“I am Sir Nighteye, singular sidekick, working under the number one hero agency of Japan," He announced as he flicked his glasses back into place. The groans of the fallen villains echoed out around them. He took a step off the back of the hulking heteromorph and landed as if the whole scuffle had been a minor hindrance.

  Tōya’s ragged breaths joined them as his azure flames illuminated the dark streets. He had never seen the man in person, but he had nothing but great things to say. Nighteye was instrumental in taking down the Shie Hassakai. Opening up a prime opportunity for the League of Villains to take their revenge on Overhaul, the arrogant bastard.

  Maybe it was scummy, but they never said they were saints. Their third-partying left a sweet taste in his mouth.

  Tōya’s expression started to set into a smile, remembering the look on Chisaki’s horror stricken face.

  “Tōya!” He was shaken from his thoughts as the girl, Hanako, pointed to Sir Nighteye. “C’mon, he works for All Might. He has to know you! Right? He can take us back to Sensei!” Miwa hugged the other girl from behind in exhaustion. None of the children were left unscathed from the battle, but they were untouched compared to Tōya.

  With that single sentence, the lanky man zeroed in on the Todoroki. His looming figure was threatening, but none of the other children were affected as they cheered with glee at who they thought to be their saviour.

  With a grimace, Tōya locked eyes with the man. “My name is Tōya Todoroki, son of Endeavor.” he balled his fists and jutted his chin out.

  Sir Nighteye tilted his head as he registered Tōya’s sentence. “...Tōya Todoroki died three years ago on Sekoto Peak.” His voice nonplussed, yellow eyes scanned their surroundings for potential threats from the fallen villains.

  “If what you say is true, then I will need to alert the proper authorities and your father.” His eyes took in his burned state, searching for some unseen detail that left Tōya feeling self-conscious.

  Sir Nighteye readjusted his tie in one smooth motion. “Now, as for the rest?” he questioned. “Shouldn't you all be with your parents?” He heard more groaning from the criminals and could make out sirens in the distance. Shaking his head, Sir instead held out a hand before they could answer.

  “Can you walk? I'm afraid that we are not out of danger just yet.”

  “I can manage,” Tōya answered with some difficulty. He stepped over the feet of one of the hulking heteromorphs. “Come on, guys, let's go.” He yelled over his back. The children looked at each other before they started rushing forward.

  Was now the right time? He had never been great with finding the right words to say.

  With a light stumble, Tōya caught up with the alert Nighteye, who had begun to lead them. The thin man blinked, his head tilted down at the sixteen-year-old in question.

  Resigned, Tōya spoke, facing away from the children. “A man who called himself All For One rebuilt my body. I burned at Sekoto peak, badly. I should be dead now.”

  Before, the lanky man’s strides were long and confident, but now he slowed to a near stop.

  “He said he could make me stronger, said I could be greater, become the number one hero.” Tōya’s eyes dropped down to the floor. “The others believe that he saved them. But I know a crooked adult when I see one.”

  Tōya’s blue eyes lifted up, glowing blue, like flickering flames in the dark as he spoke that sentence.

  Sir Nighteye grabbed Tōya’s shoulder. “You say that All For One personally spoke to you?” He questioned with naked, serious eagerness. “No, never mind, we’ll finish this conversation after you are given a check-up and the rest of the children are safe.”

  “All of you hurry along.” Nighteye waved them in with one arm and pulled out a flip phone with the other, proudly displaying an All Might Second Addition Series case with a matching keychain. “Detective Eizo Tanuma? It’s Sir Nighteye. I’ll be needing backup.” He held up a finger. “Yes, I’ve already paged All Might on his emergency line. You say there’s a little girl in his office crying for help?” The lanky man slowly turned to them as he repeated the sentence out loud.

  “Can you track my current location? I’ll rendezvous with the dispatched heroes near Might Tower, we'll be needing emergency aid to be granted post haste… there are children,” Sir Nighteye spoke softly, closing his phone with a snap. He looked at them again and nodded as he opened his mouth—

  A loud, deafening crash shattered the silence.

