Dig Your Heels In

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/14437224.

Rating: Not Rated

Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Category: M/M, F/F, F/M, Gen, Multi
Fandom: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero
Academia
Relationship: Midoriya Izuku/Shinsou Hitoshi/Todoroki Shouto, Midoriya
Izuku/Todoroki Shouto, Midoriya Izuku/Shinsou Hitoshi, Shinsou
Hitoshi/Todoroki Shouto, Kirishima Eijirou/Yoarashi Inasa, Bakugou
Katsuki/Consequences - Relationship
Character: Midoriya Izuku, Bakugou Katsuki, Todoroki Shouto, Shinsou Hitoshi,
Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Midoriya Inko, Uraraka Ochako, Aizawa
Shouta | Eraserhead, Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko, Akaguro
Chizome | Stain, Yoarashi Inasa, Sensei | All For One, Kirishima Eijirou,
Hagakure Tooru, Snipe (My Hero Academia), Chisaki Kai | Overhaul,
Nedzu (My Hero Academia), Aoyama Yuuga, Eri (My Hero Academia),
Ojiro Mashirao, Shouda Nirengeki, Kuroiro Shihai, Todoroki Touya,
Dabi (My Hero Academia)
Additional Tags: Quirkless Midoriya Izuku, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Slow Burn, Depression,
Determination, Violence, Bakugou gets character growth, Everyone
gets character growth, BAMF Midoriya Inko, Psychology, Midoriya Izuku
Needs A Hug, Original Character(s), world building, Cults, Dorks, Fluff,
Anxiety Attacks, Suicidal Thoughts, Vigilante Bakugou Katsuki, War,
Bad Akira References, Chaos, Dabi is a Todoroki, Implied/Referenced
Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Parental Aizawa Shouta |
Eraserhead, Midoriya Izuku Does Not Have One for All Quirk, Mystery,
Mecha, Motorcycles, Underground heroes, Midoriya Izuku Has A Gun,
this isn't meant to be depressing, it's meant to be cynical, Eventual
Happy Ending, Yoarashi Inasa Goes to U.A. High School, Yoarashi
Inasa Has One For All Quirk, Bakugou Katsuki Redemption
Language: English
Collections: Best of Quirkless! Izuku, Got 99 problems but these ain't one, The
Collection From the Clouds, The Unitary, Don’t Forget These Fics, In-
Progress I Want To Read, The Fairest of Them All
Stats: Published: 2018-04-25 Updated: 2022-04-26 Chapters: 28/? Words:
176546

Dig Your Heels In

by serenawitchwriter

Summary

Midoriya has his dreams crushed and remains quirkless even after proving himself a hero.

Bakugou makes a mistake and now has to face the consequences of his action in Juvie.

Shinsou was cheated out of his chance at the entrance exam.

Shouto is abandoned by his father the moment he loses his quirk.

Life isn't fair and sometimes it won't let you go beyond

But that doesn't mean you won't dig your heels in and fight.

(not gonna follow the cannon plot.)

 Low Point

He was never enough. He had known that for a while. He’d been in denial but having his idol, the
man who had told everyone else they could achieve their dreams with hard work and effort, tell
him he couldn’t seemed to be enough to break the last of those guards down.

The truth was as it had always been. He was nothing but a useless worthless Deku after all. He
couldn’t save Kacchan, he couldn’t save himself. He couldn’t do anything.

So where did that leave him?

All he had ever cared about was being a hero. He wanted to save people and make a difference. He
could be a police officer or a doctor like All Might said. He was probably smart enough. But it
didn’t really speak to him. If he was honest nothing seemed to shine as brightly as heroics.
Everything else seemed empty and pale in comparison.

Honestly, he had built so much of his identity around being a hero that it was hard to tell who he
was without that dream. Who was he? Who was Izuku other than a fanboy? A loser? A day
dreamer?

Well, he could always follow through on what Kacchan told him. He could die and be reborn as
someone useful. He could be a hero in his next life.

He’d hate to disappoint his mom like that though. She’d had enough disappointment putting up
with him. She didn’t deserve to be hurt like that. Even if he couldn’t be a hero he couldn’t bring
himself to be so cruel. Especially given how supportive she’d always been. She never told him to
give up no matter how much it worried her.

Well, she wouldn’t have to worry any more.

He’d just have to find something else to care about.

Izuku sighed and looked up at the sky, dyed the color of flames by sunset. It had been a long day.
Kacchan had destroyed his notebook, he’s been nearly suffocated by a sludge monster twice. His
hero was a liar who pitied him. Kacchan would undoubtedly be pissed at his lame attempt to save
him tomorrow. And he still smelled like sewage.
He was tired so silently, and under the pro-hero’s noses, he slipped away and made his way home.

It was a small moment, that made the difference. If Izuku had stayed a few moments longer, All
Might would have spotted and followed him. All Might would have lifted his spirits and offer the
young teenager all his dreams, along with the responsibility of a several lifetimes. If he had
lingered a little longer, Izuku would have become the next bearer of One for All and the Pillar of
Peace, the greatest hero in history.

Instead All Might lost sight of the boy and that conversation never happened. All Might certainly
still wanted the boy as his student, but the boy was gone, out of sight. Even from the air All Might
couldn’t guess which direction he went off in.

Disheartened, All Might resolved to meet the boy again, having no idea how the timeline had
changed around them.

How these moments would change Izuku in small ways and have a bigger impact than anyone
could imagine.

Izuku walked home alone.

Part of him died.

That day when he got home, after a shower and a nap, Izuku took his posters down. It wasn’t that
he didn’t like them anymore. It wasn’t that he had stopped admiring All Might. It just hurt to look
at right now and honestly Izuku lived in enough pain.

His mother was beside herself with worry. She had seen what happened on the news and had
worked herself into a complete tizzy. To see him take his posters down, even though it was All
Might who had saved him, was actually more worrying than the actual attack. The attack was over
and past at least…

But her son was different somehow.

She didn’t know how to help or even what was entirely wrong. Then he told her he’d given up on
his dreams.

Inko cried herself sick holding him against her chest. It was one thing to see the world crush his
dreams.

It was another to see him lose hope.

Something was wrong with Deku. Anyone with eyes could see it.

While before there was a level of bright-eyed stubborn resistance, now he just…

He just eerily agreed.

“You’re useless.” “Yeah, I guess i am.”

“You can never get into UA, what are you stupid?” “Probably.”

“What’s the matter with you?” “I’m quirkless.”

It was disturbing. It was creepy… it was sad.

No one was really comfortable with this change. They were used to Deku the way he was and now
that he was different no one really knew what to do with him. He didn’t rise to the bait like he used
to. He didn’t fight or resist. He didn’t even smile.

He didn’t smile anymore, and that was perhaps the most disturbing thing. He didn’t force those
little pained smiles that said he was still fighting. He didn’t meet your eyes with that determined
but sheepish gaze. He stopped looking at people at all. It was like he stopped being Deku.

No one knew what to do.

So all eyes turned to Bakugou in anticipation.

They had a spot. It was in the woods towards the mountains and it was only their's and his lackeys';
Long Fingers, Eyeballs, and Wings. Wings had disappeared a while ago but that wasn’t the point.
The point was that it was his and Deku’s spot.

Katsuki had begrudgingly stopped bullying Deku for the time being. Even if his actions were
arrogant and stupid, Deku had done him an honest favor with the sludge villain and it bugged
Katsuki that he didn’t know what would have happened if Deku wasn’t there. The hero’s sure as
shit weren’t doing anything and that bugged him too but that also wasn’t the point.

The point was that ever since that day, Deku was broken.

Katsuki didn’t understand it. He would have thought that the nerd would have been basking in the
glory of a job well done. He had finally done something ‘heroic’. He had finally proven that he
wasn’t useless, that he was better than Katsuki. But he wasn’t basking at all. Instead he was acting
like more of a useless pebble than usual.

Ah, well, Katsuki would set him straight like he always did. A few punches and some yelling and
Deku would be up and stuttering and smiling like he used to. Maybe the problem was that Katsuki
had stopped bullying him. That made sense. Katsuki had broken their pattern and now Deku didn’t
know what to do with himself. It was stupid and even more pathetic than Katsuki thought the nerd
capable of but whatever. If the nerd wanted to be bullied, Katsuki wasn’t inclined to disagree. He
had it coming.

Katsuki had called Deku out to their spot after school one day. Deku gave him this look like a deer
caught in headlights, but for a change he didn’t talk back or even try to stutter a response. He just
kept his head down and nodded. It was really starting to piss Katsuki off.

At their spot, ironically under the cherry blossom trees, Kutsuki turned on his old friend.

“Oi, what the fuck is wrong with you?”

Deku squeaked and refused to meet his eyes. “W-what do you mean?”
“Don’t feed me that shit,” Katsuki scowled. “You’ve been acting like more of a shitstain than
usual.”

Deku gave a tiny, soulless laugh. “Yeah, I guess I have been.”

Katsuki clenched his fists. “That’s what I mean! What the fuck are you doing? You aren’t
supposed to agree with me.”

Deku’s eyebrows drew together in a wounded look, but his voice had an edge. “Why not? Isn’t that
what you’ve always wanted?”

Katsuki’s clenched his teeth, face starting to go red. It was like even at his worst, even at his most
pathetic Deku was still mocking him!

“What the actual fuck is wrong with you, Deku?”

“Nothing,” he said with a miserable sigh. “I just had a wake up call.”

Katsuki felt like the cogs in his brain were out of sync grinding wrong and making ear splitting
screeches. “What those pro-hero’s? So what? They were right, you were acting suicidal.”

Something felt wrong about what he was saying but Katsuki didn’t bother thinking about it. Deku
just drew further into himself and his eyes were burning both with tears and possibly hatred.

“Why do you care?” his voice sounded lost and bitter. Katsuki continued to ignore the part of him
that kept screaming Wrong! Wrong! This isn’t how Deku acts!

“I don’t!” Katsuki said automatically.

There was a pause and then Deku laughed dryly, looking more tired than Katsuki had ever seen
him. “Thanks for worrying, Kacchan. But you don’t have to worry anymore. I’m not going to be a
hero.”
The grinding in his skull came to an abrupt stop. In its place was an echoing silence and a rising red
tide. What…

“...You’re giving up?”

Deku stared into Katsuki’s eyes. “Yes.” he said with finality.

And suddenly everything was red and hot and Katsuki couldn’t remember what happened after
that.

Izuku had never seen Kacchan this angry before. He didn’t understand it. Isn’t this what he
wanted? Isn’t this what Kacchan had always been demanding? Emphasizing the point with punches
and blow and kick and explosions. Why wasn’t giving up enough?

“I don’t know what you want?” Izuku cried, now running for his life. One moment his friend
seemed calm (for his standards), the next hands of fire were coming towards Izuku and it was all
the boy could do to stay alive. The branches of the forest scratched his cheeks as he ran. He prayed
for an escape but Kacchan knew these woods as well as he did.

“YES YOU DO! YOU FUCKING CUNT! GET BACK HERE!” Bakugou was blind in his anger
and Izuku ran harder. The heat of explosion after explosion grazed his back.

If I don’t get away he’ll kill me , Izuku thought.

And for a startling moment, Izuku found he didn’t care. This was better than suicide. His mom
would still be upset but she wouldn’t blame him. It’d be a relief. The quirkless nothing finally
reduced to it’s true essence. It was almost funny, almost freeing. He could die and all this pain
would just be over.

But he didn’t slow down, his heart still beat in his ears and his lungs burned.

“STOP RUNNING AWAY YOU PATHETIC COWARD!” Bakugou shouted behind him.
Why don’t I care? Izuku wondered, analytical mind unable to stop running even at a time like this.
Shouldn’t I be afraid of death? And if I’m not then why am I still running?

It was like with the slime villain, his body was moving on it’s own.

Izuku skidded around a tree and like that Kacchan was on top of him, tackling him to the ground
and screaming incoherently. Izuku hit the ground wrong and was almost certain he broke
something. Struggling to at least get in a better position, Kacchan screamed again and slammed
Izuku’s shoulders flat into the ground. His hands let of miniature explosions and Izuku felt his flesh
sear painfully.

There were tears on his face and Kacchan was still yelling but all Izuku could hear was a high pitch
ringing because of his proximity to the blasts. Kacchan looked like a wild animal raging above him
and distantly Izuku found it almost funny.

He was about to die and he wanted to laugh.

Blasts continued to explode and burn Izuku’s skin and it hurt but Izuku felt almost serene. Was it
shock?

Izuku could still hear his heartbeat. His body and mind seemed to have disconnected from each
other because his hand was still groping madly around, looking for an option. His lungs still forced
air through him, trying to keep up with the adrenaline in his system. Part of him was fighting to
stay alive all the same.

His hand found it, the same moment Bakugou reared back his hand to deliver the finishing blow. In
an instant, the rock that found its way into his hand found its way into Kacchan’s face. The twist of
his body moved Izuku’s head out of the way of the concussive blast, the explosion still powerful
enough to burn his neck and set his shirt on fire. But better that than his entire face. It would’ve
been a direct shot to his face if he hadn’t moved. Possibly deadly.

The pain was unforgiving in that moment, white and sticky and paradoxically almost cold.
Shadows danced through his vision and for a moment Izuku was so focused on putting his shirt out
that he didn’t notice Kacchan wasn’t on top of him anymore.

Feeling as though his ears and head were full of cotton, Izuku turned to find Kacchan laying limp
and pale. His cheek was bleeding. The rock lay right where Izuku had dropped it and Izuku realized
belatedly that he had knocked his friend out.

He…

He needed to do something. His thoughts felt vague and disjointed. He needed to get out of here.
He… he needed to run.

So he did, leaving Kacchan on the ground. He knew he should probably call someone, get help for
him. But he had no idea where his phone was. It was probably in his backpack and he must have
dropped that at some point.

What was important was that he get home. Home was safe. Home was what he needed.

The painful ringing in his ears gave way to a dull roaring. His heartbeat began to calm down and
the adrenaline high started to wear off.

Izuku focused on his feet smacking against the pavement, taking him away from danger, bring him
closer to safety.

The pain was growing more intense. The burns seemed to radiate heat through him and his arm felt
wrong and his lungs were struggling to take in air. His vision was still trying to tunnel and perhaps
if Izuku were a little less stubborn he would have passed out already.

It felt like too long before he reached his home’s familiar doorway. He slumped against it and was
unconscious before his mother even opened the door.

This is the story of how Midoriya Izuku became a war hero.

 A Matter of Opinion
Chapter Summary

Midoriya means different things to different people

Chapter Notes

Inko is BAMF

See the end of the chapter for more notes

A little known fact about Midoriya was that he was actually fairly popular in the news casting
community. Sure, no one was inclined to give him any false hope in regards to his quirk and his
dreams of being a hero. Sure, most of them pitied him. But no one really disliked him.

Their relationship with the boy started when he was around six or seven. He and his mother had
stopped while shopping to watch a villain fight. And after it finished one of the reporters turned to
the small family and asked them for an interview. It was purely analytics at the time. Audiences
like cute kids, attractive young adults, and professionals, with the occasional weirdo thrown in. The
news was impossible to control so they did what they could to get viewers. The boy was cute, the
mom was young and attractive. It worked out.

From there it would just happen now and again. As the boy got older and more autonomous, he
started chasing down villain fights to watch and analyze them. Occasionally a news reporter would
grab him, because Midoriya was still a cute kid and his mom eventually signed a whole-cloth
waiver for Channel 10. The reporters he interacted with found him refreshingly cooperative. He
was bright for his age, polite, and while his stutter was frustrating, he was very well behaved. He
cried sometimes but that was more because he was emotional and less because he was whining or
demanding anything. He didn’t go out of his way to be grabby or obnoxious. Midoriya was a little
ray of sunshine next to some of the other kids they dragged onto the news.

Midoriya eventually started getting too recognizable and too old to be the ‘cute kid’ anymore but
they did invite him on for some early morning segments where he did things with one of their chefs
for a cooking segments or spoke too enthusiastically for their ‘Who’s That Hero?’ segment. It was
cute and everyone was thoroughly charmed by him even though he was a shy little thing. Many
told him he had a future in reporting, even going so far as to give him a junior reporter badge. But
it wasn’t long after that, that he started refusing their offers to come on the news.
He said thank you but he has his heart set on being a hero.

They had also begun to notice that he started coming in with bruises and sometimes minor burns.
The reporters were always keen to get information so they were quick to figure out that little
Midoriya had a bullying problem. They couldn’t do much from the outside. It was his mom’s duty
to go to the school board and sort that stuff out. They also knew that it was a bit of a losing battle
given that the students involved were so young and it was against a quirkless boy. Still they ran
some anti-bullying stories and prayed that it would help him.

He was around nine when he stopped coming to the studio. Some of the reporters still saw him
during villain fights. They’d say hi but since they were working and the news world ran fast, they
couldn’t really stop to chat with him. They noticed he was looking more depressed, but really, it
wasn’t any of their business. Their lives didn’t revolve around the cute kid they sometimes
interviewed. They had lives and problems that were always more important.

But that didn’t mean they forgot him.

When the news broke that Midoriya Izuku, their Midoriya Izuku, had been attacked, they were
angry. They protected their own, and Midoriya was one of their own .

They ran the story and god forgive them it wasn’t some of the best work they had ever put out.

See, a fact that few people noticed was that Midoriya Izuku, for all his faults, was a perfect victim.

He was a sweet boy, recognizable by his fluffy green hair and his nervous smiles. He was kind and
always willing to help a neighbor with their groceries or to help an old person cross the street. He
was constantly doing little favors for the neighborhood and his kindness was noticed, appreciated.

At school, while he was bullied and avoided and sometimes called creepy for his mumbling habit,
he was still admired by some. His teachers found him intelligent and capable despite his obvious
naivete. His classmates avoided him because he was bully magnet, but found his stubborn
commitment to his dreams impressive, albeit crazy. And a number of students could step forward
and say that he had stood up for them, that he had stepped in and taken the heat when they were
the ones being bullied.

No one would say anything to him normally. After all he was quirkless and strange and associating
with him was a good way to paint a target on your back. But silently many in the school liked
Midoriya.

However the fact that he was quirkless was what made him the perfect victim. Because while quirk
racism was a hot button topic, few people talked about how it affected the quirkless. For Midoriya
Izuku, a bright-eyed, intelligent young man, it meant getting scolded and abused and bullied for
something he had no control over. It meant he would always be a target for villains because he had
no means to defend himself. It meant that he, a perfectly innocent fifteen year old boy, would
always be treated as less than by his peers because he was simply born different.

With the exception of his bullies, most people overlooked the fact that Midoriya Izuku was the
perfect victim.

The reporters did not.

If there was one thing that Bakugou Mitsuki had learned after her years of friendship with the
woman, it was that you don’t make Midoriya Inko mad.

She had a long fuse, things that upset her seemed to take a long time to brew. She was very
forgiving and open to giving second chances. Or fifteenth chances. That was one of the things that
made Mitsuki’s and Inko’s friendship work. Mitsuki had a short fuse and with the exception of her
patient husband and Inko’s endless kindness, her anger tended to drive most people away.

It wasn’t that her anger was mean spirited. She rarely attacked a person’s character unless they
deserved it. She had a strong sense of justice after all. A sense of justice that she passed on to her
son. But Mitsuki had absolutely no patience for stupidity and unfortunately she was constantly
surrounded by it.

Mitsuki liked Inko because she wasn’t stupid. Or, well okay, she was stupidly forgiving, but she
was smart. She could see the truth in all matters. She could see that Mitsuki’s yelling and
occasional tantrums weren’t malicious in nature and she stood by her afterwards, even when
Mitsuki herself was feeling like a stupid child for losing control of her emotions. Her eyes could
always pick up the real problem and though she rarely chose to press the issues she noticed, Inko
had a deft hand when it came to comforting others and giving them exactly what they needed;
whether it be hugs, an ear to talk to, or a motivational push. When she didn’t know how to help, she
would worry herself sick, but the majority of the time, Midoriya Inko was a fountain of maturity
and empathy.

Mitsuki’s husband, for his part, took her shouting in stride often agreeing with her assessment of
idiots in a more reserved manner. When she directed her callouts towards him, he seemed to thrive
under the criticism, taking on the challenge and working harder than what seemed humanly
possible to improve himself. Katsuki inherited his work ethic from his father, though she was no
slacker herself. Her family was the best and all those who stood in their way would be taken down
a notch!

Bakugou Mitsuki was particularly grateful that Izuku had befriended her favorite brat. Izuku was
just as observant as his mother and Bakugou needed that in his life. So when a couple years ago,
Inko voiced concern about bullying between the two boys, Mitsuki had brushed it off. Her boy was
rough around the edges, just like her, but he had a good head on his shoulders. He’d never actually
hurt Izuku, he’d just rough house too enthusiastically.

She’d noticed, of course, her son’s sometimes bitter attitude towards Izuku, but that was just
because he was too stubborn to easily accept the support that Izuku undoubtedly offered him. He’d
get better as they matured.

Usually, when Inko voiced a concern Mitsuki would listen. The woman had the habit of being
right and her ‘warnings’ had helped Mitsuki avoid a number bad situations. But with this, it was
just her being over protective and reading too much into things. Their boys were gearing up to be
heroes, of course they played a little too rough and stayed out a little too long. Izuku might be
falling behind because of his quirkless situation, but if anyone could overcome that kind of
disability it was determined little Izuku. And Katsuki would be there every step of the way
spurring him forward.

So when she received a phone call a few days after Katsuki came home with a bruise cheek and a
shitty attitude, Mitsuki was ready for another talk where she calmed Inko down and explained why
her concerns were irrational.

Then she heard Inko’s voice and she knew she was fucked

Izuku had a nightmare.

Everything was hazy and unpleasant. He didn’t exactly hurt, there were too many painkillers in his
system for that, but he didn’t feel good either.

He dreamt that he was he was locked in a cage that was too hot and he was surrounded by leering
onlookers. It was like he was in a zoo but the cage was too small and occasionally he’d be prodded
sharply with wooden sticks and metal spears. Even though he would scream and beg them to stop it
was like he was speaking another language and no one could understand him.

That wasn’t the part that scared him though.

As the dream continued fewer and fewer people surrounded the cage until it was just him and
Kacchan. Kacchan had always been the one to hurt him most enthusiastically. The bully delighted
in his screams of pain. But now that it was just the two of them he snorted and turned to leave.

“You’re boring,” he said, “who wants a useless freak anyway. Just die already.”

And then he’d leave.

And Izuku would be alone, trapped and unable to move. He had no food or water. When he called
for help nobody came. He was slowly withering away to nothing and he was helpless to change
that.

He didn’t want to die. Not really.

But he was going to anyway because he couldn’t live like this.

The cage was too hot and he was burning alive.

He was alone. He was always alone.

Then he woke up.

Auntie Inko had invited them to tea and his mom was freaking out.

She had urgently asked Katsuki if he had done anything to piss the woman off and Katsuki could
honestly say that he had no idea. One moment he had been shouting at Deku the next he was
waking up on the ground with a bruise on his cheek. He was honestly mildly impressed that Deku
had actually decked him, but he couldn’t stand the thought of losing a fight to the nerd, so he
promised revenge later.

He didn’t say that to his mother, of course, so instead he shrugged and asked what she was on
about.

His mom kept staring and eventually decided that it was better to just bite the bullet. From there
she insisted that Katsuki put on his best clothes and look smart for Auntie Inko. Katsuki pointed
out how stupid that was. Auntie knows what he looks like and has probably seen him in a lot worse
than a t-shirt and jeans. But his mom was on a rampage so he ended up in a button down and slacks
anyway.

His mom’s anxiety was starting to affect him and Katsuki wasn’t sure what to do about. Eventually
they got to the bloody tea joint and his mom had parked and given him an urgent warning not to set
auntie off.

Katsuki didn’t understand what the hell she was on but promised her anyway, if for no other reason
than to get her off his case.

Katsuki and his mom approached the table Auntie Inko was sitting at.

A steady smile was pasted to the woman's lips and her eyes were squinted in a way that made her
face unreadable. Katsuki had never seen that expression on her face before and tried to swallow the
feeling of unease rising in his gut. His mom pressed her lips together and put a protective hand on
his shoulder. He gave her a look but he didn’t shrug her off.

“Hi, Inko,” his mom forced a smile, “How are you?”

“Oh, I’m fine,” Auntie Inko said expression not moving. She put emphasis on the word ‘I’m’ as if
to imply someone else wasn’t. Katsuki had a guess who. “I hope you don’t mind but I already
ordered your tea for you.”

Two cups sat at the table across from her and, strictly speaking, Katsuki did mind. He liked his tea
piping hot and it had probably already started to cool since it’d been brought out. But he didn’t say
anything. Auntie knew how he liked his tea. She hadn’t ordered it right intentionally.
Katsuki and his mom took their seats and up close the aura coming off of Auntie seemed more
dangerous.

“Where’s De- Izuku?” Katsuki asked glancing around. It was really odd that he wasn’t here. If his
mom wanted Bakugou at her friendship tea date he assumed she wanted them to shake hands and
get over their ‘little spat’. It had happened before. But Deku was nowhere to be seen.

Inko took a sip of her tea. “How did you get that bruise on your cheek, Katsuki?” she asked when
she put the glass down.

Katsuki tensed seeing this was an interrogation. His mom tensed beside him and gave him a
speaking look, warning him not to lie, warning him to be careful. He still didn’t entirely buy her
warning about ‘Inko’s wrath’ but now that he was staring down her startling cold, still mask, he
was starting to get it.

“Roughhousing,” he grumbled, echoing something his mom and teachers often said.

Inko made a hmm noise and repeated “roughhousing” in a thoughtful tone.

She took another sip of tea.

“I’ll cut to the chase,” she decided and putting down her glass. She opened her purse and pulled out
a folded piece of paper. She spread it flat on the table. “This is a restraining order. Your son is not
to come within a hundred feet of my son.”

“Inko!” Katsuki’s mom gasped in shock and anger. Katsuki blinked down at the paper, surprised
but… unsure what else he was feeling. He should feel angry. Izuku, the pansy, was running away
again. But all he felt in that moment was a strange staticy buzz at the back of his head.

His mom was already protesting for him. “Surely this is a little much, Inko. This will go on his
permanent record. Surely a little fight isn’t worth hurting Katsuki’s future.”

And Midoriya Inko snapped.

Her hands slammed down on the table and her expression abruptly twisted with the ugliest fury
Katsuki had ever seen. Her eyes burned more dangerous than any villain and she was laughing a
shrill cold laugh.

“A little fight?” Inko asked. The teacups on the table started rattling like there was an earthquake. “
A little fight? Little fights don’t land people in the hospital, Mitsuki. Little fights don’t end up with
one person having a broken ankle, a dislocated shoulder, damaged eardrums, and third degree
burns on his chest, back, arms, neck, and face! While the other gets away with nothing but a bruise.
This wasn’t a little fight, Mitsuki!”

His mom had flinched back, her hands covering her mouth in shock. She turned to Katsuki, eyes
asking if it was true. The strange buzzing in his head only got louder. He looked at his Auntie with
wide eyes.

Inko sneered at him and then smiled acidicly. “Did you not tell your mother what you did to
‘Deku’, Katsuki-kun?” her voice was back to being sickeningly sweet and her face slowly fell back
into that strange tight eyed mask. A cold smile, eyes squinted so that you couldn’t see her burning
fury. Katsuki despite himself shivered. It was like she was possessed by some kind of ju-on.

“Katsuki?” his mom asked, her eyes afraid but her tone softened like she didn’t believe he could do
such a thing. Katsuki didn’t answer. He couldn’t meet her eyes.

Auntie Inko calmly took another sip of tea, as though moments ago she hadn’t used her quirk on
the cup. “You’re very lucky that my son is so forgiving, Katsuki-kun. If your explosion had been
stronger you could have damaged Izuku’s jugular and he would have bled out in minutes. I wanted
to press criminal charges but Izuku insisted that I didn’t.”

Katsuki’s mom was pale. Auntie Inko went on. “You’re also lucky that we had access to such good
doctors. I heard it was very touch in go on the operating table but they had a specialist that could
regrow skin and another who specialized on ears. If they hadn’t had that, Izuku may have ended up
permanently deaf.”

Katsuki shifted uncomfortably. A strange heavy feeling was settling in his gut. He didn’t like it.

Auntie Inko turned to his mother. “You’re also very lucky that our insurance covers villain attacks
or you’d be paying for his hospital bills.”
Something in her tone prickled down Katsuki’s spine.

“My son is not a villain!” Katsuki’s mother hissed through clenched teeth. She stood so fast that
the table shook. There were tears beading at the corner of her eyes before but that had been over
the line for her. Midoriya Inko gazed back, not even blinking at his mom’s sudden temper.

The bad feeling in his gut seemed to twist inside him. “Why?” he asked quietly, finding the
question that was nagging at him. Both adults turned to him, both with very different levels of
composure. “Why doesn’t De-Izuku want to press charges?”

Abruptly Inko’s mask dropped again. “Izuku…” she said slowly, as though the words troubled her.
“He didn’t want this to ruin your future. He…” Auntie trailed off for a moment, expression distant.
“He still thinks you have potential.”

Guilt. Katsuki realized. What he was feeling was guilt.

“I want to make something perfectly clear, though, Katsuki,” her voice returned to being stone
cold. “I don’t.”

As Izuku healed a newspaper article was released detailing his plight. The little quirkless boy
tragically maimed by a villain. The article was full of pity, treating him more as a martyr for the
quirkless than a person. A picture of cute little Izuku’s smiling face was plastered on the front page
and that article found its way into many hands

One of them was All Might’s. Guilt ate at him as he read. He could have saved the boy from this.
He’d been too complacent. If he had found the boy the day of the sludge attack this could have
been avoided. It was possible the poor boy may have been targeted because of him.

Self-loathing bore down on him heavier than ever before.

Elsewhere a man with no eyes reviewed his daily newspaper. He listened patiently to the robotic
reader on one of his many computers. His attention was caught at the word quirkless. The boy had
survived, surprisingly. He was still in hospital of course, but he would recover.
 Some of his classmates eagerly talked to the newspaper. They spoke of how he dreamed of being a
hero despite his situation.

How ironic that a hero failed to save him.

All-For-One wondered about the boys potential. Then he rolled his shoulders and grinned.

There was only one way to find out.

Chapter End Notes

*a ju-on is vengeance spirit. like the grudge.

 Starlight
Chapter Summary

Midoriya gets help

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Good samaritans, Izuku often forgot, were just as capable of being heroes as anyone in a Hero
Costume.

On a day where he felt particularly lost and alone and empty, it was a good samaritan that helped
him.

Her name was Isaline Alexia, an Italian woman who came to Japan as a med-student and had taken
up nursing at the hospital where Izuku was staying. She was only in her thirties and was well liked
by everyone on staff. She still had a heavy accent and would sometimes pause and struggle to think
of the right words. She was also quite plain looking, apart from her mutation. She had two dwarfed
angel wings sprouting from her back. They were too small to fly with and often proved more of an
inconvenience than anything. She had to wear specially cut shirts to leave the wings out and while
at work she had to wear custom made covers on them, to avoid molting feathers and
contaminating the hospital setting.

Her quirk was known as ‘Guardian Angel’ and it was extremely powerful. Sometimes her friends
would tell her she should have pursued a job in heroics, but she always argued that she’d save more
lives here. Her quirk also left her uniquely vulnerable in a way that she’d never allow herself to be
with a villain, no matter how much her power might help them.

Isaline had the ability to transform into the ghost or guardian spirit that her target needed to see. All
it took was a taste of blood and boom she’d be a ghost come back. The limitations of the powers
were that when she became a spirit Isaline would essentially go to sleep and only wake up when
the ghost had finished using her body. She had no control or awareness in that time. She trusted her
spirits to do the right thing, to comfort and help the people she decided to help, but the ghost could
do anything with her body for however long they liked. Often times she had lost days, sometimes
weeks to her little spirit walks. She’d wake in strange places, impossibly far from where she
started. Any injury her ghost took, she’d also receive.

Using her quirk made it very difficult to maintain a regular life. Relationships were destroyed by
her disappearing act. Jobs were also hard to maintain when you were constantly turning into
someone else. Very few people even knew or recognized her as Isaline the nurse. Most saw
whoever she gave them.

She wouldn’t trade her powers for the world.

Because even with her lost time and shitty relationships and travel fare, she knew for a fact that she
was saving lives. The very people she helped would tell her. They’d express gratitude when she
returned to herself. They’d sometimes send thank you letters and fruit baskets years after the fact.
Her hospital had the lowest rate of suicides in the entire city.

She might have very little control of who she becomes or what they do. But she trusted her ghosts
to do what was right.

So when she saw Izuku standing contemplating on the hospital roof that day, she did what she
always did and tracked down his name and blood test. She got a cotton swab and following a
procedure to ensure sanitation she dabbed a bit of blood onto it, restored everything to its rightful
place and returned to the roof. The boy still sat there, contemplative.

Isaline stuck the bloody cotton swab in her mouth and became someone else.

It was a clear night, and the moon hung above in a cheshire cat smile. They lived too close to the
city to see the stars but Izuku had always loved the moon.

He was far from feeling at peace though. The painkillers made him tired and nauseous. His mouth
felt dry and for all the cooling ointment that had been applied his chest and neck, his skin still
burned. Heat seemed to radiate inwards from the burns and it didn’t help him feel any less sick.

He couldn’t sleep though, not now that he was aware and fully conscious of what had happened to
him.

Bakugou, his childhood friend, one of his heroes, had almost murdered him. The thought was
terrifying. He’s never really thought it was possible. Sure, the bullying got kinda violent sometimes
but Bakugou knew when to stop. He never took it too far. If not for Izuku’s sake than at very least
for his own. But this fight was different.
And Izuku didn’t understand why.

It was almost like Bakugou was afraid, like he didn’t want Izuku to give up on his dreams and that
was why he freaked out. But that didn’t make sense. Bakugou was the one who always told him to
give up. Bakugou was the one who told him to kill himself.

Maybe he just truly hated him? Izuku definitely couldn’t claim they were still friends anymore. He
wasn’t sure he could even claim that Bakugou was a good person anymore. Sure Bakugou had
always been arrogant and a bully, but he always knew where to draw the line. Now the line had
been burned away like pages of his notebook. Like his face.

Izuku was tired.

He didn’t even know how to begin to pick up the shattered remains of his life and dreams.
Everything was wrong and broken. Nothing was as he imagined to be. All Might wasn’t
unstoppable and he wasn’t as kind as he pretended to be. Bakugou was capable of villainy. The
only hero he had left was his mom and he had hurt her most of all. The hospital bills and moving
and, god, the potential court case wasn’t going to be easy on their finances and she must be going
out of her mind with worry.

The way she had held him when he woke up felt like she was afraid he was going to turn to ashes
in her arms. He’d scared her. He had truly scared her, even after giving up on his dreams.

It was like being quirkless just meant he would never be safe no matter what he did. He had no
way to comfort her knowing that.

His heart hurt. His chest and his face and his arm and everything hurt.

He wished he knew what to do.

“You aren’t going to put those doctors hard work to waste, are you? They just patched you up.”

Izuku startled badly and whirled around to find he was no longer alone. Instead offering him a
crooked smile was a man with shaggy black hair and piercing blue eyes standing at the door. His
most noticeable feature was the white wings on his back. He looked strangely familiar, almost like
the photos of his father his mom would show him when he was little. It’d been so long since he’d
seen his father that he suddenly wondered if he had died and this was his ghost. He had no real
way of knowing. They had lost contact with his dad not long after they found out he was quirkless.

“I-uh… what?” Izuku stuttered.

The man came further out onto the roof. He gestured to the railing. “Not exactly the best place to
jump, you know. It’s probably not a big enough fall to kill you and the doctors will be right there to
save you. Jumping here would ultimately just be disrespectful.”

Kacch-Bakugou’s words rang in his ears. ‘Why don’t you take a leap of faith off the roof, maybe
then you’ll be reborn with a quirk’.

“I wasn’t planning on jumping,” Izuku said firmly. His voice came out harsher than he meant it to.

The man only grinned. “Then what are you doing out here so late at night?”

Izuku glanced away and out over the city skyline. “Just thinking.” he muttered.

The man decided to close the distance between them and offered him a genuine smile. It seemed so
much warmer than All Might’s. But Izuku didn’t want to think about that right now. It wasn’t the
man’s fault, after all, and it wasn’t like the man knew he was quirkless.

“About what?”

The man was now next to him and his body language was open and relaxed. Izuku just shrugged.
The man frowned a little and then decided to stick his hand out. “I’m Wasu.”

Izuku raised an eyebrow but shyly took his hand as he muttered his own name. Wasu as in ‘was’?
The name seemed more fitting for a ghost than a person.

The man seemed to take in his bandages and frowned. Izuku waited for him to ask but the man
didn’t. Instead he looked up at the moon and smiled. “It’s a beautiful night.”
Izuku nodded timidly and wished he could appreciate it more.

“It’s a shame you can’t see the star’s out here,” Wasu said echoing one of Izuku’s earlier thoughts.
“I’ve always loved them. When I was younger, me and my brother used to go out with a telescope
and find the constellations. Do you know them, kid?”

Midoriya blinked and nodded. “Kind of. We’ve mentioned them in school before but I probably
couldn’t spot them in the sky. They’re a lot less obvious when there isn’t little lines connecting
them.”

Wasu grinned eyes sparkling. “I think they’re brilliant. If we ever get the opportunity again, I
should show you them. It’s really cool though, because the stars and the constellations and even
our name for the constellations are absolutely ancient. Older than the existence of quirks
themselves. And then the stars are even older than our planet. We’re so small compared to them.
It’s amazing!”

Izuku looked down towards his feet. He hated feeling small.

“But hey,” Wasu said nudging him gently. “Humans are giants too. If you zoom in your body is an
entire ecosystem of bacteria and life, constantly moving and changing and dying and being born. If
you think about it you’re your own little planet.”

Izuku did his best to smile back but it wasn’t really working. Wasu frown in response. “If you look
at the universe it’s infinity in all directions, Izuku. The universe is constantly expanding further and
further away. But if you zoom in there’s infinity there too, quantum material smaller than we have
the means to measure. Everything is infinity, Izuku. Billions of years ago, something out there
supposedly exploded and sent out dust and gas and gravity and the dust gathered up into rocks and
gas compressed into stars and somehow, despite everything, life started to grow on our rock and
somehow we made a civilization out of that. Somehow we kept growing and evolving to the point
we are now here, alive, part of it all. You’re alive, Izuku!”

He ignored the fact that the man was already calling him his first name, feeling too tired to focus
on something like that. The way the man’s eyes glittered with passion made Izuku feel very small.
Izuku could see the stars themselves reflected in their icy surface, but that just wasn’t possible. The
stars weren’t out tonight. But somehow it filled Izuku with an odd sort of pining, a jealousy Izuku
couldn’t fully grasp. All Might used to have eyes that bright, but over the years they had faded.
Yet, again Izuku’s thoughts came back to his words;
‘I don’t think you can be a hero, kid.’

“It’s not enough though” Izuku said, tears suddenly beading at the corner of his eyes. “It’s not
enough to be alive. I’m… I’m Deku. I’m just-” Izuku gestured at his useless damaged body. “I’m
just a Deku.”

Wasu frowned down at him, but strangely not with pity or anxiety. His eyes held a kind of
understanding that Izuku had never seen before, had never been on the receiving end of. Even his
mother never seemed to quite understand him. Izuku couldn’t allow himself to hope.

The man carefully put his hand on Izuku’s face, the side that wasn’t bandaged. “Izuku, you are
more than enough,” the man said softly. And Izuku’s lip trembled as he tried to keep the tears
back. He could almost imagine this was his dad talking to him. His dad softly comforting him after
everything. “You want to know a secret, Izuku?”

Izuku looked at the man with wide eyes and nodded. The man moved his hand to ruffle Izuku’s
hair gently.

“Quirks don’t really matter,” he said firmly. Izuku’s walls of skepticism came slamming back
down around him. Oh. the guy was just crazy. They were in a hospital and the man had no visible
damage. It made sense.

The man laughed at his expression. “Wow, lots of people have been telling you otherwise, huh?
Must be hard given your situation.”

“How… how do you know about my situation?” Izuku said suspiciously. Crap. Oh crap. He had
just made himself very vulnerable to a crazy person. How was this his life? Did he have a target on
his back? Could people smell his quirklessness? Was there a quirk for that?

Wasu looked sheepish. “Ah… ha… I probably should have opened with that.”

Izuku wasn’t subtle about edging towards the roof access door. He was not going to die today. He
did not survive getting blown up to get murdered on a rooftop days later. He would not give his
mother that kind of emotional whiplash. Not after seeing her cry when he woke up.

“I’m the result of a quirk,” the man said quickly, trying to get past izuku’s panic before he bolted.
“I’m like a guardian angel, borrowing the quirk users body. I know stuff about you because I’m
technically a ghost who’s been…. Uh… watching you…” the man trailed off pulling a face.
“There is literally no way to make that not sound creepy, is there?”

Izuku eyebrows drew together and he filled with the internal conflict of ‘That’s not possible. I
should run.’ and ‘I neeeeeed to know how this quirk works!!!’. His analysis instincts were going
haywire. But really? ghosts? A ghost who’s been stalking him?

“Do you look like how you did when you died or like the quirk user whose body your using? What
are the metaphysics of the afterlife if you really are a ghost? Can you tell me? As a spirit what can
you do when not inhabiting a person? Is there truly an afterlife or are you perhaps a manifestation
of my own desire for a guardian and that’s why you kinda look like my father? Is there limitations
to your possession and what you can do while possessing someone? Can you hurt your host? Can
you…”

Damnit Izuku! Why are you like this? Izuku silently chided himself, as his thoughts were
overwhelmed with questions.

“Woah, slow down,” Wasu said, but he wore a fond expression. “I can’t even keep up well enough
to answer all those questions. “Um, the afterlife questions are all kinda up in the air because all I
remember before waking up with a q-tip in my mouth was the moment I died and then I guess your
entire life from and outside perspective? Sorry about all the bad stuff that’s happened to you by the
way. I’m not really sure about the whole manifestation of your desires thing. That kinda fills me
with ironically ghostly existential dread. I mean I can remember my entire life before I became
your guardian. I was not your father. I’m actually pretty old, like from a time where being quirkless
was normal. And as for how this quirk works? Well, I know I can harm her and that I should not
harm her or let her get harmed. I definitely look like myself otherwise you’d be calling me
feminine pronouns or something in between. I don’t know the limitations of how I can use this
body. But I’m gonna assume that I can’t use my quirk, not that I was very good of using it while I
was alive.”

Izuku was silent for a moment mulling of the answers he’d gotten. Slowly he looked up and asked,
“How do I know I can trust you?”

The part of Izuku’s brain that was his long suffering, often repressed common sense was screaming
about why he was choosing to stay in this conversation at all. He should just run. He didn’t need to
trust this man. He didn’t need to believe this man. He could walk away.

But the man hadn’t tried to hurt him. He had actually been the first person Izuku had ever met who
seemed to understand him, crazy or not. And Izuku would be lying if he didn’t admit to being
curious. He wanted to know more, about the man and this quirk and his heart had already been
barred and the man hadn’t stomped on it.

Maybe he just wanted to feel hope.

The man was offering it to him almost dangling it like a carrot on a string and Izuku needed it.
Maybe if he could hope again, everything would just hurt less .

The man looked at him like he knew exactly what Izuku was thinking. “Well, I don’t know about
proof Izuku, I could tell you a lot of secrets about yourself, but that doesn’t necessarily prove that
I’m a ghost. I don’t exactly have any ghost powers as far as I know. Could...could I ask you to take
my word for it? Show of faith? If you regret it I’ll leave.”

Izuku stared at the man for a long moment. ‘Leap of faith of the roof’ his mind whispered
traitorously. Izuku glanced towards the roof edge and then down at his feet. After a long moment
he nodded.

The man beamed at him and it was a smile brighter than All Might’s. Izuku wondered if it was
strange that he felt the need to compare this stranger to All Might. Maybe because their eyes were
somehow the same shade of blue? Were perhaps they're somehow related?

“Heck if I know.” the man shrugged, making Izuku realize that he’d been talking out loud. “If we
are than he’s my was born after I was alive. Seeing as I don’t even know what happened to the
family I had while I was alive, it’s safe to say that I wouldn’t know.”

Izuku blushed embarrassed. “I… sorry…”

The man shrugged again, “It’s not a big deal, I mean I’m dead. It’s not like I have much to worry
about anymore.”

Izuku’s expression turned thoughtful, “Is it easier?”

“Hey, none of that,” Wasu snapped, expression turning serious. “You know very well that I just
said I don’t remember anything but when I was alive and when you were alive. That means the
whole theological debate about death is a moot point with me. You should appreciate that you’re
alive in the first place. Given how impossible existing in the first place is. You appreciate that
beating heart you have. Stay alive for as long as you can. Got it?”
Izuku leaned back slightly from the man’s energetic rant. “I- I wasn’t asking because I want to
die,” Izuku mumbled, knowing that how was kind of lying. Not lying, lying. He didn’t want to die
per se, he just didn’t really want to be alive either.

The man seemed to give him a once over and then shook his head and sunk to the ground sitting
down cross legged and looking a bit like a child playing dress-up in his nice suit. “You’re a mess,
kiddo. I’m not gonna lie. Guardian spirit or not I can’t fix all your problems. I’ll do my best
though.”

Izuku gave one final glance toward the roof exit and then slowly sat down, too. He still felt sick
from his medication and injuries, it was a bit of a relief to be sitting down again. Hey, maybe he
was hallucinating. That was entirely possible

“So let’s start with the main thing, your lack of quirk and the backlash that comes with being
different,” Wasu nodded at Izuku. “Frankly, it’s ridiculous and awful. But it’s also nothing new.
Racism has existed as long as humans have existed. Long before quirks have. All things
considering I was lucky. I was born in a time where it was more common for people to be
quirkless. My twin brother was considered the weird one. My quirk was to subtle for anyone to
really hate me for it. But my brother was treated as a total freak. It was hard on both of us honestly.

“He tried to commit suicide you know,” Wasu said sadly, eyes rather distant. “It didn’t work. For a
while he hated me for finding him. Said I should have let him die. You know what I said?”

Izuku shook his head.

Wasu laughed, but it sounded a little bitter. “I told him if he’s gonna die, I’m gonna follow him to
hell and kick his ass. Twins don’t like being separated you know.” the man shook his head. “I got a
promise out of him, that he wasn’t going to die first. He kept it, though I think he’s probably
disappointed in how I went out.”

Wasu rubbed the back of his neck, the way Izuku often did. Quietly, Izuku asked, “How did you
die?”

Wasu blinked, “Villain attack. Shame how common that kinda death is nowadays. Given my health
issues at the time we were sure it was going to be a lung infection or something, but a villain got to
me first. Kodokuna would be mad.”
“Kodokuna’s your brother?” Izuku asked. He was thinking of his mother and how angry she would
be if he died in a villain attack.

“Yep,” Wasu said popping the p. “He was a total nerd. A total know it all. He was always going on
about politics and psychology and stuff. He was really good at those board games, you know the
ones where you take over territory? Do they still have those?” Izuku shrugged, vaguely knowing of
a video game with a similar premise. Wasu waved away the thought. “Anyway, he faced a lot more
quirk discrimination than me. I’d say times were different but it was pretty similar only reversed.
People with quirks were the enemy, the quirkless were normal. Times got hard for us. You’d think
given how powerful quirks can be, the quirky wouldn’t have anything to worry about but you’d be
very wrong.”

Izuku eyes lit up with understanding. “People aren’t born equally, most people aren’t born with
offensive quirks so they faced discrimination and had no means to defend themselves.”

Wasu nodded, “You’re a smart kid. That’s actually where the whole rise of villainy came in.
people with offensive quirks used them to defend themselves, but since they seemed comparatively
overpowered next to someone without a quirk they got villain stamped on them automatically. And
oh man, the children. The statistics on the child murder at the time are horrifying. Euthanasia it
was called, better to die young than to grow into a monster.”

“What about the heroes?” Izuku asked suddenly feeling slightly sick. He considered himself pretty
knowledgeable in quirk history but he never expected to have the opportunity to talk to someone
who had actually lived during that time period.

“That was its own complicated thing,” Wasu shrugged. “See, in japan at least things were rioling
up to be a civil war, quirky vs. quirkless. The quirky had the power of their mutations. The
quirkless had numbers and weapons. It was a difficult time, because their wasn’t really a gray zone
as far as the quirkless were concerned. If you had a quirk it doesn’t matter where you stand in
terms of morals, you were the enemy.”

Izuku nodded. He remembered reading about the early quirk conflicts. “But than the heroes came
and changed that. They started fighting for the quirkless against the other quirky people and
establish the quirked society we have now.”

Wasu winced. “Not quite. It was more complicated than that.” the man tilted his head. “I… I think
I can show you.”
Izuku couldn’t help the spike of eagerness he felt. “Is that part of your quirk? Or the quirk of the
person who made you possible? How does it work?”

Wasu shrugged. “It’s new to me. I think if I feed you my blood you can see my past? Awkwardly
blood based quirk, sorry about that. You okay with that?”

“ Yes !” again Izuku knew he shouldn’t be this eager but even depressed and injured he couldn’t
resist the call of curiosity.

Wasu laughed awkwardly. “Alright.”

An awkward exchange of blood later (Wasu thankfully had needles on him) Izuku experienced a
lifetime.

It was a bit like, what Wasu must have experienced watching over Izuku’s life. He was an outsider,
like a ghost. The mundane moments seemed to speed by, thankfully, but the moments that
mattered to him played real time. Izuku thought it was a bit like reading a book.

Wasu and his twin brother were very close, from the moment they were born. It reminded Izuku a
bit of him and Kacchan, except when it was revealed that Kodakuna had a quirk and Wasu didn’t
things played out considerably different.

Their parents reacted with fear, started pretending that they only had one child, started isolating
Kodakuna from the rest of the world until Wasu was almost his only outside contact. They lived
very different lives. Wasu had a quirk, the doctors confirmed it but he didn’t know how to activate
it. Kodokuna could only activate his in specific situations at first. As he learned to control it
became more powerful. Neither boy entirely understood what their quirks were or the limits of
their powers. Izuku felt neither were really given the opportunity.

Wasu’s story really started with the murder of one of his neighbors. They were someone he liked, a
genderfluid person who was born with the ability to change their hair color. They were cool, they
sometimes babysit him and his twin. Wasu doubted they had hurt a person in their life. But that
didn’t stop their murderer from killing them in cold blood.

All because they were quirky.

Quite suddenly the danger his brother was in was very real. Kodokuna was Wasu’s best friend, his
brother, his favorite person and possibly the coolest person he knew. Wasu had to protect him.

But the problem was that hiding in the basement wasn’t any kind of life. He was allowed out to go
to school and provided he didn’t use his quirk, Kodakuna was allowed to visit friends but, he
wasn’t allowed outside without one of their parents. Kodokuna began to resent being trapped in the
house and through a combination of the internet and sneaking out, he fell in with a bad crowd. The
rebels.

Wasu had grown up hearing stories about the rebels. About how they could level entire streets in
heartbeat. About how they were dangerous murders. The stuff of nightmares. They weren’t the
kind of people he wanted his brother getting mixed up with. But to his surprise when he confronted
his brother about it, Kodakuna didn’t get defensive. Instead his brother took his hand and said, “Let
me show you.”

Wasu was skeptical of course, but he had always had a hard time turning his brother down, so that
night they snuck out. The meeting place was someone house. It was in one of the worst
neighborhood the twins had ever been in but Kodokuna insisted that it was fine.

Kodokuna had to give a password to get and vouch for Wasu. When the door opened it was unlike
anything Wasu or Izuku had ever experienced. All around him were quirky people, odd looking,
using their powers freely. Smiling freely in a way that Kodokuna or the dead neighbor never did.

Kudokuna’s face had already split into a bright smile. “Well, let me introduce you to the gang.”

And they counted off, all immediately welcoming him into the fold like he had always been one of
them. There was a kind of acceptance among them that Wasu had never known. But then the
question was asked.

“So what’s your quirk?”

Wasu ducked his head. “Well we don’t really know yet…”

“But he does have one,” Kodokuna said quickly. “The doctors have confirmed it. He has the
missing toe joint just like me. He has a quirk, we just haven’t figured out what it is yet.”
Someone across the room kicked off the wall. He was tall and intimidating looking, he had white
skin and a shaved head. His ears, lips, even his eyebrows had piercings in them. “So you’re
basically quirkless.”

“But he’s not,” Kodokuna said quickly putting himself in between his brother and the man.

“But he’s quirkless passing.” the man reminded Izuku a bit of Kach-Bakugou the way he snarled.
Izuku didn’t think that was a good thing.

“Half the people here are quirkless passing,” Kodokuna stared the man down. “Heck you’re
quirkless passing. That doesn’t take away his right to be here.”

“Tsk,” the man scoffed and turned to meet Wasu’s eyes. “You don’t know what it’s like to be like
us. If you know what’s good for you, you’d forget you ever came here.”

The sting of rejection was a little to sharp for Izuku, and he could see in the way that Wasu drew
into himself it hurt.

“Oh, piss off, Dean. If he has a quirk he’s welcome here. We can’t start eating our own just
because their experience is different than ours. Come on.”

A girl in a wispy blue dress and strange feather-like markings around her eyes dragged the
piercings boy off to another room.

Kodokuna still stood defensively in front of his brother. “If anyone has a problem with my brother,
they have a problem with me.”

No one said anything and the memory skipped forward.

Kodokuna and Wasu were sitting on the roof of their apartment and looking at the stars. Wasu was
enthusiastically pointing out the constellations, his passion for space obvious. Kodokuna was
watching him more than he was looking at the stars.

“Did you know that people made it to Mars before quirks even existed? And there are still working
satellites out there learning more about space even now. Can you imagine!?”

“Hey, Wasu?” Kodokuna interrupted. “Do you really want your quirk to show up?”

Wasu blinked, caught off guard by the question. “Um- well yeah, I mean quirks are pretty cool
right?”

“But it’ll make you a freak. It’ll make people hate you. Attack you. Someone could kill you.”
Izuku couldn’t see the boys eyes.

Wasu’s eyes were wide and innocent. “Well, you have a quirk and I could never hate you or think
you’re a freak, so why would I apply that to me? So long as we have each other I don’t think
anyone else matters.”

Kodokuna lifted his head and Izuku saw that his face was wet with tears. His eyes were the same
blue as his brothers. Wasu was quick to rush forward and hug him. Kodokuna’s just sobbed harder.
Izuku felt like he was invading a private moment.

“Pr-promise me.”

The moment skipped forward and for a strange moment Izuku was surrounded by static, not black
and white, but like the images he was supposed to be seeing were rearranged in a chaotic mix.

A moment broke through.

“Ko!”

The dark haired boy who look so much like Wasu was hunched over the bathtub, ashen and tired
looking. There was blood everywhere, darker than Izuku imagined but smudged brighter against
the white porcelain. Wasu ruched forward and ripped his shirt off to press it against his brothers
wrists.

“I-I’m s-sorry…” Kodokuna said vaguely. His eyes seemed drained of color in the artificial light.
“....I’m sorry…”
The wait for the ambulance and the ride to the hospital and the wait in the waiting room happened
in real time, and even though Izuku already knew he’d be fine, the tension and fear was contagious
for Izuku. There was no comfort he could give. Izuku was a ghost here, but he wondered if this
was what he put his mother through when he passed out on their doorstep. It was no wonder she
was upset. The wait was torture.

When asked, Wasu offered his blood for a transfusion in a heartbeat. That was easier. At least he
was doing something, even though it left him feel light headed and tired afterward. Their parents
came later, too late, all things considering, but it was better than nothing.

Kodokuna didn’t wake up for a long time. Wasu refused to leave his side, sleeping against his bed.
Kodokuna looked too pale lying there in his bed, IV feeding blood into him, with other tubes that
Izuku didn’t know about trailing from him to various machines. The hospital itself seem too quiet,
everything in a state of waiting and anxiety or emergency.

When Kodokuna finally woke up Wasu burst into tears and Izuku, who’d always been empathetic,
cried with him.

When he had assurance that he really was okay, Wasu leveled a wet glare at him. “You made me
promise that we’re in this together, don’t you dare leave me first! How-’’

Wasu’s words were lost to his heavy sobbing. Kodokuna stared at him, like he didn’t quite believe
he was real. Since he was at suicide risk, he was strapped to the bed, but he looked like he wanted
to reach out and touch his brother.

“I- sorry,” His voice was rough. His mouth was probably dry after being unconscious for so long.

Wasu wiped at his face. “Why? Why would you even think of doing something like-”

The color was still washed out of Kodokuna’s eyes. “I… thought-” he coughed hard. Wasu was
quick to grab a glass of ice water with a straw and hold it to his brothers mouth so he could drink.
Kodokuna offered him a grateful look but his expression was quick to fall again. “I thought it
would be easier.”

Wasu stared at him as though he didn’t understand. “Easier?”

Kodokuna wouldn’t meet his eyes.

“Ko,” Wasu said firmly, eyes burning brightly. “I promised you that we’re in this together. I need
you to promise me right back. If you die first, I’ll follow you to hell and kick your ass. You… you
can’t do that to me. Please promise me you won’t do something like this again.”

Kodokuna closed his eyes like looking directly at his brother hurt. He hesitated. He hesitated until
Izuku feared he would stay silent.

“I promise.” he forced out.

And a weight and tension rushed out of Wasu’s body instantly. Kodokuna peeked out his eyelids
and saw Wasu smile tiredly at him. “You really scared me, you know.”

Kodokuna’s eyes were still grey and sad in the hospital lights. “Sorry…”

The memories jumped again. Flickers of static still dance around Izuku.

Now they were standing outside a high school. Wasu was alone and getting pushed into a wall and
screamed at. “I know what you did! You fucker! I know you’re one of those quirky freaks! I know
what you did! I’m gonna kill you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking ab-!” Wasu shouted back. A fist slammed into his stomach and
his words abruptly cut off. Izuku could see vomit on his lips and Izuku sadly knew that feeling too
well.

Wasu got beaten up badly. Izuku moved in front of him on instinct but the fists passed through
him.

Later Wasu had to deal with Kodokuna fussing over him. It was sweet but Wasu caught the
moment his brother froze at the bullies description.
“...you know him, Ko?”

Kodokuna looked away. “Don’t worry about it…”

“But Ko-”

“Just let me know if they do it again.”

Jump.

“Were they messing with you again!?” Kodokuna was shouting. he wasn’t much older but he
looked rougher around the edges. His hair was grown longer and shaggier.

“It’s fine,” Wasu was drawing away from his brother, his eye and cheek were bruised but he didn’t
seem worried.

“No, it isn’t,” Kodokuna spat angrily. “If someone is hurting with my brother I want to know.”

Wasu rolled his eyes. “It’s nothing I can’t handle, Ko. I’ve started taking those aikido classes down
at the dojo. I’ll be fine.”

“They’re attacking you because of me. Because you look like me,” Kodokuna growled. “Aren’t
they?”

Wasu didn’t answer.

“Aren’t they!?”

What does it matter? You’d do the same for me, wouldn’t you?” Wasu rubbed his bruised arm.
“It’s not a big deal.”
Kodokuna shook his head baring his teeth. “I’ll kill them.”

Wasu reached out and grabbed him. “No, you won’t,” he said firmly. “If you do, you’ll be playing
into their hands. You’ll give them a real reason to hurt you, to hurt me. We have to be the bigger
people.”

“But-!”

“Ko!”

It looked like it took effort to reign in his anger, but Kodokuna growled and bit his lip. “Fine,” he
muttered.

Wasu eased up a bit. “Besides if things get too bad, I’m quirkless passing. They won’t be able to
hurt me the way they could hurt you.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better.”

Wasu shrugged.

They jumped, and there was far more static than before. It was becoming disorienting, almost
sickening.

“I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU WE DIDN’T WANT PEOPLE LIKE HIM HERE!”

“It’s okay!” Kodokuna said earnestly. “Dean! It’s okay, he presented! He presented. He’s finally
one of us.

Izuku saw Wasu frown behind him.

Jump.
“I don’t think we should associate with them anymore, Ko.”

“What!? But you’re finally one of us? You can finally play with the big boys. Isn’t this what you
wanted?”

“...”

Jump.

“Dean!” Kodokuna screamed at the TV.

Wasu looked sick. On the TV police in riot gear were trying to calm the screaming crowd. In the
street there were people lying limp and ignored. There was blood. Izuku covered his mouth with
his hand.

“I gotta go! I gotta help them!” Kodokuna ran for the door grabbing his jacket.

“NO!” Wasu shouted pure fear flashing in his eyes. He ran and tackled his brother to the ground.
“No, you can’t! They’ll kill you!”

“Let go of me!”

“Kodokuna! You promised me you’ll stay alive!”

“THOSE ARE MY FRIENDS OUT THERE, I CAN’T DO NOTHING!”

Static.

“L-look, I’ll go and help,” Wasu said, face ashen, “Just- just stay here, okay? I can’t lose you.”

Kodokuna looked back at him, an unidentifiable emotion in his eyes. “Promise me, that you’ll
come back.”

“I promise.”

Static.

Izuku and Wasu were running through the street, the scream of sirens loud in their ears. Wasu
cleared a path with ease, shouting at the quirky people to escape, to run. He provided them cover,
but someone with a gun, someone who Wasu couldn’t see, kept picking them off. People he knew.
People he was friends with.

Wasu felt harried and scared. He had to keep them safe! He had to protect them.

“KODOKUNA!” A voice shouted. Wasu whirled around to see someone he didn’t know glaring
down at him. “It‘s over!”

Wasu shook his head. “Just leave us alone,” he said with slight desperation. “Please. Please just let
us go.”

“No can do,” the stranger smiled. In his hand was a gun and for a moment things slowed down.
The stranger fired the weapon, but he didn’t fire towards Wasu. He fired towards someone else and
Wasu just moved on his own. He protected the stranger. They screamed. The bullet hit him
perfectly center in the chest.

The gunman laughed and said, “I knew you’d do that,” with a little salute. Izuku realized with a
start that he had pale green scalera. He had a quirk. He- oh god- he was supposed to be a hero.

Wasu was on the ground bleeding out. The person he had saved was screaming still, trying to drag
him away from the battlefield.

Izuku stood defensively over them though he knew he could do nothing.

For a moment there was static again, and then everything was over.
He was sitting on the roof, under a crescent moon, heart beating too fast in his chest.

Wasu smiled sadly in front of him, white angel wings pale on his back. “I broke my promise…”

Izuku moved forward to hug him without a second thought. His mind was spinning from all the
information he had received. Wasu lightly stroked his hair, the way Izuku’s mother would. When
they pulled Wasu turned his eyes toward the sky.

“Life isn’t fair,” he said softly. “You know that already, but,” the man turned and looked Izuku in
the eye, his pale blue eyes sparkled in the night. “It’s times like these that you just gotta dig your
heels in. Life hurts but you can never give up. The world will always seem against you. Sometime
helping people is thankless. Sometimes good and evil isn’t as black and white as labels would
suggest.”

Tears spilled out from Izuku’s eyes. “But is it worth it? If it’s so thankless? If it means breaking
promises to the people I care about, is it worth it? Wouldn’t it be easier to just be… normal?”

Wasu shook his head. “Easier isn’t the answer. That girl before, she would be dead, all the people I
managed to get out would be dead, if I hadn’t protected them. My brother could have died if I had
given up.”

Izuku looked down. His scratched arms were far from the worst of his injuries.

“Izuku,” Wasu said gently. “A hero, more than anything else, saves people. You can’t save people
if you're dead. So I need you to promise me something. Izuku, promise me you’ll never give up.”

Izuku snorted. “Or you’ll follow me to hell and kick my ass?”

“Yep,” Wasu smiled. “You’re going to go farther than anyone can even imagine. The only reason
no one believes it can be done is because it hasn’t happened yet,”Wasu gestured at the city. “Me
and my brother never dreamed of a world where quirky people were free. You can do the
impossible, I believe it, Izuku.”

Izuku wiped at the tears on his face. Maybe it wasn’t the answers he wanted but it was more than
he could have ever hoped for.

“...I promise.”

Midoriya Inko was tired and mad and overworked and worried out of her mind.

Midoriya Inko was doing her best.

The hell that her family has been through was a hell no mother deserved. It was a hell no child
deserved. Yet here she and her son were, dealing with the cruelty of life. Ever since she had signed
off on the news release people had been offering her sympathy, offering her pity. But pity didn’t
take back the injuries her son had received and it didn’t pay the bills.

Her employers had been, thankfully, understanding of her need to transfer to another office, they’d
been understanding of her need to take some time off to take care of her son and to search for a
new apartment. Small mercies, they had never been understanding in that way before. Really that's
how a lot of her interactions were going now. No one had cared, no one wanted to help until her
son was in the hospital. She’d even gotten some sympathy from the local heroes, saying they were
sorry they weren’t there to save him, saying they wanted to talk to Izuku to cheer him up.

It was a punch to Inko’s gut when Izuku said he didn’t want to see them. But then again, these were
the heroes who were useless during the sludge incident. The ones who had just as readily crushed
her son’s dreams as anyone else. Inko couldn’t blame him for not wanting to see them but it was
still deeply out of character for him.

Inko wanted to help him, wanted to take all his pain away, wanted to shield him from this cruel
world. But as usual she was useless. Izuku was changing, growing up, and Inko was afraid that,
with all this suffering, he might stop being her sweet little boy who cared too much. She wouldn’t
blame him. How could she? She felt the festering bitterness too. She wanted to hurt all the people
who had hurt her son. Izuku was an innocent in all this.

He’d already lost part of his childhood, part of his innocence to a diagnosis all those years ago. It
wasn’t fair that the world was trying to take more.

It wasn’t fair.
He was her baby boy.

“Mom,” Izuku was looking at her. Inko felt silly now, she’d almost burst into tears from thinking
too hard. Izuku had just been getting checked over by a doctor and a few nurses, deciding if he was
okay to go home. The doctors had said they’d let them know soon. Inko’s now overly familiar
knowledge of hospitals knew that translated to in a couple hours.

For the last couple of days Izuku had been sleeping better, but he had been quiet, distant. She tried
to talk, babbled really. But Izuku seemed to sorting through his issues in his own time. It was
funny, his face, his expressions, his eyes, they were all so expressive, and yet Inko couldn’t tell
what he was thinking.

“Mom…” Izuku said softly, and his eyes held something fragile in them, something older than
what belonged to her baby boy. “Is it wrong that I still want to be a hero?”

And he looked scared of her answer.

He was… he was waiting for her to break him...

And instead something broke within her. No mother’s son should look at her like that.She rushed
forward to hug him tightly, eyes wet. She tried to be a grounding force for him as she had always
been, a comfort, a caregiver. But even so, a burning wave of anger flooded her system and over-
road her sense of fear.

Perhaps the anxiety would return. Hell, she expected it to.

But right now she held nothing but the righteous anger of a mother whose child had been injured in
ways far deeper than scars. If the world thought they could hurt her baby, she’d hurt the world
right back!

“Of course you can be a hero, baby,” Inko whispered. “Of course you can.”

She would see to it.

 Izuku’s arms tightened around her, gripping tightly to her cardigan and he completely broke down.
He sobbed harder than she had ever seen him cry before. They stood like that for what felt like a
long time, gripping each other like they were each others lifelines.

And when Izuku looked at her again his eyes were the brightest stars she had ever seen.

Chapter End Notes

I was minding my own business planning a nice speech and then the flashback
punched me in the face and demanded to be written instead. Kodokuna and Wasu have
decided to make my plot more complicated, but that's probably a good thing. they'll be
back (though not in the same way).

In other news, Momadoriya is mad and i would not get in her way if i were you

my discord is: https://discord.gg/k8KtWvD

 On Friendship
Chapter Summary

friendships die, friendships are born

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Izuku stared into the mirror, it was time to remove the bandage on his face permanently. He’d been
changing the bandages on his own for the last couple days (though he needed his mom’s help with
the burns on his back) so they weren’t exactly new to him. But now the scar on his face was
considered healed enough for the bandage to be removed.

The scar underneath the bandage was the scar he was going to have to live with for the rest of his
life.

Breathing through his nose Izuku peeled off the medical tape and cotton. He closed his eyes for a
moment before forcing himself to look at it.

The scar curved around his jaw leading down to his neck. The neck scar had to remain bandaged
until the skin was a bit thicker. The doctors had to be very careful about neck injuries apparently.
The coloring wasn’t as far from his skin color as he expected. It had shades of pink and brown and
it was shiny and textured. The texture moved in the direction he imagined the explosion hit him. It
ended just below his cheekbone and it didn’t reach his lips.

All things considered, Izuku thought, it could have been a lot worse. Sure his right ear was slightly
misshapen now, the bottom lobe melted closer to his head. But he could live with this, he told
himself.

“Izuku,” his mom called nervously from the other room.

They had moved to a smaller apartment on the other side of town. He was still getting used to all
the changes in his life. But he had to be strong. He had to get stronger not only for his own sake,
but his mother’s sake.
He forced an unconvincing smile onto his face.

He stepped out and looked at his mom, “It could be worse.”

“Oh sweetie,” his mother said. She had clearly not bought his smile. She moved forward and put
her hand on his healthy cheek, trying to communicate more in that small touch than what could be
conveyed in words.

Izuku changed schools.

He figured that was supposed to make things easier. He no longer had to see the bullies that used to
torment him daily. He no longer had to see Bakugou. He had a clean slate.

Except that was why this was going to be an absolute disaster.

He felt literally sick with anxiety. In reality it wasn’t really a clean slate because practically
everyone in the city know's who he is because of those embarrassing news articles and broadcasted
news reports. He was highly recognizable now, because he had a huge scar on his face. Everyone
knew he was quirkless, too, which meant the bullying and abuse was probably going to follow
here. His new haircut probably looked stupid and everyone was going to laugh at it. He’d almost
died twice in the past two months and yet this was somehow more terrifying.

Of course between getting out of the hospital and moving, his first day at his new school snuck up
on him. Admittedly, part of his normal social anxiety had been devoted towards the new, ‘how can
I make myself a hero?’ anxiety. Or well, somewhat new, he’d always had that anxiety, but before it
was more of a ‘wait and hope’ kind of anxiety. Now it was a ‘all the responsibility is on you! Do
something! Do something with your life!’ kind of anxiety. Izuku was unsure if that was a better
kind of anxiety. He felt more determined for sure but he also felt more pressured.

Especially because despite his promise to Wasu, he had no idea what he was going to do. It’s all
well and good to say you’ll never give up, but putting action into words was the hard part. His
mom, who has been more aggressively clingy and defensive than usual, signed him up at a dojo in
their new neighborhood. Izuku requested aikido. But it didn’t feel like enough, it wasn’t fast
enough. He had less than a year to train himself to be ready for UA or maybe another hero school?
Oh god, how was he going to pull this off? What hero school would accept a quirkless person?

The problem with martial arts was that they took time. You had to train until the moves were part
of your muscle memory. you had to fight until the martial art was part of your instincts, until you
knew how to improvise and react. It took years. Years that Izuku didn’t have. So he needed
something else. He needed more.

He’d done research into exercise and meal plans, to help him build up muscle mass quickly but he
still felt inadequate. He was useless.

No.

No, he wouldn’t break his promise.

Oh god he was in front of the class now. He'd probably been muttering, too. Oh god. He'd made a
total idiot of himself.

“Midoriya?” his new teacher said. “A simple introduction is all you need. Loud so everyone can
hear you.”

“A-ah right,” oh god his voice cracked. This was a disaster. He was a disaster. A quirkless, scared,
freak, disaster. “Hello, I’m Midoriya Izuku. I’m quirkless and I like studying heroes. Please take
care of me.”

He bowed politely and hurried to his seat, doing his best to ignore the whispers that followed the
revelation of his lack of quirk.

The rest of homeroom went normally but Izuku could feel everyone glancing at him.

A clean slate. Right.

The moment study hall started the new kid was basically swarmed by the rest of the class. Which
was inconvenient, because Shinsou Hitoshi sat in the seat next to the new kid which meant people
were in his space and talking loudly and interrupting the nap he’d normally be having right now.

To his credit, the new kid looked equally miserable at being crowded. You’d think that would
make the obnoxious gawkers back off but no luck.
Everyone was shouting their introductions and new kid looked overwhelmed. Shinsou doubted that
he’d remember any of their names with everyone talking over each other. But it didn’t really
matter.

The new kid would inevitably be sucked into a social group and become like everyone else.
Someone who hated the villain kid. Heck, if the scar was any indication, new kid had more reason
to be irrationally afraid of Shinsou than most.

Shinsou, for now, just wanted to sleep.

“Is it true that you're quirkless?”

“Um-yeah,” the boy’s voice sounded choked, like it was a hard question to answer. “I know it’s
pretty uncommon nowadays, but,” he shrugged, shoulders drawn in tight and close to his ears. “My
quirk just never showed up.”

“Wow!” his classmates sounded more amazed than appalled.

“Dude, that must suck,” a girl named Talon said. “I can’t imagine what it’s like not to have a quirk.
Are you sure you don’t have one? Like none at all? What if it’s just really obscure?”

The new kid gave a half-hearted laugh. “Y-yeah, we’re sure. The doctor x-rayed my foot.
Apparently, I have a toe joint that’s taken as a marker for quirklessness.”

“Cool,” Nero said.

A girl, Touka, smacked the back of his head. “That’s not cool, it means he’s disabled.”

“It does?”

“Yeah, would you hire someone quirkless? He can’t do everything we can. So he’s disabled.
There’s even like government funding for it and everything. My great uncle was quirkless, it was
this whole big thing.”
“Ohhh,” various classmates made noises of understanding. This was the first time most of them
had ever met a quirkless person. Midoriya was looking very small in his seat.

“What kind of things can’t you do, Midoriya?” Igi asked.

“W-well it’s not that I c-can’t do things, it’s more that I don’t have the e-extra advantage everyone
else is born with.” Midoriya seemed to wilt under the intense stares of all his classmates.

“So you’re just weaker,” Igi said bluntly.

Midoriya bit his lip and mumbled, “Well, that’s not exactly how it works, not everyone has quirks
that improve their physical abilities. I’d be at the same starting line as them if…”

His words drifted off into incomprehensible muttering.

Shinsou scowled to himself. At least he wasn’t a villain. Shinsou didn’t know how many times
he’d wished he were quirkless. How much easier would it be? Though… judging by the boys
attitude and prominent scar, things probably hadn’t been easier for him. Life just sucks when
you're different, huh?

“Geez,” Igi slapped him on the back and Midoriya gasped in pain. What an idiot. The new kid was
clearly injured. Of course those injuries went beneath his uniform “It doesn’t matter to me, if
you’re a weakling or not. I wanna be friends.”

Midoriya’s eyes seemed to light up with hope. Shinsou quietly tsked, trying to bite down on the
taste of bitter jealousy he felt. “R-really?”

“Yep!” Igi smiled. “So now that we’re friends, wanna tell me where you got that wicked scar?”

Whatever hope the boy had was immediately crushed. Sitting on his left side, Shinsou couldn’t see
the scar they were talking about but he had briefly glanced at it when Midoriya had done his
introduction. It looked kind of bad, but Shinsou wasn’t one to stare. “O-oh… that...”
“You can’t just ask that!” Talon spat and smacked the back of Igi’s head. “It was probably in a
villain attack or something. Something that traumatized him. Don’t be a jerk about it.”

“Oh… no... it’s fine,” Midoriya said waving his hand as though the social faux pas was his own.
“A friend- or well a bully just- um- misfired his quirk. It’s not a big deal, I’m fine, obviously.”

Shinsou blinked at that. Bullying...?

A few of his classmates winced, many were wandering back towards their desks, apparently they
only wanted the answer to that question. Filthy gossip mongers.

“That sucks, man,” Talon said, almost showing real emotion. Igi nodded along like the little idiot
he was.

“Hey!” Igi said too loudly. “Can I touch it!”

Midoriya looked like he wanted to melt into the floor. Relatable.

Talon slapped the idiot again. Also relatable.

“So anyway,” Touka said, changing the subject, like a decent human. “Where were you from
before moving here? What do you like to do?”

New kid’s answer was mumbled and incomprehensible.

“What was that?” Talon said leaning in.

“U-um- came from Matastafu and I-l...tnjn vshfd…”

“Speak up!” igi shouted to set an example and slapped new kid on the shoulder again. Midoriya
winced but didn’t flinch as badly as the first time.
“I like to do hero analysis.” Midoriya said through grit teeth.

“Why?” Nero asked with obvious distaste. He’d never cared for heroes to begin with. His brother
was killed in the crossfire of a hero fight so Shinsou didn’t actually blame him for that.

Midoriya looked like he was going to mumble his answer again. But than after a long moment he
sat up straight in his seat and it made a world of difference for his appearance. For one, he was
considerably taller looking. He still looked too thin, especially with the bandages around his neck
and the school uniform being a size to big. he had an undercut with green curls at the top of his
head adding some inches to his height. He was fairly average looking but he had a sprinkling of
freckles that were definitely very cute.

His eyes in that moment were his most prominent feature; big and green and burning with more
emotion than Shinsou could understand ,yet somehow familiar. His eyes were like cut emeralds
glinting in firelight.

“I want to be a hero,” Midoriya said firmly and Shinsou sat up with a start.

That was why his eyes were familiar. What he was seeing were the shadows of getting kicked
down and the sharp bitter edge of the determination to move forward anyway. It was familiar
because it was a look he’d seen in his own eyes.

…And their classmates started laughing at him.

Something turned icy in Shinsou’s blood. “Hey!” he said loudly standing. His chair fell with a
clatter behind him. He rarely raised his voice at all. Everyone instantly fell silent, no one wanting
to get caught by his quirk. He scowled at them. Midoriya had turned to look at him and Shinsou
could fully see his scar again. It looked a lot worse up close, still bright red and scabby in places.
He’d gotten it recently then. A burn clearly. It looked like it’d hurt.

“He can do whatever he wants quirk or no quirk!” Shinsou hardly even knew what he was saying.
“He seems more motivated than you troglodytes are. What plans do you even have? You really
think that modeling job is gonna pan out for you, Touka? Have you actually looked in the mirror?
And good luck with the pilot thing, Nero, with your grades. You jerks make me sick. Get your life
together before you start mocking other peoples, dickheads. And touch it, Igi? Really?.” Shinsou
gave a disgusted scoff.
He’d done a good job of offending everyone in the room and thanks to his quirk no one had a
snappy comeback. All they could do was make fun of him behind his back, which they already did
anyway. He’d basically won.

Midoriya was looking at him mouth dropped open like he’d never seen anyone like him.

He probably wasn’t wrong.

It was karma, Katsuki thought, that the school would turn on him.

One stupid mistake and he seemed to have lost everything. His lackeys avoided him. Everyone else
seemed to fear him and to make matters worse, the teachers seemed to hate him now. While before
a tantrum would just be brushed under the rug because of how special he was, now he couldn’t
sneeze in class without getting a detention.

It felt like a betrayal.

It felt like everyone had been lying to him about their loyalty and his successes and now that he’d
slipped up even once, none of his work mattered. It made him burn with a barely contained anger.
But he had learned his lesson he wasn’t going to lose control again. So he would just have to seethe
in silence.

It didn’t matter anyway, he tried to tell himself. He didn’t need anyone. It was better that he knew
who the liars were. It was better that he knew the truth going forward, than to believe all the stupid
lies of the past. He was going to be a hero and no one, not these stupid teachers, not his stupid
classmates, not even his own mom’s stupid disappointed face was going to stop him!

NO ONE COULD STOP HIM!

At lunchtime, Midoriya decided to approach the purple haired boy. He didn’t know why everyone
listened to him, but he appreciated the help. He was a little overwhelmed especially with all the
personal questions.

Izuku stood nervously in front of the boy. The boy didn’t even glance up just focused on the phone
in his hand and the food in front of him. He heard the warning and mean whispers at the other
tables. They made his skin crawl but he ignored them.

“I just wanted to say thank you,” he said softly and gave a bow. That drew the boys eye, if only to
give him a bemused expression. Izuku quickly stood up straight again and actively forced himself
not to mumble his next word. “No one has ever stood up for me like that before. It was really cool.
So thank you.”

Shinsou squinted at him as though trying to suss out a lie. “I just told people to piss off,” he said.
His voice seemed rough from disuse. “That was nothing. Anyone could do it.”

“Not anyone.” Izuku said firmly. The weight of experience weighing his words.

Shinsou just looked more incredulous. Then he said “Midoriya, right?”

“Yeah?”

And next thing Izuku knew he was sitting at his desk for his next period of class.

A girl watched the exchange with intense brown eyes. She didn’t move to intercede but her eyes
were glued to the green haired boy like he held a secret.

With a little smirk she slipped through the crowd and found the school bag be had left behind. She
slipped a brochure into one of the pockets and was gone before anyone had noticed her.

Then again, very few people noticed the only other quirkless student in the school

Shinsou felt something like guilt shift under his skin as he went back to class. He knew why what
he did was necessary but that didn’t stop him from feeling like he was a self-sabotaging moron.
Sure Midoriya seemed nice but now that he had used his powers on him Midoriya would turn out
like everyone else and run away in fear. He’d join all the other morons in their school and
everything would be normal. It was better if he got the betrayal over with before he actually cared.

Slipping into the classroom he could already see Midoriya surrounded by their classmates as they
explained what happened. He quietly sat down and tried not to look over, as he was sure
Midoriya’s face was falling with the normal horror and sickness. He hated that part.
Instead he heard an excited gasp and when he looked up Midoriya was standing up and
enthusiastically speaking at a mile a minute. “That’s amazing! Imagine all the heroic potential! He
could stop villain attacks before they happen. He could keep injured or panicking people calm so
that they don’t hurt themselves further. He can get information out of people with just a few words!
That’s so cool!”

Midoriya was jumping on the balls of his feet and he… he kept going, actual words trailing off into
a mumbled analysis. Shinsou was openly gaping. So was the rest of his class.

One of Shinsou’s worse bullies, Domino, seemed to recover first. “Midoriya mind control is a
villain’s quirk. He could make you do anything. He could tell you to jump off the roof if he
wanted. He controlled you,” the bully spoke as if everything he was saying was obvious. Frankly,
it was.

Midoriya stared at him with his wide green eyes and a slight frown pulled at his lips. “He didn’t
though.” Midoriya said and at everyone’s confused looks he clarified, “He didn’t tell me to jump
off the roof. The one who gave me this did,” -Midoriya pointed at his scarred cheek- “and
everyone is always going on about what a heroic quirk he has.” The tension in the room seemed to
spike and Midoriya’s voice suddenly had a cold edge. “I think you’ll find, that the quirk isn’t what
makes the villain.”

Midoriya sat back down, his words a clear dismissal. The rest of his classmates were hilariously
uncomfortable and off-balance. Shinsou couldn’t enjoy it though because he felt equally off-
balance. Midoriya had just complimented his quirk. Midoriya had just stood up for him. Midoriya,
the apparently quirkless, victim kid, didn’t hesitate to stand up for him the ‘villain’. It was surreal.

Unfortunately, before Shinsou could clear his thoughts the teacher came in and started class.
Shinsou couldn’t help but stare at the boy for the rest of the school day.

Who was this kid?

Despite himself, Katsuki kept thinking about Deku.

Deku, like Auntie Inko, never seemed to lie to him. Sure, Deku had delusions about being a
quirkless hero, but everyone could tell that he believed in them, so technically the only person he
was lying to was himself. In hindsight, Katsuki had to wonder if it was really as delusional as it
seemed. Because while everyone was busy pushing him down, Deku was working at it and
stupidly sticking to his guns about it. Deku had fucking saved him and, annoyingly, that was pretty
fucking heroic.

Other times, Deku stood up to him. He told him how his action were wrong and unheroic when no
one else did and, equally annoyingly, in hindsight he seemed to be right. No one else said anything.
Only Deku.

It was with great effort that Katsuki admitted a growing grudging respect for the dweeb. It didn’t
matter now, of course. He was never allowed to see the kid again, by law, and that aside, Katsuki
doubted Deku wanted to see him.

The words Auntie Inko said to him kept coming back to him. Izuku saw the potential he had…
Katsuki still couldn’t understand why. It bugged him. Katsuki liked to think he was smart and he
worked to know things before others, he worked to understand the world around him. He hated not
knowing things almost as much as he hated liars. So this question wouldn’t stop nagging at him.
Why did Deku still believe in him? Why, after everything he had done, did Deku give him a break?

Deku could have taken his revenge. Wasn’t he angry? Katsuki had almost killed him. He should be
angry. Was he just being stupid? That‘s always been what he thought when he saw Deku’s
frustrated tears and seemingly suicidal tendencies but Deku wasn’t stupid. At times he was pretty
smart. Lately it seems like he was smarter than everyone else Katsuki had ever met, with the
exception his parents and Auntie Inko. It was weird…

Frustratingly he still couldn’t figure it out. And he didn’t have anyone he trusted enough to ask. His
parents would just be upset. The Midoriya family had moved away and half of them hated him.
And that where his list of trusted people ended.

He was fucking alone in this.

But what else was new?

“H-hey,” Midoriya said, approaching Shinsou at the end of the day. Either this boy was stupid or
the nicest person Shinsou had ever met. Maybe crazy? Probably all three.

“Y-yeah…?” Shinsou responded. The next time Midoriya responded, Shinsou could take control
and make him leave.
“I was wondering if you wanted to hang out or something?” the boy asked so earnestly that
Shinsou hesitated.

“...what?”

Midoriya was staring at his feet hard. “I know you didn’t want to talk to me earlier and if you still
don’t that’s fine. I’ll leave you alone from now on, but I still thought it was really cool what you
did earlier and I was hoping maybe we could be friends but if you don’t want to that’s totally fine!
I won’t bother you-”

“What do you want?” Shinsou asked flatly. It was probably going to be one of the exchanges
where the kid was going to be really nice to him because they want him to take control of someone
else for a revenge scheme. He hated those. The first two times he’d actually had hope.

Midoriya blinked at him with big doe like eyes. “What?”

Shinsou took over. It was hard to describe what his mind control felt like. It was a bit like releasing
a snake from his own words and feeding it into the other person’s mouth when they opened it.
Only less creepy and gross. The temporary bond between them was a living thing in his mind. It
was warm and it changed color from person to person. Midoriya was a dark forest green, more like
his hair than his eyes. Feeding commands down the snake was also always an odd feeling. It came
so naturally, a mental muscle, so easy to stretch out but even though it was instinct by now he still
could admit that it didn’t necessarily feel good to use.

“Tell me what you want?” Shinsou asked again, glad that the classroom had already emptied out.

“To be your friend,” Midoriya said in a dreamy tone. His eyes were blank but they met Shinsou’s,
almost as though trying to convey that he truly meant what he was saying.

That wasn’t the answer Shinsou was expecting so the next question came from his mouth
unbidden. “Why?”

Midoriya was silent for a moment. These moments were always interesting to Shinsou. He’d never
truly gotten the opportunity to test the limits of people's free will under his power. Sometimes there
was a bit of a push-pull dynamic. Most of the time he could feel people straining against their
bond. Right now, Midoriya was clearly considering his answer, because that was something he
could do within the limits of the order. If he didn’t know the answer to one of his questions he was
 able to think about it.

It was always a strange little thing with his power. He’d always wondered if it was an exploitable
weakness. He’d have a hard time finding out.

“Because you're alone… like me… and your eyes look.... lonely…”

Shinsou couldn’t help but flinch back like he’d been struck. One of the desk screeched as he
backed into it. Shinsou stared into Midoriya’s still blank eyes. They almost seem serene, which
was definitely not a look he usually saw in his victims eyes.

Perturbed, Shinsou reached out and shook Midoriya from his trance. The boy blinked and looked
around confused for a moment. His eyes hit the clock and saw the time he had lost to Shinsou’s
control.

He didn’t run.

“So you wanna be friends?” Midoriya asked as if nothing had happened.

Shinsou stared at the boy for a long moment, trying to understand this alien creature. “Ok.”

What else could he say?

Chapter End Notes

if you're wondering what the scar looks like;

https://amarelibertius.tumblr.com/post/174944546469/make-up-for-dig-your-heals-in-
check-it

discord: https://discord.gg/3a4tahS
 Baby Steps
Chapter Summary

Awkward boys do their best to be less awkward

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Shinsou was screwed.

He’s gotten attached.

When he first met Midoriya and thought he was crazy Shinsou had been underestimating the boy.
Now he was paying for that mistake. At any moment fate was gonna pull out it’s knife and stab
him for getting emotionally attached. Shinsou knew better. He’d been burned before but here he
was making the same mistake again.

In his defense Midoriya was unlike anyone he’d ever met and very difficult to dislike. So really it
was all his fault.

The first day they had just had coffee.

Shinsou showed the boy the cat cafe he liked and Midoriya talked. A lot. Shinsou was pretty sure
that Midoriya said more to him in the hour that they spent together than anyone in his life has said
to him ever. As a rule people were just too afraid to talk to him, knowing he could take control of
them at any moment. Even adults, even he was a literally child. It had always been mildly
annoying to him. grown ass adult were afraid of a freaking seven year old. But he couldn’t do
anything about it. So Shinsou just got used to being alone.

Shinsou spoke cat better than he spoke human, so that first coffee date(?) had ended up being
Shinsou lying with the cats while Midoriya babbled nervously. Every once in a while Shinsou
would grunt to let Midoriya know he was still listening and Midoriya would respond with a scarily
bright smile.

Apparently Midoriya had very low standards because after that Midoriya seemed to decide that
they were best friends. Even when some of their other classmates tried to pull Midoriya away and
exclude Shinsou, there Midoriya would be with is innocent looking eyes inviting Shinsou along
anyway and questioning why Shinsou couldn’t come.

He didn’t seem to understand why people didn’t like Shinsou or if he did understand he stubbornly
refused to turn his back on Shinsou anyway.

Midoriya was proving to be terrifyingly stubborn and sort of terrifying in general.

For example, Midoriya and Shinsou were called into the the vice principal’s office because some
kids said Shinsou was brainwashing Midoriya into being friends with him. It was far from the first
time Shinosu had been blamed for something he didn’t do and the fights his moms have gotten into
with the school board were legendary but Shinsou figured this would be the end of his and
Midoriya’s short friendship. Midoriya would see that being friends with Shinsou was too much
trouble or the teachers would separate them and that would be it.

That was not it.

“That’s not even how his quirk works! Are you serious? Shinsou can only control people when
they’re in a active trance. A trance with obvious signs, a trance that can be broken with physical
contact. And orders don’t carry through outside of the trance state. If he was controlling me it
would be obvious because I’d be in a trance right now and unable to carry on a conversation as
complex as this!”

Midoriya looked genuinely angry. Shinsou was staring at him with shock and the vice principal
seemed to have been caught off guard too.

“What you’re doing here is quirk discrimination,” Midoriya stuck his lower lip out and crossed his
arms over his chest. “You think that because he has a powerful quirk and I don’t, he’s going to take
advantage of me. But you’re ignoring the actual facts to do it. That’s unfair and I’m not going to sit
back and let you.”

“Now Midoriya-san,” the vice principal said regaining himself. “Discrimination is a strong word to
throw around. We don’t have all the facts-”

Midoriya huffed and went to his bag and pulled out a notebook, flipping a couple pages in he found
what he was looking for and slammed it down on the desk. “Those enough facts for you?”
The vice principal blinked. “An analysis of Shinsou-san’s quirk? Did you write this?”

“A what of my what now?” Shinsou said shooting a startled look at the green haired boy. Midoriya
smirked smugly.

“I analyze everyone's quirks, you can check. Nowhere in there will you find Shinsou has the ability
to control me in the way you say he is.”

“He could have made you-”

“You want proof that I wrote it? Fine!” Midoriya then proceeded to tear the vice principal and his
quirk apart. Shinsou saw a look of actual fear in the VP’s eyes as Midoriya skated to close to points
that must be private. The kind of thing only a stalker would know.

To be honest Shinsou was kind of frightened too. The first few times they hung out, Midoriya had
asked some weirdly specific questions about his quirk. Shinsou had not known it was for this. Why
did he do analysis at all? How smart was Midoriya? What did he know about Shinsou that Shinsou
didn’t know? He probably knew more about Shinsou than the principal. If they were still friends
after this he should ask him to see the notebook.

A frightened silence followed Midoriya’s speech. The vice principal was actually leaning away
from Midoriya. He cleared his throat. “Are you sure you’re quirkle-”

“Yes.” Midoriya said with more bitterness than Shinsou would expect of such a nice boy.

“Right,” the VP said awkwardly. “Well I think I’ve heard all i needed to. You two may...er... return
to class. Sorry for the misunderstanding.”

Midoriya took his notebook back and offered the vice principal a sheepish smile as if apologizing
for getting worked up. Shinsou officially did not understand what was up with this kid.

But he had stood up for him.

No one but his two mothers stood up for him.

So he was pretty cool.

The next test to their young friendship was going over to each other’s houses. Something Shinsou
hasn’t done since he as four. Midoriya acted nervous too so the anxiety was mutual, if not tilted in
Midoriya’s favor because that boy was anxious in general.

“Midoriya,” Shinsou said calmly. “Stop panicking.”

His friend was making all sorts of excuses that were mumbled and going too fast for Shinsou to
understand. Shinsou figured either it was going to be a disaster and Midoriya’s parents would hate
him, or that Midoriya was just overreacting. Given his general luck in life so far, Shinsou would
put his money on the former. It’d be typical of the universe to give him a friend and then yank him
away against both of their wills.

Finally they were outside Midoriya’s door. The apartment was a small place in a not entirely nice
neighborhood on the fifth floor of a building with no elevator. Shinsou figured that rent was low at
least. When he opened the door Shinsou was mildly surprised that the apartment looked as nice
and homey as it did.

“Hey, mom,” Midoriya called voice cracking slightly. Shinsou could only imagine what kind of
woman could scare the seemingly fearless Midoriya. It made him nervous too. Despite himself,
Shinsou wanted to make a good impression. So part of him was holding his breath waiting for
Midoriya’s concerned parents to take one look at him and forbid their son from ever talking to him
again.

There was a noise in the other room and then a voice called, “Izuku, I know you just got home but
could you pick me up some…” the voice trailed off when Midoriya’s mother came around the
corner and spotted him.

The woman was a round, pretty-looking lady, who shared Midoriya’s green hair and big eyes. She
wore a soft pink cardigan and was considerably shorter than Shinsou. Her mouth fell open and she
stared at him.

Midoriya bounced on the balls of his feet and said in one breath, “Hey, mom, this is Shinsou
Hitoshi. He’s my new friend from school. I hope it’s okay that I invited him and over and I’m sorry
I didn’t warn you, I forgot because that hero fight last night but he’s really nice and I like him a lot
so-”

Midoriya-san burst into tears.

Midoriya and Shinsou were both highly alarmed by this, though Midoriya did a great deal more
arm flailing. Shinsou automatically opened his mouth to apologize. Only to be interrupted by the
woman opening her arms and pulling him into a warm hug. He tensed up, unused to hugs in
general, let alone hugs from crying women.

“A-um-are you okay, mom?” Midoriya asked awkwardly.

“You made a friend,” her words were muffled in Shinsou’s shirt and Midoriya’s face went
positively crimson.

Finally, pulled away from him and leaving a wet spot on his shirt the tiny woman looked up at him
with genuine gratefulness. “Thank you for being my son’s friend.”

Shinsou shifted his weight from foot to foot. “He’s nice,” was what came out of his mouth out of
the many other things his brain yelled at him.

The woman smiled as purely as Izuku sometimes did. He took after her a lot. “Oh we should
celebrate!” she said cheerfully. “What’s your favorite food? Oh, would you like to stay for supper?
I should good shopping but first snacks! You should have told me we were going to have
company, Izuku!”

Izuku smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck looking embarrassed. “Eheh, like I said I
forgot.”

“Well come in! Come in make yourself out home, Shinsou,” Midoriya-san wouldn’t stop smiling
and it was kinda nice in a foreign way. “It’s so nice to meet you!”

“Er…” Shinsou better get it out of the way early. It always hurt more after he’d given people time
to get to know him. “My quirk is…”
“His quirk is mind control!” Izuku cut in with more enthusiasm than Shinsou was going to use.
“Isn’t that cool! He wants to be a hero, too”

“Oh, that is cool!” Midoriya-san smiled along. But Shinsou caught the look of fear that briefly
flashed in her eyes.

Midoriya must have seen it too because he was quick to push forward. “He’s also the boy who
stood up for me the first day of school. The one I told you about.”

“Oh really!?” the anxiety vanishing almost instantly. “That’s great!. Thank you for looking after
my son, Shinsou.”

“N-no problem?” Shinsou said. It was that easy? How was it that easy? It’s never that easy.

“So, supper?”

“Um yeah, I’ll have to call my parents, but… yeah,” Shinsou said.

Midoriya-san beamed again and Midoriya smile behind her and the combination of these two
sunshine people was blinding. He was too shitty a human to be around these pure angels, in his
three-day old jeans and t-shirt that he sniffed to choose. God, when was the last time he showered?
These nice people do not deserve to be subjected to him.

“What would you like to eat, I’ll make anything you want. Or we could eat out if you want?”
Midoriya-san looked on the edge of a full one ramble.

“I... um… I’m not really picky.” He’d once eaten microwave ramen for seven straight meals. It was
safe to say his body would digest anything he put in it.

“Oh, it’s not a problem at all, anything you want,” Midoriya-san insisted.

“Um-mom, “ Midoriya said like a life saver. “I’m don’t think I should break from my diet even as
a cheat day. And Shinsou is training to be a hero too, so maybe something healthy?”
“Oh,” Midoriya-san seemed to droop. “But it’s a special occasion.”

“Something healthy sounds great,” Shinsou agreed to end the argument. They were still in the
doorway and Shinsou still had a tear stains on his shirt.

Midoriya-san squeezed his arm and patted Midoriya’s shoulder. “I ought to go shopping then.
Don’t get into too much trouble when I’m gone.” and she bustled off to grab a jacket and her purse.
Midoriya led Shinsou into the small living room that was also half the kitchen.

“It’s not much,” Midoriya said shyly.

“It’s cozy,” Shinsou said kindly. He didn’t actually have much of an opinion at all but he could be
polite.

Midoriya beamed again and it was worth it. Geez, that smile was addictive. It was like, hey, here’s
a anxious small bean of a boy and then Boom! Literal ray of sunshine. It was not fair at all.
Shinsou’s smile made people think he was up to something. And Shinsou was freaking helpless
against Midoriya’s smile. Like he actively wanted to make Midoriya smile. Which took… like
effort and stuff...

And effort took energy that Shinsou generally didn’t have but also it seemed worth it?

Ugh.

“Anyway through there is my mom’s room and that’s the bathroom and the last door is my
bedroom. It’s smaller than my last one but… er... well it’ll do.”

“Can I see it?” Shinsou asked wondering if this is things friends do. Midoriya looked slightly
uncomfortable and Shinsou immediately backtracked. “You don’t have to show me if you don’t
want to.”

“Ah- no, it’s fine,” and his smile wasn’t as genuine as usual but he took Shinsou by the arm and
led him into his small bedroom. Shinsou had to duck so he didn’t hit his head on the doorway. “It’s
not much.”
That was bit of an understatement. The walls were bare and lacking in any decoration. His
bookshelf at least was packed with comics and books. His desk had a normal spread of school/desk
things. But otherwise, compared to his expectations, it was underwhelming.

“You don’t like it?” Midoriya asked looking self-conscious.

“I just expected for there to be more… I don’t know decoration,” Shinsou shrugged. “I mean
you’re a total hero fanboy, aren’t you?”

Midoriya’s face flashed with… was that grief? before he forced a smile. “Um yeah, I used to have
an otaku level set up of hero merch. But… um…” Midoriya’s voice grew very quiet. Despite the
fact that he was trying to hide his emotions, Shinsou didn’t like the feelings he was seeing. “I
thought I was getting a little old for that kinda thing.”

Shinsou could tell there was more to it but decided to respect his friends boundaries. after all
Shinsou hated it when people dug into his issues and privacy. “So uh…” oh crap, what do normal
teenagers even do? “You got any video games?”

“Uh… yeah, I think they’re still packed up, though,” Midoriya said glancing towards his closet.
“You like video games, Shinsou?”

“Not really.”

An awkward silence followed.

“Uh… so… um weather?” Midoriya floundered too. Oh god. He was just as lost as Shinsou was.
Oh god neither of them knew what they were doing. How does one person when no one knows
how to person?

“Yeah, weather.”

How the hell do they salvage this? They were talking fine a minute ago. Kinda. Actual Midoriya’s
mom was doing most of the talking. And crying. But they’d had conversations less awkward than
this before. Was it because they were hanging out officially in Midoriya’s room and they were
expected to do something? What even were they supposed to do? Video games was Shinsou’s only
guess. There wasn’t even enough in Midoriya’s room for him to bounce off of. Like there was his
comics but they’d already established the heroes were were a touchy subject for him right now so
Shinsou had nothing.

Frick!

Izuku was supposed to be the host here! Why didn’t he think of a plan before he invited Shinsou
over. Now Shinsou was going to hate him and see how awkward and useless he is and go home
and never talk to him again and it would be all Izuku’s fault because he hasn’t had a friend over
since he was five and then he didn’t even have to try to be social and cool or fun because that
friend had be Ka-Bakugou and Bakugou was always the one to lead. It wasn’t even like he could
do what they did back then. they were way were too old to play heroes and villains and the video
games were in the closet and Shinsou said he didn’t like video games in the first place so what else
was there. Shinsou was just staring at him mouth slightly open looking just as lost as him but he
probably thought Izuku was a loser. Izuku is a loser. Ohmygod, ‘weather’? What are you doing,
Izuku? That’s not even a full sentence. Is he making fun of you or is just because he’s awkward
too? How do they get out of this purgatory of awkwardness? Say something smart. But Izuku isn’t
really smart unless it’s about heroes and he’s already shut down that line of conversation. Why did
he do that? And that was pretty much the only thing Izuku ever talks about anyway. In the two
weeks they’ve known each other all Izuku’s ever talked about is heroes. Shinsou must be so sick of
that. How selfish of him! But what else did Izuku even know? Okay Izuku step one to growing up
should be getting other hobbies. That’ll probably be good for his long term mental health in general
now that he thinks about it but that doesn’t do much for him right now, in this awkward silence
purgatory.

“You got any hobbies?” Izuku asked, pulling his lips back into what he hoped was a smile. He tried
to ignore the look of absolute relief that crossed Shinsou’s face

“Uh, yeah, I like bike riding,” he said smiling. He had such a nice smile. “I do it when I’ve got
nothing better to do. So… er… a lot. There’s a lot of pretty places in the neighborhood, I could
show you sometime.”

Midoriya smiled more genuinely. No one ever invites him places, Shinsou is so nice. But there
was a problem. “I don’t have a bike.”

“Oh I’m sure you could borrow one of my moms’, they use them to commute but we usually have
at least one extra lying around.” Shinsou got a found look on his face.

“Moms’ plural?” Izuku couldn’t help but notice.

Shinsou defenses instantly went up and he got that scowling, ‘don’t mess with me' look again. “My
parents are lesbians. You have a problem with that?”

“No?” Izuku said automatically, because why would he have a problem with that? “Oh god did I
give you the impression I would have a problem with that. Do i seem bigoted. Have I said anything
wrong that offended you or your mother i’m so sorry-”

“Sorry!” Shinsou cut him off. “It’s not you, I’ve just had people who’ve had problems with it
before.

“Oh sorry,” Izuku said looking at his feet.

“So what about you?”

“My mom’s not a lesbian.” Izuku said squinting in confusion. “At least as far as I know. That’s not
really something we’ve talked-

“No,” Shinsou said blushing. “I mean what are your hobbies?”

“Oh!” Izuku said blushing too. “Oh um well, it’s kind of stupid, but i like analyzing hero fights, so i
kind of chase them to see them up close sometimes. And er… me and ka-er… a friend used to go
hiking a lot. So I’m pretty good at that and i guess i’m pretty good at climbing and running in
general. At least for short bursts… and i guess i just like heroes in general. Oh! And I’ve recently
taken up aikido.”

“Oh cool,” Shinsou said, genuinely. “I don’t think analysis is stupid. Actually i meant to ask you
had an entry about me. What was that about?”

“Oh yeah,” Izuku said, unable to hold back when someone asked him about his passion. “Let me
show you and he ran to his yellow stained backpack to pull his notebook out. The old thing had to
be washed three times to get the sewage smell out but given his medical bills and general
sentimentality Izuku didn’t want to throw it out. When he pulled the journal out another piece of
paper came out too, slightly crushed Izuku constantly throwing books on top of it.

“Huh what’s this?” Izuku said unscrambling the pamphlet in confusion. “Soro… The Empty?”
Shinsou read over his shoulder, “The Church of the Quirkless? You didn’t mention being
religious.”

“I’m not,” Izuku said tilting his head to the side. “I don’t even remember picking this up. I mean I
suppose someone could have handed me this while i was walking to school but i don’t normally
keep these things because they seem like scams.”

“Maybe you kept it because it was about being quirkless?” Shinsou asked skeptically. He seemed
to agree that it was a scam.

“That would just make me less likely to accept it,” Izuku said firmly. “I hate being targeted.”

Shinsou nodded because that made sense. Shaking his head, Izuku threw the pamphlet in the trash
and went back to talking about his notebook.

They ended talking a long time about Midoriya’s notebook and his various entries in it. Shinsou
found some of his notes pretty funny and maybe slightly vindictively enjoyed knowing his
classmates weaknesses. The entry on Shinsou himself was scarily thorough and Midoriya asked
about testing some of the limits Midoriya couldn’t guess about. Shinsou was honestly kind of
intrigued but also rather nervous. Midoriya had a lot of advice on ways Shinsou could improve his
quirk and become more powerful. Shinsou wanted that but he was scared about what it might mean
for him and the people around him.

Until he could prove that he was a hero, being more powerful meant being more feared.

But he had Midoriya right now, so it might be okay… maybe…

“I’m home,” Midoriya-san called. “Izuku, could you help put things away?”

“Yeah, mom,” Izuku yelled back automatically. “You’ll be okay alone, Shinsou?”

“Yeah,” Shinsou shrugged. “I could help.”

“No, no,” Midoriya said waving his arms. “You’re the guest. I’ve got it.”
Shinsou knew he was being polite but it also meant that Shinsou was left silently sitting alone in
his room. He had nothing to do but look around. Which felt creepy and awkward.

Thankfully(?) a moment later Midoriya’s mom came in. She smiled kindly, “You can wait in the
living room Shinsou-kun but first I wanted to have a small conversation with you.”

Oh god that didn’t bode well. “Okay.”

He wasn’t going to cry. He knew something like this would happen.

“I want to thank you again for being my son’s friend,” she said softly, staring had her anxiously
twiddling fingers. “His last friend… well, his last friendship ended badly and he hasn’t had many
friends outside of that. So I wanted to thank you. He seems a lot happier since he’s met you.”
Shinsou felt suddenly as though she had reached into his chest and squeezed his heart. “I wanted to
thank you. But i also wanted to ask you… please don’t hurt my son.”

Shinsou swallowed and his voice came out rough. “I wasn’t planning too.”

“I know,” and the woman smiled prettily. “I trust you. Please, take care of my son.”

Abruptly, Shinsou found he had burst into tears. Who would have thought three words were all it
would take.

“I will.” Shinsou swore and it was in that moment that Shinsou knew he was absolutely screwed
because it had only been two weeks and he had already put Midoriya on his people he would die
for list. It had only been two weeks and Shinsou found himself completely attached. Part of him
was still waiting for someone to deliver that finishing blow that would rip their friendship apart,
but right now, in this moment, Shinsou was willing to fight for his friendship. Shinsou was willing
to do anything to keep his friendship with Midoriya.

And strangely, he understood that Midoriya would do the same. Beyond just Midoriya-san trusting
him, Shinsou realized the Midoriya did too. That Midoriya had been showing trust from the
moment they first talked and hung out. Midoriya considered him a friend enough to stand up for
him and invite him places and while Shinsou had quietly been panicking Midoriya had basically
been doing the friendship leg work.
“Hey, mom, do you want me to leave the- Shinsou why are you crying!?” Midoriya said walking
in.

Shinsou sniffed. “I think I’m just really happy…”

Midoriya’s eye’s watered too and the short boy came over to hug him. “I’m happy too,” he said
giving him a watery smile. “But it’s almost time for dinner, so we need to wash up.”

Midoriya-san also had tears in her but she smiled at them and left the room.

“Hey, Midoriya,” Shinsou said before he could get embarrassed. “I’m glad I met you.”

Bakugou wasn’t going to admit it.

Not to the stupid therapist his mom got him. Not to the guidance counselor who insisted on seeing
him once a week, not to anyone who said he had anger issues. Not to anyone. Not even himself.

He was fine.

He didn’t need anyone. He was fine.

Sure he felt sick with anger and wound tighter than a spring in a compound press but he was fine.
He’d always said the people around him were extra’s and they’d just proven that the be true. They
were faceless losers. His teachers were faceless losers. His psychologist was just a faceless loser.
The fact that the only person who talked to him like he was a person was his dad and that stupid
psychologist didn’t matter. He was fine.

He wasn’t lonely. He didn’t need anyone. It didn’t matter that suddenly people seemed to think he
was a villain and a monster now. It didn’t matter that no one was talking to him. It didn’t matter
that he could hear them fucking whispering.It didn’t matter that sometimes when he wasn’t
looking people messed with his stuff. It didn’t matter that someone wrote on his desk or put white
lily’s on it like he was dead.
 They were all weak cowards, taking stabs at his back knowing he couldn’t do anything without
being blamed. he didn’t need them. He didn’t need anyone.

He wasn’t lonely.

He wasn’t.

Chapter End Notes

-I live for Midoriya tearing people down with his quirk analysis. like no, you are not
taking my new friend. mine.
-the majority of Shinsou's awkwardness is based on my own real life awkwardness
-Midoriya is the awkward silence hero.
-Midorimom is two for two on the love and emotional support
-Midoriya doesn't have a 'people i would die for' list because he would die for anyone.

discord: https://discord.gg/4udpQWC
tumblr: https://amarelibertius.tumblr.com/
 Reminder
Chapter Summary

Midoriya and Bakugou receive some bitter reminders

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Midoriya was being followed.

Shinsou noticed it too and it made Midoriya nervous. Years of bullying had honed some select
skills, such as the ability to sense when someone was staring at him and when said person was
going to strike. Bakugou had generally been unavoidable since he was someone stronger and faster
than him, who also knew Izuku and his thought patterns quite well, but Bakugou had been far from
his only bully. Incidentally, Midoriya had also developed the ability to dodge, avoid, run, and hide.
Bakugou often referred to them as “coward skills”, but that didn’t change the fact that they served
him well.

The girl following him didn’t feel particularly dangerous; if anything, she was downright mousy,
but that didn’t stop him from being paranoid. She seemed to be waiting to get him alone and every
time he felt her coming he dodged away and either lost her in the school crowd or hid until she
went away. It was turning into an interesting game of cat and mouse, because while she didn’t have
the brute force that Kacc--Bakugou had, she seemed more wily and aware of his techniques than
some of the other bullies.

