Chapter 30: Ending the Night

The fight between Stain and the heroes quickly devolved from a heated battle between good and bad, and more of a session of playground bullying, except Stain was the victim and the heroes were the bullies.

Stain lashed out at Endeavor, who ducked under his swing and followed with a flaming punch to his ribs. With the first strike made, the heroes behind Endeavor spread out into the alley as best as they could, getting behind Stain and cutting him off from behind and the exit. Endeavor was the main instigator and attack force, with the rest of the heroes taking upon a supporting role, fitting in potshots here and there where they could.

Their behavior turned unsavory, but the heroes couldn't help themselves. Stain had caused them much trouble over the past month, and with the attack, their nerves were running high, and they were wound tight. Now that they had Stain in their sights, they felt like they could let loose a bit and breathe a little easier. After tonight, they wouldn't have to worry about getting killed in a back alley. The heroes made an unspoken agreement before they even arrived. What would happen in the alley would stay in the alley.

They jeered at and insulted Stain. If he got a little too close to the line they made, they roughly shoved him forward, throwing off his balance and timing for a counterattack. Endeavor grinned nastily. They had shoved Stain in the perfect direction, he wound up for a massive haymaker and let it sail. His fist contacted Stain's face. Had he still had his nose, it would've crumpled under the attack. Stain's head whipped back, momentarily blanking out before he snapped back.

His hands quickly went to the knives on his torso, flinging them at the heroes behind him blindly. Cries of pain sounded out, telling him his knives hit their targets. He grinned, turned around quickly, and dashed towards the injured heroes. He was on them before they could react, his hands finding the hilts as he violently twisted and yanked them out of heroes, blood flying as he reclaimed them.

Stain stuck his tongue out to catch the flying droplets, no longer caring to hide how his quirk worked. The heroes' bodies froze the second their blood touched his tongue, their forms looking like they were caught in a snapshot. One hero was clutching their leg where the knife hit them, the other was placed over their stomach. Stain stomped on each of their heads before bringing the knives back down and slitting their throats on the way up.

Seeing the death of two of their comrades in such a gruesome way gave the less battle-hardened heroes pause. Even Endeavor stopped, baffled at Stain's actions. In their moment of confusion and shock, Stain yelled in frustration before sheathing one of his knives and running to reclaim his katana. As he picked it up, he sheathed it and jumped up in one fluid motion. He caught the bottom rung of a fire escape with his free hand and climbed up, ascending quickly, trying to put as much distance as he could before the heroes snapped out of their reverie.

He bounded up and around the staircase and platforms, over railings and under beams. Shortly, he made it to the top, his gaze briefly glancing over Kagero. Their eyes met for a brief moment, indecision and wariness flickering over Stain's face before Kagero nodded his head in the direction of the street. Stain nodded and headed in that direction, the sounds of the heroes stirring below him added urgency to his movements.

Kagero walked through a portal before Endeavor and the rest could follow Stain up to the roof, not wanting to get caught out in the mess that was being made. As Stain made his way to the street, Kagero appeared on a different roof, while the heroes mobilized. The more agile of the group climbed to the roof to chase, the others backtracked to the street, hoping for a glance.

Stain quickly leapt over the rooftops, but the lead he had was being consumed. Endeavor was hot on his trail, and he could see other heroes positioning themselves for an intercept. He growled to himself before getting clipped on the leg from below. His momentum was interrupted, and he missed the landing on the next roof. He hit the edge before scrabbling for a handhold, stabbing the knife in his other hand into the wall to slow his descent. He kept sliding down the wall, but he couldn't get himself to stop. Realizing it was a fruitless attempt, he jumped off, falling the rest of the way down.

Stain landed in a roll and glanced around, looking for who or what hit him. He patted his leg where he was hit, but found no injury, just a wet spot the size of a baseball. He poked it and felt a little soreness. That bruised quickly. He searched the heroes before landing on Manual, his left hand cupping his right, with his pointer finger and thumb sticking out aimed at him, as if he were holding an actual gun. Endeavor and the other rooftop pursuers made their way back down, falling into an arrowhead formation once again.

"Do you truly think yourselves heroes?" Stain rasped as he stood up, sheathing the knife he used to help his descent. He took a step forward, drawing his katana again.

"Aren't heroes supposed to end the fight quickly?" He flicked his eyes to Endeavor, who was known to end villain attacks shortly after, or even sometimes before, they had started.

"Aren't heroes supposed to ensure the general populace?" His eyes darted around to the others.

