Chapter Text
His tears had not even started to dry when the message arrived.
Their hideout was in total chaos, Muracchi had long since given up in try to calm him down with empty words, scrambling around and scratching at his skin like he could not wait to just peel it off, his fingernails dark red with blood. The rest weren’t much better, their shouts and curses indistinguishable from one another as Izuku tried to separate words from each other in a desperate effort for something, anything, something that would let him know.
The news on TV flashed a vague headline.
VILLAIN ATTACK REPORTED IN MUSUTAFU. ALL MIGHT SPOTTED ON GROUND.
His father was there, Izuku knew that much, fighting All Might. It felt like his lungs were on fire, some place in him somehow just knew something was wrong. So, so wrong. He should be back now, he should be here already.
He said he would be back. He’d said it would be fine.
“Take care of this for me pipsqueak, I need you to hold on this tight until I'm back.”
Izuku’s fingers hurt with the strength with which he gripped the briefcase. Dad’s briefcase. He was going to come back for it right? He needed him to keep it safe, safe for him.
And then, Kurogiri showed up, his body stumbling through the curtain of swirling shadows, clutching at the side of his physical body.
“Sensei is dead, prepare for relocation to the safe-house.”
Muracchi screamed, Izuku thought he heard himself scream with him.
Someone tried to pick him up, struggling with his thrashing body and taking it out of the room as the headlines changed.
ALL MIGHT REPORTEDLY RUSHED TO HOSPITAL AFTER LATEST FIGHT.
He threw up.
Next thing he remembered, they were on the road, still clutching onto that old briefcase as Muracchi hyperventilated next to him and Kurogiri sped across the highway.
“I'm gonna need you two to calm down,” he’d said. His voice trembling.
Izuku had never heard Kurogiri’s voice tremble.
“Right now, none of our homes are safe, the police might be on our trail for all we know. What they know and what they don’t, is not clear. For now, we’ll assume they know it all. That means we can’t go back, nor contact anyone you knew until now, is that clear?”
Izuku thought of the apartment he had shared with his mom, all their photographs, the endless amount of hero merch she had gifted him, gathering dust in his shelves until somebody was bound to either sell it or dump it. He even thought of the boys at school, Kacchan’s frown when his favorite victim failed to show up on Monday, would he miss him? Or would he just say good riddance and move onto another weakling to push over? Would he even notice at all? Izuku wondered if he would miss any of that once reality set in, if he preferred the pain over the numbness.
“I asked you if it was clear?” Kurogiri turned to them, his eyes harsh.
Izuku nodded almost robotically.
“Good. Now, Sensei left instructions, we’re going to one of his properties out of town, it’s a safe place, already equipped with everything we’re gonna need to move forward with his plans, whatever they might be. From now on we’re meant to pretend to be a family, I'm your uncle on your mother’s side and Tomura’s your cousin.”
Muracchi snorted in between hiccups.
“We’re gonna need to pretend a sense of normality if we don't want to get caught.” Kurogiri said. “Now, open the suitcase Izuku.”
He fumbled with the lock, stumbling to see the combination in between tears and swallowing the guilt he felt for peeking into his dad’s stuff.
There were seven vials inside, strapped to the top along with all of his hero analysis notebook to date, photographies, booklets on things he did not know about, and underneath it all, a thick stack of papers.
FOR IZUKU’S FUTURE.
It read in bold letters
With trembling fingers, Izuku opened the first page, and started to read.
JANUS to HANDMAN.
Prepare for infiltration at 9:00, remind SKINWALKER not to forget her script.
Izuku had only managed to hide his phone before he felt the familiar set of crimson eyes on his back.
At his first day on U.A. it was safe to say Izuku felt ecstatic . Yes, he had only just finished his first homeroom class, but he already felt like he would explode with the need to break into a full blown rant. Could you fault him? He was surrounded by such wonderful quirks, ripe, full of potential, and wielded by such careless owners, it made is hands itch with the need to take them . A long time compulsion really, but then again, Izuku had developed a weak spot for pretty things. Coming to U.A. was his equivalent to being a child let free in a toy store with an unlimited credit card.
And of course. There was him. The cherry on top he had both dreaded and yearned to find again.
“I gave you for dead, you fucking Deku.” Kacchan growled.
Izuku felt like grinning.
