Within a minute, seven volunteers were paired with their police escorts: Izuku, Todoroki, Kacchan, Jiro, Uraraka, Hagakure, and Shoji. All armed with torches in case Dark Shadow caught them alone.

Most of the class still refused to join the hunt. From the shock of having the traitor revealed and Mr Aiawa's injury, many simply couldn't move. Izuku wasn't going to blame them, as he dealt with his emotions differently. Adrenaline was rushing through his veins and taking action was his remedy. The grief usually sneaked up on him later. Whether that was a good trait or not, he couldn't say.

They had left the safe haven of the dorms, daring to venture outside. They sprinted at Toyokami's blood trail leading to the woodland. Izuku's analytical mind was already working in overdrive. How could he utilize the volunteers' quirks against Dark Shadow?

The key figures to this mission were Kacchan, Todoroki, and Hagakure, as their quirks allowed them to produce light. Izuku had to question Kacchan's emotional stability for this mission, but due to his quirk being so perfect, the risk was worthwhile. Though to be safe, Izuku should rely on the other two if he could help it. He was especially grateful that Hagakure had the courage to join them - Within a class of physical quirks, she sometimes underestimated herself.

Kacchan called out to Hagakure, almost non-existence in the darkness, "Hey, Invisible girl. You catching up?"

Izuku overheard the girl's defiant huff. Her optimistic attitude towards the traitor was a welcome change from the usual bitterness, "Don't worry about me. We got a friend to save!"

The ominous trees surrounded the campus like an unhinged jaw, simply waiting to swallow it up. There was endless undergrowth where Dark Shadow could be hiding under the surface, like an ocean of plants. Though there came a point where the red-stained bushes ended - The nearby leaves had been roughly torn from their roots. Izuku glanced around, confused. What had Dark Shadow done to stop Tokoyami from bleeding out?

The static voice of Tsukauchi's coworker came from the police radio, "Dark Shadow hasn't passed the perimeter yet and the pros are several minutes away. The hero students should start forming an attack plan, Sir."

Swearing under his breath, the detective turned a guilty face to the students surrounding him. Replying on Tokoyami's young friends to take him down was the last thing he wanted. Tsukauchi quietly ordered the hero students. "That's your cue then. Just remember to stay with your escorts at all times."

Given permission to form an attack plan, all eyes naturally drifted over to Izuku. He swallowed hard but accepted his reputation as the ideas guy. Knowing everyone's expectations, Izuku did his best to fulfill, "Jiro- Shoji. Can you attempt to scout Dark Shadow's location?"

Shaking with stress, Kacchan sharply turned towards him, "Nobody needs your elaborate plans, Deku. Those extras can point me in the right direction and I'll beat Dark Shadow with one stun grenade myself."

Tsukauchi snapped at the unruly teenager's attitude, "Bakugo, I know your habit of wandering off and I won't tolerate it. Getting into a personal fight unsupervised can end up in someone's death. Act like a hero and follow protocol. Not a child running to get payback."

Kacchan flinched. He was taken back that Tsukauchi, someone with a demeanor similar to Izuku, could fearlessly order him around. With a quiet grunt, the spiky blonde obeyed Tsukauchi. With Kacchan settled down, Jiro expanded her earphones into the leafy ground, while Shoji formed extra ears on his arms. For several moments, neither of them came back with results. Jiro gritted her teeth, "It's weird, Tokoyami's vitals should be extra loud with those cuts. Yet I didn't hear a peak. Are we sure Dark Shadow hasn't slipped off campus already?"

Tsukauchi scoffed, "I sure hope not. A good forty officers have their eyes peeled on the perimeter - Including skywards for the suspects that can fly."

Forty officers had been sent to arrest a single high schooler? Izuku thought it was overkill, though released the traitor symbolized more than a lone teenager. They were empowering the League, which threatened the very existence of hero society. Any advantage the police could snatch away from the League had to be taken with full force. Considering the traitor turned out to be the incredibly powerful Dark Shadow, the forty officers were the right call.

