Dabi's Dance
The episode opens with a large cargo plane seen flying toward the battlefields of the war. A passenger on the plane asks, "Are we there yet? Can you get us there in five minutes or less?"
"That's impossible! I'm not Hawks or Mirko! I'm already flying at full speed," the pilot protested. "It's dangerous, so please sit down! Your body hasn't completely recovered yet, has it?
"Don't change the subject," The camera panned toward the mysterious passenger, revealing the signature denim jeans and jacket."I'm saying that lives are being stolen as we speak."
The audience collectively widened their eyes as they recognized whose voice it belonged to.
'I guess it's time for me to get back to work,' the person to whom this voice belonged thought to themselves, feeling relieved upon seeing themselves join the battle.
Meanwhile, a sly smirk crept across Hawks's face as he contemplated, "So, the plan did succeed!" However, his smile quickly faded into a deep frown. "But it made no difference; Dabi was still hot on my heels, despite my risky gamble of offering that person's body as proof of my loyalty."
Back at the ruins of Jaku City, following their interaction in the One For All vestige realm, 'Tomura Shigaraki' and Izuku were falling from the sky. After asking Shigaraki not to move anymore, Izuku began freefalling, just like Tomura who was also plummeting towards the ground.
However, Shoto, who was still holding Bakugo and Endeavor, caught Izuku and brought the three of them safely to the ground.
"Thanks for the save," Izuku said as he smiled at Shoto.
"Don't mention it. Looking out for each other is what friends do," Shoto replied, returning the smile.
"Bakugo! Midoriya! Endeavor!" Shoto exclaimed in a concerned voice as the three individuals trembled on the ground.
"Kacchan..." Izuku muttered, trembling in pain.
"Yeah, he's alive!" Shoto exclaimed as they saw Bakugo gasping for air, taking heavy breaths.
"Worry about yourself, you moron," Bakugo grumbled quietly. "I'm not about to kick the bucket from some measly stab wounds."
Then Shoto's eyes shifted towards Izuku, who was on the ground, bleeding from the head, with both of his arms turned a dark shade of purple.
"Oh my goodness!" Momo gasped in shock as she observed Izuku's condition. "Izuku, you need a doctor. Your arms... and your head, you're bleeding-"
"Calm down, Momo. I'm sure every single one of us on the screen needs some kind of medical help. Besides, I'm pretty sure I can handle that kind of pain a little bit longer," Izuku reassured her with a smile.
In return, Momo gave him a stern look. "And how is that a good thing?" However, she couldn't maintain the glare any longer and sighed in exasperation, shaking her head.
"Hang in there. I'll treat you right away-" Before he could finish his words, a loud noise from behind startled Shoto, Endeavor, and Izuku, drawing their attention.
What they saw was 'Tomura' in the air, with red and black tendrils protruding from his fingers into the ground, acting as his support. 'Tomura, you can't... don't-' All for One tried to warn Tomura, but he ignored him, retorting, "I... w-w-won't... do... what you say..."
"Can't he just stay down? Hasn't he caused enough damage already?" Mina grumbled as she stared at the screen.
"Not only that, but it's hard to tell who is in the driver's seat at any given moment," Jiro added, sounding equally frustrated.
"Why does it matter who is in control anyway?" Rumi asked. "One is a centuries-old supervillain, and the other is a mass murderer; both of them deserve to be kicked in the head."
As he finished his sentence, Nejire blasted him away with two huge waves of her Quirk, Wave Motion, much to the surprise of Endeavor and Shoto. The waves also destroyed the tendrils Tomura was using for support, causing him to fall to the ground.
"Take that!" Nejire cheered while triumphantly raising her fist in the air.
"Let's go, Nejire-Chan!" Mirio cheered for his friend as well. Then he stared at his hands as a sad smile appeared on his face. 'I feel bad for not being able to help them, but I know Nejire is strong enough to fill my place as well.'
Shortly after, Iida ran in and informed them, "The giant villain is heading this way! We've already told the heroes fighting the Nomus on the other side, too!"
"Iida, carry Midoriya and the others!" Shoto urgently instructed.
