"Dammit…"
That's all Izuku could say as he swung through the multitude of abandoned buildings. He could hear the distant voices of what were once happy people, now gone to the wayside. Why couldn't he solve everything? Why was everything just so difficult? Why did yet another hero-turned-villain have to suffer because of this society—because of All For One? Izuku didn't realize it, but his mental state was at an all-time low.
Maybe…
"I need some rest," Izuku said.
'I think that's a good idea,' Nana spoke, manifested next to him.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see an apartment that had a half-opened door. He changed his trajectory and landed inside the room. By the looks of things, it had already been ransacked quickly, most likely by the civilians attempting to flee. The boy grabbed a stable chair and sat down, collecting his thoughts.
'Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.' En said.
'What do you mean, Seventh?' Bruce asked.
'He means,' Kudo interjected, 'that Tenth's physical and mental state is quickly starting to decline.'
"I promise I'm—" Izuku coughed, "…I'm fine."
'No, you're not!' Nana retorted.
'I mean, he just got out of a battle with a human sniper, and had to watch her explode and almost perish. That's hard on anyone.' Banjo said.
Nana smacked him upside the head, 'Not the time to bring it up again.'
'It's not just that, I'd say.' Shelton said, adjusting his blonde hair.
'Sixth is right. Admittedly, although reasonably, we've put a lot of pressure on Tenth to carry out this mission of defeating All For One and Shigaraki. Not just us, but the Pro Heroes as well. It's not healthy. Not in the slightest." Kudo said.
'So, what are you suggesting?' Hikage asked.
Kudo scoffed, 'What I'm saying is, what Tenth—no, what Midoriya needs right now are—'
Danger Sense went off as Izuku's body moved on its own and rolled into cover. Through the entrance and into the room was a noxious amount of blue flames, blaring like an alarm that just wouldn't go off.
'These flames…' Izuku thought.
His head turned to look upwards at the ceiling. The sparks of One For All surrounded him as he activated Full Cowling. He mentally apologized to the people who would have to repair this damage but regardless, he leaped through the ceiling and roof of the building. Danger Sense blared once more as Izuku barely moved out of the way of grab by his opponent. His eyes locked on their appearance. The short white hair, and his sleek black jacket.
It was Dabi. Or more specifically, Toya Todoroki.
The two slid across the roof, gaining distance from each other. The boy couldn't help but wonder why the villain had come here. Was he sent by All For One? Was he sent at all? How did he even find him? Okay, too many questions at once.
"Finally found you," Dabi said.
"Speaking of which, how did you find me?" Izuku asked.
Dabi let out a crazy laugh, before clearing his throat. "Haha! Sorry, it's just you ask really dumb questions."
Izuku took a deep breath and focused more on Dabi. In his head, he chanted something.
'New World Order… If Toya takes a single step, his body will come to a complete stop temporarily.'
"Okay then… I'll ask this instead. Why are you here?" Izuku asked.
Dabi's eyes seemed to wander off in response to the question. Was he remembering something perhaps? He watched Dabi stare at the ground, before letting out a chuckle again.
"I ain't got a damn idea, to be honest," he said, scratching the back of his head, "I guess… I just want to see what you're made of."
Izuku suddenly heard static, noticing that it was coming from his walkie-talkie. It was Hawks.
"Deku? What's going on? We're quite far out, but we heard an explosion."
Before Izuku could answer, Dabi sped off toward him and landed a decently heavy blow causing him to drop the device. Why hasn't the order worked yet? In what little time he had before his next move, he noticed Dabi's feet still off the ground, not yet touching down. It technically hadn't counted as a step. Izuku upped his Full Cowling to 35% and kicked Dabi in the stomach. He then whipped two Blackwhips toward the ground to propel him into the air.
'What are you doing!?' Nana shouted mentally.
"Trying to gain some distance!" Izuku said.
'You can fly!' All of the users said.
Dabi's feet touched the roof and his body froze. 'What? Why can't my body move?'
Using Float, Izuku charges towards the villain and lands a massive blow against his face. However, Danger Sense went off. Izuku's body attempted and subsequently failed, to avoid a hand touch upon his chest, which had a scorching head emitting from it. The fire spread across his entire body, with Dabi throwing him off the roof and into the concrete below. The smoke cleared and Izuku was revealed once more. Although he hasn't suffered any severe burns, a chunk of his hero costume did take the brunt of it, making it look messy and charred.
"Oh come on! Don't tell me that's all you've got!" Dabi shouted from above.
The fire user lunged down at Izuku, who backflips out of the way but takes a kick to the stomach. He used this opening to grab the villain's leg and throw him upward, following up with an Air Force from his right leg and sending Dabi further into the air. Dabi created a whip of blue flames and latched it around Izuku, pulling him up and preparing his next attack.
'He can do that?' Izuku thought.
