"Where the fuck is he?!" Shigaraki snarled, scratching viciously at his neck as he paced the length of the room. "You said you would find him!"

Dabi rolled his eyes. "I told you I would try. It just so happens that I couldn't find him."

"It shouldn't be that hard! Or are you just so useless that you can't find one man?"

"Listen, Crusty, I was able to tell you that the guy moved to America. That's more than anyone else has been able to find out."

Shigaraki turned his red eyes on Dabi, glaring and hissing angrily. "America is massive! I can't have Kurogiri opening random portals in America looking for Deku's dad! I need an actual location!"

"Maybe don't make statements you can't back up. You can't go telling the heroes that you're going to kill a guy when you don't even know where he is."

Before Shigaraki could launch into another screaming fit, the computer screen in the corner flickered to life, displaying it's typical message that video was unavailable.

"Tomura," an even and deep voice spoke, catching everyone's attention. "I saw your broadcast. The 24 hours have nearly ended."

Looking startled and slightly embarrassed, Shigaraki hung his head, facing the screen demurely. Shuffling his feet, he scrapped the toes of his red sneakers on the floor of the bar.

"Sensei. Yes, the 24 hours are almost up. I thought I would have Hisashi Midoriya by now."

"You didn't know his location before making your demands?"

"... No. I also had hope that the heroes would have returned at least one of the brats by now."

A disappointed sigh rattled through the speakers of the computer. "You should have thought ahead, Tomura. I found Young Toga's parents for you. You could have asked me to find Deku's father as well."

"Dabi was supposed to find him!"

"Do not blame your shortcomings on others. It is unbecoming of a leader. Now, since your announcement, I have had my contacts searching for Hisashi Midoriya. He passed away three years ago while living in America. It was an unexpected heart attack, leaving behind his new wife."

Shigaraki perked up at that. "Any kids? The heroes will have to release Deku if I threaten children."

Dabi felt something cold and ugly twist in his gut at Shigaraki's words. "You can't be serious."

"What?" Shigaraki snapped, shooting Dabi a dirty look. "You scared to kill a few kids? You didn't have any issues attacking the UA twerps."

"The kids at UA are like, 16. They are practically adults. And they are training to be heroes. It's different. Deku's siblings will be young: too young."

Scoffing, Shigaraki rolled his eyes. "They're collateral damage. You'll get over it. Besides, you aren't here to question me, Dabi. You're here to do what I say. And if I tell you to kill a couple of kids so we can get our people back, you'll do it. Is that clear?"

Dabi's eyes narrowed further, smoke slowly spiraling off his skin. Looking at Spinner, he curled his lips in a sneer. "Is this what Stain would want? Huh? Do you think he'd agree with slaughtering little kids?"

"I mean…" Spinner started, shifting nervously from foot to foot. "He wouldn't, but he also spoke of making sacrifices. Maybe this is a sacrifice we have to make to cleanse the world."

Twice nodded along. "It's not cool, but if we have to, then oh well. Let's kill some brats! "

Dabi then turned to who he assumed were the only sane ones in the room: Kurogiri and Compress. Kurogiri had his eyes fixed on the computer screen, as though he was hanging onto every word that Shigaraki's Sensei said and was waiting for more. Compress had his head bowed, masked face turned towards the floor as he avoided Dabi's gaze.

Before Dabi could snap at them, Shigaraki's Sensei spoke. "There were no children. From what I can gather, they were planning on trying for children, but were not able to start before Midoriya-san's passing. Deku's stepmother has already remarried, so I hardly think her husband's death was that upsetting to her. I believe that you will need to revise your plan, Tomura."

Shigaraki pondered his Sensei's words carefully, scratching at his neck as he did so. After a moment, he let his hand drop.

"How hard was it to find this information?"

"Relatively difficult. With the right resources, the heroes could find it."

"But they might not be looking if they think I have his dad already. We're just going to have to bluff. Spinner," Shigaraki said, looking livelier than he had in days. "Go find me a man that we can pass off as Deku's dad. Make sure he has dark hair and freckles. That way, he looks more like Deku. Take Twice with you; he's been irritating me. Compress, find me a woman that we'll pass off as Deku's stepmom. I really don't care what she looks like, just make sure the age works. And Dabi, since you are so picky about what kids you'll kill, go find me one or two brats. We can say that they are Deku's little half-siblings. Make sure they're cute though. Heroes are more likely to want to save cute kids. We can trade them for Deku and Toga."