Five years later, and Kacchan was still the same harsh foul mouthed asshole he had left behind that fateful day. With no small hint of amusement, Izuku noted that yes, Kacchan did miss him! And yes, he still made Izuku feel like wrenching his head off.
“I'm sorry Kacchan!” He smiled at him, his cheeks stretched painfully wide with what he hoped was joy. It was really hard to smile when you wanted to kill someone. “It really is you isn’t it! I had hoped we’d seen each other here! You always did say you wanted to go to U.A.! I'm sorry I never did get to say goodbye after what happened.”
At some point he had dug his way through the news registers. Officially, at least for the general public, Inko Midoriya had died during a villain raid. Her role as the actual villain’s accomplice thankfully glossed over unless you really knew where to look.
“Like I give a fuck about that shit,” he spat at him. “You lied to me about your quirk, didn’t you?”
Oh, he was pissed.
Was it wrong that Izuku felt a weird sort of pleasure from knowing he still made Kacchan fume so much? That he could still make him snap? Oh, Kacchan had always been quick to anger, but with him, it was special. Maybe because they had been friends in the past? It would be cute if it wasn’t so fucking annoying.
It made him want to use Kacchan’s quirk to blast his own snarl off.
“Oh, that. I guess it must look a little confusing from your side.” He laughed skittishly, trying to channel his younger self, pathetic and easily scared off. Unassuming, good old Deku . “Turns out I was just a late bloomer! My quirk showed up a bit after I moved out.”
Next thing he knew, a sizzling hot first slammed next to his face.
So that’s where it was, the Kacchan he had missed. He wondered if he could irritate Kacchan into giving him a beating strong enough to get expelled by that Aizawa teacher. Oh, he had plans for him, plans that involved him staying at U.A. but it didn’t hurt to dream of his face if he managed to get him expelled. Would he cry? Izuku wanted to see him cry.
“Do not fuck with me, I don’t buy a useless Deku like you getting into U.A.”
More than that tho, Izuku wanted to see him dead.
Useless . He’d always hated that word, Useless.
Kacchan used to throw it around at him more than he ever did his actual name, like it was the ultimate proof of how much better he was, like he even deserved to act like he knew him at all.
“What did you do? I saw you hanging around that rich half and half fucker, did you suck his dick so his daddy would pay off the teachers?”
He almost burst in hysterical giggles then and there. Really, it was only fit for Kacchan to assume him a whore before anything else. No, he had fought to be here, fought for it even before he even spent 10 months of gruelling training to fool All Might, and he had done far worse things than sucking dick for favors.
Did he want him to play a whore? Fine, Izuku could play the whore, see if Kacchan liked it that way.
“Don’t say those things Kacchan.” He finally answered, cheeks rosy as he bit his lip and looked away, releasing just the tiniest amount of pheromones to rile him up. His next words just slightly edged on suggestive. “I didn’t do any tricks.”
Kacchan seemed like the type to like in pain, so for funs and giggles he even made his face to look specially pathetic, eyes slightly tearful, trembling lips, he was the poster child for shame. It worked wonders, Kacchan's flushed face would be recorded for the centuries in his mind, even if it quickly got replaced with yet more anger, for Izuku or for himself? Probably both. Yes, maybe he could play around with this, wouldn’t that be fun?
“Don’t fuck with me” He growled at him, steaming fist rising in a motion Izuku had almost forgotten altogether.
“Is anything happening here?”
Old Flame, meet Prince Charming. As much fun as he was having, he had other matters to attend to today than playing with Kacchan's fiery emotions, and for that he could always trust Shouto; the guy was like a personal guard dog, trusty and loyal.
“Tsk, this doesn’t concern you, you half and half bastard.” Kacchan glared at him.
Shouto’s eyes switched from him to Izuku, frowning with some kind of realization before he took a step forwards.
“Professor Aizawa said he wants everyone still in the locker room to hurry up so he can close it. Should I go tell him you refuse to obey him?”
For a split second Izuku thought they would actually fight each other then and there, his expectations rising before dropping straight down as Kacchan pushed him away, making his head hit against the wall with a loud thump.
“See if I care,” he muttered, slipping away towards the door and cursing under his breath.
Ah, Shouto’s presence had always brought him nothing but little blessings.
“Are you okay?” Shouto asked him at last, running towards him. “What did he want with you? Did he hurt you?”
