Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Nezu was an enigma to most people.

Very few people knew what the mysterious hybrid animal was thinking most of the time. However, most of the time, it always seemed that something is on his mind, which he claims to be his reason why he loves tea so much.

As mentioned above, there were few who knew of Nezu's background. The UA Staff had occasionally caught a glimpse of the hidden part of the hybrid's personality: his hatred for humans.

Of course, he doesn't hate all humans. If he did, he wouldn't be the principal of the best hero school in Japan in the first place. The exceptions of his hatred were those whom he recognized as a genuinely good person (like All Might) and children.

He thought of many of his students like they were his own children and helped them get through their problems. Like that time when he helped a second-year student from Class 2-B when he found out that the girl came from an abusive household and sued her foster parents and making them serve 12 years in prison for their crimes of child abuse and neglect.

Of course, there is one particular child that Nezu absolutely adored.

He was the first heroic human Nezu has ever met since he stepped into the outside world. Oh, how Nezu longed to see him again personally...

It's a good thing that the internet existed, otherwise, Nezu probably would have never heard from him ever again.

He then typed out his message.

Izuku groaned, placing his arm over his eyes. He was currently resting in his bed after getting injured during his vigilante activities. Because of that, his AI, for some reason, notified FRIDAY about his condition and now the rest of the Avengers are most likely going to visit his manor.

"Father, your previous action indicates that you are now in between the state of consciousness and unconsciousness."

He pulled his arm away from his face to see his AI, Vivian, standing next to his bedside. Despite being an Android, the AI's appearance is identical to that of a human. Vivian held the appearance of a young adult male and is as tall as Izuku's butler, Alfred Pennyworth. He has slightly long purple hair and blue eyes and looks older than Izuku himself. His hair is styled in a emo cut and has long bangs on the right side of his face but his right eye is still barely visible. He wears a formal attire very similar to Alfred's outfit, except it is in a dark blue color scheme.

"Is something the matter, Vivi?" Izuku asks, about to sit up until his AI grabbed his shoulder, stopping him from doing so.

"I advise that you do not overexert yourself, Father." His slightly robotic voice held a stern tone.

The teen sighed but complied, arguing against an Artificial Intelligence who has unlimited access to the internet is pointless. Also, Alfred is most likely preparing his dinner right now which is why he isn't here.

"As for your question, your close acquaintance, Mr. Nezu, had sent an invitation for you to attend UA High School." Vivi explained, "He wishes for you to become the first Quirkless Pro Hero of Japan as you're the only Japanese quirkless who is the most suitable candidate to become an inspiration to the quirkless of Japan."

"Another one of his schemes, I see." Izuku mumbled, but he knows that the hybrid has good intentions. He was already a prominent figure as the quirkless "World's Greatest Detective" as well as being a quirkless vigilante but why not take it up a notch?

"I'm in." Izuku said before both of them heard the door slammed open to reveal the Merc with a mouth.

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen! It is I, your Friendly Neighborhood—"

Chapter Text

Sometime ago...

"Hello there, everybody! Welcome back to Late Night Live with Lily Thompson!" A tall, beautiful blonde woman with blue eyes wearing a black mini dress announced cheerfully, "But today, we have a very special guest tonight! And you won't believe who it is! It's none other than Viridi! The World's Famous Vigilante and the Greatest Detective!"

Said Vigilante/Detective is currently sitting on the couches of the stage (Izuku's vigilante costume is that of Ronin but has a Batman-like bodysuit underneath. It's basically very dark-green with black linings.). An applause is heard in the background as the woman makes her way to the opposite couch, looking very excited herself.

"I must say, all of us were very surprised when you agreed to our request for an interview. Why did you agreed to it, Mr. Viridi?" Lily asks.

"A friend of mine persuaded me to it. They told me that it would be better for me if I made my intentions known so people would have a clear idea for the purpose of my activities." He told her casually, his voice modifier on, making it slightly deep and distorted.

She nodded at his answer, understanding of his use of the word 'they' instead of a specific gender, "If you don't mind, is it okay to ask several questions?"

Viridi simply shrugged, "Isn't that why I'm here?"

She giggled at his cheekiness before finally starting, "What made you become a vigilante?"

"That's the question everyone wants to know, isn't it? Why become an illegal hero when you can become a licensed one? However, many people become vigilantes because of one shared belief."

"And that is...?"

"The desire to help others. Sounds cliché, but it's the truth. Many of us believe that one doesn't need to be licensed simply to help others. In fact, it's common knowledge among us that people become Pro Heroes for fame and money." He said.

Lily nodded sadly, "Unfortunately, that is a fact."

"But that isn't all that bad. While the true meaning of being a hero has been tarnished once it became a profession, as long as Pro Heroes continue to prioritize saving lives instead of fighting villains first, I'm fine with it."

"Even if their desires are only for fame and money?"

"Like I said, being a hero is a job now, unfortunately. But greed is part of human nature and there's not a single thing we can do to change that."

"I see. But if you would have the opportunity to become a licensed hero, would you take it?"

Viridi seemed to think about for a few moments before answering, "Yes, I would."

"Why is that?"

"Whether I like it or not, there's no denying that it has its advantages. While being a vigilante certainly grants more freedom of access, it's the laws against vigilantes that prevents us from effectively doing our work and we always have to run from the police right after we defeat a villain, but I may be an exception of that. However, becoming a Pro Hero means that others would be more willing to cooperate with me and that the government would no longer have to send the police or heroes after me while I'm doing that is supposedly their job. America is one of the few countries that are actually a bit more lax with their laws, hence the continuous crusade of Spider-Man."

The woman nodded at his answer before remembering a certain part of his statement, "An exception?"

Lily could almost swear that she can feel the vigilante smile, "According to the laws, a vigilante is someone who uses their quirks without a license, am I right?"

The blonde tilted her head, "Yes...?"

"However, in this specific situation, what if that 'vigilante' does not even have a quirk to use for their daily activities?"

Silence.

"A-Are you saying you're..."

Viridi nodded.

Outside of the screen, everyone who was watching the show gaped at the reveal.

"T-That's... That's amazing! A quirkless vigilante and detective!? You're like some of the Avengers!" Lily's excitement nearly blew the eardrums of the cameramen.

Viridi chuckled in amusement, "I'm flattered by your praise. This is why I settled in New York for now."

Lily immediately stomped down her excitement and awkwardly cleared her throat, "Um, why here?"

He then sighed, "America has the highest percentage of quirkless in the world. This is the reason why America is one of the most advanced countries in the world, second only to Wakanda, as they rely much more on technology than quirks. I'm just glad that the quirkless aren't being put down by others simply because of their lack of quirk. Unlike in Japan..."

"Japan? Are you Japanese?" Lili asks curiously.

Viridi nodded, "I'll be honest right now. I actually grew up in Japan until I left there but it wasn't easy. Despite having the lowest crime rate in the world thanks to All Might, there are lots of equality issues there, especially discrimination. Once everyone learned that I was diagnosed as quirkless, they all turned their backs against me. All my former friends started to bully me, always telling me that I can't be a hero without a quirk, that being quirkless is equivalent to useless. My teachers didn't care, they ignored my cries for help and just watched the discrimination happen in front of their eyes. Even when I try to report the bullying, they'll just pin the blame on me by saying that I provoked my bullies even though I never even talked to them." The woman gasped at that, "They often exclude me in simple activities because they didn't think that a quirkless could keep up with his other peers."

"That's awful! Those people should have been fired!" Lily angrily said.

"I completely agree but I was just a child back then, powerless and naive. No one would believe a word from a quirkless child because they think that not having a quirk is a disability." Viridi said sadly, "I did a lot of research for a long time because I knew that it wasn't just me experiencing these unfair hardships."

Lily nodded in silence solemnly.

"Out of all the countries, Japan has the highest rate of quirkless suicides. At least 70% of the quirkless who committed suicide are teens, ranging from middle school to high school. The reasons for this are all the same: Bullying and Discrimination." Her eyes widened in horror, "In fact, it's not just the quirkless who have it tough."

"Who are the others?" She asks, seemingly knowing what's he going to say.

"People with weak or so-called 'villainous' quirks. Most of those with mental or blood-related quirks become criminals simply because society didn't like them. People tend to overlook the usefulness of the quirk underneath the 'scary' or 'weak' appearance, always judging the book by its cover."

"I can relate to that." Lily admitted, "My quirk, Night Vision, allows me to see clearly in the darkness. But they told me that kind of quirk is weak and isn't useful for heroism."

"Then those people are fools." Viridi bluntly stated, surprising the woman, "While it isn't a quirk for physical combat, Night Vision is clearly useful for reconnaissance. Being able to see in the dark allows you to easily locate ally or enemy. In other words, your quirk is useful for strategic and spy purposes."

Lily blushed at his statement regarding her quirk, "T-Thank you!"

"Japan isn't the only one having these problems, there are plenty of other countries as well. Quirks have dictated society. Having a strong and flashy quirk basically means you're destined for greatness while those who have weak quirks and quirkless are left in the sidelines. Do not even try to deny that quirks basically determines your social status."