"It is a gamble, Tomura," Shigaraki Sensei said evenly. "But if it is one you are confident in, then I will allow it."

Shigaraki nodded triumphantly, smiling his eerie grin. When no one moved, Shigaraki snapped his fingers impatiently, giving them all a pointed look. Spinner was the first to move, grabbing Twice's arm and leading him out. Compress followed after, keeping his head ducked. Kurogiri was fixated on the screen still, watching and waiting.

Dabi was the last to move, slowly standing. "I'll grab my disguise and then head out," he said when Shigaraki glared at him.

Back in his room, Dabi grabbed his old, beat up backpack and shoved a handful of clothes in along with a roll of cash that he always kept hidden. From a hidden place in the floorboards, he pulled a small box and flipped it open, confirming the little red bullet was still inside. Burying that at the bottom of the backpack, he then slipped on a black hoodie, sunglasses, and a face mask, hiding the majority of his scars.

When he got back into the main area of the bar, Shigaraki and Kurogiri were gone and the computer screen was black again. Dabi trudged past and snuck out the door, following the alleys and side streets until he felt that he was far enough away. He pulled one of his many burner phones from his pocket and dialed a number, raising it to his ear to wait.

" Hey man, listen, I know we have that meeting today to talk about the plan but - "

"The meeting is off," Dabi snapped, cutting off the speaker. "So is the plan."

A startled squawk sounded from the phone. " What?! Why? Dude, if this is because I was going to reschedule, then I'm sorry. I can shuffle things around and make it to the meeting. With Shigaraki making his threat though, things have been crazy ."

"No, dumbass, it's not because you were going to cancel. It's because I'm leaving the League."

There was silence for a moment.

" You're just… leaving the League? Shigaraki is just letting you? "

Dabi snorted. "Hell no. He has no clue I'm leaving. I just packed a bag and walked out when no one was looking."

" Oh… okay then. Are you calling to tell me who my new contact is? "

"Of course not, birdy. I'm calling to tell you that you need to drop the act and steer clear of the League. Stop trying to play spy. Just stay out of it."

" We've been over this. I'm not a spy! I hate the Commission and - "

"Yeah, sure. Maybe you really do hate the Commision for whatever reason, but you're a spy, Hawks. I've known from the start. But I thought it was funny to watch you try and sometimes you had good information, so I let it play out. But Shigaraki is going off the rails and no one is stopping him. I thought his Sensei, whoever the fuck that is, might talk some sense into him, but he doesn't seem to give a shit. So I'm out. I can reach my goal without them so there's no point in staying. But I owe Deku a favor and I hate being in anyone's debt. So here's what's going to happen: I am going to give you some information and you are going to pass it on to Deku and Toga, got it? You can pass it on to whoever is calling your shots too, that way you have something to show for all your efforts, but then after that, you are going to ditch the burner I gave you and we are never going to speak again. Is that understood?"

Hawks huffed before answering. " Fine, you burnt-chicken-nugget-looking-motherfucker. What have you got to tell me? "

--

The sound of a door opening startled Deku awake from a surprisingly deep sleep. Bolting upright, he lost his balance and landed in a heap on the floor beside the couch, startling Tamaki and Mirio, who were both sitting on the floor leaning back on the couch, dozing. Tamaki jumped violently, swinging and accidently smacking Mirio in the face, who just laughed loudly. Hearing the ruckus, Eri let out a shriek and sat up from where she had curled herself up on the couch. Nejire, who had fallen asleep on a pile of blankets and pillows in the corner, just drowsy sat up, gently rubbing at her eyes.

The group had stayed up most of the night watching movies and had only gotten to sleep sometime in the early hours of the morning. They slept through the morning, even when Mic and Aizawa had cooked and eaten breakfast.

"What's going on?" Nejire asked, blinking sleepily

"Wow, you've got a lot of kids, Eraserhead," an unfamiliar voice said, half laughing.

Sitting up from where he had fallen, Deku looked over at the door, only to let out an even louder shriek than Eri had and flung himself backwards against the couch.

Standing in the open door beside Nezu, Mic, and Aizawa was none other than Hawks: the number 3 hero.

"They're not my kids," Aizawa grumbled. "Most of them don't even live in this dorm."