“It’s fine.” Izuku smiled, almost cooing at all that lovely attention before he not so subtly rubbed at an nonexistent bruise on his arm. “Just an old friend I hadn’t seen in a while.”
Honestly, Kacchan had not even hit him, he was lucky any bruises were fake at all.
“He did not look very friendly…” Shouto frowned, nonetheless following him into the cafeteria.
The heist was bound to start soon and if he wanted his plans to succeed, he had to be in position.
“Well,” he sighed nervously, “Kacchan’s temper has always been a bit volatile…” Understatement of the century, but he was trying to play his cards here, he was only more pitiful if he refused to admit the blatant abuse going on. He wanted Shouto to give him his pity points goddammit.
As a child, it had been different, which is to say, Izuku had actually been as easy to step on as he made himself to look now. Even when Kacchan hurt him time and time again, he’d always felt a weird sort of attachment to him, a pull perhaps, for his power? Or just towards the boy that kept hurting him? He was still trying to untangle the mess that was his brain. Or maybe masochistic tendencies did start from youth, the bets were all over.
“I don't want you to worry too much Shouto-kun,” he turned to him, pleading eyes and all. “It’s fine. I'm sure he was just surprised to find me in here.”
Shouto, bless his easily malleable heart, seemed to battle with his own thoughts before finally giving in. Not that he ever did not give in to Izuku, he was that easy to manipulate, and Izuku loved that about him, he was a good friend.
“Alright…” he sighed. “But if he ever does something like that again you have to tell me, promise it.”
“I promise” Izuku smiled at him.
Good friends were always easy to lie to.
By the time they actually made it to the cafeteria and past the long line of students trying to buy food, Izuku had barely ten minutes left to prepare himself.
He repeated the steps inside his head, thankful to avoid having to look for a table to sit at when Uraraka-san from his class waved them over.
First step, infiltration. Second step, dispersal. Third step, mayhem. That was the extremely abridged version at least.
Then again, one detail askew and the whole thing could fall over, he couldn’t afford to make small mistakes.
“U.A. really is amazing!” she exclaimed, her face almost comically enthusiastic as she somehow managed to keep her smile while shoving food into it. “Everyone’s quirks are amazing and professor Aizawa is so cool! I knew the curriculum was meant to be hard but he took it a whole other level! I really thought he was going to expel someone!”
Izuku nodded with almost the same enthusiasm, shoving his own share of food down while he still had time.
His cover was simple, he had decided on being a more upbeat, if skittish version of the persona he had adopted with Shouto. A hero enthusiastic heart, which was the easy way to hide the real reason why he put so much effort into keeping tabs on them. Friendly and charismatic without being obnoxious; insecure, but slowly working on that. He hoped people appreciated it, he had practically made himself to be friend-shaped, he deserved a fucking Oscar. It was all in the need of practicality of course, people didn’t distrust their friends, and seeing as Izuku planned to get up to a lot of bad shit he planned to make as many unsuspecting friends as he could.
“Yes Midoriya,” Iida Tenya nodded sternly alongside Uraraka. “You and Todoroki displayed a great understanding of the mechanics of our fitness test. U.A.’s high expectations for their students shine clear through both of you.”
Uraraka laughed at his antics.
“I think what Iida-kun means is that he wants us to be friends!”
Next to her, Iida choked on his veggies.
Between giggles, he glanced at his clock, surprised to notice how little time he had left.
It would be any moment now.
“Anyway,” she turned to Shouto, “What do you say Todoroki-kun, do you think all the classes will be like this or do you think-”
She did not get the time to finish before a blast broke through the windows.
For future references, he needed to recalibrate the intensity of their armament, that blast should have thrown them off their seats at the very least.
The school alarms started not a second afterward, the call to stay calm almost comical as the first student yelled the word that was soon to plague all of their minds.
“Villains!”
Oh Izuku didn’t even need to do anything, they were playing on his plans perfectly by themselves! The panic spread on record speed through them all, the screams and and cries and shouting making them all dumb, desperate to escape nonsensically through the emergency exists. Painfully unaware that he had sent a team to each and everyone of the escape points, waiting in expectation for the chance to make each of their sorry asses piss their pants, and also hopefully to spread them around in confusion so their chances to fight back decreased. But mostly to pee their pants, fear was powerful weapon and he planned to use it to its maximum potential.
