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Chapter Text

"Stay back, Deku."

But Izuku Midoriya would not allow this. Both his arms were shattered, his body had reached its limits, and he was exhausted beyond belief. But the sight of his oldest classmate being dragged into the dark, swirling vortex was enough to drive him forward. The green electricity of his quirk activated and he felt the strength swell in the flesh of his burning legs.

Izuku lunged after his vanishing peer, allowing the vortex to swallow him whole.

"MIDORIYA!" Someone called for him. It sounded like Todoroki, but he couldn't be sure. All he was currently aware of was his face planting into the wooden floor that was now beneath him.

"Well, well, well," someone rasped.

Izuku was grabbed by the collar of his shirt, yanked up against the wall. His heart pounded against his chest as the hand holding him dug its fingers into his shirt. His face may have been covered by a hand, but Izuku would recognize that voice anywhere. He would never forget staring into those beady red eyes, preparing himself to die with just one wrong word.

Tomura Shigaraki.

Shigaraki chuckled cruelly. "Looks like we have a stowaway," he remarked. "Come to save your friend like a good little hero?" Izuku's jaw clenched; he wouldn't answer. He refused to give in to Shigaraki's game. The villain was childish, egotistical. He liked to hear himself talk.

Izuku wouldn't give him the satisfaction of answering. He kept his mouth shut, glaring up at the older man with silent fury. 'Let him go,' he raged inside, even though his body felt like it was on fire. 'You took him and you aren't allowed to have him.'

Unsurprisingly, Shigaraki was annoyed with his unresponsiveness. "Too noble to talk with villain scum like me?" he demanded. Still, Izuku gave no reply. Shigaraki growled, slamming his head against the wall.

Black spots danced across his vision and Izuku began to lose consciousness. 'No, Kacchan. Gotta save him.' But it was no use, his body was entirely drained, the blow to his head the final straw. The last thing he heard was Shigaraki's sneer of disgust before the world around him faded to black.

OoOoOo

The first thing Izuku heard when he came to was Kacchan screaming. It wasn't tortured shouts of pain, but his usual angry yelling. Izuku would know those anywhere. He had been on the receiving end of them since he was four. The age when the scale tipped in Kacchan's favor, when it was decided that Izuku was the lesser between them.

Even though his arms were throbbing and broken and tied behind his back, and the rest of his body screaming in agony, the only thing that registered in Izuku's brain was annoyance. 'At least he's okay.'

He tried to focus on the scene before him. Kacchan wasn't restrained like he was. He was up and standing, ready for a fight as usual. The scent of the blond's explosions filled the air, something Izuku was quite familiar with.

Shigaraki seemed... a lot calmer than he expected. "What a shame," he murmured in disappointment. "I was hoping you would see things our way."

Izuku couldn't help a sudden smug grin. They had attempted to recruit Kacchan, no doubt. But nothing would sway the blond from his goals. Shigaraki was a fool for even trying.

A warm hand settled on his injured shoulder, making him wince in pain. "What are you smirking about, kid?" demanded a man with dark hair and familiar blue eyes. Where had he seen that shade of blue before?

That caught Shigaraki's attention and he stalked over to them. "It seems our uninvited guest is awake," he observed, a certain edge to his voice. Maybe he wasn't as calm as Izuku had originally assumed. The older man yanked him up the collar and Izuku bit his lip so he wouldn't scream.

Shigaraki threw him to the ground in front of Kacchan. "This is what hero society forsakes you for," he spat. "I bet he's the golden boy in your class, isn't he? The one who's praised by everyone?"

The irony of that wasn't lost on Izuku. Before U.A. that had been Kacchan. All their lives, the blond was recognized as a hero in the making, the best of the best. Izuku had been the forsaken one, the one shoved aside.

He watched, terrified, as explosive anger stretched onto Kacchan's face. Because, of course, how dare anybody assume that Kacchan was below anyone, especially worthless Deku.

Izuku opened his mouth for the first time since they had been taken. "Kacchan, don't!" he exclaimed, trying to stop the situation from escalating any further. Because he knew where this would go. The blond was about to get them into a very dangerous situation.

But as usual, he only made it worse. Kacchan launched an explosion at his face, sending Izuku staggering back. He cringed as he landed on his bound arms. "SHUT UP, DEKU!" he erupted before whirling on Shigaraki. "Listen up, Crusty Hands! Don't ever compare me to that shitty nerd! He's worthless, beneath me and I didn't spend ten years making sure everyone knew it for you to fuck it up!"

Kacchan stepped forward, arrogance rolling off him in waves. "I'm going to be the number one hero because I'm the best; not that damn nerd!"

The room grew tense.

Izuku couldn't get up, his eyes stuck on the ceiling. But he heard the growl that came from Shigaraki. It was low, dangerous; like a mother animal attempting to ward someone away from her child.

"Kurogiri," he glowered. "Compress. Knock him out."

Shit. Izuku fought to get up; if they were going to escape he needed Kacchan awake. He couldn't do it on his own, not in his condition. But a hand settled on top of his head, gentle this time. "Hey," someone said. The hand didn't feel like a standard human hand. Amphibian? Reptilian, maybe? "It's okay, just calm down."

...What?

He heard Kacchan's body slump to the floor. "Master," said Shigaraki. "Did you get all that?" Master? Could it be?

A heavy sigh sounded in the room. "I did, Tomura," a deep, sinister voice replied. "It seems we made a mistake. Young Bakugou isn't the one we should have been appealing to. This boy- Midoriya was it?- is the real victim of hero society."

No, that was wrong. Izuku wasn't a victim. Heroes protected and saved people, inspired people. Kacchan was never nice to him, but that was nothing. He wasn't a victim, he wasn't.

"Nevertheless," who Izuku believed to be All For One continued. "I recommend you move locations. The heroes will be coming for them soon, no?"

"You're right," agreed Shigaraki. "Magne, grab Midoriya. And don't hurt him any more than he already is."

"You got it, boss." Large yet surprisingly gentle hands hoisted him up. "Up we go, kid." Izuku found himself too tired to struggle.

"What about the blond brat?" drawled another voice, there was a tinge of anger there. He recognized it as the one who noticed he was awake earlier.

Shigaraki sneered in disgust. "Leave him here," he decided. "The heroes can have him back for all I care. Twice, make a double of Midoriya to throw them off our trail for a while."

"Sure thing, Tomura." "Why should I?"

Shigaraki approached him as he was perched over Magne's shoulder. "I never realized," he said, his voice soft and contemplative. "How alike we truly are."

Izuku wanted to protest that he was nothing like Shigaraki and would never be, but didn't. It almost felt like his mouth was too heavy to move. He could only watch as Kacchan lay sprawled on the floor, moving further and further away from his former friend.

Despite himself, Midoriya managed to smile. 'At least Kacchan is safe.'

Chapter Text

Ochako Uraraka felt like there was a gaping hole in her chest.

Initially, there had been a report that both Bakugou and Deku had been brought home safely. She had cried tears of joy at that; she had spent the last two days worrying over her friend. He was always so selfless and leaped headfirst into danger if it meant saving someone else. She admired him greatly for it, but a part of her wished he wouldn't do it so often. She wished he would look after himself too. He always put everyone before himself.

Though, she supposed that was what made Deku a true hero.

But then the dreadful news came; only Bakugou had been rescued. The Izuku Midoriya the heroes had thought they rescued had actually been a clone. That meant Deku was out there somewhere, all alone and at the mercy of the League of Villains.

Everyone was currently fretting over Bakugou, but Ochako was annoyed. What about Deku? There wasn't a scratch on Bakugou, who cared how he was? Deku was still missing; Deku was still in danger.

Maybe she was being overly harsh. After all, it wasn't Bakugou's fault Deku was taken, and he wasn't. And it wasn't as though she would have wished any of her classmates to be kidnapped by the League. But she couldn't help the flush of irritation that passed through her; why had Bakugou been let go and not Deku?

Kirishima and the others were in Bakugou's hospital room, but Ochako waited outside. She wanted to wait for everyone to leave to ask him what had happened. She wanted to know why he had been spared and Deku hadn't.

Todoroki sat next to her. While she knew the heterochromatic boy didn't particularly dislike Bakugou, it was obvious he didn't care for the blond either. Iida was also in Bakugou's room; it was his job as class president to check on his peers, after all. But she also knew the blond's blatant disregard for structure and decency was really off-putting for her tall friend.

"We have to save him."

Ochako started, turning to the boy next to her in surprise. His usually blank face had a sense of urgency on it, one she had never seen before. He didn't wait for her response to elaborate, "He would have done it for us. He would have done it for Bakugou. I watched him jump into that vortex without hesitation."

She stared at him for a moment, then nodded. "He would do the same for us," she agreed. Even Bakugou, who was awful to him. Aizawa had ordered them to stay put, so looking for Deku would have been disobeying a direct order from their homeroom teacher.

Not that Ochako particularly cared at the moment. All that mattered to her was bringing Deku home.

OoOoOo

Later, Ochako and Todoroki confronted Bakugou.

The blond didn't look up from his food. "What do you extras want?" he snapped, aggressively digging his fork into his meatloaf. He looked pissed off as per usual.

Immediately, Ochako was annoyed. Did he have to have such a rotten attitude about everything? "Why did the League take Deku?" she asked, trying to stay calm. She wouldn't let Katsuki Bakugou rile her up; Deku was more important. "I thought they only wanted you, and Deku was only there because he was trying to save you."

Bakugou glared daggers at her, but she held firm. He didn't scare her. "Stupid Deku got himself kidnapped because he got in the way," he snarled.

She bristled. "You got kidnapped because you were insistent on fighting the League," she hissed. Todoroki had revealed that much to her. If Bakugou had hidden like he was told, none of this would have happened. "Deku was only trying to help-"

"I never asked the damn nerd for his help!" Bakugou erupted, explosions crackling in his palms.

A retort formed on the tip of her tongue, but Todoroki placed a cool hand on her shoulder. "We just want to help him, Bakugou," he said calmly. More than just his right eye was icy. "Do you have anything for us or not?"

The blond glared at them for a long time. Ochako was almost afraid he would start yelling again and draw the attention of everyone else. But he just grunted. "Hell if I know," he muttered. "The bastards were trying to recruit me, I told them to fuck off, and then they knocked me out. Next thing I know, I'm here."

Ochako glared at him for a moment but didn't think he was lying. Why would he? "We should go," she suggested to Todoroki. She didn't want to be around Bakugou any longer than she had to. "Maybe Momo's tracker-"

"What are you doing?" Iida stood in the doorway. His gaze was steely behind his glasses, fists clenched at his sides.

Ochako straightened to her full height, staring up at him defiantly. "We're going to find Deku," she announced. She had been hoping to avoid this because she knew Iida wouldn't approve. But there was no stopping this now, she supposed. Iida was just another obstacle to overcome. "Are you going to help us or get in our way?"

Iida glared at her. "Mr. Aizawa ordered us to stay put," he reminded her. "Let the heroes do their job, Uraraka. They'll find Midoriya."

She scoffed. "The heroes already failed once," she pointed out. "How can we rest knowing he could be being tortured right now?" Or killed, a morbid part of her supplied. "Who knows when the heroes will find him? We have to rescue him as soon as we can."

He shook his head. "You'll only put yourselves in danger," he stressed. "As class president, I cannot allow-"

"He would do the same for us!" Ochako protested, annoyed. How could Iida even argue with her about this? Deku wouldn't have rested until any of them were safe.

"He has done the same for us," Todoroki cut in coolly. "Don't forget who came to your aid in Hosu."

Iida bristled. Hosu was a sensitive subject for him, though no one had ever told her why. "Iida," she said, gentle this time. He wasn't their enemy, he just needed to understand. "Deku is our friend. How can we live with ourselves knowing that we didn't do everything we could to rescue him?"

Iida was silent for a while, the tension still visible in his shoulders. Then, his face softened and it left him in an instant. "I suppose I can't stop you," he relented softly. Determination suddenly gleamed in his eyes. "As class president, I'll have to accompany you instead."

Todoroki seemed surprised. "Really?"

But Ochako beamed. "Iida!" she exclaimed, launching herself at his chest for a hug. She hadn't expected him to join them, but she was glad he was. Todoroki may have been strong, but not even he would have been enough to fight off the League of Villains.

She was glad Iida cared enough about them- enough about Deku- to break some rules.

Iida reluctantly embraced her back. "You're right," he admitted. "Midoriya would do the same for any of us. He's always there when we need him. As his friends, we need to do the same."

"Who cares about that shitty nerd?" demanded Bakugou suddenly, startling her. She had forgotten he was there. "Get the hell out of my room you damn extras!"

Ochako rolled her eyes. "No need to ask if you're coming along," she muttered, leading the other two out of the room. "Come on, let's go talk to Momo." Hope fluttered in her chest; they were really going to do it. They were going to save Deku.

'Just hang on a little longer, Deku,' she thought to herself. 'We're coming.'

Chapter Text

Izuku was in a predicament.

Upon arriving at their new location, the League of Villains had ushered him into a room. It wasn't anything fancy- just a cot with a few blankets and pillows with no windows- but it was much nicer than he would have expected. They had put splints on his arms as well, promising him food and water soon.

The whole ordeal left him entirely confused; wasn't he supposed to be their prisoner?

But was he? He had seen the expression of everyone change when Kacchan had opened his mouth. He had watched their formerly sympathy and understanding twist to disgust and anger. But why? That was what Izuku couldn't understand. Hadn't they been looking to recruit the blond? What had changed their minds?

The door to his room swung open and Izuku flinched, keeping his guard up. He figured they were keeping him alive as a hostage to lure All Might and the other heroes. That didn't mean they wouldn't hurt them.

Even if they had splinted his arms.

In the threshold was a girl with pale blond hair and startlingly gold eyes. Izuku recognized her as the villain Uraraka and Asui had encountered. The look she had given him- dazed and infatuated- as she retreated hadn't given him the best feeling, but there was no trace of that now.

Instead, there was pity on her face. He didn't like that look much either.

The girl held a tray with a sandwich and a cup of water. "It isn't much," she said regretfully. "But you're probably really hungry, right?" She held the sandwich up to his mouth.

Izuku gave her a dull look.

She shrugged innocently. "It's not like you can do it, silly," she pointed out. And yes, she may have had a point, but Izuku wasn't stupid enough to take food from the people holding him captive. "It's not poison, if that's what you're afraid of." To prove this, she took off a piece of the sandwich and popped it into her mouth.

He eyed her suspiciously, but his stomach growled in protest. Sighing, he opened his mouth. The girl smiled, placing the sandwich to his lips and allowing him to take a bite.

"You're adorable," she gushed as he chewed. "Can't believe Shigaraki wanted us to kill you at first."

At first? Shigaraki didn't want him dead anymore? Izuku really didn't want to talk to any of the villains, but his curiosity won out as per usual. "What changed?" he asked.

The girl's expression darkened suddenly, catching him off guard. "We made a mistake," she told him. "Bakugou isn't the one that needs saving. He's everything we hate."

He was confused. "A hero?" he guessed. He couldn't pinpoint what it was that made the League turn on Kacchan all of a sudden. He figured it was the insults or the shouting or maybe the bravado he had plastered on. Maybe the thought of anything noble disgusted the League as much as it did Shigaraki.

That didn't explain why they had taken him and not Kacchan, of course.

But she shook her head. "A bully," she huffed childishly, crossing her arms.

Now, Izuku liked to think he was far from stupid. Academically, he wasn't on Yaoyorozu or Iida's level, but he did possess some semblance of common sense. He knew that Kacchan's actions in the past could potentially be regarded as bullying by some (obviously not enough to make a difference).

But to hear this from the mouth of a villain? One of the villains who had attacked his classmates, no less? That came as a shock.

In all honesty, Izuku thought it was hypocritical. No, Kacchan wasn't a nice person, far from it, in fact. But to be looked down upon by the League of Villains was stretching it.

The girl seemed to take notice of his silence. "Don't make that face, Izuku," she admonished, pouting at him. The use of his given name threw him off for a moment. "You're lucky we rescued you when we did! Who knows what those nasty heroes-?"

"Brat," barked a new voice. The man with the scars and familiar eyes from before walked in. His expression was bored as he strolled towards the,. "Knock that off. You're talking the poor kid to death, Toga."

The girl, Toga, pouted at him. "I'm trying to tell Izuku why the boss doesn't want him dead anymore, Dabi," she said obviously.

The man, Dabi, scoffed. "You're doing a shit job," he retorted, lighting a cigarette with the tip of his finger. His fire was a brilliant blue that matched his eyes. Those eyes regarded Izuku and he did his best not to squirm under the intense gaze. "Still don't get it, do you kid?"

Izuku said nothing. Toga's intentions, while suspicious, hadn't seemed harmful at the moment. This man was a completely different story. His mother had always taught him not to judge others on their appearance (something that shouldn't even need to be said in this world of all kinds of different quirks), but Dabi radiated anger.

Even with his calm demeanor, Izuku knew he wouldn't hesitate to end his enemies. He would have to tread carefully around this one.

But Dabi grinned, kneeling down to his level. "Before we get into that, let me take a wild guess," he said. Something unnerving glinted in his eyes. "You grew up with that, brat, am I right?" Izuku didn't answer. "He was praised for his quirk your entire lives. Your quirk broke your bones, so you weren't quite seen as hero material, were you? More of a liability?"

Well, he was almost right.

"Because of his quirk, Bakugou has gotten away with everything," continued Dabi. "From shitting on you to doing whatever the hell he wanted, treating anyone any way he pleased. All because of his fancy quirk."

Izuku swallowed because yeah, that was how it went. Even at UA, Bakugou's violent actions went unpunished. Which was fine, it wasn't like he wanted Kacchan to get in trouble. But it had been surprising that Mr. Aizawa, All Might, and the other teachers had allowed the constant disruptions and threats of violence.

At Aldera, it had been one thing. Admittedly, Kacchan had been the best there. But that wasn't the case anymore. Todoroki was just as good, if not better. Asui, Yaoyorozu, Tokoyami, Kirishima, and Iida were impressive as well. Uraraka had done exceedingly well in the Sports Festival. And everyone else in 1A had heaps of potential.

So why did Bakugou still get away with so much?

"See, kid," said Dabi, oblivious to Izuku's inner turmoil. "That's what we despise. Pieces of shit like Bakugou are nothing new; those are the kind of people that end up in the top ten. Bastards who only got through life because they were lucky enough to be born with power."

And Izuku wanted to refute that, he really did. Because All Might hadn't been born with a quirk and he was the best person Izuku knew. The greatest hero on Earth. He had earned the number one spot.

But then, he thought about Endeavor. The man who had forced a woman to marry him, forced his child into physical labor for his own rivalry, and abused a loving mother to the point of insanity. And this man was the number two hero, just one spot after All Might.

The League was bad, and Izuku knew this. He would stand by the fact that Tomura Shigaraki craved destruction for his own amusement. Nothing could ever excuse that. Nothing.

But, when he thought about it, were most heroes really that much better? How many Endeavors were scattered throughout hero society?

"We joined the League because we believe in Stain's philosophy," Dabi told him. "And he deemed you a true hero. Even if Shigaraki still wanted to kill you, neither one of us would let him."

Toga nodded. "I like you, Izuku," she agreed, smiling. "I like you so much more than my other crushes. In fact, I like you so much that I won't even kill you!"

Dabi smacked her on the head. "Shut the hell up, creep," he muttered, annoyed. "He'll never join if you keep saying shit like that."

Izuku blinked. "Join?" he parroted, confused. The invitation had been extended to Kacchan, of course. Everyone wanted Kacchan on their side. But there was no way that they would-

The dark-haired man nodded. "Yeah," he confirmed. "The boss wants you to join the League."

Chapter Text

There had only been one moment in Toshinori Yagi's life that he had ever felt this pathetic, desperate, and alone.

And that had been when he watched his loving and caring master Nana Shimura die in front of his eyes. As she pointed to him, leaving the fate of the world on his shoulders; seconds before she was murdered at the hands of All For One. After being sent away, Toshinori had sobbed and rammed his fists into the ground. He had sworn revenge on All For One and the underground empire he had built.

And for the first time in around forty years, Toshinori found himself crying once more.

He had filed Nana all that time ago and now he was failing Young Midoriya as well.

Aizawa sat next to him in silent contemplation. To anyone else, it might have seemed like the younger man wasn't paying attention. But Toshinori knew better; he was listening closely.

It was a tactic many underground heroes used; they appeared to be more incompetent than they were to gather as much intel as they could. This was due to the fact that they couldn't very well apprehend most criminals depending on the quirk. It was smarter to catch villains by surprise.

Of course, Aizawa most likely had no idea that he knew this. He knew his fellow teacher wrote him off as a brute who never used his head. He couldn't very well blame the man either; most thought that.

But it wasn't as though he had always had One For All. He had lived the earliest parts of his life surviving merely on his intelligence and instincts.

Toshinori's ears warmed when Present Mic mentioned a traitor within UA. As much as he didn't want to believe it, his colleague made a good point. How else would the League of Villains have known where to find the training camp? And if there was a traitor, was it a student? Or a teacher?

His bony fingers curled atop the table, jaw clenching with rage. If there was a traitor that had cost him his boy, they would be dealt with. Toshinori didn't care how weak he had gotten; that was a promise.

"This is a disturbing development," Principal Nezu announced. The hybrid principal's usual calm, collected face was worn with worry. He was no doubt tired from dealing with the multiple criticisms thrown UA's way. "I for the life of me cannot figure out why the League of Villains would leave Bakugou behind and take Midoriya."

Toshinori couldn't understand it either. They had concluded that Bakugou's violent and temperamental behavior had been the reason the League set their sights on him. In fact, Midoriya hadn't even been their target; he had followed them of his own accord.

So why keep him? It didn't make sense. But Toshinori froze, a dreadful thought coming to him. Did they know Young Midoriya was his successor? Did Shigaraki plan to hold him over his head before killing him?

Was Toshinori going to lose Young Midoriya to a villain like he had lost Nana?

Aizawa grunted besides him. "They must plan on recruiting Midoriya instead," he suggested.

Something about the younger man's tone made Toshinori grit his teeth. He didn't want to accuse his colleague of treating his students different, but it was apparent that he was harder on Midoriya than he was the other students. He never said anything because he didn't want to start a fight and every time he asked Midoriya said he was fine.

Still, it rubbed him the wrong way.

Midnight pressed her lips together. "What makes you say that?" she asked. Her usually mellifluous voice had an unusual edge to it. Midnight was very fond of all her students.

Aizawa was unfazed. "Like I told those nosy reporters," he replied, his tone even. "Bakugou wants to be the best; he can't do that if he's a villain. The League probably gave up on him because he won't go down that road."