"Hawks has some information that he needs to share with us. Mic, Eraserhead, could you please come with me? We are going to go to the 1-B dorms and discuss everything in Vlad King's home office," Nezu said as he stepped into the apartment, Hawks following behind him. As Hawks got closer, Deku shrunk even further back, carefully watching the man's every move. When Hawks saw this, he pulled his wings closer to his body, making himself look a little smaller.

"Don't worry, kid, I'm not gonna hurt you."

"Doesn't mean I trust you."

Hawks laughed good naturedly. "Fair. You've been through a lot. I gotta ask though, what have you heard to make you not like me? Or is it just a general thing with heroes?"

Before Deku could answer, Eri climbed into his lap, clinging tightly to his shirt and looking at Hawks distrustfully.

"Deku, who is that?" she asked quietly.

He wrapped his arms protectively around her. "That's Hawks. He's a hero. Or at least, that's what he says."

That had everyone looking at him with varying degrees of confusion and apprehension.

Hawks didn't laugh that time. He quietly cocked his head, his thick brows pulling down. "Have I done something to make you mad, kid?"

"You're a mouthpiece for the Commission," Deku spat, his fear twisting into something closer to anger. "You're just a soldier for them. If you're here because the Commission sent you to take Eri, then you might as well turn around and leave now, because I won't let you take her."

Aizawa's frown deepened as he took a small step, placing himself so he was between Hawks and the kids. "Is that why you are here?"

"What? No! Kid, Midoriya, I don't know where you heard that but -"

"Keigo Takami. Taken in by the commission at 6 years old. Underwent strict quirk training and private hero lessons. They fronted the money and pulled strings to get you an agency when you were 18. They hired everyone who works there and basically run it for you. You do what they tell you and you do it without complaint," Deku said bitterly. He gave a dark chuckle, shaking his head. "Honestly, I would feel bad for you if you wouldn't constantly defend the Commission in interviews and stuff. Do you really believe that stuff or have they just brainwashed you?"

Hawks had gone deathly pale as Deku spoke. His expression had twisted into something akin to fear. "How…" he choked out. "How do you know my name?"

"That's what you're so concerned about? Your name? Not the fact that I know all that other stuff?"

"I haven't heard my name since I was a kid," Hawks said, his hands shaking in front of him as he pulled them close to his chest.

Deku's eyes narrowed. "What?"

"My name. I haven't heard anyone say it since I was 6. I've just been Hawks."

"You… what? No, the commission file said you chose your hero name when you were 15; the same age as any other hero."

Hawks shook his head, his face turning green at the sudden movement. "What else did the commission file say?"

"It said you were fostered by some commission worker and that you were the one to always beg for the extra training sessions that were logged every week. Said you were always a lighthearted and rambunctious kid and that they had to work with you to teach you to sit still during lessons. Also talked about how you started drafting your own diet plans when you turned 14. You apparently had regular communication with your birth parents, who were a nice young couple that just couldn't keep up with having a kid. Based on your reaction, I'm guessing that none of this is true though."

Hawks hadn't stopped shaking his head the whole time Deku spoke. Taking a shaky breath, he let out a dark scoff.

"They lied," he mumbled under his breath. "This whole time and they've been filling that stupid fucking file with lies. Of course they did. For this exact reason, probably. If anyone saw the real file, it'd be bad."

Mic put up a reassuring hand, trying to calm everyone. "How about we go have that talk with Vlad. And then after, Hawks, how about we have an honest conversation about all of this, okay?"

"This chat you guys are going to have; is it about Deku's dad?" Mirio asked. He glanced between Nezu and Hawks carefully. "Have you guys found him?"

When Deku saw the slight change in Hawks' and Nezu's expressions, he felt a hard pit form in his stomach.

"Someone else got there first," Deku said quietly, tightening his grip on Eri. "Was it Shigaraki?"

"No, Midoriya. Shigaraki does not have your father. But, due to some unforeseen circumstances, we are left without a plan for next steps. We are going to discuss the situation, which is rather time sensitive, and then you and I are going to have a long, private conversation about your father, alright?" Nezu said quietly. His voice was somber and set Deku even further on edge.

They're lying , a little voice in the back of Deku's mind whispered. Shigaraki has your dad. The guy may be a bastard who walked out, but he doesn't deserve to get dusted, like Toga's parents. This is your fault. If you had just convinced the heroes to hand you over, then no one would have to die.