This was nothing but the metaphorical entry dish for the banquet he had planned out, he wanted people to see what he was capable of.
Sadly, he wouldn’t be there to see it himself.
“Izuku we need to go!” Shouto snapped him out of his thoughts, his strong hands pulling him desperately towards the exits with the rest of the crowd.
“Shouto!” He cried out, his voice laced with a fear he did not feel as the rush of adrenaline started coursing through his veins. “Stay with me!” he pleaded as the avalanche of people made it harder and harder to keep his hold on him.
It was no use however, even if he thrashed and screamed the multitude kept carrying him away , and yeah Izuku was doing his part making sure they were actually separated, but it all made for a scene worthy of any drama show, he was quite proud of himself.
“I’ll find you!” Shouto screamed, his voice barely audible over the cacophony of other noises. “Look for me when we’re out! I’ll promise I’ll find you!”
Izuku decided that was as good a moment as any to make his exit, ducking into the nearest corridor he could find without being noticed.
A grin spread across his face as Kurogiri’s warp-gate enclosed around him, dark hallway soon replaced by open skies and the sight of his two favorite people waiting for him.
“Thought you would miss your big debut Izukun.” Muracchi teased him, visibly perking up at the sight of him.
“And leave you to lead the mission for me?” Izuku giggled, almost manic at the thought of it.
He made his way to the box waiting up for him on the ground, excitement catching up to him as he uncovered the contents.
“So mean Izukun!” Tomura whined even as he opened up a second box for him.
Izuku rolled his eyes at his antics.
The first box was the more unassuming one, a simple set of bracelets and arm guards in a black so matte it didn’t even reflect the sunlight. As he strapped them on however, the black started to spread across his body like liquid, covering him from the neck down in a light but durable coat of armor, a few simple lines in mint and red across his chest and forearms the only other colours in the ensemble.
The second box however, was where the more obvious equipment was found. Reinforced gauntlets that reached all the way up to is forearms, as well as a matching set of thigh high boots, both of them equipped with propulsors and padding meant to withstand the force of One for All. And finally, only three more things, the holster with his gun, which he quickly strapped to his thigh, and two sets of ear pieces. A holographic mask that doubled as a visor covering his features as soon as he put them in place.
“Did you bring my babies Muracchi?” He asked with a smile once he had his whole set up in place.
“Kurogiri’s got them in standby.” He pointed to the man behind him. “Said he didn't want to call attention to us until you were here to start the show.”
“Bring them in.” He ordered.
With no more than a nod, Kurogiri’s portal opened up. From the dark mist, his two favorite creations came through, their grunting nonsensical voices stopping at once as their bulging eyes closed on him.
“That’s it my darling Nomus.” Izuku cooed, opening his arms wide for a hug. “Come to mommy.”
To be fair, it did take until halfway through third period for Hitoshi to realize that yes, U.A. was yet another chapter in his biography: How To Survive the Constant Need to Snort Handfuls of Sand.
Now, for the record, it wasn’t like he didn’t see it coming. He knew people, and more relevant, he knew stupid teens, being one himself. And like most stupid teens that weren’t him, that is to say, luckier and with a brain full of the everyday hero worshiping TV schedule that not so subtly hinted that your worth and morals were dictated by the greatness of your quirk, they were afraid of him.
Nah, afraid wasn’t really the word, wary? Distrustful? Prejudiced? His thesaurus had yet to arrive in the mail but the gist of it was that they were certainly not A-okay with being all buddy buddy with the guy who could drag them around like puppets if they so much as talked to him. Never mind that he wasn’t interested in doing any of it.
Yes, he had tried to keep the details of his quirk to himself, as usual. Seeing as he had not even made it into the hero course he thought he could get away with it. Everyone thought the General Studies kids were all nobodies, not special enough to be a hero, or a support specialist, or hell, even form management, so he put his bets on quirks being at least a tiny bit of a sensible subject. First mistake, this was the goddamn big deal hero academy, everyone wanted a piece of the proverbial hero shaped cake.
It only took some students who didn’t know how to mind their own business and a particularly dumb teacher assuming from the get go he would be up to no good after reading his file, and that was it, all out in the open. Like an instant unspoken restriction order.
Honestly, he wasn’t even angry.
He was tired.
He drifted across the cafeteria, avoiding looking at anyone from his class, lest they would see that small glimmer of hope he had in any of them, just one, to call him over to sit at their table, that at least one person actually wished for his presence. The thought of them knowing how pathetic he was, was even worse than just being alone.
