I don't own anything except any original characters (including the Reader's concept) and/or any original plot

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Chapter Eighteen - The Meaning of Family

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A/n: SPOILER WARNING - From this point on I will either be following the manga or the movie. The School Festival Arc will be covered, but it will be between spoiler filled chapters. I will be changing certain things compared to both the manga and the movie either way. It's your choice whether or not you'd like to proceed from here!

~*~

This was not what you signed up for.

You joined the League of Villains to incite change and find yourself. You didn't join to rob some bigots.

"Looks like some lizards have arrived. How filthy."

You didn't feel as bad about robbing them anymore. Something that bugged you almost as much as Quirkless discrimination was Quirk discrimination. Neither party could choose what they ended up with, yet people still blamed and hated them for it.

"We're looking for things to sell," Compress announced casually, "Is this expensive? We're a little strapped for cash right now, you see. Stealing isn't stylish. If possible, I'd like to avoid it too."

"This is a sacred place!"

"Filthy sinners!'

"Need to get the hell out!"

Now that you were provoked, all of you jumped to attack. All of you made quick work of the cult, the others killing their members and you incapacitating yours. Sighing and wrinkling your nose at the fresh stench of blood, you hurried to look through the house for valuables.

"It broke!" Himi exclaimed, holding up her needle.

"My prosthetic has been acting up too. We should contact Giran for replacements."

"It's not in the funds," you called out from upstairs, only finding a few items of value, "We've barely got enough for food the next couple of days. We can't do any repairs right now."

A frustrated air hung over the group as all of you left the house to return to your base. No one actually spoke up about it until you were sorting through the stolen items and Spinner seemed to snap.

"How long are we gonna have to live like this?" He questioned.

"Until it's all over."

"If we had worked with the Eight Precepts, we'd be eating sushi right now."

"You know exactly why we ended that relationship," you snapped.

Light hair, bright eyes. Eri. Was she okay? Bakugou hadn't texted you another update about her since that first one simply because he hadn't seen her. You wanted to see her again, say you were sorry and make sure she was being treated right by the heroes.

"It's just... to think that the group that put the whole country in disarray is now in such a state... I can't bear to face all those people that look up to us."

"Everyone's here? Am I the only one trying to recruit new members?" Dabi stepped into the abandoned house.

"Aren't you just going around burnin' everyone to a crisp? Have you ever brought back a single member?"

"Everyone is garbage. The streets are filled with trash, just living their lives without any kind of goals or ambitions."

"Maybe your taste in people just sucks"

"You're the last person who should be saying that."

Sighing, you sat down next to Tomura and observed his deep thinking face, "Penny for your thoughts?"

"It's been a month and a half since Kurogiri left, and since then we've been stuck trying to find the Doctor on our own."

"What kind of guy is this doctor anyway?" Himi questioned.

"He was sensei's physician. A real serious guy. I've only ever talked with him through the computer at our hideout. He's the one who managed to create all those Nomu."

"No matter how cautious he is, he could at least help us out a bit more, y'know! His patient's beloved disciple is running around in circles right now!"

"Hey, where exactly are we heading?" Spinner questioned, "I'm only here because I was inspired by Stain. I grew up in the country, surrounded by conservative values. My life was hell cause I was some kind of lizard guy. I thought it was only natural. My heart was filled with nothing but emptiness. But that evening I saw Stain's last stand on TV. He wanted to change the world! All by himself. I realized then for the first time that this world needed to change. I couldn't stand doing nothing! So I came here."

"What? You mean you aren't some hollow cosplayer?" Dabi asked flatly.

"That's right! I have nothing else to my name! That's why I can't understand this rut we're in! I thought you were going to open up a world of change! Answer me, Shigaraki! Where the hell are we headed towards?"

"Like I said, I-"

The house shook. Nervous about the shaky foundations, you yelled, "Everyone out! Grab anything you need and fast!"

The ground was cracking and falling apart. When all of you ran outside you came upon a giant man with a radio hanging around his neck, "Finally... I found you. I've been waiting for a signal this whole time. So you are the successor for All for One?"

"Holy... shit..." You whispered in awe.

"For All for One... I devote my everything. Well then, successor, show me whether or not you are worthy."

Oh shit. Oh shit!

You wouldn't even call what happened after a fight. He swatted all of you away like insignificant insects. When you landed on the rough ground it felt like your entire body just said "nope" and wasn't letting you get back up.

"I hate everything," you moaned in pain.

"Why can't you keep up? Master why? He's too weak!" The giant sobbed.