Aizawa had turned his tired eyes on the Big 3, fixing them with a stern expression. "You guys stay here with Deku and Eri. They are not to leave this apartment, is that understood? Deku is technically not supposed to be anywhere without a teacher, so I need you all to swear that you won't set foot outside of these walls."

Mirio and Tamaki nodded seriously while Nejire saluted him. Seemingly satisfied, Aizawa grabbed Hawks' arm and dragged him out of the dorm, grumbling something about problem children in a way that had Deku suspecting that Aizawa was referring to Hawks.

Once the door shut, Nejire turned her curious eyes on Deku. "How did you know all that stuff about Hawks?"

"Dabi asked me to research Hawks once. So I did. Wasn't really a big deal. I just had to hack the Commission's database to find the digital copy of his personal file. But apparently most of the file is fake, so that's hours of my life wasted."

Tamaki shuffled closer to Mirio, catching Deku's attention. Taking a deep breath, Tamaki finally spoke. "I'm sorry that they couldn't find your dad, Deku," he said in a quiet and wavering voice.

"It's alright. Maybe if the heroes can't find him, then no villains can," Deku said half-heartedly, not believing the words he was saying.

Nejire climbed up off the floor, stretching languidly. "I'll make us something to eat. Maybe that will make us feel better!"

As she stepped into the kitchen, a knock at the door caught their attention. Frowning, Mirio went over and glanced through the peephole. Breathing a sigh of relief, he opened the door to reveal Bakugou and Kirishima.

"Kirishima! Good to see you! Are you looking for Tamaki?" Mirio asked.

"No, actually. Bakugou, Deku, and I have a project we need to work on and since classes are canceled for the day, we thought today would be a good day to work on it!"

Mirio glanced over his shoulder at Deku, cocking his head curiously. Deku kept his face carefully neutral even though he had no clue what Kirishima was talking about. "Deku and Eraserhead didn't mention anything about a project."

"Well, yeah, it's not due for a little bit but it's a really big project and we want to get a jump on it! Can Deku come to the common room to study with us?"

"Oh," Nejire said, coming back into the room. She shook her head, making her messy hair swing gently. "He can't leave right now. He's gotta stay here."

"We won't be far! Don't worry, we won't let anything bad happen," Kirishima reassured her.

"Deku isn't supposed to be without a teacher."

"Tch," Bakugou sneered, shoving his hands further into his pockets. "He's not with one right now."

"Well, yeah, cuz he's with us."

Bakugou raised a brow at her. "Then I guess you guys rank the same as teachers. Why don't one of you come with us?"

"Great idea, Bakubro!" Kirishima said, punching Bakugou's shoulder in a friendly way. "Amajiki-senpai! Come with us!"

Tamaki folded in on himself, his bangs falling forward to shade his face. He quickly shook his head.

"Ah come on! Fatgum said you have to work on your people skills and he said I should help you. Come with us to the common room and I can introduce you to people! Or maybe you can look at what we have on our project so far and give us some advice. Come on! It'll be good for you!"

As Kirishima berated him, Tamaki continued to wilt before finally whimpering, "This is just like when he asked me to introduce him to Fatgum."

Nejire had her lips pursed as she thought, considering what the boys were saying.

"Mirio, it might not be a bad idea. Tamaki does need to work on meeting people."

"We are supposed to be protecting Deku."

"Tamaki can protect him in the common room!"

"And what are we going to do when Aizawa finds out? He'll be furious!"

Kirishima shook his head rapidly. "Oh shit, yeah, don't want Aizawa-sensei to get mad at you. How about this! Deku and Tamaki can come down to the common room just for a couple minutes so we can hash out which parts of the project we'll each do and then he can come back up here to work. I do have a couple questions for Deku about the topic and everything, so don't panic if he isn't back right away, but we won't be long!"

Mirio hummed, looking uncertain. Deku could tell he just needed one final push to agree.

"I promise it won't take long. The project is a big part of our grade and I really want to do well on it," Deku said pleadingly, adding just a bit of an earnest light to his eyes.

And just as Deku planned, Mirio crumbled. "I don't want you to get a bad grade… and it is great to see you putting in an effort for school… alright then. Tamaki has to go too. You guys stay together and be back as fast as you can. I don't want Aizawa catching you guys out of the apartment."

