A spicy hot Ticked Off vigilante AU, fresh out the oven just for you (:

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Take care of yourselves, y'know the drill. Food and drink and sleep and medicine. Let yourself have a moment of peace. Enjoy these 12k words <3

~

Shouta watched the kids through narrowed eyes. His threat had lit a fire under them, forcing them to perform to the best of their ability for fear of being expelled. Most of them had physical Quirks to help them exceed expectations and surpass their classmates, and the few without helpful Quirks to aid them, like Hagakure and Kirishima, had seemingly honed their strength enough to do decently against the students with stronger Quirks, like Bakugou and Todoroki.

Then, there was Midoriya.

The kid was plain, unassuming, perhaps marginally above the heroics physical average: he was constantly making himself smaller than he was to avoid being noticed, completely contrary to the power behind his Quirk. Shouta had seen his performance in the entrance exam that had gained him the rescue points, but he wasn't particularly impressed, unlike All Might. A boy who couldn't even control his own Quirk and always expected others to save him due to his recklessness would just end up being a liability.

Midoriya stepped up to the plate, shoulders hunched, head dipped, expression nervous. The joints of his fingers were white, clamped around the baseball. Shouta watched as he drew back an arm, glittering magenta cutting across his skin, and he sighed.

The ball dropped from the boy's grasp, just a few feet from him. Midoriya was frozen, slowly moving to clasp his palm around his right forearm. Shouta's eyes prickled, long hair weightless as he stared down the child and gave him an ultimatum, keeping him wrapped in tight ribbons of capture gear to get the point across. It didn't seem like the student was focusing, green eyes distant and face bearing none of the blatant anxiety it had previously. His gaze abruptly snapped back when Shouta released him, settling back onto his feet instead of keeping on his toes as if he was about to run, slowly turning and padding back into position with a glance cast over to his classmates, an odd expression on his face.

Shouta followed his line of sight, trying to work out what would trigger such an unexpected change in countenance. He blinked, the burning in his eyes reminding him to use eye drops, returning his focus to the child with zero potential. It was better not to dwell on feelings.

The magenta coursed over the kid's entire body, flashing away into green lightning that danced over his small form. Midoriya didn't hesitate to reel back an arm, posture loose, even as he launched the ball through the sky. A burst of wind was generated from the sudden expulsion of power, tearing up dirt and grass in a localised hurricane. Shouta had to slide a foot back to steady himself, raising his arms to protect his face from the tempest as it roared past him, tugging at his hair and clothes and filling his stomach with a sense of dread.

Last time the kid had used so much power...

Dust slowly settled, revealing the child standing in the eye of the storm. His head was tilted back, one hand raised to shield his gaze from the sun, clearly staring up at the trail of destruction wrought through the clouds. Shouta's eyes critically flitted over the boy, first for any sign of lethal injury, then taking in the unfazed body language. As if sensing he was being watched, Midoriya's shoulders suddenly squared, toes pressing into the ground as he smoothly pivoted, blood trailing down his bare forearm and expression apprehensive.

Shouta's lips pulled back in a rare grin. Suffice to say, he was impressed.

Perhaps this problem child would stand a chance in the ruthless world of heroics, after all.

*

The USJ attack shouldn't have happened. He couldn't recall a lot of it, especially after the hulking beast - Noumu - had broken both his arms and slammed his head into the ground. What he could remember was fragmented and... peculiar.

There was blood. His head was burning. He could barely breathe. The villain - Shigaraki - was bragging, but his words were hazy. Some of Shouta's students were on the shoreline. He'd caught a glimpse of them in the water. They were in danger, and he needed to lift his head and see if they were even alive anymore, but god, everything hurt, he could barely stay awake, and victory seemed like a hopeless pipe dream with the beast that loomed above him, engineered to beat the Symbol of Peace-

A rush of air. Gentle hands. Blessedly cool water. His eyes ached, but he pried them open nonetheless, blurry view filled with green. Midoriya. His face was analytical and calm, eyebrows furrowed in a frown but lips curved into a slight smile. The boy's emerald gaze flickered to meet the teacher's, intense and fearless, his teeth baring in a wider grin as if nothing was amiss. Shouta needed to move and make sure he could protect them, because shit, they were just children, and Midoriya was either insane or didn't understand the gravity of the situation if he was beaming like that, beaming like-

...like All Might...

"Try to stay awake, sensei," Midoriya said brightly, one palm ghosting in a reassuring pat over an uninjured portion of Shouta's chest.

The kid was comforting him. The kid was protecting him, and his friends, and he was smiling like All Might, and through the haziness of his vision and his sluggish thoughts, Shouta could see nothing but the greatest of Pro Heroes crouched next to him, muscles tense and ready to fight without a single trace of fear.

Since the attack, Shouta had been keeping a close eye on the boy, but Midoriya hadn't shown any sign of the eerie confidence he had worn in the face of death, nor the potentially impossible speed it would have taken to move from the shore to the plaza in less than a second. He was acting more comfortable than he had before the Quirk apprehension test, but that could just be chalked up to him settling in. It didn't seem as if he was reaching his full potential during the Sports Festival, not even using his Quirk in the race yet still securing first place with his wits and ingenuity, which Shouta could respect. When the kid finally did use his Quirk, he ended up exploding his fingers and repeatedly shattering his bones with reckless abandon, and despite the grim state of his body after Todoroki's fight, Midoriya still strode with confidence and bore a powerful smile that was burned into Shouta's mind.

It was almost frightening. If he could produce so much force just by flicking his fingers, he could be practically unbeatable if he mastered control over it. If he didn't get enough support during these vital years, Midoriya could turn out poorly, and the thought of him becoming a villain...

Shouta made a mental note to ensure Midoriya got extra lessons to control his Quirk.

*

Between teaching and solo patrolling, Shouta was occasionally lending his expertise and insight on the police investigation into the League of Villains. Most of the villains who attacked the USJ weren't particularly impressive, mostly just a bunch of low-lifes looking for some action: it was the people behind the ambush he was worried about. They were influential enough to collect a large group and smart enough to coordinate an attack when the students and teachers were isolated from the school, as well as have the foresight to cut off communications, and, most worrying of all, have the means to create some sort of monster out of multiple people spliced together that was hauntingly obedient and stronger than All Might himself.

Shouta wasn't naïve. He knew it wasn't going to be a one-off attack. If they were cruel enough to make their debut an attack on a class of first-year heroics students, the potential of what they could achieve in future was alarming, which is why nearly everyone available on the police force was on the case to help out, as well as most of the heroes teaching at UA.

The League needed to be eliminated as soon as possible, because the consequences of leaving them roaming free would end in tragedy.

"We had rumours of a few sightings of someone with a warp Quirk, but the officers we sent out found nothing," Tsukauchi informed those gathered. "The description of Shigaraki hasn't brought up any matches, so it's plausible that his whole life is dedicated to villainy. No more Noumus have been spotted, but all heroes and precincts have been warned to stay on alert. Until we get a new lead, there's not much else we can do."

A sense of frustration was shared by everyone in the group. Shouta crossed his bandaged arms and leaned back in his chair, tucking his chin underneath his capture gear. Part of him wished he could get out and hunt down the villains who were evil enough to try to murder children, but he knew he needed to stay close to his students now that they were likely all targets, too.

"Thank you for your time, everyone," Tsukauchi finished tiredly, sliding the file back across the desk towards him and picking it up.

Shouta fell into step with Hizashi and Nemuri. For once, they both stayed silent, clearly both fuming.

"Let's keep our focus on teaching," Shouta muttered, scratching at the tape holding a patch to the injury on his cheekbone. "If the kids can learn something that will keep them alive in a deadly situation, we'll have helped just enough."