"Aren't heroes supposed to lift the spirits of those who have been beaten down, not to insult them as they try to stand back up? Aren't heroes supposed to support the dreams of everyone else!?" Stain's voice reached a crescendo, his voice dripping with a nightmarish mix of bloodlust, anger, determination, conviction, and resolve. The bravado that surrounded the heroes moments before was being overwhelmed and suffocated by it. Everyone faltered in their place as they felt an almost primal fear take over them.

"You would beat down a man who is only working to make his dreams a reality. You would insult him, belittle him, attack him, because he doesn't fit into your perfect picture of a society? Pathetic. You aren't just fakes and frauds. You're bullies. Thugs. You use your quirks to beat others down and flaunt your authority over those you deem are below you. Do you know what those kinds of people are called?"

Stain took a menacing step forward. The heroes unconsciously took a step back. They were no longer seeing Stain, but a personification of conviction and bloodlust. They could see a red aura surrounding him. A shadow-like visage of Stain was hovering above him, its features sharp, red, and demonic, "Those people are called villains. How ironic that in your pursuit for 'justice' tonight, you embodied the very thing you swore to get rid of. Your actions tonight did nothing but validate mine. I am no longer removing fakes. I am ridding the world of villains with permission."

Endeavor was the first to recover, but only just barely. He scoffed, attempting to hide his unease by trying to swipe it to the side, "You dare call us villains when you yourself is a murderer? You dare try the high ground? Who do you think you are?"

"Someone who knows their true worth and where they stand in the world. Someone who isn't afraid to take action to make the changes happen. Someone who isn't bound by something as flimsy as laws and morals," Stain leveled his katana at Endeavor, "I know and accept I'm a villain. Do you?"

Endeavor growled, feeling anger rising within him as hot as the flames he shoots, "As if you know anything about me!" Endeavor's fist started to glow, the telltale sign he was charging his ultimate move, Flashfire Fist: Jet Burn.

Stain smiled and brought his sword up, "Come! Strike me down and prove yourself no better than the villains you put away!"

From his perch on the roof looking over the confrontation, Kagero spoke, his voice just a little above normal speaking volume, "Recall. Nomu. Cover."

Immediately the air filled with the screech of the yellow Nomu, its form bursting through one of the buildings. The heroes jumped at the sudden intrusion of the last Nomu, now free of the hold Stain had over them. They all tried doing something, anything, to take it down, but the Nomu dodged out of the way.

Endeavor paid no attention to the Nomu, only focusing on what was in front of him. The fire he'd been building up now a blinding white. He skip-jumped twice towards Stain before throwing his fist out, firing his attack. The Nomu screamed once more, swooping in between Endeavor and Stain, using its wings to unleash strong gusts of wind.

Endeavor smiled wide, his eyes looking just as crazed as Stain's was, "Don't you know wind just makes flames burn brighter!?"

The Nomu kept beating its wings, the wind it was blowing growing in strength and intensity, trying to keep Endeavor back, but true to his words, it wasn't working. The flames changed from white to blue, burning through the air and engulfing the Nomu. The Nomu screamed in pain before it cut out, the only sounds left in the street was the roar of the fire and the crackling of the body. The flame died out, but Stain used the attack to counter. He jumped over the Nomu, his blade poised to stab Endeavor. Surprised by the sudden attack, Endeavor didn't have enough time to dodge or block. He watched as the blade came closer and closer.

Stain's mouth was open, his tongue licking his lips in anticipation. He was moments away from ridding the world of the greatest fake he had the misfortune of meeting. Before his blade could make contact, his body convulsed again, jolting in pain. He fell forward, all momentum he had was lost to the attack.

Endeavor stood there in shock. He was unhappy with his early death, but ultimately accepted it. Nothing he could've done would've saved him, yet somehow he was still alive. As Stain fell over, Conduit was walking up from behind him, his arm still raised and snaking with electricity, with Kaminari following behind him timidly.

"You're welcome," Conduit called out as he walked up. Stain groaned as he tried standing back up. Without breaking his stride, Conduit kicked stain in his temple, knocking him out cold with the casualness of kicking a ball. "Stain's accounted for, the Nomus have been dealt with, and everyone was either evacuated or are being tended to. Damage to the city, thankfully and surprisingly, was mostly contained to a five-block radius all around where we took out the other two of those things. Good job team."

"I didn't need your help."

"Sure you didn't," Conduit replied dismissively. He walked over to the Nomu's burnt husk, prodding it with his foot. He looked at the rest of the heroes, who all were in various states of relief, "Anybody know where or why this thing came down now instead of earlier?"