Eri climbed off Deku's lap to let him up. Tamaki slowly climbed off the floor, looking as though this was the last thing he wanted to be doing. Finally, he took shuffling steps out the door and into the hall, Deku following closely. Kirishima started up a constant stream of conversation, talking Tamaki's ear off and making the older boy cower as they walked.

Deku shot a questioning gaze towards Bakugou, who kept his eyes on the ground. Within minutes, they were all in the common room. Mina, Kaminari, and Sero were piled on one of the couches, talking animatedly. When they saw the four boys approach, Sero leapt off the couch and tossed an arm over Tamaki's shoulder.

"Listen, man, I need you to come settle this argument. Mina is trying to say that walking in heels all day is worse than walking around the city barefoot. You don't have shoes in your hero costume, so can you weigh in on this?"

"I… I need to stay with…"

Bakugou set off a pair of loud and concussive explosions, making Tamaki violently flinch.

"Back off, weird face! We have to work on our project!" Bakugou yelled.

"Aw, Bakubro, don't spoil the fun. Let Tamaki-senpai answer!" Kirishima said, laughing loudly.

"You guys just don't get it," Mina shouted shrilly. "Heels are the worst . They twist your feet in a weird position and then you have to walk on them all day! If you walk barefoot, you can build up calluses!"

Soon, they were all shouting and bickering, Tamaki in the center of them, cowering and covering his ears with his hands. Before Deku could try to ask one of them what was going on, someone grabbed his hand and pulled him into the hall.

Deku went to yank his hand away, prepared to hit whomever had grabbed him, but when he saw who had hold of him, he paused.

Todoroki had a tight grip on his hand, pulling the smaller boy down the hall and up a side set of stairs.

"We have to hurry," Todoroki said. "We don't have long."

"Long for what? What's going on?"

"Shigaraki is broadcasting again and he has your dad, along with your stepmom. When Bakugou saw, he turned the TV off in the common room and yelled at everyone to get back to their rooms. He grabbed his friends along with Shinsou and I and he told us the plan. He… We all thought that you should have a chance to see your father. Though I suggest we turn it off before anything… bad happens."

Deku's mouth went dry. "Bakugou set this up?"

"With a little help. Shinsou and I agreed straight away, as did Sero. The others took a little convincing. It was Shinsou's idea to use Bakugou and his friends to distract one of the Big 3 and it was Kirishima's idea to angle for Tamaki to come down with you. He knew it would be easy to overwhelm him and keep him distracted."

Todoroki then led Deku to one of the dorm rooms, quickly opening the door and shutting it behind them. It was an average boy's dorm: a bit messy with lots of coffee cups and energy drink cans scattered about, along with various photos pinned to the wall. The desk was covered in books and CDs, all in unruly stacks. Hoodies hung on the back of the desk chair and off every doorknob, as though the owner hadn't had the time to properly hang them in the closet.

Shinsou sat on the bed, a laptop in his lap. His eyes were glued to the screen as he waved them over. Todoroki only then let go of Deku and climbed onto the bed immediately.

Taking tentative steps, Deku moved further into the room and sat on Shinsou's other side, perching awkwardly at the edge of the bed. Leaning over, he got a look at the computer screen.

Shigaraki was back in the same bare room again. Two people were kneeling in front of him, their knees in the dust that was once Toga's parents. Hoods were pulled over the couple's heads, but it was obviously a man and a woman.

"Time's run out, heroes!" Shigaraki sneered, pacing back and forth behind the kneeling couple. "And look who I have here: Deku's dad. A piece of scum who abandoned his family, all because of quirks. His son didn't have a flashy quirk, so he ran off and married some other woman. I have no problem killing trash like this, but I thought heroes did. You guys didn't give back what you stole from me, and now you have left these so-called "innocents" to suffer for it."

A muffled sob came from beneath the woman's hood, her shoulders shaking violently as she curled in on herself. Shigaraki aimed a kick at her legs, causing her to shriek.

"Sit up!" he shouted. "You're a part of this! Face it!"

As she straightened back up, he grabbed the hood and ripped it off her head, revealing her face to the camera.

She was a middle aged woman with a round face and watery eyes. Her black hair was messy and there were bruises forming on her face. Small patches of scales worked across her cheeks and up her temples, glittering in the low light. A gag had been jammed into her mouth and tied around her head, keeping her from being able to speak. It was tied so tightly that it was rubbing the sides of her mouth raw, a slow trickle of blood dripping down her chin.