"Jeez, no wonder you guys never came back!" Iida commented as he assessed the condition of Izuku and the others.
"Iida, you should definitely get Deku and Bakugo out of there; otherwise, I'm pretty sure both of them will ignore their injuries and dive right back into the battle," Ochako remarked.
"Yeah, I definitely should-"
"Iida/Four-eyes, don't you dare touch my body," Izuku and Bakugo said in unison. Then, they stared at each other with bewildered expressions on their faces until Bakugo grumbled, "Stop copying me, nerd," and turned his face away.
Floating in the air, Nejire noticed the injured Ryukyu and pouted as she angrily glared at 'Tomura'.
"Nejire, I know you're angry, but I hope you keep your cool when facing someone like Shigaraki," Ryukyu said to her student. Although she did feel warm upon seeing Nejire getting angry for her.
"Don't worry, Ryukyu, I am always calm and chill," Nejire said while grinning at the Dragon hero.
"I... need to be with Shigaraki..." Izuku muttered, still trying to get back to his feet despite his injuries. "Shigaraki's still... after me... Iida, take Kacchan and Endeavor..."
"See, I told you," Ochako said with an exasperated sigh, as she rolled her eyes.
"His regeneration's slowed down a lot... he must be getting weaker!" Shoto exclaimed, ignoring Izuku's words as the left side of his body lit up with fire. "Hado, keep pressing him like this!"
"Right!" Nejire replied, putting on a determined expression.
"Guys, please don't ignore me," Izuku complained.
"I don't like ignoring my friends either, but it's for your own good, you know," Nejire said.
"Wait, we are friends?" Izuku asked, tilting his head.
A hint of sadness flickered in Nejire's eyes. "Aren't we? I thought since you're good friends with Mirio, that makes us friends too."
"No, wait, sorry, yeah, we definitely are friends," Izuku quickly corrected himself.
"Great! So sit back and let big sis Nejire handle the rest," Nejire said, giving him a playful wink.
'Big sis?' Izuku thought to himself, his cheeks warming with a slight blush.
"Maggots... keep crawling out..." Shigaraki smirked at the heroes as black and red tendrils once again emerged from his body, lifting him into the air.
'It appears my brother hasn't changed one bit over the years,' Yoichi remarked with a furrowed brow. 'Even back then, he used to view and treat everyone around him like bugs to be squashed under his feet.'
'Well, it's ironic considering how he's acting like a cockroach right now,' Second added.
Immediately, Shoto created an ice ramp and used his ice to try to reach 'Tomura,' but he became distracted when Gigantomachia suddenly arrived on the battlefield.
"Shit!" Shoto cursed under his breath.
Meanwhile, Momo clenched her fist tightly, the sight of Machia serving as a painful reminder of her failure to halt the colossal menace.
'Perfect timing, Machia. Between blows from One For All and Endeavor's Flashfire, Tomura's body could fall apart at any time.' All for One thought. 'The reason Rivet Stab was released from the spinal cord was to make it auto-tracking to reduce the burden on his mind and body. That's how unpredictable his body's condition is right now. Now, to give Machia the order to retreat...' he thought as he saw Machia running towards them.
"Damn it! That means Todoroki almost had him if Machia hadn't butted in," Setsuna remarked.
"Well, ifs and buts don't matter now since their troubles have increased tenfold with Machia's arrival," Edgeshot said.
"Not only that, but it would be even worse if Machia managed to rescue Shigaraki and escape to safety," All Might continued. "Consider how much effort and how many sacrifices it took to subdue Shigaraki, who wasn't even at his full strength. Now, imagine facing the same Shigaraki, but this time with his body at full strength and under the control of the malevolent demon, All for One," All Might stated ominously, sending shivers down everyone's spines.
'We can't fight that giant villain and Shigaraki at the same time!' Shoto thought as he rushed towards Tomura. 'I'll take care of the wounded one here first!'
'At any rate, they're strong... Surge, Half-Cold Half-Hot...' All for One thought as he noticed Shoto rushing towards him. 'This body is at its limit, but they aren't letting us rest at all.'
