Ashes to Embers - TaakoTaco24 - 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia (2024)

Chapter 1: 💥 Katsuki 💥

Chapter Text

“We thank you for your application, Katsuki Bakugo. However, we have not chosen to go forward with your application at this time.” The video ended on a shot of All Might’s smiling face.

We have not chosen to go forward with your application at this time.

I’m not-

Getting into U.A. and becoming the world’s number 1 hero had been Katsuki’s dream as long as he could remember. His Quirk was strong and his attitude stronger. He led the other kids around all throughout elementary and middle school, showcasing his natural talent for leadership. He was loud, noticeable, proud: everything a hero should be.

And yet.

He didn’t get into U.A.

“Honey, I’m so sorry-“

“Shut it, old hag!” Katsuki spit out as he rounded on his mother.

Her normally sharp eyes and snarky smirk were gone, and she froze in place with her outstretched hand. He glared at her for another second before storming out of the room, up the steps, and into his bedroom.

His parents had invited a party over to open his acceptance letter. Several of their friends, along with a few of Katsuki’s closest classmates had all gathered together on the couch while he booted up the video and waited impatiently for the expected results.

He’d scored the highest in the practical exam, he knew that much already. And he knew he aced the written exam, so what happened?

Katsuki refused to cry; instead, he channeled his anger into energy as he ripped off his school uniform and changed into running clothes. He refused to throw himself a pity party; if he wasn’t good enough to get into U.A., then he’d just have to try harder, show them what he was made of.

Maybe they made a mistake, he thought as he tugged his sneakers on. Maybe that worthless Deku got the invite instead of me. They must have swapped our videos or something.

But that doesn’t explain why they called me by my name. He nearly scorched his shoelaces as small explosions popped from his hands, but he grunted and snatched his hands away before they could do any further damage.

His mom was standing by his door when he stormed out, and Katsuki almost slammed the door into her.

“Katsuki, how are you feeling?”

“I don’t want to f*cking talk.”

“We got a call from U.A.”
Katsuki whipped his head around. “Unless it’s them apologizing for their mistake and telling me I made it into their hero course, I don’t want to hear it.”

“They gave an explanation for their decision. We want you to hear-“

“I don’t give a f*ck why, old hag. Leave me alone.” He didn’t wait to hear what else she had to say and took off down the stairs and out of the house.

The evening spring air was cool and humid on his skin, promising rainfall soon. The first crickets were chirping, and leaves rustled in the wind.

All Katsuki cared about was the feeling of the pavement beneath his feet and the sweat building up in his palms.

After a run like this, his Quirk would be even more powerful.

Then he could prove he was strong enough to be in U.A.

Step by hurried step he made his way out of the neighborhood and into the city. Familiar buildings passed him, and people shuffled out of his way as he ran by. If he clocked anyone with his shoulder, he said nothing and didn’t care.

Katsuki stopped for the first time as he rounded the corner into an alleyway. A few people were gathered at one end, while a couple others walked through, but other than a few busted bricks on one wall, there was no sign of the struggle that happened several months ago.

If someone looked now, they wouldn’t know that Katsuki Bakugo, future number 1 hero, almost died here.

And from a low level villain, no less.

Before he could feel the cold suffocation of sludge fill his lungs, he sucked in a deep breath and kept running, away from the alleyway and the traumatic memories.

Images of Deku running towards him, clawing at the sludge and screaming out his name, flashed through his mind, and a few explosions popped from his palms as he forced the memory out.

“Hey! Watch that Quirk!” Someone shouted, but he ignored them and kept running.

The next time he stopped to take stock of where he was, he found himself outside a modest apartment complex, not too far from his middle school.

Deku’s apartment, he realized with a jolt.

The sun was just beginning to set, and lights were flicking on inside the windows. As he sauntered through the complex, a flash of green caught his attention, and he looked up.

There he was, the sniveling nerd, sobbing his eyes out in his mother’s arms. Katsuki smirked; served the idiot right for thinking he could get into a school not even Katsuki could get into. But morbid satisfaction kept him watching as the two sobbed against one another. Then, in the background, he noticed the TV in the background, paused on All Might’s smiling face.

Ding. Katsuki glanced down at his cell phone.

Old Hag: Katsuki, come home. We need to talk.

Ding.

Old Hag: Izuku got into U.A.

He shut his phone off and shoved it back in his pocket before he could destroy it. Especially after today’s big disappointment, he knew his mother wouldn’t get him another phone. He’d destroyed too many already.

When he glanced back up, he realized with a sickening jolt that those weren’t sad tears; they were tears of excitement. Deku and his mom were crying in joy. And All Might was on the TV, frozen in a congratulatory smile that looked nothing like the pitying smile All Might had given Katsuki.

“f*cking worthless piece of Quirkless garbage,” he muttered under his breath before turning tail and breaking out into a run once more.

Street lamps guided his way farther into the city as he ran away from home and from Deku’s stupid celebration. The crowds were thinning by now, so he ran into fewer people as he went. Finally, after another person shouted at him for being an inconsiderate ingrate, he ducked down another alleyway to continue his run away from the remaining people.

“Someone help! Please! I’m being robbed!”

Katsuki’s head snapped up when a woman’s voice a few meters in front of him screamed out. Farther down the alley, a woman was being surrounded by three, taller men, each baring weapons and threatening Quirks. When the lady locked eyes with Katsuki, she shouted, “Go get a hero! I need help!”

“Shut it, lady. We don’t want to hurt you. Just give us the contents of your purse, and we’ll get out of your pretty hair,” one of the men threatened, while the other two turned to take in Katsuki.

The second man, a burly guy with a mask covering his mouth and nose, grunted as he sized Katsuki up. “Stay put, young man. You,” he nodded to the third man, “grab him before he makes a run for it.”

The third guy was quick to start toward Katsuki. He flashed a knife menacingly and said, “Like we said, we aren’t looking for trouble. Just stay here and we won’t be forced to hurt you.”

But Katsuki wasn’t looking to run. Not to run away, anyways. As the third masked man approached him, Katsuki squared off and opened his palms. Small explosions popped in them, small enough not to cause damage but big enough to hopefully make the man think twice about attacking him.

Excitement flooded through his veins as the man took stock of the Quirk and smirked. Electricity sparked in the man’s own palms, and he continued his advance.

When he was merely a meter away, the man lunged, knife flashing in one hand and electricity in the other, but even untrained, Katsuki was faster; he ducked under the first blow and braced himself against the impact of the electricity. He’d tased himself before while training himself for U.A., and as long as this thug wasn’t some top villain in disguise, he was sure he could handle it.

The sharp tingling of the electricity against his side made him seize up, but Katsuki was able to suck in a deep breath and stay standing. With one palm near the man’s head, he let out larger explosions that sent the guy reeling back. Once he was a few steps back, Katsuki took stock of the damage. The mask and hair on that side of the man’s face was singed, and he’d clasped a hand over his ear. He was glaring at Katsuki, knife still in his other hand.

“Take care of him, idiot! We can’t have people hearing this!” The second man grunted, while the first shoved the lady back against the wall.

Blood boiled in Katsuki as he turned his attention to the first two men. “You’re idiots if you think you can stop me. I’m Katsuki Bakugo, the next number 1 hero!” Fire lit in his eyes and palms, and he lunged at the two men.

But they only laughed in his face and dodged his attacks. Pain seared in Katsuki’s side, and on the other, the burly man activated his own Quirk, some kind of muscle-enhancement Quirk, and punched Katsuki in the face.

He stumbled and landed on the ground, seething and in pain. One of the men took this chance to kick him in the side, but before they could get their second kick in, he rolled over and hopped back up to his feet.

The explosions were bigger now, and his smile wilder as he lunged at them again. This time, he was able to get a few hits in, singing facial hair and skin, before being shocked again. But he was ready this time, and he hardly flinched at the impact.

He sneered at the man with the electricity Quirk. “You think that’s gonna stop me? What a weak-ass Quirk. Tasers are stronger than that.”

The man’s eyes widened, and he started running toward Katsuki again, but before he could reach him, thick branches burst out from around the corner and grabbed the man around the middle.

Katsuki hardly had time to laugh at him before a branch grabbed his own middle section, and he was bound and lifted into the air. His palms forced to his sides where his Quirk couldn’t activate.

“Please do not try to escape. Police will be here soon to take you into custody,” Kamui Woods stated as he rounded the corner. He bore a tired expression on his face as he glanced between the four individuals. “You know you aren’t allowed to use your Quirks to harm other people.”

Katsuki seethed. “I was taking care of these thugs just fine! You didn’t have to intervene.”

The pro-hero raised an eyebrow. “Really? From what I saw, a kid was fighting with three men twice his size in an alley. Over what, I do not know, and I don’t really care. I just want to get home, okay? So sit tight while we wait for the cops.”

“What? I was being a hero, dammit! These thugs were robbing some bitch, and I stopped them!”

Kamui sighed. “Please watch your language, kid. And if you want to be a hero so bad, you should understand that improper Quirk usage is illegal. If you saw the woman getting robbed, you should have run to get a hero, not stayed and fought three men twice your size.”

“I had them! One more minute and they all would have been dust!” Katsuki argued.

“Killing is also illegal. And you’re the only one still struggling against me.”

Footsteps approached from the right, and another hero rounded the corner. If it had been any other hero and any other situation, Katsuki might have been excited to meet two heroes in person, but the newcomer was Mount Lady herself, and what came out of her mouth sent Katsuki into an embarrassed rage.

“Hey! Isn’t that the kid from the Sludge Incident a few months ago? What’s he doing here?” She chirped.

“Thought he could take some thieves on his own. Caught him illegally using his Quirk to engage in violence,” Kamui explained.

Katsuki was too angry to speak.

Mount Lady giggled and didn’t seem to notice or care about his anger. Instead, she responded to Kamui, “Come on, he’s just a kid. Why don’t you let him go.”

“Rules are rules. It doesn’t matter if he’s a minor; he’s still breaking the law.”

“He’s just a kid.”

“I’m not just a kid! I’m the next number 1 hero, dammit!” Katsuki burst out.

Mount Lady glanced at him. “You’re not helping your case. Anyways,” she turned back to Kamui Woods, “He’s just a kid, and he doesn’t have a record. Why don’t I walk him home while you wait for the police for these guys. I’ll make sure to talk to his parents and let him know that he can’t try this again.”

“Fine.” Kamui set Katsuki back on the ground and slackened the grip his Quirk had on him. Katsuki was about to start shouting at him, but Mount Lady gave him a warning glare, and he shut his mouth.

“Come along now, kid! I’m taking you home.”

“Stop calling me a kid. My name’s Katsuki Bakugo,” he grumbled, but he followed her back out of the alleyway and onto the streets.

“Okay, Katsuki Bakugo, where do you live?” Mount Lady asked when they were farther away.

At first, Katsuki shrugged, but Mount Lady gave him another look, and he mumbled his answer. “It’s about thirty minutes from here.”

“That’s pretty far.”

“I went for a run.”

“Most kids stay close to home.”

“I’m not-“

“A kid, I know.” Mount Lady waved him off, but she was grinning at his reaction. “So what brought you out this far?”

“I told you, I was going for a run.”

“And I told you, that’s pretty far out from the suburbs. Why didn’t you stay on the smaller roads?”

“I just felt like it, okay. It’s not your business.”

“When you go around playing hero and using your Quirk illegally, it becomes my business.”

“Whatever.”

Mount Lady wasn’t giving up. “You said you wanted to be a hero, right? You planning to go to hero school?”

Katsuki grumbled a response.

“I didn’t catch that.”

“Not anymore.”

“But you still want to be a hero? You know you gotta go to school for that. It’s pretty rare for people to get their hero license without some kind of schooling. Oh, wait, did you miss the deadlines? I know U.A. is pretty early, but there’s other programs you can still apply for. Or you can go for general studies at U.A. and try to work up to the hero course. I know a couple people who have done that before. Like-“

“Shut up. I know that already. And I’m not going to U.A. I didn’t get in.”

“Oh?” Mount Lady co*cked her head at him, but a moment later, she broke into an understanding smile. It irritated Katsuki. “You failed the written exam, didn’t you? I’m not that studious either, so I understand. I barely got in myself, back in my day.”

Katsuki glared at her. “I aced that damn test.”

Cue the return of the confused look. “I saw the singes on those guys. Even for a kid- young adult, I know- you seem to have good reflexes on you. I didn’t take you for someone to fail the practical. Oh, was it the robots? Did they scare you? Did you get stuck on one of the big guys?”

“No. I aced that too. More kills than anyone else in the arena that I saw.”

“So… are you sure you passed the written test?”

“Yes!”

“Hm…” Mount Lady tapped her chin. “Oo! I know! Maybe this year’s class is just that smart! We must have a really bright group for you to be so good but not get in!”

“Pfft. Nah, it’s rigged or some sh*t. Some Quirkless loser got into the hero course over me.”

Mount Lady paused at that. She watched Katsuki for several, long seconds, not saying anything.

He grimaced. “Stop giving me that dumb look. I’m tired of seeing it on everyone’s stupid faces.”

“Sorry. I- um- do you get in trouble a lot at school?”

“Never.”

“Have you ever gotten in trouble like you did tonight? The HPSC doesn’t take lightly to people using their Quirks illegally, even if they think it’s for something heroic.”

“This is the first time.”

“Well, U.A. has their reasons, whatever they are. And look on the bright side: there’s still schools with hero courses that you can still apply to! They may not be U.A., but if getting your hero license is all that matters, then they’ll work well enough!”

Katsuki just shrugged his shoulders. “I only go to the best.”

“Whatever you say.”

They lapsed in silence for the rest of the walk, and when Mount Lady knocked on his front door, his parents opened the door within seconds. His dad had a relieved look on his face, while his mom was livid. She dragged Katsuki inside and began berating him for bothering a hero so late at night, leaving Masaru to apologize to Mount Lady.

“Please, come inside,” he offered.

She thanked him and stepped inside. “We found your son fighting some thieves. While we appreciate the spirit, using his Quirk like that is illegal, and the HCSP could take action against him for it.” Katsuki’s parents’ eyes widened, but Mount Lady continued, “That’s why I brought him home today, instead of the police. We’re letting him off on a warning this time. But if he does it again, I can’t protect him. Now, I understand he wants to be a hero, and no matter how well-meaning it may be, we do not tolerate vigilante work. Please make sure it does not happen again.”

With that, she left the house.

Silence stretched through the room for a beat, and then Mitsuki blew up.

“What the f*ck do you think you’re doing, you ungrateful brat?! First you get barred from U.A. for bullying, and then I find that you’re trying to be a vigilante? What happened to the kid that was working hard to get the best grades and behave the best so that he can get into U.A.?”

Bullying. The word stuck out in Katsuki’s head, and for once, he couldn’t find a response for his mother.

“Katsuki, Mitsuki, please sit down so we can talk this through,” Masaru stepped in.

Katsuki was numb as he found a seat. Bullying? What bullying?

“We didn’t believe it at first,” Mitsuki started explaining. “Our baby would never bully someone. Heroes aren’t bullies, and you wouldn’t do anything a hero wouldn’t do. But the principal at U.A. was kind enough to explain what happened. Some kid at your school reported you for your bullying, and they let U.A. know. And when I asked who you were bullying-“ Mitsuki’s voice cracked as she seethed. “When they named sweet, little Izuku, your childhood friend, I was so heartbroken.”

Deku. I swear, if that useless- Katsuki was cut from his thoughts by his father’s words.

“Katsuki Bakugo, I love you. You are a smart young man, and you know how to get anything you want. But to bully another kid, your friend no less, I’m disappointed in you.”

I’m disappointed in you. Those words reverberated through Katsuki’s skull.

“We’re going to the Midoriya household tomorrow, and you are going to apologize.” His mother’s voice was too even as she spoke, and Katsuki broke.

“f*ck you both! Don’t tell me I have to apologize to that worthless piece of sh*t! He’s a Quirkless loser, and all I was doing was making sure he didn’t get killed trying to be a hero!”

“So you told him to kill himself.”

Damn, they knew everything.

“I don’t remember exactly what I said,” Katsuki grumbled, and before his parents could say anything else, he bolted up the stairs and into his bedroom. His door slammed shut behind him, rattling a few of the figurines on his shelves, and he locked the door before someone could follow him inside.

“Stupid Deku, ruining everything,” he snapped as he flung himself face first onto his bed and screamed into the singed pillow.

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Katsuki struggled to sleep that night. And the next. And the one after that. He refused to go apologize to the Midoriya’s; he couldn’t stand to see whatever smug face Deku would have when he got into U.A. and Katsuki didn’t. So his parents forbade him from leaving the house until he agreed to apologize. He was pulled from his classes and forced to do homeschool for the rest of the term, and he had to dance around the dumb, pitying looks his parents gave him.

That was probably worse than them giving him angry looks.

Angry was something that Katsuki Bakugo was familiar with. He grew up in an excited and explosive household. Each emotion was strong, whether it be pride, joy, anger, or sorrow. But he’d never experienced such suffocating disappointment before. And such lasting disappointment at that. Like fire, most emotions fizzled out quickly; after screaming matches, Katsuki would go downstairs for a game of scrabble with his parents, and no one would say a word about the argument before. The anger had been shared, processed, and put to rest as fast as a candle being snuffed out.

But disappointment burned low and long. It festered and spread for days, in the form of side glances and sighs.

And it enraged Katsuki more than anything else.

Except for maybe Deku.

It was his fault after all that Katsuki was barred from attending U.A.

Katsuki never learned who exposed him for his bullying, but he decided that it must have been Deku. The worthless loser finally stood up for himself and said something.

If only he’d stood up and fought Katsuki instead of doing the goody two-shoes thing and going behind his back to tell on him.

In all things, Deku had to be the better person. He never hit back, he never stood up for himself, he continued to follow Katsuki like he was a god and Deku his servant. But the whole time he was silently taunting Katsuki, showing that even without his Quirk, he was the better person, the one the adults loved and that was going to steal Katsuki’s dreams and step all over them, all while smiling that sheepish and innocent smile of his.

Explosions popped in Katsuki’s palm, and he clenched his fist tight.

He wanted to explode that stupid smile off Deku’s face.

He’d been trying to do that for years now. To show him that Katsuki was the stronger person, the better hero, the one who was five steps ahead.

But somehow he always found himself to be five steps behind. And Deku was going to become a hero instead of him.

“Dumb idiot. How does he think he can be a hero without a Quirk?” Katsuki grumbled to himself as he glared up at his ceiling. It was well past midnight now, and sleep still wasn’t coming to him.

The specks of the popcorn ceiling seemed to form into Deku’s smug face and say, “Because I’m better than you, Kacchan. I can be the best hero ever, even without a Quirk.”

“Damn nerd. I bet I could be a better Quirkless hero than you. You wouldn’t even know what was coming. I’d leave you in the dust. You may have won this battle, but I’ll still become a better hero than you.”

Then his words hit him.

Quirkless hero.

He’d spent so many years putting down Deku for being Quirkless and therefore worthless, but he’d never taken the time to seeing the upside to it. After all, Katsuki was going to U.A. to be a licensed hero and wouldn’t have to.

But now he would get in trouble for trying to be a hero with his Quirk. For weeks, he tried to think of ways to be a hero, but with a Quirk as recognizable as his, he knew he would be quickly caught. And if he was caught again, any remaining chances of getting a hero license would be gone.

He hadn’t thought about fighting without using his Quirk before now. But the longer he thought about it, the more reasonable it sounded. Now he could go out and start his hero work. No one would know it was him, so he wouldn’t reach fame that way, but at least he wouldn’t be arrested either. And then he could show that worthless Deku that he never needed U.A. to become a hero anyways.

Katsuki could still become the number 1 hero. Attending a second-rate hero school wouldn’t hold him back anymore, not now that he could hone his hero-skills in a much better environment; after all, nothing beat real-world experiences.

The clock was nearing 1 AM now, but Katsuki was more jazzed than ever, and he kicked the covers off him.

His parents had long since gone to sleep, but he was still careful not to squeak any floorboards as he changed into his workout clothes and approached his window. There was a tree not far away, and Katsuki knew from practice that he could reach it. Without making so much as a peep, he slid the window open, clambered out onto the tree, and made his way down to the ground.

Stars sparkled overhead, and the waning crescent moon cast a small amount of light over him as Katsuki picked his way across the grass. He found a too-small pair of sneakers by his back porch and slid them on before heading for the sidewalk.

Being on house-arrest, Katsuki would never run into any villains that needed stopping, so he would just have to go out and find them.

He hadn’t felt the fresh wind on his face in weeks now, and Katsuki had to pause to take in the fresh air and singing of crickets. The light of a street lamp hummed above him, and another flickered farther down the sidewalk.

Even the cramped tennis shoes felt nice in comparison to the house slippers that had become like prison garb to Katsuki.

To his luck, it didn’t take long for Katsuki to find a villain. Only one street over from his house, he found a figure dressed in all black and with a mask picking the lock on a house.

Katsuki sucked in a deep breath, reminded himself that he knew how to fight, and approached the man.

The man was able to punch him in the jaw, but Katsuki otherwise had little issues subduing him. Once he was knocked out and leaning against the house, Katsuki pulled out the robber’s phone and dialed the police. In a whisper, he explained the attempted crime, then hung up and ran back home before the police or a hero could arrive.

Only when he was back in his room did he realize two things: one, the man could probably describe what Katsuki looked like if prompted, and two, there was a nice bruise blossoming on his jaw. One that was way too big to hide from his parents, and they would never believe him if he said he rolled out of bed in the night.

As he was depositing his clothes in the hamper and changing back into his pajamas, Katsuki noticed the masks sitting on his desk, and an idea came to him.

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“Got a cold, Katsuki?” Masaru commented over breakfast.

Katsuki gave a big sniff and shrugged. “Yeah, but I’m fine. Stop worrying over me.”

Mitsuki pressed a hand over his forehead, and he scrambled to push her away. She smirked and said, “No fever, but you look like sh*t. Go sleep today, and we can resume your lessons tomorrow.”

As his thanks, Katsuki didn’t argue against her, and once he had finished his breakfast, he returned to his room for a nap.

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His nightly jaunts became a habit after his first adventure, but he was careful to cover up and avoid injury after that. Katsuki learned how to hide the bags under his eyes in the morning, and he did his best to keep up in his classes. After finishing middle school, he was able to convince his mom to let him attend high school virtually. She still wasn’t letting him out until he apologized, and he was adamant about not apologizing, but he knew she wouldn’t let him just drop out.

Besides, going from homeschool to online classes meant he could adjust his sleep schedule to his new lifestyle.

Most nights he never caught any villains. He spent his time getting used to the back roads and alleys in the city, as well as avoiding the attention of heroes on night patrol. One night, he befriended a cat, until he tried to pet it and it bit him. He hissed back at it, then hurried home to wash and cover the bite marks.

The few nights he did find villains, he was easily able to take them down. Usually, it was someone trying to steal a purse (like the first villains he’d faced) or someone trying to break into a home or business. He would quietly subdue them, call the police using the criminal’s phone, then run away before anyone could stop him and question him.

The routine was nice. Katsuki was getting used to the smaller sleep schedule, he was keeping up in classes, and he’d successfully taken care of five villains in about two months.

And best of all, his parents hadn’t noticed.

“There’s a new vigilante in the papers,” Masaru commented at breakfast one morning.

Katsuki tried not to choke on his rice.

“Those vigilantes are real idiots, you know that?” Mitsuki snorted.

Masaru shrugged. “I don’t know. This one seems to be doing a good job. No one gets hurt, no illegal Quirk usage that they can discern. Some people are calling them a hero.”

“It’s reckless and stupid. Even without using a Quirk, vigilantism is dangerous and illegal. Leave that work to the police and heroes.”

Good. They don’t realize it’s me, Katsuki thought as he resumed his breakfast. Thankfully, the conversation took a turn away from heroics and vigilantism, and once he was done eating, Katsuki was able to escape without scrutiny.

Or so he thought.

“Don’t run away just yet, son. We want to talk to you,” Masaru spoke up as Katsuki tried walking past. His heartbeat sped up as his dad gave him an unreadable look, and Katsuki slunk back to his seat.

Mitsuki looked at him for a minute before saying, “Your father and I have been talking.”

“You’re a good kid, Katsuki,” Masaru added in.

Dear All Might, where is this going? Katsuki thought.

“You’ve been doing really great in your studies, and we’ve seen your behavior calm down quite a bit these last couple months.”

Masaru nodded. “You’re really trying to turn your life around, Katsuki, and we can see that.”

“What are you getting at?” Katsuki grumbled. His cheeks heated up and he slunk further back into his seat.

“I still want you to apologize to Izuku, but at this point, we decided that it’s unfair to keep you on house arrest. So if you have any friends you want to catch up with, or if you want to switch to an in-person school at the start of next term, we’ll support that.”

“I don’t have friends. And I like my online classes,” Katsuki grunted. He saw his parents’ faces fall, so he added, “But I’d like to start running again. I guess.”

Masaru beamed, and Mitsuki glared at him. “You should really learn some respect and act more excited, young man!”

“Honey, please. You know he’s trying,” Masaru gave his wife an exasperated smile.

Katsuki smirked. For the first time in months, they were starting to act normally around him. “Yeah, whatever, old hag. Don’t expect me to kiss your feet for letting me out of the house. Anyways, I’m gonna go for a run before you lock me up again. See ya later.” He ambled out of the room before they could protest.

He felt smiles and happy stares following him up the stairs, then out the door, and he couldn’t help but smile to himself a little.

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Another month passed, with continued online classes and two more villain take downs (one of them was an arsonist, and he wasn’t able to stop the fire, but he kept the man from using his Quirk to spread it, and he hid nearby to make sure the firefighters arrived before heading back home) before Katsuki hit his first real challenge.

His parents had insisted on a family movie night. They’d been acting weird all day, and when he walked downstairs to find Inko Midoriya and Deku of all people in his living room, he nearly turned around and walked back upstairs without so much as a hello, but his mom caught him before he could make his escape, and she whispered a quiet threat in his ear before beaming at her guests and saying, “Izuku, you remember Katsuki! Katsuki, why don’t you say hi to your friend?”

Katsuki was seething. Deku was sitting in his living room, looking all prim and proper, and he had his dumb, dopey smile that told all the adults that he was a sweet little angel. He looked at Katsuki and smiled at him. “Hi, Kacchan!”

“Hm.” Was all Katsuki could manage without blowing up. He took a seat at the opposite end of the room, until his mom forced him back up.

“Go sit with your friend. Don’t you have some catching up to do?” She asked with a pointed smile, and Katsuki rolled his eyes before taking a seat in the recliner next to Deku.

He refused to make even small talk with Deku, despite his attempts to, and he tried to wait in silence until the movie started.

But all that went to hell when Deku decided to say, “I’ve missed not seeing you at U.A. Why didn’t you decide to attend? I thought it was your dream school.”

There were many things he could stop himself from exploding at, but the seemingly innocuous question crossed the line. His eye twitched as he turned to face Deku.

What does this idiot think he’s doing? He knows exactly why I’m not at U.A.

Deku, however, continued. “Classes are really hard, but we are learning so much! And my classmates are really nice. I’ve finally started making friends, you know?” He prattled on like he hadn’t just passive-aggressively pointed out that Katsuki hadn’t gotten into U.A.

He saw red.

“The f*ck, Deku?”

The green-haired boy flinched and froze mid-sentence. He glanced up as Katsuki leapt up to his feet.

Without waiting for him to say anything, Katsuki continued, “You know damn well why I didn’t get into U.A.! So don’t rub it in my face, you worthless piece of sh*t! Don’t think I don’t think about it every goddamn day that you get to play around in the hero course, Quirkless, while I have to rot in my room! All because you tattled on me! Broke my perfect record! Painted me out to be some villain! But news flash! Even if I’m not going to U.A. I’m still going to be a better hero than you. So quit being so smug and shut the hell up!”

“Kacchan, I-“

“Don’t Kacchan me, Deku.” Katsuki spun on his heels, ignoring the stares from Inko and his parents, and started toward the front door.

“I didn’t know. I had no idea someone told on you. I would never-“

This time, Inko interrupted Izuku. “Baby, it’s okay. You don’t have to try to explain anything.”

Katsuki spared one last glare behind him as he slid his shoes on. “You don’t have to lie to make me feel better. Stop trying to be better than me, Deku.” And he was out the door before anyone could stop him.

Katsuki ran as long as he could, and once his lungs were burning hotter than his Quirk, he fell into a steady walk, letting his heart thrum in his chest as he pressed onward and focused on his breath. He continued like this for nearly two hours before returning home. Night had fallen, and the bugs were out, but thankfully, the Midoriya’s were gone when he walked back into his house.

His parents, however, were sitting on the couch, waiting for him.

“Katsuki,” Mitsuki started.

“Can’t this wait until morning?”

“We were hoping you would keep the peace.”

“You could have warned me he was f*cking coming!”

“You wouldn’t have shown up if we had.”

“And he shouldn’t have brought up U.A. He should know that I don’t want to talk about it!”

“He can’t know what not to talk about if you don’t communicate it,” Masaru explained.

Katsuki rolled his eyes. “It’s basic f*cking decency to not rub it into someone’s face that they didn’t get into their dream school.”

“After you left, Inko and Izuku explained to us that Izuku didn’t know. Inko kept that from him so he wouldn’t feel bad, and all this time, Izuku thought you had chosen to go to a different school.”

“And the idiot thinks he knows me so well. I wouldn’t give up U.A. for some second rate school if I had the choice,” Katsuki huffed.

“If you won’t apologize for the bullying, at least apologize for this.”

“No.”

“We gave him your number. If he texts, be nice and apologize to him,” Mitsuki said.

Katsuki ignored her and went to his room. He was done with this conversation. Once he was in his room, he pointedly ignored his phone and worked on his homework until the lights in the hall shut off and his parents went to bed. After waiting another hour to make sure they were asleep, he changed into his black clothes and shoes, then crept outside and back onto the lawn.

Fridays weren’t usually his night to go out; he noticed that more heroes were on the street at the end of the week, but he was too worked up to stay inside, even after his run.

Katsuki was itching for a fight, and he immediately headed toward the seedier side of town. He was bound to find a villain here. He’d already faced a couple, and he often caught sight of villains being caught in this neighborhood on the morning papers.

Sure enough, he didn’t have to look for long. He was passing by an alleyway when he heard someone crying. A young woman was crouched in a corner, clutching her purse to her chest and saying, “Please, take my purse. Just don’t hurt me, please!”

A man with deep scars lacing his body and dark hair smirked at her. He held his palm open, and a small, blue flame burst from it.

“Yeah, no. It’s not your purse we want, though we’ll take that. It’s you we want. So be a good girl and do as you’re told,” the man instructed.

Perfect. Illegal use of his Quirk and threatening a civilian. And I know combustion Quirks; he should be easy to take down. Katsuki turned and sauntered into the alleyway.

“Hey. Leave her alone,” he called out.

The woman’s eyes widened, and the man turned around to give Katsuki a once over. “Yeah? What’ll you do if I don’t?”

“Trust me, you don’t wanna know. Now back off,” Katsuki snarled.

“You really don’t scare me, pipsqueak. What are you, fifteen?”

“Sixteen, you damn brat!” Katsuki snapped. Immediately, he cursed himself internally for giving away that information, but his hair was still hidden under a beanie and his face cloaked by a mask, so his identity was still a secret.

“Sixteen? Did he just say sixteen? I’m sixteen! Let’s be friends!” A second person, a girl with blond buns and a schoolgirl outfit, jumped down from somewhere that Katsuki hadn’t seen before. She grinned at him, eyes sharp and teeth sharper, and despite being several inches shorter than him, the hairs stood up at the back of his neck when she approached.

Something told him that her idea of friends was not the same as his.

“Toga, calm down. He’s not the one we want. We’re just looking for this woman, and then-“ the man paused, cursed, then said, “Damn it, she ran!” He whirled on Katsuki. “Do you know how important she was? I’ll f*cking kill you for this.”

“No! Let’s just play with him a little bit and take his blood,” Toga begged.

The man rolled his eyes. “No. We’re silencing this dumb kid who thought that he could play hero.” The blue flame lit up in his palm once more, and the girl- Toga’s eyes glinted before she also rounded on Katsuki again.

But he wasn’t scared. He smirked at them and said, “You’re messing with the wrong guy. I eat villains for breakfast.”

“How silly,” the man replied, not amused at all, and lunged.

Katsuki was quick to dodge the first attack, but he was unaccustomed to fighting two villains at once, and the girl was able to get a good swipe at him. He felt his sleeve tear and something hot and sticky bead up on his arm.

He swung back at her and was able to push her back, but then the man was on top of him again, pushing him to the ground.

Katsuki landed with a hard thud and the wind whooshed out of his chest. The man slammed his boot onto Katsuki’s chest, keeping him from being able to get a good breath in, and smirked.

“Toga, get your blood before I incinerate him.”

“Don’t you f*cking dare,” Katsuki gasped out, but with the little air in his lungs, he sounded pathetic and desperate. Neither of the villains were affected by his threats; in fact, Toga seemed filled with glee as she crouched next to him. Before Katsuki could try to get another word out, she stabbed him in the leg with a thick needle.

He cried out in pain, his eyes bulging in their sockets when he began to feel the blood leave him into the needle.

This bitch really was taking his blood.

What a psycho.

He struggled for breath and tried to scramble away, but the man still had his foot firmly planted on his chest, and the girl held his thigh tight. Tingly numbness was beginning to emanate from where the needle was pumping blood from his body, and when he snapped his head to the side to snap at the girl, he felt a dizzying rush fill his brain.

“Alright, Toga. That’s enough. I want him alive enough to feel it when he burns,” the man drawled. Katsuki felt the vague sensation of the boot leaving his chest, but he was too dazed to move. He caught sight of blue flames in the periphery of his blurry vision, and he winced, waiting for the burn, but it never came.

As quickly as the flame lit up in the man’s hand, it dissipated again. Katsuki heard a shout, and the two villains flinched. Before he could redraw his focus, they made off down the alleyway. He saw some kind of rope dart past him and go taut for a second before loosening and falling to the dirty ground a few meters away from him.

Then a man with dark hair and clothes crouched next to him and helped him to sit up.

“Are you okay, kid?” The man asked in a gruff voice.

Katsuki winced and jolted back. Adrenaline began to pump back into him as he faced this new stranger, and he hissed, “I f*cking had them. Why the f*ck are you interfering?”

The man only co*cked his head, his expression even. He co*cked an eyebrow as he said, “From my point of view, you were about to die. Those villains were about to set you on fire. Care to explain why that happened?”

“They were attacking someone, and I stopped them from hurting her. That’s all you need to know. Now where did they go? I’ve got villains to catch.”

“Really? I doubt you’re a licensed hero, kid.”

“What do you know? Maybe I’m an underground hero.” Katsuki scrambled to his feet and took a few steps back.

“As an underground hero myself, I’m very aware of who the other heroes are. You are not one of them. Now, please tell me what you were doing and let my colleague take a look at your wounds.”

“No. f*ck off.”

“I’m not asking; come here.” The man’s expression tightened, and Katsuki’s stress only grew.

If I get caught again, this is it. This damn bastard isn’t touching me. I need to get out. His gaze darted around the alleyway, but it was tight and the man was gripping that scarf-like contraption again. In his current position, Katsuki wasn’t getting out easily.

“Hey, were you able to find them?” Someone called, and footsteps approached from around the corner. The stranger’s gaze switched over to look for the newcomer, and in the small gap in his attention, Katsuki took his chance.

He darted the other way down the alley and ducked around the corner. He could hear the man shouting after him, but he was out of sight, and Katsuki smirked as he ran, cutting corners and zipping down small roads until his lungs were burning again and he was confident he’d lost them.

Only thing now was that he was far from home and his leg was beginning to throb again. In his current state, he wouldn’t make it much farther. He bit his tongue and cursed quietly.

“Damn idiot, getting hurt like this. The old hag will kill you if she sees this.” He grunted as he dragged himself back toward home, keeping his beanie tight over his blond hair and staying out of the light when he could.

That underground hero could still be looking for him, and he would rather die in some alley than be caught again.

