Tokoyami remained perfectly still behind a decorative indoor tree, crimson eyes narrowed with the concentration of a battlefield sniper. Nearby, Shoji crouched low behind a couch, all extra arms retracted to avoid accidental detection.
Between them sat the gravely injured Kirishima, peacefully half-asleep and completely unaware that his two friends were currently experiencing psychological warfare.
"Shoji…" Tokoyami whispered darkly.
"Yes?"
"I now understand why villains fear crowds."
Shoji gave a solemn nod.
Across the room, Mina Ashido laughed loudly with Hagakure, Ochaco, Tsuyu, and a few of the other girls gathered in Kirishima's recovery suite. Apparently, after hearing Kirishima was awake and demanding food despite his condition, the entire social ecosystem of Class 1-A had migrated here.
Which was exactly why Tokoyami and Shoji were trapped.
They hadn't intended to stay.
They had merely come to silently acknowledge Kirishima's survival in what they mutually agreed was a "manly display of endurance."
Then Mina saw them.
"OH MY GOD, TOKOYAMI CAME TO VISIT!"
That single sentence had nearly killed them.
Now they were stuck.
Dark Shadow peeked out from Tokoyami's shoulder with complete betrayal in his eyes. "Fumikage… they're approaching again…"
Indeed, Ochaco had noticed them.
"Tokoyami! Shoji! Why are you guys hiding over there?!"
"Because prey animals survive through concealment," Tokoyami answered automatically.
"That doesn't even make sense!" Mina laughed.
Shoji silently considered escaping through the window.
Unfortunately, Tsuyu noticed that too.
"You're thinking about leaving through the emergency exit again, aren't you, Shoji?"
"…No."
A blatant lie.
Kirishima, meanwhile, sat upright in bed, wrapped in enough bandages to resemble a heroic mummy. "Brooo! You guys actually came!"
His smile was painfully sincere.
Tokoyami internally cursed friendship.
Shoji accepted death.
Mina suddenly gasped.
"WAIT."
Everyone looked at her.
Her grin widened.
"We should totally take a group picture."
The room temperature dropped by several degrees.
Tokoyami looked like someone had informed him the apocalypse was real.
Shoji physically recoiled.
Dark Shadow outright fled into the ceiling corner.
"No," Tokoyami said immediately.
"Absolutely not," Shoji added.
Mina ignored them completely.
"C'mon! It'll be cute!"
"Nothing about this is cute," Tokoyami muttered.
Hagakure had already grabbed her phone.
Ochaco was trying not to laugh.
Tsuyu looked mildly sympathetic.
Kirishima gave a massive thumbs up. "Aw, don't worry! We'll make it manly!"
"That statement somehow worsened the situation," Shoji admitted.
Then the girls advanced.
The two boys immediately entered survival mode.
Tokoyami slid backward with surprising stealth.
Shoji climbed the wall.
Dark Shadow hissed, "SAVE YOURSELVES!"
Too late.
"SMILE!" Mina shouted.
Flash.
The resulting image would later become one of Class 1-A's most treasured photos:
Kirishima is grinning proudly in a hospital bed.
Mina is making bunny ears behind him.
Ochaco laughing mid-shot.
Tsuyu is blinking calmly.
Hagakure is represented only by floating gloves.
Tokoyami is visibly attempting to vanish into his own collar.
Shoji halfway up the wall like a cryptid caught on security footage.
Dark Shadow is screaming in the background.
"Perfect."
...
The League of Villains Returns
The dock creaked quietly beneath the weight of the incoming group.
Fog rolled over the harbour in slow waves as the League disembarked with all the elegance of a travelling disaster.
Spinner adjusted the massive backpack slung over his shoulder. "I still think this operation lacked ideological consistency."
Magne groaned. "You say that every mission."
"Because no one listens to me."
"That's because you sound like a podcast."
Spinner looked genuinely offended.
Nearby, Toga skipped happily beside Dabi while carrying an entire crate labelled BIOHAZARD in pink marker.
"I did super well, right?" she chirped.
"You committed at least seven crimes before boarding the boat," Dabi replied.
"Only seven?"
"…That's worse."
Mr. Compress elegantly tipped his hat. "Regardless, our performance was spectacular. Truly, villainy shines brightest upon the grand stage."
Shigaraki scratched violently at his neck.
"Can we stop talking and move already?"
Giran stepped from the shadows with his usual crooked grin, hands tucked into his coat pockets.
"Well, well… look who actually survived."
"Your confidence in us is touching," Compress said.
"I deal in realism. And money."
Giran's eyes swept over the stolen containers, hard drives, experimental cases, and stacks of research data.
"…Damn. You brats actually pulled it off."
Shigaraki walked past him without slowing.
"Where's Sensei?"
Giran's expression shifted slightly.
"Waiting."
That single word changed the atmosphere.
Even Dabi stopped leaning lazily against the railing.
The group followed Giran through rusted industrial corridors hidden beneath the docks until they reached a massive steel door.
It opened slowly.
Darkness greeted them first.
Then machinery.
Monitors flickered softly within the underground chamber, casting pale blue light across medical equipment and strange tanks filled with fluid.
And at the center—
A man connected to countless life-support devices sat calmly in shadow.
All For One.
Despite the machinery surrounding him, his presence dominated the room completely.
"Welcome back," he said warmly.
Every member of the League straightened instinctively.
Even Shigaraki.
"You've all done wonderfully."
Toga smiled brightly, which would have been cute if not for the dripping blood.
Spinner looked nervous yet determined.
Magne folded her arms, and sunglasses were worn indoors...for some reason.
Dabi remained unreadable or did not care.
Compress bowed theatrically, tipping his hat.
Shigaraki stepped forward first, and the itching temporarily stopped.
"We got the data."
"Excellent."
A monitor illuminated nearby, displaying stolen files from I-Island:
Quirk amplification theory.
Artificial enhancement research.
Biological compatibility studies.
Nomu development support data.
All For One regarded it all with visible satisfaction, as much as Mr. Potato could.
"The future grows closer."
Then—
His attention shifted.
"To think Toshinori Yagi still survives after such damage…"
A soft chuckle escaped him.
"He truly refuses to die."
Shigaraki's fingers twitched.
"…Next time, I'll kill him."
"No," All For One corrected gently.
The room became still.
"You will destroy what he represents; that is a much more killing blow, Tomura."
Silence followed.
Then All For One tilted his head slightly. "Well, I shouldn't take any more of your time. See you're partners out, Tomura." The gang of misfits departed, leaving Giran there.
"Has Kurogiri found him?" He asked calmly as Giran opened his mouth to speak.
...
Somewhere far away, aboard a plane crossing the night sky, All Might unknowingly stared out the window with unease lingering in his chest. "Is this what Master felt...?" He murmured, turning to his eternal source of comfort.
"3, 2, 1...SMILE!!!"
The screen showed a large gathering of Class 1-A, along with Melissa Shield, in front of a giant plane. "Did you say something, Toshinori?" David said, looking over, "It's nothing. But wow, looks like they got along well."
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[Auther: Apologies for missing a chapter yesterday, I'll post double in that case.]