"I know," Hizashi responded, quiet and subdued, voice low. "I only wish we could do more."

*

Two days later, Shouta was abruptly called into the precinct by Sansa. It was in the middle of the school day, but the officer's voice was alarmed enough to make him leave and head over immediately.

Only when he was staring at the Hero Killer: Stain in the interrogation room did he understand the shock.

"He was just left on our doorstep, unconscious and tied up," the cat-headed officer explained, gazing through the two-way mirror. "No hero has come forward to take responsibility for the capture, and from what we've gleaned so far, Stain didn't recognise his attacker. He won't talk much."

"So we're working with a vigilante?" Shouta asked, glancing sideways with a frown.

"It could be a one-off, perhaps a civilian who knew what they were doing, maybe someone seeking out Stain to get vengeance after the attack on Ingenium," Sansa posited, one ginger ear twitching anxiously. "But, regardless, it's vigilantism, and even though the person did a good deed... We still need to find them and take them in."

Shouta really hated the law sometimes. He watched as Stain fidgeted in his seat, mouth open in a mockery of a smile, glinting gaze focused on his cuffed hands that were linked to the table to keep him restrained. It almost seemed as if he was happy to be there.

"Can I talk with him?" Shouta inquired lowly, unsettled by the pure mad malice that danced across the killer's eerie, unmasked face.

"Of course," Sansa inclined his head slightly, ears rotating backwards as if he wanted to flatten them but was too stubborn to let his weakness show. "Don't get too close, though. We still don't know his Quirk, and it might not be suppressed by those cuffs."

"Thanks." Shouta trudged over to the door, took a breath, and stepped inside.

Stain looked up, more teeth baring gleefully at the sight of the underground hero. The murderer had an unsettling aura that made Shouta swallow uneasily, opting to lean against the wall instead of take the seat on the other side of the table as he had initially intended.

"Eraserhead," Stain greeted in a rasping voice, almost delighted. "Interesting."

Shouta clenched his jaw, hoping the tic would be concealed behind his hair and capture gear. "What's your real name?"

The villainous vigilante let out a huff that could be considered laughter. "I only let the true heroes survive... the weak must be culled... Our society is plagued with fakes who chose heroism for fame and fortune. I have a little respect for underground heroes like yourself, because you're closer to the true ideals that should be upheld and don't get distracted by the disgusting praise and riches that come with the top spots."

"If you respect me, then answer my questions," Shouta ordered firmly, tone a little less lazy, a little more sharp.

"All Might is the only hero I wholly respect. He is the only one I would let kill me," Stain said, "but, since I'm interested... I'll share what I remember about the one who took me down."

The teacher didn't move, remaining slumped against the wall closest to the door. Criminals always had a sort of presence about them, but the worst villains exuded a terrifying aura. Even under the bright lights of the interrogation room and stripped of all his weapons with no likelihood of escaping, Stain's appearance alone was enough to set Shouta on edge, and he wasn't about to let down his guard any time soon.

"The League of Villains wanted to hire me... Pathetic... I was looking for a new fake hero to dispose of, under the cover of darkness. I didn't hear anyone coming, and the next thing I knew I was pinned to the rooftop." Stain's mouth opened, rough tongue lolling out as he gave a wheezy chuckle. "He was fairly small and slim, in complete mask and costume. There were mechanical jaws with sharp teeth attached to his face, maybe support gear to help with his Quirk... We brawled for a bit, and... he was very impressive... He was quick, good at dodging and rapidly disarmed me... Whenever I got too close, the jaws would open and a plume of fire would shoot towards me."

"A fire Quirk?" Shouta asked flatly, glancing at the two-sided mirror.

"Perhaps," Stain responded, spreading his slightly burnt fingers. "He had large gauntlets on. To take me down again, he used explosions from his palms. It smelt sweet, like... like nitroglycerin."

Shouta suddenly had a really bad feeling about this story.

"He didn't let me get up again. The next thing I know, I'm stuck in a holding cell," Stain said with a smile, almost amused. "Not once did he say a word to brag about his success. He was silent and efficient, not like the show-boaters that work during the day, who only care about the performance instead of keeping people safe. Yes... Whoever this is... He's a true hero."

"Thanks for the information," Shouta muttered stiffly, rapidly turning and leaving the room, only daring to relax when the door was closed behind him.

Sansa exited the viewing room, furry brow furrowed. "Nitroglycerin explosions from his palms?"

"Yeah," he sighed, "looks like I need to have a chat with Bakugou..."

The officer's expression was sympathetic. "I'll fetch Tsukauchi-kun."

*

"Vigilantism? Why the fuck would I be a vigilante? That shit's illegal," Bakugou growled, lips pulled back in a sneer.

"A witness statement includes a description of the vigilante using explosions from his palms," Tsukauchi explained patiently. "It smelt of nitroglycerin. You're the only one who fits the physical description with that Quirk."

Bakugou's nose wrinkled and he aggressively crossed his arms over his defensively puffed chest. "So? How hard would it be to fake an explosion Quirk?"

The detective inclined his head in acknowledgement. "With the right skills and materials, I suppose not too difficult, but we need to ensure that you're not breaking the law here, Bakugou-kun. Please understand that we have your best interests in mind."

"Yeah, whatever. I'm not stupid enough to ruin my career by being a vigilante now." He rolled his crimson eyes. "Besides, why are you acting like it's a bad thing that the murdering bastard was caught? Sounds like that vigilante did a better job than the rest of the fuckin' heroes and police."

"Bakugou," Shouta cut in sharply, glaring down at the kid.

"Fine, I'm not the vigilante - is that what you wanted to hear?" Bakugou snapped, throwing out his arms, firecracker sparks igniting on his palms.

"Yes. Thank you for your cooperation, Bakugou-kun. You may return to your class, now," Tsukauchi conceded calmly.

The student stomped from the meeting room, yanking open the door and angrily muttering until he was out of earshot. Shouta shared a glance with the detective.

"So there's no-one registered with both a fire-breathing Quirk and an explosion Quirk," Shouta commented.

"And it's highly unlikely that it's Bakugou-kun," Tsukauchi added, frowning.

"Then it's fair to presume the vigilante is either unregistered, or has faked one of his Quirks," he summarised, keeping his concern under wraps.

"It's plausible that he saw Bakugou in the Sports Festival and imitated his Quirk, which could mean that his fire-breathing Quirk is the real one, but..." The detective trailed off, twirling the pen between his fingers, lips pressed in a thin line.

"That would take a lot of engineering experience and access to mechanical materials. He clearly wants to help, suggesting a good moral compass, but maybe not skilful enough to have passed the entrance exams into a hero school. The support items to fake Quirks might mean he wanted to be a support course student at some point," Shouta mused aloud, standing up to walk the room.

"That's the best lead we've got, I suppose. I'll have some officers research failed support course students, then try to narrow down the suspects from there." Tsukauchi got to his feet, tucking his pen and notepad into a pocket. "Thanks for your assistance, Eraserhead. Let's hope we can track this guy down as soon as possible..."

*

They didn't track the guy down.

Shouta blinked tiredly through the mirror at the hulking villain sitting on a chair too small for him. The villain called himself Muscular due to his powerful muscle augmentation Quirk, and had been wanted for years after murdering the Water Hose duo. Sansa and Tsukauchi stood either side of the teacher, both of them sharing similar expressions of disbelief.

"Two strong enemies taken down so easily, without a speck of evidence left behind... I hate to say it, but this vigilante is good," Tsukauchi muttered, leaning forwards and tapping his fingers on the window frame.

Shouta couldn't help but agree. Both murderers had hurt and killed people Shouta considered friends and allies, so he couldn't summon up any bitterness about the new vigilante doing their jobs better than them.