No hero or sleep-deprived bastard could keep Katsuki from his goal.

It was growing light outside when Katsuki finally crawled into his window and slid it shut. He checked his alarm clock for the time: only thirty minutes until his parents woke up.

He’d have to be quiet sneaking into the bathroom to grab the medical supplies.

The first few steps went well enough; Katsuki knew where not to step to avoid creaking floorboards, and the hallway was dark as he crept into the bathroom and shut the door quietly behind him. After locking the door, he tried fumbling around in the dark, cursing when he realized he’d have to turn the light on. He shoved a towel under the door to limit the light seeping into the hall, then flicked the switch on.

Katsuki’s eyes widened when he took himself in.

He looked like sh*t.

Mud smeared his shirt, blood was drying and caked onto his skin and into the ripped fabric around his thigh, and his leg was beginning to bruise around the wound. His lip was split and bleeding, and bags hung under his eyes. He slid his beanie off to reveal his hair, clean but knotted, and once the shock of his condition subsided, he set to work pulling his clothes off and setting them into a pile in the corner.

First step was to get clean. He switched the shower on and set it to a lower heat than he was used to. Normally, Katsuki was one for scalding hot showers; he couldn’t feel it unless it was hot enough to turn his skin red, one of the perks of his Quirk. But he knew the hot water would only irritate the scratches and wounds more, so he set the water to slightly steaming, and waited for it to heat up.

He hissed as the warm water hit his cuts, but he tensed his muscles and bore the pain. Blood and dirt began to come loose and slide down his body and into the swirling water flowing into the drain. His leg stung, and the water knocked the forming scab away, allowing blood to flow out anew. Katsuki cursed again and set to work scrubbing the rest of his body before he could bleed too much. Soap still sliding off his skin, he turned the water off and stumbled out of the shower.

Blood spattered onto the rug below him, staining the light blue mat with red droplets.

“f*ck.” Katsuki scrambled for the cabinet and pulled out the darkest, rattiest towel he could find and began winding it around his leg. He kicked the soiled bathmat to the side and let the darker towel fall to his feet. Then he set to work rummaging around in the cabinets, pulling out a thick roll of gauze, tape, and a large tub of rubbing alcohol.

Then he grabbed a washcloth and shoved it into his mouth before propping his leg on the counter and unscrewing the cap.

The needle had been huge, much larger than most doctors would use to draw blood, but thankfully the wound was relatively small, despite the amount of blood pouring from it. However, it still stung like a bitch when he doused it in rubbing alcohol, and Katsuki screamed into the washcloth.

“Katsuki? Is everything okay?”

Katsuki froze when soft knocks on the door pulled him from his task.

He spat out the washcloth and said, “Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I just thought I heard a shout or something. Wanted to make sure you were okay.” Masaru called back through the door.

“Cut myself shaving. Nothing big,” Katsuki quickly covered.

“Okay. Be more careful next time.”

Katsuki held his breath until the footsteps retreated from the door, then he brought his attention back to his wound. Blood was still leaking out, and it seared from the remains of the rubbing alcohol, but it had mostly subsided. When he was certain he was alone again, Katsuki set to work wiping the blood away and wrapping gauze and tape around his leg.

Once the wound was sufficiently tied up, he turned his attention back to the other small cuts and scrapes. He would definitely have a few bruises, but they would heal quickly and were easy to hide. Only his split lip would arouse suspicions, but he formulated ideas to write it off. Any one of them would be a knock to his pride, but they were all better and less embarrassing than the reality.

He’d lost to some random villains.

“I’ll just have to train harder,” Katsuki muttered to himself as he wrapped a towel around himself, scooped up his dirty clothes and the bathmat, and made his escape from the bathroom.

“Next time I’ll beat those lame villains. 100 percent.”

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“Katsuki, did you twist your ankle running again?” Mitsuki asked when Katsuki limped into the kitchen for dinner that evening. He was still groggy from sleep and sluggish from the pain in his thigh, so he merely grunted in response.

“I told you your running form sucks,” Mitsuki responded, as if Katsuki’s grunt sufficed as a real answer. She slid his plate over to him, and he began shoveling in food as soon as he sat down.

“Whatever,” Katsuki grumbled around his food. For a few minutes, the kitchen table was silent while Katsuki ate and Mitsuki read the newspaper. But the moment Masaru walked into the room and took a seat at the table, his parents looked over at him, and Katsuki knew he was in trouble.

“Katsuki, your mom and I have been talking.”

“That’s never a good start.”

“Shut it, brat! Let your dad speak.”

Masaru continued, “We think all this online schooling is hurting you.”

“Whaddya mean? My grades are good, so what’s the f*cking problem?”

“We saw how you reacted around Midoriya last night, and, well-“

“What’s that damn Deku have to do with anything?”

Masaru and Mitsuki exchanged looks.

“Katsuki, your social skills suck. After this term, we’re re-enrolling you in an in-person school.”

“The f*ck?!” Katsuki leapt to his feet and glared at them. “I told you I’m happy going to school online!”

“Happy, honey, or scared to face your peers?” Masaru gave him a look that Katsuki almost hated more than the look of disappointment he’d been wearing for so long now.

“I’m not scared! I’m never scared! I’m leaving those losers from middle school in the dust! They don’t mean sh*t to me!” Katsuki turned to storm off, but his mother was faster, and she grabbed onto his arm with an iron grip.

“You have one more chance to show us that you can continue your online schooling.”

Katsuki didn’t want to show her how desperate he was, but he glared at her and muttered, “What is it?” anyways.

“You have to make friends with someone. We need to see that you are not falling behind socially.”

“f*ck it. Fine. I’ll join a running club. Does that make you happy?”

“You are welcome to do that…” Masaru started.

“But we have something else in mind,” Mitsuki finished.

Katsuki rolled his eyes. “What is it?”

“You’re going to make amends with Izuku. He and his mother will be over on Fridays for game night, and you will be there.”

“The f*ck if-“

“You miss a single one and we send you back to school.” Katsuki’s stare was hard, but Mitsuki’s was harder, and her threat was real.

After a few seconds, Katsuki broke the stare and mumbled, “Okay, fine. But don’t expect me to be friends with him. I’m just doing this to keep my online classes.”

“Good. You can head back to your room now.” Mitsuki let go of his arm, and Katsuki stormed off. He made sure his parents heard each stomp of his feet up the stairs and the slam of his bedroom door.

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For almost a week, Katsuki stayed home. Between needing time to heal and wanting to make sure that underground hero wasn’t still looking for him, he concentrated on his homework and maintaining a healthy sleep schedule. As his leg healed, he started running again, and he spent his downtime practicing moves and watching videos about sparring. He even managed to find an old film that taught Quirkless people self-defense with people who had Quirks. The entire affair made Katsuki uncomfortable, and he almost stopped the video several times, but even he had to admit he learned something from it.

He had half a mind to share it with Deku, but the moment that thought popped into his brain, he almost exploded his laptop from anger.

The f*ck if I’ll do anything to help stupid Deku.

Then, before he knew it, Friday rolled around again. Mitsuki and Masaru were cleaning up the common areas and bustling about cooking and tidying. At first, Katsuki had been confused, but when he remembered their conversation last Saturday, anxiety and rage boiled in his belly, and he had to sequester himself in his room until the doorbell rang and he was forced to interact.

Deku seemed to get the memo after their last interaction, and he widely avoided Katsuki. Most of the night, he stuck next to his mother, and when he did have to interact with Katsuki, it was quick.

Until they got to taboo, and his parents decided it would be adults versus kids.

One warning glare from his mother, and Katsuki sat his sorry ass back down to play the damn game. He grumbled and intentionally fumbled the first few rounds, but then his mother shouted at him, “Suck it, brat! Our team’s gonna beat yours,” and the competitive fire was lit within Katsuki.

After that, his and Deku’s team passed with flying colors. Despite the slow start, they ended up winning by two points.

And with that, the night was over.

Izuku and Inko headed out, and Mitsuki had little to chastise him over before releasing Katsuki to his room.

Two nights after that, Katsuki snuck out again. The bruising in his thigh had gone down, and he was itching to get out of the house again, so as soon as his parents were asleep, he slipped out the window, down the tree, and up the street, this time taking a different route into the city.

He wasn’t about to get caught by that hero with the dark hair and odd capture weapon again.

Speaking of, Katsuki needed a nickname for the man.

He reminded him of a worn out teacher, who let his class watch movies all day, so he settled with referring to the man as Teach.

Yeah, Teach. That was perfect.

Apparently thinking about him would summon him, and Katsuki had the misfortune of running into him again that night. After successfully subduing a villain, Katsuki was following after another individual who was carrying more purses than a normal person should when he saw a shadow in the corner of his vision not far ahead, and before he could leap from his hiding spot onto the criminal, Teach himself was already binding the man with his capture weapon.

Thankfully, the man didn’t seem to see him, so Katsuki snuck away and hurried back home.

From there, he alternated nights out, picking different neighborhoods each time in attempts to avoid Teach. But almost every time, he either saw the other man apprehending a villain before him, or Teach would save him from a bind. But no matter what, he made sure to escape and always checked his tracks before making his way back home.

But no one seemed to follow him, and eventually he contented himself with the idea that maybe Teach was also an illegal vigilante.

Friday game nights also became easier the longer they happened, and despite noticing that his mom would purposely choose team games to put him and Deku together, he was enjoying winning those games consistently. Even if it meant putting up with the damn nerd.

Finally, summer break was rolling around, and the couple weeks off school meant he could focus on his hero work more without drawing attention to himself.

But two Fridays before the break, his routine was messed up.

Izuku had exams, and Inko was the only one to attend game night. Katsuki was allowed to stay in his room instead of joining that day, but despite knowing that he should feel excited not to have to spend time with Deku, he couldn’t help but feel a bit lonely and disoriented.

In the end, he chalked it up to the change in routine and nothing to do with Deku himself, and he decided to go on a run. There was nothing better than expending energy through staying active.

With the late sunsets and warm weather, Katsuki let himself run farther than he normally did, and by the time the sun started setting, he realized he’d gotten far into the city again. That, and he was parched.

The nearest convenience store was a small and crumbling building on the corner. The closest streetlamp didn’t work, and the flickering neon sign did little to light up the street around it. But Katsuki didn’t care as he slipped into the store and made his way back to the drink coolers.

As he was perusing his drink options (plain, bottled water or a sports drink?), familiar voices caught his attention, and he stiffened.

“Aw, c’mon! It’ll be fun! Shiggy won’t care if I get a snack.”

“We’re bringing enough attention to ourselves as is. No.”

“Please?”

“Absolutely not. You have a good supply back home. What about the blood from that one guy?”

“It’s gross. He hates too much.”

“And you can taste that? Eugh.”

It was the two villains from the night he met Teach. Toga and that guy with the flame Quirk. They rounded the corner, into Katsuki’s view, and he stood stock still, bottle of water tight in his hand.

“You know, I can almost smell his blood now!”

“You really are disgusting.” He heard something rustle, and in the corner of his vision, the man was shoving a bag of chips into Toga’s hands.

“Damn, now all I can smell is this. You really are no fun, aren’t you?”

“Let’s just hurry and grab the beer. We don’t have long before our meeting.”

The two strode past Katsuki, not paying attention to him as they went, but he didn’t move a muscle until they’d grabbed their drinks and headed back up front. And only once they’d left the store did he head to the counter himself.

The whole run home he was shaking and casting glances over his shoulder, half-expecting the two villains to jump out at him and kill him.

And when he was home, he shut his blinds tight and triple-checked to make sure his window was locked.

Few people spooked Katsuki, but those two did.

Chapter 2: ☂️ Hitoshi ☂️

Chapter Text

“Stupid brat! All you ever do is cause trouble! You never should have been born!” The woman screamed as she launched a glass bottle at her son’s head. He ducked but hardly winced as the glass shattered against the wall behind him.

This wasn’t the first time, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last time she blamed him for something small.

After all, she’d been cursed with a child who bore a villain’s Quirk.

According to her and almost everyone else, he would have been better Quirkless. Or better yet, never even born.

He stood stock still, saying nothing as his mother continued to scream at him. He knew better than to try to talk, to argue back. Best case scenario, she would scream at him more, maybe throw something at him. Worst case scenario, he would accidentally activate his Quirk and stop her from attacking him. Then, when the affects wore away, she’d be even angrier, and Hitoshi was certain to regret that.

Bruises and cuts across his face, weeks locked in his room with barely enough food and water to survive, writing the sentence “I’m worthless” over and over again until his hand bled. And those were the small punishments.

So he stood with his mouth clamped shut, waiting for her to strike.

But this time, it never came.

The door burst open and three figures stormed into the apartment. The woman rounded on them and screamed at them to leave, but two of them restrained her while the third approached Hitoshi.

“Hey there, kid. It’s going to be okay now.” A man with long, dark hair crouched in front of him.

But Hitoshi kept his mouth clamped shut.

The man tried again. “It’s okay. You’re allowed to talk. We’re not going to hurt you.”

Hitoshi shook his head.

“Okay. You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to. But do you think you can answer a few yes or no questions? Just nod your head for yes and shake it for no.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Hitoshi gave him a small nod.

“Good. You’re doing good. Is this your home?”

A nod.

“Is that your mom over there?”

He looked over to where his mother was being dragged out of the apartment. She gave him a glare of pure vitriol, but he turned his attention back to the man and nodded.

“Does she hurt you?”

Another pause. Then a nod.

“Is it because of your Quirk?”

A nod.

The man sighed and covered his face in his hands for a moment. When he looked up at Hitoshi again, the small, comforting smile was gone. “She thinks you have a villainous Quirk.”

It was a statement, not a question, but Hitoshi nodded.

“Hitoshi, she’s not going to hurt you anymore. Your Quirk isn’t villainous, and you aren’t going to stay here anymore.”

“Then where will I go?” Hitoshi finally spoke. His voice was shaky and scratchy from misuse, and once the words tumbled out, he clamped his hands over his mouth and squeaked, “I’m sorry.”

“Kid, it’s okay. You’re allowed to talk. And we don’t know quite yet. But until we have a place with you, you’re going to stay with me.”

“But you’re a stranger. I’m not allowed to talk to strangers.” Hitoshi flinched back. His mother had always warned him of stranger danger. This man could be acting nice, but that didn’t mean he was really there to help Hitoshi.

“I’m the underground hero, Eraserhead.” The man pulled out a wallet and opened it to show Hitoshi a badge. “But you can call me Shouta.”

Hitoshi nodded. “Okay.”

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Hitoshi had lived with Shouta for nearly five years now, and with Hizashi for three. The three of them lived a quiet life in their apartment near the U.A. campus. By day, both men taught courses at the prestigious school, and by night, Shouta worked as an underground hero.

Slowly, Hitoshi had learned to trust again, both in others and in his own voice. With training from Shouta, he learned self-defense, and with training from Hizashi, he learned how to command his own voice and control his Quirk.

When applications for U.A. went out, he was able to get in on their recommendation. All he had to do then was pass the written portion of the exam, and he did that with ease.

After some deliberation, Hitoshi was placed into his adopted father’s class, Class 1-A, the top of the two hero courses.

At first, he hung back and stayed quiet. He didn’t want the others to think he was only here because of his father, so he worked harder than ever before to prove he was as strong as the others. He passed the physical exam on the first day with flying colors, receiving excited looks from some of the students and suspicious ones from the others (a boy with red and white hair, to be exact). Then there was the boy with green hair who seemed to struggle in all of the tests.

But somehow, he passed the exam too, after launching a ball by focusing his Quirk only into one finger. When the finger shattered, Hitoshi suddenly remembered the rumors about the student who broke all the bones in his body while saving another student from one of the robots.

This must be that kid, Hitoshi thought. He doesn’t seem like much.

There were two things Hitoshi believed to be true that day. Both of those things quickly proved to be false. And both of them involved the self-destructive kid with green hair.

For starters, Izuku Midoriya was stronger than he let on. The kid worked harder than even Hitoshi himself, and what started out as a Quirk he could hardly control turned into a powerhouse.

Second, no matter how much Hitoshi told himself he wasn’t here to make friends, Midoriya was there to make sure he was wrong.

With a determined smile, Midoriya drew Hitoshi into conversations, lunch groups, and study sessions. Before he knew it, Hizashi was taunting him for his new friends and Shouta was warning him not to get into trouble.

Having two dads who chose him and cared about him was great, but having friends for the first time in his life brought Hitoshi a whole new level of joy.

After his fight against Midoriya in the Sports Festival, Hitoshi got to learn more about their cold and aloof classmate, Todoroki. Hitoshi had always sensed something from him, something uncomfortable and familiar, but it wasn’t until he noticed his reaction to his dad standing in the crowds that it clicked.

It didn’t take long for them to become friends after that, with a lot of help from Midoriya, of course.

Soon, he found himself surrounded by the other students from Class 1-A and comforted by their presence. They were strong, they learned quickly, and they managed to win a battle against villains who attacked the USJ.

It was exhausting, and sometimes more than terrifying, but it was rewarding.

He could be a hero.

One Saturday morning, Hitoshi was rousing slowly; the sun was seeping in and waking him. Classes didn’t start until the afternoon today, and despite the need to study for his English test today (thanks, dad), he was taking advantage of this time to catch up on sleep. Despite not being related to Shouta, he seemed to have inherited the man’s Vitamin D deficiency. Even the occasional extra hour of sleep did little for the chronic fatigue.

But he was a teenager, and teenagers needed sleep, so Hitoshi was sleeping in.

Now that the sun was shining directly into his room, Hitoshi dragged himself from bed and slid his house slippers on. Still half-asleep, he drew his bedroom door and began ambling down the hall to the kitchen. Shouta warned him against coffee, but Hitoshi lived off the caffeine. His mouth was already watering at the thought of a pot of coffee and some toast.

But he didn’t make it far before soft voices stopped him in his tracks.

“…the kid was trying to fight villains Quirkless.”

“Were they the ones you’ve been trying to track down for a month now?”

“Yeah. Not easy to beat, and this kid thought he could do it alone.”

“And you said he was Quirkless?”

“Yeah. At least I think so. God, I hope he realizes how dumb it was for him to do that. He’s gonna get himself killed.”

“How old was he?”

“Not sure. But he couldn’t be older than Hitoshi. That’s what scares me.”

Hizashi hummed and responded something that was too low for Hitoshi to hear, so he chose that time to make his entrance. Still ambling along like he was half asleep, he made his way over to the coffee pot and acted like he hadn’t heard anything.

“Lay off the coffee,” Shouta warned.

Hitoshi smirked at him as he poured a cup. “You’re not my dad.”

Hizashi cackled while Shouta glared at him, and Hitoshi took a sip of the black coffee.

“Don’t complain to me when you’ve got a headache and you can’t sleep.”

“I learned it from the best,” Hitoshi quipped.

“You’re getting extra PT today.”

“Boo.”

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“I ran into him again.”

This was the third time Hitoshi overheard his parents talking about the vigilante kid.

“And you still didn’t catch him?”

“He’s real slippery.”

“Maybe you’re just getting old.”

“I’m f*cking thirty. That’s not that old.”

Hizashi laughed. “Yeah, okay, old man. You tell yourself that. Anyways, what’s the sitch with the vigilante kid?”

“He’s still fighting Quirkless. He’s caught a few thieves and low-level villains. I think he’s the one who caught those guys a few weeks back that we couldn’t find the person who tied them up and called the cops. But he was getting reckless again and got hurt.”

“Was it bad?”

“Not so bad he couldn’t run away. But he was stopping a robbery at an apartment complex.” He named the location, and something about it sounded familiar to Hitoshi. He couldn’t place it, however, so he kept listening. “The villain was able to cut his arm with his Quirk, but the kid disappeared before I could stop him and check on him.”

“You think he’s got parents looking after him?”

“Either they have no idea what he’s doing, or they’re a real piece of work, letting him do this.”

“We can’t afford another kid. You know that, right?” Hizashi toyed.

“I’m not adopting him, ‘Zashi. I just want to make sure he’s safe and gets out of trouble.” He sighed. “The kid’s talented. He’s got fight in him. Good instincts too. I bet he tried to get into U.A., or some hero school at least. But they never let Quirkless kids into the hero course.”

“You think he thought this was the only way to become a hero without a Quirk?”

“I hope not. But I think so.”

“Poor kid. If I had any say, I’d let him in the hero course right now.”

“Me too. We could use more students who favor underground work.”

Hizashi rustled the blankets and sighed. “Let’s just hope he doesn’t get himself into too much trouble.”

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Their summer break was approaching, and with it came exam season. Students began inviting one another over for study sessions, and Hitoshi watched as their paired off and left class together. He didn’t care for the most part; he was used to working alone and tended to prefer it that way, but for some reason today it was nagging at him.

Hitoshi was finishing up packing his backpack when a voice chirped behind him, "Hey, Shinso! Do you have any study plans today?"

He turned to see Midoriya, bag slung over his shoulder and nervous smile on his face. Hitoshi shrugged. "Probably gonna go cram in the library."

"Really? Me too! Wanna study together?"

"Uh, I guess. I don't really care either way. Just don't be too loud."

Midoriya grinned wider. "Great! Then let's go!"

What Hitoshi thought was going to be a quiet study session turned into something surprisingly fun and collaborative. At first, Midoriya would ask the occasional question about the content, until Hitoshi started asking questions back. Then they fell into an easy pattern of comparing answers and laughing over their own mistakes.

Before Hitoshi knew it, Hizashi was approaching their table, a soft smile on his face. "Hey there, little listeners."

"Hello, Present Mic!" Midoriya waved.

Hitoshi was a little quieter as he gave his own wave. Anxiety fluttered in his stomach; no one in the class knew yet that he lived with two of their teachers.

But Hizashi didn't seem to care as he plopped down at their table and said to Midoriya, "Can I trust you to keep a secret?"

Midoriya nodded vigorously. "With my life, sir!"

"Good." Hizashi smirked. "Hitoshi here is actually my adopted son. I saw the two of you studying, and it's a bit late for you to head home on your own, Midoriya, so what do you think about coming over for dinner, and then I'll drop you off at home after?"

"Really?! That's so cool! And yes please! I would love that! Let me text my mom." He started fishing around in his backpack for his phone. Once it was in hand, he paused. "Oh wait. It's game night with Kacchan."

"You don't have to stay for dinner if you don't want to. I'm happy to escort you home," Hizashi offered.

But Midoriya shook his head and excused himself from the library. "I'll call my mom. I'm sure she won't mind me cancelling for one week."

The moment his classmate was gone, Hitoshi turned to Hizashi. "What's Shouta going to say about this?"

"He'll be fine! He adores the kid."

"That's his number 1 problem child- his words."

"Exactly! Midoriya's his favorite. Besides, I'm happy to see that you've finally made a friend."

"We're not-" Hitoshi started, but Midoriya bounced back over to them.

"She said it's fine as long as I give you her number." He handed Hizashi a piece of paper, and after the teacher added it to his contacts and texted Midoriya's mother, they packed their things and left the library.

The anxiety only built as they drove home. He wasn't sure what he was more apprehensive about: Shouta's reaction or Izuku's. And keeping a secret about one secret parent was enough, but both? And when one of them was their homeroom teacher? Could Midoriya keep a straight face in class after this?

This is why I don't make friends, Hitoshi reminded himself as they pulled into the apartment complex. Midoriya is going to be so weird to me after this. Shouta’s gonna be mad at Hizashi and probably me as well, and he’s going to send Midoriya straight home, and then he’ll really not want to be my friend-

“Welcome home,” Shouta said when the trio walked into the door. He gave Hizashi a kiss on the cheek when the man walked over to him, then cast a glance at the two boys and said, “Hitoshi, give Problem Child a tour of the apartment. Dinner will be done soon.”

For a second, Hitoshi didn’t move. Was Shouta really acting this casually to Midoriya being in his home?

“Hitoshi, you okay?” Shouta asked, a brow raised.

“Uh, yes. Midoriya, this way,” he turned to his classmate, who he was expecting to find gawking at his teacher, but Midoriya was looking at him expectantly, a normal expression on his face. “Uhh, aren’t you going to react to who my dads are?”

He shook his head. “Nope! I already knew. Not that they were your dads, of course. I learned that today. But I already knew Aizawa-Sensei and Present Mic-Sensei were together. Todoroki figured it out first, actually. I mean, he was a little bit off at first, but he was the one who discovered that Aizawa-Sensei was in a relationship, and, well, one thing led to another and now we know! The detention and extra laps were worth it.”

“Oh,” was all Hitoshi could muster. Without further complaint, he started leading Midoriya around the apartment.

Once they were down the hallway, he heard Hizashi joke to Shouta, “If I remember correctly, you threatened to expel them too, didn’t you?”

“It’s only practical,” Shouta replied.

After the apartment tour was done, Hitoshi led Midoriya to the couch to eat dinner. The boy was surprised at first, and even when Hitoshi explained how casual the family was, he still perched at the edge of the couch and checked constantly to make sure he didn’t spill his food.

“Aizawa-Sensei, this is delicious!” Midoriya exclaimed.

“You can drop the sensei here. Just Aizawa is okay.”

“Okay, Aizawa-Se- Aizawa.”

The rest of dinner progressed in relative peace, with Hizashi sharing jokes and Midoriya grilling him about his hero life. Hitoshi could sense Aizawa getting a headache from the noise, but he let the conversation continue and even added in a few things here and there. Hitoshi, however, was quiet. That was fairly normal for dinners; he preferred listening to engaging.

“Not to be that parent, but Hitoshi has really been coming out of his shell since starting at U.A. We were worried at first, what with how quiet he is, but he really seems to be taking to you and some of the others,” Hizashi told Midoriya.

He beamed. “Really? I’m so happy! I actually didn’t have many friends before U.A. either, and I really love how supportive everyone is. It’s hard not to be friends with everyone in Class 1-A!”

“Hizashi, please don’t,” Hitoshi mumbled, covering his face in his hand.

Hizashi opened his mouth to argue, but Shouta cut in first. “He’s right. You don’t need to embarrass him.”

“It’s okay!” Midoriya smiled. “I’m happy to know you like our class as well.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

Midoriya laughed. Hitoshi didn’t understand why, but both of his parents cracked a smile as well, and the conversation gently turned in another direction after that.

Once dinner was done and the dishes cleared away, Shouta disappeared for a few minutes before returning in his hero costume. Midoriya’s eyes looked like they were about to bug out of his head in excitement, but Hizashi cut in before the kid could say anything.

“Patrol tonight? I’ll take the little listener home then.”

Shouta nodded. “Thank you.”

With that, Hizashi turned to the two teens and put his hands on his hips. “You two ready to head out?”

They nodded, and Midoriya shot his mother a quick text to explain he was on his way home. Then he gave Hizashi his address, and they headed out of the apartment.

Huh, that name sounds familiar, Hitoshi thought as they headed downstairs. But where from?

When they were turning into the apartment complex, it clicked. This is where Shouta saw that vigilante kid. I should ask Midoriya about him. He turned to speak to his friend, but remembered that Hizashi was in the drivers seat and thought better of it. I’ll bring it up to him tomorrow before class.

And that he did.

Hitoshi knew that Midoriya was one of the first students to make it to class, and if he played his cards right, he could catch his classmate alone to ask him.

But when he walked into the classroom, bright and early and ready to strangle the sun, Midoriya was already deep in conversation with Todoroki.

Not a problem. He’d just be careful how he approached this.

When Midoriya caught sight of Hitoshi, he waved him over. “You’re here early!” He chirped.

Hitoshi shrugged and slung his bag off his shoulder. “Had a question for you.”

“Really?” Midoriya perked up.

“I heard about some case when I was scrolling through the Internet last night. Something about some Quirkless vigilante kid. Said he was active near where you live. Know any Quirkless kids that live in the area?”

Midoriya froze. His smile tightened but stayed splayed across his face. “Um, nope. None that I can think of. Are you sure this vigilante was Quirkless? And from my neighborhood? I haven’t heard about anything happening recently.”

“You sure?” Hitoshi leaned in, studying his classmate’s face. “None at all. No little siblings or quiet kid in your class? None that might want to be a hero?”

“Nope! Not at all! No-siree! Not a single Quirkless kid.”

“And you’re positive?” The kid was hiding something, if his blanched face and darting eyes said anything.

“Super positive.”

“Really?”

“You can stop bothering him now.” Todoroki’s voice cut through the conversation, and Hitoshi jumped. The heterochromatic teen was glaring at him. “He already said he doesn’t know anyone.”

“Right.” Hitoshi spun back around in his seat and waited in silence for the rest of the class to arrive, but he couldn’t help but notice Midoriya’s anxious energy radiating from behind him. And during lunch, he sat farther down the lunch table, on the far side of Iida, rather than in the middle of the group like normal.

He was definitely hiding something.

And Hitoshi would get to the bottom of it.

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“No study buddy today?” Hizashi asked when he walked into the apartment. Hitoshi was perched at the kitchen counter, munching on a bowl of cereal and scrolling through his phone.

He shrugged. “Nah.”

“Well, if you need help studying for tomorrow’s pop quiz in English, your dear old dad is here to help,” Hizashi winked before disappearing down the hallway, presumably to change from his work clothes.

Hitoshi rolled his eyes, then sent a quick message in the class’s group chat to warn them of their pop quiz. After reading several comments about him being the class savior, he put his phone away and went to rinse his bowl in the sink.

Now it was time to do some digging on this vigilante, and who the Quirkless kid in Midoriya’s neighborhood was.

He started out by checking the news for any hits or blurred photographs on the mystery kid, but there was very little to go off of, if anything. The only real proof Hitoshi had of this kid existing was from the conversations he’d eavesdropped on.

So he changed his tactic.

Quirk registries were fairly easy to come by, so he started digging through recent databases. He found very little there as well, only coming up with a handful of Quirkless kids in the area, none of whom fit the bill for the vigilante. One kid was still eight, another had moved from the neighborhood a year ago, and the other was much older and did not fit the description.

Needless to say, his research wasn’t doing much.

And he’s overheard fewer conversations as of late. He slipped from his room and tiptoed down the hall, hoping for some information, but heard very little at first. Hizashi and Shouta were currently arguing over the contestants in some western cooking show.

But then a commercial came on, and Shouta said, “I saw the kid again. Don’t think he saw me, but he’s getting clever. He was gone before I could reprimand him.”

“Oh yeah?”

“I hate that he’s doing this. I have to put a stop to it.”

“Just be careful, okay?”

“He’s the one that needs to be careful. He’s as reckless as my problem children. Dumb kid shouldn’t be getting into vigilantism, especially not without a Quirk. It’s too dangerous.”

“Have you been able to learn any more about him?”

“Given the timeline from when I first saw him, I don’t think he’s been doing this long. My current theory is he tried to get into U.A. this year but didn’t make the cut. Tomorrow, I’ll- Hitoshi, how long have you been listening in?”

Hitoshi stepped out from the hallway and tried to feign innocence. “Just a minute. Who were you talking about?”

“No one you need to worry about. Please don’t mention this to any of your classmates. I don’t want them getting ideas.”

“You know I won’t,” he replied and wandered into the kitchen.

His parents kept their conversation vague while he grabbed his glass of water and a snack, but once he’d started back down the hallway, he heard Hizashi crack, “Either he’s getting really quiet or your hearing is getting worse, old man.”

“And what about you? Can’t your hearing aids pick up a mouse’s footsteps?”

“Sensitivity is turned down. Just because they can hear everything doesn’t mean I like that all the time. You know that.”

Hitoshi retreated to his room before hearing Shouta’s rebuttal.

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When classes rolled around again on Monday, Midoriya was still avoiding Hitoshi. His stomach lurched a little at the idea of losing another potential friend, but he reminded himself that it had already happened countless times, and let the comfortable disappointment settle back in.

When Shouta walked into class, a little more exhausted than normal, he raised an eyebrow at Hitoshi, who wasn’t even pretending to listen in to the conversations around him, but Hitoshi shrugged, and class started without any further acknowledgement.

At lunch, Midoriya was jumpy again, so Hitoshi left the cafeteria early and returned to the classroom to take a nap before afternoon training.

But Shouta was already in there, lights off and curled up in his sleeping bag, and despite the fact that he was sound asleep, Hitoshi knew how light the man slept, and sure enough, before he could turn around and walk back out of the classroom, Shouta’s eyes popped open and locked onto his son standing in the doorway. In an instant, he was out of his sleeping back and motioning for Hitoshi to join him by his desk.

“You’re not eating with your friends?” Shouta asked.

“I don’t really want to talk about it.”

“Okay.” And Shouta plopped down behind his desk and pulled out his lunch. He even procured a can of iced tea and handed it to Hitoshi. The two ate in silence with only the light from outside to illuminate the classroom.

That was one of the things Hitoshi loved about Shouta. Since he wasn’t much of a talker either, he understood when exactly to or not to push Hitoshi to share something. He respected when he needed to sit in a silent classroom and say nothing.

So when his classmates started returning from lunch, he understood when Shouta mumbled, “we’ll talk tonight.” He’d be nervous to, but he would be ready.

But the longer Midoriya avoided him, the more antsy Hitoshi grew, and the more suspicious he became.

Midoriya was hiding something about the Quirkless vigilante kid, and Hitoshi wanted to find out what it was.

And maybe he could repair their friendship along the way, though he wasn’t going to get his hopes up.

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Shouta and Hizashi were working late, so Hitoshi had a little time to kill before going home. He decided to use it by following Midoriya home.

Hitoshi had become unaccustomed to riding the train after moving in with Shouta and Hizashi, but he managed to slip on unnoticed, and he took his spot a few rows behind his classmate. Midoriya had his earbuds in and was nodding along to some music while he stared out the window. People shuffled on and off at each stop, but Hitoshi remained perched at the edge of his seat, keeping careful watch of Midoriya, and when they finally reached his stop, he made sure to be a few steps behind Midoriya, keeping well out of his sight.

The neighborhood was much different in the daytime; little shops dotted the corners, and potted plants lined the driveways of houses. But as they ventured through the lively streets, smooth concrete slowly gave way to potholes, and nice houses turned into dilapidated apartment homes.

Midoriya didn’t seem to notice or mind the change; he kept on walking, one earbud in and the other swinging by his side. He waved at an old man before turning the corner and venturing across the street.

Hitoshi followed.

He was about to follow his classmate down another road when Midoriya whirled around and stared straight at him, confusion but no surprise written on his face.

“Why are you following me?”

Hitoshi’s mouth opened and closed a few times as he searched for an answer. Eventually, he settled for a partial truth. “You’ve been avoiding me. I wanted to find out why.”

Midoriya stared at him for another moment before his gaze brightened. “Oh! I’m sorry if you thought I was avoiding you. I guess I was just in my head. Hey, why don’t you come have dinner with me? My mom is making katsudon tonight, and I’m sure she’d be happy if you joined. I don’t bring friends home often.” Midoriya began prattling on, describing his home as he turned and led Hitoshi down the street. All suspicion seemed to have dissolved, so Hitoshi let himself relax a little.

As they turned a corner, something barreled into Hitoshi’s shoulder and sent him stumbling to the side.

“Watch where you’re going, dumbass!” A voice shouted at him. Hitoshi turned in time to see a boy around his and Midoriya’s age run past. He had spiky blond hair and a bright orange t-shirt on.

“That’s Kacchan,” Midoriya explained when the guy was out of earshot. “He’s a bit abrasive, but he means well.”

“He seems rude,” Hitoshi mumbled as he rubbed his shoulder.

“I think he’s just going through a hard time right now. But don’t mind him.” Hitoshi brushed off the encounter as Midoriya let him around one last corner and up the steps to his apartment.

He’d never met Midoriya’s mother before, Hitoshi realized when he stepped inside the apartment. She was practically an older, female version of his classmate, and she greeted him warmly.

“Izuku! You brought home a friend! I’m so happy. Did you tell him we’re having katsudon for dinner? And you must be Shinso, dear. Izuku has told me all about you.” She smiled warmly at him.

“Oh, um, yeah. Thank you, Mrs. Midoriya.”

“Dinner’s almost ready, so why don’t you go sit down at the table?”

The boys thanked her and wandered into the kitchen. Hitoshi sat as Midoriya pulled out utensils and napkins for the table.

