“Inflation” was a short chapter at 13 pages, and there’s another official chapter coming in 5 days (a Friday release). But damn, when the art is this good, does it matter if the chapter is short???
Soooo….howdo you solve a problem like Midoriya? Apparently you shout his name a lot, then tell him he’s on his own because Shigaraki’s just one blink away from decaying UA. (I like that the heroes who knew him as a student call him Midoriya, not OFA or Deku.)
I love Horikoshi reminding us that Monoma continues to be a rock star, plus the little notes saying THIS IS MONOMA. (I guess Hori thought we wouldn’t recognize him without his bangs? Hmm, perhaps there will be a chapter extra page on this when the volume comes out!)
This chapter was also brought to you by the word “whoa.” Bakugo’s left gauntlet shatters from Shigaraki’s hands (whoa!), Aizawa realizes Midoriya needs a warp but they can’t do it (WHOAA!), and Midoriya has Toga come flying at him (WHOA!) It’s an oddly cute way to tie together these characters realizing that they’re in over their heads.
I’ll skip talking about the singularity here bc I have another post planned on that (I meant to finish it Friday but it didn’t happen!). All I’ll say is that the heroes continually underestimate Shigaraki’s non-quirk strength…. [Insert “I can’t believe it’s not quirks!” snark here.]
However! I will say it’s odd that Shigaraki’s face is changing and his eyes are disappearing and reappearing rapidly. Compare feral war Shig, when AFO just starts to exert control, to this chapter.
Since AFO’s face is covered by his mask right now, and we know he used to have white hair and red eyes, I wonder if his mask will eventually come off and we’ll see he has the same face as “perfected” Shigaraki. As Shigaraki and AFO have merged, it’s getting much harder to tell “who” is speaking, because it’s both. For example, yelling about heroes “sweeping things under the rug” and “couldn’t possibly comprehend” sounds very Shigaraki. But lecturing heroes on the singularity and how he’s so much smarter than the heroes? That’s AFO.
Ok, it’s TOGA TIME Y’ALL! I quite enjoy Horikoshi putting his twist on romance tropes. Red string of fate? Check. Confessing at the end of the world? Check. Toga goes all out to yank Izuku to her so she can confess her love and, hopefully, save his life. See, Toga doesn’t want Izuku to go to UA because she fears the destruction that awaits. Shigaraki promised her that he wouldn’t destroy what she loves, but the Shigaraki she knew is gone. And AFO wants Izuku even more than she does. If she really does love Izuku — and in her own way, she does — then she can’t let him go because she might not see him again.
I know people are upset that Danger Sense is used in this chapter as a shortcut for the “hard work” of getting to know Toga, or truly building an understanding with villains. But, to be honest, it doesn’t bother me. (There’s no right or wrong here, I’m just making my bias clear.) I personally don’t mind handwaving inconsistencies in quirk powers because powers always serve the story’s needs; e.g., we all know we’re gonna get “awakenings” and new moves during important battles. Though perhaps Danger Sense itself is a misunderstood and poorly named power. Wouldn’t be the first time a quirk wasn’t aptly named or known by its wielder.
Anyway. A few chapters back, Horikoshi introduced the idea that both Ochako and Izuku (and Shoto!) view the villains as humans. While that’s a big first step, it turns out to be … not very useful in actually making change happen. Humans are complex creatures motivated by many different things. Ochako recognized that what’s obvious to her isn’t obvious to Toga, but can’t put her finger on what IS obvious to Toga. Once that breakthrough happens, they can start to relate. Toga has said outright that she loves Izuku and Ochako, but Ochako couldn’t believe that because Toga’s always trying to stab them. Now, between Danger Sense and Ochako’s observations, I think both Izuku and Ochako are grasping how Toga sees the world.
…..Okay, before we go on….this final sentence isn’t 100% true. Toga will carve someone up out of love, yes, but she will also kill in self-defense, to avoid getting caught by authorities, and out of rage/revenge in extreme circumstances. Sometimes she kills when she needs someone’s blood to transform (the woman during Toya’s war fight with Ochako) and sometimes she doesn’t (Camie, Rock Lock, Aizawa).
Where does Toga’s confession leave us??? Well, I’m really glad we get a new chapter early, and it’s pretty much guaranteed to continue the Toga storyline since Ochako and Izuku are on the magazine cover. But, speaking of things that are not obvious… I have NO idea how Horikoshi will handle this. I hope Izuku and Ochako can gently talk Toga down (while battling Moonfish and the Nomu, hehe). If Toga truly loves them, and if she truly wants them to live a good, long life with her, then she can’t keep trying to stab them. But maybe Izuku and Ochako can voluntarily give Toga a vial of blood and show her it’s not the love or the blood that’s the problem; it’s really the random stabbing.
Like many other fans, I do hope this doesn’t turn into Toga and Ochako fighting over Izuku’s love, or immediately turning into a romance for Izuku and Ochako. I also don’t want Izuku and his powers to overshadow what Ochako can do. In fact, if IzuOcha will be canon, I’d like this to be a chance for Izuku to see Ochako help Toga. Like he understands what’s happening because of his Danger Sense insight, but he’s not equipped to help Toga the way Ochako is, so she takes the lead. Seeing Ochako be a hero, and save a villain in a way he hasn’t yet been able to, would be a good way for Ochako to inspire Izuku. And if Izuku decides he needs to be a bit more like Ochako as he approaches Shigaraki, then there’s something meaningful connecting the two (plus, thematically, it ties back to inspiration vs imitation). That said, I don’t think BnHA needs any endgame romantic pairs for the story to be complete, and I’d rather there be no romantic pairs than some last minute shoehorned pairings. But I’m still along for the ride no matter what because dammit I love these characters.