Part of him wondered why she was trying so hard to talk to him. Thankfully the bullying had died
down at this new school, or at least died as much as could be expected. Izuku suspected that was
mainly because he was friends with Shinsou. For all the ‘villain’ talk, Shinsou was considered
powerful enough that people didn’t physically mess with him, and Midoriya, as one of his official
satellites, was under his protection. It felt dirty to think of their friendship like that. Midoriya,
despite his insecurities, felt he and Shinsou were actually developing a genuinely strong bond, but
he also understood how other people think. Izuku would always going to be the weak leech
attaching himself to more powerful people. First it had been Bakugou, now it was Shinsou.

Until Izuku had properly proven himself, and probably long after that, a leech is all he’d ever be.

Oh well, Izuku wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. The fact that he had met someone as
kind as Shinsou and actually managed to become friends with him was more than he could ever
ask for. Shinsou was honestly amazing. He actually shed light on how shitty a friend Bakugou was.
It was harder to admit than it should have been, but maybe the only reason he was calling Bakugou
a friend in the first place was because he didn’t want to say he had no friends. He still believed that,
somewhere deep down, Bakugou was good, that he was still the cool kid he’d grown up with, but
he wasn’t a friend.

Real friends apparently liked each other? And talked about things that they both liked? And hung
out without screaming at each other? Izuku was kinda blown away by how easy his friendship with
Shinsou was. Sure, they still had long stretches of awkward silence where neither of them knew
what they were doing, and God knew that foot in mouth syndrome was running rampant.
Sometimes Shinsou would just let Izuku talk and talk and talk until he’d thoroughly embarrassed
himself. Meanwhile Shinsou seemed to only speak in sarcasm and when it came to saying anything
normal or genuine he was hopelessly awkward. Was it strange that Midoriya found it kind of
endearing?

Anyway, the more the brown haired girl pursued him, the more data Izuku gathered about her.
After a week Izuku had a fairly thorough file on her. Her name was Higurashi Haruhi, and she was
in the class below him and Shinsou. She was quirkless but rather confident, all things considered.
She’d been talking self defense from a young age and could be really waspish if pushed or bullied.
She didn’t have friends, apparently, and stuck rather close to the library. When Izuku asked around
a few mentioned that she was also fairly religious but they couldn’t give him more than that.
Appearance wise, she made Izuku think of a little owl. She had short, soft looking brown hair and
big brown eyes a lithe body. She looked like the kind of person who could fly if she tried. She also
had a scar up her left wrist that was from what he thought it was. Apparently she had attempted
suicide her first year of middle school and survived. She’d been in hospital for a long while and
word had it that was around the time she started getting religious. Overall, she was said to be nice
but quiet and shy.

Izuku’s guess was that she was trying for a quirkless solidarity sort of thing. He wasn’t opposed to
the idea, but he didn’t understand why he had to be alone for her to approach him. Shinsou wasn’t
that scary. Izuku also doubted the shy but nice thing. The same words had been used to describe
him for years. The reality was that no one really knew him or what he was thinking. Granted, he
did try to be nice and anxiety made him pretty shy too. But most of that anxiety was rooted in
people's reaction to him. He’d learn to be private and secretive because, when he wasn’t, people
took what he put out there and used it against him. Every little thing that he said or cared about was
a reason to make fun of him.

Izuku was willing to bet that she was a lot more than just shy and quiet, but there was only one way
to find out.

He let Higurashi approach him on friday, when classes let out for the day. He told Shinsou that
he’d catch up to him, and though that had earned him a skeptical look, Shinsou left anyway.
Finally Higurashi Haruhi spoke to him. “You’ve been avoiding me,” was the first thing she said.

“Y-y-you’ve b-been f-following m-me,” Izuku pointed out. Abort! Abort! This was the first time a
girl had actually decided to talk to him, not counting his mom. He was not ready for this.The girl
grinned.

“I just really wanted to meet you,” she smiled. Midoriya wanted to throw himself into the sun. oh
god he was sweating. “It’s nice to not be the only quirkless kid at this school anymore.”

Izuku tried to smile back and knowing him he probably failed. He was kind of excited to meet
another quirkless person too. Even though a fifth of the world population was quirkless, he’d only
met maybe two other quirkless people so far, and both were old men.

“Y-yeah,” he said shakily. She laughed at him.

“So you want to be friends?” she asked boldly.

“Um… I- uh I guess? W-we d-don’t really know each other t-that well…” Izuku stuttered. He was
getting a weird vibe off of her. He couldn’t place it. Was this just how talking to girls worked?

“Don’t worry about that,” she said, taking his hand in hers. “Besides, I’ve heard you asked about
me.” she winked and started pulling him down the hall. “That’s fine because I know all about you.
We should go get coffee or something. Then we can get to know each other.”

“Er... actually, I was supposed t-to meet a friend,” Izuku said pulling away cheeks hot.

The girl froze and while she was still smiling, her expression became tight and fake. “Ah, Shinsou
Hitoshi, right?”

“...yes,” Izuku said staring at her, the creeped out feeling growing.

“I think you should stay away from him, Izuku,” she said, using his first name so quickly. He
would have thought she was flirting with him if that were possible. But it wasn’t, so this was
definitely something else. “Someone with a quirk like that is dangerous for people like us.”
“People like us…” Izuku repeated, suddenly cold. “You don’t even know him.”

The girl tilted her head at him, a decidedly owl like gesture. “Do I need to? He’ll be like everyone
else in the end, Izuku. They all are. Trust me. It’ll be easier if you just stick around me and people
like us.”

Izuku took a full step back. “No thanks. I think I’m fine choosing friends for myself.”

The girl blinked at him and her voice pitched upward, “What!? But, Izuku-”

“It’s Midoriya,” he stiffly corrected. Internally, he was screaming and second guessing himself.
Anxiety was a bitch and he knew he’d probably be second guessing this decision for the rest of his
life. But he had a bad feeling about her and honestly he’d rather listen to it. “Now if you don’t
mind…”

He moved around her and practically ran from the school.

Of course, because Izuku possibly had bad karma from a previous life, he ran into someone full
speed and bounced back, almost falling on his butt. The person caught him by the arm before he
could. He had another silent moment of internally screaming and then looked up the incredibly tall
figure of a very muscular boy. He was like one of those american football players.

“I-I’m s-sorry,” he stuttered. “I-I should have l-looked where I was going…”

“Not a problem!” the boy said in a very loud voice. “Clumsiness happens to the best of us. I’m
Inasa Yoarashi. It’s a pleasure to meet you!”

“Oh! U-um I’m Midoriya Izuku,” Izuku said feeling intimidated. Too much socializing! His nerves
were fried.

Inasa’s eyes widened and so did his smile. “You’re the new quirkless boy! I’ve heard about you! Is
it true you survived a villain attack before coming to our school?”

“Um… well, yes…” Izuku was pretty sure he was referring to the incident with Bakugou, not the
sludge villain. But it was still true in a literal sense.

“It wouldn’t be rude of me to ask what it was like?” Inasa asked, looking slightly earnest. He
seemed to backtrack when he noticed Izuku shrink into himself. “It’s just I want to be a hero, you
see, and I feel it’s important to be aware of these things. I don’t mean to be insensitive.”

Izuku wanted to punch himself. “No, it’s okay,” Izuku said waving his hands. “It’s just hard to
describe in words, I guess. Er… I guess the best word is desperate. With the adrenaline and
everything it got harder to think… I just moved without thinking…”

Inasa’s eyes sparkled. “You are very brave, Midoriya.”

Izuku blushed. “Um, no, I’m not. If anything I’m stupid. I wouldn’t have gotten involved if I was
smart...”

Yoarashi stood up at his full height. “That’s no way to talk about yourself. It’s not like you wanted
to get attacked, you can’t blame yourself for that. And you survived! You acted! That’s incredibly
brave!”

Izuku wilted more at every kind word. Why were people at this school so nice? It was weird. He
didn’t know how to react. “T-th-thank y-you...”

“Midoriya,” a new voice said. Izuku eeped. He honest to got eeped and jumped two feet in the air.
And it was just Shinsou, just Shinsou coming in to look for him.

“Is this guy bothering you?” he asked in his flat voice, eyes glaring.

“What!? No! No! He’s actually been really nice, don’t worry!” Izuku said flailing his arms wildly.

“You’re Shinsou Hitoshi?” Inasa said, recognizing him. “The villain boy from 3-a?”

“He’s not a villain,” Izuku snapped sharply. Shinsou’s face had closed off.
“Midoriya, let’s go,” he said deciding to ignore the boy that was roughly his height but wider.

Inasa looked embarrassed. “Wait!” He said too loudly and he bowed to Shinsou. “I’m sorry. I’ve
been impolite! It was rude of me to listen to those baseless rumors. Allow me to apologize!”

Shinsou cut his eyes between the bowing boy and Izuku, looking entirely confused. “Apology
accepted?”

Inasa rose from his bow, cheeks slightly pink. “No, I must insist on doing something to make it up
to you. How can I repay you?”

Shinsou looked terribly put on the spot and he looked at Izuku for help.

“Um…” Izuku said, wondering why Shinsou expected him to be able to do anything. “Well we
were probably going to get coffee today. I guess if you’re not doing anything… you could but.”

“Of course!”

“Izuku!” Higurashi shouted and Izuku winced as she appeared. She ran up and grabbed his arm and
pressed herself bodily against it. Izuku felt his face turn pink again. Shinsou shot a glare at her.
“What are you doing, sweetie?”

“Your girlfriend?” Inasa assumed. “It’s a pleasure to meet you!”

He held out his hand and Higurashi shook it with an obviously fake smile. She didn’t let go of
Izuku’s arm and he found she was surprisingly strong. “Hi, I’m Higurashi Haruhi. And you’re
Inasa Yoarashi. I’ve heard about you.”

Inasa blushed bashfully. “Would you like to come with us for coffee? I’m buying!”

“I’d love to!” she said squeezing Izuku’s arm painfully. “It’ll give us all a chance to get to know
each other.”
“GREAT!” Inasa said enthusiastically. Izuku and Shinsou shared the social anxiety look. The one
where you’re introverted and extroverted people are dragging you into situations you don’t want to
be in but you’re too awkward to stop it. Shinsou might be able to quirk his way out of it but that
was illegal and Midoriya was pretty sure it wouldn’t play out well for them in the long run.

So in the end Shinsou just said “Oh joy,” with as much dry derision as possible, making it as
obvious as possible that he hated this situation, and they went for coffee anyway.

Inasa bought a pair of cat ears for everyone, matching them to peoples hair color. Shinsou couldn’t
hate him after that. Especially when he was practically crying from how cute he found the cats and
wearing metal cat ears on his shaved head. He had like an aura of adorableness. Shinsou wasn’t
made of stone, okay. The guy was likable.

The bitch still attached to Midoriya’s side wasn’t.

Midoriya looked like he was dying inside and she kept cutting Shinsou out of the conversation and
trying to monopolize Midoriya’s attention. Shinsou couldn’t like her even in cat ears. She said she
didn’t really like cats, like some kind of monster, and she was just… weird. Shinsou knew she was
the girl that’s been following Midoriya for the last couple of weeks and she honestly crept him the
hell out.

It didn’t help that Midoriya kept shooting him ‘help me’ looks, and Shinsou was doing his best,
but the girl was being intentionally dense and Shinsou was pretty sure that, short of using his quirk,
nothing was going to work. Inasa was no help because he was actually dense. He wasn’t stupid per
se, but he was definitely misreading the room right now.

Eventually they landed on the subject of heroes because of course it did. Inasa proudly declared
that he was a legacy and planning to be a hero too. He told Midoriya about his quirk and that
turned into an entire quirk analysis discussion on wind powers and other people with wind powers.
Inasa, it turned out, was very knowledgeable on the subject, and Shinsou was amused to see the
owl bitch was completely lost as they discussed air pressure and temperature change and how
Inasa’s powers would work differently in different situations, such as around a fire. Don’t get him
wrong, Shinsou was absolutely lost too, but the petty part of him couldn’t help but gloat that the
owl girl was being cut out of the conversation now too. Take that!

Also, it was kinda fun to watch too people in cat ears enthusiastically discuss things.

“You’re really smart, Midoriya,” Inasa eventually said when Midoriya drew out a chart on a
napkin showing the taller boy the math of the air pressure stuff.

Midoriya blushed deeply. “No I’m not,” he said in that way that Shinsou hated. The ‘I think you’re
complimenting me to be nice but I don’t really believe you’ way. Shinsou had heard it too many
times, and Shinsou wasn’t even in the habit of complimenting Midoriya. His friend’s self-esteem
was just that low. “It’s just simple math, anyone can do it.”

“Midoriya, I have no idea what that says.” Shinsou said flatly.

Midoriya gave him an innocent look. “What? Of course you do. Look, the p represents the air
pressure, the v represents the volume of air.”

Inasa nodded along, “And the n is the substances in the air, the different gases. R is the constant,
and t is the temperature. It’s very simple, shinsou. Taking the measurements to fill in the the
different parts is the difficult part.”

“I did not come to this cat cafe to do math,” Shinsou said, vaguely grasping the problem in front of
him now.

“But math is important!” Inasa said far too enthusiastically.

The owl bitch was starting to look bored. “Izuku, surely we have more important things to talk
about than math.”

“Do you not think of the math involved in your quirk, Shinsou?” Midoriya said, squinting at him.
“Surely, you have to think about things like range, or the amount of energy input you have to put
out depending on distance or the number of people you’re controlling? The statistics or someone
breaking out of your hold...”

“No, usually I just use my quirk and it works,” Shinsou said tiredly. He’d had his quirk picked
apart by Midoriya enough times that he was used to having these arguments. It’s become clear that
Midoriya thinks way more about his quirk than he does. “No math involved.”

“Ah, I was right, you are the boy with the mind control power,” Inasa acknowledged. Shinsou shot
him a glare but the boy didn’t take the opportunity to insult him. “I’ve found math very helpful in
controlling and expanding my power. Running these calculations can actually make the difference
between life and death. You’d be very surprised. It’s like what Midoriya said about making
adjustments for winter air versus the air in a burning building or humid summer air. If I don’t make
adjustments than my bursts can be far more destructive than I mean them to be, or far less
destructive.”

“Yeah,” Midoriya chirped, completely ignoring owl girl’s annoyed expression. “If you use math,
you calculate the likelihood of someone breaking your hold in different situations, then you can
calculate the time you need to do something while said person is following your command and
make back up plans if they fail to follow through. It’ll also help you move up your endurance of
how many people you can control at once and how long you can control them.”

“We’ve had this conversation before, Midoriya,” Shinsou said rubbing his forehead. “I can’t test
that for sure until I have more than one person willing to have me test my quirk on them, and that’s
not likely to happen anytime soon.”

“Why would you need to test that anyway?” Inasa asked looking innocently puzzled. “Shouldn’t
you leave the quirk using to the heroes?”

“Shinosu and I want to be heroes too,” Midoriya said before Shinsou could say something
sarcastic.

Inasa looked absolutely delighted. “WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY SO!? THAT MEANS WE CAN
ATTEND UA TOGETHER!”

Owl girl, on the other hand, looked mortified. “Izuku,” she said tightly. “What do you mean you
want to be a hero, that’s ridiculous.”

Midoriya seemed to shrink into himself, shoulders near his ears. “I have to try,” he hissed, almost
bitterly.

“I think he can do it,” Shinsou said, glaring at her.

Inasa looked confused. “Why wouldn’t Midoriya be able to be a hero?”

Owl bitch huffed at being put on the spot. It was three against one. “He’s quirkless, obviously.
He’ll die instantly. You quirk users are too dangerous.”
“Oh…” Inasa said frowning.

“There’s plenty of people with non-combatant quirks in the hero business,” Shinsou said, staring
her down. “Hell, my quirk counts as one of them. Training is what makes the difference, and guess
what? Midoriya can get that training.”

Inasa hummed thoughtfully.

“You just say that because you want to fill his head with dangerous ideas,” owl bitch scoffed. “I
don’t know if you’ve noticed but he’s already almost died once.” she pointed to Midoriya’s scar.
“Encouraging thoughts like these are only going to get him killed. Midoriya, you should be smarter
than this.”

Midoriya was leaning as far away from her as he could. His eyes were strangely empty.

Inasa shook his head as if clearing some bad thoughts. “Shinsou is right about there be
noncombatant heroes. They get a bad rep as is. It’s unfair of you to write them off.” Owl bitch
rolled her eyes. Inasa’s frown deepened. “I also think it’s rude of you to ignore Midoriya’s feelings
in this. If he’s willing to put in the work, I’m sure he can achieve his dream.”

“I’m not writing off anyone. I’m just saying he should be realistic,” owl bitch said harshly. “A
quirkless person can’t become a hero. It’s too dangerous.”

Abruptly Midoriya stood and ran from the cafe.

“Nice going,” Shinsou snapped at the startled girl and went to run after his friend. Inasa caught him
by the arm and scribbled his number on a napkin.

“I don’t know what that was about,” Inasa said. “But tell Midoriya I think he can be a hero if he
puts the work in. And that I would very much like to be friends with you two.”

Shinsou froze staring at the boy, startled by his kindness. “Um… thank you.”
He took the napkin and ran.

But he was too late.

Midoriya was gone.

It was getting harder for Katsuki to smile.

For as long as he could remember, he’s always put on a confident smile to tell the world that he
was here. That he was number one. That he was the best. Like All Might.

But now he was struggling.

Maybe it was karma after all. He’d always thought Deku was pathetic for crying and frowning so
much. He never got why Deku would pretend he could be a hero when he couldn’t even smile like
one. Deku couldn’t even meet his eyes, what the hell made him think he could be a hero if he
couldn’t even meet the eyes of villain? When he didn’t know how to fight?

Katsuki was starting to get it and it terrified him.

It was easy to be confident and loud and brave when everyone believes in you. When everyone
hated you, however…

It was getting harder for Katsuki to smile.

The bullying was getting worse, and it was frustrating beyond belief, because his teachers, his
stupid biased teachers, didn’t give a shit. It didn’t matter that he was the best in class. It didn’t
matter that he had the best quirk anymore. It all meant nothing!

And the stupidest part was that none of these fuckers would come at him head on! He was
confident he could beat anyone his age in a fair fight. He always could. But these fuckers kept
using underhanded methods. Writing on his desk before he got to school, slipping things like
blades into his books and tacks into his shoes when he’s not there to see them do it. They were
fucking cowards, every last one of them!

Katsuki was coming around to admit that maybe the way he treated Deku was shitty, but at least he
never went around his back. When he put Deku down, Deku knew it was him putting him down.
Deku always had the chance to fight back! And sometimes he even tried. Pathetically but it was
more than he could credit these fucking backstabbers with.

Katsuki started going out of his way to catch them. He’d show up to school earlier, he’d come back
to the classroom or around his lockers at unexpected time. He hasn’t caught them yet, but it was
only a matter of time.

His patience was starting to run thin.

Katsuki wasn’t an idiot. he knew he couldn’t act on his anger again. He needed to keep his record
clean or he’d lose his opportunity to attend UA. The school only accepted the best, and the best
have records that sparkled in the sunlight. The problem was, now that the school and his
classmates decided he was a villain, they were doing everything in there power to make sure his
record was covered in shit.

Katsuki has been bottling up his anger at every turn trying not to explode and kill all these fucking
wannabe somebodies. He was pissed, but he couldn’t snap or he’d miss out on his dream. He’d
figure out a way to get back at them in his own time.

Then one of them.

Fucking.

Misstepped.

It was so simple. So idiotic. So fucking obvious that it was almost funny.

Someone wrote on his desk ‘You wanna be a hero? Why not take a leap a faith off the roof and do
everyone a favor.’
 He’d only said those words in front of three people.

One of them was Deku, and he was long gone, probably to live happily quirkless ever after.

The other two were people he’d considered his friends.

The world turned red again.

Chapter End Notes

This might just be a side effect of writing Darker Sides of Deku but I often feel people
underestimate how cynical and pessimistic Midoriya is. Like, yeah, he’s the golden
boy fighting for the peace of the world with a ‘smile’. But he’s actually canonically
really negative and most of the time we only see him genuinely smile when he’s
talking to friends. Is it bad that i feel the need to foster this negativity? It feels in
character given what’s happened to him.

Buckle up, next chapter is Bakugou centric.

 Broken Bottles
Chapter Summary

Bottling things up isn't good for you

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

“Well, would you look what we have here?” Katsuki said, kicking in the classroom door. It was
after school, the classroom cleaners had went home but he spotted them passing the keys off to
Fingers. And wouldn’t you know it, Fingers was in the classroom writing on Katsuki’s desk with a
black sharpie. “Caught in the act!”

Katsuki was smiling. He felt like smiling right now. This whole thing was just so funny, wasn’t it?
Freaking hilarious.

“Ka-Bakugou,” Fingers said, instantly dropping the marker. “W-what are you doing here?”

Katsuki laughed. “A better question is what you’re fucking doing here, Fingers? See, I’ve had a bit
of a problem. Some cowardly fucker has been writing on my desk. And what a funny coincidence.
They said something very similar to something I said a couple weeks ago. Only, isn’t this
interesting. Only three people were around when I said that something.” With every word, Katsuki
drew closer so his former ‘friend’ and the coward drew back until he found himself cornered
against the wall. “And one of them was you.”

Ironically it was that moment that the idiot decided to grow a freaking spine. “You know, I can’t
believe it took me so long to see you were a villain. You were always an asshole.”

Sparks crackled across Katsuki’s palms. “excuse me?”

“You’ve always been an asshole,” Fingers spat. “You’ve always been a fucking villain in waiting.
Figures the only reason you want to be a hero is for the power. So you can just shit on other
people’s lives. And now you’re just getting pissy because everyone sees you for the shit head you
really are.”
Katsuki punched him in the face to shut him up. He was trying to reign back his anger but it was
like holding back a raging bull. Everything was red and hazy and hot and it felt like a pressure was
building up in his head. “Shut the fuck up, I’m not a villain.”

To make matters worse the freaking suicidal dick started laughing, blood pouring from his nose
and down into his teeth. “Yeah, you’re so heroic. Nothing says hero like an asshole who beats up
innocent citizens and maims fucking quirkless kids.”

“Shut up,” Katsuki said, slamming fingers into the wall harder. “And you weren’t complaining
when you were holding Deku down, you hypocritical bastard!”

“Maybe I was afraid of you? You and your special quirk were really scary after all. I had no choice.
We all knew what you did to people you didn’t like, after all. I would have just been another Deku
and we all knew how that ended.”

Katsuki bared his teeth, “You had a fucking choice, pissant, if you’re going to be a piece of
traitorous shit the least you can do is be honest about it. To think I even wasted my breath calling
you my friend-”

“Friend!? Don’t make me laugh,” Fingers cackled. “You don’t even know my name. We’ve
known each other for eleven years and you haven’t even bothered to learn that much. I bet you
can’t name three things about me.”

Katsuki froze. Because he knew he’d known the kid’s name at some point. He was sure he knew
it. He’d heard it many times in fact. But when he tried to remember it, it wasn’t there. Barely
anything was. He knew the kid smoked. He knew he liked motorcycles and leather jackets and…
was he the one who liked dinosaurs?

Fingers snorted at his silence. “Yeah. Yeah, that’s what I thought. You don’t care about anyone but
yourself. You don’t need friends? Well, congratulations, Katsuki, you don’t have any.”

There was a loud crack and belatedly Katsuki realized it was an explosion and not the sound of the
last of his self control shattering.

Oh wait...
It was that too.

Izuku puked in the alley he was hiding in as the remains of the anxiety attack slipped off him,
leaving something like a sticky black residue. Like a cloak. A cloak that made him hate himself
and hurt his lungs and made him tired. You know what, Izuku isn’t in the right headspace for
metaphors. He felt like shit.

Come on, brain! Pep up! You can do it! Your mom, a ghost, and your socially awkward new best
friend believe in you!

Izuku started dry heaving.

Okay, scratch that. Fuck positive thoughts right now. He just needed to go home and die. Or sleep.
Or die.

Ugh… ow. His head hurt. Okay, Izuku. Now you just need to get home and maybe text Shinsou
‘cause you ran out of that cafe like a nutcase. Fun. ow. Sarcasm hurt.

Stumbling almost drunkenly, Izuku kept his eyes on his feet and hoped his month of living in his
new apartment was enough to give him the ability to instinctively make the trek there blind.

Of course he almost immediately bumped into someone like a dumbass. The stranger screeched in
frustration and it was only years of living around Bakugou that had Izuku dodging the hand
suddenly reaching for his face. Izuku was sure that the man (boy?) was going to use his quirk on
him, though he had no way of knowing what that quirk was.

“STUPID NPC! DO I LOOK LIKE I’M IN THE MOOD FOR YOUR SENSELESS NONSENSE?
GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY!” the stranger shouted. He had an intimidating face, with
bad skin and chapped lips and silver hair. But worse of all he had red eyes. Eyes so much like
Bakugou’s when lit with anger.

“Sorry!” Izuku said stumbling back. He was still crying! Why couldn’t he stop crying? aaahhhh!
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to run into you! I’m sorry! Are you okay?”

“Am I fucking okay !? Who the hell-” the stranger abruptly cut off. “...you’re that npc from the
newspaper a few weeks back.”

It wasn’t a question but Izuku nodded anyway feeling very anxious at being recognized by a
stranger who was clearly dangerous. Why was his life like this? What did he do to deserve this?

The strangers lips stretched into a disturbing smile. “Ah, I get it, it’s a side quest. I don’t suppose
you can tell me who gave you that scar?”

“Um…” Midoriya said taking several large steps back. The strangers eyes narrowed.

And the he scoffed, “Not enough reputation points. Come on. We’re going for coffee.”

“-what?” an before Izuku knew what was happening, the stranger grabbed his arm and was
dragging him away from the busy street and down a narrow alley. Don’t let them take you to a
secondary location! Izuku’s brain screamed. Oh man he was just rolling in the stranger danger
right now. Izuku noticed that the stranger had his pinky out. That probably had to do with his quirk.

“Don’t try anything,” the stranger said before Izuku could try to subtly get his hand on his phone.
“My quirk lets me decay whatever I touch with five fingers. And right now that’s your arm.”

Shit. okay, Izuku, you’re smart. You’ve been training. You’re going to be a hero. You need to
figure this out. You just have to figure your way out of this without losing your arm.

Izuku’s bad first instinct was to point out that he could cut off his fingers. he wouldn’t be able to
use his quirk without his hands. But Izuku didn’t exactly have a knife on him. Shit. Why was he so
stupid. The can of pepper spray his mom got him was in his backpack not in an easily reached
pocket. He’s so dumb! He was going to die!

The stranger led him to an actual cafe…

Wait, what?

Katsuki's anger was like a force of nature.

It was bad enough on a good day but he’d been holding it back for weeks until pressure kept
building and building until he was a bomb waiting to burst. More than a bomb. A monster. A nuke.
Something that could wipe out everything and everyone in one fell swoop.

When Katsuki came back to his senses, it was to the sound of police sirens coming closer.

When Katsuki came to his senses it was to find he was standing in the clear light of the sunset.
Because the wall was gone. Because the classroom was completely destroyed. Not a desk or pencil
left beyond charcoal and twisted metal.

When Katsuki came to his senses it was to find his classmate, his friend, burnt, bleeding, close to
death. He was unconscious and the smell was a combination of burnt polyester and cooked meat.

Katsuki fell on his ass, a combination of terror and denial crashing through his system.

No. no he couldn’t have done this. It wasn’t him. He couldn’t have.

His hands burned the way they only did when he overused his quirk.

The police sirens drew closer.

Izuku ended up sat at a table with a cappuccino in front of him. He’d attempted to ask the waitress
for help with his eyes but that failed.

The crazy dude was now sitting in front of him staring at him expectantly.

Izuku did not know what to do. His emotions were at a 10 while his common sense was at
probably a three. His one attempt to go for his phone ended with the guy pointedly dissolving his
phone. Izuku was impressed and learned that the man’s quirk wasn’t disintegration, it was
decaying, which may have explained his bad skin. But that information didn’t do Izuku much
good.
“So?” the silver haired man asked. “Who attacked you?”

“Um…” Midoriya said stalling. “You’re going to have to be more specific. A-a lot of people attack
me…”

The stranger looked unimpressed. “Who gave you that scar?”

“W-why do you want to know?”

The red eyes narrowed and Izuku tried not to remember the rage he’d seen in Kacchan’s months
ago. They weren’t the same. He needed to be in the moment. He needed to focus.

“Do you really want to play this game?” the stranger asked. He hands started burning a mark in the
table. Izuku eyes stared at the new mark and the resulting dust.

“...have you ever considered gloves?” Izuku muttered

The stranger blinked at him as though he didn’t quite understand the question. “What?”

“Oh um! it’s just that you have to be really careful with your quirk in case your five fingers touch
things. That seems super inconvenient! You must accidently dissolve things all the time right? I
know I would but if you had a pair of gloves than you wouldn’t have to think about it you can just
wear them and then you wouldn’t use your quirk accidently-”

“Don’t be stupid,” the stranger scowled. “I’d just dissolve the gloves. What does this have to do
with what i want to know?”

“Not if they were half gloves,” Izuku said quickly. “From what I can tell your power works based
on if you have five fingers touching the thing. W-well if you have gloves that only cover two of
your fingers but leave the other three free then you wouldn’t be touching the gloves with all five of
your fingers. They wouldn’t disintegrate.”

The stranger actually seemed to be intrigued by the idea. “What if I wanted to use my quirk
suddenly? Then the gloves would just be in the way.”
“Y-you could put a clasp on the wrist,” Izuku said. “H-hang on, I can draw it for you.”

Izuku reached for one of the napkins on the table and was eerily reminded of how less than an hour
ago he was drawing on napkins with a potential new friend, only worrying about how weird
Higurashi was. Now here he was with a potential villain, biding his time. What was his life? This
was the second villain he’d met in a year. It was that news paper article, wasn’t it. People had
taken notice of him.

The villain tilted his head, looking at the drawing. “Huh… you can draw hands. That’s pretty cool,
kid. Actually these gloves are pretty cool too. Like that character Loric whatever.”

Izuku blinked. “From the Totem game series?”

“Yeah, that guy,” the silver haired guy said, taking the napkin carefully. After looking it over he
slipped it into one of his pockets and he gave Midoriya an appraising look. “You know what, kid, I
think I like you.”

Izuku tried not to feel too relieved at that. He wasn’t out of the woods yet.

“But don’t think I’ve forgotten why I came here,” the stranger said. “You still haven’t answered
my question.”

“Uh…” this was why Izuku should know better than to hope, he thought. “I-I got it f-from a f-
friend.”

The villain snorted. “Some friend? I’d like an actual name, howev-”

“Who the fuck are you?” a voice suddenly cut in. Oh god, Shinsou!

“Who wants to-” the silver haired stranger abruptly cut off when Shinsou took over him.

“Go home and forget you’ve ever met us,” Shinsou commanded. Without another word the silver
haired stranger stood up and left the cafe.

Izuku collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. Shinsou, his hero, it was so easy. Oh god-
Midoriya started sobbing uncontrollably. He was useless. Useless. Useless! All Might was right.
He couldn’t do anything. Useless. Useless. So easy. Useless.

Deku. Nothing but a Deku. Useless Deku. Deku. Deku. Deku.

Time was jumping around. One moment he lay puking in the destroyed classroom, the next
Katsuki was in the back of a police cruiser the lights going. Outside, Fingers was on a gurney
rolling towards a waiting ambulance, surrounded by people talking and doing things to him to keep
him alive. Small mercies that he wasn’t in a body bag. There were shouting voices outside but they
were muted behind the car windows.

Katsuki felt numb staring at his burnt hands. The hands that did that. It still didn’t feel real. How
could it be him that did that? How did he lose control to the point that he could do something like
that? It felt… it felt more real than it did with Deku. Deku had fought back, had knocked him out
and gotten to safety before Bakugou could so something worse. But the words Auntie Inko had
said sometimes echoed in his head. That long list of injuries.

It wasn’t the same as this, though. Hearing that list and seeing what he’d done with his own hands
were two very different things.

He...

He wasn’t getting out of this.

Oh god, he wasn’t getting out of this. How many times had he gotten away with shit like using his
quirk and destroying stuff because his quirk was so perfect, and he was going to be a hero? This
wasn’t perfect though! This wasn’t heroic! It was monstrous. The smell was something he’d
probably take to his grave.

He could have killed Fingers.

He could have killed Deku.

It never felt so real before. He… he was a monster.

He was a villain .

Katsuki was sitting in a holding cell. The bench was uncomfortable and he was alone and ignored
for what felt like hours.

Until his mother was brought in and she was crying and she was shouting and he could barely hear
her. But he could see her face. He could see her expression and how it twisted with grief and fear
and confusion and anger.

It was his fault.

Katsuki didn’t come out of his shock until he heard the name. He was sitting at a table with his
mom and a lawyer and two police officers when he heard it. ‘Oshiro Ji’

That was Fingers’ name. The name he’d forgotten. Oshiro. He had heard it so many times, yet he
didn’t know it. The echo of Deku shouting ‘Ji-chan’ surfaced in his memory like the call of a
ghost.

The breakdown came almost as strongly as the rage. He was crying. Bakugou Katsuki was crying
in front of two police officers and his mom and a lawyer.

He’s fucked up. He fucked up so bad.

He wasn’t getting out of this.

He didn’t deserve to get out of this.

It was a rare day that Shinsou felt grateful for his quirk, but today was one of them. Not only did it
get rid of the weird zombie looking dude, but it also helped him calm Midoriya down from his
panic attack with only a few words. Still, it didn’t take a genius to tell that Midoriya was in no state
to be anywhere but in a bed, so he helped Midoriya home without saying much else.

Midoriya-san, or Auntie Inko as she continually insisted he call her, seemed a little to resigned
about finding out her son had a panic attack. Apparently this was far from the first one. She was
slightly confused and concerned when Shinsou described the silver haired man. She apparently had
no idea who he was or why he’d be sitting in a cafe with Izuku, clearly threatening him. Looks like
the questions about that would have to wait until Midoriya was feeling more together.

The two of them put Midoriya to bed and he basically immediately passed out, to no one’s surprise.
Auntie Inko invited Shinsou to dinner and to spend the night and Shinsou didn’t refuse.
Admittedly, he wanted to stick by Midoriya and look after him. Shinsou had had panic attacks
before and he knew they were no walk in the park.

Dinner was quiet. Auntie Inko was nice but they didn’t have much to talk about beyond what he
had already told her.

Now it was 1:07 in the morning and Shinosu was lying on a futon in Midoriya’s room, unable to
sleep. It was weird to think that this was his first sleepover, but oh well. He had a phone in his hand
and was playing an off-brand Bejeweled in the hopes that his brain would shut up. It did not.

Shinsou started when Midoriya let out a small whimper. He sat up and looked at his friend who
was cradling his head in his hands. Auntie Inko had the forethought to leave a glass of water out for
Midoriya and it was the first thing he went for.

Shinsou wondered if he should alert Midoriya he was here but the thought abruptly became
redundant when Midoriya spotted him and let out a startled shriek.

“It’s just me,” Shinsou said, as a dog started barking on the floor below and someone shouted at it
to shut up. Midoriya flushed in embarrassment.

“S-sorry,” he said not meeting Shinsou’s eyes.

“Hey, it’s cool,” Shinsou said awkwardly. “It’s normal not to expect to have people in your room,
especially after depression naps. How… er... how are you feeling?”

Midoriya smiled wanly. “Like shit.”

Shinsou knew the feeling too well. “You feel like talking about it or do you just want me to lie on
top of you and distract you?”

“Lie on top of me?” Midoriya asked, sounding confused.

It was then that Shinsou realized that basing his ability to comfort people around what his cats did
was probably a bad idea. “Uh…”

His expression must have been funny because Midoriya laughed at him. “You’re weird.”

“So is your face,” Shinsou responded automatically. Midoriya laughed again but it fell flat and the
smile dropped off his face.

“You must think I’m really stupid, huh?” he said.

“Why would I think that?” Shinsou asked, feeling like he wasn’t going to like the answer.

“I just… I ruined the coffee thing we had going with Inasa, and then I got grabbed by a villain and
I couldn’t do anything and you had to use your quirk even though I know you don’t like using it
and you had to rescue me because I’m useless and I couldn’t do anything-”

Shinsou was right, he doesn’t like this response. “Midoriya, none of that was your fault. It’s not
your fault a villain attacked you and I chose to use my quirk on my own. You didn’t make me do
anything. You aren’t useless.”

Midoriya covered his face with his hands and Shinsou realized he was crying again. Oh man.
Shinsou had no idea what to do.

“Hey, don’t cry,” he said helplessly.

‘I-I am useless though. I’ve been training and saying i’m going to be a hero but it doesn’t mean
anything because I can’t do it. This is the third villain attack I’ve had in four months, fourth if you
count Kacchan, and I wasn’t able to do anything. I just stood there blabbering like an idiot and if
you didn’t rescue me, he would have killed me and that would have been it. Some hero, some
stupid quirkless hero. I’m useless. I thought I was getting better, but I’m not. All Might was right, I
can’t be a hero.”

“Hey,” Shinsou said sharply. He had no context for half of what Midoriya was saying. He was
concerned that Midoriya had had apparently four villain encounters and he would wonder about
the All Might thing later. “Don’t be stupid! You’re great. And what do you mean you couldn’t do
anything against that villain? Midoriya, you have like a month of aikido training to your name, no
one is expecting you to take out villains. We’re still kids and civilians. Expecting to be able to fight
off villains right now is insane.”

Midoriya cried harder and Shinsou felt he really was not qualified to help. “But you did .”

Shinsou felt strange about saying this… “That was just luck, Midoriya.” he’d never felt this way
before, always wishing for a different quirk, to be quirkless. But that seemed stupid now. Not when
Midoriya could have really gotten hurt. “I was born lucky. Under different circumstances that
entire situation could have gone a lot worse for both of us. It was just luck.”

“Luck that I don’t have…” Midoriya muttered miserably.

“Then just make up for it by hard work. Everyone says that luck will only take you so far. So just
make up the distance.”

“What do you think I’ve been trying to do?” Midoriya groaned frustrated.

“Yeah, well, giving up isn’t helping, now is it?”

Midoriya rubbed at his eyes. “I’m tired, Shinsou. I… I need to start being more realistic. Being a
hero is just a kid’s dream.”

“Is this about what that owl bitch said?” Shinsou said feeling more offended than expected. That
bitch .

Midoriya sniffled. “It’s about more than that,” Midoriya turned over and buried his face in his
pillow.
Shinsou couldn’t hear what he said next so he said, “what?”

“All Might said the same thing!” Midoriya said, much louder than necessary. “He said it was too
dangerous for a quirkless nobody like me to be a hero. And that I should be realistic and become a
doctor or police officer or whatever and he was right. He was right! I can’t do anything and the
words of my mom, a ghost, and my best friend isn’t going to change that.”

Shinsou felt several things in response to that. First, he added All Might to his enemy list. Second,
ghost? Ghost ? Third, Midoriya thought of him as his best friend too!!! Ahhh!!! That made him
really happy but he needed to do the whole comforting thing so he kept that all inside.

“Midoriya, you’re being stupid. I don’t think you’re going to be a hero because you’re my best
friend. I think you’re going to be a hero because you’re terrifying.”

There was a short pause, soon followed by a watery, “...what?”

Shinsou immediately backtracked. “I meant terrifying in a good way! Like I’m pretty sure you’re
five times smarter than me and you seem to be really fearless in general. That’s scary, but in, like, a
good way. Like you can do anything if you put your mind to it.”

Midoriya sniffled, “Heh, you think?”

Progress! Maybe… Shinsou didn’t know what he was doing. He was still sorta confused about
some of the weird things Midoriya said. But Shinsou was not a liar. “I wouldn’t have said it if I
didn’t think you could do it, idiot. And that kid from earlier, Inasa, thinks you can do it too. Plenty
more are going to believe in you and everyone who doesn’t can go suck a dick”

Midoriya lifted his head a bit. “H-he did?”

“Would I have his number if he didn’t?”

“ You got his number ?” Midoriya’s shocked gasp and change of tone was jarring and Shinsou
suddenly found himself blushing.
“Not like that!” he said too quickly. “He wants to be friends with us. He seems decent. I don’t see
him like that! I mean I just met him today! I don’t even know how to have romantic feelings or
how that even works-”

“Ah! Sorry my mistake! I’m sorry! That was weird! I shouldn’t have assumed! I’m not good at this
kinda thing either. It’s just when someone says they got someone’s number it usually means that.
But i shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions. And he wants to be our friend! That’s nice! We should
thank him somehow. Oh god that entire cafe visit was so awkward. I should apologize too-”

“No it’s fine! You’re fine. You’re good. That wasn’t weird. You’re not weird. I’m weird. It was
understandable that you’d make that mistake. I should have thought out what I was saying. And the
cafe thing was fine. You’re fine. Inasa literally gave me his number after you left so you’re good.
You’re cool-”

“Oh god but that villain destroyed my phone. I can’t call Inasa anyway! Oh god, I can’t afford a
new phone! Oh god, is this covered by our insurance? Oh god our rates are going to go up again
and it’s all my fault!? Oh no!”

“The villain destroyed your phone? Holy shit. We should go to the police. Why haven’t we gone to
the police yet? We should go to the police tomorrow-”

“But won’t you get in trouble for using your quirk without-”

A neighbor banged on the floor/their ceiling and shouted, “Shut the fuck up!”

A dog continued barking somewhere in the building.

Shinsou couldn’t see Midoriya’s face but he could guess that a blush was blooming across his face.
“Uh- sorry…” he called, voice cracking. They just heard grumbled expletives in response.

Shinsou couldn’t help it. He snorted. And that set Midoriya into suppressed giggles and they spent
a few minutes quietly laughing while trying to stay quiet. Every time they were close to not
laughing, they’d make eye contact and start laughing again. It was dumb but kind of nice.
Eventually when they were properly laughed out, Midoriya’s shoulders slumped. “I still feel like
shit.”

“Relatable,” Shinsou agreed. “Your mom left you a plate of food in the fridge.”

Midoriya’s face lit up in the shadows of his room. “Mom is the best!”

“Hell yeah,” Shinsou murmured in agreement.

One meal later, that Midoriya ate in the kitchen while Shinsou continued to hang out on the floor
playing on the phone, Midoriya returned and settled into bed. Shinsou figured he was probably
going to go back to sleep and he wished that was him.

“...Shinsou?” Midoriya asked quietly.

“Yeah?”

“Can I… um… can I tell you about Bakugou and All Might and all that?” his friend asked shyly.
“I… I know it’s stupid… but I… I’ve never really had someone I could talk about this stuff with
and… I don’t know. It’s stupid, sorry.”

“I would love to hear your tragic backstory,” Shinsou’s reply came out dryer than he meant it to.
“Some context would actually be great.”

“Ah…” Midoriya said awkwardly. “Oh man I must have sounded crazy through that entire melt
down.”

“Not really.” Shinsou shrug went unseen. “I am curious about the ghost.”

Midoriya laughed but it was subdued, like he didn’t really feel it. “I’m not even sure that’s the
weirdest part.”

“Sounds weird.”
“You’re weird.”

“So is your face.”

Midoriya laughed again, and this time it sounded a little lighter. After a long, comfortable moment
in the dark, he began;

“It all started when I was four…”.

Katsuki’s mom was still yelling.

She had posted bail for him after like a day in the holding cell. It had taken the judge forever to set
the bail and Bakugou’s ass was killing him. He couldn’t work up the steam to be angry about it,
though. He was still numb.

With luck, Katsuki would only have to do community service or something. Despite his “history of
violence,” Katsuki had no marks on his records, and his claims of bullying might make a
difference. But in the end, he’d still done a significant amount of property damage and he’d almost
killed a classmate.

Oshiro’s mother wasn’t as nice as Auntie Inko and De-Izuku. She was pressing charges.

None of that mattered to Katsuki in that moment though. His mom was shouting and berating him
and wondering where she went wrong. His dad sat passively to the side, watching.

Eventually his dad said, “that’s enough, honey.”

“I’ll decide when it’s enough,” his mom snapped. “How else can you expect to get through his
thick skull. Apparently it isn’t working! Maybe some hard work will do him some good. Or a good
smack in the head!”

Katsuki had apparently missed a large part of what she was saying. Was she going to put him to
 work somewhere or was it just the possible community service?

“Honey,” Katsuki’s father said. “You’re just repeating what he already knows. I think it’s clear he
knows what he’s done is wrong. And besides…”

His dad’s glasses glinted in the evening light.

“Our son lost his dreams today. He won’t be able to go to UA.”

Chapter End Notes

you didn’t think Midoriya would be the only one fighting against the tide, did you?

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 Forgone Conclusions
Chapter Summary

Everything is a mess.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Shinsou’s enemy list has just gotten a lot longer.

Shinsou never took his enemy list seriously before. Generally it’s just a leave me alone thing.
While he is petty and sarcastic, he would never go out of his way to hurt anyone. There were just
certain people he didn’t want to be around.

But with Midoriya it was different. Shinsou felt… protective… that might not be the right word.
Shinosu knew people were cruel and judgmental. He knew he could never be like most people.
He’d accepted that at some point. But Midoriya was different. Midoriya was important. Midoriya
was like no one Shinsou had met before. He was kind. And the fact that people would hurt him the
way they’ve hurt Shinsou, despite how clearly amazing he was...

It made Shinsou angry.

It made Shinosu want to hurt people in a way that wasn’t normal for him. Maybe it was that
Midoriya was Shinsou’s first real friend. Maybe it was some heroic instinct that told him to protect
others. But it didn’t matter in the end. Midoriya was his friend and anyone who hurt him deserved
to be hurt back.

“I am going to punch everyone in your school,” Shinsou said out loud.

Midoriya gave a tired laugh. “You can’t do that. You’ll get in trouble.”

“I’ll use my quirk to make everyone in your school punch themselves in the face and than order
them to forget I ordered them to do that, then.”
Midoriya laughed again. “Won’t punching themselves in the face break your control?”

“Then I’ll punch them again so that they forget.”

Midoriya gave a full laugh but it died at the end and fell through the air like off notes on a piano.
“It’s fine, Shinsou. They didn’t know what they were doing.”

“All the more reason to punch them. Then they might learn something.”

“I don’t think violence is the answer,” Midoriya sounded sad. Shit, that wasn’t what Shinsou meant
to happen. “It’s over anyway. I need to move on.”

Shinsou was silent for a moment, turning over the words in his head. “I don’t get it.”

“...What?”

“I don’t get how you can be so nice. You don’t have to be a martyr, so why act like it? Why aren’t
you angrier?”

Now it was Midoriya’s turn to muddle over his friends words. “It’s not that I’m not angry… and
I’m definitely not a martyr… I just… I understand them… it’s analysis, you know. I get how they
think, so I can’t be as angry at them as I would if I didn’t understand. It’s empathy.”

“...” Shinsou’s silence spoke volumes.

Midoriya sighed. “Can you pass me my notebook?”

Midoriya clicked on his bedside table lamp making the entire room too bright too quickly. Shinsou
squinted at the brightness but dragged Midoriya’s smelly backpack over to his futon and pulled out
the now familiar notebook. Taking it Midoriya flipped through the pages quickly and handed it
back opened to a page Shinsou had never bothered to read closely.
“That’s Ayano-kun. She loves dogs and sweets. She lives with her grandma and despite her desire
to be a hero, she also wants to be an artist. Every summer she goes out of her way to press flowers.
She also brings in cupcakes yearly on her birthday. She always conveniently forgets to make me
one. She says it’s because I’m so plain that my face is forgettable. Every single year. And every
year the other kids will laugh and she’ll get this pleased look on her face because she said
something funny. Her quirk is the ability to change her scent. I once told her that she could use it in
combat to make herself noxiously smelly to knock people out and she got really mad and said I was
already noxiously smelly even though that isn’t literally true.”

“She sounds like a jerk,” Shinsou said bluntly.

Midoriya shook his head. “She’s not though. She’s actually really sweet to other people. And she’s
really insecure about her scent. She’s always worried that she’s making it to strong. And she cries
if someone says it’s too bad. And even though she never makes me anything, I can tell that her
deserts are really good and they make people really happy. And when they smile and thank her,
she smiles so brightly.” Midoriya got a strangely dreamy look. “And she’s always helping her
grandma. I see them out shopping sometimes and she does all the heavy lifting. And I know that
when she presses flowers they’re for her grandma, too, because she likes them. And even though
Ayano could smell like anything she always smells like flowers.”

“None of those things change the fact that she’s a jerk.,” Shinsou said, not really getting what
Midoriya was playing at.

“She’s only a jerk to me,” Midoriya said plainly. “And only because everyone else is mean to me.
If she were nice to me, people would start being mean to her, too. It’s happened before. To kids I
helped out who were being bullied by Kacchan. If she were nice to me. People would start making
fun of her for how she smelled and the girls would tease her and say she has a crush on Deku and
leave gum in her hair and if she brought in her pressed flowers they’d destroy them. She doesn’t
want to risk that. So she joins the crowd.”

“That makes her a jerk in my book.” Shinsou said still not getting it.

“But, Shinsou,” Midoriya made an earnest whining noise. “Don’t you get it? Not everyone is
strong like we are. We were never given a choice but she was. Everyone in class were. And if you
were in her shoes what would you choose? Would you choose to be bullied or would you just go
with the crowd?”

Shinsou scowled. “I would do what was right. If everyone decided to stand up for you, all those
kids you helped, all the nice kids then you wouldn’t have to be bullied at all.”
Midoriya’s face seemed to say ‘That’s naive’.

“I’m not not naive,” Shinsou automatically snapped. “It just really annoying that people would be
mean to someone like you purely based on mob mentality. If enough people decided to be nice,
then the mob mindset would change. Why was that so hard?”

“Well, why should they change it?” Midoriya said simply. He looked really tired but his eyes were
bright.

“What do you mean?” Shinsou asked unnerved

“What reason do they have to change their mindset? Why should they risk getting hurt when it’s
possible they’re the only one who would change things? Why should they take a risk just for me?”

“Because it’s the right thing to do,” Shinsou said, “Obviously.”

Midoriya smiled sadly. “You’re going to be a great hero, Shinsou.” Midoriya said, flicking the
light back off. Shinsou closed Midoriya’s notebook and put it back in his bag in the dark. “But not
everyone can be heroes. Not everyone knows what it means...”

With a heavy sigh that let that old bitterness settle back into his chest, Shinsou nodded. “I know…
I just… I wish things weren’t that way.”

Midoriya nodded in the dark, too. “Me too…”

“Huh?” Shigaraki said frowning as he pulled a napkin out of his pocket. Holding it carefully he
was surprised to find a drawing on it. A design for gloves. Something he definitely didn’t draw.
“Kurogiri, did anyone come into the bar today?”

Kurogirii paused where he was cleaning beer glasses. “A few? Why do you ask?”

“Did any come near me? Of have some sort of teleportation quirk or object moving quirk?”
“Not that I know of?” Kurogiri said sounding puzzled, confused at the question.

“Then how the hell did I get this?” Shigaraki slammed the napkin down on the counter careful to
keep his pinky up.

There was a pause as Kurogiri looked over it. “I don’t know… you went out today. Do you not
remember getting it?”

“ No, I don’t ,” Shigaraki said crossing his arms over his chest and snarling dangerously. “I
wouldn’t ask if S knew .”

“Well,” Kurogiri said, unaffected. “These gloves seem like a good idea. Would make life easier for
you.”

“They’ll get in the way of me destroying stuff,” Shigaraki said petulantly.

“That’s why you can take them off,” Kuriguri said patiently.

Shigaraki scowled. “You don’t find mysteriously appearing napkins suspicious? Napkins that just
so happen to seem helpful?”

Kuriguri hesitated and Shigaraki immediately destroyed the napkin and walked off. The idiot. It
was strange. People don’t just give someone like Shigaraki things, especially helpful things.
Shigaraki would notice them. He’d remember but he didn’t.

Shigaraki started picking at his neck.

A glitch perhaps?

Or a cheater…

Katsuki got up early the next morning. He needed to clear his head. He needed to get away. He
needed to breath.

So he went hiking.

Fuck school, he was probably expelled anyway.

Hiking helped. The morning air was cool and heavy in his lungs. The burn of muscles all too
familiar. The gradient of dawn looking like it was painted just for him, an explosion of red and
orange and pink. The sun itself a darker orange on the horizon. He loved that shit.

It didn’t clean the dirty feeling from his blood or hands.

It was all so fucked up! How did things end up so broken? He wanted to blame everyone else.
Blame Deku somehow. Or the world. His parents. his stupid classmates. His teachers.

But he fucking couldn’t!

Katsuki wasn’t an idiot.

He wasn’t. He made his choice. No one else moved his hands or filled him with this anger. No one
else made him act the way he did. And just because no one told him what he was doing was wrong
until it was too late, doesn’t mean he shouldn’t have known better.

He was supposed to be number one! He was supposed to be a cut above all the rest.

He…

He was supposed to be a hero…

How did he get so far from his dream…

Shinsou had finally fallen asleep and Izuku felt rather envious.

Turning towards the window beside his bed, Izuku stared out into the night, the scenery no longer
familiar. He started self-consciously running his fingers over his scar. Shinsou was much kinder
then he gave himself credit for. Stronger too.

Izuku would never stop appreciating him for that. His mother too, and Inasa. Maybe Izuku’s luck
was finally turning around. He would be a hero. With the people he loved backing him up, he
wouldn’t fail.

But Shigaraki’s and the Villain’s reminder were important. No amount of stubbornness or support
was going to change the fact that he was quirkless and weak. he had to fight harder than everyone
else to stand at the same starting line. And all the months ago All Might hadn’t been wrong. Hero
work is dangerous, often deadly.

Izuku had to be realistic.

If he was going to seriously pursue his dreams, he would die.

But he wouldn’t give up. He couldn’t. He had a promise to keep himself and his loved ones. He
was too stubborn to give up. That’d always been the thing keeping him going, stubbornness and
maybe spite. And now he had people rooting for him.

Giving up wasn’t an option.

So the question was… was he ready to die?

Izuku felt the strange sense of emptiness in his chest from back when Bakugou attacked him. The
strange sense of fearlessness.

It wasn’t that he wanted to die. Not really. He had to much to do, too much to protect. It’s not that
he actively wants to die or give up...

...but would it matter?

He was a quirkless nobody. Useless. Forgettable. A Deku.

He was nothing.

The world wouldn’t miss him if he died.

His mother and Shinsou would. But they already knew the risk. If he died they wouldn’t be
surprised. They wouldn’t have a reason to be surprised. That’s just the risk of being quirkless in
general. And by becoming a hero, he was actively painting a target on his back.

But no one else would care.

Maybe that was his strength..

Maybe this was something Izuku had that no one else did.

His death wouldn’t matter, not to him, not to the world… so if he died and saved as many people as
he could in the process. Then he would still be a hero. Saving others has always been his goal so as
long as he did that, he’d be satisfied when he died.

As long as he saved people, Izuku had nothing to fear...

“He’s crazy,” Higurashi whispered to her friends. The Sora church group gathered early Saturday
morning, Sundays to but that was for actual services. Today they were talking about charity and
such. It was far more casually. “I think those hero types are getting to him. He still wants to be a
hero, despite already see what that gets are kind. I don’t understand it.”

“What’s that, Higurashi?” the Priest said coming up behind her. One of her friends hissed, ‘busted’.
Higurashi ducked her head ashamed.
“Sorry, Chikara-sensei,” she said timidly. “I was speaking ill of another Sora.”

Chikara crossed his arms over his chest and hummed disapprovingly. “And who in particularly
were you speaking ill of, my child?”

“Midoriya Izuku, the new boy at my school,” She said earnestly. “But you must understand that he
isn’t like us. He isn’t ready to join us-”

“Midoriya Izuku...why does that name sound familiar?” Chikara said tilting his head and looking
to another in her group.

Hemei cleared his throat, “He was the boy that was attacked in the newspaper a couple of weeks
ago. By the villain with the explosion quirk. I heard the villain was caught recently. He was a
classmate.”

Higurashi scowled. “You think he’d know better then. He’s just asking for trouble hanging out
with those hero types. He’s going to get himself killed.”

“Is that any reason to speak ill of him, my child?” Chikara asked cooly.

“No…” She said reluctantly.

“It was not so long ago that you weren’t ready, Higurashi-kun,” Chikara said. Higarashi’s hand
instinctively went to cover the scar on her wrist. “Just because he is not ready yet. does not mean
he won’t be ready eventually. You should remember that to be empty means being the wind.
Formless, flexible. You can never force a Sora to be what you want them to be. You can not force
Midoriya-san to be one of us. You can only wait until God brings him to us. And if it is God’s will
that we meet him on the other side, then that is his will.”

Higurashi looked away guiltily. Chikara put his hand on her shoulder. “All you can do, child, is be
kind. That is the secret to connecting to people. Be kind and they will come to you.”

“Yes, Sensei,” Higurashi said, staring at her feet.

Chikara smiled gently, “It is okay. You still have much to learn. But I think you owe young
Midoriya-san an apology.”

“Yes, Sensei,” Higurashi said, contrite.

The man nodded and adjusted his hood so that it better covered his scarred face “I think we best be
starting the meeting.” He said walking off.

Higurashi’s fingers traced the long scar on her wrist.

Katsuki slammed into the psychologists office eyes distant but still burning with volatile emotion.
Quint, his psychologist, lifted his eyes from the papers he was reading. The psychologist wasn’t
human looking. Sometimes tentacles would shift out of his skin and his face would turn dragon
like but that had never really bothered Katsuki because Katsuki hadn’t really cared about his anger
management.

Until now.

“How do I get rid of it?” he asked immediately.

Quint blinked, stupidly by Katsuki’s standards because it was obvious. “It?”

“My anger,” Katsuki practically spat. “It’s screwed me over twice. Anger management is your
thing. So how do I get rid of it? How do I make it stop? Is there a quirk or something?”

Quint annoyingly didn’t answer immediately and the irritation that was always itching under his
skin seemed to get worse. But the man eventually tilted his head and frowned. “You can’t get rid
of your anger, Bakugou. Not in a literal sense. Not with a quirk.”

“Why the hell not!?” Katsuki exploded in frustration. Not literally. A condition of his bail was that
he had to wear quirk suppressant cuffs so he couldn’t literally explode anything. Was this what it
was like to be quirkless? It sucked.
Quint frowned at him, no doubt using his stupid empathy quirk on him because that’s what
psychologist do apparently instead of actually fix thing. “Have a seat.”

“I don’t want to have a seat. I want these stupid feeling out of me so I can fucking stop being a
villain and get the fuck on with my life.” Katsuki said clenching his fists and pacing impatiently.

“You think you’re a villain?” Quint asked, asking questions like he always did rather than actually
helping.

“I almost killed two people,” Katsuki said impatiently. “I am a villain. Now are you going to help
me or not?”

Quint sighed and gave him an annoyingly sympathetic look. “Bakugou, anger and feelings in
general aren’t the real problem here. Emotions are reactions. Responses to your environment and
situation and thoughts. Removing your anger won’t fix your problems because the anger itself isn’t
the problem. Your ability to handle situations that frustrate you is. The way we learn to react to
things can be learned trained into you. We haven’t been talking very long but as an educated I’d say
your anger has been rewarded. When you get frustrated you react with anger and people reward
that behavior by giving you what you want. Correct?”

Katsuki was silent, glaring at the psychologist. Quint decided to continue.

“But anger isn’t a good reaction to every problem, especially to more complex ones. So when you
react with anger and the world doesn’t reward you with a solution, you get frustrated and more
angry. It’s a vicious cycle.”

“That doesn’t help me though!” the psychologist thought they were so smart. They thought they
knew him. But they didn’t know anything. It wasn’t that simple. Katsuki just wanted a fucking
solution so he could quit feeling like this.

“Doesn’t it, though?” Quint said. “The thing about trained reactions is that you can train yourself to
react in different ways, you can train yourself so that anger isn’t your automatic reaction. You learn
to think things through more. That’s the point of anger management. To manage your anger.
obviously, it’s easier said than done. But it can be done.”

Katsuki wanted to scream because this information was too little too late. Training was something
he understood but that didn’t help him now. And it didn’t help him feel less gross and miserable
and anger right now.

Quint still had that sympathetic look on his face, like he knew exactly what Katsuki was thinking.
“Bakugou, making mistakes doesn’t make you a villain. You can still choose to be a hero and
choose to be a good person you just have to put the work in to get there.”

“Shut up!” Katsuki said crossing his arms over his chest. He wasn’t able to look the psychologist in
the eye. In his head he was screaming, they don’t get it. They don’t understand. Stupid. He was
stupid for even coming here. He didn’t even know why he bothered trying to trust someone. No
one understood.

“You don’t have to hate yourself because of what happened,” Quint said, to patiently. “You can
learn from this…”

Katsuki stopped listening the moment his brain processed the words ‘hate yourself’.

Because they rung true. Was this what the dirty feeling was? Was this why he felt angry every time
he looked in the mirror? Was this why he felt physically sick every time he thought of what he’d
done?

It wasn’t just the anger… maybe the psychologist was right and that was just a reaction. It was… it
was this…

It made sense.

Katsuki hated villains so it was only natural that he’d hate himself when he became one.

Without a second thought he turned and left the office heedless to quint calling after him.

He hated himself… so now what? He couldn’t exactly beat himself up. And he wasn’t going to kill
himself. He would have to accept his punishment like a man but then what? What was there after
juvie? What was there for a villain except more villainy. The thought made him feel nauseous. He
could still remember the smell of Fingers-Oshiro’s burnt flesh. He never wanted to do something
like that again.
 He’d figure it out after his sentencing. Bakugou has always been a man of action. He didn’t know
what kind of position he’d be in after juvie so he’d figure thing out once he got there. It was easier
than thinking about it. It was easier than dwelling on the sense of dark self-loathing that filled his
every core.

Chapter End Notes

A common mistake I see readers make is assuming that a character's thoughts and
philosophies directly reflect the author’s thoughts and philosophies. I’m gonna call
this the Unreliable Narrators Fallacy. Right now Midoriya’s mentally in a bad spot so
he’s allowed to make mistakes and come to wrong conclusions. That doesn’t mean I,
as a writer, am not aware that they are mistakes. Have some faith in me and give
Midoriya some room to grow.

In other news, we have another character with a face scar. I originally planned to give
all the key players face scars and have it be a cool motif… then I realized that so many
characters already have face scars in cannon. Like it’s already a thing. Todoroki,
Nedzu, Dabi, Aizawa, Endeavor, Kirishima, AFO, Shigaraki (If you count his bad
skin.), Stain. I’m sure there’s more. So now I kinda want to have every character.
Every. Single. Character. receive some kind of face scar by the end of this fic. Will I
succeed? Probably not unless I do something unrealistic and mean. I’m gonna let
things happen organically but I guess it’ll be a fun little easter egg from now on. Just
watch me scar as many characters as I can.

I’ve also notice some peeps are having Bakugou feels. So I’d like to clarify, that I
don’t hate his character and all his angst is by design. He has a wild character arch is
front of him. But don’t worry, I tend to aim for happy endings, even if there’s a lot of
angst getting there.

Quint is my friend’s, Quint_Polaris, oc. Go check them out.

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 Planting Seeds
Chapter Summary

small seeds can grow into big trees

Chapter Notes

sorry this took so long. i've been having computer problems and maybe a bit of writers
block but i shall fight on!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Shinsou made a mistake.

“Hey, Shinsou, do you want to train with me?”

Shinsou made a mistake. He did not know what he was getting himself into.

Midoriya was apparently insane. Shinsou already knew this, yet he had yet again somehow
underestimated how insane. The schedule he set up for them ‘to utilize their time to its greatest
efficiency’ was suicidal. Literally, the first day was so bad that Shinsou wanted to die.

To make matters worse Izuku put him on a diet, full of gross healthy food and insisted that he sleep
on a normal schedule, which turned out to be possible. Who knew that all you needed to combat
insomnia was physical exhaustion and a slowly crumbling spirit. Sure, he still had an odd sleepless
night here and there but even when Izuku sympathetically went easy on him, he was still working
him hard enough that he’d completely collapse and sleep for fifteen hours the day after one of his
insomnia nights.

And the most annoying part was that Izuku was thriving. He apparently had an endless reserve of
stubbornness and determination hiding within him and an unintentional(?) cruel streak. He didn’t
seem to understand how to be lazy or how to do nothing. He was always thinking and researching
and talking and exercising. And when Shinsou would complain he’d just say something
motivational and smile and push him to work harder.
Damn that smile and its magic power to strip Shinsou of his common sense.

“Oh,” Inasa said catching up to them, dopey smile on his face. “Care for some company?”

“Ah- if you’re sure, Inasa, that’ll be great,” Midoriya smiled. He’d been gradually getting used to
the taller boy and if he weren’t so nice and dare he say- good for them, Shinsou might have
resented him. It didn’t help that he was also a health nut and didn’t seem to see anything wrong
with Midoriya’s Hell Schedule. He enforced rest days and aggressively took care of them but he
didn’t stop the hell that was a motivational Midoriya. “The more the merrier. We’re heading to the
dojo next.”

Shinsou groaned from the ground but dragged his corpse up anyway. Chances were Ojirou-sensei
would take one looked at them and kick them right back out. He’d yelled at them (Midoriya) more
than once for pushing their limits too much. He even rewrote Midoriya’s schedule to be more
sensible, but still challenging. The old man clearly liked Midoriya’s spunk, but Shinsou was pretty
sure he was getting wise to the fact that Midoriya was kinda stupid when it came to his own health.
Between Inasa and Ojiro-sensei they might just survive the coming summer break.

Meanwhile here Shinsou was. Trying his best.

Sometimes he’d just lay on top of Midoriya until the boy fell asleep. He would fight for sometimes
up to twenty minutes. He was a stubborn bastard like that, but once he was out Shinsou would be
temporarily free… to also fall asleep. He needed more of it anyway. Insomnia was his worst
enemy.

Sometimes Shinsou wondered if he was some kind of vampire. He always seemed to feel more
awake at night. Even after having a very tiring day of school, and now exercise, his mind just
seemed to perk up at night. Shinsou wondered, if he did night school, would he be a normal
productive member of society? But society was cruel to nocturnal people in general. Like Shinsou
has looked this stuff up. There were people with much more serious limitations, who literally
couldn’t go out in the sun without getting seriously injured. The government pretty much threw a
disability card at them and told them to get home-schooled. It was freaking tragic.

Shinsou kinda hated the government.

He’d told Midoriya this once and his friend just said, “Mood.”
Shinsou thinks that means he agreed.

Anyway, the dojo was closed and their sensei’s grandkid was wondering around doing something.
The kid recognized them on sight, of course, because it was hard to miss a five foot nine vampire
fueled purely by spite, a muscle monk, and their green sunshine gnome. They were like a comedy
trio on a bad variety show or something. The perfect balance of weird, funny, and different.
Shinsou was the sarcastic cynic that balanced Midoriya’s over the top anxiety and Inasa’s
bombastic cluelessness. The point was they were recognizable.

Ojiro-kun was also recognizable. He had a tail. A weirdly thick one that he used in his martial arts.
In it was mostly skin except for this thick tuft of hair at the end. It crept Shinsou out. He wasn’t in
the position to judge, so he privately shrugged the discomfort off whenever he saw it. He was
better than his own judgmental thoughts. Stronger than them.

Anyway, Ojiro perked up at the sight of them. “Oh, hey, you’re the kids Ojiichan told me about.
The dojo is closed because some out of town family is visiting. He mentioned that you might be
crazy enough to come anyway.” he was annoyingly earnest. They went to different schools and
though Shinsou would sometimes see him at the dojo, he and Shinsou had never really interacted.
Shinsou got the impression that the boy’d been told to avoid him.

Inasa laughed loudly. “Yes, we are!”

“Well, I’m gonna have to send you on your way,” Ojiro said. “Oh and er, Midoriya?”

Midoriya stopped and looked at the boy with his wide green eyes.

“Is it true that you’re quirkless?”

The fact that Shinsou first instinct was to wrap his arms protectively around Midoriya’s shoulders
and hiss was probably not a good sign as far as Shinsou social abilities went. But Shinsou felt he
had the right to be protective of his crazy friend. Especially when said crazy friend apparently
lacked any self worth or survival instinct of his own.

“Yes…” Midoriya said in that shy way he reserved for people who weren’t Shinsou or Inasa.

“I heard you want to be a hero,” Ojiro said, seeming to notice Midoriya’s sudden timidness. “Me
too. I know pretty soon we’ll be in competition but as someone who doesn’t have a flashy quirk
either. I wanted to tell you, I think you can do it.”

The way that Midoriya’s face instantly lit up was enough to rise the tail kid in Shinsou’s esteem.

“Thank you,” Midoriya said genuinely. Inasa smiled brightly too.

“Fantastic!” Inasa practically yelled, looking like he was barely restraining himself from hugging
this person he’d instantly added to their friend group. “Shinsou and I are also training to be heroes!
You can train with us, too!”

Ojiro looked slightly taken aback and then he looked away. “Sorry, but pretty soon we’re going to
be rivals… maybe when we all make it to UA?”

“Oh,” Inasa said looking genuinely disappointed. Shinsou who’d silently been preparing himself
for the inevitable fight for his place in UA couldn’t help but agree with the boys mindset. Though
nicer, Shinsou doubted Midoriya held any naivete about the fight ahead of him either. “Okay.”

After a moment, of anxiously glancing around Midoriya’s expression smoothed out and he held out
his hand to Ojiro. “Until next time.”

Ojiro smiled back and firmly shook his hand. “Next time.”

This started a small rather silly wave of handshaking through their group. Shinsou ended up
shaking hands with Midoriya and Inasa too, just to establish there rivalry and promise to be stay
friends in spite of it. It was all rather cute.

In the end Shinsou got to go home and sleep.

Midoriya’s mom tried to keep the news from him, but Izuku was too plugged into the news not to
find out. Bakugou had been arrested. Even though it hadn’t been a hero fight, the sludge villain and
Midoriya’s… scarring was brought up in the articles. It seemed his reporter friends were eager to
drag Bakugou through the mud.
And for once, Midoriya couldn’t really blame them.

It was slightly surreal to find out what his friend did. Yet… not surprising. It should have been. But
it wasn’t. Really all Izuku could feel was disappointment. He’d always admire Kacchan, always
thought he could do better, be better. He understood Kacchan and his insecurity. He… he wished it
wouldn’t come to this. He wished their ‘fight’ would be enough to change his path.

But it wasn’t and now he’d have to live with the consequences.

Poor Oshiro. He’d ask mom if they could send flowers. Bully or not, the long-fingered boy didn’t
deserve what he got. Izuku had known the boy as long as Kacchan and while Izuku couldn’t call
him a ‘friend’, he had seen Oshiro almost every day for his entire life, same as Bakugou. He knew
him and it made him sad that he was the next person to get on Bakugou’s bad side.

Izuku’s fingers traced the scar on his face. It was a bad habit he was developing. As if he had to
remind himself that it was real. That it had happened.

Where had they gone wrong? How had they gone from children playing at being number 1 hero to
this? Quirkless Deku and the explosive… villain. What could they have done different? How could
he save Kac- Bakugou? Was it too late? Could he still be saved?

Izuku’s fingers traced his scar.

Then he lowered his hand and clenched his fist. He wouldn’t give up. Not on him, and not on
himself.

He would become a hero and he’d save Kacchan.

Somehow…

It was the anniversary of that day.

The boy with the burns slowly walked out of his apartment hood up to conceal his face. It didn’t
matter much. There were plenty of people stranger looking than him, but still, especially on a day
like today, his scars felt like they were something he should be ashamed of.

He first took a train into the city. He stood outside of the hospital and waited for her to glance
outside. He didn’t have the courage to face her. Didn’t want to break her heart further with what
had become of him, but the boy would always stand outside and wait and hope, that she’d catch
sight of him, a small assurance that he was still alive, even if it was hardly comforting at all. She
probably didn’t even recognize him.

But it made his chest ache a little less to give himself this moment. So every year he did.

The next place he went to was their spot. The three of them, now four. Shouto hadn’t gotten to
experience it the same way the rest of them did. He didn’t get to find it, playing and adventuring.
Instead he got dragged there by the twins and told about it in whispers.

Now it was the place they could meet, the closest place to home that wasn’t that damned house.

It was a tree house. They had built it before his father had started his mad training and possessive
behavior. It was deep into the property, not visible from the house and hidden in a grove of trees. It
wasn’t anything spectacular, really it was clumsy and childishly made, but they had all tried so
hard to make it, they repaired it when things fell apart, they improved it. The tree house would
always hold a special nostalgic place in his heart.

Not that they all were older it looked so small. Had he really been young enough that this tree
towered like a great redwood when he was younger. It seemed silly… but sad.

He hadn’t been the child that played here in a long, long time.

“Toya!” a voice gasped and the boy barely had time to turn before he was engulfed in his sisters
hug, her twin piling on behind her. Shouto wasn’t there of course. Father probably had him
squirreled away for training. Treating today like any other day.

He often had trouble looking at Shouto, because he couldn’t help but see himself. It was a different
beast watching his father’s abuse as an outsider however. He’d experienced it firsthand. Trained as
the inheritor of Endeavor’s Hellfire, until Shouto appeared with a stronger quirk. Than he was
tossed aside like the years of abuse and agony and loneliness was for nothing. Like he’d gone
through hell itself because he was a toy and it amused his old man.
Toya doubted anyone was really human to his father. His mother was a breeding sow, he and his
siblings, and most of Shouto, his legacy, the people he saved ‘hero points’ and statistics. The only
person that truly mattered to him was All Might, and even he was just a throne, a status symbol.
Toya was hardly the first or last person his father would dehumanize. He shouldn’t take it
personally.

But it made his blood boil.

“How are you? Where’ve you been? Are you okay? Have you been eating enough?” Fuyumi
fussed.

“I dig the new do,” Natsuo said ruffling Toya's now black hair.

“I’m fine,” he said roughly, ducking away from his siblings assault. “I’m not the one you should
be worried about. What about you guys? What about Shouto?”

Natsuo glanced away and Fuyumi bit her lip.

“We’re fine, nothing has really changed on that front,” Natsou said seriously. “Fuyumi is getting he
teaching certificate soon but…”

“Shouta’s moving into high school. He’s going to UA.” Fuyumi finished looking grave.

The bitterness he felt at that was a dull roar but he ignored it. He knew there was a good chance
that Shouto could become exactly like their father. Making monsters was what their father did.
after all, he had made him. and Todoroki wasn’t as lucky as he was. He’d never had the option of
escape like he had.

All three of them knew that UA was a tough school. It would either make or break Shouto and if it
broke him than they’d all have a big mess to clean up. Either Shouto would become their father or
Endeavor would destroy him and discard him. It was as simple as that.

“Is he still refusing to use his fire?” Toya asked grimly.

Fuyumi nodded and Natsuo looked downcast.

“UA will knock that attitude out of him, though,” Natsuo frowned. "He won’t survive at that school
half-assing it.”

“It’s better that way, though, isn’t it?” Fuyumi asked softly. She was so much like their mother and
that scared Toya. He feared that what would happened to her if she stayed with two of those
monsters. If Shouto gave up... but she wanted to protect their little brother as much as their mother
had. By his standards that made Fuyumi more of a hero than any ‘pro’ could be. “We all know
how dangerous it is suppress your quirk. It’s better he stops before he seriously hurts himself.”

“Like he hasn’t already?” Natsuo said raising his eyebrows. “I heard about that case of frostbite he
got. He could have lost his foot.”

“But he didn’t,” Fuyumi said with a small shake of her head. “Between his and father’s
stubbornness, Shouto is going to destroy himself before he gives into that man’s wishes.”

Toya growled lowly in frustration. “There has to be something we can do to help him. Natsuo, what
about your law degree? Have you really found nothing?”

His older brother shook his head. “The most I’ve learned is that the government really likes hiding
things. If we’re going to try to take him down, things are going to be hushed up quick. It’ll be
easier waiting for Shouto to graduate than cutting throw the red tape they have on dad. We need
indisputable evidence. Fuyumi, have you been keeping track?”

“I got pictures and the diary,” she nodded, “you can take the current one and sneak it out. Check
and see if it’s enough.”

“It ought a be,” Natsuo frowned. “Child abuse is definitely taken seriously. But I’ve met dad’s
defense lawyers and they’re as good as they are soulless.”

“Toya!” Fuyumi gasped. Toya startled to find fire liking up his knuckles at his anger. He quickly
let it go and looked away. He felt sick to his stomach. nine years later, hell eleven if you counted
Toya, even more if you if you added his mother, after all that time it his abuse had gone
unpunished.
And he was still helpless to stop it.

Toya exhaled slowly, smoking filling the air around him. His friends watched him with concern.
“I’m fine,” he said gruffly. “Just… frustrated…”

“We all are,” Natsuo said, looking like he wanted to put his hand on Toya’s shoulder, but knowing
better than to do it when he was worked up. Contact when he’s angry has led to more than a few
bad burns over the years. It was better to just give him space. “It’ll get better though. I promise.”

Fuyumi nodded along.

Toya tried not to feel angry at them. He loved his siblings, it was hard not to given how they grew
up. They had to have each others backs or they wouldn’t survive living with him . They would have
lost their sanity, their fight long ago.

But they didn’t have the distance Toya had. They were still under his thumb. They still depended
on him to pay for their collage and giving them a roof to stay under. Toya didn’t have that luxury
or dependence being disowned. It meant he was broke as hell and living one shitty day at a time,
but it also meant he knew what it was like to live alone, away from the constant fear and tension
that came with that man. It meant he had coworkers, friends, who reminded him that a lot of the
shit he grew up with wasn’t normal. It meant that he could just be Toya. Not Todoroki, not
endeavor’s disgraced son. But just Toya.

But the further he got from Endeavor the angrier he felt. Because distance meant he saw clearer.
And what he saw was fucked up beyond belief. There were so many little things that just seemed
normal that weren’t. Little things that children were supposed to have, or know or experience, that
he and his siblings never got. Other things that they weren’t supposed to have, like the closet.

“Well, remember you always have a place with me, Shouto too,” Toya said perhaps too much
venom in his voice. Controlling his anger wasn’t one of his strong points.

He found himself being hugged by his siblings again.

Then when Fuyumi extracted herself she looked regretfully back towards the house. “I should head
back. I don’t want shouto to be alone today. Especially after father get through with him.”
“He can’t even lay off today?” Natsuo scowled bitterly.

“Villainy never rests,” Toya said with a fair bit of irony.

It didn’t get a laugh, only sad looks as Fuyumi hugged them and reluctantly returned home.

“You down for coffee?” Natsuo asked.

Toya shrugged and they walked off together. The boy’s stomach still twisting with thoughts of his
father. He wanted to more. He wanted to save his family but the law and the world seemed against
him.

But a strange thought caught fire in the back of his head.

‘ Villainy never rests…’

Who better to take down a ‘hero’, than a villain?

Riding bikes was nice.

It was something Shinsou was actually really passionate about and, after his thigh muscles got
used to the different exercise, Izuku could understand why. There was something special about
being able to travel anywhere under your own power, with sunlight shining down on you and wind
blowing your hair back. It was different than jogging because it felt more free and faster. (it didn’t
help that one of the ways Izuku motivated himself while running was to pretend something was
chasing him. It was a good way to put his anxiety to use but it also, big surprise, made him feel
anxious.) biking just felt like travel, like wandering around in a way that jogging never has for
Izuku.

And it was nice to do it with Shinsou by his side. Izuku even learned how bike gears worked!

One day they were stopped in a park to get a drink and catch their breath. Izuku was considering if
he had the energy to go a sparring round with Shinsou while they were here. Shinsou was good at
pacing them so he wasn’t totally exhausted. But getting a fight in would take some convincing and
the fight itself may exhaust them enough to make the bike ride back difficult.

“Ah, what a coincidence!” a stranger said, approaching them. “You’re Midoriya Izuku, aren’t
you?”

Izuku flinched. He was starting to hate how recognizable he’d become. He knew it was would be
worse when he was a hero. He’d have to get used to people approaching him like this when he
achieved some level of fame. However that felt different. When he was a hero he’d be famous for
saving people and his actual achievement. Right now he was just recognizable as a quirkless
victim. It was creepy.

The stranger themselves were strange looking, wearing strange religious robes, the hood
completely covering all but his mouth. The robes seemed more catholic in origin though Izuku
couldn’t claim to be familiar with the religion. They were a magenta-ish purple with gold
embroidery. Instead of a cross, he wore a necklace with a circle pendent, like a ring, also gold. The
most distinctive humanizing thing about him was the oxygen machine strapped to his hip with
translucent tubes leading under his cowl, presumably to his nose or throat.

“Um… c-can I help you?” Izuku stuttered. A shadow fell on him and Izuku turned to find Shinsou
looming ominously behind him like a bodyguard.

“No,” the man said with a friendly wave of the hand. “Just making conversation. My student
mentioned you the other day and I couldn’t help but recognize you.”

“Oh.” Izuku had no idea how to respond to that.

“Student?” Shinsou asked raising his eyebrows. He spoke in a deeper gruffer voice in an attempt to
sound more threatening.

“Ah,” the man said gesturing calmingly with his hands, as if to say, he’d gotten ahead of himself.
“One of your classmates, Higurashi-chan. She’s a nice girl.”

“If you say so,” Shinsou said dryly. He was as aware of Higarashi’s stalking as Izuku was.
“I hear you’ve been having some issues?” the man said sounding curious.

“We don’t know you,” Midoriya said more bluntly then he meant to.

The man looked startled. Izuku was noticing that he was very expressive with his body language.
“Oh yes, how silly of me. I’m Chikara-sensei. I’m a priest for the church of soro. It’s nice to meet
you…”

“Shinsou.” the boy said flatly, still glaring.

“Midoriya,” Izuku said softly.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” and the man held out his hand and they ended up shaking hands
with him. It was a warm handshake, one where he put his second hand over theirs. He seemed
genuinely nice, actually.

“So…” Shinsou said in his dry affect. “Higarashi mentioned us?”

“Midoriya, more than you,” the man said patting Shinsou on the shoulder. “She was excited for
there to be another quirkless student at her school. It can be a bit lonely being the only one, you
know.”

Izuku looked down a bit guiltily but nodded.

“That’s no excuse for stalking,” Shinsou said, taking no shit.

“Stalking!?” The man leaned back startled as though his eyes were widening, though all Izuku
could see under his hood was part of a large scar and his white teeth. “Oh dear. I better talk to her
about that. I’m sorry if she’s troubling you. I told her to apologize not so long ago. I wonder if
she’s just been trying to do that. But no… oh, no, that really doesn’t excuse that kind of behavior.
Are you okay?”

“Yes,” Izuku said slowly. “S-she meant to apologize?”

“Yes,” the man nodded. “She’s been rather troubled these last couple of years you understand. I
give the best guidance I can, but I can’t claim I have a solution for everything. I might be close to
god but i’m still oven human. We all are.”

“Right…” Shinsou said, still unsure. “Well we better be going…”

“Ah!” the man laughed jovially. “Don’t let me keep you. Ah… but i would be remiss not to give
you my card. The church of the quirkless always has it’s doors open to any who need it.”

He patted down his robes looking for his pocket opening.

“Oh, that’s fine,” Izuku said awkwardly. “I’m not religious.”

The man laughed lightly, “So few are these days. But that doesn’t mean we have nothing to offer.
We do charity, feed the homeless, and even offer some lodging if you have nowhere else to go. If
nothing else i’m here to talk if you need to.”

“Aha!,” the man said finding his card. “How about this,” the man pulled a card from his robes
pocket. “You come to one meeting, just one, hear our pitch and if you don’t like it you never have
to see us again. You can even bring your friend if you want. Being a Soro can go beyond quirks.
Just because you have a quirk doesn’t mean you can’t be an Empty. It’s just a matter of emptying
yourself of earthly ties.”

“Like Buddhism?” Shinsou said squinting.

“Exactly like Buddhism,” the man said warmly. “The Soro have wisdom for everyone.”

“Your pamphlet literally said ‘quirkless’ church,” Shinsou said skeptically.

The man smiled slyly, “Yes, well there’s more to the meaning of the word ‘quirkless’ than you
might think and many wish to be quirkless, you know. I’ll tell you more at the actual meeting if
you come.”
“I’ll think about it,” Izuku said having already made his choice.

“That’s all I could ever ask,” the man said charmingly. “After all, us Soro have so few choices that
are our own. I would be remiss to take yours away. Have a good day.”

And he walked away, leaving a funny feeling in Izuku’s gut and a card in his hand.

“That was weird,” Shinsou said tilting his head, but Izuku heard the tinge of worry in his voice..

“Yeah,” he replied, grabbing his bike so they could leave. “Yeah, let’s go.”

Dear Midoriya Izuku and guardian ,

Congratulations! You have passed the preliminary application screening for Yuui Academy, 12
Chewie Square, Masutafu Prefecture, Shizuoka, Japan 81540. The academic and physical exam
will take place august 21, 21XX at 8:30 on the UA Campus.

You will need:

Your temporary student id (included within)

2 number 2 pencils or number 2 leaded mechanical pencils

Lined notebook paper

A scientific calculator

A protractor

Comfortable exercise clothing

Optional:

Any tool (must be approved by UA staff member) necessary for the utilization of quirk. Applicable
to physical exam only

A water bottle

An undisruptive snack.
For parent or guardians driving to campus, parking is available for free in Parking Garage 2 on 14
Chewie Square, Masutafu Prefecture, Shizuoka, Japan 81540. Just bring the pink parking pass
(included within). Passes expires August 22, 21XX .

Academic testing will take place at:

Lecture Hall 1b, Justice Tower. At 9:00-11:59

A brief luncheon will be held:

The Justice Tower Cafeteria 12:00-12:59

Testing will resume:

Lecture Hall 1b, Justice Tower. 1:00- 2:59

Physical testing will take place at:

Due to safety concerns, Midoriya Izuku is exempt from the physical exam. Midoriya’s physical
scores will be marked as an [X] score an will not affect his academic scoring or his ability to
attend UA in one of our many fine courses such as Managment, Support or General Studies.

However, due to safety concerns, this bars Midoriya from entering UA’s Hero Course. If you have
any question please call (XX-XXXX-XXXX).

We look forward to seeing you, August 21, 21XX . If you have any concerns or questions please
call our twenty-four hour hotline; (XX-XXXX-XXXX).

Go beyond, plus ultra!

Principal Nedzu, The Spectacular Hero; Paw-full

 pawprint

Chapter End Notes

-ojiichan means grandpa. I think it’s cute that it’s a pun on the Ojirou name.
-the ‘pretending you’re being chased’ thing, is me. Sometimes it also helps to think
you’re the one doing the chasing. Makes jogging more interesting but i might just be
weird
-I considered having UA on Hero Square but then decided that was too on the nose, so
I went star wars instead. I haven’t seen star wars in a long time so i ended up being
really obvious. It’s a thing the mangaka enjoys though. (wait, is Todoroki’s mom
named after Rei from the new movies?)
-21XX is the year. I didn’t feel like establishing a real date
-i can’t believe i had to give Nedzu a hero name. I haven’t seen it done before. Spec-
tacular references his quirk High Spec and Paw-full has some fun double meaning, he
says he chose it because he’s a hand(paw)full. But it’s also a pun on 'awful' reflecting
how bad he is for villains. I also think he'd enjoy how misleadingly innocent and cute
his name sounds

Discord:
https://discord.gg/SEkN8ee
Tumblr:
https://amarelibertius.tumblr.com
 Bitter Steps
Chapter Summary

sometimes life gives you bitter pills to swallow

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

“I’m going to kill that mouse,” Shinsou says with utter conviction. He’d just gotten the news that
Midoriya wouldn’t be taking the practical exam beside him and it made him angrier than how
obviously skewed the test was towards people with flashy quirks.

Like obviously Shinsou’s mind control quirk couldn’t do shit against robots. And that Midoriya’s
quirkless ass couldn’t do anything either but there was more do hero work than the ability to beat
things up and honestly it was annoying that UA clearly didn’t care about that.

“You can’t kill the principal,” Midoriya said with disapproval. They were sitting at there normal
lunch table, basically out of the way of everyone else. Today Inansa had joined them which earned
them some confused stares because the muscular boy was incredibly popular compared to them.
“He’s a super genius, he would see you coming, and besides it wasn’t wholly his decision to
exclude me from the test. It was a decision made by the entire school board.”

“You’re fighting them on this then,” Shinsou said, approval in his tone.

Midoriya picked at his food fretfully. “My mom chewed them out over the phone but it looks like
unless we want to get lawyers involved, there’s nothing we can do.”

“Then get lawyers involved,” Shinsou said looking frustrated. “This is discrimination. You can’t
just take it lying down.”

“It’s not that simple, Shinsou,” Midoriya said not looking up from his food.

“We can always apply to a different school,” Inasa suggested, looking hopeful. “When I was
visiting for my recommendation presentation, I met a really snotty kid. I feel like UA, isn’t as
focused on making true heroes as it should be.”
That earned him two bitter glares. It was already a sore point that he was getting into UA without
taking the exam that they were busting their asses to overcome. Midoriya was slightly more
understanding. Inasa’s quirk was perfect for hero work. But so was Shinsou’s in a different way.
UA was still the top hero school in the world however, so suggesting that they all change school
just because he met a snotty kid took a level of casual arrogance that was ridiculous and rude.
Shinsou told him as much.

Inasa blushed, looking almost ashamed. “Ah… that’s a fair point,” he said.

“There’s still the sports festival,” Midoriya pointed out, pushing the conversation forward. “If I get
into the general coarse and perform well in the sports festival I can still move up into the hero
coarse. If I start beating all the students with quirks in the festival, they can’t exactly deny that i
belong, can they?”

“That’s a lot of if’s,” Inasa said pulling a face. It wasn’t that he doubted his friend’s abilities.
Midoriya had already proven intimidatingly intelligent when it came to quirks. He wasn’t as
focused in other subjects, but he was still near the top of their year.

“I still say you should fight this. What if they say you can’t fight in the sports festival, too?”
Shinsou said, glaring at nothing in particular. “It’s discrimination you shouldn’t have to put up with
this.”

Midoriya sighed. “Lawyers are expensive, Shinsou. And I’m lucky UA is giving me the
opportunity to apply to any of their courses.”

“That’s bullshit,” Shinsou said flatly. “They have no right to say you can’t attend their fucking
school. I don’t know why you’re acting so okay with this.”

Midoriya ran a hand through his thick green hair. “It’s not that I’m okay with it. I’m just being
realistic. Even if we took it to the government, they’ll probably say the same thing. It’s a matter
using picking and choosing my battles. If i try to take the entrance exam and fail anyway, my mom
would have spent all that money on lawyers for nothing on top of my medical bills. And people
will use me as an example of why quirkless people can’t do anything. If I get into UA’s general
course and get denied from the sports festival, I have a much better chance of getting my way when
i call discrimination, because with that, one, I’m already in the school, they can’t expel me or bar
my entrance because I’ve already proven I belong in the school, two, the narrative of the quirkless
kid wanted to join his friends in what’s supposed to be a fun student event, sounds better, than the
poor quirkless kid demanding he have a place at a prestigious school just because he’s quirkless.
Three, by the time the sports festival comes around me and my mom’s financial situation will be
more stable. Four, I’ll also have more time to train and study our classmates, so I’ll be better
equipped to prove myself.”

Shinsou sneered at the obviously well thought out plan. “It’s not fair,” Shinsou growled in
frustration. “You shouldn’t have to make a narrative. They should just let you apply like everyone
else.”

“Well, they aren’t,” Midoriya finally snapped with startling bitterness. “ Fair was never an option.
I’ve never had anything be fair in my life and that’s only going to get worse when I become a hero.
So why should this be any different? I’m used to it, Shinsou. So drop it.”

And Shinsou found himself blinking at his friend with surprise. it felt like the first time he was
truly seeing him. Shinsou had seen Midoriya go through a large variety of emotions in the months
they’d been friends but this was his first glimpse at the dangerously unyielding spirit lurking
beneath his skin. It’d been so easy to fall into the mindset that Midoriya was some helpless soft-
hearted kid. He was anxiety riddled and shy most of the time but this was a hard reminder that
Midoriya was far from naive.

Inasa made a noise similar to a distressed dog, upset that his friends were upset. “I agree with,
Shinosu,” he said, eyebrows furrowed. “You shouldn’t have to deal with discrimination, Midoriya.
I could call my dad’s lawyers if you want. They might be more agreeable. We’re more than
capable of paying for them.”

Midoriya offered a crooked smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “It’s nice of you to offer, Inasa, but i
couldn’t ask that of you and besides, i want to prove that i can do this on my own.”

“There’s nothing wrong with asking for help,” Inasa said solemnly.

Midoriya nodded and reached out and touched Inasa’s arm. “I know, and I will ask when i need it.”

Inasa offered a bright smile back. “I’ll hold you to that!” he said too loudly.

Shinsou frowned but dropped it.

“Hey, isn’t it weird that Inasa is hanging out with that villain kid now?”
“Yeah, you’re right. It’s like the quirkless kid all over again.”

“Are you sure, Midoriya is pretty weird on his own. His freakyness might have nothing to do with
brain-drain.”

“Still, it’s pretty weird that he’s getting friends all the sudden. Didn’t you tell Miagi-sensei about
it?”

“Yeah, I did, I heard he was called to the principal’s office but nothing came of it.”

“Pfft, are you really surprised? He manipulates everyone else, why wouldn’t he be able to
manipulate the principal.”

“That’s really sick.”

“You knew it would happen eventually. That’s how it always is with his type.”

“Poor Inasa.”

“Poor Midoriya, at least Inasa has a way of defending himself, but Midoriya is helpless.”

“Yeah, you’d think he already has it bad enough with that villain attack. Now Shinsou has to mess
with him too? That guy really can’t catch a break.”

“Someone should do something about that.”

“Yeah!”

“But what can we do? Even if we try to confront him, he’ll just brainwash us too.”
“Yeah, i don’t want to be Shinsou’s next friend. ”

“Me neither.”

“Hey, isn’t he trying to apply for UA soon?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh man, I wish I could get into UA, they’re so exclusive thought.”

“Wasn’t your cousin applying, Nero?”

“Yeah, he’s kind of pathetic though. I don’t think he’ll make it in.”

“That’s perfect then. He can just spend the test sabotaging no-brain and do something actually
heroic in the process.”

“I can’t ask my cousin to give up his dreams just to sabotage some asshole. What are you stupid.”

“Oh, come on, I’ve met your cousin, he’s not getting in anyway.”

“And do you really want someone like Shinsou having a license to use his quirk freely. He’ll have
free reign of the city if that happens.”

“And who do you think will be there first person he goes after when he gets that freedom.”

“It’s not like we’ve treated him that badly.”

“He’s a villain . He’d probably go after us just for looking at him funny.”
“...fine, I’ll ask my cousin but there's no guarantee he’ll do anything. Like I said, he actually wants
to pass this thing and he’s kind of pathetic anyway.”

“You go, Nero!”

“You can make a difference!”

“Only you can prevent forest fires.”

“Shut up.”

Higurashi frowned at what she was hearing. She didn’t like Shinsou. He’d been nothing but cold
and rude to her, after their disastrous first meeting. He’s done nothing but stand in the way of her
apologizing to Midoriya. He was an arrogant and snotty dick. But he also wasn’t using his powers
the way people said he was. Higarashi is pretty sure she’s never seen him use his quirk even when
prompted to, except maybe the first time he met Midoriya and that was in, arguably self-defense.
She was listening too. He didn’t abuse that moment of power, so she had to wonder what the hell
these other kids were thinking.

Except she did know. Because she’d been on the receiving end of dumb rumors. Especially after
her suicide attempt. She was getting better from that whole meltdown, but the way people looked
at her and treated her afterwards honest to god made her hate humanity more. The only person who
was remotely understanding was Chikara-sensei, because he’d been where she was. But her
classmates, and their toxic pity and veiled contempt honestly made her want to burn the school to
the ground.

Being called a villain was probably worse, even if it was true. She didn’t really know Shinsou that
well. He seemed nice to Midoriya at least. Which was honestly set him above everyone else,
because even if he was mean to her, it wasn’t because she was quirkless, it was because she
offended Midoriya somehow. Being disliked because of something she actually did was almost
refreshing. God, wasn’t that sad.

So Shinsou probably didn’t actually deserve what was coming to him. Which is hard to admit,
because even conceding that higurashi still freaking hates him. Purple haired raccoon bitch.

So… the question was, should she do something about it? Could she do something about it?
Honestly she doubts going up to them and saying, ‘Hey, some dickbags are trying to sabotage you’
would get her very far. Neither would telling them with a note or calling the school administration
or whatever. “Hey, UA, i have an anonymous tip that one of your exam-takers is going to
intentionally sabotage another exam-takers. Who? I don’t know, a cousin of one of my classmates.”
yeah, like they would listen to her. No one listens to her. She’ll be written off as a liar or a
prankster or whatever. Ugh.

And does she care enough? In theory it might help her apologize for insulting Midoriya, but she
still didn’t really get what she did wrong. Yeah, insulting another Soro was wrong, but she wasn’t
wrong. Thinking he could be a hero was crazy. He’s gonna get himself killed.

Ughhhhh! Why does this have to be so complicated? It was just a stupid test. They probably
weren’t even going to do anything.

The day of the test arrived faster than anyone could predict and Midoriya was having an anxiety
fueled meltdown that was almost as stressful for his friends as it was for him. And all he had to do
was pass the paper test. Apart from motivating Shinsou and keeping a consistent exercise schedule
he had turned his focus entirely towards acing the paper exam. So he should be good. He was
generally pretty book smart, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to puke from stress.

This wasn’t helped by the fact that Shinsou’s stress manifested in insomnia so he was basically a
zombie now. Izuku’s mother was beside herself in mothering him. She even took him into Izuku’s
bedroom and tucked him into his bed surrounded him with plushies. It was quite the sight watching
his friend face practically expressionless and darkened by his eyebags, surrounded by the bright
colors that Midoriya decorated his room with even as he abandoned his more fanboy tendencies.

Shinsou admitted later that evening when Midoriya came to sleep too, that his mother’s kindness,
while heartwarming, only made him feel more like undeserving garbage. He hadn’t slept.

Midoriya admitted in confidence that he agreed. He loved his mother more than life itself but he
often felt he didn’t deserve her.

Shinsou momentarily looked like he was crushed by guilt for bringing it up and then awkwardly
hugged him in a way that wasn’t comfortable for either of them. So all in all, they were both
messes.
Inasa was also no help. He was a good cheerleader and his enthusiasm was infection, but he also
had this bad habit of hinting things and then saying ‘forget about it’ which was not good for
Midoriya’s anxiety or Shinsou’s sleep deprived brain that choose to think about such things at three
in the morning. He also had a cavalierness that came from already being in the school that was just
felt like he was rubbing it in, even when he wasn’t trying to.

But it didn’t matter because the day was here. And now the self-destruction phase was over and
replaced with the OH GOD I’M FUCKED phase.

Midoriya was doing his best to make himself feel better by supporting Shinsou but Shinsou was
doing that thing where he didn’t want any human contact while he was focusing so it was just
backfiring on both of them. Letting Shinsou enter the room left Midoriya to stand outside the door
wondering when was the appropriate time to enter until a boy in glasses yelled at him blocking the
door and he entered, still muttering to himself.

It was weird to enter the hall and not have Bakugou there. He’d always thought they were going to
do this together. Midoriya wasn’t even testing to get into the hero course and Bakugou was still
facing criminal charges for assault so he wasn’t allowed to be here. They’d both changed so much
since they were bright eyed children.

It made him sad.

But he just had to keep moving forward. He had friends now and he promised them as much as he
promised himself that he was going to do his best.

He had to pause towards the end of the test when he came to a series of questions that were mostly
opinion based and he knew were mainly to measure someone’s psychological state and stuff like
that. One of the questions was ‘Why do you want to apply to UA? Please elaborate.’

Hesitating, Izuku wrote that he wanted to be a hero, wondering how many people were writing the
same thing. UA is the best school for it. Izuku briefly wondered if he should compliment the
school more if he should just go with his personal reason. I want to be a hero because i want to
help people. I always have for as long as i could remember and heroes…

Izuku’s thoughts trailed off. A lot of his hero worship wore off after his encounter with All Might.
He still admired him and all heroes. The fanboy and all the knowledge that came with it was part of
him and he’ll never be able to separate that passion from himself. But he’s admittedly become a lot
more cynical since that encounter. It was like he’s taken his blinders off. Suddenly he was noticing
all this stuff about heroes and hero society that wasn’t good. He’d noticed how All Might's smile
stuck in one position but his eyes were often dark. He noticed how often the man waffled and ran
off. He noticed how arrogant and rude endeavor was to people and how much unnecessary
property damage he did. He noticed how heroes stepped one each others feats in media and how
they failed to in team work and how sometimes they did nothing at all. And it was getting
frustrating. He’d always know heroes aren’t perfect. They’re human and can only do so much.
They make mistakes. But some of what he was seeing wasn’t easily excused and it frustrated him.

Heroes do a lot of good. They sacrifice a lot to do their jobs and the save so many lives. When i
was really young my first thought was, I want to be able to save people with a smile, just like All
Might. I want to make people feel safe. And maybe I've gotten more realistic since then but i still
want to be able to give people hope. Even if i can’t be like All Might, I want to make a difference.
To be a light against the dark. To make people happy when they see me. To be able to stop their
crying and protect them. I know i’m being idealistic, but i feel that idealism is something people
need nowadays. It gives people hope.

I’ve learned recently that sometimes hope is something you have to give yourself. But I’ve also
found that that’s a very lonely way of living. So even if i don’t make it into the hero course, even if i
end up losing what i care about and fighting alone, I still want to be the kind of person, the kind of
hero who can reach out and give people the hope they need.

Midoriya bit his lip, feeling like maybe that answer was too personal. But his reasons for attending
UA, and wanting to become a hero were personal and he’d rather be honest with himself and here
than to lie to the world about his dreams,

After a moment of staring at the answer, he nodded to himself and moved on. He was going to pass
this test he promised himself. He was going to get UA. He was going the reach his dreams even if
it killed him.

Katsuki’s parents decided to give him a special day out to distract him from the fact that he wasn’t
at UA like he was supposed to be. It wasn’t working. If anything it was just winding him up more
by having his parents constantly around him and avoiding the subject. It made him want to puke
and blow shit up, not necessarily in that order.

Katsuki went to his lawyers and already agreed to a plea bargain. He’d willingly confessed to his
crimes not that there was much to investigate anyway. He was already guilty as fuck and not
amount of lawyer speak was going to change that, so he didn’t understand why the court case was
taking so fucking long to move through. He was still fucking out on parole minding his own
fucking business and spending way too much time with his therapist and he was honestly getting
really bored.
He was also alone, a lot of the time and it was driving him up the wall, because at least before the
Deku bullshit he had the illusion of friendship and popularity. And after he had the challenge of
other people fucking with him. Now he just had nothing. He’d already exhausted his interest in the
books and games he owned (he definitely wasn’t getting anything new anytime soon), he’d gotten
bored with the internet, he’d gotten a lifetime band from the public library long before he got
arrested (he was eight and it was Wings fault. He still held a grudge), wondering around just
resulted in people giving him a wide berth because they saw his suppressant cuffs and knew what
it meant. It was all such bullshit.

The only thing he still enjoyed to do was hike and even that was losing it shined after he spent so
much time doing it for the last two months.

And now he was here. The day of the entrance exam, out at an aquarium with his mom and dad,
when he should be behind UA’s walls dominating the entrance exam and telling the world that
‘he’s here!’ Bakugou Katsuki has finally arrived.

“Quite pouting, brat,” his mom said but in a way that showed she was trying way too hard to act
normal. “It’s your own fault that we're here so you might as well enjoy it.”

Katsuki just scowled harder, hearing the pity and worry in her tone and hating it with every fiber of
his being. He already knew it was his fault he didn’t need her rubbing it in or reminding him.

“Oh look,” his dad said, “there’s a gang orca funded whale exhibit. You’ve always liked him, right,
son?”

His dad was just as bad. His dad was always so unaffected by things. Katsuki loved him and
sometimes when he needed actual advice, rather than a screaming match to get his rage out, his dad
was definitely the place to go. But his dad couldn’t fix this, they both knew it and pretending
nothing was wrong didn’t fix anything! “I only like gang orca because he’s a powerful hero , dad.”
he growled.

“Hey, don’t use that tone with your father.” his mom snapped back.

“What tone am i supposed to use? This is stupid. This is all stupid and it’s not helping anything.’

“We spent good money on-”

“Honey,” his dad interrupted his mom gently. “Alright, Katsuki, if you don’t want to go to the
whale exhibit where do you want to go?”

“I don’t want to be here at all!” Bakugou said throwing his hands into the air and storming off. He
was making a scene, especially with his mom yelling at his back. He wandered off to the shark
tanks and tried glare one down. It didn’t even dignify him with a response. The stupid shark.

A stranger snorted at him and he turned his glare on them. He was a worker, wearing a stupid hat.
He also had no idea how to blend his fucking make-up. What a fuck up. If you’re going to wear
fucking make up learn to do it properly, dumbass.

“That Samus and she doesn’t give a shit about anything unless it’s food,” the worker clarified.

“Good for fucking her,” Bakugou bit back. Was it not obvious that he wanted to be left alone? Did
this moron lack common-fucking-sense? Why was this asshole telling him about fucking sharks
when he could be doing literally anything else?

“Yeah,” the idiot continued. “She’s actually really lazy all things considered. It’s ironic, sharks are
supposed to be these great predators but she couldn’t give a single shit about that. Maybe it’s being
bred in captivity and having a ready supply of food but she’s pretty docile for a shark. Nothing like
Snoopy. He’s an asshole.”

“Why the fuck did you name a shark snoopy?” Katsuki got distracted by that idiocy.

“Well, strictly speaking i wasn’t the one who named him. It was something voted on in an online
survey,” the worker said crossing his arms over his chest and looking bored. “But it doesn’t matter
much anyway. They don’t speak English and even if they did we’d have to speaking underwater
for them to understand us. Sharks actually have a higher hearing range than humans, even though
they don’t technically have ears.”

“Then how the fuck do they hear?” Katsuki asked incredulously.

“They have a sort of inner ear hole. It’s structure in a way so water doesn’t get in,” the worker said,
apparently enjoying giving out shark facts.

“That’s still a type of ear, stupid.” Katsuki scoffed.

The worker shrugged, “Debatable.”

“Would you just fuck off!?” Katsuki said finally losing his patience with the stranger.

“I was here first,” the worker said flatly. “And it’s my job to stand here so unless you can pay me
more to move, the one who’s going to be fucking off is you.”

Katsuki resisted the urge to punch the fucker. Maybe the guy was lucky that he was in a mood and
that he just happened to be the first person has talked to that wasn’t his parents or someone on the
internet in two months. but god damn was it tempting to blow this guy to smithereens.

“They let you swear on the job?” Katsuki asked raising a threatening eyebrow instead.

“Nope,” the guy popped the p, and gave Katsuki a superior look. He was not helping Katsuki’s
anger issues. Shit what did his therapist say he should do in this situation? Count to ten? That was
dumb advice. Shit.

“Katsuki!” his mom’s voice suddenly screeched

AGHHHHHHAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TEN MINUTES! HE JUST NEEDED TEN

FUCKING MINUTES TO GLARE AT A FUCKING SHARK AND CALM DOWN. WAS THAT
TOO MUCH TO FUCKING ASK!? APARENT-FUCKING-LY!

“We’re going home,” his mom said glaring him down like he was a prisoner or something
particularly stinky. The worker dude was laughing at him now.

Katsuki debated whether it was worth it to punch the kid in front of his mom. Too late his mother
grabbed him by the ear and started dragging him, which fucking hurt but she didn’t fucking care
even as he screeched defensively back.

“I’m sorry if he caused you any problems…” she looked at his name tag. “Touya?” she seemed
confused at the apparent use of his first name.
The teenager just smirked. “It’s no problem, ma’am. He was entertaining.” he turned to Katsuki.
“Be sure to come back if you want more shark facts, Katsuki .”

He was mocking him. Asshole.

Izuku got to leave the UA grounds early. He was accompanied by everyone who was applying to a
different course, he was considerably more melancholy than the rest of them though. He’d
managed to wish Shinsou good luck before he went to the practical exam, but he still desperately
wanted to be joining him. No matter, Izuku told himself. It’d be fine. He was still moving forward.
He was going to become a hero. He was just a little further behind everyone else. He’d catch up.

He had to.

“Midoriya!”

Izuku tensed when a familiar game ran up to him. It was Higurashi. She looked stressed and
nervous. He started to turn and walk in the opposite direction of her, not wanting to have her rub in
his face that he couldn’t take the exam, but she caught up to him anyway, surprisingly quickly. He
wondered how physically fit she was.

“I’ve been trying to talk to you for weeks,” she said, barely out of breath. “I wanted to say sorry for
offending you before. I was rude and i’m sorry.”

That brought Izuku up short. People didn’t normally apologize to him. Ever. even when they
should, they didn’t. The only person who really has so far was his mom and Shinosu.

He regarded the creepy girl more carefully, still unsure.

“That’s not all,” she said wincing, and running one of er hands through her soft brown hair. “I
overheard something. Apparently someone is trying to sabotage Shinsou’s exam.”

“What!?”
“I couldn’t get close to tell you too before now. I’m so sorry. I know i should have tried harder
but,” she gestured vaguely. Midoriya was already running back to the school gate, Higurashi in
tow.

He tried scanning his visitor badge but it just beeped disappointingly, apparently it was set to stop
working after a certain point in the day, and Midoriya started cussing quietly to himself. A security
guard was approaching the gate to meet with them, probably assuming he accidentally left
something in the building.

Izuku vaguely recognized the guard as the hero Hound Dog but he was more concerned for his
friend than he was in hero fanboying.

“Someone is trying to sabotage my friend in the practical exam!” he said breathlessly. He turned to
Higurashi who was looking nervously up at the dog man. “Tell him what you told me.”

“Er… right…”

When Higurashi was finished Hound Dog drew up to his full height. “Those are some serious
accusations,” he growled darkly. “However the test can’t be interrupted once it’s begun. I’ll let the
exam proctor know about your warning and they take it into account in their grading. However at
the moment there’s nothing else i can do.”

“What? but that’s not fair!” Izuku said angrily.

“Life’s not fair, kid,” hound dog said gruffly. “We do our best.”

Izuku was ready to tear the older man down but he felt a tugging on his arm. Higurashi was
shooting him scared looks. “Come one, Midoriya, let’s just go. He’s doing all he can.”

“He could be doing more,” Izuku snapped. Hound dog growled deep in his throat. Higurashi
looked even more anxious. She was scared of the hero, he realized. And scared for him. She
probably didn’t grow up with someone like Kacchan pushing her to be fearless and brave in the
face of adversity. She was just a normal girl, downtrodden from being quirkless. He sighed through
his nose. She’d tried to do the right thing even though she was scared. “Fine,” he said shooting one
last glare at the hero. We’ll wait for him though.”
“Outside the gate,” Hound Dog reminded. Izuku shot him a withering glare.

