….
Outside the combat zone, the mall had descended into controlled chaos.
Kamui's wooden barriers were still up, blocking civilian view of what had just transpired.
Other heroes were already in motion, establishing a perimeter, initiating evacuation protocols, and coordinating the response with practiced efficiency.
The purple void had vanished completely, blue flames extinguished and the wooden barriers remained, but the immediate threat was gone.
Kamui Woods received a single message on his phone.
Just an emoji from Dabi: thumbs up.
Relief flooded through him. Mission accomplished and threat neutralized.
Kamui's voice boomed over the chaos, amplified by the natural acoustics of his wooden structures: "The immediate threat has been neutralized! Please continue moving toward exits in an orderly fashion! Police are en route and will need to secure the scene!"
As Kamui Woods slowly lowered the barriers, giving the students and civilians a clearer view of the plaza, they saw Dabi walking toward Midoriya, who still looked completely shell-shocked.
And there, on the ground between them, was a purple misty form, Kurogiri, wrapped in what remained of Midoriya's Black Whip, completely neutralized and unconscious.
The crowd noise increased exponentially:
"What was that?!"
"Did anyone get video?!"
"Is it over? Where's the villain?!"
"Did he escape?!"
The news crew was going wild, their reporter speaking rapidly into the camera: "We've just witnessed what appears to have been a villain attack stopped by Pro Hero Dabi. Viewers may recognize him from both the U.A. Sports Festival and the recent Nomu incident. The attacker appears to have escaped using some kind of teleportation quirk, though authorities have not yet confirmed the details–"
….
"There." Uraraka pointed, voice tight with concern. "Deku seems okay, and Dabi-sensei's with him, but... who is that?"
"Is that the same thing from USJ?!" Kirishima demanded, recognition dawning. "The mist that teleported villains! Are they the ones behind this attack too?!"
Iida's eyes were fixed on the scene with tactical precision. "Midoriya looks pale."
It was true.
While Midoriya had managed to execute what Dabi instructed, caught up in the heat of the moment, moving on instinct and trust, now that everything was over, the adrenaline rush was washing away.
The reality of what had just happened was hitting him like a physical weight.
He stumbled slightly, caught himself, and Dabi was there immediately to steady him with a hand on his shoulder.
"That was..." Midoriya couldn't finish the sentence..
"All For One." Dabi confirmed, keeping his own voice level and steady. "The man who nearly killed All Might six years ago, the monster who's been manipulating hero society from the shadows for over a century."
He paused, making sure Midoriya was listening despite the shock.
"And also the one you might have to fight one day."
Midoriya's eyes widened, green irises dilating with renewed fear at the implication.
Dabi placed both hands on Midoriya's shoulders, forcing direct eye contact. "Engrave that fear into your heart, Midoriya. Never forget the feeling… the feeling of being completely helpless, of knowing death was one touch away. Hold onto it, because if you let it, that fear will force you to grow stronger."
His voice dropped lower, more intense.
"Because next time, I may not be there to shield you from it." Dabi continued. "And if that happens, it will just be you standing in front of him. When that day comes, being physically strong won't be enough, you need to be mentally prepared too."
Midoriya nodded shakily, still processing.
Kamui and Stain began establishing a proper perimeter around the captured Kurogiri.
In the distance, sirens announced the police response getting closer.
"Stay put for now." Dabi instructed, releasing Midoriya's shoulders. "The police are going to want statements, so answer their questions honestly and don't leave anything important out."
He paused for a moment, the look he gave Midoriya carrying extra meaning.
"Except the part where I identified him as All For One. That information is complicated, classified, and definitely not something that belongs in a standard police report."
The Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall transformed into an official crime scene with practiced efficiency.
The Police Force arrived in force, led by Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi, a man in his late thirties with sharp eyes and the kind of tired expression that came from dealing with too many villain incidents.
He took one look at the damaged floor, scorched marks across the plaza, captured villain, and visibly traumatized the student before immediately beginning to coordinate a systematic response.
Naomasa ordered his team. "Shut the mall down temporarily and extend the search radius to three blocks in every direction. Coordinate with local heroes for a full sweep. We're looking for Tomura Shigaraki, any possible accomplices, and any signs of additional villain activity."
They wouldn't find anything, Dabi knew.
All For One's didn't leave traces you could follow with conventional investigation.
But protocol demanded the effort, and it had to be followed.
The news crews multiplied exponentially.
Three different stations now, all trying to get the best angle, all shouting questions over each other:
"Dabi! Can you confirm this was a League of Villains attack?!"
"Was the student specifically targeted?!"
"What can you tell us about the purple teleportation quirk?!"