"I'm going to talk with him," Shouta told them, padding from the viewing room and stepping into the interrogation room.

"That little bastard," Muscular hissed under his breath. "He wasn't even stronger than me... I'd just gotten a chance to kill some more, and he came in and ruined it..."

"Care to share?" Shouta drawled, leaning against the wall once again and tucking his chin under his capture gear.

Muscular's shoulders flexed as he tugged uselessly against the cuffs, fury in his remaining eye. "The League promised me a gig, and the little shit came in and ruined it!"

"The League? Of Villains?" Shouta interjected abruptly, getting a reluctant grunt of confirmation.

"I wanted to crush him... but he was too quick. I swear he had multiple Quirks. He could breathe fire, and make explosions from his palms, and create electricity over his entire body. I couldn't touch him without getting shocked..." Muscular angrily jolted the cuffs again, gritting his teeth in a wince as he aggravated the scorch wounds. "That stupid little..."

Shouta left the room. Tsukauchi sighed, car keys jingling in his hand.

*

"Dude, what? Seriously? A vigilante with three Quirks? That's cool as hell! And a Quirk like mine, too, huh... awesome," Kaminari said with a laugh, letting sparks dance over his fingers delightedly.

"What he's doing is illegal," Shouta deadpanned.

The student swung his legs back and forth under the table, tilting his head and grinning a little sheepishly. "Ah, yeah, but... come on, isn't that cool? Todoroki has two Quirks, so I guess it makes sense that it's possible for people to have even more than three. Man, I wish I had more Quirks - I'd be such a good hero!"

"Do you know anything about this vigilante?" Tsukauchi asked, tapping his pen on the notepad to bring attention back to him.

"No, unfortunately... Well, I mean, aside from what the news has reported, but they only said that the vigilante brought in two big villains within a couple of weeks. That's so amazing. I'm kinda jealous," Kaminari admitted, cupping the back of his neck with a palm. "And he imitated Bakugou's Quirk before mine? I bet he wasn't happy about that! Oh, actually, that explains why he was so angry when he returned to class before..."

"Kaminari, focus," Shouta cut in, something in his stern tone making the boy finally straighten up and pay attention. "Are you the vigilante?"

"Me? Dude, no way! I couldn't take down villains like that so easily... I'm not good enough at controlling my Quirk, yet," he muttered, a little dejected, facing the table.

Tsukauchi and Shouta looked at one another. The detective nodded to confirm that it was the truth, then shrugged one shoulder helplessly.

Shouta rubbed at the scar on his cheek, minorly frustrated. "Alright. Go back to class, Kaminari. And no stalling!"

"So," Tsukauchi began when the kid had dashed off. "Two Quirks copied from your students."

"Any luck on the search yet?"

"There's a lot of suspects to sort through," he explained tiredly. "It's time-consuming even with filtering Quirks to help out. But if they're adept enough to control electricity like that without it interfering with the other support items, I think that might help narrow down the possibilities."

"Right," Shouta sighed. "Good luck."

*

The kids were doing a good job at improving. Their internships had helped them get a feel for what it was like to be a Pro Hero, and the final exams had proved that, whilst they had learnt a decent amount, they still had a long way to go. Shouta knew that the location of the summer training camp hadn't even been shared with the students, let alone released to the public, which meant that they'd be safe from villains and could focus on working to better themselves.

It wasn't really comforting; the League was still out there.

Shouta let his gaze skim over the kids as they pushed themselves to go beyond their limits. Bakugou and Todoroki were utilising different water temperatures to open their pores and increase their Quirk's destructive capabilities. Iida was sprinting, Yaoyorozu and Satou were eating, Jirou and Ashido were digging away at the rock. Midoriya was sweating profusely in his brutal work-out with Tora, but not giving up. Tokoyami was hidden away in a cave to wrangle Dark Shadow. Kouda was shouting from the same mountaintop Sero was spraying tape from and Uraraka was spinning off of.

They all looked exhausted, yet didn't seem as if they were planning on quitting.

He allowed himself to feel a little pride at their determination. They were being worked harder than any class before them due to the threat the League posed, and he hoped they would enjoy the reward later on.

Yeah, the test of courage was a good idea to cheer them up.

*

It wasn't a good idea.

The forest was on fire. Smoke filled the black sky. Blue embers ascended. Most of the kids were somewhere inside the trees, far out of sight. Shouta's chest was tight with panic. Midoriya stupidly sprinted off to find Kouta, but it would've been even stupider to try and stop him. Two villains were bragging about their values. Both sides of the fight were frozen with caution, ready to fight yet hesitant about starting it.

A flash of green dashed past. Midoriya slowed down enough to show the Pussycats that he had Kouta firmly in his grasp, then vanished in the direction of the building. Mandalay conveyed Shouta's permission to use Quirks, because god knows he couldn't let them struggle to survive just to follow a ridiculous rule.

The villain with a lizard mutation Quirk unsheathed his sword, holding it in front of him with a grin, eyes squinted behind his imitation Stain mask. Shouta's eyes flared red as a precaution, tensing up and activating his capture gear. A plume of amber flames stretched between the two sides, followed by a small explosion that caused Shouta's head to snap towards the noise, catching sight of a silhouetted figure shooting into the air with his palms angled downwards. For the briefest of moments, the man thought it might've been Bakugou, but when the newcomer landed smoothly and silently, he realised his mistake.

It was the vigilante. He dropped into a crouch and jabbed an elbow into the lizard-villain's gut, yellow electricity glittering over his body a second later and causing the villain to convulse before keeling over backwards, unconscious. Without a pause, the vigilante twisted and caught an attempted hit from the villain with long hair, leaping up and propelling himself higher with an explosion from his down-angled palm, then twisting around and landing so heavily on the villain that she crumpled. Another short shock knocked her out.

The vigilante stood, catching sight of Shouta's glowing eyes and pausing for a moment before offering a nod and blasting his way towards the forest with a technique eerily similar to Bakugou. Shouta hesitated, knowing he should really have stopped the vigilante from running free, but the thought of another ally to help out the kids was reassuring. Not wasting any more time, he threw out a reel of capture gear and wrapped up the two unconscious villains.

"Take them back to the base," Shouta ordered, shifting the ribbons of fabric over his shoulders and and turning to face the forest once more. "I'm going after the vigilante."

The Pussycats gave him their confirmation, and he sprinted into the darkness. He followed the path, heart pounding in his ears, eyes rapidly flitting over his surroundings, desperate for a sign of his students. A rustle and rapidly approaching footsteps had him skidding to a halt, shifting into a fighting stance and ready to use his capture gear. Someone burst from the bushes, and after a split-second of his mind working out that it wasn't one of his students, he flung forth a loop of his weapon. An explosion sounded, flashing against his retinas and causing him to reflexively activate his Quirk as he finally locked onto the small figure of the vigilante. His gaze shifted, heart stopping for a moment as he saw Ragdoll's limp figure slung over the person's shoulder.

The vigilante's posture was tense, stressed. He slowly dipped his head in submission, free hand raising in surrender, but Shouta didn't let down his guard in case he used the fake explosion Quirk. Shouta's muscles were coiled in anticipation, eyes burning with the need to blink, apprehensively watching as the vigilante gradually reached over to grasp Ragdoll's waist with both gauntleted hands, lifting her off and holding her out. The vigilante didn't move as Shouta cautiously stepped closer, carefully picking up his ally and heaving her over his shoulder as gently as possible to leave his arms free.

"If you hurt any of those kids, I will hunt you down," Shouta warned lowly, palm splayed protectively over the woman's back, his crimson gaze hardened into a glare.

