Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

As he sat on the rooftop, looking down at the people walking down the dark streets, he brought a hand up to grab the large brim of his red hat before the cool breeze could take it from its home on his head.

"You ready, Red?" The crackling of his partner's voice filled his ear piece, making the young teenager smile.

"I am. How long until they notice the break-in?"

"I'd give it roughly five minutes. Will that be enough time for you?"

"Plenty."

He reached into his red coat and pulled out a grappling gun, aiming carefully before firing. When the hook latched onto the ledge, he gave an experimental tug before smiling as he swung from his perch to where he would go in.

Stepping over the glass, he looked down and bit his bottom lip when he saw a few goons standing guard from underneath the skylight. There were about ten, which means that man is already learning to take him seriously.

The man who caused him to take this path in the first place.
Midoriya Hisashi, Izuku's very own father.

--Eight years ago--

Normally Izuku didn't try to eavesdrop on his mother whenever she was on the phone. Though something about that day caused him to see what was going on.

Was it the fact he could tell she was in actual distress?
Or was it something else?

Either way he listened in.

"Hisashi please! I- I need you to stop this. Please just come home and put all of that behind you. Think of your family!"

He could barely make out the voice on the other end. But he still strained because he has never heard the voice of his father before.

"After you admitted to knowing who I am and what I do for a living? What reason would you have to get me to even spare you the time of day?"

Already Izuku did not like that man.

"What about Izuku? I can't take care of him by myself! I-"

"How hard can it be to raise a Quirkless child? Be honest with me and just say you're too incompetent and bigoted and I may consider it," the man continued, his voice taking on a similar tone to Kacchan whenever he would insult Izuku.

Izuku's mother held her breath and looked down. "I- I am too incompetent and- and bigoted to raise a Quirkless child- Please Hisashi!. Please come home and-"

Cruel laughter came from the other line.

"Well this was certainly enjoyable! But it seems you have proved to be useless to me, and that boy isn't of any value either so I might as well pretend you don't exist. Consider it a kindness!"

"Wait I-"

"And what can you do about it? Call the police? The Heroes? What will they say when they learn you willingly married a Villain? I think it's best you pretend to have never met me, that your son is simply a bastard, and leave it at that."

At the age of seven Izuku learned once more how unfair life can be.
As he watched his mother cry over a man who doesn't care about them, he felt a burning resolve wash over him.

He will make sure that Midoriya Hisashi regrets the day he chose to cut Izuku's mom completely off.

--Present Day--

"Red? Are you still with me?"

He shook his head. "Yeah, sorry. Was just caught in my head again."

His partner gave a small laugh in response. "Thinking about him again?" She asked.

"In a way, mostly what led me to this moment right here," Izuku said, reaching into his coat for the next gadget that his partner designed for him. A small torch disguised as a pen.

His partner really is a genius.

"The day he quit sending your mom financial support? Well I'm sure he's regretting it now, or he just sees you as a fly. Or did he figure out you took…?"

"Oh he knows I took something he's been wanting since long before I was born. It is the only thing stopping him from attacking us immediately," Izuku hummed, pressing a gloved hand against the glass to cut a circle with the torch.

His heart pounded as he remembered that the adhesive was still in its experimental stages, either it would fail and he would get his cover blown immediately or….

He let out a breath when the glass didn't immediately fall to the ground and shatter on the heads of the goons.

"Melissa, you're a genius and I love you."

His partner gave a laugh in response. “Focus Red, you still need to reach the vault,” Melissa said, though Izuku could just tell she was smiling at the compliment he gave her.
It truly was a daily occurrence when he tested her inventions during his heists.

He nodded, looking down to see most of the guards had started to move away. Likely done socializing or doing whatever it is villain guards do in large open rooms.
As soon as it was clear, he started to lower himself to the ground, keeping his eyes wide open for cameras, trip wires, and any lingering guards.

“Hey, you think this will be another self-locking vault?” Izuku asked, checking over the layout of the building he has downloaded on his current work phone.
So far he’s had it for about a week, which is a record considering how many he’s gone through last month alone.

Melissa probably has plans to make one that’s not only indestructible, but also unable to be too far from Izuku’s bright red ensemble.

“I hope not. How did you even get out of the last one?” Melissa asked.

Izuku tried not to cringe at the memory of how he even got out of that pickle. He just knows that it made him incredibly grateful for that one near-death experience mixed with the genuine panic of meeting the one hero he has admired and looked up to for very long.
Even if he knows that that hero would not look to Izuku with the same kindness were he to realize that Izuku was a criminal.

Well….criminal isn’t accurate anymore.

“You remember when I told you about getting attacked by this villain with a quirk that made his body into sludge?”

“You didn’t.”

“I kind of did, and now I’m even more grateful I did.”

He could hear Melissa give an exasperated sigh, meaning he would likely be faced with a big lecture once he’s home free with the loot. Even though it was worth it in the end, he still regretted tricking All Might like that.

Melissa gave a sigh from the other end of the line. “We’ll talk about you tricking my uncle once you’re far from the crooks and the Heroes who will be coming once I send the signal.”

“Do you think they’ll actually look into it this time and figure out the truth?” Izuku asked, stopping before the entrance that would lead to the vault he needed to break into. “Or will they still be stubborn?”

“As far as everyone who even knows is concerned, that villain was killed by All Might roughly five or six years ago. They may think it’s a minor syndicate that’s not connected to anything larger, delegating this to the police,” Melissa said.

Izuku peeked around the corner, seeing only two guards standing by the vault door. Neither showed any heteromorphic quirks, which means it will be all the easier for him. “Well that’s why I’m doing this. Remember, I was moved up from being a Criminal to a Villain recently. I just don’t know what class they put me under,” he explained, pulling out a bottle of eye-drops and blinking quickly to prepare himself.

“Which brings us back to what you took that he wanted more than anything.”

He gave a smile, pulling a pair of sunglasses out next before putting them on. He then stepped out into the open where the two crooks could see him and his bright red coat clear as day.
Keeping his eyes on the two, Izuku watched as they suddenly got confused before he ultimately rushed and knocked them both down with quick punches to their stomachs.

“I can see why he would want it, hopefully the owner can understand why I took it in the first place,” Izuku said, making sure the guards were thoroughly knocked out and restrained.
Though he could feel doubt start to crawl into him, especially with his first and only meeting with All Might.

Can someone still be a good person even if they do bad things? I’d think not, it’s better if they instead not do the bad things and go through the proper channels for help if it’s as dire as you described the situation.

Izuku took a deep breath, shaking All Might’s words from his head as he focused on unlocking the vault as quickly as possible while not making any sloppy mistakes that will result in alarms being set off.

Perhaps he can’t be called a good person for all the people he has robbed, but he will deal with this once he’s made sure his father has paid for everything he has done.
His father and anyone who has helped him.

His name is Midoriya Izuku, the Scarlet Thief, and he won’t stop until his mission is complete.

Chapter Text

Tsukauchi Naomasa wanted nothing more than to slam his head against the growing mountain of paperwork. Not even the smell of coffee that permeated the air of the police station could hope to remove the stress that the Scarlet Thief has been causing him as of late.
Making him wish he was back in the simple days where he was chasing down the vigilantes in Naruhata with Eraserhead and other heroes.

Well he wouldn’t call that situation simple, but compared to this mess with the criminal turned villain? He would take chasing down a hundred Crawlers to this.

Naomasa turned towards the door when he heard it open, looking towards Aizawa Shouta and giving a half-hearted smile.
“How’s your vacation treating you?” He asked, though he stopped because he knew that the man was not in the mood for a lighter atmosphere.

“Did you track the brat down yet?” Aizawa asked, already moving to sit in front of Naomasa’s desk. He leveled a glare when Naomasa only shook his head. “Figures. What did he steal this time?”

Naomasa flipped through the police report from last night’s robbery and subsequent arrests of around fifteen criminals for trafficking perhaps the strangest cargo Naomasa has ever read about.
Who could possibly need corpses? Is it part of some strange cult ritual?

“While the criminals were trafficking corpses, that wasn’t what the Scarlet Thief seemed to be after. We actually don’t know what he stole from the vault, but it did allow for us to catch these traffickers,” Naomasa said, shaking his head.

“It doesn’t change the fact that he’s a villain, especially with what he stole.”

“I know. If it wasn’t for the fact that we’re trying to keep this out of the public I would have asked All Might to-”

Naomasa shut his mouth at the sight of Aizawa’s grimace at the idea of involving the Number One Hero. However he was starting to feel that they might not have a choice, especially if the Scarlet Thief starts to work in broad daylight instead of during the dead of night.

Slowly, Naomasa stood from his desk and headed for the coffee machine that has been working far more overtime than those who are dealing with this case. Maybe one more cup of pure caffeine will have him clear his head enough to read through the files to possibly find some clues that could lead them to finding and then arresting this villain.

But where in Japan is the Scarlet Thief?

----

Bakugou Katsuki practically crammed his sandwich into his mouth as he sat on the roof. He ignored the extras sitting with him and talking about whatever pointless things are going on in their lives.
Neither of them matter, especially with how they’re just riding on Katsuki’s coattails to possibly use his eventual fame to boost their own reputation and climb up whatever social ladders they are after.

All of it is background noise as he focuses on the one who has ignored Katsuki for the past eight years, thinking he is suddenly too good for all of them as he pretends none of them exist.
Not even greeting Katsuki, barely participating in class outside of attendance, and now?

Now Deku seems to think he’s too good to even apply for UA, when he could have easily made it into the Gen Ed. Department or even Management.
It irritates Katsuki that Deku believes he can simply look down on each and every last one of them.

“You know, if I didn’t know any better I’d think Katsuki has a crush on-”

Suddenly Katsuki turned towards the extra who dared suggest that and gave him the most hate filled glare possible. “Finish that sentence, I dare you.”

The extra gave a nervous gulp before trying for a joking smile, but it wobbled with the fear that was emanating off of him. “Oh come on, I was just joking! You always stare at Midoriya during lunch, so it becomes easy to assume that you might have some kind of-”

Katsuki simply grabbed at the sandwich in the extra’s bento and shoved it in his mouth.
“I don’t even like Deku. He just irritates me, thinking he’s too good for all of us when he should be a pebble looking up to me in awe as I beat All Might.”

“Well maybe Midoriya has other things to worry about? I heard rumors that his old man hasn’t been sending them money for the past eight years,” the other extra piped in. “Well, it’s rumors my mom heard from Midoriya’s neighbors, they think his father is embarrassed that his son is Quirkless or even believes that he isn’t actually his son and is trying to save face-”

He rolled his eyes. “Those are just rumors. Besides, look at his lunch. He’s still eating fine, so it’s obvious his old man isn’t that kind of man to leave his family hanging,” Katsuki said, taking a sip from his drink. He stood from the bench, empty bento in hand, as he prepared to go back to his classroom when something bumped right into him.

Irritation spiking, he turned and glared when he saw who exactly bumped into him.

“What, you think you’re so good that we’re all invisible to you?” Katsuki asked, planting a smoking hand on Deku’s shoulder.

Deku stopped and looked at Katsuki.
However, the look in his eyes sent chills down Katsuki’s spine for some strange reason.
Almost dead, that shine he would have whenever Katsuki would use his quirk or whenever they would talk about heroes was completely gone.

“Sorry Bakugou.” Wrong, that name felt wrong to him. Especially since the last time Deku actually talked to him he still used that nickname. “I’ll watch where I’m going next time.”

He hated how dull and lifeless Deku’s voice was.
How he continued to ignore everyone around him.

Katsuki pressed down harder on Deku’s shoulder, smoke rising from his hand as he could feel himself ready to burn through his classmate’s uniform and right into his shoulder so he’s forced to actually pay attention.

A gust of wind blew for a few seconds and Deku stared at him, his eyes flashing slightly before he blinked and quietly walked away as if the encounter never happened.

Katsuki didn’t realize he stopped using his quirk.

“Whatever,” he grumbled, heading down the stairs to finish the day.
Besides, even if the teachers turn blind eyes to Katsuki’s attitude he still can’t risk getting a black mark on his record.

Not if he wants to go to UA.

---

Togata Mirio was quick to activate permeation before Recovery Girl could wallop him with her cane. His arms already hurt and he didn’t think he could handle the additional pain of a smack upside the head from the school nurse.

“I thought that mentor of yours would have taught you better!”

Mirio gave a sheepish smile. “Well, Sir can’t see everything coming. I don’t think he expected my arms to shatter like that, neither did I honestly,” he admitted, wanting to bring a hand up to scratch the back of his head while he laughed.
Only to be reminded that both of his arms are currently wrapped up in thick casts.

“Didn’t All Might warn you about the backlash from One for All?” She asked.

“He did, but he said because I was already trained it shouldn’t be too bad,” he said, shrugging only to hiss with pain when he jostled his arms too much.
Maybe he should work towards lessening the output?
Or maybe he should just get used to using it at a hundred percent and hope for the best?

What would Sir tell him to do?

Maybe he should call and ask him once he can move his arms again.

“Just be more careful, we can’t have you destroying your career before it begins for real. You’ll be in your final year soon, that much closer to being a full-fledged hero, and we can’t afford to have you retire straight after graduating.”

Mirio gave a sheepish smile.
“I know, especially if I want to be the next All Might,” he said, remembering the words Sir told him as soon as he got One for All.
It’s his destiny as the Ninth Holder of One for All after all.

To become the next Symbol of Peace.

----

“I’ve been tracking his current organization’s movements, and right now they seem to be closing in on a girl your age,” Melissa said, typing away at her computer to pull up a few files. In her lap sat a pair of what looked like a pair of sunglasses she had been tinkering with before she got the alert.

Next to her laptop was the phone she had just torn apart to rework yet again because it wasn’t quite up to her specifications. Not quite able to sync with the glasses, but at least only someone who is wearing them will be able to see past the wallpaper and generic apps downloaded to the phone.

“Why? Does she have a regeneration quirk? Or something equally powerful?” Her partner asked, his voice trembling ever so slightly before he quickly took a deep breath. “Tell me what you can, I’ll make sure that he won’t take her.”

Melissa smiled, remembering what had drawn her to Red in the first place.
Even if he was a thief, she knew he still had a heart of gold and the desire to save people like a hero does.
While he may accept being called a villain, Melissa knows the truth about her friend and partner.

Red is a good person and she will continue helping him with his mission.

“Her name is Yutaka Natsuki and she has a shock-absorption quirk, the records state she can get hit by a bullet train and walk it off like it’s nothing. At this moment she plans on applying to various hero schools, with Shiketsu as her first choice,” Melissa stated, looking at the picture of the girl before forwarding it to Red.

For a few moments there was silence, likely because he was busy studying the image and reading the details Melissa included.
She decided to take this as a chance to go to the mannequin that was covered by a black sheet, ready to remove it so she can get ready to have it synced up to the phone and glasses.

However Melissa quickly dropped the sheet right as her dad knocked on the door.

“Melissa, dinner’s ready. Are you still working on that project with Carmen?” Her dad asked, reminding Melissa of the name she gave to Red just so her dad would not catch wind that she has been doing something that is highly illegal.
Even with the guilt eating at her, she could feel that this was the right thing to do and that her dad would understand if he found out.

Especially once they finish with the primary mission.

“I am! We’ll be finishing phase one real soon, so I’ll meet you downstairs in a few!” Melissa called out, holding back a sigh of relief when her dad wished her luck before leaving.

She didn’t realize that Red had gone silent during this entire exchange.

“I still don’t get why you picked that name. Isn’t it a little on the nose?” Red asked.

Melissa laughed. “It was either that or I call you Pimpernel,” she teased, moving to sit back at her computer to go over the coding she has going on right now.

Red gave a sigh as something rustled, likely him sitting down on his bed or something.
“I don’t know if I can do this. She has her whole life ahead of her and I can tell she will be an amazing hero,” he said, voice soft.

“But if you don’t do this then he will grab her and there’s no telling what will happen to her. Besides, I’m sure she can take a gap year or go into a General Studies course. Aren’t there heroes over in Japan who get licenses later in life?” She asked, knowing she must have read something about that somewhere.

“Yeah, there was one who made her debut a couple months ago. I think she originally went to an agricultural school?” Red mumbled slightly. “But I don’t know if I can in good conscious-”

“Can you guarantee she will live after being grabbed by those traffickers? For all we know, they will kill her and then ship her body off to wherever they bring those corpses. I know you exposed a good chunk of them to the police, but they couldn’t have grabbed them all.”

Melissa hated doing this.
Hated being realistic to her friend, but sometimes he needs to hear it straight.

“Besides, you can give it back once we’re done with the mission. I’m sure she will understand and be happy that you saved her from this fate.”

Somehow she knew Red was smiling.

“You’re right. It is only temporary after all. I just hope she will understand in the end.”

“Or she could be like Eraserhead and decide to hunt you down for revenge,” Melissa joked, laughing when her partner gave a very quiet shriek.

“Please don’t remind me! I still feel bad, he almost got killed that night! If it wasn’t for Ms. Joke patrolling nearby then-”

Melissa couldn’t hold it back anymore, her laughter spilling from her as she leaned back so far her chair slammed into the ground.
“Good night Red, I’ll get back with you for the next meeting!” She quickly said, hanging up right as her dad came into her room.

“Are you ok!?”

Melissa looked up and gave a bright smile.
“Yeah, Carmen just said something really funny and I couldn’t stop myself.”

Chapter Text

She couldn't see anything, but she figured she's probably in a hospital or something based on the smell alone.
After wrinkling her nose and making a move to get up, she realized she was strapped down and wearing a blindfold.

"That thief is becoming more and more of a nuisance," a voice said, followed by a hand pressing against her face. "Thinking he can save this girl."

A sudden dread filled her, visions of her own death filling her mind as she gave a whimper.

"Such a shame you can't go after him yourself. Not without bringing attention to our organization before we're even ready," another voice chimed in.

"Perhaps not, but there might be another way to punish him."

The blindfold came off suddenly, however the only thing she saw was a wide grin before everything went black.

--

Izuku could feel chills go down his spine as he slowly opened the door. All he needed was the files from the computer in this office, set the alarm to go off long after he’s gone, and then let the Heroes take care of the henchmen in the building.
Yet another chip in this criminal empire that has steadily been gaining more and more power.

“Is something wrong?” Melissa asked, likely noticing Izuku’s hesitation from her cameras.

“No I- This just seems too easy. Is it because I’ve gotten better or…? I mean there weren’t any real guards, all of them staying in one spot actually,” he said, feeling around the wall for the light switch.
Though he noted a distinct smell in the room.
Iron maybe?

Finally locating the light switch, he flicked it on.

The entire room was covered from wall to floor in blood red, the scent actually growing stronger now that Izuku can see what it is.
His eyes completely wide, he looked up only to pale and hold a hand up to his mouth when he saw a body swaying from where it hung from the ceiling.
The rope wrapped tightly around the neck.

Izuku nearly puked when he realized who was hanging from the ceiling.
Grey-green hair tangled in bloodied knots, he was relieved that her eyes were closed because he doesn’t know if he can stand to see them dull and lifeless.
Not when he had seen them so bright and full of light, filled with hopes and dreams, just a week before.

“Red! Behind you!”

Snapping from his daze at the sound of Melissa’s shout, Izuku turned behind right as a large black fist rammed into his chest and sent him flying into the wall.
Standing in the entrance was what could only be described as a monster with a bird-like face, dead eyes staring at him as he struggled to peel himself from the wall.

“What- What is that thing?” Izuku asked, not wanting to take his eyes off of the monster that stood before him. Something about it felt almost lifeless, especially with the way its eyes were unfocused as it stared at him intently.

“I don’t know, but you need to get out of there.”

Izuku found himself agreeing as he slowly side-stepped.
However, he was only able to slide his foot an inch before the monster barreled into him faster than he could blink.

So fast that the sound of glass breaking was delayed by a few seconds and Izuku realized that he had been tackled out the window and over the street.
Straight into the building across the street.

His back hit the wall and he nearly crumpled, knowing that by this point his bones should be broken under any other circumstances.
Truly they should be.

He dove to the side right as the monster punched the wall, where Izuku’s head was just a few seconds prior. Not wanting to give it a chance, he crawled towards where a desk had been shattered.
He grabbed at a broken leg, ready to swing it as hard as he could.

Only for the monster to not even flinch, instead grabbing Izuku’s outstretched arm and flipping him down onto another table.
Izuku, dazed, could only stare up at the ceiling and realize that this might just be the end for him.

“Come on Red! You have to get up!”

He tried to smile.
“Sorry, I guess this is the end.”

“Red! Come on- You have to get out of there!”

“POWERRR!!”

---

“Why couldn’t we go for snacks again?” Tamaki asked, his voice soft as he smooshed himself between Mirio and Nejire.

“Because we have to celebrate! Our special guy here went a week without breaking something, and there’s a new cafe that only opens at this time of night. With reviews saying that they have the best drinks in the city!”

Mirio held back his grin at the way his two best friends debated on the merits of their own ideas. They were both things he wanted to do with them because just spending time with them is the best thing in the world.
Celebrating with friends who he wishes more than anything to form an agency with to work together as a great Hero Team.

That was his dream for the longest time.

“Maybe if I go two weeks without breaking something then we can go get snacks and hang out at one of our houses and watch movies together?” Mirio suggested, finding that it would be best to compromise with them both.

Nejire’s smile widened at the idea. “That’s perfect! Every other week when you succeed at not breaking your bones then we can take turns deciding what to do to celebrate!”

Tamaki seemed slightly hesitant, but he also nodded. “Maybe if it’s something we all like,” he said, though he seemed to freeze and look up at the sound of a particularly loud crash and alarms going off from one of the skyscrapers.

Mirio also looked up, seeing a large form that almost blended into the night sky shoot across with someone dressed in bright red. He could tell that whoever was in red was in danger, probably an innocent civilian or maybe a young hero in training from another school?
He turned towards Nejire and Tamaki, seeing they were already getting into stances.

“Nejire-chan, I need you to launch me into that building there. Then you and Suneater help evacuate the civilians,” Le Million ordered, already getting into the hero mentality that Sir has drilled into him when he was first taken on as an intern.

“Right! Just be careful Le Million,” Nejire-chan said, grinning as she grabbed Le Million’s arm and started to spin him around in circles to increase his momentum. She then released him, sending him flying straight towards the building where that villain tackled the person in red into.

He gave a wide smile as he activated his quirk, only to forget one very important detail.

Suneater brought a hand to his mouth, watching as the clothes fell from Le Million. He still can’t believe they are doing this right now and out of their hero costumes, costumes designed specifically for their quirks to avoid this kind of thing from happening and-

Nejire-chan set a hand on his shoulder. “Come on Suneater, Le Million will be fine.”

“I know, but I wish he could have thought this through a little more. I don’t think he can afford to have another compilation on Yap!Tube.”

----

Izuku could only stare on in shock as a naked man literally popped out of the ground and punched the monster with such force that it became embedded into the wall. His mouth completely gaped open because he never expected that someone would actually come in and-

The monster peeled itself from the wall, focus taken from Izuku as it stared at the nude hero(?) instead. Whatever injuries it sustained healing itself, but it seemed to still feel that punch that might have been strong enough to completely shatter bones.

The stranger turned to Izuku and gave a smile, only to suddenly hiss when he finally noticed his arm was mangled and purple.
“There goes that record. Anyway, you should get going. My friends are down there evacuating civilians until the rest of the heroes arrive, so you’ll be safe now.”

He probably didn’t know about Izuku, which is fine by him if it means he can get out of here and come up with a better plan to steal from this company. Where they even got that monster from though is what he wonders.

“Right, um- T- Thank you,” he said, quickly turning and slipping away while the weirdo has the monster distracted. Though part of him wonders if he will be ok, especially with that broken arm he seems to be nursing.

Slowly pulling his work phone out, Izuku dialed for an ambulance as he left the building and gave the operator the information needed so they could hopefully dispatch quickly.
It is the least he can do.

“Red, are you ok?” Melissa asked once he was far from the heroes, civilians, and everything else happening.

Izuku looked towards the sky as he shed his bright red coat and shoved it into the bag he hid in an alley. “I should consider taking martial arts, shouldn’t I?” He finally asked.

“If there are more of those things out there? It might be a good idea.”

He hoped that this would be the only one, but knowing his luck?
There could be hundreds of those things.

Chapter Text

Izuku could feel the acid in his mouth as he stood over the sink, coughing as he tried to get that image out of his mind.
His hands were shaking as he reached for the faucet, splashing water on his face and spitting out more vomit only to gag once more when he remembered seeing Yutaka’s hanging body.

All the blood in that room which could only belong to her.
Why did she have to die?
He thought he saved her from that fate, and yet-

He looked up before jumping back when he thought he saw a shadow in his reflection.
As he looked back, he could see nothing there. But he could have sworn he saw Eraserhead right there-

“Did you honestly believe that stealing from that girl would save her? You very likely doomed her to an early grave. Just like what you almost did to my real holder.”

This had to be his guilty conscious talking, taking on the form of Eraserhead to tell Izuku how much of a bad person he is.
At least it didn’t take on the form of All Might, he doesn’t know if he can handle that hero telling him directly that he’s not a good person for all that he has done.

“Just give us back and turn yourself in, Tartarus will be the best place for someone like you.”

Izuku shook his head, hands digging into the sink counter. He could see the image of Eraserhead glaring at him venomously, but he found that he didn’t care what this vision said now because the implications he gave-

“I will give you back when he is no longer a threat. I need you for insurance, to stop him from coming straight for my mom. You saw what he did to Yutaka-”

“What he did? No. That was all you, brat. You decided to get her involved by not controlling your sticky fingers. You stole the one thing that could save her, and now you get to live with the guilt and consequences. Accept that you killed her and give up on this irrational revenge quest.”

“Well I for one don’t see the harm in this,” another voice piped in, one Izuku distinctly remembers as that villain who attacked him on the day he met All Might.
He could see the form of the Sludge Villain standing right next to Eraserhead, a hand-shaped blob resting on Izuku’s shoulder even though Izuku knows that neither of them are really there.

It’s impossible for the Sludge Villain to be there like that, in that form.

“I mean it, you did great taking the stuff you need! Maybe we could get you to take more, to continue taking, you could be so rich and powerful if you continue-”

“Sure, keep stealing like that and you will never see the light of day. I wouldn’t be surprised if they decide to execute you on the spot.”

Izuku looked down, not sure why his guilty conscience was manifesting in this way.
It hasn’t done this before, or maybe it’s because he did cause Yutaka to die even though he thought if he took what that man wanted then he would leave her alone.

Before he could look up and give a response, he heard knocking.
He looked back and decided to clean himself up before opening the door where he saw his mom looking up at him with concern that was practically palpable.

“Izuku? Are you feeling ok?” His mom asked, pressing a hand against his forehead before suddenly jumping back. “Oh- Oh dear, you’re burning up! Come on, we should get you to bed.”

He glanced back to the bathroom, towards the mirror to find that the two visions he saw in there had completely vanished. All he can think is that it really was a figment of his imagination, and maybe he should do something more to ease his conscience and atone for what he did.

Slowly he followed his mom into his bedroom, laying down in his bed as he watched her move around to tuck him in and talk about making soup or something. Picking up medicine or even…

Izuku closed his eyes, remembering why he started to do this in the first place. Why he had to steal Erasure in the first place.

If he didn’t then his mom could have ended up just like Yutaka.

Suddenly Izuku could picture his mom in Yutaka’s place.
He wouldn’t put it past that monster to pull this kind of thing.

As he fell asleep, he dreamed of a wispy form watching him while Eraserhead and the Sludge Villain argued. The Sludge Villain actually doing whatever he can to shield Izuku from Eraserhead’s view, which brought a relief to him even if this was all just a strange dream.

---

Sasaki Mirai, better known as Sir Nighteye, had a bad feeling when he went into Detective Tsukauchi’s office to discuss what happened last night with his intern.
As Mirio was still just a minor, Mirai had to go and give a statement on his behalf and to express that Mirio had Mirai’s permission to get involved in Hero Work and understood all the laws and how to mitigate property damage and civilian harm.

As far as Mirai is concerned, Mirio did nothing wrong and in fact did an excellent job and now had a head-start on becoming the new Symbol of Peace.

He ignored the man who looked like a hobo as he sat in a seat at Tsukauchi’s desk, looking the detective in the eye as he prepared to give his testimony on Mirio’s behalf.

“Under normal circumstances I would be reprimanding you for giving your intern- a young man who has only recently gotten his provisional license- permission to engage a villain without calling a hero first and receiving permission from that hero on duty. This fight seems to have resulted in your intern getting his arm broken by the villains present.”

That got Mirai blinking, because Mirio told him that there was only one villain present. Maybe any additional villains involved were the ones who thought it would be a good idea to string up a dead body-

Mirai stopped before that line of thought could go any further, remembering the autopsy report and how they were able to identify the girl who died and how long ago she died.
“I was not made aware there were more than one villain. Mirio only talked about the one with a regeneration quirk who was incredibly powerful attacking a young man dressed in bright red-”

“That child was the Scarlet Thief, an A Rank Villain who has evaded capture from the police for a couple years now,” Tsukauchi explained, leaning forward to set his elbows on his desk as he stared at Mirai.

That was difficult for Mirai to grasp. How could a child have been put on the radar, especially as an A-Rank, so soon in his life? It doesn’t make any sense.
“Why the A-Rank? And how come this hasn’t been made public knowledge? This wasn’t an issue with Pop Step over in Naruhata when she bombed the city with Bees, and since he hasn’t made too much of a ruckus I can’t justify why he would be an A-Rank. Wouldn’t D-Rank make more sense?”

Tsukauchi turned towards the hobo. “Eraserhead should be able to explain why he’s an A-Rank better than I,” he said.

Mirai glanced back to the hobo, raising an eyebrow. He’s heard about Eraserhead and how the hero suddenly went on leave for unknown reasons, but he’s never met the man personally and always imagined he would be more well-dressed with a clean costume.
Not...whatever this is.

Eraserhead stepped forward and glared at Mirai. “That villain is more serious than you think. If I was in charge of rankings then I would have put him as an S or even SS Rank instead of A,” he began, looming over Mirai as his glare gained more heat. “Especially for what he did to me.”

“What did he do to you?” Mirai asked, sitting up straight.

“He stole my quirk.”

Mirai completely froze.
There’s another one? One who seems to be following in the footsteps of the man who had injured All Might horribly.
The dread he had felt when coming into the office suddenly made sense.

He turned towards Tsukauchi. “You should have put him as an S Rank Villain.”

Tsukauchi went wide eyed before shaking his head. “No, we put him as an A Rank because he hasn’t really done anything heinous to warrant being an S Rank. We actually don’t have any true laws for quirk theft and so it’s hard to justify the Scarlet Thief being ranked higher than A,” he explained. “It’s actually completely unheard of outside of stories parents tell to their children to get them to behave.”

Mirai took a breath, deciding that it might be best to explain his reasoning.
“That myth is very real,” he began, knowing that he can speak of this without exposing the secret of One for All. “Back when I was still All Might’s sidekick he was in the midst of tracking down this villain known as All for One- a monster of a man who could steal quirks and make them his own.”

He could see Eraserhead and Tsukauchi freeze, though he noted that the detective seemed to be thinking about something.

“He has lived since the Dawn of Quirks and would stick to the shadows, allowing for everyone to believe he was merely a boogeyman. Ruling Japan as the Shadow Emperor up until All Might made his debut in Japan,” he continued, watching as they started to process all he was saying.
“Roughly five or six years ago, All for One was defeated once and for all by All Might. A killing blow was delivered, something that was necessary because I can guarantee you that not even Tartarus would be able to hold All for One for very long.”

Both men gaped with shock, likely not believing that All Might himself would resort to actually killing a villain. It’s completely unheard of for Heroes to straight up kill villains, most deaths being covered up by the PR Department to prevent their good names from being tarnished.

“This Scarlet Thief you speak of? He could easily be All for One’s spawn, following in the footsteps of his father to continue where he left off. If we don’t treat him as the threat he is then he can and will destroy everything we know and love.”

Tsukauchi looked down.
“If what you say is true, then we really should tell All Might-”

“No!” Both Mirai and Eraserhead said at the same time.

“It’s best that we handle this quickly and discreetly before he grows into a huge threat. If we can grab him before he takes any more quirks then we can keep him locked up in Tartarus.”

Eraserhead nodded with agreement, resulting in Tsukauchi giving an exasperated sigh.

Tsukauchi turned towards Mirai after a few moments.
“Perhaps we should use your quirk then, see if we can figure out what our next move should be,” he suggested.

“I want to know if and when I will meet that brat again,” Eraserhead said.

Mirai sucked in a breath before nodding.
“Very well, if this doesn’t work for you then I may need to find someone else who is likely to meet the spawn and we can go from there.”

He took Eraserhead’s hand and looked him in the eye, activating his quirk to look for a future where he would meet with All for One’s spawn.

----

Eraserhead was laying facedown on the ground, surrounded by rubble. He stood up and stared at where All Might stood. He screamed something at All Might, turning to stare at a boy dressed in red pointing a gun at All Might.

(No, that can’t be right. More. He needs to see more!)

Eraserhead, with his capture weapon in hand, leapt down onto a villain. In the background stood a giant clock that chimed when it struck midnight. The villain tried to use his quirk on Aizawa, only for nothing to come out of his hands.

(No no! He has to see him meeting the Scarlet Thief!)

Eraserhead stepped into a room, seeing the boy in red standing in front of an old bald man with a mustache. The man gave a manic grin as he seemed to clap, saying something while the tubes hooked up to him started to glow.
The crazed man leaned back, landing in a large vat where-

(No no no! More! He has to see-)

----

Shouta suddenly broke eye contact when his phone started to ring. Pulling it from his pocket, he could see a message from Nedzu about updates to the curriculum.
Along with a reminder that since he isn’t a homeroom teacher anymore, that means he can’t expel any of his students. Only recommend it to the homeroom teachers and wait to see if they will actually agree to it.

