they have been very generous to us. With the threat we may be bringing to their front doorstep, the least we could do is offer them a chance at retribution.”

“Revenge is not a heroic trait, Nezu,” Aizawa reminded him.

“It’s only revenge if it’s being acted out in a state of vengeance or satisfaction.” Nezu quickly countered, “If they go out and track down Shigaraki and rescue whoever may be targeted, it’s out of selflessness and worry for their safety. If the villains end up getting a little more roughed up during the rescue, who’s to say it wasn’t the result of them resisting capture?”

Majima, who was already the furthest away from Nezu, inched away even more, uncomfortable with the tone Nezu used. The other teachers lightly bristled, but their discomfort didn’t break their serious facades.

“… right.” Majima gestured for Aizawa to hand the band back to him so he could put it away, “That aside, along with the tracking capabilities, they all have minor health monitors. Nothing too fancy, just heart rate and blood pressure readings.”

Aizawa sighed heavily, “I don’t like any of this. It feels like it’s just not enough.”

“I’d rather have not enough than nothing at all,” Ectoplasm responded.

Nezu’s office fell silent as everyone contemplated and thought about the week to come. What threats may be lurking, what steps they’d need to take, what they’d need to do to keep everyone safe.

“Not much more we can do at this point. We’ll just have to do our best. Nezu, if that’s all, then I’d like to get some sleep before we roll out tomorrow morning,” Kan spoke decisively.

Nezu nodded, “Of course, of course. You have a long week ahead of you, and you should make the most of what sleep you can get. I’ll be looking forward to your reports.”

Everyone stood up from the couches and bowed to Nezu before walking out.

Aizawa yawned heavily as he stood outside of 1-A’s dorm waiting for the class to walk out. The sun still hadn’t risen yet, but the telltale glow of it was slowly breaking through the tree line. After his meeting with Nezu he wasted no time trying to get some sleep, but he was unfortunately too plagued with worry. He would lie in his bed tossing and turning. When that got unbearable, he moved to the couch in his room. When that didn’t work, he slipped into his sleeping bag and zipped it all the way up. With each location change, he was able to get very short stretches of rest soon after settling down, but nowhere near enough for even him to call it “falling asleep”. When it became clear that he wouldn’t be falling asleep, he resigned himself to drinking coffee and hoping to fall asleep on the bus ride to the camp.

Eventually the class exited the building in various states of alertness, and all of them carrying their packed bags. From the brief glance he gave them, it was clear which ones were the morning birds, the ones who weren’t, and the ones who had the forethought of packing prior to the night before. The ones that didn’t had their bags nearly bursting at the seams with clothes and things probably haphazardly thrown in.

Counting heads and coming out to nineteen, something that still left an ache in his chest, he took a deep breath in through his nose and out his mouth, “Good morning. I hope you have all that you need, because once we leave campus, we won’t be coming back and you won’t get the chance to buy a replacement while out there. Before we head towards the shuttles, hand over your phones and any electronic devices you may have decided to bring along.” He held out a box in his arms and shook it, emphasizing his point.

He was met with cries of discontent and confusion.

“What!?”

“What are we supposed to do to relax?”

“I was hoping to take some really cute pictures!”

“Why can’t we have our phones!?”

“What if my friends want to text me!”

“What if there’s an emergency!?”

“Who said that?" The students’ outcries stopped immediately, hoping to escape further punishment. Aizawa narrowed his eyes, looking for the face that matched the voice. Every student he passed over immediately looked away, until he got to the culprit. Aizawa wasn’t surprised to find out it was them, but he wished they didn’t bring it up so soon.

Shimura had his hand raised and was staring back at him, “What if there’s an emergency? How will we get into contact with services?”

Aizawa squinted his eyes minutely at him, then made a point to look at Jiro and Shoji, long enough for them to realize he was asking a silent question. When both subtly shook their heads, he blinked a ‘thank you’, “Where we’re going, requesting support for emergency services won’t be a problem.”

“So then why can’t we have our phones,” Ashido complained, dragging out the S.

“The purpose of this trip isn’t a vacation. You will get time to relax and enjoy the summer still, but most of the time you’ll be doing something else and won’t have the opportunity to use it. I can also guarantee you that any free time you’ll get, you’ll be too tired to really do much more than lay around. As to why you can’t have your phones, I’ll explain that at the shuttles where,” Aizawa paused to check the time, “1-B should be at by now.” He could tell that everyone was still reluctant to hand over their phones and rolled his eyes, “You can keep your phones for now, but before we get on the bus, you will be giving them up.”

Aizawa turned around and walked off without another word. He moved slowly just to make sure that the students were following, and when he heard footsteps behind him he picked up the pace.

The student dorms were on the outskirts of the campus proper, but still more than close enough to it so that a simple brisk walk wouldn’t make them late for classes. Aizawa silently led them to the garage where the shuttles and other class should be, not turning around to bother checking if his class was following. Intermittently he would hear a yawn come from behind him or the sound of someone’s bag hitting another’s. That was good enough for him.

As he rounded the corner of one of the main buildings towards the garage, he found that Kan and the rest of class 1-B were already present and standing around. Majima, Ectoplasm, and Nezu were in a loose huddle together in conversation, standing closer to one of the shuttles. Kan noticed him walking and nodded in greeting. One of his students also noticed their later arrival and was quick to make a scene about it.

“What’s this? The great class 1-A arriving late for our departure? I thought you were supposed to be better than us, yet here we are, 1-B all ready to go while 1-A is dragging their feet,” the kid laughed crazedly, “And you all look like walking zombies! Is 1-A so pathetic that you can’t keep to a normal sleeping schedule?”

The kid devolved into another bout of laughter. Aizawa’s eye twitched in annoyance. It was far too early to deal with a loudmouth. He slowly brought a hand into his capture weapon he always keeps wrapped around his neck, looking for one of its ends.

Before he could find an end, he noticed a smock of orange hair pushing its way through the group of 1-B students, making a beeline straight to the still laughing kid. When it finally broke through, he saw a girl with her hair in a side ponytail raise her hand and chop the other kid in the back of his neck, causing him to fold like a puppet’s strings were cut. She caught him with one arm before he could hit the ground and sheepishly bowed towards Aizawa.

“Sorry about him, sensei. We’ve been working on curbing Monoma’s antagonistic comments and over-competitiveness with your class, but he never seems to learn his lesson.” She hefted the other kid over her shoulder and bowed again before bringing him back into the masses without another word.

Aizawa turned his gaze to Kan and gave him a very unimpressed stare. Kan sheepishly covered his eyes and shook his head with a long sigh. At least he was aware that he was pushing the inter-class competition just a little too far this time. Nezu, Ectoplasm, and Majima finished up their conversation and were now walking towards them. Aizawa turned back to his class and gestured for them to go stand next to their sister class.

“Good morning students! Am I a dog, a mouse, or a bear? It doesn’t really matter because I’m the principal!” Nezu greeted cheerily.

A single and faint ‘woo’ came up from the students, followed by quiet snickering.

Nezu smiled at the comment, “Thank you! Now I’m sure you’re all curious as to why I’m here and why you’re not already on the road, so I won’t take up any more of your time than necessary. Because the location you’ll be going to for camp is expansive, we’ve decided to implement a way for us to better keep track of you in case anyone ends up lost, or god forbid, injured and alone due to a lapse in judgement. To combat that, we have created these!”

Ectoplasm created a clone of himself and took the metal cases that Majima was holding on to and opened them up in front of the groups of students. In unison, they instructed, “Everyone, please come forward and grab one of the bands before you. No need to worry about sizing, they will adjust themselves.”

As the students grabbed a band for themselves, Nezu continued on, “These are just simple trackers that will monitor your location and basic health status. One of the people on location has the ability to keep track of you, so these may be a little redundant, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Ashido raised her hand, “Yes, Ashido-san?”

“Aizawa-sensei said that we have to give up our phones before we can go on the trip. Why?” She asked with nods from her classmates and astonished gasps from the other class.

“A good question, which has a simple answer.” Nezu hummed and nodded his head before raising his arms out wide, “They’re simply just not allowed!”

Predictably, all of the students raised their voices in opposition at the announcement, but were quickly silenced by their respective teachers raising their hands at them.

Nezu waited a few more seconds before continuing his explanation, “Yes, yes, you’re all teenagers and like having your phones to engross yourselves in and get distracted with, but not for this trip. By removing that distraction, we’re hoping that you not only find yourself more focused in your training, but also use it as a time to reset yourselves. Unplugged, as it were. Can you all confidently tell me that you never find yourselves more bored despite being on your phones?”

Ashido was ready to refute immediately. She had her hand in the air with her pointer finger out and mouth opened but she stopped herself because she found that she couldn’t deny Nezu. Aizawa looked over the rest of the students’ faces and found many of them having the exact same reaction. He smirked to himself.

“But what if we want to call our parents? Or if they call us?” Kaminari asked.

“Not to worry, Kaminari-kun, we’ve already sent word to each of your parents about how to get into contact with you while at the camp. There are also phones available there, so if you would like to make calls to your parents or other friends, it’s still an option. Are there any other questions?”

A hand from the 1-B group was raised. The student had beige hair and pale skin, but the most notable detail was that he had no lips, “Why is Ectoplasm-sensei here?”

Nezu explained to the student, but another group didn’t pay him any attention but had their own hushed conversation.

“Something about this doesn’t feel right,” Uraraka commented.

Bakugo grumbled next to her, “Because they’re scared. Look at what’s happening. Trackers? No phones? Not saying where we’re going or who we’re going to be meeting? Ghost Face coming along? They’re trying to keep this a secret and have everyone accounted for.”

Uraraka gasped, something clicking in her head, “You don’t think…”

“That’s probably exactly what they’re thinking,” Shimura gritted his teeth, coming to the same conclusion. One of his hands found its way to his throat and started scratching, “The mall trip probably caused the changes.”

The students that stood around them couldn’t help but eavesdrop on their conversation, as they’ve also tuned out Nezu and his explanation, and shifted uncomfortably when they heard the topic. It was inevitable for the class to not at least have an idea of what happened at the mall. Even those that were more reserved and didn’t often participate in social activities knew what happened, if only just the barest of details.

They knew that Shigaraki singled out Shimura, Kaminari, and Uraraka, so it wasn’t hard to put the rest of the pieces together.

Yaoyorozu, who was nearby, made her way to them, “Please don’t say such things. The teachers are already on edge, we don’t need to add to their stress as well.”

Bakugo scoffed, “Whatever, Ponytail. The fact you’re trying to shut us up means you came to the same conclusion.”

Yaoyorozu frowned at Bakugo’s observation but didn’t refute it. She looked at Shimura and gave her as much of a reassuring smile as she could, “Everything will be fine. The teachers know what they’re doing.”

“Right,” Shimura replied unconvinced.

“Alright, that covers everything!” Nezu’s raised voice had the students snapping back to attention. They didn’t notice that they were already being ushered to the shuttles, “Make sure to take advantage of this trip, students! It’s a training camp, but it’s still your summer break, so make sure to enjoy yourselves as well!”

“Don’t forget to leave your phone in this box before getting on,” Aizawa instructed. “Once I have everyone’s and you’re all sat, we’ll be on our way. Try not to make too much noise, it’s a long trip and I need to sleep.”

Nezu waved at them as they placed their phone in the box one by one and loaded onto the shuttles. The engines roared to life as the last student got situated and pulled out of the garage, out of UA’s main gate, and onto the road.

Kagero’s phone pinged loudly from his desk. He snapped awake immediately at the sudden noise and shrugged off his covers with no traces of the lethargy that usually accompanied just waking up. Picking it up, he saw a message from his contact. Typing out a reply he sent a response and waited. Moments later another message came in, the answer causing him to frown.

“Fuck,” he muttered to himself. He put the phone down and leaned against his desk, his right thumb and pointer finger pinching his lower lip as he thought.

No phones allowed. Not giving out any identifying information by using vague terms. Trackers and Ectoplasm to deal with, he chuckled to himself, Gotta hand it to them, they’re doing a half-decent job at keeping security tight and actually making me try just a little harder.

He sat down in his chair and booted up his computer, the quiet whir of the fans spinning filled the room. Before opening any programs or files, he steepled his fingers in front of his face and thought about the details he has.

Camping trip means outdoors, meaning lots of room to work with. Ectoplasm’s quirk would be perfect to help with both monitoring the grounds and helping with the training, makes sense he’d be tagging along too. No phones and most likely closed-circuit trackers only UA could access, maybe the police if they want. Starting point’s at UA, confirmed to be in the woods, sizable distance away if Eraser thinks he can get a decent nap in. True off-campus property? Possible. But they said these were recent changes, which means they weren’t prepared initially, so most likely not. Maybe a hero they frequently work with? But no, before the changes, that would mean three adults for thirty-nine quirked teenagers. So maybe a team?

With an idea of what to look for, he set out to work, pouring over the multiple files from the Facility, Master and the Doctor’s personal notes, and his own notebooks that contained notes on nearly every active hero that he could find, all in the hopes of finding a hero, group, or hero team that would fit the bill.

UA could try all they wanted, but all they did was delay the inevitable. Information is no longer a secret as soon as it’s spoken, no matter how fragmented and vague it is. He won’t be denied.

Toga yawned as she made her way downstairs. With the feeling of satisfaction of a successful hunt and no fear of being punished by Shi-kun, she let herself relax and sleep in just a little bit in the days that followed. In her slightly sleep-addled mind, she thought about her time with the League. And Shi-kun.

She was much happier than she’d ever been. More comfortable in her skin than she’d ever been. And more accepted than she’d ever been, all thanks to joining the League. And Shi-kun. She smiled at the thought.

She even got to meet her idol, Stain. More than once! Her life pulled a complete one-hundred eighty as soon as she got involved with the League, and Shi-kun, and she couldn’t be happier about it. Sure, there were some sour parts, like having to deal with Dabi’s abrasive personality, Mustard’s misplaced sense of importance and adolescent confidence, but that’s to be expected when you have to live with other people. There were also the times when she and the rest of them got in trouble with Shi-kun. She shivered at the thought, both out of fear and something else.

By the time she made it to the door and opened it, she finished shivering.

Entering the bar, she was surprised to see Shi-kun and Dabi in a serious conversation. She was going to slink her way to Shi-kun’s side secretly, but Kurogiri announced her presence.

“Welcome, Toga-san. I take it you had a restful night?” he greeted.

She pouted at being outed. She knew that she probably wouldn’t be able to sneak in undetected by Shi-kun, but that was just part of the game! One that she was determined to win at some point, “I did! Thanks for asking Giri-san.”

“Would you like anything to eat?’

She put a finger to her chin and hummed in thought, “Surprise me!”

That out of the way, she slid into the booth Shi-kun and Dabi were talking at and hooked herself on Shi-kun’s arm. Immediately both stopped talking, sharing a look with each other first before turning their attention to Toga.

“What are you doing?” Dabi questioned her.

“Just seeing what you’re talking about,” she answered innocently. She looked up at Shi-kun, “What are you talking about?”

Instead of answering her, Shi-kun looked at Dabi, almost like he was asking for permission. Dabi sighed heavily before rolling his eyes, apparently giving him permission. That was weird.

“Dabi’s running his plan by me. Since you’re here, you might as well give some input,” Shi-kun answered.

“Dabi’s making a plan? What for?”

Kurogiri came over with a tray of a traditional breakfast. Placing it in front of Toga, he whispered to her, “There’s some extra blood in some of the dishes.”

Toga smiled brightly and clapped her hands together, “Thank you!”

While Toga was eating, he explained his plan to her. She was listening intently to it and nodding along, and when she didn’t have food in her mouth, offered up some of her own suggestions. When Dabi and Shi-kun stopped talking directly to her, she happily sat and watched the conversation go back and forth, Shi-kun and Dabi putting out scraps together and then seamlessly sewing them together into one cohesive piece.

The end result was simple, but the details put into it made it that much more impressive.

When they were done, Shi-kun nudged Toga so he could slide out of the booth. She obliged, but instead of sitting back down, she kept herself hugged onto his arm, “Shi-kun, how come you won’t be coming with us? You were the one who wanted to do this to begin with.”

“You all proved yourselves to be more capable than I gave you credit for, so I’m letting someone else take the reins on this.” Shi-kun shrugged, “It also frees me up to do some work of my own.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s all under control. You just focus on helping Dabi prep for the raid,” Shi-kun chuckled and patted her head. He turned to Dabi, “I’ll be here by the time you all get back. You know the targets, you know who’ll be there, you know their teachers, you know what to expect. I expect a clean sweep.”

Dabi gave a lazy salute before taking a drink from his glass, “You got it, bossman.”

Chapter Text

Shimura groaned as he shook his head to dispel the dirt in his hair. Looking around, he found the rest of the class in similar states as they all recovered from being dropped from the cliffside. It was just like Aizawa-sensei to throw them headfirst, literally this time, into training. He squinted his eyes as he looked up and saw… Abacus. Mandela? Mandala? Mandalay! Looking over the edge.

Mandalay had short, red-brown hair that had three bangs framing her face, with red markings under her brown eyes and was wearing a red version of her hero team’s, the Wild, Wild Pussycats, shared costume. The costume consisted of a skirt, a collared, sleeveless top with three straps going across the chest and a bell around their neck. To fit the theme of “pussycat”, each member also wore a communication device shaped like cat ears, big cat gloves with retractable claws, and a tail that moved suspiciously naturally.

“Feel free to use your quirks to your heart’s content!” Mandalay yelled down at them, “All of the land before you belong to us, and we give you permission, so you’re all clear!”

“Just don’t set any forest fires!” the other other hero added on, her head peeking over the edge too. This one had long blonde hair, blue eyes and was wearing a blue version of the Pussycats’ costume. “We won’t get to responding to natural disasters until a little bit later in the week, so don’t try to get a head start!”

Aizawa poked his head out too, “If you don’t make it to the lodge in the next three hours, you’re not going to get lunch. Better get moving.”

The class collectively made sounds of exasperation, some even yelled back at Aizawa, but nobody defied him. It was a slow process for them, but they eventually, painstakingly, figured out when and when not to call Aizawa out on a bluff. Their biggest help was learning to take in context clues, and since they were out on a training camp, it was clear what was expected of them.

They stood up and dusted themselves off and took stock of their surroundings. They were in a small clearing surrounded by trees and underbrush. Looking more closely, they saw that there was a very faint trail already made. Looking around, they all came to the same conclusion. This was the normal drop off point for unsuspecting Hero Course students whenever they went out for their summer camp.

“Alright everyone,” Yaoyorozu’s voice rang out through a megaphone, “We need to make our way to the lodge, and I think the best way to do that is as a group. We’ll all travel together with Jiro-san and Shoji-kun on our sides, so that they can keep an ear out for anything that may be out there.”

“You think we’ll be attacked by bears?” someone asked.

“If that’s the case, I’ll be up front!” Kirishima answered and announced, “I’ll be able to take whatever’s thrown at me.”

“Koda-kun, can you ask your friends to scout ahead of us so that we know where we’re going?” Yaoyorozu asked politely.

Koda was one of the taller students in the class and had peach-colored skin. The most striking feature was his head, which was shaped like a rock with hair-like protrusions sticking out like braids or dreadlocks. He has a square jaw and a uniquely shaped mouth. Koda gave her a timid smile and a thumbs up in response.

“Everyone else, let’s try to stick close together, but if we break off, be in a group of at least three.”

A round of affirmatives sounded out, with the only disagreement coming from Bakugo, but he still made his way to the group albeit through the combined efforts of Kirishima, Ashido, and Hagakure pushing and pulling him towards everyone else.

Jiro and Shoji both tensed and snapped their heads in front of them, hearing something far off.

“Guys, something’s coming towards us. Like, really fast,” Jiro warned.

Shoji added, “It also sounds big and heavy.”

“So there are bears in these woods!” Sato cried.

A loud roar answered them from deeper within the woods. It wasn’t the roar of a bear or any animal they could identify, but they could tell it was big and heavy. Its footsteps were like the bass line of a song, gradually getting louder and stronger as it reached its climax. The sounds of branches snapping and trees creaking came next as it got closer, but there was still no visual on it.

Shoji’s eyes went wide as he dove to get out of its way the same time Jiro ducked for cover behind whoever was closest to her, “Incoming!”

What burst through the tree line was, in no other way to describe it, a monster. It was running on four legs with thick brown skin that looked like clay. Wooden roots wrapped and wound around all its legs, each one thicker than Sato’s body when he’s completely bulked up. Its body looked like a bear, but its head was what set it apart. It had a narrow face but no defining features. It didn’t have eyes or a nose, only a large gaping mouth with sharp teeth and two wooden branches sticking out from its lower jaw like fangs.

“IS THAT A NOMU!?” Sero shrieked.

At the mention of a Nomu, Shimura, Asui, and Mineta paled. Kaminari tensed up and wreathed his body in electricity. Todoroki’s normally stoic and blank face momentarily broke in shock before his brow knitted itself in concentration.

The beast roared again and took a step towards the group. Surprisingly, Koda was the first one to act, ”Calm down, friend! We’re not here to harm you. Please just let us pass!”

The beast took a swipe at Koda, who ducked under it and quickly turned back around to retreat into the rest of the group. Bakugo took this opportunity to try and attack it, shooting twin explosions from his hands to propel himself towards it. Flipping a few times in the air, he aimed an explosion at its head and let one loose.

“DIE!” The resulting explosion shot him back towards the group where he landed on both feet.

The beast was covered in smoke from the explosion. With other people having broken the ice on who and how to attack, everyone else tensed themselves in preparation. The smoke wasn’t clearing quickly, and no roars came out.

“Did you get it?” Ojiro tentatively asked.

Bakugo scoffed, “Of course I-“

The beast took that moment to roar again and shook its head to dispel the smoke. It was missing a chunk off the side of its head but still moving.

Todoroki watched the entire exchange and widened his eyes in realization. He pushed through everyone else and stomped his right foot down, sending a wave of ice at the beast. Where he would normally just encase it in ice so it wouldn’t move, the ice shaped itself into sharp spikes and impaled it. Smaller spikes pierced its legs and a bigger one stuck it through its body. The beast cried out and fought to break itself free before one last spike embedded itself through its chin and out the top of its head. The beast’s screams stopped as it went limp.

Todoroki exhaled, his breath showing in the air at how cold it was.

Everybody gawked in shock at Todoroki’s use of excessive brutality and lethal force. Kaminari’s electricity died down as he nodded to himself.

Yaoyorozu couldn’t find the words. She opened and closed her mouth trying to form them but could only release a single word, “Todoroki-“

It was deathly quiet as he walked towards it and grabbed ahold of one of the wooden fangs and pulled. The fang was in his hand, but the body broke apart into clumps of dirt, mud, clay, sticks, and branches.

“These aren’t alive. They’re made from dirt and the ground. Let’s get moving,” he explained in a monotone voice, already making his way down the path.

“But how did you- why did- what if-“

Yaoyorozu turned to the class, trying to see if anyone else could make any sense of what they just witnessed. Jiro was still in shock and could only shake her head in disbelief. Ashido and Hagakure looked uncomfortable with the situation. A good number of the boys took a few more seconds to process it before they hardened their looks in acceptance.

She turned her attention to Shimura, Asui, and Mineta who were still deathly pale. Asui let out a weak croak as she tried bringing her heart rate back down from the fear that hit her system. Mineta was slightly hunched in on himself, unable to tear his sight away from where the beast was slain. Shimura’s eyes were wide but unfocused and his arms were hanging limply at his side, his hands twitching in a nervous response.

It wasn’t the brutality that shook the trio. It was the mention of a Nomu. Having seen what one could do up close, hearing that word and seeing a similarity in the beast caused their bodies to freeze in terror as their minds re-lived the USJ.

Finally making her way to Sero, she saw that he looked remorseful. Taking a step towards him, Yaoyorozu prepared to chastise him but Jiro beat her to it.

She stomped up to him and jabbed her earphone jacks into his arm, causing him to jolt at the sudden buzzing sensation, “Ouch! Alright, alright, I get it! I panicked, it’s all my bad, I know! I wasn’t thinking when I said that! I'm sorry.”

Jiro squinted her eyes at him before unplugging from him. She poised her jacks in front of Sero’s eyes like snakes coiling to strike, her warning clear as day, “Be better next time. Let’s get going, people!” She walked away to retake her position on the left flank.

Hearing Jiro’s command caused everyone to sober up quickly. They made their way down the path after Todoroki, some of them pausing to look back before following. Bakugo lingered a little longer but turned around eventually.

Yaoyorozu still stood nearby Shimura, Asui, and Mineta to make sure they’ll be good to go and smiled when she saw Kaminari doing the same. When they slowly came back to themselves, she sighed in relief.

“We’d better get a move on,” Kaminari commented. “The faster we get out of here, the sooner we can tell the teachers what happened.”

He nudged Shimura and Mineta lightly, leaving Asui to Yaoyorozu. Their feet stayed rooted, but eventually they started moving after more prodding.

Yaoyorozu agreed, “Yes, that’s probably the best idea. Are you ready to go?”

Shimura, Asui, and Mineta slowly looked between Kaminari and Yaoyorozu before nodding.

“Hopefully we won’t have any more surprises like that, ribbit,” Asui responded.

Mineta nodded along, “I don’t think my heart could take another one of those.”

Shimura sighed, “Me too. But whether we like it or not, we’re probably gonna see more things like that soon, so we gotta get over it now. If we freeze like that again, we’re dead.”

Kaminari frowned but hummed in agreement.

Kagero made his way back to the Kiyashi Ward mall. Since Ikamura was useless and the Yakuza were good at hiding their trails, he figured the next best place to check was the tea shop. As he made his way to the entrance gate, he found that they had the brilliant idea of having them go through a security checkpoint. A row of metal detectors that looked like they belonged in an airport or grocery store had a security guard in a blue uniform and a darker blue Kevlar vest beyond them. Next to the detectors was another guard standing next to small tables where people were placing their bags onto it for inspection.

Kagero chuckled at how misguided the effort was.

They were looking for physical weapons. Things like knives, guns, or maybe even bombs. Traditional threats. There were people in the world that could change the weather with a single punch, that could create a black hole at the tip of their fingers and destroy city blocks with ease, that could use their voice as a sonic attack and leave a trail of destruction in its wake for kilometers. And those were just a few people that were on UA’s staff.

Nearly every person on the planet had the potential to do so much damage with their quirk, yet they were worried about sharp pointy things the size of a pencil. Pathetic.

He turned the corner, walking away from the entrance before he got too close and continued walking. As he passed by other shops and businesses on the street, he peeked at his reflection as he walked by. He was wearing an orange shirt under a dark green zip up hoodie with the sleeves pushed up with black jeans and sneakers. He snorted when he realized he accidentally put on the color scheme of that explosive kid, Bakugo’s, hero costume. It was almost ironic.

At least it’s a decent color combination.

He kept walking and stopped in front of some windows that were tinted, making them a better mirror to observe himself. He tilted his head this way and that. Twisted his neck so he could see his scar in its entirety. Nothing he could do to hide the part that’s on his neck, but a simple mask could cover the rest. The problem was that he didn’t have one on him. He shrugged. That wasn’t a problem last time, and he doubted it was going to be a problem this time.

He turned back towards the mall.

Stopping a fair distance away from the gate, Kagero leaned against a tree to observe the security guards. They all looked standard. There were some with obvious mutations, others with none, and all of them looked like they’d rather be anywhere else than manning a security checkpoint. That would make his job easier. He checked the time and saw it was a little after one thirty, and the sun was starting to beat down on them. There was probably a shift change soon, which meant these people were tired and anxious to get home. Perfect.

He joined the queue with the guard who looked the most tired and waited. The line he was in was moving significantly faster than the others, which could be a good or bad thing. Good in that the guard really wasn’t doing any proper checks. Bad in that they might have a quirk that enhanced their perception or something along those lines. If it was the latter, then it may be a problem.

Kagero wasn’t much of a gambler because then it left things up to chance, but it looked like he would have to partake this time around. It’d be suspicious if he left the line for another when he was already so far up.

As he got closer to the front, he studied the security guard behind the metal detector. He wasn’t holding any bags, so he didn’t need to bother with the guard at the table. They were to his right on the other side of the table, so they were standing further away. Unless he looked directly at them, they would probably miss the only majorly identifying feature of his. It paid to be considered plain and standard sometimes.

The guard standing on the other side of the metal detector was middle-aged and looked slightly overweight. Upon closer inspection it was obvious the roundness of their stomach wasn’t due to being overweight but from having the muscles of a powerlifter. They had blue-tinted skin with gelatinous hair just a shade darker, and they looked terribly bored. They had a slight frown on their face, and the only movement they did was changing their hand position from “stop” to “come through”.

The body language improved Kagero’s chances, but there was still an alertness in their eyes. They looked over everybody but did so quickly, like they just wanted to get it over with. They were still doing their job, but immediately dismissed them when no obvious red flags popped up. The mental fatigue from seeing nothing but all-clears all day long must’ve taken its toll on them. There was still a chance that the guard would stop Kagero, but he had a surefire method to make sure he’s let through.

He was up next, so he looked slightly at the guard on his right and gave them a polite nod. He pulled out his phone and wallet from his pockets and held them in front of his chest. He looked at the guard and widened his eyes in mock interest and started muttering to himself. He angled his head down just a little to show that he wasn’t going to challenge their authority and periodically looked up to see when the guard’s hand would change to “come through”.

Kagero got the signal and walked through. The detector didn’t beep. He saw the guard’s eyes look him over starting from his shoes and up to the highest point of his hair. Kagero kept walking forward and increased in volume just enough for the guard to hear him.

“…if their hair is the quirk or just an unrelated mutation. The blue could mean that it’s water-based but what water is thick like sludge. Is that jelly? It’s not algae. It keeps its shape but looks like it’s slowly drooping, so maybe it’s like slime. Slime would make sense. Then what are the properties of the slime? Acidic? Purely cosmetic? Can it be used to clean dirt and dust off of surfaces? How could it be used in a fight…”

In the corner of his eye, he saw the guard perk up in interest at what he was saying but made an uncomfortable face when they finally understood him and realized he was gushing about their quirk. The guard quickly looked away and waved him all the way through. Kagero gave them a nod in thanks and picked up his pace but kept the muttering going until he was outside of earshot. As soon as he was, he dropped the act and walked purposefully to the tea shop.

Despite being in a modern mall, the tea shop had a very traditional look and feel to it. The entrance was framed in wood and had a decently sized door. When it was opened, a bell would give a nice ring and your senses would be hit with the tea within. The interior was filled with dark oak cabinets and shelves, with one wall being covered in large jars that held the different leaves and herbs they have available to make blends with. Settled towards the back was the checkout and on the sides were long tables that people could reserve for a tasting.

The shop was empty except for an older man who sat at the checkout counter and a younger man who was tending to the shop.

The bell chimed and the younger man looked away from what he was doing, “Welcome in! Would you like any assistance?”

The new customer entered and bowed a little, “I was wondering if you had received my order.”

“We may have. What’s the name for the order?”

“It should be under my girlfriend. She wanted me to pick it up on my way back from work.”

“May I have her name?”

The customer looked the worker in the eye, “Isagi.”

Something flashed in the worker’s eyes before he nodded. He turned around and yelled out to the old man, “Gramps! Can you get this customer’s order? I need to finish up what I was doing.” He turned back to the customer, “He will help you.”

“Thank you.”

The customer walked to the counter and the older man walked through the doorway that led into the back room, motioning for the customer to follow. The customer arched an eyebrow and turned back around, seeing the younger man picking up the work he was doing before he walked in. He looked through the door and couldn’t see any potential customers walking towards the shop.

Shrugging, he walked into the doorway the old man disappeared into.

There was a short hallway with three doors lining it on the right side and a single door on the left. The old man was standing in front of the room furthest in the back and walked in. A few steps behind him, the customer entered the room and was met with a black bag over his head and multiple blows to his body. The customer fell to the ground and was hit with a barrage of kicks hitting him on every spot that wasn’t being guarded by his hands.

“I don’t know how the fuck you knew that name,” a voice growled, “but you sure as shit ain’t one of ours.”

The customer received one last kick to the head and fell unconscious.

The League gathered in the bar as Dabi briefed them on his plan’s outline, which had received Shigaraki’s approval. He still wanted to brainstorm with everyone else to see what they could contribute.

“Shigaraki has a contact within UA, and they have provided us enough details to confirm that we are going to be attacking their summer training camp.”

Magne raised her hand, “Why?”

Dabi narrowed his eyes at her, “I’m not answering that question. You should be able to figure that out on your own.”

“Now who’s trying to act like Shigaraki?” Mustard grumbled with his arms crossed.

“Shut it. Shigaraki’s made it clear as day that he prefers it when people can think for themselves instead of blindly doing what they’re told. I just happen to agree with it, because quite frankly, we all tend to rely on him far more than we have any right to.”

“Rude.”

“Getting back on topic,” Compress redirected, “Do we have any specific objectives? Goals? Priceless loot to plunder?”

“We’ve got four primary targets,” Dabi passed around pictures displaying them. “Don’t ask me why Shigaraki’s special target isn’t there, I don’t know, I didn’t ask.”

“You said primary? Which means there are others?”

Dabi smirked, “The summer camp takes place on location at the Wild, Wild Pussycat’s mountain base out near Mount Aka. Shigaraki still stands by the ‘no killing’ rule, but he did emphasize that if any of you encounter anyone who stands out to grab them as well.”

“Just kidnapping and capturing?” Magne asked, “Why do we all need to go? This is just like with Muscular. We could get it done with half of us.”

“Because, Magne, there are two very difficult people to bypass. The first is Ragdoll. Her quirk lets her track up to one hundred people at all times. I don’t know her limits, but from what Shigaraki says, he thinks she’ll be able to keep track of everyone until she decides to stop.”

“So she gets taken out first. Easy,” Spinner commented arrogantly.

“It’s not just her. The other person is Ectoplasm. He’ll be there as well.”

“That’s not good,” Jin replied, “Easy peasy lemon squeezy!”

“Who’s Ectoplasm?” Magne asked.

Mustard scoffed, “Really? How could you not know who he is? He teaches at UA and has a clone quirk. He can make up to thirty-six clones of himself, each one entirely independent and he’ll know the exact location of every single one.”

“He’s renowned amongst people who have cloning or duplication quirks. He’s got nothing on me.”

“Between Ectoplasm and Ragdoll, they’ll be able to have the entire area covered in surveillance.”

Compress had his chin in his hand as he hummed, “If that’s the case, we’ll need something big and distracting. Something to draw their attention while the rest of us get in.”

“That’s already been taken care of,” Dabi revealed.

“By who?”

“Trees are flammable. Gas can spread. Jin can make doubles. Who do you think?”

“Why haven’t you said anything, Toga-chan?” Magne asked. She noticed that Toga looked particularly bored throughout the whole meeting and wasn’t really paying attention.

Toga sat up and looked at her like a cat would when it gets surprised, “Dabi made the plan with Shi-kun and I was there too. I already know what I’ll be doing.”

Mustard spun his finger in a circle for her to keep going, “Which is…”

“Shi-kun’s favorite thing!” Her eyes turned into Shigaraki’s toxic green as she spun around in her chair and looked at everyone else. In his voice she answered, “Sowing chaos amongst the heroes.”

Chapter Text

“Kaminari, a word,” Aizawa called out as he walked towards the training area reserved for combat and physical quirks.

Kaminari, who was getting tossed around like a ragdoll by Tiger, the third member of the Wild, Wild Pussycats, shouted in acknowledgement as he rolled on the ground. Tiger was wearing the standard costume but his was brown themed and possibly a size too small for both the shirt and skirt. The shirt rode a little short, revealing his abs, and whereas the skirts for Mandalay and Pixie-Bob, the blonde one, were swishier and flowed with their movements, his was shorter and rigid. Instead of acting like a skirt, on him, it was as if he were wearing a buzz saw.

“Saved by the bell,” Tiger growled, a little disappointed. He quickly turned back around to the other students who were performing drills, “Alright! Who’s up next!?”

Groaning, Kaminari slowly picked himself up from the ground and made his way to where Aizawa was standing. He swayed and staggered on the way, his entire body aching from the beatdown he was receiving and his mind feeling a little fuzzy from the quirk training he was going through. Through his weariness he could see Aizawa getting impatient from him being too slow, so he picked up the pace.

As he got closer, Aizawa immediately turned around and walked away, throwing his instruction behind him, “We’re going to the lodge.”

“Yes, sensei,” Kaminari drawled and rolled his eyes. On unsteady feet he stumbled after him.

When they finally made it into one of the smaller rooms in the lodge, Kaminari threw himself into an armchair, sinking into the cushions and sighing in comfort.

The room was a small little office with a set of chairs, one blue and one red, facing each other on a circular carpet with a small table in between them. There was a lamp that branched off so that it could provide each chair with light if the occupants wanted to read a book or work on papers. A tall and narrow bookshelf occupied the right corner of the same wall as the window. On the walls opposite the chairs were pictures and maps of the Pussycats at various events and functions, as well as topographic and outlined maps of their land. On the wall that shared the door was a wooden desk that looked worked on, but recently cleaned up.

Aizawa closed the door behind him and dropped himself in the blue chair, also sighing in comfort. He sat like that for a beat before he straightened himself out, suddenly back to work.

Before Aizawa could get a word out, Kaminari sat up in realization about where he was and who he was with, “Wait! I’m not in trouble am I? It wasn’t my idea, that was all Sero!”

Filing that comment away for later resolution, Aizawa shook his head, “Calm down, you aren’t in trouble. I suppose I could’ve waited until after training was over, but I didn’t want to waste another day. Kaminari, what exactly did you do in your internship with Conduit?”

“Uhhhh,” Kaminari paused, drumming his fingers on his chin. He readjusted himself so that he was facing Aizawa properly, “A little bit of everything, I guess. Some training, some patrolling, some paperwork…”

Aizawa raised an eyebrow.

“Did Conduit not tell you? I swear he said he would or something like that.”

“He mentioned it in his report, but he didn’t specify exactly what you two did. I was hoping you could fill the gaps.”

“Oh. Is there a reason for this? I mean, sure I can tell you, but why ask now?”

“I can see that you’re holding back and I want to know why.” Kaminari spluttered and moved to mount his defense but Aizawa raised a hand to stop him, “Let me be clear. In your physical training I can tell you’re giving it your all, but when it comes to when we have you train your quirk, you’re not pushing yourself as much as your classmates. Why?”

Kaminari opened his mouth but paused, unsure how to elaborate. He frowned in thought for a moment before answering, “My quirk is dangerous.”

Aizawa knitted his eyebrows together at the serious tone coming from Kaminari.

“Do you know how strong and effective electricity is? One hundred volts runs through each of the power outlets in Japan, and just that much is enough to power multiple devices that could be considered heavy duty. The lowest recorded voltage for human fatality is forty-two volts, with the average being between one hundred and two-fifty. If I’m not extremely careful, every time I use it, my quirk could potentially kill someone.”

“You could apply that same logic to nearly everybody else outside. If I use my quirk on someone flying, I can cause them to fall to their death. Vlad could drain someone of every milliliter of blood with a flick of his wrist. Your classmates could use their quirks to kill, whether directly or indirectly, but they’re still trying their hardest to increase their strength. Why aren’t you?”

Aizawa could see Kaminari starting to close himself off, but also saw he was fighting against it.

“Before the internship, my maximum output was one point two million. Afterwards it bumped up to three. At this point, it might be closer to three point three. My maximum has tripled, and you want my quirk to get stronger still? A normal EMP puts out two hundred thousand. What reason should my quirk get any stronger than three million?”

Aizawa was listening intently when he noticed something off, “You keep saying ‘my quirk’. Not ‘me’, not ‘I’, nothing in the first person. You keep referencing it as if it’s its own thing.”

Kaminari winced.

Aizawa sighed and scooted forward on his seat to get closer to Kaminari, “I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s wrong. I won’t pry if you don’t want me to, but something happened over the internship. In Hosu, right?”

Kaminari nodded.

Aizawa waited to see if he would explain further, but it didn’t come. He dropped his head slightly in disappointment, “Whatever the case, I can’t have you slacking off during training while everyone else isn’t. It isn’t fair to your classmates who are trying, it isn’t fair to us the teachers who created specialized training programs for you, and it isn’t fair to the Pussycats who are graciously letting us use their land at such a short notice. I won’t force you to train your quirk to raise its limits, but I will increase the difficulty of your exercises, quirked and not. Do I make myself clear?”

Kaminari nodded and moved to leave the room.

“We aren’t finished yet.”

Kaminari froze in his movement and sat back down in his chair, “What else is there to talk about?”

Aizawa place a hand on Kaminari’s leg as reassuringly as he could, “I understand you may not have all the answers, but there is something that’s been noticed and brought up that needs to be addressed sooner than later.”

Aizawa could feel Kaminari’s leg tense in response, as if he were preparing himself to jump out of his chair. Aizawa removed his hand in an attempt to alleviate any worries.

“During the final exams, the teachers had access to footage from everyone’s tests so that you could receive feedback from everyone instead of just the teacher you were up against. That meant that we had full audio and video coverage from the very beginning to the very end.”

Kaminari winced like he was found out, clueing Aizawa in that he knew exactly what he was talking about.

“A comment that kept getting brought up was the abrupt change in tactics, personality, and skill,” Aizawa paused, watching Kaminari to gauge his reaction. He was expecting Kaminari to clam up, get on the defensive maybe, or even to pretend he didn’t hear it. What he got was poorly hidden confusion, which threw Aizawa off a little inwardly, but he remained composed, “I personally have no problems with the plan you employed. Given your circumstances, it was the most logical option and had the highest chance of success, but as a whole, it didn’t make sense.

“I mean this in the nicest way possible, but neither you nor Ashido have displayed that kind of ability of planning and strategy in class. Then there were also the skills you displayed. Conduit did reveal that he taught you how to “line surf” as well as how to use your electricity to augment your muscles, but despite that, you haven’t shown the abilities in training, or at least to the effectiveness displayed during your exam. The only time it does show itself is when you’re clearly up against the wall, then that skill and drive comes back. All of this circles back to the main topic: Why are you holding yourself back?”

“But I’m not?” Kaminari answered, “I try incorporating everything Conduit taught me in my training every time. We’re not in Ground Beta very often, but when we are, the lines are usually dead, so I can’t line ride there. Gamma is full of industrial pipes with a few random wires here and there, but those don’t span the entire ground, so I can’t do it much there either. When we do personnel combat, I use my electricity like how he taught me, not sending it all out in one big shot anymore.”

Aizawa was nodding along agreeing with him, “Yes. You do, but it’s not that you don’t display that, it’s that you don’t normally use it to that degree of skill. That is, except, when you’re struggling or in an exercise that’s more difficult than I guess what you would consider as ‘normal’. Why wait until things get dire before you take things seriously?”

Kaminari opened his mouth but didn’t respond, his eyes moving around as if he were searching for something, “I- I don’t know what you’re talking about, sensei. I try my hardest the entire time, you should be able to see that!”

Aizawa was getting nowhere. He saw that Kaminari was earnest in his responses, which was something that he wasn’t ready to see. He’d dealt with a plethora of students from all sorts of backgrounds. There was always a handful of them that held back in training, whether it was out of fear for everyone’s safety due to their quirk, arrogance in their skill or experience over the others, or anything in between, but all of them were aware that they were doing it and Aizawa was quick to make sure they knew he knew. Kaminari, on the other hand, clearly didn’t. He didn’t fit the mold. Kaminari had the skill but wasn’t employing it, now revealed because he believed he was already doing his best. Something wasn’t adding up.

Aizawa studied Kaminari again with him staring back with an incredulous expression that was bordering on exasperation. No hint of a lie, no recognition, nothing but the truth.

Aizawa shook his head, “Very well. I’ve taken up enough of your time for today, go back and finish training. I’ll be sure to let Tiger know about the changes to your training moving forward, and I’ll update you tomorrow morning about what we’ll do for your quirk. If you would like to speak further, please do so after training. Dismissed.”

Kaminari’s eyes were wide as he let out a gasp of disbelief. He made stuttering sounds like he wanted to say something in return, but all that came out were short, cut off breaths of air. He eventually gave up and dropped his head in resignation. He muttered an affirmative and skulked out of the room.

Aizawa stayed in the room, mulling over the one-sided meeting. There was something going on with Kaminari and he sorely hoped it wasn’t what he thought it was. How he was reacting was entirely genuine. Nobody could act that well. Right? But if it wasn’t acting, then what is it?

The customer’s vision was black. He blinked his eyes to adjust to the low light quicker but found he couldn’t discern the difference between the darkness and when his eyes were closed. He was sure that he was awake. He had thoughts swimming in his mind about where he was and what happened to him, he had feeling throughout his entire body but felt something constricting around his wrists and ankles, he heard noises moving above and around him. He blinked again but this time in surprise when he found that whenever he flexed his arms and tried moving them, they wouldn’t budge. He rocked his body front and back, left and right, and found that he was sitting on something with his torso pinned, likely to the back of a chair. He tried kicking his legs but they wouldn’t move from their position.

He started to struggle and heard a creaking sound. He strained his arms again and found the sound only came when he strained against whatever kept him immobile. He tried rocking again and found whatever he was sitting on didn’t make a noise. He was bound in rope and the chair was bolted down.

He activated his quirk first, mainly to see if he could, and was glad to feel the warmth of a fire emanate from his hands. He tried angling one of them towards his bindings to free himself, but how he was tied made it so it just shot harmlessly into the air. He tried his mouth next and was pleased to find he could still speak out.

“Hey!” he yelled out. He started to shake his head to dislodge whatever was over his eyes but felt it move on his head. There was a tightness around his neck that he didn’t notice before. Whatever was over his head was opaque and tied around his neck to keep it secured there, “Hey, let me out of here! There must’ve been some kind of mistake! I don’t belong here!”

He continued struggling even as he heard footsteps from outside of the room he was in and only stopped when he heard the click of a lock and the sound of the door latch releasing. He heard multiple pairs of footsteps enter the room as the door closed again. One of the pairs walked up to him and he felt them fiddle with something on his neck, probably the knot of the bag on his head. Fear quickly passed over him as he worried that instead of loosening it, they were going to tighten it and strangle him, but that fear was dispelled when the bag was roughly torn off of him.

His vision was suddenly filled with a harsh light that blinded him. He hissed and clenched his eyes shut as he turned his head away from the source. Slowly, he blinked his eyes as he got used to the light. When it got a little more bearable, he looked forward and a fist filled his vision.

The blow knocked his head to the side. “Ow! Fuck!” He spit to the side. The customer couldn’t help but snark, “Don’t you people know not to start with the head? The victim gets all fuzzy.”

A heavy blow to his stomach came next. If he wasn’t tied to the chair, he would’ve folded over in pain.

“Who are you?” a voice asked.

The customer moved his head around to find the source. He first looked at the guy who was pummeling him, but his face was set in a frown and was obviously the muscle. He craned his head to look around him and saw another man with black hair in a ponytail wearing a plain black suit and white shirt. Around his neck he wore a necklace with a pendant of the sun visible. He wore a plain black mask on his face.

The muscle swung at him again, “He asked you a question.”

“Kind of hard to answer when I’m recovering from being beaten up,” the customer coughed.

The ponytailed man hummed and snapped his fingers, causing the muscle to straighten back up and step away. Taking that as a kindness, the customer sucked in deep breaths of air to recover quicker.

“There,” the ponytailed man spoke, his voice silky like caramel, “Now that you’ve had a chance to breathe, let’s try this again. Who are you?”

“Shin Takeda,” the customer quickly muttered.

“And what were you doing at the tea shop?”

“I was trying to pick up an order for my girlfriend, but then I got jumped.” Takeda jutted his chin at the muscle, “Pretty sure it was that guy too.”

“How did you hear about the shop?”

“My girlfri-“ Takeda was cut off with another blow to the solar plexus.

“Isagi is not your girlfriend’s name. You don’t know anybody that’s named that at all. That isn’t even a common name to begin with.” The ponytailed man punched Takeda in the face and walked behind him. He grabbed his hair and wrenched his head back, “And one more thing? We stopped using that name when our guy stopped coming back.”

The ponytailed man roughly shoved Takeda’s head back forward.

“You aren’t who you say you are, Takeda,” the ponytailed man said, breaking up the name by syllables, “And the boss hates it when people lie, so last chance. Who are you?”

Takeda was still coughing and reeling from the rough treatment, but he found enough strength to look back at him, “I’m nobody! I keep trying to tell you. My name’s Shin Takeda and all I know is my girlfriend told me she had an order at the tea shop. Told me to give them her name. Then I ended up here.”

The ponytailed man tutted, “Shame.”

The muscle took up his position again and cracked his knuckles before winding up for another blow.

Takeda woke with a start. He sat up from the bed he was laying on as he gasped for air. His hands flew to his face to assess the damage done. As he came off of the sudden rush of panic, he realized that he wasn’t tied down anymore. He inspected his wrists to see if there were rope marks or burns but found none. He felt his face, expecting to find it sore at the very least, but didn’t feel any dried patches of blood, or a busted lip, or a broken nose. It was as if the beating he received never happened.

Was I healed? By who?

Looking around, he took the time to observe the room he was in. It was bare except for the bed he was on, a small sink with a medicine cabinet above it, and a toilet. Surprisingly, the vanity was stocked with all sorts of soaps and anti-bacterial products. The room was obviously a holding cell, but it was spotless and had modern amenities. With nothing better to do, Takeda rinsed his face off with cold water.

Just as he was finishing, he heard the lock on the door slide out of place and the door opened, letting three people in. Two of them were the pair that he already met while the third was a man wearing a black cape and pants, grey sneakers, a bowler hat, and a plague mask.

“This is him?” Plague Mask asked. “He doesn’t look like much.”

The ponytailed man answered him, “I believe that’s the point. An unassuming person waltzes into the shop using the old code? He’s perfectly forgettable. The only mistake was going in alone, which made him stand out. You hear that Takeda? There are always two.”

Takeda rolled his eyes, “I’ll be sure to bring my girlfriend next time. Not like there will be a next time, this service sucks.”

“You insolent little…!”

“Calm yourself, Akaboshi,” Plague Mask pacified, immediately getting him to settle down. “He’s just trying to get under your skin. Don’t take the bait, after all, this is why you called for me.”

That tone of voice didn’t sit well with Takeda, who backed away slowly and tentatively raised his arms and bent his knees a little like he was preparing for a fight.

“Who are you?” Plague Mask asked, his voice filling the room.

Takeda felt something wash over him, his meager defense dropped and he suddenly felt compelled to answer truthfully. Is this his quirk? He tried to fight it, which probably only further dug himself deeper into the hole he unknowingly put himself into, but the compulsion was too strong, “I’m not who I say I am. Shin Takeda is just a name I made up.”

Plague Mask made a frustrated sound, “You’re smarter than you look. What is your real name?”

This time, Takeda didn’t bother fighting it, “Kagero Shigaraki.”

The holding room was silent as his captors and interrogator digested the information, caught by surprise at how easily it came out. Kagero smiled wickedly as he watched pieces fall into place.

Plague Mask was the first to react. His cloak billowed as his hand moved underneath it as he turned his head to look at Akaboshi and the muscle, “You idiots! You just brought-“

Kagero pounced on him, crossing the distance between the sink and door in an instant. He shot a hand at Plague Mask, finding his arm from over the cloak. Pushing hard, he pinned him against the wall, the arm stuck against his body. Kagero caught the arm with his left hand as Plague Mask’s reached across his body. Plague Mask looked down and then back up, his expression hidden by the mask but you could tell his eyes were wide and he was panicking. Using his free hand, Kagero palmed the left side of his body as he searched for what Plague Mask was reaching for and found the telltale shape of a gun.

Kagero’s right hand went to grab the mask by its beak, “Can’t have that.”

Fire burst from Kagero’s hands. The cloak was quickly getting consumed by the hungry flames and the mask caught on as well. Plague Mask threw himself into a frenzy as he screamed and tried putting the flames out.

That interaction only took five seconds.

Turning his attention to the other two, Kagero found that they were just now scrambling for the door screaming. In their panic to escape, they started shoving each other out of the way, fighting amongst themselves to be the first to exit. The muscle’s previous arrogance and strength completely abandoned, Akaboshi’s calm but cracking façade giving way to terror.