Although he said nothing, the vigilante lifted an index finger and crossed his heart, then gave a thumbs-up that was so absurd Shouta couldn't help but put a modicum of trust in him. Both lingered for a moment longer, staring warily at one another, before they simultaneously turned and dashed away in opposite directions. Shouta kept ahold of his friend with one arm, the other ready to activate his capture gear at any sign of danger, silently apologising to Ragdoll for the bumpy journey that wasn't good for her wounds. His boots thudded against the soil and his breaths came in rapid pants.

Tora was still waiting just outside the forest. He straightened up and dashed forwards, taking his teammate into his arms and cradling her with a delicacy that seemed impossible with his massive muscles.

"What happened to her?" He asked, voice bordering a growl, holding her close.

"I don't know," Shouta responded breathlessly, nearly bouncing on his toes with the adrenaline and desperation to get back into the fray. "The vigilante saved her, I think. I need to go back to find my students."

Tora gave a nod, spinning and launching back towards the building. For the second time, Shouta headed back into the forest. A large mountain of ice exploded above the treetops to his right, shaking the trees, and he abruptly changed course, leaping over logs and tearing through undergrowth. He burst out into the open just in time to see a thick strip of tape wrap around a villain in a black strait-jacket, followed by the vigilante swinging around and dodging some kind of tooth-blade with an explosion. The vigilante shot up, twisting in close and slamming a palm into the villain's shoulder, yellow electricity activating and sending both of them plummeting down, no longer supported by the blades.

More tape spilled from the vigilante's elbow, firmly encompassing the dropping villain and slowing their descent with another explosion from the other palm. He landed a little clumsily with the added weight of his capture, letting the villain drop into the dust and severing the tape.

Bakugou let out a snarl, fists clenched by his sides. "Think you can steal my Quirk, huh, you coward? Let's see how brave you are without that costume!"

"Bakugou, don't antagonise him," Shouta cautioned, making his presence known and wrapping up the villain in an extra layer of capture gear as a precaution.

"Thought you said you were supposed to be capturing him, since this shit's illegal!" The student growled, teeth bared in a feral expression.

"For now, he's an ally," Shouta responded, frowning as the vigilante cocked his head to the side.

There was a rumbling to their left, thundering footsteps and splintering wood increasing in volume. The vigilante pivoted to face the noise, one gauntleted hand briefly reaching up to swipe across the metal jaws before dropping back to his side. Shouta snatched a strip of capture gear in his fist, seeing both Todoroki and Bakugou get into fighting stances in his peripherals. Shouji burst through the undergrowth, one arm ending in a bleeding stump where his hand used to be, and a second later a giant clawed paw shredded through the canopy, uprooting entire trees and revealing Dark Shadow gone berserk. Tokoyami was yet to be visible, meaning Shouta couldn't use his Quirk. The vigilante took a step back and Dark Shadow advanced two, slitted yellow eyes glinting dangerously.

It would worsen the forest fires if ignition Quirks were used: thankfully, his students seemed to understand that. Shouji slid into formation behind the trio. Todoroki lit up his left side, a flame engulfing his hand. Dark Shadow seemed to have locked onto the vigilante as a target, and he was making nimble dodges to avoid being hit, slowly and expertly luring the beast out onto the path. The second the looming Quirk moved away from the trees, a massive rush of fire roared out from the vigilante's jaws. Todoroki threw forward his arm, sending out a second blast of flames on the other side to force Dark Shadow to shrink down with a garbled shriek, paws over his eyes. Dark Shadow vanished into the undergrowth, and after a tense second of silence, Tokoyami finally stumbled onto the path, black feathers ruffled and beak open as he panted - but otherwise unharmed.

"Everyone needs to get back to camp," Shouta ordered, sweeping his gaze over his students to double-check they were alright, then flinging out a reel of capture gear to loop around the downed villain and drag him along. "Shouji, keep an eye out for ambushes."

"What about this bastard?" Bakugou asked, roughly jabbing a thumb over his shoulder at the vigilante, who made as if to wave before hastily aborting the action.

"Engage only if he starts the fight," Shouta responded after a moments consideration, dark gaze squinting when the vigilante puffed out his chest and crossed his arms, almost indignant - Shouta tried not to think about how childish that action seemed.

The vigilante glanced around himself, checking his surroundings. Shouta motioned for the students to start walking, turning his back on the stranger but remaining on guard, just in case. Shouji led the group, eyes and ears sprouted on the ends of his arms to keep watch. Tokoyami fell into step next to him, clutching his stomach. Bakugou and Todoroki padded along side by side, reluctantly united in the face of a bigger threat.

Light footsteps approaching from behind had Shouta slightly turning his head, staring down the vigilante as he settled in place next to the man. The vigilante hesitated, squinting further down the path, before looking back and pointing a finger at Bakugou, then drawing several circles on his own chest, almost looking like...

"A target?" Shouta asked, brow furrowing as the vigilante nodded rapidly, fingers splaying towards Bakugou once more and getting a warning snarl from the boy. "Bakugou's a target?"

"I'd like to see them try," Bakugou growled, sparking palm raising threateningly.

The vigilante shrugged non-committally, halting in his steps and waiting for the group to move enough for him to throw down an arm and launch himself skyward with an explosion. Shouta glanced upwards as he easily flew further down the path, fading out of sight in the darkness.

"Keep together, and stay alert. If Bakugou's a target, then we need to be wary of another attack," he said firmly, flashing his eyes as the student tried to argue.

Despite the warning, the forest was eerily silent as they walked along. It felt like the path stretched on for eternity. Shouta wouldn't have been so stressed if it was just him there, but the addition of needing to wrangle a group of kids whilst ensuring one of them didn't get stolen had his anxiety levels through the roof.

"There's-" Shouji faltered, then lurched forwards in a run- "there's a fight up ahead! Uraraka and Asui are there, as well as someone I don't recognise!"

Bakugou didn't need to be told twice, exploding his way forwards. Todoroki was hot on his heels with a smooth path of ice. Shouta and Shouji sprinted alongside one another, closely tailed by Tokoyami, feet pounding on the hard earth until the sound of fighting could be heard up ahead. He took stock of the situation, seeing Asui pinned to a tree by her hair and Uraraka on the ground with blood spilling from her thigh. Bakugou hastily blasted himself backwards, out of the way of a swiped knife wielded by a blonde girl who didn't look much older than his students. Shouta flashed his Quirk, but she kept fighting, twisting behind Todoroki to avoid his capture gear and flinging a knife towards him and Shouji with deadly accuracy, so fast Shouta almost couldn't dodge.

"This isn't fun anymore," the girl muttered, only for her yellow gaze to properly focus on Bakugou, a delighted expression crossing her face. "Oh, wait, I'm supposed to capture you! Come here, Bakugou-kun!"

Shouji tried to intervene, and got a knife embedded in one of his arms for his trouble. Todoroki and Tokoyami stepped back, turning to help out the girls, which meant Shouta could place his entire focus on the fight. The villain was scarily good with her knives, twisting and dodging explosions without losing her fanged grin, unsheathing a new blade whenever she was disarmed. She pushed in closer, swiping out towards Bakugou's chest, only to suddenly stop and drop to avoid a plume of fire. The vigilante stepped from the shadows, shoulders tense and hands clenched.

"I don't recognise you... You're in my way," the girl cast a look around her, glaring, then spun around just in time to avoid a large strip of tape wrapping around her. "That's not very nice."

The vigilante still said nothing. Shouta glanced over his shoulder, checking on his students and-

"Bakugou?" He said suddenly, rapidly turning to search for the boy and feeling panic well up in his chest. "Bakugou!"

The villain let out a giggle, offering a wave before sprinting off into the forest, slipping out of sight.

"He's not here," Shouji told them urgently.

Shouta rounded on the vigilante, eyes flashing. "Where is he?!"

