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It starts with a live stream.
Well scratch that, the story actually started when Izuku Midoriya and Aldera Middle School first became intertwined. But as far as Ochako knows, this story began with a notification on her phone that a villain is live streaming what is titled “Epic Callout to Deku”
So as any good friend would do, she calls over Kaminari so he can start filming Deku’s reaction and then hands the boy her phone.
“Wha-?” he starts before cutting off as he stares in shock.
“Greetings citizens of Musutafu! Tis I, the noble and glorious Dark Zone here to throw down the metaphorical gauntlet to the new hero Deku!”
The man on screen does a gleeful spin, showing off a full on black outfit with a floor length cape and a dracula inspired collar. He flashes a peace sign and gestures at the hallway walls of whatever building he’s in. “As a trusted young hero in training, Deku would have us believe that he is the pinnacle of the future generation! YET I SAY NAY!!!”
He tosses his shoulder length dark hair over his shoulder and narrows his eyes at the camera. “Deku had never once bothered to train his quirk before entering UA! Anyone who wished to see it had but only to watch the boy’s sports festival! What kind of example is he setting for the miniscule gremlins that gaze upon his shining countenance with stars in their eyes? WELL NO MORE SAYS I!”
And here he steps back, allowing the camera to focus more on his surroundings.
Ochako frowns thoughtfully.
It looks like… a school?
Beside her Deku’s mouth twists oddly, his expression unreadable.
“And that is why I am here!”
He laughs then, lifting two pieces of his hair in a terrible parody of All Might. “In Aldera Middle School, the very school that allowed Deku to slack off and let him go on to UA without working on his quirk at all.”
There’s a scratching sound and then Dark Zone is grinning maniacally, a lit match in hand. “If Deku wishes to save his precious old middle school, he will call a press conference and announce his retirement! Either your past or your future are about to go up in flames! Mwahahahahahahahahaha-
Yowch!”
He drops the match as it singes his fingertips and sticks them in his mouth with a muffled “Fuck”.
Ochako tries to pull her phone back, suddenly feeling bad at poking fun.
Deku’s grip tightens. “H-How long ago was this?”
“Um, basically live.” she starts, tugging futilely before relinquishing her claim. “I called you when the ping came in and it was about five seconds in then so I rewound it before- Deku???”
The third year doesn’t answer, simply tosses her phone onto the couch and walks away, his own phone now in hand.
“Yes this is Deku… Yes I just saw it… That’s alright, I don’t have a problem handling this personally… Yes… for sure… Ok I’ll be right there.”
He hangs up and begins walking sedately towards the stairs.
“Um Deku?” Ochako tries. “Where are you going?”
Her friend comes to a complete and total stop before turning back to face her. “To get my costume of course! I can’t take down a villain of this caliber in my pajamas, can I?”
“No-oo” Ochako stretches the word out as Deku blinks at her innocently. “But um, shouldn’t you take the elevator?”
He gasps and clutches his chest in horror. “And skip leg day? How dare!”
Then he is turning once more and continuing his steady pace to get dressed, leaving Ochako to blink after him in bemusement.
He’s acting so weird…
***
“Time is ticking! Tick Tick Tick! I won’t remain a patient man for much longer!”
Ochako glances at the stream before checking her phone. Shouldn’t Deku have arrived on sight by now?
The front door opens and a costumed Deku with a jacket and hood pulled over as a small disguise walks in calmly, phone to his ear. “Yes sir I’m really sorry but I got all the way to the train station before realizing I’d left my wallet at the dorms and what kind of hero would I be if I just hopped the turnst-” he cuts off listening and his steps towards his room slow to match. “Yes but- uh huh- no I just- He’s got a setup for hero news to monitor my actions so I thought leaping through the air would tip him off to my- uh huh. Yeah. Alright see you soon.” he hangs up and only then seems to notice the entire common room staring at him as the stream plays on the big screen.
Todoroki, Iida, Tsuyu and Aoyama all hold out their train passes. Deku refuses to let them pay for what he calls “My own responsibility to bear” and once more heads calmly towards the stairs.
Nobody resumes talking until the front door has shut behind him.
***
“Perhaps the good heroes of Musutafu think I am bluffing!” the camera pans out showing Dark Zone pacing back and forth in what looks like an office. “Well no more! This waiting game is over!” He pulls out a stack of yearbooks and drops them onto the desk with a bang. “Boxes and boxes of these old things down in the basement, available for purchase for anyone that wants a glimpse at the schooling years of little Deku and Lord Nitro! Disgusting!” He grabs the top one and flips through it. “Authentic yearbooks, merely reprinted on demand, they haven’t even blurred out the other kids’ faces!” He holds the book aloft showing off a class photo before snapping it shut with a wild grin. “Well I consider it my civic duty to see them disposed of!”