Lily was very intrigued and let him continue without interruption.

"Quirks are also what is hindering humanity's development. People become so reliant on quirks that they don't even consider help from anything else. In fact, the only reason America is so technologically advanced is because more than half of the population don't have any quirks to rely on. They had to rely on something else. Iron Man is a prime example of this. A quirkless but natural genius who used his money and tech to become the hero he is today."

In a certain tower, Tony Stark, Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan were watching the interview. Tony couldn't help but laugh in delight at the mention of his name, much to Happy's annoyance.

Viridi turned towards the screen, "To everyone who is currently watching this, I will just let you know that Quirks are not everything. Those who have been cast aside, quirkless or not, do not let difference stop you. Let them call you 'weak', 'useless', 'villainous', because they are people who are ignorant of your potential. If you have the drive to prove them wrong, show them what you're made of and send those words back at them!"

The hostess and cameramen's cheers were the only sounds that could be heard before the show was cut into the commercial.

The interview had exploded in the media all over the world. It turns out, it was also live in the internet and it racked up to a hundred million of views. In the following days after the interview, Japan has been heavily called out regarding their discrimination problems, with many people (which some are quirkless) confirming about Viridi's statement.

In an attempt to prevent public outrage, the government implemented anti-discrimination laws not only to those with quirks that are considered 'weak' or 'villainous', but also to the quirkless. As a result, at least 300 schools, including orphanages and companies, were sued, some of them even closed down, this only also proved the vigilante's point. Many heroes also supported this cause, as they have been victims in the past as well. Some of the top pro heroes, which were All Might, Hawks, Edgeshot, Gang Orca and Ryukyu, publicly voiced their disgust by this unfair treatment due to the difference in quirks and supported the anti-discrimination.

One of the very recent cases of this problem was when a middle school in Musutafu, Aldera, was sued and fined due to rumors of quirkless discrimination, which were confirmed by a second-year quirkless girl who stayed anonymous. Another instance was in Nabu Middle School where another second-year student was discriminated due to having a brainwashing quirk and was often blamed by other students until Detective Tsukauchi had put a stop to it.

To say that Viridi is a prominent figure is an understatement. He soon became an inspiring figure to many people and was regarded as the person to have given them the courage to stand up for themselves. There was also another thing that he generously gave...

Hope.

Chapter Text

Even after all this time, Izuku never ceases to surprise Nezu.

When he learned that Izuku had come back to Japan, he more or less expected that he would come back to his home country so soon. One would think that he wouldn't even come back to the place that had everyone shatter his dreams at a very young age, but Nezu is well aware that Izuku isn't one to let his emotions cloud his judgement.

The hybrid had only ever been to the teen's house once and he could already freely say that it is, by far, the largest house he had ever seen in his entire life. It's more like a palace rather than a manor. Hundreds of people could live in this place.

For some reason, he could hear several crashes on the floor above. Who was making that noise?

The butler, Alfred Pennyworth, is a very pleasant man to have around. He makes the best tea Nezu had ever tasted! When he asked about the recipe, Alfred replied that he cannot answer as it is a family recipe created by Izuku's mother and Nezu respected that.

The resident android, Vivian, was a bit odd but not at all terrifying. In fact, Nezu was a bit surprised that he is more human than he thought. His rather dry and surreal sense of humor might make him come off as a bit rude but knowing Izuku, Nezu knows that this android was given a good heart. Plus, he noticed that Vivian always seemed to lightened up whenever his creator is around and acts like a moody teenager when having conversations with him. Their interaction heavily reminded Nezu that of a father and son.

Speaking of his creator...

The two geniuses were sitting right now in Izuku's study room. Vivian was idly reading a novel on another couch at the side of the room while Alfred is making more tea in the kitchen.

"The media is making quite a ruckus right now, you know? You've made your fantastic debut by saving a middle school boy from the Sludge Villain." Nezu said.

Izuku huffed a bit, "I wouldn't even need to defeat the Sludge Villain in the first place if those heroes hadn't relied so much on their quirks. They had to wait for a hero with the right quirk to defeat the villain swiftly all the while letting the boy suffocate to death."

It was clear that the teen was very dissapointed but accepted it. People can't quickly adapt to the major changes in the country. In fact, there were still many recent cases of discrimination and they knew it's not going to die out anytime soon. Like Izuku said in the interview, quirks have dictated society to the point where it determines their social status.

Izuku sighed, placing his head on his palm, "It was clear as day that the Sludge Villain still possessed some physical traits on his liquefied body, such as his eyes. Death Arms and Kamui Woods could have easily hit the eyes but they were so quick to assume that their quirks could do nothing against him. Even throwing a single pebble in the eye would have slowed the villain down."

Nezu seriously hoped those heroes learned their lesson.

Izuku stopped his rant, "I apologize for ranting. That was uncivilized of me."

The hybrid shook his head, "I don't mind at all, Izuku. I am just as dissapointed as you. They should have known better than to throw logic out of the window."

"Don't worry. I gave them the same rant before I left the scene. From Kamui Woods's apology to me, I am certain that they learned from their mistake." Izuku said.

Well, that's good to hear. Nezu sipped his tea before asking, "By the way, what have you been doing the past month? Excluding the incident with the Sludge Villain, of course."

Izuku simply shrugged, "Just a slight investigating and blackmailed several people."

Nezu's ears perked up, "Oho~? And who are these unfortunate people that you have targeted?"

"Endeavor and the Hero Commission." Izuku sipped his tea.

"Hm? Would you care to enlighten me why?"

The teen's face turned a bit sour, which makes Nezu curious as the vigilante doesn't openly show his emotions much.

"Endeavor abused his family."

Nezu stared.

Izuku continued, "He took his ambition of surpassing All Might too far and married his wife in order to breed a weapon that will surpass the Symbol of Peace. Obviously, he didn't care much for family love and trained two of his children ruthlessly."

Nezu pushed down his anger in order to listen to the whole explanation.

"Only two?" The hybrid asks.

"Todoroki Natsuo's quirk allows him to emit slightly cold air while Todoroki Fuyumi's quirk is dry ice. However, Endeavor considered them as failures and instead, focused on his oldest and youngest."

"Todoroki Touya and Shouto..." Nezu muttered.

"Todoroki Touya's fire is stronger than his father's, but he inherited his mother's ice-resistant body, making him unable to handle the heat of his own flames. But Endeavor still insists on training him despite knowing that his oldest's quirk damages his own body. Todoroki Shouto, on the other hand..."

"From what I heard about Shouto-kun, his quirk is the perfect combination of fire and ice, correct?" Nezu said.

Izuku sadly nodded, "Endeavor considered Shouto-kun to be his greatest masterpiece. As a result, he's the one who Endeavor 'trains' the most."

The two were silent for a minute. Vivian even stopped reading and was listening to the conversation the whole time.

To think that the Number 2 would be so sick of his title to the point where he abused his own family. That explained why Todoroki Rei was in a mental hospital for nearly a decade. It was said that she had a frail body (which wasn't wrong) to those who questioned where she was. She must have been abused as well and finally snapped. And Touya-kun... his cause of death was certainly suspicious.

Which is suicide.

"And you did not expose him?" Nezu questioned.

Izuku shook his head, "I blackmailed him with complete evidence of his abuse. He tried to accuse me of hacking, which is true. But that would mean nothing to Endeavor once I expose this all over Japan. In exchange of not releasing this information, he will no Ionger abuse his children in any way. I've set up secret cameras in their house. It's a breach of privacy but it's necessary. Vivi watches Endeavor 24/7. If Vivi reports to me even a slightest bit of abuse, even psychologically, I will not hesitate to expose him." The vigilante explained.

"But why not now?"

Izuku sighed, "Whether I like it or not, Endeavor isn't Number 2 for nothing. He holds the record of the highest tally of resolved cases in history. Despite having the lowest PR among the top 5, it's simply because of his attitude and his skills are nothing to scoff at. If he were a brute that only prioritizes in defeating villains instead of saving lives, I would not have hesitated to expose him. Additionally, despite his seemingly brutal way of fighting, Endeavor has yet to kill a single villain or civilian and has caused very minimal property damage."

"Is that your only reason?" Nezu asks again, completely interested despite his rage at Endeavor's horrific actions towards his family.

"No. In America, technology dominates society. Humanity's advancement is top priority there." Izuku thought about Banner and Stark for a moment, "But in Japan and most other countries, it is the concept of 'Heroes VS Villains'. Japan is heavily recognizable by the world because of All Might. But I am aware of All Might's current condition, including his nemesis and the true nature of his quirk."

Nezu chuckled in amusement, "Is hacking top-secret files a daily routine for you?"

Izuku smirked, "Yes. But I usually leave it up to Vivi."

In response, the Android fist bump in the air.

"Anyway, if Endeavor gets arrested once All Might retires, which is going to be pretty soon if he keeps up his reckless fighting considering his injury, the people will lose its trust in heroes and crime rate will drastically increase now that both the Symbol of Peace and Number 2 are out of the picture. But that is only if Endeavor continues to abuse his son. But so far, it's most likely that he got the message."