"Output level 100, Spiraling Flood!" "Flashfire Fist... Jet Kindling!" Nejire and Shoto unleashed their Ultimate Moves simultaneously at Tomura, causing him to scream in pain.
'We almost have him! We just need to push a bit harder,' Shoto and Nejire thought simultaneously, their fists clenched in determination. They understood that removing Shigaraki or All for One from the battle would be a massive boon for their side.
Suddenly, Endeavor's eyes widened as he noticed something. "Run...!" he screamed, just as Gigantomachia swiped his hand and sent Shoto hurtling to the ground. Nejire managed to stabilize herself mid-air with the help of her Quirk.
"Todoroki!" the members of the Deku squad screamed as they witnessed Shoto being tossed around on the ground.
"It's okay, I should be fine... I think," Shoto reassured them, believing that being thrown around wouldn't cause him significant harm.
"Put me down, Armored Four-Eyes!" Bakugo grumbled to Iida, who was supporting him by the shoulder.
"You're awake?" Iida asked as Bakugo again asked to be put down. "I can't! Your organs have been hit."
To which Bakugo replied, "I need... a complete... victory..." while glaring at Tomura.
"Bakugo, you've got stab wounds all over your body. Moving too much will only make you lose more blood," Aizawa pointed out.
"Like hell I'm gonna let some stab wounds slow me down," Bakugo shot back. "I'll prove that potato head who the real waste of blood is here."
"Master," Machia said as he secured Tomura in his palms. "I am here. What is your next order? I will do as you command!"
"Shigaraki!" Spinner exclaimed as he walked onto the Machia's shoulder. "What happened to you?" he asked while staring at his leader.
"Well, your leader was playing a tank without any other supporting units to back him up," Kaminari casually remarked.
"Shoto, are you all right?" Endeavor asked as he landed next to Shoto while carrying Izuku in his arms.
"Damn it! It's frustrating watching myself get carried around like that," Izuku muttered, his voice tinged with bitterness.
Once Shoto affirmed his well-being, Endeavor began thinking, 'Sorry, Hawks. It's my fault this guy started moving. I must defeat him. What kind of Quirk does he have? I'll have to figure it out.' Then his breaths started becoming heavy and ragged, 'One of my lungs has been crushed. How much can I do with this body that hurts just to breathe?'
Endeavor got back to his feet, remembering the vow he had made when he became the No.1 hero. 'No, I must do it. I'm this country's top hero!' he thought as he stared at the giant in front of him.
'That's right, there's no time for me to cry over my injuries,' Endeavor thought as he clenched his fist. 'I must bring Machia down and prevent Shigaraki from escaping. Otherwise, all the injuries, all the suffering, all the sacrifices that everyone has endured will be in vain if I don't act now.'
But then...
"Oh, there you are! From up here, everyone looks tiny," Dabi said as he made his presence known while shaking a bottle of bleach in his hand. "Oh? Shoto's there too? This is great," he said as he noticed the boy glaring at him.
'The League's here, too?' Endeavor thought as he stared at the Dabi with wide eyes. "Dabi...!"
'We were aware that the League was riding on Machia's back, so that part wasn't surprising. But why... why do I have this ominous feeling that something truly awful is about to occur?' Izuku wondered, an unexplained sense of dread gnawing at his heart. Unfortunately, his gut feeling proved to be accurate in the very next scene...
"That's mean. Don't call me that," Dabi said as he poured the bleach on his head, washing the black dye off his hair and revealing his white hair.
Endeavor's eyes widened as the black color bled out of Dabi's hair. 'No, no... it can't be,' he thought to himself, his body trembling as memories of a certain dreaded day flooded his mind.
"I've got this splendid name already...Toya."
"Oh no," Izuku muttered, sharing a solemn glance with Bakugo. Apart from Todoroki father and son, it was only the two of them who knew the truth about who Toya was. Their eyes then turned to Shoto, who was staring at the screen with wide, horrified eyes.
Meanwhile, the others were wondering what was going on the screen and what Dabi was talking about, totally unaware of the turmoil of emotions raging inside Shoto and Endeavor's hearts.
