"You got all of our stuff to the rendezvous point?" Toga asked, her voice barely above a whisper as she and Deku crouched together in a door frame. According to Deku's calculations, which were rarely wrong, they were perfectly placed out of view of any cameras.
Deku nodded. "All my computer gear, your knives, and the like, three pieces of clothing between the two of us, are all there. I hid them pretty well so no one should find them. Are you sure you want in on this? There's no turning back, you know. Shigaraki will eventually find out."
"You saw what happened to that girl. We can't just leave her here. And… And if Shigaraki knew about Eri and what she could be used for… I don't think he'd be much nicer to her."
Deku frowned, but nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry, Toga. I know that the League is your family."
She shook her head. "You and Magne are my family. If you think this is the right thing to do, then we'll do it. Besides, if Shiggy found out you helped Eri, he'd hurt you. And then I'd have to hurt him and I'd get kicked out of the League anyway. So this is better. Now, remember, we only have 15 minutes max before my time runs out after I drink the blood. You have to be ready, okay, Deku-kun?"
"Got it. Let's do this then."
Toga picked up the small water bottle and untwisted the cap. Deku grimaced slightly, watching the gauze float around inside the bloody water.
They had known that if Toga had sucked the blood out of the gauze while it was still wet, then Toga would have only been able to be Eri for a few minutes during the day. What they needed was for her to be able to transform into Eri during the night, when most everybody was asleep. The blood would have dried out at that point and they hadn't done enough tests yet with Toga's quirk to know if dry blood would work. So, they did the only thing they could think of: they made blood infused water. Shoving the gauze into a bottle of water, they had watched as the water had turned a hazy shade of pink.
Toga downed the entire bottle in one go, stopping only to poke a finger in, hook it on the gauze, and yank it out to squeeze the last drops into her mouth. Looking away, Deku waited for Toga to take off her clothes and transform into Eri. After a moment, Toga, who now looked exactly like Eri, poked him and handed him the bundle of her clothes. He took the clothes and then pulled his phone from his pocket. With a few quick taps, all of the cameras in the Yakuza base went down, along with all other security measures: including the high tech locks on Eri's door.
"Meet you soon," Deku said, before hurrying away, leaving Toga to her part of the plan.
Toga scurried off towards where she knew a guard would be, following the path she and Deku had mapped earlier. Letting the guard spot her, she let him chase her, shrieking and crying the whole way. Other guards and thugs were startled awake by the noise, coming out of their rooms to investigate. They were all too drowsy and disoriented to notice the small girl dodging through their legs. They were awake enough to notice when the first guard crashed into them full force, sending them all sprawling. This, of course, started multiple arguments, which led to at least three different fist fights breaking out. Toga giggled quietly as she slipped into the vent that she and Deku had unlocked for her earlier. From there, it was just a matter of climbing through the ducts until she got out of the building.
Meanwhile, Deku was sprinting towards Eri's room. Just as he turned into the hall with her room, a lab door opened, revealing Overhaul. Scrambling, Deku ducked back around the corner, his breathing erratic. Overhaul manually locked the door behind him before he calmly walked down the hall away from Deku, yawning.
He'd finished making the fifth bullet.
As soon as Overhaul's footsteps had receded, Deku poked his head back around the corner. Seeing that the coast was clear, he hurried over to the door that Overhaul had just exited from. He paused, wondering if this was the right thing to do. He and Toga hadn't planned for this, but it was the perfect opportunity. With a final grimace, Deku used one of his gauntlets and sprayed a little acid around the lock. Once it had eaten through the metal, he opened the door and slipped inside.
Without hesitation, he picked up the small box that held the bullets. Peeking inside, he confirmed all five were there. Deku glanced around the room, wondering if he had time to destroy all of Overhaul's research. After a brief hesitation, Deku pulled out a flash drive from his pocket and plugged it into the nearby computer. A few keystrokes later, the entirety of the computer's contents had been copied to the flashdrive and deleted from the computer's hard drive. He pocketed the flash drive and then turned his attention on all the papers that littered the lab. It took only seconds for Deku to use his gauntlet to set them on fire.
He hurried from the room and opened Eri's door, flooding the dark room with the light from the hall.
Eri looked up from where she laid on the bed, her bleary eyes turning sharp and fearful as soon as she saw him. Deku closed the door behind him and slowly took his hood down. Then, he pulled his mask off, allowing her to see his face.
He smiled at her, his dimples flashing on his freckled cheeks.
"Hi Eri, I know you don't really know me, and I know this is scary, but I'm here to help you. I need you to be a brave girl and come with me. Do you think you can do that?"
She sat up in her bed, clutching the thin blanket to her chest. She shook like a leaf, though Deku couldn't tell if it was from the cold or from fear.
"Overhaul said I'm bad. I'm cursed. He's the only one who can help me."
