"Go!"
The moment Dante heard All Might's voice echoing through the comms, Dante moved swiftly and quietly like a ghost.
Momo stayed behind just long enough to cook up two small buzzing noise makers and something like a flash bang, slipping them into Dante's hand like they were in a relay race. "Deploy these at the third floor corner. They will draw attention."
Dante gave her a quick nod before vanishing deeper into the building, soundless and light on his feet thanks to being barefoot. The only sound was a faint rustle of the fabric of his shorts.
He knew well how to be quiet in situations like these, thank you homelessness!
Momo followed from a parallel corridor, keeping low, her hands glowing softly as she prepared some more gear for them. Her breathing was steady too, both of them highly trained.
Dante finally reached the corner of the third floor and activated both of the noise makers. They let out a loud, erratic whine like some kind of malfunctioning tech loudly throughout the stairwell.
Above, Sero's tape snapped suddenly as he turned quickly. "Did you hear that?"
"Some kind of distraction," Tokoyami muttered, Dark Shadow already taking a defensive position. "Be wary."
That was when the flashing exploded behind them.
BOOM!
It wasn't enough to fully blind them, but it created the perfect opening for Dante.
He was already there.
CRASH!
He rammed through the side wall, plaster and wood shattered all over the floor. His arm morphed into a large tendril, extended forward and wrapped around Sero's head, then slammed him into the wall. The guy dropped like a rock, groaning in defeat.
Before Tokoyami could react, Dante kept his momentum and twisted out of the way, avoiding a slash from Dark Shadow.
"He's fast…" Tokoyami said evenly.
Dante didn't reply. He didn't need to.
Dark Shadow lashed out again, this time barely missing Dante's chest. He leapt back to safety just in case.
"I might need back up!" He barked into the comms, he could easily dispose of Tokoyami, but that would severely injure him, and he didn't wanna do that. He overdid it with Sero.
Momo's calm voice came through. "Thirty seconds."
Dante didn't have thirty seconds, so he took it back into his own hands.
Dark Shadow struck again and Dante ducked low, spinning in his heel and delivering a hard kick to the base of Tokoyami's legs. The boy stumbled, but his shadow shielded him again.
This was a chess match, and Tokoyami was the slow and cautious type.
But Dante was NOT the slow type.
He ducked again and a large tendril flew out of his back, flying past Dark Shadow and wrapping around a pillar behind Tokoyami.
Dante flew forward, and Tokoyami shielded himself, but this time, Dante didn't aim for him, He went for the objective. The mock nuclear device behind them. While Dark Shadow defended, he skidded beneath the barrier and touched the core.
"Target secured." He called out.
BZZT— A siren echoed from the control centre.
All Might's voice burst through the comms : "TEAM D : VICTORY!"
…
Back in the control room, even Bakugo looked a bit flustered. "Tch. I could've come it faster."
Izuku had stars in his eyes. "He knew exactly where to hit and how to bait them!"
Jiro clapped softly. "I guess I was wrong."
Back on the field, Dante extended a hand to Tokoyami, who took it with calm respect.
"Well played," the bird headed boy said.
Momo arrived seconds later, a bit out of breath. "All done?"
"I didn't wanna drag it out," Dante replied while scratching his head.
She smiled. "Great! Very efficient."
Dante didn't smile back, just aura farming as he looked off into the distance. "You're alright too."
Then, with Sero over Dante's shoulder, they headed back to the rest of the class.
…
…
The rest of the lesson was kinda boring to Dante, but he did get a good idea of everyone's names and quirks.
Kirishima and Kaminari's team was pure chaos. One just bulldozed through walls while the other short circuited some lights with his outburst. Dante saw this and snorted. "They're lucky they didn't fry themselves."
Momo chuckled beside him. "They've got heart at least."
He just shrugged and leaned back.
Tsuyu and Shoji's team handled their match fairly well. Stealth, teamwork and clever positioning.
But the next was the one that Dante was most interested in.
Bakugo and Iida VS Izuku and Ochako.
The whole thing was sort of boring until Izuku used All Might's quirk. The entire building shook. The force cracked walls and sent shockwaves through the structure.
Dante stood still, staring at the screen as Izuku's arm hung broken, the air was literally vibrating with energy.
"Oh wow…" He muttered, eyes narrowed.
"Looks like he was holding back that whole time," Momo noted, watching just as intently.
"Tch. That's the kinda power he has?"
Dante was feeling kind of jealous after that, he just watched, silently studying the rest of the match.
…
…
The matches ended after a while and the class was all sent back to home room. The whole class were all chatting excitedly about how fun that was, talking about their matches or others."