Toshinori bristled; he didn't like the implication of that. "And Young Midoriya will?" he asked sharply.

"I didn't say that," the underground hero answered calmly. "I'm saying that the League might think he's easier to convince, especially considering his temper." The younger man eyed him judgmentally. "But you sure seem defensive, All Might."

Toshinori was about to retort, but Nezu cleared his throat. "Gentlemen, please," he implored. "Whatever the reason, we must focus our efforts in getting Midoriya back."

The number one hero glared at his coworker, but eventually relented. Nezu was right, as usual. The most important thing was returning Young Midoriya home safe and sound.

OoOoOo

Once the meeting was adjourned, Toshinori- now transformed- leaned against the wall of the school building and looked up at the sky. Because of the League's deception, they were right back at square one. He knew he should be patient, Tsukauchi was working as hard as he could.

But dammit, he needed to do something. His boy needed him. He was about to take off to the police department when-

"A-All Might?"

Toshinori started, turning to meet a short woman with green hair and a round face. The resemblance was uncanny; this was Young Midoriya's mother. "M-Mrs. Midoriya," he stuttered, heat creeping up his neck. How was he supposed to face the woman whose son he had lost? "I wish this meeting was under better circumstances. How are you doing?"

Mrs. Midoriya sniffed. "Please," she said. His heart throbbed at how miserable she sounded. "Call me Inko."

Toshinori nodded, then bowed his head. "Forgive me, Inko," he murmured in shame. "We as a school failed your son. I failed your son." He lifted his head slightly to meet her gaze. "But rest assured, I will bring him back. You have my word."

Inko looked down at him with blooddshot, piercing green eyes that racked him with regret; it didn't help that they were the same shade as Young Midoriya's. "My Izuku has idolized you for as long as I can remember," she recalled. "You're the entire reason he ever wanted to be a hero. He begged me to buy him every piece of your merchandise that I could."

His cheeks warmed; his boy really thought so highly of him?

But Inko's face suddenly darkened. "I sincerely hope," she said softly. For such a small woman, she had suddenly become terrifying. "You don't let him down."

But Toshinori didn't falter. "I won't," he swore, meeting her eyes. "I promise."

Her face relaxed marginally and she almost smiled. "Thank you, All Might. I trust my son is in good hands."

Toshinori had a feeling there would be hell to pay if he wasn't. Nana had always taught him to never mess with a mother scorned.

Chapter Text

Tomura glared at his two subordinates. "How much did you tell him?" he demanded, irritated.

Toga maintained a relatively innocent look on her face. He knew better, though. The girl was nothing short of deranged, even more so than he was. "Nothing much," she answered coyly. Her golden eyes glinted ever so slightly. "Just that we weren't gonna kill him."

Dabi crossed his arms, almost as if challenging him. "Problem with that?"

Tomura grunted in annoyance. He knew he would regret allowing those two into his party; not only were they devout followers of Stain, they were also hard to control. They did as they pleased and were crazy enough to challenge him if he tried to stop them.

"He's still a hero in training," Tomura reminded them. "He might have been hurt by hero society, but he's still been brainwashed to follow it. Don't give him too much information."

Toga shrugged. "Sure, boss," she agreed easily. Though, he had the feeling it fell on deaf ears.

Dabi scoffed. "Whatever." Tomura's fist clenched; he was lucky his quirk was so strong. It wasn't a resource he was so willing to waste. The two of them finally walked away from the room, leaving him alone.

Tomura stared at the door. If he was being honest, he had been disgusted by Izuku Midoriya since the day he met him. An All Might in training with a naive, deluded sense of nobility. How could he not have been repulsed? He had thought he shared a kinship with Bakugou; tossed aside by the hero world. Labeled as something he wasn't for circumstances he couldn't control.

But he had gotten so much wrong.

He just didn't get it. If they were right in assuming that Midoriya had indeed been the one mistreated all his life, then how? How could the kid smile? How could he do the right thing no matter what? How could he look death in the eyes and still risk his life for pathetic people that didn't deserve it?

Surely, Midoriya should have been more like Bakugou? Angry and violent and destructive. But if Bakugou was the one put on a pedestal, why was Midoriya the one who smiled? Who was so disgustingly kind?

A large hand settled on his shoulder. "I see the boy has piqued your interest," observed Master.

"I don't understand," Tomura replied. "Why is he like that?"

When his master had found him, he had been bitter. He couldn't recall much before that stormy night, but Tomura remembered being angry. Angry at the people who had seen him alone on the streets and did nothing. Angry at where he had come from before.

"I observed all his past injuries," Master told him. He figured it was one of the older man's many quirks. "Aside from broken bones, the young man has sustained many injuries. They range from severe burns to hairline fractures within the span of around ten years."

Tomura choked. Odd, he had never been the empathetic type. Even so, it was hard to imagine a child being put through that for a decade. "Abuse?" he questioned, trying to collect himself.

"Perhaps," agreed Master. "Though, if you ask me, this would be the work of extreme bullying."

Bullying? That seemed like an understatement. But if it was bullying, there was a clear culprit. "Bakugou," he hissed, his disdain for the loudmouthed blond blooming into hatred. Wasn't this world all about praising heroic behavior? Who the hell had let this go on for so long?

"Indeed." Master turned him around to stare into his damaged face. Tomura would always hate All Might for what he had done. "I warn you, Tomura. If you truly want to recruit that boy, you won't do it by offering outright. That blond buffoon has him under his thumb. This will require subtlety."

Tomura was only subtle when it came to stealth games. But he could try, if only to show Midoriya the truth of the world they lived in. The truth he refused to believe. "I can try," he agreed.

Master gave him what was probably meant to be a smile. "Excellent."

OoOoOo

Tomura came around a few hours later with Midoriya's dinner.

When he entered the room, the younger boy was clearly on his guard. "Relax, brat," said Tomura, setting the tray down. "You already heard from Toga and Dabi that I'm not going to kill you. You trust them, don't you?"

Midoriya eyed him suspiciously. "I don't trust any of you," he declared firmly. And there it was, the look Tomura hated. Seeing it invoked rage in him that he quickly had to stomp down. Like Master said, he would need patience. "And even if I did, they didn't try to kill me at the mall or try to crush my teacher in front of my face."

Annoying brat. But even Tomura had to admit, the kid had a point. A part of him was glad that Midoriya wasn't so foolishly trusting especially considering their brief confrontation before the training camps. Still, it made things a hell of a lot harder.

"Listen, Midoriya," he implored. "You aren't as stupid as I used to think."

Midoriya rolled his eyes. "Thanks."

Tomura grit his teeth, trying his hardest not to snap at the kid. "You must know how twisted this world is," he continued, ignoring the comment. He gestured to the boy. "You have the scars to prove it."

The boy gave him an exasperated look. "My arms are broken because of one of your lackeys," he reminded him sharply. "Someone who would have gladly killed the kid that was with me if I hadn't stopped him." His mouth settled into a firm line. "Like I told you that day at the mall, I can understand Stain. I know the way things are is flawed."

His green eyes flashed. "But I also know that you aren't making things any better," he finished, squaring his shoulders as much as he could.

Tomura raised an unimpressed eyebrow. While he did have some points, the dumb kid wasn't seeing the bigger picture. "Tell me," he said. "What is so noble about a hero like Endeavor?"

A crack in his armor. Midoriya's resolute face faltered. "I-"

"Quite the story behind the number two hero," Tomura interrupted him. "A wife in bedlam and a son dead from his own quirk. How tragic." Of course, Tomura knew the story behind the Todoroki family from Dabi. How the man knew, he had no idea, but he wasn't complaining. He would take anything he could use against the heroes.

"He isn't the only case," he added. "Many heroes- most in the top fifty- have been accused of terrible crimes. Assault, aggression, abuse. And more than ninety percent of the time, they get away with it. Do you know why?"

Midoriya didn't answer.

Tomura grinned. "Because they're heroes. One flash of that license and the police look the other way. A hero can get away with anything when the HPSC is backing them."

He tilted his head. "But anyone else who does the same is the bad guy. Doesn't seem fair."

Midoriya stared at him for a moment with a look that made Tomura preen victoriously. He was finally getting through to the kid. Maybe- But then, that other look returned as Midoriya glared at him. "You are the bad guys if you do those things," he insisted. "No, the heroes shouldn't be able to get away with it. But that doesn't excuse your actions."

Tomura growled slightly. "Then what excuses Bakugou?" he retorted.

Midoriya bristled. "Kacchan is nothing like you!" he snapped vehemently. They were getting somewhere now. True, the goal hadn't been to piss the kid off. But he would take anything over the heroic shit the brat tried to pull off.

"Oh sure," said Tomura sarcastically. "It wasn't like we tried to recruit him. Ever think there was a reason for that?"

Midoriya went quiet again and Tomura scowled. "Whatever," he snapped, turning to leave. He didn't like the way the kid could brush him off whenever he wanted. "I'll have Kurogiri come to feed you in a minute. I don't think you're stupid enough to try to escape in your condition."

Once he reached the door, Tomura turned his red eyes back to the teenager. "And I wasn't talking about your arms," he said. "I was talking about the burns."

He then walked out of the room, unaware of the stricken look on Midoriya's face.

Chapter Text

"I'm sure I don't need to tell you how irresponsible this is."

Yaoyorozu's words were harsh, but her tone was pleading. Before the final exam, Shouto would not have been able to recognize this. But after getting to know her- after seeing her softer, vulnerable side- he knew she wasn't reprimanding them. She was worried about them. She was a very caring person.

He wasn't sure why, but Yaoyorozu often reminded him of his mother.

Uraraka took her hand. "Momo, please," she implored. The tenderness in her brown eyes made him think of Fuyumi. "We can't just sit here! Deku's in serious trouble."

Yaoyorozu sighed. "I'm aware," she relented. She looked tired, sitting there in the hospital bed. Perhaps Midoriya's absence was affecting the class greater than he thought. "You should know that the tracer is probably useless. The heroes used it and all they found were Nomu. Bakugou was found in an entirely different location."

Shouto cursed under his breath, aware of Iida's sharp look. They were practically back at square one. "We need a new plan," he announced. "The tracer's useless if it can't locate Midoriya."

Why the school didn't have a way to locate them at all times was beyond him. Considering all the villain attacks, it almost seemed deliberately irresponsible.

Damn it all, it felt like they were wasting time. If they didn't get to Midoriya soon, who knew what would happen? It was almost like Hosu all over again, except at least then he had a location. For this, they were going in completely blind. Every second wasted could be the second that they lost him.

He considered Midoriya his first friend. And while Shouto didn't know all that much about friendship, he knew that friends were there for each other no matter what. Midoriya would have risked everything for them, they could not let him down.

"We should start at the bar," Uraraka decided firmly. He hadn't ever seen her take so much initiative before. It was interesting to watch. "The one where they found Bakugou. Maybe we can find some clues there."

"We shouldn't run in blind," said Yaoyorozu sternly. She stood up from her bed, albeit a bit weakly. "We're going to need to take precautions."

Iida gaped. "You're coming?" he asked. He must have been under the impression that his vice president was as devoted to order as he was.

Shouto honestly wasn't all that surprised. While Yaoyorozu was a very smart girl, she knew the difference between doing the wise thing and doing the right thing. Doing the wise thing would have been allowing the pro heroes to find Midoriya. Doing the right thing would be doing all she could to rescue Midoriya.

In his opinion, doing the right thing was more important than doing the wise thing when it came to being a hero. He was glad Yaoyorozu understood that.

Yaoyorozu nodded. "Yes," she answered. "While what you're doing is irresponsible, it would be irresponsible of me to allow you to face villains without aid."

Uraraka smiled. "You're the best Yaomomo!" she exclaimed, hugging the girl.

Yaoyorozu hesitated, then hugged her back. "Your gratitude is appreciated, Ochaco," she replied graciously. Shouto could tell she was genuinely happy at the physical response. "But the point is still clear, we need to prepare ourselves." She looked directly at Iida. "Get into the school and visit the Support Course."

Iida looked lost, but his expression swiftly turned to mild, thinly veiled horror. "Surely, there must be someone else-"

"No," Yaoyorozu interrupted. She seemed vaguely amused. "Hatsume is extremely gifted, I've heard she's the best in her year. And she's the only one who won't care about getting in trouble with the teachers."

It took Shouto a while to figure out who they were talking about. Then he remembered the Support student with pink hair who had used their Class President as a way to market her inventions. Though unhinged, he had to admit that her gear was exceptional.

Iida groaned. "I suppose you're right," he admitted. "Uraraka, will you accompany me?"

"Of course," Uraraka agreed. She looked at Shouto. "You stay here with Momo and come up with a plan, okay? We'll be back as soon as we can."

Shouto nodded. "Alright."

The two of them left and Shouto was left with the Vice President. She seemed contemplative, not quite looking at him. "If we're going to locate Midoriya, we have to figure out why the League took him but left Bakugou," she spoke up. She eyed him closely. "Do you have any ideas?"

Shouto tried to think hard about her question. "Mr. Aizawa said on the news that Bakugou's drive won't allow him to become a villain," he reminded her. And for the most part, that was true. Villains were a blemish on society, some of the most hated people in the world. And Bakugou's goal was to be the best. For all that he disliked the loud blond, he knew that to be true. And yet-

Yaoyorozu raised an eyebrow at him. "And Midoriya doesn't?" she challenged. "We're talking about the boy who continuously breaks his fingers to use his quirk. No one does that unless they have a certain kind of determination. He's no more likely than Bakugou to become a villain."

She had a very good point. Shouto knew that Midoriya was just as driven as Bakugou to become a hero; something that Bakugou detested him for. Though, he wasn't quite sure why that was.

"You want to know why the League turned their efforts to Midoriya," Shouto realized.

Yaoyorozu nodded. "If they truly wish to recruit Midoriya, they'll have him somewhere safe," she told him. "Yet secure. Though, that's like finding a needle in a haystack, so to speak. I believe Uraraka was right; we should start at the bar where Bakugou was found."

Shouto nodded. "That would be best," he agreed, leaning against the wall in thought. There must have been something that made the League change their mind. It had to be more than Bakugou's attitude, but he just couldn't figure out what.

Yaoyorozu had a thoughtful look on her face. "Todoroki," she said softly. "You're close with Midoriya. What is the nature of his relationship with Bakugou?"

Shouto grunted lightly. "They're rivals, aren't they?" he replied. "Like Midoriya and I."

But she bit her lip in apprehension. "Forgive me for saying so," she spoke. "But your relationship with Midoriya is very different from his relationship with Bakugou."

He tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

Yaoyorozu hummed, tapping her chin. "Well, before the Sports Festival, you were hostile towards him," she admitted. "But it wasn't exclusive to him, you were like that with all of us. And never to the extent that Bakugou has been with Midoriya."

Shouto furrowed his eyebrows. "I suppose so," he relented reluctantly, uneasiness growing in his stomach. Why did he have a bad feeling all of the sudden? "But they have known each other longer, haven't they?"

She pursed her lips. "Perhaps," she responded tersely. And was it his imagination, or had her onyx eyes gotten even darker? "But that simply leaves me to believe-"

Shouto's phone rang. "Hello?" he asked.

'We've got gear from Hatsume,' Uraraka told him on the other line. 'Momo's right, she had lots of cool stuff. Useful too. But...'

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "But what?" he asked, fearing the worst. There was always a snag, wasn't there? He was beginning to get impatient, Midoriya needed their help now.

Uraraka hesitated. 'Iida and I overheard the teachers,' she relayed to him. There was barely contained anger in her voice which he thought was weird. It took a lot to test Uraraka's patience. 'They think that the HPSC is going to bring Midoriya in for questioning.'

Shouto swallowed, that feeling from before growing worse. "As a witness?" he questioned.

'No,' said Uraraka. 'As a suspect.'

Chapter Text

Since the beginning of the year, Shouta Aizawa knew Izuku Midoriya would be a hassle.

The kid hadn't even been able to use his quirk without breaking his bones. That told him that Midoriya hadn't put the work into being a hero like the others around him. Temperamental Bakugou may have been, the use of his quirk was near flawless for his age, on-level with some rookie Pro Heroes. They needed heroes with that kind of execution.

They didn't need heroes who didn't even have control of their quirks. They were liabilities, resulting in more harm than good.

But Shouta would be the first to admit that Midoriya had potential. If nothing else, he had the same drive and determination as Bakugou. Out of all his classmates, Midoriya had improved the most drastically. Even he had to admit that the kid would make a decent hero if he kept at it. His heart was in the right place.

So even he was shocked when the HPSC labeled the kid as a suspect.

Nemuri was outraged. "What?" she demanded. "What reason could they possibly have? He's a child!" All Might wasn't there- he was heading up the investigation- but Shouta imagined that he would have been even angrier. It was no secret that Midoriya was his protege.

Nezu's face was unusually grim; so much so that it actually made Shouta nervous. "Apparently, they did some investigating into Midoriya and Bakugou's past," he told them.

Hizashi's expression was hidden by his glasses. "What did they find?" he asked, uncharacteristically quiet. Shouta knew this entire situation had his friend on edge. The idea that there could be a spy among their students was unsettling.

Shouta felt a tug in the back of his mind, as if there was something he was missing. But for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what. So, he leaned back in his chair, waiting for the principal to share what he had learned.

Nezu cleared his throat. "According to both boys' records, there have been multiple altercations between them throughout middle school," he announced. "From what faculty described, all cases were somewhat the same. Midoriya provoking and instigating a physical reaction out of Bakugou."

"What?"

The word left Shouta's own mouth before he could stop it. He stared at the principal, unable to believe what he had just heard. Midoriya provoking Bakugou? On what planet? If anything, it was Bakugou who constantly tried to get a reaction out of Midoriya. Whatever he thought about both boys' stats when it came to hero work, anyone could see that it didn't take much provocation for Bakugou to lash out.

Nezu hummed. "Yes," he continued. "And according to medical records from the nurse's office, Midoriya has suffered multiple injuries from these instances."

"What the hell?" snapped Hizashi. He was far from Bakugou's biggest fan and had generally disliked having him in class. "Why wasn't Bakugou punished?"

Nemuri's eyes glinted in understanding. "Shouta," she said to him. "You said that it looked like Midoriya had no idea how to use his quirk, right?"

Shouta swallowed, not liking the implication. "Yes," he admitted.

"Could it be possible that his quirk had just formed?" she asked. Most wouldn't suspect it, but Nemuri had been in the top five back when they were in school. She could read a situation like no one else.

His stomach rolled, but Nezu nodded. "According to our records, Midoriya's quirk developed the day of the entrance exam," he told them. "Which is why so many last-minute changes to his suit were made."

"How is that possible?" asked Hizashi. "You're supposed to develop your quirk at four."

"There have been late-bloomers," supplied Nemuri thoughtfully. "But I've never heard of a quirk forming as a teenager. No wonder the poor boy's body couldn't handle it."

Shouta felt a stab of guilt. It seems he had severely misjudged Midoriya. The kid hadn't been careless or lazy before applying for UA, he had been doing the best he could with a quirk that had been sprung on him. It was a miracle that his body could even partially take the strain.

Hizashi swallowed. "So Midoriya would have been labeled quirkless all his life," he said slowly. Shouta swore under his breath. How could he have missed this?

"Which explains why Bakugou was never punished," confirmed Nezu. Unfortunately, they all knew the terrible truth that came with quirkless discrimination. "The HPSC thought the same as you, Hizashi; that there's a spy at UA. And they think that Midoriya joined the League as revenge against Bakugou and the mistreatment he's gone through."

Wasn't it interesting how the HPSC wanted to point fingers instead of looking into the actual problem here?

"But the League gave him back," protested Nemuri, crossing her arms. "Why would they do that if Midoriya wanted revenge?"

Nezu sighed, tired. "I don't claim to know what goes through the commission's head. But perhaps they think that the League didn't know about Midoriya and Bakugou's past."

"Whatever the case is," Shouta abruptly cut in, suddenly angry. He wasn't fond of the HPSC accusing one of his students based on assumptions alone. "If the League of Villains does plan on recruiting Midoriya, he needs to be found immediately."

One thing that Shouta knew was that villains weren't born evil. He was willing to be that every League member- deranged and destructive though they were- were products of circumstance. The League may have seen Midoriya as an easy target- as he had stated- but Shouta had thought differently until this revelation. If they somehow used Midoriya's past to persuade him...

Things would get bad fast. Not only would UA face attacks from all sides, it would give the HPSC all they needed to make an arrest. He knew how they operated, they would strike first and ask questions later like the idiots they were. Midoriya's life would be ruined, his hero career shattered before it even began.

Shouta didn't want that. Midoriya had potential, he was a good kid. No matter what he had thought before, the boy didn't deserve to have his life destroyed.

They had to find him before the League got into his head. And then, Shouta knew he would have a lot of reflecting to do.

Chapter Text

Nothing could have prepared Izuku for this.

He had always known that villains were people society had shunned, thrown away. It was common knowledge; studies showed that seventy percent of villains were victims of relentless abuse, neglect, or harassment. The revelation that the League of Villains were outcasts was not a surprise to him. In fact, he has almost expected it.

What he hadn't expected was for them to extend that towards him.

Logically, it should have made sense. They had been under the impression that society looked down on Kacchan. When they found out that wasn't the case, they turned their sights on him who had been looked down upon. It was perfectly reasonable, in a twisted sort of way.

But Izuku couldn't wrap his head around it. He wasn't a victim, he hadn't lived a tragic life. He had a stable home, food on the table, and a mother who loved him more than anything in the world. Sure, Kacchan was violent towards him. But Kacchan was violent towards everybody. What did it matter if he'd been left with constant burns and scars? What did it matter that no teacher was willing to listen to his side of the story?

He was fine. Kacchan had only been a dumb kid. He was better now; UA was making him better.

'But is he really all that different?'

Izuku swallowed thickly, trying to shove away the traitorous voice in his head. Of course Kacchan had changed. His words had lost their bite. He wasn't yelling or lashing out as much. He hadn't intimidated anyone either.

'Because he can't. Everyone in class has been working just as hard and for just as long. No one is afraid of him and he knows that.'

As much as Izuku wanted to deny it, it was true, wasn't it? During their trip to the USJ, he had thought Asui and Kaminari were goners when they pointed out how crude he was. But Kacchan had done nothing except snap at them and grumble to himself. If that had been anyone at Aldera, he would have shut them up. But he didn't at UA. He hadn't been overly aggressive with Izuku himself since the quirk assessment either. Why?

Well, the answer was obvious. Mr. Aizawa had interfered when Kacchan had tried to attack him during the quirk assessment. That was the first time a teacher had ever stepped in to help him. Mr. Aizawa was a good teacher for that.