Nezu considered his reason. He didn't like how Endeavor is getting away with his actions but he deemed it necessary. He's no hero. He is only a tool in the two geniuses' eyes.

He decided to move on to the next topic, "I suppose that the Hero Commission was blackmailed because they covered up Endeavor's crimes?"

Corruption always played a part in politics, the Hero Commission is no different. Nezu knew for a long time that they have been making shady deals in the shadows but he does not possess any sufficient evidences and the Commission will always try to keep him away from them.

"Partly. But this entirely involves the Number 3 Hero, Hawks."

"... What atrocity have they committed?"

Izuku typed on his laptop a bit, "You are aware of the reason why Hawks is so famous right?"

He gave the teen a nod. It was a high-speed car accident years ago. Despite being a child, Hawks had saved the lives of many people. This was the heroic act that made him so famous, aside from being the youngest of the Top 10 Heroes.

"His parents basically sold him off to the Hero Commission in exchange for money." Izuku explained bitterly, "Under their care, he was trained to become a model hero, making him completely ahead of his peers in terms of heroics."

"Hawks... sounds like a child soldier." Nezu said.

"That's because he is. I've been suspicious of how fast Hawks had risen in such a short time. Now, I've figured out why."

"Please enlighten me." This was one of the main reasons Nezu loved having conversations with Izuku. He wasn't called the 'World's Greatest Detective' for nothing.

Izuku began, "Hawks started his agency at 18-years-old, correct? But a hero can't simply open up an agency right after graduating. The process of opening up an agency is the same as starting a store business and that would require a lot of money. A pro hero's salary is hefty but that alone wouldn't be enough to open an agency unless they worked for years. Ingenium was one of the few who started his agency early with the help of his family's income. Hawks, however..."

Nezu quickly realized where this was going, "He was born in Fukuoka in the island of Kyushu, which has a very long history with poverty. This is the reason why he was sold off."

"Which begs the question: Where did the money come from?. I checked the bank accounts of the Takami couple and found out that they have a vast amount of money despite not having jobs for years. I had Vivi check the source of the bank code that has been sending them money for years and found out that it came from the Hero Commission themselves."

Nezu rested his head on his paw and listen quietly.

"I doubt that the couple would even send money to the child they sold so Vivi did some slight hacking and it turns out, the bank code is also the same one who provided the finances for Hawks's agency. We also checked the Commission's database and saw that Hawks's license is under the 'Temporary' file, a category only meant for hero course interns."

"But what purpose could these actions have?"

"I had a theory. The Commission is most likely trapping Hawks under their thumb. Hawks literally had nowhere to go since he was sold as a child, so he had no choice but to listen to his buyers. Trained in nothing but heroism, Hawks isn't suited for any other profession. He is constantly under the threat of getting his license revoked if he doesn't comply to the Commission's orders. If his license is ever taken away, that would put him in heavy debt since the Commission did most of the funding of his agency and his salary when he was a hero wouldn't be enough to pay for all of it. They controlled him his entire life without giving him a choice for himself. In fact, I'm not even sure if Hawks even wanted to become a hero in the first place."

"But, Father..." Vivi suddenly spoke up, gaining the other two's attention, "How did you even found out that Hawks had been sold off to the Hero Commission in the first place?"

"The time in which the Commission had started providing the Takamis money coincides with the year the high-speed accident occurred. It was the following week, in fact. And I checked their new house, which is almost as big as a mansion, and after listening in to their conversations when they were out in the balcony, I learned that Hawks hadn't lived with them for years. They were even happy that their own son isn't with them." Izuku spat the last part bitterly.

"They do not deserve to be called as parents..." Nezu uttered.

"That also explains why Hawks didn't have any school record as he was homeschooled by the Commission until they made him attend Shiketsu. I double-checked the database and managed to recover several hidden videos of Hawks's trainings, which shows the progress he made over the years."

"Wait, what?" Vivi looked spaced out for a moment, most likely looking through the files of the added lists of evidences, "...Oh."

He must've forgotten to check it.

"And so, I contacted the Commission and threatened to release all the information I have on them regarding Hawks as well as the abuse of Endeavor, since losing the Number 2 would give them a heavy blow. They complied with my demands of giving Hawks his hero license permanently as well as get rid of all his debts to them. They complied and I left them alone for now. Besides, even if they demand to be paid I can just pay them in full."

"Yeah, hundreds of millions of yen wouldn't even make a dent in your allowance." Vivi commented.

Nezu felt a bit angry at himself. He knew that the Commission and Endeavor seemed very suspicious from the start and yet, did nothing against them. Maybe it was because of his hidden hatred of humans that he didn't want to bother with them.

He mentally shook those thoughts out of his head. Regretting wouldn't do a thing right now, he just have focus on the future.

"Is that all you have been doing?" He asks curiously. But despite his question, Nezu doubted it.

Izuku shook his head, "Not at all. Even if you hadn't given me the invitation to go to UA, I would still have returned to Japan myself."

The hybrid tilted his head, "Oh?"

"While I was in America, I found out that a large amount of Trigger had been shipped off to overseas. When I interrogated one of the goons they told me that their buyer was a yakuza group, the Shie Hassaikai." Izuku said.

"I see. So the Shie Hassaikai has been trafficking drugs... Despite being under surveillance by the police, they never did any crimes." Nezu said.

Izuku shrugged, "It's easy to find places without security cameras. That's how villains go around undetected, it's too dangerous to stay in one place in a long time so they have to move bases every once in a while."

"The Trigger in Asia are of poor quality and they can only last for a few minutes." Nezu uttered, "But the ones in America can last for an hour or two. That means..."

"The Shie Hassaikai are a small organization. It's a stupid decision to use Trigger to fight heroes, especially since it weakens their sense of reason. So they're most likely selling them as a means of income. The Trigger they bought in America can be sold to a high price due to the quality. However, it seems that drug trafficking isn't only what they are doing..."

Before Nezu could ask why, Izuku placed the laptop in front of him, showing him a security footage of an dead-end alleyway. Oh right, Izuku has security footage on all over the world.

There was nothing in the footage for a minute until he saw a small figure ran from the side of screen. It turned out to be a little girl and Nezu was heavily disturbed by her appearance. She was wearing nothing but a plain white shirt that was too large for her. Her long silver hair was very messy and it looked like it hadn't been combed for a while and she had a small horn on the side of her forehead, she was also barefooted. What truly caught his eye, however, was the bandages that covered both her arms and legs.

Bandages in arms and legs.

Nezu used to have those injuries.

A new person then appeared on screen. The hybrid quickly recognized the man as the leader of the Shie Hassakai, Overhaul, his real name Chisaki Kai.

The girl reached the dead-end and trembled violently, as if shivering from a cold. Fearful and teary red eyes turned to the man once he approached closer. After the man seemingly spoke to her, the young girl calmed down and just lowered her head down, as if accepting her fate.

Once the footage ended with the girl finally following the masked man, Nezu turned to Izuku, whose grim expression is the same as his.

"What's your plan?"

Chapter Text

A week later...

Aizawa just wants to sleep.

Unfortunately, he can't. He had been called by Nezu during the morning while he was grading papers. Usually, they were notifications of upcoming meetings for the grades, exams, events or whatnot and Aizawa would usually just sleep through it, but in this case, like he said, he can't.

There was a hero meeting and school was canceled despite being a weekday. Aizawa found it very strange that UA is the location for the meeting, especially with a case completely unrelated to the school.

Hizashi got injured during his patrol a couple of days ago and is currently staying at a hospital. Luckily, Nemuri covered the babysitting duty for him so he can attend the meeting.

When he got to the conference room, Aizawa was surprised by the amount of heroes inside the room, this also included some of the UA staff. He could also see few of the top 10 such as Ryukyu, Edgeshot and even Hawks inside. This also includes the Big Three. He also saw Detective Tsukauchi on one of the seats, giving him a small wave.

Was this case really that serious?

He then saw the little rat sitting on the chair at the front. He sat next to Tsukauchi and listened as Nezu finally greeted everyone.

"Thank you all for coming today. While I would like to start this meeting, the person who requested this meeting has yet to come so I—"

Someone's voice echoed from the outside, gaining everyone's attention, "I apologize for my tardiness."

All the attention turned towards the opening door of the conference room. To say that everyone is surprised is a complete understatement, especially since the person who entered is the world-famous quirkless vigilante who made quite an impact in Japan. There was also some guy in a red suit who seemed to be way too carefree. The katanas on his back caused many occupants of the room to be on guard, including Aizawa.

From the corner of his eye, Aizawa noticed that Hawks was smiling brightly at the vigilante, his wings even fluttering a bit.

"You're not usually late in meetings." Nezu said, do they know each other personally?

"I apologize. He's easily distracted." The vigilante explained, pointing his thumb at the red-clad guy.

"Come on! I didn't know Japan had chimichangas!" The masked guy complained.

"Silence. We are in a meeting." His stern distorted voice held such authoritative tone that it shut him up.