“Outside the gate.” he spat bitterly.

A boy kept staring at him leading up the test.

Shinsou noticed but he hadn’t thought anything at it at first. To be fair, Shinsou didn’t think much
of the kid to begin with. His hair looked like grapes and he was barely taller than Shinsou’s knee.
He also had bug eyes. He didn’t like it. But Shinsou had more important things to worry about than
some random kid staring at him. He had to focus on passing this practical exam even though he
was going against giant freaking robots and he’d gotten the bare minimum of two hours of sleep
and his brain was already fried from the written exam. But he was going to do his best. If not for
himself, then for Midoriya. Because he’d gotten an opportunity his friend didn’t get. He couldn’t
waste it. Not after everything they’d done to get this far.

He’d made a mistake.

When he dismissed the short grape boy he’d made a horrible mistake.

He’d been so focused. He’d been so ready. So determined.

He was running before anyone else when Blood King, the proctor of their exam field told them go.
he was already several streets in before he noticed a wait hang from his shirt. It was the grape head
boy, looking almost panicked and apologetic. He didn’t say anything though.

“Wha-” the word had barely left Shinsou’s mouth before the boy was off of him and throwing his
weird grape hair at him. Shinsou tried to move to defend himself, to grab the boy, to shout. But he
was stuck. Whatever these grape things were, they were incredibly sticky and know amount of
pulling or struggling removed them. Shinsou lifted his purple eyes to stare at the boy in horror.

Sabotage.

That fucking kid intentionally sabotaged him!

The boy offered him a tearful scared looking smile. And then before a word was spoken he ran.
Shinsou screamed after him, tried to get some response. Tried to do something. But the boy was
gone around a corner and it was useless.

Shinsou growled in a way that hurt his throat, anger and bitterness burning through him like hot
oil. He pulled and tugged at the sticky balls but all he succeeded in doing was tugging at his skin
and hurting himself. The adhesive looked one of his arms close to his body. One of his hands was
stuck to his knees from his first attempt to pull himself free. A thick goo was gathered around his
feet and ankles and it was all useless. Damnit! DAMNIT.

NO HE COULDN’T GO OUT LIKE THIS. HE HAD TO FIGHT! HE HAD TO WIN HIS PLACE
AT UA. HE COULDN’T- NOT LIKE THIS- if he lost while fighting at his own strength he could
have accepted it. But he didn’t even have a chance. That kid didn’t even give him a chance. It
wasn’t fair. IT WASN’T FAIR!

“HEY,” Shinsou screamed, hoping to catch onto someone, hoping to find someone who could
release him. He didn’t know what they could do to free him. He just- he needed something or
someone or whatever.

Shinsou wasn’t even surprised when his tired eyes burned with frustrated tears. It was no use
though. He stood there waiting at least ten minutes, then fifteen, then almost twenty.

Until a three pointed came around the corner and started coming towards him. With his arms
locked against his body and his feet trapped, he was a sitting duck. He couldn’t fight. He couldn’t
control the thing. He was helpless and he’d never been more angry in his life. Almost
animalistically he bared his teeth at the robot. If he was going down it’s be with as much dignity as
possible.

The blow didn’t come through. Instead the robot suddenly collapsed like it’s wires had been cut.
Shinsou’s eyes stared around for who took it down but he saw nothing.

“Are you okay?” thin air seemed to speak. Shinsou momentarily wondered if the grapes had
hallucinative properties before he realized it was just an invisible person.

After a moment longer of silence, where he realized the person was expecting a response, he
grumbled. “I’ve been better.” his voice was dripping with contempt and anger and bitterness.

The girl seemed to chirp softly to herself. “Yeah i can see that. This isn’t your own quirk is it?”
The glare he sent at where he thought she was standing was answer enough.

“Right…” she said and he felt, for than heard her walk around him, accessing the situation. “An
accident with another applicant then?”

“Yeah,” Shinsou spat the words. “An accident .”

The girl gave a considering hum. “Well it was dangerous for them to just leave you hear like this.
You could get hurt.”

“Really? I had no idea,” Shinsou said sarcastically. Why hadn’t he taken control of this girl yet?

The girl gave a little hmph! “There’s no need to be mean about it. I’m just trying to help.”

“Yeah. you’re doing a fantastic job of it, aren’t you?” he said scathingly.

“I stopped the robot, didn’t i?” the girl pointed out. Shinsou looked back at the robot and seemed
to reconsider. The thing hardly even looked damage.

“Yeah, how exactly did you do that?” he wondered.

“There’s a switch in the neck to give stealth quirk users a secret advantage. The robots only attack
if they have both a visual and heat signature based lock on you. If they have just the heat signature,
they’ll just wander around where you’re supposed to be stupidly. It’s pretty easy to get the drop on
them once you figure that out.”

“Oh,” Shinsou said. This would’ve have been fantastic information to know if he WASN’T
STUCK TO THE FREAKING GROUND!

“Oop!” the girl seemed to run behind him and there was another large crash as she presumably
took down another robot. “Hmm, i think i should stick around if they’re gonna keep coming for
you like this. It wouldn’t be very heroic if i left you here. My name is Hagakure Tooru. I bet
you’ve already guessed what my quirk is.”

“Is it sounding annoyingly chipper?” Shinsou snarked. He hated that he was helpless and that he
actually needed the girls help. But he wasn’t stupid enough to turn away help when he truly needed
it. He’d repay her somehow. He’d prove that he could take care of himself later. But for now he
wasn’t particularly interested in getting seriously injured.

The girl giggled and if he was into girls he’d have called her cute, but he wasn’t so he didn’t.
Instead he sighed and supplied, “Shinsou Hitoshi.”

Introductions out of the way, they ended up awkwardly chatting like nothing was weird was
happening, even as Hagakure intermediately interrupted herself to defeat a robot and Shinsou’s legs
started to cramp from the way he was standing. He admitted that she was pretty nice, though she
hadn’t found out his quirk yet, so it might have been pointless in the long run.

Before they knew it the last five minutes mark was being called. Shinsou had only started to feel
the goop loosen a bit but it was too little to late.

Then the ground started shaking and there was a terrifying amount of noise. Shinsou raised his
eyes and saw the zero pointer.

What the actual hell?

Were they crazy? This is a school. That thing could actually kill people. Even by accident that
thing could actually them. What the hell?

“That’s… bad.” Hagakure said clearly as terrified as Shinsou felt. Other students were already
running down the street to escape the thing. “I think we need to get you free fast.”

“Yep,” Shinsou nodded, not even being sarcastic. “Yep, hurry.”

They succeeded in sticking a piece of rebar to the goop and tearing his pants by the time the zero
pointer was on their street. It was so much bigger the closer it got to them. And it was so loud.
 “Shit,” Shinsou said, “Get out of here.”

“What? I can’t just leave you!” Hagakure said. She really was nice. The robot to a large step
forward.

“I’ll be fine,” he said, stiffly pulling at the goo. “They wouldn’t let this thing actually kill me, just
injure and if only one of us has to get hurt than it makes sense that it’s me.

The robot game slowly closer.

“But-”

“ GO ,” Shinsou put his power into his voice and he breathed a soft sigh of relief as he heard her
feet hit the pavement as she run. Then he raise his eyes towards the zero pointer, glaring at it with
everything he had. He’d been lying when he said he didn’t think the thing would kill him. But it
didn’t matter. Entrance exam or not, he was going to be a hero and he had to be ready to face down
things worse and scarier than this.

He had to be brave.

A buzzer rung somewhere announcing the test was over.

The robot stopped.

Shinsou stared at the thing for a long expectant moment than he let out a breath as all the
adrenaline left his system at one and left him as nothing but an exhausted shell. It was only than the
the purple balls degraded enough for him to pull free. He landed face first on the ground, wanting
to die.

He was going to kill that grape fucker.

Chapter End Notes

-get rekt Inasa. ‘I’m gonna switch prestigious schools purely because i don’t like
someone.’ what bs. Midoriya and Shinsou are out here grinding themselves into the
ground and you think you can pull that shit? Not in my house.
-if you’re mad at me for being mean to Shinsou please understand that I am also mad
at myself for being mean to Shinsou. This is going to be a trend. I love conflict but i
don’t like hurting people. It makes me feel things.
-Midoriya has such a double standard. It’s fine if you treat him unfairly, but the
moment you mistreat one of his friends he’s ready to throw down. Part of me wishes
he had, but without All Might's positive reinforcement of his recklessness, and the
quirk to back his decision up, Midoriya is actually, amazingly, more cautious. I’m
debating whether that qualifies as out of character, even though it makes sense for his
circumstance.

Discord:
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Tumblr:
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Art:
http://crazyfoxqueen.tumblr.com/post/176758382709/if-yall-havent-read-dig-your-
heels-in-you
 Weight
Chapter Summary

things pile up over time and you’re gonna have to carry that

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

It was funny, Higurashi Haruhi thought as she stood in front of the teachers of UA, solemnly
explaining what she heard the bullies say about sabotaging Shinsou. When she decided to explain
things to Midoriya, she hadn’t thought she’d end up here, literally within the walls of UA. She’d
never thought she be here, never even bothered to dream it after her quirk failed to show up.

And yet here she was. If only for the one time, she was here. She wouldn’t be the first quirkless
person to enter the building. That privilege fell to Midoriya, unless there was some quirkless
janitor floating about, which she doubted.

She was a terrified nervous wreck at first. But Midoriya had actually been weirdly supportive.
Probably just to help his friend. But when he was nice he actually seemed genuinely nice. It made
her want to be friends with him for a reason outside their shared quirklessness.

When Haruhi finished she and the others were sent out of the room for the adults to talk.she felt the
tension like it was a palpable thing. Shinsou was looking incredibly pale and sick, but also angry.
Midoriya kept twitching and muttering to himself. His eyes held a kind of anger she’d never seen
before and it scared her enough that she didn’t dare make conversation.

Finally, Shinsou was called back into the board room and she was left alone with Midoriya again.
She could tell the boy would have pressed his ear against the door but there was a teacher/hero
standing in the way, the half dog one from before, and he wouldn’t let him.

They stood in absolute silence for roughly ten minutes and it was slightly unbearable. Made worse
by the fact that Haruhi couldn’t bring herself to break it.

She was almost relieved when Shinsou came out of the room, if not for the tears on his face
It was funny, she thought, that she found no satisfaction in the devastated look on Shinsou’s face.
She didn’t like him, as a rule because he’s been mean to her in the past. But in this moment, the
bitterness that was normally so close to the surface for her when it came to quirked people was
gone.

Shinsou swallowed thickly, “They decided to throw out my practical score. Baring me from
entering the hero course.”

Midoriya gasped and moved to hug his tall friend. Shinsou’s expression was crumbling, even as he
tried to put up a strong front.

...maybe it was because she knew he didn’t deserve it.

She’d been in a similar position before, though none where her future hinged in the balance.

Haruhi wasn’t good at empathizing with people. She considered it a side effect of no one
empathizing with her. Why the fuck should she treat people with basic human decency when they
didn’t do the same for her? She’d never really seen the point of being nice to the people who were
mean to her. She’d rather be a bitch than a victim. Sure, she’d gotten better since she’d joined the
Soro and started connecting with her fellow Empty, but everyone else would treat her like the dirt
they walked on so what’s the freaking point? Sure, she could kill them with kindness or whatever.
That’s what Hemei said sometimes. But honestly that took way too much energy and effort for
something that, judging by Hemei himself, didn’t have a lot of pay off.

Shinsou sniffed and wiped at his face. “A-at least the kid who sabotaged me isn’t getting in at all.
A-and I can still attend the other courses. L-like you…”

“They can’t do more ?” Midoriya practically hissed, still hugging his friend.

“They want to be fair to the other applicants,” Shinsou said, tone edged with bitterness.

“‘ Fair’ .” Midoriya repeated icily.

Haruhi felt chilled by the exchange. She felt like she wasn’t supposed to be here for this. It was
definitely private.

Finally, Midoriya pulled back and wiped at his own face. Haruhi hadn’t even noticed he was
crying. “I’m so sorry, Shinsou. We’ll find a way to be heroes, anyway.”

Shinsou seemed to sniff harder and hid his face in his hands. “It’s just… it’s not fair. I d-didn’t
even-”

Midoriya took his hand, trying to comfort him. “Let’s just go home. We’ll figure out where to go
from there.”

“I-I didn’t even get to try,” Shinsou’s voice cracked under the weight of years of abuse. It was
startling on him. Haruhi knew that weight but it was odd to see it on someone with a quirk. Life
was unfair all over, huh? “I- I didn’t even get that chance. A-after all our training- I didn’t even get
to try-”

“I know,” Midoriya said gently. And it was clear that he did. Haruhi hated that he got it. Hated that
she got it. Hated that people were going out of their way to steal there futures before they’d even
begun to chase them. The scars on her wrist prickled in a typical reminder.

Someone cleared their throat and the three children turned to look see the dog hero still standing
there, intruding on the situation more than Haruhi was.

“I hate to interrupt,” he said gruffly. His voice held emotion, probably pity, but that didn’t really
matter. “But it’s time I escort you out. I’m sorry.”

The sorry was for more than interrupting and kicking them out, they all could tell. But it didn’t
matter.

“Of course, sir,” Midoriya said voice suddenly empty of anything. Shinsou just sniffed again.

Haruhi also felt a sudden pang of iciness in her chest. Cold anger at the hero system and the world.
She would have to talk to Chikara-sensei to settle her emotions. But she knew this moment would
stick in her mind for a long time.
Inasa was almost inconsolable.

Almost.

He did suggest they try for Setketsu again, but that suggestion was cut abruptly by Midoriya
admitting they rejected him automatically, because unlike UA, they didn’t accept quirkless kids.
This led to another argument about discrimination that Hitoshi ended up putting too much anger
into. Hitoshi may have ended up screaming at his friends about the injustice of it all and storming
off. Later when he apologized, both his friends were annoyingly understanding, though Midoriya
definitely called him out and reminded him that he had to pick his battles. Inasa dropped the
subject of Setketsu altogether.

So Inasa was inconsolable, also decrying the injustice of the hero system. But forbidden by his
friends from leaving his advantageous position. Because one, that would ungrateful and rude, and
two, even if Hitoshi and Midoriya weren’t in the hero course yet they were both determined to get
there. It was just going to be a lot harder for both of them. Inasa tried his best to be supportive of
the new plan, but he still occasionally burst into tears because he was disappointed that he was
going to the hero coarse alone. Midoriya, a sympathetic crier, often joined him and it was starting
to grate on Hitoshi’s nerves.

Midoriya wasn’t much help either. Tears aside, the boy was a planner and rather than sit around
and let himself feel things for too long, he was the type to make plans and fidget and pace and tell
Hitoshi what he could do to fix things. Hitoshi was sure that was helpful for some people but at the
time, when all Hitoshi wanted to do was isolate himself in his room with his cats and never come
out, it was irritating.

The worst part was that Midoriya definitely got it. The school had screwed him over just as much
as it had Hitoshi, but Midoriya seemed almost indifferent to that part of the situation. He waved it
off as though it was nothing more than what he expected and that made Hitoshi angry just in
general. If Midoriya were mad, too, they could at least commiserate but instead Midoriya was just
so frank about the entire situation. He just accepted the problem and moved right on.

Hitoshi couldn’t do that. He just wanted to wallow a bit. Was that too much to ask for? Probably.
Hitoshi doesn’t know what he was expecting. The universe hated him. That was a fact. Hell,
maybe it was only a matter of time before everyone who remotely cared about him, abandoned
him. Maybe it would be easier to just die before that happened. Do the universe. At least then he’d
know someone missed him.

Hitoshi closed his eyes tightly and silently ordered himself to stop thinking like that. He couldn’t
use his quirk on himself, but he at least had to try to break the negative thought patterns..

It just hurt so much sometimes. It hurt so much and it would be easier if it stopped, but easy wasn’t
an option. Easy was never an option. He’d started life on hard mode. And he’d have to keep
playing for as long as possible. He wouldn’t hurt his moms or Midoriya or even Inasa and Auntie
Inko like that. He couldn't. He was bitter but he wasn’t cruel.

Sometimes it was hard to put up the strong front. He had to or the bullies would eat him alive, but
it was hard. It hurt to put on a mask when inside he felt like someone had filled his body with
cement and he was slowly dying in front of them. It’d honestly gotten harder since he’d become
friends with Midoriya. Midoriya was a literal ray of sunshine most of the time. It was easy to be
relaxed and open with him. And when people saw Shinsou open up with Midoriya they thought he
was weak. Dangerous people don’t laugh with their friends. It was utter bullshit, and the happiness
he got from his friendship with Midoriya was worth more than all of there bullshit. But it still made
life harder.

His worst moment came when he crossed Nero and his gang when he was alone and walking to the
bathroom alone. His bullies knew that he could break a hypnotized person by shaking them a little,
though they, like many people were suspicious over what kind of idea’s he could plant when they
were in a trance, among other less rational paranoias. They always felt safer in a group. So that's
how they usually picked on him. In a group.

“Hey, freak,” Nero hissed as he passed. One of his friends had their hand on his arm just in case.
“How’d your exam go?”

Hitoshi froze. A connection he hadn’t made before clicking into place. Nero’s quirk was making a
sticky orange tar from his sweat glands, particularly in his hair, feet and armpits. It was startlingly
similar to the grape-head’s sticky ball quirk. Sure, it wasn’t purple or spherical, but the grapes
became more tar-like when they stuck together and started to degrade.

“...It was you.” Hitoshi whispered, a sudden roaring in his ears. He was the one who sabotaged
him. THE BASTARD! HE WOULD KILL HIM! HE’D MAKE HIM REGRET BEING BORN!

“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Nero grinned smugly. “It’s not my fault UA
knows a villain when they see one.”

Hitoshi took over him instantly. It was easy. Even Nero’s friends froze, caught in Hitoshi’s
oppressive anger and power. While not under the effect of his quirk, they felt it, almost like a
physical force. Like being in the presence of a dangerous predator and knowing you’re the prey.
Hitoshi had words on his lip, ready to be spoken, ready to break the silence and make the boy
move towards his punishment. The anger was so real. So visceral and strong. It was so easy .

But his voice died, as another part of him reacted, all but screaming with fear at the prospect of
using his quirk like this. He’d drawn this line for himself so long ago. He would never use his
quirk to hurt another person. It was a line he was moments from crossing and that scared him. It
would have been so easy. He’d never come this close, but he had never been this angry before.

But he couldn't do it. He wouldn’t.

So he ran. Looking like a coward he ran, slammed his way into the bathroom, locked the door and
stayed there for the rest of the school day. He knew he was being weak, but he’d scared himself
and he couldn’t deal with people yet. Or at all. Ever.

He pretended to be to sick the next day.

And the day after that.

And the day after that.

He was sick kinda anyway. A sick freak, a sick monster who could kill people with a few words.

Izuku smiled bitterly when Shinsou once again missed role call. It was making him anxious but
Shinsou had been looking rather drawn lately. Maybe the disappointment of the entrance exam had
taken its toll on his health and he’d caught a cold. That didn’t stop him from chewing his lip as he
stared at Shinsou’s empty seat and listened to his classmates talk about normal teen things.

He was alone in class, Inasa being in class b, so he had nothing to do but write in his notebook and
listen. It wasn’t too bad, he was used to this routine from his old school but it still felt starkly
different now that he knew what it was like to have a sleepy friend to talk to. A few of his
classmates tried to engage him those first two days that Shinsou was absent but when it became
clear that they were only trying to turn him against Shinsou now that he was ‘free of his presence’
Midoriya quickly shut them down.
The looks he was getting now were less pitying and more confused. He didn’t mind. The sooner
they realized that he was friends with Shinsou from his own free will and not made of glass, the
better. Izuku felt rather pessimistic about people catching on at this point but he would always try
to hope.

That was one of the reasons he was forcing himself to smile right now. Despite All Might’s blunt
dismissal, Izuku still wanted to smile in a way that made people happy. He could see the merit in
tricking the fear in himself too. If he was really going to move forward (don’t think about the
possibility that only one of you can move into the hero class. Don’t think about how if it was a
choice between you and Shinsou, they wouldn’t choose you. Because you’re quirkless. Because
he’s not. Don’t think about how you’d put Shinsou before yourself if it came to that. Don’t think
about how much that would hurt if (when) it happens) than he couldn’t afford to look weak. If he
was going to overcome the shitshow he was heading into he needed a thick skin. He needed to look
stronger than he felt.

Midoriya added an observation to his notebook, face aching slightly from the smile. He knew he
probably looked creepy, but he didn’t mind. He listened to the gossip as it flowed around him like
water, ever changing and forgettable from one moment to the next.

“No, really!” Nero was saying. “He was going to kill me! You should have seen the look in that
villains eye. If Usotsuki hadn’t shaken me out of it and scared him off, there’s no telling what
would have happened to me.”

“Are you okay?” Touka gasped, sending a not so subtle look at Izuku. “He didn’t manage to give
you any orders did he?”

“Would I be here if he did?” Nero said grimly. “That bastard didn’t get the chance. The moment
Usotsuki took a step toward him, he ran with his tail between his legs.”

Izuku’s pen broke in his hand. Izuku shot a startled look at the ink that was now spilling across his
calloused palm. A few people heard the snap and were giving him strange looks. But Izuku just
stood up quietly and left the room without a word. His smile hadn’t held. It was too brittle and fake
to survive the waves of anger his classmates lies were sending through him.

Izuku headed to the bathroom and washed the ink off his hand. His reflection stood starkly in the
bathroom mirror, burn as prominent as ever, hair wild and eyes strangely hallow. Izuku sighed at it.
He’d been getting healthier since he’d made a friend and started working out. He’d stopped looking
as tired and thin, he’d started looking happier. But the boy in the mirror still felt like the boy he
was before he came to this school. Fragile, plain and useless.
So Shinsou had an encounter with some bullies? So soon after the entrance exam too… it couldn’t
be a coincidence.

Something hot settled in Izuku’s chest. That familiar determination that set him running to stand
between bullies and victims, the same insanity that sent him running towards the sludge villain that
long year ago.

He would have to be smarter about this, he reminded himself. He was useless during the sludge
attack. He was useless when he met that villain in the cafe. If he was going to be a hero he couldn’t
afford to be so useless anymore..

Returning to class and waiting out the rest of the school day was agonizingly slow but when it
ended he headed straight towards a certain someone’s locker.

“Higurashi,” Midoriya said, an uncomfortable smile on his face. The girl in question startled.

“...Midoriya?” Haruhi said, in a way that showed she wasn’t expecting him to come up to her.
There was a certain set in the boy’s shoulders that made him seem taller and more confident. It was
kinda off-putting after seeing him look so shy and uncomfortable all the time.

Haruhi glanced around as if expecting him to be talking to someone else.

“You overheard a group of our classmates talking about sabotaging Shinsou, right? That’s how you
knew to come warn us.” he asked. Haruhi tried not to feel disappointed at his clear motive. Oh
well.

“Yeah, I heard them,” she replied wondering how she could spin things in her favor. If he was
gonna talk to her, she might as well make the best of it.

“Do you think you could point them out to me?” he said, pulling out a notebook.

Haruhi blinked. This was her first exposure to the notebooks. She also didn’t think it would be this
easy. “I could… but what’s in it for me?”
Midoriya’s smile broke and he shot her a pouty puppy dog look that was a bit of an unexpected gut
punch. “You’d be doing the right thing,” he said seriously.

Haruhi tilted her head to the side and intentionally grabbed onto her years of bitterness so as to
avoid caving to the guilt he’d just wielded at her like a weapon. “I already did the right thing,” she
reminded. “I alerted the proper authorities. Whatever you’re going to do with these names probably
isn’t something I want to involve myself in.”

The sad puppy eyes became ten times more intense.

“Oh. okay.” he said dejectedly.

Goshdarnit. That look was powerful. “I’ll tell you if you give the Soro a chance.” she said too
quickly like ripping off a band-aid. She was human okay. Sad puppy looks affect everyone.

Midoriya’s puppy eyes thankfully shifted to a look of skeptical annoyance. “Why are you guys so
insistent that I join you? This is getting kinda creepy.”

Haruhi ended up scowling back. “It’s not creepy,” she said, thinking he had no room to talk. “The
Church of Soro is the only place you’ll be safe. I’m trying to save you, asshole.”

Izuku raised a reluctant eyebrow, “Save me from what?”

“The Quirky obviously,” Haruhi scoffed and gestured at Midoriya’s scar. “They murder people like
us every day to the point where we’re going extinct. Are you really gonna stand here and tell me
that isn’t a problem.”

Midoriya frowned biting his lip. “Well, of course, that’s a problem but that doesn’t explain-”

Haruhi gave a drawn out frustrated sigh. “Being a good Soro is the only way people like us can
survive the Fall. sooner or later one of those freaks with quirks is gonna get so powerful that they
wipe out half of humanity. The quirky will fight each other to the death and people like us will end
up as collateral damage. The Soro gives us a third option that doesn’t involve dying. Therefore it’s
in every quirkless person’s self interest to join the Soro and gather as many followers as possible so
we don’t die out.”
Midoriya’s expression was somewhere between concerned and disturbed. “That’s… certainly a
strong stance to take…”

Haruhi made another noise of frustration, “Chikara-sensei explains it better than me. Look, if you
want my information, you come to a meeting. you can hear for yourself. No pressure to come
again. By that point I’ve done everything I could to save your soul and life.”

“This isn’t a drink the Kool-aid situation is it?” Midoriya said still looking extremely
uncomfortable.

Haruhi crossed her arms over her chest.

Midoriya took a long moment to consider his options and whether he wanted to agree to her terms.
Finally he sighed, shoulder slumping yet somehow still tense and wary. “Fine,’ he said holding out
his hand to shake. “One meeting. Just one.”

Haruhi put her hand in his like she expected him to kiss her knuckles. “That’s all I ask.”

An hour later Haruhi found herself regretting to agreement just a little as Midoriya sat across from
her at a parks picnic table, muttering ominously, as he drew red X’s by the names of the bullies she
pointed out.

She noticed at a point that her own page had a red X too. She genuinely did not want to know.

He never did kiss her hand.

Dear Touya

So I’m finally going to UA. We got the results back early because of Endeavor’s connections and
I’m in. It’s not a surprise, I know, but part of me had hoped they would notice that I wasn’t trying
and give the spot to someone more deserving. It’s apparently too much to expect something that
nice from a society that lets Endeavor be a hero. Oh well.
It’s silly, but I miss you. I don’t even really know you but part of me feels like I’d like you, if only
for the reason that you had the guts to get out of this hell hole. It was brave of you to leave.
Endeavor doesn’t even let us talk about you. Fuyumi has told be a little when he’s not home and
Natsuo had a fight with endeavor over my right to know about you. But all Endevor did was call
you a failure that would ‘infect’ me. I think that what ever let you get out is something i’d love to
get ‘infected’ with, but i know he’ll never let me go. I’m too important to his plans.

It’s exhausting being his masterpiece. I wish I wasn’t born with this quirk. I wish he wasn’t our
father. I often wonder how much better our life would be without him. Just us kids and mom. No
pressure to be a hero. No training. No sneaking around. Just a happy real family.

It’s not realistic.

I spend to much dwelling on these thoughts.

I have to go.

With love,

Shouto

Shouto sighed as he folded the letter and slipped it into an envelope. He sealed it but didn’t right an
address on it, beyond the cursive name Touya. Instead he looked at his alarm clock and decided he
had time before his dad got home.

Moving his futon Shouto pulled up one of his floorboards. Inside was a small hole full of his
personal treasures; an all might doll, some comics Natsuo had gotten him, one of his mothers
necklaces, some hard candies, some ice cream wrappers that Fuyumi sometimes bought him
despite his diet, some photos of him and his mother and siblings, and a pile of letters addressed to
his absent brother and committed mother.

Shouto added the most recent letter to the pile.

He would never mail it.

Instead he replaced the board and his futon and returned to his desk so that he could pretend to be
productive when his dad got home. The thought of his dad coming home always filled him with a
sick anxiety, a constant tension of waiting for a violent flaming jack and the box to appear any
moment, inevitably tearing through Shouto’s things and dragging him away to train. Shouto
understood there was nothing he could do about that. Not until he grew up and escaped this damn
household.

Until then he’s have to wait it out.

He hated it, but he would survive.

He swore he would survive.

“Shinsou,” Midoriya said knocking insistently on the door. Hitoshi groaned silently an prayed that
his friend would assume he wasn’t home and leave on his own. Hitoshi didn’t have the energy to
deal with people right now, especially people who cared about him. His mothers were bad enough
with letting him stay home from school and making sure he eats and asking him what they could
do to help and all that.

What he needed was to stew in his depression until he felt so disgusting that he had no other choice
than to take a shower and clean his sheets and start acting alive again. He needed to get to the point
that he was so disgusted with himself that his reasons for being depressed seem minor in
comparison. That way his self loathing would work for him and he’d clean up his act just to spite
himself and the depression itself. It was his fucking process.

But that wasn’t ‘healthy’ apparently and he need to ‘take better care of himself’. Hitoshi already
knew that. If he had a better solution he’d probably do it but depression was fucking stupid and his
emotions did shit whether he liked it or not, so he was just going to deal with it his way, okay?

That internal rant did not make Midoriya leave.

“I can see you through the window, Shinsou,” Midoriya said. His voice edged just left of hurt and
Hitoshi couldn’t deal with that either. Because that meant he’d hurt Midoriya’s feelings and he’d
already messed up enough this week without fucking over the first real friend he’d ever made..
God, he just sucked at human interaction didn’t he. He was just a bastard in every sense of the
word.

Reluctantly Hitoshi got up and let Midoriya in. With the sorta briskness that only someone
inherently cheerful could muster, Midoriya greeted him, showed that he had brought strawberries
to help with Hitoshi ‘cold’, and upon being let in, went and opened the curtains and a window to let
some fresh air in. This wasn’t the first time Midoriya had been over but Hitoshi still felt mildly
irritated and slightly fond as Midoriya essential started fussing and taking care of him. Hitoshi
hated to admit it but Midoriya was good at giving off mom vibes and before he really knew what
was happening he’d been convinced to shower and change his clothes while Midoriya got some
plates and rinsed the strawberries.

Midoriya was too powerful. It wasn’t fair.

Despite feeling better in a general sense after the cool breeze that was Midoriya Izuku blew
through his apartment, Hitoshi still felt shitty. Just shitty in a clean shirt. See this was why he had
the process. Now he was sitting across the table eating strawberries with Midoriya and everything
was awkward.

“So…” Midoriya said. “I heard a version of what happened… with um… Nero and Usotsuki...”

Shit.

“Are you okay?”

“...”

Midoriya chewed his lip anxiously. “...do you want to talk about it?”

“...”

“It’s… um… it’s just that i’m really worried about you and it sounded like they provoked you
unjustly and that they might be the ones who targeted you during the entrance exam. I checked
around and Nero does have a cousin like the kid you mentioned sticking you to the ground. So if
they’d harassed you they must have said some really mean things and if it was mean enough that
you’d be staying home from school than it must have been really bad. Not that I’m saying you’re
lying about being sick. Though I checked if you had a fever. Did it break already or is it the kinda
sick that doesn’t have a fever? What are your symptom? I’m sorry if that sounded inconsiderate. I
guess I’ve just been really worried about you these past couple days. Especially after hearing what
Nero said-”

“Midoriya,” Hitoshi cut in, a wave of guilt coming over him. “I’m fine.”

Midoriya’s eyes narrowed. “‘Fine’ as in you’re fine or fine as in you don’t want to worry me or
deal with your problems?”

Shit.

“That’s not fair, you can’t use your own angst experience against me.”

“Can so!” Midoriya said childishly. “It’s one of the only things i got going for me. Now tell me
how hard i have to hug you to make you feel better.”

“You’re ridiculous,” Hitoshi said crossing his arms and looking away even as he felt a blush rise in
his cheeks.

“So are you,” Midoriya shot back. “And you’re avoiding the question!”

Hitoshi sighed deeply. He knew that if he looked at Midoriya he would lose because he could feel
Midoriya’s eyes burning a hole in the side of his head and it was without a doubt that determined
look he had when they’d first met. Hitoshi often wondered how he ended up being the saner one in
this friendship. He loved Midoriya - AS A FRIEND- but the boy seemed to lack basic survival
instincts, and had a terrifying amount of determination hiding under his squishy innocent face. Like
he’d do literally anything to help anyone and the only thing stopping him was the physical
limitations of being a human.

“Shinsou,” Midoriya said softly, in a more serious voice.

Damn it! He’s too powerful! Anyone who says quirkless people are weak have never been at the
mercy of Midoriya Izuku.
“I-it’s dumb, okay? It’s gonna sound stupid.” Hitoshi said sounding incredible defensive. But he
felt stupid and shitty so shut up.

“If it’s making you feel like this, i’m sure it’s not stupid,” Midoriya said patiently. Annoyingly
patiently.

“It’s just- it’s just…” Hitoshi braced himself. “I- I used it- I almost used it wrong.”

Midoriya tilted his head to the side a moment of confusion passing through his eyes before it
clicked. “You almost hurt someone with your quirk.”

Hioshi pressed his lips tightly together and tried to push down the swelling nausea and anger in his
chest.

Midoriya’s eyes flashed with a thousand thoughts before settling into something contemplative.
“You didn’t though. Nero was fine. Right?”

“That’s not the point!” Hitoshi said with too much force, with too much frustration. “The point is I
thought about doing it and i almost did it. I could have hurt him. I almost did. I- I wanted to- I
wanted to hurt him if that’s not- if that’s not-”

Hitoshi trailed off realizing he was crying. He felt sick and pathetic and he covered his face with
his hands. He couldn’t say the word. The word that had been hanging over him his entire life. He
couldn’t admit it.

“But you didn’t.” midoriya said and Hitoshi was struck by an overwhelming sense of ‘he doesn’t
get it.

“That’s not the point,” he said wetly, bitterly.

“Isn’t it?” Midoriya said tilting his head in the other direction and something seemed to shift in his
posture. Something glinted metallicly in his eyes. Midoriya spread his hands out flat on the table.
“Use your quirk on me.”
“I-what?” Hitoshi said, alarms and anxiety suddenly blaring through his head

“You’ve done it before.” Midoriya said cooly. “Why should now be any different?”

“I- I’m dangerous,” Hitoshi said standing up and backing away a few steps. He was beginning to
hate that fiery look in Midoriya’s eyes. It usually meant Midoriya was going to blow past his
defenses. “Didn’t you hear me?”

“Why?”

“W-what?”

“Why are you dangerous, Shinsou?” Midoriya was wouldn’t break eye contact and it was
unsettling.

“Because I-I might hurt you,” Hitoshi stuttered feeling defenseless. “If I get mad- I might- I might
do something- I almost did do something. ”

“Do you want to hurt me?” Midoriya’s voice was dead serious. Like he was really asking instead of
just leading Hitoshi with his questions. Like he genuinely wanted to know. It was off and
disconcerting because what normal person would want to hurt someone? “Are you planning on
hurting me?”

“No!” Hitoshi almost offended but equally confused. “But that doesn’t mean I won’t. It doesn’t-”

“If you don’t want to, than why would you?” Midoriya asked standing and approaching like a
panther stalking its prey.

“Just back off, okay? It’s none of your business anyway,” Hitoshi said feeling pinned down.
Midoriya shouldn’t be able to look this dangerous. He was quirkless but he looked like he could
take down All Might himself.

“Shinsou,” Midoriya said in a steady voice. “You saved my life using your quirk. Does that mean
nothing to you?”
“I- that was different,” Hitoshi said trying to get some control over this situation. Control was
good, but it wasn’t good. Too much control was bad. But he needed to control himself so he
doesn’t abuse his ability to control others. He-fuck- he knows this- fuck-

“How?”

Hitoshi shot a look at Midoriya’s face and despite the pressure that Shinsou was feeling in the air.
Despite them being a foot apart and not touching. Despite the anxiety and fear that was lighting
Hitoshi’s nerves on fire. Midoriya’s face wasn’t even all that threatening. He was just staring up at
him, with his intense jade eyes and a slight frown on his lips.

“I don’t know! Just back off!” Hitoshi said too distressed.

Midoriya opened his mouth, as though to issue a challenge. Then he stopped, narrowed his eyes
slightly. And instead he stepped forward and hugged Hitoshi.

Hitoshi froze.

He listened to his heartbeat for a few seconds, not sure how to process this unexpected move.

Then something in him snapped and he broke down. Tears, snot, breathing issues, the whole nine
yards.

And Midoriya was just there through all of it. Rubbing small circles on his back with his hand.
Murmuring comfortingly in that familiar rambling voice. Solid.

Hitoshi was sure he must have said some dumb things when he was hysterical like that but what
matters is that Midoriya was there. For him. Even after- after he almost hurt someone Midoriya
was still somehow there and part of Hitoshi was terrified by that. Terrified by how solid Midoriya
was. Terrified by the fact that somehow this person was willing to say in his life… even if… even
with what a mess Hitoshi is… will probably always be.

They were still hugging when Shinsou’s crying settled. He felt disgusting and kind of guilty but
Midoriya was warm and honestly an incredibly good hugger even if they’d ended up kneeling on
the floor at some point.

“I’m sorry I pressured you to use your quirk when you didn’t want to,” Midoriya said seriously.
Hitoshi just shook his head, thoughts a jumble but unable to blame anything on Midoriya in that
moment. He mostly just felt tired.

He leaned his forehead on Midoriya’s shoulder and took a moment to collect himself. Then he
pulled away and took note that Midoriya had been crying too. God, that was just like him.

“You wanna eat the strawberries now?” Midoriya asked with a wobbly smile.

And Hitoshi couldn’t help but let out a little laugh. “Yeah,” he said, sinuses clogged to hell. So it
came out a little distorted. “Yeah okay.”

A lot went unsaid as the went back to the table and ate until there hands were pink and later at
Midoriya’s request made a blanket fort and just hung out. Midoriya caught Hitoshi up on what he
had missed in school and a lot of hero news that Hitoshi hadn’t been paying attention to. But it was
still nice and somehow cathartic.

His issues with his quirk hadn’t changed. They were problems he’d probably always live with. But
at the end of the day his quirk was still his. He couldn’t let a moment of doubt stop him.

The next day Hitoshi would return to class, somehow lighter than before, Midoriya still at his side.

“Okay. three, two, one, reveal!”

“Class 1-c,” Midoriya and Hitoshi said in unison.

“Class 1-a,” Inasa said. And he was holding a small disk instead of a letter.

“Well, at least we’re in the same class,” Midoriya sighed. They were sitting in the lunchroom
revealing which class in UA they got into. They’d all opened their letters before hand, despite
wanting it to be a surprise. Eagerness and in Midoriya’s and Hitoshi’s case anxiety encouraged
them to cheat, but they could still take this moment to share their good fortune.

“What’s that?” Hitoshi asked rather rudely snatching the disk from Inasa’s hands. The hologram
activated and both he and Midoriya stared in awe as All Might appeared and talked about Inasa’s
test scores.

“The hero course gets hologram letter!?” Hitoshi asked offended. “That so freaking unfair. Why do
you guys get hologram projectors and we just get dumb letters?”

“I don’t know,” Inasa said, eyebrows drawing together with concern. “Perhaps we should file a
complaint.”

Midoriya rolled his eyes and smiled, “It’s fine, Inasa, don’t worry about it.”

“It’s unfair,” Hitoshi reminded. Midoriya just waved him off.

“But still,” Midoriya said looking a bit like he was going to vibrate out of his shoes. “We’re all
going to UA! We all made it even with the… er… unforeseen circumstances. Pretty soon me and
Shinsou will be joining you in the hero course and we’ll all be on our way to being heroes. This is
so exciting!”

“It is very exciting,” Inasa said, always able to match Midoriya’s energy. “Even if we’re not in the
same class i’m sure i’ll be able to see you everyday. It’ll be nice to know i have friends going into
this school. I CAN’T WAIT!”

The last sentence was shouted, because Inasa lacked volume control when he got over excited. A
few people in the cafeteria shot them strange looks, but everyone was too afraid of Hitoshi to
comment.

“Yeah, me too, buddy,” Hitoshi acknowledged. He’d been gradually coming to the conclusion that
Inasa was just a human golden retriever. And while Hitoshi was a cat person, he wan’t not a dog
person and he could appreciate Inasa for his puppyish charms.

“You guys should design your hero costumes anyway!” Inasa said enthusiastically.
“I… what?” Midoriya said looking startled by that line of questioning.

“hero course kids are supposed to include a costume design with their return letter. We should
design hero costumes together, even if you aren’t in the hero course yet, it never hurts to be ready.
We might even be a team in the future so we can make a theme and everything!”

Midoriya laughed nervously. “That actually sounds really fun. I-um- I don’t really have any ideas,
at least not cringey ones that i drew in primary school.”

Inasa’s eyes sparkled. “I would love to see your primary school designs.”

“Please no,” Midoriya said covering his face with his hands and crumbling his letter a bit. That
drew Hitoshi attention to the fact that Midoriya’s letter was thicker than his.

“Hey, what’s this,” Hitoshi said grabbing for the extra page but Midoriya dodged out of the way
and shot him a look. Okay, so he may have been in a grabby mood today. That just showed that
Hitoshi was comfortable with them.

“It’s nothing important,” Midoriya said, smoothing out the letter and eyeing Hitoshi warily as if he
expected him to make a second attempt. That was a fair conclusion.

“If it’s nothing important than why can’t you tell us?” Hitoshi deadpanned.

Midoriya sighed. “It’s just a ...quirkless thing. Don’t worry about it.”

The look that Hitoshi gave him was enough to have Midoriya rolling his eyes in slight
exasperation. “It’s a note about when i can talk to my guidance counselor with my mom. Since
quirklessness is technically considered a disability nowadays, it’s traditional for parents with
quirkless kids to touch base with the school and let them know if the kid, in this case me, has any
special needs that the school needs to cater to.”

“Wha-but you’re just as capable as anyone else. Why would you need special treatment?” Hitoshi
scowled.
“I might be as capable as anyone else, but… well it’s kinda a thing with the younger generation of
quirkless people. We tend to have a higher risk of mental illness and suicide. I’m sure it’s a thing
that’s supposed to help and honestly me and mom have been having these meeting since i was
four. It’s not a big deal.”

“It’s also probably relevant that Midoriya is the first quirkless person to attend UA,” Inasa noted.
“Even if you’re not in the hero course that is still an incredible achievement. Since UA is so
prestigious and you’re making history, they might want to make a big deal about it.”

Midoriya flushed. “I-it’s not that big of a deal!” he said flapping his hands.

“No…” Hitoshi said consideringly. “No, he’s right. You might actually be a pretty big deal.”

“N-no i’m not!” Midoriya said getting more flustered.

“Midoriya Izuku, making strides for the quirkless,” Shinsou could help but offer a shiteating grin
in response. “I can see the articles now.”

“Stoooopppp,” Midoriya said changing into a turtle and wrapping his face with his arms.

“But it’s true,” Inasa said with genuine admiration. “You’re making history for the quirkless,
you’re the first quirkless person to attend a Japanese hero school. You belong in newspapers,
Midoriya.”

Midoriya’s face dropped to the table with a thunk. His response was mumbled and
incomprehensible.

“Do i need to fight you,” Hitoshi teased. “I will fight you to make you understand how much you
matter. I will fist you with my friendship.”

Midoriya snorted hard and lifted his head to give Hitoshi an incredulous grin. “Shinsou, do you
even know what fisting is?”

Abruptly Hitoshi found himself going pink with embarrassment because he had forgotten and now
he was being called out on it. Midoriya just laughed harder at his expense. The traitor.

Hitoshi crossed his arms over his chest still flushed. “Well, you know what it is, too!” he said
defensively.

“I’ve been on the internet before, Shinsou,” Midoriya responded sassily. “I know a lot of things.”

“You look so innocent but you’re a pervert, aren’t you?” Hitoshi deadpanned.

“hey! I am not! You’re the one who said you were going to fist me!”

“With friendship !”

“Pervert!”

“Otaku!”

“Giraffe!”

“Midget!”

“I will fight you!”

“You’ll need a ladder!”

“He has one!” Inasa said suddenly cutting in and appearing around the table. He easily hoisted
Midoriya onto his shoulders, who gave a startled yelp. “Now who’s the tallest!”

Midoraya’s face split into a wild grin that Inasa matched. “Yeah! Get fucked, Shinsou!”
 Despite himself, a manic grin mad it’s way to Hitoshi’s lips. “Oh it is on!”

Chapter End Notes

Midoriya ‘fight me’ Izuku: “wait! Picking a fight is actually destressing him!? Quick
use the mom technique!”
*hugs Shinsou*
it’s super effective

-Usotsuki means liar

-I half planned for there to be a scene of emotional jamming after the hug-cry, but it
actually felt more natural not to have it. Sometimes you don’t have to talk about your
problems or even solve them to feel better.
-I know with the last line having midoriya swear there is kinda ooc but i’d like to think
that he’s self aware enough to know how cute and innocent he looks and how funny it
is when he does swear. Also shinsou and kacchan are bad influences. Inasa does throw
out a ‘language’ if that makes you feel better.

Sorry this chapter took so long guys. I wanted to do foreshadowy stuff and i needed a
better idea of the future of the fic to write that.

Discord:
https://discord.gg/SEkN8ee
Tumblr:
https://amarelibertius.tumblr.com
 A Symbol
Chapter Summary

Midoriya and Shinsou visit a church.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

“I hate everything about this and I still say we should bail.”

Izuku sighed. They were walking down a street in Dooku Prefecture on their way to the Soro
church, and Shinsou was still trying to talk him out of it. They’d been having this argument for a
couple of days now but Izuku was stubborn. “I keep my promises.”

“Even if the promise is beyond stupid?” Shinsou asked incredulously.

“It’s just a church, Shinsou,” Izuku huffed, beyond done with this.

“A church that has been giving off mad cult vibes and that seems to have specific interest in you,”
Shinsou insisted. “It’s creepy. This is stupid and you know it’s stupid.”

“It’ll be fine,” Izuku said, in an unconvincing tone.

“You sound like a victim in an American horror movie,” Shinsou said petulantly.

“You watch those,” Izuku couldn’t help but snort, drawing an annoyed glare from his taller friend.
“They’re so tacky.”

“They’re fun,” Shinsou said defensively. “And all the characters deserve to get murdered because
they’re too dumb to walk away from obviously dangerous situations. Like how you’re acting right
now.”
“It’s not that I’m too dumb, Shinsou, I know this is stupid,” Izuku sighed exasperated. “But I
made-”

“A promise.” Shinsou finished. They’d been going in circles for what felt like forever. “A dumb
promise, that you shouldn’t have to keep because it’s stupid.”

Izuku didn’t bother answering. Shinsou scowled, but if he really wanted to stop Izuku, he wouldn’t
be walking with him to the church in the first place. He wouldn’t be going with him. So Izuku had
already won.

Shinsou crossed his arms, still pouting. “If they drug and kidnap us, I’m unfriending you on
Snapchat.”

“Why must you hurt me like this?” Midoriya replied dryly.

“Because you have no sense of self-preservation and this is the only way you’ll learn,” Shinsou
said snidely.

“That’s fair.”

They reached the church, and it looked… nice. Not ominous or scary or creepy or cult-like. It
looked like a normal temple, with high walls and two shrine gates. The buildings were Zenshūyō
style, with curved pent roofs and wide hinged doors and bell-shaped windows. The layout seemed
open and straightforward. There was the main hall, a lecture hall, a training ground for martial arts,
and a small cemetery. The buildings themselves were either plain wood or whitewashed. The roofs
were tinted green with age.

The entire place was peaceful and aged, like it had been here long before quirks.

Shinsou was incredibly tense, but Izuku approached the first gate without fear. At the top of the
gate was a thin metal circle that opened like a window through the top portion of the gate. Izuku
recognized it as the symbol that Chikara-sensei had worn and that had been on the card and
pamphlet that Izuku had received. Cautiously, Izuku clapped before entering, unsure of the
church’s specific customs. Not wanting to be left behind, Shinsou followed quickly behind,
glancing around, still paranoid.
“Greetings, travelers of the path,” a voice greeted, and they turned to see a shrine maiden coming
towards the gate. She was dressed much like Chikara-sensei, only in a pale blue. Unlike the priest,
she didn’t wear a cowl, however; she looked in general pretty average. Her long black hair was
plaited behind her and she had freckles like Izuku. “My name is Kurushimu. What can I help you
with today?”

Shinsou looked like he still wanted to leave, but Midoriya smiled brightly. “Hello,” he said
respectfully. “My name is Midoriya and this is Shinsou. A friend of mine told me to visit.”

“Ah, new followers!” the girl chimed excitedly. “Welcome, welcome,” she bowed twice. “Follow
me. You are just in time for one of Chikara-sensei’s lectures. He is the high priest here, and I’m
sure once the lecture finishes, he’ll want to talk to you.”

She led them towards the lecture hall, a little skip in her step. Entering the lecture hall, they bowed
towards where Chikara-sensei stood, still clothed in robes and a hood that covered his face, and
still accompanied by a breathing apparatus. He didn’t interrupt what he was saying but he did send
them a small bow, signalling them to sit. Shinsou and Midoriya ended up sitting seiza style behind
around thirty or so regular students. No one turned to acknowledge them. Kurushimu sat next to
them to fill them in on anything they might not understand.

Chikara spoke, “-emptiness is beyond this reality. Beyond what we perceive and interact with. It is
essentially an unreality. An understanding that nothing exists outside the mind. Everything we
perceive, the day to day bustle, the physical things we interact with, the people we love and hate
and experience; it is all an illusion. A perception of the mind. To achieve enlightenment, to reach
the pure land when we are reborn, one must first let go of these illusions.”

“When we are born, we are presented with many temptations that intoxicate and blind us to the
reality that exists. Suffering and evil seek to limit our understanding of this reality. In essence, we
have been told from the time of our birth that we exist and that all of this matters. That the people
we interact with matter, the money and jobs and violence we face in our daily lives matter. That
quirks matter. And I am telling you now, my students, that is a lie. The material plane, our idea of
existence and attachments, are lies made up by the mind. Hallucinations, to test you and to create a
cycle of suffering.”

“But if our attachments, if our perceived reality does not exist, than neither does suffering. That is
the point, dear children. Suffering is an illusion that our own mind seeks to trap us in and only
through higher understanding can one free themselves from the cage they themselves have
created.”
“We will meditate on these thoughts,” Chikara said solemnly, and left the students to sit and
meditate for fifteen or so minutes. Izuku and Shinsou felt awkward, but did their best to meditate
too, though the whole ‘nothing is real’ line of thinking was a bit of a hard sell. Izuku supposed it
must be like the Socrates thing? All I know is that I know nothing. Like relative reality? Nothing
really exists outside the self and therefore holding on too strongly to your sense of reality is lying to
yourself because really you don’t know if it’s real…

Conceptually, Izuku kinda got it, but he wasn’t about to let go of his grasp of reality just yet.
Mental or not, reality affects him whether he believes it does or not. Dissociating from ‘suffering’
probably wouldn’t have stopped Bakugou from blowing off part of his face. It wouldn’t stop a
villain from killing him. Even in the event of reincarnation being a thing, Izuku didn’t really see
the point in not dealing with reality on a mental level. Because either he could address the issues on
the physical plane and help people that way, or he could do nothing and just suffer needlessly
anyway. It was all kinda wishy washy stuff for something that could be much simpler if taken at
the face value of existing.

“Now,” Chikara-sensei said in a soothing voice as people gradually broke from their meditation.
“Do any of you have any questions before I end today’s lecture?”

Izuku ended up feeling mortified when Shinsou raised his hand because he got the distinctive
feeling that Shinsou was going to be disrespectful.

“Ah yes,” Chikara said pointing to Shinsou. “Shinsou, was it?”

It was impressive that he remembered his name… and maybe a little creepy.

Shinsou did not disappoint on the whole being disrespectful thing. “What does this have to do with
being quirkless?”

Chikara gave a delighted laugh. “New to the path, are you? It’s a common question, but not a bad
one.” Izuku watched some of the other students smile and nudge each other, as if to say remember
when we were so young? “Your answer also lies in emptiness. If the material catches are an
illusion, so too are quirks. They are a distraction. A trap, to catch and distract you from the true
reality. We are all human. We are all conscious threads in a larger tapestry. The infinite universe.”

“It is simple. To achieve nirvana, one must empty themselves of earthly ties. The quirkless are one
step closer to internal peace than those who have quirks, because we have one less trap to wrap
ourselves in. That isn’t to say having a quirk is bad, or that those without a quirk are better than
others. We are all human, and we are all fallible. Our church simply seeks to enlighten as many as
possible and helping the quirkless is an important step, especially given the burdens society puts
on us. The sooner we free ourselves of those burdens, the sooner we can spread these teachings
and free others.”

“...Right.” Shinsou responded, eyebrows furrowed. Izuku agreed that there was a lot to unpack in
all that.

“Any more questions?” When no one else came forward, Chikara set them loose and Izuku and
Shinsou stood, stretching their legs. Kurushimu smiled at them.

“Wait around. I’m sure Chikara would like to introduce himself, though it appears that he already
recognizes you.” She winked and Shinsou pulled a face. “After that, I can give you a more
complete tour of the temple and tell you more about our practices.”

“That’s…” Izuku tried to protest.

“Midoriya, Shinsou,” Chikara cut in, holding out his hand for them to shake. Kurushimu bowed to
him in greeting and he briefly bowed back. “It’s so good of you to come to a meeting. I hope
you’ve found the lecture enlightening.”

“It was fine,” Izuku said, voice a little tighter than natural.

“Good, good.” Chikara-sensei nodded. There was a brief moment of silence that could be
considered awkward where no one said anything.

“...I actually wanted to talk with you,” Chikara-sensei said suddenly, facing Izuku. “I know it
seems terribly rude of me, but I must admit, something about you caught my interest a while back.
If you would come along to my office, I’ll explain.”

Shinsou grabbed tightly onto Izuku’s bicep, to communicate a warning without words. Izuku
understood the ‘it’s a trap’ that he was trying to say. Izuku shot him an wary look but smiled at the
priest. “Of course, sensei.”

“Shinsou, you’re more than welcome to join us,” Chikara offered gently.
Shinsou could not have looked more baleful. “I’d be delighted,” he said dryly.

“You can return to your duties, Kurushimu,” he said, acknowledging the shrine maiden. “We might
be a while.”

“Yes, sensei,” Kurushimu bowed deeply at her dismissal.

The priest nodded in return and led them to the back of the lecture hall and up a hidden staircase to
the second floor. The staircase was annoyingly narrow, and Shinsou had to duck a little when they
entered the room. The top floor of the building was a space full of bookshelves with several old
looking tomes and a number of scrolls lining the walls. Several low tables already had papers
covering them, looking to be a place for studying. But towards the back another table was set up
like a more typical office space with folders, a printer, a calculator and much newer-looking paper.
The modern technology seemed to clash with the older things and just how old the building was
but Izuku supposed it was a necessary evil.

Chikara-sensei picked his way over to that table and gestured for them to sit. “Would you like any
tea?”

Izuku and Shinsou politely declined even as they sat on the mats near the modern table. Chikara
seemed to understand and went about preparing a cup for himself, at least. The kettle was in the
corner near the stairwell. As he did, he hummed a little song that sounded familiar somehow. Izuku
squinted slightly but couldn’t place it.

“So,” Chikara said, finally setting down his tea and sitting seiza style across from them. “First, I
have to ask, what did you think of the lecture?”

Izuku and Shinsou exchanged a look again. “It was very interesting, sensei.”

Chikara laughed good naturedly. “You don’t have to spare my feelings, you know. Believe me,
I’ve heard it all.”

“It’s just…” Izuku was unsure how to put it.

“Creepily radical and possibly dangerous.” Shinsou supplied.

That startled another laugh from the priest, and he seemed surprisingly easygoing for someone
who moments before was spilling heated doctrine. “That’s fair,” Chikara said warmly. “To be
honest, even I feel some of our doctrine is outdated. Most of these scrolls predate quirks. The Soro
religion originally went by a different name, and many of the customs were adopted from that to
form the new religion, but not everything translates. At its heart, we are doing our best to spread
kindness and safety and peace. But I can understand where you’re coming from.”

Izuku and Shinsou’s eyes met and they had yet another silent conversation. They were getting good
at this. Shinsou prompted Izuku to talk.

“If you don’t fully believe in what you’re saying… then why do you teach it?”

“Would you rather I erase thousands of years of beautiful culture and history?” Chikara said, and
the boys got the impression that he was raising his eyebrows. “My Soro are good people. They are
capable of wisdom beyond their years, and I have always been one to encourage free thinking. My
Soro know what to take with a grain of salt.”

“And… you’re sure about that?” Shinsou said skeptically.

“I have no reason to doubt them,” Chikara said serenely. His cowl didn’t allow them to get a better
read of his feelings.

Shinsou shot Izuku a can you believe this guy? look. Izuku’s smile was strained. “Well, it’s good
you have faith in them.”

Chikara’s finger tapped on the side of his glass. “You think me naive,” he said. Midoriya winced.
“I’ve found…” The priest chose his words carefully. “I’ve found that faith often takes an amount
of naivety. That doesn’t make it wrong. I’d much rather have faith in others than believe the worst
in them. That small amount of faith can be the difference between making a friend and an enemy.
Between someone taking your hand and refusing it.”

Midoriya looked away, because he did agree with that on some level. He felt uncomfortable
agreeing fully, though. He still got weird vibes from this entire situation and he was inclined to
listen to his instincts.

“How about this?” Chikara said, clapping his hands in an attempt to clear the tension. “You do
your own research. You seem like smart boys, capable of drawing your own conclusions. Give me
and the church a background check. Learn what we’re all about firsthand. Draw your own
conclusion. I’ll even supply you some books. Before I became a priest, I was a pre-quirk historian,
you know?”

“Really?” Izuku couldn’t hide his surprise. Chikara nodded and pulled down some very old books
from the shelf.

“I’ll have to ask that you don’t take these out of this room, but you can visit anytime you want to
read them. I can make you a list of other resources too.” Chikara put the books down on an empty
table and Shinsou bit his lip. Izuku got the strong impression that even he was curious about what
kind of knowledge they held. “Did you know that the introductions of quirks was equivalent to the
bubonic plague? It takes a lot to stop the advancement of technology. A lot of information was lost
in the first fifty years of fighting. A lot of lives were lost through the entire thing, too.”

Shinsou frowned. “You mean the Quirk war? Wasn’t that more about the establishment of the hero
system?”

“That’s the revisionist perspective,” Chikara shrugged. “History is written by the victors. In
reality, the entire situation was more complicated and a lot more violent than a lot of people like to
think about. I’m sure your school likes to gloss over it because you’re children and they feel
promoting the hero system is important.”

Izuku remembered Wasu’s visions. The men in the riot gear. The way people were dropping like
flies around them. The ‘hero’ with the green sclera. He’d been meaning to look more into the
history of it all…

“It was only in the last hundred years that the hero system started really taking off. Same for the
recovery of the technology that was lost. It was also towards the beginning of the hero system that
all the anti-quirkless laws were passed. The ones declaring us disabled and limiting our ability to
climb in politics and social matters. Hang on, I think I have some pamphlets,” Chikara went back to
the shelves and explored them while Shinsou started browsing the books Chikara brought out.

“Aha!” Chikara said pulling out a folder out of a organization box. He opened it and spread some
laminated pamphlets on the table. “Anti-quirkless propaganda. Fascinating, huh?”

Fascinating was a word for it. Disturbing was another word. Izuku read through one of the
pamphlets, feeling the blood drain from his face. It talked about how quirkless people were more
prone towards mental illness. It called them dangerously imbalanced and weak. Almost all of it
was with the angle of protecting them. Save them from themselves. For their own good.

“Why do you keep this stuff?” Shinsou asked in slight disgust.

“I’m a historian.” Chikara reminded. “This is part of our collective pasts. Quirkless people have
been opressed ever since we lost the war. It affects us still. There are laws against quirkless people
joining the military and applying for political positions. There’s laws about whether we’re
qualified to adopt or support ourselves. We legally qualify as disabled even if there’s nothing
physically wrong with us.”

Izuku frowned down at his hands, knowing this all too well. He’d been living with this reality since
he was four. He’s heard the whispers, seen his mother fill out the paperwork, noticed the news
stories. He often thought about how much easier things would be if his quirk would just appear,
how freeing it would be. It seemed so close, but so far away. All it had to do was appear. That was
all it would take to make him be like everyone else. That’s all it would take for him to be accepted.

Izuku knew it was kind of pathetic. He should like himself for who he is. He should accept that he
was quirkless and that it wasn’t a bad thing. But it was hard not to long for things to be easier. He
did wish he could be accepted as quirkless and treated as normal too. But sometimes that felt even
more out of reach.

Shinsou shook his head scowling. “It’s not right.”

“It’s not.” Chikara-sensei sounded happy that Shinsou agreed. “Which brings us around to what I
wanted to talk to you boys about.” Both boys tensed. “Midoriya, I heard you wanted to be a hero. Is
that right?”

Midoriya’s mouth went dry. He nodded, wondering about where the priest got this information. He
supposed Higurashi could have told him, but she’d seemed so dismissive about the idea.

“That’s fantastic,” Chikara said warmly.

Izuku’s stomach did a little flip. “It is?”

Chikara sat back down across from them. “Beyond providing shelter for the quirkless I can reach,
beyond believing in the teaching of the Soro, I want to improve the lives of the quirkless in general.
I want to improve the world we live in. I feel you becoming a hero would be a powerful step in
that.”

“What?” Izuku said, blinking dumbly.

“What the quirkless need is a symbol,” Chikara said earnestly. “This is a civil rights movement,
Midoriya, and so long as we let ourselves get tread on, we can’t move forward. But if you were to
become a hero, you’d make a point to the world that we’re still here and that we are equal to them.
You’d be a symbol that quirkless people can stand behind.”

That’s a lot of pressure, Izuku thought, eyes wide. He hadn’t thought of it like that, more focused
on the how than the what, but that was a slightly terrifying thought. He would… it was important.
He knew it would mean a lot to him to see someone else become a quirkless hero. He’d thought of
being that for others, but the wider social implications is the scary part. He didn’t want this to be
political. He just wanted to be a hero to help people. But just the fact that he was quirkless would
make it political. Just the fact that he was quirkless would make it controversial. Oh god, this
might be a lot harder than he thought...

“And what does that have to do with you?” Shinsou cut in, addressing the priest’s involvement.
“Izuku will be a hero whether you involve yourself or not.”

Izuku wished he had as much faith in himself as Shinsou did.

Chikara held up his hands placatingly. “I’ll admit, it’s a bit selfish. I do have ulterior motives. I
wish to sponsor you, Midoriya. Financially. you’d also get access to the resources of the church.
You can study anything in this room. You can join us in martial arts training. All I ask in return is
that you promote the church when you do make it as a hero.”

“I…” Izuku flushed and bit his lip. The vote of faith was kind, almost too kind. And this might be
one of the best opportunities he could get. A fantastic offer. But Izuku still had reservations about
this whole church. And part of him wanted to do it on his own. “Can I think about it?”

“Of course,” Chikara said gently. “You two are always welcome here.”

Ten minutes later, Shinsou and Izuku finally found themselves outside the second gate. Izuku
couldn’t help but take a deep breath like he was breathing fresh air for the first time. He rolled his
shoulders and shook some of the tension out of his hands.
“That was weird,” Shinsou summed up, looking just as glad to be out of the temple as Izuku felt.

Izuku had a lot to think about.

“And with that, I bring our meeting to a close,” Nedzu smiled. “All Might, please stay after. And
Snipe, a reminder, we have that parent-teacher meeting tomorrow for your special needs student.”

“Yessir,” Snipe nodded, packing up his things.

All Might fidgeted uncomfortably at being called out, but waited as the room emptied. Nedzu
observed with amusement. “You aren’t in trouble.” He clarified.

All Might started slightly and looked away guiltily for being read so easily. Finally, Aizawa
dragged himself sleepily from the room and they were alone.

“It’s the potential students,” Nedzu said, tapping a small pile of files before handing them over to a
slightly more eager All Might. “We have a lot of potential this year…”

Nedzu watched as all Might blew through the files, not reading them but clearly looking for
someone specific. Nedzu watched as All Might’s face fell when he didn’t find it. Nedzu knew who
he was looking for.

“He didn’t get in…” he said, sounding disappointed.

“You shouldn’t set your heart so strongly on one student, Yagi-san,” Nedzu said, trying to portray
himself as a calm and reasonable. “There are plenty of students with potential outside that boy you
met a year ago. Look; Uraraka Ochako pushed the limits of her quirk to escape the zero pointer
during the entrance exam. Inasa Yoarashi got in on recommendations and he obviously shares your
fiery spirit. Hagakure Tooru got in almost completely on rescue points. All of them are completely
viable options.”

Yagi rubbed the back of his neck bashfully. “I know,” he said seriously. “Perhaps it’s a bit…
romantic of me to want the quirkless boy for my student, but he has heroic instincts. He did the
right thing at great personal risk and he even paid for it later.” All Might looked away, gaunt
expression grim. “People like him… like us… they don’t get a lot chances in the real world. I want
to do something good for him. I want to help him reach his full potential and see him truly shine. I
want to give him the same opportunity I was given.”

Nedzu was glad that he was hard to read. He’d always appreciated All Might’s ideals and some of
the influence he had on society. He was right, it was a romantic story; the formally quirkless hero
passing on his quirk to another quirkless dreamer. And perhaps, depending on how his
conversation with Midoriya went tomorrow, All Might might find a successor in Midoriya yet.

But, Nedzu would admit, he felt like All Might was underestimating the potential the Midoriya boy
had without a quirk. All Might had been at the top of the hero world for so long that he had trouble
seeing the forest for the trees. He tended to internalize his own feelings and experiences over what
data and the world had to say on such matters. Such a mindset might help him stay morally
resilient, but it did not make him an accomplished chess player. True strategists thought moves
ahead and looked at the board as a whole. All Might, for all his strategy and skill in the field, rarely
thought so far ahead outside of battle. It may be the death of him one day.

Nedzu would have to meet the boy to get a proper reading on him however.

“Perhaps you’ll see him again and you can do something else that’s nice for him,” Nedzu said,
cocking his head to the side. “Romantic or not, you are a time crunch, Yagi. The limitations of your
health will make things dangerous for both you and your successor. You don’t want to leave your
successor with no one to train them because you ran out of time.”

All Might’s expression darkened with guilt and Nedzu knew he’d pressed the right button. He
looked through the files in his hand again. “Perhaps you’re right,” he sighed. “I’ll go over these
tonight. Thank you, Nedzu.”

“Of course, All Might,” the principal said and smiled as the man left. “Take care of yourself.”

All Might gave him a nod to acknowledge he’d heard, but he seemed too deep in thought to give a
proper goodbye. Nedzu spun his chair so that it was facing away from the door and allowed
himself to relax slightly.

Midoriya Izuku...

He was an interesting boy. It was a shame about the entrance exam, but the school board outvoted
him. It might be better this way, anyway. People would have a harder time arguing whether the boy
 deserved to be in the hero course if he proved himself publicly in the Sports Festival. That was a
big if, though. Not everyone was cut out for the hero course, and if the boy failed to prove himself,
he’d have a harder fight against him. The average person isn’t equipped to fight the tide either.
Midoriya will need extremely strong resolve and a proper support system if he’s going to make it
against a society that wants to break him.

But… the boy had already impressed All Might. He survived a tragedy with the willingness to keep
trying, at least at attending UA. Nedzu needed more information to see if he really had what it took.
but...

Midoriya Izuku, first quirkless hero and UA alumni...

Well, that had a certain ring to it.

Chapter End Notes

-Zenshūyō means zen style. I kinda obviously don’t know much about japanese
architecture and I got my information from google
-Likewise the Soro’s philosophy's are modeled after zen and amida buddhism. I mean
no disrespect to any one who follow these beliefs. The church’s practices themselves
are improvised by me.

Some references:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zensh%C5%ABy%C5%8D
https://www.lamayeshe.com/

-if you’re going to tell me ‘but All Might is smart’ please remember that it’s Nedzu
who’s talking and while he certainly isn’t going to underestimate All Might’s
intelligence, I would say the principal is significantly better at chess.

Discord:
https://discord.gg/SEkN8ee
Tumblr:
https://amarelibertius.tumblr.com
 Opening doors
Chapter Summary

Izuku meets with the principal

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

“Welcome to UA academy!” the small animal said with a lot of enthusiasm. He was standing on
his desk so that they were about eye level. He wore tiny black pants, a black vest and a tiny red
bow tie. He had white fur and was possibly a mutated mouse? He was also the principal of the
school. “I wanted to personally congratulate you, Midoriya Izuku, for you are making history! You
are the first quirkless student to walk these halls! Congratulations.”

His mom had gone off with Snipe-sensei - The Snipe! He was going to be taught by the pro hero
Snipe - to fill out paperwork and such. It was pretty clear that the principal wanted to talk to Izuku
one-on-one, and that fact alone was making Izuku really anxious. It was still hard to believe he’d be
attending UA. That he’d be coming to this school every day to be taught by pro heroes.

“Ah- thank you!” Izuku said, bowing sharply.

Principal Nedzu smiled widely. “It’s no problem at all!” he said, waving a tiny paw. Midoriya’s
eyes caught on his tiny pink toe beans and he knew Shinsou would adore them. “Your success is
entirely your own. As an educator, I am here merely to further your goals.”

“Oh, uh- thank you,” Midoriya said again.

Principal Nedzu seemed to read him. “What exactly are your goals, Midoriya, if you don’t mind
me asking?”

Izuku felt an instant spike of fear. Part of him wanted to shrink down and lie. He got the feeling
that Nedzu would see right through him, however. He also had to wonder about the letter Nedzu
had sent him before. Was it not obvious? Or did the principal perhaps forget? That seemed
unlikely. Was this a test? Midoriya swallowed his fear and squared his shoulders. “I want to be a
hero, sir.”
The principal’s body language instantly changed. His black animal eyes glinted with interest and
approval. “Is that so? Have a seat.”

Izuku instantly followed the order.

The principal went to sit in his chair behind his desk. Despite the goosebumps and slight fear that
he was going to get instantly expelled, Midoriya couldn’t help but wonder if the educator had some
sort of booster seat to be able see over the desk.

Principal Nedzu pressed his paws together and smiled, and any absent thought about how cute the
principal was vanished. His smile was sharp and definitely not human or the one he had on a
minute ago; not the smile he put on for the media. It was hungry.

“So, you want to shake the system, Midoriya Izuku?” he asked softly.

Midoriya looked back at him and tightened his hold on his resolve. If there was one thing that
could be said about him, it was that he was stubborn. “Yes, sir.”

The principal didn’t break eye contact for a long silent moment. Izuku refused to break. The
principal seemed to find what he was looking for, and smiled wider. “Fantastic,” he said
emphatically. Midoriya felt another chill go up his spine. “I love challenges, Midoriya, and I love
those who take challenges. Tell me, my boy, how much do you know about quirked animal
rights?”

Izuku opened his mouth to respond, sure that the information would just be there because he knew
so very much about heroes and villains and law because of his fanboy obsession. But then he froze,
because the information wasn’t there. How… how did he not know this? This seemed like the kind
of stuff he should know! It must have come up at some point!

Oh god! Was this a test? Did the principal expect him to know this and did the fact that he didn’t
mean he had failed and he was going to get expelled from a school he hadn’t even attended yet?!
Oh god! He had to know something! Brain, work! BRAIN, WORK!

“It’s okay, Midoriya,” the principal said patiently. “It’s not surprising that you don’t know. Very
few people are aware of such things. Very few need to be.” Oh god, Izuku wanted to die. “The
reason I bring it up, Mr. Midoriya, is because, while it is something most people don’t care about,
it is something that has affected every aspect of my life.”
Izuku stopped panicking to stare at Principal Nedzu, empathy instantly overcoming any other
instinct. It’s like being quirkless, Izuku knew the principal meant. Only it was probably much
worse, because there were far more quirkless people than sentient passing animals. Oh man, now
he really wished he knew more about quirked animal law, purely because he was sure they were
inadequate and people like Nedzu, animals like Nedzu, were probably being hurt by it.

He also knew that quirkless people probably had it easier in comparison because quirkless people
weren't always the minority. There were some laws he’d found in his research that were actually
advantageous to getting away with crime, and some that actually made it harder to get away with
other crimes. Vague old laws that haven’t been struck from the books because they were either
forgotten or low on the priority list of the Japanese government. Nedzu and animals like him
probably didn’t have that kind of advantage.

How bad was it? In the two hundred years since quirks appeared, there must have been some
sentient-passing animals that fought for quirky animal rights. Midoriya doubted that there were
enough of them to have the same sway over the law as the new and growing population of quirked
people, so there must have been people who worked with quirked animals, right? But not all of
them would have humanlike sentience, some would just be animals with power. But animals can be
pretty sentient on their own. They clearly have emotions and intelligence. Hmm…

But Izuku would have heard more about quirk animal law if it was present, right? Surely it would
have come up in history or even in the research on quirkless history Izuku’s been researching
recently. Perhaps it comes up more in other nations? It can’t be that it doesn’t exist, that would be
inhumane… or… is there another word that that applies to animals? There probably should be…

Nedzu gave a little bark of laughter, and Izuku jolted from his thoughts. Realizing he was
muttering, he blushed. “Er… sorry.”

“Not at all, Midoriya,” the principal said, voice hinting at excitement. Izuku couldn’t help but shift
uncomfortably. The principal gave of a weird vibe. Not a danger vibe, but a you’re not safe vibe, if
that makes sense. It was the difference between something actively trying to kill you and
something that could kill you but probably won’t.

...It was probably bad that Izuku was getting so good at reading these feelings. But hey, instincts,
right? Those are good for hero work, right?

“I personally like to ramble as well,” Principal Nedzu went on. “It’s a tricky habit. I tend to lose
people when I get too into a subject, but I do so enjoy thinking things through and having
stimulating conversations. You strike me as someone I could really talk to… perhaps once the
school year gets started, I’ll invite you to tea sometime.”

“That sounds great,” Izuku said, voice cracking slightly.

“Splendid!” Nedzu clapped his hands, but it didn’t make a lot of noise. Izuku once again found
himself staring at the toe beans. “Now getting to my point. You are correct in there being a reason
you haven’t heard about quirked animal rights, and that’s because there are very few of them. You
humans seem to be under the impression that we animals only deserve basic decency when we’re
your pets. Otherwise, we’re your food or your tools for experimentation. The only reason I’m so
well off, Mr. Midoriya, is that I was legally granted citizenship after a great deal of politics on me
and my human lawyer’s parts. I was treated as an exception to the rule rather than a sign that the
laws in general needed to be changed.”

The impression Izuku was getting was that he was definitely bitter. His palms were sweating and he
didn’t know what the principal wanted, but he was worried.

“That hasn’t stopped my fight, of course,” the principal said, smile thin. “But the Japanese courts
seem content with the bone they threw me, and think I’m being greedy.”

“That’s awful,” Izuku said honestly.

“It truly is.” Nedzu sat up and took sip of tea. “If I were to die tomorrow, few would lose any sleep
about it. Perhaps, my friends and other people who knew me well, but to most I am just an animal.
My death is inconsequential in the scheme of things.” Nedzu paused, swirling his tea in his glass.
“As would yours.”

Izuku’s breath caught in his throat.

“I am an educator, Midoriya. I will not cover up the truth by sugar coating things,” Nedzu said
darkly. “Quirkless people go missing or die constantly, and the cruel fact of the matter is that cases
that involve quirkless people are 65% less likely to be solved because they take less priority to
cases involving quirks. The police backlog quirkless cases because cases that involve quirks are
marked as higher priority.” Nedzu narrowed his beetle-black eyes at Izuku. “But you already knew
that.”

Izuku licked his lips and than nodded seriously. “I didn’t know the percentage was that high… but
they talk about it on message boards, and I’ve seen some news stories, yeah.”
“It’s horrible, isn’t it?” Nedzu comisserated.

Izuku swallowed again. “Yeah, it is.”

“And you want to do something about it,” Nedzu stated piercingly.

“I want to be a hero.” Midoriya repeated.

“Then, first things first, you’re going to need a lawyer,” Nedzu said, and the tension seemed to
break. “I’ll write you up a list of good ones, finding one to work pro-bono with this kind of thing
shouldn’t be too hard. The publicity alone will be doing them a favor. The quirkless have been
looking for a case like this for a while. You’ll be a symbol for them, but there will be a lot of
people standing in opposition to your advancement.”

“I know,” Izuku said, chewing his lip. “A- um... an organization contacted me about a
sponsorship.”

Nedzu chuckled, “i’m sure they won’t be the last, though you’ll want to be careful which
organizations you associate with. I’d consult with your lawyer for that. You’ll also need to discuss
your media presence. We at UA would love to do a press release on you being our first quirkless
student, but we’ll discuss that more once your mother finishes her meeting with Snipe-san.

“What’s important for you, Midoriya,” Nedzu continued, “is that you do well enough during your
first Sports Festival that people will have trouble arguing whether you belong in the hero course.
People will argue against you either way, but you if you fight hard enough, you can get people on
your side. We should start building a narrative now. Spinning you as an underdog will be a good
start. You seem scrappy, and you already have a media presence due to the villain attack last year.”

Izuku couldn’t help but wince, but offered up, “I actually have some friends in the media. I was a
news darling for a while because I was a cute kid.”

“That is fantastic.” Nedzu nodded. “It means you already have your foot in the door. You and your
lawyer should get back in touch with them. They should take at least some of the heat off you and
spin things positively. Be careful, though. Friend or not, some will be paid to trash you and tell the
story as negatively as possible. Conflict is what keeps the news world running, so don’t take it too
personally if some of your friends write against you. You know what they say, any exposure is
good exposure. The more conflict they stir up, the more media buzz there will be. The more visible
you’ll be. We can work that in your favor.”

Izuku was starting to feel really overwhelmed. Even though he understood what was being said,
this was a lot of pressure. And if he didn’t do well, people would use him as a reason to justify
their bigotry. It was terrifying.

“I’ll do my best,” Izuku said in a small voice.

“Don’t worry,” Nedzu said, sensing his destress. “UA, and therefore its teachers, are backing you.
We want you to succeed. Now tell me, Midoriya, what training do you have?”

“Um… for the last year i’ve been learning parkour and aikido. I also lift weights,” Izuku said
nervously.

Nedzu hummed. “No, that won’t do. Aikido is too focused on self-defense. While it’s good for
someone your size, it doesn’t have the more aggressive elements that will help take down villains.
You’ll also need to get in contact with a support company and be trained in some sort of ranged
weapon. You’ll be a target as a quirkless hero, it’s better to make sure you’re a well-rounded one.
Parkour and weightlifting is good though, the kind of weightlifting you’re doing will affect your
abilities. Many gyms nowadays are more focused an bulking up to look like All Might rather than
more practical muscular distribution.” Izuku flushed, because when his trainer asked what his
dream body was, he’d almost immediately said All Might, conflict notwithstanding. Nedzu
continued on like he hadn’t noticed Izuku’s embarrassment, but Izuku knew he had. “I’ll put you
into contact with Aizawa, that is, Eraserhead. He’s our martial arts specialist and fights essentially
quirkless too, so he’ll definitely be a good fit for you.”

“Eraserhead works here!?” Izuku couldn’t hold back the small fanboy ramble he went off on. When
Nedzu politely interrupted, Izuku reddened again. He had a real foot in mouth problem.

“To be perfectly honest, I’m a little surprised you’ve heard of Eraserhead. He does his best to keep
his privacy.”

Izuku twiddled his fingers a bit and admitted, “He has a bit of a cult following on the hero forums.
Because he’s so hard to track, a lot of fans go out of their way to hunt down and get footage of him.
So even if the media doesn’t cover his cases, the online community does.”
“How troubling,” Nedzu said, in a tone of voice that said he was more curious than troubled. “I’ll
have to look into that. But I’m sure Aizawa will find you interesting. You seem too enjoy analysis
too?”

Izuku nodded embarrassedly. “Since I was five. I find quirks really interesting so I like to think
about them.”

“That’ll do you well,” Nedzu said encouragingly. “I’m sure the topic will come up during our tea
time. I do recommend being more careful who you info dump or show your notebooks to, though.
Information is a powerful currency, and you should be cautious who you give it to.”

Izuku paled, frightened that Nedzu somehow knew about his notebooks, but nodded anyway. He’d
been rather shy with his notebooks since Bakugou destroyed his last one. He still carries one with
him, and he’ll pull out receipts if necessary, but only Shinsou and Inasa get to interact with them
directly. He also started writing the less obvious ‘analysis’ on the cover instead of ‘hero analysis
for the future’ because he’d didn’t need to be an even bigger target for bullying. He knew a repeat
of what happened with Bakugou was extremely unlikely, but part of him maintained a sense of
paranoia.

“Aizawa may also help you with that. Since Snipe will be your homeroom teacher, I’d also
recommend you start training with him. A gun is a classic and efficient ranged weapon and there’s
few better with them than him. He also is very good at environmental analysis, which is a field I
suspect you’re lacking in. between the two of them, I’m sure you’ll have nothing to worry about as
far as the Sports Festival is concerned.”

Izuku stopped, a weight dropping in his stomach. “I don’t want special treatment.”

“Midoriya, as a minority who’s going to be facing countless challenges, it is wiser to take the
opportunities you can. Not everyone will be so forthcoming with their help-”

“That’s not what I mean.” Izuku swallowed thickly and thought about Shinsou. “I just… I know
you want to help me and I’m grateful and I do want that help, but I’m not the only one who needs
it. There are other kids who want to get into the hero course, and it seems unfair to them that I’d
get extra training just because I’m quirkless when they’re fighting just as hard. They should have
the same opportunity as me. I want to be a hero because I earned it, not because I was given special
treatment for being quirkless.”

Nedzu’s face went blank for a long, silent moment.

“...That is very noble of you, Midoriya,” he said, voice surprisingly warm. “I’ll see what I can do
about making things fairer. For now, I think your mother is done with the paperwork and I would
like to talk to her too. I’ve enjoyed speaking with you, Midoriya.”

“Ah- right. Thank you too, Principal Nedzu.”

“You are terrifying,” Shinsou said, staring at his friend. Midoriya was face down on the table,
halfway between mortified and dead. “Truly terrifying, you know that? How do you befriend the
principal of UA and get support for your hero dream in one conversation?”

Midoriya mumbled into his arms and Shinsou could only pretend to understand what he said.

“I mean, Principal Nedzu is a well known genius and he was impressed by you . How is that even
possible? You talked for probably an hour, and the first five minutes were literally just
pleasantries. How did it become ‘let’s destroy the hero system as we know it’? How does that even
happen?”

“I. Don’t. Knoooooooww,” Midoriya said dramatically.

“Aizawa, Snipe, and Kayama,” Nedzu greeted in a warm tone that immediately set the three heroes
on edge. “It’s so good to see you all. Would you like some tea?”

“What do you want?” Shouta couldn’t help but ask in a wary tone. He accepted the cup the
principal offered him anyway, because there was no fighting it. Kayama hummed when she took a
sip. A cursory sniff told Shouta it was jasmine, Kayama’s favorite.

Nedzu smiled. “It has once again come to my attention that the entrance exam is unfair to people
with non-combative quirks.”

Snipe gave a small snort. “Again?”

Nedzu waved a paw at the sarcasm. “You know as well as I do that the board is invested in the
narrative that if someone wants to be in the hero course despite having a non-combative quirk, they
need to earn it by proving they can fight as well as those with quirks. It’s unfair and stupid, but
humans like to get stuck in their ways.”

“So what’s your point?” Shouta asked tiredly.

Nedzu grinned. “We’re trying something new!”

“Why do I get the feeling that means more work for us?” Midnight snarked, taking a sip of tea.

“It does,” Nedzu said honestly. “I want to start a new program: an after-school club for students
interested in pursuing underground work.”

Shouta sat up straighter. “You’re finally training people for the underground.”

“Correction.” Nedzu said. “ You three will be training people for the underground. I know how
you’ve been begging for more underground heroes, Aizawa. Now you can make them, regardless
of what class they’re in. I have a list of potential students for this program and some ideas for
lessons written up.”

Shouta bit his lip. Something smelled fishy. It was true that he’d been pushing for a more general
education in how to be underground heroes at the school. Most underground heroes were trained
by mentors in internships rather than the school itself. Too many people were invested in the fame
side of hero work that as a result they were almost always understaffed when it came to
underground heroes, even though it was a vital role in the hero world. As a result, they had to dip
into the dangerous territory of using police offices for their underground stings, who’d often be put
in the awkward position of having to use their quirks undercover when they aren’t licensed to.
There are a few legal clauses to protect them, but there’s so much more red tape involving having a
cop undercover than there is having a hero undercover. The world needed more underground
heroes.

Opening a class to non-hero students would essentially force those students into the underground
because they won’t have the means to become traditional heroes outside of the hero course. Some
might still transfer, but it’s still so rare that going underground would be the better option. It’s
almost too perfect.

“Will we be getting them licenses?” Kayama asked astutely. “You said club, not class. Doesn’t that
mean this whole thing is unofficial? Does the school board even know you’re doing this?”

“I have the school board handled, don’t worry about that.” Nedzu said. “We will be sending some
students to the licensing exam. But at this time, this is somewhat of a trial period. That’s why it’s a
club and not an official class. We want to see if it works before we commit to making it a class.”

Shouta grunted. “Why now?”

Nedzu’s smile twitched. “It’s overdue. You know that as well as I do, Aizawa. We’re going to give
these kids the opportunity to move forward under their own power.”

“This’s about the quirkless kid, ain’t it?” Snipe drawled.

“Quirkless kid?” Kayama and Shouta asked in unison.

Nedzu let out a creepy laugh. “You see right through me, Snipe-san. This year we have a special
student. Midoriya Izuku, the first quirkless student to attend UA. He wants to be a hero and I want
to foster that desire, but he refused special treatment. And he was right, other students deserve the
same opportunity as him. So I’ve started this program. It seems like a win-win for everyone.”

Shouta narrowed his eyes. A quirkless kid… sounded dangerous, but Nedzu wasn’t known to go
out of his way for people with zero potential. His eagerness was suspicious in itself. Nedzu had to
have an angle on this, and Shouta didn’t like not knowing what it was.

He’d have to keep an eye on the boy.

“...Midoriya Izuku? Why does that name sound familiar?”

“He’s the middle schooler that was in the news last year,” Snipe supplied. “The one who got
burned by the explosion kid.”

Ah , Shouta thought, already tired. Politics . Figures . “You’re looking to make a symbol out of the
boy, aren’t you?”
Nedzu’s smile didn’t move. “The boy has potential, Aizawa. He wants this and he can to do it. I’m
just opening the door for him. You all know how people treat the quirkless. He’s going to be
fighting a greater tide than any student we’ve had before. It is our responsibility as educators to
ensure his success.”

“And if he gets hurt?” Shouta asked dryly.

“Then the world will turn against him and he’ll have a hard time picking up the pieces,” Nedzu
said bluntly. “But if he succeeds…”

“Then he might jus’ change the world,” Snipe finished for him.

Detective Senbi Ritsu ran a hand through his dark blue hair and put his hat back on. This was going
to be a long case.

It was a body, a murder. The victim was a villain by the name of Jaws. He’d been killing for a
period of two months. His quirk was that he had the head and jaw of a shark, complete with many,
many sharp teeth and a ridiculously strong bite. He’d been using said jaws to tear into women and
eat them. The world would be better without him, but that wasn’t the point.

The point was that he’d been murdered, and that murder had been claimed by the 3M.

The 3M was a vigilante and terrorist group that’s been running part of the underground for too
long. They were running from before the police commissioner was an officer, and they had just
enough public support to be a major pain in the ass. They’d help people in need, often the people
heroes saved. They picked poor people off the street and gave them a place to be. They inspired
loyalty. So when they did claim a murder, they were careful, selecting people who no one would
miss or hate to be dead.

They were still criminals, of course. But they were smart and likable criminals, and that’s what
made them dangerous.

Detective Senbi had been on this case since he became a detective. It was simultaneously big
enough but slow enough that the detective often felt frustrated with it. Detective Nomasa was off
following All Might cases. Detective Donatsu was following the vigilante Pop✰Step. Detective
Briggs got the Homunculus case. And here Senbi was, working a case old enough that most people
forgot it existed, unless there was a murder.

Senbi often wondered if he was handed the case because he was quirkless. He’d been getting
shafted for as long as he could remember, and earning the title of detective had been a long
exercise in futility until he got really good. In theory, if he did close this case, he’d become a
legend among police officers just for how difficult the case itself was. A lot of lead detectives
shifted the case to others towards the beginning of it. Some people even said the case was cursed.
But Senbi felt like he was steadily picking away at it.

“You’d think since we caught their boss, they wouldn’t be so active,” Officer Sansa commented,
snapping pictures of the crime scene. The details on the murder itself weren’t so impressive. It bore
all the markers of the other 3M murders. The victim have been killed with a rapier. The mark of the
group, a capital M with three swords behind it had been carved into his forehead. No witnesses
willing to come forward. Very little by way of forensic evidence.

“We don’t know that was their leader.” Senbi answered. “He could have been a figurehead or a
distraction. As far as we know, there could be multiple leaders.”

Sansa just made one of those chirpy cat noises (Senbi loved when he did that) but didn’t say
anything more.

Four weeks ago, the heroes Endeavor and Hawks had busted one of the 3M meetings. They
managed to arrest a large number of the criminals, and even pinned the vast majority of crimes on
one adult man by the name of Athos. The man had one of the silver pommeled swords that was
associated with leadership in this group. His blood connected him back to several other villain
fights similar to this one. He confessed to the crimes with pride, almost, like he was trying to
martyr himself.

A lot of people were saying that meant the case was ready to be closed. The heroes caught the bad
guys. The heroes once again did what the police could not. But Senbi knew it ran deeper than that.
This kind of organization was like a hydra; if you chopped off one head, two more grew back in its
place. The new murder was proof enough that this wasn’t over.

The 3M was dangerous.

And Detective Senbi had a feeling they were just getting started.
Chapter End Notes

Izuku, the entire Nedzu scene: I’m in danger ʘ‿ʘ

Discord:
https://discord.gg/SEkN8ee
Tumblr:
https://amarelibertius.tumblr.com
 Newsworthy
Chapter Summary

first day of school for the first quirkless kid

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Izuku felt like he was going to vibrate out of his shoes with how excited he was. It was happening!
It was finally happening! He was attending the school of his dreams, and sure, he wasn’t in the
hero course yet, but he was wearing a UA uniform right now! He was going to UA!

The buzz of anxiety and the fact that he couldn’t tie his tie was background noise to the fact that it
was happening!

Izuku couldn’t keep the smile off his face when his mom went down a checklist to see if he had
everything he’d need today. He was about ready to jet out the door to meet Shinsou by the train
station at when she stopped him.

His mother put her hand on his cheek, the scarred one. She’d never shied away from it once it had
healed properly, as though she wanted to remind him there was nothing wrong with having it.
Other people were in the habit of staring when he first met them and he’d had a few rude questions,
but his mother never let him feel ashamed of it.

“I am so proud of you,” she said warmly, eyes shining, and Izuku suddenly felt weepy too.

He pulled her into a tight hug. “Thank you, Mom,” he said meaningfully. “For everything.”

They hugged for a little longer than necessary before they pulled away. Izuku pulled out his
handkerchief and wiped his mom’s face for her. She smiled fondly and took the cloth and cleaned
his face too. She pulled his head down and kissed his forehead.

“Go on,” she said proudly. “Knock their socks off.”

Izuku smiled brightly. “You got it, Mom!”

“Shinsou!” Izuku took a running jump and caught his arms around Shinsou’s neck, feet dangling
above the ground in a quasi piggyback ride. He momentarily choked Shinsou and sent him off
balance before he adjusted his stance and grabbed Izuku under the knees. Izuku adjusted his grip a
bit and Shinsou caught his breath dramatically.

“Sorry,” Izuku apologized automatically and shifted his chin to Shinsou’s shoulder. “I just got
really excited. It’s happening, Shinsou! We’re gonna be students of UA!”

“Not if you kill me before we get there,” Shinsou grumbled. He looked like he hadn’t slept well
the night before. Izuku hadn’t either, caught up in a mild bout of anxiety and excitement. He
wouldn’t let that stop him, though. He had the right to be happy about this.

“I told you before that we're going to be taught by Snipe, but all the teachers at are heroes. That
means even if we’re not in the hero course we’ll be interacting with professional heroes every day!
Do you think they’ll let me ask them about their jobs or will some of the details be limited due to
legal issues? Do you think they’ll give fighting tips even if we aren’t in the hero course? That
could be really useful. Or is that frowned upon?” Izuku rambled without much thought and
Shinsou smiled, relaxing slightly.

Shinsou had to let him down off his shoulders when they reached the train station and he gave
Izuku an amused look when he took in his tie. “How did you even manage to make it look like
that?”

Izuku scowled a little. “The YouTube tutorials betrayed me.”

Shinsou laughed even as he pulled off Izuku’s tie and re-tied it properly around his own neck.
Izuku watched carefully, but he doubted he’d be able to mimic the knot. They were on the train
now and some people were shooting them looks, as the UA uniform was very recognizable.

Shinsou loosened the tie and pulled it off over his head before returning it. “If you’re really gonna
struggle with it, just don’t completely untie it at the end of the day. You can adjust the tightness
along the second end. You might want to iron it now and then, but it’s not that complicated.”

Izuku’s initial pout at his inability to do something dropped and instead he sent a blinding smile
Shinsou’s way. “Hey, I was thinking!” he suggested with a small amount of nervousness. “Since
we’ve known each other for so long and we’re attending a new school together and all, can we start
using first names?”

Shinsou’s mouth dropped open slightly as though no one had suggested such a thing to him before.
That thought was a bit sad. But he flushed, managed to close his mouth, and glanced away shyly.
“Yeah I wouldn’t mind,” he grumbled a bit. “I-Izuku.”

Midoriya beamed brighter, certain now that today was going to be a great day.

He may have jinxed himself a bit, he realized when he saw the crowd of reporters gathered at the
school gate. He remembered that All Might would be starting as a teacher this year, but he hadn’t
really let himself think about it given the attached emotional baggage. Still, he hadn’t expected
quite so many people outside the school gate on the first day; from what he could tell, the school
was suppressing that news until the semester started.

Izuku and Shinsou approached rather cautiously, Shinsou regarding the crowd with an equal
amount of wariness as Izuku.

“There he is!”

And suddenly Izuku was being crowded by reporters, a few he knew but many he definitely didn’t.
The crowd separated him from Shinsou. There were questions being shouted over each other too
loudly, too overwhelmingly. And flashes were going off constantly as people took pictures of him.
Izuku couldn’t respond or react properly. The lights had spots dancing in his eyes.

Microphones being shoved at him. Vague faces hard to see beyond the flashing. Personal questions
hurled at him like javelins. Quirkless. Quirkless. Scar. villain attack. Despite being quirkless.
Weaker. Injury. Burn. Bakugou Case. Quirkless.

“HEEEEEYYYYYY!!!!!!” a voice pierced the din. Present Mic stood at the school gate, an
abnormally annoyed expression on his face. “Yo, you know you can’t talk to the students without
the signed consent of their parents. You’ll get your pictures during the opening ceremony.”

The crowd made noises of complaint one person even gripped onto Izuku’s arm as though they
weren’t gonna let him go. Present Mic cut through the crowd by sheer presence, however, the
reporters backed off when he approached.
“Come on, little listener,” he said, smiling kindly. Putting his hand between Izuku’s shoulder
blades, he steered him past the school gates, which was fantastic because Izuku was pretty sure he
was going to have a full on anxiety attack and he needed all the help he could get.

Away from the crowd, Shinsou managed to rejoin them. Izuku flinched when Shinsou grabbed his
hand, but relaxed when he realized it was meant to be comforting. Shinsou gave his hand a squeeze
to help ground him, and Izuku gradually caught his breath.

“Oh geez,” Present Mic said, glancing back at the crowd. “Did no one warn you about that?”

Izuku put his hand to his chest and still worked on steadying his breathing. He was so
overwhelmed that he couldn’t even freak out over the fact that it was Present Mic, the Present Mic,
who had saved him.

“I-I think a media presence w-was mentioned,” he said unsteadily. “But I was under the impression
that it would be a couple of interviews and photograph. N-nothing this big.”

Present Mic laughed a little. “UA is a big deal, kiddo, and you being quirkless is a big deal. It’s
only natural that they’d try to get a bite out of you. Though…” Present Mic trailed off. “They’re
more likely here for All Might since he’s starting as a teacher. I thought we were holding them off
from that story pretty well, but no luck. Sorry, we really should have been more prepared for that.”

“So they just thought they’d take advantage of seeing Izuku? They get a news story either way,”
Shinsou said, sounding irritable. Izuku abruptly realized they were still holding hands, but didn’t
let go even though he was officially embarrassed.

“Pretty much,” Mic agreed. “They get paid to write. If they don’t return with something, they
don’t get paid. Believe me, it’s a pretty cutthroat business.”

Izuku nodded, having known enough reporters to have seen that side of it. The adults had always
tried to keep him away from all that growing up, but he still had eyes.

“I should warn you,” Present Mic continued, “there will be more reporters during the opening
ceremony. I don’t know if he told you, but Nedzu wants to congratulate you in the opening
speech.”
If it was possible, Izuku grew paler, and even Shinsou looked a little green.

“Is he trying to draw a target on M-Izuku’s back?” Shinsou muttered.

Present Mic laughed a little uncomfortably. “He’s trying to make a statement. Your friend’s meant
to become a symbol; the more attention on him, the more power he’ll have.”

“Right…” Izuku said in a small voice. Shinsou squeezed his hand again. They made it to the doors
of the school, and Mic offered them a genuine smile.

“You’ll do fine,” he said warmly. “Besides, you got such a good support with you.” Izuku glances
up at Shinsou, who gave a small smile. “Well, I have to go prepare for my own homeroom class.
The Class 1 rooms are that way.” He gestured down a hall. “I’ll see you in English, little listeners.
Good luck at the ceremony!”

Izuku ducked his head and dropped Shinsou’s hand. Shinsou rolled his eyes and messed up Izuku’s
hair in response, not that his hair wasn’t a mess already.

“Lets go,” Shinsou said heading down the hall Present Mic indicated. Izuku smiled and did his
best to push down the anxiety roiling in his stomach. Today would be fine. He was a student at UA
and moving towards his future. Everything would be fine!

Snipe glanced around his group of kids, amused. He had a pretty solid group this year. He figured
they all had a fair bit of potential in them, though whether that potential was to go into heroics or
not was really up to them.

Midoriya Izuku was easy enough to pick out of the crowd, after they’d already met. He looked
nervous, but about as normal as any kid could. His scar stood out starkly, but that wasn't so odd in
this day and age. Snipe himself had a rather noticeable scar, but his mask did well hiding it.

“Welcome to 1-C,” he said warmly. “Today we’ll be goin’ ova’ the syllabus and attendin’ the
openin’ ceremony. As y’all rightly know by now, UA is an exclusive school and we expect a great
deal from ya. So of course, I need to warn ya to treat each otha’ with respect and kindness. Y’all
have earned your place at this school, so it ain’t hard to acknowledge eachotha’s strength.”
Snipe spoke in a slow drawl that he knew held people’s attention. A few of the students glanced at
each other, some smiling, others with disdain.

“Now I’m aware some of you are only here as a stop ova’ before you join the hero course, and
that’s just fine. You’ll have three chances to transfer dependin’ on how you do in the Sports
Festival. This year we’ll also be opening an after school club for extra trainin’, but be warned, my
colleague Aizawa is helpin’ run it and neitha’ of us are much for layabouts. If eitha’ of us feel you
ain’t takin’ the opportunity seriously, you’ll be kicked out of the club. Meetin’s for that will start
next Monday.”

Snipe noticed how Midoriya and his friend sat up straighter in their chairs and exchanged excited
looks. That was good. It’d be a shame if Midoriya didn’t join the club specifically made for him.

“Now before we head down, why don’t we introduce ourselves? Settle in.” He smiled warmly at
his class.

Izuku pulled out his notebook half on instinct at this point. Shinsou shot him an amused smile
when he noticed.

Their classmates were pretty interesting. Izuku was surprised to find many of them weren’t actually
shooting for the hero course, though the ‘I’m gonna be a hero’ challenge was a common enough
theme that it wasn’t abnormal. Most of their quirks were passive enough that they wouldn’t be hard
for even him to take them down, though he could see some people getting the drop if they were
particularly creative...

One of the few standouts was a girl named Togeike Chikuchi, who had a rather prickly personality
but a powerful enough quirk. She had a transformation/emitter quirk that let her grow thorns out of
her skin and in a five foot radius around her. From the small display she gave them, it looked more
inconvenient than fully combat ready, but with training she could become really powerful. She was
also pretty cute with her short ponytail and doll-like stature. Izuku wondered how that would play
into her marketing if she did become a hero.

There was also Tali Serena, a girl with an impressive healing quirk. She could heal any disease or
illness with a touch of her hand at the cost of her own physical energy. She seemed a bit sleepy
even as she gave her introduction. Izuku was incredibly impressed. She could save countless lives
with her quirk, and she was even going into medicine after high school. The only real cost was that
it exhausted her to use and it didn’t work on physical injuries. She couldn’t heal cuts or broken
bones the way recovery girl could, just disinfect injuries and get rid of illnesses. Still, the potential
of such a quirk in the face of things like epidemics and incurable diseases were endless.
She originally was born in Ireland, but had moved to America pretty young and has since then been
adopted by a Japanese family and moved to Japan. She didn’t say what happened to her birth
parents, but Izuku got the strong impression that she didn’t want to talk about it. She had long
brown hair, very white skin and brown eyes hidden behind rectangular glasses. She was also a
curvier girl compared to the rest of the girls in their class, making Izuku think of his mom. She
seemed nice, though her Japanese was slightly stilted and accented.

There was also Blockhead, who had a flesh-colored Lego block for his head. He opened with a
very interesting speech.

“Hi, my name is Blockhead. Yes, my parents really did name me that. Yes, it’s because I literally
have a blockhead. No, I don’t have eyes, ears or a nose. I navigate the world with the bump on the
top of my head. It’s really sensitive to vibrations, a bit like sonar. I do have a mouth, it’s where my
neck meets my head and I’m told if I open it too wide I look like a pez dispenser. No, I won’t show
you. Since I have a mouth, I obviously eat with said mouth. No, you can’t watch me eat. My quirk
isn’t just me having a blockhead. If I touch the bump on top of my head to any man-made object, I
learn everything about the building process that created it. This doesn’t work on living things, so
people and living plants and animals are off the table, but dead plants such as wood is fair game. It
also gives me a floorplan of said structures, though not everything within. For instance, I know the
entire floor plan of the school already even though I’ve been here twice as of today. No, I won’t
use my quirk to spy for you.”

He said it all with the flatness of someone who said this all too many times before. Like he was
trying to preemptively answer the questions he got about his quirk before they even asked them.
Izuku sympathized with him, having fenced many obvious questions about his quirklessness in the
past. Izuku prefered to skirt around the subject of his lack of quirk if possible, because if he didn’t
say anything most people would just assume he had an invisible quirk. But Izuku imagined
Blockhead didn’t have that option, given the questions were about his very obvious blockhead.

On the other hand, when he went into the second half of his quirk, Izuku couldn’t stop himself
from bursting out, “That is so cool!” and going on a minor rant about the uses in the field and how
it useful it would be gathering intel about villain hideouts as well as detecting structural damage
during disasters. It was just so versatile and cool. The girl sitting next to Izuku elbowed him in the
ribs to shut him up, and he ended up blushing and ducking his head.

Shinsou gave him an exasperated look from his seat across the room. Snipe put his hand to his chin
as though he was really considering what Izuku had said. Blockhead head turned towards Izuku,
and while the boy didn’t really have a face to show an expression with, his hands shook slightly
and his voice came out tight with emotion. “Thank you- um, thank you, I’m done,” he said, sitting
abruptly.

Izuku’s neighbor smirked. “Analysis quirk?” She murmured. Izuku didn’t answer, and instead
focused on the next few introductions. A boy who could teleport lemons to him from a five mile
range. Apparently, that had resulted in him frequently stealing lemons when he was younger
because they didn’t initially realize the lemons where coming from somewhere else and not just
being willed into existence. The boys name was Remon Tsukamu. He had bright yellow hair and
did, in fact, smell strongly of lemons.

Since they started from the back, Shinsou went before Izuku did, and when he explained his quirk
Izuku felt a wave of irritation at how whispers broke out and a clearly suspicious tone. The girl
sitting next to Izuku raised her eyebrows and said, “Gee, I wonder how he got in.” Izuku couldn’t
help but shoot her a small glare, feeling defensive of his friend. Shinsou, for his part, looked
resigned to the muttering, but declared firmly that he intended to be a hero.

When it came time to introduce himself, Izuku took a deep calming breath, knowing this would just
be a microcosm of what he would face later in the day. “I’m Midoriya Izuku and I’m quirkless.”

There was a smattering of gasps and muttering, louder than when Shinsou talked of his quirk.
Recognition seemed to take hold as too many eyes were instantly on his scar, and he could
practically feel their confusion and pity.

Izuku took another deep breath. “I am the first quirkless student to attend UA, and… and I don’t
intend to stop there. I’m going for the hero course as well. I’m going to be the first quirkless pro
hero in a century.”

The muttering got louder, and the girl next to him said loudly enough for him to hear, “You do
realize that’s impossible and pretty much suicidal, right?”

Izuku forced a smile worthy of All Might onto his face. “Yep!”

“Okay, thank you, have a nice day.” She said.

“Er… besides all that, I really like analysis and I guess heroes in general. It’s nice to meet you all,”
Midoriya said earnestly, then quickly sat down. The whispering was still going wild, and Izuku
could practically feel people judging him. The girl who sat next to him wasn’t being subtle about
her staring even as other students did their introductions. Izuku felt as though he was waiting for
the other shoe to drop.

When the girl finally got up to do her introduction, her smile was somewhat strained. “My name is
Kanjou Dairi and my quirk is called ‘reading the room’. It’s a type of empathy that gets more
general the more people are around. So if I’m talking to a person one on one, I can feel that one
person's emotion. But if I’m in, say, a crowded classroom, I’ll feel what the majority of the class is
feeling. I can’t turn it off, and as a result, I tend to be influenced by group opinion. It’s really hard
to tell what I personally am feeling at any given moment. But, meh, I’m used to it. Emotions are
fluid and temporary anyway. So I’m sorry if I say anything offensive in the heat of the moment, but
it’s not entirely my fault because you all were thinking it.”

That earned her some irritated scowls, probably because she wasn’t taking responsibility for
herself but she scowled right back without hesitation. It was sort of fascinating to watch, and Izuku
had even more questions than he could write, though that explained her general negativity. He
hoped she was a good person outside other people's influence. It might even be useful to have her
cue him into what people were thinking. A few more students went before Snipe called attention
and handed out the syllabus.

Then he called them to get ready for the opening ceremony. Izuku swallowed thickly. Now for the
real show.

Snipe stopped Midoriya at the door to make sure he knew his part in the speech. The boy with the
purple hair that he’d entered with briefly squeezed his shoulder in a show of support before
heading out. Snipe took note of that, always one to have sharp eyes. It was a good sign. Snipe got
the impression to Midoriya was carrying around some trauma, and friends would surely help.

Apparently Yamada got ahold of Midoriya first due to an incident at the front gate. That was rather
troubling. The reporters should know better by now, but the past couldn’t be helped. It explains
why Midoriya looked so pale, too.

They started walking towards the auditorium slightly behind the rest of the group. He kept them on
track if they seemed confused about where they were going, but otherwise focused on Midoriya.

“It’ll be alright, kid,” Snipe said gently. He didn’t think it helped much. “Now, what’ll be doin’ is
waitin’ backstage most of the speech. Nedzu can ramble on a bit, so you might be waitin’ awhile.
But he’ll cue you to come on stage clearly enough, and then you’ll walk out and shake his hand. At
that point, them reporta’s you met earlia’ will be takin’ your picture and you should try’an smile to
the camera then. Afta’ that you can just go to yer seat, there’ll be one open in the first row jus’ for
you. Or, knowin’ Aizawa, a whole chunk missin’ where his class’s supposed to be. That’s all I got
for ya. Afterwards you’ll be free to go and attend the rest of your classes like nothin’ happened.”

“Uh… right,” Midoriya said, looking rather out of it. Snipe considered what he could say to
comfort him.
“Ay, you’ll do jus’ fine, kid,” he said, probably unhelpfully. “People might be makin’ a big deal
about it, but bein’ quirkless ain’t as much of a handicap as people make it out to be. You put the
work in, and they won’t know what hit ‘em.”

Midoriya licked his lips but nodded. “Trying my best isn’t really what I’m worried about.”

Snipe quirked an eyebrow, but he was sure his mask hid it. “Is that right?”

“It’s more how people will react to it than what I alone can do,” Midoriya touched his scar, though
whether that was an intentional cue or something he did without thinking was hard to say. “People
haven’t taken my quirklessness well in the past.”

That made Snipe sad. Seeing as the boy was so young, the weight of experience his voice had was
unsettling. “That’s fair,” the teacher conceded. “People don’t often appreciate thin’s they don’t
unda’stand. Ain’t nothin’ you can do about that. What matters is bein’ the best ya can be. If you’re
yer best self, the rest of the pieces will fall into place. It’ll be hard, sure, and not everyone will
appreciate ya, but the people who matter will.”

Midoriya looked a bit sceptical, but shot him a grateful look anyway. He was a pretty cute kid, all
things considered.

“And finally,” Principal Nedzu smiled, “we have fantastic news! This year we’ll be welcoming the
first ever quirkless student to the halls of UA. May I introduce to you, Midoriya Izuku!”

Hitoshi watched as Midoriya stiffly walked onto stage, looking pale and terrified. “T-thank y-you
f-for h-having m-me, P-Principal N-Nedzu.”

Hitoshi let out a soft huff, knowing his friend wasn’t doing himself any favors in terms of
presentation. Hitoshi listened as whispers broke out at the word quirkless. People sounded more
confused than upset, but he still heard a few rude hisses and theories that Izuku must have some
powerful family members to get into the school despite his disability. Hitoshi also heard
Blockhead whisper lowly to himself, “God, I wish that was me.” Hitoshi guessed that being
quirkless was probably better than having a Lego block for a head.

Midoriya knelt a bit to shake the principal’s hand in front of the newspeople in the front row. There
was an overwhelming amount of flashing as they took pictures. Midoriya tried to smile, but the
sheer terror of his expression made Hitoshi feel pretty sure that there wasn’t going to be a nice
picture in the lot of them. A shame, really. Hitoshi knew better than anyone how cute Midoriya
could be, but he seemed to treat cameras like loaded guns.

Almost immediately after, Midoriya was sent back to his seat and he couldn’t look more relieved.
He practically ran to the empty seat in the front row and more or less collapsed, looking just on the
cusp of a panic attack.

