Later on, Rinji was already curled up in his bed, soft breaths rising and falling rhythmically. Dante tucked the blanket up to the boys chin and gave his head a little pat.
"Rest up." He murmured. "We've got a pretty long road ahead."
With that, he slipped on his gear, picked up the makeshift tracker he had cooked up and shoved it into his pocket before finally leaving the sewer.
His destination was clear, he was going to head to Kendo's house. He needed to give her the tracker and vanish quickly.
After about ten minutes of leaping from building to building, he was nearly there, only like 10 more minutes away.
However—
A scream.
He turned sharply, instinctively.
Down a side alley, Dante saw two figures, one man cornered and trembling, another wielding a jagged knife, demanding his wallet.
Dante rolled his eyes and sighed.
"Seriously? In this part of town? This isn't a setup is it?"
He dropped down from the rooftop and landed with a heavy thud.
The mugger turned, startled, and Dante just walked forward slowly, he wasn't really interested in doing this but whatever, his arm slowly starting to glow with fire.
Except—
Nothing happened.
The flames immediately died out.
His hands twitched. He could feel something was wrong.
A familiar tension pulled at his chest.
'Erasure?'
Dante slowly raised his head.
A silhouette loomed above him on a lamp post, scarf whipping in the wind dramatically, eyes glowing red.
Aizawa? Well, Dante had kind of imagined he'd show up eventually with how close they were.
"I made a promise," he said, voice steady but rough. "If you ever went rogue… I'd be the one to bring you back."
Dante's eyes narrowed and his thumb turned into sludge, making sure that Aizawa could only erase one of his quirks.
And sure enough, he could still use one of his quirks, right now, Aizawa was erasing Pyroclast.
He glanced around, piecing everything together.
Then his eyes snapped to a certain individual.
'Oh come on.'
He saw Kamui Woods perched along a fire escape, ready to strike.
Then he saw Edgeshot on a rooftop.
And above everyone, Hawks was floating silently.
Dante clicked his tongue.
'Tch. Kamui and Edgeshot are literally everywhere in this city I swear. Of course they're jump at the opportunity to find me. Hawks… probably embarrassed from last time we met.'
Then his gaze shifted back to Aizawa.
'You?'
His fists curled.
"You're here cuz you know me," he said quietly. "Because you're my teacher, you know my moves. Well, you're out of luck. I've got hundreds of new tricks up my sleeve."
Aizawa's gaze didn't waver.
Dante locked eyes with him, his eyes burning bright, ready to retaliate against any sudden moves.
…
A week ago, U.A. High, Principal Nezu's office.
Aizawa stood stiffly with his his arms crossed, his eyes were as dead as ever yet he looked oddly intrigued. Across from him, Nezu was sitting calmly on his tall chair.
"This vigilante… the dark red dragon, the one who's been stirring things up…" Nezu began, tapping the screen a few times to bring up grainy photos from security footage, from the attack on the Nomu laboratory. "He's very efficient. Rarely ever leaves a trace. Doesn't start any fights with non criminals. Only ever attacks at hours when practically no one is patrolling… however, he does more than attack, he kills them. Thats the issue, that is a crime."
Aizawa didn't blink, his intrigue growing. "Get to the point."
Nezu's beady eyes glinted. "Don't you think any of that sounds familiar? Someone who has suddenly gone off the map, who vanished. Someone you vouched for."
A beat of silence.
Aizawa slowly stepped closer, examining the footage. The figures stance, that unmistakable quirk, the overwhelming combat prowess— it all clicked into place.
"Dante?"
Nezu nodded once. "It's a very high probability. I've had my suspicions, but you would know that better than anyone. Not to mention the pro hero Hawks is rumoured to have encountered this vigilante and he described that very same quirk."
Aizawa's jaw tightened.
"He's been hiding all this time? Punishing criminals… like that?"
"It would appear so. And lately, his targets have changed. Before they were just street criminals. Now… more villain adjacent targets. He's hunting something. Most likely the League of Villains."
Aizawa turned his head away from the screen, expression unreadable.
"I'll bring him back," he said, a strange sense of determination coming from his tone. "Just wait."
…
Later that day.
Aizawa stood infront of the person he trusted most to fight on par with Dante when it comes to hand to hand.
Edgeshot.
"I need someone who can move faster than he can think. He's a very clever one. He won't let himself get cornered."
Edgeshot gave a silent nod. "You believe he's dangerous?"
"If his mental state isn't where it should be… very."
…
Kamui Woods listened as Aizawa explained the situation to him with a deadpan expression.
"He's hiding, but not aimlessly. If he thinks he's doing the right thing, he won't stop at anything. I need someone with precision and capture skills.
Kamui nodded. "If he really was one of your students… I'll make sure to help you bring him back."
…
Hawks, as laid back as ever, leaned across the small table with a lazy grin.
"I heard you're looking for that vigilante kid…"
Aizawa didn't answer, he just slid over an image of Dante.
Hawks's expression shifted.
"Oh? That kid?"
Aizawa met his gaze. "You met him before, right?"
Hawks chuckled, wings twitching slightly. "Yeah… he gave me a puzzle way too hard for me to crack. That doesn't happen often."
Aizawa stood. "Help me bring him back. You'll get another chance to look at the puzzle or whatever."
Hawk's grin returned. "Deal."
…
BACK TO THE PRESENT
Aizawa's eyes remained fixed on Dante's.
"Come on, Dante. You're not the type to let grief cloud your judgement."
Dante raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips.
"You're a few weeks too late to be telling me that, I'm out of that phase now."
Aizawa's demeanour faltered for a moment, not expecting Dante to be so… normal?