“Aizawa-Sensei announced our summer camp today. Are you excited for it?” Midoriya asked.

Hitoshi shrugged. “I guess. You do know it’s a training camp, right? Not a fun camp?”

“Yep! And I’m super excited to continue to work on my training! Aren’t you?”

“I’d like to sleep in a little more, but I guess.”

“Do you think you could teach me some moves with your capture scarf sometime?”

Hitoshi looked up. “What?”

“Your capture scarf. Aizawa-Sensei taught you, right? It’s really cool, and I know I have a lot of limitations with my Quirk, so I want to work on other ways to be able to fight without breaking my bones as often.”

“Oh. Yeah. I can do that. I’m not as good as Shouta, though. Why don’t you ask him?” Why don’t you ask someone who’s actually good with the capture weapon? I’m still kind of useless at it.

“But you’re still really good! And Aizawa-Sensei has so many of us to teach. I don’t want to burden him.”

“When we have downtime at the camp, I’ll show you a few moves.”

Midoriya perked up. “Really? Thank you!”

At that moment, Inko Midoriya walked into the room, three steaming bowls of katsudon in hand. She set one in front of each of them and sat in an open seat. “I see you two are getting along.”

“Shinso is going to show me how to use his capture scarf!” Midoriya told her.

Inko smiled. “That’s lovely sweetie.” To Hitoshi, she said, “So tell me, what things do you like to do? Are you a big fan of All Might like Izuku is?”

“Um, not really. I mean, he’s a great hero and a good teacher. I respect him. But Midoriya is probably the biggest fan I know.”

“That’s my Izuku,” Inko laughed. “Ever the All Might fanboy.”

“Mom,” Izuku whined.

Hitoshi stifled a laugh. “I enjoy drawing. That’s actually how Midoriya first tried to befriend me. I like to doodle on my notes.”

“He’s really great! He does Zen tangles and other cool patterns. I wish I could draw like that.”

“And you draw amazing hero sketches. I can’t draw people for the life of me. I’m jealous of what you can do too.”

Midoriya’s eyes lit up at that. “Really?”

“Really.”

Inko laughed again. “Shinso, thank you so much for coming over. Izuku hasn’t had many friends before, and I’m happy to see him coming out of his shell now. You probably know this already, but his Quirk manifested late, so he used to be bullied for it. U.A. has been so good for him. You kids are such wonderful influences.”

The silence after her words was deafening.

All three of them jumped when Midoriya’s fork clattered to the table. “Mom,” he said in a low voice, his eyes downcast, “I don’t talk about that at U.A.”

“Oh.” Instant tears welled up in Inko’s eyes. “Baby, I’m so sorry!”

“It’s okay, mom.” Midoriya stood and scooted back his chair.

Hitoshi prepared to make his escape, and he was opening his mouth to bid a hasty farewell when Midoriya said to him, “Shinso, can we talk privately?”

He nodded, and Midoriya beckoned him down the hall. They were silent the whole way to Midoriya’s room, and even when he’d shut the door and turned to face him, the two of them were quiet.

Hitoshi was the first to speak. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know your Quirk manifested so late. Is that why you were uncomfortable when I asked about Quirkless kids in your area?”

“Yeah.” Izuku sighed.

“How late did it manifest?”

“At the U.A. entrance exam.”

Hitoshi’s eyes widened, and he recalled the story about the kid who broke all his bones in the entrance exam. Then about how Midoriya struggled to hone in his Quirk and use it without causing himself significant harm.

“Oh.”

“Oh.” Izuku sniffed. “Makes a lot of sense now, doesn’t it?”

“It does.”

“So…”

“So what?”

“You must hate me now for hiding that. I grew up a Quirkless loser, and now I can barely handle a Quirk I’ve only had a couple months.”

Hitoshi snorted, and Izuku’s head snapped up, his eyes wide.

Hitoshi huffed, “What happened to the kid who tells everyone to make their Quirk their own?”

“Excuse me?”

“I have a villainous Quirk. You know that. You’ve seen it. But you told me I could still be a hero at the Sports Festival. Todoroki too. So what if your Quirk manifested late? You were still good enough to get into the top hero course. And you have friends now.”

“I do?”

“I’m your friend, aren’t I?” Hitoshi’s stomach jolted when he said those words.

Izuku nodded emphatically. “You are!”

“And Todoroki, and Uraraka, and Iida too, right?”

“Yeah, you’re right…” the embarrassment was melting from Izuku’s face, making way for a thoughtful expression. “I made it far in the Sports Festival too.” He began mumbling for a minute, too low for Hitoshi to hear, but he stood back and waited for his friend to finish his thoughts before saying anything else. Finally, Izuku’s head popped back up, and he said, “I think I understand now why you were asking about Quirkless kids in the area. It’s about that vigilante, right? I thought it was some mask before to try to get my secret, but you really were looking for a vigilante, weren’t you?”

Hitoshi nodded, a little surprised for the pivot in conversation, but he decided to roll with it. “Yeah.”

“I wasn’t lying when I said I didn’t know anyone. It was just me. Every other kid my age has a Quirk. Have you looked at Quirk registries to see if there’s anyone in a similar age?”

Hitoshi nodded. “No one I could find in your age range. Just a couple younger kids and someone too old to fit the description.”

“Hmm… That is interesting. I’ll have to do some digging. You mind if I help you?”

“Yeah, uh, I mean no. I don’t mind. You know this neighborhood better than I do.”

Izuku smiled and nodded. He turned to his desk and pulled his laptop from his backpack before turning back around, a mischievous look on his face. “Then let’s start looking.”

They started by expanding their search to nearby neighborhoods and city-wide registries, and after an hour, they had a decently sized list. Hitoshi shared some of the things he’d learned from Shouta, and they started a map with all the sightings. Soon, Midoriya’s bulletin board was covered in sticky notes, newspaper clippings, and thumb tacks, and Hitoshi was beginning to feel like a conspiracy theorist.

They had all but lost track of time when Inko knocked on the door. She peeked her head inside and said, “It’s going to get dark soon. Izuku, why don’t you walk your friend to the train station?”

“Okay!” The two of them wrapped up their conversation and stood to leave the room. Just before Hitoshi opened the door again, Midoriya blurted, “Since we’re officially friends now, you can call me Izuku.”

Hitoshi turned to look at him. “And you can call me Hitoshi. I kind of hate Shinso anyways.”

Izuku nodded, no questions asked, and said, “Awesome. Then let’s get you home, Hitoshi.”

“Thanks, Izuku.”

Something warm blossomed in Hitoshi’s chest at that moment, and he realized that he’d officially made his first friend.

The warm ball of joy followed him as they walked back down the sidewalk, retracing their steps toward the train station. Izuku chattered the whole way, recounting their exams from the previous few days, asking for his opinion on some of the harder questions and gushing over how clever Shouta’s exam questions were.

They were nearly back to the train station when flashing lights and yellow tape stopped them in their path.

“This is a crime scene. Please take the detour to get to the train station. Thank you for understanding,” an officer said to them. Izuku was craning his head, trying to get a look at the situation, while Hitoshi was starting to turn away when he caught sight of dark hair and a long scarf.

“Shouta?” He called out.

Shouta turned his head, and when he saw Hitoshi and Izuku, he approached them. “I see you two are getting along again. Hitoshi, if you want to hang back here, I can take you home after I’m done.”

“What’s going on?” Izuku asked as Shouta led them past the caution tape.

“Some kind of fight. Nothing crazy, but the perpetrators got away. We’re cataloging evidence now. Midoriya, I want you to stay here with me while I wrap things up, and I’ll walk you home after.”

“Why? My home’s just around the corner.”

Shouta’s voice dropped as he pulled the two teens in close. “We have reason to believe this is the work of the League of Villains. I don’t want you walking around here alone until we know it’s safe.”

Izuku nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Good. Now stay close to me. You might as well get some experience in the field while you’re here.” He led the two of them closer to the alleyway where a few police officers were standing.

One of the men peeled away from the group when Shouta approached, and he said, “We have evidence of three individuals here, but we still haven’t figured out how they got away. It’s just as much of a mystery as last time.”

Hitoshi listened as Shouta spoke with the police officer, trying to keep track of everything they said. Based off the preliminary evidence, it was highly likely that at least one League of Villains member was involved, likely the villain with the flame Quirk, Dabi. Whoever they engaged with had a Quirk as well, but both sides were missing and they had no clue what could have instigated the scuffle.

Suddenly, Izuku was tugging on Hitoshi’s arm and pointing. The adults were still talking, so Hitoshi peeled away from the conversation with his friend and followed him over to the crime scene.

“Hey! Don’t mess with that!” One of the cops shouted, and Hitoshi hesitated for a moment, but Izuku pointed again at something in the corner of the alley, and before any of the police officers could stop him, he ran over and picked up the object.

When he turned around, Izuku’s eyes were wide, and he held out a scrap of orange fabric in his shaking hand. “It’s Kacchan.”

Chapter 3: Izuku

Chapter Text

Horror settled in Izuku’s stomach as he stared at the scrap of fabric. “It’s Kacchan,” he announced as he held the fabric out toward the cops.

One of them ran over and snatched the fabric with a gloved hand and placed it into a plastic bag. He said something to Izuku, but he was hardly paying attention.

Kacchan was in this fight. These are his explosion marks. They said everyone here was gone when they got here. Is he okay? Did he run away? Did the League of Villains take him? I have to go look for him. I-

“Izuku.” Hitoshi’s sharp voice yanked him from his thoughts, and he stared up at his classmate. Hitoshi was staring at him intently, and when Izuku stayed where he was standing, he walked over to him and said, “That’s the kid who ran into me earlier, isn’t it? Kacchan, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah. Kacchan. Uh, Katsuki Bakugo. I think he’s been hurt. I have to go see if he’s okay.”

“Is this a friend of yours?” Aizawa approached them.

Izuku’s eyes snapped up to meet his teacher’s. “Yes. Kacchan is my childhood friend. We saw him going for a run earlier. That was a piece of his shirt I found. And he’s got an explosion Quirk.” He pointed to some of the singe marks against the brick walls. “That’s from him. He must have been trying to defend himself.”

“Can you lead us to his house?” Aizawa asked.

Izuku nodded. “Yeah. This way.”

He led his teacher and classmate down the road and past a few more turns, until they reached a quaint neighborhood with a short row of houses. They headed up the driveway, and Izuku stepped forward to knock on the front door.

Mitsuki answered a few minutes later. She grinned when she saw Izuku. “What’s up, kid? The brat’s not home, but I can tell him you stopped by if you’d like.”

“H-“ Izuku’s breath hitched. “He’s not?”

“Nah. He went for a run. Why? Izuku, is something wrong?”

Izuku teared up and began to shake.

“Izuku, tell me what’s going on. Do you need me to get Inko?” Mitsuki’s face quickly turned serious as she grabbed Izuku’s shoulders.

It took every ounce of Izuku’s self control not to break out into sobs, but it also meant he couldn’t respond to her. Thankfully, Aizawa stepped in at that moment.

“Hello, I’m pro-hero Eraserhead. We have reason to believe your son may have gotten involved in an incident.”

“Again? God, I swear that brat doesn’t know what’s best for him. I thought he’d put that hero sh*t behind him.” Mitsuki rolled her eyes and placed her hands back on her hips. “Izuku, is this what you’re crying about? I’m glad you’re worried about Katsuki, but you don’t have to cry about it.”

Izuku shook his head.

“Your son is missing. We found evidence of a scuffle that he may have been involved in, and we are trying to track him down and make sure he is okay. May we come in and wait for him with you?”

“Oh! Yes. Come in.” Mitsuki immediately sobered up and ushered for the three of them to join her inside.

Masaru was sitting on the couch when they walked in, and Mitsuki was quick to explain what was happening. He jumped to his feet and ran to grab them some water and snacks, and then the waiting game began.

An hour passed, and still no Katsuki.

Then two hours.

Izuku was getting really nervous.

He’d already texted his mom to let her know what was happening, and as soon as she’d finished with the dishes, she joined him at the Bakugo household.

When three hours passed, Aizawa left with Hitoshi to reconvene with the police.

When midnight finally rolled around, Inko took Izuku home.

Still no Kacchan.

At one a.m., when Izuku still couldn’t find sleep, he pulled out his phone. Ever since getting Kacchan’s phone number a couple months ago, he had hesitated to reach out to him. He never texted him, knowing that he’d either be ignored or yelled at, but at this moment he knew he’d be okay being berated if it meant he knew Kacchan had gotten out okay.

Deku: Kacchan, are you okay?

When two a.m. rolled around and he still didn’t have a response, he set his phone to the side and fell asleep.

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There was still no response from Katsuki when he woke up. And none when he was finished getting ready and on his way to class.

Still nothing after finishing their first round of exams.

“Kacchan hasn’t texted back yet,” Izuku said to Hitoshi as they walked to lunch. His friend looked more exhausted than normal, and he only gave a half-hearted shrug in reply, so Izuku continued, “I haven’t heard back from Auntie or Uncle either, and I know they would update me if they found him.”

“You call his parents Auntie and Uncle?”

Izuku nodded. “Auntie and Mom are close friends from college. That’s part of the reason Kacchan and I grew up together. And why he even bothers to acknowledge me at all anymore.”

Hitoshi turned and gave him an odd look. “What do you mean by that? I thought you said you were friends.”

“Yeah, um… well…” Izuku began twiddling with his thumbs. “You see… Kacchan’s always been so cool. He’s got a strong Quirk, he’s a great leader, and he let me follow him around for a long time, but…” He veered away from the cafeteria and towards the library. Hitoshi followed. “When everyone realized I probably wasn’t going to get a Quirk, he started to distance himself. He still let me follow him for a little while, but the older we got, the more standoffish he became. By the time we got to middle school, he hated my guts. I guess he didn’t want to be associated with someone who was Quirkless, and when other kids started bullying me, he did nothing to stop them. In fact, his hatred toward me kind of fueled them.”

“And you still call this kid your friend?”

“Yeah? I know it sounds crazy, but we were inseparable when we were little. And I think something changed in him when he didn’t get into U.A. His mom started inviting us over for game night, and Kacchan even let me be on his team sometimes.”

“Are you sure he’s not just doing it to make his parents happy?” Hitoshi asked.

Izuku shook his head. “Kacchan won’t do something unless he wants to. Maybe his mom pushed him a little, but she’s never stopped him from being hostile before; I don’t think it would change now. He seems to actually be making an effort to make amends, whatever the reason may be.”

“And you’re not mad at him for everything?”

Izuku sat down next to a bookcase and paused. Anger wasn’t the first thing that came to mind when he thought about Kacchan, nor were excitement or any other positive emotion. Mostly he felt anxiety and a little discomfort. Kacchan had done plenty to hurt him, but he also wasn’t the worst Izuku had experienced when it came to Quirkless discrimination. That, and something about the way Kacchan looked when he lashed out always made Izuku feel like there was something more to it than prejudice. But what exactly it was, he had no idea.

“No,” he finally said. “Disappointed maybe, but not angry.”

“Hm.”

“Can we change the topic?” Izuku asked.

“Sure. What do you want to talk about?”

“Have you heard anything else about the vigilante? Or about what happened to Kacchan and the League?”

Hitoshi reached for his backpack and pulled out a notebook. “Nothing yet. But I did go back through and look at some of the news articles. I’m starting to put together a map. If we can triangulate the vigilante’s location, maybe we can find where they live.”

“Really? That’s so cool! What do you have so far?” Izuku leaned over to look at the notebook. He watched as Hitoshi flipped through a few news articles and opened the map he was working on. A few locations were already marked in pen, and dates were listed to the side.

“These were from Shouta, and the ones in red are from the news articles. I also marked Bakugo’s last known location in green. Even though the vigilante wasn’t there, he’s apparently had some run-ins with the League, so I want to mark it as well.”

“Right. If the League is involved, we want to work on finding their location as well. And you said this incident involved the League too, right?” Izuku pointed to one of the red marks.

Hitoshi nodded. “Yes. And like yesterday, they disappeared without a trace.”

“They’re probably still using that villain with the warp Quirk.”

“That’s what I’m thinking.” Hitoshi scribbled down a note about the villain, and Izuku was ready to add to the comment when a voice stopped him.

“You’re missing lunch. What are you doing?”

Hitoshi slammed the book shut, and Izuku whipped his head around to see Todoroki standing at the end of the aisle.

“Todoroki, hi!” Izuku said and put on his biggest smile. “We were studying for our next exam. I wanted something a little quieter than the cafeteria. But don’t worry, everything is okay here. The whole group didn’t come looking for us, did they? I really don’t want to worry anyone, so you can let them know we’re okay.”

Todoroki just stared at him and waited for him to finish talking. Once Izuku paused for breath, his classmate said, “The only exam we have left is the practical. How would you study for that?”

“Oh, just going through my notes on our classmates, martial art forms, and things like that.” I really hope Todoroki buys this, Izuku thought to himself.

But he had no such luck.

“I heard a kid you went to middle school with went missing yesterday. Endeavor said it was related to the League of Villains. Are you two looking for him?”

Well crap.

Izuku wracked his brains for an excuse, for a way to convince his classmate that this wasn’t exactly what he was doing, but the longer he floundered, the more suspicious Todoroki’s gaze became.

And Hitoshi was little help either.

“I’m not going to tell Aizawa-Sensei if that’s what you’re worried about.” Todoroki continued watching them.

“Oh. Good,” Hitoshi said.

“Um, would you like to join? Only if you want. I don’t want to get you into trouble,” Izuku asked.

Without waiting for further explanation, Todoroki took a seat on Izuku’s other side. “Midoriya, we fought Stain together. I don’t care about getting in trouble.”

“In that case,” Izuku pulled the notebook from Hitoshi’s grasp, “what do you think about this?”

They began sharing their notes and ideas with Todoroki, pointing out the various locations and types of incidents. When they came to Katsuki’s disappearance, Todoroki said, “So the vigilante, who is also your childhood friend, was kidnapped by the League of Villains, and you are trying to get him back?”

Izuku startled. “What?”

“That is what you are doing, right? Saving Bakugo from the League?”

“No. Yes. I mean yes, we’re saving Kacchan from the League. But no, he’s not the vigilante. We’re also looking for the vigilante. That’s why Kacchan’s kidnapping is in green, see? He’s connected because he was kidnapped by the League, who the vigilante has also had a run-in with.” Izuku pointed to the map.

“But he fits the profile. He lives in the same area as you, and he was taken by the League. Why would they kidnap him if he wasn’t the vigilante?” Todoroki co*cked his head to the side and stared at Izuku.

“That’s because he was going running and probably ran into them. Kacchan wants to be a hero and he has a short temper, so he probably tried to stop them on his own. And the vigilante doesn’t use a Quirk. Kacchan only fights with his Quirk. They aren’t the same person.”

“We got in trouble for using our Quirks against Stain. Maybe Bakugo knows that and has been fighting without a Quirk to keep out of trouble.”

“Kacchan wouldn’t do that; trust me. He’d rather die than fight Quirkless. Plus, he obviously used his Quirk in defense against the League last night. Why would he use it then but not before last night?”

“Because he wouldn’t need to against petty criminals.”

“The vigilante fought the League once already and didn’t use a Quirk.”

“The last time he fought them, Aizawa-Sensei stepped in, right?”

“Hitoshi, did Aizawa-Sensei ever say anything about what the vigilante looks like? Help me out here.” Izuku turned to his other friend.

Hitoshi was silent for a moment, before saying, “I don’t know much because I only overheard a couple things. The vigilante kept himself disguised from what I understand. I see what you are saying, Todoroki, but if Izuku doesn’t think his friend is the vigilante, then I trust him. He knows Bakugo better than we do.”

“We can prove if Bakugo is the vigilante.”

“And how do you suggest we do that?” Izuku asked.

“We can stake out your neighborhood and look for the vigilante. Based on the intervals you listed, he should be active tonight. If we find him, it’s not Bakugo. If we don’t, then it could be him.”

“And either way, we find out more information about the vigilante,” Hitoshi added.

“Okay, fine. We can do that. But, Hitoshi, won’t it be hard to get around Aizawa?”

“Yeah. I think he’s home tonight too. And after last night, he won’t let me wander around on my own. You’ll probably have to count me out tonight.”

Izuku nodded. “That’s okay. You’ve done a lot already. Todoroki, do you think you’ll be able to sneak out?”

“Endeavor works late tonight. He won’t notice if I sneak out.”

“Perfect. My mom sleeps heavily, so I think I’ll be okay.” Izuku gave his best smile, but inside he was nervous. He’d technically been sneaking out to train with All Might, but he’d always had the excuse that he was working after school. This would be his first time sneaking back out, and needless to say he was scared. He worried his mom enough as is, and especially with the mystery vigilante in the area, her disappointment would be the least of his worries if she caught him sneaking out.

But he had to know who this vigilante was, and he had to rescue Kacchan, so he mustered his courage and agreed to the idea.

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His mom always slept well after game nights, and Izuku was leaving in a few days for his summer training camp, so it was easy to convince her to play a few rounds of gin rummy. With her glass of wine in hand and a smile on her face, Inko pulled out the cards and passed them to Izuku to shuffle.

After each of them had won a few rounds, she retired to bed, and all Izuku had left to do was wait.

All the lights were off and the apartment had been quiet for a while when Izuku’s phone buzzed.

Todoroki: On my way. Meet me in ten.

Izuku: Okay. I’ll be there soon

He set his phone down and turned to his bag. He placed binoculars, a notebook and pen, and two water bottles inside, then zipped it up and slung it over his shoulder.

His phone buzzed once more, and his heart lurched as he opened the message. But it was only from Hitoshi. Still no Kacchan.

Hitoshi: Have you left yet?

Izuku: Leaving now.

With that, he shut his phone off and set it on the nightstand. Hitoshi was probably anxious to hear the news since he wasn’t allowed to join, so Izuku resolved to update him as soon as he returned.

The hallway was silent when he poked his head out, and after a few more moments of listening, he could make out the faint snoring from his mother in the other room. Her door was shut.

He made his way past, careful to avoid the creaky floorboards, and before he knew it, he was at the front door.

Keys now in hand and door locked behind him, Izuku sighed in relief and hurried down the steps. He could see the silhouette of his classmate across the street, waiting at the corner, and as he crossed he gave a small wave.

Todoroki waved back. “Are you ready?” He asked.

“Yes.” Izuku nodded firmly.

They made their way down the street and to their first stop: the alleyway from where Katsuki had disappeared. The caution tape was gone now, but the scorch marks remained on the brick, a stark reminder of the violence that had taken place not long ago.

“You found a piece of his shirt here, right?” Todoroki asked as he kicked a pebble across the ground.

“Just over here.” Izuku pointed to one corner of the alley. “But we haven’t found anything else since.” He flinched as a light flashed behind him, but when he turned, Todoroki was holding his phone up, snapping photos of the scorch marks and knocked over trashcans. No one had bothered to pick them back up after the incident.

“Some of these marks aren’t from Bakugo, are they? You said he has an explosion Quirk, but some of these are from a larger flame, like mine,” he commented as he pocketed his phone. Izuku stepped over to watch as he trailed his fingers along the stains and wiped the ash on his pants.

“Right. And it’s one I’ve never heard of before. He must be a newer member.”

“Inspired by Stain, probably.”

Both of them shivered.

“Let’s head to the next location.”

Izuku had no argument for that, so the two stepped back out of the alleyway and onto the main road. Given the locations they’d found so far, it was likely the vigilante would be in this area.

That is, if he showed.

Izuku had hardly stopped thinking about Todoroki’s comment since lunch. He seemed so certain that Katsuki was the vigilante, but Izuku couldn’t wrap his mind around it. Like he’d said to his friend, Kacchan would never do hero work Quirkless. He was too proud of his gift, too happy for praise to find underground and without his Quirk.

He had changed since middle school, but Izuku doubted he had changed that much.

After an hour of circling the area and finding nothing, no vigilante nor crime, Izuku said, “What if we stage a fake crime to lure him out?”

“What would we do?”

“I could… hmm… I could pretend to mug you.”

Todoroki let out a huff, a laugh that even Izuku could recognize as rare. “You look too unassuming. He wouldn’t think he needs to step in. We should do it the other way around.”

Izuku opened his mouth to argue, but Todoroki was right. Izuku was almost a head shorter than his classmate, and even though he’d bulked up since receiving One for All and starting U.A., from afar he didn’t look like much of a threat.

Todoroki, however, had what Ochaco called a resting bitch face, and his Quirk was much flashier and dangerous-looking.

So they settled for Todoroki as the mugger and Izuku as the victim.

They split ways and circled around the block once more. Todoroki pulled his hood over his head to hide his distinctive hair and scar, and Izuku played up the nervous and weak high schooler lost in the city at night.

He rounded the corner and ran face first into someone.

Game time.

“Please don’t hurt me!” He shouted, upping the pitch and volume for dramatic effect.

But the response he received wasn’t what he was prepared for.

“…Problem Child.”

“A-Aizawa-Sensei!” Izuku leapt back and stared up, wide eyed at his teacher. Instead of Todoroki, Aizawa was standing before him, a bemused look on his face.

“Don’t tell me you’re doing what I think you’re doing.” His face didn’t change as he watched his student.

“Oh. Um. No. I- uh- I thought you were a villain or something.”

“You’re a hero student. You know how to defend yourself. And you should know better than to be out alone at night.”

“I’m not-“ Izuku started before realizing his mistake. The words died on his tongue, and, as if summoned, Todoroki rounded the corner and caught sight of the pair.

Izuku deflated as Aizawa turned around and saw the other student. “Todoroki, I see you’re out alone as well. May I presume that Iida is here as well? I really hoped that he at least would learn his lesson after Stain.”

“No, sir. It’s just the two of us. Promise,” Izuku replied, and when Aizawa looked to Todoroki for confirmation, he nodded.

“He’s telling the truth. We’re the only ones here.”

Aizawa sighed. “I’m escorting the two of you home. And I will be telling your parents about this.”

Izuku blanched. “No! Mom will never let me return to U.A. if she knew about this.”

“Then you should have thought about that before you tried pulling this stunt.” He turned and started walking, only pausing to make sure the two were following.

When they fell into step with one another, Todoroki leaned over to Izuku and whispered, “Endeavor is going to kill me for this.”

“Mom will ground me for life- wait, did you just call your dad Endeavor and not dad?” Izuku blinked at him.

Todoroki shrugged. “It’s that or Enji. He’s not much of the ‘dad’ type.”

“Keep walking and stop whispering, you two,” Aizawa called over his shoulder, and the two shut their mouths and kept walking. They were almost back to Izuku’s apartment when their teacher stopped in his tracks and turned to face them again.

“I will refrain from telling your parents on two conditions. First, you must promise that you will never pull a stunt like this again. Neither of you have provisional licenses, so running around and trying to act like heroes will only bar you from ever becoming one. Furthermore, it is incredibly dangerous, and you know that the League of Villains has been active in the area. They have targeted you before, and they could again. You could get yourselves killed. So don’t try this again, understood?” His hair began to lift around him as his eyes glowed red.

Both teens were quick to nod.

“Yes, sir. I understand,” Izuku replied.

But Aizawa didn’t back down. “And what can you do to prove that I should trust you, Midoriya? You especially have a knack for getting into trouble and hurting yourself.”

Izuku shrank back. “I’m sorry, sir. I just- when I see someone in trouble, my body reacts before my mind, and I rush in to help.”

“That might get you out of trouble with All Might, but I won’t fall for it,” Aizawa snapped, and Izuku flinched. “Being a hero is more than rushing into every problem headfirst. You have to think before you act, or you will only get yourself killed. If you continue like you are right now, you’re only buying yourself a one-way ticket to an early grave.”

“Yes, sir.” Izuku’s voice was much quieter this time, and he stared at the ground as Aizawa spoke.

His teacher turned to Todoroki next. “And you may be the son of the Number Two hero, but this goes for you as well. Genetics alone won’t keep you alive; you have to train, and follow rules, and listen to others.”

“Yes, sir,” Todoroki also replied.

“And here’s my second condition: tell me what you know about the vigilante so far. I and other pros will take the case from here, but if you have anything you think will help, I want to hear it.”

The two snapped their heads up and stared at their teacher.

“You want us to help?”

“I want you to tell me what you know. Then I want you to stop helping.”

Izuku dropped his head again. “Oh.”

Todoroki was the next to speak. “We haven’t found much. From the news, we determined the vigilante was active in this area. That’s why we were looking around here: to see if we could find the vigilante.”

“Anything else?”

“The ash from where Kacchan- erm, Bakugo was taken shows that there was a different kind of flame Quirk present as well,” Izuku added.

“We know that already. Anything else?”

Izuku and Todoroki traded looks before saying, “No, that’s it.”

“You sure?”

“Yes, sir.”

Aizawa watched them for another moment before saying, “Midoriya, you can go now. I’ll watch until you get back inside, and then I will take Todoroki home. But you better not try this again, or I will expel you. Understood?”

“Understood.” And with that, Izuku darted off across the parking lot and up the stairs. He carefully retraced his steps through the apartment and back to his room, before shutting the door and sliding to the ground.

For the first time that night since running into Aizawa, he let out a long exhale and shook his arms out. Stress tingled in his fingers as he he popped his knuckled and wrung them together. He wiggled them a few times before placing them on the floor beneath him and gripping at the vinyl.

Then he drew his knees up to his chest and rested his forehead on them. He screwed his eyes shut.

I have to find Kacchan… and the vigilante. But how? I can’t lose my spot at U.A. either, and I can’t let All Might down. What would All Might do? Ah, he’d step in and save Kacchan. That’s what I’m doing. But Aizawa is my teacher too, and I have to listen to him.

Is there a way I can take a step back and find a smarter way to solve this?

I have to find a way to save Kacchan without breaking the rules.

Or be so successful that they can’t fault me for what I’ve done.

Izuku sucked in another deep breath and lifted his head. There was no way to know for sure until he knew more.

For now, he had to wait.

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Three days later, Class 1-A gathered in front of U.A., duffel bags in hand. Aizawa stood next to the bus, directing the group and confiscating their phones as they loaded the bus.

Izuku stood in the back of the group with Todoroki and Hitoshi, and they were keeping an eye on their teacher as they waited for their turn to board.

But before they could start discussing their vigilante case, Present Mic approached and started talking with the group of students next to them.

There was no way they were going to say anything without him hearing.

“I’ve never been to a camp before. Do you know what it’ll be like?” Todoroki asked.

Izuku shrugged. “Me neither. But I’m sure it’ll be really cool! Aizawa-Sensei said we would have some guest heroes there to teach us, and I’m really excited to see who we’ll get to meet!”

Their small talk continued back and forth for a few minutes until they got to the front of the line. Aizawa held his phone out expectantly, and Izuku placed it in his hand.

“I’ll return these as soon as we get back,” Aizawa promised, and with that, Izuku boarded the bus.

Chaos already filled the small area, and Iida was trying and failing to maintain order. Uraraka sat next to him, and as Izuku passed, she gave him a small shrug. He shrugged back before walking by and finding his own seat one row behind them, close to the very back. Hitoshi plopped down next to him, and Todoroki sat across the aisle.

“I don’t have long to show this before they board, but I found something.”

Izuku whipped his head around to face Hitoshi. “What?”

“Here.” He handed him the notebook, and Izuku flipped through to the most recent pages of notes while Hitoshi explained, “I found a few more locations, as well as some notes from cases involving the League. I may have some ideas where they are located.”

“Really? And do you think they’ll have Kacchan there?”

“There’s a chance. And I’ve narrowed down where the vigilante is from.” Hitoshi leaned over to point to a map. “He’s likely from this neighborhood.”

“That’s…”

“Bakugo’s neighborhood. Yes.”

“So then…”

“It’s possible.”

But that can’t be right. Kacchan can’t be the Quirkless vigilante. Not when he- he tore himself from his thoughts as the teachers boarded the bus and handed the notebook back to Hitoshi.

“Let’s discuss this later,” he said, and drew his attention to Aizawa.

The class quieted as their teacher spoke. “Because of the continuing threats from the League of Villains, we are taking extra precautions. As you know, you will not have your phones with you during this trip. We will also not be informing you where the camp is located until we arrive. It will be a long drive, so save your water and do not ask for breaks. We will only stop when we need to refuel. I expect you to behave yourselves and keep a low volume, as I will be sleeping. Any questions you have can go to Yamada.” He motioned to Present Mic.

“Hey! Hey! Hey, little listeners! As your teacher just said, this is going to be a long ride, so be smart and don’t guzzle those water bottles in the first ten minutes! I’ll be taking the first shift driving, so if you have any music requests, please send them in now!”

Hands instantly shot up, and Izuku could see Aizawa roll his eyes as he plopped into the front seat and slithered into his sleeping bag. After a few minutes of songs being shouted out and shouted down, Present Mic took his seat behind the wheel, and the bus began moving.

Thus began three, long days of vigorous training and little time to think about Kacchan, the vigilante, or the League of Villains.

The class met the Wild, Wild puss*cats and battled the way through the forest to their campsite. They met with Class 1-B and squabbled over who had the best students. They engaged in both group training and personal Quirk training. They met a boy named Kota, who had been orphaned and hated heroes as a result. And each night, Izuku retreated to the bunks exhausted and ready for a long night of sleep.

He hardly had time to think about how he was never grouped with Hitoshi or Todoroki.

Finally, Izuku was paired with Hitoshi for combat training. And Aizawa was their coach.

“Hitoshi explained that you were interested in learning how to use the capture weapon,” Aizawa stated as Izuku joined the two of them on the field.

He beamed and replied, “Yes! I would love to learn! I’m still working on way to use my legs more than my arms with my Quirk, but I really want to be more versatile in the field. Our previous experiences with villains have shown me that, and I want to be more useful next time.” When Aizawa raised a brow, he added, “Not that I think there will be a next time any time soon, but you never know with this class. It’s good to always be ready for anything.”

Aizawa nodded. “Good. Then let’s get started.” He started unraveling his scarf.

“So, what are we going to do first? Will I get-“ before Izuku could finish his sentence, his feet were swept out from under him, and before he could activate One for All, his arms were bound to his side and he was dangling from a tree branch.

“First lesson: evasion maneuvers. You can’t expect to use one of these if you don’t know how to fight against one.”

He tugged on the scarf, and Izuku went tumbling back to the ground. He scrambled to his feet, but before he could get his bearings, he was on the ground again, arms and legs bound.

“Again.”

Izuku tried to stand, but he was restrained again.

“Again.”

Once again, he tried to stand, but Aizawa was too quick for him, even when he tried activating One for All.

“Stop sitting on the ground and get up. We’re training. Or do you want to stop and go back to practicing your kicks?”

“Sir, I-“

“No excuses.” And Izuku was bound again.

He scrunched up his face and struggled against the weapon, but Aizawa wasn’t letting go yet. Izuku’s arms were pinned to his sides and his knees drawn tight to his chest, and the more he struggled against his restraints, the tighter they became.

And now Aizawa was turning to say something to Hitoshi.

He’s giving up on training me, Izuku realized with a jolt. Anger boiled inside him. Why does he keep underestimating me?

He glanced down at his restraints. I guess this is hardly underestimating…

But that didn’t help his anger simmer down, and Izuku focused inward as green lightning danced across his arms and legs. He felt the strength and energy fill his muscles, and with a loud pop! he yanked one of his legs out.

Aizawa turned to face him again, but he wasn’t fast enough, and before the scarf could tighten further around Izuku, he slithered out and rolled to his feet.

This time, he was able to dodge Aizawa for several seconds before being bound again. And this time, Aizawa was smirking at him.

“Progress. Now let’s go again.” When he retracted the capture weapon, he gave Izuku a little more time to stand back up before launching an attack again.

Once again, Izuku powered up One for All in his legs and dodged a few more attacks before being tugged back by his wrist.

“Just because you started using your legs more doesn’t mean you can forget the rest of your body exists.”

The next round, Izuku held out a little longer, keeping his arms close to his side until he was restrained at the waist and slammed to the ground.

“Again.”

After beating his record again, Aizawa nodded for Hitoshi to join, and now Izuku was dodging attacks from both of them. At first, it was difficult, especially when Hitoshi kept taunting him and trying to goad him into responding, but his classmate hit a few roadblocks of his own when his scarf got tangled up with Aizawa’s, and Izuku was able to land a kick on his friend.

