Momo remained standing, her posture upright, but Izuku could see the fine tremor in her hands as she put away the containment cannon, which dissolved back into her skin.
"The response protocol was nearly perfect," she said, in a clear attempt to anchor the situation in strategy, not panic. "Toru, your flash was the key factor that gave us our window of opportunity. Toga, your intervention was decisive in forcing his retreat. Izuku, your anticipation of the portal saved us. We all played our parts."
"I almost peed myself!" Toru shrieked, her voice regaining some of its usual hysteria as she dropped down next to Ochako, hugging her. "When the portal guy appeared behind you, Ochako-chan, I felt my heart stop! I thought we were losing you! And then the light! Their boss's arm just fell apart like dust! It was disgusting and awesome at the same time!"
All eyes fell on the fourth figure. Toga was leaning against the opposite wall, methodically wiping the blood from her combat knife with a handkerchief Momo had created for her. The smile on her face showed a savage satisfaction.
"He deserved it," she said simply. "Nobody touches my team."
She looked up, and her blue "Kageko" eyes glowed with a golden light for an instant, a flash of the real Himiko Toga.
"And his power... it tastes like sand and rage. A very interesting flavor. Like rotten cherries and broken video games. I want to taste it again. He's definitely in my top three villain flavors."
"Toga," Izuku's voice was soft, but with an edge of steel. "Are you okay? Using his Quirk drained you. I can feel it. The connection feels... weaker."
She gave him a genuine smile, devoid of all its madness for a moment.
"I'm perfect. A little hungry, though. Destroying your enemies works up an appetite. Besides, the version I used was very low-quality. With just one drop, I could barely replicate five percent of its power. But it was enough to scare him. He likes breaking things, but he hates being broken. Such a hypocrite."
The normality of her comment was so absurd it broke the tension. Ochako let out a shaky laugh, half-choked by a sob.
"This is insane. Completely insane. We're in an alley, we just fought the leader of the League of Villains, and we're discussing the flavor of his power."
"Yes, it is," Izuku confirmed. "And that's why we can't stay here."
He stood up, his face now a mask of seriousness. He pulled out the communicator Momo had given them. There was no hesitation in his movements.
"We have to report this. Immediately. This wasn't a random attack. It was a hunt. And Ochako was the prey."
Momo nodded, her mind already racing.
"I agree. Shigaraki wouldn't have risked a public appearance on a whim. This was planned. They knew we'd be here. They knew who they wanted. The question is how. How did they know our itinerary with such precision?"
"The mole at U.A. is feeding them information in real-time," Izuku concluded, the weight of that certainty falling upon them. "We can't go to my house. We can't go to any of your homes. We can't go back to the hotel. All of those places are compromised or too predictable."
"So where do we go?" Toru asked, her voice tinged with renewed panic. "Are we going to live in this stinky alley? Because, with all due respect, the room service is terrible and the décor leaves a lot to be desired."
Izuku activated the communicator. His fingers moved with a feverish speed.
"No. We're going to the one place they won't dare to follow us. The only place in the city that's an impenetrable fortress right now."
He pressed the call button. After a single ring, a familiar, playful yet professional voice answered.
"Izuku? Miss me already? It's only been a few hours."
"Yu-san," Izuku's voice was tense, urgent. "We have a problem. A Level S problem. Shigaraki. He attacked us. At the mall."
There was a moment of absolute silence on the other end of the line. The background noise of a luxury store vanished. Then, Yu Takeyama's voice changed completely. The playful tone was replaced by that of a pro hero on high alert.
"Is everyone okay? Anyone hurt? Give me a situation report, Izuku. Precise and fast."
"We're fine. No serious injuries. But we're exposed. Shigaraki and Kurogiri ambushed us. The target was Ochako. Toga intervened and forced them to retreat, but the situation is unstable. We believe our residences are compromised. We need a secure extraction point. Right now."
"Understood. Don't move from there. I'm sending Kenji. He'll pick you up at the south exit of the alley in five minutes. Come straight to the agency. The doors will be open and security will be on high alert. I'm calling the building's head of security now."
"Thank you, Yu-san."
"Don't thank me yet, Izuku. Just keep my girls safe until you get here. And when you arrive, you're going to tell me every last bloody detail. Over and out."
The call ended. The plan was in motion.
"Listen to me carefully," Izuku said, his voice that of a field commander. "The south exit is two hundred meters away. We can't run; we'd draw attention. We'll walk. Normal. Like nothing happened. Momo, you'll be in the center, flanked by Ochako and me. Your Quirk is our best defense if we're ambushed. Toru, you'll be our eyes. Stay invisible, get a few meters ahead of us, and warn us of anything suspicious. Toga."
He turned to the blonde girl, who was watching him with absolute attention.
