-. My Hero Academia: 180 degrees. -
36. Where Shoto faces off against Dabi, Toga visits her parents' house, and Uraraka and Deku make decisions after seeing people in danger.
The conflict in the Todoroki household continued, reaching its most critical point.
"Come on, fight! Fight like your life depends on it—because it does!" Dabi shouted through bouts of laughter, unleashing relentless blasts of blue fire. The roaring flames surged forward, forcing Shoto to move quickly, barely managing to block them with his ice.
"SHOTO!"
The scream echoed in his mind, a haunting reminder of the past. For a fleeting moment, Shoto no longer saw Dabi in front of him. Instead, he saw himself as a four-year-old child, desperately trying to shield himself from the flames his father hurled at him during brutal training sessions. That memory ignited a cold fury deep within him, erupting with unstoppable force.
"Enough!" Shoto shouted with every ounce of strength in his lungs, channeling his power into a monumental blast of ice. Crystal-clear spikes shot skyward like spears, leaving everything silent for a moment, save for the startled birds that took flight.
Even Hawks and Twice, locked in their own battle nearby, paused briefly to take in the spectacle.
"I definitely want him in my agency," Hawks remarked, impressed, before taking off toward a nearby tree where his assistant was waiting.
"Wait! We're not done here!" Twice protested, reaching out toward him, but something else caught his attention. His eyes drifted to the enormous block of ice where Dabi was presumably trapped.
"Don't worry! I'll get you out of there!" he declared, stepping toward the icy prison with determination.
Before he could take another step, a chilling, maniacal laugh began to echo from within the glacier. Muffled thuds reverberated as something pounded against the frozen walls, followed by the sharp sound of ice cracking under immense heat.
"Is that all you've got?" Dabi taunted, his voice rumbling alongside the flames now devouring the icy interior.
The ice finally gave way, shattering in an explosive burst of water and steam that surged outward, sweeping Shoto off his feet and throwing him several meters back.
"Wow," Twice muttered, cautiously approaching Dabi. "I didn't think you had that much power. Keeping secrets from Shigaraki, huh? Don't worry, I won't tell. Are you okay?"
Dabi didn't reply immediately. Instead, he cast a sidelong glance at Twice, his expression a mixture of disdain and contemplation, before finally asking, "What are you waiting for? Use your Quirk."
"It's just…" Twice hesitated, staring at his hands with unease. "After what happened before, I'm afraid one of my clones might disobey again. It could backfire if I lose track of them."
Dabi stared at him in silence, his eyes sharp and unreadable.
"Hey, what's that in your palm?" Dabi asked abruptly.
"What?" Twice raised his hand, turning it over to inspect it. "I don't see anything."
Without warning, Dabi grabbed his wrist and pressed the tip of his finger firmly into the center of Twice's palm.
"Ah!" Twice yelped, pulling his hand back sharply, a stinging pain flaring up as if a cigarette had been stubbed out on his skin.
"Focus on the pain," Dabi said, his voice rough yet oddly steady. "So you don't lose sight of who you are."
Without waiting for a response, Dabi sprinted toward the tree where Hawks, his assistant, and the fake Rei Todoroki were taking refuge. Behind him, Twice stood frozen, staring at the burn mark on his palm with a confused expression.
...
The Night Before the Exam
The door of Himiko Toga's old house remained ajar, letting in a cold, silent breeze that starkly contrasted with the tension building inside. On the second floor, Himiko stood motionless in front of her former bedroom. She stared at the bare walls and empty floor, devoid of any trace of the belongings that were once hers.
For a moment, she considered checking the attic when she noticed the cord swaying gently. Maybe everything was tucked away in the shadows. But she dismissed the thought almost immediately. It wasn't worth it. Instead, she began walking down the hallway, her footsteps echoing softly against the wooden floor. Without much thought, she slid down the banister to the first floor, as if trying to recapture a fleeting echo of her childhood. However, the sense of freedom she sought disappeared before her feet touched the ground.
