I was recommended this video from the channel Dark Matter, which was basically a song for a villainous Hiccup from HTTYD, and oh damn, was it fire. I can get the vibe they wanted, and it stays true to the character, even if they went down a different path. The same for the one based from Toothless's POV. It's the same vibe I'm trying to go for here, where Midoriya is a villain. He won't pretend, but he didn't just wake up and decide to become the next AFO, Shigaraki, Flect, or Overhaul.

He's not a monster, even if he employs monstrous methods to get what he wants, which, in the end, is similar to his good counterpart-a better world. He just believes that it can't be achieved with the world as it is, so he needs to fight to see the old order crumble. Still, he's not…well, he's not the best judge of that for obvious reasons, nor is he in the right state of mind as similar to Toga; that quirk-induced warped sense of reality isn't helping his case.

Chapter 45: Arson and Ice Cream

Ignorant of what would happen in just minutes, Aizawa led his students back to the camp buildings. The group was gloomy and complaining, even with his capture tape wrapped around them like convicts in chains. "This isn't fair! I wanted a chance to face off with all the others!" Ashido cried out.

"I thought Pixie-bob said we'll be getting a reward!" Kirishima joined her.

"He's right. This is more like torture. We deserve to have some fun, too!" Kaminari added.

"Do you want me to add to keep you an hour longer?" Aizawa asked them, as he could take solace in not all of them were giving him problems. He hadn't even needed to string them up, as Ojiro, Asui, and Shoji, once hearing they would be with him, were upset; of course, they were, but they followed when told to.

"An hour longer? We're already going to be stuck with you until 2 a.m., Aizawa-sensei. Any more than that, and we'll probably pass out during morning training." Sero complained as they had only had the one-night class, but they had been drained come morning with a little more than half the sleep the rest got.

"That's true, but tonight you'll be let out early, at around 11, so you'll have time for an hour of fun," Aizawa revealed, which sparked interest in them, only for that hope to be put under threat when he continued. "Or at least, that was the plan, but since you all want to complain."

"We'll be quiet!" Ashido yelled.

"Yup, just don't take away our fun time, please," Sero begged before they fell quiet again, hoping he would take mercy on them. They didn't need to know that he had no choice in the matter, as the Wild Wild Pussy Cats and Vlad all agreed they needed this, even if only a fraction of what the rest were getting.

He, as he had come accustomed to, had been the exception. People like Hizashi could pock fun at him all they wanted; he would remain the one who reminded them to work.

He rolled his eyes and looked at his students, who had fallen silent. 'They can whine all they want; with how they're performing, they need this more than the rest. Things are only growing more unstable; they can't handle things as pros are doing now with how that's proving to be a failing system.'

All Might… had a lot of issues with how the man operated, but not the man himself or the good work he did. At least, he didn't till he came to a terrifying realization. With All Might, too many pros had gotten lazy, and they got complacent. After all, All Might was around, and he already did more in a day than most did in a week, with the power to match.

But All Might wasn't some constant. He wasn't the sun, the moon, or anything grand like that. He was a man, a mortal, aging man already in his 50s and destined to retire thanks to that injury of his. The fact that he hadn't croaked over yet despite missing a lung and stomach was a miracle in itself, but not a sustainable one.

And with All Might running his last lap, villains, either through luck or something else, were taking advantage of that. The League and the Thunder were just the faces of this trend, but they weren't the only ones. He had taken down who knew how many petty criminals and low-tier villains in the last few weeks that cried their support for these up-and-coming forces in the underworld. Not even I-island was safe as he heard the reports; it was impossible not to.

This led to a question burning through his students and the general public: If villains could strike at a spot believed to be the most secured on earth that still allowed visitors, where couldn't they attack?

It was a terrifying thought, and Nezu agreed with him that as it stood now, most heroes in Japan were ill-equipped to handle the coming storm, one that it seemed like they couldn't stop at this point. The best thing he could do was prepare his students for it so that they don't end up-

He shook his head, dismissing the memory of a smiling face and cloudy hair, as they reached the camp buildings, as he led them inside. "Tonight's lesson will be how to handle yourselves in an emergency. Think back to the USJ and then to Hosu. These are unprecedented attacks at scales we haven't seen in the last 20 years. And while it would be cruel to thrust that upon you young heroes in training when you weren't even alive during the last one, that is just how things are for future heroes."

"Yeah, you said that the job's all about confronting unfairness like men," Kirishima stated, recalling how Aizawa reacted to Uraraka, calling it unfair that they could be expelled on their first day.

"Correct, though I didn't word it like that," Aizawa confirmed. "That said, as I hope you all understand, you all are behind your classmates, and if you don't work to correct that, you'll find the gap widening till it's a chasm you just can't cross."