Kagero grabbed the muscle’s shirt collar and yanked him back, throwing him bodily against the far wall. Seeing his companion get thrown like a ragdoll, Akaboshi turned around, pressing himself against the door. He tore the sun pendant off its chain and held it in his right hand, palm out with his left holding his wrist, bracing it. The pendant started to glow a bright red.

“Star Burst!“ Akaboshi exclaimed, a beam of hot energy shooting from his palm right at Kagero.

Kagero stepped to the left, ducking under the attack, letting it sail past him. From behind, the muscle screamed out in pain, the attack hitting him instead. With his right hand, Kagero grabbed Akaboshi’s extended arm and pulled from the wrist, with his left hand, he placed it on his shoulder and pushed. Akaboshi yelped in pain as his arm was wrenched out to the side and his body forced to bow forward. Kagero had Akaboshi’s arm fully extended and held at an awkward angle, his hand bent inwards with the palm facing Akaboshi and the fingers to the ceiling. With a sharp twist, Kagero snapped Akaboshi’s wrist, eliciting a pained cry.

Kagero wasn’t done with him yet.

Still holding him in that position, Kagero replaced his hands so he was gripping the wrist with his left hand and applied his weight on the arm as he rolled over it so he was back to back with Akaboshi, forcing the arm to bend further the wrong way with cracks and pops accompanying the movement. With his right arm, Kagero reached behind him and grabbed Akaboshi by the neck. Pivoting himself so he was facing Plague Mask who was now maskless and still on fire, he stepped forward with his left foot and yanked with his right arm, throwing Akaboshi into Plague Mask.

The two collided, both hitting the wall behind them. The flames from Plague Mask quickly jumped to Akaboshi, setting him on fire as well. Akaboshi was still dazed from the attack, but when he saw the flames catch on his clothes, adrenaline started pumping in his veins, his previous pain completely forgotten as he raced to extinguish the fire.

Watching with sick satisfaction as the two ran around like headless chickens, he let them continue for a few more seconds before eventually breathing in deeply, taking the fire from them and holding it in his right hand. He stepped forward and kicked Akaboshi, sending him flying into the wall again, knocking him out. Moving towards Plague Mask, whose clothes were in tatters and skin red and raw and blistered, he picked him up by what remained of his shirt and shoved him against the wall. He held the fireball close to Plague Mask’s face, letting him feel the heat.

“You know my name, but I don’t know yours. That doesn’t seem very fair, does it?” Kagero spoke.

Plague Mask had a long face with small features with black hair. He looked every bit like a standard Japanese office worker. Plague Mask held fear in his eyes, “It’s Shin- Shin Nemoto.”

“Shin?” Kagero laughed, “Wow what are the chances I picked the same name? Now then, Shin-tan, you know who I am and you know where I work out of. You’re smart enough to know where this is going, right?”

He gulped and nodded rapidly, “But I can’t just bring you to my boss! That’s not how it works!”

Kagero narrowed his eyes at him and moved the fireball closer, “Then make it work. And do it right. It’s not my life on the line here. It’s yours.”

Kagero released the fireball and pulled Shin-tan away from the wall, shoving him towards Akaboshi and the muscle, “And get this trash out of the room. Burnt flesh doesn’t smell good.”

“I don’t work-“ Shin-tan tried defying.

“You do now. Until I meet with your boss, you. Are. Mine.”

A portal opened up and the League walked out. Taking in their surroundings, they were on a cliff with an overlook. Though it was night, they could clearly make out the Pussycats’ lodge, its wooden structure in the middle of a clearing of trees, the perimeter outlined in lights. Figures moved across the ground, moving in and out of the light, with no clear indication of a predetermined route. Shadows moved across windows as people flitted about their business inside.

Those that had a specific villain outfit were wearing them while everyone else dressed as they normally did. The only difference was Toga, who had a black mask with metal pipes going across it. Around her neck was another mask, though it was loose and had metal plates designed to look like a wide smile with sharp teeth, some draconic looking, others more feline like a cat. Around her waist was a blue belt with green boxes on both sides of her hips. On her thighs she had two more boxes, both filled to the brim with knives. Completing her ensemble, she had six silver canisters attached to her mask, three on each side, each with a large hypodermic needle with a tube connected to cylinders that lined her back.

A deep inhale came from the group followed by a sigh of contentment, “I really love the outdoors. Nothing like breathing in fresh, crisp air. Where’s the hustle and bustle? Country life is so boring.”

“You know what would really complete the atmosphere?” Mustard asked rhetorically, “Fire. Nothing like a camp with a good ole fire burning.”

Dabi snorted, “Soon. Very soon.” He turned around to look at the assembled League, “Tonight and most of tomorrow will be scoping out the location so we can get a feel for the land. Once that’s been mapped out, the real fun will begin. Twice, make copies of Toga and Compress. Toga and Compress, you know what to do.”

Twice stuck his hands out, palms down, and sludge poured out of them. The sludge hit the ground and jumped back up, forming the rough outline of Toga and Compress before the details came through. Dabi walked up to the newly created copies one at a time and grabbed an arm, pulled their sleeve up, and drew a large X on the inside of their forearms with a marker.

“You two are clones. Don’t forget it,” he instructed. The Compress double bowed while the Toga one saluted before moving to stand near the originals, “Go find us a window.”

The copies and originals looked at each other before nodding and ran off.

“While they’re off doing their thing, we’re supposed to just hang out here, right?” Spinner asked, “Sounds kind of boring.”

“We’re not the stealthiest in the group, so our chances of getting detected are higher,” Magne reasoned.

Mustard nodded, “That, and while they’re busy, we can go over the plan again. Shigaraki won’t accept anything less than perfection on this, and we can’t let him down. Our timing has to be precise, and we have to be in sync, so there can’t be any room for doubt.”

“Those two are our eyes and ears out here, as well as our highest chances of finding and locating our targets quickly,” Dabi added. “They need to know the terrain a lot better than us, who will just be on the offense.”

Spinner crossed his arms and grumbled, “Doesn’t make it any less boring just waiting around.”

“Just be happy we have the time to relax for now.” Twice laid down and crossed his hands behind his head, looking at the sky, but then shot back up, “Come on! Let’s get this show on the road, I’m tired of waiting!”

Dabi kept his eyes trained on the lodge, “Only a matter of time at this point. We’ve been prepping for this for a bit now, what’s one more day?”

Being unable to argue with that logic, everyone else settled in for the night.

To himself, Dabi muttered, “Be seeing you soon…”

Chapter Text

Day three of the training camp wasn’t any easier than days one or two. If it wasn’t the four-thirty a.m. wakeup time, then it was either the five-thirty training start or the ten hours of relentless training that followed. They were given ample breaks to rest and recover, but they were only just enough time. Just as they felt like they were finally relaxed and winding down, they were thrown right back in it with ramped up intensity.

Aizawa, Kan, and Tiger swore that it’s because the students had renewed vigor from the break, but Shimura had a sneaking feeling otherwise. For Aizawa and Kan at least, he was sure that they were taking advantage of the training camp and using it to get back at them for giving them grey hairs, headaches, long nights of grading, being rowdy in and out of class, and for occasionally submitting poorly written essays and half-assed homework assignments throughout the first semester. Normal teenager things. Maybe Aizawa and Kan shouldn’t be teaching kids, but that was a thought for another time.

Shimura huffed as he blew at some stray strands of his hair that fell in front of his face. He was bone-tired from the early wakeups and constant training, but he could at least find solace in the fact that his quirk training didn’t cause him anywhere near the same amount of strain he could see in the others, but it was still grueling.

He could hear the explosions and expletives coming from Bakugo every few seconds as he plunged his hands into a barrel full of boiling water. He could feel the temperature plummet for a few seconds before eventually skyrocketing to sweltering heat from Todoroki. He could see the near-constant electrical discharge from a cliff where Kaminari was stationed. And, much to his chagrin, he could smell puke all around him, dark spots marking where students threw up on the training ground. The smell was everywhere, but it was far more concentrated closer to where Uraraka was, who was being forced to tumble and spin and swirl and twirl to get her used to the nausea her quirk causes her, and from where Sato and Yaoyorozu were, both of whom were constantly eating and exercising their quirk.

Shimura himself was set in a section of the forest a little further from everyone else where he was sitting in front of a diorama of a generic-looking city made up of dirt. His task wasn’t as physically taxing as the others’, but it was still difficult. For his training, he was to work on the absolute fine control of his decay’s spread. Spread throughout the city were buildings and structures that were designated by one of the Pussycats or one of the teachers to be destroyed, usually on the opposite side of him so the decay would need to travel first.

The real-world translation was easy to understand.

If he could control how much, fast, or wide his decay spread, then he could show up at a disaster location and save the day. All he would need to know upon arriving at the scene was the exact locations of the victims, and within a minute’s time, whatever rubble or wreckage they were buried under would be reduced to dust and the worst injuries would be the initial wounds sustained in the collapse and the agitation that might’ve happened if they were higher up in the mound and fell the distance to the ground.

Shimura stared in concentration as he envisioned his decay spreading. He saw it as a tsunami wave. As soon as he touched the ground on the outskirts of his little city, the decay would rush forward without hesitation, bulldozing over everything in its path. To only destroy those certain buildings, he needed to find a way to change it from a roaring wave into a lazy river, more than halving its power. Even if the quirk acted off his intentions, something he still didn’t understand, it didn’t really help. The only thing it affected was how fast it crept on and when to stop, not how strong it was or how wide it spread. He already settled on the wave analogy for his quirk, but in that instance, he likened it to placing your thumb over the mouth of a hose. Leave a small opening, the water would shoot further and faster. That’s what it was like if he wanted to destroy something. Leave it open, the water would be let out all at once, how fast it moved was only affected by how far open the valve was. That’s what it was like if he touched something casually. Changing the size of the hole didn’t change how much water was already flowing.

He shook his head of the thought and focused back to the task at hand. With the image of a wave set in his mind, he placed a hand on the ground.

The ground turned brittle and cracked like the earth splitting from an earthquake before it started to move. The decay moved like the wave breaking towards the display and quickly made its way to the first buildings. Shimura screwed his eyebrows together in concentration as he willed the decay to calm down like the water washing gently on the shore.

He was pleased to see that for the time being, it seemed to obey him. The cracks kept spreading, but as they got closer to the buildings they went around it, following the makeshift streets. The ground kept cracking as the decay made its way to the specified buildings. Shimura grew excited as he saw that it was doing what he wanted. The cracks made their way to the bases of the buildings, and they caused it to tumble and fall.

Shimura fist pumped in success, slightly losing his focus, and causing the decay to ramp up again. After it hit the buildings, it stopped following the streets, now back to the relentless wave. The decay kept moving, swallowing up the remaining buildings before Shimura defeatedly removed his hand. The first third of the city looked fine, the rest of it was a desolate landscape.

“Dammit,” Shimura swore to himself. “I had it too. If that were real, I’d be facing a suspended license, millions in damages, a number of fatalities and injuries, and probably time in Tartarus. Some hero.”

He picked himself up and looked around to find where Pixie-Bob was so he could ask for another city to destr- practice with. Her task during the training was to help create fixtures for people to work with, so she spent her time moving about the entirety of the training grounds, reinforcing her constructs or making new ones when needed. Fortunately, she was already walking towards him.

She flashed him a smile and wave and then looked down to his city, “You’re getting it! I knew you had it in you!”

An uneasy smile found its way on his face, “It’s still not good enough. I think I got excited when I saw it and then what control I had was completely lost.”

“Were you expecting it to be easy? That’s what this training camp is all about, right? Training your quirk, helping with control, getting stronger,” she knelt and touched the ground, creating another city, “You may not think it’s good enough, but before now, were you ever able to do something like that?”

Shimura shook his head.

“And now you can. The only reason you think you failed was because there were still buildings to get to after. But if there weren’t? If that was as far as you needed to go?”

“Then… then I did it.” Shimura’s jaw dropped and his eyes went wide with realization, “I did it. I did it! I can do this! Pixie-Bob, you’re amazing! Thank you!”

“Keep talking like that, I might start to think you’re flirting with me, Shimura-kun,” Shimura froze and stammered intelligently. Pixie-Bob covered her mouth with a hand and stifled a giggle, “And while I thank you for the compliment, I didn’t do anything. You’re the one putting in the work and getting results.”

She finished making him another city and marked the buildings again. Pixie-Bob walked over to Shimura and ruffled his hair, “Keep your chin up, kitten. Things always get better.” Then she leaned in closer and whispered in his ear conspiratorially, “This is a secret, so don’t tell anyone, but after dinner tonight, we’re gonna do some real camp-like activities. So train hard so you get to play hard later.”

“What kind of camp activities?” he asked in a hushed tone to match.

She waggled her finger in his face, “Nuh uh, that’s all you’re getting out of me.”

She smiled at him again and walked away, back on task. Shimura watched her leave then stared at his hands with a newfound sense of purpose. Sure, his quirk can be destructive, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be used to help and save people. He sat back down and studied the new city, committing the specified buildings to memory.

“Alright, let’s get this started.” He placed a hand on the ground and the wave of decay started again.

Training ended at three-thirty in the afternoon, giving the students time to take a shower and change or unwind a little before four o’clock came around and they had to make dinner. Shimura chose to forgo the shower in favor of laying down on a patch of grass covered by the shade. After his pep talk with Pixie-Bob, he had a marginally better time with controlling how the decay spread, but the moment his focus slipped for a second, it went back to being wild and chaotic.

When it came time to rotate training, those that were doing physical were now on quirked and vice versa, he had to suffer through Tiger’s hellish drills for the rest of the day, leaving him gasping for breath and running to the water fountain as soon as the end was called. Shortly after nearly drowning himself in the water, he found the shade and collapsed.

As he was lying on the ground just staring at the clouds above him, a dark figure with an unmistakable outline covered his view. He frowned and made a shooing motion, “Get out of the way, I’m daydreaming.”

The figure kicked his foot, “Get up, nerd. Time’s up.”

“You’re lying, Kat. There’s no way it’s already been thirty minutes, I just laid down.”

“See for yourself. And make sure to wash your hands first, touching dirt all day like some day school brat. Disgusting.”

“Kat, we’re all technically day school brats.”

Bakugo kicked his foot once more for good measure before walking away. Shimura groaned loudly and turned his head to the side. Sure enough, both classes were assembled near the cooking area dressed in casual clothes or still wearing parts of their P.E. uniforms and have started prepping for dinner. He groaned again and picked himself up before walking to the handwash station.

Dinner tonight was beef stew, which meant he debatably had the easier half of participating in making the meal, something he was glad about because once the actual cooking got started, he wouldn’t have the patience to tend to the pot until it was finished. With his part of prep finished, he stretched his arms out and walked around the camp.

It being summertime, the weather out in the woods was beyond relaxing. The sun was just starting to set, but the warmth still permeated the grounds. The shade from the trees and the nearby mountain made it a little cool, but nowhere near freezing.

The camp proper looked standard with Shimura’s experience, except the lodge wasn’t set on a multi-level plane. Instead of the building being built elevated on a wooden frame with the basement accessible from the outside, it was on flat ground but extended up two and half stories, the half being a little attic space with a window overlooking the front of it. The area surrounding the building had at least a forty-five-meter radius of open land before the trees started up again.

From a tactical point of view, Shimura couldn’t help but be a little impressed. If someone wanted to attack the lodge, they’d need to cross open land with no cover. The chances of the intruders getting in undetected would be close to zero. That was, of course, assuming they were going for a frontal assault. If they had long-range options, then there would be no shortage of coverage. He shook his head to dispel the thoughts. Thinking about how they could possibly attacked when the risk was already high was just a recipe for disaster.

His walk brought him to one of the paths that led further out into the forest. He briefly pondered taking the path out but thought against it, wary of the risks that posed. He could see some Ectoplasm clones roaming the grounds and he knows he has the tracker on his wrist and he knows that Ragdoll has his position marked with her quirk, but those were all just precautions. Plus, he was alone. Rule number one since forever was to always have a buddy, and have one he did not. Choosing to listen to logic and the rules, he turned back towards the eating area where his friends were all gathered in small groups.

Kaminari and Uraraka must’ve noticed him getting closer because they looked up and waved him over. Shimura smiled and did the same but stopped when he smelled himself. He looked down and saw that he was still wearing his P.E. uniform. He smiled awkwardly and gestured at his clothes to indicate to them he was going to get showered and changed before joining them. They nodded in understanding and went back to their conversation.

When Shimura eventually came back out, he was wearing dark grey shorts and a black long sleeve shirt. As he got closer to the tables, the stew smelled like it was almost finished and his stomach rumbled in response.

“About time you showed up,” Kaminari commented as he scooted over on the bench making room for Shimura, “What were you even doing in there for so long?”

“In my defense, after I finished with prep I took a walk around the camp and then I took a shower,” Shimura replied.

Uraraka tilted her head to the side, “You walked around the camp for an hour?”

“No. It was… probably closer to half an hour. I think.”

“Dude, how can you do that sometimes? I get tired just from walking from my peak to the lodge, and that’s only like, five minutes.”

Shimura shrugged, “I’ve done that since I was a kid. I start thinking and go for a walk, and the next thing I know is it’s been an hour.”

“What were you thinking about this time?”

“Nothing and everything, I guess.”

“Real descriptive,” Kaminari deadpanned, “Come on, man. Gotta give us more than that.”

Uraraka playfully shoved Kaminari, “You don’t need to tell us if you don’t want to, Shimura-kun. How’s your training going? I think I saw Pixie-Bob giving you some pointers.”

Shimura gladly took the topic change, “It wasn’t really pointers. She just helped change my perspective.” He looked at them both and saw they had questioning looks on their faces, “Well, you know how my quirk just kinda goes everywhere? Okay, not everywhere everywhere, but like, spreads wildly?”

They nodded.

“So my training focuses on control, not really increasing its effectiveness or strength, and part of it has me trying to destroy specific buildings in this mini city that she makes. I’m able to get it done for maybe the first couple, but then right afterwards I lose all control and the decay destroys everything else.”

“Oof, can’t imagine that to be reassuring.” Shimura’s expression dropped a little at Kaminari’s comment even though he knew he was joking. Uraraka punched Kaminari in the arm.

She smiled at Shimura, “Don’t listen to him. Keep going?”

“… right. After my latest attempt, Pixie-Bob helped me realize that even if I didn’t complete my goal right then, if I shifted my frame, then I did exactly what I needed. Before the camp, I had no fine control over the decay, but now I do. By the end of the week, I should be able to control it entirely.”

“That’s great! See, you’re already well on your way to becoming a hero,” Uraraka praised. “For me, they’ve got me tumbling around in this metal cage thing. If it wasn’t for training, I would probably enjoy it a lot more because it’s like I’m in an amusement park ride.”

Kaminari jumped a little, like he just remembered something, “Come to think of it, I think I’ve actually seen one of those things at a fair once. I wanted to ride it but we didn’t have enough time. Think Aizawa-sensei will let me try it out sometime?”

“Doubtful. Aizawa-sensei doesn’t believe in fun.” Shimura chuckled, then tapped his chin in thought, “But the Pussycats do. After dinner tonight, we’re supposed to do some camp activities. Maybe on the last day they’ll let us do whatever we want.”

Uraraka had sparkles in her eyes, “Camp activities!? What kind? Who told you?”

“Pixie-Bob. I don’t know what exactly, she didn’t say. Just don’t tell anyone else, she said it’s a secret and surprise.”

Uraraka pouted a little but nodded anyway. As they were talking, someone called out that dinner was finished. Immediately, the students that were sitting around clamored to be first in line for the food. Everyone got their plates filled and settled in.

“Oh come on, Eraser, have a little heart! The little kittens deserve it after what we put them through,” Pixie-Bob and Ragdoll tried reasoning.

Ragdoll was the fourth and final member of the Wild, Wild Pussycats with her wearing a yellow version of their costume. She has long green hair, big round eyes with pink eyeshadow around her right eye.

Eraserhead massaged his temples, “It’s a terrible idea and you all know it. I don’t know how you even got me to agree to this in the first place.”

“It wasn’t that hard. We asked, and you said, and I quote, ‘whatever, just don’t interfere with the remedial class.’” Pixie-Bob stuck her tongue out at him, “Plus, I may have already, accidentally let sneak that we were doing things tonight. So we can’t back down now.”

Eraserhead groaned dejectedly, “Out of all the things you could’ve done, you chose that. Please tell me you at least told someone that wasn’t likely to spread it around.”

“Relax, it was only Shimura.”

“Shimura,” Eraserhead repeated slowly. He dragged a hand over his face, beyond finished with the conversation, “As in Shimura who is friends with Kaminari and Uraraka, both of whom are friends with Ashido, who is a notorious gossip queen. Yep. No one knows about it.”

Pixie-Bob looked a little ashamed, “Okay, so maybe it isn’t such a secret anymore. But that just means we have to do it now for sure!”

“What did you even have planned for tonight? S’mores by the campfire?”

“A test of courage,” Mandalay answered. “We figured we’d split them up by classes, have one class be scarers and the other be scared. Once everyone in the class has gone through, then they swap.”

“Now I’m not one to normally lean into Eraser’s paranoia, but that doesn’t seem like the smartest thing to do,” Vlad added.

Ragdoll pouted, “Not you too, Vlad! I thought you were the fun one!” Vlad crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, “Well, not as serious as Eraser, but still! It’s just one night.”

Eraser almost commented on the fact that she didn’t finish the sentence with ‘what’s the worst that could happen’, but he didn’t want to tempt fate even more than they were already attempting. He sighed defeatedly, “Ectoplasm, Ragdoll, how are you two feeling?”

The mentioned heroes did a double take, thrown off by how random the question seemed. Ectoplasm and Ragdoll looked at each other before answering.

“If you’re asking about how tired I am from having my quirk active for so long, I’m still fairly fresh.” Ectoplasm revealed, “I have about twenty clones roaming right now, and it doesn’t take much to keep them going. I could spare a little more if you’re asking about further surveillance.”

“What about afterwards? Say you dispelled all the clones right now?”

“I’d be a little fatigued, but nowhere near enough to put me out. Nothing a short rest couldn’t fix.”

Ragdoll gave him a thumbs up, “I’m all good! Don’t need to worry about me. Plus, for the test, I was going to be sitting at a fairly central location, so everyone would be in a solid radius the entire time.”

Eraserhead closed his eyes and hummed in thought, “Fine. We’ll go through with it.”

Ragdoll and Pixie-Bob cheered while Mandalay and Tiger nodded in satisfaction. The only two that didn’t show outward signs of approval were Ectoplasm and Vlad.

“Aizawa, are you sure about this?” Vlad asked, “I was expecting a lot more fight out of you.”

“It’s not ideal, but unfortunately, that’s just how things are these days. Our hands are tied. We can keep going like we’ve been doing and stay with the strict training, but at the risk of stripping the kids of their childhood, so to speak. Or, we can let the kids have some well-deserved fun at the risk of opening them up to danger, that isn’t confirmed in any way, but we fear will happen.”

The Pussycats frowned in thought. They were aware of the possible risk that their camp would be attacked, but lacked the background regarding how Shigaraki liked to operate. They were aware that the purpose of the camp was to strengthen their quirks, but also knew that kids needed time to be kids. They were aware that UA, and heroes in general, were currently fighting a losing battle against a villain that was making waves.

“So, what you’re saying is you’d rather preserve their innocence and childhood than take it away from them, but risk them being susceptible to an attack that might not even happen,” Mandalay summarized.

Aizawa grimly nodded.

“And for once, you’re going to ignore your paranoia. That’s exceedingly out of character, from what I hear about you.”

He nodded again, “I’m surprised in myself as well, but like it or not, we’re still dealing with children. We can’t treat them like adults, and despite their choice of going into heroics, we’re not a military so we can’t treat them as such either. They deserve a normal life before all of them inevitably get to that day in their career where they lose their rose-tinted lenses. Unfortunately, some students have already lost that, but I’d like to preserve the ones that haven’t.”

“Excuse me for playing the Devil’s advocate, but you do understand the risk that you’re taking by letting this happen, right?” Vlad voiced, “Out of everyone at UA, you’re always the one that’s trying to mitigate the risk, outside of Nezu that is. If all our fears come to fruition, we could be looking at major public outrage at best and captured students, potential casualties, loss of our licenses, and imprisonment at worst.”

Eraserhead stared Vlad in the eyes, “That’s why we’re going all hands on deck. No remedial classes, everyone will be out there, and constant and regular check-ins. We can’t let that fear lead our life, and quite frankly, I’m a little tired of always being passive in this. Instead of being on the lookout for anything off, we’ll be looking and expecting things to be off.”

Mandalay nodded, “Then it’s settled. We’ll go break the news to the kiddos while everyone else gets ready. Hands in.”

Mandalay put her hand out, at the bottom of the expected hand-pile while the other Pussycats immediately placed theirs on top. Ectoplasm, Vlad, and Eraserhead looked at each other before shrugging and added their hands too. Mandalay and Pixie-Bob smiled at their participation.

“And.. Three… Two… One… Break!”

With dinner finished and dishes washed, the students hung around outside, not wanting to call it a night yet and anxiously waiting for something to happen. Someone let slip that the Pussycats had a plan for tonight and that little morsel of information spread like wildfire amongst the students. They stood around, talking amongst themselves as they tried not to let their anticipation show, throwing out guesses as to what the activity was.

The doors of the lodge opened leaving the figures coming out wreathed in a golden light like a band of angels descending from Heaven. The students all shut up as they awaited their proclamation.

“Alright, kitties! Cooking’s done, food’s been eaten, dishes are washed, now all that’s left for tonight is…” Pixie-Bob exclaimed to the class.

The students leaned forward as they waited for the reveal, completely unaware of the figures creeping up behind them.

“Tonight’s activity is…” Ragdoll added, keeping the suspension high.

The students were entirely engrossed, starving to do something that was actually reminiscent of enjoying a summer break. The figures stalked up closer, forming a tighter ring behind them. The figures took a few more steps before making themselves known.

In unison, the figures spoke up, startling the students, even Jiro and Shoji, “A test of courage.”

Ragdoll and Pixie-Bob openly laughed at how badly Ectoplasm scared the students while Aizawa and Tiger lamented their lack of awareness. Taking up the explanation, Mandalay stepped forward.

“The route of the test is a loop around our secondary track. Class 1-B will be the scarers while 1-A will enter the forest two at a time every four minutes. At the halfway mark, you will find Ragdoll who will give you a sheet of paper with your name on it. Bring those back with you to show that you made it all the way through and didn’t cut through the middle to the end.”

Excited comments came from the students at the prospect of the test of courage.

“The scarers aren’t allowed to make physical contact, but they are allowed to get right up in your personal space if they want to whisper something in your ears or what have you, just know that if the person you’re scaring attacks you out of reflex, then that’s all on you. Use of quirks is allowed and expected! Just don’t cause any harm to your fellow classmates, or even to the environment. If you’re prone to starting fires, or your quirk has that capability in any capacity, please try to keep a handle on it.”

A few snickers could be heard and not-so-hidden looks at those that had the quirks in question at that comment.

“You’ll be drawing lots to find out your partner and in what order. Class B, go ahead and follow Ragdoll and Pixie-Bob to the route. Class A, come on up! Once Ragdoll and Pixie-Bob confirm 1-B’s all good to go, we’re getting started!”

Twelve minutes later, at the entrance to the route, Pixie-Bob waved Asui and Jiro into the forest that was quietly echoing with screams from their classmates. Jiro and Asui looked at each other for reassurance before heading in.

A few minutes into their walk and no sign of any of the scarers, Jiro broke the silence first, “Man, 1-B must really be going at it. They’re getting some pretty good reactions from the people ahead of us.”

“That reminds me, Kyoka-chan, you’ve done tests of courage before, right? How well does that turn out for you given your enhanced hearing?” Asui questioned.

Jiro shook her hand in a so-so motion, “Meh. Just ‘cause I can hear what’s ahead doesn’t necessarily mean I don’t get scared. Like, I’ll be expecting it so it won’t be a jump scare, but if the look is good enough, that usually gets me.”

“I don’t normally get scared, but knowing when to expect something could help. Mind letting me know, ribbit?”

“I don’t think that’s proper in the spirit of things.”

Asui shrugged, “Worth a shot.”

“But now that you bring it up, it’s eerily quiet.”

“I hear it’s a way to crank up the suspense.”

“Did you just make a pun at my expense?”

“Ribbit.”

A little ways ahead of the pair was a group of 1-B students that were still laughing at the reactions they were receiving from 1-A. Their setup played to the classic trope of spotting a ghostly girl roaming the woods or a haunted mansion.

As the 1-A students walked along the path to their location, Kodai, being one of the few students that had black hair with no other distinguishable features and was thus easier to dress up as a spectre, would run alongside them, flitting between trees, or standing just outside of their peripheral vision. When 1-A would look her way, she would disappear and show up somewhere else in short time with the aid of the skull-faced, no-lipped, Honenuki and his quirk. To emulate a ghost floating through the air instead of moving, she would be thrown between the orange-haired girl, Kendo, and Monoma with the latter using his quirk to copy Kendo’s. Once they felt like they’ve built up enough suspense with the near-sightings, they would hit it home with having Kodai emerge from the ground with her hair covering her face and reaching out to them, softly exclaiming, “help me”.

So far, they were three for three for getting a scream and were hoping for another success.

“How are you doing, Yui?” Kendo asked her, “Not too tired from running around a lot? A little jostled around from being thrown around?”

Kodai shook her head and gave a thumbs up, replying quietly, “Mm.”

“Can you believe how so many of 1-A are such scaredy cats?” Monoma snidely remarked, “For a class that’s supposedly ‘seen the terrors of being a hero’ they sure don’t have much mettle to them. When it’s our turn to run through this, I doubt any of us will be spooked.”

Honenuki closed his eyes and shook his head at him, “You seriously need to dial down that competitiveness with 1-A. It was amusing to begin with but now it’s just tiring.”

Monoma scoffed, “Are you not put off by how much attention 1-A’s been getting? I heard that our summer camp was changed last minute specifically because of 1-A. If it weren’t for them, I’m sure we would’ve had a normal summer vacation at a camp, but nooo. Now we’re forced to train day in and day out.”

“You’re being unfair to them, Monoma,” Kendo chided, “1-A didn’t ask for any of the things that happened to them. Besides, we’re at UA. Do you honestly believe that a UA-sanctioned trip would be anything except more training?”

“That’s exactly my point! They didn’t ask for anything, yet they were handed everything while we were left to fight over the scraps. What makes them better than us?”

“Hey,” Honenuki cut in, “Where did this smoke come from? Heh, think Todoroki or Kaminari got spooked real bad and started a fire?”

Kendo frowned and tilted her head up, sniffing the air, “Now that you mention it, something does smell like it’s burning. And what’s with the purple fog? Anyone know whose quirk that is?”

Honenuki cackled, “I bet it was Kaminari, he seems like the kind of guy who-“

Honenuki’s sentence was cut off as he fell unconscious and fell to the ground with a thud. Kendo watched him fall with wide eyes as things connected in her head. She quickly looked to Monoma and Kodai to see if they came to the same conclusion and saw Monoma a step behind her with Kodai lagging a little behind.

“Don’t breathe the smoke in! It’s poisonous,” she exclaimed as she wrapped Kodai in her enlarged hand.

“Everyone else smelling smoke?” Vlad’s voice crackled over their comm pieces.

“It’s not coming from Kaminari or Todoroki,” Ectoplasm reported, “I just passed both of them and they’re still on the trail.”

“No one in my class has the proper quirk to make a fire, not unless you count Fukidashi, but I know he wouldn’t do that.”

Tiger looked over the students still waiting for their turn, “It’s not Bakugo either, he’s still at the entrance with us.”

“Ragdoll? Seeing anything?” Mandalay called out. No response. She tried again, “Ragdoll come in, is anything on your radar?”

“Ragdoll should be at the halfway point of the route. Who’s closest?” Tiger asked.

Eraserhead curtly responded, “En route. Ectoplasm, could you send a couple clones my way just in case?”

“I let some know. They should be moving to you now.”

“Ragdoll! Tomoko! Please respond. What’s your status?” Pixie-Bob attempted.

Their comm line was silent as everyone waited for a response, either from Ragdoll or from Eraserhead, regarding the situation.

“Ragdoll is missing.” Eraserhead reported, his tone harsh and dripping with frustration. The Pussycats’ blood ran cold, “I’m at the table she should’ve been at and I’m seeing a fair amount of blood, but no body. There are clear signs of a struggle, but no obvious trails leading deeper into the forest either. It’s like she just disappeared. We’re under attack. Ectoplasm, where are your clones? Are they still up?”

It took a few beats for Ectoplasm to respond, “Affirmative. None of them have been destroyed, they should be moving around and reporting in, but I’m not getting anything.”

“How could they-“

“Shit. I just lost all of them. All at once,” Ectoplasm cut him off.

“Fuck.” Eraserhead swore, “They took out Ragdoll first to keep their presence hidden and then dealt with Ectoplasm. I’m moving parallel the route and I’m seeing a purple mist covering a large portion of the route and I’m seeing bodies slumped. I’m starting to hear fights breaking out. Villains have infiltrated the camp.”

“Here, kitty kitty kitty...”

“What!?” Pixie-Bob yelled out in surprise as her body was enveloped in a pink aura and pulled backwards.

Turning around at her outburst, Mandalay and Tiger, and the rest of the students that were still waiting their turn to enter the forest, saw Pixie-Bob unconscious on the ground with an object wrapped in bandages resting on her head. The owner of the object had shoulder length hair and was wearing sunglasses, a white shirt under an orange short sleeve shirt, and jeans. Next to them was a villain with a reptilian mutation and wild purple hair, dressed up in a costume that looked like Stain’s.

The students remaining at the entrance to the test of courage, minus Bakugo and Kirishima, backed away from the villains in fear.

“How are there villains here?! I thought this place was secret!” Screeched Mineta.

The reptilian villain raised a finger to his ear, “Found most of them.”

The one in the sunglasses had a smug smile, “Come and play.”

Chapter Text

Mandalay and Tiger made a defensive wall between the villains and the students, with Tiger grabbing Kirishima and Bakugo and throwing them behind.

“Students!” Mandalay called out telepathically, her eyes still focused on the villains in front of her, “If you’re still on the route, make your way to the lodge. Now! We are under attack by villains. If there are any stragglers, help them on your way back. Do not engage in combat. Evade and retreat only!”

“I don’t know if I should call you brave or stupid for attacking a camp full of heroes,” she taunted verbally. Adjusting her mental reach to the other heroes, she gave them a rundown of their situation, “Tiger and I are engaged with two villains, one of which is the B-rank villain Magne. Pixie-Bob has been captured and is unconscious. Total amount of villains unknown, but at least three. Two confirmed and one not present, they’re speaking over communicators. Objective currently unknown, but they’re probably looking for specific people. One of them commented about finding ‘most of them.’”

Tiger growled animalistically, “Get that thing off her head! You so much as touch her any more than you’ve already done and I will personally make sure the only thing you’ll see for the rest of your life is the sterile white of a hospital room!”

Magne tutted like they were admonishing a child, “Such villainous things to say when you’re supposed to be a hero. Is that what you’re teaching these kids? We’ll make this really easy. Stand down and let us do our thing, or fight back and clean up the mess afterwards.”

She pressed the object a little harder onto Pixie-Bob’s face, causing it to indent in the dirt, her cheek getting crushed by the weight of it.

Tiger flexed his hands open and close like he was itching to fight, but didn’t attack, unwilling to let any more danger befall Pixie-Bob. He was staring daggers at the villains, unable to do anything more than that. Mandalay chanced a look behind her to see if the students followed her instruction and was slightly relieved to see that they did but were moving ever so slowly with their bodies facing the threats. From the brief glimpse she spared, she saw more than a few of them were tense and coiled like springs ready to jump into the fray. She grunted in frustration.

Mandalay adjusted her telepathic reach to the ones still there, “Now means now! Get going! Tiger and I will hold them off!”

She heard their footsteps move a little faster and trusted the rest of them were following suit. She narrowed her eyes at the villains, who still haven’t moved from their position.

“What are you doing here? How did you find this place?” she asked.

She had to stall for as long as possible for backup to arrive. If it did. If it were just her and Tiger versus the two, they’d already be engaged in combat, but Pixie-Bob was unconscious, vulnerable, and worst of all, in the hands of villains. They couldn’t be rash about this.

“Such obvious attempts at stalling and probing for information.” The reptilian villain chuckled then placed a finger back to his ear, “You’ve got one incoming, one of the heroes.” He looked at the villain standing next to him and nodded, “Send her.”

Magne lifted the object off Pixie-Bob’s face and jammed it roughly in the ground so that it was standing upright. Once it was settled, it started to glow pink. Pixie-Bob’s limp form was surrounded in the pink aura again as she was lifted off the ground. Mandalay and Tiger were about to rush in to save her but were stopped by flying knives that embedded themselves in their communication devices on their heads, ripping them off.

The reptilian villain had his arm outstretched, obviously being the one to throw them, “Bad kitties. And to make sure you remember who it was that defeated you, I’m called Spinner! The one who will spin Stain-sama and Shigaraki’s dreams into a reality.”

Pixie-Bob was floating closer towards the object now as Magne maneuvered her like she was loading a slingshot trying to aim. Pixie-Bob was nearly touching the object before the pink auras combined and burst, shooting Pixie-Bob into the air and over the tree line.

“No!” Mandalay called after her. She turned her anguish at not being able to do anything into anger and focused it on the villains in front of her, “Bring her back!”

“Pixie-Bob!” Tiger cried out, his arm reached out like he was stretching to touch her. Seeing her form disappear as she went further away, he bellowed out in rage as he rushed the villains, no longer restrained by a hostage situation, “I’ll make you pay!”

“Just try it!” Spinner challenged, rushing ahead to meet him, drawing his sword in a way reminiscent of how Stain moved.

Spinner ran with the sword down and to his right, but as Tiger closed the distance, the two of them were wreathed in a blue aura. They got close enough to feel the repulsion kicking in, which Tiger tried forcing his way through, but Spinner didn’t pay it any attention. He used the repulsion to spin to the side like a football player ran a route around a defender and kept going. He charged at Mandalay and attacked with an upward slash. Mandalay dodged just in time with a back handspring and brought her hands up in a defensive stance as soon as she landed. She flexed her hands and the claws on her gloves came out, ready to strike. She quickly assessed Spinner before dashing in.

Fighting against a sword with nothing but hands is difficult, but not impossible. She just couldn’t afford any mistakes.

Behind Spinner, Tiger tried turning around so they could catch him in a pincer attack, but the aura that surrounded him was still present and pulling him towards Magne’s weapon, held up like a bat ready to swing. Tiger smiled in contempt at the obvious attack.

“Such a mediocre tactic,” Tiger commented as he was pulled closer.

He carefully judged the speed at which he was moving and the distance between him and the club. Just as Magne swung at his torso, going for the highest chance at making contact, his body impossibly bent backwards, nearly folding himself in half, the swing flying over him entirely. Once it cleared him and Magne caught on the backswing, he snapped himself back up, pivoted slightly and landed a kick to her exposed side.

The kick was hard enough for Magne to stumble a little and grunt in response, but nowhere near as effective as Tiger expected.

“That’s it?” Magne asked a little disappointed, “You call yourself Tiger but that was about as strong as a sickly kitten. Maybe they should call you ‘Runt’ instead.”

Seeing Magne still standing and taunting, Tiger smiled widely and cracked his knuckles, “Guess I don’t need to hold back.”

Eraserhead was rushing through the forest, trying to understand the scope of the attack and getting a count for the intruders, but all that amounted to was getting noticeably further and further away from the Pussycat’s lodge and the route the students should be on.

Ragdoll’s station on the route was the halfway mark, but it was now completely enveloped in a large purple cloud. When Ragdoll wasn’t responding and he went to check on her, he could make out faint whisps of it in the area like it was a mist just starting to settle, but now it was like being in the middle of a dense storm cloud. His costume unfortunately didn’t have a mask or rebreather to filter whatever was in the air, and because he was able to make out prone forms through the fog, it was a safe bet to assume it was hazardous to inhale. In a pinch, he could wrap his capture weapon around his nose and mouth and run through the fog to see if whatever’s causing it was there, but he would need to breathe sooner or later, and he didn’t know how thick or big the cloud was. He didn’t want to be caught in the middle of it without any fresh air and end up as another liability and potential casualty.

Deeming it as the most prominent threat, Eraserhead set off to see how much area the cloud covered, and hopefully put an end to it.

“Vlad, Ectoplas-“ Eraserhead cut himself off as he received Mandalay’s message. He stopped running around so he could better comprehend the information.

Two villains at the entrance, probably one that’s the cause of this cloud, and whoever they were speaking with.

Eraser looked at the cloud in front of him, now looking closer to a solid purple wall, “Confirmed one more. There’s a purple cloud surrounding maybe a third of the route that’s anything but natural.”

Vlad was quick to respond, “Purple? Like Midnight’s?”

“Similar but different. Definitely potent enough to render a person unconscious. If it’s anything like Midnight’s, then the user’s right in the middle of it. I can’t go in without falling victim to it too.”

“I probably shouldn’t send clones in there either,” Ectoplasm added, “If it only knocks them unconscious, then my clones wouldn’t disappear since no damage was done. We’d run out of manpower fast.”

“Vlad, what’s your position?” Eraserhead asked.

“Between the lodge and where the actual smoke is coming from. Investigating the cause, which is more than likely another villain. Probably ten o’clock from the entrance.”

Eraserhead had been skirting the edge of the cloud, mapping out its borders. He started at Ragdoll’s old position, facing the direction she would’ve been looking at, and went left, moving roughly parallel with the track. When he saw the edge of the cloud, he turned right and followed along that edge. That meant that he was roughly in the middle of the loop the track made, right among the trees. He knew the general direction of where the lodge was, so he reoriented himself, turning his body so he was facing the same direction the lodge’s entrance was. He stuck an arm out like the hands on a clock and moved it until it rested on the ten. He took into account how far ahead he was and figured the fire was closer to his nine or eight. Maybe his seven if the fog wasn’t as deep as it looked.

Ectoplasm responded, knowing he was next, “I’m running against the track to pick up the students. Shimura and Shoji are with a clone being escorted back. I’m guessing I’ll be close to Sato and Kaminari’s position soon enough.”

“There’s a chance they got caught up in the fog,” Eraserhead grimly advised. “If you don’t run into them before you see it, shift focus to finding 1-B. Hopefully they’re smart enough to stay on the trail and not deviate.”

Vlad cut in, “And keep an eye out for the villains. We know where three are, I’m probably moving towards a fourth. There could still be more lurking.”

“Copy.”

Ectoplasm went silent on the comms as he moved around. Eraserhead took a moment to think. He couldn’t enter the cloud, so he had to stay outside. If he kept going in the direction he was headed, he would probably run into Vlad or the fire, whichever came first.

“Vlad, I’m making my way to you,” Eraserhead sent a strand of his capture weapon and felt it wrap around a tree branch. Before he could pull himself up, he heard the rustling of branches and hurried footsteps.

He quickly pulled himself up onto the branch and melted into the shadows, preparing himself to ambush whoever it was that was getting closer. As the sounds grew louder, he took a deep breath in and held it, removing the last bit of noise that could’ve been picked up from him. He could feel his heart starting to beat faster as adrenaline slowly poured through his veins, prepping him for the potential encounter with a villain.

The rustling and footsteps were finally within acceptable striking range for him. Content that whoever it was was more preoccupied with running than looking out for an ambush, he slowly moved himself into a better position for attack. Eraserhead held the end of his capture weapon in his right hand, near his chest like he was getting ready to make a backhand swing. He listened intently to the sounds and tracked it as well as he could in the darkness of the forest.

Whatever it was that was running finally burst through the bushes and only through years of self-discipline did he stop himself from attacking. Panting like dogs, Sato, Kaminari, and a student from 1-B came through, each of them carrying at least one person. Sato was carrying a girl with green hair that draped down to her shoulders in his arms, Kaminari had a boy with black hair set in a braid draped over his back, and the 1-B student carried a boy with ice-blue hair in one arm leaving the other free.

“Do you… think we… we’re clear?” Kaminari asked through deep gasps of air.

The 1-B student puffed their mouth open and breathed in heavily before responding. They gently placed the boy on the ground and turned to look behind them, tilting his head into the air. They were covered in shaggy brown hair with two fangs jutting up from their lower jaw. Despite the beastly appearance, he straightened his shirt out, adjusted his glasses, and spoke in a reserved and cordial manner, “It would appear that we have exited that poisonous mist. We should make haste and retreat to the lodge where we should be safer.”

Eraserhead let them get a few more breaths to recover before letting his presence be known and dropped down in front of them. The beast-boy, who was the only one that had his hands free recoiled in shock before he growled, his form bulking up as he activated his quirk.

“What happened out there?” he asked, immediately going for information instead of comforting the students.

“Sensei!” Sato cried relieved. “I’m so glad to see you! It’s crazy out there.”

Before he fully gave in to his animalistic instincts when activating his quirk, the beast-boy calmed down when he realized it wasn’t an enemy, “My apologies, Aizawa-sensei, you startled me. We were in the middle of the test of courage the Pussycats tasked us when we were beset by the purple fog. My classmates must’ve inhaled too much of it as they passed out soon after we noticed it. I was spared thanks to my higher metabolism. Kaminari-kun and Sato-kun were just reaching our section of the track and immediately helped me exit.”

Eraserhead turned an appraising eye over Kaminari, “Good job. Did any of you see the villain who created it?”

They shook their heads.

Eraserhead clicked his tongue in annoyance, “Ectoplasm, I ran into some students. I’ll escort them back to you. Sorry, Vlad, you’ll be on your own for a little while longer.”

“Nothing I can’t handle myself,” he brusquely replied.

“I’ll meet you on the trail soon enough, Eraser,” Ectoplasm came in, “I’ll take it from there.”

“Eraserhead, what’re we going to do?” Kaminari asked.

Hearing him addressed by his hero name and not by any form of “sensei” had Eraserhead looking over Kaminari with a greater eye for detail. He took in his body language first and foremost. Where he was panting and sucking in lungfuls of air greedily before, he was now breathing evenly. Where he normally would’ve been wide-eyed and scared, he was now steadily seeing a hardness take root. Where he was hoping to get away, he was now looking like he was waiting for permission.

Eraserhead was seeing the transition between Kaminari the student and Chargebolt in real time. If he wanted to be treated like a hero, then he would give it to him, but stationed behind the frontline. Away from the action.

“You’re going to fall back with me until we group up with Ectoplasm. He will be escorting you all back to the lodge where you will remain,” he stressed. “Once there, guard the building and your classmates to the best of your abilities. We don’t know how many villains are present, and we can’t be sure they’ll leave the lodge alone. If the Pussycats are targets, it would be a crippling blow to them as a team.”

Chargebolt looked like he wanted to protest but held his tongue, deferring to Eraserhead as his superior, “Understood.”

“Sugarman,” Chargebolt turned around and addressed his classmates, pausing as he looked at the other boy.

The beast-boy quickly responded, “Jurota Shishida. Hero name: Gevaudan.”

“Gevaudan. You heard him, let’s get moving.”

Sato and Shishida shared a look. Shishida was silently asking why the sudden use of hero names but Sato shrugged apathetically. Shishida picked up his classmate and Sato adjusted his and started jogging through the forest, heading back towards the route.

Chargebolt took a step but Eraserhead grabbed one of his elbows, “When this is over, I expect a full explanation. I don’t know who you really are or what your aim is, but because whenever you show up, you’ve only helped my students and not the other way around. I’m choosing to trust you. Do not betray it.”

Chargebolt looked at Eraserhead with a side-eye and nodded, “I’d expect nothing less. Let’s hope we get the chance.”

He broke into a jog behind the other two without another word.

As Asui and Jiro walked along the trail, they slowly moved closer together. Despite Jiro’s hearing and Asui’s fearlessness, the eeriness of the atmosphere and the occasional screams of fright ringing out over the night air was starting to get to them. They haven’t even made it to the first group of scarers yet, but felt completely on edge like they were being watched.

“Don’t you think we should be coming up on some scares soon, ribbit?” Asui asked. “It feels like we’ve been walking for a while, and no one’s jumped out at us.”

Jiro hummed in contemplation, “I promised I wouldn’t say anything, but we do have someone following us. I don’t know 1-B well enough to know who it is by footsteps and gait yet, so maybe we’re finally coming up to it.”

Asui croaked in thanks before making a thoughtful sound, “Wait, you don’t know where they are up ahead?”

“Sure I do, but they haven’t moved in a while. It’s like they’re standing perfectly still. I haven’t even heard any whispers of them talking with each other.”

They continued walking, now with bated breath as whoever was stalking them started making their presence better known, periodically snapping a branch, or stepping on a dried leaf, or pushing through the lower hanging branches. The sounds that were being made came from their right and Asui and Jiro searched the forest for the source as best as they could before the sounds stopped completely, unsettling both.

Jiro pointedly tried finding the source, using her earphone jacks like sensitive microphones. She moved them about side to side, sweeping them back and forth like a radar, but nothing pinged her.

A rustle of leaves sounded from their left. Jiro and Asui both turned to the sound, trying to steel their nerves from being scared. They kept going. No more sounds were made.

“Think that was it?” Asui asked a little hopeful.

“This is class 1-B we’re talking about,” Jiro huffed, “They’ve got that maniac Monoma on their side. There’s no way he wouldn’t try to convince the class to get some actual screams out of us.”

A rock hit a tree to their right, startling them again, but at this point, Jiro was getting more annoyed than scared. She turned towards the direction she thought the rock came from, “Is that really all you’ve got? Noises in the forest? Oooh, sooo scary. Hurry up and jump out at us, you’re wasting our time.”

No response.

Jiro scoffed and grabbed Asui’s hand, dragging her along through the course with purpose, “Figures they couldn’t scare us. Let’s just get our tags and go.”

“That’s not very sportsmanlike of you,” a voice responded from behind them.

That wasn’t a voice that either of the two girls recognized as belonging to their sister class. They whipped around and put a guard up, hoping to catch a glimpse of their follower.

The voice spoke again, this time from a little further away, or so it sounded like, “And that isn’t very nice. You could’ve slapped me when you turned around. That would’ve been pretty mean.”

A branch was snapped on their left.

Still trying to put up a false bravado, Jiro challenged, “Yeah? You’re not being very sportsmanlike or nice either. You’re not even being very courageous, hiding in the shadows like that. Come on out so I can laugh at you."

Throughout the banter, Asui was growing quiet and scared. The voice was familiar, but she couldn’t place it anywhere. The tone of it was undoubtedly sinister and evoked an almost primal fear in her, but she couldn’t remember where she heard it before.

Another rock was thrown and hit a tree behind them, a little bigger and harder than the last time. The girls whipped around again out of instinct, following the sound. They turned back around and saw a figure in their path that was blending in with the trees and shadows and darkness of night. They couldn’t make out any defining details, but they weren’t short and were wearing a hood.

“Heh,” Jiro let out an uneasy laugh. “Wow, you guys really pulled out all the stops, huh? Going so far as to even put on a costume.”

The figure hummed with mirth, “You’re pretty easy to read. When you’re scared or annoyed, you disguise it by being a little aggressive, right? Maybe a snark here or there, a lighthearted insult, a decent sock to the arm?”

Jiro had a tight smile on her face but it was clear that she was starting to get scared. Whoever this was, she was certain they didn’t belong to 1-B.

“And you, other girl,” Asui froze at being mentioned, “You haven’t said a thing. What’s the matter?”

Asui let out a croak. The figure moved, taking small steps towards them. In response, Jiro and Asui took a fearful and cautious step back. As they kept walking, Asui noticed that the figure had their head tilted down beneath their hood, but when they got closer their head lifted up. She couldn’t make out the features of their face, but she could make out a distinct color where the eyes would be.

Her already big eyes went wider still as she finally remembered where she heard that voice before. She lost blood in her face as panic and fear started to take over. Jiro heard her rapidly rising heartbeat and looked at her in concern.

“Tsuyu? Are you alright?” she asked, throwing her arm around her shoulder in a side hug.

Asui didn’t move or respond immediately, she just croaked and lifted a shaky hand, pointing at the figure, “It’s him.”

“Your name’s Tsuyu? That’s a pretty name. Tsu. Tsu-san,” The figure went through variations and pronunciations of her name like a kid trying to think of a nickname for their friend. Eventually they drew their breath like they remembered something, the color beneath the hood seemed to grow a little brighter, “Tsu-chan. You’re Tenkkun’s friend, from the USJ! I thought you looked familiar.”