The camera is clipped to his shoulder, footage beginning to jostle and shake as he stomps down towards the basement.
Kaminari mutes the screen as Ashido waves her phone. “Check it out guys! I opened the stream on my phone, screenshotted that yearbook picture and voila! Baby Baku and Deku!”
Kirishima quickly glances around to make sure Bakugou hasn’t magically woken up and appeared to defend his image as the rest of their friends pile close.
“Ashido I must protest!” Iida shouts, arm chopping the air wildly. “Loathe as I am to agree with a villain, in this case I must insist you delete the photo or blur out the civilians!”
“I mean I can do it, but what's the point? You heard the guy, the school’s been selling them as collectors items and he himself just showed it on-screen. Not really gonna do much for their privacy now is it?”
Momo taps her chin thoughtfully even as she too leans in for a closer look. “Indeed. The school will probably be facing some kind of lawsuit once the villain is removed… That is, if Dark Zone leaves any evidence…”
All eyes turn back to the stream to find the villain struggling to carry a box upstairs.
He gives up halfway, leaving the box there on the landing and instead heading back to the basement.
Kaminari quickly raises the volume.
“There’s more than enough down here to get started!” Dark Zone gasps, clearly struggling to catch his breath. He sets the camera down and pulls out a boxcutter, opening every single box and removing a yearbook from each to prove that they’re all from the same year and not new editions.
Kaminari and Ashido snag a couple more screenshots. Iida wails in despair.
“There! That’s the last of them!” the boxes are upended and the yearbooks stacked into an intricate pyramid shape. “Last chance Deku!” he makes a show of checking his watch and then his phone before giving an exaggerated shrug. “Your loss!”
A pack of matches is produced and a spark lit, the villain cackling as he touches the flame to the glossy cover of the top book.
The flame goes out.
Dark Zone tugs at his collar. “Well. I um. I’ll just get some accelerant then.”
Jirou’s phone rings and she simply plugs an earjack into the headphone slot and continues watching the stream. “Hello? ...Speaking.”
Dark Zone returns on screen and waves a can of hairspray aloft. “ARE YOU READY DEKU???”
He flicks a lighter and holds it out over the yearbook pile. “3! 2! 1! ZEERROO!!!”
There’s a flash of flame as he sprays and the books immediately start to burn.
“HAHAHAHAHA YES!!! BURN BABY BU-”
An earsplitting siren goes off as overhead a bunch of sprinklers turn on. Dark Zone’s shoulders slump and he says something but it isn’t audible over the wailing of the fire alarm.
“Understood.” Jirou says. “I’ll go grab my gear.”
“Is something the matter?” Momo asks.
“Hm?” Jirou seems a bit distracted as she puts her phone away and gets to her feet. “Oh the well, Dark Zone? His quirk made a sort of barrier around the school. Deku was going to just punch through it to shatter it down but he’s raised the concern that there might be hostages somewhere and even if not, shattering the force field would undoubtedly tip Dark Zone off so he’d need help pinpointing where exactly in the building he is…”
“Deku’s coming back?” Uraraka asks, confusion dripping from her tone.
“Again?” Kaminari snorts. “He’s lucky Dark Zone’s so bad at this or he would have been too late five times already!”
Jirou frowns, already heading for the elevators. “He offered to come and get me but an officer volunteered to drive him here instead. They’re picking me up in a couple minutes.”
Ashido and Sero call out more questions but she resolutely ignores them and goes to change.
Aoyama watches the villain scramble around looking for the fuse box. “It is unlike Midoriya to hesitate so. Almost like he does not wish to go, non?”
Tokoyami tilts his head as Dark Zone trips over the box he’d left on the landing and takes a tumble. “Indeed. Midoriya is a knight shining true.” Aoyama splutters out a ‘that’s my image!’ but Tokoyami continues talking over him. “Would that it were not him in question, one could likely make the assumption that this is stalling...”
“But why would Deku-?”
“Guys. Look at this…” Ashido’s tone is so serious that Uraraka doesn’t even complain at being cut off. The pink skinned girl holds up her laptop. “I opened the photos here to try and edit them, maybe make a collage… Notice anything strange?”
