Today at 2:30 a.m
Location sent
Giran's message came to him on the burner phone that he purchased on the same day that Touya and Keigo returned to their actual age. He cursed upon reading it because it was 1 in the morning and he was finally about to catch some sleep, but now he had to go to an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Musutafu to meet the league of Villains (or the league of Vigilantes as people were calling them these days.)
Why has this become his life? – Aizawa thought, but he knew that it was for the league's benefit to send the message before the meeting by only half an hour, so they wouldn't be able to call in reinforcements or anything.
He knew it was a reckless plan - any sane hero wouldn't want to meet the league of villains (or the league of vigilantes as people are calling them these days) and throw himself into a lion's den. He wasn't even sure if they would agree to their conditions, but by having Touya on their side and Oboro on the other side, Aizawa hoped that the meeting would end well.
He sighed and got out of his bed, thank God – he was awake to see the message – he checked on Eri to make sure that she was asleep, he didn't want to leave her, but what made him less worried was that Shinsou had decided to sleep these days in their dorm. So, he checked on Shinsou too and after making a cup of coffee, he sent a message to Nedzu to inform him of the meeting and unsurprisingly, the principal answered immediately as if he was waiting for Aizawa's message - Which was creepy as fuck in Aizawa's opinion. He called Touya to meet him at the front gate and thankfully he answered on the third ring because Aizawa was so damn tired of going to the dorms to get Touya.
After a couple of minutes, he made his way to the front gate and found Snipe waiting for him and a car parked next to him.
God, he needed another cup of coffee, or maybe ten cups of coffee. What a stupid fucking plan? Going to meet the league of villains with one hero and a former league member – Aizawa thought after Snipe grimaced at him, both of them waited for Touya to arrive, which didn't take long as Aizawa could see his figure approaching from a distance.
"Ready?" Aizawa asked as soon as Touya approached them.
"Yes," Touya answered, and he tried to hide the nervousness from his tone because he didn't know what the league would decide; would they kill them or accept the conditions? - would they want him back or call him a traitor? Because deep down, Touya knows that he cares about them and he doesn't want to lose them. They were the only people who accepted him when he was tossed aside by society as if he was nothing, as if he was trash. So, he wanted the meeting to end well and hopefully, they would accept Nedzu's conditions like how Touya accepted them -
And hopefully, Touya will make sure that they are given a chance like the one he was given.
———————
The night was cold, the chill of frost in the air forming goosebumps over Aizawa's skin and numbing his nose and hands. Cold wind rifled through his hair as they stood in the abandoned warehouse waiting for the league of villains to show up. Touya was on his side, while Snipe was somewhere he didn't know. Probably hiding in the shadows and waiting for anyone who would attack them.
Aizawa buried his face in his capture weapon as if it would keep him warm and sighed for the millionth time when the league still hadn't shown up. Are they going to show up? Or is it a trap? – he thought as he tried to listen to everything around him which was nothing except the heavy breaths of him and Touya and the sound of the wind that kept hitting them like bullets.
"They will show up," Touya said after a few moments of silence and he seemed to be saying it to himself, not to Aizawa - as if to assure himself that his friends would welcome him back. It sometimes throws Aizawa off guard when he sees Touya express his emotions around him because he always thought that Dabi was a cold-blooded villain who didn't care about anyone, but he was glad that he sometimes caught the few glimpses of the Touya who cares - it gives Aizawa the push to continue on his path to save Touya and help him to have a better future.
It was after fifteen minutes of standing in the cold abandoned warehouse that a familiar dark purple portal appeared a few feet away from them and the familiar face of Shigaraki Tomura came out of the portal followed by the other members of the league until it was closed and Oboro was standing next to the leader of the league of Villains.
Aizawa felt his heart thudding rapidly in his chest, but on the outside, he was calm and tried not to tense. A sudden thought flashed through his mind of him snatching Oboro and taking him away from the league when his eyes met Oboro and the latter gave him a small smile. It was so weird seeing my best friend in the body of a villain as if they were the same person – he thought.
Silence filled the warehouse and the surrounding air was tense and each side was ready to attack if anyone made the wrong move.
No one dared to say a word as they looked at each other until the silence was broken by Shigaraki Tomura.
"We meet again, Eraserhead," The leader of the League of Villains said with a raspy voice and tilted his head slightly to the right as he regarded Aizawa with his red eyes.
"Shigaraki Tomura, we meet again under better circumstances," hopefully, this will end well - The underground hero thought, focusing his attention on Shigaraki as looking at Oboro wouldn't return him to his side. It hurt Aizawa, but he knew that Oboro was determined to do whatever he thought.
