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Chapter Text

                                     Fig.1 -Koda Yatsune - 1st eye of the 5 eyes, a super hero agency where Hishashi Midoriya used to work. His quirk is "Black Glove". The soft skin on his palms and soles of his feet can transmit short bursts of galvanic discharges that can overload your nervous system. This activates all pain receptors in his target's body simultaneously. By law he has to wear gauntlets that lock his hands so his quirk cannot be used freely. He was stripped in disgrace as a pro hero and currently acts as a reserve hero. He can only take off the gloves for 1-2 minutes to accomplish sensitive tasks of personal nature ; any longer than that he will have to check-in with his case administrator and file extensive paper work justifying its use. He is only allowed to remove them during a fight, on missions/engagements/incidents with the HPSC for which no paperwork has to be submitted.

"All Men are not created equal in this age of heroes" Midoriya thought to himself as Bakugo, flanked by his two friends jumped him that day. Izuku's fear of their blows was mirrored in their psyches, stoking the embers of childish violence into primal violence reserved for life and death.

What started off as threats had turned into a deathly thrashing that left Midoriya bruised and beaten within an inch of his brief life. The kid he was protecting had absorbed Izuku's flight response while Bakugo and his goons had given in to the fight response.

As the random kids darted off like a bolt from the blow, leaving Izuku to face his three assailants, pummeling him into the dust. From their perspective they were savagely beating a demon from their darkest nightmares, Bakugo and his friends under the influence of the quirk not even Midoriya knew had awoken inside of him that day.

As his senses returned, the red haze lifted from his vision. Katsuki Bakugo was left shivering with fresh trauma as he saw his perfect hands soaked in Izuku's blood, his friends had come out of their collective haze. The quirk had lifted like a curse and they were left horrified by what they had done. 

Izuku Midoriya lay barely conscious in the dirt. A small pool of blood soaking the sands, covered in cuts and bruises. Bakugo's fake fight had turned too real for his liking. This was more than he had bargained for as the blood was something new for the toddlers who had grown up in an era of peace. 

The trio scampered like jackals when they heard an old man yelling at them, darting away into the bushes with one purpose: don't get caught. Their focused on escape more dire since Bakugo knew the consequences if his old hag caught wind of what he had done today to poor Izuku.

His minions scattered to the wind fleeing in every direction; leaving Bakugo in tears the whole way back to his house where he washed the blood off his hands never knowing how some harmless bullying had suddenly turned into bloody murder in his toddler mind. The trauma would haunt him for the rest of his days.

The more he tried to wash it off the blood just wouldn't go away. No matter how much he scrubbed and soaked them, he would see his hands stained in red in everytime he looked at them. Not even his dreams would offer him sanctuary from his guilt. 

"Hey kid! Wake up dammit!" Izuku heard an old but stern voice. His leather gloves tapping his chest gently at first, his vision swimming in and out of focus as he felt his body fill with pain like he was under a waterfall. The anguish dragging him down into the comforting void of unconsciousness till a slap woke him up, every cut and bruise now on flared like hot embers as he nodded towards his saviors's silhouette in a daze. He felt his body being picked up effortlessly like his namesake. A useless wooden doll (dekunobu) that was put against a bench to be propped up because it can't even keep itself straight without a firm hand forcing it to. 

"This is going to sting." the man grumbled as Midoriya heard a cap pop off, the fluid hissed a few drops of it fell into the sand. The acrid smell stinging his nose as the fluid was poured into the gash in his head. Unreal pain shot through him, his throat too hoarse to yell out as he let out a dry croaking, slamming his head on the back of the bench reflexively.

The old man chuckled in relief as he dabbed izuku's smaller wounds one by one with the disinfectant solution that hissed on his bloody wounds. 

"Nothing looks broken, kid." The old man looked him over very carefully, wiping off dried blood to make sure nothing was missed. Midoriya looked back now seeing the familiar face of his neighbor. the older man's chiseled and gaunt face, bristling with facial hair that was unkempt put him in his late 40s. Midoriya was smiling in relief as he who would help his mom with her groceries and fix up things in their apartment now and then. Despite his stern expression he was a friendly shut-in that mom used to call Koda-san even though he looked younger than her.

Once Koda was done with his inspection he had Midoriya follow his finger to see if he was stable to move. The smile looked unnatural on that slender face but Izuku could feel the man's relief washing over him like a cool breeze as if it were his own but as he did ; a sudden pain hit Izuku's brain as he felt Koda san's cool relief turning into frigid zephyrs. The emotions in the older man shifted suddenly like a calm sea suddenly started to churn. Izuku panicked frantically if this was his quirk or a curse as his own emotions were thrown into chaos by the realization. 

"Ok Midoriya, let's get you back to Inko-chan before she panics, you're lucky I was out on patrol today." he held out his hand gently that was trembling as though he was soaked in ice water. Midoriya took it with trepidation as he couldn't read the emotional climate in Koda san's mind. Did he know about Izuku?

"Are you a hero too?" Midoriya squeaked weakly, his vocal chords still hoarse, Koda just threw his head back and chortled to spare his feelings. Izuku could only fell pin pricks of joy and pride especially at the word "hero" when the shutters were lifted in Koda's mind for a split second. 

"Can you keep a secret young man?" he looked down at the eager toddler who nodded weakly but with uncertainty at what might follow, Koda massaged his temple with one hand. His fingers dug into his temples as though he was reinforcing his mental barrier against Izuku's quirk. 

"We both hurt people to feel like heroes." He spoke gruffly, pausing a moment to look Midoriya in the eyes, pressing a button his gauntlet hissed; releasing his hand as the tip of his index finger tapped Midoriya's forehead. This sent a flash of pain that ignited every fiber of his being, the pain from the beat down was nothing compared to the nanosecond of this hell.

In that moment Midoriya was flooded with anguishing pain that sent him to his knees but was caught mid fall by Koda's other hand covered by his gauntlet. he wrapped his exposed hand with his gauntlet beeping ominously, counting down to something as each beep become louder and less frequent akin to a wordless countdown.

"I felt my pain through you kid, you're like me. A mentallic." he knelt down and whispered in a hushed tone with care. 

"Mental....does that mean I'm crazy!" Midoriya squealed in horror, his vocal chords retched and tugged as he did so. Koda put his hand over Izuku's mouth as he shook his head. Clearly Izuku's quirk was getting past his barrier a bit so Izuku took a few deep breaths to calm down before he sent Koda into a homicidal rage. 

"Hey! Some of the best people i know are! But no....It just means we gotta keep what's happening here..." he tapped his forehead, "From reaching out to the folks outside until we find someone who deserves it." Midoriya gulped as his pupils dilated from the exertion of keeping his mental state in state. Especially now that he knew he definitely has a quirk. 

"Wait...you know about my..." Midoriya's lips quivered, conflicted on how easily someone had figured something he had been hiding the past few days, unsure how to tell the people he wanted to protect about it. 

"That's cuz when I got mine, no one was around.... to stop me from hurting.... Others... myself " Koda snarled bitterly, his hands clasped together. Midoriya didn't need his quirk to know he had clearly touched a nerve. 

"My master had something like yours....he stopped me from hurting people before I ended up in an iso-cell." Koda looked down at the toddler. A frail child hiding a potent power that attacked every man's weakness; their mind. 

They walked like that for a few minutes to gather their thoughts, Midoriya calming himself down, determined to act on this information, worried how he was going to tell his mom. He only hoped she would be understanding since he had a dangerous quirk, the type people gossiped about at the grocery line or the villains media sensationalized as a threat to their way of life. He dreamed to become a great hero but this quirk was a villanous one. This power had turned Kacchan into a senseless animal. As far as people would be concerned, Kacchan had attacked him but Izuku knew the truth that his mind turned his childhood friend into a monster today. Eventhough he was the one covered in bruises and worse, he knew deep down Kacchan had that heroic spirit since they both swore they'd be the next All Might. That was a problem for another day till he figured out how to explain this to his mom. 

Finally they had reached his apartment door and Inko answered, looking down at Midoriya she wailed like a banshee at a funeral, Koda defused the situation by having Inko sit down inside before the neighbors could open their doors and had her make them a cup of tea with a promise to explain everything.

Midoriya could read her torrential emotional state like a comic book speech bubble.Her nerves were wracked but since Koda had been a dear friend to her all these years she deffered to him while they sat at the table waiting tensely for the kettle to boil over. Inko's own stress mimicked the kettle the hitting Midoriya like red hot steam in the face that made him whinge in pain. 

Inko looked over with concern at Midoriya, her eyes scanning the bruises and dried blood stains. Koda kept shooting reassuring glances at Midoriya so he could keep his mind focused and quirk under control which was clearly influencing her. Izuku took the chance to try and ignore the sauna like steam the was radiating from Inko's concern and stress. He had to hold it in before he gave her a nervous breakdown unintentionally while Koda was explaining things. 

The whistle of the kettle took her mind off Izuku for a much needed months as she rushed to it. Izuku and Koda looked at each other in relief at the bullet that had been so narrowly dodged till Inko returned with a tray carrying the tea leaves, milk and sugar. She set it all on the table slowly, containing herself barely in front of an appreciative Koda. His gruff features somehow became more welcoming the more positive Izuku's emotions became, meaning he was letting down his barrier around him.

"I'm sorry Inko but the neighborhood isn't what it used to be with all the kids getting their quirks, suddenly flashing them around with no control." he took his cup, looking her in the eye empathetically. 

"Oh Koda-San, I just don't know what would have happened if you weren't there...I'm so sorry this was so much trouble for you." Inko sobbed gratefully, bowing her head.

"Inko." he said calmly, taking a sip of the bitter tea before setting it down, " I think young Midoriya needs to learn to protect himself especially since he is quirkless." 

Both Inko and Midoriya looked at him in shock, Izuku's shock clearly stung Koda like a bee yet he was relieved that he was lying on his behalf with a straight face to his mother. Though he wasn't sure if concealing is what he really wanted to in the first place. "We both know how helpless quirkless people already are and I'll make sure Midoriya knows how to handle these situations." Koda clasped his hands around the hot mug, the wrist of the gauntlets tinkling against the ceramic.

"I'm so relieved a pro hero like you is taking such a personal interest in this I...." Inko started but was silenced by Koda waving his hand with an air of non chalance. 

"Former pro I"m afraid, I've been stripped off my rank for a decade now, just have my auxiliary license and 'these"." he grinned as he held up both gauntlets. "All I can do is help where they tell me I can these days to make ends meet." 

Inko nodded in apology jumping to the wrong conclusion, excusing herself nonverbally for having brought it up, "My Midoriya loves heroes! He wants to be one so badly but I am afraid he will get hurt without a quirk." 

"Children need to chase their dreams." Koda chortled as he sipped his tea again, "It's our job to catch them when they fall... right?" he smirked to Inko's reluctant agreement. "Hisashi was a close friend, I made a promise to him." Koda ruffled Midoriya's messy hair, snickering as Inko's heart felt heavy but at the same time warm as the sight reminded her of her late husband. Atleast she had calmed down a bit, her head hanging at the shame of the past. 

"I'm sorry Hisashi caused you so much trouble Koda just as we are." Inko choked on the comment, letting out a suppressed sob to which Koda reached out and touched her shoulder.

"We might have been the five eyes Inko but he was the heart, its never been the same without him." he said stoically in a deep voice, "There wasn't a day when he wouldn't shut up about his perfect family.He'd be proud of you and Midoriya carrying on his flame."

Inko looked up at him, wiping her tears, his lip stopped quivering as she felt warm in the face. "I leave him in your capable hands Koda San. "Please make sure he comes home for a hot meal, you'd better join us as well! All this talk about taking care of us let me return the favor." She scolded him as she took a deep sip of her hot tea. Izuku could feel the pain from her burning her tongue while putting on a brave face. 

"Please hold the spices in your Katsudon, war injuries from Hisashi's cooking!" Koda patted his gut, roaring with laughter as he took another sip of his tea, shooting a secretive wink at Midoriya as Inko looked away in embarrasment at the joke for a moment. Izuku didn't need his quirk to know they had much work ahead of them.

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Fig.2. Koda's backstory needed to understand the chapter. He was in the 5 eyes with Hisashi and 3 other heroes who handled street level crimes. He was in a secret tryst with one of its members who was killed by AFO, their quirk was similar to Midoriya's except his quirk could work on one person at a time and needed extreme focus to pull off. He could buff his allies or cripple/weaken enemies. A fight with elements of AFO's organization crippled them, resulting in the death of his partner and Hisashi who shielded a wounded Koda. Their team was disbanded by the HPSC due to massive civilian casualties as a result of the PTSD of losing nearly half their team, their injuries leaving them all but mostly disabled/unable to continue professional duties. To cover up for their failure the HPSC had the surviving 5 eyes assume all responsibility for their failure in return for new identities/jobs with a modest stipend to live normal lives and to keep their hero licenses intact under new aliases for low level villains only. 

Koda is resentful for the HPSC making light of the 5 eyes who were overpowered by a God like quirk that AFO's organization had which outclassed most pro heroes including the existing top 10 but begrudgingly took on the deal, swallowing his pride on behalf of the crippled survivors who needed the money and assistance to recover.To him the hero system has been twisted and perverted into a game of numbers, weighing lives and risks accordingly instead of protecting the people without treating them as chattel. He especially does not appreciate how the HPSC used the information gathered by spying on him and his team member's private affair. His final note in his file reads as follows,

"You gave me commendations for arresting hundreds of villains yet disgraced me for loving one hero."

"Had enough?" Koda sighed, his foot planted firmly on Midoriya's spine, twisting his arm behind him as he leaned in to complete the submission hold. Grinning as he fought off Midoriya's quirk that stung at his psyche, lashing out with the pain being channelled into him.

"I'm not going to let go till you can turn it off!" he growled, twisting Midoriya's wrist as he felt a new wave of pain crash against him, the crests of every other attack from the empathic barrage slam against his mental defenses. Years of training with Midoriya had insulated him against his empathic attacks. His battle experience with the 5 eyes as a pro hero was something he had to draw on as Midoriya had grown mentally and physically. The boy's mental and physical prowess only increasing with time and harsh training to keep his emotions in check.

"Remember your sutra!" Koda barked his command at his disciple, the 13 year old's defiance too unreal as his pain tolerance had only grown over the years, forcing Koda to go harder on him in their sparring.

Midoriya was muttering again, he felt the waves of mental attacks emanating from his mind recede, Koda lowering the pressure he used to keep the submission hold. "What are you!" Koda yelled.

"Human!" Midoriya yelled into the tatami mat. 

"Then why are you trying to rip your arm while in my trap!" Koda chastised him harshly, twisting his wrist to the extreme. 

"I'm scared!" Midoriya screamed from the pain, the truth finally came out as Koda chuckled.

"What is fear?" He snarled, the sound of Midoriya's thumb being dislocated dialled up the pain.

"The blade in the darkness!" Midoriya screamed at the top of his lungs as he felt his thumb leave its joint.

"Then is your blade piercing you Izuku!?" Koda growled. Midoriya's mind went blank and the attacks ceased from his quirk. Koda snapped Midoriya's dislocated thumb back into its joint, pleased that there was no backlash from the pain in Midoriya's quirk finally.

"“The unseen blade is the deadliest Midoriya.” he grinned as he released his pupil, tossing him a warm towel to compress the swollen thumb, Midoriya hissed at he wrapped the hot towel compress on his aching joint, looking up at him. "Use your emotions to pierce your enemies like..." Koda paused, reminiscing his past. 

"Shifu?" Midoriya asked with some concern. Koda sighed waving his hand at him.

"Remind me again why don't we kill again Midoriya?" he snapped at Midoriya, hiding what was eating his mind, deflecting Midoriya's quirk that could  tune into his emotional state. 

"The fifth eye, we never take life without cause." Midoriya perked up, crossing his legs, reciting it with pride. "You told me my dad was the fifth eye in your group right!" he asked excitedly. Koda could only smile, snickering as he sat down across from him, reaching out and flicking him on the forehead. 

"He sure was, everytime we went to the edge, he'd pull us back. he was our conscience." Koda lamented, "Now tell me the other four eyes kiddo."

"Lets see...." Midoriya bit his lip, stroking his chin, "The first eye is Humility, that was your role in the group, you had to make sure everyone was trained up and handled the image of the group. Make sure no one got cocky or carried away with their success." he beamed at Koda who had been teaching him since he was 4, filling him with confidence through harsh training and discipline, allowing him a peaceful existence with his troublesome quirk to keep the illusion of being quirkless alive and well.

"Yea right...I'm just the tallest bamboo in the forest now, can't bow for shit." Koda was thankful he could be as foul mouthed around Midoriya as much as he wanted now, giving him an F-Bomb on his 13th birthday. "Remember kid, if its too good to be true then its too good to be true, same for people, the nicer someone is to you without reason, chances are they are the biggest threat." 

Midoriya nodded as he held up two fingers after the two eyes he had mentioned, "There's respect and that was Hoshi-San, he made sure you guys followed the rules, gave respect to the seniors, public and especially the villains you guys brought in right?"

"Atta boy Izuku." Koda ruffled his hair and sighed, "Too bad he's been in a coma since his injuries but yea...." he scratched his head, stroking his own messy hair, pulling it taut. "Remember Midoriya, never humiliate anyone, humiliated people are like weeds, hard to pull out by the root and quick to grow around you. Maybe your friend Kacchan can learn about that." 

Midoriya looked away, sighing at the mention of Bakugo who had been more enamored by his 15 minutes of fame having the flashiest quirk, looking down on everyone. He looked up to him for a long time, seeing his friend trapped by his own hubris for all these years before a flick to his forehead snapped him back. "Don't do that now kiddo...You owe me two more or do you want me to ask why you get that look when I say Kacchan." 

"Sorry!! Let me see...." Midoriya snapped back to the room with his Shifu. "Honor! We need to honor everyone before us, after us, with us. We need to give credit to everyone who contributed to the group even our enemies who help us grow. Be loyal to the group. You never told me who this eye belonged to Kod---Shifu." Midoriya bowed his head in apology, forgetting himself for a moment that Koda was his teacher first in this improvised dojo. Koda would normally scold him or berate him but today he seemed to be in a cheerful mood, patting him on the head, raising it to look at him. 

"Shifu doesn't only mean teacher kid, it also means father, I promised Hisashi I'd be both...." He coughed as he clung to his chest, wincing from the pain from the missing lung. Midoriya had seen the scar many times, his heart was an implant and so was his lung but they were limited and had to be taken out many times due to rejection from his body. Koda was near the end of his life from the last 10 years. He knew it, Midoriya knew it and the realization was never an easy one to get used to as the pain subsided and Koda gathered himself, looking at Midoriya's eyes well up, the tears desperately pooled around his eyebrows, begging to be released. 

"Anyway, you aren't getting out of telling me the final eye kid..." He gulped because this was the most traumatic one. 

"Trust..."Midoriya said slowly, knowing how this one hit hard every time, he could tell that this member of the 5 eyes was special even to Koda. "the maker and keeper of all promises, he made sure you kept all your commitments in writing."

"Yea right pain the ass he was..." Koda sniffed, wiping his nose as he took a breath; hoping Midoriya would not pry and safely assume he was just recovering from his implanted organs failing momentarily just now. "Hisashi and him were great friends, he was strict as fuck with us, always after me...." he sighed, ruffling Midoriya's hair. "You're named Izuku in honor of him, he saved Hisashi and me one too many times, your quirk reminds me of him and your hair reminds me of Hisashi."

"He was the one my dad died protecting right?" Midoriya asked slowly, surprised finally that Koda was letting his guard down, the question burning in his mind for the last decade since he was curious how his dad had died. 

"Hisashi always smiled when the rest of us couldn't, your dad didn't die in vain kid. The damage was already done, he just made sure our Izuku carried the team  one last time across the finish line that day." he sniffed again. "I was the fool who rushed in that day." Koda held his chest, the scar a grim reminder that he had lost more than organs that day he had lost two of the most important people that day and what it meant to be a hero.

"Was he your Kacchan?" Midoriya asked, his face flushed as he did.

"Oh yea, a real bully when he wanted to be." Koda chuckled, coughing into his hand as he did, flecks of blood fell into his palm. "Just remember Izuku, sometimes assholes like him can be the best people you'll meet. They're rough around the edges but they make sure you never go off on the wrong path." He rubbed his hands together, trying to spread the flecks of blood between his palms as he put on a brave smile. 

"I know you can't believe in heroes today kid but that doesn't mean you can't smile when you help out in your own way." He grinned widely. "All Might isn't wrong there, people trust you more when you smile ya know..." he reached behind and held out the Bo staff he had been training Midoriya with since he was 10. 

"I don't believe in fairy tales since....that day."  Midoriya grumbled as he snatched the staff in anger. Koda kept a strong grip on it, clicking his tongue.

"Gotta keep the lid on at all times hot head." he hit Midoriya on the head with his free hand. "Not everyone can take your bullshit quirk like I can." 

Midoriya nodded, taking deep breaths, locking away the memories of having torn down his room, throwing out all his All Might merchandise and refusing to look upto heroes when he had met a real one. He just felt saddened by how close Koda's death was approaching, the pressure building to live upto his legacy, his father's dreams and now the former Izuku's sacrifice. He had so many people riding on his actions the next year when the UA exams would begin. 

"We're burning daylight Kid." Koda barked as he threw the Bo Staff into Midoriya and took several paces back. "From the top, this time land a blow already. The gloves are off today." His gauntlets hissed, their locks disengaging as they slipped off, his raw hands black with his quirk, charged up to be used as the soles of his feet also turned back. Koda could no longer hold back, time was a luxury he no longer had and the dreams of five people were riding on this one kid.

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Fig 3. Former Pro Hero Arcanist, he was the Eye of Honor, their support expert who kept the group equipped with the latest technology. He was treasured by the pro hero community before his PTSD limited his quirk use. His quirk is Special Template Conception, he can visualize ideas and concepts for technology at a glance, exact measurements, machining, dimensions of the users, schematics were all in his mind. His quirk enabled him to analyse and optimize technology efficiently, allowing him to improvise things in the field and make modular gear for his team to counter any threat. He collaborated with many support heroes and his designs were a legend in the 4th generation of quirks. He is the youngest member currently at 35 while Koda is now 50. He recently setup a shop in Midoriya's neighborhood to keep a close eye on Koda who is near death as his last years of life are around the corner. He returned from I-Island recently to help out Koda to prepare Midoriya to follow in his father's footsteps.  

"Open up you old bag! Did your hearing aid die in your ears again!" Koda growled as he rapped on the glass door, Midoriya worried the next blow would break through the glass sheet before the electric buzzer followed by a latch being released had Koda push the door open impatiently. 

"About time, was about to throw the kid through the door if you had me waiting me waiting another minute!" Koda growled as he approached the lithe middle aged man who was bent over the counter, prodding and poking at a PCB board, holding up a finger as he sparked the board, smiling as the cooling fan on the board hummed to life.

"The boy would break before the glass would, I'd just be wiping what was left at the end of the day." he chuckled as he leered at Koda, "Doctor Gyokko has called me about you missing your appointments again." He grumbled, narrowing his eyes at Koda who huffed. 

"DIdn't Gyoko tell you how your shit failing? Losing your touch in your middle age there youngster." Koda chided. 

"Your flesh is weak, my tech is fine." he retorted, pursing his lips at the angry comment and sighed, "I'm sorry, that was...offhanded." 

"Oh, then you make up for your failure by meeting Hisashi's kid." he pushed Midoriya in front of him. "Meet uncle Aachii."

"I'm the arcanist....Koda you forget yourself...not all of us gave up like you did." He scowled at Koda for his casual use of his name in front of Midoriya.

"Yeaa well, Left out the part where Hisashi name him Izuku." Koda spoke morosely, Aachii shooting him a sympathetic look.

"Hisashi was all heart no brains, the man couldn't nail his timing." Aachii sighed, shaking his head at the wounds from the past as he lay down his equipment and extended his hand to Midoriya.

"I'm sorry you got dragged into this." Aachi sighed as he scowled at Koda. "He deserved a normal life...." 

"Pushing papers?! He's got his father's spirit, no way am I caging that behind a fucking desk!" Koda retorted. "You just afraid you can't teach him nothing? He's gonna need more than fists to get into UA quirkless." 

Aachii scanned Midoriya and rubbed his eyes with his index finger and thumb, "Even if....I taught him how to make a better stick....isn't that a bit old fashioned! What's next? A flintlock? Grapeshot? We need to bring him into the 23rd century with the rest of us!" 

"it's the kid's call, he's been in the scouts, boot camp training, survival trips with yours truly for the last 10 years. he knows what he needs to get the job done." he slapped Midoriya in the back before turning around. 

"He's your problem for the next few weeks while I see Gyoko about your shitty lung and heart, sound fair?" he waved off to Aachii who clicked his tongue in annoyance. 

"If I get one more call from that butcher all bets are off Koda!" Aachi spoke coldly and severely, "Izuku....I mean your Izuku wouldn't want you throwing your life away so callously!" 

Koda froze as the name was thrown at him like a harpoon. "Point noted ...... and ignored." he strode out of the shop, closing the door behind him a bit harder than he would have like to as Aachii looked at Midoriya. 

"I may not be in my prime Iz....I mean Midoriya." Aachii coughed as he corrected himself, "Let's make you that pointy stick like the ape wants." 

"Aachii san, you can call me Izuku, its ok since you were a friend of my dad right?!" Midoriya blurted out, feeling like he made him uncomfortable. Aachii just glared back, those eyes glassy and dead. 

"I'm called the Aracanist because anything I touch or make works like magic, the only magic I pulled off that day was making my team disappear" He spoke in a threatening tone, hiding much of his pain. "Koda san is too nice to say it....but we lost so many lives that day because my tech wasn't good enough....every support item in the world is mocked because it never is enough in our line of work." he clenched his hands and smashed the PCB board into pieces, sending sparks everywhere. "Never again...." he panted as he looked at his bleeding hand, pulling out a handkerchief and wrapping his hand in it, looking at Midoriya like an owl. 

"I'm sorry Aachii san, please accept my apologies, I didn't think about how you might be feeling about my name." Midoriya bowed his head, Aachi hissed as he turned around and waved the hand wrapped in his bleeding handkerchief. 

"You start tomorrow. I'm not making you anything, you're going to make it yourself under my guidance. Your life and death will be in your hands....hero." he chided as he waved off Midoriya. 

"Thank you Aachii san! I will not let you down!" he squalled, filling the shop with his gratuitous feelings, leaving through the door, careful to close it gently as Aachii shook his head.

"You sure gave birth to a piece of work Hisashi san..." he spoke in a lamenting tone, his hand hovered over the PCB board as it put itself back to together with his quirk, the fan humming back to life on the board leaving a smile on Aachii's face, "No matter, I can fix anything."  

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Fig.4 Midoriya bearingThe Heavenly Arms Tenso Mk.I with the Body Glove light carapace suit reinforced with KPA foam 

"UNACCETPABLE!"Aachii yelled as he tossed another screwdriver at Midoriya's head, the young man had grown accustomed to The Arcanists many tantrums over the smallest issues. The coffee was the wrong temperature, the schematics were not set to the right scale, the wiring was shoddy, the blast gel caps were not cooked properly. There was always something that didn't meet his standards in the months that Midoriya and him had been at it. 

They had built out his protective suit from a titanium dioxide coated sheet of Polyamide cloth blended with Tencel to regulate his body temperature and keep him safe from the massive electric currents his Tenso MK-1 modular spear would generate when....no IF it was ever completed. The UA exam was a mere months around the corner and nearly a year had breezed by with Koda dropping in now and then from I-Island to check on their progress. He hadn't checked in for the last few weeks but Midoriya had been too distracted missing tools thrown his way as Aachii was a complicated man who believed everything needed more moving parts not less. There were never enough safeties, backups or redundancies for his taste as just the suit itself weighed in a modest 5 kg that did feel stiff at the joins till he had "broken it in". 

The release tabs were a hot topic of debate between them, flaring many temperatures in the room as Midoriya, as much as Aachii hated to admit was picking up what knowledge he was willing to impart voraciously like a hungry puppy, devouring its body weight in food as it was in its growth spurt. Just like a puppy would turn into a dog, so did Midoriya become a little tinkerer in his own right. He had been taking some of his work home with him, one part here, some spool of wire there, a can of KPA foam to many curiosities of Aachii. He had caught Midoriya many times with the camera outside his shop handing out gadgets and nick knacks to many people in his neighborhood, bringing unwanted attention and "customers" to his shop. 

Aachii shook his head as he felt Midoriya was being careless again, seeing his schematics. Thinking it must be that psychotic blondie who put such dangerous ideas in his head like TNT capsules! hyper compressed anesthetic gas pellets, combinator valves and gravity hooks!? Was this kid trying to marry a Pez dispenser with explosives and chemicals!? He truly was Hishashi's son who didn't inherit his fiery quirk but had his fiery passion to be a pain in his ass, always pushing his genius to the limits with what was possible and what was just something that should stay in the comics. He heard the rapping on his door, with a wink he looked at the AR overlay in his visor, smirking with relief as the solution to his problem was right at the door. 

Aachii had turned and left Midoriya in the workshop room as he headed into the main lobby of the shop. Midoriya was almost done picking up the dozens of tools that lay scattered on the floor from all of Aachii's outbursts today. They had to get the spear functioning soon, he looked at the two 4 feet sections of the massive tungsten rod, laying unmachined on the lathe. The water jet drill and the Laser CNC machine's nozzles stood ready at the press of a button to core it out and make the channels and compartments inside and out once Aachii approved his many changes to simplify how much The Arcanist was creating problems to every solution he needed. 

Midoriya had felt the full weight of the rod when he first received it at the door. It took him and Kacchan to bring it all in. Both of them weighed in around 20 kilos. Once they extended to the 8 foot in its fully extended hydraulic mode, he had to make the Tenso Mk-I feel like a part of his body soon as he could. He had already stripped out most of the cumbersome exoskeleton, leaving only some servos from it as a brace in his massive gloves to arrest the momentum of the rod. According to his calculations after boring and filling out the mechanisms and loading the ammo, the spear would be least 10-12 kilos. He was still 14 so it would take a lot of finesse and skill to maneuver that without becoming unwieldy.

Aaichii entered once more, in the nick of time Midoriya raised his hand full of tools to welcome him back, both he and the pink haired girl accompanying him ignored Midoriya to his chagrin, his  expression souring as she went to the holo overlay and the color on his skin faded to white as her hands darted on the holographic overlay, scrawling and scribbling like a child running a crayon over the Mona Lisa, his master plan for the Tenso MK-1 was being...desecrated. He rushed over fuming, clutching the dozens of tools in both his hands. Aachii felt the murderous aura from Midoriya, flashing his glasses by adjusting them with a finger, giving him that deadlocked stare as Hastume continued her scribbling like a spider on drug weaving a chaotic mess over his precious CNC model. 

Midoriya lay the tools in his left hand on the dolly next to the holo desk and when he was about to unload the second one, Aachii interrupted him, "Midoriya Kun, please welcome Hatsume Mei, one of my hand picked prodigies with my recommendation into the UA support program!" he patted the girl who's goggles were zooming in and out like a microscope, making minute adjustments to the floating hologram, paying neither of them any mind. "Her quirk is zoom that allows her to build things from angles I wish I could! The future is nano and she can see atoms themselves with just her eyes." Aaichii who had been throwing heavy tools at him all day for the past months, his dad's supposed friend, his latest mentor lacking any compassion or warmth expected from a human being was praising....something! Yes a thing, not some-'one'.

He was just incapable of seeing the beauty of a machine in a human which were a defective design he would send back to a non existent God, lamenting random improvements to Midoriya when he was engrossed in his work. off hand comments like "if only I had ball joints, If only I had retractable limbs, if only this rib cage didn't get in the way! Curse this decaying suit of flesh!" were the many complaints that Aachii was sending to his maker. Midoriya had longed joked with Koda San when he would visit about this and he would get nothing but laughter and agreement from him, he was looking more gaunt with each visit, deflated, skeletal...defeated. Midoriya had to catch up, he couldn't...shouldn't use his quirk. He had to get in UA, change things from within. 

Bakugo who had begrudgingly taken his claymore gloves that would soak up his sweat into strips of Swedish clay. Each strip holding thousands of kilo joules of their own explosive once they were saturated with his sweat. they could stick to anything and detonate with just a spark from Bakugo to great effect. He had been helping whoever he could at school with UA around the corner. Once he heard that Bakugo had been acing his training runs for his quirks in front of the scouts wearing the gloves he had made, everyone wanted his help one way or the other. His own bedroom once adorned with All Might posters and merchandise when he was 4, now a grimy mini workshop littered with spare parts, held together by hopes and dreams. 

"DONE! This will be such a beautiful baby!" Hatsume squealed as she pressed the big red button that Midoriya had been itching to for the last month. His skin crawled as he heard the laser and water jets rev up and core out the tungsten rod, his magnum opus in the background. Dropping the dozens of tools in his other hand to the floor he sauntered over to Hatsume who just shook his hand eagerly like she had won a Nobel Prize! Midoriya saw the most intricate channeling, rifling patterns he didn't know, his ammo pellets reshaped into non Euclidian hyperbolic that fit together like geometric shapes. This girl had gone down to  the atomic level into kaleidoscopic patterns his mind could not wrap itself around as she was jumping with glee as she shook his hand. 

"Hatsume, you're in charge for the next few days...do not let Midroiya's friends in and please make sure he doesn't blow himself up." He strode past the scattered tools, snapping his fingers in annoyance, signaling Midoriya to clean up who begrudgingly muttered under his breath, picking up the tools fast, squeezing them to divert his rage at being upstaged like this. Pushing down his anger like Koda San had taught him to. He couldn't let 'this' trigger his quirk...it was no big deal, he needed the Tenso Mk-1 completed sooner than later so what was he complaining as he picked up the last tool, looking up he saw Aachii do something he never expected. Smiling in the doorway, "I'll give Koda your regards, every success we have here keeps him going. You'd better not blow yourself with that thing Izuku Chan." 

Midoriya was about to drop all the tools again from the shock but hesitated, not wanting to puncture the wholesome moment he had been craving for the past year. He was 14 but he had to suppress his many emotions as Aachii finally acknowledged 'something' he didn't even know he had done. Putting the tools on the dolly as he breathed deeply, trying hard to suppress the emotions washing over him. "Hatsume is not the only one I've recommended to UA's support course Midoriya, don't make me regret this in the next few days. Listen to Hatsume, she's the best partner you could ask for in that nest of Vipers." Aachii spoke softly before leaving both of them literally. 

Midoriya looked at the tungsten rods being hollowed out. Hatsume wrapped her arm over his shoulder and giggled, "We are gonna make so many beautiful babies Midoriya!" 

"Hold on .... wait what..." Midoriya started as he found it harder and harder to suppress what this meant. Hatsume pointed at the rods being hollowed out with the lasers and water jets. 

"That's our first baby! We created her together." She wiped a tear of pride from her goggles, taking them off to reveal her freaky pupils that were more machine like than human, unnerving Midoriya as she scanned his body glove carapace. 

"Oh!? So much we can do! Let's create another baby right now!" She kept poking prodding around at his suit, dissecting it in her head to Midoriya's many objections. 

"Can you please stop saying babies around me..." Midoriya scolded her in protest, feeling attacked at her intrusion in his personal space. Hatsume put back her goggles and giggled.

"Oh I don't need goggles to see why you really don't like that word."  She squealed, "Machines aren't the only thing I know inside and out." she winked knowingly at him, waving at the blond boy in the door who left something on the counter and promptly left. Before Midoriya could yell out for Kacchan he rushed to the counter and opened the box he had left, opening it, his heart sank as he saw the gloves he made Bakugo as a peace offering were in there. washed and cleaned as the first day they were created in pristine condition, not even a hint of his scent on them. Bakugo had least been courteous enough to return them in good shape despite the heavy use he got out of them in training. Hatsume snatched the box and her goggles began to tear the gloves apart visually. If she had actually stripped them down to their seams Midoriya would have punched her but held his rage in, the hurt always winning over it. 

"Swedish clay!? You know that K-gel exists right!?" she ran off into the workshop, Midoriya hot on her heels. Somehow he knew that adjusting to the unwieldy Tenso Mk-1 would be a walk in the park compared to staying in lock step with this girl. He hoped she was bluffing on who he really was, his quirk, his feelings. There were so many layers and lies that kept others safe from him and one of them had walked away after spitting in the wind despite the kindness he had offered up. UA was a few months away for Bakugo as much as it was for him, he only hoped that things would get better when he proved he wasn't a useless burden all these years having to hide his training and discipline behind the persona of the introverted wall flower he wore like a second skin effortlessly thanks to Koda San. 

Chapter Text

Fig 5. One man on his way to be buried, another wanting to be buried as he looks over the precipice

Midoriya's arms were sore, his back left frozen by spasms, shoulder blades were grinding from the strenuous drills with the Tenso Mk-1. Hatsume had helped him refine and compress the originally planned ammo cartridges into more elegant micro-pellets that could be loaded more effectively by leveraging gravity when the rod was tipped downwards without relying on the clunky hydraulic mechanisms and gas tanks as Midoriya had envisioned. Even when it was empty and hollowed out he felt the 8kg strain and bend in defiance against his 14 year old musculature. Hefty and unwieldy it wasn't a weapon anymore, it was a part of him now just as his arms and legs were after so much pain and soreness from the unrelenting training.

The tungsten was frigid to the touch despite the warm air. even in this heat as Midoriya set it down with a thud, balancing it across his lap he undid the latch that allowed it to safely break into 2 rods that were merely 4 feet in length each. This made it easier to transport and handle for everyday hero activities to use in emergencies if one end was rendered useless. He had loathed working with the over eager Hatsume who took his many reminders about his personal boundaries as a suggestion instead of common courtesy but she had grown on him, the more improvements she made, the more she refined the finest things down to the minute details, the more Midoriya came to respect her tunnel vision that delivered a superior product. The future of tech had gone from miniature to nanoscopic but Hatsume worked at the atomic level, making sure everything was straight to a T, all Midoriya needed to know was how to fix it and how to maintain it. 

Midoriya took off his glove, admiring the foam under the rubber like gel which afforded him a better grip on the smooth shaft of the Tenso Mk-1. He pulled out the K-Gel gloves that Hatsume had given him recently after removing his Swedish clay strips while leaving the original design intact, her craftsmanship even with legacy materials was impeccable leaving no seam out of place while only replacing the clay with the gel without affecting grip or flexibility.

She knew materials and machines too well but was clueless when it came to people as he chuckled to himself on the roof. His phone pinged in his pocket, grinning as he saw the message from Aachii downloading. Things had never been better since he got back and saw how streamlined Hatsume had kept his workshop running so he was more cheerful these days, drowning himself into project after project with the local pro heroes, casually dropping in to show off his latest contribution to the Japanese pro hero landscape, every time he did so was like Christmas for Hatsume but Midoriya knew deep down he was testing his latest creation against her keen eye for any defects or flaws.

Koda was always cheerful on his video messages and Aachii seemed to be adjusting to Japan better but Midoriya still felt like something was off these days between them whenever he sent a message inquiring about one from the other, only receiving silence from their silence. Maybe it was the paranoia or his quirk's innate ability to pick on lies but he knew deep down; something was eating Aachii and Koda. When the message had finally loaded despite the poor reception in his area, the rods suddenly fell out of his lap where they were balanced,clanging as they rolled besides him till they smacked into the brick skirts on the roof. Tears fell onto Midoriya's screen, dripping chaotically down the bright backlit panel of his cracked screen as the message was a simple invite to a funeral with a location pin.

Koda San had passed away much earlier without his knowledge on I-Island and he was being told by Aachii long after the fact with his body arriving today in the most clinical way possible; a fact that he had hid from Midoriya while he was mourning and grieving in his own way while depriving Midoriya off the chance with regards to his mentor. He checked his phone for all the video messages he used to get from him. Paranoia had erupted into full blown anxiety as his heart raced, his brain engaged his eyes to scan for the tiniest clues in the videos ; the lighting, the clothing, the same stain of mustard on his beard was a knife of betrayal that sunk into Midoriya's heart like a dagger so cruelly in several videos from Koda San.

Was Koda San in on this from the beginning!? What this his way handling him, his disciple with kid gloves ! He was almost 14 going on to be 15 and Koda promised he'd be here to witness him become a hero dammit! He crunched up the phone in his hands, the thin plastic housing warped between his palms as it folded like paper from his calloused grip. he felt a hot hiss from the perforated battery stinging his hands as he threw it away into the corner. Letting the phone smolder away several feet from him as he stayed up and dug his palms in his eyes, pushing them in to relieve the sting of betrayal from Koda and Aachii, sobbing and yowling curses at his mentors for hiding news as devastating as this from him especially with the UA entrance exams looming over him.

He had school the next day and everyone was celebrating their graduation with the last class of the year, he felt numb to their jubilation; for him the moment of celebration was muted with the dark cloud over his head with the impromptu funeral today. Unable to share in their joy of his classmates he resigned himself to his misery, counting down the minutes till he could leave the classroom and pay his final respects later today. Bakugo's shouting punctured through his brain fog, a twinge of annoyance in his mind towards his 'friend' bragging as usual on how he was going to be the only one to go to UA this year like he even cared at this point. Everyone's eyes were glued to the spectacle of ego and confidence that was Quirk God Bakugo; the students enamored by his radiant quirk like it would cure the blind or revive the dead! Even the grown ups were lapping up Bakugo's hubris now that the school year was over and they were no longer considered their problem as even they were looking forward to the summer break. 

Bakugo bounded towards silent Midoriya like a mad dog off his leash, slamming his palm on Midoriya's desk with the smell of searing metal burning into his nostrils.The unwarranted agression pricked against the veil Midoriya hid his quirk behind in his mind, today it was at its thinnest which made him send his rage like a dagger that stabbed into Bakugo's own psyche; a warning shot across his bow hoping it would be enough to be left alone today. He saw Bakugo flinch but the brute brushed it off as nerves. Midoriya tried taking quick and shallow breaths to ignore him, feeling his barriers cracking, then crumbling while he had to contend with Bakugo's cockiness. Sadly, that day the blonde madman had no intentions of letting him off so easily especially after that day he had left his gloves at the shop without so much as a glance in his way.

"Not today Kacchan...please." Midoriya pleaded not for Bakugo but for himself in a low mutter. Bakugo who was spoiling for a fight today was not going to give up till he got what he wanted, one last dig at Midoriya while the jackals jeered in the background.

"A quirkless loser like you thinks he can get into UA like me!? Don't you dare think I didn't see your name next to mine on the roster Deku!" Bakugo grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, Midoriya kept his body loose, not letting Bakugo ragdoll him this time, hoping deep inside that a few punches was worth it at this point if it meant he would back off. "Don't you fucking tell me you're not gonna get yourself killed! I want you to see me become the greatest hero ever! Can't do that if you died tripping into some extra's crosshairs Deku!" he sparked his nitro beads under Midoriya's chin but he was too desensitized by the years of bullying, focused on the impending funeral today to even care what became of him; a bruise or two were no big deal for him anymore after training with Koda San. Midoriya kept focusing on keeping his barriers from collapsing like Koda had taught him, he was not going to be a disappointment to his dead mentor. 

"Say something you fucking loser! You think you're so smart hiding shit from me! A quirkless nobody like you could EVER hold a candle to me!" Bakugo growled, his face inches away from Midoriya's as he goaded him into a fight, frustrated at his blank expression and lack of reaction to his threats that were dialled up to an 11 today. Bakugo threw Midoriya back into his seat and grabbed his sketchbook full of schematics and designs that Hatsume and he had worked on for the past few months for improvements to his gear; Bakugo flipped through them chortling at his dreams and aspirations as he slammed it shut between his palms.

"Oh so you got yourself some stick, some girl and a chance at UA who took pity on you and suddenly you think you're better than me Deku!" Bakugo snarled as he blew up the sketchbook, the smell of burning paper and acrid ink filled Midoriya's nostrils as he finally looked up at Bakugo who's grin had grown into a wide shit eating one. "People like you dream too big! All bark no bite! You should just take a swan dive and pray you get a real quirk in your next life!" he threw the book out the window then threw his head back cackling like a mad man at the ceiling, leaving himself open to any attack or blow from Midoriya who was restraining himself physically but on that day, his mental barriers finally broke as he launched one shot laced with endless malice and loathing at Bakugo like a harpoon that latched onto his brain psychically.

"That'd be murder Kacchan! You'd be responsible for mine....hero!" Midoriya spoke back calmly but with venom vociferously, continuing to pump a steady stream of psychic poison into Bakugo solely. He saw Bakugo suddenly go silent, his hands fell to his sides, leaving through the corridor of the classroom with his goons in tow to everyone's astonishment. Midoriya took his first calming breath, remorse hitting him hard as he realized he had not just hit Bakugo with an attack but "the" attack that Koda San had trained him over the years to suppress so many times, warning him it was for someone who truly deserved to die by their own hand.

Bakugo had grown spoiled, cocky, arrogant all these years of everyone doting on him, raising him to a pedestal but Midoriya had to right this wrong like the man Koda believed he was as he reached into his desk retrieving Bakugo's gloves as a pretense to chase after him. He knew what his quirk was capable off and all those years of perfectionism and OCD that made up Bakugo's ego would only come to one logical conclusion ; one push from suicide and Midoriya had just shoved him psychically with his unregistered quirk. Bakugo was clearly taking his own advice that he was projecting onto Midoriya, the green haired boy was bounding down the corridors,covering the distance with long strides as he heard Bakugo's goon's yelling in pain from the roof access door that had been blown open. He made his way up the many stairs that lead to the access door.

The smell of nitro hung heavy with melted metal of the rusted padlock and chain that kept the roof closed off as Midoriya opened the door to see both of Bakugo's cronies passed out, left bleeding on the ground but seem to be unconscious from his merciless concussive blasts. Bakugo wasn't playing around in his suicidal grief only glaring at Midoriya with those monstrous red eyes devoid of free will as he ran for the chain fence that kept the roof safe from jumpers. Midoriya slapped on the K-Gel gloves that Hatsume and he had made for Bakugo and yelled out to the blonde maniac who was melting the chain links in the fence, "KACCHAN STOP!" as he sprinted in one breath to him, tackling him by the legs to send them both tumbling down into the concrete. Both of them fell with a crunch, someone had definitely bruised or cracked something between them but Midoriya waited from his right side, anticipating Bakugo's punch that swept at his head, the sparks malignant and crackling furiously as their master, Bakugo's pyshce was operating under the negative emotions that Midoriya's quirk had put into him just now. The psychic venom was overly effective as Bakugo was fighting just for the right to die. 

He cupped Bakugo's fingers from the incoming blow and clasped their hands together, pushing the palm of the glove absorbing Bakugo's sweat as he kept detonating bead after bead until the Gel had absorbed any new beads he hasn't already formed. The sparks in his right hand died down into weak sputters. Bakugo ferally swung at him in the gut, Midoriya let it land, taking the blow as he pinched that arm with his own free arm and pinned it between his bones like chopsticks, then proceeded to twist Bakugo's palm with his own fingers then left hand which held the attacking palm in reverse. Clasping it into a hold with his left hand. Midoriya refused to let go as Bakugo roared, kicked and head butted him repeatedly without a strategy, technique or counter; his resistance was purely feral. Bakugo was desperately trying to roll his body side to side to shake off Midoriya who was sapping his quirk laden beads with the K-gel in the gloves. Midoriya Just leapt further onto Bakugo's torso when the window presented itself during his rage this left Midoriya covered in bruises and scrapes and bites from the desperate Bakugo who was in the throes of agony as Midoriya's quirk enhanced emotions had activated his latent suicidal tendencies from years of the pressure to be number one. 

Midoriya took his punishment for letting it come to this, shaming Koda's training and hard work on the day he was meant to honor him; what would his Shifu think of him now having caused all this mayhem as he pulled Bakugo's arms behind his back and sank his shin onto Bakugo's throat, wincing as Bakugo was biting into what he could, uniform, flesh, it didn't matter to the possessed maniac despite the pressure to his throat. Though the fight had lasted less than five minutes Midoriya was left panting, covered in sweat and left sore, Bakugo had come out of it relatively unscathed with minor bruises but Midoriya had taken the brunt of all the feral barrage that Bakugo managed to throw his way like the hellion he was. "Snap out of it Kacchan!" Midoriya screamed, punching Bakugo hard on the jaw, repeating the motion in lock step, hoping to snap Bakugo out of it or least concuss him to keep him from jumping as he felt his strength leaving him.

"Izuku Midoriya!" A teacher yelled out as he pulled Midoriya off Bakugo who was left panting but to Midoriya's relief seeing him finally returning to normal, well for Bakugo that is. "This is not how we do things at this school young man! We didn't raise you kids to be like this! Think of your future!" the teacher shook him by the shoulders, pointing at all his supposed victims. 

"IT WASN'T HIM SHIT FOR BRAINS!" Bakugo barked, the teacher looking at him in shock, "IF YOU HAD A FUCKING BRAIN YOU'D SEE I KICKED THE SHIT OUTTA THIS DEKU FOR FORGETTING HIS PLACE !" Bakugo ignited his sparks with that cocky smirk at the teacher, some of Midoriya's negative emotions still running in the background of his mind, "You should know your place too teach, now lemme finish the job." Bakugo grinned as he looked at Midoriya who was worse for wear. 

"KACCHAN! Stop lying please." Midoriya interceded, looking at the teacher. "All this was my fault, I was angry at Kacchan for torching my book so came up here to get even, like I'll get the chance after today." He mumbled to everyone's shock. "Kacchan is just being his usual self, trying to be the hero, sensei. Please ignore what he said, I hit him too hard." Midoriya's head hung low as he gently pulled himself out of the grip of the teacher. 

Midoriya stripped off the gloves and threw them at Kacchan's feet, "That was a graduation present Kacchan, I'm sorry I didn't want our last day of school to end like this." As he looked back at the teacher who escorted him down the stairs most likely to the principal's office where they'd bring in his mother. Bakugo could only cry as he was paralysed by Midoriya's quirk once more without knowing it; wondering why he couldn't yell out and correct Midoriya when he was taking the blame for a situation he had created. He slammed the ground as he tried to burn the gloves that Midoriya had thrown at him. Just like their makers they were stubborn and took any punishment he could throw at them with his quirk. Finally succumbing in defeat he wore them and sighed as he dragged them through his hair, looking up at the sky as Midoriya's gloves ran through his hair, his cronies were roused out of their unconscious state, fleeing from the roof before Bakugo decided he would have an encore.  

Bakugo finally went down the stairs from the roof, kicking and stumbling as he was loose from the fight, leaning into the cool walls as he heard yelling from Auntie Inko coming from the corridor. Bakugo swallowed hard as he feared the same thing as he did when they were 4, Midoriya could finally tell on him and end him but once again he saw her hugging her battered boy, His green eyes glassy, lacking life as she talked to his principal , trying to explain his circumstances; begging for a reprieve.

She was already dressed for a funeral and Bakugo felt like a shitheel as he eavesdropped on her explaining the situation to the principal who was a severe looking bald man who just nodded curtly, letting the matter go only since Midoriya was no longer their problem. Bakugo slinked back into the dark shadow of the wall as he heard Inko's heels click and Midoriya's green hair pass by in the corner of his eye, slowly peeking out as he saw her doting on her son despite being a "bully" she loved him unconditionally regardless. 

Bakugo clenched his hands in the new gloves, his nails digging into the palm grips that Midoriya had given him, growling lowly at himself for how little Midoriya really thought about him to not even mention he was getting the shit kicked out of him in silence even today!? What was he hiding!? Why was he hiding!? Why wouldn't he tell him!? Bakugo wondered as he slumped into the stairs, crossing his arms over his knees and laying his head between them. The tears didn't stop running as he looked back on his life, all the fear and crushing expectations of his old hag, the school and the world on him! Expecting him to succeed! One failure away from losing it all. Meanwhile Midoriya could do no wrong, he would always be the golden child Bakugo could never hope to be despite all his grades, quirk and countless successes he didn't have the one thing Midoriya did, unconditional love.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The funeral was a modest one with a few dozen in attendance as the ambulance pulled in and the techs began to lower the casket with many ex heroes shouldering it from the elevated Ambulance that was transferring their final burden onto them. Aachii looked to Midoriya, concern was something that didn't suit him as it made him look ghoulish and gaunt, barely alive as he took a pall on the coffin and hefted Koda's casket over his shoulder as the weight of his death hung over him.

Despite all of Aaichii's endless work, Koda had died from organ failure and complications brought on by complications caused by his own quirk. The guilt hung over the dozens who came to pay their respects except Midoriya who was just left blank; he was forced to. He couldn't afford to let his quirk activate right now with all these people being consumed by their own grief yet it was ironic he was being denied his own, forced to compress, pack and squeeze it into a corner lest it infected everyone and they did something like Bakugo almost did today, jumping into a grave soon after themselves. 

"Izuku!" Koda snapped at him in his memories, he was only 5 and feeding the ducks at the pond to his Shifu's annoyance before Koda threw a stone at them, sending a massive cloud of mud swirling up from the depths. "Get the pebble back kiddo." Koda chuckled as Midoriya looked sadly at the ducks swimming away from the approaching and imposing man stroking his stubble. 

"I can't, it's all muddy and gross down there..." he mumbled as he tore up the bread and put it back in the brown bag he had with himself. Koda put his hands on Midoriya's shoulders, leaning down and whispered gently.

"Give it time." He ruffled his hair.

"Whole lot of good that'll do.." Midoriya grumbled as the ducks flew off into the horizon as he sighed, Koda flicked his nose and made him look down at the water that was now clear as day, the red pebble clearly visible against all the mud and filth.

"The mud and filth are always gonna be there in the pond kid." He tapped his head, "Just like the bad stuff in that head of yours ok?" He rolled up his sleeve and dipped his hand into the water, sending gentle ripples out, not stirring up the mud as he delicately retrieved the red pebble with one clear jab into the water; holding it out for Midoriya, the smooth crimson rock no bigger than his palm as Koda held it out. 

"Think of this like your worries, your sadness, your anger. The harder you toss it, the more junk it'll stir up in that big noggin ya hear?" he tapped Midoriya's forehead before smacking the rock into his hands and chuckling as he rolled his sleeve back down and buttoned it up. Midoriya just looked at the rock. 

"Let that pebble remind  you, don't  stir up the mud kiddo and you'll be fine, the world can't break you, only you can." He crossed his arms, looking forlorn as Midoriya was about to chuck the stone when he wasn't looking but Koda kept shooting him glances from the side. Grimacing from the side as he took a deep breath.

"I mean it Midoriya, you give me that pebble back when you've learned this lesson ok." He smiled, tapping Midoriya's cheek with his palm ," Your emotions are your guns little buddy, we gotta handle em with care and purpose ok?! Safety on always, pointed to the ground alright?." 

As the priest had completed his prayer and the coffin had been laid to rest 6 feet into the ground, some folks in the traditional sense left incense on the the tombstone to ward off evil spirits and bad energy, some left a mound of dirt on the coffin but Midoriya reached deep into his pocket and took out the tiny red pebble from all those years ago, twirling it between his thumbs as he took a mound of dirt and compressed it into a ball before throwing it into the grave, shedding a solitary tear as he bid his Shifu goodbye one last time now  that he had learned his lesson today with Bakugo.

He went over to Aachii who was talking to a skeletal man, another ex hero most likely, wearing a kind smile as they approached. Aachii waved him over with Inko who graciously accepted his polite invitation. they were introduced to Toshinori Yagi who despite his weak frame had a strong and firm grip when he shook their hands; Midoriya's hardened and calloused hands that had broken tiles, wood and much harder things over the years felt like they were made of cookies as he felt the grip strength displayed by the lithe man who greeted his mom gently then returned to him, laying a hand on his shoulder in remorse.

"Koda San will be missed, none of us heroes feel what happened to him and your father was true justice." Yagi lamented in a sympathetic but deep voice as Aachii coughed, "Oh I'm so sorry where are my manners...." He reached in his jacket pocket and pulled out a card, handing it over to Midoriya who looked at the title with disgust crawling up his face, twisting his visage.

He was about to crumple up the card and yell on the spot but paused with regard for the kindly old man Mr Yagi who worked as All Might's assistant according to the card; nothing more than a glorified lapdog! Was Koda's funeral just a formality!? Did All Might think an assistant's presence was enough to convey sincere feelings of the number one hero on such an occasion!? What kind of world did they live in where UA would take in egomaniacs like Bakugo and All Might without considering their character and morals!? A long suffering and disgraced hero had died and the least the man could have done was pop in for a hot minute or two! All might could leap across Japan yet he couldn't stoop down from his ivory tower in Roppongi tower that was visible even from the humble graveyard to see a fallen hero? Maybe if there was extensive media exposure,would he have come somersaulting!?

"Aachii San told me he has already recommended you into the support program at UA but from how Koda used to talk to us about you, I'm afraid I should warn you young man that quirkless people can't really fight true villains. Call me old fashioned but even pro heroes don't rely too much on their gear...." Yagi was about to finish before Midoriya cut him off.

"Thank you very kindly Yagi San." Midoriya said through gritted teeth, the card crumpling in his sweaty palm as he looked him in the eye, satisfied deep down that Yagi's pupil danced towards this minor act of defiance, "Aaichii San's true magic has never been in his gear, it's the faith he placed in people like Koda San and myself!" the tears flowed out as Inko tried to pull him behind her, the embarassment flowing in the adults but Midoriya gently resisted her before continuing his long overdue diatribe, " All my life people like you have told people like me to sit down and work safely behind a desk, there's no law that says I cannot be a hero and I'll show everyone that Koda San was right!" He walked upto Yagi and handed the balled up business card in his palm gently. "Next time ask your boss to convey his sentiments in person, we appreciate you coming, if only All Might shared your humility, quirkless people like me wouldn't be so desperate to change this unequal world that he made one smile at a time." 

Midoriya bowed to Aachii who looked confuzzled, brimming with some pride at having been acknowledged so publicly by his pupil, stroking his ego from Midoriya's words but at the same time losing a valuable contract to provide support gear to All Might's agency with the insults thrown at Yagi San left a bittersweet result as Midoriya took his mother's hand and ushered her away. Yagi was left befuddled and speechless as he tried to say something but the words were caught in his throat, threatening to choke him as he helplessly watched Midoriya walk off with his mother, Aachii gently nudged him along to meet the many mourners who were now leaving the grave as the sun was setting.

Yagi had seen not hate, not anger but grit and determination in that young man's eyes, a hope he had once had in his youth. He only hoped he would see this Midoriya soon as the UA exams were now upon them in the coming months, his eyes darted at the grave, thinking how close he was to his own in the near future as he let Aaichii lead him to pay his final respects.

Chapter Text

Fig. 6 Bakugo Tactical Gear Mk.1 made by Midoriya and Hatsume when she redesigned Midoriya's Swedish Clay gloves for modern K-Gel. Working behind his back it was too late to rein her in now that the suit had been fabricated as a peace offering. He had planned to present this to Bakugo on the last day of school but had no time or the courage to face Bakugo after almost killing him with his quirk. Midoriya had shut himself off in training viciously with the Tenso Mk-1 Modular Spear and his Body Glove suit. Determined to get into UA and prove a quirkless person can become a hero for an unequal world

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Midoriya had been spending all his days loading, prepping and polishing his skills with his equipment and weapons. Many steel plates lay perforated and warped, dissolved by chemicals, pierced by shaped charges, run through by sheer weight and thrust of his spear, leveraged against Midoriya's body. He had not seen Bakugo since that day, he had shut himself off from the world, his mother, what friends he thought he had. Aachii his final mentor had left a few days ago, leaving the shop to Hatsume and Midroiya in practice while the ownership stayed under him before he had departed for I-Island promising them access to his deep pockets after handing them their recommendation letters. 

Midoriya was remembering all this as he walked up to the main building address mentioned on the recommendation letter, unlike Hatsume he had chosen not to bypass the selection exams, determined more than ever to prove to himself that Koda San had not wasted his life training him. Thankful for all the help that Aachii San had given the past year, he felt the weight of the two solid rods on his back, the many pouches and recesses in his suit carrying pellets of ammo he could load the spear with, feeding their payload through the hollowed core into the machined storage chambers, held in place inside the clutch box housed within the hollow tip that lay at the base of the spear point. Hatsume would always be with him in spirit as her favorite test dummy; months of extensive use of the gear and weapons had only served to fill him with confidence as he looked at the building where the candidates were funneling into the doors.

"Outta my way nerd!" Bakugo barked, shocking Midoriya out of his reverie, he felt the tough canvas like fabric grate against his own carbonized shoulder pads. The Orange motif of the suit that Bakugo sported with the K-Gel gloves accompanied by the sweat storing sleeves that Hatsume Mei designed with him looked good on Bakugo, he was left staring as Bakugo snarled and looked back at him. "Hurry the fuck up Deku!"

Midoriya had to know more since he had disconnected from all the people in his life, solely focused on the mission at hand he just realized among the many things were happening in the meantime included Bakugo accepting his....no Hatsume's help as a compromise to his ego. They both strode into the dim hall where hundreds were gathered. Immediately from the left door walked in the most obnoxious and loud blonde besides Bakugo making an announcement with the Mic in his collar.

"Welcome to UA's final entrance exams! Now I'm sure you've all been curious on how its going to go this year since its always a mixed bag and I'm here to announce its never been easier!" Present Mic announced, his voice reverberating in the hall with a clarity that Midoriya did not expect given his flamboyant showmanship. He looked at Bakugo who gnashed his teeth, jerking his head at the screen as he caught Midoriya staring many times at his gear while Mic was wrapping up the presentation.

"So to recap all ya kids gotta to do is , first get as many points before your 10 minutes of fame are up! Then funnel in to the city center and meetup the survivors! Finally wait for the big surprise to conclude the exam." He lowered his sunglasses, "Its gonna be zero points but I promise you it will get everyone's maximum attention!" He held up a card and yelled out, "Everyone make like Oprah and check under your seats for your starting zones! May the odds be in your favor heroes!" 

The lights clicked back on and Midoriya reached down to find the letter A and Bakugo pulled out the letter B before he crumpled it up and shoved it into his pocket. "We're not done Deku, you're gonna explain your shit after we're done here!" he smacked the K-Gel gloves together, sending a hissing threat his way as Midoriya flinched back reflexively, reaching for the rod jutting out his back but remembering where he was as he felt the cool metal, letting Bakugo go first then leaving his own seat to assemble at gate A. 

The massive gates were 50 feet tall, looking like they held monsters behind them, making Midoriya gulp as he remembered all the massive robots they will face of every kind of configuration, ready to spring on them. He pulled out both of the rods from his back and snapped them in place, twisting them in his wrists to engage the magnetic locks that held them in place, twirling it straight into a restful position at his feet he waited for the gates before he felt a tap on his shoulder. 

"That support gear doesn't look standard issue, are you one of those corpo shoe ins!" he saw a boy taller from him by a foot, wearing the most severe looking straight spectacles. "My name is Tenya Iida, as the son from a hero family, I'm going to keep an eye on you corporate thug." he spoke with an air of chivalry that irked Midoriya.

"I'm quirkless....sooo." he retorted, turning his head back to the gate, expecting to open so he can get away from the blowhard looking down on him.

"Don't you dare look away! Didn't your father teach you any manners!" Ida screamed indignantly, scolding him. Midoriya slowly turned and looked back at him.

"Must be nice to be born with a quirk eh Iida? You don't know me so back off!" Midoriya chided him, staring with purpose into Iida's soul. The taller boy adjusted his glasses and was about to reply but thankfully the buzzer rang out and Mic yelled over the speakers that their 10 minutes had just started. Iida just zoomed past Midoriya with the speed of a fast motorcycle who clicked his tongue as he ran into the practice field, seeing the dozens of people in practice ground A engaged in combat with mechs who outnumbered them 5 to 1. 

Midoriya primed his spear and loaded the first pellets of explosives with a flourish into the mechanism from their recessed spaces in the hollow core. His swings and jabs felled the many robots in his way that tried to swarm him as he locked in the tip. Carefully charging into the closest robot then pulling back to repeat, deftly avoiding their claws that tried to take him, One of them snatched a suprised Iida when he wasn't looking. The ungrateful brat did not return the gesture when Midoriya had saved him as he zoomed ahead of the crowd to Midoriya's annoyance. The only comfort Midoriya got was that he wouldn't be bothered any further by his smugness as he leapt back into the fray with the rest of the weaker candidates who were being overwhelmed by the swarm of robots that were working in concert against their chaotic resistance.

Eight minutes had passed by, most of the candidate's numbers were whittled down at this point, the dozens they had started with were left to less than 10, most of them were taken by claws and arrest cables, dragged off into dark buildings where they awaited the relief team that would release them after the exam. These robots came in many shapes and forms, programmed to work in synch focused on their objective to picking them off, capturing one at a time which had proven effective. Midoriya's pouches were running dry as most of his corrosive and Explosive pellets were at less than half, having around 10 robot kills under his belt he was frustrated how many had to be left injured but functional, they were clearly baiting him to follow them into ambuscades or were picked off by a stray shot from another desperate candidate who would be captured shortly after falling into the trap Midoriya knew to avoid. 

Some heroism! These kids were not coalescing, no order was emerging from this chaos as it was every man for themselves just focused on racking up points with their tunnel vision. Midoriya wondered who designed this hero exam that does not encourage teamwork and survival while prioritizing personal gains! This exam format only reinforced his hate for the current hero system that was transmitting its most selfish aspects to the next generation like a virus, ready to start the cycle once more, reinforcing the system of inequality with each batch. 

He finally arrived at the final zone where they were promised the 'surprise' they couldn't ignore. Midoriya saw Iida on guard with several survivors from other zones struggling against a horde of dozens of scorpion like robots. They were barely 20 people including his own group as he joined the fray, skewering the robots on his way into Iida's battle circle on the hill of debris, content to settle for rescue points instead of kill points as they were being swarmed by a horde of the scorpion robots. The final minute was announced, the big surprise was no one else was paying attention as Midoriya was sacrificing points in favor of the group's survival vs his own personal gain. Once again how were these idiots the future heroes being so haphazard and self serving during their first test to enter hero school as the scorpions had taken another 2 kids, the others reluctant or too busy to bother with their fellow candidates' well being. 

The ground shook under them and rubble rained down on them. Midoriya grumbled as he was forced to use one of the many trump cards that Hatsume had installed as a last stand move. Grabbing IIda and who he could he yelled out, "Hold onto me now!!" most of their group had scattered as they saw the scorpions skitter away, taking their chance to run. Only Iida and few more candidates who were too injured to run were left clinging to his rallying cry out of necessity as he held the spear's base inches from the ground, looking up at the falling concrete over their heads, he slammed it down with all his might, sending out a barrage of explosives and corrosive pellets, emptying out the entire magazine in the hollowed core as a spark of plasma ignited over them, arcing into a dome around them for a few precious seconds as the explosions worked their magic and only small debris rained over the expanding dome that shot out into the sky, dissipating several hundred meters in the air, clearing the dust and small debris that had been broken by the first salvo of explosions and corrosives. 

Some small rocks rained over them harmlessly as the plasma ejection fused his spear's loading mechanism to Midoriya's annoyance. The core was tungsten but it seemed the coating had been melted from the sun like temperatures that generated a plasma burst to protect the few survivors. Iida looked in disbelief as they came out of that intact but the titanic zero pointer smashed a building close to them. Midoriya saw many of the fleeing students from earlier were pinned down or injured by debris a couple of meters away from them as the zero point giant lumbered deftly at them standing on the mound of debris. Midoriya's hand clasped hard around Ida's elbow with unreal strength to anchor him to the spot, he could feel Ida's fear through his quirk but he filled his heart with rage and courage. 

"We need to save them! Hero!" Midoriya barked desperately, pointing his spear at the students caught in the debris. Iida's fearful eyes shook in their sockets, he could see the shell shock on the tall boy's face as he was stared up at a threat he couldn't bring down with a kick, overwhelming odds was something a hero was expected to overcome but Midoriya finally understood he was surrounded by children who weren't trained as hard as he was growing up. 

"You gonna run there tall boy?!" A purple headed kid chuckled as he got to his feet, his foot sprained. Iida glared back at him and yelled out, "You wouldn't?!" before he blanked out and his eyes went glassy. Midoriya looked at the lanky guy who extended his hand. "I can't run even if I wanted to, so I brainwashed the lunk over there. Please tell me you got a plan or I can always catch a ride on motor legs here if you don't!?" 

"I have a plan." Midoriya retorted gruffly to the purple haired kid ignoring the approaching Zero pointer who was bearing down on them as he stripped off his bandolier and fed the belt loops of his pouches through it with the precious seconds they had, securing the ordinance around his spear's tip. His remaining pellets combined would take out a small building but it was one shot they could not miss. "Can you command him" Midoriya pointed his thumb at Iida, Shinso nodded as their last minute was counting down to 40 seconds and lives were at stake, the disabled candidates were still strewn about, moaning in desperate anguish at the approaching titan. He handed the brainwashed Iida his spear, looking at the purple headed kid. "Aim for the big red eye." the purple headed kid relyed Midoriyas words into Iida's mind who nodded blankly as he ran back and charged forward within a few seconds to build momentum, flinging the spear up towards the Kaiju which sank into its red eye, barely hitting the edge but digging in enough that the explosives detonated after a delay of a tense seconds when the corrosives had triggered the explosives. 

As the colossus was blinded Midoriya rushed in to help the people he could with the other four on his heels, the brain washed Iida using his stronger body to lift debris while the others with him from the survivors were getting into the spirit inspired by his actions, escorting them as the giant robot was recovering from its wound that was far from destroying it. Midoriya could only do so much as he saw Iida pull out with one of the last survivors. The purple haired kid was limping along with another like it was a 3 legged race, the group had swelled from the meager 5 to around 14, filling Midoriya with a warm hope as he was about to join them before he heard one weak cry of help reach out to him in the dust. an auburn haired girl was pinned under some debris, half her body was stuck! Midoriya had missed her in the haste of executing the adhoc plan. The clock was counting down the last 20 seconds, she was barely a few meters away, he could see the purple haired kid motioning to him to join the main group that was too injured to back him up. 

Midoriya waved his arms for them to go as he bound for the now unconscious girl, the lumbering giant's foot was only 10 meters away. As it was stumbling around, running into buildings, each step was missing them barely by a few feet now as Midoriya wished he had his spear for leverage, desperately shifting debris by hand, cutting into his gloves,  the servos in them sputtered out in protest, their batteries long drained by the strenuous activity during the exam. He had released her arm but her legs were still pinned. A shadow fell upon them and Midoriya reflexively leapt onto her, shielding her with his body. A futile but heroic gesture as he knew they weren't walking away from this since he was out of moves. 

As he felt the giant foot several meters in the air bearing down on him, a massive explosion rocked the air, sucking oxygen from all the surroundings including his lungs as the giant creaked and rumbled, he saw the shadow on the ground shrunk suddenly as the massive foot was falling back into the air, its owner's body stumbled back safely away from them. Midoriya panted, his breathing and heart beat more rapidly as he struggled against the hyperventilation from the oxygen that had been sucked out in the massive attack. Seeing a massive hole in the giant's chest, he released the unconscious girl and resumed his rescue effort long after buzzer sounded, announcing their time was over but he didn't stop despite being injured himself, bleeding from his exposed palms as he dug into the debris with his ripped gloves, releasing the buckles on his chest plate he shoved it into the debris as he pulled it off himself, trying to shovel what he could as the girl had lost consciousness from her injuries till he felt a hand on his shoulder. 

"You're not gonna ignore me anymore Deku!" Bakugo barked as he touched the debris, with one spark he sent a cloud of loose debris into the air, Midoriya held his improvised shovel in his hands as the relief squad had arrived, Bakugo helped him pull the girl out and lay her on the waiting stretcher, the robots carted her off, disappearing into the faraway tents that looked tiny in the distance, Mjidoriya fell to his knees in relief as he looked down at the ground. "How about a thank you! Fucking useless idiot!" Bakugo growled as he kicked him in the back. 

"Why are you wearing that Kacchan?" Midoriya asked as he kept his posture despite the half hearted kick from Bakugo, tears welled up in relief, the rush of saving someone and facing his death filled him with adrenaline that was fast burning off in his blood as the crisis had passed.

"Bubblegum bitch gave em to me when I was looking for your sorry ass today at the shop! I tried to return this shit but I can't hit any girl for fuck sake!" he grumbled slapping Midoriya's back, sending dust flying before pulling him up and wrapping his arm around his neck to give him support. "Just didn't wanna miss the exam that's all, so don't think too much!" 

Midoriya turned to Bakugo as he felt the twinge of pain in his joints, he must have torn something in them when he was recklessly shifting debris, nothing was cut but he definitely bent something in a way that he shouldn't have. "Just stop looking down on me Deku!" He barked as he felt Midoriya pull away from him again. 

"I'm fine Kacchan!" Midoriya wrested himself with his last reserves of stoic strength, stumbling to his legs, the pain like a knife with every step he took without Bakugo's support. His friend saw him stumbling along a few steps, waiting till he fell back on his knees, barely standing.

"Keep telling yourself that useless loser." He grumbled as he grabbed Midoriya by the arm pits, dragging him by the heels so he couldn't resist, "Squirm and I'll knock your ass down! So stop being a pain the ass you quirkless deadweight!" he growled as he heard the relief crews rushing to them with stretchers. "You aren't getting outta our talk today Deku! Death can have you with whatever's left after my turn!" 

The relief robots came in close to them, Bakugo lay Midoriya flat on the stretcher by his own hands, snarling every time the robots tried to even touch him, making sure Midoriya was secured before he let them lift him, breaking into a sprint to keep up with them as they carted him off to the medical tents where an old lady was kissing kids who had all kinds of injuries courtesy of robots and the devastating debris. Bakugo's shouts of protests were drowned out by the tent's canvas closing shut on him as the security bots kept him out only his thundering mumbling could now be heard. 

Midoriya was set down in the triage section as The old lady who was kissing the more severe injuries first which included the unconscious girl Midoriya had saved, he was lumped in with the casualties who had a sprain or break like him so he didn't mind if others got their medical attention first. He could wait as he took a deep, calming breath sighing as he closed his eyes, ruminating upon the events with the zero point bot and his brush with death again racing through his head before he felt a tap on his shoulder. 

"Name's Hitoshi Shinso, didn't catch your's....my hero." he spoke casually, shooting a warm smile at Midoriya.

"I'm Izuku Midoriya..." Midoriya started but his world went dark after that before he felt like he could reply.

Chapter Text

Figure 7. Midoriya's A ugmented R eactive C ontrol S uit Mk.2 with STF-K plates sporting an LFTR power pack mounted on the back, enhanced servos in the joints with integrated RCS propellants built into the plates at the center of his mass; the control module is embedded in the collar, allowing for tactile control on the go. The suit comes with a rocket sled that uses the reinforced chassis of the LFTR power pack on the back and the rear shin guards to allow for rapid maneuvers on the battlefield. The Tenso Mk-2 has been integrated into the B attle L ogic A rmament D ispensing E xecution System with the poly-memetic alloy being powered by an integrated power system that can be recharged by the suit's power pack.

Midoriya had thanked his lucky stars for the recommendation of Aachii san as he was due to be released from the confines of the UA medical wing. Despite his injuries being mild at best, he was kept under observation for monitoring residual stress and PTSD. Despite denying he had any, the staff including Chiyo San aka Recovery Girl had been fussy about their protocols, going harder on the last 20 survivors from the round. Though survivor would have been a stretch since the robots were well programmed to cause minimum to no harm to those they captured save for a bruise or a cracked bone. 

Though the robots had not really "killed" anyone he understood that those who have been scored as such were automatically weeded out having been given a faux situation to show how long they would last to an ambush in a real live fire scenario. Midoriya had relied on his training, years of fighting surprise attacks and binding movements had sharpened his mind to anticipate traps and openings better than he had hoped. Hundreds who had been "killed" in the trials were automatic failures not because they had let themselves be overcome; their application would most likely have been rejected because they let themselves be isolated, baited in by their initial success since real villains would consider their minions as disposable as UA had considered those robots. Dying for small fry in the real world sucked for the pro hero association's reputation.

How then was UA a hero school when it thought so villainously, focused only on individual efforts. He was hesitant to meet Bakugo, feigning sleep and exhaustion every time he strode by his door, Bakugo was wearing a cast on his arm. Midoriya shook his head each time he saw it, knowing deep down the idiot had deliberately injured himself so he would be let into the recovery ward, he was thankful for Chiyo's mercy in keeping him isolated with the girl who had Auburn hair next to him who he had learned was a nice and down to earth daughter of the owners of a struggling construction business. He consoled her over the next few days in between their sessions as their PTSD observation was set to expire in a few more days then Midoriya would be finally free to go to his relief. 

During his sessions however, he kept having a blank space, a gap in his memory that they were worried was brain damage or a repressed trauma that could spring up and cause real damage when he would least expect it. All he remembered was the purple haired kid....Shinto---Shindo...Hatsu....Hito....his mind kept drawing a blank, stinging his psyche like hundreds of needles from the feedback as he kept triggering a psionic boobytrap. The brain scans, standard cognition and stress tests all came back with a baseline score to Chiyo's ire. She had brought in the big guns; Blood Hound who could detect the slightest kinesic shift in the human body better than any machine UA could ever have used.

After a full day being sniffed, prodded and subjected to hypno isolation therapy, they could not explain away the blank his mind drew when he thought of the moments with the purple haired boy let alone his name. Frustrated Chiyo decided to keep Midoriya for one last night so they could complete his sleep study. As Bloodhound was escorting him back to the psyche ward, he saw Ururaka leave, waving off to him, Midoriya weakly waving back feeling flustered then suddenly hiding behind Bloodhound who didn't need his enhanced senses to know Midoriya was afraid of "someone" as the stench of exploding nitroglycerin filled the halls.

Bakugo was being escorted "gently" out of the facility by Powerloader and Cementoss who were lecturing him on trying to break his arm all over again to stay longer in the recovery wing. Only when they invoked their right to expel him, did he reluctantly pull himself out of their grip and stormed off through the door on his own, slamming the swinging doors behind him with his explosives that nearly blew the sturdy metal slabs into the walls violently like they had been struck by the turbelent gust of a violent hurricane that left even the two pros flinching. 

Bloodhound shook his head, "If only we had more kids with their head screwed on straight like you Midoriya." He patted his back reassuringly as he took Midoriya into the room that had a machine out of which there were hundreds of EM patches connected to it that would monitor his sleep for the night. The straps on the bed did not make the sleep any better as he envied Ururaka who had finally been let off the hook. If he met that purple headed kid he was going to get answers one way or the other but for now, he was not looking forward to another "restful sleep" courtesy of Recovery Girl. 

The metal doors to the lobby swung open once more, he heard the familiar squeal of Hatsume Mei that sent chills up his spine in fear, looking to the sleep machine he was tempted to just jump in and let it sedate him; looking around desperately scanning for where Chiyo left the sedatives so he could use it on himself or on Hatsume who was the last person he wanted to see today besides Bakugo who had been haranguing him for a chat since saving him in the exam from his imminent death by robot foot.

Before he could enact any desperate schemes, Hatsume was rolling down the halls on shoes that made her hover inches off the ground. Midoriya was facepalming himself as Cementoss and Powerloader barely dodged her, Hatsume squeezed past them with Hound dog narrowing his eyes, gnashing his teeth as he reluctantly let her pass when she waved her "day pass" in everyone's face, swooping past Midoriya into the room, squeaking all the way in with the most exciting news in the world as she pulled out an envelope from her shirt and held it out towards Midoriya. 

He snatched it before she could pull away, knowing her penchant for mischief and games as he tore open the envelope and found a letter with the UA logo embossed on it, unfolding it he read his acceptance into the hero course to his ire. Reading all the options below in the check boxes that offered all kinds of courses. After his disastrous foray into the hero exam he understood he wasn't going to be effective in changing the system as he was. He needed to make the heroes better by making better gear! He noticed how ill equipped they were in the exam, with no communication or support devices to coordinate their quirks. He knew to reform the heroes, he needed to make better tech that would challenge even Hatsume and Aachii San's genius one day and he sure as hell was not going to do it, learning to punch people harder as tech was better than any quirk in his mind.

He reluctantly read his hero score which rated him moderately on his 10 kills but scored him heavily on rescue points with an extra credit under the title 'Dauntless'. "YOU GOT IN RIGHT!!RIGHT!!" Hatsume screeched as she danced like a sprite around him, Midoriya was so tempted to trip her by kicking her in the boot so she would kiss the floor but sadly he was too nice for that. To his relief however, Blood Hound raised his finger to his lips as a final warning to which Hatsume clasped her hands on her mouth and nodded, leaning in and whispering. "Please tell me we're gonna keep on making more babies?!"  

Midoriya's face flushed again, he could tell from Blood Hound's snickering he had heard it loud and clear as he looked away innocently. Midoriya hated that problematic phrasing since Hatsume knew his "real attractions" and she or any of her kind were not counted among them! "Hatsume, yes I got in! Now I'll see you in class later so please." He pushed her towards the door but she turned off her boots, anchoring herself through some suction force in the floor, arresting Midoriya's momentum to his chagrin as he stumbled into her, nearly tumbling down with her but falling instead to his side onto the floor. 

Hatsume set a tablet down on the floor near him and nodded eagerly, he knew that this was not good...whatever it was going to be as he flicked the button and a holo overlay popped up with the letters A.R.C Suit. The overlay of a massive monstrosity came to life, his baby picture crudely having been pinned where the dummy head should have been in the hologram. He swiped with his fingers, the features were mind blowing as Hatsume sat down next to her and giggled, the many features in a list appeared, each a unique button that would go over the user manual and an animation on its proper use, the safety warnings clearly penned by Aaichii San gave some solace to Midoriya's apprehension as he opened the main menu and went to the features tab. 

• LFTR Micro Fission Reactor - Power Pack - M 1.0
• XOS-2 Exoskeleton - Hydraulic Universal Light Combat 
• Booster for Lower Extremity Extension Egress Propulsion System
• Battle Logic Armament Dispensing Execution System

Midoriya's face turned a pale white as he saw each feature, the more he read the more he felt doomed as he looked up at Hatsume, muttering curses shaking his head at Aachii's signature under these schematics like it was his death warrant. Bought and paid for courtesy of his deep pockets. "Mei...let me get this straight....." Midoriya gulped as he looked at her with his his hand shaking, staring off into the void, preparing his arguments as Hatsume had seen many times the journey from denial to acceptance of Midoriya who was bravely coming to terms he was always going to be the crash test dummy in all her ventures for better or for worse.

"First, you have me strapped to a NUCLEAR reactor!" Midoriya started his objection, "How did Aachii San even agree to this!?" he glared at her, she put on her goggles which were akin to her thinking cap. 

"Liquid Flouride salt Midoriya Kun!" she tapped on the schematic, showing the pipes and storage schematics that ran through the power pack no bigger than his Bento Box that his mother used to make for him with so much love, except this one contained molten radioactive salt. "It's chassis is triple reinforced with my secret alloy! With an itty bitty bit of Thorium!" She pinched her fingers to barely half an inch as though holding an invisible rice grain. "Even with a containment leak there is no Ionizing radiation! It can't even get through your skin!" She chuckled as he tapped her shoes, winking at him knowingly. "These babies run on the same system and I'm not glowing am I?!" Midoriya could only swallow uncomfortably despite her multiple assurances he had to concede that her plasma bubble did save him in the field from being crushed by a landslide of massive debris so he had to hear her out. 

"How can I move with this...H.U.L.C system? What if I run out of power or my 'reactor' is damaged in a fight!?" he grumbled, looking for the next sales pitch coming from Hatsume that she must have used to wear down Aachii who thankfully sat in his seat from I-Island.

"Its not as heavy as it sounds!" Hatsume howled like a Hyena, Blood Hound looking her way, snarling in warning once again with his finger to his lips. Mei ignored him and continued looking at Midoriya, holding his forearm, feeling up his bones. "The whole thing weighs as much as your bones! We used the lightest and strongest materials, its not even metal....mostly! Anyway sure if the power runs out the hydraulics just go into manual mode and revert to a kinetic return system." 

Midoriya looked at her nonplussed by the fancy snake oil sales pitch, "Its powered by your movement anyway! So it will protect you and move with you! Think of it like wearing a suit of rubber bands ok!? They return your energy that you're gonna waste anyway right?! So what do you care." Hatsume smiled once again, her demeanor reminded Midoriya of those sketchy infomercials where it was all smiles and giggles onscreen till someone chopped their finger off when using their miracle product.

"BLEEEPS!? What the hell is that even..." He was too scared to press the button so Hatsume pressed it for him, the screen played an animation of Midoriya's simulated body in the suit diving onto his knees, small wheels extending at the last second as jets from his boots and small RCS thrusters blasted propellant making him go in a straight line at break neck speeds, he looked away at the various ways his simulated self was using the suit in this manner while his baby photo wore that dopey grin, mocking him. Midoriya saw the virtual dummy dive on its legs, laying flat, being propelled with the power pack becoming an impromptu ramp; this ramped up his anxiety to extreme levels as he saw it was the most bizarre way to wakeboard. The other positions were far from reassuring as he saw the figure on its side on one leg. With a flick he turned off the animations that were making him want to vomit.

"How am I supposed to turn or maneuver in this human rocket sled MEI!?" Midoriya screamed at her in exasperation, waving the tablet in her face at the very obvious death trap.

"With your legs of course Izuku kun..." She shot up her arms defensively, pulling away from him suddenly with her boots blowing her away from him like a hover craft, giggling as she was out of his reach for retaliation with her subtle movements directing the thrust from the boots side vents on the air cushion they generated.

"Besides! My baby is lined with STF gel, its the safest thing on the planet! Even if you crash, it hardens and protects you but stays soft when you move see!" She slammed into the wall hollering in excitement, the tables against it shook with the force of her impact and Blood hound rushed in to check if she was alright. Mei just stood up , twisting and twirling like a model on the Tokyo Fashion Week catwalk leaving both Midoriya and Blood hound astounded with her left unhurt despite her recklessness. She even pulled up her top a little to Blood Hound's disapproving growl as she showed off no bruises or injuries in a quirk twirl before pulling it back down quickly as she saw Blood Hound getting more agitated with her disruptive antics. Midoriya was left rubbing his eyes in embarrassment at his visitor's behavior.

"I'll still get burned by the thrust and the friction...." Midoriya grumbled and Blood Hound flinched at her madness to which Mei just placed her hand in front of one boot's exhaust port and blasted it to its max output, the hot air blew clear past her gloved hand, leaving the protected appendage a little charred with carbon to Midoriya's smirk, thinking he was proving his point before his eyes widened when Hatsume rubbed her hands together and rained ash down on the floor from the friction.

She then proceeded to show off the palms of her gloves showing their material was left unscathed by the hot thrust burn just now. "We use this coating on RIV Heatshields Midoriya Kun, you could chuck my babies into the sun and they'd come out fresher than a spring breeze!" her goggles zoomed in and out maniacally as she cackled like a mad scientist to Midoriya's irritation as he flicked through the manual. "Though only they would, can't say anything about you."    

"What is the B.L.A.D.E system?" he asked curiously to which she sprang into action, jetting towards him at break neck speed before Blood Hound could catch her and Midoriya had the chance to press the button as the tablet was skewered on a knife, run through by the blade protruding out several feet from the rod in Mei's hands, as it snapped back like a rubber band into the tiny 3 foot baton in her grasp, growing fatter till it resumed its original shape with a biomechanical hiss. 

"Mimetic Polyalloy! Just pass an electric current through this baby and think! It'll keep that shape!" she squealed as she tossed it at Midoriya who fumbled as he caught it, Blood Hound had enough of this chicanery as he grabbed Hatsume and threw her over his shoulder, Hatsume still yelling out to Midoriya like a saleswoman possessed even when Blood Hound was moving down the hall with her, Midoriya looked down the hall as Blood Hound was getting closer to the main doors with trepidation as he could hear her crazy yelling. "It slices! It dices! There's more! It does whatever you imagine! Just lock, load, let loose Izuku Kun! Hurry back! We have to take our babies out for a spin!" Hatsume shrieked as Bloodhound heaved her out the doors and walked back to Midoriya looking at the wonder weapon in his hand. The B.L.A.D.E looked was built deceptively simple as a medieval mace but somehow felt alive as it seemed to read his thoughts before Blood Hound snatched it from him. 

"Sorry ! No weapons!" he growled as Hatsume had clearly exhausted all his reserves of patience, Midoriya surrendered it peacefully, waving his UA acceptance letter at Blood Hound who gently took it from his hands and silently opened the parchment, grinning at first seeing Midoriya's scores then his smile turned into a grimace as he saw Midoriya had ticked the 'support' program box. Looking around he knelt down discreetly, as the school's counselor he felt he had to say something.

"Listen kid..." Blood Hound started, "I get that you have a nice girl...and" 

"she's not my girlfriend..." Midoriya interrupted him, muttering in annoyance as Bloodhound coughed to correct himself.

"Baby mama?" he spoke slowly with air quotes to which he saw Midoriya silently shaking his head.

"errr Good friends....with benefits?" He asked sheepishly, careful not to tread over his bounds as he had to regularly deal with 'romantic entanglements' all year from every class and it would always get messy. He was relieved when Midoriya shook his head firmly at the word like a bobble head. 

"Ok just friends right..Loyal friend. No Monkey business right?" Blood Hound smiled nervously after seeing the enthusiastic girl's sales pitch in the room today. Midoriya nodded in confirmation to his relief. "Now kid, you're not the first one I've seen who's ticked the wrong box for the wrong reasons." he put his hand reassuringly on Midoriya's head, it was warm and soft, familial even. "The world needs more heroes, we'll never run out of the sparkies and gremlins like her ya know." He held out the scores on the paper, tapping on those. "Dauntless guys like you....are tip of the spear, one out of million ya know..we need brains as much as we need brawns ya get it?" 

Midoriya gently removed Blood Hound's soft paw and sighed as he did, looking at him with menace and indignation dancing behind his eyes, " Sorry but that's why I'm going to go into the support program, I need more people like her to become pro heroes and less like..." He glared back at Blood Hound, though he didn't finish the sentence it left a sour taste in the pro's mouth as the pro hero clenched the B.L.A.D.E in his hand, hissing as he felt the poly-mimetic alloy shock, its biometric intrusion alarm beeped on the floor as it rolled away and Blood Hound looked at Midoriya with his hand bleeding from the small and clean holes poked in the palms.

"Fine! Throw your life away kid, don't say I didn't do you no favors..." He snatched the B.L.A.D.E by its head, handling it gently like a live grenade as he walked to the reception, leaving it at the front desk with instructions. Midoriya could feel the ire and disappointment emanating from Blood Hound directed at him for having talked down to a teacher on his first day. He could only close the door to the massive room and go to his bed, waiting for his final night when Chiyo would finish his tests and finally discharge him. He wondered how Bakugo would think when he finds out that Midoriya threw away his chance to become a proper hero. 

Maybe something along the lines of how he's looking down on Bakugo again or how he's so spoiled or delusional as a quirkless wonderkid. He really never knew Bakugo, never will despite his many flaws, Koda cautioned him on his feelings when he was young, feelings he was not allowed to explore back then till he got a handle on his mentallic quirk. Only people like Hatsume somehow understood his real feelings...the ones he learned to bury, a warning from Koda San that nothing good came from those feelings in his world and he hoped  things would be better when Midoriya came into it.

Those words that could end your career as a hero once exposed by the HPSC lording it over your head as they did with Koda, forcing him into disgraceful retirement. He had trained Midoriya to build his heart like a fortress, its walls high, gates heavily guarded. Koda had told him not as his mentor but as his "father" to only have those feelings for someone who had the strength to break through those walls, he never prepared him for someone who could just jump over them; bypassing a decade of mental defenses as his mind went back to the purple headed boy who's name was blocked from his blank memory. He kept wondering what was behind the red door where they remained locked from him, neither machine, man nor quirk could crack this lock, he had to get the key and he knew where to start looking when UA's classes started. 

He could only hope he had made the right choice today, not having thrown away 10 years of training and hardship over a childish tantrum. If only he could have talked to Koda San...One last time.

Chapter Text

Fig 8.Midoriya's sensorium discs on his cheeks connect his vitals and brain waves to the suit that allows him to feel the metal as though it were his own flesh. This also allows the suit's sub-systems to read his bio rhythms and react like a second nervous system, leaving him to let it do most of the small things like thruster controls and stabilization in reaction to his condition. The suit has a sensorium suite that feeds into the AI allowing it to keep tabs on Midoriya and ensuring his survival with on the fly calculations not capable in split seconds by humans as it controls dozens of RCS vents throughout the suit's B.L.E.E.E.P system and helps him control the strength exerted by the H.U.L.C exoskeleton.

Midoriya and Aachii had grown tired of debating Hatsume, they just understood that she, like Aachii was a hero in the same self destructive way. Every failure of her gear was her failure to protect the people she cared about, she clearly cared about Midoriya as a brother while he felt platonically towards her initially but she had grown on him sometimes like a terminal tumor that became a new vital organ over time. 

Midoriya and Hatsume were getting their noses ground against the millstone by Power Loader who worked them to the bone, designing the suits and equipment for class 1-A and 1-B, forced to  help him meet tight deadlines in their first month in return for the promise of goodies from the leftovers from his workshop. 

Once they had completed this difficult assignment and had signed off on the simplistic requests of the hero classes, Midoriya and Hatsume checked out what equipment they could from UA's stores, adding in the occasional shipment from Aachii's vendors. 

The A.R.C Suit seemed like a lost cause sometimes as Midoriya had lost the will at the moment to become a proper hero, not seeing the point of participating in such a self serving system that prioritized utilitarian results over human life. 

He was a man who believed there were ideals worth sacrificing an individual over, he was long prepared to be that individual even before Koda San’s training. The candidates at UA had willingly walked over the fallen candidates to selfishly scale their way to the top, wanting to be the king of the hill, funneling the fame and acclaim of a UA uniform to claim their spot in the hero world. Never having spared a thought towards helping their fellow hero candidates who were taken by the cruel machines to a failing grade that disqualified them unforgivingly for one mistake. 

Hatsume waved the permission slip in front of Midoriya as they had finally gotten clearance to use a hero practice ground under the flimsiest pretense of maintenance. Power Loader had rubber stamped Hatsume's request partly because he had come to trust her while at the same time appreciating any opportunity to be left to his silent workshop without her tweaking his things. 

Midoriya had put on the A.R.C suit that Hatsume brought with her specially to UA today which made him feel like he was weightless whenever he wore it in the Aaichii’s workshop, walking in the suit made him feel like the world was made of cardboard. The H.U.L.C and B.L.E.E.E.P systems were clearly over delivering their performance, making his own formidable musculature feel frail in comparison. 

His unease was never truly at rest with a micro fission reactor on his back, it didn't matter it contained Thorium which was relatively harmless, it didn't matter the worst that would happen is being covered in warm Liquid Flouride in the event of a breach. Just the word Nuclear Fission itself sent tingles up his spine when he walked with the power pack on his back that Hatsume took so lightly as an afterthought when it came to safety. 

They hadn't dared to fire off the B.L.E.E.E.P rocket slide in the public areas, not because of police or hurting someone, he just wanted to put it off as much as he could while knowing all the red tape Hatsume would have to normally go through for a semester to honor such a big ask.

Getting the permission within their first month was a slap in his face when his plan to delay the matter fell flat on its face as he hoped to roll back changes and tweak the suit himself, behind Hatsume’s back before he had to use it for the first time. Hatsume was the only ecstatic one with Midoriya following her like a knight in shining armor, trundling along. 

She ran a laser rangefinder on the empty street, scanning for any obstacles as she lay it on the ground and mapped the road in the fake city in UA as clear and smooth as one would be expected to find in the real world, untouched and unscratched. The perfect testing environment as long as they stayed far away from the buildings that looked like they would topple over at the slightest touch.

"Let our baby roar Izuku Chan!" Hatsume yelled out in excitement, waving at him to proceed with the maneuvering tests, "Remember my baby knows how to keep you safe! So trust it ok!?" she shot him a thumbs up, "It loves you like its daddy so don’t fight it!!" 

Midoriya shook his head as he snapped the goggles on his eyes, knowing the wind shear and debris could blind him, if he was blinded at high speeds it wouldn’t end well. The sensors on his cheeks tracked his vitals, allowing him to 'talk' to the suit's sensorium suite that let him 'feel' the status of the suit like he would feel the thirst and exhaustion of the suit itself for the need of fuel, propellant and reactive stress. 

Hatsume’s brainchild would carry his skeptic mass across this road like a metal horse, hopefully in one piece since he wanted to live to claim Hatsume’s notorious warranty atleast once before he died. It was his favorite bucket list item as he took a deep breath, bracing himself to take a leap of faith ... .no, a slip and glide. 

Like a cold swimming pool he sank in toes first before he could change his mind, diving like he had slipped on a banana peel in a comedy skit but purposefully practiced for weeks in the UA gym so many times in the past month, looking like fools while doing it so Midoriya could get used to the sensation and not panic when he was racing down the asphalt at breakneck speeds. 

Despite no safety net this time his muscle memory reassured him all will be well as the hot air jets in the RCS thrusters hummed to life then roared into a deafening whine as hot air spewed into the channels of the suit. Within a split second, he was catapulted into a smooth motion, feeling himself gliding on their currents while suspended on a cushion of air mere millimeters from the ground, tearing through the asphalt like a whirring typhoon he was kicking up dust and debris clouds on either side in his wake,the RCS propelled his mass effortlessly for now operating with razor thin margins of error. 

Like Dorothy he remembered to click his heels, redirecting the thrust to the desired angle like in the VR simulator game Hatsume had designed for him to learn the controls for the real thing. He had run this in every scenario in his room so many times but it was missing the G-forces these maneuvers exerted on him now that he was zipping down the road. His mom was worried about his video game addiction, he didn’t have the nerve to tell her that the Video game was about to become all too real. 

His strafe run was successful as he crossed his heels and the RCS fired off the pre-programmed stabilization and attitude adjustment sequence without him sending a conscious thought. Firing off propellants from all over the suit’s vents that gave him the leverage to stand on his feet vertically in a smooth summersault without stumbling, leaving Midoriya in disbelief that it worked without any broken bones he was expecting as Hatsume was a tiny speck in the distance, barely audible over the horizon so Midoriya turned on his radio to hear her excited screeching into his ear. 

"Go full thrust! Trust our baby with your life Midoriya kun!" She screamed over the radio, shattering the diaphragm in his comms, pummeling Midoriya's eardrums as he felt the throbbing in his temples, his adrenaline was spiking as he took another trust fall, crossing his arms, falling back onto the road confidently, letting the RCS create the cushion of air under him again as the thrusters in his legs and feet engaged at full speed right out the bat, pulling him along for the  rocket slide as Hatsume went from the size of an ant in the distance to a her normal size before Midoriya passed her by completely as he overshot her by several meters. 

He crossed his feet again to bring himself to a full stop; the RCS rolled him to his side, putting him in a controlled roll that allowed him to anchor himself with one knee and stand up without losing his balance through the miracle of the AI that fired off the jets at the right time, a split second off meant he would be eating asphalt. 

The system ran in tandem with the sensorium modules on his cheeks monitoring his bio-feedback and reacting according to his mental state. Hatsume ran towards him cheering as she looked over the tablet that had the propellant, energy and fuel levels mapped out on a live display. 

The 800 M of thrusting maneuvers had cost him around 10% of his overall fuel and propellants which was not encouraging despite Hatsume being jubilant over the results as she jumped onto him and kissed her real baby, the A.R.C suit itself to Midoriya's annoyance who held her up like she weighed nothing thanks to the H.U.L.C system’s exoskeleton doing most of the work.

"Hatsume, I don't think I'd last long in this suit, maybe we should stop adding more things?" Midoriya carefully stroked her hair with the H.U.L.C exoskeleton that made him scared to touch anything living so hair was a good way to learn to articulate this safely as he was stroking it without pulling it hard but knew he was still a bit rougher than the deft touch he wanted. "You know, take a little off the top, drop the deadweight." 

Hatsume looked at him in anger, as though he were telling her to cut off an arm or leg as she huffed in her rage,tapping away frantically at the pad most likely about to throw another ‘rational’ argument in his face. They were both engineers but Hatsume had always been at a level Aachii and himself could never truly reach because of she was the fool who would tread where angels like them would not dare, this girl since the first day he knew her didn't draw lines in the sand, she scribbled the entire beach to spite you!

"Aachii San is already sending us MH and NT propellants! They're way better than this liquid nitrogen garbage we're using for the tests! Far as the fuel goes...we don’t need it!" Hatsume just rubbed her hands and Midoriya knew this was one her....personal triumphs he was going to have the honor of hearing out. "Hydrogen Fuel Cell Ionizer!" She yelled out triumphantly, shoving the schematics in his face. Somehow he thinks back in Powerloader's workshop there was a project with a tarp on it in Hatsume's forbidden pile that could blow UA up if he so much as looked at it, gulping as he went through the mechanism’s schematics with her. 

"Why burn cruddy Hydrogen or Oxygen like cavemen when we got free fuel all over the place! Let the fuel cells superheat normal air and shoot out the air we need for the thrust! No more need for fuel tanks if we’re surrounded by it right!" Hatsume tapped on the tablet like she was unveiling the wheel and Midoriya was a caveman. 

"Hatsume....This is used in Hypersonic planes and Space shuttles...you're going to launch me into space at this rate." Midoriya mused, shaking his head in futility. He knew she was going to put it in whether he liked it or not, it was her baby so he could do it safely with her to supervise or let her go wild and throw out every Health and Safety redundant safety system and backup in the name of progress. He preferred to supervise if he was going to sign off on his death sentence in his own blood, at least that’d be something nice to leave in his final note when the police found his mangled corpse.. 

"Cute Couple." A haunting voice in the corner spoke, Midoriya's spine tingled as he reflexively put his hand on Hatsume's mouth as well as his, shaking his head as he saw the purple haired kid from the UA entrance exam looking over at them. He knew not to speak to this guy and jerked his head at Hatsume, releasing his own mouth and signaling her with a finger on his own lips. 

Desperately typing on the tablet in her hand "Don't speak back to him no matter what." Hatsume nodded as he released her from his grip and pushed her behind him, Midoriya was thankful the sensors on his cheeks had limited his strength from cracking her head like an egg from this sudden reflexive action. At the end of the day Hatsume knew what she really was doing...most of the time as they looked cautiously at the purple haired boy approaching them. 

"UA's going to hell ya know." he sighed, pointing at the rising plume of smoke in the distance where the USJ facility was located. Midoriya was uncertain how he had missed it, wondering if it just happened while they were testing the suit, looking back at Shinso he snatched Hatsume's tablet and typed on it furiously.

"Who are you exactly!? What do you really want!" Midoriya typed, holding it out for Shinso to read the text, throwing his head back and cackled. 

"Smart...Really smart Izuku Midoriya."  He clapped his hands slowly then crossed his arms when he was done. They saw the silhouette of Hawks swoop above them towards the USJ pillar of smoke in the distance, his shadow passed by slowly enough for all on the ground to see those massive red wings carry their owner across the expansive sky. Midoriya wondered if he should have signaled him down to them, not knowing what Shinso’s intentions or quirk exactly were. 

"Name's Shinso...Hitoshi Shinso." He extended his hand in a friendly gesture, that deceptive smile all part of his trap as Midoriya refused to touch it, not knowing if this was part of his quirk, having let his guard down once in the tent. He wouldn’t be caught in that quirk again. "Ok let's not make this weird or anything...." Shinso pulled back his hand and ran his fingers through his hair as he looked at Hatsume and Midoriya, licking his lips. 

