Akira tightened her gloves, expression sharpening as she accepted the mission.
"Alright… let's get started."
Ren nodded once."Good. Dabi, Stain, Kurogiri, Riptide, and EdgeShot. You'll handle all of it."
He turned to leave — but before he fully stepped out, Akira called out softly:
"Ren."
He paused.
"Once this mission starts… there's no turning back," she said.Her eyes held fear, but also loyalty."Are you prepared for that?"
Ren looked over his shoulder, face emotionless again.
"I've been prepared since the day Vega was formed."
He walked out.
VEGA BASE – SECRET RESEARCH WING
The automatic doors slid open.Inside, Stain, Kurogiri, and several world-class researchers were already waiting.
Tables covered in cybernetic parts.Energy conduits humming.Screens showing genetic models, combat simulations, quirk interaction theories.
Dabi leaned against a wall, smirking when he saw Ren.
"Took you long enough, boss."
Riptide adjusted her gloves.EdgeShot stayed silent, eyes sharp.
Ren stepped forward.
"Attention."
The room fell dead silent.
"Akira has begun designing your support gear."
Dabi grinned. "Finally."
Stain crossed his arms. "Hmph. Tools don't matter if the will is weak."
Kurogiri's void shimmered quietly.
Ren raised a hand and activated the main screen.
A hologram of the cyborg appeared — tall, deadly, fully armored — the Genos-style framework visible beneath.
Gasps filled the lab.
"This," Ren said, "will be Vega's ultimate weapon."
The researchers froze, whispering to each other.
Dabi's grin vanished.Stain's eyes narrowed.Even EdgeShot took a sharp breath.
Kurogiri finally asked:
"Ren… who will become the cyborg?"
Ren didn't answer.
Instead, he walked to the center of the room, placing a black chip on the table — glowing with unstable, pulsing energy.
"Begin preparations," he said.
His voice had no warmth left.
"No matter what it costs… we finish this."
Everyone felt the shift.
Ren's tone.His resolve.His hidden plan tightening around them like wires.
The future Vega feared… had already begun.
MEANWHILE — U.A. CLASS 1-A DORM
The entire class gathered in the lobby, restless, whispering like conspirators.
Mineta peeked through the front windows for the 10th time.
"Damn it! They're gone again!"He slammed his tiny fist on the glass."How are we supposed to spy on Ren's love life if he disappears like a ninja!?"
Kirishima folded his arms."Manly or not… Ren is too sneaky. Even I can't track him."
Midoriya scribbled in his notebook frantically.
"Ren left suddenly after classes… and Akira wasn't at the support room either…"He muttered to himself, pages flipping."Did they go on a— a— a date!? No… no… maybe they went for training? Or hero analysis? Or—"
Iida adjusted his glasses aggressively."Speculation without evidence is IMMORAL!But also… I must admit… their absence is quite concerning."
Uraraka hugged a pillow on the couch.
"Maybe… they're just hanging out? Alone?"Her face turned pink."That's kind of cute…"
Bakugo, sitting on the sofa with his arms behind his head, growled:
"Tch. You extras really think Ren would waste time on something dumb like romance?"He clicked his tongue."Idiot probably went to train until his bones break."
Kaminari elbowed Sero.
"Or maybe Akira broke his bones— emotionally."
Sero: "BRO—!"
Jiro crossed her arms, earbuds twitching.
"Either way… they're nowhere in campus. I checked with my sound waves."
Tokoyami nodded dramatically.
"He has embraced the darkness… truly a fellow of shadow."
Aizawa's voice suddenly echoed from behind them:
"…You all should stop spying on your classmates."
Everyone jumped.
Aizawa walked past them with his sleeping bag under his arm, eyes dead.
"If Ren and Akira left campus, they're on authorized leave.Go back to your rooms. Do your homework."
The class stood frozen.
Then—Aizawa added calmly, without looking back:
"And no, they're not on a date."
Mineta: "HE KNOWS—!!"