“Now for the second fantastic announcement,” Nedzu said, directing attention back to himself with
surprising charisma. “This year, UA is excited to welcome a new teacher to the roster. Everyone
welcome... All Might!”

“I AM HERE!” All Might blew onto the stage like a force of nature. “YES! THIS YEAR I SHALL
BE TEACHING FOUNDATIONAL HEROICS TO ENCOURAGE THE NEXT GENERATION
OF HEROES TO…” Hitoshi saw the exact moment he made eye contact with Midoriya. “To…
um… TO BE THE HEROES THEY’RE MEANT TO BE!”

Either he got over his shock quickly, or he was very quick to cover it up. His smile didn’t move,
and something ugly twisted in Hitoshi’s stomach. He had admired All Might like everyone else, but
hearing Midoriya’s story of disappointment soured that. Midoriya had said he was well-meaning,
but would he give such well-meaning advice to anyone else? To Shinsou? To the invisible girl
from before? Hell, to the blockhead kid? People with quirks that weren’t raw power meant for
fighting? Were they enough for him purely because they have quirks?

Or would he call Shinsou a villain like everyone else?

Shinsou scoffed to himself. Ignoring the rest of the speech and wallowing a bit in his bitterness.
Even if All Might did believe in him, it wouldn’t matter because he’d already let down someone
far more deserving. Shinsou had no illusions that Midoriya would be a better hero than him. He
was more selfless, more caring. Life might have shafted him, but Shinsou couldn’t doubt him, not
even for a second.

Because quirk or not, Midoriya had been helping Shinsou. From the moment he’d smiled and
thanked him, Midoriya had been a hero to Shinsou.

The moment the assembly let out, Shinsou made a beeline for Midoriya and cut in front of All
Might before he could say anything to his pale friend. The hero looked like he was going to speak
up, but Shinsou shot him a glare and herded Midoriya away.
All Might could suck it.

“Read it and weep, sucker!” Officer Ojiro said, slamming a newspaper down on the desk in front of
detective Senbi Ritsu. The detective blinked out of his focused state and looked up at the man.
They were in the precinct, and Rtsu had been catching up on some paperwork. Ojiro was also
supposed to be working, but apparently he felt the need to brag about something or another.

“What’s that, Ojiro?” he asked, keeping his tone completely dry. He had a reputation among the
other officers as having a real stick up his ass, but really he just took his job seriously. There was a
time to focus on work, and a time to relax. Obviously, office time should be for work.

“I told you, didn’t I?” Officer Ojiro grinned widely, slapping the newspaper again. “My father and
son couldn’t both be wrong about him, and there it is, in ink!”

Ritsu raised an eyebrow but looked at the newspaper, the biggest header jumping out easily. “All
Might has taken a teachin’ position?”

He couldn’t be less interested.

Ojiro scowled. “Not that,” he said, impatiently pointing at another article on the page. “That
quirkless kid I mentioned the other day. He actually got in.”

At this, Detective Senbi’s eyes widened in proper surprise. “Really?” he said, picking up the
newspaper properly and reading it in earnest. It was true; Midoriya Izuku, a child who’d been the
victim of two villain attacks, has managed to get into UA, the most prestigious hero school in the
nation. Ritsu noted that it was the general course, but it was still quite the achievement.

It meant a lot. Despite himself, a childish sort of excitement rushed through him. When he was
younger, he’d dreamed of attending UA like his older brother. His lack of a quirk had stood in the
way, back then. The rejection letter had stung like nothing else. But now, fifteen years later, there
was proof of progress.

Ojiro wagged his tail smugly at the smile on Ritsu’s face. “I told you it was happening.”
Senbi sighed, but couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. “Fine, you were right.
Happy?”

“Yep,” Ojiro said, still sounding too pleased with himself. “Congratulations to all quirkless people.
It’s about time people stop underestimating you all.”

Ritsu rolled his eyes. “I’ll be sure to let ‘im know if I ever have the chance to meet him. Don’tcha
have work to do?”

Ojiro laughed. “Yep, sure do, cowboy. See you around, sheriff.”

Ritsu’s scowl deepened when he realized he let his accent slip. He tried his best to use a
professional dialect at work because he needed people to respect him, but at times when he was
really happy or mad, it would just come out. The other officers found it just hilarious and had
contests to see who could get him to ‘speak like a cowboy’. It was an annoying distraction.

Still, Ritsu couldn’t mind looking at the nervous quirkless boy on the cover of the newspaper.
They really were making progress.

In a office building for a company that produces hero merchandise, there was a boardroom. On
certain days, people from outside the company itself would gather there under the premise of a
business meeting. The workers would assume that the people were just higher-ups in the company
and various managers. This was a lie, however.

These meetings, which were done in the middle of the day, in broad daylight, were of a group of
vigilantes known as the 3M. As a rule, they all wore masquerade masks to hide their identities, but
they were discouraged from bringing their rapiers to avoid unwanted attention.

Monsieur Feu wore a mask patterned with blue flames, and he scowled at the higher-ups as they
talked in circles about whether they should rescue their imprisoned friends. He, of course, was of
the mind that they should risk it, but some of the older vigilantes argued that they should keep their
cards closer to their chest.

“I don’t see what’s so complicated about it.” Feu scowled. “I mean yeah, Tartarus is a no quirk
zone. But what’s the point of all our training if we can’t fight without them? It should be easy.
None of those guards will expect us.”
“Youth has made you arrogant,” Monsieur Marbre snapped. He wore a silver mask patterned with
orange polka dots. The colors met his orange trench coat. “Even you must understand how
dangerous it is to break into a maximum security prison. Even with the element of surprise, it is
still one of the most highly guarded places in the world. And that’s not to mention that we put
some of those villains away in the first place. We’d be surrounded on all sides-- sitting ducks to be
killed where we stand.”

“So you just expect us to leave our friends to rot?” Mademoiselle Du Sang asked cooly. Her fangs
glinted dangerously. Feu shot her a smile. He could usually count on her to have his back.

“I expect us to be smart…” He suddenly trailed off when someone entered the room. A tall man
with dark green hair and a masquerade mask, the design being intricate black lace on a emerald
background. On his hip was a silver-hilted rapier that could only mean one thing.

“Seigneur Aramis,” Marbre breathed, confirming Feu’s fear. “We weren’t expecting you.”

“You seldom do,” the man said sternly. “I’ve spoken to the king.” Many of the vigilantes gasped.
It’d been some time since they’ve been in contact with the kind. Some claimed he abandoned them.
The only person who seemed to talk to him anymore was Seigneur Porthos, and it was rare to see
him as well.

“What news?” one of the younger vigilantes breathed. Monsieur Moutarde, Feu remembered.

Aramis regarded them all cooly before speaking again, seemingly reveling in the power he held
over them. “The king says that Seigneur Athos has dishonored his title and therefore renounces it.”
Aramis pointed a slender finger at Monsieur Sauteur. “He has chosen you, monsieur, as his
replacement.”

“M-me,” Sauteur stuttered. He was always a rather gangly boy. His mask was froglike. He was
quick as a whip most days and few could match his speed, but he wasn’t much older than Feu
himself, and he hasn’t been in the king’s army for nearly as long.

“You.” Aramis confirmed. “Come forward.”

Aramis drew his silver-hilted sword, and Sauteur knelt before him. Aramis rested the tip of the
blade on Sauteur’s shoulder.
“This is ridiculous!” Marbre growled. “I have been in this man’s army for twice the time he has.
Are you truly going to mock us loyal subjects by electing a child? Does our loyal service mean
nothing to him?”

Aramis scowled darkly. “You’d do well, Monsieur Marbre, not to question the king. He made this
decision for a reason. Perhaps if you weren’t so devoted to your liquor, you’d understand.”

“The king hasn’t spoken for years,” Marbre snorted, stepping around the table. “Do you really
expect us to believe he broke his silence for something as trivial as this?”

“As trivial as this?” Aramis repeated. He removed his sword from Sauteur’s shoulder and leveled
the blade at Marbre. “We are declaring a new leader. Are you truly dense enough to believe that
this is a small matter?”

“Well, if it were truly as big as you imply, perhaps you should have put more pomp into this deal.”
Marbre stepped forward despite the sword pointed at him so the tip of the blade was pointed to the
center of his chest. “Perhaps the king chould make an appearance himself?”

“Your arrogance is unbecoming, Monsieur Marbre,” Aramis said, pressing his blade into the man’s
chest enough to make a hole in the fabric and draw a small amount of blood. “Perhaps a lesson is in
order.” He withdrew his blade and neatly sheathed it. “Monsieur Sauteur, I propose a duel between
yourself and Monsieur Marbre. To make the point that you are worthy and that the will of the king
is wise. If you lose, you shall not be promoted but face no other penalty. If you win, then we shall
move forward as planned and strip Monsieur Marbre of title and property.”

“And if I win,” Marbre said, clearly intrigued. “What do I get if I win?”

“If you win, I will consider,” Seignor Aramis’s voice turned chilling, “mind you, only consider,
forgiving you for the insult you’ve laid at the feet of the king.”

Marbre puffed his chest out, remaining arrogant as ever. “You’ve yet to convince me there’s a king
left to insult.”

Aramis’s eyes flashed dangerously. “What say you, Monsieur Sauteur?”

The boy stood too quickly and stuck out his chin proudly. “I’ll do what I must for the honor of the
king.”

Aramis nodded. “Then tonight, at the Niore Castle fighting grounds, you shall duel.”

“Fine, then,” Marbre said, turning his glare on the younger vigilante. “Bring a coffin.”

“Bring your own,” Sauteur responded, knowing the reference.

Leaning forward slightly and feeling quite smug that Marbre was going to get what was coming to
him, Feu spoke. “And what say you, Seigneur, on the matter of recovering out dear friends from
the heroes’ clutches?”

Aramis turned his cool eyes on Feu and regarded him for a long moment. “As much as it grieves
me to admit, Monsieur Marbre is correct. Invading Tartarus is reckless to the point of being
suicidal. However,” Aramis shot another glare at the vigilante in question, “not all our brethren
were locked in Tartarus. We can recover those in other prisons without much issue.”

“Thank you, Seigneur,” Feu said, ever so politely. Mademoiselle Du Sang was grinning hungrily
beside him. “We’ll be more than happy to help.”

It was a few days before Yagi caught up to Midoriya Izuku.

Yagi had been caught off guard by the appearance of Midoriya at first. Even a little bitter that
Nedzu hadn’t told him he was there. Nedzu knew who he was looking for but had deliberately kept
that information from him. Yagi knew the genius must have his reasons, but still... He wasn’t going
to leave this business unfinished.

Getting Midoriya alone, however, was surprisingly difficult. Apparently his friend with the purple
hair knew something because he was acting extremely defensive of his friend, interfering every
time All Might came close to talking to the boy. Even when Yagi approached in his deflated form,
the purple-haired boy was evasive. Though that could just be because he was off-putting, Yagi had
to wonder if Midoriya told his friend about his second form. Midoriya had kept the news from the
message boards, but could he really keep it from his best friend?
All this wasn’t helped by the deer-in-the-headlights expression Midoriya always wore when he
saw him.

Guilt was eating Yagi alive. He’d already gone out of his way to refuse Nighteye’s potential
successor(which went better than expected, given the boy also didn’t want to inherit his quirk) and
he was on unsteady feet in general. The new environment and his uneasiness about teaching all left
him feeling off-kilter and nervous.

“Midoriya!” All Might said after school that Wednesday. He’d had a few classes with the older
students but none with Midoriya’s grade. Given the boy was in the general course, they wouldn’t
be having any classes together anyway.

“All Might!” Midoriya yelped. The purple-haired boy took a protective step between them,
shielding Midoriya from him. Yagi’s wound gave a guilty twinge.

“Midoriya, my boy,” the hero said awkwardly. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“I-is that right?” the boy said, looking very small.

“Could we talk alone?” Yagi asked, regarding the purple-haired boy uncomfortably. He was
considerably taller than Midoriya and looked a bit like Aizawa, given the scowl and eyebags.

“No,” the boy said flatly.

“Hitoshi…” Midoriya murmured lowly. The boy, Hitoshi apparently, glanced back and some of the
fight went out of him.

“You shouldn’t have to deal with this,” he said softly back. Yagi found the show of friendship
moving even if he was the bad guy in this situation.

Midoriya took Hitoshi’s hand. “You know you can’t do this forever.”

Hitoshi looked down and sighed. “Fine.” He turned an intense glare on Yagi then that would have
Yagi thinking twice if he hadn’t already been trying to fix things. “If you hurt him, I don’t care that
you’re number one, I will make you regret it.”

Midoriya shot a small smile at his friend’s over-the-top reaction. Yagi, for his part, nodded
gravely, taking him at his word.

“I’ll meet you by the gate,” he told his friend before stalking off, wearing a cool expression.

Midoriya took a deep breath and then made himself look up at the hero.

“So you wanted to talk?”

“Midoriya,” All Might said, drawing up to his full height. “You can be a hero.”

The day of his trial was edging ever closer, and Katsuki was trying not to feel scared. He
understood that he deserved it. Once he acknowledged the self-loathing, it’s been constantly roiling
under his skin like ropes slowly tightening around his throat and dragging him down. He hated
looking in the mirror. He hated interacting with people. Hated seeing the fear and disgust in
people’s eyes when they took in his suppressant cuffs.

He wanted to change. Wanted to punish himself somehow, figure out a way to pull out of this
frustrating cycle of hatred and anger. His psychologist kept trying to talk him through it, make him
confront the real source of his guilt, the real source of his anger, but it just felt like they were going
in circles there too. It wouldn’t matter anyway.

Katsuki had already lost everything. He deserved to lose everything. And in a couple days, he’ll
finally be sent to juvie and the world will forget about him. Maybe it was better that way.

Then the newspaper came.

And on the cover was Midoriya Izuku shaking hands with the principal of UA. The headline read
“MIDORIYA IZUKU: FIRST QUIRKLESS STUDENT TO ATTEND UA”.

And the anger came flooding back in an instant. Red and familiar and hot. He was getting better at
 controlling himself. He even started doing those dumb breathing exercises his dumb psychologist
taught him. He was more self aware when the red came, but it was like leashing a titan. A futile
battle against the overwhelming sense of betrayal that was making its place in his chest.

Izuku- Deku , said he was giving up. He’d said it was conviction. Looked into Katsuki’s eyes and
that he was giving up.

THAT BASTARD PLAYED HIM!

He’d been LYING ! He hadn’t given up. He tricked Katsuki into going too far. He wanted this to
happen. He wanted to take Katsuki out of the hero running. He was STILL looking down on him.

And maybe Katsuki deserved it for being so easily manipulated. Maybe this wasn’t the solution to
his self-loathing.

BUT GODDAMNIT, HE COULD HATE DEKU MORE!

Chapter End Notes

you know you’re writing Bakugou in character when you want to shake sense into
him. Like boy. boy, i love you and i know you’re in a hard place right now. But boy…

In other news, one of the best things i’ve found about Hirokoshi’s naming style is that
i don’t have dink around with japanese baby name sites and can instead go directly to
google translate and name people things like lemon grab and detective donut.

Discord:
https://discord.gg/SEkN8ee
Tumblr:
https://amarelibertius.tumblr.com
 Worth
Chapter Summary

what determines worth?

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Midoriya stared up at All Might with eyes the size of saucers. “What?” He winced when his voice
broke.

All Might stepped forward before coughing and shrinking to his smaller form. “I owe you an
apology, Midoriya. I tried to catch you after the sludge villain attack, but I lost you in the crowd. I
wanted to tell you that you changed my mind. When you saved your friend back there, you showed
the mark of a true hero. You motivated me to move-”

Izuku eyes began to shine with unshed tears. His hands began to shake violently. No. he couldn’t be
hearing this right. He was lying. This wasn’t real.

“I’ve come to realize I’ve been all talk lately,” he said, staring at his hand and seemingly missing
Midoriya’s internal meltdown. “But that day, you inspired me to act. Many heroes say the same
thing when they first act… their feet moved on their own. It was the same for you, wasn’t it?”

There was a painful sort of spasm in Izuku’s chest and he struggled to take a breath. Tears started
streaking down his scarred cheeks. No. This wasn’t fair….

“Midoriya,” All Might said dramatically. “Become my successor and take your place as a true
hero!”

Izuku clenched his fist on his jacket lapel right over his heart. He leaned forward, trying to breathe
while the man towered before him. His hero.

Izuku had just started to move on. He couldn’t- “I-I don’t understand-”
“Midoriya.” All Might said. “My quirk is one that can be passed on, like a torch, from one
generation to the next: One For All. I’ve been looking for a successor to carry the name of One For
All to the future, to become the next Symbol of Peace. I believe you are worthy of this task. You
have the heart of a hero! Midoriya, will you become my successor and take on my quirk?”

In all his youthful daydreams, Izuku had never thought it would hurt this much. It was so
convenient. A magic solution. A dream come true. Izuku didn’t even know how the quirk worked,
but to have all the power of All Might... to be able to save people like he’d always dreamed... it was
too good to be true.

“I can’t,” he whispered, and as he saw pain cross the man’s face, he understood that he really
meant well. Perhaps that’s what made this hurt so much. The fact that All Might thought he was
doing the right thing. The fact that he thought he was helping.

Izuku wiped the tears off his face and he stood up straighter, looking up at the man with
determination. “I don’t want your pity or your handouts. I came here to become a quirkless hero,
and I’m going to become a quirkless hero.” All Might’s face went blank in shock, and Midoriya
sniffed but felt more steady. “I’m sorry, All Might-sensei, but no, I will not take One For All.”

All Might swallowed the blood in his throat. “I’m not offering this out of pity. I really do believe in
you.”

“Then believe that I can do it without your power,” Izuku said firmly. “...Please.”

All Might stared at him a moment longer, and then nodded slowly. “Okay,” he said thickly. “Okay,
my boy. I’ll support you no matter what you choose.”

Izuku squeezed his eyes shut and breathed a shuddering breath. “Thank you.”

Shinsou was listening.

He knew he shouldn’t have. That eavesdropping was bad and… villainous. But he cared too much
about Midoriya to let him get hurt again, because All Might was too much of an arrogant oaf to
choose his words carefully.
He’d gotten more than he asked for, and instantly felt guilty. All Might had a second, sickly form.
All Might had a quirk that could be passed on. All Might did believe in Midoriya, but only
conditionally.

All Might clearly wasn’t trying to hurt Midoriya, but he still had.

Hitoshi felt a swell of pride when Midoriya stood up for himself, proudly declared that he could
move forward by his own power. But it was still incredibly clear that this was one of the hardest
things Midoriya’s been forced to do, even in light of his villain encounters.

Not long after Midoriya said thank you, he gently said he had to go and came around the corner to
find Hitoshi still frozen where he stood. A blush quickly bled onto Hitoshi’s cheeks and Izuku
ended up facepalming with both hands.

“I should have known.” He groaned.

“Sorry,” Hitoshi said too quickly, immediately guilty.

Midoriya just kept groaning and eventually sighed. “I’m not the one you need to apologize to.”

Hitoshi looked down, unwilling to meet his eyes.

“Go talk to All Might. I’ll wait,” Midoriya said, crossing his arms like he hadn’t been crying a few
minutes ago.

“But-” Hitoshi started, concern obvious in his voice.

“I’m fine, Hitoshi,” Midoriya said firmly, but his eyes softened. “Believe me, I’ve been through
worse.”

Hitoshi pulled a face and held his eye for a moment before glancing away again and basically
melting like putty. Hitoshi once again bemoaned how Midoriya had wrapped him around his
finger. “Fine. but if you need me, don’t you dare hesitate to call me.”
Midoriya’s smiled gently. “Yeah! Now go.”

Hitoshi went after All Might, worry for his friend lingering but quickly turning to a different kind
of concern when he heard crying. No… he had to be wrong. It couldn’t be.

Hitoshi turned another corner and found All Might on the floor, back against the wall, one hand
covering his face and the other pressed tightly over his heart. His breathing was ragged and
strained, interspersed with hacking painful-sounding coughs. Hitoshi froze, suddenly terrified and
overwhelmed by a wave of helplessness.

“All Might?”

His voice came out small and childish.

The man let out a startled gasp, which triggered a violent terrifying coughing fit. Blood splattered
the tile floor where it escaped between his fingertips. Hitoshi rushed forward but had no idea what
to do. He wondered if he should get Recovery Girl or if it would be a bad idea to leave All Might
alone.

Eventually, the coughing fit died down and the emaciated man seemed beyond exhausted.

“Sorry, my boy,” All Might said between breaths. “I’m okay, you just startled me a bit. This
happens all the time.”

Hitoshi pulled an unimpressed expression and All Might chuckled and smiled a bit.

“Really, I’m alright, just feeling sorry for myself.”

“I’m taking you to Recovery Girl.” Hitoshi stated.

All Might looked sheepish, but glancing down at his bloody hands and shirt, he nodded and said, “I
suppose that’s only fair.”
All Might refused to let Hitoshi help carry him. He was willing to walk on his own just to show
how okay he was. Hitoshi ended up hovering to close out of concern. They didn’t talk on their way
to the nurse’s, All Might’s breathing remaining rough and strained. The entire situation bore the
marks of something too intimate, too fast. Hitoshi was an invader twice over on what should have
been private moments.

Recovery Girl was brusque with her treatment of All Might when they got there, bearing an air of
familiarity and waving off Hitoshi’s voiced concerns as someone who knew better. All Might sat
through an admonishment for his recklessness with a kind of sheepishness that said he’s heard this
all before, and despite himself, Hitoshi felt himself narrowing his eyes at the exchange. Even
though he once again was more or less invading their space, something about the exchange made
him feel uncomfortable and annoyed.

Eventually Recovery Girl left All Might to rest in his bed, and Hitoshi was left still hovering to the
side. All Might obviously wanted to sleep, but he saw Hitoshi still standing there and gestured him
to the seat beside the bed, the wheely chair that recovery girl had just vacated.

Hitoshi for a moment considered excusing himself to let All Might sleep properly, but he had the
vague impression that wouldn’t end well for either of them. So he sat.

“You must think me pathetic,” was how All Might started. Shinsou opened his mouth to protest,
but All Might waved him off again. “I know how I look. I’m skinny, I’m injured, and I cried just
because of a little rejection. You’re right to think ill of me. I’m pathetic… a shadow of my former
self. All… all talk. I’m sorry you had to see me like this… I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name?”

“Shinsou Hitoshi,” Hitoshi said automatically. He could feel himself glaring and tried to stop, but
the sense of annoyance was building in him.

“Shinsou-kun.” All Might nodded, not noticing. “I suppose you overheard my talk with Midoriya-
kun.”

“Yes.” Hitoshi said shortly. “Sorry for eavesdropping.”

The man waved it off.

“And you saw for yourself that my health is ailing,” All Might said grimly and lifted his shirt to
reveal a horrifying scar that was purple and angry and webbed out from a single point like
lightning. Hitoshi felt sick just looking at it. “I suppose you want an explanation?”

Hitoshi licked his lips then shook his head. “I mostly worked it out.”

All Might jolted at the coldness in his tone. “I- yes, well, than you understand why you mustn’t tell
anyone about this. The kind of trouble it will cause-”

“No.” Hitoshi cut in rudely. “Actually, I don’t understand why you’re still working.”

“Ah!” All Might said, getting the same sheepish look he had when Recovery Girl was
reprimanding him. Shinsou then noticed the stubborn undercurrent in his expression resonant of
Midoriya during hell training. “Well, you see, the world needs a symbol of peace. If I suddenly
quit-”

“Would it be better if you died in battle?” Hitoshi couldn’t help but question.

“What?”

“Would it be better if the world saw you defeated in battle?” Shinsou tilted his head, eyes glinting
perceptively. “Which is better: a number one hero who retires safely, or a number one hero who
dies abruptly, killed by a nobody because he was too sick to win?”

That seemed to silence All Might, and internally, Hitoshi berated himself for being so
confrontational. But somehow, the man inexplicably reminded him of Midoriya, and as rude and
presumptuous as it seemed, it made Hitoshi feel inexplicably protective of the hero even though he
had no claim on the man’s life. It was like seeing the trajectory of his best friend’s life laid out
before him, and it… irritated him.

Because it was needlessly stupid.

“The world can’t be without a symbol of peace,” All Might stated seriously. All Hitoshi saw was
Midoriya’s stubborn streak.

“Okay,” he said, using an arguing technique that usually worked against Midoriya: the ‘I agree
with you but that doesn’t mean you aren’t being a self-centered idiot’ technique, Mostly utilized
when Midoriya was working himself to a dangerous point of exhaustion. “But who says you have
to be the one to shape the next symbol of peace?” That earned him a surprised blink but Hitoshi
wouldn’t count his victory too soon. “The world managed to make you. What’s stopping it from
making another number one hero like you?”

All Might coughed awkwardly. “Well, I’m considerably more powerful than-”

“That’s arrogant and self-centered.”

Hitoshi saw All Might dig his heels in. It really was just like arguing with Midoriya. “Well, it’s
true. My quirk is the accumulated power of eight generations of heroes. You heard me explain it to
Midoriya-kun. It’s well above your average quirk.”

“What’s stopping the world from making another quirk like it?” Hitoshi said, lifting his eyebrows.
“From the sound of it, this miracle quirk just suddenly appeared one day. Why can’t another like it
do the same?”

All Might’s mouth turned into a thin line. “That’s leaving an awful lot to chance, don’t you think?
Isn’t it better to make the future with your own hands? After all, that’s how I became the number
one hero. Through work and dedication. I’d say it’s better that I help a successor become the next
symbol of peace before abandoning the world to the will of the villains.”

Hitoshi crossed his arms over his chest and couldn’t help but feel like a petulant child even if he
knew he was right. “I’m not saying you shouldn’t train another symbol. I’m saying it’s arrogant of
you to assume you’re holding this whole system together with how great and powerful you are.
There are plenty of other heroes out there just as capable of keeping the peace.”

“But they don’t mean the same thing. The symbol is what’s comforting. The symbol is what
people need. Not just the heroes themselves. By being a symbol, I can give people hope. I can give
people something to believe in. I can discourage crime. By being the symbol of peace, I can protect
people even when I’m not physically there.”

“Not everyone ,” Hitoshi growled, startling himself with the bitterness. All Might had never been
Hitoshi’s favorite hero. Not after he got his quirk and learned how cruel the world could be. As one
of his former classmates aptly put it, All Might wasn’t for him. Why would a hero like All Might
save a villain like him? Hitoshi knew he shouldn’t take it to heart, but to some extent it had always
felt true. All Might symbolized everything bright and powerful and perfect and unattainable.
Someone like Hitoshi could never touch the idea of him, similar morals or not. The symbol of All
Might was honestly alienating to Hitoshi, even though he respected what the man himself did.

“No… not for everyone,” the man said, looking even more exhausted than before, an achievement
in and of itself. “But I suppose that falls into the same category as not being able to save everyone's
life. It’s not for lack of trying.”

The tiredness the man was showing was making Hitoshi feel guilty again. He was still annoyed,
but it was pretty obvious that the man was having a hard time, especially after Midoriya’s
rejection. Hitoshi really should be doing the whole comforting thing, but that’s never been in his
wheelhouse. Even after he got closer to Midoriya, Midoriya tended to do most of the emotional
heavy lifting, and Hitoshi didn’t know All Might nearly as well as him.

Arguing was something he’s good at, though, and maybe it could help? Hitoshi couldn’t exactly
sic Midoriya ‘always knows what to say’ Izuku on him after what they’d just been through.

“Symbols,” Hitoshi gestured vaguely, “are powerful, but they aren’t- they aren’t real?” Shit. “I
mean, they are kinda real in how people use them and view them, and sometimes there’s literal
things attached to the idea/symbol. But they aren’t everything. They aren’t…” Hitoshi trailed off,
unable to put words to what he was trying to say.

“Symbols,” Hitoshi tried again, “are just as flawed as people.” That felt more right. “They’re
subject to individual interpretation and can be used to justify anything. Their meaning can be
warped and weakened or changed. They aren’t solid. And they definitely aren’t perfect.”

All Might regarded Hitoshi with a strange look, and Hitoshi couldn’t fathom what was going on in
his head. “You aren’t wrong,” he conceded lowly.

“And- and abusing yourself so that you can be some perfect symbol is stupid,” Hitoshi said,
waving his hands and failing to find a more profound way to put it.

“Abusing!?” All Might voiced, startled.

“That’s what this is,” Hitoshi gestured, feeling honestly overwhelmed by the situation he’d
somehow put himself in. They were basically strangers and All Might had been crying before, but
here Hitoshi was gesturing vaguely and calling the number one hero stupid to his face. “You’re
injured. You’re obviously violently ill from said injury. You’re as thin as a freaking paper clip and
you’re justifying making yourself worse under the guise of being heroic. It’s stupid and suicidal
and-” Hitoshi growled in frustration and ran his hands through his hair before setting them flat on
his lap. “And it’s not going to work out the way you think it’s going to.”

He was glaring into All Might’s eyes, and the next thing he knew, All Might was laughing. It was
soft and gentle and a bit wet sounding, but it was frustratingly self-deprecating. “Well, you’ve
certainly told me…” He kept laughing, and it was edged with something darker. Something…
hysterical? Crazy? It raised goosebumps on Hitoshi’s skin.

Hitoshi shook his head. “You don’t get it, do you?”

All Might’s laughter and smile abruptly dropped. He looked horribly old in that moment. “Shinsou-
shounen… I think you’re wise beyond your age. Your friend, Midoriya, he is very lucky to have
you… but for me, it’s not as simple as just stopping because it’s stupid. I’ve been on this trajectory
for a very long time, and I fear there is no way to slam on the breaks now. I have to play my story
out to the end. There is so much… well, that’s not important.” Hitoshi stared intensely at the hero,
wondering what he’d almost said. “I know how I must look to you. You are young and you have an
entire future in front of you. Endless potential. It’s... kind of you to try and help me, to get so
passionate about my life, but…” All Might chuckled again. “But my story is already near its end,
and I… I’d rather die a hero than someone who gave up in the last stretch.”

Hitoshi stared at the hero incomprehensibly. This was beyond him. Nothing he could say would get
through to the man, and that scared him. Because again, he and Midoriya were so similar. The
thought of not being able to break through to Midoriya if he ever reached this point was terrifying.
But more than that, the thought that this man, All Might, was going to die for this ideal, and soon,
was that much scarier. All Might was going to die. All Might was going to let himself die.

Hitoshi didn’t know how to save him. Even his quirk would be useless here because it was
temporary. No words, no grand act was going to break through to him at this point. All Might was
going to die.

Hitoshi was startled to find himself crying, and All Might reached out to pat down his hair with a
gentle, fatherly hand.

“Don’t look so down,” All Might said kindly. “You’re young. You can build a better future.”

Hitoshi didn’t stop crying.

Shouto hated being compared to people.

Mostly his father, for obvious reasons. That was everyone’s go-to comparison, and it was
incredibly grating. He looked like his father. He had his father’s power, or his cold disposition, or
his arrogance. It was incredibly grating.

His father also liked to compare him to people. Usually to point out his weaknesses, or in a
bragging tone. That was also incredibly grating, but easier to ignore to an extent. He’d spent
enough time listening to his father prattle self-importantly that it mostly slid over him like rain on
glass.

That did not mean he enjoyed it.

This week he was being compared to a boy in general studies, Midoriya Izuku. Apparently because
the boy also had a burnt face, that made them the same somehow. Shouto had seen the boy once
already, when he’d walked in with Inasa Yaoroshi on the second day. The two talked annoyingly
enthusiastically before Midoriya had rushed off to his own class. The kid was small and average-
looking. He stuttered and flailed his arms around like he was doing some weird interpretive dance.
He was naively open. His every flaw and emotion was on display for everyone to see.

He was also quirkless.

Shouto didn’t know what to make of that. He supposed it was impressive that the boy was the first
quirkless student to make it into UA, but Shouto still felt irritated that people thought to compare
him to someone so obviously weak.

Shouto knew his dad didn’t approve of quirkless people in almost any capacity, regarding them as
deadweight on society. Shouto tried to think the opposite of him as a rule of thumb. But he didn’t
have much of an impression of quirkless people otherwise. He’d never met one, and even when he
longed for a different quirk it was to have only his mother’s power, never to be quirkless. He
imagined his father would disown him if he were quirkless, which would leave Shouto both poor
and defenseless. So obviously, if he was quirkless, it wouldn’t solve his problems. It would just
make brand new ones.

The quirkless boy didn’t impress him or even change Shouto’s preconceived notions of quirkless
people. He just looked like a shy, weak boy destined to live an average life.
So Shouto was annoyed.

It was a coincidence that lead to them crossing paths. Shouto wasn’t even thinking about him as he
stood in front of the school waiting for his driver to pick him up. Apparently the villain attack held
up traffic, so he had a while yet.

It’d been fifteen minutes after the final bell rang when Midoriya Izuku ran out of the gate looking
as though he’d been crying. He looked around for a second, even meeting Shouto’s eyes briefly. It
was a small moment that lead Shouto trying to confronting him. That shy bit of eye contact, a
curious glance at Shouto’s scar, and a small smile of acknowledgement, then he glanced away.

Shouto didn’t really get why that got under his skin when so little else did. Just a small smile. Like
they were equals. Like Midoriya saw him, saw his scar, and believed they were the same. As if
some quirkless kid could begin to understand what he’d been through.

Shouto had a problem with his temper. Yet another disgusting thing he’d inherited from his father.

So he followed the crying boy down the street, angry enough to shout at him.

Someone beat him to it.

Which was… unexpected. Todoroki ended up standing a good distance away as a boy with ash-
blond hair and quirk suppressant cuffs slammed the quirkless boy into the wall that bordered the
school.

“Deku,” he growled.

Shouto instantly knew he’d walked into something he wasn’t supposed to. If the conflicted look on
the blond’s face wasn’t evidence enough, the flash of pure terror that crossed ‘Deku’s’ face
certainly was. He wondered if he should interrupt, because this looked like it could go very bad
very quickly, especially with the green-haired boy already emotionally compromised.

But it was also none of his business, and depending on what happened, it might be considered an
act of vigilantism.
Instead, Shouto stepped around the corner of the school wall so he was no longer visible.

“Kacchan!” Midoriya gasped, using a personal nickname but sounding like he’d never expected to
see the boy in a million years. “I- uh… what are you doing here, Kacchan?”

Kacchan hissed dangerously. “What the hell are you doing here? You said you didn’t want to be a
hero anymore!”

“The restraining-” the boy started.

“Answer my question, asshole!” Kacchan sneered venomously. It’s only years of standing against
his father that stopped Shouto from flinching. It was too familiar. To similar to his father's voice.

“I-I got some help after what happened…” Midoriya said, tone cowed and low. Like he was
shrinking away. “I-I decided to give it another go.”

“Another go?” Kacchan repeated incredulously, almost mocking. “Are you stupid ? After what
happened- what could possibly possess you to- you’re quirkless, Deku! You know this! You know
what that means !”

There was a moment of silence. Then Midoriya’s voice became edged and sharp. “If I didn’t know
any better, Katsuki, I’d think you cared .”

The change of the name seemed to put distance between them, even if they remained inches apart.

“ I don’t care!” Katsuki responded instantly, incredibly defensive. Even Shouto and his lacking
social skills could recognize that. “Just- just shut the fuck up and stop looking at me like that!”

There was silence again, and Shouto couldn’t help but peek around the corner to see what was
happening.

Midoriya was staring at the boy as if he was seeing him for the first time.
“It’s gonna be okay, Kacchan,” he said softly, rising from his submissive position. “I’m sorry about
what happened between us. And what happened with Oshiro.”

“SHUT UP!” Katsuki said, slamming Deku into the wall. “Don’t pretend you understand! Don’t
talk about things you know nothing about! Just… FUCK!”

Katsuki ran a hand through his hair, and Shouto knew he was missing a lot of context to this
conversation, but the blond was clearly unhinged. Broken in a way Shouto couldn’t understand.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know how to help you.” Izuku said at length.

Katsuki took a full step back. “I…” His expression shifted through a dizzying amount of emotions
and, at this distance, Shouto couldn’t begin to understand them. He felt rather out of his depth in
general. He’d clearly walked into a situation he had no business being in. It was private and messy
and weird, and he should have already turned around and walked away. He should have already put
it out of his mind and forgotten he’d ever encountered it.

He didn’t leave, though, feet practically rooted to the ground by curiosity or by some innate gut
feeling telling him he needed to witness this. It was the same instinct that rooted him to the ground
during his mother’s mental breakdown. That probably meant he should want to leave more.

But he couldn’t.

“I didn’t ask for your help,” Katsuki said in a husky, cracking voice. Shouto blinked in vague
confusion. It almost sounded like he wasn’t sure that was the truth.

Midoriya was silent for a long moment. Then he moved forward and hugged the blond. Katsuki
froze at the unexpected move. They stayed like that for a long moment, and again Shouto
wondered what the hell he walked into.

Then, as suddenly as it happened, Katsuki pushed Midoriya away. Roughly. Shouto heard
Midoriya’s back smack into the wall again.

“Deku…” Katsuki said, like he was trying to put more bite into it than he could manage.
“Kacchan… Katsuki,” Midoriya said, and he sounded tired. “I’m sorry I gave up. I won’t do that
again, if that makes you feel better. I will become a hero.”

“But…” Katsuki said, sounding momentarily at a loss. “But you can’t.” his tone became firmer.
Resigned. “You’ll die.”

“I know.”

A chill went down Todoroki’s spine, and he pulled away from the corner, trying to process that…
twist? Could it even be called that?

“...” Katsuki seemed just as taken aback. “What?” His voice an octave higher than before.

“It doesn’t matter if I die.” The boy’s tone was inexplicably positive. “You helped me realize that.
If you kill ‘nothing’, you lose nothing. So if I really am a Deku, it doesn’t matter what happens to
me so long as I’ve helped the people who do matter, right?”

There was a long, pregnant silence as Katsuki and Shouto processed what Midoriya said. Then in a
voice abnormally quiet and horrified, Katsuki said, “Did I knock a screw loose when I blew you
up? Holy fuck.”

An unexpected wave of sudden sick anger washed through Shouto. This was the person who gave
him that scar? This was what they were arguing about!?

Shouto’s anger was quickly snuffed out by his left sleeve catching fire. He couldn’t lose control.
This wasn’t even any of his business.

Midoriya laughed, and it was a fragile sounding thing, empty and falling dead the moment it left
his lips. “I’ve known I couldn’t be a proper hero from the day I learned I was quirkless,” he said,
words weighted with thought. “Even if I hadn’t known, you’ve reminded me every step of the
way.”

A pulse of red hot hatred echoed through Shouto, the way it always did when he was in his father’s
presence. A roaring innate understanding of the kind of abuse that could make a person think like
that. This hatred felt almost like a heartbeat, beating a familiar rhythm in his chest.
Katsuki flinched.

“But I can still help people,” Midoriya said softly, then more firmly continued, “I will help them,
Kacchan. Because what I’m doing matters. And if you want to stop me, than you’re going to have
to kill me for real this time.”

Kacchan was silent.

Shouto closed his eyes and breathed through his nose. Stay detached, he reminded himself. Focus
on your own goals.

Midoriya let loose a small laugh. It was jarring in the stillness. “Someday you’re going to be a
great hero, Kacchan. Please don’t get lost along the way.”

There was another shorter pause, and then quietly and with emotion, Kacchan said, “Fuck you.”
There was a slam as though he had pushed Midoriya into the wall a final time. “I’m going to be
number one.”

Then there was the sound of fading footsteps as Kacchan apparently stalked off. To Shouto, it
sounded like he was running away.

Midoriya hummed thoughtfully and then started walking in the opposite direction, around the
corner where Shouto was still standing.

Midoriya jumped when he saw Shouto. Shouto prayed to god that his expression was blank.

“Oh, Todoroki-kun!” Midoriya laughed nervously and ducked his head. Shouto watched the
nervous twitch of his fingers. “You didn’t see all that, did you?”

Midoriya’s voice was small and anxious. His face was still red and blotchy from crying. Shouto
considered telling the truth and demanding answers about his and Katsuki’s clearly toxic
relationship, but he reminded himself that it wasn’t any of his business. He was here to become an
ice hero and to spite his father. He didn’t need to get mixed up with whatever drama this was.
So in a flat tone, he said, “See what?”

And Midoriya visibly relaxed. It was almost impressive how expressive Midoriya was. Shouto was
used to locking up his emotions and trying to stay as still and as empty as possible. His siblings
were similar, and his father could be downright inscrutable(though that was in matters of
determining his mood and what punishment he had in store). Seeing Midoriya act like an open
book was strangely refreshing.

“Well, that’s… um, good.” Midoriya was still fidgeting like a threatened animal.
“ThenIguessI’llseeyouaround…”

What had started as a sentence turned into a cacophony syllables and incoherent mumbling.
Embarrassed, Midoriya quickly excused himself and started to leave, but startling even himself,
Shouto shouted, “Midoriya!”

The smaller boy made a surprised squeak. Shouto immediately felt awkward from his outburst, but
he had to ask. “Are you okay?”

The boy laughed almost hysterically. Then he put on a smile, and suddenly there was ice in
Shouto’s blood. He wondered if he had lost control of his powers, because everything within him
had suddenly gone frigid and still.

“I’m fine,” Midoriya said earnestly. “Thank you for worrying about me, that’s really kind of you.”
He gave a slight bow. “I’ve got to go now, but I’ll see you around, Todoroki-kun.”

And he turned and disappeared down another street. In that time, the smile hadn’t left Midoriya’s
face. Shouto remained frozen a moment longer, and then exhaled a cold breath as he tried to get
control of his roiling emotions.

He knew that smile. He’d seen it so many times before on his mother’s face. It was the mask she
would put on when she didn’t want to worry him, when she was trying to hide her pain. It was a
strained smile that never reached her eyes and would drop, he knew, the moment she was out of
sight. She’d smile like that after every abusive encounter with his father, even as tears were still
drying on her face.

And now it was a mask that his yearmate was wearing.

It was like a ghost from his past coming to haunt him. Finally, he’d begun to move forward against
his father. Finally, he’d begun his work to prove himself and become a hero. And then here was a
shadow of his mother, a shadow of himself, reminding him that he had barely moved at all.

It wasn’t his business, Shouto tried to remind himself. But the words felt wrong now. It wasn’t his
business, but he couldn’t stand back and do nothing when he knew that smile, shared that burn, had
watched ‘Kacchan’ threaten Midoriya. Shouto was supposed to be a hero, and if he couldn’t stop
history from repeating itself, then what was he good for?

He needed to help Midoriya.

But how?

Shit shit. Fuck DAMN FUCK! NONONONOno…

Katsuki barely stopped himself from banging his head against the wall when he was finally away
from Izuku and that damn stare. That… what even was that? How had things gotten so twisted?

It was supposed to be simple! But these things are never simple. Nothing was simple with Deku.
GODDAMNIT. How…

He… he broke him, didn’t he?

That was the reality he’d been to scared to face. The reason for the overwhelming guilt and self-
loathing. He broke Deku in a way he couldn’t even begin to untangle. Emotions and actions that
mixed together to make something far darker and uglier than he thought he was capable of.

He knew this already. Knew his anger made him take things too far. He’d almost killed two
people. But that had felt so distant. A heated haze of red where he remembered moving and acting,
but felt out of control. Like he was doing it, but he wasn’t really in control of his body.

But everything else with Deku… this- that conviction . He still met his eyes. He really believed--
this wasn’t some overnight shit. Katsuki wasn’t stupid, and he knew that this went deeper than that
day under the cherry blossom trees. This went deeper than the sludge villain attack.

It’d been- is still was- so much easier to believe that Deku was the bad guy. That he was some
manipulative genius looking down on him. Mocking him. Pitying him.

But… but that smile…

He called himself a Deku. He called himself nothing and he believed it.

He wanted to die and he meant it.

He’d told Katsuki to kill him.

A painful emotion clawed its way through his chest. This was so much worse than he thought it
was. Katsuki was so much worse that he thought he was. He had done this to other people? Izuku
had always been his target, but did he affect other kids this way? With his words and anger? How
many people has he hurt?

Oshiro’s words came back to him. We’ve known each for other eleven years, and you don’t even
know my name . And he hadn’t. Something so basic, so essential had slipped from his mind as
something unimportant. He hadn’t cared.

Bakugou sunk to his knees in the middle of the street and put his face in his hands, crying like he
never had before.

How deeply fucked up was he to do something like that?

And the worst part was that part of him still thought that this was okay. Part of him still felt he had
the right to be angry because he was the best, and it was their fault that they didn’t understand that.
Part of him thought they all got what they deserved.

It was the part of himself that he was coming to hate the most.
 Message Midoriya :bush::flower::leaf:

Midoriya :bush::flower::leaf: : hey, i decided to head home without you. Sorry.

you: oof. Sorry

The all might talk got deeper than expected

Feelings happened

You’re a terrible influence on me, making me be empathetic and shit

Midoriya :bush::flower::leaf:: lol, i have a secret for you, hitoshi

You were always empathetic

That power was in you all along :rainbow:

You : liar

If you wait i can still meet you

Midoriya :bush::flower::leaf:: nah

I’m just really tired is all

I’ll talk to you tomorrow

you: are you okay?

Midoriya :bush::flower::leaf:: yeah? Sorry for worrying you

Just a long day, you know?

you: …

I’m gonna take that as a you don’t want to talk about it

Midoriya :bush::flower::leaf:: ...yeah

 you: okay. I’ll drop it for now. Just rest and let me know if you need anything

Midoriya :bush::flower::leaf:: thanks, hito-kun, you’re the best

you: new nickname?

Midoriya :bush::flower::leaf:: : (/ω＼)

you: (=ↀωↀ=)

Midoriya :bush::flower::leaf:: omg you’re such a dork

You: (^╥_╥^)

Midoriya :bush::flower::leaf:: Ψ(￣∀￣)Ψ

you: you complete madman

You absolute fiend

Midoriya :bush::flower::leaf:: you love me

You : the feeling is mutual (⌐■_■)

Midoriya :bush::flower::leaf:: pfft yeah i love you too dorkface

Thanks again

I think i needed this

 You: yeah no problem. You know i’m always here for you

No matter what.

Midoriya :bush::flower::leaf:: :greenheart:

Wait are you okay?

You: yeah why wouldn’t i be?

Midoriya :bush::flower::leaf: i don’t know i just got a weird feeling

You: you’re psychic.

Scary.

Midoriya :bush::flower::leaf: wait so i’m right? You aren’t okay?

You: …

It’s complicated

And probably too personal to someone else to really get into

Midoriya :bush::flower::leaf: deep talk with all might huh

Oof

Well you know it works both ways right? If you ever need to talk to me, i’m always here to help

You: of course

You’re a really good friend izuku

I’m glad i have you in my life

 Midoriya :bush::flower::leaf: i’m glad to have you too, hitoshi

Maybe we should hang out after all

Pillow fort at your place with all the cats

You: honestly that sounds like the best thing ever in the history of ever

Midoriya :bush::flower::leaf: then I’ll be right over

You: :purpleheart:

Midoriya :bush::flower::leaf: :greenheart:

Chapter End Notes

I’m really proud of the subtle character writing i managed in this chapter. The
Baku/Mido talk was a freaking journey and poor Midoriya has has a very long day.
The All Might/Shinsou talk was also a gut punch because I went into it expecting
Shinsou to be soft and comforting and then everything got derailed into angst because
my boy doesn’t know what he’s doing. It’s honestly relatable

Discord:
https://discord.gg/SEkN8ee
Tumblr:
https://amarelibertius.tumblr.com
 Setting Up Dominoes
Chapter Summary

Sooner or later someone's gonna fall

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Aizawa stared at the hero. He wasn’t using his quirk, but Yagi felt pinned down under the look like
he was about to dissect him. Yagi didn’t have a lot of friends left, so he ended up going to Aizawa
after… well, after yesterday.

The man was reliable in telling things like they are-- a bit like Gran Torino, really-- and after two
rather emotionally charged conversations where he felt he made a real mess of things, he needed
someone with clear view of the situation to lay things out for him. Yagi was starting to regret that
decision, however, as the man was looking very irritated with him. He was starting to think he had
given him a headache.

“You’re telling me,” Aizawa said, just to make sure, “that you, the Symbol of Peace, after a
traumatic event in this boy’s life, after handing over a powerful secret and a great deal of trust to
this boy, decided to crush his dreams?”

Yagi only felt more sheepish. “It wasn’t quite so bad…”

He stopped when Aizawa glared him down. Now wasn’t the time for excuses.

“You are lucky,” the dark haired teacher said. “You are incredibly lucky that you found one of the
few people in the world who would take your words as a challenge instead of a call to villainy.”

“I know,” Yagi said in a small voice.

The main just sighed loudly and went on. “And next, you decided to spit on that same boy’s
achievements by offering your mentorship as a consolation prize more than a year later. After he’s
had the chance to move on from your first encounter.”
Yagi chewed his lip, knowing in reality that it was worse than it sounded because he hadn’t told
Aizawa the full truth of his power. “Er… yes…”

“And when that boy rightfully turned you down, you had a breakdown in front of another student,
revealed your secret, and proceeded to argue with him about, what was it again? The politics of
being the Symbol of Peace? To the point that he cried?”

Yagi was staring at his feet now. He hadn’t mentioned the full implications of the arguement or
just how much the boy reminded him of Aizawa. Yagi knew he deserved the chewing-out. It was
probably even cathartic to get it. It was a healthier form of self-flagellation than his spiralling
depressive thoughts. Hopefully.

“You understand how ridiculous this is? You understand that you digged yourself into this hole,
correct?” Aizawa said, sounding exasperated.

“Yes,” Yagi murmured guiltily.

The dark haired teacher sighed. “So what do you plan to do about it?”

Yagi smiled suddenly, bright and overwhelming, like he’d turned on a switch. “I’m glad you
asked!” He spoke so loudly that Aizawa flinched. “Since it’s apparent that I can’t help Midoriya
become a hero my way, I thought I’d help him become your kind of hero! Obviously, he’s
intending to join your new club! So what better way to help repay him and support him than to
help train him to be an underground hero?”

Aizawa squinted at him, blinking a few times as though he couldn’t quite understand what he was
hearing. “You want to help with the Underground Hero Club?” he asked incredulously.

“Yes! I’ll be able to help not only Midoriya and Shinsou, but other students trying to move forward
with their unconventional quirks as well!”

“All Might, you’re not an underground hero. ” Aizawa now sounded exasperated.

“But I’ve worked with my share of underground heroes!” He chuckled nervously. “And I know a
great deal about the underground and police work. I’m sure I have something to offer here.”
Aizawa rubbed his forehead a sudden pain making its presence known there. “I’m going to be
training these students in the skills of subtlety and subterfuge. All Might, you are the least subtle
person I’ve ever met.”

“I can be subtle when I need to!” All Might enthused, a note of offense in his voice.

Aizawa just groaned. “Having a quirk that helps mask your identity through a physical
transformation doesn’t count, because the vast majority of our students won’t have that, and you
don’t even use your skinny form for hero work. You aren’t masking that identity, because it’s so
normal that it’s not at risk of being revealed. And even then, you aren’t that subtle. I’ve already
had kids asking about the skinny man wandering the grounds.”

All Might deflated a little. “...I can learn.”

He sounded so earnestly hopeful that it was almost impossible to say no to him. Aizawa ran his
hand through the tangles in his hair and sighed. “Fine,” he finally said. “But you’ll have to check
with Nedzu first, and when we’re in the classroom, Snipe, Midnight, and I are in charge. You’ll be
an aid on the aboveground perspective of the field. Most of these kids will be from other courses,
so they won’t know much about the inner workings of aboveground hero work, and that
information is intrinsic to how the underground world operates.”

Aizawa didn’t mention that he knew for a fact that Nedzu would agree just for the pure comedic
potential of the situation. The creature was a genius, and he’d make the most of this arrangement,
but he was also a sadist, and Aizawa could practically see the creature laughing at his expense.

All Might lit up with excitement, and it was blinding to look at. “Thank you, Aizawa-san! I’ll start
helping immediately!”

Aizawa groaned again. What was he getting himself into?

Izuku wasn’t expecting to make friends outside of Shinsou and Inasa. He’d intentionally lowered
his expectations, knowing that him being quirkless was reason enough for people to hate him. It
always had been. He knew Shinsou was also expecting the worst. Best case scenario, they’re
ignored.
Beyond the first two days of eager questioning and unintentional insults, that was how it was
looking. The students were relatively nice. The thorn girl was a bit rude and Kanjou had a habit of
blurting what people were really thinking, so he knew he wasn’t entirely liked, but Izuku was
pleasantly surprised when one of their classmates approached them in a non-threatening and
positive way. Shinsou and Izuku were walking to lunch, and the girl with long brown hair
approached at a bit of a skip.

“Hi, I’m Tali,” the girl said, holding her hand out. Izuku remembered that she was the foreigner
student with the cool healing quirk. “I know this is weird to start with, but can I use my quirk on
you?”

“Um… why?” Izuku asked uncertainly.

“He’s not sick,” Shinsou said more sharply. Izuku had long since given up trying to stop his friends
from being defensive of him. He didn’t mind people being mean to him, but his friends were like
pack animals and were always ready to jump to his aid when they felt it necessary. It was kinda
sweet, if a little annoying sometimes. He wasn’t a baby, he could take care of himself, and a lot of
the time they were overreacting and just coming off as rude.

“No, I mean, probably not,” the girl said, playing with her hair in a way that could either be
flirtation or anxiety. “I’m just- I’m not gonna lie, I saw the sludge incident on the news and have
been paranoid for your health ever since. That other boy too. It did not look like those paramedics
properly cleared your lungs.”

Shinsou and Izuku’s eyes met, a subtle rise of the eyebrows passing between them. “Wouldn’t
symptoms present by now if there was a problem?” Izuku asked.

“Not necessarily,” the girl said. “Incubation periods differ. Some have invisible symptoms that can
cause more problems in the long-term. The point is, it won’t hurt you to let me use my quirk, but it
might hurt you to not.”

Izuku raised his eyebrows higher at the girl. “Um... sure, if you answer some questions about your
quirk for me.”

Shinsou raised his eyes heavenward, but didn’t stop Izuku from nerding out about her quirk. It was
a losing battle, anyway. They grabbed their lunches before taking a seat out of the way of the
rowdy hero classes. The girl took her seat, having a surprisingly unhealthy-looking meal. She
pulled crushed looking box of tissues from her back and a small bottle of hand sanitizer.
“All I need to do is touch you and focus,” Tali explained. “Won’t hurt or anything. If Recovery
Girl’s quirk is dependent on your energy stores, mine is focused on using mine. Tires me out, but it
does good.”

“Um, okay,” Izuku said, holding out his arm for her and watching very closely. She pressed her
index finger to him with little fanfare, and Izuku gasped when her brown eyes suddenly glowed
gold as well as where their skin met.

Tali’s face went strangely blank as she focused on using her quirk. She didn’t say anything. It only
took a few seconds before she sat back, eyes returning to their dark color. Izuku got a strange
itching in his throat, and without a word the girl held out her box of tissues.

“There we go,” she said as Izuku coughed. She rubbed the handsanitizer onto her hands and even
dabbed some onto where she had touched Izuku’s arm. She then took a closed yogurt off her tray
and put it on Izuku’s. Shinsou watched this entire exchange, saying nothing.

When Izuku finished coughing, he winced at the dark green snot that managed to get out. It was
the same color as the sludge villain. “Ewwww.”

“Yep, that happens,” the girl said casually. “Eat the yogurt. My quirk can be, uh- in- indiscriminate
to positive bacteria and yogurt has probiotics that will help restore them… unless you’re lactose
intolerant… I should have asked you that first...”

Izuku opened the yogurt without any fight and his eyes glinted in interest. “That was really cool,
Tali! Is the glowing a visitual trait, or does it serve a purpose?”

The girl grinned happily, and Izuku immediately fell into an exciting conversation about her quirk
and healing quirks in general. It was almost immediately apparent that the girl was as enthusiastic
about trivia as Izuku was, and they fell into an easy rhythm of exchanging facts that they knew.
Shinsou, as he often did when Izuku and Inasa really got going, started zoning out.

Izuku learned a lot. The girl was a relative expert on medical quirks; medicine was clearly one of
her passions, and Izuku really respected that. She intended to be an epidemiologist when she left
high school, and to save as many lives as she could when faced with deadly diseases. It wasn’t
fighting villains, but Izuku could already see her saving as many lives as a pro hero.
She even already had a medical quirk permit! Which Izuku immediately made her pull out to look
at. Tali laughed as she dug a sheet of paper from her wallet. “It’s no license,” she grinned, “and
there are actually a lot of er- limits? To medical quirk licenses in general. It’s different from hero
licenses. I’m not allowed to use my quirk outside of a hospital, and it has to be in the presence of
other trained doctors, that kind of thing.”

Tali also had a habit of pausing mid conversation to think of a word, apparently a side effect of
being bilingual. She was honestly impressively fluent, especially when it came to medical terms,
but her accent was still a bit thick in some places. Izuku wondered if his accent in English was as
bad.

“So wait,” Shinsou said, drowsily cutting in. “Even if you have a medical license, you can’t save
someone if you’re at the scene of an accident? You can’t use your quirk to save someone’s life if
you’re anywhere other than a hospital?”

“ Nope ,” the girl said in English so she could pop the p. She continued in Japanese. “Medical
quirks tend to be really dangerous. Recovery Girl and I might have straightforward quirks, but for
as rare as they are, anyone with a quirk that remotely effects healing are picked up even if the
quirk isn’t entirely appropriate. I mean, I heard of someone whose sweat had healing effects, but
said sweat was also teeming with bacteria, so even if it helped mend the skin it could cause
infections. Or, there was another case where the person could mend flesh together, but if she didn’t
do it just right, things won’t be aligned correctly and more damage would be done overall. Like,
veins attaching to the wrong parts and stuff, and she can’t detach what she already mended. That
kinda thing.”

“Yikes,” Shinsou said, wincing slightly. Izuku had somehow gotten a notebook open with a sprawl
of notes already written. When had that happened?

“Yeah, so there's a lot of um... What’s the word? Uh, protocol? For it. Safeguards. Other doctors
have to be around. Interestingly, those protocols don’t apply as much to heroes. If I got a hero
license, I could use my quirk wherever, with the expectation that hero training would be enough for
me to know what’s appropriate quirk use. It’s a bit of a double standard. I might have a medical
permit, but I don’t get an actual license until I complete some form of med school. That’s college.
They gave me the permit because they need my quirk, but they don’t trust me to use my quirk on
my own without someone holding my hand. Like, I get it, but hero licenses are weirdly way easier
to get.”

Midoriya and Shinsou shared a look. Getting a hero license didn’t seem that easy to them. But,
neither of them knew much about what attending med school would entail, so maybe they should
just take Tali’s word for it. She seemed pretty knowledgeable on the subject.
But it begged the question, “Do you want to be a hero?”

It was Izuku who asked, an eager glint entering his eyes.

Tali smiled back, but it was something sadder. “Well, I consider doctors heroes in their own right,”
she glanced away, “but… yeah, kinda. But it’s not realistic. My quirk isn’t combative, doesn’t
make me a better fighter, and even in support work, I can’t really heal physical wounds, just
disinfect them. I’d save more in a hospital.”

“I’m sensing a but,” Shinsou said, watching her carefully.

Tali blushed and again played anxiously with her hair. “Yeah. That’s where the whole
epidemiologist thing comes in. If my quirk use wasn’t limited to hospitals, I might be able to cut
off epidemics before they properly get started. The sooner I reach a patient, the less damage to the
body the disease can do. Again, I might be daydreaming a bit. I mean, it’s not like I’d just happen
upon epidemics in my day-to-day life. If I’m called to an actual epidemic, it’d be after patients are
in the hospital. But still… it’s nice to think about.”

“Yeah, it is.” Izuku smiled warmly. Shinsou got a look on his face.

“And you don’t have a problem with us being heroes?” Shinsou asked, searching.

The girl blinked innocently at him. “Why would I have a problem with you being heroes?”

Her tone suggested that she hadn’t even questioned whether they could be heroes. It was a bit
disconcerting, when they were so used to negativity and resistance.

The girl seemed to catch on after their moment of shocked silence. “I know as well as anyone that
anybody can help another person. Same as how anyone can hurt another person. I’m a future
doctor; my job isn’t to judge people, it’s to help. If you want to help people too, all the more power
to you.”

They were gaping now. It couldn’t be that easy. It had never been that easy.
“But my quirk…?” Shinsou whispered in a hushed tone, but he seemed to catch himself, the bullies
sabotaging him too fresh in his mind.

Tali tilted her head as if only then remembering what Shinsou’s quirk was. She glanced down at
her hands. “Any quirk can be used for evil,” she said heavily. Izuku sat up a little straighter at the
implication. Has she hurt someone with her quirk? How do you hurt someone by healing diseases?
“But,” she said as if forcing herself to relax, “any quirk can be used for good, too. Our choices
matter.” She smiled again and said in a more playful tone, “And no offense, but you don’t seem
like you’d hurt a fly.”

Izuku grinned teasingly. “He wouldn’t!”

Shinsou shot him a tired, betrayed glare. “Like you’re one to talk.” He grumbled.

“So do I pass?” Tali asked.

“Huh?” Izuku blinked.

“That was a testing the waters question,” she said bluntly. “Do I pass? Can we be friends?”

Shinsou and Izuku shared another look.

“You wanna be friends with us ?” Shinsou said in a disbelieving tone. Izuku had his hands pressed
over his mouth and almost seemed to be vibrating.

The girl blinked a few times. “Yeah. I don’t know if you’ve noticed yet, but I’m kinda weird, and
no offense, but you’re also kinda weird. And us weirdos have to stick together. I just have a good
feeling about you two.”

Izuku hadn’t actually found her weird, but he didn’t entirely have a frame of reference for what was
considered normal. He look to Shinsou to answer, making sure he was comfortable. Shinsou
looked at him, then ran his hand down his face. It was then that Izuku realized he was leaning
forward like an eager puppy
“Sure,” Shinsou sighed, sitting up and stretching. “I guess you’re alright.”

“ Rad !” the girl said in English.

Biker bars were one of the worst-kept secrets in the underground. Most groups had personal bars
that they visited regularly, but a biker bar was where you went for information. They were transient
places, a middle ground between villains, civilians, vigilantes, and underground heroes. News
spread quickly there, and you’d get news from neighboring towns and cities by passer-throughs.

The Goose Teeth was one such bar. Touya was sitting at a table nursing a beer while Mademoiselle
Du Sang, or Himiko Toga, chatted up a biker a few tables away. For now, Touya just listened to
the conversation weave around him.

After a time, Sauteur, or as he liked to be called here, The Crawler, entered the bar, ordered a soft
drink, and upon spotting Touya, slid into the chair across from him.

“I’m gonna die, aren’t I?” he sighed, like he wasn’t really put out by the idea.

“To Marbre? Unlikely.” Touya scoffed. “He’s smart, but arrogant. There’s a reason the king chose
you.”

“Yeah,” The Crawler said, spinning his cup in his hand. “About that…”

“You’re concerned about the king being missing?”

The Crawler shook his head. “No, we both know he’s not missing missing. He’s the reason I joined
in the first place. It’s just… I have a bad feeling. Marbre isn’t the only one who’s thinking this
stuff. It’s dangerous for the group if he starts infighting.”

“Then beat him.” Touya shrugged. “Take leadership and kick him out.”

The Crawler chewed his straw. “It’s not that easy. He’s said enough that people will be thinking it
even after he’s gone. Something needs to be done, I just don’t know what.”
Touya shrugged indifferently. “I suppose he’s not completely wrong. Going after the king was a
step too far, but a lot of us have been wanting to do something more… active.”

“The prison thing isn’t enough,” The Crawler said, his phrasing carefully neutral.

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “It just seems like it’s been a while since we’ve done something that
mattered.”

“You’re looking to do something that matters?” a voice cut in. Both boys looked up at where a
man made of black mist had appeared at the end of their table. He didn’t look like he belonged
here. He had a smooth accent, and he wore a neat suit underneath a leather jacket as if the jacket
was all he needed to fit in. “Well, I have just the thing for you-”

“We don’t want what you’re selling,” Touya cut in, scowling.

“You haven’t even heard what I have to say?” the man said, slightly affronted.

“Sorry, sir,” The Crawler quickly cut in, too polite for his own good. “Is there anything we can
help you with? We don’t want any trouble.”

“Well.” Smoky Hands adjusted the lapels of his leather jacket. “I’m glad you asked. The
organization I’m working with has some incredible plans in the works, and for it to work, we need,
ah... how you say, firepower. Gentlemen such as yourself are exactly what we’re looking for. You
can use your quirks, and all you have to do is make sure some children and a couple heroes stay out
of the way of the main event, how does that sound? The payment will be quite spectacular.”

“And what exactly is the main event?” said Touya, glaring.

The man put his finger to his lips… probably. It was hard to tell. “You’ll have to join to get the
finer details.”

“Yeah, no,” Touya said, throwing some bills down on the table. “I think we’re both good. Have a
nice day, Gastly.”
Touya walked out, leaving Himiko to her own devices. The Crawler wasn’t far behind, snapping
on his sports gloves.

“Damn peddlers.” Touya muttered.

“He said it involved children,” The Crawler said, frowning.

Touya sighed. “Fine, we’ll look into it. Don’t look at me like that. Bloody villain groups…”

“Who knows,” The Crawler said, crouching. “Maybe this’ll be the action you’re looking for.”

Touya laughed. “Yeah, maybe,” he said watching The Crawler slide away. “... Maybe.”

“Guilty!” the judge declared, banging her gavel.

Katsuki exhaled. Like there had been any other option. Katsuki’s lawyer got him a shorter sentence
by pleading guilty. It was the right thing to do after… after everything.

Beside him, his mother was crying. Across the room, he could feel the glare of Oshiro’s mother.
Auntie Inko hadn’t come. He’s not sure why he expected her to. A heavy feeling rested in his
chest. That same self-loathing that’s been dragging him down ever since he first attacked Izuku. A
feeling that had been building and building until it felt like he couldn’t breathe anymore.

It was hard to look in the mirror sometimes. He felt like a surreal contradiction of a person. A
villain driven by rage who‘d hurt everyone he was supposed to care about. A weakling, a pathetic
nobody who couldn’t control himself and wouldn’t stand up for himself. A child who dreamed of
being a hero.

Izuku’s words still echoed in his head, and so did Katsuki’s reply.

“You’re going to be a great hero one day.”

“I’m going to be number one!”

The judge continued, “Your sentence is fifteen years, with a chance of parole in five.”

And suddenly, Katsuki felt a lot less steady. “F-fifteen?”

His mom was still crying.

Fifteen years… that was a a lot of his life. When he got out he’d be thirty!

I’m gonna be number one! He’d sworn. It was something he’d been saying for as long as he could
remember. A promise to himself, to the world. A promise to Izuku. How could he become a hero if
he was spending the rest of his life in prison?

Katsuki believed in honesty. Always had. He hated when people lied to him. He hated to lie. But
apparently, he’s made himself a liar too. On top of being an awful person, he was a liar now.

He didn't want to give up on this. He didn’t want to give up on his dreams.

Fifteen years…

How? How could he still be a hero?

Shouto liked simplicity.

Whether it be food or his bedroom or just having a conversation, life was easier if he kept things
simple. He didn’t like thinking too deep or letting things get too complicated. He figured his dad
made his life complicated enough without Shouto adding to his own issues.

So when he examined the already-complicated issue of helping the Midoriya boy. He decided
being straightforward was for the best. He’d talk to the boy, get a clearer perspective on the
situation, and try and help from there.

A problem arose quickly.

Inasa, a boy Shouto vaguely remembers meeting at the entrance demonstration, apparently hated
him. He was also best friends with Midoriya and some other unknown boy in the general course.
Shouto didn’t know why the boy hated him, but it was very inconvenient because he seemed
determined to run interference every time Shouto even looked in Midoriya’s direction. Like a guard
dog, Inasa somehow always stood between him and Midoriya. It was consistent enough that
Shouto had to wonder how he chanced that strange after-school meeting in the first place.

Shouto quickly lost his patience with this.

“What’s your problem?” he asked bluntly. He’d only been trying to talk to Midoriya for a day, but
Inasa was being obvious enough that it didn’t matter. Shouto had noticed the boy hated him before
this, it was only now that he was seeing it as a problem.

Inasa didn’t bother hiding his disdain. “What do you want from Midoriya?” he asked gruffly.

Shouto squinted up at him. “To talk. How is that your business?”

“Midoriya’s my friend,” Inasa stated the obvious. “Friends stand up for each other.”

Shouto lifted his eyebrows, annoyance building. The taller boy had his arms crossed over his chest,
trying to look intimidating. Shouto had seen worse. The hall was completely empty now.

“Against me?” He asked. “Last I checked, Midoriya has the right to talk to whoever he pleases. So
do I.”

“And what would you say?” Inasa sneered. “The same disgusting derogation that everyone else
spits. You expect me to stand by and let you bully my friend?”

Shouto gave him a purely incredulous look, one that said too clearly Are you stupid? Shouto looked
 remarkably like his father just then. “I’m not going to bully anyone. I don’t even know what your
problem with me is.”

Inasa leaned forward, his small black eyes glinting in the afternoon light. “You have cold eyes. I
doubt you remember, but after the demonstration, I tried to talk to you and you glared at me.” Inasa
said the word glare like it was the worst thing a person could do. “You look your just like your
father, you know. You have the same cold eyes.”

And despite himself, Shouto flinched. He resisted the urge to touch his scar. Pretended he couldn’t
hear his mother’s words ring in his head.

“You don’t know me at all.” Shouto growled. It struck him suddenly as unfair, that this boy, this
asshole would hate him for something as small as his eyes. For something as small as an offhanded
look.

“Hmm,” Inasa hummed darkly. “And yet, I haven’t seen you smile once since I’ve met you. You
haven’t talked to anyone. You haven’t made any friends. What do you think you’re here for?”

“I’m here to become a hero,” Shouto spat, voice frigid.

Inasa stared at him for what felt like a long moment, and for a second his eyes had something more
like pity in them. “You don’t even know what that means.”

Shouto didn’t move, didn’t react, just continued to glare, a shocking amount of hatred making itself
known in his veins.

“Stay away from my friends,” Inasa declared loudly before walking away.

Shouto’s clenched fist shook. Spires of ice tore into air, too late to harm anyone but himself.

Chapter End Notes

inasa: “i’ma protect my friends!”

Inasa: somehow steps on every tragic backstory bear trap todoroki has
The bar is called Goose teeth because i find geese terrifying.

Discord:
https://discord.gg/SEkN8ee
Tumblr:
https://amarelibertius.tumblr.com
 Versus
Chapter Summary

Satuer vs. Marbre. Inasa and Uraraka vs. Todoroki and Kirishima.

Chapter Notes

-i edited bakugou's sentence down from 25 years to 15 because enough people voiced
concerns that it was unreasonably high.

but hey we finally have some proper fight scenes and a super long chapter! happy
Easter

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Koichi took a deep, calming breaths as he approached the Noire Fighting Grounds. He knew he
shouldn’t be nervous. He’d been a vigilante for a long time. He’d been training with the sword for
over two years now, and Arimas had faith in him. The king had faith in him. He could do this.

And yet…

Well, for one, he didn’t know Monsieur Marbre’s quirk, and the man had clearly been in the 3M
longer than him. He must have trained in sword fighting longer, and he carried himself with such
confidence that it was hard not to be nervous.

Signour Aramis gestured him over as soon as he saw him, and Koichi tried to calm his heartbeat.

The taller swordsman put his hand on his shoulder and murmured lowly, “You’re going to win.”

He said it without a trace of doubt. He then gestured an already-waiting Marbre over to give them
their instructions. “Now, you’ll be fighting wearing your normal vigilante costumes, not fencing
padding or face guards. Quirks are allowed, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t destroy the field. It’s
whoever’s first to three points, and preferable that you don’t kill or permanently maim each other.”
At this, Aramis gave Marbre a stern look. “I want to see a fair fight. Your honor is on the line.”

They both nodded, and Aramis gave a small, thin smile that was hard to read with most of his face
covered by his mask. “Then you’ll have five minutes to prepare before we begin. Good luck,
Monsieur Sauteur, Monsieur Marbre.”

“You’re gonna need it.” Marbre hissed. Koichi just distanced himself a bit from the man so he
could properly check his gear one last time and get a better idea of the terrain.

The field they’ll be fighting on is a pretty standard sparring ground, the kind you’d find in most
hero training faculties. They were outside, and the ground was made out of a hard turf, something
that would give him decent traction when braking, but not the smoothest gliding. Just in case, he
tested his quirk against the ground a bit so he wouldn’t have to over-adjust when actually fighting.
He felt Marbre’s eyes on him and knew he gave away his quirk early, but figured it was worth it to
be able to move better.

The space was around the length of a soccer field, probably to give a better range for quirk use.
Along the edges of the field, some 3M vigilantes were gathered and even some civilians, who
Koichi knew from previous experience thought they were just regular heroes training. He found it
a bit funny because he’d made a bit of a name for himself as a vigilante, as had a number of the
other members of 3M, but they were close enough to a hero office that it was easier to just assume.
The hero who ran the office was Aramis himself, living a bit of a double life as both a hero and a
vigilante.

Koichi didn’t know a lot about his hero persona or even why he would need to also have a
vigilante persona. Perhaps he felt he could do more outside the law, just as Knuckleduster had
taught him. Or perhaps Aramis’s reasons were something darker. Nonetheless, it was convenient
for the rest of them.

Looking over his opponent, he once again took note of his impractical long orange trench coat that
he didn’t even bother taking off for their fight. His masquerade mask had been switched out for a
full face mask that was a flat circle patterned with geometric shapes that almost made an
expression. It was the kind of mask that would have a lot of blind spots.

Koichi, for his part, had come in his bike gear and hoodie, an outfit that wouldn’t give as much
protection or padding as Marbre’s jacket, but one that gave him better mobility. He too had
switched out his masquerade mask for his normal one, a half mask that covered the lower half of
his face and gave him full vision but no eye protection.
“Are you ready?” Aramis called. Koichi took a deep breath and nodded. He and Marbre went to
stand across from each other and saluted their swords before taking stance. “And… set match!”

Marbre took the offense, swinging his sword in an axe strike down at Koichi. Koichi blocked
quickly, and put his knee down to slide back and create distance when he saw Marbre’s free hand
reach for him.

Okay, so his quirk had something to do with his hands. Unless it was a feint? Koichi didn’t have
time to think deeply on it, as Marbre chased him, making heavy downward strikes, taking
advantage of Koichi’s low stance. Koichi was playing defense for the most part, but he could see
how Marbre subtly lowered his guard, seemingly expecting Koichi to aim low. So he was caught
off guard when Koichi sprang up to slash across the vigilante’s shoulder.

The rapier cut through the man’s thick jacket but didn’t draw blood.

“Point, Sauteur.”

They fell back to a starting stance.

“You’re actually quite good, aren’t you?” Marbre said with the kind of smugness of someone who
knew something others didn’t.

Koichi narrowed his eyes, but said in a calm voice, “As good as I have to be.”

From the crowd, Koichi could hear Pop☆Step cheering him on among others. The crowd seemed
squarely on his side.

“We’ll see about that.” Marbre seemed to leer behind his mask.

This time, Koichi lunged first, trying to set the pace of the fight in his favor. They exchanged
several quick hits, the sharp shnk of metal echoing across the field. For a moment, Koichi felt he
was gaining ground, until Marbre managed to lock their blades and his second hand yet again
reached under Koichi’s guard to touch him. With a jolt, Koichi sprang back, and Marbre managed
to grab the vigilante’s sword instead, seemingly making it vanish into thin air.
Koichi’s eyes widened when he found himself disarmed, and Marbre pressed forward with his
attack, forcing Koichi to drop into a crouch and to use his quirk to make more distance between
them.

“Running away, are you?” Marbre laughed. “But it would seem you lost something,” he said,
tossing a small silver marble in the air and catching it in his palm.

Marble. Marbre. Ohh, duhh . So that’s the quirk. Touch-based marble power. Does it work on
living things? Do the living things die if he turns them into a marble? It’s probably better not to
find out.

Without a sword, Marbre was also forcing him into hand to hand combat, meaning he’d be in range
for Marbre to use his quirk. Shit.

Looks like he’d just have to be faster.

Backing up so that he’d get a running start, Koichi abruptly slid at Marbre, trying to catch his legs.
This was apparently too obvious a move, because not only did his opponent move out of the way,
but he also emptied a pocket of marbles on the ground that sent Koichi skidding dangerously out of
control. He landed ass over head outside of the established field boundaries, and Aramis said,
“Point Marbre.”

That was embarrassing, Koichi thought, getting back up and rubbing his hip. He looked at the
marbles spread across the field, but also took notice of strange circles drawn in the turf. He
abruptly remembered watching Marbre walking the field while they were preparing. Some were
messed up where they’d been fighting.

So the circles had to have something to do with his quirk...

Well. That was something Koichi could manage.

Re-entering the field, he started sliding through the turf, messing up the circles with a drag of his
hand. Marbre seemed to realize what he was doing and tried to interfere, slashing and stabbing with
his sword. In the process, he won another point off Koichi. A cut opened on the vigilante’s cheek
and stung. But Marbre had lost one of his main advantages.
Koichi’s had grabbed some of the marbles he’d spilled on the ground, and he had to wonder how
Marbre deactivated his quirk. There was one way to find out. He started throwing the marbles. He
wished he had a slingshot to make them actually hurt, but he didn’t, so he had to be satisfied with
what he had. Conveniently, Marbre’s power seemed partially focused on his fingertips, so at one
point one of his marbles exploded into a flying toaster and Aramis counted that as a point.

Marbre huffed angrily, kicking the toaster away with his foot. “It’s not that easy, Sauteur... or
should I call you Koichi?”

Koichi let out a small gasp. “How do you know that?”

“You aren’t particularly subtle for a vigilante,” Marbre sneered, stalking forward, and Koichi
momentarily froze. “It was easy enough to track you down, and I just so happen to know an old
friend of yours. Stendhal, if you recall.”

“You’ve been in contact with Stendhal?” Koichi said, eyes searching desperately for an opening as
Marbre bore down upon him.

“Ohhh, yes.” Marbre said, apparently enjoying this. “He used to be a member of our merry little
troop. Eventually, he got wise, however, and started taking real action.” Marbre was within striking
distance now, but held his sword aloft as though he believed he’d already won. “It’s almost a pity
that I’m going to take you down, Sauteur. The world has more options for me than you know.”

Koichi smirked crookedly. “Well, don’t cry yet.”

He raced forward, suddenly under Marbre’s guard, and not going for his legs like the man would
expect but grabbing the fabric of his trench coat as he slid past. His momentum and grip pulled the
man off his feet and there was a ripping noise, but Koichi was already turning and locking his eyes
on the man’s loosened grip on his sword.

Without as much technique as one would expect, Koichi elbowed Marbre in the face and grabbed
the sword from his hand. The man, momentarily disoriented by the hit, found himself suddenly at
the end of his own sword.

“Point Sauteur. Set match 3-2. Sauteur wins,” Arimas called, a smile twitching at the corner of his
mouth.
Koichi let out a relieved sigh and stood up, moving the sword from Marbre’s throat. “Good
match,” he said, holding his hand out to help the man up. He couldn’t see Marbre’s face behind his
mask as the man wrapped his fingers around his wrist.

And suddenly, Koichi felt as though he was pressed into a tiny hollow ball, the walls pressed
impossibly small around him. Everything was dark, and he couldn’t move.

Just as fast as it happened, he was released, sprawled messily on the ground and staring up at
Marbre. His mask was impassive.

“Foul play, Marbre,” Aramis said, approaching. His lips were pressed into a thin line. “Have you
not soiled your honor enough?”

Marbre seemed to scoff. “I do not tie my honor to a childish sword fight, Aramis .” He spat the
name like it was an insult. “Like I said, the world offers me… more fulfilling options.”

“If that’s what you want to believe,” Aramis said coldly. “Either way, I strip you of your title,
sword, and property. You are no longer a musketeer in the king’s royal army. You are a civilian,
honorless and wretched, so help me God.”

Marbre sneered and pulled his masquerade mask from one of his pockets and handed it to Aramis
without a fight. “Have it your way, then.” He lifted his rapier, which Koichi had dropped when
he’d been marbleized, with the toe of his boot, grabbed the handle, and pressed it into Aramis’s
hand too. “Worship a false king and waste your lives. Try and forget about me. I’ll make my name
one way or another, and when I do...” He stalked off the field, timing his words as dramatically as
possible. “You’ll regret it.”

Aramis sighed as though he were simply disappointed in Marbre. He then turned to Koichi, who
was still sitting on the ground, sort of caught up in the moment. “Kneel, Monsieur Sauteur,”
Signior Aramis said. One of his right hand men carried a case over and opened it. Aramis took
from it a lovely gold-hilted rapier and proceeded to rest the blade on Koichi’s shoulder. “Monsieur
Sauteur, the world is an uncertain realm filled with danger. Truth despoiled by broken promises.
Honor undermined by the pursuit of gold. Freedom sacrificed when the weak are oppressed by the
strong. But there are those who oppose these powerful forces. Those who dedicate their lives to
truth, honor, and freedom. They are a constant reminder to all of us that such a life is not just
possible, but necessary to our continued survival. For a country, for a King. These men are known
as the Musketeers…”

Koichi stared up the man, caught up in the theatrics of the moment and speech despite the inherent
silliness of the situation. He’d just won a ridiculous fight, marbles were still strewn around the
field, and a toaster lay abandoned and broken a few feet away. But Aramis looked down at him
with pride in his eyes.

“By the power vested in me by the King of Japan, I dub thee Signior Athos of the King’s Guard.
Rise and join the Musketeers.”

There was a smattering of applause, hardly overwhelming or impressive. The civilians in the
audience seemed to think this was some sort of theatre performance, but Koichi was crying as he
took the gold-hilted sword as his own.

“Thank you,” he said, wiping his face and feeling embarrassed.

“Don’t thank me,” Aramis said, smiling gently. “You earned this, Athos. I look forward to working
with you.”

Pop☆Step rushed over to smack him proudly on the back and call him a dork. Monsieur Feu stood
a distance away, offering him a small nod. He found himself smiling widely, proud of how far he’s
come in all his time as a vigilante.

He’d figure out how to keep doing good with his position.

Eijirou couldn’t meet Uraraka’s eyes.

He knew she was amazingly nice and forgiving. She’d already accepted Iida’s apology, but Eijirou
was having a harder time mustering the bravery. He knew he was being a coward, and if he wanted
to make it in the hero course he’d have to overcome his cowardice, but even still, he couldn’t meet
Uraraka’s eyes.

He’d left her during the entrance exam, the same as Iida and a lot of other kids. He saw the zero
pointer and ran even as Uraraka struggled under the wreckage and broke her own ankle to escape.
He’d done nothing to help her, and she managed to save herself.

He admired her for the feat, but a lingering sense of guilt stopped him from approaching or talking
to her.
The school week had flown by, and Eijirou watched as his classmates fell into groups despite not
really knowing each other. Eijirou felt as though he was hanging onto Mina’s coattails as she easily
befriended Sero, Kaminari, and Inasa. They were all really cool and energetic, but it made him feel
small next to their larger-than-life personalities. They made sure he felt included, but that voice in
the back of his head was always whispering doubt.

The first day of school had been particularly nerve wracking, because not only were they thrown
into the deep end with Aizawa’s test, but he had expelled the student who came last, leaving an
empty seat to the left of Eijirou. Everyone felt the threat of expulsion now, especially Eijirou,
because he knew he wasn’t as bright or brave as everyone else.

His quirk was a simple rock skin quirk. Good for defense and durability, but not much else.

Today was another test of nerves. Their first class with All Might. The man was really larger than
life. He sprung into the room dramatically ‘like a normal person’. He was wearing one of his older
suits, and it was so cool. Eijirou was geeking out.

Then they got to put on their costumes, and that was so cool too. He felt like a real hero now! His
costume paid homage to his favorite hero, Crimson Riot. Everyone else had cool costumes too.
Mina was going for an alien queen vibe. Inasa had a weird steampunk military style, with the odd
addition of a fluffy hood with dog ears and little PVC dog skulls on his knees and one of his
shoulder, so… dog vibe? Kaminari had a rock star theme going on. Sero looked like a tape
dispenser. They were all just so cool!

Then the actual ‘mission’ was given, and Kirishima tried not to wilt under the pressure. They drew
lots, and of course Kirishima was set against Uraraka. Because he didn’t feel guilty enough, now he
had to try to beat her up. Great.

To make matters worse, she was paired with Inasa, so he’d be fighting a new friend. Not to
mention the fact that their quirks were practically made for each other. With their wind and
antigravity powers, they were going to be flying around everywhere while Kirishima with his dumb
old rock quirk would be stuck on the ground.

Oh well, at least he was partnered with someone powerful. Todoroki definitely had a powerful ice
quirk, and he was a recommended student, so that had to count for something.

He hoped.
Before he knew it, they were out on the field and waiting for All Might’s signal. Eijirou and
Todoroki would be playing as the heroes, so they were already at a disadvantage. If Eijirou was
them, he’d flout the nuke into the sky where none of them could reach it. He had no idea how to
combat that.

“So… any ideas?” he asked, turning to Todoroki. Todoroki was glaring up at the building, still
somehow unreadable. His hero suit made it worse, his half mask made of ice being more
reminiscent of a villain than a hero.

“Leave it to me,” he said firmly.

“Dude…” Eijirou said, playing with his black bangs and feeling slightly anxious. “This is
supposed to be a team thing.”

“I can take care of things myself,” he said icily. “Just stay out of my way.”

Eijirou felt like he’d stepped on a landmine. What did he do to piss this guy off? He didn’t
remember doing anything bad.

“But…” Kirishima said, trying not to feel deterred. “But you do have a plan, right?”

“Of course.” He said. He did not elaborate.

“Right…”

“And hero team start!” All Might’s voice came on over the comms. Eijirou swallowed thickly.
Okay, here we go.

Yoarashi felt confident going into this fight.

He thought it some sort of divine providence that he and Todoroki would be given the opportunity
to fight already. After all, this was about more than his hatred of Todoroki. This was about
protecting his friends! He was guaranteed to win!
As if the universe was on his side, it also paired him with Uraraka, an amazing girl with a quirk
perfectly suited towards his. They would be fighting on the roof because it gave them the greatest
mobility. They’d already floated the bomb up into the stratosphere by combining their quirks.
Uraraka was considering setting up rock traps above the entrance, but they decided against it
because deactivating her quirk on the rocks would also deactivate her affect on the bomb. That
limited her ability to use her quirk, but Yoarashi could make up for it with his own quirk.

If nothing else, she gave him a lot of projectiles to work with.

He really liked Uraraka; apparently after her experience during the entrance exam, she became a lot
more determined to take care of herself and to help anyone who needed it. When they were talking,
she clenched her fist and said passionately, “I’m never going to run away from someone who needs
help!”

She was so cool.

She had to focus hard on using her quirk, so he told her to get behind him. Todoroki was powerful
with his ice and would probably come out of the gate with something big, and she’d be distracted
by her stomach pain. Luckily, however passionate he knew Kirishima was, his powers were mainly
defensive so he wouldn’t be able to do much in Yoarashi’s and Todoroki’s larger exchange. He
knew Uraraka could handle him even with her powers stretched. He believed in her.

They were going to crush Todoroki!

What defines a hero?

The question had been haunting Shouto for almost his entire life. He had a vague memory of a time
when he looked at heroes as an ideal, something pure and cool and amazing. But he couldn’t
remember how it felt. It’s been a long time since he was that innocent.

It’d been a long time since he felt anything that deeply, really. He didn’t have many reasons to feel
much beyond spite and misery. He couldn’t allow himself to show any emotion, even if he did feel
it. Any time he did, any time he showed too much happiness or interest, Endeavor would take it
away, calling it a distraction. Potential friends could be bribed or threatened away. His own
siblings were too afraid to change anything, even if Touya got out and Natsuo would argue with
Endeavor. Hobbies and toys and television were distractions, the only real exception being
watching the news and reading. Sometimes Shouto wondered if his father was punishing him for
some crime with the absolute thoroughness of his destruction of Shouto’s happiness.

It was exhausting, but it’s all he’s known for far too long.

To Endeavor, being a hero was to be a weapon or a tool. The lance that strikes down villains. The
tool that saves lives with rescue work. They were, at the end of the day, a means to an end. They
got a necessary job done, and true success was being the strongest weapon. That was what Shouto
was supposed to become. It was what he was supposed to believe.

But he felt skeptical. Not only because he questioned most things Endeavor said on principle, but
because it just didn’t feel true. In private, his sister constantly told him he was a person, a human
who deserved a better life than this. A life he would eventually get, too, once he became a hero on
his own, an adult. Independent. Being a hero meant being free, in a way, but that still didn’t
entirely sit right with Shouto, even if he longed for that reality

For now, all he could do was survive and prepare for the day he got that freedom.

Maybe that was what being a hero was; surviving against all odds. Helping others survive. That’s
what some of his books said, at least, the ones he enjoyed the most. He loved heroes who’d gone
through the ringer, heroes who had everything taken away, who still managed to stand back up. It’s
admirable even if it’s fiction. It’s something Shouto relates to. It’s an ability he longs to have.

Perhaps that’s why he found the eavesdropping incident so disturbing; not only the parallels
between Midoriya and his mother, but the fact that Midoriya wasn’t afraid of death. Life and
survival meant everything to Shouto. If he died, things would never get better. He had to weather
the storm even if it was by the means of spite and anger. He had to survive, or this unhappiness,
this hatred, would be all he’ll ever know.

It was a lesson he’d learned the hard way, a lesson he needed to teach Midoriya before it was too
late. He might be inexperienced with other people. He might have no idea what he was doing or
how to help. But he knew with certainty that he would become a hero.

And destroy any who got in his way.

The fight started like this:

Todoroki understood that Inasa and Uraraka were on the roof and that there was only one door
giving access to the floor. That likely meant that setting traps around the door would be their first
step. Luckily for him, he had other options. Taking a deep breath, he made an enormous ramp up
the building across from the villain base, arching neatly to let him land on the base roof if he built
enough momentum.

“Holy--” Kirishima muttered. Todoroki ignored him as he ran with force up the ramp, eventually
letting his speed take over his specialty boots, reducing his friction.

He flipped neatly through the air and put some ice down when he landed on the roof, skidding
gracefully and exhaling a frosted breath, putting his hand down to maintain his balance. Both Inasa
and Uraraka turned, startled by his appearance, and he didn’t let them get their bearings before he
inhaled once again and slid his foot in a neat half circle across the floor to capture them with an
iceberg.

Unfortunately for him, the two of them were already under the effects of Uraraka’s quirk, and flew
with the help of Inasa’s wind, easily avoiding it. He exhaled icy air, already starting to feel the
effects of his powers. He didn’t have time to waste playing games with them.

Inasa turned his attack towards Todoroki, a storm of concrete projectiles that Shouto threw a wall
of ice up to block. The anti-gravity effects made them tink against the shield without much force,
and thankfully, before they could think of a better plan, Kirishima burst through the roof entrance,
out of breath but skin already hardened for the fight.

It provided the perfect cover for Shouto to activate his quirk again, sliding his right foot in a circle
around him before doing a high kick in a large arc through the air. Ice spread out in all directions
like the crest of waves, making walls around them. His kick served to make a domed roof above
their head, too. He effectively limited the flying students’ mobility. He was breathing harder now
after three impressive displays of power, and the nerves in his right leg started to go numb, an old
familiar ache settling into his bones.

Kirishima and Uraraka had gotten into a grappling sort of fight when the dark haired boy had
entered. It mostly involved Kirishima dodging and holding the girl’s arms away from him because
he didn’t want to hit her. They had both paused when the dome went up, and momentarily
marveled at the crystal ceiling. The temperature of the room had dropped significantly. The
sunlight piercing the ice was bright white and pale blue. It was honestly beautiful.

Inasa, meanwhile, was preparing his own attack, a miniature tornado that he sent at Todoroki and
successfully slammed him into the ice wall. Todoroki got the wind knocked out of him and
Kirishima wanted to check on him, but Uraraka still stood in the way. Their fight started again in
earnest. Uraraka clearly didn’t have as much fighting experience as Kirishima, and she was already
feeling the strain of quirk exhaustion. She made up for it with sheer tenacity, though, and
Kirishima had to stay abnormally light on his feet for a change. He could also see that she was
getting frustrated.

“Fight me!” she growled when he evaded her once more.

To the side, Insasa was towering over Todoroki, his black eyes glinting with superiority. It was
annoying, and if Todoroki wasn’t being held down by a torrent of wind, he would have been
standing again. If that was one thing Endeavor trained him to do, it was to stand back up when
every muscle hurt. This was hardly a bruise to him, but Inasa was still looking down at him like
he’d already won.

“Is this really the best you can do?” Inasa asked as though he was disappointed. “Perhaps I
shouldn’t be surprised. Bullies tend to be weak where it counts.”

Todoroki bared his teeth against the biting cold and encased his fist in a layer of ice, punching
through the wind with a titanic effort. The ice crashed into Inasa’s nose, and the wind cut off
abruptly. The taller boy fell back, hands covering his nose as it started to bleed.

“I’m not a bully,” he hissed, encasing the boy in ice up to his neck. He was breathing hard now.
Todoroki melted the ice off his hand and flexed his fingers to try and get rid of the tender, prickly
feeling. He was starting to feel the telltale contradictory heat, as the cold was really starting to get
to him. He turned to the Uraraka-Kirishima exchange and lifted his eyebrows in confusion at the
boy’s strange game of keep away.

“Just knock her out,” he called over, unwilling to admit the fact that he didn’t want to use his quirk
to trap her so soon.

“It’s dumb, right?” Uraraka said conversationally. She threw a sloppy kick into Kirishima’s side,
and her boots were probably the only thing stopping her from breaking her toes. “Is it because I’m
a girl?”

“No!” Kirishima yelped, still moving backwards and keeping distance between them. “I don’t want
to hurt you! I don’t want to hurt anyo-”
“HEART OF A HERO PRESSURE BLAST!” Inasa shouted, and Todoroki was thrown off his feet
by the sudden explosion of ice shards. Inasa had managed to get a pressurized stream of air
between his skin and the ice. Apparently he didn’t need to move much to control his wind the way
Todoroki had to for his ice. The pressure he built was enough to explode the ice, but left Inasa
heavily bruised under his leather jacket, no doubt.

The taller boy bore down on Shouto, his wind blowing the boy into the ice wall he built and
pressing him into it with force. Shouto’s white hair was blown back and he had to squint to see. He
started shivering violently, and some small instinct started to light his fire side, but he suppressed
the urge desperately.

Inasa could have finished the fight then and there, but he didn’t, a burning look in his eyes.

Uraraka took advantage of the momentary distraction to slap her fingers to Kirishima and send him
floating up to the ice ceiling. She then immediately bent over and vomited on the ground, sweating
and shivering. She’d overextended her quirk, still using it on herself, Inasa, the bomb, a lot of
rubble, and now Kirishima. She was struggling, too weak to properly capture Kirishima, but she
refused to give up even as shadows danced at the edges of her vision.

She refused to give up, especially when she knew sooner or later she’d be facing life or death
challenges. She needed to be able to take care of herself, and this was her first test.

“Get- urp- get down here- so I can fin- ugh- finish you?” She huffed. Kirishima, to no one’s
surprise, did not move from the ceiling.

“You’re hurting yourself,” Kirishima fretted. He had an advantage now, but didn’t take it. That was
getting really annoying. “You need to stop. Release your quirk before you get hurt.”

“No,” Uraraka growled, struggling to her feet and failing, bringing her arms closer to her body and
shivering. Her breath was visible in the air. “F-fight me!”

Kirishima worried his lip with his teeth and looked over to the one-sided fight between Todoroki
and Inasa.

Inasa released his wind for a moment, and Todoroki hit his knees hard when he collapsed to the icy
ground. He was shivering violently, and he wondered if he’d ever been this cold. If he had, it had
certainly been a while.
“Give up,” Inasa said, and it was clear he meant more than just the fight. Todoroki was breathing
hard, his heartbeat pounding in his ears.

“No,” Todoroki growled, and he tried to fall back on hand-to-hand, recognizing he shouldn’t use
his ice anymore.

He swiped with his feet, trying to get closer to Inasa and fight him physically. He was immediately
blown back into the wall and had the wind literally knocked out of him.

Back on the observation deck, Yaoyorozu was getting anxious. Most of her classmates were
marvelling at the displays of power and obvious beatdown going on, but Yaoyorozu was the first to
put together the potential danger. “All Might,” she said, raising her hand and hating how small her
voice sounded, “I think you should stop the fight.”

All Might blinked out of his focused expression and looked over at her. “What--? Why?”

Yaoyorozu looked between the shivering Todoroki and the trembling Uraraka. The only one who
didn’t look cold was Inasa because he was wearing a heavy fur-lined jacket. Everyone’s breath was
visible. “The combination of Todoroki’s ice and Inasa’s wind is rapidly cooling the room they’re
in. It’s like they’re trapped in a refrigerator. If the fight doesn’t end soon, if their core temperatures
fall too much, they could die, especially because Todoroki has been in continual contact with the
ice and Uraraka’s health is already compromised. You need to stop the fight before they get
seriously hurt.”

All Might frowned and glanced at the the timer above the screens. There were only about five
minutes left on the clock. He tilted his head, hearing the determination in his students. He hummed
thoughtfully. “We’ll give them three minutes to finish things themselves, and if they don’t, I’ll end
it.”

Momo chewed her lip, but decided to trust her teacher’s judgement.

Back in the fight, Kirishima was struggling for control over his weightlessness and earnestly
insisting that Uraraka release her quirk. She really wasn’t looking good. He figured she made her
point, and pushing herself further would only hurt her more.

She continued to stubbornly refuse, and he wondered if she had a plan for if he did attack her. It
didn’t look like it. Todoroki and Inasa continued fighting like they were in their own little world,
and Kirishima had a thought.

“You don’t get it, do you?” Inasa said, sounding genuinely upset. Todoroki was back on the
ground and wasn’t particularly in the mood to listen what with the repeated hammering he was
receiving, but he heard what Inasa said all the same. “You don’t know what it’s like to have to
fight for something! You don’t know what real strength is! You don’t know what it means to be
kind! You don’t know what it means to help someone!”

Todoroki’s face twisted into an ugly sneer. “And you d-do?”

Inasa drew back, blinking in surprise, and Todoroki pressed his advantage. His body was stiff and
it hurt to move, but Todoroki had plenty experience fighting through pain. He landed a sharp kick
on Inasa’s side and followed through with another punch to his face.

“You don’t know me,” Todoroki growled again, not letting up until Inasa gathered himself enough
to blow him back into the wall. He was really getting tired of this.

“I know my friends,” Inasa said, coughing grossly as he tried to clear the blood out of his throat.
His nose was looking rough, and he probably couldn’t breathe through it anymore. “They’re
stronger and more deserving of being a hero than you’ll ever be.”

“Inasa,” Uraraka huffed, still crouched on the ground and shivering.

The boy didn’t hear her.

“You should just give up,” Inasa said, looming over Todoroki, blood running down his face and
between his teeth. His eyes still burned with hatred, and Todoroki glowered against the wind.

Suddenly Kirishima dropped from the ceiling, his rock skin making him heavier as he fell.
Clasping his fingers together, he brought down his fist on Inasa’s head and knocked him out.
Todoroki pitched forward, still shivering violently. Kirishima was left floating and flailing
awkwardly, still affected by Uraraka’s quirk, but his rock skin was making him weigh just a little
more than he did when she first applied it. Inasa was also floating aimlessly in the air despite being
unconscious.
Todoroki was tempted to snap at Kirishima for interrupting his fight, to declare loudly that he
didn’t need help. But even he could see that he’d been losing, and complaining about help was
definitely an Endeavor move. So instead, he bit out a sharp, “T-thank you,” that didn’t sound
thankful at all.

“Y-yeah, no p-problem,” Kirishima said, still flailing his arms. With what felt like a herculean
effort, Todoroki dragged himself up so he was standing again and grabbed Kirishima by the arm to
stabilize him. “Woah, d-dude, you’re freezing.”

“D-damn it,” Uraraka growled. At this point, all their speech was starting to be affected by the
cold. “C-come on!” she said, smacking her cheeks to motivate herself. “Come on!”

She dragged herself to her feet only to immediately fall back down. She looked like she was going
to cry. Her breathing was still rough. With a sigh that could be seen in the air, she finally gave up
and pressed her fingers together, releasing her quirk.

Kirishima abruptly dropped to the ground, and Inasa ate icy concrete when there was no one to
help him with his fall. The rocks crashed down around them, and Uraraka passed out the moment
she released, the lack of strain probably such a relief that it was automatic. Kirishima looked up to
wait for the bomb.

The bomb that was falling a lot faster than one would expect.

Towards the thin, glasslike ceiling.

“Oh, crap!” He said. “We need to get off of the roof!’

He glanced around from the unconscious villain team to the violently shivering Todoroki. The
doors were all frozen shut, and there was no immediate escape beyond jumping off the roof.

So that’s what Kirishima decided to do.

“Grab Inasa,” he commanded Todoroki, and ran to the wall. Todoroki glanced up and quickly
acted too. Inasa looked ridiculously large compared to the smaller boy.
Kirishima started slamming the wall with his hardened shoulder until it started to shatter. When it
seemed close, he grabbed Uraraka securely in his arms and carefully touched her fingers to all of
them, even if he winced at her pained expression. He didn’t apply it to himself yet, needing the
extra weight to make it through the wall.

Todoroki readjusted his grip on Inasa, who hung over his back almost piggyback style. They had
only seconds.

Kirishima gave the wall one final slam and crashed through it, free falling suddenly and feeling his
stomach drop. Todoroki ran right behind him, his lack of hesitance almost terrifying.

CRASH!

The ice canopy exploded outward as the fake bomb hit.

Kirishima grabbed the girl’s hand and pressed it to his body before they could hit the ground. It
was a close call. Between the ground rushing towards them and the sharp shards of ice flying in
every direction, Kirishima counted them all lucky. His hardened skin protected them from the
falling debris, and when they got close to the ground, Eijirou pressed Uraraka’s fingers together to
release her quirk.

They landed safely, and Kirishima tried to calm his racing heart. Todoroki and Inasa landed harder,
having a marginally farther distance to fall, but Todoroki still managed to make it look cool.
Kirishima admired him for that. The black-haired boy gently set Uraraka on the ground.
Unconscious as she was, she ended up puking down Kirishima’s front, and he instantly regretted
not including a shirt in his costume.

“Hero Team wins,” All Might’s voice said over the speaker, and Kirishima marvelled at how this
could just be a test. he shook his head and looked up at the destruction they had wrought. The
building itself was a complete mess of ice and rubble. Inasa had done an impressive job of tearing
bricks off the building with his wind. They had also managed to blow out the windows of the
surrounding buildings. Glass shards and ice littered the street, and it was obvious that Eijirou and
Todoroki weren’t going to get any points in terms of collateral damage.

Abruptly, Todoroki collapsed, still shivering violently. Inasa was draped over him, unhelpful and
heavy, when Kirishima ran to check on them both. Kirishima abruptly realized that he was
somehow the last hero standing, having taken the least amount of damage in the fight.
Kirishima desperately waved the medibots over and felt Todoroki’s skin again. He was like ice.
That couldn’t be good, but his quirk was ice. Maybe this was normal? He didn’t know. Inasa at
least seemed to be breathing alright even through his mouth.

The medibots came and took his friends away.

Kirishima was left with the thought, What the hell happened?

Yoarashi was the first to wake up. He couldn’t breathe from his nose, and his entire face hurt more
than the rest of the aches and pains. When he shifted, Recovery Girl was at his side in a instant.

“Don’t move so much,” the old woman commanded. “I need to check for a concussion.”

She shined a light in his eye and went through some medical motions before placing a kiss on his
cheek. If he crossed his eyes a bit(which honestly hurt), he could see that his nose was bandaged. In
the beds beside him, Todoroki was buried in blankets and shivering, and in the other one, Uraraka
was just sleeping heavily.

“That’s going to scar,” the woman said pointedly. “That boy did quite a number on your face. And
you on him.” She nodded towards Todoroki. “You need to be more careful in the future, though it
was more All Might’s fault for not stopping the fight sooner.”

“I’m sorry for troubling you, ma’am. Thank you for taking care of me,” Yoarashi said earnestly.

“It’s no problem.” Recovery Girl waved him off. “It’s my job, after all.”

“If you don’t mind, can you tell me what happened?”

Recovery Girl gave a slight huff. “You all beat the living daylights out of each other, almost froze
to death, and exploded the top of a building.”

“-Oh?” Yoarashi gasped, eyes going wide. “And were-?”

“You’ll be fine.” Recovery Girl said. “Lucky for you, mister Todoroki and Kirishima had the sense
to get out you all out before then. You need to learn a thing or two about overdoing things. The
only thing wrong with that girl is quirk exhaustion. And you and that boy almost froze each other
between your wind and that ice. I’m sure you can watch the videos when you’re back on your feet,
but for now you’re resting.”

“Yes ma’am.” Yoarashi nodded. “And is Kirishima okay? I need to thank him.”

Recovery Girl lifted her eyebrows. “The boy’s fine, though the only thing you have to thank him
for is that bump on your head.”

“What--? But you said he pulled-”

“Todoroki was the one who dragged you out. Kirishima got miss Uraraka. Now, I suggest you
quiet down. There’s no need to get overexcited, you’ll wake them up.”

Yoarashi stared blankly at the woman, shocked, then over at Todoroki. “But he doesn’t like me?”

“And you think that’s a reason to leave you in a dangerous situation?” Recovery Girl questioned
skeptically. “You’re training to be heroes. I’d be more worried if he left you.”

“Right…” Yoarashi said, looking down and feeling ashamed. Todoroki had saved him…

It was a while before Todoroki and Uraraka woke up. It was a long time before Todoroki stopped
shivering, and Yoarashi was left turning over his exchange with Todoroki for the entirety of it.
Looking back, the boy had only been defensive. Despite his cold eyes, he hadn’t been insulting or
mean. He fought back hard, but under the circumstances, that was perfectly reasonable.

Yoarashi also remembered Todoroki shivering from the beginning. How much had he contributed
to Todoroki’s injuries? He’d definitely taken things too far…

He thought of Midoriya and Shinsou, and how they would feel when he told them about what
happened. Guilt immediately twisted in his stomach, and he could already see their expressions in
his mind. Midoriya had a devastating puppy dog look, and just thinking about it made him feel
ashamed. Shinsou would just look disappointed, which was devastating in its own way. Shinsou
was always so mature and worldly, and Yoarashi really respected him. Gaining his respect back
was surprisingly difficult, but something Yoarashi had gradually earned. Losing Shinsou’s respect
would hurt.

Yoarashi shifted, the urge to pace and fidget curbed by his throbbing headache. Instead, he chewed
his already-split lip and ignored how it hurt.

At the end of the day, all Todoroki had done was glare, try to talk to his friend, and defend himself.
He had to admit that maybe he overreacted. The boy had even rescued him, despite all of that. He
had to have good in him to do that…

Yoarashi would have to apologise. Even if part of him still felt unnerved by the boy, he would earn
up to his mistake. He was strong enough to do that much.

Shouto woke up to find the he’d been suffocated in blankets. He felt too hot and too cold all at
once, and it took a long moment to sit up stiffly and take in his surroundings. He was in the med
bay, it was near sunset, and Uraraka was getting checked out a few beds down by the nurse. The
girl still looked pale and exhausted, but she had more color than the last he’d seen her, and despite
yawning, she smiled gratefully at Recovery Girl.

Shouto assumed she’d be fine.

It wasn’t long before Recovery Girl dismissed Uraraka and noticed he was awake. What followed
was a lot of health questions, a check up, a lot of painful stretching, and a stern talking-to. He’d
overdone his quirk, and it was a near miss from frostbite. Shouto felt a gnawing itch in his skin as a
side effect, prickly and uncomfortable. It was unfortunately a feeling he was familiar with.

After a few more stretches and the mention that his sister was coming to pick him up, Shouto was
set free and given a handful of candies for his trouble. He debated eating them all at once or
waiting to share them with his sister. They’d have to eat them quickly, as candies were a rare treat
for him and his sibling, and getting caught with them wasn’t an option.

Outside, he was surprised to find a large group of people waiting. Uraraka was still there, along
with an awkward-looking Kirishima, but Shouto was most surprised to see Inasa, Midoriya, and…
a purple-haired boy. Shouto didn’t know him.

“Oh, good!” Kirishima said as though Shouto had rescued him from an awkward conversation.
“You’re okay! ...Right? You’re okay?”
“I’m fine,” Shouto said, feeling awkward. Why were there so many people here?

Inasa charged forward with abandon and bowed fast and violent like he was headbanging at the
waist. Shouto involuntarily flinched at the sudden movement. Inasa all but shouted, “I WANTED
TO APOLOGISE TO YOU, TODOROKI-KUN! I MISJUDGED YOU BEFORE OUR BATTLE
AND BECAUSE OF THAT YOU GOT INJURED. I JUMPED TO CONCLUSIONS AND THAT
WAS UNFAIR OF ME. YOU SAVED ME AS WELL, DESPITE OUR DIFFERENCES! SO
THANK YOU, AND I’M SORRY!”

“Ah-- okay?” Shouto said, not knowing how else to respond short of glaring. That apparently
hadn’t gone well before, so he was willing to just accept the apology and make a tactical retreat as
soon as possible.

Inasa stood up straight just as quickly, and his bandaged nose was bleeding slightly. That couldn’t
have been good for his head. It must have hurt, actually, but his smile was borderline deranged.

“I want to be friends!” Inasa went on, still too enthusiastically. “And to introduce you to mine!” He
turned towards Midoriya and Purple-hair, throwing his arms around their shoulders and dragging
them to his side. “This is Midoriya Izuku,” he said, smiling down at the green-haired boy, “and
this is Shinsou Hitoshi!” he said, nodding to the purple-haired boy. Both boys didn’t look entirely
comfortable, but didn’t seem to mind Inasa touching them. “This is Todoroki Shouto,” Inasa said
to the other two, gesturing to Shouto.

Midoriya offered him a crooked little smile. “Uh, yeah, we met once.”

Inasa looked slightly surprised. Shouto, still feeling entirely out of his depth with the amount of
people and noise being directed at him, gave a regal nod and hoped that’d be enough. Shinsou
raised his eyebrows at him.

“Oh,” Uraraka said awkwardly, “well, by the way, I’m Uraraka Ochako. If anyone was curious. I
was just making sure Todoroki was okay, sooo…”

“Oh! It’s nice to meet you!” Izuku said, flushing furiously at the cute girl.

“Sup,” Shinsou said, less interested.

“And I’m Kirishima,” the black-haired boy said awkwardly. He had a distinctly anxious look on
his face, and now that Shouto thought about it, there was a strange tension floating around the
group.

Shouto briefly met everyone’s eyes and got the impression that they were vaguely afraid of him.
He didn’t know how to dispel the tension, so he stayed quiet.