“You’re trying to escape, not take us down,” Aizawa chastised as he pulled his weapon out of the tangled mess. “Again.”

This time, the two scarves didn’t tangle up as they shot after Izuku. One nearly grabbed him by the wrist, but One for All channeled into his arm, and he was able to retract it before he was caught. He bounced off a tree and dodged another attack before tumbling across the grass to duck under the third attack. When he rolled back onto his feet, Hitoshi’s scarf was darting straight toward him, giving him no time to think or dodge.

But his arm reacted before he could be caught, and time froze as Izuku grabbed the end of the scarf and tugged Hitoshi forward. The other student, who hadn’t been expecting the retaliation, stumbled forward, and as the scarf went slack, Izuku jumped back and turned to dart into the woods.

Aizawa was standing in his way, and with another smirk, He yanked his arm back, and Izuku went tumbling to the ground.

As he spit out grass and looked up at his teacher, Aizawa stood over him with arms crossed. “That’s enough for now. We’ll do more tomorrow. Good work.”

Joy bloomed in Izuku’s chest, and despite his mouthful of grass and dirt, he smiled.

Aizawa only rolled his eyes and turned away. “Doesn’t mean you’re ready to use the capture weapon. Go work on your martial arts with Ojiro and Shoji.”

“Yes, sir!” Izuku leapt back to his feet and darted off.

The rest of the day, he had a smile on his face. He was making progress toward becoming the world’s greatest hero.

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After dinner, the students normally gathered in the gym for more training activities, but tonight their teachers drew them outside, near the edge of the surrounding woods, and explained their activity.

To start, Class 1-B would be hiding in the woods while Class 1-A took turns walking through the forest in pairs. Class 1-B’s job was to scare them.

Because of the students who were still inside completing supplemental lessons, Class 1-A had odd numbers, and as a result, Izuku was assigned to go into the forest alone.

The trees were thick, masking the moonlight, and all Izuku had to go by were the sounds of screams up ahead.

Based on the distance and time between each scream, he figured he had about two more minutes of walking before he came across the first Class 1-B students, so he calmed himself down and let his eyes adjust to the dark forest as he walked.

To his left, something rustled in the underbrush. Izuku squinted and tried to see what was moving around, but he couldn’t catch sight of anything. And by his estimates, he still had another minute before reaching anyone.

Did they round back and change their position? He wondered as he crept toward the rustling. It had stopped after he rounded on it, but he stayed quiet as he approached, hoping that there was nothing there but taking precautions just in case.

Then he saw it. A few yards past the bushes, a dark portal tinged with purple swirled between two trees. But before he could approach anymore, it disappeared without a trace.

The League. I have to warn everyone. But- his head snapped to the left as he caught sight of someone large barreling toward the mountain.

“Kota!” He whispered in a panic. He sprinted after the figure just as the screams behind him turned from petty fear to true terror.

He was torn; Kota hid out on the mountain where the villain was making a beeline for, but his classmates were in danger as well, and the pros needed to know. But the longer he stalled, the farther ahead the large villain got, and he had little choice. He just prayed that someone would be close enough to the edge of the forest to relay the message back to Present Mic and the Wild, Wild, puss* Cats.

The hulking figure was looming over Kota when Izuku reached the ledge where the kid often hung out. Kota’s eyes were wide with fear, but he had set his jaw in a tight line, and his fists were balled as he squared off against the villain.

“I’m not afraid of you!” He spat, but the villain only laughed.

“Silly kid, you’re nothing against me. It won’t take long for me to best you in a fight.” The villain took a few steps forward.

In the moonlight, Izuku could finally recognize the man as Muscular, a top Wanted villain. He grimaced and took a step forward.

“Hey! Stop picking on him and fight someone your own size!” Izuku called out.

Muscular paused and glanced over his shoulder at Izuku. His mouth curved into a smile when he caught sight of the student. “Like you’re any bigger.”

“I’m stronger than I look.” One for All sparked along his arms, and he prepared a punch as Muscular turned to face him fully.

“Then I guess I’ll have to knock you out before killing the kid too.”

“I won’t let you lay a finger on him,” Izuku warned as he darted forward. His first punch landed, but Muscular hardly flinched as more muscle grew in to reinforce the area where Izuku punched. And again with the next hit. And the hit after that.

The eight percent of One for All that Izuku was adapted to working with wouldn’t be enough.

Muscular guffawed as the blows glanced off at him, and when Izuku stepped back to reassess, he reared his own arm back and struck. Izuku went flying across the landing and hit the rocks with an oomph that sucked the air from his lungs.

He narrowed his eyes and lunged again before he could catch his breath. This time, Muscular was able to catch him and land a blow on his arm. He felt bone crunch and pain shoot up his arm before he went flying back again.

Muscular strode forward. “I have orders to kill you, but maybe I’ll have a little fun first.” He lunged at Izuku again, and he was barely able to dodge. The blow sent bits of crumbled rock flying.

“Come on!” Muscular goaded. “Show me some blood!”

Izuku wasn’t able to dodge the next attack, and he went flying again. Another blow, then another sent him tumbling again. He could feel a black eye begin to form as blood trickled down his forehead.

When he looked up again, Muscular was taunting Kota.

No. Izuku activated his Quirk again and leapt into the air.

“You can’t do a sneak attack against me. Nice try!” He turned and caught Izuku’s wrists in his muscles, but he wouldn’t let that deter him.

This time, he let the full 100% of his power race into his arm, and the punch sent rocks flying, smoke billowing, and Muscular falling back.

As the rubble cleared, he turned to Kota. “We need to leave.”

But no sooner had the words left his mouth when the rubble started to clear and Muscular stood once more.

Kota flinched and Izuku gasped, “Oh no! I thought that would stop him.”

“Nice try, Midoriya. But that’s not gonna stop me.” His muscles swelled and began growing around his arms and chest once more, covering him in a thick armor. “Now I’m starting to have fun attacking you.”

“Why are you doing this? What does the League want from us?” Izuku stood in front of Kota to block him from the approaching villain.

“Don’t know, doesn’t matter. All I care is that they let me off the leash. If I get to use my Quirk all I want, I don’t care.” He cracked his neck. We were having fun before, but now I’m serious. This time, I’m going to end you.”

Izuku was barely able to collect Kota and jump into the air before Muscular made his next attack. The rocks at the edge of the cliff where they were just standing disintegrated and crumpled to the side. His right arm was throbbing after his last hit, and Kota was begging him not to keep fighting, but Izuku merely told him to run and powered up One for All again.

As Muscular rushed him, he harnessed 100% again and met the villain. Muscles continued to grow, and Muscular cackled as Izuku screamed at Kota to leave, but Izuku held on, continuing to activate his power as Muscular paced him into the ground.

“I’m gonna crush you!” Muscular shouted, and Izuku felt the ground break around his body. His consciousness started to slip, but then water doused him and the villain, and Muscular paused.

“What the-“

Kota stood across from him, hands outstretched and water dripping from his palms. “I won’t let you hurt him!” He cried.

And in that moment of indecision, someone new burst in, taking the villain by surprise. His neck popped as a kick to his face sent him reeling, and as his weight shifted off Izuku, he re-harnessed One for All and sent another punch. Muscular stumbled back.

“Izuku, are you okay? Aizawa ordered us to fight, and when I saw explosions up here, I came to help as fast as I could.” Hitoshi was out of breath, but his gaze was sharp as he stood with the capture weapon in his arms.

“I’m fine. But make sure Kota is safe. This villain’s muscles regenerate and can serve both as a weapon and as a shield,” Izuku explained.

“Noted.” The two darted forward in tandem and circled the villain. The capture weapon grabbed onto one of Muscular’s arms, and while he was strong enough to yank free, it gave Izuku just enough time to land another punch on him, this time sending the villain careening back into the mountain. He landed with a crash that sent more rocks falling, and once the dust cleared, he was buried under stone and passed out cold.

“Thank you,” Izuku breathed as the adrenaline of battle disappeared. “Thank you.”

Pain engulfed him, and he toppled to the ground. The world spun around him, then everything went black.

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Izuku woke up to the beeping of a monitor and a group of hushed voices. Cotton balls filled his brain, and he struggled to open his eyes. He let out a small groan, and the voices went quiet.

Then: “Izuku, baby, are you okay?” His mom was there.

He blinked wearily at her and attempted a sleepy smile. “Hey, mom. Sorry to worry you again.”

Inko promptly burst into tears.

After that, the next few days were a blur. Before being discharged, the doctor explained that if he continued to break his arms like this, he could completely lose use of them and maybe even have to have them amputated. He also learned from Aizawa and the police that the League had been after Hitoshi for his Quirk, and that one of the Wild, Wild puss*cats was still missing. Then he was home for a few days, resting off the fatigue after being treated by Recovery Girl. And then All Might was in his home (in his home!!) and on his hands and knees begging his mother to let Izuku stay at U.A. He promised to take care of him and keep him from being injured like this again. Then Izuku was packing his belongings and on his way to the newly constructed dormitories.

For nearly two weeks, Kacchan was completely out of his thoughts. Until his second night in the dorms, that was.

The students were returning to their rooms after giving one another the grand tour. Izuku was perched on the foot of his bed, scrolling through his phone. He had a few notifications from the class group chat, as well as some memes from Hitoshi. His mother had texted him a few hearts and a note saying she missed him. All he was missing was a text from Kacchan.

We have to get him back from the League of Villains, he thought. If only I had thought to ask one of them why they took him. He then reminded himself that Muscular didn’t seem like the kind of villain to care about information like that.

He sighed and flopped back onto his bed.

Bzz. Bzz. His phone vibrated, and he lifted it to his face.

All Might: Young Midoriya, I am here. Outside Heights Alliance with dinner for you.

Izuku texted back a quick response and headed downstairs. Sure enough, All Might was standing outside, a bento box in hand. He passed it to Izuku, and the two sat down on the edge of the porch.

All Might was the one to speak first. “How are you adjusting to living away from home?”

“It’s okay. I miss my mom, but the dorms are nice and it’s cool being around my classmates all the time. Did you know we held a competition to see who had the coolest room?”

“Really?” All Might laughed. “And who won?”

Izuku thought for a moment. “I’m honestly not sure. We all have very different tastes. But it was a fun way to get our spirits back up. Everyone’s still shaken after the training camp.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be there to help.”

“It’s okay. They wanted to make sure no one knew where we were, so that meant hiding the location from other teachers and pro heroes too,” Izuku replied.

“Still, I wish I could have helped. And, Midoriya,” All Might paused. “We need to talk about your Quirk use.”

Izuku’s stomach sank. He was expecting this, sooner or later.

“In a perfect world, you would have been able to strengthen yourself before taking on One for All. But we have to be careful with what we have. Your arms cannot handle the full force of your Quirk, so you need to find another way to harness this power.”

Izuku nodded along. He was silent for a moment before saying, “After interning with Gran Torino, I want to work on my speed and leg power more. At the training camp, I got to do some defense training with Hitoshi and Aizawa-Sensei, but we only had one lesson before… everything… happened.”

“Good. Gran Torino and Aizawa are both good teachers. You will do well to learn from them. And because I promised your mother to take care of you, we should have more lessons as well. Maybe I can show you some things I learned when I first took on the powers of One for All.” He smiled at Izuku, and he could see his mentor’s courage in his face once more.

“Really? I get to learn moves from your debut as a hero?” Izuku immediately started rambling about All Might’s early moves and villain takedowns, and his bento was quickly forgotten. All Might had to remind him to eat after a moment of rambling, but the two laughed and continued to talk about All Might’s early days.

When Izuku was done eating, All Might took the bento and stood. “It was good speaking with you, Young Midoriya. Take care of yourself and stay out of trouble, okay?”

“Wait, All Might? I have one more question.”

All Might stopped. “What is it, Young Midoriya?”

“I… um… How do you know when to sit back and think versus when you should jump in and act?”

“I usually jump in and act quickly to take control of the situation. But…” He thought for a minute, “not everyone’s Quirk can allow that. Sometimes you have to sit back and think. You must hone your instincts and listen to them. If your intuition is telling you to act, then act. It doesn’t matter how many people say you can’t do it. Being a hero is all about that Plus Ultra attitude. Does that help?”

“Yes! It does!” Izuku perked up. “Thank you, All Might!”

All might chuckled. “You’re very welcome, Young Midoriya. Now take care. I will see you when classes start back up next week.”

Izuku turned to walk back in the dorms, a smile on his face. I can do this. I can save Kacchan.

When he returned to his room, Hitoshi and Todoroki were waiting outside.

“I’ve found the place,” Hitoshi blurted before anyone could say anything.

Izuku’s eyes widened, but without another word, he ushered his friends inside his room.

“Where the League has been hiding?” Izuku asked in a hushed voice.

Hitoshi handed him the notebook. “There’s a bar located inside their sphere of activity. It’s available by private booking only, and very few people have seen the inside. Villains and other Wanted criminals have been seen in the area in larger quantities since Stain was arrested.”

“Then we have to go!” Izuku closed the book and passed it back.

“Right now?” Todoroki asked.

“As soon as possible. Kacchan has already been with the League too long. We have to save him.”

“Calm down, Izuku. We have to be rational about this,” Hitoshi said.

“He’s right,” Todoroki agreed. “We already struggled against the League at the training camp. Several members might have been arrested, but the ones who are still at large are powerful.”

“Then we have to find a way to sneak in.”

Todoroki and Hitoshi shared a look. “What if we just share this with the pros and let them handle this?”

Izuku frowned. “But, it’s Kacchan. I have to help him.”

“Why do you have to be the one to help him, Izuku? He bullied you,” Hitoshi asked.

“Because he’s still my friend. And as a hero, I have to stick my nose where it doesn’t belong in order to help other people. You don’t have to come with me, but I’m doing this.”

Another shared look. Then Hitoshi sighed. “Fine. But we have to be careful about this. This needs to be a stealth mission. It’s illegal for us to engage with villains in combat as is, so we are going to sneak in, find your friend, and sneak back out. Then we tell the pros about the location anonymously and let them handle the takedown of the League.”

“Okay. Fine. We can do that. So when do we go?”

“Not tonight, if that’s what you are asking. But I do know from my parents that there’s a teacher hangout happening in two nights. That will be our best bet to sneak out.”

“Then it’s settled.”

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At 10 PM, Hitoshi and Todoroki met Izuku in his room. Their hero suits were stashed in backpacks, and they all sported dark hoodies. The lights were off and the only light cast in the room came from the street lamps.

They didn’t say a word as they compared their last notes and laced their shoes. The front door was locked, so they prepared to sneak out the window.

Izuku signaled as he unlatched his window. It slid open with ease, and a cool breeze filtered into the room. One by one, they clambered out onto the ledge and dropped into the grass two stories below. Then they made their way across the lawn, careful to stay away from the light cast by the street lamps.

The trio nearly reached the edge of campus when a dark figure stepped from the shadows.

“What are you doing out here? We’re supposed to be in our dorms.”

They froze.

Iida strode forward and crossed his arms. “I expect one of your to explain before I get the teachers.”

“They aren’t here,” Hitoshi replied.

“We’re just taking a walk. It was getting hot inside,” Izuku lied.

“We know you’re lying,” a second voice said, and Jiro walked out from behind the same building Iida had been waiting behind. “Iida mentioned that you were behaving suspiciously, so I listened in on your conversations. We know what you’re planning.”

“Deku, Todoroki, Shinso, you don’t have to do this. We’ve barely recovered from the last attack. Why do you think you could beat the League with just three students?” Uraraka stepped out as well.

Iida nodded. “As your class president, I advise you to abort this mission and return to your rooms.”

“No.” Izuku glared at them.

“No?” Iida raised a brow.

“No,” Izuku repeated. “We have it planned out as a stealth mission. We know we can’t take down the League on our own, but Kacchan is in danger, and I- we have to get him out.”

Iida sighed. “I suspected you were going to say that.”

“You’re not stopping us, Iida. I’m sorry, but we’re doing this.”

“And we’re not going to try to,” Jiro cut in. “But you’re plan isn’t going to work with the three of you. You need more help.”

“And that’s what we’re going to do,” Uraraka added.

Iida nodded. “Midoriya, Todoroki, we’ve already been through a lot together, and I do not plan to abandon you now. You’ll need our help if you want to stay out of trouble and be successful.”

Izuku turned to look at his friends. “What do you think?”

Todoroki shrugged. “I trust them to help. And Jiro is right; we have some holes in our plan that they will be able to fill.”

“I’m not sure. This is a lot of people to bring on a stealth mission.” Hitoshi rubbed his arm.

“We don’t all have to go into their lair,” Jiro tried explaining. “I can use my Quirk from outside and provide assistance from a safe distance. Uraraka will be able to use her Quirk to help you get through difficult spaces, and otherwise she can hang back as well. And Iida will be backup in case things go wrong and you need a quick escape.”

“I’m not sure about that. That’s still a lot of people to keep track of.”

“Hitoshi, it’s okay. I think she has a good point. They will be able to help out, and they can stay out of the way,” Izuku said.

Hitoshi shook his head. “I don’t like it.”

“Either we go with you or we’re reporting you.” All heads turned to Iida.

“Hitoshi, let them join us,” Izuku urged.

Hitoshi and Iida stared each other down for several long moments as everyone else looked on. At first, it looked like Iida was going to back down, but he held his stare, and Hitoshi finally broke.

“Fine. But they don’t come inside with us. They stay a safe distance away.”

“Thank you.” Iida, Uraraka, and Jiro fell in line with the trio as they continued off campus and toward the train station. The platform was mostly deserted by this time, with a few people returning home late from work and a couple teens out partying. No one paid attention to the group of six as they boarded their train and took seats spread out throughout the car.

As they approached their stop, Izuku glanced over to Hitoshi. He was staring out the window and bouncing his leg.

“It’s going to work out okay,” Izuku said.

Hitoshi continued to stare out the window. “I hope.”

“Why are you so nervous?”

He shrugged. “I’m raised by someone who taught me to keep a low profile and work alone or in small numbers. I guess the large numbers just make me anxious.”

“I understand.” Izuku smiled softly. “But we’re all great students. We’ll be able to make this work without a hitch. You’ll see.”

“Right.”

Just like the train station, the city was relatively quiet. A few seedy individuals hung out on corners and in alleyways, but otherwise there was little happening in this neighborhood. Ahead, they could see a blinking neon sign, signaling their destination.

“Down here,” Jiro whispered, and the group ducked down an empty alleyway. As soon as they were hidden in the darkness, she crouched down and pulled her backpack off. She rummaged around until she found a walkie talkie. “I only have one. Who wants to take it?”

The original trio looked back and forth between each other before ultimately pointing to Hitoshi.

“You’re least likely to break it,” Izuku explained.

Hitoshi took the device and clipped it to his belt before placing one earphone in his ear and tucking the other one under his clothes. He said nothing as he prepared, but kept looking over his shoulder from moment to moment.

“We’ll set up here. Based on the maps you have, there should be a back entrance. We’ll use Uraraka’s Quirk to get you in through the air duct, and once Shinso gives us the clear, she’ll release her Quirk and drop you down inside.” Jiro placed one of hear earphone jacks to the wall and fell silent. A minute later, she said, “There’s four individuals in the main bar. One is in the hall nearby. Two are in one room down the hall and to the left, and the other two are in a room across from that one. That’s nine people in total.”

“How many do we remember from the attack at the training camp?” Izuku asked.

Todoroki answered, “There’s Shigaraki and the villain with the portal Quirk. Then we have someone who can make duplicates of people.”

“Then there’s that girl who’s obsessed with blood,” Uraraka shivered.

“There’s the villain with the blue flame Quirk. And three others who the pros faced off with. I think one was a heteromorph, another was a magician of some kind, and I don’t remember the last one’s Quirk,” Iida finished.

“That’s eight,” Jiro said.

“Then the ninth person there must be Kacchan,” Izuku replied.

Jiro nodded and listened for a few more minutes. “I can’t make out distinct words, but would your friend happen to be the kind of person who screams and cusses at the villains nonstop?”

“That sounds like him,” Izuku sighed, but he had a smile on his face. That’s him. We’re so close.

I only hope that he lets me save him this time, Izuku hoped.

“Are we ready?” Jiro asked.

Everyone nodded.

“Then let’s get started.”

Uraraka followed Todoroki, Izuku, and Hitoshi out of the alleyway and closer to the bar. Then, once they were positioned behind it, she tapped each of them on the shoulder.

“Good luck. Let us know if you need anything,” Uraraka said to each of them, then clapped her hands together, and they all began floating.

Izuku was the first to grab onto the air vent, and he waited while Todoroki pressed his palm into each corner, melting the nails with his Quirk. When the cover fell away, Izuku tossed it down to Uraraka, who set it quietly on the ground before giving them a salute and walking away.

The passage was tight, but they were each able to fit in and slide through, many thanks to the effects of Uraraka’s Quirk. Izuku, as the smallest, took the front, but he could hear the small hisses of discomfort from his friends behind him. Finally, they reached the grate they would exit from. Izuku crawled past and shuffled around to reach his hand back and grab the grate. Behind him, Shouto reached forward and placed a hand one one of the corners. But before he could start melting the nails, footsteps resounded down the hall, and they froze.

“…If he’s not going to cooperate, we should just kill him and be done with it.”

“No, he’s useful. We’ll get him on our side soon, you’ll see.”

“Spinner, I highly doubt that. He still hasn’t stopped spouting that hero bullsh*t.”

“But he’s wearing down. And he’s exactly the kind of person that modern hero society throws away. He’ll understand soon that he will be better off with us.”

“He’s better off donating his Quirk to science and dying.”

Izuku stiffened. They’re talking about Kacchan. But he couldn’t move, not while the two villains were standing below him, just out of eyesight.

But they seemed to have stopped in the hallway underneath them and were still talking. The conversation drifted away from Katsuki and toward something else, but still they remained underneath the grate. Behind him, Izuku could feel Todoroki and Hitoshi squirm.

“They need to get moving. We don’t have long,” Hitoshi whispered.

“It’s okay. We have plenty of time. We just need to wait it out,” Todoroki whispered back.

Below them, one of the villains said, “You really think the boss’s plan will work this time? Those heroes have been a pain in our asses.”

“Don’t know, don’t care, as long as I get to to burn sh*t and dismantle society,” the second replied.

Farther down the hall, someone shouted something incomprehensible, and two sets of footsteps slighted again. Soon they were fading away and outside of earshot.

“Is it safe now?” Izuku whispered.

Todoroki replied, “I think so,” and a moment later, Izuku could feel the metal around him heat up. A few seconds later, it grew heavier in his grip, so he tilted it up and into the shaft. It was uncomfortable, but he was able to pull it inside and crawl backward. With feet dangling out of the hole, Izuku listened as Hitoshi whispered something into the walkie talkie, and then he felt the effects of Uraraka’s Quirk dissipate. He dropped to the ground with a quiet thump and looked around.

The hall was empty now. The voices were gone and the only sound was Todoroki dropping to the ground next to him, followed by Hitoshi.

“We were up there for too long. We need to move fast,” Hitoshi whispered.

Izuku nodded, and the trio started down the hall. It was short and dimly lit, and the carpet was old and ratty. Music played from another room, and voices laughed from the same direction.

Hitoshi motioned to their left; the door closest to them was where Katsuki was. If they were lucky, the villain who was in there earlier with him would be gone.

But the moment Izuku put his hand on the door knob, another door swung open down the hall.

“What? What are kids doing in here? I’m not a babysitter!” The first figure, who was dressed head-to-toe in a body suit, shouted.

The second figure, who Izuku immediately recognized from Uraraka’s description as the school girl with a desire for blood, grinned maniacally and exclaimed, “Oo, friends! Come on, Twicey, let’s cut them open!” She giggled a high-pitched giggle and started rushing at them.

“Crap,” Izuku muttered before dodging her attack and rolling to the side. He jumped back up and caught her arm just in time to avoid being stabbed with a thick needle. Todoroki shot out a blast of ice at the other villain, but he turned to sludge in the ice. Then the same figure leapt out from another room and tried tackling Todoroki. Hitoshi reached out with his capture weapon and tugged the man out of the way before he could grab onto Todoroki, who sent out another blast of ice. This figure melted into sludge as well.

“They’re both copies,” Todoroki commented, then shot at a third figure who rushed at him.

Another door slammed open, and a lizard man shouted, “What’s going on? Stop-“ He stopped mid sentence, then leaned back into the main part of the bar and shouted, “We got intruders! It’s those dumb kids form U.A.”

Izuku grappled with the girl and avoided getting nicked again, but when he heard the call for help, he hesitated, and the girl was able to get a needle into his arm. He yelped and tugged back, activating 5% of his Quirk to pull the needle out.

“Aw, that’s no fun! Let me take more of your blood! You’re so cute, after all!” The girl whined.

“Spinner, Dabi, restrain them!” A scratchy voice called out, and Izuku caught sight of Shigaraki standing in the doorway at the end of the hall. The lizard man and a man with deep burns lacing his body stood on either side of him, and when Shigaraki was done giving his orders, they ran forward as well.

Todoroki shot out another blast of ice, but blue flame erupted in the hall and melted it.

“Don’t burn down the building with us in it, Dabi!” Shigaraki squawked.

The other villain continued forward and leapt for Izuku. Between him and the girl, they were able to pin Izuku down. He struggled against them and tried activating One for All, but the man held a blade to his throat and growled, “You better not try anything, or I’ll slit you open. Boss has already given me the go ahead to kill you, so don’t think I won’t.”

“Aw, Spinner! Let me suck him dry!”

“You’ll get to take his blood after I’m done killing him. Just be patient, Toga.”

Izuku squirmed, and the blade pressed closer to his throat.

Then Hitoshi shouted out, “Let go of my friend, villain.”

Spinner’s head popped up, but he kept the blade pressed against Izuku’s throat. “Just shut up, won’t you?” No sooner had the words left his mouth when his eyes glazed over and his grip loosened.

Heart pounding, Izuku waited while Hitoshi commanded the villain to step back. Next to him, Toga was taken aback by Hitoshi’s Quirk, so Izuku used it to sweep her legs out from under her feet and scramble to his own feet.

She recovered quickly and attacked him again, but he was ready this time. They traded blows and dodged one another’s hits. But before he could escape her, another blast of blue fire barreled past him and slammed into Hitoshi’s arm.
“Hitoshi, no!” Izuku screamed, and Hitoshi stumbled back. Spinner was able recover in that moment, and he sprang after Hitoshi.

Then, another, louder, bang shook the building, and a thunderous voice boomed, “I am here!”

“All Might?” Izuku’s head whipped around, but that turned out to be a mistake. In his moment of inattention, Toga grappled him once more and pinned his arms to his side.

“f*ck. Damn pros found us. Is this what your plan was?” Shigaraki glared at the three students. “Toga, take him away. Twice, get the other one. The rest of you, try to get these other two, or kill them if you can’t.” Then he disappeared through a swirling, black and purple portal.

Izuku struggled against Toga, but she hauled him up and pushed him toward another portal. Izuku thrashed against her, eyes wild and legs kicking.

The hallway door slammed open again, and several pro heroes burst in. Mirko was first, followed by Midnight and then Aizawa.

But before he could help Izuku, his eyes landed on Hitoshi, lying on the ground and smoking, and he screamed out, “Hitoshi!” His eyes flashed red and his hair lifted up, but be was a second too late. The last thing Izuku saw before falling through the portal was his teacher’s panicked face as he stared at his injured son.

Chapter 4: Katsuki

Chapter Text

Katsuki was fuming.

He hadn’t even been out looking for villains to take down when they cornered him. He was going for a goddamn run. And he’d just run into Deku and some dumb kid with purple hair, likely another stupid hero student.

The kid looked useless. Katsuki should have gotten his spot in the hero course.

Instead, he was running around chasing villains and petty criminals, quirkless, no less, and getting caught up with some dumb group of villains who liked to call themselves the “League of Villains.”

Katsuki scoffed to himself. What a dumb name.

And now he was tied up with large, metal clamps over his fists to keep him from using his Quirk, and the so-called League of Villains was hanging out at a bar, sitting in front of him and acting like he wasn’t there.

That only infuriated Katsuki more.

“Face me, stupid villains! I’ll kill you all!” He shouted, but only received amused side-glances in response. He growled and shouted again, “Don’t ignore me, dumb f*cks!”

One of the villains, the man with the deep burns and flame Quirk, smirked at him and said, “Dumb f*ck? Really? That’s the best insult you could think of?”

“You’re a kid. Stop using such strong language. Who cares? Let him cuss if he wants!” Another man, who was still in a body suit despite being tucked back in the villain’s lair, shouted.

Katsuki glared at them both. “I’ll cuss if I damn well please. Now let me out of these restraints so I can kill you all!”

“Two of us were able to catch you. Do you really think you can face all of us?” The man with burns asked. He was still wearing that nonchalant face as he nursed his drink.

Behind the bar, a tall figure shrouded in blue and purple smoke with bright yellow eyes, sighed. “Stop antagonizing him, Dabi. He has a right to be angry about being tied up.”

“Yeah! What he said! So let me go now!” Katsuki spat.

The foggy figure shook his head. “Not until you stop threatening to kill us.”

“f*ck you.”

The man with burns, Dabi, snorted and turned back to the bar tender. “So, Kurogiri, what do you think the boss wants with him? He said to take him alive, but I’m really starting to want to fry him.”

“He’ll be back soon and can tell us in person,” Kurogiri replied. “Speaking of, Toga, will you please go restrain Bakugo? We don’t want him to say something that will set Shigaraki off.”

“On it!” Toga leapt up and danced over to Katsuki. He tried to snap at her, but she dodged his attack easily and sing-song-ed, “You’re so cute when you’re angry! I can practically see the blood boiling. But I’m going to have to muzzle you now.” She lifted up a metal contraption, and before Katsuki could react, she was clamping it over his mouth. He screamed and pulled against his restraints, but the cold metal bit against his skin, and he fell back a moment later, still glaring at the villains.

Less than a minute after being restrained, Kurogiri lifted his arm and created a portal. Katsuki watched as a scrawny man with severed hands attached to his face and arms walked through.

Katsuki wasn’t immediately threatened by him, but he saw how the other villains calmed down around him and realized that this must be the boss they were talking about. Shigaraki or whatever.

He tried to maintain an angry indifference as Shigaraki stepped into the room and took a seat at the bar. He was silent for several minutes, and none of the other villains dared to speak up until he did.

Finally, Shigaraki spoke. “Good job obtaining the target. I’m proud you didn’t f*ck this mission up for once.”

“Twice-y, did you hear that?” Toga clung to the man in the body suit. “He said he’s proud of us!”

“Finally he’s noticing how great we are! f*ck him. I don’t need him to be proud of me!” Twice replied. Katsuki was only getting more confused by the man’s strange way of talking.

“Shut up,” Shigaraki groaned. He then turned to face Katsuki. The two locked eyes and stared at each other for several, long seconds before Shigaraki said, “Toga, take his muzzle off. I want to talk to him.”

They never broke eye contact with each other while Toga returned to Katsuki’s side and unclasped the muzzle.

“What do you want from me?” Katsuki spat.

Shigaraki replied, “We want you to join us.”

In a hundred scenarios, Katsuki never imagined this. He thought they were going to kill him, torture him for fun, try to get information out of him, anything like that, but he never thought that was what they were going to say.

And he was insulted by it.

Katsuki snarled. “That’s funny. Try again: what do you want from me?”

“To join us. Become a part of the League of Villains,” Shigaraki repeated.

“f*ck you.”

“Toga, muzzle him again.”

“Yes, sir!”

Despite his struggling, Toga was able to clasp the muzzle around him again, so Katsuki resorted to screaming nonsensically through it.

The villains seemed determined to speak over his shrieking, and Shigaraki said to Katsuki, “We’ll wear you down soon enough, and you will join us. Don’t you want revenge on hero society for pushing you to the side? We know that you tried to get into U.A. but were barred because you bullied some kid. Izuku Midoriya, wasn’t it? Ah, he’s a pain. Likes to foil our plans. My boss wants him dead.” Shigaraki picked at his fingernails, then shot a look at Katsuki again.

“f*ck you! Don’t talk about that dumb idiot! Don’t compare me to Deku!” Katsuki shouted, or tried to, at least. What came out through the muzzle was a series of uncoordinated sounds.

Shigaraki shifted his head, and Katsuki would have thought he was smirking if he could see around the dumb hand plastered to the villain’s face. “Oh, you really don’t like Midoriya, do you? What do you say about helping us capture and kill him?”

Katsuki did his best to shriek and shake his head no. f*cking idiot, he thought. I want to put that dumb Deku behind me, not kill him! If he wants to recruit me, he shouldn’t have brought up and compared me to him! I’ll f*cking kill this weird hands man for this!

“Your screaming is annoying me. Kurogiri, can you put him in one of the rooms? I’m tired of listening to him. And, Toga, please keep watch on him.”

Suddenly, a swirling, dark portal opened up in front of Katsuki, and he was swallowed up inside of it. The moment the cloudy darkness surrounded him, he reappeared in a dimly lit room. He was still chained up, but now he was alone in this little room.

Just before the portal disappeared, Toga stepped through, a stupid grin on her face, and Katsuki snarled.

As before, she was unfazed by his attitude, and she plopped down in the ratty chair on the opposite corner.

“I guess it’s just you and me tonight! We’re going to become the best of friends! Now that you’re here, I’m not the youngest one!” She chirped.

Katsuki rolled his eyes. This was going to be a long night.

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When Katsuki woke up the next morning, entire body sore from sleeping standing up and strapped to a board, Toga was no longer watching him. This time it was Dabi.

Dabi was instantly Katsuki’s least favorite villain in the League.

“Rise and shine, sunshine,” Dabi drawled as he leaned back in the chair. He stretched his arms and popped his neck before shifting into a more comfortable position and watching him.

“f*ck you,” Katsuki snapped, realizing only as he spoke that the muzzle was finally gone.

Dabi smirked. “Keep speaking like that, and I can put the muzzle back on. Don’t want that do you?”

“f*ck you,” Katsuki repeated. He was nothing if not stubborn, and even if it meant having that wretched thing on, he wasn’t going to back down or show weakness.

“I take that as you still aren’t interested in joining us.”

“I’d rather f*cking die.”

“Well, I tried.” Dabi stood up and stretched again, then sauntered out of the room.

Katsuki was alone in there for hours. He was getting sorer by the minute, and he hadn’t had water in nearly a day at this point, by his estimates. But he could only be so sure when the room didn’t have any windows to help tell the time by.

Finally, a portal opened up in front of him, and he was whisked back into the bar. Kurogiri tipped his head at him, then rounded the bar to bring Katsuki a drink.

For a split second, Katsuki debated refusing to drink, but his throat was screaming, and if he was going to take a drink from anyone, it would be best if it came from this strange and quiet man. He was the least annoying of the group, after all. As Katsuki gulped the water down, he wondered what made his man join a group of villains. A Quirk like his would be great for heroics.

Even with the hydration, Katsuki’s throat was scratchy, so instead of screaming at the villains, he chose to ignore them today, despite the boiling rage. But they seemed disinterested in him this time, so he stood and watched as the villains mulled about the bar, doing their own things.

This time, a few other villains had joined the group. First was a tall woman with brown hair, who was sitting across from Toga and painting her nails. Second was a man with a long coat and mask on. He was shuffling a deck of cards while Twice and a lizard man watched on. Dabi and Shigaraki were at the other end of the bar, sipping drinks and staying silent. Kurogiri continued to prepare drinks and clean the bar.

“Mr. Compress, can we play a card game when my nails dry?” Toga asked.

“Of course, Miss Toga. What would you like to play?” The masked man, Mr. Compress, replied.

“Can we do Slap Jack again?”

“That’s a great idea! No, last time we played Slap Jack we almost all killed each other!” Twice replied.

Mr. Compress chuckled. “What if we play poker? I’ll deal.”