He glanced back at Sir Nighteye, noting how his eyes no longer glowed purple.
“Well? What did you see?”

“I believe you will meet with him two more times, but I couldn’t get a clear time. I know at one point you will be in a place with a giant clock that strikes midnight, somehow your quirk came back to you.”

“Meaning we arrest him and make him give me my quirk back.”

Sir Nighteye shook his head.
“Either we did or we didn’t actually catch him, because it seems you will see him after that point talking to what looked like your typical mad scientist. He might be making some kind of deal or bargain with him.”

Shouta shook his head, standing up. “Either way it seems like I will be the one who catches him in the end. Was there anything else?”

“No, you broke eye contact before I could see the rest.”

He nodded, turning and heading for the door. “Of course, that principal has the worst timing,” he said.

At least now they would have a valuable asset and more leads on tracking down the Scarlet Thief.

The sooner they catch him, the sooner he can get his quirk back and finally get back to his job.

---

Melissa put up a cheery smile when she saw Izuku’s face on the video call.
“Hey, how are you holding up?” She asked, knowing to approach what happened with care. Her partner is likely still blaming himself for what happened.

“I’m holding,” Izuku said, though his smile looked incredibly strained and based on the bags he hasn’t been getting nearly enough sleep for someone who has taken a week long break from heists.

Hopefully she can cheer him up with this.

“Well I was able to route into one of your father’s shell accounts last night, it took a lot of effort, but I used it to donate a bunch of money to Shiketsu in Yutaka’s name,” she said, grinning wide at the way Izuku suddenly perked up.

“You- You did? That- That’s great Melissa!”

“She did want to go to Shiketsu, so I figured it would be best to do it in her honor. Who knows, maybe they can set up something very nice for their students. Perhaps even a school trip for them,” she mused, not knowing what the school would do with the donation.

“Thanks Melissa, I- I also think she would want this,” Izuku said.

“So, how about we cheer you up further with a movie night? I was able to get my hands on a documentary about All Might’s time in America,” she said, already knowing what the answer would be from the way Izuku’s eyes started to shine.

“That would be great! And maybe afterwards we can watch one about the development of support items?”

Melissa nodded eagerly, already prepared for a long night of watching movies with her partner.
But it would be worth it, especially since it seemed like Izuku needed something positive after that mess.

“Also I might need to take more time away from the heists. Just so I can get used to taking martial arts, and Mom and I will be hiking a mountain trail this upcoming weekend.”

“I understand, get as much rest as you need. Afterwards we can decide where to strike next. Hopefully the heroes chasing after you will finally notice the trail you’ve been leaving for them.”

“I hope so too.”

Chapter Text

Yagi Toshinori sat across from Young Togata, listening to the young man talk about his most recent adventure. Even if Toshinori was smiling, he could still feel some concern because Young Togata talked about how he was constantly thinking about the best way to take down the villain and save the boy in red.

While his successor was a fine young man and Toshinori could tell he would do great things as a hero, part of him worries every single time they meet up. Not only does Young Togata seem to get fatigued and even severely shatter his bones whenever he uses One for All, there was also a distinct lack of something that Toshinori had been looking for in a successor.

But he can’t change his mind now, not after seeing how Young Togata was still determined to become a great hero.

“So did your body move before you could think?” Toshinori asked, taking a sip of his tea. He hoped that maybe seeing this happen it would have Young Togata go forth and finally show the one trait he was missing.

And yet, he could feel crushing disappointment when his successor got a look of confusion. He tried his hardest to not show it on his face, hiding it behind his cup of tea, because it wouldn’t be fair for Young Togata who is working hard.

“No? I just saw what happened and immediately thought of what Sir would do in that situation.”

Toshinori nodded quietly. He already knew that Young Togata was blinded by his hero worship of Nighteye and it will take some time to get him out of that mindset, but Toshinori can’t fault him for that because Nighteye did train him. Taught Young Togata everything he knew, leaving Toshinori with only the absolute basics on how to activate and use One for All.

“I just hope that boy was able to get home safe. Tamaki and Nejire didn’t see him with the rest of the civilians they were evacuating, and the cops we talked to didn’t see that boy either. He was dressed in a really bright red, so he would be hard to miss.”

He almost choked on his drink when Mirio talked about how the boy seemed to have just disappeared.

“Did you at least request to have someone look for him? There might be a reason why that villain was after him, he may have more after him or something,” Toshinori asked, staring at Young Togata with an intensity he reserved strictly for serious matters.

His student slowly shook his head.
“It kind of slipped my mind, my arms were shattered and I was in too much pain after beating that villain to even think,” he admitted, already looking down with guilt. “I didn’t get a clear look at his face, but I think he had green hair? And he looked really young. Now that I think about it, I don’t think he was even in high school.”

The most logical conclusion Toshinori could come up with is that this boy must be a vigilante.
A vigilante who very likely bit off way more than he can chew, and Toshinori could only wish that he would be ok and decide to leave heroics to the professionals and instead worry about his own childhood and figuring out which high school he should go to.

Entrance exams are only a month away after all, something Toshinori was invited to watch at UA so he can get a feel for his future students and his fellow staff.
Know how things are actually run at that school as opposed to being a student there.

He closed his eyes, listening to Young Togata talk about the mysterious boy in red.
It was hearing his successor talk of this that he found himself thinking to that day around eight or nine months ago when he saved a fan but lost the Sludge Villain.

---

On that day he had hunted the villain down the streets and into the sewer system, eventually cornering and capturing him when he tried to force himself into a young boy in a junior high uniform.
Of course Toshinori could not leave the boy be, so he checked to make sure the boy didn’t need to go to the hospital before waiting for him to wake up once he was able to confirm that he was breathing normally.

The notebook that fell from the boy’s backpack had caught his attention, and he slowly flipped through it. A warm smile came over his face when he saw the observations the boy had made about a fight involving Kamui Woods, Mt. Lady, and a giant villain that happened this morning.

They weren’t the works of a professional, but he knows that if this boy sharpens his skills then maybe he could do something good with this hobby.
To help heroes in whatever way he can, support them with more polished analysis than what he’s capable of at this moment.

Toshinori never expected that when he took off, the boy would cling to his leg and force him to land on a roof somewhere.
He had regretted not paying attention to his surroundings more, or finding a better spot to drop off the boy. Especially when he witnessed Toshinori’s true form.

If he was to think back to the strangest experiences in his almost sixty years of living, Toshinori would definitely say the boy’s reaction to his true form was perhaps one of the strangest.
He expected the horror, yes, but not the lack of screaming nor did he expect the horrified look to morph into sorrow- borderline apologetic even.

Finally, the boy spoke. Giving the reason why he pulled that stunt, saying that he had a very important question to ask Toshinori.

“Very well, what did you wish to ask?” He remembered asking, knowing that this boy must be desperate enough to hear an answer.

"I have a...friend. His dad is pretty terrible,” the boy began, gazing to the side. It was apparent that he was likely talking about himself, but he continued with the metaphor. “His dad is good at hiding things, and my friend- he's trying to fight back as best he can...sometimes he does things that aren't good.”

The boy had paused, likely gripping his arm from behind his back before he looked up at Toshinori with something akin to pleading.

"Can he still be a good person?"

To this day Toshinori still occasionally thinks about this question he received.
He knew the boy had to have been talking about himself- either his father was abusive or a downright villain...and it seemed like the boy was on the verge of committing crimes himself as an attempt at stopping his father.

So he gave an answer that he hoped would steer the boy away from this path.
“Can someone still be a good person even if they do bad things?” He started, repeating the question so the boy knows he’s considering it before giving an answer. “I’d think not, it’s better if they instead not do the bad things and go through the proper channels for help if it’s as dire as you described the situation.”

He knew this was not something to make light of, but if he can prevent this young boy from going down that slippery slope…

(If only Toshinori had done more. If only he had pressed for more details or even given better direction for the boy. If only he had stopped this boy from becoming a Vigilante, then maybe he wouldn’t have almost gotten killed by that villain-)

----

Izuku watched quietly as his mom bent down to pick up the water bottle she dropped instead of using her quirk to lift it up into her waiting hand. The rock named guilt that made a permanent home in his stomach rolls, reminding him of the years he spent borrowing his mom’s quirk.
So many times without even telling her, to the point where she had completely given up on using it.

His mom turned and gave him a bright and almost carefree smile, the kind he hasn’t seen until she learned that their bills would no longer be an issue and she could focus her attention on her online store selling the small crafts she had gotten into making.

Izuku returned the smile, though he kept most of his face hidden in his scarf that she made based on All Might’s Silver Age costume. The bright red was a comfort to him, even though it’s the color he wears when he moonlights as the Scarlet Thief.
Maybe that’s why it’s so comforting to him?

Speaking of which, he really needs to think carefully on where to strike next.
There’s no telling if he will come across another one of those monsters, plus his body is still getting used to the Kickboxing and Muay Thai lessons he started taking just last week. He doesn’t actually know how he is able to manage this trek with his mom, but he knew he had to be there with her because if he isn’t there then that man might use this as an opportunity.

As long as Izuku holds Erasure and that man is still in his injured state then he won’t have to worry as long as Izuku is with his mom.
He swore he would make sure nothing bad happens to her, not while that man is still alive and able to pull something. Let him fear the idea of dying for good because of Erasure shutting down what’s keeping him alive.

He tries not to flinch when he feels the illusion of Eraserhead glaring into the back of his skull. Having long since learned that he isn’t actually there, he has to school his reaction whenever the hallucinations appear so his mom doesn’t question him on anything wrong or she starts to worry once more.
It took a while for her to get her anxiety to a more manageable state, and he does not want her to slide back into stressing over every little thing.

“If you think you can use me for your petty revenge quest then I’m afraid you are mistaken. Your days of using me are numbered, but it’s not like there’s another thing out there that can do what I can. So give me back to my rightful owner and-”

At this point Izuku has learned to just ignore Eraserhead and keep going, listening to his mom talk about possibly adding some keychains to her store. He definitely liked the idea of her making sheep keychains themed off of the current Top Ten, though the All Might ones will definitely be the most popular going off of the current trends.

“You know, I’ve always wondered what I would look like as a sheep,” a voice suddenly piped up from behind, causing Izuku to jump and turn around only for the owner to smile sheepishly.
“Sorry! I didn’t mean to cut in like that,” he said, hand scratching the back of his head.

It took a few seconds for Izuku to process who was talking to them, the friendly looking face brought out his inner fanboy as he suddenly wished he brought one of his notebooks to ask for an autograph because he never thought he would get to meet-

“Tensei! The guide gave us a very specific pace to take the trail so we can enjoy all the sights properly!” A boy around Izuku’s age piped up as he ran to stand next to Ingenium. He looked a lot like the hero, so probably a younger brother, save for the fact that this boy has a pair of stern red eyes behind a pair of glasses while Ingenium looks at them with relaxed black eyes.

The boy seemed incredibly strict and almost robotic, especially with the way he moved his hands. Chopping through the air, though he looked at Izuku and his mother and gave a quick bow. “I sincerely apologize for disturbing your walk!”

“Oh it’s no matter! I never actually thought about making stuff for Heroes who aren’t in the Top Ten, there’s no telling how they would sell,” Izuku’s mom admitted, turning towards Ingenium before holding her hand out. “I’m Midoriya Inko, maybe you would like to join us so we can talk further about the Sheep Keychains?” She offered.

Ingenium gave a wide smile. “That would be great! I’m Ida Tensei by the way, also known as Ingenium, and this is my little brother,” he said, setting a hand down on his brother’s shoulder.

“Ida Tenya, it’s good to meet you both,” Ingenium’s younger brother, Ida, greeted. “I also like your scarf, All Might’s Silver Age costume hasn’t received nearly as much love anymore after he changed to his modern costume. I find that it gave off a more nostalgic and heroic feel, straight out of a comic book if I’m being honest.”

At first put off by Ida’s attitude, Izuku found himself smiling wide at the fact that Ida seemed to also be a fan of All Might. He won’t mention how hard it is to find someone who doesn’t like All Might, but this is something that he feels will help him connect to Ida somehow.

“All Might is actually my favorite hero, though actually I like almost all heroes. How they try their hardest to save people from all kinds of disasters, it was All Might’s debut video that inspired me to dream about being a hero for the longest time,” Izuku admitted, closing his eyes as he nuzzled his scarf.
Sometimes wishing he could still follow that silly dream he had as a child.

“My brother and our parents and even our grandparents were the ones who inspired me to be a hero, but All Might is definitely someone one should aspire to be like! Perhaps I will see you at UA? You definitely have the qualities needed to be a Hero,” Ida said, smiling cheerfully as he held a hand out to Izuku. “I know we just met, but I’d love to be in the same class as you.”

Izuku stared at the hand quietly. He then shook his head, looking up at Ida.
“It would be nice, but I actually have to be realistic about my dreams. I don’t even have a Quirk that I can call my own, plus I have to help my mom around the house so I’ll be doing online school,” he explained, not knowing why it hurt to say this. Even if it’s a partial truth, the way Ida’s face dropped filled him with a worse sense of guilt.

It doesn’t make sense, he just met Ida and yet he was already picturing a possible friendship with him. Something that would be nice to have, to be able to talk to someone in person and just hang out and-

Izuku froze, closing his eyes when he felt a shadow fall over him.
He could picture a cold and hungry gaze looking at himself and Ida, especially as the picture of Yutaka’s body flashed in his mind.
Reminding him what will happen if he tries to get close to someone within *his* reach.

As he looked up at Ida, he could see a flash of pity in his eyes before he kept the smile up.
“Well I’m sure you’ve found a path that will help save a lot of lives, I just hope we can work together in that case,” he offered, pulling his hand back.

Slowly he gave a nod before remembering. “Oh right, I’m Midoriya Izuku! Sorry for not saying so earlier,” Izuku said, deciding that it should be fine to only introduce himself and then never talk to Ida again once they’re done with this trip. To hopefully avoid a connection being formed that can later be exploited.

“It’s all good, Midoriya-kun. Why don’t you tell me more about your favorite heroes and we can discuss what makes them great?” Ida asked.

Izuku looked up ahead to see his mom and Ingenium deep in a conversation about crafts. He then looked at Ida and gave a small smile. “That would be nice,” he admitted.

By the end of the day, with the sun setting, Izuku found himself forgetting about the looming threat in the shadows as he and Ida exchanged phone numbers- promising to keep in touch and to maybe hang out whenever they’re available.

----

“Oww,” Ochaco groaned, trying to pull herself from the rubble as she looked back to the large Zero Pointer that they were warned about. Her stomach felt like pure acid, especially with how much she had used her quirk during this exam. So far it wasn’t looking good for her, and she might just not achieve her dream.

She closed her eyes, sending apologies to her parents at her failure, only to snap them open when she heard rapid explosions heading right in her general direction. She caught sight of Explosion Boy with an absolutely feral grin on his face as he leapt up and smashed the Zero Pointer’s face in with an explosion.

“DIE!!” The boy screamed even as he started to free-fall down to the ground.

Even if she doubted he saved her on-purpose, instead wanting to beat a strong looking opponent, Ochaco still felt herself move. To push past her nausea as she slapped one of the remnants of a faux villain and climbed on, holding a hand out to slap Explosion Boy in the face.

Coughing, Ochaco held the vomit in as she released Explosion Boy and the chunk of robot she was laying on. Though she ultimately puked, turning her back on the boy she saved to avoid letting him or anyone else see that embarrassing moment.

She couldn’t hear anything past the ringing in her ears, but she noticed the other applicants were starting to leave the testing grounds.
Once she caught her breath, Ochaco slowly got up and moved to follow before stopping when she felt a hand press down on her shoulder.
She looked back to see Explosion Boy glaring at her.

“I didn’t need your help, so if I see you again you better remember that.”

Of all the prideful and dickish things to say-

Ochaco took a breath before putting on the biggest smile she can.
“Oh I’m sorry, Explosion Boy! I can’t hear you over the ringing in my ears, but I do hope we get in the same class so I can thank you properly for saving me.”

“What? I didn’t save you! Get your stories straight, Pink Cheeks!”

Looks like she was right about him, but something about him brought out a competitive side she never knew she possessed as she turned and continued walking.

Whoever that boy is, she hopes they will be in the same class so she can beat some humility into him. Or at least make him realize that it’s ok to allow for others to help him in some form.
Either way, Ochaco knows she will have fun this year….provided she gets in.

Oh she hopes she got enough points to get into UA.

Chapter Text

There were so many things that Shigaraki Tomura hated in life.
Normally he would say he hated everything, which is the truth, but there were some things he absolutely loathed more than anything in the world.

All Might and the society he promoted with that smile on his face was one of the things that topped his list, but then came his close second.
That thief who was giving Sensei all kinds of grief, stealing all the things Sensei wants and even summoning those damn cops and heroes to arrest all their goons.

It took Sensei a long time to gather those NPCs for that planned attack on UA, to potentially kill All Might and make society fall into chaos immediately afterwards.
But not only did a majority of their forces get arrested, but they lost a key component for Noumu and then lost it entirely when Sensei decided to send it after that red brat to maybe get the last component along with the other thing Sensei has been wanting.

Grumbling as his stack of cards toppled over, Tomura turned towards the computer screen where Sensei’s voice would come from.
“Can I go after that brat? Not like we can attack All Might at UA this week, not without the Noumu,” he asked, his hands already itching to wring around that brat’s neck and watch as he slowly turns to dust and no longer becomes an issue for them.

“No. That boy has Erasure and might just take your quirk if he sees use in it, so it’s best that we wait. Give him a false sense of security before taking him off guard. Truly that Noumu might have been enough of a deterrent to get him to stop long enough for us to regroup and then strike the Heroes at the core,” Sensei spoke. “Once we take down the Heroes, then we will take care of this little gnat.”

Tomura nodded quietly, realizing that it made sense in a way.
Why waste too many resources on something so insignificant? The Doctor has plenty more Noumu in the works, maybe they can get one that will be even better to send after All Might.
Something superior to the one that should have gotten Shock Absorption.

“Besides, this might be for the best. There is no telling with those First Years, my source says that there is at least one student who does know how to fight. There’s no telling what will happen with that kind of person.”

“So save any attacks on the First Years until after the Sports Festival?”

“Yes, that might be for the best.”

Tomura gave a wide grin as he grabbed at the deck of cards Kurogiri had stacked for him. He leaned forward as he contemplated the best way to attack the students and then All Might.
So many options, so many opportunities.

---

“Red, are you sure about this? They aren’t connected to him at all.”

Izuku could hear the concern in Melissa’s voice, and he could understand why. Normally he wouldn’t go after the Yakuza because he hasn’t found many that were closely linked to his primary target, but lately it has become more and more difficult to trace good targets to strike without risking the possibility of another one of those villains from appearing.
There’s that and lately he has started to become unsure about something…

“I’m sure. We should let him think that I was scared off before going after him again,” Izuku explained, hoping Melissa wouldn’t pry any further. At least it was a logical reason, and also fairly smart when it comes to his ultimate goal.
“Plus it’s not like they’re at full power, not after Stendhal took out their executives. The perfect opportunity to get back into the swing of things after taking a break to train.”

The moment the flashlights moved away from his path, Izuku shot forward and hid behind the bushes. His relief was palpable when he went unnoticed by the guards, seeing them continue around the corner for their rounds around the base.

As he pressed his ear to the door, he could hear a few voices speaking about the current happenings in the criminal underworld. It would help to know what’s going on outside of his target’s ring of influence, just so he isn’t caught completely off guard by a new threat.

“I hear the Shie Hassaikai is developing a new type of drug, something inspired by Eraserhead’s quirk,” one voice spoke up. “Even if he hasn’t been very active as of late, it’s still something interesting.”

Curious, Izuku decided to take a few moments to listen in a little further.
Also to make sure that they had all left.

“Huh, maybe we could get in on that. Could make a decent profit if we sell our own supplies of it, how do you think he makes this supposed Quirk Erasing Drug?”

“No telling, maybe we could replicate it somehow?”

Izuku pressed his ear further against the door, hearing the voices start to grow quieter. Once he’s sure the coast is clear, he turns towards the lock.

He held his pinky towards the lock, the finger turning into sludge as it made its way into the lock to slowly pick at it. Once he heard the click, Izuku carefully opened the door to avoid making a sound before going into the room. As he carefully viewed his map of the complex, checking the quickest route to the treasury, he froze when the lights suddenly clicked on.

Izuku gulped when he saw around fifteen people staring right at him, a good portion with heteromorphic type quirks. Even still the majority didn’t have any obvious quirks, so he pulled the sunglasses on and got in a ready stance.
“So much for being quiet about this one,” Izuku remarked, keeping everyone in his sight as he went to activate Erasure.

One of the mooks held up his hand, his nails taking on a metallic sheen as they extended rapidly towards Izuku’s shoulder. The progress only slowed down instead of halting like what Erasure would normally do.
Izuku was forced to activate Sludge on his shoulder to avoid getting skewered, and that was when he noticed that the crooks could still use their quirks.

“I’m done letting you use me,” Eraserhead spoke up from inside of Izuku’s head. “Good luck getting out of this one, brat.”

Forced to turn his whole body to Sludge to avoid the sudden onslaught of quirks, Izuku tried to grip at Erasure once more only for the quirk to completely slip from his grasp. In the almost two years he’s had this quirk, it has not once fought him like this.
Why now of all times?

He slid his body under the smokescreen that had formed, hearing Sludge speak over Erasure because at this moment he wondered if it might actually be the quirks talking and not the original owners of them.
It would make sense that he doesn’t have some weird psychic connection to the owners.
As he made his way behind their ranks, he could see the smoke clear and the goons look over the red coat and hat Izuku left behind with satisfaction.

Silently apologizing for this, Izuku leapt up from behind them and engulfed them all in sludge. Though his form was much smaller than the Sludge Villain, so he had to pull them so close that they were practically on top of each other. He wanted to cry when he covered their mouths and noses with sludge, flashing back to when he faced the same thing a little over a year ago when the Sludge Villain got the jump on him.

Unlike with him, however, All Might wouldn’t be there to rush in and save these people.
So Izuku had to be careful to release them the moment they lose consciousness, lest he kill them by accident.

“Melissa? How long does it take to only knock someone out?” he asked, struggling to keep his grip on the goons who were still struggling frantically. How much longer could they keep this up? He doesn’t remember it taking this long when the Sludge Villain went after Izuku, or did it?

“It shouldn’t take long, less than a minute….why? What’s going on over there?”

The cameras Melissa had set up in his jacket were probably covered up, but he could see that the goons were slowly growing weaker in their struggles. It didn’t take long for them to stop one by one, so Izuku made sure to pull away from them as soon as he was sure they were unconscious. He then grabbed at his clothes, returning back to his normal state.

All the goons were still breathing, which filled him with relief as he continued on his way through the base while pulling the coat back on.
“I think something’s wrong with Erasure, they could still use their quirks even while I had it active,” he started to explain, pressing the door into the treasury open. Though he ignored most of the valuable artifacts, instead going right for the safe that held a portion of the money.

He would never forget the one time he tried to sell something he stole, how the owner was able to trace what happened to the stolen artifact.
If it wasn’t for Melissa and her hacker friend then Izuku is sure he would have been caught a long time ago.
Instead it’s better to just steal the money from these types of criminals, but not all of it. Only what he needs to get to his mom and the various charities he donates to.

“Maybe you found another side to that quirk? Perhaps Erasure has a level for halting quirks, or maybe it can partially erase quirks?” Melissa suggested.

Izuku frowned, remembering what Eraserhead...what Erasure told him earlier.
“No, I think that….do you think it’s possible that quirks can gain some level of sentience?” He asked, closing and locking the safe. “Or that maybe my natural quirk can give them sentience?”

He could hear Melissa hum in contemplation. Likely thinking over what he said to her, making her own theories of some form.
It was her silence that had Izuku thinking about what he heard earlier. If it’s true that a different Yakuza was developing a drug that could erase quirks...maybe he should?

“Maybe this is more of your subconscious? I know you still regret taking Erasure from Eraserhead, so you could just be imagining him criticizing you and this is leading to the quirk not working for you. I think once you learn to forgive yourself for this then things can go back to how they were with Erasure, and by that point you may be ready to give it back,” Melissa finally said.

Izuku bit his bottom lip. The logic his partner gave was very sound, plus this has only started happening after Yutaka’s death.
A death that only happened because he took her quirk instead of trying to find a different way to protect her from getting her quirk harvested by that monster.

As he slipped past the guards and far from the base, he made his way up a building to sit on the roof and think. While Melissa is probably right about what’s happening with Erasure, he still can’t risk the idea that it will malfunction the way it did tonight- especially if he’s faced against him.

“Hey, Melissa? I heard some of the guys in there talk about something and it might be worth it in the end,” he began, looking down at the relatively empty streets. It was definitely a quiet night, the best kind to rob what remained of a Yakuza.
“There’s another Yakuza out there, called the Shie Hassaikai. Apparently there are rumors that they’re developing a drug inspired by Eraserhead’s quirk,” he continued.

“I’m shocked they haven’t been wiped out yet. Wouldn’t the Boogieman try to crush someone who is trying to jack his style?”

“Either he’s too injured from when All Might blew off his face, or I’m being more of a distraction than he likes to admit. Or he thinks they’re just ants he can crush later, there’s no telling with him,” Izuku explained, leaning forward against the railing.
“Anyway, do you mind looking into them? I might pay them a visit and get some samples to test them for myself. Just as a backup in case Erasure continues to give me trouble.”

“Yeah, I can look into them for you. For now you should head home and get some rest, you do have training tomorrow after all.”

Izuku gulped, already not looking forward to it. Especially since it was already three in the morning, which means he will only get anywhere from half an hour to a full hour of sleep if he hurries home.

“Right, thanks Melissa! Let me know when you get all the information!”

----

Shouta stared down at the students gathered at the track, twenty kids dressed in their gym uniforms as they all looked at him with varying degrees of nervousness. They likely heard rumors about him from their upperclassmen, how he ran his classes throughout the year.
Since he lost his position as a homeroom teacher, he also lost the privilege of expelling anyone who he sees as being unworthy because he doesn’t teach Hero Students anyway so there wouldn’t be much point in having him expel people.

Even still, he found ways to get around actually teaching these kids because he has more important things to do.

“First do your warm-up stretches, and then you will all be running laps around the track,” he said, pulling his sleeping bag out that contained the latest information they had collected about the Scarlet Thief. Supposedly he has been targeting the Yakuza and other smaller criminal groups that have no connections to each other.

“Uh, Sensei? How long will we be running laps?”

Shouta looked up and gave the student a deadpan stare.
“Until the period ends, you puke, or you pass out. Whichever comes first.”

He was only a step away from entering the comfort of his sleeping bag when a deadpan voice caught his ear. He turned back towards the group of students and walked right over to them, looking each of them over until a lanky kid with purple hair caught his eye.

“You. What did you just say?” Shouta asked.

The student blinked, at first not saying anything before finally opening his mouth.
“I said these activities will be useless when I make it into the hero course.”

It was at that moment Shouta knew he did not like this student one bit.
“Start running.”

“What about the warm-up stretches?”

“Did I stutter? If you think someone like you will stand a chance to even be considered for the Heroics Course, especially with a quirk that’s probably lackluster, then you might as well give up. Even if you do have a decent quirk, it won’t make up for your lack of physical fitness,” he lectured, now growing more irritated because he did not plan to actually teach anyone today.

He has more important things to do.

“And how would you know? You probably aren’t even a real hero.”

Slowly, Shouta pulled out his class roster and looked at the pictures and names. He committed the name Shinsou Hitoshi to memory before looking at the rest of the students who had pretended this confrontation wasn’t happening as they worked on the warm-up stretches.
Smart group.

“Get. Running.”

Once he saw Shinsou had started to run the track, grumbling the whole way, Shouta turned and finally slipped into his sleeping bag where he could finally go over the current case file.
Hopefully he can go straight to the station once he’s done with his last class of the day, provided Midnight and Present Mic don’t drag Shouta off for some drinks.

Slowly he closed his eyes as he thought about the predictions Nighteye made.
What could possibly result in Shouta going overseas?
Would he be sent there after getting his quirk back for some secret mission? Or will that brat somehow escape after returning Erasure, and it would be up to Shouta to hunt him down?

Either way, sometime in the future Shouta will be going to London and he won’t know why until the time comes. It could also relate to the other people Nighteye saw in those visions…

Shouta took a breath, allowing himself to relax in preparation for slipping out of this place and straight to Tsukauchi and Sir Nighteye to continue hunting for clues.
Completely ignoring the few students who had already started to vomit because, frankly, they aren’t his problem right now.

Chapter Text

Melissa stared at all the documents she collected onto her computer. Not only did she collect information on the Shie Hassaikai, but she had also grabbed information on smaller criminal groups that had stuck to the shadows in fear of Japan’s two titans.
All Might who was phenomenal at bringing down any who came to the surface as villains, and then the Boogeyman who used to destroy them before they could even come onto All Might’s radar.

She brought a hand up to rest fingers below her eyes, knowing that she likely had permanent dark circles and possibly eye-bags from the past few weeks where she only got roughly an hour or two of sleep per night. Most of which got cut short from nightmares she got about one of Izuku’s heists going wrong.

This isn’t like robbing businesses connected to the Boogeyman in some form, or even taking quirks from people who would get targeted by the Boogeyman.
These are people trained to kill, not caring if they’re going against a highschooler or a seasoned hero because one wrong move and-

Melissa held a hand to her mouth, especially as she reviewed the information she gathered on the current leader of the Shie Hassaikai- a man named Chisaki Kai.
This man would definitely kill Izuku without any hesitation, but he also had the exact type of quirk the Boogeyman may literally drool over. With the capabilities to heal and restore all sorts of injuries, cause the equivalent of a factory reset to a person, it would be the perfect quirk to restore him to full health.

Which means if Izuku gets killed by Chisaki, then the Boogeyman will catch wind of this.

Melissa looked towards the photograph sitting on her desk. Seeing her father and All Might smiling with her as a little girl with her very first prototype, she realized that All Might’s sacrifice would be for naught if the Boogeyman- if All for One got his hands on Chisaki’s quirk.

She smacked herself for even thinking of that monster’s true villain name, remembering the rumors that if one spoke of that devil then he would appear suddenly and out of nowhere.
While she isn’t normally superstitious, there’s no telling what quirks he still has in his arsenal.

Slowly, she opened a message to send to Izuku. She tried to think of the best way to tell him that robbing the Shie Hassaikai would be a bad idea, explaining all of the dangers that could come with because they aren’t like the other criminal groups they have targeted.

“Maybe….an ultimatum?” She thought to herself. “No, that should only be a last resort. I’m sure he will listen to reason,” Melissa said, deciding to also include the rest of the information she gathered. Making sure to highlight anything that would indicate how big of a threat this group could be.

Once everything was encrypted and sent, Melissa shut down her computer and stepped out of the room to join her father for yet another late dinner.
At least she could focus a little more on the upcoming I-Island Expo, even if it wasn’t for another two months she could still feel the excitement.

Maybe she could invite Izuku to come to the Expo? It would be nice to meet in person…

----

“So Ojiro! What’s it like at UA? Is All Might one of your teachers?”

Izuku glanced up at the small crowd gathered around the top martial arts student. He figured everyone would have asked Ojiro about it by now, even he wanted to ask a couple questions to get a different perspective outside of Ida’s.

Ojiro gave a small smile as he scratched the back of his head. “It’s pretty intense. I only see All Might a few days a week, probably because he has to split his time. There’s us first years, then the second years, third years, along with his work as a Hero.”

“Wow, he is literally a god among men,” Uzumaki remarked, his large fox tail fluffing up as he started to bounce with excitement. “I hope to spar against him one day, and even become the next Number One Hero!”

“What about your classmates? Do you think you’ll be able to take first place during the Sports Festival?” Haruno asked while Urameshi stood next to her, rubbing at his wrist after Master Genkai flipped him during the lesson she was teaching earlier.

“Oh come on, I doubt anyone would stand a chance against Ojiro.”

Izuku tuned out most of the chattering from the crowd, instead thinking about UA’s Sports Festival. An event that big would surely attract so much attention that no one would notice a robbery occuring in broad daylight. It would actually be the perfect opportunity to break into the Shie Hassaikai’s base and steal the Quirk Destroying Drug.

As much as he would love to watch the Sports Festival and cheer Ojiro and Ida on, Izuku can’t let this opportunity pass him by. Reruns also exist, so he could watch the highlights at a later time.

Pulling his work phone from a hidden pocket in his backpack, he pulled up his very short contact list- just Melissa and their supplier- and clicked on the kitten icon he set up for Melissa with the name “Best Friend” and smiled at how she has an email waiting for him with the information.

Typing out a message, he read over it to make sure nothing incriminating could be taken from it just in case before sending it.

Sad that I will probably miss UA’s Sports Festival. Do you think you can record it for me?

Putting the phone away, Izuku stood up straight and stepped out of the building. He had a lot of documents to review and a plan to make, especially if he wants to get out of there unscaved to avoid worrying Melissa further.

-----

Toshinori sat across from Principal Nedzu, warm cup of tea in hand as he thought about why he was called here. Did Nedzu wish to go over the Award Ceremony for the Sports Festival, to make sure Toshinori is able to optimize the few hours he has in a day? Or maybe he wants to give his own observation about Young Togata’s progress with mastering One for All?

Nedzu smiled at Toshinori as he set his own cup down. “I just got a message from an old friend of yours, requesting you give some aid on a case he’s been working on for roughly two years now. He says he would greatly appreciate it if you help while the students are on Summer Vacation, so as to avoid any conflicts in your schedule.”

“I’m sure I can make time for this now, especially if he thinks he needs my help with this.”

“While that’s true, he explicitly said that you can’t be put on this until the summer. He has been having issues with a couple colleagues, they actually told him to not bring you in on this,” Nedzu explained, picking up his cup once more. “Even I don’t know the full details of this investigation, only that it relates to why Aizawa has been benched for the past two years.”