And so, his usual routine played out, same old, different school. Grab his lunch (prepackaged by himself that same morning of course, since he was too poor to even afford Lunch Rush’s affordable lunch) and wander around like it was no big deal. No, he’s not looking for a table or group to sit with, he knows exactly where he’s going, thank you so much. He would find the nearest empty table that would be strategically placed as to make it look like he was loner cool, instead of loner loser; and he would sit down to eat, maybe while fooling around with his phone, reading whatever was in vogue that morning to avoid commiserating on his own misery.
Life, as it was, felt like an endless loop of bland mediocrity.
Sometimes, when he felt especially pathetic, he pictured himself as someone else. It tended to be someone cool, with some flashy power, the kind of guy that made the headlines for all the good reasons. The kind of guy people envied.
Maybe, someone like candy cane hair. He had been watching him ever since he had walked into the cafeteria, striding around with confidence, a cute boy with green hair chatting his ear off on his arm. A boyfriend perhaps? Hero course, the both of them, that was obvious. He would wonder what it was like, to be him. Lucky, blessed. Taking for granted the fortune to hold the attention of someone so beautiful, to have someone for himself, someone to laugh at his jokes and hold him through the hard days.
“I'm so pathetic right now” he groaned, forcing himself to stop doing heart eyes at the cute boy before someone called the cops on him. It was no use to wish for things he couldn’t have.
He should just finish his lunch. Time to stop moping around and actually think of a way to improve his pathetic ass life.
It was just fated that halfway thought that thought the windows exploded.
Suddenly, he was wide awake, alarms ringing over his head as gas bombs filtered across the room.
Was this some sort of test? He asked himself, as he took refuge under a desk, using his sleeve to breathe through the gas. But no, even though U.A. was known for its unorthodox teaching, they always kept it inside the hero course. They wouldn’t attack a hall full of inexperienced first years students.
Which could only mean one thing.
Villains.
The panic spread almost instantly through the other students, his senses in full on overload as he tried to make sense of what he had in front of himself. Most them were flooding enmasse through the nearest emergency exits, should he join them? His eyes finally focused on seeing across the gas, and with it, all thoughts of running that way fled out off the windows. Villains, dozens of them, were marching from that way.
He was too far away, weak and slow. By the time he made it to the exits he would be bumping noses with the villains, and he doubted they were kind enough to let him escape unscathed for pity points.
Quick, he had to think of something. He couldn't just stand around like an idiot, his life was at risk here!
Think. He couldn’t run out, that was a death sentence, therefore, he could only run in. If he ran in, he would be trapped inside, with a bunch of criminals. He would have to avoid them until it was all over. It was that or facing them right now, he had no other choice.
He ran.
With a teacher body that consisted of pro heroes and classrooms full of heroes in training, Izuku had to admit that invading U.A. High school was pretty much a one way ticket to jail. That is, of course, if you were anyone else, and if you were as simple as to believe you could take it down by brute force alone.
Izuku was not interested in that, no, he didn’t pretend to commit a massacre, not now at least.
Which is the reason why he found himself strolling freely in the deepest level of the student registry archive.
He had to admit, sitting on a Nomu’s shoulder, wearing the final prototype of nano-technological lightweight armor he had spent months designing to hide his identity, with Muracchi and Kurogiri on either side of him, knowing his plans were all finally working out, it made one hell of a power trip. And boy, he was loving it.
Fooling Shouto into believing he got lost in the multitude was not ideal, knowing him he was sure to be looking for him like the world’s deadliest lost puppy. If Izuku was lucky, that would serve to distract him from engaging in any dumb shot at heroics. He did instruct his cronies to not kill anyone, but he would hate for him to get hurt. He was pretty attached to him after all.
The holographic display on his mask buzzed to life as Dabi’s raspy voice rang in his ear-piece.
“3000 TO JANUS, I have finished setting fire to all the second floor rooms you marked on the map, do I have permission to join SKINWALKER outside or do I keep guard til you come down?”
Izuku hummed in thought, switching through the multiple displays on his visor until he found the blueprints of the floor he was currently on. It wouldn’t be long now, five, ten minutes top. They would be wrapping up in time for the real show to start.