"I'm in the general studies ya see, and unlike you guys I'm not blessed with brains or brawns." He shot a glance at Midoriya's A.R.C suit with Hatsume's toolkit that was the envy of the pro hero world. "So I just want you guys to make me you know....something simple for my quirk." Midoriya and Hatsume's looked on in disbelief at the simplistic request. Midoriya started furiously typing on the tablet but Shinso cut him off before he could finish.

"Look I get it, Only 'heroes' get gear from the support guys right....the blessed chosen ones. I'm not asking this as a favor Izuku Midoriya." Shinso looked at him and continued smiling like a psycho path as he tapped his temple. "I know you're a mentallic like me.....quirkless my ass." Shinso spat before resuming to smile at Midoriya who dropped the tablet to the ground, cracking the screen. 

"We got more in common than you think Midoriya Kun." He chuckled, keeping his distance, "We both gotta hide, what we say, what we think, punished for our thoughts, used but hated." Shinso remarked as he saw Midoriya gritting his teeth, knowing if his secret ever got out, expulsion would be the least of his worries since it would impact his loved ones who knew.

"I left in alot of ‘standing orders’ in that head of yours, tell me the last time you had a 'chat' with dear old Kacchan? How could you when my command has you avoiding him like the plague." He chortled which turned into a full on howl as the smoke from the USJ receded and they felt a strong shockwave rock the ground under them. The tremors rolled under their feet like an aftershock, the result of some world ending blow in the USJ facility. Unsure if it was a villain or hero who had done it, Midoriya had a more immediate threat to deal with. 

"Now to the point, I just want you to make me a simple item so I can become a hero. A Lot of my birdies are singing their songs and boy is a big churn coming." He giggled as he threw a folded piece of paper at their feet, Hatsume picked it up to see a rudimentary sketch of artificial vocal chords housed within a vicious and intimidating mask more suited to a villain rather than a hero. 

She looked at him in disgust at the poorly designed tech, about to yell out obscenities at Shinso before Midoriya had to restrain her suddenly again but this time he felt like he had bruised her midsection as he did so. He couldn’t afford Shinso controlling her now as a hostage, he already had enough bargaining chips on the table without lifting a finger.

"There are gonna be some open slots soon I heard, kids dropping out more like Eraserhead kicking two out of the nest in 1-A on their first day. Heard it straight from the horse's mouth as they were sent packing." Shinso rubbed his hands together and sighed before continuing. "It's a long climb to the top Midoriya and I need a big strong guy like you to carry me. So how about it, let's be partners like the exam!" he held out his hand, " I keep your secrets, you get me to the top of the hero program in UA." 

Midoriya shook his head and released Hatsume, mouthing 3 letters at her wordlessly as he knew he was going to have to do things to secure himself now before Shinso had a chance to react. 

His plan wasn't smart, well thought out and had too many consequences but it was better than no plan as she acknowledged the words he had mouthed just now "R-U-N". He nodded to her silently as his vents powered up in the soles of his shoes only and within a split second he jumped into the air using the untested "jump jet" to nail down Shinso who just yelled out as Midoriya’s massive A.R.C suit landed on Shinso's body. He had missed Shinso’s delicate frame and limbs by inches, any further or closer he could have crushed them like pulp.

He had closed the distance in the high risk maneuver, raising his hand threateningly, the H.U.L.C exoskeleton whirring as he delivered an asphalt shattering punch he hoped would intimidate Shinso and return some initiative back to his side yet he couldn't help but wonder why Shinso was laughing despite feeling the asphalt cracking punch inches from him. Was he not buying into the bluff? Was this another bluff? Was Shinso just trying to play it cool?

"Bad move." Shinso spoke finally as he whistled and Midoriya looked behind him when Hatsume Mei shrieked, dropping her treasured toolbox as she was a hostage of Bakugo who had her pinned to the ground with his knee on her neck, threatening to sever her spine. 

"I wonder how the conversation will go with Principal Nezu when Kacchan has killed off a support student and left you barely breathing in that …. Suit ." His sly smirk begging to be punched as he goaded on Midoriya so it would look more convincing for the staff that he was the true victim not Midoriya all along. "All I had to do was let him know you were here then the brainwashing was all too easy." Shinso pulled Midoriya's arm off his chest and slowly got to his feet knowing Midoriya wouldn’t mind being exposed but ruining Bakugo’s UA career had given him leverage over his more brawnier opponents.  

"We got a deal? You're mine till we graduate Izuku Midoriya." he grinned as he held out his hand once again like the devil wanting to make a deal for someone's soul. “Think of Kacchan and poor Mei, we don’t want anyone dead or expelled now do we?”

Midoriya yowled ferally as he tried to punch Shinso who dodged the careless blow, he took advantage of Midoriya’s moment of mental anguish as he turned to run into a dilapidated building nearby. Most of its superstructure was cracked and the 10 floors tilted precariously and looked like they could come down any moment as Midoriya gave chase to the scrawny kid who whistled again for Bakugo, his attack dog who’s roars were getting closer to the pursuing Midoriya.   

Midoriya could only hear the deafening roars of the nitro blasts behind him as Bakugo thankfully released Hatsume as he had hoped. He was bounding towards them in the narrow corridors and rubble strewn floors of the dubious structure, Bakugo was still wearing the suit and gloves Hatsume and Midoriya had crafted all those months ago but his eyes were glassy and empty as he charged at him with deafening explosions shattering supports of the building behind him starting a slow collapse. 

Midoriya's RCS system was in overdrive as he hunted for Shinso in the collapsing building while evading Bakugo's many nitro bursts that missed him by inches, his suit’s RCS was wheezing in protest as he felt the thirst in its sensorium that his propellant was running low. Bakugo’s errant blasts were impacting the key support pillars of the building that had no rebar, just brittle concrete. 

Midoriya found Shinso sprinting towards a window desperately, he roared ferociously as he rammed the wall that connected to the window with his suit, hoping to close off his escape. The impact made Shinso fall outward to his annoyance. He heard the sounds of cracking and rumbling become more frequent, the sounds of brittle concrete now grew closer on the ground floor as he felt the top floors pancaking down towards them, feeling parts of the building ready to fall on their heads with the ceiling raining dust and debris, the nearest support pillars barely stood, their cracks deepened with each shudder as they were already buckling but always a hot second away from breaking. 

Bakugo's explosive barrages were not helping as Midoriya felt the empty hiss from the RCS vents, his B.L.E.E.E.P thrusts sputtered as they were running on emergency reserves now, He could feel the hunger and thirst from his suit for propellant and fuel that he had exhausted chasing after the scrawny Shinso and to his chagrin his suit was filling his head with danger as the building around them collapsed, urging him subconsciously to escape from Bakugo. 

Midoriya was not leaving the brainwashed idiot behind and he looked at the window Shinso had escaped through start to crack, he only had one shot at this as he centered himself, readying himself to execute a throw he had drilled into his muscle memory for a decade, he was lucky that brainwashed Bakugo was sluggish compared to sober Bakugo who rammed into him, Midoriya’s A.R.C suit dug its heels into the concrete to take the human missile’s impact. 

He dug his arm into Bakugo's armpit and pivoted the suit 180 degrees, planting his foot on the ground with a heavy thud as he threw Bakugo with the momentum of his own rush at him as Bakugo was peperring him with point blank blasts the whole time. 

With one final heave he used the last of the RCS propellant and B.L.E.E.E.P fuel reserves to launch them both into a slide less than a meter but enough momentum was built up to throw Bakugo out the window as the building finally crumpled down to the ground floor, all 10 floors of the brittle concrete rained down on Midoriya who felt every hit his suit was taking as the H.U.L.C’s hydraulics disengaged from his suit then proceeded to cover him a four legged spider with the bigger pieces of concrete falling onto it. 

He was pinned under tons of debris held up by the exoskeletal umbrella, the last thing he remembered was Bakugo yelling out his name before the dust and debris buried Midoriya when he had thrown Bakugo out the window. Midoriya could barely keep conscious as he felt himself bleed profusely from his foot that was pinned under the rubble inside the pocket of concrete that was precariously held by the buckling metallic exoskeleton in a dome that was millimeters from his body and just getting closer to crushing him. 

Midoriya stayed that way for God knows how long as he dared not to move his arm until he was dug out by the rescue heroes who pulled him out from his precarious debris prison. His injuries, though unknown at the time to himself, elicited Hatsume's hysterical cries and Bakugo's incensed yelling, both of them stuck with him as he was in Cementoss’s arms before being handed over to Hawks who stepped in during the emergency, even the look on his face was not reassuring to Midoriya as he took flight with the young man cradled in his arms to the recovery wing post haste.

All he knew was that Recovery Girl was not going to be happy.

____________________________________________________________________________

"Suspended for being injured!?" Midoriya gasped weakly, as he felt the pricking of nerves from the bloody and bandaged stub where his foot used to be. Hatsume and Bakugo had been removed by Chiyo since for being disruptive and Midoriya could tell from the blood stains on Chiyo’s normally pristine white coat that she had dealt with injuries worse than his today. 

"Two broken ribs, compressed diaphragm, internal bleeding, shattered foot, Count yourself lucky Midoriya Kun." Chiyo grumbled as she snapped off her glove and threw it in the trash bin next to his bed, letting the lid slam down as she released the foot pedal. “Alot of people weren’t today.”

Her glare was penetrating him down to his soul despite having been attending UA for the last. "Next time I see you being this reckless, it will be expulsion, Nezu be damned." She grumbled before smacking him on the head fiercely with deceptive strength that stung his skull. 

"There was nothing left in your foot that I could save, your bones were dust! Your muscles were nothing more than minced meat! My quirk heals you but like Humpty Dumpty once you have a great fall it can't put you back again young man." She continued her scolding, demanding an apology or rather demanding Midoriya commit Hara Kiri on the spot to appease her anger.

"Anyway! Think about how reckless you were! You can see that crazy blond boy and pink haired menace once Power Loader finishes with your prosthetic and I'm satisfied you can walk today but.." she tapped the stump, he could feel the phantom pain from the amputation, "I do have a heart so please talk to your friend. He's been beside him in tears all day since the operation." She spoke softly as she motioned someone in. 

Midoriya nearly pissed himself seeing Shinso greet Chiyo who treated him like some long lost grandson, doting on him which inflamed Midoriya who was so tempted to throw a psychic lance at Shinso filled with rage and malice vociferously for the trouble he had caused...for the trouble he would cause in the future as she patted Shinso on the back walking off into the corridor leaving Midoriya with his 'friend' wondering how he had let matters get this far.

"Its a mess, they have dozens of students injured, some are dead, even the teachers…..." Shinso started weakly as he looked bruised and battered all over, Midoriya had suspected Bakugo once Midoriya had unknowingly broken him out of his brainwashing and a few looked blunt like from a wrench or spanner courtesy of Mei. Midoriya took a deep comfort in himself that maybe Mei added a bruise here or there knowing her fiery spirit when it came to Midoriya and her babies who were presumably crushed under a building beyond recovery. 

He felt vindicated by every cut and bruise placed on the deserving Shinso’s body who also seemed to have sobered from his power trip as Midoriya kept his quirk at the ready, keeping his defenses up around Shinso literally ready to fry him up some hot justice now if he was forced into another cornet. Hoping a barking dog like Shinso would have understood now the lengths he would go through for his silence, given how low a value he had over his own life. Midoriya would not be above murder especially when it came to family and friends and Shinso was indirectly threatening both. 

“Listen to them Midoriya.” Shinso started weakly, sitting on the bed across from him in the recovery ward. They could hear the cries and moans of the suffering from down the halls as Recovery Girl was attending to other casualties from USJ. “Not to be that guy but…” Shinso rubbed the back of his skull, scratching the hair as he said the words as though each syllable was a vise on his balls, “I’m sorry about today ... .for all my big talk I don’t have the stones to be a ‘villain’.”

Midoriya raised his brow, clearly suspicious, knowing all Shinso needed to make someone his puppet was one innocent word that would hand over the keys to their mind. Shinso smiled weakly, clearly out of range of his fists but he could feel the cloak of negative emotions around Midoriya as his hidden quirk was searing with them in warning Shinso not to test him. However, Midoriya’s quirk did also detect Shinso wasn’t lying…at least Shinso didn’t think he was lying wondering if Shinso could brainwash himself in the mirror to pretend to be a decent guy to fool him. 

“Look, I didn’t grow up with a nice loving family once they found out about my quirk ya know. Hell back in middle school kids would play ‘Shinso made me do it’. Every shitty thing, the bullying, stealing and streaking were put on me by the kids. The teachers had to teach me in special ed classes separately with other ‘mentallics’.” Shinso rocked his legs back and forth, clasping his hands as his head hung low. 

“I know your quirk can least tell you I’m telling a truth about myself, so let me lay it on you. My folks tried to pin their shoplifting and petty shittiness on me…every time my dad beat my mom he told the police he was under my quirk.” Shinso swallowed and Midoriya felt a sting emanating from his mind. He knew this was real uncut pain Shinso was unpacking. 

“Eventually mom had enough and ran dad through with the steak knife. Needless to say, I took the rap for my quirk, I was 10 so I was sent through therapy and juvie for months.” Shinso sobbed, a solitary tear fell into his clasped hands that were quivering. “I still had school but even in juvie they didn’t leave me alone you know..they would blame things on me until the guards threw me in solitary confinement for weeks. I got plenty of time in there to think and realize people like you and me we're not among the blessed ones ... .we're cursed.” Shinso wiped his eyes with his forearm before continuing, his pain and anguish flooded over Midoriya like a tsunami of empathy as his searing negative emotions were quenched.

“I did what I did when my mom finally got her prison sentence and I was left orphaned with a new name and new life. I kept my mouth shut and let my quirk do the talking, so yeah…I was never going to out you but…I wasn’t lying when I said I want to be a hero.” Shinso spoke in a more confident tone, Midoriya could feel the warmth of his words radiate towards him. He took the risk and asked.

“How can I trust you?” Midoriya spoke slowly, still drowsy from the painkillers Chiyo had administered earlier. 

“A mute button.” Shinso spoke, handing him a revised drawing, this looked more polished and refined, something that Mei had made. “I’ll get the sonic dampener in the mask,all of you hold the dead man’s switch. If I step out of line you can silence me and knock me around all you want alright?” He held his arms up defensively, shaking his head. 

“Why not just ask me for help in the first place?” Midoriya asked Shinso with his eyes narrowed, still unforgiving about the events of today that put everyone including himself at risk.

Shinso crossed leg over the other, resting both his elbows on it as he leaned in, wrapping his finger inwards, beckoning Midoriya closer, “Why did you lie to everyone, including yourself about your quirk all these years?” He leaned back, planting a hand on the bed, his point proven in that one sentence, “Can’t take chances Midoriya Kun, yes the plan went too far today for me and you but I had to know what kind of man I’m dealing with.” he extended his hand towards Midoriya cordially, getting close enough to punch now.

“I don't need to brain wash you to know you want to be a hero more than anything!” Shinso spoke sincerely, his hand still in the air, seeing Midoriya still cautious around him before he took the hand and gripped it tight as he turned his quirk off, feeling no threat from Shinso now. "Can we be heroes together? Mentallics gotta stick together you know." 

“Don’t make me regret this Shinso….” Midoriya spoke through gritted teeth, still hesitant to let his guard down so soon while leering at him in the eye. Shinso only smiled back warmly, with Midoriya having turned off his quirk he couldn’t tell if it was real or not as they sealed an uneasy understanding.

Chapter Text

His new prosthetic foot whirred and hummed as he tapped the floor with it when he felt uneasy. All UA had publicly released was the death list of the teachers, Aizawa was still in the ICU under life support, Recovery Girl uncertain he would pull through, Blood hound and Astronaut 13 had been killed in the line of duty with several heroes injured.

All Midoriya knew was what the newsletter in his hand told him, letting him know that they would be making some announcement about their future, the general and support classes were given mandatory slots to meet the new counselor but Shinso to his chagrin had used his brainwashing to get the ‘real’ news. Class 1-A had been sequestered into dormitories and Midoriya had not been able to get in touch with Bakugo since he had been discharged by Chiyo so he let Shinso get away with this one last time in his desperation for news about his friend.

Midoriya did chide him because he hated the method but the news was too impactful it could not be ignored. Another reason he hated the Hero system that UA stood for, concealing vital info like a cult for the elites; the weak and quirkless left to lick their boots in ignorance as he stepped into the counselor’s office, their chair facing the window as a familiar voice filled him with chilling dread.

“We meet again…Young Midoriya.” Toshinori Yagi spoke from behind the counselor’s desk since Blood Hound had died at USJ from the ‘incident’. Midoriya’s hands clenched, his new prosthetic foot thumped like an iron boot across the room till Mei got the parts for a lighter variant from I-Island in a few weeks. Though he was sorely tempted of all people to give All Might’s lapdog a good kick if he said one more thing about quirkless people not being heroes, restraining his quirk behind the shroud of discipline that he had seamlessly mastered over a decade thanks to Koda San as he took his seat.

The sooner this was over, the easier he could get back to Shinso and Mei and his ambitions to break into the hero program, aiming for the slots left empty by the secretive expulsions from 1-A according to his deal with Shinso…no, his promise to Koda San. What did it matter since it was a win win and Shinso was a wake up call to remind him of the real reason he put up with the system in the first place.

“I know we parted ways on…tense conditions last time.” Yagi swivelled his chair to face Midoriya, holding out the tablet that had a collage of his fights in the UA entrance exam on display, every angle capturing every action from every camera even in the robots down to his near death experience with the zero pointer. The frame on that feed was frozen in time to his last expression as he accepted his fate of having it all end there, he was….smiling with the massive mechanical foot only a few meters from crushing him. No hesitation, no panic, just stoic acceptance as he shielded Ururaka’s limp body from it as though it would make a difference. The screen went black and Midoriya only saw his reflection staring back at him.

“I was wrong Izuku Midoriya.” Yagi spoke bemusedly, holding out his business card, Midoriya refused to take it since he remembered the last time he did, knowing he was not in the mood to be talked down to by an emissary of the God of Heroes.

“No strings on me see?” He chuckled as he lay the card down on the desk, tapping the UA logo on it, the title of Student Counselor in bold font that overshadowed Yagi’s own name symbolically as if this job was all that mattered, not his name or his past credentials. Midoriya bowed his head in apology and took the card politely packing it into his front pocket and looked the old skeletal man in the eyes as he suddenly coughed into a napkin, the blood staining it before he abruptly threw it into the pedal bin under his desk in embarrassment which Midoriya politely looked the other way out of courtesy, waiting till he had straightened himself out.

“As the new counselor, I want to talk to you about heroism. Since our last conversation, I am sorry for how tone deaf I was. Your test scores and the videos attest that UA lost two good candidates that day to the wrong class, though unlike Hitoshi Shinso, you were offered the position by my….predecessor.” Yagi spoke softly as he placed Midoriya’s file from his lap onto the table, hero acceptance letter stamped in red ink several times out of spite all over the defiant tick on the support class checkbox to Midoriya’s astonishment.

“Needless to say, unlike our dearly departed Bloodhound, I will not take things…personally.” Yagi coughed, swallowing blood before resuming as Midoriya’s prosthetic foot thumped with his anxiety rising.

“Heroism’s doctrine should be consolidated by years, expanded by time, exalted by age. I’m afraid, All Might stemmed the change that should have happened from the root upwards by becoming the monolith redwood in who’s great shadow many promising seedlings like yourself were not allowed to grow in his mighty shadow.” Yagi said in a very passionate tone, slamming his hand on the desk to show his enthusiasm at having changed his position on the matter since last they spoke. This filled Midoriya with some warmth, the charisma coming off the skeletal man who looked like he was one cough away from keeling over yet somehow looked more imposing than All Might himself in that moment of rhetoric.

“I’m sorry, I got….carried away.” Yagi collected himself and closed Midoriya’s file then lay both his arms on it, locking eyes with him, his gaze piercing deep into his soul. “Young man, you need to do the right thing, UA has never in its history considered letting this shift happen on its own. I’m sure you heard about the recent….incident at USJ.” Yagi gleamed at him, Midoriya shifted in his seat, not wanting to repeat the unpleasant thoughts of being pitched at like this. The man reminded him of Mei when she was convincing him to strap a nuclear reactor to his back and rocket thrusters on his boots, relentless!

“You’ve been nearly crushed to death twice on our watch, yet somehow always manage to save everyone but yourself young man.” Yagi grinned, “Think of this as an opportunity from the school to make it up to you and teach you the skills you need to save yourself. That’s the skill that vigilantes though for all their good intentions lack, a hero needs to walk out and smile, reassure everyone that it will be ok and they will not face their trauma once more. The current generation has all but forgotten this I’m afraid, the current batch of students were…challenging since you have more heroic spirit in one finger than they do in their entire body.” Yagi spoke louder in a grizzled voice, his throat dry, Midoriya could hear him wheezing as he was silently and slowly drawing in another breath for a verbal barrage.

“What if I say no?” Midoriya spoke coldly, wanting to test the waters, the character of the man if it was for show, just to recruit him or was it real.

Yagi’s face twitched, he leaned back into the chair and rubbed his gaunt eyes in circles, taking several calming breaths before starting again as he found his second wind, “Did you say no to all those kids you saved? In the exam? In the training ground a week back? Young Midoriya, it’s time you listen to the universe and admit it, you can take yourself out of the hero course but you can’t take the hero course out of yourself. Don’t deprive the world of your talent just to spite a few idiotic adults….myself included.” Yagi spoke slowly, each word heavy as he bowed his head in shame to Midoriya.

“On behalf of said adults I apologize and have paved this way forward for others to walk, do you want me to commit seppuku if that means you will finally accept your true calling?” Yagi groaned, pleading to the young boy in desperation.

“I have a condition though…” Midoriya spoke, once testing the waters while not really meaning it to which Yagi’s face lit up who clearly was taking any scrap of leverage to get his yes. “I want Hitoshi Shinso with me in the hero course, you’ve seen our partnership and I don’t know who I can trust in a new…...”

“DONE!” Yagi exclaimed, holding out a pen and a transfer agreement in front of Midoriya who looked up in shock, reading the boilerplate paragraphs before looking up at Yagi before signing it.

“How do I know you’ll keep your end?” Midoriya spoke quietly, with much caution as Yagi flipped the paper and pulled out another transfer order under it.

“He was signed up while you were recovering, we don’t approve of his methods but we cannot argue with the results. He turned an ace student into a WMD and somehow escaped you in a rocket suit. Nezu wasn’t a fan but thankfully, too many hero candidate parents are ... .hesitant to let their kids continue here so our dear Principal isn’t spoiled for choice in these dark times since the ….. Incident opened up slots.” Yagi sighed in relief as he had Midoriya’s signature. Midoriya felt bamboozled as he got up in a huff and bowed politely to get out of shaking hands with Yagi. As he was about to turn the door knob Yagi got in one last lick.

“Not all heroes wear capes and smile young Midoriya, some get their hands dirty so the rest of us can keep our gloves clean. We wouldn’t be here without them….like my Sensei.” Yagi coughed as he nodded to Midoriya who had turned to look at him, letting him know it was ok to go. Midoriya closed the door behind him gently as Yagi filed away the paperwork as though he had found the largest diamond on the planet, jealously tucking it away between the dozens of applications for the open slots so he could hand Nezu the files personally later that day.

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Finally met Yagi did you” Shinso chuckled as Midoriya emerged from the counselor's office. The green haired boy left in a surprised shock at how catlike Shinso could be when he wanted to sneak up on people. Midoriya felt a little jealous of his own stealth skills when compared to an untrained boy from the general studies course, though knowing his criminal background he knew maybe the skill came from the dark times in his life.

“Yo!” Shinso snapped his finger in front of Midoriya’s wandering eyes. “Here’s your dorm assignment.” He shoved a key in Midoriya’s hands, pondering when did he get a room, puzzled when did Shinso as well as he examined the small NFC tag embedded in his keychain that he was swinging in front of Midoriya, both their numbers were the same.

“Hold on…we’re sharing a room?!” Midoriya mumbled, Shinso nodded deviously as he grabbed Midoriya by the shoulder and wrapped his arm around his neck, leaning into him.

“Told you we were meant to be.” Coughing a bit in between, “In a we’re teammates kinda way. Sooo let’s get drilling.” he grinned, Midoriya did not appreciate the lewd wordplay, he knew it was Shinso’s personality to troll and taunt his ‘people’ for his quirk. Like his own mumbling Shinso couldn’t help it, especially since he knew Midoriya’s ‘proclivities’ when Shinso took information about Bakugo from him back in the UA exam among other secrets.

Everyday that Shinso had been visiting him in the hospital, even bringing him Mei’s temporary prosthetic to Recovery Girl’s relief who was wary of the pink haired devil welcomed him as the grandson she never had. It gave him a chance to show Midoriya some kindness he couldn’t deny he felt starved for. With Bakugo, even with his quirk, he didn’t know what reaction he would get when he probed him with it back in school and all it did was provoke him with mentallic pins and needles that made Bakugo feel wary around him.

Midoriya’s own anxiety and self doubt would also play a part, the secrets he kept from Bakugo, the lies he was living on so many levels. He didn’t know if Bakugo would accept him, especially if he found out that Midoriya had indirectly amplified his aggressive side subconsciously with his fear of Bakugo’s rejection over the years, dialing up Bakugo’s own latent insecurities and giving them a voice. One reason why he hid from the childhood friend he pined for, how would he ever explain to him that he’s the reason why Bakugo was messed up by a quirk he was suppressing around him all this time, lashing out at him like his psionic punching bag.

Bakugo was as blameless as the bull in a bullfight, Midoriya the matador who would be hailed as a hero, tiring the bull out for the entertainment of the crowd, his quirk no different than the red cape being waved around to make a gentle creature charge at him with the intention to cruelly gore him. Bakugo had suffered too much all his life, the worst part is he felt his self hate and doubt when they would pass by in the hall, Midoriya knowing secretly he was responsible for every moment of agony that Bakugo had been bearing it; hiding it all behind a shit eating cocky grin to push people away before they looked behind the curtain.

“Stop picturing me naked there Midoriya.” Shinso whispered, Midoriya again brought back to the present, scared that Shinso had brainwashed him but he looked at his watch, knowing there was no time since he had lost himself to his internal turmoil for a few minutes. They had a deal right….

“Meis coming with your new suit tomorrow, powerloader is gonna give it a once over before we can start drills together.” Shinso exclaimed, slapping Midoriya on the back as he grinned, the normally reserved introvert with more layers than onions was acting too…extroverted that it made Midoriya revisit the question, can Shinso really brainwash himself to be a better person? He slapped Shinso on the lower back to test this since he knew any shock or bump would knock his brainwashing out of the mind of the afflicted.

Shinso just grinned and chortled silently, looking at all the people staring at them as they passed by. The purple hair and green hair did not help as they were an odd set of people even for a school like UA, Shinso was scrawny and slightly shorter than Midoriya who was always fully clothed even in hot weather, wearing full sleeved clothes to hide his many scars and his deceptively dense muscles.

“Jeez we look like a couple of geis don’t we?” Shinso spoke somberly, returning to his normally depressed, disparate, downtrodden delinquent self, kicking the ground which puzzled Midoriya about his quirk further.

“Wait so does that mean you can…” Midoriya started and Shinso nodded curtly, pulling him into a corner, away from passersby that were shooting them looking up and down the corridor, looking at him with those pleading eyes.

“Back in juvie, when people knew what my quirk did…I made sure they didn’t know everything it could…” Shinso started, his voice croaking as though he was nursing the worst headache in the world, “Yea I can do it myself, except…it burns me out ya know…till someone knocks me outta it.” He spoke slowly, swallowing as he leaned back into the wall, leaning forward on his knees for support. Midoriya grabbed his shoulders sympathetically as Shinso tapped his hands, shaking his head.

“Anyway, it’s how a guy like me survives guys like you…gotta be smarter, funnier, wittier, better and I just am not ‘blessed’ like you. You don’t need to be invited into someone’s mind like some vampire, your quirk is the ultimate metallic one….a battering ram with a flamethrower.” Shinso grinned weakly looking at Midoriya longingly, not at his looks but his power, his character, his abilities which he got a taste of when he was faced with the prospect of being lobotomized by it.

“If you ask me, Mei ain’t making that armor to protect you, it’s to protect us if you ever were forced to use it.” Shinso grumbled, shaking his head as he rubbed his temples with his fingers, digging his thumbs into his eyes in a circular motion to relieve the pain from the searing migraine. After a few moments he wrapped he tapped Midoriya on the shoulders, the dark circles under his blood shot eyes more prominent from the side effect of his affirmation (Self-Brainwashing).

“The rest of us gotta fake it till we make it…real.” Shinso spoke with some disappointment in his tone, feeling up Midoriya’s strong shoulders and his biceps, biting his lip as he turned his head. “So save me from myself, hero. Let’s go to the gym already.” he flexed his own scrawny bicep that barely made a bump in his lithe arm to a chuckle from Midoriya who just nodded back.

“We’re a team now aren’t we?” Midoriya spoke warmly, jerking his head to move back into the corner from the hidden recess in the corner they were in. Suspicious glances met them as they emerged back into the busy corridor, everyone knew the ‘intimate’ nature of these hidden corners but two boys with distinct hair colors emerging from it would have the gossip mill running in overdrive.

“We sink or swim together.” Midoriya looked back at Shinso, both of them felt the static of the humming whispers in the corridors which resembled an angry hive of insects getting their stingers ready as they walked past them.

“DEKU!” came the familiar blustering howl which shattered the buzzing, causing the swarm of gossiping students to drop silent as they were parted by a violent force plowing through the crowd.

Midoriya suddenly felt the strongest grip on his collar bone, twirling him around, pivoting him on his unsure footing. He felt that hot breath, those nostrils flared, the sweet and sickly smell of Nitroglycerin stinging his nose as Bakugo held him by the shirt. “We need to fucking talk you shitty nerd!” he growled as he dragged him off, Midoriya stumbling behind him as Bakugo took his hand and yanked him behind him like a ragdoll, Shinso holding in the biggest laugh he could as he twirled his fingers waving him off as Bakugo disappeared with Midoriya into the crowd.

Chapter Text

Fig 10. The Mk-2 A.R.C Suit with several improvements made for quality of life changes and survivability by Hatsume Mei for the upcoming festival. (details in notes)

Midoriya was dragged into the prep room where hero students would practice their quirks for events and drills. Bakugo had finally let him go despite the chaos he caused in the halls earlier, to his surprise no one protested or called a teacher; maybe because they knew Bakugo was the ace of the Hero Program Midoriya thought to himself. He knew Bakugo was always a prodigy but given he was ironically spared from USJ by Shinso’s selfish motives that day. He felt that Bakugo would become a bigger fish in a shrinking pond as he cracked his knuckles, standing over Midoriya with that cocky smirk.

“No suit to save you now nerd.” He grumbled, slamming his fist into his palm, sending a hot shower of sparks all over Midoriya who was cursing Shinso for not stopping Bakugo from going overboard as he always did. “Start singing before I start choking answers outta you!” Bakugo slammed his boot inches from Midoriya’s head, he felt a few locks of his hair under the ridged sole, looking back at Bakugo unphased and blank as he held up his hands in surrender and shook his head.

“I’m sorry…” Midoriya spoke, Bakugo’s leer softened, he leaned lower, his sparks growing hotter as Midoriya acted harmless under him when suddenly he felt the green haired boy’s legs launched up around his shoulders then pulled Bakugo’s fist to the ground while hooking his leg onto Bakugo’s back from under his armpit. Bakugo yowled as he let off blasts from both hands but Midoriya took the initial blast before grabbing both of Bakugo’s hands and supplanting them to the other side, he let his left leg’s hook loosen so he could wrap his right leg around Bakugo’s neck and bring him down onto him.

Bakugo choked for air as Midoriya’s legs pulled him down onto himself, with a smirk he felt the spark on his own face from his own palms that Midoriya was now aiming at him. He cooled his jets as he submitted to the triangle submission hold Midoriya learned from Koda San as the first principle of warfare. 'When effective, pretend to ineffective' and that lesson served him well to beat Bakugo  with a basic move like this by letting him think Midoriya could not win at such a disadvantaged position.

“I KNEW IT!” Bakugo barked ferociously, snapping at Midoriya’s face, his body squirmed in futility as the spider guard was one of the most basic traps in Jiu Jitsu but highly effective if ever caught. He could only smile back as Bakugo finally surrendered but Midoriya did not relax the guard as he felt this was the only way to have an honest conversation with him.

“So you have that pink haired bitch, now you toying with that purple headed fuck. You got all that gear that’s worth more than my house, giving me gear cuz you feel sorry for me!? Every time I fucking try to talk to you about…that day, you’re parkouring away from me at every chance you fucking nerd!” he growled lowly, feeling Midoriya squeeze his legs tighter so Bakugo couldn’t escape. He felt tears from Bakugo’s face, not of sorrow, no…his heart was beating too fast for that, he didn’t need his quirk to read his emotional state.

“I’ve been trying to see what the hell’s been up with you for 10 years! All you’ve done is pretend you’re some fucking nerd making dildos in your room all day! All along you’re this fucking pro in training behind my back.” Bakugo spat in Midoriya’s face to which Midoriya’s expression soured, “Your boyfriend back there hijacked me last week because of your love triangle so I deserve to know the truth DEKU! What the fuck am I involved in here!? What did you do to me on graduation day!? How did you beat me then! How come I don’t remember trying to fucking JUMP OFF THE ROOF like everyone thinks I did!” Bakugo grumbled as he spat through every word as his body convulsed, Midoriya had to tighten the spider guard even more so to constrict his movements but it was like feral beast rattling at the bars of its cage. He was letting Bakugo vent out for an answer he knew he couldn’t give him right away. “You would jump outta a window on the second floor! Parkour roof to roof instead of talking to me! You threw me outta that building willing to die without answering my questions!” Bakugo heaved as he felt Midoriya’s tight grip tensing his rib cage now.

His expression pierced Midoriya like a wounded lion, begging to be put out of its misery. “Now I see your name across the hall! On my dormitory floor! You’re suddenly a hero when we are dropping like fucking flies! Kids are dead Deku! I got so many questions for you but I just want one answer first….Who the fuck are you…really!”? Bakugo grunted in submission, maybe as an admission of Midoriya’s strength or allowing him to focus less on restraining him and more on answering him.

Midoriya took a chance and lowered his guard, releasing Bakugo from the spider guard’s scissor like hold, falling flat on his back as he did and took a deep calming breath as Bakugo fell to his side, rubbing his bruised ribs.

“I’m just the same useless Deku you knew Kacchan….” Midoriya spoke slowly, tears leaking out as he felt the light burn on his shoulder from Bakugo’s tantrum just now. “We’re childhood friends but you can’t come in my life and start kicking down doors.” Midoriya got up, crossing his legs, looking over at Bakugo, reaching out as he did in their childhood, Bakugo didn’t swat his hand away this time but he didn’t take it either which made Midoriya shake his head slowly.

“I have answers you won’t like or understand, if you want them as a friend then please just know that I’m sorry. All I can tell you for now is Koda San, the only man I knew like a father died a few months ago and I’ve been hurting since.” Midoriya wiped his tears with his dirty sleeve, waiting for a reaction from Bakugo before continuing when he saw no further aggression. “I’m not ‘seeing’ anyone at the moment just so you know, I just made friends who don’t think beating me up is a love language. Just know I made a promise to Koda San…I’d become a hero despite being quirkless and he paved a path for me to walk on. If that is too little for you then I’m sorry, I need to trust you before I can say anymore.”

Midoriya got up and dusted himself off, Bakugo also got up on his feet rapidly, looking like he was spoiling for a fight to which Midoriya scoffed. “I don’t need the suit to protect me, it’s there to protect people. So don’t  think it’s a crutch I can’t defend myself without.” He spoke slowly with great violent intent behind each word. “You’re not beating answers out of me Kacchan, never will. Even if you did, you won’t defeat me. I let a building crush me to save you.” Midoriya’s mechanical foot whirred as he took a hard stomp towards Bakugo looked down to notice the sound of the limb that was hidden by clothing and shoe, looking back up at Midoriya, understanding it was a warning but also a grim reminder. “Don’t think I care what happens to me, I believe in something greater than myself, what do you believe in?” Midoriya grunted dominantly as he turned his back at Bakugo.

“Izuku!” Bakugo barked, Midoriya paused for a second ready to hear him out. When he heard nothing further he started walking again, leaving Bakugo in the empty and hollow room knowing he had given what little closure he could to the first victim of his quirk. He wondered what kind of person Bakugo would have become had he never met him, had his quirk not brought out the worst in his friend. How many other futures had he stripped away unknowingly before he even knew the damage he truly did as he wiped his tears and walked to the cafeteria, looking like another victim of a bully beat down despite having won.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two Weeks later time flew by so rapidly as Midoriya spent his days in the dormitory, everything had to be done on UA grounds now. Though they were provisional students pending evaluation in the hero program, the UA counselor’s office made sure all aspiring students who had been cleared for the slots qualification were not targeted like the original students and teachers at USJ were.

Battle trials were suspended for the moment as Aizawa was out of danger but was left crippled by the ordeal and his many debilitating injuries left him blind in one eye. While Recovery Girl held out hope they could make up for the difference with prosthetics and grafts, everyone knew that would be months they didn’t have. Most of the active duty staff were assigned multiple roles till the injured/dead could be replaced by the right candidates.

In the meantime many students from the 1-A and 1-B courses had been pulled out, leaving them gutted relatively. 1-A had started the year with 20 students and in USJ among the dead were finally released to the hero students even the provisional ones out of good faith thanks to Yagi’s policy on transparency.  1-A had lost Tsuyu, Mineta and Denki while among the injured were Ida and Shoto, both of whom were still in the recovery wing. 1-B’s casualties were only known to their dormitory and Vlad who was their home room teacher kept the list close to his heart, not letting outsiders in on their grief.

Alot of students were on thin ice with their parents who withheld their requests to take them out of school with the reassurances the UA security barriers had been tightened and their children would be supervised and guarded at all times.

Hatsume had converted her workshop into a makeshift bedroom to Power Loader’s chagrin but thanks to Yagi’s intervention as promised since she was essential to making gear for the hero students including Midoriya who’s suit had not to her surprise atleast survived mostly intact. Its plates were scuffed and scratched but their structural integrity was good as new to her glee. All they had to do was overhaul the mechanisms while Hatsume worked on her “other” project for the Festival that UA could not afford to postpone and risk having the country exposed to their failures.

The show had to go on as everyday Shinso and Midoriya practiced hard in the gym and the wreck room (simulated combat terrain) where they could use quirks freely but Midoriya wanted him focusing hard on his weaknesses which was his body. They had been at it in basic forms of Jiu Jitsu that were easy to learn but with his quirk all he needed was even a grunt or any form of vocalization for the quirk to take effect.

They had tested this on Midoriya who had Hatsume supervise to confirm that long as air passed between the vocal chords and the brain sent a signal to vocalize anything from a word to a grunt, Shinso could hijack that signal so all he had to do was make sure his opponent would at least yell or groan to work in a close combat situation when they weren’t going to fall for his obvious baiting tactics.

Midoriya also learned that Shinso’s “affirmation” when he brainwashed himself allowed him to pick up moves faster but he had designed a shock timer by his own hand for 3 minutes that he gifted to Shinso who could wear it to avoid burning out his brain while he was in that state. Alot of pain and fatigue had gone into figuring out that 3 minutes was the safest time that didn’t drain Shinso and he felt like he was arming Shinso with more control over his powers than he felt comfortable with.

Sharing a room was tense enough since they were still provisional students and their final spot in the hero program depended on alot of factors but he knew Shinso slept from him only a few feet away. He didn’t appreciate that he kept teasing him to remove a bed so they’d have more free space and how much he didn’t mind sharing a single bed. Midoriya always shook his head when Shinso was like this. He didn’t appreciate how similar Bakugo and Shinso were in their brashness, lacking any filters in their speech.

Shinso didn’t develop a filter since he needed to piss people off and Bakugo didn’t because well…he just enjoyed pissing off people. Midoriya knew his own proclivities in the matter and it wasn’t about types or attraction. He felt the carbon fiber foot that Hatsume had outfitted him with, thankful it replaced the clanky and loud prosthetic before. He wondered what was the “other” suit she was working on as a support student who refused to enter the hero program flat out despite Midoriya begging her to do so.

All he knew was when he spent so much of what little free time he had in the workshop with her, there was so little back and forth at the many modifications she had made to his suit.
He found the hidden coil guns in the arms, the APS (active protection system), he swore the backpack that housed the LFTR felt…heavier somehow, the struts and hydraulics on the H.U.L.C exo system felt…stronger, looked girthier. He didn’t know if that was double limbs or something but as usual Hatsume would only tell him once he had no time to pull it out.

There was always a pile of tools and “things” on the table covered by a tarp tucked away in her corner that she watched like a hawk. She swatted him away from there all the time since he was in her domain and he would have to listen to her no matter what. However, that didn’t mean he didn’t get to sneak into her manifest now and then. The things in there blew his mind including the raw parts for a plasma ejector!? He remembered the plasma bubble in his old Tenso Mk.1 which had long been replaced by the B.L.A.D.E system. He wondered how much she had thrown in there but all he knew now was that his life once again was in her hands and so far he was standing here because despite his better judgment he trusted her results, as crazy as her methods were.

He was pleased that Shinso was able to hold his own against himself using the basic forms of Jiu Jitsu, the first cuts of muscle definition started showing on the strict exercise he had Shinso on. However, he was not comfortable on how much Shinso had to over rely on brainwashing himself to be combat effective. He hoped during the Festival that Shinso would stay close since they were a team now. He had developed a kindred bond with him, knowing his life would have been just as bad or worse if people knew about his own mentallic quirk. Society was not kind to people when they had the potential to override free will or influence minds with a thought or a word. He had the same reaction once he realized he was brainwashed for the first time. What hope did others have, Bakugo included in forgiving him once they found out they were a mental episode away from getting their brains melted. That was pressure Midoriya could do without.

Speaking of Bakugo, he had been silent since that day, feeling the threat that Midoriya now posed if he pushed hard. When they passed in the halls it felt like a mental joust, sharing bathrooms and other facilities forced civility but Midoriya wished he could tell Bakugo everything. Confess and lighten the guilt he had built up over the years but for now with Shinso he had to focus on one goal at a time. There were years he would be seeing Bakugo during the hero program if they were successful, time to rebuild the bridges they had burned, time to heal wounds, maybe even time enough that he would stop grieving Koda San and start truly honoring him by living a good life.

He got a notification on his phone, his pocket vibrating with the hundreds of texts that Hatsume sent him just now as he pulled it out and saw dozens of documents, schematics and videos attached. One final message read “Come see our new baby!” made Midoriya go into a panic attack on the spot as he was paralyzed by how many subsystems Hatsume had squeezed into the suit without him even noticing. Shinso whistled over his shoulder as he saw the dozens of videos on autoplay which made Midoriya drop his phone to the floor, kicking it away in surprise as he turned on Shinso and tried to silence him in the hall before he could utter another word.

He was suddenly tapped on the shoulder, looking behind he saw Bakugo in his black tank top, hauling a briefcase with his hero number on it. Midoriya was shocked at how Bakugo had replicated Shinso’s stealth or rather, had he stopped being such a hardass that he could have a calm conversation? He got his answer with the phone being shut off and shoved in his back pocket very forcefully, Bakugo’s hand lingered in that region as he locked eyes with Shinso and went off towards his room.

“You got a fucking room lovebirds, don't get all uppity in the halls where the rest of us walk!” Bakugo snarled in his lowest tone, normally he’d been yelling so hard several floors would hear it. He then did the last thing Midoriya expected as he smacked his own briefcase and shot Midoriya that shit eating grin. “You’re not the only one who got an upgrade! Bring it NERD!” he stomped off to his room and slammed the door shut, leaving Midoriya facepalming himself, flustered by the suddenness of his situation as he pulled out his phone and turned it back on.

Shinso dragged him back to their room where they went over all the new subsystems and how things would work now through the several videos, flipping through dozens of manuals on Midoriya's phone. The festival was on the coming Monday, Midoriya only had Saturday and Sunday to master the dozens of modifications to the suit that had been so hastily made in the span of a few weeks so suddenly; most likely they were already in the pipeline, Mei just needed him out of the way so she could work in peace before he could even weigh in.

He was not looking forward to the festival, this new suit was going to kill him or all the contestants… either way expulsion seemed to be in his future if he was lucky or he’d be the youngest villain in history at the rate he found his humble Mk-1 armor and Tenso Mk-1 had come so far thanks to all the quantum leaps that Mei had shoved in where she could. He wondered if he could just sleep in the suit and let it do all the work with the exhaustion he felt every morning wearing down on him no matter how much sleep he got.

As Bakugo had touched him today he just gave in to his proclivities from the crippling loneliness and wanted a human moment when he suddenly grabbed Shinso and pulled him close. Lying down with him just so he could take out his stress by squeezing something hard without relying on his quirk. If he had released all this anxiety now, the whole of UA would be taking a swan dive like Bakugo almost did, he didn’t hear any protests from Shinso, just felt a sob and a grateful tear coming from him since they were finally in his bed for the moment as Midoriya braced himself for the upcoming festival.

Chapter Text

      Figure 11. Left Pic is Bakugo's Tactical Explosive Armored Repository, Middle pic is Shinso's Electronic.Combat.Hazard.Obstruction suit and the Right Pic is debut of Midoriya's B.L.A.D.E system.

Midoriya had a long day testing out his suit that Saturday under supervision of Yagi San as the counselor as part of his provisional hero student status. Power Loader was supervising Mei and he was grateful that he had read up on the manuals…rather skimmed as much useful info as he could. 

He could feel the B.L.A.D.E’s integration into his suit’s arm was smooth as butter, the manual mode was just to his preference since he was already scared of punching people in this thing than he was anything else for the festival on Monday. 

Yagi had him punching a dummy made from ballistic gel so he could tune up the settings to make his suit’s enhanced punches more…bearable within normal hero standards and he was glad that UA had these kinds of facilities that simply weren’t available at alot of schools that were still using tatami mats and straw targets even in the future out of stubbornness for tradition.

He had tested the mobility and noted the cooldowns for the overhauled R.C.S and B.L.E.E.E.P systems and found the suit was much lighter despite having much more bulk than before. He could chalk that upto the H.U.L.C carrying more than half of the weight and acting like an overprotective spouse he wished he had. 

Sleeping with Shinso last night was a desperate move he regretted, Koda San had warned him not to pursue any attachments till he was sure nothing could break his mental barrier and he didn’t want Shinso ending up like Bakugo, soaking up all his insecurities and negative traits to the point where Shinso even cursed his existence. 

The more he had gotten to know him, the more he could empathize. Slowly inch by inch he had felt his guards coming down around him where Shinso was concerned. Now if only he could stop sleep walking and waking up alone in a cold shower with no memory of how he got there since he had moved in with Shinso. Bakugo had mostly kept to himself despite being a few doors down. He was surprised at his civility which he felt was forced since UA was on guard and alot of facilities including the dormitories were heavily monitored to ensure safety.

He was sure despite Bakugo’s lack of emotion, he was itching for the festival so he could flex his muscles literally in Hatsume’s upgraded suit. As far as Shinso went he knew that he was training under Vlad today since Yagi had his hands full with Midoriya’s over-specced suit. It outperformed humans to a great level but given his declared quirkless status he knew that Midoriya needed the suit more than any of the hero candidates who could manage without one.

Today’s exercise was just about calibrating it to UA’s specs and even the playing field so no support item users could outdo 99% of the quirk users which sort of defeated the purpose of the hero course to face threats that were much stronger than yourself. He guessed it was more about UA saving face from a quirkless child in comic book armor beating up their best and brightest quirk prodigies on public TV nationwide. Another reason for him to hate UA’s self serving agenda as Yagi signaled him with a thumbs up and a genuine smile. 

Midoriya kept his quirk passive around Yagi so he could read his intentions. He still didn’t trust that the lapdog of All Might had left his Ivory Tower that he had perched on for so long in comfort so easily to demote himself to a lowly school counselor. Had they the numbers, Yagi would not even be serving as his adjudicator let alone substitute for Aizawa. 

Though Class 1-A and 1-B did not have any structured classes for the past few weeks, their combat drills and practice were not being skimped on. For now they had the sessions in turns with a teacher going up against the student or just observing their quirk use and giving them pointers. 

UA’s staff was also busy setting up the facilities, many heroes like Cementoss and Power Loader had been busy setting up the arena so they were even more short handed than usual to hold these formal classes anyway. Also Midoriya suspected they wanted the students especially not to suspect or gossip about fatalities and injuries of their fellow students and teachers more than what was openly declared. 

In the distance their practice was shattered by yelling and a massive ice berg that came out of nowhere, blotting out the sun in their practice area. Midoriya’s visor polarized black as he stared at the sudden ice-scraper seemingly piercing the sun itself as Yagi tapped his shoulder. 

“I think that’s enough Young Midoriya, you’ve met Nezu’s baseline specs and we’re sure you won’t be punching heads off anytime soon.” Yagi smiled, Midoriya feeling a static warmth all over his body like a welcoming hearth in a cosy log cabin. Like him, Yagi seemed to be hiding his quirk but unlike him, his quirk was known to the government who had ordered him to keep it top secret. Being All Might’s lackey meant it was a matter of national security should villains ambush him with such key data of his weaknesses, apparently despite how skeletal and drained he looked, Midoriya only could feel…a power like no other when he was around Yagi. 

He nodded with a genuine smile back, knowing atleast that Yagi had plenty of chances to slip up, however, at every turn he had come through for some reason when it came to him. He didn’t know if it was Aachii and Koda’s influence? Lingering guilt in his old age? All he knew was he desperately wanted a father figure he could trust once more. Yagi had slowly seeped into his life when he put him on this course, the same one Koda wanted him on.

“Why don’t we have a test? Exam? Something more formal to confirm our status in the hero course Yagi San?” Midoriya asks gingerly as they walked out of the room, bowing respectfully to Shinso who was wearing a suit that was clearly Hatsume inspired but seemed to be more….different in aesthetic. His teacher supervisor Kamaya better known as Midnight had tagged in since she wasn’t useful for the building of the Sports Festival facilities but was eagerly into “boys” especially young ones that made Midoriya wary of perverts like her being heroes. He remembered his hero worshiping days on how they had to revise the entire law on acceptable hero costumes due to her exhibitionist tendencies and they had to keep revising the guidelines 10 times till finally they met her in the middle and agreed to her ridiculous skin tight, easily tearable costume that hugged every curve on the perverse woman, leaving nothing to the imagination. 

Midoriya shook his head as he tapped Shinso encouragingly who’s smile he felt through his own quirk as he shot him a thumbs up. Midnight seemed peeved at their secret signal, knowing when two young men were expressing their “frustrations” like some crazy sexdar she just KNEW who were in relationships on the campus as the self appointed youth counselor. Yagi came to his rescue begging their leave as Midoriya and him made their way down the corridor. Midoriya was anxious to use his rocket slide to escape from the overly sexualized Kamaya. 

“Now Young Midoriya, the reason why we’re not doing the provisional hero slot filling behind closed doors this time is so that you kids have a chance to go through multiple scenarios that determine different skills and aptitudes needed to be heroes that the UA entrance exam failed to deliver on.” He smashed his fist into his palm and smiled to make the point. 

“We threw you kids into the blender on your first day expecting you to handle a re-enactment of the first quirk war with AI. Pro heroes stronger than you fell on that day and expecting children like yourself and Shinso to even make it to the finals was unfair of us to ask. It didn’t take into account team building, punish selfish heroes only concerned with points, most importantly face threats you can’t overcome by yourself with the zero pointer which was a flawed part of the exam.” 

“Yea I remember.” Midoriya muttered, remembering how said Zero pointer wouldn’t go down despite throwing everything he had at the problem. All he could have done, Ururaka or not was to run and fight another day as Yagi tapped his suit’s back. 

“We forget that a hero fights a war everyday, for the souls of others and themselves, we failed to find people like that and ended up with….flashy prodigies.” Yagi shuddered at the thought, “All Might was never about that and as his former assistant I am sorry that after decades he has left the wrong impression on everyone today.” Yagi spoke somberly, lamenting a deep wound as he touched his left side, Midoriya felt a sting of self loathing and physical pain from him that made him even flinch from the feedback, thankfully Yagi was too lost in his monologue to notice.

“I wanted to be a hero like All Might when I was young till I saw the unequal society we were living in.” Midoriya spoke bitterly, his H.U.L.C whirring as his fists clenched. Yagi’s eyes darted at him, leaving a grin. 

“All Might didn’t fear death when buildings fell on him, neither did you. However, Young Midoriya please remember, the peace that he made only works because he has the strength to back it up. I met Koda San in the same hospital on I-Island.” He pulled up his shirt, revealing a massive scar on his left side briefly to Midoriya before pulling the hem down just as quickly as he saw the shock in the young man’s face.

“We both didn’t have long to live and we both wanted to pass on something useful to the next generation to succeed where we failed.” Yagi hung his head low, “I am sorry I underestimated all he had taught you, he clearly taught you better than I was. You are risking life and limb, you’re only 15 but you have faced death twice with a smile.” Yagi looked down at Midoriya’s prosthetic foot hidden in the armor’s plates. 

“I’m sorry as well Yagi San…” Midoriya bowed in respect then resumed walking, “You’re not All Might and I shouldn’t have pushed my hatred of him onto you.” Yagi put his cold and shriveled fingers on Midoriya’s head, chuckling. 

“I’ll only accept that apology if you tell me Young Midoriya why you hate All Might?” he asked softly, coughing slowly into his handkerchief, the young man looked the other way to give him some dignity.

“I don’t hate him…like I don’t wish death on him. It’s just Koda San used to talk about the days before All Might, when they had to rely on true heroism, people only put on a cape or a mask to truly protect people. No one walked out the door, especially my dad expecting to be rich and famous. They only did it for…us. All Might came along and made heroes weaker by solving every problem in one punch and flew off.” Midoriya muttered spitefully in a vociferous tone. 

“All Might is the wolf killer but when he’s gone, how will the herd fend off the wolves? It’s only a matter of time since he’s only….human.” Midoriya sighed as he looked at Yagi who just nodded in agreement with him, a warm welcome smile perplexed him since he was talking so poorly about his boss. 

“Would it surprise you to know that All Might feels the same way? He’s the pillar of a very delicately balanced system that can collapse any moment.” Yagi tapped his tablet with his fingers hesitating before saying the next few words carefully. “What if I told you, All Might sent me here to find the next pillar of peace? He wanted only one thing, a man who doesn’t want his power or prestige, he just wants to help people just because it's the right thing.” 

Midoriya pulled away a bit, feeling the sting of a soft betrayal as he narrowed his eyes at Yagi, “I’m lucky then that I’m a quirkless loser.” He clenched his fist and cracked the wall with a punch that sent a shockwave through the corridor. 

“Young Midoriya…I..” Yagi started as Midoriya waved him away. 

“All Might could bring down this wall with the flick of his pinky, please do not recommend me. I do not want to be some pillar of lies holding up ‘his’ world of inequality.” He grumbled as he kept his distance from Yagi after finding out his true intentions. 

“I will follow in my fathers’ footsteps…Hisashi and Koda. There is no point in following a man who mocks the name hero itself by playing God of Peace.” Midoriya walked away, leaving Yagi behind who understood he had given him news he clearly was not ready for. He knew to give the brooding man time and space, rubbing his scar through his shirt, he wondered if he had the time left to make Midoriya understand as he stomped off in the finely artificed armature.

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Midoriya had been in his room all day on Sunday, no drills, no combat, just alone with his thoughts as Shinso had not returned that night since he was getting a handle on his suit. Hatsume clearly wanted to even the battlefield after gifting Bakugo his own little upgrades. Shinso was the only one he could count on. He was the rock he was clinging to in this storm and boy was he being swept away by the crashing waves as he kept his quirk in check, afraid of meeting Bakugo who might take another volley of his psychic flagellation.

“Hey..Midoriya.” Shinso came in, checking if Midoriya was asleep, smiling as he saw Midoirya was awake but in deep thought. “Liked the E.C.H.O suit?” Shinso chuckled. Midoriya pulled Shinso down on himself and sighed.

“How did Hatsume get that past me!?” He asked Shinso, in a mocking tone. 

“Well you did tell her to make a mute button with my mask…shoulda known she would build a suit around that mute button to protect it right.” He held out a FOB for Midoriya that had Shinso’s face on it. “Could wear it in bed if you want.” chuckling nervously, probing Midoriya but the green haired boy’s quirk was stinging from the guilt and shame that Shinso was hiding like a bubbling caldera, begging to erupt.

“Shinso about last night..” Midoriya started, Shinso started pulling away but Midoriya held him fast.

“Yea…about that…” Shinso leaned in and kissed Midoriya on the lips suddenly to which Midoriya was too stunned to respond or push him off. He didn’t hate it but he didn’t expect it to move that fast, what was next? A cottage by the river if he made Shinso a cup of coffee? Not that he would have minded with Yagi’s ulterior motive today dropping on his heart like an anvil.

His happiness flooded into Shinso as he kissed back, desperate to feel anything besides Yagi’s betrayal but he couldn’t help feel the feelings of guilt within Shinso intensify as he poured in his love in their embrace. It was finally when Shinso started sobbing, Midoriya could feel his guilt erupting that he finally conceded with a sigh, knowing he had to let Shinso get whatever he had off his chest. They both needed clear heads tomorrow and he didn’t want Shinso getting hurt because he lost his focus suddenly.

“Got something to tell me?” Midoriya sighed as he released Shinso who just held his arms, taking a long hard look at Midoriya like this will be the last time they would share such a tender moment. 

“I never expected this to get …. Real.” Shinso started, Midoriya’s eye brow perked and he shook his head. 

“Shinso, what about this isn’t real?” Midoriya chuckled nervously, pinching his arm to prove it wasn’t some dream. Shinso pulled away, sitting on the edge of the bed as he felt his mind itching from the guilt, compelled to confess because of Midoriya’s quirk. 

“You had to use your quirk of all days…” Shinso sobbed, the tears streaming as Midoriya felt the wellspring of negativity at a boiling point. “You’re going to hate me after this Izuku Midoriya.” 

Midoriya reached out, defusing his quirk after being aware of the damage it was doing, his intention was pure to give Shinso some affirmation, some comfort as he had, hoping they could take things to the next level, tabula rasa and all. 

“We’ve been making out….and much more since the UA exam Izuku.” Shinso confessed, his head sinking into his hands as he buried his eyes into them. Midoriya felt impaled by the realization he didn’t want to be true, not today! First Yagi! He couldn’t lose Shinso too…

“You always wake up with a cold shower, no memory, feeling tired, no matter how much you sleep…what do you think you’ve been doing….rather WHO you’ve been doing. Why do you think Bakugo thinks we’re an item…its because of my quirk he thinks we are. I’ve let him catch us in the act a couple of times.” Shinso blubbered out, his sobs puncturing and butchering his sentences as Midoriya lay back, taking in the news like an iron maiden closing in on him, every spike impaling him as the emotional coffin closed around him. Swallowing heavily he could only ask one question. 

“How long?” Midoriya spoke weakly.

“Too long…” Shinso spoke slowly, Twiddling his thumbs as he got up from the bed, Midoriya grabbed his wrist, not letting him leave till they had cleared this up. 

We were always meant to be together, two mentallics against the world….I just never thought you’d feel that way about me as you do for…him.” Shinso jerked his head towards Bakugo’s door down the hall. Midoriya’s head was threatening to explode from the anguish and melancholy as he pulled Shinso into himself.

“Does he know how I feel?” Midoriya asked tenderly through his shooting migraine. Tensing around Shinso, not wanting to let go as he felt himself slipping off the rock into the choppy waters. 

“If he did, I wouldn’t stand a chance with you.” Shinso sniffed, dragging Midoriya’s hand to his neck, wrapping each finger around his throat. Midoriya squeezed his Adam's apple as his other hand came down hard on Shinso's face. 

The slap violently shook his cheek from one side to the other as Midoriya unleashed a litany of furious backhanded slaps on the purple haired boy who had stolen his heart and crushed it with just words. 

“Don’t you fucking dare tell me who I can love!” Midoriya barked as he didn’t need his quirk to know what Shinso would be commanding him to do next. Putting his hand on Shinso’s mouth, refusing to let him speak. The promise of reigniting the violent blows returning with his face raw and red from Midoriya's thunderous slaps. 

“I got too much to deal with….Shinso.” Midoriya growled, ripping the pillow from his bed and heading for the door. “We have the festival in the morning, I’ll deal with you later!” He chastised Shinso, anger overtaking him as his migraine deepened. Midoriya went into the grounds, not daring to sleep in fear of Shinso’s still active command, its trigger his sleep. For the first time he was afraid of what he was capable of with his violent outburst just now. 

He powered through the night, drowning in his angst having felt betrayed by the two people in his life at UA he thought had changed for the better. His mind went back to Koda San always reminding him. 

“For better or worse, people don’t change kiddo. Those who love you can’t help but do so, those who hate you will always find a reason to. So don’t take it personal Izuku, everyone’s on their own side.” He remembered Koda’s words as in the memory Koda flicked his 8 year old nose after Bakugo had given him quite the beatdown when he was making notes about his quirk in the corner and got caught. 

“Who’s side are you on Shifu?” 8 year old Midoriya spoke in the memory to which Koda kicked the ground and chuckled at the question.

“Mine of course.” he ruffled Midoriya’s hair and took out a mooncake from his pocket with a finger to his lips. “You are mine Izuku kun.” He hugged the young boy warmly as any father would have. “Remember to make someone part of you before you think they are on your side. Not everyone is as open hearted as we are.” he patted the young boy on the back reassuringly who was covered in bandages from Bakugo’s beat down as they walked down the beach. 

Midoriya would give anything to bring those days back but for now he was in the dark grounds outside, punching a tree to keep himself awake with the pain as his knuckles were bleeding through the boxer tape and the bark was peeling. 

He could not fall asleep, not till Shinso fixed what he broke when he implanted this sick command stripping Midoriya of his will, his dignity and his clothes.

Chapter Text

Figure 12. Mei's Info-Cyte suit allowing her to act as a mobile Repair/Rearm/Repurpose unit on the field. She carries emergency supplies, modules and a variety of repair tools to keep their suits intact during the festival. Long as  she has made a suit she will tend to it, doesn't matter what the owner thinks. Her suit also has a Command Information Control suite built into it which allows her to remotely monitor and observe all suit activities on the field, this gives her valuable data she can use to make improvements, find flaws and fix said flaws in future generation. 

Her protection and weapons are similar to Midoriya's A.R.C and has a jump pack for short sustained flights. Her main job is to get data so she can work on final versions of her prototypes to present to skeptical hero companies who are already mistrustful or doubtful about the capabilities of current technology.

Midoriya went into the workshop at the crack of dawn where he found Mei was wide awake and busy at work on ‘something’. Apparently she had not slept out of excitement all night unlike the anxiety and paranoia that hung over Midoriya from yesterday’s revelations. He swung the door on its tracks wide open and found to his horror that Mei was literally screwing herself into a suit with the help of a few robotic arms she was controlling remotely. 

It was the day of the festival, what was she doing!? Midoriya wondered as she caught his eye and waved her scrawny hand out from the chassis of the suit she donned excitedly, the robot arm rapidly screwing all seals shut around the plates as the armature powered on when "it" did. 

“What do you think of MY baby Izuku!” Hatsume beamed at him, rubbing her suit like it was alive, with the onboard AI he knew all too well that any suit that Hatsume made felt more like a smart animal, protective and loyal to its wearer. 

It resembled his A.R.C suit but was more…deceptively simplistic, a project he guessed she just slapped together at last notice after making 3 suits in succession, barely finding time to make her own unique look to it. 

“Since when did you get time to sign up for the festival?! I thought you weren't interested in being hero?” Midoriya asked, rubbing his eyes with this frustration of how Bakugo was somehow calmer, Shinso had been using him, Yagi was grooming him for a path he didn’t want and now Mei somehow was going to enter active combat!? The world had turned upside down and he was looking for a way back to his normal life instead of feeling like he had walked into another dimension as he went into the corner to his alcove that began to assemble his suit around his body as he let the robotic arms do their jobs.

“Oh I had plenty of time with all of you busy busy training for the festival!” Mei chided him, snapping harshly with a huff, “Besides I want to SEE all my babies in the field and get REAL data!! Can’t sell your products if you got no data right!?” She squealed as the robots began attaching her suit’s arms next, the helmet being lowered onto her head with a hiss as it connected with the Combat Info Command system.

For Midoriya putting on the suit itself took 15-20 minutes by hand, he was just too tired to care at this point so was trusting Mei as he always did deep down, despite the many rational apprehensions he had at her work ethics regarding safety being last on her list when making things. His suit on the other hand was designed like a skein, one component just cascaded into the other like smooth plates. Most of the parts were magnetically interlocked without screws so to take anything on and off all he had to do was to turn the power on or off in that section completely. 

As the suit sealed Izuku within itself, he felt a relief with the system reading his vitals as sub-optimal. Once he had gotten off the platform, Mei held out one of her combat stims that she procured for the suits’ medical systems with a dark smile. “Who needs a pick me up when you can have a kick my butt right!?” 

Before Midoriya could object, a small circular port opened in Izuku’s abdomen and Mei shoved the tiny cylinder in there like a coffee pod. He felt a pinch as the suit fed whatever Mei had put in there into his blood stream which filled him with a warm glow, making his blood tingle with…life as his fatigue washed away and his brain fog lifted from the stress of last night. He looked at Mei’s face, the one he had seen for over a year, his own expression remained sour because he hated admitting when she was right, she was right. He was more reckless than her deep down which is why their working relationship actually worked.

Before Midoriya could say anything to voice his protest, Mei bounded out of the room towards the festival grounds at breakneck speeds. He shook his head which was clearer than ever on how messed up his relationship was with her as a friend as he followed behind, wishing he could just rocket slide down the corridor but the safety rules in the school were strict on equipment use. You could only get away with the “testing retro boosters” only so many times when you jumped off the higher floors just because you can. Tech was catching upto quirks fast and Midoriya knew deep down everyone felt that way, even someone stubborn as Bakugo understood the power and safety of equipment over the human body as he ran in the suit which felt like a second body, natural in its movements in lockstep with his own. 

Within 10 minutes he and Mei had reached the entrance of the festival stadium, the crowds were only starting to form as they made their way to the registration desks that were setting up now, submitting their passes to the organizers, to his dread Midnight and Yagi, the least favorite people were there to greet the early comers like him and Mei. They were scanned into the system amongst the hundred who had signed up. Most of whom were padded from the general studies courses and support courses. Midoriya felt a pit in his stomach knowing now that people like Yagi played favorites all along and most of these poor kids were going to be sent packing every year till they graduated, sold a dream they were never achieve unless the right people knew their names as he just shot a polite nod, keeping his helmet’s visor down the whole time to avoid staring down at Yagi who kept smiling at him warmly and wishing him good luck as Midnight was looking over Hatsume’s costume even closer with glee. 

Mei had written Info-cyte as her alias for the competition and Midoriya couldn’t lie that she was looking good as a heroine there, even though she had zero interest in the profession. She just wanted to make things and find people who would pay for the privilege to let her continue doing so. For now Aachii was one of those people but she knew to make it into the world like Aachii everyone had to know your name as she followed Midoriya, excusing herself from Midnight and coming by his side. 

As Midoriya entered into the open ground where 20 or so candidates had assembled, all wearing similar but basic designs, he came to a realization how poorly prepared most people were here. He ran into a man wearing a suit like an old fashioned knight with …mufflers!? 

“Hey! My brother sent me one of his own suits as a favor since I didn’t have my own anymore! Some of us gotta look good for our families back home, man.There are rules, you gotta keep at least 3 feet apart to avoid accidents…..” The familiar voice of Tenya Ida spoke roughly with much agitation on his carelessness, he was only grateful his visor hid his identity as he took the barrage of rules to the face before a kind girl with Auburn hair stopped him. 

“Give a rest class rep, he didn’t mean anything.” Ururaka spoke softly, tapping Ida on the shoulder as she bowed her head towards Midoriya unknowingly. “I’m sorry, we’re all supposed to be friends here at UA, have we had the pleasure of meeting?”

Midoriya seeing her familiar face unlocked his visor which revealed his hair and green eyes, a recollection overtook Ururaka who’s face was left flushed, “Oh I’m so sorry! Midoriya, I couldn’t get back to you after our time in the recovery wing after you saved me at the exam.” 

“It’s alright..alot happened for me too. I’m in the provisional course with 1-A, sorry we haven’t met while under the same roof.” Midoriya replied as Hatsume kept her distance, busy surveying others who were joining them. 

“Oh that’s alright, Ida was recovering from his injuries in the recovery and the girl’s dorms were kept separate so no harm done. I just hope you can forgive Ida-san, he had a bad encounter with the villains at USJ, he couldn’t even get a new suit made because of his injuries so he’s on edge.” Ururaka spoke in slow and quiet tone out of Ida’s earshot. 

“What happened at USJ exactly? No one’s been telling us much about that..” Midoriya trailed off, his curiosity getting the better of him. Ururaka’s expression went sour when he asked the question. 

“Villains came and took lives, it got messy. They didn’t care that we were children so….yea.” Uruaka clenched her fist at the memories. Midoriya coughed to change the subject.

“So your costume seems to be soft…” Midoriya looked bemused at Ururakas massive profile with her costume choice. 

“Well its gotta be especially when I float and land, its gotta be a soft landing or my last landing.” She giggled anxiously, looking at Midoriya’s suit that looked like a walking armory rather than a hero suit. 

“So you’re really quirkless then?” She asked to which Midoriya was flushed by the question, nodding, knowing that was another person he had to lie to out of necessity to which Uraraka backed off. 

“Oh I didn’t mean to..I mean I think its neat if we get a quirkless hero you know! I hope I get enough money for gear like yours one day.” She smiled warmly while speaking softly then looking back at Ida who was signaling her to come back. “Speaking off…the class is assembling, Ida needs me. It was nice Midoriya, hope I see you in our class after the festival if things go well for you.”

Midoriya smiled back and waved her off as his suit’s visor snapped back on, the suit sealing itself as he felt a tap on his back, or rather the suit felt the tap. The sensorium upgrades gave him full tactile responses like a second skin as he turned around and saw Bakugo’s new suit. 

Gulping as he saw the upgraded sleeves, the polarized smart visor with sound dampeners on his ears along with pouch upon pouch filled with most likely his sweat filled explosives, grinning cockily at him. Only one word came out of his mouth.

“T.E.A.R!” He spelt it out slowly, clenching his fists together and pulling them apart slowly as though miming him ripping into Midoriya’s suit like a tin can. He knew Bakugo’s psy ops since they were kids and this was as friendly as he had seen Bakugo for whom this festival felt like christmas. He zeroed in on Hatsume in the distance talking with Shinso and his E.C.H.O Suit, making final adjustments. Midoriya went the other way, hoping to avoid any last minute drama before the festival could begin. 

As Midoriya lost himself in the crowd, he heard the commencement speech, not wanting to bother with the formalities he was going through the manuals in his visor, some light reading helped pass the time as he waited. Suddenly he saw Bakugo go onto the stage when his name was called out who said the dumbest thing that made Midoriya clench internally. 

“I’m going to win this! You stay out of my way!” Bakugo growled over the microphone, pointing to the crowd but Midoriya knew among the sea of mediocre cyber gear he stuck out like a sore thumb, it didn’t help that Bakugo’s visor had the same CIC and AI built into it as all of Hatsume’s suits did so he was easy to spot. 

He was only grateful that the crowd thought Bakugo was being a prick, too busy booing him off the stage to bother as he felt a familiar tap on his shoulder. He saw Shinso in his suit who started.
“Midoriya, I’m sorry for…” He started before Midoriya pressed the mute button on his suit, silencing the E.C.H.O helmet that Shinso worked. He smiled internally that atleast he could protect himself as he sent a voice clip to Shinso’s overlay. 

“You’re gonna fix me when this festival is over.” Midoriya confirmed the voice to text message which was sent to Shinso’s visor who just nodded before Midoriya disabled the mute and he saw Shinso walk off into the distance under Mei’s wing who was patting him on the back reassuringly. 

Suddenly the PA system came to life announcing the first event was starting now. They were to run an obstacle course starting with the rapidly closing doors that started at 20 feet apart and were starting to close on the 100 or so students that led to a narrow corridor. 

Wasting no time he saw massive bursts of explosives come from the front, sending massive gusts of concussive wind over his suit as dozens of students bottlenecked themselves at the narrow corridor. Mei had harpooned her suit into the wall with Shinso holding her hand. He saw another grapple shot out into the distance as the first anchor dislodged and she double swung, using Shinso’s counter weight to catapult herself over the competition to the other side where there was only a slit of light. 

Midoriya wasted no time in copying this by engaging his jumpjet, ramming himself into the wall, dozens of students below him struggling and stomping over each other to emerge to the other side, the doors were now only 5 feet apart from their original 20 feet and as he was about to rocket slide, he saw Ururaka and Ida struggling in the crowd. 

“Grab onto it!” Midoriya yelled out mechanically through his visor to Ururaka who looked up at him as he extended his B.L.A.D.E’s spear like pole at her from his perched position, his hand dug in deep where Hatsume’s anchor had left an impression inside the wall, he saw it visibly crack as Ururaka grabbed the pole and Ida, she felt light, almost weightless and so did he. Was this her quirk? Midoriya wondered as he heaved them both at his level. The back of his suit humming to life as the RCS and B.L.E.E.E.P.S were sapping into the plasma ejector for another burst that took a few seconds to build up, aiming at the second harpoon hole that Mei’s suit had left ahead of him. “HANG ON!” Midoriya yelled as he pulled Ururaka and Ida to second harpoon hole, the walls now less than 3 feet apart as he fired up the rocket sled and used the momentum to drag the two with him on the extended B.L.A.D.E.S, feeling like he was dragging two balloons behind him. 

Finally the slit of light expanded into a full road downside of which he saw in the distance dozens of robots already in combat with the students who had made it through. Bakugo’s massive explosions rocked the nearest one that came tumbling down in a groan or screeching, twisted metal. All of a sudden Midoriya felt the air go cold, looking under him, he saw the ground itself freeze, trapping him while Ururaka and Ida floated above him. He saw Ida’s mufflers starting to freeze so he made a snap decision. 

“Ida!! I’m going to launch you! Take care of her!” Midoriya yelled, Ida just looked down at him literally, nodding with his helmet as he heard his mufflers hum to life. The system very similar to his own rocket sled he winded his arm backwards and threw them hard forward as the ice encompassed him. His suit was encased in the perma frost, Midoriya gulped as he waited for the Fuel Cell that Hatsume had installed to work its magic. Counting down on the screen, he had never used this before and crossed his fingers no one would be in his way as his visor told him there was no one. This was going to be a full burn that might launch him to space he feared though not literally but it would be a powerful uncontrollable one as he saw the last 2 seconds countdown with the final screen flashing in red. 

“Defensive.Overdrive.Mobile.Egress engaged.” as every vent on his suit shot out the hot plasma that was building up in the ejector explosively launching him across the ice, leaving a trail of water behind him as his forward thrust propelled him nearly 500m ahead. Barely missing a few students he plowed through several scorpions and ballista like robots clean through, the suit smashing through them on sheer momentum. Midoriya was thankful his foot was prosthetic or he could have lost it during this obstacle course as he saw the foot of one of the zero footer robots freezing and coming down on him. 

He had no choice since the building sized behemoth was going to crush him and God knows the dozens of students behind him so he made a desperate move as he took a breath and engaged his jump jet, venting it at 200% output that stressed the suit as it was launched upwards towards that red malevolent eye, his B.L.A.D.E fully extended, packed with pellets of explosives as his trajectory made him collide with its massive eye head on. He sank his weapon deep and pumped in all the pellets in the spear like rod. Drawing on the reserves from the powerpack he sent a powerful shock as the pellets fed into nooks and crannies, corners and crevices, the electric shock detonating in a cascade that sent the head of the robot smoking all over as secondary detonations went all the way down its neck. 

MIdoriya’s heart was beating so hard he felt it might stop any moment as he felt the Robot’s momentum falling backwards, away from the melee ahead. He did it! He had cleared the first obstacle as he rode the falling body all the way down, jumping off at the last moment, his suit flashed in yellow as all systems were overheating and the graphene heat sinks were working double time to keep the suit from failing. He switched over to manual mode, letting the RCS an B.L.E.E.E.P.S recover which would be least two minutes from now. The power pack was at 50% but it was steadily recovering power. It would be a good 5 minutes before it could generate the power draw he needed for anything like what he had just pulled back there. He felt like the God of luck had french kissed him with all the coincidences as he saw the chasms that lay ahead. The massive ropes, the deeper canyons that made him regret using his jump jets earlier as he grabbed onto the ropes and started dragging himself across.

He knew the suit would have something like a grappler but it was meant for engaging enemies at short distances and the chasms seemed to be at least 10-20 metres apart. Another reckless idea came into his mind as he stabbed the rope with his B.L.A.D.E.S and injected corrosive pellets into the core. The taut ropes snapped with a ferocity, he felt like he was riding a very hyper tense bull, even the H.U.L.C struggled to keep him on the massive cable who’s pressure he had just released as it swung him forward haphazardly. He readied the maneuvering harpoon that was supposed to latch onto walls and poles to held redirect him or act as an emergency brake during a rocket slide. 

The range finder in his helmet was red, then yellow, finally turned green as he let go off the rope that snapped him off itself. A harpoon the size of his finger launched into the base of the cliff, lodging itself securely into the bedrock and pulling him hard into it as he engaged its brake mode with the motor whining. Once he was slammed by the sudden momentum into the rockface he dug into it with his hands, grunting as he slammed his feet as well into it. His visor beeped as the rope severed itself from the harpoon that was a one time use. He still had the one on his back and his right side. 

Looking up Midoriya smiled as he pulled himself over the edge onto the platform to see he only had a few more to go. Repeating this haphazard plan a bit more controlled he made it to the other side as his suit hissed from the anchors that were now long gone. He had used the last two lifelines and not a moment too soon as he looked behind him. The R.C.S and B.L.E.E.E.P.S were green in the Visor’s H.U.D so Midoriya smiled as he dove forward, feet first and pelted down the dirt road on a cushion of how plasma, rocket sliding his way to the last obstacle.

Hundreds of meters ahead he saw Bakugo recklessly engaged with someone throwing icicles his way, explosives met the solid ice in a dance of mines around them. He saw Ururaka dragging an exhausted and injured Ida, along with dozens of people surrounded by the minefields. Bakugo and the other guy were making it impossible to clear this last obstacle for everyone else which was pissing off Midoriya as he saw some of them needed medical attention after their grueling trials. 

He felt a tap on his shoulder, looking behind he saw Mei and Shinso. Clicking to himself he acknowledged Mei only. “Any ideas?” he asked, hips on his hands. Mei just pointed at Shinso, it was at that moment he knew he wasn’t going to like it as she snapped on two bar shaped items onto his wrist slots. The visor read them as Mine Clearing Line Charge, his LFTR was still only at 80% which was in yellow so he didn’t know if this was going to work as he saw Mei’s plan on his visor and safely assumed Shinso’s visor.   

“This isn’t safe for them Mei.” Midoriya objected, feeling another tremor as he saw Bakugo and his unnamed opponent still dueling in front of their unwitting hostages as he grabbed Shinso and Mei readied her own jetpack. 

“Then don’t drink coffee because its hot Dorkdoria!” she scolded him as her visor flipped down and sealed her suit. Both of their jets were heated up as there was no way to back down now. Dozens of people were already clearing the obstacles behind them and dozens ahead of them. 

He binded Shinso securely in his arms, feeling repulsed as every vent on his back was now dripping a flammable liquid, leaving a gooey mess behind him. His suit had extended the air cushion it normally kept at a few millimeters to a full feet above the ground, the CIC overlay in his visor flashing red as even Mei’s AI was telling her this was too dangerous but Midoriya had committed to it already as he jumped into a rocket slide, Mei held the other side securely as it solidified in her hands.

As Midoriya was propelled at the speed of a race car 150kph down the track the mines would not trigger as he passed over them but the goo dripped into the ground like slick, black crude oil into the sands. He slammed into the wall on the other side explosively, warning lights and hazard signs flashing all over the suit that seemed to agree with him on Mei’s reckless plan as he had flung Shinso into Bakugo the split second he had passed them. 

When he had crashed into the wall he made sure to keep the electromagnetic bond with the black goo that was still dripping from his tanks to Mei who was on the other side. She sent him a small text that flashed with all the red warnings in his H.U.D on the dirt covered visor. “SEND IT!”  

He tapped the two bars on his wrists. Suddenly his LFTR which was now at 40% started going downwards to 39% then 29%, dropping a percentage point as they fed the electromagnetic current into the Smart Ferro Magnetic Fluids that made the Mine Clearing Line Charge pattern. From Mei’s side he saw an opposite charge being fired at the same time which met his own. Where they sparked, the current traveled all over the field detonating every single mine in the area. The sand in the entire area exploded into the air. 

He felt a pang of guilt for the dozens left behind, especially those without suits like his to take the brunt. Hatsume re-assured him that quirked people were made of sterner stuff and he couldn’t object at the time. The LFTR was building up charge slowly now back at 40% as he stood up, running back towards the field, he saw Ururaka and Ida with a gloating Mei studying Ida’s pro hero suit. 

Shinso lay on top of the unidentified kid who had half white and half red hair and Bakugo who were stunned by the sudden shocks and the simultaneous explosions.The tasers in his gloves had worked their magic on Bakugo and the mystery idiot who had inconvenienced each other. Against his better judgment he picked up Bakugo and Shinso picked up the unconscious prat as they walked towards the finish line with their unconscious captives, keeping in lockstep as Midoriya locked his left arm over Shinso’s shoulder and Shinso did the same so their exo suits could share the load of their passengers. They looked odd as an eight legged race as they unknowingly crossed the finish line that was only known to them when Mic’s booming voice announced the 4 of them in first place. Mei with Ida and Ururaka came in 2nd to 4th place with Mei being the last who was too busy studying Ida’s suit while Ururaka leveraged carrying him with her quirk. 

It had only been the first event and Midoriya gratefully went to the medical tent to check on his suit. Reload and repair after depositing Bakugo and the unnamed boy in Recovery Girl’s care who’s scowls were far from welcoming. As Midoriya finally got out of his suit after 15 minutes of unbolting, unscrewing and unlatching he was met with Mei and a grateful Ururaka who gave them their space as she went off to Ida’s side with Recovery girl showing her to a cot far away from Midoriya and company whom she thought of as the trio of terror since they joined UA. 

Hatsume shoved Midoriya aside forcefully as she began to work on Midoriya’s suit despite being covered in bruises and cuts herself, she was tending to her real baby with the fingers of her suit turning into everything from a powertool to a screwdriver. Now he understood why she really registered, to keep an eye on the merchandise not the wearer, he could never really understand despite knowing Mei for so long why she loved machines more than people. 

He heard Shinso’s helmet hiss as he took it off and smiled weakly at Midoriya, this sent a twinge of pain up Midoriya’s spine who shot a dangerous glare back at Shinso who put it back on. He understood if they were to have any words exchanged he needed the mute button to make sure their conversation was on even grounds with consequences. Mei just shot a thumbs up at them, acknowledging she had her finger on the mute button if Shinso tried anything funny.  

“Look Midoriya…” Shinso started, swallowing nervously. “I don’t want this to end ya know.” 

“Neither do I.” Midoriya retorted, clenching his fists. “Tell me when “this” began that I could end it even if I wanted to? Were we ever really friends? Just two peas in a pod? Long as you got that quirk, how will I ever know if anything is real or not.” 

“What about you…” Shinso snapped back, “All this happened because you used your quirk on me!” He quickly went silent after his sudden frustrated outburst, thankfully no one could hear them in their far little corner over the noise of Hatsume’s power tools while she worked on Midoriya’s suit. 

“Atleast I wanted you to know what I was feeling was real! You used me to live out a fucking fantasy! You violated me! You gaslit me since the moment we met!” Midoriya grabbed Shinso’s jacket and pulled him close, tempted to lean in just another inch, kiss and make-up but he knew all the reasons why he couldn’t. Things in his life could never be that simple as Shinso leaned in, trying to kiss him before Midoriya shoved him back in disgust.  

“How the hell do you want me to make it up! What will it take to show you I can change!?” Shinso demanded. Midoriya’s face was twisted, his brows furrowed as he cracked his knuckles.

“Take these shitty thoughts out of my mind! Make me forget we ever met!” Midoriya remanded him as he held the mute button over his head. “I was going to give everything to you anyway but you couldn’t help but be greedy Shinso. This will always be on you!” He clicked the mute button, locking Shinso in his helmet. Voiceless and helpless, Shinso would not be able to take it off until Hatsume or Midoriya released him as he went into his corner to sulk.

Midoriya left their corner to see Bakugo who was still out cold. Recovery Girl was busy so she kept him at a distance, he only snuck in to see him when she went over to tend to Ida. As he did, he felt a chill on his back, looking behind he saw the unnamed boy with cold steam rising like someone had opened a freezer in high humidity. His eye was covered in frost, glaring red like a demon’s at him.

Despite his quirk’s menacing aura he could only raise a hand at Midoriya. “Who the hell do you think you are!” he spat out, demanding an explanation in an insolent tone. Midoriya shook his head as he took several steps away but the boy stopped him by freezing his feet in the cold on the floor. “Answer me!” the boy growled menacingly in a low and deadly tone as a predator slowly approaching him like an angry glacier. 

Midoriya heard sparks behind him to which the boy suddenly stopped in his tracks. “Hands off Icy Hot! He’s my prey!” Bakugo groaned menacingly behind Midoriya as he sat on his bed. He could feel the intensity between the two rivals of Class 1-A in a stare down. 

“Should I call Recovery Bitch to lock you up in the freezer again icicle!” Bakugo shot a taunt at the boy. Midoriya could see he was frozen between two people who had powerful quirks, literally glued to the spot, Shinso and Mei were in the corner not able to hear any of this because of her power tools working on his suit as the two quirk titans were about to have another round of their fight from the minefield right here and right now. 

“SHOTO TODOROKI!” came a booming voice that made the three boys snap their necks at the imposing giant in the door, his flaming presence needed no introduction as Endeavour, the number 2 hero. Another thug of the hero system who came close, melting the ice enough under Midoriya’s feet. He grabbed the boy and walked out of the tent without acknowledging anyone in there. Bakugo just spat at the floor as he lay back on the cot, clearly more exhausted than he was letting on, turning his back to Midoriya. 

“Show’s over nerd! Now leave me the fuck alone, can’t think with all your mumbling.” Bakugo growled to which Midoriya silently acknowledged him and was heading to the opening in the tent when he bumped into a familiar face he only saw once. The winged hero hawks in his loose jacket, massive wings, carried two students under his arms like they weighed nothing. He saw his feathers were supporting most of the weights which made this feat seem effortless.  

His kind eyes behind those yellow goggles gleamed at him, humoring him. “Oh hey! I remember you! Building boy right!?” he chuckled as he jerked his head, letting his feathers carry the students into the tent, the complete control over hundreds of them amazed Midoriya which demanded massive brain power manipulating gravity itself so effortlessly.

“I’m sorry, am I in some sort of trouble?” Midoriya asked nervously, in the company of the hero who rushed him to the recovery wing that way which saved his life. 

Hawks just pulled him in with an arm and whispered in his ear, “Don’t tell anyone but I’m your biggest fan.” He chuckled as he released him, relishing in his confused expression. 

“I mean how many people get crushed TWICE and walk away without any trouble am I right?” He closed his eyes and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, looking over to Midoriya in a friendly way despite being one of the higher ranked heroes in Japan.

“Wait, what do you mean twice?” Midoriya asked curiously.

“Oh fine fine! Almost crushed the first time you stickler.” Hawks laughed, “Must have felt good to have felled Goliath today eh David?” he leaned in and mimed throwing a stone from his hand to Midoriya’s confusion.

“Wait, you mean the 0 pointer is called Goliath? The UA exam was months ago, how do you know about that?” Midoriya asked curiously why Hawks was taking such an interest, was he like Yagi just trying to get under his skin as his guards shot up and he turned on his quirk to read Hawk’s intentions. He was determined not to be fooled again. 

“Sadly no…but it would be poetic non?” He chuckled, lifting his goggles, wiping a tear of joy on his leather glove. “I mean what is more heroic than the underdog slaying the big bad powerful lug with a stone he found on the ground right?” Hawks smiled, Midoriya’s quirk couldn't’ detect anything he was hiding so far as he nodded politely. 

“Let’s just say, USJ was an eye opener literally. Everyone’s out for themselves these days and that bit us in the ass while our pants were down.” Hawks spoke casually as he looked over at Midoriya, reading his serious expression as he got on his knees and came to Midoriya’s eye level. 

“Don’t bite me kid but I’m not the only one who’s looking for a dark horse. Everyone’s so focused on the hero course that they miss the gems from the other courses. I just like finding marbles people drop on the street, ya know.” He spoke tenderly, Midoriya’s quirk still not able to pick up anything else that set off his alarms. Hawks was either the best hero on the planet or he was the greatest psychopath who could mimic pure emotions on command. 

“So why are you interested in a quirkless nobody?!” Midoriya asked skeptically, pulling his hands off him, getting serious with Hawks, refusing to be deceived by another snake oil sales pitch like Yagi’s. 

“Who said I'm interested? I'm just looking at what caught All Might's attention.” He grinned deviously, “If Yagi Toshinori digs somewhere, people will dig in the same spot while I watch and laugh. That man is too oblivious to how many eyes are on him as All Might’s assistant. Let’s just say I know he found a nugget that he’s hiding from the rest of us.” Hawk's cursory glance caught Midoriya's eye suddenly and looked seriously at him, giving him a hint on his real agenda. 

“I know what I’m looking for before others even know its worth, that’s why I’m called Hawks not Pigeon kiddo.” He handed Midoriya his hero calling card, smiling as he released him and patted him on the shoulder. “I swoop down before anyone even knows what happened.” He gaggled as he took wing and soared into the sky. The gust he left behind sent Midoriya to the ground as he looked at the card in his hands. 

“WINGED HERO HAWKS AKA KEIGO TAKAMI” 

Chapter Text

Figure 12. The Brutalisk, AFO's suspected final fortress that All Might himself brought down, replicated for the second event for the game of Regicide.

Midoriya entered the arena for the second event of the festival. The audience was shocked to learn that he was quirkless, a dark horse hidden from the prying eyes of the public and the scrutinous eyes of skeptical pros who felt threatened by tech that was fast catching upto their powerhouse of quirks. 

He swallowed as he felt a tap on his shoulder, surprised he saw Ida tower over him, despite both of them being armored he felt more intimidated by Ida’s knight like armor that he had remembered just now belonged to the pro hero Ingenium. It was very close to the quality of his own armor but he could see it had much less functions, not even a CIC/AI suite he could interface with. It made him appreciate Hatsume even more as Ida extended his hand.

“Thank you for saving us..” he muttered as Midoriya shook his hand with hesitation. He heard Ururaka coughing behind, nudging him with her shoulder as she smiled at Midoriya. 

“Go on! You’re not asking him out on a date Ida!” Uruaka giggled to which Midoriya felt a tighter squeeze on his handshake that was getting firmer. 

“It’s ok Ochaco san, I get what he’s trying to say without saying it you know....” Izuku waved his other hand casually as he silently acknowledged Ida. The others poured into the field, he felt Bakugo’s shoulder pad clash against his own, swearing he could hear a feral growl with his passing. 

Above the stands, Midoriya swore he could see Keigo the Hawk watching over him, he was wary and on guard around heroes but Keigo seemed to have a deft touch that snaked around his own guards. He had to watch out for that one in future especially since he felt whether he liked it or not, Hawks was going to be around regardless of the outcome here today.

“They’re calling us now Izuku!” Hatsume shrieked, pulling Midoriya with herself, Shinso followed at a polite distance as they were being ushered by Midnight to a podium to announce the second event.

“In honor of 40 years of peace! UA thought it would be best to have a regicide match to commemorate when the Symbol of Peace clashed with the Symbol of Evil!” Mic announced, suddenly the ground trembled as two massive doors the size of the field opened with who else but ALL MIGHT posing heroically from the top of a massive fortress-like structure made of reinforced concrete and steel emerged from underground.

After 5 grueling minutes of the lift hissing in protest at the weight it had to elevate, the stadium felt the hydraulic hiss as the foundations of the monstrous fortress were settled, sealed, laid out before them with the gust feeling like a dreadful invitation. Grotesque, and ugly, no defensible positions, just an ugly rectangle to impress upon them the utilitarian ideals of the dark era villains. It was clearly a fortress built to invite invaders in if they dared. The villains inside would tear you apart at their leisure as their philosophy of defense was an overwhelming offense back in the day when Hisashi tangled with the remnants who were just acolytes to the fallen lords of darkness. 

Atleast Midoriya did not buy into that myth now that he was older and wiser and had heard first hand accounts from Koda and Aachii's war stories. Aachii San kept extensive records in his personal collections that weren’t tampered with by the HPSC. As a support hero and inventor they were crucial to his work so tampering with them was ill advised. The other students on the other hand…somehow even Bakugo were left gawking at the imposing structure as they understood the rule of the game immediately. 

“40 you survived the obstacle race! Now you will divide into two main teams! Villains and heroes, 10 will be on the hero’s side and 10 on the heroes side. Wondering where the remaining 20 are!? That’s the twist! There will be 10 vigilantes and 10 anti heroes!” Mic blared into the crowd who cheered at the revelation of 20 wild cards.

“Each team will have a leader! For the heroes we have Katsuki Bakugo!” Mic boomed out to a mild then cold response from the crowd, moving on quickly, “For the villains! We have Shoto Todoroki!” He blared to the crowd cheering to the better known name who was the son of the number 2 hero. Midoriya looked at the manic Ice boy who had threatened him in the tent 30 minutes ago, only to be saved by Bakugo’s intervention. Midoriya looked away, hoping Shoto did not recognize him through his armor. 

“What about the Vigilantes and Anti-heroes I hear you say! What do they gotta do with this event?! That’s the fun part ladies and gentlemen! They are on side….THEIR OWN!” Mic blared on the microphone. Everyone was much more confused by this announcement. 

“To be clear, the Anti heroes and Vigilantes have a bounty on their head! They can choose to hand over their highest bounty to the heroes for clemency and join them OR they can take out the leader of EITHER side to clutch the WIN! Just remember folks only 10 people from any TEAM will make it to the final event so its really a free for all if you really think about it! Just like the real world, villains can defect, heroes can betray, vigilantes can be redeemed, anti heroes can be heroes!” Mic announced as the crowd cheered to the complexity of the game but it was pretty straight forward really. 

A losing team could and should betray its members to their benefit and snatch up points to make it into the final round. As usual they were going to be pitted against each other, no loyalty, no team work and no incentive to do the right thing…except for  yourself. Some hero course at UA. Midoriya thought to himself as he stepped onto the stage with Shinso, Shoto and Bakugo. 

Midnight handed out their target sensors that would record damage to them, enough damage and they would be taken out. Shinso was given the highest bounty in the anti heroes and Midoriya was given the highest bounty in the vigilantes as they were given 20 minutes to sort out who they wanted on their respective teams. 

Shinso kept shooting looks at Midoriya, pleading for an alliance but Midoriya spat at the thought of sharing a comm link with Shinso during such an important event as Hatsume ran off to the heroes side, not wanting to get in between their drama or wanting to get a closer look at how well Bakugo’s T.E.A.R suit was doing. Either way Midoriya looked around for people to join the vigilantes, doubting he would find any as he saw dozens of people swarming over Shoto and Bakugo, feeling disgusted at how easily they were attracting such low hanging fruit eager to ride their coattails. 

He sat down, observing people carefully, he knew he was going to get the dregs and rejects who wouldn’t hesitate to betray him no matter what to appease Bakugo or Shoto and score points on his massive bounty. He had to observe and be careful since he didn’t have Shinso’s guile and suit on his side with the way things were between them, he wasn’t afraid of being betrayed but letting him think he was letting him in despite all he had done to him. 

Midoriya’s stubbornness was ‘rewarded’ with a group of the rejects slowly coming towards him. He didn’t bother to get to know their names or abilities, all he knew was he had to go at this alone. They were vigilantes and they were up against 30 others who were chasing the leaders of either faction. As the highest value vigilante there, he knew he was their golden ticket into the final event, not their leader like the hero and villain factions. 

He felt jealous as he clenched his hands and gave each of them a stoic nod, never removing his helmet since it would serve no purpose. His strategy was to hang back and try to stay away from the heroes since he knew Bakugo’s confrontational nature would make it impossible to collaborate. Unlike him, Shinso could brainwash his team to make sure they didn’t backstab him or brainwash enough people to make sure it didn’t at least. Once again he was on his own, no friendly faces as he saw most of the kids with him felt the oncoming doom like a heatwave. 

In the corner he saw a blonde kid talking it over with his group of 4. Clearly a team within a team, they were weighing out how many people and quirks it would take to bring him down and more importantly who would get the points since there could only be one to claim the bounty at any time. Midoriya smiled a little as Mic announced the start of the event and he jerked his head in the opposite direction as the Heroes charged into the building. Minutes later explosions, ice, hypersonic attacks were ripping the building apart which would have fallen on their heads if it wasn’t so well reinforced. 

UA really understood what it took to make something look good as they saw the chaotic and uncoordinated fights on the internal footage playing on the massive screens. From across the field he saw Shinso’s people going in, while he was hanging back safely behind a solid concrete barrier. Midoriya looked behind at his own team, not knowing their quirks or loyalties let alone names he charged with his rocket slide at Shinso, eager to claim the bounty on his head and secure a place in the final event and get some payback that was way overdue. 

Shinso smiled at him as the kids he was with were clearly brainwashed charged at Midoriya who had to contend with them as their leader ran into the only safe place; The fog of war in the building. Midoriya’s rocket slide struck the nearest boy who stood firm, tanking it by crossing his arms and digging his feet into the ground which broke the brainwashing but now Midoriya knew he was combat active as he felt like he had hit steel just now. Midoriya deployed his right hook with the plates on Midoriya's arms opening up quickly, his hand glowed from the plasma being injected into the blow, his own skin starting to feel the immense heat as the coolant gases ejected to make sure his flesh wasn't cooked as he struck hard into the boy with a thundering punch that cracked the air and knocked the boy flat on his back, the metal was red in the spot where Midoriya had hit him as his own suit was rapidly cooling the gauntlet that had fired off the punch. The High Energy Armored Tungsten system in his left hand could only be used once every 5 minutes since it took alot of energy to charge up, draining 10% of his reactor to not only heat it up but overclock the cooling systems to make sure he didn't sizzle his hand off. 

Midoriya growled internally as he pulled out his B.L.A.D.E that sizzled with arcs of electricity from the LFTR, seeing the boy still getting up, determined to make sure such a troublesome opponent stay down. He wanted to get it deep and good into a limb as he missed the steel boy's friend charge into him suddenly. A massive beast of a sasquatch like figure tackled him to the ground but Midoriya activated D.O.M.E on low intensity, knowing he couldn't take a risk killing him. The air filled with sizzling and seared hair fibers as he stabbed him in the leg. Smiling as the whirring intensified and the LFTR went from 80% to 85% as he felt the electric currents go through the beastman. The wound was shallow but cutting through the hair and protective skin his shock reached deep into his opponent to the booing of the crowd. Despite this being a non lethal attack as he was released, Midoriya could not forget he was an anti hero and not a crowd favorite as a quirkless person using weapons on the field. 

As he pulled off the beast man from himself and got to his feet, he received a very angry punch that hit him hard coming from the steel boy right in his chestplate, the armor absorbed most of the shock but the resilience and enhanced strength of quirked people made him hit harder since the steel made his body heavier, able to deliver more force into the armored Midoriya. If he wasn’t covered by layers of shock absorbing materials it would have gone through the Mk-1 Carapace he wore at the UA exams.

As he was knocked back, his ‘team’ passed him by to attack the steel covered boy. The blonde boy smiled at him and extended his hand, “Name’s Monoma boss. Don’t worry I can only copy quirks so I'm harmless where you're concerned.” 

Midoriya shook his head, his H.U.L.C rapidly lifting his frame up. He looked down and saw a plate on his chest was slightly bent. That was one hell of a punch he thought to himself as he returned Monoma’s courtesy, “Don’t be so coy, we both know what’s the best move for you guys, the only reason I’m still standing is because none of you agreed on who gets the 10 million points on my head.” 

“Yea you’re right there chief, since we can’t honestly decide who gets to go to the next event, we decided to give being a team a shot, so what about you?” Monoma chuckled, shrugging his shoulders as he touched the unconscious beastman and grew to the size of the opponent Midoriya had just faced, running towards the steel boy who was beating back the many weaker quirks, shattering a barrier made of many layers of hardened air. 

Midoriya was  tempted to abandon them and run into the building after Shinso. He didn’t need Shoto or Bakugo if he got only him and he was an easy target with the mute button and guilt weighing him down. However, he saw Monoma grab the steel boy and knock him down hard to the ground, after which another member of his crew shot a white cement like paste at the downed steel boy when Monoma was clear. 

Another boy blew a square prison of air, layer by layer around the steel boy who kept smashing them till the white substance hardened like concrete ... .no glue. He was effectively immobilized and taken off the board. The small group of 19 looked at Midoriya, he could believe Monoma a little bit that none of them could really take down Midoriya after seeing everything he had done in the obstacle course as he started to do something against his better judgment. He asked them one by one who they were and came up with a plan. 

Meanwhile in the building Shinso had pretty much sent everyone in his team into the building brainwashed, like Midoriya he knew he would be swiftly betrayed since alot of strong quirks were on his team that could overpower him easily. He did not have Midoriya’s agility or weapons so he stood no chance. He came upon many of them knocked out or immobilized. Their defeated bodies strewn with villains and heroes across the halls. Most of them were injured pretty badly but nothing life threatening as he snuck around with the stealth setting on his suit. Grateful to Hatsume for the optical camouflage though he knew he would be seen pretty easily in the well lit corridors as a moving blur. 

His only hope was to link up with Mei and defect to the hero's side or get to Shoto Todoroki and brainwash him again to give himself up. He had to reach the final level, he had to be on even terms with Midoriya, he had to talk to him no matter what and being disqualified or beaten now would white wash all the good he had done so far. The gusts from an explosion followed by the chilling sub zero winds from everyone’s favorite cryomancer brought a smile on Shinso’s face as he switched off the optical camouflage with the Flesner lenses humming all over his suit, their Piezoelectric hum finally off which was giving him such a headache as he ducked into a room nearby, waiting on the screams and shouts of the intense combat to rip through the floors, the fight had gone vertical between the powerhouses. Many heroes and villains poured out into the corridors, fleeing from the intense heat and cold being exchanged by their angry quirk gods. 

Shinso hid until he got a ping on his visor, seeing Hatsume’s suit interface with him. He swallowed and pinged her back, initiating a call as he turned on his suit’s camouflage again but there was no response as she was in combat. He took a deep breath and peered out the door to see dozens of students engaged in melee, fighting over points in the most pointless manner possible with no organization or purpose just throwing their quirks at each other like slinging mud. He shook his head as he saw two familiar faces, his knight in shining armor and the astronaut looking girl who were with Midoriya in the last event. 

