Izuku was dressed in what Toga had dubbed his 'villain outfit'. He thought the title was stupid, considering it was just a black hoodie and face mask, but she'd been insistent about it since they were fifteen. 

To his surprise, Shigaraki and Chisaki hadn't wanted him to act as a distraction, instead, he was filling his familiar guard dog role.  The villains hoped that the heroes would still be reeling from his attack earlier in the day, allowing them to do a high-profile deal with little resistance. Izuku's primary function wasn't to hold off pros, but rather as backup in case their client got... pushy. 

"Do I get to know who this client is? I'll be more useful if I'm prepared," Izuku muttered as they reached the building where the deal would happen. It wasn't a structure he recognized, just a generic office building that probably got rented out to different companies. 

Chisaki looked up at the building's top floors before sparing a glance at Izuku. "You've heard of the Todoroki family, yes?" 

That made Izuku pause. What the hell did this have to do with Todorokis? Obviously, he knew of Endeavor and the legal trouble he'd gotten into (Izuku had watched the child abuse trail from the comfort of his living room like it was a sports match, cheering with Toga when he'd been found guilty), as well as the youngest Todoroki, who's life he'd saved during the Stain incident. Then there was Dabi, of course, but Izuku doubted it had anything to do with him.  

"Endeavor's expressed interest in our quirk-canceling bullets and is willing to pay a very pretty penny for them," Chisaki explained, brushing invisible dust from his shoulder. 

Izuku readjusted his mask, making sure it covered most of his face. "Didn't know you took 'fighting fire with fire' so seriously," he mumbled as they entered from the back. 

They took a service elevator up to the top level, where they exited and started down the hall. Izuku had no idea where they were going and just followed after Shigaraki and Chisaki. They eventually entered a meeting room with a large oval-shaped table. 

Enji Todoroki was already there, staring out over the city from the floor-to-ceiling windows. He turned his head when they entered, a scowl already secured in place. "You're late." 

"Apologies," Chisaki said in a diplomatic tone, ever the peacekeeper. "We had to wait for Deku to return from his attack." 

Endeavor's attention snapped to Izuku, sizing him up with his eyes. The ex-hero pushed his shoulders back, trying to intimidate him to no avail. "I've seen you fight. You have a fire quirk." 

Izuku shrugged one shoulder because the statement was only half true. "Better than yours, old man." 

The fire Endeavor loved to play off as facial hair flared brighter, a physical sign of Izuku getting under his skin. 

"Bad dog," Shigaraki hissed, smiling when he saw how irritated Izuku became. "It's not nice to insult our customers." 

Izuku kept his lips sealed. The last thing he needed was to piss Shigaraki off any more than he already had. He had to keep reminding himself that it wasn't about him anymore, but the girls. He was doing this for them. He could do it for them. 

Endeavor wore a pleased smile when Izuku didn't snap again. "So, am I correct to assume that you two hold his leash then?" 

Sweat started to bead on Izuku's forehead, his internal temperature was already starting to rise. His fire might willingly take the shape of a wolf, but that didn't mean they liked it when Izuku was treated like some dog. They were fiercely loyal and played off his own emotions. They were ready to set the whole building ablaze. 

Izuku zoned out after that, letting the villains and ex-hero discuss business. He was required to be there, but he wasn't required to think. He could dissociate all he liked, thank you very much. 

A knock on the door brought him back to the present. Everyone in the room went stiff at the sound, meaning that it was an unplanned guest. 

"Dog," Shigaraki called, nodding toward the door. "Go see who it is." 

Click. 

The sound was almost too quiet to hear as Izuku used Air Control to make an invisible barrier around the room. Whoever was at the door wouldn't be making it past the threshold until Izuku dropped it. 

"What the hell was that?" Endeavor hissed, his paranoia starting to build. 

Shigaraki waved off his concern as Izuku started for the door. "Just his quirk, he's making sure no one gets in." 

"I thought he had a fire quirk." 

"He's... multifaceted." 

Izuku grabbed the handle, twisting it and pulling the door open. Instantly, there was an explosion in his face. His barrier held up, making the hit completely useless. 

Once the smoke cleared, he stood toe to toe with Bakugou. 

"Cute," Izuku drawled, looking the hero up and down. 

"Heroes," he heard Chisaki hiss from behind him. 

Thankfully, the room was set up with the door at the far right corner. With the open door in the way, the heroes couldn't see who else was in the room without entering, which was impossible for them. 

"Take care of them, dog," Shigaraki ordered. 

Izuku rolled his eyes at the command, but followed it nonetheless. He raised one eyebrow at Bakugou, glancing over the blond's shoulder to see that there was a handful of other heroes behind him. It was a planned raid. "Are you gonna let me out or just stand there and stare at me?" 

Bakugou took a step back, one hand raised to shoot off another explosion at a moment's notice. He was wearing an arrogant smirk as he looked Izuku up and down. "Come out and fight me, Deku." 