“CONFIRMED 3000, you can join the containment group, tell the rest to follow you out and join the containment group.”
“UNDERSTOOD. Good luck boss”
“It should be right ‘round the corner Izu-kun” Muracchi turned to him.
Quickly, he opened a new line of communication.
“SKINWALKER, this is JANUS, are you in position?”
Himiko’s laughter rang crystal clear from the other side of the mic as Izuku resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
“Clear and ready Izu-”
He heard one of his babies growl in the background.
“So mean! Whatever, I'm ready Janus-kun! Your body feels amazing!”
“Good, we should be ready to go anytime soon, wait for the sign on your mask to turn green. From there you should have about the same time we rehearsed. Can I still trust you with this?”
“Absolutely! I’m gonna make you so proud boss!”
He sighed while petting the brain of the Nomu underneath him with fondness. If it were up to him, he would just have everyone in their group to be a Nomu, efficient, serviceable, and definitely not weirdly horny for him.
“I trust you to do so SKINWALKER.”
He cut the signal for good before his mind went into yet another rant on why he couldn't turn people into Nomus just because.
“We’re here.” Kurogiri announced solemnly as Muracchi stepped in to disintegrate the heavy metal doors with an open palm.
“Not like it will matter once we’re done with this place.” He shrugged to Izuku.
Unable to contain it anymore, he laughed.
It had taken them so long to get to this point, years and years of planning, recruiting, stealing, killing and planning again. So much money put under the rug to make sure no one saw it coming. Even more money spent on polishing details, shutting people’s mouths, making Izuku to be impeachable. All for this, the smallest tip of their iceberg, the first step towards their ultimate victory.
Putting a hand on the nearest computer he could find, he infiltrated U.A.’s system, detail after detail flashing under his eyelids with way more info than he could read in the limited time they had there. It was fine, he would have time to mess with that later, for now he just needed to find the one thing. Where to find it.
Until there, hidden among some other useless info, it showed itself to him.
“The cabinet to your left Muracchi,” he smirked. “It’s password protected, don’t touch it if you don't want it to blow up on your face.”
He crouched down, typing the long code displayed across his eyes with trembling fingers until at last, it beeped, the lock loose. A squeal escpaed his lips as he opened it, long rows of blood vials, each one marked with a name, a grade, a class, and a quirk, all flashing red in his eyes, ripe for taking.
“Transport this home Kurogiri,” he instructed, turning to look behind him. “And Muracchi, prepare the bomb.”
Himiko Toga hesitated for a second. Of course, at that moment, standing on top of U.A’s main building, she was not Himiko, nor was she Izuku Midoriya, not quite at least. Janus. As of that moment, she was Janus, and newfound identity or not, she was scared shitless of the Nomu next to her.
She lived for the drama, but sometimes she wished Izukun didn’t do as much as her. Not that she would ever tell him, he’d always had a weird soft spot for theatrics and biologically engineered monsters of doom.
“Is standing on top of that thing really necessary Dabi-kun?” She whined.
“This is being recorded, and the boss wrote it on the script. So, yes, it is necessary,” Dabi whispered next to her. “I’ve already told you, he told it not to hurt you, these things would never disobey him so shut up and get on the Nomu.”
With a last pout, she climbed on top of the creature. This was fine. This was totes fine. Izukun wouldn’t let one of his babies eat her. Vertigo was one hell of a drug.
“Now, remember to keep in character. No giggling or blood shit ‘kay?, face the camera, but don't make it too obvious”
“Or what, you’ll spank me?” she asked with a grin.
“No, but if you’re lucky, boss might give it a go.” Dabi deadpanned.
The laugh that came out of her as the Nomu took flight would later make for the perfect starting shot.
The production involved with this shit had been Hollywood levels of rehearsals considering that the final product was gonna be recorded with a crappy cellphone. Somewhere down there, she knew someone from the gang was recording it all, a student? Someone with a stealth quirk? She didn’t know, Izukun had only trusted her to know where to look. Still, she was nothing if not a great actress, and if Izukun had trusted her with such a big part of his plan, she would damn well meet his expectations.
She did not quiver one bit as the Nomu shrieked, it’s ear piercing scream cutting through the fight underneath. She had their attention, good.
