UA's Immortal Teacher

Part 26

Dabi stood at the edge of the forest and fed the fire, letting the blue encompass the entirety of the forest edge. They spiraled into magnificent columns in the dark night sky, setting the world ablaze with light and heat. He let a small spark dance around his fingers, his eyes absorbing the brilliance of the destructive element. He could stay in this moment forever, never moving forward or going back, stuck in one place in time.

He could have been standing there minutes or hours, just watching the flames that he created. He never got to let them loose on this sort of scale, not in a long time, so just the chance to do something like this would be worth it on its own. But that wasn't all that this attack was about. This was them proving to the hero students that nowhere was safe for them... while getting a few new recruits on the way.

They were here for two students specifically: the angry blonde that had come in first place and his younger brother, Shoto. The winner of the Sports Festival had been Shigaraki's idea, the kid seemed so angry and talented that their 'glorious' leader assumed that he would be able to persuade him onto their side. Something about how 'team turns' happen all the time and you only had to do a 'recruitment sequence' for it to happen.

And Shoto had been his idea. He had gotten Shigaraki to agree to it because his younger brother was so talented, but he didn't tell them the real reason he wanted the white-and-red-haired teen on their side. The truth was, he did miss his family members. All except that piece of flaming garbage, that was. He figured if he could get his younger brother to join them then he would have a way to know how Fuyumi and Natsuo were doing. It had been a long time since he had seen any of them, and working with his little brother to destroy their father did sound fun to him.

All they had to do was take those students using Mr. Compress' quirk, then they made their quick getaway using Kurogiri. They already had plans for the teacher's, so they wouldn't stop them this time. The homeroom teachers would be back teaching the dumb kids that failed the exams, and the four kitty-cats would be so focused on protecting the students in front of them that they wouldn't focus on the kids in the forest. All they had to do was seal off the areas and nothing could stop them.

Shigaraki had made sure to highlight that fact when he dropped them all off, saying, "There's no way even you lesser party members could screw this up." He claimed there was something more important he needed to do, and he didn't have to waste his time going after a bunch of high school brats. Then he attempted to throw a table when Toga suggested he was afraid that the guy from the USJ would show up again. But because Kurogiri 'kid-proofed the tables, it didn't go anywhere. It just ended up disintegrating when their 'fearless leader' realized he couldn't throw it into the air.

But as Dabi watched the fire flicker in the dark night sky, he felt a smidge of doubt start to creep its way into his mind. This was going a little farther than he had originally thought, and he definitely didn't want to hurt his little brother. He didn't exactly care one way or another for his classmates, but it wasn't like he wanted to hurt them. All he wanted was a world where there were true heroes, not this scum that crawled from the sewers of hell.

But if he had to hurt others to get that world, he would. He had forsaken all other bonds and given up his previous life a long time ago. The little boy who wanted nothing but his father's approval was long gone, and all that was left was Dabi. The boy who was born out of anger and pain. The boy who walked through the fire with sizzling skin, who ignored the burn marks left all over him. The boy who wouldn't let anyone or anything get in his way.

Dabi pushed away his reservations and let the fire blaze higher, letting it dance playfully through the trees and feeling the wave of heat wash over him. There was no point in looking back now. He had made the decision and now he would stick with it. He would see this through.