'Except, he wasn't protecting me, he was punishing Kacchan for being disruptive. I also had a quirk at that point.'

Izuku tugged at his hair. No, UA was different. Aizawa was a good teacher. Right?

The door to his 'room' swung open. Izuku swallowed when the familiar face- or lack thereof- of All For One walked in. His jaw clenched in apprehension. He wasn't foolish enough to activate One For All, but if the villain attacked...

All For One laughed. "Relax, child," he admonished. "We both know you're in no condition to fight. I simply want to talk."

But Izuku didn't trust that for a second. This was the man that had terrorized Japan for around a century and was after the very quirk Izuku was in possession of. The only thing he could be sure of was that the villain wouldn't kill him. He needed him alive to pass on the quirk. He tried to stare back defiantly, but it was hard when there were no eyes to look into.

"Tomura said you were a stubborn one," All For One noted when Izuku didn't respond. "You must forgive him for his outburst earlier. My ward has never been the most socially adept child."

Ward? Izuku's eyes narrowed. That explained a few things. Ideas began to form in his head.

"But enough about Tomura," the faceless man continued, kneeling down across from him. "I'd like to talk about you. You've been through much, haven't you?"

Again, he said nothing. Ever since the Sports Festival, Izuku had been working on keeping his mouth shut. His muttering- in addition to being annoying- gave away his inner thoughts. And especially in this case, who knew how many of All For One's quirks were voice-activated? No, it was better to keep quiet. Let them rant and rage at him until they tired themselves out.

Unfortunately, All For One was a lot more patient than Shigaraki.

The villain leaned back, examining him. "I'm aware you've been made All Might's successor," he stated. "That must have been quite a story. Care to share? I'd love to hear it."

What? Why would All For One want to know that? What was his angle? Either way, Izuku wasn't going to answer. He didn't know what the man would do with that information, even if it was trivial.

"Perhaps," said All For One. "It has something to do with the fact that you were previously quirkless."

Izuku couldn't help it; he was caught so off guard by the comment that he choked. "W-What?" he sputtered. Even if the man knew he had One For All, he could have easily had another, less powerful quirk. From what he could tell, previous quirks became a part of One For All when given. There should have been no way to distinguish a previous quirk. So how could he possibly-?

All For One laughed at his expression. "Dear boy, you forget that I collect quirks for a living," he reminded him. "And as you know, no two quirks are alike. I happen to have a little quirk called Recall. It allowed me to view everything that's happened to one's body since conception. I know that you have two joints in your pinky toe."

Izuku flushed, unable to stop himself from ducking his head in shame. Sometimes, it was easy to forget that he used to be quirkless. That he had been given the chance to become a hero by being in the right place at the right time. If not for that, he would be just another quirkless nobody. Who knew what would have happened after that?

Izuku had done research on quirkless discrimination. A startling percentage of quirkless young adults ended up dead either by suicide or assault. Of course, that's what happens with no quirk to defend yourself. Izuku would know.

"Of course, the idiot would find it cathartic, perhaps, that you both started out without quirks," All For One observed. "Though, I have to ask. Did he truly see value in you? Or did he see himself in you?"

Izuku couldn't help it; no one was allowed to insult All Might. "He saw a true hero," he bit out, remembering the words of that fateful day. And that was all the reason he needed.

He tried not to think about the defeated, broken look of the man he had idolized his entire life. He tried not to think about the unintentionally callous words of his hero dealing the final blow to his dream. The dream that everyone, even his own mother, told him was a waste of time. That it would never happen.

He tried not to think about how All Might had left him alone on that roof, mere hours after Kacchan had told him to take a swan dive and pray for a quirk in the next life.

That was all in the past. All Might believed in him now.

'Now that I have a quirk.' He shoved the traitorous thought away.

All For One tsked sympathetically. Or rather, with false pity. "Not everything you thought he'd be, was he? Your poor boy, he didn't even properly prepare you to use my brother's quirk."

Izuku's jaw clenched. "Stop," he hissed. He didn't care what the villain said, he believed in All Might. He trusted All Might. He wouldn't turn against him. "I'm not stupid, All For One. I know you're trying to manipulate me, just like you manipulated Shigaraki. He's like this because of you."

Izuku couldn't help but feel bad for the villain. Being raised and mentored by this deceptive bastard, Shigaraki never had a chance.

All For One looked like he was trying to raise an eyebrow. "When I met Tomura, he was a child alone on the street and covered in blood," he revealed. "He was shunned by everyone around him; every adult allowed an unaccompanied child to wander around in the rain."

Izuku swallowed because yeah, that did sound awful. "Even if I believed that," he began. "That doesn't change that you turned him into a monster." He squared his shoulders, even though his arms screeched in protest; he was used to that by now. "I won't let you do the same to me."

All For One gave him an unimpressed hum. "My dear boy," he said. "I don't have to turn you into anything. The Hero Public Safety Commission has already done that."

His heart stuttered in his chest, his stomach rolling with sudden anxiety. "W-What do you mean?"

The man gave him a toothy grin. "As of yesterday, they've labeled you as a suspect for the attack on the Training Camps."

Izuku felt as though the floor beneath his feet was suddenly pulled out from under him.

Chapter Text

Simply leaving Musutafu was overly complicated.

But Momo knew it was necessary. The last thing they needed was for Mr. Aizawa or another teacher to figure out where they had run off to and stop them before they could rescue Midoriya. At her insistence, they bought train tickets for a train to Hikari Corner- a bustling city of lights and music- using the debit card given to her by her parents. However, they had bought bus passes to Hosu with cash.

They had left their phones at home, and Momo had made them each a communicator to keep in touch. She would have made burner phones, but didn't want to risk it. They could still be traced, even if it was a bit harder.

After getting off the bus, they had stopped at a department store for disguises. Ochako and herself didn't need much, just a pair of sunglasses and different clothes. But for Todoroki and Iida- who were part of two major hero families- she insisted on a more drastic approach. Todoroki's hair was way too noticeable, so she had gotten him a wig. She had made Iida lose his glasses and slick back his hair.

"What do you think, Ochako?" asked Momo once she was done.

Ochako took in their appearance, then nodded. "They look good to me," she approved with a thumbs up. "Totally un-heroic."

It would have to do. Momo placed her communicator in her ear and beckoned for everyone else to do the same. "Todoroki and I will search the bar," she instructed. "Ochako and Iida, will you stand watch?"

She had planned this carefully. Because of the hunt for both Midoriya and the League of Villains, the police were stretched thin. This meant that the duration of their shift changes had widened. Hopefully, this would give them enough time to get what they needed and get out.

"Of course," agreed Iida as they walked out of the store. He looked even more serious than usual with his new look. "We will alert you if there's any sign of trouble." The two of them split off in the opposite direction.

Momo nodded and she and Todoroki made their way towards the bar. They walked in silence, which Momo didn't mind. She knew Todoroki was a man of few words. Before, she had taken it to mean that he was unfriendly.

Now, though, she knew he just had no social skills.

They arrived at the bar relatively quickly. It was destroyed from the heroes' altercation with the League of Villains; half the building had a giant hole in it. It was ironic; all this effort had gone into saving Midoriya and Bakugou, but the heroes had failed.

She was ashamed to admit that she had been a bit annoyed that Bakugou had been the one rescued. It was a horrible thought as she hadn't wanted either boy to be taken. However, she would be lying if she said that Bakugou didn't irritate her.

He was rude, disruptive, and offensive; everything she had been raised to despise. And that wasn't even counting how he treated Midoriya.

For the life of her, Momo couldn't figure out what on Earth the poor boy had done to earn Bakugou's hatred. Midoriya was quiet, sweet, and helpful. He was reckless, yes, but he always did the right thing no matter what. Nothing he did deserved the blond's ire.

So Momo had begun to pay a little more attention.

It wasn't a secret that Midoriya and Bakugou had known each other from before UA. From the nicknames 'Kacchan' and 'Deku,' there was a clear familiarity. But to her surprise, everyone assumed that they were merely rivals.

And that assumption had never sat right with her. And observing their behavior toward one another, Momo was inclined to think she was right. There was something seriously wrong with the relationship between the two boys.

Why did no one else see it?

She and Todoroki entered the bar carefully. It was partially below ground, so they started there first. The inside was, of course, in ruins. Reaching into her purse, Momo took out two contact lenses- provided by Hatsume- and placed them into her eyes. "Come on," she murmured. "Give me something; anything."

The lenses, according to Ochako- were supposed to pick up on things that the naked human eye simply couldn't.

Looking around, the lenses highlighted an area on the far right wall. Momo frowned, nudging Todoroki. "Look," she said, gesturing.

Todoroki- with the same lenses- nodded. "It looks like a compartment," he observed. They walked over and he leaned forward to try to pull it off. But it didn't budge. "It's completely sealed."

Momo hummed in thought. "Try freezing it," she suggested. That should loosen the wood enough to get the panel off.

He nodded and did as she said, encasing the entire area in ice. He held up his left hand. "Should I-?"

She choked, hastily pushing it down. "Goodness no, Todoroki," she replied. Was it her or was her entire class outlandishly reckless? "It's wood."

"Oh."

Momo chuckled a bit at his blank expression. "Let me try something." Placing a hand on her neck, she produced a small scraper from her flesh. Using it, she successfully pried the frozen panel open. Sharing a glance with her companion, she took a look inside.

The compartment was small. There were two bottles of liquor, a gun, a photograph, and a piece of paper. Momo grabbed everything except the liquor.

"Why the gun?" asked Todoroki, eyeing her skeptically.

She shrugged. "It might come in handy." It could also have fingerprints. Producing a special, protective bag from her thigh, she placed the items in it and then slung it over her shoulder.

'Momo,' hissed Ochako over her ear piece. 'The police look like they're changing shifts. You'd better get out of there.'

"Right," agreed Momo. "You and Iida shouldn't hang around either." She turned to her companion. "We had better go, Todoroki."

He nodded and the two of them carefully left the damaged building. They once again walked in silence, rounding a corner. A few officers passed them, but paid them no mind as they navigated the streets of Hosu.

"I should warn you," said Momo softly. "Should we be caught attempting to help Midoriya, the HPSC may charge us with aiding a suspect." It baffled her that the HPSC had even made Midoriya a suspect in the first place. The only reason he was in this mess was because he had been trying to save Bakugou.

Todoroki grunted softly. "Perhaps," he agreed. "But it won't matter much when we clear his name."

It warmed her heart; Midoriya had such great friends who would do anything for him and believed in him wholeheartedly. Her own childhood had been a lonely one. Few wanted to genuinely be her friend outside of her family's money. That was why she had been so distant at the beginning of the year; she was friendly enough, but hadn't been out to form close connections.

But maybe this group was a good one. If Iida and Todoroki could have friends, surely she could as well.

"What did you mean?" asked Todoroki as they walked. "Before we left the hospital? About Midoriya and Bakugou's past?"

Momo bit her lip. Was it wise to tell Todoroki what she truly thought? While she was firm in her assumption, there was always the chance that she was wrong. She didn't want to accuse Bakugou of a crime he may not have committed- even if he was insufferable.

Not to mention that Midoriya might not want his business out there. If things were as bad as she thought, why wouldn't Midoriya tell Todoroki with how close the two of them were? Was he afraid? Or was there nothing to tell?

So Momo just glanced at her companion. "Todoroki, what does it mean to be someone's rival?"

He stayed quiet for a moment. Then, "Well, for my father, it pushes him to his limit. He's determined to surpass All Might, no matter what. He doesn't let anything get in his way."

That answer... didn't quite sit right with her. But she continued to listen silently.

"But for Midoriya and I," Todoroki continued. His tone was considerably lighter. "We... make each other better. We push ourselves in an attempt to beat the other, but we help one another improve as well."

That was better. Momo nodded to herself. "And do you think Midoriya and Bakugou are like that?"

He paused. "No," he admitted. "Bakugou is aggressive, even outside of training and academics. He constantly calls Midoriya names too. Sometimes, he's even violent..." He trailed off and she looked at him curiously. She was met with an unreadable expression. "Yaoyorozu."

Her chest tightened; he had figured it out. "Yes?"

"Do you think Bakugou... bullies Midoriya?"

There it was. The accusation she had never spoken out loud. Momo pressed her lips together, trying to give nothing away. "I don't know for sure," she answered honestly. "That's what it looks like to me, but no one ever said anything. Mr. Aizawa has never done anything about it."

And that was really what made her hesitate. If Bakugou truly was a bully- something UA had a zero tolerance policy for- why hadn't the teachers ever intervened? Punished Bakugou? Bullying was meant to be grounds for expulsion.

She would know; she read the handbook. But surely, the teachers wouldn't stand for that?

Todoroki's face darkened. "Then maybe Mr. Aizawa should spend less time sleeping," he snapped, his voice suddenly cold. She was about to reply, when he tugged her sleeve and pointed at a convenience store. "We should meet Uraraka and Iida there. It will give you a chance to recharge and we can get food for everyone else too."

Momo nodded and followed him. He told the other two where they were meeting and went into the store. She sat on a bench outside and took a look at the evidence.

The photograph was a promotional poster for a new video game. From what she could tell, there was nothing special about it. Placing it back in her bag, she took a look at the piece of paper. It was blank, except for a phone number written in red ink.

Despite the phone number, Momo felt disheartened. Was this really all they had? She entered the number into her burner phone for safe keeping, waiting patiently for Uraraka and Iida. Hopefully, calling the number would provide them with some clues. If not, they were back to square one.

But that was fine. Momo would do whatever it took to bring her classmate home; because that was what heroes did. Doing the right thing was never something that should be called into question. Midoriya, she knew, understood that more than most. It was truly what separated him and Bakugou.

'I don't know where you are, Midoriya,' she thought to herself. 'But please try to hold on. We're going to bring you home.'

Chapter Text

The investigation was moving at an irritatingly slow pace.

Toshinori growled under his breath as they hit yet another dead end. Wherever the League had disappeared to, they had been careful not to leave an y traces behind. The best that their finest investigators could do was make a list of the closest abandoned buildings in the area and then send him and the rest of the heroes to them. Of course, that worked about as well as expected.

And if that wasn't enough, the Hero Public Safety Commission had labeled his boy a suspect. Toshinori had half a mind to tear into President Samui himself. Nothing Midoriya had done justified defaming his character. He knew for a fact that the HPSC was grasping for straws and using speculation to make it seem like they weren't.

As if his boy's career- his life- was a tool for their image.

When Toshinori had been younger, he'd had a bit of a temper. Since becoming the Symbol of Peace, he'd learned to reign it in and keep a level head. But truthfully? He hadn't felt this enraged in years.

Naomasa placed a hand on his shoulder. "Easy, Toshinori," he warned, always the voice of reason. "You know the Commission's just looking to place the blame on someone else. Since I'm heading up this investigation, I'll be able to question him first and we'll clear his name."

Logically, Toshinori knew he was right. But his protective side raged in his chest. An ugly part of him sneered that if Young Bakugou had been the one still in the League's clutches, the Commission would have had a very different response. "I just don't like that they feel the need to run his name through the mud like this," he confessed to his old friend. "He's the victim here."

Though, his boy would likely reject such a title. He always felt the need to be the savior, not the prey. The fact that the HPSC was using him as a scapegoat was ludicrous.

Naomasa hummed lowly to himself. "You care an awful lot for the boy," he observed, a hint of teasing in his eyes.

Toshinori felt the tips of his ears burn. "He's my... protege," he murmured lamely. In truth, it wasn't too much for him to admit- at least to himself- that he did favor Young Midoriya. Not just in the sense that the young man was his favorite student (which was true), but that well... He'd never had children- his line of work was too dangerous- but if he had been given a son, he would have wanted one just like Young Midoriya.

Of course, he couldn't just tell the boy that! It would be overstepping as his mentor, and he didn't want to make his protege feel uncomfortable. Although, he had come close a few times.

From his belt, Toshinori's cell phone rang. Stepping away from the scene to answer it, he picked up the call. "Hello?"

'You have some explaining to do, All Might.'

Toshinori furrowed his eyebrows. "Aizawa?" he questioned. Since when had the younger man ever deigned to call him? "Is there something wrong?"

He could practically feel Aizawa's vein throbbing from the other line. 'Why am I only now hearing that Midoriya's quirk came in the day of the entrance exam?' he growled lowly. 'Why isn't it in his file?'

Toshinori's stomach rolled. Realistically, he knew Nezu had been obligated to tell the other main teachers- Aizawa, Midnight, and Present Mic- some of the truth when the HPSC had labeled Midoriya a suspect. Him being a quirkless child was, after all, had been a big part of their reasoning. But he had hoped the principal would hold off long enough for them to rescue Midoriya. That way the kid could decide how they moved forward.

Wishful thinking, he supposed. He hoped Young Midoriya wasn't too thrown off when they rescued him.

"As you can imagine," said Toshinori slowly, attempting to come up with a believable lie. Aizawa wasn't an easy man to fool. "Young Midoriya's past can be difficult to talk about. He requested that all unnecessary information be taken off his file, lest some of his teachers judge him for it."

That had actually been him. He had asked Nezu to simply keep all information about his past out of his homeroom teacher's hands. It was technically still on his official UA file, but no one had access to it other than Nezu.

'You idiot,' snapped Aizawa. This was the angriest Toshinori had ever heard him. 'Do you not realize how detrimental that's been to his progress? If I had known-'

But Toshinori felt a swell of irritation at the other man's words. "You would have what?" he demanded, suddenly annoyed. "You wouldn't have expelled him?" He remembered Aizawa's little quirk assessment all too well. He knew the man had been intentionally targeting his boy because of what he had seen at the entrance exam. His boy- his wonderful, clever boy- had pulled through at the last minute, but that didn't make it better.

Silence on the other end.

Toshinori sighed heavily. "You would have," he confirmed. "I worried about Young Midoriya being in your class for that very reason, Aizawa. You were willing to expel him with a quirk as strong as his, do you mean to tell me that you wouldn't have thrown him out of UA if you learned he had previously been quirkless?"

Aizawa inhaled deeply. 'You may have a point,' he admitted begrudgingly. 'I had been ready to expel the kid that day. But that doesn't change the facts. Not only did he have to deal with a bully, on top of that-'

His heart stopped. "Bully?" he interrupted. His boy was being bullied? How? When? "What are you talking about?"

'Aren't you supposed to be his mentor?' Aizawa remarked snidely. 'How did you not know of the boys' past?'

"Boys?" parroted Toshinori, racking his brain for the identity of the second boy. Who would dare-? But then, it clicked. "Do you mean Bakugou?"

'Who else?' Aizawa hissed. 'It's clear just from Midoriya's file. And, honestly, it should have been clear from Bakugou's actions alone. His teachers just chose to brush it off.' A pause. Then, softly, 'Me included.'

But Toshinori was reeling. "No," he murmured, mostly to himself. Every interaction he had seen between the two boys was replaying in his mind, from an entirely different angle. A malicious angle. "No, no, that can't be right. They're just rivals!"

There was no way. Bakugou wasn't bullying his boy. Sure, the blond had a nasty temper, but to actually be a bully? To actively attempt to damage another classmate? That didn't fit. It wasn't right.

'Open your eyes, you fool,' spat Aizawa, voice dripping with contempt. Whether it was at himself or Toshinori, Toshinori didn't know. 'If I have to face the facts, you do too. We fucked up, there's no sugarcoating that.'

Toshinori wanted to deny it; truly he did. Bakugou was his student and he adored every single one of them. He had been convinced that every one of them was a true hero. To believe the worst of any of them... But then he thought back, back to the very first class he'd had with Class 1A. When he'd seen Young Midoriya and Bakugou go head-to-head for the first time. How horribly violent the blond was, how he wouldn't stop even when Young Midoriya could barely stand on two feet.

What the hell? What was wrong with him? How had he overlooked that? That wasn't normal! How could he have ever thought it was? All this had been happening right under his own nose. And yet, he had ignored it. He had failed his boy.

Again.

'Snap out of it,' Aizawa barked. 'We can worry about Bakugou later, your priority needs to be on finding Midoriya... and keeping an eye out for his friends.'

Toshinori winced, the next revelation practically giving him whiplash. "What?" he replied stupidly, not quite comprehending what he had just been told.

'Apparently, you and the other pros aren't making enough progress,' Aizawa told him, his voice somewhere between furious and amused. 'Uraraka, Iida, Todoroki, and Yaoyorozu were all reported missing by their families.'

Toshinori blinked and pressed his palm to his forehead. It was official. These kids were going to kill him.

Chapter Text

Katsuki gripped his pencil so hard that he thought it would snap as he glared at his TV screen. Four UA students were missing, presumably running away from home. Round Face, Icy-Hot, Glasses, and- surprisingly- Ponytail had gone to rescue Deku. Huh, he hadn't thought the goody-two-shoes had it in her to break the rules. UA would be facing backlash for losing a whopping total of five students, but because it had happened under the supervision of their families and not the school, no one could say much.

It made him want to scoff; fucking Deku wasn't worth this. Katsuki's eyes narrowed; he wasn't worth anything.

His mother came into his room without knocking, carrying a plate with a sandwich on it. "Here, brat," she offered, placing it next to him. "Your dad's making something big tonight to celebrate you getting out of the hospital, so I thought I'd give you something light."

Katsuki waved her off. "Whatever," he responded. They had been hovering around him since he had woken up in the hospital and it was getting on his nerves. He wasn't a child; he didn't want nor need their coddling.

The hag gave him a displeased grunt. "I would've thought getting nabbed would have humbled you," she complained. His jaw clenched. "Wishful thinking, I guess."

"You know, hag, most parents worry about their children," Katsuki snapped back. Out of all the adults in his life, no one worked his last nerve like his mother. His father thought it was because they were so much alike.

He just thought it was because his mother was a malicious witch.

His mother's gaze turned cold for a moment before her crimson eyes flashed. "You mean like Izuku's mother?" she challenged.

Katsuki glowered at the mention of Deku. This had been an ongoing battle between them for the last ten years. She hated that the two of them had stopped being friends. Katsuki was a firm believer that her being friends with the nerd's mother had shit to do with him. Why should he let Deku tie him down just because she wanted him to?

"I keep telling you that no one told the fucking moron to come after me," he growled. "Why should I care that he went and got himself kidnapped?"

"Watch your damn mouth," the hag warned. "And don't try that crap on me, Katsuki. Ain't you supposed to be a hero? Newsflash, kiddo, heroes care about other people."

Katsuki resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Only idiots still believed that. Endeavor was the number two hero and he had fucked Icy-Hot up real good. Real heroes were the ones who did whatever it took to win.