"(Kero) We know; it's just not a fun thought, especially when we're all working so hard during the day anyway." Asui pointed out that it wasn't like they were given the easy treatment during the day; they were all worked to the bone and still expected to make their own food when it was all said and done.

"Besides, it wasn't like we all did terrible on our finals. It was just poor match-ups; we did our best." Jiro reminded Aizawa that in her match, much like Sero and Mineta via Midnight, she had stayed behind to give her teammate a chance to get out. Only Koda couldn't carry her out like Mineta did Sero because she had lured Mic too deep into the exam area.

"For heroes, failure could be life or limb. We don't care to say 'we tried our best' then. The finals were designed to give you a challenge and a means to pass. That was why your classmates, despite "fighting against the staff, managed to pass, if only barely in some cases." Aizawa replied as he opened the door to their classroom.

"Oh strange, who do we have here? 9 members of class A bombed the exam?" Where they found someone waiting for them, sat with pen and paper in hand and always ready to start something.

"Does he just have unlimited energy when it comes to hating on us?" Sero asked as they all walked in and took their seats.

"Big talk coming from a guy that failed like we did." Ashido pouted as Monoma kept on going. Did he now know they weren't listening anymore?

"At this point, I'm pretty sure he's just trying to push our buttons." Kirishima sighed.

"That, or he wants to see what it'll take for one of us to murder him." Kaminari pointed out.

"If he's anywhere near as annoying as he was yesterday, I'm not liable for what I'll do in the next 2 hours," Jiro stated, with Shoji sitting beside her just to be on the safe side.

"Vlad, why don't we start with practice maneuvers? We have 10 people here; we can split them into teams of 2." Eraser walked up to Vlad, who had been waiting with his student.

Vlad had been about to respond when they all felt something in their head, an alien thought and voice. "Everyone!"

"Isn't that Mandalay's telepath?" Kirishima asked as they had only experienced it once when Mandalay explained how her quirk worked.

"So weird, right? Being able to hear her thoughts, but not send ours? It feels like we're eavesdropping." Ashido noted, but Aizawa immediately went into business mode, like Vlad, as there was no reason for Mandalay to contact them if things were going as planned. Even if something had come up, why would she speak with the students?

"Everyone, quiet." He listened as Mandalay continued, able to hear them talking or thinking.

"2 villains have attacked us. There may be more villains in the area, and we have reason to suspect a forest fire has broken out. The test of courage is canceled; everyone is to return to camp immediately! Don't engage the villains; I repeat, no student is to engage with the villains!"

The announcement was met with shock from the students. Villains and a fire? That was impossible.

Aizawa didn't let panic or confusion take him as he turned to rush out. "Vlad, look after the students. I'll go assist in recovering the students!" He was out the door right as Vlad yelled back he would do just that, and before the students could ask any questions, Vlad could handle that. Besides, they didn't have time for him to sit around.

'Dammit, after all the trouble we went through to hide the location. If this is a full-scale attack like the USJ…' Aizawa hated how his fears for the changing times were being proven accurate, but why was it his students in the crossfire again? Why did these incidents always want to drag in his undertrained students?

Getting out, he could barely see the bright blue flames over the treetops, but the thick, black smoke stuck out even in the middle of the night. It rose so high and covered an area so large that it was like the light of the stars in an entire section of the sky was just gone.

"How did the fire spread so quickly without being noticed?" He thought aloud, as this couldn't be natural, even if it was the work of villains-how they do it? How did they even get close enough to do half of it?

"I have an answer to that," Eraser's eyes widened when he looked to the side to see an unfamiliar and no doubt hostile face. Was he that off his game that someone could sneak up on him, or was this person just that capable? He didn't have time to think as their raised hand grew hot and blue before they let loose a furious gale of blue flames. "You shouldn't let your concern distract you, Eraser."

Far from the camp sat a busy city. One of many in Japan, it had all that one would expect, including a vibrant nightlife with parties, drinking, clubs, and everything else, most of which were the sort of 'fun' that would get you arrested.

However, like any other city, it had a criminal element that stuck to the shadows for as long as society enforced the law. It wasn't just All Might that forced them out of the light. Still, his presence made it essential to their survival to remain hidden, move only when needed, and retreat back into the darkness before they could be spotted.

Mobsters, criminals, monsters, villains. It didn't matter what you called them or what they called themselves. As far as the public and, more importantly, the police and heroes were concerned, they violated the law. They would be lucky not to be made if they stepped foot into most bars or clubs. Of course, those same rule breakers found that they would have nothing to fear if they had friendly people running those establishments.

As long as dealings were kept non-violent and didn't attract the wrong kind of attention, they didn't care what you did or to whom. Most of these spots were in back alleys, out of sight and out of mind, but there was always an exception.