Meanwhile, we see Rei Todoroki sitting in her hospital room, watching the news. Suddenly, the broadcast begins to get hijacked and switches to a different broadcast with Dabi sitting on a couch, shirtless, revealing his bodily burns to the world.
"Mom..." Shoto muttered while looking at the screen, fearing what was going to come next.
Meanwhile, Momo, who heard that, turned towards Izuku, whose face looked equally pale as Shoto's. "Izuku, I am totally lost. What is going on here?"
"Something bad... something really bad," Izuku replied in a low voice, leaving Momo perplexed by his cryptic words.
"Please excuse the interruption. My name is Toya Todoroki. My father is the number one hero, Endeavor," Rei's eyes widened as Dabi announced on National Television.
The hall went silent as all the eyes in the auditorium were now directed at the current No. 1 hero, who was still staring at the screen. His body trembled with a mixture of emotions, as he tried to find something... even a small detail that he could use to deny Dabi's claim of being his long-dead child.
Back in Jaku City, Dabi's proclamation had left Endeavor and Shoto stunned as he continued. "My face ended up like this, but I thought my family would realize who I was. It's so cruel... So sad, really..." he said with a smile.
Izuku also saw Dabi and thought back to his conversation with Shoto and Fuyumi about their older brother, Toya, and realized that Toya and Dabi were the same person.
"So it's true... Dabi is really Endeavor's child," Ryukyu stated, at a loss for words.
"Fuck! This shit got even more complicated!" Rumi cursed under her breath.
Meanwhile, Dabi's broadcast on the television continued. "I, Toya Todoroki, was born into Endeavor's family as the oldest Todoroki son," he said as Rei watched the broadcast with shock-filled eyes. "Up until now, I've killed over 30 innocent people. Why did I commit such offensive acts? That's what I want to share with you all."
Shoto clenched his teeth, his heart heavy, as he observed the shocked, pained, and grief-stricken expression in his mother's eyes. The words that Dabi was uttering on the screen only added to the torment of the moment.
"From his despair at being unable to surpass All Might, in order to have a child with a stronger Quirk, he forced his wife to marry him," Dabi continued as scenes of destruction caused by the League were shown. "I was created for the sake of my father's selfish dream. But apparently, I was a failure, and he gave up on me before long, and I was abandoned and forgotten," he said as we saw various survivors of the destruction and the surprised and horrified reactions of other people watching the broadcast.
"But I did not forget. Without being told, I watched you this whole time. I'm not saying that everyone must be completely without fault. Just you," the scene shifted back to Jaku where Dabi continued his speech.
"Damn it! This is worse than I ever imagined," Hawks muttered while gritting his teeth as he found himself grappling with a maelstrom of emotions. The person he had regarded as his hero, the one who had rescued him from an abusive past, had turned out to be the antagonist in his own narrative, and as Dabi continued to speak, the sense of betrayal deepened further.
And on top of that, what Dabi was saying on the screen had even more dire consequences. "He's kicking heroes when we're already in the dumps. With Machia's rampage and the destruction he's caused, this revelation will corrode the last vestiges of trust people have in heroes. And if that happens..." Hawks let his words trail off, his tone dark and grim. "...let's just say that villains won't be our only concern."
"A pre-recorded video of my personal history is currently playing on all the TVs in the country and on the internet."
"What a crazy ace up your sleeve," Skeptic remarked while maintaining Dabi's broadcast.
"That's a fucking understatement!" Bakugo exclaimed, his eyes narrowed at the screen. "The bastard must've been itching to spill his story to the whole damn world, and now he's doing it at the absolute worst moment."
"Depends on your perspective," Edgeshot mused. "It might be the worst time for us, but for Dabi, who's aiming to sow terror and chaos in society, this is probably the best moment he could have picked."
"Oh, no... I don't know why, but I'm starting to have fun!" Dabi said as he began to dance. "How could I make you suffer? How could I trample on your life? It's all I've been thinking about since that day!" he said with a huge grin across his face.
"I didn't know why I existed, and I cried every day clinging to Natsu. You didn't know, did you?" Dabi continued as a childhood memory showed him lying on the ground, curled up.