Aizawa: "Go. Sleep."
With that, Class A was dismissed like chastised children.
One by one, they retreated to their rooms.
Still curious.Still suspicious.Still whispering.
But in the end…
They had to admit it — Ren and Akira had vanished somewhere they couldn't reach.
For now.
In the Vega base, sparks crackled as Akira worked on the schematics.Dabi leaned against the wall, flipping a lighter open and closed out of boredom.
Ren approached him, eyes narrowing.
"Dabi," he said quietly, "did you turn your blue flames… into purple flames?"
The lighter clicked shut.
Dabi smirked, the corner of his stitched mouth lifting.
"So you noticed."
He lifted his palm.
A flame ignited — not blue.A deep, violent violet, swirling with unstable heat.
The distortion in the air made even Stain step back a little.
Ren crossed his arms."Purple fire is hotter than your blue flames. More unstable, too."
Dabi flicked his wrist, letting the flame dance between his fingers.
"Exactly. I compressed the temperature and changed the combustion pattern."His grin widened."Blue wasn't enough anymore. Not for the war you're planning."
Riptide whistled.
"That looks like something that could melt titanium…"
Akira looked up from her workstation, eyes sparkling.
"Your body can't handle that output yet, Dabi!" she warned."If you keep pushing it, your skin grafts will—"
Dabi cut her off with a shrug.
"Who cares? Pain is normal for me. As long as the fire gets stronger."
Ren stared at the flame, then at Dabi.
"…Good."
Dabi blinked, surprised.
Ren continued, voice low and cold:
"Because after the support gear Akira makes for you…You'll be able to use that purple flame at full output.Without burning yourself alive."
A rare shock flickered across Dabi's face.
Akira added quietly:
"I'm making a suit with thermal regulation and regenerative mesh…It will let you go all out."
Dabi looked at her, then at Ren, then at his own hand.
The flame grew brighter. Deeper. Almost black at the center.
A slow, dangerous smile stretched across his face.
"Well then…"He closed his fist, extinguishing the flame."Let's burn this world the way you want, boss."
Ren didn't smile.
But his eyes did.
Dabi extinguished the violet flame with a smug flick of his hand.
But Ren didn't move.
His eyes were still fixed on Dabi's palm…or more specifically—
the tiny speck of darkness that briefly flickered at the center.
A flamethat wasn't purpleor blueor even white-hot.
A flame that absorbed light instead of giving it.
Ren's breath stopped.
"…No way," he whispered.
Dabi tilted his head."What? Lost in my good looks?"
Ren stepped forward, voice suddenly sharp.
"Open your hand. Now."
Dabi frowned, but ignited his flame again.
The purple blaze roared to life—and there it was.
Right in the core.
A microscopic, violent, shimmering black flame.
Ren's eyes widened.
"This… is impossible."
Akira stood up from her workstation.
"What's wrong? Is it unstable—?"
Ren answered without breathing:
"That black flame inside…Dabi—that's Amaterasu."
The room fell dead silent.
Stain's grip tightened on his blade.Riptide stumbled back.Even Kurogiri's mist trembled.
Dabi blinked, confused."Amat-what? Sounds like a shampoo brand."
Ren grabbed Dabi's wrist and held it up to eye level.
"No. You don't get it."His voice was low, trembling with something between awe and dread.
"Amaterasu is a mythical black fire.A flame that burns anything — even concepts.It doesn't go out.It consumes until nothing remains."
He stared deeper into the flicker of darkness.
"In every quirk record… black fire is marked as impossible.No one has ever produced it."
Dabi's smirk slowly faded.
Akira swallowed hard.
"If… if that's true… then Dabi isn't just evolving his quirk."
Ren finished the sentence for her:
"He's surpassing the limit of normal flames.He's creating something… beyond quirk classification."
Dabi looked at the tiny black ember dancing in his palm.
"…Huh."He shrugged, but his voice was quieter than usual."So that little speck is supposed to be… legendary?"