Jiro understood immediately why she was so unsettled by them and why Asui was freezing instead of acting. She had heard stories and retellings and theories and fears of the figure before them. She didn’t get to see them in person, but now she understood why Aizawa and the rest of the teachers went to such lengths at keeping the location secret, why Shimura, Uraraka, and Kaminari were all shaken up at the mall.

They weren’t from 1-B. They weren’t with UA. They weren’t a hero. The figure before them was Kagero Shigaraki.

“Run!” she shrieked.

She sent her earphone jacks into the ground and unleashed her quirk into it, breaking it up and sending out a miniature pressure wave, hoping to at least stall them. Asui broke out of her frozen state and turned around, grabbed Jiro, and jumped away. She wasn’t thinking, only leaning directly into the flight response, solely focused on getting away.

Asui heard Shigaraki call out after them, but the words didn’t process. She felt something hit the back of her head, but the pain didn’t register. She didn’t see anything outside the path she needed to take. She flexed her legs and kicked off the ground again, sending her further away. She didn’t know where she was going, only that anywhere was better than there.

Jiro was being jostled at how hard Asui was jumping and tried to focus her attention behind them to see if they were being followed, but between Asui’s and her own hearts thumping heavily, the rushing of wind in her ears, and the sounds of branches snapping and leaves rustling, she couldn’t confirm anything.

What she did hear, though, was the sound of dark laughter. The only saving grace was that it sounded like it was fading away due to the distance.

For now, she had to trust that they were going to be safe.

Chapter Text

Dabi exhaled slowly as he took his hand off another tree. His task was simple herding. Set fires in the forest where the lodge could be accessed by vehicles. The fires would be burning too hot for vehicles or people to move through, and with help from Compress, trees would be blocking the roads and paths, leaving the camp entirely cut off by the ground. Nobody would be able to get in or out. Completely isolated.

If a call for help was made, then the only way they could be rescued was through the air, but even then, it would be difficult. Thanks to the denseness of the forest, the smoke the fires would be putting out would make aerial visibility low and finding a good landing zone difficult. A helicopter could circle the area and provide overwatch for anyone on the ground, but that’s assuming they were able to circumvent the fires and blockades. Infrared would be inaccurate because the fire would disguise everyone’s heat signatures, and night vision was only so good. They could land right outside of the lodge, but that location would be obvious and far too exposed from all sides. That wasn’t even mentioning the fact that their approach would be noticed long before they could get close, giving the League ample warning and time to set up an attack on the vehicle or make their escape.

The only way people would be able to get in or out was if the League allowed it, which they weren’t going to until they were finished.

Throughout the attack, Dabi had been getting updates from everyone about their status and whereabouts, so he knew exactly what was happening.

Toga found a couple students, but neither were one of their targets, so she let them go after they ran away with their tails between their legs. Compress was still moving around on the lookout for both heroes and their targets, but had been unlucky so far. Mustard was still in his cloud, though slowly moving so that it looked like it was still expanding. Magne and Spinner were engaged with some heroes but reported that three of their targets were on their way to the lodge. Jin, now being called Twice after deciding he wanted a villain name when he was dressed up, was sticking close by and keeping tabs on the clones he sent out for if they get destroyed.

With his first job done, he was slowly making his way to where the lodge was so that he could confirm which of his targets were there.

“Twice,” Dabi called. Twice perked up at hearing his villain name, “Who do you have doubles of right now?”

“Two copies of Compress. I don’t need to tell you anything,” he answered.

Dabi hummed as he made his way, holding both hands out slightly aflame so he could expand the fire whenever they touched a tree or branch, “Drop one Compress. Make one of me instead.” Dabi spoke into their comms, “One Compress going down.”

“You got it! I’m only doing it because I want to, not because you told me to.” Twice saluted then stuck an arm out.

The sludge fell out of his hand and took shape like Dabi. Once its form settled and all features defined, it didn’t even bother asking what it was supposed to do and walked away. Dabi called out after it, but the clone waved him away, “Yeah, yeah. Go scope out the lodge, see who’s there, yada yada. I’m going.”

“And try not to die, smartass,” Dabi instructed. “We already know people will be there, but we need to know who, so you better come back and tell us.”

The clone sighed exasperatedly, tapping his temple pointedly, “I know the plan, dumbass. I’ve got all your thoughts in your head that you made just before I was. You don’t need to tell me the obvious.”

The clone flipped off the original and walked away, also setting the trees on fire as he went.

Dabi groaned loudly, “Who the hell does he think he is? Telling me off like that. I’m way more reasonable than him.”

He looked at Twice for reassurance, but he was met with awkward silence, “Right?”

Twice chuckled nervously, “Yeah, that guy was totally out of line for a clone. He is one hundred percent how you act on a daily basis.”

Dabi narrowed his eyes at him. He knows that the second statement is usually a contradiction, but he wasn’t sure this time around. Humming dismissively, he walked off following the clone’s burned-out path.

Their starting position in the forest put them further away from everyone else, so they didn’t run into any students. The pair made their way slowly towards the lodge in silence. They were in arguably the safer spots and shouldn’t have any interference from the heroes, but that didn’t mean the possibility was zero. Since there was already fire in the direction he was going, Dabi didn’t add to it. He motioned for Twice to move with him to outside the direct path so they weren’t both illuminated. They followed the trail a couple meters out so that they could still use the darkness surrounding them and stay mostly hidden if anyone was looking their way.

It was a good thing they did too, because soon after changing their position, they heard heavy footsteps making a beeline straight towards them. Or to the fire, they hoped.

Dabi and Twice split up, pressing themselves up against a tree as they waited to see what the footsteps would do. Would they get closer and pass right by them? Would they pause and then change direction? Would they keep going but then later scream out in pain as they caught fire, as they were just blindly running through the forest, somehow missing the fire that’s spreading?

Dabi put a finger to his lips for Twice to be quiet as they both strained to listen to what the new arrival would do.

“Whoever started the fire has a clear goal in mind,” they heard a gruff voice speak out. “They sabotaged the roads in and barricaded them with trees.”

Whoever it was was obviously one of the heroes, one neither Dabi nor Twice could identify by voice alone. Dabi could see Twice’s curiosity starting to take over as he very slowly started peering around his tree trunk. Dabi snapped his fingers to get Twice’s attention, praying the sound would be mistaken for the pop of the fire. Twice stilled at being found out and rubbed a fist in a circle over his chest when he looked over at him. Dabi didn’t know what that meant, but considering how he acted, he assumed he was apologizing.

“The Firestarter looks on the move. They finished with the roads but now it looks like they’re headed right towards the lodge. I’m in pursuit. I could use some backup if anyone can spare it. I don’t know what they plan on doing.”

Dabi watched and listened with interest. The heroes are far more composed than he would’ve thought. Looks like they’d have to get rid of their communications as well to ensure total control. The hero cupped his ear as he waited for a response before taking off towards the lodge.

Dabi had a crooked smile on his face as he watched the hero run further away. He too placed a hand to his ear as he spoke on his comm, “Compress. Have you checked out the lodge yet?”

“I have not,” he eventually responded. “We already know three of our targets are there, so I’m searching for who isn’t. Once I gather that, then I’ll make a move on the lodge. Perhaps a coordinated jaunt?”

“Twice and I ended up behind a hero that ended up following my clone. We’ll pinch him and nab who’s there.” he turned to Twice, “Am I right in assuming you can’t control the clones once you make them?”

“Yep! Once they’re out, they’re out. They are my machines to control. Say the word and they shall do it.”

Dabi hummed, “Not ideal, but we can work with this. Hopefully my clone can last long enough against him. Let’s hurry up.”

Dabi broke into a light jog with Twice following a step behind him.

Unknown to them, they were being tailed. The figure waited a few minutes to see if anybody else would be following or running to catch up with them, but after a few minutes with nobody showing up, they set off after them.

Toga watched as Tsu-chan and her friend retreated back the way they came with a predatory smile on her face. It was surreal seeing how they reacted to an impersonation of Shi-kun. She knows that Shi-kun has an effect on people, but witnessing and experiencing it firsthand was amazing. Intoxicating even. Being able to be Shi-kun for once was exhilarating. She wanted to keep the feeling going and feed off of the girls, but she had a job to do. With reluctance, she sucked it up and kept moving. Instead of chasing them back, she lingered around the forest looking for more students she could scare.

The attack had just started, and those two were the first people she saw, but they weren’t one of her objectives, at least not yet. She had to make as many appearances as possible. Let them think that Shi-kun was present and lurking so that they start making rash moves and tripping themselves up, letting whatever fear they have, secondhand or otherwise, take the reins. Two little herolings was a good start, but it wasn’t enough.

Staying in Shi-kun’s form, she thanked and admired the strength his body had as she made quick time through the forest. His legs were strong and his muscles explosive. A hard jump in her normal form was the same as an easy leap in his. Catching a branch to swing to the next like a monkey as herself, she might’ve risked her grip failing and slipping off, but as Shi-kun, he caught it and stayed. His body was the epitome of human ability in her humble opinion. She was loving every second of it and was wishing she could feel his strength from the real him on the real her.

She came to rest on a branch that hung over the track the students were supposed to be following. She didn’t know the exact details of what they were doing, but from the snippets of conversation she caught from Tsu-chan and her friend, more students would be along the path if she kept following it, but they also might’ve scattered when they realized something was up. She hummed to herself in thought, trying to remember the positions of Dabi, Twice, and Mustard so that she wouldn’t get caught up in their attacks.

“Mustard should be the closest,” she muttered to herself as she tried to look through the trees for his telltale purple cloud but couldn’t see it. She fiddled with the mask over her mouth, making sure it was in place, “Thank you, Shi-kun, for thinking of everything.”

Toga jumped to the next branch a little harder than she would’ve liked, momentarily forgetting that Shi-kun was significantly stronger than she was and landed heavily on the branch. She paused as she reoriented herself but heard a quiet yelp from below her. Toga drew a deep breath in and silently moved back towards the trunk, slinking her way to another branch for a better view.

“Did anyone else hear that?” a male voice hissed quietly.

Immediately, another one shushed the first, this one sounding female, “Yeah. Sounded like something hit a tree. I thought there weren’t any animals running around. We should be careful. We don’t know who or what’s out there. We don’t want to be found out if it really is villains.”

“It’s way too late for that, Kendo,” the first voice refuted, “Whatever that was, I bet they already have our number. I’d get ready if I were you.”

Three sounds that sounded like slaps on skin came out from under Toga.

“No! Mandalay strictly told us to retreat. We don’t even know if that was a villain, and in case it is, we have our orders. We’re supposed to-“

The first voice cut her off, “Run away? As if. All this is happening because of 1-A. We finally have the chance to show that we’re superior to them, and you want us to stand down? Are you even on our side?”

“There are no sides, Monoma!” Kendo hissed, still trying to be quiet despite their cover being way beyond blown, “It’s not about them versus us or popularity! Have you even heard what these villains can do? Their leader was able to infiltrate a UA facility undetected and escape without a trace. They brought Hosu to its knees with three monsters and Stain. They pose such a threat to UA that principal Nezu felt it best to make sure we were as safe as possible!”

She held her arm in the air and dangled the tracker on her wrist to prove her point, “What makes you think that we, first-year high school students, stand a chance against someone like that!?”

“Nothing but someone blowing smoke,” Monoma dismissed. Toga couldn’t see it, but from his tone she could imagine him rolling his eyes. She could also hear the tiniest hints of uncertainty, like he was trying to convince himself more than convince Kendo. “And a fat lot of good all that secrecy did, because here we are. How do you know so much about them if the teachers are being so secretive about it, huh? Have you been colluding behind our backs with 1-A? You’d betray your class?”

Kendo let out a frustrated sigh, “I know about them because, unlike you, I actually try to get to know people before making assumptions. I watch the news every morning and keep up with reports, all in the hopes of becoming the best hero I can be. Making connections, building a rapport, getting info. Do you remember anything that Vlad-sensei taught us?”

Monoma scoffed and was about to retort, but was cut off by an elbow to his ribs, “Ow! What was that for, Kodai?”

The mention of a third name had Toga quirking an eyebrow. None of the names were one of their targets, but it was still a great opportunity to show herself.

“Would you stop bickering for once and remember where we are?” Kodai quietly responded, her patience starting to wear thin from their daily argument and the situation grinding her down. “Did you all forget that we heard a noise?”

“No, I didn’t forget,” Monoma grumbled, “I just figured it was a passing animal since nothing jumped out at us.”

Kendo puffed the air out of her cheeks and took a centering breath in and out, “You’re right, Yui. Sorry about that. We should hurry and get Honenuki somewhere safe.”

Toga had heard enough, feeling like that was the perfect time to introduce herself, or Shi-kun, to them. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, remembering Shi-kun’s instruction on how to really sell the act.

“I don’t ‘put on a show’ when I reveal myself to the heroes or public. I don’t have this alter ego or different persona like other villains do,” he said. “I present myself as I am. I know who I am and what I can do, I know who I’m not and what I can’t, and by that point, I know enough about the other party to dig my fingers in and grip their heart, so to speak. You aren’t me, so don’t try to be me.”

She remembered whining and pouting at that statement.

“If you want to leave a proper impression as me, you only need to do three things: First, unsettle them by commenting on something about their personality or the extent of their quirk if you get to see it in action. Make it obvious that you were watching them and know who they are. Second, give them time to process but not enough to respond back. Say something else, another observation, a weakness, anything to keep them off balance. Third, initiate with overwhelming force. Show them why you shouldn’t be messed with. Give them a reason to fear meeting you again.”

“What if I don’t attack them?” She asked, “I’ve only ever seen you fight Mohican, but that was a completely different case. And at Hosu, you didn’t even do much yet you got the same results. I know you’ve been teaching everyone how to fight, Shi-kun, but I’m still not sure I’d be able to handle multiple opponents, let alone pro heroes.”

Shi-kun smiled at her, “Overwhelming force doesn’t always mean with fists. It means you don’t give them a chance to mount a counterattack. You would already have them unbalanced, so keep it like that until you find an opening to deliver a decisive blow.” He poked her forehead, “And don’t forget, we’re going after the students right now, so while they may be training, they won’t be anywhere near as good as you in a fight. This is where you play to your strength. Make the hit, then leave. Their mind will do the rest.”

“What if I get outnumbered?”

“Same rules as always. If you don’t think you can win, take out the biggest threat first quickly and decisively, then leave the rest to scramble. With your ability to erase your presence if your enemy is distracted, it’d be easy for you to slip away. If you really want, you can leave some parting words, but don’t take any unnecessary risks.”

Taking his instruction to heart, she let out her breath and silently dropped to the ground behind them. The students didn’t hear it, but Kodai, who was closest to Toga’s landing felt the rush of wind from behind her.

She turned around as if in slow motion at being surprised with a fist raised in a reactive punch, but let out an ‘eep’ when her hand was caught, which was enough for the rest of the group to turn to look at their new arrival, all in various states of surprise.

Kodai’s eyes went wide as she looked at the person in front of her. The darkness of night and the green from the leaves surrounding them made the figure blend in. Their outfit was black and green, which gave them an outline, but they seemed to fade in and out of view, almost like a camera lens trying to focus in on the subject but couldn’t settle, making it difficult for Kendo and Monoma to make them out, but being so close, Kodai could see more details. There was a dim glint of green in the moonlight around their mouth, from the part of their face not covered by the hood or their mask, she could see pale skin, but what really got her was the glowing green from the eyes. She tried pulling her hand away, but the hold was firm.

“I’m starting to get a little tired of people immediately trying to attack me,” Toga spoke, letting some disappointment seep into her words, “All I’m doing is standing around. What about that warrants almost getting punched in the face? But I can’t really blame you, Kodai. That was a decent reaction, you were just a little too slow.”

Toga cupped Kodai’s face with her right hand and tilted her head left and right, inspecting it. She hummed in satisfaction after a moment, “You really are cute. Almost a shame you aren’t one of my targets. Say, what’s your quirk?”

Monoma and Kendo were stunned into silence when it dawned on them who they were facing. They spluttered like an old car trying to turn over after years of disuse and was given the barest hints of a restoration.

“Yui!”

“Kodai!”

Like a cartoon, Kendo and Monoma took a step or two in place trying to get traction before finally moving but Toga was too fast. She yanked Kodai towards and spun her around, wrapping Kodai’s right arm around her own neck in a strangle hold and holding her tight, outside of their grip.

“Not so fast, herolings. I’d hate to yank this poor girl’s arm out of her socket. I’m sure she wouldn’t appreciate it too much either.” Toga pulled a little harder on Kodai’s arm, both choking her and stressing the joint, causing Kodai to let out a strangled cry of pain.

Kendo looked torn between wanting to attack Toga and wanting to comfort her friend. She gave a sideways glance to Monoma and found he was at odds with himself too. She looked at Kodai and saw her pleading with her eyes, but she wasn’t sure if she was pleading for help or to forget her and take the villain down.

Kendo’s eyes flitted between Kodai and Toga before she rested on Monoma. In that moment, although he looked the appropriate amount of stressed, she could clearly see that he wasn’t really comprehending just what was happening and was moments away from doing something really stupid. She let out a harsh breath and threw her hands up in surrender.

“Kendo!?” Monoma asked unbelievingly, “We can take this guy.”

She hissed back at him, “No. We can’t. That’s Shigaraki, and he has Yui as a hostage. I will not risk her life banking on the extremely slim chance we can defeat him. What do you want?”

The question was directed at Toga, who eased off on Kodai’s arm allowing her a brief reprieve, “Good girl. As to what I want? How about you walk right back towards my friend back there and take a deep breath? Just like your friend over there probably did. That sounds nice. Yeah, let’s go with that.”

“You’re not going to attack us?” Kendo asked suspiciously, slowly creeping closer.

“Come on, Kendo, be real. This guy is a villain, of course he’s going to attack us. Just look at what he’s done to Kodai!” Monoma remarked off to her side. He was slowly crouching down to the ground, like he was surrendering, but he had other thoughts in mind. He just had to make sure he was counting correctly.

“Monoma!” Kendo shouted at him. She waved her hand frustratedly at him but didn’t do anything more, “Just shut up. You’re making it worse. Let me handle this.”

“Oooh, you want me to attack you? I can definitely do that!” Faster than they could register, Toga had one of her knives in her hand and pressed it onto Kodai’s cheek, a touch shy of breaking skin, “I’m sure your friend would look even cuter with some blood running down her.”

Kendo made a scared cry while Monoma froze in his efforts. Toga heard a quiet whimper from Kodai as she tried relieving some of the pressure from the knife.

Before Toga could lose herself in her fantasies, she scolded herself internally at slipping out of character for a moment and remembered that she wasn’t Toga at the moment, but Shi-kun instead. With any luck, the students would think Shi-kun was insane. She would have to apologize profusely to Shi-kun for that. He’s not insane. Far from it.

“I’d really try getting a handle on Monoma, Kendo-chan. I don’t think he understands exactly what’s at stake here,” Toga pressed a little harder on the knife, just enough to have blood starting to drip out.

“No, please!” Kendo pleaded, raising her hands higher and ducking her head lower, “Just… don’t. We’ll do whatever you say, just don’t hurt her.”

Toga studied Kendo, whose actions seemed genuine enough, and pulled the knife back a little. Then she turned her attention to Monoma, who was suspiciously quiet after she’d already pegged him as a person who loved to hear their own voice. She didn’t trust that.

“Monoma,” Toga called out in a singsong voice. Hearing it in Shi-kun’s voice instead of hers caused her to shiver. It sounded wrong in all the right ways. The boy froze at being named, “What are you doing?”

Monoma was crouched on the ground with both hands pressed into the dirt, but they weren’t placed palms up in surrender. He glared up at her, “What we should’ve done to start with.”

“Do you really think anything you do is going to change the outcome here?”

Multiple things happened at once.

Toga felt the ground beneath her turn into a liquid and started to drop into it. The sudden drop caused the knife in Toga’s hand to move and cut into Kodai’s face, for once, eliciting a loud cry from her in pain. Kendo yelled at Monoma for taking things into his hands, but took advantage of the opportunity anyway to rush them in an attempt to get Kodai back into safe hands.

Toga had to react quickly. If Monoma was able to turn the ground into a liquid, it would stand to reason he could turn it back into a solid, and she did not want to get caught stuck halfway into the ground. The only saving grace was that Kodai was still in her grasp. If she was going down, so was Kodai, and them being hero students meant that their priorities were different than hers.

Toga only had to get away. Kendo and Monoma had to save Kodai first before even thinking about dealing with her.

Toga threw herself backwards as well and as far as she could, hoping she could gauge how much of the ground around her was liquefied and how much wasn’t. If Monoma was smart, he’d make sure there was a decent radius around her, but thankfully he didn’t think that far ahead as she felt her back and head hit solid ground. Quickly tossing Kodai off herself, she tucked her legs in and rolled backwards over her shoulder and threw the knife in her hand at Monoma as soon as her feet were back on the ground.

Kendo was in shock at both Monoma’s rash decision and how quickly Toga reacted. She was still running forward by the time Toga hit the ground and thrown Kodai off her. Toga shoved Kodai off to the left and Kendo saw her roll backwards with the glint of the knife in her hand, arm raised and poised to throw. She looked in the direction she was aiming at and saw Monoma was the target.

“Monoma! Duck!” she yelled out after him.

Monoma was looking down at the ground when he heard her call out. Instead of ducking like he was instructed to, he looked up and saw the knife flipping end-over-end right towards him. He shrieked and went back down, with the blade just barely missing him. With his head ducked down, he felt the blade lightly rake against his hair, slightly parting it and literally a hair away from drawing a line of blood.

Kendo came to a stop next to Kodai who was recovering from being thrown and coughing as she fought to get some air back into her lungs.

“Yui!” Kendo fussed over, “Are you alright? How deep is that gash? Can you stand?”

Still coughing a little, she shoved Kendo away and pointed to where Toga was, “Don’t worry about me, just get him!”

Momentarily forgetting that they were just dealing with a villain, the villain, she mentally slapped herself and turned her attention to where Toga should be. All she saw was an empty space and scuffed up dirt from where Toga rolled.

“Where did he go!?” she yelled out, whipping her head around.

Monoma lifted his head back up, hearing that they lost him, “You let him get away!? Kendo, I had him!”

Kendo was already under high stress, and hearing that caused something in her to snap, “I let him get away? You’re blaming me for this!? I told you over and over again to stand down! We were severely outmatched to begin with and he had Yui as a hostage!”

“At least I did something,” Monoma snapped back at her. “If it were up to you, all of us would either be hostages or worse! Kodai was hurt because you were too slow!”

Kendo was fuming. She stomped right up to Monoma and poked him roughly on his chest, “Yui was hurt because of you. I was trying to talk him down, but you let your ego and ridiculous grudge against 1-A get in the way, and now he’s gone!”

“STOP IT!” Kodai yelled, causing both to still. Kodai hardly ever verbally responded, and if she did, it was usually a soft hum or a quiet, one-syllable word. She never said more than a short sentence, and she definitely never yelled at someone. “I got hurt. It happens. But that’s not important anymore. We had the villain’s leader right in front of us, and we all let him get away. All we can do now is keep an eye out for him again, get Honenuki to safety, and let the teachers know what we found out.”

A laugh came out from the trees, sounding like it was all around them, “Two of you have brains, one of you don’t.”

Kendo, Kodai, and Monoma formed a triangle with their backs to each other, each one scanning the woods for the source of the voice.

“If you’re looking for someone to blame, Monoma, you only need to look in the mirror. I was going to let you all keep moving along, but then you just had to say something. Your tone just reeks of false bravado that does nothing to hide the self-loathing beneath it. You’re not trying to be a hero to help people, are you? You’re in it for the approval of others. I bet you’ll be one of the heroes that only helps people if there’s a camera guaranteed to be pointed at you. Well guess what?”

They heard footsteps running in a circle around them. If they looked hard enough, they could see Toga’s form moving between the trees, but they couldn’t track her at all. Kendo and Kodai were focused on finding Toga, but Monoma was starting to lose himself in his head. He was so out of it that he completely missed Toga running straight at him.

She brought a leg up and planted her foot on his face and pushed him down. Kendo and Kodai made startled sounds as they turned around to find Monoma dazed on the ground. Kendo struck first with a punch, but Toga ducked under it, and utilizing the strength from Shi-kun’s body, planted a solid hit right into her diaphragm and launched her backwards, slamming into a tree.

Kendo collapsed to the ground, wheezing in pain.

Kodai jumped on Toga and attempted to get a chokehold on her. Instinctively, Toga tucked her chin down and stuck her hands in the crook of Kodai’s elbow and turned into her body. She crouched down even lower than she already was, grabbed Kodai’s legs, and picked her up before slamming her back onto the ground. With the two other people taken care of, she went back to Monoma.

She stopped at his head and bent over so her face was right in front of Monoma’s, “Those are the exact kinds of people that don’t deserve to be heroes. I’d honestly be doing society a favor by killing you now, but luckily for you, I’m not currently in that business. Just know this: No amount of praise or recognition you get from people will ever satisfy you, because deep down, you know everyone else is so much better.”

She delivered a quick strike to his temple, knocking him out immediately. She walked away, not bothering with Kendo or Kodai anymore, and disappeared into the woods in search of more students.

Chapter Text

“My first real field mission, and I still get placed on support,” Mustard griped to himself, kicking a rock as he moved through the forest, “I get why they did it, but is that really all they see me as? Someone who can’t do more than play in the back as goalie?”

When they first arrived at their lookout, Mustard couldn’t help the feelings of excitement that were running through him. Shigaraki had promised him that his debut as a villain would come, and it was nearly here, which was why he was so focused on getting the details right. The plan was created so it would make full use of everyone’s abilities, and if one of those parts were lacking in even the slightest, it would unravel too fast for them to recover. Dabi may have been the one to make it up, but Shigaraki was the one to finish it. It’s been said that no plan survives contact with the enemy, but so far, Shigaraki has somehow been able to defy those odds and Mustard would be damned if he was the reason they failed this night.

Knowing and understanding why he was being held back still did very little to curb his frustration at not getting any action.

He was itching to do something more and hearing the constant chatter from the rest of the League was only making that irritation itch even worse. Toga sounded like she was having the time of her life, Spinner and Magne were busy fighting some heroes, Compress was just chatting away about nothing in particular until Dabi shut him up, and Dabi and Twice were slowly creeping towards the lodge.

That gave him an idea.

Pressing a finger up to his ear to activate his comm link, he voiced it, “Hey Dabi, since you’re making your way to the lodge, I was thinking I could join you. If I keep moving, my gas will force everyone to either retreat or risk getting caught up in it. Plus, if I get it inside, there won’t be anyone up and ready to fight.”

“That’s not a bad idea, I’ll give you that.” Dabi responded a few seconds later, “But what if the one target that’s still out there gets caught up in it? We’d have to search the entire fucking forest for them.”

“So? We cut off their escape routes and even if they get a call out, we’d still have plenty of time. This place isn’t exactly easy to get to. We’d have all the time in the world to look for them.”

Mustard chewed on his lip as he waited for Dabi’s approval. He knew he had a good idea, Dabi did too, but the fact of the matter was that Dabi was still Dabi and he liked to be an ass from time to time. Mustard just hoped he would put the mission’s success ahead of his own personal entertainment. He was rewarded shortly after.

“Fine, but don’t change your pace. Keep it slow so the cloud looks like it’s still expanding. You come across any students, you identify before advancing.”

“And if a hero gets to me first?”

Dabi chuckled, “Then good fucking luck. They’re smarter than Muscular, so don’t expect them to fall so easily. If one gets to you, it’s because they figured out a way to take you down.”

Mustard was left in silence after that. He felt a spike of nervousness at the prospect of getting into a fight with a pro all on his own, but there was also a rising sense of anticipation. This was exactly what he was training for ever since he joined up with Shigaraki. He had been preparing for this, and now he finally had the chance to prove his worth.

His talk with Dabi all those weeks ago didn’t pan out like he hoped. They had been busy right afterwards with dealing with Muscular, then he spent a few days in recovery, and then it was preparing for the raid every day since. Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Now, though, he had the chance. He already has the advantage and is practically untouchable with no shortage of cover. A pro hero is still a person, and unless their quirk makes them hyper aware of their surroundings, there was no way he could lose if they brought the fight to him.

With anticipation starting to overshadow the nervousness, Mustard made his way in. Like he was instructed to, he kept his pace slow and steady, and made sure to pay attention to the cloud itself. He had a finite area he could occupy at one point in time, so he had to make sure that the people that were in the cloud already were completely unconscious before moving along, taking the cloud with him. He couldn’t afford for anyone to escape the cloud, so he did what he could. If there were people outside of it, which he didn’t doubt, then he just had to hope they wouldn’t notice it receding.

Instead of taking a direct path, he zigzagged as well as he could while keeping the same general direction. The seemingly random movements would give the illusion that the cloud was completely amorphous and would hopefully keep the destination a secret until it was too late.

As he got closer, he got little teases of somebody or some people getting caught up in the cloud, but despite them staying in it long enough to fall unconscious, they somehow managed to get back out. It almost felt like they were probing the gas and trying to figure out what it was, but just before they seemed to find confidence in themselves and delved a little deeper, they quickly pulled themselves out. It was frustrating to say the least, because it was happening just enough times to halt his advancement.

Growling to himself, when he felt whatever it was go in and out of the fog for what felt like the fiftieth time, he couldn’t stand it anymore. He stomped to its last location and waited nearby, hoping to catch a glimpse of it. He leaned himself up against a tree with his arms crossed as he waited for when the thing would enter the cloud again.

When it did, he was greeted with the unmistakable form of peg legs, a trench coat, and a small, bald head. He didn’t need to see the finer details to know who it was.

Out of everyone at the camp, Ectoplasm was the one person he did not want to run into. Even though he was safe in his cloud for the most part, if Ectoplasm pursued him, there was still a bit of a grace period of when a person first inhales the gas and when they inevitably succumb to the effects. It varies depending on the person, but that little window was all some people would need to break through and take Mustard down.

If it were anybody else, Mustard would’ve already been engaged in a fight, but he recognized when he was outmatched. Ectoplasm could overwhelm him with numbers long before the gas got to him, and if Shigaraki’s notes were to be believed, his costume consists of a helmet that covers his entire head. He would have a much larger supply of clean air, giving him ample time to defeat Mustard.

It was also impossible to tell the clone from the original without engaging in a fight, and that was something Mustard wanted to avoid, but he was also torn because he knew that Ectoplasm was one of, if not the biggest, threat to their plans.

Ectoplasm needed to get taken down, and Mustard wasn’t sure if he could do it. He grit his teeth and tried remembering the lessons he received from Shigaraki, Toga, and Compress about moving stealthily. He wasn’t bad at it by any means, he just wasn’t the most consistent when it comes to employing it when it mattered. He slowly took a step back, making sure to watch the ground so he doesn’t step on a leaf or branch.

He made it back a few meters before the form of Ectoplasm jolted and looked like he was looking right in his direction. Mustard froze, hoping Ectoplasm would think he was imagining things. Neither he nor Ectoplasm moved a muscle. After what felt like an eternity, Ectoplasm finally moved, likely running out of air and wanting to get out before it was too late. Mustard felt a little hope come to him, thinking he was in the clear, but that was immediately dashed when Ectoplasm slowly started making his way towards his location.

“Shit,” Mustard muttered to himself. Slowly still, he brought a hand up to his ear to activate his comms, “Ectoplasm found me. If you’re gonna make a move, do it fucking now.”

It was unspoken yet widely agreed upon that the success of the summer camp, both in terms of productivity and keeping it safe and secured, rested primarily on Ectoplasm’s shoulders. The Pussycats contributed greatly to the camp’s productivity with their wide variety of skills, specialties, and usage of their expansive land, but even then, they could only cover so much and supervise so many. With Ectoplasm’s clones, instead of a one to five ratio of heroes to students per training group, it could be decreased to much lower, making it nearly one to one, and still have some clones to spare for patrolling.

The lack of contact with the outside world and not revealing the training location until they were already there helped a little with keeping the event secure, but not completely hidden. The trackers and Ragdoll were able to monitor the students’ locations and general wellbeing, but Ragdoll couldn’t run her quirk twenty-four seven and the trackers could only be monitored through a secured connection, either from UA itself or from a station they set up in the lodge. Logically, they could have Ectoplasm or one of his clones monitoring them the whole time, but that was redundant because the students were always within eyesight of at least one of the heroes present.

Ectoplasm was aware how critical his role was and didn’t shirk from his duties. He always made sure to have at minimum ten clones up at all times, and kept his voice and throat warm and soothed to help combat his quirk’s drawback should he need to create more.

Keeping the clones up and moving wasn’t the issue. Once they were created, they were entirely independent and had their own pool of stamina and strength. The issue was in the creation of it. While he didn’t necessarily yell when creating them, the action still tore up his throat, but not to the point of being unable to speak. It was almost like a singer belting sustained high notes one night and not being able to hit them again the next.

As Ectoplasm and his clones roamed the forest in search of either the intruders or students he could bring back to safety, he found his path forward blocked by a purple mist. He put a pause on his search as he parsed through the multiple clones’ perspectives. After a few moments, he confirmed that they’d all come to a stop outside of the mist for similar reasons and worries.

The mist covered much of the area where the 1-B students should be spread out, meaning unless they got out of it quickly or had a way to filter out whatever it is, then they were probably caught up in it and still within its grasp.

“Retrieving the 1-B students may be more difficult than we initially thought,” he reported through his comms, “I’m blocked by the purple mist on all sides.”

Vlad King’s response came first with a curse, “Any chance you can get rid of it? I’m pretty sure I’m close to closing in on the Firestarter, so with the two widespread attacks taken care of, we should be able to wrap this up neatly.”

“I don’t think I have a choice anymore. It keeps creeping forward, and if I don’t do anything now, it’s only a matter of time before it reaches the lodge and the rest of the students.”

“Just don’t do anything rash,” Eraserhead chimed in. “We don’t know what that mist is or what exactly it does. Vlad, once I drop off these kids with Ectoplasm, I’ll come support you.”

“I won’t,” Ectoplasm responded to Eraserhead.

Ectoplasm took stock of how many clones he currently has out. When his first batch of clones got destroyed, he had twenty running around. He immediately created another fifteen to make up for them, but even that many had his throat feeling the fatigue already. One was with Shimura and Shoji, another was on its way to meet with Eraserhead and the group of students he ran into, two groups of three were off searching for Ragdoll and Pixie-Bob, the latter more on a feeling when one of the clones heard Mandalay and Tiger cry out for her. That left him with roughly seven clones available to help with probing and a maximum of twenty additional clones.

If he was being honest with himself, the last fifteen really did a number on him, so he could realistically maybe pull out another ten, and that was being optimistic. Regardless of how many more he could make, any number more than zero would make a difference.

He sent a thought out and waited as three of the seven roaming clones joined him at his position. He looked at them all and nodded, receiving one in return, and one of them walked into the mist. The ones that remained outside of it watched it disappear into the purple. The trio waited in silence. Sharing the same mind, they didn’t need to speak aloud to convey their thoughts.

Eventually, the one that was in the fog slowly stumbled out and quickly fell over, unconscious as soon as it exited. Ectoplasm snuck an arm out from beneath his jacket and checked them over.

This clone’s instruction was to enter and breathe normally without the helmet. It stood in a relatively thick area of the fog and counted. Five seconds to feel something affect them, ten seconds to stumble back the way they came, five more until succumbing to the effects. Twenty seconds total to go from upright and fine to unconscious.

The clones and Ectoplasm shared another look and another one went in. Again, they waited in silence until the form of the clone became visible and exited.

“I’d call that successful,” the clone remarked as it rejoined the others, “That was about five minutes, but I’m confident I could’ve stayed in it much longer.”

There was a sharp hiss as the upper part of Ectoplasm’s head came apart, revealing messy black hair and small eyes. The partially revealed clone took a long, deep breath of air, relishing in the freshness of it and not the filtered and recycled air.

The real Ectoplasm looked over the clone appraisingly, “Five minutes and some change? That should be enough. We’ll go one at a time. Different entries, different directions. No longer than four minutes.”

Ectoplasm’s mouth opened wide like the jaw had been unhinged and a slew of glowing grey-white fluid came out. The fluid broke into two different sections and two more clones of Ectoplasm were created. They wordlessly positioned themselves at different intervals at the edge of the cloud. At another unspoken command, the first one entered, making sure to leave a running commentary of the path they took and if they were able to find any unconscious students so they could be retrieved.

It was a slow process, but a very important one.

As the clones and Ectoplasm took their turns, they noticed the fog was significantly thicker in the area closer to the real Ectoplasm, who was the first in the line, and thinned out from there.

If it’s anything like Midnight’s, then the thicker the fog, the closer to the source.

He had the clones continue poking and searching within the fog like normal while Ectoplasm moved a little further down, hopefully getting himself closer to the source. When the last clone in the line reported back they’ve exited, Ectoplasm stepped in.

Immediately, he could tell he was right on the mark. The fog was denser here, making visibility much shorter. He didn’t move any deeper, preferring to stand still and survey the area for any movement, either from the villain that’s causing it or any students that were able to stay conscious long enough to get out. His head slowly turned right to left when he caught sight of something. It was difficult to make out, but he could clearly see something bobbing up and down like they were walking. The cloud was making it hard, but the figure was moving further away from him, like they were trying to sneak away while keeping an eye out behind them.

Ectoplasm watched the figure slowly move backwards as he thought about what he found out.

The purple mist he was in was obviously the result of a quirk. Said mist was potent enough to knock a fully grown man unconscious in twenty seconds. Everyone who has breathed it in previously has presumably already been knocked out. The figure in the mist is clearly still up and about and trying to retreat.

The figure is the villain he was looking for.

“Found the villain that’s the cause of the mist. Engaging now,” he spoke into the comms.

He took a step with purpose towards the figure, causing it to immediately turn and run.

I don’t have much time. I’ll need to end this quickly, he thought just before he broke into a sprint chasing after it.

Emotions were high in the lodge’s main room as the students all tried to make heads and tails about what and how they got into the situation they were in. Confusion, fear, and panic dominated the room while only one person felt frustration and anger.

“What are we going to do? We’re trapped!”

“How did the villains even find this place when we didn’t even know where we were going?”

“Why the hell can’t we fight!? It’s only two villains! I could take them on, no problem!”

“What about the rest of our class? And 1-B? They’re still out there!”

“Where are the teachers? Where’s Ectoplasm? Shouldn't there be at least one of him here?”

“Someone try to get a call out for help. We’re here, we might as well do what we can.”

Ever the one to try and keep a level head, Yaoyorozu tried taking charge. Her voice quivered and she was just as afraid as everyone else, but being the Class President meant that she had to put the class before herself. Looking over everyone’s faces and seeing the wide range of emotions, she knew that someone had to be the voice of reason, especially because the students that normally took that position were unfortunately still out there.

Hearing her voice over the wild questions and statements did pacify the group a little, bringing the raucousness down a smidge. Pleased to see that people were calming down, if just by a fraction, Yaoyorozu kept going on, “I know it’s not exactly what you want to hear, and I don’t like saying it, but we need to trust the teachers and the Pussycats to deal with the villains and hope our other classmates make it back safely. Mandalay gave us specific orders, and we’re in the safest place this camp has to offer. If Aizawa-sensei were here, he’d want us to stay here because there would be no point in us leaving safety to put ourselves in danger.”

Hearing their teacher mentioned quelled the rest of the group. They weren’t happy about it, but they couldn’t disagree with Yaoyorozu or her assessment. Aizawa always prioritized their safety above his own, and none of them wanted to be the reason he ended up battered and beaten again because he was too busy worrying about them.

Ashido raised her hand, “Okay, so what are we supposed to do? Sit on our hands and wait for everything to blow over?”

“The best way to weather a storm is to hunker down, but other times, the only way to survive is to fight it,” Tokoyami spoke up.

Yaoyorozu shook her head, “We make do with what we have. Those of us that have the capabilities for reconnaissance are still out there, save Koda-kun, but I highly doubt that he will be willing to leave, yes?”

Koda eagerly nodded his head, agreeing with her.

“I suppose he could call out to his friends from the windows, but then that would attract the villains here, assuming they don’t already know our position.”

“Doubtful, Ponytail,” Bakugo denied. “Lizard Troll and Sunglasses saw us and the direction we were going. If they came here and were able to get the drop on us, then they probably know where everything is too.”

Bakugo started to push his way through the crowd and made his way towards one of the windows and peered out before locking it, “I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re on their way right now. Shitty Hair, Plain Face, help me with this.”

Kirishima and Sero looked at each other in confusion at first, but Sero smirked and pounded a fist on his open palm in understanding, “Smart! We lock the windows, the villains will have to come in through the doors.”

“Shouldn’t we close the blinds as well?” Kirishima asked, “I mean, then the villains won’t know we’re here.”

“Were you listening to me, Shitty Hair? The villains probably already know we’re here. If we close the blinds, we won’t be able to see them coming. We see them coming, we can deal with them faster.”

“Oh. That makes sense. Smart thinking, Bakubro!”

With the explanation, everyone set out to help them, making sure the windows were closed and locked tight.

“Mineta,” Yaoyorozu called out. Mineta looked up at her with eyes that, for once, held more fear than lust. Instead of immediately raking her body up and down, his eyes went straight to hers, “Can you please reinforce the locks and windows with your quirk? It should be quite effective at keeping them outside, if only for a few moments longer.”

“Sure thing, sure thing! You got it!” he replied with his head nodding up and down rapidly, and made his way to the windows with one of his pop-offs in each hand.

“Aoyama-kun, Koda-kun, can you two go around and lock all of the doors on the second floor?”

Koda nodded and gave a thumbs up while Aoyama replied with a quiet, “Oui. But why not lock all of the doors? It would be easiest to keep all entrances locked, no?”

“We can’t lock all of the doors, especially the ones on the ground floor in case our other classmates do make it back,” she explained. “I would much rather them gain easy access inside than risk getting caught outside due to the doors being locked.”

Tokoyami nodded in agreement, “But that also invites the villains inside as well.”

“It doesn’t matter if the villains get inside,” Bakugo growled, “If they get in, I’ll take them down. You can count on that.”

No one bothered to disagree with him, but they all noted that how Bakugo wasn’t his normal abrasive, loud, and overly violent self. He didn’t attempt to ignore or disobey anyone who tried to tell him what to do, nor did he interrupt people or talk over them. He was being respectfully helpful for once. His friends didn’t know what to make of it, but Uraraka did. She saw how he constantly worked his jaw and rolled his wrists to keep them loose. He kept his eyes focused on the door and hovered around the windows, sneaking glances outside. Everything he was doing was to ensure he was primed and ready to move in an instant. It wasn’t so that he was ready for if villains attacked.

It was because Shimura wasn’t with them and he was worried for him.

She would never out him for it, but she knew exactly what he was thinking because she was thinking it too. She had to voice her concerns, but didn’t want to make a scene out of it, causing more panic in the room.

“Hey, Mina-chan, Toru-chan, think you two can find a phone and call for help?” she suggested, “Remember that Nezu said there should be phones that we can make calls from? Maybe you can call the police or some heroes for help. I’m pretty sure the Pussycats would have a phonebook or something for that.”

“Good idea!” Hagakure exclaimed, hopping over to Ashido, and grabbing her hand, “Come on, Mina, let’s go! We’ve got a super important mission ahead of us.”

Hearing Hagakure’s lightheartedness did a little more to ease the tension Uraraka was feeling, so before it disappeared, she walked up to Yaoyorozu.

Yaoyorozu was nervously biting the nail on her thumb but quickly dropped her hand when Uraraka got closer, hoping to hide her nervous tic from her.

“Uraraka-san, is there something else I forgot?” she asked with a small, plastered smile on her face.

Uraraka pursed her lips and contemplated shaking her head ‘no’, but that would be a lie, “Can we talk privately? I don’t want to worry everyone else with a guess.”

Yaoyorozu nodded and gestured towards a quieter corner of the room. Uraraka followed behind her quietly in thought. Yaoyorozu stopped and turned around, “What is it you’re thinking, Uraraka-san?”

She had a small frown before finally speaking, “Yaomomo, I think this attack is it.”

Yaoyorozu tilted her head in confusion, “I’m not sure I follow.”

“Yaomomo, this is probably it,” Uraraka repeated, “Remember what we talked about before we left for the camp?”

Yaoyorozu took a moment to think back, but eventually she caught on. A hand went to her mouth to stifle her gasp, “You mean those villains… When that lizard mutant said they found most of us… Are you sure?”

Uraraka hesitated in thought before nodding, “It’s the only thing that makes sense. Shigaraki made it pretty clear that the mall wasn’t the last time we’d see him. And he made it really sound like there would be more people besides me, Kaminari-kun, and Shimura-kun. And guess who isn’t here.”

Yaoyorozu’s eyes widened as she looked back at the class to do a headcount. The people that she sent off to secure the rest of the lodge had returned and no one has come in through the door since. She turned her gaze back to Uraraka who had her hands steepled over her nose and mouth and tears in her eyes, looking moments away from crying. She quickly wrapped Uraraka up in a hug.

“We won’t let anything happen to you, I promise. And you know Shimura-kun and Kaminari-kun, both of them are strong. They’ll make it back, I know it.”

Uraraka closed her eyes and nuzzled into Yaoyorozu’s hug, “It’s not just me or them I’m worried about. That villain said ‘most of them’, which means whoever they’re targeting, they’re here. If it’s not just me, then who else are they looking at?”

Yaoyorozu could see what Uraraka was getting at, but unfortunately couldn’t say anything to ease her worries, so she just kept hugging her and gave her the silent reassurance that she was there.

Somebody called out that people were approaching, and the room burst into action again. Yaoyorozu released Uraraka with a sad and wobbly smile and created a metal staff from her arm and approached the doors. Kirishima and Bakugo stood right in front of them, the former with his quirk activated and the latter his hands pointed behind him in preparation of an explosive rush forward. Aoyama and Tokoyami stood a little further back with a clear path to the entrance so they could use their quirks without worrying about collateral damage. Everybody else took up positions around the room, mindful of where everyone was.

The lodge fell silent as they waited for whoever was approaching to enter. They all shared the same thought: Attack.

The door handles jiggled and turned, causing everyone to take a deep breath in and tense up, ready to strike. The doors opened and just before they could attack, they heard Ectoplasm call out, “Don’t attack. We’re friendlies, although I am extremely glad you all prepared as well as you did.”

The doors opened more and Ectoplasm walked in with Shimura, Shoji, Sato, Shishida from 1-B, and Kaminari bringing up the rear. Shoji, Sato, and Shishida were each carrying students from 1-B in their arms and gently placed them on the floor.

Overcome with relief, Uraraka ran forward and threw her arms around Kaminari and Shimura’s necks, “I’m so glad you two are safe! I couldn’t help but fear for the worst.”

Shimura returned the hug, “Me too. Shoji and I were almost done with the route when everything went down, so thankfully we weren’t too at risk. Ectoplasm filled us in on the way here.”

“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Chargebolt responded after briefly hugging Uraraka back. “The villains are still out there and the roads in and out are blocked. Not to mention we still don’t know their objective.”

Hearing Kaminari speak with unfamiliar intensity threw Uraraka off a little, but she brushed it to the side, “Actually, I think I know what it is.” All heads turned to her, including Ectoplasm, “I think their objective is to capture some of us. Most likely me, Kaminari-kun, and Shimura-kun, but there could be more.”

Ectoplasm crouched in front of Uraraka, “I promise we’ll keep you safe. Nothing bad will happen to you, or anyone else. You’re all extremely brave, and thank you, Uraraka, for bringing that up. Now, we have a good idea of what they want. If you’re right, and their goal is to get to you or anyone else in your class, then we can finally get a counterplay in action.”

Ectoplasm stood back up and spoke aloud, partly to the students and partly to the others over the comms, “Most of 1-A is accounted for in the lodge, only missing Asui, Jiro, Ojiro, and Todoroki. According to Uraraka, we may know their objective now, and it’s to capture an unknown number of students, likely all from 1-A. I’ll keep clones out to recover the 1-B students, but Eraserhead, Vlad, Tiger, Mandalay, fall back. We can end this right now.”

Chapter Text

Kagero stood off to the side as he let Shin-tan get to work, removing Akaboshi and the muscle’s bodies from the room. Shin-tan slightly hobbled over to their bodies and took a moment to decide who to get rid of first. He chose Akaboshi, who was significantly smaller than the muscle.

Shin-tan bent down, wrapping his arms under Akaboshi’s arms from behind like a hug and tried to pick him up like that. He made it a few steps before Akaboshi started to slip from his grip. Shin-tan tried again, this time wrapping an arm over his neck and grabbing his leg from a bent over and crouched position, trying to get him into a fireman’s carry, but failed at that as well. When he couldn’t think of anything else, Shin-tan just grabbed one of his legs and started to drag him out of the room.

Kagero rolled his eyes at the sad sight and commented quietly to himself, “Pathetic.”

Shin-tan made it out of the room and Kagero followed him out. Shin-tan watched him exit and briefly panicked, “Wait! What are you doing? You can’t come with me, it’ll look suspicious.”

“Does it look like I care about being suspicious?” Kagero fixed him with a flat stare, “If anything, this helps you out more. If your comrades see how sad and weak you are, they’ll send some stronger people. Only a matter of time before Chisak-“

“You do not say his name with such contempt,” Shin-tan snapped at him in a moment of defiance. “Overhaul has given me and countless others so much and asked for little in return. I will not stand by idly while-“

Kagero cut him off with a hand clamped over his mouth and set his hand on fire, burning Shin-tan’s lips and the inside of his mouth. Shin-tan howled in pain through his hand for what felt like an eternity before Kagero removed it. Shin-tan’s lips and the inside of his mouth were a raw shade of red with white splotches, showing the telltale signs of a second-degree burn.

“That is not how you speak to me,” Kagero stated with glowing eyes and venom in his voice, “If you won’t give me my due respect, then you don’t deserve to speak. Remember? You work for me now. Your allegiance to Chisaki means nothing.”

Kagero left Shin-tan reeling in the hallway as he started to explore the building he was in. Before walking away, he crouched and reached for the gun Shin-tan had holstered under his arm and examined it. It was black, sleek, and modern - not the normal double-action revolver police tend to carry. No doubt one of many that were smuggled or traded over time. He pulled the slide back to see if it was loaded and saw the brass casing. Tapping on the magazine release on the grip by the thumb, he turned the magazine over and saw a small “14” cut into one side next to a viewing hole to see the bullet and the same thing on the other side, but with a “15” instead. A full magazine plus one in the chamber.

Kagero didn’t care much for or have use for guns, but he couldn’t deny that sometimes shooting someone was a much simpler move than fighting them. Shrugging, he stuck it into the back of his pants for safe keeping. It also further disarmed Shin-tan.

“You need to speak to use your quirk, so without your mouth, you’re nothing. Without your gun, you’re little more than a baby.” He threw the comment over his shoulder, “I’ve seen groups like this. You’re fiercely loyal to your leader for giving you purpose, but your leader sees you nothing more than things. Tools. Replaceable when broken. Your worth equates to your quirk’s ability and blind obedience, nothing more. But what happens to you if you can no longer provide? Do you think Chisaki will keep you around, or get rid of you to find someone better suited to it?”

“By the way, I changed my mind. You don’t need to set up a meeting for me anymore. I’ll be fine from here on out, but thanks for offering anyway!” Kagero lazily waved his hand as he walked away.

Shin-tan couldn’t answer without causing any further pain to himself, so he settled for glaring at Kagero’s receding back. He would’ve chased after him or run to find someone else to let them know what happened, but the realization was dawning on him. How could he show his face to any of the other members of the outer ring, or to the other Eight Bullets, let alone to Overhaul, and say that he failed? He wasn’t even ordered to be part of the interrogation originally, only saying yes because he saw it as an easy way of gaining more of Overhaul’s favor.

Kagero was right. He may be fiercely loyal to Overhaul, but even he could tell that the respect wasn’t reciprocated. Resigned to a fate that more than likely ends in his death, he decided to keep on doing what he was doing and cleaned up his mess. The less evidence there was that something went wrong, the higher the chances he would be able to make it out alive. It was still a very slim chance, but it was still higher than zero.

