A/N:So if you guys read Arson back in the day, you might remember what I published on Izuku's last birthday. Yeah... I don't mean to keep seriously wounding / possibly killing Deku on his birthday, but here we are, happy birthday. Also no Kit's Korner this time because it seems a bit insensitive? I would say enjoy the chapter, but that also seems a bit insensitive, so I'm just gonna leave this here...

Yanking Hanada to his feet, Izuku let him get his feet under him before grasping the front of his shirt and roughly hauling him down the street – all the way back to the warehouse. Now that Hinata was out of danger, Izuku was feeling strangely calm.

Slamming into Viper's office, Deku threw Hanada at her feet. "Prepare for all out war. They did the raid anyway. We have less than an hour."

Sweeping out of the room, Izuku wove through the panicked masses that were slowly spreading the news of the upcoming fight. He couldn't bring himself to interact with any of them - soon enough he'd be acting as a sort of leader.

He clenched the burner phone in his hand. A large part of him wanted to run away and never look back He wanted to have katsudon with Eri and Mom, and make terrible jokes with the police officers at his station. He wanted to sit in the front row at Eri's dance recital, and see his friend graduate U.A. He wanted to prove himself to All Might, and, well, himself.

The phone interrupted his wistful thinking, a slight vibration in his hand. It was Takane, informing Izuku that Dead Eyes were on the way to the warehouse. Tightly shoving down his emotions, Izuku dropped his phone on the floor and crushed it with his heel, grinding it into the concrete.

With that done, Izuku slipped fully into his Deku persona, preparing only by tracking down his katana and strapping it securely around his waist.

Miles away, Naomasa received a text message from Takane. They'd cut down on contact with Izuku to avoid risking his cover, so they'd been expecting the skirmish any day now. Not thinking anything of it, Naomasa put out the order to have as many cops as possibly on standby to take care of business. It wasn't until a scrawny green-haired boy burst in that concern grew.

"I need to see Detective Tsukauchi," he yelled from the reception area. "It's urgent!"

"Hey, settle down, kid. I'm sure we can figure something out," Nakamura said. "Now what's going on?"

"Deku sent me and told me I needed to talk to Detective Tsukauchi," he said desperately.

The entire station froze. "Deku sent you?" Nakamura asked slowly.

"Yes, and I need to talk to Detective Tsukauchi!"

Naturally he was rushed into the detective's office, where every word sent ice through Naomasa's veins. He recognized this child – it was the one Izuku wanted to make sure was protected. He knew Izuku had been thinking about utilizing the boy's quirk to ensure the least amount of violence possible. Something was wrong – horribly wrong.

"Thank you, Deku told us about you. We'll take care of you, just sit over there and one of the officers will help you out. If you'll excuse me, I have some phone calls to make."

Naomasa barely noticed the boy leave his office, instead taking to pacing. With the new developments there was no question of whether or not heroes were needed – but who?

He remembered everything Izuku had told him, and a number of heroes flashed through his mind, but there was really only one that he trusted enough to take care of things. Picking up the phone, Naomasa dialed the number he knew by heart. Luckily Toshinori picked up on the first try.

"What is it, Tsukauchi?"

"We've got a huge fight, Toshinori," Naomasa said, willing his voice not to break. "I've got an undercover detective in the middle of it all, so I need you and whichever heroes you think are best for the job, now. This isn't a job for your students." Before he could let any emotions through, Naomasa hung up the phone, his mind consumed in a single plea: Please take care of Izuku.

Naomasa allowed himself a few moments to collect himself before stepping out into the rest of the station. "Where's Hinata? I need to ask him a few more questions."

"We thought he was with you still," Mori said.

Tsukauchi swore, bolting out the door, but there was no sign of the boy. "The kid is gone, he probably ran back to help Izuku. This isn't going to end well."

"We'll be there to back him up, Detective," Tamakawa said, placing a paw on his shoulder. "It will work out."

"I hope you're right," Naomasa said, but even as the words left his lips, the pit in his stomach disagreed.

Across Musutafu, Shota was attempting to teach hero theory to his second year class when Snipe walked in.

"Can I help you?" Shota asked.

"You're needed for an emergency mission right now – Nezu's already approved it," Snipe explained. "You're meeting up with All Might and Midnight in the courtyard."

"Fine. Remember the essay is due tomorrow," he said in parting to his students. Ignoring the collective groans, he soon found himself face-to-face with All Might.

"So what's this mission?" Midnight asked.

"There's a gang fight going on between the Viper Gang and Dead Eyes," Yagi said, looking ridiculous wearing his hero costume in his civilian form. "It seems like it's going to be an indiscriminate shoot-out, but Detective Tsukauchi has an undercover detective in there. That's where we come in."

Shota didn't know if he wanted to laugh or scream. It was Midoriya, of course it was Midoriya. He couldn't say anything, of course, because if Shota or the others acted like they recognized him as anything other than Deku, then the whole persona he'd worked so hard for would crumble. Even worse, if Deku was exposed in the middle of a gunfight there was only one way that things would end.