Ren didn't answer.
He simply stared at the flame like it was a weapon that could rewrite the world.
And deep in his mind…
A new part of his Vega plan began forming.
The lab was silent.
Only the hum of machines and the faint crackle of Dabi's flame filled the air.
Ren exhaled slowly and stepped back, folding his arms.
"…Fine," he said."I'll tell you the story."
Everyone turned toward him — Dabi, Stain, Akira, Riptide, even the researchers.
Ren's voice dropped into a low, steady tone.
"The story of Amaterasu… the black flame."
REN'S STORY — The Origin of the Black Fire
"Long before quirks existed," Ren began,"there were ancient myths passed down in hidden clans."
He walked slowly across the lab, the black ember in Dabi's hand reflecting in his eyes.
"In those stories, fire wasn't just heat.It wasn't just energy."
He paused.
"It was will."
Everyone's breath hitched slightly.
"Most flames represent emotion — anger, passion, destruction, rebirth.But there was one flame… said to be born from pure intention."
Ren held up one finger.
"The intention to eliminate.The intention to erase.The intention to burn not the body…but the existence."
He pointed at the black ember inside Dabi's purple fire.
"That flame was called Amaterasu."
Kurogiri's mist trembled.
Stain's eyes narrowed.
Dabi finally spoke, his voice unusually quiet:
"What… exactly does it burn?"
Ren answered without hesitation:
"Everything."
He stepped closer again.
"Amaterasu was said to ignite from the user's gaze —a fire that cannot be extinguished by water, wind, or even time."
Riptide shivered."That's… impossible…"
Ren nodded.
"Exactly. Mythical. Unreal. Never meant to exist in our world."
He turned to Dabi again.
"Until now."
Dabi's Evolution
Ren explained further:
"Blue flames are hotter than orange.Purple flames are hotter than blue.But black flame… isn't about heat."
Dabi frowned. "Then what is it?"
Ren locked eyes with him.
"It's the flame that forms when a quirk breaks beyond its limit...and starts burning reality itself."
Akira's face went pale.
"That means… Dabi's quirk isn't just evolving.It's mutating."
Ren nodded darkly.
"And if he learns to awaken that black flame fully…Then even All For One wouldn't survive it."
Dabi smirked—but it wasn't arrogance this time.
It was something colder.
"Guess I'm more special than I thought."
Ren didn't smile.
"Or more dangerous."
The Final Warning
Ren stepped even closer, his voice now a warning:
"Amaterasu is not a gift.It's a curse.Every story ends the same way —The user loses control.Because the flame obeys one rule:
Once it burns, it does not stop."
The tiny black ember pulsed in Dabi's palm.
Everyone in the room felt a tremor run down their spine.
This wasn't just power.
This was a world-ending trigger hidden inside a man who already lived in chaos.
Ren finally finished:
"So Dabi…if you truly awakened Amaterasu…"
He stared at the black flame with a mixture of awe and fear.
"…then Vega's future just changed."
Dabi closed his fist, snuffing out the purple flame —but that tiny black ember still lingered in everyone's minds like a ghost.
Ren turned toward him, expression cold, focused, absolute.
"Dabi," he said.
Dabi raised a brow."Hm?"
Ren's voice shifted into command-mode — sharp, calculated, leaving no room for argument.
"Your next training is simple."
Everyone leaned in.
Ren pointed directly at Dabi's palm.
"Master the black flame."
The whole room stiffened.
Akira dropped her tools.
Stain's eye twitched.
Even Kurogiri's mist rippled.
Dabi blinked, then smirked slowly.
"Well… that sounds fun."
Ren didn't smile.
"And one more thing."
His gaze hardened to steel.
"You will also learn how to extinguish it."
Dabi stopped smirking.
"…What?"
Ren stepped forward, the weight of his words crashing over the room.
"Black flame is not like your blue fire.Not like purple fire.It doesn't obey physics.It doesn't obey quirks."He paused."It barely obeys you."
