Dante stood there, frozen, just staring at the chaos unfolding before him.
"That thing… That's definitely dad right? What's he doing..?"
Even after all these years, he could still recognise it. His body tensed, his muscles coiled instinctively. A storm of emotions churned inside him, but he shoved them down.
"Not now."
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw that same unique green hair from elementary school in the crowd.
'Is that Izuku?'
Dante blinked, surprised to see him. It had been years, but there was no mistaking that mess of green hair and the way he anxiously shifted his feet.
For some reason, Dante found himself stepping forward, maybe intending to ask about the situation or even say hi. But before he could, Izuku suddenly bolted towards to chaos.
"The hell is he doing? Isn't he quirkless?" Dante muttered beneath his breath, watching carefully.
Pushing past the bystanders to get a better view, he could clearly see Bakugo trapped inside the sludge villains grasp, struggling violently as explosions crackled around them. Izuku sprinted forward without hesitation, he even threw his school bag at the Sludge Villain.
"He's definitely gonna die."
Dante's antennae twitched upwards and his eyes followed, a large chunk of debris from a collapsing building broke loose, plummeting straight down towards Izuku.
Without thinking, Dante made his move.
His body blurred forward, simultaneously stretching his arm out to yank izuku back just in time. The massive chunk of rubble slammed into the pavement, cracking the concrete where Izuku would've been.
For a second, everything was still. Then izuku turned and the first thing he noticed was Dante's familiar yet unique eyes.
"…Dante?!"
Dante clicked his tongue, brushing off the dust from his jacket. Izuku looked at him like he'd seen a ghost.
"D-Dante?! You—"
"Hey, hey. Not the time, dude." Dante cut him off, eyes locked onto the chaos ahead. "We can catch up later. You wanted to save that guy, right? Then lock in."
Izuku hesitated, but nodded. His fists clenched. Dante turned his head slightly, his eyes narrowed at the towering mass of sludge he had once called a father.
He took a slow step forward, his arm slowly shifting into a large claw.
"…It's been a while, dad."
The sludge villain's slimy form twitched at the sound of Dante's voice. His yellow eyes widened in shock as they locked onto him.
"D-Dante…! You're alive?!"
Dante's expression remained unreadable. "So you admit to leaving me to die?"
He had no time for this.
His legs suddenly transformed into something similar to ostrich legs, increasing his speed drastically.
He launched forward, his clawed arm quickly shifted mid motion. His hardened fist slammed into the villain's body, splattering a section apart.
With his free hand, he grabbed Bakugo by the face and ripped him free before leaping back a few meters safely.
Bakugo coughed violently, collapsing to the ground, gasping for air. His hands exploded with small bursts of sweat triggered explosions. "Get the hell off me, you bastard!"
Dante rolled his eyes. "You're welcome."
Bakugo stood up fast, still catching his breath. He looked at Dante with seething hatred, still holding onto what had happened when they were kids. But even he had to acknowledge that they had bigger problems.
The sludge villain roared in rage, his massive body reforming. His grotesque form shuddered, a mix of terror, fury and some… regret flashing in his eyes as he glared at Dante.
"You…"
Dante cracked his knuckles. "Yeah yeah, we can talk when you're in prison."
He turned to izuku and Bakugo, standing at his sides. "Well me and Bakugo should be able to take him down together, Izuku, what about you? Got a quirk yet?"
Izuku just coughed awkwardly and shook his head.
Bakugo just scoffed and didn't argue.
But at that moment…
"I AM HERE!"
BOOM!
In an instant, before any of the three could react, a golden blur slammed into the sludge villain with terrifying force. The villain's massive form exploded into dozens of pieces, sludge splattering all across the street. The impact alone created a shockwave that send Dante, Bakugo and Izuku all stumbling backward.
Dante clicked his tongue, staring in shock while regaining his footing. "Is that… All Might?"
The No.1 hero stood tall, with a… grocery bag? The entire area fell into silence as the hero's overwhelming presence washed over them.
"It's fine now!" All Mights booming voice echoed through the streets. "Why? Because I am here!"