She knew her Izuku made for an imposing figure. If she were not currently on a mission she would be all over this body. Izukun’s already pretty slim body was only accentuated by the dark bodysuit, neon mint and red lines across the chest in a design clearly taken from one of All Might’s old costumes made the shape of his body even more evident, thigh high boots and forearm length gloves adding a flair to his movements. Finally, the holographic mask glowed from beneath the mess of curls on his head, it’s sinister smile a nice touch to finish the deal. Yes, she had spent a good deal of time admiring this body.
She knew she had all their eyes on her, yes, all of them, in time for the show.
“Do I have your attention? I’ll take your silence as a yes, good, this shouldn’t take long.” His voice resonated across the grounds, a tasteful amount of sarcasm clear even through the mechanic voice modifier Izukun had added to the suit.
“Hero society is broken.” He declared. “You might like to pretend otherwise but this very school is a proof of it. How long ago was it that we started to ignore that heroism had become a matter of showbiz, a competition. Are you so blind as to believe it is still an actual matter of justice?”
Oh she couldn’t wait to see Izukun face to face again, oh he would be so proud of her delivery! She did not even hesitate to climb onto and stand across the Nomu’s shoulders.
“Does it make you feel alive?, is it more comforting to fool oneself into believing your heroes actually deserve that name? All Might might save you, but who will stand for you once All Might leaves?. Or, is it too frightening to admit heroes can’t save everyone, and some may not even care too? Take that away, what do you have left? Just a bunch of self righteous, self proclaimed gods for pay.”
“I won’t pretend I'm the good guy.” She sentenced. “I won’t sugarcoat nor tell you what I do here is actually all justified. If some of you decide to sentence me for dirtying my hands in blood, then so be it.”
The signal on her visor flickered, guess she had to rush the rest out.
“What I won’t do is wait around for someone else to act.” A grin split across her face, unseen, but heard clearly through her words. “So, I guess you could say Damage Control is here.”
From the corner of her vision, she saw the flickering light change from green to red. On cue, the bomb at the student registry blew up behind her, and with it, the thick cloud of green smoke they had all been waiting for. Smoke thick enough to cover the whole school in a dense curtain impossible to be navigated through. By the time it settled down, they would all be gone, and the boss was sure to reward them for a job well done.
Yes, sometimes, Izuku’s penchant for dramatics also had it’s good things.
“If you still believe in heroes, you have two choices, join us, or be left behind.”
As the first wisps of smoke made the holographic display in her mask flicker, she delivered her final line.
“This is your warning everyone, I'm gonna show you how to kill the gods.”
His cheeks ached with the wide grin he was sporting.
It worked! It had worked perfectly! It was almost unreal, his head almost swimming in bliss as he ran through the smoke in the building, Dabi’s blue flames flashing from all sides as he tried to find his way back to his classmates. He would say he’d got trapped behind during the confusion, no one would know any better!
If he wasn’t trying to actually find his way he would be jumping in glee.
Okay, focus, focus Izuku, focus, fo-cus, f-o-c-u-s . He was running through a burning building, it was Dabi’s fire, he couldn’t afford to touch it. This part of the building was fire resistant enough to not break, he knew that much from the little info he had obtained beforehand, so there was no risk of debris cracking his skull open. The material was, however, very prone to causing smoke, great for running undetected, bad for his lungs. When the bomb detonated the thickness of the smoke was bound to make getting out impossible, he was likely to pass out from inhalation. And without his mask to show him the way, he was as good as blind. So he had to hurry.
That was fine, it couldn’t be that hard to find his way around. It was just a high-school, not a maze.
For future references though, he would need to memorize the school’s blueprints. Just so he didn’t get lost in the future.
Finally, after fooling around for what felt like ages, he heard the sound of someone near him. Another student maybe? Someone who got caught behind for real? It didn’t matter, he could lie his way through and his facade would do wonders if he also had a witness covering his back.
“Is someone in there?” He exclaimed worriedly, approaching the noise into what he managed to recognize as one of the indoor gyms.
From within the smoke, he saw a figure move. The silhouette of a man bigger than any high-school student had a right to be turning around to face him. Maybe someone with a mutation quirk?
“Oh thank god! I thought I was lost in here alone!” He sighed in a relieved voice. “I think all the villains have left the area! Let’s see if we can find the others!”
For a second, he thought he saw the figure shake in fear, until, slowly, the realization dawned on him. He was laughing, and no, he was definitely, not a student.