Dabi's eyebrows pulled together.
"You're telling me to master it…and to shut it off?"
"Yes."
Ren's tone was final.
"If you can't extinguish Amaterasu,then you can't control it."
He leaned closer, voice lowering.
"And if you can't control it…then it will consume everything — including you."
For once, Dabi didn't joke.
He stared at his own hand like it belonged to a stranger.
Akira swallowed hard.
"H-How do we even train something like that?"
Ren turned to the researchers.
"Build a containment chamber capable of withstanding conceptual heat.Reinforce it with dimensional alloy.And install emergency void locks."
The scientists paled.
"That's… nearly impossible—"
Ren cut them off:
"So is the flame.Do it."
Stain stepped forward.
"Dabi… can you even handle this power?"
Dabi smirked again, a darker gleam in his eyes.
"Hell yeah. If it burns everything…I'll make it burn what I want."
Ren nodded.
"Good. Training starts tomorrow."
He turned away, cloak swaying.
"And remember, Dabi…"
Dabi looked up.
Ren's eyes glowed with a dangerous intelligence.
"If you fail to extinguish the black flame—then even I won't be able to save you."
Silence.
Dabi finally exhaled, grin returning.
"Guess I better not fail, huh?"
Ren looked around the facility, scanning every corner with narrowed eyes. The others paused too — Dabi stopped feeding fire into the test chamber, Stain stopped sharpening his blade, and even Kurogiri's mist swirled in a questioning pulse.
Ren: "Oi… where's Toga? She was here five minutes ago."
Kurogiri straightened, mist thickening as he tried to sense her presence.
Kurogiri: "Hmm… I do not detect her anywhere in the containment wing. She slipped out of my range."
Stain clicked his tongue.
Stain: "That girl moves like a stray cat. Slips away when no one's watching."
Dabi rolled his eyes.Dabi: "Great. Last thing we need is her running around causing chaos because she got bored."
Ren exhaled sharply, rubbing his temple.
Ren: "She wouldn't run away. Not from us. If she left, it's because she smelled something interesting."
Then he paused… eyes narrowing.
Ren: "Check the upper labs. The ones where we stored the medical tools and blood packs. She loves sneaking around places like that."
Kurogiri opened a small warp gate to check——only to see an empty room, a chair spinning slowly, and a plate of cookies missing half.
Ren: "Yeah… that's definitely Toga."
A second later, Kurogiri detected something.
Kurogiri: "Ren… I sense her outside. On the rooftop."
Ren sighed in relief but also annoyance.
Ren: "Of course she's on the roof. Why wouldn't she be."
He gestures to the others.
Ren: "Let's go. If she's up there, she's either watching someone… or plotting something way too chaotic."
You want:
Ren didn't follow the others.
Instead, as soon as Kurogiri opened the warp gate toward the rooftop, Ren's expression changed — not fear, not annoyance… but something heavy and unreadable.
Without a word, he turned away.
He walked down the hall, past the training chambers, past the humming generator room, until he reached the private dorm wing Vega built underground.
His door labeled "REN — RESTRICTED" slid open.
He stepped inside.
And then—
SLAM.
Ren locked the door.Manually. Digitally. Biometrically.Three locks. One after another.
The room fell silent.
No sound, no movement — only Ren leaning back against the locked door, exhaling shakily.
A single thought looping in his head:
"…I shouldn't get attached."
The lights were dim. His room was bare — no posters, no photos, nothing personal. Just a bed, a desk full of blueprints, and his mask on the table.
He dropped onto the bed, forearm covering his eyes.
Even Vega's strongest couldn't hear his voice inside this room.
Ren (softly): "I'm an extra… I'm temporary… I shouldn't be worried about them."
A tight breath escaped him.
Outside, Dabi knocked once.
Dabi: "Oi. Ren. You good?"
Silence.
Ren didn't answer.
Not because he didn't hear…
…but because he didn't trust himself to speak.