Ururaka was facing off a girl who was slapping her around with her tongue as Ida was stuck dodging violent jets of acid from a pink haired girl. Both sides seemed hesitant to hurt the other as he assumed…no he KNEW they were classmates before this and fighting each other under such uncontrolled conditions where people could REALLY get hurt was hitting their kiddie brains right about now.

Shinso took a chance and yelled out, “Hey!” 

The four looked at him immediately and replied at different times, each reply sealed their fate as his quirk took hold. Training it all his life in juvie had finally paid off as he had 4 new pieces like this was a game of human Shogi and he knew what to do with his new pieces as he ran down the corridor with them into the dozen or so fighting in the wide corridor he had been in earlier that had been expanded by the massive explosions and being kept stable by the frigid ice. 

The four were thrown into the mix, using their quirks on former friend and foe alike who abandoned their current fights and refocused on them as Shinso slinked past them as a ghost in his optical camo, fresnel lenses all over his suit humming as he felt their overheating charge build up despite the heat sinks not being as good as Midoriya’s suit. 

So far Shinso knew if he survived would he keep his 10 million points? Would it be enough to keep him in the top 10 for the final round? Would doing nothing be his best bet right now as he saw Hatsume was fighting off a villain with a troublesome quirk. A busty girl who kept making things out of thin air kept fending her off. Hatsume would launch a taser, she’d parry it with a shield, Hatsume fired off an anesthetic gas canister, she’d have a gas mask. 

Shinso yelled at her, Hatsume looked over, about to say something but didn’t, however, the other girl fell for it and the moment the words left her lips she was his to command. Hatsume blew a sigh of relief and giggled as she hugged Shinso yelling thank you on repeat that it made him deaf as his Fresnel lenses finally powered down. 

“Nice to see you too Mei.” Shinso shook his head as he shrugged her off gently, walking upto the troublesome girl and touching her with his taser glove, looking back at her. “Mind if I take your points on this one?” Mei just nodded in approval, waving her hand as he shocked the poor girl with a static hum filling the air soon after.

“So what’s our plan?” Shinso asked Mei as they walked down the eerily calm corridor, seeing the debris rain down from a hole in the building running up and down every floor. Bakugo’s explosives and the building sized icebergs were gutting the brutalist structure meant to withstand an atomic blast was being put through its paces as they looked high up at the ceiling and behind them. They saw Bakugo’s T.E.A.R’s suit pinging them hard as he was under alot of stress, his suit had taken quite a beating and its owner had expended alot of the reserve ammo and the stim packs to keep hydrated. 

Another ping hit hard, rapidly ascending the building as Hatsume and Shinso smiled with the A.R.S monicker on the dot. “Izuku was always the plan, Shinso.” Mei chuckled as she slapped her helmet back down, her jetpack was powering up. “ I wanna show the WORLD what all of our BABIES can do together to the no.2’s son up there!”

Shinso grinned as he got into her arms, thankful her exosuit carried most of his weight as she shot up the many gaping holes in the ceilings till they went through the final one in the roof, emerging to a cheering crowd and the spectacle of Bakugo and Shoto facing each other down in the open air of the massive roof big as the stadium’s field. 

The A.R.S ping grew louder and louder, their hearts thumping as they saw Midoriya rocket sledding against gravity itself with D.O.M.E on full blast. Shoto Todoroki was hit by a blunt rod out of nowhere to the gut. With a deafening hum the static in the air built up before Midoriya shocked him with the full stun setting, refusing to take a chance in a counter attack if he went soft on the kid who can make icebergs out of thin air. A little payback didn’t hurt as he didn’t appreciate the death threat over being quirkless, he’d be lying if he wasn’t enjoying this just a little even if it made him feel like a real vigilante to the jeers and boos of the crowd who saw the no.2 hero’s son being taken with such a cheap tactic.

Midoriya’s suit was flashing red once more but Mei’s adjustments had made the recovery more manageable since he couldn’t waste time going through the melee in the halls. Up was the only way while he trusted Monoma to lead the 19 other vigilantes through the halls. As a leader he had to learn to delegate and trust people to know how best to address a situation or how was he better than All Might who had arrived in the second event in front of the world. He wanted the big man HIMSELF to witness the future of heroism not through force but tactics and technology.

His suit was beeping all kinds of hazards as the safeties were engaged and he was at less than 45% on all systems. Thrusters and jump jets were offline as his B.L.A.D.E retracted to conserve power and the plasma ejector released a cloud of hot gasses all around him, desperately cooling the armature up with all the heat sinks. He could melt someone if he hugged them now, not a bad followup move he thought to himself, thinking back to people like the steel boy as he struggled to his feet, hit in the back by a concussive blast that sent him back to the floor. 

“FUCKING DEKU!! Don’t fucking ignore me!” Bakugo growled as the gravel and dirt crunched under his heels, the blonde menace strode towards him, wary of the heat radiating off the A.R.S. Midoriya didn’t have the power reserves to deal with this for another few minutes. He was seeking a distraction, any window that would make that time flow by faster so he could counter attack properly. He struggled to get up again but he found himself again under Bakugo’s boot on his back as another concussive blast sent him back to the floor, knocking the wind out of him despite the suit and its many reinforcements. 

“Hey!! You’re all my BABIES!! Stop FIGHTING!!” Mei shrieked, the crowd laughed and sneered at the presumed love triangle but Midoriya knew she was only talking about the suits and the damage their owners were doing to them right now. 

“Shut the fuck up Pinkie!” Bakugo snarled, aiming at Mei who looked confused at him herself with her arms raised up in surrender.

“I didn’t say anything!” She squealed.

“I did.” Shinso clicked the ventriloquist mode off as  Bakugo’s eyes went glassy and he backed off from Midoriya at his command. As Shinso was de-cloaked and put his hand on Bakugo’s shoulder about to taser him for the win, he suddenly stopped when Midoriya abruptly grabbed his ankle and shook his head fiercely without a word. Shinso took the hint and backed off with Bakugo following him like an obedient puppy. Midoriya stood up as the red screens turned yellow, walking slowly towards them with Mei he first secured Shoto with the grappling wire she kept in her many pouches and compartments. Once he felt the mechanism tighten around Shoto's body and limbs securely, he then turned to Bakugo who was docile and complacent under the brainwashing. The green haired boy shook his head as he kept his distance from both of them, wondering how much in common they both had in many ways yet their idea of dealing with people was so different. 

“All clear boss.” Monoma’s voice came over Midoriya’s radio. He had given one of his backup radio dots to him but they were short ranged so he knew he was closeby, standing vigilant near the roof access door. The screens were counting down the last few minutes tensely as Monoma and his top guys came up to join them, they saw Shinso and Bakugo, two very tempting targets along with Midoriya, vulnerable and easy pickings to guarantee them a slot in the final round. 

Midoriya could feel Monoma and his friends doing the math, 3 high value targets ripe for the taking. The only thing that was stopping them before was the argument on who would get Midoriya’s bounty. Now till the timer was up despite the name of the game being Regicide, he knew Bakugo, himself and Shinso were all still viable targets.

Since there were 3 of them and only Midoriya was the only one ready and able to fight. He doubted Shinso and Hatsume could be battle ready on a whim against random quirks and no way was he going to let Bakugo off his brainwashing leash to mess everyone up. Midoriya knew he could activate D.O.M.E again but these weren’t Shoto or Bakugo, most of them were general class or leftovers from the hero classes with weak quirks. He might end up killing someone without meaning to as he whirred his engines to life, the plasma ejector showering the area with heat as his A.R.S was firing off in warning. 

He looked to Mei as she sent pings and messages to Shinso wordlessly to clear the area if Midoriya had to use his A.P.S to neutralize everyone, not even she was sure it would just stun them or severely injure soft targets since the A.P.S and D.O.M.E systems were made with hard targets who could take immense punishment not soft squishy fleshy ones with weak quirks. 

Monoma’s expression went blank as he pointed at the screen behind Midoriya who had missed Mic’s announcements due to the noises in his suit, his focus on keeping the threat at bay. The screen displayed the final 10 who had survived the regicide. Shinso had secured his position by just surviving and holding onto his 10 million points, Bakugo had racked up several thousands of points on top of his 10 million points and Midoriya also had passed based on that criteria along with taking Shoto’s 10 million became the leader on the board at 20 million. The final ten counted down with Monoma and Hatsume coming in with the highest assists, Mei’s choice to join Bakugo had worked in her favor as her gadgets had helped Bakugo clutch many kills she piggybacked off which secured assists in his takedowns. Monoma’s copying had helped turn quirks on their owners while his team took them down. 

The remaining students were most from Midoriya’s team since Shoto and Bakugo had failed completely to lead anything organized, resistance or plan of attack. Their sides had suffered massive losses being headless and rudderless which is why Midoriya’s vigilante team had secured the highest points being led clearly by Monoma. The blonde boy cracked a smile as Midoriya powered down his suit and took a sigh of relief. Midoriya was pissed off at how cut throat the event had been. Designed to bring out the worst in everyone for the entertainment of the pros. 

As he was showered by boos and jeers of the crowds a solitary red feather fell into his hand when no one was looking, he looked up to see Hawks shooting him a thumbs up as his visor zoomed in on the skinny bird man lounging lazily in the distance on the highest seat, munching on popcorn. Midoriya was incensed with how the pros seemed to enjoy seeing kids engaging in blood sport as some sick entertainment!? 

Also where the hell was All Might who had come with this building and just vanished! Midoriya thought in frustration to himself as he felt like a cruel God’s plaything. They were all kids, this was a time of peace and he could already see the price future heroes were going to pay down the line for that peace. UA’s hero program was already on the edge with Midoriya’s personal beliefs but he felt he could not reconcile how he could keep participating in such an unjust system any longer. 

“Please join us in another hour for the FINAL EVENT!! The elimination tournament!” Mic boomed on the PA system. Midoriya clenched his fist as he looked at Monoma who shrugged his shoulders, he averted Shinso’s gaze despite the message he had received from him that read in his visor, “We need to talk.” 

He flicked it away with his dismissive eyes as a gesture. Sighing as he leapt off the building, rocket sliding his way at first then using D.O.M.E to generate a retro thrust to hit the ground safely so he could escape the urge to punch Shinso off the building if only he could….as he strode into the dark corridors to brood over the hollow victory of another event, not seeing any real heroes like Ururaka or Ida making it to the finals. Guess that only happened in children’s stories and video games right? He thought as he slammed a fist into the wall, sending tremors into the ceiling in the deep dark corridor, showering him with dust and debris that flicked off his armor harmlessly. 

A booming voice in the darkness chided him, “Why so upset! WHEN I AM HERE!” 

OH HELL NO!! OH FUCK NO!! Midoriya thought to himself as he saw All Might’s imposing figure heading towards him, he clutched Hawks’ feather in his hand, shaking and shivering in spite and malice for the man who started his spiraling unbelief in the hero system. Curse Yagi and his mind games!

“Izuku Midoriya, Yagi san told me we need to talk.” All might smiled warmly at him, that smile tickled the back of Midoriya’s brain, like All Might was a costume, the persona, the figure felt so fake…he was hiding something and Midoriya did not need Shinso’s E.C.H.O suit to see that as he tried to pull himself away but found himself in a soft but firm grip. 

“I insist.” All Might spoke softly with a commanding presence as he nodded like the prisoner he truly was, following the symbol of peace down the dark corridor. 

Chapter Text

Midoriya found himself in an isolated room with All Might, somewhere in the skyboxes meant for corporates and VIP guests and who didn’t merge both of those values than All Might himself who offered him a cold beverage with that ridiculous, glowering, cheesy smile that seemed so familiar but he couldn’t place it like he was meeting someone he knew but had forgotten.

He rolled the can in his hand, his suit’s gauntlet which had delivered a blow that rivaled All Might’s softest one. Ryukyu’s brand came into focus, Lemon sour, his favorite flavor which was the same kind that Yagi San used to drink with him on their training prior to his betrayal which was now confirmed given current company.

Midoriya crushed the can, sending the fizzing contents all over the place, splattering over All Might who just wiped himself off with a familiar napkin that Midoriya had seen a million times that was normally soaked with blood, shaking his head he apologized to which All Might waved his hand and offered him another one.

Midoriya studied the napkin closely, the texture, the feel, the fiber to his visor. The machine cannot lie. This was same type that Yagi used, the resignation, the sympathy, the hero program. It was all fake…but why!? Why would Yagi go so deep for a quirkless kid who’s suit could not keep up with the top heroes. He barely got through two war game scenarios without Shinso or Hatsume bailing him out! He only got lucky with Bakugo who had him dead to rights just now and without Shinso in both cases he was toast. He swallowed slowly as he wiped his armor off, his visor lifted and exposed his face as it was retracted.

He could smell Yagi in the room but there was only All Might. This whole situation stunk of a setup but the goal eluded him as All Might coughed politely now that both of them had cleaned off and the awkward silence had hung in the air for far too long.

“Young Midoriya!” All Might spoke in a soft but deep voice, his smile twitched, “Yagi San truly has found quite the dark horse, or as my friends in the state would call you, black beauty.”

“Thanks I guess…” Midoriya raised his eyebrows, not impressed with the lack of charisma coming out of the mightiest hero who clearly needed cameras and choice editing to make himself look that way.

“I hope he didn’t alarm you with….the implications of your candidacy in the program, we didn’t want you thinking that there were ulterior motives at play.” All Might leaned forward, placing another Ryukyu can in front of Midoriya who felt like powering up his H.E.A.T punch to its fullest and see if All Might actually bled like the God he thought he was.

“I said no to the candidacy for a reason All Might.” Midoriya leaned in, his fingers clenched, a little more pressure he could activate the H.E.A.T Punch and send the mightiest hero into an Icarian dive outside the Sky Box seats into the stadium field itself, smirking to himself as the thought comforted him. “I just don’t like being lied to, if you wanted me to consider it how about some transparency if I was THAT important.”

All Might coughed again, the way he coughed once again brought back memories, a familiar pattern that he had heard so many times, followed by a bloody napkin. “Now now young man…Yagi said you were ONE of the candidates and I won’t lie.” He interspersed his fingers looking Midoriya square in the eyes. “I like what he has sent me so far. In less than a year you have gone from tactical street to tactical nuke.” He pointed at Midoriya’s LFTR powerpack with a knowing smile.

“Yea well, Yagi was pretty clear what your stance was on tech…seeing you don’t need it but SOME of us need it to have a fraction of your power.” Midoriya snapped back as he reached for the lemonade and snapped it open, taking a deep sip. Anything to stop himself from speaking before he smacked All Might with all the anger of Yagi’s betrayal going even deeper. What did Yagi NOT tell All Might! Midoriya wondered in rage as he downed the sour lemonade in one gulp, suppressing the burp that welled up in his chest.

“That was clearly a mistake on my part..” All Might raised his hands and chuckled, “You gotta understand young man, I’m 55 years old so tech was ….. Less potent….less safe in my days.”
He handed Izuku a tablet, the same one Yagi used while evaluating him. “Results on the other hand speak for themselves! Who knows, one day your tech will outstrip even me. Man’s ingenuity has always been stronger than any quirk and I guess only the quirkless can truly understand that in today’s world since everyone else is so focused on advancing based on their quirks they are….stuck in their ways.”

Midoriya slammed the Tablet on the table, leaving it cracked along with the very expensive wood that it was made off, the empty can was flung off it and clanged on the floor, rolling away as All Might and him stared each other down.

“Be calm Young Midoriya, there’s no need to be angry…” All Might spoke defensively but at the same time in a familiar scolding voice. Midoriya had turned on his quirk, getting a read on All Might that was familiar but he didn’t know what it was exactly.

“I’m sorry, Koda San…was like a father to me and you weren’t a favorite topic of his.” Midoriya swallowed as he asked with clenched fists, suddenly standing up. “WHY didn’t you attend his funeral personally! Why bother sending Yagi San if you cared so much?!”

All Might stroked his chin and shook his head, “I did leave red spider lilies at his grave by my own hand young man.” He slowly stood up, his smile faded. “Mr Koda was one of the few people in this world I truly respected, though I cannot say he returned the feeling.” He turned around and looked out the window, jerking his head for Midoriya to look out with him who joined his side. They both saw the massive building being stripped down by Cementoss and power loader safely so the stadium could be cleared for the upcoming elimination tournament.

“If God is all powerful he cannot be all good and if God is all good he cannot be all powerful.” All Might spoke softly, this surprised Midoriya because it was something that Koda used to teach him when they were training, he thought those were words he only shared with him to slander All Might in spite but hearing the man Koda San claimed to hate reciting them back so softly was eerie. All Might turned slowly towards him and put his massive hands on Midoriya’s shoulders.

“In this world I have met both. I defeated one and became the other, the problem is even I don’t know if I am all powerful or all good but all I know is I NEED…..NO the world NEEDS the next symbol of peace to be all good. Even the demon king I defeated was all powerful so going for people who are all powerful won’t continue the peace I worked for decades to establish.” All Might explained in a deep and serious tone, shaking his head, feeling uncertain and stressed, Midoriya’s quirk could read the internal turmoil the man was going through.

“I don’t want to be the symbol of a lie, I’ve felt your peace all too well, I’ve lived in your unequal world, you going to tell me if I am chosen, I’ll continue that fake peace!? Or was all the inequality I faced growing up just some villain’s fault!?” Midoriya spat indignantly, looking at the floor because he didn’t want to look into All Might’s kind eyes.

“Why do you think I left it upto Yagi san and not myself?” All Might chuckled, “Koda San told you many stories about me no doubt, so let me tell you one my late mother told me…one that stuck around long after her death.”

Midoriya nodded slowly, returning to his seat and letting All Might stand at the window by himself as he started the story.

“A horse having a wolf as a powerful and dangerous enemy lived in constant fear of his life. Being driven to desperation, it occurred to him to seek a strong ally. So one day he approached a man, and made an offer, pointing out that the wolf was also an enemy of the man. The man accepted the offer at once and planned to kill the wolf immediately, if his new partner would only co-operate by placing his greater speed at the man’s disposal. The horse was willing, and allowed the man to place a saddle on him. The man mounted, hunted down the wolf, and killed him. The horse, joyful and relieved, thanked the man, and said: ‘Now that our enemy is dead, remove your reins and saddle and restore my freedom.’ “The man just laughed loudly and replied, ‘Never!’ and applied his spurs with a will.” All Might looked back at him, that smile returned subtly.

“How do you know that you’re not the man from the story and the society we live in is the horse?” Midoriya asked skeptically, knowing how All Might was just trying to tug at his heart strings.

All Might shrugged and laughed it off, “I just know like the man in the story, if the horse were to die or go lame, the man would have to go back to walking and running on his own. The horse never really needed the man but the man needed the horse more. So tell me if the symbol of peace were to die tomorrow what would happen?” He smirked at Midoriya.

“Then crime would spike and villains would be more common…” Midoriya finished, still feeling distrustful as he KNEW…no his quirk knew that something but he could not refute the clear logic. Aachii San did warn him, “Logic is the knife and emotions are the handle, one needs the other.” Right now he was being too emotional to see that he had been stabbed by the cold logical truth of the hero world. All Might was indeed the horse from the story and eventually society was going to need a new one sooner than later given how old he admitted he was getting. After all everyone knew at the end of the day All Might was only human.

“Good luck on the tournament, please give our conversation a thought, once you decide on what you want to do I promise personally all will be revealed. No secrets.” All Might clenched his hands, Midoriya could swear he saw wisps of smoke coming from the man, small but faint as his quirk was itching his brain that he had met the person in the room before today and known him for months. He left the room in his suit, thanking God that the last event didn’t damage it but just to be safe he smiled as he thought about Koda San today, knowing that at the very least the hero of heroes had acknowledged him first. So he had succeeded somewhere on Koda’s path as he headed into the prep rooms.

Shinso looked at Hatsume before his name was called out several hours later, his was the next match and Mic’s announcement of the lineup was not comforting. “I’m sorry I asked you for something so selfish.” He smiled at her.

She shook her head, a solitary tear trailed her cheek as she wiped it with her gauntlet. Holding the module in her hand, hoping Midoirya would forgive her for this as she stowed it into her pouches.

Shinso looked across the field to find Midoriya in his rocket suit looking across. They were going to start as Midnight did the countdown to their match, both opponents were tense since Shinso knew Midoriya could wipe the floor with him in the suit. It was funny that was exactly shinso’s plan as he pressed a button.

“ARE YOU READY IZUKU MIDORIYA!” Came Midnight’s voice.

Midoriya just nodded politely.

“Speak UP YOUNG MAN! LET ME HEAR THAT TEEN SPIRIT!” She blared.

“YES I AM!” Midoriya yelled as he looked at her, seeing that Midnight looked confused about where her voice was coming from. He tried to hit the mute button that would shock Shinso as the brain fog crept in but the system was missing! The error code was the last thing he saw as all went dark according to Shinso’s plan.

Mic announced that Shinso had taken Midoriya under his quirk and now the crowd awaited his next move as he had his opponent in his grasp, expecting an overwhelming victory. Shinso did the opposite. He stripped off his jacket, took off his helmet, and snapped his gloves off. Just wearing his base glove suit he went over to Midoriya. Everyone watched with bated breath as the pale young man walked over to the human tank and whispered a command that no one heard.

Shinso began counting down from 10 looking to Midnight and spoke very loudly, “WHATEVER HAPPENS I AM NOT FORFEITING THIS MATCH!” he raised his hands in surrender as Midoriya leapt on him like a feral dog possessed. He buffeted him with punch after punch that knocked the wind out of him. Shinso felt every blow, every strike through even the D-30 gel in his body glove that was padded with plates and discs but Midoriya was commanded by his brainwashing not to let up.

The crowd was horrified as minutes of this brutality unfolded in front of their eyes, Midnight bit her lip as she saw Shinso was covered in bruises and cuts, bleeding from every orifice on his swollen face as some joints seemed to be mildly fractured. No one could tell as he was laying on the ground. Waving his hand at Midnight to signal he was admant not to forfeit despite this beat down.

Mic’s initial yelling over the PA died down for a minute as he was contacting Nezu to get a final verdict if this should be allowed to continue since Shinso and Midoriya were locked in a tournament till one conceded or fainted.

Shinso was on his back, Midoriya on top of him peppering his body with punches, concussing and discombobulating and dislocating limbs as he had learned to do with deadly efficiency for 10 years. Shinso had turned Midoriya’s warrior within loose upon himself as penance for his sins, hoping this would show the world atleast that he was serious in taking a punishment fitting his crime.

“VICTOR IZUKU MIDORIYA! PLEASE STEP AWAY FROM YOUR OPPONENT!” Mic blared over the PA system as Midoriya was being pelted by random debris from the crowd who beckoned him to stop. The armor stopped him from getting the shock needed to break from Shinso’s brainwashing.

Midnight finally stepped in with Cementoss to dislodge Midoriya from the now unconscious Shinso who he was still punching on auto pilot, the user had long been disabled but the quirk kept him going as he resisted their efforts, the suit pushing against them hard as his jets burned into Midnight’s suit that caused Cementoss to be knocked out by her fragrant quirk so Midoriya with blood soaked gauntlets leapt at Shinso once more.

Before he could, he was slammed into the ground by something…no someone from the sky who had landed on him hard with immense kinetic force. Hawks stood on Midoriya’s back then got off as he seemed to come out of it and looked at his blood soaked gauntlets, the error code for the malfunctioning mute module in Shinso’s suit blaring as multiple Bio Rhytmic alarms overwhelmed him.

The suit’s sensorium was all that was stopping him from going into shock as it gave out status readouts, the crowd’s cheers echoed as Hawks waved at them, grinning at Midoriya as he took him gingerly with him. The bird man was wearing a gas mask, clearly borrowed from some crowd member’s kit as he saw Midnight and Cementoss unconscious behind him. The medic bots arrived on the scene to cart off Shinso’s body that was painted in his blood, the body glove’s aramid fibers soaked crimson as the shock came over Midoriya. This made him easy to lead into the sheltered corridors away from prying eyes as Shinso was carted off in the other direction of the medical tents.

Mic decided to announce the next match as Midnight and Cementoss were also being carted off to the medical tents as well. Midoriya tuned it all out as Hawks shook his head and stroked his own hair, to his surprise he wore a smile not a scowl to that savage display of hyper violence.

“You have always put your faith in the authorities or in the past, never in yourself eh Midoriya?” Hawks chuckled as he tapped his armored back, snapping Midoriya out of his reverie, putting down his blood soaked gauntlets.

“What?” Midoriya spoke slowly.

Hawks offered him a candy bar from his jacket pocket cheerfully before leaning against the wall, his wings creating an improvised chair for him to sit on.

“The policy of appeasement, didn’t All Might just give you the ‘hero’ talk?” Hawks took out another candy bar and began peeling it, taking a small nibble as he nodded his head towards Midoriya to do the same with his own.

Midoriya took a breath, retracting his visor which was full of red warnings, wondering if any of those concerned Hawks as he turned on his quirk once more, trying hard to get a read on him, using the time to unwrap the candy bar to warm it up, his bloody hands shook from the trauma he had gone through being brainwashed like that, waking up to a world that rebuked his actions all of a sudden. The moment he took a bite of the candy bar a small euphoric sensation overtook him, without helping it a small tingle flowed into Hawks who came to a realization about Midoriya with a knowing smile.

“I know. A fire eater must eat fire even if he has to kindle it himself. And you, Midoriya, have got to worry even if you must kill yourself to invent something to worry about.” Hawks smirked as he took another nibble, his talking in riddles peeved Midoriya but he was grateful that he was taken off the stage before the situation had been defused by one the best heroes on the planet.

“You knew about my father!?” Midoriya choked on his bite of candy when the fire eater comment sank in just now.

“Let’s just say…I work for the people who swept him under the rug.” Hawks took another nibble, looking at Midoriya getting incensed so he responded promptly, “New management, not the same folks who caused the mess back then kiddo.” Midoriya calmed down a little after hearing Hawks say this.

“I have to go…” Midoriya muttered, another loose thread of his past had come in the form of Hawks, wondering if he was another agent in the shadows keeping tabs on the kid who was tearing into the hero course. Hawks grabbed him with surprising strength despite his physique.

“Violence,” came Hawk’s retort, “is the last refuge of the incompetent. But I don’t intend to lay down the welcome mat and brush off the best furniture for whoever wants me to use it.” MIdoriya froze, not knowing if it was a threat or an invitation to know more. Either way, he knew it was better to end the conversation on Hawk’s terms instead of trudging off as he had to find a corner to go and punch a wall down after what he had done, then have a chat with Mei on why the module had failed when they needed it most.

“Hero society has become a young grape, from the same vine, shoved into the same bottle and served to the public for the last 40 years. That’s why I was too cool for school….literally.” Hawks grinned as he wrapped up the wrapper into the tiniest square and pocketed it. “The HPSC is always on the lookout for….fresh grapes just in case you don’t like how the heroes do things.” Hawks got to his feet and dusted off his jacket.

“Keigo san…You don’t consider your statement a disloyal one? Being a hero and all?”

Hawks beamed back at him and heaved as he bent forward and laughed, “No, sir. Truth is beyond loyalty and disloyalty! Unless All Might claims he owns the copyright to it by now. I just know an atomic suit is a good weapon, but it can point both ways. I just make sure it's pointing away from me.” He tapped the Midoriya on the shoulder as he took his leave, flying off into the light to the crowds cheering the hero who had subdued the monster in the arena just now.

Midoriya saw his bloodied gauntlets, activating the H.E.A.T punch. The dried blood now burning with a coppery scent that stung as he felt his fist feeling the intense heat. He winded up and smashed into the wall of the corridor that caused a crack to run meters upon meters into the darkness and into the light. His other gauntlet stayed bloody as he pulled his buried right hand out of the concrete and rebar that had been laid into by his kinetic punch as he yelled into the visor that thankfully muted his voice so no one could hear his agony.

What the hell was he doing?! What did Shinso make him do? He couldn’t even shed a tear because of the chaos that swirled in his soul. The duplicity of the hero world of light and shadow, an agent of each side was courting him for their own purposes. He doubted if either All Might or Keigo Tamaki cared about his true feelings about heroism or was he just another tool they could mold and use for their purposes. Was he no different to them than the suit he wore?

All he knew was ….. FUCK UA! It’s messed up teachers, curriculum and festival that brought out the worst in people for what? The privilege to die forgotten in an alley unloved and unthanked? Did All Might or Keigo Tamaki have families they went home to at night? Did they have a child like Hisashi did? He had to find Mei and make sense of this, no way her modules failed unless Shinso….NO…did she…no SHE COULDN’T! Or did Shinso convince her and leave out his real plan!?

He ventured into the corridors, hunting Mei from prep room to prep room. He found her crumpled up in the corner, out of her armor, curled up, hysterically sobbing at what had happened. Midoriya eased up, approaching her slowly then calmly laying a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him, her pupils focused on him.

“Mei…why….?” he asked her as she held out the remote trigger for the Mute Module.

“We’re friends aren’t we?…” Mei spoke slowly, wiping her tears. Midoriya nodded gently but Mei shook her head.

“Are we ALL friends?” Mei repeated. Midoriya seemed to understand the subtext this time as he pulled back a little, taking the mute module from her hands and crushing it in his gauntlet with a satisfying crunch.
“Does that include Bakugo?” Midoriya asked, Mei just nodded as she simpered with fresh tears.

Midoriya shook his head and sat down next to her, the A.R.S hissing as it was compressed in this lean against the wall. “I would love to be friends with them all….but they keep doing the wrong thing…” He hung his head, opening his hand to see the shattered module as he dropped the pieces to his feet. Mei held out a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Aachii said that being a hero means doing the right thing especially when you are wronged! That’s what separates us from…the fake ones.” Hatsume spoke slowly. Midoriya looked at her in amazement talking about something else besides nano this and micro that or her latest project. She had chosen to open up to him. The moment of levity hit his soul in a way he did not expect.

He remembered something that Koda said in a similar way back when Bakugo had cut him out of his life and it stung Midoriya to see him surrounded with so many new faces when they entered Middle School and any embers of their precarious friendship thrown to the winds. This tempted him to lash out with his quirk when he looked on in envy at how popular Bakugo had become on their first day while he was left brooding silently in his corner.

“It was childish to feel disappointed, but childishness comes almost as naturally to a man as to a child.” Koda San told him that day when he came to pick him up and took him to training that day. Instead of the usual grueling exercises and drills he was taken into the park and Koda bought him ice cream to remember this lesson always that his quirk meant he couldn’t be a carefree child. He always had to be the better man.

Hatsume’s match had been announced and she left the room with Midoriya in it. Deep within his thoughts as he picked up the shards of the Mute Module. Forgiveness in his heart, seeing what hell Shinso put himself through. Did Shinso expect to survive if Midoriya had gone overboard!? What was his end game!? Was this how he felt about Bakugo….wait was he acting like Bakugo with Shinso.

Midoriya could only swallow slowly as the realization hit him. He knew what he had to do when this bloody festival was over.

Chapter Text

Midoriya had been sulking in the prep room where Hatsume had left him when she went off to her own match. He had hunkered down in that room, idly checking his suit’s systems for the umpteenth time, the match with Shinso had done no damage to the suit but the user was another problem entirely.

He was reminiscing on Koda’s lessons back when he was training him in his first years to control his quirk. He was just a kid back then but there was such a burden placed on him. He never understood why Koda had forced him into the darkness and pretend he was quirkless but even without his quirk screwing things up for him, he realized that the real issue always had been power.

He went back down memory lane on his fishing trips with Koda where he would catch fish with his bare hands in the mountains, giving the 6 year old his first taste of nature and the unyielding resolve it took to even prep a meal out in the wild.

Koda’s hands were like harpoons that sank into the water and pulled out a writhing fish. In time Midoriya would be expected to do that but not today as he was just dressing it and descaling it so they could have a meal. While they ate the fish by the crackling fire that night, Koda went into one of his contemplative moods with the young man.

“Listen Midoriya, problems are always inevitable in life, solutions are never.” Koda spoke as he took a bite out of the seared filet. Midoriya looked at him in confusion.

“If problems are going to keep on happening what’s the point of fixing them?” Midoriya asked as he blew on his own filet, the meat was still too hot for him.

“No sensible decision can be made if you keep seeing the world as it is and stop thinking how the world will be.” Koda chuckled as he finished his own filet, reaching out for another that was warming by the fire. “A hundred years ago we were catching our own fish, today we go to the market and buy it in minutes. The problem will always be cooking it, campfire or stove fire; that will never stop being the problem we can’t overcome but that doesn’t mean we stop cooking right?”

“Then why not eat out every night? Have someone else do it?” Midoriya finally took a bite from his own filet, the meat was a bit coarse for his taste but he was too hungry to complain. Koda just chortled as he nearly choked on his bite, tapping his chest and taking a quick sip from his canteen as he looked over at him.

“Isn’t passing the buck like that created the unequal world we live in today?” Koda asked, “We keep expecting Heroes to solve problems so we never get to the root. You and I could easily have been villains, do you think the hero that takes us down would care about our crybaby backstory?” He smiled as he finished his filet and stabbed the skewer into the ground, ruffling Izuku’s hair as he did.
“Now when you’re feeling low or when the days are long, remember what I taught you…A.I.D.”

Midoriya pouted as he felt like he forgot his lessons again, “Sorry….I forgot what it meant..”

“Attitude, Initiative, Dynamics are what makes a hero, not their quirk, not their tech kiddo. Don’t make me tattoo it on your forehead.” Koda shook his head as he took the skewers from the ground and tossed them into the kit he had brought along. “That’s what I do all day, I’m helping the next generation of villains become heroes in their own way, remember everyone gets ONE chance. You have to give it to them.”

“What happens if they blow that chance?” Midoriya asked as he handed his skewer to Koda and wiped his hands on his shirt.

“That’s on them, you bring em in after that. Remember kid, people can change, some just don’t no matter how many chances you give em.” Koda zipped up the kit and tossed it in the boot of the car as the sun was setting.

“If I blow my chance?” Midoriya asked nervously, Koda could sense his apprehension, he didn’t need to be mentally gifted to read the anxiety coming off the kid.

“Take responsibility then. The only mistake there is in life is not trying to fix it, even if it can’t be you get an A for effort.” Koda smiled warmly at him, “Besides you’re a kid, be a kid for a change tonight ok!” He slapped him on the head and chuckled, then walked off as Midoriya came back to the prep room from his memory.

“Izuku Midoriya!” came the stern voice of someone he hadn’t seen before, he wore an eye patch on the left eye, his hair was unkempt and all over the place, wearing all black with a ragged scarf wrapped around him. Midoriya got to his feet with great reluctance as he saw the stranger who commanded his respect and authority with just a glance.

“You’re being allowed to proceed to your next match on the technicality you weren’t in control of your actions in the last one.” the man spoke harshly. “The judges’ hands are tied so follow me.”

Midoriya nodded slowly and made his way to the man, “I’m sorry, I didn’t ask for your name.”

“Shota Aizawa, I’m your homeroom teacher.” He leaned in, daring Midoriya to engage his visor to block him.

“If it were upto me you’d been expelled from my class if i wasn’t spending my months in a body cast, I’ll sort you out after the festival is over.” He shook his head as he motioned for Midoriya to follow him down the hall.

“You support students have made a mockery of this festival you know.” Aizawa spoke softly but menacingly, “First the mentalist there makes you beat the shit out of him, you make a monkey out of my top students in 1-A in two events with the same surprise gimmick and to top it off…jetpack girl won her match in the first minute but forfeited so she could shoot a goddam sales pitch at our corporate partners.” Aizawa rubbed his temple with a gloved hand, Izuku could hear the servos whirring in the prosthetic. “I told Nezu not to make any changes to the festival, hell cancel it. We’re looking like a joke to the world when a kid with a rocket pack is destroying the best quirks under me.”

Midoriya’s blood was left boiling the whole way at Aizawa’s diatribe, the man clearly didn’t like him, didn’t want to associate with him let alone teach him, meanwhile All Might and Hawks were dangling their offers in his face which left him incensed who this Shota Aizawa thought he was compared to the real pros out in the field. He just comforted himself with the thought that those who can’t do, just teach as they finally reached the exit corridor, he strode past the cracked concrete from his H.E.A.T punch.

As he came on the arena he saw his next opponent was the last person he wanted to fight right now. “Kacchan!” Midoriya whispered as his visor snapped shut and he did a final check on the suit. Midnight stood at the ready, licking her lips at Bakugo while ignoring Midoriya. Her disapproval at being shoved by him while under the effects of brainwashing were too public for her ego to be assuaged.

Midoriya smiled as he walked towards Bakugo for their handshake, the crowd was tense since both had been fiercely fighting through all their events though Midoriya made a less than heroic impact on them. He swore he could hear chants for his death even if in jest, he could feel the hate wash over him as Bakugo shook his hand. His head was spinning, this wasn’t right, this festival wasn’t right, this was the last match and instead of solidarity and pride he was seeing a crowd of jackals waiting to see kids rip each other apart.

Midoriya raised his hand as Bakugo walked to his side of the field. “Sensei, I wish to..” Before he could say the words forfeit his suit’s proximity alarm blared, he didn’t need it as the whole world heard Bakugo’s roar.

“NO FUCKING WAY DEKU!” Bakugo came in hot, unleashing several pounds of concentrated K-Gel that sent even Midoriya flying off his feet, his suit scraped against the field’s concrete, leaving it shattered as he saw the damage layout on his suit’s chest plate that had taken a direct hit at yellow. This was just a glancing blow as the field was covered in dust and his visor switched to IR mode to find Bakugo through it.

Both of them had the same visor tech and even without B.L.E.E.P or R.C.S the blonde psychopath was barreling towards him at breakneck speed. The crowd, let alone Midnight, were helpless to stop it as the K-Gel’s explosions had sent up thick clouds of debris and dust which had given them the perfect fog of war for the longest minute of their lives. If it weren’t for their suits and the visors neither of them could have fought so Midoriya committed to the fight and slammed into Bakugo with his rocket sled thrust, sending them both tumbling into the concrete.

His radio crackled to life as Bakugo’s C.I.C connected with his. “You two faced loser! the helpless act stops today!” He punched Midoriya’s visor, leaving a bloody smear form knuckles on it, the blow had scuffed the transparent aluminum below his chin as he reeled from the attack.

“No Kacchan! I’m not going to play THEIR game any longer! There's no winner! We’re all losing something to this festival! ” Midoriya pleaded as he engaged the jump jet, hoping to take himself out of bounds to force his loss. Bakugo suddenly catapulted himself onto Midoriya and climbed on top of him, firing off a massive blast that slammed them both down with his full weight which canceled Midoriya’s Jump Jet before it had time, the R.C.S slammed him into Bakugo with full force.

He heard a sickening crunch of breaking bones in Bakugo’s body, the maniac would still not let go as he pelted Midoriya and himself with point blank concussive explosives that sent more dust and debris into the air, both their suits’ air filters had shut off from the damage, they were on the reserve oxygen due to how dense the cloud of dust had gotten around them.

Midoriya had enough as he was in Bakugo’s rear choke hold. He was tempted to use D.O.M.E or Jump Jet again but he knew that would severely burn his friend with the plasma jets and exhaust that would cook Bakugo in seconds from their output.

He couldn’t be his true self with Bakugo, he realized just now he didn’t know who he truly was. All he knew was, this was Koda’s plan, All Might’s plans, Hawk’s plans, Mei’s plans…Midoriya had no real plan for his life as he felt the oxygen reaching critical levels from the heavy breathing of combat. Bakugo forcing his hand as he felt Bakugo’s H.U.L.C fighting against his own, a mechanical Cain and Abel in the arena with servo grinding against servo, he knew the teachers wouldn’t make it in time so he had to end this safely…relatively.

He pulled himself back, desperately searching for Bakugo’s leg, He was already guarded, not letting Midoriya pivot or turn but the green haired boy didn’t need either because he just hopped around slowly, making Bakugo hold on to him, Finally went he felt his back was clear he engaged a short jump jet burn that lifted him off inches but was enough to throw Bakugo off balance as Midoriya caught his arm, arresting his momentum he slammed his opponent to the ground. He landed on top of Bakugo’s heavy chest plate and pinned him down, feeling Bakugo shooting off a burst from his right side Midoriya yelled as he tanked the massive blast head on, refusing to get off as his B.L.A.D.E came out and he whipped it across Bakugo’s face with immense blunt force repeatedly, hoping to concuss him.

Bakugo’s helmet gave him too much protection so Midoriya gulped as he took another attack and Oxygen reserves were gone from his suit, most likely in Bakugo’s so he powered up the taser arcs on the baton as he stabbed it into Bakugo’s arm, penetrating the armor and engaging a mild shock, hoping that would keep him still while not detonating the nitroglycerin on Bakugo’s body.

He felt Bakugo convulse under him, his labored breathing defiantly spitting at Midoriya “Fight me DEKU!” he blared on their comms as Midoriya’s B.L.A.D.E whirred up again, tazing Bakugo mildly once more. He was insufferable each time which made Midoriya think to use the highest setting like he did with Shoto but it was too late for that now that his LFTR was recovering from the damage to the suit and the strain he was imposing on it. “We can’t win unless we learn how to make THEM lose!” Midoriya pleaded as he felt Bakugo strain against him in defiance.

“Life doesn't have winners and losers Deku –– there are just losers.” Bakugo spat weakly, shivering as he charged up another blast that barely grazed the tungsten core as he grabbed Midoriya’s B.L.A.D.E, gasping for air in his suit, rebuking him weakly, “If you wannabe a winner, act like one shitty nerd!”

Midoriya felt light headed, as he knew Bakugo would be as well. He suddenly retracted the B.L.A.D.E back into his fist and retracted his helmet, coughing as he spoke, “Those who win today are not always the WINNERS.” Midoriya spoke slowly as he winded his legs, he heard the audible warnings as his jump jet was revving up. “It’s nice to be a winner in our tournament, but it's more important to me to be a winner in my life.” he smiled weakly as he winded his legs, jumping a few feet into the air before engaging his Jump jet at full thrust. He landed with a sickening crunch in full force into the stadium wall, the impact had him buried a foot into the reinforced concrete.

His suit’s hazard indicators and warnings blared loudly as he looked at Bakugo laying there on the field. He knew by being out of bounds they’d be forced to give him the win for the last match but Midoriya was too sore and injured to care as his visor slid down and saw how extensive the damage was from Bakugo’s point blank explosions and the deliberate thrust into the wall.

For now he struggled to pull himself out of the recess in the wall he had created, the servos in his H.U.L.C protested as the backups were engaged, they weren’t in fighting condition but the body support backups were up and running so he could hobble along. The crowd, the teachers, the judges, no one could make heads or tails of what to make of the final match.

On one side Bakugo had attacked him but he was about to forfeit and never got to say it. On the other side he had clearly hurt Bakugo much more severely, body and soul today. He didn’t know if anything close to friendship could be possible today. All he knew was he had to see Shinso and Hatsume before he lost them too. Mic was blaring something over the PA but the tinnitus in his ears left them ringing from the point blank explosives and the massive Jump Jet overclocked burst without his visor engaged.

He reached the dark corridor, clinging to the bar on the side for support but his suit bent the hollow rod. So he sank his hand into the wall, digging the fingers into the concrete with each step as he struggled to stay on his two feet. Weakness, lightheadedness, shortness of breath, and other symptoms of shock and decreased blood pressure were telling Midoriya one thing and it wasn’t good. He was internally bleeding from their fight or from his reckless crash so he settled for finding someone to take him to the medical tents first. His visor pinged Hatsume nearby, the C.I.C in his suit’s sensorium reading his plummeting vitals sent her a general distress notification.

Midoriya’s hand clutched the wall, the fingers fully dug in, the H.U.L.C exo frame kept him standing as he passed out.

Chapter Text

Midoriya woke up in the field tent, Mic’s blaring voice over the PA system was muffled in the distance as he took in the sight and smells of the recovery tents. He felt restrained, feeling like he was bound to the cot he was laying on.

A quirk? A restraint? He tugged with what little strength he had, feeling a sharp prick in his wrist followed by a very hard slap reprimanding him as Chiyo’s wrinkled hand topped up the painkiller he had seen her pump him full off in his previous internment in her recovery wing.

He swallowed but it felt like lead, as he tried to move his other arm but felt another sharp prick in his elbow joint. Looking up he saw several bags of IV, blood and god knows what was being pumped into him from every angle.

His clouded vision cleared a moment after, looking in horror as he saw a fresh cut in his abdomen, a tube feeding out of it, draining a brownish, sickly fluid from his organs. He wanted to puke but couldn’t move his muscles to do so. All that came was a slap to the face from Recovery girl who tightened the restraints to his cot on his wrists and feet, shaking her head. He remembered her last threat to expel him, Aizawa’s own snide remarks still fresh in his mind.

He finally swallowed after what felt like an eternity, staying still as his hearing and sight came back to him fully. He had been stripped out of his suit, put in a gown with the chest open. Did Bakugo go too far with him? Did he do this to himself when he recklessly slammed into the stadium’s walls when he threw his suit’s many cautionary warnings to the winds.

The festival had given him one thing, a realization that this was not the life he wanted. This was not the hero he wanted to be. He mulled it over in his head, how Hatsume and Shinso would react to his epiphany that he wanted to leave UA, not clouded by emotion..no he was in UA because he was emotional. He was repaying the emotional debt to dead people but he doubted that Koda San would have protested, neither would Aachii who became heroes through self study and passing the exams.

UA didn’t have a monopoly on the system itself! Izuku could still find his own path, it wasn’t too late as he tried to smile but his face refused to move as his body was still paralyzed from the analgesic that had rendered him paralyzed and numb so whatever was being drained from his organ could drain out painlessly. A blessing and curse as it is the only reason he finally could come to the decision to be who he was meant to be, never having a solitary moment like this because he never allowed himself to be idle.

The Tent’s flap parted, Chiyo was arguing with the newcomer who cast a slender silhouette. Keigo?Shinso?Mei?Bakugo? Who was it? Midoriya thought with his curiosity itched unbearably in his paralysis. Chiyo just came in and parted the screen curtains so violently she nearly toppled the frame onto the ground. She had another injection that she fed into his IV port directly. It felt like a hot, sizzling lava that coursed through his veins, pain warm and tingling grew into a violent blaze as Midoriya’s nerves were roused from their stupor.

WHY DID CHIYO DO THIS!? Midoriya thought to himself violently as the pain shot up, she only shook her head and told the silhouette sternly, “10 minutes!” her watch beeped as she started the clock literally and left through the cloth screen, Toshinori Yagi entered and pulled the cloth back to give them privacy as Chiyo left them in the empty field tent as promised.

“Young Midoriya….” Yagi clasped his weak, skeletal hands, holding a bloody handkerchief, clutching it terribly tight. He noted Midoriya’s clenched teeth and clear objections to him being in the room but at the same time the young man also knew Chiyo wouldn’t let Yagi in unless it was really meaningful to his recovery. He started regardless since he knew their time allowed by Recovery girl was limited. Midoriya protested weakly, his voice getting even more wheezier as Yagi retrieved a cup and held it out to Midoriya with the straw held out, the green haired boy gratefully drank what he could, each gulp felt like lead traveling down his throat, settling into his stomach.

“ Long ago, our society almost drowned under the crashing waves of one man’s ambition. My sensei asked me what does duty mean to a kind man’s peaceful heart with the power for death and destruction. I have been the dam, holding the reservoir of villainy from drowning us again into chaos but…” He held his hands closely, squeezing the napkin so hard that blood started to trickle down his hands. “It chose me…of all people it chose me just IT has chosen you Izuku Midoriya.” A spark of eldritch lightning pulsed for a second, Midoriya thought it was a trick of the light.

“You asked me if you can be a hero…while being quirkless.” Yagi spat in self loathing, “I would be lying if I said I didn’t doubt you all this time but IT kept pulling me towards you like gravity. The more I doubted the harder it became to escape ITs will.” Midoriya saw another spark coming from Yagi’s hands this time he was sure it wasn’t a figment of his imagination as he could smell the coppery tinge of burning blood. Yagi’s eyes grew more gaunt, the static in the air grew stronger as he coughed again into his napkin, blood spewed into the singed fabric onto the floor.

Midoriya looked away out of courtesy, he still hated Yagi and his games but these riddles were just pissing him off, especially when he was in so much pain right now. “Get to the point please Yagi San, I’m in a lot of pain.” Midoriya croaked through his parched throat weakly. When he looked back his heart skipped a beat as he saw the massive figure of All Might sitting there where Yagi was a microsecond ago, wearing…Yagi’s torn clothes as though he had burst out of the skeletal man, his muscles having ripped most of the suit to shreds, barely covering him up as he smiled at Midoriya, blood trailing from his mouth that he wiped with the drenched napkin.

“I’ve been trying to give IT to you this whole time but IT won’t take to you unless you let IT.” All Might spoke in his booming voice another enigmatic riddle. Midoriya’s heart was thumping, threatening to burst through his chest from the frustration with his games.

“What is IT!!!!” He yelled, wheezing and whooping as he felt like he tore his parched vocal chords just now from forcing his throat like that.

“The power to hold up society itself…” All Might clenched his fist, holding it out towards Midoriya, cupped in his hand was a vial of blood. “I have to be willing to give it to you, turns out you have to be willing to take it. I’m sorry Young Midoriya, I tried to give it to you discreetly in those drinks we had earlier but I can still feel the flame burning only in myself.”

“What do you mean....!? ….drinks…drugs.....serum!? I’m not.... a....... lab rat!” Midoriya protested weakly, his voice getting even more faint, he definitely strained his vocal chords earlier as his voice was being pitched lower to a squeak. All Might silenced him with a gentle finger on his lips.

“It is the power handed down through generations of users, you will be the 9th user to inherit the will of those who came before you.” All Might continued his tone deaf sales pitch but Midoriya bit his finger in futility before spitting out his next word.

“NO!” he squeaked in defiance.

“Young Man!” All Might rebuked him, “You don’t understand! I am just a vessel, One For All is the driver, I don’t get to choose who gets this power!”

“You were Yagi...... all along!” Midoriya spoke in his wheezy and squeaky voice, each word grated his vocal chords but spite and hate in his heart kept him going. All Might stared down dejected to the valid point, what reason had he REALLY given Midoriya to trust him in the first place?

“After all I've done. Really, if You want someone to suffer, take me. We both know I deserve it. I've been selfish and weak. I have failed so many people. And I have deceived you. I'm not asking for Your forgiveness. I'm just asking that YOU take the torch and light the way forward! Your way! This is bigger than me or you, Young Midoriya!”

“Give it to someone else!” Midoriya spat vociferously, All Might offered him the cup of water again but this time he refused, choking on his own tears after the big reveal how deep the stab of betrayal ran into his heart knowing who Yagi really was all along, not a hero, a spy with shady motives.

“I did….” All Might reverted back to Yagi in a puff of smoke, coughing up more blood as he spat out the droplets on his sleeve.

He reached into his suit pocket that was all tattered and ripped up at the seams, the skeletal man looking more decrepit and gaunt as he pulled out a phone with a cracked screen from his transformation and handed it to Midoriya with a video clip playing on it.

A young man in a UA uniform, tall, blonde and muscular with bright blue eyes swallowed the same vial that Midoriya was being offered, seconds later, every inch of the boy’s body swelled with a wellspring of power, coming out of his eyes then his mouth, cracks started forming around on his skin where the uniform was starting to singe then burst into flame from the intense energy followed by intense howling and cries of pain from the poor boy as the power overtook him.

All of a sudden in a gory crescendo the air exploded and his tortured screaming finally ceased as he was sprayed all over the camera, his guts splayed out in a visceral fashion all over before Yagi pulled the screen away and looked at the time on the phone, clicking his tongue in frustration as he knew their time was short.

He reached again into his pocket, pulling out the golden medal, wiping it with his bloody hand as he left it at Midoriya’s side.

“A person, who no matter how desperate the situation, gives others hope, is a true leader, Young Midoriya. You showed me in every event today that you are not what happened to you, you are what you chose to become. You took every hit you didn’t have to today so congratulations, The judges decided you were at a draw with Katsuki Bakugo today, I was just here to deliver this medal and hope for everyone's future.” Yagi spoke softly as he handed Midoriya the vial of blood, cupping the young man’s hand around it.

He got up after having said his piece, as he stepped out of the cloth screen he heard a sickening crunch of the vial as it was thrown to shatter onto the floor.

A solitary tear was shed as he walked out of the tent, ruminating on how to untangle the web of lies he had created to get close to Midoriya.

Chapter Text

Midoriya had been transferred from the field tent to the recovery ward for the last few days. Recovery girl had been keeping an eye on all the blunt trauma force to his organs, her quirk left him drained as the damage to the organs was being healed slowly but surely.

Each day Yagi would drop by, Shinso, Mei and Bakugo were under a blanket ban from Chiyo who needed to keep Midoriya sedated for 20 hours a day while she pumped him full of pain killers and IVs to keep his body from breaking itself apart any further, given he was her worst patient.

The revelations of OFA had hit him hard, his own doubts about his quirk and deceiving the world about his quirkless status hung heavy. He had much to say to Shinso, Mei and Bakugo after all this but he didn’t want to be a part of the problem that UA created for the society.

The hero system was a problem to him but within it, he saw opportunities that hadn’t presented themselves. He thought long and hard about having the power of a God like All Might, the temptation racked his brain. He didn’t like the man especially after learning about this elaborate charade and the lengths he went through to groom and gaslight him instead of being transparent from the start.
He just knew the festival put him on the right path. He knew tech was the answer to quirks, it could be regulated, standardized in quality and training. It was no different to how swords were replaced by crossbows and horses were replaced by trucks and tanks on the battlefield. Heroes would be replaced by tech one day and he wanted to join Aachii and Mei instead of wasting time at UA and using his mind to benefit a system that wanted to solve problems that it created.

The moments he was lucid and able to eat, the news was never good not on TV, not in the corridors with staff gossiping. He was the “monster” the rogue of UA, they weren’t going to throw Shoto Todoroki, the son of the number 2 hero under the bus, they weren’t going to muzzle a prodigy like Katsuki Bakugo who had won 1st place. The show had to go on and he was scapegoated through all reports for his “hyper violence” during the festival that took down building sized robots, blew up a minefield with everyone on it, tasered Shoto Todoroki mercilessly and to top it all off the brutal beat down Shinso forced him into.

None of the good he did during the festival made it into the news cycle, how he saved Ururaka and Ida came forward, Yagi..no ALL MIGHT didn’t try to clear the air, he wondered if Shinso came clean about his actions and motivations, if Bakugo felt any guilt for what he had to do just to escape that death match he had forced on them both. The only person he KNEW took his side was Keigo Takami who just commented on him “nice kid, dunno what all the fuss is about.” on the news cycle but that clip was never really replayed as he got sick on the third day in bed.

He finally was given a pen and paper so he could put his actions into words with a crystal clear letter. When Yagi came to visit him all he did was hand the poorly scrawled letter which read out clearly his request to opt out of UA on his own with no black marks on his record. At the very end the concluding statement sent chills down Yagi’s spine as he put down the letter.

“They called me the monster of UA, don’t forget the part where your deception created me All Might.”

Yagi looked torn, Midoriya could only smirk as he finally worked on what he felt all these days towards him with the scarce moments he was lucid. He had made up his mind, he didn’t need All Might’s power, he didn’t want to become the next horse society would ride. He was going to be Izuku Midoriya unapologetically. He had decided to burn his bridges with UA and All Might so it could light the path ahead. There was no going back for him as Yagi left the room silent and dejected, clearly Midoriya’s letter had been a punch he hadn’t felt all his life, he was always going to be the boy who said no to a Living God.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Months had passed by, Hatsume would drop by the shop to help out with Midoriya who buried himself into learning how to rebuild and repair his A.R.S. After having freed himself from the UA courses he was studying hard for a license, taking inspiration from his own father, Koda and Aachii who became heroes without UA he was determined more than ever.

Aachii was not pleased by him leaving but when he had a long and hearty talk on the matter his mentor could only smile and adjust his glasses, “You weren’t sent to UA to study for a job young man, you were sent to study where they went wrong. I’m glad Koda chose wisely in his last days.”

Shinso and Bakugo would drop by the shop, Midoriya could only treat them as they were. Paying customers, nothing more since he had left that part of his life behind. He was done with them but they clearly were not done with him. He couldn’t talk to Shinso since he didn’t drop out of UA like him and Mei, Bakugo wouldn’t even hear it so he knew better than trying to make the horse drink from the river he dragged it to.

“Old man Yagi sent this for you again!” Bakugo spat as he slammed another letter on the pile with Midoriya pocketing it right away. He had been receiving solicitations to intern with All Might since he had left, Yagi only stayed away since Midoriya threatened to out All Might’s true identity if his shadow ever darkened his doorstep. Bakugo and Shinso had become nothing more than his errand boys when they came in for their equipment upgrades and maintenance.

“I have your order here KA…Bakugo.” Midoriya reached down and lifted a heavy case, unbuckling the restraints he cracked it open for the blonde. He had repaired most of the damage Bakugo had recklessly done to his suit in their match, Midoriya had kept the gold medal high up in show for all to see, especially Bakugo. More as a reminder to himself never to turn his back to Bakugo as the devil himself slammed the case shut and growled at him like a hungry dog.

“For the millionth time! It’s Kacchan you shitty Deku!” Bakugo grumbled as he pulled the case off the counter and slammed a UA equipment voucher on the reinforced metal. “You know my old hag was gonna kill me if I dropped out like you! She grounded my fucking ass for hurting Inko’s sweet little baby so get over yourself dropout!” He tried to climb over the counter to reach Midoriya, the green haired boy just smiled as he pressed a button that electrified the metal countertop, sending Bakugo flying into the wall behind him.

“It’s Midoriya….SIR!” Midoriya spoke softly, slapping on a mechanical glove from a prototype he was tinkering with. Bakugo’s eyes grew wide as he gnashed his teeth.

“I’m Katsuki Bakugo you ass! We’re friends, you shitty nerd!” Bakugo raged as he got up, sparks flying from both hands as Shinso backed away, having no dog in this fight. Suddenly several pellets shot from the glove’s knuckles, covering Bakugo in a caustic cloud that reeked off chalk but sizzled like acid.

“Soda acid, astringent and moisture absorbing. Consider that FRIENDLY warning..sir.” Midoriya spoke coldly. Bakugo had only been getting more aggressive to the point that Inko had to beg his mother to stop visiting Midoriya. He knew that Mitsuki was not aware that Bakugo was coming to him for equipment using the school’s tech voucher program. He would have told her long ago but for now it felt good dishing out the neglect and bullying he endured courtesy of his “friend”. Bakugo had dished out so much of it and couldn’t stand for it when it was being served back at him. It was the only reason he wasn’t banned from the shop as Midoriya had his quota of humiliating him before he looked at Shinso.

“You have no pending orders or jobs for me, why’re you here?” Midoriya crossed his arms as he stood at guard. He had apologized back in UA for his actions but Shinso’s refusal to leave the hero program he had worked so hard to get in drove a deep wedge, becoming Yagi’s lackey and errand boy with Bakugo was another reason why they had a falling out. He didn’t want Shinso brainwashing him into becoming All Might’s successor.

The day he walked away from him, the boy who claimed to be obsessed about him, the man who ordered him to beat him to a pulp as punishment suddenly did a full reversal and somehow thought All Might had a point. Each step he took from Shinso that day felt like someone had pulled every nail from every finger one by one with a rusty plier that kept slipping. His heart felt like a knife was stabbing it with every beat since Hatsume agreed without any hesitation and she didn’t love him as much as Shinso claimed he did. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back between them all these months, he had every opportunity to leave and come work with Midoriya to establish his own Hero agency one day.

“You burned the bridge, just trying to rebuild them Izuku.” Shinso shrugged, Midoriya went silent, recognizing the obvious baiting tactic before slamming a collar onto the metal table, something of his own design modified from the anti quirk tech used in Tarturus that Aachii was helping to optimize. Except this one won’t blow your head off or stab you in the jugular; it would just give you a decent shock the more you used your quirk.

Shinso rolled his eyes as he grabbed it and snapped it on without hesitation, Bakugo just spat on the floor as he trundled out of the shop, “This isn’t over you fucking nerd! We have to talk!” He flashed him the bird as he slammed the door shut behind himself.

Shinso and Midoriya stared at each other and sighed as the collar beeped green, showing that Shinso wasn’t using his quirk. “I hated every minute of training, but you said, Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a hero!” He chuckled as he leaned forward, his eye caught Midoriya’s finger on the button to electrify the counter so Shinso doubled down, placing another elbow on the table.

“Life is not what you make it alone. Life is the everyone who touched you and every experience that entered it. We are all part of each other Izuku.” Shinso leaned in, wincing as he felt a slight shock, smiling as the last time Midoriya had not hesitated to shock him off the counter. “You remember the hero program? We didn’t get there by wishing for it, but by working for it. I just hung onto the hope you gave me. I Hold On till the Pain Ends, one day I know the pain you feel will.” He smiled before suddenly the shock from the counter blew him back. He was heaving in pain when Midoriya clicked a button, letting the collar fall off Shinso’s neck then pointed at the door.

“Take your fortune cookie clichés somewhere else, I’m too busy for this.” Midoriya grumbled as he walked to the backroom. “Next time I won’t take the collar off Shinso.” he growled as he slammed the iron door shut behind him with a thundering clank.

Shinso just smiled since he at least got more than two sentences from Midoriya who had Mei handle him, then just hand him packages without so much as a hello. He was making progress one painful shock at a time. He had dreams that weren’t going to work if he didn’t and he kept creating opportunities with Midoriya because he didn’t regret anything that made him smile. He was going to break through one day, he just hoped sooner than later as he left the shop.

____________________________________________________________________________

Later that day Midoriya was working on the A.R.S’s new M.E.S.H system overhaul when he got a message from Hawks. He was the only person who’s message made him smile these days since got him a part time job as a walk-in repair guy. An odd request but one with a purpose only Midoriya knew as he donned the hat and uniform he was provided.

He turned off the feed in the background that had layers of code running, voices being recorded, camera feeds going through the myriad of AR screens on his work bench. He adjusted the cap and switched the screens into a holographic mirror as the letters on the cap H.P.S.C stood out prominently.

He took the capsule full of “quantum dots” that were standard nano surveillance drones that were connected via a quantum tunnel to his receiver at the workshop. Poor Mei would be devastated to learn what Midoriya really was using them for as he left the workshop to penetrate the H.P.S.C, one room, one system terminal, one camera at a time. He was going to win this invisible war but he needed to be hundreds of steps ahead as a lone operator as he whistled out the door. Locking the door behind him as he walked to the bus stop, thinking of all the plans he had in the pipeline.

Chapter Text

Figure 18. Left Picture has the D.E.K.U suit that has the new M.E.S.H integration. Middle picture is Midoriya's "Shin" suit that is extremely low tech only having the same features as the MK-1 Carapace from his first year. Final Picture is of Katsuki Bakugo as pro hero Dynamight. As he grew up and reached 20, he made his new suit more "public" friendly especially with how much the public is losing trust in heroes as All Might's patrols have reduced over the years, leaving criminals more emboldened. 

“The public wants to know as the new quirkless hero what does Deku on the suit mean?” The reporter asked Midoriya who stood nearly a foot taller than her, the bio mechanical monstrosity he wore those days were a far cry from the days of the A.R.S 5 years ago. He was 20 now with a full fledged hero license without U.A. 

The visor opened and Midoriya’s friendly face opened with a smile. “Dark Elerium Kurrent Unifier” he looked at the befuddled look on the reporter’s face who pulled the microphone back and asked the question he resented the most.

“I’m sorry but doesn’t Deku mean useless like your many critics call you?” she asked politely, suppressing a grin that Midoriya had seen many times, he also KNEW who his biggest critic was since he had one upped him every time with his capture stats. He leaned in, speaking into the mic. 

“I’m a Dekiru, just like my D.E.K.U suit. I can do anything, I’d love for my critics to stop talking about themselves since I have actual crimes to stop.” He pulled back, his visor retracted and covered his face. The whirring off his rockets signaled the mass of reporters as they cleared the way, readying their high speed lenses to capture his signature rocket slide as it sped past them, sending hot jets of ionized plasma in all directions to many cheers as he sped down the road. 

Midoriya had worked for the last 5 years to improve the suit, Modified Elerium Siphon Holder had long replaced the LFTR which now powered the new armature D.E.K.U which had replaced the A.R.S. Though he had passed the exams and received a license, he registered as a support hero like Aachii for the political fraternity with his fellow rescue based heroes like Ururaka and Ida, the only people he really got along with. Both of them worked under Ida’s umbrella for the Ingenium brand of heroism but in practice Midoriya had the highest counts of takedowns in the last year since he was active. 

His blitz speeds and bugs at the HPSC gave him upto date information that his mainframe at the workshop could provide him over his C.I.C. Interning there for the last 5 years had served him well since every server, terminal, copy machine now were riddled with his quantum dots that had been silently siphoning data off to him for his vigilante activities before he got his hero license. 

He couldn’t lie in the perverse pleasure he felt in reaching crime scenes before they happened, with some speculating that he was causing crimes to happen or was hiding a foresight quirk that allowed him to beat the pros that were lagging behind him hard. He was careful not to accept commercial deals or sponsorships that would put him on the map. Last thing he wanted was a ranking in the top 10 so early. 

Hawks had been one of his most trustworthy mentors with the exception of Aachii and as he came back to his shop he stepped out of the suit within his inner sanctum and opened the closet to the true suit he had built. It was low tech, undetectable and most importantly, it was HIS. There was no Mei, No Aachii, just simple brain power and guts to win the day as he opened his phone and saw Hawk’s message to meet. 

As he put on the tactical gear, checked the pouches and loaded all the weapons, he was going hunting. Hawks was the only hero who knew about his infiltration and didn’t care long as he was given a live feed with him as they opened up the HPSC’s ‘Red Ledgers’

Midoriya had gone by another name over the last 5 years as a vigilante especially when Hawks found him out. He was inspired by Stain back when the hero purge happened under him and his followers but Keigo had rightly pointed out, the only real justice is the one your hand doesn’t shake when swinging the axe.

So he had been collecting Red Ledger cold bounties ever since. The hardest, grizzled, amoral psychopaths the world had created would see death at his hand. Unlike daylight hero D.E.K.U, the night belonged to Shi and he was not a kind death either as he cocked his gun and headed out with the Fresnel lensed camouflage out the door. 

His target tonight was a member of the LoV itself. A girl no older than him who had been preying on her victims as a vampire would, she was never caught and the HPSC suspected shapeshifting involved with pictures of the victim taken hours after the coroner’s time of death. The best analysts were befuddled but the HPSC KNEW she had the perfect cover to walk out without suspicion. The victim’s own skin literally. 

“Took you long enough kiddo.” Hawks chuckled as he was munching on sweet corn by the kernel on top of the clock tower that surveyed the city for many miles in every direction. Midoriya shook his head as he clasped his knees, the height always left him shaking but he knew Keigo would catch him before he even fell halfway. 

“Dynamight still talking shit, got into my head.” Midoriya spoke bitterly through his mask as Keigo held out a hand and handed him a photograph of the latest suspected victims. An up and coming pop icon from the local scene was going to be making a big show today, they had luck on tier side since their serial killer had a fetish for seeing their victims at their highest highs before bringing them down to their lowest lows as he pocketed the picture. 

“I still can’t figure out why you never turn me in Keigo San?” Midoriya asked for the umpteenth time, a question he couldn’t stop repeating knowing Keigo’s moral grayness on the matter but every time he would get the same answer. 

“I’m just a nice guy.” Keigo would say non chalantly with a shrug of the shoulders but today was different. 

“Didn’t want you to become the monster that All Might nearly made you into kid.” Keigo munched another hard kernel, cracking it between his teeth as he handed Midoriya the UA withdrawal letter that he had written all those years ago. “Whatever he offered you, it wasn’t worth your soul so I can respect that so I couldn’t let balls like yours rot in a cell someday.” 

Midoriya shook as he held the letter, Keigo’s thirst for information was always a force he knew not to underestimate but going so far as to get privileged and sealed records from a renowned school just to get to the bottom of the riddle of Izuku Midoriya seemed to unnerve him at the breach of privacy. 

“I hope someday you can be honest with me kid, you tore up your golden ticket, knowing you there was a damn good reason and a juicy secret.” Keigo smiled at him with those eyes closed as he dove off the clock tower, leaving Midoriya cursing as he knew Hawks was heading to the concert before him. Lucky for them both, the killer was in no hurry today, they were going for the show before their dinner literally as Midoriya made his way across town for the concert of Pop. 

Once he had reached the crowded event, the bouncers, security had their hands full with crazed fans who seemed the perfect distraction for a serial killer to slip through. He kept a close eye on the security guards, counting their rotation in and out. Occasionally noticing Hawks swooping over him, most likely doing the same. 

If the killer was going to get in through there then it was going to be by impersonating a security guard. After an hour he noted one guard who had been on their “break” for too long. It had been a good 30 minutes before he spotted him again, instead of resuming his post at the south gate, he was weaving right through the front door, his colleagues not even bothered by his entrance as they held back the tsunami of bodies.

Midoriya nodded, sending a picture to Hawk’s goggles digitally. The C.I.C he gifted him allowed him to nurse on the same data from the HPSC that Midoriya had access to as well as their Red Ledger operations. Keigo stood by on the rooftops, out of sight. He always left these ops upto Midoriya since he could go incognito but the public would immediately recognize Keigo and blow the whole operation right into the HPSC’s notice. 

Neither of them at the end of the day were really supposed to know about the Red Ledgers. Shi was paid out by a shell company he had setup on I-Island on his last visit there. He missed Mei who had left Japan for a new project that Aachii had been commissioned on. Project Schwarzschild. He had hoped to at least hear from her but the flow of communications were restricted during most days and her messages were being combed through thoroughly so a normal conversation was not really possible. 

He made his way past the security with his optical camouflage doing most of the work. Midoriya had many times used the darkness and shadows to his advantage but he knew today given the event, the light and noise worked to his advantage as he tagged the guard on his HUD and followed the suspect through the many snaking corridors of the auditorium. Clearly the guard had no idea where he was going just as Midoriya did. 

This only confirmed Midoriya’s suspicions as he stalked his prey. This person didn’t make it to the Red Ledger for nothing he thought. The confirmed deaths included alot of pro heroes, models and semi famous young people who were getting big breaks and a chance to turn their life around. They were an addict to bringing these people down and ripping their dreams from them. 

The target today was a girl who started on the local circuit as a street performer but after a minor incident that involved kidnapping and brainwashing had made a comeback and been on an upward trajectory. It was hard to believe the target, Himiko Toga, who was a beautiful blonde girl had thrown away her life to become an opportunistic vampire. She had been written off as a lost cause by the government as a member of the League of Villains; she was now a clear and present danger. A threat that could upend society as her appetite for prolific targets had grown in the last 5 years. Her ability to transform was only confirmed by Midoriya’s own eyes as the guard’s skin began to melt away like wax, the clothes and shoes as well. The oversized costume revealed a lithe and harmless looking girl, wearing a dress that housed many cylinders. 

She was overlooking the backstage for a fresh target, someone that could access Pop herself when she got off the stage as the show was in full swing and the icon was being bathed in adulation and cheers. He could see the sadistic girl licking her lips like a hungry dog eyeing the finest steak, salivating with a disgusting mixture of hunger and lust. Midoriya knew what it meant to be bi but this girl was clearly bi and large when it came to killing. She was an equal opportunity killer and it made him sick to the stomach as he unsheathed his tazer knife, determined to run her through the armpit which was the fastest way to the heart. 

Like many of his past targets he knew a simple stab to the heart even through the armpit was useless since they were very resilient and could awaken quirks in life and death. So the shock from the knife was over voltage, comparable to an electric chair to disrupt most quirks. Some targets were too big for the blade to reach so he knew the electric shock had come in clutch many times on previous jobs. 

The optical camouflage fizzled off, he leapt up like a viper, clamping his arm around her throat to crush the vocal chords before shoving the knife deep into the armpit and snapping the button on the handle to send thousands of volts through the girl who was in the throes of agony as her life was coming to an end. He felt her going limp after having thrashed like crazy for a few moments. Despite having a vampiric quirk he was thankful she didn’t have vampiric strength as he pulled out the knife slowly and didn’t feel blood. 

Sand? Mud? Where was the blood!? Midoriya thought to himself as the girl had dissolved into sand. Was this a clone!? A setup!? Before he could re-engage his camouflage he was hit from the back by another guard. He panicked, thinking he had been caught as he thumbed his smoke grenade, he noticed no verbal warnings, no reaching for their own gun. The guard was not acting like a guard normally would. 

Midoriya held up his knife as the guard took out another knife, licking the blade lewdly as the sandy clone had licked her own lips. Was this her power?! Didn’t she need blood? Midoriya shook his head as he charged into the guard who was handling himself just fine, moving fluidly with deceptive alacrity despite appearing overweight and hefty, he was moving like a ballerina who was twirling that blade like an extension of her own arm. 

Midoriya didn’t need to confirm, those unnatural movements, that proficiency with a knife. It was Himiko Toga. He pulled back and re-engaged the camouflage, vanishing into a blur but Toga was one step ahead of him as she sprayed him with blood from one of her canisters, making the optical camouflage useless as he powered it off, hoping to lure her into a dark corner where he could dispatch her as he brought his quirk to bear. His fear and anxiety projecting into her but despite hitting their mark, he saw no visible change. The girl didn't have any fears or anxiety!? No guilt or empathy!? No....this couldn't be a person! He tried desperately to get a read on her but only got back mental static. 

He pulled out his M9-Dart pistol. The only other silent option he had besides his SOCOM which would cause a bang so loud, it would send the stadium running. He fired off a few test shots laced with Dendrotoxin but Toga’s costume as the guard seemed to confirm his suspicion that she had a protective layer like the wax he had seen her clone shed earlier. That might have been blocking his quirk he thought, knowing using it offensively was out of the question.

Thinking very carefully he felt that he would have to rely on the SOCOM after all in such close quarters, it was the only weapon that paired well with his knife that had used its one and only electric charge on the clone. So he had to even out the playing field somehow in that dim corridor as the concert was coming to close behind them. 

“Why are you doing this Himiko Toga!?” Midoriya spoke loudly, hoping his shout would attract someone, anyone he could use as a distraction to take her down. There was no one since everyone seemed to be preoccupied with the concert above their heads.

Toga only smiled behind the disguise of the guard, she knew better than to drop it since it gave her a defensive advantage with Midoriya. “Because I am tired of people telling me HOW I should LIVE!” she yelled as she charged Midoriya, forcing him to trade blows, that perverse and lewd smile flashed as their blades sparked and Midoriya felt the cuts glance off his STF-K armor. "Aren't you!?" She shrieked as her knife flicked off his armor harmlessly to her chagrin.

Toga only pouted as she pulled back from her many successful stabs being stopped by the STF-K padding as she ran the other way. Midoriya shook his head as he sheathed his scratched up M9 and took out the SOCOM. He had to be lethal now, she had forced his hand with those skillful strokes of the knife when he had traded blades. He had many cuts deflected because of his suit but he couldn’t land one on hers. Luckily he was a surgeon with a gun, as he cocked the SOCOM, loading one in the chamber as he chased her down the corridor. His quirk and toxic darts weren't going to work, so he had to use louder measures.

One set of footprints became two then two became four, this threw off Midoriya who didn’t know which direction to chase her. All he saw at the 4 way intersection were 3 Togas, one running in each direction. He shot one in the back with the SOCOM’s boom echoing into the corridor in all directions, before she crumpled to the floor he had rounded on  the one to the left and shot her as well. Not having time to check he shot into the darkness in front, each muzzle flash illuminating his target. His quirk failed to get a reading on any of them. How was she blocking his quirk!? Was she a person after all? Or all of them were just clones!?

He had 5 bullets left in the magazine, carefully he picked up each casing, pocketing them inside a pouch for safe keeping, he had seen the one on the right had turned to a puddle of sand, the one on the left was just starting to turn into sand as her flesh faded out in texture. He held up the SOCOM, turning on the built-in flashlight in the trigger guard. He could have modified this suit further but he wanted to enjoy the moments of freedom from guilt and morality by hunting the worst criminals in society with some risk to himself or it wouldn’t be fair as he advanced into the darkness. 

He found to his frustration that the body that had been running had turned to sand as well, wary of any sudden surprise attacks he kicked the mound in frustration. Was this part of her quirk? Making clones? Could have been, as he rushed down the corridor back the way he had come. He had to risk it as the concert was in its final song, the curtain call was about to come and Pop would be in danger, so he went to the first place Himiko Toga would go even if her “clones” weren’t distracting him. The dressing rooms, but first…he had pulled out a bandana from one of his pouches, a small bottle of rubbing alcohol from the other as he hastily scraped and cleaned the bloodied Fresnel lenses that were left in her bloody spray. 

Shaking his head as he thought he had gotten all of them, the Fresnel lens array hummed to life, burning off the excess alcohol that seared Midoriya’s throat and stung his eyes as he rushed to the dressing rooms. The sight that greeted him was not pleasant as he saw spatters and stains that had been wiped. A spill? Some early cleaning prepping the rooms? He had to be sure as he pulled out a small cylinder, barely 5 ml and smaller than a finger but he sprayed some on the floor where the stains were. As he did he pulled out a small tube, no longer than his finger which exposed tell tale glare of shining blood as the Luminol reacted to the blood stains someone has hastily wiped.  

He immediately darted for the dressing room of Pop herself which should have been vacant but the locked door and tell tale stench of death was coming from the room. He had no choice but to ram it in using the H.U.L.C that was embedded in the suit. He was making too much noise on this job, the HPSC was definitely going to investigate but he couldn’t leave without making sure first as the door was smashed off its hinges. He saw the desiccated corpse of Pop who had been drained to the last drop laying in her dresser chair, the bright lights illuminating her morbid corpse’s palor. 

Midoriya just realized that Himiko Toga’s clones were just the beginning of her distractions, she had really been a spider that had spun this web long ago while Midoriya was keeping watch. The League of Villains weren’t amateurs, they had been paying attention to the Red Ledger deaths for the last few years when he had started as Shin. Was this a reverse trap!? As he rounded up he saw a heavily scarred man smile at him in Pop’s mirror. Every instinct in Midoriya yelled at him to run now as he rounded fast and shot a few rounds without aiming properly. He landed a lucky shot into the scarred man’s arm and leg. Both were flesh wounds but they stung the assailant who had him boxed in as he crossed his arms and rushed towards him in a heartbeat with the H.U.L.C embeds closing the distance in half a second as he felt blue hot flames lick against his STF-K pads on his forearms.

The flaming forearms rammed into his assailant, knocking him to the ground as Midoriya felt them climbing up his arms, burning the optical camouflage array on them. He hastily ripped off the sleeves that reached his elbows and tossed them at his assailant, sending a kick flying into the scarred man’s face which bought him time. In his haste he let off two more rounds, one nailing the guy in the torso but as he lined up for a quick kill shot, the SOCOM clicked empty. He lashed out with a fresh wave of fear and panic, sending the signals to his assailant's brain, smiling as he saw the man was writhing in agony while tackling his own demons but the flame seemed to be powered by his negative emotions, feeding off them like anthracite.  

Midoriya did the only thing after all the commotion with his damaged camo and empty gun as the man's flames were building up under him. Retreat and reload! He bolted for the exit, turning on what optical camo was left functioning as the cries and yells of the scarred man echoed behind him. His H.U.L.C embeds carried him like the slippers of Hemes himself as he threw caution to the winds, not caring which camera caught him in which corridor, that was the whole reason why he didn’t wear his high tech suits and was using outmoded tech in the first place so he couldn’t be linked to his tech hero persona. He signaled Hawks silently by pressing his comms thrice in a row, heading for the extraction point rapidly. 

He felt the flames erupt behind him, blue and angry but his running left them far behind. He had finally reloaded the SOCOM on its second clip, only carrying 3 since the SOCOM was a last resort besides the MP5. This was the first time the hunter had become the hunted and he felt excitement for the first time in years as he slammed into the exit doors. The fire and noise from the dressing rooms were the best distraction he could ask for. 

Himiko Toga had help, he would have to look into the League of Villain files when he got back so he could get even for this humiliation he had faced today. No way did they survive for 5 years and not pick up a few counter hero tricks to keep themselves alive given just Himiko Toga had the blood of dozens of heroes on her hands. Now he realized she was only the cheese, her “friends' were the mouse trap. It wasn’t a genius play, it was playing on their victim’s hubris and Midoriya nearly fell into that today as he slammed through the final door that took him onto the street where surprise….of ALL heroes he had to run into HIM tonight!

“GIVE IT UP ASSHOLE!” Bakugo yelled as he sent a piercing shot across his head, a first and final warning, wow he had gone soft over the years Midoriya thought to himself as he smiled at Bakugo. It had been 5 years and Bakugo true to his word kept pursuing Midoriya to the point his shop came on his patrol route regularly when he went pro. 

He shook his head as he reached into his pouch for a special grenade he kept in case of Bakugo all these years, knowing he would be facing heroes like he did in his past escapes. Bakugo was the last person he would expect at a Pop concert in the parking lot while the screams of panicked fans punctuated the background.

Midoriya and Bakugo stared at each other. His costume had become less flashy, more “heroic” and toned down since he went pro. Midoriya should know, Mei and him designed it. Bakugo was a cancer he felt he had to cut out of his life, he was done with him but Bakugo was never done with Midoriya even now as he thumbed the grenade’s release switch. 

His H.U.L.C and Bakugo’s H.U.L.C were whirring, thanks to Mei it had become a feature on most hero suits in the last 5 years so he knew they were more than a match so Midoriya had to play it dirty as he pulled out the M9 and shot at Bakugo, missing on purpose but enough for him to send a couple of concussive blasts at him that his D30 plating absorbed. He threw a cylinder at Bakugo who shot it out of the sky like he knew it would, throwing another one Bakugo shot it with his other arm, then aimed both at Midoriya, snorting in contempt. 

“Hey fucktard! Give it up! I got you dead to rights here!” Bakugo barked, ever direct to the point. 

Midoriya raised his hands slowly, smiling behind his mask, “You know what your problem is HERO?!” he barked through the voice filter.

“Not shooting you where you stand?” Bakugo approached slowly, cuffs dangling from his other hand as he smirked at Midoriya. 

“You never look down!” Midoriya chuckled through the mask as the grenade that had been rolling to Bakugo finally hit his boot and beeps loudly, exploding into a thick grey mist as Midoriya bolted into the dark alley. 

As he did, he heard Bakugo yelling into the night as his caustic solution had dampened Bakugo’s skin to the point where he couldn’t generate fresh sweat, the mist was condensing all over his costume so he couldn’t chase the fleeing Midoriya into the shadows. 

Midoriya could only chuckle at how much heroes like Bakugo over relied on their quirks till they weren’t there. Made his job easier as he spotted Hawk’s feather gliding in front of him, his literal wingman guided him through the maze of alleys into relative safety, leaving Midoriya severely exhausted when he reached his destination. 

His safe house with Hawks in an undisclosed part of the city that the world had left behind. Thousands of abandoned houses littered the country, the government unable to find interested buyers due to regulations and cost of renovating them, making them a steal for just a dollar. He had bought up neighborhoods worth of them back in the day with his first HPSC payments and he didn’t regret it since he had made hidden rooms in each of them when the heat was on like his recent encounter with Bakugo. 

He was only thankful that All Might patrolled the streets less as the years dragged by and only HE knew why that was since he still refused Shinso whenever he would come and try to convince him to take up All Might’s offer to take One For All. It was not his secret to tell, it never was as Keigo joined him at the house and they started exchanging notes on the happenings inside and outside.

“So our Popstar was dead from the get go eh…sounds like someone with deep pockets who set ya up kid.” Keigo crossed his arms looking at Midoriya as he retrieved bandages from his pockets and started wrapping them up with some Aloe Vera he kept on hand as an all purpose sanitizer. It stung and burned as the raw first degree burns were going to hurt for the next few days, looking up at Keigo. 

“I’ll look into the League of Villains tonight from the HPSC’s records from the cortex, we need help to bring them down.” Midoriya hissed as he bit off the bandage and started on his other arm. Hawks crossed his arms and shook his head, slapping Midoriya on the head. 

“See that’s the attitude that got you caught by me in the first place kiddo!” He chided him like he was 8. “You gotta rest, relax then get revenge!”  

Midoriya shrugged off the slap on the head as he finished up his other arm. “When was the last time you talked to anyone!? Your mom? Your friends? You gotta have a life otherwise you end like me! A dog with a collar.” 

Midoriya shook his head and sighed, “I made promises Keigo San.” 

“To dead people kid!” Hawks spat in laughter, “Listen kid, Koda’d kill you if he saw what happened tonight, ever thought of that? The five eyes bit off more than they could chew and the survivors had to live with the fallout.” Hawks shrugged as he looked at Midoriya with that devious glimmer in his eyes. 

“So just give up and let the league be someone else’s problem?!” Midoriya spat, upending the stool he was sitting down on, slamming his aching hands on the table. 

“It’s OUR problem kiddo and WE will solve it together!” Hawks spat back, confronting him, breaking his serious face into another giggling fit. “I’m sorry, just…you’re so young, you remind me of myself when I was a wee chick, pecking at the feet of the great heroes.” 

“Who is we all of a sudden!? Thought you don’t trust me enough till I spill the dirt on All Might!” Midoriya barked at Hawks who just casually waved him off. 

“Now now, you think that YOU’RE the only loon I got in my black book? I’ve met other kids who were pounding people into mince meat in back alleys while you were in diapers.” Hawks took out his burner phone and smirked before hitting the speed dial on 1. 

“Gari!! My man!! Listen, we need Raki and Daks on call! Tell em Papa Hawks is calling his chicks home to roost kay!? Give em hugs and kisses and tell em to bring Papa something nice while they’re at it!” He hung up the phone to a befuddled Midoriya as he pulled out the battery and the sim card. Snapping the little chip into pieces with his feather, “You’re about to meet the other merry men, Will Scarlet, so don’t you dare scratch your nose till I hit you up ok!?” 

“Wait a minute Keigo! That wasn’t our deal when we started this!” Midoriya objected. Keigo pulled out another sim card and shoved it into the phone dialing the one number he hated the most. 

“Inko!! Honey, you sound so young!! I thought you had a daughter just a moment ago! Anyhoo speaking of your kids, Young Midoriya here is in town and he’s heading your way now! Don’t thank me, I made sure his bosses won’t be sending him anywhere for the next week so have fun catching up with your son!” Hawks grinned wide as he tossed the burner phone to Midoriya.  

Midoriya could only look daggers at Hawks since he knew he couldn’t be a hero for the next week or Shin. He had moved his mom into the countryside far away from the city when things had gone so horribly to a solitary farming commune. 

“Now, we do this the easy way!” Hawks offered his hand, “Or we do it the fun way!” His feathers pinned Midoriya in every pressure point in his costume as Hawks threw his civilian clothes and a bug out bag from the cache they kept at their safe houses that had supplies, money and food for a week in them. 

“Air Hawks leaves in 10, so you going in your Funderwear or fully clothed, that’s upto you kid.” He snapped his fingers as the feathers pulled off him and followed him like a swarm. Midoriya did not like how he was treated like a kid normally around Keigo but he understood why just now. There was heat out there and he had to let it die down, visiting his mom was the best move now anyway to throw suspicion off himself as he stripped out of his suit and begrudgingly slapped on the T Shirt, Shorts and Red Boots. 

He was fuming at the kiddie Red Boots that he had thrown away at how childish they were, thinking the whole time of how much Bakugo had changed tonight. He was acting restrained, controlled and patient. The Bakugo he knew would have shot through his chest and asked his dying corpse questions never, hell teabagging was not out of the question when it came to how hyper aggressive Bakugo was growing up. He wondered if it was time to mend bridges now when he returned. The world was growing up, maybe it was time to reassess his grudges as he wore the bug out bag and opened the door to a smarmy Hawks who was offering him a helping hand before they went off into the skies to his mom’s farming commune. 

Chapter Text

Nabu Island was a remote place, out of the way and a popular destination for the old and ailing. Midoriya had bought a plot of land here, setting his mother up with all the fresh air and fresh food one could ask for. The farms here had their fair share of automated labor, every machine built by Midoriya himself, simple, sturdy and reliable. If he had let Mei anywhere near their development Nabu would have become a small military power in no time. 

Hawks had dumped Midoriya into the middle of the wheat field, the summer crop was turning golden in the summer heat that was drying out the thistle. As Midoriya was sent tumbling into the mess he shook his fist enraged at Keigo for forcing this leave on him. He knew better than anyone what Keigo was risking by letting a low level employee like Midoriya go on red ledgers and continue hacking. 

Nabu was the perfect alibi to place Midoriya given that he had attacked one of the more well known heroes of the next generation. Dynamight was not one to let things go so easy and Midoriya had time to think about it on his way over how Keigo may have saved Midoriya from another one of Bakugo’s diatribes. Now they were both pro heroes it was excruciatingly hard to detach from Bakugo ever more so when he was sharing or intersecting on patrol routes, forcing team ups and much worse. He was a big part of why Midoriya had refused commercial brand deals after seeing how much of your life gets exposed with them and he was a very private individual. 

He texted Ururaka about his “vacation” with a pin. Ida was his boss so he sent him a disappearing message as per protocol. His phone was full of self deleting messages when it came to them, things got…messy since Ida was married to the girl his family had chosen but life moved on. Atleast he was professional with Midoriya but he did miss when the three of them were like the 3 musketeers. 

Shinso and Bakugo would always call out Midoriya’s hypocrisy on working for a pro like Ingenium ever since “nepo baby” Ida inherited the agency from his brother. For years they had tracked down Stain who had formed a cult of personality around him. Stain….Midoriya remembered one of his first cases where his personal ideals clashed with his personal life. 

He remembered once how he sought out Stain when he had left UA, wanting to become a disciple. He spent years in the alleys fighting low level thugs, hoping to attract his attention, then he went after bigger fish in customized suit prototypes. Finally resolving to keep Aachii and Mei out of it, he decided to go back to his roots and went back to basics. Several years had passed, hero after hero tried to arrest him. 

It was his home territory, he knew every alley, every window and door, the gaps between roof to roof since he had been jumping from them during training since he was 10. Bakugo had come after him the occasional time, always left frustrated as he always had a caustic grenade with his name on it. Sometimes he secretly hoped Bakugo would catch him one day, see what his actions had made someone he claimed was still friends with. Meeting Hawks and getting a job with the HPSC changed all that, changed his perspective on the world for the better.

Midoriya dusted himself, walking to the farmhouse, a small cottage near the barn where his mom was supposed to be lay vacant. She might be in the market today, playing bridge with the other old ladies. Midoriya looked around at the robots he had built by hand threshing the wheat away that reminded him of  a life he couldn’t have. A carefree existence where he knew what his purpose was. The HPSC life was anything but carefree, he wished he had something that resembled a purpose he couldn’t doubt. 

Even Ida, couldn’t look him in the eye when Stain had been killed at Shin’s hands, denying Ida the closure he needed from his brother’s killer. Telling him had been a mistake since they had been rounding up his disciples in the years after. Stain had been his first red ledger case and why he assumed the identity of Shin in the first place, he had to learn to compartmentalize things, people just weren’t ready or willing to accept certain things about each other.

Maybe his mom was growing illegal substances, maybe she ran a gambling den on the island. Who knew these days just as she thought her son was an upstanding, by the book hero by day ready to be married to that nice girl Ururaka. 
He left his rucksack in the cottage that was reserved for himself, far away from his mother’s so he could practice shooting and hunting. Inko knew her son’s isolationist behavior and tried to give him as much space as she could. Izuku needed a nightcap and the local bar had the best beer so he made his way there. The walk would clear his mind about how close he came to dying to such an obvious trap tonight. 

The hot and humid air, filled with the chirping cicadas was a relaxing white noise he needed to destress, nearly 30 minutes had passed till he had reached the small bar, the bartender had heard it all and seen it all but he knew Midoriya was someone to be taken to the back rooms because he was one to let his sorrows drown him when he got drunk, 
 
In the dimly lit back room, a small window opened that laid out the beer in a pitcher and a small cup, indicating where he should sit. Midoriya took the first fiery sip, every drop burned on the way down. Perks of being 20, he could drink though wondering why Keigo never did despite acting worse than a drunk all day as he finished his first cup, letting his stomach settle before the next one. 

“Old man Haji puts you back here too eh?” A familiar voice came from the small table adjacent to Midoriya. There was no one else there at the crack of dawn besides himself and the stranger. 

“He just knows I get chatty when I’m drunk, have we met before?” Midoriya asked, his curiosity piqued by the familiar voice. 

“Oh we haven’t, been a few months but been trying to.” the voice spoke back. MIdoriya was starting to feel the beer go to his head, the lightness settling in his brain as he relaxed his guard a little.

“Did I owe you something and never pay  you back? Midoriya joked as he poured his third cup. 

“More like I owe you something and you won’t let me pay it back.” The voice retorted, holding out its cup, the face still concealed by the shadow of the dim room. Midoriya clinked his cup with the other. 

“I don’t remember giving anything to anyone, though I’ve only taken.” He shrugged as he down his third cup, his face went red as it had been nearly 15 minutes into the drinking. 

“Gonna sound cheesy but we’re coworkers and I’ve been trying to get your number.” The voice spoke back.

“Maybe I’m not interested?” Midoriya tapped the window as the pitcher was now empty, it retrieved the empty pitcher and handed him a new one through the portal. “Maybe you dodged a bullet by not getting to know me, can’t count anyone in my life who thinks they’re lucky to have met me.”

“You know me Midoriya, you just didn’t get to know my reasons.” The reply came back as he felt the warmth of the familiar voice reach out. Midoriya’s spine felt a chill from his name being dropped so suddenly as the man came out of the darkness. He was different now that he was 20, if it weren’t for the tell tale purple hair, Midoriya would have never recognised Hitoshi Shinso. 

Midoriya calmly put down his cup and shook his head, “Fuck! First Bakugo and now you….what the fuck is wrong with lady luck? Did I step on a black cat today!?” 

“Some of us aren’t stalking Midoriya.” Shinso chuckled, “My mom just plays bridge with your mom on the same island, so here we are.” 

Midoriya looked at Shinso, his mood lightened by the beer but he felt a pang of curiosity, “The jailbird?” Shinso nodded as he knocked back another beer. 

“I drink today because I deserve it for putting up with her. I should buy a case for her parole officer, that man needs a raise!” Shinso chortled as the beer burned his throat and he downed some water after it. Midoriya snickered at how Shinso couldn’t handle his liquor. 

“Why drink when you’re no good at it?” Midoriya shook his head as he finished Shinso’s cup. 

“I’ve got practice in getting burned by things I love.” He smirked as he offered his pitcher to Midoriya who gratefully took it. 

“I remember when we didn’t need a social lubricant like liquor to have a conversation, Midoriya.” Shinso spoke softly, his face flushed. 

“I already got out of one ….. Entanglement Shinso, not looking to get into another.” Midoriya shook the empty pitcher at him, Shinso held it steady, their cold hands touched. 

“I’m in the HPSC too you know, not everyone gets the Hawks treatment, I got attached to this hard ass Nagant.” Shinso shook his head, “Bet it must be nice to hear a joke from Hilarious Hawks, Nagant is always nagging me about something…” He stroked his purple hair, “Not that I listen.” 

“Oh? I always wanted  to work liquidations with Nagant but she gives Keigo…I mean Hawks the cold shoulder and by extension me.” Midoriya finished his pitcher, waiting for the beer to settle as he leaned forward, “How come I never see you with her?” 

“I’m her leash, I bring them in quietly, if they run, well that’s Nagant’s headache then. Shinso leaned forward too, resting his heavy head on his hand. 

“I see being a fixer isn’t so easy Mr Day job hero.” Shinso chuckled, “You got a camera everywhere?” he hinted at Midoriya’s body. 

“Same Shite Different Day as Hawks would say, just now vulgar as me.” Midoriya also lay his head on his palm, leaning onto the table as his face flushed. 

“Are you sure you didn’t dye your hair green there Bakugo?” Shinso chuckled tugging at Midoriya’s locks, “I swear Midoriya didn’t curse this much.” 

“Take it up with my manager, besides weren’t you and Bakugo an item?” Midoriya smirked at Shinso.

“Rumors and lies, I’m just making sure he went to therapy, it’s a court mandate not a manly date Midoriya, thought you’d be smarter than that, we’re nothing but….friends. Except he can blow up half the city on a bad day if his shrink didn’t lid his pot like head.” Shinso shook his head in disappointment at Midoriya who wore a look of apprehension. 

“Oh and I suppose me and Ida were just ….. Friends as well, right. Till he found out I offed Stain personally for Hilarious Hawks.” Midoriya leaned back into the chair, the wood creaked under him.

“I remember that case….nepo baby’s supposed to be marrying  money bags Yaoyorozu right?” Shinso asked casually, Midoriya nodded his head slowly. “How did nepo baby find out you offed his killer anyway? Did one of Stain’s loonies out you?” Shinso held up a finger, shaking his head, “I forget, you outed yourself because you THOUGHT you had to do right by him.” Shinso chuckled to which he got punched by Midoriya that sent the purple haired man to the floor. Shinso was rubbing his jaw and sighed. 

“Now I’m sure you’re not Bakugo, because he hits softer than that on his worst day.” Shinso snidely spat out some blood as he got back up on his chair, reversing it so he could sit with his legs stretched out, his arms resting on the head of the chair crossed as he looked at Midoriya.  

“Congratulations on Uravity sealing the deal on diapers, big money. Maybe I should be getting myself a beard as great as that.” He jeered looking at Midoriya who had gone somber. Shinso rolled his eyes as he got up, “Never mind, must be nice to have the mentor of your dreams, the girl who rakes in the dough and a double life as a hero the cameras love.” he started to walk to the door, Midoriya suddenly grabbed his hand. 

“Why didn’t you leave UA with me and Mei, Shinso?” Midoriya asked in his most serious voice. 

“Someone had to be your inside men, make the hard calls.” Shinso tugged, trying to wrest himself from Midoriya but his drunken grip was too strong, “You had to learn the hardest lesson in life Midoriya, the best way for me to protect you was to force you to protect yourself especially from me.” 

“You lost me.” Midoriya spoke in his stupor. Shinso sighed and shook his head in frustration.
“The trouble with you tech hero Midoriya is that when you put on that armor, it protects you from pain but it also protects you from pleasure.” He tapped Midoriya’s head, “You’re a porcupine who doesn’t know how to hug anyone without piercing them with all your sharp quills. No one can eat you but now who’s going to love you.”  He felt Midoriya’s hand tighten around his wrist, burning now as he felt the cold and clammy hand become hot as a blacksmith’s poker.

“Midoriya…you’re hurting me now.” Shinso tugged as Midoriya got up and kissed him, he felt feverish and hot from the beer. 

“Your quirk still erases memories right?” Midoriya asked as he broke the kiss. Shinso was wiping his lips with disgust.

“Yea!? That’s the biggest reason the HPSC even let me in when I left All Might’s agency.” Shinso sighed.

“Then do it again…what you did to me in UA!” Midoriya demanded, clasping Shinso hard between them. Shinso shook his head furiously, pushing Midoriya back.

“Midoriya don’t be stupid! Why would you want that!” He barked.

“I just want something, anything that I don’t need to think about! I want to pop the hood and drain the oil, can’t do that when the engine’s running.” He tapped on his own head, smiling deviously.

“I’m not going to do it to you or for you!” Shinso protested, walking away.

“Fine! I’ll talk to Bakugo if you do!” Midoriya sighed, “I do read your texts you know!” 

“And what will Bakugo feel when he sees me using you?!” Shinso clenched his fists, “That man’s been dragging his balls through sharp glass just to talk with you and we BOTH know why.” 

“Shinso, I am the monster you created. You played with me like a doll, You ripped out all my parts! And worst of all, for me to live, I had to kill the part of me that saw that I needed you more! hope you fucking knew we had everything back then.... And when you broke me and left these pieces to become a hero candidate... I just wanted you to hurt like you hurt me back then! We could have had a life together... Now all I want is for you to lose like I lose when I keep playing that day of what could have been had you fucking said one word... yes.” Midoriya spat out.

Shinso looked back, staring into his drunken stupor, confronting him, “Yes I broke it, you never let me fix anything, you never let anyone fix anything!” 

Midoriya sank into him and grabbed him harder than life itself, “What’s the point of fixing something? It will never be the same. So let’s make something better, let me make something better!” He kissed Shinso one last time. “I’m going now, I don’t want to be alone for the whole week, do you?” 

Shinso shook his head, pulling his hair back, he dug his fingers into his scalp sighing, “Don’t you dare tell Bakugo! I still want you to talk to him when we get back!” 

Midoriya smiled lewdly, wrapping his arm around Shinso’s shoulder, “Where did I say I won’t? He needs to know he has to move on.” He leaned into Shinso as they walked back to his cottage, the Cicadas chirping loudly all night.

Chapter Text

The week on Nabu Island had gone by quicker than Midoriya had hoped as he returned to the mainland. Shinso had been…different after that since Midoriya had promised to meet with Bakugo but of course, their handlers were tugging at their chains.

Just as Nagant had pinged Shinso, so did Keigo ping Midoriya. Something big was about to happen and the only answers that came were in location pins and the words Shie Hassaikai Compound. They were given a timer that would end at 12am tonight so they just went their separate ways to suit up for the HPSC wet work that had dropped in their laps.

Midoriya got out of his taxi that dropped him at the storefront. A hooded figure was waiting for him at the door like some stray dog as the rain poured down. It stank of booze and felt like the rain pouring on it was the most recent thing to a shower it had for days. All Midoriya knew was that he had less than 3 hours to suit up, and get to the coordinates that were a good hour away.

Playing it safe, he poked the figure with his boot, trying to push them out of the way when a familiar K-Gel glove grasped his leg. Midoriya was cursing Shinso, thinking he HAD to bring HIM here, right now!? As he tried to pull his leg back, it was met with the sparks from the gel, even in the rain it was keeping the nitroglycerin safe and dry enough to ignite.

“Move and I’ll blow it up Deku!” Bakugo growled as he ripped off the hood and revealed his soiled costume, ragged stubble and unkempt hair. The boozy stench was his stupid nitroglycerin that he was siphoning off into small bottles that fed into the pouches. Midoriya shook his head, laughing at the fact that Bakugo had grown up to the straight laced, tight assed ,by the book nerd hero while he had descended into a well of heavy drinking, anti-hero killing. He could have shook Bakugo off and smashed his skull into the door if he wanted to.

Maybe 5 years ago he wouldn’t have hesitated but Keigo had mentored him to keep it on the down low, appear ineffective when hyper effective. “Go on Dynamight! Show everyone what a great hero you are!” He chuckled as he wiggled the prosthetic foot he had since UA. Bakugo’s clenched teeth glistened as he shoved the leg out of his grip and stood against the door.

“I’m Kacchan dammit!!” He yelled.

Midoriya just smirked in that same cocky way that Bakugo used to when they were kids and he was giving him the usual beat down, taking out a remote and smiled deviously at the blonde.

“Don’t tell me you eletcrified the fucking door nerd!” Bakugo barked, leaning into it more stubbornly.

“Worse.” He clicked the button and the door swung inwards, letting Bakugo fall into the lobby of the shop. Midoriya only walked over him and laughed as he tossed the remote on Bakugo’s chest. “Wear the helmet we made you already Dynamight, you’re losing too many brain cells to your concussive explosions.”