“Okay!” Toga brightened. Katsuki continued to watch as they chatted for a few minutes. Toga and the other women finally joined the others at the bar, and Mr. Compress began dealing out cards. The game proceeded calmly for a few rounds, save for Twice’s outbursts and Dabi’s threats for them to be quieter. But after about ten minutes, the lizard guy exclaimed, “Hey, you’re counting cards! Cheater!” And chaos ensued.

Mr. Compress denied cheating, and Toga begged for them to play another round. When that round was completed, the lizard guy, Spinner as they called him, was still adamant that Mr. Compress was cheating, and he wouldn’t let the next round start until there was proof of his claim. After much back and forth, Mr. Compress produced a little, blue ball, and when he crushed it, a card came flying out, and the shouting increased.

“I knew it! You cheat every time!” Spinner yelled.

Twice hollered, “Yeah! Get him! Dirty, stinky cheat. No wonder I hate playing with you. This is why I love playing with you, Compress!”

“Guys, stop! I want to finish the game! I was winning!” Toga cried.

“Toga, you were in last place,” Mr. Compress said to her. To Spinner, he replied, “You’ve played Poker with me a hundred times, and we have worked together for months now. You know this is how I play. ’Tis the world of a magician.”

“I don’t care! You’re a cheater!” Spinner screamed back. He whipped out a knife, and Mr. Compress lifted his arms. Twice started calling for a fight, and Toga cried to the other woman. Spinner and Mr. Compress began circling one another.

Katsuki looked on with a bemused smirk. Dumbasses. This is why they can’t accomplish sh*t. They’re strong, but they can’t work together to save their lives. What is this, a circus?

A chair screeched as Dabi stood up. Heat filled the room as he produced a blue flame in his palm, and the room fell silent. “Everyone, shut up and sit down. No one is stabbing anyone today,” he said. He ignored Toga’s small whine and continued, “Magne, deal the cards for the next round. And maybe play something that’s harder to cheat at. Spinner, put the knife away. Mr. Compress, please do anything other than try to play card games with them. They react this way every time you cheat, and I’m tired of the bickering.”

“Thank you, Dabi,” Shigaraki said when Dabi put his flame out and sat back down. “I was afraid I was going to have to dust one of them. And my boss wouldn’t like that very much.”

“Dust them? What the hell does that mean?” Katsuki couldn’t help from blurting.

Everyone turned to face him, and Shigaraki chuckled. “Would you like to see? Kurogiri, hand me a glass.”

Kurogiri slid a glass across the bar to him, and when Shigaraki clasped his hand around it, it disintegrated into dust.

Shigaraki said, “I guess you know my Quirk now. I can disintegrate human beings too, so don’t think about trying anything while in my care.”

Katsuki continued to stare at where the glass used to be. For the first time since being captured, fear began to truly pool in his stomach, and he didn’t have anything to say to Shigaraki.

The villain snapped his fingers in Katsuki’s face, and when he blinked, Shigaraki said, “Toga, Dabi, please release him from his chains. But be sure to put the Quirk-suppressing gloves on. I don’t want him to try anything.”

With fluid movements that contradicted the childish chaos from a minute before, Toga and Dabi flew to Katsuki’s sides and started undoing the straps. The last things to go were his hand restraints, but two, slim cuffs were quickly attached to him, and he felt the warmth in his palms dissipate. His Quirk was gone.

The only things keeping Katsuki from panicking were the knowledge that these were Quirk-suppressant cuffs and therefore temporary and the fact that when he was released from his restraints, the weakness in his legs became apparent, and he stumbled to the floor. His knees burned as he hit the hard floor, and he grimaced as more than one of the villains laughed at him.

“Let him stand up in his own time. Kurogiri, prepare him a meal,” Shigaraki instructed.

Katsuki struggled for several minutes to stand, and in the end he gave up and sat against the wall. He still had limited movement with the cuffs and the lack of energy, and when Kurogiri handed him a plate with a sandwich, he inhaled it.

“Looks like he’s already calming down. Maybe our prisoner is warming up to the idea of becoming a villain?” Mr. Compress said as Katsuki swallowed the last bites of his food.

His head snapped up and he glared at the man. “Shut up, Magic Man. I’m not going to become a stupid villain. I said that already, and you can keep me as long as you want; that won’t change.”

Dabi stifled a laugh. Mr. Compress gasped. “Magic Man? What kind of nickname is that? I am a magician, and that is not something to be made fun of.”

“What?” Katsuki snorted. “Would you prefer me to call you Cheater? Cuz I can do that.”

“I would prefer you call me Mr. Compress!”

“No can do, Magic Man. I don’t do names.”

Toga giggled from the other side of the room. “Compress has a nickname!”

“Serves him right for cheating. Hey, I want a nickname! Give me one!” Twice called out.

Katsuki smirked. “You’re Gemini, cuz you’re two-faced.”

“That’s so mean! You do know I have a condition, right? Oh my god, that’s so perfect. I should have gone with that instead of Twice! No you shouldn’t idiot.” Twice began muttering back and forth with himself.

Toga pouted. “Okay, now I want a nickname too! Give me one! Give me one!”

“No.” Katsuki rolled his eyes. “I’m not a name-generator, Vampire girl.” The moment the name came out of his mouth, he cursed under his breath.

“Yippee! I’m Vampire girl! I get it, cuz I like blood! What about everyone else?”

Katsuki sighed and started pointing to the others in the room. “Hands. Stabby. Mom Friend. Bartender.” Then he glared at Dabi. “And you’re Asshat.”

Giggles erupted around the room. Dabi glared at Katsuki. Katsuki glared back.

“I don’t care what you call me.” Dabi broke eye contact and rolled his eyes. “The nicknames are dumb and childish, anyways.”

“You’re just mad you didn’t get a good one!” Toga taunted.

“I’m really not. I don’t give a f*ck what he calls me.”

“Suuuuure,” Toga replied. “Sure you don’t.”

“What I do care about is you being annoying. Why don’t you shut up?”

Toga giggled and leapt out of his way when Dabi let out a burst of flame. She danced her way back across the room and took a seat on a crate. From there, the League members started to fall back into conversation, ignoring Katsuki once more and avoiding playing another card game. After some time passed, Kurogiri gave Katsuki another glass of water, which he drank without thanks or complaint.

The next week was much the same. Katsuki didn’t have to be strapped to the wall anymore, but someone always stood guard as he slept, and the Quirk-suppressant cuffs stayed on. He was allowed to sit with the League when they met in the bar, and after a couple days, he noticed that some of them would leave or join late, often covered in bruises. Toga often showed up covered in blood, but she always insisted it wasn’t her own. Given her mannerisms and Katsuki’s nickname for her, he believed her. One day, she even showed up with a dead bird in her mouth.

With smaller groups present, the League’s interactions were a little less chaotic than that first night he was allowed out. He didn’t bother to join in any of their conversations or games, and he was adamant about not joining them, but he kept his shouting to a minimum. And each time he was allowed out in the main bar area, he kept track of the exits and flaws of the villains. Patiently, he waited for a chance to escape.

The same day that Toga showed up with a bird in her mouth, the two other villains who were hanging out at the bar (aside from Kurogiri, who always seemed to be there) were Spinner and Mr. Compress. Despite their fight the other day, Katsuki hated the two of them the least. They were much quieter and more mature than Toga or Twice, and they were less trigger happy than Shigaraki or Dabi. And for the most part, they didn’t bother to try to recruit him. They just hung out around him and let him pout in his corner.

“Toga, where did you get that? Spit that out. I know you like blood, but birds can carry all kinds of diseases,” Mr. Compress said as Toga stepped through the portal and into the room.

She spat the bird into her mouth and licked her lips. A stray feather was stuck to her cheek, and Katsuki had to bite his cheeks to keep from gagging.

“Don’t worry, I got it at a pet shop!” She smiled.

Mr. Compress shook his head. “That doesn’t mean it’s clean. Pet shop birds can carry diseases too. Now throw that away outside and go wash your mouth out.”

Toga pouted but turned around to walk through a new portal Kurogiri made. “Fine,” she mumbled as she stepped through. The portal remained open, and a minute later she walked back inside, bird no longer in her hands or mouth. She dragged her feet as she headed to the back door and down the hallway.

“Sorry about that,” Mr. Compress turned to Katsuki. “She does that a lot. You’ll get used to it.”

“Get used to it, huh? Stop acting like I’m going to be here long. You know my parents are looking for me, right? Soon, the pros will find me and rescue me.”

Spinner smirked. “Keep believing that, kid. Our base is practically impossible to find. You won’t be found unless we want you to be found. And trust me, Shigaraki won’t let you out unless you become one of us or you’re dead. And we both know you aren’t going to let up anytime soon.”

“Damn straight,” Katsuki muttered. “I’m no villain, and that’s never gonna change.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” Spinner winked at him. Then his smile fell, and he turned to face Katsuki fully. “In all seriousness, tell me, why do you want to be a hero so bad?”

“I want to be the best. My Quirk is strong, and if I train hard enough, I’ll be stronger than even All Might.”

“That’s it?” Spinner raised an eyebrow.

Katsuki bristled. “What do you mean, ‘that’s it’?”

“I mean, usually heroes have this grandiose idea that they are going to save tons of people and make the world a better place. Or they want stardom and popularity. But you say you just want to be the best. What do you even mean by ‘the best’?”

“The strongest. I’ll kill the most villains and save the most civilians. Everyone will know not to mess with me when I’m around!”

“Hmm. And why do you want to be the strongest?”

“Because I have a strong Quirk and I’ve always wanted to be a hero, duh.”

Spinner just watched him. “That’s so shallow.”

“The f*ck?” Katsuki leapt to his feet. Mr. Compress and Kurogiri stepped forward, preparing to grab him, but Spinner lifted a hand.

“It’s okay. We can take him. Let him talk.”

Katsuki continued to glare at him but stayed in his spot. “How dare you question my dream to be a hero?”

“I mean, I’m not the first one to question it. U.A. questioned it, and look where you are now.”

“It doesn’t matter if it’s taking longer for me to become a hero, it’s still going to happen. I’m going to show those losers at U.A. that I’m too good for them. I’m training myself to become the best hero there is.”

“Training by being a vigilante? You seem like a smart kid, so I’m sure that you know vigilante work is illegal. That won’t make you become a hero.”

“f*ck you! I have been training hard and taking down criminals and villains without my Quirk, all to appease the stupid law. Do you know how angry it makes me to see that people think I’m a Quirkless vigilante? Yet I keep going, keep taking down villains, keep training to be the best. And then I will take the provisional license exam and become a hero. It doesn’t matter that I didn’t go to school for it; I’ll still be a damn hero!”

“They won’t let you become a hero unless you have proper schooling.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Katsuki spat. “I’ll still figure it out. Like you said, I’m smart.”

Spinner laughed. “True. You are. But what if I told you that you’re probably going to have to be a vigilante forever, working in the shadows and being hated on by the government and the media? Will you be okay if the only person who knows that you are the greatest hero?”

“I won’t let that happen. I’ll be in the spotlight as the next greatest hero, the symbol of victory. You’ll see.”

“Oh? The symbol of victory, huh? Not the symbol of peace, like All Might?”

“Stop making fun of me, Stabby. I know you think I’m being silly. But I won’t give up on my dreams.”

“I see that.” Spinner relaxed back into his barstool. For a few moments, he watched Katsuki in silence, then finally spoke back up and said, “Thank you, by the way.”

“For what?”

“For making my nickname Stabby, rather than something to do with being a heteromorph.”

Katsuki shrugged. “There’s nothing to thank me for. You have lots of knives, so you’re Stabby. That’s all there is to it. Why would you being a heteromorph have anything to do with your nickname?”

Spinner smiled, and this time it was more genuine. “Exactly. Most people see that I’m a heteromorph first, and they discriminate against me. You didn’t see that first, or at least care about it first. You’re a good kid.”

“I’m a hero, of course I’m not going to discriminate you for being a heteromorph. The f*ck kind of losers do that sh*t? Villains, that’s who,” Katsuki muttered.

“Actually, that’s not always the case. A lot of heroes discriminate against me. Before becoming a villain, I was arrested twice because I looked like one. I hadn’t even committed any crimes yet. And look at the villains here. Do you see any of them discriminating against me? No. We’re family.”

Katsuki huffed and sat back. He said nothing in response, and after a minute, Spinner turned back to start another conversation with Kurogiri and Mr. Compress, one that didn’t include Katsuki. And he didn’t care. He was over this dumb conversation with these dumb villains.

It didn’t matter if they didn’t like his reasons for becoming a hero. He didn’t need villains to affirm his dreams.

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A few days later, Katsuki was back in his room, with Toga standing guard. Shigaraki had just finished attempting to recruit him again, and Katsuki had screamed at him until the villain left dragged out by Dabi in an attempt to keep Shigaraki from dusting Katsuki.

When Shigaraki was gone, Toga turned to face Katsuki. Her face was missing it’s usual cheer. “Why do you hate us so much?” She asked.

“Because you’re villains. And I don’t want to be a villain like you, dipsh*t.”

Toga pouted. “That’s so mean! I thought I was Vampire Girl, not dipsh*t.”

“Doesn’t f*cking matter. No matter how long you keep me here, I’m not joining your stupid cult. Now leave me alone.”

“It’s not a stupid cult! We’re family here!”

“A family I don’t want to be a part of.”

“You just haven’t been around us long enough. Soon you’ll see how great we are. Maybe we should invite you to play at our next game night!”

Katsuki rolled his eyes. “And lose to a serial cheater? No thanks.”

“Aw, c’mon! What if we kick Compress out? Then will you play?”

“No.”

“Please?”

“No.”

“Pretty please with a cherry on top?”

“No! Now stop f*cking asking. I’ll never be a villain, and I’ll never join your stupid game nights! Can’t you understand? I don’t have the same sad sob stories you all seem to have. I just didn’t get into U.A. and now I’m taking my future into my own hands. What about that makes you think I want to be like you? Huh?” Katsuki spat.

Toga quieted at that. She rocked on the balls of her feet and stared at the floor for a moment before saying, “You’re right. We’re not the same. I guess I’ll go now.” She stepped out of the room, and the door clicked shut behind her. Katsuki heard the lock turn, then he was left completely alone.

He sat back and sighed. “Dumb bitch thinks I’ll become a villain just because she asked nicely. Pathetic.”

A few minutes into sitting in silence, he heard Dabi and Spinner walk past.

“I don’t know why boss is so insistent on recruiting that kid. He’s not going to break.”

“It’s just a matter of time before he joins us. You’ve heard him; he’s one of us.”

“We can only wait so long. He’s a liability. If he’s not going to cooperate, we should just kill him and be done with it.”

Spinner said something in response, but then were passing out of earshot.

I’ll f*cking be out of here before they can kill me, Katsuki thought to himself. There will be a chance soon, and I’m going to take it. I’m going to leave these losers in the dust.

The hall was quiet for a few minutes, until he heard a thump outside. He lifted his head and looked toward the door. Then there was a second thump. And a third. Katsuki climbed out of the bed and approached the door. At first, he couldn’t hear anything, but then the remnants of whispers made their way to him. He couldn’t make out the words, but they were quiet- too quiet to be from the League.

What’s going on? He thought. He pressed his ear against the door and strained to listen, but he couldn’t make out anything else.

Until a hand grabbed the doorknob and began to twist. Katsuki jumped back.

But the door was locked, and the knob stopped turning. And the door remained shut.

Katsuki opened his mouth to shout at the person on the other side, but before he could, another door slammed open, and shouts erupted. Someone slammed into the wall nearby, and the door shook. Someone else in the League shouted for backup, and the chaos continued.

The League was under attack.

Did they finally find me? Katsuki instantly grew alert. Are the heroes here?

“Hey! It’s me! I’m in here!” Katsuki slammed his fists against the door and began calling out. “Katsuki Bakugo, the missing guy! The League has me in here! Unlock this door and I’ll help you take down those assholes!”

But whatever was happening in the fight, no one came to the door to assist.

“Hey! Let me out!” Katsuki screamed again.

But the voice he heard next, despite being muddled from the door in between them, ran his blood cold.

“Hitoshi, no!” Deku’s voice screeched, and Katsuki’s world stopped.

Deku, the dumb, Quirkless kid who followed Katsuki around, was here. A student, a child, a Quirkless loser was trying to save Katsuki.

He was f*cked, and more than that, rage filled him at the idea that Deku of all people was trying to save him. He stepped back from the door.

“Tch. I’ll stay with the League. I’d rather die before you’re the one who saves me, stupid Deku.”

“That’s a smart decision. The League will be happy to keep you.”

Katsuki whipped around. “What the f*ck?” But the figure behind him was only Kurogiri, gleaming, yellow eyes glowing amidst the dark fog.

“Heroes have found our base. Come with me, stay with the League. Don’t let the heroes save you and take you back to your life of vigilantism. You’ll have a place here, a true place where we value you, if you come.”

Katsuki stared, shock and rage still coursing through him. He glanced back at the door, where the fighting was going on just a few feet away. Then he glanced back at Kurogiri, who was waiting patiently despite the chaos unfolding. Then again at the door.

“You can go with them if you want. Let the heroes rescue you. You’ve got a friend out there.”

“Deku’s not my friend,” Katsuki spat. He whirled back around and strode toward Kurogiri. “Now shut the f*ck up. I’m coming with you.”

This time, passing through the portal was much less disorienting. He kept his steps steady as he walked forward, and as he reappeared out of the fog, he found himself in what looked like an abandoned shack. Dust covered molding crates, and boards covered the windows At least one rusty nail sat on the floor. Most of all, it was nearly pitch black, lit only by the faint glowing from Kurogiri.

“I’m collecting the others. I’ll be back soon.”

Then Katsuki was alone.

Silence filled the shack, and seconds ticked by slowly while he waited. It was almost pitch black in here, and for the first time in days, Katsuki knew what time of day it was. It was the dead of night, and he was locked in this abandoned shack, waiting for the League of Villains to arrive, the villains whom he had decided to stay with for some crazy, f*cked up reason.

The longer he stood in there alone, Quirk-suppressant cuffs still on, the more he realized how f*cked up that decision was.

“sh*t.” He hurried forward to one of the windows and started slamming into the boards. They creaked, and dust flew up everywhere, but they didn’t budge. “sh*t!” He slammed into the board again. Still nothing. He kept going until his shoulder was sore, but he still made no difference.

If only he could use his Quirk. Katsuki cursed again. He kicked the ground, and something clattered across the floor.

Despite the darkness, the nail seemed to gleam, and Katsuki bent down to pick it up. It was hard to fumble the bent nail around in his hand to reach the cuffs, but he continued to push and scrape against the restraints. They screeched against the metal, and he flinched as he scratched his hand. Blood beaded out from the small cut.

Little flints of metal flaked off, but the nail made little progress. He cursed at it and kept scraping. Even if it took days, he was going to get the damn cuffs off.

But before he could make more progress, a whirring motion interrupted him, and the portal reappeared. Shigaraki stepped through, a little disheveled, but otherwise in one piece.

Katsuki had little time to think about the fact that he cared when Shigaraki said, “The others will be here soon. And what are you doing with those cuffs?”

“Trying to take them off. What else?”

Shigaraki sighed. “Come here.”

“What? So you can dust me?” He glared at the villain.

“So I can dust the cuffs.”

They stared at each other for several seconds before Shigaraki rolled his eyes again and stepped forward. He yanked Katsuki’s hands forward and held him still with one hand while he wrapped his whole hand around the cuffs. Quickly, they disintegrated and crumbled to the floor. Power swelled back up into Katsuki’s hands, and he grinned.

Once Shigaraki was standing a few paces back again, he tried out a few sparks, and relief spread through him when he could use his Quirk again. “Finally,” he muttered.

“Now don’t think you can try to run away with that. Kurogiri said you’re with us now.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Katsuki shrugged. “So when are the others coming? What was happening out there with the heroes?”

“Some stupid kids found our lair and tried to break in. Apparently they had pros with them, so we were overwhelmed. We’ll see who Kurogiri gets out of there.” Shigaraki began pacing while Katsuki settled back on one of the crates, and once again they fell into the silent waiting game.

This time, it took much less time, and when the portal appeared, two more figures stepped through, with a third in tow. Toga was grinning as she pushed the third person forward, and Dabi followed close behind. The portal shut again.

“Where’s the others?” Shigaraki asked.

“What about us? Aren’t you glad we’re okay? We brought a present with us!” Toga chirped as she kicked the figure curled up on the floor.

“Relax, Toga. Shigaraki’s not the lovey dovey type. And to answer your question, it’s not good. Spinner and Mr. Compress were trying to escape out back, and Twice was putting up a hell of a fight. Kurogiri’s trying to get him now. But Magne’s been arrested. And I don’t think we’re gonna get any of the other kids who broke in,” Dabi explained.

Shigaraki bristled. “I don’t care about the kids. Why did you take one in the first place? I swear, you two, this isn’t some daycare. Toga and Bakugo are enough already. I don’t need a third.”

“But this one’s cute!” Toga said.

Finally, they all looked down at the kid on the floor. And once again, Katsuki’s blood boiled.

“You f*cking took Deku?” He shouted.

“Deku? Is that what this one’s called? Well, he’s cute, so I took him! He’s one of us now!”

“Toga, send him back. Now,” Shigaraki ordered.

“It’s too late now,” Kurogiri resurfaced, and this time, when Twice stepped through the portal, Kurogiri fully materialized in the shack. “I was almost taken myself. And, boss, you’ll want to see this.” He lifted a laptop and flipped it open, then pulled up the local news. Everyone’s attention switched towards it, even Deku, who was on the floor, bound and gagged.

A newscaster was in the corner, talking animatedly as she pointed to the scene behind her. Kamino Ward was on fire.

“They’re not talking about our hideout,” Toga breathed.

“sh*t,” Shigaraki cursed.

Katsuki looked at them both. “What’s going on?”

“That’s the nomu factory,” Kurogiri explained. “But that’s not all. Keep watching.”

The camera panned over to an explosion in the distance, and when it zoomed in, one figure was floating in the air, arms outstretched, while another was on the ground, steaming and injured but still fighting.

All Might. Katsuki’s attention was instantly focused on the fight as his childhood hero squared off against some villain he’d never seen before. The camera was blurry and shaking from this distance, but he could already see that something was wrong. All Might was injured, he looked sick. He looked wrong. Katsuki glanced around at the others, and they looked just as surprised. But when his gaze landed on Deku, he didn’t look shocked, only worried and sad.

“All for One almost has him. He’s so close to getting rid of that pain in our asses,” Dabi said.

Shigaraki shook his head. “Something’s wrong.”

“But he’s our boss! He’s always got it!” Toga added in.

“Look.” Shigaraki pointed back at the screen, and they watched in time for All Might to take All for One down. The villain that this group seemed to love so much and that Katsuki had never heard of before was on the ground, pummeled to shreds, and being swarmed by police. And the world watched as the villain was carried away in shackles, and the Symbol of Peace, All Might, crouched on his hands and knees. He was a shell of his former self, just a ragged old man with skin hanging off bone and sunken eyes deep in his skull. If Katsuki hadn’t been watching the screen, he would never have believed if someone told him that was All Might there in the rubble.

And then, amidst the fire and the sirens and all the chaos, All Might lifted himself up, looked straight into the camera, and said, “It’s your turn.”

Next to him, Deku’s eyes watered.

Chapter 5: Hitoshi

Chapter Text

“Hitoshi!”

His arm was on fire, both figuratively and literally. His skin let off a sickly scent as it smoldered, and the pain was blinding.

But that was hardly relevant when his father was screaming his name out in that voice.

I f*cked up, Hitoshi thought. It was supposed to be so easy. Just in and out. Get Bakugo and escape before the pros showed up to take down the League. We were supposed to be gone before they arrived.

“Hitoshi!” His father screamed out again.

Damn, Shouta can be as loud as Hizashi. Hitoshi laughed a little to himself. ‘Zashi is gonna laugh when he hears about this.

“Hitoshi! You have to get up!” Suddenly, Shouta’s voice was much closer, and when Hitoshi rocked his heavy head to the side, his dad was crouching there, hair and eyes wild.

Hitoshi smirked at him. “Hey, dad.”

But apparently that was not the correct response, because Shouta only cursed under his breath and scooped Hitoshi up in his arms. Hitoshi’s arm screamed in response, and he hissed in pain. But Shouta didn’t stop moving, and Hitoshi could feel the sway of his footsteps as he ran back out of the bar. Soft lights gave way to the dark sky, and Hitoshi let his thoughts slip away as he was carried to the back of a waiting ambulance. Then he was shifted onto a cot, and a stranger was setting her hands on him. Soft glowing emitted from her palms, and the burning in his arm slowly began to subside, but with it he grew drowsier, and he struggled to keep his eyes open.

After that, the next few hours were a blur. Todoroki joined him outside the ambulance at one point, seemingly uninjured, and soon after that, Uraraka, Iida, and Jiro were there. He could hear shouts as the heroes ran in and out of the building, then everything got quieter when he was loaded into the ambulance and headed to the hospital.

Todoroki stayed by his side for the trip to the hospital, but at some point, Hitoshi slipped back into sleep, and when he woke up again, it was no longer Todoroki, but Hizashi who was accompanying him.

“Hitoshi, you’re awake!” Hizashi brightened as Hitoshi stirred.

He groaned and stretched his arm, which wasn’t hurting the same as before but was still sore. “What happened?”

Hizashi’s smile turned serious. “You and your classmates tried to invade the League of Villains’ lair. Thankfully, your dad and some of the other pros had planned to be there that same night. Otherwise, I can’t begin to think about what would have happened to you.”

“Is… is everyone else okay?”

“Todoroki just left the hospital with his father. He’s doing just fine. And we already sent your other three classmates back to the dorms. We’ll be talking to them in the morning about repercussions.”

“Three classmates?”

Hizashi froze. “Yes. You and Todoroki were inside, while Uraraka, Iida, and Jiro were standing watch outside. It was just the five of you, right?”

Hitoshi’s eyes watered as he stared, horrified, at his dad. “Izuku was in there too. We were trying to save his friend.”

Hizashi stood and ran from the room without saying anything else to him. There was a small clamor in the hallway, and when Hizashi returned, he was frazzled and had a phone in hand. “They haven’t seen Midoriya or his friend. When did you last see him? Was he hurt? We know about that villain with the portal Quirk. Did he take Midoriya?”

“There was a girl, she was like some school girl with blonde buns. She caught him. I didn’t see what happened next because I was hit, but he was there. Dad, we have to go back for him.” Hitoshi shifted in bed and tried to stand up, but Hizashi rushed to his side and held him down.

“No. You are not going anywhere in your condition. Shouta is still there, and I will tell him to look for Midoriya.” Hizashi stared at his son until he relaxed back onto the bed.

And the waiting game began.

News began pouring in, and several heroes showed up to speak with Hizashi or check on Hitoshi. He learned that only one League member was caught, but that they had some leads on their location, as well as a plan to capture the villain with the portal Quirk. Then there was All for One and All Might. Apparently the villain had caused chaos and wreaked havoc on hero society for decades, but All Might had stopped him early in his career. For years, everyone thought the villain was dead, until he resurfaced today.

All Might had caught him at the cost of his power, and now the League was apparently trying to follow in All for One’s footsteps.

And Midoriya had been taken by this dangerous group.

Even before Shouta returned to take him home, guilt began to build inside Hitoshi. I should have stopped him. I should have told him the pros were already planning to come. Then he would be safe, as well as his friend. What was I thinking?

“What were you thinking?” Those were the first words Shouta spoke. He had stormed into the hospital, bleeding from one arm, but refusing medical attention. Without speaking a single word, he checked Hitoshi out and led him down to the car. He only spoke once the three of them were on the road.

Hitoshi shrank back. “I thought we could save Bakugo before you attacked the League.”

“You knew?” Shouta shouted, and the car lurched.

Hizashi placed a hand on his arm. “Honey, be careful.”

“You knew we were going to infiltrate the League, yet you still wanted to try and break in? What were you thinking?”

“I wanted to help Izuku.” Hitoshi’s voice was quiet.

Shouta, however, was still shouting. “Hitoshi, you knew that we were coming, and you still thought that you could do our job for us? You’re a student. You don’t have your provisional license yet. But you still thought that you could take down the League?”

“We weren’t going to fight them. We just wanted to sneak in and get Bakugo out.”

“That’s not an excuse. You could be expelled for this. You could face criminal charges. Because of you, your classmates may lose hope of ever becoming heroes too.”

“I’m…” Hitoshi trailed off.

“Sorry? Sorry doesn’t cut it. You might have gotten one of your classmates killed today. You almost got yourself killed today. What would we have done if we hadn’t gotten there when we did?” Shouta’s voice broke, and he let out a shuddering sob.

And that, more than anything else he faced that night, terrified him the most.

“You’re staying with us tonight. You can return to the dorms tomorrow.” Hitoshi didn’t argue against him, and when they parked in front of the teachers’ building, he followed quietly up the stairs and into their home.

Hizashi hung back with Hitoshi as they walked upstairs. “He just cares about you. He was the one who saw you in the villains’ base, injured and lying on the ground. He’s terrified. I’m terrified too, Hitoshi. We don’t want to lose you.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to scare you.”

Hizashi gave him a small smile and patted his shoulder. “You’re a hero student. It’s your job to scare us.”

Hitoshi was quiet after that, and when they got inside the apartment, he headed back to his room without another word.

Despite the exhaustion that was weighing on him, he couldn’t sleep. Images of Izuku being held at knifepoint played on repeat, and after an hour of tossing and turning, he rolled back over and reached for his phone. A few messages were waiting for him.

Todoroki: Are you okay?

Hitoshi typed out his response.

Hitoshi: Yeah. Burn is mostly healed, and I am back home with my parents

To his surprise, Todoroki sent back a response a few seconds later.

Todoroki: Same. Endeavor wanted me to stay home for one night. Barf

Hitoshi: No offense, but he looks like a dick. I’m not surprised you hate him

Todoroki: No offense taken. He is a dick.

Hitoshi laughed at that.

Hitoshi: How mad is he?

Todoroki: He was mostly mad that I didn’t succeed. Now I have more training with him before returning to the dorms

Hitoshi: Damn. I don’t envy that

Todoroki: Isn’t Aizawa going to give you more training?

Hitoshi: I doubt it. He was pretty freaked out. Tomorrow when we’re all back, I think we’re gonna have to talk to the principal.

Todoroki: Do you think we’ll be expelled?

Hitoshi: No idea. It’s Uraraka and Jiro’s first big offense, so I think they’ll be okay, but I don’t know about the rest of us

Todoroki: And Midoriya? What do you think they will do when they find him?

Hitoshi: I don’t want to think about it. As long as they find him alive

Todoroki: I agree. Do you think he’s okay?

Hitoshi: I hope so. But they tried to kill him once before, at the training camp

Todoroki: I’m scared for him

Hitoshi: Me too

He set his phone back down and sighed. “Me too,” he whispered again. As long as Izuku is okay, I don’t care what happens to me.

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Hitoshi sat with his other four classmates in Principal Nezu’s office. Across from that stood Nezu, Aizawa, All Might, and Midnight.

Aizawa spoke first. “The five of you know why you are here. You went against school rules and, more importantly, you broke the law by trying to infiltrate the League of Villains and save a kid. What do you have to say for yourselves?”

They were silent.

“That’s right. You put your lives in danger, got one of your classmates kidnapped, and let several League members escape. And you weren’t even able to accomplish the one thing you set out to do. Katsuki Bakugo is still in the hands of the League. We could expel you.”

“Aizawa,” Nezu spoke up. He placed a palm on the teacher’s arm, and when Aizawa stepped back, he said, “Your teacher is right. We could and probably should expel you for this. However, we will make one last case for you.”

Everyone sighed in relief.

But Nezu wasn’t done talking. “With that being said, you cannot leave without punishment. You need to understand that you cannot do this again. If you want to become pro heroes, you need to understand how to follow rules and prioritize safety. So we are going to put you on one week of house arrest. In this time, you will keep Heights Alliance spotless. Then, when your house arrest has completed, you will be spending your first week back in classes by rotating between the support course, business course, and general course. Only when we feel you are ready, will we let you back into the hero course.”

“Yes, sir.” Iida stood and bowed to the principal before sitting back down again.

Uraraka and Jiro thanked him in a similar manner. Which left Todoroki and Hitoshi.

Hitoshi stood to thank Nezu, but he held a paw out. “And for the two of you, who have the most incidents on record, you’ll also have to take a course on hero ethics. Once you are cleared, then you will be able to return to class.”

“Yes, sir,” Hitoshi and Todoroki said in unison.

“Very good. Now you may go. Head back to the dorms now and start your house arrest. We’ll see you in class in a week.”

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First thing upon returning to the dorms, Hitoshi pulled everyone to the side and said, “I’m sorry we got you involved in this. We shouldn’t have let you come along.”

“Without us, you would have been in even worse trouble,” Uraraka crossed her arms and glared at him.

“She’s right. And we chose to come with you, so it’s our fault as much as it is yours,” Jiro added.

Iida nodded. “All we can do now is move forward from this. The pros will take care of everything, and we will focus on fulfilling our punishments and becoming the best students we can.”

“Like they said,” Todoroki replied.

After that, they seldom brought up the incident around each other or their other classmates. And despite the initial questions about Izuku’s whereabouts, everyone was content to leave the topic alone.

But during the hours of cleaning while their classmates were in class and the five of them were on house arrest the tension was palpable. Few words were spoken about anything other than the location of the vacuum or where to find more paper towels, and Hitoshi was getting antsy.

By the time their week of house arrest was over, Hitoshi was back to pouring over his notes. Aizawa had confiscated his notebook after the incident, but he still hadn’t heard anything about their efforts to find Izuku, and he was beginning to feel useless. Nonetheless, he promised to himself that he wouldn’t go out and do anything reckless. He was just gathering information to pass the time and feel like he was doing something to help the friend he failed.

Once classes started up again, he had little time for note taking. He and his classmates were split up between classes, with him and Todoroki spending the first two days with the Support Course. As the two of them stepped inside the large lab space, not a single student turned to look their way. Everyone was tinkering on something or writing stuff down, then sharing notes with one another.

Hitoshi tried to reach out to one of the students to ask where to go. He found a pink haired girl nearby and asked, “Hi, I’m Hitoshi Shinso, and this is-“

“Didn’t ask. Don’t care. Can you hand me that wrench?” She stuck her arm out in front of him.

Hitoshi stared. “Um.”

“The wrench. Don’t tell me you don’t know what a wrench looks like.” She made a grabbing motion with her hand, and Hitoshi bent down to grab the wrench.

“Now that you have that, will you-“

“I’m busy. Talk to someone else.”

“Sorry about that. Hatsume is a brilliant student, but she’s not the best at talking to others,” the teacher, Power Loader approached them. “I’m in charge of the support course, so you will be spending the next two days with me. Now, before you start working, you’ll need hats.” He pulled out two hard hats and placed them on their heads. “Then you’ll need to pass the safety exam before you can handle the machinery. There are two desks in the corner, and you are allowed to work together. You’ll need a perfect score before you can join.”

Suddenly, something crashed to the ground, and a billow of smoke erupted behind them. Hitoshi and Todoroki jumped back, but Power Loader only sighed. “That’ll be Hatsume again. Excuse me while I go talk to her.”

“Yes, sir,” they replied, and as Power Loader approached his student and her mess, the pair of them wandered back to the desks and away from the chaos. There they found two packets of paper with their names on them.

Todoroki flipped his open. “What is the number one rule for safety?”

“Uh, wear a hard hat?” Hitoshi tapped his own hat.

“There’s four options.”

“Oh. Ummm…” Hitoshi flipped his own packet open. “Human life. That’s gotta be it.”

“What is the first thing you do if you get chemicals in your eyes?”

“That’s the eye wash station, right?”

Todoroki shrugged. “I think so.”

“Do they really need that here?”

Something else crashed, and a student shouted out, “Make way! I need the eye wash station!”

“Noted,” Hitoshi added in a whisper, then returned to the exam. By the time the first day was done, they had made it through the exam twice, but still some answers were wrong.

“You better have those right answers for me tomorrow,” Power Loader said as they walked out of class.

