A few days passed since the battle at Kamino Ward. Though the city had survived, the scars were visible—buildings damaged, heat-warped glass in shattered windows, and blackened craters marking where fire once raged. The news ran non-stop coverage of the event, calling the mysterious attackers "Infernal Anomalies." But the world knew nothing of the truth—only those at U.A. understood the full weight of what had happened.
Inside U.A.'s Recovery Room, Sabo sat on a bed, shirtless and bandaged across the shoulder where Kael's corrupted flames had pierced his defenses. His pipe leaned against the bedside table, cleaned and polished.
"You heal fast," Recovery Girl muttered, checking his vitals.
"Hard to keep a revolutionary down," Sabo replied with a faint grin.
She gave him a tired glance. "You're lucky. Whatever that corrupted fire was—it wasn't just heat. It disrupted your cells. Another second longer and we might have lost your arm."
"I'll be careful," he promised.
"Better be," she said, walking away with a small sigh. "You're part of this world now."
As the door clicked shut behind her, Sabo leaned back, staring at the ceiling. His mind wasn't on the fight—it was on Kael. The look in his eyes. That fury. That pain. It wasn't just anger—it was betrayal. And Sabo had no defense for it.
The door opened again.
Midoriya stepped in, carrying a small notebook. "Hope I'm not interrupting."
"Not at all," Sabo said, sitting up straighter. "You take notes on everything, huh?"
Midoriya smiled sheepishly. "Habit. Helps me understand things. Like… Kael."
Sabo's expression darkened. "He was like a brother once. We fought side by side in the Revolution."
"What happened to him?" Midoriya asked gently.
"We all fought to bring justice to a corrupted kingdom," Sabo explained, gaze distant. "He believed in me. I thought he died in the last raid. But I was the one who vanished… and left him behind."
Midoriya sat beside him. "You didn't abandon him. You were pulled here. None of that was your fault."
"Maybe not," Sabo admitted. "But the weight is still mine."
Midoriya hesitated, then flipped open his notebook. "I analyzed Kael's fire. The purple distortion—it's not a Quirk. Not even a fusion of Quirks. It's… dimensional residue. Like it doesn't belong here."
Sabo blinked. "Dimensional residue?"
"Yeah," Midoriya said, tapping a page. "When you crossed over into our world, the rift probably latched onto your flame—amplified by your will. But Kael… he must've crossed unwillingly. His fire mutated in the process."
"That's why he's unstable," Sabo muttered. "He wasn't ready."
"Exactly. And that other one—the mist figure—they weren't just altered… they're breaking apart. Like their body isn't even holding together anymore."
Sabo stood, wincing slightly as his shoulder ached. "Then we have to find them before they fall apart completely. Or before they burn this world down trying to fix what they lost."
Midoriya looked up. "You're going after them?"
"I have to," Sabo said. "They're my responsibility."
Before Midoriya could answer, the intercom buzzed.
"All Class 1-A students report to Ground Gamma. Training simulation commencing in 30 minutes."
Midoriya stood. "Guess we're getting back to work."
Sabo picked up his pipe, shouldering it with a soft grunt. "Good. I need the practice."
Thirty minutes later, Ground Gamma—a maze of industrial platforms and twisting metal catwalks—buzzed with activity. The class had assembled in full, all in training uniforms.
Aizawa stood before them, arms crossed.
"This isn't a standard simulation," he announced. "It's a threat assessment and rescue operation. The enemy will be using guerrilla tactics. Your job is to secure the area, protect the civilians, and extract the injured without casualties."
He turned toward Sabo. "You'll be working with Bakugo, Iida, and Kirishima today."
Bakugo scoffed. "Just great. Pipe-boy's on my squad."
Sabo smirked. "Still mad I scorched your ego?"
"Tch. Just don't slow me down."
Iida saluted. "Let's move efficiently. Kirishima, you take point!"
The simulation began.
At first, everything seemed routine. The team maneuvered through the terrain, locating training dummies marked as civilians and guiding them to extraction points. Kirishima used his hardening to shield against falling debris while Iida's speed cleared obstacles.
But halfway through, an explosion rocked the sector.
Sabo's instincts flared.
"Not part of the sim," he muttered.
Bakugo stepped up beside him. "You feel that too?"
"Yeah," Sabo said, eyes narrowing. "That wasn't training gear."
Smoke curled up from a collapsed scaffold. From the haze, a shape emerged—tall, burning with flickering violet fire.
Kael.
He wasn't alone.
The mist-shrouded figure appeared on the opposite platform, their presence sending a chill through the metal beams.
"This isn't the time!" Iida shouted. "This is a training site!"
Kael's expression twisted. "Time? Time left us behind."
Sabo stepped forward. "Kael, listen—"
"You never listened before!" Kael roared, sending a wave of flame that collapsed the catwalk between them.
Bakugo launched upward with an explosive blast, aiming directly for Kael.
But Kael twisted midair, catching Bakugo's arm with his gauntlet and slamming him down.
"I've learned," Kael said coldly, "how to fight alone."
Sabo's fire ignited in an instant. He charged forward, pipe glowing with raw energy. "Then let me remind you what it means to fight together!"
The two clashed again—this time above the ruins of Ground Gamma. Sparks and fire lit up the training area as alarms blared.
Below, the mist figure began creeping toward the "civilian" dummies.
"They're targeting the students," Iida realized. "This isn't a fight—it's a message."
Sabo heard him—but he couldn't look away from Kael.
"I didn't want this!" he shouted mid-clash. "We were supposed to change the world!"
Kael growled, their fire locking with Sabo's.
"So change it," he said darkly, "by burning it down."