Chapter 37: Destination

All Might stood with his hands behind his back looking out one of UA's many windows. He was currently looking down at a group of students that were about to depart on their Summer Training Camp to improve their quirks.

The number one hero wanted to be down there to see them off but Aizawa had made it clear, very clear, that only those going to the Training Camp would be allowed anywhere near the buses. Many would have viewed such a thing as being paranoid or at least overly cautious.

All Might was not one of them.

In fact, he would normally be patrolling the city at this time, but he'd gotten Principal Nezu's permission to remain at UA until the students had safely departed. He knew there was a real possibility that the league could strike again and he needed to make sure he was ready when they did.

He would have liked to have joined the students and young Midoriya going to the Training Camp, but that option had already been taken off the table and for good reasons. Even if All Might didn't know who Shadow really was, the league had already targeted him once before and Shadow had made it clear that he would come after All Might again at some point. Not to mention that the Symbol of Peace disappearing from public eyes for several days would cause all kinds of problems that the number one hero would rather avoid.

With that in mind, he would not be joining the class and didn't even know where they were going. He understood and agreed with that much at least, the less people who knew the location of the Camp, the safer the students would be. So only those heroes that would be at the Camp knew its location beforehand.

However, this also worried All Might somewhat because, if something did happen, he wouldn't know about it until afterwards. Still, if he were being honest, he wasn't too worried about Shadow and the league going after his students.

From what he gathered, and what young Midoriya had told him after the I-Island incident, Shadow definitely knew about One For All and that All Might had already passed it to a successor. Thankfully, he still didn't know just who the ninth holder was. 'But that will change.' All Might thought, knowing that it was only a matter of time before the secret was out.

All For One had always been good about gathering information and strong people to his side and it seemed his son had the same talent. Shadow was also clearly playing the long game rather than just trying to complete his goal of killing the Symbol of Peace.

After everything that had happened, All Might was now certain that the attack on the USJ had not truly been about killing him. His death could have been a part of it but the more he thought back on it, the more it looked like it had been some sort of test. 'But a test for who? Me? The students? That nomu thing?'

He didn't have enough of the pieces yet but he was certain that if Shadow had really wanted to kill him that day, he would have tried a lot harder than he did. 'He proved his strength during the Endeavor Incident after all.'

His victory over Endeavor proved that he had the strength to take him on and probably even cause him some real problems. 'Especially if he does have the quirk All For One and has been holding back his true strength this whole time.' The thought was a disturbing one for multiple reasons.

Even if he didn't have his old enemy's quirk, Shadow had already shown that he definitely had multiple quirks and they would all be powerful if used on their own. Together, they created a very dangerous villain. 'A dangerous villain with dangerous allies of his own.'

While the thugs at the USJ and I-Island were little more than common thugs, All Might had seen that Shadow did have at least a few truly dangerous villains on his side and he probably had more that they didn't even know about yet. 'A warp villain, a gas user, and a snake villainess whose quirk is still unknown. Three just seems like too small a number for someone like Shadow, he's got to have more allies still hiding behind the scenes.'

Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, neither he nor any of his allies had found so much as a hint as to where the league was hiding. It wasn't surprising. Finding All For One had been almost as difficult as fighting the man and it appeared that it would be the same with his son.

Son… the very idea that a man like All For One could have actually had a child with anyone still felt like something that shouldn't be possible, but there were simply too many things about Shadow that were similar to that man. 'When I get that mask off him and see his face, I'll know for certain.' All Might thought as he balled his hands into fists.

His hands quickly relaxed as he watched the students finish loading onto the buses. A few moments later the buses drove away from UA without incident, making their way towards the Training Camp where young Midoriya and the others would continue their training to become great heroes.

All Might let out a breath of relief when the buses vanished from sight. He'd really been worried that the league might strike again before the students left on their trip but it seemed things were finally going smoothly for the students.

It would be several days later before All Might learned just how wrong he'd been.

The LOV's Mansion…

Niko was staring at her computer screen. She watched as the dot began moving across the map and nodded to herself before getting up and making her way out of her room.

She didn't know how Shadow had managed to get the tracking device on the bus without him or it being noticed but she wasn't going to ask. All that mattered was it worked and, once the classes arrived, they'd have the location of the training camp.

