Every time I look at this fic I'm like "You are never going to top Toga vs Deku" and the ending of the arc where Shigaraki's like "Bless you, Toga." Because I won't. Lol. Every time I read this story to familiarize myself with it, I'm like "Man. That was good. A little forced on the Katsuki got stabbed end because I made him think he was dreaming, but still good." I set the bar for myself too high. Lol.

Anyhoo. Two years later and here's an update. Let's go. I do want to finish this story at some point. Ha ha ha.

Thank you for reading!

Chapter 24

"Curfew starts at 4:00 p.m. and you will be staying in your rooms for the rest of the night," Shouta said, goggles on and mission ready. All of Class 1-A sat in the common room, listening to his declaration. "You are to remain in the building. If anyone so much as steps outside of this dorm until the all clear is sounded, they will be expelled. No exceptions. No second chances."

His class remained calm, listening to his instructions.

"We have reason to believe that U.A. may be a target, so most of the teachers will be protecting the campus," Shouta said. He looked over his students' faces for their reactions. Most looked resigned to the obvious information. A handful looked nervous, and an expected one or two looked ready to fight. "You will not engage with the enemy under any circumstances outside of direct self defense. If someone enters the dorm, you will call the nearest teacher and escape to the nearest safe location as instructed."

A quiet murmur fell over the group and Shouta exhaled. The students were young and already had a bad habit of engaging when they shouldn't. He believed in their abilities, and they had been put to the test many times, but something about this particular threat had him on edge.

Better to keep them on the sidelines to watch and learn.

"I will be joining the squad in the city for recent and patrol. Cementoss and Midnight will be on watch for the dorms." Shouta checked his watch: 3:00 p.m. He had an hour before meeting Hizashi and the others downtown. "Are there any questions?"

No one raised their hands.

"Good, I'm glad you understand," Shouta said. He nodded at the group and headed to the main door. "I expect you all to be in your rooms in one hour. You're dismissed."

He left the dorm behind, hoping his students did as they were instructed.

Shouta checked in with the patrolling teachers before heading to the heart of the city to meet the others. The streets were already cleared in preparation of the "festivities" promised by Midoriya and the League from his broadcast. Shouta arrived next to Hizashi to check in himself.

"How're the kids?" Hizashi asked. "Chomping at the bit to get into the action?"

"Surprisingly not," Shouta said. He sighed into his scarf, pulling it up to his nose. "Suspiciously not."

"I'm sure they'll do the right thing," Hizashi said. He clapped Shouta on the back and gave him a thumbs up. "Let's get into position. If the Villains want a show tonight, we'll give them one."

Shouta wasn't sure playing along with the Villains' plan was the right way to go, but Hizashi's optimism was infectious enough to give him hope.

"You are a good boy, aren't you?" Izuku gently massaged the exposed brain matter of his Nomu. The creature had been getting fussy, shifting in his small closet and rattling the chains. "Yes, you are."

It calmed when Izuku came into the room, giving it attention and pats.

He really should remember to check on the poor thing more often. He'd been neglecting the poor thing while he had been preoccupied with Kacchan. The beast should have been content to stare at the wall and drool, but he supposed even experimental monsters had their limits when it came to isolation.

The Nomu nuzzled him, large hands pulling at his clothes and tugging. Izuku patted him more, keeping his eyes on the clock.

5:00 p.m.

In an hour, the entire city should come to life with potential recruits for Shigaraki's League. If they gained enough support, it should appease his Master and prove Izuku's worth as a convincing publicist. Being the "face" of the League had to have some merit, didn't it?

Shigaraki had his own charisma, but it appealed to a very select group of dangerous Villains.

Izuku gave the League more mass appeal—so they could collect the grunts as well as the leaders.

The Nomu hugged Izuku and lifted him. He grunted under the squeeze of the arms and his breath hitched. Too tight! Too tight!

"Down!" Izuku shouted, patting the side of the Nomu's face twice. "Put me down."

The Nomu complied, following orders.

"Good boy," Izuku whispered. He put his hand on the beasts head and pushed, leading him back to his bench. The Nomu sat, staring straight forward with unblinking eyes. "Very good. Now stay here and be good while I go to work."

Izuku backed away from the Nomu and left the door, shutting it behind him. He made sure the lock was in place and put a hand on his chest.

He needed to watch his Nomu.

It wasn't supposed to act on its own.

"Hey, Newscast!" Dabi called from across the small warehouse. "The show's about to start! Get your ass moving."

Izuku double checked the door before crossing the room to join Dabi and the others. The scarred man took a seat on a folding chair next to Shigaraki, who'd sprawled out on Izuku's "interview" couch on his television set. Toga hung over the back of the couch, keeping Shigaraki between her and Izuku. Mustard sat on Izuku's desk next to the watching Kurogiri.

Far behind them, sat their mysterious broadcaster and new tech consultant in his dark clothes and mask. He watched the proceedings quietly, on call in case they needed to address the participants in their "recruitment" event.

The group had dragged over a television a cart and had it turned to the news, who read a small report about clearing the streets.

"How's it going?" Izuku asked. He stood next to Dabi, crossing his arms as he watched the title scrawl along the bottom of the television. "Anything good yet?"

"An idiot already got himself arrested for starting early," Shigaraki said, tapping his finger against his thigh. "But so far they're playing by the rules. The Heroes are out in droves watching the area."

"This is going to be so good!" Toga squealed, kicking her legs back and forth behind herself. "I can't wait."

For all their sakes, it better be.

Izuku didn't want to think about what would happen if the plan failed.