  In the direction of Might Tower, a towering figure could be seen rising up from the smoking debris of the building. The crash sent more than half of the kids to the ground. Tōya crouched low as he braced himself from the impact, palm resting on the concrete.

  “It’s Mr. Saturn!” The exclamations were immediate as the children dusted themselves off. Like the two before Tōya, this man was also a heteromorph with a head that accurately portrayed his namesake, albeit with a cartoonish styling.

  “But Mr. Saturn was never that big!” The little elephant heteromorph squeaked out.

  “I don't think he recognizes us…” The red-haired boy stared in amazement as Mr. Saturn waved his arm in their general direction, dragging what was left of the building behind him.

  What the hell? This guy rivals Gigantomachia for size…

  Tōya thought, his fingers clenching and relaxing as his mind ran a mile a minute.

  Left knee touching the ruined pavement, Sir Nighteye spoke without looking at them. “Can I trust you children to seek shelter on your own?”

  The edge of his right eye could be seen as he briefly scanned their nodding faces.

  “Good.” Nighteye lifted his knee, stood up to his full height, and readjusted his suit jacket with a smooth shrug. “I want you all to run together in an orderly fashion.”

  “Trust me.” Sir Nighteye announced with conviction.

  The tall sidekick began his sprint with slow steps, building up momentum as he made contact with the titanic heteromorph with a leap. Time seemed to slow down as small projectiles flew from the blue-clad hero’s suit pocket, deflecting a series of strikes from the fist of Mr. Saturn.

  The impacts caused the floor to shake yet again.

  “C’mon!” Tōya yelled as he got his bearings, helping the elephant-rat heteromorph boy up. “You heard, Sir. There are more heroes coming; maybe they can help Mr. Saturn get back to his senses.”

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Y-y-yeah!” Miwa said, more to reassure herself than actually believing the words that came out of his mouth.

  “Grab my hand, everyone hold each other’s. I don't want any of you to get lost.” It would piss him off fiercely if any of them were killed or captured after all of this.

  From Tōya’s right, he could see Sir Nighteye run up across the wall of a building as the titanic heteromorph crashed into it. His eyes focused as he made out the blue-clad man among the debris.

  Nighteye’s tall form skipped off of the top rim of the building seconds before it collapsed and onto Mr. Saturn’s bicep. Yet again, Sir’s arm shot out towards the heteromorph’s face, a volley of weights fanning out.

  But Mr. Saturn tilted his head aside and stomped against the adjacent building’s side, shattering the windows off its surface.

  Shards cascaded from above, raining down on Tōya and the children.

  “Hanako, use your quirk!” three of the children yelled out.

  Letting go of each others’ hands, the children scattered as the glass fell, covering their heads with their hands.

  Hanako—the girl with ink-black hair—raised her hand up to her temple. With a shriek, the air distorted, warping towards her center of focus. The violent suction pulled every single shard of glass into a perfectly smooth, glowing orb of molten glass that bounced off the pavement when it fell.

  Hanako wobbled on her feet after the quirk usage but stayed upright.

  Another explosion sounded off as Mr. Saturn was hurled in the air above them and into the western section of the intersection.

  The gigantic figure slid and pulled the rest of the buildings and street behind his outstretched arms. At his stop, he lay sprawled on the rubble but slammed his arms down and lifted himself up with unnatural speed. The heteromorph animalistically howled into the night sky, so loud that even Tōya had to cover his ears.

  Now that would alert the whole prefecture.

  Tōya didn't know if that was a good thing just yet.

  Iwao was leading the slower children as they crawled under the fence of the apartment complex. The building looked no worse for wear.

  Tōya took the front of the pack as he jumped over the tall fence and skimmed the edge of the building.