A part of her did still feel slightly uncomfortable about Shadow's plan to use them as bait for All Might but she reminded herself that these kids were training to be heroes and would need to understand just what that meant, what it really meant. 'Better they face reality now so they know what to expect when they become heroes.'

So many heroes posed for cameras, acted like celebrities, and made it look like being a hero was the greatest way to live. Niko knew that there were very few that saw the true dangers of becoming a hero. 'It doesn't help that most villains are idiots that just rampage without thinking.'

On the one hand, she could understand why it was a good thing that so many villains were just idiots that only caused a little damage before being caught and locked up. However, she also understood that for that very reason, most heroes were unprepared for when they encountered a truly dangerous villain.

The worst villains in the world weren't the ones that people saw on television causing destruction. No, the worst villains were the ones that no one even knew about. The quiet ones that operated behind the scenes and had enough brains to know that a straight up fight was not the only way to defeat or damage your opponents.

Shadow, her savior and someone she would follow until she took her last breath, was quickly gaining a reputation among the people as one of the most dangerous villains in the world today. He was considered dark, violent, dangerously strong, and mysterious to the point that some of the theories she'd read about him online made her want to laugh, cry, and rage all at once.

She knew the truth was far more complicated than even the craziest online theorists would dare to guess and even she, the person who arguably knew the most about him besides himself, still didn't have the full picture.

She didn't mind and she owed him far too much to ask.

"Good move! No fair, you cheated!" Twice voice all but screamed behind the closed door to her little brother's room. She hadn't thought Twice would be so interested in Mustard and Spinner's games, but the copy villain got hooked quickly and now Niko had three game loving idiots to deal with. It caused her no small amount of headaches and frustration.

She loved Mustard, she truly did, but if he or one of the other two woke her up with another of their late night gaming parties, she was fully prepared to ask Dabi to incinerate them. She knew he'd do it too. He'd already fried their last game station when he was in a particularly bad mood and she knew she wasn't the only one being woken up at night because of their stupid screaming.

It had stopped for a while after she'd paid her little bro and Spinner a late night visit and explained to them why she needed her sleep, but it was clear the lesson hadn't stuck. 'I'll need to remind them in a more…serious fashion.' She thought as she left the screaming and laughing knuckleheads to their games for the time being.

She soon found her thoughts drifting back to the blue flame user once again. Aside from herself and Shadow, none of the other league members knew Dabi's true identity and Niko was fairly confident it would stay that way. He seemed fully prepared to live as "Dabi" forever, just as her boss was to live as "Shadow".

Dabi was very much a loner. He was used to doing things his way and operating alone, but he was still smart and skilled enough to work with others when required. Niko felt she could understand. She had been chained to All For One while Dabi had been chained to his father in a slightly different way.

However, unlike herself, Dabi's chains were still there even if the flame user himself couldn't see them. Again, she understood. Endeavor had made his son's life a living hell since the day he was born, putting unbearable pressure and impossible to achieve goals on his shoulders and Dabi, desperate to win his father's praise and approval, had pushed himself well past the breaking point to do so.

Honestly, it was no wonder why Dabi was so quick to brush off others. The one person he wanted attention from had never and would never give him the attention he truly wanted, so why would he bother giving his attention to anyone else unless it could help him achieve his goals?

Niko shook her head. When Shadow had explained how and why Dabi had joined the league of villains, Niko had told her boss immediately that Dabi would never truly achieve his goals.

Endeavor had only ever cared about surpassing All Might and it had been his obsession long before he decided to attempt his quirk marriage scheme. Now the chances of that happening were dead and, while it was possible that Dabi's actions could still affect the man in some way, Niko knew deep down that the son would never get what he wanted from his father no matter what he did or how hard he tried.

Shadow had agreed and admitted he thought mostly the same. He said Dabi's situation was very similar to what his own situation had been like with his father so he had a very good idea of what was going on in the young man's head but, while both did want to help the tortured Todoroki, neither was exactly sure how to go about it.

Niko herself wasn't the best person to talk to about trauma and she already knew there was no chance that Dabi would willingly open up about his feelings and Shadow admitted that, while he felt he understood Dabi's feelings, that didn't mean he knew how to correct them. He'd only turned his back on his own father after many years of failure and him personally accepting that he would never be accepted by his father and admitting to himself that he never really needed his father's acceptance.