Deku frowned at the computer screen. "This isn't right."

"What?" Shinsou asked, tearing his eyes away from the tragedy that was unfolding and looking at Deku.

"My dad's a quirkest bastard, remember? That doesn't mean he only dislikes quirkless people. He also doesn't like mutant type quirks. Look at that woman's scales: she has some sort of mutation quirk. He would never marry her."

Just as Deku finished speaking, Shigaraki snatched the hood off the man's head, finally revealing his face.

To the League's credit, the man could easily pass as Deku's dad. He was a stocky man with a smattering of freckles across his cheeks and dark, curly hair. But his jaw was too boxy and his eyes were a deep brown color: not the greyish-green that Hisashi Midoriya had. The man had a crooked nose that looked to have been freshly broken, blood smearing down the lower half of his face and staining the gag in his mouth. He struggled against his bonds, desperately trying to break free.

"Fuck," Deku whispered. "That's not my dad."

"Are you serious?" Shinsou whispered, his panic clearly rising.

"Yeah, I'm serious. I know what my dad looks like. And even if I didn't, my dad has a fire breathing quirk. He would have the gag burned out of his mouth within seconds. That's not my dad. Shigaraki is trying to bluff. He's probably betting that the heroes don't know what my dad looks like and that I'm not watching."

"What do we do?" Todoroki asked as he straightened, his expression turning stern.

Deku paused, listening as Shigaraki babbled. Finally, he turned to the two boys.

"I have an idea but we're going to get in trouble. If we do it though, it may just save those two people's lives."

Both boys immediately nodded.

"I'm in."

"I am as well."

"Perfect. First, we need to lock and barricade the door. I also need to borrow somebody's phone. I'm going to have to destroy it afterwards, though. I don't want the League to trace it back and hack the phone to get info on you guys."

Todoroki was already off the bed, ready to do as Deku said. He pulled his phone from his pocket and handed it to Deku.

"Use mine. I can use my father's credit card to buy myself a new one," he said before marching directly over to the door, locking it and then helping Shinsou to shove the dresser in front of it. For added measure, he iced over the edges of the door, fully sealing it. As they did that, Deku dialed Shigaraki's personal number from memory, hoping that Shigaraki had his phone on him. Knowing how the crazed man was, he likely did: he was never far from his tech.

Holding the phone to his ear, Deku felt himself start to shake, his breathing going ragged. For the first time since he had met Shigaraki, Deku was scared of him.

"No one is coming for you, Midoriya-san!" Shigaraki crowed triumphantly. "I am going to turn you into…"

He stopped speaking. From his pocket, the theme from Animal Crossings played. Slowly, he reached into the pocket and pulled out his phone, frowning at the screen.

"What the fuck," he whispered before he tapped at the screeen, putting the call on speaker. "Let me guess, this is some negotiator with the heroes trying to convince me not to kill these NPCs," Shigaraki rasped, glaring at the lit screen.

"No," Deku said, finding it weird to hear himself speak through the live stream. "It's Deku."

Shigaraki's face twisted behind the severed hand, delight making his eyes bright. "You've escaped! Or did they let you go? You're calling to tell me where we can pick you up, right?" he asked excitedly.

"No. I've… uh… borrowed a phone from someone. I'm calling to tell you that you've got the wrong people. That's not my dad."

Everything was silent. One of Shigaraki's eyes twitched, his hand opening and closing as though he was desperate to grab and dust something.

"So? They're still civilians. The heroes should trade for you."

"I'll make you a trade right now. Let those two people go, unharmed, and I'll tell you what happened to Toga and I."

Shigaraki paused, thinking it over for a second, before nodding. He waved his hand at the two prisoners, gesturing for someone to take care of them. There was a shuffling noise off camera and Spinner came into view with a small knife. He cut the binds on the two people's wrists and pulled their gags off.

The woman wretched quietly, spitting blood out of her mouth. The man scrambled to his feet, helping the woman up as he went, and then hurried them both out. They kept their heads ducked as they scurried past, though Shigaraki paid them no attention.

"There, I let them go," Shigaraki said. "You know, you and Toga getting arrested has really caused me a lot of trouble. We had to ditch the old hideout and find a new one. And do you know how long it took to find Toga's parents? Such a pain."