The sky was already darkening as they walked back to the dorms, and the pair fell into an easy silence. Street lamps were flickering on, and a cool wind was blowing. A few students and teachers were walking around, but it was otherwise quiet. To their left, Aizawa was walking with a thin man. At first, Hitoshi didn’t recognize him.

But Todoroki tugged at his arm and pulled him down another road. “Let’s go this way.”

“Why?”

“That’s…” Todoroki sucked in a breath, and during the pause, Hitoshi realized.

“All Might,” he finished, and Todoroki nodded.

He couldn’t help but cast another look behind him as they walked away, and All Might’s receding figure cast long shadows against the pavement. Without all his muscles, his hair looked too large for his head, and his clothes sagged around him. Hitoshi wondered why he hadn’t gotten new clothes that would fit his thin frame yet. He was slower, and Aizawa was trying to keep pace with him, and All Might had a noticeable limp in one leg.

“Stop staring,” Todoroki whispered, and Hitoshi drew his attention back to the sidewalk in front of him.

He shook his head. “We did that to him.”

“We didn’t.”

“If we hadn’t intervened, he might be okay.”

“No. After the Stain incident, I thought I was cursed to hurt people’s hands, but Iida reminded me that it was coincidental. We have no way of knowing that All Might would be okay if we weren’t there.”

“Izuku would be here now if we hadn’t gone. And his friend too. All Might would still be the Symbol of Peace. I was too self-absorbed, and I thought we could make his plan work. But we did more harm than good.”

“Shinso-“

“No. I don’t want to hear it. We f*cked up. We did this to All Might. That was all us. You, me, and Izuku. We had the chance to bow out, to keep our classmates out of it, but we kept going, and now they’re a part of it too.” They were at the front doors to Heights Alliance now, and Hitoshi pushed past Todoroki to storm inside. His classmate hung back, and Hitoshi could feel his eyes boring into him, but he kept storming past and up to his room.

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The week in the other classes passed quickly, and in the downtime Hitoshi continued to compile evidence and plan. But the League of Villains wasn’t making it easy. Ever since the downfall of All for One, they had been all but silent. Leads were little more than news clips of people claiming they saw a girl with space buns or an old lady pinning a house fire on Dabi. Hitoshi catalogued them just in case, but he had little faith in their credibility or utility.

Jiro, Uraraka, and Iida all returned to Class A, leaving Todoroki and Hitoshi to their last week of supplemental courses.

“Who do you think is leading our ethics lessons?” Todoroki asked as they walked across campus.

“Probably someone from the Heroes Commission.”

“I thought they were keeping this matter private from the Commission.”

“Then who knows.”

Unkempt, blond hair and sunken, blue eyes met them when they arrived in the spare classroom, and All Might offered them a bright smile when they sat down. Hitoshi was tempted to take a seat in the back, but Todoroki tugged his arm, forcing him to join him in the front row. All the while, All Might stayed quiet, watching them while he leaned against his desk.

Hitoshi squirmed in his seat and looked down at his desk.

“Young Shinso, young Todoroki, please look up at me.”

Their heads snapped up.

“Into my eyes.”

Reluctantly, Hitoshi did as he was instructed. All Might stared at each of them in turn. After several moments of uncomfortable, prolonged eye contact, All Might finally spoke again.

“What do you see?”

Hitoshi raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“In my eyes. What do you see?” All Might stared at him again. When Hitoshi’s mouth opened and closed without forming a response, he added, “No matter what you say, I won’t be offended.”

Todoroki was next to speak. “You look sick. Your eyes are sunken in.”

Hitoshi expected All Might to retaliate, to take back his statement about not being offended, but instead he laughed. It was much quieter than the booming laugh that the world was used to, and it ended quickly in a fit of coughs, yet All Might laughed.

“Very good, young Todoroki. But there’s something else. Shinso, do you see it?” His gaze swept back over to Hitoshi.

Despite the discomfort, he continued to stare. At first, it was hard to notice anything beyond what Todoroki had pointed out; if it weren’t for the piercing blue of his teacher’s eyes, they would have been swallowed up in the dark sockets. But finally he saw it.

“You’re tired,” he stated, and All Might nodded. “But you haven’t given up hope. You’re still determined to help.”

All Might’s smile widened. “Exactly. And do you want to know something?”

They looked at him expectantly.

“I see the same in both of your eyes. You are determined to save your friend and make things right. Which is why you are here with me this week.” Hitoshi opened his mouth to argue, but All Might held up a hand before continuing, “What you boys are feeling is normal, and the fact that you still want to help despite the repercussions just shows that you are meant to be heroes. However,” he paused, “being a hero is more than jumping into action every time you see someone in need. The first time I met young Midoriya, I told him that the thing that sets heroes apart is that when someone is in trouble, your body reacts before your mind to save them. That is true. But I may have misled him with that, and in turn, I have misled you. That is only step one. Step two is learning how to actually help others. Part of that is learning how to think and analyze your situation before jumping in. I and many other pro heroes have had years of this experience, something that both of you are well-aware of. Your fathers are seasoned heroes who know how to analyze a situation quickly, but that comes with education and experience, something that you boys don’t yet have. But that is why you are here, at U.A. I appreciate that you wanted to help, to save young Midoriya’s friend. You have a hero’s heart, both of you, and you have had more real-world experience than most kids your age, but you need to learn when to let the pros sit back and handle the situation.”

Todoroki and Hitoshi nodded and kept their mouths shut.

All Might laughed again. “Neither of you are the talking type, are you? But that’s okay because I-“ he burst into another round of coughs, “am here. Now let’s get into our first lesson.”

He pulled down the projector screen and grabbed the remote. “We’re going to start by going through a few common scenarios, and I want you to tell me how to respond to the situation.”

Todoroki raised his hand. “How does this relate to ethics?”

“Good question, young Todoroki. A key component of hero ethics is knowing when and how to or not to respond to a situation. We will also be going through what you are and are not allowed to do as students without a provisional license. A commission-member will be in this afternoon to discuss those rules. That will actually be part of an assembly for the whole school, which you will be sitting in on as well. Any other questions? No? Good. Now, tell me what you would do in this first scenario.” He switched the slide on the screen to an image of a little boy stuck in a tree.

“I would create an ice staircase that I can climb up to grab him,” Todoroki responded.

“I would use my Quirk to calm him, then call the police to bring a ladder and get him down,” Hitoshi answered.

“Wrong.”

They blinked at All Might.

“What?” Hitoshi asked.

“Remember, you are students, and until you receive your provisional licenses, you are not allowed to use your Quirks.”

“Then what would we do?”

“The second part of what Shinso said. Call the police and let them or a professional hero handle the situation.”

“What if the kid falls?”

“Using your Quirks without full training could cause the kid to fall. What if by calming him, you cause him to release his grip on the branches? And what if he slips on your ice, Todoroki?” All Might smiled. “Just use your own voice to calm the kid down and tell him to hold tight while you wait for the professionals.”

Before either of them could ask any more questions, he clicked to the next slide. “How about this one?” This time, it was an image of a burning house.

“Use my ice-“

“No Quirks, young Todoroki. Remember, you do not have a license yet.”

Todoroki sighed and placed his chin in his hand.

Hitoshi answered, “Call the emergency line?”

“Correct! You are catching on quickly, young Shinso. Young Todoroki, I’m positive you will get the next one.” He clicked to the next slide, which showed a woman being mugged in an alleyway.

Hitoshi fought the urge to say that he would get the perpetrator to talk to him, then use his Quirk to stop the man and let the woman run. Instead, he said, “Memorize what the man looks like, then call the police?”

“Exactly. Since you are still students, you are the same as civilians in this situation.”

Todoroki raised his hand again. “Is every answer going to be to call the police?”

“For the most part, yes. But not always.” He switched to the next slide, where people were running around in a panic. Something appeared to be exploding in the background.

“Call the police?” Todoroki answered.

“Yes, but there is more to this one than that,” All Might answered.

“We can still try to help people stay calm and evacuate. And with the training we have, we can administer simple first aid. We can help direct the evacuations and point incoming heroes to the explosion,” Hitoshi tried.

All Might beamed. “Good! At this point in time, you should not engage with villains or criminals, you may not use your Quirk, and you may not seek out trouble, but you are allowed to help calm civilians and administer first aid, just like you said. What is something else you can do in this situation?”

“Describe what we saw to the police when they arrive on scene, and help answer questions the heroes have so that they can track down the villains faster,” Todoroki answered this time.

“That is correct, young Todoroki! I am proud of you,” All Might replied.

Todoroki squirmed in his seat and mumbled, “It’s a simple answer. I didn’t say anything crazy or difficult.”

“But you are catching on, and that is something to be proud of. You’re a bright student, Todoroki, and you too, Shinso,” All Might continued.

Todoroki pulled at his hair. “Can we continue the lesson?”

All Might co*cked his head and watched his student for a second, but continued onto the next slide. From there, they continued the lesson, reiterating the ways that they could help without engaging in combat, until lunch rolled around. After that, they joined their classmates in the auditorium, where a few commission-members stood on stage, and despite the monotony of All Might’s lesson, this was somehow worse. Hitoshi swore he fell asleep twice, but despite nodding off, the lesson seemed to stretch on much longer than All Might’s slide show. By the end of it, he was dreading what the rest of the week had in store for him.

Day two started with the trolley problem.

They walked into the classroom, and All Might had drawn the world’s worst diagram of the ages old thought exercise.

“I wasn’t sure what to cover today, and Principal Nezu suggested this. Can either of you explain what you see on the board?”

The lesson turned out better than the assembly with the Commission, but after that, Hitoshi knew he was in for an interesting week.

The second day at lunch, Hitoshi and Todoroki were sitting in their table together when another student pranced up to them. She had pink hair and a confident smirk on her face as she slammed her hands down on the table and looked at Hitoshi.

“I heard about your Quirk from one of my classmates, and I have something for you,” she said, and Hitoshi realized where he recognized her from. She was Hatsume, the student in the support course who had a tendency for blowing things up.

Todoroki answered first. “We aren’t really supposed to talk to other students right now.”

“Yeah, yeah. I don’t care about that. Or you. Purple haired guy, you’re the one I’m interested in. Now tell me, how would you like to have some support gear to help with your Quirk?”

“I’m not really sure what would help it. It’s pretty straightforward,” Hitoshi replied.

“Then you’re dumber than I thought. Here. Try this.” Hatsume reached into her bag and pulled out a metal device.

Hitoshi recoiled. The thing looked like a muzzle, and despite years of living in a safe home with Shouta and Hizashi, seeing the metal contraption instantly reminded him of the days where his mouth was muzzled or clamped shut so he couldn’t accidentally use his Quirk. “Is this some kind of joke?”

“Nope! Now put it on.” Hatsume shoved it towards him. “What are you waiting for?”

“This is a muzzle.”

“No, dummy. It’s a Quirk enhancer.”

“I’m really not comfortable-“

Hatsume huffed and drew the item back to herself. “Fine. If you don’t trust me, then let me show you.” She attached the contraption to her own face, then started spinning some dials. Once she was done, she dropped her hand and said in Shouta’s voice, “Here. My baby changes the wearer’s voice so that they sound like another person. You control people’s minds, right? So if they think you are someone else, you can trick them into responding to you even if they know your Quirk.”

Todoroki snorted. “Hearing Aizawa-Sensei’s voice say ‘my baby’ isn’t something I expected.”

“Please change it to another voice,” Hitoshi sighed.

“Fine, okay.” A pause. Then, in Midnight’s voice, she said, “How is this? You can change the dials to accommodate several different pitches and registers. It takes some time to get used to and mimic voices exactly, but I can show you some tricks to get started.” She began untying the mask, and when it was off, she passed it to Hitoshi and said in her own voice, “There’s also padding on it so that it won’t rub your face raw. I may be a crazy genius, but I’m still a genius, and I care about my clients’ comfort. Now take it. I need to head back to the lab.” She left the mask sitting on the table and ran off before Hitoshi could so much as thank her.

He stared at the mask for several minutes before reaching out to grab it. The metal was cold against his skin, but when he turned it, Hatsume was right about the padding. He let his hands run over it before putting the mask to his face and testing the feel.

The first breath felt like he was suffocating. The air inside the mask was stale, and he yanked it away from his face and stared at it again.

“Everything okay?” Todoroki asked.

Hitoshi nodded. “Yeah. Just a little claustrophobic.” He sucked in another deep breath and brought the mask back to his face. This time, he forced himself to keep it on his face as he fought through the first few breaths. It was difficult, but after a few, shaky breaths, he stopped feeling like he was suffocating, and he finally brought his hands back around to tie it to his face. With his hands free now, he brought them to the knobs and started toying with them.

The first few voices that came out were nothing short of nightmare fuel. Multi-tonal, robotic voices came out, followed by voices that were either inhumanly high pitched or rumbling so low that neither he nor Todoroki could make the words out. Finally, he dialed a knob up and tried his first successful voice.

“Let’s see- oh god, I sound like All Might.”

Todoroki smirked and covered his mouth with his hand. “Please take this to class and scare him.”

Hitoshi smirked under his mask. “He’s gonna hate this.”

All Might did not, in fact, hate the mask. Despite then initial shock of hearing his voice come out of another human’s mouth, he immediately grew excited and asked to see the device. Hitoshi handed it to him, and as All Might inspected it, he said, “Todoroki may remember my friend, David, and his daughter, Melissa, who work on I Island. They are professionals at creating support equipment. Shinso, who made this?”

“Mei Hatsume in the support course,” Hitoshi answered.

All Might beamed. “I hope Power Loader knows that his student is a genius. He should connect her with the Shields!” He passed the device back. “Take good care of this, young Shinso. I’m sure this will come in handy in the future.”

“Yes, sir,” Hitoshi responded, and he placed the mask back in his bag.

For the first time in these past few chaotic weeks, Hitoshi finally felt a burst of excitement. He smiled to himself, knowing exactly where this support gear could help him.

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On their last day of their ethics course, All Might decided to end class early.

“You two have done very well, and I spoke with Nezu this morning. He has agreed to let me take the two of you off campus to treat you to some celebratory boba,” All Might explained.

“But we were in this class as a punishment. Why would we be rewarded for completing it?”

“Because you excelled with flying colors, young Todoroki. And you have both gone through a hard time. I want to prove to you that you can still trust in your teachers to help you. Now hurry up; the restaurant closes in an hour and I am a slow walker.”

The boys followed their teacher out of the classroom and off campus. Despite the cool weather, it was nice outside, with the sun warming them up as they walked.

After paying for the boba, All Might told Todoroki and Hitoshi to wait for him outside while he ran to the restroom. They found a bench nearby and sat, enjoying their boba, until a stray cat crossed their path and Todoroki chased after it.

The cat was toying with him, letting Todoroki get close before running just outside of his reach and turning back to stare at him. Todoroki would slow blink at the cat, who would blink in response, but as soon as Todoroki would reach out a hand, it would run a few feet away again.

Hitoshi, meanwhile, stayed on the bench, sipping his drink. He scrolled through his phone and glanced occasionally at his classmate or at the other passerby. It had been some time since he had been around this many strangers, but he admittedly enjoyed people-watching.

Some kids were begging their parents to go to the boba shop, while a mother was pushing a stroller down the road. A couple teens around Hitoshi’s age were riding skateboards. Across the street, a woman was tugging on her purse while another man tried to pull it out of her grasp.

Hitoshi leapt to his feet as the woman screamed out for help. “Todoroki, get All Might!” He lifted his phone up and frantically started to dial the police. Just before he could press the call button, the phone sparked and shut off. The sudden jolt of electricity shocked his skin, and Hitoshi dropped his phone. The screen cracked on the sidewalk, but he didn’t have time to pick it up before the man advanced across the street, focus zeroed in on Hitoshi.

“All Might’s too weak to save you now. And I know people who would love to make use of your Quirk,” The man sneered. Electricity crackled in his palms, and Hitoshi realized what had caused his phone to short out.

Hitoshi bit his lip. I can’t use my Quirk, not in public and without a license. And if I do, this man could easily claim that I made him steal that woman’s purse. Plus, he already seems to know what it is. But how? He took a step back, but the man kept getting closer to him.

“What? You aren’t going to talk to me? Not going to try to use your Quirk on me?”

“Todoroki, hurry!” Hitoshi called out. When he turned back, the man was in his face.

“You won’t even attack me? Even though I robbed a woman right under your nose?”

Hitoshi continued to keep his mouth shut, knowing that if he tried to talk to this man, he would unleash his Quirk.

One more step and Hitoshi was backed into the bench. He fell back onto it with a thud, and the man was leaning over him. But before he could attack, something howled, and a blur of brown fur went flying onto the man, biting and scratching while the villain reeled back.

Todoroki stood stunned a few feet away, his arms held out as if something was just in them.

More yowling ensued, until the cat leapt off the man’s face and barreled for the nearest bush. All three individuals were frozen.

“Shinso, Todoroki-“ All Might’s voice cut off as he walked out of the boba shop, and the cheer in his voice died out. “Is everything okay?”

The man’s eyes bugged out as he caught sight of All Might. Despite his earlier taunting and the current shape of All Might’s body, he still seemed shocked to come face-to-face against the hero, and without another word, he fled.

“He was mugging a woman and then attacked me, sir. I tried calling the police, but he fried my phone,” Hitoshi explained.

All Might whipped out his own phone and sent something. “Go make sure that woman is okay. I will track down the villain while we wait for back up.”

“But you-“

“U.A. is close. One of the teachers will be here soon. I’m only making sure he doesn’t get away in the meantime.” All Might broke out into a run.

Hitoshi and Todoroki hurried across the street to the woman, who had her phone in her hand and was frantically crying.

“Ma’am, are you okay?” Todoroki asked. “Does he have your purse?”

“N-no. It’s- It’s here,” she stuttered out as she showed the purse she had clutched to her chest. “Are you heroes?”

“We’re hero students at U.A. The pros are on their way, but while we wait, can you tell us what happened to you?”

As the woman explained, Hitoshi and Todoroki listened while keeping an eye out for the pros. Sure enough, less than a minute later, Shouta and Midnight came barreling in, and Hitoshi paused long enough to point them in the right direction. Minutes after that, two police vehicles showed up, and an officer took over their conversation with the woman while a second one pulled the students to the side to get their statement.

But she had hardly started talking to Hitoshi and Todoroki when Shouta approached and pulled Hitoshi to the side.

“What,” he snarled, “are you doing off campus?”

“All Might took us to get boba,” Hitoshi tried explaining.

“No. I don’t care if he is with you, you do not go off campus without my explicit permission. You could have been killed. Was that man interested in your Quirk? Hitoshi, tell me. Now. Was that man interested in your Quirk?” Hitoshi’s eyes widened, and he couldn’t get a single word out. “Hitoshi!”

“Yes. Yes he was,” Hitoshi finally managed.

Shouta stepped back and dragged his hand over his face. “Goddamnit. Just like I thought. You. Stay here.” He turned and ran over to the officer who was still talking to Todoroki and pulled her to the side. Hitoshi couldn’t make out their conversation.

“Young Shinso, you did well today,” All Might said, and Hitoshi turned to face him. He was sweating and out of breath, but otherwise in one piece. “Don’t mind your dad. He’s just worried about you. I’ll make sure to apologize for taking you off campus.”

“You don’t have to,” Hitoshi tried, but All Might shook his head.

Todoroki walked over to join them, and All Might continued, addressing both of them, “I can see that you retained this week’s lessons well. You called the police, stayed calm, and did not engage with the villain using your Quirks. I commend you both for your good work.”

“I shouted too loud for Todoroki to go get you. He wouldn’t have heard me and attacked if I hadn’t,” Hitoshi said.

“But you still did the right thing, young Shinso.”

“I-“

“Here’s my final lesson for the week: learn how to take a compliment. Both of you.” All Might smiled at them, a twinkle in his eye, then turned away, leaving the two of them to return to giving their statements.

Something caught in the corner of Hitoshi’s eye, and he glanced back across the street. At the end of the block, rounding the corner, were a pair of individuals. One was tall and lanky with a hood hiding their face and hair, while the other was prancing along, blonde buns bouncing with each step.

Hitoshi’s eyes widened, and he pointed across the street. “Is that-?”

“What?” Todoroki looked over to where he was pointing, but the only person across the street was a tall redhead stepping over a mud puddle. She glanced over her shoulder, and upon making eye contact with Hitoshi, she winked. Then she was gone.

Chapter 6: Katsuki

Chapter Text

“Shigaraki, with all due respect, we can’t stay here much longer. It’s cramped and I’m bored,” Spinner complained as he draped himself over a broken chair. He fiddled with a Rubik’s cube that he’d already solved probably a hundred times in the past two days.

“He’s right,” Dabi added. “Toga and Twice have reported that the heroes aren’t too far from finding us. We need to disappear again.”

“Yeah! I’d say we have three days at best,” Toga agreed.

Shigaraki groaned and rolled his eyes. “Then find something. I don’t care.”

Katsuki stood in the corner watching the League members argue back and forth about moving plans. It had already been two days since the incident, and no one had come up with an escape plan yet. Katsuki was quickly beginning to regret his decision to stay with the League.

Especially since his reason for avoiding the heroes ended up with the League anyways.

Deku was still bound and gagged, only having the gag removed to be able to eat or drink. The first day, he had glared at everyone until noticing Katsuki, where his gaze turned into a look of pity that made Katsuki want to vomit. Since then, he’d tried to avoid the stupid nerd as much as he could when he was sharing a ten by ten room with eight other people, which meant that he stayed in the opposite corner from the League’s prisoner.

Sadly, it meant that Deku could easily stare at Katsuki from across the room.

Katsuki huffed and turned his attention back to the conversation. Shigaraki had given Toga and Twice permission to go scouting again, and Kurogiri was preparing a portal for them. Once the pair was gone, the room quieted down a good deal, and Katsuki could finally hear his own thoughts.

Based off what little light made it through the boarded up windows, it was night when the two villains returned, bright expressions on their faces.

“I found a nice place for us! It has four rooms and everything,” Toga announced.

“It’s already abandoned and well out of the way. I bet it has roaches!” Twice chimed in.

Shigaraki stood up. “No heroes in the area?”

“Nope! They won’t find us there for at least a week!”

“Good. Then let’s go. Spinner, Mr. Compress, please get our prisoner.” Shigaraki approached Kurogiri, who had already opened his portal. “We move quickly and quietly, and we don’t leave anything behind.” Then he stepped through.

Deku screamed and kicked out as the two men leaned down to grab him, and Katsuki gave him a disdainful frown before following Shigaraki through the portal.

He emerged in a room that was about as unkempt as the last, but this one had more furniture, as well as a hallway leading out of the room. Shigaraki was already standing in the room, Toga and Twice by his side, and as soon as the rest of the group joined, Shigaraki said, “Take our prisoner to the back room. I’ll bring the other prisoner shortly.”

Katsuki bristled as eyes landed on him. “The f*ck you mean I’m sharing a room with Deku?”

“You’re our prisoner too.” Shigaraki crossed his arms and faced Katsuki fully. “So we’ll keep our prisoners together.”

“Huh?!” Katsuki strode forward and got in Shigaraki’s face.

Shigaraki stared at him evenly as Spinner and Mr. Compress carried Deku out of the room. Once they were gone, he lowered his voice and said, “You want to prove yourself to us, right?”

“Not if it means sharing a room with that worthless twerp!” Katsuki screamed in his face.

“So…” Shigaraki lifted his hand and started picking his fingernails, “You aren’t with us? In that case, you really are a prisoner. Dabi, restrain him.”

“No! Wait! f*ck! Yes, fine, I’m f*cking with you or whatever. But can’t you stick him in a room with anyone else? Why me? I hate his guts!”

“Dabi, hold. It’s simple, Bakugo. Midoriya might still believe you are a prisoner of ours, so we’ll use that to our advantage. Convince him you’re on his side, then slowly get him to trust us.”

“Why me?”

“He infiltrated our base to save you. That kid idolizes you. Frankly, it disgusts me, but we can use that. He’s a danger to our mission, and I want it eliminated.”

Twice spoke up, “Hey, boss, what happened to killing him? That’s what All for One wanted, right?”

“We could kill him. That would be easy. Or we can use him. That’ll hurt hero society more. Have the Symbol of Peace’s little pet turn into a villain.” Shigaraki smirked.

Kurogiri replied, “You’re learning well, Tomura. I support this plan.”

Shigaraki flicked his finger and dropped it back to his side. “Or we can still kill him. I’m game for either. Bakugo, what do you think? Either you can share a room with him and recruit Midoriya, or you can kill him. The choice is yours.”

“You can kill him for all I care, but I’m not laying a finger on him. Now, are you gonna tie me up like I’m still your prisoner or what?” Katsuki glared at Shigaraki as he shoved his arms out in front of himself. He maintained his meanest look as the League watched him, but inside, his heart was pounding.

Kill him? They seriously want me to kill him? I hate the worthless Deku, and I’d do anything to get him out of my life, but kill him?

Shigaraki pushed Katsuki’s hands back down. “He’s already seen you untied. Dabi will escort you to your room, and you can come up with your own story to explain why. And if you fail, you can kill him. Am I clear?”

“Crystal,” Katsuki growled as rough hands grabbed his shoulders and spun him around. He let Dabi clasp the Quirk-suppressant cuffs around him again, then let himself be led down the hallway to the last room. Spinner was still standing guard outside, and he nodded to Dabi as he pushed Katsuki into the room and locked the door behind him.

Deku was still sitting in the room on the floor, and he was fighting against his restraints with little luck.

Katsuki rolled his eyes and strode over. He tugged the gag out of Deku’s mouth before backing up and taking a seat on the ground just out of his reach.

Deku bent over and began coughing. His eyes squeezed shut, and when the bout of coughs was over, he sat still for several minutes, just drawing in deep, shaky breaths. Once he recovered, he looked up at Katsuki and asked, “Kacchan, are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

“Relax, nerd. I’m fine.” Katsuki crossed his arms. “They wanted to recruit me, and as long as they think I’m on their side, I’m pretty much free.”

“What? Why haven’t you tried to escape?”

“I have. Calm your tit*. I’m not tied up anymore, but I still can’t go anywhere. I’m as stuck in this room as you are.”

“…Oh.”

“Oh? That’s all you have to say?” Katsuki snorted. “Typical dumb Deku.”

The room was silent for a few beats, until Deku began mumbling to himself. “So the League is trying to recruit people. That makes sense why we saw new villains at the attack on the summer camp. But how many are they trying to recruit? And how many have we caught? I should really start to keep track of everyone I see. I need numbers and faces. Names, too, if I can get them. And a location. I’ve been gone for at least two days by now, and All Might and Aizawa-Sensei have to be looking for me. Hitoshi too, if he’s okay. And then-“

“Shut up. Your rambling is annoying.”

Deku jumped. “Oh. Sorry. I’m thinking out loud again, aren’t I?”

“Do you even know how to think quietly?”

“Maybe not. Sorry.”

“Whatever.”

They lapsed into silence again. This time, Deku was definitely still thinking hard, based off the intense look in his eyes and his foot tapping on the ground, but he kept his mouth shut, and Katsuki leaned back against the wall and shut his eyes to block it out.

Eventually, Dabi returned to their room, food in hand. He tossed it to the floor and approached Deku, who was still deep in thought. Before the idiot could move, Dabi yanked him to his feet. Blue flame lit up his palms.

“Hey!” Katsuki shouted out, but Dabi sent him a careless smile before pressing the flame on Deku’s restraints and burning them away. The flame dissipated before touching skin.

“Can’t eat if you’re restrained. Sit down and let me get your ankles.”

Deku sat. “Can’t you just cut them off? That flame is dangerous.”

“Don’t feel like it. Now sit still unless you wanna be burned.”

Katsuki watched closely as Dabi burned the restraints away. Now all that was left was a pair of Quirk-suppressant cuffs.

“You know he’s Quirkless, right?” Katsuki snickered as Dabi passed by. “You don’t need those cuffs.”

Dabi stopped in the doorway. “I thought you knew him.”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” But the door was shut and locked before Katsuki could say anything else to the villain. He whirled around. “Deku, what the f*ck? You don’t have a Quirk!”

“Um, actually… I do. Have a Quirk.”

Katsuki boiled. “So you mean you’ve been faking all this time? Rubbing it in my face and making me look like an idiot? What kind of worthless piece of stupid trash do you take me for? Or are you pulling my f*cking leg right now? Making me think you had a Quirk this whole time to make me look bad. Cuz it’s not funny!”

“It’s true. I’d… I’d show you if I could.” Deku lifted the cuffs before letting his arms fall back into his lap.

“I’m not an idiot, you know! You can play all you want, but I know you. I know you, Deku, and you are Quirkless!”

Deku shrank back. “I’m not. I just got my Quirk late.”

“You really expect me to believe that?”

“Yes? It happens.”

“Like hell it does!” Katsuki turned and started pounding on the door. “Let me out of here! I’m not spending another minute with this lying piece of crap!”

On the other side of the door, he heard Dabi’s voice: “You know the rules, Bakugo.”

“f*ck you!” He slammed on the door again for good measure before stomping over to the bed. “And f*ck you too, Deku. You’re sleeping on the floor.” He flopped onto the dusty mattress and lied face down in the pillows.

“Okay.” Deku didn’t so much as complain at Katsuki’s demand, and Katsuki let out another scream of frustration.

“Stupid f*cking Deku,” He mumbled into the pillow.

A few minutes later, something crinkled, and Katsuki lifted his head. “What is that?”

The crinkling stopped. “Chips. You want some?”

Katsuki was tempted to refuse the offer, but his stomach was grumbling, so he sat up. “Fine.”

Deku was still sitting on the floor, but once Katsuki was facing him, he grabbed a second bag of chips from the bag Dabi had left them and brought it over to the bed. He perched at the far end and held out the food.

Katsuki grabbed it and ripped it open. Despite insisting on always eating healthy, the greasy chips felt delicious on his empty stomach.

“Kacchan?”

That stupid nickname again. “What?”

Deku sucked in a deep breath. “I will no longer tolerate you bullying me.”

“Huh?” A chip fell out of Katsuki’s mouth.

Deku continued, “You can hate me all you want. And you don’t have to believe me about my Quirk; as soon as we are free, I will prove that I’m not Quirkless. But either way, it shouldn’t matter to you, because I got into the hero course, and I am going to be the greatest hero there ever was.”

Katsuki snorted but said nothing.

“Anyways, what have you been doing?”

“Hm?”

“Since you didn’t get into U.A. You’re being homeschooled, right? But what else are you doing?”

“Trying to become the best damn hero in the world.”

“But you’re not in a heroics course.”

“I’m doing it my own way.”

Silence.

Katsuki smirked. Got him there. Nerd won’t have sh*t to say about that.

“Oh,” Deku finally whispered. “Oh!”

“Oh?” The f*ck is wrong with him? Oh what? Oh- Oh. Oh. Oh f*ck!

“You’re the Quirkless vigilante.”

“The what now?” Katsuki spat.

“The vigilante who was taking villains down without using a Quirk. We all thought they were Quirkless. Well, except for Todoroki. He thought it was you. I guess I owe him an apology once we get out of here, huh?” Deku laughed a little to himself.

Katsuki snorted. “That’s a stupid f*cking name. I just wasn’t using my Quirk so I wouldn’t get caught. The damn explosions are too easy to trace. So I’m honing the rest of my skills until I can take the provisional license exam and become a full hero.”

“But you have to have official schooling to become a hero.”

“And you have to have a Quirk to get into hero school.”

“I told you, Kacchan, I have a Quirk.”

“Yeah, whatever. I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“Kacchan, you can’t become a hero if you keep doing vigilante work. Can’t you just apply to transfer into a hero course at a different school?”

“I’m not going to a second rate hero school. I’m here to be a hero, not a sidekick.”

“Kacchan, you were caught by the League of Villains and have no way to escape. You have a lot to learn about becoming a hero.”

“Funny hearing that from you, Deku.” Katsuki rolled his eyes. “And you were caught too. What does that say about your schooling?”

“That I’m still in my first year and have a lot to learn, but at least prior to this I have had successful encounters against real villains.”

“So have I.”

“You’ve fought against petty criminals. I’ve fought the League of Villains. Three times.”

“Stop f*cking gloating.”

“I’m not. I’m just saying the facts.”

“Whatever.”

“Kacchan?”

“What.”

“About U.A.”

“What about it?”

“Um…” Deku paused. “Did you ever find out who reported you?”

“What? Are you asking to see if I’ve gotten proof it was you yet?”

“Kacchan, it wasn’t me. I swear.”

“Sure. Like I’ll ever believe you.”

“Kacchan…”

“Shut the f*ck up before I punch you.”

“It wasn’t me. I promise.”

“I told you to shut up.” Neither of them were looking at each other despite sitting side-by-side.

“I know you won’t believe me when I say this-“

“Then why say it?”

“Kacchan, let me finish.”

“Whatever.”

“For what it’s worth, I wish you got into U.A. All you’ve ever wanted is to be a hero, and you’re probably the most talented person I know. You deserved to be in the hero course.”

“Say another word and I’ll strangle you.”

Silence.

Katsuki lied back down on the bed and stared at the ceiling, ignoring the fact that Deku was right there.

The nerd has no right to say that to me. No. f*cking. Right.

Right?

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Katsuki was woken up by a loud knock on the door. He hardly had time to grunt and sit up before Shigaraki walked into the room.

“I’m sure you are wondering why we didn’t kill the two of you outright.”

“Yeah, I wonder,” Katsuki huffed.

“We want you to join us. Become a member of the League of Villains.”

Katsuki flipped Shigaraki off. Might as well have fun committing to the bit. “As if, Crust Face.”

“Crust Face? Really? That’s the worst you can think of?” Shigaraki sighed. “Alright, resist all you want. Just know that we can restrain you again any time we want.” To Midoriya he said, “How about you, Izuku Midoriya? Would you like to join us? Your hero has fallen, and you are all but presumed dead. The world was never built for someone like you.”

“No.”

“No? Hm, I knew you were a tough one.” Shigaraki moved closer to Deku and stretched his hand out so that it was inches from his face. “Remember, I can easily kill you. So why don’t we try that again? Will you join the League of Villains?”

“No.” Katsuki’s eyes flicked over to look at Deku when his voice shook, but he was holding on. “All Might still defeated All for One, and I know he’s coming to save me next. I will not join the League of Villains, even if you threaten to kill me.”

Shigaraki darted forward and grabbed Deku’s arm, only his pinky keeping him from holding him in a literal death grip. “Say that one more time.”

“N. O. No.” Tears sprang into Deku’s eyes, but still he held on.

Shigaraki’s pinky twitched, and Katsuki stiffened.

If this f*cker dares-

But before he could jump in, a new voice spoke from the doorway. “Hey, boss. I see you’re still trying to recruit heroes.”

“Who told you about our hideout, Hawks?” Shigaraki drew his hand away from Deku and turned around.

“The same person who tells me everything else. If you didn’t want Dabi sharing, you should have told him not to.” When Shigaraki advanced on him, Hawks lifted his hands in surrender. “Look, I’m not gonna give you away. You can find a new hideout if you want, but I’m here already, so why don’t you hear what I have to say?”

“Fine.” Shigaraki followed Hawks out of the room and slammed the door behind him as he went, leaving Katsuki and Deku in an uneasy silence.

Deku gingerly brought a hand to his arm where Shigaraki had grabbed him, but he said nothing as he continued to stare at the door.

A few minutes later, the door opened again, but this time it was just Hawks.

Hawks, the hero. Hawks, the person that women and men alike fawned over.

Hawks, the villain?

“You both look confused. Let me explain.” Hawks shut the door behind him and leaned against the doorframe. He folded his wings up behind him. “I’m a spy.” He lowered his voice. “For the Commission. I’m infiltrating the League of Villains.”

“That’s great!” Deku did his best to whisper. “So you’ll get us out of here, won’t you?”

Hawks sighed. “I wish I could, kid. But I can’t risk the mission.” He leaned back and scratched his head. “If they were torturing or trying to kill you, it would be different, but you’re safe right now. For whatever reason, they are keeping you alive and taking care of you.”

“Because they want to recruit us, dipsh*t,” Katsuki huffed.

“Kacchan! He’s a pro hero! Be nice.”

Katsuki only rolled his eyes.