In short, Dabi had to accept his situation for what it was and turn away from his obsession on his own. That was something neither Shadow nor Niko expected to happen ever. His flames, figuratively and literally, burned too hot and only seemed to get stronger over time. He'd also inherited his father's stubbornness so the odds of Dabi actually giving up on something were slim to none.

It wasn't a pleasant thought but at some point something would need to be done before Dabi did something stupid and got himself caught or killed. 'Later though. For now, we stay focused on the plan.' She thought right as she arrived at her boss' door and knocked.

"Come in." Shadow's voice called from within.

She turned the handle and opened the door to a mostly dark room that had the window boarded up so completely that not even a crack of sunlight could slip through. The room's lights were also off and the only thing illuminating the room was the small burning fireplace off to the side. Shadow was sitting in a chair next to it reading a book. 'A vampire in his dark lair.' She thought with a slight smirk.

Niko walked over to another chair and sat down across from him. She stayed silent while Shadow's eyes stayed focused on the book he was reading. Even with the fireplace, the room should have been too dark for someone to be able to read a book but, considering her boss was quite literally a creature of the night, it was probably perfect for him.

Closing the book and setting it aside, Shadow turned his blue eyes to look at Niko. "The students have left UA?" He asked, to which Niko nodded.

"The tracking device is doing its job, but I can't say how long it'll be before they arrive wherever they're going." Niko stated with some slight frustration creeping into her voice.

She had to give them credit, UA had done a very good job hiding just where the Summer Training Camp would be taking place. So much so that even Niko's digging hadn't yielded any results.

Shadow just waved a hand in dismissal. "Don't worry about it, En." Shadow said with a small smile, using the nickname that was becoming common among the rest of the league's members. "No one can know everything there is and besides, that just means we have time to put another part of our plan into action." Shadow said, his look taking on a serious expression.

Niko nodded her head, already knowing what her boss was talking about. So far she, Shadow, Mustard, and Kurogiri had discussed the plan with one another but had decided to leave the rest of the league members in the dark for the time being. They would be informed later when it was closer to when they would strike.

Mustard had wanted to bring the others in on the planning saying that he felt they were trustworthy but Shadow had warned that, while they might appear to be trustworthy, they were still villains and they hadn't been with the league long enough for their loyalties to be certain. After a little more back and forth between the two, Mustard had conceded.

Niko understood that her little bro liked their newest additions, Shadow admitted he did too, but she understood her boss' caution was the right way to go. Many villains would stab their so-called "allies" and "friends" in the back if it meant getting what they wanted and while Niko would admit that didn't seem likely with their newest members, they just didn't know them well enough to be certain. 'Better safe than sorry as the saying goes.'

"Is our bird in the air?" Shadow asked, breaking Niko out of her thoughts and bringing her back to the conversation.

Niko shook her head before answering. "Right now he's making an appearance at some charity event in the city. It'll be over in about an hour but he could leave before then."

Shadow nodded and Niko glanced to his side, just now noticing the long black case next to his chair. She knew what it contained and what Shadow was planning to do with it. The union had been less than pleased to part with it on such short notice but, as always, their complaints stopped as soon as they got their money. A part of her felt uneasy about the whole thing but a greater part was saying that he had this coming. "Let me know when he takes flight again and where he's going. I'll have Kurogiri warp me somewhere nearby and get set up before he arrives."

She nodded before hesitating slightly. After a few moments, she decided to bring up something she was still uncertain about. "Are you sure about using those things at the camp?" She questioned somewhat reluctantly. Niko didn't like questioning her boss' decisions but, when it came to those monstrosities, she felt she had to.

Her boss suddenly looked very tired and sighed. "Honestly I'd rather not but I don't feel like we have a choice. We just don't have the numbers. Not even considering the forty students that will be at the camp, both Eraserhead and Vlad King will be going with their classes. Both are very experienced and capable heroes and, while I'm certain I could take them both down easily, I can't take the spotlight for this part of the plan. I'm only going to observe and support if necessary against whatever other hero or heroes they decide to bring in."

"Isn't that what the nomu are supposed to be for, fighting and distracting the heroes?" Niko asked.

