Chapter 50

Holy shit guys we made it to 50! Thank you for the support so far, Im trying my best to make more fights and drama and nerve-wracking but life keeps getting in the way at times so yeaa. I want to know how to it is so far, I love feedback so any at all would be great! Lets get on with the story shall we...

The air crackled around me, the static energy a familiar companion to the turmoil churning inside. This was it. I was going to confront Dabi, Touya, the man who was once my best friend. A man I thought was dead. Peter, ever vigilant, swung silently behind me, a shadowy reassurance against the urban canvas.

My breath hitched. It had been years, since I had seen Touya Todoroki. I had seen his body burn to ashes and now here he was infront of me.

I landed softly behind a crumbling building, the scent of decay and burnt rubber stinging my nostrils. From my vantage point, I saw Dabi, his scarred skin a grotesque roadmap of pain, standing alongside Shigaraki. Two forces of destruction, talking, planning. But with whom?

Then I sensed it. A familiar rush of displaced air, the subtle rustle of feathers. Wings. Hawks. Hawks? My gut twisted. What was the number three pro-hero doing consorting with villains?

Peter and I dropped lower, silencing our movements, becoming ghosts in the shadows. We strained to hear their conversation.

"I don't care what you do with the information I gave you, just use it wisely," Hawks said, his voice a low, strained rasp, devoid of its usual cheerful lilt.

Shigaraki's raspy voice replied, "Thanks, but why are you helping us?"

Hawks scoffed, a sound full of bitterness. "Hero society is broken. Ever since the Hero Commission President died, it's been chaos. We had a hero meeting, and all they argued about was money and PR, instead of helping people. Only me, Mirko, Best Jeanist, Edgeshot, and a few others even tried to talk about actually helping."

The words hung in the air, heavy with disillusionment. Hawks was right. Ever since the President's assassination, things had been spiraling downward. Political infighting, dwindling resources, and a growing sense of public distrust had created a toxic atmosphere. Allies like America and UK had left us. The loss of All Might had left a void that no one was trying to fill.

These past few months had been a living nightmare: Bakugo's kidnapping, All Might's retirement, the League of Villains' growing power, the Meta Liberation Army's emergence, my dad and Endeavor competing for the number one spot, it was a nightmare. I was getting targeted, Izuku was getting targeted. Endeavor even tried to manipulate Shoto into turning against Izuku. It was a catastrophic mess.

Hawks's words resonated with a painful truth: He wasn't a traitor; he was a casualty. He was a weapon, forged and wielded by a system that valued power over humanity. I understood, perhaps better than most, the burden of expectation.

My dad, had introduced me to the hero life early. The Hero Commission saw my potential – a reincarnation of Superman, practically invincible – and they immediately began to train me, just as they had done with Hawks. We were both molded, shaped, and broken by the same system.

I didn't blame Hawks. I was angry and tired too.

Peter felt the shift in my mood. He was still in shock that Hawks would do this, but he looked at me, his eyes filled with concern. He saw the tell-tale flicker of red in my usually sapphire eyes, a sign of my building rage. He knew what I was thinking. I wouldn't out Hawks, and I wouldn't back down. A war was coming, and I was ready to lead it. That worried him.

I made a decision, a reckless one driven by years of pent-up frustration. I pulled my hood up, concealing my white hair and freckled face, and walked towards them, keeping my head lowered.

"I need to talk to Dabi," I said, my voice a low rumble.

Shigaraki bristled, his red eyes narrowed with suspicion. Dabi, surprisingly, just took a drag from his cigarette, the ember glowing in the dim light.

"Yeah, sure," he said, his voice raspy and laced with a hint of amusement.

Hawks shot me a look of pure shock, a silent "What the hell are you doing?" etched on his face. I avoided his gaze and walked with Dabi to a secluded corner of the alleyway.

The stench of burnt flesh was almost overwhelming. Dabi leaned against the brick wall, exhaling a plume of smoke.

"You want to stop hiding, 'Ans'?" he said, his voice a low murmur.

Ans.

Only Touya called me that. It was a nickname from a lifetime ago. I called him Tou, he called me Ans. I was hit with a sudden wave of dizziness, my ears started to ring, i felt like i was going to faint, was i dieng? what was happening?

Dabi saw my distress and pulled me close, his hand surprisingly gentle on my arm, even burnt it was there. "Calm down, Ans. It's fine. Panic attack. Breathe through it."

His voice, that familiar voice, cut through the haze. Panic attacks were rare for me, but the shock of seeing him, of hearing that nickname, had thrown me off balance.

"How? After all this time, you never came back. I thought you were dead," I said, my voice barely a whisper.

Dabi inhaled deeply and looked at me, his face still scarred and hidden but I seen Touya, I seen him. He knew then and there that I knew. "I thought you were dead too. Hell, for a while, I thought you were just some other pretty boy with a strong quirk. But then I saw the way you fought, your style, how you moved. I knew it was you, Ans."

"But why? Why the League? Why this?" I demanded, my voice laced with anger and hurt.

Dabi laughed, a hollow, bitter sound. "You want the sob story? Fine. After the fire, after Endeavor left me for dead, I was picked up by… someone. They patched me up, gave me a purpose. Showed me what this rotten society is really about. They showed me the darkness beneath the surface. And they were right."

"You could have come to me," I said, my voice cracking with emotion. "We could have fixed things."

Dabi shook his head. "Fixed what? Endeavor? The Hero Commission? This whole damn system? No, Ans, it's too far gone. It needs to be burned to the ground and rebuilt from the ashes."

"But innocent people will get hurt," i said.

"And you, Anos? What about you? Are you truly happy? Trapped in this cycle of endless expectations, forced to play the hero, while slowly crumbling inside?" Dabi asked.

His words struck me like a physical blow. He saw my weariness, my disillusionment, the cracks beneath my stoic façade.

"I… I don't know anymore," I admitted.

Dabi smirked. "That's the price you pay for being a hero, right? Sacrificing everything – your happiness, your peace, your life – for a world that doesn't even appreciate it."

For a long moment, we stood in silence, the only sound the distant sirens and the crackle of Dabi's flames. The air between us was thick with unspoken words, with shared history, with the weight of choices made and yet to be made.

I had come here to confront a villain. But I found a broken man, a mirror reflecting my own growing doubts.

"What do you want from me, Touya?" I finally asked.

Dabi took another drag from his cigarette, then flicked the butt to the ground, crushing it beneath his heel.

"I want you to open your eyes, Ans. See the truth. And then… choose a side."