“So,” Shinsou said, seemingly catching the atmosphere. “You’re all in the hero course?”

Uraraka’s eyes lit up, and she clenched her fist passionately. “Yep! I’m going to be a hero who
never runs away from someone in need!”

Midoriya’s eyes sparkled back. “That’s so cool! Me and Shinsou want to be heroes too. I want to be
a hero who helps everyone, who makes people feel safe with a smile-- the-- the first quirkless
hero!”

“You’re the quirkless boy?” Kirishima blinked, then looked embarrassed. They’d all seen
Midoriya around the classroom in the morning talking to Inasa and at times Ojiro, but they hadn’t
known his quirk. Shouto would have thought his classmates would pay closer attention to the
newspaper.

Midoriya stood a little straighter and looked determined. “I am!” he declared with surprising pride.
Shouto blinked and compared that image to the one from earlier in the week. It was confusing.

“Well that’s really cool, Midoriya!” Uraraka said, shining back at him just as brightly. “I’m sure
you’ll become a great hero!”

Shinsou tilted his head and looked slightly more dangerous than everyone else. “For us to get into
the hero course, two of your classmates will have to drop out or get expelled, though.”

Inasa, Uraraka, and Kirishima exchanged looks. “One already has,” Uraraka said seriously.

“What?” Shinsou and Midoriya said in unison, then shot betrayed looks at Inasa.
Inasa rubbed the back of his neck earnestly. “Ah! That may have slipped my mind. Aizawa
expelled the lowest-scoring student during a physical test the first day. I guess I got caught up with
you being in the newspaper and the excitement over All Might training us.”

Shinsou rubbed his brow bone in a very Aizawa-like move. Shouto couldn’t help but notice a
startling amount of similarities between the hero and the student. Perhaps they were related?

Midoriya patted the larger boy’s arm. “Anyway, that means one of us has a chance!”

“Both of us, if someone else drops out.”

That got more anxious looks from the hero course kids that weren’t Shouto.

“ Anyway ,” Kirishima said, shifting uncomfortably. “Since we’re all friends now, maybe we
should exchange numbers and start heading home? I have to catch the C train soon…”

“Exchanging numbers is a great idea!” Inasa enthused. Todoroki briefly considered saying he
didn’t want to be friends with all of them, just Midoriya, but predicted that wouldn’t go over well.
He was tired of this conversation already, and it’d be easier just to roll with what was happening.
He could delete their numbers later.

“I actually need someone to walk me home,” Uraraka admitted reluctantly, after a massive
exchange of phones. Shouto noticed Shinsou was glaring warily at the devices as if he didn’t want
this many contacts either. “Because I’m so tired… Recovery Girl doesn’t want me collapsing
somewhere… my parents don’t live in the city...”

“I can help you,” Midoriya declared enthusiastically, and Inasa wasn’t too far behind. Even
Kirishima threw in a meek offer. Shouto was beginning to notice a strange look about him. He
didn’t know the boy well, but he’d seemed more… lively in the past.

“I don’t want to trouble you,” Uraraka said, waving her hands in protest. It became quickly
apparent that she didn’t live in the direction that any of the boys offering did.

Shouto clicked his tongue. “If you’re willing to wait,” he said reluctantly, “I can drive you back to
your house when my sister picks me up. It’s less out of the way, and I’m apparently at risk too… I
presume Inasa is also at risk, so it would be better if his friends stuck with him. He’s big enough
that it might take both of you to carry him.”

Everyone stared at him with wide eyes.

“Dude,” Kirishima whispered. “I think that’s the most I’ve ever heard you talk…”

Shinsou clapped his hands. “Sounds like a smart plan. Let’s go, some of us do still need to catch a
train.”

“Right!” Kirishima startled, but didn’t leave when Inasa, Shinsou, and Midoriya started making the
trek out. Inasa kept sending surprised looks back at Shouto and it was making his skin crawl. Why
was him being practical so surprising?

He ran a tired hand down his face and momentarily sat on the steps, just feeling the exhaustion and
aches throughout his body. What he needed right now was a long bath and the comfort of his
futon. With luck, Endeavor wouldn’t be home today.

Someone nudged his arm, and Shouto startled, turning to find Uraraka sitting a little too close to
him.

“Thanks,” she said, offering him a kind smile. Shouto was instantly reminded of his sister and
shifted a bit to feel more comfortable. “You don’t have to help me, but it’s really nice of you to
offer me a ride.”

“It’s practical,” Shouto said, glancing away. She smiled a little smugly and elbowed him again,
more playfully.

“If you say so.”

Someone cleared their throat, and Shouto and Uraraka looked up to see Kirishima still awkwardly
standing at the bottom of the steps.
“Ah, hey,” he said, sharp teeth chewing his lip. “I kinda wanted to do this alone, but since I wanted
to talk to both of you… um, sorry. For back in the test and for the entrance exam.”

Shouto didn’t know why Kirishima was apologizing to him, but he noticed Uraraka’s eyes harden.

“I--” He took a deep breath. “I could have done more, and I’m sorry. Uraraka, during the entrance
exam when I saw the zero pointer, I got scared and I froze. I should have helped you. People--
people have helped me like that before, but I just froze up, and I’ve regretted it ever since.”

All of this information was new to Shouto, and he felt awkward watching this. He knew that fading
into the background was practical skill, but this seemed a little ridiculous, especially after his other
recent stint into eavesdropping.

Uraraka eyes softened. “Well, it was pretty scary.” She admitted. “And you weren’t the only one
who ran… I don’t blame you.”

Kirishima shook his head. “I still should have done more. I want to be a hero, and I failed you. And
on top of that, I didn’t give you the fair fight you deserved in the test… you were trying so hard,
and I just…” Kirishima glanced away.

Uraraka shrugged, apparently ready to let bygones be bygones. “Hey, you won, didn’t you? What
you did worked, and I should have known better than to overuse my quirk that much.”

Kirishima was still glaring at his feet. Uraraka elbowed Shouto in the ribs, a totally uncalled-for
move. He glared at her, and she cut her eyes between him and Kirishima. Shouto stared blankly at
her for a long moment until she gave a frustrated sigh and said pointedly, “You managed to knock
out Inasa, and you got us off the roof in time. That’s pretty heroic.”

Kirishima shifted uneasily, not really comforted by the words.

Shouto frowned and said bluntly, “If you’re not strong enough now, just become strong enough for
later.”

Uraraka gave him a shocked look for a moment before nodding and smiling. “Yeah, you can do it!”
She punched the air. “We make our own futures. Instead of apologising, promise to become a
better hero from this experience! Okay?”
Kirishima blinked at them for a quiet, uncomfortably vulnerable moment. Then his eyes hardened
with determination.

“Okay!” he shouted with a startling amount of desperation. It must have hurt his throat, and he was
starting to cry, but he looked at the two of them gratefully before he sped away.

Shouto watched him go. “Is this how friendship normally works?” He wondered, squinting at his
only now-only companion. He was feeling slightly out of his depth.

Uraraka’s response was to burst into a fit of giggles. That did not clarify anything.

Eijirou exhaled when he got home.

It’d been a long day, but he wasn’t done yet. The shopping bag in his hand crinkled when he threw
it into the bathroom. With a sort of manic energy, he stripped off his school clothes and stepped in
front of the bathroom mirror.

He stared himself down for a moment. The he forced a smile onto his face. The kind of manly,
bright smile that would make All Might proud.

It dropped when he saw that it didn’t quite reach his eyes. He shook his head and started pulling
things out of the shopping bag. It consisted of boxes of hair bleach, bright red hair dye, and hair
gel. It took longer than expected to get the whole process going. While the bleach sat in his hair
and made his scalp itch, he continued practicing his smile in the mirror.

It was nearly nine at night when he came out of the shower with bright red hair and covered in a
mess that resembled a murder scene. It was probably stupid to put the gel in before he went to bed,
but he really wanted to see the look of the finished product.

So he spiked his now bright red hair to a point and smiled at the mirror one last time.

Chivalry is about living without regret, he reminded himself. He wasn’t going to let his fear hold
him back anymore. He wasn’t going to let himself regret anything.
 The person in mirror smiled like a hero.

Chapter End Notes

-the wiki on compress phrased things in a way that implied he needed things to be in a
circle to activate his quirk. I ran it by my chat to make sure and apparently that’s not
how it canonically works but it’s a much more interesting limiter on his power and
explains why he leans so heavily on ambush tactics. So we’re doing it my way. In case
you were wondering, making a circle with his fingers counts, hence the wrist thing and
how he managed to grab the sword.
-Also i absolutely lifted the speech from The Three Musketeers movie because i’m a
nerd.
-in reference to endeavor taking away the things that make shouto happy, it’s actually
more of a form of self-flagellation. He sees shouto as an extension of himself, who he
could have been when he was younger. In his mind, if he had been less distracted, if
he’d been more productive, he would be number 1 by now. So through shouto he’s
trying to eliminate all the distractions and pitfalls he fell into in his life. No friends or
fun, only the singular pursuit of your goals. So in his head he’s helping shouto. But we
all know how fucked up that is. I don’t have to explain why that’s abusive and
mentally scarring and bad for shouto. Guys, i really hate endeavor. He is not getting a
redemption arc i don’t care that the manga shows him trying to become a better
person. Just fuck him.
-ironically despite making compress’s power more limited, inasa’s quirk is just about
screaming with his heart. His costume is more about directing the airflow, but when i
watched the anime he didn’t use any big flourished to direct his wind so i figured the
control was coming from elsewhere. Tying it to his emotions just fits his character.
-the real tragedy of this chapter of this chapter is that every cool badass fanart-worthy
moment shouto has is dragged down by his bad first costume. My boy dropped his
cool points

Discord:
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 Locked Away
Chapter Summary

Izuku and Shinsou are faced with a locked door. Bakugou goes to prison.

Chapter Notes

Discord:
https://discord.gg/SEkN8ee
Tumblr:
https://amarelibertius.tumblr.com

See the end of the chapter for more notes

It was always the little things.

Tomura had never had much reason to question his memory. Time only mattered when you were
on a mission, when there was a time management puzzle. Things like memories or daily life were
inconsequential. Memories held him back.

Memories hurt, so Shigaraki ignored them.

But it was the little things. Even if he ignored his memories, he never doubted them. He didn’t
need to doubt them; they weren’t important. He was fine looking to the future, following Sensei’s
teaching, destroying everything that got in his way.

His past didn’t matter, what happened didn’t matter. Nothing in this world mattered.

But that stupid napkin was bothering him.

It didn’t matter. it shouldn’t matter. It was just a piece of fucking paper with a drawing on it. But
he didn’t remember getting it. He couldn’t have made it, because he can’t draw, especially hands.
And someone clearly was trying to be helpful, so it must have been important. But he couldn’t
remember it. There was just a large blank space in his head from when he was walking home from
the game store to when he returned to the bar.
Emptiness. And the more Shigaraki focused on that blank moment, the more he noticed that it was
the only blank. The more he tried to remember, the less he saw.

It was like a pinprick spreading venom under his skin. An itch he couldn’t scratch no matter how
hard he tried. He just kept reaching and reaching, and nothing would come up.

Tomura lay in his room, father’s hand resting on his head, like the man was reaching out to ruffle
his hair. The hand was cold, but it was a small comfort.

At least he remembered that. Too vividly. It wasn’t exactly comforting, but it was stable. Easy to
hold onto. It was his most important memory, anyway.

He couldn’t remember much before that, either. But part of him understood that would hurt more.
It was easier to feel angry. It was easier to look forward.

He shouldn’t let it bother him. Memories aren’t important.

There was a soft knocking on his door, and Tomura scowled. Only Kurogiri knocked like that. And
only to give him food, tell him to bath, or to give him some sort of news. “Get it over with,”
Shigaraki shouted irritably.

“Shigaraki Tomura,” the man said, entering and standing at a safe distance. “I brought you the
gloves you showed me.”

“WHAT!?” Tomura screamed. When he sat up, Father’s hand fell into his lap. His red eyes blazed
with fury. “I told you that that napkin was suspicious!”

Kurogiri moved further away, used to his tantrums. “Sensei agreed that you’d benefit from them,
Shigaraki. You could benefit from having some restraints. It’ll improve your fighting without a
quirk, and also mean you’ll have less... accidents.”

Tomura glared furiously at Kurogiri. “Sensei said that?” He double-checked.

“Yes, Shigaraki Tomura.” The mist man nodded solemnly.

Tomura scowled to himself, feeling petulant but knowing there was no arguing with Sensei.
“Fine.” He spat. “But I’m not wearing them all the time.”

“Of course not,” Kurogiri said, pulling out the package from a portal. He set it down on
Shigaraki’s desk, knowing now was not the time to give them to him. Shigaraki hated how he did
that, acting like he had a fucking read of him.

He needed to wreck some shit.

“Do we have any prisoners?”

“No, Shigaraki, but there is a gang that’s been causing trouble for us. It seems they don’t like us
fishing in their pond.”

Tomura scowled harder. “I’ll handle it,” he said, standing and searching for his villain costume.

“Of course, Shigaraki. The gang was the North Sharks,” Kurogiri clarified before excusing himself
from the room.

Tomura glared after him and carefully picked up his father’s hand. “I’m getting to the bottom of
this sooner or later,” the told the hand.

His father didn’t respond. He never did.

Not that he remembered, anyway.

It was the weekend.

Yoarashi felt better after a long night of sleep. Recovery Girl’s quirk really was something
amazing. He was happy to just spend the weekend with his friends and catch up. Even though
they’d made time to see each other in the mornings and after school, they were still in different
classes, different school towers, and inevitably busy with the new year.
His fight with Todoroki was the least of it. Yoarashi found out his friends were making new friends
and possibly joining an underground hero club. It was really exciting.

They were riding their bikes through town, and Yoarashi was having a lot of fun. It was relaxing,
in a way. It was hard to believe that it had only been a week since the year had started. So much
had already had happened!

Inevitably, Todoroki had to come up, though.

“So what was with that thing yesterday? With the hero kids and that one kid you didn’t like?”
Shinsou asked, blunt as ever. They were resting at the top of a hill, the afternoon sun shining bright
down on them. Inasa enjoyed watching the wind blow through the trees and his friend’s
perpetually wild hair.

“I… well, we had an assignment in class. A play battle of sorts. And I got to fight him.” He was
speaking too loudly, and both boys were staring at him, clearly noting his strange behavior. “And
well, to uh… to make a long story short, we-- I took things too far and ended up endangering all of
us.”

Shinsou opened his mouth to say something, probably that they already got that much, but
Midoriya signalled him to let Inasa finish. He really appreciated Midoriya’s ability to read a
room… even if they weren’t in a room.

“Yeah… well anyway, Todoroki saved my life, and even though I’m not sure I like him, I feel like
I owe him. And I wanted to repay him.”

“And that has to do with us why?” Shinsou said, raising his eyebrows.

Yoarashi chewed his lip. “He wanted to be friends with Midoriya. I thought it was sketchy, so I
tried to stop him. But I think… I think that’s something he actually wants. He didn’t back down
when I threatened him.”

Midoriya and Shinsou did that thing where they met eyes and had a silent conversation. He found
their closeness very heart-warming. They had such a nice, genuine friendship, and on an off day, he
even felt a bit jealous, but most days he was just happy that they were happy. Yoarashi also
sometimes wondered if they were psychic.
“You’re right,” Shinsou said sagely. “That is kinda sketchy.”

“But maybe he’s just awkward?” Midoriya offered. “He seemed kinda awkward.”

“...Maybe.” Inasa said at length. He always wanted to think the best of people, but he also wanted
to trust his instincts.

They started riding again, speeding down the hill and letting the heady feeling overwhelm the
conversation. They rode a while longer before hitting a cruising speed that blocked the sidewalk
but was easier to talk at.

“So what do you think about him? Todoroki, I mean?” At times Inasa sometimes felt he could trust
their instincts more than his own. He knew he was in the habit of getting ahead of himself, and
both of his friends were so much smarter than him. He wasn’t dumb, but he knew they had
experiences that he didn’t, and he trusted them.

Shinsou gave a slight grunt, and Izuku hummed thoughtfully.

“He’s definitely awkward.” Shinsou shrugged. “He looked like he’s never seen so many people
before when he came out of the school. But I’m not sure I’m gonna just trust some rich hero kid
because he did one good thing and says he wants to friends with us. I’m not a big fan of people who
get handouts just because they have a powerful quirk.”

Yoarashi knew he wasn’t including him in that, because they’d had that talk during one of
Shinsou’s rants about fairness. Yoarashi knew that he would know if Shinsou was calling him out,
because Shinsou was very clear about that sort of thing.

“So you don’t like him?” he asked, trying to keep the rude hope out of his voice.

Shinsou shrugged. “I don’t know him.”

“Oh…” Yoarashi said, pouting despite himself. “What about you, Midoriya? What do you think?”
He glanced back because Midoriya had slowed down, just coasting on his momentum now, and
wearing a considering look.

“I think he looks kinda sad.”

“Huh?”

Shinsou hummed, thoughtful. “Yeah, I can see that.”

“Sad…” Inasa repeated, confusion kicking around in his head. His main memory of the boy was
his hateful glare. He didn’t really remember seeing him sad at all, just angry. “What does he have
to be sad about?”

Midoriya shrugged, chewing his lip. “I’m not sure it’s our business yet.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh. Well, okay...”

They kept riding until sunset, the topic dropped for lighter things. Yoarashi’s mind kept turning
back to it, though. What reason could Todoroki have to be sad?

“Higurashi,” a deep, familiar voice called. “I would like to speak to you in my office.”

Haruhi tensed, but smiled at Chikara-sensei anyway. He’d used the ‘you’re in trouble’ voice, and
while she wasn’t entirely sure what she had done wrong, upsetting Sensei was never a good idea.

She followed him up onto the second floor and sat senzei style across from him at the office table.
He took his time making tea and handing her a cup without a second thought. She knew from the
smell that it was her favorite. Chikara-sensei always knew.
“Now,” the man said, settling in and adjusting his air tank, “As I understand it, you ignored my…
advisement to apologize to Midoriya?”

“He told you that?” Haruhi said, shoulders near her ears and a guilty look already flitting across her
face.

“He didn’t need to,” the man said crisply. “You know why I gave you that advice. You told me
you would follow it. Why did you lie to me, my child?”

The guilt was settling in properly. “I sorta apologised.” She defended. “I helped him with some
school issues. He thanked me and everything. That counts, right?”

“Did you say the words ‘I’m sorry’?”

“...No.”

“Then I’m afraid that doesn’t count,” Chikara said patiently. “The reason I advised you to
apologize is because you insulted him behind his back. If you do not admit what you did wrong,
how can he possibly forgive you?”

Haruhi didn’t answer, staring at a scar in the table.

“You spoke ill of another Sora, and you were wrong about him,” Chikara-sensei said, laying a
newspaper in front of her. She didn’t need to look at it to know which newspaper it was. The article
had spread like a wildfire among the Sora. Hell, she was pretty sure every quirkless person was
going wild over it. She still couldn’t quite believe he’d actually done it. She still had the bad feeling
he was going to get hurt at the crazy hero school. “I’m disappointed in you, Higurashi. You let
your pride blind you from what it means to be a Sora.”

Haruhi swallowed thickly. This was the problem. Sensei didn’t get angry, he was too kind for that.
No; instead he was disappointed, and you had to live with the fact that it was your own fault. “I’m
sorry, Sensei.”

“As I said not so long ago,” the man said sternly, “I am not the one you need to apologize to.”
“Yes, Sensei.”

The man shook his head and stood. “I think it’s best that you meditate in the quiet room now,”
Chikara said calmly. Haruhi tensed.

“No,” she said too quickly, anxiety building in her chest. “Please, Sensei. I said I’m sorry. Please
don’t make me go to the quiet room.”

“Higurashi, my child,” Chikara said, stepping around the table and placing a hand on her shoulder.
“If we are to achieve the future we all dream of, then we must first cleanse ourselves. Our future is
only as good as we make it. I must insist that you meditate on your worthiness. Are you here
because you want to build a better world with me, or are you here to satisfy your own selfish
goals?”

“No! Of course I want to build a better world. I want to help people like us, I want to make things
better!” Haruhi said with an air of desperation.

“People like us?” Chikara said carefully, deep voice becoming edged. “Do you mean only Sora,
my child, or all of mankind? I think you should think very carefully on your answer.” Haruhi
looked down, ashamed. Chikara squeezed her shoulder. “If you want to better the world, you must
first better yourself, dear child.”

Haruhi’s lip trembled. She considered herself a proud girl, pure and empty like Chikara-sensei
taught her. She knew she deserved whatever punishment he set, that he had her best interests in
mind, but she really hated the quiet room. “Please?” she pleaded earnestly.

Chikara cupped her cheek, and his expression was unreadable behind his hood. “My child, the
quiet room is only a punishment if you let it be. To the well-organized mind, it is a place of
serenity. I know, you have the strength to tame your flaws. Now go, my child, we will let you out
for supper.”

“Yes, Sensei,” Haruhi said, staring at her feet and desperately trying to suppress her building
anxiety.

“The door’s locked,” Shinsou said, trying the handle. They were standing outside a classroom after
the school day had ended. This was supposedly where the underground hero club was taking place.
“It sure is,” Izuku said smiling blandly, because he already said this and Shinsou hadn’t believed
him until he tried the handle himself.

“But this is where the meeting is supposed to be.” Shinsou reiterated.

“Yep,” Izuku agreed, having asked Shinsou to double-check the flyer for the club and having
double-checked it himself.

Despite this, Shinsou took the flyer back out and checked again. Then he looked back at the door.
“Why is it locked?”

“I don’t know,” Midoriya said, still smiling blandly.

“Stop being sarcastic.”

“Stop being sarcastic.”

Shinsou scowled. “You are an absolute table lamp, you know that? I should never have taught you
to be sassy.”

“I hate to break it to you, Shinsou,” Izuku said, putting his hand on his friend’s shoulder, “but the
sass was in me all along. I just never activated it.”

“Tsk.” Shinsou tilted his head away. “Why is it locked? Did they cancel the meeting? Is the
teacher late, or something?”

Izuku shrugged, having gone over all the possibilities while muttering moments ago. “It could be a
test. Underground heroes have a thing with espionage and breaking into places.”

Shinsou scowled. “I’m not breaking into a classroom without permission. What if we get caught?”

Izuku shrugged again, eyeing the door thoughtfully.

“Hey,” a voice said, breaking Izuku from his thoughts. Tali was approaching, clearly happy to see
them. “What’s happening? Is the teacher not here yet?”

“Maybe,” Shinsou hummed, still looking at the door. “It’s locked. Izuku thinks it might be a test.”

Tali tilted her head looking at the door for a long silent moment, then reached out and tested it. She
hummed. “Well, that would explain why the keypad is deactivated but the manual lock isn’t,” the
girl said.

“What?” both boys said in unison, and turned back to the locked door. Sure enough, the keypad
beside the door that could be activated and deactivated by teachers with a special code was off, the
same way it was deactivated every day before class. The teachers were very strict about locking
doors when they were out for security reasons. This meant there could be a teacher in there.

“Okay, so this might actually be a test.” Shinsou decided. “That doesn’t get us into the room.”

Tali smirked a little and lifted her foot to pull something out of her boot. “I can give it a shot,” she
said, holding up a set of lockpicks. “Keep a lookout for me, if a teacher comes you didn’t see
anything.”

“You can’t be serious.” Shinsou gasped. Midoriya started fidgeting anxiously. Tali knelt by the
lock and stared into it with a keen eye. “This has to be illegal. Why do you even know how to pick
locks?”

“Paranoia,” the girl answered without hesitation. “Now shush, I have to listen to the pins click.”

“This is so not cool,” Shinsou said, pulling at his hair in a stressed manner.

“Shhh.”

Shinsou and Izuku shared a troubled look as the girl nimbly shifted the picks in the lock, a focused
expression on her face. Izuku could see the merit in knowing how to pick locks, but it still felt
criminal even if this was what they were being tested on. The more he thought about it, the less it
made sense, though. What kind of teacher would give you a test where you were required to break
into a room?

“Shinsou!” a cheerful voice squealed. “You made it!”

Everyone startled rather badly, but Tali returned to the work quickly, muttering to herself in
English. Izuku got the impression that she didn’t want to lose her spot. Looking around, Izuku
initially didn’t notice anyone until he spotted a flouting school uniform moving like there was
someone in it. Izuku’s irrational first thought was ghost, but that was silly.

The uniform was running towards them, and threw itself at Shinsou, its sleeves wrapping around
his middle tightly. Murder clothes, was Izuku’s next irrational thought

“Hagakure?” Shinsou asked, overcoming his confusion faster than Izuku did. Quirk, then?

“I didn’t think you’d made it in after that kid cheated the way they did. I was so worried! I spoke to
an official and everything, but they said they would handle it. I didn’t know what that meant, and
when I didn’t see you in the hero class, I thought maybe you didn’t make it in. that would be so
unfair. I’m really glad you made it!”

“Um… h-hey?” Izuku said feeling awkward and still slightly confused. Shinsou admittedly looked
uncomfortable too, so the two probably weren’t close.

“Er… this is Hagakure... something,” Shinsou said, extracting himself from the girl’s solid arms.
“She was the one who helped me at the entrance exam.”

“Oh!” Izuku said in recognition.

“It’s Tooru! Hagakure Tooru!” the girl said enthusiastically. She held out her sleeve, presumably to
shake his hand. “And you’re Midoriya Izuku, the quirkless boy! You’re friends with Inasa, right?”

Midoriya laughed awkwardly. “Ah... yep, t-that’s me…” he said, taking her hand and feeling
slightly like he’d missed when she readjusted his grip.

“I think it’s really cool what you’re doing, you know! My quirk isn’t good for physical fighting, so
I get how hard it can be. I actually almost scored last in Aizawa’s test on the first day and almost
got expelled. Can you imagine? You are trying for hero, right? That’s what Ojiro-kun said, but I
wasn’t sure, because everyone else was so dismissive of the idea. I think it would be really cool if
you did make it, though!”

“Oh, Ojiro is here?” Midoriya gasped, pleased. “I don’t t-think I saw him when I went to your
classroom before. You’re in 1-a, right?”

“Yeah! You always dip in so fast, you should stay and talk. Everyone is dying to meet--”

“GOT IT!” Tali said loudly in english. She smiled proudly at them and jumped up, opening the
door pins still hanging in the lock.

For a brief moment they saw inside the classroom-- only the front desk, a bit of writing on the
chalkboard, and a man with long dark hair and glowing red eyes.

Then white bandages flew out the door wrapped around Tali and dragged her inside. A pale hand
brutally pulled the picks out the lock and the door slammed. It happened insanely fast, and Izuku’s
only absurd thought was that could have damaged the lock…

And was that Eraserhead?

“Wow! Aizawa-sensei is scary,” Hagakure said breathlessly. A few looks were exchanged, the
expanse of emptiness where the girl’s face should be saying more than it probably should. Shinsou
and Izuku had heard a lot about Aizawa-sensei, both through reputation and Inasa.

“So, definitely a test,” Shinsou decided firmly.

“We have to get into that room.” Izuku nodded.

Shinsou grinned his crooked, crazy grin, and shouted at the door, “Hey, Tali!”

“Yes?” the girl shouted back in a self-satisfied tone that said she knew exactly what he was doing.
He took over her easily, and smirked at Izuku in satisfaction.
“Open the door.”

There was a clicking of the lock and the door opened again, this time a blank faced Tali staring
serenely out at them. Shinsou hustled into the room, Hagakure close behind, her clothes hidden by
Shinsou’s uniform. The door slammed again before Izuku could make it in.

“Oh, come on,” Izuku groaned at the door. The lock clicked. Traitors.

He considered the lock again, and looked around the door for other options. He couldn’t really
pick locks to begin with, and the picks had been pulled into the room. The next logical step would
be the windows, but those were outside and he knew that they were bulletproof and couldn’t be
opened from outside. Inside was a different matter, because with quirks going off constantly
sometimes they needed to air out rooms. He could attack the door hinges, but they were on the
other side of the door and probably pretty strong. He also probably was expected not to destroy
anything, so that meant breaking through a (probably reinforced) wall not an option either.

“Midoriya?” someone asked, approaching. He seemed nervous. Izuku must have been muttering.

Izuku peeked up at who had approached and beamed in recognition. “Blockhead-kun!”

“Uh… hey,” the kid grumbled, blank face revealing nothing. “What are you doing?”

He used a leading tone and glanced at the door.

“It’s a test!” Izuku said, returning to puzzling at the door. “For the Underground Hero Club, we
have to get into the room somehow… hey, do you think you can use your quirk to find a way in?
You wanna join the club too, right?”

“Um… sure, I’ve used my quirk on the school already, though…” Blockhead seemed a bit
uncomfortable. Izuku wondered if it was because he was quirkless, or because he was just really
awkward. It might be both. People didn’t need a lot of incentive to dislike Izuku. “I mean… I guess
we could use the air vents…”

“The air vents?” Izuku said raising his eyebrows. “But shouldn’t they be too small? And even if
they’re large enough, air vents aren’t really made to support human weight. I’ve actually heard
some rather dark horror stories about people trying to escape villain attacks and getting stuck or
falling or cooked-”

“UA vents were specifically built to support people crawling through them. Both for teachers’
convenience and special evacuation. They’re reinforced by the cement ceilings and made of a
slightly stronger material the normal aluminum vents. They still function as regular vents, though,
and you have to be careful. There’s a device that can turn them off in different parts of the building,
probably controlled by Nedzu or security, and they automatically turn off if there’s a security
breach so teachers can evacuate students through it.”

Izuku didn’t know it, but his eyes were sparkling. “That is so cool! Can you tell when the fans are
on or off with your quirk?”

“Uh… no,” Blockhead said, pulling back. “Just what was built attached to the school.”

“That’s still so useful! No wonder you want to join the Underground Hero Club! Your quirk is so
useful for reconnaissance.” Izuku smiled.

Blockhead’s shoulders had drawn up towards his head. “A blueprint could do the same thing. Most
heroes have access to them…”

“But your description was so much more detailed, Blockhead-kun!” Izuku got the impression that
the boy didn’t get a lot of compliments, so he decided they were going to be friends.

“Are you this nice to everyone?” Blockhead asked with sudden skepticism. “It’s kinda weird and
creepy. Are you trying to be weird and creepy right now?”

“Nope,” Izuku said, stung but forcing himself to move past the feeling. “Come on, let’s find the
nearest vent!”

One quiet vent crawl later, the highlights being Izuku helping lift Blockhead into the grate
(Midoriya was more muscular), some silly-looking hopping and parkour (it took five attempts for
Izuku to reach the grate on his own, and Blockhead quietly humming spy music they finally
reached the room they needed to and dropped down into the classroom.
A few students looked surprised, especially because the fall was clumsy and loud, but the teacher,
Eraserhead, just wrote the word vents on the chalkboard, adding to a list of ways people had
broken into the room. The list was fairly short; lock-picking, quirk use, the window, and
misdirection. Quirk use had the most checks next to it.

The room was pretty empty, with about ten students counting Izuku and Blockhead. Izuku was
surprised to notice that most of them were first years, thought Izuku supposed the older years
might be busy with internships and sidekick work. Everyone was sitting quietly at their desks with
a piece of paper in front of them. The reason was clear, in white letters written out on the board for
everyone to answer.

‘What is an Underground Hero?’

The quiet room was an accurate description of the place she was locked in. it was a three foot by
three foot room with nothing in it. It was a was deep into the property, and was probably once just
a closet. The room was pitch black at any time of the day, and the walls were cold stone. There
was room enough to sit down and meditate, but no room to pace or stretch.

The room’s purpose was to be a space out of the way for people to meditate. A place where you
can take a proper look at your thoughts and memories with no distractions.

It was solitary confinement.

And Haruhi despised it.

She hated being locked in the tiny room for at times hours at a time. Time didn’t move normally in
the room. It always felt like an eternity passed even if it had only been a few minutes. Her own
thoughts would circle back on themselves, getting her into negative but boring spirals that were
next to impossible to break out of on her own. Sure, she was supposed to meditate and control her
mind or whatever, but it was so much harder in a place like this.

Normal meditation ground was outside surrounded by a garden and trees. When you closed your
eyes, you could hear the breeze and smell the air. Everything was just stale and claustrophobic in
the quiet room, and it mad Haruhi feel like she was being buried alive.

Sensei said it wasn’t a punishment, but it definitely felt like one. She couldn’t be angry at him,
though. She knew he was trying to help her, and that it was her own fault for not being good
enough.
But the room only made her think of darker times. The times before she was found by the Sora.
When she was small and bullied. When she was suicidal.

She couldn’t bear thinking about it. She hated the memories. Hated the scars that decorated her
wrists. Hated the thoughts that looking at them always brought back. How she was useless. How
she should have died that day. How everyone hated her and she should just disappear.

She still didn’t completely understand how she survived that day. But most of the time, she was
glad. She’d been found in the hospital by another Sora. One who visited the hospital often.
Thinking his name hurt. Thinking about him at all hurt, but he had been the one that introduced her
to the Sora, and he was the one who had saved her.

He’d been so kind to her. He had died in a villain attack less than a year later. She still missed him,
but she would do him proud. He was probably in paradise right now. She would earn her place
beside him.

She could never stop being grateful to the Sora. Sensei had been so gentle with her when he met
her. None of them treated her as a freak or something useless. No one looked at her scars with pity.
Instead they treated her with kindness, they built her up, they gave her a message-- a goal.

It didn’t stop her from having dark thoughts. It didn’t stop her from feeling bitter and angry. She
knew the world outside the temple was cruel and violent. She knew the real world killed people
like them. She didn’t want any more of her friends to die.

Her old resolve settled in her gut despite her hatred of the cold stone room.

It has always been her mission to save as many quirkless, as many Sora as she could. That hasn’t
changed.

And Midoriya… well, he was just more lost than the others. He’d see reason eventually, and she
would welcome him with open arms. It didn’t matter that he and his friend had been rude to her. It
didn’t matter that he’d somehow gotten into the deadly hero school. He’d probably see what
monsters they were and come to them.

Haruhi shook her head. He wouldn’t die. They’d save him.

That thought firmly settled into her mind. There were still many hours to go in the quiet room.

She still hated it.

This was his time to shine. Izuku took the seat next to Shinsou and started sprawling his answer
onto some notebook paper. A few minutes later, Shinsou elbowed him and Izuku looked up to find
that Eraserhead had written the words ‘in three pages or less’ under the question. The hero was
glaring pointedly at Izuku. Izuku flushed and quickly wrapped up his paper. That done, he was left
to fidget and look around the room.

A few times someone jiggled the handle of the door and usually left muttering afterward. One
person turned into pure shadow just slid under the crack in the door. Aizawa put another check
next to quirk use. At one point, All Might came to the door and started shouting for Aizawa and
wondering out loud if he was lost. Aizawa looked particularly annoyed at this point, and put a
finger to his mouth to silence anyone who might have answered. Izuku and Shinsou both tensed,
and Aizawa definitely caught it.

Other than that, they were left to their own devices after they finished, so Izuku inevitably took out
his notebook and started observing people and taking notes. The first thing he noticed was that
despite everyone being different and unique-looking, everyone had a strange wariness to them. It
was hard to describe, but it was like everyone in the room held a small amount of tension, like
everyone was warily observing even when they weren’t looking at you. Izuku doubted he’d have
noticed if he’d met them all individually, but grouped together, it was obvious.

Everyone looked like they could use more sleep, too.

There were of course the students that Izuku knew: Shinsou, Tali, Blockhead, and now Hagakure,
but there were plenty of students he didn’t know. For instance the boy, who had turned into
shadow. He had pitch-black skin and silver hair. He was lanky, and the whites of his eyes stood
out against his face. His quirk was obviously the ability to become a shadow and possibly even
control them. It was really cool and interesting, and would be fantastic for spying!

On Izuku’s other side, there was a short boy who was a little plumper than everyone else. He had
light blue hair and earnest eyes, but Izuku could tell that he was deceptively strong. Izuku couldn’t
tell what the boy’s quirk was, but when he smiled, the boy smiled back. So he was at least nice.

Another boy had long, slick-backed pale green hair, squinted eyes, and too-small eyebrows. His
mouth was too large for his face, and he was incredibly lanky, his neck being a little too long to be
normal. He had dark shadows under his eyes, but he was smiling. Izuku found he was a bit hard to
read. He didn’t seem bad, but he didn’t seem entirely trustworthy, either. Izuku didn’t know why
he got that feeling, he hadn’t spoken to the boy yet.

Then there was a tall-looking girl who was extremely muscular and had what was best described as
a lava face protected by a metal old-fashioned diving helmet mask with vents at the top that were
letting out smoke. Her skin was also black and shiny like obsidian. Her fiery eyes shined out
through her mask, keen and observant but also warm. The air around her was hotter than the rest of
the room. She sat by an open window to let the smoke out, and Izuku figured that’s why the
window had been open in the first place. Izuku recognized her from a previous Sports Festival, and
knew that she could spew molten metal and had a thing for hammers. Izuku guessed she was a
third year.

Another girl sat towards the back wearing a Kabuki mask. This one was the maiden mask, and
Izuku got the impression that she was pretty and earnest when she was wearing it. Further
observation revealed that she had a lot of masks hanging from her backpack, and each had a certain
aura to it. Izuku’s guess was that she could change powers based on the mask she was wearing.
Izuku wondered where she had gotten the masks and how exactly she developed them from her
quirk, but they were neat all the same. Izuku decided not to jump to any conclusions about her
personality because he couldn’t see past the mask and the aura it gave off. She was possibly a third
year too.

The final student was a handsome boy with shiny, curly blond hair, sparkling eyes, and pretty
much sparkling everything else too. The boy seemed to be wearing body glitter, and it wasn’t
particularly subtle. He winked when Izuku looked at him. When Izuku looked back at the board
and the list of ways people got in, he decide misdirection probably matched him. There was more
than one check next to it, after all. Izuku couldn’t guess what his quirk was beyond maybe the
glitter, but the boy seemed friendly and was definitely a first year.

Eventually, Eraserhead sighed and stood up from where he’d been half-napping on the floor.
“Alright, I think it’s safe to say everyone who’s gonna get in has gotten in, so here’s what’s
happening.”

He glared out at the small pool of students in the classroom. “After today, this club never existed.
It was canceled last minute, and instead you all found the Strategy Game Club. It’s a club where
you play things like Mahjong and Poker and Pai Sho. If you manage to stay in the club, you are to
imply that the club is boring and difficult and not worth your classmates’ time. If you don’t make
it, you are still to refer to this club as the Strategy Game Club. The Underground Hero Club does
not exist. The only reason we advertised it the way we did in the first place was because the club is
new and someone thought they were helping.”

Izuku pitied whoever that someone was. A few students looked uncertain as they were bluntly
being told to lie by a teacher, but everyone was too intimidated to protest.

Eraserhead seemed to catch their discomfort, and his eyes glinted dangerously. “If you’re afraid of
getting your hands dirty, then you should leave now. You all broke the rules to get in here. Don’t
think we in the Underground are above lying and manipulating to get ahead. We do not have the
luxury of being as neat and clean as regular heroes.” He stalked forward and glared them all in the
eye. Izuku shivered, his inner fanboy rising in his chest despite himself. “Which brings me to
what’s most important. What you all need to know before you take another step forward.” He
turned and pointed at the question written on the board. “What is an Underground Hero?”

His eyes scanned over the students, and lingered on Izuku for a moment. Izuku immediately knew
it was because of his quirkless status, and a small scowl twitched his lip before he could fight it
down. His defiance was clear in his eyes, and apparently that was what Aizawa was looking for,
because he moved on. The micro-exchange took seconds, but it felt important.

“Underground Heroes,” he said, moving back to the front of the room, “deal in ambush,
neutralization, and espionage. We are Japan’s special forces and spy network. We track villains,
study data, and infiltrate enemy factions. We stop crime before it happens.”

Izuku was sitting up straight in his seat now, and he wasn’t the only one. Underground Hero work
was always vague, shadow work. It was usually implied to be regular hero work only out of the
public eye, but having it laid out so bluntly made it sound far more exciting and important.

“We are black ops specialists, and we walk the fine line between being heroes and the very people
we are trying to stop. Our job is far more dangerous than that of a pro hero.” He walked back to his
desk and picked up a stack of papers. “Which is why, before we can proceed any further, you have
to get this,” Aizawa held up the thick-looking pile, “signed by your parents. It is a non-disclosure
agreement and a series of permissions, similar to the ones that those in the hero course had to fill
out. Yes, you have to fill this out too, even if you’re already in a hero course.” He saw disappointed
looks spread around the classroom, but Izuku noted that they weren’t nearly as vocal about their
complaints as what he would have heard in a normal classroom. “If your parents don’t sign these
contracts, you’re out of the club.”

Giving the pile to a student in the front to be passed around, he went on. It was amazing how well
he could command their attention. Izuku resolved to do more research on Eraserhead when he got
home. “All the same,” he said smoothly, “I will still give you the typical warnings. The same
warnings I received when I joined this profession.” He erased the board and wrote out a row of
numbers to filled in. “The first and most important rule that you will ever hear is this: don’t get
caught.”

Izuku frowned thoughtfully.

“The price of getting caught and found out in this profession is nothing short of torture and death.
We walk among villains. We are often required to pass as villains. To be discovered as
otherwise…” Aizawa paused. “Well, let’s just say there’s a reason you won't be meeting my
mentor.”

A collective shiver passed through the classroom.

“The next rule,” Aizawa said cooly, writing next to the number two, “don’t be stupid.” That ruffled
a few indignant feathers. “I don’t care how smart you think you are. You’re teenagers, and human,
and that entails a large amount of stupidity. Stupidity that can get you killed at ANY MOMENT.”
He shouted the last words, making everyone jump. Izuku caught his momentary smirk and shifted
slightly uncomfortably. He couldn’t tell if the man was smiling because he startled them or smiling
at the thought of them dying.

“Life is chaos. It is messy and impossible to control, and the only way to avoid getting randomly
shot in the street or killed by falling debris or god forbid killed by your own bloody quirk because
you were too damn stupid to control it or know your limits is to be smart, is to be paranoid. Don’t
take unnecessary risks.” Aizawa’s eyes flicked to Izuku. “Don’t get too arrogant.” His eyes flicked
to the sparkly blond. “Don’t get too comfortable.” His eyes lingered on Hagakure, of all people.
“Don’t. Be. Stupid.”

He glared at all of them, then turned back to the front.

“Third and finally,” Aizawa said, chalk screeching slightly against the board, “don’t die.”

Izuku exchanged looks with Shinsou.

“Yes, it’s obvious. Yes, it still needs to be a rule. I hate it when people die, so take it to heart. Our
job is dangerous, our field is deadly, and staying alive is a often a combination of intelligence,
paranoia, and sheer dumb luck. You are children. Some of you might still believe you’re immortal,
that the bad guys won’t touch you because you’re children or that your quirks will protect you.”
This time Aizawa’s eyes lingered on the blue-haired boy next to Izuku. “That is stupid. A well-
thrown brick could kill any of you. Humans are stupidly fragile even with their quirks, and your
life expectancy went down the moment you decided to join this club.” Izuku’s skin itched in both
anxiety and heady excitement. He thought it vaguely inappropriate, and yet… Izuku’s mind sensed
that this was going to be much bigger than him. “Surviving takes effort. It’s work and, believe me,
there will be times where the only thing between you and dying is repeating number three like a
mantra and sheer grit. And even that might not be enough.” Aizawa leaned forwards, dangerous.
“So remember rule three.”
The ‘or else’ went unsaid, but was widely felt. None of them knew how Aizawa would punish
them from beyond the grave, but no one particularly wanted to chance it.

Aizawa took one more intense glance around the room, taking time to meet each of his new
students’ eyes.

Izuku felt as though he was standing at the edge of a precipice, a moment of enlightenment similar
to the time when he first saw All Might save a hundred people from a burning building that
triggered a lifelong obsession. It felt like seeing All Might smile through the darkness, confident
and fearless. It felt like hope… only more cautious.

Aizawa was definitely no All Might, and he wasn’t giving them a shining beacon or an unreachable
mountain. Instead he was looking at them with some semblance of respect, some deeper
understanding that didn’t make Izuku feel small or invisible. He didn’t make Izuku feel like he was
chasing after daydreams.

Instead, it felt like the teacher was drawing a clear line in the sand, setting clear expectations for
them all, and definitively telling them to meet them. It was real and achievable, and even if Izuku
knew this path would be hard, he felt the burning determination that had brought him this far.

It was its own type of hope, and Izuku knew he grabbed onto it with everything he had.

“This is serious work,” Aizawa said, still holding them under his deliberate thrall. A sudden manic
smile pulled at the man’s lips. “But I’d love to see what you can do to the world when you get
serious.”

Katsuki didn’t think of himself as someone who could get depressed. He was too determined, too
fiery and passionate, too brave and cool. Getting dragged down by negative thoughts wasn’t in his
nature. He was a star, a hero, a beast. He was above such useless feelings. They were a waste of
time.

So… he had no idea how to handle what he was feeling.

Katsuki refused to use the word depression even if his therapist did. It didn’t matter that in the
short amount of time it took to place him in behind prison walls, he’d been lacking motivation and
enthusiasm. It didn’t matter that he was often consumed by circular thoughts about what a piece of
shit he was. It didn’t matter that food was unappetizing. That was just all a result of his new
environment and sentence.

He wasn’t depressed.

He was just... getting what he deserved. Karmic justice, and all that shit. He deserved to feel like
this; he had brought it on himself, and even if his therapist said otherwise, he knew he didn’t
deserve what little happiness food and fighting offered. He’d already decided that he was going to
take his punishment. It didn’t matter if it was hard or if he felt gross or if he had to give up what
really made him him. He had to accept the consequences of his actions.

That understanding didn’t make things any easier. In fact, it made it harder. In a rare show of
restraint he was keeping his head down. He didn’t take part in the villains’ posturing or hierarchy.
He kept to himself and didn’t talk to anyone. He fit a type in the prison system. He was far from
the first person to avoid talking or interacting with their fellow inmate. He was a good behavior
bitch. Not quite on the level of a sniveling suck-up, but the kind of quiet that could mean anything
from disinterested sociopath to arrogant asshole charged for tax evasion. There was usually a bomb
defusing squad there to haze and determine exactly what was under the quiet avoidance, but
Katsuki had effectively glared them away.

Which was how he got his real label. Sad sack. Usually harmless enough, but a pain in the ass to
deal with. No one liked to hear crying. It got annoying quickly, and luckily for them, Katsuki
wasn’t that type of sad sack. But he took effort to draw out his shell, effort none of them cared
enough to put in, especially considering how little they’d get back.

So they left him alone for the most part. Katsuki liked it better that way. He’d always preferred to
be alone… Katsuki shook his head. There was no reason to change that now. He had no reason to
go around consorting with villains. It was better if he kept his head down until he got out of here.

The the villain Digger Dugaroo (what an insanely stupid name!), was the first to stick his nose in
Katsuki’s business. He was trying to intimidate him. Like Bakugou would be scared of a teenage
Australian naked mole rat. Technically he wasn’t naked because he wore the drab prison clothes,
but still, his face was uglier than bear shit. Depressed or whatever, he wasn’t gonna be intimidated
by that.

Which, of course, is why the fucker brought backup. Unlike Katsuki, he hadn’t been antisocial and
had a lot of friends to back him up. Katsuki got a few good punches in, but a six on one fight with
no quirks wasn’t something he was gonna win. The guards were also conveniently absent for this
beat-down. Bastards.
Katsuki ignored the villains’ gloating monologue and spat blood at the prick. The ugly asshole
stilled dramatically, and for a moment Katsuki thought he was going to demand his death, but
someone interrupted.

“Hey!” All eyes turned towards the boy, and for a moment Bakugou’s hazy mind stuttered.

Izuku?

“Now get the hell out of here,” Aizawa said after his speech. “I can’t teach you anything until you
get those papers signed, so leave.”

The abrupt ending seemed to startle several of them, and they packed up, still tense and waiting for
something more. It wasn’t until most of them were out the door that Aizawa called to Midoriya.
Izuku bit his lip but approached the teacher. He should have known it wouldn’t have been that
easy.

Aizawa held out his hand. “Notebook.”

Izuku blinked and stared at his teacher in confusion. “Sir?”

Aizawa sighed impatiently. “I saw you taking notes on your classmates and want to examine them.
Analysis is an important part of our job. I wish to determine if you have any potential in it.”

Izuku blinked more rapidly. “Oh.” Then, with obvious hesitance and distrust, he pulled out his
analysis notebook and held it carefully out. It was obvious that the notebook was precious to him
and that he didn’t completely trust Aizawa yet. “Be careful,” he said tersely. “Er… some of the
information in that is dangerous…”

Aizawa arched a skeptical eyebrow, like he didn’t believe Izuku had any important insights, but he
nodded anyway.

Izuku left after that and found his club-mates lingering around the door talking and introducing
themselves as they hadn’t had the opportunity to in the club. Izuku itched to fill his notebook
further.
He knew his own classmates well enough, but he learned a lot about the ones he was just meeting
for the first time.

Hagakure and the sparkly blond boy, Aoyama Yuga, were in the same class. Hagakure was
apparently surprised that Aoyama wanted to join the club, given that it was about subtlety and he
was all about sparkling and being noticeable. Aoyama had responded by laughing foppishly,
claiming that he didn’t see why those two things had to be mutually exclusive and that the
underworld could use something shiny to distract it. Izuku got the distinct impression that he
wasn’t being completely honest, but figured he didn’t know the boy well enough to press the topic.
If he had personal reasons for joining the underground, they belonged to him.

Shoda Nirengeki, the plain blue-haired boy, and Kuroiro Shihai, the boy made of shadows, were
also the hero course together. Shoda was polite and humble, and admitted that he was joining more
out of curiosity than anything else. He admitted that Aizawa was somehow more intimidating than
Vlad King, but took it as a bit of a challenge. His quirk was really cool. It was called twin impact,
and he could use it to make repeat attacks with twice the impact and a timed stasis. He could
practically leave attacks like mines in an environment. That was so neat! He was also the only
student here shorter than Izuku… except maybe Hagakure. Her height was hard to tell.

Kuroiro spoke very dramatically and would be what Izuku considered goth. His quirk was the
ability to ‘meld with darkness’, and Izuku found that incredibly impressive, though he went off on a
muttering tangent about matter and if he could condense himself down to smaller shadows or
whether the darkness had to equal his own size. He also drew a comparison to Edgeshot because
the ability seemed to include flattening himself and stealth. Izuku eventually realized everyone was
staring at him, and Kuroiro gave him an creepy grin. The boy didn’t say anything, he just smiled.
Izuku did not know what the smile meant, but he felt nervous.

It should be noted that when Shinsou explained his quirk, Kuroiro said, “Ah, a fellow traveler
down the twisted path. You shall be a powerful ally.” It was kinda creepy.

In their year there was also a student from management, Hebi Abura. He was the green-haired
lanky one, and Izuku found out that the reason he couldn’t get a complete read on him was that the
boy had a manipulation quirk. Specifically, he called it Snakeoil, and it let him convince you of a
lie about any object he touched. He couldn’t change what the item itself did, but if he touched a
coin and told you it could turn invisible you’d believe him. The effect usually broke once he
stopped talking and you poked holes in the logic of the lie. But the more convincing the lie, the
longer you’d believe it. He’d apparently taken to old-fashioned magic tricks and sleight of hand to
make his lies more convincing. It was an incredibly versatile quirk and was a bit intimidating
considering he was in the cutthroat business course, but Izuku admired it anyway.

The two upperclassman were in different classes, neither of them heroics. Fouji Kinzoku, the girl
with the lava face and obsidian skin, was in the third year support course. Her specialty was
metalworking, and she could apparently melt metal by putting it in her mouth and spitting it back
out. Lava wasn’t the most reliable for forging, though. Thanks to her quirk she wasn’t bothered by
the heat of a regular forge, unlike many others. She also apparently had a thing for hammers. She
just liked them. Those were her exact words. She just liked hammers. Izuku was excited to find out
the finer points of her quirk. She was the second check beside lock picking.

The final person, another third year, was in the general course and let Fouji do most of the talking.
It turned out that they couldn’t talk normally, their voice instead coming out as various Japanese
instruments depending on what mask they were wearing. Their name was Kamen Joyou, but
everyone called them Kabuki. They didn’t have a face under their mask and preferred they/them
pronouns. Apparently the impression they gave off depended on what mask they were wearing.
Izuku called it! The mask also affected their personality, so the demon mask made them more
aggressive and dangerous, the hero mask made them more brave and and courageous, and so on.
Almost inevitably, Hagakure asked how they could eat without a face, and with the wary sound of
plucking a kota (it’s like a harp), they lifted their long dark hair to reveal a mouth on the back of
their head. A mouth filled with very sharp teeth. They were soooo cool.

Conversation trailed off as they reached the school gates. Izuku looked at his knew potential
friends and admitted that he was quirkless. Many already knew, but Shoda shifted uncomfortably
and Fouji laughed uncomfortably. Kabuki made nervous string noises that added an extra note of
tension to the air.

Finally Aoyama put his hand on Izuku’s shoulder, a closed-lip smile on his face and a sparkle in
his eye. “You are going to be amazing.”

And even though Izuku could tell not everyone in the group thought his presence was a good idea,
Izuku found those words tremendously comforting. No one made further comments, and Izuku
could only hope that they’d come around once he proved himself.

“Hey!” the Izuku lookalike strode forward. Closer, Bakugou started noticing the differences more
reliably. No, it wasn’t Izuku. This boy was taller and more confident. He didn’t have Izuku’s recent
undercut, instead his hair was a mess of black curls more like Izuku’s old hairstyle. He didn’t have
freckles or the scar Katsuki gave him, but he did have a pale crescent carved into his cheek from
his left eye to his chin. His eyes were a bright blue, not green, but they burned with the same
determination. A twisted smile pulled at his lips. “Dugadoo. I thought I’d find you here. Tell me,
what exactly do you think you’re doing?”

“Ghost!” The mole rat fucker stood up straight, and all the followers jumped back from where
Katsuki lay bleeding and curled up on the ground. Katsuki instantly recognized this guy was the
bigger fish. “Nothing-- this-- this vermin was looking down on us. He said some mighty rude
things and we-- we were just teaching him a lesson.”
Izuku-lookalike (Ghost?) laughed like a crazy person. “Is that right? Because last I checked, he
didn’t speak to anyone. Are you sure you weren’t antagonizing him, Dagadoo? Like the last two
people I caught you ‘teaching a lesson’ to?”

“Listen, I don’t have to take this shit from you,” the naked mole-bitch hissed like an actual rat.

“Oh, don’t you?” Ghost said, approaching the ugly fucker like a lion stalking prey. The extr- the,
um, stooges backed up, clearly more afraid of Ghost than they were of naked mole rat man. He
definitely couldn’t count on them if he chose to fight Ghost. “Because last I checked, you were one
strike away from going into solitary, and you know how much the guards like me.”

“You wouldn’t,” Mole-bitch sneered past his overly large teeth. “You’re not a snitch.”

“I don’t need to be to make enough noise for them to show up.” Ghost was the mask of calm. “I
think pulling out those front teeth of yours will do the trick. It’s not snitching if you’re the one
screaming.”

The naked mole rat dick sucker drew back, fear entering his eyes. He shot a glare at Katsuki. “This
isn’t over.”

“It never is with you people,” Ghost said softly, making no move to step out of the kids’ way or to
help Katsuki. It was only when he and the rest of his cronies were out of the room that he knelt
beside Katsuki, not touching, not getting blood on his hands.

“Bakugou Katsuki,” the older boy said, tilting his head so his blue eyes glinted silver in the light.
“Well, aren’t you an interesting character…”

A tension settled in Katsuki’s chest, a sense of danger, even as his consciousness faded to black.
He didn’t know exactly who had just saved him, but he knew that he must want something...

And Katsuki dreaded finding out what exactly a man like this would want…

From someone like him.

Chapter End Notes

- I always found it a little weird that during the USJ, Kurogiri used Shigaraki’s full
name, as if trying to give it to the students/readers. So my head canon is that Kurogiri
uses Shigaraki’s full name when he’s annoyed but not in the position to sass him. A
secret fuck you, if you will
-the reason there are no second years was because 1. Aizawa expelled a whole class
and 2. The remaining second years know that and avoid him
-fun fact, Horikoshi named a character Chikara independently of me. I named my
character before the chapter with Destro came out, so funny little coincidence
-Aizawa’s 3 rules of being an underground hero are the three rules my mom gave me
growing up
Art of the OC's: https://amarelibertius.tumblr.com/post/185253841879/the-important-
occ-of-my
 Information is Currency
Chapter Summary

Because knowledge is power

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Aizawa Shouta often thought of his job as dealing with bombs. Irrational, hormonal, live bombs.

Teenagers were the most dangerous, chaotic, insane creatures in existence. No, Shouta wasn’t
biased. This was a fact. Children were insane. And stupid. Shouta had to handle them with constant
care and caution. There was always a chance that they would explode in his face and do permanent
damage. He had litteral scars from trying to help kids he would nowadays deem not worth his
effort.

Midoriya Izuku was no different. Shouta recognized him as a bomb waiting to go off. A person
who needed to be carefully defused before he could hurt himself or others.

Shouta had unfortunately underestimated just how volatile this bomb was. He was officially
regretting mentally rolling his eyes when the boy handed over his notebook. The notes were good.
Not professional, but good. Smart. Stalkerish. And above all else, dangerous . You’d think that
someone as apparently smart as him would learn how to put his writing in code, but sadly it seemed
more stream-of-consciousness writing, so it was harder to translate into code immediately. At the
very least, that made it harder to understand. He’d teach the boy when he returned the thing.
Unfortunately, being book fifteen in the series, he was going to need to transfer a lot of notebooks
into proper code. Geez. He was a child, he shouldn’t have this much information.

So add that to the fact that the boy was quirkless, in the public eye, and in an emotionally
vulnerable state due to All Might’s influence, and you had a very dangerous potential weapon.
Shouta wasn’t one to underestimate quirkless people. He’s met too many quirkless people. The
stereotype that they were helpless and weak was stupid and baseless, and he had the scars to prove
it. His ribs still ached when it rained because of his fight with Knuckleduster however many years
ago.

This kid was going to be a disaster.

Despite this, there was a slightly crazed smile starting to pull at his lips as he put together lessons
for his new club. It was the kind of smile that would send people running if they happened to step
in to see it. Which, of course, was when All Might walked in.

“Oh… uh, Aizawa, am I interrupting something?” the taller man said, looking uncomfortable.
Shouta’s smile dropped in irritation.

“Just club planning,” Shouta sighed warily. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Oh!” the skinny man said awkwardly. “I was just wondering if you’d be willing to look over the
videos from my class last week. Give your own criticism.”

“You want criticism, do you?” Shouta growled, remembering how angry he got when he watched
the videos under Nedzu’s advisement. “I’ll give you criticism. What the hell were you thinking?
You just sent them into battle without any rules? Just an explanation, and you expected it to go
well? You’re lucky it didn’t get any worse. There were several incidents where you should have
stopped the fights. There were several injuries, and the only reason there aren’t more is because
most of our kids have some amount of common sense. Do you have any idea how dangerous what
you did was?”

“I…” All Might shrunk away from Shouta’s intense glare. “In the real world, there aren’t any
rules…”

“In the real world, we have training and protocol to handle most situations. In the real world, we
have years of training to fall back on when things get dicey. In the real world, our instincts have
been honed to the point where we know our limitations and how not to overpower or underpower
an attack.” Shouta scowled. “Those kids don’t have that yet.”

“The books say the best way to learn is by doing…”

Shouta narrowed his eyes. “Have you ever been around a teenager for any amount of time?”

“N-not really?” All Might said, looking uncomfortable.

Shouta pinched the bridge of his nose. “They are reckless, emotional, and have no idea where to
draw the line when it comes to anything. What part of that sounds good in a fight? I have witnessed
these children switch from being intelligent and reasonable to inhumanely stupid within a single
sentence. Sending those kids out there was equivalent to giving them loaded guns and telling them
to just shoot around each other. Aim for the non-vitals.”

All Might had gone pale and looked uncertain. He opened his mouth to perhaps argue more, but
Shouta cut him off. “Look, it’s not that you’re entirely wrong about the real world being chaotic.
They need to learn to deal with that. Those of us teaching the hero course try to simulate that chaos
as much as possible. But it’s a simulation . We’re supposed to be present and ready to make sure
they don’t accidentally kill themselves or each other. We plan ahead, so even if it feels chaotic to
them, we are in control. We are capable of stopping things from going too far.”

“Ah…” All Might said heavily. “That makes sense.”

“All Might, why did you become a teacher? And why haven’t you submitted to real training?”

The hero coughed awkwardly. “I took the online course that Nedzu recommended… though I
admit my schedule has been a bit busy, and reading about teaching and doing it is very different
from what I imagined. But I became a teacher because I want to pass my experience on. I want to
help the next generation of heroes.”

Shouta stared through him. All Might wasn’t lying, he knew, but he wasn’t telling the whole truth
either.

He decided to switch tactics. “What did you make of the Inasa-Todoroki fight?”

All Might’s face turned grim. “I think they all have a long way to go before they’re ready to be
heroes. While the displays of power were impressive, only Kirishima really seemed to show
situational awareness. Uraraka’s determination to push past her limits was admirable, but also put
her in a dangerous situation because she took it too far. Her and Inasa’s quirks were well-suited,
and their strategy and their beginning moves were smart. Todoroki’s attempt to counter it was also
strong…” All Might held his chin in deep consideration. “It seems the biggest problem in their
fight was their personal issues and stubbornness.”

Shouta sighed. “Yes, that was what I wanted you to focus on. Their personal issues. Have you
gotten to the bottom of what they are?”

“…” Instead of looking sheepish like Shouta expected, All Might looked tired. “No,” he said, the
air going out of him. His expression showed that he knew what Shouta was hinting at. “But I will.”

Shouta nodded, and tossed a folder from his desk towards the hero. “I took notes on the tapes. Get
out.”

All Might hesitated at the sudden dismissal, taking the notes and looking thoughtful. “You really
care about them,” he said with an unjustifiable amount of fondness. “Even though you seem tough,
you really care.”

Shouta scowled. As if that was even in question.

“And you know how to protect them,” All Might said, pinching the folder between his hands and
slowly rotating it. “Please,” he said genuinely. “Please teach me.”

“Senbi!” a voice shouted across the precinct, and Detective Senbi Ritsu inwardly groaned.

If there was one hero almost unanimously hated by Japan’s police force, it was the Flame Hero:
Endeavor. ‘Doesn’t play well with others’ would be an understatement about this hero. He treated
the police force like servants, got easily aggressively irritated if they didn’t give him the answer he
wanted, and generally regarded them as disposable replaceable pawns at the best of times. If one
officer disagreed with him or got insolent, with a wave of his hand they’d be off the case, replaced
with someone who somehow managed to earn his respect (rare) or a newbie getting hazed.

Unfortunately for Ritsu, he was on the list of respected people, so there were times where he was
randomly pulled off his main cases and thrown at Endeavor like a human shield. Ritsu had long
since resigned himself to taking the brunt of the bullshit. What had started as trying to get the
quirkless guy to quit had become their one defense against the biggest asshole in the industry.
Which had become incredibly ironic, as everyone unilaterally agreed that Endeavor could never
find out Ritsu was quirkless.

It would not end well. Currently, the hero was under the impression that Ritsu had a mild
sharpshooter quirk, the ability to make any shot provided the conditions were right. In reality, this
was just training and talent, but Endeavor didn’t need to know that.

“What do you want, Enji?” Ritsu asked in his no-bullshit tone.

Endeavor growled, like a dog, Ritsu thought, though that might be an insult to dogs. “I heard there
was movement on the 3M case. I was under the impression that I'd be the first to hear about it.
Why wasn’t I called?”

Detective Senbi scowled. “What part of classified did you not understand last time, Todoroki? This
is a covert operation. If we screamed to the heroes every time something twiched on this case,
you’d be more pissed that I did tell you!”

Endeavor glared him down. “Well, then what use are you?” he sneered, unknowingly saying one of
Ritsu’s trigger words.

“More useful than you’ll be here, Endeavor,” Ritsu gritted out, standing his ground. “You’re not a
detective! Stick to what you’re good at and bag and tag the bastards. Leave the mystery-solving to
us.”

Endeavor leaned down far enough into Ritsu’s personal space that the detective could feel the heat
off his suit and stupid flamey mustache. “If you were any good at ‘mystery solving’, you’d have a
criminal to point me towards.”

Ritsu curled his lip. “I hate to break it to you, Todoroki, but the movement has taken the case out
of my hands. It seems we’re both shit out of luck.”

Endeavor’s expression cleared with understanding. “Upper management.”

It wasn’t a question, and Ritsu didn’t answer.

Endeavor straightened. “Then there’s a hero involved.” He said it with sadistic delight as he clearly
imagined taking down a fellow hero.

Again, Ritsu said nothing. He wasn’t allowed to talk even if he wanted to. Endeavor took it as
confirmation anyway and flicked Ritsu fondly on the forehead. Like an older brother picking on
his sibling.

“Thanks for the tip-off, Senbi,” he said, being just vague enough that hopefully the chief wouldn’t
accuse him of anything. The other officers had all heard the exchange, but they knew better then to
step anywhere near the clustefuck that was pro hero Endeavor. Hell, even if the chief heard, he’d
likely just get a slap on the wrist and extra paperwork instead of a serious punishment. Ritsu had
made himself indispensable. Endeavor’s expression darkened despite his moment of playfulness.
“Next time, you’ll tell me when there’s movement. Whether you’re on the case or not. I need to
know these things.”

Ritsu sniffed indignantly, knowing that rolling his eyes would set the hero off. “When have I ever
let you down, Todoroki? You work with me for a reason.”

Endeavor lifted his eyebrows, taking on a challenging expression. “Then you do have something
for me.”

Senbi smirked, pulling out a folder. “There's been movement on the Stain investigation. Word is
that some less-than-reputable associates were trying to contact him. He didn’t like that and left
three bodies for us to find. CTV places someone who matches his description catching a train from
Ryloth and heading towards Hosu. We have a few more witnesses placing him in the city. We have
a few people on the ground and the authorities there should be ready for your arrival.”

“Excellent!” Endeavor said hungrily, taking the folder. “Getting Stain under my belt might be the
boost my reputation needs. Great work as always, Senbi. Keep it up.”

Without much preamble, Endeavor left and Ritsu sat back in his chair, the energy going out of him.
God, he hated that man. Thankfully handling him was relatively simple, if difficult in practice. The
man had an ego and hated weakness with a passion. When you’re around him, you can’t show
weakness, but you also can’t act like you’re better than him. Be blunt, not insolent. Give him what
he wants quickly and efficiently and stay out of his way otherwise.

It’s a delicate balance. Ritsu has tried to explain it to others. But if the recruits are too new they
tend to kiss his ass, which Endeavor considers a waste of time that could be spent working, or if
they’re older, they dislike him enough that they can’t cover their hatred. Luckily for Ritsu, he’s
been hiding his hatred for things for years. It’s a convenient talent, in hindsight.

In typical post-Endeavor fashion, the fire alarms came back on for a screaming second before they
were silenced by a very handy tech. They had to turn off the fire alarms and send an alert to the fire
department every time Endeavor entered the building because the bastard refuses to turn off his
flaming suit, and he complained aggressively about getting soaked the first three times. It didn’t
matter that he was a fire hazard all on his own and he was endangering all their lives by making
them deactivate the alarm in his presence. The hero had to keep his aesthetic.

God, Ritsu really, really hated that man.

Shouto stood awkwardly in front of the lunch table. Inasa hadn’t tried to stop him this time, and
wasn’t that odd? Inasa, Uraraka and Kirishima had all essentially absorbed them into their friend
group, and it was bizarre. They were loud and they asked a lot of questions and kept trying to
include him in things. It was annoying, but when he said as much, Uraraka just punched him on the
arm and said, “It’s too late. We’ve seen your soft side. You’re stuck with us.” It was kinda
terrifying. He respected her, but she said it like he’d somehow joined a cult that he could never
escape from.

Inasa also kept shooting him pensive looks. It was clear that he saw Shouto as an odd puzzle that
was slightly beyond him. He wasn’t being mean anymore, but their interactions were strained, and
honestly Shouto couldn’t bring himself to care.

But this was different. This table belonged to Midoriya and his purple-haired friend and also a girl
Shouto didn’t recognize. The table was far quieter than Inasa’s and his hero class ‘squad’. Shouto
wondered if that was purely a difference between courses, or if these kids were just quiet. They all
had some sort of work in front of them. The girl had a heavy medical textbook that she seemed
really focused on, and the boys had thick packets of paperwork. Midoriya was muttering to
himself.

Shouto stood there for a moment and decided they definitely needed more situational awareness.
He cleared his throat. They all jumped and shot him suspicious glares as though it was his fault
they hadn’t noticed his approach. The girl immediately returned to her book.

“Todoroki-kun!” Midoriya said, as though he couldn’t quite believe that he’d approached them.
“Hi?”

Shinsou narrowed his eyes, looking guarded. Shouto could appreciate that. “Can I eat lunch with
you?”

Shinsou and Midoriya exchanged looks that seemed to communicate a lot even though they said
nothing. The girl was still reading until Midoriya touched her arm, and she blinked as though she
were just waking up.

“Huh?” She said.

“We’re fine with it, so long as Tali-chan is.” midoriya answered. “Tali?”
The girl (Tali?) glanced between Shouto and the table. “Yeah, it’s cool if it’s just him. My social
circle is big enough now.” She held out her hand. “I’m Tali Serena.”

“Todoroki Shouto,” he answered, shaking her hand for a moment. Her hands were much softer than
his. They weren’t the hands he’d associate with hero work or exercise. He stored that information
carefully away, and having nothing better to do, took a seat at the lunch table, setting his tray down
in front of him.

The girl tried to go back to her book, but Shinsou interrupted. “What do you mean your circle is big
enough? Apart from us and Strategy Club you don’t know anyone.”

Tali rolled her eyes. “That’s because I’m antisocial, Shinsou.”

She picked up her bowl of rice and began eating it with the strange kind of focus that could only be
described as struggling with chopsticks. She seemed relatively experienced, she was holding them
right and didn’t drop any food, but it clearly wasn’t second nature to her. Shouto belatedly realized
she might be a foreigner. It was obvious in hindsight, but quirks were so odd that he stopped
questioning appearances.

“You don’t seem antisocial,” Shinsou said in a skeptical tone.

Tali snorted. “Just because I'm good at talking to people doesn’t mean I have the energy to be
around them all the time. Trust me, the only reason you haven’t noticed is that your standards are
low. There’s a reason we haven’t hung out after school and that reason is that, when I'm not
working or at school, I'm at home sleeping and avoiding human contact as much as possible.”

Shouto nodded to himself. That made perfect sense to him. Midoriya let out a nervous laugh,
glancing between Shouto and Tali. Shinsou grunted in response. Shouto assumed that was
agreement.

They fell into awkward, tense silence. Tali went back to her book. Midoriya and Shinsou returned
to working on the packets of paper they had. Shouto ate. The only noise was the clinking of dishes,
the flipping of paper and the scratch of pens.

Shouto abruptly realized he had no idea what he was doing.

He’d never had to try to be friends with people. People tended to flock to his side purely out of
their own self-interest because he had power and fame. Others felt intrigued by the ‘mysterious
aura’ he had. Todoroki had no interest in them, and he himself had never sought friendship on his
own. His father considered it a distraction and a weakness that could be exploited. Shouto
considered it something that could be used against him. Something he’d lose like everything else.
The Inasa and Uraraka thing was definitely a fluke.

So he was drawing a blank.

“Uh…” he started. Shinsou and Midoriya looked up. “What are you working on?”

A moment of silence followed. “Club stuff,” Midoriya eventually shrugged, tone a bit strained.

“I… didn’t know UA had clubs. What club are you in?” Shouto asked, fully aware that he was
crashing and burning and unaccustomed to the feeling.

“Strategy Game Club,” Shinsou said in a flat tone. He was wearing a guarded expression again.

Shouto had nothing to say in response. He had no frame of reference over what clubs were like or
what a Strategy Game Club does. “Okay,” he said, falling back into silence.

A silence that started stretching again.

“Um, so what’s the Hero Course like?” Midoriya asked, offering a much-needed olive branch, and
Shouto really shouldn’t feel so grateful for that. It was just a stupid conversation, hardly life or
death.

“It’s fine,” he responded honestly.

Nothing more was said on the subject.

“So, you have any hobbies?” Midoriya tried again.

“No,” Shouto again answered honestly. He didn’t. Hobbies were a distraction. He liked to read and
sometimes enjoyed calligraphy but wasn’t particularly passionate about either, and he didn’t have
anything more to say about those subjects than he did anything else.

Shinsou was giving him a skeptical look. “Nothing?”

“No,” Shouto repeated feeling slightly irritated.

“Nothing at all?”

“No.”

“What do you do in your free time, then?”

“I train,” Shouto said through gritted teeth. Shinsou glared at him. Tension sparked between them.

“So, what are you reading, Tali!?” Midoriya cut in loudly.

Tali let out a startled laugh and covered her mouth with her hand. “Sorry, that was just painful to
watch.” Shouto felt slightly more annoyed. “But to answer your question,” she held up her large
book so the title was visible, Quirk Case Studies of the Modern Age vol. 33, “I’m reading about a
fascinating phen…uh... phenomenon? called Quirk Factor Overload. It’s come back into
prominence with the invention of the drug Trigger, but it’s always been a thing, especially at the
dawn of quirks.”

“They have thirty-three volumes about that?” Shinsou said eyeing the cover.

“What?” Tali blinked. “No, this book is about various individual cases of quirk users. The most
medically important ones. They release one every year. And this is just from the modern series.
This company has been making these books since the dawn of quirks.”

“Oh!” Izuku said enthusiastically. “I never thought about looking at medical textbooks! I’ve been
trying to research into the early era of quirks but finding resources is hard since the Japanese
Historical Library burned down during the war.”

“Pour one out for all the books we lost,” Tali said, shaking her head sadly. Shouto decided she was
weird. “But yeah, they’re kinda dense with medical stuff, obviously, but they are a good lens to
look through. It’s kinda amazing to see the difference in science through the ages. When quirks
were first discovered, scientists were mystified.”

“Do you know if the school library has them? Or the public library?”

“Most libraries have at least some of the series,” Tali said, kindly reaching over and writing down
the name of the series and the publishing house on the corner of Midoriya’s packet. “The really
early ones are a bit harder to find, though. For that you’d probably have to go to a university library
or a private collector.”

“Thanks!”

Shouto glanced at Shinsou, who had apparently gone back to his food and paperwork. “Do they do
this often?”

“All the time,” Shinsou said, not looking up.

“But back to the topic,” Tali said with too much enthusiasm, “apparently when quirks were first
forming, there was a lot of… I guess you could say.. Uh.. darwinism? Basically, evolution was
throwing everything at the wall and seeing what stuck. A lot of early quirks led to almost
immediate death because of this phenomenon. The child mortality rates were insane. They’re still
pretty high today, actually, way higher than it was in the pre-quirk era.”

Midoriya’s eyes sparkled with interest, and Shouto officially knew the boy was nerd. The
conversation was kinda interesting, but Shouto tended to lean more on practical knowledge. He
didn’t really see how knowing infant mortality rates would help him survive a villain fight.

“So quirk factor overload is when a quirk overpowers a body’s normal functioning?” Midoriya
asked, fully focused on Tali now.

The girl nodded, equally passionate. Shouto glanced at Shinsou again and saw that he was
listening, though clearly resigned to their banter. “You can see remnants of the effect in quirks that
have negative effects like Aoyama-kun’s stomach pains or my exhaustion-”

“You know Aoyama?” Shouto interrupted, mostly because he had no idea how they would know
him. Aoyama didn’t run in Inasa’s circle. He almost instantly regretted it as all three set of eyes
turned towards him. He’d interrupted the flow of conversation, apparently.

“Club stuff.” Shinsou said flatly in answer. He said it like that explained it all, and Shouto would
take it at face value, but his curiosity was peaked.

Tali waved a hand and turned back to Midoriya. “But yeah, at the dawn of quirks before genetics
really figured out how to deal with the random evolutions happening to the human genome, it
made a lot of mistakes. I’ve kinda gotten drawn into the subject, and there are a ton of instances of
babies dying instantly because they were too metallic or their bodies were unable to deal with the
stress of transformation or a lot of other things. Actually, an interesting fact is that human bodies
are much more durable even when quirkless compared to how they were in the pre-quirk era. Like
outside the quirk chromosome, the rest of our DNA changed to support quirks better. That why
weird little mutations are found even in quirkless people. For instance, your green hair wouldn’t be
considered natural in the pre-quirk era, Mido-kun!”

“Oh… huh,” Midoriya said, blinking rapidly. “I kinda knew that abstractly, but that’s really cool to
know.”

“Abstractly?”

“Vague, a conceptual understanding,” Midoriya explained automatically.

The girl repeated the word a few times. “Like abstractly? Like in art?”

Midoriya shrugged, not knowing the english word. Tali brought out her phone and double-checked
the meaning. “Right, abstractly. Thanks. But yeah, it’s really interesting. Makes me consider going
into genetics, but that is a really hard field.”

Shouto had raised his eyebrows in confusion at the exchange and shot Shinsou a questioning look.
Shinsou gave him a look somewhere between annoyed and amused. ‘Language barrier’ he mouthed
helpfully. Right, Tali was definitely a foreigner. She and Midoriya returned to their conversation
like there hadn’t been an interruption.
“I know what you mean,” Midoriya smiled. “It’s sad that advancements in quirk science hasn’t
really changed much in the years. Quirks are all so different, it must be hard to categorize them in
any meaningful way with so much diversity.”

“What do you mean it hasn’t changed? The science has changed a lot. And scientists have been
categorizing genetic diversity long before quirks evolved. Who said it hasn’t changed?”

“Well a lot of my sources, especially the historical ones, say we haven’t really learned why or how
we developed quirks,” Midoriya said slightly defensively. “The exact words used were ‘we still
don’t understand quirks.’”

“No! Nonono,” Tali said, waving her hands and speaking quickly. “That’s all wrong! That’s a big
misunderstanding by reporters who don’t get science. We know A TON about quirks. We have a
whole system of categorizing quirks! That’s why we have the whole transformation, emitter,
mutation classification. It gets more detailed the more you look--”

“Well, obviously,” Midoriya tried to cut in.

“It’s like saying we don’t understand the human brain. Like, yeah, we don’t completely, but that
doesn’t mean we don’t know a lot. That’s totally the wrong way to look at it.”

“I’ve taken biology, Tali-chan.”

“But still!”

“But anyway, the whole quirk evolution thing has made humans more physically advanced outside
the quirk chromosome?” Midoriya brought them back to task. Shouto was kinda amazed. The
conversations he had witnessed at Inasa’s table were more… topical and inane. They talked about
things like training and movies and video games and stuff. It was rare for Shouto to witness actual
intelligent conversations.

“Yes!” Tali said, bouncing in her seat. “That’s why it’s called a quirk factor rather than just a quirk
chromosome. Even though we can trace the cause of most quirks physically to a new chromosome,
the rest of our DNA is affected and mutated by the presence of the quirk. But in the early days, our
genetics weren’t as thoroughly affected so it created a kind of negative physical feedback. Having a
quirk back then wasn’t just dangerous in the sense that people couldn’t control or understand them.
They were dangerous to the quirk user themselves.”

“So having quirks actually decreased life expectancy. That’s so interesting! But you said it still
exists in modern times, right? If we’re so much more durable now, then why-?”

“Genetics are still trying to suss out options. Evolution is always about survival, so it seems like
the development of such diverse quirks was to make us able to survive a diverse amount of
situations. In theory, in the future humankind, and hopefully animalkind, we'll have developed into
perfect survival machines because we’ve passed on the most durable survival quirks to the future
generations. Quirks will have mixed together to the most ideal form.”

“But if that’s true, it probably won’t be just one form,” Midoriya said, starting to play with his lip.
“After all, different quirks are good for different environments. Don’t you think it’s more likely
that specific races will form, with quirks specific to environments that populations live at?”

“Yeah, I can definitely see that--”

Tali was cut off my a sudden siren ringing out through the room. She quickly covered her ears, her
hearing apparently more sensitive than others’, and the crowd of the cafeteria started panicking.
Shouto hear the words ‘villains have gotten in’ before he, like the others, got swept into the
evacuating crowd.

Prison doctors suck.

That should be no surprise. What prison worth their salt would go around healing villains? They
definitely couldn’t afford someone with a healing quirk with how rare they were. So Katsuki was
basically stuck with a few unsympathetic crackpots who bandaged him up without looking twice at
him. His broken ribs were gonna be a problem for at least two months, and he’s gotten a stupid
scrape on his arm that was going to scar. he already hated it.

Worst of all, he had ended up looking weak, and depressed or not, that was something he refused to
be. It’s amazing how much easier hating other people was. Way better than hating yourself.

It doesn’t matter if I die.

SHUT UP, DEKU!

Fuck, Katsuki wasn’t doing this again. He had to keep his eyes on the prize. It didn’t matter that
this stupid prison system didn’t seem to give a fuck about him even though they were fucking
children . It didn’t matter that he owed a favor to whoever that curly-haired Deku-looking fucker
was. It didn’t matter that he hated himself.

He made a fucking promise. To himself and to Deku! He would be the number one hero, and he
didn’t break his promises. The moment he got out of this shithole he’d start rebuilding his life, and
he’d become number one. It didn’t matter that he’d be fifteen years late and that there were laws
about heroes having criminal records.

He’d… HE’D FIGURE IT OUT! HE’D CROSS THAT BRIDGE WHEN HE CAME TO IT.

For now, he just had to survive his stay at Piss Poor Penitentiary.

“Oi,” a voice said when he entered the prison cafeteria. He’d finally gotten off bedrest and he still
felt like absolute shit. Breathing was being a bitch, but he’d power through it. Katsuki turned and
spotted the curly-haired kid who’d rescued him. The kid was gesturing him towards his lunch
table.

Scowling, it took one glance towards Digger Dagaroo’s table to know sitting with the bastard was
his safest option. With his broken ribs and quirk suppressants, he didn’t like his chances in a fight,
even if he absolutely was planning revenge against the Austrailian naked mole rat cuck. Bakugou
was angry, not stupid. Fuming, he made his way to the curly-haired kid’s table.

“What do you want!?” he said, shoving his tray down and forcing himself not to wince when he
took his seat.

Curly Hair smirked. Up close, the scar on his cheek, a slice from the center of his eye down to his
chin, stood out starkly against his tan skin. He had piercing blue eyes that reminded Katsuki of All
Might, but his lips were the furthest thing from a hero’s smile. Instead he wore an expression of
sardonicism, like he was laughing at the world but also tired of it.

Katsuki wasn’t sure he liked him.

“Not much,” Curly Hair said, gesturing vaguely with a hand. “I guess you could say I want to be
friends.”
Katsuki glanced at the other kids at the table. One he couldn’t tell the age of because he was a
lizard person with bright purple hair, and the other was small and mousey and kept their shaved
head down like they were sleeping on the table. He seemed younger than them. Katsuki glanced
back at Curly Hair. “Why?”

The boy shrugged. “I’m looking for people of a certain moral standard.” He said that as though it
answered everything. “I’m Ghost, by the way. I imagine you were pretty out of it the last time we
met, so I forgive you for forgetting. This is Spinner,” he said, pointing to the lizard guy, “and
Romulus.” He pointed at the bald kid.

“Those aren’t your real names,” Katsuki growled irritably.

Ghost tilted his head. “No, we don’t generally use them here. After all,” he said, glancing at Naked
Mole Fucker, “if you make an enemy, having them know your family name when they get out can
cause… problems for you.”

Katsuki felt a vein throbbing in his forehead at the angry thought of someone trying to hurt his
family. He was definately taking the Australian fuck out. “Yeah, whatever.”

“Aren’t you going to introduce yourself?” the bald kid asked. He had an annoyingly nasally quiet
voice.

“ Tch .” Katsuki moodily shoved some food into his mouth. “As if I’m gonna give anything to a
bunch of villains.” He muttered. “I was better off handling things on my own.”

Ghost laughed out loud at that. “Oh, you’re cute.”

“It’s polite to share your name when others tell you theirs.” Romulus muttered darkly.

“We’re not villains,” Spinner said defensively. Offended. “Ghost just said we are ‘of a certain
moral standard’. What part of that says villain?”

Katsuki pulled an ugly face in response and was considering just leaving the table when Ghost
raised his hand in the universal ‘stop’ sign. “It’s okay, guys. His defensiveness is natural. After all,
he doesn’t know us from any more than he knows anyone else.”

“He still hasn’t given us something to call him.” Romulus hissed. Katsuki decided that he didn’t
like him. He still hadn’t lifted his head, so he was just whispering into his arms like a total creep.

“To clarify,” Ghost went on, smiling charismatically, “we’re the good guys, or at least as close to
good guys you can get in a prison. We’re vigilantes. Defenders of the innocent and crusaders
against the unjust and evil. Like heroes, only better.”

Katsuki scoffed, face stretching further in his disgust. “What, are you stupid? Heroes are the best.
Vigilantes are criminals like any other villain on the street. Why the fuck would you be a vigilante
when you could be a hero?”

This earned him a startling raspy laugh from bald baby kid, still from his arms. “Ohhoho, they got
you good…”

“Say that to my face, baldy!” Katsuki shot back automatically.

And finally, Romulus lifted his oversized head and Katsuki felt his stomach lurch. The kid had to
be eight or nine, but his face was scarred to shit. Like he’d been mauled by a wild animal. Katsuki
knew there were plenty of places where reconstructive surgery or quirks could put the messy
puzzle that was this kid’s face together so that it would look more human, but apparently kids in
prison didn’t have access to that. So he looked a bit like a potato that had been peeled with a
sharpened spoon.

“You still think there’s hope for you…” he rasped, which was not a good look on his already-
mangled face. The skin pulled weirdly across his cheeks at the motion, and his teeth were too
small for his big mouth. Like baby teeth set in an adult mouth. It was really unsettling. Katsuki
hated him instantly.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean!?”

“Romulus,” Ghost said, putting a hand on the creep’s shoulder without hesitation. “Be polite. He
doesn’t know how things work yet.”

“He’s brainwashed like the rest of them…” Potato Head muttered.

“Fuck you!” Katsuki said. Ghost shot him a glare, and Katsuki almost flinched.

“You need to mind your manners, too, Blast Caps, prison doesn’t play by the same rules as your
world of precious heroes. In here, there are no heroes to save you if you make the wrong enemy.”

“The guards--”

“Care only about staying alive and maintaining control. Corporal punishment is a bitch, but when
you’re dealing with future villains, you can never be too careful. There’s no telling when one of us
might snap.”

Katsuki shook his head. “This is all fucked. We’re kids. What the fuck ever happened to
rehibilitation? Isn’t that what these shitholes are for?” He’d been in juvie long enough to recognize
the indifference from the staff, but it still felt shitty and off. He’d heard heroes talk about saving
the villains, of rehabilitating them so they can rejoin society. He knew for a fact that All Might was
involved with a program that hired former villains after they got out of prison.

Now all three ‘vigilante’ teens laughed. It was a discordant sound. Ghost might have had a nice
laugh if it wasn’t so mocking. Potato Head had a raspy, breathy laugh that sounded like it hurt.
And Lizard Face’s laugh was more of a weird clicking noise.

“Do you need it spelled out for you?” Ghost asked, almost kindly.

“Fuck you. Fuck this. Goodbye.” Katsuki went to stand, but Ghost held up his hand, signaling him
to stop. Only it wasn’t just Katsuki who stopped. The entire cafeteria had risen to their feet with
him, and they were all looking at him, glaring, some with utensils and trays in their hands as
though they were preparing to attack. When Ghost raised his hand, they all froze. It was a chilling
display of power.

Slowly, Katsuki sat back down. The other prisoners returned to their lunch as though nothing
happened. Ghost smirked.

Katsuki licked his lips, wondering what the fuck he’s gotten himself into. “Alright, spell it out for
me,” he said in a more subdued voice.
Ghost had victory in his ice blue eyes. Katsuki marveled at how he could ever compare this creepy
fuck to Izuku. “First, I think you should apologize and give us a proper introduction. It’s only
polite.

Katsuki’s fist tightened, but the quirk suppressants prevented the sparks his palms were itching to
release. Katsuki wondered when that had become so comforting. Every time he felt even a little
insecure, setting off sparks reminded him he was powerful. Now he didn’t have that. It was a
strange thing to leave him feeling so helpless, but feeling the muscle flex and having nothing
happen was like losing a limb. Foreign and empty and terrifying.

Katsuki wasn’t on a playground anymore. He didn’t have a powerful quirk to protect him. He
wasn’t top dog, admired and cheered on by everyone. He was just a fifteen-year-old kid. Alone and
surrounded by enemies.

Through gritted teeth, he forced himself to say, “Sorry…” It physically hurt to say those words.
They were foreign in his mouth, but the real tragedy was that he was saying it to these fuckers
instead of Izuku. His first apology should have gone to that green-haired mess. But instead, he was
letting himself be threatened by some curly-haired freak. Pathetic.

“Thank you,” Ghost said, smiling politely. Potato face was laughing softly to himself, and if
Katsuki had the ability to set fires with his mind, he would start with that fucker. Was that how he
ended up so scarred? Katsuki would buy it. “Now your name? Or would you prefer we give you a
nickname?”

“No,” Katsuki sneered too quickly, on instinct. He continued in a more subdued voice. “No. Call
me…. call me Deku.”

It was fitting, given how useless he’d become. He’d earned it more than Deku had. (The wisps of
rage from the time Izuku gave up were still fresh in his mind, but he ignored it.)

“Deku…” Ghost said pensively. Even Potato Head looked up at that, frowning slightly. “If you
insist,” he said warily.

“So,” Katsuki said, tiredly coming back around to the beginning of their conversation. “What do
you want from me?”

Ghost tilted his head, watching Katsuki carefully. “The first thing you need to know,” he said
cautiously, “is that you can never be a hero.” Katsuki’s eyes shot up in a blazing glare, but Ghost
spoke quickly, words carefully chosen. “It’s not entirely your fault. It’s more to do with the system
than anything else. As far as the world is concerned, the moment you were sentenced you became
a villain whether you like it or not.”

“That’s not true. There’s tons of programs for prisoners. Rehabilitation shit. I hear about programs
all the fucking time,” Katsuki argued automatically.

“Do you see anyone getting rehabilitated?” Ghost said, gesturing to the grungy cafeteria around
them. “Look, I'll put it really simple for you. Our entire government is held up by the hero system.
The hero system functions under the power of taxes and merchandise. Our society pays the
government and the corporations so that heroes can save the day and entertain us. Heroes are
brands and monoliths, and if they were to suddenly disappear one day-- Beyond ‘villains’” (the
teen used air quotes) “taking over and destroying everything-- the government would collapse
because it lacks the infrastructure to support itself without a standing army and the vast amount of
funding it receives from Corporate Japan as a whole. The hero system is all about bread and
circuses. The bread is the merchandise, the entertainment is the heroes. So long as the people are
happy, it’s easy to ignore the fact that homelessness and unemployment is at an all-time high. It’s
easy to ignore the rampant discrimination and growing wage gap. None of those problems matter
when there’s the us-versus-them dialogue. Heroes vs. villains. Villains are a threat to our way of
life. Villains are the source of our problems. Villains have to be defeated.”

Katsuki’s first instinct was to go into denial. There was no way it was that simple; the dark-haired
teen was just trying to justify being a shitty person by talking big politics. But Katsuki didn’t have
much to argue with. He’d never considered the government much. Or things like homelessness and
the wage gap. He knew he lived in a nice neighborhood and his parents were fairly well off, given
his mom was a chemist and his dad was a fashion designer. But he knew there were a lot worse
places out there. Places where his mother forbade him from going on pain of death. Katsuki
couldn’t argue because he didn’t have enough information.

The dark-haired teen seemed to read his mind and smiled sharply. “The thing is, the hero system is
actually pretty fucking fragile. There’s one thing that stands between it and total collapse. Us. The
villains . Heroes would be nothing without an enemy to fight. And since the War of the Collapse is
over, that leaves us as petty thieves and common criminals. The system can’t survive without an
enemy, so they shape us into the enemy. They feed into our violence and insanity by abusing and
abandoning us, by starving us, by labelling us until we don’t have a choice in the matter. It’s either
die sad, jobless, homeless and alone, or become the very thing that they want you to be. A thief, a
villain, and a showman.”

Katuki felt a sort of pressure in his chest, in his lungs. It wasn’t anger exactly, it wasn’t fear either,
or guilt. It was… anxiety. He still didn’t have an argument.
“The moment you broke the law, you became a villain, Deku. And there’s no way out. It doesn’t
matter how minor the crime or how much you’ve grown or changed. It doesn’t matter if they let
you out. The mark ‘villain’ will be next to your name for the rest of your life because your records
say you are. People won’t hire a villain. People won’t sympathize with a villain. And they certainly
will never trust you enough to be a hero. You’re not here to be fixed, Deku. You’re here to be
ruined.”

Katsuki was breathing harshly, anger flooding over his fear and doubt like a wave at high tide,
familiar but impossible to fight. In an impressive show of restraint, Katsuki kept his voice calm.
“And I suppose you’re the solution…?”

Ghost smiled, and with his eyes closed, it seemed a little more genuine. “We’d like to be.”

Katsuki chewed his lip. “...Why me?”

Ghost was silent for a moment that seemed longer than necessary. “I heard you wanted to be a
hero,” he said in a measured tone. “I’d like to give you a chance… because the world needs more
real heroes.”

Katsuki felt the hair raise on his arms, and he hated this, because he knew Ghost was being
genuine. Even though everything he’d ever been told growing up told him he should be blasting
this guy to pieces or running in the opposite direction, he recognized that Ghost meant what he
said. He genuinely believed that Katsuki could be a hero, and that hurt almost as much as the fake
apology.

But the worst part was that it was tempting. Katsuki knew better, he was smarter than this, but it
was so tantalizingly tempting to just trust this stranger, this villain who had control over the whole
prison. He wanted to be a hero… he wanted to be someone people would admire.

“I’ll think about it,” he said, abnormally quiet. Tension still burned in his muscles demanding
retribution, demanding release, but he bit down on it. “I’m going to stand up and go to my cell
now.”

Ghost reached out and squeezed Katsuki’s shoulder. “Take your time.”

Crowds of students rushed out of the cafeteria in a panic and Midoriya, Todoroki, and Hitoshi got
caught up in the crowd and separated. Hitoshi’s forehead throbbed from the noise and he felt
annoyed that a school for heroes would panic so bad over one little alarm. He knew that more
classes were devoted to other subjects than heroics and that they were just kids. But panicking
never helped anyone, and it was definitely not helping now.

At some point Hitoshi got pressed against the window, and the first thing he noticed were reporters
rushing onto the grounds. They were probably the source of the alarm. The second thing he noticed
was some dust or dirt blowing in the wind around where the hole in the gate was. Someone had
made a hole in gate. How? What reporter had that kind of quirk?

The panic abruptly calmed down when a tall boy with glasses levitated above the crowd and
explained that the reporters were responsible for the break-in. He looked like an exit sign and had a
very loud booming voice. Hitoshi appreciated his effort, but he was still mentally cursing out the
crowd for being so stupid.

Eventually everyone calmly evacuated the school to a designated ‘safe zone’ and they ended up
waiting around for the teachers to give the all-clear. The entire safe room was a bit like a
gymnasium crossed with a storm shelter. Like the kind of place you’d go during a tsunami, only
nicer and bigger. UA had the funding for that, apparently, and Hitoshi suspected that this is where
people in the area would go to during a state of emergency.

It was difficult to find his friends again with so many students milling about, but eventually he
found Todoroki and Midoriya, who had apparently managed to stick together through the event.
Midoriya was muttering up a storm and Todoroki wasn’t stopping him, so if anything, they were
lucky he showed up.

“Hey, I have a question,” Hitoshi said, putting a hand on Midoriya’s shoulder to break him out of
his headspace. Todoroki sent him a genuinely grateful look that communicated without words just
how helpless he was. For a hero student with a powerful quirk, this kid was really socially
awkward. God help them, Midoriya was going to adopt him.

“Shinsou!” Midoriya said, looking relieved. “Good, you didn’t get hurt! Have you seen Tali? I
can't seem to find her anywhere.”

Hitoshi shook his head. “I haven’t seen her.”

Midoriya worried his lip. “Didn’t she say she’s claustrophobic at some point? I don’t think this
crowd would be good for her…”
Hitoshi didn’t remember her mentioning that at any point, but Midoriya had better retention than
him so he’d believe it. “Yeah… I don't know, we’ll look for her. But hey, you’re close to some
people in the news, right?”

Midoriya frowned. “Yes, but I hope the people I know have the common sense not to break onto
UA’s campus. The people out there today are gonna get in a lot of trouble.”

“Do you know if any of them have a dust quirk?”

“Dust quirk?”

“I got a glance out the window during evac and it looked like around the hole in the gate there was
dirt or dust or something.” Hitoshi shrugged.

Midoriya started muttering too quietly to be heard. Shinsou knew he was mentally flipping through
his notebooks and examining the supposed quirk they’re looking at. Todoroki looked politely
puzzled as well but didn’t say anything.

Finally Midoriya shook his head. “I don't think I know anyone with that kind of quirk. It seems a
bit flashy for a reporter, but I’d have to double-check that this is the quirk I think it is. I’d like to
get a sample of the dust, if possible. I also don’t know everyone in the business. There’s a ton of
freelance writers, and people are constantly getting fired and hired so can’t be sure there isn’t
someone with that quirk. I can ask around.”

“I’ll check with my father’s publicist too,” Todoroki offered, looking troubled. “They might
know.”

“Thanks,” Hitoshi said, giving the boy a pensive look.

“Oh, hey!” They were interrupted by a kid from the strategy club throwing his arm over
Midoriya’s shoulder, wearing a tight expression of panic. “Midoriya, my buddy, my friend, my
dude, my amigo, my bro. How you doing? What’s happening? You good?”

It might be because he had a similar quirk, but Hitoshi felt the compulsion of the kid’s quirk
against his mind, telling him Midoriya was closer friends with the boy than he was. A moment of
thought cleared it up, but Hitoshi still recognized that a quirk was being used.
“Oh, Hebi,” Midoriya blinked, managing to remember the kid’s name. Right, Hebi, the kid with
the lying quirk and the snakelike face. Snake oil? “I’m fine. What’s up?”

“Not much, not much,” Hebi said quickly, glancing over his shoulder at two heavyset second year
hero students. Ah. So that’s what he was up to. “So what are we talking about? Did I miss anything
interesting?”

Midoriya followed Hebi’s stare without much subtlety, but he seemed to catch on and forced a
smile onto his lips and spoke loudly. “Oh, you know, um, hey have you seen Tali? We’ve been
looking for her.”

Hebi’s face cleared with relief. “No, I can't say I have. Let’s go find her!”

And Hebi pulled Midoriya further into the crowd, notably in the opposite direction of the second
years. Hitoshi and Todoroki were just left standing there. The second years approached them, both
wearing annoyed expressions.

“Hey, do you know that kid?” one of them asked. He looked a bit like a gargoyle with grey skin,
wings and overlarge fangs on his bottom jaw.

“Kinda,” Hitoshi shrugged the same moment Todoroki gave the bluntest “No.” he’d ever heard.
Okay, Hitoshi was starting to like him. He might be quiet, weird, and vague, but at least he knew
the art of sass.

“Well,” the gargoyle boy growled at Hitoshi. “I suggest you keep your distance. He’s dangerous.”

Hitoshi felt a wave of annoyance, recognizing the attitude. “Is this because of his quirk?”

“You know what it is,” the gargoyle boy said darkly. Hitoshi took control of him and made eye
contact with the hitherto silent boy. “Gagori? What did you do to him!?”

“What do you think?” Hitoshi asked coldly.

“You--” the boy abruptly stopped, entering a trance.

“Neither of you will bother Hebi anymore.” He commanded. “Now go back to your classmates.”

The second years left, at some point getting jostled out of his control. Hitoshi sighed, the beginning
of a headache throbbing behind his eyes because he controlled more than one person at once.

Todoroki was staring at him.

Hitoshi shot him a glare. “You got a problem?”

“No,” the candy cane kid said, unreadable.

Hitoshi just sighed again and rubbed his hand over his face. “Come on, they’re gonna figure out
what I did in a moment.”

Hitoshi led them further into the crowd, Todoroki following without much question. He didn’t
seem particularly upset about Hitoshi’s display of power, but he was so difficult to read that
Hitoshi couldn’t be certain of his motives. So inevitably, he asked.

“What do you want with us?”

Todoroki blinked. “What?”

Hitoshi gave an annoyed hiss. “Why do you want to be friends with me and Izuku? What do you
want from us? What’s your angle?”

Todoroki stared at him for a long moment. He considered his answer, then without preamble
stated, “I accidentally eavesdropped on Midoriya, and he implied that he was suicidal. I want to
help him.”

Hitoshi… wasn’t expecting that. He pinched the bridge of his nose, headache suddenly ten times
worse. “You can’t be serious.”
“I have no reason to lie,” he said without emotion. He was like a robot or something. Hitoshi shook
his head, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to clear the roaring static and fear suddenly rising
around him. Nope. No , he’s not dealing with those feelings right now.

“And you want to help?” Hitoshi asked, trying to distract himself. Todoroki nodded. “That’s such a
hero thing.” Hitoshi scowled.

Todoroki’s brow scrunched up. “I do want to be a hero,” he said as though it was obvious.

“No shit,.” Hitoshi muttered. “Okay, just let me think for a minute.”

There were signs, of course. Midoriya had just as much of a history with depression and bullying as
Hitoshi did. He was constantly crying and seemed pretty reckless with their workout routine.
Hitsohi remembered the emotional breakdown Midoriya had after that run-in with the villain and
the cult girl. He hadn’t had a breakdown like that since, but Hitoshi should have known he wasn’t
okay. Goddamnit, Hitoshi sucked at emotions. He had no idea what to do.

Then something occurred to him. “Who was he talking to?” Midoriya didn’t pour his heart out to
just anyone. His only real friends outside of Hitoshi himself, were Inasa and Tali, and Hitoshi
didn’t get the impression that Midoriya shared anything too deep with them. They usually only
hang out at school or with Shinsou present.

Todoroki shrugged. “A blond boy. Kacchan? Midoriya implied that he was abusive.”

“Bakugou spoke to Izuku!” Shinsou shouted, alarmed. Todorki leaned back slightly.

“I guess?”

“Shit!” Hitoshi said, rubbing his forehead and looking around the gymnasium to see if Midoriya
was nearby. “The asshole broke his restraining order. Why didn’t Izuku tell me?”

Todoroki winced. “It seemed like a personal conversation...”

“No kidding,” Hitoshi said harshly before reigning his emotions back. He needed to stop lashing
out at Todoroki. It wasn’t his fault he ended up in the middle of this. “Look, thanks for letting me
know. I’ll handle it.”

Todoroki gave him a skeptical look, which was rude but also probably understandable given
Hitoshi wasn’t exactly the picture of mental health and emotional support. Still rude.

“I’ll help,” Todoroki decided in a tone that brokered no argument.

“Great, so you have a plan to help?” Hitoshi asked, skeptical, borderline mocking, but lowkey
hoping that Todoroki knew what he was doing. Because Hitoshi definitely didn’t. “You know a
good therapist?”

“No,” Todoroki said using that annoyingly blunt and unhelpful tone. Hitoshi honestly wasn’t
surprised. The boy seemed more socially awkward than Hitoshi himself, and that was an
achievement. They were doomed.

“We could go to an adult?” Hitoshi considered. Todoroki lifted his eyebrows, communicating that
he didn’t think much of the idea. Hitoshi inwardly sighed, because he couldn’t think of an adult he
trusted enough to tell about Izuku’s mental health. His moms were always busy with work, Auntie
Inko didn’t seem like she would handle the news well, and he didn’t know Snipe-sensei or Aizawa-
sensei well enough to trust either of them. And that was the end of adults he would even consider
telling. “What about your dad? He’s a hero, he should be trained to deal with this kind of thing,
right?”

Todoroki’s face darkened so drastically that it was startling. It was the most emotion he’d shown
so far. “Endeavor is the worst person for Midoriya to meet in his state. Keep him away from him.”

“Okay?” Hitoshi said in a questioning tone.

“Endeavor is a bastard,” Todoroki stated icily.

“Okay,” Hitoshi said again, believing him. Geez, what was it with the top ten heroes? All Might
didn’t seem like a bad person, but he definitely didn’t have his shit together. And now he was
hearing Endeavor was a dick from his own son? Hitoshi hoped the other heroes, particularly the
ones teaching them, were better than them.
Before they could decide on an actual plan, Present Mic called from the door of the room that they
were clear to head back to class for seventh period. The crowd started moving and making more
noise.

“We’ll talk later.” Shinsou decided.

Todoroki nodded before he was swept up in the crowd.

It was past midnight, and they were at a children's playground. Koichi didn’t like this, but since his
promotion he’d been caught up in the chaos of being a leader. Learning the ropes, meeting people,
receiving a fair number of warnings. It was all slightly overwhelming, but Koichi was starting to
get his feet under him. He had people depending on him now, and he had a juvie raid to lead
within the next month. He had to have his shit together.

Today they were waiting to meet another vigilante-- one that was currently undercover at UA.
They had a warning for them, and hopefully the vigilante would be able to provide information
back. They had, after all, had a busy day, according to the news. A break-in at UA was nothing to
sneeze at.

“Fancy seeing you here,” a feminine but husky voice said. As if summoned by Koichi’s thoughts,
the vigilante had appeared. She was dressed garishly, like a modern-day lolita, which made her
masquerade mask less odd. Her dress was dark blue and patterned with sparkling snowflakes.
There were several layers of skirt, a bustle, and possibly a corset. It was utterly impractical. What
was visible of her face was caked with concealer and powder. Her lips were painted a dark red. her
hair was clearly a wig, white like snow. She even had a straw bonnet trimmed with a blue that
matched her dress and a white lace parasol.

It was utterly over-the-top, but Koichi realized that he’d never be able to recognize the girl outside
this getup, so it definitely served a purpose.

“Countess de Winter,” Aramis greeted warmly, taking her hand and kissing it even though it was
gloved. “It’s a pleasure as always.”

“You flatter me.” The student smiled. Koichi wondered how old she was and gave Aramis a stern
look. The exchange wasn’t overly flirty, but still. “And who’s his handsome fellow?” She turned
her attention to Koichi.
Despite himself, Koichi found himself flushing. “Uh...”

The young woman giggled behind her hand. “Oh, articulate too. You must be quite the charmer.”

“Uh--” Koichi said again, feeling stupid becuase he’s literally worked with a half-dressed woman
for years, but this teenager who was completely overdressed was making him feel flustered. It was
probably because Pop☆Step was a lot meaner than this girl appeared to be.

Aramis gave him an amused look but put him out of his misery anyway. “This is Athos. A new
hire. I’ve been showing him the ropes, since he replaced our old friend.”

“Oh, naturally.” The girl pulled out a silk fan and hid her face behind it. She was really selling this
whole outfit, huh? “But what of our dear D'artanian? I’ve missed him.”

“He’ll be back at work in a couple weeks, you needn’t worry your pretty head.” Aramis agreed.
Koichi didn’t know D’artanian as well as some of the others, but even he had spoken to the
charismatic young man. He had an energy around him that was intense and magnetic. It made
Koichi a bit nervous at times, but he was glad the boy was on their side.

“And I trust your schooling has been going well?” Aramis continued, taking a sip of his bubble tea.
A common habit for speaking in public was doing things that concealed their lips from lip reading.
That actually explained the fan, Koichi realized belatedly.

“Not as much as I'd like,” the woman hummed sadly. “Everyone’s always trampling and shouting.
It’s quite annoying, I can hardly learn anything with them disrupting every second” Koichi
recognized the double speak. She was referring to the earlier break-in. There was too much foot
traffic for her to get any information about it.

“Pity, perhaps you should complain to a teacher?” Aramis suggested.

“I just might,” the countess said consideringly. “Oh! I did join a club, though. It seems like it’s
going to be a really productive use of my time. Will be good for the future.”

“College, right? Koichi tried to help the conversation forward while being natural. “What’s the
club for, if you don’t mind me asking?”
The woman’s indigo eyes glinted with amusement. “The strategy game club. We play all sorts of
tricky games like mahjong and chess. I’m learning a lot. Actually one of your old friends is running
it, did you hear Hobo-san became a teacher? Wild, right?”

It took a moment longer than it should have to realize that Hobo-san was Eraserhead. “Yeah,”
Koichi said genuinely. Aizawa, as helpful as he was sometimes, was the last person he’d expect to
become a teacher. Those poor children. “Is he as bad as I’m imagining?”

That startled a louder, deeper laugh from the countess. “He’s definitely intense.”

“Good luck, then.”

The woman chuckled again. “But what about you guys? I’ve admittedly been going a bit stir crazy.
How’s work?”

“Work’s still work.” Aramis shrugged. “There has been some interesting rumors floating around,
though.”

“Oh?”

“You know Old Scratch?” Aramis asked. “Apparently he’s putting together a band. He might even
try to play at your school dance, if he’s lucky.”

This earned a frown. Countess de Winter fanned herself. “Well, it’ll be awhile before the school
has a dance, with how stirred up people are from the year just beginning.”

“I’d say that’s more a reason to have a dance,” Koichi said cautiously, “they might hold it as a
surprise.”

“Oh… well, Old Scratch is a terrible musician. Hopefully the school will be sensible enough not to
let him in.”
 “Hopefully.” Aramis agreed. He checked his watch. “It’s getting late, I think it’s about time you
head home.”

“Yes,” the woman said daintily. “You’re right, it is a school night.”

“You have a nice night,” Aramis said, taking her hand and shaking it. “Oh, and before I forget,
Marbre was fired. I suggest you keep an eye out for him. He always was a bit unstable.”

“Thank you for the warning!” the countess gasped. “I’ll be careful.”

“That’s all I ask.” Aramis nodded.

“Well, goodbye and goodnight to you too, Athos. It was a pleasure meeting you.”

“It was nice to meet you too, Miss de Winter!”

The woman’s parting giggle echoed into the night.

Chapter End Notes

[Shinsou and todoroki: we need to help our friend with his emotional problems.
Shinsou and todoroki: …
Shinsou and todroki: how the fuck do we do that?

I know this was an exposition-heavy chapter, but i’m gearing up for the usj, so i had to
get as much out as possible. It’s tricky because the pace is gonna end up really
breakneck later on so i need to get the info to you while I can

-Unfortunately endeavor is a thing. Tragically he’s a relevant character even though i

hate him.
-so, I accidently called detective senbi, detective kenbi for a bit. I’ve hopefully fixed
all the mistakes. Sorry ^///^
-the bakugou scene turned out more intense than I thought it would, but his character
development made me cry

who wants to guess who the countess is?