"Partially. But like me, the nomu can't be the only reason we succeed. The league's members are all strong but so far we've kept our new members and their activities secret. It's time to change that." Shadow stated, though Niko still felt a little confused about the whole thing.

"But wouldn't it be better or more advantageous if our other members stayed hidden? It'll be harder for them to carry out activities if the authorities know who to look for and, unlike yourself, the others can't just change their faces into whoever they like." She pointed out, to which Shadow, surprisingly, started chuckling.

"True, they'll lose their anonymity with this move, but it won't really affect us or them too much at this point." Niko tilted her head in confusion, causing Shadow to continue. "The authorities are already looking for me, you, Mustard, and Kurogiri. They've been looking for Compress for some time already so him making an appearance will only show that he's now with the league. Twice and Spinner don't have any families or connections so it won't be an inconvenience for them if their true identities become known. As for Dabi…" Shadow paused. "Unless he's caught, I seriously doubt the heroes will discover his true identity. Even you and Giran had no idea who he was and, while Giran still doesn't know, you only found out after I told you."

Niko thought for a few moments before speaking again. "Except the heroes are only looking for the villains they've seen so far. Engana and Mustard. They might have an easier time locating us if our real names and faces become known." She said, feeling slightly nervous. Not for herself, but for the young gas user she'd come to consider her brother.

Shadow reached over and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "The heroes might know to look for Engana, but I promise you that they will never hear the name "Niko" from me or any league members. Your identity will stay secret and safe, En. You're far more valuable as you are now than as the snake villainess Engana. As for Mustard, he's gonna be okay. I've already taken precautions to make sure he'll be safe during the attack and after." Shadow said in a kind tone.

Niko let out a breath. "I know." She answered with a yawn. Shadow let out a small laugh.

"You see? Worrying so much does nothing but tire you out and bring you down. I promise, En. Everything will go smoothly just like we planned." Shadow said before leaning back into his chair and grabbing the book he was reading. "However, if you're still worried, then I've got something here that might help you take your mind off it." Shadow said while shaking the book in his hand. It was too dark in the room to make out the name of the book and all she could see was that the cover was red.

Niko scoffed. "I already read all kinds of stuff online, boss." She said with a slight smirk.

Shadow shrugged. "Yeah but I'm not going to ask you to read the book, however you're free to do so if you wish. No, I want you to investigate it." Shadow said, his expression turning serious once more.

Now Niko's worry was replaced by curiosity. "I'm listening."

About an hour later, in the skies above Kyushu…

Keigo Takami, better known as the top ten pro hero Hawks, was glad to finally be done with the Commission's latest charity event and was taking some time to enjoy the wind in his face and the beautiful cloudless day as he flew through the air with his Fierce Wings quirk.

Hawks smiled as he looked down at the city. He wasn't smiling because of happiness, it was just easier to practice his smiles while he was doing something he enjoyed.

In truth, the last few months had been difficult for the young Wing Hero. The hero he'd looked up to for most of his life and the man who saved him was revealed to be a cold and heartless individual who secretly committed many crimes and was even being suspected of killing his eldest son and making it look like an accident.

Hawks couldn't believe that the man who saved him when he was a little boy would murder his own son, but the rest of his crimes were undeniable. So undeniable that even the Commission higher ups had been unable to stop the people's rapidly growing rage and hatred and had, in a very rare display, acknowledged their failings and ordered Endeavor's arrest. 'Of course they only did it so they could pass all the blame to him and keep their own noses clean.'

It wasn't pretty, but he could understand the Commission's decision. Hawks had gotten his own hands dirty for years following their orders but understood that, in order for some people's hands to stay clean, sometimes he had to plunge his own hands into the filth.

Hawks didn't like it, but he accepted that it was necessary. 'Unfortunately, I may end up doing a whole lot more than that soon if the rumors about All Might are true.'

The Commission was keeping it quiet, but Hawks had heard that All might's power had been steadily declining over the past few years and recently it had started dropping even faster for some reason. He'd even overheard one person say that if he continued declining then the Symbol of Peace might have no choice but to retire soon.

The idea that All Might might be stepping down soon was not a pleasant one to Hawks. Since Endeavor had lost his position as the number two the winged hero had gained his position and if All Might stepped down his rank would rise again.

