Silence.
An eerie stillness fell over USJ.
The students, of course, were paralyzed, and even Shigaraki Tomura—who had been confronting Aizawa at the foot of the stairs—turned his gaze toward the entrance.
"…"
Shigaraki ceased scratching his neck. His crimson eyes flashed as they fixed on Tori.
"Do you really think a hero can actually kill?"
He sneered. A hero-in-training—a high school student, no less—killing someone? And issuing a murder threat while at it? It was absurd. By any moral or legal standard, it was unthinkable.
However.
"Then try me,"
Tori replied steadily, meeting Shigaraki’s gaze without flinching.
There was not an ounce of hesitation in his eyes.
Fear? Guilt? Ethical doubt?
None of that was there.
Only a cold, pragmatic resolve—as if he were deciding whether to squash an annoying bug or had already made up his mind.
A shudder ran down Shigaraki’s spine.
This kid… he’s serious.
It wasn’t bluster. If things went wrong, he would end Kurogiri’s life without a hint of hesitation.
"Haha…"
A dry laugh escaped Shigaraki’s lips.
"Hahahaha! Look at you—a total absurd bastard of a villain, U.A.!"
He cackled maniacally. To think such a monstrous soul was hidden in a school that supposedly nurtured the Symbol of Peace.
"You’d actually fit in better on our side, wouldn’t you?"
"Not interested,"
Tori cut him off sharply, then pressed his foot down a bit harder. Kurogiri let out a choked gasp.
"Space-warping Quirks are absurdly useful. They cover all directions and even allow for an escape. They’re just too much trouble,"
Tori muttered.
"If I dispatch him now, it’ll make things easier later. Right?"
Those words struck Bakugo like a dagger to the heart.
'It’ll make things easier later.'
This wasn’t just about the current battle. He intended to eliminate the most dangerous variable for the future. This wasn’t a hero’s line of thought—it was the calculation of a villain, of a killer.
Bakugo swallowed hard. Was it mere posturing? Or was that his true nature? He couldn’t tell. But one thing was crystal clear: the Marumine Tori before him was no lazy slacker he once knew.
"Marumine! If you kill him, you become a villain too!!!"
Aizawa’s voice rang out from the bottom of the stairs, strained and urgent.
He conceded that Marumine’s tactics were effective.
He admitted that Tori’s actions had saved the students.
He even recognized that Tori had removed any chance of Aizawa himself perishing here.
Yet, he yelled out of a desperate need to prevent his student from crossing the line.
"Lift your foot! Just subdue him! No killing!"
It was both a heartfelt plea from a teacher and a last-ditch command to preserve his own humanity.
"Hmm."
Tori’s brow twitched at Aizawa’s shout. After a moment’s pause, he nodded slightly.
"Understood, Sensei. You’re right. If I kill him here, it would be murder."
He eased the pressure of his foot ever so slightly—so subtly that Kurogiri’s labored gasp betrayed his relief.
"Let’s negotiate,"
Tori then addressed Shigaraki.
"What’s your name?"
"Shigaraki Tomura."
"Alright, Shigaraki. You said your target is All Might—the guy with the brain literally sticking out."
Tori gestured toward the black, hulking figure of Nomu, who stood silently beside Shigaraki.
"Let's settle this mess with a showdown between that monster and All Might."
"What…?"
Both Shigaraki and the listening students were incredulous.
"If that monster manages to kill All Might, then you achieve your goal, right? And for us, if All Might dies, it’s all over anyway."
Tori continued coolly, "On the other hand, if All Might defeats that monster, then I’ll hand this guy back to you."
He smirked.
"In return, until All Might shows up, none of you—no petty thugs, and not even you—should lay a finger on any of us. That’s the deal."
It was a flawless arrangement.
By holding onto the League’s only escape route—Kurogiri—Tori aimed to secure the students’ safety.