"Yeah, I'm sure that was really hard. But you've got one thing wrong there, you know."

"Oh really? Please, enlighten me."

Deku smiled, a crazed grin that sent twin shivers down Todoroki and Shinsou's spines.

"We weren't arrested," Deku hissed.

Shigaraki's free hand came up to scratch at his neck, his shoulders heaving as he took great shuddering breaths, his anger mounting. His red eyes were ablaze as he tried to throttle the phone.

" What?! "

"Yep. We weren't arrested. We ran away to UA and struck a deal with them. Guess who are the two new Hero Course students? I'm finally going to reach my dream, Shiggy. I'm going to be a hero."

The scratching became even more furious. It was so loud that Deku could hear it over the phone.

"How… dare… you. How dare you betray me! You're lying! Toga would never join the heroes!"

"What can I say? She likes me better than you. The two of us found out some shit about Overhaul and we decided we were done. We were done being your little puppets, doing whatever you told us. You don't give a shit about us, or anyone else that's in the League. You didn't care when Magne was killed. All you cared about was getting what you wanted," Deku said. His voice was rising, anger coursing through his veins. A sound out in the hall caught his attention. He could hear shouting and someone banging on doors in the hall.

The teachers were looking for him.

Shigaraki growled into the phone. "Stop lying to me, Deku. Where are you? We are going to come get you."

"Where do you think I am, you crusty bitch. I'm at UA, with all the other hero students. And I am telling the pros everything I know." Deku let out a dark chuckle. "Good luck getting to Toga and I. We're probably at the safest place in all of Japan."

Shigaraki howled with anger, squeezing his phone so tightly that the case cracked. "I'm going to kill you! I'm going to decay you piece by piece until you are begging for death! I'll rip your stupid little quirkless limbs from your body!"

"Oh, bringing up the quirkless thing. Real classy."

" Midoriya! " Aizawa shouted in the hall, banging on Shinsou's door. Todoroki lunged forward and put his full body weight against the dresser, trying to keep the teacher's out for longer. Shinsou was quick to join him.

"Aizawa's going to fucking kill me," Shinsou grumbled, scowling.

" Open the door, kid! " Vlad King yelled, now having joined Aizawa in the hall.

Shigaraki paused on the screen, cocking his head curiously. "What's this? Are you not behaving for the heroes? Maybe you are still a villain."

"I was a freelancer, it's different," Deku snapped. "And I guess old habits die hard."

The banging on the door got louder. Deku scrambled off the bed and pressed himself into the farthest corner. The ice began to crack around the edge of the door and the dresser was shifting, even with the combined weights of Shinsou and Todoroki pressing against it.

"I don't have long, so I'm going to skip ahead a little in the conversation. You're going to keep threatening me and Toga, I'm going to act like it doesn't bother me because, news flash, asshole, it doesn't, and then I'm going to give you my threat. So listen closely: you come after anyone I care about, and I'll make you wish you had never crawled out of whatever hole you came from. I will ruin you. If you think death is the worst thing that can happen to a person, then you must not have paid attention to the work I did, because I can tear you to shreds without ever being in the same room as you. Have I made myself clear, Tomura Shigaraki?"

"You're a dead man, Deku."

"Not the first time someone has said that to me and I am sure it won't be the last."

Before either of them could speak again, the door to the dorm was busted inwards, knocking the dresser back and sending the two boys sprawling. The commotion could be heard over the phone, playing in the small warehouse Shigaraki was standing in. He could hear the shouting and yelling, along with the sound of Deku trying to keep the phone away from the heroes.

" Give me that phone! "

" Holy shit, is that Hawks? "

" Midoriya! "

" Stop it! I'm almost done talking to him! "

" No, you're done now! "

" Did you seriously ice this door shut? "

" Deku, break my phone! Hurry! "

There was a crunching noise and the line went dead. Shigaraki stared down at it for a beat before letting his pinky drop, turning the phone to dust.

The live stream ended.

--

"Are you all really that short-sighted?" Aizawa snarled, glaring at the group of students sitting in front of him.

After Deku had crushed Todoroki's phone with a well aimed stomp, the heroes had gathered the students who had been involved in the plot, or complacent in it, and forced them all to sit in the common room to be scolded.