The entire class gathers round, save Jirou who is now dressed for heroics and heading out the door. Momo and Kaminari take a second to wave and wish her luck before everyone is staring.
“Um he’s all the way on the end even though everyone else his height is in the front middle?” Satou murmurs.
“His face.” Iida says. “He looks incredibly surprised for somebody that was prepared to have his picture taken…”
Todoroki leans forward. “He’s the only one in a winter uniform.”
“Bingo.” Ashido says but her voice lacks her usual enthusiasm. “I noticed that too and then I saw this odd gap between him and his closest classmate so I zoomed in and…”
She trails off but the implication is clear.
“Why would they edit him into his own class picture? If he was absent that day you could just write ‘not pictured’ right?”
“If they’re selling these to collectors -kero. It wouldn’t look as good if he wasn’t there.”
Ashido’s face twists and she looks almost pained. “I. I checked all the pictures we managed to take.” She taps repeatedly at the arrow key, flicking through them all rapidly. “He’s been photoshopped into all of them...”
Her words seem to ring in the air for a moment and a silence falls as picture after picture passes by, each of them sporting a similar shocked Midoriya face and a winter uniform no matter the setting.
“Why wouldn’t they have taken his picture?”
“You’re asking the wrong question. Why did they only take his picture in what looks like his last months of middle school?”
Nobody has an answer.
***
Kyoka slides into the backseat and Midoriya flashes her a grin.
“Here we go!” he cheers, a bit overloud to be heard over the wailing sirens that are allowing them to run red lights.
Kyoka stares. His smile and tone seem normal and yet… from the sounds of his heartbeat he’s not far off from a panic attack.
“Sorry you got dragged out of bed for this Jirou.”
He laughs sheepishly and rubs the back of his neck but Kyoka can’t help but notice the sweat sliding down his face.
“It’s fine Midoriya. We were all up watching the stream anyway…”
She watches as his eyes widen and his next words come out stuttery and quiet. “Oh uh, e-everyone?”
“That’s right.” she says, watching his face pale for some reason. “All except Bakugou since he goes to bed so early.”
Midoriya’s breath leaves him in a whoosh, his heart rate calming slightly. “Hah that’s Kacchan for you. 8pm and he’s out…” he’s slightly calmer now but by no means calm. “Um so, n-no one w-went to w-wake him?”
Kyoka eyes him carefully before slowly raising an eyebrow. “Should we have?”
His mouth opens and closes, eyes wide and heart racing before he slowly responds. “N-No...”
Silence falls and Kyoka’s phone buzzes in her pocket. She grabs for the distraction with both hands.
{{Overload Dumbass:}}
THEY PHTOO SHOOP HIM IN!!!
Y WUD THEY DO THAT???
DO U UNDERSTAND???
HOW CUD THEY-
PHOTOSHOPPED*
She stares in confusion but messages keep coming.
{{Overload Dumbass:}}
ASK HIM
IIDA GOIN NUTS
ALSO TODO
AND MINA
Y WUD THEY DO THIS???
{{Me:}}
Can you explain like a normal human being?
And slow down when you type.
It looks like your keyboard is having a seizure.
{{Overload Dumbass:}}
THE YEERBOOLD!!!
YEARBOOKS*
PICS ARE FAKED
TODO SAYY S LOOKS ONLT TOOK IN
LAST MONTH OF MIDDLE SCHOOL
WINTER UNIFORM ONLY
Oh…
huh….
That’s weird.
And she’s about to text him that but before she can the car comes to a stop.
Midoriya’s hands are shaking so hard it takes him three tries to open his door. Kyoka follows after him, noting the steady increase in heart rate the closer they get to the glowing blue dome surrounding the building.
A man rushes forward, gripping Midoriya by the shoulders.
And Midoriya’s.
Heart.
Stops.
Not literally of course, he’d have dropped dead at that but his face loses all color and he almost seems to stumble.
“Thank goodness you’ve arrived Deku!”
Midoriya’s breath hitches at his hero name.
“I know we can count on you to save the school!” He takes a small step back and smiles. “Why look how big you’ve gotten Deku, I almost didn’t recognize you!” His hand lifts as if to ruffle Midoriya’s hair and the hero flinches back. Violently.
Kyoka takes that as her cue. “What do we have?” She calls in her professional tone, directing her question at the officer in charge.
“See for yourself.” He gestures at a small computer setup where the stream is playing.
The fire alarm is still blaring and Dark Zone has finally found the breaker room. He lets out a crow of triumph and throws the master switch.