Hawks kept going. “That brings me to my next thing. I have no idea why they want to recruit you, but they do. And I suggest playing along with it, at least for now. I will keep watch over both of you to make sure they don’t hurt you or put you in any compromising situations, and you can even try to collect some intel while you’re at it. Become a spy with me.” He winked. “And if you do well, I’ll see about getting you both an internship with me after this is all over.”

Izuku brightened and bounced on his feet as he tried to contain his excitement. Katsuki, however, was much more hesitant. He does know I’m not a hero student, right? Could this be my ticket into heroics?

Before he could ask Hawks anything, the door to the room burst open, and Dabi strode inside.

“Alright, Birdie. Time’s up. Boss may trust you, but I don’t want you alone with them.” He glared at the pro hero, and Hawks backed up.

“No problem-o, Dabi. Just trying to help get them on your side. You know how much hero students are indoctrinated to believe the Commission is a perfect, altruistic institution. I figured if they heard it from an actual hero, it might mean a little more.” Before backing out of the room, Hawks faced Katsuki and Deku once more and looked them each dead in the eyes as he said, “Midoriya, the Commission only serves you now that your Quirk has manifested. All they are going to do now is chew you up and spit you back out. And, Bakugo, it’ll be so much easier for you to deconstruct your prejudices outside the bubble of flashy Quirks and perfectionism. You might do well to actually listen to some of the guys around here. They have some good stories to share. Even Mister Master-of-Mystery Dabi here.”

Then he turned and left. Dabi spared one last look at them and grunted, “Shigaraki will be back in an hour to hear your final choice. If you want to live, I suggest joining us.”

Then the door shut, and Katsuki and Deku were left alone again.

Deku was first to speak. “Kacchan, you heard Hawks. He said that he only wasn’t going to save us if they weren’t going to kill us. And if we don’t join them, they will, so he’ll come save us. We have to stay strong and say no.”

“Dumbass. Didn’t you hear the rest of what he had to say? We could botch this whole mission for him. If we pretend to be on the League’s side, we can help him, buy him some time to get more intel before revealing himself. And do you really think he could save us right now, all by himself? Dabi would roast his feathers in a heartbeat, and neither of us can use our Quirks.” Katsuki held out his hands to make his point.

“No. I have to believe that he will help us. I don’t even want to pretend to be a villain.”

“Feather Brain promised to make sure we won’t do anything too bad. Deku, you’re not going to become a murderer by doing this. It’s just undercover work. Heroes do undercover work all the time.”

“Kacchan, why are you insisting so much? I thought you would hate to play villain even more than me. What happened to that? You’re not seriously listening to what Hawks said at the end, are you? The Commission is good. They’ll help us. Hawks will help us.”

“f*cking stupid Deku. Do you seriously hear yourself right now? The Commission isn’t some perfect f*cking thing. You of all people know how the Quirkless are treated. Plus, Hawks said we could get internships with him if we do this. Don’t you want that?”

But Deku looked heartbroken. “Kacchan, you think I don’t know that the Commission isn’t perfect? I do know. But they are doing their best to keep people like the League of Villains from destroying society and killing people. And if we continue to believe in them and the good that they do, we will be able to fix the Commission and people’s opinions on the Quirkless. And do you really believe what Hawks said is actually what he believes? He was standing in front of Dabi, trying to keep his cover. Of course he had to say something to disparage hero society. Besides, I’ve made a lot of stupid choices already, and I’m drawing the line at pretending to be a villain.”

“f*cking dumbass,” Katsuki muttered, before saying aloud, “Fine. Do whatever the f*ck you want. Die for all I care. But I’m going to save my own f*cking skin. Either you’re with me or you’re not, but I’m not gonna try to convince them to save you if you keep acting dumb like this, Deku.”

Stupid idiot is going to get himself killed. What is his problem? Doesn’t he want to live? Doesn’t he want to get an internship with one of the top heroes?

As he turned away, he realized, If he does make it out of here, he doesn’t need an internship with Hawks to become a hero. He still has other options. He can still be a hero.

With a huff, he dismissed the thought and started banging on the door. “Let me out of here, you f*cks! I’ll f*cking join you or whatever! Just let me out of this room with Deku before I go insane!”

A few seconds later, the door opened, and Shigaraki stood next to Dabi, smug smiles on both of their faces.

“Took you long enough. Is your friend coming along too?” Shigaraki asked.

“He’s not my friend. And he’s still thinking.” As Katsuki got closer, he whispered in Shigaraki’s ear, “I did the best I could, but he’s a f*cking stubborn idiot. So if he decides not to join you, don’t make me be the one to kill him. I’m sick of looking at him.”

He strode past and down the hall to where the rest of the League was hanging out in the living room. He spared one last look over his shoulder to see the two villains still standing in the doorway, talking to Deku.

Shigaraki looked annoyed, while Dabi was wearing the same aloof expression he had on most of the time, and Katsuki couldn’t tell what was happening or what Deku was saying.

He pinched his cheek. “Get the f*ck over yourself, Katsuki. What do you care if Deku joins the League? Don’t you want him to stop following you around like a lost puppy?”

“Hey, Bakugo! We’re about to play cards! Wanna join?” Toga poked her head down the hall and waved at him.

“Yeah, whatever.” Katsuki pulled himself from his thoughts and continued toward the living room. “And if I’m gonna be joining you, you might as well call me Katsuki.” He rolled his eyes and shoved his hands in his pockets.

Toga beamed. “OMG really? So we’re really friends now? I’m so happy! Oh, and you can call me Himiko, since we’re going to be friends!”

“No thanks. I think I’ll keep to my nicknames, Vamps.”

Toga squealed at that response. “Okay! I love nicknames too! Twice, did you hear my new nickname! I’m Vamps now! Isn’t that so adorable?” She ran off back into the living room, and Katsuki followed slowly behind.

Just before turning the corner, he stopped. Should I check on Deku? See what he decided? But before he could turn to look down the hall again, he stopped himself. Remember, you don’t care what happens to him.

Without another glance back, he strode into the living room and took a seat on one of the ratty cushions sitting on the floor, right in between Toga and Twice. They cheered as he joined, then Mr. Compress (Atsuhiro Sako, he insisted, now that Katsuki was a part of the team) dealt the cards, and the game night chaos began.

🥦
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🥦

Katsuki stormed out of the room, leaving Izuku to deal with the two League of Villains members on his own.

“So, what will it be?” Shigaraki asked. His arms were crossed, and he was still wearing the hands on his face and arms.

Izuku crossed his own arms and scowled. “Give me at least one good reason why I should join you.”

“I should have killed you instead of letting my stupid insubordinates-“

“Boss,” Dabi stepped forward and tugged Shigaraki back. “Let me.” When Shigaraki nodded, Dabi began talking to Izuku. “Look, I’m with Shigaraki on this. I don’t want anyone working with us that I don’t 100% trust. And having three people to keep an eye on is a lot. But my comrades decided to take you and bring you here, so I want to give them a chance. Besides, you look like a kicked puppy. We like to adopt kicked puppies.”

“I’m not-“

Dabi raised a hand to stop him. “We’ve done our research on you. You were bullied throughout your entire childhood. You barely made it into the hero course, and you have to fight to keep your place and be respected by outsiders. You’ll be lucky if you ever get internships or jobs. Chances are, you’ll be discarded like your friend out there. We all have tragic backstories here, whether or not we share them. You’re like us. You can help us rebuild society so that Quirkless people and us uglies,” he pointed to himself and Shigaraki, “can be treated like normal people. Join us and do that. We won’t even make you kill people. You can help bring people to our cause.”

The speech was convincing, but it only made Izuku sick to his stomach. Me, a villain? Tearing down society as we know it? Working for the people who served All for One?

“Join us or we kill you,” Shigaraki spoke up.

Izuku jumped.

“I’m itching to dust someone, so let me kill you and get this over with.”

“What? No! You’re not killing me.” Izuku took a step back.

“So then you’re joining us?”

“I-“ Izuku paused, his mind racing. I don’t want to die. All Might entrusted me with One for All, and if I die here, there won’t be anyone for me to pass it on to. This power will be gone. And I’ll never get to achieve my dream of being a hero. And Kacchan said he didn’t care what happened to me, but would he really be okay with seeing Shigaraki kill me? Why is he letting them turn him into a villain? I should be sticking around, protecting Kacchan. I can help Hawks too. I can do this. No killing people, no committing significant crime, just tagging along until Hawks can find a way to get us out of here.

“Fine,” Izuku finally said. His voice and arms shook, but he kept a straight face. “You’re right. I don’t want to die. So I’ll join you. But you have to show me why I should work for you. I need to know that I’m still doing something good to help innocent people.”

Shigaraki started to scoff, but Dabi elbowed him. “Good. Now come with us. It’s game night, and you’re going to get to know everyone here. Quirk cuffs stay on, and we’ll keep a close eye on you. Try to run away, and we’ll kill your friend. Got it?”

Izuku sucked in a deep breath. “Got it.”

And that’s the other reason to stay. To protect Kacchan from becoming a villain. I got into U.A.; I’m achieving my dreams. But he didn’t. And they’ll use that to their advantage.

He followed the villains down the hall and back into the living room, and for the first time, Izuku got a good look at all of the League members. They turned and stared as he walked into the room, eyes darting between him and Shigaraki. All the laughter Izuku had heard while coming down the hall was gone.

Katsuki’s eyes bored into him, and when Izuku turned to lock eyes, the blond’s face was uncharacteristically unreadable. They continued to stare at each other until Shigaraki cleared his throat.

“He’s with us for now. Deal him into your game, and enjoy it while it lasts. I’ve got jobs for everyone tomorrow. And make sure to introduce yourselves.” The moment the last word left his mouth, the tension in the room melted, and grins broke out across most of the villains’ faces.

“Hello! I’m Twice! Nice to meet ya. No! It’s terrible to meet you. I wish you weren’t here. And the name’s Jin. Twice is just my villain name.”

Toga batted him playfully. “Be nice, Twice. He’s our friend now! You know me as Toga, but since we’re friends now, you can call me Himiko!” She beamed.

Izuku scratched the back of his head. “I’ll… um… I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks.”

They continued around the circle, introducing themselves, until Dabi pushed Izuku forward and instructed him to take a seat. There was still space next to Katsuki, and Izuku found a spot to his left, ignoring the way that Katsuki flinched at the proximity.

If Izuku hadn’t known that these were some of the most dangerous villains in the country, he would have mistaken them for a normal group of friends. He always figured that in their free time, villains talked about killing people and kicking puppies, but this group didn’t do anything worse than threaten to stab each other when someone played a particularly good move in their game, and that was no worse than what his own friends did back at U.A. He could distinctly picture Uraraka threatening Iida or Kirishima complaining that Shinso’s move was “unmanly.” On the outside, this was no different.

This day ended much more quickly than the last, with the group laughing and joking late into the evening, only retreating when Shigaraki lumbered in and threatened to dust them.

The next morning, most of the League was gone when Dabi collected Izuku and Katsuki from their room. Shigaraki was the only other person there, waiting in the living room with arms crossed. The hand he normally wore on his face was sitting on the coffee table, but the rest were still adorned along his arms as he stared at the two teens.

“Come with me to the basem*nt. We’re training today.”

He pushed a moldy chair to the side and lifted up a hidden trap door. Dabi pushed the two forward, and they followed after him, down a ladder and into a basem*nt.

At first, it was completely dark, but Dabi lit a blue flame in his hand, and the room glowed in its cerulean light. The walls were stone and the floor dirt, and the basem*nt contained no furniture, save for a folding chair leaning against one wall. Shigaraki strode over and pulled it out.

“Midoriya, you’ll be working with me. Bakugo, you’ll be with Dabi,” he instructed.

Katsuki huffed but didn’t argue, so Izuku followed suite and headed toward Shigaraki.

“What are we doing?” Izuku asked. He stayed several paces away from Shigaraki.

“Training. Now attack me.”

“What?”

“You may be stupid and insolent, but you aren’t deaf. Attack me.”

“But you’re sitting down. Aren’t you going to get up first?”

Shigaraki rolled his eyes. “Just f*cking attack me. I hope you’re not waiting for every enemy to be ready to fight to try to take them down.”

“Okay…” Izuku widened his stance and drew his arms up toward his body. With the cuffs, he couldn’t summon One for All, but he sucked in a deep breath and imagined Full Cowling spreading into his limbs, then sent a punch toward Shigaraki.

The villain easily dodged it.

So Izuku tried kicking.

Once again, he missed. Shigaraki was now out of the chair and standing across from him, a smirk spread across his cracking face.

Before he could get annoyed, Izuku centered himself and thought, This is just like training with Aizawa. I am dealing with impressive speed and agility. I can do this.

This time, he was able to trick Shigaraki. He feinted and swept a leg around Shigaraki’s knee, sending him stumbling. But the villain managed to catch himself, and when he looked back up at Izuku, his eyes were wild and his grin wide as he said, “So you aren’t useless. Let’s go again.”

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Three days of training passed, each one with a different League member. Izuku was apprehensive, still waiting for the other shoe to drop, but he finished each day pleasantly exhausted and with new skills under his belt.

Katsuki seemed much the same, often times passing out on the other side of the bed before he could force Izuku to sleep on the floor. The third night, his eyes were bright when they walked back to their room, and he excitedly exclaimed, “You should have seen me, Deku. I f*cking roasted Vamp’s ass today. Those knife skills Spinner showed me are so f*cking cool. I can’t wait to pair that with my Quirk; I’ll be unbeatable!”

“Yeah?” Izuku plopped onto the bed.

“Yeah! Just imagine this: I’m sending blasts at a villain, and they are just expecting fire, but then BAM! Knives! Double whammy!” He splayed his palms out in front of himself and made explosion noises.

Izuku held back a laugh. “That’s really cool, Kacchan! Do you know what Mr. Compress- oops, Sako, taught me?”

Katsuki was still making explosion noises, but he didn’t stop Izuku.

“The trick to catching your enemy off-guard isn’t just about speed or power; it’s about finesse.”

“Yeah, sure. Nothing beats raw power.” More explosion noises.

“I thought that too. But this really works. I was able to knock Spinner off his feet, and he’s really strong!” He turned to face Katsuki. “I can prove it to you.”

“Tsk. As if. I’ll show you that power beats everything.” He leapt to his feet and grinned at Izuku. “Come and get me. Unless you’re too scared.”

“You’re on.” Izuku grinned back. He’d hardly gotten to his feet when Katsuki lunged for him, but he was prepared. His back foot shifted slightly, and he had just enough time to bring his arms out in front of him before Katsuki was upon him, arm outstretched. Izuku grabbed the arm and slung him over his shoulder, slamming Katsuki onto the ground and pinning him down in one go.

“What’s that you said about power beating finesse?” Izuku taunted.

But the playfulness had disappeared from Katsuki, and he shoved Izuku back as he scrambled back to his feet. “You were just lucky. Now shut the f*ck up and leave me alone.” He yanked the blanket off the bed and stormed off to the opposite corner. Izuku was left standing next to the bed, watching as his childhood friend turned his back on him. He couldn’t even muster the pride of getting a win against Katsuki as loneliness and confusion seeped back into his bones.

Katsuki’s bad mood followed him into the next morning, and when he and Izuku rejoined the League in the living room, he made sure to stand as far away from Izuku as possible.

“Bakugo and Midoriya have proven themselves not to be useless in training, so we’re taking them out on a trial run today.”

Izuku’s head snapped up.

Shigaraki continued. “Toga and Twice, Bakugo will be with you. Midoriya, you’ll come with Dabi and me.”

Izuku’s heart sank. Kacchan won’t be with me, so I can’t try escaping. He glanced over to Katsuki, trying to discern his thoughts, but the blond’s face was carefully composed.

Then he was gone, stepping through a portal with Toga and Twice, and Izuku was left alone with Shigaraki and Dabi.

Without Katsuki here, Izuku was hesitant to follow the two villains. They could take him anywhere, kill him and dump his body where no-one would find him for weeks. Or they could make him commit some heinous crime without Katsuki here to stop them.

“Relax. We’re just stealing some stuff from a dump site. Nothing dangerous and nothing particularly illegal,” Dabi laughed.

Izuku jumped. “Yes. Right. What do you need me to do?”

“Just follow us and do what you’re told,” Shigaraki instructed. “Kurogiri? We’re ready.”

Kurogiri nodded and opened up a portal for them. Shigaraki stepped through first, and Dabi signaled for Izuku to go before himself. As he was about to step through the portal, Kurogiri spoke. “There’s nothing for you to worry about. You’ll do great.”

Izuku paused and looked at Kurogiri. He gave a wordless nod, then continued through the portal.

Sure enough, when the dark fog cleared, Izuku found himself standing inside a barbed-wire fence. Vehicles, machines, and other trashed technology piled up around him. Shigaraki was a few paces ahead, already sorting through the trash.

When Dabi appeared behind Izuku, he said, “Start looking.”

“Looking for what?”

“Here.” He held out a piece of paper, and Izuku took it. Scrawled in messy handwriting, it held a long list of random items, from memory drives to various cords and scrap metal. Once Izuku read over it, Dabi snatched it back and stalked off to find his own pile to sort through.

As Izuku watched him go, the same feeling of familiarity he felt the other day washed over him. But no matter how long he watched the man sort through piles of trash, lifting items up and scrutinizing them with piercing blue eyes that matched the flames he made, Izuku couldn’t place from where.

Dabi glanced up and raised an eyebrow at Izuku. “What are you looking at? Get back to work.”

“Oh. Um. Right.” Izuku scrambled to start rummaging through the trash. “We need at least a dozen HDMI cords, right?”

“Right.”

A few minutes later, Izuku’s gaze lifted to watch Dabi again. He was examining some piece of tech, and Izuku could have sworn he’d see someone make that exact same face before.

This time Dabi didn’t even look up as he snapped, “I have scars. Get over it and stop staring.”

Izuku swallowed and went back to work.

“Hey, Dabi, look at this!” Shigaraki stood across the yard, one of the severed hands in his hand. It was holding a few wires, and Shigaraki laughed as he said, “I’ve got extra hands. I can carry more than you.”

Dabi gave him a deadpan look, one Izuku knew he had seen.

“Dabi?”

“What?” Dabi tilted his head and glared at Izuku.

“I’ve seen you somewhere before.”

Dabi stiffened, and Shigaraki stepped forward. “He’s a notorious villain and has been before joining my ranks. You’ve seen him in the news.”

“No, it’s somewhere else,” Izuku argued.

Shigaraki’s smile was gone. “You haven’t.”

“No-“

“Hush.” Dabi lifted a hand, but his attention was turned away from Izuku and Shigaraki. Seconds passed as he stared at the other side of the yard.

As Shigaraki and Izuku followed his gaze, they heard a voice call out, “Is someone there? This is government property, and you’ll be arrested for trespassing.”

“sh*t,” Shigaraki hissed. He ducked down and pulled out his phone, then dialed something.

“Hello? You need to come out now. You aren’t supposed to be here,” the voice called again.

“sh*t sh*t sh*t.” Shigaraki cursed under his breath as he continued to tap at his phone.

“What is it?” Dabi whispered.

“Kurogiri’s not answering.”

“We have to get out of here. Make him answer.”

“Stupid phone keeps ringing. He won’t answer.”

“Hello? I’m armed. You need to come out now.”

“Shigaraki, get Kurogiri on the line,” Dabi hissed.

“I’m trying!” Shigaraki hissed back. His hands shook as he dialed the phone again. Now they could hear the gates opening as the guard stepped into the yard and kept calling out. “He’s not answering, the useless piece of trash.” Shigaraki’s grip tightened around his phone, and it promptly turned to ash.

“f*ck. We’re not supposed to be drawing attention to ourselves.” Dabi rubbed his hands over his face. “Now we’re gonna have to kill this guard.”

“No!” Izuku cried, his voice louder than intended.

“Hey! Come out now!” The guard’s voice got closer.

Izuku’s hand clamped over his mouth. Dabi and Shigaraki glared at him, and flames lit up in Dabi’s hand, but Izuku was quick to recover. “Don’t kill him,” he lowered his voice again. “Follow me. We can get out of here and not leave a single trace.”

Shigaraki rolled his eyes, but Dabi straightened, gaze calculating as he watched Izuku. “Fine. Show us the way. But if this guy finds us, we kill him.”

“Okay, okay. Now hurry and follow me,” Izuku waved them on and turned to stalk away from the guard’s voice. Footsteps told him that the two villains were following. Quickly, they navigated around heaps of trash until they reached the fence. It loomed over them; there was no way they could climb over without getting caught, hurt, or both.

“Are you trying to get us cornered?” Shigaraki snapped.

Izuku whirled around to face them. “I can get us over the fence without leaving a mark. If either of you destroy the fence with your Quirks, it’ll be obvious, and we’ll have to relocate again. But I can get us out of here without doing that.”

“And how to you think you can do that? You’re a shrimp!”

Izuku held out his arms. “Take the cuffs off.”

“Absolutely not.”

“You can put them back on right after. But if I can use my Quirk, you can hold onto me while I jump us over the fence. Then you can put them back on and we can run.”

“You think I’m falling for that?”

“No. But you’ll have to hold onto me while we jump, so if I do something stupid, your hands are already there to dust me. And Dabi can easily burn me too. I’m trusting you not to kill me as much as you are trusting me not to turn you in.”

Shigaraki stared at him.

“Whoever you are, I need you to come out!” The guard’s voice was loud, too loud, and the three of them jumped.

“f*cking fine.” Shigaraki ran forward and pulled out a key from his pocket. It clicked into place, and the cuffs powered down. Dabi caught them as they slid off Izuku’s wrists, but Izuku could only focus on the power of One for All returning. He felt more awake than he had in days.

“Kid.” Dabi snapped his fingers in Izuku’s face. “Wake up and get us out of here.”

“Right.” Izuku looked away from his hands and held his arms out. “Grab on.”

Dry, cracking hands grabbed one arm while rough, scarred ones gripped his other, and with little time to warn them, Izuku powered up One for All and leapt into the air, over the fence, and back onto the ground on the other side. With the additional weight, he stumbled, but all three quickly found their footing and began running again.

“Dabi, text Kurogiri and tell him where we are,” Shigaraki gasped as they ran.

“Already on it,” Dabi replied.

They turned to duck between some trees, but a large, black portal opened up and swallowed them whole before they could even react.

And then they were back in the League’s hideout, like nothing had happened and they weren’t just in a government waste facility.

Rough hands grabbed Izuku and clamped the cuffs back on him, and his power seeped out of his veins once more. But Izuku’s mind was whirring and his heart pounding too hard to notice or care.

He whirled around on Dabi. “I know where I’ve seen you. You look just like my classmate, Todoroki.”

By the way Dabi flinched, Izuku knew he’d struck gold.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Me, look like the Number Two hero’s kid? Psh.” Dabi huffed.

Shigaraki cackled. “Hah! Dabi, you should see your face! And that’s the Number One hero now. Bahaha! What is it, the eyes? The grumpiness? This is priceless.”

But Izuku was serious. “It is. You have the same eyes. And your expressions: it’s like I can anticipate some of the ways you’ll react even though I don’t know you.”

“You’re crazy,” Dabi argued.

“I’m not. If I had a picture of him, I could show you and-“

“I’ve got footage of the sports festival right here,” Shigaraki offered and held out his phone.

Izuku snatched it up and pressed play. “Right here. The way you two react when you’re concentrating. You furrow your eyebrows. And here. That blue is unmistakeable. I’ve never seen it in anyone else. Then there’s that position, and the way you draw a defensive stance.”

“Has anyone told you that you’re a creep?” Dabi deflected.

“I’m an analyst. I study every hero and villain I meet. Just ask Kacchan; I have collections of journals. But that’s beside the point.” Izuku didn’t falter as he paused on another segment of the film. “Can someone give me a pen and pad of paper?”

“Shigaraki, are you really letting him do this? First, you’re letting him use your phone. Now you’re giving him something to write with? Help me out here, or I swear I’ll incinerate you both.”

“You respect me too much to do that.”

Izuku ignored their squabbling and tore the pad of paper from Shigaraki’s hands. He frantically started scribbling down notes while Dabi continued to threaten him. “Dabi, there’s so many similarities. Are you sure you aren’t Todoroki’s cousin or something? Maybe an illegitimate child of Endeavor?”

Dabi sputtered. “The f*ck?”

“Illegitimate child of Endeavor,” Shigaraki snickered and snatched the phone and paper from Izuku. He scratched his face as he poured over the notes. “You know, he’s got a point. These are creepily similar.”

“You’re really falling for his stupid antics? What happened to wanting to kill him? We can still go back on our plan and do that.”

“Dabi.” Shigaraki’s smile faded, and he stared at the other villain. “Midoriya brought up some good points. And as the leader of the League of Villains, I think I have a right to know; are you secretly undercover for Endeavor? Is that why you were so easily trusting of Hawks?”

“First off, I am not easily trusting of Hawks. Second, how dare you think I would work on the side of that asshole? Endeavor is an abusive piece of sh*t that deserves to suffer and die.” Blue flames ignited in Dabi’s palm, and Izuku had to stumble back to avoid getting burned. The sudden heat made him blink.

“So you do know him.” Shigaraki held his ground.

“Yeah. You can say that. You can say that I know him. That I spent years under his roof, being tortured, then years after that being cast aside and ignored, despite the power I held. The moment I became worthless to him, the moment he learned that I couldn’t be his perfect progeny, he threw me out. You’d think I was last year’s Easter clothes, the way he forgot about me. The disgust in that man’s face when I tried to show him how good I was. He taught me my place every day. Proved that I was worthless and not worth the perfect hero’s time. But little did he know that I trained. I got powerful. I learned. I see now how flawed hero society is, how it takes in the pretty, polished people and casts the rejects aside. If your Quirk isn’t bred for perfection, then you are nothing. Nothing in the eyes of Endeavor, and nothing in the eyes of everyone else. So yeah, you can say I know Enji Todoroki, the world’s worst father.”

For several heartbeats, the room was silent.

Then Dabi added. “I’m the dead Touya Todoroki, the discarded child-turned-sob story for the Number One hero. And neither of you will breathe a single word about this to anyone else. Understood?” The flames dissipated from his hands, but the temperature in the room was still suffocating.

Finally, Izuku managed to gasp out, “Todoroki told me his dad was kind of an asshole, but-“

“I don’t give a sh*t what Shouto has to say about Endeavor. He’s following in his footsteps, becoming a sheep who doesn’t question how the world works. He can f*cking burn for all I care.”

Shigaraki held a hand up, and Dabi stopped talking. The leader of the League was grinning maniacally when he said, “Dabi, your secret is safe with us. I’m glad you told me, really.”

“Don’t breathe a word of it to any of the other members.”

“I promise I won’t. And Midoriya here won’t either, right? We don’t want your friend finding out about Dabi’s little secret. I’m not sure I could stop him from burning anyone alive who learns our secret.”

Izuku gulped. “I won’t tell Kacchan. I promise.”

Shigaraki’s smile softened, but his eyes glinted when he replied, “That’s a good little villain in the making.” He reached out, and Izuku flinched when the villain patted him on the head. “Now, I believe some of our friends will be returning soon, so why don’t you be a good boy and head back to your room?”

“Yes, sir.” Izuku didn’t argue as he scurried back to his room and shut the door.

It felt much emptier in here when he was alone. Despite the boarded up window and lack of proper lighting, the room expanded in all directions around him, and Izuku fidgeted while he paced around the room. Thoughts whirled around in his brain.

Todoroki never mentioned having a deceased brother. But why would he, Izuku? That’s a sensitive topic, and I don’t even know him that well. And Endeavor- he’s the Number One hero now. How can someone like that become such a high ranking hero? He’s nothing like All Might. But he’s one of the best in the game at taking down villains and lowering crime rates. If he wasn’t there to take All Might’s torch, then where would we be? When I get out of here, I need to talk to Todoroki. And All Might. If I tell him everything, he’ll know what to do.

The door opened, and Izuku’s attention snapped to the newcomer. Katsuki walked in, sweaty and exhausted but no worse for wear, and he plopped down onto the foot of the bed.

“What’re you looking at?”

“Kacchan-“ Izuku stopped himself. I can’t tell him about Dabi. If he even listened long enough to what I have to say.

“What?” Katsuki snapped.

“I- uh, nothing. You look tired. Did everything go okay today?”

Katsuki shrugged. “Dunno how these idiots are such prolific villains. They’re dumber than a box of rocks.”

“I take it your mission didn’t go much better, then?”

“Psh. The only reason they weren’t caught was because of me. How stupid is that?”

“Same here.”

Katsuki’s eyes darted up to look at Izuku. “Really?”

“Yeah. I mean, Shigaraki and Dabi aren’t idiots by any means. I think they’re really keeping this League together. But we were almost caught by a security guard and I had to use my Quirk to get them out.”

“Your Quirk.”

Izuku frowned. Katsuki still didn’t seem to believe him. If only he could ask Shigaraki to remove his cuffs again to show Katsuki that he wasn’t lying.

Then it hit him.

“Kacchan, I know you still don’t believe that I have a Quirk, but I’m going to prove it to you once and for all.”

“And how do you propose you do that?”

“Follow me, and I’ll show you.”

Chapter 7: Katsuki

Chapter Text

Katsuki grumbled as Deku led him down the hallway. Toga and Twice were still in the living room, bickering about their botched mission, while Dabi and Shigaraki were glaring at them. Kurogiri had already left again, and Spinner and Sako had yet to return.

Deku ignored the argument and pointed to Dabi. “You have footage of me using my Quirk at the Sports Festival. Show it to Kacchan.”

Dabi raised an eyebrow. “Why would I do that?”

“Because Kacchan still doesn’t believe I have a Quirk, and I know you won’t let me take off these cuffs to show him.”

“Hmm,” Dabi tapped his chin. “Let’s see… Do I really want to do that?”

Katsuki smirked. “You can cut the crap already. I know Deku doesn’t have a Quirk, so you can stop playing his little game.”

Dabi made eye contact with Shigaraki while Toga stifled a grin and Twice chewed on his fingernails. Katsuki swelled with satisfaction. Serves him right. The League’s finally gonna make Deku look stupid for this act he’s trying to pull.

“Yeah, why not.” Dabi finally shrugged and fished around in his pocket for his phone. He scrolled through it for a few seconds before flipping it around and passing it to Katsuki. “Just press play.”

Katsuki didn’t hesitate to start the video, his smirk wide as someone with an annoying voice announced, “Hey, there, listeners! We’re back with another match in the semi-finals! This time, Izuku Midoriya of Class 1-A is facing his classmate, Shouto Todoroki, also of Class 1-A!”

Katsuki snorted. “Todoroki? As in, Endeavor’s son? I knew you were going to lose this, Deku, but you could have mentioned how you’d been creamed.”

“Just keep watching, Kacchan.” Deku rolled his eyes.

Katsuki brought his attention back to the video. “-and the timer has begun! Let’s see what they are up to now.” The speaker stopped talking for the time being, and the video panned over to the arena. Deku stood at one end, and Todoroki faced him on the other. Katsuki quickly decided he liked the weird-looking, half-and-half kid, because he wasted no time in making the first move against Deku.

And his last move,Katsuki thought. What can Deku even do against that?

But the camera focused on Deku as he held out his arm. His fingers began to glow red, and just before the ice reached him, he flicked the air.

Katsuki couldn’t help but laugh. He’s going to flick the ice? Like that’ll do anything.

Crrrrack! The massive sheet of ice stopped just short of Deku before exploding into hundreds of shards and flying backwards, nearly sending Half-and-Half stumbling backwards.

The announcer said something, but Katsuki hardly heard it as he watched another wall of ice rush towards Deku. Once again, the Quirkless student flicked the air, this time with another finger- why is his first finger so bruised?- and blocked the attack. This happened twice more before Half-and-Half rushed at Deku and took a swipe at him.

Whatever’s going on, this bastard has to have an advantage on Deku at close quarters. But no, Katsuki was wrong again, and after successfully dodging the attack, Deku’s whole arm glowed red, and he landed a punch that sent sand and ice flying as his opponent was forced backwards.

How the hell is Deku doing this? Katsuki’s eyes were wide as he cast a quick glance up at Deku then returned his attention to the video.

And it just kept going. More sheets of ice. More blocks. More and more of Deku’s arm became bruised as he continued to block attacks with this insane and unknown power.

And with each blast of Deku’s Quirk, Katsuki’s blood boiled more and more.

“Watch the phone. I don’t have the money to replace it,” Dabi warned.

“Shut the f*ck up,” Katsuki hissed. His eyes narrowed as Deku and the Half-and-Half bastard started yelling at each other, words impossible to make out through the cameras. And then Deku landed several hits, several actual hits on his opponent, sending him flying toward the edge of the arena. Deku was about to win.

Katsuki couldn’t watch any longer. He shoved the phone back into Dabi’s awaiting hands and rounded on Deku. “The f*ck do you think you’re doing, huh? Hiding this Quirk? Making me look stupid while you had this power all along? And just the other night you let me think you were joking! What’s wrong with you? Answer me, Deku!”

He wished Deku would flinch back and cower like he used to do. But this Deku was hardly recognizable as green eyes hardened and he snapped back, “I wasn’t hiding anything from you, Kacchan. My Quirk manifested late.”

“When?”

“At theentrance exam, actually. That’s why you haven’t seen it.”

“You expect me to believe that, hah?”

Deku motioned to Dabi’s phone. “You saw it. I’m still learning to control it. It’s not mine. Not yet, anyways.”

“What the f*ck, Deku? First, you get me banned from U.A. Then you hide your stupid, new Quirk from me? And now you’re telling me that you can’t even use it right? You really are useless. Useless Deku with a useless Quirk.”

“Hey-“ Deku started to argue, but before he or Katsuki could say anything, Toga pushed past Deku and got up in Katsuki’s face. All signs of her bright smile were gone, and her eyes were twice as deadly as they normally were.

“Watch it, mister. I don’t know what kind of home you were raised in, but here in the League of Villains, we treat each other like family. And that means we don’t judge each other’s Quirks. So you need to accept the fact that your friend has a Quirk now. We’re equal here, got it?”

She was several inches shorter, but even Katsuki knew to take a second to check his anger and bite back an angry response.

Behind Deku, Twice raised his hands and cheered, “Go, Toga! Just leave them alone, would you? Let them fight it out.”

Katsuki tilted his head. Then he turned and locked eyes with Deku. “Let’s fight. Show me your Quirk. Prove it to me.”

“Did you listen to a word I said?” Toga screeched.

Shigaraki raised a hand, and she backed up. “Toga, leave them alone.”

“You’re not going to do this, are you? It’s reckless! No! Let them fight it out! Fight! Fight! Fight!”

“Dabi, call Kurogiri. We’re going to need a secure place.”

“What about the basem*nt?” Dabi asked, but he was already dialing Kurogiri’s number.

“I want them to let it all out. See what they can really do. And I’d rather not lose our home in the process.”

This time, when the portal appeared in the corner of the room, Katsuki didn’t stop to ask where they were going; he strode directly over to it and was the first to step through. Shigaraki followed next, with Deku right behind him. Then the portal snapped shut, leaving Katsuki, Kurogiri, Deku, and Shigaraki alone in a massive, empty room. Katsuki didn’t pause to take in his surroundings outside the basic vastness and darkness of the space. He held his arms out.

“Take the cuffs off. We’re using our Quirks.”

Shigaraki grinned as he unlocked the cuffs. The clatter echoed across the massive room as they toppled to the floor, quickly followed by the sound of Deku’s cuffs coming off.

Katsuki’s smile was feral as he faced Deku. Arms outstretched, he taunted, “Come and get me, Deku. Show me what you’re made of.”

He knew what was coming when Deku raised his own arm. Katsuki dug his heels into the ground, and when Deku flicked his finger, strong air rushed around Katsuki.

But it wasn’t as strong as he was expecting. This was nothing like what he saw in the video.

“Are you holding back? I can take it. Throw everything you’ve got at me!” And he rushed at Deku.

This time, Deku was prepared. He easily sidestepped Katsuki’s attack and grabbed his arm, slinging him over his shoulder and throwing him onto the ground. It was much harder than the time they tussled the other day, and the wind was knocked out of Katsuki’s lungs. He cursed.