Toshinori did wonder about that.
Whenever he tried to ask Aizawa, the man would just brush him off. None of the other teachers know what’s going on, not even Present Mic or Midnight who are the closest to Aizawa of all the teachers here.
The only clue he has is that someone was able to somehow remove Aizawa’s ability to use his quirk.

Under any other circumstance, Toshinori would have immediately blamed this on All for One and continued forth on his crusade to end that monster once and for all.
But he knows All for One is dead, been dead for coming close to six or seven years now. Not even he would have a quirk that would save him from getting his head ripped off.

“Do you think it could be a new drug? I know a short while ago there was that influx of Trigger and the Villain Factory Tsukauchi was investigating, perhaps this is a different criminal group?” He asked, figuring Nedzu knew that Aizawa was having quirk troubles.

“That might be it, but you should save your theories for the summer when you get put onto the case,” Nedzu said, chuckling softly when Toshinori scratched at the back of his head. “Now, we should probably talk about Togata’s progress and….the concerns I’m having.”

Toshinori nodded solemnly. “I also have concerns. I noticed that the more he uses the quirk, the more it starts to drain his energy. Sometimes he seems to zone out and forget things,” he explained.

“I also noticed his hair has started to turn white, it is an interesting phenomenon involving powerful quirks and a body that isn’t suited for those quirks. Recently some scientists have been looking into this when Endeavor brought his late son, Touya, to a few specialists. He had red hair that had slowly turned white, and then there was a villain named Ghoul. Originally named Kaneki, his hair had turned white when he reached adulthood and snapped from the strain his quirk was putting him under.”

“But what about those who were born with white hair?” Toshinori asked, leaning forward. He immediately thought about Young Todoroki who only has half-white hair and Young Kuroiro who was likely born with white hair.

“It appears those born with white hair are fine, likely having bodies that are fully adapted to their quirks or something. It seems more related to hair changing...but back to Togata. Some students have also noticed some mysterious scars appearing on his body in areas where he’s channeling One for All,” Nedzu continued.

Toshinori nodded. “I will have to look into this, because this is very unusual for One for All. I did expect some semblance of backlash considering the amount of power it has stockpiled over the generations, but this is…..far more severe than I expected.”

“Perhaps there is more to One for All than we expected?”

“Probably. I’ll have to look into it, maybe see if any details about the past users can give us some light?” He asked.

“That would be for the best, yes,” Nedzu said, finishing his tea. “I wish you luck, All Might.”

He smiled at the principal, knowing that he will need all the luck he can get with this mission.

-----

It was a good thing her dad was out of the house for work and there was no one else in their home within earshot because Melissa wanted to just scream. However she kept her face neutral as she listened to Izuku go over the plan for stealing the drug from the Shie Hassaikai.

“-the only thing I need to figure out is where they’re keeping the prototype and the best possible escape route. But I’m just glad we’re at a point in time where it would be perfect to do this in broad daylight. They would expect a potential robbery in the middle of the night and set up defenses for that kind of scenario. But with everyone focusing on UA and the Sports Festival-”

“Izuku, did you even read what I highlighted? This is serious and you could get yourself killed if you do this. Maybe we should go back to the original plan of robbing All for One to drag him out into the public eye so he can be removed once and for all,” Melissa said, staring right at Izuku’s face on her computer screen.

She could see him stiffen when she referred to that man by his preferred villain name, but he needed to realize that she was serious.

“But I can’t face him, not with Erasure acting up like this. I need to get the prototype, see if it works, and then I can drag him out into the spotlight,” Izuku explained, though he appeared to literally be shaking from where he’s sitting. “I have to be careful with him, one wrong move and it will be over. There would be another Yutaka situation and-”

Melissa closed her eyes and shook her head.
“And how can you face him if you get killed before you even reach him?” She asked.

“It will be fine! I promise, this will be the last Yakuza I rob. Then we can go back to focusing on the Boogeyman,” he said, trying to smile reassuringly only for it to look wobbly and unsure. “So please, this is the perfect opportunity.”

Slowly, Melissa took a breath. A small part of her wanted to believe Izuku, to help him with this mission and then move on to targeting All for One. However, a much larger part who has known Izuku for a good while knew that this would spiral further down the rabbit hole.
A slippery slope that may even take him well past the moral event horizon and into becoming something worse than his father.

No, this needed to stop.
Especially before he decides to make sure those he uses Sludge against won’t be breathing anymore.

“Izuku, I can’t do this.”

She could already feel herself apologizing for what she’s about to do, because she really does value her friendship with Izuku.

“What do you mean?”

Slowly breathing as she prepared to give her ultimatum, Melissa prayed that he would listen to her and stop before he goes too far. Then they could plot out how to bring All for One down and then she could move him to I-Island where the Japanese Heroes wouldn’t be able to arrest him and then they could figure out what to do next.

“I can’t support you in this endeavor,” she started, looking down to avoid looking Izuku in the eye because she knows if she does then she wouldn’t be able to do this. “If you keep going down this path then I- I won’t support you any longer.”

“Melissa…”

“Please. If you do this then...I won’t speak to you ever again.”

Chapter Text

Glancing up when he felt a rumbling, Overhaul turned towards Chronostasis. “What has him making all that racket?” he asked, hand pressed against Eri’s arm to put her back together. He motioned for Nemoto to come and take Eri back to her room.

“Maybe he watched an interview featuring Miruko again?” Chronostasis suggested.

“I thought we banned all things related to those sorts?” Overhaul shook his head, though he stopped when he noticed the ceiling was starting to crack. Slowly the cracks started to grow larger and he swore if Rappa broke through the ceiling again then he’s going to remake him until he gets the hint.

As the cracks started to widen and the shaking intensified, Overhaul turned towards Chronostasis. “Go remind Rappa what will happen if he brings the place down,” he ordered, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose as he gave a sigh of exasperation. Sometimes he forgot why he even recruited Rappa, when there was plenty of muscle out there.

Drip.

He blinked when he heard that, followed by more until he looked back to see a strange green liquid dripping through the cracks. Slowly, until a hole opened and more of the strange liquid poured down; followed by a pair of eyes, a bright red cloak, and an equally red hat. The liquid came together into a human shape until it disappeared, leaving a child wearing the clothes that fell down with him.

The boy stared at him with wide green eyes, seemingly taking in the room he had just broken into until they fell onto where Nemoto was standing with Eri in his arms. His eyes hardened as he stood up straight, though his short stature made him look like he couldn’t possibly be a threat.

“How unfortunate,” Overhaul said with a sigh, the irritation that some brat had somehow come this far growing. What were his Eight Precepts doing to let some kid reach the labs? He wasn’t paying them to slack off, and now Overhaul himself will have to get his hands dirty.

It made him itch.

“Nemoto, take Eri back to her room and bring the others down here. They need to remember what they’re getting paid for,” he ordered, slowly removing his gloves and carefully placing them in the pocket of his jacket. Hands pressed against the sterile ground, he still felt hives grow across his skin as he activated his quirk to send spikes at the boy.

Part of it likely came from the fact that he would have to have this room re-cleaned and sterilized from the blood and other unknown substances that would come from this diseased ridden brat. There’s no telling what is in that sludge he turns into, and from the way its stench permeates through Overhaul’s mask isn’t giving him any pleasant thoughts.

The boy was quick on his feet though.
Seeing the spikes coming, he morphed back into the sludge form and slithered out of the way. The spikes went right through the boy, but no screams of pain came from him.

Instead he heard a garbled noise.

Overhaul looked and saw Nemoto was completely engulfed in sludge, the man struggling while Eri was left on the ground. Not a single piece of sludge touching her.

“Disgusting.”

---

Tensei could feel himself smile as he walked around the city. So far everything seemed to be relatively peaceful, but that didn’t mean he could slack off on his job.
The Hosu Police Department did call and ask if he and his agency could help patrol while their primary heroes took the day off to watch UA’s Sports Festival.

As much as Tensei wished to watch the Sports Festival and support his little brother, he knew he had to put his job as a Pro Hero first at this moment.
Especially with rumors that the Hero Killer was sighted in the area, though so far they held no base.

He still didn’t let his guard down, especially as he went into an alley that emanated a sense of pure malice and foreboding. This would be the kind of place he would strike, and if Tensei could lure him out into the open then he could get the police to apprehend the Hero Killer.

A buzzing vibration suddenly shook Tensei’s entire body.
He pulled his phone out and looked at who was calling and gave a small smile, knowing that his little brother probably wanted to tell Tensei how he was doing in the Sports Festival.

“I’ll have to call him back after my shift,” he said, ready to put his phone back in his pocket.

“Shift, is that how you see this?” A raspy voice spoke, followed by the sound of metal dragging on concrete. “A fake like you does not deserve the title of Hero.”

---

The moment he released Nemoto from his grip, Izuku looked around the room. He then flattened himself down to the ground completely and slipped under a cart that had syringes and scalpels. He didn’t hesitate as he gripped the bottom of the cart with sludge and expanded his body to launch it and its contents in Overhaul’s direction.

The man hissed when a couple of the scalpels cut at his face, but he broke the cart down into dust particles before it could fully slam into his face.

He followed the cart, careful to avoid Overhaul’s hands as he wrapped all around the man. A small bit of guilt reared its ugly head in Izuku’s consciousness at all the hives that were popping all over this man’s skin as he struggled to try and touch Izuku but to no avail as Izuku carefully kept out of Overhaul’s reach.

“It’s nothing personal, but I need to take the Quirk Destroying Drug for a field test,” Izuku said, watching as Overhaul went limp in his hold. Slowly he pulled away from the man and made his way to where some samples were labeled. He carefully picked up two of the small black cases and slipped them into the pocket of his coat.

He then turned towards the little girl. Seeing the wide eyed look she gave, he attempted to reassure her with a smile before remembering the monstrous form he was currently in.
“Sorry! Do you need any help? I could get you back to your home if you want?” He offered, wondering why Overhaul had even kidnapped a little girl.
Maybe he was using her as a test subject for the Quirk Destroying Drug? It would make sense, especially if she had an extremely volatile quirk and her parents thought this would be a good idea instead of trying to teach her how to channel it properly.

The little girl shyly looked down, hands gripping at the skirt of her tattered dress as she shook her head. “I- Can you really get me out of here?” She asked.

“Of course I can! I’ll even find you a nice place until we locate your family,” he offered, moving closer as he prepared to shut off Sludge and go back to his regular form.

And then, faster than he could react, something incredibly sharp went into his right eye.

For a few seconds Izuku stood there in shock.
Then he screamed as spikes- or were they painful pinpricks?- went further into his eye before he was forced to pull away from the spike, seeing what was left of it stuck on a skewer before it ultimately got crushed by Overhaul’s hand.

Slowly feeling himself revert back to his regular form, Izuku held a hand up to his right eye socket. Covering it up to try and staunch the bleeding, he looked on in horror as Overhaul slowly made his way over to him.
Izuku stepped back, tripping over himself as he fell on his ass. A single wide eye staring as he started to tremble lightly.

“You should have made sure I was dead before leaving me,” Overhaul said, reaching a hand towards Izuku’s face.

---

Tensei stumbled backwards before the blades could hit him. So far the only thing he knew about the Hero Killer was that he used a lot of bladed weapons, would jump unsuspecting Heroes from the shadows, and then kill them.
Not even his quirk was known, which made him all the more dangerous to face alone.

“The Turbo Hero Ingenium, you are a stain on the name of Heroes. Treating Heroics like a job, accepting paychecks and talking about patrols like they’re shifts. You disgust me,” The Hero Killer spat out, throwing a few knives in Tensei’s direction.

He pressed against the wall, grateful he was wearing armor as the blades only scratched the surface. Though he suddenly realized how cramped this alley really was. The walls so close together that it would be difficult to use his quirk, and with the Hero Killer blocking the exit…

Tensei turned to face the Hero Killer, his hand going up to tap at the side of his helmet where he could comm in Hosu’s Police Department. “This is the Turbo Hero Ingenium requesting backup,” he said, crouching down as he fired up his engines.

He only had one shot.
He thought of his younger brother, knowing that he had to make this so he can watch the reruns of the Sports Festival with him and congratulate him on how far he’s made it.

Tensei knows his little brother would definitely make it to the Top Three.

“I am in an alleyway about five streets south of the hospital, near the Echo Shopping District,” he continued, running straight towards the Hero Killer in hopes that he would dive out of the way and then chase after Tensei.
“The Hero Killer is here.”

He passed the Hero Killer, briefly feeling something stab into him.
Not paying it any mind, he nearly reached the exit where hopefully the police would be there, when suddenly his body fell to the ground.

Heavy footsteps approached him as the Hero Killer stared down at Tensei.

“You call yourself a hero, yet you only work for fame and money,” the Hero Killer spoke right as his sword went into Tensei’s spine.

Tensei held back a scream, unable to move from where he laid. Forced to listen to this madman give a speech.

“All of you are fakes, and I won’t let anyone unworthy to bring me down. Because you are not like him- you are not All Might, and so you will be used as an example.”

He closed his eyes, listening for the sirens that were steadily approaching.
He just hoped the Hero Killer would stick around long enough to get arrested.

----

Izuku wanted to cry at this moment.
His whole body trembled as he reached inside for Erasure, realizing that if he dies right here then he wouldn’t be able to give Erasure back to Eraserhead.
He prayed that this quirk would at least cooperate, just this once.

You’re lucky that if I let you die then I won’t be able to go back home.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Izuku actually grabbed ahold of Erasure and stared at Overhaul with his one remaining eye right as the man placed his hand on Izuku’s face and tried to activate his quirk.

A few seconds passed, Izuku held his breath as he kept his eye open and trained on Overhaul. Knowing that if he blinked even once then he would be dead.

Dawning realization crossed Overhaul’s face.
“I heard rumors that Eraserhead himself has not been active for a couple years now, not since after the events in Naruhata,” he said.

Izuku gulped as he reached into the pocket of his coat, keeping his eye trained on Overhaul.
He didn’t bother speaking, already knowing what conclusion this man would come to. There was no need to explain how he got Erasure.

Somehow he knew Overhaul was still talking, but his speech was blocked out by a ringing static in Izuku’s ears. He felt himself start to sweat and shake, realizing that he might pass out or even blink.
He had to get out of here and fast.

Suddenly Overhaul stiffened as he was surrounded by a glow. His form shifted and changed a few times through various states of being injured and fully healed.
He leapt away from the source, though his form was left lacking his left leg and he stumbled to the ground.

Not wishing to look a gift horse in the mouth, Izuku immediately turned and fled the room. He was grateful that he didn’t run into anyone else as he ran right through a window and jumped over the wall to get as far from the house as possible.

Eventually he stopped when he reached an alleyway, taking a breath as he sat down and closed his eye. He worried about how he could possibly explain this one to his mom, especially since she has never really questioned him whenever he came home with a few bruises.

But losing an entire eye?

Slowly, Izuku tried to catch his breath because he needed to take this one step at a time.

In his haze, he didn’t notice someone start to approach him.

“Are you ok?”

----

“Tensei,” Tenya whispered when he saw the state his big brother was in. He held his crying mother close, but could only stare on as a cold numbness crawled through him.
Far worse than when Todoroki froze his engines only a few hours prior.

He wanted to step closer, to run and hug his brother. Hoping that this was some sort of elaborate prank, or that this was some terrible nightmare that he would wake up from.
Wake up to then convince his big brother to come watch the Sports Festival and cheer Tenya on.

Even if this was selfish of him, part of him wished that his brother had taken the day off just this once.
But he knew that his brother was too kind, wanting his sidekicks to be able to enjoy the Sports Festival themselves.

No, Tenya knows exactly who to blame for this.

As he hugged his mother close, Tenya made a silent vow that he would track down the Hero Killer and make him pay for what he did to Tensei.
Even if it means killing the Hero Killer.

----

Mirio never thought he would actually see the boy in red again. Let alone in an alley with a missing eye and blood oozing out of his socket.

Slowly he approached the boy, grateful that he always kept a first-aid kit on hand because of how One for All continued to shatter his bones.
Part of why Mirio requested that he not participate in the Sports Festival, instead spending his time patrolling and working out a way to maybe manage an output that won’t have him breaking any bones or feeling so exhausted he won’t be able to move.

As he stood in front of the boy, he noted that his left eye was open but practically glazed and unseeing. If it wasn’t for the steady rise and fall of his chest then Mirio would have assumed the boy was dead.

He crouched down, reaching a hand to rest on the boy’s shoulder.
The boy flinched, eye snapping into focus as he stared at Mirio. Breathing growing more rapid as he seemed to be in a state of fight or flight, the boy started to shuffle away.

“Hey, it’ll be ok. Do you remember me from when that villain with a regeneration quirk attacked?” Mirio asked, sitting down and lifting up his hands in a non-threatening gesture. He smiled when the boy stopped moving and stared at him. “I was actually hoping to meet you again, mostly to apologize for not making sure you got home safe. Bonehead move I know, I’m a Hero Student and this was one of the first things they taught us!” He tried to laugh at his own rookie mistake while reaching for the first aid kit.

He quickly held a hand up when the boy started to shuffle away again.
“No wait, this is just a first aid kit. Kind of have to keep it on me at all times now, but it works out great because you look like you really need it,” Mirio said, pointing to his own right eye. “Do you mind if I…?”

The boy stared at him once more before cautiously getting closer to Mirio.
“My Hero Name is Le Million, mostly because I have a goal to save one million lives. To see one million smiles, and even give one million smiles to reassure people that everything will be ok,” he explained, first carefully cleaning the wound. “But you could also call me by my civilian name because I’m not a real Hero yet,” he continued.

Mirio smiled while wrapping the gauze around the boy’s head. “Togata Mirio, though Mirio is just fine for you because I’d like to be friends.”

“Friends?” The boy asked, voice practically a whisper as he stared at Mirio with shock before he finally shook his head. “Sorry, but it wouldn’t be a good idea for you to be my friend. I’d rather you forget I even exist, for your own safety,” he said, getting up on shaky legs. Swaying as he pressed a hand against the wall to try and keep his balance.

“Is it because you’re a vigilante? I think it would be safer for you to have friends on the Hero-”

“Villain.”

Mirio blinked.
“What?”

“I’m a Villain, not a Vigilante,” the boy said quietly, slowly making his way further into the alley. “Ask Eraserhead about the Scarlet Thief and you’ll learn why.”

He quickly shook his head and moved to go after the boy. “Wait! It’s common for Vigilantes to be mistaken for Villains, but I’m sure it’s all a big misunderstanding! You are probably still young enough to maybe get a provisional license, especially with a Hero sponsoring-”

The boy stopped and looked back briefly.
“Do you truly believe someone who steals quirks, someone who caused the death of an innocent girl out of a foolish attempt to save her from a monster, someone who plans to kill his own father can still be a Hero?” He asked.

Mirio completely froze.

“That’s what I thought. Please stay away from me.”

He would regret not chasing after the boy when he went out the other side of the alley, disappearing into the crowd almost seamlessly.
“Maybe I should ask All Might about this?” He asked, for once not even thinking about talking to Sir. Then again this does seem like something All Might would know more about.

----

Inko smiled when she heard the door open and her son announce that he’s returned.
“Welcome home Izuku! Dinner will be ready in a few minutes,” she said, listening as he went straight into his bedroom to work on his homework.
Part of her worried that he might be wasting his life away by taking Highschool online instead of going to a public school, especially since she could easily afford the tuition with how much traction her online store was getting.

She would have to remember to set some time aside to fill out the influx of orders that came after Ingenium promoted her Sheep Hero Keychains and Plush Dolls- the All Might one naturally being the most popular followed by the rest of the Heroes.

If it wasn’t for a few dedicated Endeavor fans then she might have pulled his design off the market due to how unpopular he is.

Inko blinked when the sound of knocking cut her from her thoughts.
“I wonder who that could be,” she said, reducing the temperature on the stove to prevent dinner from burning or setting the place on fire. Walking towards the door, she opened it before blinking when she saw a little girl with bandages and a tattered dress standing in the doorway.

“Oh, hello there. How can I help you?” Inko asked.

The girl stared up at Inko and gulped before looking down. “Is...Is the boy in red here?” She asked, voice incredibly quiet. “He has green hair and I followed him here,” she explained.

“Boy in red?” Inko asked.

Suddenly her son’s bedroom door slammed open and he ran right towards the door.
Inko looked back and suddenly paled when she saw a bandage covering his eye and he was wearing a bright red coat but may have been in the process of taking it off.

Slowly she started to put two and two together.

“Izuku? What’s….?”

The little girl immediately barreled past Inko and tackled Izuku in a hug.
“I’m sorry! It’s my fault you lost your eye,” she whispered.

Slowly Izuku crouched down and hugged the girl, though he looked at his mom.
His single eye conveyed just about everything she needed to know at this moment, a skill they had developed after Hisashi had…

Part of her wonders if they would have had this kind of relationship if Hisashi had continued to send money to them….if she never found out the truth and tried to get him to stop.
She gave a small nod, turning to go into the kitchen to serve up dinner.

“I better call my grandmother to forge some documents, unless this girl has a family of her own?” Inko asked, not wanting to take a little girl who was likely kidnapped from a loving family.
She knows if her son disappeared and then got adopted into a different family then she would be devastated, even if the people were loving towards him...she doesn’t think she could handle being separated from him.

He’s all she has, and she’s all he has.
They need each other.

She looked back when she heard Izuku and the little girl step into the kitchen.
Izuku helped the girl in a chair before he turned towards Inko and looked down.

“This is Eri and she was being held by a Yakuza, and….she says she doesn’t have a family anymore,” he explained.

“Alright, then I’ll call my grandmother. I just hope she won’t mind this,” Inko said, not wishing to bother her grandmother with this sort of thing but what choice did she have?
She remembers her grandmother warned her about Hisashi, but Inko was young and foolishly in love. Allowing him to convince her to slowly cut contact with her family...foolishly thinking he would happily take care of her and their family for the rest of their lives.
Inko didn’t want her grandmother to tell her “I told you so” when Hisashi completely cut them off, but even still she kept her number memorized and would program it into her phones just in case…

“Grandma?” Izuku asked.

Inko gave a smile. “Yes, she was the one who raised me when my parents couldn’t take care of me. I’m sure she will help us forge some paperwork for Eri,” she explained, setting up the table.
“But this can wait until after dinner and you tell me exactly what happened.”

Izuku nodded.
“Thanks Mom.”

With how he said that, Inko knew she wouldn’t get the full and honest story from him.
But as long as he told her what was important then she wouldn’t mind a few details being omitted.
She just needs to know what’s going on.

Chapter Text

“The FitnessGram PACER Test is a multistage aerobic capacity test that progressively gets more difficult as it continues.”

Hitoshi swore he had that test committed to memory by now, with how often Aizawa would make him go through this after the warm-up run while the rest of his classmates spent the period doing other exercises. There were days where he tried to get out of the constant running by either puking or just stopping, but then Aizawa simply gave that smug smile and said those words that filled Hitoshi with a sense of extreme hatred.

“So you’re just going to quit then? Looks like I was right about your lack of potential.”

He gripped at his sides, remembering the sharp pain he would experience from the constant cardio that he goes through. But if he could wipe that smug smile from his shitty teacher’s face then he would. He would make Aizawa eat his words after the Sports Festival when Hitoshi wins it all and gets his transfer into the Hero Course.

Slowly Hitoshi continued his stretches in the locker room, reading over the notes he had collected on Classes 1-A and 1-B. Anything he could note about their quirks, their personalities, and any weaknesses he could potentially exploit to take the win.
He ignored the stares he got from his classmates.
Ignored the way they whispered about how he was taking this transfer business so seriously.

“You know you could just get your Hero License later in life, right? That would probably be easier than going through all of this work.”

Hitoshi actually stopped and looked up to glare at his classmate who said that.
“It’s the principle of the matter,” he said, closing all the notes and putting them away as he finished his warm-up stretches to be ready for the PACER Test from hell.

Only a couple more weeks and then he would finally take his first true steps at this school and get as far from Aizawa and his PACER Test as possible.

---

Around lunch time, three days before his day of destiny, Hitoshi stood by Class 1-A’s door. Their homeroom teacher, Midnight, had already left the room. His ear was pressed to the door as he listened to the excited chatter, hoping to potentially get any last minute dirt he could drag out during the Sports Festival.

Anything to get them to fall under his quirk.

“Hey Firecracker! Are you ready to get your ass handed to you at the Sports Festival?”

“In your dreams, Pink Cheeks!”

Uraraka Ochaco and Bakugou Katsuki, according to Hitoshi’s notes they would be the easiest to hit with his quirk because of how they would laser focus on each other with their current rivalry. While they could potentially put on a show for the Sports Festival, Hitoshi will hopefully eliminate one or both before the finals to avoid anyone possibly overshadowing him.

“Bakugou! Uraraka! Please refrain from destroying the room again!”

“Lighten up Ida, their energy is definitely getting me pumped for this!”

Ida Tenya and Kaminari Denki. The former came from a prominent Hero Family with speed quirks while the latter is an idiot with an electrification quirk. Maybe if he finds something to trip Ida with, and he doubts Kaminari will be observant enough to figure out Hitoshi’s quirk.

He pretended to read an article on his phone when he heard the door open. He could see Mizuki Kurage linking arms with Ashido Mina and Hagakure Toru. They were the ones who brought the most positivity to Class 1-A, and had some quirks that were fairly impressive to Shinsou.

Water manipulation, Acid, and Invisibility.
He would have killed to have quirks like those.

“Kurage-chan!”

The girl quickly pulled her hand out of her mouth, smiling sheepishly at Ashido as her face went from a light blue to a deep purple- obviously blushing. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin your hard work Mina. One day I will break this habit though!”

“Come on! Let’s decide what makeup we should test on each other next!”

Following the trio were two boys that Hitoshi felt he could somewhat relate to, as they were the outcasts of 1-A for different reasons.
But it’s their personalities and attitudes that prevents him from pitying them both.

“Man, I’m pretty sure their slumber parties are the hottest thing ever,” Mineta Minoru said.
A short pervert with a quirk that made great area traps, Hitoshi figured he would be easy to ensnare. Just bring up Mineta’s homeroom teacher or even his female classmates and then he’s done for.

Atsui Ashi walked a few paces behind Mineta, hand going through his light blue hair that almost looked like a living flame or even a cloud? It was hard to tell.
“Well I will say this, Kaminari really had a point. That explosive rivalry between Uraraka and Bakugou has me pumped to win! And we all know I will win because my quirk is the greatest thing to have ever graced this class-”

However, most everyone ignored what Atsui was saying, and Hitoshi could see a hurt look flash across his face. Almost deflating like a kicked puppy, until he smacked his cheeks and took a deep breath.

Hitoshi didn’t bother to watch as Atsui used his quirk. He already knew from one of his classmates that went to Junior High with Atsui that he couldn’t keep a continuous flame going from his feet. His quirk required using the oxygen he took in, so he had to release after a certain period of time or suffocate and knock himself out.

The bitter jealousy coiled in him as he could not understand how someone with a quirk that was obviously ill-suited for Heroics even made it into UA’s Hero Course. If he was in charge, then Hitoshi would have made sure that Atsui never stepped a single flaming foot into UA, especially with how he constantly tries to act like Endeavor when he can’t even keep a constant stream of fire coming out of his feet!

He ignored the rest of the students who walked out, because most were not too terrible threats here.
Except for the final one, the one who Hitoshi would call the Prince of 1-A because of his status and quirk.

Todoroki Shoto, the son of Endeavor. From what he’s heard, Todoroki ironically has a very powerful ice quirk and the ability to melt the ice he creates. Even if he doesn’t have his father’s flames, he is still a huge threat with how fast he can make glaciers.
If Hitoshi can’t catch Todoroki in the brainwash before the start of any event then he knows he’s royally fucked.

Slowly he turned to make his way towards the cafeteria to get his lunch.
He already had a game plan, so he just had to make sure it went off without a hitch.

---

Shouta grunted to himself, already wishing he could strangle that scheming rat with his capture scarf. As he stepped onto the stage where the crowd was waiting and cheering, hundreds upon thousands of eyes on the stadium, he wished he told Nedzu off when he told Shouta that he would be participating in the Sports Festival as the announcer and referee because he is the Gym Teacher.

As soon as the crowd settled down to some level, Shouta brought the microphone up and didn’t bother attempting to rile the crowd up.
Instead he put his focus on the two-hundred and twenty students gathered before him as he spoke his words.

“Welcome to the First Year Stage of UA’s Sports Festival. I’m going to be blunt and say that if you expect much from all two-hundred students here then you will be disappointed. We all know Classes 1-A and 1-B will make it to the end, and only one will win the entire thing. So let’s get the speech done by the top student over with and start this pointless thing already,” Shouta said, motioning towards where a microphone stood next to him.

He turned to face the boy with spiky blonde hair, not really caring that he simply made a declaration to win the Sports Festival.
Really he will admire that the kid had guts, but whether he fulfills this promise has yet to be seen. At least it was short and he could quickly start up the first event.

“First is the Obstacle Race, use your quirks to get ahead and win,” Shouta said, pressing a button to set off a beep from the one test that has brought a small amount of joy to his overall bleak life. Though this would not bring the same joy as the day he would ultimately catch the Scarlet Thief and get his damn quirk back.

He watched as one student in particular sprinted ahead of the group as soon as the sound of the tone rippled through the stadium. Perhaps Shinsou will make it to the next event, but Shouta doubts he will make it past the second event.

----

Beep.

Hitoshi was glad he stretched while in the prep room with his class. He should have known Aizawa would have pulled this kind of torture out of his ass, likely knowing Hitoshi was down there and planned to get off on the torture of his least favorite student.

He pulled ahead of the crowd before they could pile up in the tunnel, his feet slamming against the ground as he kept his breathing even. Pretty soon he would hear more of that cursed sound and he would have to save his strength for when they get faster and faster.

Beep.

He jumped upon hearing the tone in his head, not sure if he heard it coming from outside or if it was only in his head. When his feet hit the ground once more, he nearly slipped and fell on his ass. Hand pressed down onto a cold and slippery surface, revealing that Todoroki had frozen the ground.

Hitoshi took a breath as he carefully slid one foot in front of the other. Though he could see a bunch of people had started to pass him after his initial lead in the race.
While he had no hope of catching up with those who had speed and mobility quirks, he knew he wasn’t out of the race yet.

As long as he can make it within the top twenty then he’s a shoo-in for the second event.

Beep.

Slowly music started to make its way into Hitoshi’s ears, his pace growing more even and steady to go with it. His feet moved on their own, his vision almost blacking out into a tunnel as he focused on moving forward.

Even as something planted itself in Hitoshi’s path, he kept his feet moving forward. Running across the green metal plate with a large white 2 painted on it, his foot stepped and crushed the head of the robot from the Entrance Exam.

He ran past where Zero-Pointers had been knocked down and cut open, not even paying them any mind as he passed yet another member of Class 1-B.

Beep.

The music in his head picked up, his feet following suit as he felt the ground grow thinner and more unstable. Even bouncing and almost giving with how his feet kept planting down on it, but he held his arms out to keep his balance.

It reminded him of when Aizawa shoved him on to a tight-rope for the PACER Test.

Briefly his feet hit solid ground again, but soon he was back on the ropes. Quickly, yet carefully, he continued his run until his feet remained on solid ground.

Beep.

The music had grown so loud and fast to the point where Hitoshi could feel his lungs starting to burn.
His side pierced with a sharp pain, and he desperately felt the need to stop and catch his breath.

But he pushed himself forward.
He needed to rub this into Aizawa’s smug face more than anything, to then get his transfer paperwork in order and leave all of them behind.

His ears suddenly started ringing, his mind suddenly catching up to him when he realized he was laying on his back. Staring at the sky until the events finally caught up to him.

Slowly getting up, Hitoshi stared wide eyed at the minefield that was ahead of him.
How was he supposed to get past this?
Did Aizawa do this on purpose?

Was this his way of preventing Hitoshi from transferring to the Hero Course? All so he can continue to torture Hitoshi more and more throughout the rest of the year, maybe even for the rest of Hitoshi’s time at UA?

Perhaps he should just...give up-

“So you’re just going to quit then? Looks like I was right about your lack of potential.”

Hitoshi stood up when he heard Aizawa’s voice in his head, taunting him for possibly quitting.
He can still do this, he can get past this obstacle.

He will do it.
Hitoshi will go beyond.

“Plus Ultra!” Hitoshi screamed out, running straight for the mines.

----

Normally Snipe would be watching the Third Years, but this year he decided to watch the First Years. Something in his gut was telling him that there may be a few students of interest in this batch, plus this seemed to be the other group that took up most of All Might’s attention.

There has to be a reason for it.

He soon leaned forward with interest when one student in particular caught his eye.
Perhaps he could set some time outside of school hours and patrol hours to train that one?

“If he makes it far enough then maybe I can invite him to the range.”

Chapter Text

Hitoshi knows he will have nightmares from the second event, especially seeing Bakugou taking to the sky like some explosive angel of death. Part of him had hoped Aizawa would have disqualified that team immediately, because then it would have also removed Uraraka from the equation, but there was the ruling that as long as Bakugou’s feet didn’t touch the ground then they were still in.

Luckily he was able to avoid Bakugou’s team and used the ice Todoroki’s team created to scrap just enough points to make it to the final round. (Maybe he should have recruited Mizuki, use her to take control over Todoroki’s ice- how could he have not realized she had that capability sooner!?)

He didn’t care that two of his “teammates” dropped out, citing that they didn’t feel like they earned their spots in the final event. He graciously gave them a chance to gain some attention, but they obviously squandered it over something as pitiful as honor.
This was a school festival that would determine who gets to even stay in the Sports Festival vs those who can transfer in. Why would they waste an opportunity to show off and gain some fame?

“Alright, the brackets have been decided. Those who qualified for the finals can either participate in the recreational events or use this time to prepare themselves for the battles ahead,” Aizawa said, not even looking back at the screen that showed the current brackets.