Muscular’s hulking figure emerged from the mist, a predatory smile in his face as is eyes focused on him. Almost instantly, Izuku had the dreadful realization that he had no idea who he was.
“And here I thought I wouldn’t have any fun today…”
Oh yes, Izuku was royally fucked.
To his credit, Shinsou had managed to survive.
Surprisingly, the villains had been more focused on fighting off the teachers than they were on actually maiming him or the other students. Which like, Shinsou was not about to complain, he’d spent the last half hour ducking and hiding in unused classrooms. He was not about to go look for opportunities to get his face smashed in.
For a second there a guy with the scariest patchwork face had come close to finding him. His hands had been alight with blue fire; an awful reminder that he was vulnerable, weak, easy to break. Luckily, he had walked away in time, speaking to whom he assumed to be the leader before finally going away.
By the time he actually felt safe going out in the open; the hallways had filled with smoke, making it almost impossible for him to find his way out.
Mistake after mistake, it had all led him here.
He’d been foolish, so, fucking foolish.
He had followed the noises, thinking in vain that he would find other students. By the time it all made sense, he had already seen it.
It was the cute boy from before, the one with the green hair he’d been fantasizing about. Held above the ground by the neck as the monster of a man leered at him, his legs kicking desperately as he tried to scream through choked sobs.
The fear made his blood feel like ice.
“The boss said we had to refrain from killing anyone, but I don't think he'll mind if I just break one of you. How could I resist when you make it so easy?”
He felt trapped in a horror movie. The monstrous musculature of the man seeming to enlarge even more before he threw the boy like a rag doll against the bleachers, his body landing with a sickening crunch. For a moment, it seemed as if the boy tried to say something, but that came out of his lips was blood, blood that didn’t seem to stop.
“Tell me, how many bones do you think I can break before you pass out?” The man grinned.
He kept trying to speak, broken syllables slipping without luck. And at that moment, Shinsou knew he would die here, he was going to die right in front of him and Shinsou was there, standing like an idiot, just watching it happen.
Useless.
For a split second he saw it all happen in front of his eyes. That body broken on the floor. A name he did not know imprinted on the list of casualties. The boy with the candy cane hair crying. All cause he did nothing. Cause he stood there and watched as that monster broke him apart.
Before he even realized it, he was running towards him.
“Stop!” He screamed, the word burning on his throat.
The monster turned to him, the sadism on his eyes somehow not freezing him on spot. His odds were clear to anyone who would walk in. It was one vicious villain, a man with a quirk that made breaking each bone of his body as easy as swatting a fly, against him, a looser who had never won a fist fight on his life.
Unless he used the one thing he had going for him, his one chance.
“Yes! I'm talking to you, you body builder wannabe.” He screamed before regret or fear had any chance to set in. “Are you just a piece of shit or do you pick on kids to compensate for your tiny ass dick?”
He was dead, so dead.
The monster of a man turned to him, his eyes so full of rage that Shinsou was sure of his imminent, slow and painful death at that moment. And as if it couldn’t be worse, then he grinned, jumping right in front of him, his gigantic hand enclosing around his throat this time. The pressure made his brain feel like it would explode any moment.
Was this how he died? Trying and pathetically failing to play the hero? Was his life that cruel? Would the cute boy even make? Would it all be for nothing?
He did not want to go like this.
And then, at last…
“Thinking about it I think I’ll break you fir…”
His eyes went blank.
Shinsou cried in relief as the hand went limp, his body hitting the ground painfully. His ankle burst in pain as he landed. Somehow, the pain barely even registered in his mind.
Without bothering to give the man an order, he limped to the boys side; putting aside the pain on his neck and ankle to see how he was doing.
“Are you-” he wheezed, trying to regain his voice. “Are you okay?”
It was like time stopped for him for a moment. The boy turned at him. His green eyes shined with unshed tears, pointed at him; the traces of desperation and fear giving up to something new, something that Shinsou had never seen directed at him, wonder, gratitude.
“You saved me…”his weak voice wheezed at last.
Like he was a hero, he looked at him like he was a hero. A real one.
“I couldn’t leave you to die.” He replied, like an idiot.
But as he hoisted him into his arms, legs ready to give out with every new step as he tried to look for help, he felt something new inside of himself. It was weak, barely there, and still, it clawed at the strings of his mind like a beast ready to wake up.
He wanted the boy. Somehow, he wanted him bad.