"Who said it would be better —" Shigaraki said, but he was cut off by a gasp from beside him followed by-
"Tenko! That's not what we agreed upon!" Oboro (or Kuroboro like how the league calls him) said, looking at Shigaraki as if he was scolding him.
What the fuck are you doing? – Shigaraki thought angrily, feeling a blush appear on his face from being scolded in front of Aizawa. He didn't want to deal with a seventeen-year-old brat and Toga at the same time! "Shut up!" Shigaraki said, shooting him a glare that made villains and heroes sweat, but, of course, Oboro wasn't affected by it.
Aizawa tensed and he readied himself to defend his best friend if Shigaraki attacked him, but the attack never came. It surprised him when the sound of giggles and laughter of Toga and Twice filled the cold warehouse like they had witnessed the funniest thing that happened on Earth. Are they really the league of villains? What the fuck is going on? Even Touya has a fond smile on his face – Aizawa thought. He could feel the atmosphere somehow lighten up a little, but despite all of this, Aizawa was still wary and didn't let his guard down. He knew that the league of villains were unstable and could attack them at any time, and judging by the scowl on Shigaraki's face, the young leader wanted to be in any place other than here.
"We are not here to fight, Shigaraki," Aizawa said sharply, his quirk ready to be activated at any moment. "I'm quite intrigued by your recent activities. A sudden change of heart? I bet something happened."
"I can do whatever the fuck I want, Eraserhead! and stop beating around the bush and tell me what's the fucking purpose of this meeting," Shigaraki growled, a harsh glare directed at the ground hero. His skin was itching and the urge to scratch it increased with every moment passing and his quirk was urging him to get out. He hated so much not knowing what was going on or what Aizawa wanted.
"Shigaraki, we are not here to fight." Touya's voice cut through Shigaraki's thoughts. His voice was calm and almost soft and Shigaraki wanted to dust him for treating him as if he was something fragile.
It hurt Shigaraki that his former second-in-command chose the heroes' side even if Shigaraki was the one who sent him to them and wanted them to save him. So, Shigaraki didn't correct his name to him because he didn't know if Touya still wanted them or not.
"What is the purpose of this meeting, hero?" Shigaraki asked again, directing his words at Aizawa and ignoring Touya's words. He knew this move would anger the Touya he knew, but this Touya didn't bitch about Shigaraki ignoring him nor demanded the attention to be on him.
"Principal Nedzu of U.A. is offering a preposition like the one he offered Touya. A way out to save you from Tartarus, but not from punishment, of course. It's like a lighter sentence." Aizawa answered.
A huff of laughter came out of Shigaraki -a mocking one. "What makes you think we are going to surrender, Eraserhead?" The leader of the League of Villains said.
"Isn't this what you are aiming for due to your vigilante acts? Gaining public support and evading punishment for your previous crimes, which is a clever act, I have to admit." Eraserhead said, then he looked at his best friend and asked. "Right Oboro?"
"I want to save them, Shouta. And give them a second chance as Dabi –" Oboro said softly. "Please, Shouta, you have to understand that they are not bad."
They are just broken and need someone to guide them.
"Then work with us. Principal Nedzu is willing to give them this second chance." Aizawa said.
"We want nothing from you, Eraserhead!" Twice said angrily. "Please, I always wanted to be a hero. Let me join you like Dabi!"
Shigaraki ignored what Twice said. He was already thinking about saving the other members of the league like Dabi, hence the acts of vigilantism. He didn't know if he could be saved, but the rest of the league could be saved. "What about your precious commission? Was this decision approved by them? He asked, raising one of his eyebrows because he knew that the commission wouldn't agree to this act and even though Keigo wanted to help them, Shigaraki knew that the commission wasn't the one to propose this idea. He bet they didn't agree with Touya staying in U.A.
"We don't work with the commission," Aizawa said, eyes flashing red for a second. "U.A. is a separate institution, and the commission doesn't have any authority over it."
"Working behind the commission, Eraserhead? That's not very heroic," Shigaraki grinned, and he heard Aizawa muttering under his breath 'I'm committing many unheroic acts these days' and it made him grin even before because the underground hero was desperate enough to seek out the league. "What's your deal, Eraserhead?" He asked.
"The Nomu wasn't sent by you, right, Shigaraki? ‐ I suspect that Ujiko Daruma isn't working with you at this moment." Aizawa replied and the flinch that Oboro made at the mention of the doctor didn't go unnoticed by him. He clenched his hands at his sides and thought about looking at the doctor and ripping his throat for daring to harm his best friend.