He did find himself unexpectedly grateful that All Might asked him to be a part of the mission – this way he could hopefully make sure that the kid made it to Eri's dance recital.

Back at the warehouse, Izuku fully slipped into his Deku persona. Things that he might have hesitated about as Izuku would get him killed, and Izuku had a promise to keep.

When the main doors burst open, he didn't startle, but his eyes did widen when Hinata ran in. Several people raised their guns at him, but Deku raised a hand to stop them. "Don't shoot, he's my informant."

Viper looked incredibly tense as Hinata scurried to Deku's side. Standing before the entire gang, she proclaimed, "Only one gang is going to leave here today. We started this fight, and we're going to end it, too!"

While the entirety of the Viper Gang cheered, Deku hissed to Hinata, "What are you doing here?!"

"We had a plan," he said, determined. "I'm not good for much, but I have to try."

"You won't be good for anything if you're dead," Deku said. "It's not too late if you get out of here."

"I've made up my mind," Hinata said, crossing his arms. "It kind of feels good."

"Congratulations, and unless I give you the signal otherwise, stay behind me," he commanded darkly. "I don't want any heroics from you."

"Yes, Deku," he squeaked, falling behind as told.

A few more minutes passed, and there was still no sign of Dead Eyes. Some of the members were starting to get antsy, but with a look at Deku, Viper shut them up. It was almost endearing how much faith she placed in him.

As soon as he noticed it, Deku laid a hand on his katana. "They're here."

"Are you nuts?" someone demanded. "No one is here but us fools. I guess Dead Eyes were too pussy to actually—"

Deku didn't flinch when a shot rang out, silencing the man forever.

There was a ripple across the warehouse, and the illusion they'd all been seeing disappeared without a trace. The space that had previously stood empty was filled with members of the Dead Eyes gang. With a sinking heart, Izuku saw Takane among them – now he had two people to get out alive.

But he couldn't focus on that for long. At the head of the gang stood the leader, a man in his thirties with milky white eyes and illusion up his sleeve. No one knew his name. The only name he was known by was shared by the gang he led.

"You may have one boy with a decent head on his shoulders, but that won't save him. You picked the wrong side of this, Deku."

"Shouldn't you be addressing Viper?" Deku asked as impertinently as he could manage. "Or did you bring your entire gang here because I hurt your feelings?"

"We all know Viper is no real leader. Your presence is the only thing that gives this pathetic crew half a right to call themselves a gang."

Several Viper Gang members protested, lunging forward until Hinata stepped up.

"None of you want to fight. You all want to leave!" Hinata yelled, forcibly spreading his quirk over a larger radius than ever before. An eerie silence fell over the room as everyone in it stilled – maybe it would all work out.

Just as Izuku got his hopes up, they were definitively dashed. Hearing a slight rustle, Deku drew his sword and had to lunge to slice the quill that the porcupine woman on the other side had sent towards Hinata with deadly aim.

There were too many people, he specialized in fighting and analyzing small groups. Who were the major fighters? Dead Eyes's illusions were an issue, but the porcupine lady was gripping her gun with a familiarity that made Deku uneasy. There was a man in the back who emitted a barely perceptible electrical hum – it likely interfered with how electrical things functioned. Now was not the time to analyze, though, it was time to fight for his life.

Spell broken, members of both gangs surged forward with battle cries and guns drawn. Using the chaos as his cover, Deku shoved Hinata down and hissed, "Nice try, you almost had 'em. Now keep low and get out. Kick out the window in the west bathroom, you're small enough to squeeze out."

"But Deku—"

"NOW!" he roared, shoving the younger boy away. He watched it long enough to see he'd gotten to the bathroom safely before turning his attention to Takane.

Thankfully the members of Dead Eyes seemed to be fairly well-informed about Deku and all of his feats – they likely avoided shooting him out of the hope of recruiting him to their gang, or they'd heard all of the stupid urban legends and they were scared what might happen if they actually shot Deku.

The crowd parted for Deku and his katana as he found his way to the very center of the fight where the head of Dead Eyes was baiting Viper. Illusions of him danced all around her, only to disappear when she lunged at them.

"Your jealousy is truly pathetic to see," Deku said, settling off to the side of the two gang leaders. He held himself like he was at a business luncheon and there weren't bullets singing past his head. "You'll have to come to terms with the fact that Dead Eyes is on its last leg."

"Dead Eyes is on its last leg?!" the leader demanded. "You must be slipping, Deku. You're supposed to be good at this sort of thing."

"Your actions have doomed your gang – both of your gangs." Deku dodged a bullet by leaning slightly, but with the changed angle, he caught sight of Takane clutching his shoulder amongst the chaos. At the view of red seeping through his fingers, Deku clenched his jaw before continuing, "This will be the end for you both if you don't end this. We're in a firefight, and the winner is going to be whoever is left alive at the end. But a handful of wounded people isn't an impressive gang, in my opinion. But since your members' lives are worth so little, carry on."

"They attacked us first!" Dead Eyes snarled.