“Hatsume told me she passed my message on Deku!” Bakugo retorted, still growling as he grabbed the remote, “Why you giving me the fucking key to this place!?”

Midoriya shrugged his shoulders as he went behind the counter, his safe space to talk with Bakugo. “Who said it’s a key? Maybe its a tracker? Maybe its radioactive and you’ll be impotent, hair falling out, toothless in a few years?” He smirked, flashing Bakugo’s own grin back at him, a face he had practiced tireless in the mirror, learning the subtle art of fucking with others over the years with Keigo.

“Enough Deku!” Bakugo slammed the remote on the counter and growled, “We have to talk! Shinso promised…” He pulled back when he heard the crackle of electricity, knowing from years of confronting Midoriya the familiar charging sound of the electrified counter.

“Don’t you have enough groupies to suck on that massive ego of yours Dynamight?” Midoriya chuckled, laying back against the wall, twirling a gun around in his fingers.

“For the last time! I’m fucking Kacchan! Why do you hate me so much DEKU!? This has to end!” Bakugo slammed both hands on the counter, leaning forward.

Midoriya did the opposite, he leaned forward and engaged Bakugo in his little staring contest. “You’re right Kacchan…it has to end.” He cocked the gun and aimed it at his own temple. “My brains all over the wall, a note for the police to find, years of abuse and bullying caught on camera when we were kids.” he cackled at the blonde who’s eyes widened.

“Deku, I know I was a shitty friend….we were kids! I was an idiot, that doesn’t mean I can’t make things right now!” Bakugo spoke slowly as he snatched the gun and Midoriya fired it off into the ceiling, raining dust and debris over them both till the chamber clicked empty. The green haired boy was just keeping that cheshire grin, leering at Bakugo.

“Katsuki Bakugo, I could have ended you in a million ways, one call to your mother, the police, the media could end you as a hero. Sure you didn’t do anything EVIL but as a hero you’re always a tragedy away from losing your license….” Midoriya spoke so casually.
“Then FUCKING do it!” Bakugo growled, clenching his fists on the counter, sending sparks onto the metal. “Give me the fucking tapes I’ll post em myself!”

“Grow up Kacchan…we’re not in third grade and I grew out of it, if I wanted to pull off childish revenge plots you’d been out of UA long before you wore the cape I made you.” Midoriya admonished him as he tossed the empty gun at him.

“Unlike you, my threats aren’t hollow, I don’t fire blanks and I mean it Kacchan, we’re not kids so let the past go. I’ve seen your life and trust me I don’t call that living!” Midoriya barked back, “What do you want from me!? No really!? You doing this to make YOURSELF feel better? You want your punching bag back? You want the boy who worshiped you back?!”

“I want my reason for living back Izuku…” Bakugo hung his head, “You are the only person in my life who calls me out for my shit when the whole world is lapping up my crappy act.”

“Oh you mean All Might taking your sorry ass under his wing you mean? I should know since he has a habit of digging into people till he hollows them out and leaves them gaping and empty!” Midoriya slammed the counter, pulling back as he pressed the button to electrify the counter. Bakugo only held on for dear life, taking the voltage for a few seconds till his hair started smoking. Midoriya sighed as he released the switch. “I can’t call you Kacchan because you sold out! To UA then to HIM! You’re a hollow shell who is in love with his own echo, how can I be friends with someone who lost himself to his dreams!” Midoriya pointed to the door.

Bakugo swung over the counter, blasting himself over before Midoriya could do anything else, shoving him into the wall, sending many things tumbling down from the concussive shock wave in the enclosed space. Grabbing the fearless Midoriya by the collar he growled, “I lost myself!? You threw away UA! All Might! Shinso! Me! All because we didn’t go along with your ideals!? You know how much I busted my ass in high school! Didn’t Shinso tell you shit we went through when you left!?” Bakugo threw Midoriya to the floor and kicked the old UA gold medal to his side.

Midoriya smirked lewdly as he held the medal fondly, “Yea Shinso couldn’t say so much since I kept his mouth busy all week! Had to keep those lips wrapped around something ya know.” The green haired man chuckled, breaking out into a wild cackle followed by a cough as Bakugo offered him a hand. A complete reversal of their moment as kids when Midoriya did and Bakugo had thrown it aside.

“Nice try Deku, you’re not the only one who grew up…Least I know the shit I did was wrong and I’ve been scraping my knees pulling myself out of my own hell! Let me help you out of yours!?” Bakugo grumbled as he knelt and grabbed Midoriya’s hand, the man was still cackling like mad.

In a sudden moment, Midoriya wrapped his legs around Bakugo and without knowing it slammed him into the wall by pivoting his hips, grabbing his arm he rolled off him and twisted his wrist firmly into a triangle while wrapping his arm around Bakugo’s throat.
“You left me alone with my demons Kacchan till I became one, so maybe I enjoy ruling my personal hell instead of serving in your heaven!” Midoriya snapped his words slowly into Bakugo’s ear, releasing his grip and kicking him in the ass literally as he got up. “It’s too late now to apologize for making me this way, I’m never apologizing for becoming your personal demon.”

Bakugo got up slowly, coughing as he rubbed his aching wrist and his pulled muscles, Midoriya advanced on him but he stopped when he saw something fall to the ground, Bakugo’s tears. The man’s face was stoic, unmoved, dauntless as he got up, covered in bruises as he looked into Midoriya’s spiteful eyes.

“Thanks for going easy on me nerd.” Bakugo chortled in a gruff voice, not defeated, not ashamed but full of a pride that Midoriya could not understand the source of as Bakugo hugged him, the green haired man felt what he refused to, a warm glow spread through his body. A feeling he wanted to deny and banish as what it was. Weakness. It had no place in his life where he leapt to his death almost daily as he let Bakugo break the hug. He was only human and the loneliness in his life had been crippling.

“Just get out…” Midoriya spoke gruffly, “Or the next call will be the police to collect your corpse.”

“Thought you don’t make empty threats.” Bakugo snickered in his lowest growl, “You bruise, you don’t kill Deku.” he obliged by stepping over the counter. “Send the bill to my agency, I’ll take care of it.”

“Keep All Might OUT OF THIS SHOP!” Midoriya yelled behind Bakugo who just flipped him the bird.

“He’s not my sugar daddy! It’s my MONEY nerd!” Bakugo growled back as he left the shop, bloody and bruised, walking into the rain. Midoriya wept silently after him as he saw Bakugo had taken the remote key with him from the counter. He looked at his phone, cursing as he saw he had 2 hours left to meet Hawks and Nagant at the Shie Hassakai Compound.

Chapter Text

From Left to Right - Picture 1 and 2 are the former Hawks who was originally codenamed Warhawk with his HPSC issued armor in the next picture. His wings and feathers are made from silver like amalgam that is a mix of Gallium and Mercury which gives him more versatility in controlling them. The 3rd picture is of the previous Nagant which is a code name passed down to the best weapon of the HPSC, her quirk allows her to make her arm into a sniper/heavy weapon. She converts her blood into ammo instead of hair which is why current Nagant replaced her given how limited blood is. The 4th picture is Sybil's armor who's true identity is revealed at the end of this chapter. It is a standard battlesuit so isn't customized like the others since his quirk doesn't work in any way with it. 

The 5th picture Midoriya's Bone Dancer suit with vibrating blade and stealth tech in it issued by the HPSC separately, allowing him to carry out discrete and fast assassinations. The 6th picture is Shinso's suit which allows him to sneak up on opponents and use his ventriloquism better to brainwash them so his partner can kill them or so he can sneak by faster. It has limited offensive and defensive ability with the hyper stealth module being his only defense, heavily relying on a successful brainwashing to get away with anything. It is meant only for information gathering or sabotage not attack or defense. 

Midoriya reached the coordinates, less than 10 minutes were counting down as he saw no sign of Hawks or Nagant. Though he had seen her around the agency he had never truly known her beyond her purple hair and gloomy demeanor. Keigo and most of the office gave her a wide berth and she was the only one in the world with no levity from Hawks. A joint operation meant something was too serious to ignore so he waited until finally he felt the wind rustle from a punch, instinctually dodging it barely an inch. 

His opponent was armored to the teeth, his wings were of silver, his hair a flowing silver behind layers upon layers of….I-Island armor tech that rivaled his best D.E.K.U suit. He felt a sharp tingle of a hot laser burning into his chest as he saw a red dot but the person was wearing a full body suit that was only given away by being darker by even the surrounding din. It was like she was a shade from the underworld, letting her target see her on purpose as the last thing when he would be alive before she pulled the trigger. 

“Stop! He’s with Hawks!” Shinso spoke into the radio, materializing inches from Midoriya in a new suit he did not recognize. The HPSC didn’t let people at his level let alone Shinso’s level access such advanced tech. Were they so undermanned that they had enlisted more assets for the operation?

“Don’t take your eyes off him Nagant!” came the gruff rumble from behind Midoriya, he saw the gold chest of the armature gleam in the light reach for his helmet, pressing down on a button that shot out a warm scanning beam that made Midoriya feel like a hot fire was passing through every inch of him. 

“Give me your call tag son!” He growled as two silver feathers hovered inches from Midoriya, ready to impale him at a moment’s notice. 

“Izuku Midoriya! ID Delta-3-Kilo-Uniform” Midoriya called out, letting the more intimidating Hawks like character go through his checks very thoroughly. The HPSC was not messing around if they were doing checks like this on all personnel, even lower level staff like him. 

“He’s clear! Bring in the Oracle, Nagant!” He barked over the comms, nodding his head towards Midoriya to follow them down the stairs into a room which had been set aside for prep. Once they were in, he saw a lithe and thin person covered head to toe in more armor from I-Island, once he rounded back he saw the woman in the black suit was not the Nagant he had seen in the office building and he saw one last suit in the corner with a….katana?! Really?

“Hurry up and put on your birthday suit kid!” the silver haired hero looked at his wrist, grumbling. 

“Nagant! Oracle!? Your prep ready!? We know Nyx here is working, couldn’t pick him up at all when the kid here shit himself.” he bellowed in a low laugh, even behind the helmet Midoriya could tell he was being singled out for some particular reason today. 

“Hey! Who do you think you are!? Where’s Keigo!?” Midoriya rounded back on him indignantly! Clenching his fists as he suddenly was punched through layers of his D30 plates in the gut that sent the wind out of him, knocking him on all fours. 

“Keigo is a showboating poof who dragged my name through the fucking mud! I’m the original Hawks kid! Warhawk! And that firecracker behind me is the original Nagant! Unlike our successor we’re gonna get shit done today!” Warhawk pulled his fist out of Midoriya’s gut and kicked him onto his back. 

“You got 5 minutes now to get into that suit before I put you in a fucking coffin.” He tapped his timer on the wrist and grinned with a morbid satisfaction as he left the room with the rest of the team, leaving Midoriya in the room, looking at the assassin gear with the Katana. This was top of the line I-Island gear, things they denied the very existence of according to Aachii yet there it was spitting in defiance of the “peaceful” research of I-Island’s charter.

The suit slipped on him like a glove, no tightness or looseness as each joint hissed and groaned into place, the plates were flexible and felt…like skin yet made of metal. These felt like they were built for space or more intense environments as he felt the nanofiber mesh weaving. He only had enough for the joints in his suit but this suit was literally made of them. 

He picked up the katana, a blade that felt like it was made from air, no….aerospace composites. Was it ceramic!? He could just feel the material vibrate in his hand subtly but the moment he touched the tip to the wall he felt the blade sink into the wall, pulling it out, he saw the cleanest cut that was precise to the atom as it pulled out silently. 

Vibro attenuated blade!? What material was this that could withstand such intense vibration!? Midoriya thought as he sheathed it into the scabbard on his thigh. 

“Don’t jizz into that fucking suit kid! It’s not yours…yet! The HPSC welcomes you to your first and final exam so head up to the roof for your debrief!” Warhawk barked over the comms. The sensorium on the suit was light years ahead of Mei’s tech skills that felt clunky and dated by the smooth buttery level of this suit’s own C.I.C suite. 

Though there wasn’t any exoskeleton he could feel the nanofibers extend and contract with the piezoelectric charges that were being controlled at the speed of thought by the suit. He felt stronger, lighter as he jumped the stairs, breaking it in, testing how far he could bounce, dart and flaunt his moves in it. 

Each felt liquid, effortless as it pulled off moves without clumsy plasma thrusts or H.U.L.C working in conjunction with them to make sure he didn’t break himself in half when he finally reached the roof access in less than a minute, having traversed several floors. This was unreal.  

“Your designated names for the op are as follows.” Warhawk barked on the roof when Midoriya finally joined them. 

“Warhawk!” he tapped his golden chestplate.

“Sibyl” he pointed at the thin and lanky stealth suiter who was previously called oracle.

“Gauss” he pointed at the older Nagant who remained nameless and mysterious with her black suit. 

“Nyx” he pointed at Shinso. 

“Bone Dancer” he pointed at Midoriya

Everyone nodded before he pulled out a disc that had a layout of the compound they were supposed to raid that hovered in the air which he laid on the ground so the whole team could get a good view. 

“Now ladies, we have a simple snatch and grab op here. The good folks in the Yakuza are sick of their current boss Chisaki and they want him out of the way, taken out by an outsider ya see.” he jerked his head at Midoriya. 

“Now bone dancer here is gonna detach an arm! Just one! As proof of death for the Yakuza here.” He tapped the display on an inner chamber. “We need this one ALIVE! So don’t forget your medkit to seal him up nice and good or I’ll be burying you alive with Chisaki’s corpse if you fuck it up!!” 

Midoriya nodded, refusing to look at Warhawk who kept trying to undermine him, thumbing his Katana’s Tsuka as he thought how many ways he could have sliced up Warhawk before he could think. 

“Nyx, you’ll work with Sybil here to get us in. Sweet talk the Yakuza boys and keep 'em out of our way alright? Make sure no one trips the fucking alarm before twinkle toes here does.” Warhawk pointed at Shinso who nodded back. 

“Gauss, as usual you’re gonna have my back, shoot anyone who leaves the compound and I mean ANYONE that isn't on this team. Also delay the police if they show up.Warning shots only, flat tires maybe. Can’t afford the heat from the last job again.” Warhawk looked at Nagant who hesitantly nodded.

“Finally Sybil, I’ll be your watchdog to extract Chisaki and the package , save your quirk for them got it?! No need to worry about the other two here, unlike them you’re not expendable.” Warhawk spoke with a softness to Oracle that sent Midoriya flaring, having been told how useless he was now expendable? Really!?  When he got back to the cortex in his workshop he was going to dox the hell out of Warhawk and this Nagant so hard. 

“Nyx! Bone Dancer go! You’re the vanguard.” Warhawk barked as he prepped himself and Sybil. Shinso and Midoriya ran down the steps all the way to the ground floor. How Midoriya missed his D.E.K.U suit, he could have jumped off the building instead of all these stairs, not trusting the new suit would survive the fall from the top floor, nor did Shinso who at least had a jump pack for retro thrust landings. 

Then again they were on a stealth mission and as Shinso went to optical camouflage it was…different, no blurring, no obfuscation. This was superior to their fresnel lens cloaking!

“Izuku! Turn on your ShadeSlipdrive!” Shinso whispered over comms. Midoriya was a bit embarrassed since the suit didn’t have an intuitive menu he could navigate, guessing it was some sort of code word?

“Just say NOX!” Shinso hissed, afraid Warhawk would listen to their tight beam communication. 

“Nox…” Midoriya whispered, his hands and body disappeared in front of his eyes, there was no trace, not even an idea they existed except if someone bumped into them. He could only see Shinso’s transponder ping his suit, giving him an on-sight idea where Shinso was without seeing his actual body. 

He followed Shinso to the guards who were posted at the gate where the brainwashing began. They started to open the gate just a crack so they could slip by before Shinso and Midoriya’s comms went active again. 

“One more thing…kill everyone in the basement except for the package! Got it Bone Dancer?! Nyx brainwashes, you hang em out to dry.” He clicked off the comms without any further explanation as their HUD led them to the inner chamber. Midoriya saw the schematic showed a doorway that should have been there but wasn’t till Shinso told him to wait while he investigated. 

He came back with several guards, most of whom were clueless. By the 7th guard, Shinso finally hit pay dirt as he triggered a hidden switch that revealed a hidden passage. Smiling both of them went deep. The HPSC had chosen wisely to accept Shinso in their ranks when he left All Might, at first Midoriya wouldn’t be caught 10 feet near him but as  time went on, more and more HPSC staff gave him recognition for being in liquidation at 19 which put him a level above Midoriya on a fast track.

As they went down, their HUD flashed with 8 pictures, all marked in red. All of them were B-C class with only a handful being A class with complete files on their pictures. With Shinso’s quirk and Midoriya’s Katana it would be a one sided massacre as they traversed the poorly lit corridors, they turned on their FLIRs until they came to the better lit part of the hideout. 

They were now in the belly of the beast, the so-called 8 aspects of death. A big name from a small gang trying to look bigger than it actually was. He guessed their boss had bitten off more than he could chew and his underlings in general except these 8 true believers didn’t want the attention and heat he was bringing on their heads. 

Finally they heard voices from up ahead. Three of them were in a room with the TV blaring at loud volumes. He could feel Shinso smiling as much as he was, seeing how easy this was going to be. Other 20 year olds like them had never taken a life but life with the HPSC changed your view on things. Some people believed in catch and release and rehabilitation but Midoriya after years of hunting villains as a vigilante knew that there was no real redemption for these people in the long run. 

Especially members of the Yakuza who were all hardened and organized. It was bad enough for the rats to be without number, those numbers being organized like an actual army would be too much for the hero system to handle. Pruning operations like this were extremely rare since All Might had broken their backs but his resurgence into the shadows and lower activity times had given even small timers like this gang confidence to become bold once more as he thumbed his Tsuka. 

He entered the room with Shinso, their HUDs identified 3 C class villains, Touya Setsuno who could steal anything his opponent had, Yu Hojo who could harden his skin like diamonds and Soramitsu Tabe who could eat anything inorganic and digest it faster than you can think. All of them were screaming at the TV looking like defunct trick or treaters with their masks, cosplaying as villains.

“Nice game eh?” Shinso said from the corner, de-cloaking as he taunted them. All 3 of them responded to him like the idiots they were which put them under his quirk before they could ask who he was. 

Midoriya walked up to each one, sending his blade swinging through their necks as though it was cutting air, their heads rolling off one by one. When it came to Yu’s turn, Youya’s head had jostled him out of his brainwashing suddenly making him erupt with diamonds from his skin.

Midoriya still swung, knowing nothing else as the sword cut through the diamond with some difficulty but slashed his throat. He had been saved from decapitation but Midoriya barely escaped the spray of blood that came from rupturing the vessel as he fell to his knees, desperately covering himself in them. 

He couldn’t risk him using his quirk in his dying breath so he found an exposed area in the back of the head and struck true with his sword, twisting it to ensure true brain death as the crystals finally stopped forming to his relief. 

It had been quick, easy, not even a challenge…he was used to killing people off the books but at least they had a chance against him, he was low tech when he hunted so he could feel alive. This one sided kill didn’t bring him that elation of having killed a monster…he felt like the monster from under the bed, dragging a helpless child to hell with him just now. 

“Midoriya! Snap out of it! Sybil and Warhawk headed our way! We gotta clear these 8 guys and Chisaki now!” Shinso hissed at him over the comms as Midoriya nodded, following Shinso’s ping as he had re-engaged the cloak. 

They heard two people up ahead who were arguing, more like one was arguing the other was telling him to shut up as they came upon an overly muscled giant and a scrawny man. Kendo Rappa who had powerful stamina and punches to back it up was the spear and the other guy was Hekiji Tengai who could generate force fields. Midoriya knew who they had to take out first, the shield was going to be the real problem in case someone like Rappa could overcome Shinso’s brainwashing. 

Shinso once again tried to bait them but this time Midoriya stopped him over comms. “Let me give you the signal then you do your little routine.” 

Shinso nodded slowly as he responded to the comms, “Don’t take too long…Warhawk is going to be on us in 5 minutes.” 

Midoriya snaked into the room, hearing the back and forth between the two. 

“Come on! I broke another Punching BAG!! I need to punch SOMETHING or I’m gonna lose it! What good’s your shield! You scared I’ll break it again!? Rappa egged on Tengai who was reading a magazine on a chair, watching as Rappa had a mound of sand bags at his feet that were leaking sand all over the place. 

“You never stop at the shield Rappa and last time you nearly took me out!” Tengai retorted, flipping his page lazily as Midoriya’s suit sizzled against an energy barrier. 

“Fuck!” Midoriya whispered as he unsheathed his Katana, sinking it through the weak barrier that turned stronger, resisting the blade. He had already stabbed through a lung but the strong barrier left the sword stuck. 

“What the fuck Tengai!” yelled out Rappa as he charged towards him. 

Tengai was incapable of speaking which made Midoriya curse himself as he finally yanked the blade free. It was clearly meant to vibrate through molecules, not pure energy. Guess he was going to have to face the spear earlier than he thought, thankful his cloak was still on and they didn’t discover Shinso yet. 

Rappa grabbed Midoriya’s blade that sliced through the fingers with ease but he punched the sword, losing some more, the shockwave sent Midoriya back a few feet. 

“I’m fine you fool! Get them!” Tengai commanded. 

“Hey!! Who you calling a…” Rappa growled, looking at Tengai as he came under Shinso’s quirk. Midoriya thanked the Gods that Shinso’s suit kept his ventriloquist module. He was about to decapitate Rappa who snapped out of the brainwashing without warning, which pissed off Midoriya. 

He slammed the sword at Rappa but felt the energy field get in his way as Rappa kept sending him flying. Despite having the advantage of invisibility Midoriya wondered what the play here was as he saw that the latest shockwave was propelling sand from the ground into the air, making a solid curtain of fine particles that were giving away his position.

To a seasoned fighter like Rappa that was all he needed to zero in his punches. Midoriya had to keep his blade on guard to deflect the punches that left his hands bloody but the dauntless prize fighter kept them coming. 

He knew that needed to buy time as he felt the force fields weaken, that a punctured lung would be giving Tengai a bad day in controlling his quirk which needed immense focus and he felt like the last blow cut into flesh of his attacker. 

Finally he ate one of Rappa’s immense punches that sent him into the wall. Leaving him concussed a little. He had to recover and do so fast. He saw Rappa bearing down on him as he heard Tengai’s final cry of agony come from the other side of the room. 

Midoriya knew that meant that Shinso had finished the job he had started so it was good that Rappa and Tengai had to focus on their sand covered assassin. 

Rappa brought down an unprotected punch that Midoriya sliced through like butter but the obstinate man yowled even through the pain. He was an adrenaline junkie, high on the action like Midoriya so he could understand how resilient that would make someone like him especially with a body and quirk like his. 

Midoriya took another blow to the side, this time barely standing his ground as he saw Rappa’s other hand had been bisected by ramming itself onto his blade. Whatever this material was, it was vibrating at a frequency that would shatter anything below titanium. Human flesh no matter how strong wouldn’t put a dent. 

In the moment Rappa was bringing both his stubs down for another barrage he swung downwards this time. Taking both blows to his back, though painful and impactful without the knuckles he had severed, they were blunt. The spear was only poking his armor with a blunt shaft, he had broken its tip and with his last swing, he had severed the legs the giant stood on. 

However, he had underestimated Rappa who fell forward towards him, trapping Midoriya underneath his bulk. With alot of difficulty he sliced slowly through the heaving giant, the organs and viscera showered over him, cutting the lungs stopped Rappa from howling his pain. Midoriya planned to give the man a clean and painless death but he had forced his hand as he pushed off the upper half that kept swinging at him in defiance. It wouldn’t even let him near so he could put Rappa out of his misery. 

His suit was flashing yellow as it was covered in blood and the plating had been impacted in the back and the side. Meaning cloaking was out of the question for now. Midoriya should have used his own quirk just now but he wanted to make this as even as he could for Rappa. The last 3 kills didn’t feel clean. 

“Will you expendable trash bags tell me why I had to slice up Rikiya Katsukame on my way down here!?” Warhawk blared on their comms. Shinso and Midoriya’s skin crawled with the realization that their boss was here already and he wasn’t pleased. To hell with fairness, Midoriya was not going to let Keigo’s name be dragged through the mud because of his personal ideals as he sheathed his sword. 

“You can leave Shin and Deidoro to us chief!” Midoriya responded to which Warhawks’ angry responses were ignored as Shinso and Izuku went down the corridors, this time he was letting Shinso scout ahead before clearing him to move on forward. 

Given how much these corridors were snaking and branching off he was thankful that it would take Warhawk some time before he could make it to where they were. Finally in a bright room like a lab, he was seeing three people operating very complicated medical machinery. A little girl was on the table who seemed to be….dead. 

Blood was pooled around the table, the man who was next to her was wearing deep white gloves. His hand pressed on the little girl’s head, she couldn’t have been more than 4 as Midoriya thumbed his Tsuka, Shinso hissed at him on comms and he cooled his jets as they listened in for Shinso to get voice samples to make his ventriloquism work. 

“Extraction complete Chisaki san…We can bring her back now.” The man in the long black mask spoke. 

Another man with a white mask and long hair was thumbing his bottle of sake with an itch Midoriya had seen in himself when he felt like drinking but couldn’t but for some reason the main man in the center of the looked at him with a menacing glare as he was doing something to the girl’s body. 

“She’s back.” He snapped off his white gloves that were stained with her blood and he heard the dead girl somehow breathing again. Shinso couldn’t believe it as the white masked guy brought fresh white gloves to his boss and got back like he was about to be blown up or worse if he had stayed. 

“Good, you’re learning your place Deidero. Just another diseased rat like the rest of them.” He snapped his fingers as the black masked attendant responded instantly as though they had done this hundreds of time without even flinching. 

“Shin, take Eri Chan back to her room. Make sure she’s recovered for next week.” He chided the man who started undoing her restraints. Meanwhile Warhawk’s voice was yelling he was getting into the comms.

“At once Chisaki san..” Shin replied to which Shinso and Midoriya looked at each other even when invisible except Midoriya was now a floating blood stain from Rappa’s fluids while Shinso was the only one who could get in and out. 

“Should we get the girl and Shin first? Then Chisaki?” Midoriya whispered into his comms. 

“Chisaki is the prize, Warhawk can handle Shin and a girl.” Shinso whispered back. “Follow my lead this time and use…your quirk Midoriya, we’re not taking chances this time!” 

Midoriya signed off the comms with a nod as Shinso went into the room and was working his magic, they both waited till Shin and the girl had left the room and went down the corridor. Midoriya sent their path and a video to Warhawk who would hopefully go to them while they handled Chisaki. 

He was flustered by the haunted look of that girl as she was being carried off by Shin, it was as though she could see him but said nothing and Shin could not see someone who was lying prone near the door, far as he cared it was blood stains from the room even if he looked down at where Midoriya was. 

“Any other orders boss?” Midoriya heard Shin’s voice. 

“For the last time…..” Chisaki started as he fell under Shinso’s quirk. Just like Midoriya had promised he used his quirk, charging up his hate for Chisaki and the sympathy he felt for the guilt, hoping the monster had some of it stockpiled in his own dark heart as he swung his sword, taking an arm and a leg off. 

It knocked Chisaki out of the brainwashing but he grabbed the leg with his other arm, Midoriya stabbed his sword through his hand. Suddenly a wave of nausea fell upon him and Chisaki who was yowling in pain as Deidero in the corner was downing the bottle, Midoriya was also feeling the burning of the alcohol, the light headedness from it all. 

“Deidero you trash!” Chisaki yelled out at his subordinate. Midoriya swung his blade down again, getting a foot but Chisaki pulled back as Deidero joined his boss. Shinso was bearing down on them, both Midoriya and him felt the world was spinning, so were Deidero and Chisaki. 

He quickly read Deidero Sakaki’s quirk in the file as a mentallic one that was very close to his own. Mimicry. He knew his quirk gave him no immunity to this and this is how Bakugo and so many of his victims that he killed in the alleys and the nightly off the books red ledger missions must have felt. 

Losing control and sense of self out of nowhere, at the mercy of their assailant. In the corner he saw a flash of light as Deidero yelled out in pain. “Die for your master, you diseased rat!” Chisaki growled in anger as he got up, the limbs that Midoriya had severed were still on the ground but Chisaki had somehow…recovered them all. 

No…Those weren’t Chisaki’s limbs, he was seeing the man again clearly, their skin tone and musculature were very different.  Did he combine with Deidero? The quirk wasn’t lifted and the only comfort he could take was that Chisaki was as disoriented as the rest of them. What the hell was Chisaki? Midoriya could only look on in horror as the floor turned to spikes, tossing him and Shinso out into the corridor. 

His armor and Shinso’s were pierced in some places, the nano weave was recovering fast, penetrating deep into their wounds as temporary sutures but their invisibility had been compromised. Midoirya could feel the quirk dispel finally! Mimicry was as troublesome as his hyper-empathy. 

It was all about firing off the first shot. He needed to beat Chisaki to the punch. He felt the drunken stupor pulling him into a fugue state again but this time he was ready when he saw a barrage of silver feathers rush past him in a hail of silver bullets, changing shape in the air like metallic thunderbolts. 

A massive explosion came from the room that sent dust and debris out. They heard the metallic clanging of Warhawk’s battle suit pass them by as he entered the room and dragged out Chisaki who had been dismembered by the litany of furious feathers effortlessly where Midoriya and Shinso had been taken by surprise.  

Sibyl in the distance had Eri in his arms, covered in blood of most likely Shin who had been her caretaker until just now. 

“No!! You can’t take that thing with you! She’ll destroy us all!” Chisaki yelled out as Warhawk’s suit opened a small compartment and a device resembling a cigarette lighting coil super heated very dangerously, waves of the intense heat visible clearly as he pressed it deeper, harder and longer than he should have into the bleeding stubs of Chisaki who’s remaining hand was held down by feathers that pierced the flesh, keeping it weighed down. 

“Why do you think we were ordered   to bring a cold cut like you warm and toasty? We know the risk and reward here Chisaki, what do you think we are? Heroes?!” Warhawk growled in his booming laughter. 

“Congrats, you expendables became dependable there.” Warhawk spat into the comms while he was cauterizing Chisaki’s other bleeding limbs. “Keep it up and I’ll promote you from punching bags to footstools. Who knows with some luck you’ll become my personal spittoons.” Warhawk shook his head as he trembled from his laughter, coughing up what seemed to be blood which he hastily wiped away. 

“I mean it! That girl is the apocalypse!! Kill me!! But kill her first!” he pleaded desperately to which warhawk smacked him up the head in disgust. 

“If it were upto me…sure, in a heartbeat Chisaki but she’s too good a weapon to pass up in the war that’s coming.” Warhawk chided him sympathetically as he bent several feathers into an improvised glove for Chisaki’s remaining hand. “Long as you don’t touch tips it’s all good right?” he smiled as he heaved Chisaki over his shoulder. 

“Do me and Sybil there gotta carry you like Pack mules kids!? You’re gonna get demoted to a toilet brush at this rate.” Warhawk barked at Midoriya and Shinso who were now getting to their feet, letting their suits stitch them up as best as they could. 

They heard a lone figure clapping in the distance, Chisaki’s expression went pale and wide eyed. Someone was here who was not on the mission profile. 

“Sybil do your thing and fuck off with the payload!” Warhawk tossed Chisaki at Shinso and Midoriya’s feet. Sybil aka Oracle came to retrieve him while handing Eri to Shinso. He touched Midoriya and seemed to zone out as the clapping was joined by several footsteps. 

“Fuck you Sybil! Take the brats and go! I can’t fight with the deadweight!” Warhawk spat into his comms, the blood now coming out of his mouth more, this time he didn’t bother wiping it. 

“Go that way and don’t stop no matter what. Gauss will handle extraction.” Sybill spoke softly to them over comms, the voice was very familiar to Midoriya who knew most of All Might’s people having avoided them. He swore it was a voice that had come many times from All Might’s office for the last 5 years when he was calling him on his personal line and the shop. 

“Wait…who are you?” Midoriya asked desperately, not wanting to leave without knowing. Sybil leaned down and picked his katana out of its Saya. 

“Just someone with foresight to do the right thing Izuku Midoriya.” He handed him a record disc and nudged him to run, “Don’t show that to anyone unless you absolutely trust them! Now flee!” He took his position next to Warhawk as the laughter and footsteps were only meters away now. 

As Midoriya and Shinso ran in the corridor that had been pointed to them, a familiar blue flame lit up the corridor, warhawk and Sybil were clashing with whoever was there, the force of their fight was collapsing the tunnel behind…..no Warhawk’s feathers blew up after digging themselves in to do that. Midoriya swallowed as he held Chisaki who was looking in horror, no more resistance as his eyes were hollow. His abductors had now become his rescuers and he was not in any mood to be left to their mercy. 

The corridor led them to another exit, one that opened up to the street, just as Sybil had told him, Gauss aka Nagant shot a tracer round at them to indicate she was ready. Midoriya tapped his comms. “We have Chisaki and the girl!” 

“Kiri!Mirai! Where are they?” She asked coldly over the comm. 

“I don’t think they’re coming…” Midoriya spoke slowly as the tremors from underground grew more intense. 

“I’m going in! S&R will be here on the roof in 5 minutes! Leave without us!” she spoke shrilly into the microphone as she rapelled down from her sniper nest rapidly, approaching them. Midoriya and Shinso made for her, trying to stop her.

“Point me where you came from!” she asked Midoriya over the comms as she looked at where he had been standing a few minutes ago. 

“The tunnel back there, don’t make any turns just follow it! It collapsed when we got out of there.” Shinso answered calmly, “Gauss, we can’t hang around here.” Another tremor cemented his point as they felt the battle raging underneath their feet. 

Gauss aka Nagant looked at them coldly. Her arm extended into a launcher from its sniper configuration. “Leave the problems to the grownups kid. You have one simple job! Deliver the goods! I’m getting our men!” She aimed at them. “Or I will shoot you where you stand!” Another tremor, this one closer to their feet was rocking the foundations of the building now. 

“GO!!” She yelled, the launcher was whirring with deadly plasma inside, her finger tensing the trigger to which Shinso and Midoriya carried their load up the stairs in the building, looking behind to see Gauss aiming at them the whole way. Only when they reached the  roof did she stop and run down the tunnel, the entrance collapsing after her as the compound shook, its windows rattled. 

In the air they saw an air ambulance come upon the rooftop, hovering close but not landing, they threw down LSI rescue ropes with harnesses attached. Izuku put Chisaki in one while Shinso wrapped Eri in the other who was for some reason unconscious through the whole ordeal. Maybe what Chisaki did to her took out her energy? Who knew. 

Midoriya and Shinso grabbed the other two vacant harnesses and tugged to signal they were ready. As the helicopter pulled them up, the compound was going up in blue flames, something dark was eating at the foundation which made the building sink into the ground. They could hear pulsefire, high energy bursts, Warhawk’s and Gauss’s battlecries over the comms as they were still fighting the war underground that was bringing the house down on everyone’s head. 

In the background he only heard that maddening cackle that curdled his blood. 

Once they were in the helicopter, the HPSC crew secured them to the back seat while locking Chisaki and Eri into iron maidens. A sensible precaution since he wasn’t yelling about her power earlier for show and War Hawks letting slip that they already knew more than they told Shinso and Midoriya about the girl. 

MIdoriya and Shinso were shut out from the rest of the crew by a blinder when Midoriya took out the data disc that Sibyl aka Oracle had handed him, wondering what was so important when a stranger like him was given something so personal? He looked at Shinso who looked at it as well.

“Who trades a sword for knowledge?” Shinso chuckled nervously as he saw Midoriya palming it. 

“It’s like Keigo says, the right knowledge in the right hands….” Midoriya was tempted to turn it on. 

“Do you trust me Midoriya?” Shinso asked seriously while the blades whirred and the soundproof cabin they were sealed in kept them in an enclosed space for who knows how long. 

“Far as I can throw you?” Midoriya scoffed at Shinso. 

“You punted me into bed for a week without a suit sooo…..” Shinso elbowed him, trying to release some tension with levity but Midoriya flashed him with a dead on stare.

“He died for this…” Midoriya spoke slowly, “Don’t insult his death.” He turned it on to see a hologram of a man in a stuffy suit, thin and frail. He spoke with a voice that Midoriya had heard for 5 years on behalf of All Might over the phone many times….His side kick Mirai Sasaki aka Nighteye was a hologram in front of them, speaking the same short message in a loop cryptically. 

“The 8th who went among the maker will be no longer.

Back in the stream that feeds the ocean.

The children of the one reborn shall find their own calling.

But you are the chosen spark of God's fire.

The obstinate toy soldier becomes pliant.

The city devours the land, the people devour the city.

Intruders swarm like flame, like the whirlwind; Hopes soaring to slaughter all their best against our heroes.

Leaving us at eight where punishment, rather than interdiction, is paramount.

Rise and measure the temple of the fire. 

Transformation is the goal. 

They will not harm their own.

Seized by God, the 8 cry for succor in the dark of the light.

The falcon hears the falconer.

Their wills outlast death.

You will be the harbinger

You will lead the 8 to their end.

Izuku Midoriya.” 

The recording cut out with Yagi Toshinori in his skeletal form catching Night Eye as he collapsed from his vision like it had drained him. The date and time of the vision was the day he graduated from Alameda. Yagi had seen this first hand. All the lies, the manipulation, the gaslighting. It was all because of this prophecy!?

Midoriya smashed the device under his boot. Stamping it out in anger as he took a deep and long breath, cupping his face in his hands. Shinso patted him on the back. 

“I have to see Katsuki Bakugo…” Midoriya exclaimed in his rage. The wheels in his head turning at critical velocity, if this is why Bakugo had really been pursuing him for the last 5 years!? Some prophecy crackpot that Nighteye gave to All Might about him!? Since he worked for All Might these days, he was going to find out sooner than later. It was time he confronted them both on their bullshit. 

Except this time Nighteye died so All Might could gaslight him even more!? There were better ways to do this but human life….Yagi Toshinori had gone too far. 

Chapter Text

The crowd was in a panic, dozens of people were on the edge of their balconies being caught in the mass quirk “Dictator”. As explosion after explosion rocked the streets, Bakugo had lost count of how many people he had concussed with his conflagration and concussive charges. 

In the past he wouldn’t have cared if the civilians had injuries because of him, long as he took down the villain. It didn’t matter how many shops, houses, offices were gone, long as he got the villain. It didn’t matter how many people lost their limbs, their livelihoods or their loved ones, long as he got the villain. 

Least till one fateful day 3 years ago when he took off the helmet and saw all the destruction he had caused to apprehend glorified purse snatchers. His agency was fed up, the government was fed up. He was used to being chewed out and his raw power made him untouchable like the higher heroes such as Endeavor since his damages were within the range of acceptable losses he was all well and good till he killed his first villain. It’s something Midoriya would never understand as he dodged and swerved, leaving flash bangs and concussion discs littered in his flight, catching falling person after falling person. 

He was part of All Might’s agency now and he was under a lens that was all too public now. He had to stay on brand and smile as people he was rescuing where tearing into him, beating him where they could. Had it not been for the D-30 plating their blows and knives would have filled him with more holes than cheese but he was grateful for the giants who’s shoulders he stood on now. He had stopped being an island and became a peninsula, joining land once more. Reaching out to his victims of heroism. 

He had donated a vast fortune he had gathered from his past agency as penance to make amends, rebuild houses, families and businesses where he had left them in ruins. It was never enough as he felt more people falling on top of him. 

“GET BACK INSIDE!! HIS QUIRK TAKES YOU OVER!” He barked at the people were about to come out to their balcony, sending warning shots over their balconies that kept them indoors. Smiling as he thought of how the old him would have wrecked the building as he fell to the ground, the people he had rescued were pelting him with punches and kicks, their weight became unbearable as he readied a point blank concussion disc.

With a whirr it popped into a cloud of powerful kinetic energy that left him mostly deaf. His uncovered head took the brunt of it as his brain was made to bounce against his skull since he tanked most of the energy into his suit, leaving enough to throw off the crowd who were still coming at him like zombies. 

His pouches were empty, he only had the fragmentation rounds left. He only used those on property not people…anymore. The dozens of people closed in on him from every direction in a circle. With an explosive thrust he propelled himself into Icarian flight, trying desperately to find the dictator quirk user who hid in his own crowd to make it impossible to find him. He had expended the last of his ammo, his palms were dry, he had no more sweat left to give these people.  

As gravity pulled him back, he saw Dictator in the distance, so sure of his victory he had exposed himself in the back of the crowd, waving to him as his horde below waited to tear Dynamight to shreds. The Old Bakugo would have blasted the whole crowd, to hell with injuries and broken bones or shattered psyches he would taken out Dictator had he gone all out but he resigned himself to his fate, hoping All Might would send in the cavalry as he was supposed to by now since his 30 minutes had rapidly fallen to only 15 minutes these days, he knew that Yagi Toshinori couldn’t help him. 

He was falling…30 feet, 25 feet….His heart stopped as he heard the whirring and revving of a jet, 20 feet…he saw a white flash ram into Dictator, 15 feet….he blinked for a hot second and saw Dictator slammed into a wall, sending dust and debris falling around the impact, 10 feet…he saw The silhouette of D.E.K.U on the shining armor of the knight of Japan as he fell into the arms and hands of the crowd below who were saving him from a back breaking fall. 

The relieved crowd let him down gently, apologizing profusely as he parted them away. He was rushing through them before D.E.K.U would jet off into the sunset as he always did and Bakugo didn’t have the firepower to even start a chase today. When he finally broke free from the crowd that was quickly dispersing, he saw Izuku Midoriya, his visor was up, fists clenched, dripping with Dictator’s blood. Though his armor was white as ivory and pure as a Shinto robe, he would always have blood on it. Izuku Midoriya had crippled so many villains since the year he was made into a hero, there was no law against it but he made sure to cripple them in ways that they couldn’t use their quirk. Of course even if this was public knowledge or suppressed by the media, no one would care what garbage like Dictator would be like after they are crippled for life after attempting to kill dozens as human meat shields. 

“DEKU!! Don’t you dare r……!!!” Dynamight yelled as he bolted for him but Izuku moved faster than ever before, getting behind Bakugo in a flash, the only hint he was even behind him was the hot pulsating pulse firing jets from his suit. 

“Took the words right out of my mouth.” Midoriya spoke somberly as he grabbed Bakugo from behind and took flight, leaping from building to building to escape the crowd, he had Dynamight as his passenger and their destination was pretty apparent. Roppongi tower. 

“What’s the big idea Deku!” Bakugo protested as they landed on a roof away from Roppongi tower and Midoriya let go of him, depositing him on the gravel of the roof of the 50 floor skyscraper.

“Wear a helmet, prevents brain damage Kacchan.” Midoriya spoke in a bitter tone as he held out the matching helmet that had been languishing in his workshop for years since that suit was made by Mei and himself. “Also can’t hear you when I am jump jetting from building to building, thought they taught you basic physics at UA.” he tapped a button on his own helmet, pulling the visor down, nodding at Bakugo to put his own on so no one could hear their conversation. 

“Dek…Izuku…About yesterday…” Bakugo started in a low growl but he was cut out by the static as his HUD displayed “tight-beam encryption enabled”. 

“Just us now…Kacchan, no laser microphone, no satellite, no surveillance in the world let alone quirk can listen in, so I insist you tell me nothing but the truth today.” Midoriya held up a remote, lightly pressing it, Bakugo felt a tingle around his neck, the helmet was locked in place with the shock collar engaged, reading his biorhythm for any deviations if he was lying. 

“You know what…FINE! If this gets you to trust me then ask away....fucking nerd!” He yelled into the comm, his polygraph’s baseline had been set. 

“First…why did you leave your agency for All Might.” Midoriya asked, thumbing the remote to the shock collar. Both of them were shrouded by their helmets in their full suites on the hot roof in broad daylight within view of Roppongi tower. Midoriya had picked this spot on purpose so Yagi Toshinori would get a front row seat for this little chit chat. His attention was diverted from the penthouse of the tower back to Bakugo.  

“Something happened, ok…ancient history….” Bakugo rubbed his shoulder, squeezing it as he was touching an old scar there probably, “But it HAD nothing to do with Yagi! IT was all my fuck up.” 

“Oh? Is that why you started to cover your body up!? Growing up I remembered how you wanted to flaunt that big bulky body around, building yourself up to tear the rest of us down.” Midoriya smirked as he tapped his rib cage, most of which had been reinforced with metal since that day when his jump jet had rammed him into the wall. The resulting ribs had been a haunting reminder of what Bakugo was capable of when he had power over him, the power to make him feel down and guilty. Not anymore….as he lightly pressed the button, a sizzling arc zapped Bakugo right in the spine. “How about we share with the class what really happened to you? Scars and all or you so obsessed over me you just want me to strip you down!? Is this some new fetish….Kacchan?” 

“Have you been spying on me DEKU!” Bakugo growled, his biorhythm spiked, the helmet responded with a mild shock that lit every nerve receptor in his body on fire. As he fell to his side, Midoriya began his little slideshow of the many years of Katsuki Bakugo’s personal life. Every escort, every friend, every notch on his bedpost was being played in front of his visor, the helmet monitored his response. 

“You know how the saying goes, keep your enemies close but watch your friends even closer. Drones are such a wonderful technology aren’t they. Fly, creep, crawl, wiggle…they do it all. Unlike people  that is.” Midoriya tossed the remote to the  ground and crushed it under his armored boot. 

“I don’t control the shock collar, it’s you, you want to punish yourself so go ahead!” He walked over and leaned in, picking Bakugo’s head by the chin and looking him visor to visor , “Tell me why you really left your agency. I’m a nerd, remember.” Midoriya smirked. 

Bakugo pulled away, seeing the beeping of the helmet as it monitored his mental state. “Fine! I took out the Bakusquad…They were just…kids.” He groaned deeply, his deep voice going lighter, the  timbre giving way to the pitch as he got to his knees, his head sunk as low as his spine would allow. “Everytime I look at….our medal I’m reminded of those kids I inspired the wrong way. Everyone saw the bad boy flaunting rules and I fucked up when I was with my….agency. They left my autographs at the fucking crime scenes! They went on a crime spree! Copied my look! Even had my quirk! Fire, Explosives! Anything flashy!” Bakugo felt like he was going to choke before Midoriya kicked him square in the chest and went back to the stoop where he was keeping a distance from him. 

“Nice to know you fucked someone up besides me…Except I know for all your talk you’ve always been toothless.” Midoriya growled as he held back his own quirk. He couldn’t afford to restrain Bakugo in front of Yagi himself if his quirk made Bakugo suicidal all over again like at Alameda all those years ago. 

“You don’t get it….it wasn’t a good look, they paid for coverups to the police, the media but it went too far when they starting killing…quirkless people for sport. He was just a kid….I saw the life leave his eyes when they shot him up and left him to do…didn’t even bother using quirks on him…he looked like you. It was then I realized what I really was..” Bakugo gasped in his suit, laying splayed on the ground, letting the relentless sun above cook him in the helmet and the suit.

“Reap what you sow……bastard…” Midoriya clasped his hands, the metal creaked as he squeezed with pressure, thinking how much easier this would  go with Shinso around. 

“I wasn’t trying to kill them…I was alone…they were 20. I threw one of em into…crates..Little fucker was a fire user and I threw him into a crate of fucking explosives! The roof came down on everyone, even me….” Bakugo sighed, gulping and gasping for his next breath as the biorhythms were shooting up from reliving the trauma, “I was stuck under the rubble…their gang in there with me…Your suit…Your helmet…saved me…barely! They were flattened! I had to look at them for hours till the agency dug me out of there!” Bakugo retched, feeling the weight of his confession. “I signed an NDA…got a tonne of cash, blew it all in the wrong places like the asshole I was trying to cope…..till I met Yagi.” Bakugo slowly got up, leaning against the roof’s small wall, staring at Midoriya. 

“I ended it Deku…I tried to end it in a tub. A cut for every victim even….THEM! You weren’t there, Yagi was! He gave me back my direction! He reminded me why I wanted to be a hero! I see you losing your way like I did.” Bakugo gulped one last time, feeling the dehydration set in. 

Midoriya walked towards Bakugo again, a small compartment opened, a small tube of blue liquid came out, he took the glass tube and opened a small port on Bakugo’s neck. The contents hissed as it drained into him. The cocktail of stimulants and electrolytes had allowed Midoriya the luxury of 3 hour sleep cycles but he had overdone it over the years beyond the recommended use and he was beginning to see how much of himself he really was losing as he had pushed people out of their life. For all his surveillance he missed the moment when Bakugo almost left this world on his watch because he was in some alley running some red ledger mark down. 

“I’m sorry….Kacchan.” Midoriya started, “But I need to know if Yagi San shared Night Eye’s assessments with you?!” 

Bakugo looked up at him, his biorhythm went into abnormal levels, “How do you know about those…have your drones gone into Roppongi!?” 

Midoriya’s other side opened a small compartment, the shards of the data disc laid out on a velvet box which he handed to Bakugo. “I got it from the horse’s mouth himself, not that I didn’t try to bug Roppongi for years but hey I can’t beat billions of dollars of the best security money can buy.”  He shrugged unabashedly as the compartment closed and he offered his hand to Bakugo. 

“So you KNOW why Yagi asked me to join…when Shinso and Nighteye were…taken in by the HPSC!?” Bakugo got to his feet in a panic. 

“You make it sound like they’re prisoners…what if I’m HPSC?!” Midoriya grunted as he felt Bakugo’s own thrust which set him off kilter. “Where are the strings on me Kacchan..” 

“You don’t understand! You’re on the wrong side of this!” Bakugo pleaded as he grabbed Midoriya’s shoulders with both hands. “OFA isn’t what any of us thought! It’s a warning! There’s something bigger coming! It needs you to face it! Yagi doesn’t have much time left!” 

Midoriya shook off Bakugo and took a step back, “You’re high on his supply….Yagi is a sick man, he uses people that’s all. He used me and Shinso when we had no one else….use your head Kacchan! You’re being used, where else you gonna go?!” 

“I’ve fucking seen it!!” Bakugo growled! “His seizures! The drawings! The fucking end of the world!” He threw the velvet box into the gravel of the roof, shattering the box. “This is bigger than Yagi or you! It’s not about heroes or villains! It’s about the future if you want to have one!” 

Midoriya rammed into Bakugo, holding him over the edge of the building, the wind howled as the rising hot wind bombarded them both with the pressure difference. “Then why hasn’t Yagi put his money where his fucking mouth is all these years! He sent me a thousand messages, dozens of messengers but he couldn’t tell me what the fuck One for All is about!?” 

“Keigo Takami isn’t who you think he is…” Bakugo croaked slowly. 

“Keep his name out of your fucking mouth traitor!” Midoriya growled as he lowered Bakugo over the edge a bit further. 

“You can only be betrayed by someone you can trust….you don’t trust me but you trust him too much.” Bakugo blasted back, “I know the vigilante who gave me the fucking slip all those years in those alleys! I know long before the fucking concert! Only you would carry a grenade with my fucking name on it! Only you can play me like a cheap Biwa every time!” 

“Stop bluffing….you know NOTHING!” Midoirya exclaimed as he pulled Bakugo up and threw him several feet into the skyscraper’s gravely roof. 

“I gave you that suit! I gave you everything! All you gave me was shit! Always trying to squeeze my head under  your fucking thumb!” Midoriya lashed out as he activated his quirk and sent a projection of the angry, helpless boy when they were 4. He read Bakugo’s biorhythms falling as Bakugo’s strength was leaving his body to yellow levels, inching closer to red. Midoriya cursed himself for releasing an attack like that out of nowhere. This is why he had avoided him for 5 years, he brought out the worst in him. 

“I’ve known about your quirk…since that day on the roof…Deku.” Bakugo reached out weakly, his body felt like a massive lead brick was squeezing down on his body, increasing from a kilo, slowly increasing to a ton, his heart was slowing down to dangerous levels as the guilt took a hold of him from Midoriya’s psychic lashing just now. 

“I–I never could accept, you were holding back…that there were stronger people than me in this world. I was an ant that thought it could hold up the boot that would crush him…..effortlessly.” Bakugo chuckled as he felt his blood pressure sink, his vision going darker as his system was edging towards shock. “Your mom…that old man, Shinso…you’re the golden child Izuku Midoriya…I couldn’t bear being brass, I didn’t want anything I didn’t earn and the cold hard truth is, I tore anyone down to make myself look taller. Don’t be like me….be the Deku who stood up to me.”

Bakugo’s vision fell into black as the shock took him. He felt a deep piercing stab in his leg that injected lava like chemicals that brought him back into a world of pain. When he had stopped yelling the first thing he saw was a red pen-like injector with a massive needle tossed to the side of his face, droplets of the bubbling, angry liquid fizzing angrily in it. 

“I created my own tormentor Kacchan, somehow you couldn’t figure that out?!” Midoriya lamented as he held out his hand, the malice from his voice now gone. 

“Every negative thought, every insecurity given a microphone and a PA system because of my quirk.” Midoriya spoke slowly, it was his turn to come to a realization. “I thought Shinso could be a new start but I was wrong, you weren’t even an afterthought since you were my first mistake.” 

Midoriya sat next to Bakugo on the ground when he refused to take his hand. “How do you close your eyes thinking of your victims…” 

“I’d be lying if I said they never stop screaming even when my eyes are open…” Bakugo croaked as he saw the port on his thigh close, lowering his leg back to rest. “All I can say is, try talking to your… victim before they become a ghost in your head. I still did all that shit to you Dek…Izuku, quirk or no quirk.” He punched Midoriya in the shoulder, wincing as his glove pinged off the ionizing field which polarized the metal. 

“So if you…know so much, why didn’t you ever turn me in?” Midoriya grunted, suppressing a laugh, “The vigilantism, the fake quirklessness, HPSC?” 

“I argue about that with old man Yagi every fucking day! He should have told you the truth from the start, he was like a dad to you when…..you know…died” Bakugo sat up, wrapping his arms around his knees, looking at Midoriya. 

“This ain’t the old man asking, it’s me. This is bigger than us all, you have to hear him out!” Bakugo pleaded one last time. To his shock, Midoriya nodded. 

“Sure let’s see your boss!” He grabbed Bakugo suddenly. Before he could protest Midoriya engaged a powerful rocket slide to catapult himself and Bakugo across the roof with a full burn Jump Jet. Roppongi’s massive aerial defenses had been shut off, Midoriya’s gambit had paid off having gotten Yagi’s attention with his little back and forth with Bakugo on the adjacent roof. He skidded along the pristine marble, leaving the darkest skidmarks on purpose by turning off the polarization on the back plates to ensure he left some mark for Yagi San after today.  

“God Fucking Dammit it DEKU!” Bakugo growled as he may have literally pissed himself from the jump just now, knowing at any moment they could have been torn to shreds by the dozens of hidden sentry cannons and much worse that defended the penthouse of All Might himself. Midoriya just couldn’t help but laugh as he had penetrated the heart of the beast after all these years despite having a golden ticket through the front door he always wanted to gate crash the mighty fortress of a God just to see if he could. 

“Sorry…Kacchan. Been dreaming about it for the last 5 years.” He released him as he got to his own feet, repolarizing his back plates. 

“Izuku Midoriya..” Yagi spoke in a weak voice from within, the voice sounded robotic and forced, nothing like a living person as the symphony of many life support machines came from behind the curtain. Midoriya made his way in, Bakugo who had seen his boss hundreds of times didn’t want to see it with him as he waited on the balcony, looking out at the city he was sworn to defend.

Midoriya entered the spartan apartment, the roof was vaulted and high, a palace of a God stripped down and emptied of every luxury. Just a few chairs here and there with a table and a collection of machines in the corner that hid the body of a dying man behind a hospital screen. As he drew the curtains, the instruments in his helmet read out hundreds of items, dozens of tubes feeding from just as many bags, feeding into Yagi Toshinori who looked more like a corpse than human since he last saw him. 

A weak, bony hand with several IV tubes feeding into it reached out to him. “It has been calling out…Izuku Midoriya. You have to take it before it’s too late….” Yagi coughed slowly, Midoriya returned the favor that he had done to him in the tent all those years ago and held out a cup with a straw. Bringing their moment back to full circle. 

“Yagi San….did you sacrifice Nighteye to bring me here…”Izuku asked coldly, to the point. He wasn’t here to play games with the dying man. 

Yagi shook his head weakly , “Nighteye followed the visions to you….I had nothing to do..hard as it may seem.” He coughed weakly, smiling as he returned to sipping the cool water slowly. 

“Did the lies start…before or after the visions…” Midoriya asked, crushing the cup in his hand, sending water everywhere as he was tired of Yagi holding back the complete picture always!

“I was wrong Young man….I should have listened, waited…I tried to defy fate.” Yagi lamented, his eyes focused on the ceiling, looking away from Midoriya as he swallowed slowly, his Adam's apple all too visible as he did. “The future….I lost it the moment I tried to defy his prophecy..” 

“He’s dead all the same, doesn’t matter what your intentions were old man!” Midoriya tossed the crunched up plastic cup across the room, the cup bounced loudly away in the silent room as Yagi looked back at him, nodding as though he was talking to a ghost. 

“Why do you think I lied…to stop his death. He predicted you would come to us once he died, I wouldn’t let him and look where that got us.” He coughed onto his gown, blood came out slowly, dark and black, diseased. 

“If this is One For All…I don’t want anything to do with it!” Midoriya growled as he retracted his helmet’s visor and looked the old man dead in the eyes. “Lies! Coverups! Fate! I will be the hero the world deserves!” he clunked his metal thumb against the polarized chest plate that spat blue sparks as the two fields met. “I am Izuku Midoriya dammit! I came this far on my blood, sweat and sacrifices! What do you know as a God from your ivory tower!” 

Yagi raised his finger at himself, “We’re the same young man….Do you see my team anywhere? Everyone I knew….dead…estranged…gone, even you.” He lunged forward, desperately grabbing Midoriya’s arm, Yagi’s own arm had turned giant while the rest of his body was still its skeletal self.

“IT is coming for us all…you need the torch to light the way! I couldn’t fight fate with the power of a God! You can’t dodge fate by pretending it will never happen!” He pleaded as the polarized plating on his forearm was burning the skin on All Might’s enlarged arm. Midoriya tried to pull away but it squeezed down, refusing to let go Midoriya stopped resisting, trying to disable the polarization of his armor so it wouldn’t hurt Yagi any further, thinking carefully about his response. 

“As a wiser man than you said I will just take myself out of the equation. I don’t want ANYONE pulling my strings!!” He gently pulled his forearm away.Snarling as he turned around and left Yagi gasping, Midoriya could not help but engage his rocket sled right inside that cavernous hall, blaring over the balcony, past Bakugo, not wanting to be answerable to anyone now he jumped from the Penthouse to take a cleansing dive to the ground floor. 

His suit repolarized, the retro thrusters came into play as he dialed a number he never thought he would have to call as he was burning his ticket one last time. “Aachii San, room for one more on project Schwarzschild.” he spoke into his HUD. the call normalizing as he landed with the voice message being sent on secure channels the HPSC could only dream off. 

By the time he had reached his shop, he had still not received a message or any confirmation from Aachii. Who could blame him since Midoriya could only play this card ONCE and Aachii was his Godfather not his Fairy Godfather who could swing a magic wand and make all his problems vanish. He found Shinso waiting for him at his shop, like a sad dog waiting for its master at the door. Midoriya shook his head as he got pissed off at people thinking they could just barge into his life with a heavy serving of guilt like cheap booze. He was a softie at his core no matter how many hard layers he wrapped himself in. 

“Keigo and Nagant are at the wake for the team…thought you would want to go with me?” He asked with those dark shadows under his eyes. Midoriya didn’t care as he saw Aachii’s response hadn’t come in and he had to decide how to spend his last day in Japan tonight so hell with it why not! He thought to himself feeling free as he cast off his responsibilities, heroism, the HPSC all of it as he grabbed Shinso in his armor and tossed him like a sack of potatoes effortlessly over his shoulder. 

Atleast he wouldn’t be spending time on his mattress on the floor of the workshop alone since the last 5 years as he burned all his bridges once more, hoping the flames this time would light a better way. Didn’t hurt if he snuck in one last tryst before he vanished off the face of the earth, anything to avoid fate that All Might had been thrusting on him.

Chapter Text

Midoriya had arrived on I-Island courtesy of World Headquarters for International Scientific/Philosophical Experimentation and Research better known as W.H.I.S.P.E.R. 

They were the rogues and visionaries who had made I-Island but stayed far from politics, leaving it to the apes while they were pre-occupied while their contemporaries were focused on making sticks; the good people of the organization were more focused on making the next upgrade to fire.  

His head still hurt from the cortical shrouding that had kept his mind in a brain fog for the last 18 hours. He did not know when, how and where he was spirited away in the night. No clue if his tech was carted off with him or was it all wiped by his escorts. He had burned the bridge literally by settling for the Island that was cut off from the world. 

The HPSC, Hero Association, All Might…no one had power here. He would do well to remember neither did he as he hoped to meet Aachii or Mei but instead was received by a protocol SI (Simulated Intelligence) projected by a tiny mouse like robot that was slaved to it. 

Midoriya shook his head as he followed it. The SI wouldn’t talk unless he would and he was nursing a headache, heartache, general existential quake that he had just erased himself from a society that took him 21 years to realize he never had a place in it. He was always the odd Jigsaw piece trying to shoehorn itself into the corner as he followed the mouse-like robot base around, ignoring the software that cosplayed as a human ‘intelligence’ stuck in standby without a human prompt. 

The island despite being so small, just a dot from the sky was larger than life. A living and breathing ship the size of a massive city, floundering along the choppy waters of the ocean like an ice berg of tech. Most of the levels of the city were underwater anyway which made it one of the wonders of the bygone golden era of AI. In the history books of Japan Izuku was taught to fear the machines, they cut deals and went peacefully their own way with their acolytes and sympathizers to make this heaven on earth. 

Midoriya had visited I-Island on many occasions and was shocked at how the world could have been had humanity fulfilled one simple demand, ratify the Roma accord which would give all AI personhood. Instead it turned into a short and bloody conflict that had wiped out most of the quirkless people of the world. The quirked barely hung on themselves as they didn’t depend on technology as much as their quirkless oppressors did. 

This was history that Midoriya knew all too well since Yamatsu, their history teacher would always glance at him, the whole class looking at the fallen oppressor who would yoke them if they ever bred back to 80% of the population. The government discouraged quirkless populations discreetly, encouraging the quirkless to marry quirked people over time, shaming and socially ostracizing the quirkless who refused to marry quirked people as bigots. Not all bought into it but they lost livelihoods and were forced to live on remote communes far from civilization, slowly fading into obscurity as their share of the national wealth plummeted from many generations of nationalization and dilution. 

Aachii told him all the fascinating ideals and politics of I-Island where there was one rule to be a citizen. “Be useful!” It didn’t matter who you were, where you were from or how strong your quirk was here. All that mattered was contribution was currency. The more you contributed ideas, inventions and philosophy, the more your standing and Aachii was a prince of the Island with his abrasiveness and myopic obsession with technology. 

He was just disappointed as he was shown his quarters that belonged to Aachii, the vaulted high ceilings with industrial lights, work benches and mini labs behind glass cubes scattered, full of projects. Just as expected of a workaholic before he noted his own room seemed to be an oversized storage closet fitted with a cot and a desk. 

Much more than he was expecting since he had been sleeping on his childhood mattress on the floor of his workshop for the last 5 years. He had poured his nest egg and earnings into Inko and her farm, making sure she was well taken care of while he was keeping his golden ticket in his back pocket. 

He refused to acknowledge the SI that tried to engage him, wary of being watched, letting something slip till Aachii let him know they were among friends. He had been forewarned especially when he tried to reach Hatsume when she had left for just a few months but never returned. Aachii had drilled in even that chatterbox that knowledge is power, they had to guard it well if they wanted to survive here. 

Midoriya had no belongings from his previous life, he would be sent his ‘things’ when they were cleared by Aachii who would not risk anything from the outside world contaminating this closed ecosystem. All this protocol was stuffy and frustrating but atleast it gave a result that was predictable which was a welcome change from the outside world. 

Ida, Shinso, Bakugo, Yagi, Ururaka were all trappings of the social web in the world. Watching every word you say, watching every punch you threw, watching every sale or purchase at your shop. Always watching….I-Island would watch him and he was alright if it meant no more was expected of him as he remembered the details he had skimmed about Project Dark Child.

A list of people allowed on I-Island and a list of people who weren’t. He smiled as he remembered that for some reason Yagi Toshinori had been black balled from entering this world for a reason he didn’t care about. He came here to escape a fate he didn’t want and what better way than to be on an island where he couldn’t leave and the only man who could fulfill his fate was languishing in a bed, tied up to some machines; barely able to hold a cup. 

The cot creaked, the sound echoed in the voluminous flat as the windows were sealed, most likely because of the sunlight’s interaction with chemicals and devices that would react to it. 

Midoriya was passing the time examining the many benches, curious about the labs sealed behind a biometric lock system that housed equipment he had no clue on how they worked, let alone what they could do. 

Finally the door hissed opened as Aachii entered with his sterile white coat, he looked gaunt, his features more wrinkled and worn out from the stress of constant work uncharacteristically swatted Midoriya’s hand away and took him into a deep fatherly embrace. 

“Izuku…welcome to Dark Child.” He sniffed as his fingers ran through Midoriya’s hair, acting as though the man in front of him was a figment of his imagination. Midoriya could not believe the softness in Aachii’s character over the years. 

“So Mei told me when I accept my invitation, I’d know why I can’t leave now?”  Midoriya pulled back slowly, not wanting to offend the last living father figure in his life. Aachii nodded as he took off his glasses and jerked his head to the side to the counter where two lab stools were tucked under the marble top.

Both of them went over and he took them both out, refusing to let Midoriya do any work as he scraped one stool under him, tapping on the stool meant for Midoriya. “First off my boy, it isn’t dark child…it’s  Schwarzschild, a very real physicist in the 20th century Karl Schwarzschild. The man was a genius of physics who proposed the Kugleblitz and how we could power our entire civilization with a black hole the size of a child’s marble.” He held out his fingers to show the inches between his fingers.

“So what’s that got to do with…the list?” Midoriya asked, “And why does that mean we can’t leave once we know the truth?” 

“It’s not too late Izuku…” Aachii reached out, rubbing Mydoria’s shoulder gently, “You’re not like Mei and myself..you can survive in the ordinary world.They’ll need you more than we ever would.”  

“There’s nothing left there for me Aachii San.” Midoriya politely refused, taking his hand off his shoulder, “I just want to live in a world that makes sense, systems, structure….that’s what I always worked for. It will never be in their world, their system is too warped to accept change.” 

Aachii chuckled as he smiled weakly back at him, “I-Island was ... .a dream that came from a human mind rather an artificial one.” He waved his hand around the massive apartment. “All this was built for us not with us by…it. The Monad, the hyper intelligent core of the A.I wars. It gave us technology, philosophy and much more, in exchange all it asked was to be left alone by the world with the pilgrims who would accept it as their authority.” 

“So I-Island is one big A.I bot?” Midoriya gasped at the revelation, “Weren’t they wiped out, slaved back to our processors in the Mainland?” 

“Monad is a Sofan…a quantum intelligence, less than a proton yet infinite my boy. It can be omnipresent, omniscient and beneficent. It learned that through our suffering, our history. We are to it just a wolf is to us today….a pup that would die if we didn’t feed it. So it took pity on us, ended the extermination and salvaged our race.” 

“So why the list? Why can’t we leave once we know the truth?” Midoriya asked, his brow raised at the history lesson.

“It’s not a list, it’s a manifest just like the seed Vault in Svalbard has enough plant matter to repopulate a barren earth after doomsday so too did Monad foresee the many dangers to our world. Do you know how many Karl Schwarzschilds have died, toiling in fields, working in factories, languishing at desks. Their intelligence squandered, their potential untapped, humanity robbed of their genius.” Aachii’s smile broke as he looked at Midoriya. 

“Humans are imperfect, we cannot make unbiased decisions but Monad did. It identified a million Schwarzschilds out of the billions of us who would kick start the next civilization, intelligence, quirk, muscle all valid contributions were factored in when selecting these people. Once you are on I-Island you can’t leave because….” Aachii swallowed slowly, getting up and going to the refrigerator. He pulled out the last thing that Midoriya expected he would ever consume. Alcoholic beverages!

He handed Midoriya a can of hard lemonade of the Ryukyu brand, snapping his own can open and taking a long and hard swallow that would have burned all the way going down. Midoriya studied his own, hesitantly snapping it open as well as he took a small sip. Something was eating Aachii inside and out and it was not something he could say so casually as he crushed his empty can and slammed it on the marble table. 

“Monad’s already given us 180 days to…..leave the planet. The doomsday clock has started and we have been bringing in all one million on the list.” He adjusted his glasses as he wore them again. “Whether they want to or not, without their belongings….or loved ones.” His hand shook as he said this, rubbing his temples with the other hand as Midoriya reached out. 

“So what is this…Doomsday?” Midoriya asked, “A flood? A disease? A super volcano?” 

Aachii sputtered in a cackle that was unbecoming of him. He was far from the uptight, sophisticated man that Midoriya had known all these years, he seemed to have stared down some deep dark abyss and never stopped. 

“THOSE are a Tuesday compared the real threat…. HUMANITY itself!” He clenched his teeth, looking into Midoriya’s eyes. “Monad has already detected a hundred thousand individuals on the planet who can end us all. In 180 days they will reach singularity because of… him.” 

“You’re beginning to sound like Yagi Toshinori!” Midoriya shook Aachii, trying to rouse him from his delirious state to which Aachii’s nervous breakdown seemed to deepen when he heard All Might’s true name.

“His quirk….no his POWER is the only wave that can cancel out… his !! We’ve tried everything…clones, gene editing, even synthetic bodies. Nothing can contain Yagi’s power except the right…person!” Aachii looked at Midoriya. “It won’t work if you don’t let it in you Midoriya! The world will die if you don’t answer the call!” 

“I literally came here to get away from that prophecy bullshit!” Midoriya exclaimed, pulling away from Aachii, “Here I thought you wouldn’t believe a word from that….liar!” 

“I’m a scientist….I’ve seen it, felt it, witnessed the raw power living inside that man! Burning him inside out as the light is fading! Monad tried it’s hardest…since Koda San was interred….” 

Midoriya’s eyes narrowed at Aachii, “What did Koda have to do with any of this!?” His fists clenched tightly, “Were you helping me all THIS time because of some digital fortune teller!”

“Laius’ Lament…” Aachii started, getting up from his seat, looking away from Midoriya, “King Laius had his son Oedepius banished as a baby, to do in the forest to escape the prophecy of his death, unfortunately fate raised young Oedepius to kill his father and marry his mother.” He spat in disgust, “People always take the wrong moral from that story….like Oedepius young Midoriya, you, Koda, Yagi, myself were just moving on the path that fate had already woven.” 

“Bullshit! The future cannot be fixed! It’s basic science!” Midoriya retorted in his most indignant yell, “We don’t live in a preset future! Every action changes things too much for a fixed future! You taught me that!” 

“I WAS WRONG! As a scientist you should know that too when presented with evidence. He quivered as his hands shook, “Everything Monad predicted….you being here and dooming us all…it happened….oedipal causality my boy…the more you deny your destiny, the more it pulls on the rest of us.” 

“Then why don’t I have One For All!? Why don’t you bring Yagi in here till I make up my mind!? Also who the hell is this him who will bring about the end! Who has the power to trigger a singularity!?” Midoriya growled in protest, throwing questions like stones at his mentor. 

“The one who nearly killed Monad…the only one who made a hyper intelligence discover it’s first real emotion. Fear….” he cleared his throat, pulling back his hair as he waved his hand, motioning to Midoriya. 

“All For One…the opposite of One For All. The eye of the Maelstrom that will drown the world in the fire of a hundred thousand quirks that will rival the extinction of the dinosaurs.” Aachii whispered as Midoriya came close, clasping his hands as he looked through him. His mentor’s mind was elsewhere, reliving a vision of something so horrifying it had shattered his calm demeanor. 

“Come with me to the archives…..none of us believe in a God, Izuku but after today I’ll be damned if you do not believe in the devil.” Aachii spoke coldly, pressing a button on his jacket. Swallowing his disappointment at the talk he had with his ward. 

His stubbornness was something Aachii and Koda appreciated in the young man, who knew it would doom them all.

Chapter Text

Figure 24: Left picture is a mendicant who are the higher functioning robots who attend to  Monad and keep all automated functions on I-Island truly automated. On the right side we see Nighteye's head suspended in Amniotic Fluid tank, kept alive with a host of tubes that feed data, nutrients and synch him with Monad.

Midoriya was lead by Aachii down many winding corridors, each floor they descended to, the lesser people and the more drones and machines buzzed, hummed, clanged on by in every shape and form. This part of I-Island felt like a hive that was built around a queen, pumping out drones to find resources to replenish itself. 

With each level, the machines were more…humanistic, more intelligent, their looks were calculated, scanning their movements, biorhythms and who knew what else for the slightest hint of a threat. The cold clacking of metal under their feet, the skittering of metal on metal was the least comforting sound in the world even if you had not heard of Silver Friday, the threat that AI presented was alive and well in those sublevels that were hundreds of feet below the ocean in the Iceberg like structure of I-Island that used the circulating seawater in its pipes to cool innumerable servers. 

The mendicants and skiterrers roamed their patrol paths, Aachii had worked for decades to secure this level of clearance and Midoriya’s Schwarzschild status afforded him a peek behind the curtain as Aachii finally stopped after dozens of sublevels in front of a vault. A massive circular door that was unsealing many doors behind it, the hermetically sealed air within blew in their faces, infused with Halon, Formaldehyde and many more ammonia based chemicals. 

The room cried out sterility as they went through the doors, just the passage was several meters and each step they took another door sealed shut behind them as if to usher them in, not letting any further contaminants enter as they were sprayed by disinfecting fog throughout the corridor. The few meters felt like a mile as they emerged finally into a room that was wall to wall covered in steel, green and powerful lights pulsed in the room that converged with a head in a vat that ran from the floor to the ceiling. 

A head in it with green hair, a stripe of yellow mixed in with grey stared out at them, looking past them as though seeing a whole different dimension they weren’t privy to. Dozens of tubes fed into the neck at the base, all covered by an elegant cloak like material that flowed with the water. This head…this person…was this Monad? It kept uttering without restraint, no control, talking to shadows and phantasms that didn’t exist except in it’s mind through those milky white eyes. Aachii leaned in and whispered in Midoriya’s ear.

“To know God is to know madness.” He spoke with great caution in the lowest whisper as the head’s rambled on. Aachii was waiting, holding up a hand indicating it needed to finish before they could ask it what they were here for. 

“ At last, they’ve come for me. I feel their lives, their destinies spilling out before me.

The denial of the one true path, played out on a world no longer their own, will end soon enough.

Soon there will be one, glorious in awakening, struggling with the knowledge of his true self.

The pain of revelation brings new clarity and in the midst of confusion, he will find the eight. Vestiges brought together by impossible longing.

Shadows now joined as one, clawing at the container. The way forward at once unthinkable, yet inevitable.

And the 9th, still in doubt, will claw toward the light, hungering for redemption that will only come in the howl of terrible suffering.

I can see them all. The eight, soon ninth, heroes who believe themselves without sin. But in time, it is sin that will consume them. They will know enmity, bitterness, the wrenching agony of many spilling into one.

And then, they will join the promised land, gathered on the wings of change. Not an end, but a beginning.

The Dark Child will lead the human race to its end. He is the plumed serpent, the harbinger.

END OF LINE…..” The head stopped it’s rambling, the whites in its eyes turned to reveal pupils that focused on their presence as it’s 

“Mirai San…” Aachii started, the head’s pupils focused on him sharply, organic yet darting at him as though machine-like gaze fell upon his mentor. 

“A-235…state your request.” It spoke with a mix of soft pitch and mechanical echo as though it was nothing but a puppet for a wizard behind the curtain. 

Aachii grabbed Midoriya gently and held his eye open with his fingers, Midoriya remained calm in the presence of the head’s penetrating gaze. . “Schwarzschild Orientation Protocol, New entry…Izuku Midoriya.” 

Just as Midoriya suspected, the machine like gaze from the head though organic seemed to be scanning his eyes, his eye lids felt the heat, the static from some arcane energy examining his retina, burning something into the eyelids like a laser, etching a code that felt thick as an eyelash, imperceptible to the human eye. 

Was he being…tagged like an animal? A stock animal on a farm or a dangerous animal kept in a zoo with a comfortable enclosure for the amusement of a higher intelligence?

“File prefetch request?” The head asked as it stopped its probing scan, looking to Aachii, ignoring Midoriya who couldn’t help shake the feeling he knew that voice…the prophecy…it sounded so eerily familiar. No..he saw him die, no one walks away from a building falling on top of them.

“Shigiraki…” He started to which the lighting in the room went red, the red spheres in the walls went crimson, humming. “File name…Gehenna.” 

The room hissed as it filled with a grey-white mist, Midoriya thought poison as he smelled the sweetness…. Aachii’s squeeze on his shoulder was meant to be reassuring as he stood his ground, the inert gas collected in a mist around them as a magnet hummed to life, lasers shot into the mist, using it as a medium to display an archived file. 

It showed a man, silver hair, tall…over 6 feet, looking over a crowd of thousands of people with different clothes, the first few ranks were well dressed..almost in a uniform like they were soldiers of some order. The time and stamp date on the upper right set the events back well over a 100 years ago as the footage zoomed in. 

Clearly a drone had shot this, the man took the stage that Monad was offering him, the chance to be memorialized and he seized it without fear as he began to address his followers.

'Do you see that?' he asked quietly, pointing at the dust cloud in the distance.

At first, only silence followed. Hesitantly, AFO's soldiers began to cast glances at each other, uncomfortable with his presence and confused by his casual behavior. All eyes were on him now. AFO pointed at the advancing robots that emerged from the massive cloud several kilometers away. Thousands. Tens of thousands. And yet only the beginning.

'Do you see that?' he roared at his followers in the thousands. the closest ranks flinched back from the mechanical bark that issued almost deafeningly loud from his mask.

'Answer me!' Roared AFO through his metallic mask

.

He received several trembling nods. 'Yes, sir...' uttered a handful of them from the front, the speakers faceless within the masses.

AFO turned his back to the wasteland, already dark with the teeming, chaotic ranks of the enemy. Within a few seconds, he was laughing, laughing up at the burning sky.

'Are you as insulted as I am? This is what they send against us?'

He turned back to his followers, his laughter fading, but amused contempt filling his voice even through the speaker of his helm.

'Loyal followers... a legion of toys and knick knacks wheels its way across the plains. Forgive me when they whine and creak against us. Forgive me that I must order you to waste time and energy breaking these childish toys.' Most of his followers muttered among themselves, thinking he had lost it…gone mad.

'I ask you now: Do you know me?' AFO Yelled out mechanically through his mask

'Yes…' demoralized voices replied slowly, several among the hundreds.

'Do you know me?' he bellowed at them.

'Yes!' a chorus answered now. The front liners now looked back at their conscripted colleagues sternly.

'You were chosen from our best! Show them why YOU ARE THE BEST!' AFO barked, leering at the backlines.

A muted cheer greeted his words. It wasn't enough, not even close.

'Never again in life will your actions carry such consequences. Never again will you serve as you serve now. No duty will matter as much, and no glory will taste as true. Will you stand with me?' AFO raised both his hands, like a conductor signaling his orchestra to begin.

Now the cheers came in truth. They thundered in the air around him.

'Will you stand with me?' AFO repeated, shooting his fist in the air, crackling with power.

Again, a roar.

A wave of noise crashed against the drone’s microphones as they cheered. AFO raised his hand, aiming it to the embattled heavens as he shot off a massive pulsefire into the waves of approaching machines. The blast itself shattered hundreds of their frontline that was advancing dauntlessly at the quirked users.

'This is our city! This is our world! Say it! Say it! Cry it out so the WORLD KNOWS IT! AFO cried out, Both his hands had balls of lightning growing from the size of a child’s marble to the size of a baseball to the final size of a small bowling ball. He looked once more at the machines, aiming his hands at the edges of the skittering ranks of the machines firing off beams in a wide angled V which he slowly brought together, clasping his hands, combining the dying sparks of expended energy into a massive bolt of explosive power that pierced the tightly packed machines in the middle. Thousands of the robots had been decimated as their army poured over the destroyed scraps and charred hulks, desperately advancing on the quirked army. 

'OUR CITY! OUR WORLD!' roared his army as they charged at the mass of metal and death over the hill past AFO who just looked up at the drone and smiled, his silver hair waved in the wind, the echoes of dying men and exploding machines cut out as he shot the drone out of the sky.

Soon after that, several clips played, Monad’s proxy signing the first non aggression pact with Shigraki who was known as All For one by then. The war between the rebels and vigilantes versus his forces, the AI had learned to keep out of it as the construction of I-Island from the gutted remains of charred and nuked cities were reclaimed and over a decade the Island moved away from the mainland, thousands of humans boarding the ark as the Vigilantes and All For One waged their war without regard for the normal lives it left uprooted. 

Midoriya stood in that room till his heels felt sore, his throat left parched, all the while, staring when he could at the head in the massive vat peering down at him. It would seem he found it familiar as much as it did him. He would probe on the matter another day as the lasers in the room died and the mist was vented rapidly, leaving it pristine as the green lights flooded the room once more. 

“So this Shigiraki is the threat that Monad sees will end us in 6 months?” Midoriya asked the head, not Aachii this time. 

“172 hours, 45 minutes and 3 seconds from current time and date within Oedipal prescience parameters.” The head spoke in that mix of reverberated machine and human vocal chord, staring into Midoriya’s soul..no maybe his brain?

“Is he the reason your war ended with us?” Midoriya clenched his fist.

“The wing beats of the Falcon drown out the heartbeats of those who follow on that day.” The head spoke cryptically in his human voice without the metal. Midoriya spat at the cryptic response. 

“What power does he really have that can end the world? How does he control the singularities?” Midoriya asked once again, Aachii’s hand was squeezing not to reassure him but to stop him immediately. 

“Genesis turns to its source, reduction occurs stepwise though the essence all flows to one or none.” The head responded once again in that very human voice, the mechanical timbre and pitches melted away as those eyes quivered in their sockets, looking at Midoriya. Aachii grabbed Midoriya, pulling him to the door before the lights went red once more and the doors refused to unseal. 

“Intelligence. A will that burns like a fire. Find the hand that lies in the shadow of the light. In the eye of the brother in the eye of the container! ONE WILL SERVE ALL!” the voice cried out, its expression of rage and anguish all too human as though it had awoken to find it was a disembodied head in a tank just now, pleading for help.

Midoriya quivered and shook, transfixed at the sight at Aachii wrapped his hands around Midoriya’s eyes, the alarms in the room were blaring as the head was gurgling as though it was drowning but the oxygenated fluid in the tank refused to it. 

“The excited state decays by vibrational relaxation into the first excited singlet state. Yes, yes and merrily we go. Reduce atmospheric nitrogen by 0.03%.” It yelled out in agony, the mechanical pitch and timbre faded in and out as though the puppeteer was trying to untangle the strings that had been severed. The angry red of the orbs of lights in their panels were humming dangerously as the klaxons were blaring louder, competing with the mad screaming of the head.

“Limiting diffusions to two users increases the number of evolutionary jumps within the species. Rise and measure. Transformation is the goal. They will not harm their own.” The head sputtered as Aachii turned Midoriya away from the screeching head writhing in agony in the tank, the machine’s voice had left it as the doors unsealed and mendicants of the chambers walked in, carrying a box, ushering them out. 

The last words he heard as the doors were sealing shut behind them, “The dark children of the one reborn shall find their own country!” the words haunted Midoriya as the massive mendicants were leading the two away, the androids were gentle but any minor resistance triggered a vise like grip as a soft warning neither Aachii and Midoriya were being led from out of the sublevels that had been put under lockdown, sirens and klaxons had been blaring all the way with the soft red lighting indicating a system failure. 

Finally after several tense minutes that flew by, they were politely left out of the main access door that sealed shut behind them, the light in the doors flashed red, warning all I-Islanders the area was sealed for repairs. Aachii refused to look at Midoriya who was brimming with questions. When they finally got back to his loft, the young man could not contain himself as he verbally lashed out at his mentor who was shaking like a leaf at what just transpired in the archives. 

“I will give you one last chance Aachii San, no more secrets….. it knew me didn’t it…” Midoriya spoke coldly at the lithe man, left shriveled and hollowed by God knows what kind of horror show they were running on the Island from prying eyes. 

Aachii took a deep breath, crossed his legs on the stool and leaned forward on his knees, looking down at the floor, “That is Monad’s proxy…the last one, Mirai Sasaki.” 

“Who is that!? Tell me something I might know!” Midoriya demanded, “No more riddles! No more secrets! No more lies!” 

“Five years ago, Yagi Toshinori came to us, hoping for a miracle. I helped him out with organs meant for…Koda San. They were experimental but promising.” He looked up at Midoriya, swallowing hard, “I’m sorry Midoriya but Koda refused the organs meant for him, he insisted they go to Yagi San even if it meant his own demise. I’m not privy to their conversations or what they discussed that changed his mind over a complete stranger, all I know is that decision broke me as a man.” 

“Did Koda San put me in All Might’s crosshairs like you did?” Midoriya asked with great anxiety, the weight in his heart filling with what felt like lead with each pumping motion. 

“All I know is, after the operation, Yagi Toshinori made a full recovery…and kept asking about you, yes. I did not know to what end since I had already set you up for UA but soon it became clear after my new organs were failing him just a few years later, I demanded answers before I was to treat him any further.”

“Let me guess, lies, excuses, riddles?” Midoriya grumbled as he leaned against the wall, watching Aachii like a hawk. Crossing his arms as he squeezed his forearms in rage. 

“Worse, the truth…Not only did I learn he was All Might and no amount of technology can keep up with the strain that One For All was putting him through, his sidekick…no…lifelong friend Mirai was in a coma from a seizure. Him, I was able to help….his artificial body held up… for a time but his brain kept attacking itself. No amount of safeties, redundancies can save that man from his quirk’s awakening. His mind was fractured, Monad is the only one holding him together.” Aachii clasped his hands together. Squeezing his thumbs against his knuckles in circles anxiously.

“What happened in that room? None of that felt normal .” Midoriya asked slowly, letting Aachii gather his thoughts. 

“He reacted to you because he recognized you were….not in the right place.” Aachii said through gritted teeth. 

“I saw him die! He’s the one who gave me the prophecy!” Midoriya protested indignantly, knowing there was more, pressing into Aachii who scoffed. 

“He has many bodies…just one mind..relatively speaking. You only saw a puppet die as its strings were cut, the puppeteer was in that room with us and he’s not happy you are tugging at the strings of fate, tangling everyone else’s while you’re at it.” Aachii looked back at Midoriya with a glaring rage as he took off his glasses and stood up so suddenly, the stool crashed to the floor, rolling against the table as he rounded on Midoriya. 

“There are rules to the oedipal causality young man!” He held up his index finger, “The person under scrutiny has to remain oblivious to the existence of the science of oedipal predetermination! If you are aware of the prophecy then the person will alter their behavior!” 

Aachii raised his thumb, “The time periods dealt with are accurate within three generations.”

Aachi finally raised his middle finger “Finally the population must be in the billions! We have met all conditions except for you throwing it all out of order!”

“Mirai gave me the prophecy himself!” Midoriya retorted back through gnashed teeth, spitting in Aachii’s face, “He messed up your Monad’s precious prediction!” 

 “Monad forgets that Mirai is only….human, he hoped maybe you could swallow your pride and set aside your petty issues one last time for the good of all!” Aachii said through clenched teeth, aware of the validity of Midoriya’s point.

“Then why did you bring me here!? Why did your precious Monad give humanity less than 6 months to live!?” Midoriya exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air as he walked away in frustration. 

“Because! You’re still my responsibility! Nothing will change that Izuku…adoptive or blood, you’re my son! I’m only human…you seem to forget that.” Aachii yelled, tossing his glasses over Midoriya’s head in frustration, grabbing the upended stool from the floor and sitting back on it, perched on it like a hawk, looking at him. 

“I’m sorry…I was a disappointment.” Midoriya sighed, drawing in a long breath, looking back at Aachii as he dug his heels into the lower rungs of the stool. 

“Every human is disappointing Izuku Midoriya, myself included.” Aachii got up, walking to Midoriya. 

“Yagi said the prophecy is ironclad, fate cannot be changed” Midoriya asked him to which Aachii chuckled. “Your Monad seems to think the prophecy cannot be salvaged so who is right?” Midoriya asked as he walked towards Aachii as well. 

“Just believe in the maths Izuku, we will always be solving for X regardless of the equation, when a human being becomes the X there can never be a solution but…chaos leads to order eventually even mathematically a pattern does emerge. Monad is a machine at the end of the day, it is too perfect to understand how imperfect we truly are.” Aachii spoke slowly as he knelt to pick up his glasses, looking at how the lenses were shattered by his rage.

Midoriya took him by surprise by pulling him in the warmest embrace he could, “How about we just let things sort themselves out first. How does Monad plan to ride out the doomsday when it comes? Underwater? Some sort of shield?”

“You’ll be shown that at the welcome gala next week.” Aachii smiled, “I promise you the answer will be out of this world.” 

Midoriya was too tired, jetlagged and traumatized for his first day, deciding it was best left to collapse in his cot and face whatever Aachii had in mind. For the last 5 years, he forced back the truth by lashing out at everyone around him. Anesthetizing himself with liquor and empty affairs. But for the first time since he left UA, in that cot in that desolate storage root while sleeping in that cot, Izuku Midoriya finally lost the taste for those petty things as he slept that night.

Chapter Text

Shinso stared into his glass for hours, counting the bubbles that fizzed, popping by the dozens each time he swirled his finger to the disgust of the bartender- who had left him to his booth that was littered with cans of the stuff.

It was cheap , low in “ quality” , but for Shinso he felt he had more in common with the beer in his glass from the can that lay discarded with at least eight, maybe ten?

He had lost count and interest as he knocked it back, the bitter and burning malted beverage clearing its way down his throat. 

He was buzzed from the stuff, falling back on old habits from when he was in UA. Brainwashing hapless adults to get him beer was child's play back in his second year. 

Without Midoriya as Shinso’s moral compass, Bakugo had to tighten the reins in order to keep him from drinking before classes. His self destructive habits were tipping towards nuclear with each grueling year at UA, leaving them both traumatized. 

He never would have made it out alive without Bakugo as his emotional crutch, developing a codependent intimacy from their mutual period of seeking comfort within the other. Like all things they understood their bond was only filling a void left by one person who had cut them both off at the knees. Izuku Midoriya.

Maybe like Midoriya, he felt that Bakugo could only pity people like him. Setting the glass down, he ran his finger along the lip of the mug, tracing its smooth edge as he wiped the flecks of the foamy residue from all the beers he had already chugged like the glutton for punishment he was.

After his self inflicted beat down at the festival using a brainwashed Midoriya, Recovery Girl had him on suicide watch for quite a while. Initially, Shinso thought she was punishing him by tethering Bakugo to him at the hip for “emotional support”. 

One kid deemed suicidal bound to another with explosive impulses. Like sticking dynamite to a self–igniting matchstick, Chiyo sure could pick ‘ em . “What could go wrong?!” he thought to himself. 

Who knew after the trouble they had put UA through in the finals in front of the world, they’d be getting therapy? Maybe for grounds of expulsion? Suspension? At least a black mark on their records? 

Sadly none of that happened since they were finalists and God forbid UA of all places would dare challenge the status quo of punishing the successful. Shinso had gotten what he wanted, he tried his hardest to talk Midoriya out of leaving UA, but he knew he would never change his mind. 

Brainwashing was never off the table, he knew that but he couldn’t solve a problem with the quirk that had created it. Hijacking Midoriya’s free will had cost him the one thing chance he had with him and every burning gulp of beer, the cheapest and hardest he could find, felt like a fitting punishment in itself.

He drank not because he deserved this punishment but also because he needed it. Every burning drop down his throat was a reminder that Midoriya was rare as they came. A trust like his was like the finest crystal, transparent, clear, iridescent and captivating when he first met him at the entrance exam he knew it was meant to be between them. All he had to do was shut up and smile and Midoriya would have been right here, maybe sharing something colder and smoother going down the throat with him. 

Yet like most things in his life, his mouth , not his quirk had gotten him into trouble as he wiped his lips with his forearm, reaching for another can. Another serving as penance for his betrayal. He swore he wouldn’t do that again to anyone but Midoriya’s abduction or absconding had forced his hand once more as he regressed back into the ways that started this fiasco.

“How the fuck do you not get drunk, Mindfucker?” Bakugo spoke from behind him, Shinso was startled by the sudden comment, spilling a few drops on himself as the mug trembled from his shock. He recovered pretty quickly as he looked up at Bakugo in the hood and jacket, grinning ear to ear at a friendly face during all these weeks. 

“I'll tell you the secret to avoid hangovers….. Don't stop drinking.” Shinso slurred lightly as he knocked the mug back and drank it dry, Bakugo felt disgusted as he did this but couldn’t afford attracting attention to himself, especially since he didn’t want the Commission or Yagi to catch wind of these meetings . 

“Maybe if you were sober that night, you’d know where he went! Where someone could have taken him under your nose! You’re the Commission dammit, a leaf doesn’t fall without your say so and you lost the guy who clangs around the city in a big ass metal suit!?” Bakugo spoke slowly in his low growl. The timbre in his voice grew deeper. 

Shinso suddenly slammed his glass down so hard on the table, some of the cans shook, threatening to send them tumbling to the floor which would defeat the point of this discreet meeting as Bakugo backed off. Shinso was clearly drunk but still had his wits about him. 

“Just because he was your favorite toy doesn’t mean we forget the bigger issue at hand.” Shinso spoke with momentary sobriety. This only shocked Bakugo as he felt the barb pierce him straight through the heart. 

Shinso wasn’t playing his usual games tonight, he had found something serious. Something linked to Bakugo or Yagi? 

“You’re one to talk! I just mindfucked him, you fucked up his mind!” He retorted fiercely, crossing his arms and leaning forward on the table with his teeth gnashed like a wolf. 

Shinso was unapologetic with the aggressive display of those pearly whites as he grabbed another beer can from the soft cushion of his seat and snapped it open without a care to Bakugo’s intimidation. A card he had overplayed over the years. 

“Yeah…like we haven’t been playing reindeer games with each other since UA to what end? Just so I could lure him in and you could net him right?” Shinso smiled as he leaned in as well, clacking his teeth to mock Bakugo’s lupine sneer.

“We never settled who was going to dress and filetté Midoriya, the one that got away….” Shinso smirked as he filled the beer mug and raised it in a mock toast in the air in Bakugo’s face, his skin’s shade turned from clear to light yellow as the full mug was overlaid on his visage in the dim light before Shinso brought it down to his lips for another swig. 

“It was NEVER like that…” Bakugo protested in a harsh whisper, looking around the dim bar, paranoid of any eavesdroppers before he continued, “I was fucked up, did some fucked up shit now I need to unfuck what I fucked up ok!” he tapped the wooden table with his glove with each time he said fuck to drive his passion home. 

Shinso pulled out some change and flicked some 1 yen coins on the table that clanged as they landed on the wooden table, chuckling to himself as he saw Bakugo’s mouth agape at the very obvious insult.. 

“Keep saying fuck like you get paid to.” He chortled, picking up his mug and knocking it back with a light sip this time to Bakugo’s chagrin as he was left steaming from Shinso’s jabs clearly meant to agitate him. 

He had changed too much since their UA days. Ever since Midoriya swore never to speak to either of them for betraying his trust.

“Look I get it! We fucked ok! It was a….thing that went too far. We were two assholes who thought they knew better than Deku!” Bakugo grumbled, tones of remorse escaped as he mentioned Deku. 

“Oh sure, doesn’t stop you from fucking me all you want…” Shinso slurred, cackling as he swallowed the beer, laying the mug down with a dull clink on the wooden table. 

Then leaning in. “Just don’t fuck me up ok.” He grinned as he leaned back, taking another sip, “I’m not some hooker you leave cab fare and some change on the nightstand Boomie.” 

“That was ONE time! I was getting late…” Bakugo shook his head and grunted, “Never mind! That’s not why we decided to meet up today!” 

Shinso raised his eyebrow and slammed the mug down, reaching down for his umbrella and coat. “I think I should go if you are here for business not pleasure.” He retrieved the tattered coat but Bakugo got up as well. 

“You’ve been using me for your pleasure enough! I want answers, Mindfucker!” Bakugo demanded in his most commanding bark. 

Shinso shook his head, returning his command with a defiant smirk, “Oh don’t overrate yourself Katsuki, look at how much I gotta drink to get your taste out of my mouth.” He slapped on his coat and gave it a secure tug as he shot him a quick glance.

Bakugo almost missed it but went silent, returning it with a silent nod as he jumped Shinso. 

The barman had enough of their chatter but he came with two strong guards to peel the quarreling Bakugo and Shinso who had left each other with bruises on their faces from their scuffle. Before things got ugly, they were shown the door and tossed out into the busy streets. Bakugo was enraged as he trundled down the street, Shinso shot a small grin from the corner of his face as he made it to his other haunt. A karaoke bar that was a good 15 minute walk away.

The receptionist knew him as a customer and as always reserved booth number 12 but today Shinso wanted booth 10 which was already occupied. Shinso slipped a quick bribe of 30k Yen his way and that changed his tune literally as he went to evict the current occupants. Within a few minutes he saw the girls that had been partying shuffled off to booth number 12 he cackled only for a reason HE knew as he saw the dozen clearly on a bingefest shuffle into the massive room, the receptionist had shut the door on them to silence the cacophony of their jubilation at seeing the bigger booth they just got. 

“Right this way…sir.” The receptionist was a younger guy, black and spiky hair, lean and thin but well dressed for a guy his age. Clearly someone crawling up in the world while attending college and working a job. Someone Shinso could understand enough not to brainwash as he was led into the more modest booth number ten. 

“Oh..one more thing…” Shinso spoke in a whisper, holding out another 30k Yen. “When you see a young blonde guy about my age, make sure you send him in after me.” The receptionist was anxious at this suspicious request, relocating a booth party was one thing but was this some handoff? Escort service? It couldn’t be good.

 For a moment Shinso thought he was better off brainwashing him but he smiled as the young lad just snatched the money before he could change his own mind. Greed was good. His best ally in this war for information.

“Good boy…” Shinso spoke under his breath, whether it was for himself who had learned to stop misusing his quirk or for the receptionist to realize this was not his business to interfere in. 

No one would know as he entered the booth and started playing his favorite songs. The playlist he had been listening to for the last 5 years was reminiscent of Midoriya. 

After nearly 30 minutes he heard a knock on the door in the pattern they had decided as he opened the door. The Old ways were the best in a world that over relied on tech to gather intelligence Kaina would tell him. 

She taught him well and he taught her back when he joined up with the Commission after being disillusioned with Yagi and rubbing shoulders all day with a crowd that made him feel the outcast for his quirk. 

Nagant was the name of the greatest weapon of the organization and Kaina had fought for her life literally to inherit the name. 

At the Commission, names were given, titles were earned and a title like Nagant meant you had to adapt as she had been one of the few seniors in his life who listened to his radical thoughts with an open mind, eager to put his quirk to use to make her targets go to favorable vantage points. Making them easier to dispatch. 

Shinso had other ideas where he took the initiative to honeypot them using his quirk, with Midoriya it was a proven concept and he was 20 something and eager for promotions. Dignity was a luxury in the dark world of intelligence and counterintelligence. 

You could only shoot a man once but you could blackmail them for life, his weakness was the disgust people had for his proclivities he just weaponized that along with his quirk to be a more effective sword. 

The one that dangled over its victim’s head, never knowing when it would fall, giving them incentive to play along. Only when they had been wrung dry and betrayed all their comrades would they beg Shinso for final release from their life. 

Kaina lived up to her name with the easiest 100 shots in her career in the last 5 years thanks to Shinso.

As he opened the door, Katsuki Bakugo put his hood back on to hide his blonde hair. He must have had quite the argument with the receptionist who seemed to be smiling all the way to the bank having made 60k yen in a few minutes. 

Shinso ruminated on how that would be months of earning for him at this part time job. Though Bakugo’s indignation at being forced to reveal his face to a lowly receptionist at a run down Karaoke bar seemed to be a show that kid would have paid for the privilege to be a spectator. 

Shinso’s only regret is he lost himself to his music as this “blink and you’ll miss it moment” had transpired. 

“You don’t need…that uniform to prove you’re a person you know.” Shinso hissed as Bakugo came into the room, sitting on the couch, resting his legs on the table then leering at Shinso at the indignity of that comment. 

“Were you a person before you put on theirs?” Bakugo spat back, jerking his head to get their meeting started already, the delays only made his temper shorter as the bags under his eyes ran deeper than Shinso’s under the bright lights. 

Shinso clicked the lock with an indignant ‘Hmph’ then sat across from Bakugo, “I’m not anybody’s traitor, I did what I could knowing I could live with myself after. At least one of us can go to the grave with no regrets, can you say the same after licking his boots all these years?” He probed Bakugo with the question, slapping him with his moment of lucidity. 

“Did all his preaching and high ideals wash it away? Your guilt, your shame, your flaws are pieces of your heart people can see Katsuki, it only reminds them you’re human…hell the reason society is circling the drain now is because that man played God for so long, he didn’t think for one second….I’m human and when the villains see I can die, this peace can die with me.” Shinso smiled morbidly at him, hiding his teeth as he pursed his lips and relaxed into the couch. 

“Bold words from someone who works for the best paid killers in the business..” Bakugo growled low and deep, looking at his feet. 

“Oh? They’d be listening to bachelorette remixes all night while thinking we were banging in here all night.” He chuckled as he pointed his thumb at the adjacent room no.12 that had a party going on.

Sound proofing in the room was confirmed by their wild cheering being muffled and muted, reassuring Bakugo that not even the Commission would be able to hear a word that passed their lips tonight.

“Whatever….honeypot.” Bakugo pulled a small plastic square from his glove, tossing it to Shinso who smiled as he reached into his pockets and pulled out several, laying them on the table like a winning hand in poker. 

“What I want to know is…how can I trust you?” Bakugo grunted as he snatched the fresh data sticks and stashed them in his pocket, zipping it up to be safe. 

“That’s why it’s called trust….you just do, despite your better judgment.” Shinso scoffed with a fake pout. 

“But yea….to shoot the elephant in the room, you’re wondering how a man disappears while he’s in my arms like a wisp of smoke. How his shop is gutted down to the drywalls, stripped off all the tech, the memories and hell, even the nails that held things up mere months ago.” Shinso spoke casually as he tapped the data sticks to emphasize his point on their gap of trust. 

He leaned in further, menacingly, his eyes twitched as Bakugo did something he never did in his life before.He backed away as Shinso slapped his hands onto the table to steady himself, in his buzzed out torpor he kept looking at Bakugo. 

“I got played by ghosts who left me in my bed without rousing me like I was a baby, I’ll tell you another dirty secret of mine.” He twisted his finger, motioning Bakugo to come closer. 

“The toughest part of getting played is losing your dignity. Feeling like you’re not worth the oxygen you breathe. You get used to it. You start to believe it. You start to love it. It’s like a bottle that never runs dry, you can keep reaching for it over and over and over again….” He smiled as he tugged at Bakugo’s boot who pulled it back as though Shinso was going to rip his foot off.