The vigilante pivoted in place, turning around in a way that was almost desperate, before urgently inclining his head in the direction the villain ran off to. Shouta clenched his jaw, looking back at his gathered students, all of them with terrified expressions.

"Stick together, take this villain, and go back to camp, all of you," he said, silencing any arguments by activating his Quirk, then turning back to face his reluctant ally, who looked ready to bolt. "Vigilante, lead the way."

The vigilante instantly sped away at a speed that seemed impossible, yet Shouta's still-activated Erasure told him it was all natural. He chased after the vigilante relentlessly, following his route nearly exactly, stepping in small prints and weaving around leaning trees, blindly trusting this complete stranger in a way he wasn't comfortable with, but had no other choice. Low-hanging branches whipped past his face, leaving scratches over his exposed skin and catching on his clothes. His chest burned with the need to pause and breathe properly. Adrenaline thrummed through his body and his heart pounded in his ears, almost drowning out the sound of the vigilante crashing through undergrowth ahead of him.

Thick plants suddenly faded, giving way to a small clearing that seemed to take the vigilante by surprise as well, if the sudden stumble was anything to go by. Shouta rasped in a breath, looking wildly around him, abruptly ducking as blue flames hissed over him, hotter than the sun. Bright after-image burnt into his eyes, he stared in horror as the lumbering shape of a scorched-looking Noumu trudged into the clearing. The blonde girl was standing next to another villain in a complete bodysuit, both of them staring at him as he got to his feet.

"Where's Bakugou?" Shouta snapped with more bravery than he felt when so outnumbered - where had the vigilante gone, anyway?

"We don't have him," another villain stepped out of the shadows, huge segments of skin crinkled and scorched, grotesquely stapled on his face.

"But he does!" The girl pointed a knife upwards, just in time to bring attention to the vigilante slamming someone violently into the ground from the canopy. "Oh, not you again..."

"Ha, he got you good, Mr. Compress!" The other villain exclaimed with enthusiastic hand motions.

"Shut up, Twice," the burnt villain muttered, raising a flaming hand.

The vigilante rolled out of the way of the blue fire, forced to release Compress. Shouta activated his Quirk to stop the burnt villain from causing any more damage. He sent out a reel of capture gear, dashing forwards and pulling on his goggles, ready to fight. The villain dodged backwards, narrowly stepping aside a kick and blocking a punch with his arm. A knife flashed between them, forcing Shouta to flinch away, not moving quick enough to avoid another blade from embedding in his bicep.

"Leave Dabi alone!" The girl yelled, oblivious of Twice cheering her on behind her.

There was a rush of air. Shouta hopped backwards just as Compress was flung past, slamming into a tree, teal marbles spilling from his mouth. The vigilante was in pursuit, completely ignoring the knife that clinked off of his back and merely raising a palm to send an explosion towards Twice to deter him. Those marbles seemed important. Shouta moved to place himself between his ally and the villains, activating his Quirk once more and flinging out another roll of ribbons, catching the girl's wrist and yanking sideways to force her to tumble and drop the knife. He caught Twice's weak punch, only to be taken by surprise by a sudden skill change with a much stronger and more experienced elbow to the stomach.

Purple whorls ate away at the air, unfurling into a sickeningly familiar portal. Shouta turned his Quirk onto it, but nothing happened, indicating it was just a Quirk effect rather than the wielder himself. The Noumu trudged through first, followed by Twice, but the girl paused to fling another knife past Shouta. It embedded in the tree trunk just above the vigilante's head, where he was wrestling to get the pearls away from the villain. A blast of blue fire surged towards him. Shouta heard a startled gasp before the vigilante was hidden from sight. He twisted and flashed his eyes at Dabi to stop the flames, but the villain was already heading towards the portal with-

"Bakugou!" Shouta exclaimed, panicked, going to rush forwards but stopping at the taunting sight of Dabi's fingers on the frightened boy's throat.

Compress sprinted across, limping and cursing, sliding into the portal. The vigilante stumbled into view, making a choked noise of panic before he dashed towards the villains, bending an elbow and shooting out a strip of tape on course to hit Bakugou, but-

The portal closed.

The vigilante slowed to a stop, then dropped to his knees on the grass. For a few moments, Shouta could only stare in horror at the place where the portal used to be. His wound thrummed with pain, and he automatically clasped his palm over it, hesitantly padding over to stand next to the vigilante. There was a small tear in the back of his costume where the knife had landed, revealing a large metal mesh that likely covered his entire body, presumably some kind of Faraday cage to conduct the electricity. Despite being hit full-force by the fire, it seemed as if the fabric was mostly unharmed.

Shouta found it odd that the vigilante looked so utterly destroyed over the kidnapping of Bakugou despite probably barely knowing the kid - but then again, who could be unfazed by seeing a group of villains snatching away a child, without being able to do anything?

"Sorry," the vigilante whispered quietly, too soft to identify a pitch or tone.

"It's not your fault," Shouta muttered, glancing down and feeling his stomach twist at how small the vigilante was, possibly no bigger than most of his students. "Do you... do you know where they've taken him?"

The vigilante straightened up so quickly it was like he'd been shocked. He clumsily got to his feet, swaying slightly in a way that made Shouta second-guess the assumption that he was unharmed, but the vigilante merely patted around his waist until he found a pocket, withdrawing a pen and small notepad. Shouta noticed he wrote with his left hand, carefully drawing out characters with a trembling hand. The page was torn from the pad and handed over, detailing an address and a couple of brief bullet points.

"All for One? What does that mean?" Shouta asked, brow furrowing into a frown. "How do you know all this? How do I know I can trust you?"

The vigilante dipped his head and shrugged helplessly, then turned around and started trudging towards the trees.

"You're wanted by the police, you know," Shouta called after him, but made no move to capture him.

He vanished into the forest without another word. The teacher stared for a moment longer, the scent of ash and blood filling his lungs. Bakugou was gone, but they would get him back. At the very least, it didn't seem as if Shouta's trust in the vigilante was misplaced... for the time being.

Shouta pivoted, clenching his hand tightly around the precious note and heading back towards the base. His legs felt like jelly in the absence of adrenaline, every step far clumsier than he'd like to admit. The crackling of fire still echoed through the forest, glowing blue in the distance. He emerged back onto the path and trudging towards where he hoped the rest of his students were.

Vlad King was standing outside the front door, straightening up and stepping forwards at the sight of his fellow teacher. "Aizawa, are you-"

"They took Bakugou," Shouta cut in flatly, palm tightening against his wound and continuing to walk inside, Vlad following behind.

"That's..." Vlad trailed off, because there really wasn't anything to say.

"How are the kids?" He asked, if just for a distraction from the heaviness in his heart.

"A villain tried to attack them, but I think it was just a decoy," Vlad responded, brow furrowed in concern. "As far as I can tell, most of them are here. The source of the gas was taken down pretty quickly - my students brought the villain here, saying something about a stranger helping them...?"

"There's a vigilante. The same one who took out Stain and Muscular. He was here, helping out," Shouta explained, turning a corner and heading towards the classroom.

Vlad pulled open the door for him. It was packed inside, everyone talking in hushed whispers and mingling uncertainly. The captured villains were dumped at the front of the class, under Tora's watchful eye. Tables had been pushed aside to make room for unconscious students. Uraraka immediately hopped up from where she was sitting on a desk, one thigh bandaged, a look of desperation on her face.

"Sensei! Have you seen Deku-kun anywhere?" She asked hopefully, leaning into Iida as he posted himself next to her, equally as worried.

"Midoriya...? I thought he was here. He brought back Kouta." Shouta glanced at the other teacher, trying not to let the panic show.