'Those eyes... they're just like Todoroki's when he told me about his past,' Izuku thought, a mental image of Shoto replacing Toya flashing through his mind. Honestly, just thinking about that made him sick to his core.
'Endeavor, that scumbag! So Shoto wasn't even his first victim,' Nana seethed, her voice brimming with anger. 'A scumbag like him doesn't deserve to have children,' she said and wondered how cruel life can be when she had to abandon her child while someone like Endeavor gets to raise three, even after killing one of his own.
"At first, when you completed your puppet, Shoto, I thought I'd kill him. But then, you unexpectedly became the number one hero! I..." Dabi continued to dance as he grinned once again, "...wanted to make you happy."
'How sad... Todoroki Shoto,' Shoto remembered the words Dabi— Toya had uttered to him back at the summer camp. 'No wonder I felt something was off when he said my name, but to think that he was...'
"I was afraid you were going to die in Kyushu! I led Starservant and Ending to you one after another. Even though you'd wanted to be the number one hero so badly, it must've been a heavy burden," Dabi glanced at Endeavor and Shoto, who were still looking at him with stunned expressions on their faces.
"So he's the one who sent those two creepy bastards after Endeavor and Half-and-Half's brother," Bakugo observed. "No wonder that second creep knew where Endeavor lived."
Meanwhile, Shoto seethed with anger upon learning that it was Toya who had endangered Natsuo's life as part of his revenge. While he could understand Toya's anger toward his father or even himself, but targeting their siblings was entirely unacceptable in his eyes.
"You were soothed by admiration from the public, weren't you? The time you spent talking to your kids made you feel the bonds of family, right? You thought you could live properly if you only looked to the future, didn't you? Looks like you don't have a clue, so let me tell you... The past won't go away," he pointed at himself with a huge sinister grin on his face. "You reap what you sow."
'Look at me, Endeavor! You lit this fire in me, Dad... and it's not going out! Look... at me!' Endeavor's breath quickened, and his body trembled even more as he recalled those haunting words... the words that Toya had said to him.
"Let's fall together, Enji Todoroki..." Dabi sinisterly smiled. "Come dance with me in hell, won't you, Father?!"
Endeavor stared at Dabi intently as his mind went back to the past. 'That day, a cold, wintry wind was blowing violently, and the air was dry. On Sekoto Peak, where I had often trained in the past, Toya burned to death,' he thought as we saw a younger Enji helplessly standing in front of a burning mountain with a shocked expression on his face.
'Apparently, the flames were over 2,000 degrees Celsius, so there was nobody left,' Endeavor thought as the screen showed the image of white-haired Toya standing next to his grave. 'Even the bones that had carbonized turned to dust in the updraft from the fire and scattered to the winds. We just barely managed to find a small fragment of his jawbone. Even so, at the time, I...'
"That's right, how is this possible... he died... Toya died in that fire..." Endeavor muttered weakly, struggling to comprehend the situation.
"Father, did you see Toya's body?" Shoto asked, glaring at his father.
"W-w-what?" Endeavor stammered, his face bewildered.
"I asked, did you see Toya's body, damn it!" Shoto snapped, his voice raised in anger.
"N-n-no, but it was impossible to survive in that kind of heat, especially Toya who was weak to-"
"It doesn't matter what you thought... why didn't you search for him?" Shoto demanded, tears welling up in his eyes. "Why did you give up on finding Toya so easily when you went to such great lengths to create a perfect child? Even if there was just a one percent chance that Toya was alive, you should have taken it. Who knows, maybe we wouldn't be watching Dabi hurt everyone just to get back at us like this."
"S-S-Shoto, I-"
"I don't need your excuses, Dad," Shoto interrupted him. "Damn it! How am I even going to tell this to Fuyumi, Natsuo, and Mom... especially now when she was doing so much better and was almost ready to be discharged."
Endeavor's mind traveled even further back as he remembered the day when he first noticed Toya's hair starting to turn white from red. Toya disregarded it, eager to learn an Ultimate Move. 'My firstborn, Toya, didn't get Frost, but the firepower he had was greater than mine,' he thought. 'He couldn't negate the overheating, which was a minus, but I wanted to raise him to be a hero.'