Deku frowned. "Has he ever lied to you, Eri? About anything?"
Slowly, she nodded. "He would tell me it wasn't going to hurt, but then it would hurt really bad. He'd cut me sometimes and sometimes he'd poke me with needles. And one time, he told me that I was going to get a really nice new bedroom if I was good for him. I tried really, really hard to be good. He even said I did well. But then he didn't get me a new room."
"I bet there were other times where he lied too, huh? I think a lot of people have lied to you about a lot of things, Eri. But I promise you, I am not lying. I am here to help you because I can tell that Overhaul is hurting you. He is the bad one, not you. If you come with me, I can take you somewhere that is safe. You'll never have to see Overhaul again."
"How can you promise that though?" Eri asked. "Overhaul said that he'd come for me."
"Well, I'm going to take you to some heroes. Some really good ones. They're strong and they can protect you from him. But we have to leave now, okay?"
Eri looked him over for a moment, her eyes calculating. Finally, she let go of the blanket and climbed from the bed, her bare feet padding on the cold floor.
"I want to leave with you, Mr. Deku."
Shucking off his jacket, he wrapped it around her shoulders, leaving him in his t-shirt, cargo pants, and his gear. Eri took hold of the hoodie and pulled it tight around her small body, seeming to revel in the warmth of it. Putting his mask back on, Deku stooped down and opened his arms wide.
"Is it okay if I carry you? We need to move fast and I worry about you hurting your feet since you aren't wearing shoes."
When Eri nodded, Deku moved another step forward and scooped her up, holding her close to his chest. Holding onto the hoodie with one hand, she wrapped her other arm around the back of Deku's neck and buried her face into the side of his neck. He pulled the hood up over her bright, distinctive hair and left the room, praying that Eri would never have to come back to it ever again.
Deku hurried through the hall, knowing there wasn't much time before the cameras came back on. He needed to be out of the building before that happened, or Overhaul would know he was the one to steal Eri away.
He was almost to the door when a knife sliced across his upper arm.
Hissing in pain, Deku dodged to the side, wrapping his body protectively around Eri. As he twisted away, the knife flashed through the air again and came down on Deku's face, cutting him at his brow and sending blood flooding down into his eye. Thankfully, Eri was still wrapped in his jacket, so when the knife glanced off Deku's face, it didn't cut her.
Finally distancing himself from the attacker, Deku turned and found himself facing some low level, no name Yakuza thug. The man's stance was horrible, his grip on the knife incorrect, but effective enough to get the job done.
"I'm not letting you steal what belongs to the boss," the man spat, glaring. "Hand her over and I'll let you go."
"What are you hoping to accomplish here, dude? You honestly can't think that you can take me on, do you?"
"I can take on some skinny brat! I'll take back the girl and the boss will see how valuable I am! This is my ticket into the inner ring! So hand her over and I won't -"
He was cut off as Deku launched one of his extra bracer cartridges at his throat. While the man gagged, struggling to suck in air after having been struck, Deku activated the bracer with the gasses, not really caring which one he sprayed the guy with. When the man swayed and collapsed to the ground, unconscious, Deku found he was slightly disappointed.
He'd kinda been hoping it was the hallucinogenic one.
Deku didn't wait around. He just pulled Eri in closer to his chest and hurried out the door.
A moment later, the cameras came back on within the base, showing hallways filled with chaos and a little girl's empty bedroom.
When Deku and Eri got to the rendezvous point, they found Toga waiting for them wearing a too-large t-shirt and too-small shorts.
"Do you have my clothes?" Toga asked, hopping from foot to foot excitedly.
Deku passed over the small bag and turned around, letting Toga change in private. As soon as she was done, she used one of her knives to slice the hem of her skirt and wrapped it around Deku's bleeding arm.
Eri frowned at all the blood, tears welling in her eyes. "I didn't want anyone getting hurt for me. I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry. This isn't our fault, okay?" Deku said, giving her a little squeeze.
"You know," Toga said, still working to stop the bleeding from the cut on Deku's arm. "It's a long walk to UA. And with you being hurt, it'll just make it even longer. That gives Overhaul too much of a chance to find us."
Deku groaned. "I know, you're right. We really don't have a choice about this, do we?"
"Nope! Now, I know you said we can't ask Shiggy or Kurogiri for help. What about Twice?"
"He'll blurt it out to Shigaraki. And Spinner is out too. He's way too loyal to Shigaraki not to rat us out. We need someone who will show up and not tell Shigaraki where they are going. We really only have one option here and it's not great."
"You mean Dabi? I guess we could call him, but I don't really see him helping us just to be nice. That's not really his style," Toga said, finally tying off the scrap of cloth.
"He'll do anything for a price, and I definitely have something he'll want. Call him."