Kagero walked through the halls aimlessly and tried doors at random. Some were locked, others weren’t, but those mainly led to supply closets or something of the like. It was both a little boring and disappointing, but it was still within his expectations of the supposed base of a Yakuza branch that persisted through time. Regardless, he still made sure to remember every turn and fork he took. Even if it ended up in a dead end, every hallway and door would add more detail to the map he was creating in his head in case he ever needed to come back. When he needed to come back.

He didn’t make his presence widely known, still moving quietly and stealthily through the complex, but when the hallways were brightly lit, looked completely residential, and doors evenly spaced out lining the walls with nary a protruding pillar or recessed crook for the room’s entrance, there wasn’t much room for cover. He turned the knob on one door and found himself in another storage room and decided to look around.

It was standard as supply closets could go. There was a mop standing upright in the yellow rolling bucket next to the corner where sweeps and brooms stood, and nearby those was a vacuum. Two islands of tall and wide shelves took up most of the room, each shelf fully stocked with cleaning supplies and bathroom necessities. Toilet paper, hand towels, paper towels, soaps, chemicals, everything one could possibly need to clean up any sort of mess. On one wall there was a linen hamper that was filled with sheets and towels, and next to it was a trash can that was probably recycled and repurposed to act as a smaller hamper filled with cloth masks.

Kagero wondered why there were so many masks, but the answer came soon enough.

Thinking back to Akaboshi, who was wearing a black mask, and Shin-tan, who was wearing a more ornate one, he figured the mask was a sign of ranking. The muscle didn’t wear one, but that would make sense if he was right with the ranking system. Normal thugs and grunts probably didn’t wear any, the guys above them, like Akaboshi, had to wear a mask. Kagero wouldn’t be surprised if those wearing cloth masks had different colors to further break up the ranks. Then the guys above the Akaboshis, like Shin-tan, got to wear something gaudier.

It was a weird system, but to each their own.

Figuring he’d be able to move with a lot more freedom if he had a mask on, he picked up one of the black ones, which he assumed was a symbol of being in the higher tiers of the middle rank, and sandwiched it in his hands.

Without creating a flame, he heated his hands up like an oven, making it hot enough to burn whatever germs or particles were left over from whoever wore it last. Satisfied, he slipped it over his face and entered the hallway again.

He still had no idea where he was going, but he figured this was only the first layer. There were no roaming guards, which meant there was nothing worth guarding, meaning the level he was on was introductory. The rooms he saw that weren’t supply rooms looked like offices or mutual meeting spaces. The room he woke up in was a cell, and he was willing to bet there were more just like it. The room itself was fully furnished, meaning if they had to, they could house people for a short time while making sure they wouldn’t cause any trouble.

If the Yakuza operated like all other respectable villain groups in his experience, then the further underground he went, the more likely he’d run into their actual base of operations. The only problem was finding the way down.

He had walked end to end and didn’t find a door that led to a staircase that goes either up or down, nor did he find anything that resembled a front door and entrance. No staircases meant two possible options. First, they gain access through use of portals or teleportation, which is highly unlikely. Teleportation quirks are few and far in-between, and none recorded are particularly strong. There was always the chance that it was undocumented, but even then, he was being generous. It wasn’t a portal for obvious reasons. Second, there was a hidden entrance, which was the more realistic option.

Kagero started walking around the level again, knocking on walls for anything that sounded hollow or for anything that looked too ordinary. After an indeterminate amount of time, he found it in the form of a plain blank wall. There was nothing special about it. It had no clear cracks or hinges that would indicate something was there, and feeling around, he couldn’t find a button or switch that would open it. There weren’t any gaps he could jam his fingers into for a grip around the sides or floor either.

He took a step back to think, his arms crossed in thought. He considered trying to find a way to get in without being found out, but he honestly couldn’t care less at this point. He’s wasted enough time aimlessly wandering as it was.

Kagero raised a leg up in preparation to kick down the door, or at the very least dent it to the point where he had something to work with, “Knock knock.”

His foot rushed forward with devastating force. He didn’t aim his kick at the door’s center, but towards the side where the knob would usually be. The wall buckled under the blow but didn’t fly open or burst backwards, meaning it was a sliding door. His kick left a large impression, with the edge of it slightly folded out, leaving a sliver to peer through. He kicked it again and again, the sliver growing more and more every hit. Eventually there was enough room to slip both his hands in.

Kagero hooked his fingers around the opening and pulled. The door didn’t budge at first, but slowly it felt like it was moving past its resistance, like pulling on the drawstring of a compound bow. Once the door got over that resistance, it slid open the rest of the way. What lay beyond was a small, concrete staircase that wound down who knows how far.

“Finally getting somewhere,” he commented to himself. As he took the first step down, he noticed a small camera with a blinking red light in the corner pointed at the entrance and paused. He stared right at it before blowing a ball of fire at it, leaving it a smoldering and melted mess while the mask he was wearing burned itself out from the middle. The mask turned to ash and fell off his face.

If they saw him kick down the door, then they would already know he wasn’t with them. No point in trying to blend in anymore.

Sitting in a dark room with multiple screens showing the different cameras spread throughout the building, the man sitting in the chair leaned forward in interest when one of the screens showed one of their doors being bashed in. Having been the one tasked with watching the cameras, it was no surprise to him as to who or what was doing it, but after watching them wander around the compound for nearly half an hour with no clear purpose, he couldn’t help but be a little excited that something interesting was finally happening.

He had seen Nemoto, Akaboshi, and Yosuke get attacked by the man they picked up from the tea shop and immediately knew that he wasn’t just a nobody. The cameras were only visual, so he had no idea what Nemoto said to elicit that kind of response out of him nor what was said between Nemoto and Akaboshi and him in the first place, but something about him was familiar, but not in a nostalgic kind of way. When he saw Nemoto apparently fold and bend to the new person’s will after their brief fight, he didn’t immediately let his superiors know, because he believed there was no chance he would find his way further in or out.

He was right for the thirty minutes that followed Nemoto getting burned, but now that the newcomer busted his way in and disabled a camera, he needed to let his superiors know.

He reached down to a phone but a hand landed on top of his. The hand was connected to an arm covered in a white sleeve. The sleeve was connected to a jacket with a hood up over the person’s head, their face covered by a black plague mask with gold trim and round gold goggles.

“No need to raise the full alarm,” the figure advised.

The man in the chair pulled his hand back in surprise, “Chronostasis! I wasn’t aware you were here. Are you sure we shouldn’t let the boss know of this? It’s not easy for someone to get the drop on one of you.”

“Overhaul has been aware of his presence since he was brought here, and Nemoto was hardly the most capable,” Chronostasis replied. He leaned forward and pressed a button next to a microphone, “Follow the stairs down to the next floor. Enter the room three doors down on the right side. It will be unlocked. If you would like to talk, we will be waiting for you.”

One of the screens showed the man standing still as he listened to Chronostasis’ bid to talk. The man turned around in a circle in search of the camera that was currently on him. When he found it, he looked right in the lens, nodded, then blew fire on it. The screen turned to static as the camera was destroyed.

The man in the chair turned around to look at Chronostasis fully, “Was that really the wisest decision?”

“Would you rather let him wander the base and let him happen upon our lynchpin for the entire operation? No. This way, we keep him contained and outnumbered. He wasn’t the only one to hear me speak.”

Chronosasis turned around and walked out of the security room.

Upon hearing the man’s voice, Kagero expected the bottom of the staircase to be flooded with people waiting in ambush. The man’s voice came through speakers that were no doubt sounding out throughout the whole compound, letting all its occupants know that there was an intruder and exactly where they were. In preparation, he created some fire in his hands and let some smoke leak from his mouth and walked down the rest of the steps with purpose.

He didn’t need to worry about anyone coming from the stairs because he had long since cleared out the upper floor, and unless that door was somehow repaired to perfection, even if it closed behind him, he’d be able to wrench it open again.

As he rounded the last corner and stepped off the staircase, he was pleasantly surprised to find the path ahead unobstructed, but he knew better than to let his guard down. He let the minutes tick by as he waited. Depending on the size of the compound, he figured it might take the bulk of the forces a little time to get from wherever they were to his position, but no one came. Letting the fires die out, he straightened back up and continued walking, counting the doors until he was outside the third door on the right.

He stood outside and quietly placed his ear to the door, trying to hear if anyone was inside waiting to ambush him as soon as he opened it. He stood still for another few minutes, convinced that no one inside could resist shifting or moving while waiting in anticipation for that long. Kagero was able to, but he was also incredibly patient. Satisfied there were no threats, he opened the door.

What he was met with was a mostly empty room with two couches facing each other with a coffee table in between. On what could be the main wall, there was a tapestry that proudly displayed the symbol of their organization. After looking into the Yakuza and its branches and offshoots in modern day, he recognized it as the symbol of the Shie Hassaikai, which he found does have ties to the Yamaguchi-gumi. Sitting on the couch facing the door was a man with short brown hair, thin eyes with golden irises, and wearing a black shirt and pants with a grey tie. He was hunched over, resting his arms on his knees with his head looking slightly up, his hands lightly resting together while wearing white gloves. On his face was a red plague mask with gold details and stitching. Sitting next to him on his right was a small, black, creature with a white mask stitched together down the middle that looked like a crow’s skull.

Immediately to Kagero’s right was a man in a white robe with the hood up, wearing a plague mask that was black with gold trim and matching goggles. Kagero stared at the man challengingly, daring him to make a move. The man bowed slightly with his left hand over his chest and his right gesturing to the couches.

“Thank you for making yourself amenable to my request. Please, make yourself comfortable,” he invited.

Kagero looked the man up and down before turning his attention to the other two in the room. He studied the black creature more than the man because it seemed out of place. It was the size of a stuffed animal and was riffling through a wad of bills. When he looked towards the man, he saw that he was doing the same, quietly assessing the person before him.

“If I didn’t find and break through that door, how long would it have taken before someone finally came to get me?” Kagero asked the man on the couch as he sat down on the one facing him.

The man in the white robe answered him instead, now standing behind him and to his left, “After you disposed of the people assigned to watch over you in such a… brutal fashion, we decided it best to let you cool down before making further contact. We would’ve sent someone to fetch you eventually.”

“You let me wander around for who knows how long, hoping that I would cool down? If it were anybody else, aimlessly walking around an unfamiliar place with nothing to do would only make them angrier. If anything, you’re lucky that door was the only thing that got broken,” Kagero lazily replied, looking up to him. He turned his gaze back down to the man sitting on the couch, “And you must be the boss I’ve been hearing so much about recently. Since you’re the one who ultimately dragged me here, I think it’s only fair that you introduce yourself, so I know who to thank for the hospitality.”

The man continued to study him before relenting with a sigh, “You clearly already know who I am considering the effort you went through to get to me, so let’s skip the pleasantries and get right to the part where you tell me what you want.”

“Two things, Chisaki.” Kagero smirked as he adjusted himself on the couch and threw up two fingers as he counted his points, “First, I’m here to tell you that you will change how you operate. This is non-negotiable. Second, your actions have caught the attention of a particularly influential person, and they’re not too enthused about what you’re doing.”

Kagero watched Chisaki’s eyes for a flicker of recognition or a change from apathy and he got it. The moment was brief, like a lamp post getting passed by while speeding. The man made a tiny nod in his direction. At once, the man in white and the black creature sprung into action. The man in white had a revolver pressed into his head while a big, muscled arm protruded from the body of the black creature and grabbed Kagero’s throat.

“You’re in absolutely no position to be making demands here. We outnumber you three to one,” the man in white stated, pushing the gun further.

The grip from the black creature tightened around his throat, “The only people we listen to are ourselves and our boss. Demand all you want, you won’t get shit.”

Kagero smiled, his eyes starting to get a little bloodshot, but he made no sound of pain or discomfort. Instead, he chuckled as well as he could, “You’re making this easier than I thought. You know exactly what you’re doing and you’re worried. You’re walking the tightrope untethered and you’re one stray breeze away from falling.”

Throughout the exchange, Kagero’s eyes never left Chisaki’s. He could see some emotions pass over him, but none of them settled. Kagero’s gaze was getting a little fuzzy from the air depravation, so he slowly brought a hand up and tightly gripped the wrist of the arm choking him.

“You saw… what happened to your… friend,” Kagero gurgled, the choking finally getting to him. His face was starting to turn red, but he somehow still managed to keep his composure. Kagero’s hand started to heat up, causing the creature to let out small grunts of pain before releasing him as the smell of burnt flesh was starting to permeate the room. Kagero took deep but quiet gasps of air, now unhindered.

As soon as the creature released him, the man in white struck Kagero with the butt of his pistol. Kagero’s head was whipped to the side and the muzzle of the gun was stuck in the crook between the jaw and the back of the ear. He heard the click of the hammer being pulled back and felt the spin of the cylinder as a round was loaded into place, “Wrong move.”

“Chrono, Mimic. Stand down,” Chisaki commanded. The gun to Kagero’s head was immediately removed and the black creature retook its place on the couch next to Chisaki, “I admit, you have me at a disadvantage. You know my name, my real one, yet I’ve only heard whispers of yours. Of course, I know of you, but little else.”

“A smooth liar too,” Kagero commented, massaging his neck. “You’re stirring up trouble in my territory, and it’s drawing unwanted attention on us. The number of Trigger-related incidents started to rise, seemingly around the same time you started to creep your way in. I don’t care about that at all, Trigger is common enough, I care that you’re encouraging the idiots that buy from you to shoot up as soon as they get it or at their slightest inconvenience. Those idiots cause a ruckus, that ruckus brings heroes into our territory, those heroes cause interference in our affairs. Interference that, up until recently, has been so minimal it’s almost non-existent.”

“It sounds like your issue is with those that doped up in public, not with me. You may be able to keep heroes out, but you can’t control idiots.”

“No, I can’t, but I can get rid of them just as easily.” Kagero had a glint in his eyes, “Same goes for remnants of the past trying to make themselves relevant again. If you continue what you’re doing, your product and dealers going missing will be the least of your worries.”

“Is that all this is about? You trying to strongarm me into obeying your rules?”

“I’d call it giving you a fair warning. You can keep selling your Trigger, but only through the channels that we already have set up. No more shady, back alley deals that you’ve been doing, no more advertising your own way. If your product is half as good as it’s been claimed, the lowlifes will make their way to you on their own. The Yakuza abide by honor, right? Where is that honor now? The old head would’ve contacted us and asked for permission before doing half of the things you are.”

Chisaki’s eyes narrowed dangerously, “The Boss is out of the picture now, so I’m picking up the slack. Excuse me for not maintaining the pacts of men no longer with us, for I’ve been busy with more pressing matters. My sights are set on things much greater than my predecessor’s.”

“I’d heard he passed, such a shame too.” Kagero mentioned, shaking his head sadly, partially acting. “Unlike yours, mine is still alive and well, but they’re slowly giving me more responsibilities, which this meeting happens to fall under. They wanted me to speak with you in the hopes that we can come to an agreement like your predecessor did with mine. With respect to your elder, I’m willing to overlook your transgressions and grant your stake for a portion of the profits. As a bonus, I’ll even let you decide my take. My only stipulation is that it can’t be less than ten percent."

Kagero would’ve stuck his hand out for a handshake, but he didn’t miss how Chisaki’s hands were slightly twitching. He had a few guesses as to his quirk, given the name he’s been called in the underground, and how it works given he's wearing gloves, so he didn’t want to take any chances. Chisaki seemed to understand as well and nodded.

“Very well. You have my word. I’ll contact you later for discussing the details of your take.” Chisaki agreed with a nod. “Now the second thing?”

Kagero snuck his hand into his hoodie and pulled out a small black case. He put it on the coffee table and slid it forward, “You will stop production of this drug. Immediately.”

“How do you have this?” the man in white, Chrono, demanded. “You were searched completely.”

Kagero ignored him, “I kept a few of the capsules for myself, but the rest are accounted for and untampered. I would’ve destroyed them all, but I can tell that a great deal of work went into creating them. I know I wouldn’t appreciate it if someone destroyed something of mine that I worked hard on, only to request a working relationship later on, so I’m returning them to you in good faith.”

Chisaki didn’t reach for the case, “You do understand that what you’re giving me was meant to be sold. I have more where it came from, so quantity isn’t an issue for me.”

“Oh, I’m aware of that,” Kagero leaned forward, mimicking Chisaki’s stance, “I know what that drug does and its implications, so if you want to keep the Yakuza from being wiped off the face of the Earth, you will heed my warning and abide by my demand. If you don’t stop production, you will be removed from the picture. Permanently. You don’t listen to me, it’ll be a matter of when and how, not if and but.”

“Now why would I do that?” Chisaki asked with a hint of humor, now leaning back onto the couch, “You’re clearly scared of it, which means your boss must be terrified. If you’re as strong as you claim to be, then why would I stop producing something that could put an end to you?”

Kagero didn’t respond immediately, but he also didn’t stay quiet long enough to let Chisaki or the others think they were right, “Ah, so the quirk destroying drug is how you plan on coming back. You plan to sell it to criminals and villains alike and use the data gathered from their exploits to modify the drug. It is temporary after all, so it only makes sense you’d want to make it permanent. Once you have the completed version, heroes and your competition will be of no issue, leaving you as the sole main power. Smart plan.”

The black creature, Mimic, snickered loudly and was going to reply, but Chisaki raised a hand and gave him a look. He made eye contact with Chrono behind him, who nodded in return. Chisaki finally settled his eyes back on Kagero, “If that’s all you have to say, then our business is done. I am a man of my word, so I will be reaching out to you to finalize the details and set up my circulation. As for your warning, it’s been received. Chrono, see Shigaraki out.”

“No need,” One of Kurogiri’s portals opened beside the couch. Kagero walked towards it and stood right outside of it. Chrono pulled his gun out again and aimed it at Kagero but Chisaki waved him off. Half turned towards the portal, Kagero looked back at Chisaki, “I was never really missing and you never really had me. If I see anything that’s even tangentially related to your quirk destroying drugs, the next time we meet, I won’t be as friendly.”

Kagero walked through without another word.

Chisaki stared after him with barely restrained anger before turning around to the blank wall behind the couch he stood on. He placed his hand on the wall and a portion of it slid open.

He paused and looked back at Mimic and Chrono, “Make sure she’s ready for another draw. We’ll have to move our schedule up.”

Chapter Text

The portal deposited Kagero off right in the middle of the Nomu tubes instead of back at the bar like he was expecting. He stepped through and paused, looking around for any new additions, hoping to find one in particular. He walked through the rows and observed each one, but due to the heavy experimentation, body modification, and mutations, it was nearly impossible to figure out who the base of the Nomu was from just an outsider’s perspective. Figuring that particular Nomu to be in the Doctor’s primary lab, he made his way to the room in the corner where he knew he was expected. He knocked on the door and waited for the response before entering.

“Come,” he heard Master’s voice from within.

Unconsciously, Kagero took a settling deep breath in and out before entering. Master was sitting in his chair as normal, with tubes and wires sticking into his cheek and his neck to help his breathing. He had an elbow on the chair’s arm and was resting his chin on his hand.

He adjusted himself before greeting him, “Kagero, welcome back. I trust you’ve had a fruitful experience while in the care of the Yakuza?”

“Master,” Kagero answered, bowing lightly towards him, “They’re Yakuza, but not of any main branches, that much is confirmed. The group that’s responsible for the drug is the Shie Hassaikai. The old head is apparently indisposed now, and it’s being run by Kai Chisaki. I don’t necessarily think the old head is dead, just now a prisoner.”

“What makes you think that?”

Kagero shrugged, “Use of words. Chisaki didn’t say that he’s dead or anything of the like, just that he’s ‘out of the picture’. If anything, it’s sounding like Chisaki planned a coup and succeeded.”

“Yes, I’ve heard as much and confirmed that as well.” Kagero quirked an eyebrow at the reveal of information, wishing he was told that before going into it, but didn’t comment on it. “Chisaki is said to be a genius when it comes to biochemistry and pharmacology, and it appears he’s using that to produce a new type of Trigger.”

“He’s also using that to mass produce those drugs,” Kagero bitterly remarked.

“That too. Were you able to find the source?”

Kagero shook his head disappointedly, “No. It’s either at a completely different facility, or I couldn’t get that deep into it. Their base, if that’s even what it is, is well made. There are at least two layers with an unknown number of hidden passages. I’ve mapped out the layer I was in, but I wasn’t able to gather much more than that. Where even was I?”

“Kurogiri had your coordinates pinging from Osaka, although that may not have been their main base.” Master revealed, “I took the liberty of looking into the Hassaikai when the old head was removed and found a number of locations that they use as a base, storage warehouse, or place of operations, and they’re spread all throughout the country.”

“If you have all of their locations, why haven’t you acted on any of them?” Kagero asked, frowning in thought.

Master hummed amusedly, causing Kagero to bristle at the sound, “Come now, Kagero, surely you don’t expect me to take care of your problems?”

Kagero brought a hand up and opened his mind to retort but stopped himself. Master seemed in a good enough mood, so he shouldn’t be too angry if he decided to talk back a little, but he wanted to make sure he wasn’t reading the mood wrong. Pursing his lips and ping ponging his eyes left and right as he looked for the points, he thought before responding, “But Master, were you not the one who set me on this path? I admit I started looking into it a little when we found that little runner, but I didn’t think much further than just absorbing them into our operations. It did start off as a task for the League, after all. Everything I did past that point was because you instructed me to.”

Master easily responded, “This whole operation was your idea to begin with, and just because it inflated into a bigger problem than you initially anticipated doesn’t mean you can immediately pawn it off to someone else. If I pick up where you left off, then that would leave some things unfinished because there are bound to be details that would slip through my fingers. It’s much easier to add something in than to take another thing out. I withheld the information I had simply because you weren’t here to receive it and it wouldn’t have benefited you at that point in time regardless. Now that we have moved past the first stages, I can give you more. I still won’t be the one to deal with this, because after all, have I not taught you time and time again to finish something once you’ve started it?”

Kagero grumbled but couldn’t deny Master. What Master was doing to him was exactly what Kagero does to the League, so it would only make sense that he would be on the receiving end of it yet again.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked away like a child that got caught, “Even knowing that they have multiple bases, there still isn’t much we can do right now. First, we’d need to narrow down which ones are just for storage, which ones house their members, which ones are decoys, and which ones that Chisaki frequents.” Kagero shrugged, relenting the point, “I did get Chisaki to agree to distribute the Trigger through our channels, so we might be able to figure where they’re coming from.”

“And how would you go about doing that, Kagero?” Master asked, curious to follow his train of thought.

“We keep track of when the dealers run out of Chisaki’s stock and when it’s replenished. Assuming Chisaki has a decent inventory, I’d give them three days to make it from their storehouse and back up to sale. If he makes it by the batch, then it’d be harder, but we’d at least have a definitive window to be on the lookout for any of their runners or mules.” Kagero let out a heavy sigh, “This is shaping up to be a pain in the neck. I’m talking weeks, if not months, on observation alone. Then we also need to stay on somewhat amicable terms to really seal the deal.”

“Baby steps, Kagero. And what of the other drug?”

“Forewarned.” He heard a deep grumble come from Master. Kagero ducked his head in response, “As I said, there wasn’t much more I could do.”

“You could’ve killed them all and be done with it,” Master hissed.

“And risk not getting rid of everything?” Kagero shot back with a glare, but quickly reeled his anger back in, “My apologies, Master, I didn’t mean to snap at you. You did instruct me to gather their research and materials before destroying them, but I wasn’t given the opportunity to do so.”

“You should know that if an opportunity does not present itself, you create it yourself. I have made you strong, Kagero. Why are you letting pests so far beneath you determine what you can and can’t do?”

Kagero could sense Master’s anger rising, but he could do little to quell it. Master is right. He has the strength to get rid of their problem, but he didn’t make use of it. He chose to play the long game instead of a quick and shallow victory, something that Kagero felt was the right choice in this matter.

“With all due respect, Master,” Kagero placated, “I’m not letting them do anything. I’m giving them a false sense of security. The quirk eraser is a major threat to us, not just All Might and One For All.”

“All Might is a buffoon that solves every problem with his fists,” Master quickly dismissed, “His threat to me is on an exponential decline, and as far as I can tell, he has yet to pass on my brother’s quirk. He will die soon enough and what was once mine shall be returned.”

Kagero nodded slowly, “Exactly my point, Master. With All Might steadily becoming less of a threat and more of a nuisance, there isn’t much that would be cause for concern for us, except that drug. By letting Chisaki think he holds one over us, he’ll grow complacent. We’ll play the part of ‘falling in line’ when we’re just patiently waiting. When he slips up, I’ll be there to make sure he falls and stays down. The Hassaikai will be in disarray, leaving everything open and exposed for us to take. We take over that facet of the drug trade, and we’ll hold monopoly over everything once again.”

Hearing his reasoning seemed to calm Master down. Where Master’s anger was rising, it was now settling to a cool level. Master chuckled, “It seems that even after all this time, I’m still quick to anger when things don’t immediately go my way. I forget that sometimes there are much more satisfying ways to tear down an opponent other than just overwhelming them with sheer power.”

Master leaned forward and placed a hand on Kagero’s head, ruffling his hair, “You’ve done well, Kagero. I’ll have some of our contacts keep an eye out for when they start selling their product. We’ll monitor their distribution and deliveries.”

Kagero had a small smile on his face, “I’ll see if I can’t enlist some help in checking out the other properties Chisaki has, but this’ll have to be a slow-going process. I don’t want to risk Chisaki catching wind of our movements then going to ground.”

“Of course. The easiest way to kill the beast is to lure it out of its lair.”

With all of the Hero Course students out at their training camps and the rest of the student body home for summer break, UA was eerily quiet.

The sun was shining, it wasn’t too hot, and the breeze was blowing nicely as shown by fluttering leaves on the multitude of trees on campus. There was a stillness in the air that made it feel like it was a crime to do anything that would disrupt it.

Staring out of one of the windows near the top of one of its towers, hidden from view behind a mirrored tint, reflected sunlight, and high vantage point, was a small figure that liked to gaze upon the view whenever they needed a moment to think. The figure stood motionless with its hands clasped behind its back and its eyes looking at everything but focusing on nothing.

Nezu had been sitting at his desk, looking over the latest updates from the Hero Course teachers regarding all his students’ progress at their training camps when he came upon one that caught his attention.

Aizawa-kun had sat down with one Denki Kaminari as a follow up regarding his training. Kaminari wasn’t trying as hard as his classmates when it came to increasing the strength of his quirk for an unknown reason, so Aizawa-kun had to adjust the regimen. While not ideal, it was still acceptable, but it wasn’t why he was thinking. He was thinking about the latter half of the report.

Aizawa-kun had confronted Kaminari about the observation that was made during the teachers' group evaluation of the final exams.

He had heard from Aizawa-kun and Yagi-kun multiple times about how, during Foundational Heroics, Kaminari would be struggling and floundering one moment, then like a switch was flipped, he would be excelling and potentially dominating. He would go from a bumbling mess to a succinct speaker. The change was perplexing to say the least.

Having been his opponent during the final exam, he was fortunate enough to see what Aizawa-kun was talking about in real time. While he was sitting in the crane’s control booth, he had a constant live feed of everything that was going on in Ground Gamma, and one camera was always following Kaminari and Ashido.

His plan throughout their exam was to set up chain reactions that would cause the scenery to fall, safely, all around the students. The falling debris would both block the students off yet simultaneously guide them directly to their goal. That was the plan at least, until the two kept going the wrong way. They somehow got turned around so badly that he had to basically leave a clear route directly to himself in order to give them a decent shot at passing.

As he watched the clock run down, he was pleased to see Kaminari taking the initiative and point out his tactic, but as was later pointed out, that behavior wasn’t the norm for him. The Kaminari he knew and prepared for would’ve accepted the failure, but would still try his best to pass. The Kaminari that he got was one that stopped, adjusted, and moved with unfound certainty. If Kaminari and Ashido were just a little faster, he would’ve given up because the plan that Kaminari came up with was beyond effective and bordered on excessive force if it was employed.

After that point was brought up during the group evaluations, he took the liberty to review every heroics class that 1-A went through and whatever extra practice or training Kaminari participated in to see if something similar has happened. Reviewing the footage and notes showed that no such thing has happened before.

At least prior to his internship with Conduit. Afterwards, Kaminari’s composure changed at least once per week.

As per their arrangements, every hero that a student goes on an internship with is required to leave a report of what aspects of hero work they covered and how the student performed overall. Reading Conduit’s report, he found that it was all standard, with perhaps a bit more focus and emphasis on the action and combat side and not on the menial and paperwork end, but given how Conduit operates, it’s reasonable. They did cover paperwork and administration duties, but it was only for a few hours every day before they shifted entirely to training.

Despite the focus on it, the notes that Conduit left regarding exactly what training they went through were disappointingly lacking. Conduit was kind enough to provide a rough outline and list of the exercises they did in case UA and their teachers wanted to recycle some of them, but that was it. No specific details about how Kaminari performed and responded to the training, no comparison of abilities between the first day and the last, no solid, empirical evidence that there was any progress made.

Nezu and the rest of the staff saw that there was an improvement, but it appeared to come in tiers. There’s the lower one where Kaminari was only slightly better and had more confidence in his abilities, something well in line with how a student should be progressing. Then there was the middle tier where you could see he was putting in the effort to do his best and have a decent mix of successes and failures, still within expectations for a student in training. Finally, there was the upper tier where it was almost as if he were someone else, where there was no wasted movement and the plans thought up were executed flawlessly. Only something that teachers and heroes see in true prodigies.

Again, while it was strange, there was nothing inherently wrong with what Kaminari was going through. The teachers all could see his skills improving in the lower tier, and if or when he ramped it up, the results spoke for themselves. If the third tier showed up in a fight with a classmate, Kaminari never went overboard, but did end the fight with a very quick and precise move, and then immediately followed up to make sure that his opponent was okay.

It was something that Nezu couldn’t stop thinking about, especially amid the current problem, which was why he was standing and thinking. Hindsight has always been twenty-twenty.

The Detective did say that the only potential link he could draw between Shigaraki and the events he’s been a part of was the presence of his students. If the Detective was correct, then the traitor is most likely a student, possibly in 1-A. The timing of the Detective’s theory and the teachers’ noticing Kaminari’s strange behavioral shift seemed too close together to be considered a coincidence. Could Kaminari be the mole and was officially activated in Hosu? If he was, then how did he make it past the extensive vetting that all applicants go through? Why does his skill only come out if he’s struggling terribly?

Too many questions and not enough answers. Nezu shook his head to clear it. There was no reason to bog yourself down with questions and what ifs if you simply didn’t have the answers. He thought back to the three major events that the Detective brought up.

The USJ was intentional. That was confirmed by the accounts from the students when they heard Kurogiri’s proclamation that they were following information that they had beforehand, and by the villains that were apprehended. It was further backed up when their walls were breached and the press were able to get onto campus, causing a mass panic in the student body. It would be easy for someone to slip in unnoticed, get what they need, then slip back out before everything calmed back down. Unfortunately, they didn’t catch video proof of it, but one of the teachers had commented about their schedule going missing. At the time, it was chalked up to it getting misplaced or being added to the recycling bin and was dismissed. The incident at the USJ caused that minor detail to come back and click.

The incident in Hosu was most likely entirely coincidental. Stain had been active for some time before then and showed no signs of stopping. He always changed cities after he killed four and injured more, so it was only a matter of time that the students, across all three years, would have a run-in with him. If Aizawa-kun was correct and Shigaraki was attempting to recruit Stain, then what happened in Hosu was inevitable. If Shigaraki wanted to flex his power with the hopes of impressing Stain enough to have him join his apparently growing roster, then it could’ve happened in any other city and any other time.

Nezu was certain there was no way the traitor, no matter how skilled, could’ve orchestrated something so grand, so he had to unfortunately dismiss it.

The final incident was the mall, which could go either way and gave the most credence to there potentially being a traitor. According to Aizawa-kun, their plan to visit the mall during their day off was announced loudly, which would give the traitor all the information they needed to let Shigaraki know of their plans. If they wanted to ensure that Shigaraki would “run into them on accident” they would make sure they’re in the group that went, which could possibly narrow down the pool of at least forty suspects to eleven.

Nezu would’ve been content to leave that be, but there was a reason why he considered it a nearly fifty-fifty split. While it was entirely possible that the meeting was intentional, it was also equally possible that Shigaraki went to the mall for a completely unrelated reason. Despite being a villain, Shigaraki was also still a person, and would thus likely still be susceptible to engaging in more normal activities.

It was a low chance, but when it all was boiled down, it was just a question of ‘yes or no’ when it comes to making a decision.

Like with every time Shigaraki made an appearance, Nezu made an effort to scan for any incidents reported to either other heroes or the police for anything that could possibly be related, just to see if Shigaraki or any of his possible conspirators left any breadcrumbs in the time before and day after whatever incident. This time around, there was something reported.

A tea shop, that was located at the very same mall the students went to, reported a theft the day after. In the grand scheme of things, it’s nothing major, but with the specific lenses Nezu was looking through, it could be a coincidence. A small tea shop in a major mall getting busted into the day after an incident revolving a known villain? It was seemingly random but also felt completely targeted, which was just like how the teachers felt about the USJ.

The whole situation seemed to scream Shigaraki’s name, which was why the mall incident could go either way for him. Shigaraki could’ve been casing out the shop when he really did run into the students and just decided to speak with them on a whim, but then that brought up even more questions: What does the tea shop have to do with anything? Is the tea shop even related? Was there really a traitor or was everything that happened to the students just a series of unfortunate events?

The Detective was right in that the only possible connection between the three events were the students, and if he ventured further, he could maybe narrow it down to Kaminari if he really wanted, but he didn’t want to crucify a student with no proof.

Nezu sighed heavily and shook his head. This was a puzzle that had the worst combination of problems possible. He didn’t know how many pieces there were, if any were missing, if any were added from another set, or what it was supposed to look like once it was completed. It was as if he were handed an old box and was told “solve this” with no other context or information.

A ping sounded from his computer that tore him from his thoughts. He blinked a couple of times, just now realizing that the sun wasn’t as high as it was when he tuned everything else out. Turning around to his desk and hopping onto his chair, he found a message waiting for him from Aizawa-kun. The students would be doing a test of courage tonight, and the heroes will be on high alert for any activity. Nezu had to agree with Aizawa-kun’s assessment. If an attack were to happen at the camp, tonight would be the perfect time for it.

Nezu leaned forward and pressed a button on the phone. It rang a few times before it was picked up, “Hello?”

“Majima-kun, it’s come to my attention that the first years will be doing a test of courage tonight,” Nezu answered, lacking his normal bright tone.

“And you’re telling me this because…?” Majima asked with confusion.

“I would like for you to monitor the trackers starting around seven-thirty tonight until, let’s say until about ten. The students will be undergoing a test of courage that the Pussycats have set up, so I would like a little extra vigilance. Please let me know immediately if their movements start growing strange or something else catches your attention.”

There was a short pause before Majima replied in a serious tone, showing he understood the implications, “Understood. You think it’ll happen, then?”

“I would be a fool to assume it won’t.”

Nezu hung up and steepled his paws. He wasn’t religious in any way, considering some would think him to be an abomination of nature, he felt it just a little appropriate, but he still sent a prayer to whoever or whatever would listen, “Stay safe.”

Chapter Text

Mandalay ducked as she dodged another swing from Spinner. Fighting him was much easier than she initially thought, because while it was clear he had training, she could tell it extended about as far as his reach with the sword. She wasn’t a sword wielder in any capacity, but to her experienced eyes, it was rather obvious he had prior training based off his decent looking form, and knew enough so he unfortunately wasn’t at risk of cutting himself on accident.

A shame, really. It was a petty thought to have, but her lands were invaded and the students that were put in her care are in danger, so she felt a little vindicated in thinking it.

As Spinner’s momentum from missing his swing caused him to spin and stumble a little, she spared a brief glance over at Tiger to see how he was faring against Magne. Both of them looked like they were breathing a little heavily, but neither were sporting any clear bruises or signs of well-placed hits. They were both going at it intensely, but from what she saw, whenever Tiger was about to get a solid hit in, his body glowed blue while the object she was wielding glowed pink. Every time, his strike would get redirected towards the object, leaving himself open for attack, which Magne tried taking advantage of, but still couldn’t make contact. Every time she got close, Tiger bent his body to get out of the way, fully making use of his quirk.

Before she could spend any more time watching them, she felt a kick to her side that sent her rolling. She gasped for breath when she stopped rolling and propped herself up. If she were being honest, she deserved that for being distracted while in the middle of a fight.

“Don’t tell me you’re already tired from playing around, little kitty,” Spinner taunted. “We’re just barely getting started.” Spinner walked up and kicked Mandalay in the head, tossing her back again, “But I’m not an unreasonable fellow. You stop fighting back, I’ll stop hitting you and leave you alone. Simple as that.”

Mandalay wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and spit a glob of blood out of her mouth as she stood back up, “No, please keep hitting me. I love it when men get a little rough with me.”

To her credit, her little jab caused Spinner to pause in his advancement long enough for her to move in to attack. She rushed forward with a palm strike to his nose, causing his head to snap backwards. Following, she spun around, raising her right leg up in a hook kick, timing it perfectly so that it struck his cheek as his head came back forward. As Spinner’s body moved to follow the hit, Mandalay deftly reached out and grabbed ahold of the sword’s hilt, rotating it counterclockwise, forcing him to lose his grip on it and yanking it out of his grasp. Spinning it around in her hand so that she was holding it in a reverse grip, she brought her arm up like she was holding a javelin and threw it into the forest, quickly saying a prayer that there aren’t any students in its path.

Right after the sword left her hand, she was tackled from behind, “You bitch! That was a gift from a friend!”

Instinct and a little bit of panic kicked in as she was brought towards the ground. Spinner had a decent number of centimeters on her and was heavier, so she knew that if he got on top of her, she’d have a hell of a time fighting to keep herself from getting pinned. She was confident that she still had the edge over him in terms of combat, but sometimes, all the skill in the world didn’t mean much if someone bigger than them got one good hit in. She had a feeling that if Spinner was able to put her in any sort of submission hold, there was no way she could break free.

She landed on the ground on all fours, resting on her knees and hands spread in front of her, like a wrestler’s starting position. As soon as the momentum from the fall broke, she exploded upwards, fighting to bring her feet under her to stand up and hands pawing at the grip Spinner had around her waist.

“You’re honestly making this a lot harder than it needs to be,” Spinner commented through grunts. He tried hooking one of his legs in front of hers to trip her up and bring her back down, but she was able to step around it.

Mandalay kept fighting to free herself from his grip, and ever so slowly, she could feel it loosening. She was breathing hard from the effort, but she could also tell Spinner was too, if not just a little bit more. If she could tire him out a just a little more, the win would be hers.

“Just. Stay. Down!”

The proclamation and the grip getting significantly tighter was all she needed to know that Spinner had come to the same conclusion and was hoping to finish with one last move. Her eyes widened when she felt her feet leave the ground. Her legs swung in the air before she hit the ground, thrown hard enough to have her bounce once from the impact. Her breath was forced out of her lungs and she was left gasping.

Spinner was also breathing hard, but he was still standing. Through her coughs, Mandalay saw him standing still, catching his breath before he slowly started to walk towards her. She tried to sit up and put up a defense, but that last attack took more out of her than she thought. She felt a pounding in her head, likely from it hitting the ground when she was thrown. She was able to prop herself up on a wobbly arm before Spinner kicked it out from under her, causing her to fall back down.

Spinner straddled Mandalay, quickly grabbed her wrists, and pinned them above her head with one hand. He reached the other to his thigh and pulled out another knife, “I was told not to kill anyone and would rather stay in that person’s good graces, so please, do us both a favor and surrender.”

Mandalay struggled under his weight and in his grip, but couldn’t buck him off or pull her hands free. This was exactly the type of situation she wanted to avoid yet here she was. It didn’t help that there was now a knife to her neck. She moved her head left and right to get away from it, but the blade didn’t move.

“Never,” she glared at him and spat in his face.

Spinner squinted his eyes annoyedly at her before removing the blade from her neck to wipe the spit off. Mandalay let out a very small sigh of relief, though it didn’t go unnoticed by Spinner.

“They said no killing, but everything else is still on the table!” He raised his knife into the air and brought it back down. Mandalay closed her eyes in preparation as she saw where it was going.

“Mandalay!” Tiger yelled out with a loud grunt of exertion coming right after.

“Spinner! Watch out!” Magne cautioned.

Surprised by getting called out, Spinner stopped the knife’s descent and looked to where he heard the call from. What he got was a view of Magne soaring through the air towards him, colliding with him and taking Spinner off Mandalay.

Tiger quickly ran up to Mandalay and helped her up, “Are you alright?”

“Spinner is better at fighting than he looks,” Mandalay gently massaged her wrists and rolled them around before wiping her face off of some grime that got caught up on her, “Thanks for the save.”

“Anything worth noting?” Tiger nodded in acknowledgement but stayed on task, “Magne’s strong and fights well. I didn’t really read over any reports that involved her, but she’s way better at fighting than I would’ve thought.”

“Seems to be a trend. I’ve never heard of Spinner before, which either means he’s a veteran villain that’s good at hiding his tracks, or he’s brand new. He fights like a novice but it’s clear he’s been trained, so he’s likely new.” She went down on all fours in a stance like a tiger stalking its prey as she saw Spinner and Magne preparing themselves as well. “If these guys are the supposed new members of the League of Villains that Nezu warned us about, then they’ve obviously prepared for this.”

Tiger dropped into a similar stance and looked to Mandalay, “You ready for round two with these clowns?”

“Let’s make them reg-“

Mandalay was cut off when her body was suddenly surrounded by the pink aura that had engulfed Pixie-Bob earlier. Tiger was quick to grab her and try to pull her back, but the attractive force was too strong. It pulled them both towards Magne who had the object hefted on her shoulder with one end pointed straight at them.

“Here, kitty kitty kitty,” Magne repeated with a wild smile on her face.

Mandalay didn’t like the look on her face. Just like how she and Tiger were comparing notes, Magne and Spinner must’ve been doing the same while also deciding on how to defeat them. It was just unfortunate that it seemed like her being taken out was one of the key details.

Ectoplasm was running on borrowed time.

As soon as he entered the cloud, an unseen clock started ticking. He knew that he had at least five minutes before he would have to begin to worry about the fog, but he didn’t know if that was due to how much fresh air he had in the tank, so to speak, or if that’s how long it’ll take before the fog started to overwhelm the filters in his helmet, or if that was just a gross overestimation on his clone’s part.

He considered it a grand stroke of luck that he was able to find the villain responsible for the fog, but even with that, it wasn’t enough. As soon as it dawned on the villain that he’d been made, they bolted. Ectoplasm was quick to pursue them, but from how thick the fog was, it was difficult to track them, let alone make out the trees and low hanging branches fast enough so he could dodge out of the way. Every time he felt like he made progress and was closing the distance, the villain would suddenly change directions and then pause behind a tree or in a bush for a few seconds before darting off again.

He was running out of time and the villain was making sure he knew it too.

He figured it’d only been maybe a few minutes, but did ‘a few’ in this case mean two or three? A minute’s difference didn’t seem like much, but here, every second mattered. He couldn’t risk leaving the fog to get a fresh breath and replenish his supply of fresh air out of risk of losing the villain, but he also couldn’t risk being caught up in it before catching the villain and at least putting a stop to the fog. It was a lose-lose situation, with the win conditions heavily relying on luck and chance.

By now, Ectoplasm figured he’s either right at, or a little over five minutes’ time. The clone that reported back said that it felt like he could go on for longer, and having possibly reached that number, he was inclined to agree. That didn’t mean he was willing to find the upper limits, though.

Resolving to end this without wasting anymore time, Ectoplasm came to a decision. It was medium risk with high reward.

His mouth opened wide and the glowing sludge came out of his mouth. It fell on the ground and created two separate mounds, each one building upon each other and creating another clone of Ectoplasm. He idly rubbed at his throat.

He knew he couldn’t breathe the fog in, but he wasn’t sure if it was only effective if inhaled or if it was through any sort of absorption through the skin or soft tissue. His quirk required him to open his mouth, his real one, which would inevitably introduce the gas to his system, which meant his clock would have just been sped up.

With a silent thought to his clones, they dispersed to the right and left of him at full speed, attempting to surround the villain.

Shit shit shit shit.

Mustard was trying his hardest to remain calm and collected like Shigaraki always seemed to be and tried teaching him, but it was damn near impossible right now. He had Ectoplasm hot on his heels, and he couldn’t stay running forever. He took breaks where and when he could and hid when he felt like he was able to slip Ectoplasm’s sight, but thanks to the sensory aspect of the fog, that thought was always dashed.

For being in the thickest part of his cloud and running around in a supposedly unfamiliar environment, Ectoplasm was infuriatingly good at keeping his trail.

In his initial panic, Mustard abandoned the path he was taking towards the lodge and immediately turned tail. He didn’t think about trying to keep track of which direction the lodge was, he only wanted to get away, which was turning into a more difficult task than he thought. Ectoplasm was still up and moving despite being in the cloud more than long enough for it to take effect, which basically confirmed that he had a supply of good air, and his costume was entirely enclosed.

Mustard ran for a little longer before taking a hard right, diving into some of the underbrush.

He had spent way more time panicking than actually trying to think of a solution, and noticing that Ectoplasm was still conscious made him realize that he had to be smart. Dabi cautioned him that if a hero found him, they would be harder to take down because they would’ve figured out how to beat them. Mustard thought he had enough of an advantage while in his cloud that he wouldn’t have any worries, but Ectoplasm had proven him wrong.

Still hidden in the underbrush, he made a call out to the rest of the League, “Has anyone seen any Ectoplasms running around?”

Shigaraki’s voice responded, which excited Mustard until he remembered that was Toga, “I haven’t seen any so far.”

“Dabi and I haven’t seen any either. There’s a whole army of them!” Twice supplied.

“A little busy at the moment!” Spinner responded, his voice sounding strained.

“I saw two groups of three running around, another two that were escorting some kids, and three around your cloud,” Compress replied. Mustard figured he would have a better count than the rest of them considering he was running around.

Mustard did some mental math, “And how many did we destroy in our initial attack?”

Compress replied quickly, “Twenty.”

At least eleven are still roaming around. Is that eleven part of the total thirty-six, or is it a new count? If thirty-six, then there are only five unaccounted for. If it’s a new count, then there are twenty-five more to deal with. Does the count reset when some get destroyed or dismissed?

During his time training with Shigaraki, he made it a point to always think. Other people had said to trust their instincts, but Shigaraki didn’t believe in that. Instincts only took someone so far, carrying them only to the next immediate thing. Thinking was how the world progressed. Think about what needs to be done, think about who helps and who hurts, think about what you’re willing to do.

Thinking produces ideas, ideas create steps, steps lead to solutions, Shigaraki had told him.

Mustard shook his head as he remembered Shigaraki’s words. He quietly pulled some branches out of the way to see if Ectoplasm was still where he left him. He wasn’t paying much attention to the greater reaches of the cloud, only using it to make sure he knew where Ectoplasm was, not anyone else.

First things first, he needed to take stock of the situation. Taking a moment to parse out the feeling of his cloud, he still felt some probing, likely from the Ectoplasm clones, but like before, they didn’t stay in long. Not like that mattered much anyway since the real one was proving that it isn’t a problem for him. There were also more slumped bodies than he remembered. Finer details were still lost on him, so they could’ve also been any wild animal that unluckily wandered into it, or they could’ve been the rest of the students that couldn’t make it to safety.

Next, he needed to reorient himself towards heading to the lodge while keeping Ectoplasm relatively nipping at his heels. If he could outlast whatever reserve of air Ectoplasm was using or overwhelm his defenses somehow, then his primary issue would be resolved, and they would be one step closer to achieving their goal.

The problem with that, however, was trying to figure out which way the lodge was without Ectoplasm finding out. He couldn’t exactly call for directions because the cloud looks the same from all directions, and he has no idea where any of the other members are. There was a fleeting idea of actually surrendering to Ectoplasm because he would inevitably bring him there, but there was one major drawback to that.

Despite surrendering, Ectoplasm may still knock him out because he likely didn’t have any quirk-suppressing cuffs with him. Without those, Ectoplasm has no other alternative way of making sure Mustard didn’t activate his quirk again when he was brought in.

Mustard could give his word to him, swearing he wouldn’t do it and would surrender peacefully without any fuss, but Ectoplasm wouldn’t believe that for one second. Pixie-Bob was out of the picture for now, so he couldn’t ask her to create a cell for him to stay in. Ectoplasm could stick with him, either as himself or as a clone, glued to his side to make sure he wouldn’t try anything funny, but at that point it would be a waste of time for the both of them. Every other scenario Mustard could come up with in him surrendering ended in him being unconscious. He would like to avoid that at all costs.

That brought him back to the third thing he needed to think about.

What was he going to do about Ectoplasm? He could play the long game and keep up with the cat-and-mouse chase, but the longer he was exposed, the greater the risk. Just another thing Shigaraki had drilled into him. If he wanted to come out on top, he needed to take advantage and bring the fight to Ectoplasm. He really didn’t want to, but he didn’t have much choice anymore.

He had to fight him and win.

Mustard’s left hand slid to the knife he had strapped on his left hip. He tossed it between his hands, re-familiarizing himself with its weight and swung it around with practiced moves before he settled it in a reverse-grip in his left hand. His right hand palmed at his right hip before taking it away.

Not yet.

Mustard passed the knife back into his right hand, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for what he had to do. His heart was pounding so he forced it to calm down. He could feel the adrenaline starting to pour into his veins. Before he could make a move, it seemed that Ectoplasm beat him to it.

Throughout his prepping, Mustard made sure to keep tabs on Ectoplasm for when he started to move again. When he hid the most recent time, he figured he was there for maybe a minute or two, unknowingly also running down the clock that Ectoplasm was on, and he figured he should get a move on.

His eyes shot wide open when one became three, and two split off in opposite directions, trying to flank him on both sides.

“Here goes nothing,” Mustard said to himself.

He burst out of the bush and ran straight to the clone that tried coming to his left, only slightly praying that this wasn’t the real one.

The Ectoplasm he was attacking didn’t expect him to jump at him and received a knife to the gut. He looked down at the knife Mustard stuck in him, then at the person holding it, “You’re just a kid.”

Mustard didn’t dare look up to Ectoplasm’s face, keeping his gaze directed at the wound. After a moment, the Ectoplasm broke down into sludge.

It took a few beats for it to dawn on him that if it didn’t turn out to be a clone, Mustard may have just stabbed a living person and killed them. He felt a little sick but also equally excited. Unfortunately, he couldn’t spend any more time thinking about it as he felt the other two Ectoplasms immediately converge on his position.

He just had to do it two more times. Should be easy enough.

Chapter Text

Mustard was beyond grateful to Shigaraki for helping him hone his senses while in his cloud, but at the time, he hated it. Shigaraki had him wear a blindfold and told him he was going to attack him while his quirk was active. It was simple enough. All he had to do was avoid getting tagged by Shigaraki. It was extremely difficult, but at least it wasn’t impossible. What Shigaraki didn’t tell him was that he also enlisted Toga to help him. What was once difficult was now much closer to impossible.

It was a good thing they used chalk knives on him, because at the end of the first session, every single one of his vital points were completely marked up.

It was only after “dying” for more than the hundredth time that Shigaraki explained to him why he was struggling so much. Mustard was too busy freaking out about being blind and hunted. As soon as he took the time to take a breather, he noticed that despite being blind, he could still see. The cloud didn’t provide specific details, but it gave him a definitive outline of whoever was inside it. After he got used to the sensation, he still got marked, but it was noticeably less than before. He could see them coming, he just wasn’t fast enough, but that could be fixed with more training.

As soon as he got rid of the Ectoplasm clone, he immediately ran away, trying to put as much distance possible between him and it. The other two Ectoplasms that were present zeroed in on his old position quickly, leaving him with maybe fifty meters between him and them. It was a decent distance that would undoubtedly give Ectoplasm a little harder time to make him out, but now he was actively and aggressively being hunted. The distance he created wouldn’t mean much if Ectoplasm kept moving.

Mustard stuck himself flush against a tree and took a moment to feel. The Ectoplasms were still standing next to each other, likely having a quiet conversation about how to proceed. Mustard said a silent prayer, hoping that whatever plan they came up with didn’t involve creating more clones. He brought his knife up and rested it over his chest as he took a few settling breaths.