Katsuki relocated the common room television to his bedroom. He didn't have one in his room and he needed to see what was going on outside. He had to know what Izuku and the others were up to.

If he was going to be on the front lines of the chaos or hiding somewhere in the back.

Would he be arrested again?

Would he fight the Pro Heroes?

The others had protested when he hauled the television over one shoulder with the cables dangling from his hand, but one good glare and backup from Shinsou and Kirishima was all he needed to make the others relent and let him have his way.

Katsuki turned on the television to the news and sat back on his bed. He held his pillow in his lap with the remote in hand in case he needed to check multiple stations for Izuku.

The time read 5:45 p.m. and so far all was quiet. The news reporter—a real one, not Izuku's new name of Newscast—repeated instruction from the Hero society to make sure civilians stayed indoors and did not come out of their homes. Katsuki could hear Kirishima working out next door, grunting through the thin walls as he did push ups.

Fifteen minutes before all hell broke loose in the city.

Izuku had caused a riot in a prison with a few well placed words.

He had a friendly, likable face and personality that drew attention to himself. In middle and high school he hadn't helped much because he didn't have a Quirk. That "flaw" gave everyone an easy target that made it easy to overlook his smart mind and potential for charisma.

But the current world had either forgotten that Izuku, or were new Villains that had never met him.

To them, Izuku was "Newscast."

"Newscast" was a charismatic, unhinged spokesman for the League of Villains. A welcoming personality.

In fifteen minutes, the entire city would see just how many people Izuku was able to reach.

"You better be not be out with them," Katsuki said under his breath. Izuku was a high priority to Aizawa and the other Teachers. He was their failure. The one that escaped their care and prison on multiple occasions. They'd take him down and take him away. "How can I help you if they take you away again?"

Katsuki hugged the pillow tighter and watched the television.

6:00 p.m.

"Tomura," Toga whispered, eyes on the television. "Where's the boom?"

Izuku seconded her question. The time stamp in the corner of the news screen read "6:05 p.m." and there was no sign of movement outside of patrolling heroes. No Villains wanting to pass the recruitment tests.

No one even trying to make use of their excuse to cause trouble and destruction freely.

Where were they?

"Maybe the Heroes really have scared them all," Dabi said. He leaned forward on his folding chair, elbows on his knees. "They brought out all the big hitters for this."

"Fighting the Pro Heroes was part of the test," Kurogiri said, stepping closer to view the television. "We wanted recruits that could go toe-to-toe with them."

The empty streets continued to fill the news screen as the reporters continued to say things were "All clear."

A reporter on sight interviewed a Hero named Fat Gum spoke with them and said he was glad that the city was quiet. He had "Faith in the people to do good" or some other bullshit.

"This doesn't make sense," Izuku said, biting the end of his nail. He stared hard at the television, willing a hoard of Villains to take to the streets. The time kept passing and it was nearing seven o'clock and there were still no Villains out there. "They already arrested someone who jumped the gun, so where are the rest of them? There have to be Villains who'd want to cause chaos, even if they didn't want to join the League."

"Newscast is right," Dabi said. He flipped through the channels, but they all reported the same thing: Quiet streets and patrolling Heroes. "Giran said that news was buzzing in the underground about the event. There should be someone out fighting the Heroes or breaking things."

Izuku took the remote and flipped back through the channels faster.

The same thing on every one.

They had to be missing something.

Think.

Izuku bit his lip and stopped on a channel—that footage looked familiar. He went to another and it was the same street from the same angle. What were the odds of two news stations having the same cameraman at the exact same spot?

Zero.

"They're not reporting it," Izuku said. He put the remote on the table and looked over his shoulder at Shigaraki. "They're keeping the Villains off the news to avoid a panic, or to keep the numbers of Villains participating low. It's easier to work up the courage to challenge the Pro Heroes if you see other people doing it, too."

"You really think that's it?" Dabi asked. He licked his lip and his eyes were glued to the television, likely picking up on the same clue Izuku saw. "They're just covering it up?"

"I'd bet my life on it," Izuku said. "Somewhere outside are Villains giving it their all and the television crews aren't showing the footage."

"Good catch," Shigaraki said. He snapped his fingers at their technical support. "Get ready to take over the stations. Toga, grab a camera and get ready to film."

"Yes, sir!" Toga said, hopping off the couch. She laughed as she ran to the stand that held their camera and plucked it off. "This is going to be so much more fun than watching it on the TV!"

Shigaraki slipped off the couch and patted Izuku on the back. "I hope you're ready to play the reporter, Newscast. Are you ready to introduce everyone and show them off for the cameras?"

"Of course I am," Izuku said, swallowing. "I made my living analyzing Heroes and Villains for a year or so, didn't I?"

"You think you can do it on the fly?" Dabi asked, smirking. He snapped and said, "Just like that?"

Izuku narrowed his eyes and fixed his costume. "Watch me."

"Oh, we will," Shigaraki said. He laughed and hugged Izuku from the back, draping his arms across his chest. Shigaraki snickered in his ear and knocked their heads together. "And so will everyone else."

Izuku relaxed into the hold and closed his eyes.

He'd prove his worth on camera, both as a reliable source of recruitment and as an analyst. Shigaraki's Master would have no more complaints in his "son's" choice in friends.

Then he could get back to Kacchan.

"Let's show them you can't hide the League," Shigaraki said, whispering into Izuku's ear. He grabbed Izuku's shirt, his grip tight even with one finger raised. "We won't be buried. We're not going anywhere. We'll burn this city to the ground."

Izuku sucked in a breath and closed his eyes.

Kacchan.

Everything was for Kacchan.