Hitoshi, however, made sure to study them closely and use his time researching those from 1-A and 1-B to predict who was the most likely to win.
He knew he would easily win against Mineta, just have to say something about Midnight or one of the girls in 1-A and it wouldn’t matter what kind of warnings Mineta got.
He will reply no matter what.

After that is Asui against Mizuki. Without any water to control Mizuki is pretty much screwed out of this one, and Asui appears to be a well-rounded fighter. Hitoshi will need to use all the cardio training he got to hopefully outrun her tongue and try to catch her with her vocal tic.

Bakugou going against Todoroki could go either way, but Hitoshi is sure that Bakugou will overpower Todoroki and whoever else he goes up against. But he’s a loudmouth through and through, so Hitoshi isn’t worried about him. It would be a different story if Todoroki won that fight.

He had no reason to worry about Aoyama and Shoji; nor would he need to worry about Komori, Sero, Ashido, Ida, or even Kendo.

Yaoyorozu, Tokoyami, and Uraraka are the ones Hitoshi would need to worry about the most. Especially Tokoyami and Yaoyorozu, because neither seemed likely to respond to whatever jabs Hitoshi could possibly throw at them.
But if he goes up against any of those four then he will be runner-up anyway and have a good chance at being considered for the Hero Course.

Perhaps he should review his notes one final time, just to be safe?

---

Toshinori took a breath as he thought carefully how to time his appearance just right. Even if he had a few hours left while in muscle form, he still wanted to make the most of it and possibly do a quick patrol after the Sports Festival.
Meaning he would have to make it short and sweet.

“Alright. I will appear at the top of the stadium and shout my catchphrase, then I do a superhero landing while carrying the medals to then-”

“I AM HERE!”

Toshinori jumped, quickly pulling his phone out of his pocket. He could have sworn he put it on silent, but perhaps he forgot?
Still he wondered who could be trying to call him at this time, only to nearly drop his phone when he saw Gran Torino was one of the two trying to reach him.
He immediately declined Gran’s call, knowing he would not hear the end of it later, in favor of answering Young Togata’s call.

It wasn’t often that his successor called him, especially at this time.
Perhaps he needs help on his patrol? Though usually he would have called Nighteye for this...unless Nighteye is perhaps too busy now? Not like Toshinori would know, he still refuses to talk to Nighteye lest he be subjected to his former sidekick preening at the fact that Toshinori caved and picked Young Togata to take One for All.

“Hello Young Togata, how’s your patrol going?” Toshinori asked, moving to step into an even more secluded area than before. There’s no telling what they would talk about, and he would rather be safe than sorry.

“Hey, do you remember a short while before the Entrance Exams how I saved this boy dressed in red from that weird villain with a regeneration quirk?” Young Togata asked, his voice almost haunted.

He didn’t have to think for very long, because hearing about the boy in red at that time made him remember that young boy from even earlier that year. “I do. Why? What brought this up?” Toshinori asked.

His successor was silent for a couple moments. A palpable tension grew in the air as Toshinori started to feel a sudden dread.
What happened?

“I met him again, a few moments ago,” Young Togata began. “I think he got into another fight with some villains and definitely came out worse off than when I first met him,” he continued, pausing to catch his breath.

It became apparent to Toshinori that Young Togata was running at this very moment.
He opened his mouth, ready to ask his successor what’s going on right now.
Why is he running?
Is he running from someone or is he chasing someone down?

“We spoke briefly and he said some things that made me really concerned. I don’t think he’s that much older than the first years, but he’s already calling himself things like a Villain and...it’s obvious he needs help and stuff. He might even be going after much larger fish now and could get himself killed and-”

He could hear Young Togata start to lose his breath from how much he was talking.
“Young Togata, pace yourself. Just stop, breathe, and tell me exactly what happened,” Toshinori said, knowing that his student was likely using One for All and possibly on the verge of passing out if he continues to use it.

He waited, listening to Young Togata take a few deep breaths.

“The boy, he said a few things that had me worried. Mentioned something about quirks being stolen?”
This time Toshinori dropped his phone.

His body remained still as a statue, a sharp pain flashing through his side as he swore he felt those eyes gazing at him with pure mirth.
He slowly turned his head to look behind him, almost expecting to see All for One himself standing right there. Ready to try for a killing blow once more.

Toshinori exhaled a sigh of relief when he didn’t see that monster’s wide grin behind him.

“All Might!”

He jumped, quickly crouching down to pick his phone up.
“Young Togata, I’m going to need you to hurry back to UA. There’s something I need to tell you, and it involves One for All,” he said.

Some may call him rash for jumping to conclusions based on a single statement from his student, especially since Toshinori made sure that All for One was dead, but it still wouldn’t hurt to talk this over with Young Togata and give him the full story.
Especially if All for One did survive somehow.

---

Hitoshi didn’t even look at Aizawa nor did he address the crowd as he climbed the steps. Instead he focused on Mineta, seeing the boy waving at the crowd and making attempts at riling them up in some form. Though the cheers were a lot quieter than during the rest of the festival, meaning he would have to put up a good show.

Mineta grinned as he stared at Hitoshi. “I hope you’re ready to lose.”

He grinned. “Perhaps, you are a real winner after all,” he began, knowing exactly how to weave his web for this particular fly.

“Begin.”

“What with having Midnight as a homeroom teacher, I’m sure you enjoy staring at her whenever she’s in the classroom,” Hitoshi continued, taking a few calculated steps back when Mineta started to throw those weird purple balls at him. So far that didn’t get a response, but the second event did get him a trump card to use.

“But you must really feel like a winner, using Shoji to hide yourself and Asui from the crowd,” he brought his hands up to his chest, pressing up on it slightly to mimic boobs. “Did you and Tokoyami decide to get a good feel for her breasts?” He asked.

He watched Mineta freeze for a few seconds and knew he had him right where he wanted him.

“Well? Did you? Did it feel good?” He asked.

“I di-”

Got him.

Hitoshi could feel an impossibly wide grin on his face.
“Turn around and take a swan dive off the edge of the platform. Perhaps pray you have better luck next year,” he ordered, doing his best not to laugh when Mineta took a running leap and literally dove across the line and off the platform.

“Mineta is out of bounds. The winner is Shinsou Hitoshi.”

The crowd remained silent with confusion. Not a single member of the audience gave a single cheer or applause. While it disappointed Hitoshi that they didn’t cheer for him like they did for the rest of the events, he figured he would win them over in the next fight.

He simply stepped off the stage, releasing his control over Mineta because it was pointless to keep him brainwashed.

“I did not touch Tsu-chan at all!”

Hitoshi rolled his eyes.
As if he actually cared.

---

The rest of the battles almost passed in a flash for Hitoshi. He didn’t bother watching the one that came directly after his, but he did watch the third fight. Seeing how Bakugou outlasted Todoroki and eventually overpowered him, knocking the ice user far out of the arena.
He gave a smile of satisfaction, knowing that he would definitely make it to the final match.

The only other one he cared to watch was between Ashido and Komori, only because he took entertainment in watching the field get covered in mushrooms only to have them melted almost immediately. While it was a bad matchup for Komori, it still gave enough entertainment.

He found himself back on the field soon enough, standing across from Asui Tsuyu.
“You know, it must have been rough during the Cavalry Battle. I could never understand why a boy like Mineta would think it was a good idea to assault you or even have the thought of doing it,” Hitoshi began.

He didn’t hear Aizawa tell them to start, but he must have because Asui had immediately leapt right for Hitoshi. Her tongue lashing right towards him.

It took everything in him to dodge and run from her. He would have to keep trying to use his words, hopefully get her to crack like an egg and respond to him. But she remained completely silent with her attacks.

Did someone tell her about his quirk? Or was she able to deduce what his quirk did on her own?
He knows Asui is very observant, so it is likely she deduced it from testimonies from her classmates who were affected by it.

But Hitoshi refuses to give up.

“Maybe I was wrong and you actually let him touch you. Did you also let Tokoyami touch you? I thought birds ate frogs, or are you poisonous?” He asked, only to tsk when she remained silent.
There had to be something-

Then he heard it, a small ribbit sound came from her right after he released focus on his quirk.
He gave a grin, now knowing what to do.

“You know, Mutant Quirks are the strangest out there. Making people take on more animal traits, like you. Is it true that you will eat flies whenever you see them? Big, fat, juicy flies just waiting for you to catch with your tongue,” he began, knowing that if he somehow pisses her off then she will definitely slip up.
“It’s kind of weird and gross, truthfully. I couldn’t imagine being more frog than human. Care to tell me about it?”

Asui gave a ribbit in response, and just like that her attacks stopped as she stood frozen where she was. Tongue still extended as it fell to the ground.

At first he thought about ordering her to step out of bounds, but then that would be very anticlimactic for him and the crowd who had actually been cheering during the match.
So he reached down and picked up the tongue, shuddering at how slimy it felt, before wrapping it around Asui and tying her up.

He then released the brainwash and gave a smile when he saw realization dawn on her face.

“Asui, are you able to move?” Aizawa asked.

Hitoshi smirked when she quietly shook her head after trying to break free.

“Alright. Shinsou Hitoshi wins the match.”

Victory was really starting to taste incredibly sweet to him, and he can’t wait to rub it into Bakugou’s smug face once he has that explosive jackass blow himself out of the arena.
Or maybe he could make Bakugou do the Chicken Dance right out of bounds? Just to show off a little and make people realize that Hitoshi did belong in the Hero Course.

He just needs to get past two more battles and then he will be in.

---

Katsuki quietly sat in the preparation room. He could hear the dry voice of that Hobo Teacher announcing Birdhead’s victory against Raccoon Eyes, which meant it was his turn.
As he stood up, he could see Pink Cheeks waiting for him outside of the door.

“What do you want?” He asked.

“Just here to say that if you lose to Shinsou then I will avenge you, and then we can fight again later,” she said, actually reaching and punching his shoulder. “But I know you won’t lose, Firecracker. Just like how I won’t lose to Tokoyami, and then I will kick your ass in the finals.”

Katsuki actually gave a grin. “If you lose to Birdhead then I’m going to have to revoke your position as my rival, Pink Cheeks,” he remarked, pressing his own fist against her shoulder. It wouldn’t be a true victory for him if he didn’t face her in the finals, so he would make sure he wins in the end.

“And if you lose to Shinsou then I can’t call you my rival anymore, so you better win.”

He waved her off as he made his way to the stage, ignoring the way the crowd cheered for him. While the attention was nice, they were irrelevant to his current goal of being Number One.
Each and every last one of them would be stepping stones for Katsuki in his career.

As he stood across from the current pebble, the purple haired kid from General Studies, he took a breath while remembering what he’s observed from the battles and overhearing what those who interacted with Gen Ed Kid said to everyone else.

Do not speak.

“So what’s your deal with Uraraka? Are you her abusive boyfriend or something?”

So this is the game he’s playing?
What an idiot.

“Begin.”

Within seconds after hearing the signal, Katsuki shot straight towards his opponent. While the boy was fairly quick on his feet, Katsuki made sure he was faster with his explosions before opening with his right palm forward.

“Die!” He screamed, watching with immense satisfaction as Gen Ed Kid was launched straight into the wall. Well out of bounds, leading to another total victory for Katsuki.

“Shinsou Hitoshi is out of bounds. Bakugou Katsuki will be moving on to the finals.”

He turned and stepped away, not even bothering to look back at Gen Ed Kid.
If he really wants to be a Hero then he will need more tricks than brainwashing people.

“You better meet me in the finals, Pink Cheeks.”

---

Days after the Sports Festival, Hitoshi was dreading the moment he would walk out of the locker room and face Aizawa’s smug smile. He will not hear the end of it from his PE teacher, the way he failed miserably at the Sports Festival.

He was supposed to win, only to lose his concentration when Bakugou punched him out of the arena. He couldn’t even bring himself to face off against Tokoyami, wondering what the point of it all was.

Third place wasn’t what he wanted at all.

With his head down, he made his way to the locker rooms to mentally prepare himself for the torture Aizawa would put him through.

However, a hand rested itself on Hitoshi’s shoulder.
He looked up and behind him to see Snipe was standing right there.

“Excuse me, Shinsou? Might I have a word with you?” Snipe asked.

Confused and a little worried, Hitoshi gave a nod as he followed Snipe to the Faculty Lounge.
He doesn’t remember doing anything that would catch the ire of the other teachers, plus Snipe normally deals with third year students.
So why was he asking for Hitoshi?

“I wanted to talk to you about your performance at the Sports Festival. You showed some promise for me, though it appears you have turned into a one-trick pony,” Snipe explained, sitting in one of the chairs. He leaned forward, hands clasped together.
“Which is why I would like to invite you to come to my classes at the firing range I teach at on weekends. We could use that to teach you other tricks so you aren’t as overly reliant on your quirk.”

Hitoshi blinked.
“But I-”

“I believe you proved yourself enough to be considered for a transfer. We just need to get you caught up to the rest of your peers,” Snipe said. “It won’t be easy, but I feel that you might be up to the challenge.”

Hitoshi swore he wanted to cry.
“I- I would be honored, sir.”

“Good. I will bring you the details after school, though this might eat into your PE Class with Aizawa-”

“I’m fine with that!”

Snipe chuckled lightly.
“I figured. Aizawa is definitely not the easiest teacher to get along with, you’re lucky you weren’t here when he was a homeroom teacher.”

Hitoshi blinked, shuddering at the thought of Aizawa being a homeroom teacher.
Somehow that would become the new subject of his nightmares.

But at least he will finally get away from him.

Chapter Text

After making sure Eri was fast asleep in his bed, a temporary arrangement until they could make a space for the newest addition to their family, Izuku quietly slipped to where he could hear his mom on the phone. The last time she called a relative on the phone did not end well, and he refuses to let another torment her.

From where he stood he could catch his great-grandma’s voice, finding that she sounded surprisingly youthful for someone who couldn’t be any younger than eighty or even ninety.

“Well this is a surprise. I don’t think I’ve heard from you since you eloped, Inko.”

His mom took in a shuddering breath, likely on the brink of tears at the reminder. “Yes, well, things are different now,” she began. “I have a son now, and he brought home a little girl who doesn’t have a family.”

His great-grandmother gave a sigh, though it soon sounded more like relief than exasperation. At least, Izuku hoped it was relief.
“I can only assume that you figured Hisashi out, and he completely dropped you like a toy he lost interest in,” his great-grandma finally said. “Because otherwise you wouldn’t be calling me, as he does have enough connections to forge plenty of paperwork.”

After a beat of silence, his great-grandmother spoke again. “I wish you would have called me as soon as he pulled that. I could have moved you and your son here in Singapore to stay with me, but I guess you were scared that I would have said I told you so when you married him.”

“Ah-ma,” his mom whispered quietly, definitely crying at this point.

Izuku strained to listen, hearing his great-grandmother speak much softer. Though he soon realized she had quit speaking Japanese, but he couldn’t understand a lick of what was being said. Nor could he understand what his mom was saying in return until suddenly-

“I know you’re listening in on us,” his great-grandmother spoke from the phone. She seemed to laugh lightly. “Inko, may I speak with my great-grandson? Alone preferably,” she asked.

He gave a sheepish smile when his mom turned around and stared at him with shock. “I- Sorry Mom,” he said, deciding against trying to make an excuse as she wordlessly handed him the phone. Though he knew that they would talk about this later as she went to her bedroom.

“Hello, you must be Izuku,” his great-grandmother greeted.

“I- yes. How did you know…?”

“It’s the exact thing I, my son, your mother, and even your bastard father has done when someone we care about is on the phone with someone we don’t trust,” she explained. “My name is Akatani Min, but you may call me Ah-ma.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Ah-ma,” Izuku said, frowning when he heard yet another comparison between him and that man. “But please don’t compare me to him. He’s-”

Ah-ma gave a laugh. “Oh I am well aware of everything that Hisashi has done. You don’t live as long as I have without hearing about his villain identity, especially with the connections I have,” she said. “So, you’ve turned towards stealing Hisashi’s things and even robbing Yakuzas? You are a bold one, Scarlet.”

Izuku blinked. “I didn’t realize that name reached other countries.”

“Yes, well, I have a few connections in Japan keeping an eye on the Underworld there. Imagine my surprise when Shirakumo, my butler, told me about a young boy in red poking his nose into Hisashi’s affairs. I never expected to find out that boy is my very own great-grandson,” Ah-ma said. “So how can I help? If it involves screwing over Doctor Quack then I can-”

“No I-” Izuku started to say, but then he looked towards his mom’s room and to his room where Eri is sleeping. “Actually, there is something. If it isn’t any trouble for you that is.”

“I’m sure it wouldn’t be much trouble. After all, I value my family above all else.”

He smiled, grateful that she seems to be open to fulfilling this one request.

----

Naomasa rubbed at his temples, wishing he could take in the atmosphere of the cafe and simply relax. However he couldn’t bring himself to with how Scarlet seemed to completely disappear after a rumored sighting. Le Million mentioned that Scarlet received an injury of some form, but he couldn’t remember where exactly.

He could only assume it was a head injury from the amount of blood the young intern witnessed.

Eraserhead and Nighteye were both even more frustrated than Naomasa, wondering if Scarlet was busy nursing his wounds before deciding to make yet another appearance.
Even after checking hospital records for anyone in red who came in with a head injury resulted in no more leads, which leaves possible connections to the underground networks.

Maybe he could see if his contacts in Naruhata have any details?

“Sorry for being late, I got caught up with these lesson plans.”

Naomasa looked up and smiled when he saw All Might, though in this form he knew him as Toshinori. Even if his friend had called him to request a meeting, he knew he couldn’t blame the Symbol of Peace himself for being late. He actually expected it at this time.

“No worries. So what did you need?” He asked.

Toshinori stared at him quietly.
“Have you received any investigations that relate to Quirks disappearing?” He asked.

He was grateful that he didn’t have anything in his mouth because Naomasa knew he would either spit it out or choke.
Did Toshinori somehow get access to the case already? He knows his friend would be brought onto it for the summer when he has a break from teaching, but that wouldn’t be until July.
So how did he…?

“A student of mine mentioned meeting a boy in red a couple times,” he began. “This boy isn’t any older than my first year students, so roughly fourteen to sixteen, and a few concerning things like Quirks being stolen,” he continued, staring directly at Naomasa like he was looking at a ghost.

Naomasa’s chest tightened considerably and he suddenly couldn’t breathe.
He opened his mouth, but choked on his words until the pressure finally lifted.
Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to let Toshinori in on the surface details before bringing him in on the case fully?

“Roughly two or three years before you received your injury, I had received reports on my desk about someone using a telekinetic quirk to commit minor acts of robbery. Witnesses only mentioned a very small figure dressed in all black, but they couldn’t get a clear look at the figure’s face. No one was injured in any of this and, since we could only assume it was a child, it was left to us in the police to investigate,” Naomasa began.

“Then it all changed about two years ago, after the events in Naruhata. The Pro Hero Eraserhead went after a small group of villains in an alley. When he went to use his Quirk, nothing happened and they almost killed him that night.”

Toshinori dug his fingers into the surface of the table.

“The next night, after being healed by Recovery Girl, Eraserhead witnessed a boy dressed in bright red breaking out of a building while carrying a small bag of loot. He prepared to apprehend the boy when villains actually stepped out and attacked the boy. However the boy’s eyes glowed and the villains couldn’t use their quirks.”

Naomasa picked up his cup of coffee, taking a sip to allow for all of this to sink in.
“As the boy has not caused massive property damage, direct harm onto people, and that Quirk Theft isn’t a known crime, he has been labelled as an A Rank Villain with the potential to become an S or even SS Rank if he isn’t stopped soon.”

“That must be why that boy called himself a Villain to Young Togata and brought up Quirks being stolen,” Toshinori whispered. “However, he seems to be primarily targeting villains according to Young Togata and might be going after even larger fish.”

“Are you trying to insinuate that He is still alive?” Naomasa asked.

“It’s what my gut is telling me, but I would have to see the rest of the investigation for myself. Either way this boy had to have been connected to All for One in some form, but I want to reserve judgement until I see what that connection is.”

He blinked. “That… I thought you would have-?”

“No. If I did then I would be the same as Him, and I refuse to stoop myself to that level.”

Naomasa nodded. “Just don’t be surprised if the boy is trying to follow in All for One’s footsteps.”

He debated on telling Toshinori about Sir Nighteye’s vision, but he held his tongue.
There’s no telling how far in the future that is, and it could possibly change if they catch the boy before that future can come to pass.

No matter what Sir Nighteye says about the futures he sees being set in stone, Naomasa refuses to believe that the future can’t change.

---

David never thought he would come to a day where he would legit want to scream with frustration. Even though he kept himself composed, he wished he could have told the sponsors where to shove it when it came to his Quirk Amplification Device.

It could help so many people with quirks that are growing weaker!
Allow for there to be more effective heroes who could save more lives and-

“There might be a way to get it back,” his assistant, Samuel, piped in. “The Expo this summer might be the perfect opportunity, so we should have enough time to plan the perfect way to get it back.”

He looked up to his assistant. “Sam, you’re a genius! Perhaps we should hire a master thief then?” David suggested, remembering seeing some of the work Melissa had been doing for the past few years. Perhaps he could make some equipment himself in secret?

He would just need to find the right one…

“Or maybe we could hire some fake villains to stage an attack so we can slip away during the chaos and take it ourselves?” Sam suggested.

“Possibly, but I would prefer taking the method that can guarantee that no one gets hurt,” he said. Something about hiring a thief seemed more appealing, but he doesn’t know why.
Probably because of all the heist movies he’s been binging with Melissa for the past few years?

Speaking of Melissa, he had noticed that she seemed a lot more gloomy lately.
She hasn’t been talking to her friend, Carmen, lately either. Nor has she really brought him up anywhere either.
Could something have happened between them?

Maybe he should check on Melissa and plan this heist at a later time.
Make sure she’s getting rest, eating, and not completely throwing herself into her work.

“How about we discuss this later? It is almost dinner time and I think it would be good if I ate with my daughter tonight,” David said, stepping out of his lab.
Though he pulled out a burner phone he got recently after seeing a sticky note on his daughter’s computer.
Normally he doesn’t go snooping, but something about this number and the name “Red” had him wondering if maybe she had gotten herself into something shady.

Not like he can judge, especially with what he’s planning to do.
“Plus she knows she can talk to me about this if she really needed to.”

---

Three days had passed since he read the news.
Izuku stared down at his phone, seeing the message he sent to Ida as soon as he realized what happened to Ingenium. Part of him feels like he should have been able to do something about this.
He could have looked into the Hero Killer more.
He could have gone to Hosu before the Sports Festival, before Ingenium was attacked and set up a large enough heist to attract more Heroes in the area and…

And then he would have still been on speaking terms with Melissa.

Izuku looked up from his phone after seeing no response from Ida, deciding he could message him again later. He stepped into the building, checking in with the receptionist to get his badge. Moving to the waiting room, he sat next to a boy around his age with purple hair. Something about the boy was familiar, but he ignored it for now.

Even though the boy was in his blindspot, Izuku could feel him look at him strangely.
He’s been getting a lot of stares and pity from people lately, not helped when he gives the partially true story of how he lost his eye.
He just won’t say that he lost it in a fight.

“Guess I’m not the only First Year here.”

Izuku blinked, looking around to see that the rest in his group were primarily third year students and even some adults who he recognized to be Heroes.
He turned towards the kid and gave a nod. “Why are you taking this class?” He decided to ask.

“I could say the same about you.”

“Self-defense mostly. But I want to make sure I’m being safe with this and don’t pull anything stupid,” Izuku said.

“I was offered this by a teacher,” the boy said. “It’s going to help me transfer into the Hero Course at UA.”

Izuku nodded, now knowing where he’s seen this boy from. “You’re the one who was immediately blasted out of the arena by Bakugou,” he said, remembering watching the recording of the Sports Festival. Even then he only watched it to possibly congratulate Ida on his progress, and to unwind after…

“That seems to be the only thing I’m known about, better than being known for my Quirk I guess.”

“Sorry, though at least you made it far enough to get offered training by a hero,” he said. “Do you mind if I ask you what your Quirk is?” Izuku asked.

The boy shrugged. “Brainwashing, it’s not a pretty one but it’s mine and I’m going to make it a Hero’s Quirk.”

Izuku blinked and gave a small smile. “Yeah, that is a nasty one. I can relate though, to the point where I feel like I would have been better off Quirkless,” he admitted, looking up at the fluorescent lights. He honestly doubts this boy will talk to anyone who knows Izuku or even mention this encounter.

“I see. Do you go to Shiketsu, Ketsubutsu, Isamu, or…?”

“None of those. I actually have to do my schooling from home to help support my mom, plus I’m not even in a Heroics Program. I really doubt I could get a Hero License with the Quirk I have,” he said, though he didn’t think it would be a good idea to say the other reasons why he can’t get a license.

“Try me. Because I doubt your Quirk is worse than Brainwashing.”

Izuku blinked and gave a dry laugh.
“Trust me when I say there are way worse Quirks than Brainwashing. You’re actually the fortunate one here, so don’t say you have the nastiest Quirk anywhere. Not when there are Quirks that can suffocate you to death and then puppeteer your body, Poisonous Gas Quirks, Quirks that allow for you to turn people into walking landmines, Quirks that can turn people into a literal hive mind, Quirks that drain someone’s life force, or even-”

He stopped, looking down at his hands before closing them into fists.
“Quirks that can steal Quirks.”

The boy sat there in silence for a few moments. “Yeah, those are pretty bad. Which one is yours? The suffocation one?”

Izuku shook his head right as Snipe walked in and started to call for names. He stood up when his own name was called, following the group into a small classroom and sat at the desk. He noticed a few different kinds of guns were laid out on the table.

Snipe stood in front of the table and picked up one of the guns.
“No one here will be touching a gun until you can prove to me that you will handle it safely and with care. So for the first two lessons I will be going over Gun Safety, and this is mandatory if you wish to shoot in any gun range or even own a gun. Owning a gun will also require that you return to my class every six months to get recertified and refreshed on the safety course,” he said, setting the gun down.

“A gun is a weapon that can and will kill, even in a society with all kinds of quirks out there. We are still human and incredibly vulnerable,” he continued, pressing a button to kick off a slide-show. “The most important one is to not point a gun where you do not intend to shoot. Keep it pointed in a safe direction, and while you are in the range if anyone breaks blue then you will be escorted out and banned from all ranges.”

Izuku carefully wrote down everything that was being said.
Even if he only planned for the death of one person, he would rather be safe because he has never held a gun in his whole life and would feel more comfortable if he knew what he was doing before running out and accidentally shooting someone like All Might with a Quirk Destroying Bullet.

Chapter Text

Sorahiko never thought he would step foot in UA after the last time he retired as a Homeroom Teacher. Really, teaching All Might’s class was supposed to be his one and only year of teaching until that (possibly immortal?) rat of a principal sweet-talked him into teaching a full class for three years with the condition that he would not come back as a teacher ever again.

That wasn’t why he was here though.
He looked at his call log, seeing roughly thirty attempts at calling that oaf only to be ignored every single time. At the start of the school year he got a letter from All Might asking him to watch the first years at the Sports Festival and to give him advice on how to teach these fledgling heroes best, only to turn around and ignore him every time he tries to call him!

Frankly, Sorahiko was frustrated and figured it was time he met his old student in person.
Maybe give him a well-deserved heart-attack for completely ignoring him.

He made his way past the old training rooms, knowing that most were not used with the addition of more advanced ones. Though he stopped when he saw one of them had the in-use sign turned on. Maybe All Might decided to come here for some privacy?

Scanning his old teacher's pass that Nedzu was more than happy to reactivate, he blinked when he saw a kid with blue hair standing in the middle of the room. Wondering why this kid was just standing there, Sorahiko decided to slowly go in and watch the kid.

The kid seemed to take a few deep breaths before activating his quirk- flames coming out of his feet as he hovered in the air for a few seconds only to collapse onto the ground, panting in an attempt to catch his breath.
“Come on Ashi, you can do this,” the kid said, getting up again and trying again.

The kid stood up, taking a few deep breaths before trying again.
And again.
And again.

Each time he crashed into the ground, panting and out of breath.
It reminded Sorahiko of when he was this kid’s age and training his own quirk alongside Nana. He would try to match her by trying to fly continuously, only to quickly learn that he still needed oxygen for the rest of his body.
This kid definitely needed to be taught that lesson, if he hasn’t figured it out by now.

“Kid, do you even know how your Quirk functions?” He asked, finally announcing his presence to the kid.

A flash of fear went across the kid’s face when he looked back at Sorahiko, probably because he wasn’t actually supposed to be here alone. Then the kid quickly masked his fear with a confident smile, standing up straight and running a hand through his hair.
“Of course I do. I would be a fool to not know how to work my own Quirk, and it is a great one. I could definitely surpass Endeavor and All Might with it!”

So he wants to play this game? Well Sorahiko could do one better.
He put on a dopey face and stared at the kid with confusion. “Toshinori?” He asked.

“Huh? No, I’m Ashi! Atsui Ashi and I’m going to be the best hero ever!”

“Atsui? Why are you here?” He asked, already having a lot of fun with this.

“Ah well, I’m training my Quirk. I know I can fly with it like Endeavor sometimes does, but I can do it better because I am surrounded by a fuel source! I just have to quit choking while doing it and then-”

“Fool!” Sorahiko shouted, smacking Atsui with his cane.

“Ow! What was that for?” Atsui asked. He rubbed at the bump on his head, staring at Sorahiko with confusion and hurt. The cocky attitude had completely faded as he sat on the floor.

“How does your Quirk work?”

Atsui blinked. “I- Well. I take oxygen in and it can travel down to my feet where I can ignite it and shoot fire straight out of them,” he explained, lifting a foot up to show the holes in the soles of his shoes. “I really want to be like Endeavor though, his quirk is just so cool and he has that air of confidence around him- I mean I also really like All Might! He makes me feel safe and stuff, but I just...I feel like I can connect to Endeavor more,” he admitted.

“But I don’t think he really noticed me enough to offer me an internship, but maybe I could try harder next year? I know I want to be able to fly like him.”

Sorahiko shook his head. “Kid, you shouldn’t shackle yourself to an idol,” he said, tapping at his own feet with his cane. “Instead search for Heroes with Quirks that actually function like your own and learn from them,” he explained, not expecting to suddenly go straight into teaching mode.
He really needs to get to All Might and then leave before that rat suckers him into teaching again.

“But- Endeavor is the only one who-”

“If you think Endeavor is the only Hero with a Fire Quirk then you are an idiot,” Sorahiko remarked. “Plus I wasn’t telling you to emulate people with just Fire Quirks, look for those who have Quirks that involve oxygen,” he continued, turning and stepping out the door.

“I- What do you mean?”

He gave a grin before turning back with a dopey look. “Who are you?” He asked, already knowing that he might send an offer to Atsui. Kid could benefit from learning from someone who has a matching Quirk.

Now he just needs to find All Might.

----

Izuku’s hands were literally shaking as he put the gun back on the table, the barrel pointing down range and the safety turned on. He looked up at the target only to see the shots he made were still a little erratic and skewed to the right.

A firm yet gentle hand rested on his shoulder.
“Your hands were shaking the whole time, which is why your shots were more erratic,” Snipe explained gently. “But you are hitting the target, which is an improvement from yesterday.”

He looked up at Snipe and gave a small smile. “I guess I’m still nervous about holding a gun in my hand,” he admitted quietly, turning to look down range. He also knows he’s going to have to compensate for his lack of depth perception now, because if he misses even once when the chance comes then it will all be over.

Through where Snipe’s hands were planted, even past the shirt Izuku wore and the gloves the Hero wore, he could feel the Quirk gleaming like a comet that always has its target in sight. A Quirk like that would be perfect for what he needs....and it wouldn’t be too difficult to take and then give back when he’s done-

“You also have a disadvantage with the loss of your eye,” Snipe said, not knowing what was going through Izuku’s head. “However, that doesn’t mean you should give up hope. In America, roughly around the time Quirks first emerged, there was a man who was an expert marksman for the military. He had lost his eye to a cat that reportedly had a quirk that allowed for it to consume and regurgitate anything whole,” he explained, reaching for the gun and setting it in Izuku’s hands.

“Even after he lost his eye, he continued to train to compensate for his disability. He did not let losing his eye control him and soon gathered a team of vigilantes and made them into Heroes, enough to have the American Government create a career field for those who wished to use their Quirks to help people.”

Izuku looked down at his hands that were now holding the gun once more. His palms felt sweaty, but he still listened to Snipe’s story.
“He probably had a Quirk like yours,” he said.

Snipe gave a chuckle. “Oh no, he was born years before the Glowing Baby. Even then his capabilities with guns aren’t what he’s most well known for, just something he’s trained for. One does not need a Quirk to be an effective marksman, and I believe you could adjust so you always make your mark,” he continued.

“Just take a deep breath, steady your hands, aim for the target, and shoot.”

He nodded to Snipe’s words, slowly taking a breath as he pointed down range. His hands felt a little more steady with how Snipe kept hold, even helping him adjust slightly.
Upon squeezing the trigger, Izuku watched as the round hit just a few centimeters off from the center.

“Very good. Keep practicing here and you will get it.”

Izuku turned the safety on and set the gun down, turning to look at Snipe with curiosity.
“What was his name? The man you mentioned earlier.”

“Nick Fury, though he died well before the Hero System was fully established.”

Izuku gave a nod before jumping when one of the students was suddenly tackled, fully restrained while the gun in his hand was removed.
The boy appeared to be slightly younger than Izuku and had light brown hair.

“Snipe, he broke blue.”

Snipe gave a sigh, turning towards Izuku who was still standing between two blue walls that separated himself from the people who were shooting on either side of him. “Looks like we’re going to go over safety again,” he said, walking over to the workers who had the kid restrained.