One of the Ectoplasms was getting close to his position while the other one was a comfortable distance away. The chance that the further Ectoplasm could see what was happening was low, but not zero. Would he be fast enough to pull a repeat with this one? It was a fifty-fifty chance that the Ectoplasm he was about to attack was the real one, and depending on which it was, the fight could end in a few more seconds, or it could be dragged out even longer and end with him getting captured.

The one saving grace he had going for him was that he wasn’t hindered by a time limit. Sure, he was still a little susceptible to his cloud if he inhaled it, but that was what his mask was for, and the filters it was using were made specifically for him. So long as he had his mask on and stayed in the cloud, he could last indefinitely. Something like that was a double-edged sword, however, because that also put his weakness on full display.

The Ectoplasm was getting close.

Mustard had to decide. Fast. He double checked the location of the other Ectoplasm and nodded, “In for a penny…”

Mustard peeled himself off the tree, taking off to the right of it so he could flank the Ectoplasm from behind. He moved as quietly as possible, but he needed to close the distance. He picked up the pace a little at the cost of his stealth. He was a few steps away from his target when Ectoplasm turned around and jumped back, increasing the distance Mustard has to run.

“In for a pound,” Ectoplasm finished for him from behind.

Mustard’s eyes went wide as he realized he’d been caught in a pincer. How was Ectoplasm able to get behind him without him noticing?

He dropped to the ground, pivoted, and lunged at the Ectoplasm that was behind him, going for the legs. Mustard reacted fast, but Ectoplasm was faster. Not anticipating the tackle, but still expecting him to do something, as soon as Mustard made a move, the Ectoplasm jumped to the side to avoid the hit. As soon as their legs touched the ground, they jumped back in. The Ectoplasm delivered a front push kick on Mustard’s side, which was completely open from missing the tackle, leaving him defenseless.

Mustard felt the kick completely. Because Ectoplasm’s legs are pegs and not modeled after a normal human’s, it felt like he was jabbed hard with the end of a staff. The blow hit him on one of his lower ribs, sending him rolling side over side. Mustard wanted to stop and take a breather, but he couldn’t. The Ectoplasm he was following and the one that snuck up to him were both closing in on his position while the one that was a little out of the way was rounding off their approach, hoping to catch him in the middle again.

Mustard scrambled to his feet, making sure that he still held his knife and released just a little more of his cloud. The density of the cloud was thicker closer to the source, so for anyone who was somehow able to make it that far in, they could barely see three meters in front of them. With his latest addition, visibility dropped to one and a half. As soon as he was finished, he crouched as low as he could go without sacrificing mobility, hopefully taking himself out of Ectoplasm’s immediate line of sight.

He could hear the two Ectoplasms chasing after him, but thankfully they weren’t following exactly. They went in the correct direction, but as soon as they hit the thicker part of the cloud, they became a little disoriented.

Now reasonably hidden in some bushes and paying close attention to the cloud, he had a clearer view of the situation. Somehow, Ectoplasm was able to either hide the second clone, or he was able to delay its creation until he needed to. That still didn’t answer how they got the drop on him, but since they lost him, he had more time to make sure that didn’t happen again.

“How did you get behind me?” Mustard demanded, his voice sounding like it came from all around. Mustard was watching an Ectoplasm, unsure of which one it was, but he also didn’t care enough to differentiate them.

One of them rushed forward, hoping to follow where they thought his voice came from and catch up to him, but as he pushed through the dense cloud, they found nothing, “Perhaps we can talk about this like rational people. You’re young, are you not? Why have you chosen to follow this path?”

Mustard knew he was trying to use his response to find his location but still decided to play along with it. He was slowly making his way towards one of the Ectoplasms that wasn’t moving, and made sure to respond just as he was in arm’s length of them, “It’s a bit too late to be my hero, Ectoplasm. Someone else has already filled that role.”

The Ectoplasm he was stalking turned around, surprised that Mustard was able to get a drop on them. They tried to jump away, but Mustard was too close. Mustard jumped forward, jamming his knife into this Ectoplasm. Ectoplasm made a choked sound before his arms appeared from beneath his jacket and wrapped around Mustard.

“It’s not too late to stop this. You’re far too young to be a villain and what crimes you have already committed can be dismissed as misdemeanors. Just don’t cross that line and you could still go back home.”

Mustard fought to tear himself from Ectoplasm’s grip, only slightly concerned with the fact that the Ectoplasm wasn’t disappearing. Did he hit the actual Ectoplasm? Was this a clone that was resisting falling apart so that the rest of them could get to their position and capture him?

He could sense the other two Ectoplasms making their way to them as fast as possible with the limited visibility, so it was looking like the second option was more likely, “What makes you think I want to go back home? My parents have all but disowned me and labeled me as a villain. No one at school is my friend. Foster care is out of the question because you and I both know that the system is broken. I’ve already found my home.”

Mustard dragged his knife down Ectoplasm’s body so he could free it and himself. With his arm now free, Mustard started stabbing Ectoplasm in the side. He no longer cared if this was the real one or not, he just wanted to make sure he wasn’t captured. After the third stab to Ectoplasm’s side, it thankfully dispelled itself into a puddle of goop.

Between his senses and the sound of the other Ectoplasms moving around, he figured he had a few seconds before they cornered him. Running was no longer an option, and they’ve proven that the cloud isn’t as much of a deterrent as he’d like, so he adjusted his clothes and took a deep breath. His hand fell to his right hip, gripping the object he wanted to hold in reserve until he had no other choice.

“You don’t want me to cross the line?” Mustard called out, his right arm raising so it was level, “You shouldn’t have been part of the reason that pushed me towards it.”

The remaining Ectoplasms burst through the cloud in front of him, but Mustard was prepared. He had a fifty-fifty shot at ending this and he was willing to take that bet.

When they burst through, they were met with the barrel of a gun. Mustard’s face was hidden by the mask he was wearing, but they could tell he had a wicked smile beneath it, “Bang.”

Now that he had a better view of the hero, Dabi recognized them as Vlad King. Admittedly, all he knew about him was from what he read about him in Shigaraki’s notes and that he was a teacher at UA. The notes Shigaraki had on him were still extremely detailed, but they weren’t nearly as long as other heroes of similar standing. That wasn’t to say it was lacking in quality, just in quantity.

Vlad King was largely independent when he first started up and had a decent showing of assisted arrests and takedowns, but after five years working as an independent, he inexplicably took up the teaching job at UA. There wasn’t a big press conference about why the sudden change in occupation, nor was there any fuss since he was very much still small-time. From the outside, it just looked like he had another calling, and that was that. No one bothered to question it, no one was particularly inconvenienced, and truthfully, no one cared. It was strange for him to be picked up by UA of all places, but the school was known for its unorthodox teaching style and way of going about things, so it was chalked up as “UA being UA”.

Dabi idly went over the notes Shigaraki had on him in his head as he and Twice were catching up to Vlad. As far as both were aware, the Dabi clone was making solid time heading towards the lodge, evidenced by the clear path of destruction it left. Vlad was running and quickly closing the gap between him and the clone. If the clone was half as good as Dabi supposedly was, there was no way that it didn’t hear Vlad’s fast approach.

Dabi and Twice were moving just as quickly, no doubt making just as much noise as Vlad was, but if he noticed, he didn’t acknowledge it. The way he was moving was like he was suffering from just a little bit of tunnel vision.

Dabi figured the clear path the clone was taking only helped in that regard.

Twice abruptly stopped and turned behind them. Dabi saw him stop but didn’t pay any mind until he was flagged down, “Dabi, I think we’re being followed. I bet it’s just a little critter! Those little guys are so cute.”

Dabi stopped at hearing that, immediately turning around to see if he could catch a glimpse of who or what was following them, “What makes you think that? Did you hear something?”

“I just had the feeling that we’re being watched. I have the eyes of a hawk. Nothing can sneak by me!”

Dabi eyed Twice, debating whether he should take the call out seriously. There shouldn’t be anybody behind them, no one else spoke to them over their comms for a warning, and there was no possible way Twice could’ve seen someone either because he was facing forward also. However, considering there were a lot more enemies than teammates, it wasn’t impossible for them to be followed. Deciding to take it seriously, Dabi turned around and peered into the darkness for any shadows that weren’t dancing but were moving. Narrowing his eyes suspiciously, he thought he saw a figure or two dart behind a tree like they were seeking cover.

Looking at Twice in the corner of his eye, “Did you see that or was the fire playing tricks on me?”

“No no, I’m pretty sure I saw something go behind that tree,” Twice agreed. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Where? Who?”

Dabi and Twice shared a silent conversation before Dabi gestured in that direction with his chin. Twice nodded back and broke off from Dabi, looping around and heading towards where they both saw that shadow move.

Dabi ignited his hand, “Last chance to come out from where you’re hiding. If you think I won’t burn down this forest just to find out who you are, take a good look around you and try to convince yourself otherwise.”

He waited for a few moments. He wanted to give their potential followers enough time to weigh their options, but he was also waiting for Twice to report back his position.

“On your go,” Twice’s voice crackled over their comms. “I’m not ready! Abort abort!”

“Have it your way!” Dabi grinned.

Dabi extended his arm and shot a stream of fire in the direction of the tree, aiming towards the left of it, hoping to flush out whatever was following them and force them into more reliable light and hopefully right into Twice’s hands.

Surprised yelps came out from behind the tree, followed by panicked stumbling, which revealed two teenagers. One had light brown hair while the other was darker. They looked similar enough to pass as siblings or twins, but it didn’t matter to Dabi. Neither of them are his targets, so they’re not worth remembering. The teens knew they were caught and looked like they were moments from peeing themselves.

Dabi gave them an open-mouthed smile that conveyed more amusement and imminent danger than the normal warmth and welcoming feeling the expression normally put off, “Now what do we have here? Two little heroes were able to make it through the cloud? I’m so going to give it to him when we’re done here.” Dabi took a few steps towards the students, wagging his finger like he was lecturing children, which in all fairness, is exactly what he was going to do, “Let’s recap a little, eh? You two, being teenage boys enrolled in UA’s hero course, realized your little training camp was under attack and thought ‘hey we should try and beat the villains and be the heroes and get all the chicks!’. How close was I?”

The two boys looked at each other and gulped before slowly nodding their heads, not trusting their voices. With each step Dabi took forward, they took one back, trying to maintain the distance between them.

“Come on now, there’s no way you two geniuses thought up this poor attempt of a plan and didn’t think to include some bickering and banter, right?” Dabi goaded, his arms now smoking, “How can you expect to be a hero who beats the baddies if you don’t even have the guts to say some words back? Even dear old Endeavor, the eternally frowning and grumpy number two hero, talks back to the villains he made and put away.”

The brat with the lighter hair not-so-subtly nudged the other one, “I told you this was a bad idea. We should’ve retreated when Mandalay told us to.”

The other one defiantly brought his foot down, “And have to deal with this lunatic in a confined area? Come on, Tsuburaba, you heard him earlier. They’re heading to the lodge, so if we take him out now, then it’ll be even safer. This is the way better option.”

“And how were you planning on doing this, huh?” Tsuburaba hissed, now bringing his arms up in a loose guard. Since the cat’s out of the bag, he figured a fight was imminent. “The dude shoots fire. You can spin your limbs. That’s a pretty hard counter.”

“Shut up! Why don’t you just tell them where I live while you’re at it. And it would’ve worked if they didn’t hear you snap all those branches on the way here.”

Dabi raised an eyebrow at that. He didn’t hear anything, and hearing Twice’s response in his ear confirmed he didn’t either.

“Wait for my signal,” Dabi instructed into his comms quietly.

Deciding he’d heard enough of their bickering, Dabi shot another wave of fire at them, this time igniting the tree.

Tsuburaba and the other kid ducked as the leaves burst into flame. Twice took that as the signal and came out from behind another tree, arm raised with his tape measure extended and hanging loosely like a whip. He snapped his arm forward, lashing the kid with the dark hair across their back, causing him to cry out in pain.

Tsuburaba turned around, eyes wide with shock as he saw his friend get hit. He completely forgot that they were trailing two villains, “Kaibara!”

“Keep your eyes forward, brat!”

Tsuburaba whipped back around, seeing Dabi already shooting a stream of fire at him. He inhaled deeply and blew the air out of his lungs, creating a shield of solid air big enough to cover them both.

The fire impacted the shield, the flames spreading all around it and blowing past. Tsuburaba watched as the flames started to create cracks in the shield. He had to move him and Kaibara out of the way if they wanted to avoid getting roasted, but how could he do that if there was a villain behind them?

“Fuck it,” Tsuburaba created another shield of air right behind the one in front of him just as the fire broke through the first. He turned around to make a shield to guard Kaibara from getting hit again and grabbed him. He ran to his left, towards the burnt path so that he could have a better sightline than darkness and trees all around. “Run!”

Dabi watched them move and ran to cut them off, Twice was a few steps behind them. He had his arm raised up again with his sight directed to their legs. He snapped his hand forward, letting the tape measure out as far as it could, trying to lasso it around one of their legs.

Kaibara had gotten over the initial shock of getting hit and was keeping an eye on him as they ran away to cover their backs. Because he was focused on Twice, he noticed what Twice had planned and grabbed Tsuburaba.

“What are you-“ Tsuburaba tried asking, but was cut off when Kaibara spun his left leg counterclockwise and stuck it into the ground.

With the sudden twist that came from Kaibara, Tsuburaba was pulled out of Twice’s lasso’s path. They both stumbled from the change of direction, rolling over each other on the burnt path.

Groaning from the tumble, Tsuburaba shoved Kaibara off him, “Warn me next time before you do something like that again.”

“You’re welc-“ Kaibara snidely responded, but cut himself off when he found Dabi’s blazing hand in front of him, “-ome.”

“Nifty trick there, but assuming you were able to escape, what did you plan on doing next?” Dabi grinned down at them. When neither responded, Dabi answered for them, “Oh, I get it. You’re just making this up as you go along. No wonder you failed.”

Twice came up from behind them, snapping his tape measure in his hand like one would snap a belt. The sound caused the two of them to instinctively flinch in response.

“I can see why Shigaraki doesn’t like the heroes these days. They’re a bunch of blowhards. Don’t feel bad guys, you did really well for kids!” Twice looked to Dabi, “So what should we do now, boss? Let’s kill them!”

“Drop the clone of me and make another Compress. These two will make great bargaining chips.”

As they were tumbling, Kaibara had grabbed a rock the size of his fist and was hiding it for when he needed it. Hearing they’d be used as bargaining chips was a good indicator that now was the time.

There wasn’t much distance between him and Dabi, and he only had one shot, so he had to make it perfect. As part of his training, he was to isolate his rotations to specific portions or sections of his body. Instead of his full arm, he was supposed to break it up. Start at the shoulder but stop at the elbow, then rotate the elbow and stop at the wrist, then rotate the wrist. By being able to rotate individual sections, he’d be able to increase his torque and should be able to fling projectiles at high speeds. Except, at this range, a high-speed projectile could be the same thing as shooting a bullet, so he couldn’t do it at full strength and risk tearing a hole through Dabi.

But then again, he and Tsuburaba were surrounded by villains. It’d be alright if the villains end up getting a little injured, right?

Hearing goop hit the ground, Kaibara didn’t want to see what it was before it was too late, so he went into action. He rotated his torso and then locked it in place, praying that he stopped himself in the right position. His arm followed the momentum, and when it was suddenly cut off, the rock soared.

He smiled at his success but the hope he felt quickly froze over with dread. The rock went flying, but it just missed its target.

Dabi felt the rock graze his cheek. He brought a hand up to touch the wound and pulled it back, seeing it marked with blood. He blew air out of his nose in amusement, “I’m actually impressed by that. You almost got me. We’ll be seeing you guys again soon. Buh-bye.”

Twice had finished making the copy of Compress, who had come up behind Kaibara and Tsuburaba and placed a hand on both of their shoulders. Feeling the contact, they both jumped in surprise and exclaimed.

“Who the fuck are you!?”

“Where did you come from!?”

Their questions were cut off as they turned into teal marbles that were snatched out of the air. The Compress clone stuck them in one of his many pockets, “If you’re finished playing with the kiddos, I do believe we have a show to put on.”

Dabi rolled his eyes and brought a finger to his ear, activating his comm, “If you’re not actively terrorizing students or getting your ass beat by heroes, head to the lodge. We’re finishing this then going home.”

In response, a gunshot rang over the air.

Chapter Text

While the lodge should’ve been a hive of activity when Ectoplasm arrived and announced a counterplan should be underway, it was still depressingly quiet.

Eraserhead and Vlad King responded almost immediately, saying they’ll be there as soon as they deal with their current issue, but he hadn’t heard anything back from any of the Pussycats. The silence coming from Ragdoll and Pixie-Bob was expected considering both have likely been captured, but the silence from Tiger and Mandalay was arguably more worrying.

As far as he was aware, they were still engaged with those two villains. At the time, Ectoplasm didn’t bother sending any of his clones to assist them because he figured between the two of them, they would be able to wrap up the fight quickly, but it’s turning out that this isn’t the case. He took a moment to count how many clones were still available.

The six that got sent out to search for Ragdoll and Pixie-Bob are still going at it, and judging by the response he got, they weren’t having any luck. Then, there are five still running around the camp trying to put out the fires, both literally and figuratively, while also trying to retrieve any students that they came across or got caught up in the fog.

From what he was getting back from them, it was a mixed bag. The fog was quite expansive and was seemingly moving, so trying to retrieve any of the students that may have fallen victims was almost impossible, although it seems like Ectoplasm, and in extension all his clones, are mostly immune to its effects so long as they kept their suit sealed. If that’s the case, then a concerted effort to retrieve any unconscious students could be made, leaving the battlefield completely clear of potential collateral damage. There was a quick discussion about whether or not to do so, but the main body and another clone reported that they were dealing with the villain responsible and should be able to finish the fight quickly, making their job that much easier.

There used to be four clones stationed outside of the fog that would still prod it, but now there are three since one of them entered to assist the actual Ectoplasm. There was the one that Ectoplasm made while inside it, and then there was himself- itself, who was in the lodge with the majority of class 1-A. The villain in the fog had killed two clones, and one of them is out of commission now due to testing the fog out initially.

That means that Ectoplasm created a total of nineteen clones, three of them are out of commission, so there are currently sixteen out and about. He confirmed with Ectoplasm how many more could be made, and got back six, but that was pushing it.

Ectoplasm could probably redirect some of the five running around to aid Tiger and Mandalay in subduing those villains, but the students’ lives were the priority, so until all of them had been retrieved, their focus will remain.

Bringing himself back to the lodge, he found the students looking at him expectantly for what to do next, with some others setting up Setsuna, Rin, and Shoda up on makeshift beds. He moved to the window to see if either Eraserhead or Vlad was approaching and saw the former coming towards the front door.

The door opened and Eraserhead immediately looked around and did a head count of the students present before turning towards the clone, “Todoroki, Ojiro, Asui, and Jiro are still missing. None of you have found them yet?”

“Negative,” he shook his head. “I figured Todoroki and Ojiro would’ve either made their way back or were picked up by some clones, but I haven’t gotten word. Asui and Jiro, I’m pretty sure they didn’t make it that far into the route to be caught up in the fog, so they should still be relatively close by, but again, I haven’t heard anything.”

“All of them have a good head on their shoulders. If they haven’t returned by now, it’s more likely that something happened to them and they couldn’t make it back quickly. At best, they’re hiding out somewhere.”

Eraserhead didn’t add the other option but Ectoplasm and whatever students were listening in caught on to what was left unsaid.

“Senseis!” Yaoyorozu walked up and addressed them, “What should we do now? I have already had the class secure the second floor and enforced the locks as well as possible.”

“Good job. Have you made any contact with the outside? How long ago was it?” Eraserhead nodded.

“Maybe five or so minutes ago? It was shortly before Ectoplasm-sensei arrived. As for how that went, Toru-chan and Mina-chan were the ones trying to get a call out…”

Hearing their names, Hagakure and Ashido joined the conversation as well. Hagakure answered them, “Yep! We called the emergency line and they said that they’ll get out here as soon as they can.”

“Did they give a time frame?” Ectoplasm asked.

Ashido responded, “They said thirty minutes maybe? We are kinda out there, and they have to get everyone moving, and because of the fire they have to call in for extra help…”

As Ashido started listing out reasons why their response time was so slow, she started to get more and more saddened, eventually working herself to tears.

“Why does this keep happening to us?” she asked through her sobs, trying to keep her voice down so as not to worry everyone else. Hagakure and Yaoyorozu immediately pulled her into a hug, “What did we do to get that villain’s attention? All we want to do is to help people! Why don’t they want that?”

Ectoplasm knelt and rested a hand on Ashido’s shoulder, “Some villains do things that don’t follow rhyme or reason, and I’m terribly sorry that you’re experiencing this so early. If only we had done our job at shielding you from this earlier, we could have prepared you better. But don’t let this break you, Ashido-san. You and the rest of your classmates are so extremely strong, and you are not alone in this. We will make it through this, and in the end, we will be alright.”

Ashido’s sniffles subsided a little as she took in Ectoplasm’s words. The stress from the situation was starting to get to her, but she knew that she and her friends would get through it. She wiped her eyes before nodding, “I know it, sensei. Thank you.”

“Of course. Now go ahead and sit with your friends while Eraser and I get a plan going.”

The trio of girls nodded and walked away, giving their teachers some space.

As soon as they were out of ear shot, Ectoplasm leaned over and whispered to Eraserhead, “There’s still the issue of the roads and paths being blocked. Even if response was faster, they’d be delayed longer because of the sabotage.”

Eraserhead quietly hummed in agreement. Help was coming, but they were very much still on their own. They also didn’t have very many options to truly work with.

The lodge was only safe for the time being and couldn’t be relied on to be the answer. While it was the safest location available, it was also an obvious target, and having everyone in one spot put them all at risk.

Eraserhead and Ectoplasm couldn’t go out to actively pursue and subdue the villains because then it would leave the students unguarded. They could authorize the students to use their quirks to fight back should it come to that, but then it would open a whole new can of worms for a later issue. Neither Eraserhead nor Ectoplasm particularly cared about the public’s perception of them, but they didn’t want to risk any of the students possibly getting used as a scapegoat to discredit UA if they couldn’t suppress and resolve the attack nicely. If they authorized the use of quirks and still ended up losing, that would be the end of not only their careers as heroes, but would likely become the final nail in the coffin to bury UA as a whole.

The problem with authorizing the students for quirk use went beyond any potential societal ramifications and public backlash as well. If they gave the students the green light and allowed them to aid in suppression, it would also expose them to the most risk.

The students were strong, but from what they’ve heard over their comms, the villains this time around are nothing like the ones at the USJ. They’re not only stronger, but they’re apparently smarter too. They’ve also only confirmed four of them, and just those four are turning out to be more troublesome than expected. If they unleashed the students and they split up like they inevitably would, they could end up running into more villains than they could handle, turning an already bad situation into something worse.

That also didn’t even account for the high possibility that their objective was to capture the students. Uraraka seemed convinced that she and her friends were on the list, but there was no telling who else could be on it. If they let them leave the lodge, they might as well be hand-delivering the students to the villains all wrapped up nice and tight with a bow on their head as a gift.

They were stuck between a rock and a hard place. Just like every other time Shigaraki was involved.

“We need to figure out a way to fortify the lodge but still allow for fast exit,” Eraser decided. “Yaoyorozu was smart in not having the ground floor completely blocked off, but we have nothing in the way of proper defense.”

“What about we only authorize the students with long range capabilities?” Ectoplasm suggested. “We’ve got nothing but open land all around us, we should capitalize on that. Station Aoyama and Yaoyorozu on the roof and have Bakugo, Sero, Kaminari, and Tokoyami on the ground floor. Those on the roof can call out and take their shots while those on the ground can pick up the slack.”

Eraser shook his head, “Then we might as well authorize everyone at that point.” He paused in thought before sighing harshly before sheepishly adding, “I also may have already authorized Kaminari. But only for defense.”

“You what?” Ectoplasm asked incredulously as he looked around the room to find Kaminari leaning against one of the walls with his arms crossed. He was frowning as he looked over the room with a scrutinizing eye, “What possessed you to make that call?”

“It’s not my proudest moment, but I’m not rescinding it. You don’t teach Foundational Heroics for the first years, and you only likely caught a glimpse of it when reviewing 1-A’s final exams, but whenever he’s put into a high stress situation, he changes. The skill he displays is not in line with his age or experience, and he makes clear and sound decisions. I would put him on par with Bakugo in terms of prowess, but more refined.”

“And you don’t find that suspicious in any way whatsoever? Especially considering what we may be dealing with on the back end? Why would you give him the clearance to use his quirk with everything that’s been going on?”

“Because he’s had multiple chances to defect and hasn’t taken any of them. I admit that he could be running the long con, but if that were the case, then why actively work in ways to help and aid the students? I don’t think Kaminari is them, but I do know there is more going on than what meets the eye.”

Ectoplasm looked between Eraserhead and Kaminari, clearly wanting to refute and continue the discussion, but decided to drop it for the time being. Kaminari caught Ectoplasm’s gaze and raised an eyebrow in question, but Ectoplasm shook his head. Kaminari turned his attention to Eraserhead with the same expression, who gestured in the direction of one of the windows. Kaminari nodded back and moved from the wall to one of the windows.

Ectoplasm watched the interaction and wanted to break it down mentally to figure out what was going on, but that wasn’t the priority. He brought his attention to the topic at hand, “I can spare a handful of clones to come back and help protect the lodge. Supposedly we can make six additional more, but that was pushing it.”

“Bring some back. We’ll have some stationed at the front and back, while the remainder stay in the main room with the students.”

Eraser turned to the students, who have all settled into the strange tense calmness that comes from waiting something out. The majority of the boys stood in silent vigil, looking out different windows to make sure none of the villains were creeping up. Uraraka had joined Hagakure, Ashido, and Yaoyorozu in their huddle, but was staying close to Shimura who was sitting on a chair, hunched over with his elbows resting on his knees and fingertips tapping against each other.

“Ectoplasms incoming,” Kaminari announced, causing the room to lighten up considerably.

There was a funk in the room but hearing that there were more Ectoplasms coming to help them immediately boosted morale. Sero opened the door, letting in five more Ectoplasms.

“Before we get started,” Eraserhead addressed the clones, “None of you know what’s going on with Tiger or Mandalay? Why haven’t we received contact from them yet?”

“Their communication devices were destroyed very early on in the attack,” one of them revealed. “They’ve been busy fighting the two villains the students encountered when they were still at the entrance.”

“And they still haven’t beaten them yet? Why didn’t you help them out?”

“My main priority was to retrieve the students since I know that Mandalay and Tiger can take care of themselves. If the students fell victim to the purple mist, they’re completely defenseless.”

Eraserhead made a sound of frustration, “At least tell me you’ve made progress on that end, then.” The silence from all five clones that followed was enough of an answer for him, “God dammit, this is a mess. One thing at a time, I guess. Any word from Vlad?”

“Nothing ye-“

Bakugo interrupted Ectoplasm, “Oi! Knockoff Vampire’s here.”

The students perked up again at the announcement. Where the room was silent before, there were now quiet murmurs going around. The presence of heroes was known to lift spirits, and now was a perfect example of why there was always a conscious effort on the heroes’ end to always be seen and available. The situation was still looking bleak, but there was now a tentative feeling of hope.

“I’ve got good news and bad news,” Vlad started as soon as he was through the door, causing everyone to look at him with interest, “The good news is that the villain I was tracking that likely started the fire is no longer making their way to the lodge.”

Nobody celebrated at that because while it was definitely good news, Vlad didn’t say that he captured them, meaning something else happened.

“The bad news is that I wasn’t the reason for it,” the other shoe dropped, and some of the students looked down dismayed, “Either the villain I was tracking was a decoy, or fire wasn’t their quirk, because as soon as I caught up to them, they broke down into a puddle of mud.”

“Another villain with multiple quirks!?” Sato exclaimed, “Just who are these guys?”

“For what it’s worth, I don’t think that’s the case. It broke down much like how Ectoplasm’s clones do when they’re dismissed. It’s likely who I was following was a copy of the actual villain, made by someone else.”

“That’s not good. So then what happened to the original, where are they now, and where is the copy maker?” Kaminari asked, getting right to the point.

The room fell quiet again as everyone thought about what that meant.

If Vlad was following a fake, then that means there could be doubles, triples, an unknown number of villains that had devastating wide range abilities. There could be multiple fire villains spread around, waiting for the signal to scorch the entire forest. There could be multiple gas villains surrounding the area and spreading their toxic fumes everywhere, leaving no fresh air for them to breathe. There could be multiples of the villain who made the copy, who in turn could make multiple copies of themselves, creating an army.

Could the villain that made the copy make copies of anyone? Did the copies retain a semblance of the original’s personality or were they merely just puppets? Shigaraki supposedly recruited someone who could shapeshift into anybody, was it something like that?

Four students from 1-A, nearly all of 1-B, and all the Pussycats aren’t present in the lodge. If any of them made it back, how will they know that it’s the real one and not a decoy or trap?

The silent thinking of the lodge was shattered when a gunshot rang through the air causing everyone to instinctively duck and look around for its source.

“Everybody, get away from the windows and out of the shooter’s sight!” Eraserhead commanded.

There was shuffling around as everyone either ducked behind the furniture or pressed themselves up against the walls next to and beneath the windowsills. After everyone briefly checked themselves and those around them for any gunshot wounds, they let out a sigh of relief.

Only one of the occupants didn’t move. Or rather, multiple versions of one person didn’t move.

“Oh my,” Ectoplasm gasped.

Despite being on such an important job, Compress was in no way, shape, or form, stressing about it.

He had been pulling off extremely high-profile heists for years now, and every time, the thrill of participating in one was akin to finishing a particularly spectacular performance. He liked to compare himself to the legendary thief himself, Robin Hood, but instead of taking from the rich and giving to the poor, he took from everyone and gave to himself. Realistically, he was no better than any common thief, but he prided himself on never harming anyone in any of his capers, so he figured it was close enough. It also didn’t help that he was directly related to the Peerless Thief who couldn’t be stopped, and with his current trajectory, he was set to match that as well.

Everyone in the League had a designated task to fulfill while he was given the most freedom. He wasn’t the most offensive fighter on the team, and while he could fight, he preferred not to, so he wasn’t put on the vanguard. He knew his skills and Shigaraki did as well, so when it came to assigning roles, he was placed in their back pocket, so to speak.

The night they initiated their attack, he was tasked with finding any and all of Ectoplasm’s clones and getting them all in one place so that they could dispose of him quickly.

His quirk made it perfect because when a person was compressed into the small teal marble, they were stuck in a semi-lucid state, almost as if in a dream or like they were having an out-of-body experience. From what they gathered, Ectoplasm and his clones had a sort of a hivemind, so the moment a connection was severed, he and the clones would know exactly when it happened. By keeping them alive and subdued until the very last moment, they stretched out their initiative.

Once that was completed, his role was specifically to look for the targets they were sent to retrieve or to acquire any other high-value individuals should they catch his or the others’ eyes.

Since the attack started, he had only been able to get three people. The first was Ragdoll, whom he and Toga ambushed about the same time Dabi got rid of the Ectoplasms. Toga had left more of a scene behind than what he would’ve liked, but considering the students were doing a test of courage, a little bit of blood should only enhance their experience.

The second was Pixie-Bob, who was sent to him via Magne and Spinner. It was a good thing they got rid of her as quickly as they did because she had a particularly powerful quirk, especially in this setting. With the expansive land, she had no shortage of material to work with in creating any of those golems or structures to hinder and impede their attack.

The third was far more peculiar and picked up on a whim. Compress had just received Pixie-Bob and had a little bit of time, so he settled on a cliff overlooking the camp so he could get a wide picture of what to expect when he went back down for the second and third acts. Much to his surprise, there was a small child on the same cliff doing much the same.

The boy had likely startled and jumped back from the edge when the attack first begun and froze like that, just watching as the purple cloud settled over the forest and flames ate away at the trees.

Being the man of standards that he is, Compress engaged the boy in conversation and asked what he was doing there, and through his bumbling replies, all Compress was able to understand was something along the lines of, “My aunt Mandalay’s gonna kick your butts!”

Any other time, he would’ve washed his hands of that little encounter, but not this time. Hearing that he was related to one of the Pussycats was all Compress needed, so he nabbed the boy right then and there. He had some reservations grabbing him with him being so young, so he resolved to let the boy go free as soon as they were finished at the camp, but he would be a fool to ignore the amount of leverage they would have if the boy was in their hands.

With the third marble in his pocket, he went back down to the grounds below in search of who he could grab next.

Compress had gone through the entirety of the route the students were taking for their test of courage and a fair amount of land around it, and only came upon those that were already unconscious from having been in Mustard’s gas. None of the ones he saw were on their list, and since they were unconscious, none of them caught his attention. Eventually he caught sight of a group of them being escorted by an Ectoplasm and overheard that the majority of 1-A were in the lodge safe and sound already. Among the group was one of the targets, and since Spinner confirmed that most were among the group they first saw, he concluded that everyone they were looking for was in the lodge.

All they needed now was to wrap up any squabbles the rest of the League had started and make a charge for the lodge.

Dabi needed to hurry up and do something about that hero he and Twice were following. Toga needed to finish doing whatever she was doing. Spinner and Magne needed to hurry up and beat Tiger and Mandalay, and Mustard. That boy needs to learn how to not bite off more than he can chew. Granted, he wasn’t necessarily at fault this time around, but he really needs to learn to stop tempting fate.

Out of all the members, he settled on watching Spinner and Magne because he knew exactly where they were and didn’t feel like looking for everyone else.

He had to admit, seeing how they started focusing their attacks on Mandalay, who was clearly the weaker of the two was smart, but it wasn’t working. Between Tiger’s ferocity and Mandalay’s continually collected resolve, any time they were close to connecting a decisive move, either Tiger was already there with a block or counterattack, or Mandalay would somehow dodge it altogether or deflect the blow.

It looked like Spinner and Magne were playing it a little safe, but time kept ticking, and the longer they were at it, the worse off they’ll be.

Spinner took a nasty hit from Tiger and was sent flying into the tree Compress was sitting on. Spinner groaned and looked up, seeing Compress sitting there with his legs crossed knee over knee.

Spinner rolled his eyes and thanked him sarcastically, “Thanks for all your help.”

“You’re most welcome, my good sir!” Compress replied. “A performance and show of any kind is deserving of an audience, so I couldn’t let you do this without any sign of gratitude!”

Mandalay and Tiger eyed Compress warily from a safe distance away while Magne ran to help Spinner up. Her concern for Spinner quickly morphed to frustration as she also caught sight of Compress, “You’ve been watching us this whole time and didn’t think to help us? Rude.”

Compress gasped offendedly, “I’ll have you know, I’ve only been here for a very short time. And as I was explaining to Spinner here, I was helping. Performers feed off the energy of the audience, so my mere presence should be filling you with unrivaled confidence.”

“So are you going to help us out or not?” Spinner pressed, “We’re getting nowhere here.”

Compress gave an overexaggerated sigh and leaned backwards, flipping off the branch he was sitting on and landing lightly on his feet. He dusted himself off and walked towards Tiger and Mandalay, who took up a defensive position, wary of the threat he could possess.

Compress took a minute to size up Mandalay and Tiger to see just how fatigued they were, and both were showing it. They’ve likely reached the end of their rope.

Compress bowed with a flourish, “Greetings! My name is Mr. Compress and I would like to offer you a trade.” He reached into a pocket and pulled a marble out, “Your surrender for this marble.”

“That doesn’t seem like a fair trade,” Mandalay stated, eyeing the marble. “What is it?”

“I do believe that it is something you’ll find far more valuable. Magne, be a dear and hold this for me? Oh, and brace yourself.”

Compress tossed the marble at Magne and snapped his fingers. The marble glowed and the form of the small boy became apparent. Magne was surprised at the boy’s sudden appearance but did brace herself and caught him in a bear hug from behind. The boy started kicking and screaming and crying as soon as he was able to, but Magne readjusted her arms so that one still wrapped around the boy, pinning his arms to his body while the other covered his mouth.

She quietly cooed at him to get him to stop, but it wasn’t exactly working.

Mandalay, seeing the boy immediately cried out and ran towards him, “Kota!”

Tiger yelled out as well, but gripped Mandalay’s wrist. She fought against him despite that, but Tiger was too strong. He pulled her back and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, he wanted to retrieve Kota too, but now they couldn’t do anything too drastic at the cost of Kota’s safety.

“Let him go!” Mandalay screeched.

Spinner was flabbergasted, “Where’d the kid come from? I thought this was a camp full of teenagers.”

“I happened upon this boy while admiring the scenery. The poor thing was so shocked,” Compress tilted his head down and placed a hand to his forehead, “frozen in fear when I found him. Of course, I couldn’t just leave him there alone what with it being so dangerous out here, so I figured I’d bring him along, keep him safe. He was convinced that his aunt Mandalay would save him, and as fate would have it, he seems to be correct.”

He looked back up at Mandalay and gestured with his arm to Kota, “So, my dear Mandalay, are you happy with this? Surely your nephew is more than an equal trade for something as simple as your surrender.”

Mandalay focused on Kota before looking between Magne and Compress, “It’ll be alright, Kota. It’ll be alright. I will get you out of this.”

Kota whimpered beneath Magne’s hand with tears still falling down his face.

“Take me instead,” she tried bargaining, “Take me instead and let him go. He’s innocent. Whatever issue you have with us, he has nothing to do with it.”

“No, Mandalay, you need to be there for Kota,” Tiger whispered into her ear, “You’re his only family left. You can’t leave him too.” Tiger raised his voice and stepped forward, “I’ll go with you. Take me and let them be, they only have each other left.”

Compress brought both hands back to his chest, “Take? No, no, you’re mistaken. I’m not taking hostages, I just want you to surrender. Turn a blind eye and let us do what we came here to do. It’s all I ask.”

“If you’re not taking hostages, then give back Ragdoll and Pixie-Bob, too,” Tiger argued.

“Them? Gladly!” Compress agreed with a nod. Tiger and Mandalay felt a twinge of hope at hearing the words, “I will return them as soon as we’re done here and have left. I can’t let you have all the leverage, or else you’d go back on your word and attack us as soon as we turn our backs.”

Tiger and Mandalay shared a look, silently arguing and comparing the pros and cons. Their duty as heroes was to protect and save the innocent. If they surrendered, they’d be saving their comrades’ and Kota’s lives, but they’d be condemning 1-A, 1-B, and UA’s teachers to whatever plan the League had in store for them.

They were faced with the classic trolley problem. Do they sacrifice the many for the few, or the few for the many? The obvious answer for a hero is to try and save everyone but be aware of the very real possibility that by doing so, they risk failing and saving no one. But right then, they weren’t heroes, but people, and people were selfish.

They were brought into this fight between the League and UA, and they were the ones that were paying the price for it. Their forest was burning down, they’d lost two of their comrades, and the boy that they were caring for was taken hostage for simply being associated. UA dragged them into it, and they were nowhere in sight. Ectoplasm was more than capable of helping them out, yet none of his clones came to their aid. Their pride as heroes told them to stand defiant, but their worry and love for their comrades and surrogate son swallowed it.

Mandalay hung her head in shame, “Fine.”

“We surrender,” Tiger finished.

“Wonderful!” Compress clapped in happiness, “Please forgive me, but remove your gloves and throw them away, then put these on.”

Compress tossed three marbles and snapped.

The marbles glowed and changed into three pairs of cuffs. Mandalay looked at the cuffs and counted, “He’s a boy. He’s harmless to you.”

“My dear, if you paid closer attention, you would see that the third one you’re referring to are much larger than the others.” Mandalay did as Compress said and saw that it was, “One goes on Tiger’s ankle and the other on yours. Can’t have you running after us after all. And in case it wasn’t obvious, link yourselves together with your hands behind your back.”

Mandalay stared back at Compress defiantly but ultimately complied. She took her gloves off and threw them into the forest, then grabbed one of the leg irons and snapped it around her right ankle. She grabbed a pair of handcuffs, snapped one around her wrist in front of her then put both hands behind her back and did the other. Tiger mirrored her actions, but snaked one of his arms around hers to link them together as instructed.

Compress nodded at Magne to let Kota go. As soon as his feet touched the ground, Kota ran for Mandalay and wrapped her in a hug, burying his face into her neck, spewing apologies and thanks. Mandalay in turn gave her as many assurances as she could muster.

Spinner watched with awe and walked next to Compress, “That was amazing. How did you do that?”

“I’m a performer at heart, and the easiest way to win over your audience is to get in touch with their emotions. That’s why an audience is always necessary for anytime there is a performance going on. They feed off each other.”

Dabi’s voice crackled over their comms, “If you’re not actively terrorizing students or getting your ass beat by heroes, head to the lodge. We’re finishing this then going home.”

A gunshot rang over the air.

“Perfect timing! Shall we go see what Dabi has cooked up?” Compress asked.

Chapter Text

Dabi stood at the edge of the forest, just covered by the shadows of the tree line, staring at the lodge. There are forty-five meters between them and the furthest corners of it that acted as no man’s land. Running straight at them would be suicide and would ruin the element of surprise, not like it wasn’t gone already. Everybody that could had already retreated to the lodge, so it would make sense that at least one person in there would figure that it was only a matter of time before they came knocking.

He, Twice, and Compress’ clone took up positions as they waited for the rest of the League to show up.

Dabi hummed in thought then turned to Twice, “Didn’t we have two Compresses before we made that clone of me? Where’s the other one?”

Twice replied with a shrug and an ‘I don’t know’ sound, “Could be anywhere at this point. It has a comm, right? It’s behind you. God, I thought you were aware of your surroundings.”

“You’re Compress,” Dabi addressed the clone, “Where would you go in this situation?”

“I wouldn’t stray too far away. Assuming I knew of the eventual goal, I’d be close enough to show up whenever we eventually decided to act on it.”

“Precisely that!” the same voice responded from behind them.

The trio turned around to find a Compress walking beside Toga, who was still disguised as Shigaraki.

“What have you been up to?” Dabi asked Toga. He hadn’t heard anything from her since nearly the beginning of the attack.

“Mustard’s gas was too effective,” she pouted, crossing her arms. Because she still looked like Shigaraki, the action looked ridiculous. “The gas knocked out basically everyone. The only people I was able to get around to were Tsu-chan and her friend and some other students. I didn’t even get to see any of the heroes! I had everything all prepared and stuff but now it’s all gone to waste!”

“Did you at least get some blood?”

“Obviously,” she dug a hand in one of her pockets and pulled out a pouch with several vials strapped inside and hung it open. “But none of the students I got the blood from were our targets, so I don’t know which belongs to who or what their quirks are.”

“Fret not, my dear Toga, for there is still the chance to shine. We’ve confirmed that all the heroes are in the lodge as we speak. We have a captive audience and it’d be a shame to disappoint,” Compress consoled her while patting her shoulder.

“Actually, two of the heroes are over there,” a new voice added. The group turned to see Spinner, Magne, and another Compress joining them. Spinner had a thumb pointing behind them, showing he was the one to talk, “Mandalay and Tiger are tied up back there. You could probably do something with them if you want.”

“You mean it!?” Toga asked excitedly. She turned to Dabi, asking for permission.

Dabi ignored her, “If you’ve got them captured, why didn’t you bring them along? Me and Twice picked up two students on the way here that we could use to lure the targets out. If we added the heroes to the pile, it could only sweeten the deal.”

“I told them that I wasn’t taking hostages, only accepting their surrender,” Compress informed him. “I can’t go back on my word like that. You know the value of words, and ours in general is already abysmally low given our choice of occupation.”

Dabi had to concede that point. In their business, words hold weight and are worth far more than money. If your word is nothing, you won’t get far and would likely end up dead. If your word is good, then you’ll make it far.

“That, and they had a child with them.”

“You had a kid and you used them to make two B-list heroes surrender? What a waste of a golden ticket,” Dabi lamented.

“Dabi-“ Compress tried interjecting.

He waved him away, “No, no, you’re right. Using a kid would be in pretty bad taste, even for me. I don’t think Shigaraki would particularly appreciate us having to resort to that anyway, but I could be wrong. The guy’s impossible to read. Toga, go grab the heroes and bring them both here. If the kid follows you, let him. Compress said that he’s not taking hostages, but ‘Shigaraki’ is.”

Toga saluted and skipped back the way Compress, Spinner, and Magne came from. They all watched as her body language changed from Toga’s skipping to Shigaraki’s stoic gait and straight-backed posture.

“You all heard the gunshot, right? That had to have been Mustard. Think he finally took down Ectoplasm?” Spinner questioned the group.

“Can any of you still see his fog?” Dabi asked them instead.

Everyone craned their necks around, but they couldn’t see much. They were too far away to see it from the ground and the trees were blocking their sight from above. Everyone shook their heads.

“Guess we’ll have to wait and find out. Let’s get this finished with in case Ectoplasm wasn’t taken down. I’d rather we be on our way out than get swarmed by his clones in the middle of everything.” Dabi looked at the three Compresses. “Which one of you is the real one?”

The one that stood by Spinner and Magne raised his hand while others made an X with their arms.

Dabi pointed to the Compress that was standing alone, “Release whoever or whatever you may have picked up. I gotta see what we’re working with here.”

The Compress reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of marbles and dropped them on the ground, before he snapped his fingers to release what was inside, he informed them, “None of them are the targets, but they were running around. I already knocked them out with Mustard’s gas, so we don’t need to worry about them rabbiting. Only one of them is really worth anything, and it should come as no surprise as to who it is.”

He snapped his fingers and the marbles transformed, revealing the contents. On the ground lay four students, two boys and two girls. One girl had short dark hair and was wearing a t-shirt that said “DEAD” on it with black capri pants. Her earlobes dangled low with the tips shaped like an earphone jack. The other had long hair and was wearing a light green sundress. One of the boys had short, cropped hair with a large tail wearing a yellow shirt and blue shorts while the other was wearing a white shirt under a blue jacket and black pants. The second boy also sported red and white hair with its color split down the middle with the white on the right side and red on the left, he also had a large scar over his left eye.

“Holy shit,” Spinner gasped, “That’s Endeavor’s kid. You bagged a Todoroki! Oh man, Shigaraki is going to love this!”

Magne crouched down and cupped Todoroki’s face, inspecting it, “Forget Shigaraki, just imagine the amount of money we could get if we sell him off. I know a lot of people that would pay a pretty penny for any chance they could get at knocking Endeavor down a peg or two, and what better way to do it than kill his youngest son.”

Dabi stilled in shock as he gazed upon Todoroki. He had long accepted the fact that he would probably see him sometime in the future considering Shigaraki’s decision to keep tormenting 1-A, and accepted that the camp was probably when it would happen, but he didn’t expect it to happen like this.

He had this whole vision of seeing Todoroki on the opposite side of his fire as the other boy struggled to put it out. How he would stretch the fight out longer and drop hints and verbal jabs, and then make a clean retreat, only to repeat the process again sometime down the line. At some point he realized his plan was eerily similar to Shigaraki’s in that he wanted to drag it out and wear the boy down and then crush him with a final blow, but the more he thought on it, the more it felt like that was the only proper way to do it.

His life went from worse to shit because of him, so he felt like he was more than justified. Despite all that, now that Todoroki was right there, unconscious, and vulnerable and so easy to just kill right then and there, he found that he didn’t like it. He didn’t want it to be easy.

Dabi must’ve been quiet for longer than he expected because the Compresses, Magne, Twice, and Spinner all looked at him expectantly.

“I would’ve expected this to make you happier, Dabi,” one of the Compresses remarked. “You have a bone to pick with Endeavor, do you not? You’ve been granted a grand opportunity here.”

Dabi mulled it over but opted to ignore him. He turned to the other Compress clone, “Release those two brats we caught. Everyone else, be ready. They should still be up and maybe raring to fight still.”

None of them noticed Dabi’s obvious subject change, but seeing how his demeanor also shifted as well, they didn’t want to bother him about it either.

The other Compress clone produced the two marbles and snapped, revealing the two that had been caught. The first one had dark hair and was wearing a grey button-down shirt a white tank top underneath and navy-colored pants. The other one had light brown hair and was wearing a muted purple t-shirt and grey pants.

Upon transforming, the dark-haired boy immediately spun around, trying to get his bearings but froze when he saw he was surrounded. He kept his guard up but didn’t try to attack because he knew he was outnumbered and outmatched. The lighter-haired looked around a little blearily like he was just woken up, but upon seeing the four unconscious students, he yelped in shock and bumped into the other, knocking them both to the ground.

“You can get rid of them now,” Dabi said to Twice. Twice saluted and the two Compress clones broke back down. With them gone, Dabi addressed the boys, “Long time no see, boys. Mind introducing yourselves to my friends?”

Neither spoke back, though the dark-haired one looked like he wanted to but still held his tongue. He settled on glaring daggers at Dabi.

Dabi chuckled and walked towards the four unconscious students and stood between the boy with the tail and the girl in the dress. He knelt and held his hands, now smoking, right above them, “Let me rephrase that. Introduce yourselves to my friends."

The one with the lighter hair startled and stuttered, “It’s-”

“Tsuburaba? Kaibara?” he was cut off by a new voice. All heads turned towards it, the now named boys’ mouths dropped open in shock as they saw Mandalay and Tiger being frog marched by Toga, with the two heroes approaching awkwardly as they dealt with the short chain between their leg irons and from being cuffed together. It looked like a weird variation of the three-legged race. “What are you- Why are you here? What happened to you? What did you do to them!?”

That last question was directed towards the villains by Mandalay, who was obviously the one to speak. Dabi appraised Mandalay and Tiger, noticing they looked roughed up but no worse off than what he would’ve expected from a fight. There was no sign of the kid that Compress talked about, but he figured it was fine, all things considered. Mandalay and Tiger still held defiance in their eyes, so Toga either didn’t bother making her Shigaraki impression or their spirits were just that strong. It didn’t really matter to Dabi, but considering Toga was all gung-ho about it, he had to wonder what did or didn’t happen when she was gone.

“Do they look harmed, Mandalay?” Toga asked in Shigaraki’s voice, dripping in sweetness but with undertones of malice. Dabi internally nodded when he figured out why the heroes were fine. Mandalay’s head snapped towards Toga at being addressed, “You may not believe it, but injuries aren’t always present during villain attacks.” Toga paused in thought, “But I guess your worry is warranted, considering the track record. Where’d Tsuburaba and Kaibara come from?”

Twice answered her, “They were following me and Dabi and they got caught. They ambushed us! We were lucky to get out alive.”

“You boys injured?”

The two had frozen when Toga came in and were still stuck in that state when they were asked the question. They broke out of it and shook their heads in response.

Toga trailed her fingers across Mandalay’s and Tiger’s shoulders before hooking her arms around them, causing them to flinch in disgust, “See? We’re all good here, no need to get your fur on end. As for the ones on the floor? They’ll be fine as soon as the gas’ effects wear off. Eventually. Are we ready?”

Dabi bristled at Toga acting like she was in charge when it was his whole operation, but accepted that for the time being, he had to play along too. It wouldn’t make sense for the leader of the League of Villains to be taking orders from someone else.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets before huffing, “Just about. Do we need to do anything about those two brats?”

“Nah,” Toga looked them over with Shigaraki’s scrutinizing eye. The boys cringed away in discomfort, “They know they can’t get away even if they tried. Compress, pack up the rest of them. I want Kaibara and Tsuburaba up front, Mandalay and Tiger behind them, Compress and Magne will accompany me."

"And the rest of us?”

“Stay back here. I’ll let you know if we need some extra motivation.”

Toga gestured at Kaibara and Tsuburaba to start walking, then pushed Mandalay and Tiger after them, causing them to stumble and fall. Kaibara and Tsuburaba were quick to help them back up before making the trek across the no man’s land. Compress paused to gather the unconscious students before joining Magne, while Dabi held Toga back a little longer.

“I don’t trust that Mandalay hasn’t been talking much, or that Tiger hasn’t said a word at all,” Dabi cautioned. “Mandalay’s quirk is Telepath, and I don’t know how far her range is. She could be giving everyone in the lodge a complete run down of the situation, so they may be more prepared than we thought.”

Toga hummed in realization and agreement, “I totally forgot about that. Thanks for the heads up!”

“Keep your comms open. Between me and Twice, we’ll be able to help out if you need it.”

Toga nodded and left the tree line to catch up with everyone else.