"Wait, are you the one who set up this meeting?" Rock Lock asked skeptically.

"Yes." Viridi seemed so experience in talking about business. He took his seat next to Nezu (followed by the masked guy) and laced his fingers together "This is a dire case in need of more manpower. I suppose I do not need to introduce myself as it is a waste of time."

Aizawa agreed. There's no point in introducing yourself when almost everyone in the country knows you. Formalities are a waste of time.

"I would like to conduct this conference with you all today, to share any acquired information regarding the plans of a yakuza organization known as the Shie Hassakai."

"You mean that small yakuza group?" Snipe asked.

Viridi nodded, "They're the reason why I came to Japan in the first place."

That caught many of the heroes' interest. They all knew of his backstory from the viral interview. He left Japan because of discrimination. There were so many theories online regarding his return to his home country.

The vigilante slightly rolled his right sleeve up which revealed a black bead bracelet with a symbol on each bead. Much to their surprise, a large hologram appeared above from one of the beads (What kind or tech is that?), showing an image of a port in nighttime. The people in the image are pretty far so it was difficult to tell what they look like. They also look to be shipping off several crates of cargo.

"A month ago, a large amount of high quality Trigger had been shipped off from America. I took this photo while I was investigating a drug trafficking villain group." Viridi explained, "One of the thugs I interrogated revealed that their buyer was the Shie Hassakai."

Tsukauchi was furiously writing notes. Aizawa was worried the pen might snap from the tight grip and hit him in the eye.

"I requested heroes of Sir Nighteye's agency to attend as they, too, have been investigating the yakuza group." Nezu said.

A sidekick of Nighteye's, Centipeder, nodded, "We have been investigating them for a few weeks. We haven't made much progress but we did learn that there was an increase in contact with people outside of the group. From what we can conclude, they appear to be moving with the intent to expand and accumulate funds."

"The police has been keeping surveillance on them for a long time. But there were no records of any crimes." Tsukauchi said.

"Well, there are now. But drug trafficking is just the beginning."

The room was beginning to get tense from Viridi's statement.

"Hey, who's that anyway?" Mr. Brave asked, pointing at the masked guy.

The masked guy then pointed his thumb at himself, his tone way too joyful for a serious meeting, "Why, I'm—"

"His name is Deadpool." Viridi cut off, ignoring Deadpool's protest, "He's a mercenary that I hired to help me with my investigation, hence why he's here."

"I see."

"Continuing, me and Deadpool have been sneaking in on secret meetings between the yakuza and their clients regarding Trigger. Like Centipeder mentioned earlier, they have been accumulating funds." Viridi pressed the hologram and it showed another image besides the one earlier. This time, it showed a person wearing a white hooded coat with a black plague mask talking to a group of thugs, "We were able to locate their meetings by interrogating their previous clients. I suppose anyone here remembers the Instant Villains?"

Aizawa and Tsukauchi widened their eyes. Many of the heroes in the room nodded, remembering the series of incidents that occurred in Naruhata.

"But weren't they clients of the Villain Factory?" Tsukauchi asks, unsure.

"Not all of them. Apparently, some of them disguised themselves as such as a way to prevent themselves from appearing in the police's radar. In fact, they may have even framed the Villain Factory with several drug deals that had nothing to do with said organization."

Tsukauchi frowned. That meant that the Villain Factory isn't responsible for several Trigger deals.

"Me and Deadpool snuck into one of their recent meeting places, which is an abandoned warehouse located in Shibuya, and crashed it. However, that's where we learned that they were also selling another product besides Trigger."

"Is it another drug?" Ectoplasm asked.

"Yes, but a different kind. The man we've interrogated, whom we have identified as a minor member who had recently joined out of fear, told us that their new product is a new kind of bullet. Which is a drug that erases quirks."

Their reaction was expected.

"Erases quirks!?" Majority of them shouted.

"Wait." Gran Torino raised his hand, "How do you know for sure that it erases quirks?"

"It was during the scuffle that we found out." Viridi explained, "The villain attempted to use the drug on Deadpool. However, due to his poor aim, he instead shot his client. The client couldn't use his quirk after that. I didn't have the necessary equipment to perform a thorough examination so we took him to an underground clinic. There, we learned that his Quirk Factor was damaged. Luckily, it was able to recover naturally and returned to normal now."

"Well, if it recovers. There's no need to worry. It's nothing fatal." Rock Lock said waved it off.

"No." Viridi shook his head, disagreeing, "I'll leave that explaination to Eraserhead."

Aizawa, realizing why he was called to this meeting, spoke up, "It's a bit different from my Erasure. That's because I'm not attacking the quirk itself. A special mechanism, 'Plus Alpha', is added to a basic human body. That is a quirk. Ultimately, I can only temporarily halt that quirk factor. I can't cause damage to it."

"May I ask a question?" Edgeshot raised his hand once Aizawa was finished, "What happened to the villain?"

"..."

"..."

The heroes weren't expecting the ensuing awkward silence. Then suddenly, Viridi placed a hand on his face and let out a slightly exasperated sigh while Deadpool just looked sheepish all the while scratching the back of his head.

"Deadpool... accidentally shot a bullet to a hanging light, causing it to fall down on the villain. He was confined in Shibuya Villain Hospital and is currently in a coma." Viridi admitted. Wait, is Nezu patting his back?

"I-I see..." Edgeshot decided not to press further.

"Continuing, we managed to acquire the rest of the cartridge before they were used further. I checked the contents inside and something sickening came out. It contained human blood."

Many of the heroes paled at that, especially the Big Three.

"In other words. The effect is derived from a person, or a quirk." Ryukyu said, "A quirk to destroy other quirks."

"Yes, possibly." Viridi agreed. He pressed the hologram and another image showed up, it seemed to be a video, "I believe that I already found the source of the drug."

He showed the same video he showed Nezu a while ago.

Ryukyu gasped, "A child...!?"

"God, this is sick..." Hawks commented.

"That's... Overhaul..." Nighteye said, "Knowing his quirk, I thought it came from him."

Viridi shook his head, "Unfortunately no, the blood didn't match Overhaul's. I checked Japan's database and found no one with the same blood type. There was also no facial recognition on the girl and she has no official birth certificate."

"Does that mean she was abducted from birth?" Cementoss asked.

"Either that or she has a family member among the yakuza." Viridi said, "Much like the Villain Factory's Trigger, it's most likely that these bullets are in experimental stage. It's only a matter of time before they complete the drug in order to eradicate quirks permanently."

The heroes tensed at that. They all knew just how quirk-dependent Japan is. They knew it was wrong and felt disgusted at themselves for not taking action against it. It was only because of Viridi's interview that they managed to rally more than enough people to have the government implement those anti-discriminatory laws. If someone were able to take them away, there would be chaos.

"Um... Viridi-san." Hawks spoke up. Strange, he seems rather shy, "Why was Overhaul doing this in the first place? Is it some sort of typical reason of wanting to get back at society?"

"I don't believe so. Look at his mask, do any of you know what this is?" Viridi pointed at Overhaul's mask.

"Um... I think it's called a 'Plague Mask'? I saw that in the internet a while ago." A minor hero answered.

"Correct. It was used in France and Italy in the 17th century."

"Uh, what's that got to do with his reason?"

"The purpose of the mask was to keep away bad smells, known as miasma, which were thought to be the principal cause of the disease, before it was disproved by germ theory." Viridi explained, "Doctors believed that it would counter the "evil" smells of the plague and prevent them from becoming infected. And yet, Overhaul continues to don the mask in modern day. I doubt that it was for fashion, since he attempts to eradicate quirks. I'm pretty sure you all know the most well known theories of the development of quirks back in school."

Tsukauchi nodded, "Yes. One of the most popular ones were because of human experimentation or natural mutation. I think one theory also said that it was caused by the spread of a virus carried by... mice..." He trailed off, realizing what Viridi was implying.

"One of my conclusions is that Overhaul may possibly have germaphobia, an extreme fear of germs and obsession to cleanliness. He may have done it out of fear and may be attempting to get rid of society from its 'illness'."

Fear is a strong motivator, everyone knows that. However, it was terrifying just how far a person could go once consumed by it.

"Why don't we just call All Might? He could finish this case in a flash." An underground hero suggested.

Viridi shook his head, "Due to unfortunate circumstances, I cannot request All Might's aid. He doesn't have the time to be able to actively participate in this operation." He slight turned his head to Sir Nighteye and Gran Torino, whose eyes have widened in surprise. Do they know something?

"Hey, if one were to guess, the boss would want to hide the girl, who is the core component of his plan, right?" Rock Lock said, "And after all that trouble, she somehow makes it outside! And on top of that, to be spotted by security cameras. Do you think he'd honestly keep her tucked away at the headquarters after all that? If it were me, I wouldn't. Because even if we were to attack, as long as the girl isn't there, then it doesn't matter. Have we been able to specify her exact whereabouts?"

"He's right." Ryukyu agreed, "What do you think, Viridi?"

For some reason, Aizawa could almost see the smile on Viridi's face.