Izuku turned and locked eyes with Shinsou who was standing behind him, waiting his turn.
He only shrugged, knowing that Shinsou would want to vent out his frustrations over idiots who broke the rules that were clearly stated.

He then blinked when his phone buzzed, looking down to see he got a message from Ah-ma about one of her workers moving over to Japan to live close by.
Which means soon he will have what he needs for his plans.

He glanced at Snipe briefly before looking down at his phone to see a news update about a Hero who was found dead in an alley in Hosu.
He remembered the thoughts he had earlier before making a decision.

If Izuku can’t hit Stain after using three bullets then he’s going to have to take Snipe’s Quirk.

----

Toshinori could feel his grip on the phone tighten the more he listened to Nighteye babble on and on. Talking about each and every last crime that Scarlet has committed, including the fact that he has likely stolen more Quirks than just Erasure.
However, Young Togata’s own description of the boy is still in his mind.

“-and furthermore! He could very easily be a threat to Mirio, may even have a ploy to steal One for All right from beneath our noses and fulfill the dream of his late father!”

That’s it.
He has to cut in now before Nighteye goes right back to preening about how he was right about Mirio being the one destined to inherit Toshinori’s Quirk. Discussing how he did such a wonderful job of grooming the boy to inherit the pedestal Toshinori has stood on for a few decades now.

“You are persecuting a child,” Toshinori finally said, his whole body shaking from the sheer rage he was feeling. “And before you say anything, Young Togata has met this boy a couple times and expressed concern over him. It’s obvious that some bad people are after him and he might be acting out of self-defense,” he continued.

“Obviously that spawn is manipulating the both of you! Think about it All Might! He might be the villain I saw from your future where you die-!”

It took everything out of Toshinori to not just slam the End Call button.
The reminder of that night where Nighteye used his Quirk on Toshinori without even asking first. Using it as a way to try and guilt him into retiring immediately after that fight against All for One, only to result in Toshinori completely cutting Nighteye out of his life right up until he gave One for All to Young Togata.

“You mean from the future you saw when you used your Quirk on me without my input?” He asked.

“You aren’t listening! I saw a vision where that brat is pointing a gun at you!”

“Did he fire the gun?” Toshinori asked.

He listened as Nighteye tried to sputter out a response.
For the first time since the phone call began, Toshinori actually felt a smile grace his skeletal face.

“You didn’t see him fire the gun, did you? Which means you don’t have the full context of what happens at that time,” he said, straightening to his full height. “So unless you can give a valid reason on why you think it’s right to persecute a child then I’m going to have to ask that you stop until I am able to look into every last document you, Tsukauchi, and Aizawa have collected on the investigation.”

“Wait, you’re actually-!?”

“Principal Nedzu received an anonymous request that I be put on the case this summer while the students are all on vacation,” he said.

With that said, he hung up on Nighteye before he could go on a tirade.
Slowly he gave a sigh, turning his phone on to silent before putting it down. He knows he doesn’t want to deal with Nighteye any longer, but this call was necessary to try and figure out how he will go about working the case with Nighteye on it.

It’s probably best that he review the documents away from Nighteye and Aizawa at least.

“So what’s this about a child being persecuted?”

Toshinori jumped, unable to hold the blood back as he turned to stare at his old teacher. “G- Gran?” He asked, taking a step back as he felt his whole body shake. “How long...How long have you been standing there?” He asked, despite knowing the answer.

It was always a habit of Gran Torino’s to eavesdrop on all kinds of conversations, especially over the phone.

“I was there to hear Nighteye talk about the fact that All for One might have a child.”

“Gran, there’s more to the boy than being the son of-”

“Teaching really has made you soft, hasn’t it?” Gran asked, leaning against the doorframe. “I find it hard to believe you would even give this boy a chance before you started teaching, is he around the same age as your students?”

Toshinori looked down. “Possibly, according to Young Togata at least. He believes that this boy might be going against some big fish in the underworld,” he explained, remembering his speculation from that phone call with his successor.

Gran didn’t say anything for a few moments before giving a sigh.
“You think he’s still alive, don’t you?”

“What are the odds that that monster found a way to survive?” Toshinori asked, looking up at his old teacher.

The look on Gran’s face confirmed it for Toshinori.

“It could be possible that this boy is not allied with his father, and if All for One is alive and the boy is going against him then we will need to help him.”

“Be careful with your words, Toshinori. Especially when there are too many unknowns,” Gran said, turning to walk out of the room. “I will trust your judgement here, but if it backfires somehow then let this be a learning experience for you.”

Toshinori nodded, grateful to actually have a peaceful conversation with Gran Torino for once.

“Also one more thing. I’m going to send in an offer to Atsui Ashi.”

He blinked, wondering what about Young Atsui had caught Gran’s attention.
“Should I-?” He started to ask, only to find that Gran had already left the room.

Perhaps Toshinori should let Atsui decide for himself if he wants to go to Gran Torino for the work study week or if he wants to go to a different Hero.

----

Stain glared down at the brat he had pinned with one of his blades, already disappointed with the lack of conviction he displayed. Nothing more than an immature man child who had grown used to having everything handed to him on a silver platter.
It would be a mercy to just kill him now before he realizes that he won’t make it out there in the real world.

However, before he could give a speech, the monitor in the corner lit up.
He looked to the black screen with the words “Sound Only” glowing a bright green.
The true mastermind perhaps?

“Apologies, Tomura, but I believe our guest here may be an asset somewhere else,” a voice spoke, the tone hauntingly familiar for Stain.
Though he doesn’t know where he’s heard it from.
“The Hero Killer Stain, so that is the name you’re using now Stendhal?” the man asked.

So someone from that life? Probably connected to Hachisuka.

“I’ve cut all ties to that name and that life.”

The man chuckled.
“Perhaps, but it won’t change how much of an asset you were to us,” he said, probably grinning. “In any case, I am sure you have heard word of a recent bounty thrown out there?” He asked.

“No. As I said, I cut ties from that life,” Stain said, though he knew exactly what this man was talking about. A promise for dreams to come true if they bring the target to a specific meeting spot upon accepting the bounty.
What need does he have when he has the power to fulfill his ambitions himself?

“Well I’m sure you wish to see society completely topple to the ground, to watch as the Fake Heroes as you call them be removed? Bringing the boy in red to me will allow for all of your ambitions to come true, among more.”

Stain blinked, forgetting about the brat he had pinned as he stared at the screen. “I don’t care about whatever beef you have with Scarlet, especially since he obviously has more conviction and a clear concrete goal compared to this pathetic whelp laying on the ground,” he says.

“Conviction you say?”

“That’s what I heard from the rest of the Underworld, they call him crazy for planning to kill the Quirk Stealing Cryptid,” Stain said. “We’ll see what my own judgement says about him.”

“I just need him alive.”

Stain looked back when he heard the man child shift and grab the blade that had him pinned to the ground. “Fine, bring me back to Hosu and I will keep an eye out. I still have unfinished business there,” he said, watching the warper move and open a gate right in front of Stain.

“Very well, but one more thing.”

He sighed, already expecting this man to order that he bring the target in unharmed.
Because he just seemed like the type to want to make a job incredibly difficult.

“I don’t care what state you bring him in, only that he can still breathe and has a heartbeat.”

Well there’s something unexpected.
He only gave a nod as he walked through, not really planning on bringing the boy in unless he doesn’t live up to the stories his connections have spun about him.
But it’s not like Stain would see him in Hosu.

Chapter Text

Nemuri smiled as she looked at all the choices her students made.
So far they all picked ones that would either help them with their strengths or compensate for weaknesses.
Though there were a few students who were going to pick a spot that wouldn’t quite fit with what they need or even want.

While she could understand why Yaoyorozu would consider going for Uwabami, her work as a Rescue Hero could help with some of the confidence issues Yaoyorozu was dealing with, Nemuri also knew exactly why Uwabami was requesting Yaoyorozu and even Kendo.

She simply smiled as she saw Yaoyorozu had crossed Uwabami’s name out in favor of putting Fat Gum on her list. He may still be working on improving Amajiki’s confidence, but Nemuri is sure he could handle helping Yaoyorozu.

Atsui picking Gran Torino was a strange choice at first, only because Nemuri had not heard of him prior to this. On the surface she figured Atsui would try to demand going straight to Endeavor or another with a Fire-related Quirk, but something told her that this might be the best possible match for him.

However, what really baffled her was Ida’s choice.
She remembered calling him into her office to discuss this and make some suggestions that could possibly be a better fit for him than Manual.
Sir Nighteye, if he was willing to take him, could easily help Ida analyze situations better.
Ms. Joke was another who could help him loosen up and be more flexible.

Instead he told her that he had to go with Manual.
He needed to be in Hosu.

Nemuri wasn’t blind, she knew exactly what Ida was planning.
Which is why she asked Manual if he would accept taking two students instead of just one, because if Ida was allowed to be there on his own then he might pull something stupid.

She smiled as she looked at Mizuki's file, grateful that she was open to switching from Backdraft to Manual. In fact, Mizuki was especially excited because Manual was her first choice but she refrained from picking him because she wasn’t sure if Manual would accept two students.

As she looked at a picture of herself, Ingenium, The Crawler, Pop Step, and all the rest from Naruhata; Nemuri wondered if maybe she should try and contact some of them?
Maybe those from Idaten could send more people to Hosu just to keep an eye on Ida.

“Hopefully we can avoid the worst possible scenario.”

---

Mizuki Kurage bounced from one foot to the other, happily skipping right next to Ida and Manual while listening to Manual discuss all the work he does around here.
She noticed that Ida was strangely quiet throughout most of this, not questioning every last thing their current mentor was saying like he does whenever they’re in class.

Actually, ever since the Sports Festival she’s noticed that Ida has gone strangely quiet.
Occasionally checking his phone when it buzzes only to ignore whoever was messaging him.
She may not know Ida that well, but she couldn’t help noticing how out of character he had started to become.

It was worrying, but she figured she could fill in the gaps with her own questions.

“How often do you patrol with other Heroes? Are you ok working in teams or do you prefer working alone?” She decided to ask, noticing more Heroes patrolling than she expected.
She knows some of them have their agencies in other cities, but it seems a lot of them are gathered here.

“Well normally it’s just heroes like myself and Native, but sometimes we get help from Idaten and even Snatch. Years ago Water Hose would also help out, but it really depends,” Manual explained. “Personally I think it’s good to be able to work with others as a team, because sometimes you need someone to watch your weak points.”

Kurage nodded, bringing a hand up to her mouth as she started to think it over. It reminds her of the Sports Festival when Todoroki asked her to join his team, because she could help make his ice more flexible than it usually is.
As she started to bite at her nail, she suddenly removed her finger and started to spit.

“Man O'War? Are you ok?” Manual asked, easily slipping into using the Hero Name she selected for herself.

“I’m good! Sorry about that,” she said quickly, waving a hand where she could see the pink nail polish catch in the light. It stuck out brightly against her blue skin, and she gave an awkward smile. “One of our classmates is trying to help me break my nail biting habit, she even ordered a special nail polish for me that would fill my mouth with a bad taste if I so much as put a finger in there,” Kurage explained, grateful for Ashido’s help with this.

It definitely seemed to be working with how long they have grown.

Manual smiled lightly before turning his attention towards Ida.
“You’ve been quiet, do you have any questions?” He asked.

Ida blinked and looked over before shaking his head. He then put up a wide smile that almost seemed normal, if it wasn’t for the way it seemed a little strained. “Oh no! I was just listening carefully to what you say, you are our teacher for this week and it is imperative that I give you my full attention and save my questions for afterwards!”

Kurage bit her bottom lip as her thumbs ran over the rest of her fingers.
Should she say something? Ask Ida if it’s real, ask him if he’s doing ok?
But she isn’t really his friend, so would she have the right to do this? She knows she would do the same for Hagakure and Ashido, she remembers doing so when she saw Ashido looking sadly at a picture of herself and a boy with black hair.

But at the same time she had connected readily with Ashido and felt comfortable asking her about that boy.
With Ida on the other hand…

“Well I am grateful that you both wanted to come learn under me. Really I’m not all that popular as a Hero, so it shocks me,” Manual admitted. “Honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if this is related to the Hero Killer, but I ask that neither of you try to seek him out. He’s bad news and if I can then I will make sure neither of you will have to meet him.”

Ida stiffened ever so slightly before shaking his head. “We are only students, it would be foolish if we went after a serial killer on our own.”

Does Ida have beef with Stain?

Maybe Kurage should do whatever she could to stop Ida from going after the Hero Killer?
That must be why the flow of the world was directing her this way, to do what she could for the Class Rep.

Slowly she reached out and set a hand on Ida’s arm.
She smiled up at him. “Don’t worry, as long as we stick together then it will be fine!”

Kurage will not let Ida leave her sight, no matter what.
Even if he outruns her, she will find a way to catch him.

---

“How many are ready?”

“Six, but I will only give you three.”

Tomura wanted to snap at how unfair Sensei was being lately.
First he took over Tomura’s talk with Stain, giving that Hero Killer a personal task instead of letting Tomura prove himself, and now he’s restricting Tomura’s access to the Noumus when he said Tomura would get full access to them all.

It. Wasn’t. Fair.

And Tomura knows exactly who to blame.

As he stood on top of a water tower, binoculars in hand, he stared at the setting sun before looking at Kurogiri.
“After tonight everyone will forget about the Hero Killer, and then Sensei will put me in charge of capturing Scarlet,” Tomura said, feeling a wide grin spread across his face.
Yes, this will also serve as the perfect time for him to make his debut.

The Heroes will cower and shake at the sight of Shigaraki Tomura, the leader of the League of Villains, future Symbol of Evil.

“Send the Noumus and set fire to this city. It will be the birthplace of the League of Villains!”

Kurogiri silently gave a bow, opening a warp gate to allow for three Noumus to descend upon the unsuspecting ants down below.

“I will show Sensei that I am worthy.”

---

Izuku didn’t know what to think about Shirakumo Sukkiri when he first met him.
All he knew is that this man was a butler who worked for Ah-ma and he had a quirk that allows him to store things in clouds he produces, as long as they aren’t alive.
But there was nothing else that he could discern from the quiet man with dark grey hair that reminded him of storm clouds.

While he seemed slightly more animated when talking with his mom, Izuku also noticed that his mom thought something was off about Shirakumo.
As if he wasn’t how she remembered him or something.

“We’re almost in Hosu, Young Master,” Shirakumo said.

Even though Izuku tried to insist he not call him that, because he isn’t the boss of Shirakumo nor is he a master in any form, Shirakumo still uses that title as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

At this point Izuku was tired of correcting him.

Izuku nodded quietly, accepting the water bottle Shirakumo offered him.
Hopefully they can find Stain tonight, just to test out the bullets he got from Overhaul and make sure they will actually work.

As he looked at his phone and the texts he sent to Ida, all of which were left on read, he wondered if he would even be here if Stain hadn’t attacked Ingenium.
Who would he have tested the bullets on instead? Himself maybe? A Hero possibly? Some other villain?

Slowly he hovered a thumb over the screen, debating on telling Ida that he was going to be in Hosu.
Perhaps Ida would also be there, as an attempt at getting revenge? It would be nice to not be alone in his quest against Stain at least.
But he would have to draw the line when it comes to his primary target.

As the beginnings of a message started to form, Izuku was suddenly pushed to the ground by Shirakumo. His body hovering over him as something gave an inhumane groan, a being that looked like the villain Izuku encountered ages ago turned its eyeless gaze towards him and Shirakumo.

He says eyeless as it had an exposed brain that covered the entire top portion of its face, with a large underbite that had teeth which looked like they were fused to the lower part of the brain.

It made a grunt, hand reaching down to grab at Shirakumo only to suddenly be kicked in the face by an elderly man dressed in yellow.

The force of the kick was enough to knock the villain out of the opening it created.

Izuku stared at the elderly Hero with shock, at this moment not expecting anyone to want to save him. Part of him expects Heroes to look at him and immediately see either a Villain who needs to be locked away or just a kid who knows how to stay out of trouble to a...certain extent.

The elderly Hero helped Shirakumo and Izuku up, looking over the two of them carefully, before turning towards another boy who looked to be around Izuku’s age.

“Firefoot, stay here and make sure the civilians are safe, I’m going to go after that Villain!”

And just like that, the Hero was gone.

“Man, Hosu looks like a mess. I hope Ida is ok,” the kid whispered quietly as he got closer to look Izuku over.

Izuku blinked when he heard that, turning towards the boy with a wide eye. “You said Ida? As in Ida Tenya?” He asked.

The boy nodded quietly. “Yeah, he’s one of my classmates. Why?”

Izuku turned towards Shirakumo and nodded at him, grabbing the suitcase he pulled out of a cloud he made.
“Thanks for letting me know, please look over the others,” Izuku said, jumping through the hole with the case in hand.

If he hurries then maybe he can find and help him?

---

Tenya struggled from where he lay.
Pain flashing through his shoulder from where he was stabbed as the Hero Killer himself loomed over him.
Probably in the same way as when he struck Tensei down.

“You claim to be a Hero, and yet you allow yourself to be blinded by revenge. Acting out of vengeance is the furthest from the title of Hero,” Stain said, sword moving from where it pointed at Native to hover over Tenya’s neck. “But I see that you will not learn from this, so it’s better to purge the world of your type before you become a fake.”

Tenya closed his eyes, but he still tried to move past the paralysis.
He had to get up.
He needed to avenge Tensei.
He needed to-
He had to-
He must-

BANG!

Tenya opened his eyes when he heard the sound of a gun going off.
A small part of him wished that it might have been Snipe or someone who trained under him and got the appropriate permits, but instead he saw something bright red way up on the rooftop of the alley.

“You missed,” Stain said, attention pulled away from Tenya for a few moments. “If you were trying to kill me, then you would have landed your first shot.”

“These bullets are not designed to kill someone like you,” a hauntingly familiar voice spoke up. “However I will put an end to you for what you did to Ingenium, who was a True Hero.”

Suddenly Tenya could feel a pressure crush him further to the ground. Pure malice rolling off of Stain in waves.

“If you truly wanted to purge the world of false Heroes, then why did you go after one of the only ones who decided to patrol around and keep people safe when he could have easily taken that day to go and watch his little brother at the Sports Festival? Why did you go after the one who selflessly lent a helping hand to a family who was barely making ends meet, not for publicity reasons but because it was the right thing to do?”

Tenya was scared that if he moved his head then he would see Midoriya standing right there.
But he knows it has to be him, because only Midoriya knew of those things.

“Or was going after Ingenium something my target paid you to do?”

Target? What is he talking about?

Suddenly Stain started to laugh.
“You think I would lower myself into accepting money for purging this rotten society!? No, I do this because it is my sworn duty! Now tell me, Scarlet, is this not why you are trying to kill the Quirk Stealing Cryptid? Because you see the rot he produces and want to purge the Villain World of that?”

Now it was Midoriya’s turn to laugh, from what Tenya could hear.
Why is he laughing? This couldn’t be right, Midoriya is not that type of person! He would never make a plan to try and kill someone, no matter how vile they are!
Midoriya is not like Tenya.

“Initially I started on this path purely out of spite and revenge. He screwed my mom over, so now I’m going to make him pay. Then I learned more and more about him in my quest to stop him, and that made me realize that he’s lived for long enough with his worst offense being what he did to the greatest Hero ever, to the one you consider the One True Hero,” Midoriya said.

“Perhaps if things were different then you might help me in my quest, to put an end to the man who hurt the best Hero, but then you decided to target Ingenium so I’m afraid any alliance would be tarnished.”

Stain snarled.
“So that’s your conviction? There’s more than with that Shigaraki Brat, but is it enough to stop me from bringing you in?” He asked, turning back towards Tenya.

“If it is, then shoot me before I kill him. If you can’t do that then it will be a waste letting you continue on this path when you won’t be able to even shoot the one you want to kill.”

Tenya went wide eyed, his struggles renewing.
He can’t leave himself laying there like a helpless victim.
He’s a Hero! He can’t afford to be a casualty when he hasn’t even saved a single…

He hasn’t.
He really hasn’t saved anyone, has he?

Slowly, Tenya stopped moving.
How...how can he really call himself a Hero when he couldn’t prioritize saving someone?
And now his friend, who isn’t even a Hero Student- who can’t be a Hero because he lacks a Quirk- is the one coming to both save his life and avenge Tensei.

He looked right up at Stain, seeing his own reflection in the Hero Killer’s gaze and realized that he truly did not look like a Hero in that moment.
But...there could be a chance that he gets better.
Right?

As he closed his eyes, he decided that if he does survive this somehow then he will do better.
Be better.

But first.

“Don’t worry about me, save Native!” He shouted, hoping that maybe he can stop Midoriya from making the same mistake as him.

“Sorry Ida, but I will save you both,” Midoriya said.

BANG

Chapter Text

Sorahiko stared at the city after knocking the villain into Endeavor, shouting for him to knock the weird villain out because it seemed to be too much for his old joints.
Everything was on fire, growing worse as a flying villain was spewing flames down onto buildings- this one being the second of these strange villain brothers breathing out fire.

However he felt his eyes glancing back in the direction he came from, remembering the two who were almost grabbed by Eyeless.
Something about the man with grey hair was familiar to Sorahiko, but he couldn’t quite place where he had seen him from.

Suddenly the student he decided to take on landed next to Sorahiko, looking around with wide and panicked eyes before checking his phone when it buzzed.

“I thought I told you to stay on the train,” Sorahiko said.

“I did, but then two of the civilians jumped out of the train and ran out,” Atsui explained quickly. “And now I’m getting some coordinates in the 1-A Group Chat, some alleyway here in Hosu?” He continued.

Sorahiko frowned, turning towards Endeavor.
“Todoroki, you got everything handled here?” He asked, briefly slipping back to when he was Endeavor’s homeroom teacher because that rat thought it would be fun to suck Sorahiko in for an extra three years of teaching.

“Yeah, I do. Call me as soon as you get there and tell me the situation.”

“Got it,” Sorahiko said, grabbing a star-struck Atsui by the arm before taking off in the direction of where the coordinates read. “Don’t make me carry you the whole way kid!” He shouted.

“R- Right!” Atsui shouted, taking a breath before letting out quick bursts of fire from his feet as he bounced from wall to wall just like Sorahiko.

“What else did the message say? Who sent it?”

“It was Mi- Mizuki,” Atsui said, panting as he tried to balance both speaking and using his quirk. “She says it’s Ida, he’s in danger. Hero Killer-” He coughed, stopping briefly to catch his breath as he held onto a windowsill. He swallowed before moving to try and catch up to Sorahiko.

Sorahiko could only frown.
“What about the two who jumped out of the train?” He asked.

“It was the boy with the eye-patch and the man with a Cloud Quirk, I think they were also heading in this direction.”

Cloud Quirk.

Sorahiko’s frown deepened.
So she has her hands in this? Is the boy some protege of hers? An attempt at having an heir to her own personal kingdom?

Though these strange villains don’t seem to be related to Grandmother Death in any capacity, unless they belonged to one of her enemies who caught wind of an heir here in Japan?

“Gran Torino? Is something wrong?”

Sorahiko shook his head.
“Not on my end, what about you? Do you need to take a breather?” He asked, looking back briefly only to see Atsui giving him a wide smile that somewhat reminded him of Toshinori’s own grin back when Nana was still around.

“Other than worrying about Ida and Mizuki? I’m actually doing great! I’ve never felt more alive!”

“Alright, then let’s keep going!”

---

His shoulder burned from where the bullet struck him, but he noticed a lack of blood coming out.
In fact, from what he saw of the round it looked more like a miniature syringe than a traditional bullet.
The force was enough to make Stain drop his sword before he could bring it down on the kid who dared to call himself a Hero even with the intent to murder out of revenge.

He looked up at where Scarlet stood, only for the boy to drop down into the alley. His body turned into a puddle of sludge before he pulled himself together and got in a stance, hands raised in fists while one of his knees rose up.

Stain stared at the kid before giving a sigh. “I will only spare you because you have the right conviction, but I am going to have to ensure you won’t get in the way again,” he said, grabbing his throwing knives.

Faster than Scarlet could react, Stain threw the knives and rushed forward after them. His tongue lolled out to lick and ingest the blood from the cut on the boy’s cheek.

“Stay put,” he said, turning to go after the student.

As soon as these two fakes are dead then Stain can move on to the next city.
He will continue on his quest to purge this rotten society of the wannabe Heroes until all that’s left are Heroes like All Might.

Sword clutched tight in his hand, Stain brought the tip of the blade to the back of the student’s neck. “Say your prayers no-”

Suddenly something hit him.
Dazed from the blow to the head, the sword dropped from Stain’s hand and clattered to the ground. He turned briefly to see Scarlet was still moving, body pivoting from where he delivered the kick.

“How are you still…?”

“Your Quirk is gone,” Scarlet said with a sense of finality.

Stain could feel an ache in his shoulder, remembering the bullet he was hit with earlier.
Some kind of Quirk Nullifying Drug? Even with the rumors about its development, Stain never thought it would actually be possible.

As far as everyone knew, the only ones who could nullify Quirks are either the Quirk Stealing Cryptid, Eraserhead who has not been active, and Scarlet.
Perhaps this is how Scarlet has been nullifying Quirks?

“If I can’t use my Quirk to stop you, then I will use my weapons,” Stain said, grinning as he charged forward.

---

Kurage tried to keep up with the scuffle in the alley.
When she first arrived, it was right as the vigilante in red shot at Stain the first time.
This gave her the chance to send that text to the 1-A Group Chat, even though she doubts any of them would be in Hosu.

She reached a hand up to her mouth at first before shaking her head.
Even if the vigilante- Scarlet, his name is Scarlet according to Stain- was going toe to toe with Stain, body turning to a foul smelling sludge like liquid before any of Stain’s blades could cut him, she wasn’t sure if he could actually win this.

Reaching a hand to where a large gourd rested on her back, she popped the cork and took a breath.
This was highly illegal and incredibly dangerous, especially if she screws up, but how can she call herself a Hero if she doesn’t help those in need?
Especially with one of her classmates laying right there, unable to move.

Kurage narrowed her eyes as she moved the water that was sloshing in the gourd, sending a stream of it straight at Stain’s face.

“Ida-kun, I’m sorry for making you wait! But I’m going to help all of you get away from him!” She shouted, pulling the water back to surround herself with it on all sides just in case. She tried not to freeze when Stain turned his eyes on her, knowing she couldn’t afford to freeze for even a second.

“Miz- Man O'War, Mid- Scarlet! Don’t fight him, this is my fight,” Ida shouted, body literally shaking as he seemed to be trying to force himself to get up. “I refuse to let you get hurt for my own stupid mistake!”

“Everyone makes mistakes, Ida-kun! But that’s ok because we’re all human! Perfection is impossible to reach, but we can always strive to be better if we learn from the mistakes we make and grow as people!” Kurage yelled, launching a large blast of water to pin Stain to the wall. “Even All Might makes mistakes sometimes! Remember the first class he taught? And USJ? But we also know he’s getting better with each lesson, because it’s a learning experience for everyone!”

“But- How can you say-?”

Kurage gave a smile. “Because All Might is human like you and me.”

“How dare you,” Stain hissed out, slowly pushing against the water and towards Kurage. “All Might is perfection! All Might is the one true Hero, the only one who is worthy! If Heroes can’t be like him then they need to be purged!”

She gulped before shaking her head, deciding to stand her ground.
“Have you actually met him? The real him?” She asked. “No, you only know him from what the media shows you! I think it’s great that there aren’t more Heroes like All Might, instead there are ones who can help support the pillar he stands on so he isn’t shouldering the burden alone!”

It was then she noticed that Scarlet had completely froze, staring straight at her with a single wide green eye.
As if he was processing every last thing she had just said to Ida and Stain.

It was in her distraction that she didn’t notice her grip on the water had weakened, allowing for Stain to rush up to her with a knife raised.

Kurage gave a yelp as she jumped back, hand raised instinctively as she scratched Stain’s face in her attempt to get away from the knife.
She hissed with pain when it stabbed into her arm, but it was nothing compared to the scream that was ripped from Stain’s throat.

Her eyes went wide when she saw large red welts grow across his face from where he was scratched. His hands pressing up against his face as he stumbled back, suddenly sucking in air as if he was having trouble breathing.

“I- What? What’s happening?” Kurage asked, about to take a step closer out of concern even though just a few seconds earlier Stain was trying to kill her.

Soon Ida stood up. “It looks like he’s having an allergic reaction?”

“But from what? Is it something in my nail polish? Oh no, I’ll have to tell Ashido!”

However her worries were interrupted when Stain stood up and started to blindly slash his knife around, hoping to nail at least one kill.

Faster than her eye could track, Ida moved his body to stand in front of her.
Ready to shield her from Stain’s knife with his body, but he didn’t even give a hiss of pain.
Instead she heard a different person shout.

Peeking around her classmate, Kurage gasped when she saw Scarlet had also moved to take the hit for Ida.
His right arm falling limp from where the knife got him in the shoulder.

“Midoriya,” Ida whispered quietly, to the point where only Kurage heard him. One of his hands reached out to Scarlet, as if he wanted to pull him back behind him.
The engines in his legs were glowing a bright red as smoke came out of them, a sign that they were still overheated. Probably from when he rushed to shield Kurage with his body, only to get protected by someone who she now knew was his friend.

“Ida-kun, please let me help you,” Kurage whispered, pulling more water from her gourd as she focused on the way it flowed.
It’s just like what she did at the Sports Festival, only reversed.
Instead of trying to get the water that barely moved in Todoroki’s ice to flow faster, she just has to make this water go slower.

Slow as it wrapped around Ida’s engines until finally it froze in ice.

Ida looked down at his engines and then back at her before giving a smile of gratitude.

“It’s like Manual said,” Kurage said with a smile. “It's good to be able to work with others as a team, because sometimes you need someone to watch your weak points.”

“Of course,” Ida said, firing up his engines. “Please treat his wounds while I take Stain out.”

Kurage nodded, reaching to the pouches on her belt for her first aid supplies. She felt grateful that she fought the support company after the first time they wore their costumes to not make hers a skintight bodysuit that is prevalent for a lot of female Heroes and some of her classmates.

Most of her classmates were comfortable with this because they were close to their original designs, but Kurage just couldn’t do it.
It wasn’t her.

As she made her way to where Scarlet sat, she gave him a reassuring smile.
“Thank you for helping us, especially Ida,” she said, remembering the basic first aid lessons that were taught at USJ when they went over Rescue with Midnight, Thirteen, and All Might.
It was still funny seeing All Might accidentally interrupt the lesson a few times because he forgot this was an exercise and he rushed over to save the dummies that were placed in each zone.

Scarlet didn’t say anything, instead watching her carefully as she treated his wound.

“Please don’t move your arm too much until we get you to the hospital, ok?” She said, “Also your Quirk is really cool, how come you aren’t going to a Hero School? Or are you actually and you’re also doing a work study week?” Kurage asked, hoping to fill the silence that came right after Ida kicked Stain hard enough to knock him out.

“Make sure you got all of his blades, and the rope is secure,” Scarlet said, ignoring Kurage’s questions as he focused solely on Ida.

“Got it,” Ida said, though his tone was curt.
As if he was wanting to ask Scarlet stuff, but refrained for some reason.

“Come on, we should get out of here,” Kurage said, turning to see Native was finally able to get up and lend a hand to Ida.

“Sorry I couldn’t do more,” he admitted sheepishly. “Kind of embarrassing to rely on kids to save me, when I should have been the one to stop him.”

Kurage didn’t have anything to say in response, because honestly what else could have been done? Instead she focused on helping Scarlet to his feet, leading him out into the open where she could see a couple Pro Heroes making their way to them.

“Is that..?” One of them asked right as Endeavor’s bright orange flames lit up the entire street.

“Duck down!” He screamed, scaling across the walls as he launched fire at the sky only for whatever he was shooting at to suddenly dive down.

She watched with wide eyes as what she could only describe as a monster flew straight towards her.
Its eyes were wide and blank as blood dripped from an injury in its exposed brain, wings beating hard until it reached with a clawed foot and grabbed Scarlet.

---

For a brief few seconds Ashi felt relief.
When he and his teacher, Gran Torino, made it to the location Mizuki sent to the group chat he could see she was stepping out of the designated alley.
More Heroes were also showing up and he could see Ida and a boy dressed in red were walking out.

With them was Native and the Hero Killer, the latter of which was tied up and being dragged across the ground.

However, the relief was cut short when one of the villains swooped down right towards Mizuki.
He flashed back to when he was on the train, when the eyeless villain was reaching towards the man with a cloud-based Quirk and the boy that man was protecting with his body.

Could those villains be after…? Could this be one of the civilians…?

Ashi didn’t think any further, instead taking short and quick breaths to shoot flames out of his feet multiple times as he reached a hand towards the villain who grabbed at the boy in red.
The boy with the eyepatch from the train.

His hand just barely reached the boy’s red shoe, allowing for him to grip it tight.
Quickly Ashi shut off his quirk, taking deep breaths as he crawled up to grab at the villain until he was standing on its back.

It was when he reached the villain’s back that it suddenly seized up, unable to move as it plummeted to the ground.

Ashi reached quickly, grabbing the boy by the back of his coat and pulled him up on top of the villain as it crashed to the ground.
After making sure the boy was ok, he turned to see Gran Torino had tackled the Hero Killer who somehow broke free from his restraints.

It took him a few seconds for his body to finally catch up with everything that happened and for his mind to process exactly what he had just done.
Slowly, Ashi gave a smile as he fell on his ass.
Even though he always dreamed of flying like Endeavor, he never thought he would ever achieve that height in his life.

It was exhilarating.

Panting, he turned back to check on the boy from the train only to blink.

Somehow, while he was distracted, the boy had completely slipped away somewhere.

---

Izuku panted as he slipped into a public restroom.
He was still in a seedy part of Hosu, but that was fine if it meant he wouldn’t get captured by the Heroes.
Even if Native didn’t know who he was, he wouldn’t put it past the others who had arrived to know who he is and what he’s done.