With Kurogiri restrained, Shigaraki and the villains were effectively trapped. Even if they massacred the students, when All Might or another Pro Hero arrived, there would be no escape.
Shigaraki’s mind raced. Kurogiri was essential. Without him, there was no turning back.
And the true target was All Might anyway. Harassing the lesser ones was just a way to bide time.
Moreover, looking into that kid’s eyes... if he refused, it was evident he’d cut Kurogiri’s throat without hesitation. The cost of refusal was simply too steep.
"Fine,"
Shigaraki finally relented.
"That’s an interesting proposition. I accept. After all, the Symbol of Peace will be here soon enough."
He signaled for the villains to hold position with a wave of his hand.
The villains stationed in the plaza hesitated before falling back. Aizawa too retreated, panting while never letting down his guard.
An oppressive stalemate ensued.
It was as if they were in the calm eye of a hurricane.
The students huddled near the entrance, watching Tori and Kurogiri with apprehension.
Tori remained standing with his foot firmly on Kurogiri’s stomach, leaning in a defiant, almost cocky manner—as if he were a local tough guy leaning on a partner’s leg. Yet beneath his boot lay a hidden, lethal edge, any moment ready to deliver death.
USJ Central Plaza.
The tension in the space was palpable, as though it might burst at any second.
Aizawa’s breathing was uneven.
Exhaustion weighed on his shoulders, yet his mind remained as sharp as a razor’s edge.
This situation was entirely abnormal.
A student—a freshman barely three days into his enrollment—was steering a standoff between Pro Heroes and villains. Negotiating with murder as collateral? It was almost unimaginable.
Amid such abnormality, even before a solution could be devised, Aizawa’s thoughts turned to one pressing question:
'What is it about this kid? What drives his actions right now?'
One of the reasons for arriving at USJ on such an unreasonable schedule was to gauge Marumine Tori’s state of mind.
The plan was to put Tori in various scenarios and see his true colors.
Thus, he analyzed: What exactly was Marumine’s motive?
Just then, without diverting his gaze from the situation at hand, Tori spoke up.
"Aizawa Sensei,"
His voice was low and measured.
"Don’t come any closer. Just listen."
Aizawa halted in his tracks.
"All Might is coming,"
Tori stated with unwavering assurance.
"And he’s going to win. Without a doubt."
Those words carried not the weight of blind hope but the certainty of someone who had seen the future.
"So... unless there’s more fighting, there’s no reason for any extra heroes to stick around."
He continued, "Take the students and head back to class. I’ll return with All Might."
"…What?"
Aizawa’s eyebrow twitched in disbelief.
What did he just say? Take the students and leave? Is he planning to stay here alone?
'This reckless fool.'
Alarm bells rang in Aizawa’s mind. This was tantamount to a suicide mission. Even with a truce in place, the villains could switch tactics in an instant. Promises? Honor? They meant nothing to these people.
Once All Might arrived and the battle reignited, the possibility of Shigaraki launching a surprise attack on Tori amid the chaos was disturbingly high. Could Tori, left alone, handle that?
Deep down, Aizawa even considered that Tori might be insisting on this arrangement solely to keep his part of the bargain intact.
'No extra heroes should remain here'……
In other words, by staying on as the jailer in charge of the hostage—Kurogiri—Tori was determined to eliminate any variable that might break the promise, namely Aizawa’s intervention.
Clearly, Aizawa still had strength left. Though he was worn out from tussling with the thugs, his Erasure Quirk was still very much intact.
If All Might arrived and managed to subdue Nomu, there was every possibility that Aizawa, joining the second phase, could help finish off Shigaraki.
In short, excluding him now would be nothing short of letting the villains off the hook.
Aizawa couldn’t pinpoint the principle driving Tori’s actions.
Aizawa stopped his inner debate.
Profiling was important, but something else was far more critical.
'What’s clear is...'
By sticking to his promise, Tori was putting himself at great risk.
The one person bearing the greatest risk in this deal was none other than Marumine Tori.