"The green-haired kid, right? He brought back Kouta, but then dashed off again," Vlad responded, alarmed, shoulders squared. "Maybe he's unconscious from the gas somewhere..."

Shouta ran his fingers back through his hair, paper crinkling in his palm. He exhaled sharply through his nose, taking in the anxious expressions of the kids and feeling his heart sink even further. Kirishima was staring at him, likely wondering where his friend was.

Sighing, Shouta decided to get it over with. "Bakugou was kidnapped by the villains. Midoriya is currently missing. If anyone else is unaccounted for, or you know where they might be, please tell us. Vlad, get Monoma to copy Kouta's Quirk and have both of them try to douse the flames while we wait for support," he ordered, pulling his bloody palm from his wound and wincing as Uraraka's eyes went wide. "Those injured, go to Pixie-Bob to get patched up. Anyone who's uninjured and able to fight, guard the villains to make sure they don't get an opportunity to escape."

"I hope Deku-kun is okay," Uraraka whispered, expression downcast.

Privately, Shouta hoped the same, for both kids. Unfortunately, he had a terrible feeling that wasn't the case.

*

Midoriya didn't show up. Shouta met with Tsukauchi at the precinct in the early hours of the morning. The captured villains had already been interrogated and processed, having successfully obtained some information about the bases.

"We'll find the kids, Eraserhead," Tsukauchi said firmly, leading them both into the conference room and closing the doors behind them.

Shouta clenched his jaw, digging out a piece of paper from his pocket and passing it over. "The vigilante gave me this after Bakugou had been kidnapped."

Tsukauchi stared at the note. "These... are the same locations as the ones we have. How does he know this? Is he working with them?"

"I doubt it," Shouta admitted, thinking about the small, hunched shape of the vigilante after he'd failed to save Bakugou.

The detective's face suddenly paled. "All... for One...?"

"Yeah, I don't know-"

"I... need to call someone."

Shouta blinked as Tsukauchi hurried from the room, fumbling with his phone. A few minutes later, he returned, looking shaken but determined.

"Sorry about that. Do you think you'll be available for the raid?" Tsukauchi asked.

Shouta frowned, confused. "Wasn't I supposed to be part of the conference?"

"Change of plans, uh... well, the truth is..." The detective glanced around them, then stepped in closer, expression grave. "All for One is a terrible, terrible villain. All Might fought him years ago, and gained that injury in his side during the battle. Until recently, we thought All for One had been killed in that fight, but... this... this just confirms he survived."

A villain that could do so much damage to All Might? That was worrying...

"What makes him so powerful?" He inquired, staring down at the words on the crumpled note with a new sense of fear.

"His Quirk is the ability to take Quirks from others. He's also able to transfer Quirks," Tsukauchi explained quietly.

"The Noumus," Shouta breathed in realisation.

"Exactly. It seems as if All for One is mixed up with the League, and if this Echo-"

"Echo?"

"It's what we've taken to calling the vigilante," Tsukauchi admitted, a little sheepish. "Because... he's echoing Quirks."

"You named the vigilante," he said flatly, unimpressed.

"It's easier than calling him 'the vigilante.'" The detective shrugged. "Anyway, uh... if Echo knows the exact locations, then it's probable All for One will be there, since he deemed it important enough to include."

"And if I can Erase his Quirk, then we'll have the advantage," Shouta guessed, gaining a nod in response. "Alright. I'll be there. When is this happening?"

*

It took far more time than he was comfortable with to set everything up. The conference at UA was still going ahead, minus him, hoping that it would be enough to fool the villains into thinking they weren't staging a retaliation attack. Heroes flocked together and were divided into two groups for the dual raid, one on a bar and the other on a warehouse, which is where Shouta had been assigned with Best Jeanist, Tora, and Mt. Lady. He stared up at the large building that was silhouetted against the evening sky. Noumus were snatched from inside and secured, carefully led away into the backs of armoured police vans.

Maybe Shouta was too much of a pessimist, or perhaps he was a prophet - either way, he found himself unsurprised at the sound of shoes tapping closer from the shadows inside the warehouse. Something about the energy of the approaching person had everyone pausing and glancing over to see who was slowly walking towards them. The stranger stepped into the moonlight, and a second later Best Jeanist bound the suited man with denim fibres. Shouta noticed the strands straining and went to activate his Quirk, only to get knocked off his feet with an explosion of power, dust filling the air and forcing him to keep his eyes closed, even as a haunting feeling spread over the landscape.

He slowly lifted his head, squinting at the unmoving figure of Best Jeanist before cautiously peering through his long hair at the villain. With the eerie aura, impossible power, and complete confidence, there was no doubting who this was -

All for One.

Shouta could feel himself trembling against his will, hands clenching in the dirt, unable to make himself move and finding it nearly impossible to stare directly at the villain. It was an unnatural sort of fear that he couldn't shake, as if all the colour was draining from the world and this man - this monster - had the power of the universe in his hands. His stomach was turning and his throat felt constricted with fear, each breath strangled and short, teeth gritted together as he warred with himself, knowing he was the vital part of this operation and needed to pull himself together, knowing that it was illogical to remain frozen when he could help end it all just by looking at the villain, but it was overwhelming, suffocating, crushing-

A rush of cold passed by him and a shadow flashed over where he lay. Ice twinkled on the ground in front of him. His gaze snapped up. Yellow lightning crackled over a small form, and Shouta activated his Quirk.

Echo fearlessly crashed into All for One, gauntleted hands shifting onto shoulders as the pair plummeted like a meteorite, swiftly and smoothly manoeuvring himself so his feet were planted on the villain's back, not letting up with the electricity even as ice spread from his boots and crawled over All for One's spasming body. They slammed into the ground, cracking the concrete and sending up a cloud of dust that blocked their view of everything but flickering yellow. Shouta scrambled to his feet, dashing forwards with his heart in his throat, knowing that his Quirk would've stopped working the moment he could no longer see the pair.

The dust meant he could barely keep his eyes open, forced to squint as he approached the scene. Dark silhouettes grew sharper through the haze, revealing the vigilante remaining firmly on top of the unmoving form of the villain, still forcing electricity to course through All for One. Shouta activated his Quirk, eyes watering, and the vigilante glanced at him. He grabbed a handful of capture gear. Echo slowly stepped off the villain, first removing one hand, then meeting Shouta's eyes. The teacher tensed up, and the second Echo's fingers had released All for One, Shouta sent forth a reel of capture gear.

His eyes were burning. The villain was securely restrained. There was a moment of silence, followed by a barked order from someone in the ranks behind him. Footsteps rushed closer. Echo's gaze was firmly set upon him. Shouta bared his teeth in a grimace, desperately resisting the urge to close his eyes, because he needed to hold on for just a little longer for his allies to get the Quirk suppressing cuffs on the villain, then the fight would be over, and-

He blinked, and the world exploded.

Shouta landed heavily, ears ringing and head hurting. His eyes were prickling too much to dare opening. He let out a groan as he picked himself up, aching body following through familiar lessons beaten into him over the years. For as long as he wasn't dead, he could still fight.

He blinked with a hiss of pain, blurry gaze surveying the landscape. It looked like a bomb had dropped. Buildings were torn and the ground was shredded. It was lucky they'd been warned to evacuate the area, because otherwise the casualties would've been astronomical. The only hint of colour came in the form of his fellow heroes, all standing shakily, just like him. Tora was carrying Best Jeanist away from the scene, and the police squadron were retreating. Mt. Lady had shrunk back down, the fear on her face showcasing how much of a rookie she was.

Finally, he cast his eyes forward. Echo stood in front of All for One, cradling an arm, stance wide. The villain was hovering again, seemingly forgoing a second attack in favour of staring down at the small vigilante.