Gently pulling the gun out of his pocket and setting it on the sink, Izuku removed his hat and coat.
He prepared to flip the coat inside out so instead of the bright red that stuck out like a sore thumb was exposed, it would be a darker color that would help him blend in further.

He cringed when he noticed the bandages Ida’s classmate put on him.
Somehow he’s going to have to explain how he got stabbed to Shirakumo and Ah-ma when he told them that he was going to keep his distance.

But of course his body moved before he could properly think, instead instincts taking over because he could not stand by and let Ida get hurt.
That was the only friend he has left, especially since he and Melissa were still not on speaking terms, but maybe it would be better if he distances himself from Ida.

If Stain was hired by that man, then Izuku wouldn’t put it past the bastard to have Stain attack someone close to him.
Or even a family who decided to help Izuku and his mother out…

Slowly he took a breath.
He didn’t pay the door opening any mind, knowing that whoever came in was likely inebriated with something and needed to relieve himself.
Still he reached for the gun only for a hand with purple skin grafts stapled to it swiped the gun right before Izuku could grab it.

“Ah ah ah,” the man spoke, pressing the barrel of the gun right into Izuku’s right shoulder.
From the reflection in the mirror, Izuku could see the man was older than him and had skin grafts all over his face and likely in other places.
He stared with cold blue eyes that stood out against pale skin and dark black hair.
“I think I’ll use this to make collecting you easier, shame that whoever called for your bounty requests you alive or else I could just use my Quirk on you and be done with it.”

Izuku started to turn, bringing a hand up as he prepared to try and pull the gun out of this man’s hand or even turn himself into Sludge to escape the remaining round that was in the gun.
However, he wasn’t fast enough.

BANG!

Chapter Text

Izuku stumbled forward, chest slamming into the sink from the recoil of the bullet that hit him right in the shoulder. His shoulder burned and itched, the feeling soon spreading through the rest of his body even as he tried to reach for Sludge to try and alleviate the feeling in some form.

His skin rippled slightly, but other than that Sludge did not heed to his call.

The man made a clicking sound as he dropped the gun, his warm hand pressing harshly onto Izuku’s shoulder. “Only one bullet? And not even a hole in your shoulder? Talk about a lame toy,” he said.

Izuku kicked back, his boot slamming into the stranger’s knee. He took the opportunity given to slip away from the sink.
He did not want to get pinned again, especially with how reaching for his Quirks was like reaching through mud and coming up with nothing.

“You little pest,” the man said, his hand lighting up with blue fire briefly before he shut it off to instead grab Izuku by his hair and push his face into the mirror.

He closed his eye just before his face was crushed into the mirror, hearing and feeling it crack from his temple. His hand scrambled to grab a shard of glass, turning and stabbing it into the hand that held his hair.

“Why you little-!”

Izuku didn’t let the man finish his statement, instead punching his face as hard as he could before slipping into one of the stalls where he saw a toilet seat was loose.
He got an idea and was incredibly grateful he had gloves on based on how filthy the seat was.

He quickly scaled up the wall of the stall when the stranger kicked the door open and stepped in. It only took a few seconds for Izuku to drop down on the man, the heel of his boot slamming into his back and smashing his face into the toilet.

Izuku didn’t give the man time to react as he grabbed him by the back of his hair and dunked his face straight into the toilet water. He cringed because he knew he saw something gross was still in the toilet earlier, but desperate times called for desperate measures as he flushed the toilet and ripped the seat off.

The stranger got up, panting and gasping for breath as he turned towards Izuku.
His hands and face lit up with blue fire, but he didn’t get a chance to act further as he received a face full of toilet seat.

Izuku didn’t even look back at the unconscious stranger as he rushed out of the bathroom and called Shirakumo.
His coat was under his arm, but he didn’t notice he was missing a couple other things as he rushed out into the street where a man wearing an All Might hoodie was waiting on a motorcycle.

“Hey! Kid!” The man shouted, suddenly grabbing Izuku by the back of his shirt and giving a smile. “Ingenium called me to get you to a safe place, you can trust me,” he said.

Izuku stared at him blankly, shaking his head as he tried to pull away.

“Hey hey, it’s ok. My name is Haimawari Koichi, formerly known as The Crawler. So I know what it’s like to commit acts of heroism without a license,” he explained quickly, pressing a helmet down onto Izuku’s head. “Just tell me where to take you and I’ll get you there safely.”

He continued to stare at Haimawari for a few more seconds before shaking his head.
“You were one of the Naruhata Vigilantes?” He asked.

Haimawari smiled. “Yeah, though that was a long time ago. Now I mostly work with Idaten, but they do give me jobs when it comes to people who may not trust Pro Heroes fully, or people who have beef with Heroes,” he explained. “So where are we going?”

Izuku looked at his phone to read the message from Shirakumo.
“Do you think we could head to the Train Station on the other side of the ward?” He asked.

Haimawari smiled. “Of course, hold on tight and we’ll be there lickety split!”

---

Kurage breathed a sigh of relief when Chief Tsuragamae left the room after telling them to never speak about what really happened with the Hero Killer to anyone.
Honestly she was fine with letting Endeavor take all the credit for taking Stain down, because she knew what they all did was highly illegal.

At least Atsui wouldn’t get in trouble for saving Scarlet from that flying villain, only because he was with his mentor the whole time and had received permission to help where he could.
Though speaking of Scarlet…

Kurage turned towards Ida who was staring at his bandaged arm.

“Ida-kun?” Kurage asked. “You knew that vigilante, didn’t you?” She asked.

Ida looked at her with wide eyes before giving a nod.
“I do, he’s actually a friend of mine from outside of UA,” he admitted quietly. “Though I had no idea he was a vigilante until tonight, when he saved my life.”

Atsui sat up from his own hospital bed, having sprained his ankle when attacking the flying villain. “Wait, you’re friends with a vigilante!? I never thought you would ever-”

Kurage quickly shushed Atsui, instead focusing on Ida. “It’s alright, my grandma used to be a vigilante,” she said with a smile. “I still keep contact with her old crew actually, you should try some of the crepes they make!”

“My brother will work with vigilantes from time to time,” Ida admitted softly. “So I do not have an issue with them as long as they are trying to help people and be the heroes they want to be,” he continued, explaining that phone call he made earlier when they were in the ambulance.

“Well that explains why you were so eager to go after Stain even though that broke like a hundred rules!” Atsui exclaimed, smiling wide as he quickly waved his hands around. “I never expected it from you, with how strict you are normally! It’s actually a nice change of pace and makes you even cooler than before!”

Kurage blinked before giggling. “I’m shocked you aren’t bragging about being allowed to keep the credit you got, you did save Ida’s friend after all,” she said.

Atsui blinked and scratched the back of his head. “Well this isn’t about me really.”

Suddenly two men stepped in.
One Kurage had seen a couple of times in the hallways at UA, and the other was a man with green and yellow hair dressed like a businessman in a white suit.
The latter she recognized as Sir Nighteye, a Hero who has one of the Third Years as an intern if she remembers what the other students have said in the halls.

“Hello, my name is Sir Nighteye and this is Aizawa Shouta- also known as Eraserhead. We heard you three have had an encounter with the villain known as The Scarlet Thief?” Nighteye greeted as Aizawa glared at all of them with his cold dark eyes that bored into their souls.

Kurage gulped and shook her head.
“I- There was that boy in red, Stain called him Scarlet, but I thought he was a vigilante,” she admitted quietly. “It was my first time seeing him really.”

“I saw him riding on a train, he wasn’t wearing any red at the time and was with someone else. Then the strange villains attacked, one of them tried to grab the kid and the man he was with,” Atsui explained. “Then later I saw him wearing the red coat, but that was when the flying villain grabbed him and my body moved and I stopped the flying villain from taking him away because I thought he was a civilian who got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he continued.

Ida silently looked at Aizawa and Sir Nighteye with suspicion before shaking his head.
“I’ve never seen him before tonight, but I think he was as mad at Stain as I was over what happened to my brother,” he explained.

Kurage looked at Ida with wide eyes, never expecting him to actually lie to a pair of adults.

Aizawa stared at Ida for a few seconds longer before turning his focus on Atsui.
“Tell us about the man the villain was with.”

Atsui squeaked when the focus was put back on him, Aizawa seeming to be glaring at him much harder than earlier.
“I- The man he was with was pretty tall and had dark hair that looked like a storm cloud,” he began, gulping before shaking his head and looking down. “He also had a Cloud Quirk and I think his name was Shira-something?”

“Shirakumo,” Aizawa whispered, hands clenched into a fist as he stormed out of the room just as quickly as he came in.

Nighteye looked at all of them before stepping out of the room.
“Thank you for your information, this will help us tremendously,” he said.

Kurage waited a few moments to make sure they were actually gone before she turned towards Ida.
“I heard you say Scarlet’s real name back there,” she whispered, seeing him look up at her with shock. “But something was off about those two, like they were ready to lock him up somewhere and throw away the key.”

“You also got that vibe off of them?” Atsui asked.

Kurage nodded. “Though why did you give away more identifying information? Ida was giving off the cues that we shouldn’t trust them with what we know.”

“I panicked, ok!?”

“Thank you, Mizuki-san,” Ida suddenly said, looking at them both with a smile. “The both of you helped me and my friend, and I don’t know how to repay either of you.”

Kurage only smiled. “It was the right thing to do.”

“Yeah, it really was.”

For the first time since the Sports Festival, Ida gave a genuine smile.

---

Sorahiko narrowed his eyes when he saw Nighteye stalking through the halls of the hospital, having just left the room where the students were in.
However he didn’t bother acknowledging the ex-side kick any further as he focused on his phone as he dialed a number he never thought he would ever call again.

He didn’t bother letting her spill out her greeting though, knowing that she would want to talk circles around him.
“Tell me about the Boy in Red and why Shirakumo was with him. Is he your heir?” He asked.

“Is this how you wish to greet me, Sorahiko? The first time you call me in almost forty-two years and this is what you say? No hello? No asking me how my granddaughter is doing? Not even asking how I am doing? I’m hurt, Sorahiko.”

He frowned.
“I only called to get answers to my questions, and to know if you pissed off any villainous organizations recently.”

She gave a laugh. “Oh no, that boy has long since been poking at sharks before I got involved,” she explained. “He didn’t even know I existed until my granddaughter finally called me after her deadbeat husband nearly succeeded in completely isolating her from her family.”

He rubbed a hand against his face and groaned. “Your family really has a knack for that sort of thing,” he said, shaking his head. “So the boy is going after big fish and you’re now involved, but why are you involving yourself in their affairs? I thought you were staying away from Japan?”

“Usually I would, especially with All for One still lurking in the shadows-”

“All for One is dead,” Sorahiko said. “I witnessed All Might kill him.”

She suddenly laughed. “Oh you poor fool, do you honestly think he wouldn’t have a way of cheating death?”

He froze.
“What do you mean?”

“You know exactly what I just said. All for One is alive and your grandson has pissed him off.”

Sorahiko dropped the phone and stared at the wall with wide eyes.
His…?

“Sorahiko?”

He glared down at the phone before picking it up.
“I have to make another phone call, goodbye Mother.”

---

Izuku stumbled off of the motorcycle as soon as Haimawari pulled to their stop.
The muddled feeling had finally left, but now he was able to actually feel the abuse his shoulder went through and it was a miracle he was even able to stand at this point.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to take you to a hospital? You really look like you could use some healing.”

Izuku flinched when someone put a hand on his non-injured shoulder, but he looked back and sighed with relief when he saw it was just Shirakumo.

“Thank you for bringing the young master here, I’ll make sure he sees a doctor for the injuries he sustained while recklessly jumping into battle against the Hero Killer when he told me he wasn’t going to get in close,” Shirakumo said, his hand squeezing Izuku’s shoulder.

He found himself cringing slightly, knowing he likely wouldn’t hear the end of this even a week after the fact. Though he could also tell that Shirakumo was also relieved.

“Alright, though if you need anything then give me a call,” Haimawari said, setting a card on top of Izuku’s head before taking off on his motorcycle.
Right on time too as Izuku’s phone started to go off.

He looked down and went wide eyed at the name that flashed across the caller id.
“Melissa?” He asked, hand shaking as he considered rejecting the call because of what she said the last time they talked.

However a large part of him missed hearing her voice.

He looked at Shirakumo briefly before deciding to answer it.
“Hello?”

“Hi, is this Red?” a distinctly male voice asked, one Izuku recognized from the times when he and Melissa would either call each other or go on video chat. “Sorry for the sudden call, and for using my daughter’s phone. When I tried using the burner phone I bought, your phone wasn’t picking it up at all, but anyway. I need to ask you a favor.”

Izuku could only blink, wondering why Melissa’s father was calling him.
Especially now of all times.

“How would you like to come to I-Island a week before the pre-opening of the I-Expo so I can explain this better?” He asked.

He went wide eyed at the offer, knowing what he could possibly do if he does accept this.
He could see Shirakumo looking at the phone with suspicion, but Izuku knows he can’t let this chance pass him by.
The chance to see Melissa and at least apologize to her for all of this.

“Yes, I’d be happy to come!”

---

It took him a few weeks to track down someone connected to the bounty.
So far he wasn’t impressed with what he saw, some bratty kid covered in hands and a man made of black smoke, but if they could assist him in his plans then he will use them for that.

“Aren’t you going to introduce yourself?” Hands asked.

Dabi simply shrugged. “I haven’t even decided if you are worth my time yet. You are the one who set that bounty out with promises to make my ambitions come true if I bring you the Boy in Red?” He asked.

Hands stiffened, four of his fingers digging into the bartop.

Suddenly a screen lit up with the words Sound Only displayed in green.

“I don’t see the boy anywhere,” a voice spoke.

Dabi smiled as he pulled the bright red hat from behind his back and dropped it at Hands’ feet along with the gun he picked up. “Well so far I am the closest to actually catching him,” he said.

Laughter filled the bar, coming straight from the screen.
“Perhaps you will make for a good asset, allow for Tomura to use your services further for the League of Villains and we will assist you with what you require, Todoroki Touya.”

Dabi frowned.

“Or should we continue to call you Dabi?”

“Stick to Dabi, I will use that other name to completely destroy Endeavor after I kill his perfect little puppet.”

He can afford to deviate slightly from his original plan, but he knows that they will help him with his goals in life.
He scratches their backs and they scratch his, plus it will be nice to make sure that brat suffers for the indignity he put Dabi through in that disgusting bathroom.

Chapter Text

When Mirio walked into the room, he could see All Might had his hands in his face and looked incredibly stressed while an older Hero sat across from him.
He only gave Mirio a passive glance before looking at his steaming cup of coffee.

He has not met Gran Torino before today, but he immediately knew this must be him just from the way he carried himself and how stressed All Might looked.
Just uttering that name was enough to make All Might quake in his boots.

“All Might? Did you get anything else out of Detective Tsukauchi about Scarlet?” Mirio asked.
He was grateful that All Might was letting Mirio help with this case, likely because Mirio was one of the few who had a more positive impression of Scarlet as opposed to Sir and Aizawa.

He would never forget the cold look Aizawa gave when All Might started to ask him about the case, that look filled with nothing but hatred and malice.

“Not from Tsukauchi, no,” All Might admitted. He glanced at Gran Torino briefly before shaking his head. “Young Togata, do you remember the story I told you after the Sports Festival?” He asked.

Mirio blinked before giving a quiet nod as he sat in a chair. “Yeah, you don’t think?”

“All for One survived somehow like the cockroach he is,” Gran Torino finally spoke.

“How did you learn this? Is it connected to Scarlet somehow?” Mirio asked, leaning forward. His full focus was on Gran Torino now.

The elder Hero gave a sigh. “This does not leave the room at all, understood?” He asked, staring at Mirio with a calculated gaze. Not speaking until Mirio gave a nod.
“Toshinori, this also applies to you.”

All Might nodded quietly before turning towards Mirio. “Gran hasn’t told me how he found out either,” he said.

“That’s because I didn’t want to risk anyone possibly bugging my phone or those two clowns overhearing me and coming to the wrong conclusions in their half baked investigation that’s soured by their own biases,” Gran Torino explained, finally gripping and sipping at his coffee before spitting it out. “I told that rat I don’t like my coffee black,” he grumbled.

Gran Torino sighed, shaking his head. “I called my mother once the shitfest in Hosu was finished to ask her a few questions,” he began.

“Wait, you have a mother!? How is she still alive?” All Might asked, going completely pale at the idea of what Gran Torino’s mother could possibly be like.

“Longevity Quirk, she’s been alive for roughly the same amount of time as All for One and she could arguably be more dangerous than him considering all the hands she has in the medical field,” he explained. “But back to the point, she was the one who told me All for One survived.”

“How does she know that? Is she connected to All for One?” Mirio asked. Somehow he wondered if All for One could possibly be Gran Torino’s father? It would be humorous and also explain why All Might could possibly fear his old teacher.

“He married her granddaughter,” Gran Torino said.

Somehow Mirio felt like puking.

“She doesn’t like it either, calls him a deadbeat for isolating her granddaughter from the rest of the family,” he explained. “But no, how she found out is because Scarlet is her great-grandson and he is targeting and being targeted by All for One.”

Mirio went wide eyed, remembering the villain with a regeneration quirk he went against and the last time he met Scarlet.
“The villains with the exposed brains, do you think they’re connected to All for One?” He asked.

“There’s no other explanation, especially with how the ones at Hosu used multiple Quirks. The one my student took down could fly and breathe fire,” he explained. “That isn’t to mention the one I took down and the one that attacked our train,” Gran Torino said, reaching for twelve sugar packets to pour straight into his coffee. “It seems like the kind of thing he would do.”

“So we know that this boy can steal Quirks, pissed off All for One enough to be targeted, and All for One is alive,” All Might said, leaning back in his seat to stare at the fluorescent lights. “How did you know he was even connected to your mother to even call her?”

“He was with my mother’s butler, Shirakumo Sukkiri,” Gran Torino explained. “He had a nephew who attended UA years ago, but tragically died in a villain attack. I don’t think he ever got over that death.”

Suddenly it clicked for Mirio.
“Do you have any siblings?” He asked.

Gran Torino shook his head. “No. Scarlet is my grandson, but I have no way of finding him thanks to how well my daughter was hidden,” he said, leaning back. “Before you ask, I took it a step further in hiding her as opposed to how Nana hid her son. I didn’t even look at my daughter’s given name and allowed for my mother to give her the family name Akatani, but I already searched all over for those of the Akatani family in Japan but there’s nothing. The only Akatanis are outside of Japan, likely because my mother wanted to keep them all out of All for One’s hands.”

“So what are we going to do now?” Mirio asked.

“I’ll be allowed to view all the details collected so far after Final Exams, until then the only thing we can do is wait and keep our eyes out,” All Might said, checking his phone when it buzzed with a notification. “A message from Melissa?”

Mirio blinked. “Melissa? Who is that?”

For the first time since he came in here, All Might actually gave a soft smile and visibly relaxed.

“She’s the daughter of an old friend of mine,” he explained. “I better go read her email now. It might be important.”

“And I should probably head to class now,” Mirio said with a small laugh, turning towards Gran Torino.

“I’m going to see if I can get Tsukauchi to also let me in on the case. Nighteye might be more open to me coming aboard early considering how I feel about All for One,” Gran Torino said. “It will be fun to whip both Aizawa and Nighteye into shape for missing the obvious clues we found with the limited amount of knowledge we have.”

Mirio smiled, knowing that this will be worth a watch.
“Please invite me to the show!”

---

Melissa stared at the package that remained sitting on her desk for the past few months, waiting to be shipped straight to the PO Box Izuku had set up so she could mail things to him without his mother catching wind of what was going on.

Though the cardboard on the package is torn from the number of times she’s had to open it just to either add updates to her gift or to change out the letter she had written.
Even now she considered opening the package again just to tear up the letter and start all over again because it doesn’t sound sincere enough to her.

“I know I shouldn’t have said that to him, but at the time he wasn’t listening to me. I know I got frustrated and it wasn’t right, wasn’t fair to him, but he could have gotten killed,” she mumbled to herself, deciding to ignore the package to instead check her email.

She smiled when she saw All Might had responded that he would come with one of his students.
Perhaps she should do what should have been done much sooner.
Then again it isn’t her story to tell, and there’s no telling if Izuku would forgive her for telling someone about this even though they have left so many hints for the authorities to investigate.
Things like striking places that were connected to All for One, robbing people who had made deals with him in the past or currently, and then…

Melissa sucked in a breath when she remembered what happened to Yutaka.
Her blood was on Melissa’s hands as much as it was on Izuku’s, but she also knew it was All for One who ultimately killed Yutaka and should be the one to take the full blame.
But she still can’t help the guilt she felt over that unnecessary death.

They should have planned this better than straight up stealing her Quirk and leaving her be to report the theft to catch All Might’s attention.
They should have kept an eye on her, use Erasure as a deterrent to stop All for One from grabbing her so she could report the theft properly.
Then the people involved in the investigation would realize All for One was involved and bring a proper heavy hitter instead of wasting time.
Enough time to allow for All for One to amass more and more power in the shadows, likely biding his time until he can reveal himself once more.

Slowly she walked towards the package and opened it once more.
As she removed the bright red coat and hat from it, she carefully looked at the materials before setting it up on the mannequin.

Maybe she should tweak it and the apology letter a little more before sending it to Izuku?

---

“Young Master, this may very well be a trap. I must advise that you message Mr. Shield and tell him that you have to decline his offer and-”

Izuku shook his head as he looked at the coat in his hands. His nose scrunching up when he really took in all the grime that it had collected since he raided the Shie Hassaikai.
Since before he and Melissa quit speaking to each other.

At the reminder of Melissa, he turned towards Shirakumo and stared him in the eye.
“I have to go,” he said, deciding to put the coat in a plastic bag to prevent it from contaminating the rest of his clothes. He didn’t say anything else as he continued packing, knowing that this may be his one and only chance at apologizing to Melissa.

Or at least leave a note in her room after finishing the job her father hired him for.

“Mistress Akatani specifically instructed me to ensure you are safe, and taking a trip to I-Island would be a huge risk. Especially if there’s a chance that this David is working for All for One-”

“He is not!” Izuku snapped, closing the lid of his suitcase violently before turning around. “David Shield was All Might’s sidekick, and All Might is one Hero who would never associate himself with anyone related to All for One. Plus he is Melissa’s father, and she always talked highly about him.”

He didn’t even bother letting Shirakumo say anything else, instead shoving him out of the room so he can make sure that he has everything together and ready for his trip to I-Island.
This may very well be his one and only chance to apologize to Melissa, and he won’t let anyone get in the way of that.

---

Katsuki held the tickets in his hand as he stared up at the apartment. It looked like a complete dump in an area that could only be described as barely above slum-level, but it seems to be the only thing that she could reasonably afford based on what she admitted to some of the other girls in their class.

He also noticed there wasn’t really a proper front entrance, instead a fire escape that leads to the windows for all the apartments.
What kind of crap shack was Pink Cheeks stuck with?

Still he climbed up the rickety stairs, wincing at the way they creaked under his body weight.
How did this place even pass regulations and not get shut down?

Passing by one of the windows, he noticed a family with Mutant Quirks sitting around a cardboard box with a single bowl of rice shared amongst themselves.
It’s as he climbs up further that he sees more people in different states of poverty, but they all have one thing in common.

Mutations that didn’t make them physically appealing in the eyes of society.
Almost villain-like in some cases, like the family with spider-mutations.

“Bakugou?”

He looked up at Pink-Cheeks before giving a wave.
“Hey, they gave me tickets to an Expo because I kicked your ass at the Sports Festival,” he said.

She rolled her eyes. “You just got lucky, had my foot not slipped out of bounds then you would have lost.”

Katsuki grinned. “You want to test that theory?” He asked, slipping in through the window only to realize just how little she even had in her apartment.
And was that mold in the corner? What the hell?

The only furniture she had was a small coffee table and a couple pillows that acted as chairs from what he could assume.
The only doors that existed in this pathetic excuse for an apartment was the front door and a door that led into a bathroom.
He could see her bedroom which at least had a bed and a dresser, plus some oven mitts hanging off of one of the bed posts, but that was it.

The kitchen didn’t even have any cupboards or a fridge!

“Hey, Pink Cheeks? Where the hell do you store your food?” He asked.

It took a few moments of silence for it to click for him.
He turned and noticed the way she was scratching at the back of her head, trying to laugh it off as if not having any food in her own home wasn’t some big deal. As if it wasn’t something she needed to survive and become a Hero let alone survive three years at UA.

Slowly Katsuki took a breath, for some reason flashing back to when he was in grade school and saw Deku’s lunches had gotten smaller and smaller before they went back to a more reasonable size by the time they made it to junior high.
Why was he thinking about that asshole now?

I heard rumors that his old man hasn’t been sending them money for the past eight years.

Katsuki shook his head.
Deku is fucking fine, it’s Pink Cheeks who obviously needs help here or else she won’t be able to give him a better challenge later in their time as Hero Students or even as Pro Heroes.

“Pack your bags, we have a spare room at my house,” he finally said, pulling out his phone to call the Hag. Even if she will argue over this, he knows in the end she cares more about their family image and may see this as an opportunity for them to look good to everyone else.

Use her image against her to get what he wants, it’s something he doesn’t like doing unless it’s absolutely necessary like right now.

“I- I couldn’t burden you guys like this-”

“Your place is a literal hazard to the health and safety of everyone living here,” Katsuki snapped, calling his house phone. “You also don’t have a spot to store food, and as your rival it’s my job to make sure you are taking care of yourself so you can give me the challenge I want!”

As the phone rang, he blinked when he heard a small sniffle.

“You know, you can call me your friend instead of your rival if you want to,” she finally said.

Katsuki turned and looked at her to see she was wiping some tears away from her face.
“Who said we were friends?” He asked.

“Well I did, just now. Whether you want it or not won’t change, because at this point you are a friend and a rival all in one.”

He didn’t say anything further as his mother picked up the phone to ask him what he wanted.
However, he found himself giving a half-smile.

---

“Here’s your coffee.”

“Thank you,” Izuku said, smiling at the short boy he recognized from UA’s Sports Festival. Even if he lost against Shinsou, he could see that those purple balls could have some good application towards Heroics and maybe this boy will learn how to be better?

Slowly he took a sip of his coffee only to cringe at the bitter taste. “Um, excuse me? Could I have some cream and sugar please?” He asked, only to see that the waiter got distracted when some of his classmates came to one of the tables. All chatting and laughing amongst themselves, going over various inside jokes that made an emptiness become apparent in him.

Izuku watched them all quietly, wondering if maybe in a different life he could possibly be part of something like this?
Spending time with a group of classmates, or even friends, talking about meaningless things that matter to them at that very moment?
Or at least…

He froze when he saw three people walk over to the group.

Ida lectured his classmates, the ones working as waiters specifically, for appearing to be slacking at their jobs.
Though he seemed to have a more open and light-hearted smile, likely because he has finally connected with his class after Hosu.

Then there was Togata Mirio, or Le Million, the one who tried to offer a helping hand to Izuku.
He must have recognized the group of first years, deciding to go over and join in on their jokes and even do what he can to make them laugh while having a friendly arm wrapped around the shoulders of the last person.

For a very brief moment Izuku locked eyes with Melissa.

Before she could say or do anything, he quickly left money on the table and walked off to disappear into the crowd because he knows.
He knows that even if he’s here to apologize, he isn’t ready to actually face her in person yet.

But there was something else he knows.
He knows that she should be able to enjoy that life. Surrounded by friends, around Heroes and helping them, to not be associated with him anymore because then it would completely ruin her life and chances at a good future.

He carefully tugged his beanie over his head, knowing that his green curls still poked out but they wouldn’t really stick out in the crowd.
Especially in a crowd of people who knew nothing about him or didn’t bother to pay attention.
It’s the benefit of having a plain face really.

It was in his attempt to disappear that he didn’t notice he was about to crash into someone until it was too late and he accidentally knocked down one of the people in the crowd.

Wide eyed, he quickly gave an apologetic bow.

The man he bumped into gave a small chuckle before speaking in a voice that Izuku would recognize anywhere.
“It’s alright, I’m pretty used to getting run over like this,” he said, getting up and resting a hand on Izuku’s shoulder.

Izuku stiffened, not wanting to look up and see his all time favorite Hero.
The one who may not hesitate to throw Izuku straight into prison the moment he realizes who exactly Izuku is.
But maybe he doesn’t know that Izuku is Scarlet? It could also be possible that he doesn’t even remember that conversation they had on the roof.

“So how’s your friend handling his father?” All Might asked.

Izuku looked up, seeing his hero in his weakened state and dressed in more casual clothes.
His hero who was giving a gentle and knowing smile at him.

Slowly Izuku shook his head, wondering why All Might even remembered him.
He could have sworn he was the most forgettable person in existence, and yet.
And yet.

And yet-

“Hey, hey. It’s ok, it’s ok young man,” All Might spoke quickly. “If you need to talk with someone about your friend then I’m all ears.”

Should he really?
Maybe...he could get some advice from All Might at least?

Izuku looked down once more, wiping the tears away as he nodded and took the offered hand.
It couldn’t hurt, could it?

Besides, it’s not like All Might would see him ever again after this.
“Could we go somewhere away from everyone?” He asked.

Chapter Text

Toshinori sat with the young man he met once over a year ago, the very boy he saved from the Sludge Villain. The one who recklessly clung to Toshinori’s leg just to ask a single question, and now here they were.
Sitting by a fountain away from the crowds and silently eating some ice cream Toshinori had bought for them.

He could imagine the world had completely frozen at this moment, feeling a sense of genuine peace as he sat with one of the very few people who knew about his injury.
Though this boy was not in on the secret of One for All, he found he didn’t mind.

Eventually, though, the boy finally spoke up.
“You asked about my friend earlier?”

Toshinori nodded, hoping that the boy took his advice to heart and went through the proper channels when dealing with an abusive father instead of doing something reckless.
Though based on the white eyepatch the boy wore, he could only assume that he might have pulled something and gotten hurt in the process.

“I should have told you this when we first met, but you were in a rush and I didn’t want to take up too much of your time,” the boy admitted quietly, tapping a finger against his knee. “He actually did try the proper channels first, but no one believed him. The cops thought he was some stupid kid, the Heroes had more important things to worry about, even the detectives and social workers were working on other cases and put him at the bottom of their priority list.”

“I’m sure your friend has found someone who was willing to help?”

The boy looked down.
“We fought a few months ago, the argument was nasty and I know I’m the one at fault here,” he continued. “I want to apologize, but I fear it might be too late. For all I know he could be dead and I won’t ever hear about it because he’s just….he’s part of a demographic that won’t be missed.”

Somehow Toshinori knows exactly what demographics would be ignored if there were any disappearances, and the fact that this boy’s supposed “friend” falls into one of those categories and may be at risk of disappearing makes him want to immediately reach a hand out to stop him before it’s too late.

Maybe I-Island will be his chance at finally helping this child before his attention goes fully onto Scarlet and All for One.

“Why do you think you were the one at fault in this argument?” He asked.

The boy shifted slightly. “I- Well, I thought it would be a good idea to try and help my friend by doing a small bit of vigilantism,” he admitted quietly, bringing a hand up to cover the white eyepatch. “I didn’t use a Quirk though, kind of hard to do for me really,” he continued with a small smile. “But it was still dangerous and really scary, and my friend went off and said that this was his fight and that he doesn’t need any help.”

Quirkless, that’s the only explanation for this and it would add up to what has been said so far.
A father who had hoped his son would get a Quirk, only for his son to turn out Quirkless. So the father got violent and did a few indescribably bad things leading to this boy feeling like he has to stop his father.
He then tries to go through the proper channels first, and maybe he tried to ask Toshinori himself for help before turning around and taking on this burden for himself when no one helped him.

This “fight” he had with his “friend” is probably his conscience and doubts telling him that he has to stop before he gets himself killed.
Because if he dies or disappears then no one will notice because he’s part of the three primary demographics that get overlooked by society.

People with Mutation Quirks that make them look like outright villains.
People with straight up Villainous Quirks, Quirks like Brainwashing.
People who don’t have Quirks at all.

Slowly he reached a hand over and set it down on the boy’s shoulder before giving a small smile.
“Perhaps it isn’t too late,” he began. “For your friend that is. Though if you want to be able to apologize to him properly, then I would start by forgiving yourself and then move on to your friend. After that then you could try again with the proper authorities, perhaps I could even lend a hand to you-”

The boy suddenly jumped when his phone went off.
He pulled it out and read over the message before quickly shoving it back into his pocket and bowing.
“Thank you for hearing me out, but I have to go now,” he said, turning and running off.

Toshinori still had a hand raised only now realizing that his chance might have literally slipped right through his fingertips. But the Expo still hasn’t fully started, so he might still have a chance at bumping into the boy once more.

Though it might be difficult without knowing his name…

---

Izuku stared down at the ground, watching the inhabitants permitted into the Pre-Show walk down the streets into the different exhibits. Though soon they would all be heading for the reception party to celebrate the Expo being open to the rest of the public.

Unfortunately Izuku wouldn’t be able to enjoy either of them to its fullest.

He reached into the case Mr. Shield provided for him, looking at the replica of the Quirk Amplification Device carefully before pulling out his red coat.
The familiarity of it was enough to give Izuku the confidence to go through with this, filling him with the strength to go forward with Melissa’s support even if she wasn’t with him anymore.

Instead happily laughing and making jokes with the UA Students.
Enjoying the life she deserves.

Exchanging his white eyepatch for the black one, he also grabbed the earpiece and carefully fitted it into his ear to get the rest of the instructions from Mr. Shield.

“Can you hear me?”

Izuku smiled. “I can. Are the schematics you provided accurate?” He asked.

“They are, did you get the rest of the equipment?”

“The canisters made using samples of Midnight’s Quirk?” He asked, counting four total. “I do, two for each room I’ll be in?”