The room stilled as they heard Ectoplasm’s proclamation. Though they wanted to, none of them moved from where they were taking cover towards Ectoplasm to make sure he, or it, was alright.

Eraserhead, who was sitting beneath a windowsill, leaned forward in concern, “Ectoplasm, what’s wrong? What happened?”

The one that muttered initially looked towards Eraserhead, “The villain in the cloud… they’re a child and… they took a shot at me. The real one. And it hit.”

The clone just barely finished its sentence before it turned back into the glowing sludge and dissolved entirely.

The room exploded in noise and terror as they saw the clone go away but it was quickly silenced by the combined efforts of all their teachers.

“Settle down!”

“It’s all fine!”

“Students, calm down! I am fine. The main body has been injured, but it wasn’t fatal. The injury is just making it difficult for him to keep all the clones going.”

Hearing Ectoplasm respond calmed them down even further. They were so thrown off by seeing Ectoplasm dissipate that they didn’t notice that it was only that one clone. The other four that came to the lodge were still present, though they all did appear a little winded.

“So what does that mean?” Vlad asked, “Are the numbers just going to keep dropping until the only one that’s left is him?”

“It would seem to be the case. I can already feel myself slipping.”

Eraserhead and Vlad King shared a look that said that they needed to act fast, and act now. The only problem was figuring out how to act. They’re sitting ducks at the lodge, and as much as they loathe to admit it, the villains have the upper hand. Anything they did from that point on would purely be to catch up, and not for any actual progress.

Eraserhead was seconds away from saying “fuck it” and authorizing quirk usage to let the students go wild when Mandalay’s voice came through his head. Based off how everyone looked up and around like they were looking for the source, she was broadcasting to everybody, “The villains are making their move on the lodge. They are gathered at the tree line at about ten o’clock from the front door. There are six gathered, among them is…” she gulped heavily, “Shigaraki is among them, and they have multiple hostages, Tiger and myself included.”

Hearing that caused a pit to form in their stomachs. Everyone looked around the room again to see who was missing, and they all concluded that those that weren’t there were probably the ones that are being held hostage.

“They are likely going to turn this into a hostage negotiation and are willing to resort to more drastic measures to make sure we follow through. The fire starter, the lizard mutant, Spinner, and another unnamed villain are hanging back while Shigaraki, Magne, and a villain called Compress are approaching. Kaibara and Tsuburaba from 1-B are in the front, followed by myself and Tiger, then the villains behind us.

“Students. Do not put yourself in danger. Your number one priority is keeping yourself and those next to you safe. Trust in your teachers and in us. We’re not going down that easily.”

Vlad King and Eraserhead both peeked through windows they were closest to and turned their attention towards ten o’clock. It was hard to make out, but if they squinted really hard, they could see a huddle of people with a group of them approaching.

“Yaoyorozu,” Eraserhead called out. “Can you make me a pair of night vision goggles?”

Yaoyorozu startled at being called before nodding. She set her face in a concentrated frown and then her arm started to sparkle and glow. What looked like a rifle’s scope materialized out of the glowing and Yaoyorozu grabbed it. She brought it up to her eye to make sure it was operational, then slid it on the ground towards Eraserhead.

He snatched it up and adjusted its sights towards where the huddle was. The scope was good quality, but like all night vision tools, they sacrifice finer details for a decent picture. He scanned the area and was able to verify everything Mandalay was relaying to them.

There were a few figures, with either their backs towards the lodge or their side profiles showing, just at the edge of the trees and a group exiting. He wasn’t as familiar with 1-B as he was with his class, but he could tell that the people in front were teenagers, and behind them with the unmistakable outline of skirts showing were Mandalay and Tiger. They were bound together with their hands behind them. Further behind them, he saw three more figures, the one in the middle had to be Shigaraki.

It was extremely hard to make out any finer details, but after committing every single detail possible to memory, it was undoubtedly Shigaraki. He had to suppress a shudder when Shigaraki turned his head towards him and appeared to make eye contact.

“They’re on the move,” he reported to the room. “Two of the Ectoplasms, come with me, Vlad, you stay with the students. Where are Shoji and Shishida?”

He looked around the room for the hulking figure of Shoji and found he was sitting up against the back of a couch. Shishida was laying prone on the ground with his hands covering the back of his neck.

“Over here, sensei.”

“I am present.”

“Shoji, take this. You and Shishida go up to the roof and station yourselves there. Keep your eyes, ears, and nose open for any distinct changes and let me know immediately if anything is off.”

Both students nodded and stayed low to the ground as they moved towards the staircase. Eraserhead peaked over the window again for any sign of the shooter, but then remembered that where they were was already accounted for and stood back up fully. Seeing their teacher stand back up sent a muted wave of relief over the room as the students slowly and tentatively copied.

“I’m going out to see what they want,” Eraserhead announced to the room.

“That’s not a good idea,” Vlad King disputed. “We can’t let them get any more ground. If you talk with them, you’re basically saying you’ll do whatever they say.”

An Ectoplasm spoke up, “Vlad’s right, Eraser. It’d be much safer to exit the lodge in the back, out of their sight, and circle around. It’d take a little bit, but we’d be able to eat up the time left before emergency services and back up arrive. We could also take out the villains from behind, not to mention it’d be easier to hide in the forest than make a last stand here.”

“I vote we do that,” another voice spoke up. Heads turned to see Shimura raising his hand with an intense look in his eyes. He’s been silent throughout the entire ordeal and hasn’t stopped thinking since before dinner started. Once he made it back to the lodge, it was like he shut down completely. He sat down on the chair when he first arrived, and only moved when the gunshot rang out.

“It’s the smartest play we have. I know you and the other teachers have already long since figured out that staying here is a death wish and you’re obviously extremely hesitant to clear us to fight back, so what else can we do? The villains came here looking for students, and everyone they’re looking for has to be here. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t be resorting to taking hostages.”

“I’m aware of all of that,” Eraserhead replied harshly. “That’s why I’m going to go out. I’ll go see what he wants and see if I can stall as long as possible. Use that time to get out and get hidden.”

“Authorize us, then,” Kaminari had moved from his spot near one of the front windows and moved towards Eraserhead, “All of us. Whether you like it or not, we’ll end up outside sooner rather than later if we don’t get a move on. Mandalay said the fire starter is staying back and they’re willing to go further to ensure our obedience. If we take too long, they’ll probably set the building on fire and flush us out. When that time comes, it’ll be madness, and if we can’t fight back to defend ourselves, then we’ll just be easy pickings.”

Eraserhead didn’t fail to notice the shocked and pointed looks he was receiving when Kaminari revealed that some of the students were already authorized to fight back, and glared at Kaminari to relay that he was not impressed. Kaminari’s face didn’t change from the determined look, almost as if he was expecting him to cave in after all of that.

“If you won’t authorize them, I will,” Vlad King spoke up, fed up with the silent stare down they were having. The students looked to him with awe while Vlad King turned his attention to Eraserhead when he looked over. “You were the one that said all hands on deck for tonight, and there are sixteen hands right here not working.”

Vlad stood to his full height and addressed the room, “On the name of the pro hero Vlad King, I authorize quirk use for all students present and able from classes 1-A and B of UA’s hero course. You are not allowed to directly engage in combat, but if you find yourself being attacked by a villain, you have my permission to fight back. Your primary objective is to get yourself to safety first. You fight to disengage only, and only if you are unable to do so, can you attack to disable the villain.”

At the proclamation, the room regained its fervor. The muted silence that saturated the room was immediately replaced with talks of plans and ideas. Vlad nodded in satisfaction before turning to Eraserhead, “We have the tools to come out on top. We outnumber the villains almost three-to-one now.”

Eraserhead shook his head, “Not with Shigaraki. Having a number advantage means nothing so long as he on site.”

“I still think you’re grossly overestimating him.”

Eraserhead opened his mouth to retort, but Shoji’s voice came over the comms, “Sensei, the villains stopped their approach, about fifteen meters out. Shigaraki is calling out to us.”

“Change of plans. Ectoplasm, you stay here with the kids and organize the exit strategy. Prioritize Uraraka and her friends getting out first. If she’s right, then they’ll be going after them first, and hurry. We’ll stall them for as long as we can, but don’t expect much. Shimura, Kaminari.” The two boys looked at him, “You’re authorized but are also likely high value targets who have a tendency to act before thinking. You get caught up, you fight like hell to get away.” He turned his focus on Kaminari specifically, “You see your classmates in trouble, do whatever you need to to get them back to safety. However. If they are out of your reach, do not pursue. Do you understand?”

The students that hadn’t made it out of the room and were still in earshot of their conversation all froze at the instructions Eraserhead imparted. They were all under the impression that a hero fights to save everyone, regardless of the odds. If they saw a person in need of help, it was their sworn duty to provide it. Hearing their teacher tell them to turn the other way if someone was out of their reach went against everything they’ve been taught.

Only those that were facing Kaminari saw the changes in expression he made. It went from the determined gaze, flitted briefly to shock, before it passed through resignation and landed on acceptance. Kaminari nodded seriously once it settled.

Aizawa, for his part, felt terrible about having to make that point clear. He was being forced to teach first years the harshest realities of being a hero before they’ve even made it a full semester into the school year. Heroes can’t save everyone. It was a fact of life. Even All Might can’t save everyone because there is always someone that’s out of his reach. The would-be victim could be collateral damage of a particularly destructive fight with a villain, or they could be in trouble in a different city entirely, or even could become the victim because of something as simple as the hero being too slow to arrive on the scene.

Whatever factor was at play, there was no guarantee a hero could save everyone, and that’s what he needed them to understand. What he needed Kaminari to understand. Kaminari, or whoever he was when he was like that, knows he’s strong and could likely fight on even terms with any of the villains, but he was still a teenager. Teenagers tend to think themselves invincible, and when having a strong quirk or experience comes into play, that mindset tends to stick. Add on the adrenaline rush of being in a fight, then they were nearly guaranteed to make a stupid decision and bite off more than they could chew.

Eraserhead turned and exited the door, offering no further explanation, with Vlad a few steps behind him. Once he was outside, he stood in front of the door, blocking any possible sight line the villains had inside. When he heard the door close and felt Vlad King stand next to him, they shared a look.

Now being able to see everything in person, they both made sure to take stock of what was before them. Just like what Mandalay said, Tsuburaba and Kaibara were in the front, both of them visibly uninjured but were hugging themselves in clear distress. Mandalay and Tiger were bound together but again, didn’t look visibly injured outside of ruffled up clothes. Behind them stood the villains.

Mandalay looked at them but didn’t yell out, “Kaibara and Tsuburaba are shaken up but entirely uninjured. The villain in the mask is called Compress and the one with the object in their hand is Magne. I don’t know exactly what quirk Compress has, but he can turn people into these teal marbles. Magne has a magnetic-type quirk, but it seems to only work on people.”

“You know it’s a trap, right?” Eraserhead confirmed with Vlad King.

“Of course, it’s a trap,” Vlad King deadpanned.

“You still want to spring it?”

“Don’t have much choice but to.”

Eraserhead grunted an affirmative and walked towards them.

Magne stepped forward to meet them when she saw that the heroes had finally arrived. When she was close to the front, she placed her hand out, stopping them, “No further than that, heroes.”

Eraserhead and Vlad King stopped their advancement, “Alright, we’re here. Tell us who you want.”

“Who?” Toga repeated. She stepped forward as well, “Not ‘what’? What makes you so sure that’s why we came here? What if we just wanted to have a nice, relaxing trip out in the woods?”

“And I suppose it was entirely coincidental the place you just so happened to camp at is the same place we are?” Vlad King asked as he crossed his arms.

“Exactly!” Toga brought her finger up and motioned like she was booping a kid’s nose, “I just wanted to get out in nature and really get… unplugged, as it were. Imagine my surprise when my vacation was ruined by screaming kids and explosions at the crack of dawn.”

Eraserhead and Vlad King twitched at hearing “unplugged.” There were so many different things that could’ve been said instead, but hearing Toga use that specific term rang wrong. The last time they heard that was before they departed for their trip, from Nezu. Hearing it confirmed that there was a traitor amongst them, and they were present on the trip.

“We are so sorry for interrupting, you whelp!” Tiger roared back at her.

Toga kicked Tiger in the back, making him and Mandalay fall to the floor. Kaibara and Tsuburaba split off to the sides to avoid being taken down as well, but didn’t run away further than that. Eraserhead and Vlad King tensed at the action and were about to jump in but was stopped by the glare Toga sent them.

“Bad kitty,” Toga chided, “Kaibara, Tsuburaba, be good little herolings and help them up.”

They looked between their teachers, the Pussycats, and Toga behind them, but settled on their teachers. Eraserhead and Vlad King were seething at the sight, but both gave them slight nods. Kaibara and Tsuburaba were quick to get Mandalay and Tiger up, but Toga put her hands on their shoulders.

“Actually, just stay on your knees like that. You asked who we want? Not telling. Just tell us where they are and we’ll do the rest.”

“Release Tsuburaba and Kaibara first,” Vlad King demanded.

“Yeah, yeah sure,” Toga waved her hand dismissively. The boys took that as their cue and ran towards their teachers, who bent down and whispered in their ears before running to the lodge. Toga raised her eyebrows at the interaction, noticing that their faces went from scared to determined immediately, “In case you didn’t notice, they were completely free to do whatever they wanted. And before you ask, no. I didn’t do anything to them. They chose to stay with me of their own free will.”

“Being forced to do something under threat is not free will. It’s obedience through fear,” Mandalay spat.

“Threat? I didn’t threaten them. Did I threaten them?” Toga asked Compress and Magne.

Compress shook his head, “Can’t say you did. If anything, you asked about their wellbeing.”

“Yep,” Magne agreed, “Asked them if they were injured and everything. Mandalay and Tiger were there too, they should know.”

Toga smiled, though it was hidden by the mask. Her eyes glowed in Shigaraki’s toxic green, “See? I was nothing but cordial with them. Whatever they did afterwards was all them. I held up my end, so now it’s your turn. Where are they?”

“They’re behind us in the lodge,” Eraserhead quickly responded. “But to get to them you have to go through us.”

Magne laughed, “And how well did it go for you last time you fought him? Shigaraki told us about how he folded you in no time flat.”

Eraserhead grit his teeth at the reminder. He was ashamed to have been disposed of so quickly and had worked tirelessly to make sure it wouldn’t happen again.

“Twice got bored and started wandering the tree line,” Dabi’s voice crackled over their comms, “He saw that there were people leaving out the back door and heading towards the woods. Whatever you’re doing out front, they’re stalling for time. I’m calling it.”

Toga and Magne made eye contact, gesturing at Compress with her head and then moving it like she was watching something fly through the air before Magne nodded. Toga turned around and looked at Compress to see if he was alright with it and saw his nod.

Toga smiled to herself and turned back to look at Eraserhead and Vlad King who looked visibly agitated and were dropping into a fighting stance, likely sensing something was off, “You were so close too. Send him.”

Three things happened at once.

Toga dashed towards Eraserhead and Vlad King with a knife in each hand, taking both of their attentions. Compress was enveloped in a blue aura and Magne’s object in a pink one, causing him to fly towards it and stick to it; Compress had maneuvered himself midair, so his feet were planted on it, and was sent flying. From the tree line, a streak of blue fire came soaring through the air, hitting the lodge’s second floor.

Screams from inside of the building filled the air.

Chapter Text

“Bang.”

Ectoplasm had burst through the cloud and his vision was filled with the flash of the gun. He was too close to properly dodge and his momentum was only taking him forward, so there was nothing he could do to avoid it.

The shot went off and he immediately felt it hit his body.

Feeling the impact, Ectoplasm stopped in his tracks, the pain racing through his body. He was unable to do any more, so the other took up the slack. As Ectoplasm fell back to deal with the injury, the other pressed the attack on Mustard.

The one that jumped ahead went to disarm Mustard with an inside crescent kick, successfully getting the gun out of Mustard’s hand. Mustard grunted in pain at the hit but didn’t let that deter him. Being confident that he hit the actual Ectoplasm, Mustard went all out on his attack.

If he could get rid of the clone, the only thing that would be between him and finishing off Ectoplasm was time, of which he had plenty of.

With a quick stab with his knife hand, he struck at his opponent, but it didn’t make contact like he had hoped. Ectoplasm saw the attack coming and spun around it on the outside, pivoting on his left leg, setting himself up perfectly for a roundhouse to Mustard’s back. The kick connected and sent Mustard falling forward, splaying on the ground and knocking the knife out of his hand. Mustard grabbed at the ground, clawing for the hilt of his knife, but he felt Ectoplasm grab onto his leg, pulling him backwards.

Mustard turned onto his back and kicked at him with his free leg, earning himself a few good hits to his head. With a final snap of his leg, he struck Ectoplasm in the face, causing his head to snap back and let go of him. Crawling forward and diving towards the knife, he grabbed it before falling into a somersault and spun around, staying low to the ground. He twirled the knife in his right hand and held it in a reverse grip.

“You might as well give up now,” Mustard taunted. “I hit the actual Ectoplasm didn’t I? How long do you have left before you disappear? How long does he have before he bleeds to death?”

Feeling more confident, Mustard decided to take a page out of Toga’s book. He knew how to do it, he just wasn’t as good at it as she was. Instead of diving back into the fight, he slowly moved backwards, slightly manipulating the cloud so it covered his retreat and made it look like he melded into it. He could tell the move put off Ectoplasm as he felt him freeze in his step and pause before running towards his last confirmed location. The finer details were still lost, but once Ectoplasm stopped moving, he was sure that he was sweeping its head left and right looking for him.

Mustard creeped slowly around Ectoplasm, leaving a decent berth between the two, but still staying close enough that he could attack and had a good chance of it connecting. Now that the Ectoplasm had lost visual, he had two obvious choices. The first was to forget the one he was fighting entirely and get rid of the Ectoplasm he shot. The second was to confirm which one was the clone and get rid of it before dealing with the real Ectoplasm with no real fear of retaliation.

Either way, Mustard figured he had no chance of losing anymore.

Taking a moment to confirm if Ectoplasm had created any last-ditch effort clones, he was pleased to find out that it was only the three of them there. The other Ectoplasm was still relatively close to where Mustard took the shot and hadn’t moved and didn’t seem like he was going to anytime soon. Nodding to himself, Mustard made up his mind.

The Ectoplasm he was fighting had moved around in search of him, but he could tell that he also didn’t stray too far away from the other one. With the supposed real body being in such a vulnerable state, it was easy to assume that the next attack, if any, would be to finish Ectoplasm off. Being the only one able, the uninjured one designated itself as the protector and bait.

Mustard knelt and grabbed a pebble off the ground and threw it away from the clone. He could tell the clone instantly looked at where the pebble hit but didn’t pursue it. Instead, it turned towards where it thought it came from.

Ectoplasm gave a weak chuckle, “I may be injured but I’m no fool. Anyone who has ever tried escaping from someone else knows that trick, but seeing as you’re trying to distract me, you’ve revealed your hand.”

The mobile one moved closer to the sedentary one, “It seems we have arrived at a stalemate.”

“A stalemate implies you can keep going on forever. Hey Ectoplasm, the real one, how are you doing?”

“I’m not done yet,” Ectoplasm replied through pained grunts.

“Seems like you’re rapidly running out of time, though. What happens to the clones if the real body gets injured? Do you all just go poof at once? Is there a time limit on when you get dismissed?”

Ectoplasm asked a question instead, “I still don’t understand why you’re doing this. You’re still young and have a bright future ahead of you, why turn to villainy? What have you gained that was worth throwing your life away?”

“Life? What life?” Mustard couldn’t help the sardonic laugh that came out, “My life was four walls and no friendly faces. Ever since my quirk came in, my parents have hated me. One mistake at school was enough proof for the teachers and principal to consider me a health hazard. My quirk, in case you haven’t figured it out yet, makes people who inhale it fall unconscious. Midnight’s does the exact same thing, yet people praise her for it! Nobody reached out to me, nobody tried being my friend, nobody gave me a chance!”

There was a pregnant pause as Ectoplasm digested Mustard’s admission, “I’m truly sorry to-“

“Too late! Sorry isn’t going to cut it anymore! And before you start spewing some nonsense about how you’ll ‘make sure everyone is rightfully punished for their unjust treatment’ or whatever if I turn myself in, it’s fine. I’ve long accepted that I won’t be a hero and have finally found a place and people to call my home and family. Shigaraki has given me more than I could ever hope for when no one else has. You call him a villain, but he’s my hero.”

“Do you really believe he’s not using you for his own profit?” Ectoplasm asked, “Villains like him always have ulterior motives and treat those that follow them as pawns or bait or tools to use and throw away. You’re being used, surely you can see that?”

In the back of his mind, Mustard was aware that Ectoplasm kept the conversation going so he could better find him, but he couldn’t help himself. Ectoplasm had accidentally, or possibly intentionally, pressed the one button that was guaranteed to get a rise out of him, and now that he’s started, it was hard to stop.

“That’s fine with me. Being used means I still have value, which is more than I could say I had before.”

He squawked in surprise as Ectoplasm rammed into him with his shoulder, sending him to the ground and his knife clattering away. Mustard rolled with the fall to bleed out the impact, but the momentum was still too much for it, so he stumbled and fell down a little further away. Once his surprise at being found faded away, he cursed at himself when he realized how it happened.

He let himself get too worked up and stopped paying attention to Ectoplasm’s position in his cloud, letting him catch him off guard.

“Gotcha,” Ectoplasm announced as he rushed towards Mustard.

Ectoplasm attacked Mustard with a flurry of kicks, bouncing from one leg to the other in quick succession, all aimed at Mustard’s body. The speed of the kicks was pushing Mustard back, being unable to block all of them or risk getting hit by one and then getting caught in the chain attack.

Ectoplasm wasn’t relenting, aware that he’d finally been able to turn the fight in his favor.

The quick kicks then changed to harder hitting ones, all aiming for his head. Once Ectoplasm’s right leg hit the ground again, it bounced back up in a roundhouse that was aimed towards Mustard’s head, hoping to either knock his mask off or knock him out. Mustard just barely managed to lean back to avoid getting hit, but that was all he could do.

All the training he underwent with Shigaraki was helpful, but he was still a longshot away from being able to go toe-to-toe with a pro hero. Not to mention, he was still a kid, so he was already at a significant disadvantage to start with, even if he had aid from the environment.

Mustard tried closing the gap in the tiny window before Ectoplasm’s leg touched the ground, aiming for when Ectoplasm would be the most off balance. He snapped his head forward just as Ectoplasm’s leg cleared Mustard’s face, using that extra movement to propel himself towards him.

The little maneuver worked.

He had lost his knife when Ectoplasm ran into him and his gun was still lying on the ground somewhere, so all he could do was deliver a sharp, but relatively weak jab to his body. The hit landed, and while it wasn’t as strong as Mustard was hoping for, it messed up Ectoplasm’s rhythm.

Ectoplasm was a kicker, and while he wasn’t hopeless if someone was able to get into his personal space, it was markedly easier for the opponent. Ectoplasm’s costume consisted of a full body cloak that resembled a double-breasted trench coat. There were no sleeves to feed his arms through, so if he wanted to use his hands, he’d need to bring them below the buttons and through the part of his cloak first. The lowest set of buttons on his cloak were just a little past his elbows, so even if he were able to get his arms out in time, they wouldn’t be able to provide much protection. He could try blocking from underneath the cloak, but with his arms so close to his body, he might as well still be taking the direct hit.

Mustard intended to make the absolute most of that fact. His reach was still significantly shorter than Ectoplasm’s, so he needed to get in close and stay there to tangle him up. With every step that Ectoplasm took backwards to create more space, Mustard jumped forward, eating it up. Every time he tried moving away, Mustard would grab onto his cloak and try to yank him back or he would be taken along as well.

Punches, elbow strikes, and even knee strikes if he was fortunate enough, all blurred together for Mustard.

He could tell Ectoplasm was starting to show signs of his onslaught as he felt more and more give in his defenses and ground. Mustard wound up for a haymaker and contacted Ectoplasm’s gut, causing him to bend over.

Having thrown all caution to the wind and feeling the coming fatigue, Mustard screamed at the top of his lungs in exertion as he put his all into one last attack. He reared his head back and headbutted Ectoplasm. Instead of being met with the hardness of Ectoplasm’s helmet with his own, Ectoplasm dispersed into the glowing sludge, offering no resistance at all. His body flung forward, and he fell to the ground.

He took a deep breath in and out as he lay face down, mentally and physically exhausted from the fight. He rolled over onto his back and looked up at the sky, smiling to himself in satisfaction. He hit the ground with his fist, “I did it. I took on a pro hero and won.”

He was content to lay there and fall asleep, but then he remembered that the Ectoplasm he was fighting dispersed, meaning he really did hit the actual Ectoplasm the first time around. Sitting upright, he searched through the fog to confirm Ectoplasm’s location.

Making his way over, he found Ectoplasm slumped on a tree trunk. Not moving and sitting in a puddle of blood.

“Wait, shit!” Mustard exclaimed as he realized that Ectoplasm might’ve bled to death while he was fighting the clone. He ran forward and dispersed his cloud so he could better look him over.

He may still be wanting to prove himself to Shigaraki by taking out a hero, but whatever pride or satisfaction he felt at coming out on top was quickly replaced with worry and panic. When not on a mission, everyone was more or less free to go about their own business and do what they want. When on a mission, his orders were absolute.

One of the only orders Shigaraki gave them for the attack was no killing, and the puddle of blood didn’t look promising.

Chargebolt had let himself fade into the background as the attack stretched on.

Eraserhead had given him implied authorization when they first met up, but only in a defensive capacity. While that wasn’t as ideal as he would’ve liked, he was willing to settle. Making the trek back from the woods to the lodge, he made sure to keep all his senses open and his power lowly humming right beneath his skin so that he was ready to fight at a moment’s notice. Thankfully, it didn’t come to that, but he wasn’t willing to hold his breath.

They were on the way to the lodge, and if the villains attacking them were sent by Shigaraki, then the lodge would be high on the list of things to hit.

The lodge was deathly quiet, almost like they were in a waiting room, anticipating a doctor to deliver the news that their patient did or didn’t make it. There was a little bit of hope, but considering what they saw going in, they weren’t banking on a good update. Ectoplasm didn’t say anything about any of his clones picking up the other students, none of the Pussycats reported back, and there was at least a half hour left until they would be getting reinforcements and help from whoever Ashido and Hagakure spoke with. He tried staying optimistic, but reality wasn’t looking that good, so he rooted himself in it.

Eraserhead was stressed from being unsuccessful at finding and retrieving any of the students, so was consulting with Ectoplasm about what to do next. He heard tidbits of their conversation, enough to know that they were talking about what to do with the students and how he was authorized, which worried Ectoplasm a great deal.

What are they dealing with on the back end? Am I a suspect in something?

Movement from outside the window caught his eye and he saw a group of Ectoplasms approaching.

“Ectoplasms incoming,” he announced. He wasn’t looking for a repeat of the whole room almost throwing their quirks at the door.

Vlad King came shortly after, visibly frustrated. He was following the likely fire starter when he disappeared. Now there’s worry going around that there might be a cloner among the villains, meaning there could be doubles of anybody, villain or friend. How would they root out an impostor if one joined their ranks?

Then there was a gunshot.

Chargebolt was finally, officially, authorized to fight, but still only if the other party threw the first punch. He understood the reason why, but it was frustrating. If people had the power to stop others from doing harm, they should be allowed to do it. No questions asked. No red tape. No deliberation. Just action.

Eraserhead told him, but really, he was telling everyone else, that if they are unable to, don’t stick their neck out for someone outside of their reach. His reasoning was solid, and his words were brutal, but they were necessary. A room full of hero hopefuls, and all of them would likely throw themselves to the wolves if it meant there was a chance someone else could be saved, even at the cost of themselves.

Eraserhead and Vlad King went out to meet with the villains while the clones of Ectoplasm that remained guided the escape efforts. One of them pulled him aside, leaning in close, “Who are you?”

The question caught him off guard, but it was still expected, “Denki Kaminari? Hero student? One of your students in your math class?”

Ectoplasm’s mask has him perpetually smiling, but you could tell he was looking at him unimpressed.

“Listen, you obviously have questions and are suspicious of me, but is now really the time for it?” Chargebolt reasoned, “Eraserhead already has me promising to explain myself after this is over. There’s no need to repeat the sentiment. Besides, we’re wasting time. If Shigaraki’s out there, we really can’t be dawdling like this.”

Ectoplasm stared at him, weighing his options, “So long as you answer everything, I’ll use you. Assuming Uraraka-san is correct, who are the likely targets of this attack?”

“Shimura is the only one I’m absolutely confident in. Other possible targets are me and Uraraka, likely because we were the only other students that have actually spoken with Shigaraki. When we talked at the mall, he made it sound like he’d be gunning for us specifically.”

“Anybody else you can think of? Speak quickly. The real me is fading fast and I’m not sure how long the rest of the clones have left.”

Chargebolt brought a hand to his chin in thought, “The only other one that would make any sort of sense would be Yaoyorozu due to her family. She could be taken and used for a hefty ransom from her parents, or sold off to other villains in the black market, or maybe be given to the Yaoyorozu conglomerate’s more cutthroat business competitors that were looking for a way to gain some ground against them. They might even make take her for themselves and force her to create whatever they need for their plans.”

“I don’t even want to imagine how you already are aware of some of the goings-on in the black market, and the darkness of some villains, but you bring up decent points.”

In response, an Ectoplasm clone called out to the room, “Uraraka, Shimura, and Yaoyorozu, please join me first.”

Uraraka and Shimura joined Ectoplasm without complaint while Yaoyorozu startled at being mentioned as well. Her eyes widened in realization that she was being prioritized as well because she had been marked as a potential target. The rest of the students looked at her with a mixture of pity, sad acceptance, and muted relief. Everyone was on the chopping block, and while there was still a chance that they were being targeted, they all knew that those that left the lodge earlier to hide in the forest were likely higher on the list.

The clone that called them out then led the trio out through the back door.

Chargebolt watched the scene unfold and rolled his eyes, “You should’ve done that quietly instead of announcing it to the room. Now everyone else under even more stress.”

“And you’re not stressed out by any of this?” Ectoplasm countered.

Chargebolt shrugged, “Of course I am, but I’m also helping you with this, so I can’t exactly start freaking out and lose my head.”

“You should join them as well.”

“No. I’ll stay back and help with the fight. Eraserhead gave me authorization to fight to keep my classmates safe. The majority of them are still here, so until that number shifts, I’m staying.”

Ectoplasm wanted to refute that, but he could tell that Chargebolt wasn’t going to budge on this. He could try to order him, but there was a gut feeling that if a fight did break out, Chargebolt would be a great asset.

“Very well. In that case, I’ll start getting everyone else out of here. I’ll make sure to have at least one of the people in the groups be a confident fighter. When your time comes, and it will, you will go without any resistance at all. Am I understood?”

Chargebolt gave a sharp nod and walked away, leaving Ectoplasm to announce the next group of people to leave. Chargebolt returned to his original spot near a front window to watch over whatever transaction Eraserhead and Vlad King were going through with the villains. They were approaching them slowly but one of the villains, the one he thinks is Magne, stepped forward and stopped them.

“Anyone know where Eraserhead put that night vision scope?” he asked the room.

Someone walked up behind him and hummed, nudging him in the arm with what felt like the scope. Turning his head, Chargebolt was surprised to see Pinky. He looked down at the scope and took it, nodding his thanks before turning his attention back to outside. Sweeping the scope, he ignored what was happening with Eraserhead and Vlad King, but instead what the other villains that were still in the trees were doing. Mandalay said that the fire starter was hanging back, so he had to make sure he knew where they were the whole time.

He kept looking out the window but felt that Pinky hadn’t moved from where she was. Looking back, she was fidgeting a little and rubbing her left arm nervously, “Can we talk?”

“Pinky,” Chargebolt greeted, “Anything I can help you with?”

“Out of everyone, I never expected to hear you call me that,” Pinky replied, her already crossed arms adjusting to reflect her annoyance.

“Is Pinky not your hero name?” he asked back, quirking an eyebrow in confusion.

Pinky made an “O” with her mouth then let out an awkward chuckle as she realized she misread his intentions, “Oh, that’s why you called me that. Sorry. I don’t know why I thought you meant that in a mean way. It must be the nerves. Wait. Why are you calling me by my hero name?”

“Vlad King authorized us to use our quirks. With that permission, we’re more akin to heroes than students or civilians right now. It’s only proper procedure.”

“Since when are you…” she trailed off, finally taking a moment to get a good look at him. Chargebolt watched as Pinky studied him closely before recognition dawned on her, “So this is what you were talking about during the final exam.”

“It really isn’t the time to have this talk, Pinky. We’ve got an active situation on our hands.”

“I’ve tried! You blew me off whenever I tried bringing it up,” she walked around him and stood between him and the window. “Since we’re still waiting for our turn to leave, we have some time.”

Chargebolt sighed frustratedly, but still turned around to confirm her claim. More people were missing, but there was still a majority present. Ectoplasm must really be trusting him to keep his word if he wasn’t put in the earlier groups.

“Alright, fine. Only three questions, because this really isn’t a talk to have right now. And move out of the way while you’re at it. I need a clear line of sight.”

Pinky quickly denied him, “Nuh uh. You can see enough around me. Who are you?”

Chargebolt looked through the window over her shoulder before answering, “I’m getting tired of that question. Still Denki Kaminari. That hasn’t changed.”

“But something did change. You’re not Kaminari. You’re someone else that’s in his body because the Kaminari I know is nothing like…” she gestured at him, moving her hand up and down, “… this. He’s a goofy idiot that likes to have fun and takes nothing seriously. You’re quickly becoming like a second Todoroki in my eyes.”

“I feel like I should be insulted by that,” he rolled his eyes and deadpanned. “People have different faces, and this is my serious face. There’s nothing wrong with that. Two more questions.”

Through the scope, he saw that Shigaraki had kicked Tiger down, with Mandalay following suit. When he returned his focus to Pinky, she had a hand to her chin with her brow creased in thought. She was taking this a lot more seriously than he expected.

“How are you so good at using your quirk but still really suck during class?”

“I trained a lot with Conduit. He showed me what he could do and helped translate it for me so I could have an idea of what I could become. I got to the point where I could do the basics in nearly everything he taught me, but that was it. Think of it like buying a kid a sweatshirt one size up so they can grow into it.” He turned his attention back outside. Shigaraki waved his hand and Kaibara and Tsuburaba came running after stopping to speak with Eraserhead and Vlad King, “Shigaraki let go of Kaibara and Tsuburaba, they’re incoming.”

He turned around to the room to see who was left and found it nearly empty. There weren’t any more Ectoplasms roaming about, meaning they all dispersed quietly, or they were out escorting those making a break for the woods. Tentacole and Gevaudan were making their way downstairs and were headed towards the back, but stopped in the main room.

“All of the Ectoplasms are gone, so we need to move. Now,” Tentacole quickly reported before heading towards the back.

The door burst open with Kaibara and Tsuburaba entering in a hurry. Kaibara slammed the door shut, “I don’t know what the fuck’s going on, but Vlad King said we can use our quirks now, but he also said that we need to go.”

They only paused because Gevaudan stopped them so he could look them over for any injuries.

“Sorry, Pinky. Looks like your third question will have to-“

Chargebolt’s eyes widened as he saw what was happening. Shigaraki engaged Eraserhead and Vlad King as a blue and pink light suddenly emanated from the villains. The blue was moving quickly towards the pink, and just as the two connected, the light turned into a mass of blue. The blue then exploded in a bright flash. As the blue exploded, there was a loud crash coming from above them. Pinky, Kaibara, and Tsuburaba all screamed in response, ducking their heads to protect from anything that might fall on them.

Seconds later, they saw a blue light moving in the unmistakable form of a flickering flame coming from the stairwell followed by the smell of smoke and burning wood. The fire must’ve been burning hotter than normal as they could already hear the creaking and groaning of the building. Whatever was upstairs was steadily getting eaten up, forcing the fire to move on to new material, which unfortunately meant the ground floor. A portion of the ceiling fell, thankfully not in their path, but that was sure to happen in a few more moments.

Chargebolt grabbed onto Pinky, holding her huddled form as he hurried her along, “Move, move, move!”

Kaibara and Tsuburaba followed behind Gevaudan as they shielded their heads and tried covering their nose and mouth with their shirts. The creaks and groans were growing louder until there was a massive CRACK from above, resulting in one of the support beams for the roof crashing down on top of them.

“Dive!” Gevaudan yelled out.

They all dove forward to avoid getting crushed by it while also closing the distance between them and the exit. Scrambling back up, they ran the rest of the way, dodging whatever fell down or over from the destruction. The fire was starting to move faster now. Every room they passed on the way out already had flames licking at the walls and whatever was immediately flammable or combustible. Tentacole was ahead of them and thankfully had left the door open, so they ran through it.

What they were met with looked like something out of a scene from an apocalyptic movie.

A wall of blue fire roared from far ahead of them, made up entirely of the trees that they were trying to escape into. Backlit from the fires, Chargebolt could make out the outlines of students backing away from it, unable to get too close due to how hot it was burning. At about their ten o’clock was a villain that looked like they were their size, if not a little smaller, dressed in a black gakuran and wearing a gas mask. They had their hands clapped together as if in prayer before spreading their arms wide. A purple gas was expelled out of their chest and immediately expanded, stretching the full distance between the back side of the lodge and the tree line. On their right were three villains. One was dressed in dark clothes whose hands were smoking and was likely the one to set the fire. Another had a clear reptile mutation and held knives in each hand. The last was in a black and grey bodysuit, holding something that hung loosely in their hands.

The villains had boxed them in.

As they were taking in the setting, one of the students that were facing the lodge yelled out, “Look out above you!”

Everybody else looked up to see what they were talking about, but not Chargebolt. He heard the call and dove forward, trusting that whoever yelled that had a very good reason to. It was fortunate that he didn’t pause and look up, because when he turned around to see what the danger was, where he was standing was another villain in a dark yellow jacket, a strange, patterned mask, and a gaudy top hat.

“Alas, it appears one of my dear audience members has ruined my spectacular surprise appearance,” the villain said. “Nobody likes a heckler or spoilsport.”

Chargebolt let his electricity course through his arms as he took a wide stance, “Who are you? What do you want?”

“That’s the guy called Compress,” Tsuburaba answered instead, “Don’t let him get near you. He’s the one that makes the marbles.”

Compress placed a hand over his heart and acted out getting shot through the heart, “Ack! I’ve been exposed once again. Children these days have no appreciation for the finer arts. Though to answer your question, one of the things I want, is you.”

The students fell into battle stances at his proclamation. Chargebolt had a wild smile on his face, “Come and get me, then.”

Chapter Text

Despite everything screaming at him to attack, Chargebolt didn’t dash forward. Tsuburaba said don’t get near him, which was unfortunate because he had to get close to beat him. He had other options, but they would pose to be less of an asset and more as a liability.

He can throw his electricity, but it’s literally a hit or miss and he’s not consistent at being able to do it just yet. He can go straight on the offensive and attempt a blitz, hope he takes out Compress out in one hit, but since he’s a target, there is a good chance that the villains have taken into account his capabilities and possible improvements and prepared for it. He can pull out his one-point-two-million volt attack, but then it would also affect the other students around him, leaving them in an even more vulnerable situation than before, and in extension, put him at a bigger disadvantage.

The fact that the other students around him were also primarily close-range fighters didn’t help either. If they were told they shouldn’t get close to Compress, then they couldn’t beat him. Conversely, because Compress likely needs to get in close to get them, he couldn’t capture anyone if they kept their distance. They just needed to stay away to be safe, and hopefully meet up with someone else that is more reliable with long-range attacks to deal with him instead.

“Chargebolt,” a hushed voice called to him sounding like Gevaudan.

Chargebolt minutely turned his head in the general direction to indicate that he was listening, but kept his focus entirely on Compress.

“What is our move? We outnumber the villain five to one. If we all charge at once, we should be able to overwhelm him.”

He did consider that, but he still ran into the same problem. Tsuburaba said to stay away from him.

If he didn’t see Tsuburaba and Kaibara amongst the villains in the front, he would’ve disregarded the comment as nothing more than a cautious statement borne out of wariness of the villain and attacked him immediately. However, because he did see them, he had to trust that Tsuburaba knew what he was talking about. Going into a situation, especially one including a villain, without knowing all the information possible was like entering a starving lion’s den with meat hanging around your neck. There were so many unknowns with Compress and how his quirk works, and if they acted on instinct and emotions alone, it would only spell misfortune.

Was it touch-based? Was there an effective radius? Is there a maximum? Questions like these quickly flitted in Chargebolt’s mind as he tried thinking of a plan of attack.

“No,” he denied, “that’s probably exactly what he wants. We’d probably be better off if we avoid him altogether.”

“Yeah? And go where? That gas knocks out anyone who breathes it, they cut us off from the forest, the lodge is burning down, and there are villains in the way of the last way out,” Kaibara’s voice retorted.

“We’re still outnumbering the villains. We can stay out of that purple fog pretty easily, and besides this guy in front of us, there are only three other villains near us. If we account for everyone, we’ve got an overwhelming numbers advantage.”

“Kami-,” Pinky interjected.

“Chargebolt,” he corrected.

Pinky ignored him, “I think we should just take this guy down. Between all of us, I think we can do it.”

“Are you done trying to strategize?” Compress asked them. He had changed himself from a ‘ready to attack position’ to something more relaxed and cocked his head to the side, “I assure you, whatever you’re thinking of is far more complex than it needs to be. You may think I’m a bad guy, but I’m not a bad guy per se. I am more than willing to let everyone else be if the electric blond surrenders himself.”

That was also something Chargebolt considered. He was confirmed to be one of the villains’ targets, and based off his interactions, at least no one else in his immediate group was among the list as well. That meant Shimura and Uraraka were still on the table. Maybe Yaoyorozu as well if he was right in his hunch. If he gave himself up, he’d be surrendering himself to whatever plans the villains have in store for them, but he could also be saving a number of students from any unnecessary pain. Sacrificing yourself for the greater good was one of the things that made a hero a hero, right?

“Who else is on your list?” Chargebolt asked Compress.

Compress waved his hand dismissively, “Oh, no one too important. Just a few other people to make a crowd, though the invitation is open.”

“Are they among the people here?”

“Here? Yes. Here? Also yes.”

Chargebolt resisted rolling his eyes before looking over everyone around him. He had to take a careful look at who was around him as well. Compress’ answer was vague, so while he could be referring to himself, he could also be talking about someone else. What are their criteria for their targets? Are they going for people whom they could turn a profit in a ransom? Are they looking to take out those with powerful quirks who could become a problem in the future? Are they looking for weak links that could possibly be swayed to the other side?

Tsuburaba, Kaibara, Pinky, and Gevaudan all looked to him for direction. Under normal circumstances, he would be belting out orders as he moved to attack. He was still itching to go on the offensive, but would that be worth the risk?

Fighting is always fifty-fifty, no matter how much people preach about using things to their advantage. When everything is boiled down, the result is either you win or lose. The balance of the fight tilts to either side, sometimes lingering on one end for a stretch, but it never stays. It changes every second the fight goes on, and while there may be some things that one could do to gain the advantage, victory is never guaranteed.

A truly skilled fighter could fake an opening or weakness just to gain the upper hand. A physically stronger and more muscular person could still lose a fight because their muscles and bulk made it impossible for them to cover a weak spot. A one trick pony could trip if something doesn’t follow their set path.

“Fuck it. Get ready to make a move,” Chargebolt swore to himself as he shook his head.

Kaibara hissed back, “And fucking do what?”

“Attack.”

“When?”

Chargebolt didn’t answer back. The electricity that arced around him moved so it was concentrated on his right arm. He stepped forward with his right foot, pivoted on it, then planted his left foot down. His right arm swung forward, with the electricity moving down his arm in parts, quickly, but still slow enough to see the change. Like a battery meter that’s broken into thirds and was draining fast. It started by covering his entire arm, but then shrunk so it covered up to his elbow. Then it shrunk to his wrist, making it look like his hand was glowing yellow. As he finished his throw, the electricity shrunk one last time, leaving his wrist and shooting off his fist and into the air, sailing towards his target.

“Woah there!” Compress exclaimed as he saw the electricity racing towards him. He barely had enough time to dodge, only managing to bend his body like a C to avoid getting hit. “Looks like talks have-“

Chargebolt was on him immediately with his fists sparking. Having made up his mind to just go for it, he figured whoever was faster would come out the winner. In a contest of speed, unless their quirk gave them that boost, he was confident he’d come out on top.

Compress reeled at the sudden attack, turning himself sideways so Chargebolt ran past him. He tried to reach a hand out to snag him, but Chargebolt was too fast. By the time his hand came close, he was already out of range. Chargebolt dug his feet into the ground to keep from moving too far away and turned around, jumping back into the fray.

Chargebolt started with a wide swing towards Compress’ face, which he ducked under easily. Compress attempted a swipe at him, but Chargebolt jumped backwards to avoid it. Closing in again, instead of big hits, Chargebolt changed his attacks to something similar to a boxer’s combo and struck. Compress was infuriatingly still able to avoid getting a good hit on him, but from the panicked sounds coming from him, he could tell he was only just keeping ahead.

In turn, whenever he could find the opening to, Compress attempted swiping at him, trying to get at least a finger on him, but Chargebolt always moved out of the way, much to the former’s frustration.

At some point during Chargebolt’s relentless attacks, Compress dropped a marble on the ground. Compress risked a kick to give himself some space and was pleased to find out that he wasn’t electrocuted from it. Chargebolt moved back a little, granting Compress a little bit of a reprieve. Satisfied with the distance, Compress snapped his fingers. The marble glowed and a tree came out of it. From how it was oriented, it popped out of the marble at an angle, causing it to fall between them, cutting off Chargebolt’s retaliation.

“Shit! He’s probably heading right toward you! Run!” Chargebolt yelled at the others.

Nobody moved, entirely unphased by seeing the tree come out of nowhere. They stood in awe at how easily it was for Chargebolt to throw himself into a fight and how it played out. If Compress wasn’t as slippery as he was, they didn’t doubt that the fight would’ve ended as soon as it began. It was a few more beats before their minds caught up with the situation.

Compress was running towards them with the form of a track runner, “If all you’re going to do is stand around, the least you can do is let me take you out of the way.”

Tsuburaba pushed himself to the front and held his hands together in front of him, forming a cube. He inhaled deeply and blew air out, “Air Prison!”

The air from his lungs solidified as it passed through the hole made by his hands. Due to the unreliable light coming from the fires, no one could see what really happened, but by the thunk that came shortly after, Tsuburaba’s move worked.

With the initial shock of Chargebolt’s fight with Compress subsiding, and coming down from the brief spike of panic from Compress charging at them, they finally noticed what happened. Chargebolt had jumped over the fallen tree and was running over but was sparking noticeably less than before. The group of students tentatively walked towards Compress, who was stuck in a box made of Tsuburaba’s solidified air.

Compress knocked on the air experimentally to feel how hard it was. If they didn’t know that Tsuburaba trapped him, it would’ve looked like an amazing miming demonstration.

“Nice job,” Chargebolt complimented.

“It would’ve been nice to have more of a heads up. We could’ve properly coordinated something,” Kaibara remarked.

Tsuburaba playfully shoved him, “’We’? I was the only one that did anything. You were just standing there like an idiot.”

Kaibara shoved him back harder but still showing a relieved smile. He walked up to Compress and made a face at him, “Not so tough now that we’ve caught you, huh? Oh, how the turn tables.”

Tentacole and Gevaudan made their way closer to inspect Compress’ temporary prison. Compress continued to bang on the surface and looked like he was yelling as well, but barely any sound penetrated through.

“You big dummy! I can’t believe I’m the one saying this, but that was really stupid! What if he was able to get you?” Pinky berated Chargebolt as she walked up and poked his chest.

“I was pretty sure he wouldn’t, and he didn’t. It was a calculated risk.”

“Calculated? You’re worse at math than me!”

“This isn’t math,” Chargebolt responded with a hardness in his voice, causing Pinky to wilt a little, “I thought about what we knew about the enemy and acted accordingly. We knew his quirk made marbles and roughly how it was done. We needed to figure out how before we could do anything safely, and guess what? It’s not based on proximity. He kept attacking with his hands open and was trying to touch me, so it’s touch-based. So long as we stay away from him, we’ll be fine.”

“But what if it wasn’t!? You were willing to put your life on the line to test a hunch!?”

“He and the rest of the villains came here to capture some of us. By the looks of things, they’re willing to do whatever’s necessary. If he captured me, then he’d at least leave the rest of you alone and go looking for the others. Sacrifice one for the safety of many. Isn’t that what heroes do?”

Before Pinky could refute, Tentacole interrupted her. Looking over, he had a few of his limbs set as ears and were pressed up against the box, “Um, guys. He’s trying to talk to us.”

They walked over to where the rest had congregated, “What’s he saying?”

“I’m paraphrasing here, but he started with saying something about ‘the woes of being captured’ with heavy sarcasm. Now he’s asking if we would like to know how he got into the show business that later became his step into thievery.”

Chargebolt raised an eyebrow at that, “We really shouldn’t be indulging in this. We’re still in an active situation.”

“He said it’ll be really quick,” Tentacole received incredulous looks from everyone around him. He turned his attention back to Compress, “He says he can read lips.”

The group shared a look before ultimately settling on Chargebolt, deferring to him since he took up the leadership role. Chargebolt sighed then shrugged, “Fine. But make it quick.”

Compress answered the question, waving his arms around as he told them his story. When it looked like he was done, he turned his attention to Tentacole, clearly showing he was finished.

“He said that he’s the great-great-grandson of the Peerless Thief, Oji Harima,” Tentacole relayed, still giving them the shorthand. “He said that even though he played a major role in his path and was an inspiration, there was one other person that really sold him. He wasn’t a thief, but a famous magician from long ago instead. From even further back into the pre-quirk era.”

They waited for the reveal of who it was, but it looked like Compress wasn’t speaking. Tentacole shook his head to confirm nothing was said. Instead, Compress turned himself sideways, so his left profile faced them and leaned against the wall. He reached into a pocket and pulled out another marble and held it out on the palm of his left hand.

Chargebolt’s eyes widened in realization as Compress raised his right hand and snapped, “GET BACK!”

The marble glowed and another tree appeared, shattering the box he was in. One end extended itself into the gaggle of students, cutting them off from Chargebolt.

“Every magician in the world knows of Harry Houdini. But do you know what made him so famous? It was because of his escape tricks.” Now free, he ran towards Chargebolt who was distracted and lost sight of him because of the tree branches.

Compress broke through a few branches that separated him and Chargebolt with his arm outstretched. Out of reflex, Chargebolt brought his arm up to block the attack, with the electricity just starting to come back online, but he wasn’t fast enough. Compress grabbed his forearm, and while there was still a shock, it wasn’t as strong as it would’ve been.

There was a bright flash and then a teal marble appeared. Compress snatched it out of the air and raised a hand to his ear, “The electric blond has been acquired. Where are the others?”

“What do we do!? What do we do!?” Shimura whisper-yelled from their hiding place.

Uraraka, Yaoyorozu, and he had made it to the forest. While they would’ve preferred that Ectoplasm stay with them, he had to go back to help evacuate the rest of the students, but he didn’t leave them without instruction. Even though their new plan was half-cocked at best, the part that mattered was solid. Or as solid as it could be given the circumstance.

The bulk of it was to get as deep into the forest as they could get but still be able to safely navigate back to the clearing when backup came and hide. Between himself and Yaoyorozu, that should be easy as pie. He could burrow them under the ground somewhere or into the side of a cliff if they couldn’t find any suitable hiding places and hunker down there. Yaoyorozu would be able to make some temporary reinforcements or even some weapons if it came down to it, so their safety should be ensured.

Despite that, they were still very much on their own.

Soon after breaking the tree line, a wave of heat washed over their backs. They turned around to find blue fire burning bright and strong, and growing and spreading quickly. Even from how far away they were from it, they could feel the heat rolling off it in waves, forcing them to trek further and further into the forest.

On the one hand, moving deeper into the forest would make it a lot easier to hide. On the other, the deeper they went, the further away they were from safety and the chance of being caught all alone with villains increases. Still though, since they successfully made it to the forest and were able to hide themselves, they should be able to last the rest of the attack.