All Might was the one exception, of course. The sap still preached things like justice, honesty, peace, etc. It made him want to hurl. How had someone so softhearted become the number one hero? No wonder he had picked a pathetic wimp like Deku to-

Anger clouded his vision, if only for a brief moment. Because what the hell made that nerd so special? He was the one with the power. He was the one who had been working his entire life, the one everyone knew would be great. Hell, it had been him fighting against the sludge freak before the start of UA. Fucking Deku had done nothing but get in the way.

So why? Why had All Might chosen Deku? What did he have that Katsuki didn't?

His mother sighed at his lack of response. "Be on your best behavior tonight, Katsuki," she instructed. "Your homeroom teacher is coming by to check up on you and your father wants to give him a good impression, or whatever." Katsuki froze, not that she noticed. "I figured why not, might as well try to make up for all the trouble you caused..."

But he had stopped paying attention. Aizawa was coming here? Why? Katsuki knew it was more than to check on him, if even that. Something like that would have been trivial to his homeroom teacher, who couldn't even be bothered to stay awake for most classes. Aizawa didn't coddle his students, and he would never waste time with this.

No, there was another reason. Katsuki wasn't sure what that was, but he was sure that tonight's dinner was going to be hell for him. His red eyes narrowed; he knew that the shitty nerd was at the center of it.

OoOoOo

The hag had him set the table.

Katsuki growled to himself, but did as he said. It was easy enough- honestly, how could anyone screw something like that up?- and once he was done, he went to cut the vegetables for his father. His father didn't ask him to, but he did anyway. He almost enjoyed cooking with his father, it was always quiet, peaceful. The hag wouldn't dare step foot in a kitchen, so it was a nice break from her nagging.

His father smiled next to him. "Thank you, Katsuki," he said kindly.

Katsuki scoffed. "Whatever." The clown was more tolerable than the hag, but that didn't mean he wasn't annoying. Always so soft-spoken and polite, it almost reminded him of Deku. It was sickening.

There was silence between them for a while. Then, "I know you and Izuku aren't friends anymore, but I think you're taking this harder than you think."

What the fuck? Katsuki's jaw clenched. "I don't care about that shitty nerd," he insisted. "When are the two of you going to get that through your heads?" It was bad enough Deku called him that nickname and felt the goddamn need to save him; he wasn't going to let anyone else think he cared what happened to Deku.

The League of Villains could have him, for all he cared.

The clown was unfazed. "Maybe," he admitted. "But you hate that he was the one to take your place. You hate that of all people he was the one to save you."

One thing about the clown; he was too damn insightful. Unfortunately, he was right. If it had been anyone else, well, he would have been annoyed obviously. But it hadn't been anyone else, just Deku.

Worthless Deku. Deku, who shouldn't have ever amounted to anything. Stupid Deku, who should have been a nobody.

Deku, who was the one to take his place when the League had been after him.

it boiled Katsuki's blood like nothing else. That idiot shouldn't have even been allowed in UA. All his life, Deku had been nothing but a big beneath his shoe, a bug he could justify squashing. But now-

Now they were equals. And Katsuki couldn't fucking take it.

"Masaru!" squawked the hag. "Our guest is here!"

The clown got that dopey look on his face that he did every time the hag spoke. He couldn't stand the fact that he had come from someone so fucking whipped. "Coming, dear!" he pleasantly called back.

This was going to be a long night.

OoOoOo

Aizawa was pissed.

Katsuki could practically feel it roll off his teacher in waves as they sat down to eat. The man was pleasant enough to his parents, but there was something angry in his eyes. His subtle glare was almost like the one he had when he used his quirk. It almost made Katsuki shiver; what the hell had crawled into his sleeping bag?

His mother actually smiled at his teacher. "I wanted to thank you," she said and he didn't think she had ever heard the hag speak so softly. "For what you said at the press conference. You see, that's when I understood the school was watching him closely."

Something flickered in Aizawa's face. Katsuki didn't know why, but it gave him a feeling of dread. "Forgive me, Mrs. Bakugou," he said curtly, but not unkindly. "But I'm afraid your assumption is wrong. The school has failed in that regard."

His mother's expression cracked. "What do you mean?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

Aizawa sighed. "I'm afraid the school wasn't watching your son as well as you thought," he admitted. What the hell? What was going on? "We have made a grievous error at the expense of one of our students."

His father tilted his head. "Do you mean Izuku?" he questioned. "What happened at the Training Camps was an honest mistake, and I'm sure-"

But Aizawa shook his head. "I'm afraid this goes much further than the Training Camps," he corrected. His icy gaze pierced right through Katsuki. "Tonight, I came here for a few reasons. Yes, one was to check on your son's recovery. Unfortunately, the other was to inform you that he has been put on disciplinary probation."

...What?

"What the hell?" shrieked his mother, more surprised than angry. "What for? What has he done wrong?"

"As you know, Midoriya has been labeled a suspect by the HPSC," he informed them. "The reason for this was that the Commission began to dig into his past and his relationship with your son. They found a series of incidents between the two boys that not only suggests that your son has been bullying Midoriya for years, but that he got away with it because of Midoriya's quirkless status. In their minds, this gave Midoriya probably enough cause to join the League of Villains."

Fuck; fuck.

Katsuki had never seen himself as a bully. The nerd was annoying and unrealistic. How was a qurikless nobody going to become a hero? The nerd was an idiot. Katsuki had simply shown him that. How was that bullying?

"Bullying?" echoed his father, and shit; he hated the pitiful look the older man wore. "That can't be! Mitsuki and I have always been close with Izuku's mother and father, if Katsuki was bullying the boy, then surely-"

Aizawa held up a hand, silencing him. "We will be speaking to Mrs. Midoriya soon," he assured them. "But until we retrieve Midoriya safely and get his side of the story, all we can do is go off of the information we have. While we conduct this investigation, your son will be under disciplinary probation."

Disciplinary probation? Him? He had never even been given detention in his life! Now because fucking Deku had gotten himself in this mess he was being punished?

No, fuck no.

"That's bullshit!" hissed Katsuki, standing up. He could feel his quirk begging to come out through his palms. "I never fucking bullied Deku!"

But Aizawa's eyes flashed red and his quirk died down. "If you're so innocent, then you have nothing to worry about," he snapped. Never had Katsuki heard his homeroom teacher use that tone.

Except, maybe, on villains. Katsuki reluctantly sat down.

The man turned his cold gaze back to all three of them. "Let me be clear, if I had it my way, your son would be expelled immediately. But Principal Nezu is insistent that we need all the facts before we come to a decision. We will talk to Midoriya when he's home safely and then it will be decided if your son remains at UA. Midoriya will, of course, get to decide if he feels comfortable with your son's presence at school."

He then sent a particularly vicious glare toward Katsuki that made him swallow the retort on his tongue. "If I were you, I would pray that Midoriya takes pity on you."

His ears burned at that word. Pity; he didn't need Deku's fucking pity! That nerd was beneath him, he was nothing. Katsuki didn't want anything from him!

But the alternative was possibly being expelled from the top hero school in the country. Fuck!

Aizawa then stood, bowing respectfully to his parents. "Thank you for the food, Mr. and Mrs. Bakugou," he said graciously. "I'll be going now."

His parents nodded wordlessly as his teacher left. They stared at the spot where the man had been sitting. Katsuki felt frozen in his seat, unable to take his eyes off his parents.

Then- finally- his mother turned to him. He could see the anger etching on her face; worse, he could see the utter betrayal in her eyes. Her hands clenched and she looked like she was about to explode.

But his father laid a hand on her shoulder and she calmed down; her expression changed from rage to sorrow as she turned away from him.

And for the first time in his life, his father looked at him coldly. "Katsuki," he said softly. "Got to your room."

Chapter Text

The poor kid.

Shuichi's mouth twisted into a frown as he watched their relatively small captive. Midoriya's legs were pressed against his chest, face buried in his knees. Shuichi had tried to feed him, but he was completely unresponsive aside from muttering incoherently. His green eyes were empty and it almost seemed like he was trying to hide himself from the rest of the world.

Shuichi could understand that.

He kneeled, keeping his distance from the boy. Startling him while he was wrapped up in his own head like this was dangerous. With a quirk like his, he could accidentally end up activating it, harming himself further. And with his two broken arms...

"Hey," said Shuichi softly. "Kid. You really should eat something."

Midoriya stopped mumbling. Slowly, he lifted his head from his knees and weakly shook his head. "Don't... want..."

An uneasy feeling crawled up Shuichi's spine. He knew Midoriya was a true hero from Stain's own declaration, but those eyes. Those eyes belonged to someone who had truly experienced pain. His fingers curled; this was what Hero Society did. This was what needed to be wiped out. No child should look like that ever.

Shuichi shifted. "You're still recovering," he cajoled gently, holding up the sandwich. "You need to keep your strength up if you want your arms to heal."

That seemed to catch Midoriya's attention. His gaze shifted into suspicion. "Why would you want that?" he demanded. "Once I'm healed, I could use my quirk to escape."

Shuichi grimaced. "You aren't a prisoner here," he assured the kid. "We just want to help you. You should really take Shigaraki's offer."

Midoriya studied him for a long time. "You're not like the others," he noticed.

The reptilian man scoffed. "How do you figure?" he mumbled sarcastically. Truth was, he knew he wasn't like Shigaraki, Toga, Dabi, and the others. They were all strong, determined. They all had their own goals and would do whatever it took to reach them.

Not him, he was a follower, a coward. The League was strong so he readily did what they said even if he didn't agree with a lot of their actions.

But the kid shook his head. "That's not a bad thing," he insisted, the feral look in his eyes receding somewhat. "I just... you don't seem like a... villain?"

Shuichi cocked his head to the side. "What?" What was this kid on? He could have been the goddamn poster child for villainy. He had been told as much growing up. It was why he had never liked to show his face in public before joining the League.

Midoriya cringed, attempting to shrug which couldn't have been easy with his arms broken like that. "I don't know," he said helplessly. "Why did you join them in the first place? I'm having a hard time believing that you actually want to hurt people like Shigaraki does."

Shuichi straightened. "We're trying to make the world better," he defended. He ignored the voice telling him that attacking schoolchildren is hardly doing anything positive for the world. "Like Stain wanted. You know more about that than anyone, right?"

The kid got a faraway look in his eyes. "Stain was right about a lot of things," he conceded. "But the way he went about it was wrong. He attacked and murdered genuinely good heroes."

Shuichi pondered the kid's words. "Stain deemed you a true hero," he reminded the boy. "All Might too. If he was right about the two of you, I can't doubt that he was right about everyone else." Stain was extreme, but that didn't mean he was wrong. The term hero had been corrupted and muddled by society.

Heroes today only saved people when there was something to gain something from it. It was disgusting.

But Midoriya shook his head. "Some people might not be selfless," he whispered. "But that doesn't mean they're bad people or bad heroes. I have a friend who wants to become a hero to give her struggling parents an easier life. I think that's pretty heroic."

Shuichi thought about his own homely childhood. About how he'd had to wear rags his entire adolescent life. Could he fault anyone- even heroes- for wanting to make money to support their families?

"You might be right," he relented, holding out the sandwich once more. "Eat. I know you must be hungry."

This time, Midoriya did take a bite. "So you're here because of Stain," he noted, eyes softening. "Like Dabi and Toga. But if that's the case, why did you join the League of Villains? From what I could tell, Stain hated villains just as much."

Shuichi shrugged. "Shigaraki claims that he wants the same thing Stain did." He wasn't completely sure of that, to be honest. Shigaraki, in general terms, liked being an asshole. He didn't doubt that the man had been hurt by hero society, but he knew that Shigaraki craved violence and destruction.

Which was probably what drew him to Bakugou in the first place.

But Shuichi also thought he was seeing a change in Shigaraki. Ever since they had taken Midoriya, his entire demeanor was shifting. It was almost like learning the truth about the kid was disrupting everything he knew about hero society.

Honestly, Shuichi hadn't been surprised. Stain had claimed Midoriya a true hero for a reason, reinforced by the kid's determination to save someone who treated him like shit. He was a good kid and would be an excellent hero if he stayed on this path.

But a part of Shuichi almost didn't want to see that happen. Hero society would take advantage of his kindness and exploit it. They didn't deserve him.

Midoriya shook his head. "I don't think Shigaraki really knows what he wants," he pressed. Green eyes darted towards the door, then back at him before lowering his voice. "He's being manipulated. I think All For One's just using him."

"All For One?" echoed Shuichi, the name unfamiliar. "You mean the bastard without a face?" Shigaraki's boss and the person who supplied him with his resources. The man gave Shuichi the creeps. And it wasn't because of his appearance- he had no room to judge- there was just something so ominous about him.

It put him on edge.

"He took Shigaraki in when he was a kid," continued Midoriya. "I can't be sure how they met but if All For One's been feeding him lies like he'd been trying to feed me-"

Shuichi held up a hand. "What lies?" he asked, frowning. It didn't sit well with him that anyone would be lying to the kid while he was here. They wanted him on their side, did they not? He wanted the kid to see the truth, not to be deceived.

Midoriya bit his lip. "I have something All For One wants," he revealed carefully. "He needs me alive for it, so I'm pretty sure he's lying to make me give it to him. He tried to tell me that the HPSC labeled me as a suspect-"

Shuichi couldn't look him in the eye.

The kid noticed. "Why do you look like that?" he asked softly. But he sounded like he already knew the answer.

Shuichi sighed; he had to be honest with the kid. "I don't know what else this All For One guy told you," he said as gently as he could. "But that part is true." He had always known the Commission was a bunch of spineless, no-good cowards but this was a different level of despicable. How could they possibly justify using a fifteen-year-old child to save face?

Midoriya's jaw clenched and the faraway look returned to his eyes. "Why?" he suddenly demanded. He didn't sound particularly angry, but there was something eerie about his tone. It gave the impression of someone resigned, someone who was completely done.

Shuichi internally shivered; the HPSC may or may not have just made the wrong enemy. "I couldn't tell you," he answered. "But if I had to guess, I would say it has something to do with that little blond asshole."

"You mean Kacchan?"

Shuichi scowled. "Is that what you call him?" That nickname would imply that they were friends. But Bakugou had openly admitted to being an entitled twerp who tormented those he perceived as weaker than him.

Just what kind of fucked up relationship did those two have?

Again, Midoriya shrugged, the edge in his eyes ebbing away somewhat. "We were friends when we were younger," he supplied. "But when he got his quirk he decided I wasn't good enough to be his friend I guess. The name always just stuck with me, it doesn't feel right calling him anything else."

For some reason, the confession made Shuichi guilty. Of course the kid didn't know any better; with hero society the way it was, Bakugou would have been praised since the day he turned four. He would have had no choice but to believe that the blond brat was above him. And if they had been friends, it would be hard to let that go...

Though, something wasn't adding up. Midoriya's quirk was powerful; why wasn't he praised the same? Was it because he broke his bones to do it? Maybe. It still didn't sit right with him, though.

Shuichi sighed. "I wish I could convince you to join," he said. "We could change this world for the better."

Midoriya's eyes softened. "That's what you want," he replied sympathetically. "But that isn't what the League wants. I think you know that."

Shuichi couldn't disagree.

Chapter Text

Tenya nervously bounced his leg as they rode the train in silence.

Next to him, Uraraka frowned. "Iida, you okay?" she asked.

He frowned, leaning back in his seat. "Just worried," he admitted, though that was putting it lightly. Who knew if Midoriya was even alive at this point? And if the heroes hadn't found him, what chance did they have? Not to mention how much trouble the four of them would be in once they returned to the school. While rescuing Midoriya would certainly be worth it, he did still fear the consequences.

Uraraka nodded in understanding. "We'll find Deku," she assured him, patting his arm. Her brown eyes reflected nothing but determination and Tenya couldn't help but feel envious of her optimism. How did she do it?

Yaoyorozu gave a soft smile. "That's right," she agreed. She fiddled with her burner phone- she was the only one who had one- and frowned a little. "So odd that the number is a yakitori grill of all places. Do you think that's where they're hiding?"

"Could be," muttered Todoroki, his gaze still focused on the window. He had been even more quiet than usual for the past two days. Tenya almost got the feeling that he was upset about something. But with Todoroki, it was almost impossible to tell.

Yaoyorozu glanced at the heterochronic boy. "In any case, it is worth checking out." She sighed, covering her mouth with her hand, a thoughtful expression on her face. Tenya was filled with a sense of deja vu. "I just wish it wasn't so far out. And if this is a dead-end, we'll have wasted even more time which we have very little of as it is. And if that's the case-"

"Momo," interrupted Uraraka. It looked like she had reached the same conclusion he did, judging by the look on her face. "Do you always... think out loud like that?"

Yaoyorozu started, flushing lightly. "Oh, um, sorry?" she responded, clearly embarrassed.

But Uraraka laughed good-naturedly. "No, don't be!" she said. "It's just, you reminded me of Deku when you did that!"

Tenya couldn't help but join in. "He certainly does mumble to himself a lot," he recalled. In fact, it had happened the first day Tenya had met the green haired boy. He- he was ashamed to recall- had been acting out of anxiety for the entrance exam and unfairly called Midoriya out. His actions had been shameful that day.

Of course, Midoriya had brushed it off when Tenya offered his apologies. The shorter boy seemed to allow things to roll off his back, though he often wondered if this was a good thing. Tensei had always taught him that it wasn't good to hold everything inside. If Midoriya was still upset with him about it, Tenya wanted him to be honest about it instead of hiding it.

He also wished Midoriya would stand up to Bakugou once in a while.

Tenya understood that his friend didn't allow Bakugou's comments to get to him, but even for rivals the blond was extreme. It irritated him that Bakugou got to do whatever he wanted yet no one ever said anything to him about it. Mr. Aizawa never even reprimanded him for putting his feet on his desk!

No, he wasn't holding a grudge.

But the point remained that the teachers allowed Bakugou to mostly do as he pleased. Tenya wasn't too fond of that. Upon entering UA, he had been under the assumption that things would be more orderly. But more often than not it seemed as though the teachers didn't have control. It bothered Tenya, it really did.

Yaoyorozu still seemed embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I don't usually talk to myself like that," she said apologetically bowing her head. "I suppose I just have a lot on my mind. If this is a dead-end, I'll have failed all of you and Midoriya."

Tenya winced. "Yaoyorozu, we won't condemn you for failing," he promised. He used to think that too, that anything less than perfection was disgraceful. But Tensei's assault had taught him that some things were just out of his control. It was better to come to terms with his shortcomings and use them going forward.

Uraraka nodded. "That's right," she agreed "Remember, you didn't have to help, you chose to." She giggled slightly. "None of us really know what we're doing anyway. Besides, if the heroes haven't found him yet, we can't be doing any worse than that, can we?"

"Midoriya wouldn't want you to be so hard on yourself," added Todoroki.

Yaoyorozu smiled shyly at them. "Thank you all," she said softly. She glanced at Todoroki before nodding slightly. "Todoroki and I think that the League decided to recruit Midoriya instead of Bakugou, so there's a good chance they won't hurt him."

Tenya raised an eyebrow. "Why would they choose Midoriya?" he questioned. Bakugou's blatant disregard for the rules, disrespectful attitude, and violent nature practically screamed villain. What on Earth would make them think that Midoriya- sweet, humble, kind, utterly heroic Midoriya- would ever want to join their team?

Uraraka blinked, also confused. "Yeah, I could never see Deku wanting to be part of the League of Villains, especially considering what happened at the mall."

Todoroki titled his head. "What happened at the mall?" he asked. Of course, he hadn't been there at the time.

Tenya winced, remembering the terrifying incident. "The leader, the one with the hands, got a hold of him when he and Uraraka were separated," he recalled. "Midoriya handled the situation well, but he very well could have died."

Yaoyorozu shuddered. "Midoriya is an enigma," she admitted. "Sometimes he's so high-strung, other times he keeps himself so collected."

Todoroki looked troubled. "I had no idea about this," he revealed. "Why wouldn't Midoriya tell me?"

Tenya laid a hand on his shoulder. "Don't take offense," he said quickly. He might have as well at one point, but he knew a little better now. "Midoriya doesn't like to call attention to himself."

Uraraka chuckled nervously. "One time, he sprained his ankle during All Might's class," she supplied. "Me and Iida had no idea until it gave out on him. I think he just doesn't feel the need to announce things like that, as frustrating as it can be."

The heterochronic boy still seemed put out. "It's nothing against you," Iida reassured him. "Remember, you were the first one to help us in Hosu. If Midoriya didn't trust you then, he definitely trusts you now."

"I tell him everything," said Todoroki. "He was the first one I told about my old man using me as a weapon to defeat All Might."

Yaoyorozu looked alarmed. "What?"

"Isn't he the number two hero?" exclaimed Uraraka in bewilderment.

Tenya cringed, filing this information away for later. "I'm starting to think Stain may have had a point."

OoOoOo

They arrived in the city late that night. Yaoyorozu quickly arranged for two conjoined hotel rooms and they took a moment to get themselves in order. "Shouldn't we wait to investigate the yakitori grill?" asked Yaoyorozu nervously. She had changed into more comfortable clothes; it was almost off-putting to see her dressed in something so relaxed. "It's late and there are less people around if you happen to run into trouble."

"They're open twenty-four hours," Uraraka pointed out. She stood next to Tenya, draping a coat over her shoulders. She practically oozed resolution. Secretly, Tenya agreed with Yaoyorozu- he would have preferred them to wait until morning to make a move- but he knew that Urakara would just go alone. He didn't want her out there alone if she ran into trouble.

"We won't be gone long," swore Tenya. "We just want to look around. If we see anything, we won't engage and we'll wear our disguises."

Yaoyorozu bit her lip. "Well... alright," she allowed. "Just be careful, alright? Keep your communicators on."

He nodded. "We will," he promised. He leaned in closer to Yaoyorozu. "Try to see if you can get Todoroki to open up to you about his father."

"I heard that."

Yaoyorozu glanced at the heterochronic boy. "Will you?" she asked.

"Yes."

"I think we'll be fine," she said, handing him some money. "Go and bring back some yakitori, I'm starving."

OoOoOo

Tenya and Uraraka made it to the yakitori place in a little over ten minutes. He quickly ushered them to a booth and looked over the menu. Stealing a glance at his companion, he noticed her staring at the menu with scrutiny. "...What are you doing?" he couldn't help but ask.

Uraraka stared harder. "Looking for a secret code, message, anything that might help us find Deku," she told him.

He jumped slightly. "Uraraka-"

"I know, okay?" she hissed. Tears welled in her brown eyes. "I know we have no idea what we're doing, I know that if the heroes haven't found Deku we have no chance!" She trembled slightly, her voice lowering. "But I have to try, okay? I can't give up on him."

Tenya felt his heart drop. "Uraraka, we'll find Midoriya," he promised, patting her arm. "And if we don't, the heroes will. Don't lose hope."