A moment later, Izuku walked into the class, his arm bandaged and looking more exhausted than everyone else. But he still looked somewhat excited.
"Hey! You were awesome out there!" Kirishima said as he approached.
"Yeah, that punch was crazy!" Kaminari added.
"I actually thought your arm flew off!" Mina said, wide eyed.
Everyone was crowded around Midoriya, giving him a warm welcome after his dramatic match.
But Dante wasn't interested. He was just sitting at his desk, demolishing a mountain of food from his bento box. Rice, eggs, vegetables he needed those calories!
Izuku waved at him from across the room. "Hey, Dante!"
Dante paused, glanced up and gave a two finger wave while continuing to eat. "You blew your arm out for that? Was it some kinda statement? Idiot," he muttered.
But there wasn't any venom in his tone. Just the quiet recognition of someone who understood what it meant to throw yourself into a fight unprepared.
Izuku then looked around the room, "Where's Kacchan?"
Dante looked up and squinted, "No clue, think he left."
With that, Izuku ran out of the class looking for Bakugo.
Dante watched him leave, then he got right back to eating his food.
While little Dante, sitting on the floor, spoke up. "Hey, that was fun I guess. Could've been a bit more violent though, right?"
Dante shook his head, "Uh, no?" He muttered, "We won, that's all that matters."
Little Dante just rolled his eyes and went back to staring into the distance.
…
…
Later on, after school had ended, Dante walked alone with his hands in his pockets. His steps were slow, he was just walking while thinking about the day. Not in any rush.
The small convenience store came into view, the same one he always went to.
He stepped inside.
The old man behind the counter perked up, his eyes lighting up with surprise.
"Well, if it isn't Mr. Hero-in-training!" He said with a dry chuckle, wiping his hands on a cloth. "Long day, kid?"
"Something like that," Dante said as he made his way to the cooler and pulled out a bottle of iced tea. "Everyone there is so loud and flashy. Even the quiet ones don't shut up."
The old man laughed. "Better than silence. Silence is where regret lives."
Dante paused at the register, raising an eyebrow. "You been practicing that one, old man?"
"Nope. Made it up. You can use it if you want, though."
Dante smirked faintly, passing over some cash. "You can keep the change."
The man waved him off. "You always say that, and I keep forgetting to overcharge ya'."
With a small nod, Dante left the store and walked the rest of the way home to his apartment.
…
He got there, and its familiar silence welcomed him in.
He kicked off his shoes at the door, tossed his bag onto the floor and opened the tea before heading to the bathroom to splash some water on his face. He looked very tired, there were bags under his eyes, a crease between his brow and his messy long blonde hair was all over the place. The days weight was catching up.
"I should probably get a haircut…"
And then, as always, the mirror betrayed him.
In the reflection, he was still there, just like the first time. He was sitting on the edge of the bathtub with his usual expression. He was so familiar. But he was smaller, younger and so very out of place.
Little Dante just stared up at Dante.
Same red eyes, same hair. But this time, he was clearer than ever. He was less blurry, it was like he was real.
"What is your deal today?" Dante muttered, staring at the mirror.
Little Dante kicked his feet idly, like a child on a bench. "Nothing much, just came to say hi. And hopefully persuade you to getting the revenge we deserve, and besides that, you've been thinking of me for so long."
"Do not flatter yourself."
The younger version just tilted his head. "You're the one that won't stop thinking about how I know what I know."
Dante leaned on the sink. "Alright then. Talk. How are you so intelligent? I don't think a normal 8 year old would be smart enough to talk to me like this. No kid is this observant. You talk like someone who has been watching me my whole life, even my last one."
"I have," the boy said simply, his voice calm. "I have been here the whole time. I have been here even before you came to this world."
Dante stiffened.
The boy continued, "You know exactly what I am. You locked me away. You buried me under anger and instinct and survival. But I'm still you, I'm the embodiment of things you try so hard to forget."
"You're not real," Dante muttered.
"Neither was his future, apparently."
Silence hung heavy between them.
Dante finally looked up again. "So, what? You're not the original Dante? You're just my conscience?"
"I am the original Dante, I was the owner of your body before you came along. But it seems when you arrived, you got my body and some of my personality… and I got all of your regret, your guilt and all of your pain. It seems like whoever brought you to this world, wanted you to be a hero. And the only way to do that was to get rid of all of your negative emotions. So I guess they just shoved all of your trauma, your wrath and your hatred all into me."
Dante stared at the reflection for a long while. Then finally, he sighed and looked away, walking toward his room.
"I'm sorry." He said.
From the mirror, the younger version of himself just sighed, and disappeared.