“Correct, and don’t forget-”

“The gas mask, I got it,” Izuku said, smiling at the familiarity of all this. It reminded him of his earlier heists with Melissa, back when they kept things simple. It was nice going back to his roots, just this once.

Slowly he fitted the mask over his face, pressing his hands over the filters first and sucking in. Then he pressed the palm of his hand over the front of the mask, blowing air for a few seconds before smiling with satisfaction over the fit of his respirator.

He stood up and looked out at the setting sun, the ends of his coat flapping slightly in the breeze before he turned and slipped into the air ducts, following the schematics he memorized until he reached the control room, watching all the people go over the footage on their cameras. Relatively unaware of what was about to happen.

Quietly he slid the cover off of the vent and pulled out the two canisters for this room and flipped the switch, dropping them both to fill the room with the sleeping gas.

---

Melissa didn’t notice the time while checking over the coat that was now hanging on the mannequin, having long since been removed from the package because she knew she had to tweak it one more time.
Especially after seeing what she thought was Izuku.

Did he actually come all the way here to see her or something?
If so then this is her best chance at apologizing to him properly. To maybe figure out where he stands at taking down All for One and then go back to helping him while also setting up the proper boundaries.

“Sorry for popping in!” A sudden voice shouted, barely giving Melissa the time to cover up the coat before Uncle Might’s student could see what it was.

“Oh- Hello Mirio,” She said, smiling sheepishly as he grinned wide at her.

“Did you get distracted with work?” He asked, walking over to try and peek under the tarp.

Panic flashed through Melissa as she grabbed Mirio’s arm and pulled him away from it. “No, I was actually finishing up,” she said quickly, noticing how his suit was still on even though he likely used his Quirk to slip in.

Mirio blinked before giving a goofy smile, a hand going through his hair that was starting to turn white at the roots. “Well, are you ready to be escorted to the ball with your knight in shining armor?” He asked, holding a hand out and grinning wide.

Luckily she was already in her dress, and that the coat she was working on wouldn’t cause any stains on it. Unlike some of the other things she’s worked on…
Still Melissa took the offered arm and nodded. “I am, what about you? Think you’ll have some fun?” She asked.

Mirio nodded, grinning as he stepped out with Melissa to meet with the other UA Students present. The ones she recognized from the Sports Festival primarily, though there was one she definitely knew about for a different reason.

His hands were popping as he stared down the girl with brown hair who was also in a more aggressive stance, but they were both grinning in a way to show that this was their way of showing their friendship or something.

The boy, Bakugou, stopped to look at Melissa and blinked.
“What are you staring at?” He asked.

She quickly shook her head. “Nothing, you just reminded me of someone a friend talked about,” she admitted, though eventually Bakugou Katsuki became a topic that just died and never became resurrected because Izuku had other things to worry about than a schoolyard bully.

He didn’t say anything, though he did give her a funny look.

But before anything else could be said, the power suddenly shut off and the door leading into the reception refused to budge.

“What’s going on?” One of the students asked.

Melissa looked at Mirio, seeing him mouth a name that sent chills down her spine.

Scarlet.

---

Wolfram gritted his teeth because things were not going according to plan.
The plan was to take over the security system, not shut everything down.

This told him that someone else was invading, but it wouldn’t matter because soon enough his guys would reboot the system and hijack it. Then he can get what he came for and get out of this place.

He looked to where his informant was standing, doing his best to keep calm alongside his research partner.
How cute yet pathetic.

Slowly he made his way towards the stage where All Might was still standing, waving for everyone to keep calm. He’s sure that the power will come back on soon and everyone will be fine.

Right as he said that, the lights finally came on...only for the security system to immediately restrain all the Heroes present.

Show time.

---

Izuku barely slipped past the security bots, his body morphing into sludge to go into the sewers just so he could take a breath. For some reason the bots were roaming around, arresting anyone that catches their sights whether they’re civilians or not.
Was this some kind of curfew or…?

He pulled out his phone and pulled up the map of the Island, looking for the drop off point before realizing where it was exactly because it matched the address from the packages he would get from Melissa.
Stuff shipped directly from her home just so he could send things back to her.

“Should I wait there for her?” He asked quietly, deciding to stick to the sewers as he made his way towards her home. It gave him time to think about what he could possibly say to her, how he could apologize and beg for her forgiveness or something.

As he slipped out of the sewers, checking to make sure there weren’t any bots lurking around before he made his way into the empty house through a window that was left unlatched.

He then froze when he saw a picture on Melissa’s desk- the picture taken from the one and only time they had actually met in person.
He carefully picked it up and smiled softly at how they were posed in front of a theme park while wearing animal ears.

“Melissa,” he whispered as a piece of paper fell from where it was stuck under the picture.

Curious, he picked it up and read the letter before turning to where a covered mannequin stood.
Walking over to slowly remove the tarp and stare at what she made.

His smile lowered into a frown as he looked at the red coat, a gloved hand reaching to touch it before shaking his head.
She really shouldn’t have. She shouldn’t have done this.
She should know that if she gets caught working on this, caught making something to help him then-

Soon it hit him as he went back to her desk to grab a pen and paper.

“Melissa, I’m sorry.”

----

The incident didn’t last long.

Melissa didn’t know how something her father made couldn’t have worked, but at least no one got killed here and now Sam was being put under house arrest for bringing villains onto the island without her father’s knowledge.

She doesn’t know what would have happened if her father was aware of what had happened.
How his life could have likely been ruined just because he went through drastic measures for a man he loved.

But now it was over and she could finally flop onto her bed and sleep for however many days she needs after all of this stress.
At least she got to help out in her own way, to be a support that everyone needed.

As she walked into her bedroom, she froze when she saw what looked like her father’s Quirk Amplification Device sitting on her desk.
Confused, she walked over before seeing a note resting under it.

Carefully, as if fearing the paper would turn to dust in her hold, she pulled the sheet out from under the device and read the letter.

Melissa,

I can’t begin to express how sorry I am.
You were right to tell me not to go after Overhaul, but I was too much of a bonehead to listen to you or at least try to figure out a safer way to get the serum away from him.

I was able to steal ten of his bullets, but three have already been used so I only have seven left. They do work, though they’re only temporary so I don’t know what they will do to All for One when I shoot him with them.
Really I would have to find him first, which is where the last Quirk I will ever steal comes in.

I want to thank you for everything you have done, but I also have to ask that you please not support me anymore. You still have your whole life ahead of you while mine will be over as soon as I kill All for One. You can and will do great things and help so many Heroes, so please don’t throw all of that away for me.

Maybe the next time you see me will be when I get arrested, who knows.
But I still wish you well.

Please take care,
Scarlet, Red, Carmen Sandiego, Midoriya Izuku.

Now wide awake, Melissa turned to her mannequin only to find the hat and coat she just finished tweaking were both gone.
She looked at the letter and read over it once more, cursing Izuku for being an idiot before running out of her room to find her dad.

As she stepped into the living room, she could see Uncle Might and Mirio were also there which was just fine by her because she knows what needs to be done.
Knows that Izuku needs to be saved.

“Melissa?” Her dad said, knowing that she said she was going straight to bed earlier.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” Melissa finally said, mostly looking at Uncle Might because if anyone could help Izuku it was him.

----

As Izuku sat in the plane Ah-Ma sent to get him out of here, he poked through his phone while wearing the new coat and hat.
He ignored the news about I-Island to instead look for any meet and greets until he found the one he was seeking and gave a smile.

One more week.
In one week he will meet the Wild Wild Pussycats and be that much closer to achieving his goal.

Chapter Text

“It all started when Dad and I came to Japan for a special expo,” Melissa began, closing her eyes as she remembered the day she first met Izuku.

--

She was only thirteen and already developing her first prototype that would actually be put on display for the public. It took her ages to figure out how to wire the microcameras into the costume she designed and still get a clear video feed from them.
If things go well then she would be a shoe-in for I-Island Academy and not have to rely on her dad’s recommendation to go in.

While it would be nice, she really wants to get in on her own merits.

Melissa was a few steps away from boarding the train with her dad when she saw a wallet of all things floating away from the train.
Any other day she would have shouted, but she also knew if she did then the perpetrator would likely escape within the crowd and try again somewhere else.
So instead she quickly followed the floating wallet until she came across the boy.

He was definitely younger than her and looking with wide terror-filled eyes as he lost focus and dropped the wallet.
“I- Uh- My- My dad dropped his wallet and I-” He started to say only to shift awkwardly like a kid who was caught with a hand in the cookie jar.

She remembered raising her eyebrow at that while picking up the wallet and comparing the ID in there to the boy.
He definitely didn’t look like he could be related to the old man with the bushy mustache.
“This old man is your dad?” She decided to ask instead, flashing the ID at the boy.

The boy flinched, tugging on the drawstrings of his hoodie as he took a step back. “He’s...the grandfather of one of my classmates,” he finally admitted quietly. “But Tsuba-chan disappeared and then his grandpa disappeared next and I- I think his grandpa had something to do with it because he was the doctor that man told my mom to see whenever it comes to anything Quirk Related but that doctor lied and I know he isn’t good because that man isn’t good either and-”

The boy continued to go on without even taking a breath, but Melissa listened anyway because she could tell that he was very earnest and telling the truth.
He wasn’t trying to steal the wallet for money, he was trying to steal it to bring it to the police station and try to get them to investigate this man.

Slowly she offered her hand to him with a smile.
“Want me to come with you and we can tell them together?” She asked.

The boy stared at her with wide eyes before slowly taking the offered hand and giving a nod. “I’m Midoriya Izuku, but you can call me Izuku,” he said.

“I’m Melissa Shield, or would it be Shield Melissa?” She asked, remembering that things were a little different in Japan when it comes to names. “But you can call me Melissa!”

Izuku only smiled wide as he started to pull her in the direction of the police station. “Nice to meet you Melissa!” He said, practically skipping the whole way there as if happy to finally have someone actually helping him.

--

“Melissa!” Her dad shouted, likely having a lecture ready about how irresponsible she was when chasing down the wallet thief.

She shook her head as she pulled out her notes on All for One’s doctor. All of his fake identities including his current one, and any and all sightings of him. “This man is probably the reason why All for One was able to survive,” Melissa explained, handing the file over to Uncle Might. “That was the owner of the wallet, but unfortunately for us…”

--

The officer looked at the ID and the wallet before turning towards Melissa and Izuku.
He then gave a condescending smile followed by a chuckle. “What a responsible kid, returning a lost wallet to the local authorities.”

Melissa shook her head. “Sir? The man who owns that wallet is a villain-”

The officer raised an eyebrow. “Doctor Kyuutarou? A villain?” He asked, shaking his head and chuckling. “Children and their games-”

“That isn’t his real name!” Izuku shouted. “I knew him as Doctor Tsubasa and he had a grandson. Tsuba-chan and they both disappeared, I think he kidnapped Tsuba-chan for whatever his boss wants him for! Look it up and you’ll see I’m telling the truth-”

She nodded with Izuku. “Please, you have to believe us.”

The officer sighed right as another stepped in to call for assistance. “Listen, I don’t have time to play games with you two. Thank you again for returning the lost wallet, I will make sure to return it to its rightful owner,” he said, motioning for another officer to escort them out. “Now run along you two and let the grown-ups do their job.”

Melissa couldn’t believe it.
The officers just assumed they were playing a game even though this was serious.

Izuku had a look of disappointment on his face, but from the way his shoulders sagged it was as if this wasn’t the first time he met this kind of disappointment.
As if he has gone to multiple police stations only to be turned away because he was just a kid, to instead wait for a Hero to show up.

And when a Hero did show up…

--

“During that entire month, whenever I would slip away from you Dad, I was helping Izuku try to find someone who would listen. Someone who would believe us, only to receive the same result every single time. We realized that there was no evidence outside of our own words,” Melissa said, looking down when she felt her hands start to shake.

“You two got desperate enough to take matters into your own hands.”

She looked up when Uncle Might said that, his head bowed low with what she could only perceive to be regret.

Slowly Melissa nodded. “We did. At the time we didn’t know exactly what we were going into, only that Izuku’s father was a villain of some form. We didn’t even know about All for One until O’Clock disappeared later that year, and then two years later someone who displayed his exact same Quirk appeared in Naruhata,” she explained, looking down.

“For a time we thought Izuku was the only one who could give and take Quirks, the only other being an urban legend. After that we looked into every corner of the Internet, even snagging a key to the shadier sites when we learned that those who do know about All for One believed he was dead.”

--

“Dead? That can’t be right though! How else could Nomura have the exact same Quirk as O’Clock?” Izuku asked, pressing in close to the camera as if he was in the room with Melissa. “Plus there are people with interesting Quirks disappearing left and right, and yet no one is reporting this!”

“And whenever we try to bring this up anywhere we get brushed off. Do you think it’s possible he might have corrupted the Police over there? Through things like bribery?” She asked, glancing over the notes she has taken so far.
Unfortunately there wasn’t much to go off of, but she knew this was only the tip of the iceberg.

“I wouldn’t be surprised. He sounds like that kind of person going off of that one phone call I overheard,” Izuku said, finally putting some distance from the camera so Melissa could see the full impacts of the stress he was going through. “But there has to be someone who will listen.”

Melissa nodded quietly while looking through all the sites she had access to after being pulled into this rabbit hole. Somehow she had come across various media from the Pre-Quirk Era, decades to even a century before the Glowing Baby was born.

--

“It was while I was browsing through those sites and listening to Izuku try to figure out what to do that I found our solution. The series is banned all across the world because it could possibly give ideas to potential villains, ironic now that I think about it,” Melissa admitted with a small laugh.

She shook her head, knowing she will have to wrap this up soon so they can hopefully work towards saving Izuku.

“It was what inspired the red coat and hat he wears when working as Scarlet, but he didn’t debut in it until after he took Erasure. It was insurance to prevent All for One from rocking up to Izuku’s home and just blow up the apartment complex while Izuku and his mother slept,” she explained quickly, noticing how Uncle Might stiffened at the mention of a Pro Hero’s Quirk being stolen.

“Actually we were glad Izuku stole Erasure at first, because it gave Eraserhead justification to investigate and hopefully uncover the truth. He always seemed like a logical man who wouldn’t have any biases.”

Suddenly Mirio snorted, having remained silent throughout the entire story.
“The few times I met him when Sir allowed me into the investigation showed otherwise. He really has it out for Scarlet- I mean Izuku. Actually, both Eraserhead and Sir have it out for Izuku,” Mirio said.

Melissa nodded. “We figured as much when they ignored the blatant clues Izuku left behind. They focused more on him when he wanted them to look at the bigger picture.”

“So what is his goal? To have All for One arrested?” Uncle Might and David both asked at the same time. They looked at each other and smiled sheepishly as a result.

“No,” Melissa said, taking a deep breath as she prepared to drop the bomb on them.

“Izuku wants to kill All for One and make sure he stays dead this time.”

She stared straight at Uncle Might- no.
She stared at All Might before going down onto her knees.

“I normally wouldn’t ask this of you, but it’s really important and I can’t see him continue going down this path. He’s my best friend and I know I messed up by enabling him for so long, but we were desperate and I know this desperation will get him killed,” she could feel herself start to get choked up as she spoke, but she had to keep going no matter how many tears left her eyes.

“Please, All Might, please save him. You have to save Izuku before it’s too late.”

The silence in the room grew, the pressure so stifling and thick that one could cut it with a knife.
But she didn’t move, she refused to budge until she got an answer from All Might.
Not even looking up as a large hand lightly patted her on the head.

“It’ll be ok Melissa,” All Might said, likely smiling his signature grin. “I promise I will do everything in my power to save him.”

With those words said, Melissa could feel the burden lift from her shoulders.
A burden she has kept for a long time as reassurance filled her, the relief feeling good as she looked up at All Might.

Even though she was still crying, she still rushed forward and hugged him tight.
“Thank you.”

She knew everything would be fine because All Might never fails when it comes to saving someone.

Chapter Text

For a few moments while standing in line, Izuku felt like he couldn't breathe. He hasn't gone after a Pro Hero's Quirk since he stole Erasure, because he knows that if they aren't aware of their Quirk being stolen and try to use it when facing Villains or other disasters…

However Ragdoll was different. She primarily runs support for her team and even if she doesn't have her Quirk for a short while then she can still support them in some fashion.
There wouldn't be any major changes, not unless he goes for Pixie-Bob's or even Tiger's Quirks.

He felt something prod at the back of his head, knowing by now that Erasure was showing his disapproval. Tonight will be a rough night as soon as he returns home.
Made even rougher because his mother and Eri were currently on route to Singapore to stay with Ah-ma, but it had to happen now to save them from having any association with him.

Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t notice the line had moved forward until someone yelled at him to hurry up.
Izuku looked back and gave an apologetic smile before freezing when he recognized Bakugou of all people was right behind him.
He didn’t say anything though, instead turning to move with the line.

“Wait, Deku? Is that you?” Bakugou asked, as if he just recognized Izuku. He even went to grab Izuku’s shoulder, turning him around to face him fully. “Why the hell are you wearing an eyepatch? Are you trying to cosplay or something?”

Izuku only blinked before giving a small smile. It was kind of relieving talking to someone who used to know him but was still completely in the dark for everything that happened to him.
Though he felt a small amount of envy for Bakugou who always got to enjoy a normal life at school and not having to constantly fight against a villainous father.

“Actually I got caught in a villain attack while you were at the Sports Festival,” he said, scratching the back of his head. “Some shrapnel flew into my eye and I had to get it removed.”
While it was not a complete lie, he knew he couldn’t just tell Bakugou he attacked a Yakuza and lost his eye as a result.

Especially since Bakugou still believes Izuku is Quirkless.

Bakugou rolled his eyes. “You really haven’t changed at all,” he remarked, though he actually seemed a lot calmer than when they were in class together.
Could UA have actually changed him for the better?

“It doesn’t feel that way to me,” Izuku admitted, seeing that there were only a few people ahead of him. Which means this conversation, probably his last time ever talking to Bakugou, would end soon.
But what is there to really say to him? Their paths had long since diverged and at this point they were more like strangers who knew each other, separated by a large chasm and unable to interact fully like they used to.

Before he turned to face the front of the line, he noticed a flash of regret on Bakugou’s face.
What was there for him to regret? He’s getting everything he wants and being given the opportunity to grow as a Hero and even as a person.
Something that Izuku would never have.

He felt a tap on his shoulder once more right as the person in front of him went up to the Wild Wild Pussycats to get an autograph and his photo taken with them.

“Come to my house next weekend for dinner,” Bakugou suddenly said. “You still live in the neighborhood, right?”

Izuku only shook his head. He wouldn’t be staying at his apartment after today, truly he may never go back there which is sad because all of his All Might merch was there.
And he wouldn’t be able to have it with him once he finishes his plans.

“I’ll see if I can make it, but I can’t make any promises because I’m taking extra classes for the summer and recently finished an internship,” he said, though he remembered that Bakugou was also a big All Might fan and would likely be able to appreciate Izuku’s collection.

“Here’s my number, you better send me a message.”

Feeling the sheet of paper shoved into his hand, Izuku only nodded as he pocketed it.
Maybe he could send Bakugou a message before his plans are complete?
At least Bakugou would be able to appreciate Izuku’s All Might collection and take good care of it.

Soon his turn came and he put on a smile for the Hero Team as he shook all of their hands.
He made sure it would be quick and painless when he took Ragdoll’s hand because he’d rather she not notice immediately and sound an alarm for everyone out there.

The weight of her Quirk being added was heavy, but not nearly as bad as the guilt that crashed down on him.
But this was necessary.

He has to do this to even have a chance at finding and getting the drop on All for One.

--

Shino kept her smile up for the crowds, but she couldn’t help noticing Ragdoll had started to grow paler as more and more people came to greet them.
Which was strange because Ragdoll was feeling fine just earlier, but maybe it would be good if she took a break at their hotel for a while.

Using her Quirk, she sent the idea to Ragdoll and the rest of the team.
While they couldn’t respond back, she smiled when they gave nods of agreement.

Turning to the rest of the crowd, Shino smiled even brighter.
“Sorry to cut this short everyone! But Ragdoll just remembered she had an important thing to do at our hotel, but don’t worry! We’ll all be back tomorrow for all of you!”

She could see a small bit of disappointment emanating from the crowd, they were overall understanding that they were Heroes who had work to do when trouble calls.

When they were away from the crowds and almost in the car, Ragdoll finally spoke up.

“It’s weird, everything went quiet all of a sudden and a little lonely,” she said, her head pressing against the cool glass of the window. “I can’t get a read on people right now.”

Shino nodded. “Maybe you overused your Quirk again? I know big crowds can put a large strain on it.”

“That might be it. My body probably shut my Quirk off on its own to protect me.”

“Maybe. Hopefully you’ll feel better in the morning.”

Ragdoll smiled. “I’m sure I will, and then we can put on a real show for the fans!”

--

Everything hurts.

She tried to open her eyes, but was greeted by blinding white that made her blink her eyes rapidly to try and adjust to the lighting.
It was enough to let her see a hand cover her face, a hole appearing and she feared that something would come out and stab her in the face.

But just as quickly as the hand appeared, it was removed.

“It appears my spawn hasn’t learned his lesson,” the owner of the hand spat out. “And I doubt stringing her up like the last one will get it to stick for that stubborn little flea,” he continued, giving a sigh. “Doctor, go ahead and throw her into a storage tank. We’ll decide what to do with her at a later time.”

Large hands suddenly grabbed Tomoko’s arms and she felt herself get dragged from the bright room to a dark corridor. She tried to blink to adjust to seeing everything, but the short round man in front of her was incredibly hard to make out in the darkness.

Soon the room was case in a toxic green light and she could make out People(?) floating in tanks, though each person looked to have varying levels of deformities. As if they were mixed with multiple types of Quirks.

She was able to read three of the screens that listed Quirks that were put into each subject.
First was someone with a Quirk named Blade-Tooth, which belonged to a villain who was on death row before somehow escaping prison.
But it seems he couldn’t escape whatever this place even was.

Next made her freeze.
Muscle Augmentation, and the person in the tank looked almost exactly like Muscular.
Though she could see his skin starting to take on a blackish tint as a multicolored liquid was pumped into his body.

However, she wanted to puke when she saw the last one.

A child with black hair sat in the tank, his hands and face had a rocky texture and on his plaque read Hardening.

That was the last one she got to see before a mask was fitted over her face and she was dumped into one of the tanks.
The moment she was submerged, everything went dark.

Chapter Text

Toshinori could tell he was not welcome here when he stepped into the room. But he frankly didn’t care at this very moment because he had heard enough from Tsukauchi about the other two working on this case.

“No need to tell me what you have figured out already because I read over the details Tsukauchi provided me when I was first asked to join the investigation,” he said, ignoring the way Aizawa and Nighteye just glared at him.

Once upon a time he respected them both for their work, but that respect has died after reading their own thoughts about Scarlet. Failing to realize that there’s more to the story, instead choosing to be blinded by their own personal biases.

Neither said anything to him at first, instead stewing in their own thoughts.

Miraculously, Tsukauchi decided to chime in.

“All Might, you said you were able to gather some information?” He asked.

Toshinori nodded. “I have. Based on my successor’s testimony,” he said, glaring at Nighteye. Daring him to open his mouth and spew his usual vitriol.

Only to get nothing out of him.

“Scarlet is a young man who is around fifteen to sixteen years old, and was likely led down the wrong path because our society has failed him. Based on the speculation that Scarlet was connected to a boy who used a telekinetic quirk to steal wallets, I looked into police stations that have recorded the theft or even the return of wallets and found roughly eighty-five percent of those that were reported stolen came from old men who looked exactly the same,” Toshinori explained, pulling out the file Melissa had given to him about The Doctor.

“And how is this relevant? Brat targeted the same person multiple times, enough to have him try to change his identity.”

Toshinori shook his head. “This man has been changing his identity for far longer than he has been targeted. One of his identities was that of a Children’s Pediatrician who put his primary focus on Quirk Diagnosis. Dr. Tsubasa who reportedly moved before disappearing just days after his grandson, Tsubasa Yattsu, was reported missing by concerned teachers when he didn’t show up for his first year of middle school.”

“So they moved?” Nighteye asked.

“If it was a simple move then paperwork would have been filled out,” Toshinori said. “However, the necessary paperwork to pull Young Tsubasa out of school was never filled out, and no other schools in the country had him enrolled.”

Tsukauchi set his coffee mug down. “Then there’s the Brain Brothers from Hosu and even roughly a year prior, the one Le Million fought. I requested a DNA Test done and despite having similar appearances, none of them match each other. In fact, they match with various people who have disappeared. Including Tsubasa Yattsu.”

“And those tests also revealed the existence of multiple Quirk Factors, and there’s only one villain who could possibly achieve this.”

Toshinori didn’t smile at the pale look of horror on Aizawa’s and Nighteye’s faces.
Now he just has to tell them the rest of what he gathered without incriminating Melissa or revealing any identifying information about Izuku.
Even if he does tell them everything, he can tell that neither will ever believe Izuku is just a child who needs help.

“Not only has Scarlet been stealing Quirks, but he’s also kidnapping people and turning them into monsters?” Aizawa asked.

What?

“That must be why the first Brain Brother attacked him! He knew Mirio would be in the area, and so he decided to stage that attack to gain his trust! The ones from Hosu were brought in to cause a distraction so he could collect more Quirks, with the winged one acting as a quick getaway for him!”

Are they serious!?

“I knew the brat was bad, but to think he would stoop to this level of pure evil?”

Tsukauchi sighed. “All Might wasn’t finished yet,” he said, bringing their attention back to the subject at hand.

Toshinori gave his friend a smile of gratitude.
“No. My old homeroom teacher, Gran Torino, contacted me with the speculation that All for One is still alive. Then my primary source confirmed it was the case, even revealing that Dr. Tsubasa works for All for One himself.”

“I should have known he was following in his father’s footsteps, but now we know without a doubt that All for One had this child as a successor. Scarlet is probably All for One’s way to get Mirio’s Quirk!”

He should have known they would continue down this line of thinking, not even caring that Toshinori opened this with the fact that Izuku is just a child.
It’s doubtful they would believe him if he said Izuku was going against All for One, and even making plans towards killing that bastard.

Like a blessing dressed in a trenchcoat, Tsukauchi cleared his throat. “There is one final thing we must address in this meeting. Ragdoll’s disappearance,” he began. “Before you ask, this is relevant because a man matching Shirakumo’s description was sighted in the area of the Wild Wild Pussycats’ meet and greet.”

Search.
A desired Quirk for both All for One and Izuku, but who got it first?
Toshinori hoped if it went to anyone, it would go to Izuku.

“So Scarlet kidnapped her for her Quirk? That monster.”

“Tsukauchi, I believe I’ve heard enough here. Do you mind if I take a copy of the investigation to go over on my own?” Toshinori asked.

“Of course, just remember that this stays confidential.”

Toshinori gave a grin. “I know how to keep a secret.”

--

Sukkiri stared through the curtains, holding his breath when he saw a few cops move across the street with a pair of Heroes. Despite this being a normal route for this group, he still feared that they weren’t actually on a normal patrol and instead hunting for the Young Master.

He could hear the Young Master’s snores from the other room, a small smile appearing on his face at the knowledge that his charge was getting decent sleep. No nightmares from what he could hear, which was a relief.

Mistress Akatani would not be happy if she knew her grandchild was suffering like this.

Slowly he pulled the curtains closed and turned on the television, knowing that the Young Master would likely remain asleep for a good while.
He didn’t actually pay attention to what was being shown, instead pulling a photograph from his shirt pocket.

He stared down at the image of himself, a proud smile on his face as he had an arm wrapped around his grinning nephew.
Oboro’s first day at UA was a day all of them celebrated together with nothing but smiles on their faces and good food with Mistress Akatani eagerly inviting all three of them to her home so she could congratulate Oboro on coming that much closer towards achieving his dream.

And yet, that was the last time all of them could get together.
Oboro was unable to come to Singapore that year because Hero School was more time consuming than any of them could possibly anticipate.
And then, in Oboro’s second year…

“No further news on the whereabouts of Ragdoll, but the investigators are working hard to find her.”

He didn’t look up from the photograph until he heard something drop.

Looking back, Sukkiri stood when he saw the Young Master staring at the television with wide, horrified, eyes.

“Young Master?” He asked, slowly approaching the boy.

The Young Master didn’t blink or even react to Sukkiri’s voice. Nor did he react when Sukkiri set a hand on his shoulder.

Maybe he was sleep walking? But he was aware just a few moments ago.

“Young Master?”

--

Erasure and Sludge were the clearest in the shadowy space Izuku found himself in.
The two Quirks glaring at each other as Erasure kept the vague outline of Search behind him while Shock-Absorption put herself in the middle.

She’s not nearly as clear as Sludge and Erasure, but he could still make out the form of Yutaka with her hands pressing against Erasure and Sludge. Doing her best to keep them from getting into yet another fight.

“Hey kid! Do you need us for anything?” Sludge asked, voice far more eager and friendly than his original holder. Truly he was vastly different even though he is not the oldest Quirk Izuku has in his stock.

“If you’re here to use me or Search then you can forget it! We know what will happen to Ragdoll, Shock-Absorption sure hasn’t forgotten,” Erasure spat, glowing eyes boring straight into Izuku as the smoke around them started to glow a bright red.

Izuku froze in place before shaking his head.
“This is why I’m here. Please, I need to use Search before someone else gets killed by All for One.”

“You mean killed because of your actions?”

He looked at Shock-Absorption when Erasure said that. Guilt blooming across his chest as he brought a hand up to it. “I never meant for anyone to-”

“It still happened and now you have to live with the consequences. That or you don’t actually care. If you did then you wouldn’t take any Quirks in the first place.”

Izuku shook his head. “I’m sorry! I wanted to save Yutaka!”

“But you didn’t. You killed her.”

His eye burned as he felt himself fall to his knees.
Erasure was right. If it wasn’t for Izuku then Yutaka probably would have lived. Lived a life Quirkless, but she still had a chance at living if he didn’t interfere.
He snuffed her life out the moment he took her Quirk.

And it seems the same will happen to Ragdoll.
A Hero.
He’s going to have a Hero’s blood on his hands.

“It can’t be too late, can it? Please, at least let me see if she’s still alive,” he whispered to himself.

He looked up briefly when he felt something brush against his shoulder. His eye locked with Shock- no. He looked up into Yutaka’s eyes and saw nothing but forgiveness and concern in her dark green eyes.

Neither said anything, but he could see she was smiling and he knew what she probably wanted to say to him.
Filling him with just enough hope to look at S- to look at Ragdoll.

Slowly, Izuku stood from where he fell and walked in her direction. He could feel Yutaka hovering close to him. He could tell Sludge was restraining Eraserhead from the way both Quirks were struggling and yelling, but he didn’t pay attention to them as he focused on the shadowy form of Ragdoll.

He could still feel anxiety spreading from his chest to the rest of his body, but he gulped and moved down to his knees before pressing his hands down on the ground. He lowered himself further, not knowing if she would actually allow him to utilize her to hopefully find the Ragdoll who was captured.

But he still had to try.

“Please. I can’t let another person die like this, especially not a Hero. I promise I will return you as soon as your original holder is safe. But please, I know what I did is wrong. Everything I’ve done is wrong and I can’t expect anyone to possibly forgive me. I just need a chance to at least make things right somehow. So please, work with me so we can save Ragdoll.”

His eye continued to burn, and he knew he was crying by this point. But he couldn’t stop, nor did he want to because everything finally hit him.
He had a chance to prevent another unnecessary death, but only if Ragdoll works with him.

For a few seconds nothing happened as he continued to cry.

And then, the shadow of a hand rested itself on top of his head.

He looked up, and despite being unable to see any features on her shadowy face, he could tell Ragdoll was smiling warmly at him.
And then...he could see so many people.

At least a hundred of them are going about their lives in his area.
But that’s not what he needs.

What he needs is-

He started to focus on an image he’s seen once. Tried to focus on someone he doesn’t truly remember seeing, but he knows he’s seen him when he was a baby at least.
Then he focused on The Doctor. Knowing he would be much easier to pinpoint for Izuku.

And finally...he searched for Ragdoll.

He held his breath, praying that she was still alive. Hoping that he could save her.

His eye closed as he focused on Ragdoll until finally-

His shoulders sagged with relief as he gave a small smile at the Ragdoll in this shadowy plane.
“Thank you,” he whispered.

--

“It appears the Heroes are mobilizing,” Ujiko, a name he just came up with on the spot, spoke. “Do you think they figured out where Ragdoll is?”

His master smiled. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he used Search and leaked our location to the Heroes. That boy never did lose faith in them, has he?”

“The naivety of youth,” Ujiko said, going over the vial in hand. The reddish black liquid swished with his movement, the Trigger and blood taken from the original holder of Transmission mixed seamlessly to create a perfected copy.

Such a shame that this was from their old data.

“Perhaps I should have taken him when I dropped that pathetic waste of time and money, then we wouldn’t have all the issues we’re facing now. But such is life and now I’m going to have to kill another blood relative.”

Ujiko frowned as he looked at another vial. “Such a waste too, I would have loved to see how his Quirk differs from your own. Do you think he can take them from a distance?”

All for One chuckled. “If he could then I would have been dead by now.”

“I doubt that. If All Might couldn’t kill you permanently, then it’s unlikely a child could ever manage it.”
He would always have faith in his master. He was literally unkillable and Ujiko would ensure that no matter what, All for One would never die.

His master leaned back in his chair. “Perhaps I am giving him too much credit. But by the end of the week the two largest thorns will be gone for good. I may even let you take the boy’s body to experiment. There’s no telling what kind of Noumu he would make after all.”

How generous of his master!
“The potential is seemingly endless! But perhaps his body will be more suitable than Tomura’s for…?” He stopped himself, but the question was still in the air.

“No. He is the least suitable candidate for that, because he lacks the pure hatred for everything that Tomura has. Whatever hatred he has is too focused on one single thing,” All for One said. “Tomura was raised and crafted for this role and that’s how it will remain.”