"Flashfire Fist!" Dabi shouted.
Izuku gasped as he covered his body with Blackwhip—creating a protective shield around it. The attack smashes against the shield and immediately begins to crack it. Dammit, is 35% not enough? With no other way out of this, he takes the cracking Blackwhip and forces it over Dabi.
"What the—"
That distraction was just what Izuku needed, as he charged up his counterattack. However, the fire emitting from Dabi's arm managed to burn through the Blackwhip, and with the remaining fire, the villain lands a decisive burning blow to Izuku's face, burrowing the hero into the ground. Dabi lands on top of a streetlight, standing tall above the hole in the ground.
"I thought more of you, Deku," Dabi said frowning.
Just then an explosion of green energy occurred and Izuku leaps out of the hole. Dabi looks on, his lips curling into a grin.
"One For All, Full Cowling, 45%!" Izuku shouts.
Dabi raises his right arm, the blue flames burning ever so brightly, "All these false heroes in this damned society… I want to see what makes you different from the rest!"
Izuku activates Blackwhip again, covering his gloves with the tendrils. However…
"The Sixth's, New World Order! "Blackwhip will gain pyrokinetic properties!"" Izuku says.
Dabi's eyes widened from Izuku extending his hands out and shooting out fiery green flames. Dabi grunted, bracing for impact and putting his arms up to block the oncoming fire. What the hell was that just now? That's not at all how his weird tentacle things acted before. Was this perhaps what Shigaraki was talking about?
"I'm not exactly sure how it works myself, but one of Izuku Midoriya's Quirks is out of this world. No doubt from that awakening he had in our battle together. It's like he could change the very laws of reality. I believe Master mentioned fighting someone of a similar Quirk in his time." Tomura explained.
"What are you, Izuku Midoriya!?" Dabi shouted, using his blue flames to overwhelm the green.
"The Seventh's, Smokescreen! Full Blast!" Izuku shouts.
A gigantic cloud of purple smoke spread across the entire area, even catching Dabi with it. Upon taking a deep breath, he considered his next move, which he decided was to use his fire to blow away the smoke. But it seemed the smoke had slowed down. Was this the result of yet another Quirk of this kid? Suddenly, he felt a hand on his back. Looking behind him, he saw… Tomura?
"Dabi…"
Dabi heard his voice nice and clear. Hell, he was visibly in front of him. But, what was he doing here? He should be in hiding, preparing for his battle with Izuku. It wasn't too long ago that he saw him either. So what was going on?
"Gotcha!"
Suddenly, Izuku jumped from a different direction and attempted a sneak attack. Dabi scoffed and launched a wave of blue fire, but Izuku disappeared in a wavy fashion—similar to that of a heat wave. That's when he heard it…
"Blackfire!"
Dabi looked behind at who he thought to be Tomura, extended their hands out, and produced dark green flames, which the villain was caught in. Whatever ability that slowed the smoke down turned off as the smoke was blown away. As Dabi breathed in the fresh air, as well as the smell of ash around him, he finally saw that it was Izuku Midoriya the entire time.
"I changed the chemical makeup of Smokescreen so that the smoke you breathed in tricked your mind into thinking I was Tomura Shigaraki. In addition, I also had you believe I was going to surprise attack you. It was what I needed to land a direct attack with this new firepower using Blackwhip and New World Order." Izuku explained.
'…Heh. Maybe this kid is somewhat interesting after all.' Dabi thought.
Dabi expanded his blue flames and pushed Izuku back, as well as the green fire, "I have a challenge for you. Don't use any of your other Quirks. Just your One For All or whatever, and those green flames from your black stuff! I've been dying to have a match of firepower before Dad."
Izuku looked a little taken aback but stood his ground. The green fire around his hands glowed brightly as they flared up. Almost immediately the two charged at each other. Izuku threw a punch and Dabi swerved out of the way but was then met with the Blackwhip wrapping around his body and restraining his arms. It began to sting his body, so he attempted to cut it off with a lash of fire from his leg, but Izuku lunged at Dabi and landed a fire-induced punch to his face.
'Damn! This kid is really strong! Tomura wasn't kidding!'
Dabi expelled more fire from his body and knocked Izuku away again, which released him from the Blackwhip. He rushed at the boy again, throwing multiple punches. Izuku blocked or avoided many of them, but the villain managed to land two. One regular, and one powered up with his powerful Blueflame. He was sent flying multiple feet back, and although the damage wasn't severe, it wasn't anything to laugh at either.
'Are you actually giving him a fair fight?' Nana asked.
"Yeah, I am," Izuku replied.
'But why?' Shelton said, 'I trust you're using my Quirk wisely, but matching his fire with your fire?'
Izuku paused for a moment, "…Because I want to understand him. Although, I may have to cheat a little bit."
