Dabi turned when he heard Sheik landing behind him.
"You're that vigilante. Sheik, right?"
Izuku glared at the villain in silence. Dabi, who he'd spent the past four days searching for.
'Okay, so how do you wanna play this?' Urbosa asked Izuku, who, in response, tore off his mask, exposing his distinct bushy green hair.
'Did not expect that, but okay.'
"Huh, he was right," Dabi said, his voice level, perfectly hiding shock. "You're back somehow."
"What are you doing here?" Izuku snarled, and his tone surprised even him.
"What, your mother's in there?" he asked lazily, the threat clear. Izuku's eyes narrowed.
"What that's supposed to mean?" Izuku asked, and Dabi scoffed, seemingly disappointed by Izuku's response.
"Come on, kid. Your mom doesn't care about you as much as you do her. Familial bonds aren't as strong as you think they are."
As soon as the words left the villain's scarred lips, Izuku's atmosphere changed. Dabi's eyes narrowed. That look wasn't in character for the kid.
"Take that back," Izuku growled, and if the boy's aura confused the villain before, now, it shook him.
"Or what?" Dabi shot back. "You'll make me?"
"Take that back, now," Izuku repeated through gritted teeth.
Dabi simply scoffed and raised his arms to incinerate Izuku.
Now, Dabi's flames were extremely hot, but Izuku, who'd drank a fireproof potion moments before the fight, and had spent a not insignificant amount of time inside an active volcano, paid the flames no mind. He was too angry to.
Dabi had never taken a blow like that before. In fact, the villain couldn't remember being punched before. No one had ever gotten close enough to even get the chance.
(a/n - do not fact-check me on that.)
The first punch gave the villain second thoughts, and the second punch practically ended the fight on the spot, but Izuku didn't stop punching. Not until he was satisfied. When he finally stopped raining blows down on Dabi, and the villain barely conscious, tried raising his arms, a clear attempt to use his quirk, something in Izuku's eyes flashed.
Suddenly, Dabi was spread out on the floor, and there was a weight on his chest, and it was harder to breathe. The kid was strangling him, Dabi realized, as his eyes widened.
"Go ahead, use your fire, burn away the oxygen," Izuku dared him. He stopped trying to raise his arms. "Take it back."
"S-Sorry," Dabi finally wheezed, but Izuku didn't let go, instead squeezing tighter, and, for the first time in a long time, Dabi was scared, and Izuku noticed.
"You're afraid?" Izuku asked, raising an eyebrow.
"...Yes" Dabi wheezed in admission, after a short pause.
"Good," Izuku said, further restricting Dabi's airflow, taking great care not to cut it off completely. This new, violent, vindictive side of the kid was terrifying. He honestly looked ready to commit murder.
"Please..."
"Life is precious. You may not have a lot, but your life is the one thing that belongs to you," Izuku said, ignoring Dabi's pleas. "That fear that you might lose that, that you might die, that fear, is crippling. Remember what it's like."
Kurogiri, who Izuku had the feeling was hanging around, suddenly fell into view. Izuku turned to him, and Dabi did the same. Kurogiri seemed to be in agony.