Shigaraki's gaze fell on Touya because he was the only one who could tell them about the doctor. "What else did you tell them, Dabi?" He sneered.
"The doctor was about to turn me into a fucking Nomu! He wanted to turn us all. He has to be killed –" Touya almost yelled. There was a glare on his fce.
"Arrested, Touya." Aizawa corrected.
A huff of laughter came out of Shigaraki. "I won't follow your morals, hero. I will fucking kill him if I ever see his fucking face." Shigaraki hissed, his voice holding so much venom.
And deep down, Aizawa agreed with Shigaraki and Touya because what was the difference between Asahi and Ujiko Daruma?
Aizawa sighed and didn't argue with Shigaraki's threats of murder. "Somehow, I hoped you knew his whereabouts. But what I don't get is why the Nomu was specifically targeting me?" The underground hero asked.
"The Nomus take orders from the doctor, Eraserhead," Shigaraki said. "Did you make yourself an enemy of him or did you gain another enemy?" He tilted his head slightly to the right and started to scratch his neck like how he did whenever he was nervous.
"Tenko –" Shigaraki was startled by the hand that stopped him from further scratching and he found Oboro looking at him worriedly.
"Sorry," Shigaraki muttered, feeling embarrassed for getting caught. Then he took a deep breath. "Did you recently gain new enemies, Eraserhead?" He was already putting the pieces together, and he was scared of what Eraserhead would say because if the doctor found new allies to help him, he would keep trying to make All For One able to control someone other than him.
Aizawa cursed because he had only gained one enemy in the past months. "The commission – they are trying to kill me." He said, shocked by the revelation.
The laughter of Shigaraki snapped Aizawa out of his thoughts. "You stole their favourite pet, after all, Eraser." The leader of the league said.
But it was Touya who snapped at him. "Don't call him that! Keigo doesn't belong to anyone."
"Whatever, I don't fucking care about that bird!" Shigaraki snapped back. But he was a liar. He knew he was lying. Keigo had somehow made his place in their little family.
"The commission allying themselves with the doctor is so wrong," Oboro said in a shaky voice. "Do you think he is trying to –"
"No, he is not going to bring him back! I will stab him and make him bleed before he brings him back." Toga spoke for the first time. She had a glare on her face as her knife glinted dangerously in the air.
The league of villains were arguing and the only one who wasn't saying anything was Shigaraki. The latter's eyes were haunted, and he looked afraid for a second - Only one thought was running through his mind, he couldn't, he couldn't control anyone, he couldn't —
"Your precious commission is dooming society," Shigaraki said. The haunted look was still on his face and he wanted to return to his room and hide and never come out again. "He will find someone else and I – I–"
"What –"
"Shouta, something bad is going to happen and we don't know if we can stop it," Oboro said, fear laced through his voice, and Aizawa already suspected what the league was talking about.
If it was true, then the commission is making a grave mistake.
"Then help us find the doctor. Help us fight him – that's Principal Nedzu's deal –" Aizawa said. "Prevent the greater evil from happening."
And at that moment, Shigaraki was aware that Aizawa had caught on to what he meant.
"What about the commission, Hero?" Shigaraki asked. His voice was still shaky, but he tried to make it strong.
"We are dealing with the commission these days. Their downfall has begun." Touya said, a smirk appearing on his face and when Aizawa hissed at him for disclosing this information, he said –
"They have a right to know, Eraserhead. Aren't they our new allies?" And at that moment, Aizawa was reminded that Touya still had some of Dabi's personality. "They might help us," Touya said in a gleeful tone.
"No, we will handle the commission and they will search with us for the doctor," Aizawa said, glaring at Touya. "Accept the deal, Shigaraki Tomura. You won't find a chance like this again." He said, directing his words at Shigaraki and the league by extension.
A moment of silence passed until it was broken by the raspy voice of Shigaraki.
"We accept the deal, Eraserhead, but if I find the doctor, I will kill him." He said with so much venom and his red eyes flashing in anger. He took a deep breath to calm himself, to not let his quirk destroy everything in front of him. "The meeting is over, hero." He said, not even looking at Aizawa and immediately a dark purple portal appeared, then he went through it without glancing at anyone.
Silence fell over the warehouse for a few moments after Shigaraki's retreating form disappeared, then -
"It was nice knowing that you're fine, Dabi." Mr. Compress said, then he bowed and held his hat to his chest. "Hope it will be a pleasure to work with you, Eraserhead. - Now, Gentlemen, I must leave."
What the fuck was that? – Aizawa thought but didn't voice this thought.
"See you later, Dabi." was the only thing Spinner said before he and Mr. Compres went through the portal.