"Well, it doesn't look like a drawback that couldn't be solved with the right support item," Aizawa said, giving a scrutiny-filled side-eye to Endeavor. "And I suppose that thought never crossed your mind because you had already decided what a perfect quirk was," Aizawa said in an angry, judgmental voice.
'At the same time, I continued to hope for Half-Cold Half-Hot, and my wife thought siblings could support each other, so we had our second child, Fuyumi,' he thought as we saw a young Fuyumi offering her mother a flower.
'It seems like Fuyumi has always been a kind person,' Izuku thought, reminiscing about their visit to Shoto's house and how warmly she had welcomed them. He also recalled her silent efforts to keep her family together, even if she hadn't explicitly mentioned it. 'Even her smile was just as kind as it is now.'
'Fuyumi only had Rei's Quirk. Neither one of them had the Quirk I wanted, but at the time, I was fine with that. Because Toya definitely had more raw talent than I did.'
'I entrusted my ambition to Toya,' he thought as we see Touya getting hurt by his fire. 'Of all people, you should be able to go where I wanted to go,' we saw Endeavor imagining Toya crossing the bridge and approaching All Might, something he couldn't do. 'My frustration and jealousy, my disgraceful heart, all of it. I thought you could smash them all to pieces for me.'
"Endeavor... you did all of this to surpass me?" All Might inquired, his gaze fixed on Endeavor, who was burying his face in his hands. "I know it might sound harsh, but there was never a competition between us from the start."
"I now know..." Endeavor said in a somber voice. "I now know that the dream I was chasing was never attainable. I was never going to surpass the generational might of One for All, and neither could Toya or Shoto."
"That's where you're mistaken," All Might countered, shaking his head. "It's not about power or quirks, Endeavor. If it were, you wouldn't have felt inferior, given that you possess an extraordinarily potent quirk capable of vaporizing high-end Nomus, something even I might struggle with," All Might pointed out.
"So, what is it about, then?" Endeavor asked, growing restless.
"That is something I cannot answer," All Might replied. "But one thing I can say for sure is that even if you or your son had surpassed me in the rankings, you wouldn't have gotten that satisfaction that you got when you saw yourself safely evacuate Mirko out of the crumbling hospital."
Back in the present, Endeavor continued to stare at Dabi with a stunned look, struggling to comprehend the truth. "Toya died," he muttered. "That's an inexcusable lie."
"I'm alive. It's the undeniable truth," Dabi shot back with a grin. "How could you not realize that I was your son? Did it not even cross your mind since flame-type Quirks are a dime a dozen?"
"Yeah, elemental quirks are indeed more common than many other types," Monoma commented. "Statistically, roughly every tenth quirk falls into some variation of an elemental quirk."
"You seem pretty knowledgeable about quirks," Izuku noted with genuine interest
"Of course, I know my quirks," Monoma replied, giving Izuku a slightly incredulous look that silently questioned why he was asking such an obvious thing. "My quirk relies on copying other people's quirks, and I can't always choose whose quirk I'm copying, so I do my best to remember as many quirks and their functions as possible."
Off to the side, Spinner and Mr. Compress expressed their surprise, stating that they too were unaware of this information, and it was the first time they had heard about Dabi's true identity.
"I don't know what's going on anymore..." Spinner said as he sat next to the unconscious Tomura. "Anyway, just wake up, Shigaraki! He's here! Give Machia his orders!"
"Please don't wake up! For fuck's sake, heroes have enough problems to deal with right now, and we don't need another unstable monster thrown into the mix," Setsuna grumbled.
'Oh, you have an interesting lineage, too...' Compress said as he held onto his mask.
"Don't tell me he's connected to someone we know too," Kaminari remarked.
'If there is a connection, it must be...' Kendo thought, stealing a quick glance at Yui. 'Her quirk allows her to shrink objects, somewhat akin to how Compress can reduce and contain things in marbles,' she speculated to herself. However, she opted to keep her theory to herself, lacking concrete evidence.