Discord:
https://discord.gg/SEkN8ee
Tumblr:
https://amarelibertius.tumblr.com
 Making an Entrance (and an Exit)
Chapter Summary

Villains invade the USJ, the ugh club face another door problem

Chapter Notes

Since I know it might confuse people, i decided to move Monoma into 1-a since
there’s an open spot and they can use a proper asshole. he’ll be more interesting than
an OC

See the end of the chapter for more notes

The bus ride to the USJ was slightly irritating for Shouto. Mostly because Uraraka had dragged
him to sit in one of the front sideways facing seats so he could be surrounded on all sides by
people. Loud people.

He was trying very hard to get into a book despite them when Uraraka touched his arm. He
flinched and shot her a glare but she just smiled at him, apparently determined to ignore his
annoyance.

“Soooooo,” Uraraka asked, with the same kind of grin his sister got when she was going to tease
him. “How was your lunch date with Midoriya?”

“It wasn’t a date,” he said flatly, narrowing his eyes at her. “And it went fine… I think.”

“Todo-kun got a date?!” Mina said, entering Shouto’s personal space with a sudden, unnecessary
intensity.

“It wasn’t a date.” He repeated.

“With who!? With who!?” Mina asked eagerly, turning to Uraraka.

Uraraka met her eagerness with the kind of sunniness that made Shouto want to scoot away from
her. “Midoriya Izuku! You know, that cute green-haired kid from general studies. The quirkless
one.”

“Oh, him!” Mina replied. “Inasa’s friend, right? The scrawny one? Eheheheh, you think he’s cute?”

“Don’t make it weird, Mina,” Uraraka shot back. The speed they were talking at was slightly
impressive and overwhelming to Shouto.

“What are you talking about?” Inasa cut in. “Why are you talking about Midoriya?”

“Todoroki has a crush on him,” Mina said without hesitation. Shouto shot an icy glare at her.

“Wait! That’s why you wanted to talk to him!?” Inasa said entirely too loudly, drawing the
attention of the other students. His eyes were wide, and he seemed to be having a paradigm shift.

“Who wanted to talk to who?” Kaminari asked, looking just as excited to get in on the gossip.

“Todoroki has a crush on the quirkless kid!” Mina repeated rudely.

“ The quirkless kid, ” Monoma sneered, ruder. “What possible interest could he have in the
quirkless kid? He’s below us.”

“Hey,” Kaminari snapped, suddenly defensive. “Don’t go looking down a quirkless people!
They’re just as good as anyone else.”

“Oh, please, ” Monoma scoffed, earning several frowns.

“Excuse you.” Kaminari actually sounded offended. “My uncle is quirkless, and he happens to be
the greatest , so you can take your superiority and shove it where the sun doesn't shine.”

“Oh, yeah,” Monoma rolled his eyes, “and let me guess, he’s a garbage man or writer or
something. He must be making a real difference.”
“Fuck you!”

“Yeah! Midoriya is amazing,” Inasa cut in. “You don’t even know him!”

“They’re useless,” Monoma spat back. “They barely contribute to society and are statistically more
likely to either die or go nuts! What do you want from me?”

“Now, everyone, calm down!” Iida said, doing his strange hand chops. “We shouldn’t get into a
political argument. This is a school trip, we should focus on the mission ahead of us!”

“Midoriya and my uncle’s right to be treated like regular people isn’t a political debate!” Kaminari
huffed. It was honestly surprising to see him get so worked up. He was normally so dopey it was
hard to believe he had actual beliefs. He turned and glared at Monoma. “You have no idea how
damaging that kind of attitude is to quirkless people. I’d say it’s pretty unheroic.” Monoma’s face
darkened dramatically. “And…” Kaminari said holding up a finger and waving it around sassily.
“That Midoriya kid has already made a difference. He’s the first quirkless person to make it into
UA!”

“He made it into a school, big freaking deal--”

“Enough!” Yaoyorozu shouted, flexing her recent position as class president. “Kaminari, switch
seats with Tokoyami. Monoma, switch places with Iida. No more arguing.”

The two blonds exchanged dirty looks, but listened, Kaminari going to the back of the bus and
Monoma to the front.

A tense silence hung in the air for a moment, but it was ruined by Mina turning to Shouto and
asking, “But, really, you’re dating the quirkless kid?”

“No,” Shouto answered, finally being addressed. “We’re just friends.”

“But you have a crush on him?” Uraraka persisted.

“Why would I want to crush him? He’s my friend, and not much of a threat to me,” Shouto said,
blinking slowly and treating it as something obvious.

“Oh, honey.” It was Hagakure who spoke. All the girls were suddenly a lot closer to him and
sharing sympathetic looks.

“What?” Shouto asked, feeling vaguely alarmed.

“A crush is when you like someone a lot. You know, in a way that makes your heart speed up and
makes you blush. And you’re always excited to see them and you want to spend more time with
them.”

“Oh,” Shouto said, feeling stupid.

“How do you not know what a crush is?” Sero said, looking like he was close to bursting into
laughter but holding back.

“I don’t know slang,” Shouto said flatly, annoyed.

“It’s not even slang--”

“Shhhh,” Mina shushed Sero. Then she gripped onto Shouto’s arm, painfully tight like she didn’t
want him to escape. “We’ll teach you.”

Recognizing the threat for what it was, Shouto let out a cold, “Fine.”

Mina smiled, and he had the foreboding feeling that he had signed a deal with the devil. He
probably should have fought harder to be uninvolved, but that seemed like it’d require an
unnecessary amount of effort. Hopefully learning slang wouldn’t be too time-consuming. He didn’t
particularly like Mina.

“But you do have feelings for Midoriya, right?” Uraraka said, still hung up on that.
“I guess…?” Shouto said uncertainly. He really just wanted this conversation to be over already.
He did want to spend more time with Midoriya, and the boy was cute in his own way. His heart
had definitely sped up when he was eavesdropping, so there was that. But Shouto still felt rather
certain he was missing something.

Uraraka seemed to glow from the inside, the way she was smiling at him. “Then I'll help you!”

“NO!” Inasa shouted urgently from across the aisle. “Todoroki can’t get with Midoriya! Midoriya
is meant to be with Shinsou! They’re destined to be with each other!”

“Are they already dating?” Uraraka asked with narrowed eyes.

“Well, no,” Inasa said defensively, “but if you see them together--”

“Then you still have a chance!” Uraraka said, grinning sharply at Shouto. He glanced around,
feeling rather helpless. “I’ve always wanted to be a wingwoman.”

“You don’t have wings.”

“No! You can’t, Midoriya and Shinsou are soulmates. You should see them together. They’re
totally in love!” Inasa insisted.

“They are really close…” Hagakure agreed.

“I like Shinsou, too?” Shouto tried. The general intensity between Uraraka and Inasa and Mina and
Hagakure was starting to get uncomfortable.

“Awwwww,” Mina said, not at all helping the mood. “We have a full-blown love triangle on our
hands, don’t we? Todo-kun is definitely going to win, though. He’s hot, angsty, and in the hero
course. What does that general course kid have?”

“Years of friendship?” Hagakure said, the sleeves of her uniform crossing.

“And he saved Midoriya from a villain one time, and they’re both trying for the hero course,” Inasa
said pointedly.

“WHAT!?” a startled Iida yelped.

“So all you have to do is save him too, Todoroki! It shouldn’t be hard, since you’re in the hero
course and Shinsou isn’t, right?” Uraraka said optimistically.

“The quirkless boy can’t be in the hero course!” Iida went on. “It’s too dangerous! He’ll get
killed!”

“What do you mean, a quirkless kid can’t be in the hero course!?” Kaminari shouted from the back
of the bus.

“He’s just stating facts!” Monoma shouted back snidely.

“Please, Todoroki,” Inasa said, “your passion is admirable, and I respect your feelings, but
Midoriya has to end up with Shinsou. They belong together.”

“If you respect his feelings, you’d let him try to woo Midoriya. It’s Midoriya’s choice in the end,
right?” Mina said cooly.

“Could you guys shut up?” Jirou snapped. “You’re all really loud, and no one cares--”

“Calm down, Kaminari, Monoma.” Momo tried. “Both your opinions are valid, but that doesn’t
mean you need to shout--”

“I’m with Inasa.” Hagakure said. “Midoriya and Shinsou are tight.”

Shouto felt like sinking into his seat away from all the noise and shouting, but his upbringing kept
him ramrod in his seat. Everyone was talking at once, seemingly about him and his new friends,
but he didn’t know enough about what was going on to really put an end to the arguing. The
temperature began to drop with his annoyance. The only person who didn’t seem to be arguing was
Aoyama, who seemed to be napping, but the moment he felt Shouto’s eyes on him, he cracked his
own open and winked. Shouto found the move really strange but not out of character.

“ENOUGH!” Aizawa roared over the noise. Everyone was instantly silenced. “We’ve almost
arrived, and when we’re there, we are going to focus on saving people. Not dating. Not politics.
Not whatever other nonsense you’ve gotten into your head. We’re supposed to be professionals.
Stop wasting my time.”

A number of people looked sheepish under his harsh glare, but Kaminari and Monoma just looked
petulant. Iida started worrying his lip.

The bus arrived at their destination, and Shouto tried to put thoughts of the bus ride behind him.

A task that became startlingly easy when a small black hole opened up in the air above the central
plaza.

“Villains!”

The ride to the USJ was considerably more subdued for the strategy game club.

The day had started with them being pulled out of class by Snipe-sensei and excused for a club
activity. It was a surprise, but still exciting. They hadn’t held a meeting since the first introductory
day, but already it looked like they were being thrown into the thick of things. They found out that
Snipe-sensei and Midnight-sensei were the other people running the club. A substitute would be
teaching Izuku and Shinsou’s class.

The strategy game club piled onto their bus around the back of the school with an air of excitement
and tension. Hagakure and Aoyama were missing, but it turned out to be because they were in the
group they’d be observing.

That was the point of the field trip. They’d be observing a hero class while they worked at the
Unforeseen Situation Joint. They’d be taking notes and be given tips on how to better observe their
surroundings. They’d be taking note of things the hero class failed to notice and deciding how to be
more situationally aware in the future themselves.

Izuku was going to be in his element, but was still excited to get even more tips for his research.
It’d also be fun to see how the hero class did things. All in all, he was practically vibrating.

“So,” Hebi, the magician boy, said, “we’re actually doing this. We’re actually going to be learning
hero stuff. Isn’t that exciting?” He looked excited, but his tone was slightly tense.

“Yeah!” Izuku agreed. “I know we’re just gonna be watching, but it feels like we’re one step closer
to going underground.”

A few people made noises of agreement.

Kuroiro, the 1-b shadow boy, scoffed. “Speak for yourself. Shoda and I have already been training
to be heroes. One day of training still leaves you leagues behind.”

“Don’t be a jerk.” Shoda murmured. “You were terrified our first day with Vlad King and everyone
knew it.”

“Silence,” Kuroiro said too quickly. “I was not afraid.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being afraid,” Izuku said, offering the boy a smile. Kuroiro blinked at
him.

Then he hummed and looked away. “Perhaps we are less likely to be friends than I anticipated. No
one who smiles so brightly could know the embrace of the sweet, neverending void. The
existential terror it reaps on one’s soul.”

Izuku wilted a little at being told they weren’t going to be friends, but Shinsou just rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, we were holding our breath for you, edgelord.”

Kuroiro made a face, but Fuji cut in. “We need a name.”

“What?” Blockhead asked, seeming as though he was startled from his thoughts.

“‘The strategy game club’ is too long and clunky.” She said. Kabuki whistled in agreement. They
were wearing the maiden mask again, though Izuku had caught them double-checking the other
masks in their backpack.

“I guess.” Shinsou acknowledged.

“That’s true.” Shoda said. “I figured that was part of the point, though. You know, to keep people
from wanting to join?”

“Yeah, but that’s boring,” Fuji said pointedly. “I’m not saying we should spell out to the world that
we’re the underground hero club, but we can come up with something better, I’m sure.”

“The Knights of the Darkened Kingdom,” Kuroiro suggested automatically.

“No.” Pretty much everyone agreed.

“The Needs More Sleep club,” Shinsou jokingly suggested.

“True, but no.” Fuji said.

Kabuki made a whistling noise and signed to Fuji. Fuji tilted her head and said, “Nah.”

“What did they say?” Blockhead asked, sounding irritated. It occurred to Izuku that he probably
couldn’t detect their sign very well, having to navigate with echolocation and all.

“The Cult of Eraserhead,” Fuji supplied, earning a startled laugh from Shinsou and Hebi.

“We should come back to that,” Hebi grinned, “but seeing as the club isn’t just Eraser, that seems a
bit unfair.”

“The Cult of Nedzu?” Shoda said in wondering tone.

“NO!” Snipe shouted back at him in the tone parents use when preventing their child from killing
themselves. “NO CULTS TO NEDZU! NEVER AGAIN!”

“Okay,” Shoda said, looking startled.

Hebi’s grin was a bit on the sleazy side. “There’s a story there, and I want to hear it.”

“No, no you don’t,” Snipe said in a tone that brokered no argument. He settled back in his seat,
seeming determined to ignore them.

“Okay then...” Fuji gave a nervous laugh.

“How about the UGH Club?” Izuku suggested, having been wracking his brain for a name since
the conversation began. “UGH as in UnderGround Hero, but also because we’re all kinda tired and
likely to make the ‘ugh’ sound. It also works if anyone hears us talking about it because it sounds
like we’re complaining.”

There was a moment of contemplative silence. Then Fuji slowly nodded. “That’s pretty clever. I
like it.”

“Captures both my apathy and my constant desire to be asleep.” Shinsou agreed.

“And has a solid backup lie.” Hebi nodded.

Kabuki whistled in agreement. Everyone was nodding. It seemed decided by everyone except Tali,
who hadn’t spoken a word.

Tali had been staring out the window and picking at her split ends since she got on the bus. She
hadn’t said a word this entire time. It was out of character for her. However, she wasn’t the only
one who seemed nervous that day. Blockhead had been a bit twitchy, and Hebi wouldn’t stop
messing with a coin, but Tali was the most noticeably zoned out.

Shinsou nudged Tali. “Something wrong?”

She blinked from her thoughts and glanced around at them.

“I have a bad feeling,” she said quietly. The positive mood dropped instantly. Snipe sat up
straighter in his seat, eyes bright and alert.

“I feel it too,” Blockhead said in a low voice. Kabuki whistled nervously, but was obviously
backing them up.

“What do you mean?” Shinsou asked, frowning. Snipe had turned around in his seat and was
listening intently.

Tali shrugged, uncomfortable. “Just a gut feeling, you know? Like something bad is going to
happen…”

“Now that you mention it,” Izuku said, “I feel it too.” He’d been feeling anxious all day but figured
it was just because he was excited for the trip. The moment Tali pointed out that it was a gut
feeling, his own had doubled in intensity. Oh boy, that was going to be a problem eventually. If his
anxiety sometimes was a gut instinct, he was going to have a hard time telling when he was
overreacting.

“You reckon you can give me more details, anything more specific?” Snipe asked in a serious tone.

Tali shrugged rubbing her wrists, one of her strange nervous habits. “No? I don’t know… I wanna
say villains, but that’s ridiculous. We’re still on campus, right?”

Shinsou and Izuku immediately made eye contact, remembering the security breach from the day
before. They weren’t the only ones who made the connection. Fuji began fiddling with her phone.
Hebi’s coin started doing flips between his fingers and randomly vanishing. Kabuki started
checking their masks again. Blockhead’s blank face was inscrutable as ever.

The only ones who didn’t seem anxious were the two hero students. Shoda’s expression simply
became determined, and Kuroiro smiled ominously. Both were preparing themselves to face
villains, as it would be their job before too long, after all.
Snipe snapped to get their attention. “Now listen ‘ere, kids. The fact that y’all’re gettin’ gut
feelings is a good thing. It’ll help with yer jobs and keep yah outta trouble. But I’ll tell yah the
brass tacks of the matter: heroes, even underground ones, often have ta go towards the bad
feelings.” Shinsou and Izuku’s resolve hardened even as some of the others looked more anxious.
“Guts give us a direction ta follow. They help us dodge bullets if we hafta. But they’re jus’ another
tool on our belts.”

“But we’re not trained yet,” Hebi said, tilting his head in a way that made him seem smaller. “If it
is villains, you can’t really expect us to deal with them.”

Snipe’s expression was impossible to read behind his mask. “Ta be honest, I'm hopin’ y’all’re
wrong about this. But I’m getting a funny feelin’ too. We’ll be careful. UA’s pretty secure, but I'll
definitely be callin’ Nedzu when we reach the USJ ta have ‘im keep an eye on things. Chances are,
it won’t be a major incident. An’ even if it is, we won’t let you kiddos be directly involved. We
teachers will evacuate ya and the hero course students an’ handle the threat ourselves. Ya hear?”

The students yet again exchanged looks, but nodded solemnly. The small amount of enthusiasm
they felt earlier was all but dead now.

“If it makes ya feel better,” Snipe said, reading the mood, “All Might is a teacher overseein’ the
hero course. So I doubt there’ll be much we can’t handle.”

Izuku leaned closer to Shinsou. While most of them seemed slightly comforted by that, he and
Shinsou knew about his time limit. The foreboding feeling wouldn’t fade. All Might was a good
hero. The best. And it was probably something small…

Things would be fine.

Yagi had been wrapped up settling petty crimes all morning. Unfortunately for him, he had reached
his limit and would have to miss teaching his class. The hero tried to comfort himself in the fact
that it was something of a freebie. Rescue work, while important and under his purview, was a
considerably less complicated class than battle training. And with Thirteen on site, his students
would be in good hands.

In the meantime, Yagi would try to focus on more pressing matters. As he sat in principal Nedzu’s
office, they went over potential successors. After being rejected by both Midoriya and Mirio, he
was feeling rather downtrodden and rather anxious. The amount of people who knew about One
For All had somehow tripled in as many months, and none of them were his successor. All Might
had contemplated asking the Shinsou boy, but his quirk was already dangerously powerful, and the
boy had made it clear enough that he wasn’t interested in being a symbol.

Nedzu seemed rather set on either Uraraka or Inasa. Both were intelligent, determined, and
powerful. They were also conveniently close to two out of three of the students he already revealed
his quirk to. They were already in the hero course. They seemed like good enough options, and yet
Yagi still found himself hesitating. They were wrapped up in the mess of his first class, and well…
he wasn’t really attached to them.

It was a silly thing to get stuck on. Yagi wasn’t really attached to anyone these days. But with
Midoriya, it had seemed like destiny. A fellow quirkless boy. Someone brave enough to fight even
when powerless. A little him. But Midoriya had rejected him. Mirio was a little too similar to Yagi,
startlingly so. Yagi could see why Nighteye had chosen him, but Mirio, similar to Yagi, had
decided to forge his own path. Both seemed to think that his quirk was cheating somehow. It
honestly made Yagi feel a little guilty. Where would he have been if he hadn’t chosen One For All,
if he had tried to become a quirkless hero years earlier when the prejudice wasn’t so ingrained in
society?

Back in Yagi’s day… well, things were different. Yes, being quirkless was rather hard, with the
war and rather silly propaganda floating around.. But then, there had been more of them. Quirkless
people accounted for about half of the population. He’d have had so much more support than
Midoriya. He might have been able to change things. Create a standard.

But instead, he chose One For All.

He had to, Yagi reminded himself. Someone had to stop All For One. Someone needed to be a
symbol of peace. He created a world where people… some people, at least, could feel safe. That
meant something. It had to. He had saved countless lives with his quirk. No, Yagi reminded
himself, he’d made the right choice.

“What about that Kirishima boy?” Yagi said in a considering tone. “He seemed to have his heart in
the right place…”

“I’m not sure he has the right temperament.” Nedzu hummed. “He’s in the habit of following
others’ lead, and is prone to bouts of insecurity. I doubt he’d handle the pressure well.”

Yagi gave the animal hero a puzzled look. “We’re only two weeks into the semester.”
Nezu shrugged, smiling mysteriously. “I have my ways of getting information. Don’t worry about
it.”

Yagi frowned to himself but dropped the subject. The less you questioned Nedzu’s ways, the better.

“Still, insecurity can be overcome.” Yagi pressed. Kirishima was someone he could see shining
brightly, if given the chance.

“Yes, but with time,” Nedzu said patiently. “Time that you don’t have, old friend. If you’re not
careful, you’ll leave your successor as woefully unprepared as you had been.”

“I suppose…” Yagi sighed, still staring at the two files. “I’ll keep an eye on them, at least.”

“Don’t wait too long,” Nedzu said wisely. “The day Nighteye predicted fast approaches.”

Yagi nodded, a distant unease working it’s way through his gut. “Something is wrong.” He
realized.

Nedzu was immediately alert, and went to his computer. “The USJ security system has gone
offline. I’ll call the teachers. You go ahead.”

Yagi was already out the door.

“Take care of them,” Nedzu said to Yagi’s back, frowning down at his tea. The security system
wasn’t something that could normally be turned off… not unless someone was in the system
already. This was troubling, indeed.

The UGH Club were let into the control room/observation deck from a back door. The office was
an open room with various office chairs, and a wall of TV screens taking footage of the entire USJ.
In front of each section (they were arranged by area) was a switchboard with too many buttons to
tell what did what. There were also opaque windows that could be seen out of but not into. It gave
them quite the view of the USJ. It was really impressive.
Snipe had barely begun explaining what they would be doing when something strange appeared on
the center monitor. A weird black shadow.

“Is there something wrong with the monitor?” Fuji wondered, tapping it with one of her long black
fingers.

“It’s not just the monitor,” Tali said, staring out the large window at the center plaza.

“Villains.” Izuku breathed.

Shigaraki Tomura stepped out into the plaza, the anticipation he associated with going after raid
bosses after hours of grinding buzzing under his skin. The cannon fodder spread out around him,
excited to be making history and happy to flex their powers. They were beneath him, but so long as
they served their purpose, he didn’t care what they did.

Kuroguri moved ahead to handle the students. It was exciting to imagine their bright, hopeful
smiles fading into looks of fear as they died. They were so young, they were hardly a threat. But,
like the low-level villains, they were ultimately just cannon fodder standing between him and All
Might.

And yet, All Might was nowhere to be seen.

WHERE THE FUCK IS HE!? HE’S SUPPOSED TO BE HERE! THE SPY SAID HE WAS
GOING TO BE HERE. WHERE THE FUCK IS THE BOSS?!

A miniboss, Eraserhead, rushed towards him, cutting through the crowd like art. If he was a killer
he’d be useful, but he’s a hero so he’d have to die. Still, he’d thought the thugs they hired would
get at least a shot or two in. Pity.

An unbearable itching filled his throat, and Tomura looked around once more, trying to find All
Might. HE WASN’T HERE. THE BASTARD.

He’d just have to kill the kids until he showed up. That was how these things sometimes worked.
Kill the minibosses to bring out the big boss. How annoying.
Fine, then. Eraserhead first.

“Is that--?” Shinsou murmured, staring at the screen.

Izuku smacked himself on the forehead. “Why didn’t I think of him before. We were just talking
about disintegration quirks, how did I not think of him?”

Snipe’s sharp eyes turned on him. “You know this man?”

“We had a minor villain encounter,” Shinsou answered readily. “Nothing came of it because no
one got hurt.”

Snipe merely nodded. “Anything you can give me?”

“He has a disintegration quirk. Seems to act relatively slowly, requires him to touch you with all
five fingers. He was childish, seemed to think we’re in a video game,” Izuku said quickly.

“A’ight.”

“The ground line isn’t working,” Fuji said, putting the red phone down. “Is Aizawa going to be
okay?”

Snipe straightened and took on a manly stance. “He will be. I hafta go back him up, though. Make
your way to the fire exits, even during a lockdown they should still open from the inside.”

There were some protests, but Snipe was already moving to the exit. His eyes paused on Izuku. He
pulled a small-caliber gun from his belt and handed it to the boy. “This has non-lethal rounds, but I
don't want ya ta put a finger on that trigger unless you know exactly where the bullet’s going. Only
self-defense, ya hear?”

Then he was out the door before Izuku could respond. He held the gun away from his body, feeling
rather intimidated by it.
“We need to move,” Shoda said, looking pale and unprepared. Blockhead seemed close to
hyperventilating. Fuji and Kabuki were shoulder-to-shoulder, holding each other’s hands. Hebi was
trying his cellphone. Kuroiro was letting off a strange aura, and Tali still stood at the window,
staring out it with a thousand-yard stare.

Izuku, for his part, felt strangely calm. Apparently it’s easier to think during an emergency when he
wasn’t in the middle of an emotional breakdown. The idea was strangely comforting, though
everything was edged with adrenaline at this point.

Izuku touched Tali to bring her out of her trance. She flinched badly, nearly hitting him, but then
she blinked at the room and shook her head as though trying to wake herself up. She took several
deep breaths and then, calmer, knelt and pulled a foldable knife from her boot.

“Right,” she said breathlessly. “Right. The fire exits.”

“Blockhead?” Izuku asked, turning to the trembling boy.

He startled, too. “ WHAT !?”

“I need you to use your quirk on the building and lead us to the nearest exit,” Izuku commanded
calmly.

“Right, right--” the boy said, shaking his head before bending at the hip and touching the top of his
cube head to the nearest wall. There was a moment of tense silence. In the distance, the sound of
gunshots started ringing out. Snipe had joined the fray, but the sound wasn’t comforting.

When he rose again, he nodded to himself. “Exit. I can do that. Getting out sounds perfect.”

“The hero kids have been teleported!” Fuji reacted to the screens, getting everyone's attention. Sure
enough, the various hero students were appearing all over the USJ, looking lost and startled.

“That means they’ll have a harder time getting out.” Shinsou frowned.

“Right now I'm more worried about us,” Blockhead said anxiously.
“We can help them once we have an exit secured,” Shoda said firmly, looking slightly disgusted at
how readily Blockhead would abandon the others.

Izuku bit his lip for a moment but ended up nodding. “We can’t help much if we don’t have a plan.
Getting out and getting back-up is our first priority.”

“Lead the way, blocko,” Hebi said, glaring at his phone as though it betrayed him. Izuku assumed
that meant it hadn’t worked.

“Don’t call me that,” Blockhead said, uncharastically sharp.

They moved together as a tight group, watching all angles. The hero course students stood at the
front and back of the group, Shoda’s small body guarding Blockhead as he gave directions. They
were making their way around the outer wall of the building. Before they left, Kabuki had switched
into a ninja mask and vanished into thin air. The only assurance that they were still there was their
periodic knocking on the wall beside them.

The banter had died when they left the relative safety of the security room. Izuku held the gun
properly now, scared of using it but determined to protect his friends. Tali held her knife in a way
that suggested she knew what she was doing, but the blade was only four inches and it was hard to
believe it would do much. Fuji had a standard claw hammer in her backpack among other, less
impressive tools. Nonetheless, she had handed a screwdriver to Hebi and a box cutter to Blockhead.
Shinsou got a medium-sized wrench, which also wouldn’t do much but was better than nothing.

They were edging around the outside of the mountain zone, the furthest territory from the main
entrance. The security room stood raised, between the mountain zone and the conflagration zone,
just below the domed windows, hidden slightly by a rock formation. The UGH club had to go
down a set of metal steps to get into the room, and Izuku took specific notice of that, possibly
because his anxiety and his tendency towards analysis was making him hypervigilant. Now they
were passing on the ring-around sidewalk that circled the entire building. The mountain cast a
heavy shadow over them.

It was eerily quiet, the only sound being gunshots in the distance and their quiet footsteps. They
hadn’t met anyone until they neared the door, their escape.

They noticed him them same moment he noticed them. They didn’t have time to think, most of
them moved on instinct. The few people that froze were violently pulled clear by those who
moved. Where they stood before they were scattered, a molten ball of metal sunk into the
pavement.

Blockhead gave a choked-off scream.

Above them loomed a muscular figure, head covered with what looked like a metal wrestler’s
mask. His joints were also covered in metal, though he wore only a black tank top and cutoff jeans
otherwise. His jaw clicked apart as he prepared to lob another attack at them. Fuji took point,
unaffected by the heat radiating off the liquid metal. Shoda stood beside her. Izuku tried to aim the
gun.

“Hey! Dickhead!” Shinsou roared angrily from the back of the group.

The villain laughed like a camera shuttering and he grinned, red-hot metal oozing out of his mouth.
“You are going to d--”

Shinsou took him over, and the man went silent and still, metal still oozing out of his mouth.
Shinsou gave Izuku a meaningful look, apparently uncertain of the order he needed to give.

“I don’t suppose anyone has anything that works as handcuffs against a guy who can spit metal?”
Izuku asked, looking around the group but not expecting much.

No one did.

“Okay, just hold onto him for now.” Izuku decided. Shinsou nodded, always careful about talking
when he had someone under his control. Accidental commands were an unfortunate part of his
quirk, and they couldn’t afford a slip-up.

“Holy shit, we-- we almost just died!” Blockhead said, slightly hysterical. “That almost killed us!
We could have died!”

“There’ll be time to panic later,” Tali said, still pale. “Focus on what’s in front of us.”

“Geez,” Hebi said, waving his hand in front of the metal guy’s face. “Your quirk is kinda scary,
dude. I mean, I know you’re on our side, but geez…”

“Don’t touch him,” Shinsou warned, brushing off what Hebi was implying.

“The doors are fused shut,” Shoda said in dismay.

“And UA doors are notoriously difficult to break with quirks alone.” Fuji frowned at the cooling
metal. Without much hesitation, she reached out and poked the molten metal with a bare black
finger. While still hot, it was no longer soft.

“Do you think this guy could use his quirk to break it?” Izuku wondered.

Fuji shook her head. “No, he’d just be adding more metal to it. I might be able to, though? It
depends on what the door is made of.”

“It’s worth a try.” Shoda said. “I’ll brace you.”

“Okay, but stand back.” Fuji pressed her hands against the door.

“Are we just going to ignore the fact that we almost died?” Blockhead wondered.

“Yep,” Hebi answered in Shinsou’s place.

Fuji’s hands started glowing orange against the door, lighting up their shadowy hallway. Despite
having taken several steps back, Izuku could still feel the heat coming off her and the door. Fuji
attempted the move for almost a whole minute, but eventually she gave up, breathing heavily.

“No dice.” She panted. “Must be a titanium alloy or something. My lava’s not hot enough.”

“Everyone needs to stand back further,” Shoda said, pushing them away in preparation.
“Clear!” Shoda shouted before activating his quirk.

There was a burst of red-hot light that had a few of them blinking stars out of their eyes. The light
faded, and the door was left glowing orange but still intact.

“Damn,” Fuji muttered, “still not hot enough.”

“MON DEAU!” a familiar voice shouted in alarm. “Que fais-tu ici?”

Aoyama stared at them with wide eyes. He’d come from the other direction of them and appeared
shocked.

“The club was supposed to be doing observation today,” Tali filled in, apparently understanding
him. “We’re as trapped as the rest of you, though we’re struggling with another door puzzle.”

“Oh,” Aoyama said, looking at the cooling door. “Hmm... have you tried attacking the wall?”

They shook their heads, and Izuku almost got his hopes up, seeing the merit in the idea. But
Blockhead shook his head. “There’s rebar inside made of a similar alloy to the door. If we can’t
melt the door, we can’t melt that.”

“But how far apart are the gaps?” Fuji asked.

“About a foot?” Blockhead said hesitantly.

“Then some people can slip through!” Fuji said excitedly.

“Not everyone,” Kuroiro warned grimly.

“It’s better than nothing,” Fuji said optimistically.

“It’s the best plan we got.” Shinsou said.

“We’re still sitting ducks just standing around though, and even if we make an exit, the others
won’t know about it,” Izuku mumbled loud enough to be heard.

“We’ll split up, then.” Shoda suggested. “Me and Fuji can work on the exit, leaving enough people
to act as guards, and then everyone else can go and find the others.”

“I’ll stay.” Shinsou offered. “It’d be easier if we had a non-violent solution. Probably less messy.”

“Me too,” Kuroiro hummed in a considering voice. “As soon as they make a hole through, I could
slip out and run ahead to get the teachers.”

“Good idea. That leaves the rest of us to gather 1-a from everywhere else, against countless villains
in unfamiliar terrain…” Hebi said. “On second thought, can I hang here too?”

“Five is safer the four.” Fuji shrugged, already moving down the wall away from the door, which
would be more structured.

“Cool, cool.” Hebi nodded.

“The rest of us might as well head back to the security room,” Tali said decisively. “We’ll be able
to see where everyone is and plan from there.”

Everyone agreed and started moving back towards the security room, Aoyama in tow. Fuji’s group
was left behind as she began burning into the concrete with far more success than she had with the
door.

Tenya watched in horror and awe as Insasa engaged with the villain. The mist man-- Kurogiri, he
had said-- had gotten the drop on them. His classmates were scattered, and only Shoji’s super
hearing gave any comfort on their welfare. Inasa had reacted quickly, however, and blew the mist
away, clearly startling the man.

Roughly half the class remained as Thirteen attempted to get them out the door while engaging the
 villain. Inasa was keeping him on his toes. The man apparently didn’t have a lot of substance, as
Inasa kept blowing him away easily. It was clear the villain was starting to get frustrated.

The doors were closing, and Thirteen ended up pushing Tenya ahead of the others. “Run.” They
said. “Run back to the school and get help. You’re our best chance.”

Iida didn’t have time to argue as they shoved him through. The last thing he heard as the doors
closed with finality was the villain roaring, “ENOUGH!”

Iida was momentarily overwhelmed by guilt and fear. The villain was attacking his friends, and a
thick metal door stood between him and helping them. All he could do was run away.

Iida took a deep breath. No. No, he couldn’t think like that. He needed to get help. He needed to
get the real heroes.

Iida ran like he had never run before.

Chapter End Notes

-I usually like and have fun with Monoma, but I needed someone to be anti-quirkless
and he fit. I figure his hatred of quirkless people comes from insecurity about his own
quirk. He’s probably been told he might as well quirkless as an insult and he
responded by going “I'm nothing like them. I’m better!” it’s shitty but it’s in line with
the universe
-If you got annoyed by everyone referring to Izuku as ‘that quirkless kid’, know that
this is absolutely a thing is real life. I can’t tell you how often I've heard friends
referred to as ‘the wheelchair kid’ or ‘the blind girl’. it’s annoying but it’s a trait
people instantly recognize
-I didn't mean to give them another door problem, but I spent several google searches
to figure the physics of breaking that door

Discord:
https://discord.gg/SEkN8ee
Tumblr:
https://amarelibertius.tumblr.com
 The Subtle Art of Surveillance
Chapter Summary

The UGH Club help the Hero students with a little bit of underground work

Chapter Notes

Trigger Warning: short descriptions of gore

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“Okay,” Izuku said, anxiously passing over to the desk in front of the wall of TVs. Tali locked the
door behind them and Aoyama looked around, seeing the room for the first time. “So how do we
get the message out? The electricity seems to still be working despite the phone lines being down.”

Kabuki made a noise like a shamisen, having put on a fox mask. They went to the switch board and
continued to twang as though speaking.

“What they hell are they saying?” Blockhead scowled, unable to see the sign language muttering
Kabuki seemed to be doing.

“I don’t know,” Izuku admitted honestly. “I’m sorry, I'm not that good at sign language yet.”

Kabuki made an irritable kinda plink but turned to face them and pulled their hands apart,
seemingly making mist in their hands. Izuku suddenly felt excited at the new power of their quirk.
Kabuki started drawing with their finger in the smoke, like a black paintbrush, and Izuku realized
that the power was illusions. In calligraphy they wrote the words “closed-circuit system.”

“Huh?” Tali asked.

Kabuki twanged again and gestured at the switchboard. Izuku was the first to get it.

“Oh! So you mean the building's electricity and facilities are on closed system? Separate from the
security system?” Izuku said, eyes roaming back over the switchboard and suddenly feeling the
potential of it.

“Oh!” Blockhead said, also getting it. “That makes sense. The security system is on a seperate
circuit from the facility power so if anything goes wrong in the facility, the security system won’t
be affected. I guess it makes sense that it’d go both ways; the facility system can run on it’s own if
the security system is taken down.”

“What’s your point though?” Tali asked, clearly not tech-savvy.

With purpose, Kabuki flipped a switch on the switch board. The rain in downpour zone abruptly
turned off. Izuku started bouncing on the balls of his feet. “It means we can control the
environments of the USJ and hopefully turn the tides in our favor.”

Aoyama came up beside him, eyes wide and sparkling. “ That is very clever.”

“We’d have to be careful, though,” Tali said, joining them near the switch board. “The mist guy
teleported everyone into the different territories. We could just as easily hurt them as we can the
villains. Actually, can the environments do that much damage? This is a school simulation.”

“They can,” Blockhead assured knowingly. His quirk gave him an intimate knowledge of the
facility. “It’s to be more realistic, especially since the third years use the facility, too. The highest
setting on these can be deadly.”

“Well, we don’t actually want to kill anyone,” Tali said, chewing her lip.

“Speak for yourself,” Blockhead said honestly. “They’re the ones who started this, and if it’s kill or
be killed, I'm going to be the killer.”

“That’s dark…” Aoyama said quietly.

“We have to be realistic,” Blockhead said sharply. “These guys want to kill us. They’re not even
hesitating to attack our classmates. That plasma guy could have killed us earlier. It’s only fair that
they’re risking their lives too.”
“You probably could have phrased that better,” Izuku muttered. Something twisted in his stomach
and he was suddenly unsure if he liked Blockhead as much as he thought. “If we’re going to be
heroes, we have to be better than them,” Izuku said firmly. “We’re not going to become murderers
if we can help it.”

“Oui,” Aoyama agreed. “We will be better. But we still need to figure out how to rescue our
classmates. The controls seems rather indiscriminate to the area they’re in.”

“I think the best thing we can do is go get them,” Izuku decided, chewing his lip.

“Are you insane-?” Blockhead began.

“Inasa!” Tali cried, staring at the screen.

At the front of the facility, Iida had just escaped and Yoarashi was blowing the mist villain back so
he couldn’t attack his friends. Thirteen was occupied with making sure Iida escaped.

“Enough!” the villain cried even as Thirteen turned to fight him. The villain vanished for a
moment. The heroes students froze at the sudden lack of a threat. Thirteen moved to stand in front
of them.

Inasa dropped his wind, nerves on fire with a combination of fear and anticipation and anger. He
had to protect his friends. He had to do something.

Out of the crowd of villains in the central plaza villains started disappearing… and reappearing in
front of them.

The biggest of which was a minotaur-looking figure. Before Inasa could even summon his wind,
the bull head was slammed into him with such force that he went flying back, almost hearing the
crack of bones. Before he could recover they were once again surrounded by black mist and Inasa
was hit with the disorienting sensation of teleporting.

He landed hard, gasping painfully for breath. The minotaur geared up for another strike.
“Hey!” a familiar voice cried, and both hero and villain turned to see Kirishima, red hair bright,
skin sharp and jagged and completely covered in rock. More villains were drawing towards them,
alerted by his cry. Kirshima only had eyes for the villain standing over his friend, however.

The blazing look was enough to make Inasa’s heart burn with passion.

They’d protect each other.

“Look! He’s reappeared in the ruins zone,” Aoyama said, pointing to a different screen.
“Kirishima’s there, thank god.”

“He’s teleported the others, too-- oh god! Thirteen,” Tali said, hands flying to cover her mouth.
The hero was torn nearly in half by their own quirk. The villain left them bleeding out on the
ground and returned to the central plaza. “We have to help them!”

“We’re not going back into that,” Blockhead said aggressively. “I’m not interested in dying.”

“Neither are they,” Izuku said, glaring at him. “And we have the power to make sure no one does.”

“We can circle the building,” Aoyama said, looking rather pale. “Same way you went to get to the
fire escape, we can bring them there and have Shinsou and the others look after them while we go
recover everyone else.”

“We’ll need someone to stay here and watch the screens. This room is one of the few advantages
we have,” Izuku muttered. “Two people. We can’t leave anyone alone… and we need a way to
communicate...”

Kabuki snapped to get his attention. They spread another pool of mist between their hands and this
time painted a life-size orange and black fox. It was strangely 3-D but also still very much like a
cartoon. Izuku made the mental comparison to those old movies where they overlay animation into
live action film. A living cartoon. It was fascinating.

“Can it speak?” Tali wondered.

The small orange fox landed on the floor and made the same kinda twang that Kabuki had been
making.

“Right,” Izuku said decisively. “That’s incredible, Kabuki. I think you should stay here then. If
you have enough range, you can use this guy to lead us to the others and maybe warn us against
threats we can’t see. Can you give us a warning signal?”

Kabuki nodded, and the fox turned completely black.

“And do you have the range?” Kabuki nodded again, and the illusion appeared beside Thirteen on
the screen.

“You’re a lifesaver,” Midoriya said gratefully.

“Okay,” Tali said, looking at their small group, “if we’re going to split up. I think it should be me
and Kabuki here, and you, Aoyama and Blockhead out there.”

“Me?” Blockhead asked incredulously. “What do you think I can do? I’m just the map guy. And
Midoriya is quirkless.”

“You’re our current expert on the USJ,” Izuku said, ignoring the bile-like anger that rose in his
throat at being so immediately dismissed. “You know everything about this place. If anyone can
turn the environment to our advantage, it’s you.”

Blockhead flinched slightly at the blunt compliment.

“And Izuku is the best analyst I've ever met,” Tali came to her friend’s defense. “He knows how to
pick apart quirks and weaknesses at a glance. I’m sure between both your brains and Aoyama’s
laser you can handle yourselves. And that’s more than can be said about me, a healing quirk with a
knife.”

“Your intelligent, Tali,” Izuku said automatically, but she waved him off.

Kabuki made some noises of agreement and gestured at the gun in Midoriya's hand.
“I can’t understand a word you’re saying,” Blockhead said rudely to Kabuki. Then he dragged his
hand down his flat face. “Fuck. Fuck. Fine. Fuck. I’ll go and be your fucking map, but if we die
out there I’m haunting all of you.”

“Don’t jinx us, camarade lâche,” Aoyama said, moving to the door. He was very pale and his hands
were shaking, but he was still smiling. Izuku chewed his lip in worry, and as they left the safety of
the security room, he asked the blond if he was okay.

Aoyama looked almost startled that Izuku asked and offered him a shaky smile. “I will be okay,
mon ami. I can’t say I’m not… scared. But I am supposed to be the hero, yes? It wouldn’t be very
heroic of me to leave all the rescuing to you two. And besides… it’s my friends out there.”

Izuku bumped shoulders with the blond, eyes growing more determined. “We’ll save them.”

Aoyama’s eyes shined as he looked at Izuku, the seeds of true admiration being planted. Izuku
looked ahead.

“Yeah,” Aoyama said, swallowing thickly. “We will.”

Yaoyorozu, Jirou, and Denki were immediately attacked when they landed.

Denki yelped in fear and barely held back his quirk. His quirk often activated when he was scared,
and he couldn’t afford to fry his brain or shock the girls. Yaoyorozu pulled two swords from her
arms and passed one to Jirou.

Denki ducked out of the way of one of the villains' swipes. “What about me?” he gasped, running
to Momo.

“Just use your quirk,” Jirou growled, defending against another villain.

“I can’t,” Denki said, panicking slightly. “I can’t aim it, I’ll hit you too.”
“Ugh,” Jirou said, pushing Denki into a villain coming up behind him. The electricity on his skin
shocked the man on impact and made Denki feel jittery.

“So mean!” he gasped.

“Why didn’t you get a support item that can aim?” she snapped back, earjacks digging into the
ground and tearing the earth up to send another villain flying.

Another villain tried to jump, but a gunshot went off, leaving all their ears ringing. Several shots
followed, and villain after villain went down, knocked out or winded by the rubber bullets.

“What in the blazes are y’all doin’ this far out!?” Snipe roared angrily, not looking at them as he
fired off more and more rounds, clearing the field.

“Snipe,” the children cried in relief. They couldn’t see his face behind the mask, but they felt the
protective aura rolling off him even as he took the last of the visible villains out.

“Are the other heroes here already?”

“Where did you come from?”

“Is it safe?” they asked all at once.

Snipe exhaled and turned to them, tall and imposing. “Backup hasn’t arrived yet, I was a’ready
here observin’ with a class. It ain’t safe to be here, get to the fire escape. Howja even get out
here?”

“One of the villains has a teleportation quirk,” Yaoyorozu supplied. “And there’s a fire escape?
Thank god.”

“Yeah, now g--” Snipe was suddenly electrocuted by a villain rising up from the ground. The kids
screamed and fell back into defensive positions while the villain laughed at the twitching hero.
“You heroes think you’re so strong,” the villain said in a mocking tone. He turned to them, leering
dangerously.

“A-an electric quirk?” Denki stuttered, standing at the front of the group as the girls gripped each
other.

“Yep,” the villain tilted his head, eyes glinting through his skull-like mask. “This is nothing
personal,” he said, raising his hand towards them.

Denki didn’t really think about it. He didn’t really have time to think about it. All he knew was that
he was more likely to survive a lightning bolt to the chest than either of the girls were.

So he took it. He threw his arms out to shield them and took a lightning bolt to the chest, forcing it
into the ground.

He heard the girls' shocked screams. He felt the familiar heat and nerve pain. His tongue felt too
thick in his mouth and the world got foggy and confusing. But he stayed standing.

“Duhhh.” He drooled.

The small crew of UGH students made their way around the interior wall of the USJ with the same
sense of paranoia they had from the first trip around outside the security room. They passed the
door makers on the way, and even though it had only been a couple of minutes, they all looked
exhausted.

Fuji had burned a hole the size of her palm straight through the wall. She and Shodo were
breathing heavy from using their quirks so much, but both seemed determined to finish this.
Kuroiro had already gone through to go get help. Shinsou and Hebi stood guard over them, a little
worse for wear.

They exchanged information in hurried tones, Midoriya’s ability to talk fast paying off as he
explained what they saw on the monitors and what they planned to do. Hebi replied equally fast.
The door makers had been attacked by a group once because their door making was unexpectedly
noisy. Hebi and Shinsou's quirks worked well together. All Hebi needed to do was use the
compulsion of his quirk to convince the villains to talk to Shinsou and Shinsou would have them in
his grasp. They’d been attacked and Hebi rattled off a fast-paced pitch about a quarter in his
pocket, and the fight ended almost anticlimactically when he passed the ball to Shinsou.
Izuku would analyze their partnership more later. For the time being, he, Aoyama, Blockhead, and
the tiny fox that Izuku mentally nicknamed Twang hurried on to help Thirteen.

It was with great trepidation that they moved into the open and up the stairs to the entrance. The
entire entrance area was free of people. The villains were either already on the ground taken out by
Aizawa or focusing their attacks elsewhere in the facility. The students had all been teleported.

The moment Izuku saw Thirteen’s body he was running forward, only to flinch back when a voice
shouted, “Stay back!”

“Hagakure?” he gasped.

“Midoriya?” she said back, sounding both startled and like she was crying. With some difficulty,
he spotted a flouting spray of blood in the air over Thirteen’s body. Looking closer, he could see
blood-covered hands putting pressure on the hero’s wound. “W-what are you doing here?”

“The club was supposed to observe your class,” he explained, kneeling beside her and helping
apply pressure. “Are you okay?”

She sniffed. “I'm fine. The villain didn’t even notice me. But Thirteen- it won’t stop. I don’t know
what to do. What do I do, Midoriya?”

“Well,” Izuku said, licking his lips and almost afraid to look at the large wound. The wound was
bigger than Hagakure's small hands and the blood had spread well past them. He’d never had to
deal with a wound this big before, it was almost like someone had taken a large bite out of the
hero’s back, just ripped a chunk of flesh and muscle off of them. It was horrifying to even think
about, let alone see. “You did well p-putting pressure on the wound.”

“There’s not much else you can do, ma valliante femme,” Aoyama said, pulling off his shiny cloak
and wadding it into a ball to help with the bleeding. Blockhead stood behind them, keeping watch
in case any villain spotted them. “We don’t know what we’re doing and could do more damage
than good. I don’t think it’s safe to move them like we thought. Too much blood loss.”

“Will they be okay?” Hagakure asked in a desperate tone, lifted her bloody hands to let him put the
cape down. Izuku’s adrenaline-addled brain marveled that this was clearest he’d ever seen her
hands.
“We can only hope,” Aoyama, said placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Tali?” Izuku addressed the orange fox, his question obvious. The animal paused, Kabuki
obviously communicating with the future doctor. Then the fox shook its head. It hopped twice,
spun in a circle and then moved to lick the injured heroes face. They all watched it, having no
exact translation for what that meant.

“I’m gonna take that as a no, you can’t help, but they’re going to okay?” Izuku said, uncertainly.

Twang plinked once.

“Someone has to start telling me what the fuck is going on with that thing,” Blockhead said
irritably. Izuku supposed it must be frustrating to receive signals from something that he couldn’t
sense and that didn’t speak Japanese.

“At the very least,” Aoyama said, moving on, “we know help is on the way. You need only watch
over them until help arrives. Can you do that, mon ami?”

One of Hagekure’s blood-covered hands moved in a way that said she was wiping her eyes on her
arm. “I’ll have to,” she said thickly. “This kind of thing is part of hero work too, and I'm a lot less
likely to draw the attention of the villains.”

The three boys and fox nodded grimly.

“We’re going to evacuate everyone we can,” Izuku said, squeezing what he hoped was her
shoulder. “Help should be here in no time. Until then stay strong, Hagakure. We’re counting on
you.”

Izuku could feel her trembling, but her voice held more resolve. “I’ll protect them. Go save our
friends. I’m counting on you, too.”

The three boys and fox hardened their resolve. “Lead the way,” Izuku told Twang, and the fox
twanged and started leading them down the stairs to the downpour zone.
Shouto was already completely done with this situation when Uraraka and Shoji dropped into the
landslide zone through the same black portal that had brought him here. He scowled, having
already started leaving a trail of frozen villains in his wake as he tried to get information about who
they were dealing with. The information he had gotten wasn’t very helpful. They were little more
than hired meat shields who only knew that the leaders of the League of Villains were trying to kill
All Might.

The last thing Shouto needed right now was a distraction, and almost inevitably that distraction was
going to be his two classmates.

“Shouto!” Uraraka cried in relief before pulling him into an unwilling hug. “You’re okay!”

He didn’t reply, not even giving her his normal grunt that he did when they were at the lunch table
and she was overwhelming him with words. Now wasn’t the time to indulge her. Lives were in
danger.

“Someone has a plan,” Shoji interrupted, raising a hand with an ear on it to listen more closely. “It
sounds like more of our classmates are nearby, but I can't tell who.”

“Too bad you’re never going to meet them,” another stooge of a villain said, attacking Uraraka
from behind and swinging a sword down at her.

Shouto reacted instantly, movement almost beautifully fluid as he froze the villain mid-attack.
Another villain came from behind him, but before Shouto could turn his attack on him, Uraraka
was already flinging her hand forward and suddenly the villain was floating up and away, the force
of the girl's slap giving him momentum.

They had only a second’s pause before Shoji’s six fists slammed another villain unconscious with
the force of his hammer hit.

“We should move,” Shouto said, turning his eyes towards the central plaza.

“You caught my foot,” Uraraka said, gesturing down at where her foot was frozen to the same ice
fixture as the villain who’d almost killed her a moment ago. For a moment Shouto rather unkindly
considered leaving her trapped so that she’d stay out of the way. But he acknowledged to himself
that was too risky and he wasn’t that cruel.
He released her, getting a piercing look when she saw him use the heat side of his quirk. Shoji still
had a hand lifted into the air, listening carefully.

“They’re making a door,” he realized, earning the attention of his two allies.

“That’s great,” Uraraka cheered. “We should go find them, or let the others know so we can
evacuate.”

Shouto was already walking towards the central plaza, ready to get his answers.

“Wait! Where are you going?”

“To get answers” Shouto answered flatly, using his irritation to freeze a small group of villains
preparing to ambush him from behind some rubble.

“But we just found out there’s a way out,” Uraraka insisted. “We have to get the others and
evacuate!”

“You might need to do that. You probably should. But I have to handle the guys in the central
plaza.”

“Why? They’ll kill you.”

“Outside the teachers, I’m the strongest person here.”

Shoji and Uraraka both pulled faces. “You can’t be that arrogant--” Uraraka began.

They were interrupted by the appearance of a small orange fox. Shouto automatically threw ice at
it, but it passed through it like smoke. Uraraka gave him a glare for that, apparently liking animals
even if they’re an illusion and trap. The three students moved back to back, everyone looking for
the source of the illusion, the villain.
The fox made a noise, like a string being plucked. Then to everyone's confusion it trotted to stand
in front of Shoji, made another weird noise, and pawed at its ear with two exaggerated swipes.

Shoji tensed. “You want me to listen?”

The fox nodded and then turned pointing towards the mountain zone with its nose. Shoji lifted his
eyebrows at them. They all thought this was obviously a trap, yet curiosity won out and Shoji still
went for it. Making a hand into an ear, he listened in the direction the fox indicated.

“There’s a girl in the security room?” Shoji gasped startled, he turned towards Shouto. “She says
she knows you, do you know a Tali?”

Shouto blinked in surprise. “Yes. I know her. What is she doing here?”

Shoji paused to listen. “She says her class was sitting in to observe our class. They were going to
watch from the security room an analyze us. Really?”

“Her class? Does that mean Midoriya and Shinsou are here?” Shouto asked, glancing around as
though they would suddenly appear.

“How do we know that’s really Tali?” Uraraka asked, more sensibly.

Shoji stood very still, listening. In that time a few more villains spotted them and were easily
handled by Shouto and Uraraka. Uraraka was frowning suspiciously at that. It probably seemed too
easy to her. It did to Shouto, but then again Shouto was very powerful.

“She says when she first met Shouto he stood awkwardly at their table for five silent minutes and
that he has no hobbies. Midoriya and Shinsou are here but they’ve spread out. Shinsou and a few
of their other classmates are the ones making the door. Midoirya and another group is trying to
evacuate who they can. Aoyama is with them,” Shoji reported. “But that’s not why they’re
contacting us.”

Uraraka looked at Shouto for confirmation that she checked out. After he nodded, she processed
the rest of the information. “Why are they-- they? Who’s they? Who’s with her?”
The fox made a musical chirping noise.

“The one who made the fox illusion.” Shoji said. Tali apparently decided to cut to the chase
because Shoji tensed. “We need to help some of our classmates. Electric-- Kaminari, earlobes,
that’s Jirou, and boobs? What do you mean she’s shirtless? Ponytail? Yaoyorozu!?”

“ What!? ” Uraraka said, staring at the larger boy with wide brown eyes. Even Shouto was a little
confused. “Why is Momo shirtless? Is she okay? Are they okay?”

Shoji paled slightly. “Kaminari is injured and dopey. He took an electric shot straight to the chest.
Snipe-sensei-- he’s here? He was watching their class. He’s injured too. Now the girls are holding
the villain off on their own and they need help. They’re in the mountain zone.”

“Then we have to go help them!” Uraraka said immediately and started towards the mountain zone.
Shoji was quick to follow. The illusionary fox poofed ahead to lead them.

Shouto hung back and looked towards the center plaza. Uraraka and Shoji were a long way ahead
when they noticed he wasn’t with them.

“What are you waiting for?” Uraraka called back at him, looking frustrated and annoyed.

Shouto glared at his feet for a moment, before saying in a clear, cold voice, “Aizawa can’t fight
those guys forever. I’m going to the central plaza. You save the others.”

“You don’t really think you can fight those guys!?” Uraraka said stepping towards him.

Shouto was already skating towards the central plaza.

“I know I can,” he hissed to himself, well beyond the girl's hearing range.

Ashido was starting to get frustrated. Her quirk didn’t work as well in the rain because water
diluted it, so she was was basically running around slightly helpless. She hated the feeling, and she
could still kick ass normally, but she was outnumbered and alone, and she’d rather not get eaten
today.

So she was running through alleys, hiding behind corners and keeping a careful eye out for any ally
or enemy that might show up at any moment. She wasn’t used to sneaking around, but she was
doing her best. She just had to survive until the heroes showed up and she would be good. And if
she could get a few good hits in, all the better.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” a voice said from above her.

Ashido yelped and whirled around. It took her longer than it should have to realize the villain was
on the fire escape above the alley. Ashiso glared and raised her fist falling into a fighting stance.

“Awww, that’s cute.” The villain smiled sharply. He had elongated canines like a vampire and
bleach-blond hair. He was dressed in a long leather jacket, a black t-shirt and jeans and he was
wearing eyeliner. He seemed to be in his mid-twenties, but it was hard to tell. He jumped down
from the fire escape and landed a couple of feet away from Ashido. He was still grinning. “You
gonna fight me, Bubblegum?”

“I mean… yeah?” Ashido replied, confused as to why that wasn’t obvious. She started gathering a
denser acid in her palm, hoping the rain would dilute it enough that she wouldn’t kill him, but not
so much that it won’t do any damage.

“Adorable,” the villain said indulgently. Then his face shifted, a transformation quirk, turning his
face bumpy and animalistic. It was like the eyebrows of a snarling bulldog, all angry and wrinkly,
which should be a crime because bulldogs are cuties! Too fast, the villain was rushing her, and
with a panicked noise, Ashido flung her handful of acid at the villain as she flinched back.

“SON OF A BITCH!” the villain screamed, stopping his attack as he got acid in his eyes. His face
burning. Ashido didn’t hesitate, jumping forward to bring her boot up into his crotch. He gave a cry
of pain from being kicked in the dick that gave Ashido enough time to start gliding away,
struggling a bit to keep the acid level right to skate on.

“Not so fast.” Someone appeared and hit a bat into Ashido’s gut. She gave a cry of pain, the wind
knocked out of her, and the villain was fast to bring the bat down over her crumpling body.
Instinctively Ashido covered her head with her arms and struggled to focus past the pain to really
do much more. “Spike, how many times have I told you not to play with your food?”
“Fuck you, Ripper, I was getting to it,” the blond villain wheezed in a higher voice than he had
used before.

“Stupid kids,” Ripper said pulling his lip back a mocking smile. He was also wearing a leather
jacket and had his brown hair gelled to look messy in a controlled way. He was more ruggedly
handsome than punk. He brought the bat down on Ashido again and she made a noise of pain.

There was a sudden sound like a violin bow being pulled violently across bow strings, sharp and
shrieking. The villain flinched and Ashido peeked out of her arms to see him now facing down a
strange lion. It was black and white and seemed to be painted into existence. Badly. Or rushed. It
wasn’t really realistic or well proportioned. It seemed more like a rushed doodle than a real lion.

“What the hell!?” Ripper said, startled, and his distraction was taken advantage of. Behind him
Ojiro jumped in twisting his body to whip the villain with his tail and following up with a kick.
The villain stumbled back, raising his bat defensively.

Ojiro raised his fists, glaring fiercely.

The lion screeched again and charged the villain, apparently on their side. Ripper turned his bat on
it and when it hit into him he brought the bat down through it, turning it to mist. The villain let out
a startled laugh, slightly unbalanced.

Ojiro, knowing not to waste an opening, punched the guy in the jaw. Ashido, not one to waste an
opportunity either, had sprayed a small pool of slime beneath his feet to make him slip. This gave
Ojiro another opportunity to bring his strong tail down on the villain’s head, effectively knocking
him out.

“Ripper!” the other villain screamed, stumbling to his feet. “You cunts! I’ll fucking kill you!”

And he took an unsteady charge towards Ojiro who’d barely raised his fists to defend himself
when the villain slammed into him. Apparently the villain's quirk was some kind of strength and
endurance augmentation triggered by his transformation. It felt like getting hit by a car.

Winded, Ojiro had no choice in being slammed backward. The charge took the two of them
through a wall. And that really hurt.
Before Ojiro really knew what was happening, the villain was biting into his shoulder, sharpened
teeth tearing into his skin, and Ojirou cried out.

“HEY!” someone shouted, and then the villain was blasted off him with a shower of sparkles. He
took a chunk of Ojiro with him, but it could have been a lot worse. Ojiro was still dazed and
breathing heavily. His fingers wrapped around the bleeding wound to try and stop it as his mind
tried to catch up to what was happening.

Aoyama was standing in all his sparkly glory, two other UA kids at his side. It took a few seconds
for Ojiro to recognize one of them was Midoriya. He had a gun. The other one had a lego block
head, and Ojiro felt certain he’d remember meeting someone with that mutation.

The villain whose endurance was strong enough that he wouldn’t stay down rose again, giving a
ferocious roar before charging recklessly at the trio. It was a scary and animalistic, Ojiro’s blood
staining his teeth and running down his chin.

Midoriya reacted faster than Aoyama and fired the gun at the villain with a deafening bang. It hit
the man in the face but it wasn’t enough to slow his momentum, a fact that Mina once again took
advantage of as she sent another layer of acid down beneath his feet that sent him skidding out of
control. The trio of boys had to dodge out of the way as he bowled past, and this time when he hit
the ground he didn’t get up.

Midoriya rubbed his shoulder and wrist, apparently startled by the kickback. “You guys okay?” he
asked.

Ashido let out a relieved laugh. “Yeah,” she said, trying and failing to stand and putting a hand to
her head. Her skin was already swelling and darkening in places, the color of her bruises a different
kind of purple due to her pink skin. “Kinda dizzy, but good and alive.”

Ojiro shook his head. “He got a good chunk of me, but I don’t think I’m going to bleed to death or
anything.” He did manage to stand and staggered over to the group. “What are you doing here?” he
asked Midoriya and shot the lego block head boy a questioning look.

“Ojiro,” Midoriya said with familiarity. “My class was observing yours for a case study thing.
We’re spread out through the facility too and are working on making an exit.”

“Cool, cool,” Ashido said as Aoyama and the Blockhead boy helped her up, slinging her arms over
their shoulders. “Who are you again?”

“Oh! Um, Midoriya Izuku,” he said, startling. It was interesting to see him go from determined
glaring with a gun to scared bunny. “We should get moving.”

“Oh so you’re Midoriya,” Ashido said, waggling her eyebrows, then wincing and grabbing her
head. Midoriya who had no context for her reaction fretted over her. Ojiro rolled his eyes, still
gripping his bleeding shoulder.

“And I'm Blockhead,” the lego block headed boy said in a tight ‘thanks for asking’ tone.

“I don’t suppose either of you carry bandages in your hero suits?” Midoriya asked.

They shook their heads. Ojiro added, “I will from now on.”

Blockhead made and exaggerated head motion that gave the impression of rolling his eyes. “God,
you hero types lack foresight,” he said, pulling a miniature first aid kid from one of his pockets. It
wasn’t impressive and didn’t have nearly enough gauze to address the wound, but it was definitely
better than nothing.

“We should--”

Abruptly the fox that accompanied them, painted similarly to the lion only better drawn, turned
completely black.

“Oh shit,” Midoriya said, apparently knowing what that meant. He raised his gun, going defensive
as the fox took off running towards the exit but stopped a few feet ahead turning to make sure they
were following. ”We need to go.”

“Sure,” Mina said, slurring slightly. “I’m up for anything, especially runnin’.”

Midoriya frowned in concern, but Blockhead stepped up. “I’ll help them. It’s not like I’d be much
use anyway. I can lead them to the exit. You and Sparklebutt can handle the instrument thing.”
Those of them with eyes exchanged looks but nodded, Aoyama dropping Mina’s arm to join him.
“Stay safe, mes amis.”

“Good luck,” Midoriya said. And then the two boys ran after the fox, which immediately took off.
Ojiro turned back to offer support to Mina, using his tail more than his bad shoulder.

“Lead the way,” he told Blockhead. And lead he did.

Neito thought he was doomed before a tongue wrapped around his waist and dragged him out of
the water. He landed on the deck of a ship and coughed and caught his breath. Beside him Tsuyu
stared out over the water, looking for other classmates. Abruptly she perched on the railing and
dragged the boy with a bird head out of the water. Tokoyami looked utterly miserable, shaking out
his feathers and fluffing up. Tsuyu turned her wide blanks eyes towards them.

“We can’t stay here long, kero,” she said. “What are your quirks?”

“Copycat,” Neito said quickly, anxiety and panic screaming through his mind though he carefully
kept a tight smile on his face. “I can copy emitter and transformation quirks for five minutes at a
time. You?”

“Kero, mutation type frog form. I have the powers and abilities of a frog. Super strong legs, I can
spit a weak acid, though that probably won’t be useful here, and regurgitate my stomach to clean
it.”

Neito made a face. “That is practically useless.” He scowled. “And you?”

Tokoyami regarded him in a way that said he thought it was obvious. “I am possessed by a shadow
demon.” Dark Shadow peeked out of his chest and looked over the railing with concern. “And I
have a bird head.”

Neito sighed in irritation. “Not the best under the circumstances, but it’s workable.”

Neito clapped Tokoyami on the shoulder and abruptly a peacock made of blue and black smoke
came from his chest. Neito gasped as the sensation was very much like his soul leaving his body,
crawling out like an escaping demon. The explosion of blue energy had his partners falling onto
the deck away from him, startled.

The peacock had a long, elegant neck, the shape of its head and its cobalt color making it clear
enough what animal it was, though it had no apparent iconic tail feathers. It had beautiful wings
though, calling to mind a dark blue phoenix. It was glorious but also terrifying.

Neito may have panicked slightly and his peacock acted only more erratic for it. He did his best to
reign it in, force it back into his chest, but the bird had a mind of its own and it was making a
crowing noise almost like a rooster, drawing the attention of all the villains in the area.

Dark Shadow reared up and smacked the peacock on the beak. “Settle down, baby bird.”

The peacock flinched back, gripping it’s nose and tearing up. Before any more words could be said,
the blue shadow went and hid back in Monoma’s body. The blond stared at his chest as though it
had betrayed him.

“That was unwise,” Tokoyami said when his own shadow returned to just outside his body. He pet
the bird’s head almost absently. “It took me years to master Dark Shadow. It was foolish of you to
think you could conquer your demons now of all times. You have put us all at risk.”

“I didn’t expect it to work like that!” Neito defended, and the peacock burst out again only to get
slapped back down by Dark Shadow.

“I can work with this,” Tsuyu said, a finger against her lip. The two boys turned to look at her and
she blinked her big eyes and clarified. “Kero, I don’t think, even with both your birds we could
fight all those villains from up here. But we could bypass that if we just jump to shore.”

The boys looked to the shore. It seemed very far away. They looked back to Tsuyu.

“Your birds could work together to slingshot us,” she said, staring at them.

Neito’s eyes widened. “That’s crazy!”

The peacock burst out, screeching and flapping in fright. Again Dark Shadow controlled him,
though the black bird was starting to get annoyed.

“It’s not terrible,” Tokoyami said after considering their options. “It’s just a matter of control. Can
you master your inner self enough for it not to turn against us?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about? I can’t control this thing? And how is using these
demon birds to slingshot ourselves across the facility a good idea? How do you expect to land?”

“If you master your soul,” Tokoyami said taking a bold step forward. “Than he will protect you.
We have little time to argue. I can help. Just trust us. Trust your heart.”

They maintained eye contact for a long moment. Neito’s pale eyes were wide and vulnerable.

“It is okay to be frightened,” Tokoyami said, not breaking eye contact. “I am often afraid. But fear
can be conquered. It must be conquered if we are to survive these dark circumstances.”

Neito bit his lip, then he clenched his fist and looked determined. “Okay, what do I have to do?”

“Well you can start by naming him,” Tokoyami said. The peacock peeked its head out looking
calmer. “And perhaps asking nicely.”

“Er, right…?” Neito said, looking at the bird uncomfortably. “I don’t have to name it anything as
stupid as Dark Shadow, do I?”

Tokoyami looked slightly offended, though to be fair he had named Dark Shadow when he was
five. “No,” he said tersely, eyes narrowed.

“Right,” Neito said, looking the peacock over. He gave a slightly nervous laugh. “Right, you aren’t
so bad, are you? You want to be named?”

The newborn bird crooned, and Neito let out another nervous laugh. “How about uh… Azure?
Azure Phantom, so you match my hero name.”
The peacock considered the name for a moment than crooned happily.

“How is that better than Dark Shadow?” Tokoyami asked, irritably. Dark Shadow mimicked his
expression.

“It’s obviously better--” Neito scoffed.

The ship shook. The villains were starting to attack it.

“I found the part of the boat closest to shore,” Tsuyu said, returning. “You ready?”

The boys hadn’t noticed she left.

Neito laughed nervously, but pushed through the feeling. “O-of course I’m ready. A-are you ready,
Azure?”

The bird gave him an uncertain look back and Tokoyami rolled his eyes. “I will do my best to
cover your weakness. Tsuyu, I suggest you stay closer to me.”

“Will do, kero,” the girl said leading them to the point she mentioned.

“I’m not weak!” Neito snapped, Azure suddenly rearing. Darkshadow once again smacked the
peacock shadow down. Neito and Azure were starting to look annoyed. “I can control myself fine!”

Azure went even more wild, ripping a piece of railing off the ship. Monoma looked startled enough
that he was more receptive to Dark Shadow's method of calming Azure down. The peacock rubbed
it’s beak and shot Neito a betrayed look.

“Then control yourself,” Tokoyami said harshly. “You gained the most control when you felt your
determination. Focus on that feeling. Work together. Don’t let your instincts rule you.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” Neito said, irritated but listening. He looked at the bird coming out
his chest. “You can do this, right?"

The peacock preened haughtily. Neito turned back to the goth boy. “See.”

Tokoyami looked skeptical, but the ship shook again. They were out of time. “Okay, okay. Just
focus on your determination. Trust him to do what necessary. Trust yourself. That’s what’s most
important. Trust each other.”

The peacock and blond boy exchanged looks, the message between them instantly clear. They just
met each other. They were trusting blind and that wasn’t in Monoma’s nature. But the boat was
shaking more consistently now. Like they were caught in an earthquake, so Neito against his better
judgement went for it.

Tsuyu wrapped her arms around Tokoyami and he held her back. Dark Shadow dug his claws into
the deck of the ship and Monoma instructed Azure to do the same. A nervous feeling was fizzing
in his stomach like he’d drunk too much soda and was going to be sick. He joined the huddle and
they all walked backwards across the deck.

It was still strange to feel the stretch of something that wasn’t him extending from his chest. Like a
parasite crawling out of his chest. It didn’t hurt but it pulled at his skin and the flesh inside him.

“On three,” Tokoyami said seriously. Neito tightened his grip on the bird boy.

He could do this.

One.

He had to do this.

Two

He can’t do this.
Three.

And as they all went flying, Azure suddenly rearing up violently around them.

“And…” Serena said, leaning forward watching a screen carefully as the boy who could talk to
animals lead a muscular boy and a boy with tape arms out of the building. They were guided by a
giant snake villain who the animal communicator talked around. The other boys handled attacking
villains pretty handily. “The fire zone is clear, I need to watch I’m doing for a minute. keep an eye
on the rest of the screens for me.”

Kabuki plinked an affirmation.

Serena kept her full focus on the fire zone as she turned the knob for the fire intensity all the way
out. The villains, like most people, had limits and as the combination of heat, smoke and poor air
quality made itself apparent, villains started dropping like flies before her. It was sickening,
especially as a doctor but she waited.

Kabuki made a noise like strings being plucked playfully, almost amused, but Serena had to ignore
it, focused more on the screen.

Just under five minutes she turned the fire all the way off. She had waited as long as she dared to
knock out as many villains as she could but she had to be careful. She really didn’t want to kill
anyone. She watched the villains who depended on the fire arguing. A few of them started fighting.
Serena shook her head. They were all so disorganized.

“Okay, I think we’re good as far as the fire zone is concerned.” Serena’s eyes shot around the rest
of the screens when her eyes landed on a black fox. A fox that was running towards the villains in
the central plaza, Midoriya and Aoyama not far behind. “Wait, what?”

Kabuki made that plucking noise again, it was almost like a giggle. Serena turned and abruptly
stood, her chair rolling behind her and hitting the back wall. “Oh shit ,” she said in English, eyes
wide.

Kabuki no longer looked like a human in a mask. White fur had grown across their skin, their
normally long black hair had turned white and very real-looking fox ears peaked out of it. A paint
brush-like tail curled behind them. Their fox mask seemed to blend into their fur, becoming more
realistic and alive. Lantern-like yellow glinted at her and a dangerous smile stretched the fox's
face.

Kabuki laughed again.

Serena shunted her fear to the side and tried to compartmentalize. “Kabuki, is this what happens
when you use your quirk too long?”

The fox-human hybrid tilted its head, still grinning like it was in on a joke Serena hadn’t heard.
Serena shot a glance back at the screen and the extraction duo were drawing near the central plaza,
a small copse of trees being all that separated them and the villains. The duo seemed to realize
something was wrong and slowed down.

“Kabuki,” Serena said, turning back to the fox to find them gone. Vanished when Serena looked
away. “ Shit! ” she swore again, turning in a full circle and looking around the room. “ Shit. Shit.
Shit .”

She heard that instrumental giggle behind her and she lashed out with her elbow, finding only mist
when she turned.

“Kabuki,” Serena said, trying not to panic. “I really need you to take that mask off.”

The giggling was coming from everywhere now, and suddenly the room was plunged into total
darkness.

“Shit.”

“Something's wrong,” Izuku said suddenly. The black fox was leading them right towards the
central plaza. The only person injured or in trouble was Aizawa, as far as they could see, and even
he was still standing. Circling the villain, his elbow injured.

Izuku skidded to a stop and Aoyama stopped behind him. Twang turned back, smiled wickedly,
and made a noise like a shimasen giggling. Then the fox vanished.
 “What the hell?” Aoyama muttered in confusion. It took a moment to put together. As far as he
remembered, Kabuki only mentioned their quirk's drawbacks once, or rather Fuji did. They become
more like their mask. Foxes were tricksters. Oh crap, they’d been tricked.

“Sensei!” Aoyama suddenly gasped too loudly. Izuku turned in time to see the giant bird-like
villain smash Aizawa into the ground.

“Ah!” Izuku made a small startled noise.

The villain turned towards them. Fuck. Crap. Okay, Izuku, think… that was the same villain from
the cafe. You can use that. They needed to stall until the heroes showed up or until everyone could
escape, he needed to make sure no one died. And all he had was his wits and a gun he didn’t know
how to use.

The villain started towards where they were standing. A smile stretched his crusty face under the
preserved hand mask.

A terrible idea struck, and Izuku hissed ‘stay back’ to Aoyama.

Shigaraki was drawing closer, approaching at a leisurely pace and seeming childishly amused. His
hand flexed, ready.

Midoriya took a deep breath and stepped out of the cover, almost startling the older boy.

“Hey, Shigaraki-kun.” Midoriya forced a nervous but positive smile onto his lips. “What are you
doing here?”

Chapter End Notes

sorry for all the cliffhangers. And the long wait. Writing action can be hard.

- Since it’s ready now, here’s inasa’s costume redesign; [

https://amarelibertius.tumblr.com/post/189722164604/inasas-costume-redesign-for-
dig-your-heels-in ]
It’s probably the least changed of all the new designs but adding dog ears to his
costume means everything to me
- Meanwhile todoroki is trying to be a lone badass hero and he’s still wearing his
terribly designed suit. I can’t wait to destroy that thing.
- ripper and spike, you might have guessed are young giles and spike from Buffy
 The Less Subtle Art of Fighting
Chapter Summary

when in doubt, fight the problem

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

“Hey, Shigaraki-kun,” the green-haired student said, too familiar. “What are you doing here?”

“You...” Tomura said, narrowing his eyes in confusion. “ I know you .”

Tomura was met with a wave of deja vu. He instantly recognized the boy from the newspaper, but
he felt somehow more than that. An itching started in Tomura’s throat as he couldn’t recall it.
There was an empty space where the memory should be. What the hell...?

“I should hope so,” the quirkless boy said with nervous bashful energy. “We’ve been on a date,
after all. It’s nice to see you again despite the circumstances.”

“What?” Tomura said, utterly baffled. Date? What? What kinda bluff would that even be? Was he
insane or stupid?

“Oh, s-so you don’t remember me...” The boy drooped in disappointment. He looked so
disappointed that Shigaraki could practically hear the ‘you fucked up’ music you got when you
chose the wrong dialogue option. The boy rubbed the back of his head and offered a strained smile.
“I-I g-guess I’m not v-very memorable. My name is Midoriya, but m-most call me Deku.”

Deku? Like a deku scrub? Because he looked like a plant? What was happening right now?

“Can I try again?” he said suspiciously.

“Try again?” Deku asked, face momentarily going blank like a deer in headlights. Then he smiled
like he had when he’d come out. “Hey, Shigaraki-kun. What are you doing here?”
Tomura looked around, wondering if he was being pranked or if this was some bizarre quirk. Mind
control? None of the kids were listed as having that power.

“Hey… Deku,” Tomura hissed slowly, glaring at the green-haired boy with suspicion. The boy
kept an oddly fixed smile on his face. Almost like All Might. It was disgusting. “You’re quirkless,
right? What are you doing here?”

“You remember me!” Deku said, giving a little happy hop. This time Tomura imagined the ping of
‘right answer’. It was strange that he could practically hear it in real life, but that might have been a
side-effect of being genre-savvy. Deku rubbed the back of his head, looking bashful. “My class
was supposed to be observing the hero course today. We were all caught by surprise by the sudden
attack. What are you doing here? Are you in the hero course?”

Tomura narrowed his eyes and started circling the boy like a predator. The boy moved to stay
facing him, but stayed standing in the same spot. Like an actual NPC. Someone was definately
fucking with him.

“What if I said I wasn’t?” Tomura said cautiously. “What if I said I was a villain?”

“V-v-villain?” Deku stuttered, sounding genuinely afraid. “T-then we can’t be friends. A villain
really hurt me before. P-please don’t hurt me!”

Tomura took in the scar he was definitely alluding to and let out a hiss of a sigh. “Try again.”

“Try again?” Deku repeated, face going blank again. “Hey Shigaraki-kun, what are you doing
here?”

Tomura scowled. So it restarted from the beginning. How annoying. “Hey, Deku. I’m here to
help.”

“You remember me!” Deku said, giving a little hop. “That’s great. I didn’t see the villains. Do you
know who they are?”

Tomura laughed, having more fun with this obvious trap than he probably should. “They’re the
worst kinda villains... The League of Villains. They’re here to kill All Might.”
Deku gasped. He sounded so delightfully frightened. “Kill All Might!? How is that even
possible!?”

Tomura grinned viciously. “They made a multi-quirked monster invulnerable to his powers. That’s
what happened to poor Aizawa-sensei over there. If we aren’t careful it might kill us all…”

Deku covered his mouth with his hands. “Multiple quirks! How is that even possible!? How is it
even alive?”

Tomura grinned ferally, drawing nearer to Deku. “I can’t say. But I do know it follows any order
the villain gives it… Hey, Deku, we’re friends, right?”

The boy shifted from foot to foot, looking down bashfully. “Yeah, I gue--” The boy suddenly
flinched, expression dropping to shock. “What the hell!?”

Tomura turned in time to see a blue and black mass plow like a meteor into the clearing.
Everything broke into chaos, shouts erupting from the mass as it landed, children falling out of the
fighting sphere.

“I better go hide!” Deku said like a typical NPC before running back into the trees.

WHAT THE FUCK WAS HAPPENING!?

The moment that Neito started to doubt himself, Azure Phantom broke free from his control and
started growing wildly. This was possibly the worst thing to happen when they were airborne. The
wild, panicked feeling was almost painful, and Tokoyami and Dark Shadow immediately acted. the
shadow demon stretched to cover them all, Azure Phantom included.

The peacock struggled, but too fast they were crashing to the ground. Birds screamed aggressively
as they flew apart. Neito was terrified. Dark Shadow continued to try and subdue Azure as the
humans tried to orient themselves.

“You need to calm down!” Tokoyami screamed. “Control your emotions!”

“What do you think I’m trying to do?!” Neito shouted back, knowing he was doing a poor job of
that. When has telling someone to calm down worked anyway? He was being useless!

Azure suddenly burst through Dark Shadow's body, dispersing the shadow, and Tokoyami gave a
cry of pain, falling to his knees. Monoma's mouth dropped open, panic doubling.

And then a villain was suddenly there, looking furious and reaching for the bird boy's head.

His move was interrupted by Tsuyu kicking the villain's legs out. Apparently she’d been unnoticed
in the chaos. The villain stumbled and turned toward her. He grabbed her face, but whatever was
supposed to happen didn’t, and the silver-haired villain looked at his hand in confusion for a
moment.

Azure was still growing, clawing into the ground in directionless panic and screeching furiously.

The villain laughed and turned towards where Aizawa was lying bleeding on the ground. Their
teacher’s eyes were open and burning red. “You’re actually pretty cool, aren’t you, Eraserhead?
Noumu, crush him.”

The villain with black skin and a bird beak lifted Aizawa and crushed him back into the ground.

Neito reacted without thinking. Azure turned its wild rage and plunged at Noumu before it could
do more damage to their teacher.

Tsuyu used the destruction to sweep the silver-haired villain's legs out from under him, knocking
him to the ground. She then sprung to her feet, grabbed Tokoyami by the back of his shirt and fled.
They fucking left him! Neito thought, Azure tearing at the beaked villain's flesh. The damage
didn’t seem to last.

The silver-haired villain screeched in unhinged fury and gave his next command. “Noumu, kill
him!”

Neito didn’t have time to blink before fists were slamming into him with such destructive power
that he didn’t even feel pain when his ribs shattered. In instinctually self defense he pulled at the
monsters quirk and got an impossibly intense flood of power.

Too many quirks, he thought, before he was beaten into bloody unconsciousness.

“What the hell was that, Midoriya?” Aoyama asked incredulously, only three minutes earlier.

The clearing was erupting into chaos and Izuku was thinking too fast to respond . League of
villains. Two wild bird quirks made of shadows. Decay quirk. Multiple quirks. To defeat All Might.
Amalgamation? Hybrid? Only follows orders. Sentient? Slave? Mind controlled? Or mindless?
Nonhuman? Created? Aizawa was vulnerable. Students were vulnerable but fighting. Frog quirk?
Two shadow quirks. Possibly copy quirk? Or brothers?

Shigaraki attacked the bird head boy when his shadow beast dissolved. Frog girl kicked
Shigaraki’s legs out. The villain attacked her. Aizawa saved her. Adrenaline was making
everything move in slow motion. Midoriya’s thoughts didn’t stop.

Gun. Laser. Frog. Two shadow birds. Monster made to defeat All Might. Decay quirk.

Frog girl knocked Shigaraki to the ground and grabbed bird head boy running towards them.

Environment. Thin trees. Fountain. Dirt. Concrete. Stone benches. Bushes.

Shigaraki shouted. And the Noumu smashed Aizawa into the ground. The blue bird attacked the
Noumu with abandon. Shigaraki shouted again and the Noumu attacked the boy again.

Izuku almost ran towards him to help, but Aoyama held him back, looking more terrified than he
had the entire day.

Frog girl and bird boy reached them, also looking panicked. The boy with the bird head had his
hands pressed against his chest and was breathing hard.

“-It’ll take time before he reforms,” he was saying, looking extremely distressed.
Izuku had a gun. The beast was made. Its brain was exposed.

“I need Inasa,” he said suddenly, and to the confusion of the hero students, he took off running
towards the ruins zone.

You ever just see someone in danger and think, fuck this?

What Shouto was feeling when he reached the edge of the central plaza wasn’t heroic instinct or
unselfish bravery or whatever he was supposed to be feeling.

Shouto was pissed. The beaked villain smashed Aizawa into the ground and just as easily turned
and attacked Neito, who seemed to be using Tokoyami’s quirk. The villain smashed into Monoma
with such force that Shouto was almost certain he wasn’t going to survive that single attack. Shouto
was pissed .

With a slide of his foot and a deep breath, Shouto unleashed a glacier of ice well past his normal
limits. It encased the beast in a single move, and Monoma was half-frozen with it.

“Are you kidding me!?” the silver-haired villain shrieked, Shigaraki according to the captured
villains. “Kurogiri, where the hell are you!?”

Shouto exhaled a cold breath and sneered at the villain. He sent a smaller wave of ice toward him,
but Shigaraki dodged easily out of the way.

The mist villain appeared from the ether, still thin and weakened by Inasa’s earlier attack.

“What happened to you!?” Shigaraki scowled. “I thought you said your volunteers would handle
the hero brats!”

The ice around the noumu began to crack and break. Monoma also seemed to be recovering,
seeming dazed as he saw the situation he was in, but also marveling slightly as his bones shifted
and regrew.
Monoma let out a slightly hysterical laugh. He sounded like he was at the end of his rope and
Shouto vacantly worried but continued his attack of the two main villains. They jumped apart and
Shigaraki turned on him with an animalistic growl.

He charged towards Shouto, running faster than the dual quirk user could freeze him. Thankfully
he wasn’t alone, and a laser shot from the trees. The villain had to dodge out of the way of that and
turned towards the woods, easily distracted. Almost like a bull.

Aoyama stood in the trees looking panicked and pale.

“What are you waiting for!?” Shigaraki shouted at Kurogiri. “Kill him!”

“Shigaraki--” the mist villain began uncertainly.

The noumu broke free from its ice prison and shook off the frost as it continued to direct its fury
towards Monoma. Monoma had ended up on the ground, surrounded by shattered ice but somehow
okay. He was still letting out an insane-sounding laugh.

“Alright motherfucker!” he said with a shocking amount of confidence. “Let’s try this again!”

And when the monster struck him, Monoma met it head-on and skidded back, uninjured.

“What?” Shigaraki said, startled. Shouto didn’t have time to be distracted. This time he successfully
caught the villain in his ice but the villain turned his rapturous expression back on Shouto and used
his quirk to dissolve the ice into mist.

“I’m getting just about sick of you hero brats dodging death!” He snarled. Kurogiri seemed to have
faded back into the background, trying to recover and retain his quirk even as Aoyama, Tsuyu, and
Tokoyami turned to face him.

Other villains were filing in from the other territories, coming up from the lake and exiting the
downpour and fire zones. Ready to join the fray and kill them. The Hero students were quickly
becoming outnumbered again.
Then there was a crash from the ceiling and a figure landed in the center of it all. The figure drew
up to his full height and he said the words that symbolized safety and relief.

“I’m here!”

Elsewhere in the facility, Ochako and Shoji had stumbled into the clearing where Yaoyorozu and
Jirou were fighting not only their lives but Kaminari and Snipe’s, too. The blond was sitting on the
ground drooling and smiling, dazed. Yaoyarozu had a wooden bat. She was looking very thin and
tired. Jirou was sending shockwaves with her earphone jacks and firing at the villain with guns she
must have taken off Snipe.

She was standing between Kaminari and Snipe and the villain. Yaoyorozu had been circling and
using more mobility. Both seemed to be wearing black capes made of a material that electricity
couldn’t get through. Yaoyorozu had indeed torn open her shirt at some point but that was hardly
their top priority, though it did bring a blush to Shoji’s face.

They were doing fairly well, but were at a disadvantage between defending people and the villain
releasing a field of electricity every few minutes.

No one had noticed Ochako and Shoji yet, but that was about to change.

“I have an idea.” Ochako said, lips in a firm line that said she was about to do something reckless.
“I need you to throw me a few seconds after he releases his next charge. Not so soon that there's
still electricity in the air, but enough that his quirk hasn’t recharged.”

“Are you crazy?” Shoji asked even as the smaller girl started scaling him.

“Trust me,” Ochako said, squatting like a bird in Shoji’s clasped hands and turning to face the
villain.

The air started to crackle and Jirou and Yaoyorozu both threw up their capes. The villain cackled
and used their distraction to punch Jirou in the gut through her cape. She fell back, a small amount
of vomit spilling past her lip, but the moment the electricity began to disperse she jabbed her
headphone jack in his eye and he gave a cry of irritated pain, stumbling backwards. Yaoyorozu
took the opportunity to hit him in the knee with her bat.
“Now!” Ochako shouted, and Shoji tossed her towards the villain with great trepidation. She
sprung out like a frog and slapped her hands into him, making him start to float. She didn’t hit the
ground with any grace but her next words were cool enough to make up for it.

“Batter up!” she said as the floating villain began to charge his next shock.

Yaoyorozu reeled back and struck him in the side with her bat. With his gravity canceled there was
nothing to prevent the villain from flying into the sky towards the ceiling of the facility. Before he
could recover, Ochako viciously pressed her fingers together and he dropped like a stone, landing
in a heap far away from them.

“You’re out,” Yaoyorozu muttered, giving a bone-deep sigh. “Thanks,” she said, offering her hand
and helping Ochako to her feet.

Ochako gave a nervous laugh, feeling really nauseous. “No problem. Are they okay?”

Jirou had turned to check Kaminari and Snipe as soon as she registered it was safe. “They were
both electrocuted,” Jirou said, checking Snipe's pulse. “The idiot over there took an electric shock
to the chest to protect us, but he fried his brains in the process. He’s been like that for a couple
minutes now.” Despite her rude words, she sounded close to tears.

Ochako knelt to check on him and saw red lightning-patterned burns spreading out from his chest
and up his face and down his arms. His skin was mottled between red, yellow, and purple, almost
like his bones had bruised him beneath his skin when the lighting spread through him. Despite
that, Kaminari was still conscious, and he smiled at her.

“Hiiiiiiihhhhhh,” he slurred in a dazed sort of way, clearly greeting her. Ochako offered him a
small smile back, even through her worry.

“Hi, Kaminari,” she said. “You wanna come with me?”

“Ppppuuurrrrrttiiiii,” he said, happily patting her cheek. Ochako bit her lip and looked to the others.

“He needs medical help,” Jirou said without prompting. “He’s alive, but his heartbeat seems
unsteady. Like hypertension or something.”
“There’s a group making an exit through the outer wall,” Shoji said in his deep voice, entering the
clearing and politely averting his eyes from Yaoyorozu even though she’d already pulled her cape
securely around her. “We should head that way.”

He pointed towards where he could still hear the group talking.

Jirou frowned. “It sounds like things are really going to shit in the central plaza.”

“But we have several injured people,” Shoji argued.

“What about the girl?” Uraraka asked, helping Kaminari to his feet and slinging his arm around her
shoulders. She lightened him slightly despite her exhaustion. It would make things easier and she
needed to improve her endurance anyway. “In the security room, and the one with the fox quirk.
Where did they go?”

Jirou and Yaoyorozu gave her strange looks but Shoji tilted his head listening.

“It sounds like they’re fighting someone,” he said. “They’re closer, but again, we have injured.”

An uncertain look passed over Yaoyorozu’s face, but Ochako barreled forward in a commanding
tone. “We should help them. We have enough people that I think we can safely split up. I’ll take
Kaminari, Yaoyorozu you take Snipe. Jirou and Shoji can go help the security room crew.”

“Why that split?” Jirou asked. “Wouldn’t it be better to have someone with strong hearing in both
groups?”

Ochoco shook her head. “I’m nearing my limit quirkwise and, no offense, but Yaomomo looks like
she’s going to faint.”

Yaoyorozu drew into herself slightly.

Than wouldn’t it be better to have a fully alert person in each group?” Jirou argued. “Me and
Yaoyorozu can take the thunderstruck and you and Shoji can handle the security room.”

“Do you even know where the exit group is?” Uraraka said, narrowing her eyes. Jirou wiggled one
of her earphone jacks.

“Right,” Ochako finally nodded decisively. She shifted Kaminari over onto Jirou’s shoulders and
knelt beside Snipe to pull out more of his guns and pass them around the group, despite the fact
that all of them lacked experience. “We’ll meet you in a couple of minutes. Stay safe.”

The two girls nodded, looking determined. Shoji also nodded, moving to stand beside Uraraka like
an oversized, well-armed bodyguard. Yaoyorozu hefted Snipe up in a fireman carry, looking
unsteady. They separated, Shoji leading Uraraka deeper into the mountains.

Most people would be flagging by now. After all, most elemental quirks were powered by things
like breath or movement, your body's relationship with the element. Therefore, having several
broken ribs would slow most quirk users down.

But not Yoarashi.

Because Yoarashi’s quirk was powered by his heart.

For as long as he could remember, Yoarashi’s quirk activated when he felt righteous, burning
passion. Whether that passion was joy or anger didn’t matter. And he had a tight control on it so as
to not accidentally blow anyone away when he got too giddy. It was more like his passion swelled
out of him when he was passionate and that passion became the wind itself.

So despite his injury, Yoarashi wasn’t slowing down. His emotions were burning with such
intensity that the villains didn’t stand a chance! And with Kirishima beside him, unaffected by the
wind with his rock skin and fighting all Yoarashi failed to defeat, he’d never felt more powerful!

“Inasa!” a voice called, startling him. Kirishima and Yoarashi had made their way through the
ruins zone and were reaching the exit of the territory, having defeated every villain that had dared
to confront them.

“Midoriya?” Yoarashi asked, confused as the green-haired boy came out from behind a wall,
looking out of breath and desperate. “What are you doing here?”

“Helping. And to do that I need your help,” he said, hardly pausing. “We don’t have much time.”

The ceiling broke and they all saw a red and yellow streak fall through and land in the central
plaza. “All Might,” Midoriya muttered.

“How do we know you’re the real Midoriya?” Kirishima asked before Yoarashi could comment.

Midoriya looked momentarily startled, and said in a rush. “On the day I met Inasa, I had a panic
attack because a girl said I should be realistic and it brought some recent trauma for me. Good
enough?”

Yoarashi could barely nod before Midoriya was charging forward.

“In the central plaza there’s a synthetic monster that has multiple quirks. It was made to defeat All
Might and is presumably strong enough to do it. So far what I’ve seen of it is that it has
regeneration powers and is super super strong. It also has it’s brain basically expose apart from a
likely plastic guard around in. so that’s it’s weak spot. And I’ve got this gun so if we make it look
like we’re going for the brain-”

“i don’t want to kill it!” Yoarashi gasped, scandalized that Midoriya would suggest such a thing.

“What?” Midoriya said, looking startled. “No, we’re not actually going to shoot it! We’re gonna
shoot near it to make it look like that’s where we’re aiming. I’ve only fired a gun once before and
that was like five to ten minutes ago. I’m not confident enough to do it without accidentally
shooting the monster. but with your wind powers you can redirect the bullet! Not only that but we
can make it look like the teachers have arrived because Snipe’s known for his bullet bending skills
and the villains shouldn’t know he’s already here.”

“Oh,” Yoarashi said, catching on easily. “Okay then, lead the way. Are the others safe?”

“Not everyone,” Midoriya said, turning and quickly leading them back the way he’d come. “That’s
why we have to hurry.”
The central plaza was in chaos. All Might was fighting villains indescribably fast, but more were
appearing from the other territories, like a hydra with too many heads. Monoma was going toe-to-
toe with the noumu and doing shockingly well, while Todoroki battled the white-haired villain,
both looking worse for wear. Aizawa was being half dragged, half defended by Tokoyami, Tsuyu,
and Aoyama as the mist villain attacked them in his weakened state.

“Everyone’s moving too much,” Midoriya breathed. “If we aren’t careful, we might accidentally
hit someone. We need a distraction. Something big enough that everyone will freeze.” Then louder
he said, “Tali, can you hear me? I don’t know what’s happening with Kabuki-kun, but I need you
to help create an opening. Can you do that for us?”

Yoarashi and Kirishima stared him uncertainly, as he seemingly spoke to the air. But Yoarashi
trusted Midoriya, so he prepared to assist. His heart swelled with passion. Everyone was giving
their all. He couldn’t fail them.

They waited for Tali’s signal.

Serena was going to have words with whoever told Kabuki that she was claustrophobic. Currently
she was surrounded by an illusion that she was pressed into an illusion of a coffin-like space. She
was standing upright, but everything was dark and too small. The air was stale and smelled of piss
and suffering. It brought her instantly back to a moment in her past and her mind started assaulting
her with emotions.

It wasn’t really that she didn’t know where she was or what was happening. She was still perfectly
aware that she was stuck in an illusion, that it wasn’t real. But the problem was her emotions. Her
memories of what it felt like to have experience what she had. To be back in a similar situation. The
emotion of it were very real and absolutely overwhelming.

Emotional flashbacks, they call it. Despite herself, Serena started to cry, and that stupid intrumental
laughing continued, rubbing her in a particularly bad way. Serena grasped one of her wrists and
tried to focus past the fear, past the pain and grief that still felt fresh after all these years. It wasn’t
real. It wasn’t real. She had to get ahold of herself. People were depending on her.

She closed her eyes and started counting. It was a meditation technique she learned. Clear your
mind. Calm down. This wasn’t real. She had to focus. She reached out her hand, with her eyes
closed. There wasn’t a wall in front of her, just cool mist. It wasn’t real.

She moved her hands in front of her, pawing the air until her arm hit the wall and she used it as a
lifeline. She wasn’t going to open her eyes. She could do this. Sure, a fight where one person could
see and the other couldn’t was one-sided, but she could do this.

The plucking giggle was coming from all directions. Serena felt suddenly sure that she looked
rather foolish stumbling around blindly in the room, using the wall as a guide. Someone blew in
her ear and she tried to lash out with her fist but hit nothing. She mentally scowled, once again
forcing herself to ignore the paranoia and anxiety coiling in her stomach.

She peeked, by cracking her eyelids and saw she was in a cave now. A dark, wet cave somehow.
Still cramped, but more open than the coffin she’d been in before. About as big as the cell in her
memories, but different enough that she could think more clearly. She shook her head. Did
Kabuki’s illusions get better the longer they wore the mask?

Serena stepped forward and tripped over the chair she had vacated earlier. Shit. it seemed to
materialize in the cave the moment she touched it. Okay, she could work with that. Serena licked
her lips and stood back up. “Kabuki,” she said to the seemingly empty cave. She closed her eyes
again. She wondered what could possibly break through to the upperclassman. The fox spirit.
“Do… you want to play a game?”

She got the now-familiar musical giggle in response.

“You have to do better than that,” Serena said, keeping her hand against the wall. “Answer me
properly, please.”

There was another trill of chords, but after a moment there was a distinct twang, the same they had
used to say yes earlier.

“Alright,” Serena said. “Have you ever heard of… uh… kitsune-ken?”

She probably could have thought of a better game, but that was the one her mind jumped to. It was
a Japanese version of rock paper scissors that her adopted brother taught her. It popped into her
head because it involved foxes.

The music she got in response was more complex than what Serena had heard in a while, but it was
clearly excited. Suddenly the fox appeared out of mist and the cave seemed the dissolve, becoming
a forest clearing full of ferns. Open and safe. Comparatively. They were still technically in the
security room, but the illusions were impressive. Kabuki themself was looking more and more
animalistic. They had five tails now and they were crouched low to the ground. Their legs joints
had shifted to be more foxlike. Their clothing had changed to a dark blue kimono. This was a hell
of a quirk.

“It wouldn’t be fun if we didn’t have stakes, though, right?” Serena continued, uncertain if this
Kabuki was an illusion. She was listening and watching carefully and trying to find some break in
the matrix. “So how about this, if I win you take off your mask. And if you win…” Serena’s mind
went blank.

“Pwink pwing pwink pwing twang strum twang strum pwing. ” Kabuki supplied.

Serena stared straight ahead for a moment. “Sure. we have a deal.”

Serena held out her hand to be shaken. The fox spirit did an excited dance and put a clawed hand
into hers. It was real.

Serena immediately used that point of contact to start grappling with the fox person. Kabuki started
making aggressive, painfully sharp noises. Like they were smashing their shamisen against the
ground. But Serena didn’t relent in her assault, years of muscle memory responding without
conscious thought. She just needed to get her fingers under the mask.

The illusions were dancing threateningly around them. The walls were closing in. the air smelled
like blood. Blood was dripping down the walls. There wasn’t room to fight anymore. The walls
were closing in. Kabuki continued to scream their unnatural scream.

“Tali, can you hear me? I don’t know what’s happening with Kabuki-kun, but I need you to help
create an opening. Can you do that for us?” a distant voice spoke. Midoriya, from one of the
screens. The mics weren’t that good. But they both heard it. For a moment Kabuki turned towards
the noise, and that was all the opening Serena needed.

Serena tore Kabuki’s mask off in one smooth motion, and the illusion shattered around them.
Kabuki’s knees went out from under them and suddenly they looked like themselves again. Blank-
faced, but human. Abruptly they were back in the security room, with only a fading mist as
evidence of their fight. Kabuki covered their naked face with their hands, looking ashamed.

Serena cast the mask aside with no regard. It clattered harshly across the floor. Then without
fanfare the girl walked to the garbage bin in the corner of the room and puked up her breakfast.
It was at this moment that two hero students burst through the door looking ready for a fight. They
froze when they saw that things were already relatively resolved. Serena spat, the taste of vomit
lingering in her mouth, then she wiped the tears of her face and crossed the room to Kabuki’s
abandoned chair.

“I’m fine,” she said, dropping into the seat. She must have looked pale and shaken, but as usual
Serena pushed past it. “Check on them.” She tilted her head towards Kabuki, who was still knelt on
the floor, face in hands, looking to all the world as though they were weeping. Serena turned her
eyes towards the screen and started taking in all that she had missed.

Now apart from Midoriya, Inasa, and a redheaded hero student, all the students were either fighting
in the central plaza or at the exit the main team was making. That gave her a lot of freedom to fuck
shit up. The fire zone was still basically down for the count. But the other zones, failing to find any
students. were started to head towards the main battle. The student there, and even All Might,
would quickly be overpowered.

“I could have sworn there wasn’t a door there before,” Uraraka muttered, kneeling beside Kabuki
and trying to calm them down.

“You’re Tali?” the boy with six arms asked for confirmation. Serena didn’t glance up from her
observation but gave a small nod. She rolled the chair so that she was in front of the flood zone.
Before either students could say something more, she flipped a switch and turned a knob all the
way up.

Serena was done fucking around today.

Midoriya wanted a distraction, she’d fucking give him one.

Yagi was righteously furious. Villains! In UA! Traipsing in and threatening children like they had
any right! How dare they!

The central plaza was in chaos. Tsuyu, Tokoyami, and Aoyama were standing defensively over an
injured Aizawa all looking worse for wear. The villain they were fighting didn’t look too hot either,
far wispier than All Might suspected was normal for them. His moves were cautious, all things
considered. Todoroki stood across from a villain with white hair who was laughing maniacally.
The villain was covered with hands and seemed to think All Might had intentionally wronged him
somehow. The plaza was scattered with shattered pieces of ice and a light mist. Todoroki was
glaring but otherwise unharmed.

The only ones who didn’t stop fighting were Monoma and the largest villain. That villain had
black skin and a beak and an exposed brain. Monoma met the villain hit for hit, sweating but
determined. The villain had the advantage of weight and momentum, but Monoma had a crazed
look on his face that said he wasn’t giving up any time soon. Every injury they received healed,
and that gave Yagi a good idea of what the villain's quirk was.

“I’m here!” All Might declared before tearing through the low-level villains. He would have
grabbed his kids first if there was a safe place to take them, but at the moment there wasn’t. More
and more villains were gathering in the plaza to surround them. He would just have to trust his
students to take care of themselves for the moment. They’d made it this far.

The silver haired villain wasn’t laughing anymore. He gave an air of petulance despite his face
being covered. His battle with Todoroki became little more than a distraction, especially with
Todoroki’s ice weakening. The villains red eyes tracked All Might and a sick grin began to pull at
his lips.

“You’re slower, All Might,” the villain said, and Yagi didn’t dare open his mouth to respond.

He could taste blood in his mouth. He was well past his limit, and he felt a pulling in his chest. No
breath was deep enough, and that was putting pressure on his chest that he could never quite
release even when he felt healthy. The breaths he did take were too thin, stretched too far. The ache
in his chest was an inferno of fire and needles, horribly familiar but building in intensity. Building
on top of the pain he’d been feeling since this morning.

But All Might ignored it. He couldn’t fail now, not with so many people relying on him.

There was a motion on his right, and Yagi caught sight of it out of the corner of his eye. Someone
had turned the wave pool on. To tsunami mode. With frightening suddenness, a ten-foot wave of
water crashed onto shore and into all the villains who stood near the flood zone. The water pulled
many of the villains into the water and gave All Might the opening he needed to finish off those
who remained in one fell swoop. All but the ones his students had been occupying, the leaders of
this assault.

There was the sound of gunfire, and Yagi turned to find the silver haired villain had been reaching
towards him when his back was turned. His hand drew back. Having been shot away. Snipe.
“Looks like backup has arrived,” All Might said sternly.

The villain’s face twisted. “Looks like we’re out-leveled, huh? Should have grinded more. But
this-”

The hand on his face was shot off, and the villains expression dropped in shock. “Father!” he cried,
chasing after the hand.

“Shigaraki,” the mist villain warned, “I heard gunfire earlier. I think perhaps snipe was already in
the facility, and has only just arrived.”

All Might was already moving, using the moment of distraction to gather his students and
colleague.

He brought them outside the central plaza, his chest still straining. The villains were correct. The
underground hero club had come with Snipe. The other teachers hadn’t arrived yet. It would have
been a good trick if it had taken.

“You’ve fought admirably,” he told them, and his students’ relieved expression was some comfort
to him, though it added to the pressure he was feeling. “Now it’s time to see how a pro does it.”

He turned to face the villains.

Yagi remembered Midoriya’s expression when he fought the sludge villain. Despite the fact that
Midoriya had refused his quirk, the boy was still Yagi’s inspiration. Impossible odds or not,
Midoriya would face down villains and become a hero. Yagi had already let him down once. He
wasn’t going to let anyone down again.

Shigaraki was already ordering the bird villain to attack him. And in a flash, he felt the full force of
the villain slam into him.

It didn’t seem possible. The villain was remarkably strong, and this seemed to be far more than a
healing quirk. Monoma was incredibly admirable for facing such a foe on his own. Still, All Might
held his own, refusing to show weakness to the likes of these people.
All Might wasn’t smiling.

“They’re moving too fast for me to aim,” Midoriya said, pointing his gun, braced for the recoil. “If
I try, we risk hitting All Might.”

There was a worried look in his eye, Yoarashi noticed. Despite All Might being here. Despite
almost all the villains being defeated. Despite their friends being out of the line of fire, Midoriya
was still worried.

That meant something was very wrong.

That Shigaraki guy seemed to be talking as All Might faught. He made a sprint towards where the
other kids were but was distracted by the fight. All Might met the noumu hit for hit, tearing into the
villain as fast as it could regenerate. They were moving so fast that it was hard to even see. It was
an overwhelming display of strength. What could they even do next to that?

All Might suplexed the noumu into the ground in what should have been a finishing move.

But a portal opened. And under the curve of the heroes spine the noumu popped out and dug it’s
fingers into All Might’s side. The hero froze for a moment.

The villains were saying something and Yoarashi knew. He couldn’t hear them, but he knew what
was going to happen.

Yoarashi moved without thinking.

He ran, despite his injuries, despite what plan they had, despite the danger he was putting himself
in. Yoarashi moved.

He screamed with his heart and blew the mist villain away.

The suit and neck brace dropped to the ground. And the portal closed to cut the noumu in half.
All Might stood, a wave of gratefulness washing over him. Inasa stood in the clearing, a
determined expression on his face despite his obvious injury. “Thanks, my boy,” he said.

“CHEATS!” the villain shouted, looking distressed now. “Hacks! How dare you hurt my ally! This
is your own fault, you know! You and hero society. You’ve forced us to fight, and now I’m really
ticked off!”

“This is over,” All Might declared, setting himself between his student and villain. Steam was
billowing off his body.

“Not quite,” Shigaraki said.

The noumu was reforming.

Izuku knew the risk. But he couldn’t hesitate. Not with so much on the line. Not when this was his
only opening. He pulled the trigger.

He aimed for the Noumu’s head.

He missed.

He’d drawn attention to himself. He drew attention to the fact that he wasn’t Snipe.

Izuku aimed, the noumu had grown in height.

He hit it in the neck, but it barely even flinched. Izuku felt sick. He didn’t want to kill it, but it
might be the only way. Tears beaded the corner of his eyes.

He fired again.
The villain had turned towards him. He was little more than a torso and arms, legs not yet
regenerated. The ones he had before disintegrating on the ground. The noumo stood on its feet and
began to move towards the threat. Shigaraki yelled orders.

Izuku hit it in the eye. There was a terrifying pop of blood and viscera, but the rubber bullet wasn’t
enough to make it through the villain’s skull. The eye started to regenerate. Still, it became
instantly apparent where he was firing.

All Might moved and finished the noumu off while it was still weakened. The noumu half went
flying through the dome ceiling. All Might’s hero form was smoking. He was out of time.

Shigaraki went for Inasa. Midoriya turned his gun on him, but Inasa was in the way. He couldn’t
risk--

Inasa turned his wind on Shigaraki, giving a ferocious shout, and in a moment the villain was yet
again encased in ice as Todoroki moved forward, the five other heroes standing defensively beside
him.

It was that moment that the teachers burst in through the entrance, standing as an intimidating
group.

That was the distraction the villains needed, and despite the teleporting villain being disabled from
Inasa’s attack, black tar-like portals opened up around Shigaraki and the neck brace and teleported
the villains away.

“This isn’t over, All Might,” Shigaraki swore. “Next time we meet, I’m going to kill you!”

And then he was gone.

They were finally safe.

In a burst of smoke, All Might’s quirk released, leaving an emaciated skeleton of a man in the
clearing. His chest ached worse than it had in years.
 “ALL MIGHT!?” his students gasped.

Chapter End Notes

- number of injuries in the usj in cannon: 3

number of injuries in this: 8, not counting quirk exhaustion, 17 counting quirk
exhaustion
- I can blame that on there being more characters and the groupings being different,
but really it’s just because I have a different end goal than Hirokoshi
- I knew that Izuku was going to do something stupid and reckless this chapter and he
didn’t let me down. Gaslighting a villain to stall for time. honestly.
- it took me two bloody months to write the last chapter because writer's block but this
one came out of me in approximately 3 days

Discord:
https://discord.gg/SEkN8ee
Tumblr:
https://amarelibertius.tumblr.com
 Briefings and Potential
Chapter Summary

all might reveals his true form to even more children and finally chooses a successor.
Everyone else tries to let things go back to normal

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

“Shit,” Yagi said, face going pale. Then he didn’t know how to continue. There were so many
people staring at him in his deflated form. Too many. The teachers knew, of course. They’d gotten
an explanation. But he counted at least six students and two more came out of the woods at that
moment.

“Uh,” he panicked. “I’m sure you want an explanation.”

Yagi mentally flailed as the pain in his chest doubled and he went into a violent coughing fit. Oh
god, he was just scaring them more. He needed to take control of the situation. He needed to
explain it somehow before they got out their phones or he passed out from his injuries or worse-

“Is that really All Might?” Kirishima asked, sounding horrified.

“He has a transformation quirk,” Midoriya quickly cut in. he placed a hand on All Might’s back
and started rubbing circles there. It had been a very long time since anyone had tried to comfort
him in such a way. Recovery Girl was preoccupied with Thirteen and would have to check on
Aizawa before she could get to him. Judging by his fellow teachers’ injuries, an ambulance would
need to be called. “All Might has two forms, his muscle form and his skinny form. I know you’re
probably concerned about his health but… well...”
“it's an old wound," Yagi quickly supplied. "As healed as it's gonna be! Nothing to be concerned
about."