Uraraka gave him a weak smile as she wiped her eyes. "Yeah, you're right," she conceded. The door opened behind her and a short girl with blond hair walked through the door. "I just need to-" She choked on her own spit as the girl walked past before shoving her face into her menu.

"What's wrong?" asked Tenya, his engines revving under the table as his panic grew.

Uraraka ducked her head even further into her menu. "That's her," she hissed, her usually warm brown eyes sharpening coldly. "She's one of the villains that took Deku."

Tenya clenched his jaw, trying to keep calm. What could they do? Alerting Yaoyorozu know might draw the girl's attention. But this may be their only chance to find where they were keeping Midoriya.

Both options seemed like the wrong one.

Uraraka, however, kept her eyes on the girl as she picked up her food, a look of contempt burning in her eyes. Something about it set off warning bells in his head. Would Uraraka-? No, of course not. She would know that they needed a plan.

But as fate would have, Uraraka most definitely would; as soon as the girl was out the door she took off after her. It took Tenya nearly thirty seconds to realize what the hell had just happened.

"Dammit!" he seethed, springing up. He quickly altered Yaoyorozu via his communicator before following Uraraka.

Chapter Text

Broken arms took about six weeks to heal.

The entrance exam wasn't the first time he had broken an arm. It actually hadn't been because of Kacchan. No, Izuku hadn't been looking where he was going after a particularly hard day at school. He'd stumbled off a short bridge, attempting to stop his fall with his left palm. Needless to say, the ten-year-old hadn't been prepared for the crack and immediate, scalding pain after.

His mother had cried before rushing him to the hospital. He was given a cast and told that his arm would heal in six weeks.

Unfortunately for Izuku, it had only been one week, if that. Without Recovery Girl's power, he wouldn't be able to escape. Which seemed to be part of All For One's plan, because he was sure that the villain had a healing quirk. They weren't exactly rare and it surely couldn't have been a quirk he would pass up.

All For One could heal him if he wanted to. But if he did, Izuku would try to escape and no one here wanted that. Other than him, of course.

His door swung open- villains, he found, didn't tend to knock- and in walked Shigaraki. He looked marginally calmer than the last time he saw him, sitting across from him as the villains usually did. His red eyes studied him, and Izuku tried not to squirm under their scrutiny.

Then, Shigaraki gave him an exasperated sigh. "You're a real stubborn brat, you know that?" he grumbled, scratching at the base of his neck. "How can you sit there and still defend hero society? After all it's put you through?"

Izuku furrowed his eyebrows. It almost sounded like Shigaraki was asking him a genuine question. Nevertheless, it was a good one. His entire life had been filled with pain. From the day he had been deemed quirkless, things had gone wrong. His best friend had abandoned and tormented him, his mother had been devastated, and everywhere he went he was looked down at, treated differently. So why did he defend a world that had repeatedly beaten him down?

Izuku smiled, though there was a lump in his throat he couldn't swallow. "All I've ever wanted to do is help people," he revealed softly. "To inspire them like All Might does. Hero society is flawed, but things can change. I want to help make that change."

Shigaraki's face twisted to something halfway between disgust and intrigue. "You're an idealistic idiot," he hissed. "Do you think this world gives a fuck? Shitty people will always be shitty."

Izuku shrugged. "Maybe," he admitted. He thought about elaborating, but decided not to. Shigaraki didn't want to believe that people could be good, there was no use trying to convince him. "But if you think you're methods are creating more problems than they're solving, you're delusional."

Shigaraki growled at him in frustration. "You don't know what you're talking about," he snapped. "You're just some wannabe hero kid."

Izuku raised an eyebrow. "I know that All For One's manipulating you," he responded nonchalantly.

That only served to make Shigaraki angrier. He imagined it was taking nearly all the villain's self-control not to turn him to dust. "Shut up," he spat. "My Master is the only decent person in the world. He helped me when everyone else turned their back on me."

Admittedly, Izuku was trying to upset the older man. Perhaps testing the patience of a dangerous murderer was foolish, but there wasn't much else he could do. Besides, he wanted to see if the villain would let anything slip. Maybe there was something in that anger he could use to his advantage.

Shigaraki began to scratch more feverishly at the base of his beck. "Master has given me everything!" he continued. "He's supported me since I was a child. Everything I have, I have because of him! What's All Might ever done for you?"

As the villain asked that question, a fond memory settled in Izuku's mind.

Of course Kaachan won.

Izuku smiled, despite the disappointment that rolled in his stomach. It wasn't all too surprising that Kaachan had come out on top, he had been watching that happen since they were children. Heck, a part of him was even happy; everyone across Japan had gotten to see the best UA had to offer. He was proud that Kaachan won, really he was.

He supposed it just stung that he hadn't done nearly as well.

Izuku didn't regret helping Todoroki. It pained him to see anyone hold themselves back, especially because of someone like Endeavor. Todoroki shouldn't have to shy away from his full potential because of his father.

He couldn't help but feel like he had let everyone down: his mom, his friends, All Might... Especially All Might. Maybe this had been a mistake, maybe he wasn't cut out to be the Symbol of Peace's successor.

"Young Midoriya!"

Izuku winced as the soft voice made itself known. All Might's weaker form had a voice so different compared to the Number One Hero's booming one. Still, it didn't startle him any less. "H-Hi, All Might."

Confusion swept over him when All Might beamed. "You did so well, my boy!" he gushed. Thing fingers ruffled the green mop atop his head.

Izuku frowned. "But I... didn't win," he reminded the man.

All Might laughed. "Doing well in the Sports Festival is an accomplishment," he allowed. "But what you did for Young Todoroki spoke volumes. I'm so proud of you, my boy."

The young teenager felt tears well in his eyes. All Might was... proud of him. His heart swelled as he tried to remember the last time he had heard those words. Even his mother, as compassionate and affectionate as she was, had never had a reason to be proud of him.

And he never could have dreamed of hearing the words from his father.

All Might didn't notice his dilemma. "Of course, your performance itself was incredible!" he continued. "Seriously, who would have expected what you pulled in the race? You're so clever! And-"

Izuku couldn't help it, he threw his arms around his mentor. The tears escaped from his eyes as he buried his face in the blond's shirt, crying tears of elation. All Might, his hero since before he could walk, was proud of him. There was something about him worth celebrating in his hero's eyes.

He had never felt like this before.

All Might stiffened under his hold. "Why are you crying?" he asked, alarmed. The Symbol of Peace sounded about two seconds away from panicking.

Izuku sniffed. "No reason," he murmured, pulling away. He gave his mentor a watery smile. "No reason at all."

All Might gave him a nervous smile back. "I was gonna offer to take you to that katsudon place down the road," he offered. "You know, to celebrate." He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Er, if you want, that is."

He had mentioned how much he liked katsudon maybe once. Izuku did everything in his power not to burst into tears again. "Yeah," he agreed, still beaming. "I'd like that."

Izuku had that same smile on his face in present day. "All Might's done everything for me," he admitted.

Was his mentor perfect? Of course not. He could be oblivious and even careless sometimes. But he had never met anyone in the world who cared more about others than All Might. And whenever he made a mistake, he always took full accountability for it and never failed to make it up to him. He knew what Izuku liked and disliked and wasn't afraid to show him how much he cared.

It was little things like that, that made All Might the only mentor Izuku wanted.

Shigaraki looked at him with disbelief. "Did you hit your head or something?" he demanded. "Look at you! You have two broken arms and you're in the middle of a villain's lair!"

Izuku gave him a dry look. "Both of which are your fault," he retorted.

Shigaraki threw his hands up, looking a lot less angry and a lot more exasperated. "I'm a villain!"

Izuku couldn't help it, he laughed. He didn't expect Shigaraki to understand. They had just been brought up differently. His mother had raised him to be kind and understanding. All For One had raised Shigaraki to stomp on anyone who opposed him.

Shigaraki wanted to hurt people, Izuku wanted to help them. There simply wasn't a middle ground between them.

Shigaraki sighed, slapping a hand to his forehead. "You're exhausting, you know that?" he grumbled.

Izuku shrugged. "You kidnapped me," he reminded him. "Now you have to deal with me."

The villain muttered something incoherently. "Can I at least convince you that Bakugou is a spoiled, entitled little asshole who doesn't deserve to be a hero?" he asked hopefully.

Izuku thought about this. As much as he hated to admit it, he couldn't argue with Shigaraki, Toga, Dabi, and Spinner's points about his childhood friend. Anyone in 1A would agree that he was a temperamental jerk, but as far as their past went, the villains knew more than his friends. It wasn't his friends' fault of course, he had chosen to keep the past in the past.

But the fact that the League of Villains- the ones who had wanted to recruit Kaachan- thought so little of him was concerning. Was he the blind one? Had he been enabling Kaachan's behavior by downplaying it?

Did Kaachan deserve to be a hero? Or had Izuku let their upbringing delude him into thinking he was?

Shigaraki grimaced. "I get that you worship the ground All Might walks on because of all the good he's done," he said, putting air quotes around 'good.' "But what excuse do you have for that blond menace? He treats you like shit."

Izuku had to look away. "I just- he worked so hard," he defended. "Harder than anyone I know. Everyone always told him that he would make the perfect hero one day, I guess I just started to think it too."

Shigaraki scoffed. "And you try to tell me society isn't brainwashed." He stretched, heading for the door. "I'll send someone in with food soon."

Izuku nodded as he closed the door. He leaned back against the wall, alone with his thoughts. He didn't want to consider the fact that Kaachan shouldn't be a hero.

But it wasn't like he could ignore what was right in front of him. He had been doing that for far too long.

"Deku."

Izuku jumped slightly, looking frantically around the room for what he thought was a whisper. When he saw nothing, he wondered if the captivity was finally making him lose his mind. But there were three insistent taps. "Deku. Look up!"

Izuku did what he was told and looked up at the window. Peering back at him was a pair of warm chocolate eyes filled with relief.

His jaw popped open. "Uraraka?"

Chapter Text

Iida was so going to kill her.

But Ochako tried not to think about that as she ran after the blond villain. She kept a good distance behind as she tracked the girl, keeping her within her line of sight. The others would surely disapprove of her actions, but this could be their only chance. She had to find Deku.

'Ochako,' hissed Momo in her ear. 'What on Earth are you doing?'

"It's her, Momo," stressed Ochako as she ran. "One of the villains that took Deku. This could be our only chance to save him."

'We need a plan!' the other girl fired back. She had never heard Momo sound so angry; it was almost scary. 'You're going to get yourself captured! Or worse. Come back here so we can regroup and work out a plan.'

The brunette shook her head, her heart pounding in her chest. Whether it was from running or the anxious feeling in her chest she didn't know. "We'll lose her," she insisted. "We can't afford to start over, we have to find Deku now." He had been in the villains' clutches long enough; it was time to bring Deku home.

'Ochako-'

Wincing, Ochako took her earpiece out and threw it. If she kept listening to Momo, she was going to second guess herself. She couldn't afford to lose focus; Deku couldn't afford for her to lose focus.

She watched as the blond-haired devil came upon on building. It was on the outskirts of the city, but was plain enough to pass as a regular, small office building. It was nothing like the bar, which was dark and ominous. The League was getting smarter, it would seem.

Her jaw clenched as she watched the villainess enter the building. Now would have been a good time to call Momo, except she had tossed her communicator. A small part of her knew it would be wise to retreat, to just go back to the hotel and figure out a plan. But Ochako's stomach burned with resolve; she had to find Deku. She had to make sure he was safe.

Keeping her distance, Ochako used the shade of the trees to keep herself hidden as she walked along the border. 'If I had a prisoner,' she thought to herself, brown eyes narrowing at the building in front of her. 'Where would I put him?'

The back, of course.

Without wasting time, Ochako darted to the back of the building. There was a lone window there, as if that was the only room in the area. Her heart picked up in her chest. 'That's gotta be where they're keeping him!' She could float up and see for herself, it would be so easy!

Of course, what if she was wrong? What if that happened to be the meeting room and when she peeked inside there would be a bunch of villains staring back at her? That would be bad.

It would probably get her killed.

But Ochako shook off her nerves. She couldn't think about that right now, she had to concentrate. Carefully, the brunette girl activated her quirk, slowly rising to the window. Ochako hated using her quirk on herself. It made her dizzy and nauseous. But she would endure it to find Deku.

When she reached the window, Ochako immediately noticed the messy bush of green curls and wanted to cry. It was Deku. His arms were in splints and he looked exceedingly tired, but he was okay. She could have sobbed in relief.

She watched as the League's leader- Tomura Shigaraki- and Deku talked. Much to her surprise, it wasn't an entirely hostile situation. They seemed almost... amicable. When Shigaraki finally left, she tried to get Deku's attention.

She succeeded. Ochako beamed when their eyes met. She opened her mouth to speak-

"URARAKA!"

She yelped, losing her concentration and falling out of the air. Luckily, two large arms were waiting for her. Iida caught her without any trouble before setting her down. She was met with a fierce glare.

Ochako smiled up at him innocently. "I... found him?" she offered weakly.

No dice. Iida continued to glare at her. She sighed. "Listen, you can give me a class rep lecture later. But we'd better get out of here before the villains catch us."

Iida continued to glare at her before nodding in acceptance. "You're right," he agreed. Searching the area for any lurking villains, the two of them quickly made their escape back into the city.

OoOoOo

Upon returning to the hotel room, Uraraka was given an earful from Momo.

"Do you have any idea how reckless that was?" demanded the taller girl. Her usually soft, calm features were sharp and angry. She stared down at Ochako with cold dark eyes, her glare piercing. Holy shit, Momo was scary when she was mad. "You could have been taken too!"

"I know," bemoaned Ochako, feeling properly scolded.

"Do you?" challenged Momo. "What do you think would have happened if a villain saw you? Or if that girl had noticed you following her? Even if you had managed to escape, they would have known we knew their location. They have a villain with a warp quick! They would have moved Midoriya in an instant and then we would have been back at square one!"

Ochako bowed her head shamefully. Truthfully, she hadn't thought about that. She had just been so determined to rescue Deku. But Momo was right; she could have jeopardized all their progress.

"It isn't all bad," Todoroki pointed out. He had been quiet the whole time. "Now we know where Midoriya is. That's a good thing."

Momo sighed heavily. "I suppose I can't deny that," she conceded, softening some. "But next time we might not be so lucky. Please, Ochako, be more careful."

Ochako sent a grateful look to Todoroki before nodding. "Of course, Momo."

The taller girl smiled briefly before her face turned serious once more. "Now that we know Midoriya's location, we must discuss our next course of action."

Todoroki gave her a look. "We're going to rescue him."

Momo raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you honestly think we can face off against the League of Villains?" she demanded. "Don't forget that Tomura Shigaraki put Mr. Aizawa out of commission. Even All Might had trouble against his Nomu. You, Bakugou, and Midoriya are the strongest in our class and Bakugou and Midoriya were both captured, Midoriya with two broken arms. Only Ochako was able to overcome one of the villains and that was only because her quirk isn't particularly strong."

She really did cover all of her angles, didn't she?

Todoroki looked like he wanted to argue, but simply closed his mouth. Ochako knew how he felt; she wanted nothing more than to charge in and save their friend. But they couldn't just rush in, especially not after her blunder.

Momo nodded before continuing. "I think our best bet is to alert the heroes," she suggested.

"I agree," added Iida, which didn't surprise her.

Ochako bit her lip. "Are we sure we can rely on the heroes?" she questioned.

Todoroki nodded, his lips set in a thin line. "They aren't even close to finding Midoriya," he agreed. "I don't trust them."

Momo gave them both comforting pats on the shoulder. "I understand," she said gently. "But All Might is leading the search. You've seen how close they are; do you really think All Might would let us down?"

"No," admitted Ochako. If nothing else, All Might had never once failed. He would sooner cut off his own arm than allow any of his students to suffer, especially Deku.

Momo smiled. "Besides," she added, her tone betraying nothing. "You didn't let me finish. We will still be ensuring Midoriya's safe return home."

Ochako furrowed her eyebrows, leaning forward to listen to what her friend had to say.

Chapter Text

Toshinori released a ragged sigh as he reverted to his weaker form. The investigation was beginning to take its toll on his body. But he knew he needed to push on. Despite Naomasa's warnings, he couldn't afford to take it easy, not even for a second. His boy needed him. He would turn the entire world on its head if it meant bringing his boy home safe and sound.

Speaking of Naomasa, the detective popped his head into the room. "Phone for you," he announced, handing over his cell.

Toshinori glared at him. "I don't have time for that," he insisted. trying to collect himself. He needed to get back out there. "I need to-"

"Trust me," insisted his old friend, pressing the phone into his palm. "You're gonna want to answer this." He then left, leaving Toshinori even more confused.

"Hello?" he asked into the receiver. Who was so important on the other end that Naomasa felt the need to interrupt him? Though, Toshinori had learned a long time ago that it was hardly a good idea to question the detective's superior judgment.

'All Might.'

Toshinori balked. "Young Yaoyorozu?" he questioned. Aizawa had told him that she and Young Midoriya's closest friends had run off to try to find him. To hear from her now... His anxiety spiked. "Are you alright? Are any of you hurt?"

'We're fine,' the girl assured him. 'All Might, we know where Midoriya is.'

He nearly dropped the phone. "What?" he uttered quietly. They had... found him? How on Earth-?

'All Might,' stressed the young girl. 'Please, listen carefully. We know where Midoriya is, but before I tell you we need to discuss a few things.'

Toshinori blinked stupidly. He was overcome by both elation that his boy had been found and confusion that his friends were withholding this valuable information. Didn't they know that he needed to get to his boy as soon as possible? The longer they wasted time, the higher the chance something horrible would happen.

'We have a plan,' Yaoyorozu told him. 'We need you and the other pros to pull it off. But we can't let you show up there, guns blazing.'

He thought about this; out of all his students, there wasn't one among them that outmatched the girl's judgment. Whatever she said had to be worth attending to. "I'm listening," he replied.

There was soft, idle chatter in the background. If he had to guess, she was discussing with Uraraka, Iida, and Todoroki. Finally, she spoke, 'We only identified one of the villains,' she relayed to him. 'A blond girl who attacked the training camps. We don't know how many others are inside.'

Toshinori rapidly wrote this information down. "How do you know for sure Young Midoriya is there?" he questioned.

'Ochako saw him,' Yaoyorozu answered. 'Using her abilities, she was able to make eye contact with him. We know for where he's being held, but we can't tell you without a few... conditions.'

He pressed his lips together; they sure did pick the right person to talk to him. The girl could talk fifteen inmates out of Tartarus. "What kind of conditions?"

'You need to take out the warp villain,' she explained. 'If the villains even suspect that there are heroes nearby, they'll just warp Midoriya away and we won't be able to find him again. We can't let that happen.'

She made an excellent point. He would talk to Naomasa and the other heroes and see if there was a way they could neutralize the warp villain. "Anything else?"

Yaoyorozu took a deep breath. 'We're going to be the ones to rescue Midoriya,' she told him firmly.

Toshinori raised an eyebrow. "If I recall, Young Yaoyorozu, the four of you weren't supposed to go after him at all," he reminded her. Though, a part of him was impressed. The kids had a lot of heart, if nothing else. They would all make great heroes one day. "Why should I allow this?"

'Other than the fact that we're the only ones who have this information, you mean?' she pointed out. 'It's a basic strategy. Send the strong, flashy, attention-grabbing heroes to the forefront while a smaller, ragtag team completes the objective while the villains are distracted.'

His nose scrunched. "You came up with all this by yourself?"

Yaoyorozu sighed. 'All Might,' she said impatiently.

Toshinori chuckled. "Alright, then," he agreed, unable to help the grin stretching across his face. "You've got yourself a deal."

OoOoOo

"You're taking orders from children," Gran Torino deadpanned as they walked through the halls.

Toshinori grunted. "Two of which helped stop a villain that top pros couldn't," he pointed out. It wasn't as though he didn't heed his old master's words. Negotiating with his students was far from the highlight of his career. But Yaoyorozu's plan was sound. If they could take out the warp villain immediately, the kids had a real chance of extracting Young Midoriya without a problem. "These kids are no average hero students."

His mentor gave him a dull look. "You're a bad teacher."

He winced, almost expecting a cane to the knee. "Never pull your punches, do you?" he joked, chuckling nervously.

Gran Torino slapped his forehead. "You're the reason I went gray in my thirties." Jeez, he hadn't changed a bit. "I do have to hand it to the girl, it's the best we've got." The older man side-eyed him. "She's the best in her year?"

"In academics," Toshinori recalled. "But she's been known to hesitate in heroics. Young Midoriya, Young Todoroki, and Bakugou are a bit above her." Saying the blond student's name left a bitter taste in his mouth. He hadn't had the time to look at the files from Aldera Aizawa had sent him, but he knew it would be bad.

He couldn't believe he had been too blind to see how much of a problem Bakugou's behavior was. How Nezu would punish Bakugou remained to be seen, but Toshinori knew that anyone with the blond's temper and lack of control shouldn't be anywhere near heroics.

The smaller man gave a noncommittal hum. "Interesting," he remarked.

They came upon the conference room where the pro heroes- deemed the Hideout Raid Team- assigned to rescuing Young Midoriya had gathered. They all somewhat knew of the plan, though there were doubts about following the leads of students.

"I'm not sure why we're considering this instead of dragging my son and those other delinquents back here," grumbled Endeavor, crossing his large arms.

Toshinori's eye twitched. He knew for a fact that the flame hero hadn't even noticed Todoroki was missing; the boy's sister was the one who had made the call. "Those 'delinquents' did more in a few days than we did in a week," he reminded the other man sharply.

Endeavor grumbled, but said nothing else.

Gran Torino cleared his throat. "We have to draw out the warp villain," he told them. "That is non-negotiable." He was met with silence and Toshinori could hear him growl. "Well? I'm waiting, people!"

The Symbol of Peace sighed, massaging his temples. They would be here for a while.

Chapter Text

Tomura was almost certain the kid would come around.

Midoriya's resolve was strong, and his ideals were unbendable. But he wasn't stupid. He saw society's corruption. If he could convince the kid that the League would 'reform society' or whatever it was he wanted to hear, Tomura was sure that he would be swayed to their side. He just had to find a way to talk the clever little runt down, tear down the walls that kept him on the heroes' side.

"I'm impressed with your patience, Tomura," commented Master. He tried not to preen at the praise. "But the boy will need time. Are you ready to dedicate that time to convincing him of our cause?"

Tomura nodded, determined. "Think of how devastated All Might will be when we've turned his protege against him," he pointed out. "We'll also have One For All under our control."