"You tried to neutralise my attack?" All for One said quietly, yet his voice carried in the silence, commandeering attention. "Impressive. There are few who could match my power like that, and definitely none with an electric Quirk."

Shouta glanced around himself once more, taking in the destruction with a new sense of fear. If this was what All for One could do even when negated, it was terrifying to consider what a full-scale attack would look like. He stared back at the vigilante, equal parts awed and worried that Echo had matched the villain's power. Was that his real Quirk, or a very strong piece of support gear?

All for One raised his hand, and choking noises made Shouta look around. People appeared in a splurge of grey sludge, all recognisable from the League, except-

"Bakugou!" Shouta called, heart twisting with an indescribable flurry of emotions.

Echo's head snapped around to stare. Shouta hesitated before turning and heading towards his student, knowing that it was his priority to evacuate his student. A sound like a thunderclap preceded a powerful blast of air, flinging Shouta off his feet. He tumbled, catching a glimpse of the vigilante shooting past him before he crashed into the ground, barely managing to soften the impact by dropping into a roll and hauling himself back to his feet. Instantly, his gaze was back searching for Bakugou.

The boy was in the centre of a group of villains, including Shigaraki. Echo was in a crumpled heap on the cracked concrete, tears in his outfit giving a glimpse at tanned skin underneath. Shouta sprinted over, pausing to grab the vigilante's arm and tug him back to his feet.

"Thanks," Echo said weakly, a slight rasp to his tone.

"Don't thank me," Shouta responded, looking over his shoulder and activating his Quirk to bring All for One back to Earth. "Get Bakugou out of here. I'll try to keep All for One suppressed."

The vigilante made a noise of confirmation, already dashing off. Double sets of explosions indicated both his student and his reluctant ally were working together.

Shouta stalked closer to the main villain, glaring him down despite the pain spearing through his skull. All for One didn't seem particularly bothered, merely brushing some dust of the lapels of his black suit jacket, infuriatingly calm.

"It was a wise decision for them to bring you along, Eraserhead," the villain commented slyly, spreading his arms, fingers splayed. "You all seem very well prepared for this attack, too. What tipped you off, I wonder? Perhaps All Might? Or maybe his successor is in the game, now?"

All Might's successor? What did that mean?

"I must admit I was expecting things go to a lot more smoothly than this," All for One drawled, tugging his cuffs to straighten them. "But that little vigilante of yours has really thrown my plan off track. First he takes down the valuable allies Shigaraki Tomura makes, then he shows up at the raid to protect your students, and now he's here once again. The police force and Pro Heroes must be quite incompetent if you're all relying on a vigilante to do everything for you."

Shouta really wished he'd been given a pair of Quirk-suppressing cuffs: it would've made the villain's evil spiel a whole lot more tolerable to listen to if it didn't feel like his eyes were being gouged out. The other heroes were likely preoccupied with the other villains and helping the police force retreat a safe distant.

"Ah," All for One's tone soured marginally. "It seems my nemesis has finally arrived."

"Young Bakugou!" All Might's voice boomed from behind, and relief filled Shouta's chest. "...Where's young Midoriya?"

"Deku?" Bakugou muttered, blatantly confused, slightly breathless. "He wasn't there with me."

All the relief drained away. It was replaced with a sickening chill.

There was a pause, then a boisterous laugh, clearly fake. "Well, I'm sure he'll turn up."

"All Might," Shouta ground out, squinting through his lashes, vision blurred with tears.

A smudge of yellow dashed in front of him. "Thank you, Eraserhead. I'll take it from here."

Shouta finally let his eyes close, letting out an involuntary noise halfway between a groan and a sob at the gritty pain under his eyelids. There was no time to take a break. He peeled his eyes back open and stumbled around, gaze settling on Echo as he wrapped Twice in tape and swung him away from Bakugou. In a moment of peace, the vigilante stepped closer to his student, one arm discreetly pointing towards the warehouse. Shouta briefly glanced over, sighing exasperatedly as he saw a small gaggle of his students hidden in the side passage. Bakugou spared a look back at his teacher, who merely inclined his head towards the kids to give his silent permission, then the student blasted his way towards them.

Red and black strips slashed through the air next to Shouta, plunging into the unconscious warp villain's chest, forcefully activating his Quirk. The teacher jumped aside and turned around to face All for One again as the tape was tugged, nearly cutting him. All Might was wrestling with the villain. Shouta turned back around, but the villains had evacuated, leaving Echo staring at the spot they vanished, oddly reminiscent of the same event in the forest, except a lot more hopeful.

"Echo," Shouta said, stepping forwards but not gaining a response. "Vigilante. You're Echo."

His ally turned around, tilting his head to one side.

"Do you know where Midoriya is?" He asked, refusing to acknowledge how desperate his voice had become.

Slowly, Echo shook his head. Shouta clenched his jaw. The vigilante leaned slightly to one side, looking over the adult's shoulder, only to tense up and raise a bent elbow. Tape shot out and stuck to Shouta's top, rapidly pulling him closer, getting unceremoniously shoved behind the vigilante. Shouta stared at the battle between All Might and All for One, seeing both of them drawing back an arm-

The earth shook from the impact. Echo whipped around and grabbed him with gentle hands, then launched himself forwards, howling gales tailing them as they soared through the air. Shouta reluctantly closed his eyes as the dust cloud scoured over them, body jolting as the vigilante landed roughly, releasing him. He rolled over onto his stomach on the ground and tucked his face in the crook of his elbow, deaf to anything but the screaming wind, feeling it snatch at his clothes and hair. Chunks of debris clattered down around him, the heavy impacts rumbling ominously in his chest as he curled his other arm over his head.

After a fear-filled eternity, it finally passed. Shouta cautiously lifted his head. His gaze locked onto something inky black, dazedly following the shape with his eyes, confused by the strange tentacle-like things that arced over him, like a shield. He rolled over, seeing the vigilante lying in the dust, the thick whips seemingly originating from his back but not protecting himself. Another Quirk?

"Hey, Echo," Shouta muttered, shifting closer and reaching out, scratched hand lightly landing on the vigilante's shoulder. "You hurt?"

"Constantly," Echo responded, muffled by his arm, making as if to push himself up before hissing. "Ow... shit..."

Shouta blinked at the high-pitched voice, a horrible realisation crashing over him. "How... old are you?"

The vigilante pressed his hands into the dirt, heaving himself into a slumped kneeling position. He stayed still for a few moments, chest rising and falling with every breath. A twitch of his shoulder had the black appendages withdrawing back inside, leaving holes in the fabric but not the metal cage.

"Biologically or chronologically?" He muttered, not waiting for an answer as he hopped back to his feet, twisting around to face the battle.

Shouta took the offered hand and pulled himself up, equal parts terrified and bewildered by the cryptic statement that seemed to suggest Echo was likely incredibly young. No matter how strong or inventive Echo seemed, if he was a child... he shouldn't have felt obligated to step in and fight.

"I can get you in close," Echo said suddenly, voice a little deeper, easily shifting to a different regional dialect in a manner that suggested he was used to working undercover. "You need to Erase All for One's Quirk long enough for All Might to get a hit in. Just one punch should be enough to take him down, but we need to be quick."

Although reluctant to put this kid in further danger, Shouta nodded. Both hero and villain clashed a few more times, with weaker hits mostly negated by one another. Echo was watching silently, one arm mostly limp by his side in a way that implied he was injured. Shouta hesitated before grabbing a tiny eyedrop bottle from one of the pouches at his waist, immediately feeling ten times better when it no longer felt as if sand filled his eye socket.

The vigilante tensed up, stepping closer and wrapping an arm around Shouta's waist. A second later, they were in the air, shooting towards the fight. Echo landed lightly off to the side. All Might noticed them, and Shouta activated his Quirk, glaring down All for One.