It was hard to put on the All Might cheer when in this form. The children didn't seem comforted
the way they'd normally be. If anything they seemed more worried. The unbeatable image he tried
to project was broken. He must look tragic to them.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Kirishima asked, worried.

Yagi cleared his throat. "Yes, actually, I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about this.
Including your other classmates. It'd be dangerous if my injuries became widely known, for
obvious reasons."

"Not just among villains, but the public too," Midoriya added, still a comforting presence at his
side. Yagi was surprised at how kind he was, despite knowing of his heroic nature. "If rumors of
his injuries got out, people's faith in his abilities and the abilities of heroes in general would be
damaged."

"How do you know?" Monoma sneered. The blond looked slightly ill and incredibly exhausted.
"Who are you?"

"Oh!" Midoriya looked slightly startled, having forgotten that he was an unknown to the hero
class. "I'm Midoriya Izuku. I know because I’ve met All Might in this form before. The other stuff
is just kinda common sense."

Monoma's eyes narrowed suspicion. "You're the quirkless kid. What are you even doing here? This
was supposed to be a secure location."
"My class was observing yours when the villains attacked. Everyone else evacuated with the rest
of your class. Oh! Except Tali and Kabuki-kun. They should still be in the security room."

He said the last part more for Yagi's benefit. To let him know that there were two more people in
on his secret. Yagi was beginning to accept that his secret wasn't much of a secret anymore.

"So…" Aoyama said, stepping forward tentatively. "You are injured? You have chronic pain?" The
'like me' was implied.

Yagi nodded, unwilling to lie.

"Mon dieu..."

"And you're fighting anyways? You didn't retire?" Kirishima asked, his eyes were watery and wide.

"I'm a hero," Yagi reminded. "I will always help when I'm needed."

There was a moment of uncertain silence.

"THAT'S INCREDIBLE!” Inasa shouted decisively. "The heart that it must take to fight despite
being in pain! To save everyone no matter what! Truly, you've earned the title number one hero!"
The other students seemed to catch his drift and chimed in.

"Yeah that's manly as hell!"

"Vous est tres courageux."

"It sounds like you're being reckless with your health, but if it's an old wound I'll trust you to know
your limits."

"The duality of man knows no bounds."

Monoma and Todoroki didn't say anything though both wore deep frowns. Monoma's was one of
uncertainly bordering on protectiveness. Todoroki fell more on the side of contemplation and an
emotion Yagi couldn't read.

Yagi glanced at Midoriya and received a reassuring smile. Yet again he was surprised by the boy's
kindness. Despite how they had left things off, Midoriya still had an open heart.

Yagi still felt he'd be his best successor.

But, Yagi thought as his eyes moved past Midoriya to land on another student, he still had options.
The day was long, especially after the police came. It was a constant stream of interviews and
sitting around waiting to be interviewed. Several students were injured, though most were just
suffering quirk exhaustion. And as a result of being grouped together to wait, the hero students and
UGH Club members were left to mingle and talk about what they'd been through.

Many were still reeling from the revelation about All Might, though they had the sense not to
mention it. There was also a great deal of curiosity about the UGH Club’s presence. that was
explained rather easily, but principal Nedzu managed to put a mysterious spin on it when he
warned the hero students not to mention the club was there. He waved it off by saying there'd be
other classes under observation and keeping it unbiased and candid was important. Few students
bought it. The club students weren't helpful either, keeping to the company line. It was very
suspicious.

And yet they couldn't begrudge the group. Together they had survived something. They felt older
somehow. Different. It was hard to tell if that was a good thing yet, but there was no going back.

Things were going to change for them.

At the end of the day, they were just glad to go home.

The Countess de Winter gave a contemplative hum when she reached home. The day had brought a
lot of news, and most of it wasn't good. She was utterly exhausted, but she would still have to make
her report.

She pulled a burner phone from her dresser drawer, stripping as she crossed the room. She
desperately needed a bath, but she doubted Aramis would care.
"Sir," she said, deliberately vague when he picked up. "I don't suppose you've heard the news?"

"About how one of the most secure locations in the world got broken into today? Yes I've heard.
This is a nightmare."

The countess made a noise of discomfort as she sat down on her bed. She was ready to fall asleep
instantly but she wasn't going to betray her perfect skin like that. Bath first. "It gets worse, I saw
your old friend today… it's bad. Possibly worse than you remember. "

"He showed his hand?"

"Not intentionally. But a lot of people saw. I can't say how many in total. I felt as though we were
being watched."

"Your instincts are apt as usual, my lady," Aramis replied. "I'll see what we can find once I pull the
security footage from the police. I'll keep an eye out for any looky-loos. "

The countess smiled affectionately. He was like a dorky older brother to her. "Looky-loos, sir?"

"And peepers," aramis deadpanned. Then he was silent for a beat. "Was it really that bad?"
"He was like another person," the countess said sadly. "If nothing else, he didn't notice me. No one
seems to be suspicious yet."

"Good." Aramis sighed, his mind clearly elsewhere. "We'll help him," he swore. "Whether he
wants it or not, we'll save him."

"Of course, sir."

Not long after, a young woman answered the phone.

"Hey boss, I've got news for you," she said, her grin not reaching her eyes. Even across the phone
her boss could tell she was forcing her enthusiasm. "We'll skip the dangerous stuff until we can
meet in person but the good news… this class has even more potential than we thought."

"And the quirkless boy?" a deep, serious voice questioned.

"He has the most potential of all," the woman said, frowning to herself but keeping the energy in
her voice. "I think we can recruit him."

"Brilliant," the boss said. "I trust you've started to plant the seeds already?"

The woman shifted uncomfortably. "Yes. I'm always here to help."

"Excellent." Her boss sounded pleased. "Remember not to micromanage him. A wide net catches
more fish. But if he really has as much potential as you say, then we can use him to make some
true progress. You're doing good work, Witch."

"If you say so, boss," the teenager said uncertainly. Guilt worked its way into her system at the
word 'use'.

Her boss seemed to catch on to her hesitance. "It's for the greater good," he reminded. "I'm sure you
must be tired after the day you had. So why don't you get some rest? I'll arrange a meeting soon."

"Sure thing, boss," she said with forced cheer. "I'll keep you updated."

Then she hung up and immediately slumped forward, the energy going out of her. It was for the
greater good, she reminded herself, thinking of the violence she had witnessed and performed that
day. They were saving the world.

The thought didn't stop the dirty feeling crawling up her skin at the idea of lying and using her
friends. She had done far worse, of course, but that didn't stop her from feeling guilty.

It's for the greater good, she repeated to herself. Hopefully it'd be good for them too.

The students were given the next two days off while UA addressed the security issues.
The first day was unanimously treated as a sleep day, and Shouto embraced it. When he woke up
his sister had cooked him his favorite food and spent the evening fretting over him.

His father had thankfully been out, though both siblings knew he must be furious. Villains had
risked his investment, Shouto, and UA had failed to protect him. He was probably off on a rampage
bothering someone else.

With luck, he'd be proud of how Shouto handled himself, but Shouto had never had much luck.
Shouto expected there to be some particularly bad training days in the coming weeks.

Still he enjoyed the quiet house and the cold soba and his sister's presence while he could. He
enjoyed the warmth it gave him. It unwound the knot in his chest, if only a little.

Later Shouto wrote a letter to Touya. A little more tension bled out of him as he explained what
happened. Admittedly he talked far longer about Midoriya and his classmates than he did the
actual fight. He questioned their actions and motives and waxed a little too poetically about their
bravery. He even went on a tangent about the girls’ promise to teach him slang and asked if they
explained what a crush was probably. He had a feeling Uraraka was going to use his ignorance as
an excuse to insert herself more into his life.

He didn't mention All Might. That kind of information was too dangerous to write down. But he
still had complicated feelings about it. For years, All Might had been a specter hanging above him.
The unattainable sun his father had been chasing and the son his father wanted him to be. All Might
was an expectation. A moving goalpost. And while Shouto fully intended to surpass him, if only to
prove a point, the man still felt like a fantasy. A character on TV more than an actual person.

Until now. Now All Might was human. Wounded, burned out, and dying. And that didn't really
change anything. It didn't change Shouto's goal. It didn't change his father's expectations. The
specter of what All Might represented still hung over him. It just felt worse.
Shouto never hated All Might, but he was bitter. Despite the fact that he respected the man, he
resented him too. It wasn't All Might’s fault, the man had never directly harmed him. He was too
good for that. But Shouto held a grudge.

And now he couldn't. Because the man was dying. Because Shouto had witnessed the man fight so
hard to protect them that he ended up coughing blood. Because All Might, the symbol of peace, of
perfection, of every impossible expectation, was just a fucking quirk. An inflatable suit the man
put on to save the day while the rest of him wasted away.

It made everything feel so pointless. If it wasn't real, then what was he chasing? How could he
surpass someone who wasn't even real? If All Might wasn't really the specter floating over his
family, than what was? Was he even worth chasing?

Shouto briefly shook himself. He was thinking irrationally. While the image was fake, the actions
weren't. All Might had still saved thousands of lives. All Might used his really bizarre quirk the
same way any other hero would. He was still someone to admire and chase. He had just paid a
heavier price for his heroics then the public knew.

Shouto sighed and returned to his letter, contemplating how to explain his issue without giving out
any details. It didn't matter that these letters were for his eyes only. He didn't trust them not to be
found.

He was startled by his phone going off, flinching more than he normally would. He wasn't used to
being contacted. He'd received a text from Midoriya asking if he wanted to meet up at a cafe the
next day. Shouto contemplated not going, but he still remembered Midoriya's face from that day
after school. He still needed help, and Shouto had to interact with him to do that.

With some reluctance, Shouto responded he'd be there. The text mentioned that others were invited
and that meant he would have to be more social than he felt up to. He could safely assume that
Shinsou, Tali, and Inasa would be there. There was no telling how many other classmates were
invited.

Shoto was tired just thinking about it. Friendship was just a distraction from his goal. But it'd be a
necessary evil to save Midoriya. That made it worth it, right?

Besides, Shouto had also caught the scent of a mystery. Midoriya had shot the noumu with a gun.
Midoriya had acted awfully close with All Might. And if Aoyama was to be believed (the blond
had briefly interrogated the quirkless boy while waiting to be interviewed), Midoriya had
successfully manipulated the lead villain. There was more to him than meets the eye.

Shouto was going to uncover just what he was hiding.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN YOU AREN’T ON THE CASE!” Endeavor shouted in
Ritsu’s face. Ritsu could smell his breath and suppressed the urge to be sarcastic. A common
practice for Ritsu was shifting his personality based on Endeavor's mood. Sometimes he needed to
be aggressive and high energy. Other times like now, he needed to be a blank, stubborn slate that
the man could let off some steam on. Either way, the detective could never appear weak.

“The case was given to Detective Naomasa,” Ritsu said cooly. “I’m not the one who assigns cases,
so if you have a problem with that, take it up with my captain.”

“YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE SOMETHING MORE,” the man continued to rage. the heat
coming off him was enough to have the corners of the papers on ritsu’s desk start curling and
turning brown. Hopefully they’d only be a little singed. Ritsu hated paperwork, especially when he
had to redo work he’d already done. “MY SON WAS ATTACKED, AND YOU’RE TELLING
ME THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN DO BECAUSE IT’S NOT YOUR CASE?! I EXPECT
RESULTS FROM YOU, SENBI! AND YOU’RE TELLING ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING?”
“I’m telling you that within the bounds of the law, which we both serve, my hands are tied. It is not
a matter of not wanting to assist on the case-”

“THAN DO BETTER. ASSIST. I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO-”

“Is there a problem here?” a cool-headed voice interrupted. Both men turned to see Detective
Naomasa exit the captain's office, the captain a step behind him. Ritsu didn’t show the relief he
felt. Everyone in the office knew of Endeavor's… antics. But Naomasa and the captain were both
on the list of people who wouldn’t take his shit. The captain was a literal bear of a man, who
usually passed as a cuddly mascot but who could bite back when he had to. Naomasa, a long-time
partner of All Might, didn’t have to answer to the number two. The main reason Naomasa was put
on the USJ case was because it had All Might's name attached to it.

"My son was put in danger because of these villains," Endeavor growled, and really that summed
the whole thing up. Even Ritsu, perpetual bachelor, could understand that Endeavor was acting as a
worried father right now. That didn't change the fact he was an asshole, but he was sympathetic for
a change.

The bear captain gave a low, considering growl from the back of his throat. "Are you suggesting
that my detective can't handle the case?" He gestured towards Naomasa.

Endeavor’s lip twitched, his stupid mustache moving with it. "Of course not," he said, reigning
himself in. Naomasa's index finger tapped against his hip, the tell the whole precinct knew that
meant someone was lying. "Only that… he might be too close to the events. After all, his pet hero
was directly involved, and it's a very large case. You might benefit from an extra set of eyes."

Naomasa straightened, eyes hard. "All Might's involvement in a case has never held me back
before. And as you well know, I'm no stranger to large cases. However," he glanced at Ritsu. The
black detective tried to communicate his tiredness but vague curiosity with only his dark blue eyes.
Naomasa smiled. "I'm not opposed to the extra help."
The captain gave another inquisitive hum, also looking at Ritsu. "How's the 3M case coming,
detective?"

Ritsu glanced at Endeavor but showed no expression as he spoke. "They're moving, sir, in a way
that implies something big is coming. I also have on reasonable authority that there's been a
change in management."

The captain nodded his shaggy head. "you'll be busy then. Are you sure you'll be able to work two
cases without burning out?"

It was a pun, Ritsu thought irritably, because Endeavor was invested in both cases and would be
breathing down his neck more than ever. Ritsu's eyes narrowed. He didn't even glance at Endeavor
when he said icily, "I've never backed down from a challenge before."

The captain's lip twitched, and the slight cooling of the air told Ritsu that Endeavor had calmed
down slightly.

"Well, I'll be glad to be working with you, " Naomasa said genuinely, a kind smile on his face.

It was always a bit off-putting to Ritsu, not because it was fake or creepy or anything, but because
people rarely smiled at him. Despite now having a respectable career and overcoming many of the
basic challenges of being a quirkless adult, Ritsu was what most would call a tightass. He didn't
have much of a choice in the matter, if he weren't so driven he wouldn't have a career. But the fact
of the matter was that people didn't like assholes, and Ritsu was an asshole.

The fact that detective Naomasa could smile so freely was probably why he was working with All
Might and Ritsu was stuck with Endeavor.

"The pleasure is all mine," Ritsu said flatly.

Endeavor suddenly gripped his shoulder. Ritsu didn't flinch, though his instincts screamed to. "I
expect results, Senbi. Don't let me down."

"Of course, Todoroki," Ritsu agreed, and finally the bastard left. He slid into his desk chair,
irritated from the encounter, and checked his papers for damage.

The captain gave a gruff growl, "One of these days he'll learn some humility, detective. Until then,
keep up the good work."

Naomasa nodded in agreement. "I'll get the case file to you by the end of the day and talk to you
then."

Ritsu nodded still focused on his paperwork. A damages report was particularly damaged. It was
only after they were gone that he let himself relax.

Two cases were going to be hell, especially with the 3M being more active lately, but it wasn't a
case he could turn down. Children had been threatened, Ritsu's own brother had been injured, even
the quirkless kid had managed to get involved. Ritsu had stakes in this case.

With a sigh, Ritsu grabbed his phone. He might as well jump right in. A talk with his brother was
overdue anyway.
"Hey, Guttersnipe, I wanna meet up. The usual place. We have a lot to talk about."

When Shouto arrived at the cat cafe, Shinsou was lying face down on the floor with at least five
cats lying on him. Shouto regarded him with vague concern, as he could very easily pass for a
corpse if not for the casualness of the other patrons.

Midoriya glanced up and smiled when he saw Shouto. He had one of the biggest cats Shouto had
ever seen sitting on his lap. “Todoroki!” he greeted happily. Shouto still found it strange how
cheerfully Midoriya conducted himself despite his troubled past.

It was hard for Shouto not to compare the boy to himself. They were both dealing with abuse, both
scarred, both gritting their teeth against the injustice of the world. The difference seemed to be that
Midoriya wasn’t nearly as angry as Shouto was, or at the very least not showing it. It was
unsettling. Anger had become such a part of Shouto’s life that it was hard to understand not being
angry. How could Midoriya be so open, so trusting, so kind, when the world was clearly
unjustifiably cruel to him? It didn’t make sense.

"Well, are you just gonna stand there?" he asked, still cheerful. "Or do you wanna get something to
eat first? The cafe part of the cafe is upstairs. Inasa and Kirishima-kun are already up there if you
want."

Shouto shook his head. He did not have the energy to interact with either energetic boy today.
Besides, Midoriya was the only reason he came. He tentatively stepped over the dead-looking
Shinsou and plopped down on the couch beside the green-haired boy. It was impossible not to plop
because the couch was more comfortable than Shouto had anticipated.

“Is this… everyone?” Currently there were only two classmates visible and two more mentioned.
Shouto had shown up late to reduce the time he had to spend here, but if the group was this small,
it'd be more manageable.

Midoriya smiled. “Like I said, Kirishima-kun and Inasa are upstairs. Uraraka-san, Asui-san,
Hagakure-chan and most of the girls in 1-a are having some sort of sleepover recovery day. Tali
was invited too, but she said she was going to stay home and sleep.”

“God I wish that was me,” Shinsou bemoaned as a cat decided to plop down on his head. Shouto
watched as the boy failed to react to the presence.

“I take it you didn’t get much sleep either?” Midoriya asked, a sort of wry but strained smile on his
lips.

“Worse than usual,” Shinsou said. “Which is bullshit, because I’ve never been so exhausted. I just
laid in bed for five hours alone with my thoughts. Usually I at least enter a sort of fugue half-sleep,
but not last night, apparently. Last night was hyper-analyze-everything-that’s-happened-and-then-
play-it-over-and-over-again-imagining-different-scenarios-that-could-have-happened-but-didn’t
night.”

“Mood,” Midoriya said.

“Mood?” Shouto questioned, vaguely concerned.

“It means I understand, I know the feeling, I relate. It’s a mood,” Midoriya explained easily.
“Ah.” Shouto was still a little worried. "But you're… well?"

"As well as can be expected after something like that," Midoriya said sheepishly, scratching his
scarred cheek. "But it could have been worse…"

"If you want to talk…" Shouto began.

“Nope,” Shinsou said quickly. “None of that. We’ll have time for angst talks later, probably at
three in the morning through texts we’ll regret. But here, this cat cafe, this is a safe place. No
angst, no trauma, no villains, no bullies, no whatever the fuck. Here we're just some normal kids,
minding our own business and enjoying the company of some cats. We’re not ruining that.”

The speech would have been more impressive if Shinsou wasn’t still lying on his stomach covered
in cats. His only real change in position was him waving his pointer finger around for emphasis.

Seeing Shouto’s confusion, Izuku clarified, “We like to pretend we’re normal people with normal
quirks here. It’s kinda a relief, you know? Less pressure to be… well, anything really. Talking
about real life stuff would break the illusion and also make us associate negative emotions with
this place, instead of… you know, the pure joy of cats.”

“Oh,” Shouto said.

As if in response to Midoriya’s explanation, one of the more social cats approached Shouto and
gave a demanding meow. Shouto reached for it, but it abruptly shied away. Shouto tried not to feel
hurt. He tried.
“You have to let her smell your hand,” Midoriya instructed, holding his hand near his own cat’s
face to let it sniff him again.

Shouto blinked slowly but followed the advice. The orange cat sniffed him and then head butted
his hand, forcing Shouto to pet it. Shouto felt truly blessed. Soon Shouto was surrounded by cats all
of whom insisted on sniffing him, getting petted, and lying on his right side. Shouto didn’t
understand the last part, but Midoriya chuckled and said, “They think you’re a space heater.”

“Oh,” Shouto said, unsure if that was a good thing. Midoriya just laughed again, and it was a
pleasant enough sound that Shouto accepted his fate. He decided he liked cats. “So…”

Shouto blanked on what was considered normal.

Izuku, like a hero, picked the conversation up out of the ravine it fell down. "Read any good books
lately?"

Shouto thought about the training leading up to him entering the school. "No," he said rather
darkly. He saw a flash of concern on Midoriya's face, but that was quickly covered up.

"Well, I can give you recommendations if you want." Midoriya said bashfully. "I've taken an
interest in the quirk wars and prequirk history lately, but it's been harder to find direct Japanese
sources."

Shouto frowned, slightly confused. "Why not look it up online?"

Midoriya gave a childish groan. "Because either the site is blocked in Japan or the version is really
vague and lacking a primary source. It's getting frustrating."

"Have you tried changing the settings on your phone?" Shinsou asked. One of his cats got up and
joined Shouto's throng of cats. Shouto couldn't stop a smug smile from pulling at his lips.

"I've tried that, but that just means I have more English to translate and I don't wanna. "

"More?"

“Oh! Tali’s been sending me articles and PDFs on interesting medical cases. She knows a lot.” He
whipped out his phone to show an article written in English. "They're fascinating, but exhausting to
translate."

"You speak English?" Shouto asked impressed.

"Not well." Midoriya waved him off. "I read it better than I speak it, and honestly I'm suffering
with these, but they're so interesting."

"I could tutor you." Shouto saw the opportunity and he took it.

"Really!?" Midoriya asked enthusiastically.

"What's this?" Shinsou said, rolling over slightly. "An actual skill that you're telling us about? It's a
Christmas miracle."

"It's not Christmas," Shouto deadpanned.

Shinsou snorted. "I can't tell if you're being serious or not, so let’s add poker face and telling the
time to your list of skills."

"Hitoshi, don't be mean." Midoriya pouted. Then he turned a beatific smile on Shouto. "I'd love
help with my English. Thank you, Todoroki-kun."

Unbidden, a blush rose in Shouto's cheeks.

"Gay," Shinsou said flatly.

"Hitoshi!" Midoriya yelped, getting flustered.

"If he has a problem with my sexuality he can leave," Shinsou said plainly. "If he can't handle a
little teasing he can also leave."

Midoriya gave him a look.

"I don't know enough about sexuality to have an opinion," Shouto said, concerned this would
become a fight. "Besides, my focus is solely on becoming a hero. Romantic interests are irrelevant
to me."

"No offense, but if you're trying to convince me you're a robot, it's working."

"Shinsou." Midoriya kicked the boy's thigh. "Stop being mean."

“Ow!” Shinshou said, barely twitching, making it clear it wasn’t a hard kick. “You’ve wounded
me. I’ve been injured by the mighty foot of Midoriya! Weapon of mass destruction, dorkiest of
shoes!”

Midoriya rolled his eyes as Shouto observed, feeling lighthearted amusement at their antics. “Don’t
listen to him, Todoroki-kun,” Midoriya said. “He’s a drama queen.”

“Bow before royalty, bitch,” Shinsou said, putting his middle finger up and gesturing it towards
Midoriya.

“No,” Shouto responded, harshly. He wasn’t bowing to anyone.

Midoriya giggled.
That made Shinsou snort, irritating the cat laying on his head.

Shouto smiled, relaxing despite himself. These two were shockingly easy to talk to and they were
funny and smart. Shouto knew he couldn't indulge this friendship forever, but he could indulge it
right now.

“So,” Shinsou said, laughter subsiding. “How's that no-hobbies thing going?”

“Same as it was two days ago,” Shouto answered, lifting his eyebrows. "How's being tall?"

"Better than being short," Shinsou snarked.

"I will end both of you, " Midoriya, the shortest, grumbled. "Maybe we can help you find a
hobby?"

"Do any of us have the time?" Shouto wondered.

"You gotta make time," Shinsou said. "Leading experts say that if you work too much you
explode. You have to do stuff that isn't training."

"I could always sleep," Shouto pointed out.

"Don't rub it in," Shinsou growled enviously.

Shouto smirked.

"So!" Midoriya carried on valiantly. "Do you like art? Studying? Athletics? I enjoy analysis
myself, but I'm told it's rather creepy."

"And I could happily live handcuffed to my bike," Shinsou said in a weirdly fond voice.

"What?" Shouto asked, feeling like he missed a joke.

"My non-hero hobby is cycling." Shinsou's grin wasn't mocking anymore. Apparently he really did
love bikes. "Doesn't matter the kind; bicycle, unicycle, motorcycle; I'm all about that shit. "

"Shinsou, how much do I have to pay you to watch you attempt to unicycle?" Midoriya asked
eagerly.

"More than you can afford," Shinsou said coyly.

"I don't even get a best friend discount?" Midoriya gasped, offended.
"I have a credit card," Shouto added, completely serious.

That earned him a burst of genuine laughter that Shinsou had to roll onto his side to contain. Most
of his cats got up and walked away.

"Okay, you're in. You can come biking with us and we'll put you through the paces and see if you
have what it takes to ride or die."

Shouto shifted, suddenly uncomfortable. "I've never been biking before," he admitted quietly.

Shinsou sat up, suddenly staring at him like he was a criminal. "What?" Shinsou said in a low
dangerous tone

"My father doesn't approve of such frivolous activities so I haven't been allowed," Shouto said
icily. He was trying to cover how self-conscious he was suddenly feeling.

“Meet me outside,” Shinsou growled, still glaring like Shouto had stabbed someone. Then he got
up and stalked away, leaving several complaining cats in his wake.

Shouto stared after him. “Is… is this like a yakuza hit?”

Midoriya burst out laughing and covered his mouth with his hands. “I’m-” He tried to catch his
breath. “I’m pretty sure he’s just morally offended that you don’t know how to do his favorite
thing. He’s going to teach you.”
“Oh.”

"Come on," Midoriya said kindly. He placed the large cat on the floor and stood up, holding out
his hand. "Don't want to keep him waiting."

Midoriya was very pretty, Shouto thought again as the boy freed him from his cat prison. Shouto
quickly shut the irrelevant thought down. It didn't matter.

"What about the others?" he asked instead. He remembered that Kirishima and Inasa were
mentioned as being here, though he was kinda relieved to not interact with them. They were both
too high-energy. However, he doubted he'd hear the end of it if they ditched them.

Midoriya glanced towards the second floor where there seemed to be a commotion. He narrowed
his eyes shrewdly and then suddenly smiled. "I don't think they'll miss us."

"I LIKE YOU!" Yoarashi suddenly burst, unable to stop himself. Very little thought went into the
confession. In fact, no thought went into it whatsoever! It was just a feeling that started building in
his chest since last week that had finally overflowed and given itself clarity. He just couldn't
contain it anymore!

"Wha-what!?" Kirishima said, bursting into tears instantly. Yoarashi mentally panicked. He could
have done this better. He should have done some grand gesture with roses and balloons and
panache! Instead he'd upset him!
"I like you," he repeated, because failed confession or not, Yoarashi would never be embarrassed
or be ashamed of his own feelings.

"Oh my god," Kirishima said, blushing as red as his hair. "You do? Really? But I'm just…"

"You’re bold and brash and brave and passionate!" Yoarashi declared without hesitation. "And
you're kind! I've known it since our first fight. I know it even more now that I've fought at your
side! You're amazing, Kirishima-kun!"

Kirishima looked overwhelmed. "I- well, you're amazing too! You're so manly and cool! You
always say what you're thinking and you never doubt yourself. I-I like you too!"

Yoarashi gave a nervous laugh then punched himself in the face to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
Reality confirmed, despite Kirishima's alarmed look, Yoarashi stood and bowed politely to
Kirishima.

"WOULD YOU PLEASE GO ON A DATE WITH ME!!!!!!????"

"YES!!!" Kirishima said, jumping up too. "I'd love to! Thank you!"

A big dumb smile lit up Yoarashi's face and his cheeks blushed and his eyes sparkled. Before he
knew what was happening, he lifted Kirishima and twirled him. He felt like he was flying.

"Weren't they already on a date?" muttered a waitress.

Kirishima looked up at him with wide bright eyes, his pointed smile bashful.

Yoarashi hoped they never came down.

The moment they stepped outside, Midoriya's phone rang. "Gah!" The boy jumped. The ringtone
was something from a hero movie that Shouto didn't recognize. "It's my mom's lawyer! I have to
take this!"

"We'll walk ahead. Catch up when you're done," Shinsou said, already unlocking his bike.

"You got it," Midoriya said before nervously flipping his phone open and answering.

Shinsou pulled his bike down the road and Shouto followed. They were nearly two streets down
when Shinsou finally spoke.

"I've been noticing it too, that Midoriya has a death wish. I heard you saw what All Might's
become, and well… they're cut from the same cloth."

Shouto shivered, the comparison mixing with his other complicated feelings about All Might. 'If
you kill nothing, you lose nothing,' Midoriya had said. Did All Might feel that way too? Despite all
that society has placed on his large shoulders, did he believe he was nothing too?
The larger image of All Might flashed in his head. Was the real All Might chasing the symbol too?
Did the man behind the hero not recognize he, as a person, was important?

That thought was as scary and sickening as the realization that the All Might was mortal. How
much damage has this symbol done? To Shouto's family, to society, to All Might himself?

And if it wasn't real, how do they fix it?

"I've tried to research ways to help people with self-worth issues and suicidal tendencies," Shinsou
continued. "Most of it comes down to being a good friend and getting the help of a professional.
Also assuring them that they're important and wanted."

Shouto shifted uncomfortably. None of this was in his wheelhouse. Friendship, making people feel
better, emotions. He could barely keep his own emotions in check, he had no idea how he'd help
Midoriya with his limited skillset.

Shinsou's shoulders slumped and he rubbed the back of his head. "You're useless at this too? I'm
not even surprised." He huffed and glared at the ground. "We'll have to make due."

Shouto nodded, stomach twisting. "We need a plan of attack."

"Right," Shinsou agreed, equally awkward. "I'm thinking about bringing Inasa into this, but I'm
hesitating because he's not the most… delicate about other people's emotions."
Shouto snorted. "I've noticed."

Shinsou shot him a sharp look. "His heart's in the right place, and he's more open with his feelings
than either of us."

"But if he goes full frontal assault about this, Midoriya will probably become more closed off,"
Shouto said decisively. "We can't afford to make things worse."

Shinsou gave him a sharp look. "I'm still not sure if I trust you," Shinsou said suddenly. "You seem
to have good intentions, but what do you want out of this? What do you gain?"

Shouto blinked at him. That was a fair question. He briefly considered his response, then spoke
honestly. "Midoriya reminds me of my mother. I couldn't save her, and eventually she burned me
and was taken away. I don't want to watch history repeat itself."

Shinsou's expression became hard to describe. It was somewhere between alarm and concern but
awash with a healthy dose of 'what the fuck' too. He opened and closed his mouth several times, on
the cusp of saying something but failing. Finally he clapped his hands in front of his face, bike
leaning against his hip, and said in a strained voice, "I don't know how to respond to that."

"It's not that important," Shouto dismissed, feeling suddenly vulnerable.

"I kinda think it is," Shinsou argued, his voice still tight.

"We're focusing on Midoriya," Shouto said firmly.

"We can do both. I have concerns."

"Guys! Guys!" Midoriya said, catching up. "I've got good news."

Both boys turned towards him, and Shouto was startled to have something put on his head,
Midoriya standing on his tiptoes to reach. Shouto reached up to find it was a pair of cat ears. A
blush rose in his cheeks.

"Sorry," Midoriya said, smiling like the sun. "I almost forgot, but we all got a pair when we first
came to the cat cafe! Didn't seem fair to leave you out."

Shinsou was looking away, appearing conflicted but also blushing.

"Oh, and Shinsou! There's been movement from Mayor Guntai to push the quirkless rights bill to
the house of representatives! The newspapers are going to be running articles on quirkless
achievement and I'm gonna get mentioned in a lot of them. If I do well in the Sports Festival, the
bill might go even further!"

Shouto had no idea what he was talking about. Shinsou offered a smile that was eerily like
Aizawa's. Perhaps there was some blood relation?

"That's great," he said. He sounded exhausted.

Midoriya's smile dropped. "Did I interrupt something?"

"No," Shinsou said too quickly. "It's just… the Sports Festival is coming up soon. We'll be
competing for the same position."

"Oh," Midoriya said, drooping. "That's right… hey, could you promise me something?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't hold back just because we're friends or I'm quirkless." Midoriya's expression was resolute.
"I want to get into the hero program by my own merit, and to do that I need to show I can survive
in the real world. I can't do that if you hold back."

Shinsou rubbed his forehead and pulled his hand down his face. "I'm not going to hold back,
Midoriya. I want this as much as you do."

"Good!" Midoriya said, smile returning. "So, you didn't start without me, did you? Have you
learned anything yet, Todoroki-kun?"

Shinsou's comfortable Midoriya-caused smile suddenly turned sadistic. "Oh, you're right on time.
We're just getting started."

Shinsou passed over his bike helmet along with the bike itself. He gave a significant look that said
that their earlier conversation wasn't over. This was just a reprieve.

Shouto tried not to feel too annoyed as he strapped on his helmet and mounted the bike. Well, at
least he'd learn something today. Riding a bike couldn't be too hard.

Blood splattered onto the bar counter. Oh, Tomura thought, nails still digging into his itchy throat.
He'd already killed a fair number of failures trying to satisfy the itch, but it hadn't worked. It wasn't
enough.

Tomura had failed. Both his master and himself. It wasn't fair! They'd been so prepared. The plan
should have gone off without a hitch, but there were so many unexpected and unexplained factors.
The second class, All Might being late, the students being the wrong level, the mind control. It was
all wrong. Wrong. WRONG!

"Shigaraki," Kurogiri said, catching Tomura's hand in a portal to stop him from scratching more.
Tomura always hated when he did that. He spasmed, his head trying to continue scratching by
rubbing his chin against his chest.

"It's all right, Shigaraki," Sensei said patiently from his computer council. "We had bad
information. It happens to the best of us. You need only try again."

Tomura twitched, frustrated. "Who gave us the bad information?"

"Our spy," Sensei said patiently. "Who I must remind you is too valuable and too precariously
placed to properly punish, was just as surprised by this turn of events as you were. Apparently the
inclusion of his club was last-minute, and no one predicted All Might's absence."
Tomura petulantly pulled his hands from the portal and resisted the urge to continue his scratching.
"The plan still should have worked. We outnumbered them ten to one on top of having the noumu.
A bunch of kids shouldn't have been able to do anything."

"You underestimated them," Sensei said in a chastising tone. "You won't make that mistake again."

Tomura shot the computer screen a more earnest, loving look. "No, I won't."

"Whatever you choose to do next, I'll support you, Shigaraki," Sensei said gently. The screen
clicked off.

Tomura stared at the screen, already missing his teacher’s guidance.

Kurogiri had teleported the stupid half-gloves onto the table, a passive aggressive cammand to
control himself. Tomura instinctually scowled at them. They felt like handcuffs on his quirk and
reminded him of a fact that had been crawling under his skin since the napkin had appeared.

He didn't remember how he got that blueprint.

He didn't remember meeting the NPC quirkless kid before the USJ.
 He didn't remember a lot of things.

And that was starting to really piss him off.

"Kurogiri," Tomura cammanded, intentionally ignoring the gloves. "Check if there's anyone with
mind control quirks at UA."

Someone controlled that NPC specifically to mess with him.

Just how long have they been fucking with his head

Chapter End Notes

-Something in the recent manga chapters changed how i established/was picturing

dabi's backstory. But at this point my version is tied enough into the plot of this fic
that i can't change it. So let's just roll with it

-midoriya changed his ring tone from "I'm here" and that hurts me

-if the inasa and Kirishima part seems sudden it's because I didn't plan it. It surprised
me too. It's like they saw the slowburn tag and laughed at me

-poor shinsou, all his friends are messes and he's somehow helplessly in the middle of
it.

Discord:

https://discord.gg/SEkN8ee

Tumblr:

https://amarelibertius.tumblr.com
 Webs
Chapter Summary

Threads get spun, threads connect

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

It was 4:13 in the morning, and Hitoshi was now on two days without sleep. He'd reached the point
where everything was hyperreal, simultaneously vague but vivid. He was very aware of his body.
The weakness of his limbs, the low throbbing of his headache, his heart beating slightly too fast.
He knew he needed to sleep. He desperately wanted to sleep.

But it wasn't going to come.

Hitoshi knew a lost cause when he saw one, and with so much to think about, this definitely
qualified. He ended up playing a mindless puzzle game on his phone for several hours. It didn't
help.

One of the shittiest parts was that he was too tired to think about anything properly, let alone his
friends' significant emotional issues.

All Might, the number one hero, had a one-way ticket to martyrdom, and the last stop was fast
approaching.

Midoriya had just got on the same train, and worse, didn't seem willing to get off it or talk about it.
The night he confessed what All Might and Bakubitch had done seemed a long time ago, and now
it was hard to tell if Midoriya's mood had improved or if he had gone back to pretending everything
was fine. And asking was dangerous because, as much as Hitoshi had come to trust Midoriya, he
didn't want to cross a line and lose that friendship or worse, hurt him somehow.

On top of that, Todoroki, helpful as he was trying to be, had his own baggage that Hitoshi didn't
want to deal with. He had admitted to his mother burning him. He'd done it so bluntly. He didn't
seem to understand how serious that was. And add to that the social awkwardness, the hints at an
overly-strict father, the sad expression he always had... Hitoshi could read the writing on the wall,
and it wasn't pretty.

He didn't know how to help. Hitoshi had always been good at reading people, always been good at
spotting weaknesses and digging his fingers into them. It helped with his quirk. But using a
weakness was totally different from helping fix a weakness. Hitoshi had never had to help someone
like this.

And he wanted to be a hero…

pathetic.

Hitoshi accidently dropped his phone on his face and gave up completely. He really wished he
could sleep, or at least think properly instead of running in confused helpless mental circles.

He sighed and slowly sat up, putting his feet down on the floor. It wasn't happening. He could go
for a bike ride. Getting some fresh air might help. But he was too tired for exercise and leaving the
house felt like too much effort. Ugggghhh.

His bedroom was getting lighter as the minutes stretched. Eventually he stood and changed into a
pair of jeans and a hoodie he pulled off the floor. He splashed water in his face in the bathroom to
feel more awake and didn't bother with his mess of hair.

He skipped breakfast and headed towards the door. His mom peeked her head out of her bedroom,
hearing him wandering around. She lifted her eyebrows and he wordlessly held up his phone. She
nodded and slipped back into her room to get ready for work.

Hitoshi locked the door behind him and grabbed his bike, walking down to the dawn lit street. He
swung onto it and coasted for a bit before falling into the easy rhythm of pedaling. His muscles
protested, heavy and slow, but he ignored them, more content to stare blankly at the street in front
of him.

The morning was quiet. Hitoshi's mind joined it for the moment.

Time did that funny jump it sometimes did when he was too tired. One moment he was riding
down a familiar street near his house, the next he was outside a professional garage across town.
He knew the place but it had the surreal quality of a building he only saw while sleep deprived at
dawn. He had no idea what the place was like during the day.

The garage obviously wasn't open, but Hitoshi knew the owner and he could hear work being
done. He might as well say hi while he was there.

He slid his bicycle behind a junker so it wouldn't be visible from the street and went and knocked
on a side door. It took a couple minutes and Hitoshi gladly used the time to space out.

When the door opened, he heard the angry cussing of a familiar but strange-looking child. The boy,
Tetsuo, was both old and young looking at the same time. He was short and his skin was a coral
pink color. He glared warily at the world around him almost like a soldier. Despite this he acted
childish and kept his hair spiked up in a way that didn't match his wizened appearance.

"Oh," the kid grumbled, recognizing him. "It's you. Why can't you visit at a normal time? Dad's
busy."

Hitoshi shrugged, no answer springing to mind, so he stayed silent. Tetsuo rolled his eyes in a way
that called him an idiot.

"Come in," Tetsuo said irritably. "Mom will want to give you coffee."

"Thanks," Hitoshi said, slightly delayed as he followed the kid into the office area of the garage.
The space was a mess of papers, tools and dirty coffee cups, the kind of disorder that had to be built
over time. He shifted some papers and a tool belt and sat on the leather couch against the wall
while Tetsuo went and got his mom.

He rested his eyes and jolted when a warm mug was pressed into his hands. It felt like seconds but
was probably a lot longer. He opened his eyes and looked up at a beautiful but aged woman; she
had to be in her sixties at this point, but her eyes seemed to say she was older. They were haunted
and dark, and combined with her scars, Hitoshi knew there was a story there but he was too polite
to ask.

"Raccoon-shounen." Kei smiled at him. The family insisted on calling him that dumb nickname
because of his eyebags and the fact he would search their junkyard for bike parts. Inasa was never
going to find out that secret. "Insomnia again?"
Hitoshi nodded and took a sip of the coffee. Despite the strange venue, they had some of the best
coffee in town. That was blamed on the mechanics having standards and working strange hours.
Hitoshi wasn't about to complain.

Kei hummed, leaned against the desk, and sipped her own coffee. "You're going to UA, right?
Were you caught up in all that stuff from a couple days ago?

Hitoshi shrugged, unsure about how he was supposed to answer. The school probably had a party
line they wanted him to follow, and the old mechanics he sometimes had coffee with at five in the
morning didn't exactly need to know.

Kei narrowed her eyes and Hitoshi wondered if she was reading his mind. One of the reasons he
was tolerated by the family was that both mother and son had psychic quirks. They weren't afraid
of him. Even the husband, Kameda, who wasn't psychic, didn't seem to mind. He had an 'I've seen
it all' vibe that made him very easy to get along with despite his surly attitude.

"Well," she said sternly, "be careful. Life's going to get harder for everyone soon, especially you.
I'll be pissed if you die for a stupid reason."

The words felt far more ominous than they should, considering seeing the future wasn't one of her
powers. Maybe it was just him feeling tired, but he got a chill down his spine.

"I try not to die at the best of times," he said dryly.

The woman snorted and took another sip of coffee. "It's harder than it looks."

There was motion outside the door and the sound of talking getting closer. The door swung open
and Kameda and someone Hitoshi didn't recognize entered, arguing over something.

Kameda was tall, thin, and muscular but also bore all the marks of someone who'd lived hard and
fast. Like his wife he had scars, his face was wrinkled and tough and he had an unlit cigarette
pinched between his lips.

"Do you think i give a fuck about any of that vig shit, Slip'n'Slide? I fought my war, and as far as
I'm concerned, shit seems pretty good right now. So I'm not gonna budge on price just because a
few of your mates were stupid enough to clink." Kameda lit his cigarette and opened a window. His
wife handed him a cup of coffee and he kissed her cheek. It was all done in a smooth motion that
spoke of habit.

"But the precursors of war are already making themselves known!" the stranger said earnestly. He
was plain-looking but vaguely familiar. In his early thirties. He had black hair, big eyes and was
wearing an All Might hoodie. Histoshi was way too tired to identify him. "The USJ, trigger, the
sudden raids. There are whispers in the underground of the demon king returning. There was a
recruiter in the bar ."

"That sounds like a you problem," Kameda said, taking another drag of his cigarette. He noticed
Hitoshi. "Hey, Raccoon-shounen, insomnia again?"

Hitoshi nodded, face pinched with concern over what he'd just heard. First Kei's warning, now this.
The man Kameda had called Slip'n'Slide went pale when he saw Hitoshi. He cut his eyes to the old
man, glaring fiercely, but he wasn't particularly intimidating.

"Raccoon-shounen isn't a snitch." Kameda rolled his eyes at the accusing look. "He's probably too
tired to even know what's going on. When was the last time you slept, kid?"

"Two days," Hitoshi answered, curiosity making him awake enough.

"See, two days, the kid's zonked," Kameda said, slapping Hitoshi on the shoulder and getting
cigarette ash on him. Kei hid a smile behind her hand.

Slip'n'Slide's mouth thinned into a line. The heels of his boots clicked together. "Are you certain
about the price?"

Kameda took another drag from his cigarette. "Yes. I'm not a fucking charity. Especially with the
schedule you're asking of me."

Slip'n'Slide slumped, pouting slightly. "Fine. I'll see what I can do. This is gonna be a nightmare."

Kameda smirked. "Not my problem."

Slip'n'Slide continued to pout and glanced back at Hitoshi, who took a sip of his coffee to pretend
he hadn't been staring a hole into the man's cheek.

"Could you not mention seeing me to anyone, kid?" he asked earnestly.

Hitoshi shrugged. "I have no clue who you are."

Slip’n’Slide looked a little too relieved to hear that. He turned back to Kameda. "I'll be back.
Thanks anyway, Red-san. We still owe you one."

Kameda snorted. "Just one?"

Slip'n'Slide gave a bow, weirdly polite given it was to one of the most crass people Hitoshi knew.
Then he left.

Hitoshi lifted his eyebrows at the remaining mechanic.

Kameda gave a fond huff and ruffled Hitoshi's hair, not even blinking at the greasiness. "Just a
customer, you know how they get."

"I heard a few words that seemed kinda concerning," Hitoshi responded dryly. Kei got up from
where she was leaning on the desk. She took Hitoshi's mostly empty cup and waited for Kameda to
chug his.

"Don't you have school or something?" he gasped when he was done. Kei left and shouted at her
son to take his medication.

Hitoshi shrugged but got up anyway. "Not for a couple hours still. I'm not gonna get a straight
answer though, am I?"

"Not without paying a price," the old man smirked. It was both ironic and sad that he often looked
more youthful than his own son. There was something wild about the old man's smile that the wary
12-year-old couldn't match.
"You know I don't have money." Hitoshi smiled wryly. Being a freeloader was another running
joke between them.

"Fucking teenagers," Kameda muttered, also jokingly. He'd been a delinquent as a teenager so he
had no room to talk. He took a second to look over Hitoshi properly. "You okay, then?"

"Barely saw direct action," Hitoshi said, feeling suddenly awkward. He knew the family were fond
of him, but it was still strange to see them show actual concern.

"Good," Kameda said, finishing off his cigarette. "I don't need to tell you how pissed I'd be if you
had done something stupid."

"I do like my kneecaps."

Kameda huffed a laugh. "You're gonna give them hell, kid. Get the fuck out. "

"Cruel bastard," Hitoshi muttered.

"I've got work, brat," the man said, pushing Hitoshi towards the door. "Unlike some ungrateful
raccoons."

"Yeah yeah," Hitoshi said, letting himself be manhandled. "See if I ever run errands for you again,
asshole."

"Says the shithead who just got free coffee," Kameda said, tossing Hitoshi out the door of the
building. "One of these days I'm not gonna be so nice. "

Hitoshi rolled his eyes at the empty threat. "Yeah, see you around 'Red-san'," he grumbled,
retrieving his bike.

He didn't catch the worried frown the man shot at his back as he rode off.
"Midoriya!" All Might called out to the boy. Midoriya froze, and it took a moment to shake his
anxiety about talking to the hero. He didn't hold a grudge, but things still felt awkward and
strained. It still hurt to look at him.

"Can we um… talk?" the hero asked, quickly approaching and fidgeting nervously.

Izuku glanced at Todoroki and Uraraka, who he'd been walking to the 1-a classroom with. Shinsou
had probably arrived early in one of his fugue states, and Inasa had decided to walk with his brand
new boyfriend. That had been a surprise, but Izuku was really happy for him. Todoroki raised his
eyebrows, gaze burning with curiosity. Uraraka shrugged and smiled.

Izuku turned back and swallowed the lump in his throat. "Sure," he offered awkwardly. "I just want
to check on everyone and then we can talk."

All Might's expression turned warm. "Of course, my boy."

And so they continued on to the hero classroom, All Might trailing behind them like a duckling.
Uraraka seemed to be at the edge of bursting into giggles and Todoroki was glaring, eyes
screaming the question 'how do you know All Might so well?'. Izuku couldn't exactly answer with
the hero looming behind them.

Arriving, Izuku was surprised at the welcoming reception. Aoyama practically flung himself at
Izuku, lifting him up and spinning him around flamboyantly.

"Mon chevalier, you are okay! You have not withdrawn!" he enthused, kissing Izuku's cheeks.
Izuku's entire face went red and he quickly hid his embarrassment with his arms.

"W-why would I withdraw? I mean… it was a bad day, but-" he stuttered, and Izuku felt rather
silly for being anxious when just a few days before he had faced villains.

"Alors, you see, the attack, it has made people anxious," Aoyama said, backing off and running a
hand through his pretty hair. He glanced around, noticing people were watching and seemed to put
on a strained smile. "They are saying UA is no longer safe, so some parents are withdrawing their
students."
"My parents were definitely considering it," Uraraka chirped, "But the school is promising to fix
things."

"Oh," Izuku said, stupidly only remembering his mom's stress baking at that moment. It hadn't
occurred to him that she might want to withdraw him.

"Still here, though," Ojirou said, stepping forward, tail wagging gently. "It's good to see you're
alright, Midoriya."

"Back at you," Izuku said, looking him over. Recovery Girl's quirk had worked like a charm, and
the only mark on him was a pale scar in the shape of a bite on his neck.

Izuku took the opportunity to look at the other injured. Mina was back to full health, and Kaminari,
despite having pink branches of scars trailing up his neck and cheek, seemed perfectly fine
healthwise. He didn't seem disoriented and was flirting with a girl named Jiro, who seemed to be
indulging him. Monoma had escaped injury by borrowing the Noumu's regeneration, but he still
looked slightly pale and seemed to be playing it off. Izuku had seen Inasa the day before, and
Recovery Girl had also restored him to full health.

Anyone else he could think to worry about had been reported as having quirk exhaustion or were in
another class. The exhaustion had worn off by now, so as a whole the class seemed healthy and
back to normal.

"Midoriya-chan," a girl named Asui asked, joining their group. "I say what I think and can often
come off as blunt or rude. Is it true that you stalled the villain two days ago?"

Izuku startled slightly. "Yeah?"

He shot a look at Aoyama, the only witness, and received a sparkly wink. Asui made a humming
noise but spoke no further, content with her own thoughts.

"You confronted the hand villain?" A blue-haired boy, who Izuku vaguely recognized from his
interactions with the class but hadn't spoken to, gasped loudly. Izuku remembered he was the first
to escape the USJ.
"Yes?" Izuku said, general embarrassment dropping away to be replaced with confusion and
anxiety.

"That was terribly reckless of you! What were you thinking!? You could have died! You could
have gotten others killed. How could you be so foolish!?" Iida blustered sanctimoniously.

Izuku laughed nervously, not really prepared to be yelled at so early in the morning by someone he
didn't know but who was clearly concerned about him.

Uraraka had no such problem. "We all could have died. He was hardly more reckless than the rest
of us. Better even, considering he didn't get injured."

"I wouldn't want anyone to be put in that situation," Iida defended. "But not getting injured doesn't
change the risk. He's a civilian, he shouldn't have been there in the first place."

"Technically we're all still civilians, kero," Asui said calmly.

"Yes but we're hero students," Iida responded. "We know what we're getting into."

"I know what I'm getting into," Izuku spoke up. "I want to be a hero, too."

"But you aren't a hero student," Iida said as though that settled it. "You shouldn't have even been in
the USJ in the first place."

"But he was," Uraraka said, crossing her arms and glaring him down. "And he acted heroically
enough. He even shot the Noumu and helped distract the villains."

"He saved me and Ashido," Ojiro said earnestly.

"And he and his friends were the ones to come up with an evacuation plan," Aoyama said, eyes
sparkling. "Things could have gone much worse if he and his companions weren't there to help."

Iida looked flustered. "W-well, that may well be, but the fact of the matter is that he still acted
recklessly. You all did. It's foolish to deny it."

"We couldn't exactly help it," Mina drawled, irritated. "You might have gotten off easy by getting
away, but we were stuck in the middle of that mess. It was either act recklessly or die."

Iida had gone pink in the cheeks, clearly flustered and guilty.

"You were still helpful," Izuku chimed in to comfort him. "Someone needed to go get help, and
you were definitely faster than Kuroiro."

"Kuroiro?" Iida said uncertainly.

"The other person we got out of the building," Izuku clarified.

"Using Midoriya's plan," Aoyama added.

"It was a group effort," Izuku said bashfully.

"See," Uraraka said, jutting her chin out. "Midori is as good as the rest of us."

Iida tried to regain his bearings. "Yes, well-- well you're still not a hero student, and while your
bravery and intelligence are commendable, that doesn't change the fact that you're a fair bit more
vulnerable than the rest of us."

Izuku tensed, recognizing the argument, and feeling less confident about standing up for himself.
He'd seen how this played out before and fighting about it wasn't worth the energy. Uraraka
however hadn't gotten the memo and continued to defend him. And wasn't that surreal, someone
defending him . Izuku found his admiration for the girl skyrocket.

"Oh so that's what's this about?" she said scathingly. "His vulnerability? What exactly about him
makes him more vulnerable than the rest of us? He seems healthy enough. I know he's got training.
So what makes him so vulnerable? Go ahead. Say it!"
"Uh… t-this really isn't necessary," Izuku said, trying to deescalate the situation. Iida had gone a
funny magenta color and looked terribly constipated.

"I want to hear him say it," Uraraka said, not budging an inch.

Iida was silent, shaking and conflicted. Clearly put on the spot, in a position he didn't want to be.

"Oh for God's sake, it's because he's quirkless," Monoma burst. He looked particularly sallow and
sick, spitting venom. "It's because he's a walking timebomb, only the bomb is a dud. He's a
liability, and you're stupid to think otherwise. He's going to die--"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" All Might suddenly boomed, startling everyone. It was amazing how easily
he faded into the background despite his size and general All Might-ness.

The man was frowning, looking at them with genuine concern and disappointment. The room went
completely silent. "Is this really how people see quirkless people nowadays?"

Monoma had frozen completely, like a deer in headlights. Iida cleared his throat, gathering himself.
"I only have Midoriya's best interests in mind."

All Might stood at his full height, becoming more firm in his resolve. "How do you know what's
best for him?"

Izuku didn't hear the response or if there even was one. He felt suddenly overwhelmed and slightly
sick, not in a bad way, but he was unable to take any more of this conversation.

It didn't feel real. It was one thing to have his recent friends stand up for him. Even that was still a
bit surreal, but they were special. They were rare. But All Might standing up for him, after he'd
already made his views on quirkless people clear… it was too much.

Izuku ended up fleeing the room and catching his breath in the hall. He didn't know how much
time had passed, but All Might in his skinny form was kneeling in front of him. Izuku hadn't even
realized he was on the floor.
"Midoriya," the man said gently, and he was the last person Izuko wanted to see right then. Izuku
felt weak and stupid. What happened in there had been nothing new, yet somehow having
someone, his hero, protect him had affected him worse than the scathing words. A mixture of
feelings churned in him like a thick smoothie of bitterness, begrudging admiration, childlike
wonder, false hope, wariness, fear, and denial.

"Hey," he said weakly. Tears were on his face, but he attempted to make light of the situation.

All Might closed his eyes, expression also conflicted. "Midoriya, I'm sorry."

Midoriya felt as though he was full of cotton, his throat and head especially. A fuzzy light but
blank feeling. Distant from the world.

"I keep making mistakes around you. I never intended to add to your burden, but I have, and for
that I'm sorry. The treatment of quirkless people seems to have changed since I was a boy. I had not
realized, but that's not an excuse. I truly believe you can be a fantastic hero with or without One For
All, but I won't offer it to you again. I didn't mean to make it sound like I was doubting you." All
Might still had his eyes closed as though he was afraid to look at Izuku. "I'm so sorry, Midoriya.
I'm a fool."

Izuku received sudden painful clarity. His hero had changed since his injury, but all the parts Izuku
admired were still there. "No, you're not," Izuku said, kindly. "You're human. I forgive you."

It was easier to forgive him than expected, but then again, Izuku knew All Might was a good
person. Izuku stood and smiled, offering the hero a hand up.

All Might stared at him, deep-set eyes wide with surprise. His eyes twinkled and he gave a tired
laugh. "You really are too kind."

He took Izuku's hand and stood, still a little awkward but clearly relieved. Izuku dried his tears,
well used to crying fits, and checked the time. He had to get to class soon, but he could probably
ask All Might for a pass. Izuku started heading in the right direction. He'd have to check on his
friends during lunch. His dramatic exit probably worried them.

"So you wanted to talk to me about something?" Izuku asked. He still felt a little off-balance but
that would probably pass.
"Ah, right," All Might said, more cheerful now that their issues seemed to be resolved. "While I
would still like to have you as my successor, since you've refused, I wanted to at very least get your
opinion on whom my successor should be. You seem to be more level-headed than I these days,
and I trust your judgement."

"What, really!?" Izuku gasped, and the last of his discomfort vanished as he started babbling over
the quirks he'd seen in his year. His mind was running a mile a minute over potential candidates.
He'd met so many amazing people recently!

All Might coughed to interrupt the ramble. "I already have someone in mind. He's a friend of
yours."

"Oh!" Izuku said, giddily bouncing on the balls of his feet. He knew instantly who All Might was
talking about. "Oh yes! He'd love to do it and I can't think of a better candidate. He can be a little
dense sometimes, but you couldn't find anyone with a bigger heart! I say go for it!"

All Might beamed. The bell rang, but they were halfway to the general studies tower so it was still
a bit of a walk. Izuku considered running, but All Might didn't seem to be in a rush.

"I was also wondering," the hero decided to press his luck. "Even if you don't become my
successor, would you like to be my personal student?"

The part of Izuku that had been a fanboy for years squealed like a child on Christmas. The part of
Izuku that had already been let down twice by the man analyzed why that was a terrible idea. He
was still bitter despite himself.

Izuku shrugged, a nonanswer. "I don't want special treatment."

"You should take every opportunity you can," the hero unknowingly echoed Nedzu. "Being a hero
is hard enough."

"I'm not the only one fighting to be a hero," Izuku said fiercely.

All Might's expression turned thoughtful. "No, I suppose you aren't." All Might patted Izuku on the
head and the boy fought not to flinch. "Well, I suppose I’ll have to come up with something fairer.
Perhaps a club activity. Aizawa did say I could help out, after all."
Izuku abruptly remembered how Aizawa had locked All Might out of the classroom the first day.
And a number of other times the underground hero had gone out of his way to steer the club away
from All Might. Privately he found it a bit funny, but he didn’t think he should mention that to
anyone.

“Of course,” Izuku said with a nervous laugh. He really should get to class, but he didn't really
want the conversation to be over. “So, um, you said you said things were different when you were
younger?” Izuku landed on his recent obsession with history, because of course he did. “How was
it different? How… how did you grow up?”

“Oh,” All Might said, surprised at the sudden subject change. He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m
sure you wouldn’t want to hear about an old man like me. I was hardly anyone back then.”

Izuku frowned at the self deprecation. He was All Might, of course he was someone. Was it
because he was quirkless? “I’d like to know,” Izuku said in a solemn tone, and All Might glanced
away, uncomfortable with his earnestness.

“Well,” the man said, in a considering tone. “I suppose, the main thing you ought to know is that
being quirkless was hardly anything to worry about. I was born right around the time Destro’s
rebellion was ending. Everything was still pretty chaotic. People cared far more about people using
quirks in public than they did about quirkless people. We were more invisible than mistreated.”

Izuku eyes gleamed with interest, encouraging All Might to go on. “It was a chaotic time. I think i
was around five when Destro was arrested? Either way, he had a lot of eyes on him. He was
actually the main reason the hero commission became so militarized, I think. Ironically, he also
made quirk regulation more stringent, not less. Quirks are very dangerous, after all. It was all for
the greater good.”

“The greater good?” Izuku frowned. Even though his quirklessness meant that quirk laws didn’t
have much bearing on him, even he thought they were unnecessarily strict. Most people were told
to never use their quirks, to ignore part of themselves, part of their own body. Oftentimes to the
detriment of their health. It was rather troublesome that the threat of some quirks was severe
enough that the government should be so controlling they would hurt people.

All Might coughed. “Sometimes that’s the choice our government has to make. Same for heroes.
It’s better to save as many lives as one can regardless of the price. Sometimes that leaves people in
an unfair situation, but we’re only doing what we can.” Izuku continued to frown but All Might
shook his head. “And the riots back then were nothing to sneeze at. My father died in one. That’s
one of the reasons I became the symbol of peace in the first place. The world needed to be united
again.”

Izuku flushed with admiration. All Might didn’t talk about himself in interviews, not really. He
tended to turn attention to the situation at hand, and the victims that needed help. It was exciting to
learn things no one else knew about him. It was even more humanizing. It was strange to think
about All Might having a father.

“Well, I'd say you succeeded,'' Izuku offered, mildly. There was a note of uncertainty in his voice,
because he didn’t quite believe that. He had known too many people who had fallen through the
cracks. But they were past riots in the street, at least.

“I’ve certainly tried,” All Might said, clearly sharing Izuku's doubt. He coughed into his hand. “I
think you should get to class, Midoriya. It was a pleasure talking to you.”

Izuku startled. They were nearing the classroom. “Oh! Can you write me a pass?”

He glanced around and the hero had already left for his next destination, never a wasted moment.
Izuku made a face. Hopefully he wouldn’t get in too much trouble.

Moments earlier, Blockhead stepped into the classroom, irritable as always. If anyone were to ask
him to describe himself, he'd use the word petty because he was self aware and unashamed of that
fact. People liked to treat him like a joke, so it's only fair that he'd get his own laugh in.

He made an exception for some of the nicer people, like Midoriya and the rest of the UGH club.
They were alright. But most people proved to be shallow and annoying, and he didn't need to look
any further than his classmates, who were discussing the USJ attack and who immediately pounced
on him when he entered.

"Is it true that you and your weird club were involved in the fighting!?" The thorny girl asked. He
hadn't bothered to learn her name because he didn't like her. He'd heard her flirt with the tall punk
kid, and she was trying to act tsundere, but really she was just a bitch. He was the only one she
even bothered showing a soft flustered side to, so to literally everyone else she was an obnoxious
brat.

"No," Blockhead said dryly. "We were there but we didn't fight anyone." Mostly. "We were in a
whole different building, Snipe was just the nearest teacher to the scene so he arrived first."

That was the party line they were given before entering school. The teachers wanted to keep the
UGH club quiet, and that was fine by Blockhead. He didn't want to be involved in the first place.
He hated that he'd been put in that situation.

Thorn girl gave an impatient groan. "But you had to have seen something! You guys were right
there. All Might swooped in and saved the day. Those hero kids were in the thick of it. You had to
see something."

Blockhead remained silent, waiting for her to realize her mistake. It took longer than it should have
for her to gasp and apologize. Blockhead privately smirked.

It was always funny to him when people forgot he couldn't see like them because pretending had
been a skill he had specifically cultivated. He'd gone to a special primary school growing up to
help him be more able-bodied, and a cynical lesson he had learned there was that people treated
you better if they forgot you were different. When he was an infant he used to navigate by crawling
and pointing his head bump towards the most significant vibrations. It had taken him what was
considered an abnormally long time to learn how to speak or understand that throat vibrations were
different from every other vibration.

He'd been set on a steep learning curve from the day he was born, purely because he was born with
different senses. There was nothing wrong with echolocation. it was all he had ever known. it let
him sense and experience things no one else did. But everyone else saw the world with eyeballs,
interpreting light and color instead of vibrations and resonance. The world was made for them.
Buildings, lesson plans, hobbies were all made for people with a sense he didn't have and meant
everything was more difficult for him on principle.

The special school taught him how to function in the seeing world. Taught him to act like everyone
else. Keep a straight posture, turn his front towards the people who were talking. He still had to
read using braille and couldn't follow instructions that involved colors or pictures. Occasionally
he'd have to remind people of his limitations. But he was proud that he could fool people despite
his obvious lack of a face.

“Ah!” the girl finally caught on. “Sorry,” she said, not sounding particularly apologetic. “I suppose
you weren’t the right person to ask.”

Thorn girl turned to look at Shinsou who was breathing steadily and almost asleep on the desk.
Blockhead knew enough about his insomnia to feel bad that his desk was one of the few places he
almost got to sleep, only to get rudely awoken by a teacher before it could become anything
deeper. The boy needed the sleep desperately.

“Don’t bother him,” Blockhead warned.

Thorn girl huffed. “I wasn’t going to. Who’d want to get mind controlled? I’m not stupid.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” he muttered, making his way to his desk. He settled in as the
gossip became more discordant and stupid. The conversation had turned towards class 1-a and how
lucky they were that they were getting such early publicity. Lucky wasn’t the word Blockhead
would use, but his opinion rarely mattered to these people.

Eventually Tali stepped in and got swarmed by the vultures. She handled it surprisingly gracefully
considering two days ago she had been a mess. Blockhead had heard her heartbeat, and whatever
had happened to her to make her that scared wouldn’t just vanish. But she was acting normal. Her
heartbeat was normal. It was strange.

The girl had always seemed on the strange side. Calm when she shouldn’t be, anxious when things
were calm. Open and blunt yet somehow still distant and cagey. She could talk to people and get
them to talk about themselves and was ready to info dump at a moment's notice, but he knew very
little about her. When the subject came up she usually managed to deflect it back on who she was
talking to or change the subject.

Blockhead wasn’t sure he liked Tali. She was nice, but something was off about her.

The gossip continued, Tali at the center now, basically repeating what he said though managing
some details that Blockhead couldn’t give.

When that empath girl said what they were all thinking about 1-a Tali went still. “I wouldn’t call
getting attacked good publicity. I don’t know if you know this, but having someone try to kill you
tends to be traumatic, especially when you have no training.”

“They’re hero students,” Thorn girl scoffed. “They’re supposed to be able to handle this stuff.”

“It’s the first week of school, that’s a lot to dump on them so soon,” Tali said sternly.
“I heard a few got injured,” Blockhead contributed. “You’re all definitely being insensitive.”

Thorn girl stuttered defensively, trying to cover her ass.

“It’s not like anyone died,” the empath girl reflected helpfully. “They had All Might to protect
them, they were fine.”

“Trauma is trauma,” Tali said matter of factly.

“I agree with Tali,” the lemon boy said earnestly. “Three pro heroes were injured badly enough to
need the hospital, and they were all seriously outnumbered. I can’t imagine what it’d be like to see
that.”

“Thank you,” Tali said in a ‘so there’ voice.

“Tsk, don’t gang up on me like this,” Thorn girl said, backtracking. “I’m not saying it wasn’t
traumatic, I’m saying that since everything worked out, they’re probably gonna get some good
publicity out of it and that’s not exactly fair to the rest of us. I mean, some of us want to be heroes.”
She said it pointedly towards him. “It’s not fair that they get to hog all the glory before the Sports
Festival has even started.”

“They didn’t ask for that,” Tali said, crossing her arms.

“But they’re gonna get it, aren’t they?”

“That’s enough,” a voice said from the doorway. Everyone turned to stare at Snipe-sensei. His
heartbeat was still slightly erratic and he moved sluggishly, but he entered the classroom as
confidently as he could.

“Snipe-sensei,” Thorn girl gasped, sounding worried.

“Should you be out of bed?” Tali’s tone turned disapproving like a doctor. She clearly recognized
that he should still be in the hospital but had no power to change the fact that he was here.

“I’ll be a’right,” Snipe said, entering the room and dropping heavily into his desk chair. “Now I
reckon y’all oughta be settling down now. It’s gonna be a long day. Is everyone here?”

“Midoriya’s late,” Tali supplied, automatically helping Snipe with his papers while everyone sat
down. She wasn’t class president, Blockhead couldn’t for the life of him remember who was, but
she was definitely a teacher’s pet.

Blockhead turned towards Midoriya’s chair, and it was empty. Shinsou was still dead to the world
in his own seat, so Blockhead doubted he could supply any information. Peachy. Blockhead prayed
Midoriya hadn’t been withdrawn from school, he was one of the few people he could tolerate.

“Mmh,” Snipe acknowledged, marking the green-haired boy down without further comment. Tali
took her seat. There were a few suspicious whispers that weren’t the kindest.

“Well, the big news of the day is that the Sports Fest is going a’ead as planned. We’re increasing
security and the like, but our school isn’t one to flinch when threatened, so you can take comfort in
that.”

That wasn’t comforting at all. It was stupid and risky and possibly endangering a lot of people if
the villains decided to take advantage of the crowd. Blockhead could care less about the publicity
of the Sports Festival. What was the point if they were putting people in danger? Displaying their
powers and weaknesses to the League of Villains? Idiotic.

Blockhead sometimes wondered why he went to UA. It made a point, yes, but he wasn’t interested
in being a hero or being stupid. He liked being safe and alive. Heroes seemed to have an allergy to
that. It was tiring. The UGH Club would hopefully teach him survival skills, and he respected
underground heroes more than he did daylight heroes, but it was exhausting. He hated having
people flaunt their stupidity. It just frustrated him.

Blockhead firmly believed the world could be better. He’d thankfully surrounded himself with
people who wanted that too. Midoriya had the potential to be an important symbol despite his
desire to be a hero. Hagakure could do a lot of political damage if she put her mind to it, and
Shinsou… Blockhead could only dream about what someone like him could do if he had looser
morals.
Their little UGH Club could singlehandedly tear apart and rebuild the government if they were
willing to commit to it. Create a brave new world from the ashes of the stupid, flawed one. It was a
lofty goal, obviously. One Blockhead seldom talked about, but he could imagine a quirk-filled
utopia far off in the future if only people fought for it. It wouldn’t be easy, but he had a vision of it;
a world for everyone, built on the blocks they were laying right now. A world where he wouldn’t
be limited by his different vision, a place where no matter how big or small you are you can go
anywhere, fit everyone. A place where no one had to be afraid because their quirk wasn’t heroic or
good enough. A place where even quirkless and villainous people can live in peace, equal to
everyone else.

Blockhead had his eyes on politics. If he could become the president of Japan, he could start
making changes. It wouldn’t be easy. Who would vote for President Blockhead? But he wasn’t
afraid to fight for his vision. He would do anything to make a better world, good or bad. He was
fully committed to his dream.

He’d build his new world even if he had to tear the old one down brick by brick.

" The villain group is apparently calling themselves the League of Villains and were making an
attempt on our number one hero's life," the female newscaster said over the radio.

The male newscaster laughed, the noise sounding autotuned because of his quirk. " Well, they sure
found out that was a mistake. Despite it being a hundred-to-one fight, All Might still pulled
through for his students. Just as expected from our number one!"

"I wouldn't be so quick to discount the students either," the female newscaster said with easy
interplay. "Despite the unfortunate injury of several heroes on the scene that required medical
care, the students managed to escape with minimum injury. Sounds like All Might's teaching is
being put to good use ."

" Were we all so lucky ," the male newscaster said jokingly. Then he shifted to a more professional
tone. " The fact remains that this attack was a bold move for the villains. Already there has been
protests over the safety of the school and whether UA was really doing all they could to protect our
children-- "

"You okay?" A voice interrupted Katsuki's focus. He was listening to the news while folding paper
bags as prison labor and was disturbed to find out about an attack on D-Izuku's school. On All
Might. Some fucks decided to threaten two of the biggest symbols of their time, and they got away.
And he was stuck here.

When Ghost touched his shoulder, he flinched rather violently, almost hitting the boy. He only
then realized, as he felt the blood return to his fingers, that he'd been gripping the edge of the work
station table so tightly they'd gone white. Katsuki briefly shot his hand a betrayed look.

"Just peachy," he grumbled.

Ghost wasn't impressed. "Let me guess, you know someone at UA?"

Katsuki glanced away, refusing to acknowledge he was worried. his hands went through the
folding process on mindless muscle memory (something he hated that he'd developed). He tried to
keep his focus there anyway. Ghost easily saw through him.

"It's okay to care, you know? The world isn't going to end just because you admitted to having
feelings," he said pointedly, his own hands keeping up with the work.

"I know that," Katsuki snapped. "I have lots of feelings!"

Ghost arched an eyebrow. "Most people do. You want to talk about it?"

"No !" Bakugou snapped immediately. "I don't fucking trust you."

Ghost offered a placid smile. "That's fair. But bottling things up isn't good for you, Deku."

Bakugou gave a small flinch, Oshiro flashing through his head. His hands trembled for a moment
but he forced them to be still. When he looked back up, Ghost was giving him a calculating look.

Bakugou pressed his lips together and they worked in silence for a long time. The news continued
changing topics to some political shit. His ears perked up at the word quirkless, but it was just
some senator guy. The topic came up around every election season, but no one really cared.
Nothing was going to change.
Bakugou folded the paper bags with a stupid amount of focus. It was mindless, robotic work that
could definitely be done by a robot.

Bakugou bit his lip, frustration building in his chest.

"You ever fail yourself?" he finally said. "Like, mess up so bad that you don't know how to dig
yourself out of the hole you're in?"

Ghost arched an eyebrow but didn't immediately respond. The sound of flapping paper was
rhythmic and hypnotic. "Yeah I suppose you could say that," he said, revealing nothing.

Katsuki scoffed. He couldn't decide if he liked this guy. He was slippery and powerful and
obnoxious. Nothing like Izuku. But there was something… ugh, Katsuki couldn't nail it down. It
wasn't pity, but it wasn't aggression or disdain either. The bastard was obvious with his
manipulation. He made no secret that he was interested in Katsuki for some ominous reason. But…
ugh!

It was knowing! The bastard seemed to understand him despite barely having two conversations
with him. And because he knew him he was taking the opportunity to push all his buttons.

And worse, Katsuki was letting him.

Katsuki wasn't stupid. He was a mess of emotions and self-loathing and he was… vulnerable. But
he wasn't stupid. He was alone. In enemy territory. Where this kid could turn an entire room
against him with a wave of his hand. But apparently Katsuki was amusing enough that this fucking
criminal rather tease him than exercise that power.

Katsuki felt like an ant waiting to be squished, and he hated it.

But worse…

Part of him, a part that he didn't want to acknowledge or listen to, craved the attention. Before…
before he fucked up with Izuku, everyone loved him. He ruled the school with an iron fist. Number
one in class, number one in gym, the most promising student with the perfect quirk and a bright
future in heroics. Everyone listened to him and praised him. And yeah, he knew that was a lie now,
but he still… he missed it.

No one cared about him anymore. His parents barely counted, with how disappointed they were.
He didn't have friends. He didn't want to think about his relationship with Izuku. And he was
nobody in this prison. Just a sad sack as powerless as the rest of them.

The fact that Ghost was interested in him, no matter how nefarious his intentions, had part of
Katsuki preening like a peacock. He wanted the attention even though he knew this guy was bad
news.

"Well," Katsuki said uncertainly. "I fucked up. Now I'm here."

"And you want to be out there," Ghost stated smoothly.

"Who doesn't want to be out of this shithole?"

"You'd be surprised," the dark haired boy said nonchalantly. "Not everyone is confident about their
place in society out of these walls."

Katsuki's stomach twisted a little at the thought. He was going to be a hero, he had sworn. But what
agency wanted someone with a record? Ghost’s words from before still echoed in his head. But he
had made a promise. Katsuki didn't break his promises…

He tried not to.

"I want to be out," he muttered in a subdued tone. If there were two things Katsuki despised, it was
quitters and liars. If he didn't try, he'd be both.

"Then I can help," Ghost said in a chipper tone.

"What?" Katsuki said too loudly. A guard banged his billy club on the metal table, the noise
ringing, and shouted at them to keep working. They had to stay quiet and keep working before the
guards relaxed enough to allow quiet conversation.
"What do you mean you can help?" Katsuki hissed.

"The literal meaning," Ghost said, keeping his tone blaise as he continued to fold the brown paper.
"I can help, but of course I don't work for free."

"You mean you can-?"

"Tsk," Ghost interrupted before he could say anything incriminating. “I can give you a shot at
being a real hero. Not a government-paid one, necessarily, but a someone who saves lives and
actually means something.”

“You mean a vigilante?” Katsuki hissed, minding his volume now. “But that’s illegal. That’ll just
add years to my sentence.”

“If you get caught.” Ghost shrugged.

“It’s wrong,” Katsuki hissed viciously.

Ghost continued to be unbothered. “So?”

Katsuki side eyed him and intently sped up his bag folding. Seeing his sudden reluctance, Ghost
rolled his eyes. “Lots of things are wrong. Life isn’t fair. We can only ever choose the lesser evils.
And believe me, breaking a few laws about when it’s okay to use your quirk to save people is
better than doing nothing. Or…” Ghost dragged the word out like fingers across silk, “blowing up
classrooms and classmates for the fun of it.”

Katsuki froze. Fury fought against his shaky barrier, demanding he scream and tear this bastard
apart. But self-loathing pulled that anger inward. Katsuki felt suddenly as though he was going to
puke. Or scream. Or hurt himself. Or hurt Ghost.

The vigilante watched, face emotionless and almost disinterested.

“How did you…?” Katsuki finally choked out.

Ghost arched a dark eyebrow. “It was on the news, genius.”

Katsuki tried to get his breathing under control. “Oh,” he swallowed thickly, feeling all at once too
hot and completely frozen.

Ghost tilted his head slightly, eyes glinting. “Actually,” he said imperiously, “for all your talk of
not trusting me, I have no reason to trust you either. Why should I trust you, Deku? When you
clearly have a history of violence? Of hurting innocent people?”

Katsuki’s throat felt like it was closing up. He took several choked breaths, trying to push through
the growing pressure in his head as his emotions warred with each other. His instinctual violence,
his fire and his fury, or his more recent passivity. He didn’t know hatred could be cold, but
apparently his self-loathing needed to be fridged to smother his natural explosive personality. It
hurt.

“I don’t know,” he said, far too vulnerable.

“Hmm,” Ghost said, turning away and back to his work. They stood in silence for what felt like
forever, Katsuki’s fingers numbly folding the bags as he sunk deeper in his guilty abyss.

Finally Ghost said, “I suppose you could prove yourself.”

He said it lightly, like it was a passing thought he wasn’t that invested in. Almost like he didn’t
believe Katsuki could do it.

Katsuki latched onto the perceived challenge like a lifeline. The familiar flame of competition
rising up in him with a desperate desire for some form of normalcy. “What do you want me to do?”

“Hmm?” Ghost said as though surprised Katsuki had responded. “Oh, I don’t know. I suppose I’ll
think of something.”

Katsuki turned back to his calloused hand, glaring and furious at himself.
“I appreciate your willingness to change though, Deku,” Ghost said genuinely. “It shows your
willingness to grow.”

The flash of pride Katsuki felt at the small compliment shouldn’t have been so intense or pleasant.
But it’s been a long time since anyone has complimented him.

So he was grateful.

They’d spent lunch checking in with class 1-a yet again. Midoriya apparently wanted to let them
know he was okay after a crying fit he had in the morning. The room was rather split in their
treatment of him, some people being positive and supportive of the quirkless kid, protective even,
the other group sat silently back, deciding to ignore him rather than have another confrontation.
Hitoshi narrowed his eyes at them.

Either way, Midoriya had bounced back remarkably fast from basically everything. He’d seen in
the UGH group chat that the green-haired kid had literally shot people during the USJ,but he
seemed to be coping better than everyone else. It was almost unsettling, but Hitoshi accepted it as
just how Midoriya was. He knew the kid was in the habit of projecting positivity like the sun, and
he wasn’t going to stop just because of some extra trauma.

Aoyama ruined any potential attempt at intimidating 1-a by draping himself dramatically over
Hitoshi and going on about how relieved and happy he was to see that he was okay and uninjured.
Considering Hitoshi was leaning against a wall, not sitting, it was frankly a little impressive that
Aoyama got a leg up onto his shoulder alongside both his arms. It was also ridiculous and
overdramatic and Hitoshi didn’t appreciate losing the edge he had. Then again, given he had met
most of them during the USJ, it might have been a lost cause.

Either way, Midoriya seemed to have a good lunch and Hitoshi learned even more about his future
opponents.

It happened when they were walking back to the Gen Ed tower of the school. There was an
explosion. Loud, though not violent enough to shake the windows. In the typical Midoriya fashion,
the green-haired boy ran towards it. Hitoshi followed at a sedate pace if only to stop him from
doing something stupid.
There was smoke falling out of a room, and many of the students were flooding out, skin stained
bright pink and coughing. Hitoshi raised an eyebrow, but realized this was in the support
department wing, so all things considered this could have been a lot worse.

A maniacal laugh came from the smoking room.

“Is everyone okay?” Midoriya asked in a worried tone.

One of the students, who was taller than even Hitoshi, coughed again and glared down at little
Midoriya. “I’d be a lot better if that nutcase Mei wasn’t trying to kill us. Who are you?”

“We’re Gen Ed,” Hitoshi said dryly. Whoever the tall kid was, he didn’t seem like he was in the
mood for bullshit. Shinsou was fresh out of bullshit too. He needed a nap.

“She was the one who turned you pink?” Midoriya asked with a considering look. The smoke was
starting to clear already. Hitoshi imagined the Support Department had good exhaust fans.

“Yeah,” a girl Midoriya’s height said. She was wearing a hijab. “Apparently she got the idea from
one of those 1-a assholes. I don’t see why she has to drag everyone in the class into her schemes.”

“Because she’s crazy, obviously,” another boy said. He seemed pinker than the rest of his
classmates. He must have been closer to the explosion.

“She do this often?” Hitoshi asked, feeling more exhausted just thinking about it.

“Daily,” complained the very pink boy.

“I knew her from middle school, she was always like this,” a person in the back of the group said.

“Ugh,” Hitoshi agreed sympathetically. He turned to Midoriya to suggest they go back to class
only to find he’d entered the room where the crazy girl was still screaming about her ‘babies’ and
success.
“Hey,” Midoriya said, and Hitoshi facepalmed. The girl had what looked like a hot glue gun
pointed at him so quickly that Hitoshi couldn’t even comprehend where it had come from. He
hadn’t seen it on her work bench, he was sure of that. She was also the pinkest of anyone he had
seen yet. Clothes, skin, hair, the only thing not pink were her weird eyes.

Midoriya smiled, the ever-fearless crazy person. “You build support items, right?”

The girl cackled like a mad scientist. “I do not just ‘build support items’,” she said, as though he’d
insulted her. “I invent! I innovate! I bring this obsolete world into the future!”

On the last word she blasted a handful of confetti into the air so that it rained down on them.
Shinsou closed his eyes and held back the sarcastic comment that sprang to mind. Midoriya was
smiling like crazy, which couldn’t be a good thing.

“That’s fantastic!” he said, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “What’s your name!?”

“I’m Hatsume Mei!” the girl said, striking a pose. A small display of fireworks went off behind
her. How… how even…? “Remember that name, because it’s the name of the future!”

Izuku smiled brightly. “I’m Midoriya Izuku, and you’re gonna wanna remember my name too,
because I’m going to be the first quirkless hero.”

Hatsume laughed sort of dismissively, like she thought he was making a joke. She almost
immediately turned and started fiddling with her devices though it was clear she could talk and
work, to an extent. Hitoshi saw Midoriya’s brightness drop for a moment and felt almost instantly
annoyed and defensive.

“Hey--” he started.

“I need a support company, actually,” Midoriya said quickly. Hatsume’s fingers paused. “I’m not
in the hero course yet, obviously. But once I am, I’ll have to supplement a quirk completely with
technology. So just think--”

Hatsume whirled around so quickly and grabbed the lapels of Midoriya’s school jacket. “YOU’RE
A COMPLETELY BLANK SLATE!” she screamed as though the thought had only just occurred
to her. “You’ll be the perfect advertisement for my babies because you don’t have a quirk to
distract from it. I won’t have to make adjustments based on your quirk!” She dragged Izuku
towards her work table and picked up a pink measuring tape. She tugged his jacket off and started
taking measurements without permission. “You’re pretty scrawny,” she felt his bicep, “but
muscular enough. I suspect you’ll be training more and bulking up as you go. Keep me posted on
that. I’ll need to know how much weight you can handle.” She tilted Midoriya’s head back and
forth. Her eyes made a startling buzzing noise. “I’ll give you some Hatsume acne cream. Your
pores are awful.”

Midoriya was looking slightly overwhelmed and he was blushing badly, but he had a weirdly
dopey smile pasted on his lips. Hitoshi took note that Hatsume didn’t comment on his heavy
scarring and he could appreciate that, but he still felt irritated by this exchange.

“I have- ah,” Midoriya startled when Hatsume put her fingers in his mouth and stretched his lips to
look at his teeth. “Ah ha’e some adeas, too.”

“Shhhh,” Hatsume said, removing her fingers from his mouth and hitting a button on something on
her desk. Hitoshi couldn’t guess what it was because it was as covered in pink dye like everything
else. “The scientist is working.” When the machine beeped, she started reporting Midoriya’s
measurements and seemingly random bits of information about Midoriya’s physical appearance.

Hitoshi was squinting at her in slight disgust and annoyance. Some of the other support students
were returning to their work tables, everyone grumbling irritably. Someone patted Hitoshi on the
shoulder. “Your friend is doomed.”

“Fine,” Midoriya said, reaching into his bag and holding up one of his analysis notebooks. “Then I
guess you’re not interested in these?”

Hitoshi suddenly saw his life flash before his eyes as he had a premonition of these two destroying
the world.

Midoriya let Hatsume read the first page, and her eyes widened. “These are really good!”

“I know,” Midoriya said, then he yoinked the notebook back out of her hand and held it out of
reach. “That’s all you get, unless you partner more evenly with me. No physical alterations to my
body. Reasonable testing. I have to be involved in the build to be able to use them in the Sports
Festival and properly advertise them.”
“Or I could just,” she shocked him with an invention and Midoriya yelped and dropped his
notebook, arm going limp at his side. Hatsume reached for it but Midoriya recovered enough to
kick his notebook away and block her.

Hitoshi, of course, ended up grabbing the notebook and watched in vague amusement as Midoriya
bodily wrestled the girl into dropping several of her inventions. Hatsume struggled towards Hitoshi
and even shouted at her classmates to get him. Everyone ignored her. Hitoshi looked up towards
the heavens and sighed heavily.

“What’s going on here?” Powerloader said in a teacher-voice. Hatsume and Midoriya separated
instantly. They tried to look innocent, but Midoriya was very obviously smeared with pink dye. His
right arm still hung limply at his side.

“Just discussing a business venture,” Hatsume said, smiling genuinely.

Powerloader looked to Midoriya, as though he expected that to be a lie. “Business venture,” the
scarred boy nodded. Powerloader sighed and looked to someone else in the classroom. The pinkest
boy.

“Mei blew up the lab again and turned everyone pink. Some Gen Ed kids heard and came to check
on us. Then this kid,” the boy pointed to Midoriya, “decided to enable her. The wrestling was over
some notebook the kid had. It’ll presumably make her worse so I recommend getting rid of him as
soon as possible.”

“Notebook?” Powerloader said, lifting his hand to his masked forehead.

“It’s hero analysis,” Hitoshi supplied. “Midoriya was trading information for tech and some
reasonable concessions, such as no body modifications.”

“I could make him a fantastic cyborg!” Hatsume said defensively.

Powerloader held up a hand to stop her. “Midoriya? The quirkless boy?” he said it with obvious
interest, the kind that said he wanted to scope Midoriya up for his own support company.

“He’s mine,” Hatsume said, instantly possessively clinging to Midoriya’s arm.

“Mei,” Powerloader said gently, “He’s a person, he belongs to himself. His notes also belong to
him.”

Hatsume pouted and Hitoshi got the strong impression that this has happened before.

“Well, he agreed to be my hero. So, it’s too late,” she said petulantly. “He’s mine.”

“Not if you don’t meet my conditions,” Midoriya said, raising his eyebrows at her and wearing a
distinctly Hitoshi-ish expression. Hitoshi was almost proud.

“Fine, fine, whatever,” Hatsume said, waving her hand dismissively. “But my agreement means
you don’t wear any other inventor’s stuff. Got it?”

“Deal,” Midoriya said and they shook hands.

“I’ll get the business course teacher to draw up a contract,” Powerloader said warily. “One with
better parameters than what I’m hearing.”

“Yes, Sensei,” Midoriya and Hatsume said in unison.

“Now go back to class,” Powerloader said, throwing Midoriya and Hitoshi out. “Mei, I expect you
made a solvent to remove this dye?”

“Nope!” they heard her cackle as the door closed behind them.

Midoriya and Hitoshi walked in companionable silence for a bit.

“Only you would hear the words ‘She’s crazy!’ and go befriend that person,” Hitoshi said finally,
feeling like he’d recently banged his head repeatedly against a brick wall.

“That just means she’s in good company, right?” Midoriya smiled like he was clever. He wasn’t.
He was a self-contained cataclysm. He was going to destroy the world somehow, and Hitoshi was
along for the ride.

“You got a little something on your face,” Hitoshi pointed out instead.

“I don’t know how you read this stuff,” Hagakure said in a frustrated tone, slamming a medical
textbook down on the table they were sitting at. “I feel like my brain is melting out of my skull.”

They were waiting for Aizawa during the strategy club meeting. Everyone was spread out. Shinsou
was taking what extra minutes of sleep he could get, face down on a desk a few tables down.
Kabuki was obviously avoiding Tali. Shoda, Fuge, Hebi, and Kuroiro were sitting together, closer
after the USJ. They were playing a rather intense game of Monopoly, and Izuku knew for a fact
Hebi was cheating. Izuku, Tali, and Blockhead had started a game of chinese checkers.

It didn’t take long for Izuku to figure out the real purpose of the board games. Not only did it
encourage lateral thinking, it also gave everyone the opportunity to gossip and exchange current
information. It was a subtle but effective way to help their reconnaissance and bluffing skills. Most
information is gained by basic communication and rapport. Board games, despite how cutthroat
they quickly became, were fantastic at building both of these things.

“There’s a bit of a learning curve,” Izuku admitted. Since the USJ and the scare with their teachers’
injuries, they’ve all been independently learning what first aid they could. Tali was the most
knowledgeable and kept loaning out her books, though many of them were frustratingly in English.
Hagakure had thrown herself into the studies most passionately and was considering going down
the EMT track offered by the school as soon as possible.

All heroes got a basic level of medical training, but it was limited compared to what rescue heroes
learned.

He jumped one of his pieces a satisfying four times. He felt more than saw Blockhead’s
competitive aura.

“The struggle is real,” Tali said in a dry tone. She’d been learning medicine ever since she was a
child, so she didn’t struggle as much with the basics. “Be glad you’re not going into epidemiology.
The amount of… uh… syllables I have to remember for any given word is ridiculous, especially
because one letter difference can change the entire meaning of the word.”
She jumped her piece, blocking several of Izuku's pieces but also stranding the piece in the middle
of the blob of pieces. Izuku glared at the board, analyzing it.

“My brain hurts just thinking about it.” Hagakure groaned.

"There's a reason 'med school didn't prepare me for this' is a meme among doctors," Tali shrugged.
"We live in one of the most genetically diverse times in history. Medicine was hard before quirks.
Now it's the most difficult field to be in."

"Your meme does not inspire faith in your profession," Blockhead said, acerbically, as he made his
move.

"But it's basically a fact," the brown-haired girl pointed out. "I mean, just look at Hagakure-chan,
can you imagine operating on a patient you can't see? Every doctor eventually encounters a patient
they don't know how to help because of quirks. It's a nightmare."

"Uhhhm, what!? " Hagakure said in a slightly shrill voice. Izuku moved again, taking advantage of
the distraction to block several of Blockhead’s pieces.

Tali took her next turn and simply moved the free-floating piece one spot. "We do our best to find
work-arounds. You might, for instance, glow in blacklight or become visible with quirk
suppressants. It's why the quirk registry is so important. The doctors run all those tests to establish
a medical baseline and create a file that can pull up in a medical emergency. That way they won't
be caught off guard if you have magma blood or an abnormally low heartbeat or whatever. You
should get your file updated every couple of years by the way."

" That's why they do that !?" Blockhead gasped loudly. "God, and I was so pissed that they kept
sending me to get MRIs every year. This is why!?"

"Mental quirks are tricky," Tali said automatically. “We have to be careful.”

"That's exactly what my quirk counselor said," Blockhead said sassily. "It's just a glorified
combination of 'how it's made' mixed with G-maps. It's not a big deal."
"You're psychically absorbing data into your head. information that our machines can't observe or
detect," Tali said readily. “We don’t know if you’re gonna get bad data or whatever. And that’s not
to mention your skull is abnormally shaped, and that possibly extends to your brain. Brains are
tricky. It’s better safe than sorry.”

"Bugged data?" Blockhead said skeptically.

"We don’t know exactly how psychic quirks work," Tali said vehemently. "For all we know, that’s
a possibility. That's what I mean by it being a meme among doctors. Quirks made medicine
uncertain. If every body is unique, then our basic knowledge can’t transfer to every patient. You
all present unique challenges that we can’t completely prepare for without prior knowledge. That’s
also why quirk classification is so important. Different doctors specialize in mutant quirks versus
emitter versus transformation quirks. Each section has very different medical criteria for treatment
and becoming an expert in one field is far easier than taking treatment case by case. If there is
crossover between classifications, say your psychic ability, but mutated head, then it’s far easier to
get two doctors together than find a doctor who specializes in both."

"Ugggggghhhhhhhh," Hagakure moaned. "And here I thought I could just learn first aid and be set
for anything."

Tali laughed, the cynical noise. "'Fraid not. Looks like you have to suffer with the rest of us."

Hagakure groaned again for longer than before, and started banging her head gently against the
medical text.

The game continued, ignored by the miserable invisible girl. Izuku opened his mouth to continue
the conversation but was interrupted by Nedzu dropping from the ceiling like a cat.

“Tali-san,” Nedzu bounced up. Everyone gave startled cries at his sudden appearance. A quick
glance up revealed an air vent open just above them. The principal was smiling, but Izuku got the
impression he wasn’t happy. “Your handlers have contacted me about an epidemic in Brazil. They
request your assistance.”

“Ah,” Tali responded, unbothered. “When do I leave?”

“Tomorrow morning,” Nedzu said, almost coldly. “It is unlikely that you’ll be able to return in time
for the Sports Festival.”
It wasn’t anything he was saying, or any expression really, but Izuku sensed that the principal
disapproved of whatever this was.

Tali shrugged. “Lives are always my top priority. There’ll be other Sports Festivals.”

“Of course,” Nedzu said slightly more kindly. He handed over a plane ticket and climbed back into
the vent. “Best of luck, and tell L I don’t appreciate his methods of coercion. He knows you’re the
only reason the school is cooperating with them, and that could easily change.”

Tali bit her lip, looking worried. “I’ll talk with him.”

“Remember,” Nedzu said, head peeking out from the vent. “UA will continue to offer you other
options.”

“I know,” Tali’s smile was tight. “But right now, I can save more people this way.”

“It’s your choice, my dear,” Nedzu said with fake cheer. “I’m just reminding you that you have
options. Goodbye, now. Oh! and Midoriya, I was thinking we could meet for tea Friday at lunch?”

“Oh!” Izuku said, freezing. He felt the others shift their stares towards him. “I-I'd love to.”

“Don’t forget!!” Nedzu gave an ominous laugh as he disappeared through the vents.

“The principal wants to have tea with you?” Blockhead asked incredulously.

“You’re missing the Sports Festival to go to Brazil?” Hagakure asked more prudently.

Izuku blushed and Tali laughed casually.

“I can stop epidemics and save millions of lives with my quirk.” She grinned proudly. “It’d be a
little silly if I didn’t use it.”
“Well yeah, but…”

“I’ll be supervised. I have a provisional licence, remember?” Tali moved another piece on the
chinese checker board. They’d reached the point in the game where most of their pieces were
climbed together and there wasn’t much room for jumping. “It’s fine, this sort of thing happens all
the time.”

Midoriya frowned slightly. “Is that why Nedzu seemed upset? They can just… call you at any
time? Regardless of what you’re doing?”

“Well, I do have priorities obviously,” Tali said as though this wasn’t a big deal. “Like I told
Principal Nedzu, my first priority is saving lives.”

“We’ll come back to Mido being able to tell Nedzu was upset,” Blockhead said, holding up a
finger. “Who exactly are ‘they’? Who's calling you to Brazil? You have handlers?”

Tali’s laugh became slightly more tense. She glanced around the room. Aizawa had arrived but
was seemingly asleep on his desk, letting the rest of the club do what they wanted. It was clear that
some people were eavesdropping on their conversation, Nedzu having put them on alert. Shinsou
met Izuku’s eyes from a few tables down. Izuku gave a small shrug.

“You don’t have to answer,” Izuku told the foreign girl diplomatically. “It’s your own business.”

Tali seemed slightly startled at being given the option and her brown eyes narrowed at him. There
seemed to be a moment where she was measuring him. Then she snorted and leaned back in her
chair. “ Fuck it, ” she said to the room at large. She knew all eyes were on her but she didn’t flinch
or squirm from the attention. “Technically I’m not supposed to talk about it but you’re all gonna be
underground heroes, right? It should be fine.”

That had even Aizawa peeking an eye up from his mummy-like bandages. Tali didn’t seem to
notice that she was working the room.

“I,” she said, more towards Midoriya than anyone else, “Work for a branch of the United Nations
Hero League. We’re called the Company.”
“The Company?” Blockhead scoffed. "That doesn't sound sketchy at all."

Izuku frowned. The UNHL were essentially the United Nations equivalent to the Japanese Hero
Association. They oversaw and were members of an elite group of the most powerful heroes in the
entire world. They were a global clommerate of the best of the best, with the express purpose of
defending the world from global threats; villains who could destroy the world, natural disasters that
could change the global landscape, situations that brought on the threat of war. To join you’d have
to be in the top percentage of heroes in your country, and even then they were incredibly selective
in who joined.

All Might was a member.

And apparently, so was Tali?

Seeing awed and confused looks, Tali continued. “Are you guys familiar with the Quirk
Classification Ranking System?”

"Of course," Izuku said while most of the other students answered negatively.

Tali brightened and leaned forward, a clear sign that she was about to passionately info dump.

"The Classification Ranking System is a way of measuring the power of quirks. It's a bit like the
Richter Scale is with earthquakes. It measures how much wide spread damage a person can do.
How many people you could conceivably kill in a minute. Rank A is the second highest rank where
most heroes and supervillains are. Rank B is where most hero students stand. Rank C is for most
civilians. Rank D is for weak quirks. And F is for quirks that are detrimental to your health or
ability to function.”

“What about quirkless people?” Hagakure wondered aloud.

“We're not ranked at all," Izuku chimed in uncomfortably. "It’s a measurement based around quirk
ability. If you don’t have a quirk, they don’t have a reason to rank you.”

“Right," Tali said, slightly more subdued. "Um… oh! I'm pretty sure Japanese IDs are color coded
by rank. You should check yours."
The entire club moved at once to check, slightly excited to see where they stood especially
compared to others.

Izuku placed his ID on the table, frowning at it. Hagakure quickly leaned over to compare and it
was immediately clear that hers had a bar of color along the top while his was on the plain
watermarked background of the rest of the card.

"Huh," Hagakure said in a 'well, would you look at that' tone.

Her card was yellow, which based on Izuku's reading meant she had a rank c quirk. That was
lowballing her quirk, in his opinion. After all, an invisible person could do a lot of damage.

When some people voiced confusion over the different color meanings, Tali stood up and wrote
the scale on the board. Aizawa still didn't stir from his supposed slumber.

A - red - heroes

B - orange - student heroes

C - yellow - civilians

D - green - weak

F - blue - unhealthy

She wrote hesitantly, apparently less confident in her ability to write Japanese than to speak it.

The club was still eager to compare cards. Shinsou, Shoda, and Fuji were orange. Hebi and
Kuroiro joined Hagakure with yellow cards. Blockhead regarded his green card face blank as ever
(no one seemed to realize he couldn’t read it), and surprisingly, both Aoyama and Kabuki had dual-
colored cards. Kabuki had a red and orange card, the colorbar split diagonally down the middle. It
indicated the range of their quirk being dependent on their mask. Aoyama had an orange and blue
bar, indicating that his quirk was combative but also bad for his health.

Tali didn't take out her ID.

"You missed a rank." Izuku smiled, giving her the opening he suspected she wanted.

She grinned, meeting his eyes and sending a thanks. Izuku noticed that despite her apparent
confidence, her expression was slightly strained. Abruptly he realized she was faking the
enthusiasm.

"Right you are, Mido, my well-educated friend." She swaggered over to the board. Above the rank
A, she wrote:

G - gold - world threats

That got everyone's attention.

"People with rank A quirks usually have offensive quirks on a power level that can instantaneously
destroy city blocks and everyone within that range. Again, that's where most heroes typically fall.
Present Mic or Endeavor, for instance." A few people shot Kabuki impressed looks, realizing they
were the only one with a Rank A quirk. "G rank can instantaneously destroy cities. The world,
even. G ranks are so powerful that they can singlehandedly change the global landscape as we
know it."

Her words invited tension into the room.

"The Company deals with people with such quirks and, depending on if the situation, recruits or…
neutralizes them." Tali's voice had turned grim. "As global threats, we-- they have to be treated
with extreme caution. A temper tantrum from a G-rank could destroy cities. If one goes villain, the
consequences could be unspeakable. The Company does everything in its power to find G-rank
quirk users, train them to have perfect control, and from there help them pursue happy healthy
lives, with free access to therapists and other resources if they need it to prevent unnecessary
meltdowns."

"They just… let you do whatever you want?" Kuroiro asked slowly, eyes narrowed. His tone
expressed his skepticism.

"Forcing a G-rank to do things they don't want to is a good way to make them bitter and untrusting
and that much more likely to explode," Tali said, voice shaking as though he had touched a bad
memory. "Nobody wants that."
"But if they're all so powerful," Hagakure chimed hesitantly. "Wouldn't it be better to use that
power?"

Tali seemed to shake herself. "Some do," she blinked a few times, becoming more present. "There's
a task force, specifically for people with G-rank quirks who want to be heroes--"

"The UN Hero League," Izuku said automatically, bringing them back to the beginning.

Tali nodded, ignoring the wide-eyed looks she was receiving. No one had thought deeply about
how each member of the World's Protectors could easily destroy the world if they went rogue. If
All Might turned evil, he could… it was unthinkable.

"They're too powerful," Blockhead whispered what they were all thinking.

Tali nodded, expression sympathetic. "We have checks and balances within the organization. The
last thing any of us wants is for one of our heroes to turn. The UNHL are just as ready to police
each other as they are the world. Oftentimes the Company are the ones who track down young G-
ranks and help them learn control. The Hero League fights the rare G-rank villains. We’re all doing
our best to make the world a safer place."

“Still,” Blockhead said darkly, “if you guys decide to take over the world, there isn’t anything we
civilians can do, is there?”

Tali shifted like this was an uncomfortable question. “Not necessarily…”

“What do you mean?” Kuroiro asked grimly. “Truly, if your organization is full of, let’s just say it,
human nuclear bombs, what can we possibly do to stop them? We wouldn’t be able to get close to
you.”

Tali gave a weak nervous laugh. “Well, that’s the thing…”

Izuku stared at her, understanding dawning on him. “Quirk singularity,” he whispered. “You can’t
find them all, can you? There’s going to be too many”
Tali shifted again and their eyes met. This time her expression was wary. “Basically.”

“You’re saying,” Shinsou said, lifting his head off his desk. His face was drawn and shadowed.
“You’re saying sooner or later there’s going to be more G-rank quirks than the Hero League can
fight or defend against. There will always be people outside your group to stop you.”

“That’s just the nature of the thing,” Tali shrugged, trying to downplay it. “Yin and yang. We’re
trying to maintain balance.”

“I’m sorry, but what is quirk singularity?” Fuji asked, confused. A few of the others nodded that
they shared the question.

“It’s the theory that since quirks get more powerful each generation, eventually the sheer power of
them will be unsustainable. Apocalyptic,” Izuku supplied, chilled. “It’s a really old theory, but
recently people have started taking it seriously.”

“The last fifty years, actually,” Tali said, eyes sharp. “Since the Company was established.”

She seemed to be communicating that this was important. Izuku stared at her. Fifty years ago was
when Destro was arrested. When the rebellion ended. When All Might first started...

“You mean, that there’s going to be more people with G-rank quirks?” Fuji gasped. “But then
what--?”

Aizawa cleared his throat. Everyone in the room whirled to look at him. It was apparent that many
had forgotten he was there. “As educational as this was,” he said tiredly, “we’re seven minutes past
when we were supposed to start activities. None of you noticed.”

The club members shifted guiltily. Tali remained defiant, ready to defend the prolonged
distraction.

Aizawa apparently didn’t have the energy to deal with her.

“Snipe should have everything set up,” the teacher continued. “Today you’ll be choosing your
future support weapons. Let’s go.”

All Might stood across from his future successor, having summoned him at the end of the school
day. The boy had sent his friends ahead and was staring up at All Might with a nervous smile.

“You needed to speak to me, sir?” Inasa asked.

All Might smiled back. “Yes, my boy,” he said, “but first…” he deflated from his hero form and
Inasa gasped, even though he’d been there for All Might’s initial reveal. He calmed down quickly
though he did seem slightly worried.

“Are you okay, sir?” he asked earnestly.

Yagi took a deep breath and said at length, “Not exactly.” He lifted his shirt and revealed his scar.
Inasa’s mood shifted from excited and polite to concerned in an instant. It took a moment to take
the boy out of taking him to Recovery Girl and finally he explained.

“So that’s why you’re skinny?” Inasa wondered. “It’s not a transformation quirk, then… you’re
dying...” His eyes grew wet with tears.

“Yes… I’m afraid so,” Yagi said, growing more accustomed to talking about it. “But that leads me
to why I asked you here. My boy, my quirk is a legacy that can be passed on from person to person
like a torch. One For All. I am offering it to you.”

“Huh?” Inasa said, staring up at him, eyes still wet.

“I want you to become my successor,” Yagi said earnestly.

“Really?” Inasa asked almost incredulously.

 “You’ve proven yourself to be brave and passionate. During the USJ you jumped into the fight
without hesitation. Your feet-”

“Moved on their own,” Inasa finished, eyebrows drawn together. “But I've always been like that,
leaping before I looked. All Might, I- there are better candidates than me, I'm sure.”

Yagi stood straighter and put his hand on the boy's shoulder. “A hero can’t afford to hesitate. Your
instincts are honed to save people. I believe you can use my power wisely. I’m putting my trust in
you.”

Inasa hesitated longer, face scrunched, mouth open as if to draw flies. Abruptly he punched
himself in the face and started laughing, while also crying.

“I’ll make you proud,” Inasa declared, smiling valiantly through the blood and tears. He did look
incredibly happy. Yagi was still naturally concerned, fretting over the boy, but Inasa continued to
laugh happily. “I’ll make everyone proud. I can make so many people happy this way.”

Yagi smiled warmly, assured that he was making the right choice. “You’ve reminded me of
something my own mentor told me,” he said, nostalgically. “A true hero doesn’t just save a
person’s life, they save a person’s heart. So when you save them, give them a smile to let them
know everything is okay. The people who smile are the strongest.”

Inasa’s smile was radiant, perhaps not blinding like the sun, but warm and genuine and passionate.

Yagi smiled back, a more genuine one than he’d shown in a while.

Yes, he thought as he patted the boy on the head and gave him directions to the trash beach. Yes,
he was making the right choice.

Still, he felt the slight melancholy of a road not taken.

Midoriya would have been brilliant.

Chapter End Notes

This chapter required so many rewrites it’s not even funny, thanks for your patience.

Iida is being a tit and i don’t think he’s going to stop being one this fic. It’s sad
because he’s one of my fav boys. But not even favs are safe from a corrupt society and
a misinformed mindset.

There’s a difference between quirk ranks and s-class villains. The class system is
specifically used by the police as a threat level system specifically for villains. Quirk
rank is purely quirk based. So for instance, stains quirk counts as a c-rank but he's an s-
class villain. his quirk itself can’t damage too many people at one. He as a person is a
dangerous villain

also update; i got a new laptop so my update schedule should speed up, no promises
though.

and i changed my tumblr address to

https://www.tumblr.com/blog/serenawitchwriter

if you want to post art for the fic either at me or tag the fic name, or tag
serenawitchwriter. i'd really like to see it

Discord:
https://discord.gg/SEkN8ee
 Weaponize
Chapter Summary

Izuku finally has tea with Nedzu. Katsuki proves himself

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Weapons training!

Izuku had started vibrating slightly the moment Aizawa said what they were doing today.
Apparently the club runners had decided to move the lesson up in light of the recent attack. Izuku
understood why instantly. They had been incredibly lucky to have survived the USJ, the majority
of them having non-combative quirks. Covering that with weapons was not only logical but
incredibly common among underground heroes. Whereas daylight heroes tended to rely on their
quirks and come up with new ways to weaponize the powers they already had, underground heroes
were overall more versatile. Most benefited from having support items and weapons and extra
training. And from the rare videos Izuku could dig up of underground hero fights, they usually
were also very good at using their environment in a fight. It was an aspect of hero fights that Izuku
had always been fascinated by. Above ground heroes only used support items to support their
quirks. As a side effect the fighting styles were totally different from that of underground heroes.
Now he’d finally get a good idea of how underground heroes used their weapons.

There was a large spread of weapons across the field and several shooting ranges set up, some for
guns and some for bows. Looking around Izuku could see spears, swords, knives, staffs, kuni,
crossbows, bows, guns, rifles, whips, scarves, axes, hammers, grenades, tasers, batons, bolas,
slingshots, and plenty of things Izuku didn’t recognize. In the next couple of weeks they’d be
learning the basics of using all of them, but today they’d be doing a quick run through of what they
are and deciding which weapons they’d like to commit to as their main weapons. Once they
decided, they’d be committing to deeper training with that specific weapon.

They were like kids in a candy store. Snipe-sensei was sure to emphasize safety and maturity when
handling the weapons. Even though most of them were blunted and non-lethal, they still weren’t
something to play around with. That didn’t stop them from geeking out. There was something
about being a teenager and being handed dangerous weapons that brought out enthusiasm.

They separated into three groups, each with a teacher. Izuku ended up in Snipe-sensei's group
alongside Blockhead, Shoda, and Hebi. They were led around the field and Snipe quickly gave
them a rundown of each weapon before letting them handle it themselves.
They weren’t learning much of the cool stuff. Mainly just grips and basic strikes, but Izuku could
tell that each weapon had incredible potential. He wanted to become an expert in all of them.
Unfortunately, some definitely fit him better than others.

Izuku was about as good with Aizawa’s scarf as he was at tying a tie. He was quickly coming to
the conclusion that all fabric, even special carbon metal alloy fabric, hated him. It was his
weakness, his kryptonite on top of katsudon and crying easily. Bolas and whips were just as
frustrating. Staffs and spears were difficult given how short he was, and archery was equally as
difficult.

But then a gun was placed in his hand.

Snipe steadily went over the basic safety of the weapon. Keep the muzzle pointed at the ground.
Treat every gun as though it’s loaded. Never touch the trigger of the gun until you’re prepared to
fire. Be sure of your target and be aware of what's behind or around it. You can’t take bullets back.
Even nonlethal projectiles could be deadly if fired at the head or throat. The gun safety lesson went
on for longer than the ones for the other weapons they’d tried. It was treated more seriously.

Izuku held the gun with trepidation and a small amount of pride. Already understanding the
consequences. Days earlier he’d used a gun to defend his friends. He saved Mina with this weapon.
It still felt heavy in his hand, but he wasn’t afraid of it.

Izuku stared down the target and raised the weapon as Snipe-sensei continued to talk him through
the proper posture and bracing.

“And you exhale when you pull the trigger,” Snipe said, squeezing Izuku’s shoulder. “Try it now.”