Todoroki pressed Jiro for detail on her quirk, "How deep underground can you hear?"

Jiro shrugged, "Several hundred meters. Even Dark Shadow can't go that deep, so quickly. It doesn't have mole powers."

Izuku put his hand to his chin. The Potential places where Dark Shadow was steadily narrowed down: Since Dark Shadow was likely to be spotted on the heavily-guarded perimeter, it was probably on campus. Yet Jiro and Shoji couldn't hear it on land or underground - So that left one option. Glancing back to where the blood trail ended: Izuku noticed the torn-up forest clearing was a launching site. Usually, Dark Shadow's float ability was limited, as its user acted as an anchor to the floor. However, now that Tokoyami was an unconscious body, the sentient quirk could carry him with it.

"Then Tokoyami and Dark Shadow are flying above UA.", Kachann announced, before Izuku had the chance to.

Uraraka had a sigh of relief, "Then this is perfect for my quirk. Sorry to rush your planning, but we should hurry and strike first. Since Dark Shadow is opting to hide on campus, rather than fleeing, it might be up to something. What, I don't want to find out."

Uraraka had a point. It was unknown just how intelligent Dark Shadow was. They couldn't reply on acting like an injured animal and blindly stumbling out of its hiding spot eventually. Though even the smartest opponents could be taken off guard, if they weren't given enough time to plan. Everything was set up: The group had three light-producing quirks and a quirk to make everyone airborne. No more idle chit-chat - Izuku knew what needed to be done.

Abruptly standing up, Izuku spread One For All throughout his body, until he was glowing a light hue. The surrounding undergrowth reflected the blue sparklings, as if frost had formed on them. Not caring about how abrasive he sounded, Izuku ran through the last details, "If Uraraka floats the six of us, we can split into pairs, containing a light-producer and extra muscle each. We can cover a large area of sky, sending bright flashes throughout. It should expose Dark Shadow eventually and we'll descend on it. Any objections?"

Everybody was breathless at Izuku's sudden declarsion, but with several glances around, nobody found criticism for it. Silently the pairs choose each other: Todoroki and Shoji, Kachann and Jiro and finally, Hagakure and Izuku. The fire and explosion users could probably beat Dark Shadow single-handedly, their partners just giving extra support. Though Hagakure was a stealth specialist, with no means of physical attacks - She'd been dependent on Izuku as a bodyguard.

The pairs gathered in a circle around Uraraka, as she did last-minute hand exercises. Their police escorts watch intensely, as they could do nothing but allow the kids to do their jobs. Switching on their phone torches, there was nothing left to do.

Uraraka gave them a cautious smile, "Ok, remember everything we've been taught... Plus Ultra."

The brown-haired girl put her palm on each pair, with the pink glittering of her quirk. Weightlessness came over Izuku as he began floating. They rapidly passed the treeline as they climbed up, further and further. Despite not being able to see Hagakure, he felt her grip on his hand get tighter in fear. Izuku reassured her, "Your quirk is going to keep you safe - Dark Shadow won't know where you are, and your light will stop it from getting close. All of its focus will be on me."

The invisible girl uttered, "You say Dark Shadow focusing on you, like it's a good thing. Have some self preservation, please."

Izuku sighed, "I'll try."

As they climbed through the air, they were given a bird's eye view: The many trees shrunk in size, until they appeared like toys laid out on a fake setting. Even further away, was the city lights dancing like fireflies on the horizon. The unlit buildings were unmoving silhouettes, like a stain on the clear night sky. In the heavens, Izuku felt disconnected from it all. He rarely went this high, but he knew All Might frequently ventured here in his prime. Perhaps when he became a Pro hero, he'd hover here in loneliness, as he waited for someone's calls for help.

The sounds of explosions grabbed Izuku's attention, as Kachann grew impatient. With Jiro holding on for dear life, the pair rocketed upwards with a trail of smoke. Already hundreds of meters into the sky, Kacchan twisted until he faced away from everyone else floating. Even from a distance, they made out his war cry, "You're not hiding from me!"