The area they were in was on a slight decline from the lodge, so they were fortunate enough to find a little bit of a lip that was made from a fallen tree. They jumped over it and quickly dug themselves in a little more so that they had a bit of an overhang from the tree above them. Yaoyorozu quickly created a camouflage sheet and pinned it to the tree trunk and threw it over them like a curtain. They were still a little visible from the sides, but in the dark of the night, they should be safe enough so long as they don’t do anything to draw attention on themselves.

“Shimura-kun, I don’t believe we need to do anything more than what we’ve already done,” Yaoyorozu whispered back, “Ectoplasm-sensei told us specifically to stay hidden, Aizawa-sensei told us to prioritize ourselves first, and because we’re supposedly targets, we need to think smart. Right now, we’re safe, and we should stay here to keep it like that.”

“We might be safe, but everyone else isn’t! We should be helping them fight back, not hiding out.”

“But what can we do?” Yaoyorozu asked. From her position on the floor, she pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly, “The villains have infiltrated a camp that was supposed to be safe and secure. They’ve taken down nearly all of the heroes that are here, and we’re supposedly targets. The teachers and the Pussycats are giving it their all to keep us safe, and if we go back out there, we would be doing a disservice to their sacrifice.”

“Yeah, Shimura-kun, we can’t really do much. The villains want to get us, which means we’re way safer now because they don’t know where we are. If we went back to join the fight, we’d be giving them what they want,” Uraraka added. She was sitting on the floor as well with her knees to the side and leaning on her right hand.

Shimura grumbled, “Just because you’re right doesn’t mean I have to agree with it.”

He dropped the topic for now and fell into a tense silence.

Periodically, they could hear someone scream out loud for one reason or another, and they all winced in response. There would be loud booms from explosions, or giant cracks from trees breaking, or slams from things impacting the ground heavily. So many sounds from what seems like a very intense battle happening, but all they could see, and just barely due to how dark it was, was the outlines of each other from their hiding place.

Time was lost on them, but the sounds of fighting died down. They could faintly hear the sounds of people yelling, but for the most part, there was nothing. Shimura looked at Yaoyorozu and Uraraka, silently asking them for permission to peak and see what caused the decrease in fighting. Yaoyorozu and Uraraka shared a look before nodding. He turned to the opening on his side and leaned to get out, but a grip on his wrist stopped him.

Turning back, he saw Yaoyorozu holding onto him, “Here, take this.” Her arm shimmered and glowed before she put her hand over the area and turned it over, showing three earpieces, “That way we won’t be left in the dark.”

Shimura nodded and grabbed one, as did Uraraka, before leaving. He went out a few more steps before testing the earpiece, “How’s it sounding?”

“Loud and clear,” Yaoyorozu responded.

“All good!” Uraraka confirmed.

After pausing for a moment to try and memorize where they were, he climbed onto the top of the lip they were under and made his way back. Getting back to the lodge was the easy part, as all he had to do was go in the direction of the fire. It was trying to find ways to remember the way back, that was the hard part. Without being able to rely on things like a bright fabric to act as an anchor, or a trail of lights that marked his way back, or a pathway that would resemble a trail, or even a compass, he had to get creative.

Every third tree or so, he placed a hand on it, decaying a portion of it on the side he was coming from. Hopefully, it would be enough to guide him back.

He got closer to the fire but noticed that it had indeed grown. Instead of it burning up a rough line of trees, it had spread deeper inward. While the heat from it was hot to begin with, it was now scorching and suffocating. He couldn’t see how far wide it reached, but he was willing to bet that it stretched a good distance, far enough so that walking around it wouldn’t be a conceivable option.

“I don’t think we can make it back to the camp,” he reported back to Yaoyorozu and Uraraka. “That big fire we felt a while back? Well, it’s bigger now and I can’t see the end of it on either side.”

Yaoyorozu answered first, “Oh dear, are there any signs of our classmates? Perhaps some were able to make it through?”

He shook his head despite her not seeing him, “Doubtful. The fire’s hot, and the only people that could possibly make it through are Todoroki and Kirishima, but even then, I think that’s reaching.”

“Well, maybe that’s also a good thing, right?” Uraraka chimed in, “If the fire’s keeping people away and the villains are fighting everyone else, that means they can’t make it through either, right? We’re safe, then.”

“Maybe the fire guy can since he made it. Probably, definitely Shigaraki can.”

Yaoyorozu added on, “It’s also possible that they stationed some villains out here beforehand.”

“I actually didn’t think of that. Unless we can successfully hide the whole time until backup arrives, we may have to fight our way out.”

Shimura turned back the way he came, but now all he saw was pitch black. His eyes had adjusted to the light coming from the fire, so when he turned away, it was like he couldn’t even see past his nose. He blinked rapidly to aid the process of readjusting to low light.

“I’m coming back. I don’t want anybody to see that we were able to make it out.”

“Oh, it’s far too late for that,” Compress quietly commented from above him. He raised a hand to his ear, “I found Shigaraki’s pet project in the forest. He’s speaking with somebody else over a communication device, which means the other students we were looking for that weren’t out in the open are with him. Everyone pull out and meet at the rendezvous point, the show’s just about over.”

“Ooooh, you found Tenkkun?” Toga’s excited voice replied first, now back to normal. “Can you wait for me? I want to see Tenkkun again.”

“Toga, what happened to your Shigaraki disguise?”

“Eraserhead was being a meanie and used his quirk on me, so I’m back to normal now.”

“Could you not just transform back? You don’t sound like he’s pursuing you.”

“That’s cause he’s not. After he canceled my quirk, I gave him and Vlad the slip. I’ll change back to Shi-kun when I find you, I don’t have much of his blood leftover now. Where are you exactly?”

Compress relayed his position as best as he could and hoped it would suffice. The forest really does look the exact same, no matter where they were at.

He watched as Shimura moved back through the forest, slowly following where he was going. It was clear to him that Shimura left some sort of markings and was searching for them, so progress was sluggish, but it never stopped. Eventually, Shimura must’ve made his way back because he led him to a dug out beneath a fallen tree, where Shimura hopped down and hugged the wall until he went behind a cover.

Compress silently clapped his hands together in applause and approval, “Brilliant. Had I not been fortunate enough to see the young lad, I doubt any of us would’ve found them. Now, to wait for miss Toga…”

He climbed down from the branch he was on and quietly crept up to the fallen tree before laying down on top of it. He could hear the hushed whispers of the students hiding beneath him and made out three distinct voices, two girls and one boy.

“Maybe you should try and contact the school?” one of the girls asked, “I know Mina-chan and Toru-chan made a call out, but they probably didn’t call the school, right? I feel like Principal Nezu would want some sort of update.”

The other girl hummed in consideration, “That is a possibility. He did reveal that our trackers only track our location and basic health statuses, so maybe he’s already deduced something was wrong. That sounds like a sound course of action.”

“Better than just sitting here, I guess,” the third voice, Shigaraki’s project, Tenkkun, Shimura, assented.

There was a brief period of silence before a sound of frustration came out from the second girl, “That was a waste. I created a normal phone and not a satellite one.”

“There’s a difference?” the first girl asked.

“The Pussycats probably use private networks and cell towers, which is probably another reason why we weren’t allowed phones. Unless we were granted access prior, we wouldn’t be able to use them.” Shimura explained instead, “Satellite phones bypass cell towers and use the satellites orbiting Earth. When camping, it’s always a good idea to have a satellite phone as well in case of emergencies.”

“Oh, that’s really smart. Yaomomo, can’t you just make another?”

The second girl, now revealed to be Yaomomo, or Yaoyorozu, Compress figured, answered, “I can, it’s just frustrating because I wasted my lipids on an otherwise useless creation. I was already running low from the training and the meager dinner, I can’t afford to waste any more.”

Compress quietly stood up and moved away from their hiding spot, “Toga, if you don’t get a move on, I’m taking them without you.”

He waited for a few moments before the rustling of leaves turned his attention to the left. Coming into a small clearing, he was met with Toga, who was dressed as Shigaraki again, Dabi, Twice, Spinner, and Compress.

Dabi walked up to Compress, “Where are they?”

Compress shot a thumb behind him, “Beneath a fallen tree. The front is covered by a drape or curtain. By the sounds of it, all three are there and are attempting to make contact with UA. Not like it’ll make a difference at this point. Yaoyorozu and Shimura are there, not sure who the third one is, but I’m willing to bet that it’s the Uraraka girl.”

Dabi hummed and placed a hand on Compress’ shoulder, “Good work. We’ll take it from here.”

Dabi’s palm burst into a blue flame, setting fire to Compress. Compress didn’t make a sound of pain, as it broke back down into mud.

“I could’ve just dismissed him, you know. Good riddance,” Twice commented.

“This is it,” Dabi addressed the group. “Mustard is heading to the rendezvous, Magne is probably captured now, but that’s no real issue.”

“Says you. Shigaraki will probably ream us out when he finds out we let one of us get captured,” Spinner mumbled while side eyeing Toga.

Dabi glared at him, “Quiet. Shit happens. I’m sure he’ll understand so long as we get everybody. You got sparky and bird-head right?”

“Indeed I did,” Compress confirmed.

“Perfect, then these will be our last, then we can finally go home. Toga, you bring them out. Compress, be ready to snag them.”

Toga saluted him sarcastically, “Aye aye! Actually. Uhm.” She tapped at her chin in thought, “Spinner and Twice, can you two walk nearby them and make a conversation? See if you can coax them out. Maybe they’ll be stupid enough to try and attack you!”

Twice deadpanned at her, “Are we only decoys to you? Anything for you, Toga-chan!”

“You better be in position,” Spinner pointed accusingly at Compress and Toga, “I’m not trying to get jumped by a bunch of hero brats.”

“Don’t be such a big baby. They’re brats, not heroes,” Dabi shoved him towards the fallen tree. Spinner and Twice made their way over, with the former begrudgingly starting a completely fake conversation. Dabi pulled a phone out of his pocket and held it up to his ear.

It picked up on the second ring with Kurogiri’s cordial voice answering, “Dabi. I take it that you have accomplished the task Kagero Shigaraki has set out for you?”

“Just about to,” he answered, “I just wanted to let you know to open portals on two positions. One at the rendezvous and one off my mark here.”

“I see. Did you have complications?”

“None worth noting. Just be ready.”

“Of course.”

“Here they come,” Toga commented, rolling her neck as she got back into character.

Whatever they were talking about, it was enough to stir the students in hiding. Despite their position, Dabi could hear the hushed argument between the students before the sound of a curtain being pulled came out and Crusty’s grating voice, “You fucks are going to get it now!”

“Showtime,” Toga smiled cruelly as she walked towards the lip of the fallen tree, and purely for the theatrics, she jumped and flipped over them, landing so she was in between Shimura and Spinner. She intercepted Shimura’s attack by holding onto his forearm, leaving his hand flailing around uselessly, “Long time no see, Tenkkun.”

Shimura froze as he realized who was in front of him again. He tried yanking his arm back, but Toga’s grip was too strong. There were more sounds coming out from behind Shimura, likely the other students he was hiding with, moving to join the fight.

With a silent nod to Compress, Dabi hopped down with him and landed behind the others. Dabi ended up behind a girl with black hair in a pony tie while Compress was behind the other, this one with brown hair in a bob cut.

Dabi quickly grabbed the back of the girl with black hair’s neck. In a practiced response, she turned her head to her left to try and get a view of him before attempting to duck under his arm to break out of the hold. Dabi moved with her to keep control of her neck, and when she lifted her left hand to strike at him, he leaned out of the way and grabbed onto her wrist before twisting it behind her back. As a warning, he activated his quirk at the absolute lowest level possible, earning him a stiff inhale from her, “I’d stay still, princess. I would hate messing up someone of your standing.”

The other girl didn’t put up a fight at all, because as soon as Compress touched her shoulder, she became a teal marble.

Hearing the commotion behind him, Shimura turned around, and whatever color that was left on his face completely drained away as he saw what was happening. The rigidness in his body faded as his strength left him, causing him to collapse like a puppet without strings, only being held up by Toga’s grip.

“Why are you looking so down, Tenkkun? I said this would happen, didn’t I?” Toga tilted her head as she lifted him up by his arm, high enough to have his feet leave the ground, “I told you that we’d see each other soon, and you’d be able to talk with more people. Did you think I was lying? I never go back on my word; unlike some heroes I know. What did your teachers tell you? That you’d be safe here? That they were doing all they could to keep you away from me?”

“Don’t listen to him, Shimura-kun!” Yaoyorozu defiantly yelled as she fought against Dabi’s hold, “He’s just trying to get into your head! You know you can’t trust the words of a villain!”

“Be quiet, Yaoyorozu. This isn’t about words coming from a villain,” Toga glared at her with Shigaraki’s eyes growing the dangerous toxic green, “Why is a hero’s word any better than a villain’s anyway? How many times has a hero said something along the lines of ‘it’s alright now, because I am here!’ but later failed because they were too weak to back up their bold claims? Didn’t Eraserhead say something like that before I took him down at the USJ? Wasn’t that the general sentiment during the attack in Hosu?”

Yaoyorozu’s fight withered a little.

“That’s what I thought.”

Toga dug into one of her pockets and pulled out her phone, dialing a number. She didn’t bring it up to her ear, nor did she say a word, but a portal opened nearby.

“I said that we’d meet again and you’d have a chance to bounce your ideas off more people, but I wasn’t necessarily including you when I said that.”

Hearing that, Shimura perked back up again, his eyes going wide as saucers before a fire lit behind them as he started to fight against Toga’s hold. When he couldn’t break free, he tried grabbing her arm with his free hand, but Toga spun around and slammed him on the ground, causing him to let out a choked gasp as the air left his lungs.

“Don’t worry about your friends, Tenkkun. I’ll be sure to take real good care of them.”

Dabi and the rest of the League took that as their cue to enter the portal, with Spinner going first, followed by Twice.

Shimura was still gasping for his breath as he flipped onto his stomach, bringing himself up on his hands and knees as he started to crawl towards them. He tried reaching out to grasp anybody, but they were too far away. His eyes turned pleading, “No! Don’t! Take me! I know you want me, so just take me! I’ll go with you! Leave them and take me!”

Dabi walked through next, frog-marching Yaoyorozu into it despite her attempts at fighting back.

“Stop! Don’t! Come back! Take me with you, god dammit!” Shimura was back on his feet now, but instead of being able to run like he was hoping, he was hobbling forward.

Compress bowed like he finished a performance before entering the portal, leaving Toga all alone with Shimura.

“You bastard! Let them go! I swear I’ll join you!” Toga retracted her mask and smiled wickedly at him before she turned towards the portal and walked through, “No! Come back here!”

Shimura was nearly into the portal before Compress’ hand came back through, roughly shoving him in his chest and causing him to stumble backwards. The rest of Compress’ arm came through, followed by the rest of his body. He dug into a pocket and produced two more marbles before throwing them at the ground in front of Shimura.

“Let it be known that I do keep my word. Please be sure to let dear Mandalay know this,” Compress said to him before stepping backwards and into the portal, leaving one hand outside of it.

The hand snapped and the marbles glowed, shortly revealing an unconscious Pixie-Bob and Ragdoll. Shimura stumbled over their prone forms, and in a last-ditch effort, he launched himself at the portal, hoping to make it through.

Before his hand could even get close, the portal closed.

“NOOOOO!” Shimura screamed. In his rage, he slammed an open hand onto the ground where the portal was. A wave of decay and destruction washed over the land.

Chapter Text

Eraserhead looked over the carnage that befell the Wild, Wild Pussycats’ lodge and camp with an unbelieving and completely defeated expression.

“How did this happen?” he asked out loud to no one. “We changed everything. Only communication through secure lines once on site, no explicit mentions of the location or who we’ll be working with while planning, tracking monitors, an extra hero, every conceivable precaution we could take within reason we did, and it still came out to this.”

Emergency services had gotten onto the Pussycats’ land long before the villains left, but they were just now making it onto the camp proper. The sabotage that the villains did on the road worked to perfection. When one of the workers came up to Eraserhead to get a rundown of the situation, he apologized profusely for the delay as they had arrived earlier but had trouble clearing the way, as well as trying to find an alternate route to bypass the fires. Eraserhead waved him off, fully aware that there was only so much that could be done with no notice. Shortly after the report, the sound of plane engines filled the sky as a pair of aerial firefighters came over the ridge. They split off from each other, one flying towards the back of the lodge and the other towards the front. They came down low and opened their payloads, dropping thousands of liters of water on the still growing fires.

In the back of his mind, Eraserhead worried about the safety of the students still out there, particularly the ones that likely fell victim to the purple fog, but he figured being drenched and potentially bruised was far better than being burnt alive.

With the fires dealt with and a number of ambulances and other emergency vehicles littered around what remained of the lodge, it was deemed safe enough for everyone able to re-enter the forest in search of all those missing. Once freed from their restraints, Mandalay and Tiger immediately set out to find Ragdoll and Pixie-Bob, spearheading the search effort, leading Vlad King, the workers, and some local heroes that came as backup into the forest.

Eraserhead hung back to direct the EMTs where needed and to speak with the police officers that came as well. While he would normally jump at the chance to not have to interact with anybody, seeing as most people missing are Vlad King’s class and half of the Pussycats’ team, he figured he’d bite the bullet this one time. Once those tasks were completed, he still had to deal with the students that were caught in the fight in no-man’s land. He called them over when relative silence returned. Slowly, they made their way to him. His gaze swept over the gathered students.

Aoyama was hunched over and hugging his stomach, feeling the strain of having to use his quirk so much. Kirishima, Koda, Sato, and Mineta were sprawled on the ground panting with exertion. Sero, Hagakure, and Bakugo were all upright but were sporting long slashes and small burns. Shishida, Kaibara, Shoji, Tsuburaba, and Ashido appeared to be the least injured out of the rest of the students, but they were significantly more downcast than everyone else combined, particularly Ashido.

There was no sign of Shimura, Yaoyorozu, and Uraraka, but given they were the first ones out, hopefully they were able to make it into the forest before the fires started up again. At some point during the fight, people heard, and some even felt, a massive rumble somewhere beyond the forest fire. To their knowledge, only a handful of people at the camp have that capability, so they were praying that it wasn’t due to an unaccounted villain’s action, but Shimura’s instead.

There was a noticeable lack of 1-B students as well, but Eraserhead figured that was expected considering the purple fog was first sighted spreading around where they would be.

There were also others that should’ve been there but weren’t present. He did another head count to confirm he would be calling for the right people, and not misnaming anyone or adding to the mounting stress, “Does anyone have eyes on Kaminari or Tokoyami? They should’ve been out here as well.”

Immediately, he could tell he said the wrong things. Ashido clammed up and fell to the ground, her legs forming a W as her hands dropped numbly to the ground. Shishida, Kaibara, Tsuburaba, and Shoji all averted their eyes and looked down or away as if in shame. Eraserhead felt a pit forming in his stomach and a weight being added to his soul. He looked around at the other students, seeing Sero and Bakugo sporting similar expressions, while Hagakure’s clothes showed how downtrodden she was.

The weight sank to the bottom. He turned away from them and stuck a finger to his ear, activating his comm, “Report. Kaminari and Tokoyami are missing. Does anyone have a visual? What happened to Shimura, Yaoyorozu, and Uraraka? Where are the rest of my students?”

“We’ve recovered most of the 1-B students from around where they told the Pussycats they’d be stationed along the test of courage,” Vlad King quickly responded. “No sign of Kendo, Kodai, Monoma, or Honenuki, but we’re still looking.”

Mandalay was next, “We found the rest of 1-A.” She paused a beat before correcting herself, “We found Todoroki, Jiro, Asui, and Ojiro. I remembered the villains had them when Tiger and I were captured, but the one called Compress took them back. He must’ve released them when they left- Pixie-Bob and Ragdoll! He promised he would release them too. If we can find them, we should be able to round up everyone quickly.”

“I wouldn’t put too much stock in the word of a villain. It may be better to assume-“ Vlad King tried reasoning with her but got cut off.

“No! Normally I would agree with you, but I can’t accept that this time. Villains have so little in the way of trustworthiness already, and unless they’re higher backed, the most they have are their words and their actions that follow. Compress had no reason to release the students once he had them, yet he did anyway, despite one of them being Endeavor’s son. He told Tiger and me that he’d release Ragdoll and Pixie when they left. The villains are gone, so they have to be out here somewhere. We just need to find them.”

Eraserhead listened to Mandalay’s reasoning and felt his heart break a little. He could tell she was just as desperate to recover her teammates as he was in getting his students back, but he honestly didn’t believe they were still with them.

“Well keep your eyes peeled, but still, be prepared for the worst,” Eraserhead advised. “Any sign of Ectoplasm? He should be a higher priority since he was likely injured from that gunshot.”

“Not yet. With how he’s gone dark and how long ago it was, he may no longer be with us,” Tiger answered.

It was Eraserhead’s turn to refute, “Absolutely not. I know Ectoplasm. He wouldn’t let something like that stop him. He probably got shot, but he’s not dead.”

It was hypocritical of him to believe that Ragdoll and Pixie-Bob were gone while he was refusing the notion that Ectoplasm is dead, but he didn’t care. He knew in his gut that he was alive. If Shigaraki wanted them dead, he would’ve killed them three times over at this point.

He was content to believe this as well, except for one inexplicable fact: Shigaraki wasn’t even there. The attack was planned out and orchestrated by him, but he wasn’t present.

The person that had been running around dressed as him turned out to be a blonde girl. A blonde girl that was likely the same person that broke into the stadium during the Sports Festival and called herself Aoi Mizuhara at the Kiyashi Ward mall.

The villains that attacked the camp were undoubtedly new members of the League of Villains. Real members. Completely unlike the rabble that invaded the USJ. While they were able to identify some of them, it was only because the villains introduced themselves. The only one that they could identify with their own knowledge was Magne.

That alone brought up even more problems.

Ignoring those, since Shigaraki wasn’t there to oversee or lead the attack, how closely would the League follow the orders he undoubtedly gave out? Just because they worked well together doesn’t mean they’re completely under his thumb. Just because he may not have killed anybody, at least that they know of, doesn’t mean the villains will show that same restraint. Just because he wasn’t there physically doesn’t mean his presence wasn’t felt.

What felt like hours had passed since the attack ended. Everyone had been rushed out of the camp and into the closest hospital for further treatment as soon as the roads were cleared, and they were certain that there were no stragglers in the forest. As they were being transported out, the heroes and students couldn’t help but look back at the campgrounds as it faded back into the night and mull over the results of the attack.

Dozens of acres of the Pussycats’ forest had been burned down and their lodge is nothing but smoldering remains.

Of the thirty-nine students at the camp: eighteen of them are in serious condition from inhaling the fog villain’s quirk, eleven suffered minor injuries with five of those showing signs of quirk exhaustion, six came out relatively unscathed in the way of injuries. The final four were confirmed as being captured. Of those that didn’t fall victim to the fog quirk at the very start of the attack, most notably Mina Ashido, Tsuyu Asui, Kyoka Jiro, Neito Monoma, and Tenko Shimura, have started retreating within themselves.

With the heroes, Eraserhead, Vlad King, Mandalay, and Tiger came out with minor cuts, scrapes, and bruises. Ragdoll and Pixie-Bob were both found injured at the apex of a cone of destruction. The former had slight blood loss, but overall, they were in good condition. Ectoplasm had been found lying on the ground with a large puddle of blood at the base of a nearby tree. His helmet had been removed and looked to have been thrown away in a hurry, his jacket had been torn open and his suit mangled at the entry wound like someone or something tried tearing it off. Upon closer examination, minor first aid was applied to the gunshot wound in an effort to staunch blood flow. Because Ectoplasm was last reported to be fighting the gas quirk user, it’s assumed that they were the ones to do it, but for reasons unknown.

On the villains’ side, only one of them was captured and arrested, Magne. The girl that was masquerading as Kagero Shigaraki had abandoned Magne as soon as her disguise was dropped, leaving her to fend for herself. Without support and at an overwhelming disadvantage, Magne was quickly subdued due to the combined efforts of Eraserhead and Vlad King.

The villains disappeared without a trace shortly after, their objective having been completed.

With a score of one to four, the heroes took a clear loss again.

A mob of people stood outside of UA’s gates, which were sealed shut. A mixture of reporters, paparazzi, protestors, and even a few lesser heroes yelled for a response from UA, with some even going up and banging on the gate which looked more like blast doors to shield from explosions.

“Open your gates!”

“Are you going to take responsibility for your failures?!”

“I’m from the Hero News Network! Are you going to release an official statement regarding the events that just transpired!?”

“How can a school of your standing let villains trample all over you?!”

“What do you have to say to the families of the victims?!”

“How can we trust you to provide us with strong heroes to protect us if you can’t even protect yourselves?!”

“UA sucks!”

“Heroes suck! Give the power back to the people!”

A cacophony of cries from outraged citizens and overzealous reporters fell on the gate’s deaf ears.

“This is an embarrassment, through and through,” Nezu stated sullenly but if listened to close enough, they could hear hints of anger. He had called yet another meeting of his staff to go over what to do regarding the missing students, “We have been outmaneuvered by the villains every step of the way, and even though we took on additional precautions, we still were hopelessly outmatched. Not only that, but because of our failures, four students, my students, are now in the clutches of those very same villains.”

It was very rare to hear Nezu sound so defeated and angry, but the other teachers couldn’t help but share the sentiment. They failed to pull through when it mattered the most and they were paying the price for it.

“Do we know why they took those four?” Kayama asked after a stretched silence. “I mean, they all did make it to the final round of the Sports Festival, and that’s usually a contributing factor, right? Villains, and even other heroes, tend to focus on the finalists, so maybe it’s that?”

“Isn’t that too simple? Shigaraki doesn’t strike me as the type to do things based solely on one’s combat prowess and strength of quirk,” Ishiyama countered.

Aizawa shook his head and huffed, “You’re focusing on the wrong things. It doesn’t matter why Shigaraki did anything because it’s already done. What we need to do now is figure out how we’re going to deal with the fallout.”

“If Shota’s the one to bring up the topic of media backlash, things really must be serious,” Yamada teased to ease the tension in the room.

“I wasn’t talking about the media. I don’t care about it at all. I never have, never will. What I was talking about was because of the shitshow the camp turned out to be, we now have to deal with worried citizens, angered parents, the board of directors for the school, and even the HPSC. It doesn’t matter what we do, we won’t get out unscathed, but if we try to get ahead of everything, we would at least be able to control the damage.”

“Quite right,” Nezu agreed. “We were able to avoid holding a press conference in the aftermath of the USJ incident, and though we had a connection to Hosu, that was swept aside because of the extensive damage to the city. This time, however, four students were captured and one of our own was critically injured, all under our noses. We will be forced to face our consequences, and we will accept them without complaint. In times like this, humility is our only option if we want to make it out in one piece.”

Everybody grumbled but no one disagreed. They were all aware that UA has been held up to a higher degree of expectations than other hero schools, but despite that, they’ve failed to meet them time and time again, all within the span of a single semester. No one would accept lofty words of plans to do better at this point, only the actions taken in response.

“Majima-kun, where are the last recorded pings of our missing students?” Nezu directed at him.

Majima sat up straighter in his chair before leaning forward to type onto the tabletop. The holographic display came up in front of him before it appeared again at the top of the U their tables were situated in. The picture showed the rough outline and map of the Pussycat’s land that they were in with many red dots spread throughout. There were twenty-one of them spread in a loose circle, twenty-two in a clump, and more spread throughout the map in seemingly random locations.

Majima began his explanation, “For context, this is the location of all the trackers at the start of the test of courage. The ones in the circle-shape are 1-B students, the clump are 1-A, Mandalay, Pixie-Bob, and Tiger, and the others are Aizawa, Kan, Ectoplasm, and his clones.”

He pressed a button and the dots started to move. Pressing another one, the movements sped up until a stationary dot in the circle disappeared, shortly followed by the dots that were moving around the forest. He paused it.

“The first dot that disappeared was the tracker that Ragdoll was wearing, and all the others are Ectoplasm’s clones.”

“How could that happen? Where did they go?” Kurose asked.

“That was likely due to the villain they called Compress,” Aizawa guessed with his arms crossed and a frown on his face, “He’s able to turn objects, and people I guess, into these small marbles. Since Ectoplasm didn’t comment about how his clones were disappearing, it’s likely that those marbles are something like pocket dimensions. If people were the target, they were probably cut off entirely from the outside world but still lucid. That could explain how they got around Ectoplasm and were able to get rid of the clones immediately without raising suspicion.”

Majima and everyone else turned to observe Nezu, who was silent throughout. He was studying the map with intensity in his eyes. Without acknowledging them, he just nodded his head. Majima took that as his cue to play back the “footage”. The dots moved around with some disappearing, then reappearing, then disappearing again. As it continued, the staff’s expressions became more tense, with some of them gritting their teeth or leaning forward more.

It was both a relief and beyond frustrating that they were able to at least have a clue of the situation but were unable to actually see what the students had gone through. Aizawa and Kan were both present, but they had their own fires to put out, so they didn’t know the full scope of what happened.

Majima kept it going without interruption all the way up until the map suddenly zoomed out far, displaying one red dot further east in Yokohama and a red blob in Shizuoka. A collective sharp breath was made upon seeing it.

“Is this current?” Nezu quietly asked.

Majima tapped on the keyboard before nodding, “It is now.”

The map zoomed in on the lone dot in Yokohama, showing it coming from almost exactly on the border between the downtown and business district and the slums.

Kayama and Yamada immediately stood up, pushing their chairs backwards, “We’ve got their location. Let’s get this over to the police immediately so we can mobilize and move out.”

Others moved to follow them, but Nezu’s paw stopped everyone in their tracks. He was still staring at the screen, “Four students were taken, were they not?”

Kayama looked between Nezu and the screen before it dawned on her, “Where are the other three?”

It took everything that Yagi had to not bulk up and exit the conference room upon seeing the location, disappear into the night, and go on a single-minded crusade fueled by vengeance to destroy everything that that man has and stands for, his status as the Symbol of Peace be damned.

He wouldn’t leave a single stone unturned, would bring building upon building down, and would reduce every single one of the Nomus into nothing but red paste if it meant that every speck of him was eradicated from existence. He heard online chatter and off-hand comments about how scary it would be if All Might was evil and used his strength to wreak havoc instead of herald justice, and almost considered giving them a glimpse of it.

He was completely fine being the target of his ire so long as it was only him, but now, that was no longer the case. Now, it was him, his successor, Kagero Shigaraki, and the band of punks that called themselves the League of Villains versus All Might, UA, and a number of other heroes and figures that are both in and out of the know.

Before, they had privacy. Both sides could go about their business and not worry about anybody else interfering because that’s how they crafted it.

He wouldn’t bring anybody else into the fight because he’s a glory hog and would want the satisfaction of crossing off another user himself. All Might wouldn’t bring anybody else in because they simply didn’t stand a chance. They were far too weak to fight against him and would only end up with their quirks being turned against them because they were stolen. No. All Might was the only one who could face off against him.

Now, he apparently had a successor. One that had been carefully groomed for who knows how long, into a near-perfect imitation of how All Might remembered him when he was younger, if not even more cruel and calculating. The move was so unlike what All Might would expect, which meant it had the most devastating effect. He has insurance, a prospect for the future, goals beyond the guaranteed death of every holder.

All Might has none of that. He has no successor, nobody to carry on the torch of One For All and be the Symbol that Japan can rally behind, no one to be the All Might against Kagero Shigaraki. He only had two goals in the past, both of which he thought were already fulfilled years ago. To find out that one of them, the more important one at that, wasn’t realized left him feeling unbalanced and like a fraud.

To atone, he feels like all that’s left for him to do is to fight solo against a monster with incalculable strength with only mere embers of a power that used to be a raging inferno.

The only reason Yagi didn’t act on his dark thoughts was because a single, fearful, and worry-filled observation broke through the angry haze in his mind.

“Where are the other three?”

Yagi had been physically present in the conference room but not mentally. Like every other time he was invited in on Nezu’s staff meetings, he sat to his left, but unlike before, he was slouched in his seat with his arms crossed and a frown etched on his face, not unlike Aizawa, who sat on Nezu’s right. Learning of the attack and subsequent kidnapping of four students during the training camp left him full of dark emotions that all fought for control.

He didn’t trust his voice, so he didn’t speak. He didn’t trust his restraint, so he didn’t move. The aura surrounding him must’ve been more than visible, as no one had dared to call him out or call on him for it.

He looked up at the map and saw that there was indeed only one dot when there should’ve been four.

Kan stood up as well, slamming his hands on the table, “Is there any way the signal could be blocked?”

“Outside of being inside that marble?” Majima scratched his chin, “Sure. I built them to be tough but not infallible. Lead-lined walls, thick concrete, a signal jammer, any of them could be used to block the signals. But if they were jamming the signals, why leave one still reporting?”

“It’s a trap.”

“It’s a challenge.”

Nezu and Yagi spoke at the same time, said different things, but they meant the same thing. Yagi leaned forward and shared a look to decide who would expand on it. Yagi saw that Nezu was going to step down for the time being, so he stepped up, “Shigaraki knows about the tracking devices. He knows that that’s how we’re going to track down the students.”

“If that’s the case, then why not disable all of them?” Thirteen prodded.

“Remember who we’re dealing with and what they want. Shigaraki’s ultimate goal is to crush our spirits, and what better way to do that than let us think we have the advantage and then yank the rug out from under us? We know who was taken, the villains behind the attack, and now their likely base of operations. We have all of the information we need to build a raid team to ensure the highest chance of success.”

Now also standing and mimicking Kan’s pose, he looked at the staff members assembled, “Shigaraki wouldn’t be provoking us if he wasn’t one hundred percent confident that he’d win. If the heroes go in there expecting a complete wipe, how will they feel, how will the country feel, if they fail yet again?” He looked down and took a deep breath, “Shigaraki has been targeting UA because of how famous and monolithic it is. No one alive doesn’t know about UA and its prestige. He’s been attacking it, and hero society, relentlessly, showing the country that heroes aren’t all powerful. Now, he’s taken four students right out of our hands, something that has never happened before.

“The whole country is watching and waiting to see how we respond. He’s setting the stage so that he can deliver another devastating blow to our prides and to the public’s faith in heroes.” Yagi looked back up and glared at the singular dot in Yokohama, “The bastard is saying ‘I am here.’”

After being forced through the portal, she found herself in a featureless room with a black floor. The villain that had captured her shoved her roughly further inside. Immediately her arm sparkled with the telltale sign of her quirk’s activation, but stopped when she turned back around.

The villain that grabbed her had his hand outstretched and a blue fire already lit, “You try creating anything, you die right now.”

“You know my quirk?” Yaoyorozu asked through narrowed eyes as the sparkling died out. She didn’t drop her arms from her defensive stance, though.

“Obviously, if I told you to not create anything, I know your quirk,” the villain replied with heavy sarcasm and a roll of his eyes. He dropped his hand and leaned against the door frame, “I also know who you are, Momo Yaoyorozu. Though that info isn’t nearly as hard to come by, is it, princess?”

“Where am I?”

“Who knows?”

“Where are my friends?”

“Around.”

“Why are-“

“Doesn’t matter what you ask, you’re not getting a straight answer. I thought you were one of the smarter people in your class. Must be a pretty low bar.”

Yaoyorozu didn’t rise to the taunt. She settled on studying the villain, committing every single detail to memory so she could provide an accurate description to the police and heroes. It was obvious that the villain was doing the same to her, his bright blue eyes making it easy for her to see them move up and down. She was used to people looking her up and down and usually saw hints of lust or longing in them and expected to see it in his eyes as well, but all she saw was cold indifference.

The villain must’ve had enough because he pushed off the door frame and took a step towards her, “Right. Your socks and shoes. Take them off and give them to me.”

She recoiled at the demand and took a few steps back, crossing one foot over the other, attempting to hide them, “Why would I do such a thing? Are you one of those deviants that finds pleasure in seeing bare feet?”

“The little princess isn’t so sheltered after all,” the villain chuckled. “No, that’s not it at all. I’m just following orders. You either take them off yourself or I do.”

The villain took another step forward and activated his quirk, causing his arms to smoke a little. Yaoyorozu looked between him, his hands, and down to her feet before removing her shoes and placing them together neatly. She looked back at the villain and found his arms still smoking. She watched his eyes and found they weren’t even focused on her, but on the wall behind her, but moved to hers when he noticed her staring. She brought her left foot up, hooked a finger at the heel of her sock and peeled it off.

As soon as her bare sole touched the ground, she could feel something was off. Her eyes widened at the sensation and saw that the villain had started approaching with a smirk on his face.

She repeated the process with her other foot and felt that sensation amplify as soon as it touched back to the ground. Yaoyorozu stuffed her socks into her shoes and took a step back. The villain grabbed her shoes and turned around.

“Hang tight, princess. I’ll be back later,” the villain told her as he walked towards the door.

As soon as he turned his back, Yaoyorozu ran forward, her feet slapping loudly on the floor, and tried to create a weapon, but found that her quirk wasn’t responding. Her steps faltered when the villain turned back around with an amused grin on his face.

“I told you it was nothing like that.”

Yaoyorozu stood frozen, too shocked to try and chase the villain out of the room. The door closed with a heavy thud and click of a lock.

Yaoyorozu held her hand out, trying to activate her quirk and create something to help her escape. Just like all the other times she’s tried before, nothing happened. It was extremely disheartening to say the least. Every time she tried, she felt her quirk activate, but it felt like it had been stymied off. The power was there, but it was either just out of reach or too weak to produce any proper results.

She dropped her hand in disappointment and pulled her legs up and hugged her knees. She rested her forehead in her arms and looked down at the black floor beneath her bare feet with disdain.

Very quickly, she realized why the villain made her go barefoot. The floor had to be the reason why her quirk was weak and unresponsive, and it was only in effect if it was touching bare skin. It didn’t help that she was wearing short shorts either. She had briefly tried orienting herself so that she was only laying on her back so she was on her shirt, with her arms in the air and legs propped on the wall in a ridiculous fashion and tried to activate her quirk that way, but much to her disappointment, she still couldn’t make it work.

After an interminable time, the lock clicked again and the door swung open, revealing the same villain from before, tossing a pair of handcuffs in his hand.

“Your choice if you want them in front or behind, I really don’t care,” he told her.

Yaoyorozu huffed and stood up. She tried mustering whatever grace and dignity she still had and walked forward with her head held high and brought her hands in front of her, wrists pressed together. The villain rolled his eyes and locked the cuffs on her.

“Can I at least know your name?” she attempted.

The villain pushed her in front of him and directed her where to go, “Dabi.”

“Where are we going?”

“To talk. The bossman says it’s time.”

Yaoyorozu swallowed thickly. She had only heard stories of Shigaraki and what he was like, and she wasn’t looking forward to meeting him in person. Just hearing about him caused shivers to run down her spine in what could only be described as instinctual fear. Dabi steered her around the building they were in, and although she knew that she should be paying attention to what direction she was being led in, all she could think about was how scared she was. She put on a brave front but that’s all it was.

Nothing at UA could’ve possibly prepared her for what she’s going through and she was terrified about what was to come.

Eventually, Dabi stepped in front of her and opened a door. Inside was a bigger room than what she was kept in with a table in the middle of it, two chairs were set on either side, and one at the head of it, facing the door. To the wall on the right was a couch that already had a few occupants on it.

Looking at the table, she was astonished to see Tokoyami seated on the left side at the end closest to her looking as anxious as he could with his handcuffed hands clasped together on the table. Across from him was an empty chair. Next to Tokoyami was Kaminari with a glower on his face, his hands hidden beneath the table but likely bound the same way as theirs. Across from him was Uraraka who kept her gaze stuck onto the tabletop. She had her elbows resting on the table, her hands held together as they rested in front of her mouth. Curiously, she wasn’t bound in any way she could discern. From what she could see, all of them were barefoot as well.

At the head of the table, looking at her with their eyes glowing and a disarmingly pleasant smile on his face, was who she could only assume to be, Kagero Shigaraki.

“Welcome!” he greeted. He stood up and gestured with his left hand towards the chair reserved for her, “Looks like we’re all here. Let’s get started, shall we?”

Chapter Text

Kagero watched with interest as the final student entered the room. He watched as she was quick to take in her surroundings and the state of her friends before settling on him. He smiled at her, gesturing to the empty chair for her to sit in. He saw her hesitate, biting her lip in contemplation. She turned to look at Dabi, then towards Toga and Compress sitting on the couch, before landing on her friends. Seeing no other way around it, she meekly walked towards the available chair and sat down, awkwardly trying to scoot the chair in with her cuffed hands.

He smiled at her again before sitting down as well. They sat in silence as Kagero observed the other table occupants, starting at Uraraka and moving clockwise from there. Uraraka hasn’t moved once since sitting down. Her hands had been clasped in front of her and her gaze stuck on the tabletop, not looking at anything nor reacting to any movement. Yaoyorozu was still trying to appear composed and unaffected, but the minute hunch and dropped head position, constant readjustment of how to present her hands, and darting eyes betrayed her. Tokoyami was hard to read on account of his birdlike appearance, but it was easy to tell how anxious he was by watching his hands. His left hand covered his right, which he held in a fist and was repeatedly clenching and releasing it, making it flip between white-knuckled and relaxed. Finally making it to Kaminari on his right, it was obvious what was going through his mind. His back was flush against the chair and his head was angled down, but he was alert. The second there was a lapse in attention or security, he would be pouncing on it like a tiger to its prey.

Kagero leaned back in his chair and turned his attention to Toga and Compress, seeing them both passively paying attention with the former slowly losing herself to boredom. He looked past the table and watched Dabi standing guard in front of the door. It was unlikely any of them would try to run away at this point, but it never hurt to be cautious.

“You can calm down, you know,” he opened with. Uraraka, Yaoyorozu, and Tokoyami all jolted as if shocked and snapped their heads at him. Kaminari just readjusted himself in his seat, “I’m not going to kill any of you, if that’s what you’re worried about. Like I told Tenkkun at the mall, not every villain you meet will be a blood thirsty murderer.”

“Lucky us,” Kaminari muttered. “We’re just stuck with a psychopath that likes tormenting kids instead.”

If the room was quiet before, now it was so silent you could hear a pin drop on a thick carpet. The tension in the room ratcheted up a level.

Uraraka and Tokoyami’s mouths dropped in shock, their eyes wide as they gawked at Kaminari. Yaoyorozu’s face drained of color as it took on a look of pure horror. Dabi’s mouth dropped open as well before it turned into a smile that he had to cover by disguising it with a cough. Compress and Toga stopped what they were doing and sat at attention, with Toga’s hand already on the hilt of the knife she constantly kept strapped to her thigh and growling quietly. She had one foot on the ground and was primed to jump and attack Kaminari as soon as she was given the go-ahead.

Kagero blinked in surprise at the retort before he laughed. It wasn’t a bright, happy laugh, nor was it one of the ones he made before turning deadly serious. It was a lighthearted chuckle that somehow hit a specific tone that left the students even more on edge than before. He motioned for Toga to stand down, who did so reluctantly.

“Oh, this is interesting. I was wondering what you would be like when we talked again. Were you going to keep hiding, or would you drop all pretenses? Guess I got that answer, but I’ve still so many more questions. Do they know about you?” Kagero asked Kaminari, gesturing at the rest of the table. Kaminari only barely looked up to glance at everyone else who had mixed reactions, before turning his head away from them. Kagero grinned with a Cheshire cat smile, his eyes glowing faintly, “They don’t. This’ll be enlightening for everyone, then.”

Uraraka fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat. She watched the scene unfold and couldn’t make sense of it. She looked ahead at Kaminari, her head quirking to the side in confusion and a finger touching her chin, “Um, Kaminari-kun, what is he talking about?”

Yaoyorozu and Tokoyami both slowly nodded in agreement, wanting to know what Kagero was talking about. Kaminari didn’t meet her eyes but stared back at Kagero, unflinching.

“How about we talk about the other elephant in the room instead?” Kaminari proposed, “Why aren’t you wearing pretty little bracelets like the rest of us, Uraraka?”

Uraraka’s eyes went wide at being called out like that before quickly gazing back down towards the table and hid her hands beneath it. Despite the circumstances, Yaoyorozu spoke up to defend her, “Kaminari-kun! That is no way to speak to your classmate and friend. I understand this is an… unpleasant situation for all of us, but that is no excuse to snap at her like that.”

Kaminari scoffed and rolled his eyes but didn’t talk back.

All heads eventually turned to Uraraka, still wanting an answer from her. She looked up and opened her mouth to respond, but whatever she was going to say fell short, as she sighed and brought her hands back above the table and inspected them before resting her head in them, “I don’t know. I was the first one in the room, and then Tokoyami showed up, and then you, and then I noticed both of you were handcuffed and I wasn’t. And now Yaomomo came in and she is too…”

Kagero studied her thoughtfully, “What a perfect segue. Thank you, Kaminari, I couldn’t have done it better myself. Before we dig in, though, maybe some introductions are in order? After all, I’m seeing some new faces joining us.”

Toga perked up hearing this and immediately stood up, raising her hand, “Oooh oooh, I’ll start! I’m Hi-“

“Not you, dear,” Kagero quickly interrupted her. Toga stilled at being cut off, her mouth still open but then she shut it and sat back down, a blush quickly dusting her cheeks at finally processing what he called her. Kagero looked at Compress and Dabi, “Unless you two already introduced yourselves?”

Dabi sighed heavily, “Yeah, I did. Princess asked and I didn’t see a point in not answering.”

“Really? That’s surprising considering it’s you,” teased Kagero.

“But of course, I did. How can I not when there is someone who hasn’t yet heard of my exploits? How else can my infamy grow?” Compress revealed.

Kagero sighed, disappointed and only slightly surprised, especially given Dabi’s confession. He turned back to Toga, “Go ahead, then, since everyone else already did.”

“Hmm?” she looked up, a little out of it still, “Oh. I’m Himiko Toga. Some of you are really cute.”

Kagero raised an eyebrow at how different Toga’s introduction was compared to how it normally is, but filed that away for later. He turned his attention back to the students, looking expectantly at them.

Uraraka was first, “Ochaco Uraraka, but we’ve already met and my friends know who I am, so I don’t get why we’re doing it again.”

“It’s for everyone else in the room,” Kagero replied, now looking expectantly at Yaoyorozu.

Yaoyorozu pursed her lips before reluctantly answering, “I am Momo Yaoyorozu, and if my captor is to be believed, you’ve already long known who I was before today.”

“I am Fumikage Tokoyami,” Tokoyami offered but nothing more.

“Denki Kaminari,” Kaminari followed suit.

“You wondered why Chaco-chan isn’t handcuffed?” Kagero asked the table, “It has to do with what we spoke about before, at the mall. Yaomomo, Tokoyamichi, in case they didn’t tell you the full details, while you two were out shopping at the mall, I had a nice conversation with Chaco-chan, Kaminari, and Tenkkun. I asked them why they want to be a hero despite being woefully underprepared for the tasks and duties that come with the job.”

Yaoyorozu and Tokoyami nodded slowly as they tried following his train of thought.

“One of the questions I asked but never got an answer to was ‘what makes you think you can make a difference?’ So, I ask you again, Chaco-chan, what makes you think you can make a difference?”

She didn’t respond. Her eyebrows were knitted together in thought and her mouth moved like she was silently speaking to herself, but she ultimately settled on a confused expression.

Kagero hummed, “Let’s try this another way. Yaomomo,” the girl sat at attention at being addressed, “what does your quirk do? Pretend like I don’t already know.”

“I… It lets me convert my lipids into energy that can be used to create anything. So long as it’s a non-living thing and I know the chemical composition and configuration, I can create whatever I desire,” she explained.

“Incredible. The amount of work you put into using it must be astounding,” Kagero complimented. He turned his attention to Tokoyami.

Tokoyami shifted in his seat, uncomfortable being watched by Kagero’s scrutinizing gaze, “My quirk is called Dark Shadow. It allows me to summon forth a being of darkness, of which I can command and order at my behest, though I am not granted complete control. As a being from beyond our realm, it has its own will, and thus I cannot assume myself to be its true master.”

Kagero had stars in his eyes, “Fascinating. A sentient quirk. I never thought I’d get the opportunity to see one in person. I look forward to exploring it further. Kaminari?”

“Electricity. I can generate and absorb it,” he answered bitterly.

“Chaco-chan?”

“If I touch something with all five fingers, I make it weightless,” she meekly responded.

“I have some thoughts about your description, but that’ll be for later.” Nodding in satisfaction, he looked at the rest of the table, “Now that we all know what everyone can do, can anyone take a guess why Chaco-chan is free and the rest of you aren’t?”

He let the room fall into silence as they thought. Looking around to the League members, he could see that only Compress was actively listening to the conversation and was also pondering the thought. Toga seemed to have recovered from whatever mood she slipped into and was watching with a measured amount of interest. Dabi was still slumped against the wall, looking as impassive as ever.

Yaoyorozu was the first to figure it out. She gasped suddenly and rested her hands on Uraraka’s arm in reassurance while glaring at him, “You fiend. She is much more than what you think.”

“Is that so?”

“Yaomomo,” Uraraka cut in. “I’m still so lost. What’s he talking about? Just tell me already.”

“The answer eludes me as well. Please bestow upon us the knowledge you hold,” Tokoyami requested too.

Kagero looked at Yaoyorozu with a glint in his eyes, “Yes. Go on, Yaomomo. You tell them why.”

Yaoyorozu tried holding her glare at Kagero, but she was a pebble while he was a mountain. She bit her lip in unease before looking Uraraka in the eyes, “Please understand that this isn’t my opinion on the matter.” She took a settling breath, “You are free because you are… not as offensively capable as the rest of us. In his eyes, you don’t present as much of a threat, comparatively speaking.”

The reaction was immediate.

Uraraka drew a sharp inhale and rounded on Kagero to attack with her arm reared back in a punch, but before she could even fully stand up, Toga had jumped in. She grabbed Uraraka’s wrist and pulled her arm behind her with one hand and slammed her face into the table with the other, pressing down hard and squishing her cheek. Uraraka grunted in pain at the sudden interference.

Yaoyorozu jumped back, pushing her chair over in shock before falling into a meager fighting stance before Dabi came up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder with his pointer finger out. Yaoyorozu turned her head to look back, hitting her cheek on his finger.

“Ah ah, princess,” Dabi chided, igniting a small fire on his fingertip, causing Yaoyorozu to tilt her head the other way as far as possible to escape the flame.

Tokoyami jumped up also, but backed away from the table, trying to distance himself from the fight. He curled in on himself and started muttering, likely trying to coax his quirk into activating, but to no avail.

Kaminari took the opportunity to also attack Kagero, but it was clumsy. With Kagero sitting at the head of the table and Kaminari sitting at the side, his options for attack were to move around the corner to get him or lunge over the table. Kaminari chose to lunge at Kagero, with his hands aiming to wring his neck. Kagero took a step to the side and leaned back, causing Kaminari to fly harmlessly through the air, before elbowing him in the back, sending him crashing to the ground. Before Kaminari could get back up, Kagero placed a foot in the middle of his back, keeping him pinned to the ground.

“You’re a feisty bunch, aren’t you? I’m impressed at how fast you all moved. Eraser must’ve taught you all real well,” Kagero commented, looking down at him. He turned to Tokoyami and shook his head while tutting in exaggerated disappointment, “Tokoyamichi, if there’s one thing that should’ve been drilled into your head, and everyone else’s, by now, is to not rely solely on your quirk. Dabi covered Yaomomo, Toga got Chaco-chan, and I got little Kami. Compress was too far away to get you, so you were home free to support someone, yet you defaulted to calling upon your quirk despite knowing it wouldn’t work. None of your classmates attempted to use their quirk, but you did. How sad.”

“No one tries to attack my Shi-kun and gets away with it,” Toga hissed into Uraraka’s ear. If she had a free hand, Kagero didn’t doubt that Toga would’ve had a knife pressed into Uraraka’s throat to drive the warning-disguised-threat home.

Uraraka writhed in her grip as she fought to get free, “Let me go! I wasn’t gonna do nothin’, I just wanted ta talk! I’ll show ya I’m just as strong as everybody else.”

“We’ve been talking the entire time, Chaco-chan, but if you’re saying you wanted to talk with your fists instead, then break free,” Kagero bent forward so his face was level with hers, increasing the pressure on Kaminari’s back with the movement. “If you’re so strong, then get up and attack me. Surely you’re stronger than her, right? Come on. Break free, then use your quirk on her and turn her into a human-shaped club. Use her to attack me. Come at me with all you got.”