"I have plenty of informants. So I know exactly where their base is."

Chapter Text

Eri is scared of her quirk.

Because it was the same thing that made her father disappear. It was the same thing that made her mother leave her. It was the same thing that made Chisaki take her apart.

"You're a cursed child!"

She whimpered at the familiar female voice that rang in her head and buried herself more into the bed.

Today was strange, she has yet to be pulled into the white room nor has any of Chisaki's subordinates talk to her.

There were some yelling earlier. But none of the voices were of Chisaki's. She figured that the members were fighting each other again (Though, they only fight when Chisaki isn't around). It wasn't uncommon, that was how she managed to escape last week since she used their infighting as a distraction.

But Chisaki still hasn't taken her apart. He does it every other day.

She immediately sat up when she heard the door opening. However, her fear turned into confusion when she saw an unfamiliar person in dark-green clothing. She never saw him before in the facility. So was he a new member?

He was wearing a black, head mask so she couldn't fully see his face. Was he her new caretaker? The last one who took care of her got killed by Chisaki. Again, it was because of her people keep dying...

"I'm not a new member of Chisaki if that's what you're thinking."

Her eyes widened as she gazed at him cautiously. She also didn't expect his voice to be... um, broken?, "T-Then, w-who are you...?"

"My name is Viridi." He said softly despite the broken voice. He looked at her for a moment before saying, "Do you want to get out of this place?"

Her big innocent eyes widened at his words. Before she knew it, she was nodding repeatedly.

Can she finally get out of this place?

"C-Can I...?"

The man named Viridi nodded. He still made no attempt to approach her. He then asked, "Before that, do you trust me?"

Eri hesitated. She never trusted anyone in this place. Everyone left and hurt her because of her quirk. The only exception was her grandfather, but he's been sleeping for a long time.

But, Viridi. He isn't part of Chisaki's group. She doubt he even knows her mother who hates her. He's a complete stranger.

She nodded.

Seemingly satisfied with her answer. Viridi finally moved closer to her. To her own surprise, she didn't flinch when he approached her. His arms wrapped around her and gently lifted her up.

She felt herself tearing up. Because this was the exact same way her grandfather would carry her. He always held her without the intent of hurting her. When her mother left her, her grandfather was always the one comforting her whenever she felt sad.

For the first time in years, Eri finally felt safe within Viridi's kind hold.

If Hawks didn't have enough respect for Viridi before, it sure as hell skyrocketed now.

Hawks had already respected Viridi for how the interview affected Japan. It always disgusted him how this country's society viewed quirks as if it's the most important thing in the world. Quirks are the reason why he was controlled his whole life. Because everyone deemed it as a "heroic quirk".

Sometimes, he wondered what's so heroic about having a giant pair of wings.

He always hated it how everyone categorized quirks in different social categories: Heroic, Villainous and Weak. People always praised him but he knew it was just about his 'Hawks' persona and his wings.

Not Takami Keigo himself.

People don't seem to realize that there are no such things as heroic or villainous quirks. If anything, Hawks would have become known as the fastest villain if he wanted to.

But like Viridi said, people always judged the book by its cover.

He's friends with plenty of the top ten heroes so he knows their circumstances.

Gang Orca and Ryukyu were almost the same. They were feared because of their quirks. For Gang Orca, it was because of his appearance (Heck, he was considered to be rank third among heroes who look like villains). For Ryukyu, it was because she often lost control of her quirk and caused tons of property damaged as a kid.

For Edgeshot, he had the least flashiest quirk among the top ten. He was always teased for having a weak quirk in school because having a quirk that simply folds his own body is useless. But he proved them all wrong when he made it to the top ten.

Other than the quirkless, everyone who supported the anti-discrimination had quirks which were considered weak and villainous. He also noticed that there were also many mutant-type quirks among them. People with animal-type quirks, such as Hound Dog, were often treated like pets. While those that looked rather terrifying (Basically, those with appearances that looked like they just came out of a horror movie) were treated like monsters.

Yep, Japan had a lot of problems underneath its peaceful society.

Anyway, enough about that.

He always knew that Viridi is a smart guy (he's not considered as the "World's Greatest Detective" for nothing) but he never thought that the day the Commission will finally get their ass bitten would come.

Hawks didn't think anyone could help him. Considering that the Commission is the institution that handles the Pro Heroes, he doubted that someone would even consider the possibility that the Commission would be making deals in the shadows.

Apparently, Viridi did.

At first, he thought that the lady president was joking when she finally gave him his hero license (which was with the Commission this entire time in order to keep him under their thumb) and that his massive debt has been cleared. He tried to use his wings to check any signs that they were lying but found none.

It wasn't until after he left the meeting room that the Commission staff began arguing among themselves (He can hear conversations from a distance, which is why he can hear them behind a closed door) about 'releasing' him. That's when he learned that they had been blackmailed and that Viridi had more than enough material to make the Commission bend on their knees.

Viridi basically gave him control of his own life again.

Fuck. Up until now, he thought he was straight.

He needs Rumi's help.

Nighteye foresaw that the raid would fail.

After the conference, he momentarily used his quirk on Viridi and here's the future he saw:

After taking Eri from her room, Overhaul gets to the two of them before Aizawa and Hawks gets to them. He fuses himself with one of his subordinates during the battle and managed to land a hit on Viridi.

Utterly destroying him.

He tried to talk Viridi out of this operation but the latter just waved him off, infuriating him. Nezu had filled him and Gran Torino on the details on how the vigilante knew about All Might's condition and is not unwise as to tell anyone.

At this point, he doesn't care whether or not Viridi knows of his former partner's condition. This operation needed to be stopped.

Because the future can't be changed. It just can't.

No matter how many times he tried to change it, it was always the same outcome.

And yet...

When he saw the Viridi coming out of the facility with Eri in his arms, to say he was shocked was a complete understatement.

It was obvious that the vigilante didn't come out of the battle unscathed. Part of his costume was ripped and there were large traces of blood on it, he was also slightly limping when he ran out of there. He also saw that Eri's quirk was active, judging from the glowing and slowly enlarging horn.

The battle wasn't finished. Overhaul suddenly emerged from the facility as a huge monstrosity (he had fused with his subordinate). Until suddenly, the fuse was undone and there were several feathers in the sky, knocking Overhaul out when they hit him.

Looks like Viridi's strategy worked.

Viridi had Aizawa and Hawks team up against Overhaul. Using Erasure to prevent Overhaul from using his quirk and Hawks used his sharp feathers to knock out the villain.

(Aizawa also gazed towards them. This caused Eri's quirk to deactivate and fainted from quirk exhaustion.)

And it had worked.

This also includes on how Viridi had several heroes team up against the other members due to knowing about their quirks firsthand. They were only able to win thanks to Viridi's strategy.

And no one died.

"You believed that your quirk is infallible."

Nighteye turned to Viridi, who was simply sitting on a piece of concrete that was broken when Overhaul emerged. No one had any severe injuries and the heroes helped the police in loading the yakuza (as some were still resisting) in the vans. Viridi had given Eri to the ambulance as she had started to have a strong fever from quirk overuse. Gran Torino looked just as gobsmacked as he is, since this was the first time the old man had seen an outcome that wasn't the exact same scenario Nighteye foresaw.

Before Nighteye could even think of a reply, the vigilante continued, "You said that the future could not be changed. But it's written all over your face that that was simply your fear talking."

"Because it was set in motion!" Nighteye exclaimed in disbelief, his outburst surprising Mirio as he had never seen him that way, "It can never be changed! It was always the exact same outcome!"

The vigilante simply stared at the confused man. He was still studying psychology to get more master degrees (which isn't easy. It isn't surprising since he has his own mental issues), but he could easily tell that Nighteye is in denial, which he understood why.

Nezu had informed him that Nighteye was always hesitant to use his quirk since he can see up to the point of death. This meant that he had lived in constant fear of his own power due to believing that it is always 100% accurate and there's not a single thing he can do to prevent that person's death. That fear continued on for years until one future was changed all of the sudden.

Nighteye stopped after his outburst, taking heavy breaths to calm himself down, disbelief still present on his face.

Viridi calmly spoke up again, "It's because of Eri."

"What?"

"Eri's quirk is Rewind. Both of your quirks are related to time."

"What do you mean?" Mirio asked after calming his mentor down.

The vigilante continued, "Up until now, we never acquired a single piece of information regarding Eri's quirk other than the bullets, but even that isn't enough evidence as it had been mixed with various chemicals. It was only through Overhaul that I found out that she can reverse a person's time to the point of non-existence."

"I get the quirk part. But I don't get what you're trying to say here." Gran Torino said.

"What I'm trying to say is that Nighteye sees the future in base time, where it cannot be interfered through normal means. However, Eri is an external factor that goes against time. She can alter a person's time which would affect the accuracy of your Foresight." He explained and Nighteye and Gran Torino took a moment to process this information.

There were three types of quirks in the world. Emmiter-type quirks are the most common, followed by mutant-types and then transformation quirk. However, they also had their own set categories, such as elemental and animal-types.