"What the hell is going on with this guy?"

"I don't get it either!"

"Shigaraki! You seem like you are stuck."

"Doctor..."

"Doctor? The one we were looking for?"

"It looks like the whole gang's here. Are you all doing well?"

"What do you want, Doctor?" You grunted as you pushed yourself up. Yeah, that'd be a big bruise.

The giant slammed his hands into the ground, and it broke apart and flew into the air. Hopping onto and away from the dangerous chunks of earth, you struggled to figure out how to land safely.

"I'm sorry All for One. I wanted to accept them, but... I just can't."

"That guy is Gigantomachia. He once supported All for One as his personal bodyguard. He was one of All for One's most trusted men. And he possesses inhuman strength. On top of having multiple Quirks, he can use them all without modifications. Foreseeing his own fall from power by the hands of All Might, All for One hid him away. Truly a meticulous man. You are years away from reaching his level. No matter what happens to his body, he works to ensure his dreams won't die."

"It might just be my imagination, but this guy looks nothin' like a parting gift," Dabi grunting, arms lighting up with fire.

"You've got sharp eyes, Dabi! That's exactly right! Gigantomachia has dedicated himself to All for One. And now, seeing the gap between the two he's in despair."

"You telling us to try to earn his approval?"

"That's not possible. For now, anyway. Let's see here..."

The fire Dabi sent out basically passed through Gigantomachia. Taking a cautious step back, you thought about how likely you were to turn into a walking bomb if you absorbed his energy.

"Machia," a new voice rang through the radio, one that sent shivers down your spine.

Machia jumped for the radio, holding it close and practically purring.

"It's a voice recording of All for One. This should have calmed him down, no?"

"I have no need for something like this."

"You have no need? Do you think you can do better this late in the game? You've been with Kurogiri for too long, Energy has been more of a leader than you have. Open your eyes."

"The hell, doctor? So rude."

"Mhm, just wait a second now."

Something disgustingly familiar rose in your throat. Opening your mouth and embracing it as much as you could, you allowed the thick black liquid to consume you.

All of you dropped down in a vast room. Rows of Nomu kept in tubes took up most of the space. In the back, hidden by the shadows, was the doctor.

Himiko spat out the rest of the black goo, "It stinks!"

"This place is..."

"What the hell are these?"

"Nomu? They're different form the previous ones."

"Oh ho! So you can see the difference? Ho ho! As I thought, you really do have sharp eyes! That's right! They're different! These guys aren't the mid and low level ones from before! They're high-ends! Super nomus that are a step closer to becoming my masterpiece! Incredible, aren't they? A level above the ones from before!"

"Hey, Doctor. I've been searching for you this whole time. There's a certain 'weapon' I want you to recreate."

"You've grown out your hair, haven't you Shigaraki?"

"He hasn't let me cut it," you explained shortly.

"Ah, yes, ever the rebellious one. How is your father doing? Is he well?"

"Yeah."

"Is that the doctor? I can't see him from this far away," Atsuhiro squinted in an attempt to see the doctor better.

"Stay away!" The doctor pushed his chair father back into a dark tunnel, "Ho ho, pardon me. You are not to approach me as you please, understand? I will approach you, not the other way around. Forget this, and I'd be happy to send you back and let him make mince-meat out of you."

"He's the one who called us here. What a strange old man," Jin mused.

"This talk isn't going anywhere," Dabi sighed.

"I can't have anyone know where I am, so I transported you all here. Besides Shigaraki and Energy, I believe this is the first time we've met. Like Gigantomachia, I am one of All for One's right-hand men. I'm Ujiko Daruma. That's the name I arbitrarily chose just now. Now then, Shigaraki. I invited you here to make a deal regarding All for One. My life, my skills, my creations, I dedicated them all to All for One. As of right now, you are a shadow of the man he was. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I hate you. This is all just for my sake. I wish to see if you are worthy of my everything. What can a twenty-or-so piece of garbage who hasn't accomplished anything possibly have to show for himself? Let me see Shigaraki Tomura."

Yikes. Tomura seemed irritated, but he wasn't anywhere near irritated enough to raise a hand against the doctor. Which is good.

"You want Tomura to make Machia submit to him," you guessed. The awkward silence that fell over the room was the answer you were looking for, "You said Machia was one of All for One's most loyal men, so if Machia is willing to follow Tomura then you'll be willing to as well."

"Ho ho! A wonderful observation. As always, you impress me, Energy! Yes. You will not gain my full support until Machia is willing to follow you, Shigaraki."

