The Emperor's Dragon II

Caution, Contact, Conflict

Edge Shot looked over at Kamui Woods and suppressed a grimace. He was a good hero, which wasn't going to make what he had to do any easier, but it was the best... the most sensible thing to do. One had to acknowledge weakness. All heroes had to and where there was absolutely no way of overcoming that weakness, then one had to accept them and accept the management that came with acceptance.

"You don't want me to go," Shinji said.

Shinya nodded. "I don't doubt your skill," he reassured Shinji. "I just-" No! he couldn't hesitate here or show doubt. "I do not doubt your skill. I do not doubt your desire," Shinyai said firmly. "I am just very much aware that you are flammable," he went to the core of the matter.

"And the villain's quirk is fire," Kamui Woods finished for him.

"Yes," Shinya agreed. "And this villain has shown absolutely no restraint," he added for good measure.

The villain, Dabi, had been linked to a number of previous murders of lower ranked heroes and given his quirk, having Shinji there was just asking for trouble. To say nothing about the new Number One Hero. Endeavor would not target Kamui Woods but his quirk was Hellflame and that generated an impressive amount of heat.

Shinya could tell that Shinji was not convinced.

"What is the first rule of heroics?" Edge Shot demanded. The rules had been adapted from some pre-quirk saying and apparently dedicated rescue heroes and paramedics used them today. It was the first thing they taught to everyone entering their industry. Edge Shot thought it would be better if they were taught in High School.

Shinji sighed. "Don't become the victim," he quoted.

The rule was actually more comprehensive than that but since that was the essence, Shinya would let it slide. "Yeah," he agreed, trying to get as much understanding into his tone as he could.

Kamui Woods glared at him but then huffed and nodded. "I'll see if I can get in touch with Yu," he told Shinya. Mt Lady was at Tartarus. She was meant to be interviewing a villain who had knowledge of a whole host of things. Except now there was a battle at Tartarus as well and they hadn't been able to contact her.

He nodded. "And keep the civilians away," he instructed.

It was sidekick work, and Kamui Woods was not a sidekick but for his own safety, it was best that he do it.

"There will be another time," Edge Shot assured him.

"Just go," Kamui Woods told him.

Shinya understood. There would be other times, but this was the morning after the Hero Billboard, and a team up with the new Number One Hero.

There was only going to be one time like this.

-ted-

All For One didn't have a time quirk but he was old enough and controlled enough to be able to tell the flow of time. It wasn't that he could feel the days turning, as much as he just had a sense for when it was morning, or night... Even when he was several stories underground, wrapped in concrete and steel. Even when the prison deliberately messed with his sense of time.

He was also attuned to the feel of the guards and other prisoners. Not being able to see had meant he was sensitive to sound, and all the little hints that gave him about what was going on. And, while Tartarus liked to say they monitored inmates for quirk usage, and they did, what Tartarus generally didn't mention was that when a quirk had absolutely no physical manifestation, they couldn't always tell if an individual was using their quirk.

And no matter what others might think, All For One had mastered using quirks, without making it obvious a long time ago.

So, when a feeling interrupted his morning - he was spending today running through all the various denigrations he knew for All Might and that usually took him at least a few hours and sometimes days, when he also pictured all the ways he would take revenge on All Might for the insults that man had heaped upon him over time - All For One was interested. He could list denigrations for All Might another time. If something was happening within Tartarus, then it was best he know about it now.