Katsuki was slow to scramble back to his feet, and Deku managed to land a kick on him. But before he could kick him again, Katsuki whirled around and shot out a few explosions from his palms. Sweat was really beginning to build up now, along with his excitement, and Katsuki grinned as Deku stumbled back to avoid the blows.

As long as I keep this fight at long range, Deku can’t get a hit on me. Not unless he ramps his power up. Katsuki sent another explosion Deku’s way as he stood, but Deku blocked them as well. The closest one grazed past his cheek, barely scathing the freckles.

Then Deku darted towards Katsuki, and he hardly had enough time to sidestep, launching himself to the left with his Quirk, before Deku was by his side. Another kick landed against his side, and Katsuki grunted.

But he quickly realized that the kick was like any other he’d experienced. It lacked none of the power Katsuki saw in the video. His eyes narrowed and his blood boiled as he spun around and punched Deku in the shoulder.

“You aren’t using your Quirk!” He blamed.

“I am. But I don’t have to use all of it all the time,” Deku responded as he blocked Katsuki’s next blow. His eyes were just as wild as Katsuki’s, laser-focused as he matched Katsuki blow-for-blow. He dodged explosions and came at Katsuki with swift kicks and light punches that would leave small bruises and nothing more the next day.

“You aren’t gonna beat me like this, Deku. And I’ll f*cking kill you if you don’t give it your all! What’s the point of your Quirk if you don’t f*cking use it?” Boom! Boom! Boom! Three explosions in quick succession.

“I’m,” he breathed in heavily as he dodged the first explosion, “trying,” he flinched as the second explosion grazed his arm, “to,” the third explosion sailed over his head and slammed into a wall somewhere behind him, “not hurt myself!”

“Quit with the f*cking lies and fight me with all you’ve got!” Katsuki screamed back. His palms glowed red as he ran at Deku.

f*ck! He remembered too late that Deku could read that move so well, and before he could react, he was on the ground again, his arm pinned to his side.

Deku glared down at him as he snarled, “I’ll hurt myself if I do.”

“Like f*ck you will. You’re just saying that to make me feel better. But I won’t lose to someone half-assing their fight, you hear?” Katsuki brought his knee swiftly upwards, catching Deku between the legs and sending him stumbling backwards. Before Deku could recover, he sent a few blasts near his head to knock his hearing out of sorts, then took his chance to swipe Deku off his feet. But instead of pinning him down, he launched himself backwards and waited for Deku to recover.

“Come and fight me with your whole Quirk, Deku!”

Deku clutched his stomach as he stood. “I won’t do that, Kacchan.”

Katsuki’s vision turned red. “There’s no better time for you to show me what you’ve got, nerd! You say you have a Quirk, so show me your damn Quirk! I want a real fight!”

“You sound just like a villain I fought not too long ago.”

“Hah?!”

“That’s right, Kacchan. You sound just like Muscular. All he wanted was to fight. To find the strongest person and beat them up. He was willing to kill people, hurt children if it meant besting someone in a fight. And you sound just like him.”

“The f*ck? I’m not like some stupid villain! I’m the Explosion God! And all I want is for your dumb ass to stop treating me like some idiot and fight me! If you want to prove you have this Quirk so bad, then prove it. Hit me, Deku!” He slapped his chest. “Just one punch with a hundred percent of your power. Right here.”

“No, Kacchan. It could kill you.”

Katsuki snorted. “I f*cking doubt that. Now hit me!”

“Kacchan.”

“I can take it.”

A long sigh. Katsuki stood in place as Deku made his way toward him, pace slow as he approached. Something dark clouded Deku’s eyes as he made eye contact with Katsuki and said, so quietly that only Katsuki could hear, “One for All, Full Cowling: ten percent.” His leg glowed, and he sent a right hook directly into Katsuki’s chest.

One second Katsuki was standing there, staring at Deku. The next, he was slamming into a wall. As he slid to the ground, stars circled around him, and he fought the urge to vomit. But he couldn’t give in just yet.

“Ten percent? Really? I told you to use it all.” He glared at Deku. Even now, he’s still looking down on me, acting like I can’t handle his full power. Well guess what. I’ll f*cking surpass you, Deku. I’ll become stronger than you and show you your place.

Adrenaline rushed into his veins, blocking out the pain and dizziness, and when Deku approached, Katsuki launched himself forward, taking Deku by surprise and pinning him down on the ground. Hands scorching hot, his palms dug into Deku’s bare skin, threatening higher temperatures as Deku fought back. Then Deku kneed Katsuki between his legs, and the tussle began anew. One minute, Katsuki was on top, the next it was Deku.

He wasn’t sure if the feral screams were coming out of his mouth or Deku’s or maybe both as they continued to fight, pushing each other into the ground and him sending out explosions. Each time Katsuki caught sight of the glowing red that indicated Deku’s Quirk, he dodged. Sometimes, he avoided the hits, and others, he was knocked back into the ground. But he wouldn’t let Deku stay on top long, and soon, both of them were scratched up, bruised, and bleeding.

Breath ragged, Deku shouted as he slammed Katsuki into the ground again, “You want to see what a hundred percent of my Quirk does?”

“Duh! That’s what I’ve been saying this whole damn time! Are you stupid?” Katsuki growled. He squirmed against Deku’s hold, chest aching, and glared at his captor.

“No! But according to you, I am, so here it is. Here’s a hundred percent!”

Katsuki braced himself as Deku sat up and held his hand out. The glowing concentrated itself in one, single finger.

Before he heard the blast, Katsuki felt the emptiness in his ear, followed by incessant ringing. Then came the pain.

Dust billowed around him, and for a few seconds, Katsuki couldn’t tell where it was coming from.

Finally, he could move his head again, and when he turned it to his left, he found a gaping hole in the concrete. It was nearly six inches wide, and deep enough that he couldn’t see the bottom of the hole through the darkness.

And when he turned to face Deku, the green-haired teen was gasping for breath, staring forward at the hole while he continued to hold his arm out.

His finger was quickly turning dark purple.

Deku recovered first, and he cradled his finger to his chest.

When the finger disappeared from view, Katsuki blinked back into focus and pushed Deku off of him.

“What the f*ck was that? You blew my eardrum!” His own voice sounded warbled as he scrambled to his feet and clamped a hand over his aching ear. He wouldn’t have been surprised if he pulled his hand away to find blood leaking from his ear, but he was still too focused on Deku to check.

Surprisingly, all fight had left his body, and tears welled up in Deku’s eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you.”

Katsuki opened his mouth to bark back a retort, but he couldn’t think of anything to say, and his mouth hung open as he searched for words that wouldn’t come.

Then, out of the dust and the silence, came a slow, drawn out clap.

Shigaraki emerged from the darkness. His hands dropped to his sides, and he said, “You forgot I was here, didn’t you?” When they didn’t respond, he continued, “You did good today, but I would rather you didn’t hurt each other too badly. We don’t have health insurance, and we’re not exactly welcome in hospitals. Now, let’s get back home and treat those injuries. I’ve got some good uses for you after this.”

Katsuki’s stomach churned, and judging by the green in Deku’s face, he felt similarly.

What did he mean by that? Good uses? sh*t. I forgot who we were fighting in front of.

The portal swallowed him back up, and he hardly noticed as he was dragged over to the musty couch and sat down. Soft hands wrapped bandages around his arms, wiped sweat and blood from his face, and placed gauze over his ear.

“Be thankful your burns aren’t too bad. But what happened to your finger?” Dabi’s rough voice caused Katsuki to turn his head, and the villain was crouched in front of Deku, applying salve to several spots along his wrists and arms.

The finger in question had swollen to twice its size, and the purple was nearly black now. Katsuki grimaced.

But Deku seemed hardly fazed, and he replied, “Like I said earlier, my Quirk manifested late. I’m still experiencing kickback.”

“So don’t use a hundred percent of your Quirk. Find an equilibrium that doesn’t destroy your body.”

“I was trying to,” Deku glared over at Katsuki before continuing, “but Kacchan wanted to see my whole power. This was the most I could do without hurting myself more.”

“That’s smart, concentrating it into such a small area. It’s just like in the Sports Festival against Sh- Todoroki. But you can only break your fingers so many times before the damage becomes irreparable. Take it from me.” Dabi motioned to the scars covering his body.

Deku seemed to perk up at that. “Do you think you could show me?”

“Show you what?”

“How to control my Quirk better. I know your Quirk is more similar to Kacchan’s, and you’ve done a lot to train him, but your Quirk hurts you, just like mine does. So can you help me find a way to use more of my power without hurting myself?”

Dabi shrugged and sat back. “Yeah, sure. But it won’t be easy. And we won’t start until you’re healed up.”

“Thank you, Dabi!” Deku brightened.

Dabi rolled his eyes. “You’re all bandaged up. Keep your finger in that splint for a week or two, and don’t try using your Quirk on it. Now go back to your room, both of you, and try not to kill each other. I’ve had enough adventure for one day.”

Katsuki grumbled as he pushed Toga away from him and started back toward his room. Deku trailed behind him, and as they left the room, Katsuki could hear Dabi saying, “You think the doc has any healing Quirks lying around, Boss?”

“He might, but I doubt it. All for One usually tries to throw those kinds of Quirks out,” Shigaraki responded.

Katsuki shivered, but he didn’t turn back to ask what they meant. He’d heard a few things about the infamous All for One; he was the League’s elusive boss who could steal Quirks from people, but he’d been out of action for weeks now, ever since All Might took him down in a fight. The villain now presided in Tartarus, the most secure prison on this side of the world.

Which begged the question: what was the League even doing now? And what was keeping them together?

But Katsuki was too tired to think about this for long, and once he was back in his room, he flopped onto the bed and let out a sigh. The mattress squeaked as Deku sat down on the other side of the bed.

“Man, we stink.” Deku let out a soft laugh.

Katsuki rolled his eyes. “We’ve stunk for days, Deku.”

“I know. But I’m really starting to notice it now. Maybe we can ask Kurogiri for new clothes tomorrow. I’m sure the other League members are ready for new clothes too… Man, I miss Yaomomo.”

“Who’s that?”

“One of my classmates. Her hero name is Creati, and she can create anything she knows the chemical compounds for using the lipids in her body. She’d already have a whole new wardrobe by now.”

“Assuming the League would let her use her-” Katsuki paused.

“What is it?” Deku asked.

Katsuki lifted his hands in the air and stared up at them. His wrists were still a little red but otherwise bare, and the moment he concentrated on it, he could feel the power of his Quirk thrumming through his veins.

“They didn’t put our cuffs back on,” Deku answered himself before Katsuki could say a word.

Katsuki dropped his hands back by his sides. “Are they dumb or what?”

“I think it’s a sign they trust us. This is good!”

“This is good!” Katsuki mimicked. “This means they’ll be watching us even harder. One wrong step and we’re toast. You’re gonna have to do a better job at playing villain, Deku.”

“Clearly I’m doing fine if they are letting me use my Quirk now.”

“Whatever.” Katsuki sighed. “Why’d you call your Quirk “One for All?””

“What?” Katsuki heard a loud thump as Deku fell off the bed.

“One for All. When we were fighting earlier, you said ‘One for All: Full Cowling’ or some sh*t. So what does that mean?” And why does it sound so similar to All for One?

“What? No, that’s not it at all! It’s just a move, ya know? Not the name of my Quirk.”

“Then what is the name of your Quirk?”

“What?”

“You heard me. What’s the name of your Quirk?” Katsuki tilted his head back so that he could see Deku climb back onto the bed, eyes wide and darting from side to side.

“Oh! Um, it’s uh super-strength, you know? You saw it.”

“Uh-huh. Super-Strength.”

“Yep.”

“Then explain how it works.” Katsuki rolled over to get a better look at him.

At that, Deku seemed to brighten a little. “I can activate my Quirk in a certain part of my body on command and channel the strength through it. It can be as small as my finger or as much as my whole body. Because I got it so late, I’m still learning how to balance it.” He lifted his hand. “If I use too much at once, it’ll break my bones. All Might is teaching me how to use my Quirk better. See, it’s kind of like an egg in a microwave. You can’t heat it up too long or it’ll explode. If I channel too much of O- too much of my Quirk at once, I’ll hurt myself. I have to find a way to use a certain percentage of it, one that has the desired effect while keeping my body intact. That’s why when I hit you I only used ten percent. And that was even pushing it a little. I can currently only use about eight percent consistently, and it’s safer in my legs, but I’m working on building up my stamina. Before the League kidnapped me, I was working with Aizawa-Sensei to hone in my reflexes. With my Quirk in the state that it’s in, I can only do so much with it; if I’m going to be a great hero, I’m going to have to expand my other skills. And- oh, I’m rambling now, aren’t I?”

Katsuki snorted. “How many times did you have to break your fingers to figure that out?”

“A lot. And not just my arms: at the entrance exam, I broke both arms and legs trying to save another student. That was the moment my Quirk manifested.” He sighed and ran a hand along his other arm. Slowly, he grabbed the end of the sleeve and tugged it up his arm. “Here. There’s more damage beneath, to the bone. Recovery Girl is amazing, but she can only do so much. She mends bones and heals cuts, but there can still be lasting damage. The more times I break my bones, the easier it becomes to break them again.”

Katsuki couldn’t help but flinch when Deku revealed the long, dark scars littering his arm. If he hadn’t known better, he would have thought they’d been there for years, but he knew what healing Quirks could do. The skin around the scars looked feather light, a stark contrast against the dark, harsh stripes snaking around Deku’s arms. Then his eyes flicked down to Deku’s broken finger, wrapped under gauze and held straight by a splint. There was no Recovery girl to heal those broken bones. And without even a regular hospital visit, there was no telling if the bone would heal right or if Deku would ever be able to use that hand like normal again.

“At least it’s my non-dominant hand,” Deku joked when he caught Katsuki staring. He shoved the sleeve back down and smoothed it over.

“You didn’t have to break your damn bone just to prove a point,” Katsuki muttered.

Deku raised an eyebrow. “You wouldn’t have stopped until I did. And that’s why it was just a finger.”

“Still.” Katsuki glared at Deku. “Learn how to stand up to me better next time.”

“What?”

Katsuki rolled back over so he was facing away from Deku. “You heard me. Fight back better next time.”

“Next time?”

“Yeah. You aren’t at your strongest yet. So this isn’t our last fight. Get stronger, learn how to use your Quirk right, then fight me again.”

“Kacchan…”

“Shut it. I can hear your voice getting sappy. I’m going to sleep now. Don’t bother me.”

He closed his eyes and pulled the pillow closer to him. Behind him, Deku rustled around with the covers. The bed sagged, and Deku let out a sigh as he lied down next to Katsuki.

Before going to sleep, Katsuki let out one last request: “You better tell me tomorrow what it’s like to have All Might as your teacher, nerd.”

Deku’s voice was sleepy but cheery as he replied, “Of course, Kacchan! I’ll tell you all about him.” His voice trailed off, and within moments, Deku’s breath grew deep and rhythmic.

And I’ll figure out what you’re hiding about your Quirk while we’re at it, Katsuki added to himself before being lulled to sleep by Deku’s soft snores a couple feet away.

☂️
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☂️

The staring Hitoshi could handle. The eerie quiet of the class he couldn’t.

Aizawa, however, seemed to be thriving in it, and he pulled the class into training course after training course. After several weeks with little physical training, Hitoshi struggled to keep up. He finished every set of laps breathless, every Quirk training more exhausted than he thought was physically possible.

Even Kaminari wasn’t complaining about the training. That’s how quiet it was.

And when group exercises started, Hitoshi realized why it was so quiet.

The class was lost without Midoriya.

Weeks had passed since their classmate was captured, and there was neither hide nor hair of him anywhere. From what little Aizawa was willing to share, the police and heroes were working tirelessly to find him, but given the extra hours they were putting in after All Might’s retirement, they had made very little progress. Any sighting of the League turned up no tangible information.

After a week back with Class 1-A, Hitoshi learned why Aizawa was pushing them so hard, and it wasn’t just because he was trying to make them too tired to get into trouble; they were training to get their provisional licenses.

All Might’s retirement was doing more than just lengthening the pros’ working hours. Students, too, were being called in to do hero work. And with Class 1-A being the trouble-magnet it was, Aizawa clearly wanted them to be prepared to protect themselves.

In the days leading up to their exam, Hitoshi hardly slept. Despite the nagging exhaustion, he trained every moment of the day and spent hours awake at night pouring over online articles and social media, looking for even a trace of Izuku, his friend, or any member of the League. Every morning, when he dragged himself into class, large mug of coffee in hand, Aizawa would stare long and hard at him, but Hitoshi showed no signs of his secret work. And as long as he trained well, Aizawa didn’t say a thing to stop him.

The Provisional License Exam was interesting, for lack of a better term. His class and Class 1-B were almost the only first years there, with most of the rest of the students being third years, and when it came time to complete their first round of the exam, Hitoshi realized, almost too late, that hardly anyone in his class was willing to team up with him.

In the end, it was just him, Todoroki, and Uraraka making their way through the arena, battling other students and trying to make it out in time to advance to the next round.

Thankfully, despite being a small group, the trio was strong, and they were the second group from their class to make it through the round, with Iida, Yaoyorozu, and Jiro coming in first.

In the second round, Hitoshi had to stop Todoroki from picking a fight with a student from another school, and the two of them passed by the skin of their teeth.

Apparently, Hitoshi needed to work on his people-saving skills. But he personally didn’t understand why he had to act so peppy when rescuing civilians. As long as they lived, it shouldn’t matter what face he was making, right?

Todoroki agreed with him, while Uraraka tried to explain the importance of “making a connection,” as she called it. Hitoshi was just glad he passed. He didn’t really care what advice was thrown his way, only that he could actually protect himself and do something to save Izuku should he have the chance.

The next day, the class reviewed offers and made decisions for their internships.

“I’m going to work for Ryukyu. What about you guys?” Uraraka leaned back in her seat.

“I’m going back to my hometown again,” Iida replied.

Tsuyu nodded. “Selkie has invited me back, so I’m going to work for him again.”

“Endeavor,” Todoroki said.

All heads turned to face him.

He glanced at his classmates. “What? I may hate him, but Midoriya showed me that I can still learn from him. And if anyone’s agency can rescue Midoriya, it’s his.”

Several students flinched.

“Todoroki, I appreciate your honesty, but as much as I want to see our classmate safe and sound, don’t you think you should focus on something else?”

Todoroki shrugged. “I won’t do anything I’m not supposed to. These internships are for learning firsthand from pros. But if I have the chance to help Midoriya, I will.”

Iida shook his head, but Hitoshi said, “Thank you, Todoroki. I really appreciate that. Make sure to tell us if you learn anything important about him.”

Todoroki nodded.

Uraraka chimed back in, “Anyways, Hitoshi, where are you going to intern?”

The focus turned to him, and he cast his eyes toward the ground. “Oh. Actually, I’m not going with an agency.”

“What?” His classmates chorused.

“I’m still doing an internship. But I’m doing it with my dad.” He nodded to Aizawa, who was zipped up in his sleeping bag at the front of the classroom. “My Quirk is well-suited for rescue and undercover work, and since it’s practically unheard of to get internships with undercover heroes, he’s letting me work under him.”

“It’s probably also to keep you out of trouble,” Uraraka joked.

Hitoshi shrugged. “That too.”

When class let out that evening, Uraraka held back with Hitoshi. Once most of the class was gone, she lowered her voice and said to him, “I’ll keep an eye out for Deku while I’m on my internship. I know the others are scared to help, but I promise to do everything I can to help.”

Hitoshi’s lip curled up in the shadow of a smile. “Thank you. Really.”

Uraraka smiled. “Of course! Anything for my friends. And I know Deku would do this for any of us if we were in his position. It’s the least I can do to help him.”

She waved and filed out of the room, leaving Hitoshi alone with Shouta. His dad clambered out of the sleeping bag and yawned.

“Are you ready for your first patrol?”

Hitoshi nodded.

“Good. Hizashi’s packed us some food in the break room. We’ll grab that and head out.”

He followed his dad upstairs and into the teacher break room, where Hizashi and Midnight were sitting together and cracking jokes. Vlad was nearby, sorting through the refrigerator, and All Might was pouring a cup of coffee.

Hitoshi waved shyly at the teachers as he walked in. He could remember joining his dads here when he was younger, several years before he actually became a student at U.A., but he hadn’t stepped foot in here since starting with Class 1-A.

“Aw, it’s Hitoshi’s first patrol! I need to take a picture of this.” Hizashi abandoned his conversation with Midnight to fish around in his pocket for his phone.

Shouta rolled his eyes. “Please don’t do that. You know neither of us like to be photographed.”

“And you know that I like to have pictures of you. What if you don’t come home after patrol one night? Then what will I cry over?” Hizashi dramatically threw his arm across his forehead and flopped back onto the couch.

Midnight cackled and snapped a picture of Hitoshi while Hizashi was whining. “Say cheese, ‘Toshi!”

“Midnight, it’s okay. You really don’t have to take a picture,” Hitoshi blushed as he tried to cover his face from the camera.

“I already got it. And you don’t call me Midnight outside of class. It’s Auntie Nemuri to you. Unless you’re getting into your awkward teen boy phase.” Midnight leaned back and looked over to Hizashi. “He’s not in his awkward teen boy phase, is he?”

“Of course he is! He may always be our little baby boy, but he’s our trouble-making teen now,” Hizashi replied. He pointed at Hitoshi. “But that doesn’t mean you get to stop calling her Auntie Nemuri, you hear me?”

Hitoshi rolled his eyes. “Yes, dad. Yes, Auntie Nemuri.” He turned to Shouta. “Can we go now?”

“Please.” Shouta held their bagged lunches in his hands, and the two turned to leave the break room. Whistles and shouts of “I’ll miss you!” followed them out of the room, but soon they were back downstairs and out the front door.

Classes ran late that day, so night was falling and a cool breeze ushered in a drop in temperature as the pair made their way down the street. Shouta kept Hitoshi in sight, and once they had made their way farther into the city, he motioned for his son to follow him into an alleyway.

Silent as cats, they traversed the shadowy road and made their way to an old fire escape. Once on the roof, Shouta took a seat, pulled out a walkie talkie, and motioned for Hitoshi to sit next to him.

“Now we wait,” Shouta explained as he handed the bagged dinner to Hitoshi.

They ate in silence, watching the streets below and waiting for a call. Hours passed before they were summoned to assist in stopping a robbery, and even when they arrived on scene, it took little time to subdue the criminal. Then they were back to the roofs for another hour until the next call.

“You think you can take this one?” Shouta asked as they rounded on the purse thief.

Hitoshi nodded. “Hey, you! Stop!”

“I’m not stopping for-“ The man stumbled as his eyes glazed over.

“I said to stop,” Hitoshi repeated, and the man stopped. “Walk towards me, drop the bag, and put your hands over your head.”

The man did everything he asked, and within seconds, he had him in cuffs. He released the hold his Quirk had on the man when the police arrived, and after taking a quick statement, Shouta beckoned him back towards campus.

They parted ways in front of the dorms, and Shouta offered a simple, “You did well,” as his goodbye.

The next two nights were much the same. Classes were shorter, giving most of his classmates time to make up their studies after the classes they missed to work at their internships, while Hitoshi used that time to catch up on his League research and sleep. He was beginning to understand why Shouta took naps every chance he could, and he contemplated asking his dad for a sleeping bag to also bring to class.

His would be purple, of course, and not yellow, but he knew what Shouta would say to that, so he avoided asking.

That Friday, Hizashi sent them out with bento boxes, and Nemuri provided them with canned green tea as a treat. Shouta and Hitoshi had created an easy routine of long silences while eating their dinners and watching for suspicious activity. Occasionally, Shouta would share a short story about a particularly difficult job, or Hitoshi would ask him a question about the capture scarf or a defensive maneuver, but for the most part, they stayed quiet.

Hitoshi loved his loud friends and his loud dad, but sometimes enjoying the peace and quiet with his other dad was nice. They were alike in that way, and that made Hitoshi happy.

When the nights were particularly slow, Hitoshi would check his messages. Uraraka turned out to be also quite the night owl, and she would sometimes send him articles about the League. Most were bogus and silly snippets that she shared with him for laughs, but this time when his phone buzzed, it was different.

There was a fire in a close-by neighborhood. Other heroes were on the scene, and news was continue to come out, but Shouta and Hitoshi weren’t particularly useful for this kind of job, so they continued to patrol and wait for other incidents.

But Uraraka’s screenshot of the ten o’clock news focused in on something else entirely. Green hair poked out from the crowd, facing away from the cameras.

At first, Hitoshi shook his head and tried to dismiss it. So many people have green hair. It’s not that uncommon, he told himself, but he looked at the pixellated screenshot again and picked out ratty clothes. The Uraraka sent another one, and this time, the green-haired figure was reaching up to scratch the back of his head. One finger was bandaged and held straight with a splint. Then the next message was her telling him that he disappeared into the crowd, but that was enough to give Hitoshi hope.

And the building fire was blue, just like Dabi’s Quirk.

“You’re tapping your leg. What’s going on?” Shouta asked, and Hitoshi jumped.

He opened his mouth to dismiss him, but when he glanced down at his phone again, he sighed and said, “Uraraka saw something in the news. I think you’ll want to see this.” Hesitantly, he passed the open phone to his father.

Shouta stared at it for a long time, unmoving and not reacting, and Hitoshi’s blood ran cold.

He’s going to be so angry with me. This internship’s over. I’m f*cked.

When Shouta passed the phone back to him and stood up, Hitoshi could only stare.

Shouta rolled his eyes. “What are you doing? Stand up and come with me.”

“What are we doing?” Hitoshi asked as he scrambled to his feet.

“Investigating. Now hurry up; we don’t have time to waste.”

They took off, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, using their capture weapons to swing across larger gaps. Soon, the fire came into view, burning with bright blues and oranges as heroes and firefighters alike doused the flames with water. The sirens wailing in the distance were coming within earshot, as well as screams and the roar of the fire.

But before they could reach the scene, something darted in front of their path, and Hitoshi nearly ran into Shouta as they stumbled to a stop. Three, indistinct men with face masks stood in front of them, two of them brandishing knives and one a gun. Shouta glanced over at Hitoshi and tilted his head slightly before looking at the men again and raising his hands.

Hitoshi mirrored his motions and nodded to the men. “We don’t mean any harm. We’re just trying to help fight the fire.”

But the men didn’t respond.

Hitoshi tried again. “Will you please let us go?”

Then the one with the gun winked, and Hitoshi’s heart sank into his stomach.

They know about my Quirk. Time to change tactics.

He smirked at them. “You’re clever, aren’t you? Already figured out what my Quirk is? That’s okay, I can still get you to talk.”

No response.

“What’s so wrong with you that you need to bring a gun to this fight? Don’t have a Quirk?” He cursed himself inwardly for that, remembering Izuku, but he had to say what he needed to get a reaction out of this man.

But the man continued to stare at him, not responding.

Hitoshi braved a small step forward. The man raised the gun but didn’t shoot, and Hitoshi stopped in his tracks.

“It’s okay,” he said. “You don’t have to be scared. Just respond to me, and this will all be over with. I won’t even hurt you. Not a scratch.”

“Hitoshi,” Shouta warned.

Hitoshi shook his head. “Just put down the gun and leave.”

“Hitoshi, behind you!” Shouta’s eyes flashed red, and his scarf shot forward just as Hitoshi caught sight of a hand reaching toward him in the corner of his vision. The gun fired, but Hitoshi ducked and the bullet ricocheted off something behind him and whizzed off into the dark. Before the man could fire the weapon again, Hitoshi drew out his own scarf and leapt at his opponent, catching and dragging him forward easily. Hitoshi’s knee lifted to meet the man’s face, and he crumpled.

“Wait…” Hitoshi paused as the man fell to the ground and began to melt into a sticky, brown goo. “It’s Twice!” He shouted over his shoulder to Shouta.

“Thank god,” his dad hissed as he pushed the newcomer to the ground. Just before turning to rush at the men with the knives, Hitoshi caught a better glance at the fourth man. Tall, broad, and sporting a strange and complex mask, he looked like a spitting image of All for One.

Sharp pain bit into Hitoshi’s shoulder, and he cursed as he whirled around to block the first knife-wielder from attacking him again. Quickly, he subdued the man, and he, too, melted into a puddle.

Then Shouta was rushing past him to meet the last attacker, and they were finally alone again on the rooftop, surrounded by sludge.

“It’s the League for sure,” Shouta commented as they took in their surroundings. “We need to get you back to campus. Now.”

“But what about-“

“Now.”

Shouta stared at his son until he turned and headed back toward campus with him. Soon the sirens and the flames faded from view, and campus loomed in the distance. Hitoshi wasn’t sure when Shouta sent the alert, but when they returned to campus, Nezu and Tsukauchi were waiting for them.

“I’m sorry for pulling you away from the fire,” Shouta said as they approached.

Tsukauchi dipped his head in response. “It’s okay. My deputy is on site now.”

“Let’s head inside to my office. Shinso, you can come too,” Nezu said.

When Hitoshi looked over to his dad for confirmation, Shouta nodded, and he followed the three of them inside.

Nezu’s office was large, which Hitoshi hadn’t been expecting for such a small person (mouse?), and Nezu plopped into his office chair before motioning the rest of them to sit on the other side of the desk.

“Please explain what you saw.”

Shouta started. “We weren’t originally going to respond to the fire since so many others were handling it, but Hitoshi saw something, and we were planning to check it out. Hitoshi, please show them.”

He nodded and passed his phone to Tsukauchi, who looked at it before giving it to Nezu. While they examined it, he explained, “I think it’s Midoriya. The green hair could be anyone, I know, but the broken finger- I really think it could be him.”

“And this was taken at the scene of the fire?” Tsukauchi asked.

“Yes. One of my classmates was watching the news and took that screenshot.”

Shouta continued for him, “When he showed me that picture, I decided to go and investigate. But we were stopped by a group of men who knew about Hitoshi’s Quirk.” His voice cracked, but he went on. “Then someone who looked like All for One joined them. We fought back and quickly realized that these were actually doppelgängers from Twice.”

“The League of Villains then. I see,” Nezu nodded.

“I think they were targeting Hitoshi. They could be targeting other members of his class too.”

Tsukauchi stood. “I’ll head out and inform my men immediately. And we’ll keep an eye out for your missing student in the area.”

That left Hitoshi, Shouta, and Nezu alone in the room.

“Thank you for sharing this, Aizawa. Both of you please stay home for the rest of your shift. I’ll be reaching out to agencies to call in the rest of Class 1-A and B tomorrow morning, since some of them have been staying with their agency. And you can inform the students who are here not to report to work tomorrow.”

Shouta stood up. “Yes, sir. We’ll do that right away.”

Hitoshi followed him back out of the room and down the hall.

“Do you want me to go tell dad?” Hitoshi started, but Shouta rounded on him and yanked him forward into a tight hug. Strong arms held onto him for several seconds, and Hitoshi stood frozen to the spot.

When Shouta pulled back, he held onto Hitoshi’s shoulders and kept him at arm’s length. “I almost lost you once, and I’m not doing that again. I know you won’t stop looking for Midoriya, but please do what you did today and come to me in the future. I want to help him, but not at the cost of your life. You are my son, and I can’t bear to lose you. So let me help.”

Hitoshi nodded, unable to find words.

Shouta let him go. “Good. Now go back to the dorms and tell your classmates what happened.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to talk to Hizashi, then I’m heading back out to look for Midoriya.”

“Dad?”

“Yes?” Shouta watched Hitoshi closely.

“Tell me when you make it home safe.”

He nodded, and then he was gone.

When Hitoshi made it back to Heights Alliance, only a few students were still milling about in the common area. Sato and Yaoyorozu were busying themselves in the kitchen, while Kaminari and Kirishima had taken up a game of ping pong.

One of the ping pong balls whizzed past Hitoshi and bounced off the wall behind him.

“Sorry, bro!” Kirishima called out as he ran over to retrieve the ball.

Hitoshi shrugged. “It’s okay. Hey, can you help me call everyone down?”

“Yeah, we can do that! Denks, will you take the top two floors while I grab the bottom two?” Kirishima turned back to face Hitoshi. “What’s going on?”

“League of Villains. I’m passing along a message from Aizawa.”

Kirishima’s face quickly turned serious, and he and Kaminari ran for the elevators.

“I’ll text the girls,” Yaoyorozu said as she abandoned her baking project and approached the living room. “Asui and Ashido are away on their internships, but Hagakure, Uraraka, and Jiro should be here.”

“Good. Aizawa and Principal Nezu are reaching out to the students who aren’t here, so they should be safe. But it wouldn’t hurt to check in on them as well.”

Slowly, students started pouring into the room. Some were wild and frantic, while others looked like they had just woken up. Sero even had his blanket wrapped around his shoulders as he stumbled over to one of the couches and plopped down.

Finally, Kaminari and Kirishima returned with the last couple students. Everyone turned to face Hitoshi.

He fiddled with the collar of his shirt. The sudden, large number of eyes on him reminded him how much he hated public speaking. Normally, having this many people watching him was a terrible thing, a sign that he was in trouble or making a fool of himself.

Uraraka jumped up from her spot on the couch and joined him in front of the class. She put a hand on his shoulder and whispered, “It’s okay, Hitoshi. You got this.”

He looked at her and nodded, then turned back to face the rest of the class and cleared his throat. “I was on patrol with Aizawa tonight and we were attacked by a member of the League of Villains.” Gasps burst around the room, and Hitoshi waited for them to quiet down before continuing. “We’re fine, but it appears as if they were targeting me. Because they may be targeting others in our class as well, Principal Nezu has canceled our last day of internships. All students who are working outside campus will return first thing tomorrow morning.”

“What did they want from you?” Sero asked.

Kirishima raised his hand. “You handled that so well, dude! So manly!”

“Are classes canceled tomorrow too?” Jiro asked.

I heard that storage unit fire was related to the League too. Is that true?” Kaminari jumped in.

His classmates continued to bombard Hitoshi with questions and comments, and for a second, he couldn’t find words to respond to them. But when Uraraka reached out to squeeze his shoulder again, he sucked in a deep breath, activated his Quirk, and said, “Silence.” The eyes of all his classmates who were shouting at him glazed over, and they fell silent. As quickly as he activated it, he deactivated his Quirk and waited for them to shake the effects off and stare at him. “I’m sorry for that, but I can only answer one question at a time. While it’s not confirmed, we believe the fire was related. There’s evidence that Dabi’s fire started it, and we were responding to the scene when Twice attacked.” He paused as he decided not to mention Izuku. There was no use getting them riled up over something unconfirmed; there was also the chance that some of his classmates would get mad at him for continuing to look into his friend’s case. “We think they wanted my Quirk, or at least to scare me into believing they did. Either way, this is another attack against our class. We have to be even more careful.”

Jiro was the first to raise her hand. “And what about classes?”

“I’ll ask, but if the teachers are out bringing back our classmates, I doubt we’ll have class tomorrow.”

The class was silent after that, as a chill settled across them.

After a moment, Yaoyorozu clapped her hands together, and everyone jumped. “Sato and I are making cupcakes. Would anyone like to try one?”

Hands shot in the air, and the tense air finally dissipated as the students clambered toward the kitchen, fighting over the promise of food. Only Uraraka and Hitoshi stayed behind.

“Any sign of Deku?” Uraraka asked.

Hitoshi shook his head. “We never got close enough. But we told Tsukauchi, and he’s planning to look into it.”

“He’s probably long gone by now.” Uraraka sighed. “I hope he’s okay.”

“If that really was him, it means he’s alive.”

“Right… Right.”

“Well,” Hitoshi shifted his weight. “I’m beat. I think I’m gonna go to bed.”

Uraraka nodded. “That sounds like a good idea. Let’s talk more tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay,” Hitoshi agreed. Before heading back upstairs, he cast one last look at his classmates. They were smiling and cheering as they tasted cupcakes and shared the dessert with one another.

We shouldn’t be going through this, he thought. We should be having fun like this more, and worrying only about our assignments and petty drama. What happened to that? Why are we, of all classes in this country, being targeted by villains?

But there was no answering that question, not with what he knew then.