The sky was black and cloudless. The cold night air whistled softly with the breeze. Shoto made a habit of sitting outside on nights like these, be it while training or just for peace of mind. This night was different.

"Thanks again for helping us, Todoroki," Izuku's voice wavered, "It's nice, for you to have our backs."

Ochaco and Tenya nodded in unison, each flashing him a hearty smile. It hit him all too suddenly, these are my friends. I'm not alone anymore.

"Thank you," he settled for a basic acknowledgement, afraid anything more would have him say too much, "Bakugo hasn't arrived yet."

"Should we really wait any longer? Who knows what they're up to?" The gravity heroine argued, her eyes seeming to count the seconds until their departure.

"Alright. It was worth a shot." Izuku stood, taking another look at the address Shigaraki had left. A warehouse, not too far from here. Probably a trap, but what better lead do we have? "I'll enter first, alone. Once the coast is clear, we get to work. Uraraka, check the upper levels. Iida, you check for traps. Todoroki, guard the entrance in case of an ambush. I'll deal with Shigaraki. Mr Compress was arrested and Twice and Gigantomachia are out in the mainland. That leaves only Shigaraki, Dabi, Spinner, Toga and All For One we have to be on the lookout for. Everyone got that?"

"Got it!" his classmates called in sync, each preparing for the long night ahead.

Shigaraki drummed his fingers on the top of a crate, growing increasingly impatient. "At this rate, Jin will have already dealt with the pros by the time he arrives."

"Now, now Tomura. Midoriya is most likely gathering his forces. He will arrive soon."

Almost on cue, the heavy door scraped open to reveal the emerald successor to All Might. "Shigaraki!"

"Hmph, Midoriya. Long time no see."

"Not long enough. Hand Eri over!"

Shigaraki cast his gaze to the top of the tall doorway, giving a subtle nod to Toga. Her toothy grin became wider, her eyes filled with lunacy. She dropped silently, landing upon Deku's shoulders and driving her knife toward his chest. A grunt of shock exited him as he only barely managed to catch the blade before it pierced him. Struggling for a moment, she threw her weight forward, causing them both to fall into the surreptitiously placed caltrops.

Dabi turned the corner, hand engulfed in cerulean flames. "Ash to ash. Move, Toga!"

A blue inferno billowed forth, seeming to swallow the air itself. Himiko dashed nimbly away, savouring the view of an injured Izuku. A grand wall of ice obstructed the incoming hit, incinerating as fast as it formed. "Hmph. Plan B."

"Midoriya, are you alright?" Shoto's voice rang out, his own fire quickly burning away the spikes that lay before him.

"Y-yeah, just surprised is all."

"Oh, you'll be surprised alright kid!"

Spinner flailed his sword wildly at the two heroes, only to be intercepted by a kick from Tenya. Pushing away from the villain, the class rep stood back to back with the others. "I believe it's safe to say our plan has been ruined. I suggest a divide and conquer strategy."

Izuku and Shoto nodded silently at the proposal. Shoto shot another wave of ice at Dabi who swiftly carbonised the frozen tidal wave. Izuku dashed at Toga, sending a bullet of air at the wall behind her before sending the shapeshifter through the newly created hole with a hefty kick. "Uraraka! Take care of Toga!"

Himiko rolled backwards, attempting to move with the momentum of the kick to soften the blow. She finally stopped, coming face to face with Ochaco. Beaming madly, she stood once more, taking no note of the cuts and scrapes she had acquired.

"Heheh... Ochaco, Ochaco, Ochaco..."

The blond looked completely unstable, rocking back and forth while gibbering incoherently. She needs help. No one should be reduced to this.

"Just surrender so I don't have to hurt you, Toga!"

Uravity checked her arm, noticing a small slit on her bicep that hadn't been there before.

"Aww, how sweet of you. Stuff like that," Toga licked the edge of her knife and began to deform, her face transfiguring into that of Ochaco's own, "...is why I wanna be just, like, YOU!"

Tenya tackled Spinner, driving him forward despite the gecko villain's resistance. The two crashed into a wall, the armoured hero recoiling to deliver a devastating kick to his foe. Spinner, realising he couldn't dodge such a high-speed assault at close range, opted instead for a parting stab into Tenya's shoulder. Both parties' cries were drowned out by the crumbling of the wall, giving to the force of the attack.

Shuichi tumbled, sputtering virulently. The dust that was yet to settle very nearly obscured the view of Ingenium's crashing heel, the Stain supporter rolling just out of range.

Digging his sword into the ground for support, Spinner alternated between coughing and chuckling. Kid might've concussed me. Gotta end this soon. "Heard Stain was a fan of yours."

"And I see you're a fan of his."

Spinner grimaced. "Touché. Gotta admit though, he knew what he was talking about."

Tenya gritted his teeth, picturing the serial killer's attack on Native. "I will admit no such thing!"

His reptilian enemy shrugged indifferently. "Guess that explains how he knew you weren't a real hero." His elongated mouth curved into a smirk, his scales seeming to breathe with excitement. "And you never will be."

Dabi looked thoughtful for a moment, before bursting a hole in the wall behind himself and vanishing out back. Shoto glanced around briefly, verifying his teammates all had a handle of the situation before giving chase, creating a path of ice to slide along. The moment he reached the newly cindered hole, a vast sea of flames surged forth, the bone-crunching sound of the explosion almost deafening him. Anticipating such an attack, Shoto countered with a rotating circle of fire, attempting to redirect the attack. Dabi's flames began to climb over and around the shield in defiance of the motion, causing the heterochromic to slide backwards to avoid certain death. Despite gaining distance from the attack, the temperature still managed to tatter parts of both combatants' outfits.

"Smooth moves." Dabi's condescending, dismissive tone irked Shoto, though he refused to show it. The villain wouldn't even look him in the eye, opting to check the extent of the damage to his costume.

"Wish I could say the same for you."

"Ooh, good one. Who doesn't love a little sibling rivalry?"

"Sibli- What are you talking about?"

Dabi's face contorted in what seemed to be surprise, rapidly replaced by a malevolent grin, his eyes raising to meet Shoto's gaze.

"Ah, let that one slip, didn't I? Nice to see you again, Shoto. It's me, Touya."

No... no, no, no, he's lying. "Touya is dead."

The walking corpse burst into uncontrollable laughter. The stitches adorning his jaw threatened to split with each guffaw. "Ouch. I know I don't look my best right now, but have a little respect. It's true, Shoto, whether you believe it or not."

The skin on Touya's palm burned off slowly, piece by piece, as the embers raged in his hand. "Don't worry. I'll send dad straight to Hell with you!"

AN: Just as things are picking up in pace, I'm afraid I might not be able to continue with daily updates. Such cruel irony. Weekly at worst, but most likely a new chapter will be out every few days or so. The suspense will be killer~