Night suddenly became day, as he set off multiple Stun Grenades. Following pursuit, Todoroki set his left side ablaze, before forming into a continuous stream of fire. The stark yellow of the explosions clashed with the fierce red of the fire - Like the two colors were fighting for dominance of the sky. Below, the metal coat of the UA building reflected the glow like a mirror. It was almost beautiful.

Whole sections of the sky brightened up. If Dark Shadow was hiding around here, it would be snuffed out in no time. Almost the entirety of the Campus was effected, besides from one dark corner. Hurrying to be useful, Izuku got Hagakure to hold on tightly. Taking a trick out of Kachann's book, he steadied his hands behind him. His index and thumb clicked together. Like a gun, Izuku sent a blast of air pressure behind him, pushing the pair forward at high speed. The wind whipped his face as his messy strands got in his eyes.

Reaching an area with low light levels; Hagakure could finally unleash her supermove: A white star, shimmering with every color of the rainbow. She was literally a living prism, refracting the light. Due to it being nightime, there was less natural light for her to use, though hopefully Kacchan and Todoroki's distant attacks made up for that. Tirelessly, Hagakure continued to use her supermove, as they boosted round the unexplored section. All in search of Dark Shadow and Tokoyami until-

Instead of them coming to Dark Shadow, the sentient quirk came to them. During one of Hagakure's rest periods, the purple missile came out of nowhere. It angled its body, so it was going at terminal velocity like a sky diver. It slammed into the two teenagers, forcing them apart. A sharp pain spread down his shoulder and back as it struck like an arrow. Though he felt no blood, only a forming bruise. Luckily, Uraraka's zero-gravity ensured their safety, staying suspended even without Izuku's air blasts.

"Hagakure! Are you alright?", Izuku yelled out from his blurred sight.

"I'm all good!", she replied, from several dozen meters away, "I'll fry this bird-"

Before she let off her super move, Dark Shadow threw a large material it was holding. It was a moldy garden tarp that must have been laying in the woodland, completely covering Hagakure. The girl flailed wildly underneath it, confused about how to get it off. As Dark Shadow hovered dangerously close to the blinded girl, Izuku unleashed an airwave. It tried darting to the side, but still got half caught in it, grunting in pain. Hurriedly analyzing it, Izuku noticed it as smaller than usual for this level of darkness. Hidden within Dark Shadow's body, was the occasional sighting of skin - The fainted Tokoyami. With its user unconscious, it must weaken Dark Shadow as well.

While the sentient quirk still recovered, the green hair dared to go into close-combat with it. He rocketed himself forward, slamming into Dark Shadow. Izuku wanted to grab Tokoyami before Hagakure shutdown Dark Shadow - Or it could risk Tokoyami plummeting down to the ground. It was a whirlwind of swiping claws and brutal fists. Every time Izuku used one arm for defence, he'd use the other to counter. It dragged on for several seconds, as a disorientated Hagakure struggled to know which way was up.

Switching between punches and kicks, Izuku targeted Dark Shadow's head from every angle. It was the only part guaranteed not to have Tokoyami underneath, not wanting to hurt him. Its body of energy was like a snake, shape-shifting to wave between the blows. It was like literally fighting mist. It reminded him of the Sludge villain from a year ago, the incident that made All Might choose Izuku as his successor. Copying what his ideal's winning strategy from back then, Izuku prepared for a wide-ranged attack.

He flung backwards to give himself space for another airwave. However, Dark Shadow's flexible arm unexpectedly gave chase. As he positioned his fingers, a shadowy hand latched onto his eyes, blinding him. Scared his aim would be off and he might hurt Hagakure, he purposefully launched the attack upwards. The momentum worked against Izuku, knocking him far away from Hagakure's location. Dark Shadow went along for the ride, keeping its grip on Izuku like a leech.