Paring: Dabi x Female Hero Reader Characters: Dabi, Izuku Midoriya, Tomura Shigaraki, Kurogiri, Keigo Takami Rating: SFW with some themes
Hi there! Welcome to the final part of this lil story thing. Please make sure you have read both Part 1andPart 2 before reading this. Hope you enjoy <3
The days seemed to blur together after your run-in with him.As you glanced around the city, your mind took you back to that day…
“Be mine.” Your jaw dropped from pure shock. “Fucking pardon?!” You spewed. “I want you to be mine.” Those were the last words you expected to hear from this… villain. “Are you mental? Absolutely not!” You whined with furrowed brows. You ducked your head underneath his arms and free yourself from his poorly thought-out trap. “Why not?” He asked. His voice almost sounding genuinely intrigued. “Why not?!” You mock. “Listen here buttercup–” You wave your finger in his face, pointing directly at the smiling man that stood by your fingertip. “YOU are a bad guy. A criminal. I am a hero. The one you’re supposed to be avoiding. Starting to pick up what I’m putting down?” Dabi poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue. “Yeah I get it. So… your answer?” His defiance was nothing less than irritating. “Did you not hear me the first time? No.” “Hm. Okay.” His eyes lowered as he inhaled deeply. “I’m gonna give you a week to think it over. Change your mind, come find me. If your answer is still the same, then I’ll leave you alone.” Your mouth opened as if it were to say something, but nothing came out. “Sound good, Princess?” “I…” You were at a loss for words. He really wasn’t giving up. One last flash of his cocky smile and he was gone…
“Y/N!” A voice calls out. You turn to see a bubbly Izuku Midoriya. “Hey you okay? You’ve been acting kinda off lately. Hero work getting too much?” He was sweet. Always worrying about you. “Hey Zu, I’m alright. Just a lot of things on my mind.” Midoriya nodded with a slight frown. His bottom lip pursed into a pout. “I get that… Well I hope you’re okay! Always here if you need me!” He beamed. “ThanksDeku.” He laughs as you impersonate the angry pomeranian that is Bakugo. You ruffle his hair and smile to him. “Hey…” Midoriya’s eyes quickly shot up to yours. “Can I ask you something?” “Of course!” “If you had to make a choice…” You pause gathering your thoughts. “And one of the outcomes is so morally wrong but you know deep down… you want it, what would you do?” Midoriya spoke no words to you. He mumbled at the speed of light to himself before snapping out of it. “I think… if it isn’t hurting anybody then it can’t be too awful.” An odd sense of guilt washed over you. Dabi was a villain. IS a villain. “Thanks.” You urge yourself to say. “No problem!” As you trail off into the distance, you pull out your phone. “Hey, Keigo? I need a favour.”
Dabi lazily slouched himself over the bar. Yawning at the lacking excitement going on the in league. “What’s up with scars over there?” Shigaraki hisses to Kurogiri. Kurogiri shrugs whilst cleaning a glass. “Wouldn’t know. He seems bored to me.” With all the heroes quickly putting stops to every plan they demised, it was no wonder there wasn’t much to do. The door to the bar swung open. They turned to see a grinning Hawks standing beside you, a lowranking hero that they knew was powerful. “Hey hey hey! How we doin’ folks?” Hawks boasted. “Y/N…” Dabi smirked as he lifted his head from the bar. “You’re coming with me.” You say, gripping him by the collar. “Yes ma’am.” He chuckles, sending a quick ‘it’s fine’ signal to the other league members.
“So… looks like you’ve come to find me–” “Zip it pyromaniac.” You say, staring him down with your arms folded over your chest. “You better listen real close, understand.” He licked his teeth with a smoulder and nods. “If this is happening, I have a few rules.” “Why of course Miss Goody.” You roll your eyes. “I’m not going to protect you.” He seems taken aback. “You so much as pickpocket someone or graffiti something, I will take you in. Don’t think that this…” You hesitate as you reach the word. “relationship… is a ticket to doing whatever the hell you want, because it’s not.” Dabi remains silent, nodding gently along with your words. “I will try and lure you into traps. I will do whatever i can in my power to take you down. Am I understood?” You take a deep breath and await his response. “That’s all?” He asks smugly. “Understood every word from your cute little mouth.” You frown as your cheeks flush. “W-well good!” You scramble after your confidence. “As long as I’m protecting the streets, I don’t want to hear your name even muttered.” “Can’t promise that, Princess.” Dabi lifts his hand to your face. Thumb grazing over your bottom lip. “So. The verdict?” He raises an eyebrow. “I guess we can give it a shot.” You mumble under your breath. “So cute–” He grips his hands beneath your thighs and lifts you up, wrapping your legs around his waist. “I can’t wait to corrupt my pretty little doll.” One last smirk, one you had seen so many times in the past few years. Holding you steady with one arm, he used his free one to pull you in to his lips by the nape of your neck. You pull back from the kiss. “You’d better not be using me.” You growl. “Never, Princess.”