He took off at Dabi, wrapping the fired-up Blackwhip in his right fist, and charged up with some spare Fa Jin he had built up. This caused the fire to not only gain a red tint but also grow an even wilder flare. He wanted to keep the area from being as damaged as possible, but this may have to be the exception.
"Faux 100%, Blackfire, Exploding Fire!"
"Dabi—no, Toya! Let's talk!"
He slaps the palm of his Blackwhip against Dabi's chest and a huge fiery green explosion occurs. Izuku pants lightly as he retracts his hand, but his arm is grabbed by Dabi. His clothes were incredibly burnt and damage was done to his body in general, but he was still standing somehow. Izuku could only guess he had a lot of pain tolerance.
"That wasn't bad! Not bad at all! I think that even surpassed my Dad!" Dabi shouted, "However… Flashfire Fist!"
Izuku was whacked across his entire body by the Flashfire Fist, knocking him through a couple of buildings. Dammit, he let his guard down. He should've kept Danger Sense more active. He was too distracted trying to get a conversation out of him. The boy stood up from the rubble and immediately tried to hone in on Toya, only to notice he was right in front of him.
"Now that I've seen what you've got while holding back, go all out. And if you disappoint me… you'll regret it." Dabi said.
Izuku looked right into Toya's eyes. He could see it. Some sort of deep sorrow inside. Behind all of that anger and sadistic nature, there was some resemblance of a crying kid. Izuku wanted to see if he could help it. And maybe, just maybe, this battle was the answer.
"Eh? Did you not hear me? I said—"
Dabi felt an intense pain in his stomach, staring at the lodged fist of Izuku's. He felt something else as well. A weird feeling in his stomach, as Izuku kicked him up into the air, plus using Blackwhip to throw him even higher. But just then, the feeling in his stomach felt like it exploded, and although causing minimal pain, was enough force to send him even higher above the buildings below. His eyes caught a green blur, watching as Izuku flew above him. Dabi's stomach turned a bit, witnessing this massive attack.
"One For All at 55%, plus New World Order's rule for Blackwhip's pyrokinetic nature, plus the electricity properties of One For All; Shock Surge…"
Behind Izuku, as the Blackwhip wrapped around both his arms, the flames and electricity grew more and more and formed a figure behind Izuku. All Dabi could see was a gigantic green phoenix.
"Hah… Hahaha… HAHAHAHAHA!!" Dabi laughed, a laugh so loud it could be heard across miles.
"So this is your power, Izuku Midoriya!? Then come on, give it your best! I'll give it mine too!"
Dabi's blue fire grew ever stronger, with both of his arms being coated in the hottest flames the world had ever seen. Were Izuku's flames even hotter? He would have to see. But he was excited, thrilled even! He would take down this golem that even Tomura respected!
"LIGHTNING…"
"FLASHFIRE FIST…"
"FIRE DRAGON'S…"
The two, hero and villain, took off at each other.
"IRON FIST!!/JET BURN!!"
Their attacks collided into a ginormous teal explosion of fire and smoke. The force of the attacks caused not just the surrounding area to shake, but many towns and areas over. It felt like a nuke had gone off almost. The smoke cleared as the two fell towards the ground, not without Izuku using Blackwhip to pull Dabi towards him, and safely guiding them down with Float. Despite this attempt, they still did have a rough landing and both rolled over on the ground.
…
…
…
It took a while for Izuku's mind to regain focus. His blurry eyes slowly cleared up as he got up from the ravaged ground. Looking off to his right, he saw Dabi, standing over him. Shit, this wasn't good. Should he prepare an attack? Maybe a new order? Why did he cuss mentally??
"What the hell were you talking about?" The villain asked.
Izuku blinked, "Huh?"
""Let's talk"! You said that earlier. And even used my real name. Heh, you're so weird." Dabi replied.
He watched as Toya… actually sat down. He didn't understand what was going on all of a sudden, but Izuku decided to entertain it. He did want to talk, just didn't expect this is how it would happen. Sitting down again, he hears the man out.
Dabi sighed, "First off… really? A Fairy Tail reference as your attack name?"
Izuku blushed and scratched the back of his head, "Look I really like manga, okay?"
All they could hear were crickets as they looked above, watching the dark clouds covering the once-beautiful night sky.
"Let me make something clear, I don't have any beef with you. That's with my dear old Dad." Dabi said.
Izuku's eyebrow raised, "You said you wanted to see how strong I was, right?"
"Something to that effect."
It was quiet again. I guess it isn't every day that a hero and villain decide to sit down and have a semi-heart-to-heart conversation, or whatever you would call this.
"…Why did you say that back then?" Dabi asked.
Izuku flinched at the question, "What do you mean?"
Dabi extended his hand out, creating a small blue flame in his hand. As if he were using it as a way to guide his mind.
"You said that I wasn't Endeavor. Why?"
"I mean—"
"Because that should be obvious as hell. Ain't no way I'm like him!"