Tomura nodded, obviously deep in thought about what he wanted to do. Since Tomura was pondering, you took the leadership wheel.

"Money. We need money if we're even going to survive trying to face Machia."

"Yes. Money will be wired to an account you can use. The league not having my full support pertains to monetary compensation as well, but you will be able to survive off of what I give you."

It was the best you were going to get, so you nodded. You'd all just started to cool down from the Shie Hassakai incident. But of course, it was time to fight again.

~*~

There was something off about Dabi.

Scratch that. There had always been something off about Dabi, but there was something off about all of you. All of you were a part of the League of Villains for god's sake. But... something was definitely off.

Your first thought was that it was related to the new recruit. Which could have very well been true. He'd visited the potential recruit plenty of times, and still hadn't introduced them to the league. Tomura was unconcerned, more focused on tracking down the Doctor. But you were suspicious. If it was any other run of the mill criminal, even a morally-grey/anti-hero vigilante they would have been introduced to the league by now.

Even without the new recruit making you wonder what Dabi was doing, something was still bugging you about his eyes. You first noticed them when he said you weren't a monster. It was the first time he went out of his way to make eye contact with you, and even his words to you were strange.

"No. I know what monsters are, and you aren't one."

Of course he could have just been talking about knowing villains in general. But there was so much pain and hatred behind his tone. Whatever monsters he had seen and demons he had faced changed him, affected him until this day.

You were left to ponder on that until Endeavor's Nomu fight on TV. A news alert had shown up on your phone, and you were quick to leave the forest the league was fighting in and walk to the nearest cafe to mooch off their internet and watch what was going on.

It'd been two weeks since the doctor sent Tomura on his mission. The steady flow of money was nice. It wasn't a lot, and the budgeting was still tight, but it was something. Tomura, however, was running himself ragged. Machia would fight for two days straight then take a three hour nap before starting again. Half the time on your shift to help you'd just be transferring energy to Tomura since he was so clearly exhausted.

In Central Fukuoka, Endeavor was fighting a High End Nomu. One you had no idea was being sent out. You'd have to yell at Tomura for keeping you out of the loop later.

Endeavor and Hawks together fought the High End Nomu and the lower tier Nomu that the High End released. There were times when you thought Endeavor would be defeated. The High End was giving him a run for his money, injuring him to the point of panicking the evacuating crowd.

But Endeavor prevailed. Because of course the bastard was too stubborn to give up his newly minted place of Number One Hero. So Endeavor won, the Nomus were either killed or rounded up, and you assumed you could go on with your day.

Then Dabi stepped out of the shadows. You cursed quietly under your breath, cursing slightly louder when he created a blue circle of fire around himself and the top two heroes to seperate them from anyone else. All you could do was wait.

By the time the fire was put out, Dabi was gone and Miruko had joined the other two heroes. Dabi was an idiot for trying to confront the top two heroes on his own, even if they were weak from the battle. What would have happened if he got caught?

There was something the cameras barely picked up within the time the trio was stuck in the circle of fire. Dabi called out Endeaor's real name. "Enji Todoroki" he said. That suggested Dabi's hatred toward Endeavor was personal.

So you ordered a coffee and got to work. It was an absolute rabbithole. You were only passable when it came to hacking, so you could get into past hospital records but that was it. You didn't dare to try to get into the Hero Safety Commission database. There was something that popped up in your Google search. Hard to find, 10 pages into your actual search, but you found it anyway. An article about the passing of Endeavor's oldest son, Toya.

It had happened years ago, when the kid was around 14. He was the oldest of the Todoroki siblings and had a fire Quirk. Endeavor said there was a fire within the household too hot for their increased tolerance to handle.

There was a picture, and when it loaded your heart stopped.

That was it. Dabi's eyes. The little red-head was smiling with his siblings and mother, but the smile was fake and the eyes were angry at best and dead at worst. The reason they seemed so off to you was because they were the same shade as Endeavor's.

Looking back, you mentally slapped yourself for being so blind. It all made sense! Dabi's fake name, all of the mystery behind his past, the intense hatred toward the heros (Endeavor specifically), the fire Quirk.

You hunched over, for a moment thinking you were going to be sick. You knew Endeavor was an asshole. His youngest son was scarred and emotionless and he was an asshole in the public eye too. But how bad did Dabi's - Toya's - life have to be to fake his own death?

It was then that you decided you had to talk to Dabi about whatever the hell was going on with him.

You waited in the woods late into the night, watching the area like a hawk. Even when the others fell asleep, and all that you could hear was the sounds of Tomura. Jin, and Spinner fighting Machia in the distance, you managed to keep yourself awake with the assurance that you'd finally get answers.