The siren cuts out immediately.
As do all the lights and the rest of the power.
The stream is now pitch black darkness, punctuated by a low “Fuck.”
“Now’s your chance!” the officer says. “Quick! Before he gets the lights back on!”
Midoriya’s breath stutters but no one else seems to notice how his hands shake or how close he looks to passing out.
Kyoka takes his hand and he startles. “Will you be carrying me in Deku, so I can aid you in your search?”
He blinks and his eyes clear a bit as he nods. “Y-yeah.” he manages. “Hang on tight.”
She climbs onto his back and then he’s leaping, the familiar green sparks of his quirk surrounding them.
They go high before dropping onto the very top of the dome, Midoriya’s feet slamming into the barrier full force. It shatters immediately and they touch down onto the roof.
Midoriya freezes and even Kyoka’s light pokes do nothing to distract him. She can hear his heart racing and quickly drops to her feet to face him. “Midoriya?”
His eyes are wild and his hands scrabble at his collar, almost ripping his mouthguard off as he gulps for air. “I-I-I I c-can’t do this.”
He doubles over, retching slightly as tears start streaming down his face. “I-I n-never w-want-ted t-to… t-to… i w-was n-ne ver s-sup-p-posed to c-come back.”
Kyoka catches him before he can fall. “Midoriya!”
It’s unprofessional, to be calling him by his name while on the job.
But somehow, after seeing his reaction when that other man said it, she just… can’t bring herself to call him that.
Her classmate clutches at her arms desperately but she holds back the wince.
She needs to be strong.
For both of them.
“I-I I c-can’t-”
“You can Midoriya. Deep breaths.”
“N-No! I n-need to-”
“Midoriya.” She lowers them both to the ground so she can crouch before him. He still doesn’t release her wrists but that’s ok. “This was never about the arsonist was it? You weren't stalling so he’d succeed, you just, didn’t want to come here.”
His grip tightens at her words before relaxing slightly. “H-Hell…” he chokes out. “Th-This p-p-place is. H-Hell. “
“Wasn’t just the yearbooks huh?”
“Th-The y-year b-books?”
Fuck. he probably didn’t know about that.
“Not important right now.”
She lifts her hands to his shoulders slowly, both to exaggerate the motion and both because Midoriya still won’t let go of her. She squeezes gently and his teary green eyes snap to hers. “This school was a bad place to you, wasn’t it?”
He nods shortly.
“And the man outside?”
“P-Principal.” he chokes.
She nods back at him even as her mind is racing. Bakugou and Midoriya. He came to UA, already with the name Deku. The yearbook photos. He wasn’t in any of the pictures originally. If they were always planning on selling the books then that would imply that they… wanted to pretend he didn’t exist. Deku. Worthless. He was only photoshopped in… when the weather was already cold...
“Holy shit.” she breathes. “They only acknowledged you after the entrance exam.”
Midoriay doesn’t say anything but his silence is answer enough.
Below them the lights finally turn back on accompanied by manic screeching.
Kyoka gives Midoriya a shake. “Listen. We don’t have time. We need to stop him. I know it’s hard and I swear we’ll talk more about this later but if the school goes up then not only will all the evidence disappear but your principal and teachers will get a nice paid vacation while the Villain Repair Fund rebuilds the school.”
She wants nothing more than to cry but she forces a feral grin to her lips instead. “They don’t deserve that, do they Midoriya?”
Green eyes widen before slowly narrowing into that familiar determined stare. “N-No they... They deserve something far worse.”
He finally regains his footing and together they step towards the door.
Kyoka taps his arm lightly with her fist. “There you go hero. Now let’s go stop this son of a bitch.”
***
By the time they return to the dorms it’s almost late enough to be called early instead.
The sight of the rest of the class waiting up for them is the first to greet them.
Midoriya is quickly bundled into a fuzzy blanket of Tsuyu’s and enveloped in a massive group hug. Somebody settles a warm mug into his hands while others pile pillows on the floor for him to sit on.
There are no questions asked and yet once he manages to finally stop crying he suddenly begins to speak.
The tale he shares is a long and sad one but no one dares interrupt.
His friends do not leave his side.
The next morning dawns bright and early as the teens scattered across the common room in various states of drowsing are rudely awakened by an enraged shout.
“THE FUCK WENT ON LAST NIGHT??? WHY DIDN'T ANYONE WAKE ME???”
“Um. Because we didn’t want to die?”
The end