Authors note:
Speaking: "…"
Thinking: '…'
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The next day lunch time
„Since you're in such a good mood, I'll assume your date was a success," Katsuki declared, coming out of his part of the apartment, which they had basically turned into a lab to work on the nanotechnology they stole.
"It was. I even got to take over her class at the university. By the way, when did you come back yesterday to work on the project?" Izuku asked, turning from the sofa to his friend.
"Well, I had a long night with Kurenai, so I came back at nine and thought I could continue working on it. It's not done, but it'll go steadily," the crimson-eyed teen clarified.
"Sounds good. By the way, I'm planning on making our first move this evening," the green-eyed teen stated, playing a bit with his threads meanwhile.
"I mean, I'm free, but what the heck do you plan on doing? Going around killing random criminals isn't cutting it," the time master said, walking toward the kitchen to grab a can of Coke before plopping himself on the sofa next to Izuku.
"That's why I had Anubis gather some intel. You know there are currently three Yakuza groups left after the first appearance of quirks: the Phoenix Cult, the Shie Hassaikai group, and the Tokyo gang. Turns out the Tokyo gang is in the middle of a takeover by a new leader. If we strike today, it'll be the perfect chance to not only eliminate them but also free the territories they're holding," the space swordsman explained.
"I'm in. Can't wait to see what that supposed new boss can do," Katsuki stated, crushing the can of Coke he had just finished drinking.
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Endeavor POV
Endeavor's agency building
"So we finally got some dirt on the bastards, huh? Burnin, prepare everyone. We're moving out as soon as possible. I want all of those Tokyo gang members arrested," a large man with short spiky red hair, a flaming beard and mask and flames all over his hero costume declared. This man was Endeavor, Japan's No. 2 hero.
"Yes, sir. I'll go immediately," a woman with burning green hair answered and left the office.
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3 Hours Later
Tokyo gang headquarters
Arriving at the scene, Endeavor's forces quickly secured the area, evacuated all civilians, and barged through the alleyway, breaking into the underground compound. "Claire, find the boss and their officers," the flame hero commanded a blonde woman riding on top of what appeared to be a human-sized flying squirrel.
"On it," she responded, using her quirk to scan the area through the walls.
'Something's not right. I haven't seen a single person here. Where are the guards?' the No. 2 hero thought. Then he looked at his sidekick, and what he saw confirmed his suspicions. "Endeavor, they're all dead. I see tons of bodies everywhere. The only three people still standing are in a room up ahead," Claire stated.
"They're all dead? But who could have done something like that? The Tokyo group wasn't as organized or powerful as the other Yakuza, but they weren't to be taken lightly," Burnin analyzed.
"It doesn't matter. We can't do anything about the dead. Let's focus on the ones still alive," Endeavor clarified, informing the 50 sidekicks he brought to assemble at the designated room, a large fighting arena used for underground fight clubs.
Seeing the large double doors, he prepared a medium fire blast and broke through them. Landing on the ground, he looked up, and in all his years of heroism, there were only a handful of times he'd seen a scene like this. The ground and walls were littered with corpses, blood everywhere, and in the middle stood two figures and a half-dead monkey man holding a bo staff.
Both figures were about two meters tall, though one was slightly bigger. The smaller one wore black and green attire with a hood that bore dragon inscriptions. The other was a muscular humanoid cat wearing white baggy pants and a black compression shirt. Turning around, the green one revealed his face, or rather, what was covering it: a metallic mask resembling a dragon, with glowing green eyes.
"Are you the ones responsible for this madness? Talk, criminals!" Endeavor yelled as his sidekicks surrounded the unknown trio.
"I expected heroes would eventually get here, since today was a good time to destroy this organization. But to be welcomed by the No. 2 himself, what an honor," the green one spoke calmly.
"You will pay for what you've done, bastard!" the monkey man yelled, jumping into the air and raising his bo staff to strike.
"Scum, you don't deserve to live. The only reason you were still alive was because we needed your information. Now you die," the dragon-clad man stated with distaste in his voice, not even looking back as he twitched his fingers. In the next second, the only thing left of the monkey man was a bunch of neatly cut pieces of flesh and a pool of blood.
"Where were we? Ah, right, you asked if we were responsible. I'll have to say yes, but I wouldn't call it madness per se. The people here were bastards, not even worth throwing in prison. We just spared you the trouble of arresting them," the green man explained, holding his hands behind his back.
"That's rich, coming from the guy who murdered hundreds of humans in cold blood," Burnin interjected, her rage barely contained.
"Humans? Sure, if you want to consider people who hurt others just for fun as such. But don't lump us in with them. We might not be heroes, but we don't kill just anyone," the white panther spoke.
"Well, it doesn't matter what you think, because today will be the last day you see the light of day. I'll throw you so deep into Tartarus, you'll never kill again!" Endeavor yelled, propelling himself forward with his flames.
"Sit this one out, Dragon. I'll have some fun with these guys," the muscular cat declared. Suddenly, an intense burst of energy erupted from his body, knocking most of the sidekicks unconscious, and leaving the rest unable to move.
'What was that? He didn't even do anything, so why can't I move? Is that his quirk? Then the physical mutation is just a side effect,' the flame hero thought, unable to move midair because of the silver-blue energy radiating from the villain.
Then, the effect stopped, and Endeavor could move again as if nothing had happened. Thinking it was temporary, he prepared for a large flame blast and yelled, "Flashfire Fist: Jetburn!" A concentrated blast of flame shot from his fist, but the panther simply sidestepped it and immediately countered with a claw strike.