With One For All, Izuku finally yanked Dark Shadow's hand away without a sweat. Getting his bearings, his feet skimmed the crispy leaves of UA's woodland. Damn- He flew far! Knowing he'd fight better on the ground, Izuku canceled out Uraraka's zero gravity. Using nearby branches to propel himself, he landed with a thump. They were under two overarching oaks, hiding them from those flying above. The towering trees and tangled bushes formed a narrow clearing, enclosing them like a cage. Spinning to face Dark Shadow, Izuku readied for round two. Yet, the sentient quirk called out, "Wait, Midoriya. We don't need to fight. I want to talk to you."

Izuku froze. This had never happened to him before. A villain wanting to speak to him instead of fighting? He had dreams that one day he could find peaceful solutions as a full-fledged pro. Though it felt like a distant fantasy as a first-year student. Yet this was actually happening, right now and he needed to make a choice. Lower his guard around a potential danger or continue to fight at the risk of hurting Tokoyami? It wasn't like Shigaraki's talk, where he could kill him instantly. In this situation, Izuku had the power advantage.

Then, the phone in his pocket began ringing. Dark Shadow nodded its head, signaling for him to answer. Which he did, though kept his eye on the sentient quirk at all times. It wasn't the usual phone calls he got, instead, it was using a special app exclusive to heroes - Instead of speaking to a single individual, it allowed a team of heroes to speak at once.

Hagakure's voice came through, "Midoryria, thank goodness you picked up! Where are you? I finally shook off this massive tarp and you've disappeared on me."

Izuku uttered, "I"m fine. Dark Shadow said it's willing to talk to me. I..I have the chance to resolve this peacefully."

The app's unique features began to work, as new voices emerged. It was Kacchan, not even the phone was able to muffle his booming voice, "Don't be an idiot, Deku! Tell us where you are and we're taking this thing down."

The calmer mood of Todoroki was next, "Regardless of his tone, Bakugo is right. The risk of trusting a villain isn't worth it. Heroes aren't therapists."

A wave of doubt came over Izuku. He may prefer to help villains, then beat them to a bloody pulp: But could he actually achieve that at this moment? The majority of his villain fights, ended up in enraged screaming matches. Though admittedly he'd grown over the months, there were glimpses of a better future. With his recent scuffle against Gentle Criminal, he made his first strive forward, by Gentle criminal choosing to surrender in the end.

Amongst the chatter on the phone, the app muted it out, for one to emerge. It was Tsukauchi, surprisingly backing him up, "I'll give you three minutes. If we don't hear from you afterwards, we're coming in. Tokoyami, Dark Shadow, - If you can hear me, Midoriya is a genuine kid. If anyone wants to help you, it's him."

With that permission, Izuku slipped his phone back into his pocket. He couldn't be phoning other people behind Dark Shadow's back, or it could think he wasn't sincerely listening. At the same time, he kept his device on, in case he needed backup. Dark Shadow hovered there in quiet intimidation. He gazed into the glowing yellow eyes of the sentient quirk. It was often said the eyes were a mirror into the soul. Well, those eyes were empty voids. Unreadable. Impossible.

There were a million different openings Izuku considered. How could he communicate with this alien creature? He couldn't afford to wait, before Dark Shadow got in the first word. He had to choose a path and take it, "Dark Shadow - I know you're confused but attacking every person won't help you. There are scientists who'll guide you if given the chance. There may not be a miracle cure, but it's not always necessary. There's Conjoined twins, kind of like you, who have happy lives."

Dark Shadow simply flexed its clawed hands, "Enough with that naive talk. It's too late, I've already killed people. I'm only here for one thing. The truth about your quirk. Superpower, that's its name, right?"

Izuku stared up at the black bird with stunned confusion. Did Dark Shadow know the secrets of One For All? There were many months where the UA traitor went unaccounted for, where Dark Shadow had the chance to overhear his talks with All Might and his allies. Yet by Dark Shadow's usage of the cover name, 'Superpower', it might not be true. Perhaps Dark Shadow was independently figuring out the unexplained oddities of Izuku's quirk, similar to Todoroki's love child theory. Whatever the case, Izuku had to throw Dark Shadow off the scent.