"No, a few people disobeyed orders and raided you," Deku said, raising his voice. "Viper needs to leash her dogs, but how many times have you raided Viper Gang in the past year? I came because I thought both of your gangs held promise, but you're throwing it all away with your men. And get rid of these illusions, you stopped impressing anyone a while ago."

Dead Eyes erased the illusions, pouting a bit as he did. Straightening her shoulders, Viper called, "You heard Deku. Let's end this useless killing."

The wave of bullets slowed, but there was still gunfire on both sides. When Izuku caught sight of Takane dragging himself to the door, anger flared again.

"PUT YOUR GUNS DOWN!" he roared across the warehouse. People around him froze – this would doubtlessly spawn a whole slew of new Deku stories. He'd never raised his voice as Deku before today.

"Your leaders are going to negotiate. The next person that fires a gun answers to me," Deku announced. "In the meantime, shut up."

No one had really been paying attention to anything outside of the fight around them, but Deku had caught the slightest strains of sirens and footsteps outside. Backup was here, he just had to keep everyone in here distracted and unsuspecting.

He found himself unexpectedly thankful for Dead Eye's pigheadedness. He kept arguing with Viper so vehemently that he didn't notice that people on the edge of the room were starting to yawn all at once. When Izuku saw the purple haze pouring out of the vents, he knew he was saved – he couldn't have picked a better ally than Midnight at this moment. He could kiss Detective Tsukauchi!

The two leaders were completely focused on each other, and everyone else was so focused on the leaders that Deku could do anything that didn't draw attention to himself. He darted over to where Takane was slumped against the wall, assessing the damage. The man was passed out, and before the leaders could realize what was going on, almost everyone else was passed out with them.

"Wha- What is this?" Dead Eyes demanded, sluggishly shaking his head.

People were beginning to panic, but it only served to make them breathe faster, and thus breathe in more of Midnight's quirk. Deku slightly adjusted his mask – it had been upgraded to work as a gas mask about a year ago, but it still looked like an average medical mask. Coldly making eye contact with both leaders, Deku said, "The heroes are here. You've just lost both of your gangs."

The few people that were awake still looked distressed, but Izuku was just looking forward to leaving this warehouse behind him forever. He began walking towards the front doors, where Takane slumped, but before he could, the doors exploded open.

Ice shot through Izuku's veins at the sight of the number one hero barreling through the front doors, proclaiming, "I AM HERE!"

Izuku backed up a few steps, mind whirling. He couldn't be exposed – most people were asleep, but the air wafting in from All Might's entrance was enough to keep the few people that weren't asleep that way for a while longer.

He counted the number of people fighting to stay on their feet – the only ones awake. There were five, and the porcupine woman had just collapsed, growling softly. Eraserhead and Midnight descended from the vents, taking down the few people that were standing.

"A job well done, fellow heroes," All Might boomed with a laugh, but Izuku's attention was taken over by the almost indiscernible sound of a gun cocking.

Time seemed to slow down once Izuku heard the sound. It would have been the hero's own fault if he got shot, on multiple accounts. But letting that happen to anyone, even All Might was against everything he stood for, everything he was.

Izuku's eyes flew around the room, searching for the culprit before he saw her, a female member of Dead Eyes that had been feigning sleep, but now she was carefully aiming her handgun from where she laid on the floor.

Tackling or shoving All Might out of the way wasn't possible in the least. In the end, though, Izuku didn't make a conscious decision. "MOVE!" he shouted, before his body chose for him, sprinting to dive in front of the bullet that fired.

He'd been shot before, but it couldn't have prepared him for being shot in a vital area. The pain ripped through him, and Izuku immediately lost all strength, collapsing onto the number one hero. He couldn't concentrate on that, though, he had to breathe. Why couldn't he breathe?

A cough ripped through his body, the pain rippling through him with every little movement. A small, detached part of his brain started analyzing the situation – he'd just been shot in the lung, which would become very lethal very soon. He was likely going to shock now, and All Might was attempting to staunch the bleeding.

"What was that gunshot?"

Izuku knew that voice. It was a good voice – Tsukauchi. His mind wouldn't process the rest of what the detective said, but a part of him relaxed knowing that he could tell at least one person goodbye.

"-ya, stay with me," the detective was saying. "-eep breathing."

His eyes focused on the familiar face in front of him, a slight distraction from the pain. He wanted to stay, to be with his family and his coworkers for as long as he could.

But he couldn't leave them with nothing. Even though every syllable was agony, Izuku forced out, "Trying to… sir." He had to pause to cough, his vision going a little fuzzier. "Just… in case, tell… Mom… love her."

"Kid, I order you not to die," Tsukauchi demanded, trying to staunch the blood flow even more.

Somehow that struck Izuku as funny. "You know… always follow… orders." It was beginning not to hurt so much, which part of him knew was a bad thing, but the rest of him wanted to chase the numb oblivion. Against his will, his eyes shuttered, and he whispered, "This dream… can't die. Sorry… Eri."

Izuku wouldn't say his life flashed before his eyes, but everyone and everything he cared about did. Mom, Eri, every police officer, even Mori, Shoto, his friends…

It wasn't fair. His intense longing to be with them longer was the last thing he felt before he was dragged completely into oblivion.