But the portal was still open, and another silence filled the room until it was broken by a resigned sigh from Touya –
"Come here, brat." the fire user said, taking a step forward towards the other members of the league which made Aizawa tense, but soon enough the latter realised what Touya meant as Toga Himiko crept forward until she was standing in front of Dabi and she didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around his waist to hug him - the scene made Aizawa look the other way to give them their private moment.
"Dabi, I missed you sooooo much! It was so weird not having you there and I couldn't have my favourite strawberry juice and we all missed you, even Tenko." Aizawa heard her saying and it broke his heart how young she sounded. She was only a year older than his students but the only difference was that society did not treat her fairly.
Simply the League didn't find their own heroes to be saved by and this was evidence of how corrupted the society was.
Aizawa watched as Twice followed Toga to join the hug and the three of them sank down to the floor, still hugging each other.
"You will leave us again, Dabi?" Toga asked, her voice muffled in the group hug.
"It won't be long before we reunite again. I won't leave again, Toga," Touya said. Even if he had unwillingly left them when he got de-aged. "I still have Endeavor and the commission to destroy." he grinned, and it was so weird for Toga and the other members to not see any staples pulling on his face. He looked so different, yet he was still the same Touya that they knew.
"We can kill them together, stab them and make them bleed!" Toga said, which made Touya chuckle –
"Careful, Toga, there is a pro hero standing next to you –"
"We don't fucking care about Eraserhead, we should destroy Endewhore and the fucking commission!" Twice snapped, glaring at Aizawa who let out a sigh for like the millionth time. "No! We have to follow everything Eraserhead said! He is so cool. Do you know Shiggy – Tenko ! Whatever, Shimura Tenko is a huge fan?" Twice asked eagerly.
"Liar, Tenko will disintegrate you, silly!" Toga giggled and Touya let out a fond smile on his face. - He really missed them.
"I am not wrong!" Twice hissed, looking at Toga, then he returned to look back at Aizawa with a glare under his mask. " Who the fuck would choose Eraserhead as his favourite hero?! It's definitely Hawks. - he is Tenko and my favourite hero !" Then he whipped his head to look at Touya. "How is he? Did he return to the commission after everything we had done for him? That little traitor !"
"Keigo is perfectly fine, Twice. And the commission won't have him again." Touya's eyes darkened.
"Oooooh, I smell –"
"Shut up, you brat!" Touya snapped at Toga, cutting off whatever she was about to say.
Aizawa ignored the three of them, not wanting to hear anything else. A headache was already forming in his head from the bickering and all he wanted at this moment was to return to U.A. to catch some sleep because he still had a meeting with Nedzu and Keigo about the commission in the morning.
God, what had he done in his life to make him suffer like that? – Aizawa thought, but he banished these thoughts as he saw Oboro approaching them, specifically him . He tuned out the conversation about Touya, Toga and Twice (Toga was begging Touya to send her pictures of Midoriya and Uraraka or to let confess to them her undying love - the teen literally has stars in her eyes.) and focused on Oboro -
"Hey, Shouta," Oboro said, a small smile on his face, and it hurt Aizawa every time he looked at him and saw that his face was trapped inside the purple mist. He looked like the teenager he used to be. Nothing changed in his appearance except being surrounded by purple mist.
Aizawa was lost in his thoughts and regrets that he was almost startled by the hand that was waving in front of him. Like how his best friend always used to do when he tried to get his attention.
Get yourself together – A voice snapped inside Aizawa's head – he is still alive and in front!
"Shoutaaaa, Shoutaaa –" Oboro said - or like whined –
And with a jolt that was sent down Aizawa's spine, a thought sprang to his mind. How old is Oboro at this moment? Was he still trapped in his seventeen year old mind or he is an adult or –
"Shirkaumo," Aizawa said.
"Thank you for giving them another chance," Oboro said and Aizawa desperately wanted to take him home; to their apartment with his cat, Eri, and Shinsou.
"I still can't change your mind, Shirakumo?" – I don't want to leave you here. "Can't I save you from all of this?" Aizawa said, not wanting to fail again at saving his best friend.
"Sorry, Shouta. He is somehow important to me and I want to return home, but I accept that Kurogiri is a part of me, so I can't leave Tenko." Oboro said. "He is just – I am sorry, Shouta," he whispered the last words and Aizawa's heart broke at how young he sounded.
"Zashi and Nemuri are waiting for you," Aizawa said - another attempt to make Oboro change his mind.