However, one of the rarest categories were healing and teleportation-type quirks. Time-related quirks are almost unheard of in Japan, with Nighteye being the only officially known user. Nighteye had considered the possibility of his Foresight's accuracy being altered before, but has yet to meet another user with a time quirk to try out this theory.

And now, it has been proven.

"I need some time alone." Nighteye finally said, walking away towards the other ambulances.

"Ah, wait, Sir!" Mirio called out as he and Gran Torino watched him walk away. Mirio turned towards the vigilante with an apologetic look, "Sorry about that. Sir's not usually... Eh?"

Viridi was no longer there.

Hawks gazed towards the spot where the vigilante was. He heard everything they were saying and didn't want to interrupt them. But the second he looked away when he watched Nighteye walk off, the vigilante was gone. He frowned sadly, he didn't get the chance to thank him.

He will make sure to do so.

Viridi looked over the window of Eri's hospital room from the rooftop right next to the hospital. She was currently resting, as she merely needed some rest since she used her quirk beyond her limit.

He had contacted Nezu to provide shelter for Eri. He has no doubt that the authorities will agree to entrust UA with her care.

Eri does not have a birth certificate so they still had to go through the paperwork to make her one. Her mother also didn't have any (He learned about her when Overhaul talked about how Eri accidentally killed her father). That is most likely due to being family with the yakuza boss, who is still currently in a coma. That was also why he couldn't find any info on her in the database.

Viridi frowned when he thought about Eri's quirk.

Her quirk was powerful. Too powerful for a child to carry. She could make others live longer by reversing their age (Although, there's a possibility that their mental age could be reversed as well). Prevent illnesses from occurring as well as reversing the damage done to the body (just as she did with him).

That kind of power could make so many enemies to come after her. There was also the possibility that there could be an outside organization that may know about Eri's existence.

Entrusting UA with her protection is the best course of action right now. Izuku had little to no trust in the foster system (Considering the amount of cases of abuse and suicide regarding that).

He felt a pang in chest for leaving her. But he will only put her in more danger due to his activities.

"Death is what would come of fostering close personal relationships."

He shook the memory away as he jumped from the building, descending into the shadows.

He had more things to do.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

"Although, I didn't actually run the company until after I returned to America from my world travelling endeavor."

Chapter Text

"You're a cursed child!"

"You're entire existence is cursed."

"I never should have given birth to you!"

"People will only get hurt because of you."

Eri whimpered and cried in her sleep. Even though Overhaul is so far away from her now, even though she's not in that place anymore, the voice never left her. It continued to stay in her mind like plague.

"You're a cursed child!"

"You're entire existence is cursed."

"I never should have given birth to you!"

"People will only get hurt because of you."

The same words were constantly on repeat. What they're saying was true, but she didn't want to hear it. She didn't know how to make the voices stop.

"You're a cursed child!"

"You're entire existence is—"

"Shh, it's okay..."

Eri's eyes fluttered open when she heard that familiar, distorted voice. She blinked a few times due to the sudden brightness of the hospital room. When her vision finally cleared, she saw the same person who saved her out of that place, Viridi.

He was sitting on the bed just beside her, stroking her hair comfortingly. It was so relaxing that she leaned in to the kind touch. She felt herself tearing up again and she clutched onto Viridi's chest. He wiped away her tears with his gloved hand as he continued to stroke her head.

"I-I thought you left..." Eri whimpered.

It had been a few days since the raid. When Eri woke up, she nearly cried when she learned that Viridi wasn't here. She thought her left just like her mother. Aizawa stayed by her side the whole time (Mirio also visited her several times). He was kind and thoughtful despite his grumpy exterior. But she still missed Viridi.

"... I'm really sorry, Eri-chan." Viridi apologized to her softly, sounding regretful, "But I can't stay with you. But it isn't because I don't want to stay."

She looked up to him in confusion. What does he mean by that? Didn't he want to stay away from a cursed child like her?

"My job is dangerous, Eri-chan. I can't stay with you because I don't want you to get hurt, especially when you've been hurt for a long time." Viridi explained solemnly.

He... didn't want her to get hurt?

The two basked in a comforting silence for a while. Eri became visibly relaxed, leaning onto Viridi's side as he hummed for her, which surprisingly didn't sound distorted.

"Eri-chan." Viridi spoke up again, earning her attention, "You were crying earlier. Do you hear voices?"

Eh?

"H-How do you know...?" Eri softly asked, looking up to him with her innocent, ruby eyes.

"I used to have voices in my head, too. But it disappeared after a while. Are you comfortable with talking about it? It can help you if you spoke about it with others."

Eri bit her lip as she contemplated that suggestion.

"T-They say I'm cursed... And that people get hurt b-because of me..." Eri stuttered, "I-I really am cursed, r-right...?"

"No, you're not." His immediate answer shocked her, "Eri-chan, you are not a cursed child. You are an innocent little girl who never deserved to be hurt."

"B-But... Y-You got hurt b-because of me..." Viridi knew she was referring to the time when Overhaul took him apart.

"But you saved me. You used your quirk to heal my wounds when Overhaul hurt me. Before I could even feel pain, you reverted it for me." Viridi gently told her, "You are not cursed. To me, you are a kind and gentle girl."

Eri began tearing up again at his sincere words but Viridi wiped them away.

"You told me you like bunnies, right?" Viridi asked. Eri nodded, though she was confused why he brought that up, "I brought you a present."

Viridi had taken something from the ground, which is a small white stuffed bunny with long, floppy ears. Eri stared at it in awe as the vigilante gave it to her.

When Viridi took her out of her room during the raid (and before Overhaul caught them), he had asked her about what kind of animal and food she likes to ease her nervousness.

She told him that she liked bunnies and apples.

"Do you like it?" He asks.

Eri nodded until she rubbed her eyes, starting to feel sleepy.

Viridi took noticed of this and started to stroke her hair again, which was beginning to lull her to sleep.

"Eri-chan." He got her attention again, sleepy eyes looking up to him, "If you ever hear those voices again. I want you to remember that you are safe and that no one will ever hurt you again. Remember these words."

Eri slowly nodded while she curled up on his side as her eyes fluttered shut. She didn't know if this entire conversation was real. She didn't want it to be a dream. If it was, she never wanted to wake up.

"You're a cursed child!"

"You're entire existence is cursed."

"I never should have given birth to you!"

"People will only get hurt because of you."

"You are safe."

"No one will ever hurt you again."

When she finally woke up this morning, the vigilante was gone, but the stuffed bunny was still in her arms. There was also a basket filled with apples on the table.

Chapter Text

The Akatani Enterprises.

A diversified multinational conglomerate that is owned and chaired by Akatani-Midoriya Izuku, son of Akatani Hisashi and Midoriya Inko.

It is one of the most largest companies in the entire world and its influence is in a global scale, even more so than the Stark Industries. While the Stark Industries dominate tech and military industries, the Akatani Enterprises dominates everything else. I mean, literally everything else. Transport, food, toys, education, healthcare, entertainment, research, etc, you name it. A person could live their whole life consuming only products developed from companies under Akatani Enterprises. It also has the annual annual revenue of $31.3 billion.

The Akatani Enterprises had connections with every country in the world until Akatani Hisashi had disconnected one.

Japan.

Japan had the highest amount of quirked people in the entire world, with 80% of its population having quirks (the opposite goes for America).

Of course, power always comes with a price.

The prejudice started with those who possessed quirks, as they weren't considered human at the beginning of the quirk era. Then towards those with 'villainous', 'weak' and 'useless' quirks. Now, it turned towards others who didn't possessed any powers.

It wasn't just the prejudice that came as a result. Technological development had become stagnant in Japan since quirks appeared. They were the most advanced country before until the spot was taken by America (and now, by Wakanda).

It was two steps forwards and one step backward. A huge step backward.

Hisashi had cut ties with Japan sometime after Izuku was diagnosed quirkless because of the biased treatment against him. One would think that his action was rather drastic if it's just for his son, however, that wasn't just the case.

It was a known fact that Japan had the highest rate of quirkless suicides due to hate crimes. It was quite common for a quirkless to move out of the country to avoid the prejudice. But for those that didn't have the money to do so will only have to endure the discrimination until they break.

The Akatani Enterprises had countless quirkless employees all over the world. Hisashi wasn't taking any chances of them getting disrespected for something that is out of their control. His company accepts anyone, whether they are rich or poor, quirked or quirkless.

Though, Izuku decided to reconnect with his home country.

The implementation of anti-discrimination laws changed things. It was kind of sad that it took this long for Japan to get a wake up call until he called them out during his interview.

Though, that didn't mean the prejudice wasn't still going strong. He kept an eye on every police station's database and they still get at least a hundred cases of discrimination every week.

Prejudice will always be present, no matter what era.