"I knew that wouldn't be enough to take you down, Endeavor," the white cat stated with a grin, barraging the flame hero with a flurry of claw strikes and kicks. Endeavor barely managed to defend himself before getting knocked back.
"Stahl, you still conscious?" Endeavor inquired.
"Of course, sir. Whatever he did knocked out most of our team, but I'm still good to go," a man in a combat suit declared, standing behind Endeavor.
"Then move in. He's a close-quarters fighter. Keep him busy as long as possible," the flame hero commanded. In response, the sidekick known as Stahl charged forward, engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy. Despite his efforts, the panther easily dodged the blows, and landed some of his own on the hero.
"You're done. My quirk makes me more durable the harder you hit me, so—" Stahl was cut off as he suddenly froze mid-sentence after a punch landed. The panther kicked him in the ribs, sending him flying into a wall.
Meanwhile, Dragon stood idly, watching. With a slight twitch of his fingers, he remarked, "That was a pathetic attempt at a sneak attack. I've seen bears with more stealth than you, Burnin. Your battle is over."
Burnin was captured by nearly invisible steel threads. "So you use threads like Best Jeanist? Well, don't think I'm done this soon."
"I think you misunderstood. These threads are laced with fast-acting paralysis poison, and since you just got cut, you'll be useless right about now." As he predicted, Burnin slumped to the ground, unable to move.
'Damn it, this is bad. They've taken out all the remaining sidekicks I had. This is...' However, Endeavor couldn't finish his thought as a fist, faster than he could react, struck him in the stomach. The panther's blow sent him flying into a wall, barely holding onto consciousness.
"Our name is the Eight Rings, and from now on, the territory that used to belong to the Tokyo gang will be protected by us. We will continue our mission of eliminating those who make the innocent suffer. My name is Dragon, and this is Panther. We are the leaders of this organization. Remember this day well, Enji Todoroki," the man now named Dragon declared before a portal made of green and ethereal black engulfed them, teleporting the villains away, leaving the heroes defeated.
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Ban POV
New York (underground compound)
„Good night, master. Have sweet dreams," Nexus wished his boss, lying in the big red sky bed.
"Uh, yeah, yeah, I don't care. Turn off the lights," Ban demanded.
In response, the Star Harbinger turned off the lights and left the room. It didn't take long for the American criminal to fall into the land of dreams. Though unexpectedly, the dream wasn't foggy or unclear like usual. Instead, there he was, standing in a black void full of nothingness.
"What the heck? What kind of dream is this?" the bird man commented, walking around the empty space. Then he sensed something, or rather someone, behind him. Turning around, he nearly exploded in rage. Standing there was the man he knew as Theodore, doing nothing, just casually smoking his cigarette.
"You! Don't you have the decency to stay out of my dreams? Die, you piece of shit!" Ban screamed before sending a barrage of flame feathers towards him. But after the attack stopped, there he stood, a hole in his head seemingly growing back without an issue.
"You can't beat me, let alone kill me. You're weak." Getting closer, he whispered in Ban's ear, "And you know what? You'll always be weak." Backing away as another wave of electric feathers was hurled at him, he jumped around the void, dodging all the attacks.
"You were always a disgrace to the family," Theodore taunted. "Dad never expected you to amount to anything meaningful. At least now you live where you belong, under the rocks."
No longer staying silent, Ban yelled, "Shut up!" and sent feathers at bullet speed all around him.
However, it still didn't amount to anything, as Theodore just stood there smoking his cigarette. "I'll kill you!" Ban screamed at the top of his lungs, running to punch him, his fist encased in a diamond-like substance. But when the fist finally connected, Theodore turned into snowflakes. Looking around, gone was the black void; instead, there was a mountain covered in a thick layer of snow and ice. Getting a bit cold, Ban lit his wings on fire and made a simple coat.
"You want power," a faint ethereal whisper echoed through the landscape.
"Who's there?" the bird man questioned, walking around the mountain aimlessly.
"Someone who will give you what you desire," the whispering continued. After it finished, a line of red and pink flame orbs appeared in front of him. "You want to take revenge on those who have wronged you."
"Who the heck are you? Are you the one responsible for whatever this is?" the winged man questioned.
"Someone who believes in you and your potential, and yes, I am responsible."
"And what makes you think I'd trust you?"
"Your pain," as the whisper said that, Theodore appeared at the end of the visible trail of flame orbs.
"You!" Enraged, Ban flew towards his enemy, single-mindedly following him through the mountain. That was until he entered a cave room, and Theodore disappeared without saying anything. The cave looked like a giant throne room carved out of frozen stone and ice. At the back sat a throne made of frozen stone, adorned with ice spikes.
"You want to beat him, to prove you're superior," it spoke as Ban realized the voice came from the throne, where none other than Theodore was sitting, smoking. "He'll always be better than you. You'll never surpass him on your own," Theodore said in a voice not his own.
"Shut up!" Ban screamed, lunging at his foe, piercing his wings into the man's chest. But Theodore was already gone. In his place was a large orb of red and pink flames. "Take this gift I'm offering. If you're satisfied, I'm willing to give you more for a little favor," it spoke as the orb began to implant itself into Ban's chest.
"Ahggg!" He shot up from his bed. Looking around, he realized he was back in his room. "So it was just a dream," he concluded. However, before he could go back to sleep, he felt something, something inside of him begging to be let out. And then there it was: his hands, enveloped in the same flames he had seen before.
"This is incredible! I've never felt such power," he said as the flames grew, and laughter echoed throughout the compound.