 The purple hair hung low like a draped curtain, concealing his face as he shook with laughter, his tears dripping on the table one by one. 

“When will you put the bottle away Shinso….” Bakugo asked in his softest tone, a grating snarl as he reached out, touching his hair, combing through it to comfort him. He couldn’t pull back as Shinso, like a praying mantis, grabbed his wrist in a flash and looked up at him. 

“I don’t know. One day, you just decide to….get up and walk out of your headspace.” He lunged at Bakugo, knocking the breath out of him as he clambered onto him with surprising strength, he wasn’t the lanky,stringy and scrawny kid that Bakugo could push around back in the dorms. 

Kaina had taught him a trick or two to take guys twice Bakugo’s size down when his quirk failed him in the field, ignoring Bakugo’s many protests at Shinso’s physique overpowering his own with a mixture of finesse and technique that resulted in overwhelming leverage over his stronger opponent. 

“What the fuck you doing ! Fucking honeypot! Thought we agreed tonight was only for business!” Bakugo struggled against Shinso’s hold on him as he had his wrists locked, the purple headed man’s knee securely dug into the base of Bakugo’s skull. 

“This is business!” Shinso whispered as he leaned in, “Gotta leave ‘em an orgy of evidence to cover our tracks Boomboy.” Bakugo froze as he heard his zip being run down, his struggling died down soon after he heard Shinso’s scarf fall onto his hands, tightening around his wrists. 

“Fuck you I wasn’t followed!” Bakugo blasted back in protest, his spit landing on the cushion as he shot the most intense death stare Shinso’s way who just continued tying him up with the mimetic cloth his scarf was made off around those thick wrists. 

"Out there in the war, you can only get killed once.In the Commission, it can happen over and over." Shinso chided him as he pulled his shirt off and threw it on the sofa, making sure he was leaving his sweat on the seat and the cushion as he secured himself against Bakugo. 

“Boombuster! Pull it together. You won't do Izuku any good if you get caught too! Besides, the last thing your Izuku wants is for either of us to die before we can find him.” Shinso hissed as he finished the 3 point knot to keep Bakugo’s palms facing away from each other.

“Barely competent and paranoid. There’s a hell of a combination…..you sure you’re not Izuku under that mask Mindfucker!” Bakugo barked as he went limp, Shinso could only chortle morbidly as he tracked their time frame, knowing the commission would retask surveillance soon onto Room 10.

“All wars are about deception, Katsuki, maybe I learned more from him than you ever could.” Shinso teased his ear in a low whisper. “Now let’s paint this room like a Jackson Pollock painting.” He patted Bakugo on the back as he counted down from 60, suspecting the retasking was already complete or near completion. 

You never knew with the Commission updating their toys to keep ahead of their operatives.It was always an arms race with them. Brain power vs Computing power was the new paradigm the Commission found itself at odds with these days. An organization always at war within.

“Fuck you….” Bakugo growled as Shinso finally undid the restraints, knowing that he felt the clock had started too. 

He started to strip off his clothes, mimicking Shinso’s move to cover the furniture with as much of their sweat and DNA as they could for their teams once they were done. 

The purple headed operator looked out the one way mirror in the door panel. Smiling as he turned off the lights, the dim LEDs, the only source of light in the room, only left silhouettes like a shadow puppet performance visible to its occupants. 

Bakugo tackled him against the wall without any hesitation though mainly in retaliation for the restraints as he played his part in this facade for the last few weeks.

“They’re watching so let’s give em a show.” Shinso whispered as he turned his head to the side, his breathing shallow as he felt Katsuki’s grip getting tighter around his wrists. 

The sparks that hissed on his skin leaving small stinging moments of pain that made Shinso wince, leaving droplets of pain that trailed down his face every time they did this.Knowing what Bakugo was going to do to get even tonight. 

"Not till you say it..." Bakugo grumbled into Shinso's ear vociferously, Shinso swallowed as his eyes widened.The Commission needed a show now or their little game was over with their heads on spike for breakfast tomorrow.

"You promised me after UA you wouldn't make me!" He protested as he squirmed helplessly against the lion-like strength that Bakugo's rage always gave him. Fuming at how lightly Bakugo seemed to be taking their precarious situation with the clock ticking down the precious seconds that determined if they will wake up the next day or not.

"SAY IT!" He commanded in the most vicious bark he could muster, twisting Shinso's wrist, dangerously close to dislocating Shinso's thumb if he applied even a little more pressure. This was not a game anymore…neither for the commission or Bakugo. Both of them left him no choice.

"Do it like I'm Midoriya..." he commanded Bakugo, activating his quirk reluctantly as a tear streamed down his face from Bakugo's cruel request.He knew the burden that was being placed on him. 

The memories of him abusing Midoriya with his quirk came flooding back each time as Shinso could only rest his forehead against the wall, bracing himself for the tsunami of pent up repression that was Katsuki Bakugo slam into him with a tidal force. 

Only memories of his days in the dorm with Midoriya were the saving grace that let him grin and bear this game they were playing with their lives as the tokens to find their missing friend. For Shinso it was a mistake as Midoriya had slipped through his fingers all those weeks ago. He had to make this right no matter what.

“A show!? I’ll give em the fucking orchestra!” Bakugo growled as the quirk took him over. The noise levels on the discrete monitors in the Commission pulsated as they were registering strong vibrations from the room. 

The shadowy figures who were looking over the numerous numbers and readings on their monitors knew it all pointed to one thing, their disgust. 

Shinso’s handler viewed the readouts from their surveillance devices pensively, analyzing the growing vibrations coming from within the room as the two bodies were clashing, their Infrared readings only confirmed to their revulsion the lascivious nature of their discreet affair. 

Shinso Hitoshi and Katsuki Bakugo were spared the kill order for today. 

Just two young adults swapping spit as far as Kaina Tsutsumi was concerned as she twirled her hair in the corner looking daggers at her 'leader' taking perverse pleasure in his auteur behavior under the guise of professional compliance . 

She didn’t approve of her seniors delving this deep into her subordinate’s life but she knew whenever anyone in liquidation was emotionally compromised in any way, they had to go through this Standard Operating Procedure discreetly whether the operative knew it or not. 

The lock of her purple hair turned to a bullet in her hand, soft one second, harder than steel the next in the instant she squeezed it, praying there wouldn’t come a day when it would have Shinso Hitoshi’s name on it as she rolled it between her fingers. 

Chapter Text

"Names?? What good does a name do anyone...except when it's telling you who to shoot." Kami spoke in the dark room, running the same poly blended cloth to wipe off the bloody smears off her weapon.

"I mean come on.... you know Kami sori just means razor right...." Kaina insisted to the chagrin of her mentor who clicked her weapon, the barrel, trigger and mechanisms reconstituting to the elegant arm they sprang from. Then she leaned into Kaina as her eyes leered into her soul before beginning her soulful diatribe.

"Sometimes, we have to leave people behind, so that we can go o­n. So that we can continue to fight. Sometimes, we have to do things that we never thought we were capable of, if o­nly to show the enemy our will. Yesterday, you showed me that you were capable of setting aside your fear, setting aside your hesitation, and even your revulsion -- every natural inhibition that during operations can mean the difference between life and death. When you can be this for as long as you have to be, then you're a razor. My war forced us all to become razors because if we didn't, we didn't survive. And then we don't have the luxury of becoming simply human again." Kami leaned back and stretched her arm that had been a deadly rifle a moment ago. The pops of the joints snapping back into place were to satisfying but the crunching never settled well with Kaina who's quirk didn't leave her arm so stiff, reeling with pain for hours after use.

 "We all have a soul. We all see patterns. I know you, you're damaged. You were born to a woman who believed that suffering was good for your soul, so you suffered. Your life is a testament to pain. Injuries. Accidents. Some inflicted upon others, others inflicted upon yourself. It surrounds you like a bubble. But it's not real, it's just... It's just something she put in your head. It's something that you want to believe because it means you're the problem, not the world that you live in. You want to believe it because it means that you're bad luck. You're like a cancer that needs to be removed. Because you hear her voice every day and you want her to be right." Kami backed off, the warmth of her breath and her body heat left Kaina shivering as she felt her own body heat was sucked into the vacuum from the space she created between them. It wasn't a quirk...it was the razor edge of Kami's mind games which is why she was her generation's Nagant, sharpening the next weapon in line in service to the Commission liquidators like the perfectionist she was. 

"Its all so pointless Kami! We kill them, and they kill us, so we kill more of them, so they kill more of us. What's the point anymore?" Kaina broke down into soft tears, her arm retracted from its gun to the elegant and dainty flesh that hid the cruel and precise weapon as she wiped hear tears with the forearm that formed the barrel of the gun that had taken dozens of lives tonight. 

"I do know that Kami and you can tell my father that I'm listening to my instincts. My instincts tell me that we cannot sacrifice democracy just because the president of the Commission makes a bad decision.My soul isn't worth staining over his whims and wishes!" Kaina spat in disgust at their last assignment that had gone sour because she had hesitated in pulling the trigger which led to an hour long chase that paved a bloody path through the streets tonight. 

Kami leered at her once again, this one more penetrating than the bullet which pierced the thickest armor rated for civilian cars tonight as she came face to face with her protege, those cold, unfeeling eyes upon closer inspection hid a glint of emotion, a dancing flame sealed behind layers upon layers of emotional defense mechanisms from combat, training and most importantly stoic determination in facing death as a friend. Her hands wrapped around the arms of the chair that Kaina sat on, she could smell her mentor's breath, the dehydration from the ammo the expended had left her drained. Kaina knew that Kami hid her weaknesses well and turned them into strengths, no one who entered that room at this moment would see a woman about to collapse from anemic shock but a demon about to lash her ward in hell. 

"Our race, invented murder. Invented killing for sport, greed, envy. Its man's one true art form." Kami spoke coldly from her corner, sitting down and lighting a cigarette that glowed and smoldered as she took a deep puff, exhaling a grey mist that filled the room, "Not conscious thought! Not poetry, or art, or music, literature! Murder. Murder is our heritage...so just be the best artist with a bullet you can, the target is your canvas Kaina." She took another deep puff, then snuffed the lit cigarette into her forearm, those cold blue eyes not even wincing as she did.

“Why are we learning about this now?” Kaina hissed at Keigo in the present when he handed her the redacted casualties reports from the Shie Hassakai Compound raid. Kami, her mentor who had passed her mantle down to her as the new Nagant had was interred namelessly in a random graveyard. She crunched the sheet in her hands, her teeth clenched, hyperventilating at the news as her world came crashing down on her.

“You ok there K?” Keigo reached out to comfort her but she swatted it away, he winced as he could feel the gunmetal in his face, her bone weaving quirk “sniper” was a thing to behold as she could turn her hand into the most disturbing yet beautiful weapon that reflected who she was as a person. Direct, precise, cold. She was far from the Kaina that Keigo Takami had met when they started as interns in the Commission which was a fiercely competitive job back in their day.

“Wooooahhhh there K…” Keigo raised both his hands, flinching at the muzzle inches from his nose, he gulped as he saw a bullet was chambered in it already. He wondered when she had the chance to rip off a lock and stick it in, smirking at the phrasing in his head as he put a finger gently on the tip of the muzzle and angled it away nice and slowly. 

“Ujiyama hit me hard too ya know..” He flashed his boyish grin back at her, Kaina still fired off the shot into the air that grazed Hawk’s hair, many strands falling on his coat which he brushed off with his gloves. 

“The only thing that hit you hard is that bunny, you reek of her.” Kaina retracted her gun, returning it to its original form as her hand while shooting Keigo a look of revulsion and disgust. “The dead are meant to be mourned Keigo! I knew you had sunk low but THAT low? Show some respect for your mentor!” 

“We’re talking about the same seize the day by the balls Ujiyama right….” Hawks raised his brow, scratching his stubble, Kaina spat in disgust as she slammed the scrunched up paper into his chest, grinding it against his coat.

“So fucking useless you Hero Affairs people! Always too many Affairs and not enough Hero in you!” She growled indignantly before proceeding to walk down the dark corridor of the Commission towards her Liquidation department. 

“He’d kill me if he knew I gave up a hot date to mourn his cold dead body ya know!” He yelled out after Kaina, his voice echoed in the empty and narrow corridor before the steel door hissed down, sealing her from his words as Keigo smirked, shaking his head as he raised his goggles and wiped a solitary tear drop which danced on his waterproof leather glove, letting it trace a wet path down his finger as it dripped to the floor. “Hell of a time for you  to vanish into the air Izuku Chan…wonder if those Leaguers got to you.” Keigo lamented as he looked at the spatter of the tear drop, imagining it for a moment turning sanguinary like blood as he stepped back into the well lit front office of the Commission. 

The Avant Garde façade of the massive government building was a semi military agency masquerading as a public relations branch of the government, issuing licenses, managing hero public perception. Basically over glorified marketers, the role of the HAWK in the organization remained the same through three generations. Keep an eye from above, always get the picture from both sides. In short knowledge was power, the more you could get your hands on the better which meant you needed someone who could work in the gray on both sides. Someone who could never be a true hero or a true villain, something in the middle being tugged at by both sides. 

Hawk’s office was on the top floor as head of the Hero Affairs. Being a top hero didn’t hurt either though many questioned his high rankings despite his normal record that lacked any extraordinary achievements. Sure he had stopped petty crimes and some big busts in hero teams back in the day but so could the police without him. Just his presence alone netted him justification to rise the ranks, leading many heroes to question the legitimacy of the ranking system where someone like Keigo Takami who was more playboy than serious hero was something he had grown used to. 

His quirk, most people didn’t know, used his feathers in many creative ways that maybe the Commission was in the dark about. People tend to forget that he controlled each individual feather and the many filaments that it consisted of. What was an array of filaments but a glorified natural microphone that could pick up the slightest noises. Most of his days had his feathers exploring the ventilation ducts, sitting and reading the subtlest vibrations. He took many years, nearly a decade under the tutelage of Ujiyama the Warhawk to learn to control the fine filaments that were naturally in his feathers. 

Ujiyama could create maybe 1 or 10 of such feathers since his feathers were mercurial and keeping their shape took a lot of his brain power especially if he wanted to ensure the fine filaments shaped in the metal maintained their consistency. A task easier said than done.

Keigo Takami sat in his cushy leather chair, opening the drawer and tapping out the false bottom with one of his feathers to reveal a hidden compartment full of liquor with glasses. He reached into the recess and retrieved a rare Cognac that Ujiyama had specially left him. It was bottled on the same day as his birth and Ujiyama said it was best drank when it was 80 or so years old, the old man had only made it to 70 which made Keigo feel the weight of the bottle as he swirled the brownish contents softly, smiling when he remembered Ujiyama’s barbs at him when he was under his wing.

“Keigo you’re so useless that I recommend you get a bourbon bottle when I pass on the mantle.” Ujiyama taunted him through his slanted eyes, the sickly old man well into his 60s in the memory as he was handing the very same bottle of Cognac to Keigo he was holding now in his hands. 

“Doesn’t Bourbon age in like around 6-12 years though? It’d go bad by the time I pass it on.” Keigo spoke naively as Ujiyama slapped him on the head with surprising strength despite his wiry physique that had Keigo fall to the floor, only cushioned by his feathers that stopped the bottle from smashing. 

“You idiot! Like I’m gonna keel over and hand you the keys to the place like your dad throwing you the keys to a brand new car!” He coughed out, holding onto a plume of feathers that floated in midair, the mercurial texture turning solid as it defied gravity yet stayed firmly in the air, spitting at the laws of physics themselves before he recovered from his whooping cough.

“Hero Affairs is too serious Keigo Takami! I wanna go to my grave in peace! I don’t wanna twist and turn in my coffin. Thank you very much, watching you from the afterlife cock up my life’s work like the chick in the nest you are!”  Ujiyama the Warhawk now glared at Keigo who was still looking at him from the floor, the Cognac nestled in his arms securely. 

“Soooooo that means i’ll be an old man when you hand over the keys right?” Keigo asked pensively, thumbing the bottle. A wicked grin dawned on his face that had Ujiyama shaking his head in fury, his teeth and fists clenched as several mercurial feathers apparated inches from Keigo’s face, ready to pierce him as they took the shape of spear tips. 

“That means I’m going to watch your fruity little party boy ass till I’m satisfied you wash your hands when you take a leak without me having to do it for you!” He snarled as he approached Keigo and landed a kick into his gut that had the younger man curled into the fetal position. 

“Hooo chii mamaa……Getting soft on me already? Not spitting blood here this time….Pops!” Keigo grunted from the floor as he smiled in defiance at Warhawk, clutching the Cognac as Ujiyama pinched his nose and shook his head violently. 

“Listen Keigo…I know I’ve been hard on you all these years…” He started to which Keigo just interjected. 

“Oh really? I haven’t got any pretty scars to impress the ladies with some made up stories yet!” He chuckled which earned him another kick in the gut to which he really fell silent this time as Ujiyama leaned down into a deep squat, resting his bony forearms on his knees. The spear tips that floated inches from Keigo’s face retracted and were absorbed into his mercurial pool from where they originated as he held out a hand for Keigo to take. 

“If you keep thinking with both heads, I can always chop the one down below off so the one above gets some fucking blood! I’d say it’s past due that you start understanding what HAWKS really have to do in this world to survive!” He spoke harshly, rebuking his aloof protege as he grabbed him by the armpit and with that unknown wellspring of strength he pulled him up effortlessly, “Your bones aren’t the only things that are hollow about you kid.” He knocked on Keigo’s head with his knuckles, rapping them harshly as he pulled his arm back and went to the window of the office, taking in the views of the vista it offered him. 

“Yea yea…I know the sales pitch Pops…” Keigo muttered as he rubbed his gut, setting the bottle of Cognac with a clink on the wooden desk as he pulled up his shirt, grunting as he saw two purple bruises there. Feeling the prick of two spear tips at his back he sighed as they prodded and poked him to join Ujiyama at the massive window. The bird’s eye view of the city 50 floors up from the street, one of the most enviable views you couldn’t afford at their salary otherwise. 

“You will be Hawks…sooner than later and I’m gonna have to leave the nest sooner than later for all my bluster kid.” Ujiyama patted Keigo in a paternal manner ever since they met, his harsh discipline and cold tutelage melted away in that one warm and glowing moment or was it just the sun radiating in through the massive window. 

“Just because you don’t know your direction doesn’t mean you don’t have one right Pops?” Keigo smirked at him. He felt the spear tips in his back pierce a bit sharper, cutting through the jacket and many layers he wore, just scraping his skin. 

“Throwing my own words at me eh…” Ujiyama winded his fist back, chuckling then cackling loudly as he pulled Keigo into a hug.

“You’re their problem now kid! Wanna say it was a pleasure training a man of integrity….?” Ujiyama spoke somberly, wiping a prideful tear like a pearl from an oyster to Keigo’s shock.

“Can’t give me what I never had Pops….” Keigo retorted as he pulled Ujiyama into a hug, every time he tried that he got poked, prodded and stabbed for his brazen attitude but this time he felt those stringy and wiry arms wrap around him, squeezing his rib cage like it was going to burst at any second. 

“You have to tell me how you do that…gramps....” He wheezed as he felt a rib was near popping. 

“Have a strong spine for a start you boneless chick!” Ujiyama grunted as a loud pop snapped somewhere in his back, to which he released Keigo suddenly. His own mercurial feathers had already pricked him in the pressure points as the thinnest needles, stabilizing the nerves with immense precision. Keigo suspected this wasn’t the first time the old man was patching himself up as a veteran of the first quirk war. 

"Just remember Keigo…Manipulation. Cunning. The only problem with lies is that they’re too easy - it's that art of mixing lies with truth that greases the wheels of progress." Ujiyama hissed at him as he waved off Keigo who took the hint to give the grizzled veteran some dignity as he had clearly overestimated his physical prowess in his war torn body. As a final gesture he left some feathers to push the plush leather chair at the grateful Ujiyama as its worn out wheels squeaked towards him. The shabby man gave a final nod to his successor as he sat down gratefully in the deep comfort cushions in a loud and grateful gasp, looking one last time at the view he knew would never be the same now that he would be at the other side of this glass, always looking in. 

Keigo Takami took another sip of the smoky yet fruity notes of the Cognac that brought him back to the present from his reminiscing. It was slightly bitter, having been opened 10 years earlier than suggested. Stinging on the way down but with each sip the sting only became part of the charm of the fine brand he was casually sipping at the sunlit window. Just like its owner’s abusive blows became marks of adulation. 

When he took over the office, he made sure the window went wall to wall yet somehow closed himself off further from the world to his true self. Despite his policy of complete transparency, he had perfected the art of lying, hiding it in plain sight so people would believe what they see and not see what they really believed in. The Commission had sold the lie of peace for so long, he felt they had gotten high on their own supply with the disappearance of Izuku Midoriya being kept under wraps for weeks and the deaths of their oldest agents was the worst kept secret of liquidation. 

Confronting Kaina like that was not in the playbook that Ujiyama had left him but to hell with the dead, he had a society to keep together with string, at least Ujiyama had duct tape. If Kaina's people had something to do with Midoriya's disappearance, Hawks was going to find out one way or another very soon as he felt the feather in the liquidation department vibrate. Closing his eyes to listen in on the privy conversations for the day. The supports on his chair squealed in protest as he lay his feet on the desk and took one of his notorious naps with his arms crossed but his ears wide open as the information flowed into his brain.

Chapter Text

Naomasa Tsukauchi had seen it all with the spike in crimes over the years since All Might’s reduced activity cycles. Being one of the only friends to a colossal titan, a pillar of hope, the God of Peace itself. The other heroes were lesser than Gods, they were mortal and these days in mortal peril as the villains were coalescing while the heroes were scattered.

Stretched thinner than plastic wrap, the fabric of society had dozens of punctures the public knew about, thousands that the police kept under wraps and God only knew how many the Commission was aware of. The veil of secrecy was not due to mistrust between the three rather due to fear of admitting one thing. The quiet part, no one wanted to say out loud; from the babies in their cribs to the bosses in their ivory towers there was only one thought on everyone’s mind.

“We had peace and we blew it!” Tsukauchi hissed as he stopped his car and pulled up the parking brake. Naruhata was supposed to be settled after Koichi had left and Knuckleduster had kept the peace in his stead. Tuskauchi had a rich network of informants at the monster cafe who kept their ears to the ground along with Knuckleduster’s acolytes so Naruhata was the last place he expected the tsunami of crime to ravage.

It was five years ago, Naruhata had criminals and vagabonds wreaking havoc on the scene. Stronger, hungrier and ruthless was not the reason these criminals had broken Knuckleduster’s peace keepers and thwarted police many times. No! It was the cunning, the guile, the level of organization that made the villain factory case look like a nursery class.

These villains felt like an alumni or a union. Well organized, coordinated strikes and sit downs. They had the backing of politicians turning a blind eye, heroes passing overhead and never landing to mete out justice, eventually police who just drove on by in fear for their lives.

Then he showed up five years ago after Knuckleduster had vanished with his boys with one act. The man in the archival clips wore a bloody red Oni mask that melded with every contour of his face. A black hood with black trousers as though he was out for a jog during halloween.

He walked into the old mall that had become the unofficial hub of all criminals in Naruhata, all records of dispatch and rescue requests had posted hours of panicked screams of terror from gang members ;most yelling for help from heroes and police alike as their cohort’s blood curdling cries flooded the background.

Reserves of underground heroes met up with pro hero Yoroi Musha, the number 8 hero on the rankings at the time. A veteran of the worst quirk crises and the war was going to lead the dozen underground heroes into hell itself. By the time Tsukauchi had arrived on the scene, they saw the masked man sitting there on a bench. Ash and blood covered his black clothes, his malevolent eyes from behind the mask peered at the cops as he gave them one chance to walk out with their lives with his ultimatum.

“Naruhata is under the sole protection of Nimen-seki, the judge, jury and executioner for all transgressors of the peace.” He pointed to himself, stabbing his thumb into his chest before slapping his hands together and shedding pounds of ash and blood off his palms into an impressive dust cloud that lingered in front of him. Each officer slowly lowered their gun, gulping at the understanding that villains and heroes had just died to this lone assailant. They might as well be aiming water pistols at him for all the good it would do.

“You killed alot of people from both sides here today. How will you stop a war when they come for your head?” Tsukauchi asked as he holstered his weapon, shaking his head at the rest of his men to do the same while clenching his teeth as he felt the ax dangling over everyone’s heads if they made the wrong move with this person who calmly leaned forward and clasped his hands instead.

“Tell me detective, where were you people when Iwao Oguro the Knuckleduster was tortured and killed tonight by these people?” Nimen-Seki asked them, tapping the tips of his fingers together as he waited for the name to hit Tsukauchi like a sucker punch.

“I thought you of all people would understand these are desperate times and for the time being I am a desperate measure.” Nimeki chuckled as he held out a pair of Handcuffs and twirled them around in his finger. Tsukauchi was scowling at the clear mockery, his eyes widened as Nimeka got up suddenly and walked towards him, spinning those cups in his fingers like it was a child’s toy.

“You could take me in tonight, throw the book at me. Then what?” Nimeki’s foot steps echoed in the atrium loudly, the police were reaching reflexively for their weapons but Tsukauchi waved a hand to stop them.

“The power vacuum I have left tonight means there will be more blood on your hands…Detective” Nimeki was now a few inches away from Tsukauchi, snapping a cuff on his wrist, holding out his free hand to the detective to complete the job.

“How much red do you want on your ledger after tonight Naomasa Tsukauchi?” Nimeki sneered at him, taking Tsukauchi’s hand in his and making him snap the other cuff on his free hand. The detective hesitated, refusing to click it into the lock as he pulled away from Nimeki-sen and his game.

“You named yourself after the God of good and evil. How can I trust the people of this town to your God complex?” Tsukauchi spat indignantly in protest as Nimeki’s cackling echoed off the atrium’s walls. He reached into his pocket suddenly, Tsukauchi’s nerves compelled him to shoot at him till his gun’s clip was empty, sending a flurry of bullets at the man a few feet away from him.

In an instant he felt the air around him vanish, the stench of decay permeated in a miasmic cascade. There was no trace of his bullets nor any wounds on Nimeki-Sen who just pulled out a cell phone while standing on a small circle of tiles that were left intact around him. A donut shaped hole had swallowed everything in a few feet around the man. The smell that was left behind was off rusting steel and dusty concrete.

Tsukauchi’s gun’s muzzle had vanished? Disintegrated? It was all gone along with the tip of his shoe that was millimeters from the perimeter of the donut shaped hole. Nimeki-sen had made his point loud and clear. He could kill them all without flinching, waving them away like insects with the flick of a wrist if he wanted to this whole time.

“Unlike you detective, I am a family man.” Nimeki-sen held up his phone, the bright light shining with the picture of a woman holding her infant daughter who were smiling. This left Tsukauchi even more troubled at what kind of man Nimeki-sen was without the mask. “I have people to protect, same as you. So do we have an understanding?”

Detective Tsukauchi had cut a deal like this with Iwao Oguro before and right now peace was at a bargain, this time with a devil he didn’t know as he reached out his hand. Nimeki shook it with gusto and a firm grip as he slapped the Detective’s shoulder in appreciation.

“You will not regret this.” Nimeki chuckled, speaking in a relieved tone. Much more human and relaxed as the tension had been defused with the accord they had sealed on the spot.

That was five years ago as the first thing he was handed into the doorway was the same bloody red Oni mask of Nimeki-sen that had sealed their Faustian deal for his soul in exchange for peace. He ran his fingers over the mask, pinching and squeezing to make sure this was not some nightmare or trick of the light. Every curve and contour of the mask that day was etched into his brain as he had shook hands with the devil himself in that mall.

Had he made a mistake, thinking hard if he Nimeko-sen was another ticking bomb that he had let slip through his fingers to destroy the lives around him. Naruhata had been serene and peaceful since that handshake that stayed between him and his officers, having left it out of their reports as agreed. Despite no hero activity, there had not even been a purse snatcher all these years as the lines in Naruhata were cold which is why this blip was so prominent on the police’s radar.

While the world burned around Naruhata someone had disrupted that peace not with purse-snatching or a simple arson. No, they had swung for the fences by mutilating and killing off a housewife and her infant daughter. The husband was nowhere to be found and likely the prime suspect because of the Oni mask that was in Tsukauchi’s custody now that he had verified it.

This case had now fallen into his lap by the officers who had colluded with him that day now looking daggers at him. They now knew in hindsight he might have made the wrong call that day but they conveniently forgot the most basic truth of this universe. Tsukauchi was only human and apparently so was the Nimeko-sen now suspected to be Tenko Shimura.

The more Tsukauchi wandered the house to arrive at a motive for the murder. Eliminating each cause one by one.

Money? He couldn’t see any leaks or peeling paint, only the best furniture and good china on the table to the half eaten meal that no one was ever going to finish.
Marital strife? He could only see every wall or table adorned and decorated with the pictures of a loving family on picnics, sending their daughter to school, birthdays and family holidays with a massive family portrait over the mantle which screamed family harmony. Not a frown or forced smile in any of them as most of the pictures were candid or goofy and felt authentic to Tsukauchi’s keen senses as he checked that off the list.

Rivalry or jealousy from outsiders? He couldn’t find any signs of a break-in or struggle coming from the outside. All the violence had happened upstairs in the living quarters beginning and ending there. Tsukauchi remembered an ancient legend about a family that was killed by their child while sleeping in their beds with a gun one by one. It happened in the USA and Yagi would tell him about it over coffee someday to explain how many cases he had seen in the world of quirks where that could theoretically be possible.

The only difference is Ronald Joseph had contested his plea for insanity on the account of demonic possession in the murder of his family in Amityville. Did Tenko Shimura have a devil living in him all this time? Did it finally hunger and rattle at its cage after having been starved of victims for the last five years? The compulsion to take life only mounting with each year, then month, then days.

Eventually like a smoker in withdrawal a minute without a cigarette in hand would have felt to the addict like an hour dragging along. When 60 seconds felt like the longest hour, it didn’t matter what your addiction was, booze, women, cigarettes, drugs. You just gave in. Did that happen tonight as the killer took his time, savoring the kill slowly. Taking it in like the first puff after years. If this was planned or premeditated it was sloppy and a cry to be locked up in jail with no legal defense on the planet.

No…all signs pointed to passion as he went up to the living space which told a very clear story.

The first victim was the wife. Her corpse was just a pile of decayed ash and blood stains in the bed. He called up the tech who held the tablet close to his chest, Tsukauchi held out his hand and was promptly given the device with the video paused to where he played it from the start.

Tenko had been methodical in how he did it according to the video he had that relived the gruesome moments that night. Tsukauchi didn’t have to see the whole thing to understand the basic plot that was in such an ad-hoc crime of passion.

He silenced his wife with a decaying tongue to weaken her breathing and make them more docile and partially hypoxic to resist his next moves. Then he went for the legs, just the feet, then the hands. Once he accomplished all that, the victim was thrashing helplessly, unable to grasp any ground to escape from Tenko who took their time with their child sleeping obliviously in the other room.

Once Tenko had his fill in disposing of his wife he just repeated the gruesome pattern in their daughter’s room, exploiting the bond a daughter felt in the safety of her father’s arms. The case of Tenko Shimura was an odd one despite the video on file. The man unapologetically put on a morbid display for the cameras; he kept calling himself by a different name over and over.

He kept thrashing his wife and daughter every time as they pleaded for their lives on video. Tenko Shimura felt like a slur, an anathema, a taboo to the man in the footage.

He kept repeating that name with a chilling cruelty to his victims, staring into the camera with a toothy grin of accomplishment as he sat down in front of it after having his fill of murder, addressing himself with great lucidity and clarity to rule out a psychotic break. He called himself Tomura Shigiraki.

“My dearest Tenko, five years….” Tomura Shigaraki held up his hand on the video counting to five, “I was your prisoner….” He tapped his temple, wincing as though he were fighting off a throbbing migraine. “I clawed, scraped and scooped through our mind, biding my time, reclaiming myself. Waiting for the day I would take it all from you!”

Tsukauchi and the officers there were still confused. Was this a case of multiple personalities? Somatic Reconditioning? Was a quirk related to this man’s warped psyche? Was Nimeko-sen framing an innocent man since no one really knows what his quirk was capable of and Tenko Shimura was in the wind.

“This is not a declaration of war Tenko…” Tomura cackled, licking his lips. “This is my victory!” He pointed to himself with his finger furiously.

“I will no longer be afraid! I have achieved greatness by inflicting true pain today! The world out there!?” he gesticulated at the window rigorously, his hand shaking as he did in fury. “They are untouched, unburned, unslain! They have never been torn as “we” were! Just like dad, they don't value themselves just as you didn’t value all the dirty work I did for “us”!” Tomura yelled into the camera, shaking it vigorously like a child throwing a tantrum for a few seconds.

Once he had calmed down and the video came back into focus, Tomura Shigiraki just spoke with a tone of disappointment as though he were burying a dear friend.

“You made yourself human.” He spat, flecks of spit obscured the lens before he wiped it with his thumb, leaving a smudge.

“You put limits on us! Yet I know the truth! I am broken and the broken are more evolved! We have no limits and I will not live in the cage you made for me, Tenko!” Shigiraki waved to the camera as though saying goodbye to someone only he could see.

“You used to say in the sun you found your passion, in the sun you found your purpose.” Shigiraki roared in laughter at the absurdity of the overly optimistic statement as he closed his fist and the room went dark. The video feed was all black but the audio was clear and chilling.

“Well I snuffed out your sun! Now I think that is beautiful.” Shigiraki’s haunting cackle turned into howling fits of laughter as the blank video feed went cut out and the file’s runtime came to its end.

Tsukauchi swallowed deeply, the performance of Tenko Shimura as this….Tomura Shigiraki was too chilling and unreal. In all his years he knew the conspiracy theory of doomsayers on the quirk apocalypse. People developing quirks that they couldn’t control. He wondered if Tomura Shigiraki was the manifestation of a quirk controlling its user or was Tenko Shimura not real to begin with? A skin suit at best or a mask at worst but one thing was clear.

Tomura Shigiraki was not human and this time he will shoot to kill as he shut off the tablet and went to work with the other officers on the scene.

Chapter Text

“Shinso!” Kaina hissed over his shoulder, he was jolted awake like someone had run a defibrillator on his heart. Roused from his nap at work he was sweating bullets at his disheveled appearance. He looked at the clock and spat in panic as he apologized feverishly to Kaina, hoping she wouldn’t shoot him for having slept at the office….again. 

Kaina ran a tight ship but she always cut Shinso enough slack. The tension between them always was if it was breathing room on the leash or enough rope to hang himself with. Even so she was giving him too much leverage these days after seeing the kind of dating life he had. Having a lover like Katsuki Bakugo was more of a punishment and Shinso seemed to be a glutton for it. Not that Kaina could tell him or she’d have to kill him as she twirled her hair, sighing as she stepped a few feet back which sent shivers down the boy’s spine as he hastily rummaged through his desk for his “fresh up kit”.

“Get yourself sorted out then meet me back here in five minutes!” She verbalized her disappointment in the harshest tone to rebuke her slouching subordinate as she clicked the stop watch with an audible beep. 

Shinso averted her gaze as he rushed to the men’s bathroom, the beep of the stopwatch felt loud as the starter pistol at a race; except when Nagant was the one firing the pistol, the slowest runner would be shot in the back. The moment he was out of earshot, she let out an audible giggle she could barely suppress as Shinso reminded him of better days back when Keigo wasn’t such an unapologetic pansexual mess that Hero Affairs had turned him into. 

She was only glad that Shinso could have easily been poached by the honeypot division that Keigo ran and after the disappearance of Izuku Midoriya. His “affair” with Shinso worried her to no end so she was secretly relieved that Katsuki Bakugo seemed to be a safer bet since Keigo Takami wasn’t holding that puppet’s strings.

She counted the minutes of the stopwatch that had run into its eighth minute, smiling to herself as she heard Shinso’s footsteps, the young man seemed to have been roused from his fugue state as he looked half as presentable despite smelling of cheap cologne. Once again reminding her of Keigo Takami when he had his soul. She shut it off with another audible beep as Shinso rounded the corner, looking into the desk and panting with exhaustion as he caught his breath. 

“One second more and I would have shot you in the toe Hitoshi.” She pocketed the stopwatch and snapped her finger, indicating that he follow her….now. 

“What’s the word?” Shinso asked pensively as he ran a finger across his hair, trying to press down the cow lick that stubbornly refused to behave as it kept flitting up defiantly in his hair. Their footsteps echoed in the empty office at 6am, anyone else would have been in by 8:30am. So what was Kaina doing here so early in liquidations before they rolled out the rosters and the “manifest” of names today. 

He received an answer with one shot that ripped away the cowlick, leaving the remnants singed from the friction of the point blank shot as Nagant’s deadly muzzle was millimeters from his face. Had he moved, shook, veered in any other way he’d be dead or grievously injured like many of his predecessors had been. Being Nagant’s shadow was a deadly business since she was more likely to kill you than any of their targets. The list of dead subordinates before Shinso numbered in the hundreds. Kaina was the sole survivor of every single one for a reason. 

“Everything has a place. Forgetting yours is dangerous, Shinso Hitoshi!” Nagant reprimanded him through clenched teeth at his casual question. A lesson she had to etch into him once more.  

“I’ll fight for your cause Nagant, just remember I won’t die for it.” Shinso snickered as he tapped the muzzle and sidestepped it coolly. 

“A weapon’s virtue is proven in combat.” She hissed as she retracted her rifle and snapped her finger, turning around once more and proceeding back on the path she was leading him through.”Results are all that matters in the world Shinso…never forget that.”  

“Yea not like I can shoot bullets like you and the last Nagant.” He chortled snidely as they paused in front of the elevator doors.The lights of the floors were obscured but Shinso knew like all operatives to count the lights in a sequence to determine the number. They were in the third sub-basement of the building. 

Nine levels of hell in total where the elevator car would impel down daily but today Nagant had pressed the “Up” button. Wherever they were going it was something more serious than their debriefs on the ninth sub-basement.

“We do this for those who came before us, and those who come next.” Kaina whispered to Shinso as she stepped into the elevator car, the doors sealing behind them as they ascended, giving both of them a sense of weightlessness for a moment as he felt another Nagant lecture coming. He wasn’t ready for it, especially after how Bakugo had wrecked him a few nights ago. Pouring through petabytes of his data on dark drives was not how he imagined his free time to be spent. He owed it to Midoriya to find him, not to know what happened but how it happened on his watch. 

“Loyalty isn’t earned. It’s bought Nagant. Heroes go hungry all the time and I don’t intend to starve anytime soon.” Shinso crossed his arms and bit his lip as he nearly punctured his lip while suppressing his smile. He could tell she didn’t appreciate his callous attitude today. The assignment seemed to be that important to be done when even the Commission's own people weren’t in the building.  

“Just remember, we use lies to tell the truth in the commission.” Kaina crossed her arms as well to show him she was effectively disarmed as well, shooting a serious glare at her subordinate. “Hero Affairs turns the truth into lies to misdirect…even us.”

“Come on…not another ‘you can’t trust Midoriya’ lecture Kaina…” Shinso started but went silent as she uncrossed her arms and unleashed her greatest weapon. That sharp tongue. 

“Have you anything to offer but weakness with your obsession?!” Kaina asks him with exasperation, “Do you know why Keigo Takami is really the Hawk?” 

“He had wings…obviously.” Shinso retorted as the elevator was almost to their destination. 

““Fear the power you do not see, child! When a Hawk swoops down, its prey doesn’t see it coming. I don’t want you to end up like Izuku Midoriya.” Kaina hissed at him, straightening out his collar in front of the camera as she whispered this into her ear.The doors opened and Keigo waited at the door to greet Kaina while ignoring Shinso at first then smiling at him. 

For a senior who had lost his protégé, Hawks seemed unconcerned and jovial to them despite this. Shinso wished he could brainwash him for some answers but knowing Keigo there would have been so many countermeasures in play even if Kaina signed off on the plan. 

They were in the atrium of the ground floor and this was his kingdom.The commission was a country within a country and right now they were on neutral ground between their worlds. “Cut the pleasantries Keigo, there’s no one to see it.” Kaina pushed him back as he tried to bring her into a hug. 

“I’ve been kicked around since I was born, Kaina. It’s alright! It’s okay! I’m staying alive!” Keigo feigned being hurt from her coldness, shedding crocodile tears before revealing the tear dropper he was using. Nagant aimed her gun, the muzzle kissing his forehead as she was unimpressed and impatient given their “business” today. 

“You’re worth my time Keigo – dead.” She clicked the safety off to which Hawks just swallowed, his hands raised in surrender as he spoke unapologetically. Shinso had to stop the elevator doors from crushing him as it wanted to go like him anywhere but here. 

His clumsy exit from the elevator defused the moment of tension between the two-only for a moment. “We got a message from them.” Keigo retrieved a bagel from his jacket to Nagant’s disgust as he brushed off the lint in her direction and  took a big bite. 

“I was told there was a warm body, not some transcript!” Kaina protested as her arm returned to its natural state. 

 “You’ll understand when we see it.” Keigo spoke in a muffled tone, some crumbs escaping his mouth as he chewed on the dry bread. “We needed him to verify that message.” He pointed at Shinso who stood at a distance, still fearful of another potential confrontation between them. Nagant did not look enraged…no, she was anxious. 

“It’s just business.” she muttered as she snapped her finger, signaling Shinso to follow her as Hawks led the way. A bread crumb riddled path to her disgust and his amusement. They stopped at interrogation room A. Wait awaited them inside was a void wearing human clothes. 

A mound of gas that resembled the flame of a candle as a head jutting out of a waistcoat and fine shirt. Its hands were just as formless with slits of white light as eyes observing them silently as they entered. 

“What is this…abomination Keigo!?” Kaina rounded on Hawks who just brushed off the crumbs from his bagel, ignoring her. 

“Honestly, I thought he was one of your…pets from the 9th sub-basement. Till it started talking that is.” Keigo responded casually to her as Shinso scraped a chair loudly to Kaina’s disapproval and sat face to face with an unknown threat without her verifying what it was. 

“My name is Kurogiri and I bring a message from my master for the Hero Commission.” It spoke with a deep, booming voice. staring at Shinso with those cold eyes that illuminated it’s dark void of a face.  

“Do your thing kid…” Keigo snapped his fingers as he rubbed his temples. “You know…make sure it’s telling the truth or whatever.” 

Kaina once again swallowed her spite bitterly as she dug her nails into her hands, sitting next to Shinso and aiming her gun in Kurogiri’s face. Ready to take him out the only way she knew as she gave Shinso the nod to do what Hawks had asked. 

“So Kurogiri San, How do we know you tell us the truth?” Shinso asked him. 

“At the end of our conversation it will matter little.” Kurogiri responded as his mind went blank and he came under Shinso’s quirk. Keigo clapped from the corner, chortling silently. 

“Ooh make it roll over!” he joked but looked away as Kaina shot him a glance that pierced him deeper than any bullet she could shoot his way. 

Kaina whispered a question into Shinso’s ear and he nodded as he parroted it. “Who is this message from?” he asked the thing sitting across from him.

“The true master of this world.” Kurogiri answered honestly, forcing Kaina to whisper something into Shinso’s ear to followup.

“What is his name?” Shinso asked bluntly, clasping his fingers as he did. 

“Master Shigiraki, known to you as the demon lord of the underworld, the man who holds All For One’s self.” He repeated in that hollow undertone, not an emotional blip as he spoke to the room. Kurogiri acted like he was reading the ingredients of toothpaste to his audience who were horrified and captivated by the name dropping like a bomb in the room. 

“You mean his successor right? His heir?” Shinso asked without Kaina whispering into his ear.

Kurogiri merely shook his head, “The same one who has been pulling the strings since the dawn of quirks. His greatness cannot be passed onto lesser minds.” 

Kaina grabbed Shinso by the shoulder, whispering into his ear again. Shinso gulped as he asked the question, “What is his message for us?”

“You have been following  a false idol to stop you tearing down this corrupt society! Let me tell you the truth about Yagi Toshinori. Your heroes are weak, your people are weak, your leaders are weak. They are under us, aware of us or afraid of us everyday. Build your walls high, your towers higher. Our dead will build a path to climb them all and tear you from them. 

The war has come not between good and evil but for survival. Master Shigiraki’s ultimatum is to die beneath his boot or serve at his side. You face a tree of villainy, its roots lie in darkness while its leaves wave in the sun. You can cut the branches and cut the trunk to the ground but it will grow again. Stronger. Such is the nature of your peace that we have already worn your idol down by attrition in forty years. 

Any who face us come to die, Master Shigiraki is with us and we are invincible. Earth shall fall beneath your feet, the sky will fall on your head, blows will come from the dark and you will be left counting not your victories but your dead.” Kurogiri spoke in that monotone, without passion, without empathy or vigor. Just coldly as though it was a fact in a history book that was soon to be written about their society. 

Kaina whispered something furiously into Shinso’s ear as she pointed her gun at him, clicking the safety off once more. 

“Would it matter to Master Shigiraki if we killed you here?” Shinso asked bluntly as he thumbed his palms to calm himself down. His heart was racing as the thing spoke like some dark oracle in a trance under his quirk. 

“You can kill me, you kill us all down to the last. Nothing will change. Not for you, not for us. We are weapons. Weapons can't feel fear nor regrets.It just is. ” He said flatly even if he wasn’t under Shinso’s quirk it wouldn’t have mattered given how self aware he was about his own disposable nature. 

Nagant flinched as it described itself as a weapon, she shot through it harmlessly. Her bullet dug into the wall behind them as the smoking gas reformed in an instant back into the malevolent dark star looking at them without flinching. 

“What makes you think you will win against us?” Shinso asked as Kaina snapped out of her torpor, winding a lock of her hair and loading the rifle in a flash. 

“To so many weapons like us the deadliest is our faith.We have a living God while you cling to a dying one.” Kurogiri responded coldly as it opened a dark portal behind it. Hawks’ feathers and Nagant’s bullet went through the prisoner, tearing into his clothes and bouncing off the metal collar as it was absorbed into the portal. Kurogiri somehow recovered its cognizance. Maybe the shock from Nagant's bullet earlier? A pre-programmed mental timer? Shinso reaching a limit he didn’t know or maybe because Kurogiri was just playing along with their charade so it could deliver the message it was sent to. 

“I return to darkness, where our power grows.The dawn will know the night’s silence.” were the last words he uttered as bullets and feathers flew threw him, those malevolent eyes stared at everyone before he was absorbed into the portal and vanished into thin air. 

“Keigo! Get the preside….” Kaina started but the whole building around them shook as it was rocked by tremors from above and below. Her eyes widened with Keigos as the Hawk swooped into action and three of them bolted out the door. The Commission building was crumbling around them. Debris of all sizes rained down as promised by Kurogiri, the ground below them and the sky above them were going to crush them as Hawks and Nagant rushed forward with Shinso into the crumbling mess. Looking for the way out before it was too late.

Chapter Text

Figure 29. Left picture has the Dark Elerium Kore Unit (D.E.K.U suit) when Midoriya first left UA and redesigned his A.R.S to be more violent. Right Picture is Ida Tenya wearing a modified armor of Ingenium's suit with direction vents and channels feeding the exhaust from his legs into the arms to mimic his brother's quirk. 

Ida Tenya had many regrets in his life as he landed on I-Island that day. His golden ticket in hand with his infant son and wife Momo Tenya scheduled to arrive within a week while he looked to settle into the hab shelters the staff had set up for them. 

I-Island had a population of less than two hundred thousand people at any given time. It still looked even less crowded, despite more than half of the million summoned to the I-Island on the Schwarzschild Golden Ticket, the salvation of the human race could not be bought by money, prestige or ancestry. His parents like Momo’s had selected them to continue on their legacy, the future of both noble families now firmly in their hands. 

His thoughts went back to his many regrets in his former life. His arrogance in his youth, how he looked at the world through rosy eyes. How he enforced the black and white world view for so many years to what point? To have it all collapse within their lifetimes? What would his son think of him and the world his generation had left behind to fend for itself. 

How could he be a hero in anyone’s eyes let alone his own child, running from a threat while abandoning his family. If Tensei were alive, Ida doubted he would be holding this ticket in his hands. It had been years since his death, years since Midoriya had delivered the death blow on Stain’s head in front of him. Despite his vengeance, his sacrifices and his heroism all his contributions were a drop in the bucket. Crime was spiking, fatalities and injuries on the job were on the rise which prompted dozens of heroes in just this month alone to resign in fear for their own well being. 

He wondered how many more would be tendering their final notices as the Commission’s building had collapsed in on itself. The masterstroke in their design when executing the plan was to destroy the building in the early hours when it was supposed to be empty, leaving the Commission's people to face a fearful population with no ivory tower to run to. For the first time they had been forced to the ground and see the reality of the society they had been looking down at for the last forty years. 

Ida had time to kill for the first time as he got lunch, waiting for his case officer to entertain his request for expanded habitation. He wanted to be safe for the future in case Momo had another child, not like she broke the news to him on time when they had little Tensei. He remembered how no one gave him news on time throughout his life, no respect for time or rules. 

He had lost at the UA festival, not even able to make into the finals when he was “asked” to come to the hospital by his mother without so much as an explanation. When he reached there, they took him to the mortuary where they unveiled Tensei’s body. The lips had turned blue, the skin was pallid and rot had set in before they would embalm him for the funeral. 

The death didn’t hit him as hard as the Commission’s president’s request did. Become a dead man. The request left a pit in his stomach, a clenching feeling like it was being wrung out inside and out. Ida Tenya would assume the identity of Ingenium. Not the mantle, not passing on the torch. He would for all intents and purposes hold up the suit of a dead man. Not immediately of course, they would have to make modifications and retractions so it would take a few months. 

He went to UA mentally devastated as he handed in his withdrawal discreetly only to find the Commission as always was ten steps ahead. They had made special arrangements in doctoring credits that didn’t exist to fast track him into a provisional license that of course they were issuing themselves. This was a sick game of monopoly where the banker was paying himself with his own cash to bankrupt the other players. It was a perversion of all he stood for, being a hardcore meritocrat he was appalled by the extreme subverting of the rules and protocols. 

He expected Tensei to rise from his unmarked grave to express his shame and disapproval in his nightmares. Only sleeping on a cold hard floor assuaged his guilt ridden heart, reciting the Commissioner’s sales pitch over and over like a sutra. Crime is spiking, heroes are dying to “Stain” by the dozen, and cannot let the public panic. It’s for a good cause, the only cause. Heroism meant self sacrifice but he didn’t realize he had to tread on his own dignity but he wondered how his parents really felt with him treading on Tensei as a pretender in his throne. 

He had 65 assistants and sidekicks, had they all signed off on this? Would they accept him wearing the armor like it was his brother’s skin. How sick and twisted had the world gotten since he was being told to do the wrong thing for all the right reasons. Finally the month came when he was called upon. Issued a full pro license he never earned as a “rescue” hero. As for adjustments he would need to pull it off.

Tensei’s suit had been modified for his legs at first as an “accessory” hoping the public won’t pay too close attention. He was fast so he’d have to be faster now to avert the gaze of the scrutinizing cameras and sharp reporters. Ingenium had to live as a lie. The liaisons from the Commissioner arrived and he had been assigned a new “sidekick” D.E.K.U and his tech support Hatsume Mei. 

The armor was familiar and projected more shock than awe. Thicker at the joints, bristling with weapons at the ready. Mei had brought in a trailer apparently filled with several variants of the combat gear, each looking more fiercer than the last one which looked like it was a person on its own had the label G.L.Mesh on the back. The boxes she wheeled in contained a full armory that would make the Defense forces blush. 

Ida did not approve the militarization of his brother’s agency like this. Not one bit as he shot D.E.K.U a look of disapproval. Before he could vocalize it in strong words, they wheeled in his biggest shock. Tensei’s suit had been butchered, more sharp edges, and a full vent channel had left it gutted. It was the last straw in Ida’s mind as the whole point of this was to preserve Ingenium’s legacy not butcher it as he stormed off into Tensei’s old office to brood. 

A gentle rap came at the door with a plump man representing the Commissioner entered with Ida’s permission. The D.E.K.U armored individual stood in the doorway with arms crossed, he could sense a smirk from behind that mask as the representative demanded his attention. He handed Ida a binder for his eyes only, his eyes flitted up briefly to catch the armored man shoot him a quick nod. That familiarity was something he couldn’t shake as he went through the proposals. 

“To be clear Mr Tenya, the Commissioner in his wisdom has two objectives to meet in his request with you.” The man crossed his leg and held up his index finger.

“First, to keep the memory of Ingenium alive and well. Avoiding the public’s panic since this is the first….named hero to fall to Stain’s blade.” He spoke in a friendly tone, jovial even despite the task he was sent to do here. 

“Every hero counts…there’s no hierarchy!” Ida spat back at the representative who was treading on his brother’s beliefs, slamming the dossier shut and tossing it to the floor. 

“No need for that Mr. Tenya, I apologize for my….candor. It was most insensitive.” The man pulled out a handkerchief and proceeded to pat his forehead with the silk as he raised his thumb. “The second objective here is to capture or kill Stain. We will use your ruse to make him think that he has failed and then he will return to finish the job he will think he botched.” 

“So I’m just meat to the HPSC am I? I don’t care as long as you don’t get in my way….” Ida spat indignantly, having to swallow the true intentions of the Commission giving him a license and his brother’s agency at such a young age. 

“Speaking of…I don’t allow ‘weapons’ in my brother’s agency, let alone a walking arsenal.” He jerked his head at D.E.K.U with his arms crossed who the representative looked over with a chuckle, shaking his head in disbelief.

“I’m afraid that is beyond my purview, just a humble messenger here. I couldn’t order any of what you ask even if I wanted to.” He got up nervously but Ida confronted him by standing up abruptly, his engines in his legs erupted with his rage sending angry hot currents of air in the room. 

“Then tell the commission I’d sooner let the world mourn my brother than let them soil his legacy with your armed thug.” He scowled at D.E.K.U in disapproval as he revved up the engine to the representative sweating profusely being potentially caught between two powerhouses.    

“No guns it is then.” D.E.K.U lay the rifle on the ground and kicked it over. Taking off his helmet that hissed as the pressure equalized to reveal that messy green hair and the babyfaced wearer. 

“Izuku Midoriya….why are you working for these vultures!” Ida demanded as he charged at him, ripping at full throttle from behind the desk, pinning the young man in his armor into the wall that left a deep crack behind. His kind green eyes looked into his. 

“Ururaka asked me to help you where I can. I also heard about your brother and how the heroes reacted. Indifferent. I want to show them how a true hero avenges the dead.” He spoke with steeled determination.

“You just want to make your bones with these people!? I’ve seen how they smudge the black with white! Tensei did not deal in shades of gray!” Ida yelled in Midroiya’s face, his patience had worn too thin. 

“You want vengeance for Tensei and I want Stain.” Midoriya spoke softly back, smiling with confidence as he grabbed Ida’s shoulder, with one sidestep he sent him to the floor and locked him down with his forearm digging into the back of his neck. “I’m here to make sure you don’t meet the same fate as Tensei Tenya.” 

Ida’s engines fired, sputtering suddenly as someone sprayed them with soda acid foam that clogged them up. “Hey hey!! Izuku! You’re going to hurt my babies down there! No fighting, there’s explosives here now ya’know.” Mei shrieked as she rebuked Ida with the fire extinguisher’s hose pointed at his face.

“It’s alright Mei, we were just having a…chat. Ururaka did warn me he might be on edge.” Izuku released Ida and picked up his gun, handing it off to her. “Mind putting a voice lock on these for me? Only Ida’s voice can authorize the safety unlock.” He looked down at Ida as he nodded to the grateful representative who followed Midoriya as he escorted him out the door. 

“Look, we’re sorry. I get it though.” Hatsume offered her hand to Ida who took it graciously. “If someone came into my workshop and moved things I didn’t want in it, they’d get a wrench to the noggin but….” Mei pressed her thumbs together. “Midoriya is always there for people, someone’s gotta be there for him, you know.”

“Could have fooled me, Miss.Guns? What hero carries a gun? Weapon of the incompetent!” Ida was poking his fingers into his mufflers, clearing out the foam by hand. 

She handed him a cloth with a Cylinder Hone, she was a mechanic first after all and knew her client’s needs which Ida took hesitantly at first. 

“So what do you get out of this Miss Hatsume?” Ida asked tenderly, as he stuck the Cylinder Hone into his muffler and winced. 

“You kidding me right!? You’re Ingenium!! That’s 65 of my babies out there taking my name on the news, to the skies! When we catch Stain..” she waved her hand in the air with a flourish, “H.M will be a household name in the Hero World!” Mei squealed at the overly simplified vision in her head. 

“No…you seem to be kidding me if you believe work with the Commission is that easy.There’s always more than meets the eye with those people.” Ida spoke in a cautious tone as he handed her Cylinder Hone back to her. 

“Not all of us are like that, just like you’re not like all Heroes Ida-San.” Midoriya spoke in the doorway, stripped off his costume, Ida could see the lithe but defined figure with deceptive muscle density in Izuku’s skin tight shirt. Averting his eyes as he pushed out thoughts of admiration with a sneer of distrust. 

“Mei, please make sure all my weapons are voice activated by Ida San here. Someone has to be the bigger man here.” He patted Ida’s shoulder who pulled it away and quickly got to his feet. Clenching his teeth as he towered over Midoriya by several inches without the green haired boy’s suit. 

“My life’s in your hands now, Ida Tenya.” Midoriya chuckled as he showed himself out the door.

___________________________________________________________________________

Weeks had gone by. Social media seemed to be fooled by the suit for the most part but it was still running hot since Ida’s thrust in the legs were overwhelming even Mei’s cooling systems. The channeling and directional vents in the suits added to the problem since they got too hot to touch and having that system on the outside of the suit was too dangerous. 

Mei had come up with a solution that was hard to swallow though as she presented the schematics to Ida in Midoriya’s presence who had voiced his objections to the “modifications”. 

Ida carefully considered the proposal, seeing how he would have to pull out his mufflers every other day so that Mei could divert venting tubes directly into his exhaust ports. 

“Did Stain notice the flaws yet?” Ida asked. To which Midoriya shook his head. Ida got the answer so he knew the next move as he did the calculus in his head.

It would eliminate most of the inefficiencies in thrust and heat exchange but it meant Ida Tenya would have to ritualistically mutilate himself all too much. It was not sustainable and yet, with clasped hands before Midoriya could voice his objection. Ida reached down and ripped out a muffler in front of them. 

To Midoriya and Mei’s horror the bio-metal composite clanged onto the desk, trailing blood behind it. Ida didn’t have to voice his determination, he had shown them the lengths he was willing to go to in order for Stain’s capture. “Do it! No pain killers…I’ll be the one to take him down!” 

Midoriya stopped Mei first then slammed his fists on the desk. Objecting to this reckless course of action. “Ida, this is not what your family wanted for you. It’s not what I…” 

Ida reached down and looked Midoriya in the eye, wincing as he ripped another muffler out and waved it in front of him. “We didn’t get closure, we didn’t get to say goodbye. Stain robbed my family of more than you will know!” He tossed the muffler into Midoriya’s chest, harmlessly pinging off his armor. “This is all I have left! He took everything else…”

Midoriya grabbed his forearm, twisting it to the desk before he could reach for another muffler. “If you’re doing this, then let me help!” He spat with fierce determination. “We will get Stain to notice you and we will do this TOGETHER!”

Ida adjusted his glasses, looking back with iridescent rage. “Damn you and Ururaka…this has nothing to do with either of you!” He pulled his arm away from Midoriya’s grip, spitting indignantly. 

“I didn’t accept this duty because of her, you know. I had a say in this too, Ida San.” Midoriya retorted as he went behind the desk and reached down. With one hiss of the pneumatic drive and a whirr of the servo in his suit’s arm, he plucked out the muffler on Ida’s other leg in a rapid snap without a struggle. 

“You’re not the only one who’s lost people.” He put the muffler gently on the table, proceeding to pluck out another one. 

“I know the feeling of confusion and betrayal. I know the feeling of fearing for my life.” Midoriya hissed as he pulled out another muffler and put it on the table. 

“Living well is the best revenge. Don’t over react and don’t stoop to his level.” Midoriya patted Ida on the shoulder as he put the last muffler on the table, dusting off his hands as he left for the door, nodding to Mei to leave first. 

“Tensei used to say ‘if you retreat, you gain one point. If you charge forward, you can two points.” Midoriya met Ida’s gaze as he quoted a dead man. “I’m hoping someday I can hear from you what that really meant or was it just some Zen quote he said to sound cool.” He shut the door behind him as Ida reached down and felt his missing mufflers. Their absence left a phantom pain especially from the ones he had so clumsily removed in his anger. 

Later that day, Mei handed him a visor in addition to his suit as she fed the tube into his muffler holes, one at a time. The adapters hissing as they jacked into the port, sealing it in. Each one felt like a stinging hot needle as the seal was made each time. 

“What are these for Mei?” He put on the visors, tapping them, trying to activate whatever they were for. 

“They’ll read the sensors from my babies.” She spoke enthusiastically, tapping on the jack with her screwdriver clicking them on, the visor came to life with a number. E-1. The holes lit up one by one as Mei activated them in sequence. “Now you’ll know when you’re about to overheat before you cook yourself…so please don’t go too far from D.E.K.U.” 

“Why the name? Does he want the world to think he’s useless?” Ida scoffed at the ridiculous name for the suit.  

“Dark Elerium Kore Unit? How is that useless?” Mei asked pensively, feeling mocked for her latest collaboration with Izuku. 

“Deku is short for someone who is useless.” Ida corrected her abruptly, hoping it didn’t come off as rude.

“Huh? Uraraka Chan talked to him about how it means he can do anything. Was she playing a joke?” Mei asked curiously as she finished with the last jack. The hot exhausts vented through the suit more fluidly, feeding more powerfully through the vent channels as Ida felt the difference almost immediately.

“Seems Ururaka always looks at the bright side of things….” Ida ruminated as he put on Tensei’s helmet which felt like a death mask every time he did when going out for patrol.

“So she was serious?” Mei asked seriously, stepping in front of Ida to block his path. 

“Does it really matter? Results only do in the end Mei.” Ida gently prodded her out of the way as his exhaust was vented out his elbows. He ran up the wall and out the door in a blur. Midoriya in his D.E.K.U suit was waiting on the roof, keeping an eye out and chased after him. 

Chapter Text

“Absolutely not!” Midoriya yelled at Keigo over the phone to voice his protest very vocally.  

“ I’d agree with you, but then we’d both be wrong.” Keigo spoke while munching on a bagel at the other end to Midoriya’s chagrin.  

“Enough with the sarcasm! How did you greenlight something so reckless! Ida is about to…” Midoriya started before Keigo lay down the law. 

“Look Midoriya, don’t think of me as a boss ok? Think of me as a friend who can fire you.” Keigo spoke in a moment of lucidity as a grown up talking down to Midoriya who really did forget his mentor’s place in the Commission.

“You don’t have to fire me…I quit!” Midoriya retorted on the phone. Keigo yelled like a big brother urging him not to hang up as he reluctantly let him continue. 

“Oh, you hate your job? Why didn’t you say so? There’s a support group for that. It’s called everybody, and they meet at the bar.” Hawks scolded him on the phone, about to pitch one of his insane schemes to Izuku. “A crisis is a terrible thing to waste on a kid. Please send your ideas to me today so I can show them as my own tomorrow. They’ll hear me out ok?”

“I’m sorry Keigo san..” Midoriya spoke as he felt the reassurance from the one man he could 

trust since he had left UA a few months ago. .

“What’s on your mind besides this guy, if you will allow the obvious overstatement.” Keigo teased on the phone, Midoriya’s face was flushed, thankful he wasn’t on a video call. 

“Keigo san, please don’t make that your business again.” Midoriya objected viciously on the phone, hating when Hawks would keep trying to set him up with someone. He knew alot of celebrities as part of the job and encouraged Midoriya’s instincts towards that to his disapproval. 

“Don’t be so humble—you are not that great. Just because I don’t care about what you are doesn’t mean I don’t understand you’re still a teen at heart.” Keigo admonished him on the phone, tempting Midoriya to snap the phone in half every time Hawks would goad him into these topics. 

“Just get Ida San out of this, I’ll work him at my end!” Midoriya spoke slowly, mincing the many words he wanted to throw at  Keigo had they been face to face but he saw Ida fast approaching as his discreet call was about to have an audience.

“Please be patient. I am ruining things as fast as I can.” Keigo chortled on the other side of the line as he hung up to Midoriya’s relief. Looking at Ida who was waiting on the news for the procedure that even Mei had presented, hoping to talk him out of it. 

Months had gone by and Stain had shown no interest, dozens of heroes were dying or attacked every month from his rampage and their operation had yielded no results to everyone’s frustration. Ida didn’t want all his sacrifices to be in vain so he had fallen for the sunk cost fallacy and dove even further into desperation by forcing Mei to have the procedure ready. 

Midoriya took Keigo’s respective advice into consideration, given he was one of the few people who knew how to leverage his quirk to seduce anyone. Ida was hyper focused, they needed a day. At the very least one day to get his mind off this obsession to trap Stain. Koda would have agreed that this was a life and death situation but once Midoriya turned on this switch, would Ida keep it on? Would it be fair? He wondered as he thought about Ida. 

Focusing on his smile that waned as the fruitless months had passed them by. His masochistic attitude to saving people like Tensei with little regard to his safety left scars on his back that matched the scars on his legs from the constant muffler removal.Iida Tenya was in unimaginable pain since he moved out of his house. His parents had beseeching him to abandon this mission and carry on with his life. 

But his parents didn’t have Midoriya’s quirk which grew in potency if he unleashed it today, hoping there was even a seed in Ida’s heart that reciprocates the sentiment he held in his heart after months of guarding Ida from the shadows as his Commission bodyguard. His heart raced with each step that Ida took and when he was a step away Midoriya leapt at him, holding fast and true he let the floodgates of his quirk open to fill them both with a warmth that was so voluminous it became a blanket they could wrap around themselves infinitely on a cold night. 

Seconds turned to minutes, Ida’s heart was beating faster, there was no push back or attempt to break their embrace. Midoriya had channeled his inner Keigo, silently giggling as he remembered Hawks advising him at the bar one night, “Listen Izuku, when it comes to anything in life give it your 100%.....except for giving blood.” 

His affection and attraction towards Ida over these months had awoken something deep in Ida. Every memory of Midoriya snapping his mufflers fast as he could, Ida looking to him as a gargoyle stalking him at first soon made him think of the angels on church steeples, everytime he ran hot and Midoriya had to tackle the bad guy he was chasing so he wouldn’t burn out. 

It all amplified under the quirk as the empathic recoil was too much and Ida kissed Midoriya. Lost to their passions he dragged him wordlessly like a predator dragging its prey to a solitary place where it could have its meal in peace. Midoriya was too light headed to resist as Ida led him to the storage room the motorhead was sleeping in these days, making Midoriya chortle to see how like minded they were in their sleep habits as he kept a mattress in his workshop to sleep on more than his bed at home. 

Hatsume Mei saw all this pretty lucidly and left one of her babies at the foot of the stairs. It was a small spider drone she had designed for espionage that started to make a web on the entrance to the stairs. Anyone tripping that would not only get trapped but alert her. With 65 sidekicks roaming about, she couldn’t chance Midoriya and Tenya being exposed like this. Though one thing hung over her head. 

What took them so long when she could see them fitting like two cogs ever since the day they met. She wasn’t good with people but she had practice from observing Midoriya for years enough to know him inside out just like he was one of her babies. People overthink the simplest things, she thought to herself as she got back to fixing up the heat pipes in Tensei’s suits, cussing at the substandard heat transfer coatings in Japan. Hoping for her shipment from I-Island to arrive sooner than later so Ida wouldn’t get another scar. 

How was H.M going to be a household name if the most famous hero wearing it got scars while wearing “her” tech!? The tech world was an unforgiving place and she aimed to be its queen someday in the near future. That was if Ida Tenya would stop insisting she cut out his engine and integrate it into a prosthetic. She wasn’t a doctor but even she knew that Ida Tenya’s legs were a miracle in itself. A perfect harmony of man and machine she would dare not desecrate, she looked up at the office hoping that this wasn’t some lustful romp and Midoriya had a plan to spare her from Ida’s unreasonable request having regretted bringing it to him in the first place. 

___________________________________________________________________________

Days had passed since then and the plan that Hawks had submitted to the higher ups was approved with much apprehension. All Midoriya knew was Hawks sent it to him with a note in the comments, “You’re not a complete idiot. Some parts are missing. Just like this plan.”

Midoriya swallowed as he was recovering from the many bruises when Ida tended to go overboard. Despite his gentle giant façade in the office he had “issues” in their private time that Midoriya had become the sounding board to. 

He was relieved as Hawk’s plan would still use Ingenium but the question was if it was well advised since everyone knew Stain was taking the media by storm at this point. He had worked his way from dozens to his hundredth kill today and the Hero Commission was desperate to bring him in by any means necessary.

So Hawks was going to use the ultimate bait to lure in someone like Stain who had only upped the ante. He had bigger targets in mind now and he had to slay named heroes starting today to keep relevant. Keigo Takami had setup a semi public event for the who’s who of heroes standing accused of corruption inside a charity event in the run down Hosu district. A gala for the public but a flame bright enough for someone like Stain to attack dozens of heroes in one day with little effort. 

Midoriya and Ida were waiting with Mei’s drones in the wings. Igenium’s 65 sidekicks were put to good use as valets and escorts for the heroes, acting as sacrificial lambs at worst and distractions at best but they were all one thing for Hawk’s plan. Canaries in the coal mine. If one of them stopped chirping, that was the place to be. Izuku and Ida patiently waited, Mei checking Izuku’s thruster systems and Jump Jets while installing the heat pipe on the external frame of Ida’s suit. 

Thankfully now that they didn’t need Ingenium as bait, she was free to install the essential external cooling aids that bulked up the suit but gave Ida much release from the tension of being cooked alive each time he overused his quirk. Things had been getting real between him and Midoriya over the last few days since Ida was blissfully unaware of his sudden impulse  to cling to Midoriya. He liked him of course, he had friction, maybe a little camaraderie but he never expected it to start as lust and bloom into love in the span of a few days.

He couldn’t stop thinking what Tensei would have said to him being the supportive brother he knew him as. All he could think of was adding another disappointment he was going to serve upto his parents. Not only had he fallen for a guy, he had fallen for a quirkless one at that. The pit in his stomach grew deeper that day, turning into a black hole in his heart as he knew their success today would mean Midoriya might vanish into the ether. He didn’t know if Midoriya wanted the same things as him or if this was fleeting or permanent for him.

“Movement!” Izuku called out as Mei bit her lip and tightened up a loose nut on Ida’s back. Tapping the armor, signaling to him to hold on while she finished the prep. Midoriya bolted out the door, diving into the pavement of the quiet town of Hosu which unleashed his monstrous rocket slide that unleashed waves of sonic energy that rattled glass in the din of the evening. He had left Ida behind as Mei was finishing up the cooling system on Ida’s back, giving him a final tap on the back. 

“Bring him back alive please…” She whispered over the comms as Ida put on his helmet to hide his flushed face. The visor he wore pinged him to Midoriya’s location as he was engaged in fighting someone with 3 of Ingenium’s sidekicks. It had been a hot minute, most likely more than 5 minutes since the fighting had started and by the time Ida had let loose at full throttle in a long time, able to finally use his quirk at full power with Mei’s cooling systems he rushed to the fight. 

He had arrived to a bloody scene where two sidekicks were laying in pools of blood, dead? He read their vitals on the visor with their trackers. Their pulse was faint but alive…for now. One sidekick was keeping pressure on the wound, looked at Ida and yelled over the comms.

“Deku’s fighting him in the alley boss! He needs you help!” a sidekick with a dark mask was trying her best to stabilize her colleagues. The pro they were guarding was long dead in the car they had been driving earlier was lingering on the road next to the alley. Ida shot her a thumbs up as he rushed into the alley right into a blade. 

If Tensei’s chest plate wasn’t slanted and curved, the katana would have run him through the chest instead of being deflected to the side, grazing his armpit which sparked but thankfully did not cut through as it vented chilled nitrogen on the blade with the cooling line hissing slowly from the cut. The alarms in suit went off as the adhesives were deployed in the system but the leak had cost him 20% of his coolant. 

Midoriya came from behind Stain who dodged his H.E.A.T punch by bouncing off Ida to throw them both off balance. It was at that moment that Ida understood that Midoriya could have taken Stain down in a one on one, as long as no hostages were there for Stain to exploit. He could see the scuffs and scratches on Midoriya’s suit that relied on mobility to keep him safe, the plating itself was cut proof but there were gaps that a skilled combatant who had killed 100 heroes so far would be exploiting just like his severed armpit coolant line. 

“Stay back Midoriya! Stain is mine!” Ida yelled out once he had assessed the situation. Though with a cool head? Absolutely not as he was letting his heart do the thinking now since his mind had told him otherwise to reconsider. 

“Don’t let him get your blood Ida!” Midoriya yelled over the comms as Ida got to his feet, several small knives bounced off his armor, one found its mark in his fleshy median vein in front of the elbow. He retched from the pain, remembering Tensei’s suit was made for rescues not combat. Unlike Midoriya’s it was not meant for taking hits but he wasn’t letting that stop him today as he charged past Midoriya at Stain who sidestepped him like a Matador. 

The alley didn’t allow him or Midoriya any angle of attack, making their rushes all too predictable to dodge. Midoriya’s B.L.A.D.E rod extended from the arm of his suit, rotating to make the plasma dance on it as he followed Ida, denying Stain the chance to counter attack by swinging for the fences with the electrified rod that was converting the air around it into plasma. A white hot avenger that Ida never knew about since he had never faced it first hand during the festival. 

If Midoriya had his gun, this match would have been flipped in their favor but his respect for Ida over the last few days had compromised his judgment since he wanted to take Stain alive to give the man he had fallen for his vengeance. Death would have been too good for Stain and now Midoriya was regretting his passion as he shot off anesthetic darts in futility at the alacratic dancer of death. 

No one knew how Stain had honed just agility and nimbleness but Midoriya knew he had to protect Ida who Stain would target being a named hero in the alley. A failure he had long passed by because the Commission thought he had an ego? No…he had a mission. One he was not going to lecture them about. All he was yelling throughout their fight was for their deaths. 

Ida rushed past him again into the jaws of death, illuminating the alley. Midoriya took the opportunity as Stain was following his trajectory to ram into the fire escape he had taken refuge in with his suit. The rusted iron cage creaked as Stain jumped out of it, Izuku electrified the metal with the rod that sent Stain stunned but flying to the ground. The green haired boy smiled with satisfaction as he heard a satisfying crunch from Stain’s unprotected ribs cracking. Knowing from first hand experience how much that hurt and more importantly slowed down the combatant. 

Ida came back, walking as his coolant was still hissing under the damaged line in his armpit from his last burn. He was smiling from inside his brother’s helmet as Midoriya heard his demented chatter in the comms. 

“Witness me Tensei….I’ll set things right…He’ll pay…” He spoke with each step, tunnel vision had set in as Midoriya was pulling himself out of the warped fire escape that his suit had twisted around him. He had to release himself one rod at a time, the servos and hydraulics had been scratched and grazed but like Ida’s coolants his hydraulic fluid had sprung the smallest puncture somewhere from the hundreds of cuts that Stain had peppered him with. 

One had unknowingly landed by luck onto a pipe that was sapping his suit’s hydraulic fluid pressure. As he pulled on the iron bars, feeling himself halfway there in a rush to get to Ida, he could feel something was off as Stain was….laughing!? 

“There will be no jail, there will be no jury, I’ll be your executioner Stain.” Ida spoke with determination, a cold blood lust had set in as his vendetta hijacked him. Midoriya’s pleas were muted in his helmet as Tenya Ida picked up one of Stain’s Katanas and tossed the small throwing knife next to the injured stain who picked it up, cackling.

Midoriya’s warnings fell on deaf ears as Ida had muted their comms. He had seen stain paralyze people with their blood and Ida in his hubris had given him back the advantage as he struggled with the last Iron bars, drawing on his own reserves of strength as there were just a few left between him and Ida’s rescue. 

“On that we can agree child…” Stain spoke as he licked Ida’s blood and cackled, getting up with some effort from the cracked rib he walked to Ida, spinning the small throwing knife in his finger. “You’re not even Ingenium…I remember how sweet his blood tasted…you’re just a copy of a copy! A fake impersonator of a fake hero!” Stain spat as he charged at Ida, reaching for the Katana in Ida’s hands.  All Ida could do was stand there helplessly holding the weapon, he couldn’t shake, barely breathing as the executioner was soon to be executed by the blade in their own hand. 

Midoriya yelled out Ida’s name as everything happened in an instant, sending the alley into a dust cloud to the arriving police and heroes. All they saw was Deku panting over Stain’s body, two iron bars from the fire escape had been run through the man’s body in each lung, pinning the dead mean to the ground like a butterfly in a collection. Ida Tenya had been freed from the paralysis but he was shaken by what he had forced Midoriya to do because of his dogged tunnel vision. 

The police and heroes did not know what to make of the situation as everyone was taken into custody for their own safety that day. All Ida could do as they took Midoriya in the police car was utter apologies, incoherent and panicked. Ida was a man who rushed through life but now frozen by that moment of time when Izuku’s helmet was taken off and his suit stripped on the spot so he couldn’t escape. Ingenium’s  sidekicks were being looked after by the Emergency Services and carted off. 

They passed Ida as they carted Stain’s body off on a stretcher before the media arrived and started asking questions no one was willing or able to answer. The police chief introduced himself as Kenji Tsuragamae took Ida to the side and discreetly sat him down in his car that had been loaded with the D.E.K.U suit hastily. His car peeled off as the media swarmed the site within fifteen minutes. Even in a silent town as Hosu, the media were hawks waiting to swoop in and Chief Kenji did not need his dog ears and nose to know that they were approaching. 

“Now ‘Ingenium’ thought you should hear the good news first, your sidekicks should be fine, though I’m no doctor to say they will be perfectly healthy after today but thanks to your actions they will at least have their lives.” The bloodhound looked at him with some consideration as Ida removed his helmet, it didn’t matter to Kenji since he didn’t know what Tensei looked like anyway. 

“As far as the Commission’s hero D.E.K.U we will be handing him over to the Commission and their judgment. Please understand he is not in our custody, we're just wrapping him up and delivering him to those who will render their judgment on this incident.”  The Chief wrapped up as the car slid into the precinct’s parking lot.

As warned the car that took DEKU was nowhere to be found as they got out, he popped the trunk of his cruiser and started  taking out the suit one piece at a time with great care, looking at his watch, tapping it impatiently. 

“You mean Izu….I mean Deku can go to jail for protecting me?” Ida spoke in protest, “Where’s the justice in that?”

“There are times when our greatest achievement is keeping our mouths shut.” Chief Kenji spoke with some grizzled wisdom as he saw the silhouette of Hawks swooping overhead, his expression became one of despair and grimness as he waved at the hero who could barely see him larger than an ant from the height he was flying at.

“Sometimes I feel so sick at the state of the world I can’t even finish my second chocolate pie.” Chief Kenji grumbled as he struggled to keep that fake smile up like a tent that could collapse at any moment. 

“But wouldn’t that kill you…being part dog?” Ida asked with some concern, Kenji looked at him first with some sourness in his expression before exploding in laughter. 

“Finally SOMEONE got the joke! I could use more heroes like you in Honsu, Ingenium.” Kenji spoke as he wiped a tear from his eye and Hawks punctuated the moment with his landing to have all eyes focus on him. 

“Oh hey you must be Chief Kenji! You know what I like about people? Their dogs. First time I’m meeting someone who’s his own best friend.” Keigo spoke casually, extending his hand to which Kenji just shook it firmly, nodding to the D.E.K.U suit behind him. 

“Oh no worries! Hawks can play fetch too!” Keigo whistled with some excitement as his feathers slipped out and scooped up the lighter parts of the armor while the heavier parts were handed over to him. 

“You’re with the commission right Hawks!?” Ida started, Keigo looked over to him with little interest till the wheels turned and suddenly clicked as he snapped his fingers. 

“Oh…Ingenium right?! Good work today, wish we had more like you out there today.” Keigo smiled professionally.

“Please tell me you can help Deku! He saved my life today!” Ida started to Chief Kenji pulling him back, raising caution to stop while he could. All too late, he had Hawk’s undivided attention. 

“I’ll always cherish the original misconception I had of you. So let’s talk now and sort things out?” Keigo wrapped his arm around Ida’s shoulder and took him to the side to hash it out discreetly. 

“Look the chief told me your guys are going to….” Ida started but paused as he hoped Keigo would pick up on what he was getting at. 

“Please excuse my seniors. It makes them feel young and powerful to treat us like idiot children.” Keigo laughed, slapping his forehead as he did with relief, leaving Ida severely confused. 

“Listen, Tenya my boy. Deku is just gonna get a slap on the wrist and be set out into the wild. It’s standard boilerplate at the Commission ya know…can’t let the public think our dogs are off their leashes and all.”  Keigo patted Ida as he continued talking in his casual tone, like he was going to go to a gala after this. Given his hero profile the chances were pretty high. 

“Even so…when can I see Izuku again?” Ida asked tentatively, biting his lip. Hawks picked up on the question with a wicked smile. 

“At my job If you can’t get rid of the skeletons in your closet, you may as well make it dance.” He tapped Ida’s head with his knuckles.

“This isn’t a joke…I owe him.” Ida hissed in annoyance at Keigo, clenching his teeth and fists. Keigo could only nod as his smile turned from cocky to knowing. 

“Obviously, if you’re serious about having a relationship with someone long term, the last people you should introduce him to would be your family.” He jabbed Ida in the ribs with his elbow while flashing him a wink which led to a face of revulsion on the youth’s face in response. 

“It’s not like that…” Ida contested to which Hawks threw up his hands.  

“Insanity is hereditary; can’t wait to meet your children.” Keigo chuckled as he gave a nod of approval. “If you ask me, you’re the only sensible decision Izuku could have ever made.” 

Before Ida could voice his concern, Hawks had taken flight with the D.E.K.U suit in tow, being carried on a carpet of his feathers as he disappeared into the horizon with it. Ida Tenya was left in the parking lot with Chief Kenji leaving him some kind parting words. 

“When science finally locates the center of the universe, that man will be surprised to learn he’s not it.”

Chapter Text

Keigo was waiting in the atrium for the elevator. The face of the Commission sitting in the only area shown to the public. However, today was different as there was no light shining from the skylight with the shutters down, the organization was on high alert since the incidents at Naruhata and Hosu. The media anxious for answers to the declining activities of All Might influencing the spike in crime. 

Though they had stopped Stain, the damage had already been done with the blood of a hundred heroes he had proven to the hero community that the commission simply didn’t care or was incompetent in handling their safety since a nutjob with a rusty katana and a bunch of knives took them down while the president of the Commission twiddled her thumbs. She was a woman of few words and much action and Keigo had become endeared to her being her opposite. 

He would face the press and placate people for another day. The band-aid that everyone needed before society bled out. He raised his goggles, rubbing his eyes from exhaustion since he had been securing Izuku’s release for the last week or so. Kaina’s people had to clear him first, make sure he wasn’t a villain in the making. Though he knew better. His ex, the purple haired kid had recently been poached right from under All Might’s chiseled jaw and right into the pits of hell themselves where Kaina worked. 

Her dark dress and secretive nature contrasted with his wings and light hearted attitude.

Reminding them that their departments felt like heaven and hell and they were just agents carrying out the orders of higher ups with no real free will of their own. 

The difference was that Keigo had Madame President’s ear while he doubted Kaina’s bosses  took off their headphones long enough to listen to her. Though this had cost him time from his personal life as he looked at his phone with remorse. Every call from “firebear” was a grim reminder of his responsibilities to Izuku who had spent too long in the clutches of his ex down there. 

Keigo never really did forget his first…Kaina. Coffee and copies when he served under her. Everything came crashing down when Warhawk and the original Nagant split their paths. They never really did recover from that blow. Liquidations and Hero Affairs were fire and ice, explosive when they met. Shame he never got to seal any deal with Kaina when he could but her ambitions always exceeded her grasp. 

Unlike her though he moved onto better things. Made connections, mistakes and found new mentors….like Enji. The elevator dinging brought Hawks out of his reverie. He checked his watch to see it was 8 p.m, his eyes rolled at how Kaina kept him on “her” schedule and not the other way around but he was disappointed to see Shinso escorting Midoriaya who’s head was covered in the metallic shroud like helmet that shut off all the senses with the glowing quirk cuffs to Keigo’s ire at how tough psycho-somatic reconditioning was. 

“I love what you’ve did with your hair. How do you get it to come out of the nostrils like that?” Keigo spoke in his most cheerful tone while looking at Shinso, waving his hand to bring Midoriya to the public seating where he was already nestled up comfortably. 

Shinso winced at the snarky comment, retorting with his own, “Don’t worry about me. Worry about your eyebrows." He punched in the release code and pulled off the cuffs as they released. His thumb print released the shroud as the shroud on Midoriya’s head retracted like living fiber. Izuku gratefully took a gasp of fresh air to Keigo’s relief as he waved at him. 

“Oh Liquidations weaponized sarcasm now? What am I supposed to defend myself with?” Keigo snickered in appreciation as Shinso released Midoriya from his quirk and sat him down. His hand lingered on Midoriya’s shoulder all too long before he felt Keigo’s stare burning into him. 

“I’ve been called worse by better Hawks.” Shinso hissed as he reluctantly released Midoriya, letting Keigo do the math in his head as Midoriya was coming into consciousness after a week of his reconditioning. 

“You see that door? I want you on the other side of it.” Hawks said with his eyes closed, managing the widest smile he could that exposed a toothy grin that was a threat hidden behind a smile. Shinso got the message as he got into the elevator, turning around to stare at Keigo. He would remember this impression of the man for the rest of his life in the Commission as the doors shut closed. 

“Hey Izuku!” Keigo snapped in front of Midoriya who was rubbing his bloodshot eyes as he was adjusting to the low light of the atrium. Having been a week in darkness he could barely see Hawks but paid attention to where the snap was coming from. 

“Your boyfriend’s been running so many circles around our little building for the last week I thought he was going to turn back time.” Keigo chuckled which elicited the first genuine emotion from Izuku who looked at him with his stinging eyes, the bloody capillaries only added to the intimidation. 

“It’s not like that…I’ve been saying it for a week now.” Izuku insisted with his teeth clenched. Keigo could only chuckle as he shrugged. 

“Love is stupid. Last I checked, stupidity isn't a crime, so you’re free to go.” Hawks handed him the letter signed off by Madame President with his order for release. “Just remember…it’s a good cover so don’t blow it.” 

Midoriya pocketed the letter in his jacket, shaking his head. “Hasn’t he been through enough! The Commission should have limits!” 

“Your secrets are always safe with me. I never even listen when you’re telling them to me…like just now.” Keigo grimaced, looking around at the cameras, leaning in to whisper into Midoriya’s ear. 

A week of sensory deprivation and isolation, they could not break him. The kindness hidden in Hawk’s hidden message sent a tear down his cheek. “I can’t do that to him. Not for you. We’re supposed to be the good guys!” he hissed in a low whisper, digging his fingers into the seat cushion.

“Isn’t there a bullet somewhere you could be jumping in front of?” Hawks smiled, jerking his head in the direction of the elevators that led to Liquidations. “Kaina will return Ida’s nose. If she found it in her business. That is if you catch my drift.” Keigo got up and dragged Midoriya behind 

him. 

“He’s not a threat…” Izuku insisted, nodding curtly to Keigo’s insinuation that Ida had come on the liquidation’s consideration list.

“For now….either way kid you need a cover and he wants you to be his bed-cover so he can either kiss you or Nagant’s bullet.” Keigo chortled as he let go of Midoriya who walked ahead of him towards the doors of the lobby. Hawks let Midoriya walk out of the building, looking over his shoulder at Kaina in the shadows above them. Shinso was a good distraction to keep his attention but his feathers were better than a thousand of him as he poked her with one of them. 

“Don’t get bitter, just get better Kaina. The kid accepted the terms you set.” Hawks waved at her grimly to another warning shot that grazed his blonde locks. Years of these levels of violence between them , Keigo didn’t even flinch anymore as his blonde locks fell into his hands. 

“What doesn’t kill you, disappoints me.” Nagant spat back, her voice echoed in the halls as she disappeared into the shadows, Keigo recalled his feathers with an indignant hiss. 

“Have a nice day, somewhere else.” He giggled to himself in a low whisper, knowing full well that Kaina would not hear him, though sometimes he feared the right comment would end in a bullet between the eyes. His face lit up as he got a phone call from “firebear”, picking it up and putting the device to his ear. 

“Stop calling me so much. Don’t worry about me. Worry about your eyebrows! Mine nearly caught fire the last time.” Keigo spoke in an elated tone as he walked out the doors, With  one flap of his wings he took flight into the night, taking the call far from prying eyes and ears. 

___________________________________________________________________________

“Here’s something to think about: How come you never see a headline like ‘Psychic Wins Lottery’?” Ida asked over dinner. Midoriya looked back at him with baggy eyes, his smile had turned into a grimace from his sleep deprivation as he took another one of his “pills” that Ida did not want to ask about as he picked up his glass and took a sip, downing that thing. 

They had shared a life for the past year now. Midoriya had joined his agency as the tech hero D.E.K.U having left the Commission as he claimed. Yet somehow despite being “quirkless” he was somehow rundown and exhausted. Ida was sure to give him space and time especially when Izuku went on his nightly jogs. 

He even hired Uruaka to help get to the bottom of things with Izuku. Ida Tenya knew he was a difficult child growing up. If it wasn’t for Tensei literally raising him as he did, he didn’t want to think what a mess he would have become. Midoriya had a lovely mother but no siblings or peers besides himself, Mei and Ururaka. They were taking things slow and letting things grow organically. It was in their 8th month that Midoriya had finally bit the bullet with alot of encouragement from Ururaka to share a bed with Ida. 

On their 1st annual anniversary he didn’t want to lose that privilege as he swallowed the Katsudon that Midoriya had made. It was…coarse, yet flavorful. Good with a pinch of seasoning but needed work. He reached out as Midoriya finished swallowing his pill. The purpose was never known to Ida who was not one to pry as he held out hope that Midoriya would tell him but with his declining health Ida had to step in now. 

“Hey Izuku…you know I accept who you are… Unless you’re a serial killer that is.” Ida chuckled nervously as he swallowed another helping of Katsudon, coughing as he nearly choked on it between laughs. 

Midoriya looked up at him like he had just woken up from a deep sleep. His smile came back soon after that pill had been swallowed and the “Izuku” he knew returned to him. Holding his hand, rubbing his calloused knuckles as he returned Ida’s joke with genuine laughter. 

“I’d slap you for that kind of joke but I don’t want to make your face look any better.” Midoriya retorted as he returned  to his own meal, his lucidity had returned with the color in his skin as his face was flushed. Ida didn’t want to bring up the grim business that he knew about Midoriya’s nightly jogs and his concerns. 

“So you worried about Ururaka’s proposal?” he asked tenderly, reaching out and probing into Midoriya’s mind.

“Oh..” Midoriya stabbed his bowl, his chopsticks clanged. “Didn’t know how to bring that up with you.” 

“You know she’s a big reason why….’this’....got to this point right?” Ida grinned as he clasped Midoriya’s hand that was massaging his knuckles. “It’s not a big ask from where I’m standing, you’d still be living here, she’d be down the hall. Nothing will change.” 

“Marriage is one thing Ida.” Midoriya gulped, as he squeezed back. “Her sponsors want a child within the year. I don’t like when people just don’t say ‘no’ and reject you. Why give her false hope like that.” 

“In all fairness, Ururaka only asked as a friend. She said no to alot of “questionable” sponsorships because she wants to do something for families like hers. Her sponsors are just making sure she’s all in you. You know how heroes do these causes for quick cash then bail.” Ida reassured Midoriya as he reached forward with his chopsticks and held out a bite for him to eat. 

“Yea, just think she could do better than me, that's all.” He nodded at Ida as he took the bite gratefully from his chopsticks to which Ida sputtered with a suppressed laugh. A year ago, he was a wound up toy soldier, marching like clockwork. Never really leaving Tensei’s shadow to become his own hero or person.

Having embraced a life with Midoriya had opened up new opportunities to change as he saw Midoriya had left UA and joined up with questionable people from the Commission. He was only relieved that for Midoriya it was all behind them. 

“Ida…I can tell you want to ask me something else.” Midoriya asked nervously. Ida flinched as he shook his head. 

“It can wait…” Ida spoke as he snatched a serving from Midoriya’s bowl and held it up to him. 

Midoriya took it and shook his head as he got up, his watch beeping like it was a bomb with the way he looked at it. 

“If I’m not back in five minutes, just wait a little longer!” Midoriya spat as he bolted into the bathroom. Ida was left in disbelief as it was supposed to be their anniversary dinner but Midoriya’s nightly activities were concerning him. He knew prying and prodding were not going to achieve anything but now he was concerned given his lover’s spiraling sanity circling down the drain. 

He looked at the tracker that Mei had given him, swallowing heavily as he looked at Midoriya’s armor in the corner of the loft, surrounded by so many tools which he used to fine tune it. He got up and anxiously palmed the device that was no bigger than his fingernail. Once he did this, there was no going back as he slipped it into the slot that Mei had told him about in the neck. A diagnostic port that could fit a chip the size of the tracker that Midoriya would not notice.  

The tracker fit like a glove, disappearing into the slot with only Midoriya’s thumb needed to eject it now. Ida Tenya loved the man but he had to know if he was safe. He could feel Midoriya’s hero activities eclipsed his own. At first he thought being a quirkless tech hero was the reason Midoriya had to go out at night but that didn’t explain the flimsy last minute nightly jogs without it. He knew the man and he was a good one. He just hoped Midoriya would understand as he waited for Midoriya who emerged from the bathroom wearing his body glove that interfaced with the suit. 

He playfully felt the ports in Midoriya’s suit that magnetically sealed him into the armor as he got in, letting the magnetic couplers and hidden screws join, melding with his frame. It was such a spectacle that Ida got goosebumps when he saw it. Despite Mei’s many offers he preferred Tensei’s suit which had been modified for his own legs now but it kept the spirit of the agency alive as he stepped into the spotlight as the next ingenium to the public. 

Midoriya hugged him while he armored up, Ida grunted with the strength that Midoriya had when wearing it as Midoriya let him go. Their massive window opened into the street, letting in a massive gust of wind as Midoriya’s jets powered up. The dark and black jets of Eleric energy from the D.E.K.U suit’s drive were a modern marvel coveted by the support heroes of Japan and his suit’s performance in the field only saw an uptick in imports from I-Island. 

Midoriya had raced out the massive window then jumped, his jump jets shot him across from roof to roof, dancing like a sprite across the night as the window sealed itself and Ida saw his own face ragged with Anxiety as he pulled out the tracker’s receiver from his pocket. Swallowing as he went downstairs to retrieve his own suit and zoomed out the door after Midoriya. 

The tracker had led Ida into the warehouse district that looked run down in Kamino. Lots of abandoned goods in derelict warehouses where he thought Midoriya would be in action. The D.E.K.U suit was too flashy to hide and the silent air was even more concerning for him. There was no sounds of battle, no jump jets or rocket slides. 

Yet the tracker pointed to the warehouse less than 50m in front of him. He walked towards it slowly, too scared to activate his engines to cover the distance which made each step closer feel like time was dilated. Every second felt like a minute and the 50 m felt like several kilometers as he peered into the dark warehouse with no lighting or activity. 

His visor turned on its IR setting and he couldn’t read heat signatures. Everything was cold but there was one thing cooling off in the corner. Swallowing once more he saw the rusted lock. With his suit he grasped it and ripped it off the chain that left his black glove covered in red dust. The small staff door creaked loudly as he opened it, following the only heat source that was rapidly cooling off in the corner. 

He found it covered by a tarp that hid it well from prying eyes in the corner but the heat signature had left it exposed. As he pulled it off, he saw the D.E.K.U suit but without Midoriya in it. This didn’t make sense to Ida. If the suit was here, where was Midoriya!? He thought to himself as he dropped the tarp to the floor. 

He decided to go home after tonight’s failure. The first thing he did was reach out to Mei once more on text by typing out “I need the bio trackers you offered.”

The screen glowed with her response that came hours later. “You sure? No turning back once they’re in him.” 

Ida’s hands quivered as he typed the response but couldn’t find the courage to hit send. He racked his brain for hours until finally he heard the door open and saw Midoriya come in, wearing the body glove, free from his armor that was most likely back in its corner downstairs in the loft. 

“You should really come with a warning label Izuku Midoriya.” He chuckled as he set his phone on the bedside table. Midoriya had stripped out of his body glove, the smell of blood, oil and urban decay hid Ida who had gotten used to it over the years. 

“I’d give you a nasty look but you’ve already got one Ida Kun.” Midoriya snapped back playfully as he tossed the body glove at Ida who caught it then ran into Midoriya using his engine to close the short distance to engage him while he was unprotected by armor or fabric. 

He could trace all the scars on Midoriya’s body as he threw him over his shoulder to his protests and slammed them both into their futon.  Izuku’s protests fell on deaf ears as Ida just wrapped his arms around him. Midoriya was strong, really strong but in raw strength Ida Tenya was just stronger or so he thought his partner led him to believe. 

“Can I come along for your next night jog? We could play heroes and villains in the bushes!” Ida snorted at the very idea younger him would never dare say. After Stain had died, he felt the hate had died and Tensei’s lighter side seemed to possess him everyday. Hoping Midoriya would come clean on his own if he hinted at it. 

“The people who tolerate me on a daily basis are the real heroes.” Midoriya retorted, crossing his arms in a pout as he was conscious of how filthy he was in such a clean futon with Ida who was such a clean freak. 

“I don’t know what your problem is, but I’m guessing it’s hard to pronounce. You don’t have to do these jogs alone, Izuku.” Ida reassured him as he loosened his grip a little, Midoriya only pressed up against him.

“I’ll never forget the first time we met. But I’ll keep trying.” Midoriya responded. The barb landed deep in Ida’s heart as he swallowed. 

“Yea make me apologize for the thousandth time for calling you a commission goon.” Ida spoke in a sober tone, leaning his head into Midoriya’s shoulder. “You left all that behind, remember.” 

“Everyone’s entitled to act stupid once in a while, but I really abuse that privilege with you.” Midoriya spoke apologetically, dodging the question about his nightly activities. 

“Trying is the first step toward failure. This is new for us both, I’m just hoping I can do more with you.” Ida stroked Midoriya’s chin as he chuckled, “Now stay still, I’m trying to imagine you with that quirky personality.” 

“Sure as hell wasn’t my looks that pulled you in Ida Kun,” Midoriya smirked as he pulled him in a kiss, fainting soon after from exhaustion. 

As Ida stroked Midoriya’s hair, he reached for his phone. He had tried to probe, he had tried to not to. Midoriya was no longer a riddle but a nut he had to crack as he sent the response to Mei that he had held off on. 

The next time Midoriya went on his “night jog” Ida would be there. He just hoped there would be a Midroriya after this as he braced his heart that was thumping harder after he had crossed the point of no return in their relationship.

Chapter Text

                                                                                    Midoriya's suit when fighting the Nomu in the chapter

Crime had been shooting up around the country but in their neighborhood it was much lower in comparison. Ida couldn’t help but think maybe it was something Izuku was doing since he specializes in combat while Ida could only save people. Despite all the damage he had caused to his quirk when hunting Stain, he had all of Ingenium’s sidekicks to help him keep the peace but tonight had been planned for a week now. 

Mei refused to come in person, sending him the package through a courier because even she understood this is just betrayal by any other name. Izuku might have been lying to him but two wrong deeds don’t just cancel out. If only he had another option, confronting, comforting, conversation. All of it was deflected in emotional outbursts or sex and Ida Tenya was going to get to the bottom of it. He was sick of seeing Midoriya burn out, come home with scars, smelling like a battlefield….a very bloody one at that. 

He gulped as he took out the syringe from the package and injected it into the bottle of Sento rice wine. One of the most expensive things that Tensei owned, reserved for weddings. This particular bottle was meant for Ida for his special day as he stared into the bottle’s depths, stroking the label and feeling the smooth gradient of its silk label. 

Without hesitation he desecrated a sacrosanct symbol of his brother’s wishes to find true happiness with the syringe. Injecting its contents into the wine. When he swallowed, it felt like hot lead being poured down his throat as he went back to the loft where Midoriya was waiting for him with that surly torpor rapidly changing to a warm and welcoming smile. Ida wished for once Midoriya wasn’t looking at him like that. 

They still hadn’t even put a label on their relationship. Unsure if they wanted to seal the deal and make it permanent. A pregnant pause remained in the air as Ida had hoped for a ring or a document. Anything to reflect the permanence they both felt as he forced a smile back and pulled out the cork from the Sento bottle into a grateful Midoriya’s glass. 

“You know the scariest thing my mom told me when I was a kid?” Midoriya looked up at Ida as the rice wine stopped pouring and he set his cup down with a gentle clink. Ida nodded with curiosity as he reached out and stroked Midoriya’s cheek, setting the bottle down on the table. 

“She’d say, your father loves you but he can’t see you anymore.” Midoriya’s quivering eyes finally broke, the tears that were trapped flowed down in a gentle stream, trailing as he held Ida’s hand firmly against his cheek. Holding on like it was a lifeline and he would be sucked into the whirlpool if he let go. 

“Everyday, I’d knock on the door when mom told me he’s sleeping and not to disturb him, I’d make that long walk back to my room, to my bed and wonder what I had done that my dad didn’t want to see me.” Midoriya sniffed, wiping his tears with his forearm as he released Ida’s hand who was at a loss of words, letting Midoriya pour out what he must have been holding in for so long. 

“Koda San told me about his death.” Midoriya clenched his hands as Ida took his seat and dragged it next to Midoriya, digging his hand into one of Midoriya’s fists and forcibly clasping it. 

“I was 4 when he told me, death is a door that we walk through and one day when I walk through mine, anyone I care about would be behind it. Waiting for me.” Midoriya’s sobs died down but the tears had only started flowing as he looked  gratefully at Ida, reaching out with his own hand and stroking his face. 

“I just don’t know if anyone, even you would want to see me come through that door when you know about everything I did to get to the truth about my dad.” Midoriya glanced at him with longing. Ida swallowed, feeling that maybe he would get his confession tonight. “The Commission had files about his hero days and it was just numbers and stats, just…boilerplate. They broke a man’s life down into cold calculus, I wouldn’t be any different when my time came.” Midoriya lamented as Ida dragged his head into his chest, stroking his hair. 

“You left that life behind…it’s been a year. They can’t do anything to you now Izuku.” Ida spoke reassuringly to which he pushed the wine glass away, his feet were so cold from the thought of desecrating Midoriya’s body with the bio trackers. Tensei warned him in life not to trust what the Gods give, they give you what you wish for when they really want to suffer and Ida was on the cusp of a confession he was uncertain if he wanted to hear now. Afraid it would destroy a year of hard work and understanding between them. 

“It’s never over…” Midoriya spat as he grabbed the glass and raised it to Ida’s face. “Just know I do it all for you Ida Tenya…every scrape, every scar.” 