Truthfully, Tomura didn't care about the quirk his master craved. But if it would convince Master to allow the boy to change sides, he had no problem using that angle. Besides, if there was no use for him, Tomura wasn't sure Master wouldn't just kill Midoriya. And Tomura didn't want that.

Because as much as he hated it, he had been just like Midoriya once. Beaten down by everyone around him, but still hopeful. Still staring up at heroes with starry eyes and still trying to do the right thing.

Tomura wanted to show Midoriya the path that Master had shown him.

The thought of All Might suffering, as always, seemed to appeal to his master. "Very well," he allowed. "Take as much time as you need with the boy. But I must beg you not to lose your temper. He won't open up to you if he thinks you're hostile."

Something about those words struck a chord within Tomura. Had Master intentionally been the same with him? Master wasn't nice to any other of his underlings. Tomura had always thought it was because Master had seen him as his son.

But had it been because he'd actually seen Tomura as a cornered animal? Careful not to spook or startle him, to lead him into a false sense of security?

The kids' words replayed in his head. 'I know that All For One's manipulating you.'

But Tomura growled, shaking his head. No, he was letting the brat's smart mouth get to him. Master had only ever done what was best for him. Midoirya was the one who was misguided and needed help; he didn't know what he was saying.

Tomura would fix that. He would help Midoriya like Master had helped him.

Suddenly, there was a crash.

Tomura flinched at the sound. His head whipped to Master, whose face was unreadable. "What the hell was that?" he demanded, though he had a sneaking suspicion about what had caused the noise.

His suspicions were confirmed when Toga threw herself into the room. "Boss!" She stood in the doorway, her golden eyes a bit frantic. "The heroes are here, at least a dozen of them!"

He growled, anger coursing through his veins. How dare the so-called heroes try to play the good guys now. Midoriya was better off here than with them! "Get Kurogiri," he commanded. "I want Midoriya out of here!"

But Toga shook her head. "We can't," she told them gravely. "They captured him."

OoOoOo

Tomura was pissed as he stormed outside the base.

He had ordered Dabi to guard Midoriya, just in case any heroes tried to rescue him. He had instructed Dabi to burn anyone who approached the boy's room to a crisp. They could move Midoriya later, but they would lose him if they didn't get rid of the pros. Master was thankfully in a safe place where the heroes couldn't get to him.

He came face to face with the heroes, All Might and Endeavor at the forefront. To All Might's credit, Tomura had never seen the man so pissed; he wasn't even wearing his usual nauseating smile. "I'll give you one chance, Tomura Shigaraki," All Might thundered. "Hand over Young Midoriya. This doesn't have to end in violence."

Tomura snorted. "And let him waste away trying to be you?" he snapped, scratching the base of his neck in irritation. "You've done enough damage, All Might. I'll kill you before I ever give him back to you."

All Might growled. "So be it." He lunged forward, intending to punch Tomura.

But the younger man smirked as a Nomu lunged between them, taking the full force of All Might's attack. This was the last one they had since the heroes had destroyed their factory. And it wouldn't hold out against All Might for long. But it would provide just enough time for them to distract the heroes while they retreated and relocated the kid.

Unfortunately, this plan faltered when a giant hand grabbed his precious Nomu, holding it so tightly he thought it might pop. Tomura snarled when he saw an enlarged Mt. Lady smirking down at him. He yanked off his glove, fully prepared to turn the bitch to dust, but his wrists were suddenly bound above his head, suspending him in midair. "What the-?!"

A hero, Edgeshot he believed, emerged from the shadows, controlling whatever the hell it was that had his hands tied. "Hey there," he commented.

Tomura snarled. "Twice!" he hissed.

One of Twice's clones attempted to attack Edgeshot, but it was quickly stopped by Endeavor's flames. It turned to mud instantly and Tomura was losing his patience. Twisting his wrist to the point of nearly breaking it, he was able to land all five of his finger's on Edgeshot's string. It was razor-sharp and cut the palm of his hand as he fell to the ground, but Tomura was glad to see the disintegration was already making its way back toward the hero.

Acting fast, another hero who he was pretty sure they called X-Less, shot a beam out of his right eye. It cut the string before it could fully disintegrate the hero.

"You're no match for us, Shigaraki," said All Might in that self-righteous tone of his. "Give us Young Midoriya, I won't ask again."

Tomura growled, yanking himself up. He would kill them all, every last one of them. He would make these heroes suffer if it was the last thing he did. Rage thumped between his ears and he wanted nothing more than to dust every single hero in front of him.

A hand firmly took his shoulder. "Calm yourself, Tomura," soothed the calming voice of his master.

The anger within him nearly evaporated completely. "Master!" he exclaimed, alarmed. "You shouldn't be here! All Might-"

"Can't hurt us," Master assured him. "You must focus, Tomura. Look at him, he can barely hold himself together. All I see is a beaten and broken old man who has no business on the battlefield."

"Speak for yourself, All For One," said All Might squaring his shoulders. But upon inspection, it seemed like Master was correct. The man, though exuding a strong front, was breathing heavily. Almost as if he could collapse any minute.

"The heroes won't win," Master told him firmly. "We'll defeat them and you can set Midoriya on the right path." That was right. Master understood. Tomura had nothing to worry about. The heroes would die and he would be free to mentor his new protege in peace, to get those ideals out of his head.

Determination settled within him. He wouldn't lose, he wouldn't let the hero society corrupt the kid any longer.

All Might would die today.

Chapter Text

He had to admit, Yaoyorozu was a genius.

Shouto watched in slight awe as the villains fled the compound. There was no sign of the warp villain or his quirk, meaning that they could proceed as planned. Next to him, Yaoyorozu watched the scene before them, her onyx eyes laser-focused. Shouto knew that she wouldn't let them fail. No matter what, they had to rescue Midoriya. Failure was not an option.

Yaoyorozu nodded. "Let's go," she beckoned. The four of them scurried to the window Uraraka had seen before. Uraraka touched Iida's face, then his own and they began to levitate. Once high enough, the two of them pried the window open. Yaoyorozu was next to float up. Perching herself on the windowsill, she gave a thumbs up to Uraraka, who followed suit.

And then Shouto saw him. His arms were in casts, and he was facing the wall, but there was no mistaking that green hair. Relief flooded through him; everything was going according to plan. Oddly enough, their friend hadn't noticed them yet.

"Midoriya," hissed Iida.

Midoriya started, his eyes darting to the window. He blinked, rubbing his eyes. "I-Iida?" he questioned. His voice was raspy, but other than that he seemed to be alright. "Todoroki? What are you guys doing here?"

"Deku!"

Before anyone could stop her, Uraraka scrambled down from the window and threw herself onto him. Midoriya stammered as he just barely steadied the both of them (an impressive feat for someone with two broken arms). His freckled face turned bright red at the contact and Shouto almost smiled at the scene. Uraraka often expressed what he couldn't in regard to Midoriya.

"Ochako!" hissed Momo, hurrying after her. He and Iida quickly followed suit. "Be careful, he's hurt!"

"Sorry," breathed Uraraka as she pulled away, tears in her eyes. "I'm just... so happy we found you."

Tears welled in Midoriya's eyes, which didn't surprise him in the least. "M-Me too," he stuttered. Then his mouth pulled into a frown. "But h-how did-?"

"Well, look what we have here."

Shouto's ears burned at the familiar voice and he was just barely able to summon an ice wall to counter the blue flames hurtling towards them. His arm shot out to cover Yaoyorozu from the impact as his wall shattered and ice sprayed everywhere. He winced; that fire was hot, hotter than his father's.

Before them stood the flame villain with the burns he had encountered at the training camps. His ears rang with the villain's words. 'Poor little Shouto Todoroki.' There had been taunting in those words, but also anger and hatred.

Who was this villain?

"Midoriya, I'm hurt," said the villain sardonically. It didn't sound like he was very sorry. "You're trying to escape while the poor boss is out there fighting for you."

But Midoriya had paled, looking between him and Shouto like he was seeing a ghost. "Dabi," he murmured. However, before he could say anything else, Uraraka jumped in front of him. "If you want Deku, you'll have to kill us first," she bravely proclaimed.

Midoriya made a strangled sound. "Uraraka!" he protested.

The villain, Dabi, chuckled, the blue flames growing in his palm. "That can be arranged." Shouto prepared to counter the attack with his right side.

"Iida," said Momo calmly, nodding to the other boy. Unspoken communication passed through the two of them before Iida grabbed Midoriya and made a break for the window. Uraraka touched him with her fingers, allowing them to levitate.

"Iida, wait!" insisted Midoriya. "I want to help!"

"Don't be a fool, Midoriya," called Yaoyorozu sternly, never taking her gaze off their enemy. He could see the cold calculation in her dark eyes. "You're too injured to fight. Let us handle this."

"Go with them," Shouto beckoned Uraraka. Combining Iida's speed with her zero gravity might prove to be a useful getaway if needed. "They might need backup."

She cast a worried glance at them. "What about the two of you?" she questioned.

"We'll take care of him," promised Yaoyorozu. "But Todoroki is right, it'll be better if you're covering them."

Uraraka looked like she really didn't want to leave, but nodded anyway. "Alright," she agreed, rushing to follow Iida. "Good luck, guys!"

Dabi scowled, rearing to fire at them again. "Maybe I wasn't clear," he announced. "No one's leaving here." Blue flames roared towards Iida, Midoriya, and Uraraka; Shouto rushed to block the hit with his ice once more. He was successful, but the impact still caused Iida to stumble, dropping Midoriya in the process. Luckily, Uraraka was quick to smack him in the face before grabbing him.

Shouto growled under his breath, turning fierce heterochronic eyes to their foe. "Keep him busy," Yaoyorozu told him softly as the trio escaped. "I'll try to find a way to take him down."

He nodded, putting up another ice wall to prevent Dabi from targeting his friends again. He sighed, allowing his flames to wash over him. Since using his left side, using his right side had become more efficient. He was now able to use his ice for longer periods of time and recover easier from the cold.

Dabi's striking blue eyes- hauntingly familiar eyes, now that he thought about it- sparked with rage. "So, Shouto can use his left side now," he hissed, envy coloring his voice. "Endeavor's perfect little weapon." He almost sounded like Bakugou whenever Midoriya did well on anything. He attempted to send flames from both his palms, one aimed at Shouto- which he deflected with his own fire- and the other-

"YAOYOROZU!" exclaimed Shouto, attempting to shield her as well.

But Yaoyorozu had, at some point, made a shield, easily fending off Dabi's flames. She nodded to him, affirming she was alright. Sighing in relief, Shouto returned his attention to the fight. It sent back and forth for a while, Dabi attacking while Shouto stayed on the defensive. Occasionally, he would send his own attack, to no avail. Dabi's fire burned hotter than his; it would either melt his ice or overpower his own inexperienced flames. Fortunately, Yaoyorozu stayed out of range so he didn't have to worry about her.

Finally, when Shotou thought he would keel over from exhaustion, Yaoyorozu leaned near him. "Do you see his scars?" she questioned softly.

He gave her a dull look as the left side of his shirt hung loosely from his body. "No."

She elbowed him. "Those are burns," she told him. "If you notice, he doesn't let his fire touch his skin like you. If I were to guess, I'd say he doesn't have the same tolerance for heat that you do."

She was right. Where he was using his fire to regulate his body temperature, Dabi only ever shot at them. His fire never even came close to his body. He had a weakness. Shouto felt his left side tingle with anticipation.

"Give me two minutes," said Yaoyorozu.

Shouto nodded, allowing his left side to overpower his right for a moment. With renewed energy, he began to fire everything he had at Dabi. The older man still held him off, but it was becoming obvious that the heat was becoming too much. A small part of him, the part that felt a little too much like his old man, reveled in victory.

He snapped out of his grandeur when Yaoyorozu suddenly doused the ground between them in gasoline.

Shouto watched, gobsmacked, when the combined flames of his and Dabi's flared, doubling in size. Dabi reeled, backing up to the door he had come in from. He looked shocked, an expression that seemed foreign on his face. Yaoyorozu roughly grabbed his arm. "Your wrist," she instructed.

Still dazed, Shouto did as told. They both tapped their wrists and grapples shot out, latching to the space right above the window. She went first and he followed after before they successfully touched down on the grass outside. They watched the flames engulf the building for a second.

"Think he survived?" asked Shouto.

Yaoyorozu shrugged. "Who could say?"

He nodded in agreement before touching his communicator. "Uraraka, are you all alright?" he asked.

Uraraka sounded breathless. 'Yes,' she answered. 'We met up with Mr. Aizawa and Midnight, just like we planned. You guys are safe to retreat.'

Retreat... might not have been the right word for this situation. As he thought this, the fire seemed to rage further, sparks flying onto the grass. Nonetheless, Shouto nodded. "Okay, we'll meet you at the hospital." He gestured for Yaoyorozu to follow him and she did, the two of them fleeing into the safety of the woods.

Shouto couldn't help but grin as they ran; they had actually done it. They had rescued Midoriya. He was safe and protected and the League of Villains would never get their hands on him again.

Everything else was up to the heroes now.

Chapter Text

Four days after being released from the hospital, Izuku hadn't left his room.

His mother was worried, more so than usual. She tried to bribe him with All Might merchandise, katsudon, and old movies he used to like, but it was futile. The only time he opened his door outside of using the bathroom was when one of his friends arrived to bring him his classwork. Usually, it was just Uraraka since she lived the closest to him. But Todoroki, Iida, and Yaoyorozu tagged along when they could.

Today, however, was different.

"Your teachers are coming over today," announced his mother through his door. "Now, I don't know what all this is about, but you'll probably want to come out here, Izuku."

Izuku grimaced, but knew she was right. He had to face this at some point. With trembling fingers- Recovery Girl had healed his arms fully, but they were still tender- he texted the group chat consisting of him and his friends.

GreenBean: Does anyone know what this meeting's about?
MochiLovr: Tsu told me that Mr. Aizawa and All Might are asking our parents if we can be moved into dorms

Izuku grimaced at the mention of his mentor. After what had happened at Kamino, Izuku had been trying to avoid him as much as possible. Why did he have to be the one to come with Mr. Aizawa? 'Probably to put the parents' minds at ease...'

Tenya: Yes, they think they can keep a better eye on us if we're closer to the school.
Booksmart: And better protected living with pro heroes

That made sense. There were probably loads of parents threatening to pull their kids out of UA due to his kidnapping. Yet another thing that was his fault. Izuku rubbed his arm self-consciously, already dreading meeting his teachers.

Though, he was even more worried about his mother's answer.

She was a worrywart and severely overprotective, she always had been. At the hospital, she had hovered over him and only allowed his friends to visit him, claiming the teachers and police would 'stress him out.' It had taken a good hour of bargaining to get her to allow him to give Detective Tsukauchi a statement, citing how imperative it was to get his name cleared with the HPSC.

Would she allow him to live in the dorms, away from her at nearly all times? Could she trust the UA staff again after what had happened?

He quickly got dressed, stepping into his living room for the first time in a while. When she saw him, Inko gave him a bright smile. "I have to say, son, it is nice to see you outside your room," she commented.

Izuku tried his best to smile back, though his cheeks protested. He was worried about her letting him stay in the dorms. He was worried about seeing All Might. Things were a lot easier in his room when he could just hide from the world with the occasional visits from his friends.

The two of them began to tidy up around the apartment, not that there was much that needed to be cleaned. There were only two of them and they'd always kept a neat living space.

"Izuku," said Inko after a while. "Before your teachers get here, I wanted to talk to you."

He didn't like the sound of that. Still, he gave her a smile. "Sure, Mom," he agreed.

She sat down and gestured for him to do so as well. "Shortly after you were taken, I got a call from Mitsuki," she told him, swallowing thickly. Dread filled his stomach at the mention of Kacchan's mother. "She, um, told me she wanted me to hear it from her before your teachers." His mother's eyes turned sad and he felt a stab of guilt. "Izuku, why didn't you tell me Katsuki was h-hurting you?"

Izuku's throat felt dry. "I-"

"I know that I should have been paying more attention," she continued, wringing her hands as tears welled in her eyes. "A-And if you felt like you couldn't come to me, I only have myself to blame."

Izuku felt his own eyes sting. "That's not it!" he exclaimed. He wanted to throw up. He had never told his mother about Bakugou and the other kids because he hadn't wanted to bother her. She worked a lot to provide for him and he had always known she was tired by the end of the day; he didn't want to stress her out or worry her. But that had apparently backfired and she was upset.

He hated seeing his mother upset.

"I just..." Izuku looked down. "I didn't want to bother you."

Inko took a deep breath before reaching over and ruffling his curls. "You never want to bother anyone," she pointed out. "Izuku, it's alright to rely on others. It's especially alright to rely on me. I'm your mother."

He didn't- couldn't- answer.

She sighed. "I should have done this a long time ago, but I'm putting you in therapy," she announced.

"They have counseling at UA," he mumbled. "With Hound Dog." He peered up at her through his hair, gauging her reaction.

His mother's face flickered, and that was when he knew. She didn't want him at UA. And Izuku didn't know how to convince her otherwise.

That was when the doorbell rang and Izuku was grateful for the break in the tension. "I'll get it," he volunteered, standing up to answer the door.

OoOoOo

"Aizawa, please, allow me to speak to Young Midoriya and his mother alone."

Shouta turned red eyes to All Might, stopping him in his tracks. The underground hero was annoyed at the older man's attempts to dissuade him. He was the kids' homeroom teacher, All Might was just there to put the parents' minds at ease. Apparently, he was more personable and trusted as the (former) number one hero. And that was fine, but there was no way Shouta was going to allow him to handle Midoriya of all people by himself.

"I am his homeroom teacher and I will be present during this meeting," he snapped. He had made the mistake of neglecting the kid as a teacher in the past. That would no longer be the case. "And as you know, we aren't just discussing the dorms with Midoriya and his mother. As his homeroom teacher, I am to be the one to inform Mrs. Midoriya about Bakugou."

All Might didn't look particularly happy, but nodded. "You're right, of course," he relented. He seemed like he wanted to say more, but elected not to.

Good. Shouta was beginning to get a migraine from the entire situation.

Midoriya answered the door. The kid looked tired, but ultimately better than the sickly pale complexion he'd had at the hospital. Shouta had seen him briefly before Mrs. Midoriya had ushered every pro hero and police officer out of her son's room.

"Hi, All Might," the kid greeted, his green eyes missing the usual light they had for the Symbol of Peace. Not that Shouta could blame him; All Might was closer to a skeleton than the number one hero. It was off-putting for him too. "Mr. Aizawa." He stepped aside. "Come in."

Shouta had a sinking feeling about this, but entered the home with his chin up. He wasn't about to fail his student for the second time.

Chapter Text

Toshinori's heart hurt.

Well, his heart always felt heavy due to his condition, but it throbbed when Young Midoriya didn't meet his eyes. He sat down next to Aizawa, thanking Mrs. Midoriya as she placed tea down in front of them. The woman looked better than she had at UA, though the bags under her eyes were still present. Midoriya seemed to find his hands very interesting as they sat in his lap.

Mrs. Midoriya sat next to her son, attempting to give the two of them a pleasant smile. But Toshinori knew a false smile when he saw one. "It's not everyday that I have two pro heroes in my house," she commented lightly. "What brings the two of you here."

Toshinori allowed Aizawa to take initiative. If he was being honest, it probably wasn't a good idea to cross the man right now. "Thank you for having us, Mrs. Midoriya," he said politely. "We're here to discuss a few things. Due to the number of villain attacks this year, the school is asking the parents' permission to allow the students to live in dorms on campus."

Young Midoriya bit his lip. Mrs. Midoriya watched the two of them with keen green eyes. She took a slow, agonizing sip of her tea before leveling the two teachers with a mild glare.

"While attending UA, my son has been held hostage and kidnapped by villain's strong enough to take out All Might," she said, the epitome of calmness. Her eyes seemed to want to drill a hole in Toshinori's head. "On two separate occasions, no less. Why on Earth should I keep Izuku in UA, let alone allow him to live there?"

Toshinori had faced the Demon King of the Underworld twice and lived to tell the tale, yet he was in no way prepared for Inko Midoriya's cold fury.

Thankfully, Aizawa didn't seem as shaken as him. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "I understand your concern Mrs. Midoriya," he told her gently. Gentler than Toshinori had ever heard him. "There is no excuse for your son's kidnapping at the training camps. We failed to keep him safe."

Midoriya made a strangled sound in the back of his throat. "Mr. Aizawa-" he spoke up for the first time. His mother put a gentle hand on his shoulder, and he fell silent.

"Rest assured, we are sweeping the school for security breaches," Aizawa continued. "An incident like this will not happen again." He said it with so much conviction, even Toshinori believed it. Losing a student- two if one wanted to be technical- must have really gotten to him.

"Mom, it wasn't their fault!" insisted Midoriya. "I went after the League after they took Kacchan-"

"And if UA had properly dealt with Katsuki, he would have followed instruction," his mother cut in. She stared directly at Aizawa when she said this. "The students were told not to engage, am I correct?"

Aizawa met her gaze unflinchingly. "Yes," he answered.

Mrs. Midoriya gave an unimpressed hum. "And Katsuki was made aware that he was the target?"

"Yes."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "And yet, he thought he was above the rules," she stated. She cocked her head to the side. "It seems to me that there's a correlation here. Mr. Aizawa, I've heard that you have a habit of expelling your students on the first day of school every year."

Aizawa's eyebrow twitched, a crack in his facade. Toshinori swallowed, remembering what he'd read about Aizawa all those months ago. How had Mrs. Midoriya found that out?

Suddenly, Toshinori vaguely recalled Young Midoriya telling him his mother was a lawyer.

"Because you feel that they aren't up to your standards, you feel the need to expel them," Mrs. Midoriya noted. "Granted, you usually reenroll them, but push them off onto a different teacher." She stared at the underground hero with piercing eyes. "Is this true?"

Something skin to guilt flashed across Aizawa's face. "Yes."

Mrs. Midoriya's face darkened. "So instead of putting the work in to teach your students, you simply get rid of them because you don't want to deal with them?" she hissed.

Young Midoriya looked mortified. "Mom," he complained, sending an apologetic look towards his homeroom teacher.

His mother ignored him. "As you may or may not be aware, I am good friends with Katsuki's mother," she told the teachers. "Mitsuki told me that you paid her a visit as well. She said that you found that Katsuki bullied Izuku at Aldera and continued to do so into UA. Apparently, you observed Bakugou's behavior these last few months, yet did nothing to correct it. Was this because he was easy to teach? Because he was such a prodigy that he didn't need to be taught?"

Aizawa's jaw clenched and for once, he had no answer.

Toshinori realized all too late that control of the conversation had been shifting into Inko's hands. Everything she had hit them with was correct and Aizawa couldn't refute it. Nor could he make a reasonable case against it.