  As he crept along the siding, Tōya could make out three dark silhouettes near the entrance of the first floor window. His right arm lit up aflame in apprehension, ready to set All For One’s goons on fire.

  —Only, the fact that he could make out the malnourished faces on the dirty junkies' prone forms stayed his hand. Their expressions unconcerned as their minds were thoroughly zonked out on whatever substances they were taking.

  “Tsk,” the Todoroki relaxed his tensed arm as the flames died out. His eyes squinted as he studied them.

  Tōya let out a breath, “Come on, before this building comes down on us!” his front was facing the window that the junkies resided in, as he let the rest of the children move ahead of him from his back. A softer series of crashes could be heard in the distance, no doubt from Sir Nighteye and Mr. Saturn.

  Could be worse, at least he won't have to deal with any Nomu.

  Tōya thought as he rushed back up to the front, jogging between the braided girl and the boy with cartoonish eyes.

  “Jun, do you think Mr. Nighteye will be alright?”

  “I think so, didn't you see how he was climbing up Mr. Saturn? He was like a spider or something!” The boy with black spiked up hair said, his animated cartoonish eyes going wide in amazement.

  The girl made a disgusted face at the comparison, “Eww.” she moved her hand back as she recoiled at the idea.

  With impatient steps, Tōya could see two of the children at the front fiddling with the gate of the apartment complex’s fence. They looked frustrated as they kicked at the iron door.

  “Nothing?” Tōya questioned, he could easily climb the fence but it would take the rest of the children longer to catch up. His digits tensing and relaxing as he readied himself.

  Not an idea worth considering, nothing a bit of fire can't fix though.

  “It's stuck tight! Shigeo! We need help!” Said boy was already jogging up to them. His short dark gray hair swayed from his quick steps. He bent down as he inspected the handle, noting the warped state of the metal.

  “Hmm—hmm… I got it!” The boy mumbled and then shouted as he snapped his fingers. Moving his arms apart, the appendages started to morph into a set of reciprocating saws. They powered on as he angled the power tools and roughly cut into around the warped metal.

  With a kick the door easily smacked against the other side of the fence.

  “Nice job Shigeo!” the huddled children cheered.

  Now free to continue their trek to the tower in the distance, the gaggle of children walked.

  Yet again the streets were getting quieter as they were left alone. Tōya's rising adrenaline had started to wear off, when was the last time he had eaten? What he wouldn't give to eat some cold soba.

  His stomach growled in hunger, his burnt arms closed around his torso as he hugged himself to stave off the pangs.

  It wasn't the first time he had gone hungry, but around here? He wouldn't chance a needle for a meal in a dumpster. Or some idiot mook, taking their chances at nabbing one of ‘em.

  The small elephant heteromorph near his right foot squeaked up at him. Tōya looked at him in question, his right eyebrow raised.

  “Wha–”

  The little thing rushed up in front of him and then dug into his oversized back pocket. No, Tōya could see the little mutant’s quirk activate with a small glow as he pulled out a cluster of neatly packaged onigiri.

  Tōya’s other eyebrow also rose as he took the offered snack with an accompanying water bottle. “Thanks uhh…”

  “It’s Keiichi, you're welcome!” The short boy squeaked back as he waved at him. The little mutant joined the rest of the group of the children a ways behind.

  Huh…

  The scarred Todoroki unwrapped the food, what did he eat the first time he woke up from his coma? He couldn't remember; it felt like a lifetime ago.

  It was probably something leftover from the dumpster of All MightyDonalds…

  Cautiously, his first bite was clumsy, several sticky grains of rice fell onto his shirt as he scarfed down mouthfuls. Nonetheless, he continued to take quick bites to alleviate the nausea and shakiness.

  “Ack—eck!”

  Tōya thumped at his chest as he choked on the rice, eyes burning.

  His bottle of water was emptied out into his throat as he pounded at his chest again to clear the offending mouthful.

  Splatters of water and rice fell from his half-burnt lips.

  Grateful regardless of how his first meal had ended, Tōya felt more alive than he had in a long time.