Everyone shook their heads no, except for the hero with the red bandana. She looked as if she were remembering something, her hand raised like a student, her mouth opening and closing as she tested the words on her mouth. Conduit and Endeavor shared a look.

"Speak up," they both commanded.

The hero made a surprised 'eep' before talking, "Um, I guess I should say my hero name is Shrink. It was taking orders, like the other two were." She paused, trying to gather her thoughts, "When we were fighting the other two, they just stopped, like their attention was pulled away. They looked like they were looking at something."

"That's right," another hero spoke up, this one wearing a purple ninja-like outfit with a black vest and yellow tinted goggles, one of the two that were throwing shuriken at the black Nomu, "I followed where they were looking and there was a figure on the roof that wasn't there before. They pointed at Manual and must've said something because the monsters… went after him…"

Realization dawned on everybody, but none looked nearly as shaken as Kaminari, whose face paled. Even Todoroki, who bore witness to Stain's killing up close and didn't even bat an eye at the time, looked a little shaken up. Like Kaminari, he didn't really see much of the actual villains behind the attack at the USJ. He was confined to the Landslide Zone, but even though he was confident he could make it out of the area unscathed, he could tell that there was something far more sinister that he couldn't account for. After hearing his classmates' retellings of their experiences, and how the leader led everyone, even All Might, around by the nose, he couldn't help but privately give a sigh of relief that he didn't come face-to-face with him.

"Shigaraki was here?" Kaminari whispered, his voice filled with fear.

He was answered with a laugh that came from Stain, who was suddenly awake, but not strong enough to move outside of repositioning himself so he was sitting. The heroes tensed and raised their hands to fight, but dropped them when they saw the state he was in. He was breathing raggedly, and blood was trailing from a wound on his face. After being attacked and beaten so many times, even he couldn't muster the strength to fight any further.

"Yet more proof that heroes are nothing more than bullies. I wasn't the one who started this attack, yet you were all focused on me like I was the true enemy here. The real mastermind is still at large, and he is laughing at your incompetence and failure." Stain turned his head to the sky, his eyes searching the rooftops, "Take me down, fine. I am nothing more than a cog in a machine, useful but easily replaced if broken. I've served my purpose, but my work will be carried on. You hear that, Shigaraki!? We have our differences, but I know that you will keep good on your word!"

Conduit shocked him again, this time keeping the stream up until he was slightly smoking, but still breathing, "Enough of that, damned cockroach."

As Conduit and Endeavor discussed plans for how to deal with Stain and the fallout he alluded to, movement on one of the rooftops caught Shrink's eye. She looked up and could've sworn she saw a figure give a lazy salute before they disappeared into a black and purple mass. After it was gone, she stomped her foot on the ground, "Shit."

Her outburst caught everyone else's attention, but she didn't care. She dropped to the ground, hands hanging over her knees exhausted, the adrenaline now leaving her system, "He was here. He was watching everything. He was right here, and we didn't do anything. Stain was right. We failed tonight."

Training with Thirteen ended hours ago, so Shimura was left to his own devices. Being alone in the dorm wasn't ideal. There was no one to talk to or hang out with, it was way too quiet all throughout the day, and at night he ate alone in the common room. He's even gotten to the point where playing video games only kept him occupied for so long. He could go explore the campus more, maybe go to one of the numerous gyms and train or work out, he could even go to the Support Labs to make some changes to his costume, but that involved being productive after being put through the wringer that was his internship.

He was caught listlessly walking around the dorm like one would expect a ghost to act when his phone rang. The sudden blare of his ringtone startling him enough to cause him to physically jump in surprise. He brought his phone up and saw Uraraka's name on the screen. He smiled and thanked any higher being for someone to talk to that wasn't Thirteen or another teacher.

"Ura-" he started, but she talked over him.

"Shimura! Turn on the news, something's happening in Hosu," she exclaimed, "I've been calling around to spread the word in case people weren't aware. Are you watching now? I've been trying to get in touch with Iida, maybe you can try?"

Shimura didn't hear anything past 'Hosu'. He dropped his phone and immediately ran to the couch to find the remote. He clicked the TV on, surfing through the channels until a news station came on. The video showed footage from a helicopter, the feed shaky and grainy, but it was clear there was destruction. He read the caption, Hosu on Fire. For the first time in a long while, he accidentally placed all fingers on the remote, reducing it to dust. He fell back onto the couch, stunned into silence.