"Mrs. Midoriya!" he exclaimed, a little louder than he needed to. The glare she had been giving Aizawa turned on him and he swallowed thickly before clearing his throat. "If I may, we've all made a grievous mistake when it comes to Bakugou. Our interpretation of the boys' relationship was that of rivals, not the bullying that it truly is."

Something that Toshinori was still kicking himself for. There was nothing he regretted more than failing to protect his boy. He should have been paying more attention, he should have put a stop to Bakugou's outrageous behavior. If he had, maybe Young Midoriya wouldn't have been taken in the first place.

He took a deep breath. "Our severe lack of judgement is to blame," he conceded. "You're right, we should have stopped Bakugou's behavior. We should have been watching the two of them more closely. We failed to keep your son safe."

Toshinori's gaze found his protege. "And I'm truly sorry that I failed you."

Of course, Young Midoriya was already tearing up. Toshinori gave him a soft smile.

Aizawa seemed to have found his composure. "As am I," he agreed, also looking at Midoriya. "Kid, it isn't a mystery as to why you never told me you were a late bloomer. I haven't done anything to earn your trust. I've let you down since your very first day."

The boy flushed. "Mr. Aizawa-" he protested.

Aizawa raised up a hand. "Please, let me finish. As All Might said, my judgement was askew. I made incorrect assumptions about both you and Bakugou and did you both a disservice. I swear, that ends today." He bowed his head. "Please, forgive me."

Young Midoriya stared at his homeroom teacher with wide eyes. "I, um, it's fine?" he stuttered. "I, er, thought you were a good teacher... Kind of the best I've had?" He winced, sending an apologetic look towards his mentor. "Sorry, All Might."

Toshinori laughed. "It's quite alright, my boy." Though, the implication that his other teachers had been that horrible made his heart even heavier.

Mrs. Midoriya's gaze had finally softened and she seemed to morph back into the kind woman Young Midoriya had always described. "I understand that Izuku will get hurt," she said softly. "I don't like it, but he's wanted to go to UA since he was four. He's wanted to become a hero his entire life, to smile when people are scared or confused or upset." Her hand brushed over her son's cheek as she looked at him. "If this is what you want, Izuku, I won't stop you. And I know you'll be a great hero."

And cue the waterworks.

Young Midoriya embraced his mother, crying into her neck. "Thanks, Mom," he sobbed. Toshinori beamed at the heartwarming sight, more than a little relieved Mrs. Midoriya's ire had alleviated.

But she schooled her featured. They weren't as sharp as before, but they were just as no-nonsense. "Now, onto what the school plans to do about Katsuki."

Aizawa cleared his throat. "Bakugou's past behavior, as well as his behavior in UA are being analyzed," he told her. "UA has a no bullying policy, one I should have adhered to more strictly. There will be two separate meetings, one with you and your son and one with Bakugou. This meeting will consist of Principal Nezu, Detective Tsukauchi, and I. From both the boys' statements, we will proceed decide what the punishment will be based on the severity of Bakugou's actions."

Mrs. Midoriya seemed satisfied. But Young Midoriya was shaking his head. "I don't want Kacchan to get in trouble!" he insisted. There was a frantic look in his eyes.

Aizawa gave him a dull look. "What if he had tormented Uraraka?" he questioned. Toshinori was impressed; it looked like he was learning how to get through to Young Midoriya. "Or Iida? Wouldn't you want them to feel safe?"

Young Midoriya froze. "I-I mean, of course," he answered. "But I wouldn't want them to do anything they didn't want to."

"No one is making you do anything, my boy," said Toshinori as gently as he could. "If you don't want to give a statement, you won't have to. However, your mother can speak on your behalf if she'd like to."

"And believe me, I will," said Mrs. Midoriya, vengeance in her eyes. Hell, he wouldn't want to be Bakugou right now. Inko Midoriya was out for blood. "Izuku, what he did wasn't alright and he needs to face the consequences for it."

Young Midoriya looked down.

"Kid," said Aizawa. "You don't owe him anything. Your upbringing has taught you that he deserves the everything he wants and he doesn't. You were told you were beneath him and you aren't. If the roles were reversed, would he be here, defending your honor? Would he care if you were expelled?"

Silence. Then, "No. He, uh, he'd probably be happy if I wasn't at UA anymore."

Guilt stabbed at Toshinori. How could they have ignored this? "Principal Nezu will email you," he said to Mrs. Midoriya. "The meeting is set for right before the doctor said Young Midoriya could return to school."

Inko nodded. "Alright," she agreed.

He and Aizawa stood. "Thank you for having us, Mrs. Midoriya," the younger man said graciously.

"All Might!" called Midoriya. Toshinori turned to face him and he looked sheepish. "I'm sorry, for All For One. It's my fault that you have to retire."

"My boy," gasped Toshinori. "Why would you even think that?" Young Midoriya sniffed, but didn't answer. The blond man sighed. "We'll talk about this later."

Young Midoriya nodded, but still looked upset. "Okay."

This kid was going to give him an ulcer.

Chapter Text

If Nezu's fur wasn't already snow white, he was sure he would be going gray by now. What was the next step? Shedding from stress?

The press had been on his heels since Bakugou and Midoriya had been taken. They had grown more rampant when Bakugou was returned and the HPSC had labeled Midoriya as a suspect. He had spent the better part of the last week attempting to defend Midoriya from both the commission and the public.

The hybrid sighed, massaging his temples with his paws. Usually, he loved his job. He had a poor opinion of the majority of humanity, which was why he chose to work at a hero school. Sure, the students could be arrogant and overzealous at times, but they were good kids. It warmed him to see the spark in their eyes and their determination to help others. Never had he frowned upon a student before.

Until today, that is.

Nezu knew he had to be neutral. He knew that the only way to evaluate the situation fairly was to be completely unbiased. But he couldn't help the way his mouth curled in disgust when he thought about Katsuki Bakugou.

Along with reviewing the incidents in UA, he had hired private investigators to gather information about the boys while they were in middle school. As it turned out, once outside of the school's toxic environment, many of its former students were more than happy to reveal what they had witnessed. Not all of them had been bullies, many were merely guilty of being bystanders.

Nezu had read through all the information gathered and even by his standards, it was brutal. Apparently, Bakugou was guilty of assaulting (with his quirk no less!), threatening, and tormenting Midoriya on multiple occasions. There was even one instance of- he swallowed thickly- suicide baiting.

He wasn't an angry person. In fact, most would describe him as anything but temperamental. But Nezu only barely stopped himself from dialing the Bakugou's and ordering them to keep their degenerate son the fuck away from his school.

A knock at his door tempered his mood slightly. "Come in," he called, gathering all the files into one folder.

Aizawa entered, his eyebags ever deeper and darker than normal. He almost felt bad for the man; his guilt was clearly eating up at him more than expected. "I wanted to talk to you," he said. "Before the Bakugou's and Midoriya's get here."

Nezu nodded, leaning back in his chair. "Yes, I wanted to discuss the boys as well," he agreed. "I've been looking over their interactions during their time at UA, particularly during class time with yourself and Toshinori." He made sure to stare directly into the taller man's tired eyes.

Aizawa had the good grace to at least look guilty. "All Might and I were talking about that with the rest of the teachers," he revealed. "Apparently, outside of the occasional aggressive comments, Bakugou only ever targeted Midoriya in our classes."

Nezu already knew this, of course, and he had a few ideas as to why. "Yes, and I'll be talking to the both of you about your methods," he said calmly. He wouldn't fire Aizawa or All Might, but some things would have to be corrected. All Might needed to be a sterner, more vigilant instructor and a few of Aizawa's... privileges would have to be revoked. They both needed a sense of order in their classes.

Alas, that would have to be discussed another day.

OoOoOo

If not for her hand on his shoulder, Inko was sure her son would have tried to run away.

But she gently steered him through the halls, making their way to Principal Nezu's office. All Might walked them there, and it was still so strange to see him like this. He had begun to rise to the top ranks when she had been growing into her teens and he had always been a pillar, an immovable mountain. Now, he was little more than a skeleton of a man.

Something, she was sure Izuku was blaming himself for. After this meeting, she would have to talk to the principal about the counseling at this school.

"Principal Nezu and Mr. Aizawa will be right in here," said All Might. Even without its usual bravado, the number one hero's voice was as reassuring as ever. He gave her son a kind smile. "Don't be nervous, Young Midoriya, you aren't in trouble."

Izuku swallowed thickly, then nodded. "O-okay, All Might," he agreed, twiddling his thumbs.

Inko smiled at the skinny man. "Thank you, All Might," she said. Despite her initial distrust of the man, it was apparent that he truly cared for her son. And she could never hate someone for that.

He nodded. "Of course," he said kindly. "If the two of you ever need anything, don't be afraid to call me." He gave Izuku a meaningful look. "I'll talk to you later, all right, Young Midoriya?"

"Sure..."

All Might gave them another gentle smile before leaving them. Inko stood next to her son, eyeing the door to the principal's office. She wondered if the sight intimidated her son; he had always been such a nervous, timid little boy. Loud sounds started him- though, now she knew why- and he was prone to avoiding confrontation and keeping to himself.

Except, Inko smiled, when he was helping people.

Truly, it was like a light would switch on. Her quiet boy could turn into the boldest, bravest person in the room. He had always been like that. He couldn't stand to see anyone upset or in pain and insisted on helping them in any way.

It was the reason why she could never bring herself to take away his dream; he was made for this.

Inko ruffled his hair before urging him inside. "Remember, be honest," she reminded him. "I don't want you to downplay Katsuki's actions to defend him from harsh punishment."

Izuku swallowed but nodded. "Okay..." he reluctantly agreed. Inko felt guilt tug at her; she didn't want to make her son do anything he didn't want to. But she needed him to understand that Katsuki's actions weren't alright and that he needed to face the consequences like anyone else would.

Inko knocked on the door and Mr. Aizawa answered. He looked, well, he looked like he hadn't slept in over a week. She almost felt bad about how tough she had been on him the other night, but she didn't regret it. If that was what it took to make sure her son was safe and happy at school, she had no qualms about it.

"Please, come in," said Mr. Aizawa.

Inko steered Izuku into the office, and they both took a seat across from the principal. Nezu was exactly as she had seen him on TV; short and a cross between at least three different animals. He offered them a pleasant smile. "Good morning Midoriya and Mrs. Midoriya. I'd ask how you both have been, but I have a feeling you want to skip the pleasantries."

Inko nodded. "I'd like to start with Aldera if that's alright," she said.

Principal Nezu nodded. "Let's begin, Mrs. Midoriya."

Chapter Text

Izuku sat very still.

He was paying careful attention to every word that came out of the principal's mouth; his softspoken voice making Izuku's ears burn. Nezu was an enigma; everything he said was carefully crafted in advance. Outsmarting him in any way, shape, or form would be nigh impossible. If he was going to navigate this meeting, he would have to know what he was dealing with.

And he had to find a way to stop Kacchan from getting expelled.

He had thought about this for a long time. He knew Tomura and the rest of the League had been right; Kacchan wasn't what a hero should be. His attitude was startlingly similar to Endeavor's and he didn't care about anybody but himself. He didn't deserve to be a hero.

That being said, Izuku couldn't allow him to be expelled.

Even if Kacchan didn't deserve to be a hero, but being a hero wasn't about what you deserved. It was about protecting the people who needed it. And hero society couldn't afford to lose someone with as much potential as Kacchan.

As Izuku saw it, someone with Kacchan's power had to become a hero.

And if he was being honest, Kacchan wasn't Endeavor. His worst crime was picking on the poor quirkless kid that no one cared enough to stop from being bullied. That was hardly worth being expelled over; it hadn't even happened in UA! His feelings being hurt was no reason to ruin Kacchan's future.

Nezu gave him a kind smile. "Now before we start with Aldera," he said. "I actually want to bring up an incident in All Might's heroics class."

Izuku's stomach dropped as that day played out in his mind. He had almost forgotten about that first day; it felt like a lifetime ago. He subconsciously grasped the arm Kacchan had injured that day. "The exercise got a little out of hand," he muttered. "That's it, I was fine."

The principal hummed. "Not according to Recovery Girl's notes," he replied calmly. "Mild burns as well as a concussion." Izuku winced as his mother made a strange sound in the back of her throat. "Midoriya, I've been principal here for a long time, but for a student to inflict injuries like that during their first class is a rarity."

"Kacchan gives his all during every fight," defended Izuku.

Nezu nodded. "As I expect from my students," he agreed. "However, part of being a proficient hero is knowing when to stop. Bakugou's lack of restraint is very disturbing." He leaned back. "Make no mistake, Midoriya, All Might should never have allowed it to go as far as it did, but do you think any of your other classmates would have gone that far?"

Izuku hesitated, then shook his head. "No," he admitted, eyes falling to his lap. Even Todoroki, intense as he was, hadn't aimed to seriously hurt anyone. Even during the Sports Festival, Izuku's worst injuries had been self-inflicted. Todoroki was facing him as a threat and with very good reason.

With Bakugou, he hadn't even used One For All at first. But that hadn't stopped Bakugou from going all out. Even when he was down, the blond had kept going. Had taken pleasure in beating him down again and again.

Because Bakugou liked running people weaker than him into the ground.

"But," Izuku pressed, ignoring the voice in the back of his head. "Isn't it the teachers' responsibility to teach him these things?" They couldn't have Mr. Aizawa take the fall for Izuku not knowing how to use his quirk, but not for Kacchan not having restraint. Right?

"Well, Midoriya," said Nezu patiently, sifting through some papers. "All of your classmates have been improving and working on their flaws. All except one; Bakugou of course. Why don't we look at his progress thus far?"

Izuku gulped, knowing that whatever was in Kacchan's file wasn't good.

"Now," continued the principal with that same calm smile. Inko leaned forward, her eyes sharp. "One incident in particular that stuck out to me was your final exam. Originally, we had overlooked this because the view wasn't the clearest. But upon further inspection, we were able to discern what had happened. Do you happen to know what that is?"

He almost wished the floor would swallow him whole. Of course he knew what Nezu was talking about. The punch. Kacchan, in a fit of anger, had hurled his fist into Izuku's cheek during the final exam.

None of the teachers had said anything, so Izuku had assumed that they either hadn't noticed or didn't care. Just like all his other teachers. But apparently, that hadn't been the case.

Nezu's pleasant smile remained in place. "If we had caught this at the time, Bakugou would not have passed," he assured them. "In fact, violence against a fellow student outside of training or combat against that student alone is enough for at least suspension."

Izuku's teeth sank into his lip.

"Of course," added Nezu. His voice held no hint of malice, but Izuku felt dread build up in his chest nonetheless. "That isn't even counting what happened at the Training Camps. Bakugou was informed that he was the target and specifically told not to engage, yet sought out the fight anyway."

"I did too!" defended Izuku. "I fought Muscular, then went after Bakugou." He wouldn't allow the rules

"You were protecting a civilian," Nezu shot back. "From your recount with Detective Tsukauchi, Muscular threatened to kill that child. Mr. Aizawa had given the students to use their quirks if necessary, your case was necessary." His eyes narrowed slightly. "Bakugou confronting villains was not, especially when he knew they were there for him."

Izuku pressed his lips together, but his retort died in his throat.

Principal Nezu's eyes softened. "Midoriya, you aren't on trial here," he said gently. "You aren't the one in trouble. Bakugou's actions don't just affect you, they're a hindrance and danger to your entire class. It's my job to make sure they don't continue."

Inko laid a hand on his shoulder. "You never think about yourself," she pointed out softly. The sorrow in his mother's voice made him hate himself just a little more. "So if I have to put it into different terms, what happens when he's on the field? What happens when Bakugou's recklessness endangers a civilian or he brutalizes a minor villain? Should someone like that really be a hero?"

Izuku shut his eyes. "No," he whispered, trying not to cry.

He had been doing it again, hadn't he? Making excuses for Bakugou. Disregarding his behavior. Power wasn't everything and it should never be what primarily defines a hero.

Mentality like that was the reason Endeavor was still a hero.

"Shall we continue?" asked Nezu. "Or would you like to step outside for a moment?"

"No," sniffed Izuku wiping his eyes. He looked up at the principal, a new sense of determination settling in his stomach. "No. I'm ready."

Chapter Text

Bakugou hadn't been in school since their return.

Of course, there were questions. Class 1A was practically bursting with confusion. Everyone knew why Midoriya was absent, but Bakugou had been cleared of his nonexistent injuries weeks ago. He should have been in perfect physical condition by now and everyone knew he wasn't one to be held down for long. So why was his seat still empty?

Momo had her suspicions. And judging by the glare Todoroki kept shooting the blond's empty desk, he did too.

"You'll never guess what I just saw!" exclaimed Hagakure, bursting in the door. Though the girl's face was invisible, her giddiness was staunchly apparent.

Ashido looked over with vague interest. "What?" she asked, ever one for gossip.

"Midoriya," said Hagakure, and Momo's ears burned at the name. Beside her, Todoroki shifted in his seat. "And his mom. It looked like they were here with a meeting with Principal Nezu."

Ashido's mouth popped open. "Seriously?" she asked, leaning forward conspiratorially. The two girls seemed to catch the attention of everyone else, who tried not to make a show of listening in. "Did you hear anything?"

"No," the invisible girl replied. "But you know who else I saw? Bakugou and his parents waiting outside the office!"

Ashido's eyebrows furrowed. "Bakugou?" she repeated. "What-"

But Momo had heard enough. She impatiently cleared her throat. "We shouldn't talk about our classmates while they aren't here," she said diplomatically. While she liked Ashido and Hagakure well enough, the idea of Midoriya's privacy being infringed on bothered her. She didn't care a smidge about Bakugou's privacy, but 1A's students were sharp; they would connect the dots sooner or later.

Iida stood up fast. "Yes, it's impolite!" he agreed. Though, the look he sent her didn't escape Momo's notice. He must have been catching on. "As class rep, I must not condone such behavior!"

Ashido and Hagakure had the good sense to seem sheepish. "Sorry," they murmured, settling into their seats. Everyone quickly diverted their attention away from the two girls.

"Well, hey there boys and girls." Momo's gaze drifted to the door where Midnight stood confidently. She wore her usual getup along with a kind smile. "Mr. Aizawa's caught in a meeting, so I'll be taking over for the morning."

Momo smiled back; she had always liked Midnight. Others were put off by her, but she was a very helpful teacher. She was one of the only teachers Momo was comfortable with.

Kirishima frowned. "Is something wrong?" he asked. No doubt that the mention of Bakugou having a meeting was making him uneasy. Momo almost felt bad; Kirishima had it in his head that Bakugou was just misunderstood. She wasn't looking forward to the day he found out the truth about the blond; it would crush him.

But Midnight was unflinchingly cheerful. "No, of course not," she said. "Now, why don't you all..."

OoOoOo

After class, Momo, Todoroki, Iida, and Ochako stayed behind. After their little rescue mission, Mr. Aizawa had stuck them with a week's worth of detention. He probably would have gone harder on them had All Might not vigorously vouched for them. And none of them were too upset about it either; they could have been punished a lot worse.

Present Mic was overseeing their detention, which was fortunate. Mr. Aizawa and Vlad King were brutal.

Momo and Ochako went to clean the erasers while Iida and Todoroki mopped the floors in the hallway. "Momo," said Ochako quietly. "What do you think Deku was meeting with the principal for?"

Momo winced; she could see the worry in her friend's chocolate eyes. "Oh, there could be a number of reasons," she replied flippantly. She didn't particularly want to get into this conversation with Ochako. It was different with Todoroki, she knew he would keep it to himself no matter how angry he was inside. But Ochako was emotional and reactive, as she had seen when rescuing Midoriya.

There was no way of telling how she would take it.

"But why would Bakugou be too?" Ochako pondered, tapping her chin in thought. "If he was gonna meet with the principal about being kidnapped, it would have been weeks ago, right?"

Momo bit her lip. "Well, I-"

"And he hasn't been in class at all," the shorter girl cut in. "Even though he wasn't even hurt after the League gave him back. Isn't that weird?"

Momo bit her lip; Ochako was getting dangerously close to the truth. "Yes, I suppose so," she allowed.

Ochako's lips pressed together into a firm line. "You know, it's weird," she murmured to herself. "I always thought Bakugou and Deku were middle school friends, like Mina and Kirishima. But Bakugou is so mean to him. If they were friends, why would he be such a jerk about Deku being kidnapped?"

Momo cleared her throat. "Perhaps friends is too strong a word?" she suggested. "It's my understanding that the class views them as rivals."

"I was thinking about that too," the brunette admitted. "But Todoroki is Deku's rival and they're friends. Even before the Sports Festival, Todoroki never called him names." She crossed her arms. She paused. "And you remember how tiny Deku was at the beginning of the year. When I met Deku at the Entrance Exam, he tripped over his own two feet! I don't get how someone as strong as Bakugou could have seen him as a rival."

Ochako was no idiot, that was for sure. Momo stared at her for a while, trying to decide if she should just come out and say it. Midoriya likely wouldn't appreciate it, which compelled her to keep her mouth shut. It was his business to tell and it was bad enough Todoroki knew; sure, she hadn't outright told him, but she had implied enough for him to figure it out.

"Come to think of it," said Ochako. "I remember Bakugou being really mad during Aizawa's quirk assessment." She squinted in thought. "What was it he said to Iida? That Deku was a-"

"Quirkless loser."

Momo jumped, her eyes darting toward the door where Iida and Todoroki stood. Iida's face was stormy and even Todoroki looked grim. It was apparent that they had heard the majority of the conversation.

It was also apparent that Iida had put things together much faster than Ochako.

At times, it was hard to take Iida seriously. Though he was strict, it was usually in a comical way. Most of 1A didn't take him too seriously as class rep because of how dramatic he was about rules. But at this moment, Momo was suddenly aware of Iida's imposing size. He towered over the majority of Class 1A and was easily one of the most muscular among them.

She had heard about Hosu. She didn't want to know what it was like to be the target of his anger.

"I always thought there was something wrong with their relationship," said Iida slowly, his tone just a little menacing. "Ever since Bakugou said that, then attacked Midoriya once he did use his quirk." He was quiet for a moment. "Ochako."

Ochako winced, revelation bleeding into her usually soft eyes. "Yes?"

"Do you remember All Might's battle trials?" he questioned. "How Bakugou acted that day?" Momo certainly remembered. It was the moment she had begun to watch Bakugou more closely.

Ochako hesitated, then nodded. "Deku was sure Bakugou would go after him," she recalled. "And he was right. Bakugou practically hunted him down, which was what gave me the perfect chance to find the bomb." She frowned. "But why would he call Deku quirkless? He clearly has one."