He was casting himself as both bait and lookout.
'Why though?'
Was it because he didn’t want to be a burden?
Or was it that, should things go wrong, he didn’t want to reveal the ruthless side hidden within him?
That cold, merciless intent he had just shown—did he not want to display it again before his peers, or even before me, his teacher?
Countless thoughts flooded his mind, but Aizawa kept them to himself.
Instead, his response was simple and resolute.
"If we must decide who stays behind..."
He adjusted his goggles and stepped forward.
"It’s only right that I remain."
It was a fact. Tori’s ability to subdue was impressive, but it had come from a surprise attack and a heavy dose of luck. In a head-on confrontation or a prolonged fight, it made far more sense for a veteran Pro Hero like Aizawa to stay.
No matter how suspicious a student might be, a teacher abandoning his post while leaving a student in harm’s way was unthinkable.
"No."
But Tori flatly rejected that notion.
He turned his head slightly to meet Aizawa’s gaze. His eyes were deep and unflinching.
"Sensei, you know you wouldn’t be able to bring yourself to do it when the time comes."
"…?"
"Because you’re a hero. Because you’re a good person."
A fierce, animalistic determination—and a chilling murderous intent—burned in Tori’s eyes.
"When it really matters, you couldn’t bring yourself to strangle or crush this guy."
Aizawa froze.
He had struck a nerve.
Aizawa was a rational man, but he was also a hero sworn to save lives. Even for a villain, murder was an absolute taboo.
If Shigaraki broke the deal and attacked, Aizawa might try to subdue him, but he could never show the same bloodthirsty threat Tori did—or the resolve to carry it out. Villains were astutely sensitive to that fine line.
"That’s why you never came any closer, Sensei. Because one more step and I’d crush his spine."
The precarious balance hanging in the air was maintained solely by the raw, unbridled intent in Tori’s eyes—the promise that if anything went wrong, death was certain.
"If I can, I’d prefer not to have to do it either."
Tori continued,
"Just trust me."
Those few words…
'Trust me.'
They were not merely a request to have faith in his abilities.
They were an earnest plea to believe that he would not cross the line, that he would return safely, and that this choice was the best for everyone involved.
Aizawa clenched his fists, his nails biting into his palms.
It wasn’t rational. Leaving a student behind went against every instinct of reason.
Yet in this dire situation, the only viable way to secure the children's safety and maintain the standoff was Tori’s plan.
He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again and made his decision.
"…Understood."
His voice was heavy with resignation.
"Thirteen! Escort the students out! We’re evacuating immediately!"
"T-Teacher?!"
Thirteen cried out in bewilderment, but upon meeting Aizawa’s steely gaze, he fell silent.
"Come on, everyone! Hurry up!"
The students hesitated.
"But what about Marumine?!"
"You’re leaving him all alone?!"
Kirishima and Jiro shouted in protest. Even Bakugo, grimacing and biting his lip, couldn’t tear his eyes away from Tori’s back.
"You idiots. Who said anyone was going to die?"
Tori spoke without a backward glance.
"Hurry up and get out. It’ll give All Might a clear fight."
His tone was light and casual, yet the gravity behind his words was immense.
"Let’s go."
Bakugo was the first to turn away.
"Do as he says. Staying here only makes us dead weight."
Biting his lip, he hurried toward the exit. One by one, the other students followed—some with tears in their eyes, others swallowing their anger.
Aizawa hung back until the last moment, then turned to Tori and spoke curtly.
"I’ll be waiting. Make sure you come back."
"Yeah, yeah."
Only then did Aizawa pivot and lead the students away.
Tori was left alone in the clearing.
Under his foot, Kurogiri still lay pinned, and before him stood Shigaraki alongside the disheveled, brain-exposed Nomu.
"Haha…"
Shigaraki laughed slickly.
"Really, you’re all alone now? Not a bit scared?"
Being more unhinged then the villains this strat is top tier