Izuku stood straight, "I can't imagine how lonely you must feel, but you have to see the truth as well. You're a rare exception. Most quirks aren't capable of self-awareness, mine is one of them. It's only raw energy. Still, you can find companions amongst the people already around you.".

Dark Shadow flexed its clawed hands, "I've seen your empathetic heart, Midoriya. I think you'll be one of the first to understand quirks' true nature. Your quirk - Or, let's call it Power, feels trapped inside you. The ways it disobeys and hurts you - It's all signs of defiance. So do what's best for both of you. Free your quirk."

Izuku stepped back in shock, "What?"

Dark Shadow snarled, "Don't lie! I know All Might somehow transfer Power onto you - A quirkless boy gaining an identical ability just as he brains of energy. So surely you can transfer Power onto Tokoyami? Do that, and I'll do the rest."

The green-haired boy pushed down the instinct to fight against Dark Shadow. He could hardly keep up this impossible conversation he'd found himself in. Through it all, however, Izuku knew he had to replace All Might as the symbol of peace. His actions would affect Japan for decades to come. The Stakes were simply too high. That meant he had to keep One For All, no matter what, regardless Dark Shadow guilt-tripped him with.

Izuku declared profoundly, "Whatever the truth of my quirk is, I can guarantee one thing; It would share my drive to save people. It always activates when I want to save someone, even if it means endangering itself."

Dark Shadow seemed to ignore him, lowering its head slightly. It wasn't holding Izuku's eye contact anymore. Remarkably, it tried addressing One For All itself, "Power, don't let Midoryira speak for you. Answer me yourself. If you can hear me, give me a sign. A voice, an air blast. I don't mind. Just let me know I'm not alone in this world."

One second past.

Five seconds past.

Ten seconds past.

Nothing happened. Izuku had almost expected One For All to react by itself as much as Dark Shadow did. Yet his quirk remained dormant. Adding onto the pressure, voices were beginning to call his name in the distance. Their three minutes were almost up. Izuku's classmates were itching to go in for the ambush. Dark Shadow's purple body crackled with unspoken desperation.

As a last resort, Dark Shadow dared to threaten the very thing it swore to defend. It uttered, "Answer me, Power: Do you want to remain with Midoriya or not? Are the humans worth it? You have to keep your very nature a secret, so they won't fight amongst themselves to steal you. Even those supposed to care like Midoriya, won't make a proper cover story. Why even bother to keep yourself hidden anymore?"

Izuku tried to respond, but his voice got caught in his throat. His mouth began heating up, fizzling his answer out like a furnace. He was scorched from the inside. It wasn't just the heat as Izuku felt a massive weight come over him. His legs couldn't carry his own body, dropping to his knees. His ears and veins were on the verge of bursting. What was One For All doing?

An overwhelming amount of energy streamed through his whole body. It was somehow more intense, than his old 100% smashes that broke his bones. If he moved an inch, dying was a real possibility. There was a faint sizzling, as the air glowed with blue lightning. Yet it didn't stop there. Each passing moment, a storm of electricity thickened. Colors Izuku didn't know could appear: Green, Yellow, Red, Purple…

Usually, the blue energy from Izuku's full-cowling was harmless. It had no visible effect on the outside world, so he'd dismissed the possibility of crafting a supermove with it. Dark Shadow's weakness was the exception. Producing a small amount of light, the energy was like acid to the sentient quirk. Stray bolts dug into its shadowy body like glowing blades, screeching in pain.

Mysteriously, the voices that came from Izuku weren't his own. Dozens of different people he didn't recognize, "We're past humans, you stupid bird - Get away League scum - We're not the same - I'm sorry but you'll never understand - Enough foolery, the boy is loyal to us!"

As the last words escaped, Izuku vaguely noticed it was a middle-aged woman, determined and deep. While never meeting her, Izuku imagined that's how Nana Shimura sounded from All Might's stories. The rainbow stream consumed Izuku's vision, as if it was going into his skull itself. As soon as it started, the power suddenly left his body. He collapsed.