Finally, after what felt like hours, Dabi slunk into the clearing. You jumped up and marched over to him, grabbing his jacket lapel and pulling him farther into the woods before he could cry out in protest.

"What the hell was that today?" You hissed.

"The Doctor wanted me to test one of the High Ends," Dabi shrugged, unconcerned.

"No, you don't get to just shrug this off! I'm sick and tired of your shit!" Dabi blinked in surprise, "That was aggressive, sorry. I just- You were off today, Dabi. That was stupid, suicidal. And I know why you did it. I know."

"You know?"

"I know, Dabi- or should I say Toya-" gasping for air, you glared up at Dabi as he shoved you against the nearest with his hand around your throat.

"What the fuck did you just say?" Dabi's voice was just above a growl.

"I know. I know that you're Todoroki Toya and I know that you faked your death to get away from Endeavor. I know that you became a villain because you hated your father for being a fake hero, and you hated the heroes around you for not noticing what was wrong with your family. Your Quirk runs too hot. There's the stench of burning flesh every time you use it. You're destroying yourself, but today made it obvious you don't give a shit."

"What I choose to do with my Quirk and my life is my business, nobody else's."

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I remind you of someone?" You scowled, coughing when Dabi tightened his grip, "Get off, jesus!" You pushed him away from you, rubbing your sore throat, "Listen, I get that you feel the need to be in control of every aspect of your life now that you're away from Endeavor, it's probably why you hate authority so much, but stupid decisions like what happened today don't just affect you. They affect all of us! If they got you into custody and forced you to talk or brought in someone with a telepathy Quirk we'd be screwed Dabi! I want you to care about yourself, but at the very least care about everyone in there!"

You threw a hand back to motion at the clearing just behind you. Dabi's brows were drawn tight, and his gaze was flicking from you to the clearing, "They're like family, Dabi! What do you think would happen to them if we were compromised? I know you don't care about us so little that you'd leave us to the heroes. You act like you don't give a shit but you crave what we give you. You want a family to replace your fucked up one and you got it. So try to keep it!"

Panting, you grimaced and ran your hand over your throat again. Your voice was going to be shot tomorrow. But you'd managed to keep your voice low enough that none of the others had woken up to see what was going on.

"I am- I am Todoroki Toya," it looked like it hurt Dabi to say it, "I faked my death when I was fourteen because I couldn't take the abuse anymore. And now I'm here, and more than anything I want to kill him."

You didn't have the time to explain to him how stupid that was, how it would never truly make him feel fulfilled - just slight les angry. So instead, you settled for patting his shoulder.

"I said I wouldn't tell anyone and I mean it. You gotta talk to me about this kind of shit, Dabi. Maybe not your past if you don't want to, but about all this dangerous stuff. You aren't immortal, and your actions affect others now. You aren't on your own aymore."

"That was the sappiest shit I've ever heard."

"Shut up! I was being serious! Take a look around. All of us suck as people, and we all have problems, but we work together well don't we?"

Dabi begrudgingly nodded, "Yeah, we do or whatever."

Smiling, you felt some of the tension leave your shoulders. There'd probably be more issues concerning Dabi's past in the future, but for now all of you would just have to focus on taking down Machia and keeping Tomura alive.

"Oh! I want you to tell me about the recruit you've been seeing. You would've introduced them by now if they were a normal villain or an anti-hero. Who are they?"

Dabi seemed to hesitate, but you lifted a brow and he easily caved, "Hawks?"

You blinked. Once, twice, then chuckled, "Hawks? Like a villain making fun of Hawks the hero?"

"No. Hawks. The Number Two Hero."

You blinked again. Then shook your head and turned around, "Nope."

"Nope? What the hell does that mean?"

"I'm not dealing with this tonight."

"You're the one who asked me about all this! I'm just 'being honest' and 'sharing my feelings' like you wanted!"

"Dabi!" You hissed, spinning back around, "I don't want to deal with it tonight because it's painfully obvious you've been screwing the new recruit and I was curious about who you were willing to do that with-"

"I am not-"

"Save it! Just... just save it. I'm going back to bed, and tomorrow I am going to get the crap beaten out of me. Okay?"

"Okay..."

Making your way back to the clearing, you laid down next to Himiko and resisted the urge to pull out your phone and text Katsuki about what you just learned. He didn't need to know about the potential traitorous nature of one of the top heroes. Instead you'd call him on your break tomorrow to complain about how tired you were.

Life was simple.