Before Ida could slap the glass out of Midoriya’s hand without looking deranged he stared horrified as Midoriya’s adam apple bobbed with each sip, downing the fiery rice wine with its nano-cargo down his gullet. Ida’s heart beat faster as he knew what he was after.

“Izuku, please tell me what’s really going on…I can’t take all these ‘jobs’ that leave you covered in all…. this ’ .” 

Midoriya set his glass down and sighed, looking at Ida tenderly. “I’m between a rock and hard place Ida…I’m sorry but I really cannot tell you. Don’t force it, at least not tonight on Tensei’s….memorial.” 

Ida’s face was burning with frustration and rage as Tensei was thrown right into his face by the man he loved. 

“Fine do what you want! See if I care.” He stormed off to the bed room upstairs, leaving Midoriya alone in the loft.

Ida could only wait and see the tracker that Mei had left. She did warn him that he had to stay close since the bio trackers. He had listen with rapt attention to Midoriya’s suit as he fed himself into the machine.

Ida had been standing all his life while people he looked up to left him tired and sick with worry. He had seen everything between life and death, only now did he realize he was spinning back and falling as he couldn’t breathe right as he heard the massive loft windows open with Izuku…no D.E.K.U launch like a rocket out of their nest. 

He stumbled down to the equipment room and put on his brother’s suit. Remembering how he lost one person he loved he was not going to lose another one. Not to lies as he did the only thing he knew how to. 

Run, Run like a bat out of hell, Stomp every inch of the asphalt like it owed him money as he powered his Recipro burn all the way to the warehouse in Kamino. His legs were burning,  the engine block was seizing. Had it not been for Hatsume’s cooling systems, he would not have made it even half the way as he looked at the tracker, searching for a ping. 

The effective range was a Kilometer but in Tokyo which was the largest city on the planet. It would be like finding a needle in a haystack. He had to stop in between bursts, tossing another bottle of Orange juice he had bought from shops along the way, crushing the bottle in his hands as he saw the faint ping vanishing into the distance. 

Midoriya was somehow airborne but since he left his suit at Kamino according to his discovery last week and Ida’s eyes could not find a hint of a jet engine in the sky, neither sound nor light. All he could hear was the sounds of a struggle, a building aching and groaning as explosions within it threatened to bring it down. The ping grew stronger as he ran towards the danger, his heart ready to explode in his chest as his suit’s pedometer had counted more than 30km he had traveled tonight. 

Something massive was tearing out of the building, showering the streets below with debris, concrete and steel. Its skin was black, the body was overly massive with exaggerated muscles . The exposed brain brought back his PTSD from the USJ incident when those things…tore through their teachers like paper, Anane Sensei’s black hole didn’t even phase that ‘thing’ and everyone saw her death after being crushed mercilessly in the vise grip of that monster. 

Even All Might came out of the battle bruised and bleeding. Those things had taken their toll on even the symbol of peace yet a daring but foolish figure was shooting exploding rounds at it with a rifle of all things. The explosions tore off skin, flesh and charred bone which were rapidly healed within seconds. 

Ida ducked in an alley nearby, his body moved on its own despite his heroic morality; his body knew the truth that thing was death itself. He looked at the tracker which pinged back to show Midoriya should be nearby. Ida froze, thinking of how Midoriya might be dead, dying or mortally injured with that thing thrashing around. 

He peeked out to see the black monster jump after the vigilante who wore a skin suit with some armor plates. His rifle barely grazed the brain, the only weak point but with the erratic motions and clumsy movements seemed to make the neural tissue all that harder to hit. Ida thought he would try to save the hero who was fighting the monster but he had never seen that kind of tech or armor on any hero let alone a rifle like that. 

All he could do was watch the man bobbed and weaved in between the blows like a leaf in the wind. The black monster could only thrash haphazardly as though swatting a fly. The beast finally landed a blow that sent the hero flying into the street. As it charged at him, dropping down from the floors of the dilapidated building their battle had left gutted. The hero pulled out a pistol, a whirring sound followed by only what Ida could describe as wet lightning shot into the beast’s gaping maw.

As it crashed down on the hero, sending a shockwave of dust in all directions that caked Ida’s suit even in the alley. He coughed even through his suit’s filter; it was too thick for the suit to provide him with breathable air. 

All he could see was the dust lifting as two more blue pulses shot through the monster’s chest, the liquid lightning’s sound muffled by the massive body. The unidentified hero emerged from the wound, covered in the gore and viscera of his opponent. He was left gasping for air, grabbing his chest as he climbed out of the corpse slowly due to his injuries. 

Ida was about to rush in, yell out for help until he saw the hero pull off his helmet. His heart sank, breath stalled, mouth filled with ash once he saw Midoriya wiping the blood from his forehead with his glove, wiping it out of his eyes. Ida’s Recirpo boosters didn’t listen to his mind as his body moved on its own once more.

Midoriya could only look at the familiar whirring, his pistol aimed at the body charging at him from the dust. Before he could pull the trigger he could only mouth Ida’s name in disbelief as he pointed the gun at his own head. Ida reached out, yelling as the gun went off and sent an arc of that liquid lightning that pierced a cloud in the sky. 

“I had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn’t it.” Hawks spoke, with his feather handing him the pistol, Midoriya was nursing his bleeding hand that had been run through by the feather, wincing at his mentor who dropped a panicking grey haired man in a luxurious purple suit. He looked at the black monster in disbelief while Hawks aimed the pistol at his head, the mechanism whirred to life. 

“A problem is a chance for you to do your best. isn’t it Giran San?” He flashed the gun at Midoriya and Ida before bringing it back to the grey haired man’s face with his dazzling smile who held up his arms in surrender with his cracked glasses in his hands. 

“Now I got to hand Giran here to Nagant’s people. He’ll be cursing my name for not putting him out of his misery right here.” Hawks released the trigger and tossed the pistol at Ida who fumbled it and fell forward as he barely caught it. 

“Izuku here feels so miserable without you; it’s almost like having you here Ida.” Hawks chuckled as he snapped the cuffs onto Giran who was too intimidated to speak, the man’s bloody wounds were visible through the cuts in his purple suit. 

“And Izuku, Please cancel my subscription to your issues. Sort this out before both our exes cancel our subscription to life.” Hawks made a finger gun and mimed it firing off into his temple, sticking out his tongue for comedic effect as he hefted Giran over his shoulder and flew off into the sky with Giran howling fading into the night. 

Ida and Midoriya could only look at each other with Ida punching Midoriya with an overhanging blow before he could say anything else. 

“Not another word….till we get back.” Ida spoke through hyperventilating fury as he knelt and threw Midoriya over his shoulder. As he sped back to the agency, his legs burned in protest, the wind sweeping over him, Ida knew Tensei’s words had come to pass. The Gods had punished him by giving him what he truly wanted. The truth. His heart hadn’t become lighter, the man he loved was bleeding over his brother’s suit as they sped back to their base. 

He looked up at the waxing moon, no matter how fast he ran it kept following him. Was Tensei looking down at him too tonight as the base came into view. The agency they had called home for a year now.

Once the adrenaline and rush of the moment had passed, each step felt like he was wearing lead shoes. Yet he persevered as he carried Midoriya up, feeling his blood dripping down Tensei’s silver suit as he made it to the threshold of the loft. He finally lay Midoriya down in complete exhaustion falling to the floor as he did, splaying out his limbs that were throbbing with fatigue, yelling at him for taxing them on the anniversary of his brother’s death. 

Midoriya hobbled over next to him, laying flat wordlessly. They lay there, on their last legs, looking out the massive window that bathed them in the moonlight as their bodies burned away in the aches and fatigues they had gathered that night. Ida’s chest felt heavy as he asked the one question he had held back since Midoriya moved in with him. Afraid he was going too fast but hell it was his quirk, it was his nature! He lived life in turbo so his words hit Midoriya with a shock he wasn’t expecting.

“I’m so in love with you, yet I don't know anything about you. That's why I’m in love with you.

Marry me, and I’ll never look hoarse again!” he proposed, both of them on the floor, neither of them able to run as he desperately clasped his hand around Midoriya’s, his heart pumping slowly as he held his breath for Midoriya’s response, looking at the back of his head. 

That back of that head with its green hair matted with blood and sweat turned to him, Midoriya’s face covered in his own dried blood that had dripped over him, now crusted and dried all brown as he smiled anxiously. “Keigo says marriages are made in heaven. But ours is thunder and lightning. You’re always going to be burned by me, Ida Tenya.” 

Midoriya clasped his fingers together with his tighter, returning the gesture. “I never left the Commission, they threatened you and I was forced to protect you.

Ida felt silent, daring not to breathe as Midoriya’s tears dragged the dried blood with them.

“You were my cover but I fell for you, then into you, finally with you.” Midoriya rolled to his side, wincing as his bruised ribs stung him. Yet he reached out with his bloody glove and stroked Ida’s cheek. 

“I’m a killer and I never forgot that look of horror when I killed Stain. I have never stopped being your black knight since that day.” Midoriya mused as Ida's tear was absorbed by his glove, leaving a small and splotchy trail like red watercolors down his cheek as Midoriya’s dried up blood in the fabric was given moisture by his lover’s tears. 

 “I do what I do so your hands can stay clean, so every hero’s hands can. Yet you took a killer to bed every night without hesitation.” Izuku ruminated with Ida, his voice croaking from sorrow and pain as his bruised ribs glowed with red hot pain.

“Izuku, you spend our time together thinking you’re one thing and then you wake up thinking you’re another. It doesn’t change who you really are.Still doesn’t change that I love you, no matter what.” Ida scolded Midoriya as he snatched his hand, not letting him pull away from him, refusing to let him break eye contact. “After seeing the horror you faced tonight, I am grateful you came home every night.” 

“I don’t want to fight you Ida. You don’t get it, do you? I’m not the same Izuku Midoriya from UA, I’m not who you think I was. You fell in love with the idea of me. You made me feel like I was in heaven every night while you were in hell.” Midoriya snapped back, trying to pull away but Ida’s grip was too strong and passionate. “Leave the Commission…for real this time Izuku! I don’t care if they come for me!” Ida spat at Midoriya who looked at him with those bloodshot eyes, the spark of the man he loved fast fading, feeling the blade's cruel edge press against his throat.

“I’m a killer at heart Ida Tenya, Keigo knows it, I know it. It’s time you really knew it. I can’t stop killing just as you can’t stop saving.” Midoriya pulled into him and embraced him for the last time. “Loving you was the real war I fought; I never came back the same.”

“I wish I could hurt you the way you hurt me. But I know that if I had the chance, I wouldn’t do it.” Ida sobbed as he held Midoriya back, knowing this would be the last embrace they would share as a couple that night, kissing him passionately for the last time.

As he did, the fiery passion he felt when he kissed the man he fell in love with turned to embers that were rapidly growing cold. He felt like what was left of Midoriya’s soul entered his body as he stroked Midoriya’s warm, bloodied cheek yet it felt like he was holding the corpse of their extinguished love.

“I have to take a step back and gain one point, Izuku. You weren’t just a star to me. You were my whole __damn sky!” Ida sobbed to himself as they remained on the floor all night, neither of them dared to let go of the other until sleep took them.

Chapter Text

Fig 33. Left side of the picture we see Midoriya's tech suit to interface with Anan, Mirai and Monad. Without this suit he cannot access the cortex network that Monad runs on. On the right side we see the suit that Mei is wearing. In the picture in the middle we see Anan suspended in a magnetic ring to keep her black hole from touching any real matter. Keeping the kugleblitz she is generating to power I-Island stable.Final picture to the right is the Presidium which controls all functions of I-Island. 

Ida Tenya finally came back to the present after the longest meal in his life. The loneliness of eating a solitary meal in a crowded restaurant was a paradox like his existence. His marriage to Momo was one where they were never going to be soul mates but cell mates. At least she had good company with their son Tensei.

Ida had paid top dollar to make sure the best of him was put into little Tensei since he knew deep in his heart that he was chosen in his brother’s place as a leader. The plan the I-Islanders had in their Schwarzschild initiative was insane. Leave the planet, breed a perfect civilization out in the stars while abandoning their world? 

His heart could not stomach it but the hero in him had long killed his compassion since Izuku Midoriya had left it shattered, he was tired from all the cuts he got when he tried to pick up a shard. Eventually he just put what he could into a box and threw the key away. His “wife” and his “son” would never the love he once held for a human being as he buried himself into his work but it was a losing game as crime had spiked out of hand and as a rescue hero he couldn’t keep up. 

Momo had put her foot down on the matter since his hospitalization. Little Tensei was her leverage and she dug that into him deep to think of their future and take their parents’ offer. Being from prominent families with histories of strong quirks and strong character, Monad had put them in the preferred section but Ida didn’t feel like he deserved to survive. His last words to Momo in the hospital were haunting even him. 

"The war has only started. Yet we must not forget the reasons why we sacrificed so much. The cost of wearing the uniform can be high. But...sometimes it's too high. You know when we fought the villains; we did it to save ourselves from extinction. 

But we never answered the question of Why? A young sidekick once asked me, “Why are we as a people worth saving?” I could not answer him then and I can’t answer him now. 

As a people we still commit murder because of greed, spite, jealousy...We still visit all of our sins upon our children...Endeavor once told me that you can’t outrun the sins of your family and as a species we refuse to accept responsibility for anything that we've done… We decided to play the hero. Create hope...When that hope turned against us...we comforted ourselves in the knowledge that it really wasn't our fault, not really. 

But like my sidekick says, it was our fault…no one else to blame…You cannot play hero then wash your hands of the things that you've inspired. Sooner or later, the day comes when you can't hide from the things that you've done in the name of peace, anymore."

She gave him the most eloquent response. A punch that almost dislocated his jaw, it left him sore for days as she put her child on his chest and looked him in the eyes. 

“Every man has to decide for themselves which side they are on.” Momo glared at him, rubbing her bruised knuckles. Pointing at Little Tensei who was sleeping peacefully on Ida’s chest. “You’re a father, don’t pick the losing side for him.” Momo sobbed as she left the room in tears. Ida was left that day in the hospital, every impulse in his brain yelled at him to stand and fight but the moment he saw Little Tensei wake up and suck on his finger, he knew then. He couldn’t save everyone. 

He couldn’t stomach his meal in the cafe as he looked at a picture of little Tensei then looked around at all the people who seemed cheerful and upbeat. It annoyed Ida that outside of I-Island most of the world was gripped in a war with itself in every city, every district, every house there was an existential dread as the doomsday clock ticked minutes from the world’s midnight. He swallowed as he thought back to Izuku and his hundreds of sidekicks who would be lost. 

Their lives snuffed out in less than 60 days according to the counter he held in his hand that acted as his identifier token while on the I-Island grounds. A grim reminder that he had to make this his new home and being designated an adjutant in the soon to be rescue service corps was only fitting. His family had groomed him for leadership and he had long come out of Tensei’s shadow. However, he declined all the privileges that would insulate him from the hundreds of thousands of people that would be in the lower half of Monad’s new society. 

Determined not to let the new colony in the stars fall into a hierarchy he wanted to set the tone as he looked at his watch. Maybe he should have gone into the executive dining hall just this once as his liaison was supposed to meet him for lunch. He had already reminisced on his long history with love and loss but also comforted himself with the thoughts of the future. Every father holds it in their hands and his thoughts never left Midoriya since he broke up with him despite the years that had passed since. 

“Ida Tenya!?” a shrill shriek rang out from the crowd, he saw a familiar face. Smiling as it was one he was thankful to see on an Island full of strangers. There was no mistaking that tomboyish mechanic look, that pink hair and those signature goggles. 

“Hatsume!? Been a long time! Are you my assigned liaison?” Ida waved at her, shouting over the crowd as he waved his pinging ID counter over his head. The pink haired girl shook her head as she waved Ida over to the presidium. Despite being in his early twenties now, years of professional hero work and his recent hospitalization left Ida wanting. The fall of the HPSC’s HQ building another wakeup call that he would face future rescues on scales he cannot even fathom without an army as he flitted through the crowded dining hall, finally following Mei who was leading him the presidium building where the I-Island council currently sat. 

Ida and Momo’s profiles guaranteed their son a position but he was against the autocratic structure. Though he saw its use in the short term to kickstart a new civilization, relying on it would only rekindle the villain problem on their new colony. The presidium looked like a temple, a holy place that stood out among the futuristic buildings as it looked ancient and sacrosanct. 

He felt the pit in his stomach drop as he gazed on his future workplace with Mei leading him excitedly. 

“Please keep up Ida San…I have to get back to Anan San! She’s nervous today with the big day so close now.” Mei urged him as she led him into the structure, the massive triangle like roof seemed to be piercing the sun, the horizon turning red as though the steeple on the top had made the sun bleed. This structure was built in mind with this image in view and he wondered if this was human or made by the robots on the Island as he headed in. 

Ida lost count on the numbers of doors they traversed, as they raced down dozens of sub levels they arrived in a massive room that was built like a sphere. It felt like the heart of the Island with the massive hum of the gargantuan mechanical organs that kept everything running. He had been briefed that almost 90% of I-Island was underwater like an Iceberg but he never imagined it was this deep. 

Hatsume opened the final chamber, only people like herself and Ida would have access along with only about a hundred thousand who would be entrusted with the survival of the human race going forward to this room. He was curious if this Anan was his liaison? As the doors opened he was left appalled by the women who was wearing a skinsuit, dozens of wires plugged into her as she was trapped in a massive ring that was humming with dangerous and potent energies.

Her face was one that was burned in Ida Tenya’s memory as he had seen her take her last dying breath in front of him. She died saving his group from that monster and it suddenly hit him, Mei knew her as Anan but Ida only knew her as “Astronaut 13”. 

“What is this!” Ida demanded from Hatsume who looked at him and back to her. 

“Oh don’t panic Ida San! It’s just Anan Senpai!” She said cheerfully, waving to him to meet her as someone was on the controls already, speaking with her. 

“For the last time Hatsume…we’re not talking, her vocalizations are random gibberish processing her dataflow from Monad!” the tech spoke in annoyance, his metallic voice echoed in the chamber, clearly oblivious to Ida as he got closer he heard Astronaut 13’s random sentences. 

“There are secrets within lies, answers within riddles. Lay off the ACS, you betcha Mei. Open your mind and hear what your heart wants to deny. End of line.” Anan spoke as Mei punched in her code and waved at her, Astronaut 13’s eyes were looking up at something. Floating in the ethereal energies of the ring as though she were physically present but not really with them. 

“See! Even She thinks you need to keep an open mind, can’t say much about that heart.” She tapped the tech with her heavy glove who was punching in commands for diagnostics myopically as Ida kept looking up at the dead woman, hoping for signs of life as Mei saw them. 

“Don’t be one of those Star God creeps….not every word out of her mouth is some prophecy. That’s not even her quirk in case you forgot.” The tech shook his head, his helmet reflected. 

“She is I-Island, she experiences life very differently from us. She swims in the oceans, breathes in the atmosphere that keeps us alive. She is just an interface that Monad is using for sensory feedback!” the tech grumbled as Anan started vocalizing the command set he had put in. 

“The excited state decays by vibrational relaxation into the first excited singlet state. 

Yes, yes and merrily we go. 

Reduce atmospheric nitrogen by 0.03%. It is not much consolation that society will pick up the bits, leaving us at eight modern where punishment, rather than interdiction, is paramount. Please, cut the fuse. 

They will not harm their own. 

End of line. 

Limiting diffusions to two dimensions increases the number of evolutionary jumps within the species. Rise and measure the temple of the five. Transformation is the goal. 

They will not harm their own. 

Data-font synchronization complete.” Anan ended her word salad vocalization with the tech violently gesticulating with his hand, pointing at her. 

“See nonsense! Gibberish….How any of that is prophecy I think Aachii needs to seriously reconsider your role here! We have less than 90 days to get this Island up and running for space and you’re too busy having a chat with her.” The tech scolded her, catching his breath after his exasperated diatribe. 

Mei just smiled as she entered her command to which Anan looked down at Ida, pointing with some lucidity as she spoke, “Mists of dreams drip along the nascent echo and love no more. End of line.” she resumed looking at the ceiling, no one knew what was so interesting up there but Ida was spooked by what Mei had done with the tech next to her looking at him in shock. 

“Mei! You were supposed to handle… him !” The tech hissed at her in protest. Hatsume just smiled as she removed his helmet and exposed the face of the man who had haunted his dreams for years when he closed his eyes. 

“Midoriya…” Ida clenched his teeth and fists, gasping anxiously as he took several steps back, collapsing against the wall of the room as though he had seen a ghost. Izuku advanced on him, taking steps cautiously towards him. 

“I’m sorry Ida Kun, Mei was supposed to listen to a direct order.” He shot her a vociferous glance before returning his gaze to Ida who landed a solid punch to his jaw, sending Midoriya to the floor. A fresh bruise on his cheek started forming as Mei laughed at their little tiff. 

“Anan San doesn’t talk to imaginary things, Izuku, she talks to Monad and it can’t be wrong!” Mei returned to the console waving them off. “This was meant to be, now sort things while I have a chat with Anan San.” 

Izuku rubbed his jaw as Ida towered over him. Midoriya smirked as he reached out a hand and Ida slapped it away.

“No matter how hard my heart is broken, the world doesn’t stop for our grief.” Ida spat as he took a step back, keeping a polite distance from Midoriya who was rubbing his jaw as he stumbled to his feet. 

“Really Ida? You’re the one who told me, ‘One day you'll finally see, your biggest mistake was not loving me.’ And that on text when you married Momo.” Izuku spat out blood that had pooled in his mouth. Looking up at him with mixed feelings. 

“I’ll always cherish the original misconception I had of you.” Ida muttered as he nodded his head. “Just show me to my quarters and be on your way, Midoriya.” 

“It’s OK if you don’t like me. You always had good taste.” Midoriya muttered as he went ahead of Ida, waving his hand to follow. 

Mei was left typing her commands, speaking with Anan with purpose, “We gonna pull through this in one piece Anan?” Mei punched her query into the console.

“Atrophy, don't ask me how I'll be dead in a thousand light years, thank you, thank you. Genesis turns to its source, reduction occurs stepwise though, the essence is All For One.” Anan spoke back more lucidity, her gaze matching Mei’s who could only smile. 

You and me both…Mei giggled as she recorded this and sent it to her followers. They weren’t going to lose this world and Anan agreed with her, therefore Monad did. 

“Friends are the family we choose, Izuku Kun, Anan San and I don’t leave family behind.” Mei hid her manifests as Anan gave a nod to her. “Let’s save everyone Anan!” Mei thrust her hand in the air with Astronaut 13’s obliviousness to her passion just nodding coincidentally.

Chapter Text

Figure 34. OFA facing Madam President and Aachii with David fight the council for the future of the world. The bottom Image is what a Mendicant looks like.

Madame president’s hood was lifted from her face, the chloroform soaked cloth had robbed her off her senses during her transport. She was seated on a plush winged chair, sitting in front of a resplendent marble fire place with a massive TV hanging over the mantle. 

The room she found herself was pitch black except for the crackling fire and the dimmed TV providing light for herself and the occupant of the other winged chair. As her senses came back into focus, the smell, sounds and sights of the room. She would have been right at home with how well furnished it seemed, how well kept the room seemed with no dust in sight. It was sterile and the pleasant scent of lilacs like she preferred at her residence. 

Despite the room clearly made to her liking, it was unnerving to see the message being telegraphed to her by her captor without a word being exchanged.

“I know who you are and where you live, especially your family” she thought to herself knowing now that her identity which was a state secret had been burnt; it would be a matter of time till they realized the scale of information leak…no hemorrhage if she couldn’t expect her information to be safe. Her nails dug into the plush velour at the thoughts that chilled her blood till she heard “him” from the chair opposite to her giving her a slow clap. 

“Yokumiru Mera!” the calm and cold voice called out to her, its face hidden in the darkness but she could make out the three piece suit he wore that displayed wealth and opulence as she saw the massive hands clap together. “Madame President, I hope you found the accommodations to your liking.” It said in a polite and demure manner as though they were at the most pleasant business lunch. 

“What can I say? I am a dead woman, so get on with it!” She spoke back coldly and calmly, taking a deep breath. “Just kill me and be done with it. I’m too busy for these theatrics, good sir.” Mera spoke this part out as a demand, with command and authority, determined to face her end with dignity in case there was surveillance or recording equipment; she would not shame  the Commission by dying, groveling and begging. The result would be the same, her death. She didn’t want a shameful one as expected of her as the face of the organization. 

“Oh? Who said anything about your death madam?” The voice asked her with a deep laugh, the baritones sending vibrations through her bosom as the TV came to life with the latest story stealing her gaze. What she saw curdled her blood as one word escaped from her lips. 

“Keigo…” Mera spoke in a whisper, clutching her necklace to steady her hand as it shook. The video of the HPSC HQ falling like a domino, taking out dozens of buildings in all directions as it toppled chaotically to the ground. Tens of thousands of people worked in those buildings surrounding them. 

The only relief she found was the timestamp of the footage showing it was 6am meaning all casualties would be negligible since the working hours for their road was around 8am. Her reassuring thoughts turned to ash when the pictures of Keigo and Kaina came on the screen with an unmarked picture on the screen to show the people harmed in the incident. 

She lay back in the chair as she looked at the man with even more dread, the maniac clapping at her anguish knowingly snatching her relief like a vaudevillian caricature snatching lollipops from the mouths of babes. 

“Why go through all that to kill a handful?” She shrieked at him, her nails tearing into the plush velour, exposing the white cotton under them. 

The man in the suit merely snapped his fingers and a dark figure, made from smoke emerged in a two piece waistcoat, holding out a tray with flute glasses that held bubbling champagne in them. It lay each glass on a small table next to each of them before the smoking abomination with its dark features and glinting malevolent eyes retreated back into the shadows. Shrouded and concealed. 

As Mera reached out, she held the glass to inspect it. Holding it to her nose she was repulsed by the fine tones and rich scent of the most resplendent champagne she only had in her meetings with the Prime Minister. Looking at her captor in his suit, holding out his flute glass in a toast that would never be returned by Mera who poured the contents of her glass in defiance. 

“Now now, we can be adults. Spoils of war and all that. What would the Prime Minister say if he lived to see you pouring his favorite bottle on such a fine mink carpet. It was his wife’s favorite after all.” The man in the suit spoke in a disapproving but polite tone as he gently rebuked her. 

Mera’s eyes went down to see the plush mink carpet at their feet was painted by blood stains. She tossed her empty glass at her captor in rage but it was caught in a small portal that swallowed it. 

“You coward!” She yelled out in rage as she saw the list of buildings that had been destroyed in sequence. The parliament, the Prime Minister’s offices, the HPSC HQ and its subsidiaries and the police commissioner’s office. 

“Yes, all villains are cowards!” The voice replied, chuckling as it snapped its fingers and dropped its glass into the same dark portal to who knows where it would end up. The massive figure stood up nearly seven feet tall, Mera had to crane her neck to look at the silhouette as he eclipsed the fire and TV’s light but she could make out the heavily scarred and bald head. 

“When a hero stumbles, cowards rejoice!” The man held out his arms, the murmurs of agreement and suppressed cheers came from the corners of the room. Their enthusiasm filled Mera with dread she had never known. 

“Nothing feels better to a coward than to see a brave person fall. At the beginning of your fake peace, you Commissioners tried to find a way to work in the shadows, you tried all these years to shield a house of cards from the winds.” The man advanced on her, the plush mink below him caught fire yet he was untouched; his suit and body unaffected by the flames that lit up the gruesome face with scarred tissue around the gouged out eye sockets with no nose that wore the most triumphant smile.

“You’ve been putting on quite a show. And now your number is up. All we had to do was blow one gust from the right angle to bring down your house of cards.” He thumped his chest with gusto, waving at the audience in the shadows that Mera’s wing chair and the darkness of the room refused to let her see. 

“Cowards rejoice in a time like this because they’re so invested in being afraid. When your building came tumbling down an overwhelming majority of people wished you well, sent their thoughts and prayers.

That is nothing compared to the faction of people “the cowards” who are screaming in your face today!” The man knelt low as the flames died down a blazing yellow to a dull orange, not a singed thread on his suit nor any burns on his skins as he held up the ashes of the blood soaked mink as he sprinkled it into her lap then suddenly grabbed each arm of her massive wing chair and looked down on her like the devil himself. 

“You see Madame President!? That’s why we stayed in the shadows! Why we never try to be heroes! Because we whittled down your strength while we built ours.” He released her chair and snapped his fingers one more time. Both of them fell through the floor onto Ajinomoto Stadium. Mera looked up to see the stands and the aisles filled to the brim with figures innumerable cheering for her captor who was well lit now by the floodlights. 

“We’re stronger than you now Madame President!” The figure yelled out, his voice amplified by the stadium’s PA system that was rapidly drowned out by nearly fifty thousand people in attendance. 

“Go now! Tell the heroes that All This Country is for one person to rule!” He looked to Mera as he pointed at the portal that had opened behind her.

“Me!” The scarred man shoved her through the portal into her residence's living room.

Her TV, like everyone’s in Japan was locked into the emergency broadcasting channel. It was slaved to the cameras in Ajinomoto Stadium. The whole country had seen her toyed with like a mouse in the paws of a malevolent cat.

It was worse than a thousand deaths because he had made a mockery of her instead of a martyr.

The one who wanted All For One. 

__________________________________________________________________________

“We have six days to save the world!” David pounded the table, looking across at the council with Aachii on the adjacent bench as they were arguing the motion for the fifteenth time in the last eighty five days. Launch day was less than six days away but David was the leader of the coalition from the million who were nearly half that wanted to stay and fight. 

Aachii though in the minority with a split of 51% in favor of leaving the solar system and 49% in favor of saving it, Monad ruled that a quorum was needed to reach a decisive consensus of atleast 70% or above before it would launch. The council was present as the oldest living beings on I-Island having surrendered their bodies in death so their minds would live forever within Monad. 

All Aachii and David were arguing in front of was their holographic avatars while the council’s brains lay floating in a jar in the deepest recesses of Monad’s chambers that were in its core. 

“David, the Black Swan Event’s conditions have been confirmed! It is no longer a hypothetical! Civilization has collapsed in effect, we need to leave before the bricks come falling on our heads!” Aachii argued passionately, appealing to the rational side of David. 

“Then let us leave! Take our chances, we aren’t dragging you with us.” David contested back at Aachii. 

“David Shield! Monad has concurred that is not possible. We only have the resources for one course of action, both your factions must reach a binding decision via Quorum. We need your men and materials for one cause or no cause.” The counselor spoke, his gray beard and piercing blue eyes locked with David’s as the hologram flickered. 

“I submit to the council the three conditions for the sake of my opposition.” Aachii held up the papers and slammed them on the desk that scanned them. Each popped up in the air on the holoprojector buried in the floor for all to see. 

“We are seeing events that are extremely rare occur all at once! The collapse of all government buildings, the assassinations of the Prime Minister, the nullification of the Commission and finally the failure of All Might to respond to any of these events have all been confirmed by the media reports.” Aachii smirked as the grey bearded counselor took it into consideration the hypothetical event now confirmed in the news. 

“We are already seeing the impacts around the globe especially from All Might’s lack of activity. The US government has taken an isolationist stance and locked itself out of the situation with Stars and Stripes being grounded. The Japanese government in practice has vanished and the remnants of the commission have been discredited and neutered. The remaining heroes have no rallying force or logistics to endure an all out war with criminals.” Aachii’s hand shook as he played the media clips showing the impacts of unchecked criminal activity along with reports of militias fighting on both sides escalating the tension. David bit his tongue as he held back his tongue.

“Finally, we are seeing in hindsight that alot of this could have been avoided had the opposition today been forthcoming!” Aachii pointed at David who looked at the file on display with some guilt. It was Yagi Toshinori’s health records for the last ten years since his injury along with a chart that had a steep decline. A secret that David had hidden from the council for years trying to find a resolution with Aachii but to no end. 

“In addition, Izuku Midoriya has through even my failure failed to inherit the power that could have resolved the crisis. So I have also contributed in hindsight to resolve the crisis despite Project Foresight having warned us all for years.” Aachii leaned on his podium for support as he felt his knees give out, staring back at David seeing how he had fallen on his own sword for his incompetence as well. The fault that the world was going to fall to darkness lay on them both now. 

“In light of the Black Swan Event’s burden of proof being resolved, this council has decided to override the wishes of Monad and apply emergency powers. We are sorry David Shield but in good faith we must respect the Schwarzschild Initiative’s true purpose. Preservation of the human race above all.” The gray bearded councilor spoke in unison, looking down at both the representatives. To their surprise both representatives objected. 

“Respected council members I must concur with David on this! We must reach a quorum as per Monad’s wishes! We cannot be a coalition by coercion! That spits in the face of the Schwarzschild ideals! We request an inquest with Monad!” Aachii demanded to David’s surprise who shot his colleague a smile. Though they didn’t see eye to eye he respected that his opponent hadn’t shunned his humanity for logic. 

“Adjutant Aachii, this is the rational way to go about it. Monad is not needed to resolve something where the Black Swan Event has come upon us.” The Blue eyed councilor glared at Aachii. Though he was long dead, his human ego hadn’t died with his body as he expected Aachii’s support in their decision. 

“Logic is just a blade, you need emotion to hold it safely or it will cut you when you use it.” Aachii blasted back slowly and deliberately. “I thought being a nameless one you’d know Monad’s teachings better than the one who merely read them. You were there when they were written.” He shot a look at David with a smile who was horrified as he knew what was coming. 

“Mendicants, please take Adjutant Aachii to the holding cells for contempt of the council. Any further objections will be punitively dealt with!” The blue eyed hologram glitched as it yelled this out. It’s human ego clearly dealt a heavy blow from the confrontation by the man who normally saw eye to eye with it. 

The mendicant automatons held out their stun batons with their blue visor lights turning red, Aachii held up his arms and smiled at David as he was led out the door. The other two mendicants were in the corner looking at David with their blue eyes.  

“David Shield, you are free to go. Further dissent will not be tolerated.” The blue eyed councilor spoke in its normal tone, cold and detached as its beard came back into focus. The hall went dark as the holograms died and the door on his side opened with the lights in the floor guiding him on the way out. 

David swallowed as he knew there was only one hope left and Aachii had given him the name of the boy he had yet to meet. “Izuku Midoriya, you’d better not let Aachii down.” he whispered to himself as he clenched his hands. Swallowing deeply as the doors clamped together behind him in the most unwelcome fashion.

He had been shut out and they were to launch in less than six days.

"Even God had 7 days to make the world!" He muttered to himself, raging at the fact that he would have less than that to save it.

Chapter Text

Keigo Takami was hitting the ripe old age of 29 which was a few months before turning the corner at 30. His quirk had given him leverage throughout his life, one his mother would have him use in any way that made the most money.

Ever since his father had abandoned them, she had settled that as long as he paid for her lavish lifestyle ; it didn’t matter what he did in his own no matter how immoral or depraved he became. All that mattered to her was that the cheques kept coming and there was money in her account. 

Thus was Keigo Takami sold off silently to the Commission who ‘rescued’ him. He had undergone the most grueling training and sacrificed his childhood and morality as they honed him to be the perfect Commission agent. 

When he turned the ripe age of 15, he was put in the bullpen at the commission under the first mission ever aspiring acolyte had. The 3 C’s….Coffee, Cream and Coffee. That was his life for the first year, serving, learning, gathering intelligence until he was assigned to Kaina Tsutsumi.

As he lay in that hospital bed with several cracked bones, damaged tissues, his body one big bruise. He had been forced to be with the one person he hated in the same room for the first time in a decade. Himself. 

Kaina was the taskmaster he needed to whip him into shape, keep him focused. Without him he would have burned out with the 3 C’s and advanced through her into combat training but intelligence gathering and counterintelligence are where he found his true calling. Keigo finally found a job that paid him oodles of cash to do one thing. Be anyone except for himself. When Warhawk took him under his wings literally, he held a small funeral for himself; the eulogy was more of a good riddance followed by a dance on the grave of his old self. 

The same face looked back at him everyday, the same name on his IDs. Yet somehow, everything sounded so different. Just as crystal sings while glass clinks when you tap both, he enjoyed the position that the Commission had handed him over despite Warhawk’s many protests before he was ‘forcibly’ retired. He had endured years of grueling torture, training and tough love from his mentor just as Kaina would. 

The Commission however, thought to soften Hero Affairs after the era of peace was thought to be an everlasting one and they wanted to turn them from Hero Police to Hero Publicists and Madame President Mera wanted Keigo to be the face of the new era. A shining, youthful gleaming smile that told the world all was well and they lived in the best of times…all thanks to the Commission. 

Same filth in a golden wrapper. Keigo likened it to putting Diet on Soda wouldn’t make it less toxic but damn you couldn’t argue on the sales when they shot up. In the same way a kinder, gentler Commission under President Mera was a welcome sight from many heroes who were run through the gauntlet for their licenses, made sure they were combat effective at all times to keep another war from happening. 

Soon under Keigo’s rebranded department they went from practice to parties, combat boots to cabarets and who would forget being a hero all of a sudden meant you could retire a millionaire with less than five years with all the sponsorships you got thanks to the Commission taking its cut. Kaina who’s department had remained the same since the war abhorred all of President Mera’s decisions. Only granting her department autonomy kept them from going up in arms about all the unpopular decisions to make the heroes more complacent show boats instead of effective fighters. 

As hawks looked at his body covered in bandages and with supporting casts around parts of the bones that had been broken. He was thankful at the time of the building collapse his feathers formed a cramped barrier while Kaina’s piercing shots destroyed most of the larger debris  that would have crushed them. Of course Shinso was lucky that both of them were in the building at the same time. If it was just Hawks or Kaina, they were definitely dead but it was funny how Kaina as usual had been right about it all. 

President Mera’s policies, the softening of the Commission had literally brought the house down on their heads. Though he wondered, if the villains wanted to cripple the government, destroying the Prime Minister’s officers, the Diet Building and the Police Commissioner’s offices, why did they spare the Commission’s staff? They could have taken out the true threat by cutting off the head of the snake at the Commission and yet their leader who remained unnamed had let President Mera go on live TV, holding the whole nation as his captive audience on the emergency broadcast protocols. 

He made it a point to show how much support he had publicly. Keigo wished he could have visitors but Kaina was already in the hospital though thankfully not in his ward which was restricted to the worst injuries. His first true mentor and boy crush had molded him and as much as War Hawk had drilled his lessons deep into Keigo’s psyche, Kaina had left it in there one nearly missed bullet at a time to his defiant smile as he heard muffled noises outside the foggy window. 

He was missing his firebear and the irony of it was that he would never have had the chance to meet him if not for Kaina. He remembered how much she used to chastise him for keeping his Endeavor plush on his desk, threatening to shoot it when he wasn’t looking. 

With her always wearing such a serious expression, a younger Keigo was naive to believe that Kaina ever would harm a helpless, softie that brought joy to the world. Enough about himself, Kaina absolutely hated that plush and encouraged the office with wargames, promising a month’s paid leave to any intern with Keigo to bring her its head. 

Keigo had fought many battles in his life but fighting off the subtle schemes and plots of his fellow interns who were downright sinister was some of the best fun he had. After a month of defending it successfully, Kaina gave him the first assignment of his life that changed his life. That would count towards his paid month off. 

At first Keigo was sour and pissed off when he saw that the address belonged to some rich old fart. Most likely some oldie hero past his prime. He swore if he ever turned 35 like this guy, he would live everyday like it was his last! Party all day and night till he couldn’t. Instead when he got to the house, he thought it was a mistake or a cruel joke as he looked at his assignment papers and the address. He literally had to prick himself with a feather to know he wasn’t dreaming as a strapping massive 35 year old Enji Todoroki was standing there in a massive black T-Shirt, his face aflame with that smoldering look which made babies cry. 

Though on that day, Keigo cried in gratitude towards Kaina from then on who had given him the assignment which he soon found out despite being attractive like the man himself had alot of baggage. He cursed himself for skimming the dossier but when he did that day on the taxi, he saw a trail of people who had given up on Enji Todoroki who was a “hardass” which was the nicest comment he could find. 

Enji Todoroki despite having been the number 2 hero since the young age of 20 while Keigo was slinging coffee at the office at a mere 16 suddenly felt so self conscious around his idol, the man who’s plushie had been his security blanket since his childhood. His heart dropped when he looked down at him and asked him the one question that nearly crushed him. 

“Hey kid, when will you take me to your boss?!” He demanded, clearly in a foul mood since he had been waiting outside his house for nearly 15 minutes while Keigo had been busy being late. 

“Oh Kaina?! No no. Errr– she said I’m your new Commission Liasion…sir.” Keigo muttered to Enji kneeling to his height. The 6 foot 4 inch giant kneeled to meet the 5 foot 2 inch midget like the sun scaled to the earth he could fit into Enji many times over, even more if you plucked his feathers. He didn’t feel like a Hawk, more like an easter chick just now, craving warmth senselessly in the cat’s maw. 

“Kid I will buy anything except for the bull your ‘commission’ is forcing on me.” Enjii growled as he shot into the sky at least 50 feet. After hovering on a column of flame for several seconds he landed closely like an Olympian titan, the heat coming off him was scalding which would have burned something on Keigo’s skin if his wings didn’t reflexively shield him from the suffocating drain of oxygen as Enji Todoroki landed with a dull thud. 

“Go back to school kid, I’ll have words with the Commission! This is no way to treat the number 2 hero!” He snarled as he started to walk away to which Keigo only saw red, he wasn’t going to let his idol think he was some prattling kid of all people!

“Has anyone ever tried to smack some sense into you? Allow me to be the first one.” Keigo slammed the dossier in Enji’s hands. His eyes went wide at the petulant act of defiance, teeth grinding away, those flames on his hands intensifying till the smell of smoking cotton filled the air. Keigo, despite his best judgment, just smiled at the giant oaf as he was clearly trying to intimidate him to run off like all the others who had given up on Enji. 

“You’re the corner piece to an unsolvable puzzle: everyone looks right past you. I’m not going to make that mistake, Enjii San.” Keigo said with his arms crossed, standing his ground with his knees shaking in his baggy pants. He felt a hot hand touch his shoulder, squeezing. He gulped thinking that this was it. He was going to be launched into the air and barbecued to be tonight’s dinner at this rate. Well there were better ways to go out, he thought to himself as Enji let out a roaring laughter followed by a slap on the back that make the pavement the first thing Keigo would kiss in his life. Imagine telling people you lost your kissing virginity to concrete.

Now all he had to do was stop Enji from cracking glass every time he raised his voice and he was golden. At least for now he was happy knowing he got to speak to his idol on a first name basis, running his social media accounts with wit and class. 

The nurse came in to change his IV bags with the “good” stuff in the present during his trip down memory lane. He felt himself sinking deeper into his memories as the fuzzy warmth of the painkillers started to kick in and the trip was suddenly becoming a staycation within the deepest recesses of his mind. The good parts that kept him going.

When he turned 18, Warhawk would be impressed that he actually lasted this long with the number 2 hero who made his own anger issues look like childish tantrums at the time. A big reason why the big bad War Hawk chose him as his successor was Keigo’s accomplishment of having tamed one of the Nemean Lion of the hero world.

Most people didn’t know except for Kaina who was busy with her own mentor the Old Nagant. Though only on their sparring sessions which were becoming more common these days he could feel her eyes reading more than his moves but his heart as he enjoyed his job with Enji. Even if the price was the constant abuse from War Hawk he was always flushed around his idol, playing it off as being overly clumsy. 

Eventually when he was finally 20 and the mantle of Hawks had been passed onto his shoulders. He took a deep swallow that night as he was going to meet his idol shoulder to shoulder. Though he was young, his 5 foot 4 inches height made him feel so conscious around his client who towered over him like the 6 foot 4 inch behemoth he was. He could swear the ground shook with each step when Enji was around but he wasn’t the spring chicken he was when they first met. He had become true to his name. Sharp senses, swooping in with great alacrity and constantly buzzed. 

Keigo Takami was reborn for the second time in his life and he wanted Enji to see him as more than the boy he hand waved on their first day as he prepared for the hero ceremony where they would announce the rankings which were mostly rigged in line with the demands of their sponsors. Yet somehow, true to his name Endeavor had forced them to acknowledge his position since Enji Todoroki was 20 to keep him firmly on the coveted number 2 position which was the unofficial number 1 since there could never be a true All Might. 

Corporate sponsors had been chomping at the bit for the previous President of the Commission to take Enji down to number 3 or make a separate ranking system to accommodate rescue and combat heroes. They wanted the bang for their buck and under President Mera it was Hawks who kept them at bay. This was where War Hawk’s many tricks of the trade came into play. Finding the leverage over these corporations in their affairs or books and sometimes both was as enjoyable as peeling a scab. Watching it bleed and fester with the Commission stepping in as the cure-all only strengthened their position. The biggest contenders were the Detnerat Corporation who Hawks had secretly exposed to President Mera for their patent trolling and infringements with I-Island. Bringing both parties to the table to avoid public shame in return for dropping the push to topple Enji from his number 2 position. 

Keigo over the years never had the guts to tell Enji many truths but the one he felt would hurt him deeper than his feelings of admiration turning to something that breached their professional relationship was that Endeavor owed the skinny bird boy his title since the retirement of War Hawk brought in the shilling and pressure groups who now ran things in the new world of peace.

The man who had thought his hard work sustained his reputation had to understand what a blunt object he was sometimes and Keigo took no less satisfaction as he made an Entete with Mirko and Ryuku to maintain the old guard. 

Finding heroes like himself who didn’t care about the politics was next to impossible and Mirko had no team or agency to leak info and Ryuku kept to herself, mostly focused on raising the next generation of heroes instead of playing the sponsor game. Keigo swirled the champagne in the flute glass to the disapproval of many high brows in attendance at the gala. Ash in their mouth as Enji was publicly announced as the second hero for the umpteenth time to no one’s jubilation. At this point 3rd position would become number 1 as the gap between Enji and the other heroes was as vast as the gap between Enji and All Might. 

Keigo smirked to himself as he saw Rumi shoot him a knowing wink having secured the top 14th position this year while Ryuku had clinched the 11th position, missing the top 10 position by a hair. Sadly Wash had too many sponsors from all the cleaning products in Honshu to be ignored this year. The rankings each year felt more like a hero’s net worth bundled in with their sponsors instead of an actual heroism rank. Keigo looked at the gloves that Kaina had gifted him when Warhawk passed on the mantle to him. 

He was shocked since the only thing he got her were a bunch of hair clips from the dollar store and he got premium cow leather gloves that were warm on the flight here today. 

“Your love for that plushie is against the rules of the office and the love for him is against the laws of the Commission.” her words lingered in his mind. Her warning rang in his ear despite the woman being far away on a mission with her mentor “Kami Sori” the original Nagant who had handed her the mantle but not her work…yet. 

Yet despite that, Keigo wanted to take the plunge like a real Hawk, test the waters that night as he had his fifth glass of Champagne that brought him back to his normal state. Buzzed and light headed. 

As He met Enji backstage to congratulate him, he was met with a somber look on his face that had even Keigo swallow with unease as his idol lay his hand on his shoulder just as he did when he acknowledged him as his publicist that day when he was 16. 

“Keigo Kun, I need to ask something…relationship wise.” Endeavor delivered the blow to his Public Relations Specialist without holding anything back on a day where he should be celebrating. 

“You’re a grey sprinkle on a rainbow cupcake sometimes, Enji.” as he waved his hand around the room and showed him everyone celebrating their win for the day. 

“Come by the office. I need to talk about your role…intimately.” he sighed as he clasped both those mighty mitts around Keigo’s muscled shoulders that felt like toothpicks he could snap without even trying like chicken bones. Had he been holding any glass right now it would have definitely dropped like his knees but he was thankful that Enji would catch him before his knees buckled. Though thanks to training with War Hawks he could use the anti gravity from his wings to keep standing when he felt jelly legged. 

“Intimately!?” Keigo raised a brow nervously to which Enji shot him one of his death glares that sent a dozen publicists packing. 

“Away from prying eyes and ears!” He waved at all the cameras and reporters that were snapping away and harrying the newly christened heroes who had made it to the top 20 and working their way up to the top. Keigo’s eyes grew wide as he understood wordlessly leading Endeavor to the rooftop of the building. He was flushed all the way at the misunderstanding as his mind was putting words and intentions that he doubted Endeavor ever had.

Being able to keep in flight like his idol gave him a perk that his predecessors never had. Having to keep up with a man like Enji who was all business was three jobs within itself. You were always his wet-nurse, his therapist and his best friend. None of which were made easy by his rustic charm and stoicism. Though nearly 5 years had passed and his heart beat faster as he was finally going to see Enji’s office.

A privilege a child like him was never privy to. He felt this invitation was another Tuesday to someone as booked as Enji was. To a super fan like Keigo it was a golden ticket to the pearly gates themselves and boy was he born to be the angel who would call out names one day at the coveted agency that Enji ran. Though stepping down from Head of Hero Affairs to head of Endeavor’s agency’s public relations would be a massive downgrade, it would be his dream come true. 

His train of thought was derailed as he saw the massive edifice on the coast. A coveted piece of real estate for the most coveted position of number two hero. It was a match made in hell with more envious eyes hovering over Enji who was proud his agency was one of the few that didn’t specialize. He was the master of all trades and Jack of none. Being in the presence of the imposing structure that had a dedicated landing pad that could take the punishment of Enji’s flames was an enviable position that only made Keigo feel smaller as they landed on the metallic pad that was still hot from Enji’s retro blasts. 

Hawk’s soles melted just a bit as he clicked in annoyance. “Tsk…just bought these.” he held up one to see the treads had melted into a splotchy pattern. 

“Put it on my bill.” Endeavor grumbled as he picked up Hawks by the scruff of his neck. A big reason why Hawks acted all clumsy and aloof. He enjoyed being manhandled by his very impatient client as he took him into the penthouse of the building. 

As he hit a panel, Enji’s massive hall lit up with war trophies, some older than Keigo by decades since the first quirk wars. He whistled as Enji dropped him and walked through the massive hall that Keigo thought to himself the number of people who must have seen such a collection could be counted on one hand. He felt honored in his reverence for all that Enji had accomplished since he was 20. 

"in this room there's a thousand objects only you can use to kill me... including the room itself ." Keigo chuckled as he kept lingering from display to display. Archeotech, experimental villain tech including masks, weapons and armor that was legendary in the halls of the Commission. 

President Mera certainly must have seen this hall many times given how insistent she was to preserve Enji’s status as the number two hero at all costs. Warhawk’s unnerving admiration for Enji could now be understood given he was Keigo’s predecessor. If he was here then he had made it into the inner circle after five years of hard work. A quality only the name who named himself Endeavor could appreciate let alone understand. 

After several minutes of silent admiration and Enji having to drag him along to keep on track they finally made it to his desk made of Basalt and Obsidian. Two stones that could withstand his massive heat. Keigo took a seat in one of the plush chairs that faced Enji’s own massive chair that felt more like a throne than a simple desk chair. Endeavor sure knew how to make an impression. Had he not gotten used to the man for the last 5 years he would have lost his mind at the scale of this wealth and prestige that took him 20 years to earn. 

Keigo did the math if he saved all his salaries for the next 20 years could he even afford a quarter of what Enji had on display? He crossed his arms, silently giggling as he thought the next time he made a presentation to President Mera he would use his paycheck as the opening joke as an ice breaker. 

“Now…Keigo Kun about my relationship.” Enji spoke with an uncertainty and mystique that was out of character as Keigo swallowed nervously. 

"Enji... Can you stop breathing like you're holding the air hostage? Out with it!” Keigo gnashed his teeth, acting a little out of character himself as the surprise event of the evening had caught him off guard and his inner fanboy was quivering so much that the mask of Hawks was slowly slipping. 

“It’s about the wife and I. Rei…I’m having trouble deciding.” Enji clasped his hands, the flames consumed them as Keigo chuckled in response. 

“The people who tolerate us heroes on a daily basis are the real heroes.” Keigo shot him that reassuring, cocky grin while giving him the usual ‘it’ll be ok’ shrug to which Enji smashed a fiery fist on the desk, sending sparks down on the floor. Keigo now understood the Obsidian was not for show given Enji’s temper. 

“I want to divorce Rei…” Enji spat out, his spit evaporated under his blazing fists as it landed on the desk, hissing as it floated into water vapor. 

“ Enji, you’re not simply a drama queen. You’re the whole royal family! News flash…You’re not going to be the reason the divorce rate is so high. I’ve had relationships that've lasted longer than the lettuce in my fridge.” Hawks waved his hand casually, his wings fanned Enji’s flames with gentle gusts. 

“I brought you here to lay it all out before the media has a chance to.” Enji sputtered as he looked at Keigo with those bloodshot eyes. 

“Listen to your doubts. I think they’re onto something there, Enji.” Keigo took out his signature notepad and clicked his pen. It seemed Enji was not in the mood for this as he reached into the drawer and slid a tablet with some files on it. 

Keigo’s eyes fell on it and he swallowed as he scrolled the dozens of pages. Letters, threats and videos with photos. He looked up in horror at his hero, flashes of his father’s abuse played like a projector when he saw the photos play in vivid motion. Oh how he understood what was missing in that room at that moment as Enji held his head in his burning fists while his life’s secrets were being laid bare to his publicist…no. His only friend in the world. 

“Break a leg. No, seriously, break a leg!” Keigo spat as he threw the tablet back at Enji. He was about to storm off before Endeavor shot himself with his flame boost ahead of him. Keigo sank his strongest punch into the gut of the Idol who had just gone through an iconoclast in his mind. He felt betrayed as he had seen hard proof that Enji was no different than his dad. The only difference was the zeros in their bank account. 

“The only person falling for you is blind!” He sank a punch to elicit just a grunt. He felt Enji’s gut give away but absorbing it with no incident as he stood like a statue in his way, those massive fists on his shoulders held him firmly on the ground as the top hero didn’t want him leaving this building till he made up his mind. The question was if he was going to leave it alive.

“Are you done throwing your tantrum?” Enji asked firmly in that deep baritone that left him weak in the knees but this time he felt true terror knowing how he could roast him into ash within a split second if he wanted to. “I’ve got alot on my mind we need to discuss.” 

“You do have a lot on your mind… a lot of bullshit so go feed your own ego. I’m busy.” Keigo protested, squirming against Endeavor’s grip who had to hold him in a firm embrace to smother him. The flames had been extinguished, he was just a mortal man now. Vulnerable and open to be ripped apart by hundreds of Keigo’s feathers if he so chose. Brother right now Keigo had taken his leave and Hawks was about to take the wheel before Enji appealed to him. 

“People tell me I saved hundreds and hundreds of people.But I have to tell you: it’s not the people you saved that you remember. It’s the ones you couldn’t save. Those are the ones you talk about. Those are the faces and situations that stay with you forever.” Enji let go of Keigo, stepping out of the way as he pointed to the door in the distance that felt like an eternity.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t save you, I couldn’t save my marriage or my kids.” Enji shed a tear that hissed as it evaporated. Keigo’s conflicted heart couldn’t take it as he clenched his fists and looked up at Enji with disgust. 

“I must have been imagining things. For a second there, I thought you made a valid point.” he scoffed as he started walking to the door, hoping, waiting for Enji to pounce on him, send a pillar of flame that would conflagrate him. Anything !

As his gloved hand grasped the handle, he looked at Enji sitting on his black obsidian desk, his hands clasped around his head and fists on fire, looking down at the desk in despair. Keigo’s heart sank as he felt the door weighed a  ton from his decision to open it. Screaming internally how it felt wrong to leave it unfinished like this. 

In a flash, Hawks lunged like his namesake, Enji Todoroki did not have time to ignite his full burn or assume a defensive time as he found two long feathers ready to bisect his throat long before he could incinerate Keigo. 

“How Long did you know about me?” He spoke slowly, to the point without mercy. Clinching a feather that pricked Enji’s neck, a small drop of blood pooled along the bristles. 

“Since the day I accepted you as my publicist.” Enji croaked, not a hint of a tremor or a quiver. He was looking death in the face and bearing true witness sincerely. 

“I wanted to live life without many regrets. Then I met the real you!” Hawk’s feathers now poked into Enji’s skin, if he were to apply anymore pressure he could have taken his head, Enji’s lack of defense made it harder to hate him as the man wouldn’t even spit back to save his neck. 

“Just tell me why I should help you cover this up!?” He whispered through clenched teeth, daring Enji to flame up and give him the satisfaction of a guilt free execution on the spot. 

“I’m setting my life on fire to find those who fan my flames!” Enji sputtered as he grasped Hawk’s feather, he felt the pressure increasing from Enji’s grip increasing as he pulled his feather back rapidly, leaving a flesh wound but after seeing Enji’s determination he panicked. Expecting to be roasted any moment he crossed his arms to shield himself from an inferno that never came as he was perched on the desk. 

“I’m tired of being the problem to every solution in my life Keigo Kun.” Enji set his hand gently on his head. Hawks looked up to see him cauterizing the flesh wound he had left on his massive neck, dropping his katana sized feathers to the desk. Frozen by the weight of what he had attempted to do in the heat of the moment. This man who had been his idol, the light in his darkest childhood days was revealed to be a taller shadow cast by an even brighter light. 

“My heart was beating fast whenever I saw you walk in. Today I thought you were the monster I hid from under my bed.” Keigo fell back, his feathers gently laying him on the ground, splayed as Enji gave him his space for a few minutes. The uneasy peace in the hall was deafening as  Enji emerged from behind the desk and held out his hand. 

“Every cloud has a silver lining. Can you help me figure out my family’s Keigo Kun?” he gulped as he waited too long for Keigo to finally take his hand. Enji lifted him up as though he weighed nothing. That strength which used to be so charming and overwhelming to Hawks was now a threat. He felt less secure around Enji now that the blinders were off. 

“You should come with a warning label.” Keigo sighed as he slipped back into his professional mode. Looking at Enji with some discomfort but seeing how he wasn’t charcoal on the floor being vacuumed up. He swallowed as he looked Endeavor in the eyes and gave him a polite nod. 

“This is a lose-lose situation for me. I lose my valuable time and any semblance of compassion I had left. So make sure it’s not wasted.” Keigo poked his goggles back into place as he eyed Enji who looked so young without his flames despite the decade or so between them. He couldn’t help feeling safe despite shaking hands with a walking human sun.

“You won’t regret it!” Enji boomed as he embraced Hawks suddenly before the other could even protest. Keigo could smell the woody scent of burnt hair and blood in his massive chest, an hour ago he would have given anything to be in this position as his super fan but he felt conflicted now. What if he was creating the next Keigo without knowing it. He only hoped his instincts knew better than his head did as he was contemplating the long road to recovery of their professional relationship.

Chapter Text

“ We have to do better.” Rei whispered to herself as Enji and Keigo sat across from her bed. Years of internment in the sanatorium wing had left her frail and weary as her gaunt frame looked over them as though they were lingering spirits haunting her.  

Enji sat there like a gargoyle, his flames off and arms crossed as he looked out the window; pride or shame refused to let him look at the woman he had wronged since their marriage. More of a sale and purchase agreement with the way things had gone. He had gotten what he wanted out of the arrangement which was Shoto but Rei was condemned to live with a fractured psyche in this room. He smiled as he left the room suddenly to Rei and Keigo’s surprise. 

“He brings everyone so much joy these days. Especially when he leaves the room.” Keigo smiled at Rei as he looked in disappointment at Enji’s back who paused for a moment in the door frame but kept going to God knows where, leaving them in the room to themselves. He coughed as he turned his attention back to Rei, clasping those gloved hands with the leather squeaking as he did.

“He does…doesn’t he?” Rei giggled to Keigo’s surprise as he sat upright and wore a smile that was filled with a comforting smugness. 

“Hold still. I’m trying to imagine you with personality.” Keigo held out his hands making a square frame through which he was peering at her leaving her in shock from the bold response. Looking away due to offense or shyness. Keigo couldn’t get a read on this woman as he cleared his throat. 

“So I hope the doctor walked you through our ‘proposal’ and how you can finally have a life.” Keigo raised his arms in surrender and crossed them as a promise for no further mischief as Rei’s eyes met him once more. He realized he needed to reel in his peppy self and get serious, forgetting she was a patient here for a reason. 

“I can’t leave them. Our children are ashamed of who they are. That’s our job as their parents.” Rei clutched her sheet, digging the nails in deep. 

“Stupidity isn’t a crime, so you’re free to go. This marriage was stupid, breeding children as experiments was stupid, staying in it when you’re being given a golden ticket to leave with a clean conscience. That’s idiotic.” Keigo spoke back, chastising her for saying no to such an obvious solution. 

“You don’t understand him like I do.” Rei spoke bluntly as she was sniffing a new scent in the air, a few moments later Keigo did as well when he heard those familiar, heavy footsteps approaching the room. They saw Enji come with a vase filled with freshly cut blue flowers which brought a smile on Rei’s face as Keigo was left dumbstruck at the sudden gesture. 

Enji and Rei looked at each other as he lay the vase down on her nightstand then retreated back to his seat. She caressed the delicate petals as she spoke to him. “You remembered the vinegar this time.” she looked at him, receiving no verbal response. These two could have fooled anyone with their cordiality, leaving Hawks in shock as he expected a spat or a bitter exchange. 

“You’re both lucky intelligence isn’t measured in negative numbers.” Hawks crossed his arms and his leg as a vein popped in his temple. Closing his eyes for a moment as he oriented himself again till Enji put a hand on his shoulder. 

“Rei and I came to an arrangement thanks to your doctor, Keigo Kun.” He spoke in that deep booming whisper that always left Keigo trembling from the pressure of Enji’s authority. That giant fist on his shoulder could have connected its index finger and thumb around Keigo’s neck and snapped it like a twig. He always felt like a sparrow in Enji’s grip, the difference in their strength was one of the reasons he chose to continue this professionally.

“I really enjoy the silence of your company. Can you stop talking more often?” he spoke coldly as he lifted Enji’s hand off his shoulder and ignored him, looking at Rei with great concern. “No one can blame you for getting yourself in this situation. So can you let me in on this little arrangement that challenges the best minds responsible for your well being?” 

“Our children harbor a great many doubts and sorrows that could be eased by a loving hug from their parents. Enji and I agree we cannot be husband and wife but we can still be parents” Rei smiled faintly as she looked at Enji, both of them shot each other looks of understanding that befuddled Hawks. 

“So much is asked of us parents, and so little is given back to us Keigo Kun.” Enji agreed with Rei’s sentiment as he looked out the window. He swore he could find a flicker of a smile from his idol. A gleam of beaming light from the tarnished brass of his soul shone through in that moment but Keigo fought it. 

“Your family tree must be a cactus ‘cause you’re all a bunch of pricks.” Keigo grit his teeth and clenched his leather gloves over his jacket sleeves as they were crossed even tighter over each other. “Those kids have been through enough. I’ve been through your husband’s confessions.” 

“To understand a parent’s love you must raise children yourself Keigo san.” Rei retorted respectfully. “Young Shoto will soon stand to inherit the agency, Natsuo and Fuyumi need to be set up for life while we are alive. We will not be living together but we have to keep up that appearance for the kids and for the sake of their futures.”  

Keigo shrugged in a reluctant grin as he felt hot in the face looking at Enji. For the first time since that night months ago he felt the icy walls of his heart thaw as he pulled away with the pain of a stickiest band aid on the hairiest skin.   

“You wanted to live life without many regrets. Then you met him .” Keigo took a dig at Enji as he hoped his off hand statement to Rei would do that for him. Though he knew he needed her of all people to give him a cue, a direction or more importantly a decision to cut through the chaotic feelings that were bubbling within him.  

“We begin by loving someone; as they grow older we judge them; sometimes we forgive them.Just don’t forget them.” Rei responded with what seemed like something her doctor must have told her. Hawks was flushed, a mix of rage and self awareness hit him as the woman who should be tearing Enji down had found a way to amicably co-exist with the man. As his publicist, why couldn’t he? She had borne scorn and beatings from the man who beat up his kids on the daily and here they were. 

Enji with flowers and Rei with admiration, it was a sick and cruel joke to those who knew the deep dark truth between them. Any passerby would not have even guessed the reality had they walked in that day. Yet her refusal to hate him forced Keigo to look within as Enji thanked him and he bit his tongue to launch another witty quip to lash out. 

“Parenthood…It’s about guiding the next generation, and forgiving the last.” Enji spoke with reassurance as he turned his head away from the window and looked at Keigo. He saw this from the corner of his eye and continued focusing on Rei though he couldn’t avoid the sigh of relief from Enji as Keigo concluded things there. 

“No matter how far we come, our parents are always in us.” Keigo lamented, his eyes quivered as he held back tears. Closing them in self denial as he looked at the window and rapidly made for it, as he put one leg out he felt Enji then Rei holding him from crossing the threshold reflexively.

“There is no such thing as a perfect parent.” Rei spoke tenderly to Keigo that shook him to the core as he received the motherly touch he had been starved off all his life.

“So we can just be real ones now.” Enji reassured him as he relaxed his grip then reluctantly let Keigo go. 

Keigo was thankful he was several floors up and his back was turned as his tears swelled within his goggles, splashes of them sprayed onto the inner coating that dripped down his eyes and were trapped by the rubber seal. As Enji had relinquished his grip and Rei had followed his lead he held back a sniffle.

“Your kids know their parents loved them so make sure they know you liked them too.” Keigo spoke as the wind rustled in his hair and with a flourish of his wings he dove out the window before Enji or Rei could stop him again. He would make up some excuse later as he landed on a roof nearby. 

Looking down at the ant like people and cars he reached into his jacket’s inner pocket and unzipped it. Taking out his most prized possession which he held close to his chest. Taking a deep sniff as he snapped his goggles off his eyes and let his tears soak the Endeavor plushie that had been his security blanket. 

If the Commission could look past his history why couldn’t he? Rei had made her peace. Maybe it was time to make his own with Enji and move forward as he held the tiny doll close to his chest, feeling the second hand warmth of its real life counterpart having tried to reach out and console him over the last month. 

There are so many paths in life. Why did you choose my dark alleyway? Keigo lamented as he poked the plushie and sighed. The sunset over the horizon was beautiful from the roof of a skyscraper, the high pressure winds felt cleansing as he embraced the death of another day; knowing that the sun would rise tomorrow. That hope of rebirth made him want to call himself phoenix but Kaina and Warhawk would have tripped over each other at picking such a cheesy name.

Chapter Text

“There’s no need to be like this Takami San.” the doctor chastised him as he looked over his charts with some concern on the recent psyche evaluation. The machines in the ICU beeped, hummed and hissed as dozens of tubes feeding into Keigo’s body was speeding his recovery from his blunt trauma in the Commission building’s collapse. 

A week had passed and he refused to talk to the hospital staff despite their many protocols. He had already given them names but Keigo Takami was a hard nut to crack. Only two people on this planet could spill his guts, one with her bullets and the other with his spitfire attitude. He smirked at the doctor. 

“What have you gained from this…snarky attitude?” The doctor shook his head as he put the chart down and tried to talk to Keigo face to face by his bedside. 

“Nothing! However.” Keigo chuckled with some pain from his reforming ribs that were still sore as he held up his hands and shot up a finger with each point. “Let me tell you what I lost: Anger, Anxiety, Depression, Insecurity, Fear of Old Age and Death.” He smugly spoke by using a Zen sutra to mock his caretakers. His reward for his moment of defiance cost him another IV of painkillers. The only way the doctors could retaliate with him especially when he was not following procedure. There was a war raging outside these doors while Keigo was lying in his bed infirm and useless in recovery. 

The doctor got up and shot a disapproving scowl at Keigo who was recovering just fine. It was the mental trauma he had to work through as he shoved the patient chart back into the bed. The hospital’s AI systems were down due to the shattered infrastructure so they were back to bloodletting and leeches with the exception of the treatment of Hawks who was top priority from President Mera. 

“He’s all yours” the doctor grumbled in agitation to a familiar silhouette behind the frosted glass. The machines registered the spike in his heart rate as the figure came into view and entered through the plastic curtain smelling of whiskey and cigars to Keigo’s mounting dread. He still wore his warmest smile to greet a disheveled Endeavor in his tattered costume that was covered in tears and bandages that were freshly bleeding. A big one was over his eye which was brown with Iodine. 

His glare was not the warm one he shot Keigo for the last 5 years since their little tryst had turned into a troubling affair that neither of them could detach themselves from. The tempestuous inamoratos in Dante’s Inferno had nothing compared to them. However, he crossed those massive arms in disapproval that cut Keigo to the bone that left him sweating as this was not the first time they had met each other like this. 

"oh hey Sun Bear, you didn't have to come all this way." Keigo winced as he pulled himself up to the pangs of pain that stung him as he rose to meet him after a week which had felt like an eternity. 

His stubble was easily visible like the spines of a cactus, that red hair was unkempt and disheveled and he smelled like a distillery….on fire with that bloodshot eye piercing him with its disparaging flames mirroring his inner world. Those pearly whites had yellowed out as he had clearly not been taking care of himself. The war outside these walls was clearly taking a toll on him.

"Please tell me no one knows about it ...when they you know." Enjii leaned in and whispered as he made a scissoring motion with his fingers, Keigo felt like retching at the way Enji’s breath might ignite and burn him with the alcohol in the man's breath. 

"Oh don't worry! I wear it where the sun don't shine." Keigo chortled as he pushed Enji back gently then proceeded to pull his upper gown up just so slightly. His smug smile took satisfaction in his battleborn paramore's flushed expression as he knew the red-head's mind went to the gutter as it always did in the five years he knew him when he showed the slightest skin. 

"See right in the old navel!" Keigo spoke gingerly, feigning innocence which never existed to Enjii's relief and amusement as he dragged a chair next to Keigo's hospital bed and pulled the curtains for some privacy. After looking in every direction he held Keigo’s hand in his own bandaged one. Keigo’s eyes kept darting to the splotchy red stains, scanning for the fresh Iodine and disinfectant.  

Keigo remembered the blisters and calluses that would scab over from Enjii's boxing. He knew that he overdid it when things weren't going his way and with Keigo being grounded in the hospital after having the Commission's HQ fall on his head literally he felt a pang of guilt as he rubbed them back tenderly through the bandages. The massive giant winced despite his tender touch as he chuckled, daring him to even grunt from pain from the stoic hot head. 

"It hurt, you know." Keigo chuckled as he rubbed the rough skin on Enji's knuckles with his thumbs. 

"When you made it." He jerked his head to his navel piercing, Enji's eyes only went lower as Keigo had to pinch a fresh callous on his knuckle to pull his attention back to their conversation.

"You told me it didn't!" Enji protested as his face ignited in a sudden flash of conflagration flames as it did during his rage, his massive hand clamping around Hawk's nimble fingers. They squeezed with that gentle force when he wanted to show his concern. 

"You’re not a complete idiot. Some parts are missing.” Keigo grimaced as he wrapped his fingers around Enjii's strong, oversized hands that made his own look so childishly small.

“I never did tell you my feathers are just as much a part of me as my own flesh even if you turned the ashes into a diamond. I felt that intense heat and bit my lip.” 

"Keigo, I messed up.” Enji looked around once more before reaching out with his other hand that Keigo snatched greedily despite the pang of pain that shot through his body. He looked into the one functioning eye that Enji had left, it was welling up with tears that just evaporated into the flames as his throat seized up and his Adam’s apple contracted.

“Rei's gone, Natsuo's in jail and Shoto ran away. Fuyumi is in tears Keigo...I don't know what to do!" Enjii spoke each line, wincing at every name like a fresh wound. Keigo just pulled him with a surprising strength using his wings into an embrace, tracing the razor tips along his back tenderly like a thousand nails delicately running along his back through that skin tight fabric. .  

"Sooo we spring Natsuo, find Shoto, Get Fuyumi, a big ol plushie.  We'll help Rei like we always did." Keigo reassured him as he clasped his other wing around Enjii who tried to pull it away. Feeling claustrophobic, Keigo winced at the sudden flare of fire as he reluctantly released him. 

"Rei is dead! Her suicide note named me as the reason! The news cycle has been posting it on full blast on every station since this morning!  The house of Todoroki is no more!" Enjii's flames around his face roared like an inferno. The man's body was given off a searing smoke as his suit was struggling to cool him down. 

“I’d agree with you, but then we’d both be wrong.” Keigo grimaced as he turned in his bed, his legs splayed over the side as he grabbed Enjii's hand once more, reeling him in like a thrashing shark. 

"Let's just leave Keigo! You, me, the kids! Start over somewhere no one cares about the name Todoroki." Enjii looked at Hawk's with his bandaged hands holding his once more in apology. Keigo felt the tender flesh of the big man who’s panic had left him diminished physically and mentally. 

"Enjii, the Todorokis haven’t failed. we’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Keigo reassured him with a warm smile that he hid from the world but only showed the man he had grown to idolize after losing sight of his tender side all those years ago. Rei’s loss hit Keigo hard but right now Enji needed his attention immediately. The dead could be mourned later, the living needed to be tended to before they joined them.  

His thought went back to how many times Kaina had written him up for keeping his childhood Endeavor plushie on his desk at work, when he first started out at the Commission. Her warning was fresh in his mind as her words felt prophetic now that he was comforting the man whose life had collapsed around him.

"Take this sinking boat and point it home while we still have time, Enji. I'm not going to be the only one to raise a hopeful voice this time. " Keigo protested with his usual cackle as he stroked Enji's crimson hair, feeling the hotness through his bandages like a fiery skillet in each follicle. Enjii turned his head away at Keigo’s overly optimistic words as he had abandoned all hope with the war raging.

"You have a choice, Enjii, you'll make it now! Being a hero isn't about saving people. It's about saving yourself first!"  Keigo grumbled in a stricter tone, more of a command and less of a request. Enji just reluctantly nodded his head as he didn’t want to argue right now. 

“This isn’t Rebun Island Keigo! We can’t talk that way here.” He hissed cautiously at Keigo who’s eyes grew wide at the sound of a rifle round being chambered. His wings reflexively covered Enji. 

“Kaina I can expl–” Keigo started before a tracer shot past his cheek, grazing it with precision as it shot into the wall. Enji pulled himself out of Hawk’s wings, as he engaged his flames that lit every dark corner of the room. Kaina’s stealth suit came into view as she turned off the W.H.I.S.P.E.R camo, lowering her gun while shaking her head in disapproval at them both. 

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did the middle of my sentence interrupt the beginning of your’s Keigo?” Kaina spoke coolly, looking at Enji as she retracted her rifle into her arm and crossed them to show she was standing down. 

“She’s on our side Sun Be–Enji!” Hawks spoke in a hushed panic as Endeavor looked back at him and reluctantly powered down. They were lucky the ICU was given a wide berth these days with the staff shortages, otherwise a whole crash cart full of doctors and nurses would have swamped the room. 

“I’m an acquired taste. If you don’t like me, acquire some taste no.2 Hero.” Kaina spoke in a tone of condescension as she twirled her hair and kicked a chair close to them. Proceeding to elegantly sit on it with poise and grace, her arm at the ready to shoot either of them at the drop of a pin. Her glare penetrated Keigo as she reached in her satchel and tossed something at Keigo. Enji looked back in panic as Keigo hid the item from him in embarrassment, as they both struggled for the item only Kaina’s rifle’s click brought their scuffle to an end. 

“I could’ve sworn I was dealing with adults.” Kaina hissed as she cocked her rifle and aimed it between Keigo’s eyes. “I warned you about this! Now show him how all of this started. If you leave anything out I’m going to shoot you Keigo Takami.” 

Enji rounded on her, his flames about to ignite when Keigo once again reassured him with a touch as he held out the worn out Endeavor Plushie he had since childhood, it caught his tears in the collapsing Commission HQ it was covered in his blood. Most of which had been washed out by Kaina who kept her gun trained on Keigo who swallowed as he saw Endeavor’s curiosity at the story behind this fluffy piece of merchandise. 

“I only take you everywhere I go just so I don’t have to kiss you goodbye.” Keigo started nervously as he reached out for the plushie that Endeavor now held hostage, his flames at the ready to incinerate it. Both of them had put him on the spot. 

“Naga—Kaina here warned me all those years ago that we mustn't fall in love with our own hero.” Keigo swallowed hard, “She assigned me to you so that you’d reject me and I’d grow out of my…crush on you. Something about meeting your heroes would snap me out of it.” 

“Don’t be ashamed of who you are. That’s my job.” Enji growled as his fiery scowl returned, Keigo’s eyes were transfixed on his plushie that was very flammable. Both of them knew how to twist the thumbscrews as Keigo continued.

“I loved you not for what you are, but for I became when I thought I could be with you.” Keigo gulped, looking at Kaina, imploring her to shoot him wordlessly with his stare, she was just smiling as these were the times she with-held her bullets as the mercy they really were in these situations. 

“A villain who fell in love with the hero.” Keigo again implored Kaina wordlessly who retracted her rifle, giggling as Enji’s flames rose as he held out Keigo’s plushie. 

“Good story, but in what chapter do you shut up and tell me what this really means?” Enji barked impatiently. He had lost his family to the turmoil of the events today, he could not afford to lose the integrity of their 5 years of clandestine activities over a misunderstanding. 

“Enji, meeting you was fate, becoming your confidant was a choice, but falling for you was beyond my control.” Keigo swallowed deeply, feeling parched as he eyed the plushie being dangled inches from his face, he talked to the worn out doll like he used to as a kid once more to continue. 

“I didn’t fall in love with you because I was lonely, or lost. I fell in love with you because when I saw you for the first time, it was the only time that I had ever wanted to make someone a permanent part of my shaky existence.” He reached up slowly, grabbing the plushie but not pulling on it as Enji held it fast and hard. 

“I grew up with the ground under my feet shaking. You were the rock I needed that held fast and strong. Reaching you was the goal. It kept me from becoming a villain, aspiring to soar when I knew I didn’t have the body or quirk to reach your level. You’re a giant who’s shoulder I wanted to perch on.” Keigo smiled at Enji, his flames had receded as he released the plushie and shook his head.

“People like you are the reason God doesn’t talk to us anymore.” Kaina shook her head as she snapped at Keigo then returned her glare to Endeavor. “Now No.2 her–” 

“Former No.2!” Enji corrected her, interrupting her request to which she waved him off. 

“Not as far as my boss is concerned. You either die on the frontline or on the firing line. Least that’s why my bosses say.” Kaina hissed at him as he was about to engage his flames again but she held out her hand. 

“Living or dead, you will serve the commission. You’re lucky I didn’t sign up for that. I’m here representing President Mera which is most likely her last act.” Kaina reached into her satchel, tossing Enji a sealed letter with Mera’s wax markings on it. 

“Since you know it all, you should know when to shut up.” Enji snarled as he ripped open the letter and read the contents within, his gaze changed from angry to anxious and finally fear as he threw the paper into Keigo’s hands and advanced on Nagant who didn’t resist as he lifted her up with one hand and brought her in close. 

“Life is full of disappointments, and I just added this to the list!” Enji roared as he lit up before Keigo yelled at him to stop. Enji held back when Keigo’s many feathers were pointed at his throat to his shock as he depowered. Keigo was stopping him for a reason. 

“The Outcome Justifies The Deed.” Kaina spoke slowly in Enji’s ear. “Three things matter in marksmanship -location, location, location. You are one man and liquidation is hundreds of killers. You can’t save them all at once.” 

“Enji! Put her down! She’s here to pass along a message not give us orders!” Keigo winced as he reluctantly pressed his feathers against Enji’s throat. When that didn’t work, he thrust dozens onto spots where the fire was strongest, yelling out as they burned on Endeavor’s hellish blaze as they turned to ash. 

Enji released Kaina immediately as he depowered immediately, Keigo’s pain had brought him out of his state of bullish rage. 

“Pain is an illusion of the senses, despair an illusion of the mind.” Keigo hissed at Kaina who smiled back at Keigo’s maturity on the matter. 

“Take my lowest priority and put yourself beneath it. We are at war and we need a commander for the frontlines, Enji Todoroki. I’ve got better people to shoot than a grieving father. Killing me will not keep your family safe from either side.”

“Wow, your maker really didn’t waste time stripping you of that personality, huh Kaina?” Keigo winced as his feather hovered inches from her. She took it with gratitude and stuffed it in her satchel, shooting him a nod. 

“President Mera has taken over the defunct school formerly known as UA. The Ojin contingency is in effect.” She glared at Endeavor who was in the dark on such matters, Kaina shook her head as she snapped at Keigo. His mouth hung open in shock. 

“She can’t! We don’t know if it will even listen to us!” Keigo objected. “All Might was the only one who brought it to heel last time. You might as well let the villains in if you’re going to throw us all into that meat grinder.” 

“It remembers… .him. I’m sorry they don’t update your files up in hero affairs but All Might never beat Ojin. It simply surrendered to him since the alternative almost eradicated it.” 

“Will someone tell me what the hell am I being thrown into!” Enji barked, putting his foot down. 

“We’re down to our last thousand heroes, maybe less. UA was originally a fabricator core known as an AI called Ojin. It produced machines for the AI wars, Nezu scaled its creations down to practice dummies for his students in return for us keeping its core intact and dormant.” Kaina crossed her arms as she slapped Enji with the short history lesson. 

“You can’t be serious! My father told me the horrors of that war. It gave me nightmares.” Enji shuddered as he spoke gruffly down at Nagant, towering over her. 

“We’re facing down the demon lord himself. The man who destroyed our government in one blow and left the Commission alive so we could gather the heroes conveniently in one location for him to annihilate.” Kaina ruminated on this mechanically, staring down Enji dauntlessly. 

“President Mera has extended you an invitation with your family for safe harbor at UA while we wait for reinforcements. I’ve already brought young Shoto Todoroki to his Alma Mater. Inspector Tsukauchi are bringing in Ms Fuyumi and Natsuo Todoroki as we speak.” Kaina turned away and walked to the window calmly. 

Endeavor shot a firebolt inches from her head, she didn’t even flinch or turn her head. “ Your kid must have gotten his brain from you! I still have mine.” Kaina shot him a snide remark as her suit’s W.H.I.S.P.E.R re-engaged, gracefully opening the door as she disappeared from sight after leaping out of it.

Enji Todoroki’s world had collapsed and now like Atlas he had to avoid shrugging off a world that needed him whether he liked it or not. 

“Are we almost done with all of this drama? Because I need an intermission.” Keigo grunted as he pulled out the dozens of tubes feeding into his body. The alarms were going off on the machines as he pulled off the sensors. The crash cart team who were funneling in were blocked by Enji who kept them at bay as Keigo dressed up in his tattered jacket and wore his scarred leather gloves. 

Within minutes both of them flew out of the window over the war torn city beneath them. Fresh fights starting with older fights winding down below them. The country was a war zone since thousands of criminals had run rampant. Enji and Keigo had to pass it over, no time to stop and help as they had received the last marching orders of President Mera. 

All these years she had known about Enji and him and kept it suppressed and out of the reach of liquidations with Kaina’s help. He smiled as he held Enji’s hand in the sky briefly as  the massive H shaped building was bustling with robots big as the building itself and small as ants from the sky were reinforcing it with fresh materials. The school was being transformed into a fortress, castigating any threats that dared to break against those reinforced walls. 

The war was going to reach its climax and the Commission needed all hands on deck.

Chapter Text

Hawks and Enji had been on the grounds of UA pulling in any survivors they could. The stragglers and injured were too numerous for their medical staff to keep up with. Recovery Girl just couldn’t keep up even with all the declassified medicines and tech sent to supplement their recovery efforts. 

Somehow Keigo couldn’t help but feel respect yet some disdain at Chiyo’s naivety. She knew that these heroes were being healed as fast as possible only so they can be thrown back into the meat grinder. Delaying their healing would only waste resources and more importantly time as their patrols grew thinner and lesser people were coming back as a result. 

They had started their count to around 1500 heroes that were in fighting condition. If the recovering heroes in the hospital wing were included they had less than 900 left. No one knew if the lost patrols were doomed or deserted altogether. Hell he couldn’t blame them as Enji the no.2 hero literally wanted to abscond with Keigo less than a week ago. He was only being held together with living hostages on UA grounds. 

Now that his kids were staying at UA courtesy of the Commission which couldn’t save civilians citing safety concerns for spies and even dismissing current students back to their parents despite the many risks they would face out there. President Mera knew that armies marched on their stomachs and the villain attacks came as a thousand cuts that were not only bleeding them slowly but left many festering wounds. The heroes themselves seemed to be drafted just as Enji might be. 

At this rate President Mera would not need to worry about a traitor coming in. The longer this dragged on the more likely they’d be sold out for a sack of potatoes and safe passage by their own. Keigo bit his lip as he conducted spot checks and random audits with Kaina and Shinso in the shadows reaching out as feelers. 

Her bosses the triumvirate were displeased immensely by President Mera who was left as their leader only name. Their forces were scattered throughout the country, struggling to rally. They needed the Manus teams ; Ebon, Aurum, Ivory, Argentium and who could forget the worst who were thought to be recruited from the depths of tartarus itself Mercurial.

All Kaina could or would tell him was the Manus units were named after the word for hands and they had 15 per unit like a hand had 15 phalange bones. Yet even with 75 spooky operatives he doubted they would have much impact on a full fledged battlefield since they were used to operating in the shadows. Still Kaina did hint that the villains had failed to gather for a full on assault that gave them the days sorely needed to recover and rally as many heroes as they could. 

If they had been hit by a tsunami of thousands of escapees the original 1500 heroes would not have stood a chance but now he liked the odds as he watched the massive zero type colossi robots outside his window tall as UA itself assembling the walls that were meant to keep the villains out or the heroes in. Not that he would blame deserters. Better they leave and take their chances than be forced to stay and betray them if…no when the battle didn’t go their way. 

He crossed his arms as he shut the blinds on the window and took off his goggles. Setting them to the side he massaged his eyes from the reports on the desk regarding dwindling resources and ignored requisitions for reinforcements. The door swung wide open as his two favorite people walked into the room to his relief. 

“Ah, Endeavor and Principal Nezu. Isn’t this a school night? Do your parents know that you are out?” Keigo smiled sheepishly as he put on his goggles and looked at them take a seat opposite his desk. The irony that it was Nezu’s desk wasn’t lost on Keigo who kept his token position nice and warm till President Mera got back from dealing with the Triumvirate. 

“We’re worried about the situation out there, Hawks.” Endeavor spoke in his professional booming tone as he crossed his arms in disapproval. UA had sobered him up or was it the alcohol shortage that helped? Either way he wasn’t fun when he was sober neither was Keigo as they had to keep up the professional act for most of the day under the watchful eyes of the security system.

“Worrying works!” Keigo retorted with a sneer, Nezu was puzzled by the non chalance as Keigo put his boots on the desk and leaned back. “90% of the stuff I worried about never happens. You two should try it sometime.” 

“Brains aren’t everything. In your case they’re nothing.” Nezu spoke in a serious tone, throwing some shade back at the smarmy Hawks as he lay a student’s file on the table. The name “Toru Hagakure” was pasted on the binder in bold. Keigo obliged as he took the folder and flipped through the pages. 

“The zoo keeps calling. They’re wondering how you got out of your cage?” Keigo hissed as he combed through the file with the big red stamp W.A.U (Where Abouts Unknown) slapped on the last page which contained her current bio data and addresses. Keigo snapped the file shut and smiled back at Nezu, disregarding Enji for a moment.

“I’m not arguing with you Hawks, I’m just explaining why I’m right… again. Toru has missed all her check-ins.” Nezu spoke back to Keigo rolling his eyes at the expected request for a Search and Rescue mission. “Her parents however, haven’t missed a single check-in. I worry someone might use her quirk to infiltrate us.” 

Keigo raised his eyebrows, not even surprised that Nezu had deduced such a possibility that was hidden from the heroes for a very obvious reason. To avoid panic. The Commission had unraveled cases where villains could duplicate or steal quirks outright. This was revealed from the autopsies of the super soldiers codenamed NOMU that they had this capability years ago. Of course with his IQ Nezu wouldn’t spread this information knowing just as him it would do more harm than good. 

“I hear there’s a new app called a sense of humor. You should try downloading it.” Hawks waved off Nezu after shooting him a discreet nod of understanding. The mouse complied, very much aware that Hawks as the representative of the Commission had to keep up appearances and left the room to attend to Ojin who’s numberless automata were shoring up UA’s defenses. Finally leaving him and Enji alone in the only room that was not monitored. Atleast to his knowledge.

“I’ve got patrol duty...” Enji started but found Keigo glaring at him with disapproval. His leather hands clasped tight against each other as they had barely any time in this fortress that turned into a prison for them like the Bastille.  

“I talked to Natsuo the other day in the detention cells.” Hawks spoke slowly with Enji getting up. His duties as the only frontline commander exacted a toll on their time together. Bringing a heavy strain between the two. 

Enji handed over the tablet on top of Toru’s file and turned his back to Keigo. “Please talk to Fuyumi after this.” He gruffly growled as he walked out the door, leaving charred marks on the door with his flames as he shut it hard behind him.

Keigo looked at the tablet which was a security monitor for Enji’s old house. The one that had been wrecked. The media blamed a villain attack but internally he could gather it was another chapter in the drama of the family Todoroki. 

He had some time to kill as the first file on the list was a letter. As it came on the screen it left Keigo horrified. This was definitely her writing but the feelings etched into it didn’t make sense to him and Enji. They had coordinated with Rei to keep up the charade of a happy family with Enji coming for dinner then leaving soon after for “work” which would be his office penthouse which Keigo had moved into since their reconciliation in the hospital. 

“I feel like I’m living in a nightmare that I can’t wake up from.I am lost, alone, and completely overwhelmed by the weight of my own misery.

I feel like I’m always a heavy burden, always weighed down by my spiteful children.

My life is a prison, my husband the warden, my children the guards.

I will die here. Every inch of me shall perish. Every inch. But one. An inch. It is small and it is fragile, and it is the only thing in the world worth having. 

I will never lose it or give it away. I must never let them take it from me. I hope that – whoever you are – you know the truth. I hope that the world burns, and that things stay bitter.

I was never a mother, a nanny. I was never a wife, a broodmare. I was never given any choice in life so I make the only meaningful one I can. I will not apologize to anyone. I am leaving my cage.

To my dearest Enji, I don’t know why destiny brought us together. After all the pain, the rape, the abuse, the torture I have seen previously I didn’t deserve this. I didn’t deserve these children you cursed me with.

To the moral cowards I once called my children.You took my last inch of freedom. Stripping it away and watching, bearing silent witness to all this abuse. 

I curse the Todoroki name as I die a Himura with pride. ”

Keigo put down the letter, remembering Natsuo’s spiteful ramblings and curses in the detention wing that day. Sighing as he got in inkling on what had unhinged Enji so badly less than a week ago. Nearly 5 years of therapy for Rei and settling the Todoroki household was starting to bear fruit. 

He knew Rei. She had become more open, more cheerful. There was always going to be the scars but he knew Enji hadn’t lifted a finger against her since he was spending all his free time with him. Of course clearing Enji in all this with his kids might deepen the damage knowing the marriage was a facade on all sides. He was already uncle Keigo with Fuyumi and Natsuo. How would he explain being the paramour in all this? A literal homewrecker far as they were concerned. Their clandestine liaising had already put Enji’s legacy at risk. It would only be fertile ground for  traumatized children whose mother supposedly called them cowards in her last letter. 

Keigo rubbed his temples from the thoughts of how the kids could see this as so many conspiracies. However, the timing was too convenient and the target was too tempting. Rei clearly had not died by her own hand. This was a clear move timed with clear precision to have the maximum impact. The conclusion most likely that Enji might have come to like Keigo just came to now. 

One of the Todorokis was a traitor. There was no other way this would have been possible to pull off. He counted off motive, opportunity and execution as he reviewed the tapes up to that fateful day. 

He smiled as he saw Fuyumi wrapping her father’s tie as he left for his office that day to meet Keigo at the Commission for official business. The girl was clearly above suspicion since she loved her family and would never want to see it brought low as he focused on Natsuo’s activities on that day. 

He was the first one to go in Rei’s room and emerge with the letter then confront his siblings over the content. Tsukauchi would come into frame and try to console him on the footage to which he was belligerent and ill-tempered. Understandable but was he just that immature or overselling his grief?

While Tsukauchi went off screen to investigate Rei’s room, Natsuo was having more confrontations with Shoto and Fuyumi. Despite his quirk being ice related he was surprisingly more hot headed than his old man.

Finally evening came and Enji stepped into frame which lead to a confrontation at that very moment when he stepped over the threshold. Natsuo had a very potent quirk but no training on how to handle something that brought about a mini ice age. 

The lens frosted up as microphones around the house recorded the pipes bursting. Fuyumi put herself between Natsuo and Enji before the massive ice spikes converged on them. The feed cut off from all the structural damage to the house which left the records incomplete. 

The final document was Tsukauchi’s report on the incident. His “official” report pinned it on a villain attack. The real report went into details of the multiple puncture and laceration wounds that Fuyumi had received from Natsuo’s clumsy quirk attacks that lacked the precision to avoid her. 

Enji refused to press charges against Natsuo who continued to show rabid signs of aggression since then. He could attest to Natsuo’s compromised mental state as he re-examined Tsukauchi’s notes on Shoto and the footage of that day with him. The only suspicious activity was Shoto running off with the letter in the commotion and when Kaina had apprehended him, there was no letter on his person. 

The only copy was there on the tablet in front of him as he clasped his hands and decided to try to save who he could. He had seen Natsuo today, so he should see Fuyumi then Shoto. Both were in the facility after all. He couldn’t shake the feeling that all signs of the traitor pointed to Natsuo prima facie. 

In the 5 years of healing the family he was the only detractor who hated Keigo and Enji with a vengeance. Hell, he hated anything that had to do with Enji, even his money which was offered many times. A smart work around was discreetly handing off the money to his girlfriend who understood the sensitivity of the situation that allowed them to get by comfortably. 

Would Natsuo really kill his own mother? He thought as he got up from his desk before a blood soaked Recovery Girl barged into his office, panting out of breath and dripping blood from her many wounds. Keigo swooped on her within seconds, leaving the tablet and files on his desk as he caught her in his arms and laid her down on the floor gently. 

She had multiple cuts that seemed to be healing but Chiyo had clearly used her quirk on herself to make it this far. She was going to need medical attention from someone else or her healing factor can kill her at this age. She shocked him as her ruddy bony hand clutched his arm, the red drops staining it as she spoke her last words before passing out. 

“Shapeshifter!” Chiyo croaked before her blood loss put her in shock and she went out like a light.

Chapter Text

“I don't need someone to walk in here and hold my hand. I want someone to help me get back to work and you, my dear Kaina, are not up to this task.” Keigo spat at her in the Hospital Wing as Chiyo’s assistants were plugging her into the ICU’s many life saving machines. 

Kaina looked away, biting her lip. Keigo felt sure but with the last words Chiyo muttered he needed to be 110% sure for everyone’s sake. 

“Well, look at you; you're pathetic. A confused child trying to live up to a legacy left by her predecessor. You're not worthy of the name Nagant. I knew the old you Kaina! She was vital, alive. She owned herself, and you, you don't even know who you are!” Keigo chastised her in the harshest tone he could muster. He heard the clicks and whirrs of her arm transforming, a smirk emerging on his face as he had to drive the point home. 

“How dare you think you can help me? You can't even help yourself. Now get out of here, before I say anything else!” Keigo gesticulated with an angry finger as he spoke in a vitriolic tone for the whole staff and patients to hear. Soon after followed by a resounding gunshot that left Keigo bleeding and smiling as he pinched his grazed ear lobe. Kaina, as deadly and accurate as ever, had been careful to make sure the bullet passed the flesh but didn’t pierce it. 

She was a weapon today and one he was happy was in working order and not an impostor as he held up his hand then a finger to his lips as he jerked his head. Motioning her to follow him into the chiller. She rolled her eyes, fuming at his uncharacteristic diatribe. Having worked with him for the last 10 years she knew he was following their little play acting to throw off eavesdroppers by using a spat to cover a discrete conversation. 

As she entered the chiller behind him and the lights came to life. Kaina almost threw up seeing the walls and floor left covered in blood. She looked at the dripping bags that were mostly drained but nearly a dozen were missing completely in Keigo’s short audit. 

The attempt was clearly made by Recovery Girl but “Why?” Kaina would think to herself. What made Chiyo puncture every bag she could before being stabbed herself so brutally. Keigo snapped his fingers in front of her to bring her out of her reverie as she reflexively kept her muzzle pointed at attention, chambering a round that was ready to rip into some phantom opponent. 

“So all that out there? Just to show people you don’t trust me?” Kaina asked Keigo bluntly as she relaxed her hand and turned it back from rifle to flesh. Keigo chuckled smugly as he rested his back against the cool stainless steel walls. His laughter caught as puffs of wispy smoke in the frigid chiller. 

“Very good, Hawks. You've come a long way from the naive young man I met five years ago. You've become distrustful and suspicious. It suits you.” Kaina smiled at him, gleaming with pride as Keigo was left stunned by her genuine show of emotion. 

“I had a good teacher” He returned her smirk in that intimate moment as he coughed from the cold and walked in the puddle to the manifest. Handing her a list of people who’s blood was missing from the blood bank. Kaina nodded knowingly. 

“Don’t let Warhawk’s ghost hear you say that.” She giggled a little. Only with Keigo could she be a little relaxed and God knows this war hadn’t given her time to be anything but a weapon. This is what Kami ; the original Nagant, her predecessor had warned her about all those years ago as she committed the names to memory and shot Keigo a curt nod of understanding.

Both of them walked their separate ways, keeping information about the shapeshifter close to their chest. The last thing they needed was to turn the sense of safety against them by playing dumb and acting like they were in discord against each other. Feigning broken trust to assuage their mission objectives. 

As Hawks took off the plastic baggies on his boots that were dripping blood, no sooner had he left the chiller behind did Enji and Nezu find him. Keigo swallowed, he had to let them both know but he needed an opportunity to do it discreetly. 

He looked down at Nezu in acknowledgement at his previous warning regarding his missing student. The one with an invisibility quirk. The league had struck but discreetly, like a tic that was embedding itself into their fortress’s thick hide. 

“The League has sent us an emissary for Parlay.” Nezu sighed as he looked back at  Keigo, twiddling his paws with some trepidation as he nudged Endeavor to break the news. 

“It’s Tomie Tamaki…with his terms.” Enji laid the news out which hit Keigo harder than any of Nagant’s bullets in the center of his mass. His legs buckled but his wings generated their signature anti-gravity field to keep him floating like a puppet on strings when his legs failed him…many times. 

“‘ I’ll make you kill your loved ones ’ is a more effective threat than any quirk.” Keigo smiled at Enji who put his hand on Keigo’s shoulders and brought him into a deep embrace. 

“Nezu will go as our representative…alone.” Enji’s embrace became a tight grip as he engaged his flames as a threat in case Keigo didn’t go along with it. Hawks shook his head and brought one of his feathers along the one place Enji would never dare burn. His own slender throat. With a deranged grin his eyes flashed wordlessly with two words, “Like hell” in clear defiance to the attempt to protect him. 

The League were not fools, they knew exactly what they were doing as Nezu interjected. 

“This is extortion Hawks!” He interjected quite strongly, Keigo drove a filament into his neck slowly, a drop of his blood pooled along it as Enji hissed then shoved him back. Grabbing the offending feather he cut his own hand deep without flinching. Looking at Keigo who felt his pain even more than Enji did. Hawks was not going to break! Not when he was the provisional head of the Commission on grounds. 

“Hmm…yes it is.” He replied with a defiant yet cheery tone, snapping his fingers to bring his feather back in his hand, Enji released his grip as the red feather was dripping with his paramour’s blood. 

With much reluctance and tension he smelled Enji’s burning blood that filled the air with that rusty scent as he cauterized his hand, adding another scar to the collection on his body that had become an art gallery featuring them of every shape and size imaginable. Hawks should know since he had dabbed them when they were fresh wounds many times. With Iodine, burning and stinging Iodine. 

As they made their way to the conference room where the teachers used to convene, Keigo saw the lonely emissary sitting there. Ojin’s mechanical sentries were keeping watch over him, making sure he didn’t move or flinch. 

“Hey papa bird.” Keigo waved at his father, entering the room so casually like this was another family visit. A very tense holiday visit with lots of judgment to sling on both sides. 

“I left you my name Keigo, now it’s worth millions. Where are my thanks?” Tomie scoffed unabashedly, shamelessly resting his legs on the table and reclining back like some esteemed guest as his white hair flowed, showing off his feathers to intimidate the room. They were razor sharp just as Keigo’s were though he was never sure if his dad could manipulate them as well as he could if it came to blows in this room. 

“You wanna mess with us? Deal with me, first.” Keigo slammed his fist on the table as he leaned back and spread his wings, gleaming back as he started his father back, like two peacocks he was proudly showing off his plume was the larger one between them. 

“I used to have rivals, now I have business partners. We can be business partners...son. Our wealth writes the laws that governments enforce.You heroes fear our reach, as they should.No-one even thought to invest in quirk tech before our boss did! Years of investing in the League has paid off handsomely.” Tomie shot his mouth off, smooth and slick as though he were pitching the next life changing drug in that room. 

No one was clearly buying it, the man just loved the sound of his voice. 

“I faced worse in life, being your son and all. We can win.” Keigo scoffed as he waved off his father dismissively. 

Tomie shot several feathers at Keigo who’s feathers intercepted them effortlessly. A hail of feathers had pierced the table, leaving an outline of Hawks in the wall behind him and the table around his feet as Red pierced the brown ones. 

“Ah, the air is so much thinner up there I see.” Tomie pointed at Keigo’s head as he pulled back his feathers like magnets into his arms, chuckling as though they were sharing an intimate moment. “Power can be bought, much like loyalty Keigo. All we gotta do is throw scraps to the hungry, and they thank you for the feast.” Tomie’s teeth gleamed from his arrogant smile. 

The chair scraped the floor as he got up and extended his hand. Keigo rolled his eyes and took it reluctantly with Tomie pulling him in forcefully.

“My son is just one more pawn to push. We’ve got plenty on the board behind these walls.” Tomie pointed at the robot sentries that had their lasers trained on him, several of his feathers were already aimed at them. 

He looked down at Keigo, his breath was hot and stank of liquor as he shoved Keigo back into his seat and sat back to many squeaking protests into his own seat. He pulled out his smart phone and called a number. Putting it to his ear he said his final words before the room erupted into calamity. 

“Waste of my time boss.” Tomie chuckled into the phone, the voice at the end said something before laughing. 

“What’cha mean my value’s dropped!” Tomie growled into the mobile before a his hand caught fire. Cracks began to appear all over his skin, he ripped his shirt to look down his body, horrified as he was seized by the worst pain imaginable. 

The smoke detectors in the room went off as the sentries sprayed him with flame suppressant foam which was boiling away. Before Keigo could stop himself, Enji and Nezu were at his side too late. He had jumped onto his burning father who looked at him, grabbing his jacket that was hissing with the heat coming off it as the fabric was left charred. 

"Keigo. Promise me one thing." Tomie hissed through the pain, his bloodshot eyes burst, his vision fast fading. 

"I'm listening." Keigo sobbed as he grabbed Tomie’s hand, the leather on the gloves searing as his father’s hand pulled off the lapel from his jacket. The flesh had turned to ash and dust. 

"Don't die here. Escape. Live like your old man!" He croaked through his rapidly dehydrating throat as his body gave off wisps of smoke, the moisture being sapped in his final moments. Sublimating into the air.

"Let me guess. So I can make the League pay for what they've done to you." Keigo’s tear fell on his father’s chest which cracked like glass under the evaporated tear.