Izuku nodded and pulled his ear protection on. Snipe held up his arm and everyone else put on
their protection and stood clear. The analytical part of Izuku’s brain was going off full tilt about
trechectory and force and wind. He’d remember the talks he’d had with Inasa about air pressure.
They’d never talked about it in terms of bullets, which in hindsight seemed like a bit of an
oversight. They’d need to figure it out to see if Inasa could use his quirk to stop bullets. That didn’t
really help him here anyway. Izuku didn’t know enough about guns, what kinda force they packed
or how the various environmental factors affect it. Not well enough for it to make a difference in
his shooting ability.

Izuku took a deep calming breath trying to steady himself and bracing himself to kick back. He
focused on the target. He took his finger off the trigger guard and he fired.

The noise felt loud, more in how the shot reverberated through his bones that his ability to hear it.
The kick back was slightly more than he was expecting, despite having prepared for it. Maybe
because Snipe made it look so easy? It didn’t matter. Izuku had hit the target. Not very well but he
had hit it. A wide pure smile crossed his face. He took several more shots and all of them hit. It
was thrilling

After bringing the target forward Izuku grinned at the wide cluster of hits. Izuku definitely wasn’t
perfect but a surprising number of shots made it into the target, with two or three made it into the
bullseye. It was pretty good for his first time.

Snipe-sensei confirmed this when he turned to Aizawa and said “dibs”. Aizawa, who had arrived
with his group to take over the range, rolled his eyes. Shinsou snorted beside him. He had dirt on
his temple from struggling with Aizawa’s capture weapon but looked incredibly pleased with
himself and pleased on Izuku’s behalf.

Not long after they proceeded to try a rifle and this felt even better in Izuku's hand. His shoulder
hurt afterward, but this time he could actually use the vague mathematics he’d started doing in his
head and when Snipe encouraged them to try skeet shooting alongside the target practice, Izuku
didn’t miss a shot. He was feeling giddy from success. When it came time to move on to the next
weapons, Izuku didn’t want to give the gun up.

By the end of the club meeting, which had lasted three hours not counting Tali’s impromptu quirk
lesson, they had all decided on what weapon they’d be using.

Izuku had chosen the handgun and rifle, of course, though he had an honest interest in getting good
at all the weapons offered. The guns seemed like fate. Apart from analysis, Izuku had very few
natural talents. Finding something he was good at was really exciting. He also decided he should
commit to learning knives and possibly swords, that way he'd have multiple ranges covered.

Blockhead was barred from range weapons, being effectively blind. Knives and swords and
basically anything sharp were also ruled out as he couldn't judge where he was stabbing or cutting
someone even with his echolocation. The risk of accidentally cutting someone's vitals was too high.
Izuku could tell Blockhead was getting frustrated with his limitations, but finally he landed on a
staff and a whip. The staff was blunt and easy enough to maneuver though he seemed mostly
unimpressed. The whip was harder for him but apparently he could sense it well and feel vibrations
through the cord, so he was willing to commit to it. Midnight enthusiastically congratulated him
when he declared his decision and promised they'd be spending a lot of time together.
Shoda was naturally drawn towards the explosives, especially with how they paired with his quirk.
Minefield. He was enthralled the entire lesson, but Izuku personally didn’t retain any of it,
becoming progressively more anxious as that particular lesson went on. It wasn’t even that he was
scared of the explosions, he was well used to such thing having grown up around Kacchan. The
pop of an explosive was basically white noise to him at this point. The bombs weren’t even going
to be used on him. And yet, Izuku couldn't help but feel tense. Not terrified or ready to run. He
wasn’t getting flashbacks to… to what happened. He was just tense.

Like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

He wouldn’t be using explosives in the future.

Hebi took naturally to the sword like he was born to wield one. He argued that it was a magician’s
weapon of choice and that he was also debating learning sword swallowing just for fun. No one
was particularly impressed, quirks had made such illusions rather unimpressive, but Izuku still
cheered him on. Hebi was also enthusiastic about the crossbows, though when it came to gun
training, he ignored one of the gun safety rules by putting his gun down and turning away from it.
Snipe had stolen it to teach him a lesson and it was clear that Hebi was probably not going to
continue learning that weapon.

He wasn’t the only one with an interest in swords. Tali apparently had experience with them, the
company having provided multiple kinds of training to her. She preferred knife fighting over
swords but it was still rather exciting to see someone with experience go against one of the
teachers. Aoyama, likewise, had experience with fencing but the only explanation he offered was
that he’s french. Izuku couldn’t wait to see the two of them duel at the end of their initial training
sessions.

Tali also took an interest in smoke bombs, flash grenades, and to everyone’s trepidation, axe
throwing. Axe throwing didn’t have many real life applications, especially when it came to hero
work, but the girl got terribly excited about it. Izuku could agree that throwing a hand axe and
getting it to stick in the wooden target was really satisfying, but it wouldn’t be his weapon of
choice.

Aoyama joined Midoriya in a preference towards guns alongside his fencing talent. His quirk was
already suited towards daylight heroics, but due to the drawbacks he felt it was incredibly
important to have backup skills. He also took up flash grenades and debated with Aizawa for ten
minute over the validity of throwing glitter at people. Midnight ended up settling it, by pointing out
blinding people was an effective distraction to get an attack in and she sometimes used
concentrations of her pheromones in a similar way. It became apparent that Aizawa was just being
intentionally contradictory.
Next in Aizawa's group was Shinsou, who was incredibly smug that he seemed to be the only one
with potential for Aizawa's scarf. They hadn't even done anything complicated, but Aizawa had
complimented Shinsou specifically. The boy was practically glowing and Izuku could admit that
confidence looked good on him. Shinsou also took to kunai. Hagakure started making fun of him
for trying to be a rogue ninja, but considering she also ended up deciding on kunai, it was slightly
ironic.

Finding weapons for her was actually fairly difficult given they had to be hidden within her
apparently skin tight hero costume. The invisible outfit was made from a material made with her
DNA but it was apparently a rather difficult process. The scientist couldn’t see the fibers they were
creating. While they did manage to make her a costume to cover her important bits, it was a thin
material and apparently it fitted badly in spots. Hagakure seemed determined not to complain,
however since her other option was nudity. Still, Hagakure couldn’t carry the same amount as the
rest of them if she was going to maintain her invisibility. No belt, no supplies. They couldn’t even
figure out how to invent invisible shoes for her to wear so she would often be working barefoot.
Izuku worried about her.

The weapons they finally landed on were the mentioned kunai, they were small and easy enough to
hide within her uniform. They also decided on working with trip wires. The wire they had with the
weapons was metal, but they disguised getting a support company to create a stronger less visible
variety. Setting up traps with her invisibility would probably be a boon in the future. She had also
been rather taken with the crossbows, however impractical it would be. Midnight encouraged her
anyway and talked about getting her one made of clear plastic or something equally on brand with
her aesthetic. Izuku could tell she was excited about it so he hoped whatever design the support
department came up with would work out.

Next was Fuji, who was immediately drawn towards the war hammers. Izuku could admit she
made a rather intimidating sight, the combination of her large biceps and the heavy weapon
painting a vivid picture. After that she kinda shrugged about the other weapons. She figured her
tools would get her pretty far if push came to shove, and she had made her share of other weapons.
She could just use those. Aizawa seemed skeptical but she became more stubborn the longer
Aizawa tried to harp on the subject. Eventually he got annoyed and just dropped the topic, too tired
to bother.

Kabuki, rather unsurprisingly, decided on a katana. It was again rather impractical but there were
blunted kinds available. Izuku noted that they took interest in all the japanese-based weapons;
kunai, shuriken, jitte, kusari-fundo, and even a kusarigama, though Izuku was skeptical of how
they could make that less of a deadly weapon. Given their general aesthetic, he wondered if they
were a japanophile.

Last but not least was Kuroiro who apparently wanted to use a scythe. As an impractical weapon
Aizawa vetoed it and switched him to a bo staff, which the shadow boy quickly upgraded for a
spear. He also after a period of deep contemplation acquired a short sword and a bow. Apparently
he decided he’d embrace archery and be an enemy no one will see coming from the shadows. Izuku
was surprised he didn’t embrace the ninja thing more, but there’s no accounting for aesthetics.

By the end of the club meeting everyone was exhausted, but the giddy mood didn’t fade even as
they all headed home.

Aizawa reminded them as they left that it’d be no walk in the park. On top of all their normal
training he was going to be working them to the bone for the next couple of months until the
weapons were extensions of their bodies. They’d be expected to train even on days where there
weren’t club activities. Izuku would be spending a lot of time with Snipe in the coming months and
Shinsou with Aizawa. He emphasized that the hero students would have particular trouble, because
they’d be doing physical training within the hero course. The group agreed, looking slightly
reluctant, but Aizawa pointed out that they knew what they were getting into by joining a club.

It was late when Izuku finally got home and dinner was a bit cold, but his mom still brushed his
hair back and kissed his temple. She told him she was proud of him and returned to her own work,
already having eaten. She’d taken up the call of social action to defend her son. As a lawyer she
had some pull when it came to local politics. He was proud of how far she’d come from a part time
worker, full time housewife. He’d never stop being grateful that she was giving him her support.

That night he lay awake in bed, and he could still hear the echo of explosions in his ears. His arms
felt the vibration of the gunfire and his muscles ached. He imagined the future. A hero with guns,
ready to defend anyone no matter the distance. He’d be feeling that impact for hopefully the rest of
his life, though maybe in time it’d hurt less.

Maybe, just maybe, in time everything would hurt less.

“I have news,” the UA spy said into a burner phone. “I learned something interesting in the club
today. Are you familiar with an organization called the Company?”

The doctor sniffed, “no, though it’s a strikingly vague name.”

“Then how about the United Nation's Hero League,” the spy grinned to themself. “Apparently
they’re one in the same, only the Company has a special job. “

“Oh?”
“Collecting people with apocalyptic quirks,” the spy said, knowing that would catch the scientist's
interest.

“Oh?” the doctor said, predictably intrigued. “So the quirk singularity may be closer than
anticipated. Do you have any more information on this organization? What kind of numbers do
they have?”

“I know that one of my classmates works for them despite her quirk not seeming apocalyptic,” the
spy said, slightly tersely. “She is at their beck and call however. They pulled her out of school just
to send her to Brazil for a month. She didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with that.
Makes me wonder how deep their brainwashing goes.”

“Fascinating,” the doctor said, sounding pleased. “Find as much as you can about this Company. I
suspect this may be the breakthrough we’re looking for. To have access to a large supply of G-rank
quirks. It could end our battle before it begins.”

“Yes, sir,” the spy said, determined.

“And what of your other missions?”

“It is unlikely that there will be any openings during the Sports Festival. They’re definitely beefing
up security. The arena is insane. You’d be better off moving forces outside the Sports Festival
because there will be less heroes around.”

The doctor hummed and then asked the question the spy was dreading. “And the mind controller?”

The spy swallowed thickly but held onto their resolve. “I know someone who fits the description
but there are limitations that make it hard to believe his quirk was responsible for what Shigaraki
described.”

“Does he have a name?” the doctor asked impatiently.

The spy’s grip tightened around their phone.

“Shinsou Hitoshi.”

“So,” Principal Nedzu said as Izuku sat down. He passed a teacup across the table as Izuku
unpacked his bento nervously. They were sitting inside an offshoot of Nedzu’s office, a room with
several couches and a table. Not the teacher’s lounge, but a more relaxed meeting room. “I’d be
remiss not to ask how you are after what happened. How are you, Mr. Midoriya?”

Izuku narrowed his eyes, uncertain what specifically the principal knew about. “What happened,
sir?”

The principal frowned. “The USJ. I imagine it was… traumatic to encounter so many villains
without training. I know a few of your classmates have taken advantage of our councilors, and
recommend you do too, though of course that’s your choice.”

“Oh,” Izuku said, struck by the obviousness of it. He frowned at himself, examining his feelings
about the USJ. Admittedly despite the danger he didn’t feel particularly traumatized by it. Living
with Bakugou and bullies everyday may have warped his sense of danger. The USJ was just
another adrenaline heavy day, granted with higher stakes and more creativity involved. But he had
help for a change and he wasn’t in the middle of an emotional breakdown so he hadn’t felt
particularly vulnerable during the fight. Izuku didn’t want to jinx himself, but the fight hadn’t been
hard for him. “Should it have been…?” he muttered, wondering slightly at himself.

Nedzu tilted his head looking intrigued. “We all have different tolerances for these things,” he
stated. “So long as you monitor your mental health, it shouldn’t be a problem if you are less
bothered by some things than others. But avoiding treatment altogether can be dangerous. Think of
it as a regular doctor's visit. You went through something that could have injured you mentally,
therefore checking in with your doctor is a wise decision. Just for maintaining regular health. Of
course you might not be injured or feel injured so deciding if you need therapy is your own
discretion, but sometimes people are injured enough that they stop registering pain, making it more
difficult to self-diagnose and issue. It’s a common symptom of abuse in fact.”

“I’m not abused,” Izuku said perhaps too quickly.

Nedzu’s gaze sharpened. “Bullying and discrimantion are abuse, Mr. Midoriya. Full stop. They
have very real consequences on mental health. What you face on a daily basis because you’re
quirkless, on top of the specific targeting you received from your childhood bully, the trauma of
your injury, and the recent media backlash against you would cause mental disturbances for
anyone.”
“Recent media backlash?” Izuku repeated, concerned. He’d admittedly been less active online
recently. His packed workout and school schedule didn’t leave a lot of free time and add the initial
backlash he encountered over attending UA, he’d been put off deep diving current news beyond the
regular hero fight analysis. Some of the stuff people were saying about him and other quirkless
people made him feel physically sick and incredibly anxious, so he essentially handed control of
his public image over to his mother. She’d taken a rather battleaxe approach to the job, it’d been a
while since he’d seen her so passionate and active, but she seemed to be thriving under this new
pressure. All Izuku had to do was avoid embarrassing himself in public.

Occasionally she or Shinsou would read a nice article to him and it always lifted his spirits. But his
hands-off approach to his public image and his position as a quirkless symbol was ultimately better
for his anxiety. He was past listening to the kind of people who would hold his mere existence
against him but it was still hard to be in spaces where they're the vocal majority.

"Ah, of course," Nedzu said patiently. "Allow me to clarify, the events of the USJ and a few media
mentions of you attending our school has led to a call for your withdrawal due to safety concerns.
While it is clear that they are unaware of your direct involvement, and that is in fact preferable,
they still feel something that could threaten our hero students would prove deadly to you."

"Oh," Izuku said, feeling rather stupid for missing all this.

"Your mother has made it clear that she has no intention of withdrawing you however, so that's
hardly a concern. More concerning is that you'll be reentering the limelight very soon with the
upcoming Sports Festival. I doubt I have to remind you how important it is that you do well."

"No sir," Izuku agreed immediately.

Nedzu smiled and his eyes did that squinty thing pleased dogs sometimes did. "I know you
requested that I don't give you special treatment, but is there any help I could provide you with
this? Your success affects more than just you, you know."

Izuku bit his lip and frowned. “No,” he said uncertainly. “The only thing I really need is for my
support item request to be passed. I found someone to work with so that’ll be fine, right?”

“Of course,” Nedzu grinned, in a way that told Izuku he’d be approving some of the more
dangerous weapons. “No one with sense will begrudge the quirkless boy a few toys to level the
playing field.”
Izuku couldn’t help but grin back. It felt strange to have an adult on his side, but it was also a bit of
a relief. Izuku wasn’t about to blindly trust the principal. He’d been burned before. But still, things
were going rather well. He really hoped they’d keep going well.

He didn’t believe they would, but he could hope.

“However,” Principal Nedzu said, pouring him a cup of tea, “not everyone is going to have sense,
so let’s talk politics. First the big picture. The main group that we’ll be dealing with moving
forward is the Japanese Hero Commission. As you probably know they are understaffed and under
certain limitations when it comes to providing licenses. The current state of the Hero Commission
is rather sorry. Can you tell me why, Midoriya?”

Midoriya jolted slightly and took a sip of tea to stall. He wasn’t aware this was a quiz. He cleared
his throat awkwardly. “Is it because of the power shift fifty years ago? When… um… when the
Japanese Military was defunded due to the New Tokyo disaster.”

“Very good, Midoriya,” Nedzu confirmed. “Fifty years ago, a quirk-based nuclear disaster
demonstrated the weakness and culpability of the Japanese Military and after approximately 100
years of conflict and a similar nuclear disaster in the original Tokyo 30 years prior, the faith in the
military was shattered enough that there was an outcry to take power away from the military. The
organization was largely defunded and the power was shifted to the Public Safety Commission,
now more widely called the Hero Commission. Can you tell me why this is a problem?”

Izuku picked at his lunch but spoke more confidently. He’d been studying history for the last
couple of months and he was starting to feel like he was grasping it. “The Public Safety
Commission wasn’t made to act in the place of the military. They were originally responsible for
holding the police accountable and out of politics. They’ve been given basically the same
responsibilities in watching over heroes. But a military force is incredibly different from a police
force, at least it’s supposed to be, so the skillset needed has dramatically shifted. The public safety
commission was only supposed to handle localized issues, not international. And the hero
association isn’t what anyone would consider a unified force. It’s comprised of a lot of disparate
heroes all with unique motives and celebrity status. So it must be a bit like herding cats. So the
workload is considerably greater as they’re considered responsible for defending our country both
inner and external threats while also holding individual heroes accountable for their actions. It’s a
lot to put on one organization. Especially when, as you said, they’re understaffed. Um… I’m not
sure why they don’t hire more people but it’s still not the most… uh… stable system.”

“A fine breakdown,” Nedzu agreed, taking another sip of tea. “I’m glad you’ve been thinking
about this. To put it simply there aren’t as many people applying to be Hero Commission members
as there are people applying to be heroes and it’s a point of fact that the quality pay goes to the
heroes and not the Commission employees. You could call it something of a well concealed trash
fire. The Hero Commission and Hero Society itself are frankly constantly on the verge of collapse.
Most solutions for the problems of the last fifty years have been bandage at best, and we’re all on
shaky ground. The only reason things are currently so stable is All might’s position as the Symbol
of Peace and the sheer stubbornness of the Hero Commissions president, Gankona Ono. She's truly
an impressive woman.”

“Hero Society is on the verge of collapse!?” Izuku repeated, alarmed. He dropped his chopsticks.

Nedzu laughed. “That’s typical of any government, really. Most citizens don’t get to see the
amount of fires that have to be put out in politics, but it’s truly impressive. Society is more stubborn
than anyone likes to believe. However it takes more than a little instability to completely destroy a
country. Even in the case of war and genocide, an equalizer will always appear eventually for
better or worse.”

Izuku squinted at the chimera. “I’d say war and genocide count as pretty destroyed, sir.”

“Yes, yes,” Nedzu waved him off, utterly indifferent. “But society isn’t on a straight path,
Midoriya. Historically speaking, we’re on something of a wavelength. There will be periods of
improved society, a period of peace, then a decline as corruption inevitably takes advantage of
prosperity, then some sort of war and conflict, poverty and disease and such. Then as the conflict
ends, a change in society and we’re back to society improving. The details and the cause and
effects are all changeable. The fights can be anything from poor leadership, to basic human rights,
to finances, to anything really, but the basic path is predictable.”

“Still war and destruction are nothing to sneeze at,” Izuku said, lunch abandoned as he clenched
his fists so hard his knuckles turned white. “You’re being awfully casual about something that
could potentially kill millions of people. Society should be protected at all costs. Can’t we prevent
war or fix things if we know what’s coming?”

“That’s the difficult thing, Midoriya,” Nedzu said patiently. “Society rarely changes without some
major conflict to set it off. Instability doesn’t spring up because people are sensible and able to talk
about issues and change things for the better easily. Oftentimes instability comes from corruption,
imbalances in power, or financial issues. The wealthy benefit from making the poor poorer. The
powerful benefit from everyone else being weaker. While I do believe there are good people out
there, the bad ones are often the ones in power because they’re unscrupulous about how they
maintain control. A good man might keep their morals but if everyone around them is paid off,
those morals won’t take them far in government.”

Izuku leaned slightly back in his chair. He was no longer hungry.

Nedzu went on. “We have checks and balances, of course, but the whole system is suffering under
the weight of its size. Our government branches are equally susceptible to corruption. The public is
our main equalizer most days, but they are often either apathetic or devoted to keeping the stability
we have. It takes historic changes, disasters, death, or injustice to move the public into action and
when that happens, war is almost inevitable. It’s not pretty. But it is historically how things go.”

“Still…” Izuku said, uncomfortable.

Nedzu’s beetle black eyes glinted. “War is coming, Midoriya, make no mistake about that. Things
have been peaceful for too long and corruption is making itself known in our society. You know
the effects of that corruption as well as I do. As well as your friends do. So the question isn’t
whether we can prevent the war, but what good we can bring about through it.”

Izuku swallowed thickly, feeling suddenly cold. He didn’t want to think about it but he knew
Nedzu wasn’t wrong. All Might was weakening. When he retired, the power vacuum would see the
rise of bolder and more powerful villains. And if the Hero Commission was really as unstable as
Nedzu said, then there wouldn’t be enough heroes to fight them. Izuku had never deeply thought
about the lack of military in Japan, always looking towards the shining stars that were heroes, but
Nedzu was also correct on that front; a nation without a united army was a vulnerable one.

Nedzu seemed to read his fear and chuckled and leaned back in his chair. “Pardon my intensity, it’s
a subject I'm passionate about. Perhaps we should move on.”

"Right." Izuku picked his bento up, avoiding looking at the principal. It wasn’t that he didn’t
understand where Nedzu was coming from, but the thought of war was frightening. He’d seen the
effects of war firsthand in Wasu’s memories. He’d studied the history of recent wars. It was all so
terrible. He didn’t wish that kind of horror on anyone.

Izuku fidgeted but forced himself to take a bite of food. Training was taxing and he couldn't afford
to miss meals. "Right, so um… how… ignoring the war stuff, how does this affect me? What do I
need to do?"

Nedzu gave a hum and Izuku had trouble reading its meaning. "Right now what you're currently
doing is enough. The Hero Commission can't legally stop you from entering the Hero Course, just
as they can't legally stop you applying for a Hero License. The devil is in the details and the wind.
You'll inevitably have to confront discrimination in the industry side of things and in the public
side of things as well. Small interactions in day to day, large opinions in the court of public
opinion."
Izuku fidgeted with his chopsticks. "So basically it's mostly out of my hands."

"Yes, for the most part, but that won't stop us from controlling the narrative. Everyone likes a story
and right now you're set to be a proper underdog. Scrappy, cute, sympathetic. The public is aware
of you. So long as you don't do anything to lose their good will, you'll be fine."

"Right…" Izuku said softly.

"You're going to do amazing, Midoriya," Nedzu said, the intensity returning to his eyes. "I'll make
sure of it."

“Monsieur Feu,” The Crawler said, approaching Touya at the bar. They were back in Goose Teeth
and Touya imagined he was about to get an update on the prison break.

The scarred man rolled his eyes, “do we have to do the role-playing here? It’s dumb enough in the
meetings.”

“Sorry,” The Crawler said, looking bashful. “It just makes everything feel more official, you
know? Like were part of something important.”

“Honestly it makes me feel like a nerd,” Touya answered honestly. “So what’s the news?”

“We need a bit of fundraising, but you don’t have to worry about that because Aramis has a
different job for you.” The Crawler said before taking a sip of his drink. Touya knew it was non
alcoholic because he was probably going to go back out tonight and his quirk and alcohol didn’t
mix. Touya’s actually worked better when he was drunk, but he had to be careful not to lose
control.

“I’m at the edge of my seat,” Touya said dryly.

The Crawler hummed. “You hear about what happened in the USJ?”

“How could I not?” Touya scowled, angrily. His brother had been put in danger because of those
fuckers. He was strongly against anything that hurt kids on principle, and the League of Villains
had attacked a wholeass school. Touya would have a good time hunting down the remaining
league members and showing them just what the 3M did to child killers.

“I suppose you also remember the recruiter we ran into a week or so ago,” The Crawler said,
giving him a speaking look.

Touya sat back in his seat. “Oh you have to be kidding me.”

“We need an in with this organization and our normal source is behind bars,” The Crawler said
solemnly. “It doesn’t have to be you and you know Madame Du Sang wouldn’t let you go alone.
But it is important.”

Touya scoffed. “Like I can refuse.” his fingers tapped his glass, irritable. “I’m not gonna be nice
and if they try to kill me all bets are off.”

“They’re villains,” The Crawler shrugged, looking a little guilty. “Being nice isn’t really in the job
description.

Touya narrowed his eyes at the vigilante. “You owe me.”

The Crawler smiled a little. “I'll buy the next round.”

“I’ve had an idea,” a voice startled Katsuki out of a fretful sleep.

Katsuki startled badly, trying to fire his quirk at the offender but as usual, lately, it didn’t work. It
took a couple seconds for him to realize he wasn’t under attack and when he did he squinted at the
shadow standing over him in his cell bed.

“Ghost?” he asked groggily. He glanced at his cell door. “How did you get in my cell?”

“Don’t worry about it,” the shadowy teen brushed him off. “I got some friends among the guards.
That’s not important. What’s important is that I figured out a way for you to prove yourself. Get
dressed. We have to be fast so the guys who are on the level don’t catch us. Don’t make too much
noise.”

Katsuki was suddenly wide awake. “What’s happening? Where are we going?”

“Get dressed,” Ghost repeated and said no more. Katsuki felt tense and his first instinct was to
demand answers by any violent means, but he pushed the impulse down like swallowing bile. He
quickly got dressed and stared expectantly at Ghost. The teen turned and let him out of the open
cell door. Speedwalking down the corridor they were heading towards the lunch room. Everything
was eerily quiet. Bakugou hated not knowing what was happening, but he doubted Ghost would
have let him refuse whatever he had set up and he wasn’t sure he wanted to.

The uncertainty was killing Katsuki. He hated feeling so pathetic and listless. He needed a
direction and Ghost had offered him one. With luck, he’d reclaim some of the fire that he used to
have and be able to use it for good.

But that didn’t stop him from acknowledging all this was suspicious. Ghost had power in the
prison. He commanded respect and he could pull some sort of weight not just among the prisoners
but also the guards. What was so special about this guy that he could just do this kind of shit? That
he could simply raise a hand and have everyone come at his call? Even at his most popular Katsuki
hadn’t been able to do that. It was… ominous.

They reached the cafeteria where a guard was standing outside the door. He looked them over but
stepped aside to let him and Ghost in. He was one of the guards in the boy’s pocket.

The cafeteria had all the foldable tables pressed against the wall so that the floor was a wide open
space. Several other prisoners were in the room, including the two loyal followers Katsuki had met
the first time he’d talked to Ghost. Across from them were the molerat motherfucker and two of his
friends. Three more guards were spread throughout the room.

Ghost slapped him on the shoulder. “All you’ve got to do is settle your fight with Digger Dugadoo,
just the two of you, no quirks. We’ll watch and decide if you’re… the kind of talent we want.”

“How does that prove trust?” Bakugou growled. He felt backed into a corner despite desperately
wanting to fight the molerat.

“You can learn a lot about a person in the heat of the moment.” Ghost shrugged. “Let me worry
about that. You should just focus on your fight. We did go to a lot of trouble to set this up for you.”
Katsuki glared at him for a long moment, trying to read his intentions. He was so different from
Izuku. And yet...

“Go on,” Ghost said, shoving him towards the center of the room. Katsuki felt a spark of irritation.
But it seemed like he’d be letting his anger out properly for the first time since… since he got
arrested.

He wouldn’t go too far this time. He was in control. He was going to be a hero.

Plus, he really wanted his revenge on the naked molerat fucker.

Dugadoo grinned with his disgusting teeth. He also entered the center of the room and shifted into
a fighting stance. Katsuki matched him, though he felt confident that his stance was better.

They moved at the same time. Katsuki started with his patented right hook, years of muscle
memory coming forward without conscious thought. The rush of adrenaline was refreshing and he
felt more clearheaded than the last two ‘fights’ he’d been in. a feral grin stretched across his lips as
he started to have real fun.

It was almost laughable how comparatively weak Molerat was to him. Katsuki unleashed heavy hit
after heavy hit, thrilled by the sight of blood dripping from the fucker’s mouth. Molerat was getting
progressively angrier and pulling dirtier tricks. Most notably, Katsuki’s wrist got bitten down on
hard and the injuries he had from when the fucker came after him with seven guys were also
targeted.

It was loser shit. A real hero didn’t need to pull dirty tricks to win. They could win under their own
power.

It was when Dugadoo went for his balls that real anger flared through Katsuki and he ended up
slamming the fucker into the ground arm twisted behind his back, ready to be dislocated. Katsuki’s
fist was raised ready to knock him out, ready to end the bastard's life. But Molerat’s eyes flashed
over his shoulder and they were wide and scared.

For a split second a memory of Izuku flashed through Katsuki’s head. He was sweaty and burned,
his skin greasy with ash and dirt. His clothes were ruined. His cheeks were stained with tears but
his eyes were glassy and terrified. Wild but empty like a cornered animal.
In all his years of bullying, Izuku had never looked at him like that. Not until that day. The
memory was sickening and made him freeze. He hesitated and Molerat took advantage of the
opening, twisting free from his grip and managing to bite into Katsuki's neck with his blunted
teeth.

Katsuki cried out and instinctively tried to launch an explosion into his enemies chest but no
explosion came and he simply shoved the villain. It wasn’t even hard enough to get off. Katsuki
ended up flailing uselessly and screaming in fury and frustration.

In the end a few of Ghost's men had to pull the fucker off of him. Katsuki glared furiously after
him as the molerat smiled smugly, blood dripping from his mouth. Katsuki himself felt light
headed and there was blood running down his neck and onto his shirt.

“I’m gonna kill you!” Katsuki said, trying to stumble to his feet before blacking out completely.

The last thing he saw was that fucker smirk.

It was late in the evening and a school night but still Snipe arrived at the gun range at the time they
agreed to. Senbi had already gotten his gear and looked impatient. The hero smiled at him warmly
despite their shared history.

“Brother,” Snipe drawled, walking over. “Color me surprised, it’s been a while.”

“Don’t play stupid, Ju,” the detective scowled. "You knew I'd be here."

Any onlooker would immediately be able to tell that they were related, though their personalities
clearly differed.

Senbi Ritsu was dressed in business casual clothing. Black pants, black tie, a white dress shirt, a
holstered gun on his hip and a brown trenchcoat folded over his arm. His navy blue hair was cut
short but he was in a losing battle with it being frizzy and kinky, it always grew faster than
convenient. All in all, he looked like a serious man who just got off the clock at the police precinct.
Senbi Ju, or Snipe, was dressed in civilian clothes and unrecognizable as his hero persona, apart
from his dark blue dreadlocks. He wore a t-shirt and jeans, his normal cowboy attire nowhere to be
seen. He wasn’t even wearing cowboy boots. So he looked to most like a normal mixed-race man
who was perhaps bandaged too excessively. His neck and arms were covered with white gauze.

However with his mask gone the world could see the scars that normally hid beneath it. Three
welts that stood out starkly against his dark skin at an angle. They looked almost like claw marks,
one across his cheek, one across his temple, and one that went over his eye though that was
bisected, the bone of his eye socket apparently being enough to stop the wound from reaching his
eyes. He’d been lucky, like that.

Ritsu was the one who gave them to him.

When they were teenagers, they’d gotten into a fight, a serious one. About, what else, but heroes.
Ju was going off and living his dream, the Hero Commission baking him and leaving poor little
ritsu behind. All because Ju had a quirk and Ritsu didn’t. Ritsu was as good as his brother with a
gun. He’d trained long and hard, but it hadn’t been enough. He’d tried, god knows he tried but it
wasn’t enough. He just couldn’t catch up to the advantage his brother was born with..

And Ju had the nerve to be disappointed in him. To tell him that he could still do it if he just tried
harder. It was his fault. Not the shitty world that didn’t want him. Not the people who made
everyday of Ritsu’s life a fight. Him. Everything he gave wasn’t enough. Ritsu had to give more.

The fight had ended with Ju’s face pressed against an old fashioned radiator. It was hot and it had
burned the three equidistant lines into his brother's skin, forever reminding Ritsu of his failure and
his moment of cruelty. Ritsu hated himself for those scars. Knew his parents were equally angry
even as Ju brushed it off as an accident. If he had lost his eye he’d have a harder time using his
quirk. The commission would have dropped him. Ritsu would have stolen his chance of being a
hero.

Ju had forgiven him, for the fight and the scar. He was easy going like that. It was easy for him to
just forgive and forget and move forward. It’d never be that easy for ritsu. Nothing ever was, and
even if his brother forgave him, he couldn’t forgive himself. He loved his brother and he’d hurt
him. That would forever be on him.

“You wound me,” Ju said putting a hand over his heart. “Why would I ever tease my dearest
darlin' little brother when he did me the service of invitin’ me to such a fine venue?”

Ritsu rolled his eyes. “We have business.”

“Buy me dinner first,” Ju said lightly and led him to the gun range. They wouldn’t be doing as
much talking out there but that was the point. If given too much time to talk things would get
awkward or worse annoying. Put a gun in either of their hands and they’d only say what needed to
be said. Just the way Ritsu liked it. Blunt and to the point.

The range managers knew them well enough and given the hell it was to get a gun license for non-
heroes, there weren’t many other people around. Even police officers had to go through a deep
vetting process to get a firearm. They used two of the lockers to store their things before waking to
the range.

“You look like hell,” Ritsu commented, picking up his gun case and glaring at his brother.

“Yeah,” Ju drawled. He’d kept and often emphasized his accent, where Ritsu’s only came out when
he was upset. “That’ll happen when ya get electrocuted.”

“You what!?” Ritsu said sharply, turning on his brother. “No one told me you were electrocuted!”

Ju laughed in a self deprecating way. “Yeah, well that’s how I got injured, unfortunately. Was
taken out of the fight pretty early too. But lucky for me, my kids knew how to handle themselves.”

“Your students?” Ritsu repeated, raising his eyebrows.

Ju continued to chuckle. “We got a good bunch this year, brother. Even a quirkless one is making a
statement. I’d like you two to meet sometime. I think you’d like ‘im.”

Ritsu scowled. “Just because we’re both quirkless doesn’t mean we’d like each other.”

“I didn’t say him being quirkless is why you’d like him,” Ju grinned, obnoxiously. “I think you’ll
like ‘im because he’s a stubborn little shit with a work ethic. Perhaps more clever than you were at
his age, but still someone who’s gonna make waves.”

Ritsu chose not to comment. While he was interested in meeting the quirkless potential hero, he
didn’t want to do so through his dumb brother.
They moved down the firing line and chose targets next to each other. Then they went through the
normal process of loading and checking their guns.

“So what kind of business are we talking about?” Ju asked casually as they worked.

“I was put on the League case,” Ritsu said. He was using a revolver today. He spun the chamber,
placing the bullets in carefully. He made sure the barrel was clear before closing the chamber. He
pulled his ear protection from his bag and put it on over his ears. “Was hoping for details only a
family member could get.”

Ju gave him a flat look. “Now you’ve really hurt my feelin’s, brother. What makes you think i’ve
anythin’ to tell you that I didn’t already tell my superiors. I am a hero, after all. It’s my job to tell
‘em everythin’.”

Ritsu shrugged. “Doesn’t mean I don’t want your perspective on it.”

Ju shrugged and slid his ear protection on, signaling Ritsu to do the same. He did and they spent
some time firing at the targets until their first set of rounds were all fired. Squinting down the
range, he saw he was doing better than Ju today. Ritsu lifted his eyebrows surprised and turned
back to see his brother’s hands shaking.

“Idiot,” Ritsu hissed angrily. “If you’re not ready you should wait before using your weapons
again. Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I reckon it’s fine,” Ju laughed shakily. “The sooner I get back on the horse, the easier it’ll be. You
worry too much, little brother.”

Ritsu glared furiously. “Don’t give me that can of shit, if you hurt yourself worse because you
jumped back on the horse too soon, you’ll be useless.”

“So harsh,” Ju lightly protested, putting his free hand over his heart. “Really, brother, I’ll be
alright. You worry too much.” He reached out and squeezed Ritsu’s shoulder and Ritsu considered
shooting him out of sibling pettiness.
“Snipe!” a voice called. The brothers both turned to see Hawks coming out of different type of
target room. He was sweating like he’d just been through a hard work out and wearing just a tank
top and jeans. He raised his hand in greeting and smiled cheerfully. “I heard you were injured. Are
you alright?”

Ju matched his smile and Ritsu felt a twinge of annoyance at the airheadedness coming off of them
like a toxic gas. “Ah, just as I was telling my brother here,” Ju said waving a hand towards Ritsu.
“I’m perfectly fine. Just need to get back to work.”

Something flashed across Hawk’s face too quickly to read, but he squinted his eyes, still wearing a
carefree smile. Ritsu narrowed his eyes, detective skills telling him something wasn’t quite right
with it. “I didn’t know you had a brother.”

“Yep,” Ju said, puffing his chest out proudly. “He’s a police detective. Works with the number two
hero himself.”

Hawks immediately lit up with childlike glee. “You know Endeavor! How has he been!? What’s he
been up to!? Are you close!?”

Ritsu leaned slightly away. “As far as I know, he’s alright. He’d be better if his son hadn’t been
attacked by villains recently. But we in the police are doing our best to solve the case and prevent
anything like this from happening again.”

“So cool,” Hawks enthused. “If there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know.”

“Actually,” Ritsu asked immediately, “have you heard anything about the League of Villains in
your work?”

Hawks frowned, clearly thinking before shaking his head. “Afraid not.”

“What about the 3M?”

Hawks blinked and Ju raised his eyebrows.

“You mean the vigilante group?” Hawks asked. “What do they have to do with the League?”

“No connection as of yet,” Ritsu said officially. “But we have to consider all angles.”

Hawks hummed in consideration and Ju gave Ritsu a sharp look. “Well,” hawks said, tilting his
head back. “I suppose there have been rumors of them infiltrating the heroes and hero commission
alike. We can’t really prove that.”

“Anyone specific come up in these rumors?” Ritsu asked.

Hawks’ golden eyes flashed before he pulled out another dopey smile. “No, I can’t think of any.
I’d worry more about the League case if I were you. A police officer’s job is to look at the
evidence, not just listen to rumors.”

“Rumors always have a seed of truth,” Ritsu said, regarding Hawks suspiciously. “And they have a
tendency to lead to actual evidence if you know how to look.”

Hawks laughed. “I suppose you’d know better than me.”

Ju clapped the winged hero on the shoulder. “Well much as it’s nice to see you again, Hawks, my
brother and I were doing our weapons training. I’d appreciate it if we could get back to that, ya
see.”

“Oh! Don’t let me hold you up,” Hawks chuckled. “I was on my way out anyway.”

Ju nodded and went to reload his gun. After a moment Ritsu started to do the same.

Hawks was in the doorway, when he stopped and turned back. “Oh, and Snipe,” he said lightly.
“The Commission misses your services. Your relative retirement doesn’t have to be permanent.”

Ju’s shaking hands stilled, his gun suddenly steady in his hand. “No,” he said slowly. “No, I've
found I like teaching a great deal more. You don’t have to worry about me, Birdie. I’m doing
alright.”
“If you say so, six shooter,” Hawks said. His smile hadn’t moved but there was something cold in
his tone. “We’ll wait.”

When Katsuki woke up, he was back in his cell. He groaned, his head aching and still slightly
dizzy and feeling starving and thirst. It didn’t take long for his fingers to find his neck and feel a
bandage there as well as a throb of pain.

As if reading his mind, Ghost held a glass of water out to him. Apparently he stayed in the cell
waiting for Katsuki to wake up. Katsuki took it and drank gratefully but his stomach twisted. He’d
failed. Useless. Useless fucking deku who can’t even do the thing he’s good at.

"Congratulations," Ghost said, lightly, voice sounding mocking to Katsuki. "You passed!"

Katsuki flinched and stared at him. "I lost."

"So?" Ghost asked, as though it didn't matter at all.

Katsuki glared furiously, and said more emphatically, " I lost."

Ghost grinned wryly and sat on the bed so they were at eye level. "This fight wasn't about winning.
it was about seeing if you have killing intent . I don't work with Murderers ."

Katsuki stared at the black-haired boy for a long moment before swallowing thickly. "Oh," he said.

"So you've passed!" Ghost said, smiling brightly. "Hooray!" He did sarcastic jazz hands and
Katsuki decided he hated him in that moment.

He clenched his fist. “I don’t deserve to pass.”

Ghost rolled his eyes, “well then it’s good it’s not up to you, isn’t it? I won’t deny that you have a
lot of work to do to catch up to the rest of us, but that’s true of any newbie. Personally I think you
have a pretty good foundation.”
“I would have killed him,” Katsuki confessed and the words hurt to say. “I’ve almost… before. I
don’t deserve… I’m a piece of shit.”

Ghost’s eyes narrowed perceptively. He leaned forward, staring Katsuki down with a sudden
furious understanding that made the blond’s skin crawl. “You hate yourself.”

Katsuki scoffed and turned his head scowling. It was a way to say Ghost was an idiot, but the older
teen saw how Katsuki could no longer meet his eyes. Ghost spread his hands out flat on the bed,
leaning towards Katsuki.

“Then start giving yourself reasons to not hate yourself,” he said dryly.

Katsuki scowled. “Like it’s that fucking easy? Fuck off.”

“You’re not a baby. You have control over your own actions. Instead of sitting around wallowing
in self-loathing, do something about it. Change. Quit complaining and actually try to be less of a
loathsome piece of shit.” Ghost’s words were dripping with contempt. “Try not being an asshole.
It’s not that hard.”

“Hey, fuck you! You don’t know anything about me!” Katsuki shouted back. “You don’t know the
shit I’ve been through! You don’t know the kind of shit I’ve done!”

“Oh, waah, waah,” Ghost mocked. “Life’s so hard and I’m a twelve year old monster. Look at me,
I’m so angsty and pathetic. Fuck off. Life’s hard for everyone. Now you can either get off your
lazy whiny ass and start fixing yourself or you can get fucked by the system. Just don't whine
about it.”

“I’M FIFTEEN!” Katsuki shouted, almost going after him. His hands felt hot, in a way that
normally meant they’d be crackling but due to the suppressants they did nothing “AND I’M NOT
WHINY OR LAZY! I WANT TO GET BETTER! I JUST… I just… I don’t know…”

“You don’t know how?” Ghost raised his eyebrows. Then his lips twisted in a smile that was more
like baring his teeth. Despite himself, Bakugou thought about All Might’s confident unbeatable
smile and Izuku's shaky but persistent little grin. Neither of them matched this one, neither held the
same emotion and yet…
Ghost held out his hand. "Then start here. Join me, change the world and change yourself, Deku.”

Katsuki’s heart began thundering in his chest. “W-what?”

Ghost just tilted his head, still smiling antagonistically.

Katsuki stared at the hand, overwhelmed. Katsuki wasn’t an idiot. He’d been wading through
bullshit for probably years. He’d been wallowing in guilt in depression for at least a month and that
wasn’t who Bakugou Katsuki was supposed to be. He’s supposed to be a hero. Number one. He’d
sworn it to Izuku. Could he really do that if he stayed in prison. Wallowing and rotting and losing
time.

Katsuki had always been a man of action. He wanted to keep that. And here Ghost was offering a
hand, like Izuku had done countless times growing up. Like Izuku had done in the creek that
pivotal moment all those years ago. Help. Help that Katsuki had sworn off needing all those years
ago.

Help that he had needed.

Help that he still needed.

Doing things on his own is what got him here. Denying the hand that Izuku had endlessly offered
him, the only honest person Katsuki had known for so long…

Katsuki took the hand, squeezing until he saw Ghost twitch with pain. “You won’t betray me,” he
hissed, ignoring the sickening twist of disgust and anger at the vulnerability he was showing.
Ignoring the hum of fear at the faith he was putting in this near stranger. Ignoring the keen
awareness that accepting this meant leaving everything of his old life behind. Izuku, his family,
being a legal hero.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Ghost said, his smile softening and becoming kinder. It remained wide and
dangerous but it was less like Ghost was going to eat him and was instead planning to eat the
world. Katsuki thought of All Might’s smile. He thought of Izuku’s smile.
 He decided that this was a smile he would trust too

Chapter End Notes

Me: trying to do world building

Nedzu: viva la revolution
me: 0.0

Meanwhile the Bakugou stuff is something that i’ve been planning for a while. I think
he needs a hug. The path he’s chosen isn’t gonna be an easy one

Tumblr:
https://www.tumblr.com/blog/serenawitchwriter
Discord:
https://discord.gg/SEkN8ee
 Preparations
Chapter Summary

Training montage

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Midoriya and Hatsume got on like a house on fire. No, that wasn’t destructive enough. Midoriya
and Hatsume got on like an ammo depot and military complex on fire. It filled Hitoshi with an
ever-growing dread as he expected the school to blow up at any minute.

He was not alone in this dread. The rest of the support department, at least its saner members,
joined him in giving the pair a wide berth and dreaded the lunch periods they decided to meet and
talk shop.

Hitoshi was roped into coming every time because he was one of the few people who could safely
cut into the two’s arguments. His quirk was particularly useful for that and he had earned the
loyalty of most of the support course by occasionally forcing Mei to go to sleep when she got
particularly crazed and by interfering with the particularly bad plans. It wasn’t that Mei didn’t have
mechanical integrity. He doubted she was trying to make anything but actual explosives blow up,
she was incredibly efficient and kept her workspace in a state of organized chaos. You just had to
listen to her ramble to know she understood what she was talking about and she had a keen eye for
detail.

But she also had imagination and a new intelligent friend to enable that imagination. Things like
limits and safety regulation didn’t seem to apply to her, and Midoriya was too caught up in
possibilities and analysis to be a voice of reason. Somehow, yet again, Shinsou had become the
responsible one. Which frankly was frightening considering he didn’t consider himself particularly
responsible. His friends were just crazier than him.

But again, he thankfully wasn’t alone. As an unintended side effect of spending lunch period with
the chaotic duo, Shinsou ended up befriending Hatsume's own babysitter. The boy who had been
the pinkest when they had met the first day was apparently her desk neighbor. His name was
Teiryu Undo and he was tall, rude, and entirely done with everything. They found common ground
quickly.

Teiryu had the ability to steal momentum from things and then re-release it. It is an incredibly
versatile quirk and would be perfect for heroics, but apparently he wasn’t interested. The quirk
apparently gave him bad tinnitus when he was holding onto momentum and using it too often gave
him horrible headaches. He figured working in support would be safer, but he hadn’t accounted for
being used as a human shield against Mei and her inventions.

He was tasked with stealing the momentum from any out of control robot or explosion. It was a
heroic task in itself, and Hitoshi knew he was the darling of the support class because everyone
appreciated him. But it was still rather unfair that he was given this responsibility when he had his
own projects to work on. Powerloader was grateful and even willing to give him extra credit, but
the point remained. Standing between Mei and chaos was a special kind of hell.

Theirs was a brotherhood forged of hardship. Powerloader even wrote them up a contract so that
Teiryu would be his support agent. Their contract wasn’t as long or as wild as Mei and Midoriya’s
had to be, thank god. As it was, they stood together as Teiryu tinkered with the mouth guard
Hitoshi wanted since he was a kid and kept an eye towards the two demons who were in full nerd
mode.

“And this baby!” Mei said proudly, displaying what was clearly a toy gun. “Is a long-range taser
gun! Gone are the days of cords and close range tasers. You could snipe someone with this baby.
Just put the cartridges in the rifle version and you can knock out anyone that little sight there can
see. Of course it’s not just the bullets that are special. I built this gun myself, so it has a
considerably larger range than normal and this dial here can affect the power the gun fires at. Be
sure to pay attention to that. If you shoot a watermelon at close-range on the highest setting, the
watermelon dissolves into a mist! Apparently that’s illegal to do to a person.”

“She can learn,” Shinsou muttered. Teiryu hummed in a way to indicate his expectations were low.

“And don’t worry, I’m already making other types of ammunition and smaller guns. Powerloader-
sensei just won’t let me give them to you yet. Until they’ve been ‘properly tested’ and ‘aren’t
going to kill anyone or explode’. Exploding is half the fun of inventing!”

“I can’t say I agree,” Midoriya said, giving an uncomfortable laugh and scratching his scarred
cheek. “This gun is amazing though. Is there a range I can test it on?”

“Of course,” Mei said, preening under the praise. She didn’t pick up any of Midoriya’s discomfort,
which would have annoyed Hitoshi more if he hadn’t noticed that she missed all social cues. She
grabbed onto his free hand and dragged him towards a door at the back of the workshop. “The
testing range is this way. I wanna see you in action!”

Teiryu sighed through his nose and looked towards the ceiling before setting down Shinsou’s new
mouth guard and made a note of where he was leaving off. Hitoshi patted him awkwardly on the
shoulder. They both followed the chaos duo. The support test area was outside in a section of the
school grounds away from everything else. Similar to how the hero training grounds were pretty
far flung. It didn’t require a bus ride, but it was definitely a bit of a walk. Mei didn’t seem to care,
seemingly having an endless supply of manic energy, and Izuku was in one of his zones. But
Hitoshi and Teiryu were lagging pretty far behind.

The testing zone was mostly a flat expanse of gravel that was walled off. There was also a small
storage building full of test dummies, helpful robots, padding, targets, and safety gear. Scattered
through the entire gravel field were burnt spots, bits of shattered glass and scrap metal (usually
small enough that no one bothered to pick it up), and occasionally things that Hitoshi couldn’t
identify at a distance. The closest mystery spot was revealed to be a spray of sprinkles when he
took a closer look at it. So… really the whole area was anything goes.

By the time they arrived. Izuku and Mei were already decked in goggles and Mei had dragged a
hay target out a fair distance into the gravel field.

“Shouldn’t we have a teacher present?” Hitoshi asked loudly and dryly.

“It’s fine,” Mei said, flapping her hand dismissively at him. “So long as we practice safety protocol
and are past the prototype phase, we can do what we want. This baby has been through the ringer
already, so Sensei won’t mind. If he had to come out every time I had to test something he’d never
have a free moment.”

If one were to look at Teiryu’s expression, one would clearly see it say ‘that allowance was made
specifically for you’.

Hitoshi sighed and went to get his own pair of googles. “If this thing hurts Izuku,” Shinsou said
seriously, “I’ll order you to walk off a cliff.”

“Hitoshi!” Midoriya gasped.

“I understand, Sleep Demon!” Mei declared with a salute. She’d been calling him Sleep Demon
because he was one of the few people who could get her to nap. Apparently she couldn’t turn her
mind off, so she did appreciate the help even if she begrudged the wasted productivity. “I have
absolute faith in my baby.”
“....Okay,” Hitoshi said skeptically.

Izuku grinned ferally. “You guys ready?” He had the gun braced against his shoulder and aiming
towards the target. He looked a little silly given how childish the design of the gun was, but that
changed when he pulled the trigger and a bolt of lightning shot from the weapon. The flash left
spots in Hitoshi’s eyes and it let out a huge crack. It happened incredibly fast, and the next thing
they knew the target was on fire.

“YEAH!” Mei cheered, jumping up and down with both her fists in the air. “I TOLD YOU IT
WOULD WORK! WASN”T SHE BEAUTIFUL? DID YOU SEE THAT!?” She leapt over to
shake Teiryu by the shoulder.

“Ah,” Izuku said, gun dropping to his side and wearing a strange expression. “My shoulder’s gone
completely numb.”

“Oh, yeah, that can happen sometimes,” Mei said, unconcerned. “But did you see that blast! You
and me are gonna be famous, baby-model!”

“Can you move your fingers?” Teiryu asked Izuku while Hitoshi gave Mei a look that could wilt
flowers.

“Er, yeah,” Izuku said, wiggling his fingers. “I can’t really feel them though.”

Teiryu gave another put-upon sigh. “Mei, take Midoriya to Recovery Girl and explain what
happened.”

“But he’ll be fine in a couple of minutes,” Mei said, tilting her head and looking innocent. “And I
have more babies to test.”

“Mei,” Teiryu said in a tone that brokered no argument. She pouted a little, but her expression did
shift into one of slight concern when she looked over to Midoriya.

“All right, come on, Meal Ticket,” she said, grabbing Midoriya by his good elbow and dragging
him away.
Midoriya looked incredibly embarrassed. “Um! I’ll see you in class, Hito-kun!”

Hitoshi gave a small wave, wondering if he should actually kill Mei for this. Teiryu just let out a
small huff and went over to the still-burning target. He held his hand towards the fire and it slowly
died down like he’d stolen its life force. His expression shifted into one of grim irritation. “Come
on,” he said tersely, leading him back towards the main building.

Hitoshi searched for something to say, but couldn’t find anything. He knew Teiryu just used his
quirk and was dealing with a loud ringing in his ears, but as far as Hitoshi was concerned he could
probably have just let that fire burn out on its own. He could commiserate about their crazy friends,
but now probably wasn’t the time to remind him that he was annoyed at Mei. Was there any small
talk topic he could bring up?

Hitoshi was bad at this.

Eventually they reentered the building, but instead of going back into the support classroom they
went down a hall Hitoshi had never been down.

“Uh?” he said, gesturing vaguely around them to communicate his question.

Teiryu tilted his head back, shifting his silky black curls. He was glaring slightly, but that was
pretty typical. “Perpetual motion machine.”

…That answered nothing.

Teiryu smirked at Hitoshi's scowl. He opened a maintenance door that led to a staircase. Okay, this
was starting to get ominous. He didn’t actually know Teiryu that well. Teiryu probably had no
reason to hurt him, but this was definitely weird.

“So,” the tall boy said, apparently trying to be mysterious. “You’re comfortable with Mei being
alone with your boyfriend?”
“Boyfriend?” Hitoshi blinked. Then a flush abruptly took over his face. “Izuku isn’t my
boyfriend!”

“Huh,” Teiryu said in a flat voice. He didn’t believe him.

“We’re just friends. From middle school.” Hitoshi said quickly. “It’s nothing like that.”

Teiryu’s eyebrows were drawn together either in pain or confusion. He always looked a bit grim.
“...So you don’t like him?”

“We’re just…” Hitoshi stopped. They had reached the bottom of the stairs and entered a large
room that probably took up the entire bottom floor of the support tower. But it wasn’t empty. No,
in the center of the room was a tank-sized machine that Hitoshi would compare to a globe on some
sort of support thing, only instead of a sphere there was a large spinning gyroscope. It was moving
scarily fast. The support machinery had thick wires leading away from it and into some sort of
separate hub. “What the fuck is that!?”

Teiryu smirked. “Perpetual motion machine,” he repeated before approaching the gyroscope and
pointing his hand at it. Seemingly nothing changed, the machine continued at the same speed but
Hitoshi could guess that the boy had just released potential energy at it. Especially because his
shoulders slumped in relief. The black haired boy turned back to him, looking far more relaxed and
annoyingly amused. “The name is a bit of a misnomer. If the machine breaks down it won’t do
shit, so it has a shelf life, but it’s used to produce electricity for the entire ward. Putting my
potential energy in it helps power it for longer. It takes the energy I put in and multiplies it.”

Hitoshi closed his mouth. That was probably the most his friend had said to him at once so far.
“Cool.”

Teiryu nodded solemnly. “You didn’t answer.” He started back towards the stairs.

Hitoshi stared at him, slightly surprised that he was so insistent on this conversation. Now that he
thought about it, it was slightly rare that they would be alone together, what with babysitting
duties.

“Well?” the boy said rudely. “Do you like Midoriya or not?”
“Uh- I-I don’t know-?” Hitoshi said, feeling put on the spot.

Teiryu gave another of his patented annoyed sighs. “How irksome.”

“What?”

Teiryu gave him an incredibly dark look. “It’ll be troublesome for me if Midoriya gets too close to
Mei. It would be easier if he was already in a relationship.”

“Y-you think Midoriya could like Mei!?” The concept struck Hitoshi as totally absurd. But then
again Mei was a pretty girl and Izuku was easily flustered. Add that Mei had few people willing to
put up with her and…

“I intend to marry Mei,” Teiryu declared, and Hitoshi was knocked from his train of thought to
gape at the boy because that was the last possible thing Hitoshi expected him to say.

“What?”

“I intend to marry Mei. I am the only man she can depend on and I will help her build her business
so that we can rule over her tech empire together. Midoriya will not get in the way of that. So if
you do like him, I suggest you get to wooing him.”

What the fuck was this conversation. “Dude, we’re in highschool. Does Mei even know you intend
to marry her? What the fuck?”

“She doesn’t know yet. She is incredibly dense. But I am patient.” Teiryu leaned towards Hitoshi,
apparently trying to be intimidating. It’d be more effective if Hitoshi hadn’t faced down villains.
Or if Hitoshi wasn’t slightly overwhelmed right now. He has no idea how he could misread a
situation so badly. He’s supposed to be good at this. Shit. “So. Are you going to get in my way?”

“No? What? No,” Hitoshi shook himself. “I don’t even think Izuku knows what romantic feelings
are. His only love is quirks.”

That earned him a smirk, but it felt more commiserating this time. Given that Mei's only love was
her babies, that made sense. Still Hitoshi wanted to end this conversation as quickly as possible.
Romance wasn’t even an option for him right now. His only focus was entering the hero course.

He couldn’t like Izuku that way. Not yet…

They were spending Saturdays doing weight training with Inasa.

It had started because All Might decided that the large boy needed extra muscle for some ungodly
reason and had set him the task of cleaning a trash beach everyday before and after school for the
entire month leading up to the Sports Festival. The only rest day he had were Sundays, which
Shouto suspected were spent passed out. Shouto didn’t know why All Might had decided to punish
Inasa, but as his friend group they had all decided to lighten his load.

Shouto could only really help on Saturdays and Wednesday mornings, he had too much other
training happening at home, plus the general exhaustion of regular hero training at school. He
knew that Midoriya was helping every morning, occasionally joined by Shinsou, and they both
joined him on Saturday, but none of them came in the evenings. Apparently Midoriya and Shinsou
had club activities, though Shouto found it strange that they were prioritizing playing chess over
making sure Inasa doesn’t die from exhaustion. There seemed to be something more to their
strategy game club then they let on, but no one would tell him anything. It warranted observation.

The work was pretty brutal. All Might didn’t stop them from joining, though he seemed slightly put
out by their presence. He paid special attention to Inasa and even Midoriya sometimes but was
fully prepared to ignore Shouto and Shinsou and even Uraraka when she decided to join. He wrote
them up schedules depending on their availability and it was instantly apparent that theirs weren’t
nearly as insane as Inasa’s. This was also suspicious.

Still as a team they gradually began to clear the horizon, most of the credit going to Inasa, it was
two weeks into hell training that something interesting happened.

Shinsou hadn’t come that day because he was asleep for once, exhaustion catching up to him. They
hadn’t really had the chance to talk properly after the day at the cat cafe, usually having someone
nearby or else being too awkward or busy. Todoroki hoped they’d be able to come up with a plan
to help Midoriya before the Sports Festival but that was seeming less and less likely. Shouto was
seriously considering just being blunt with him, but he also recognized this was a delicate situation
and his empathy skills were rather lacking.
It was a Saturday, and All Might was cheering Inasa on as he dragged a refrigerator with ropes
towards the truck. He was in his skinny form, which they’d all quickly grown accustomed to.
Midoriya was carrying an industrial cappuccino machine and Shouto was holding a rusted bike.

Then a call carried over the beach and they all looked up. Midoriya flinched slightly but managed
to keep his grip on the machine. Shouto squinted against the sunlight as a girl picked her way
towards them. All Might and Inasa, seeing she wasn’t paying attention to them, returned to work.

“Hey!” the girl said, getting closer. Midoriya shifted the weight of the machine but offered a
strained smile.

“Higarashi,” he said, moving towards her, still carrying the machine. Shouto shrugged and headed
towards the truck again. “What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you, silly,” the girl said flirtatiously (Shouto thought). “I’ve hardly seen you since
you got into that big fancy school of yours. You’re practically a celebrity.” she gave a forced laugh
for some reason. “Looks like I owe you an apology. You really are gonna be a hero, huh?”

Midoriya blushed. He shifted the cappuccino machine’s weight again. “I hope so. I’m definitely
giving it my all.”

“I’m sorry for not believing in you,” she said. An awkward silence followed. Midoriya seemed to
be in shock. Shouto concluded this girl was either his ex or a former crush.

“Er… well that’s fine. You helped with the entrance exam thing and you told me about who
messed with him. So we’re basically even, right?”

“Yeah,” she smiled wanly. “I heard you did visit the church like you promised. I’m glad.”

“Er right,” Midoriya said. “I should load this in the truck.” he started moving again and the girl
trailed after him, looking far more comfortable with the apology out of the way.

“So what did you think?” she said, walking beside him. “I heard Chikara-sensei granted you a
personal audience and permission to use the private library. You must feel special.”
“Oh, is that uncommon?” Midoriya asked awkwardly. Shouto followed after them as well, still
carrying the bike but also blatantly eavesdropping.

“Kinda,” the girl shrugged. “He likes to meet everyone who comes to the church, but he’s also a
busy man and he has his health to worry about.”

Midoriya frowned to himself. “If you don’t mind me asking--”

“It was an acid attack,” the girl cut him off, looking particularly grim. “He was at a protest
lobbying for quirkless rights and an opponent, a villain , threw acid in his face.”

“Oh god,” Midoriya said, almost dropping his cappuccino machine. “That’s horrible.”

“It’s how people like them treat people like us,” Higarashi said viciously.

“Um,” Shouto said, finally alerting them of his presence.

The girl startled. Apparently she hadn’t acknowledged his existence at all. Midoriya on the other
hand looked downright relieved.

“Todoroki-kun,” he smiled. “You need any help?”

“I’m alright,” Shouto said awkwardly. “Who’s this?”

“Ahah,” Midoriya said, doing some sort of weird gesture with his hands that was clearly more
anxiety than any specific thing. “This is Higurashi Haruhi. We knew each other in middle school.”

“I’m quirkless,” the girl said in a challenging tone. Like she expected him to make something out
of it despite him already being friends with Midoriya.

“Okay,” was all he said. He put the bike in the truck. Midoriya quickly followed suit, flexing his
fingers once the machine was out of his hands. They headed back towards the trash heaps without a
word. Higurashi followed them.
“So we’re having a get-together,” Higarashi said, swinging her arms as she walked. “It’s a bit of a
pizza party. A lot of our church members will be there. I know they want to meet you. You might
not be in the hero course, but you’re certainly already our hero. Wanna come?”

A flush raised in Midoriya’s cheeks. “Oh-” he said, and Shouto instantly knew that regardless of
how flustered he was, he didn’t want to go. “Oh, that’s really nice of them…”

“A fantastic idea!” All Might cried, appearing behind them. He clearly had not read the room. It
was somewhat impressive, considering Shouto, who recognized he wasn’t the observant type,
somehow had a better read on the situation than the number one hero. “The opportunity to spend
more time with your fellow quirkless people, and not only that, but your fans! It’s a fantastic
opportunity, Midoriya. I’m sure he’d love to join.” He patted Midoriya heavily on the back.

Yikes...

Shouto’s respect for the hero dropped a little. Midoriya’s expression clearly said that he would
rather die then attend this pizza party, but All Might just agreed for him. Rough stuff.

Higurashi meanwhile beamed the kind of smile girls sometimes got around him, only directed at
Midoriya. Her smile would be prettier if she wasn’t making Midoriya uncomfortable. “Then it’s a
date!” she enthused.

“Uh,” Shouto quietly cut in, finding the situation slightly painful. His sister had rescued him from a
number of situations he didn’t want to attend by making some excuse. He could do the same,
probably. “We have plans.”

Higurashi’s smile became more fake. But Midoriya was looking at him like he was a prince who’d
come to rescue him.

“What plans?” Higurashi asked sharply.

“Plans,” Shouto said, in a tone that brokered no argument.

“Ah I’m sure you could attend after whatever your plans are,” All Might said, like a bastard. “If
it’s all right that young Todoroki attends too. I’m sure it'll be a growing experience for him.”

Shouto glared at the naive hero. There’s no way he’s this dense, is there? He was supposed to be
one of the most intelligent, capable heroes in the world. How could he not sense what was going on
here?

Even Higarashi looked uncomfortable, but that might have been because All Might just volunteered
Shouto to attend their date. “Oh, that’s fine! The Soro welcome all sorts.” She spoke in a tight
voice that made it clear it was absolutely not fine and she was slightly pissed.

“Our plans will run late,” Shouto tried.

“I thought you two would just be working out today,” All Might said, looking politely puzzled.
Idiot.

“We were going to go to a movie afterwards,” Izuku said wily. Shouto felt a true feeling of
solidarity with the scarred boy. “It’s a late showing, so we won’t get home until late.”

“Ah then why not simply visit the social before the movie!?” All Might suggested. Shouto was
fully glaring at the hero now.

“That sounds like a fantastic idea,” Higurashi said, appreciating her apparent ally.

“But we still have--”

“I’m not opposed to you two leaving early. This project is really for Inasa’s benefit,” All Might
said, exuding frustratingly innocent energy. “And beside, you’re young! You should take
advantage of the free time you have, now. Go be youthful! Make friends! Times like these will
pass before you know it!”

“So it’s agreed!” Higurashi said, throwing them both under the bus. “Thank you, sir. It’s good to
see the eldery taking an interest in the youth today.

“E-elderly…” All Might repeated, looking slightly offended. In Shouto’s opinion he deserved
worse.

“So when is your movie exactly?” the girl asked shrewdly.

“Uh, s-seven,” Midoriya said, looking like his soul was leaving his body.

“Then we should meet around six,” she said. “Or even earlier if you prefer.”

“...Yeah.” Midoriya said in a dead voice. The girl giggled at his expression and left. A silence fell
over the group as Midoriya and Shouto silently commiserated over what a trainwreck that
conversation was.

“Well,” All Might said, clapping to get their attention. “Back to work boys. You can have your fun
later, but we’re burning daylight!”

Fuck. Him.

“So it’s a cult,” Todoroki summed up, after Izuku explained why he didn’t want to go to this pizza
social. He felt bad for dragging him into this.

“I haven’t exactly confirmed it,” Izuku offered, “but there are definitely some cult-like vibes, as
well as rather extreme messages. It’s definitely best that we practice caution.”

“Right,” Todoroki said, expression dark.

“Sorry again,” Izuku rubbed the back of his head.

“You don’t have to apologize,” Todoroki said. “You’re not the one I blame.”

“Right…” they lapsed into silence as they walked towards the temple. While Izuku was excited to
have Todoroki as a friend. He wasn’t exactly great at conversation and Izuku was feeling too wired
to make proper small talk. His mind was humming but annoyingly blank. Just anxious static.

“They aren’t going to sacrifice us to demons, are they?” Todoroki suddenly blurted.

“What?” Izuku said to see a very serious expression on Todoroki’s face.

“I saw a film where that happened with a cult. My brother was watching it. There was a circle of
candles and a knife and all these symbols--”

“I think it’s unlikely,” Izuku said quickly. He wasn’t sure if Todoroki was trying to be funny but he
looked serious enough that it was probably better to be safe. “Not all cults do stuff like that. And
I’m pretty sure you just saw a horror film. They’re supposed to be scary.”

Todoroki’s expression turned contemplative. “Why would someone make something intentionally
frightening?”

“Ah, it can be cathartic I guess? I like them because I like to think out what I would do in those
situations without being in any actual danger. A lot of work also goes into them, like makeup and
stunts. It’s really impressive filmmaking a lot of the time, even though it doesn’t always hit the
mark.”

“Ah,” Todoroki said.

“Hey, we said we were going to see a movie after this, I know that was a lie but I’m sure we could
catch a showing of something. There’s almost always at least one horror film in theatres. I think
currently what’s out is… um, Unquiet and the sequel to The Forgotten Man.”

“What’s Unquiet about?”

“Standard mad scientist makes monsters out of murdered people stuff. I don’t know how unique
it’s going to be or how apocalyptic they’re gonna make it, but it’s had good reviews.”

Todoroki shrugged. “I haven’t seen the first Forgotten Man so I guess it’s better to go see Unquiet.
I hear monster movies are fun.”

They arrived at the gates to the Soro church. Higurashi was waiting for them but instead of her
normal school clothes or the comfortable t-shirt and jeans she was wearing earlier, she was wearing
a white robe alongside her circle necklace. Todoroki pressed his lips together to not comment.

“Welcome, traveler of the path,” she greeted. “They’re waiting inside. Thank you for coming,
Izuku. Everyone will be so excited to meet you.”

“Um… right,” Izuku said, feeling uncomfortable. The idea of people being excited to see him was
a novel one. Todoroki followed sedately behind them as they headed towards a squat but large
building that Izuku guessed was a cafeteria building. Higurashi started rambling about everyone he
was going to meet, and Izuku started to feel overwhelmed. Was this how people felt when he
rambled?

The cafeteria building had a red painted roof and a similar design to the rest of the church
buildings, but inside there were modern tables and a clean-looking kitchen area. Along one wall
were tables with several pizza boxes laid in a row, bottles of soda and a few plates of cookies.
Throughout the room there were about thirty Sora of various ages. Most were fairly old or fairly
young. Izuku knew his statistics well enough to recognize why there weren’t too many adult or
middle aged quirkless people. The older generation lived in a time before the discrimination got too
bad. Now it may have worsened, but stubbornness is something that prevails with old age. People
born in the last fifty years however and even slightly before that lived in the height of quirkless
discrimination and between hate crimes and suicide rates…

There were two middle-aged quirkless people, not counting Chikara. A man about fifty, with a
heavy scraggly beard, Izuku got the impression from his clothes that he was homeless. And a
woman who had long blond hair and haunted eyes. She looked to be a foreigner. Both looked worn
but comfortable, sitting near each other and conversing with some of the people over seventy.

The vast majority of the group were in their twenties or younger. The crowd was happy and having
fun, conversation was rolling throughout the whole room, but Izuku recognized an intimacy to it
that said these people knew each other well.

“Hey guys” Higurashi greeted, causing everyone to turn and look at them.

“Could it be--?” someone gasped.

“You’re Midoriya Izuku!” the girl shrieked. And suddenly Izuku was surrounded by a crowd of
quirkless people excitedly congratulating him and patting him on the back and touching him and
speaking all at once. He was instantly overwhelmed.

“Ey, back off, you lot,” Higurashi shouted playfully. The crowd backed off a little but everyone
was still gathered around Izuku as though waiting for him to speak. Todoroki had both his
eyebrows raised and he definitely wasn’t going to help.

“Um… hi?” Izuku said, for lack of a better word.

A cacophony of excited noise spread through the crowd and Higurashi rolled her eyes. Izuku put on
a smile that felt fake, but it was better to be polite right now. He was struck by the fact that
everyone here was quirkless. This was probably the most quirkless people he’d ever seen in his
life.

“It’s so good to meet you, Midoriya-sama,” a man in his twenties said, stepping forward and
shaking Izuku’s hand. He started a line of people, all eager to shake his hand. Izuku was already
socially exhausted. Thank god Todoroki was a low maintenance friend, or he’d have a hard time
going to that movie later.

“All right, all right,” Higurashi finally stepped in, “you’re overwhelming him.”

Shockingly the crowd did immediately back off, some people even muttering apologies. Izuku tried
to catch his breath. He could admit that he was a little grateful that Higurashi stepped in, though
she was the reason he was here in the first place.

“Sorry, Midoriya-sama,” a younger girl said. She had long crimson hair and seemed to be around
eleven. Her eyes were sharp and black in color, but she was also acting earnest. “It’s just that we’re
all big fans of yours. What you’ve done for us… it’s something else.”

Izuku gave an uneasy smile. “I just joined a school. I know it’s important, but i didn’t even do that
much…”

“But you’re going to join the hero course!” another boy said.

He was particularly young, maybe six and had plain black hair and brown eyes. “Sensei said,
you’re going to try to join the hero course through the Sports Festival.”
Izuku rubbed the back of his head, offering a smile. “Well yeah, but I haven’t--”

“That’s so cool!”

“You’re going to do amazing!”

“We’re all rooting for you!”

No pressure or anything. “T-thanks”

“Uh,” Todoroki spoke up behind him, drawing all eyes to himself. He quickly went silent under
their stares.

“Right,” Higurashi said, briskly. “This is one of Izuku’s friends. I saw them training together
earlier and they have something to do later so he’s just here for today. Be nice.”

“Do you have a quirk?” an eleven-year-old with pale purple hair asked bluntly.

Todoroki looked between Izuku and the girl and answered equally bluntly. “Yes.”

No one looked particularly enthused to hear that, but they weren’t unwelcoming either. “Do you
like it?”

There was a long pause as Todoroki seemed to consider his answer. “Part of it.”

That earned him confused looks. Todoroki chose not to elaborate. Izuku had guessed he had a dual
quirk, fire and ice and an aversion to fire. Add the scar and it told something of a dark story,
though Izuku obviously didn’t know all the details. He didn’t want to ask either. He knew what it
was like to have people ask about his own scar. People seemed to enjoy prying into his tragic
history despite being strangers. It was all uncomfortable.

“How did you get that scar?” the six-year-old from before asked, as though reading Izuku's mind.
Todoroki’s expression turned to a mask of ice. Izuku was only starting to realize how closed off
Todoroki was to other people. He was clearly making an effort to express himself around Izuku and
Shinsou, but most of the time he wore a blank mask of disinterest. Izuku found the expression
rather forlorn.

“Kuroo,” someone else immediately scolded. “You know better than to ask about scars.”

Almost instinctively several people in the crowd reached for scars. On their side, on their neck,
their thigh. Higurashi rubbed her wrist. Izuku resisted the impulse to scratch his cheek. It was
rather depressing to have their shared trauma instantly telegraphed. But also strangely reassuring. It
was hard to explain, but there was something comforting about not being alone. Izuku wouldn’t
wish what happened to him on anyone, and to be fair, his specific situation was probably… rare.
But still, they all had probably gone through the bullying and discrimation and… depression that
he had. Their experiences weren’t exactly the same, but they still probably understood better than
any quirked person could.

It was an unfamiliar feeling, but it wasn’t bad, exactly. Izuku wasn’t sure if it was a good feeling
either. It was just… a feeling.

“It’s fine,” Todoroki said, his cold expression had relaxed into something mildly troubled. “I’m not
offended. It’s just private.”

“We understand,” one of the older teenagers said. He had shaggy brown hair that he wore down in
his face. He was also dressed entirely in black and had a few silver piercings in his ear.

Todoroki nodded, and that was the end of that. Izuku noticed that they were less cold towards
Todoroki afterwards. They were invited to sit down and eat some pizza.

After that the conversation was what Izuku would describe as normal. It was just conversations
between friends, easygoing and rather aimless. People asked him questions about himself and he
slowly relaxed. These were just people. People like him. They were even welcoming to Todoroki,
despite the chilly reception and his general awkwardness. It was… nice. He still felt paranoid, but
still it was nice.

“So you must be really strong if you’re going to be a hero,” the purple-haired girl from earlier
gushed. He’d learned her name was Ejiki. Izuku couldn’t help but grin and flex his arm, letting the
eleven-year-old feel his bicep. Ejiki was staring at him with stars in her eyes now.
“How much can you lift!?” she asked enthusiastically.

“Hmm,” Izuku said, thinking carefully. “Last I checked I could bench around two hundred.”
Training with Inasa and All Might may have pushed it up some, but honestly 200 was already
impressive for someone his age. “How about you, Todoroki-kun?”

“Ah,” Todoroki said, looking like a wide-eyed toddler. “220.”

“Wow,” Izuku said, genuinely impressed.

“Can I feel your arm too!?” Ejiki asked him. Todoroki hesitated and then held out his bicep for the
eleven year old to feel. “Wowwww!!!”

It was incredibly cute. A small smile snuck onto Todoroki’s mouth.

“Is it true that quirked people are naturally stronger than us?” a twelve year old with short white
blond hair and cateye eyeliner.

Todoroki pulled one of his patented confused looks. “I don’t know.” people seemed to let out a
breath. Izuku recognized the paranoia. It was a feeling he was incredibly familiar with; waiting for
people to turn against him. There were good people of course. Since he began attending UA, Izuku
was discovering more and more kind people, but with every new person he would still hold his
breath and wait before trusting them. Even the people who weren’t outright cruel would eventually
say something prejudiced. Izuku was glad Shouto was proving that he was good to them.

“It’s one of those things,” Higurashi said, rather blandly. Apparently she’d taken pity on Todoroki
and his innocent confusion. “Quirky people like to overemphasize our weakness compared to them.
Because quirks have pushed physical adaptations further, right? You guys don’t have wisdom
teeth, you don’t have an extra toe joint. You don’t have an appendix. And your bodies are naturally
stronger and more durable than ours because you’re sooooo biologically advanced.” Higurashi
rolled her eyes for emphasis. “It’s just propaganda to infantilize us. They like calling us powerless
and weak. We’re helpless little quirkless people who need to be protected and hidden away. We’re
too ‘sickly’ to do anything.”

Todoroki looked more confused if anything. Izuku could tell he got stuck on what an appendix was
and quickly whispered an explanation to him. Caught up, he seemed to consider something. “But
isn’t this the thing that Tali spoke about?” he wondered. “How the new adaptations are being
passed down regardless of the quirk chromosome? And that’s why you have green hair.”

Izuku beamed, pleased that Todoroki would remember one of his science talks with Tali. “That’s
right. Quirkless people are more durable and likely to have mutations nowadays than the people
who lived hundreds of years ago. It really is just propaganda to make us look weaker. Though I
know some of us are still more likely to have unique illnesses, we’ve been changing and evolving
with everyone else. There’s really no reason to hold our bodies or lack of quirk against us.
Especially given how passive the vast majority of quirks are.”

Todoroki eyebrows drew together, troubled. “So why do they? I still don’t understand. Why do
people even need to make you appear weaker than you are? You aren’t doing anything.”

Izuku felt the room tense. A twenty-year-old with a nick in his eyebrow and a clearly fake eye said
dismissively, “He really doesn’t get it, does he?”

“No,” Todoroki said flatly. “That’s why I asked.”

There was a moment of surprised silence, then Higurashi laughed. “You really aren’t so bad. I
guess I can see why Izuku hangs out with you. It's about power, obviously. People like having
power over us. We’re not actually useless or weak or any different from anyone else. Being
quirkless is just an excuse. Because if we’re ‘powerless freaks’, then they don’t have to feel bad
about what pieces of shit they are. People with trash quirks, people who look monstrous, people
who hate who they are, can feel better about themselves because, hey,” she laughed bitterly. “At
least they aren’t us.”

Todoroki was leaning back slightly and Izuku couldn’t tell what he was thinking. The boy with the
shaggy brown hair who had introduced himself as Hemei put his hand on Higurashi’s shoulder. “I
think that’s enough for now.”

She gave a small annoyed huff. “I’m not wrong. Those types are all the same.”

“Higurashi,” one of the few adults said. The fifty-year-old with the scraggly beard. He’d
introduced himself as Souka. “We’re sorry about her. She’s still young and learning. Most of us
know better than to generalize like that. It’s not the way of the Sora to judge others.”

“Uh, it’s fine?” Izuku said. He was surprised by how kind everyone seemed to be. Higurashi was
pretty intense, but everyone else so far had been polite. A little anxious, but understandably so.
They’re like me, some part of Izuku kept repeating. They understand, he kept thinking. “We should
get going soon. We have a movie to get to.”

“If you say so,” Hemei said, smiling warmly under all his hair.

Izuku stood and Todoroki followed, long past ready to go.

“Guess who I've brought,” a bright voice said, coming in through the door. The younger kids gave
excited cries as a young woman, maybe twenty five, entered with a service dog. The dog was a
yellow lab and it wagged its tail happily at the attention as all the kids gathered around it and pet it.

They did a rather good job at blocking the door. Izuku would be more upset if he wasn’t also
excited to see a dog. Hemei gave a huff of laughter and Higurashi rolled her eyes and kept eating
her pizza.

Todoroki was hesitating, but he clearly wanted to pet the dog so Izuku bumped shoulders with him
and gestured him forward. Soon they were both petting the lab which they learned was named
Ikinobiru.

Izuku didn’t think he’d be returning to the church again if he could help it, but all and all, it wasn’t
a bad day.

Touya glared at the sky, angry that it had to choose now to rain. His prosthetics and by extension
his makeup and hair dye ran in the rain. He had to chase down Stain tonight, but the weather
decided to fuck him. His hood could only do so much, and wearing a medical mask over his
prosthestics wasn’t particularly comfortable or easy to breath in. He’d need to be at the top of his
game to deal with the former vigilante but the weather would get in the way.

He groaned quietly to himself and went out anyway, hood up, medical mask covering his
prosthetics. He couldn’t put it off. Today was going to suck.

Tracking an insane murderer through the city streets in the rain at midnight felt like something out
of a bad noir novel. At least he had an idea of who Stain would be going after, unlike the police.
Corrupt heroes were a dime a dozen, but the current most egregious in Shizuoka was one by the
name of Eostrix. He had an owl head and wings instead of arms. He was known for sexually
harassing female fans to the point there had been several suppressed criminal charges. He was high
enough on the popularity list that the commission would cover for him, but he didn’t deserve to
live after raping several girls and Stain would see him put down.

Touya would just have to track the owl man, and he’d be sure to find Stain.

It took most of the night but finally, finally. The hero went off on his own away from his sidekicks.
The bird was apparently going to smoke, which struck Dabi as odd given he’d be holding a
cigarette in his beak, but he’s seen far stranger things. He stood at the opening of an alley. Touya
watched as a shadow appeared behind him and raised a knife. In a flash of blood and feathers, the
hero was collapsing to the ground, paralyzed and being dragged further into the darkness.

Touya kicked off the wall of the alley across the street that he was standing in. he counted to five
to give Stain the proper time to finish the hero off and crossed to the murder alley.

As expected, Stain attacked him instantly and Touya only barely dodged out of the way, a feral
grin crossing his face. They exchanged blows, Touya’s hidden blade coming into play, and
occasional small bursts of fire. His fire was less effective and his prosthetic started smelling like
burning plastic, but he still held his own and got some space.

Finally Stain spoke. “You’ve gotten sloppy.”

They continue to fight. Stain had been the one to train Touya when he’d first entered the
underground and became a vigilante. Stain used to be a member of 3M but was dropped when he
started murdering indiscriminately. The 3M weren’t fond of false heroes either, and they weren’t a
stranger to murder, but their plans were thought out. Killing was a last resort. Their work was about
ensuring what was best for society. Stain had gone rogue and started deciding any hero that wasn’t
perfect or motivated by pure ideology deserved to be killed. There was a big difference between the
rapist on the ground between them and a hero who did their job properly but was only in it for the
cash.

“You’ve gotten unpredictable,” Touya admitted, only to get slammed into the ground, knife against
his throat. Stain licked the knife and grinned. Touya was now paralized and totally at the villain’s
mercy.

“So why did you hunt me down, Feu?” Stain said mockingly. “I’m sure it’s not for a friendly spar.”
“Need an in with a villain organization. They want me undercover,” Touya wasn’t one to beat
around the bush, and Stain wasn’t the type to like bullshit anyway.

Stain laughed. “And you think that I can help?” He flipped his knife in his hand almost playfully.

“I wouldn’t underestimate the influence you have, asshole,” Touya said lightly. He tried to flex his
fingers but they wouldn’t move. “You have a lot more connections in that world than me and I
know people want you. You’re very popular.”

Stain gave a dismissive chuff at being considered popular. “That’s hardly the point. Why do they
want you in with those dirtbags anyway? Last I checked the Musketeers were more interested in
wiping villain organizations off the map, it’s a little odd that you’re suddenly going to play nice.
What organization is it anyway?”

“The League of Villains,” Touya answered dryly.

Stain’s face darkened then. “Oh, them,” he said. Touya could only assume he had heard they were
trying to kill All Might. The man didn’t care much for people, but he believed All Might to be the
one true hero. Stain grinned viciously. “So you’re trying to take them down.”

“Of course.” Touya flared his eyebrows.

Stain’s smile stretched further, and he leaned down over Touya. Touya once again flexed his
fingers and tried to move. He once again failed. “That’s something I can get behind,'' the villain
said. He pressed his knife against Touya’s throat. “But the question is, do you have the conviction
to commit to the role of villain? I won’t forgive you if you hesitate, you know. Don’t halfass it.”

As in, he’d kill him.

Touya grinned viciously behind his mask. As if he’d halfass anything in his life. It’d be hard, of
course. If he was going to do this he couldn’t interact with his family. He’d have to kill and attack
people, and do any number of things that went against his moral code. But he knew he could do it.
He had the anger and he had the training and goddamn it he did have the conviction.

The League of Villains had fucked with his brother. He would burn them to the ground even if he
had to burn down everything else in the process.
Besides, it might even be fun letting loose on the unworthy heroes of the world. He might even run
into Endeavor. That would be hilarious.

“I’ll be watching,” Stain said, leaning in even closer. Touya could feel the knife cut into his neck.
He didn’t flinch, not even with his face muscles. He had nothing to be afraid of.

“Hey! Freeze,” there was a sudden shout from down the alley. Stain whirled and there was the
painful echo of a gunshot. Stain was off him in a second and Touya was startled to see a spray of
blood. “Get away from him,” the police officer shouted.

Stain seemed to run a brief calculation in his head. Whether the police officer was worth engaging
with, whether he was heroic enough, if there were more officers coming. He then decided to flee.
Touya was honestly slightly impressed. It was possible that the officer had injured him worse then
he let on. The police officer quickly called for backup and then ran to check on him, still tense, still
holding the gun in one hand, seemingly waiting for Stain to pop back out.

“Are you alright? Can you speak? I have an ambulance on the way.” the man said looking him
over for injuries and putting his free hand over the cut on his neck.

“No hospital,” Touya said quickly. They’d contact his father and he could not deal with that.

“But sir-”-

Finally Stain's quirk gave way and Touya rolled to his feet, putting a hand over his neck as the
officer fell back, eyes narrowing with suspicion.

“You’re not a good guy, are you?” the officer observed. Unbeknownst to Touya, detective Senbi
was realizing that the stranger in the mask looked familiar. Specifically through the eyes...

Touya snorted. “I’m better than any hero you know.” He had nothing against police officers, but he
preferred it when people didn’t dig into his business or jump to conclusions about him.

“That’s not a high bar,” the detective said dryly, and despite himself Touya laughed. It hurt with
the cut on his neck.
 “Be careful, officer,” he said, keeping his tone friendly. “It’s a dangerous world out here.”

And he fled into the night.

Senbi kept his hand on his gun, but he didn’t draw it. There was something more to the situation,
he felt it in his gut. He’d need to investigate further. He needed to figure out why that man had eyes
the same color as Endeavor.

Chapter End Notes

everyone else about the spoilers: i have been validated! I knew all along! Huzzah!
Sweet validation finally
Me: fuck i haven’t been writing him nearly chaotic or theatric enough

I can recover from this but god dang did it send me into a slight panic

You don’t have to try too hard to memorize the cult members, they’re not that plot
relevant. higurashi, hemei, and chikara are probably the most relevant, everyone else
is just a person that exists in the world.

Tumblr:
https://www.tumblr.com/blog/serenawitchwriter
Discord:
https://discord.gg/SEkN8ee
 Enter the Arena
Chapter Summary

The Sports Festival finally begins

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Inko bounced anxiously on the balls of her feet as she packed Izuku’s lunch and wrote a little note
for him to find later. She tied the handkerchief and gave a small prayer that today would go well.
She was scared for him. Of course she was, but she had promised herself she wouldn’t give up on
him again. Izuku had already come so far since his injury. He was still fighting with everything he
had, and she wouldn’t fail him again.

She heard the shower turn off and quickly flitted around the kitchen to put the breakfast plates on
the table and the bento in his school bag.

When Izuku came out of the bathroom, dressed in his gym clothes rather than his uniform, she
smiled and felt tears well in her eyes. He was growing up so fast. He was taller and stood with
more confidence than he used to. Even though his face was scarred and his eyes were darker, she
could still see the burning determination that had always defined him. And the kindness that he
was ready to share.

Inko approached and put her hands on his shoulders. “No matter what happens today, I need you to
know that I am proud of you. You’ve come so far, Izuku, and you’re so much stronger than they
think you are.”

Izuku came out of some sort of nervous stupor and stared, startled, into her eyes. A moment later
tears began to fall down his cheek and he hugged her tightly. She hugged him right back, also
crying.

She wished she could be in the crowd of the Sports Festival, there to cheer him on, but even the
discounted parent tickets were too expensive. “I’ll be watching from here, baby boy. I'll be
cheering you on.”

Izuku pulled back to look at her, arms still wrapped around her. “I’ll make you proud, Mom,” he
swore. “I’ll show you that you’re right to believe in me.”
“You don’t have to prove yourself to me, Izuku,” she said, brushing a hand through his still-damp
hair.

“Still,” Izuku said, and Inko got the impression this was more for him than for her.

“Okay, baby,” she said wetly. “Give 'em hell.”

His mouth broke into a feral grin, and Inko knew there wasn’t any doubt about that.

The first thing one would need to know about the juvenile detention center that D’artanion was
locked in was that it used to be a hospital.

Towards the beginning of the emergence, it was used to house newly appearing quirked
individuals. They were initially treated genuinely as patients and were studied and tested to find the
source of quirks, to find what exactly mutated those individuals and why. Hospitals all over the
world found themselves in similar situations. It was rare, but more and more patients were
appearing with uncanny mutations and there was a pressure to find a source and a cure.

Around thirty years later, quirked individuals were taking up about 15% of the population. The war
hadn’t begun yet, but there was certainly growing resentment between the quirked and quirkless.
Soon many hospitals became designated as long term facilities for people with mutation quirks or
quirks that otherwise made the person unable to function in normal society. The juvenile detention
center was one such building that was converted.

Not ten years later, the hospital became something of a prison. No longer was it about long term
care for the quirked but due to the war and the appearance of unstable villains and even more
unstable quirks it was used to house villains and people with unstable quirks. They were still
studied, but it was at this time that what used to be a hospital was outfitted with bars, locks, and a
barbed wire fence.

For seven years the first Japanese quirk war raged and eventually an accord was struck, the
quirkless victorious. Many quirked people were released from prison and allowed to return to their
lives. Many others, those deemed too dangerous, were not released.
It would take perhaps another thirty years for war to break out again. This time around 40% of the
population was quirked, so the battle was more evenly matched. The prison was further outfitted to
hold people with powerful quirks. This was when it made the transition to a full-time prison, albeit
a soft one. More serious prisons were also being built to house the truly dangerous quirks. But as it
stood, the old building was utilized to its fullest potential.

Until the prisoners were once more released, all of them this time, as the quirked won the war. The
building was left abandoned for about 8 years until it was finally refurbished and turned into a
juvenile detention center. It was outfitted to handle up to A-ranked quirks, and it remained a
juvenile detention facility to this day.

However, as is relevant to D'artagnan, Bakugou, and the members of 3M, the building still had the
bones of a hospital.

And that was something they could use.

Izuku wished he’d brought headphones or something. He knew what was coming. The noise. The
eyes on him. The judgment. It was frightening. In a moment he was going to be in front of millions
of people. Millions of people would know that he’s quirkless and judge him for it. It made him feel
sick with anxiety, even though he knew he needed to focus on the trials in front of him. But this
would inevitably be one of the first ones.

It was just walking outside onto a field with the rest of his class. To his great surprise Shinsou and
Blockhead had moved to stand on either side of him, keeping him grounded as they moved.
Shinosu wouldn’t look at him. They were both going to be fighting for the same spot in the hero
course. They weren’t friends right now. They were rivals. But it still helped to have his friends by
his side.

Stepping out of the dark tunnel and into the too-bright light of daylight had his heart thundering in
his chest. He squinted at the light and saw in the stands far too many people to track the details of.
Oh god, he was going to be sick. There was so much noise and motion and just people. So many
eyes.

An elbow hit his side and he turned and found Blockhead with a hand to his head, also looking
slightly overwhelmed by the noise. Taking the cue, Izuku intertwined their fingers and it helped
ground them both. His class joined the crowd already gathered on the field in front of a small stage
where Midnight stood. 1-A and 1-B were lined up, hyping themselves up for the sports festival.
Their future was riding on results too, though not to the same extent of those in 1-C.
Once they were in the crowd, it got easier to breathe. He took a moment to himself to refocus. It got
easier to just let the crowd blur together. If it was an entity, he could pretend it wasn’t thousands of
people. He didn’t have to look at them. This was fine. This was totally fine.

His mom was home watching on TV, he reminded himself. There were quirkless people like him
there watching and putting their hopes and dreams on him. He could grant their wishes. He could
be their hero. The hero he never had growing up. A symbol for them… no pressure or anything.

Yet somehow the thought almost calmed him down. It was always easier to fight for others than it
was to fight for himself. Today wasn’t a fight just for his career. It was for the hopes and dreams of
people like him. People getting kicked down to the bottom rungs of society. People hurting who
truly needed the hope he could give them. He was proving that quirkless people mattered to the
world.

A vicious, burning determination filled him. He set his resolve.

He was going to do this.

Meanwhile, the remaining classes made their way onto the field and Kirishima was confronted
with the fact that he had to make a speech. He was reminded on the first day of school that he had
the most points on the entrance exam when Aizawa made him do the ball throw. But now he was
reminded all over again, now that he had to present himself to a crowd of people and get them
hyped for the sports festival.

He felt bloodless and pale. He didn’t know how he ended up with the most points during the
entrance exam, or well, he did know, he got rescue points, but he hadn’t known about rescue points
when he got them so he felt a bit like an imposter when he became number one.

It was easy to ignore when he wasn’t the best student in class and people like Inasa, Yaoyorozu,
and Todoroki were on a whole different level from him. But they were all recommended students
so they weren’t counted. It was number one in the entrance exam who had to make a speech. Him.

Welp.
When he was called to the stage, Inasa gave him a small push forward and the moment Kirishima
looked at him he received double thumbs up and a winning smile. His heart beat excitedly. His
boyfriend was so manly and great. Okay. Okay, he could definitely do this.

He went up to the stage and he felt millions of eyes on him. He couldn’t do this. No! Nope. he
promised he’d be a manly hero. That he’d give heroics his all. Like Crimson Riot. He focused back
on the people he knew. Inasa was still smiling like a madman and giving him thumbs up.
Kaminari, Sero, and Mina had matched his expression and were also giving him double thumbs up.
Such support. He teared up. Uraraka was smiling too, but she had her arms crossed over her chest.
She looked almost proud of him. Todoroki wasn’t looking at him at all, instead, staring straight
ahead, clearly a bit zoned out. Eiji actually took some comfort in the knowledge that not everyone
was watching him. There were probably other people who didn’t care about this part, so that took a
bit of the pressure off. Shinsou was similarly zoned out. Midoriya offered a supportive smile. So
manly.

Eiji reached the mic.

“H-Eyy,” his voice broke, and Eiji suddenly felt like he was dying. No. No, focus. He cleared his
throat, and then said again. “Hey, UA! Are you ready!?”

He got an overwhelmingly loud yell back and he giggled a little at getting such a response. “So…
um- I know things have been a little rough recently.” he thought back to the USJ. “But that doesn’t
mean we aren’t gonna give it our all and give you lovely people a show! So say it with me
everyone; PLUS-”

“ULTRA!!!” came the defining scream back. Eiji smiled at the heady feeling of being at the center
of it all.

“So manly,” he whispered, mic picking him up and causing some laughter from the crowd. He
blushed but quickly left the stage, his boyfriend grinning like a wild man back at him. The
enthusiasm was infectious.

Today was going to be a great day, Eiji decided despite his anxiety. The best day.

The Sports Festival was playing on the TV in the work room.

Katsuki was yet again doing the monotonous work of folding paper bags. The sound on the TV
was hard to hear, but Katsuki’s eyes were locked on, enraptured. There was a wide shot of the
crowd of students, and in it he was trying desperately to spot a mop of green hair. Unfortunately he
was both far from the tv and there were far too many people in the crowd to make it easy for him.
He saw a few spots of green, but none were distinctly Izuku.

He was essentially going on muscle memory for his job. Hopefully the warden wouldn’t notice him
slacking, but he had his fucking priorities. If the nerd could make it to UA, maybe, just maybe…
Izuku would live out the dream Katsuki had lost. Even… even if Izuku was broken, even if Katsuki
had a bad feeling the entire festival was just going to kick his friend back into the ground.

He just… Katsuki just wanted Izuku to win. He wanted to see his friend succeed where he had
failed.

Some redheaded extra-- er, student ended up taking center stage and center screen when Midnight
introduced him to make a speech. Katsuki gave a small annoyed huff but kept on eye on the crowd
shots, still trying to spot Izuku.

Ghost elbowed him. Katsuki ignored him.

Ghost elbowed him again, and this time Katsuki turned to shoot him a glare.

Ghost smirked. “Today's gonna be an interesting day.”

Katsuki tensed.

It was obvious what he meant. Today they’d be leaving. Today was the day where he would cross
the line and become an actual villain. Not because he lost his temper, and lost control, but because
he was choosing to go down this road.

Katsuki clenched his fists and stared down at the hands that had hurt his best friend. His best friend
who was on TV right now, proving that he could do everything Katsuki had failed to. For Katsuki,
there was no going back after this. He’d be bretaying everything he had decided for himself when
he was four years old. Maybe Ghost was right and he couldn’t be a hero with his history on his
record. But even as a civilian, wouldn’t it be better than becoming a villain? A vigilante?
He never wanted to break the law. He wanted to be the kind of person people could look up to.
Like All Might.

But that ship has already sailed, hasn’t it? That’s what made this decision so painful. He’d already
ruined everything with his stupidity and anger. His dreams were already shattered. He knew that.
He’d already shook Ghost’s weirdly cold hand. So what difference did it make? If he couldn’t be a
hero, if he couldn’t be All Might…

He might as well take a few more steps into the dark. Vigilante was the closest he’d get to being a
hero. And… he didn’t want to spend the next twelve years in this hell hole. He'd always valued his
freedom and being stuck going through the repetitive motions of labor and marching everyday,
plus shitty food and being watched constantly wasn't that. That wasn't to mention the roaches that
were pretty much everywhere in the prison, basically ignored but still gross and aggravating and
something he currently couldn’t blow up.

He wanted out. He wanted to breathe fresh air and see trees and never fold a paper bag again. He
wanted to see Izuku and apologize or… or something. He wanted to tell him he wasn't useless.
He…

He wanted to help people.

Finally the TV showed Izuku as the camera drone did a panning shot through the crowd. His friend
wore his scar and a determined expression. The camera didn't linger but just seeing the boy gave
Katsuki a shot of adrenaline.

He found himself nodding to Ghost.

There would be no going back after this. But… It'd be worth it.

He had to make it worth it.

Hebi stood at the starting line while his friends in 1-E shifted. Bored. They were fully ready to step
out of the race because the business course had nothing to prove and would much rather watch the
sports festival than be apart of it. Normally Hebi would agree. He didn’t need to be in the limelight,
his whole shtick was sales, convincing people to do things against their better judgement.
Bullshitting, basically.

The art of bullshit was everything to him. It was important to his quirk. It’d be important to his
future job. It was important to his magic tricks. Hell, it was important to the board games he had a
passion for. He made money off his ability to bullshit people. And it was fun! It was basically
everything to him.

He also, as many people knew, loved to talk. Something many people hated about him,
particularly the people he was taking money from. But it was fun. It was so fun to twist his words
and let them run out of his mouth like dropping coins into a slot machine. Coins that people would
pick up oh so easily. It was fun and he loved it.

All of which is to say, he had no business trying in the Sports Festival. Even as a member of the
UGH club, they weren't supposed to draw attention to themselves unless they were trying to move
classes. Hebi was quite comfortable in the business course, so obviously he had no business trying
to win or even do well in the Sports Festival.

But here’s the thing. He was hearing rumors. Not very nice rumors. He was hearing that some of
the hero students were planning on fucking over Midoriya specifically because he was quirkless.
Which in Hebi’s humble opinion wasn’t very heroic. Midoriya was a nice kid and just doing his
best. He didn’t seem to mind that Hebi had a shady mental quirk and was best friends with
someone else with a shady mental quirk. Hebi knew discrimination and he’d always hated it when
he saw it, and here some potential heroes were rubbing in his face that they were prejudiced about
how Midoriya was born. Midoriya wasn’t prejudiced, and therefore better than all of them.

The math was quite simple, really. Hebi was on Midoriya’s side 100%, and being on his side
meant participating in the Sports Festival and sabotaging everyone who would sabotage Midoriya.

Hebi was such a nice person.

Thus, when the race started, Hebi took off running, a breakout lead among the first years. A cold
wind on his back told him that the Todoroki boy must have used his power and already he could
see the ice user taking the lead. Hebi wasn’t the only one running either. Most of 1-A and a good
chunk of the UGH club were running too. Hebi couldn’t help the excited smile that took over his
face. This was actually more fun than it seemed.

Then he reached the first obstacle.

Giant robots.

Hebi couldn’t say he was a fan.

Todoroki blew through the obstacle like it was nothing, casually freezing one of them solid with
contemptuous ease. Midoriya’s friend Inasa just flew over them, making a breeze. Hebi had paused
to access his options but the 1-A kids didn’t even hesitate. It was kind of scary.

“Hey!” a familiar voice shouted near him, and Hebi yelped as he was prodded in the side. “So
you’re joining the competition after all, huh?”

It took Hebi a moment to realize that it was Hagakure speaking. She was apparently naked. How
daring.

“Oh, yeah, you know…” He was cut off by one of the robots falling on two students. They popped
out of the metal, apparently having quirks to survive it, but holy shit. Why was he doing this again?

“Hebi,” Hagakure snapped her fingers in front of him. “We gotta go.”

“Right! Right!” Hebi said, suddenly in a higher octave. “I can totally do this. I’m not scared at all.”

Unfortunately his compulsion quirk didn’t work on himself, but he still felt a bit braver at least
having the naked 1-A girl with him.

“Let’s go.”

They started running, basically leaving the destruction of the robots to everyone else. It wasn’t so
hard to just avoid the debris and the actual robots themselves. Everything just felt kinda loud and
chaotic. Hebi convinced himself that it wasn’t as bad as the USJ.

In the chaos, he spotted Midoriya running by with a piece of sheet metal. He felt he’d learned
enough about Midoriya not to question it.
Too soon, and at the same time not soon enough, Hebi and Hagakure reached the next obstacle.
Tightropes.

Hebi wasn’t good with heights. This really was a bad time to want to be cool and helpful. But that
didn’t mean he didn’t have an idea. Quickly jogging along the edge of the cliff edge, Hebi touched
all the ropes he could and than shouted towards everyone within hearing range, “Oh my god, I
think these ropes are meant to break!”

On cue Hagekure cut one of the ropes and some students started shouting while others complained.
Most students that could simply ignore the ropes found their way across the ravine with their
quirks. Still, it had bought them time.

“Do you really think they’re meant to break!?” a concerned voice came near his elbow and scared
the living crap out of Hebi. It was Shoda, from 1-B, a fellow UGH club member.

“No, not really,” he muttered back, too quiet to be heard by anyone else. Shoda looked relieved and
Hebi suddenly remembered what his quirk was. “Hey! You have a powerful quirk, right!? The
double force thing, right!? Could you launch me across to the other side of the ravine thing so
Idon’t have to use these stupid ropes?”

“Not without a big enough force to copy,” Shoda said, looking at him like he was weird. Rude.
“That probably wouldn’t be a very safe way to do it anyway.”

“But it’d be over quickly,” Hebi laughed with a smile that said ‘kill me’.

“Why are you trying so hard anyway?” Hagakure had come back over to them, not taking the
opportunity to race ahead. “I know you said you were going to try, but you look kinda like you’re
going to cry.”

“I’ll have you know my tears have healing properties,” Hebi lied, “and I would not waste them on
my maybe completely overwhelming phobia of heights.”

“Ah, it’s like that?” Hagakure hummed, sagely. “I could carry you, maybe?

“Seems a bit risky, since it’s tightropes,” Shoda frowned.

“Haha, very funny. You guys sure are comforting me and helping me overcome my phobia.
Hahah,” Hebi lied to himself. It still didn’t work.

Okay.

Okay, he thought, deciding to recklessly ignore his helpful friends and instead focus on the
obstacle in front of him. Okay. he could totally do this. He’d just have to do it so fast that he
wouldn’t think about it.

Continuing to hype himself up as Hagakure and Shoda watched worriedly on, he went for it and did
his best to run across the tightrope to the next platform. Almost immediately he felt himself begin
to lose his balance and the terror was catching up to him. And OH MY GOD WHY DID HE DO
THIS!? WHY DID HE THINK THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA! HE'S FALLING!

He was almost to the end of the first rope though so he threw himself forward and barely caught
onto the edge of the platform. He felt a searing ripping pain in his shoulders and everything blurred
a little and Hebi was maybe crying now and barely holding on for his life and he was very firmly
not looking down. Nope, not happening.

Almost too easily Shoda and Hagakure balanced and climbed their way to the platform he was on.
Both helped him up and Hebi decided then and there that he owed them his life and he would
gladly die for them.

“I would die for you,” he said out loud.

Shoda and Hagakure exchanged looks as well as one could when one person didn’t have a face.
And together, in unison said, “Please don’t.” Then there was some startled blinking because they
hadn’t done that intentionally.

There was an explosion in the distance. All three teens turned and watched as a piece of sheet metal
went flying through the air. It took a moment to realize the speck of green above the metal was
hair. Hair belonging to a person. That person being Midoriya. Midoriya was riding a sled of sheet
metal a hundred feet in the air.

“Yo, what the fuck?” Hebi murmured softly, but with feeling.
He started crying a bit hysterically. Did he really think he could help Midoriya? Did he really think
he could be a hero when he was paralyzed in fear and probably going to need help getting down
from this platform while Midoriya fucking Izuku could apparently launch himself hundreds of feet
in the air just to win a stupid quirk contest? How did he even do that? What's propelling him?
WHAT'S STOPPING HIM FROM SPLATTERING ON THE GROUND!?

"Hey guys," Hebi said, a tight smile on his face, "go on without me and make sure he's not dead."

"Are you sure?" Hagakure sounded concerned.

Hebi looked over the edge at the distance between this platform and the next. “I’m sure,” he said,
voice high pitched. He was fairly certain that he’d need help getting down, but he at very wasn’t
going to hold his friends back more than he already had.

Shoda put his hand on Hagakure's shoulder. “Then we need to hurry.”

“Good luck,” Hebi cheered them on. “you guys are going to do great.” He put some compulsion
into the statement, hoping it would help them.

Once they had rushed away, easily traveling across the platforms that were so insurmountable to
him, Hebi sat back and stared into the clear blue sky.

Sometimes it felt good to give up.

He and his allies stumbled over the finish line. Aoyama, Ojiro, and Kurioro were the ones who
decided to help him. Hitoshi was relieved. It meant he hadn’t needed to reveal his quirk so early. It
may also draw attention to the fact that it was strange that he, a gen ed student was already friends
with several hero course students, but it wasn’t totally out of the question.

He had bigger concerns anyway. The moment that Shinsou made it through to the other side, he
was looking around for Midoriya. He’d seen the explosion from a distance and he could barely
believe what he was seeing. Of all the reckless, stupid things to do…
Finally Hitoshi spotted his friend and pushed through the crowd towards him. People were making
the cutoff so they would have a few minutes before Midnight started explaining the next task. Not
much privacy though.

“Izuku,” he said gruffly, grabbing his friend by his shoulder and turning him around so they were
face to face. Midoriya flinched and Hitoshi immediately felt bad, but he took some comfort in the
fact that Midoriya relaxed slightly when he saw who it was. “Are you okay?”

Hitoshi looked furiously over his friend, trying to find any injuries. But thankfully the worst
appeared to be some scraped knees and palms. At least as far as surface injuries. Hitoshi was
probably the only one to notice the empty look in Midoriya’s eyes and the slight shake of his
hands.

It was for that reason that Hitoshi ignored the impulse to shake and yell at his friend for his
recklessness. Yes it was stupid, and yes it had rocketed him to first place despite all odds, but it had
involved a large explosion to enact and that could only mean that Midoriya would be having some
sort of flashback right now.

Despite their early agreement that this was a competition between them, Hitoshi pulled Midoriya
into a hug, to hopefully ride the worst of the anxiety out. It hadn’t appeared to be a full panic attack
or anything, thankfully, but he was still shaken and in need of comfort.

Hitoshi didn’t think of himself as good at comfort. But he could be a good friend, if nothing else.

Midoriya smelled like sweat and fireworks. His jacket was damp with sweat and Hitoshi had to
bend down slightly to reach him. The whole thing felt slightly awkward, especially when Hitoshi
started to glance around and see their classmates staring at them. Todoroki and Inasa were a couple
feet away, Shouto raising his eyebrows, Inasa smiling brightly and giving him two thumbs up like
an utter embarrassment.

Finally Midoriya pulled back, face wet but back to looking determined and fearless. Hitoshi
watched him with concern but he didn’t say anything, instead turning to the stage to listen to
Midnight. Hitoshi bit his lip, suddenly feeling weak for worrying so much. Midoriya was one of
the strongest people he knew, he needed to focus on the fight that was in front of him.

But still Todoroki’s question on if Midoriya was suicidal had stuck sickeningly in his mind.
Hitoshi had been too much of a coward to ask. He’d been too inept to do anything to help his
friend. So instead he was left anxious and guilty, watching his friend more closely than before.
 The Sports Festival wasn’t worth Midoriya’s life, and yet Midoriya was willing to risk it.

It all made Hitoshi feel sick.

He had to save his friend from himself.

…somehow.

Chapter End Notes

You ever just enter an unexpected planning stage of your story and can't continue
writing until it's all planned out? Sorry for the delay, i haven't stopped working on this
though

Also

Me: planning a war arc months before those chapters came out
Me: planning a prison break arc months before those chapters came out
Me: independently naming a character chikara, before a character with that named
appeared in cannon
Me: planning a mech battle before cannon introduces the concept of the ua mech
Me: writing a quirkless cult before it becomes a thing in the movie
Me: correctly predicting the ua traitor years ago

I don’t know how i’ve ended up on the same wavelength as Hirokoshi but i’m not
fighting it
 Hiatus

This fic will be on temporary hiatus until Canon finishes. Don't worry i'm far to invested in this fic
to stop writing it and i hate leaving things unfinished just as a rule, even if i'm slow to update. but
as it stands, a lot of the cannon content is effecting long term plans for the fic. (mainly dabi's
characterization) it's going to take me some time to adjust and make things more believable I'd also
just prefer to get all the cannon conclusions out of the way so i don't have to keep readjusting. since
the manga is almost over, i figure i can wait. i want to give you guys the best fic a can and to do
that i need buld on what presented and have a choice where i deverge rather than have canon decide
for me.

please be patient and thank you for following this fic.

Serena

ps. it's freaking happened again. i predicted another thing that's happening in canon and it's
frustrating because it was supposed to be a surprise in my fic. i honestly don't know how me and
the author are on the same wavelength but this keeps freaking happening. Feel free to ask for
canon prophecies, i guess.

Works inspired by this Ione

DO NOT SEEK; I FIND (undergoing rewrites)by taixuan

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