But Oboro shook his head, and a small, sad smile appeared on his face. "Sorry, Shouta. I can't. But I promise I will return," he said, wanting to cry, but he couldn't in this body. It was still weird for having Kurogiri's memories and his feelings towards Shigaraki (and despite what anyone said about Nomu that it didn't have any feelings, Oboro knew that Kurogiri was fond of Shigaraki and he had the urge to protect him from everything - even from All For One and his doctor.) "After all, I'm with you till the end of the line," Oboro said, a genuine smile appearing this time on his face.
A chuckle came out of Aizawa, he didn't know that he could laugh that night, but Oboro's words made a warm feeling settle in his chest. "You still remember?" Aizawa said.
"Of course, Shouta," Oboro said softly.
A small smile appeared on Aizawa's face. "And I'm with you till the end of the line." He said the words that they always say to each other - a promise between the three best friends (Aizawa, Oboro, Hizashi) that they will forever be together; side by side and no one could tear them apart.
"Thank you, Shouta," Oboro said. – thank you for reaching out to us. " Sadly, I have to go now, but I will be in contact and we will inform you if we find him." He said.
"And I will inform you too, Shirakumo," Aizawa said, then he looked at Touya. "Touya, it's time to leave."
"No, wait, wait, wait —" Toga said, skipping over to Aizawa and Oboro. "I haven't said my warning yet."
"Toga —" Touya groaned, but Toga already had a knife in her hand that no one knew where it came from and she pointed it at Aizawa –
"If you hurt Dabi-Kun, I will stab you until you bleed and you won't be pretty, Eraserhead." She said, a manic grin on her face.
" And I will get rid of your body in a dumpster!" Twice growled. "No, Tenko and Kuroboro will kill me! We can't kill him," He cried.
"They are just kidding, Shouta! No killing."
"I am not kidding, Kuroboro! Mark my words, Eraserhead!" Toga hissed.
" Yes! — No! " Twice said.
Toga was about to say something, but a purple portal opened from underneath her and Twice.
"Hey! KUROBORO! I WILL STA—" They heard Toga yelling his name, but the rest of the words were muffled by the portal and they only heard Twice's undignified scream.
"Goodbye, Shoutaaaa! And Dabi!" Oboro said before opening a portal for himself.
And then silence filled the warehouse until a chuckle came out of Touya. — Aizawa was still reeling from what had just happened in front of him.
What had just happened? – the underground hero thought. They are more childish than my class. What the fuck?
"That's definitely not Kurogiri," Touya said.
"That's definitely Oboro," Aizawa said in a fond tone, but soon enough his expression turned alert as he heard a rustle coming from the other side of the warehouse —
"Sorry or not sorry to interrupt you, but I don't want to stay in this freezing warehouse again." Snipe's voice came out of the darkness and Aizawa immediately relaxed and Touya did the same.
"Enjoyed the meeting, Snipe-San?" Touya asked in a mocking tone , but he was only teasing him.
"Shut up, Touya!" Snipe narrowed his eyes at the former villain. It was still weird for him that Touya and Keigo still called him that, like how they used to do. "Let's get out of here." He huffed and walked past Touya and Aizawa without saying anything else.
———————
It was when they arrived at U.A. and Snipe left that Aizawa said —
"You let them call you Dabi." His voice was quiet in the dead of night. It held no accusations, but there was something in Aizawa that feared Touya would be Dabi again.
"Don't worry, Aizawa, I won't return to villainy again. But Dabi is still and will always be a part of me and they were the only people who accepted me as Dabi with my flaws and everything –" Touya said, voice soft and quiet. "They accepted me when everyone else didn't."
They are my family. – the words flashed through his mind and it was the first time this thought crossed his mind.
"Fine, as long as you don't return to villainy," Aizawa said, cutting through Touya's thoughts. "I don't want to fight you, Touya. Don't prove me wrong."
"I promised, Aizawa, and I won't break your trust."
And at the moment Touya said this, something wiggled inside his pocket and it flew out of it —
A red feather was floating in the air and then it darted towards Aizawa and tickled his face as if checking that he was fine. The sight made Touya laugh – it was like what Keigo used to do to Aizawa . Then it flew back to Touya and planted itself on his neck.
"Don't let him wait too long," Aizawa said.
"And you go to sleep, DadZawa. You need it after everything happened," Touya let out a huff of laughter, but he was worried about the underground hero because he knew he didn't get enough sleep.
"Ugh," Aizawa let out a groan. "Hopefully, no one will disturb me again." And he waved at Touya. "See you tomorrow or today – whatever, Touya."
And Touya let out a chuckle, and the feather wiggled on his neck —
"Fine, fine. I am coming. Calm your feathers, birdie."