  His arms relaxed at his sides as Tōya slowed his pace and joined the flock of kids. His bare feet joined their dirty sock-clad steps

  A stray thought hit him.

  They reminded Tōya of middle-school… It had been a while, but he had gone to school. He couldn't remember any of his classmates' faces, not that he had cared to know any of them.

  Tōya snorted, they had all wanted to be heroes, and so had he.

  Back then, he was so damn sure that he would be the number one, he'd beat All Might. He didn't care if his… Endeavor refused to train him, he'd prove him wrong. And then he'd show him that he wasn't a mistake.

  What a joke… he grinned sardonically.

  The soft taps of their feet reached Tōya’s burned ears.

  “...What do you guys want to do when we get back to Sensei?” the little girl with the pink dress asked as Tōya faced away from them. By now, they had crossed several streets in silence.

  “Ooh ooh! We're going to play house. Ms. L—Luna, she would make these ice sc–sculptures. Like mini houses, dolls, and dresses!” One of the shorter girls with a brown bob haircut grinned at the memory, her stutter exasperated by her excitement.

  “Mr. Saturn would play football with us on Sundays, it would be nice if we could play with Sensei again.” The red-headed boy, Iwao, commented offhandedly with a soft smile.

  With Sensei…?

  “Phleh— I hated Mr. Comet’s quizzes.” A boy with a shirt with the letter B cringed at the thought.

  “Wait, Mr. Comet never gave out any quizzes?” Shigeo said, his face wholly confused as he looked at the other boy.

  “Hmm, now that you mention it, was it Ms. Luna who played house with us? or Mr. Sunny?” Hanako asked, her finger lifted up in question.

  “Football on Sundays? I thought it was storybook time, and a field trip to the good doctor?” The little heteromorph Keiichi squeaked out.

  Tōya’s right eyebrow rose as the children started to give conflicting details. Their questions only increased as they gave contradictory answers.

  “Uhh, are you guys okay?” he questioned, as he put a hand on Iwao’s shoulder. The red haired boy was holding his head in pain. Along with the rest of the children, their weak cries of pain echoed out.

  What did All For One do?

  The hair at the back of Tōya’s neck sprang up as he swiveled a winding strike of blue flames out behind him.

  It lit up the alleyway across the street, a decently sized figure, slowly walked out from the darkness. He looked to be a teenage boy with average features and shaggy black hair. He wouldn't look out of place during the day.

  Tōya took a step back, his hand running along the shoulders of the children to make sure that they were still there. Even as they gripped at their heads in pain.

  He wasn't going to take his eyes off of the teenager, something was wrong.

  “ — Hey! I've been looking all over for you all! ” The boy said, his self-assured grin, looked too easygoing for the atmosphere. Tōya’s face was impassive as he scrutinized his features. Plain dress shirt and slacks, a school boy tie and basic dress shoes. His body was emitting a wave of quirk factor that he couldn't recognize.

  “I go by Nomura, now I remember Iwao and Hanako over there, but wow! There are a lot of new faces!” The stranger noted from across the street. The streetlight highlighted only half his face.

  “I sorta recognize you, you were asleep right?” The boy lifted his closed fist up to his chin. “Sensei pulled me out of the orphanage a while ago so my memory’s a little fuzzy, what’s your name again?” His other hand held out in question.

  The meta ability was still coming off of the teenager in waves as the children struggled behind Tōya.

  “Stop that shit. Whatever you're doing to them, I won't ask again.” Tōya growled as he looked at him, his shoulders hunched as he readied himself for a scrap.

  “Sorry, no can do. Sensei, said that I needed to keep this frequency up for a little while longer, or else they won't—”

  — Tōya broke the distance with a forward haymaker, augmented by the force of the flames that shot out of his back and heels.

  “Hey! That's not nice! Let me finish!” Nomura called back as his afterimage dissolved after making contact with Tōya’s fist.