Within 15 minutes, Dabi was pulling up in a trashed beater, the engine sputtering and hissing. Leaning out of the broken window, he gave them all an unimpressed look. Eri burrowed further into Deku's chest, her whole body quaking.
"Toga said you'd pay me for help," Dabi drawled. "What's the offer?"
Fishing a hand into his pocket, Deku pulled out the small box he had stolen from Overhaul's lab.
"Here's the deal. I can tell you some more information about Endeavor as a thanks for driving out here to listen to us. You can then go on your way and pretend you never saw us. Or, I can give you something that is in this box that you can use against Endeavor. To get it, you have to drive us as close to UA as you can safely get. I would suggest you not tell Shigaraki you helped us, if you value your life, and we'll make sure the heroes don't let it slip that you helped us. You also have to swear not to tell Shigaraki anything about Eri and her quirk. So, which option are you taking?"
Dabi carefully eyed the box in Deku's hand, feigning disinterest, as he always did, but showing a hint of curiosity in his eyes.
"Whatever you've got there: is it good? How bad will it mess with Endeavor?"
Toga stepped up, smiling. "It'll completely end his career. He'll never be a hero again. And with how bad it is, it's probably worse than death in his eyes."
Without hesitation, Dabi unlocked the car doors.
Toga climbed in first and took Eri from Deku, settling the small girl into the seat beside her. With some struggling, Deku climbed into the passenger seat in the front, sitting himself beside Dabi. Opening the box, Deku fished out one of the bullets and held it out to Dabi.
"This is a quirk-destroying bullet. Shoot Endeavor with this and he'll never be able to use his flames again. There is technically an antidote, but it was being produced by the Yakuza. With the way it's made, the other heroes will refuse to let Endeavor have it."
"How's it made?"
"From me," Eri said from the backseat. "Overhaul would take me apart and then put me back together, but he'd keep some of me for himself. Then he'd make it into a bullet. He made a few of the blue bullets but they got used up for tests. He only has the red bullets right now."
Dabi glanced back at the girl, his eyes scanning over her bandaged limbs and cataloging every single one of her scars. Slowly, he turned back to Deku and opened his hand, letting him drop the red bullet into his palm.
"We have a deal. Can't believe I'm helping you brats play hero. You better not tell anyone that I have this, got it? If you do, I'll find out and I'll make you regret it."
"Completely understandable. Now, could you please drive? I really think I'm losing more blood than I would like."
Dabi dropped them off about a block from the UA campus, pausing only long enough to wave Deku closer to his window. Deku leaned in, frowning in confusion.
"Listen, kid, shit is going to be hard. Most heroes are bastards. There are a couple good ones at UA, which I'm sure you know. Talk to them. They're more likely to listen to you," Dabi said. His blue eyes were serious, more so than Deku had ever seen. "I'm changing my number after this, just in case the heroes are able to get it out of you two. But this bullet… This bullet is worth more than a car ride. If you need help, then find a computer and track me down. You're smart enough to do it. I won't meet up with you, since I can't trust that the heroes aren't using you, but I can tell you some information or something. Then we'll be even, got it?"
Deku nodded before patting the side of the car. Dabi gave him one last wave farewell before peeling away from the curb and disappearing into the night. Toga carried Eri the rest of the way to UA while Deku kept pressure on his wounded arm, only stumbling twice. At the gates, Deku used a small pair of pliers to open the control panel and manually rewired the gates to open, letting them onto the campus.
Standing on just the other side of the gate was Principal Nezu, a serene smile on his face.
"Hello! Please, come in. Let's talk in my office. I believe we have much to discuss."
--
Dabi held the small red bullet between two fingers, turning it back and forth, watching as the light moved across its smooth surface.
He wasn't thrilled about Deku and Toga running off to the heroes. It wasn't a complete surprise that Deku ditched the League: Dabi saw that coming from day one. Toga leaving was a surprise and it was definitely a shock that the two were skipping out to work with heroes.
But, Dabi also knew what it was like to be driven by pain. The two teens had been driven by abuse and suffering to join the villains, working in the underbelly of society to create a better future. And now, they were being driven by the pain of losing Magne, who they had both been close to, and the pain of seeing such a young child in need of help. He understood why they wanted to help her: they saw themselves in her. They wanted to be the person that they wished had saved them. Hell, Dabi had felt the same thing the first time he had met the teens. He had seen his own pain reflected in them and he'd been drawn to it.
It was too late for him. He knew that. But it wasn't too late for them. They hadn't done the things he had. In a way, it was nice to see someone finally break the cycle. It was nice to see people escape from their abusers.
Afterall, when Toga and Deku joined the League, they hadn't truly escaped abuse. No, they had just traded one set of abusers for another: they had just traded for Shigaraki and his mysterious Sensei.
"Good for you, kids," Dabi whispered into the night, pocketing the bullet and looking down on the dark, empty street from his window. "Good for you."