The Symbol of Peace drew back a fist, and the villain crumbled at his feet.

All Might glanced thankfully at Shouta, costume torn and blood trailing down from his forehead. Steam whispered off his body and he abruptly shrank down, but his smile remained the same.

Shouta looked around, but Echo was already gone.

*

A few hours passed before Shouta was free to return to UA. Nedzu had called for another meeting, which meant that, as soon as Shouta and Yagi had given their statements, they were sent off in a squad car to be dropped off at school. The car slowed to a stop a short distance from the front gate, headlights yellow against the darkness. Exhaustion clearly weighed down both heroes as they trudged up the road in silence.

Shouta suddenly halted, holding out his arm to stop his companion, staring into the shadows. There was a figure sitting at the base of the gate. They exchanged glances before shifting positions, ready to fight if need be.

"Who are you?" Shouta called over, one hand on his capture gear.

The figure jolted, sitting up straighter then letting out a delighted huff of laughter. "Aizawa-sensei! All Might!"

Yagi looked spooked for a moment before his eyes widened. "Young Izuku?"

The kid hopped to his feet, padding into the soft light of a street lamp, green eyes practically glowing with joy and lips pulled back in a smile. Scrapes and bruises covered most of his exposed skin, a few deeper cuts oozing blood, but seemingly nothing serious. His hair was messier than usual and his shirt had a few tears in, but, oddly, his red shoes looked unharmed. He raised a juice box and sucked at the straw.

"What happened? Where were you?" Shouta asked, striding forwards and flashing his Quirk for good measure, both to urge the kid into answering quickly and to check he was real.

"I dunno," Midoriya responded, straw between his teeth. "I think the villains realised I wasn't as cool as Kacchan and just..." He waved a scarred hand vaguely. "...dumped me in a bin somewhere. On the plus side, I got this juice box, so all in all I think it's been a good day."

"From the rubbish...?" Yagi looked as if he didn't really want to know the answer.

Midoriya wrinkled his nose, giving the man an accusatory stare. "All Might, ew. No. I bought it from the store." His eyes widened, glittering under the light. "I saw the fight on TV - it was so scary! You're both so brave. Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you? Is Kacchan alright, as well? Sorry, you were probably worried about me, too, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Young Izuku," Yagi cut in softly, moving forwards to lightly place his palm on top of the kid's head. "We're just glad you're here now. Let's go inside and tell everyone the good news."

The two of them walked through the gate, leaving Shouta alone in the darkness, confusion outweighing suspicion.

"Who gets kidnapped and goes to buy a juice box?" He whispered to himself.

*

There was no sign of the vigilante for a while. Shouta had mentioned his suspicions of Echo's age to Tsukauchi, trusting the man to keep it quiet until they were certain or it was disproven. In the meantime, he needed to focus on teaching the kids, since their provisional license exams were rapidly approaching.

All of them were working on special moves in one of the gyms, working with Ectoplasm to improve their technique. Yagi was wandering around and trying to offer advice that was clearly paraphrased from the teaching guidebook he had in his back pocket. Shouta was staying back, observing from a distance and ready to activate his Quirk in case something went wrong.

A warning shout sounded from above. Shouta whipped around, seeing a chunk of cement careening towards Yagi. He activated his capture gear, knowing he wasn't going to be able to get there in time-

Green flashed through the air as Midoriya launched himself off his podium, gaze alight and expression focused. He twisted in the air, slamming his foot into the debris and completely obliterating it, then landing lightly on a lower platform. Midoriya hopped down to ground level, stumbling to a stop in front of Yagi and already asking a flurry of questions at a speed Shouta couldn't comprehend, even as he settled by the man's side.

Abruptly, the boy fell silent, the colour draining from his face and his eyes vacant. Then, he screamed.

Yagi flinched, hands reaching out to clasp at the kid's arms, not letting go even when he suddenly went limp. The man lowered him to the ground, fingers flitting nervously over Midoriya's unmoving form, looking up at Shouta with panic clear in his shadowed eyes. Shouta crouched down, checking the kid's pulse then rolling him onto his side in the recovery position, frantically trying to work out what caused him to pass out. His classmates were gathering around anxiously.

Midoriya's brow furrowed and he made a soft noise, blinking open his eyes and blearily peering around at the onlookers. He abruptly shot up into a sitting position, freckled cheeks flushing red, eyes wide and alarmed.

"All Might," he whispered, gaze flickering between the faces of his classmates. "You're in your true form. Do they know?"

Yagi stiffened, palm settling on the kid's shoulder. "They... found out the other week, my boy. Don't you... remember?"

"B-but- what? I'm- I'm lost, what's..." He eyed Shouta nervously, causing the man to shuffle back a little to give him some space. "All Might... I'm confused... Where..."

All sorts of horrible theories were setting root in Shouta's mind. Had he injured himself somehow and caused sudden amnesia? Had the villains done something to him when he was kidnapped?

Before his thoughts could spiral any further, Midoriya froze again, then let out another anguished cry that would haunt Shouta's nightmares. He crumpled and fell silent, and after a few stressful seconds he stirred once more. His breathing was uneven and his eyes snapped open, staring wildly around. Green lightning glittered over his form as he started to hyperventilate, and the moment Yagi reached out to reassure him, Midoriya vanished. A ripple of startled noises came from his classmates.

Shouta leapt to his feet, staring around and relaxing marginally when he saw the kid curled up against a far wall. He jogged over to the boy, taking in how small the kid was making himself, knees drawn up to his chest, head tucked down, arms wrapped around himself as he shook violently, broken sobs muffled in his costume. Shouta slowed down, activating his Quirk to snuff out the unpredictable lightning, carefully reaching over to place his hand on the boy's shoulder. Midoriya instantly tensed up, hand darting out to clamp tightly around the offending wrist, only to fall silent and freeze.

The boy unfurled his fingers, one by one, breathing notably more controlled. After a few more unnerving moments, Midoriya finally lifted his head. He looked terrible, with bloodshot eyes, tears streaking over his face, and a bottom lip that had been bitten so hard it was bleeding. Contrary to his ragged state, the kid calmly flashed a smile, unfolding from his scrunched position and pushing himself to his feet, wiping his face dry and gingerly ghosting a thumb over his lip.

"Ouch," he said, almost sounding amused.

"Are you okay, Midoriya?" Shouta asked, frowning and glancing over the kid.

"Never better," he insisted brightly, green gaze shifting behind the man and expression briefly flickering in such a way that Shouta could imagine the cogs turning in his mind, but he was quickly back to the unnatural cheer that felt as if a wall had slammed down between them. "Ah, sorry, everyone. I didn't mean to scare you like that."

"What happened?" Shouta pressed.

Midoriya raised an arm, ruffling a gloved hand through the curls on the back of his head, smile tinged with sheepishness. "Well, I, uh... I may have lied a little about the 'never better' thing, because, well... I woke up this morning feeling a little unwell, and now I think I've got a fever, and I'm- I'm a little delirious, I think. Sorry."

Before he could think better of the motion, Shouta pressed his palm to the kid's forehead. It was perhaps a little warmer than usual, but that might've been due to the exercise, or the panic attack the boy blatantly just had. Big green eyes blinked innocently up at him, and he withdrew his hand.

"Alright," Shouta said finally, glancing back at the class. "Uraraka, take Midoriya back to the dorms. He needs to rest."

"I-it's not that bad, sensei, I'm fine, I can keep practising-"

"Go," he muttered, gently shoving the boy towards his friend.

At least the problem child was living up to his title, but at this rate Shouta was going to go grey before he was thirty-five.

~

Second part up next week- and uh I made another BNHA animatic. It's not extraordinary but I'm proud of myself for working so hard uwu