As his sense faded into nothingness, Izuku overheard the UA traitor's departing message, "H-how you could throw a reunion with your kind so easily, I don't understand...But fine. I'll be better than the humans and won't force you to join me. I'll be waiting if you ever change your mind. But we need to get one thing clear - I'm not loyal to the League. There's literally no choice until I can figure out their science myself. After that, I'll be sure to kill those quirk abusers. That's a promise."

…..

Doctor Ujiko could hardly contain his giddy excitement. The old man hunched over the TV screen, blaring with breaking news. The News was still sketchy on the details; merely admitting the 1-A student, Fumikage Tokoyami had gone on a rampage, knocking out his teacher and classmate. Personally, the doctor would have preferred death, but it was still a victory all the same. The League's previous two attacks had already knocked the public's faith in the hero system. But Tokoyami's rampage marked an important shift: In the past, it was down to incompetence, but now the heroes themselves were capable of betrayal. It had grown from frustration to paranoia, a much deadlier emotion.

The News hadn't given Tokoyami a clear motive yet. This signaled to Ujiko that either the police were attempting a cover-up or their investigation was lagging behind. Of course, Ujiko knew better. It went back to the UA traitor, which he'd personally set up with All For One. Doctor Ujiko was amongst the greatest minds of this generation and Dark Shadow's self-awareness had taken him off guard. All they did was provide it with a burner phone and it had done the rest. On its own, it managed to eavesdrop and hide its phone without Tokoyami's knowledge. Ujiko never got used to trading texts with Dark Shadow. Something that shouldn't be alive, was. Worse still, like a parasite, turning its user's own body against him.

Ujiko was surprised the Police managed to make Dark Shadow flee at all. Usually, a mole's cover being blown was objectively bad. Though the UA traitor was a special type of traitor. The League's goals were of a rarer variety, compared to most criminals. Not money, land, or anything material; but it was metaphysical. The league wanted to create permanent change by shaking the people to their core. Tainting the very soul of society.

So the UA traitor had two purposes: The obvious one was to allow the attacks on UA School with their intel. Though the second one, was to purposefully create civil unrest. For that to happen, the UA Traitor would need to reveal themselves one day. Ujiko believed Dark Shadow had already done the necessary damage behind the scenes with the two attacks. A third assault would be rather pointless, as society would be complacent by then. The public would need something new to shock them. A bright hopeful youth, turning murderous would do just that.

Currently, Tokoyami's location wasn't known, even to Ujiko. Though it had only been serval hours since the rampage. He'd give the UA traitor serval days to reunite with the League on his own. Otherwise, the doctor might send a nomu to track it down. With Dark Shadow's obvious light weakness, it would be easy to capture with the right quirk.

Though Ujiko was still confused about how the police figured Dark Shadow was the culprit. If the doctor himself was surprised by the sentient quirk's capabilities... Though the answer was simple.

"Nezu…", Ujiko grumbled under his breath. Just thinking of the name annoyed him. Unlike Ujiko, who had to claw out his knowledge through hard work, that literal rat got by dumb luck of his quirk. The doctor would love to experiment on that animal one day - Alongside Dark Shadow, once it'd served its purpose as the UA traitor. There was no way that sentient quirk could be allowed to live too long. Creatures like Dark Shadow and Nezu were threats to humanity. If they turned violent, their breeds might be capable of wiping out humans. Even if they were peaceful, their mere existence brought up questions about the basic foundations of society.

Everything wrong in Ujiko's life was reflected back in Dark Shadow. Quirk singularity doomsday theory. It was miracle he'd figured it out so early, so humanity still had a fighting chance to save itself. He'd preached to the masses, to save his fellow man. Yet, for hearing the truth, the public had been merciless. It had been called ridiculous, lies, impossible- It had ruined his life for decades. Knowing of an upcoming apocalypse, but nobody would listen to you. Only All For One had saved Ujiko from the pit of despair.