Dante folded his arms, unimpressed. "Jeez, people coulda died you know…"
All Might's grin faltered slightly when he noticed Dante, his sharp blue eyes narrowing for just a second. But he quickly turned his attention back to the sludge villain.
"I apologise young ones!" All Might said, his voice brimmed with confidence. "I should have acted sooner I know, but fear not! Everything is okay now!" He said with blood exploding out of his mouth.
Dante glanced at the pool of blood with some confusion, then at the piles of sludge being scooped into trash bags and loaded into a police van. It was all such a ridiculous situation. And this was the No.1 hero?
…
Before long, the whole situation was under control, the police had detained Dante's father and the three boys had been checked up on.
On his way home though, Dante realised something…
"Ah shit! Izuku, I was supposed to catch up with him! Also I need to know what the hell he was thinking running in like that." Dante muttered as he turned back to go find Izuku.
Dante walked through some streets and even some backstreets, hands shoved into his pockets. His mind was still buzzing about Izuku and he needed answers! He was so reckless back there, running in like that with no plan, no quirk and no backup!
The way Izuku reacted was not normal at all, he needed to know why he did that.
With that thought, he picked up his pace. If there was one thing Dante was good at, it was tracking people down.
Well and fighting, of course.
And reading…
And writing…
Yeah yeah whatever.
Unsurprisingly, it didn't take long before he spotted Izuku in the distance, standing infront of some slouched, tall, thin man. They were talking in hushed voices, and something about it just itched Dante the wrong way and he immediately got suspicious.
Narrowing his eyes, Dante pressed his hand against a nearby wall, his fingers melted into sludge. He focused, extending a small tendril towards them and then put his hand to his head, acting like some kind of telephone.
Then, he listened in on their conversation.
What he heard? Crazy.
"…You see, young Midoriya," All Might began, gis voice was serious yet calm, "The true name of my quirk is One For All. And it is a quirk that is passed down generation to generation and is the result of the combined power of those who had carried it before, growing stronger with each new wielder."
Dante's eyes narrowed. "A quirk that could be passed down? And get stronger and stronger? Oh I want in on this."
Izuku, however, was trembling, his hands clenched into fists. "T-Then… you're saying… I can inherit your power?"
All Might nodded. "That's right. But it won't be easy. You'll need to train harder than you've ever trained before to prepare your body for it."
Dante took that moment to step forward. "That's interesting."
Both Izuku and All Might flinched in shock, noticing him.
"D-Dante?! What are you doing here?!" Izuku stammered, his pale face looking between All Might and Dante.
All Might's eyes sharpened, immediately on guard. "You're the kid from earlier right? How come I couldn't notice you snooping around?."
Dante ignored him, locking eyes with Izuku. "You're getting a quirk after all this time?" His voice was calm, but his sharp gaze made Izuku visibly nervous, Dante's whole vibe was that of a delinquent after all.
"I-It's not like that!" Izuku hurried to explain "This man… he doesn't know what he's talking about! Haha! This is all a joke!"
Dante rolled his eyes, "Come on. You're smarter than this."
Izuku just looked at the floor, "He's giving me a chance, but I have to train. who knows if I'll even be able to receive it."
Dante tilted his head slightly, his expression unreadable. "So… that's real? A quirk that can be given to someone else? Neat."
All might exhaled, studying Dante very closely. "It's not something that should be spoken about lightly, and I expect you to keep this a secret. But yes, my quirk is one that is meant to be passed on."
Dante let that sink in. He hadn't even thought of anything like that before, sure he'd thought of people being able to steal quirks or even copy them… but a quirk that could be transferred? And get stronger and stronger each time? That meant that quirks weren't just biological. That meant there could be another factor in place.
He scoffed. "Oh yeah, real fair. So you get a legendary quirk just like that?" He looked at Izuku with an unreadable expression.
Izuku quickly shook his head. "N-No! I'll have to prove myself first! I must train hard and work even harder than ever before."
Dante didn't say anything for a few seconds. Then, with a shrug, he leaned on the wall.
"Whatever. Do what you want, I need to talk to you anyways, I'll wait here."