Dante walked slowly below the evening streetlights with his hands in his pockets, he looked like any normal high schooler heading home.
He turned down a narrower street, not because he needed to, but because he liked the quiet. The world here felt a bit more honest.
And then something caught his attention.
A woman's voice, strained, half a scream and half a gasp. Then the sharp crack of something slamming into metal. Dante froze, his head snapping toward the sound. His eyes narrowed, his antennae grew out a bit and he broke into a run.
He turned a corner to see what was happening.
He saw three guys. They were all wearing cheap, thrown together villain gear. one had a busted welding mask, another wore a jacket covered in spikes and the last had some kind of smoke emitter on his back. There was a fourth person, a woman, who was backed against the wall near a crushed bike rack with her groceries all over the floor, crushed.
Smoke pack guy had a hand outstretched, palm glowing faintly. Probably some heat or gas based quirk. Didn't matter.
"Oh there's someone else here!" He barked, puffing his chest out and laughing.
"Oh? What are you gonna do? You gonna cry and call a—"
The words never finished.
Dante's that collided with his jaw so fast that the guy couldn't even register it until he was airborne. He landed in a dumpster, knocked out. The other two turned, startled.
"Scumbags." Dante growled, stepping forward, teeth clenched.
Spikes pulled out a short baton, swinging wildly. Dante easily ducked the first strike and cracked his knee into the thug's ribs, then he grabbed the baton mid swing, spun it and jabbed the guys throat with the handle. He crumpled with a gag.
The one with a mask actually didn't run, give him credit for the courage, maybe. Or stupidity? 'The third usually runs…' Dante thought before the guy lunged, fists raised.
Dante just swung faster, his fist slammed into the guy's nose, then grabbed the guy by the front of his shirt and slammed him into the wall. He didn't break any bones, but he was definitely in pain.
"Are we done?" Dante asked, his voice low.
The guy nodded weakly, eyes wide.
Dante let go, letting him drop like trash. He turned to the woman, who was now picking up her groceries with shaky hands.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
She nodded. "Y-yeah. Thank you. Are you… a hero?"
Dante blinked.
"No."
But then, after a pause, he added, "Not yet anyway, maybe one day."
…
He stayed around until the police arrived, just perched on a rooftop above, making sure they got all of the villains. Once he saw the flashing red and blue, little Dante started to emit steam, clearly enraged.
"I'm sure they aren't bad." Dante reassured.
"One day… I'll kill them all." Little Dante growled.
"Dad already killed the bad ones, chill out." Dante scoffed.
After making sure the police handled it properly, he turned and melted back into the city like he was never there.
…
Back at home, he dropped his bag by the door and kicked off his shoes, finally relaxed. His stitches still stung and his body was still kinda sore, but he felt relived.
Maybe he wasn't a hero yet.
But helping people out felt…
"It feels amazing…"
…
…
The next morning, Dante walked through the opening doors of U.A., yawning into his palm as the morning light streaked across the hallways. He walked with his usual stride, hands in pockets, eyes half lidded, looking more like a third year delinquent than a freshman hero in training. The red highlights in his messy, tousled hair caught the light and a few heads turned as he passed, but none in recognition.
When he entered Class 1-A, everyone paused.
The chattered stopped. People looked up, confused.
"…hey," Dante said lazily, dropping into his usual seat in the back. No one responded. Instead, they all kept glancing at him with expressions somewhere suspicion and confusion.
Iida cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses. "Uhm, excuse me, are you lost? This is Class 1-A."
Dante blinked slowly, one brow rising.
"…What?"
Ochako leaned toward Iida and whispered, "Wait… no way… that kinda sounds like…"
Izuku squinted. "Wait… Dante? Is that you?"
The moment it clicked, the whole room erupted in shock.
"HUH?"
"DANTE?"
"NO WAY! HE LOOKS NORMAL!!!"
"What happend to his gremlin hair?"
Dante blinked, rubbing the back of his neck. "Umm, my bad? I didn't think a haircut would change so much??"
Kirishima was practically falling over. "I'm loving the red dude!"
Kaminari leaned across his desk. "Wait wait wait, where'd you get it done? It's actually really good…"
Dante shrugged. "It was some random hairdresser. She looked familiar, probably was."
As the chaos died down, Dante leaned back in his seat, eyes flicking to the front of the room. Then he frowned.
"Wait… who's teaching us now? Aizawa's still in the hospital, right?"
Then the door slammed open.
Speaking of the devil.
Aizawa walked in like death wearing a scarf. His whole body was bandaged and both his arms were in casts.
The class gawked.
Iida raised his hand, "I am glad you are doing okay, Mr. Aizawa!"
Ochako looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "You call that okay??"
Dante actually spoke up. "Sensei, are you sure you should be here..?"
Aizawa's dry eyes swept the room, as if the idea of being anywhere else was just stupid.
"I'm your homeroom teacher. I'm not dead, so I'm here."
Dante leaned further forward, smirking slightly. "Guess U.A. doesn't believe in paid leave?"
Aizawa looked right at him. "I was more worried about you, but you seem to be doing just fine."