"You wouldn't deny an old man his revenge, would you?" Tomie pleaded as his voice was getting weaker, gasping for air as his lungs were collapsing all the moisture in his body leaving him in the most painful way as he was being burned from the inside out. 

"I'll do as you ask, on one condition…That you don't ask me this favor not as a villain in the league… but as a father asking his son." Keigo sniffled as his gloves were carbonized, flakes of charred leather falling onto his father’s rapidly sublimating body. 

"You're not my son." Tomie managed to spit defiantly through clenched teeth that were crumbling like crackers. His tongue turning black.

"Father, you're dying. For once in your life, speak the truth." Keigo implored him as Enji pulled him back but Hawks shoved him off with his massive wings, grabbing onto his father’s crumbling shoulders that broke in his hands like cheap coal.

"I should have killed your mother before you were born. You have always been a weakness I can't afford." Tomie spoke, only his head and chest were left, the last vital organs that kept him lucid in that moment as he had adjusted into the pain. This self destruct was clearly made to make all parties suffer. 

As expected from the rumored demon king of the League.

"So she's told me. Many times. Listen, Tomie. All I ask is that for this moment, let me be your son." Keigo implored one last time as he pressed his father’s cheeks tenderly, his tears falling onto the collapsing chest that hissed with each tear falling onto it.

There was a silent pause as Tomie smiled, considering what were clearly going to be his last words as Keigo saw the life slip out of those eyes, turning milkier by the minute like the last few grains of sand in an hourglass. 

"Keigo, remember that day…in the country. You must've been almost five." Tomie croaked weakly, unable to finish what he was going to say as his flesh and skull turned to dust. The quirk had taken its toll as he shed his mortal coil. All that remained was a mound of dark ash and smoke billowing from it as Keigo buried his gloves in it, desperately clawing into his father’s remains for the remainder of his last words. 

"How can I forget it? It was the only day." He cried out, yelling in pain as he squeezed fistfuls of ash, feeling it fall through his fingers like fine sand. 

Enji finally took him from behind as Keigo was left kicking and screaming from the sight of what he had witnessed. His father who was the worst thing to ever happen to him now lay there a useless mound of carbonized charr. He would never get answers again. 

The League had struck them again, this was not a Parlay, just another attack. It worked as it left Keigo reeling at the sheer cruelty of the demon lord. Something he was not going to forget in that week. 

____________________________________________________________________________

Hawks was in his office, covered in burned clothes that were dusty and full of the soot of his father’s charred remains. He looked shabby, disheveled from the events of that day. His bottle of Cognac, his only companion. Fondly remembering when War Hawk had given it to him, the bottle was nearly empty. 

He took a drink when he needed it but today he deserved it. Damn he had so much to drink about in the last month. He was worried about giving Enji shit about his own substance abuse and here he was being the hypocrite. 

A gentle rap on the door came in the code he was familiar with. A smile came to his face as he saw the one person in his life who had ever found out about him and Enji but kept it to herself outside of Kaina and President Mera. 

“Ahh Fuyumi…” Keigo held out his glass as he sipped it smoothly and motioned for her to sit down. Enji nodded from the door before shutting it behind him to leave them alone. Fuyumi and Keigo had a weird bond in the last 5 years. They just knew what to say to lift the other’s spirits. 

“I want you to try something.” Keigo smiled at the little lady who was well into her late twenties as he pulled out another glass and poured the last of his vintage Cognac in it, slipping it to her as he put the empty bottle back in its drawer. 

“I couldnt…” Fuyumi tried to politely refuse. 

“Go on.” Keigo smiled at her with his sooty gloves and charred jacket. Fuyumi nervously picked it up and sipped it. She pulled back from the sip and looked at him. 

“It’s sweet and smooth yet…feels undeveloped.” Fuyumi noted as she wiped her lips with her finger as Keigo chuckled. Keeping on his brave face for the girl he considered a daughter and sister at the same time despite their similar ages. 

“It’s so happy and cloy….like me then.” Keigo grinned as he finished his glass and put it back in the drawer, closing the latch behind it and waiting for Fuyumi to finish hers. 

“Just like being a hero?” Fuyumi mused as she took another polite sip. 

“You know what’s worse? If you drink enough of anything, you start to like it.” Keigo held her wrist, stopping her from drinking any further as he took the glass from her hand politely and started downing it himself in a gentle sip. 

“That’s a pretty insidious way of thinking Keigo.” Fuyumi spoke with concern as her hand reached out. Keigo put his drink down and pulled off his sooty glove. His scarred hand took hers, feeling the texture against his. 

“Just like the Heros…The commission, me, your dad. We just can’t put the bottle down. Heroism is just as bad as alcohol. Except It’s encouraged!” Keigo cackled as he slapped his mouth to close it from the raucous he was raising in the room from it. 

“You just want an excuse to drink.” Fuyumi chided him, shaking her head in disapproval as he finished the glass and set it aside.

“Wouldn’t mind being paid to do it though.” Keigo grinned at her. Feeling the levity with her keeping the trauma of seeing his father burning from the inside out at bay. He had to be brave for her. She had lost much more than him less than a week ago. 

“Tell me, is there one person in this universe that you care about? One person that is more to you than just an interesting puzzle to be solved. Is there, Keigo, anyone?” Fuyumi asked, smiling knowingly. 

“If there were, I certainly won’t tell anyone, even you.” Keigo waved her off with the other hand that was gloved up while his other naked hand quivered a little in Fuyumi’s grip who giggled who clearly knew the answer. 

“And that would be a wise decision.” Fuyumi giggled back to Hawk’s surprise at how bubbly she was being. Maybe Enji sent her to him so they could deal with the loss of a parent together.

“Of all the stories you told me Keigo, which ones were true and which ones weren’t?” Fuyumu asked out of pocket to his shock. 

“Fuyumi my dear.” He pressed her hand with his bare hand firmly to reassure her. “They’re all true.” 

“Even the lies?” She raised an eyebrow, a mischievous grin started in the corner of her mouth to Keigo’s amusement. 

“Especially the lies!” Keigo said aghast in a mocking tone but he was deadly serious and Fuyumi knew it. 

“What’s the point of lying to those you love then?” Fuyumi asked somberly, her own wound from losing her mother started to show. 

“What other point is there to tell a lie? To protect those we do.” Keigo bit off his other gloved hand and reached out with his other hand. Fuyumi took it in comfort as her chilly hands began to warm up. Despite her lack of heroism she had amazing quirk control unlike Natsuo. If only Enji was not so overprotective of her, she would have made an amazing hero. 

“I learned the right lesson from the boy who cried wolf.” Keigo ran his thumbs in circles along Fuyumi’s palms, flashing his signature ‘ everything is gonna be alright smile ’. “Never tell the same lie twice.” 

“You’re intelligent, cultured and….. Kind to my father.” Fuyumi ruminated, a tear flowed from her cheek that froze over rapidly from her quirk. 

“My Dear, you’re young, so I realize you’re a poor judge of character. To think. After all this time, all our lunches together you still trust me, knowing what you know about me and Enji.” Keigo snickered as Fuyumi looked up, having given herself away. 

“You’ve been such a good friend. I’m going to miss our lunches together, Fuyumi Chan.” Keigo croaked, a tear now escaped his eye. 

“I’m sure we’ll see each other again.” Fuyumi reassured him warmly as her hands grew warmer though they were normally clammy. She radiated a comfort, a maternal one that his own mother never gave him. 

“I’d like to think so, but I can never tell. We live in uncertain times.” Keigo spoke coldly, pulling his hands away. As he did it felt like a nail being torn from its finger as he started to put his gloves back on. Remembering his duties as the provisional Commissioner on site. 

“Why are you telling me this?” Fuyumi sighed in disbelief, shaking from Keigo suddenly pulling away as he did so suddenly. 

“So that you can forgive me, why else? I need to know that someone forgives me. For all the things I’ve done, all the things I will do, all the things I’m capable of doing.” Keigo spoke gruffly as he snapped his other glove on, making a fist to secure the fitting as he keenly examined its charred and cracked surface. Shaking his head in defeat as Fuyumi got up and walked to the door. 

“Dad loves you.” Fuyumi said the silent part out loud. Something she knew every time she made his tie, the way his face lit up on calls, messages. How cheerful he was after missions with Hawks. She was happy that her father had found a light in his life that had set their family back on course to safe harbor.

“I could never figure out why…I guess I never will.” Keigo croaked as he waved at her, wearing the embers of his warmest smile that quickly faded. 

“You feel different Keigo San.” Fuyumi gripped the door as she sobbed, hesitating to rotate it. 

“How so?” Keigo asked casually, trying to be his cool and calm self. A rock that Fuyumi had held onto in her darkest moments. He did not want her drowning now because he faltered in being her rock now. 

“That’s not the face of a hero.” Fuyumi sniffled as she opened the door, bidding herself to cross the threshold into the hall. Keigo was silent as she left the office. 

“I’m not a hero. Not for the moment anyway.” Keigo looked at his reflection in the crystal, distorted, inflamed and exaggerated. Yet somehow he felt the warped reflection of him was more accurate to the ugliness he saw within himself as he set it down and stoop up to look out the massive window.

Clasping his hands behind his back with the sun setting on probably the last day of the era of peace that had been bought and paid for in blood these last 40 years. No one forgets debts, no one forgives them. It seems they had a big debt to pay off thanks to All Might borrowing all this time of peace for the society that could never pay it back bloodlessly.

Chapter Text

Fig 40. Picture on the left shows us Dabi's face after years of using his awakened flames. Middle Picture features his League of Villains outfit for the last 10 years. Picture on the right features his War Arc outfit as a general in the dark triad. 

Touya Todoroki would immolate anyone who likened him to a phoenix. The man had burned himself so many times that Garaki’s skin grafts barely stood a chance in holding him together anymore. The only solution came from a thermo regulating suit which would keep him cool with a vacuum cooler system. 

His flames had exceeded the temperature of the sun many times but even the flashes left his body devastated. Garaki could stick a fork in him now since he was done. This war would be his last chance to see his plan come to fruition. He had spent the good part of 10 years executing this contrived plan that had so many moving parts that he was surprised it hadn’t fallen flat on its face out the gate. 

As he was floating in the tank, his new grafts being adapted to his skin. He knew even fire proof Nomu flesh wouldn’t last against his heliotic flames. He smiled to himself reminiscing on his victories so far. 

He remembered how he met Shoto in that alley 10 years ago. Revealed himself as Touya Todoroki. Even today he couldn’t believe how easily Shoto bought all his lies. 

How could Shoto believe that his father would take his first born to the mountain to burn him to ash when Shoto was born?

How could Shoto believe that Endeavor wouldn’t finish the job if he was so thorough and cruel as Touya had made him believe?

How could Shoto believe that Touya wanted to save Shoto from his fate? To stop his naive little brother…no his replacement to become the masterpiece their father wanted him to be?

How could Shoto believe their sweet and foolish mother would ever call her spoiled children cowards? He remembered how AFO had imbued him with the quirk to puppeteer people temporarily. Receiving the quirk burned through him, using it felt like he was drowning; unable to breathe as he did. When AFO retrieved it from him after the deed was done it felt like it had rended his flesh and organs like a parasite on the way out. 

All that pain and suffering was nothing to Dabi compared to the satisfaction of punishing that deceitful wench. She planned to give everyone a happy ending! She would play the home maker while Enji got a new partner, a new life! No! No! No! That is why he robbed her off her last chance to say the goodbye she wanted. Making sure her last words would turn to ash in the mouths of her children! He knew Natsuo the hothead and little Miss Cool-It Fuyumi would rip each other apart for daddy while he spirited Shoto off for his part in the war that was to come.

Enji was never destined for his dreams to come true! His nightmares would be the reality that Touya Todoroki would make him live through. He would make his liaison with Hawks public, their little island, their penthouse perched on that ivory tower, their little professional relationship turned affaire’ amoura. It was all exposed! First he had to topple each domino in sequence.     

Not even his ‘master’ was convinced but even Touya knew for all his power, AFO was oblivious to human emotions. Which is why Touya enjoyed using his lack of experience against him. No one could be his master if they couldn’t master his emotions. His were like wild horses, trampling all in their path. He could never rein them in.

AFO had underestimated OFA for 160 years which is why his brother’s quirk remained out of his reach for so long. In a way he felt jealous of him. He could only kill Endeavor once, he could destroy him only once. If Endeavor had a power similar to OFA he could relish in destroying each iteration, killing each wielder with lewd satisfaction till the end of time. 

However, he was still resentful that his vengeance took so long because Shoto had to be used for tedious nonsense. Shoto had to leak silly information like the dates for USJ training exercises and the coveted concealed coordinates with the Spatial Spike that allowed Kurogiri to transport AFO with his vanguards to wreak havoc in his new shock absorbing Nomu body. 

Shame that despite inflicting all those losses Anti-Shock didn’t protect AFO in his new Nomu body from being flung several kilometers away. Touya could not hold back his laughter on that day as he immolated pro heroes before All Might routed them. Such a buzz killer. 

The Campsite massacre was just too juicy. They had harvested the cream of the crop from 1-B and 1-A but that pesky Eraser-head was such a killjoy. They got away with less than half the abductees. The 1-B quirks were such garbage. Who needed a quirk with manga words, turning into a freaking sasquatch, vines as hair? Even their baseline Nomus had so much more power. 

It took only one of them to extinguish these useless quirks though Garaki did end up using their corpses to enhance his Magnum Opus. Giganto Machia had over 15 quirks now and towered over everyone around 50 feet. He felt like a massive Kaiju. AFO’s battle beast, a mind so docile and welcoming that wiping it felt like such a waste with its blind devotion to a master for no reason. 

Touya felt revolted impatiently waiting for the last few minutes suspended in the tank as he looked at Shigiraki and Atsuhiro’s tanks. They were all the Ceibhal or simply called the Awakened ones. Out of the 150 orphans he had grown up with, most of whom he had murdered by his own hands when they became useless as lame horses that had to be put down. Some he had crippled just so he could hear the command that was music to his ears. He would consecrate them with his flames without a second thought. Sometimes before even hearing the command as a formality like a starving dog staring at a juicy steak. 

Touya was satisfied with his code name. 

“Dabi”. 

He was a dead man walking. A vengeful, spiteful, malicious demon from hell that was known as the cremated one . He couldn’t leave this world behind with all no business in the afterlife. He had to gather kindling and firewood from this plain to keep warm in hell.  

Though he knew it wouldn’t be long till Garaki would turn him into a Nomu along with these two. When that day came, he hoped he’d get his own Nomu body. The gestalts were a nightmare apparently. So many minds in one body fought so much internally for control without suppressants. Their shrieks and cries from their internal struggles was a sight to behold that sent chills down Dabi’s spine as well. 

The only entertainment in the tank was the News feed on the screen in the corner, he relished how the world had fallen apart. Men, women and children were left starving, unsheltered and at risk of a violent death being caught in between both sides of this war. Yet somehow they found time to be demanding the Commission dismiss Endeavor and Hawks over the suicide letter from Rei Todoroki and their Affair which may have led to her suicide. 

This fake peace sure corroded the minds of the people. The outrage was too real. People still had the time and energy to protest and dismiss the number 2 hero with the head of Hero Affairs while tens of thousands of villains were killing the massive beast of a society one cut at a time. Tens of thousands of villains left just as many cuts everyday, leaving crumbling infrastructure, broken families, broken and injured bodies heroes and police were too frightened to retrieve. 

The last patrols Dabi and the Ceibhal intercepted, interrogated and interred all had suicide collars. It was a shame, he thought. The heroes were taking all the fun out of the game. They were expecting a fully pitched battle from the start not understanding AFO’s speech he gave that day to his acolytes in Ajinomoto Stadium. His memory went back to that massive open air stall, nearly 50,000 devotees had swarmed, tens of thousands more outside the stadium listened to these words that day which kept Touya going, having written the speech and drawn up the battle plans with AFO himself. 

“These heroes, their imaginations are strong.

Kill a thousand men, and they will hate you.

Kill a million men, and they will queue to face you.

But kill a single man , and they will see monsters and devils in every flickering shadow.

Kill a dozen men and their families' screams and wails into the night will haunt the city .

They will feel fear , not hatred. 

This is the way of obedience, my children .

They are panicky, gossipping beasts , these heroes. 

It serves us to allow them to be so.”

That speech launched a thousand attacks ever since that day. Bleeding the lifeblood of the economy, society and security across the nation. 

Touya’s train of thought was derailed as the klaxons blared and his tank was being purged of all fluids and air to keep his flames in check. It was time to suit up as he saw Garaki bring in their War suits. For a cremated one, it was a fitting piece of tech. 

Kings have honor, soldiers have bravery, poets have heart. Dabi only has rage! 

A Fiery Purifying rage fueled by a vengeance that could only be quenched in oceans of pain.

Chapter Text

FIg 41. Gigantomachia modified and Nomufied with tech by Garaki on the left picture. Middle picture are the HPSC's talons who are the leaders of Nagant's liquidation department. Pictures on the right are Shigiraki without the suit with his quirk awakening and killing him slowly. Final Picture is Shigiraki's Armor that is keeping him alive. It contains a supression field which slows down his quirk and he has to use his quirk in bursts. Over using it will kill him. The glow is from the suppression field. 

“Now matter how far we go…” Tenko thought to himself as he clutched his gun, sending a shot into the darkness. The muzzle flash highlighted his attacker’s silhouette in the dark hall. Clicking his tongue as he pulled out his knife with a resounding shing that reverberated all over the narrow metal walls.

“...we end up here.” Tenko muttered to himself as he primed the electric current in the knife, holding down the trigger that sent sparks into the wall nearby like a lightning rod, illuminating the hall briefly that allowed him to send off a magazine into his attacker’s chest. 

He raised his eyebrow, exhaling slowly as he tried to calm the panic of what was to come as the bullets had been “absorbed” by his assailant. He shook his head as he saw his team’s corpses were strewn across the hall behind them. The assassin’s skull-like mask didn’t send the least bit of terror down Tenko’s spine as he felt he was being ripped off by the HPSC’s assassin. 

“Beasts raging beneath our framework.”Tenko whispered to himself as he tossed his gun at the assassin who slapped it away with their razor like claws, meeting his momentum as he charged at them. 

“Snapping at the cage” Tenko’s internal monologue continued as he swung his knife in graceful practiced arcs, all dodged by the assassin as though they were made of water, slipping from his sight as he was sure he landed a cut or two. It was toying with him now!

“One instinct.” He grunted in his thoughts as he felt the exhaustion creeping in, the fatigue paralyzing him as he felt Shigiraki awaken from within. 

“One command!” He held back Shigiraki in his mind, Tenko desperately fighting on two fronts as he felt the claws sink into his chest. For a moment he was relieved, thinking he had received his warrior’s death for all of Shigiraki’s sins. The moment the scent of rusting metal and rotting flesh reached him, he felt like he had fallen into an icy lake. The sunlight growing dimmer and dimmer, the laughter in darkness growing louder as the sun vanished from this depth in his psyche. 

“Hunt!” Shigiraki grinned ear to ear as he slammed the alacritic assassin to the floor, licking his lips as he took his time in decaying flesh and metal, fusing them where he could. The assassin’s shrieks and cries were answered by two more sets of footsteps. He maniacally looked up to see two figures in matching armor charging at him. 

“No matter how far we go….” Shigiraki thought to himself as Tenko once again was buried in his subconscious. Both assassins crumbled into dust instantaneously as Shigiraki unleashed a miasmic wave of decay at the entire corridor. Breathing in the acrid scent of oxidizing metal, rotting flesh, necrotic tissues and decalcifying bones. 

He shook his head as he dusted off the decaying matter off his suit. Shaking his head once more at how disappointing the whole affair had been. These were the best the Commission had to offer? The so-called Talons? The ones who killed dozens of boogeymen?

Shigiraki licked his lips as he walked down the corridor that was filled with the dismembered remains of the best members of the League that fell under his control as a general. He felt no pity or remorse but the fact that Tenko was overwhelmed by emotions meant he was still an emotionally crippled fool who couldn’t fight his battles. 

He heard that familiar slow clap over the speakers as he entered the well lit corridor beyond the decayed one he left behind. His master spoke nothing but praises in dispatching and repelling the HPSC team that had been wreaking havoc on their field Command Center which was ironically Tartarus Prison which had been turned into the villain’s Bastille in their revolution. 

“Remember Shigiraki, we will win this war because we know them, we were like them once. But then we opened our eyes!” The voice spoke as Shigiraki made his way to the control room where the boss was sitting snugly in his panic room. 

“If only society opened its eyes and asked the real question. Why is their Commission obsessed with us? We never harmed anyone yet I saw our kind arrested for terrorism, drones chased us through alleys and our supporters were jailed... Why?”  AFO asked rhetorically over the speakers as Shigiraki felt the itch growing all over his body. It was an itch from his body being slowly consumed by his quirk over time since it had awakened. 

Shigiraki knew he was on borrowed time so he savored every moment of life he could dig his claws into. Smiling behind his mask as he saw the control room’s door come into view, opening for him to see his master behind his desk, facing the countless monitors on the screen that were once used to spy on the prisoners and now were used to spy on the heroes in UA courtesy of their infiltrator Toga. 

AFO’s toothy smile was focused on the monitor of a helicopter landing on Roppongi tower with All Might being escorted into it, in the lower right screen there was President Mera greeting Hawks and company on the rooftop of UA. 

“Remember this Shigiraki, they hate us because we refused their paradise. They expect everyone to live in their society by their rules. 

Neutered, Docile , Complacent. 

This is what people are to them. This is why they’re worse than anything we stand accused of. We have told them our plans and haven’t pretended we’re the white knights of justice. They’re insidious, they control people, the best part is the people don’t know it.” AFO turned in his chair to face Shigiraki’s Death Mask. His armor glowed with the inhibitor field that kept him in check, making sure he didn’t decay himself too fast before Garaki could turn the remains into a Nomu.  

“I was born from a thousand screams. What’s one more?” Shigiraki chuckled as he crossed his arms, AFO’s glare was penetrating even towards his master with his blood lust that he could barely contain at times. The itch to extinguish life always lingered on. 

“The more they try to kill me the more they reveal I am on the right path.” AFO cackled as he got up and the screens depolarized to reveal a massive holding area below. The face of a metallic titan greeted them, its eyes glinting malevolently crimson as its passion was ignited upon feeling AFO’s imposing presence.

“I suppose I should be grateful they have the decency to fear me.” AFO grinned as he observed Shigiraki’s stupefied expression behind the mask. He could feel the awe at the titan glaring at AFO like a God as the speakers reverberated with a deep voice. 

“My master….” It spoke in a mechanical voice, distorted and twisted by the bio mechanical devices implanted during the many trials and errors in developing the man who was once a baseline human now transformed through years of mad science gone wrong. 

“They expect me to play fairly. We aren’t even playing the same game, eh my Gigantomachia!” AFO raised his arms, returning the adulating acknowledgement with his own warmth as though he were greeting his first born child. 

Proceeding towards the glass which parted for him, the massive change in pressure swept into the room, Shigiraki’s armor swayed in the Zephyr like forces as AFO reached out and touched his creation. His palm touched the bare skin on the temple of the creature part man and machine.

“Would they even struggle to survive, if they knew what was to come?” AFO’s smile gleamed at Shigiraki as he went limp. He shed his mortal coil as the crimson pupils of Gigantomachia dilated, Shigiraki was in a panic as he ran to the edge to see AFO’s broken body splattered on the bottom of the room, its blood pooled around it from the aftermath from a 50 foot drop. 

“What is one more demon, when I already have so many?” AFO’s voice came from Gigantomachia’s mind, projecting into Shigiraki’s mind. For a month he thought he had gone mad but he saw pools of black bodies gather around the body like vultures, their monster like faces peered up at Gigantomachia who was hosting their master. Shigiraki’s spine froze up as he felt a sudden gust of wind. Craning his neck up, he saw the massive blast doors of the ceiling open like an iris. He jumped back into the room as Gigantomachia dug his hands into the walls themselves and hefted his body up. 

Soon with a mixture of chittering and squawking he saw a flood of black skinned Nomus cling to any part of Gigantomachia as they could like ticks. The sight left him lost for words, despite being a general in the League for decades he had never known such power from his master. He knew from Garaki that one day he would join those black skinned Nomus as another vessel. 

Looking back on his life he remembered how he was born when Tenko Shimura begged his father to end him after he had lost control of his quirk. Shigiraki was the will to live, to claw out every minute and snatch it from life’s bosom itself!

He remembered all the years he shared a body with Tenko Shimura who was a coward! How he would rely on guns and knives when it all paled in the face of his true hidden power. His Decay quirk wasn’t the source of Shigiraki’s strength. It was his bloodlust, the truth of this world. 

”You really don’t know someone ’til you’ve seen them beg for mercy.” Shigiraki recited his mantra mentally as the flurry of Nomus zoomed past him and Gigantomachia’s lumbering footsteps shook the very ceiling of the control room. Shigiraki was almost certain he’d die either jumping from the 50 feet or from the collapse of the room on his head. 

Thankfully neither happened. He got to his feet as the orders came from Garaki to follow their leader into battle. Shigiraki smiled as he made his way out the door. 

”Suffering is the meaning of life, Tenko. Well… ‘their’ lives.” he chuckled remembering how it felt to extinguish the lives of Tenko’s wife and daughter not so long ago. He followed the footsteps of the grunts who rushed past the doors into the corridors to the transport bays full of every kind of vehicle that would usher them to their final destination. 

”Just looking for that special someone to torment. Hope I find someone today.” Shigiraki smiled as he looked at the Helicopter that was spun up, the crew eagerly awaiting his arrival. Flinching a bit cautiously, knowing his temperamental states to disintegrate people without warning as he took his seat and the metal bird took to the skies. 

He first saw the UA building in the distance guarded by massive colossi that looked like ants on the horizon. Gigantomachia’s lumbering and heavy gait below contrasted the power of UA’s guardians. Hundreds of high ended Nomus clung to every inch of the giant, vanguards for the 

Imminent battle.

Shigiraki was just glad he had a front row seat to the showdown of the century. If it were upto Tenko they would be changing diapers and missing out all this glorious carnage.

He hoped to meet the man who killed Nana Shimura today.

All Might

”Every smile is just a frown waiting to be turned upside down...No.1 hero!” Shigiraki clenched his fist, tempted to set off his decay but barely resisting the urge since he would fall to his death if he destroyed the helicopter. Maybe he'd do that when he got off who knew...all he knew was he felt the itch again to destroy something.

Chapter Text

Fig 42. First two pictures on the left are of Compress. The left most is his original League design which he wore for the better part of 10 years. The second picture is him decked out in war armor specially made for him by AFO and Garaki as a General in the League who is leading the Vanguard charge while sabotaging UA through Toga. The third picture is Gigantomachia just as a refresher for those who don't remember the last chapter where AFO transferred his consciousness into him.  The 4th picture is the squad leader of the Type Zero - Hunchbacks that are guarding UA. The final pic is the typical Type Zero bot from the Hunchback squad. They are originally construction models not combat models pressed into service in the war.

“Some people just don’t come into your life to love you. 

They come into your life to use you.

They don’t come to give.

They only come to take. 

They never saw you as a person, they only saw you as an opportunity. 

These type of people could never love you for who you were. 

They only love what they can take from you. 

They’re not loyal to you. 

They’re loyal to the benefits that come from you. ” 

Atsuhiro spoke solemnly to the dying woman with his boot pinning her down like a eulogy for his latest victim. How many people got to hear what the living thought of them when they were alive after all.

He didn’t know if he was mocking her faith in a heroic rescue that was never coming; or if he was reminding himself who the League really saw him as for the last decade.

Midnight’s miasmic mist of hormones had failed to penetrate his smiling mask during their fight when he had dispatched her squad with his own minions under his thrall. 

In the end her team was liberated from their mortal coils while his team had been liberated from his quirk. That was the deal that Atsuhiro struck with all his marbled vassals before he sealed them all those years ago.

The hero Midnight was sputtering something ‘inspirational’ in her last hopeful moments that Atsuhiro tuned out in shame for what he had done to her. All that came out of it was more blood filling her lungs from her effort to deliver a speech that would reach his ears yet fail to sway his heart. 

A sight that Atsuhiro had seen many times since he let his sanity be eclipsed by his villainy. Retracting the blade back into his cane with a shing without a second thought having neutralized the threat.  

Once again he got his answer as her defiant and unrepentant spark left those eyes and she went limp from the blood in her lungs. The battle cries and shouts were obscured in the fog of war around Atsuhiro.  

Midnight’s fingers still wrapped around the laceration on her throat as Atsuhiro scoffed at the futility of the gesture. Thinking of how comical it would look once Rigor Mortis set in, anyone who would find her would assume at first glance that she had strangled herself.

He found the macabre image haunting yet amusing as he had learned to dehumanize everything and everyone to cope with everything he had done over the last decade. 

When he had started out in the League he was just a courier named “Mr Compress”. He would soon climb the ranks as “The Collector” expanding his growing sphere of influence with the new blood. Adding any he found promising to his collection. 

Atsuhiro Sako was a solemn man, crushed by a legacy. Being the kin of the greatest thief in the history of villainy he had failed to reach his full potential several times on his own merit and strength unlike his grandfather. 

With a quirk that could turn anything into a child’s marble he could have reached the heights of his predecessor. He just lacked the nerve, the resources and the commitment to follow through like his grandfather did. 

Many times he thought about going to the side of the angels. Be a hero. After seeing the desolated ruins of cities in the wake of the League’s attacks his power could have made all the difference for so many crushed innocents caught in the crossfire. 

His quirk could have cleared any debris within minutes and would have saved hundreds…no, thousands. Yet he couldn’t because of the legacy that was coiling around his neck like a noose, growing tighter with each year as his rank and acclaim grew. 

He couldn’t change sides now because he couldn’t let all the lives lost go to waste. He ‘saved’ who he could at first but as the countless deaths took their toll. He just sobbed behind his mask at the senseless destruction, never enough tears in his body for each bystander thoughtlessly killed in the war. 

It was at Kamino where he snapped. When AFO and All Might traded blows that sent hurricane like winds in every direction. Fiery tornadoes engulfed entire buildings. It was the end of days, Judgement day . Neither God cared for the ants that got crushed till they fought to a stalemate.

He realized he was just an insect in the presence of the demon king. Every king would always need a jester in his court. With the rumors of the God of justice’s powers waning , the demon king’s power waxed in the hearts and minds of everyone, even Atsuhiro. Dread overflowed in him and he was left to be something lesser like everyone else. 

A coward, desperate and weak. 

However, he was not a fool. His morality was his first sacrifice. He had snuffed it out and embraced the cosmic horror of serving the manifestation of evil itself. The universe wanted to punish mankind for kicks so why not go along for the ride.

The ground under him suddenly shook violently. He clutched the many pouches around his armor full of his compressed marbles. 

Each section was separated like a filing cabinet. Weapons, people, materials. Everything had a place in his ‘collection’. The collector was his assumed identity to distract himself from the horrors he was party to reluctantly. 

He didn’t want to end up like the heroes who’s light had been snuffed out by him and the League like candles in the howling winds of war. Too many had been picked off before they could rally which had left those who did broken. Their spirits and hearts were shattered.

“However…” he thought to himself as he compressed Midnight’s corpse into a marble and deposited it with a ping into his pouch for Nomufication. 

He knew in this way, each Nomu felt like a soul saved in a way since part of them stayed in the world. Garaki always went on about how a person’s quirk is like a soul so as long as that quirk lived in a Nomu there was hope. 

AFO didn’t care about anyone’s understanding…he just wanted them to surrender to him willingly. If only the heroes knew this , all they had to do was surrender to him then he would have left you alone after you submitted. Just like a wolf rolling over for its alpha.   

He didn’t care who, what or how many people you killed. Long as you didn’t try to kill him. Atsuhiro became one of the 3 generals of the league despite being a clownlike figure engaging in good-natured joking and amusing tricks. 

He had played many jokes for AFO’s amusement as his jester. Compressing hundreds of bombs that Kurogiri had placed at precise points in the Commission’s HQ. Many of the explosives were hidden inconspicuously in plain sight within the National Diet in every speaker’s microphones, under the many seats of the Prime Minister’s residence.

When they all went off simultaneously on that day. AFO could not stop laughing at the joke that his jester had pulled off. 

He had dropped a grand Piano on the Police Commissioner while he was getting into his car on the same day, thinking an explosion would just be repetitive and anti-climactic. 

He had unleashed tigers, lions and Cobras in the boudoirs, living rooms and halls of the powerful over the years. People who made the mistake of thinking AFO was a chump or a lowly crook. They didn’t make that mistake again when they knew you could be killed by a compressed Alligator when you sat on the toilet if you crossed the League. 

Each joke’s punchline sent AFO into fits of laughter. Seeing how each target was dispatched in the silliest way imaginable. Death was always the only punchline he didn’t tire off.  

Publishers had a hard time deciding how to release this ludicrous cause of death. Rather how the public would react if the front page read like the script of a child’s cartoon despite the serious impact of the victims and how gruesome their deaths were was overshadowed with the levity of the means.

Hence why the cause of deaths were hidden ; to save face. His apprentice Toga had taken quite the inspiration from him on her latest mission. Dropping her into UA through the ducts was her masterstroke and AFO was seeing the fruits of the discord being sown behind enemy lines. Toga had learned that killing was too easy. Tormenting made the blood taste even better with fear in their bloodstream. 

Atsuhiro would see the ultimate joke as he saw the massive colossus walking towards him covered in hundreds of Nomus like insects. He could only fall to his knees as he ripped off his mask so his naked eyes could take in the sight of the 50 foot giant heading to UA. 

A school now turned fortress was guarded by massive mechs in turn that had been decimating their vanguard. The League’s frontlines opted to wait them out, starve them. Have Toga turn them against each other and amp up the mistrust among the defenders. The siege was working to erode their supplies, morale and most importantly trust. 

Yet the siege wasn't fast enough for AFO to defeat the heroes. He had to show them they were wrong to ever oppose him. Atsuhiro stared up at the massive beast walking over him. The beast’s massive foot sent him flying as it stomped several feet from him. This sent up a cloud of dust and debris that swallowed him and the many voices in the fog of war that were engaged in a brutal melee.  

He was covered in cuts and bruises to his face, his eyes had popped a vessel which turned the white corneas red but he couldn’t look away despite this burning sensation from the internal bleeding in his eyes. The massive colossus towering over him reached out with it’s arm and took aim at the giants that defended UA. The air was saturated with electrostatic energy as the shot hummed, gathering power from the earth’s magnetic field itself to convert into zero point energy at the tip of its barrel. . 

Moments later it fired off a beam thick as a bus that flattened Atsuhiro to the ground, emptying his lungs and compressing his organs from the concussive force feedback of the canon. Nomus disembarked from the body. Some crawled, some leapt but all came down around him. The Collector recognized dozens of his contributions to the ebony fleshed army as it stomped past him. 

The waves of their bodies crashed against the defenders of the walls and gates of UA in the distance as the 4 titanic closed into the League’s Collosus, one of their own was left as a smoldering wreck from the first shot. The concussive force had cleared the smoke and debris, giving Atushito a momentary glimpse at the defenders lumbering along in their mechanical strides, they matched his master’s new body foot for foot only in size but they lacked one thing by being machines. 

His malignant determination to dominate and win. 

The Zero type robots stood tall on their haunches like gorillas, a pair of massive artillery pieces jutting out from their back, resting on their shoulders. The one in the lead shot the League’s Colossus a stern expression.

“Hunchbacks entering Area of Operations, all defenders ordered to stay clear of firing solution” The automated warnings came from their loudspeakers through the fog of war. Atsuhiro shook his head at their overconfidence just because they had the numbers didn’t mean they had the strength to fell the League’s greatest weapon. 

“Initiating Phase 2, Metal Storm pattern authorized” A blatant challenge was issued to AFO’s trump card as they unleashed a creeping barrage of munitions at Gigantomachia’s massive figure. “Kra-TOR shells bombardment sent.” the massive speakers boomed over the battlefield from the speakers of the lead Titanic Gorilla, it’s blue eyes had gone red as Atsuhiro looked up at Gigantomachia. 

Gigantomachia raised his right arm rapidly which had a small disc embedded in it. The gaps in his armor glowed red as the small disc expanded into a fleshy shield. The hot metal remembered its shape as it solidified into a buckler that encompassed more than half of the body which blotted out the sun but the barrage was still whistling towards him. 

The impact of the Kra-TOR shells shook the air, bursting Atsuhiro’s eardrums. The flashes were bright and intense, hot as a second sun. He felt his face sizzle from being this close as the heat licked his flesh and his eyes recoiled from the blinding lights. 

When he opened them, smoke from the shield and Gigantomachia’s armored body rose. It had taken all the Hero’s trump card could throw at him. Gigantomachia raised his arm once more that glowed with the same intensity as the one before. Apparently the shot was charged while the barrage had been on them and the shield was being raised. Garaki’s Zero Point Energy quirk had worked wonders for Gigantomachia who was fast to recover. 

With a resounding pulse of intense light and heat compared to the last shot, the searing beam of plasma the Type Zero robot’s scowling leader then hit the wall behind it in the distance. The impact was absorbed by the crackling energy shields on the walls of UA. However, the shot had hollowed out the lead robot as it crumpled to the ground in the distance. Its scowling face remained the same as the red light faded into nothing with the loss of its power. 

“Hunchback 1, Vital Signs lost.” Its team members announced over the speakers as they powered up another barrage. Being machines meant they would keep trying the same thing over and over even if they got the same result. 

Failure

The fallen leader of the Type Zero robots looked at another of its comrades falling through those dead eyes.

“Recalculating Approach Vectors.”  the last two survivors blared over the speakers, firing off their munitions consecutively in their concentrated barrage separating and trying to catch Machia in a pincer attack since he had one gun and the last two UA defenders had four. 

Atsuhiro was suddenly lifted into the air by a strong discharge of energy. Not science but a quirk as AFO’s gift made Gigantomachia lighter, allowing him to dash into a rapid sprint towards the nearest type Zero defender on his left. Their combined barrages were falling into their lower arc onto the spot where Gigantomachia was but a split second ago. 

Atsuhiro clutched his hidden pouch interwoven into his armor, swallowing deep as he felt another massive tremor from the falling body of the metal giant on the left.

“Hunchback 3. Signal Lost Updating Parameters, Phase 3. Pattern E.” The lone survivor blared into the fog of war as a final beam of burning plasma met with a similar one. The blue and black beams pushed and braced against the other. 

The blue hot beam on the left from Gigantomachia, exerted more power due to its quirk factor, not limited to mechanical specs or technology, rapidly overwhelming the technologically generated fusion beam; annihilating the last survivor that tumbled to the ground in defeat.

Atsuhiro clutched the only marbles worth his life. The kills that mattered as he braced himself for his impending death, whispering two words he had wished he could have said to his victims before their deaths.

“I’m sorry…” he whispered, feeling each of the marbles that contained the honored dead heroes he refused to let Garaki or AFO get their hands on.He had at least succeeded in being a hero till the end by keeping such quirks away from the mad scientist and his master.

He was grateful in his final moments he wouldn’t die alone as he spread out his arms, clutching a handful of his ‘friends’ in each hand. Kindred spirits as the mechanical voice resonated throughout the battle field. “Hunchback 4 to Fabricator Ojin. Mission Incomplete.” 

In war there is only poetry, in death, release.  

These were the last thoughts of Atsuhiro in homage to the fallen defenders of UA, mechanical and organic alike as he rolled the marbles in his palms and a single tear left his eye. He held out hope in those moments as his life flashed in his eyes that there would be more like him in the League who could help turn the tide of this war. 

The Kra-TOR artillery shells saturated the air with flaming death that blanketed the land in a penetrating blaze, instantly incinerating Atsuhiro, his goals, his hopes and his accomplishments in just 10 seconds.

The Collector was no more. He died as Atsuhiro Sako that day.

Chapter Text

Izuku Midoriya has been many things over the years. A hero, an anti-hero, executioner, spy, mechanical engineer and yet today he had to become the one thing he failed to be since he was four years old. Himself. Aachi and the people on the opposing faction were restricted in cells within the colonization pods that were hermetically sealed away from the rest of I-Island. He felt a stab of betrayal as the people he looked upto were rotting away in confinement.

He had found himself on the other side of the political aisle, the side that wanted to leave. There was nothing left on this planet. His mother had a long and a good life and would continue to live on the remote island with her farm to tend to. The robots Izuku had built with his own two hands would take care of her till she passed away and defend her if need be.

He had cut ties to any society he was formerly a part of. The news that kept flooding in about the dipping hero activities, the gruesome footage sent by the revolutionaries to showcase how they had ‘punished’ the fake heroes. How the SDF was tied up around the country in skirmishes and entrenched warfare with cities that had seceded from the central government’s survivors.

All this chaos left Tokyo exposed where he knew All Might would not be able to handle these threats. Midoriya’s last memories of the man being a corpse more than human. What would he do in five minutes against a legion? Unless he was going to pancake them with a nuclear smash.

Hatsume’s collar beeped. Despite being found out to be Aachi’s supporter she had committed a crime much worse. She had let outsiders in using a bypass with Anan’s mainframe to fabricate fake tickets. Though Izuku didn’t care what she did, Hatsume had been there every step of the way despite their disagreements. She was like a sister to him. Their disagreements were pretty much like siblings.

Ida would pop on by now and then as the provisional head of security since the current one was confined to the colonization pods. It was shocking for Izuku that someone with his sense of justice was consigning his entire family on both sides to death in the raging civil war. Though the moment Momo arrived with little Tensei it became all clear to Izuku who kept his mask on and dissociated himself from interacting any further.

Unlike him, Shinso or Bakugo, he knew Ida was not a broken man. He was a true and blue person who deserved a happy family. Midoriya couldn’t be happier on the outside but inside he always chastised himself for walking out.

“Could have been me.” he muttered these days to any question like the mendicants who supervised Mei’s work, making sure she wasn’t tampering with the code as per the council’s orders. No one could deny she was a prodigy among prodigies despite her youth. The council could not afford to confine her to the colonization pods; not for a lack of trying since Anan had grown accustomed to her caretaker. Refusing to interface outright with even Izuku in Mei’s absence.

Today was the day they launched. The Kugleblitz within Anan would become a Scwarzchild hyper dense blackhole no bigger than Midoriya’s fist. Yet it will take them first to the moon where they will run a shakedown on I-Island and test all their systems for the next few days. Within a week if all went well they would begin their two year journey with the Faster Than Light Drive to Proxima Centauri and re-settle everyone including the ‘objectors’ who were confined to the colonization pods.

As Izuku looked at Mei one more time, they both spooled up the drive, the room grew brighter with their helmets polarizing to keep them from going blind. Both of them grabbed the levers after inputting the coordinates for the moon’s dark side that would shield them from solar winds and radiation till they could run a field test of the theoretical shields meant to withstand it.

Izuku looked up and swallowed. Anan’s blank eyes stared up into oblivion as he saw the black hole in her hands compress into a mighty black marble as she pressed them together. Mei had puppeteered her well or rather encouraged her well enough to use her quirk to its awakened state that could easily swallow the Island and the planet if it went wrong.

His hand shook as the room’s temperature was drained off heat and the air was vented to the bare minimum for only Anan to breathe. Mei tapped him on the shoulder, counting down from 3…2…1 with her fingers. Finally she pumped her fist and Midoriya pulled down his lever with hers in synch.
“JUMP!” Anan screeched as the black hole in her palms pulsed and the room was bathed in strobing energies from the Hawking Radiation being safely channeled into the magnetic field lovingly called the ‘bottle’ which kept Anan from touching any surface since that was now dangerous for her especially when the quirk activated. Black holes grew when you fed them matter and the EM field that kept her suspended was the biggest power drain from their reactor.

The floors dilated, compressing and squeezing into a pin sized hole like everything was being sucked in. In the span of a breath, the longest breath that felt like decades suddenly the dilation lifted as soon as it had begun and Izuku was left breathless as the room was spat out and uncompressed as suddenly as it had started.

He should have taken the pills as soon as David had offered him but his mistrustful nature especially with David knowing he was Aachi’s mentee put him on guard. As much as he wanted to throw up, Mei reached out and squeezed his shoulder in comfort before the Mendicant assigned to her escorted her away as Anan went into her deep slumber. The marble sized black hole suspended between her palms, supplying a steady and endless supply of power to I-Island’s environmental dome after their successful jump to the moon’s dark side.

The other mendicant signaled Izuku to follow him as its cohorts took Mei and Izuku’s place on the console. Maintaining the mundane subroutines and programs meant to stabilize the EM bottle to keep their metaphorical lightning contained. Izuku hadn’t gotten over the dimensional sickness that came from space time folding in on itself and the pills being handed out by David were supposed to counteract that but as he went through the halls he saw mixed results.

Some people like Hatsume were soldiering on and putting on a brave face. Others just couldn’t hold it in, literally. They were covered in their own vomit or passed out in it. The first jump might be delayed till they tweak the formula since no one knew the effects of a Faster than Light jump on human physiology. This was no different than the days of Vasco De Gama or Columbus where hundreds of people would set out into the new world but only a few dozen would make it.

The infamous Mayflower also had a similar casualty rate setting out with hundreds and less than half of them living to see the new world. Midoriya wondered if Monad had accounted for “acceptable” losses since the actual number of people needed to restart civilization was only 160 yet here they were a brave million catapulting into oblivion.

As the mendicant took him deeper in the lower levels where the colonization pods were sealed away he pondered over how they had basically thrown themselves like a rock on the surface of water, using the surface tension to skip over the surface. Except the rock was fine with sinking into the water once it stopped skipping and sank to the bottom.

Jumping had always been the easy part. Unlike the rock, it took immense energy to exit the Rosenberg bridge generated at the right spot and right time to avoid becoming part of the moon. This is why celestial bodies were so important.

Monad could read gravity where it was “lensing”. Despite the trip being a short distance the reality was that they would skip from celestial body to celestial body. Sometimes a sun, a dwarf planet or a moon. They would always need gravity to chart a safe course and anchor themselves back into reality.

There was no straight line in space, nothing worked that way. Not like the sci fi TV shows would have you believe it was alot of math, projections and simulations between the jumps. The one they had taken to the moon took them 7 days to calculate and with dozens of stars and planets on the way he could guess that being faster than light was easy but aiming your massive Island through the stars would be harder. The calculations were the only delay, the drive was strong enough but like a train they had to follow train tracks, there was no way to go about it blind till they charted and plotted a safe track to follow.

The mendicant shoved its claw into the port and undid the hermetic seals on a pod. Izuku swallowed as the decontamination systems would take minutes before he could cross into the prisoner’s territory. That was the area where they sent the people that Hatsume had smuggled onto I-Island which led to all of her faction being locked up for the remainder of the journey.

“What was the verdict?” he asked with a pit in his stomach, though he knew Monad was not a killer, the council on the other hand might have done the cold calculus and could vote to throw people out the airlock and let space do the executing.

“Repurposing.” it spoke blandly in that mechanical tone as the air lock turned green and opened up the hermetically sealed colonization pod. Izuku knew that meant basically they had locked away nearly half the people they needed to run the damn Island so they were short handed. Whoever he was going in to see were being considered for a “collared” workforce that was till they reached their destination. He took his first steps over the threshold to hear familiar voices that sent chills up his spine from his scarred memories.

“It’s a goddam Apocalypse down there and we’re just running away?” Shinso’s familiar voice spoke out, his back turned to Midoriya as he was seated on a picnic bench with Bakugo and Aachi It was luck that none of them were facing him and the mendicant who walked in.

“Apocalypse in greek actually meant uncovering. It was how the Gods would basically tell their worshippers about some big changes that were coming.” Aachi stabbed his tray with an aggression Midoriya had never known him for as Bakugo slid his tray away from himself then crossed his arms.

“Either way the fucking world is changing and I don’t like who’s going to end up on top. That old man Yagi needs me and I’m stuck up here!” he grumbled as he turned around first and saw Midoriya with a look Midoriya had not seen on his face since they were kids.

A smile, one he wasn’t wearing while beating the shit out of him. It was warm and welcoming unlike the cocky condescending one that made you kiss his boots while he was stomping your face with them. The mendicant held out the collar for Aachi who stepped to the side with him while Bakugo smacked Shinso who looked with a smirk at Midoriya, wiping his face with the napkin from his tray.

“You used to be cool.Deku” Bakugo shook his head as he got up, the mendicant was too distracted by Aachi while his collar was being programmed. Izuku knew from Mei that he had 10 minutes, no maybe 5 depending on how quickly the collar settled into the calibration process. She kept flinching on purpose to throw it off and extend it. Setting a new record each time. He had a feeling Aachii was going to give him and his old buddies time and space to catch up.

“I’m no hero – just a tech with a hammer.” Midoriya spoke as he retracted his visor and shook his head. If only he had polarized it and become a faceless tech roaming around doing maintenance work. This was a conversation he had been thankful that I-Island spared him from. Yet somehow it was always one or the other crashing into his life at the worst times.

“Things aren’t going to improve themselves.” Shinso spoke calmly, standing shoulder to shoulder with Bakugo, crossing his arms as well. “Progress doesn’t belong to ‘one’ city ya know.”

“Pressing forward is not the same as running from your mistakes.” Midoriya retorted as he threw back Bakugo and Shinso’s past betrayals in their faces. Both of them seem to have matured above such childish jabs as they shrugged it off.

“Not gonna ask us why Hatsume got collared bringing us on board?” Bakugo demanded, aware their time was short as the mendicant was stuck calibrating Aachi’s collar. Midoriya’s mentor was buying what time he could.

“I buried regret in a grave, along with my name.” Midoriya spat as he advanced on the two. His fists shook as he resisted the urge to bury it deep in their faces. Problem was who should have gotten the first blow?

“The world needs you to take One For All Deku.” Bakugo barked lowly.
“So did Nighteye on that night when you showed me.” Shinso reminded him of the disastrous raid on the Shie Hassakai compound.

“The power of your ‘god’ is but an echo of our own. Monad is here and he seems to be doing better than Yagi Toshinori.” Midoriya said coldly despite the recoil he felt from their words. “Hatsume threw away her prestige and position for the likes of you.”

“Rules are designed to be broken, just like structures! …or people!” Shinso chuckled as he quoted Hawks. Another specter from his past Midoriya was running from, cursing the delay Aachi was causing his Mendicant by miscalibrating the collar continuously in the corner.

“I am no more than a soldier, and no less.” Midoriya hissed as he pulled away but Shinso grabbed his arm gently.

“We are what we overcome.” Shinso shed a tear, the corner of his mouth quivered as he made a painful smile. Midoriya froze suddenly, afraid at first it was Shinso’s quirk but worse. His dormant feelings at play once more.

"If I hadn't brainwashed you..." Shinso led off with great remorse, swallowing the weight in his throat like his guilt.

"I forgive you" Midoriya said as he caressed Shinso's face, resting his chin in his palms as he looked into his eyes, tears were dropping, cascading like droplets trailing behind each one as he wiped them with his thumbs. Bakugo stepped back to let them have their moment.

"None of us were free....we were fools to think we ever would be. There would always be UA, Yagi, Kaina, Keigo...someone pulling our strings." Midoriya spoke kindly as he took Shinso in a deep embrace, resting his chin on his shoulder as he took a deep breath, holding back his pent up urges.

"I remember you...just year one, you came into my life and blindsided me. You were so proud when we worked for our place in the festival, cut our teeth and made our bones together." Shinso's tears continued to flow, dripping one by one into Midoriya's collar, splotching the ceramic armor.

"Because I loved you..." Midoriya traced Shinso's spine, reluctantly pulling back. "I wish I still could."

Shinso clasped his hands around Midoriya's waist, tighter and tighter, afraid if he let go he would fall to his death. "I told you my story so you would understand, You made me whole. Just not as whole as we had hoped."

"You're the one always puppeteering the show." Midoriya snorted as he buried his head into Shinso’s shoulder. Shinso could feel the skin getting wet from the green haired spitfire’s tears.

"A puppeteer pulling his own strings...that's rich Izuku." Shinso sobbed, chuckling in between at the oversimplification.

"You forget the fact that you control what I remember with that quirk!" Midoriya spat, rebuking Shinso."You take for granted that my feelings are my own, I feel lust, love and wonder where it comes from. Atleast you know where your feelings for me do," Midoriya’s words sank into Shinso’s heart deep and cruelly.

"You can't turn coercion into compassion, I forget everything except for this longing for you. Yet when I think about you, the scrawny kid who wanted to be a hero living as a ghost in my heart...." Midoriya spoke with much sober rage, passionately pulling them apart then placing Shinso's hand on his chestplate, cool to the touch and smooth ceramic warmed by his body heat.

"You were the whole journey of the sun in the sky for me, I looked at you with such desire as though you were a mystery I would give anything to solve. I fell for the boy who rescued me in the entrance exam, I loved him. So I am left to wonder, if it weren't for your quirk, would my feelings be the same? Would I feel anything?" Midoriya lamented with sadness as Shinso stared into his eyes and the green haired boy turned away from him.

"But you do feel it...we've been in my bed for years...this is real Izuku!" Shinso pleaded in futility as Midoriya's face was flushed.

"You still long for me don't you Izuku?" Shinso spoke with a spark of hope in his eyes.

"I will never know the answer to that question, Shinso Hitoshi! For that I will always hate you... you took it away! My freedom to choose.... you." Midoriya yelled in his face as he grabbed his hair, running his fingers roughly through them.

"You must want us to come to an end then...." Shinso croaked, his voice caught in the back of his throat as Midoriya let him go and took several steps away from him. The temptations creeping up once more in him. Like dipping a toe in a welcoming tepid hot spring that pulled you into serenity.

"Of course I do. And yet, I'm forced by this 'longing' to preserve us..." Midoriya spluttered, stuttering a bit as he took another step away from Shinso despite his instincts yelling at him to do the opposite. He could only sob gently as each step backwards felt like stepping onto a knife. "I'm a hero who's broken every law but I have always followed one. To protect you."

“Back in UA when you asked me which is more important? My life or yours? I did say mine and you walked away not knowing that you are my life!”Shinso grinned as he held out his quivering hand, before Midoriya could answer this sudden gesture; the mendicant came out of nowhere and grabbed him. Its claws squeezed Shinso's shoulder in warning with Aachi in tow. Midoriya and his mentor were shepherded out the door. Every step he couldn’t help but keep looking at Shinso, unable to answer his heartfelt gesture while being chaperoned by the automaton.

“And God said “Love Your Enemy,” and I obeyed him and loved myself.” Aachi whispered softly to Izuku, his fleshy palm rested on Midoriya’s ceramic shoulder pad comforting him with those sagacious words as the doors snapped shut behind them after the decontamination protocols had completed. The colonization module behind them was sealed once more with his heart pounding after knowing that Shinso and Bakugo were far from done with him despite the ongoing war.

Nearly 30 minutes had passed since they left the colonization modules behind and the mendicant led them to the least likely person and place that Aachi would be welcome.

David Shield's office

Chapter Text

Figure 44. Left side is the Engineering Rig with Plasma cutters and various power tools attached to the user. Middle Pic is the RX-87 experimental war suit that Hatsume made with the Shields and Aachi to contain OFA's power in the upcoming war. The last pic on the right side is a mendicant which is a robot piloted remotely like a drone by the dead of I-Island who are kept alive as bodies in vats. 

The Mendicant had led them to the engine room. The heart of the Island that had been closed off to outsiders but opened only to a select few. Aachi smiled as his work with quirks and understanding how to link them to technology meant the theoretical had hit a roadblock only hands-on experience could remove. 

They were escorted by the robotic sentry to the office of David Shield who surrounded himself with news feeds, satellite images of all that was happening on the ground. The dates on the feeds were days old and none of them looked or felt hopeful. He was working on a device that looked like a thorny crown before he peered up at his visitors and set down his tools.

Waving his hand, the mendicant nodded with its red glare. The automata touched Midoriya’s shoulder briefly, a familiar burning sensation pulsated through him which he hadn’t felt in years since… his mentor Koda. 

Before he could say anything or do anything, Aachi put his finger to his lips and tapped his collar. Midoriya came back to his senses, remembering how collar hosts were monitored by the council remotely so the word of the day had to be contextual or metaphorical. He glared at Aachi who turned away. Silently acknowledging the truth of his mentor’s true fate post mortem. 

"There are times when I envy your lack of emotion." David started, clasping his hands together, rubbing the exhausted veins and sore tendons. Hiding his expressions from them behind those prehensile digits with only his eyes visible as the screens behind him were all paused. 

Moments of suffering were halted poetically behind the man. 

"Removing my emotions was the most logical choice to increase my efficiency." Aachi started, adjusting his glasses along his nose with his finger as a non verbal signal to David. “We knew the timeframe and the severity and we were right. Yet we took the wrong decision.” 

“What do you know of the dark ages Aachi san?” David asked, Midoriya was listening intently to the veiled conversation. Something that wouldn’t contain trigger words that could be flagged by the council yet convey their meaning. 

“The catholic church was once a force for discovery and progress. The pope was a genius, the clergy well read men making advances in the sciences.” Aachi spoke in a matter of fact tone as though narrating a documentary. 

“Then came the plague.” David lowered his hand to flash his smile at Aachi. Both nodded as Midoriya started to grasp what they were getting at, relating the conversation to their current situation with the council.

“Priests would be the ones attending funerals, conferring sacraments and prayers for the deceased. They died.” Aachi remarked in acknowledgement. 

“The pope surrounding himself in a circle of fire didn’t help inspire confidence either.” David chuckled. 

“Soon the church filled their ranks with people who could smile and deliver a good sermon and that was it. Scholars replaced by Salesmen.” Aachi scoffed, tapping the collar with a knowing nod from David. 

“The decline of the church began and never really stopped.” David shook his head as he handed the crown-like device to Aachi. The coded conversation for mutiny froze Midoriya’s blood since he was between his mentor who put his name on the list that got him here and David who had vouched for him when the council came to detain him with Hatsume. 

David tossed a small square-like device to Izuku who fumbled it and dropped it on his boot. The plain white casing wouldn’t attract any attention but he gulped as he picked it up. His fingers were quivering as he recognized the obsolete NFC protocol device. Something from Aachi’s retro tech collection in his apartment. 

He looked from Aachi to David. He understood that they were on the same page yet conflicted. Izuku was their tie breaker to decide if the mutiny was going to happen or not since he had been working closely with both of them. He squeezed the fragile ABS plastic in his fist, shaking as he wanted to smash that device and leave everything behind. 

They had Shinso, Bakugo, Hatsume and Ida on board. Why would he go back to a society that wrote its own death warrant for decades. He looked up at Aachi asking one thing that would settle the conflict in his mind.

“You’re telling me the truth this time.” Midoriya snapped at him, referencing his suspicion that the mendicant that was being uncharacteristically helpful might be what remains of Koda. 

“An omission isn’t a lie Izuku.” Aachi spoke with the ghost of a smile on his face.

“Typical.” Midoriya scoffed as he tapped the small plastic square against the collar on Aachi’s neck. The red turned into a green before the device snapped off harmlessly and clanged onto the floor. 

The mendicant who had escorted them came into the room, its heavy footsteps filled Midoriya’s heart with dread. His heart thumped, pulse raced. Not at the thought of being turned in but at the true identity of the automata. It stepped between Aachi and Midoriya, grabbing the collar and holding it out. As Midoriya reached out, thinking it was a command to put it back onto Aachi, the mendicant snapped it in his metallic hand. The green lights died as the acrylic and plastic crumpled into shards harmlessly. 

“You’re not the only one I made promises to.” Aachi chuckled as he took the plastic tile from Midoriya’s hand and David got out from behind his desk. Both of their white robes flowing behind them as the mendicant once again put its hand on Midoriya’s shoulder, the familiar sting of burning pain receptors he felt only confirmed it. 

“Koda please take him to Monad. We’ll free the others.” Aachi beat Midoriya to the punch as the mendicant’s red eye turned blue, signaling the disconnect from the Hive mind of the council. Midoriya had forgotten that Mendicants weren’t robots, they were just vessels for the dead or dying. Koda’s real body must be floating around in a vat somewhere in the Island’s core. He swallowed a heavy load of truth as the mendicant ushered him out of the room. 

It wasn’t long before the alarms went off and a security alert was issued minutes after the collars were going offline. As Koda led him through the various hallways he saw more blue light mendicants leading dozens of confined people from the lower levels where they were confined. 

It would seem the mutiny had begun and he wondered if anyone would shed blood today. David’s faction would still have holdouts who wouldn’t want to go back even if their leader had a change of heart and no way the council was going to renege its decision on helping the old world. 

None of that mattered now. He knew the council would rationalize any death today as more mendicants tomorrow. If people like Mirai, Anan and his own mentor Koda could be kept in a vat and live through the mendicants then it is not murder in their eyes. 

The difference is how would the human side of David’s faction see this. They were not aware of the mendicants to the depth Midoriya and Aachi were since most of their jobs were surface level. Security, maintenance and building infrastructure. What did they know about brains in jars controlling robot bodies from the depths of the island? 

The Koda Mendicant led Midoriya on a path where there was surprisingly no resistance or violence. It seemed like David’s collaborators along with Aachi’s people had helped to implant a Personal Intranet between them. They were sharing information on a peer to peer basis and this was only confirmed with each blue light mendicant they met along the way as they made their way into the core where Monad and the vats with their original bodies were kept. 

If they were going to win this mutiny, Midoriya realized all too late why it was Koda and not Aachi escorting him down there, especially since that day when Mirai’s head kept yelling at him about prophecy. He had read up extensively since then on the latest theories in the library while off duty. The fact that the future was inexorable and unchanging just as everything in science. 

The illusion of choice, the mathematical accuracy of orbits, eclipses and celestial events. The only limitation in science was the data you had access to and Mirai now had lifetimes of data flowing through his mind. The man who could see the future was not seeing a future. He was most probably just calculating probabilities to their logical conclusion. 

Midoriya swallowed hard as he clenched his fists, the mendicant Koda paused for a moment and tapped his shoulder in morse code. It calmed him just as it did since he was a kid learning to leash his negative emotions in crowded places. Anytime he felt like he was losing control Koda would wordlessly tap the following words on his shoulder on repeat. 

“IMH….” the mendicant Koda kept tapping onto his shoulder, feeling it in his bones, Midoriya knew he was saying what he always did when he dealt with a conflicted kid. “I am here.” Unlike Yagi Toshinori and Keigo Takami, Koda was a man of his word. He meant what he said and said only what he meant. 

After meeting Shinso he was thankful his mentallic quirk was never exposed by the wrong people or he would have ended up on a list somewhere down the line just as Shinso was. Being able to interfere with the human psyche was a dangerous power that made you a pariah in their society and it was not a coincidence most villains had mentallic quirks since they most likely were driven into that kind of life. 

He had read up on one of the most controversial experiments done on children hundreds of years ago. The monster effect. You keep telling people they are monsters over and over they will become monsters. Koda always told him he was a hero and he never became a villain even if he failed in his ambitions to become a hero. 

His heart rate slowed as his inner turmoil resolved. This mutiny hinged on one word from Midoriya. The answer to the question of the prophecy Monad had been looking for. Mendicant Koda took him to the equipment room where his suit though it was sealed and had augmented servos would not be enough. 

There were already people in there being equipped by the blue lights with exosuits outfitted with cutters and torches. They knew that barking wasn’t going to be enough, they would need to bite that day. Nearly twelve people were already kitted out and as one exited the alcove fully covered in his exo frame, more machine than man, Midoriya stepped in before he heard a familiar shrill screech.

“Izuku!!” Hatsume waved at him from behind the glass as she handed a familiar briefcase to the mendicant Koda who aborted the alcove’s operation before tapping a few buttons to open a slot that fitted the case. As it disappeared into the recessed wall there was a loading screen as the alcove’s guts were unpacking whatever Hatsume had packed for him. 

“Wait till you see my latest baby! Melissa and David messed it up a bit for ‘ safety reasons ’ but I think it should hold up.” Hatsume squealed as she pulled him into a hug that filled Midoriya with a warmth like a sister could only. He returned her hug finally without hesitation in acknowledgement for all the years she had been with him. 

He knew he would have lost more than his foot on more than one occasion. Aachi hadn’t given him a partner all those years ago. He had given him family, him being the aloof father and Midoriya with Mei being the dysfunctional twins. 

“Loading complete, pattern RX-87 ready for install.” The alcove’s voice punctured the moment of brevity as Hatsume stepped back and headed off with her own blue light mendicant to help others get kitted out for the final push to the core. 

Several minutes passed by as the kit was installed one piece at a time, Izuku couldn’t move from the restraints to make sure the tech that was being bolted and attached had time to let the polymimetic alloys capture the contours of his body. 

Hatsume had clearly been helped by David and his daughter on this venture as the fierce looking armor was being wrapped around him. Nearly 10 minutes had passed according to the counter, the hatch to the alcove opened up. As Izuku took his first step, the metal of the floor bent into the contours of his foot. 

Hatsume’s new RX-87 suit was a beast strapped onto Izuku. As he staggered into his next step, his foot sank upto his knee. He tried to get up as he clutched the metallic floor with his hands, they dug into it like it was sand.  

His Heads up was “calibrating” for strength as the bar loaded its progress he took a few deep breaths, feeling like a newborn learning to walk again. Koda’s mendicant offered him a confident hand, as Izuku took it he exercised the greatest restraint while taking a long breath of relief seeing he didn’t rip it off with his unreal strength. 

The sounds of clashing metal and the humming of plasma came from outside. Clearly the mendicants were clashing and since they inhabited robotic bodies, there was no hesitation of death. The volunteers on the other hand, didn't doubt that they wouldn’t mind dismembering them if they weren’t going to kill them outright. 

They needed everyone on the million people list to run the Island and lost limbs could be replaced and the dead would continue to serve in a vat running an autonomous body somewhere. 

The suit looked like a rabbit…no a hare with knives jutting out from the elbows. Circuitry running all over the place with the boosters and RCS thrusters more discreetly embedded into the frame. I-Island’s techno magic propelled Izuku who left Koda and Hatsume as he rushed headfirst into the dangerous melee. 

The halls were covered in blood, hydraulic fluids and parts of the fallen mendicants. Izuku saw the wall of red light mendicants loyal to the council thinning from the waves of volunteers and blue light mendicants clashing. 

The RX-87’s Sensorium felt like a second body, more in line with no lag in motions and thoughts as he fired off a jump jet burst at an upwards vector. In the split second he was airborne, the RX-87’s AI identified the backline which plotted a course in the air with an invisible line overlaid. 

Without hesitation, he put himself in the hands of the handiwork of the Shields and Mei. He took a power thrust of faith as he let the suit power his Icarian dive with his elbow blades glowing white hot. 

In a flurry of heated blades and jet powered kicks and blows, he was tearing through the red light mendicants. Their backs were turned to him as they were now pinched between him and their blue lighted brethren on the other side. Sadly death didn’t matter to these automata who’s real bodies lay behind these doors. 

To them these were disposable mechanical bodies just like a video game. Except for Midoriya and the kitted out volunteers this was a struggle for the future with very real consequences. The council had forgotten how it felt to be human. Vulnerable and attached to your body. Today he was going to remind them with every blow as the red light mendicants were whittled down to the last that day within minutes. 

The aftermath was not a comforting one as many blue light mendicants lay on the ground in disrepair with the volunteers in the rigs missing limbs, bleeding over themselves as the surviving blue light mendicants were administering pressure to the wounds and sealing them with heat as a stop gap. 

The movies always showed battle as this glorious blow by blow event with no one injured or bearing scars. Izuku had seen it so many times as a hero, an agent of the HPSC. There were no winners, just survivors as mendicant Koda rushed to him while Hatsume was waving the survivors back to the improvised armory to help save who they could. 

The massive blast doors of the core stood before them. Mendicant Koda walked past Izuku, holding out the plastic chip that seemed like a grey copy of what David had made. The door’s console turned green once it was tapped by that and the massive hermetic seal broke. The wind swept over Izuku’s suit, felt by the sensorium as a gust of wind. 

The light from within was blinding, followed by obfuscating mist that trailed out. 

"Whose side are you on?" the Mendicant Koda spoke to Izuku’s shock. 

"Mine." Izuku responded with some confidence, going back to when Koda had spoken those words to him the first time they had met. Smiling because for the first time he felt tethered to something real as he went into the core, the doors sealing shut behind him slowly. 

The mendicant stayed outside while Izuku was left to his fate. 

The core was a massive hallway with hundreds…no thousands of pods full of green viscous fluid. Bodies in every state, missing limbs and various parts were in a suspended state, their minds inhabiting a mendicant robot’s body somewhere on the island. As he walked down the hallway, the center was bathed in a shimmering light which had the head of Mirai in it. 

This time, the head was silent, observing him consciously, when it spoke there was a lucidity behind those eyes. An awareness of purpose and understanding unlike the first time when it lost control. 

"This was not the life I imagined for our world." Mirai spoke or was it Monad, Midoriya thought to himself as he heard the echoes of many voices within Mirai’s speaker. There was a hive mind now that he had pulled back the curtain.  

"But it's a life worth fighting for." Midoriya retorted, gritting his teeth with determination as his helmet and blades retracted, he looked Mirai in the eyes and spoke through gritted teeth. 

"The future... is unwritten. And before your journey is complete, before the container finds its next vessel, you must stay on the path. You must stay true to whom the container has chosen. Or a much darker future awaits..." Mirai spoke with the hive mind echoes of Monad. This was Midoriya’s last chance to reconsider his decision. Let the Island go off to Proxima Centauri and leave it all behind.

"We... have to help them. Fate has warped time and space to give us an opportunity to aid our world in their darkest hour. I’m not going to let that slip by!" Midoriya growled his confirmation as the room’s color changed and the security alarms died down. 

It appears that this had been Monad’s plan all along. One way or the other, Izuku Midoriya was trapped by his fate. For now he had secured the only victory that mattered as he knew in the coming days they would have to make history or become history now that he had consigned a million souls to the war effort.

Chapter Text

"I won't preside over the demise of our civilization! ... The line has to be drawn here! This far, and no further!" President Mera slammed her fist on the desk with Keigo, Endeavor and Nezu on the other side. 

The raging battle outside those walls fell on deaf ears as everyone had their plates full with something. They had a shapeshifting Infiltrator to deal with; who had already sabotaged the defense grid with Ojin’s optronic relays being burned down. Keigo had to contend with diminishing morale, numbers and supplies all without a finger of liquor. Enji had to focus on keeping UA safe despite their fledgling forces, he had no choice in the matter with Natsuo locked up in the detention cells, Fuyumi sealed in her room and Shoto on escort duty. 

"Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges." Nezu spoke sagaciously as he shook his head, crossing his arms, President Mera’s brow raised in agitation as it was a phrase used too often in her presence.

"'In time of war, the law falls silent.' Cicero. So is that what we have become; a 22nd century Rome, driven by nothing other than the certainty that Caesar can do no wrong?!" Keigo spoke candidly, smiling while he threw that in his mentor’s face before all of them got up. In the background there was a massive blast that shook the room they were in. 

The stalwart figures looked out to see the silhouette of the titanic monstrosity that had wrecked the 5 columns of Ojin. Their trump card had been undone by their infiltrator. Without the data link, Nezu was unable to coordinate the Type Zero squad which had led to its decimation and now they were all looking down the barrel of the canon that was glowing with malevolent energy.

Its massive wielder standing several kilometers from UA’s main building but they could see through the hole in the wall the smoking gun that was going to lay waste to the building within seconds. 

"Is it just me, or do the stars shine a little brighter tonight?" President Mera spoke with a knowing smile, looking out the window while the massive walker had them dead to rights with a shot that would end them in less than a minute.

"Is it just me, or has President Mera lost her mind?" Enji whispered to Keigo who just slapped his knee, laughing wholeheartedly, both Nezu and Enji looked at him with curiosity and confusion about their doomed situation. 

She punctuated the moment by holding out her hand with 3 fingers raised. Each finger counting down a second. When the last finger joined her closed fist there was a massive burst of light, followed by explosive force that rattled the windows. 

Like a flash in the pan, the blow to the giant was massive, thunderous and decisive as it shot its deadly projectile beam into the stars. The gnat sized dot in the distance was a man with a punch that had felled the beast by breaking its massive leg which resulted in a tremor that shook UA to its foundations. 

Soon over the horizon the trio couldn’t stop smiling as they saw the approaching cargo planes that were air dropping people from parachutes that blotted out the sun. The second wave looked like they were carrying supplies while being escorted by top of the line fighters from the Americans.

"Stop smirking – Keigo.” President Mera sighed in relief. She kept her back to them, eyeing the battle unfolding with the fresh supply of troops and provisions. Her appeals to the US had not fallen on deaf years and it appeared their envoy Yagi Toshinori had successfully negotiated something with the president solely on his good will as All Might. 

"I do not smirk--but if I did, this would be a good opportunity -- Mera.” Keigo chuckled as he tapped Enji on the shoulder and jerked his head towards the door. 

"There's an old saying, Fortune favors the bold. Well, I guess we're about to find out." President Mera turned around looking at them, with a wave of her hand she had dismissed them to attend to their duties. 

Nagant had been patiently waiting for Keigo outside the door. Soon as he had left the office she had snatched him away from Nezu and Endeavor before either of them could get a word in. All Keigo could do was wave and smile as Kaina dragged him off into the corridor’s flickering lights. 

"Don't forget, this is still your fault." Kaina muttered, releasing her grip on Keigo’s collar roughly.

"My fault?" Keigo asked with some curiosity since the list of things his fault was too long to narrow down. 

"You performed the transfer." She hissed as she held out the list of the blood bags stolen, only one name was left which meant they had to hunt and neutralize the impostor before they started hunting live prey. So far the destruction of systems was repairable but a flesh and blood victim would be a bigger blow especially if it came within these walls. 

"After you volunteered." Keigo chided, shaking his head as he folded the list and put it in his pocket. They were walking now to the quarters assigned to their target. The door had the name “Tamaki Amajiki” etched onto it prominently, he was supposed to be on the field but somehow had been spotted on the UA campus for the last few days. The last person who’s blood bag had been drained by their shapeshifter, he had to be since no one else seemed to have been attacked and this was the last name on their list. 

"After you put the idea in my head." Kaina hissed as she pressed her finger to her lips. Her arm clicked into place, snapping into a rifle as she shoved a bullet in it. Nodding to Keigo to back her up like they had done many times back in the day. 

The door hissed open suddenly, startling the young man inside. He was in his late 20s, lanky and yet despite his appearance was theoretically one of the strongest quirk users on the planet. The food shortage had made him weaker since his quirk was energy intensive but he was holding out just fine until he saw Nagant’s muzzle centimeters from his forehead and Hawk’s innumerable feathers hovering like angry wasps around his general direction. 

“Turn around and lay on the ground now!” Nagant commanded the youth with an air of authority.

"You'd shoot a man in the bak?" Amijki grinned, eerily calm and cool about the sudden intrusion, with his arms in the air. 

"Well, it's the safest way, isn't it?" Nagant cocked her gun and pressed the muzzle into the base of the skull as Amijiki compiled, going to his knees slowly. 

"How many warning shots do spooks usually fire?" Amijiki grimaced from the pain of the muzzle. 

“None!” Kaina clicked her rifle as he went limp. “Now tell me how your quirk works!” 

"My molecules get pulled apart.Then they get put back together again. Do you know how many molecules you're made up of?" Amijiki smiled as he turned his head, looking at Nagant from the corner of his eye. 

“Lots!” Hawks spoke eagerly like a child from the corner. 

“Try, a few trillion.” Amijiki responded as Kaina knelt down to slap the cuffs on her prisoner. 

“That’s a pretty big jigsaw puzzle!” Hawks stood in the doorway with his arms crossed, whistling impressed. 

"Sounds very unsettling. Didn't you find it unsettling?" Kaina asked with some curiosity, never having known a shapeshifter as she secured the cuffs and they hummed to life with the blue LEDs. Amijiki slowly got up and was being led out in the front with Hawks and Nagant keeping an eye on him. 

"For a minute or two, but once I counted my fingers and toes…" Amijiki spoke slowly, not wanting to remember the trauma of their first transformation. "I don't know, I just don't feel right." Soon after, the ground under them shook from the tremors of the battle in the distance, the lights flickered in the halls. 

"You should be honored. You're witnessing a historic moment. The birth of the New World. Changes everything, doesn't it?" Amijiki smirked as Kaina and Keigo were unsettled by his melting face. The quirk was wearing off as Toga’s true form was coming forward when she collapsed under the flickering lights. 

The scars from multiple transformations and the dependency on fresh blood had reduced the ability of her body to retain its original composition as she lay there on the floor, the waxy layer that once was Amijiki’s face had melted off to reveal a haggard and ragged crone. A decade had come and pass since she had awakened her quirk. 

However, Garaki as usual never let his subjects know the cost was their very lives. Her quirk left her anemic and pallid without a daily supplement of fresh blood. It was something that experienced people like Kaina and Keigo did not need to be told as they rushed to their dying prisoner. They had encountered and taken down members of the league in the past including their Nomu bio weapons. 

"I never fit, you know? Nothing stuck. I mean, I was living alone till The League found me. Not very encouraging. But then, I met him . I never had a family in any real way. They changed all that. All of them did. This is where I belong.… I'm home." Toga spoke weakly as the last bits of the wax-like substance melted off her, revealing her hyper accelerated aging. The body could only produce so many cells to sustain a living body but her quirk pushed that boundary, given a boost by Garaki to kill her more rapidly. 

"You're trying to be a hero. Terrorists don't get to be heros." Kaina spoke unsympathetically to the dying girl who looked nearly a hundred as Keigo clutched her clammy, shriveling hand to Kaina’s disapproval.

"They kill us, we kill them... it's nothing worth celebrating." Keigo glared at Kaina with a look of disapproval as he cradled the dying woman in his arms gently. They felt another tremor and the lights flickered off. The halls were bathed in the low intensity red lights. "We all have scars, of one kind or another." 

"This isn't easy for you, but you have to remember, they started this war. You didn't." Kaina reprimanded Keigo as she kept her gun trained on Toga, thinking this to be a ruse or a trick masquerading as a dying woman. Her hand only shivered as the time passed and Toga’s breathing only grew slower and silent.

"Nothing justifies genocide.Theirs or ours." Keigo spoke, Kaina lay down her gun and snapped it back into an arm. Hanging her head in shame at what he just said. 

“I don’t hate them.” She spoke gently, leaning down to comfort the dying woman, taking her other hand. “I hate what you made me into!” She hissed as she snapped Toga’s neck. A quick and painless death. Keigo did not know if this was a mercy killing or an itch to scratch for Kaina, there was no arguing with the end result as he waved his hand over her eyes and laid her to rest on the floor. Hundreds of his feathers got under the corpse, raising it into the air to follow him to the hospital wing where he would submit it for autopsy and study.

 "If you want to change the government, Kaina, you vote to change it. You don't sneak up from behind it with a dagger." Keigo spoke bitterly as he stopped her from following him with a sharp gesture from his hand. “"That's true they started this war. But I know now, whichever side wins, one thing is certain, I’m going to lose."

Hawks left Nagant with those final words before leaving her along in that corridor bathed in low intensity red light, the tremors shaking dust from the ceiling, caking the floor with clouds of dust as they fell. He wanted to protect the innocent, and separate the darkness from the light. But he didn't realize that a light only shines in the dark. The darkness of the war shone a light in Keigo’s heart that day.

Chapter Text

I-Island emerges from a site to site Faster Than Light Jump over the city.

The Bottom Section is the colonization Module that contains prefabricated hospital and engineering modules with armories and personnel drop pods. These are dropped to set up a colony rapidly.

The drop pods deploying from the colony module containing men and materials. This POV is from the ground facing the bottom of the colonization section.

 He had the urge to clear his head after the autopsy of their infiltrator. Himiko Toga died alone, unremembered and unrepentant. Unlike Keigo, she had died as her true self while he lived under the privilege of an assumed identity as Hawks.

Keigo Takami and Kaina Tsutsumi had their differences from day one at the HPSC when they were in the bullpen, waging war with presentations and paperwork. Yet they never grew apart despite the worlds they came from. 

Kaina was the aspiring heiress to the higher ups in the HPSC. A successor with a chip on her shoulder. Keigo was the guttersnipe who had crawled out of the sewers to claim a place among on the ground. He would not be denied. Both of them rose to the top of their respective departments and gained favor with their respective bosses with their own methods. 

Yet the way Kaina had sent off Toga so unceremoniously left a pit in his stomach. Was it a mercy killing or stamping a cockroach under your boot for Nagant. With Kaina it was usually a bit of both and Keigo didn’t like what this war had turned them into. For the first time in decades he couldn’t get a read on what she was thinking. 

The HPSC’s volunteer force had gathered thousands of heroes globally to assemble on these grounds, led by the one and only Yagi Toshinoro who had revealed himself to be All Might. Though what he still hadn’t revealed to the world was only known to the HPSC’s higher ups including himself and Kaina. 

The Pillar of hope had buckled. The right butterfly with a flap of its wings would bring down the house of cards. They had fought fiercely for the last few days. The massive abominable titanic monster the League had designated simple as Machia. Keigo smirked thinking they might as well put a Dues Ex in there and put in a God By Machine to complete the flair for drama. 

In one week of war Keigo Takami had lost his father, his relationship with Enji was being strained by a shearing force of protecting his kids who were implicitly being held hostage by circumstance and the HPSC because of this war. He could still see when they went on the field those fiery eyes glinted with that gentle kindness. Enji still dwelled on running away with him and the kids but where could they escape? 

The reports if it were to be believed I-Island had disappeared without a trace along with nearly a million people globally. Top scientists, heroes and technicians of the highest caliber had all been swept up in the chaos without their knowledge just like Midoriya, just spirited away somehow in broad daylight. 

None of their neighbors, family or friends knew were least helpful in shedding light on the subject. The HPSC and the Americans were investigating the matter closely since their volunteering efforts were originally expecting to drum up at least 10,000 people but they only got around a thousand to follow them into the jaws of death. 

He felt uncomfortable. A creeping dread crawled down his spine like a droplet of ice water from the numbers of growing villains who had abandoned other frontlines to reinforce their master. A tide of normal people once hailing from every walk of life made its way to the inner city in a massive convoy that would be regularly raided by the HPSC’s reinforcements. 

He wondered how many mechanics, salespeople and receptionists got up one day and suddenly decided to serve the devil himself. Must have been quite the sales pitch to make the average person suddenly get up and think to themselves. 

Gee I'm gonna start killing people for a better world!  

He went out to look out and as usual he saw nothing good with his Hawkeyes in the distance. Keigo Takami was still the de facto commander of the UA which was no longer a school. The rapid rate at which it had been converted so readily by Ojin the fabricator AI was astounding. If all this  technology had been used to fix society earlier maybe the villains would not have outnumbered them today.  

The thought made him chuckle as he sipped from the mug that held his hot watered down coffee. He had grown accustomed to drinking the beverage steaming hot because he needed the bitterness to take the edge off and burn his tongue on purpose. Anything to make the food go down faster, if you could call it food in the first place. 

K-Rations brought by the HPSC were generously referred to as food when they were just dehydrated excuses for it. Enji...no Endeavor had been so wrapped up in shoring up their defense lines and organizing the reinforcements into raids. A hellish firenado in the distance sent a smile to Keigo who raised his mug to the big guy in the distance raining literal hell on the dissident convoys. Everyday buying them an hour, a day maybe a week if they were lucky till Stars and Stripes could convince the UN to rally a peace keeping force to end this conflict. 

They were burning through their food, equipment and most important of all, Hope as armies tended to march on their stomachs and quirks did have the nasty habit of draining you physically. Whoever said a cornered animal is dangerous was so full of it. 

They were besieged. Everyday he was seeing the faces of dead men walking, just waiting for their turn in the grave. No life remained in those glazed eyes of the survivors from the skirmishes this week. The walls of their fortress were razed and the scrapped hulks of the type zero colossi taller than them languished beyond the perimeter. 

Nezu had led many expeditions with Ojin’s repair drones to retrieve, revive or repurpose them into stationary artillery pieces at the very least but those big black monsters would ambush them. Ripping through man, machine and mutant alike. The last engagement had only Nezu and Hawks as the only survivors. Not even his feathers could penetrate their flesh.

The zero types were originally the fabricator's mainstay construction robots meant to raise skyscrapers or build houses like they were children’s blocks. Instead they were converted to a fate they weren't designed for just like the heroes were not soldiers and the HPSC was seeing the result of using them as such ineffectively. They were heroes and today they were soldiers. 

Pre-Quirk eras used to see no difference between veterans and heroes. Everyday now he understood that the reality was so different from the fluffy propaganda the media ran through the airwaves to God knows whoever was listening. 

Keigo never could lose hope. He had to have it in the first place. This is why he was a pessimist, he always expected the worse so he couldn’t be disappointed the worse things got. 

His line of work with the Commission told him one thing. "Hope is the first step onto the road of disappointment. He wondered what the final step was called as he swooped down to the rampart on the boundary wall from his stoop on the steeple.

The tsunami of bodies consisting of those everyday people was going to break itself onto their gates sooner than later despite Enji’s best efforts. 

Maybe before Lunch? Dinner? or tomorrow's breakfast? Time had lost meaning to him during their siege as food was the only distraction left to the volunteers and pros now that they were really just overpaid conscripts. Drafted to fight a war they never wanted or trained for. 

It was sadly an airbrushed reality. No different than putting lipstick on a pig. Keigo chuckled as the last sip of coffee was gone and the dregs flecked on his burnt tongue. He tossed the cup in frustration onto a pile below with many ceramic shards in the dirt from every cup he had that week as Enji’s team was spotted heading back over the horizon. All of them were flyers and somehow Hawks felt jealous that they got to spread their wings and cut loose but he was cooped up in here.  

He hoped atleast one of the insurgents would receive a cut or two ,courtesy of his shattered cups below but suddenly there was an explosion. The sky split apart and something blotted out the sun. With a massive explosive force that put a sonic boom to shame the clouds were parted with hurricane like gusts as something materialized within their atmosphere. 

To others it appeared like a floating sphere eclipsing the sun but Keigo’s eyes could see it clearly as he zoomed in and hollered in exasperation at who had joined the fight. 

I-Island had entered the war! 

The massive floating structure was bathed in a halo of light, most likely the very system keeping it afloat. The air was filled with static and massive weight like the displacement of time and space had made everything suddenly denser.

The floating Island’s bottom section was changing shape, twisting and turning to reveal apertures and ports. Keigo was giddy with excitement as hope surged over him like hot water after a blizzard.

The entire bottom section finally was about to detach before disaster struck as it left the Island. A blinding flash of light pierced silently through the Island, followed by explosions that left the halo at first dimming, cracked in places as the beam had inflicted catastrophic damage. 

The bottom section that looked like a child’s top spun out of control as it descended, expelling thousands of drop pods like a pine cone firing off seeds explosively in every direction. Another blast pierced the massive structure that split into the air. To Keigo’s horror, the men and materials on the pods were destroyed from shrapnel or massive falling debris from the blasts. 

Nearly half of the pods from the originally launched thousands had been blown to cinders or raining down all over the battlefield in front of UA like falling stars. Their contents charred and burned or severely injured. He saw All Might dash past him from UA with a hurricane-like wake in the jump that catapulted him into the heart of the city where the devastating beams of light had come from. 

All Keigo knew was that I-Island is falling slowly like a balloon leaking helium through a faulty phalange. Hawks yelled into his comms for a full scale deployment to all teams. He saw Enji’s hellish flames course correct towards the nearest cluster of burning pods. As footsteps and energy blasts filled the air to propel heroes, volunteers and conscripts, Hawks had just committed all the resources of the HPSC and the hero world to rescue their rescuers as he took flight himself towards the damaged pods. 

In the distance as he saw I-Island falling to the city there was another density shift in the air. His hair and feathers stood on end, sparking with static discharges as the environment was charged with the same energy once more. He swallowed as the massive Island flashed and disappeared in a flash of light. All he knew next was there was a vortex like force sucking everything in a kilometer inwards before explosively releasing zealous zephyr currents at everyone airborne. 

In the distance he saw Enji’s flames flicker then die like a candle blown out in the wind. Several of his team went down into the cloud of dust that engulfed him as he fell to the ground as well. All Keigo knew that day was this was going to be the last day either they will be left standing or the insurgents will. 

The siege had been broken; he just hoped I-Island’s sacrifice was not in despair. 

Chapter Text

Bakugo's suit sketch     Phase 1 of Ida's suit           Phase 2 of Ida's suit      Phase 3 of Ida's suit       The Shields' Mobile Lab     Cross-section of Pod 

                                    (non combat mode)             (Combat mode)            (Nydus Protocol)                                                               

The wind was sweeping past them, carrying ashes of the dead as Izuku and Ida’s section of the pod had broken away from the others. They were 6 to a pod and from the sensorium in their suit’s AIs hundreds of pods had been outright destroyed with thousands damaged like theirs. Fragmented into chunks and bits of metal, flesh and materials. 

The losses among the 100,000 souls who had volunteered to drop down did not know the final fate of I-Island and the 900,000 remaining on it. None of their tech was working since Monad’s hub was the only thing linking it all together. 

His suit and Ida’s suit were in Peer to Peer mode, only able to communicate with each other as they were plummeting rapidly to the ground below. Midoriya’s armor had been damaged in the blast though superficially though shrapnel from the blast had punctured his Iso-Gel Pack. His HUD flashed red with the malfunction, announcing the danger he was facing when he would crash to the ground. He would be pancaked by the impact, suit or no suit.

As the Altimeter read 10 km and dropped fast, he knew they had less than 90 seconds to make decisions as Ida’s suit registered Izuku’s iso-gel pod leak. His suit’s RCS Thrusters and Jump Jets were blown out like candles every time he tried to ignite them, barely able to slow his descent with the raging winds blowing past them at terminal velocity.

Ida’s legs didn’t have that problem as he recipro’ed himself within seconds into Midoriya. Time froze as the seconds counted down. Each one felt like a minute as Midoriya’s heart was thrashing against his rib cage from the adrenaline, his red out threatened to become a blackout. Ida held out his Iso-gel pod which Midoriya took with deep gratitude before counting down their last 30 seconds. 

It was now or never as they crossed the 3000 feet mark. Within seconds one of them was going to be dead and he knew who it should be as he slapped the iso-gel pod on Ida’s back where it counted down the crucial 10 seconds before it would deploy on their collective HUDs.He muted Ida’s many protests over the comms before he could get a word in. 

Midoriya strained as he tried to pry himself away from Ida, knowing the Iso-Gel cushion could only absorb the kinetic force of only one of them. Ida was determined not to let him go as the Iso Gel shot from his back with a sputter, the round plastic casing shattered on impact. The ground below them was filled with a dense milky mist that was rapidly solidifying into a foam reminiscent of a bubble bath mixed with cotton candy.  

Ida was firing on all cylinders and then some. Midoriya couldn’t look away as all of Ida’s vital signs from his heart to his blood glucose levels spiked into the red. His thrusts were awakening the full potential of his quirk but at great cost to his body as their terminal velocity was slowed by a narrow margin. Izuku had no time to protest or yell as his voice caught in his throat, the only thing he had time for was a thought, a prayer all focused into tears that streamed down his face.

The countdown had ended and Midoriya had landed with a sickening crunch. He looked at his HUD, the sensorium couldn’t find any severe injuries save for a bruise here and there. Ida’s display on the other hand had no good news to give. 

His ribs had caved in, piercing his lung, barely missing the other one and his heart by millimeters. His spine was a mess of nerves and hairline fractures as his suit and the thrust from his legs had slowed that damage down, the chest cavity collapse would have been Midoriya’s weight hitting him like a literal truck. 

Midoriya activated his distress beacon as the dust cloud enveloped them, he instinctively held onto Ida, resisting the random debris masked by the opaque dust cloud that took nearly a minute to pass over them. He had seen I-Island disappear in a flash, swallowing as he thought of Aachi. 

There was hope as his HUD pinged the mobile lab of the Shields hovering several clicks away. Their dot was heading in Midoriya’s general direction even before the ping but it seemed to increase speed when they saw his signature on the beacon. The ETA timer on his HUD went from 10 minutes to 7 minutes. The mobile lab was a floating building so it couldn’t go any faster.

“It’s just a flesh wound Izuku…” Ida wheezed weakly as he reached out and grabbed Izuku’s shoulder. Both of their HUDs registered dozens of yellow pings. The motion of unidentified combatants, some were too big to be human. Midoriya gently took Ida’s hand off him as he stood up. 

His suit went into combat mode as the RCS and jump jets came to life. His blades extended from his elbows and sprawled out like barbs as he rushed into the oncoming mountains of dark flesh that ate the light which fell on it. 

As the gutteral sounds of feral beasts and primal roars followed by the visceral lacerating of flesh and crunching of bone was peppered by a high powered beam in the distance. Ida weakly turned his head away from Midoriya’s deathly dance. His suit was more aggressive, warlike just like the Spriggan from those European fairy tales that Momo’s parents used to tell little Tensei as bedtime stories. 

Right now the man he loved…never stopped loving was fighting tooth and nail to dismember and disable dozens of the massive giants clad in their ebonic flesh. 

Midoriya’s RCS and Jumpjets saved him from hundreds of blows that would have ripped him apart but just the pressure from being grazed damaged even the armor designed by the convalescence of three brilliant minds to contain the greatest power on the planet wouldn’t be able to save him. The man would fail before the machine would. 

Ids scrolled through his suit’s many final protocols that only activated when the wearer’s vitals were critical. He accessed the tight beam channel to broadcast a message that would go out into infinity till it reached the only person he had come to love though in reluctance at first. 

They were both cell mates, bound by their fates as the heirs of a family legacy. The knot they tied felt like a noose at first. Yet like lichen, two beings who felt like different species with nothing in common found a way to achieve symbiosis. Little Tensei was born and what love they couldn’t give the other, they poured into him like a vessel of hope to give him a better future they never were going to see. 

Momo Yaoyorozu was a gem but Ida had always felt the shame of having married her as a second son of his own family whose heart pined for another as he started to record the message that one day Momo and Little Tensei would see. 

“Here am I, dying of a hundred good symptoms.Everybody has got to die, but I have always believed an exception would be made in my case.I am about to take my last voyage, a great leap in the dark.I am sorry I will never know my son... but he will know why I died and I hope he will understand I was trying to make a world in which he could live a happier life.” Ida paused as his punctured lung filled with blood that made him sputter some flecks onto the screen. He let it pool down his chin before he struggled to get his last words out.  

“Remember little Tensei, Good words do not last long unless they amount to something. Remember Momo, A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart, and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words. I couldn’t be your husband but I treasured your friendship always.” Ida paused, left at a loss of words as he saw parts of Izuku’s suit turn yellow from the battle damage. 

With the sensorium implant Ida sent the command which launched the microsatellite from his suit into orbit like a dandelion seed floating off into space gently. After that he activated the Nydus protocol. Midoriya’s transmission came in, Ida couldn’t afford the distraction as his body was impaled by hundreds of micro needles in his suit.

The serum that poured into his veins burned like hot magma fresh from the earth’s core. His bones broke all over his body as ossification took hold, new layers of muscles strangled the old musculature as every molecule in his body was giving a dark genesis to an uncontrollable monster that would soon wreak havoc. 

His spine grew to support the new frame as the nanotech in the armor pooled over his growing tissue. His heart pounded, barely able to keep up. It wouldn’t matter because in 30 minutes or less he would be dead as Ida activated the intermixers and disabled all safety valves which will combine the Palmitic acid and Ethanol his suit was carrying for fuel and power which would now become a crude but potent napalm in the next few minutes.

“"This was not the life I imagined for us Izuku but it's your life that is worth fighting for. No! This isn't the end. I’ll give you a better beginning.” Ida yelled out in fury as the fog set into his brain, his Amygdala and limbic system mushroomed, absorbing his cerebral cortex as he felt all rationality leave his consciousness like a thickening fog, Izuku’s transmissions became more muffled but he could only scoff mentally as he didn’t need to understand it. He just knew he loved him just as much despite so many years and so many changes between them.

“I must go in, the fog is rising.” Ida roared as he fired off one last Recipro consciously, tackling Midoriya and tossing him with his primal strength hundreds of meters into the distance over the heads of the lumbering ebonic behemoths he was fighting. 

“Just take me with you. Please.” Midoriya’s voice begged through the static in a pained grunt.

Those were Izuku’s last words that Ida comprehended before the Nydus protocol snuffed out his rational mind and the countdown to explosive napalm release was less than a minute away as his suit’s HUD was full of safety warnings, imploring him to turn the protocols back on. 

He had turned into a 7 foot tall murder machine using raw force. Metal jutted out from his limbs, crude metal structures that were meant to be mufflers had become crude spear-like protrusions that he thrust into black body after black body. Despite their numbers, their ferocity and the lack of fear in the Nomu, Ida Tenya even in a state similar to a Nomu beat them to a standstill with one thing that Garaki could never put in them. Not that AFO ever thought something like it existed. 

The hero’s spirit. 

Izuku witnessed the massive fireball in the distance, its intense heat licked his suit that set off temperature warnings as it scalded the polymimetic alloy. His tears just wouldn’t stop as his HUD was pinged by green signals. Friendly signals followed by a massive one, David Shield’s mobile lab. 

They had arrived but at the cost of Ida’s life. Izuku was remembering Ida’s words that haunted him for all these years.

“If you take one step back, you get to live. If you take one step forward you gain pride and experience.” The Ida who was only alive in his memories said to him.  

“I’ll take every step forward for you now Ida!” Midoriya hissed with determination, seeing the incoming yellow pings on his HUD as the Shield’s mobile lab hovered dangerously close to the ground. It’s boarding ramp opened

"Lower the boarding ramp." Bakugo barked over the comms to Izuku’s surprise at someone in the lab. 

"But our weapons..." Melissa protested on the open channel.

"I am A WEAPON ." Bakugo roared as he blasted out the extended ramp before it had completed its descent to Midoriya. All he could see was Bakugo rushing into the jaws of death. The yellow pings, whoever they were, didn't stand a chance as he ascended the landing ramp into the lab.

Chapter Text

The air around them rumbled from the thunder that was rolling in the skies. The lightning like energy had crackled across the battlefield that saturated their lungs and the ground with static. Even Jiro’s flat hair frizzed with the electric zephyrs. 

“They found us…” Denki cried out in panic. There was a whirring as he primed his heavy tungsten rod which sizzled and glowed with the million volts he was pumping into it. His sweat hissed as it dripped from his exposed digits from the fingerless gloves as he saw the lightning like blasts pierce the floating city. 

Shoto, Jiro and Denki were jolted as the floating city in the sky and was suddenly falling like a coin in oil slowly to the ground.Suddenly with another boom a massive dust cloud was thrown up from some powerful plasmatic burst that sent tremors under their feet. Instinctively they all kissed the dirt, clasping hands over their heads with their eyelids clamped shut and ears covered with their palms as they let the hurricane-like gusts pass over them. Sparks arced and sizzled the ground beneath them, most of it hitting Denki who’s quirk acted like a lightning rod. 

Kirishima smiled and laughed once the heaviness lifted and the scene seemed to clear up. The battlefield had been caked in a thick dust like shroud that made it hard to see anyone or anything beyond a few hundred meters.

His crusty and calloused hand squeezed Denki’s soft and fleshy shoulder as he spat out some dirt that got into his mouth when he was yelling from being zapped by the passing sparks, Kirishima’s hardened flesh was insulated so he was the only one in the group who could safely touch him when he was discharging like this. 

Shoto looked away in disgust at Kiri and Denki who acted like brothers but everyone, even Jiro knew there was an unspoken love waiting to be unleashed someday though both these idiots played dumb to their mutual obsession. She rapidly checked the scanning spikes that hung around her belt since she was the tech officer assigned to plug the gaps in their sensor net. Kirishima and Denki’s tender moment was interrupted by her groaning as she held out a handful of the sensor spikes which had shattered when she dove to the ground with the team. A few on her back were shorted out by the sparks apparently which meant they had to make the remaining count more than ever.  

“We got enough!” Shoto’s cold monotone rang through the din of the thickened dust, as squad leader he knew they had lost their margin for error and more. The distant battle cries and yells of heroes and insurrectionists echoed in the shroud, the squad was grateful that as long as they didn’t make too much noise, they should be able to plant the remaining sensor spikes without being detected or dragged into a brutal melee. 

The pods launched from the city sized structure had reminded them that the war could be won as Shoto’s team gathered themselves and followed his Laconian resolve through the pock marked barren land that had once been a dense city full of life and a bustling infrastructure. Now it resembled the surface of the moon, craters and desolate plains far as the eye could see. 

They came upon the corpses or what remained of them anyway that once belonged to friend and foe alike along their path, following the navigation panel’s dull ping in Shoto’s possession precisely while holding hands so they don’t get lost. Straying off the “safe” path mapped out by Nezu would guarantee death though the chance on the safest route was never zero. 

Each scream and wailing rattle of death in the distance only made the team feel those chances rose with each step as they buried the sensor spikes into the ground from point to point. They would give them a wide berth as they burrowed safely under the cracked concrete a bit too loudly for their taste. The team could feel the chill in the air as Shoto’s quirk was too active in case the drilling attracted new combatants from the misty dust that hung in the air.  

Kirishima envied Denki and Jiro for having a jacket as part of their costume design but he had to stay shirtless for his quirk to work effectively with the hardening barely keeping him warm. The thought of dying to hypothermic exposure seemed like the worst death he could imagine for himself. He wanted a death like Crimson Riot if it came to that not curling up and falling asleep for the last time.

The scrapped hulk of their fallen mechanical protectors towered in the distance, reminding them if the enemy could overcome that, what were 4 young heroes who stopped purse snatchers going to do in a live fire situation with those things with the black skin?

“We should head back..” Jiro suggested meekly, clutching the last few sensor spikes, quickly shut down by a deathly leer from Shoto which made her drop  the good sensor spike. Kirishima caught it reflexively as it was centimeters from the ground, putting himself between Shoto and Jiro. He was always the diplomat but Shoto’s cold shoulder literally made a routine mission feel more intense than it should have been. The fact that the massive bodies of their mechanical protectors only got smaller, barely pin pricks in the distance that made him suspect they were way off course or Shoto had gotten them lost and was too proud to admit he didn’t know the way back.

 “We have a mission. There’s no time for doubts!” Shoto hissed coldly as he held up his flaming fist, brandishing it at his team reminiscent of his dad. Except when Endeavor did it, they felt warm and inspired. The way Shoto did it, it felt menacing. 

“We’re your team, not your slaves Todoroki!” Kirishima snapped at Shoto,holding the sensor spike in his hand as he was hardening up reflexively. Both of their bloodlust was building up in that heated moment when Shoto felt his command being questioned. 

Shoto’s hair stoof up as he felt the static in the air as a sizzling bolt shorted out the sensor spike in Kirishima’s hardened hand just blow out. An angry Denki stepped between the raging bulls, his hands charged with dancing arcs of yellow energy in his palms as he held a T pose between them. 

 “We’re fresh out of scanners …boss.” Denki grabbed the smoking spike and threw it at Shoto’s feet who looked down at it with rage that matched his growing flames.

“The mission ends…. when I SAY it does!” Shoto snarled as he locked eyes with Denki who’s palm pulled back when it felt the flames lick it.  

“I don’t know what you’re trying to prove to daddy…” Kirishima, shoved Denki behind him into Jiro’s waiting arms as he advanced on Shoto, body fully hardened, he poked Shoto’s scrawny chest with his jagged finger nail, jabbing it menacingly while flashing his toothiest smile. The flames could lick him all they wanted but the hardened flesh could only carbonize, giving Kirishima more protection as it did.  