Mirio, Nejire, and Tamaki were squished together on one loveseat, Tamaki in the middle and being cuddled by his two partners. His head was bowed low as his hands shook, guilt wracking his body. Bakugou, Kirishima, Kaminari, and Sero were on another couch, Mina perched precariously on the arm rest. None of them looked too upset about being yelled at, though Kirishima did have his eyes downcast. Todoroki and Shinsou had squeezed themselves into an armchair, staring at the teachers unrepentantly, not at all ashamed about what they had done. Deku sat in the other armchair, alone.

Vlad King had gone back to the 1-B dorm to sit with Toga, who had apparently seen the live stream and had begged to go with the teachers to find Deku. Midnight had refused, saying that the girl had to stay with her. Now that Deku was found, Vlad thought it best to go and help calm Toga down.

That left Nezu, Aizawa, Mic, and Hawks in the 1-A dorm with the offending students.

"He was only supposed to be gone for a minute," Mirio said defensively. "And Tamaki was going to be with him."

"Deku is in the rehabilitation program! He's not supposed to go anywhere without a teacher, especially not around other students! And the first time I entrusted him into the care of who I assumed were responsible senior students, he snuck away to call Shigaraki!" Aizawa snapped.

"It wasn't Deku's idea," Shinsou said, catching his mentor's attention. "We came up with the plan. So really, we kinda kidnapped him."

"Oh really? So it was your idea for Deku to call the League?"

"Well… no. That part came later when we realized that the League didn't have his dad. We just wanted him to have a chance to see his dad, just in case things went wrong."

Mic was pinching the bridge of his nose, trying to fight off a headache. "Do any of you realize how reckless this was?"

Todoroki nodded. "Yes. And I would do it again."

Aizawa shot him a dirty look.

"Don't be mad at them," Deku cut in. "It was my idea to call the League. If you're going to be angry at someone, be angry at me."

"They shouldn't be angry at any of us! If we hadn't helped you get to Shinsou's room, you three wouldn't have been able to save those two people!" Sero said, their dark eyes flashing with anger. "You guys expect Deku to learn to be a hero here, right? Well, he just did what a hero would do! He risked himself, not only by painting a target on his back with Shigaraki, but by getting on UA's bad side, all to save two innocent people! Sure, he didn't do it in the way a pro hero typically would, but he did it the only way he knew how: he used his brain."

"Yeah!" Mina chimed in, growing confident as her friend spoke. "Deku convinced Shigaraki to let those two people go and then kept him on the line long enough to let those people get far away!"

Kaminari nodded along. "And I bet if we find those people, we can find out where the League's base is."

"That wasn't their base," Deku said. Frowning, he started to run over everything in his head. "Shigaraki is smart enough not to film inside his hideout, but he isn't smart enough to leave his phone in the base when he goes out. That means he has gone to and from the base while carrying his phone. And since he is addicted to Pokemon Go, his data and location will always be turned on. If I take apart Todoroki's broken phone, I might be able to salvage enough to trace a link to Shigaraki's phone. From there, I can use the identifying data I get from it to hack into his service and read his digital footprint. Then, I might be able to triangulate where the base is."

"Tch." Bakugou rolled his eyes. "Stop mumbling, you fucking nerd."

"Suck a dick, Kacchan."

"Huh?! What did you say to me?!"

Aizawa's eyes flashed red as Bakugou jumped to his feet, ready to fight Deku. "That's enough! You all have detention! You'll be scrubbing the dorm building from top to bottom until it is spotless! The third years will be doing that in their own dorm building. And then, Todoroki, Shinsou, and Deku will be installing a new door and building a new dresser for Shinsou's dorm. None of you are allowed to go on any trips with your classmates off campus for a month, and Deku, since you already can't leave campus, you aren't allowed to visit Toga at the 1-B dorms for a month. Have I made myself clear?"

The Big 3 quickly nodded, while the 1-A kids just pouted. Sighing heavily, Aizawa shook his head.

"You kids are going to be the death of me. Alright, everyone back to their rooms. You third years can go back to babysitting Eri, though if you do any more stupid things, there will be hell to pay. Midoriya, you are coming with me, Mic, Hawks, and Nezu to have a talk."

Shinsou raised his hand. "My room is trashed, so where do I go?"

"It's your fault the room is trashed, so figure it out."

Todoroki elbowed Shinsou gently and jerked his head towards the stairs. "You can stay in my room until we fix yours."