"I-I didn't mean to offend you."
Now it was Dabi's turn to be caught off guard. Was this kid always this pure, despite looking so worn down?
"It's not that. What I'm asking is, what did you mean by that?" Dabi asked.
To Izuku, the villain's eyes showed sincerity in them, let alone his tone. Izuku gained a small smile, "Todoroki-san—ah, Shoto seemed to be held down by Endeavor, thinking that using his left side would be him letting his father win in a sense. But I wanted him to know that his Quirk was his own, not his father's or anyone else's."
The mention of Shoto's name caught Dabi's attention. He listened to every word from Izuku's mouth, really taking in what the hero was telling him. He always knew Shoto was going through what he and his other siblings went through. But this kid, Izuku Midoriya, he reached out to him. Shoto wasn't chained down by their father. Dabi wondered, would he have ended up differently? If he had someone like Izuku back then, maybe he wouldn't have ended up how he is now.
"..:You mean it? That Shoto has been better, I mean. His own person," Dabi asked.
Izuku paused for a moment before answering, with the biggest smile he could give, "Yeah. Yes, he is."
Silence struck again. But this time it felt less dense. Toya had a unique sense of satisfaction in knowing that. Of course, Izuku could be lying to his face, but he didn't really believe that. Probably just the usual side of him talking, distrusting heroes. But Dabi wasn't exactly done asking heavy questions.
"You know, you're always trying to help others. Tomura had said as much himself. But, you seem rather tattered." Dabi pointed at Izuku's outfit.
"I mean, I did just get out of a battle with you." Izuku countered.
"That's not what I meant. You look exhausted. Like me, just without the scars, and not as handsome."
"I didn't know you cared much about personal looks."
"Hey," Dabi clapped his hands, "no avoiding the question."
The boy looked down at himself, legs to feet. As he did, memories of being at U.A. flooded his mind, and even more were the yearning thoughts and fantasies to be back with everyone again. He wanted to be with his friends, his teachers, his heroes, everyone! But…
"I prefer to act alone." Izuku finally said.
"Bullshit," Dabi replied.
"What do you know about me?"
"Admittedly? Not much. The most I could gather was from Tomura, but even that was a little limited. But I can tell you're not acting alone because you want to."
Izuku sighed, "I can't drag anyone else down. That's why I'm working alone."
"…Really?" Dabi looked frustrated, "That's it?"
"Huh?"
'I can't believe I'm about to admit this, but…'
Dabi stood up and faced Izuku with a fiery look in his eyes, "You think because of your own personal problems and responsibilities, that it will drag others down with you? I'm sorry to say, but that's bullshit to me."
"I-I—" Izuku was cut off.
"Tomura, the League of Villains… in retrospect, I always try to do things my own way. Thinking I don't need anyone's help. But in reality, I wouldn't be in the position I am now without them. Yuck, kind of hurts to admit." Dabi said.
Izuku thought back to his origin. Where despite his shortcomings with his newly acquired Quirk, despite seeming like a nobody, despite the times he felt helpless, there were always those who would reach out to help him.
"I may be a villain, but I can recognize something as obvious as that. Really, shouldn't that be your job?" Dabi jabbed.
The next words Dabi said bit Izuku hard, resonating with him.
"Who we need the most, are the ones who are willing to help us. To put us on our path toward a new tomorrow. That's what Tomura Shigaraki taught me."
The villain didn't know what came over him. But, something deep inside forced him to give this boy those words of encouragement, and whether Dabi knew it or not, it was what Izuku Midoriya needed.
"…Toy—"
Suddenly, they heard the sounds of cars approaching at high speeds. It was most likely Hawks or All Might.
"Guess that's my cue to make it or break it," Dabi said.
But, before he could leave…
"I don't think you're just some villain," Izuku said.
Dabi turned, confusion spread all across his face.
"I could sense something in Shigaraki. A crying boy. I... sense that too. In you, I mean. During our battle earlier. What Endeavor did will never be right. Furthermore, I hope you know that your actions won't be simply justified. But even more than that, I can understand where that passion and anger lies. That trauma."
Dabi looked right into Izuku's eyes. Yet again, he saw no ill intent. Neither in his eyes nor his voice.
"Hah. I ain't got a damn idea what you mean. But hey, for what it's worth, it's better than those half-assed speeches all the other heroes give." Dabi said.
With that, the fire user took off as quickly as he could. Realizing he was growing more tired, Izuku turned off everything related to his Quirk. Two cars pulled up as All Might, Hawks, and Endeavor sprung out from their vehicles.
"Young Midoriya! Are you okay?" All Might asked.
"That blue fire… was that—?" Endeavor said, but was interrupted by Izuku.
"Everyone… if it's okay with you…"
The three pro heroes looked confused.
"…I'd like to go back to U.A. High."