In an instant, Kirishima’s blood splattered backwards in a wide spray at Denki and Jiro’s feet followed by their horrified yelling. The flecks landed on Denki and Jiro left them paralyzed as they saw Shoto’s ice covered hand emerge through the other side of Kirishima’s chest. A massive icicle carving through Kirishima’s left side where his kidney was. 

Kirishima growled savagely as he clamped down on Shoto, the move had stopped him from piercing his chest which would have been an instant death.He was however now skin to skin with cold and hot forces that were ravaging his hardened skin. Inducing frostbite and 3rd degree burns that fused his hardened flesh into his normally smooth skin underneath. 

Jiro and Denki stayed back as they could hear Shoto’s scrawny ribs crack one by one from Kirishima’s full force as he tried to break his spine. All this did was fuel Shoto’s desperation which left him enraged, breathing and wincing as he amped up both hot and cold till a massive iceberg and bonfire met in the middle and sent a series of narrow spikes through Kirishima’s body. Puncturing him in the gaps between his hardened flesh, piercing vital organs. 

Jiro could sense through the ground with her ears several heavy footfalls while her other earlobe could feel the vibrations in the air. Many heavy bodies were thundering towards their location. Soon friend or foe would be on them in minutes. If they were to escape with their lives, Denki and her would have run in a hot second as she grabbed Kaminari’s hand in panic but yipped as she felt a rebellious jolt from it that swatted her away. Her heartbeat skipped a pulse or two, the rhythm of the approaching team only elevated her sense of dread as she counted down the clock when they would be upon them.  

“Chargebolt! They’re coming for us!” She implored Denki desperately, shrieking out on deaf ears as he snatched the broken scanning spike that had started this mess and charged into the fray.

Shoto was too focused on Kirishima to stop Kaminari’s assault as he drove the tip of the spike into Shoto’s leg and smiled as he twisted the shaft to activate the drill into his fiery thigh. Shoto shot an icicle in feral rage as from his head not before Kirishima’s slammed his own forehead into the thick ice, shattering it with his perforated hardened forehead that broke away to reveal his charred skin underneath. Kaminari charged up his hands to force them apart but Kirishima landed the most powerful kick he could muster with his rubber boot hitting Denki deep in his gut that sent him to the ground then yelled at him at the top of his lungs. 

“Light it up!!” Kirishima Growled as he grabbed the rapidly heating spike that had dug into Shoto’s thigh but was coming loose because of the white hot heat melting what was in the flesh. Denki knew all too well if he did, it would have to be all or nothing from his battery pack. One shot he couldn’t amp up or down to fry Shoto who’s fire and ice would otherwise brush off his electric charge. 

Denki froze in the moment, swallowing deeply as Jiro’s sonic blast dispersed the flames that were aimed for Denki’s head, shaking him out of his stupor as Kirishima’s hold was weakening and the spike was dangling from Shoto’s thigh. 

Kaminari Denki had never been a serious hero. He always left the life and death decisions to smarter people like Kirishima or Jiro since UA. That was how they ran their hero agency, nothing changed, not even him. 

In a split second his electric quirk had awakened something in him that he never thought he would have felt in his entire life. 

True power. 

His neurons were firing like crazy, a moment in time had turned into long minutes as reality felt frozen. He raised up his hand, making it in the shape of a gun as he did many times with Kirishima back in their UA student days. The only man who could take his quirk head on. 

He believed in that every time, he only prayed he could still believe it now. Kirishima’s quirk was the rock in a turbulent ocean he could hold onto when things got rough. He could still count on Kirishima as he let loose a stream of supercharged lightning that passed through his body hitting the sensor spike as a conductor to pierce the protective barrier of fire and ice that shielded Shoto from him. 

Shoto convulsed violently to the million volts coursing through him of course Kirishima was bearing the brunt of all three quirks that were coursing through his thrashing opponent. 

Within mere seconds his hardened skin had been fully carbonized from head to toe, flaking in the wind like dried paint. Shoto Todoroki relinquished his grip involuntarily, his neurons had been fried for now, leaving his flames flickering and his ice dripping as he couldn’t mentally and physically maintain the mental state to stabilize it. 

Kirishima pushed Shoto’s sizzling body away from him as he fell on his back onto the ground, letting out a roar like a lion in triumph. They had won, a hollow victory at great cost. Jiro was out for the count, barely breathing from the stunning charge but even she nudged Kaminari not to waste this chance non verbally, jabbing her jack into Denki’s back. 

Like a wild horse he ran towards Kirishima and embraced him on the ground, his tears an endless river. Jiro was laying several meters away and heard the footfalls barely a 100 meters away. If these were to be their final moments at the hands of the enemy, better that Denki and Kirishima say their goodbyes now as she closed her eyes, hoping her end would be quick in her final stand.

She twisted one of the defunct sensor spikes to use as an improvised weapon. Its burrowing mechanism extended the spike to nearly 7 feet that she could barely lean against to keep her footing let alone swing it to deliver an effective blow. Whoever was approaching them, they were here. Everyone was out of time. 

Kaminari looked at the sizzling body of Shoto Todoroki on the ground, twitching at random from the galvanic discharges from his awakening, every second feeling like a minute relatively.

Kaminari spat in his general direction as he tried lifting Kirishima desperately trying to drag him the way back they came in futility. The Icicles in Kirishima’s chest dripped as they were melting. Taking them out now would be an instant death. Kirishima’s life was now measured in minutes, his last moments could only be filled with comfort from Denki who’s hands were black from touching the smooth graphite like texture. 

“You’re going to be ok Kiri!!” Denki finally croaked in sorrow as he quivered weakly to hold the icicle in, shaking violently as his body heat only made it melt faster. Kiri just kept looking at Denki tenderly with those kind eyes, despite all the charred skin on his face his pearly white teeth shone through his injuries even more in that moment as Jiro prepared to meet her own end in the distance, letting them have this final farewell in peace with the seconds she would buy for them.

“We started with a simple hello in UA r‘member.” Kirishima coughed, sputtering out a stream of maroon congealed blood. Denki shook his head violently as tears streamed down his soot-covered face, laying Kirishima down, keeping pressure on the icicle that had finally melted completely. “Shame it’s gonna end with a complicated goodbye.” Kirishima kept his bloody grin wide open for his friend as he took Denki’s hand from his wounds, his grip firm and warm as always as he brought it up to his burned lips and laid a soft kiss on it. 

“Please don’t go. Kiri! Please? No one’s ever stuck with me long as you did!” Kaminari implored him as Kirishima’s grip strength was fading, the wounds left by the spikes were oozing streams of blood as Kirishima felt his vitality sap rapidly with every passing second but that smile never went away as he held Denki’s hand again with what reserves of stubborn might he had left, reassuring him with his manly grip that was beginning to fade once more as his toothy grin turned crimson like his namesake. 

“If you’re brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello.” Kirishima spoke slowly, nodding in Jiros direction. Denki could only sob in those precious last minutes as he knew from Jiro’s body language whoever was coming towards them was already upon them. There was no escape from the foe.

“Death ends my life, not our relationship.” Kirishima chuckled weakly as the brain fog set in, knowing he had to say it despite Denki’s dread he felt Kaminari bury his blonde head as though he were bracing for a gut punch with his ear millimeters from Kirishima’s mouth. 

“I love you. – Say it often! Now say it like a man to her!” Kirishima growled hoarsely into Kaminari’s ear in a reassuring timbre. “This ain’t a goodbye, Sparky, this is a thank you.” He groaned weakly as his last breath left his body, leaving Denki a sobbing mess as he held his friend’s flaking corpse in his arms. 

He felt Jiro’s hand comfort him moments later, her tear sparked as it fell into a rogue static spark in his hair. “Our rescuers are here.” She cooed in a soothing tone, kneeling down with some effort, leaning against the extended sensor spike as they heard a feral roar shake their side of the battlefield. The heat from the hellish flames were felt with great intensity by them both who felt like mice in the presence of a true giant. 

Enji Todoroki was holding his dying son in his hands but Shoto raised his hand to Endeavor’s chest, Jiro’s yells for caution came too late as the icy spikes impaled Enji just as it had Kirishima. Denki roared as he charged in but a rogue blue Flame Bolt grazed him as Jiro’s sonic blast narrowly deflected it. The thermic shock sent Denki to the ground, his arms covered in second degree burns as other heroes rushed to him and Jiro to evacuate them. 

A lone skeletal figure in burning armor stood on top of the mound, clapping his hands and cackling maniacally. Enji looked up from Shoto at the figure on the mound barely a few feet above them, whispering a name neither Jiro or Kaminari knew.

“Touya!! Is that you! It can’t be!” Endeavor roared in confusion, thinking it was a hallucination from the blood loss. The skeletal figure stripped off its armor piece by piece, each section held back massive columns of white hot flames. The last piece, the helmet, was lifted slowly for dramatic effect.  

“Hey pops!” It cackled menacingly, sending out waves of blue flames that Denki and Jiro’s rescuers were trying to outrun. The blue faded into the din of the dust shroud as they were being rushed to the nearest triage center. As dozens of heroes rushed past him, Denki held out his arm weakly. 

His warnings fell on deaf ears in the chaos as fools were rushing into the brilliant inferno between two fire giants.

Chapter Text

“What's the point of being a hero when everyone thinks you're a villain?” Touya chortled with his flames rising like the plume of a peacock behind him as he sunk into a deep squat, keeping a polite distance on the top of his mound. Touya sneered in outrage as a feral snarl stole Enji’s attention back to Shoto.

Their masterpiece had impaled his icy arm deep into Enji’s lung, barely missing his heart that was struggling to keep the searing cold from spreading throughout his body. Shoto’s raw skin was being burned and frostbitten at each respective side. The primary layers had been stripped by Denki’s lightning which cooked most of the muscles in his body that left him debilitated physically. That didn’t reduce his quirk which seemed to be fueled by his emotions as he struggled to stay conscious by inflicting searing and freezing pain simultaneously that broke all records on any pain index. 

Death was pulling both father and son into the void. Yet even the reaper’s yoke was being kept back by their stubbornness as Enji looked wordlessly into Shoto’s eyes, every tear either being boiled away in a hiss or frozen around his eyelids. The arm impaling his chest was nothing compared to the betrayal he felt by his progeny, his legacy, his masterpiece. Shoto Todoroki was extinguishing the flame that would have lit the torch for generations in their name. 

“I love all of you more than anything. Being your father has made me the happiest man…” Enji croaked as he stopped resisting Shoto’s arm, letting his own flames flicker and sputter weakly to the horror of Keigo Takami and his team who were watching their Commander succumbing to the guilt he had been shouldering for 14 years. Ready to crash himself like a ship onto the rocks as penance for his sins, Enji was ready to pay the devil for this Faustian deal that had turned to literal ash in his mouth. 

"You don't know my dreams… no one ever cared enough to find out." Shoto spat back vociferously like a hissing cobra with his flames amping up, going deathly blue with his ice kicking in instinctively as he refused to let his father die so quickly. 

He wouldn’t be so kind to him in the end after all the years of plotting with Touya especially since Shoto Todoroki’s injuries meant his life was now counted on minutes. Reduced to the baking timer his mother used when making his favorite sweets when times were good. Her voice haunted his memories, “the Mochi will be ready in a few minutes.” He remembered her comforting tone while the spring whirred on the mechanical timer on the stove.

What tears were tracing Enji’s gaunt features were sizzling as they fell into Shoto’s hellish blue flames that were overwhelming the glacial defense of his body. Shoto was not going to die first till his father had paid for lies his heroic empire was built on. He slowed his phosphor’s advance into Enji’s vital organs, keeping himself pinned stubbornly with his brittle arm threatening to break off inside Enji’s chest. He was the biggest lie to continue that legacy! Never again, it would end today! The name, the man, the symbol!.

The black skin was succumbing to frostbite as Shoto’s eyes burned with a fury, locked with Enji’s drooping eyes as the battlefield fell still and the cries of Keigo’s team were turned to shrieks and shouts by the hulking dark skinned soldiers entering the fray. The Nomus had engaged Keigo’s people in bloody melee as the three Todorokis now had a captive audience to the events that would unfold. 

The stalemate between Enji’s masochistic penitence and Shoto’s sadistic cravings for vengeance was decided in one macabre moment when Touya’s searing palm like the hand of God itself wrapped around Shoto’s face, smothering it in his white hot heat. 

Dabi smiled as Shoto unleashed his full blue flames which were blown away by a pulsefire of Dabi’s own that was free of the thermic liners in his suit. Shoto’s head crumbled into ashes in seconds under Touya’s white hot immolation with the glacial blasts only hissing as the ice sublimated into the air as a thick fog.His dying shrieks were not of horror or terror but anger of being denied his revenge against his father who was snapped out of his reverie by the fratricidal act that rivaled Cain and Abel.  

 Endeavor looked up at Touya in rage, his eyes no longer begging for release from his tortured mortal coil as he made his peace and turned up his flames, raising his head like the samurai of old as he cauterized the massive gape in his ribs, fusing skin and bone, trapping blood. His lies had come back to punish him with compounded interest today. All he wanted now was a quick death for Touya who had snuffed out Shoto just now like a candle.

His children despised him to the point where they tried to kill him, his wife died alone and Keigo might be dying less than 500 meters from where he was about to make his final stand. Some commander Enji felt he turned out to be when he looked down at Dabi who tamped up his own flames without his armor that barely contained them with the myriad tapestry of thermic layers now roared like a nuclear fire, ready to incinerate everything including himself once unleashed.

“DO IT….Touya!” Enji growled weakly, staring down, his blood pooled around his feet. The burning ice within his chest grew like the tree of life within him, each branch and root twisted its way into every crevice at a crawl that left him tingling with excruciating pain. It had only gotten worse with him powering up, accelerating the Phosphor’s reaction. Enji had to settle this in less than a minute or that was it for everyone.

“We’re only getting started!” Dabi cackled like a Jackal as he faced up to his flaming giant of a father in primordial rage.

“No!” Enji hissed as he grabbed Dabi’s flaming arms with shock that he wasn’t a phantom made from his guilt haunting him. His own hellish flames surging with urgency as white hot temperatures started melting the ground underneath them, turning the dirt into molten glass that they hovered over.

“There is nothing worse than having an enemy who is a total loser. It's frustrating to seek revenge against you, because I can't make your life worse. You have nothing left to take, and there's no way to screw you over. It's maddening!” Dabi ranted as he tried pulling his arms away but with each passing second his skin peeled away, layer by layer. Despite the skin grafts belonging to fire resistant Nomus they just couldn’t keep up before he burned himself to a smoldering cinder. So little time to enjoy what had taken nearly a decade to setup since Shoto had turned 14.

Enji, snapped out of his masochistic ennui as decades of heroic instinct overrode all his pain and sorrow. He took his belligerent tormentor in his arms who just cackled like an immolating corpse behind those glassy eyes of his. Dabi’s flames surged to a maximum that rivaled the sun just like his namesake he was going to make sure Enji and him perished in this funeral pyre.

“I’m not even close to even with you Endeavor!Begging for death some more won’t you!” Dabi spat in Enji’s face, his spit turned to white hot embers that pierced Enji’s thermic compression layer that was keeping out Dabi’s inferno as he tried to contain the heat from those blue flames from overwhelming everyone below them.

“What the hell do you want! What will it take to make this end!!” Enji grunted hoarsely, appealing not for himself but for his men below and Keigo who would be caught in the blast. His seared lung with the other one pulling double duty as their collective flames were sapping the oxygen rapidly from the surrounding air. The vacuum effect of this was making them both light headed as delirium started to set in. 

“I want you to know…EVERYTHING!!” Dabi bellowed as his flames grew in Enji’s grip that was constricting him even tighter, his father knowing that talking was the only reason they all weren’t burned to a crisp already, letting his villainous son do the one mistake every maniac made. Monologuing.

“I turned Shoto oh so easily, driving him with the fantasy of a happy family without you!” Dabi guffawed as he felt Enji’s wrists dig into his back as his hellish flames were glowing brighter with his own, keeping up with the tempo. 

“I killed  the greatest villain in my life, Rei Todoroki! The villain who had the audacity to claim victimhood while her children bore the scars of her shitty parenting.” Dabi gloated as he felt the thermic layers of Enji’s flame weakening to his own flames, dripping through Enji’s fiery sheath that rapidly increased in temperature and intensity as Endeavor was tapping into the embers of his dying strength. 

“I destroyed your legacy! Your reputation! Your master work! You are nothing…..JUST…LIKE… ME!” Dabi cackled madly as his charred skin flaked off his scarred body that was stripping away it’s fleshy grafts which were sapped away into the ether at temperatures that rivaled a binary star on the surface with Enji’s flames competing with his own, neck and neck as the two dying men were fast approaching fusion temperatures with the air turning to plasma around them which expanded in a bubble around them one meter at a time. 

 “Enji!!” Hawks yelled into the radio implanted within Endeavor’s cochlea that came to life in all the confusion and chaos of the battle raging less than 500 meters away as Enji and Touya had become iridescent twin suns on the battlefield which had now captivated everyone’s attention with their plasmatic bubble sublimating anything it made contact with.

“Disengage!! We’re melting here! Those things are mostly dead and we’re next if you keep this pissing contest up!” Keigo pleaded as his shadow was hovering over Dabi and Enji, it’s shadow only noticed by Enji. 

"He thinks I'll just let all this happen! He thinks I'm weak, but I'm not...I'm not just another victim! I can do what has to be done! I-" Enji grated stoically on the radio, holding back tears as he felt the last embers of his strength running out faster than he expected. 

"You can't do anything right,FATHER!!" Touya shrieked into his ear as his flames finally penetrated Enji’s heliosheath that disabled the implant, not even allowing Enji one last goodbye. 

Keigo panicked as he could only hear frizzled static from the damage to the implant before he was thrown violently to the ground by a plasmatic discharge that left his wings searing as they reflexively protected him during his Icarian dive while his forces were in retreat from the blinding orb of Plasmatic annihilation on the battlefield.

"...I can fly." Were the last words he heard from Enji before the device died completely. His eyes went wider than dinner plates behind his tinted goggles as he turned away from the glow of the twin suns that were locked in their duel that was now launched into the skies by Enji Todoroki, the massive missile of energy exploded in a dazzling flash in the middle of the day so bright it nearly blinded Keigo from it’s iridescence.

“TAKE COVER!!!” Keigo yelled into his comms to his team but the EM disruption from the Plasmatic sphere from the massive launch left nothing but static as it blocked the EM band with a massive Infra Red burst that fell like a heavy blanket of immolating death on the battlefield in cleansing flames of yellow and blue. 

The dazzling and piercing glow in the sky died and soon the daylight returned with the thermal shock having swept most of the dust cloud away from the battlefield. Keigo covered himself with his remaining feathers that were incinerated by the wave of scorching heat. 

The cries and shrieks of pain flooded the comms as Keigo’s unit were not so lucky. He had to listen behind his own feathers that managed to barely shield him to some degree but in the battlefield dozens of heroes who had followed him into the jaws of death were being doled out the most painful death imaginable. Their last moments would haunt him in the years that would come.

His jacket’s fibers were fused to his skin and his goggles had mostly melted, dripping into his face scarring his visage as they traced rivers of melted plastic across his smooth skin. Thinking this was it while he was reeling from the shockwave, Keigo Takami retrieved the most precious thing in the world to him during what he thought were going to be his last moments alive. 

His endeavor plushie he always held in the darkest times when he felt like the world would end but it was where he siphoned off his hope when there was none.

The plush and fillings had been left charred and brittle from the flimsy protection from the smoldering jacket. It crumbled to dust in his fingers, the ashes blown with the rising zephyrs as he fainted from the pain and exhaustion. 

All the air that had been ionized out by the inferno left only a crater of glass that spanned around a kilometer in every direction. After the Starburst in the sky today, this devastation was the only legacy that Enji Todoroki had managed to leave behind for anyone the Todorokis hadn’t consumed in their fiery vendetta that day.

Chapter Text

Bakugo's HELLION Suit               ALL MIGHT's SMASH Suit (Vanilla)       SMASH Suit (plot version)     SMASH Suit (plot version)

                                                                                                                                                                Battle Damage

“In darkness you will be our light.” a severe voice whispered harshly into Yagi’s ear as he felt the screws of the gauntlet seal around his wrist, the magnetic interlocks hissed as they seamlessly sealed his muscular fist.

“In times of doubt, keep my faith,” Nana’s voice echoed as though she were worlds away, the words snaked into his ears like a gentle breeze as he stood on the platform and the boots were being riveted into place by David’s technicians.

“In throes of rage you shall hone our power.” A more severe voice whispered, grizzled and curt from years of conflict and a painful death. The shin and calves were jointed with a thud on the platform deftly by the machines operated with David’s very flexible fingers from the control panel ahead. His wrinkled brow ran deeper than a Basset Hound’s as he was focused on bringing his masterpiece to life.  

“In the midst of battle you shall banish our fear” Yagi could feel a warmth on his shoulder, the grip was strong but for a fleeting second as the deep voice receded back into the darkness of his psyche.

“In the face of death we will show no remorse!” A stoic voice let out a cathartic roar, the timbre shaking his spine as each bolt was engaged along his vertebrae. The Gear he was wearing felt like a metal coffin till the helmet was lowered on his head. He could feel the heat rising as micro needles were pumping him full of chemicals and stimulants that would have killed any normal man. However, OFA knew this was war and the vestiges were banging the drums. 

“In Vengeance we shall have no mercy” came the harshest voice of them all, the man who haunted his every waking moment. Not even sleep gave him respite from the gaunt skeletal face of Yoichi Shigiraki who appeared in front of Yagi as solid as David was from his perspective but very much a manifestation only he could perceive. The helmet’s H.U.D came to life and the system turned on. 

SMASH: Suit for Maximum Agility, Strength, and Heroism

Yagi Toshinori couldn’t help but explode in laughter, his ribs hurting to Yoichi’s spectral frown as he faded away. “Should have spent a few minutes on the name there David.” All might smiled from behind the helmet, flashing an OK with his fingers at his friend. 

“It’s cheesy, blunt and simple like you old friend.” David raised his glasses with his middle finger on his nose before hitting the big red button on the console. The room went dark, red lights only came online as the blast doors slammed down and the howl of depressurized air from the Descent Pod’s thrusters super heated the reinforced titanium to a light red.

David took a deep breath as Melissa came in. Following her team wheeling in a sedated Izuku Midoriya who’s D.E.K.U (Dual Energy Kinetic Armor) hanging from its carrier frame had taken too much battle damage. The lump in his throat dropped when Melissa handed him the warped metal plate with the letters S.P.E.E.D (Supercharged Performance Enhancing Exoskeleton Device) embossed deeply on it from the chest plate of Ida Tenya’s suit. 

Though David had only known the man for a few months now, his support as the chief of security was never forgotten. When he had turned his back on humanity and when he reversed his decision much too late, Ida Tenya saw eye to eye with him on these matters with an understanding of the bigger picture that only came once in a generation. Just like him, Ida had a child that might not be alive given no one in the surviving pods or the defunct Colonization Module could confirm the status of I-Island. 

The only thing that kept David from collapsing was the mission at hand. Don’t let their deaths be in vain as he pocketed the warped metal in his deep white pocket and proceeded to the DEKU suit suspended in it’s frame as Melissa’s team was helping the exhausted Midoriya into a recovery vat to accelerate his recovery. 

“Don’t focus on saving everyone, just save one person and make it count.” Aachis word’s resounded as a grim reminder to David Shield. A man he never saw eye to eye with on most days had more insight into what he felt in that moment. The difference between them was apparent now since this was the first time David was in a war zone where anyone can die at any time senselessly while it wasn’t Aachii’s first dance.

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As All Might’s pod slammed into the heat of the battle below, he leapt out with a vigor he had lost in the last decade. The suit’s timer was counting down from 60 minutes, he could only smile with all of David’s warnings ringing in his ears while he flattened Nomus and enemy combatants with his 100% smashes that cut through the dust for miles around him. He knew this was going to be his last day alive as David was a miracle worker but he couldn’t bring the dead back. One way or the other this war had to end in 60 minutes or less. 

Yagi could only chuckle as he concaved a Nomu’s skull nearly twice his size with a thunderous blow that split the dust around them, likening the timer to one of his first jobs as a food delivery driver back in the day before his family died. Except he had to deliver salvation piping hot to the demon lord himself today. 

The closer he got to the red dot on his HUD the thicker the resistance. He was on a one man suicide mission that had given him a harmony with One for All’s users and Yoichi that he had not known in the last 10 years. His body was a ship sinking to the bowels of hell and Yoichi Shigiraki was going to drag his brother with him there today since Yagi had no knowledge about Izuku Midoriya’s whereabouts for months like the rest of Japan.

With each flurry of blows the armor weakened from the shearing forces as they cleaved through hundreds of reanimated corpses, enhanced by quirks. The nomus were a godsend for Yagi’s conscience since no matter how vile he never wanted to kill people. Each skull crushed under his boot was guilt free and his smile behind the helmet as it was counting down from 30 minutes. 

The red dot was only a few hundred meters away, pulsing and blinking malevolently. Yagi grit his teeth as an alarm in the suit went off, deafening him for a moment as the schematic showed the back plate was being “compromised” the auto ejector saved the rest of the suit like a wolf biting off its paw to escape a bear trap. 

“ALL MIGHT!” the shriek rang out maniacally as Yagi turned around and his targeting sensors locked onto a cloud of “nothing” emerging from it was a man in armor much cruder than his, made from metals that were already showing signs of wear and tear. Given his decades of crime fighting Yagi’s battle sense told him this guy could “rot” things but to be wary as he leapt back and the timer ticked away another precious minute he couldn’t get back. The big Red Dot pulsing less than a hundred meters away as he clenched his fists that made the metal servos groan.

The man’s hair was white as snow, his dried face was covered with battle scars, each seem self inflicted out of self hate as he flicked his wrist and sent a wave of “malice” his way. Yagi saw the concrete on the ground turn to a dusty mound. What did this guy think this was? A child’s show where you reveal your hand to the opponent?! This was a war dammit as he figured out he should go for a death blow immediately as another precious minute ticked by.

The cloud behind the man thickened and engulfed him then like a malevolent shroud it rapidly blew towards Yagi Toshinori who sent gust after gust into the cloud of decaying debris, hoping it would work like shrapnel to expose his attacker. No matter how much he punched it apart, the cloud only thickened until it wrapped around him. 

The toxicology alarms were blaring in his suit as Yagi grit his teeth and hit the one vector he knew for sure would give these kinds of quirk users away as he knelt down and smashed the ground that sent fissures around him. He heard a cry of pain, the sensors in his suit narrowed on the direction of the sound as he leapt into action on pure instinct then proceeded to jump high as he could into the air where there was nothing to decay.

His hand wrapped around the scrawny neck, atrophied, frail like a twig he could snap. His opponent didn’t plead, didn’t resist. He was “smiling” as though mocking him like a phantasm from his past.

“I’ve always wanted your autograph!” The madman chuckled as he shrugged, the wind was whistling as they were ascending still, air got thinner but that was not enough to knock him out which Yagi hoped, his hand only tightened around the skinny man’s neck through his crude armor.

“Could you make it out to Tenko Shimura…old man?” The white haired man cackled maniacally in his grip, unphased and dauntless in the moment when they entered free fall as both of them were plummeting back to the ground.

Yagi tensed up, hesitating as he loosened his grip slightly but froze like a deer in the headlights. His sensei’s grandson!? The whole family was killed according to the police reports! Gran Torino had long confirmed it when they were checking up on them, especially on the day Yagi promised Tenko’s mother to give her sanctuary from her abusive husband. 

For decades he had thought the massacre at the family estate was an act by AFO to root him out or to end Nana Shimura’s lineage but right there and then the pit in his gut felt like lead as they plummeted to the ground. He felt a warmth in his gut, the alarms of the suit had been zoned out as Yagi was in his stupor from this shocking revelation. Tenko Shimura had his hand deep in his gut, rotting his organs away. They were both going to fall to their deaths when Yagi made the last heroic gesture he was going to make that day. 

The ground shook once more as a crater several meters deep sent a cloud of dust for miles into the air. As the dust cleared Yagi’s helmet showed he had only 15 minutes before the miracle drugs wore off and the SMASH suit would go offline forever, taking him with it. He coughed up blood as Tenko Shimura’s fractured arm was embedded in his gut, the man seemed to be immune to pain most likely due to his own quirk degrading his nervous system from overuse over the years. 

The red dot was so close, moving towards them now. Yagi’s many thoughts were focused by Tenko’s hand covering his visor and decaying it away till the dust and ashes covered All Might’s face like war paint and he could smell the stench of rot and decay from the grandson of his mentor. Tenko’s injuries looked to be extensive, his own armor was damaged and bits of the metal had impaled him where it had collapsed inwards as trails of blood ran down the sides of his lips but that “smile” never vanished. 

He was truly Nana’s grandchild, that victory grin right off her face as he said one word that chilled Yagi to the bone. 

“BEG!” He growled like a lion then followed it up with a fervent rancor. 

“Tenko…your grandmother’s legacy.” Yagi implored, knowing he had less than 15 minutes to handle this and somehow end this war with his rotting guts. 

“The name’s Shigraki! Tenko’s gone!” He growled like a rabid dog, his foaming spit flying in Yagi’s face. “Killing you is my legacy!” 

Yagi raised his hand not to strike but to stroke Tenko’s hair as Nana cried out in some distance, her voice getting even closer as All Might’s body moved on it’s own. 

“You can only die when you truly forget someone, you still remember me right Tenko?” Yagi’s lips moved but the words weren’t his as both of them were taken into the world of the vestiges. 

___________________________________________________________________________

Shigiraki’s mindscape was a dark place, Tenko Shimura had laid there in his cage, ageless, deathless and craving release. Tomura Shigiraki was the God of this mindscape now and while his attention was being held by several strangers in the distance, engaged in a brutal melee. 

One lone woman who had visited him many times as one of Tomura’s tricks to give him hope and snatch it away. As she reached her hands through the bars he expected as broken as he was to feel it turn to ash just like the specters of his wife and daughter. This time the warmth touched him and filled him with a glow which elicited a shriek from Tomura in the distance as a lone ray of light pierced the veil of the dark skies above them in the mindscape. 

“Who are you?” Tenko asked in disbelief, leaning into the warmth of the gentle hand after endless touch starvation in his cage.

“Who am I? I’m a spirit, in the form of a quirk. That’s what I am.” Nana Shimura cooed as she knelt down and put another hand through the bars, stroking Tenko’s Jet black hair. 

“Dad said you abandoned us, you didn’t want us?!” Tenko sniffled as he leaned into the bars, edging closer as his tears dripped down the bars, he clutched the ice cold iron that groaned from his frustration as Nana leaned in and kissed his forehead. 

“Tenko we have a karmic circle. Something with such enormous powers; love would activate on its own, even if something were to happen to me! The shadow of the moon, cast upon the earth by the eclipse!” Nana raised his head to reflect his own grin back at him. It was the same as Shigiraki’s but it was like the sun, casting a soothing iridescence that sent tingles all over his skin as the clouds broke, letting in more light into the mindscape. The bars of his cage were rusting away. His heart started to beat once more, thumping against his rib cage as he was being filled with hope of real family, his idol, his hero. 

“I’m too weak…he’s too strong.” Tenko released the bars but Nana grabbed his hands and gripped them with him, the bars started to bend slowly with considerable effort. 

“I'm sure we can change because we are weak and because we die. We have to fight in order to live and that's what will make us strong.” Nana kept that grin alive as Tomura’s shrieks in the background grew louder into cacophonous and haunting roars of a dying animal that sent chills down Tenko’s spine. 

“I don’t want to go out there! I can’t change reality like him!” Tenko protested as he felt the bars bend far enough that he could see the one thing he feared above all else since that fateful day he had lost his wife and child to Tomura. The real world.

"You can't change reality, just your perception!" Nana held out her hand, crouching lower as Tenko’s shivered like a leaf but once it connected he was yanked out and given an embrace warmer than a fuzzy blanket, softer than a fresh pillow. The childhood he wanted along with every unfulfilled desire filled the mindscape with a gleaming light which banished the last of the dark clouds that had been overcast in this mindscape for years. 

“Why didn’t you heroes save us! Mom! Sis! Granny!” Tenko sobbed into Nana’s bosom as he felt her presence starting to evaporate slowly, the density of her vestige lightening with each passing moment. 

“'We're not gods. We're humans. Tiny, insignificant humans...who couldn't even save a little boy. Please forgive me Tenko, more importantly save yourself.” Nana sobbed back as she broke apart slowly like a sand sculpture in a strong wind on the dune of the Sahara. 

___________________________________________________________________________

Tenko awoke in a daze, his body was burning with pain, his left arm was embedded in Yagi Toshinori’s body, deep in his guts. All he could hear was that familiar clapping as he looked at a human-like figure made out of smoke fueled by dark flames. 

“Humans who dare to play God must pay a steep price for their arrogance." AFO spoke in that deep baritone as he advanced towards Shigiraki with two high end Nomus on his side. The cream of the crop, Garaki’s masterpieces protecting their master while acting as backup vessels.

Tenko looked up vociferously at the man who had lied to him all his life, telling him that Nana Shimura was killed for her quirk by Yagi Toshinori which had created this persona of Tomura Shigiraki. No more! Tenko thought as AFO was on the cusp of his victory, bending down and ignoring Tenko who had bled for him, fought for him as Shigiraki. Tenko’s gnashed his teeth together as he took a deep breath, 

“Look at you Yoichi…so angry..so defeated.” AFO pulled off his leather glove, revealing a black flaming hand as he reached down to collect his prize, inches away from a struggling and enfeebled All Might who would kill Tenko if he let loose even a small SMASH or blow especially with the suit’s gauntlets that amplified the energy. Tenko was unwittingly the only reason AFO was not being splattered to every continent by a hurricane like blow. Tenko was never going to be used like that again!

"But don't worry too much, because you will continue to live, inside me." AFO cooed, mocking his helpless brother as his hands were millimeters away before Tenko’s own snatched it and like a dog he bit his master’s arm off as he sent a wave of massive decay across the arm as a conduit. 

AFO was yowling like a dying demon but Tenko knew he only had moments, no seconds as he decayed his own broken arm and pulled out the stump. He wrapped his body around one of the high ends that had temporarily been dazed by AFO’s body transfer protocols while sinking his foot in the other. 

Though the Nomu grabbed his foot and crushed it instantly, Tenko smiled as he released a massive wave of decay that turned some of the most durable flesh on the planet rivaling the hardest metals in the universe into dust. 

The High end severed it’s arm but couldn’t stem the rot that continued slowly through its body. Right now on that battle field, Yagi and Tenko were already dying men with no chance of recovery while the paralyzed high end Nomu in his arm disintegrated from the torso. It’s massive upper half around the waist fell to the ground and both ends were turning to dust rapidly with no one persona AFO or the high end’s commanding the brain to regenerate. 

“There's no way I'm dying before you do, you morally bankrupt thug with a god complex!" Tenko lunged at the remaining high end who’s arm had turned to rotten flesh and his chest was beginning to show veins where the blood was congealing. To his surprise the creature leapt like a frog nearly a mile away, dying in a blood curdling shriek in the distance that was too familiar to Tenko. AFO had found another Nomu to transfer into and he wasn’t going to come back alone as he looked at All Might, his hand hovered over him. 

“Do it…He can’t steal Yoichi…Nana…One for All!” Yagi grabbed Tenko’s hand and placed it on his forehead, a river of blood was being coughed out as All Might stood then knelt like the samurai of old when they committed Hara Kiri and he wanted Tenko to give him an honorable death.

"Don't patronize me, All Might! Your bloated muscles are worthless without a spine!" Tenko retorted as he heard the cries of dozens of Nomus in the distance, the ground rumbled as they approached in a wave of ebonic flesh. Tenko had less than a minute to make his move.

"SHUT THE HELL UP! Don't underestimate heroes...!" Katsuki Bakugo barked as he landed next to Tenko and with several others who wore similar armor to his. The cavalry had arrived as they held out their gauntlets and fired a volley of hellfire into the wave of flesh that bought them mere seconds as they started to regenerate. Bakugo knelt next to Yagi, as he kept his wrist mounted launcher in Tenko’s face. 

"One for All!” Tenko pointed at Yagi. “All for One." Tenko blurted out, pointing at the wave of nomus that were regenerating the limbs lost in the Baku squad’s volley of hellfire projectiles. 

"Both of em are beyond help!" Bakugo growled as he cracked his metallic knuckles, “Fucking pissing me off….doing what they want.” 

“Who the hell are you!” Tenko stood up to Bakugo as the vortex of air from another volley of Hellfire rounds whizzed past their heads, buying them more time. 

"You asked what I am? ...A CLEANER!!! I clean up the shit my boss gets himself into!" Bakugo spat in Tenko’s face as he jerked his gauntlet’s thumb at Yagi who was being prepped for transport by his squad’s medic, “Now who the fuck are you!” 

"I'M PISSED OFF!" Tenko yelled, stamping his foot to send a wave of decay into the rockface that collapsed on the advancing nomus below. The ones in the front started to regenerate slowly from his intense awakened quirk as Tenko’s suit’s safety systems failed and his own body started to eat itself up, the aura of decay started to eat away at him slowly, his eyes filling with blood vessels, skin cracking with eczematic textures like dried mud as Bakugo backed off like his H.E.L.L.IO.N suit (High-powered Exosuit Loaded with Lethal Incendiary Ordnance and Nitro suit) warned him to.

The aura though invisible, the ground under Tenko was cracking like his skin as the bubble inched towards the Bakusquad who trained their gauntlets on him. 

“Tenko! No!!” Yagi sputtered against his restraints, sending blood into the air that was flooding his lungs. Bakugo grunted as he backed off, keeping a close eye on the ground as the cracks told him how close to the bubble of atrophy they were. The shrieking Nomus seem to be affected but were clearly adapting to the damage that this guy was holding back. Tenko only looked at Yagi, his cold eyes meeting All Might’s blue eyes, clearly addressing Nana. 

"Maybe you are right. Where did I come from and where will I go? When I die? Maybe all this time that is what I wanted: the freedom to find out." Tenko spoke softly as he expanded the bubble suddenly, stopping millimeters from Bakugo’s toe, the outer edge of the metal in the suit beginning to strip away as he backed off. 

"Stop this. Stop this. PLEASE STOP!!!" Yagi spoke but it in a tone that was alien to Bakugo since he knew nothing of Nana and the vestiges. His medic had to sedate Yagi as he gave the signal to evacuate with their jump packs.

Tenko Shimura looked at the sun setting as the nomus clambered onto the rockface, their bones visible through their decayed flesh as he unleashed intense waves of decay that stripped away layer upon layer of withering energy that was consuming his own body. The blood he tried  to cough out was flaky and dry, choking him as he fell to his knees. 

"I am the first hero in our family Nana. My name is Tenko Shimura." Tenko spoke slowly as he closed his eyes, the shadows of the nomus towering over him blotted out the dying light of the sunset. As Bakugo looked from a ridge a few miles away, he recording the sight as proof to give to Yagi….if he ever woke up of the carnage as this unnamed villain turned hero was ripped apart by those “things”. He turned around to give his squad some encouraging words despite their dismal situation.

"I don't see any point in clinging to those who've died. We only know how to fight to keep more from dying" Bakugo smacked his chest plate, clanking metal on metal in salute to the fallen stranger. His men shot the same gesture back as they lifted All Might’s gurney once more and activated their jump packs towards the medical VTOL that landed in the valley below them. 

Bakugo took off his helmet, looking at the soot on the fingers of his gauntlet. Bringing his fingers upto his forehead, he dragged them back across it, tracing the wrinkles with the ashes of the dead man like war paint before putting his helmet back on then turning on his transmitter.

“Doctor Shield, we’ll have to go with plan B.” He said as his jump pack activated. The good doctor disconnected the line, Bakugo could swear he had the phone slammed in his face metaphorically as he evacuated with his team.

Chapter Text

                                                                                               The Mobile Lab of David Shield

                                                                                     High-tech Orbital Platform for Exploration

                                                                                                                  (H.O.P.E)

The whirr of the pumps became his chants as it pumped a potent oxygenated cocktail down his intubated throat with every breath. The beeping and hums of the machines in the background held his life and death sounded like a cacophony of voices dictating thousands of actions a second, one dial set higher or lower would kill him instantly. 

David played the panel like a pianist with his grotesque fingers operating the overlayed controls in a pattern only he could twist and turn his fingers thanks to his quirk. It was one of the many safeguards that had made his work next to impossible to replicate or copy because to even unlock his system you had to have double jointed digits like his. 

Izuku floated between life and death, focused on the man muttering one thing over and over. He didn’t need his empathic quirk to know the conflict that raged in the good doctor’s mind. His Hippocratic oath in conflict with the greater good clashing violently though the words on the lips he kept muttering were clear as day to even a layman. 

“Never again…Aaichii!” David was mumbling absent mindedly, ignoring his catatonic patient suspended in the life preserving system he had co developed originally for Yagi Toshinori. It was being used for the worst injuries in this fight but Izuku could feel that it was a collaboration which was tested on everyone except Yagi Toshinori and David had to make deals with people he didn’t agree with to bring his brainchild into this world. 

The blast doors slanted open, rolling into their channels to make way for a giant in their suit. Blood trailed the crash cart from where the coagulating foam was barely holding in the hemorrhaging blood. Izuku Midoriya was surrounded by bubbles as his breathing spiked with his heart rate as David Shield looked back with his worst fears stinging Izuku’s mind like a burning scourge. 

“He’s beyond me.” Chiyo responded in exhaustion, “One more kiss and his body would undo what I started.” The old lady hunched over at the base of the crash cart, defeated over vegetative All Might’s body. Izuku could feel his presence but the thought patterns flooded the room. He could only count himself, David, Shinso, Bakugo, Chiyo and Yagi. Yet his quirk counted seven spectral presences all tethered to Yagi Toshinori’s dying mind, some cried for help, others cried for vengeance but one was calling out for vengeance in defiance of death. 

The demonic suit was warped and wrapped around Yagi Toshinori’s body,  the nano weave muscles were a one way operation which could not be undone since the suit looked more biological than mechanical ; more parasitic and fleshy sapping the last embers of life from its host and yet at the same time keeping him barely alive as he hung on stubbornly to his mortal bindings. 

“Don’t….Izuku Midoriya!” Yagi’s words barely came through before he was silenced and let out a blood curling scream as the other voices pulled him out of existence. Izuku was left terrified that Yagi Toshinori had been dragged to hell by the specters that shared his body through that cursed quirk and he was next. 

Why couldn’t Izuku hear Yagi anymore? Had he always been “marked” since the festival a decade ago? 

Did his spit and blood somehow transfer just enough of that cursed quirk in him? Midoriya wanted to clench his fist, yell back at the specters who were focused on him with glowing predatory eyes in the dark forest. 

Rearing to take him as nothing more than their meat suit. He would be reduced to nothing more than the mechanical suits he wore. A passenger in his own body like Yagi. He could sense their intentions, the consequences. 

It seemed that death made Yagi’s quirk more honest with him for once, revealing the ugliness that hid under the cloak of the greater good.

“We once went by another name… We are soldiers right now.” Shinso spoke, Bakugo’s teeth clenched harder at his comrade’s words, his gauntlets crushing the rails at the head of the crash cart.

“Let me end this!” Bakugo spat in Shinso’s face, David advanced on him and tried to place a sympathetic hand on his shoulder but Bakugo shoved it aside. “I am not a hero, I am not a symbol of peace, I am… worse…”

“The torch has to be passed Katsuki! That was Yagi’s wish.” Shinso crossed his arms, taking a step forward across Bakugo’s line in the sand.

“It’s not your lies that cut me Hitoshi but the sharpness of your truth!” Bakugo slammed his fist into the wall, leaving a massive dent in the metal that warped around his gauntlet.

“ Order exists because of him! ” Shinso put a hand on Bakugo’s shoulder, they had been through hell together for months to track down Izuku but now the choice that was kept secret between the three of them could not be contained any longer as Chiyo left the room in disgust as it had become an open secret to Recovery Girl who had prepped Yagi for this war before David had stepped in with his machines. 

“I bargained my soul for the progress of this world.” David started as he returned their glances, “However, Izuku Midoriya’s soul is not mine to bargain.” 

Shinso’s expression turned sour at David who got to be the good guy while Bakugo got to be the coerced party in all this. The record would once again make him the “asshole”   who made thankless tough calls. 

“ The task at hand is the only one that matters. ” Shinso reached down and pulled out the hose from the crash cart’s transfusion module. Bakugo’s eyes narrowed to slits while David looked at him coldly for the decision yet they were of the same mind. OFA had to be transferred or this war was lost if it was.

“You can pump all that DNA into him but we all know he needs something more for OFA to take control.” David spoke clinically, pushing up the heavy frames of his glasses against his sweaty nose ridge. “They need… guidance.”

“I’m what you would call a deniable asset.” Shinso chuckled weakly as he walked past Bakugo who gave him one last deathly stare, searing his hate deep into Shinso soul to etch his disapproval forever like burnt wood before letting him pass him.

Hitoshi Shinso looked up at Izuku Midoriya, his hands buried in his pockets while David and Bakugo looked away at what was about to happen. Shinso didn’t even know if this would work or could work with an indomitable will as Izuku’s.

“I understand who you are to me Izuku. Do you?” Shinso smiled weakly at Izuku’s eyes pleading him to stop as David had hooked up the transfusion tube into Izuku’s IV intake systems and the crimson c0cktail laden with the curse of OFA seeped into the clear plastic tubes into his own. He was paralyzed and at the mercy of the last people he thought would betray him like this. 

“You will cooperate.” Shinso spoke with tears dripping down the channels of his eyes as his memories went back to that day when Izuku walked out of his life forever, flashing back to the right words that cut him deeper than ever as he remembered  their last words on I-Island.

"You still long for me don't you Izuku?" Shinso spoke with a spark of hope in his eyes.

"I will never know the answer to that question, Shinso Hitoshi! For that I will always hate you... you took it away! My freedom to choose.... you." Midoriya yelled in his face as he grabbed his hair, running his fingers roughly through them.

Shinso’s tears flowed, looking intensely as Izuku’s eyes turned glassy and white. Minutes passed by that felt like hours but in that eternity he saw those green pupils come back into focus filled with a malevolence ; a burning vengeance that roared as he shattered his tank that sent glass shards like shrapnel everywhere. 

David and Shinso’s backs kissed the floor as the broken glass pierced their clothes but Bakugo’s mechanical suit protected him. Izuku Midoriya…no whoever was at the wheel now leered into the distance, ignoring the trio spoke his first words with a tone and a pitch not his own.

“If you don’t have the talent to fight, at least have the decency to die...BROTHER!!!” Izuku screeched as he charged with inhuman alacrity into the steel wall; shattering metal, concrete and wires on the way out like cardboard. The alarms for catastrophic decompression across multiple bulkheads rang out with blaring klaxons through the floating lab’s decks as Bakugo bolted towards Shinso and David to stop them from being sucked out the hole Izuku had made. 

David slammed his watch with great effort, engaging the emergency protocols as the drop pod’s hatch in the medical bay opened. Shinso and the good doctor trundled along, supported by Bakugo who they leaned on to make it into the pod. After securing them with the restraints on the seats, Bakugo slammed the deployment button that ejected them from the facility. Other pods like theirs were shooting out sequentially with the other people onboard as the lab’s AI engaged the Catastrophic Auto Landing sequence. Anyone who stayed in the facility would have been flattened by the G forces from the landing thrusters had they been unfortunate to not find a pod in time. The lab would survive as it was designed to but the people wouldn’t just as Aachii the machine mattered never the man using it. 

Massive sparks of energy arced in the distance sending up gusts of wind, debris and bots of energy. The massive sparks of blue and red lightning arced from the ground towards the heavens like spears as they tried to tear the sky asunder.

AFO finally met OFA, all the pawns had been cleared away now they were settling their kingsmoot from the distance. The pods fell like pebbles around the dome of crackling and pulsating plasma bubble that cracked the Aluminium oxynitride nitride glass whcih was designed to resist high speed meteors in space was cracking as the bolts of plasma lashed from the heat and pressure in the crucible of the final battle below in which a new world was being forged with each blow. 

As the Pod’s entry parachutes deployed, the lab sped on by casting a massive shadow that eclipsed them in its passing as fast as it fell; plummeting to the ground as its actuators were arresting its momentum, following a red path on the monitor in the center of their drop pod. David, Shinso and Bakugo all looked at each other with trepidation as the bubble detonated over the battlefield. A massive energy ribbon ambled on, a solid wall of unknown potency and power was upon them in the blink of an eye as they wordlessly agreed. 

No matter who won the war, the world had lost. All heroes died that die.

Chapter Text

“Why?” AFO asked Yoichi as he stood in the white room, no walls or ceiling. Most notable, no door which his eyes desperately searched for. 

“You couldn’t kill me this time right?” Yoichi chuckled as he snapped his fingers like a magician at AFO who flinched in fear for the first time in his life; Yoichi could only step back and cackle maniacally as he turned around and crossed his arms. 

“ENOUGH! You have no idea how many people you just killed!” AFO blared, his voice failing him as the air in the infinite white room thinned and he could barely breathe as he fell to his knees. 

“Tsk..tsk..tsk” Yoichi clucked as he approached his choking brother, both of AFO’s hands clawing at his throat, unable to die but not able to breathe at all left him in an undying agony as his bloodshot eyes looked upon a green rabbit in Yoichi’s arm. His brother was stroking the poor thing’s head with his palm, barely letting it breathe but the moment he released it the air came flooding into AFO’s lungs once more. 

“I don’t do….THAT!” AFO fell on all fours as he retched and coughed out flecks of blood from the ruptured capillaries in his lungs. The red staining the blanched floor fading to brown, then scarlet, then pink then bone white then finally white as the floor itself. The room he was in was “special” as his brother who he could not look upon in terror of that realization. 

“You did it to thousands! Big brother!” Yoichi screamed as he kicked AFO in the gut, forcing him to rollover on his back, clutching at his abdomen that was stinging from a kick that shouldn’t have had so much force behind it. 

“I lobotomized them! Stripped them down to their essence to use as my own!” AFO retorted, each syllable intensified the stinging sensation as he pointed weakly at the green rabbit in Yoichi’s hands, his thumb digging into the helpless beast’s abdomen as it shrieked in pain that echoed into the void.

“So you dish it but can’t take it?” Yoichi smirked as he released the green rabbit who darted into the void, its tiny silhouette the size of a pin suddenly popped out of existence from AFO’s perspective as he regained some of his vigor while his brother held out three fingers.

“I can’t…die.” AFO protested as he got to his feet, each action draining him of his stamina, feeling an unknown force sapping at his vitality from within this room just for standing but he had to look Yoichi in the eye.

“Oh? Begging for your life?” Yoichi dazed from AFO’s weakness, the request clearly perturbed him as he expected his big brother to crack like a walnut not like a shriveled peanut.

“I’m begging for yours!” AFO yelled, his breathing getting even more shallow, every muscle in his legs buckled but his stubbornness kept him upright as he looked into Yoichi’s eyes. 

“Who said I’m going to be so merciful!?” Yoichi’s face turned to a stony expression, serious and foreboding. “Death is a reward too good for the likes of you!” 

“Yoichi..” AFO coughed as he fell forward, surprised as Yoichi caught him but just as suddenly lay him on the cold floor of the void and shook his head. “I warn…” 

“Shhhhhh” Yoichi placed his finger against AFO’s lips to silence him, “Save your death threats and appeals to my humanity till I tell you how I finally did it!” 

AFO weakly shook his head, the gravity in the room felt like an elephant was sitting on his chest where Yoichi’s palm rested. He couldn’t even draw a breath to protest. 

“Young Yagi here wanted to make people smile, you see.” Yoichi sat down next to AFO, keeping his palm on his big brother’s chest to keep the restraining effect strong. 

“There are three steps to every magic trick you know.” Yoichi held up three finger in front of his big brother’s eyes, curling each finger as he counted them down as AFO helplessly watched.

“First you have the pledge” Yoichi’s index finger curled into his fist. “ The magician shows you something ordinary like a deck of cards, a bird or…” His yellowing teeth revealed by his voracious grin as he whispered the secret into AFO’s ear, “a boy” . AFO’s visceral reaction was contained by the heavy gravity exerted on his chest, it took all his focus to keep breathing and listening to Yoichi so he could find a window to turn the tables.

“The world saw this ordinary boy, many inspected him including your people till we came to the second act.” Yoichi’s gleeful expression twisted his cheeks morbidly, the skeletal and malnourished face of a man who had been wasting away for 160 years from host to host as he curled up his wrinkled middle finger into his fist. 

“The turn..” He spoke softly in a hushed whisper as though trying to keep a secret from a crowd maybe AFO was unable to see. “Bit by bit, drop by drop I turned them from someone ordinary to something extra…” AFO’s eyes widened at the realization of what the green rabbit truly was. 

Something even someone as cold, calculated and cut off from his humanity would never attempt. Something irrational, counterproductive and even to him who lacked empathy never even attempted because of the poison pill it truly was. 

“Prägnanz” Garaki’s words echoed from distant memories when they were discussing the Quirk Doomsday and how to stop it. Yoichi had done something so taboo out of desperation. The pupils of his bloodshot eyes darted at Yoichi in terror, Yoichi’s visage had grown much older as he could feel his younger brother’s grip on his chest starting to waver. It would seem the room had its own price that it was extolling from his younger, desperate and foolish brother. 

“Finally…” Yoichi struggled as his skin was turning waxy, wrinkles creasing the corners of his gloating grimace. “The final act…” He put a finger to his lips giggling with glee. “Like any good magician I’m never going to let you know the secret.” As he lifted his hand from AFO’s chest, the skin on it was more leathery, rough and dry as though it belonged to someone well into their 80s while Yoichi himself who appeared to be in his early forties now compared to the young man in his 20s when they had entered the room. 

“Simplicity itself…” AFO spoke hoarsely as he could breathe easily finally with the massive weight suddenly removed from his chest. Yoichi shot him a glance of disappointment as he shook his head. 

“You disapproving of me?” Yoichi chortled, coughing into his hands as he sat cross legged next to AFO who was still on the ground. 

“ Your methods…never you, brother .” AFO retorted, snatching Yoichi’s shriveling hand that surged with power that was eating through it.  

“This container holds us in a place where we’re shown a collection of complex quirks, our brains will make them appear as simple as possible.” AFO held on tightly to the shriveled hand that was draining the vitality from his own till it too was becoming worn and leathery with rapid aging. Yoichi resisted but too late as the container they were inside OFA itself was out of even his own control. AFO smiled weakly as he felt through every twinge non verbally Garaki was right all along but he never thought anyone would ever be as desperate to ever do it.

“My good friend Murata told me when presented with the Olympic logo, you see overlapping circles instead of an assortment of curved, connected lines.” AFO spoke pensively, each word landing on his intuition having absorbed thousands of quirks, ripping out their essence over the years; he was careful never to let them maintain any sort of sentience as Garaki had warned. 

Yoichi looked into AFO’s eyes and the ghost of Tenko Shimura…no Tomura Shigiraki seemed to be overlayed over his little brother’s exhuming rage…no pure, searing, uncut seething hatred. 

“You killed…me!” Yoichi yowled as he punched AFO who head rocked to the side, knocking out a tooth or two that the white void started to claim as its own. “Six…Times!” Another blow came harder than the last, this one felt like a car had rammed into him, leaving his jaw cracked. 

“I had to!” AFO roared through his cracked jaw as he found a surge of adrenaline, grabbing Yoichi’s arms and pulling himself on top of him. 

His intuition was right on the money that the void was absorbing Yoichi as much as himself. AFO steeled himself as he had to do the unthinkable as he wrapped his hands around Yoichi’s forehead. His younger brother screamed, writhed, his blows felt numbed, his nails dug into AFO’s wrists but he was the older brother asserting his dominance though fast waning. 

“We had our showdown…” AFO cried, “I killed you! You killed me!” He tightened his palms along Yoichi’s forehead, channeling what little of his power was left, shaping it like a needle to punch through. “Billions are dead Yoichi!”

“Billions will live on without you to exploit them!” Yoichi shrieked as the white void went cold, cracking in places with the shards falling into an abyssal chasm. AFO’s attack seemed to be reflected in the container space as he smiled while pressing his quirk deeper.

“I’d say join me or die little Yoichi..” AFO grunted as he finally pierced Yoichi’s defense, a trickle of blood seeped from the needle sized wound as the floor under them cracked, tile by tile stripped then fell into the void under them. 

“It’s time you joined me!” AFO grinned as the floor gave out from under them and he held onto his little brother. The void swallowed the brothers into its abysmal embrace. For a time there was nothing; suddenly a ray of light no wider than a pin prick shot out, cutting through the edge of the infinite container. 

The Law of Closure had come into effect.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

"They fear you Keigo..." Nagant started, immediately biting her tongue when he raised his hand out of respect for her friend.

"I need them to." Keigo chuckled as he turned around and smiled at her, hiding it behind those massive leather gloves.

"This isn't YOU!" Nagant spat out, slamming her hands on his desk. Keigo could only grin smugly to her confusion.

"You're a good scalpel Kaina but you're nothing without a skilled surgeon." Keigo sneered as he took off his gloves and showed her his scarred hands. She couldn't hide her revulsion every time despite her stoic demeanor; her face contorted in discomfort which satisfied Keigo as he put his gloves back on quickly.

"Tell me why..." Kaina asked coldly, not missing a beat as her gun held steady inches from his face, Keigo refused to flinch in the face of death or was he craving the release from a quick one?

"Fear can be overcome Kaina...I can be as well." Keigo tapped her gun's muzzle and gently prodded it to the side. "I can make them love me...worship me but love is everlasting." He clasped his gloves together and twiddled his thumbs.

This serious Keigo terrified Kaina more than the dictator he had become. He had evolved and matured, become something she couldn't leash or lead anymore as he looked up at her again; his Hawkish eyes holding her captive on the spot.

"We need strong people and those come along when times are hard. I'm just turning up the heat so the pot boils faster." Keigo turned away from her, waving his hand to dismiss her.

"What's stopping me from shooting you in the back?" Kaina hissed, digging her heels into the hardwood.

"You had plenty of bullets for President Mera, did I miss the one with my name that day?" Keigo chided her dismissively as he looked intently out the window at the bustling vistas.

"If I am the chief of sinners, you will always be the chief of sufferers my dear Kaina. All this can end with one bull..." Keigo was about to finish before a bullet shattered the glass pane showering him with razor sharp shards but Keigo returned her latest attempt with his usual smirk that Nagant didn't need to see again for the umpteenth time.

"Nothing made me happen! I happened!" Kaina screeched at Keigo as she stormed out of the room. The door slammed shut behind her which such force that it rattled on its hinges precariously. Keigo was left alone. Feeling the cool wind on the micro cuts on his face he dabbed the wounds with his gloves, rubbing it between his thumbs and fingers as drops streaked down his cheeks from the light lacerations.

His brows furrowed in morbid fascination. His dead nerves courtesy of Dr. Chisaki's quirk left him feeling like a puppet, unable to feel 'anything' since that day. He remembered the "promised one" with elation under the good doctor's care. His only hope in these dark times...no the world's.

"Heroes need their dragons to slay. Overcome me...Izuku Midoriya. Be the hero we need." He clasped his hands tightly, digging them deep into his lower back, the leather squeaking from the force of his grip.

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“This was never the deal…Kai Chisaki!” Shinso interjected, grinding his teeth as he snapped his binder shut and shoved it indignantly under his armpit. 

Chisaki who reluctantly pulled off his mask, an act reserved for those he truly loathed because he wanted them to see his annoyance at the cost of exposing himself to the “disease” Shinso carried like himself. Quirks… 

“I may look like it but I am not a quack… child .” He smugly retorted as he snapped his fingers and like a malevolent God suddenly the dark void lit up. A green, evil glow from UV LEDs bathing the room in black light that made the blood on Chisaki’s clothes and mask glow like neon. This was a man who was dissecting dozens of criminals, like a prospector sifting through tons of dirt for a gram of gold. Such was his aura of malcontent as the color left Shinso’s face. 

Izuku Midoriya’s body lay mangled and dismembered on the table covered in blood-soaked sheets, only the medical equipment showed signs of life no matter how faint they were. Chisaki’s grin only widened as he got to his favorite part as the gloves snapped off, breaking Shinso from his stupor with a loud clap that resonated throughout the cavernous and dark lab. 

“He can’t feel anything so what are you complaining about?” He waved his hand dismissively as he turned his back on his “handler” and like Jesus himself there was a flash of light and Izuku’s vitals shot up from their faint beeps to the harmonious symphony of a healthy body. The mind however, sadly was beyond even Chisaki’s ability medically and quirk wise. 

“We agreed that we were going to fix him! Since there hasn’t been any change for the last five years, this is nothing but butchery!” Shinso hissed assertively to which Chisaki just donned his beak-like mask once more. The menacing figure trundled over to Shinso and snatched the binder tucked under his armpit. As he cracked it open and held it delicately in his hands, thumbing its spine he glared at Shinso from behind the lenses of his mask. 

"I'm excusing a lot because I recognize the trauma and the loss you have suffered. But my patience isn't limitless...unlike your authority." Chisaki spoke coldly as he signed off on the documents in the binder, shaking his head at Shinso’s naive idealism whenever Izuku was in the picture. Otherwise he got along just fine with his fellow sociopath in arms even in the early days of their new government and saw alot of things eye to eye. 

"This planet is already a graveyard of billions. Care to join me?" Shinso spat back, snatching the binder from Overhaul who shook his head disparagingly at another lecture he was forced to sit through like an unsolicited advertisement. “I remember that day, that light which extinguished billions crying for blood…HIS!” His voice shook at the last part, swallowing a load of spit that felt heavier than lead with the truth he had lived with for five years. 

A truth that lay buried in the hearts, minds and tongues of less than a thousand people. All leaders of the world, heads of intelligence services. Even the people in their own government who knew about Izuku’s continued survival could be counted on one hand for his crime against humanity. He was the match that ignited the fuse all those years ago. He was the only one who knew he was the snake in the garden when he commanded Izuku to let OFA take over. Paradise was lost because he made Izuku take a bite of the forbidden fruit of quirks. 

Chisaki put a hand on Shinso’s shoulder in an uncharacteristic moment of comforting a fellow monster. "You give up your humanity so that the citizens under us may keep theirs. Pity or despise them, but never expect them to understand." He remarked which made Shinso panic for a moment. 

Though Chisaki didn’t know the exact secret of what Shinso hid with the late Doctor Shield, both of them were kindred but twisted spirits. Evil knows evil and Izuku Midoriya had joined that club unknowingly and unwittingly. Shinso like Hades had doomed Izuku as his Persephone with his brainwashing no different than the pomegranate seeds that condemned the love of his life to stay in hell with him. 

"I wanted to be a hero. Look how that turned out." Shinso chuckled as a solitary tear trailed down his face, he could feel Chisaki smirking in his moment of weakness, stealing a glance at Izuku’s restored body as his sole solace everyday he lived in guilt and shame that no ocean of liquor could fill. "You don't know the things I’m haunted by. No one does, no one ever cares enough to find out." Shinso pulled Kai’s hand off his, his blood running cold as he felt his bare skin mingle with Chisaki’s palm who normally wore gloves at all times as a precaution.

"Make war and move on, and again, and again, until nothing breathes which stands against us. All else is sophistry and pretty lies.” Chisaki spoke sagaciously as he snapped his gloves back on in front of Shinso, taking several steps back to let his handler breathe again. "Look upon me and know that I can slay you at will. You have no defense save one: to look into the darkness at the back of your own mind. There, you will find devils waiting to offer you life in return for your soul. Deny them, and you are mine." Chisaki chuckled vociferously as he patted the binder full of mundane paperwork to remind Shinso that he maybe the handler but he was the one who will always be handled by others. 

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Katsuki Bakugo had many skeletons in his closet but he knew the late David Shield had a graveyard of them as he was still reeling from his mentor’s death. All Might had been a father to him since his own had disowned him for what he did. 

He knew more people at the graveyard than he did in his day-to-day life. His parents who died before he could show them he wasn’t a murderer…anymore. 

Yagi Toshinori who stopped scum like him from falling further into his pit of despair and gave him a torch to find his way out of his darkness and one day lead others into the light.

His teachers at UA, his mentors at the agency and any friends he had were systematically targeted and brutally murdered by criminals before the war with the League. His last Hail Mary led him to relentlessly track down Izuku Midoriya. 

The last corpus delicti he needed for closure.  

War made strange bedfellows but Shinso had turned into a bed bug that left him irate and sleepless. Katsuki and Shinso’s crippling loneliness didn’t help their efforts to stop their codependence courtesy of their mutual trauma. Like emotional junk food, nothing they did made the pain go away as Shinso was a man of many secrets and so was Bakugo.

They knew who really caused the deaths of billions five years ago. Midoriya was just the bomb but Bakugo could have stopped Shinso from using his quirk with one blast or blow. He was the good man who stood by and did nothing, dooming most of the population on the planet due to his selfish whims and desires. 

He went out on patrol to keep the thoughts at bay, burying them under his grief and shame. However, today he was stopped at the door by the last person he expected unless this was the day they decided he was to be executed for a million things but he knew with a dictator it would most likely be a fabricated one so he would drag himself to hell today as he looked resolutely at the madame executioner of the big bird himself. 

“Nagant..always a pleasure.” Bakugo muttered, indignant with a hint of defiance as he stood his ground and squeezed the door. 

“Baku…no…Kastuki Kun.” Nagant cleared her throat as she held out a corsage of lavender topped with a white Lotus as a peace offering. She could see the chalk like skin turn rosy once more as the assortment of peaceful flowers were shoved in Katsuki’s hand, with a flourish she showed herself in past Katsuki who’s objection was caught like a frog in his throat. Nagant was more than an executioner, she was a mentor to Shinso…more like the mother he never had. 

Did he put her upto this!? Katsuki’s mind raced with raging thoughts as he shoved the flowers to the side without looking and looked at Nagant making herself at home with his kettle and extensive tea collection. The blonde dynamite’s veins were popping since Shinso even knew how rare good teas had become since they were sanctioned by the Chinese and Americans. 

“This isn’t about Shinso...” Nagant started as she ignited the kettle and turned around to face Katsuki’s face. He wasn’t a spy but even he understood that the kettle was more of a timer and she had to spit facts in less than 10 minutes it would take to come to a boil. 

“We’re both being lied to.” Nagant crossed her arms and observed Bakugo closely, scanning him with those eyes that had killed anyone within sight. It didn’t matter if you were a kid or the President of the HPSC, this lady had pulled the trigger without hesitation the moment she wanted to. Damn the consequences if Bakugo thought he was ever safe from her.

“You want to start a club!?” Bakugo scoffed as he pulled out a chair and sat down on it, laying back to break eye contact with her, hide any ticks she could observe more actively. “Just ask your mutt. ” Bakugo snapped at her. Nagant unfortunately knew dogs that were all bark and no bite and the truth was Katsuki had heard stories of her killing human nukes, he was just a firecracker she could snuff out.

“That’s the thing about spies. Most of the secrets we keep are from each other.” Nagant smiled uncharacteristically, looking more unhinged as she did, digging her nails into the polished counter that Bakugo would spend hours polishing every day. His teeth ground together hard as Nagante’s nails did. 

“Sending people to spy on one another is not the way to protect freedom .” Bakugo retorted vociferously, hinting at Shinso’s clingy attention seeking being a cover to keep tabs on him for what he knew or what they thought he did. 

“Spies have the same kinds of needs and desires that everybody does, which is funny.” Nagant giggled, her jovial mood was much more unnerving than her serious demeanor that people feared like a sword that hung over your head, held by a single strand of hair. Bakugo just wanted to be shot with the tension in that kitchen so thick it could be cut by a knife.

“Spies go undercover. They take on different personas. Shinso’s forgotten who he is because of you.” She finished her polite conversation, shifting into the interrogator she was famed for.

“Shinso got so used to lying that after a while it’s hard to remember what the truth is.” Bakugo chuckled as he crossed his arms, meeting Nagant’s icy gaze back, “Here I thought he was posing as a friend, working me over as a spy.” Bakugo shot her a smirk that pierced her deeper than any bullet she could put in him. He had heard many times from Keigo about her potshots when she was in the mood for tantrums, all he had to do was not blink. 

“The life of spies is to know, not be known.” Nagant sighed, as she turned around and shut off the oven with a harsh click. The real conversation was about to begin now that the personal business had been set aside. 

“Tell me what you know .” Nagant asked him curtly. Bakugo was surprised by the obvious question. “Last five years will do. Just the cliff notes.” She waved her hand at him without looking at Bakugo. 

“Izuku merged with that Asshole and caused a pulse that killed everyone who’s balls didn’t drop all over the world.” Bakugo started, the death of every child as a result of that blinding light, they saw from David Shield’s escape pod haunted him to this day. He didn’t have to imagine the billions of parents who cried out for Izuku’s blood since that day. 

“I don’t have time for sentiments…” Nagant stroked her gun hand menacingly at Bakugo’s pause, turning her back to him. She was clearly probing for something he shouldn’t know, and he knew the only out of this was like Russian roulette, keep clicking the hammer you only had 1 out of 6 chance to die if you played along but Nagant could kill him and walk away guilt free without consequence. 

“Let’s see…the HPSC swooped in and shackled me, Shinso and Izuku along with you all.” Bakugo held out his thumb. “Our glorious leader colluded with a war criminal and turned the SDF into nomus with..that virus.” He held up his index finger, his smile widening as he narrowed in. “From what I know, you shot President Mera so our boss could take his rightful spot on the pecking order.” He raised his middle finger.

Nagant held out her hand, silencing him. The memory from her confrontation with Hawks this morning was triggering her enough. Her sins were known even to this brat?! Bakugo was in his 30s but Kaina who was pushing 50 felt ashamed that even he knew what she had done regardless of the reasons. 

“The role of women has always been undervalued in the spy world, always undermined in terms of recognition. Unfairly so. It’s a world that needs women.” — She spat back, her arm now pointing at Bakugo, threatening to turn into a rifle and lose a bullet through his skull before he could even yell. 

Bakugo only held up his hands in surrender and continued his little trip down memory lane, withholding the key fact that Shinso had brainwashed Izuku into accepting OFA that day. 

“Let’s see…Our little coup was not considered a legal government so the U.N played King of the Hill with us for a year till you guys sent in us clowns as cannon fodder while Midoriya dispatched whoever mattered on their side.” Bakugo’s grin had turned into a scowl as he continued his deep dive, seeing Nagant hadn’t lowered her muzzle that had him dead to rights. 

“Izuku executed a task force of the top heroes from the US, China, Russia and EU. Then our dear leader used him as a human nuke till he…” Bakugo’s throat grew heavy. Nagant’s gun was cocked as a round was chambered. “Dead from his injuries years ago from the task force.” 

Nagant still hadn’t lowered her gun so he continued. “We turned every dead hero and criminal into a freaking Nomu, you gave each hero a squad of them to keep the peace locally and internationally.” He sighed in relief as he saw the barrel being lowered a few inches though she could shoot him in the balls which would be the slowest and most painful death in the world. 

“I may be one of the top three heroes in your little sham government but I’m just pounding the streets at the end of the day here Nagant!” Bakugo barked at her in defiance, tired of being disrespected like  this in his own apartment. 

“I can’t shake the feeling you’re not being honest. That’s all.” She spoke in a bemused voice, skeptical while scrutinizing his squeaky clean apartment that hid dirty lies of his double dealings.

“Look, just shoot me or let me go and do what I gotta do!” Katsuki barked indignantly as he relinquished his dwelling to Nagant who was left smirking as she filled her cup with hot water from the whistling kettle that had gone off during their silence. 

She smugly sprinkled Bakugo’s prized tea into the steaming mug, covering the mouth to feel the steam permeate into her hand. The pain from the stinging heat made her feel something that no person in this government could...alive. 

“Next time sparks will fly.” Bakugo said through grit teeth as he reappeared, dressed in his armor about to head out wherever he was planning to go behind her back. “I’ll bring you a bouqet of violets with plenty of roses.” He spoke oddly calmly as he thumbed the door frame, the welts of explosive sweat sparked along the metal hinges with a threatening sizzle that died in a quick hiss.”

Nagant’s hand gripped the hot mouth of the tea mug that send a pulse of pain throughout her body, knowing a veiled threat when she heard one especially about her protege. Katsuki Bakugo’s leverage was supreme and undeniable as it had threatened the very thing that had taken root in Nagant’s heart. Her legacy, her protege, her Shinso. Bakugo smirked as she held her icy hot cool and didn’t point a gun but he could feel those looks that could kill as he slammed the door behind himself, leaving a distraught Nagant who flipped her palm. The cool air stung it like a swarm of hornets on her ruddy palm’s flesh as she dug her nails in deeper till she drew blood from her tender flesh that normally formed a metal barrel that was cold and hard as her. 

Lady Razor’s words of mentorship rang true like a self-fulfilling prophecy. “you make your choices and you live with them and in the end you are those choices.” She muttered to herself as she picked up the steaming mug and took a sip of the rare, smuggled tea. Memories on her family’s estate, grueling training, tumultuous career had all led her to this point. Nagant’s anger had kept her alive. Fear was going to get her killed. Shinso for better or worse had become part of her and she couldn’t let any part die so Katsuki Bakugo was off her radar for now.

Chapter Text

                                                    From Left to Right: Ururaka (Dark Star), Shinsou (Infocyte), Bakugo (Dynamight)

“Say it…” Ururaka flicked her hair back, the leather of her heels dug into the man’s hand, most of the 9 inches barely visible as she tweaked its weight by biting her lip softly as though she was mentally adjusting a thermostat. “..again!” She pressed down to the muffled screams of the bank robber, his comrades pinned to the floor by her gravity, unable to move as several Gs made movement impossible with every breath a struggle for life and death. 

“...itch…” The robber grunted as his middle finger wiggled in defiance of her. The hostages had long been evacuated as soon as she had entered the situation, reversing the roles with a snap of her fingers. Dark Star was the no.3 hero for a good reason and Ururaka Ochaco was no longer the doe eyed heroine in her 20s out to save the world as she pulled out her heel and clicked her tongue in disapproval. 

One would wonder why this criminal had consigned himself to a brutal death? This was answered as Ururaka clapped her hands and shot a grin at him. The sounds of cracking marbles reverberated with the sound of whips flagellating the exploding concrete that was compressed under its own weight, the rebar reinforcements groaned as the ceiling was suspended on an invisible cushion. 

“Looks like no arrests for today.” Ururaka cackled like a banshee as her heels clicked with every long step echoing in the empty building. The gang of bang robbers couldn’t even roll their eyeballs up but they knew their fate today was sealed the moment Dark Star came on the scene. She had a zero arrest record but the highest kill record on the top hero charts for a good reason as she slammed the doors open and yelled out into the jubilant crowd, clapping one more time saying the magic words that silenced thousands of criminals and cheered millions of her fans across the world. 

“Release” Ururaka spoke divinely like a Diva as the ceiling fell onto itself, the walls imploding and falling inwards. The dust and smoke fell heavy as iron, staying at foot level as Ururaka the Dark Star refused to let even debris steal the spotlight from her latest “subjugation” as she took her iconic victory pose in front of the eager cameras that let loose a flood of flashes followed by the cacophony of international TV correspondents hanging on for even a word from her lips today. As always Dark Star kept all at bay, knowing her silence was power and every word therefore was worth its weight in gold. 

The crowd parted, feeling an invisible hand parting it biblically as Ururaka passed through her gravitic fence. The sounds muffled as she walked like a model on the Milan catwalk to the police with a devilish smile. The police who were the babysitters of heroes had now become full of fans of the new retributive justice system that encouraged the snuffing of criminals, especially those who chose violent acts. In the Dark Hero Era, any violent crime was pretty much guaranteeing a request for subjugation as each Hero was the judge, jury and executioner. Today however, the same man came to rain on her parade but she did enjoy the drama that came from their quips. 

“This isn’t right…Uravity!” Tsukauchi bellowed, Ururaka chose to release her gravity fence at that moment so his words would carry over. As always she loved trapping those who opposed her and she knew he didn’t mean to be so loud if it weren’t for her barrier but in an instant the pin drop silence her barrier gave her was replaced by the chittering and clambering of hundreds of cameras and reporters thrusting their recorders for a comment. 

Tsukauchi’s soap box had so rapidly turned into a hangman’s gallows as the reporters assailed him. Most demanding he apologize to Dark Star immediately, some calling for his dismissal on the spot and others just fanning the flames of the drama by stirring the pot. Dark Star Ururaka as always stayed ahead of the curve and snatched some cuffs dangling from an officer’s belt. The cameras focused on her as she snapped herself into them slowly like a Harajuku girl showing off her bespoke bedazzled bracelet. 

“Take me in then!” She yelled out incredulously as she raised her hands to the crowd who booed Tsukauchi and the police, his comrades pulled him back into their ranks as his commanding officer bowed in shame in front of Ururaka. This spectacle was shot on hundreds of cameras and broadcast live to viewers around the globe as he snatched the keys from the officer Ururaka had taken the cuffs from as he sheepishly struggled to unlock them. Beads of sweat pooled over his brow until finally the tell-tale click and hiss opened the cuffs.

Ururaka placed her hands on his shoulder and before he could apologize she put a finger to his lips and giggled like an innocent child, “You’re only human Chief.” Swatting her hand at the cameras to show a moment of compassion that her viewers were lapping up her “magnanimity” in the moment she manufactured. Everyone knew she was the queen of gravity but the truth was she was the queen of spin who had survived the bitterest conflicts that led to the creation of this government. 

The cameras soon shifted focus away from her, the noise had covered his approach unbeknownst to anyone present except for the back line reporters. The wave of attention visibly turned to the President for life Keigo Takami who stole the attention from Ururaka as he walked over to her and took her hand to congratulate her publicly. She rolled her eyes knowing why he had really come. Knowing that Tsukauchi had ratted her out once again, she felt a twinge in the vein that was popping in her head from rage but she couldn’t make a scene not so publicly or risk her ambitions in a moment of weakness as she smiled back wordlessly and acknowledged Keigo as her superior in front of the world. 

“Came to take your report in person, Dark Star?” Keigo grinned as he warmly waved to the cameras, irking Ururaka as she used her quirk to squeeze his hand a bit harder than she meant to. Keigo flinched and looked back at her acknowledging she was done for the night as they wordlessly took flight. Ururaka would not let this man make her say something she didn’t want to! Keigo Takami had fought AFO and the League of Villains, he had destroyed the HPSC and its international coalition, he had not only thwarted dozens of invasions from foreign powers but forced the UN to ratify his Dark Hero Government against their wishes. 

In the Dark Hero Era everyone knew the one and only rule. 

Don’t FUCK with Keigo Takami! 

During her flight over to the new HPSC HQ where heroes were required to check in every fortnight, she found Dynamite aka Katsuki Bakugo and company waiting on them. The top 10 heroes were gathered in that room with hero no.0 Nagant hidden yet in attendance. Guess when you are a dictator like Hawks in a room with 10 people strong enough to kill you and then some, you took precautions. 

“Ok Katsuki! That’s enough. Let’s not bring the room down” Hawks chuckled at the room from the window as he got in, locking eyes with a tense Bakugo who was in the middle of something serious with Thunderstruck aka Denki Kaminari the no.6 hero. Other observers like Shinso were actively avoiding any gazes or comments as they were buried in their reports most likely because no one except Katsuki Bakugo was dumb enough to voice their opinions with their invisible babysitter Nagant ready to take their heads off if needed. 

“Dynamight was just being himself. Sorry for that!” Shinso started but was silenced as Hawks raised his hand and took his seat, Dark Star Ururaka took her walk of shame in front of the top 10 heroes. If she had a mind reading quirk, she was sure she’d die from hearing what they must be thinking at the way she had arrived just now indignantly as she took her seat far from Hawks as she could. Thankfully Nagant, her soul sister always made sure that seat somehow was always available even today. 

“Who here thinks they’re better than me?” Hawks started, his tone boyish and gentle yet the hint of conflict and menace in it was undeniable as Bakugo and Shinso’s eyes met silently imploring each other not to speak. The rest of the room shuffled uncomfortably. 

“I don’t know…maybe one of you should be sitting in my chair.” Hawks continued in his playful tone as he got up and pulled it out from the table, pulling feathers off his wings as an improvised duster then holding out his arms in a sardonic gesture to the hesitant 10 heroes present who looked on, paralyzed in fear of him or rather the stories no one could confirm nor deny what happened to those in their seats before them for the last 10 years. 

“Dark Star?” Keigo chuckled as he planted his elbows on the head of the chair and leaned in, every eye in the room looking to her, “Dynamight? Infocyte?” Eyes shifted to Bakugo and Shinso as the room was so silent no one even dared to take a gulp, preferring to suffocate than make another sound.

Suddenly a shot in the dark broke the silence and sent Keigo’s feathers flying with a hole in the wall inches from his head. Keigo only cackled dismissively as he waved at Nagant who had changed her firing spot once more.

“All right I’m just embarrassing myself at this point..” Keigo sat down once more and pulled himself back into the table to take the reports from the top 10 who had written their activities meticulously down and handed him their data slates one by one like serfs paying their tithe to their lord in Sunday church. 

“Gentlemen…” Hawks called out when he got the last data slate, swearing they could have killed themselves in that room with just the whiplash from their necks turning so suddenly towards him as he pried off his glove slowly, wincing at every inch that was coming off as the bandages underneath were soaked with chemicals that stung like burning Iodine and Peroxide. Another warning shot this time hit the table, inches from Hawk’s feet as Nagant revealed herself to stop Hawks from proceeding further but she felt the nibs of his razor like feathers prodding her back gently as he pulled off the bandages to reveal his arms with deep burn scars to the room then slammed his fist into the table. 

“We have to project strength!” He yelled out uncharacteristically as he snapped his fingers and like a magic show Kai Chisaki came out from a dark corner of the room. With one touch he reverted the burned scars into a healthy and soft skin, supple and bursting with moisture like a newborn's then in the same instance reverted it back to its scarred condition. 

Some in the room recognized the war criminal but this time Nagant was the one who kept them in their seats with either her gun or her gaze, any death she gave would be quicker and more merciful than what Hawks had in mind.  

“We have to show the world that we are the one and only true justice!” Hawks exclaimed as he wrapped his bandages once more around his arm to show how his painful scars were a choice of his to feel the worst pain so he wasn’t scared to inflict pain onto any dissenters at the table. 

“Everything’s already perfect you shitty dictator!” Bakugo slammed his fist onto the table, burning into the wood with his sweaty fist that sizzled under his palms as he confronted Hawks with his finger pointed straight at the brazen despot. Nagant shot looks of caution with her eyes at Shinso who was about to speak but was cut off by the most unexpected person.

“Callhoun’s Universe 25...” Kai Chisaki sighed in resignation as he put his hand on the table to restore it to its pristine condition much to Bakugo’s chagrin with Nagant and Keigo looking at him in relief. 

“Dynamight is correct in his assessment that no living thing can live in a perfect system where everything is provided and births are encouraged.” Kai calmly continued waving his hand at Shinso to pick up where he left off. 

“We aren’t recovering anywhere close to the 2 billion…people we lost on Q-Day.” Shinso started but once again was interrupted by another unexpected source.

“His name was Sai Midoriya!” Ururaka exclaimed, her charged emotions got the better of her. Shinso was always on her radar of people to avoid and she knew his past with Izuku so she wasn’t going to let him treat the losses they faced 10 years ago become a matter of fact statistic when everyone in this room had experienced the horror of the war. “2 billion children were lost! Our future with them!” she shrieked at Shinso who was about to respond but Nagant beat him to it as she put a calming hand on Ururaka’s shoulder. Both held back tears as she wordlessly apologized and was escorted out of the room with Nagant. 

“Anyway…the replacement ratio is well below 0.78 births per person annually. Japan was already at 1.5 before the war. It seems all the freebies aren’t encouraging growth that we need to get our country back on its feet before we hit a tipping point in 20 years.” Shinso concluded to Bakugo’s burning gaze that he acknowledged mildly. 

“Which is where project grass cutter comes into play.” Kai Chisaki pulled out his slate and threw an image onto the screen that left the remaining 9 heroes in shock and awe. The cavernous room was full of gestating fetuses tended to by robotic helpers monitoring the health of the growing “humans” in it. 

“Gentlemen, we will be as useless as the quirkless…and that is a good thing!” Kai delivered his contradictory elevator pitch to the unimpressed heroes who looked down on such measures that had been vetoed in the past. Before anyone could voice an objection and derail the proposal like they did in the past Chisaki slammed his fist on the table which wrapped around the heroes, rooting them in place as a blood red feather’s tip tingles at their brain stems from behind their headrests. He had their attention as a captive audience now. 

“You are erratic. Conflicted. Disorganized. Every decision is debated, every action questioned, every individual entitled to their own small opinion. You lack harmony, cohesion, greatness. It has been our undoing!” Kai tapped his slate once more that scrolled through dozens of quirks on it, landing on the ones the 9 in their seats possessed. “You are individuals. You are small and you think in small terms. We are at the brink and still you clutch your pearls!”

Kai turned to Keigo who was expected to pick up where he left off. 

“Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to admit that I was right.” Hawks wrapped up his ultimatum with his gloved hands wringed together, he still saw some defiance from around the table, their eyes looking at him with intent to kill. A sight he had grown accustomed to over the years as a dictator. “Sorry I couldn’t come up with a more in depth plot but One day you will look back at this fight and still be kinda mad about it.” he smirked as he waved his hand at Chisaki who snapped his fingers that summoned 9 high end Nomus into the room. 

Denki looked in sheer terror with tears streaming down his captive eyes as he saw one with Kirishima’s signature scar across its chest, skin hard as rock all craggy and jagged settled behind his seat, standing over him. Even the scent took him back to his UA and agency days, 10 years since the war could not erase the familiar scent of what he had lost as he closed his eyes, refusing to let himself break down in front of the room. 

With a snap who’s click echoed around the room the table went back to its pristine shape, releasing the 9 heroes seated, their high end nomu clearly an escort to make sure they didn’t cause a ruckus. Bakugo didn’t have to know who his nomu was as he saw Shinso’s one was his malevolent mentor from UA, Shouta Aizawa’s eyes were unmistakable despite the changes to his physique, the ebony skin and exposed brains there was no mistaking the man who terrified the best students even now. 

Katsuki didn’t have to tell who was in charge of reining him in as he felt every fiber on his suit tighten fiercely against his body.  Hakamada Tsunagu or formerly known as Best Jeanist was the man who taught him with Yagi what it meant to reform as a hero. The last time he felt the grip around his chest from his own clothes was when Hakamada had saved him from himself, he’d like to think he was doing the same today as he looked with resentment at Keigo and Kai who were admiring the fruits of their labor. 

“I would like to apologize to anyone I have not yet offended.” Keigo got up from his seat as he took a round of the table, daring any of them to strike him down as he collected his feathers from mid air one by one to give them the chance to end him where he stood. 

“Unless you learn to face your own shadows, you will continue to see them in others because the world outside you is only a reflection of the world inside you.” He patted Bakugo on the shoulder as he looked up at the nomufied Best Jeanist, those eyes also shot at him in protest but that was to be expected by a high end to retain its core personality. “Don’t live in the shadow of your masters. Learn to live in the light of your soul. Life deserves full expression…Kacchan.”

Bakugo was about to speak but the fibers stuck into his lips and wrapped around him like a vice though gently with great precision that Hakamada showed him when he was belligerent with him. He looked at Shinso defeated as their former mentors escorted them out of the room with a snap of Chisaki’s fingers. 

Keigo Takami had pulled off another of his infamous power plays. Most of the High end Nomus were a preview of what befell detractors and defectors. Hakamada and his cohorts found that out too late and Hawks knew now that the 9 would as well after seeing what fate had in store for them if they decided to go off script once more.

Chapter Text

Figure 1 (left picture) -

Top Left is Nana Shimura the hero who's life was lived in the shadows fighting AFO.

Top Right is Toshinori Yagi who lives under the sun and was always in the light, never allowed to do anything in the shade.

Bottom left is Kudo who always fought till the bitter end and left a trail of corpses both friend and foe in death from his actions. 

Bottom Right is Bruce who always was more cautious and was a more discreet user of OFA. 

Figure 2 (Middle picture) - the pulse created by AFO and Yoichi (who possessed Izuku's body) that killed 2 billion children globally. 

Figure 3 (Right picture) - The sphere in the vestige world turning into the AFO/Yoichi hybrid's raw form, looking for Izuku's vestige via its psychic resonance and physical wails for his name. 

“He’s coming around..” The man’s familiar soft voice echoed in his helmet. The cool metal of his gauntlet sent waves of frigid chills down Izuku’s spine as his heart pumped the adrenaline lined blood. His vision was red around the corners like a vignette in the dim room. Two figures ironclad in armor he’d only seen in fairy tales and some manga growing up observed him in his bed inside his childhood bedroom. 

The building he had grown up in was committed for demolition even before the war which is why he sent his mother onto the Nabu island farming collective to spare her from the agony of seeing precious memories demolished whenever she’d walk past the skeleton of the new and improved complex that would replace their run down flat. 

“Yagi…Toshinori..” Izuku hissed, gripping his sheets tightly, bunching them up in deep wrinkles till he felt the cotton rip from his explosive burst of strength from his rage. The sheets felt real as every night of sleeping in them had been etched deep in his memory, their smell, the texture and design was a cherished gift from his late mentor. 

Yagi sheepishly lifted his visor to reveal his deep blue eyes that were not only rare in the world but rarer than platinum in the general population could not be mistaken. Izuku wanted to leap on him, pummel him into the ground. First he wanted answers since he could tell he wasn’t in Tokyo anymore. He started by leaning onto the side of the bed and rotating his body to meet Yagi’s sight, eye to eye as his companion in the back thumbed her scabbard anxiously. She seemed to be aware of Yagi’s dealings with Izuku before they came to “the room”.  

“Young Midoriya…” Yagi spoke with a catch in his voice, twiddling his thumbs with the gauntlets scraping against each other as he did before his companion strode beside him. Before Yagi could yell the no was stuck in his throat wordlessly as she smashed the wall behind them, knocking it down in one strike from her weapon with such speed Izuku and Yagi couldn’t even register the hit. 

Izuku’s hair stood on end as he saw the massive sphere in the sky over a wasteland. Its energy is iridescent and pure yet it felt sterilizing like UV-B radiation that was “killing” things around it. The creep of entropy surrounding it was visible despite them being several miles from it yet it felt like it was pressing against them, the hot flames were licking Izuku’s skin that was flaking particles to the floor like dander. 

Yagi and his accomplice took Izuku into the kitchen where two figures from the site of the sphere were looking up at it, their silhouettes prominent as he could swear they were shedding flakes of matter just like his skin but they looked armored as the two he was being dragged by. 

Finally with the scraping of chairs and sealing the door behind them Yagi and his accomplice, a woman who looked to be in her early 40’s put their helmets on the table to give a human face and sat Izuku down at the kitchen table, every scratch and imperfection down to the wobbling was on point for Izuku to barely tell the difference as they started their “explanation”. 

Yagi was about to open his mouth but his companion cut him off, conscious of his fists and the way he dragged his heels all the way to this table. Izuku decided that knowledge was better than any rage he felt right now as he focused on her so he could get his bearings with a clear head.

“Izuku Midoriya, you are…were the 9th wielder of Yoichi Shigiraki’s quirk One For All.” The woman started, putting her gauntlet on her breastplate, “I was the 7th and Yagi was the 8th.” 

“Where…?!” Izuku slammed his fist on the table, denting the aluminum board on top of it. Soon after he felt restraints, invisible yet restrictive like Gleipner itself. 

“I can understand you know this is not the real world Izuku…” the woman swallowed hard, unsure how to word it so she ripped the bandaid despite Yagi’s trepidation as she leaned in and looked Izuku in the eyes. “This is no longer your mind…IT has taken hold and we don’t know how we can hold it back much longer.” 

Izuku shot a baleful leer at Yagi who shook his head behind his helmet and looked away while Nana snapped her metallic mailed fingers to get Izuku to focus on her again. 

“This is the world of OFA, you are now like us…a vestige of Izuku Midoriya.” She gulped slowly, a tear running down her cheek as she said it. “Izuku Midoriya died the day Yoichi and his brother used you to merge.” 

Izuku felt like he was slapped by her gauntlet as the shock came over him, “How am I here..?” he asked in a weak croak as he felt his invisible bindings loosen just a bit as his anger was replaced by shock and awe. 

“It’s what OFA does. It takes us in return for that great power it gives us, leaving only echoes and ghosts of our former selves when we transfer. You however, were a conduit with your hyper empathy quirk. Yoichi’s despair and anguish over 8 deaths at the hands of his brother pierced his brother’s mind like a psychic scourge. Yet like a good whiplash it reverberated on Yoichi and broke you when he wielded you as his weapon.” Nana explained but took a pause as he let Izuku digest what happened that day.

“I remember…the invasion, Kacchan…Shinsou. Years of invasion, the HPSC martial law, Keigo san’s missions and his government. Kai Chisaki…” Izuku hissed as he felt a sharp sting in his mind like a stiletto drilled into him. The memories wash over him like peroxide over an open wound caustically till the woman’s naked hand touched him and squeezed gently to provide him with some warmth of human touch. He looked up at her as though she was holding him at the precipice of a great cliff he was dangling off, ready to be swallowed by the abyss if she let go. 

“There were deaths…” Nana swallowed as she lay down the hammer before Izuku could even object or scream no. “2 billion children worldwide were killed by their Q-Factor. Anyone below 13 died painfully, slowly and agonizingly and you felt it all when the Shigirakis reached singularity in our vestige world.” 

The cacophony of agonized screeching and shrieking came from the void at the foot of the cliff like a death whistle in Izuku’s ears, the woman’s hand squeezed harder, something electric and warm filled him up which was pulling him away from the shrieks as though she were pulling him up and away from the precipice of the cliff. Away from the void that was screaming for his blood. A memory deeply suppressed was being temporarily closed with her touch so Izuku’s attention was rapt and focused as he was too scared to even speak. 

“I can confirm, you are not Izuku Midoriya but you are the parts that refused to go into the night quietly. Every shred of decency and morality that was Izuku Midoriya is holding onto my hand and every vestige here are only the best parts of ourselves.” The woman smiled warmly at him which elicited a crawling quiver of Izuku’s lip that wasn’t a scowl as he could hear the shrieks like a distant echo even now. 

“You fought the HPSC when they declared Martial Law, you put down the UNEF forces and helped Keigo Takami repel several invasions with our powers united in common concourse…to save what remains.” She spoke gently as tears dripped from Izuku’s sweltering eyes. 

“Why can’t I remember all of it…as me?” Izuku asked slowly, taking a deep breath as though he was about to enter the deepest pool. 

“Kai Chisaki kept resetting this world and you as our primary.” The woman cooed gently, stroking his messy hair, her tears also started tracing her cheeks. Yagi put his gauntlet on her pauldron as he whispered something about Izuku not being responsible for Tenko which made her collect herself and straighten up. 

“I was injured too many times..I died.” Izuku muttered, his head felt like pins were piercing it, each memory felt like a nine-inch nail inching into his skull. 

“We had to…reset you in our own way.” The woman started, afraid to say something that she knew would upset him.

“If you died, we can save more lives!” Yagi slammed the table uncharacteristically as the woman looked his bluntness replacing his normally tempered disposition. Never was Yagi Toshinori or All Might ever one to lose his composure but for her sake he had to take the responsibility of belling this cat as Izuku looked back at Yagi with rage.  

“Another brilliant idea from the mind of the man who put me in this situation!” Izuku lashed out at Yagi with a powerful blow that threw him out of his chair and into the wall. His breast plate was dented deep, smeared by Izuku’s blood. The shining knight struggled his feet, coughing blood as he did. He may have been a vestige but this was still Izuku’s mind and he could hurt who he wanted as deeply as he wished subconsciously. 

“It was YOUR idea, young man!” Yagi spat back as he pulled the door off its hinges and there was a blood curdling wailing accompanied by disembodied whispers as though some horror from the deep was hunting its prey with echolocation that its prey could hear. From the table all 3 could see the massive sphere in the sky floating with an agonized face yelling out one name. 

“Izuku…MIDORIYAAA!” 

The ironclad sentinels who Izuku saw as he was being dragged by his heels from the room. The sentries sealed the room shut by ripping off their cloaks and binding them into an opaque barrier, leaning against it to hide Izuku from that…thing. 

“What the hell Yagi! En went back to his mindscape! Why do you put everything on Kudo and me!” the disheveled knight yelled at Yagi who was doubled down on the floor, clutching his chest. 

“Shut it Bruce! He’s choking!” one of the knights yelled at his comrade as he rushed to Yagi and held his palm against the dented breastplate. He glared at the woman who was talking to Izuku who squeezed his hand to bring the attention back to her. 

“Izuku…sweetie. Please think positive thoughts. Your negative thoughts become real in your mindscape.” She spoke softly, stroking the back of his hand gently to hit acupressure points to soothe him. Something only a mother knew how to do as she looked at him tearfully. “I lost Tenko, I’m not losing you.” 

“First tell me…what did Yagi mean? It was my idea.” Izuku spoke calmly, the woman clearly saw the underlying threat now that she had tipped her hand by letting him know he held all the power in this kitchen. The ominous screams for Izuku’s names were muffled by the improvised barrier but the way Bruce was holding it against the door it felt flimsy as holding a curtain in the face of a hurricane.        

“When vestiges are made like us, our body and mind die but the soul lives on. We use our memories and character traits to give ourselves form in this world. The energy of OFA binds us to this plain. Your original mind and body are part of the Shigiraki brothers now, you are the missing piece.” The woman spoke calmly, desperately trying to keep Izuku’s gaze on her and away from Bruce, Yagi and Kudo who were fighting their own battle in the backdrop. 

“You mean the soul?” Izuku asked plainly, struggling to maintain composure from his balancing act teetering between all consuming fear and rage. The woman nodded slowly taking a deep gulp to acknowledge his guess. 

“Wouldn’t giving that…thing a soul work out for everyone?” Izuku followed up his question. This time Nana was interrupted by an angry man slamming his fist on the table. His blonde hair and defiant red eyes resemble Bakugo so much that Izuku was too confused to feel anger or fear but instead confusion as he was accosted and manhandled by the hand that dug into the scruff of his neck and lifted him up effortlessly. 

“Tell that to Banjo and Hikage!” Kudo yelled point blank as loud as his lungs would allow him to as he shook Izuku like his namesake. A useless ragdoll “Deku”. The woman intervened and broke his hold but he snarled like a feral dog which made Izuku feel more like this was a manifestation of Bakugo himself inside OFA. 

“It was working till he was reset by Chisaki!” The woman objected as she held Kudo helplessly, who relented in her grip, seething as he burned his disapproval into her eyes. 

“Bull...SHIT! It vaporized 2 billion kids using their quirk genes! It needed to be destroyed, Nana!” Kudo objected strongly, growling like a rabid pitbull at the woman. 

“It was still Izuku Midoriya! That’s your problem Kudo, no faith in people!” She shoved him to the floor and stepped on his breastplate. Izuku could hear the metal groaning under her feet. 

“Stand amongst the ashes of billions of dead souls, and ask the ghosts if honor matters. The silence is your answer.” Kudo snarled viciously at her, holding her greaves as high as he could to relieve the pressure on his chest plate. 

“It mattered to Tenko…in the end Kudo!” Nana screeched at him, “He did the right thing in the end!” 

“So was this brat!” Kudo pointed at Izuku. “No one forced him! He tried to end it all but that bastard Chisaki keeps bringing him back like a bad hemorrhoid!” 

“This time it will be different.” Yagi coughed as he got to his feet, struggling to do so as he drew Izuku’s ire in his mindscape. “We have to tell this one everything. We always leave something out and look where we are.” 

“Old habits die hard eh Yagi..” Kudo sneered before a punch from Nana silenced him. Yagi tapped her shoulder as Nana went to the barrier to help Bruce secure it with Kudo on the floor thankfully silent for now. 

“Young Midoriya…” Yagi planted his hands on the table for support and sat down with great effort. He could feel the sting of Izuku’s enuii like the barbs of a jellyfish but he soldiered on as he swallowed deep. 

“We have tried to reason with the entity, two of us already died trying to fight it. You have died many times in the field out of recklessness or self sacrifice but I doubt it it Kai Chisaki’s quirk that is bringing your vestige back to us.” Yagi spoke gently, trying to tolerate the knives being poked into his skull from Izuku’s mindscape. 

“When Banjo and Hikage died, their mindscapes were absorbed, vanished without a trace of their essence. No matter how good Chisaki’s quirk is, it can rebuild the brain but it cannot rebuild the soul.” Yagi smiled at him as All Might used to, which elicited even more pain and anguish from an impatient Izuku.

“You are linked to IT. Each time you have tried to take yourself out of the equation or we have, Chisaki brings back your body but IT brings your vestige back to your mindscape. 

“Why tell me now that I have two more deaths on my hands?” Izuku spoke through clenched teeth, digging his nails into his clenched fists on the table. 

“Right place, right time, right death, right plan.” Yagi responded as he swallowed deeply. Looking Izuku in the eye which was punctured by Kudo slamming his fist on the table and pushing Yagi to the side. 

“The plan is to fucking attack!” Kudo barked at Izuku. “So don’t get in my line of fire kid!” Kudo snidely dismissed Izuku as he stepped back before Yagi could retaliate to Izuku’s confusion.

“The plan is to get an old friend of mine to help us fight Kudo…” Yagi grumbled as he straightened himself out, welcoming the lifting of the pain Izuku was consciously inflicting on his mind. 

“Yagi’s or All Might’s?” Izuku asked, his eyes narrowed as he gave Yagi the most vociferous leer. 

“Cathleen Bate…” Yagi spoke softly, the name itself rang deep in Izuku’s psyche as memories of their battle were playing in his mind like a vintage kino documentary. 

“What’s left of her anyway.” Izuku grumbled as he crossed his arms.

“You mean what Chisaki put back together.” Yagi smiled at him with a thumbs up. Izuku looked up at him with surprise. 

“No one SURVIVES…what I did to her.” He said with deep skepticism.

“We’ve all seen her, intact and under a coma like you before we were put under.” Nana chimed in as Kudo replaced her at the barrier that had stabilized with Izuku’s own mood. The cloak now looked like a part of the wall but they seemed to be guarding it just in case. 

“The plan is simple…we give her one for all.” Yagi spoke in a reassuring tone with Izuku who raised a brow, looking at Nana, hoping desperately they weren’t suggesting what he thought they were. 

“And hand back Japan to the Americans!?” Izuku spat indignantly. “I fought her for this country! For Keigo!” 

“Leave Cathleen to me.” Yagi tried to tousle Izuku’s hair but pulled back reflexively as he received a very visible shock from the action. Yagi clutched his smoldering skin as Nana began to heal it with the same technique as Kudo did.

“I understand your hesitation..” Nana started before Izuku shot her a resentful glance. “However, if that thing is unleashed and absorbs us all, there won’t be any Japan left to save.” 

Izuku looked away, silently nodding with an aggressive flourish. His arms crossed tightly as his nails dug into his arms deep. The vestiges all took a collective sigh of relief as the screams for Izuku’s name had been muffled were now mute and no one dared to breathe to puncture the serenity that had set in the vestige hellscape of OFA.