When Hisashi had closed all properties of the Akatani Enterprises in Japan, he gave the workers a choice to continue working abroad or not. Of course, since the Akatani Enterprises was a company that enforces anti-discrimination as one of its first rules and that openly accepts poor, undergraduates (in some properties), etc, it wasn't really a difficult choice. At least 75% of the employees in Japan chose to work abroad. In fact, nearly all of the quirkless in Japan worked in at least one business under the Akatani Enterprises and 90% chose to go abroad.

He decided to get a fresh start by finding new business partners.

Currently, Izuku took a morning jog in the quietest part of Musutafu. He wore a simple white long-sleeved polo shirt with rolled up sleeves with black pants and leather shoes (He preferred formal clothing but that would attract unwanted attention). The area he's in is near the street where his former apartment is. While not that far from his manor, it's still quite a distance that will result in quite a workout.

(He had to make sure to steer clear from a certain explosive blonde. He still lives here.)

Izuku racked through a list of potential partners in his head. The Yaoyorozu Business Corporation is a potential choice but they have a bad reputation due to the fact that they are discriminatory and often reject applicants simply for having 'weak' quirks. Well, that's to be expected from families born with powerful quirks. Hopefully, their daughter would be different.

As he walked, he heard an explosion from the distance. It wasn't loud, but Izuku's senses had been enhanced due to his years of training to the point where he can hear a reloading gun from a distance.

He ran through the street and came across of what used to be a Dagobah Beach. He sometimes came here as a child to relax. Looks like people hadn't been kind to the environment lately.

"Baby 32! You have so much to improve!" An excited female voice rang through the air. He walked closer to the spot where the smoke came from and was greeted with the sight of a young pink-haired girl wearing unique goggles smeared with black smudge all over her body. This girl is obviously an upcoming engineering from her outfit and her large duffel back filled with mechanical parts. And from her target-like eyes, her quirk is most likely sight-related.

...It reminded him too much of a certain princess.

"E-Excuse me..." He caller out to her nervously, gaining her attention, "Are you okay?"

(It's best to act like someone different just in case others might connect his adult-like behavior to his vigilante persona.)

"I am!" The girl enthusiastically said, "My baby just had a mistake! That just means more improvement!"

"Hm, so a passionate inventor." Izuku thought, "By b-babies... Do you mean your invention?"

That seemed to trigger something within the girl because not even a moment has passed when she's suddenly right up to his face, her expression filled with absolute glee, "Finally, someone gets it! Soon, the whole world will know of the babies made by Hatsume Mei herself!"

Hatsume?

Ah, the Hatsume Industries. It's one of the largest support companies in Japan that's famous for making costumes for most of the Top 50 Pro Heroes. To think that the future heir is such a passionate inventor.

This must be his lucky day.

"Y-You're from the Hatsume Industries?" He asks.

Hatsume seemed to brighten up a lot more at being recognized and nodded, "That's right! I'm the heir that's going to show the might of the Hatsume Industries! Now if you'll excuse me, I have more babies to make!" She then went back to salvaging parts of the garbage.

Izuku looked over at the 'baby' that exploded, revealing that most of it is still intact. He picked up the destroyed machine and noticed that the wires within have all snapped with burns on them.

"The wires are too weak." He said.

"Hm?" He gain Hatsume's attention.

Izuku showed her the destroyed wires, "You seem to be making some kind of generator. The electricity was too much for these wires to handle. You should have used copper wires instead."

Hatsume immediately went to her destroyed contraption to examine the wires and nodded furiously before turning to Izuku with a grin.

"You seem to know your stuff. Are you also an aspiring inventor like me?" Her eyes sparkled as she asked.

"A-Actually, I already have a degree in engineering so..." Izuku sheepishly admitted.

"Really!? What kind!?" Hatsume invaded his personal space with no shame.

"M-Master's..."

"WHAT!? That means you already graduated!?" She exclaimed.

"W-Well, I actually plan on restarting high school to get into the hero course." Izuku explained.

"Which school?"

"U-UA."

"Then that's perfect! I'm planning to go to UA as well! In the Support Course! That means we can be business partners!" Hatsume excitedly said.

This just keep getting better and better, huh?

"S-Sure! I-I hope we can get along!"

"By the way, what's your name and quirk? I need to know what you're quirk is so I can place some possible unique features in your costume!" She asks.

"Oh! I-I'm Midoriya Izuku! As for my quirk, well... I don't have one." Izuku admitted.

"You're quirkless?" Her face became blank.

He nodded.

"Well, that's even better! You don't need some additional feature for quirks because the options are limitless! You can add whatever you want! Not only that...!"

Hatsume grinned widely, "Japan has yet to have a quirkless pro hero. If you become the first one, you'll gain even more recognition, that also includes the company that provides his equipment."

Izuku was very impressed that she thought that far ahead. He wanted to say that he already made his own costume. Not to brag, but it's already better than all of the hero costumes in Japan.

But then again, her talents needed to be cultivated. If he showed her his equipment (not his vigilante ones), she might have something to improve.

Izuku grinned, "Deal."

Maybe he should introduce her to Shuri.

Chapter Text

Viridi did not usually operate during the day.

He operated at night because that is where he is most suited at. His costume (He darkened the color) allows him to easily blend well into the darkness and catch his opponents off guard. But, of course, there are exceptions depending on the situations.

Like the lowering of crime rate in Musutafu.

All Might was sighted in this city only just recently. It was common knowledge that his presence alone had lowered crime rates in every place he's in. Nezu had told him that All Might is going to teach at UA in order to find a successor, which he is slightly worried at, considering that the Symbol of Peace doesn't have a teaching license to be truly qualified to teach, even if he has the most experience.

However, even with his presence, it didn't mean that crime would suddenly stop.

All Might usually focuses on more dangerous villains and fighting in open spaces because he wasn't suited in fighting in closed-off areas because even his smallest attacks can create tons of collateral damage. He also usually doesn't handle low-level crime like snatchers or alley thugs. Hawks and Edgeshot are more suited in that department due to their stealth.

Which is why it was suspicious.

The amount of arrests for criminals had drastically dropped over the past few months. He adopted a disguise whenever he prowled around the alleyways and noticed that it was almost like a ghost town.

It's as if the thugs had just disappeared.

Before  Viridi could continue on with his thought process, his honed instincts sensed a presence nearby and looked behind him.

Only to see a man with a pair of familiar red wings above.

"Wow. Most people usually don't sensed my presence that fast. You really are one of a kind!" Hawks said, grinning joyfully as he gracefully landed on the rooftop, "Man, you're really difficult to find! Took me a few months!"

The vigilante raised an eyebrow from behind his mask, "Why were you looking for me?" He asks curiously.

Hawks's gaze softened at the question before switching back in his laid-back expression, his cheeks tinged with slight pink, "Just wanted to say thanks. I basically owed you my life."

Viridi shook his head, "There is no need to feel indebted to me. I've had my suspicions with the Commissions for a while now." The sentence Your case was one of the worst they committed. went unsaid.

"You're one modest guy. Viridi. But I stand by what I said." Hawks said before moving over next to the vigilante and slightly laughing, "You should've seen the look on their faces when they gave me my license! They all looked so pissed!"

Ah, yes. Viridi always relished the horrified expressions of abusers when they knew that they have been exposed. How their lives are going to be ruined due to their own atrocities.

Viridi nodding in agreement, chuckling in amusement, "Indeed. However, it is their own fault that they're in a mess."

The two watched the people stroll the streets in silence for a minute.

"Come on, Keigo. Remember what Rumi said... wait. Am I actually taking that useless lesbian's advice? She couldn't even ask Endeavor's daughter out!" Hawks had always been laid-back and easy going when talking with other people. He knew that he's known to be quite a flirt when teasing a bunch of female civilians.

However, Viridi was someone Hawks knew absolutely nothing about. He doesn't know his real name, age or even his real voice. For once, Hawks isn't sure what to do.

"Hey, I know a place that has some good yakitori! Wanna go there? My treat." Hawks cheerfully asked, pushing away any awkwardness out of his mind.

"Thank you very much for the offer, Hawks. But I'm afraid I have to respectfully decline. I don't wish for the public to come swarming at me." Viridi replied gently.

"Smooth, birdbrain."  Hawks fought back a twitch of his eyebrow at the taunting voice of the rabbit hero in his head.

"Oh, okay then! Then, how about—"

"Eek!"

The two men immediately stopped their conversation and ran towards the other side of the roof to search for the source of the shriek below.

In the alleyway, they see a teenage girl with short black hair surrounded by a couple of boys her age. One of them covered her mouth as she cried and growled, "Shut your fucking mouth, you quirkless slut."

The taller one placed his hand on her thigh and the two men above the roof knew exactly what they were about to do.

Hawks immediately launched several feathers towards the boys and restrained all three of them by slightly piercing their uniforms and suspending them in the air.

"What the hell!? Are these feathers!?" The one with white hair struggled to remove the feathers from his uniform, however, it wouldn't budge.

The winged pro hero descended towards them, with the vigilante gracefully landing on his feet, "For kids, you sure have a lot of balls for attempting to rape someone." Hawks's tone still seemed rather laid-back, but there was a clear hint of malice in his voice.

"Let them go, Hawks." Viridi told him evenly, moving over in front of the crying girl to shield her from the scene.