The Iceberg Salon was one such exception. Located in the middle of the block, its interior and exterior were designed to resemble a massive iceberg. Inside, its brisk 12 degrees Celsius temperature was maintained all year round thanks to high-powered fans and AC units. Its walls shimmered with icy blue lighting and crystalline décor.

Its staff dressed to match those that worked the floor, from the bartenders to the waiters and even the pretty women and handsome men that sat with customers chatting them up, getting them to spend more time there, and spend more of their cash, were all dressed in thick white and blue winter coats, or at least, that was the idea, but when those same pretty people were paid because they could use their looks and skills to allure clients, they were given a lot more leeway on what counted as 'winter coats', leading to many leaving plenty of skin exposed.

Even the food and drink sold were inspired by winter landscapes, or at least dressed up to look like them. The dance floor was illuminated like a sheet of ice, with at least three dozen people making use of it to dance the night away as the fog machines released what looked like icy mist. The DJ, dressed in a polar bear costume, blared out music so loud that you could feel it in your bones.

Such a place would be impossible to hide, nor did it try to. It was one of the hottest clubs in Yokohama. It was also a well-known criminal hangout, but no matter how much the police and pros looked into it, they could never find any evidence of wrongdoing, and the club's owners always managed to find plenty of 'financial aid' when it came to battling with the lawmen in court.

For those reasons, it wasn't even news that Mummy, Pyre, and Koharu walked in, the latter around Pyre's shoulders. Their status only ensured that they got better treatment, as when Mummy requested a private room away from the dance floor filled with horny drunks being chatted up by the sexy lamps, the server led them to the second level where a room sat waiting.

"Will that be all?" their server asked as he bowed to the two. Pyre sat on a couch, his legs kicking back and forth as he dug his spoon into his tub of ice cream. The boy humming with delight as he ate his frozen treat, one of the few cold things he liked.

"I would like more of this pork ice cream, please," Pyre asked; the server found it odd that someone who seemed so small could pack away that much ice cream, as that was his third tub in the last hour.

"I'll take a refill of my drink and whatever you recommend from the menu." Mummy placed his empty glass on the table for the server to collect. Leaving them to get their orders done, the two villains were silent as they relaxed. Nine was still out of the country due to returning in a few days, while Slice and Chimera were out on that League job, leaving it too dull for the two to stay at a hide-out.

"Whoever came up with pork-flavored ice cream is a genius," Pyre sang as he placed another spoonful of the stuff into his mouth, the flavor getting him to vibrate as he hummed in delight.

"I would imagine they needed to be out of their mind. Who wants their dessert to taste like meat?" Mummy asked.

"Well, I'm glad they didn't. This is worth its weight in gold!" Pyre held up the tub like it was just that, if only for a few seconds before he returned to devouring it.

"You're not worried about packing the weight?" Mummy asked, wondering how Pyre could wolf down that much sugar and calories and not look like a pig. Their server thought he was coming to a club with an underage girl before he recognized who Pyre was. "You don't seem to be slowing down."

"Nope," Pyre replied as Koharu lazed about on the seat, waiting for her serving to arrive, enjoying the beat of the music below through the floor. I'll just burn it off, hehe. You get it."

"Just don't eat us out of house and home," Mummy rolled his eyes, but then he thought about it. "On second thought, keep eating. You might be the only person that likes that god-awful stuff. They would need to just toss it."

"They would never! I'll buy all of it," Pyre yelled. He looked dumbfounded by the very idea, even when Koharu spoke up, asking if he even had the money. What, I have the money. Besides, I don't spend it all that often anyway."

Mummy couldn't argue with that, as Midoriya lived like he would have as a student, just one with a little more cash to spend than most. Their last job also netted them millions in profits, even if he was only given a fraction of that, an insane idea to begin with; Midoriya would have an insane amount of cash comparable to the allowance of only the wealthiest spoiled brats.

Soon, their orders came, another tub of ice cream for Pyre, which he thanked the waiter for with a million-watt smile, which left the man stunned and a little red in the face. Another class of iced wine, a plate of frost lasagna for Mummy, and straight prime beef for Koharu was the only thing that wasn't iced themed, and probably because whatever they did to their food to turn it into some fusion of white and blue probably came in the cooking process.

If they could get their hands on legit white meat…well, Mummy would call into question the logic of feeding mystery meat to customers when most were in some way criminals.

As they ate, something came to mind. "Makihara," Mummy paused, as Midoriya's use of his name meant this was serious. This job is the one Kon and Hasaki are on. Do you think it'll succeed?"