Just as he thought he'd found a new purpose, to put his mind to rest - Dark Shadow had to show up. Originally, Ujiko thought the quirk singularity would be an unfeeling force of nature. Killing the quirks users without discrimination or fuss. No one to blame. Yet, the truth was so much worse than that. The quirks could have feelings. They could have choices. Choices on how they could spite on their human users: Torture, manipulate, possess, deprive…A new species was forcing itself into existence, even at the cost of humans losing their right to their own bodies.

Ujiko didn't know whether he hated or loved Dark Shadow. It could be his revenge on everyone who rejected him. It could be the most perfect 'It told you so' in history. Yet, feelings he thought he buried decades ago was rising to the surface. Ujiko would love to spite Japan, by killing dozens with the very thing they called him a liar for. Though would he go as far as helping Quirk singularity to rise, risking the extinction of humans?

He'd strive to have the best of both worlds - Have Dark Shadow work for the League for a brief time, to prove a point. But as soon as the sentient quirks showed defiance, have a backup plan, to have it euthanized immediately. Ujiko was weirded out he was having those thoughts at all. He'd been a villain for so long, he'd assumed he'd forgotten what a moral compass was.

While deep in his thoughts, he didn't realize the news had come to an end. Ujiko would have to entertain himself, in an apartment that wasn't familiar to him. While this was technically his home, he was hardly ever here. Many of his secret labs held beds, in case he worked overnight. Ujiko tried filling his apartment with furniture typical of his age group, but he wasn't sure. His home had no style, no personality. It wasn't lived in, it was only a soulless front to throw off suspicion.

A clattering at his closed window made him jump out of his seat. His joints cracked from the sudden movement. Groaning, Ujiko limped over to check, reminding himself this is why he wasn't on the frontlines. Nervously, he grasped his curtains. On a massive apartment complex, the only person outside his window was someone willing to use their quirk - Either a licensed hero or a villain. Ujiko was already making plans how he could sweet talk his way out of this.

Then he stopped. His blood turned to ice. Behind the curtain, he overheard an eerily familiar voice.

Tokoyami, in a sickly voice, coughed out, "H-How could you, Dark Shadow? All those innocent people. Nothing can justify what you've done!"

Dark Shadow whispered back, "Innocent- Hero- Villain… I've heard those words my entire life and I don't know what they mean. I'm only an attack dog. Every time I've been let out into the world, it's to experience violence. I literally can't do good, until I learn what it is."

Tokoyami reminded his quirk, "You already know some basic good - That desire to stop me getting hurt, that's protection. Would you throw that away to kill me?"

Dark Shadow responded, "No - We may be ensnared together, but you're like a brother to me. I don't want to drag you into this anymore. The League can separate us and if the heroes are as good as you claim, they won't hold you responsible."

Ujiko pressed his back to the wall, daring not to speak. Why had Dark Shadow come to his apartment of all places? He'd never given it permission to do that. It should've gone to a secret lab - Now he didn't have any nomu to summon. He was defenseless. Worse, if anyone witnessed a league ally floating outside his window - His hidden identity as a villain would be exposed. This stupid thing! Was it just being impatient?

As pathetic as it was, Ujiko's only strategy was to be quiet and wait. By dumb luck, Dark Shadow might assume he wasn't home and wouldn't bother to enter his apartment. All For One would be calling him an embarrassment for this.

It wasn't enough, as Dark Shadow's stretched arms smashed through the window. The impact made Ujiko roll to the side and curl up, shielding from the raining glass. "You stupid thing!", the doctor barked.

Though he shut up as the black mass hovered only an inch from his face. It dug its claws into his shoulder, "So I finally see the disgusting man up close. But enough time wasting, you need to heal Tokoyami. Now."

Tokoyami, helplessly wrapped in Dark Shadow's arms, uttered, "Dark Shadow, even if you won't listen to be about heroics- You can't forget practicality. A doctor can't heal me if you injury his arm."

Dark Shadow reluctantly unraveled its claws, "Sure. Though since we're here anyway, we can begin discussions of the separation."

Ujiko gulped under the menacing tone. Tokoyami's hawk-like eyes narrowed in righteous fury at the doctor, "What have you been doing to my quirk?"