Hawks turned to Viridi, gaping in disbelief, "What!? But they just—!"

Viridi's chuckle cut him off, "Let them spend the rest of their day in peace, because it's going to be their last."

Hawks's eyes widened and nodded. He stoically released the brats and they immediately ran away with their tails between their legs. Viridi lent a hand on the still-crying girl and helped her up.

"T-Thank you so much..." She sniffled as she continued to wipe her eyes, "I-I thought they're going to... W-Wait! You're Viridi! And Hawks!"

Both of them smiled in amusement as the girl just Now recognized them, though they understood that it was because she nearly went through something traumatizing.

"Did they hurt you anywhere?" Viridi asks.

The girl timidly nodded, "J-Just a few bruises... But they were days ago."

Viridi and Hawks looked at each other for a moment.

"So not only they had just attempted to sexually assault you, they're also bullying you." Viridi clarified, "Are your teachers or parents aware of this?"

She shook her head, "I-I never told my mom s-so she doesn't know. My teachers... t-they just let it happen... Even when it's happening in front of them..." She looked very close to tearing up again.

Both Viridi and Hawks narrowed their eyes at the mention of her teachers.

"What school are you from?" Viridi asks gently, he was an expert of keeping his emotions in check even if the amount of anger within him was enough to have a normal person to be outraged.

"A-Aldera."

"Where's that?" Hawks asks, trying to keep his laid-back tone because he didn't want to scare the girl by releasing his anger at her bullies and teachers.

"It's a middle school not far from here." Viridi answered for her, "They have already been sued for discrimination a while ago. It seems they haven't learned their lesson. There was also several continuous rumors of bullying in that area."

(Viridi knew a lot about that school due to the fact that his former childhood friend had been expelled there a while ago when his bullying was exposed.)

"Well, that places needs to be shut down. If they're already turning a blind eye on bullied students then who knows how many victims are already there." Hawks told him, which Viridi nodded in agreement.

"Please don't tell my mom!" The girl pleaded.

Hawks raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

She played with her fingers nervously, "I-I just don't want to worry her..."

Viridi sighed. This was the exact same reason why Peter wouldn't tell his aunt about the bullying in his school. And he was getting tired of it.

"May I ask what your name is?" The vigilante asks.

"N-Nakamura Suzuki..."

"Then, Nakamura-san, how would your mother react if she learned about this?" Hawks looked at him questioningly but didn't spoke.

"S-She'll start crying. I-I think she's already suspicious of me but she hasn't spoke up a-about it yet." Nakamura nervously answered.

"She's waiting for you to come clean." Viridi told her, surprising her with his answer, "I know someone who is going through nearly the same thing as you. He would not tell his family member about his school life because he didn't want to worry them, which I think is a foolish decision."

"H-Hey..." Hawks placed a hand on his shoulder, noting at the harshness of Viridi's statement.

"Nakamura-san, a mother's job is to care for her children. She has the right to worry and to know what her child is going through. If anything, you will only worry her more by not telling her what she is supposed to know."

Nakamura bit her lip and looked down in shame. She contemplated what he said for a minute before finally answering.

"...O-Okay."

Both Viridi and Hawks smiled, relieved that the statement finally got through her.

"Also..." Hawks spoke up, "I'm still a pro hero so I have to tell this to the police. Whether you like or not, your mom will still know what happened. Besides, we are not going to let those brats get away with it."

Viridi nodded, "I stand by what he said."

The teenage girl looked back and forth at Hawks and Viridi before her eyes widened, "Wow, I-I didn't know you two were friends."

Hawks's eyes widened in surprise at the assumption and was about to correct her (because he didn't know if Viridi will accept that) but the vigilante beat him first when he spoke softly.

"I guess we are."

Hawks tried to suppress a blush, but ultimately failed to do so. He quickly covered his face with the high collar of his jacket, which went unnoticed by the vigilante.

"U-Um, can I ask you something?" Nakamura shyly asks.

"Didn't you already ask, though?" Viridi chuckled at the pout on her face before going back to her timid look.

"C-Can... Can I become a hero, even if I'm quirkless?"

Viridi's eyes widened and the memory of himself, crying with his mother by his side consoling him, had flashed in his mind.

He smiled under his mask.

"Of course you can."

"Nakamura Suzuki, please report to the principal's office." The secretary announced through the speaker, which sounded unusually shaky. Nakamura got up from her seat and left the classroom, although, she could hear the loud whispers of jeers by her classmates.

"What'd you think she did?"

"Maybe she'll finally get expelled for being a freak."

"Yeah, she's just a waste of space here."

"Quirkless creep."

"Hey, didn't you see some police officers in the hall?"

Nakamura bit back a smile because she knew exactly what's going to happen. She told her mother everything and finally, this damned school is going to face the consequences.

She grabbed the doorknob of the principal's office and opened the door, before she could even opened it fully, the principal's loud voice was heard.

"Please, this is a misunderstanding!"

The other occupants of the room were her homeroom teacher, mother, and the lie-detecting detective as well as the cat officer. Tsukauchi looked so done with the staff's excuses and ignored him when he saw Nakamura enter.

"Ah, you must be Nakamura-san, correct?" Tsukauchi asks with a smile, because he is so ready to tear this place down.

She shyly nodded.

Her mother gestured for her to sit next to her, looking furious at the staff. Nakamura simply watched as Tsukauchi shot down the staff's excuses.

"Nakamura had always been an attention seeker and a distraction to the classroom! She's just giving excuses to her behavior!" Her homeroom teacher lied without remorse, looking rather desperate.

"Excuse me!?" Her mother slammed her hand on the desk, causing the principal and teacher to flinch, "My daughter has always been a quiet child! Which was, of course, caused by the discrimination in which you turned a blind a eye to! Not only that, she has been coming home with bruises and she finally told me everything last night!"

"Perhaps she just had an accident. You don't even have proof that any bullying is taking place." The principal tried to calm the situation, although, what he just said wasn't helping.

"I'm afraid that is not true at all. In fact, when you gave us permission to investigate the school, we also checked the security cameras." Tsukauchi said, smiling at the staff's pale faces. Sansa took out the laptop with a USB attached, "Maybe you should've deleted them when you had the chance." The cat officer said with a hiss.

Tsukauchi then showed all of them the numerous footage of the bullying, it showed Nakamura getting called with degrading nicknames, pranked by destroying all of her notes and more. In fact, some of the footage had the homeroom teacher in them, and he was simply ignoring all the bullying.

"I believe we have all the evidence we need. After all, there were also plenty of eyewitness accounts confirming about the bullying. And we learned that it wasn't just Nakamura-san getting bullied here." Tsukauchi simply said. He didn't let the stunned principal and teacher answer when he continued, "Not only that, three of your male students have attempted to sexually assault Nakamura-san yesterday."

"W-What?" The principal sputtered, "Surely, that must be a mis—"

Tsukauchi shook his head and cut him off, "It is not a misunderstanding. There were two witnesses at the scene. Which were none other than Hawks and Viridi."

The principal and the teacher's faces paled white.

Tsukauchi stood up and gave Sansa the laptop back, "You will be charged with discrimination, student neglect and endangerment. All the other students who took part in the bullying will have a mark on their records for physical and verbal bullying as well as discrimination. While the other three students who nearly assaulted Nakamura-san will be charged and sent to juvenile detention for at least a year. Because of this, we have deemed that this place is not a safe environment for students and will be shut down."

It's been a while since Nakamura had been so happy.

Chapter Text

This is Vivian.

Midoriya Izuku as a UA student. He acts like a shy and nervous kid so others won't pinpoint his behavior as Viridi.

Viridi x Hawks XD

Nakamura Suzuki.

Akatani-Midoriya Izuku. Secretly a World-famous Vigilante and a successful Businessman.

Izuku's father's day with his Android son.

Chapter Text

Hi guys, Accendere here! And I'm really, REALLY sorry!

This story is going on a short hiatus. I'm having a serious writer's block because of my anxiety during quarantine right now and it certainly isn't getting better when my province already has plenty of cases and is under lockdown.

Though, if you guys don't mind, I would like to hear your opinions on what future scenarios that you would like to be written in this story and the interactions and relationship between Viridi and other characters (it can be pro heroes, other vigilantes, classmates/schoolmates, civilians, organizations (like the MLA, for example) and even villains). I saw some really good ones in the comments from the last chapter but I would really appreciate if I could hear more suggestions.

(Kinda like requesting in a smut story lol.)

I also might post new arts in my new chapters while I still try to find ideas. I actually plan on drawing Viridi's potential ships and crushes in the next chapter because I thought it would be more fun to reveal it that way.:D Not just female ships, but also males (As I am also a hardcore yaoi shipper XD).

(Also, one of the reasons for my writer's block is because my friend recently recommended me to play FGO. I haven't watched the Fate anime series because I have shitty mobile connection and it quickly runs out. I actually have plans for a Demi-Servant Izuku AU.)

Again, I'm really sorry for the hiatus and  thank you all for your support! :)