Hawks would become Japan's new number one hero.

He did not want that rank and, more importantly, he knew he wasn't worthy of it. 'Oh, but the Commission would just love that. Their favorite hero becoming number one? I can only imagine the kinds of thoughts and plans that would come from that.'

Truthfully, it wasn't that Hawks didn't like the idea of becoming number one, though that was certainly a part of it, he just knew that the next Symbol of Peace would need to be a good leader who would be able to inspire others and unfortunately, Hawks knew he was often too fast for his own good. 'I'd also lose what little free time I have. Taking it easy wouldn't be possible if I stood above all other heroes in Japan.'

BOOM!

Hawks' thoughts were loudly interrupted by a building exploding in the distance. Without thought, the number two hero rushed towards the scene. 'Great, idiots blowing up a building in broad daylight. First priority is getting any civilians to safety, after that I'll see if I can find the bomber.'

It only took a few seconds for Hawks to arrive at the scene and once he did, Hawks immediately knew something was wrong. The building that exploded wasn't a bank, jewelry story, or even a simple convenience store. Hawks would have expected any of those to be targeted for attack, but he hadn't expected the bombed building to be what appeared to be an old warehouse. He also noted that while there were a few civilians on the streets nearby, his feathers weren't detecting anyone or anything inside the now burning warehouse.

Hawks sent out a few of his feathers, trying to see if he could locate the bomber or at least a suspect who was acting suspiciously. 'Something's not right.' Hawks thought as he quickly moved to ensure no one got too close to the burning building. 'This doesn't feel like some random attack. It's more like a distraction or a-'

Hawks' eyes went wide. He felt and heard it a split second before it happened but even with his reflexes he couldn't avoid it in time. Fortunately he was fast enough to avoid it getting him in the heart, but still had to brace himself as the bullet went clean through his left shoulder.

Hawks didn't cry out and only grunted in pain as the bullet hit him and his arm instinctively went to cover his shoulder. 'My support gear should have given me some protection against a shot like that. Whatever he's using is definitely high quality and capable of a lot of damage.' Hawks took a moment to move his hand and examine his now bleeding shoulder. 'Not fatal, but I'm definitely going to need medical attention after I deal with this guy.'

It didn't take Hawks long to locate the sniper. There was a figure on one of the rooftops just a little ways away from him. Hawks also noted that the building his attacker was on had a clean view of the building that just exploded. 'It seems I was lured here.'

The thought was not a comforting one, but Hawks knew he had the advantage now. Even with his wounded shoulder, he was quite certain that he'd be able to move fast enough to avoid any more shots but he knew he'd still need to take this villain down fast. If the sniper got sick of waiting for him, he could open fire on the civilians below and Hawks knew he couldn't let that happen.

So he took flight once more.

Only to have to quickly dodge back and forth as the sniper opened fire on him once again. As he predicted, now that the element of surprise had been lost, the attacker was just trying to shoot him down as quickly as he could. But now Hawks knew where his attacker was and what to look out for.

It only took a few moments before Hawks could see the sniper in the distance. He was still too far away to make out details, but he could clearly see the sniper rifle in the villain's hands pointing at him. Once he saw that, he knew what to do.

Grabbing a rather large feather in his right hand, Hawks focused his quirk so the feather would be about as sharp as a blade. Then, moving as fast as his wings could go, Hawks rushed forward and barely avoided the sniper's next shot, but it brought him close enough to swing his feather blade and stop the villain for good. Unlike some cases, Hawks was not swinging to kill his attacker, just destroy his weapon.

Except, that didn't happen.

Right before his blade could cut through the sniper rifle, his attacker disappeared, literally vanished into thin air. Before Hawks could even wonder what happened, another shot rang out.

This time Hawks did cry out in pain as the bullet went through his right wrist, causing him to drop his feather blade and grip his right wrist tightly with his left hand, nearly falling to his knees as he did so. Like the first bullet, this one also went clean through and Hawks could easily see the hole in his wrist along with a lot of blood pouring out. 'This is bad. No way I can use my hands now.' He thought, knowing that the blood loss could be fatal now if he wasn't careful.

Looking over, Hawks finally got a good look at the sniper who'd now shot him twice. He was surprised at just how…ordinary he looked.