Returning to Dabi, he stated to Endeavor, "If you still doubt me, I'll give you blood or skin if you want. You can do a paternity test." Then, he added, "Well, I already did one and made it public, though."
On the broadcast, Dabi held up a paper in his hands, "These are the results of the paternity test using the blood Endeavor left at the fight in Kyushu. There was a 99.99% match," he revealed as we saw a large crowd watching it on a huge display in a city square. However, many people were also ignoring it and continuing with their daily lives as if nothing significant was happening.
"Just look at that, so many of them can't even spare a minute to lift their heads and glance at the screen," Gran Torino remarked with a frustrated huff. "It's no surprise they act like helpless sheep when disaster strikes and there isn't a hero nearby to assist them."
"You might still think I fabricated this, though. All I can do is speak in a way to make you believe me," Dabi on the broadcast continued. "Endeavor continued to make my mother bear children after that. Their fourth child is someone you all may know... with Shoto, he finally succeeded," on the battlefield, Shoto's body trembled with various emotions as he clenched his fist.
In the audience, Shoto had a similar reaction as he glared at the screen while gritting his teeth. Meanwhile, Izuku thought he could sympathize with him on some level since he knew how unsettling it was for him when his and Bakugo's past was revealed to everyone. But when it comes to Shoto, the conflict becomes much more intense and serious, not to mention how it even involves his family, who had already suffered enough.
"But he even raised his hand against his long-awaited masterpiece," Dabi said on the broadcast as we saw Fuyumi and Natsuo watching from their respective workplaces and the university.
"No... why them... why do Fuyumi and Natsuo have to suffer because of Dad's mistakes,' Shoto pondered, once more reflecting on how his siblings had chosen to lead a normal life, with neither he, Endeavor, nor even Toya having the right to impede their happiness.
"I saw it many times. Endeavor is not someone who thinks of others. He is self-righteous and weak-willed, consumed with his own importance. Do you really think someone like that can call himself a hero?"
'Do I?' Endeavor questioned himself, noticing the numerous skeptical glances directed his way.
Then the scene shifts to a fan of Endeavor and his friend who were watching the broadcast on their computer. "It can't be true... Who would believe this?" he said as he remembered watching Endeavor saving everyone from the Hood Villain. "This won't shake our trust in heroes! We're not that dumb!"
"The kid's optimistic, but I doubt everyone holds the same faith and trust in heroes that a child could have," Jeanist remarked.
"Also, that bastard is still talking," Rumi added, pointing at the screen
"Those connected to Endeavor are the same. The number two hero, Hawks," Dabi said on the broadcast, displaying a picture of Hawks killing Twice in the Gunga Mountain Villa as the fan of Endeavor stared at the screen in shock and with horrified eyes. "Hawks didn't hesitate to drive a blade through a villain who was crying and running away. Right in front of my eyes as I tried to protect him."
Back in Jaku, Skeptic told Dabi to thank him for editing the video in a rush, which Dabi did as Skeptic's images and videos proved useful.
"Just as I thought. He completely twisted the narrative of my interaction with Twice to suit his agenda," Hawks commented, clicking his tongue in frustration. "It's not like Twice was merely trying to hide away somewhere. If I hadn't taken the action I did, he would have unleashed an army of his clones, overwhelming all the heroes and students at Gunga and putting their lives at risk."
"Endeavor! This is a present from me," Dabi said. "I did some digging on that spy bastard, Hawks. In order to get us to trust him, Hawks killed a hero. Can you believe it?" Dabi asked with a gleeful voice. "Because violence has become a part of his life, he was able to do this calmly."
'Oh boy! Someone is in for a rude awakening!' Jeanist thought while stroking his chin.
"But it's not surprising," Dabi on the broadcast continued. "His father was a villain who committed serial robberies and murders. That's why he hid his past and his real name. His father was caught by Endeavor. I don't know what kind of fate that is, but those are the kinds of people Endeavor surrounds himself with. I couldn't allow it!"