Then Aizawa added, voice low and serious, "…Good job. Thank you for saving me."
Dante blinked. He didn't smile, but he nodded and something in his chest relaxed.
"…But the fight isn't over just yet." Aizawa said, voice low.
This got the class' attention.
"Huh?"
"More villains?!"
Aizawa just sighed, looking completely unbothered. "The U.A. sports festival is in two weeks."
Dead silence.
And then—
Kirishima slammed his hands down onto his desk. "HELL YEAH! THAT sports festival?! Like… with the whole world watching?!"
Ochako leaned forward. "The one that gets broadcast every year??"
Aizawa nodded stiffly. "That very one. As I said, it's two weeks away we're putting school back on schedule. That includes the festival.
"But Sensei," Iida interjected, adjusting his glasses. "Should we really proceed with such a public event so soon after that incident?"
Aizawa glanced at him. "Yes. If we show fear, the villains win. This is how we, as U.A. operates. We face threats head on and we show the world that hero training continues, no matter what."
Dante let out a slow breath, eyes narrowing slightly.
A tournament… broadcast to everyone.
He could already feel the HEAT bubbling in his stomach. Not fear. Excitement!
A test of power, real power. No written tests, drills or lectures. It was a pure test of skill and strength, combat, strategy and survival. A chance to show exactly what he could do, with the whole world watching. With the Boss watching, Kazuya and Kaijin, the whole gym… everyone watching!
He smirked, flipping a page in his notebook and writing two words in the corner.
"I will prove everything. No holding back, I will achieve first place in EVERYTHING."
"You'll will be competing," Aizawa added. "If you want internships… if you want recognition… now's the time to show the pros why you're worth watching."
A pause.
Then Aizawa glanced at Dante.
"…Some of you already have eyes on you. Let's see if you can handle the pressure."
Dante didn't flinch. He met Aizawa's gaze with a calm nod.
He was so ready.
…
…
The rest of the day was very boring. Whispers both the sports festival were all around. Everyone was excited to show off. Dante didn't talk much as per usual. He was focused, thinking of what he could focus on training over the next 2 weeks.
By the time the final bell rang, students began packing up, some forming clusters to discuss training plans, others rushing off to secure prime spots at the gym.
Dante slung his bag over his shoulder and walked toward the door, but then he paused and noticed a strange noise.
There was a crowd outside…
A HUGE one…
Practically every other first year was pressed against the hallway outside of the door to 1-A
"Oh come on," Dante muttered, dragging a hand down his face. "What's this about now?"
He stepped forward and saw the rest of his classmates frozen in place. Bakugo was bristling at the front of the group, hands in his pockets. And in the crowd, some guy with wild silver hair and an angry grin with an attitude that screamed Fight me!!
"You think you're the best eh! You ignorin' me?!" The silver haired guy shouted, pointing at bakugo from across the crowd. "I'm gonna outshine all of you in that stadium, especially you!"
Bakugo surprisingly just ignored the guy and started to leave.
Dante's eyes. However. Locked on the silver haired student.
Something was extremely familiar about the guy. Not just the way he stood, like he was always ready to throw down. But that fiery passion. That stubbornness. And his voice, it was a bit lighter, but…
Then it hit him.
"My sisters kid actually goes to U.A. too actually…"
Kazuya!
The way this guy was speaking, the way he was carrying himself, it was JUST like Kazuya when they first met. That same rough confidence…
Dante pushed through the crowd, ignoring the curious whispers and sudden hush that followed him.
"Hey…" someone whispered. "That's the guy right?"
"Didn't he carry eraserhead to safety?"
Dante didn't hear them.
He walked right up, grabbed the silver haired guy by the wrist mid rant, and stared at him hard.
"You're…" he started, his voice tougher than usual.
"…Tetsutetsu right?"
The guy blinked, caught off guard by the sudden interruption. "Huh? Yeah, that's me. Who the hell are y—"
Then Dante smiled, he actually smiled! Wide and genuine. His classmates behind him were stunned into silence, this was a side of Dante none of them knew.
"You're Kazuya's nephew…"
Tetsutetsu froze. "Wait, you know Uncle Kazuya?"
Dante let go and clapped his shoulder hard. "Hell yeah I do! He's been by gym partner for the last 5 years! He gave me a shot when no one else would."
There was a second of silence. Then Tetsutetsu's face lit up.
"No way! So you're that Dante kid he always talks about! You're that kid? He said you were crazy as hell!"
Dante grinned wider. "He said that?!"
"Yeah! Said you beat him in a spar this one time, then you passed out from exhaustion!"
"Okay, so that's… partially true."
Behind him, the rest of Class 1-A looked like they had just seen a ghost come to life. Dante Graves, usually stoic and silent, was talking and laughing. Actually like a human!
"Hey…" Kirishima whispered to Kaminari. "Did Dante just laugh out loud?"
"I didn't even think he could do that…" Kaminari replied.
Even Bakugo turned around, confused at this sudden shift in energy.
The two kept talking like old friends, the crowd slowly dissipating now that the tension was all gone. They even walked down the hall side by side.