The sniper was wearing a simple gray hoodie with the hood pulled up along with matching gray sweatpants. He was also a young man, likely in his mid twenties if Hawks had to guess, with black hair and light blue eyes and no remarkable features.

His weapon, on the other hand, caught Hawks' attention. It was indeed a high quality sniper rifle. State of the art with a giant scope and it looked to be brand new. It was also a sniper rifle model that Hawks knew for a fact was NOT supposed to be available to the public. It looked far too advanced and there was no way it was as cheap as the clothes the sniper was wearing.

"Nice gun." Hawks said with a smirk, trying to ignore the pain from his injuries. "Where did you get it?"

Most villains loved to brag and talk about their quirks and equipment so Hawks was hopeful that his attacker would slip up and reveal something. His attacker however, didn't seem eager to indulge his curiosity as he just raised the rifle and fired once again. 'Strong, silent type. Alright then.'

Hawks flew up and avoided the shot. Since he couldn't use his feather blades, he released several individual feathers and sent them at his attacker. Once again, his attacker vanished right before the feathers reached him and Hawks heard another gunshot immediately after.

But this time he was expecting it and flew even higher and heard the whoosh of the bullet as it just missed him. He spotted the villain standing near the other corner of the roof, still aiming the rifle at him. 'He's either got a speed quirk or some kind of teleport quirk, and it's faster than me and my feathers.'

Hawks knew he was in real danger. This villain was definitely not some random idiot. He had planned this attack carefully. The explosion, his position, the rifle… "You didn't plan this alone, did you?!" Hawks shouted at the villain, who just responded with another gunshot. "Who's helping you?! Where did you get that rifle?!" He demanded.

But the villain's only answer was more and more gunshots. Until finally…

CLICK

The villain's gun finally ran out of ammo and when he turned it to the side to check the chamber, Hawks rushed forward.

He knew this was his only chance. His attacker was too fast, something he'd never had to deal with before, and he could tell his injuries were starting to take their toll. The effects of blood loss was starting to affect him. His vision was slowly getting blurry and his head was getting foggy. He knew he had to finish this now!

With his left hand, Hawks grabbed another of his feather blades and launched forward. He couldn't focus on just disarming the villain anymore. Before, he could have used his feathers to restrain him until the authorities took the villain off his hands but, knowing he was about to pass out from blood loss, he knew that wasn't an option. His feathers wouldn't keep the villain restrained unless he was controlling him and he couldn't do that if he was unconscious.

No, capture was no longer an option.

That left only one option, as much as Hawks hated having to resort to it.

Hawks saw the villain eject the empty clip from the gun. He was over halfway to him.

'Hurry!'

The villain didn't look in his direction as he pulled another clip out of his pocket. Hawks was close now.

'HURRY!'

The villain finally looked up just as he loaded the clip. Hawks saw no emotion in those blue eyes, but he was close enough to strike.

'NOW!'

He swung his feather sword, aiming for the villain's neck and hoping to finally end this before it went any further!

…

…

…

He was too slow.

A Few Minutes Later…

Shadow returned to the dark alley and quickly retrieved the black case from where he'd hidden it. It took a little over a minute for him to disassemble the gun and put the pieces back in their places.

Once that was done, he closed the case and put a finger to his ear. "The bird is down. Open a warp gate please."

The dark vortex appeared as soon as he was done speaking. Without a moment's hesitation, Shadow stepped through and the portal disappeared.

A.N.

Surprise! I'll bet none of you were expecting this chapter or what happened in it! Well, send your thanks to Nyarome for the review and inspiration. I was just planning to work on my Star Wars story for a while but after reading the review I decided to finish up this chapter for you all. As for the chapter itself, well I'm sure you were expecting a part of it, but I'll bet none of you were expecting that ending. Please tell me your thoughts and ask those questions I know you have. I can't promise I'll answer all of them, but I might be able to answer some. Lastly, don't expect the next update anytime soon. I only did this one because I already started it a while back. For now, I'm going to focus on my story, A Cold Darkness. To be absolutely clear, I am going to continue this story at some point, I just don't know when. Anyway, that's all for me, I hope you all enjoyed this newest chapter, and I hope to see you all again next time!