'You were right, Dabi. Indeed you're more dangerous than Twice,' Hawks thought, narrowing his eyes at the screen. 'But not because of your connection with Endeavor or all the information you've gathered about me. It's because, even though Twice was a villain, he was at least loyal to his friends in the League. But you... you're so consumed by your hatred for Endeavor that you'd sacrifice anything and anyone, whether friend or family. You'd go to any lengths just to witness Endeavor's suffering, all for your own twisted amusement.'
"To cover up such shady human nature by calling it 'justice' and calling himself a hero on top of that!" Dabi on the broadcast yelled. "He's tricking people! I just want you to think about it carefully. What he's protecting is himself. You're all just being used as tools of these dishonorable people for their own self-protection and self-affirmation!"
"I hate to admit it, but if I were just an ordinary civilian watching this, especially right after Machia's rampage, I might have been tempted to start making protest banners against Endeavor and Hawks," Ryukyu confessed.
"You know what? I might still do it, just because I can," Nejire chimed in, casting a pointed glare at Endeavor.
Meanwhile, Endeavor's fan started crying while covering his eyes as his friend told him that, with Dabi speaking out first, he had won, whether or not it's true is a question for later. He questioned how faith in heroes could not be shaken by these revelations, even though a Villain was saying them, and that due to the sheer amount of damage already done, anyone whose trust was not shaken by this were fools.
"The other young man has a valid point," Edgeshot remarked. "Having faith in someone is one thing, but it's another to deliberately ignore the mounting evidence before you just to preserve a false illusion."
"But will they really believe the words of a villain?" Mina questioned. "And the stuff about Hawks isn't entirely true either."
"It may not be entirely false either," Edgeshot clarified. "Dabi may have embellished some details and twisted facts to serve his own agenda, but judging by Endeavor's reaction, we can safely assume he isn't lying about being Endeavor's son and some other revelations on the recording. As for Hawks, well, he did kill Twice. The precise details and evidence will be scrutinized later, but for now, that might be enough to fuel public outrage," he sighed wearily. "In the end, people will seek someone to hold responsible for all of this, and now Endeavor and Hawks are prime targets."
Back at the Jaku, Dabi grins at Endeavor. "Thanks for being alive and well until today, Endeavor!" he said as he jumped off Machia's back and started falling towards Endeavor.
Meanwhile, Endeavor remained frozen in shock, still staring at Dabi with a stunned expression on his face. 'I looked for you... I believed that you were alive!' he thought to himself.
'Enji, what's your next move?' Endeavor questioned himself, as stared at his pathetic-looking on-screen self. 'Will you confront Toya to shield Shoto and the others, or will you simply surrender and accept death at the hands of your firstborn as retribution for your sins?'
"Dad! He's coming! Dad!" Shoto screamed frantically as he ignited the left side of his body. "Protect Midoriya and Bakugo! Hado and I will fight!" Then he noticed that Endeavor was not moving. "Hey! Do that later! Please, move! Protect them!"
"He's right! Pull yourself together, Dad!" Shoto exclaimed, his eyes locked onto the screen. "If you don't act now, Toya will harm even more people, and this time it'll be your fault for not stopping him when you had the chance."
Dabi continued his descent upon Endeavor, covered in blue flames, as he began to use his father's own signature move, "Flashfire Fist... Prominence..."
'Damm it body! Just fucking move already!' Izuku, Shoto, and Bakugo all thought simultaneously, each wishing that their counterparts would find the strength to push themselves just a bit further. In Izuku's case, he yearned to summon one last burst of power from his nearly shattered body, just enough to tackle the burning man away from others.
However, before he could reach Endeavor, Dabi soon found himself bound in carbon fibers. 'From the sky?!' he thought and looked up only to see Best Jeanist falling from the sky along with multiple huge bundles of carbon fibers with him.
"Sorry for the delay! Best Jeanist is on the job again starting today!" he declared as he used carbon fibers to restrain Dabi, Machia, and the other villains on Machia's back.
"It's about time you showed up," Bakugo remarked, a sly smirk forming on his face.
To be continued...
Note: I understand that the reactions in this chapter weren't as explosive as everyone expected, but, as with my other reaction fics, all the consequences and developments will come in the post-reaction chapters.