"You're our secret weapon. Maintain the Kageko transformation. But if something goes wrong, if they attack us again, I don't want you to use Shigaraki's Quirk. It's too unstable and it exhausts you. I want you to use yours. Your speed, your agility. Become a ghost and create chaos. Understood?"
Toga nodded, her face serious.
"Understood, coach."
They left the alley, stepping back into the world of neon lights and pop music. Every step was an act of will, a struggle to appear normal while adrenaline still pumped through their veins. Toru, a few meters ahead, was an invisible presence whispering to them through the communicator.
"Two guys on the corner. They look suspicious. No, wait... they're just arguing about soccer. False alarm."
"A woman is staring at us from that coffee shop. Red hair, sunglasses at night... very suspicious."
Izuku glanced discreetly.
"She's an All Might fan, she's wearing one of his shirts. The sunglasses are probably a fashion statement. Not a threat. Keep moving."
Every stranger's glance, every sudden movement in the crowd, was a potential threat. But they made it. The black limousine was waiting at the curb, an oasis of discretion in the middle of the bustle. Kenji, the driver, got out and opened the door for them with quiet efficiency, his impassive face betraying no surprise.
They slid inside. The doors closed, and the sound of the outside world vanished. They were safe. For now.
As the car pulled away, Ochako, sitting next to Izuku, leaned against his shoulder, the trembling in her body finally subsiding. He put an arm around her, a silent, protective gesture.
"You were incredible out there, Ochako," he whispered, so low only she could hear. "When you faced him. You didn't hesitate. You yelled right in his face."
She didn't answer. She just snuggled closer against him, finding in his warmth the only shelter in a world that had suddenly become far too dangerous. Toru, from the opposite seat, watched them with a mix of relief and a pang of something she couldn't name. Toga just smiled to herself in the darkness.
Mt. Lady's agency was a different place at night. The bright lights and chaos of employees had been replaced by a quiet gloom, broken only by emergency lights. Yu Takeyama was waiting for them in the lobby. She wasn't alone.
Beside her, in her hero costume and with an expression of infinite patience, was Nemuri Kayama.
"Nemuri-san," Izuku said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"Yu called me," she replied, her voice calm but with an undercurrent of concern. "She told me there was an emergency involving my favorite prodigy. I couldn't stay home. Besides, two pro heroes carry more weight than one when it comes to dealing with the bureaucracy that's heading our way."
Yu crossed her arms, her face a mask of contained fury.
"We've activated the maximum security protocol. No one gets in or out of this building without my authorization. You're safe here. Now, talk. And don't leave out a single detail. I want to know everything, from the first hello to the last goodbye."
They gathered in the conference room, the same one where they had studied property damage reports. Now, the table was covered with a holographic map of the mall. They told the story. The encounter at the fountain. Shigaraki's provocation. Kurogiri's ambush. The counterattack.
"It was a pincer movement," Momo analyzed, pointing to two spots on the map. "Shigaraki acted as bait to fix our attention, while Kurogiri materialized in our blind spot. It's a textbook tactic, but executed with terrifying speed."
"And the intention was clear," Ochako added, her voice still trembling. "He didn't want to fight everyone. He just wanted me."
When Toga got to the part about using Shigaraki's Quirk, the temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.
"Wait a minute," Yu interrupted, her eyes fixed on her. "Are you telling me you can copy someone's Quirk just by tasting their blood?"
"A bootleg version, yes," Toga confirmed with a proud smirk. "And I left him a nice little souvenir on his arm. I don't think he'll be scratching his neck with that hand for a good while."
Nemuri stood up and began to pace the room, her mind processing the implications. Her heels were the only sound.
"This changes everything. Shigaraki doesn't just know he was beaten. He knows one of you can now use his power. This isn't just about Ochako anymore. Toga, you've become his number one target. He'll either want you dead, or he'll want you by his side. There's no in-between."
"And the worst part," Izuku added, his voice grim, "is that we've given him new information. Now he knows Toga is with us. He knows we have a shapeshifter on the team. Our biggest secret has been revealed."
Yu slammed her fist on the table.
"Damn it. This complicates the training camp enormously. If they were a target before, now they're the jackpot. Nezu and All Might need to know this immediately."
Momo, who had remained silent, analyzing every word, finally spoke. Her voice was that of a strategist presenting an inevitable conclusion.
"There's another implication we aren't considering. Shigaraki didn't just attack us. He tested us. He wanted to see how we'd react in a civilian environment, outside of U.A. He wanted to measure our coordinated response. And what he saw was a perfectly synchronized team that neutralized him in seconds."
She looked at Izuku, her gray eyes filled with a cold, precise intelligence.
"He doesn't see us as students anymore. He doesn't see us as individual targets of opportunity. Now he sees us as a direct, organized threat to his plans. This wasn't just a hunt. It was a declaration. As of today, we are officially at war with him. And he, with us."