“Of course, I have never once doubted you.”

“I know and I have faith that you will make the right decision even if I am unable to direct you, my old friend,” All for One said, slowly standing from his seat. “Now, give me the copy of Transmission and I can finally end this.”

Careful yet eager with his movements, Ujiko loaded the contents of the vial in a syringe and slowly injected it into his master’s bloodstream. “I will have Johnny take me to the meeting place.”

“Of course, and you know what to do in the event I can’t reach you immediately?”

Ujiko only bowed. “I do. But I trust we won’t be separated for very long.”

“Indeed we won’t.”

Chapter Text

Sukkiri pulled out his phone to check the time. Any moment now until he arrives at the meeting spot. With the time coming close, he carefully stowed his phone and other electronics into a dark cloud and left it floating just outside of where the sphere of influence will literally engulf him.

Not a moment sooner and everything around him went dark.

“The Lady was generous with this payment. Those two must really hold a lot of value to her.”

“Veil.”

The man looked up and smiled at Sukkiri. “No worries no worries, so what does she need with me this time?”

He watched as Veil ran a dark finger over the face of his pocket watch. Even with a quirk that always kept him hidden from everyone, Sukkiri sometimes wondered why the man decided to dress so casually. It’s not like anyone would see or notice what he looked like.

Sometimes Sukkiri admittedly forgot what Veil even looked like until he was pulled into the pocket bubble that always surrounded the man.

He only shook his head. “The Mistress requests that the two of us get her grandson to Singapore as soon as he finishes his objective here,” he said.

“So he’s actually going to do it?”

Sukkiri nodded. “By tomorrow evening, All for One will be dead.”

Veil chuckled. “Can’t say he didn’t have it coming. I’m just shocked it’s a kid doing the killing, one would think one of those Meta Lib bastards would be the ones to off him. Or even that Germaphobic Yakuza dumbass,” he said, leaning against a crate.

He didn’t say anything as he pulled a suitcase from one of his clouds. “Here’s the first half of the payment for supporting the Young Lord. The second half will come when we arrive in Singapore,” he explained, allowing for Veil to take the suitcase.

“And who’s to say I won’t rat you out to the authorities? I could cash in on the bounty All for One put out for that boy, or even turn him over to the Heroes and get a decent reward out of them,” Veil said, a large grin spreading across his face.

Sukkiri only stared at him.

“I kid I kid! I know not to cross with Grandmother Death,” Veil said, the suitcase pressing against his leg as he dangled it. “Where will we be meeting?”

--

Izuku stared at the police station, checking to make sure his surgical mask was properly in place and that his wig was secured. It may not be completely inconspicuous, but he only needed to go in long enough to drop the envelope off and get out.

Even though he couldn’t trust them with this, a small piece of hope still remained in him that at least one of them might take him seriously for once. But the doubts are what kept him frozen in place, staring at the doors with hands that are shaking.

Just in and out.
It’s not like they would immediately know.

“Excuse me? Might I be able to help you with something?” A man wearing a tan trench coat and matching hat asked, looking at him with curious black eyes.

Izuku almost jumped out of his skin before looking at the man. He shifted slightly while clutching the envelope tight in his hands. “I- I have something to give to the authorities,” he whispered quietly, seeing straight white strands block his eye briefly.

The man blinked. “Is something wrong? You can tell me if you want.”

“It’s about Ragdoll. Someone gave me this letter saying he found her but needs people to save her.”

The man sucked in a breath.
“Are you sure? Here, come with me so I can take your statement.”

Slowly Izuku gave a nod, following the man into the station, and then to a room where three other men were located.
He kept his head bowed to avoid making eye contact with the three of them because he knew who exactly they were and he’d rather not risk being recognized.

“Don’t mind them. Do you mind telling me about the person who gave you the letter?” The kind stranger asked.

Keeping his head bowed, he quietly handed the letter over to the stranger. “I was only told to give this to someone who could help,” he whispered, hoping that All Might would not recognize his voice.
At least he’s never spoken to Eraserhead, and he’s never met Sir Nighteye, so those two would be the least likely to expose him.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Eraserhead asked.

“This boy got a letter from someone claiming they have found Ragdoll.”

Izuku kept his mouth shut, not wanting to possibly incriminate himself.
But he was also curious on what they would all say about this. Would they simply brush him off like the cops years ago or would they actually take this seriously?

He made sure to keep his hopes low.

“Who gave you the letter?” Sir Nighteye asked, keeping his voice neutral.

“It was-” Izuku started to say, grabbing at his arm as he shook his head. “I got it from a person dressed in red. He looked desperate but said he couldn’t give this to the Heroes himself for a lot of reasons. So he asked me to do it, and I agreed because I don’t want to see a Hero’s death on the news,” he explained carefully, keeping as calm as possible.

“This has to be a trap,” Sir Nighteye said. “We’re probably nearing the point where Scarlet will shoot All Might.”

What?
Why would Izuku ever-?
What could possibly lead Sir Nighteye to come to that conclusion?

“Tsukauchi, can you detect any lies from this boy?” Eraserhead asked. “We know you have a lie-detecting quirk-”

Oh no. Not good.
Izuku could feel a bead of sweat starting to form, knowing that he likely just got caught red handed.

However, All Might suddenly laughed.

Tsukauchi gave a sigh. “Just because I’m good at reading people doesn’t mean I have a lie-detecting quirk,” he said, sighing as he held a hand out to Izuku. “Apologies. My colleagues are under a lot of stress.”

Taking the offered hand, Izuku bowed slightly. “It’s ok, I’ll get out of your hair now,” he said, blinking when he felt an emptiness in Tsukauchi. An emptiness just like when Izuku took Quirks from people.

He didn’t even look at the Heroes gathered as he quickly left the station, praying that they wouldn’t dally on this knowledge.

--

Everything was packed and ready for their school trip in the morning.
Katsuki even triple checked Pink Cheeks’s luggage to make sure she had all the proper necessities and not useless crap.

He wiped his mouth after his usual aggressive brushing techniques, ready to go to bed at a reasonable time so he wouldn’t be nearly as groggy and angered in the morning.
Katsuki really doesn’t feel like screaming his lungs out while on the bus ride because his classmates decided to try poking him with a stick.

“Holy- Bakugou! You need to see this!” Pink Cheeks shouted from the living room, her voice in a state of pure shock.

Curiosity piqued, Katsuki stepped into the living room. He could see the television was tuned to the news about a large fight in Kamino.
He was about to brush it off until he saw All Might himself was part of this fight.

“Turn it up!” Katsuki shouted, plopping down next to his rival. He was at the edge of his seat when he realized that the villain wearing a suit was actually giving All Might, freaking All Might himself, a run for his money.

--

Hours Earlier

--

Tomura stood in the Noumu Factory with the Elites Sensei had hired.
He didn’t like any of them because they haven’t proved themself useful to him yet, but perhaps after they bring All Might to his knees then they would warm up to him.

“So are we going to get that Red Brat yet or what?” Dabi asked from where he stood next to Mr. Compress, a hand resting on his shoulder.

“I had thought kidnapping Ragdoll would have given us more of a spotlight.”

Tomura’s eye twitched as he turned towards Twice and Magne before shaking his head.
Maybe he should save himself the headache and just kill them now?
But no, Sensei hired them for a reason so he will keep them around.

“Just follow Sensei’s orders and you’ll get what you want,” he grumbled under his breath.
Nothing was going as Tomura had wanted, and it was all Scarlet’s fault. If it wasn’t for Scarlet then All Might would have died months ago at USJ, he wouldn’t be dealing with these supposedly Elite NPCs, and Sensei would have taken a more hands-off approach and let Tomura run his League of Villains as he planned.

But that shouldn’t last for too much longer.
Soon he will finally be allowed to leave the next and spread his wings of destruction. To make Sensei proud of him accomplishing his one true goal.

As he stood in front of the tank that held Ragdoll, he gave a look of disgust.
Perhaps Sensei wouldn’t mind if Tomura simply disposes of the trash?

Before his hand could even brush the glass, he could feel Kurogiri’s warp gate wrap around him.
For a few seconds everything was dark until the mist pulled away, showing the entire facility was crushed beneath the boot of Mt. Lady.

Next thing he knew, an entire swarm of Heroes were breaking into the Factory. All the Noumus taken into custody while Best Jeanist quickly restrained Tomura and the Elite NPCs up with his fibers.

“Hikiishi Kenji, also known as Magne. Wanted for nine armed robberies, three murders, and twenty-nine attempted murders,” Best Jeanist spoke, “Bubaigawara Jin, also known as Twice. Wanted for various crimes that are too long to simply list,” he continued before turning his attention towards Tomura and Dabi.

“While we don’t know anything about you two, we can reasonably assume that you are villains of an equal or potentially worse caliber than Magne and Twice.”

Tomura struggled against his bonds, a snarl escaping from his throat.
“Let me go and I will show you!” He shouted, reaching to try and get all five fingers on the fibers. If he could do that then he would be free to kill this Hero.

However his struggles ceased when he heard dress shoes click against the ground, followed by clapping.

He relaxed in his bonds.
Sensei would free them.

“Best Jeanist. Your Quirk has fascinated me to some degree, but it takes too much time to work with. I doubt Tomura would appreciate it,” Sensei said, not even reacting when Best Jeanist tied him up as well. It didn’t take him long to break his bonds and blast a hole into Best Jeanist.

Tomura and his colleagues were barely shielded when Sensei let off another blast, completely flattening the surrounding ward.
Even a single wall that may have survived if Sensei took a few steps forward didn’t survive the blast.

“Perhaps if I kill every last one of you then it will bring him out?” Sensei mused to himself quietly. Had his face been visible then he would have definitely been grinning maliciously. “Yes, I believe that is what I will do.”

“Shall we begin?”

--

When the first explosion hit, All Might didn’t even hesitate.
He was grateful that the streets were empty when he went into his muscular form and leapt towards the scene of the conflict.

Midoriya must have leaked this information to as many Heroes as he possibly could, easily prioritizing the safety of Ragdoll over his own revenge quest.
At least he hopes this was why the boy gave the information out like that.

But it still posed a risk if he had too many Heroes there.
Too many clashing personalities could cause more harm than good.

It didn’t take him long to arrive on the scene, fist already pulled back and ready to smash the villains responsible for this.
But the sight of All for One himself made All Might see red.

His fist was caught with no effort, likely because the bastard could detect All Might coming from kilometers away.

“All Might. It’s always a pleasure to have a chance to wipe that feeble smile off of your face. It will be even more satisfying because you are the one thing he loves the most.”

His jaw hurt with how hard his teeth clamped together.

“I look forward to seeing the despair on his face when you die, it will make killing my spawn all the more satisfying.”

“I will make sure you never have the chance,” All Might said, raising his other fist. He will make sure to end All for One.

For Young Midoriya.

Chapter Text

Tomura could only sit and watch with awe as Sensei met All Might blow for blow, unable to move from the pressure that the two titans were releasing.
But something told him All Might would lose, especially with Sensei saying that he has weakened him years ago.

All he has to do is wait for a moment of weakness to strike, and then the world will collapse with the death of the Symbol of Peace.
And Tomura knows he will be the one to enact this.

Slowly he moved to get up, only to get knocked back by a blast of wind.
If only he could get in close.

BANG

–

Shouta kept himself low to the ground, capture weapon clutched tight in his hold. So far this seemed to match the vision Nighteye saw a little over a year ago.
Even if Nighteye claims his visions could never be altered, the future is set in stone, Shouta will be damned if he allows Scarlet to escape his sight after this.

However he had no idea who the man in the suit and skull-like mask was.
Some kind of villain based on what Shouta could see, but he couldn’t shake off the usage of multiple Quirks. Something that only Scarlet and All for One could do based on what Nighteye said.

But All for One was dead, unless-

He wished their attacks weren’t so loud so he could hear what they were saying, to have confirmation that somehow All for One had crawled back from the grave.
Probably refused to die so he could make sure his spawn was properly trained alongside subordinates and underlings.

But where in the world is Scarlet?

BANG BANG

–

Something was wrong.
Dabi could tell when he saw Shigaraki clutching his hand, Kurogiri falling flat on his face. His smoke receded into his body to show a young man with blue cloud-like hair. Then there was the sting in his right arm.

He reached for where it came from and found something lodged in there.
Slowly he dug his fingers in, cringing at the pain that was spreading from his arm to the rest of his body until he dug out what looked like a bullet.

Squinting his eyes to try and get a better look at it, he turned to where it came from and went wide eyed when he saw a brief flash of red. The desire for payback overpowering the slow coolness and heat that was simultaneously spreading through his body was enough for him to gather the strength to raise his arm up and send his hottest flames towards the brat in red.

But nothing came from his hand.
His Quirk did not heed his call.

“No,” he whispered to himself. His whispers turned to shouts as he continued to try and call his Quirk forth, desperation clouding his judgement as he tried to run to where he saw that brat. Not noticing his own heart starting to stagger, mistaking his cloudy vision for tears.

Wait…but his tear glands had long since burned away.

The last thing Dabi- no.
The very last thing Todoroki Touya heard was-

BANG BANG

–

All for One almost staggered when he felt something poke him in the ass. He resisted the urge to scratch at his left cheek because even a moment of distraction could lead to him getting his face pounded in again.

However something new popped into the field of his infrared Quirk and based on how All Might was frozen in place, he had a good idea on who it was.

Slowly he turned, his grin hidden behind the mask he wore that was allowing him to continue breathing.
“So you finally show yourself to me, Izuku!” he shouted over the silence of the battlefield. His arms spread out to let him survey the damage everywhere. “If it wasn’t for you then none of this would have happened. So why not atone for all of your sins right now? I’ll make sure it’s a quick death.”

He was only greeted by silence.

“Don’t listen to him, Young Midoriya.”

Ah right, All Might was still here.
But who should All for One kill first? The chance to destroy two thorns in his side filled his mouth with a sweetness like a fine wine that has been fermenting for centuries.
Such a hard decision.

Unless he could use that?

His grin widened as he activated Air Walk to slowly bring himself higher, only for the Quirk to sputter and die. Just out of his reach as he tried to grab it, but it remained slippery like water.
No.

For the first time he actually felt pure hatred as he turned on his ungrateful spawn.
“What. Did. You. Do?”

Somehow he could tell Izuku had the audacity to smile.

BANG

–

Toshinori could only stare as All for One fell face first to the ground.
His hand shook as he reached down to check for a pulse.

Only to find nothing.
All for One was dead.

Slowly standing from his crouched position, Toshinori turned towards where Young Midoriya was standing. The gun still held in his hand as he stared, his single visible eye wide and full of nothing but sheer terror.

Toshinori tried to give a reassuring smile as he took a step forward only to stop when the boy immediately held the gun up and pointed it at him.
This must be the moment Nighteye saw and tried to warn Toshinori about.

He only held his hands up.
“It’s ok Young Midoriya, everything will be ok now. He’s dead,” he said, keeping his voice gentle as he slowly got closer to him. “You have been calling for help for so many years now and I can’t apologize enough for our failures. But please let us help you now. Just put the gun down,” he spoke, voice remaining even and calm.

He had to make sure Young Midoriya knew he was not a threat.
That he was here to help.
To be the Hero this child needs.

“What are you doing!? Arrest him you idiot!” Aizawa suddenly screamed.

Toshinori turned towards the scruffy man laying on the ground and frowned.
“Stand down, Eraserhead. He’s just a boy,” he said, turning and going back to his slow approach.

Young Midoriya’s hand was shaking, but he didn’t make a move to pull the trigger as he watched him.

“I- I’m so sorry,” Young Midoriya finally spoke, his voice incredibly quiet as a large fat tear fell from his eye.

“It’ll be alright, why?” Toshinori asked, his smile going soft. “Because I am-”

BANG!

Chapter Text

Katsuki did not care that the Training Camp was postponed.
Honestly it was a relief, especially after what happened at Kamino.

Kamino.
Deku.

He hasn’t been to Deku’s apartment in years, but he still knew the way as he walked over only to stop when he saw an entire army of cops and Heroes gathered outside of the building.
One of them, a plain looking man with a trenchcoat, stopped him before he could get any closer.

“Sorry, but this building is closed until we finish our investigation,” he said.

Katsuki bristled.
“That wasn’t Deku. It couldn’t have been, he is the last person who would be a villain,” he spoke.

The man blinked.
“Deku? Is that a nickname?”

“Yeah, Deku was a Quirkless kid from my middle school.”

“I see. My name is Tsukauchi, do you mind if I ask you a few more questions?”

“I do mind because all of you are wrong. Deku was a big All Might fan, just like me. He idolized the man and practically worshiped the ground he walked on. It was creepy, but relatively harmless! Deku would never shoot and kill All Might!”

Trenchcoat quietly wrote down everything.
“Were you and Midoriya close?”

Katsuki stopped and really started to think.
The last time he saw Deku was at the Meet and Greet, and he felt more like a complete stranger that Katsuki happened to know than an old classmate.
But he could still tell that Deku was fundamentally the same bright eyed kid who wanted to help people.

“We used to play together in elementary school, then he got diagnosed Quirkless and I…admittedly was a jerk to him,” he began. “Then it all changed when we were seven. I can’t really explain what happened, but he quit talking about his dreams of being a Pro Hero like All Might. He actually quit talking to all of us and just- he actually quit calling me by this stupid nickname that everyone called me at that time,” he continued. “When I met him again at the Meet and Greet he seemed like a stranger to me, but I still knew him. He was still that Hero Fanboy from our childhood and I thought maybe it would be good to at least reconnect with him. Show him that UA changed me, made me better.”

He doesn’t know why he’s offloading all of this onto Trenchcoat, but he needs to make sure they know that Deku is not a Villain.
Deku being a Villain is like saying All Might is secretly Quirkless and got his Quirk from some shady Quirk Mafia Lord. Incredibly unlikely and downright impossible.

Trenchcoat stared at Katsuki quietly before shaking his head. “I’m afraid you likely didn’t know him as well as you thought you did. As of last night, All Might and three villains were killed by the same person using a single gun. He has been appropriately given an S ranking and his capture is now the top priority on a global scale.”

“You just don’t know him,” Katsuki grumbled under his breath as he stepped away.
Though he realized the irony of it all as he did not know Deku at all.

But as he returned home and went into his bedroom, he blinked at all of the All Might merchandise that had appeared on his bed.
He doesn’t remember owning or even buying any of this, but somehow it appeared in his room.

“Where did this all come from?” He asked, not expecting an answer as his feet pulled him towards the literal mountain on his bed. His hands reached out until one brushed against a sheet of paper.

He knew the paper wasn’t all that delicate, but he still kept his grip gentle as he unfolded the note and read the letter.

Red eyes went wide until he crumpled the sheet into a ball and threw it at the mountain of merch.

“That idiot!”

–

Mirio could feel the pressure as he sat with his fellow third years.
Commission officials were holding capes out to them, but a few hung back as they clutched red fabric in their hands.
He knew one of those red scraps was his own cape, and he had a feeling on why they were holding back.

“These are the capes you will receive upon graduation. However, due to recent events, the Commission decided that it was best to give you the option to change your colors,” Principal Nedzu began. “They are also here to give you ideas on how to change your costumes.”

One official, a tired looking man with messy hair, stepped forward. “We are here to request that anyone who selected the color red for their capes, and have red in their costumes, to consider changing to a different color. We won’t force it on you, but it would be for the best if you do it after Scarlet killed All Might.”

He bit his lip and looked down.
A hand went through his hair that was almost completely white now, the strain of One for All having already taken such a heavy toll on his body.
For a time he wasn’t even sure if he would make it to graduation, but somehow he was able to persevere.

When the agent holding his cape and the suggested changes for his costume approached, he looked at the red that was muted compared to Scarlet’s own coat.
He tuned him out and stared at the cape until an idea hit him.

“I’ll change it,” he said.

The agent gave a warm smile. “I figured you would, as you and All Might have eerily similar Quirks.”

Mirio looked the agent in the eye and gave a wide smile. “I want mine to be a brighter red.”

The agent froze.
“What-?”

“None of you know Scarlet’s full story and what led him to taking this path. None of us know, but I’ve met him and he was just a scared kid. I want to make sure he knows he’s safe now, after everything he’s probably gone through.”

In the corner of his eye he could see Nedzu grinning wide.

“I believe that can be arranged,” the principal said.

–

Nemuri kept quiet when her students gathered onto the bus. Just last week All Might was still alive and everyone was laughing and enjoying life, but now he was dead.
But not just All Might.

She remembered being called with Yamada, Aizawa, and the Todoroki Family when autopsies were done on two of the three villains who died.
Her stomach grew sick when she saw what happened to Shirakumo’s body, but not nearly as sick as Yamada and Aizawa.

Unlike Aizawa though, Nemuri and Yamada knew that the child who shot the bullets wouldn’t have had all the necessary resources to even do this. He was actually close in age to her own students.

And he was also the one who saved Ida’s and Mizuki’s lives.

Her eyes wandered to the three students who were at Hosu and had an encounter with Scarlet there.
Them discussing that All Might couldn’t have been killed by a single bullet, that something else had to have happened. Especially since Stain was shot by the same bullet but wasn’t killed, instead his Quirk seemed to shut down.

“I think I want to add some red to my costume,” Atsui spoke, lightly tugging on the bright red silly bands he wore.

Mizuki nodded. “Same,” she said, red yarn in hand as she worked on making a new beanie.

“I’m going to have them paint my armor red,” Ida said.

Slowly, Nemuri gave a small smile.
Her smile widened when Aoyama said he wanted to change his cape from purple to red. Even though he never had an encounter with Scarlet, she could see the genuine joy and smile on his face when he announced that.

While the Commission may try to reject those changes and steer these children away from it, she also felt that they shouldn’t villainize a single color because of the actions of a single person.

She glanced at her reflection and smiled at the red scrunchy she wore.

–

Tomoko sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Having recently been cleared from the hospital, she felt relieved that she was back in her apartment with her team. Though she knew they were likely out on patrol or something, at least she could go to their Agency and start catching up on paperwork.

Slowly making her way to the coffee machine, she blinked and shivered when she felt a hand press into her back.
Chills going down her spine as she remembered a hand pressed against her face, something trying to pull for what wasn’t there.

When she looked back, there was no one there. But she could still feel a presence in the room right up until her eyes went to the ground where a note was left.

Gingerly picking it up, not sure if it would explode, she opened it.

Ragdoll,

I can’t apologize enough for borrowing your Quirk without asking and I can’t expect you to forgive me either.

The reason why I needed it was to track down the monster who kidnapped you. I knew your Quirk was the kind he would have been eyeing and I couldn’t afford to let him take it.
I had hoped that if I took it then it would have made me into a bigger target for him and he would leave you alone.

I had promised to your Quirk, myself, and to you that I would return Search as soon as that monster was dead.
And as he is dead now, I no longer need your Quirk.

I wish you well and hope you can continue doing great things as a Hero.
-Scarlet

After slowly setting the paper down, Tomoko closed her eyes and focused on her team until a smile spread across her face when Search pinged all of them easily.
Her Quirk was warm and felt like the return of an old friend, finally removing the emptiness that plagued her for weeks.

“You are forgiven,” she whispered softly.

–

Shouta could feel his rage grow as he gripped the paper in his hand. He knows it’s illogical to let his anger cloud his judgment, but he could feel his Quirk silently agreeing with him.
The dream haunted him as he saw that brat in some weird shadowy space holding onto the arm of Shouta’s look alike.

“I guess this is what happens when a Quirk has been separated from his owner for so long,” the brat had whispered before pushing Shouta’s doppelganger right at him.
The brat disappeared soon after with Shouta waking up to an empty room save for the letter.

A letter where the brat gave apologies and explained why he took Erasure and held it for so long.
That he had always planned on giving it back to Shouta as soon as All for One was dead once and for all.

Slowly he reached for his phone.
“If that brat thinks I will forgive him for this then he has another thing coming,” he said, calling up Nighteye to see if they had any leads yet.

He vows he will track down Scarlet to the ends of the earth and make sure he gets locked away for good.

–

Izuku sat curled on top of a crate, the slow rocking of the ship easing him into a quiet slumber.
But he still couldn’t bring himself to sleep, instead staring at the limited edition All Might pin from when he was in America.

He clutched it to his chest as large tears fell from his single eye.
He should have known better than to shoot All Might with that bullet. There was no telling how his body would handle suddenly losing his Quirk, especially with the severe injuries he was suffering from.

Izuku killed him.
He can never forgive himself for this, but he can’t give up now.

Before giving Search back he had realized that there was still one loose end he needed to tie up.
One man who would stop at nothing to try and revive All for One again, the very man who Izuku had repeatedly stolen from to try and get attention on the situation.

The very man who gave Izuku the Quirkless Diagnosis.

“You know kid, I never thought we would get that amount of heat at Kamino. You really have guts shooting All Might,” Veil said, leaning against the wall as he fiddled with his pocket watch. “And my own reputation will skyrocket considering I was the one who got you out of there.”

Shirakumo coughed. “We should be arriving home soon enough where the rest of your payment is waiting,” he said.

Izuku didn’t react to either of them, letting the back of the pin dig into the palm of his hand to try and distract him from his thoughts.
Because he doesn’t know what will come next once he’s dealt with the Doctor.

Would he be able to go back to his mom?
Would she forgive him for everything?

He knows he can’t go back to Japan, and it’s doubtful there will be a place for him once everything is said and done.

But perhaps he shouldn’t worry about it right now.

“What will you do now, Young Master?” Shirakumo asked.

“There’s one final loose end I have to take care of.”

–

Cathleen leaned back in her seat as she eyed Mr. Shield critically.
“Say that again.”

Mr. Shield leaned forward, his coffee steaming and remaining untouched as he looked Cathleen in the eye. “I’m asking for you to not arrest Scarlet if he comes Stateside. Instead I’m asking you to please give him a chance to live a normal life.”

“Why should I let All Might’s murderer come onto our soil? I’ve heard the rumors of what that boy has done. Do you want to give him a chance at stealing my Quirk?” She asked, her blood boiling at the idea.

She would rather die than allow a villain to get his hands on her Quirk.

“Please Star, he’s just a child who was lost and misguided. He has the potential to turn a new leaf and do good for everyone involved. Just let him have a chance.”

“My answer is No and that is final.”

Mr. Shield deflated, staring down at his hands.
“I-Island won’t take him and I doubt he will last long in any other country. I just don’t want to see a bright young man be pushed further down this path.”

“Should have thought of that before he pulled the trigger on All Might!” Cathleen didn’t mean to scream and slam her hands on the table. Cracks spread across it like spiderwebs as their drinks spilled.

Slowly regaining herself, Cathleen stood up and gave Mr. Shield an apologetic look.
“Listen, I’m sure he’s a nice enough kid. But he provides too many risks, especially after killing All Might.”

She turned towards the door, opening it before blinking at a stranger standing right in front of her.
“Excuse me, I should get to my agency.”

“Of course Cathleen. I guess you are too busy these days to indulge in coffee with an old man.”

She froze at the voice.
“You.”

Chapter Text

Ujiko stared at the computer screen, moving his cursor to click replay for the nth time just this evening alone. He leaned back in his seat, keeping the video at a slow speed to watch each individual bullet hit their targets.
Such a shock that the boy only missed once, especially considering his disadvantage.

A bitter feeling crawled into his chest when he saw his master get shot twice and fall.
Dead,
Had he been there then he could have taken All for One’s body and revived him again, but his master likely planned for Ujiko to get away.

He turned his attention towards where the cloned Quirks were stored, but in a spot by itself is his master’s original Quirk.
Perhaps he had planned for Ujiko to revive him through his Quirk?

But that only leaves finding the perfect vessel.

His eyes went back to the screen, a frown on his face because his master’s choice was currently in Tartarus and out of reach, so they would have to find a new candidate.
This time one who could handle the All for One Quirk.

Touya wouldn’t work anymore because he was dead and his body long since cremated.
Six, while a decent choice, is in the same boat as Touya. Plus he wanted to be a Hero and his will could possibly overpower All for One’s, the potential is concerning.

Nine is another strong contender, but his body could only handle nine Quirks. He would require heavy modifications and that could take years, perhaps even centuries, and Nine’s body may just expire before he can even reach that point.
But he is still the best option Ujiko has unless…

Could he disobey his master’s orders, just like that?
If he were to then he would have to ensure it couldn’t possibly backfire.
Perhaps a series of tests?

Or maybe see if he can find the current One for All holder and use him?

As he watched Little Izuku pull the trigger on All Might, Ujiko suddenly gave a wide grin.

“You have succeeded where your father has failed. Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to put you to the test.”

–

Nine Months Later

–

Eri hummed quietly under her breath as she picked up another thumbtack. Her mom and Ah-Ma got her a large world map that sprawled across her wall recently, and she had a big smile on her face as she picked up the next postcard from her stack.

“Well he sneaks around the world from Kiev to Carolina,” she sang, hanging up two postcards. “He's a sticky-fingered filcher from Berlin down to Belize, and he’ll take you for a ride on a slow boat to China.”

A small laugh slipped from her as she hung up two more postcards.
As much as she missed her big brother, she could feel happiness bloom at all the places he has gone to and she hoped one day she will follow in his footsteps.

“Tell me where in the world is Midoriya Izuku?”

The next few postcards actually had pictures of her brother dressed in the red coat he wore on the day he met her. A wide grin on his face as he stood in front of places like the Cathedral in Moscow, Pyramids in Egypt, an ancient city in China, and even the Sydney Opera House.

She smiled wider when she remembered her big brother teaching her all about these places and how he promised to send her souvenirs from each and every last one of them.
“Steal their Seoul in South Korea, make Antarctica cry Uncle,” she continued, laughing at the idea of Izuku freezing down at the South Pole.

“From the Red Sea to Greenland they'll be singing the blues.”
Behind her she could hear the door open, Ah-Ma smiling as she moved to stand next to Eri.

“Well they never Arkansas him steal the Mekong from the jungle,” Ah-Ma joined in, her hand gently resting on Eri’s hand. A warm smile was on her face as she picked up one of the postcards Izuku sent.

Even though Ah-Ma told Eri how old she was, Eri still couldn’t believe it because Ah-Ma didn’t look that much older than her own grandpa. But the truth was there, especially when Ah-Ma gave Eri a few hair combs from when Quirks were first emerging.

One of those old combs was currently in Eri’s hair because she loved the bright red flowers it was decorated with and her mom was nice enough to help Eri tie her hair up.

“Tell me where in the world is Midoriya Izuku?” Ah-Ma asked.

Eri giggled, knowing that this next part would be difficult.
“He go from Nashville to Norway, Bonaire to Zimbabwe! Chicago to Czechoslovakia and back!”

Ah-Ma hummed in response as she picked up a small doll she had custom made for Eri.
She made the doll dance in front of Eri, the single green button eye shining in the light.

“Well he'll ransack Pakistan and run a scam in Scandinavia,” Eri continued, reaching for the doll to play with him.

“Then he'll stick 'em up Down Under and go pick-pocket Perth,” Ah-Ma continued, pulling the doll back slightly before handing him over.
The red coat was incredibly soft and the green hair of the doll was almost as fluffy as Izuku’s actual hair.

Eri hesitated when it came to the next part, looking down slightly.
“I- I couldn’t figure out how to change it to fit Big Brother,” she whispered, hugging the doll close to her chest.

“I’m sure he will forgive you for this,” Ah-Ma said, moving to sit on Eri’s bed. She then lightly patted the spot next to her. “Why don’t you finish it for me?”

Nodding quickly, Eri sat down and cuddled with Ah-Ma. “He put the Miss in misdemeanor when he stole the beans from Lima,” she continued, giggling slightly.
“Tell me where in the world is Midoriya Izuku?”

“Oh tell me where in the world is... Oh tell me where can he be?”

Eri stopped even as the instrumental continued without her.
She closed her eyes and took a breath.
“Ah-Ma?”

“Yes Eri?”

“When will Big Brother come back?” She asked.

Ah-Ma didn’t say anything for a few moments, as if thinking carefully on her answer.
“It will be a while still, but he hasn’t forgotten about us. He will never forget us.”

“I hope those bad people don’t get him,” Eri said, remembering the scruffy man and the guy in a white suit. They claimed to be Heroes, but they aren’t friendly like Big Red Dot or the other Heroes in Singapore.
Neither of those bad men are Heroes, Eri refuses to believe it.

“They won’t. Izuku is too crafty for them,” Ah-Ma said with a smile. “Plus they are wrong about him.”

“I know they are! Izuku is not a bad person! He’s soft and warm and and and- He saved me! He helped me get away from the bad people!”

“I’m glad you don’t doubt him.”

Of course not.
But at least Le Million and Mr. Torino were nice when they came to visit Ah-Ma.

She still laughs at how Mr. Torino was actually Ah-Ma’s son because he looks a lot older than her.

“Come on, I’m sure Inko would love to see all the postcards you got from Izuku.”

Eri grinned and followed Ah-Ma out of her room.

–

Berlin, Germany

–

Izuku stood tall on the dome of a cathedral, staring down at the city that lit up the night sky.
If he were any lower then he would have heard the people talking about their daily lives or going about their business.

He pulled out the map he swiped recently only to wince at how it’s all written in German.
Perhaps he should have agreed to letting Ah-Ma give him lessons on languages around the world. But with everyone knowing some form of English he didn’t think he would have to worry about it.

Slowly pulling his phone out to quickly translate what he could on the map and write out the kanji in marker, he thought of where his current lead on the Doctor’s whereabouts is.

If he isn’t in Germany then he may have slipped into France.
Perhaps even England or all the way to America.

Slowly he circled Bavaria on his map, knowing that the last reported sighting of a man who looked like the Doctor was somewhere in that area of Germany.
“I will find you and then end all of this, once and for all.”

His name is Midoriya Izuku, the Scarlet Thief, and he will continue to chase the Doctor to the ends of the Earth for as long as it takes.

No matter where in the world he winds up.