"Is this connected to the USJ incident from earlier this semester?!"
Naomasa cut through the media scrum like a destroyer through rough seas. "All media personnel, move back behind the established perimeter immediately." he ordered sharply. "This is an active crime scene, and you are interfering with an official investigation."
His tone brooked no argument, and the reporters retreated, though their cameras kept rolling.
Naomasa spotted Dabi with Midoriya and his expression shifted, a recognition mixed with relief mixed with the exhausted gratitude of someone who had just avoided a complete catastrophe.
He approached Midoriya with the practiced gentleness of someone used to interviewing traumatized civilians.
"I am going to need you to come down to the station so we can ask a few questions about what happened." he added quickly, seeing the fear spike in Midoriya's eyes. "You're not in any trouble, it is just a testimony important for the further investigation."
Then he spotted Dabi properly and paused mid-step, recognition and professional respect crossing his face simultaneously.
Dabi waved him forward. "Go ahead and take him," he said. "Just don't push him too hard. He only knows what he personally witnessed, and he's already had more than enough stress for one day."
Then he looked directly at Naomasa, the meaning behind the glance unmistakable.
"I will come by later to give my own statement. There are some details that are going to need a lot more context."
"Understood." Naomasa replied before lowering his voice slightly. "And… Thank you for today."
Dabi just nodded.
Another officer was corralling the remaining Class 1-A students who had been scattered throughout the mall. "Anyone from U.A. needs to remain here for preliminary statements." he announced. "You're all potential witnesses in an active villain incident."
"But we didn't actually see anything!" Kirishima protested. "Those wooden barriers blocked the whole fight!"
"You were still present at the scene." the officer replied while checking information on his tablet. "Protocol requires statements from everyone in the vicinity." He looked up again. "Is your entire class accounted for?"
Iida immediately switched into class representative mode and did a quick headcount. "Midoriya is currently with Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi." he reported. "Everyone else is present."
"Good. We will keep this efficient." the officer said. "One at a time. Basic questions only: what you observed, where you were when the barriers went up, and whether you noticed any suspicious activity beforehand."
His radio crackled with an incoming update.
"Perimeter secure. No sign of suspects in the immediate area. Expanding the search radius to three blocks."
….
A second reporter had arrived by then, older and far more experienced than the others. She carried herself like someone who had covered real disaster zones before and understood exactly how to shape a narrative for the public.
Standing before a professional camera setup, she spoke with the measured gravity of serious journalism.
"This marks the second direct attack involving U.A. High School students in less than six months, following the USJ incident earlier this semester. Questions are already being raised about whether hero schools are doing enough to protect students during off-campus activities."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"The attacker's apparent teleportation ability also raises serious concerns about current security measures, many of which become nearly ineffective against that kind of mobility. Debate has already begun over whether U.A. should impose stricter supervision on student movement or temporarily suspend unsupervised off-campus activities until the threat is contained."
The camera shifted to footage of police locking down the area before zooming in on the restrained Kurogiri.
"However, today's incident also demonstrated the effectiveness of rapid hero intervention. Pro Hero Dabi, currently working as an instructor at U.A., successfully neutralized the threat and captured what appears to be a high-value villain operative before any civilian casualties occurred."
She looked directly into the camera for the closing line.
"The question now is whether this represents the end of the League of Villains campaign against U.A., or simply another escalation in an increasingly public conflict. Attention is now turning toward how the Hero Public Safety Commission will respond to yet another brazen attack carried out in broad daylight."
….
Back at the investigation room, specialized quirk-suppressing restraints had been brought in for Kurogiri.
The misty villain was still unconscious, Dabi had made sure of that with a precisely-controlled strike before the police arrived, but precautions were necessary.
"This is the teleportation villain from USJ." one officer confirmed, checking records on his tablet. "Kurogiri. He's wanted in connection with multiple villain incidents. This is a significant capture."
"More than significant." Naomasa said quietly, watching as his team loaded Kurogiri into a specialized transport vehicle. "This is the League of Villains' primary mobility asset. Without him, they lose their ability to strike anywhere without warning."
He looked at Dabi, who stood nearby with arms crossed, watching the proceedings with a carefully neutral expression.
"You just crippled their entire operational capability." Naomasa observed. "And because of that, they're going to come for him. Sooner or later, they will try to break him out."
Before the medical team departed with the captured villain, Dabi stopped them. "Wait. I need you to collect something."
He produced several sealed evidence bags; teeth fragments and blood samples from Shigaraki that he had carefully preserved during the fight.
This had been one of his secondary objectives from the start: secure biological evidence….
.
….
[To be continued…]
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