In her mind, the shadows she carried began to fracture. It was as if the mask she had always worn—that forced, hollow smile meant to hide her true self—was finally cracking. With a muffled scream that never fully escaped her throat, she started tearing apart the living room. Vases, pictures, decorations—anything within reach was shattered into pieces on the floor. Each broken fragment seemed to release a bit of the pent-up rage within her. Strands of her hair fell loose from their usual style, framing her face in disarray and reflecting her inner turmoil.
She stopped when she noticed a plate she had thrown rolling slowly across the floor, finally coming to rest in front of a pair of red shoes. A moment later, those shoes kicked the plate hard against the wall, shattering it into even smaller pieces. She looked up and found herself face-to-face with Shigaraki and Kurogiri.
"I've always hated houses like this too," Shigaraki said, his hands in his pockets and his tone dripping with disdain as he surveyed the room. "Houses that pretend to hide the true nature of the people inside. Like the one I grew up in… Luckily, it's gone now. Just like the people who lived there."
For a moment, three memories surfaced in his mind: his sister's smiling face, the image of his dog, and then the rest of his family. A sharp pang made him shove those thoughts aside, but the echo of his past continued to linger.
Toga walked toward him with slow, deliberate steps and stopped just in front of him, an unusual seriousness in her eyes.
"And how did you feel?" she asked, curious. "Did it free you?"
Shigaraki looked up at the ceiling, trying to remember, but his mind was a blank slate. It was like a canvas with faint stains trying to seep through, impossible to discern clearly, as if someone had erased the most important details of his story.
"There's still something that bothers me," Shigaraki admitted. "But I'm determined to find it and destroy it. I want to rid myself of everything I don't like."
Toga nodded slightly, as if she understood those words better than anyone. Then she turned to Kurogiri.
"I do too," Toga murmured. "I don't care about turning my back on a world that turned its back on me first. I want to live somewhere no one dares to judge what I love or what I like."
For a moment, her mind wandered to a different time: an image of Saito, smiling and chatting with his friends during soccer practice, appeared in her thoughts.
"Maybe I'd make a few exceptions… but my parents definitely aren't on that list."
Without another word, Kurogiri opened a portal. Toga stepped through without hesitation, and Shigaraki followed. Just before fully crossing, Shigaraki turned slightly and extended his hand toward the house. The floor began to decay, crumbling from its center outward.
Kurogiri closed the portal and immediately opened a new one high above. The three of them now stood overlooking the house, watching as it collapsed into itself like it was sinking into the ground. To Shigaraki, the scene was eerily familiar, reminiscent of what had happened to his own house years ago.
As they watched the destruction, the cold breeze of obliteration enveloped them—a reminder that the past with their families no longer had a place in their future.
...
15 Minutes Before the Exam
The coughing persisted among the passengers in the train car where Uraraka was traveling, echoing ominously. The faces of those around her reflected a mixture of worry and fear, especially as some began coughing more intensely. Nervous glances were exchanged until, finally, someone acted, pulling the emergency lever while covering their mouth with a handkerchief
The train came to a halt at the next station, and panic erupted. Those standing bolted for the exits, shoving each other in their haste to escape. Uraraka and Saito disembarked with the tide of people, swept along by the crowd. Just as she tried to get her bearings, a flash caught her attention: a man wearing a hat moved down a corridor, his mask eerily reminiscent of Kai Chisaki's.
"Are you okay?" Saito asked, snapping her out of her thoughts. "We should get out of here. The authorities will probably check the cars to figure out what's going on."
"Yeah, but…" Uraraka hesitated, turning to glance back. What she saw made her stomach twist. Several passengers remained unconscious inside the train car, some collapsed on the floor as if they'd fallen while trying to escape.
Without hesitation, Uraraka opened her backpack and pulled out the pink shirt Deku had given her long ago. She had brought it as a good luck charm for the exam. For a moment, her hands faltered as she held it. The fabric was still fresh, almost pristine, but she couldn't dwell on that now. She poured water from her bottle over the shirt, then tied it around her face as an improvised mask to cover her mouth and nose.