"Whose to say?" He replied to the question, and when Midoriya and Koharu gave him a deadpanned look, he gave them an honest answer. "Have a little faith, Midoriya. They've handled solo jobs just fine. This time, they can watch each other's backs."

Midoriya knew that; he knew it well as he helped assign jobs to whoever had the best chances of success, and they hadn't failed yet, but still. This wasn't just another job with just the two of them. "It's not them I'm worried about,"

"You think Shigaraki will bomb this like he did the USJ?" Makihara guessed, to which Midoriya nodded as he slowed in the rabid consumption of his pork-flavoured dairy dessert.

"Giran says it's improper to insult clients," Midoriya started. But it does worry me. Shigaraki seems… short-tempered and prone to taking the easy route. When that doesn't work, his temper makes him reckless."

Shigaraki made it no secret he didn't quite like them, and he liked Midoriya and Hasaki the least. This is probably because they were the first to openly question his plan at the USJ. But it could also be because Midoriya was involved at Hosu, and as Kurogiri was nice enough to explain, this robbed Shigaraki of the front-page position, as all people wanted to talk about was the pyromaniac, the mad shrine maiden, or, as one paper put it, the Apostle of Arson.

Makihara took a sip of his wine, not pretending that he didn't understand the concern. They worked for the League, but it was strictly a monetary thing. The League paid, and they did what they were contracted to—nothing more, nothing less. Besides, as far as they were concerned, Shigaraki was just the face of the League, not its heart or brain.

"If he was there, I would fear that." Makihara shrugged.

"Wait, you mean he isn't?" Midoriya asked.

"Oh yeah, Kon didn't say it when you were there, did he?" Midoriya had been on cooking duty during their last call and needed to check on the stew mid-call. He had just forgotten to mention what Kon said when he returned. "Well, Shigaraki left the mission stuff to those new members. He even put Dabi in charge, and despite how much Kon says she's a total bitch; she's not an idiot or hasty."

"I think she's pretty cool…" Midoriya muttered with a pout, stabbing into his near-empty ice cream tub with his spoon. Sure, she wasn't sunshine and rainbows, but she was…she was like a blazing inferno. Passionate, determined, stubborn, and proud. What wasn't there to love about her? She even appreciated the flames as he did.

"Of course you do. She's a pyromancer like you." Pyre tossed one of his sandals at Makihara, who dodged with a laugh as the Pyro user glared at him. "Still, with someone like her leading them, along with support from Slice and Chimera, they should be able to handle this job well enough."

He glared for a moment longer before slumping into his seat, shoveling a couple of spoonfuls of ice cream into his mouth, and swallowing it whole; the ice cream had already nearly melted.

"I suppose, though it did seem off that Shigaraki could learn just where they were heading so fast. I would have thought his attack would take days, but the summer camp's only been going for 2 nights now." Midoriya relented, but before he could shove more delicious frozen delight into his face, he stopped to think.

"Now that I think about…it was similar to the USJ. He knew when to attack and how he would be present. The only thing that didn't go his way was that All Might wasn't present from the start." Shigaraki said something about having their schedule, but how? There was no way he could just access that, and from his fight with the students, they didn't seem to know all that much either, so it couldn't have been something students could get their hands on.

"That is strange; no way in hell that hand-obsessed moron just figured it out." Makihara agreed as Shigaraki seemed like the type that would have done something as foolish as gloat that he had the means to find things out, that is…if he knew what that meant. "You think it was the boss?"

"Maybe, but still, how would he? Hacking into U.A.? They must have overhauled things after the first break-in, and if AFO had a quirk or someone that could still break through their digital security…" Midoriya mused, Koharu wrapping around his leg to draw in some heat.

"Yeah, you're right. He would have made a bigger move by now." AFO seemed crafty because he was. But he sourced them to help with the I-island job, and if those villains left behind talked, they'd know that a powerful middleman arranged.

AFO seemed like the loud kind of quiet, where you know something was happening caused by someone, but you never saw them. Such a person would have ordered something massive against U.A. if he had the chance, mainly because he and Shigaraki seemed to resent the symbol of peace nearly as much.

Was that why they were targeting U.A. out of any hero school target? Because All Might went here? It would make sense, so why not switch to another school, one that they could quickly destroy? There was something else…something they were missing.

An idea came to Makihara's head as he shot up in his seat. "But what if he didn't need to because he has something on the inside."

Midoriya dropped his spoon into his empty tub. "A traitor? At U.A.?"

Yeah, it's a bit of a bad upload because it's shorter; at this point, I might need to make one of my works bi-weekly as I need to finish this, do other things, and still get that done.

The next chapter will be out on February 5th

Edit: It's been solved, and unlike when this site breaks, it didn't take them weeks to fix it. So if you want to read the next chapter, you can!

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