Shimura sat hunched over on the dorm's couch, his elbows resting on his knees as he watched the news report with rapt attention, his phone laying on the coffee table in front of him, his screen displaying that he was still on a call with Uraraka, a small pile of dust sat on the edge of the table and continued on the floor right beneath it.

He wasn't taking in any of the commentary the reporter was making, but focusing on the feed, trying to see if he could glean any more information from it. Whenever the screen shifted to an on-the-ground reporter, he looked over every face that popped up, searching for anyone he knew, but mainly looking for Iida. Or Manual, since Iida was supposed to be with him.

The video on the screen was heart wrenching. People were screaming in pain, crying with loss, begging for assurance. Buildings were on fire, others were crumbling from extensive damage, cars were flipped or crushed, and intermittently a screech could be heard over the chaos. The camera moved, following the sound, but the source wasn't in sight, he could hear the cameraman asking what that was. Shimura felt his blood curdle at hearing it, immediately recognizing it as the Nomu from the USJ.

He has more? Why- how does he have more? Why are they in Hosu?

He reached for his phone slowly and brought it up to his ear, "Uraraka, you must be watching it too, right?"

"Yes." She replied subdued, like she was trying to not cry, or like she was in a closet hiding from intruders.

"Then you heard it too, right?"

She didn't answer, the silence was telling enough.

"You don't think that he's there too, right?"

Another stretch of silence followed, but he got his answer soon enough. The screen switched back to the camera in the helicopter, the video blurring in and out of focus as it settled on a duo atop a water tower. One of them was sitting down, the other stood behind him, their hands clasped behind them. The one standing bent over, apparently speaking to the other. The one that was sitting stretched and stood up, turning around to look at the helicopter. Before the camera could get in focus enough to see their features, Shimura already knew who they were. His hand was starting to cramp.

He could see the toxic green eyes clear as day. Shigaraki stared right into the camera, as if he could see everybody watching on their TVs. He pointed between himself and the destruction in the distance. Shimura could see his eyes crinkling as if he was smiling under his mask before he disappeared into a portal.

Shimura dropped his phone as the cramp escalated into an intense pain. He grunted as he dropped his phone again. He could hear Uraraka sounding her concern in response. He clumsily went after his phone.

"Shimura-kun? Are you alright? You're not hurt are you?"

Shimura grimaced, his other hand finding his throat, "I'm fine. It's just… my hand again."

"Oh. Oh right, but I thought you got it taken care of?"

"I did. Recovery Girl and Hound Dog says the pain is all mental at this point, that it only triggers when things associated to the USJ comes up. And seeing Shigaraki… well, you know."

Uraraka hummed, unsure of what to say. She wanted to say something encouraging, but it felt like it would be a moot point, "Are you going to Hosu?"

"I want to. I really do, but I don't think I'm allowed."

"But you're interning with Thirteen, who's a rescue hero, and it looked like there was a lot of damage. I'm sure they'll get called in to help with cleanup. And I bet they could use your help."

Shimura's eyes widened. He hadn't thought of that. If the damage was as bad as it looked and was widespread enough, Thirteen might be called to help. Then, he might be able to break off from Thirteen and go help somewhere else. Maybe he could find Iida and see if he could do anything for him. Maybe make sure he doesn't do something stupid.

"That's a great idea! I'll go see if Thirteen got a call, hopefully we won't be too late. Thanks, Uraraka-chan! I'll talk to you later."

He hung up without waiting for her response and looked around for the remote so he could turn the TV off. He noticed the pile of dust on the table and floor, "Damn it."

He ran out of the dorm's front door, leaving the TV on. As the door closed, the news report showed the on-the-ground team again, this time the reporter was on a street, backlit by red and white and blue lights from the gathered ambulances and police cars. In the background, Stain was being escorted by Endeavor and Conduit into a cruiser, his body bound in lightweight Iron Maidens. Following Stain were three gurneys, the first contained the burnt husk of the yellow Nomu. The second carried Native and was being escorted by Shrink. The third and final one carried Iida, flanked on both sides by a despondent looking Manual and Kaminari.

The fight was already over. Shimura was far too late.

Kagero exited the portal and into the bar. The League was spread around the room, most of them had their heads down, resting on an arm while the other scratched idly at the table. Dabi idly swirled a recently emptied glass, the ice cube still a decent size, the side was still dripping with condensation, leaving wet rings on the bar top. As Kagero walked out and Kurogiri took his place up behind the bar again, they perked up seeing the new arrival, but ducked their heads back down in shame when they realized who it was.

Kagero looked them over, Good, they know they're still in trouble.

"Anybody want to try to plead their case?" He asked.