"I'm going to try to help them out," she said with determination. "This could be some kind of poison gas, and the longer they're exposed, the worse the effects could be."
"But it could be dangerous for you too. We don't know what's happening," Saito countered, his concern entirely valid.
Uraraka didn't have time to reply. The man who had pulled the emergency lever earlier was now struggling to walk. He barely managed to grasp the doorframe before collapsing. Without a second thought, Uraraka ran to him, using her Quirk to lighten his body. Then she handed him over to Saito's arms.
"Please, take him outside. He needs urgent help," she said quickly.
Saito nodded, but his gaze flickered to the inside of the train car. His eyes landed on the handkerchief the man had dropped—it was stained with blood. His eyes widened in horror before he clenched them shut.
"I'm sorry!" Saito shouted suddenly. "If I'm late, I'll lose my job! I can't come back to help again. Forgive me!"
"Don't worry. Just make sure he gets help," Uraraka replied calmly, watching him nod again and walk away with the man in his arms.
She couldn't blame him. She understood what it meant to fight for your dreams and stay resolute in pursuing them. But... somehow, she couldn't help but think that if Deku were here, he would choose...
...
Exam Site
The scattered pieces of flesh littered the ground in a gruesome display.
In the distance, strange, heavy thuds echoed, dry and repetitive, like a distant drumbeat. Each impact sounded closer than the last, as if something massive was advancing relentlessly, destroying everything in its path. The ground beneath Izuku trembled, barely noticeable at first, but the vibrations quickly grew stronger, impossible to ignore.
Izuku stood up, but before he could fully react, a deafening crash shook the area. The impact was so violent that he lost his balance, falling backward and hitting the ground hard.
A gust of wind stirred up dust and debris, creating a dense curtain of smoke that obscured the view.
"What is that?!" asked the student nearest to Izuku.
Izuku squinted, trying to focus through the settling dust. Amid the haze, a silhouette emerged, becoming sharper with each step. The figure, tall and imposing, moved forward with an intimidating calm, revealing a massive, muscular man wearing a white mask that concealed his face. Behind him, a trail of demolished walls and debris marked his path, as though a wrecking ball had plowed through the area.
"He's incredibly powerful!" exclaimed Izuku, his voice a mix of awe and fear. His eyes quickly scanned every detail. "It looks like he did this with just the strength of his arms..." He thought aloud, recalling all the reports he had studied recently. "But I don't remember hearing about a villain like this in the news."
The man stopped, surveying the scene with a satisfied grin that didn't need to be visible to be felt.
"Good. The area is clear now," he declared in a deep, raspy voice, raising a finger toward the group of students. "None of you are getting away!"
No second warning was needed. Fear took hold of everyone present, and they began running in the opposite direction, their frantic footsteps echoing against the rubble. Izuku tried to stand quickly to join the others, but something caught his attention and froze him in place.
A thin, black-haired boy hung unconscious, slumped over the man's arm like a sack of sand.
Izuku felt time slow down, and the shouts of the other students faded into a distant echo.
In his mind, familiar voices surfaced:
All Might's words:
"You can be a hero..."
Aizawa's challenge:
"Let's see if your actions match your words and if you can pull this off without breaking any bones."
His own resolve:
"It's the only way I can become the person I've always wanted to be—someone who saves everyone and inspires confidence, no matter how dire the circumstances. Someone willing to give everything if necessary."
With that final thought, Izuku clenched his fists and stood with resolve.
A trembling smile crossed his lips—not from confidence, but as an attempt to calm his own heart.
He knew he was facing something far beyond what he could handle, but retreating wasn't an option. The promise he'd made to himself, the goal he'd always dreamed of, kept him steady. With determination in his eyes, he pushed aside the fear whispering for him to run like the others.
He had made his choice.
...
Author's Notes:
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