"Considering how destructive Midoriya's quirk is to himself," said Momo. Midoriya's quirk was a strange one. It was similar to All Might's, but a lot more volatile. "It is possible that his body rejected it until he could use it at the appropriate time. So even if it formed when he was four, no one would have known it until-"

"The Entrance Exam!" exclaimed Ochako and Iida in unison. Momo sent a questioning look their way, as she and Todoroki had taken the Recommendation Exam.

"During the Entrance Exam, Deku took out a zero-pointer to save me," explained Ochako. "But his quirk ended up breaking both his legs and his arm. He was totally surprised too, which I thought was weird at the time..."

"If Bakugou and Midoriya knew each other in middle school," said Iida contemplatively. "Then Bakugou would have known about him supposedly being quirkless."

Momo winced. She had thought Bakugou was terrible before, but he was definitely worse now. Of every possible reason for him hating Midoriya that had crossed her mind, she had never expected that. Her heart throbbed; poor Midoriya must have gone through hell at the blond menace's hands. She couldn't imagine what life had been like for him growing up.

Ochako's expression hardened. "So, what, Bakugou's a quirkist piece of shit?" she snapped. The words dripped like venom from the girl's usually sweet mouth.

"It appears that way," said Iida, adjusting his glasses. Though he appeared calm, Momo could see the anger smoldering in his eyes.

Todoroki, who had been quiet up to this point, leaned against the doorframe. "The HPSC labeled Midoriya as a suspect because of his middle school records," he informed them. His icy expression gave away nothing. "My old man told me so."

Momo felt sick. "Which means they were going to use him being quirkless to paint him as a villain," she realized. She had never been a fan of the HPSC, but this was another level of despicable.

Ochako took a deep breath, the rage melting off her face. In its place was sorrow. "We need to talk to Deku," she said softly.

Iida shot Momo a look. "Uraraka, he might not want-"

"I know!" shouted Ochako, turning to look up at him. There were tears forming in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. "I know he won't want to talk about it because he's Deku and he never talks about anything. He keeps everything inside even though we're right here and we can help him! I just..." She faltered. "He's my best friend and I trust him with my life. I just wish he trusted me too."

Momo frowned, understanding that her friend was upset. "We can talk to him," she offered. "Tell him what we've discovered. We won't interrogate him, but we'll make sure he knows he can depend on us and that we would never think any less of him."

Ochako seemed hesitant, but nodded. "O-Okay," she agreed, sniffing.

"Hey, Little Listeners!" exclaimed Present Mic, suddenly popping into the room. "This place looks rockin'! The four of you are free to go!" He stopped when he saw Ochako's face. "Uh, everything okay in here?"

Momo plastered on the smile that she knew teachers adored. "Just lady problems, Mr. Yamada," she answered pleasantly.

The blond teacher flushed. "Er, right on," he muttered, embarrassed. He awkwardly walked away as fast as he could.

Through her tears, Ochako snickered. "Nice one, Momo," she laughed. "We should get going, guys. We still have to bring Deku his homework." They all nodded and filed out of the classroom.

However, just as they were leaving the classroom, Bakugou was coming out of the bathroom.

Chapter Text

'Problem children,' was the only thing Shouta could think as he watched his students from across the hall.

Bakugou was there- his meeting had ended about fifteen minutes ago- shouting but refraining from using his quirk. Uraraka was in his face yelling back, while Iida stood behind her raising his voice as well. Todoroki's quirk flared, his heterochronic eyes locked in on the blond while Yaoyorozu used a capture weapon similar to Shouta's own to hold him back. Well, at least one of them had some measure of control.

Shouta's eyes flashed red as he deactivated everyone's quirk except for Yaoyorozu's. "What is going on here?" he demanded menacingly, stepping forward. That meeting had been excruciatingly long and he was tired, both from Bakugou being difficult and Nezu insisting on provoking his temper.

Bakugou pointed. "These assholes started bitching at me out of nowhere!" he claimed.

"Don't play dumb!" snapped Uraraka. "You know what you did! How can you even stand there like you've done nothing wrong you piece of sh-!"

"Yaoyorozu," interrupted Shouta, his patience growing thin. Normally, he would refer to Iida since he was class rep, but he doubted that the boy was thinking rationally at the moment. The vice rep was the only one who seemed calm. "Explain."

Yaoyorozu straightened. "Just a mild disagreement, sir," she answered. "Regarding Bakugou's behavior." Her onyx eyes glinted knowingly.

Immediately, Shouta realized what was going on. Midoriya's friend just figured out what was going on and now he had four very pissed off teenagers to deal with. He sighed, massaging his temple. "Bakugou, go find your parents."

This time, the blond's quirk did pop in his palm as he shouted in outrage. "WHAT?" he demanded, pointing at the group. "They fucking started with me-!"

Shouta's eyes flashed. "Bakugou," he warned.

Bakugou growled, fists clenched at his sides. Shouta raised an eyebrow, daring the boy to lash out. But irrational and violent as he was, Bakugou was no idiot. He knew he was on very thin ice at the moment, even if the final decision hadn't been made yet. Cursing under his breath, the boy stomped away to go find Mr. and Mrs. Bakugou.

Once he was gone, Shouta turned his glare to the four remaining students. "Now as for you four," he said. He had half a mind to give them another two days' worth of detention. He understood they were upset, but Bakugou was being dealt with. Provoking him on school grounds was not the answer.

But Uraraka didn't let him finish. "How could you?" she practically shrieked. "You knew Bakugou was violent with Deku and you never did anything about it! You paired them up for the final exam! Why would you think that was a good idea?"

"Because he wanted Midoriya to do his job for him." Todoroki's icy glare turned to him and for the first time since teaching him, the boy reminded Shouta of the number two hero. "Other than working well with others, Bakugou is the perfect hero student. And Midoriya is able to work with anyone just fine, probably better than all of us. So instead of making Bakugou put in the work himself, he decided to let him take the easy way out."

Shouta had to admit, Todoroki was right to at least some degree. At the time, he had been thinking that forcing Bakugou to work with someone he didn't like would teach him to get along with everyone else. But he knew he was wrong for that now, Bakugou should have had to make the change himself. Midoriya didn't have a problem working with anyone, he shouldn't have been punished for it.

He took a deep breath. "Yes, I have made mistakes when it comes to Midoriya and Bakugou," he confessed. This wasn't something he was exactly comfortable doing, admitting fault to his students was a sign of weakness. How would they rely on him if they knew he was capable of failure? But he would swallow his pride if it would assure them. "And I'm trying to fix it now. Bakugou is going to be punished." His words didn't ease his students in the slightest.

"Forgive us, Mr. Aizawa," said Iida. "But we have a hard time believing that." He adjusted his glasses, his cobalt eyes boring into Shouta's own. "It seems that you have been targeting Midoriya since the first day of class. How can we trust that you're going to be there for him now?"

It wasn't like Shouta could refute that. They had every right to distrust him. Still, he needed them to know that he was going to do better by Midoriya, by all of them. "You can't," he answered. "But I'll tell you what I told Midoriya; I will do whatever I need to in order to earn your trust back."

Uraraka, who had marginally calmed down, shared a look with Yaoyorozu who nodded at her. "We'll trust you when Deku does," she decided.

That was as much as Shouta knew he would get out of them. "Alright, then," he said. "All of you go home. Don't worry about bringing Midoriya his homework, I made sure he got it."

Yaoyorozu's expression softened. "Yes, sir," she agreed. She pulled Todoroki by his elbow as the four friends left the school. All Shouta could think of as he watched their retreating forms was that he was glad that Midoriya had such good friends.

OoOoOo

Once all the problem children were gone, Shouta made his way back to Nezu's office. The school was mostly empty and classes would be canceled for a while due to the construction of the new dorms. They would have time to deliberate what happened next. "So?" he asked expectantly, sitting across from the rodent. "Have you come to a decision?"

Nezu smiled at him. "Not quite," he answered. "Unfortunately, the HPSC is insisting that we don't expel Bakugou. They have high hopes for him to make it into the top ten after he graduates."

Shouta, who already hated the HPSC, growled lowly. "They gave you the right to run UA the way you want," he recalled.

Nezu nodded with a hum. "But they also have the right to cut funding where they see fit," he pointed out. "Crossing them isn't a smart move, especially not with the dorms being constructed."

Shouta frowned. "So you aren't going to expel Bakugou?" he questioned. With the warpath the rat had been on earlier while interrogating the blond, he was sure that was the end goal.

Nezu smiled cryptically. "We'll see."

Chapter Text

Dagobah Beach had become Izuku's favorite spot in the city in the last year. It allowed him an escape whenever he was feeling particularly stressed or anxious. He liked to jog along the shore, especially at night when nobody was around. With all the trash cleaned up, it really was a beautiful place. And it was also where all of his important talks with All Might happened.

Like this one.

Izuku watched as his mentor smiled kindly at him, but he couldn't bring himself to return it. Not when All Might didn't have One For All anymore, not when his condition had caught up with him. All because he was saving Izuku.

He was the one who ended All Might, he could never make up for that.

All Might spoke up first. "I heard your meeting went relatively well," he noted.

Izuku shrugged. The meeting had been more or less a blur to him. He had sat there as Principal Nezu asked question after question, mentioning events Izuku had temporarily forgotten. It made him feel, well, shitty to realize how desensitized he had become to Kacchan's cruelty. If anyone else had gone through what he did, he would have been angry on their behalf.

So why couldn't he be angry at Kacchan?

Izuku wasn't an angry person, he knew that. But he could get angry at Endeavor and Shigaraki and All For One. Why was Kacchan any different? Why did he have him up on a pedestal?

What was wrong with him?

All Might looked at him with sunken, knowing eyes. "It's not your fault, you know," he said softly. As if Izuku was made of glass, as if he would break at any moment.

Izuku hated it. He chuckled dryly. "Are you talking about Kacchan or All For One?"

"Both."

Izuku clutched his scarred hands, unable to tear his eyes from the ugly marks that ran up both his arms. He would never be ashamed of how they looked, they were a testament to all the work he put on. But they were also a physical representation of his failure, of how he was unable to properly use his own quirk. He didn't deserve One For All.

And the person who did deserve it couldn't use it anymore. Because of him.

Before Izuku could stop them, tears welled in his eyes. Some hero he turned out to be. He couldn't even save himself. If it wasn't for his friends, he would still be with the League of Villains waiting for someone to rescue him like-

Like a quirkless loser.

"Young Midoriya, please," implored All Might. "I was losing One For All anyway."

The boy sniffed, desperately wiping his eyes. "Because you gave it to me," he pointed out.

All Might grasped his shoulder. "And I have never regretted it," he declared. "My boy, I gave you that quirk because you earned it."

Izuku gave him a doubtful look. "Really?" he asked suspiciously. As much as he hated it, All For One's words were still in his head. He knew the villain was manipulative, but what if there had been truth to those words? After all, he hadn't been lying about the HPSC labeling him as a suspect.

His mentor looked taken back. "Of course," he assured him. "Young Midoriya, there is no one else I would entrust with that power."

"Why not?" demanded Izuku. "If you never gave me One For All, you would still have it." A lump formed in his throat. "If I hadn't gotten myself kidnapped, you wouldn't have had to retire." He gave a humorless chuckle, trying to keep the tears from shedding. "I'm supposed to be a great hero, and I'm the one who ended the Symbol of Peace."

Next thing he knew, he was kneeling on the ground, unable to stop the sobs that escaped his throat. All Might was there next to him and holding him close. "None of that," admonished the blond. "You didn't end me, All For One did. You know that. And guess what?"

Izuku sniffed. "What?"

All Might's sunken eyes were soft. "I'd do it again in a heartbeat." His thin fingers ruffled Izuku's hair. "I don't regret anything I had to do to get you back home safely." His grip tightened slightly. "I don't know what All For One or the League told you, but I picked you because you earned it. I believe in you, Young Midoriya. I always have."

Izuku buried his face in his mentor's shoulder, not wanting the man to see him cry. All Might had always been encouraging, but to have this kind of support from someone he had looked up to his entire life...

"If I could redo that moment on the rooftop," All Might continued and Izuku's heart stopped. They never spoke about what happened on the top of that roof. "I would. I should have told you that you could be a hero no matter what. I should have supported you instead of feeling sorry for myself. Because you're more than One For All, Izuku. You're a hero with or without a quirk."

And there it was. When All Might had told him he could be a hero before offering his quirk, Izuku had thought he had healed. That he had reconciled with his four-year-old self. But the feeling back then was nothing compared to how his heart throbbed in his chest now.

All Might believed in him, truly thought the best of him.

Izuku pulled back and wiped his face. "Do you think Kacchan should be expelled?" he asked softly.

His mentor was quiet for a while. Then, "Bakugou is a promising student with so much potential." The words were hesitant, almost regrettable. "But his actions towards you and at the Training Camps proved that he doesn't possess the heart or spirit of a hero. His anger towards you is also very disturbing."

That hadn't exactly answered his question. Not directly, anyway. "All Might," said Izuku. He had been harboring this secret for a while because he hadn't wanted to draw attention to Todoroki that his friend might not want. But with everything that was happening with Bakugou, it didn't feel right anymore. Todoroki and his family deserved justice. And Endeavor shouldn't be a hero. "At the Sports Festival, Todoroki told me something."

His words spilled out of his mouth as he recalled everything Todoroki confessed to him. In all honesty, he should have said something a lot sooner. Who knew if his friend was in danger every time he went home? He watched as All Might went from confused, to disgusted, to angry.

But his mentor expertly reigned in his emotions. "I'll talk to Aizawa," he decided. "Things will be tricky because of Endeavor's status as the number two- now the number one- hero. Luckily, Young Todoroki will be away from him for a while when he moves into the dorms."

Izuku managed to smile. "Thanks, All Might."

Chapter Text

"Effective immediately, Katsuki Bakugou will be transferred out of the hero course."

Nezu leaned back, taking a look around the room. As the extent of Bakugou's transgressions had been shared with every teacher at UA, none of them were shocked at his decision. Some of them- those who had known him for much longer- were probably expecting expulsion. And Nezu had wanted to expel Bakugou, he really did.

"Nezu!"

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes as President Samui voiced her obvious disagreements, reminding him of why he hadn't been able to. As he had told Aizawa, the Hero Public Safety Commission had been steadfastly against expelling Bakugou. They had high hopes for him becoming a hero and it was easy to see why.

The foundation of today's definition of a hero wasn't built on nobility, empathy, or valuing the lives of the innocent. It was built on power and entitlement. Those with obviously strong quirks were cherished by society, while those with seemingly weaker or no quirks were completely disregarded. And this was an agenda that the HPSC had been pushing for decades.

It was why they had attempted to use Midoriya as a scapegoat. It was also why they were attempting to shield Bakugou from any real consequences.

Samui attempted to keep a smile plastered onto her face. "I thought we had an agreement," she continued through clenched teeth.

Nezu smiled right back at her. "We did," he replied. "We agreed that Bakugou wouldn't be expelled, and he isn't." He cleared his throat. "However, he has proven to be irresponsible with his quirk, violent, and sporadic. He has attacked fellow classmates multiple times and acted irresponsibly when faced with a villain attack."

His smile never breaking, Nezu met the woman's gaze. "He doesn't meet the expectations of a UA hero student."

Samui glared viciously at him. "Nezu, I will not allow you to ruin that boy's bright future," she hissed. "He has the potential to be a great hero!"

"No one's future is ruined," said Nezu pleasantly. "As he will be admitted to general studies course. There he can continue taking academic classes and graduate normally. With his grades, I'm sure he'll do just fine provided he sees Hound Dog regularly."

From the corner of his eye, Nezu noticed Aizawa's eyes sharpen and knew the younger man had caught on. Yes, Bakugou would take normal classes, graduate normally, and get a normal job. Someone else in this situation may think they were lucky. That this was merely a warning considering everything Bakugou had done.

But Bakugou wasn't someone else. This would be a direct hit to his ego, shattering the superiority complex he had built up for years. And once his past was 'accidentally' leaked to Shiketsu, Ketsubutsu, and all the other hero schools in Japan (who would have hesitated to take him in even without the knowledge of his actions), he wouldn't even be able to transfer out. He would either have to stay a general education student here or attend another mundane high school.

Nezu took a sip of his tea, attempting to hide his admittedly villainous grin.

OoOoOo

Katsuki couldn't move.

General studies. They were moving him into the general studies department with the rejects who had no chance of ever amounting to anything. He would be stuck there while useless Deku got to stay in the hero course with All Might's quirk. His fist curled by his side, the warmth of his quirk threatening to slip out of his control.

But the clown eyed him. "Don't even think about it, Katsuki," he warned.

The hag- who had finally stopped crying after weeks- barely spared him a glance. "I still think we should have taken him out before they made their decision," she stressed. "Maybe, he could have gotten into Shiketsu, or-"

Katsuki growled, and snapped out of his chance. "I'm not fucking going to a second-rate hero school," he hissed. UA had been his only option since he was five. The fucking nerve of her to suggest anything less.

His father sent him a sharp look. "Don't speak to your mother like that," he ordered. Katsuki growled again, but knew better than to disobey. The clown had grown a spine in the last few weeks and even he knew it wasn't wise to get onto his bad side. His father looked at his mother with a softer look. "I have to agree with Principal Nezu, hon. Katsuki isn't responsible enough to be a hero."

Katsuki swallowed, the clown's words somehow cutting him more than he would like to admit. His parents might not have sucked up to him the way his teachers had, but they had always supported him. They had always believed in him. The thought that they no longer did made his chest tighten.

It also made him angry.

"Says who?!" he demanded. "The rat? I'm the best fucking student they have! They should be begging me to-!"

"Be quiet, Katsuki." The clown didn't yell, he never did. But somehow, his father's voice was enough to shut him up as the man glared down at him. "You're lucky you aren't being charged with misusing your quirk. The school is being gracious enough to still allow you to attend, don't make them regret it." His father's gaze turned cold. "And if I hear you even looked in Izuku's direction, you'll immediately be transferred to Aldera High."

Katsuki normally didn't take threats seriously. He was the strongest, what could anyone do to him But the look on his father's face told him that he was completely serious.

He had a feeling that the clown would make good on his promise.

OoOoOo

Izuku's chest felt lighter.

Next to him, his mother cried happy tears as she hugged him. He felt a lump in his own throat, but didn't cry. He had cried too often in the past week. He simply hugged his mother back, burying his face into the crook of her neck. As he read the email over and over, the words seemed to sear themselves in his brain.

General studies. Kacchan was no longer a hero student.

It wasn't expulsion. But it was a punishment. A punishment that Kacchan would hate just as much as- if not more than- being expelled. For the first time in their lives, someone had listened to Izuku. Someone had taken his side.

It was over. Ten years of burns, insults, and bullying were over. He could focus on becoming the greatest hero in Japan without worrying about Kacchan losing his temper over it. He didn't have to chase after Kacchan anymore or act as a prop to stroke his ego. He could study, hang out with his friends, and perfect using One For All and didn't have to spare the blond a second thought.

Izuku was free.

Chapter Text

Bakugou's exit from the hero course is a turning point for Class 1A.

Izuku begins to see Hound Dog regularly. It's a difficult process, but he learns that how he was treated by Bakugou and others was not okay and that he shouldn't have had to go through that. There are many tears (of course), but Izuku finally starts the healing process. Hound Dog even encourages him to tell his friends- who he has grown closer and more open with- the whole story.

Of course, Hound Dog doesn't exactly know what the whole story entails.

Midoriya plans to have a talk with All Might. He knows that he made a mistake revealing his quirk to Bakugou, but pleads with All Might that he trusts the friends he has now with his life. All Might never say no to his boy and allows Midoriya to share the secret of One For All with Uraraka, Iida, Todoroki, and Yaoyorozu. Midoriya also shares his quirkless past with them.

To his surprise, his friends already knew part of the story. They reveal that Bakugou's behavior caused them to come to the conclusion that he had grown up without a quirk. There are many hugs and a lot of tears (mostly from Midoriya and Uraraka) and unlike in canon, Midoriya is able to reveal his biggest secret on his own terms with close friends that he trusts immeasurably. It doesn't take long before all five of them are on a first-name basis with one another.

(It's actually All Might who suggests revealing the news to his mother. Other than a slipper thrown his mentor's way that he narrowly dodges, the woman takes the news relatively well. She does make Midoriya promise to stop taking so many risks, and he agrees without complaint)

Somehow, news gets around UA about Bakugou's behavior. Most of 1A actually apologize to Midoriya for not noticing earlier, much to his bewilderment and embarrassment. Kirishima is noticeably quieter, but is still friendly to Midoriya and the rest of the class.

No one knows if he still talks to Bakugou or not.

As promised, Nezu does strip many of Aizawa's privileges. He is no longer allowed to nap when he's supposed to be teaching and his ability to suspend students is revoked. He's urged to take a more traditional approach to teaching his students, though he is allowed some freedom in his methods. Nezu also strongly suggests that he refrains from holding another quirk assessment, to which Aizawa sheepishly agrees.

All Might is required to take lessons from Vlad King and Thirteen. While the former Symbol of Peace's heart is in the right place, he lacks order and organization. It isn't anything a few pointers and practice can't fix. Midoriya is allowed to sit in on these classes and cheerfully encourages his mentor from the sidelines, much to the man's embarrassment.

Bakugou's admission into General Education is met with hostility. He wasn't popular before the transfer due to his arrogance before and during the Sports Festival, but the rumors about how he treated Midoriya easily make their way to Class 1C. He's met with taunts, insults, and goading from his classmates. Hitoshi Shinsou, in particular, likes to mess with him using his quirk. Bakugou, who's under strict supervision regarding his own quirk, is unable to attack and threaten the General Studies students like he did Midoriya for all those years.

(Present Mic notices most of this, but chooses to ignore it for the most part. He figures that it's only a fraction of what the blond put Midoriya through, he'll survive)

Midoriya visits the League of Villains in their confinement from time to time. He was able to talk Nezu into convincing the HPSC to place Toga in juvenile detention with proper quirk therapy and get Spinner, Magne, and Twice into regular prison over Tartarus. Nezu does him one better and is able to get Shigaraki and Dabi quirk therapy as well, though they're still in Tartarus. Fortunately, they're far away from All For One and his influence.

Midoriya holds hope that they'll all get the help that they need.

Without his hero worship of Bakugou holding him back, Midoriya easily excels to the top of the class. He's right behind Yaoyorozu and Iida in academics and is even with Todoroki in heroics. He steadily works to master One For All and his friends help him in any way they can. With his friends, mother, and mentor by his side, nothing is standing in the way of his goals.

And it's on this road that Izuku Midoriya will go on to become the Number One Hero.