"Dynamite," one of the hero's hissed in warning. Izuku recognized her as Mina Ashido, one of Hanta's friends. Taking a closer look, he realized that the heroes present were her, Bakugou, Kaminari, and Kirishima. All of them were Hanta's friends and that really complicated things. 

"We have orders not to engage in a fight with Deku." Her words said one thing, but her fighting stance said something entirely different. They all looked ready to pounce. 

"Heroes are so predictable," he said with a sigh, dropping his quirk from the doorway just long enough to slip through. He didn't need any of them getting into the meeting room before the others had gotten out. "You know I'll kill you, Kacchan, don't you?" 

the number one hero gave a barking laugh at the threat. "You don't have the guts to kill me, Deku." 

Izuku tilted his head to the side, green lightning sparking to life at the same time his shoulders lit on fire. "Let's test that theory, shall we?" 

Izuku threw a One For All charged punch in half a second. He really thought that one would land, but Bakugou had managed to pull Kirishima in front of him just as Izuku's fist landed. The other hero had activated his quirk, resulting in the attack being completely useless. 

"Did that even hurt?" Izuku asked with a raised brow, noting that Kaminari and Ashido had completely sidestepped him and were running for the meeting room. He wasn't worried about it, they wouldn't be able to get past Air Control. 

Kirishima shrugged, not appearing surprised at how un-villain like Izuku was acting. "Tickled a little." He ducked down suddenly, just as an explosion shot off over his head, aimed directly at Izuku. 

He pulled Air Control up, creating a shield for the blast. "C'mon, Kacchan. You're supposed to be good at this now," Izuku teased, taking a step back as Kirishima threw a hardened fist toward his face. 

The redhead kept swinging as Izuku dodged every hit. Izuku brought one hand up, brushing another punch off while swinging himself. It was a direct face hit, but Kirishima's quirk made it pointless. Instead, Izuku swung his leg out, knocking him off balance and causing him to fall to the floor. 

Just as he went down, Bakugou leaped into the air, clearing the redhead and coming down right on Izuku, another explosion firing off at the villain. He wasn't as fast this time, only able to avoid the blast hitting his face. His arm wasn't as lucky. 

Izuku smiled a feral grin at the searing pain. It'd been so long since someone had gotten a hit on him. Of course, that didn't matter. In one movement, Izuku grabbed Bakugou's wrist while he was still airborne, flipping him over his back and causing the hero to hit the ground a little too hard. The whole building shook from the impact. In true Bakugou fashion, he bounced right back onto his feet with a sneer. 

Kirishima rejoined the fray from behind, sweeping Izuku's feet out from under him and using his own move against him. Izuku landed face down with the redhead on his back, twisting his arms to hold him still. They were quickly flipped over, Izuku gaining the upper hand and keeping the hero in a leg lock. 

He had to break away and dive to the left in order to dodge another explosion, resulting in Kirishima being free once again. 

Izuku stayed in a crouched position in front of the two heroes, waiting for one of them to make another move. "If we keep going like this, we'll take the whole building down," he warned them. 

"Like you care," Bakugou said with a scoff. 

"I don't," Izuku agreed. "Just thought the heroes would." 

"You're not getting out of this fight that easily." 

Izuku shook his head at his childhood friend, a faint smile on his lips. "I was trying to give you an out, Kacchan. This won't end pretty for you." 

"You helped us when we were in school," Kirishima said suddenly, making Izuku's jade eyes snap to him. If the villain was being honest, he wasn't paying much attention to the redhead. He had a good defensive quirk, but Bakugou was the real threat and the only one Izuku was even remotely worried about. It was easy to forget Kirishima was even there. 

"Why fight us now?" 

Izuku chuckled, shaking his head once. "I fought you back then, too, or did you forget about the summer camp?" 

Kirishima furrowed his brows, his jaw set. 

Izuku had seen that expression before and knew that he was dealing with the same stubbornness Hanta possessed. It was going to be a long night. 

"Did you forget that you only survived that night because of us?" Kirishima snapped back. 

Izuku tilted his head as he looked up at the hero. "So, we're even then. I saved your lives, you saved mine. I don't owe you anything." 

Kirishima wore a determined scowl at his words. He really wasn't going to let it go. "What about Sero?" 

Without thinking, Izuku lunged. With the power of One For All, he rammed into the redhead, knocking him off his feet as Izuku landed on top of him. He could feel that his hair was on fire, but he paid it no mind, holding his forearm against Kirishima's throat. "You talk too much," Izuku growled, ready to throw the hero out a window and be done with it. He'd probably survive the fall with the help of his quirk. 

"Didn't think that'd work, to be honest," Kirishima said with a satisfied smile. 

Izuku's eyes widened as he realized his mistake. "Fuck." 

BOOM!

POV this chapter was originally over four thousand words long before I split it into two. Chapter 13 will probably be up within like half an hour :)