Uraraka continued to struggle. She was able to get a hand onto the tabletop to act as a support and help push herself up, but Toga adjusted her weight, now pressing down harder on Uraraka’s head. Kaminari wriggled under Kagero’s boot, but because his arms were stuck above his head and he couldn’t separate them, the most he could do was apply pressure on his hands and feet and push like he was attempting to perform a superman push-up, but couldn’t manage anything more. Yaoyorozu wisely chose to stay still, fearing the fire that was centimeters from her face. Tokoyami stayed rooted where he was.

Eventually, the tension in Uraraka’s body drained as she slumped.

“Are you finished?”

Uraraka was silent before responding with a quiet “yesh”, the pressure from Toga causing the word to come out muddied.

Kagero nodded at Toga and Dabi, who released their charges and let them move back to their chairs. After motioning for Tokoyami to sit back down as well, he stepped off Kaminari and pulled him up before shoving him in the direction of his seat.

“This’ll be the last time I ask this question nicely, Chaco-chan, so listen well and think before answering me. I don’t like repeating myself, so imagine how I feel having to do it twice now,” Kagero looked at her, his eyes nearing their dangerous toxic glow, “What makes you think you can make a difference?” He could tell that the others were settling into muted relief at not being the ones being grilled, but he was quick to end that train of thought, “And don’t think I forgot about the rest of you. We’ve got nothing but time now, so I expect a straight answer from everyone.”

Kaminari snorted, “Time? Buddy, you’re on a clock that’s ticking down to zero. The heroes know where we are already and are probably getting ready to swarm you as soon as they finish prep work.”

“I’m insulted you think I don’t already know about your trackers,” he responded, making a point to look down at their wrists. They all looked down and made astonished gasps, even Kaminari was put off by the absence of it. None of them realized that the trackers that they wore were missing, “Nezu’s smart and Power Loader’s good at his job, I’m just better prepared. The only way you’re leaving here is if I deem it so, because no one knows where you are now.”

He stayed silent as he let the declaration sink in. Everyone but Kaminari looked distraught, although he was more on edge now. Yaoyorozu, Uraraka, and Tokoyami looked like their entire worldview had just been upended, which in a way, it was, he figured. Just a day ago, they were normal hero students at a training camp. Just a week ago, they were likely having fun doing whatever teenagers do during their summer break. Just a month ago, they were stressing about passing their final exams.

Now, they were captives to a villain and had little to no chance of escape.

“I can make a difference because every little addition counts for something,” Uraraka stated, causing everyone’s attention to fall on her. “I know I’m not the strongest, and my quirk isn’t the most useful, but that doesn’t mean I’m powerless!”

Kagero heard the resolve in Uraraka’s voice and studied her. She was still clearly scared, but her eyes shone with a fiery determination. He let out a pleased hum, “A very nice sentiment, Chaco-chan. And you’re right, every little thing counts sometimes, but you misunderstood me. I never said you’re powerless. If anything, I said that you’d be useless,” Upon saying that word, Kagero didn’t miss the expressions the students made. He smirked internally at them, “Let’s break down what we know about your quirk, shall we?”

He stuck a finger up, “If you touch an object, probably anything, really, with all five of your fingers, you turn it weightless. Obvious activation method, obvious weakness. Great for removing rubble and aiding in mobility, right?” The question was targeted at Uraraka, but Kagero looked at everyone else, expecting their input as well. When he received nods all around, he continued, bringing up a second finger but quickly stopped himself, “And… nothing. That’s it. A world full of people with fantastic powers and all you can do is lift heavy objects. What’s your maximum weight limit?”

Uraraka wrung her hands, “About three tons.”

“About the weight of an average car, then. Wow, good for you. After moving a single car, you’ve already hit your limits, and because of that, attempting to lift anything more will result in drawbacks, right? One car, and you’ll be puking your guts out. You can drop the car, but you’ll effectively be out of commission for a little bit once you do.”

“How do you know that?” Uraraka demanded, shocked about his knowledge of her.

“There are so many other heroes out there that can also lift the equivalent of three tons and still be able to do more afterwards, so you’re easily replaceable, or maybe even not needed at all.” He ignored her, “You want to be a hero for the money, right? To pay back your parents and provide them a lush life? It’s extremely common for people who want money to go into the business because it can be seen as the easiest get-rich-quick scheme out there, but what’s not advertised is that the cash doesn’t really start flowing until you’re at least in the top hundred. Even with your bump from attending UA and all your grit, I doubt you’d be able to make it very far at all thanks to how shallow and limited your quirk’s application is. Remember? Practicing in futility.”

Uraraka’s shock had turned into embarrassment when he outed her motivations to becoming a hero and she caught a glimpse at the expressions Yaoyorozu and Tokoyami made. As he kept talking, she started to shut down as more and more reasons why she wouldn’t make a good, popular hero kept coming. Forgetting the fact that Kagero knew her motivation behind becoming a hero when she’d only told a few people and swore them to secrecy, Uraraka knew that nothing he said was a lie. They were all things that she had heard before and even thought about, but hearing it come from someone, even a villain, in such a casual tone made those insecurities rear their ugly head again. Could she really not make it?

“Ochaco…” Yaoyorozu gasped sympathetically.

Tokoyami quietly hummed, “Toiling to support your forebears is a task to take pride in.”

Kagero watched as she retreated within herself and turned his gaze to the next person.

“On the other hand, we have someone who has one of the strongest quirks I’ve ever heard of,” Kagero laced his fingers together and rested his elbows on the table, staring intently at Yaoyorozu. The girl herself drew a breath in to prepare herself for whatever tirade might come her way, “yet lacks the confidence to properly wield it. The ability to create anything so long as the user knows the atomic composition of it, and it’s being strangled by the fears and insecurities of a girl who knows that she’s in the wrong line of work.”

Unlike Uraraka, Kagero didn’t see much fight in Yaoyorozu. She didn’t try to refute or even move to defend herself, she just looked down at the table, as if in shame.

“Nothing to say, Yaomomo? You were so quick to defend your friends, but can’t find that same motivation to stand up for yourself?”

Kagero gave her a few more beats to think and formulate a response, but all he got in return were glares from Tokoyami and Kaminari.

“You’re a real piece of shit,” Kaminari shot at him.

“For stating something obvious? Maybe. But would you rather her freeze in a fight and die someday down the road or face reality now and live?” Kagero countered. He leaned back in his chair, draping an arm over the back of it. “I guess it could be expected, considering she’s the sole heiress of her parents’ company. Being raised and taught how to succeed a company is leagues different from trying to be a hero. Even if that were the case, I would still expect some backbone. Companies don’t get so big without being cutthroat in the early stages, and if she was expected to succeed, she would’ve been taught how to be a proper businessperson.”

“What do you want, huh? Why are we here? Most villains get off on violence and throw their strength around, but all you’ve done is talk talk talk. If you wanted me to suffer by hearing someone talk my ear off, you should’ve just sent me to live with Present Mic.”

The tension in the room rose again as Kagero and Kaminari stared each other down. Toga stood back up and had her hand resting on the hilt of her knife like a cowboy in a standoff. Compress was still seated but was primed to jump in if needed. Dabi took a step closer to the table and had smoke wafting off of his arms.

Tokoyami leaned closer to Kaminari, “Would it not be prudent to abstain from antagonizing any further? A tamed beast is still a beast.”

Quicker than anyone could register, Kagero grabbed Kaminari by the throat with his left hand and pinned him against the wall, raising him high off the ground. Everyone reacted a second later, with exclamations from the students. Unlike the last time, none of them dared to make a move other than to move further away from the scene.

Kagero squeezed Kaminari’s throat tightly, causing him to let out choked sounds. Kaminari brought his hands up to grasp Kagero’s wrist and try to pry him off, but his grip was strong. Kaminari kicked his legs uselessly against the wall, unable to reach Kagero’s body.

“Dabi, give me a small one,” Kagero commanded as he kept his eyes on Kaminari, his irises glowing their toxic green.

The students looked apprehensively at Dabi, who brought a finger up and ignited a tiny blue flame, no bigger than one from a stricken match. The students turned their heads to Kagero upon hearing a deep breath being taken in. Their eyes widened as they saw a blue fire manifest itself and cover Kagero’s open palm.

Kagero raised Kaminari higher and released him. As Kaminari fell back to the ground, Kagero struck him with his open palm, landing right on his diaphragm and causing the fire to explode. He heard cries from everyone in the room behind him at the sudden flush of heat and fire, but he didn’t pay them any mind. When the fire cleared and the smoke settled, audible sighs of relief could be heard. Kaminari was wheezing, his choked breaths now desperate gasps for air. His clothes were lightly singed on all loose ends and stray threads, but at the point of impact, his shirt had been burned away and the skin beneath it white and blistered.

Kagero reached down and grabbed the front of Kaminari’s shirt and lifted him up again, “Would you rather I treat you like that instead? Instead of being cordial and talking with you, you want me to beat you up? Torture you? Bring you to the edge of consciousness just to barely pull you back, only to start again the next day? I could make your entire experience here be nothing but pain and misery, but what would that get me?

“Doing all that would get me bored, and you fearing for your next beating or wanting to die. Making someone wish for death is easy and cliched. I don’t want any of you to die, I want you to give up,” Kagero pulled Kaminari closer to him, his face right in his, “But if you want me to wail on you day in, day out, then so be it. Kurogiri!”

Kurogiri materialized shortly after being called, “Yes, Kagero Shigaraki?”

“Take this one and Tokoyamichi to the Doctor,” Kagero ordered. Tokoyami’s face turned to dread hearing it. He would’ve made a break for it, but Dabi had snuck up on him while they were busy watching Kagero, “Tell him to heal Kaminari then put him back in his room. For Tokoyamichi, let him know to hold off on gathering his observations until I get there.”

“Of course,” Kurogiri replied with a bow, creating a portal nearby.

Kagero unceremoniously threw Kaminari through the portal as Dabi marched Tokoyami towards it. Before he could push Tokoyami in, Kagero stopped him. He put his arm around Tokoyami’s shoulders and leaned in close, “Whatever you think you’re going to go through, you don’t.”

He shoved Tokoyami in and the portal closed, “Is there anything else, Kagero Shigaraki?”

Kagero studied Yaoyorozu and Uraraka, both having recovered a little after having witnessed the small display of brutality. They still weren’t completely there, but were present enough to notice the fact that their friends were gone, and they were alone with the villains. They quickly grabbed onto each other like lifelines as they backed away, warily looking at the group of villains before them.

“No, thank you. Just remember to bring them their meals later,” Kurogiri bowed and then disappeared into one of his portals, “Now then…”

“What are you going to do with them?” Uraraka interrupted him. “I don’t know what’s gotten into Kaminari-kun, but he isn’t normally like that! And Tokoyami-kun. Where did you send him?”

Kagero waved his hand dismissively, “We’ll call it time for now. You don’t need to worry about them, I’ll be sure they’re taken care of. Yaomomo, seeing as you refused to comment earlier, I’ll just leave you with something to think about.”

Uraraka made a sound at being completely dismissed, but didn’t dare do anything more than glare at Kagero. Yaoyorozu had tears in her eyes but still looked up at him, her face unable to settle on a single emotion.

“Tenkkun’s trying to be a hero out of spite, whether he’s aware of it or not. Chaco-chan’s in it for the money. Kaminari’s still a mystery to me, but his reasons will be revealed in time. We didn’t get around to Tokoyamichi, so I’ll have to follow up on him tomorrow. But you? You have everything anyone could ever dream of, and if you don’t, then you can go out and get it yourself. Why put yourself in a position you’re obviously uncomfortable with?”

Tsukauchi was exhausted.

He dragged himself through the precinct, walking like a zombie towards his office, and briefly glanced at his reflection in one of the tinted windows. His normally clean-shaven face had given way to short stubble and he had deep bags under his eyes. His hair that he kept clean and combed had grown out a little longer and was shaggier and wilder. He rubbed his hand over his growing goatee and ran it through his hair in an attempt to add some order to the unruly mess on his head. He sighed when he couldn’t get it back to how it normally looked.

The standard forty-hour work was really just a suggestion at this point.

Ever since Hosu, Tsukauchi couldn’t remember the last time he was able to clock out at five o’clock. As soon as the second hand on the clock changed from fifty-nine to sixty, he stopped working on the tasks attributed to “normal” crimes and shifted his attention to the case that’s caused him to lose countless hours of sleep: The League of Villains.

Truthfully, there wasn’t much to go off other than what had already been established and what had been theorized about. Outside of when Shigaraki had publicly showed his face, it was like the group didn’t exist. The only confirmed members were Shigaraki and Kurogiri, and both are extremely good at keeping to themselves. Nezu and he are confident that Shigaraki had been spending his time recruiting, but neither could find any trace of it. At the minimum, they figured he added at least two members to the roster – the one who had the poison quirk and the one that’s supposedly taken an interest in Shimura.

Whoever it was that spoke with Shimura was a dead end. Each time they made an appearance, they took on a disguise. Tsukauchi had followed up on the victims of the impersonator when they were identified, but neither one could provide any helpful leads, and the reason they were admitted was different between them.

Identifying the poison quirk user was marginally more successful. The doctors that looked over Sachiko Namba analyzed the substance found in her bloodstream and concluded that it was quirk-based, which meant all Tsukauchi had to do was comb through the database and try to find all those with quirks that had the potential. While there were multiple options, it was never concluded how the poison got into her system.

Was the poison gaseous and she inhaled it? Was it a liquid and she was injected with it? Was it absorbed through skin contact? Did she eat something that was laced with it? Trying to find the user and quirk responsible without knowing the route of transmission was like finding a needle in a haystack.

The same questions kept bouncing around in Tsukuachi’s head that he was sure that there were dents on the inside of it.

He was at his desk when his phone rang. Before answering, he let out a quiet groan at the lack of a break. He clapped his cheeks in an effort to perk himself up and picked up the phone, “Tsukauchi.”

“There’s been a major break in your case, woof,” the other person on the line revealed, going straight to business. Hearing the voice, Tsukauchi sat a little straighter in his chair.

“What happened, Chief?”

“The training camp that UA went on with their first years was attacked.”

Tsukuachi immediately placed the phone on his desk and put it on speaker. He dug into his desk for a notepad and pencil and started rapidly taking down notes.

“No less than seven villains attacked the camp. The teachers, Wild, Wild Pussycats, and students all confirmed that their express intentions were to capture a handful of students, woof.”

“The Pussycats? I guess that makes sense. Do we know the student targets?”

“We do, but I will not say over the phone.”

“Did they succeed?”

“Yes.”

“Did we capture any of the villains?”

“One of them. We identified them as Kenji Hikiishi, better known as the B-rank villain, Magne.”

“Seven villains were able to attack UA’s camp, escape with captured students, and we only managed to capture one of them in return? We’re going to get lynched.”

“Indeed. I suggest you get a move on to UA to gather your statements and other details. Time is of the essence, woof.”

The line clicked off while Tsukauchi was busy writing down the rest of his notes. As soon as he was done, he picked up his phone and dialed another number, walking right back out of the office. It didn’t even get through the first ring before it got picked up.

“Detective!” Nezu’s cheery voice greeted him, “I was expecting your call.”

“Nezu, I’m on my way to UA right now. Is there anything you can tell me before I get there? How are the students? The teachers?”

“Thank you for your concern. As for your questions, the students are alright physically, with the worst injuries being burns and lacerations, but nothing too serious. Mentally, however, is another story.”

“I can imagine,” Tsuakuchi paused to get into his car and start it up. “How are the teachers?”

“Ectoplasm suffered the worst injury and is currently in critical condition. We are pending updates.”

“Has word of the attack leaked yet?”

“Unfortunately, yes. As we speak, there is a mob of reporters, parents, and others standing outside of our gates. If you are on the way to the school, I would suggest you avoid the main entrance as best as you can.”

“Got it,” Tsukauchi was about to end the call before Nezu spoke up again.

“One more thing. As you may be aware, we had the students wear trackers before they set out to the camp.” Tsukauchi hummed in response, “Chief Tsuguramae said that some students were captured, but he didn’t say how many. There were four.”

If Tsukauchi wasn’t currently pressing the pedal to the metal and pushing the boundaries of what even he would consider reckless driving, he would’ve slammed on the brakes hard, mimicking his thoughts.

“Four students were taken?” he asked incredulously. “How could that even happen? I thought the location was secured.”

“And I believed it was as well, but it would seem like with even the precautions we took, the traitor was able to get the information out.”

Tsukauchi’s mind was racing, trying to make sense of the information overload. Four students taken, one hero in critical condition, one captured villain, and a traitor at UA. He shook his head of the thoughts for now. He looked up at the traffic light and saw it turn yellow. Instead of braking, he pressed on the gas, “What’s this have to do with the trackers? If they had them, then you have their location. We can start setting up the raid to get them back.”

“Only one tracker is reporting, and it’s coming out of Yokohama.”

“Perfect. Now we have to- One? Where are the others?” Tsukauchi could see UA coming into view now, and it wasn’t hard to miss what Nezu was talking about. News vans were parked haphazardly near the entrance and there was a veritable mob outside of the gates. Some of them were even holding picket signs and posters. “Hold that thought, I’ve just arrived. I’ll speak with you soon.”

Tsukauchi ended the call and eased off the gas, trying to find a way around the mob and into the side entrance he knew he was expected at. He turned off his radio, not that it was playing any music to begin with, and rolled down his window just a crack to hear what the people were yelling.

He was too far away to make out anything, but just seeing how aggressively they were pumping their fists and signs in unison, he knew nothing was being said in support of the heroes.

Chapter Text

As he pulled his car up to the side entrance of the school, Tsukauchi found Aizawa waiting for him, leaning against the pedestrian entrance. Upon being seen, Aizawa waved his access card in front of the reader and walked through the opening gate, timing it perfectly with his approach so he didn’t have to slow down. Driving through the gate, he slowed a little to speak with Aizawa, but all he got in response was a wave of his hand towards the garage. Quickly parking, he joined Aizawa where he was waiting by the door.

Aizawa nodded in greeting but didn’t speak at all, opting to stuff his hands in his pockets and silently lead the way instead.

The campus was still eerily quiet despite it being the middle of the day. It was still open to the students that chose to stay in the dorms instead of going home for the break, so there should’ve at least been a few bodies moving about the grounds, but there was no one other than Tsukauchi and Aizawa. The emptiness coupled with just barely being able to hear the protestors still yelling their disapproval of the school made for a very depressing atmosphere, almost like walking around an abandoned building and feeling like you can still hear the voices of those that came before.

“Think they’ll be out there for much longer? Protesting gets pretty boring if there isn’t any sort of reaction,” Tsukauchi asked, trying to break the silence with a little levity.

“They’ve been there all day,” Aizawa gruffly replied. “At this point I think it’s less about making a statement and more about being given a reason to get angry and letting out any pent-up aggression, so they’ll hopefully get it out of their system soon enough. I’m almost a little disappointed it hasn’t escalated into a riot yet. I could do with releasing some aggression too.”

Tsukauchi paused in his step, not expecting Aizawa’s comment. The situation must really be getting to him if it’s enough to get Aizawa to show outward frustration.

Tsukauchi laughed awkwardly, “Good one, Aizawa.”

Aizawa didn’t respond.

The two fell into a tense silence as they made their way to their destination. Eventually, Aizawa brought him to a now-familiar route.

“We’re not going to the conference room?” Tsukauchi asked when he noticed they were heading towards Nezu’s office instead.

“The general meeting has already more or less concluded,” Aizawa shook his head. “This is so you can gather our statements.”

“That’s it? I was under the impression that there was more I was supposed to do when I got here.”

“I’ll let Nezu deal with that.”

They made it to Nezu’s door and kept walking. The door opened just in time for them to make it through without breaking their stride, neither of them losing their composure as both have grown accustomed to it. Inside, he found Nezu sitting at his desk, but instead of looking over sheets of paper or nursing a cup of tea, he had his paws steepled and his ever-present smile looking sharper. On one of the couches with the back of his head facing the door was Kan, his posture suggesting he was hunched over and probably frowning. Sitting opposite him on the other couch was Yagi, his arms crossed and a deep frown on his face. Tsukauchi saw his eyes move up to see who entered, but outside of an easily missed nod, there was no other acknowledgement.

There was palpable tension in the air, and it wasn’t clear who or what created it. He could take a guess given the circumstances, but even then, he figured the mood wouldn’t be so somber. Normally, in these situations, Tsukauchi would’ve greeted the room with a joke or an ice breaker, but anything that came to mind he immediately shot down. Having been on the force for so many years, his sense of humor had inevitably been influenced ever so slightly by the morbid reality of being a cop, and even though heroes could understand it to a similar degree, given how no one in the room was as welcoming or forthcoming as they usually were, it felt like if he tried it, he’d be stepping on a land mine.

“Who wants to start?” Tsukauchi asked, choosing to forgo all pleasantries and get down to brass tacks immediately. Being blunt would be the best course of action in situations like these.

Whatever reverie that held Nezu, Kan, and Yagi was released, and they all nodded in agreement. Tsukauchi sat next to Yagi and Aizawa next to Kan. Nezu didn’t hop off his chair, but still made his way to the coffee table. As the chair came around the corner of his desk, he noticed that instead of it being a normal one that stood on a pole atop a wheeled base, there were two large wheels set into the sides of it and no smaller sets of wheels at the front or back to stabilize it. Despite that, the chair glided smoothly over, with Nezu’s body not rocking in the slightest.

Now situated at the end of the coffee table, Nezu properly addressed them, “Thank you all for being so accommodating to my request. I truly wish that the circumstances were better, but so is life. Detective, thank you for arriving so quickly. The sooner we get this particular portion out of the way, the faster we can get to planning our counterattack.”

“Right. Once we finish here, I’ll speak with the Pussycats as well. I’m sure they wouldn’t be opposed to being involved in the raid to come.” Tsukauchi nodded seriously, “For the time being, Yagi, Nezu, please hold off on making any comments until after Eraser and Vlad finish with their statements.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Tsukauchi pulled a recorder out of one of his jacket pockets and his notepad and pen from another and settled himself down, “Let’s begin.”

By the time Eraser and Vlad finished recounting their experience, Tsukauchi looked like he had aged ten more years. He had stripped off his trench coat and loosened his necktie significantly, the bags under his eyes now even deeper, and the dead look in his gaze made it like he had stared too long into the abyss. He was slouched on the couch with his notebook covering his face as he let out a long, defeated groan.

“My quirk didn’t register a single lie, and everything that I’ve heard and been told all lines up. I just can’t believe it. Seven villains. It only took seven villains to overwhelm six pros and two classes of hero students. Shigaraki wasn’t even among them!” Tsukauchi sat up and grabbed his cup of tea and finished the rest of it in one gulp, “This has never been done before. It’s basically unheard of. Sure, some gangs have formed, and villains have made temporary alliances for a bigger job, but nothing like this. So Nezu, what’s the plan?”

“We are going to recover the students, Detective, that goes without saying, but it’s the matter of how that’s the problem,” Nezu responded. Everyone looked towards him now, “As I’ve mentioned before, both to the rest of my staff and to you, while we do have a potential location for the students or the League, there is still a great deal of mystery surrounding it.”

“You did mention something like that, but I don’t see why it’s that much of a big deal. We have a location, so all we need to do is,” Tsukauchi brought a hand up and started counting his fingers, “confirm the location, scout the area, observe it for maybe a few days for any suspicious movement, move in.”

“You’re not at all concerned at all about how straightforward this all seems?” Yagi asked him.

Tsukauchi raised a brow at him, “And you are?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? Shigaraki has proven to be clever. Every step he’s taken and everything he’s done thus far always seems to be working on multiple angles.”

“Even if that were the case, it wouldn’t do anybody, let alone the students he captured, any good if we have a lead and don’t do anything about it.”

Tsukauchi looked around the room but settled on Yagi. The entire time Vlad and Eraser were recounting the events, the frown he had on his face grew deeper the longer they talked. He could tell Yagi was equal parts angered, frustrated, and worried, and was likely moments away from storming out but only held back out of concern for the students. If they were even there.

To Tsukauchi, the next steps were obvious. Regardless of whether or not it panned out, they finally had their first solid lead on the League after months of silence and dead ends. There was no reason to not follow it and see what they could find. He understood that there were obvious risks involved seeing as there were multiple hostages, and the villains that held them weren’t your typical smash-and-grabbers, but that’s just how life was. To think that the heroes, let alone All Might and the Principal, were hesitating to make a move was baffling. The only thing he could think that could cause the two of them collectively to intentionally pause was…

“Yagi,” Nezu interrupted his thoughts. “I believe we’re past the point of discretion. The Detective is correct. We have a location, and we know what to do with it. Every second that we’re not acting is one we’re losing to the villains and any hope we have at recovering the students.”

Tsukauchi’s eyes were wide as he realized what Nezu was wanting. He looked between Yagi and Nezu, seeing the surprise in Yagi’s expression before denial and acceptance appeared and started warring with each other for dominance.

“Wait, hang on now. Are you sure about this? We’re not even certain about him being connected,” Tsukauchi reasoned, trying to give Yagi more time to come to a decision. “We don’t even have potential candidates for the raid yet. Notifying the teachers is one thing, but letting other people in on it is entirely different.”

“Confirmed or not, there is enough evidence to treat it as a serious possibility. We would be doing everyone involved with the raid a disservice if they weren’t fully aware of what they were getting themselves into.”

“Back up. What aren’t you telling us?” Aizawa asked, but it was more like a demand. “If you’re talking about Shigaraki using it as a trap, we’re already aware of that.”

Tsukauchi rubbed at the stubble around his mouth in thought. He shared a look with Nezu, but already knew his answer. Observing Yagi, he found he came to a decision but was looking at him for his opinion, “I have my reservations about it, but it wouldn’t hurt to have more people on board. The final say is up to you.”

“Can someone please explain to us what you’re talking about? Who is ‘him’? Can they help us? Are they a hero?” Kan prodded, trying to make sense of the conversation that he and Aizawa were clearly missing the context for.

Yagi let out a tired sigh, dropping his head down, “If we’re really doing this, then we’ll have to bring in everyone else. It would be best if they were all present. I suppose I’ll call in Torino and Nighteye as well.”

“A brilliant idea! It may be a little inconvenient to the other teachers, whom I’ve already dismissed, but they have no choice but to listen! Once we speak with the teachers, with everyone finally read in, we can begin deliberations on who else to include.” Nezu pressed a button on his chair. Seconds later, Aizawa, Kan, and Yagi’s phones buzzed or dinged with the summons notification. Hopping off his chair, he walked towards the door, “Let us relocate to the conference room once again, shall we?”

Tsukauchi went to follow but was stopped by a hand grabbing onto his arm. Turning to the offender, he was faced with Aizawa.

“What did you just sign me up for?” he demanded.

Tsukauchi smiled tiredly and removed Aizawa’s hand from his arm, “The real fight.”

Life in Heights Alliance was a somber affair now. While the common room would’ve been filled to the brim with people and lively energy, it was now quiet and mostly empty.

Once everyone was healed and discharged, minus the four that were kept for further observation due to inhaling the purple fog, the remainder of 1-A was brought back to the dorms. The school, despite heavy protest from the parents of the students, had insisted they remain on campus to better ensure their safety. As a compromise, they had offered and insisted the families come and visit to be with their children. All travel expenses and compensation, including lodging and food, were to be provided for by the school in reparation. Predictably, their response was criticized, with the arguments all being different ways of saying the same thing.

How can they be trusted to protect the students’ and their safety if they’ve terribly failed to do so multiple times already?

Regardless of their stance, many parents still decided to show up so they could spend some much-needed time with their kids, even those who weren’t a part of the Hero Course that chose to stay on campus over the break. The parents would be escorted to their kid’s dormitory by security personnel to pick up their kid, and then they would be brought to the temporary housing mentioned.

Shimura sat on one of the couches with a packed bag sitting by his feet on the floor. He had gotten a message the night before that his family would be coming in for a visit in the afternoon the next day. While he knows he should be happy that he gets to see his family again, he really wished it was under better circumstances.

He loved his family, but he just wanted to be alone. They would no doubt force him to share what happened at the camp, and he was not looking forward to talking about it again. Every time he thought about it, he was racked with regret.

He was right there when Yaoyorozu and Uraraka were taken, and he didn’t do anything to get them back. As soon as he saw the villains had ambushed them, he lost all will to fight. When Shigaraki said that he wasn’t even there to take him, he tried fighting back, but he wasn’t strong enough to stop him. The villains kept disappearing into the portal, taking his friends away one at a time, and he couldn’t stop them. He begged Shigaraki, literally on his hands and knees, to let them go and take him instead, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.

The only, only, positive that came from that particular interaction was that he didn’t see the likely miserable expression on Yaoyorozu’s face as she was being forced into the portal. He’s not sure what he would’ve done if he had.

The sound of the elevator door dinging ripped him from his thoughts. Looking up, he was surprised to see Bakugo coming out of it, carrying an overnight bag in his hand hanging over his shoulder. He was wearing a black shirt with a stylized skull on it and black pants, scrolling on his phone as he walked out.

“Kat?” Shimura called out.

Bakugo looked up, arched his brow, and put his phone away, “Auntie’s coming to visit?”

“I guess so. Auntie’s coming to visit?” Shimura shrugged, repeating the same question.

Bakugo dropped his bag on the floor and sat next to him, “The old hag wouldn’t stay away. I told her I was fine but she just wouldn’t fucking listen. If you’re down here too, looks like we’ll be leaving together.”

“Great.”

“Fuck you too, Tenks.”

Shimura playfully shoved Bakugo, who shoved him back harder. He smartly knew not to do anything more and let Bakugo have the “win” in this situation because it would’ve escalated into an all out brawl in no time if he did.

Neither of them wanted to talk about the obvious elephant in the room and neither of them were particularly good at expressing their feelings either, but they sat silently, enjoying each other’s company. They sat in silence while they waited for their families to show up. Eventually, the dorm’s front doors opened.

The first one through was a woman that looked exactly like Bakugo. She had spiky ash-blonde hair that was a little longer than his, red eyes, and was wearing a white shirt under a lavender cardigan and black skirt. Walking in next to her was a man with brown hair and eyes, wearing blue rectangular glasses, a green polo shirt, and brown pants. It was obvious they were Bakugo’s parents.

Bakugo’s mom looked around the room, and her gaze landed on both of them. She immediately ran up to them and threw an arm around each of their necks and brought them closer in a crushing hug. Pulling away, she looked at them both, “I am so happy that you guys are safe. Nobody gave us a straight answer when we asked, just that the camp was attacked.” Her gaze was soft as she looked at Shimura before hugging him again. She looked at her son then swatted his head, “You damn brat! I thought you said you were going to keep an eye on little Tenko! Where were you when everything was going on!?”

Quick to anger, Bakugo growled and yelled back at her, but it was lacking any real heat or anger, “What’d you hit me for, you old hag!? Just hurry up and drop dead! I ain’t the nerd’s fucking babysitter! I had my own shit to deal with!”

“That’s no way to talk to your mother, you ungrateful brat!” she matched his energy perfectly, swatting his head again, “And shouldn’t you be a little more sensitive about this whole thing?! Would it kill you to not yell for ten seconds!?”

“I’m happy to see you too, Auntie, Uncle,” Shimura interrupted them, hopefully stopping the latest screaming match between the two. He made a point to look behind her at the door, “Is it only you two, or did you come with my mo-“

Just as he was about to ask his question, the door opened again.

Walking in was a woman around the same age as Bakugo’s mom, but with wavy, neck-length brown hair and light brown eyes, wearing a navy t-shirt tucked into white jeans. A step behind her was a girl around their age with twin pigtails on the side of her head and the rest of her black hair cascading down her back. She was wearing a navy crop-topped hoodie, high-waisted jeans, and high-topped blue shoes. Both of them were looking up and around at the dorm’s common room.

“Mom. Hana,” Shimura breathlessly called out. Tears pooled in the corner of his eyes, threatening to release themselves as he ran towards them.

Shimura’s mom and sister, respectively, looked his way when they heard him and his rapidly approaching footsteps.

Shimura hugged onto them tightly, his tears now flowing freely as he released all of the emotions he’d been suppressing and ignoring that’ve been swirling around in his chest. They both hugged him back but with different responses.

His mother hugged him back, starting to sob as well, “My baby. My poor little Tenten. I’ve been so worried about you.”

Hana hugged him back more out of obligation and was quick to try and escape the combined grasp of Shimura and their mom, “Yeah yeah, it’s nice to see you too, Ten. Can you get off me now? It’s gross just imagining your snot and tears all over me.”

In response, Shimura squeezed them one more time before letting go. He sniffled and looked at Hana, taking in how she was also tearing up despite her abrasive response, “It’s nice knowing you care about me too.”

She dabbed at her eyes with her sleeve but then lightly punched his arm, “Shut up. It’s just so gross hearing you cry because you do it so uglily. You’re like a big baby.”

“Says the girl who hasn’t changed her hairstyle since she was six,” he yanked on one of her pigtails.

“Sorry to interrupt your reunion,” the security guard escorting them apologized, his head peeking through the door. “If you’re all ready, we can move on to where our guests will be staying for their visit.”

“Oi, extra.” Bakugo callously addressed, “Why did we have to pack our bags if we’re not even leaving campus?”

“Katsuki, you know better than to call people an ‘extra’ if you don’t know their name,” his dad quietly admonished, beating his mom to the literal punch.

“Can it, old man.”

“Katsuki. Apologize to the nice security guard and your dad. Then ask your question again, nicely,” Hana scolded him.

Bakugo stilled at hearing Hana’s voice and turned his head to stare at her. She met his gaze head on, huffed, and crossed her arms, waiting. Bakugo grumbled and stuffed his hands in his pockets as he turned away from Hana, but did as he was told, “Sorry. Why can’t we just sleep in our dorms instead of packing up and moving?”

“I can’t believe she’s got you wrapped around her finger still. It’s fucking weird,” Shimura leaned over and whispered in his ear.

Bakugo slugged his arm hard, “I’ll kill you.”

“But then you’ll make Hana all sad.”

Bakugo punched him again.

The security guard took the entire interaction in stride, “I’m just saying what I was told to say, kid. Take it up with Nezu.”

Shimura and Bakugo grabbed their bags and followed the group outside, dropping them off in the van that was waiting for them. The parents all crammed into the back row with Bakugo’s mom sandwiched in the middle. In the middle row, Bakugo immediately claimed a window seat. Shimura also vehemently demanded he sit in the other window seat and refused to sit next to Bakugo, which forced Hana to be in the middle. He and Bakugo shared a glance with Shimura smirking at him while Bakugo glared daggers.

The car started up and they set off.

Sitting behind Shimura, his mom placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned forward, “I’m really happy to see you again, Tenten. I’m sorry I haven’t been around much recently.”

“I’m glad you came, mom. I was starting to lose my mind,” he replied with a smile on his face as he placed his hand on hers, making sure to keep his pinky finger elevated. “I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed you.”

“I think I know exactly how much you’ve missed me, because I guarantee you it’s the same for me.”

Having dropped off all of their stuff in their rooms, the two families split up to give each other some time together but agreed to meet up later.

Since Tenko attends the school, Hana and their mother delegated him as their tour guide. He wasn’t sure exactly what he was allowed to show them, so he figured he’d start somewhere safe. Like the cafeteria. That way they could maybe get a bite to eat, and if they’re lucky, meet some of his teachers. Regardless, getting food for some energy was a must because of how expansive the campus was. He had a feeling that they would lose it when they saw the training fields available for them.

“You mean everybody that works here is a pro hero?” Hana asked in awe as they walked out of the cafeteria.

“Yep,” Tenko paused, “Well definitely all of the teachers. And our lunch cook. And counselor. And groundskeeper. And…”

“I get it, I get it. Sheesh, you think you’ll ever get used to being taught by actual heroes?”

“You are a bit of a hero nerd,” his mom teased.

“I’m getting better!” Tenko responded defensively. “And no. Definitely never, especially when All Might teaches us Foundational Heroics.”

Hana gaped, “Uncle Toshi’s a teacher here!?”

“Uh, yeah? There was a whole big thing about it at the start of the year.”

“Mom, why does Tenko always get the cool stuff?” she whined.

“You were the one that didn’t want to go to a hero school and chose to have a normal ‘high schooler’s life’. Besides. It’s UA. What’d you expect?” their mom responded with a smile on her face.

Tenko shot her a shit-eating grin, “Plus ultra babyyyy.”

Hana lunged at him, but he dodged out of the way, laughing all the while.

“Where is Toshinori anyway?” their mom asked. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with him, but I keep getting left on read. I was hoping to run into him while we were here, too.”

Tenko scratched his neck lightly, which was swatted away by both Hana and their mom. He smiled apologetically, “Sorry. Uncle Toshi’s been pretty busy, all things considered. A lot of stuff’s been happening lately what with… him running around and causing chaos.”

Tenko’s right hand started to cramp, causing him to flex it and massage it in his other. The action didn’t go unnoticed by Hana and their mom, with them sharing a concerned glance.

Trying to bring the mood back up, Hana approached him and bumped his shoulder, “So… anything else you can show us?”

Tenko hummed and tapped a finger on his chin, “I mean, not really? You guys didn’t want to see the gyms we’ve got. We could take a walk through some of the trails we’ve got, but you’re probably tired from all the walking already. The Support Labs wouldn’t make any sense to you…” He turned around in a circle, then pointed out at the distance, “And over that way is where the USJ is...”

Tenko felt the cramp starting up again, but he took a deep breath and held it for seven seconds before slowly releasing it. The pain was still there, but it was now just a dull throb, “That’s where I did my internship with Thirteen. Oh man, I wish I could take you guys in there. You would love it. Thirteen designed all of it. It’s got these different zones that simulate all sorts of natural disasters, like earthquakes, floods, fires, you name it.”

When Tenko trailed off after mentioning the USJ, his mom and Hana shared another look, with the latter feeling a little guilty at accidentally bringing up a sore spot, but they were pleasantly surprised when the melancholic tone changed to something more positive. Of course, they were already informed of what Tenko’s been through since the year started, originally from Toshinori himself, but then later from Nezu when he stopped checking in, so they had a decent idea of what to expect if any potential triggers were hit.

Seeing him take a breath in to settle his nerves and change the memory associated with the USJ to something positive instead, was a breath of fresh air. They looked at him as if he were a new man and were proud of what they saw, even if they were saddened about how he also seemed to have matured far past than what he should.

“I sure would be okay with checking it out. Think if we can get permission from Thirteen-san, we would be able to go?” his mom asked, hoping to keep lifting Tenko’s mood.

“Yeah! And then we can see what you look like in your costume too!” Hana chimed in. “You still haven’t sent me pictures of the final product.”

“I know for a fact Thirteen would be okay with it. They’re always so happy to tell people all about the joys of rescue work, but I can’t. The USJ’s still one of UA’s guarded secrets even though everybody knows about it. If you’re not a student or work at the school, they try not to let anyone see it so nobody can copy it.”

“That’s selfish of them, isn’t it?” their mom groused. “If they’ve got something that lots of other people could benefit from, shouldn’t everyone be able to use it? Or something very similar?”

Tenko shrugged noncommittedly, “Yeah, probably. But from what Thirteen told me, there are other simulation arenas spread throughout the country, all set up by the HPSC. The Hero Public Safety Commission. It’s just that I don’t think there are many places that house so many under one roof, they’re all in different compounds.”

Their mom pouted slightly, “That’s fine, I guess.”

Tenko smiled at his mom’s reaction.

“SO?” Hana spoke up, “Can we take a look at your costume? After all the work you and I put into it, I want to see if it’s as cool as I think it is.”

He smiled cheekily at her, “Oh, it’s so much better. You wouldn’t believe it. And while I probably could show you my costume, wouldn’t it be so much better to see it when I debut?”

“Ugh! That could be years from now! Come onnn, we’re right here. Just give us a little sneak peak.”

“I don’t know about that,” Tenko shrugged with his hands up high, “With how everything is, I wouldn’t doubt that someone from my class makes their debut soon enough.”

“You’re such an ass.”

Their mom scoffed, mocking offense, “Language, young lady. I don’t want you turning out like Katsuki. You’re the only one that can make him behave, so you’re supposed to rub off on him, not the other way around.”

“Moooooomm.”

The three shared a nice laugh together. Tenko smiled widely as he basked in their presence. He truly missed the warmth and playful banter they had when they were with each other. Kat and the rest of his friends he made at school were fun to be around, but nothing could ever replace his bond with Hana and his mom.

Observing their smiles, he couldn’t help but think about the stories Uncle Toshi told him of Nana, and how she would always smile and make jokes whenever she could. Heroes saved lives and spirits. Sharing a smile with other people helped greatly in saving spirits, which meant he had to keep smiling for everyone else, no matter what the cost to himself.

Things may be getting darker, which meant he had to protect the light with everything he had.

Wrapping his arms around them, Tenko hugged them tightly, “I love you guys.”

Chapter Text

Nezu just barely made it back into his office after yet another staff meeting, this one of even higher importance than all others previous, before his phone started to ring. In an action entirely out of character for him, he sighed harshly, already knowing who was making the call. He deliberately took his time settling into his chair and behind his desk before counting the rings, waiting until it was the last one before the call got sent to his answering machine.

He picked up the phone, faking the normally chipper attitude he has, “Shigemoto-san! What can I do for the esteemed president of the HPSC today?”

“Nezu. You will address me as Madam President,” Shigemoto responded bitterly. “Explain yourself and why the news has done nothing but cover the screw ups of your school and faculty. Why am I being forced to call you when you are the one who is making such a mess of things?”

Nezu laughed, “No sane man would willingly invite a vampire into their home.”

“You call yourself a man when you’re nothing but something made up in a lab.”

“Yet I am still far more human than you would hope to be.”

“I always knew that you would be the reason for UA’s downfall. It’s become increasingly difficult to continue allowing a rodent to run one of our nation’s top schools when all it’s done is turn it into a trash heap.”

“A siren’s song only affects those that listen to it. If the only reason you have reached out to me is so that we may trade insults, while I do enjoy our exchanges, then I must bid you farewell, as I have far more pressing matters to attend to.”

Nezu wanted nothing more than to slam the phone down, hang up on her, and be done with it right then, but he knew that doing so would only add unnecessary tension to the already strenuous relationship between them, so he stayed on to give her a chance to come clean. If another insult came his way, then he would gladly hang up, but for right now, he couldn’t afford to fight on two fronts, especially with his students still in the hands of villains.

The line was silent for a few long moments before Shigemoto responded, “As much as I would love to use this opportunity as a way to finally rid myself of you and your schemes, I’m loath to admit that if UA falls, society wouldn’t survive. Stain and his campaign against “fake heroes” created a dialogue that should never have been started, and Shigaraki is undoubtedly the successor of All For One. I cannot simply stand by and let a second Dark Age come about. What would you need from me to ensure your raid a complete and total success?”

Upon hearing Shigemoto’s earnest and honest request, Nezu was at a loss for words. He and the HPSC had always been at odds with each other, for various reasons, and he never would’ve considered that they were even remotely capable of performing a service for the good of the people and not for its own self-interests.

“Oh? You called to offer your assistance instead of demanding I hand over the reins to you?” Nezu asked, genuinely, at a slight loss. “I must admit, in all of my mental exercises, calculations, and simulations, I never would’ve expected you to ally with me.”

Shigemoto scoffed, “Don’t flatter yourself. I’m not allying with you, I’m ensuring hero society’s survival.”

“But of course! Forgive me, I just don’t understand why, after all this time, you would extend an olive branch. It is as you’ve said, this is an utter failure on UA’s side on every front and is the perfect opportunity for you to finally be rid of me.”

“We may have our differences, but I’m not so blind to society that I would allow it to come to ruin if there’s something that can be done. Whether I like it or not, UA has become a cornerstone and consistently churns out heroes of the highest caliber, although I would prefer they’re not so independent and hesitant to work with the Commission.”

“If you had a truly open agenda and weren’t so focused on controlling heroes and their actions, I’m sure they wouldn’t mind becoming one of your dogs,” Nezu snidely remarked.

While she tried to hide it, Nezu still heard Shigemoto’s sharp inhale. He smiled, “Anyway. If I allow UA to fall because of this petty rivalry we have with each other, then I wouldn’t be fit to hold this position.”

Nezu had a number of things he wanted to say about why she is already unfit to be the president of the HPSC, but he held his tongue.

“Whatever ulterior motive you think I may have, I assure you there is none,” Shigemoto denied. “I am simply trying to ensure that this raid on the League of Villains will be successful beyond our expectations. We have the chance to kill two birds: retrieval of your students and the destruction of a budding villain group before it gets too big.”

It was Nezu’s turn to be silent for a few moments, thinking over the proposal. While there was really no issue with allowing the Commission to help, they always did things to preserve something on their end. Whether that be to cover up scandals or to provide vocal support of a hero that was otherwise unpopular with the public, whenever the Commission was involved, it was because they had a personal interest in the matter.

“Madam President,” Nezu started diplomatically, “I thank you and am honored you would provide your assistance in this endeavor. I hope that this could be the start of a fruitful partnership with each other moving forward. That being said, I would ask that you please answer me truthfully, that way all of our motivations are out in the open and we can start to build real trust between us.

“To my knowledge, the HPSC hasn’t taken an active role in tracking down the League before, not after the USJ, and not even after Hosu when their presence was made public on national television. Why involve yourself now, when the only people missing are my students of my school?”

“Is it truly hard to believe that I am incapable of doing things simply because it’s the right thing to do?” she deflected. “I’ll send over a representative to stand in during your next meeting, they will be in your care.”

Shigemoto hung up before Nezu could respond.

“Yes. Yes, I do find it hard to believe you’ll do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do,” he answered to his empty office. “What, or who, are you trying to recover?”

Kaminari woke with a start and drew in a sharp, ragged gasp like he was desperate for air. His body spasmed as he came to his senses, feeling a hard floor beneath him, hearing absolutely nothing, seeing masses of grey and black. He was quick to get on his hands and knees but was slow to process what happened or where he was, his eyes were wide as he came down from whatever spike of adrenaline or panic that surged through his system. He grabbed at his chest, remembering that he was burned badly, but found nothing except healthy skin showing through the hole in his shirt. Looking around, he found he was in a featureless room with soft light emanating from the ceiling, and a single door to break up the smoothness of the walls. Alone. Without a second thought, he moved to the left side of the door frame. There weren’t any hinges on the inside, which meant that the door opened outwards, and he had a gut feeling that it would swing open left-to-right, with the opening being on the side he was on.

Kaminari had no idea why he was so sure of that course of action, but he was confident in it entirely.

Whoever would open the door next had to use their left hand to pull the door open, meaning they would automatically sweep the room in a clockwise manner, which would mean that his hiding place would be the last place checked so long as he pressed himself against the wall or made himself small.

Tucking himself into the corner, he finally gave himself a chance to breathe and think. He screwed his face in thought, his eyebrows knitted tightly together as he went over everything he could.

We were at the training camp, and we were attacked. I was with… Sato and that guy from 1-B. We were running away from… something, he thought to himself as he recounted the events. Aizawa-sensei found us and then…

“Shit,” he pressed his fingers to his temples and massaged them.

Out of habit, he tried to pulse his quirk, seeking out the warmth and strength the electricity brought him like a child’s safety blanket. He put his hands into fists and tensed his muscles, but instead of seeing electricity arcing over his body, he felt and saw nothing. Confused, he tried again, but with the same results.

Before he could take a moment to really ponder it, he heard a lock click and the door was opened. As he figured, the door opened left-to-right, a cone of light appearing on the ground and then growing and changing shape into a rectangle as it was opened further. On the floor, the shadow of the figure’s head was visible, with the only thing he could make out of it was their hair was a little long.

Quietly, he drew his breath in, trying to erase his presence as well as he could, waiting. Whoever opened the door was taking their time entering. If he tried to escape too soon, the figure would see him coming from a mile away and could throw him back inside, lock the door and leave forever. If he did it too late, then his position would be compromised, and every time afterwards, that would be the first place they checked after opening the door. He had to time it just right.

The figure clicked their tongue, likely annoyed, and stepped forward. Kaminari watched, still holding his breath. He could start to feel his heart pounding in his ears in anticipation as the steps got closer. He balled one of his hands into a fist and held it close to his body, ready to strike out once they were in range.

The figure’s foot crossed the threshold, which was all Kaminari needed. He knew that he would only really have one chance at getting a clean shot at the person, so he aimed for a place that could easily debilitate them, the liver. Shooting up from his crouched position, his arm surged forward and was flying towards his intended target.

The hit made contact, but not with what he was expecting. To his surprise, his hand was covered by another, “What?”

“Straight to the point, huh?” Kaminari looked up to see Shigaraki looking down on him, his eyes glowing their green. Shigaraki’s right arm was bent at a strange angle that shouldn’t have the strength to catch his punch, but it did.

Kaminari’s eyes went wide as Shigaraki flung him across the room, his body smacking into the wall before falling to the ground. He groaned in pain and only barely registered Shigaraki moving towards him. Instead of being picked up and choke-slammed against the wall like he figured most villains do to their captives when they try fighting back, Shigaraki nudged him with his foot so he was laying on his back and then proceeded to step on his chest.

Shigaraki had his hands in his pockets as he leaned over, getting his face close to his, “How was that? More your speed?”

Kaminari stared back at him, fear evident in his eyes as he grabbed at Shigaraki’s leg, desperately trying to activate his quirk so he could shock him, or to at least relieve the pressure just a little, but nothing worked. Shigaraki stepped on him a little harder instead.

The pain in Kaminari’s chest was increasing, feeling like his chest was in a hydraulic press, just a few pounds of pressure shy of cracking his ribs. He tried sucking in the air that’s forcefully being driven out of his lungs, but every time he inhaled, he felt even more pressure. All he could do was grab Shigaraki’s leg and plead with his eyes.

Shigaraki was smirking down at him, but then his expression changed. He eased off his foot, letting him breathe a little easier while his head was tilted in clear thought. Kaminari awkwardly tried staring back at him, but couldn’t match Shigaraki’s unwavering gaze. Uncomfortable with being looked at like a lab rat, he turned his attention elsewhere, but kept glancing back to see if he was still being stared at. They stayed like that for minutes before Shigaraki’s expression changed again, now looking like he stumbled upon the answer to one of life’s greatest questions before he quickly schooled it into something more neutral.

“Impressive. I almost couldn’t tell. What’s your secret?” Shigaraki asked, more to himself than to Kaminari.

“Huh?” Kaminari responded, confused.

Shigaraki shook his head, “Doesn’t matter.” He reached behind him and brought out a pair of cuffs, quickly slapping them on his wrists before dragging him up, “Let’s go somewhere more comfortable.”

“Wait-“ Kaminari tried refuting, but he was forced out of the room.

When Shigaraki said they’d be going somewhere “more comfortable”, Kaminari’s mind conjured up all manner of things that were distinctly not comfortable. Things like a torture rack, a metal chair with straps to hold him down while a table with tools of all kinds displayed and bloodied was nearby, or maybe instead of a chair, it would be an operating table where Shigaraki or someone would start performing human experimentation on him.

Shigaraki led him into a room and he saw one of those things. Apparently, Shigaraki considered having the bare minimum of furniture as “more comfortable”.

The room was empty except for two metal chairs facing each other. Shigaraki pointed him towards the chair with the back to the door while he sat in the other. Sitting down, Kaminari couldn’t stop fidgeting. He kept looking behind him to make sure no one else would be entering and looked everywhere but back at Shigaraki. Shigaraki just sat there, watching him. He slouched a little, crossed his arms, and tilted his head to the side with his mouth in a thin line like he was contemplating something or was completely spaced out.

The two sat in awkward silence before Shigaraki spoke again, “What are you waiting for? This is your chance to come clean. It’s only you and me here.”

Kaminari didn’t know how to respond. He had a confused look on his face as he moved his mouth like he was trying to fit words and sounds to the shape, but nothing came out.

Shigaraki hummed in thought, “Here.”

He tossed something at Kaminari, who only slightly fumbled to catch it with his hands cuffed. He looked down and saw it was a key. Kaminari looked back up with a question on his face, “You’re letting me go?”

“If I were doing something like that, I’d make sure you could at least see the outside. So no, I’m not letting you go,” Shigaraki corrected. He gestured with his chin for Kaminari to free himself.