The room was silent before Toga stood up and tentatively walked over. She hugged herself and bit her lip a little before she bowed properly, "I'm so so so super sorry for what I said and did, Shi-kun! Please forgive me!"

She stayed bowed, her eyes screwed shut, not moving until Kagero said something, anything. Kagero looked her over and hummed, "Anyone else?" Toga stood back up slowly, looking at him with the faintest glimmer of hope. He didn't sound mad, but he didn't accept the apology.

Jin was next, walking up with purpose but still visibly shaking in his boots, "Listen, boss. I know what you said and what I did, but please don't throw me out. I can't take it, not again. Let me do something to make it up to you."

Kagero waited for the inevitable second reply that would contradict the first, but it never came. He quirked an eyebrow in contemplation but said nothing. He just nodded and looked to the remaining two.

Mustard swiveled on his chair and bowed his head, far less formal than Jin and Toga, "I'm sorry for speaking out of turn, but I don't take back what I said. I know what you expect of me, but how can I meet those expectations if you don't let me experience things first hand? You keep making the point that I'm a child, but that's exactly why I need to be there when things go down."

Kagero nodded at Mustard, who nodded back. He turned his gaze to Dabi, his head cocked to the side a little.

"Anything you'd like to say?" Kagero prompted. Dabi grumbled but didn't reply, his gaze was still settled on his glass. Kagero clicked his tongue and retracted his mask, his face scrunched in a mocking way, "See, I would've thought that out of everyone here you would be the one to grovel and beg the most."

Toga, Mustard, and Jin looked between the two in confusion.

"We even had a little thing going on, you and me. Did you forget about that?" Kagero continued. "Did that cross your mind before you opened your mouth? Obviously not. Do you remember what I said?"

Kagero took a step towards Dabi with his chest puffed up, smoke slightly falling from the edges of his mouth. Kagero stepped into Dabi's personal space, his left arm wrapped around his neck in an awkward side hug. Dabi tried to put up a brave front, but couldn't help but cower in Kagero's overbearing presence. Kagero's voice was right in his ear, a low, dangerous, whisper, "The only reason why I'm not throwing you out right now is because, believe it or not, you didn't fuck anything up with Stain. Not when you were looking for him, not when you made contact, not even when you embarrassed me in front of him. You should thank your lucky stars."

He released Dabi, who let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, and looked to everyone else. They all had various expressions of fear on their face, each flinched when his eyes passed over them, "Stain's been arrested. We won't be breaking him out any time soon, or maybe even at all. He's on his way to Tartarus, and even I don't have the capability of getting someone out of there."

"But if it comes to it, we'll get him out, right?" Toga asked, her eyes pleading.

Kagero thought about it, "Only time will tell. Right now, it's not possible and not worth the effort. But that's not what you should be concerning yourself with." He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed heavily, just wanting to be done with the night and start again tomorrow.

"Jin, don't worry about it." He placated, "I'm not going to throw you out over something as relatively minor as this, but in the future, I would appreciate it if you reserve those kinds of comments and whatnot to the appropriate time and place. Meeting with villains who may potentially become our allies is not the time to be questioning your boss, got it?

"Mustard," he moved on, "I understand where you're coming from, believe me, I do, but like with what I just said, there is a time and place to voice your opinion on the matter, but in the midst of other people that aren't part of the League, that is the exact time not to. You showing your dissent or anything that isn't following my command is a sign of weakness and poor leadership. I cannot afford to let anyone think I don't have control over the people under me. You will be making your splash into the world of villainy, but like I said, tonight is not that time.

"And Toga," she looked up at him, "In hindsight, your idea of using the attack to gather blood from some of the heroes was great, so I apologize for not letting you go through with it. At the time, I was more concerned with secrecy and the long game, and even though I know you excel at stealth, I wasn't willing to leave anything up to chance."

Toga preened at the praise she was receiving. It may have been a spur of the moment idea, but she was glad that it was being acknowledged.

"However," he added on, "just because it was a good idea doesn't mean I'm going to let the fact that you disobeyed my orders slide. And this goes for all of you. I don't care your reasons why, I only care that you did."

Mustard almost didn't want to ask, but he felt that if he was the one that asked, they'd get a lighter punishment, "So what does that mean for us? Are we in trouble?"

Kagero chuckled, "Of course you're in trouble."

"What's our punishment?"

"I hope you've had a good night's rest recently," he replied instead and walked towards the door. As an afterthought he turned back to the room, "And Dabi has to reimburse Kurogiri for the bottle he helped himself to as well."