Kings Gambit

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/32701819.

Rating:

Mature

Archive Warning:

No Archive Warnings Apply

Category:

M/M, Multi

Fandom:

僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia

Relationship:

Midoriya Hisashi/Midoriya Inko, Midoriya Izuku/Shinsou Hitoshi

Character:

Sensei | All For One, Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Inko, Midoriya Hisashi, Shinsou Hitoshi, Monoma Neito, Yaoyorozu Momo, Hatsume Mei, Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko, Class 1-A (My Hero Academia), Class 1-B (My Hero Academia), Class 1-C (My Hero Academia), Class 1-H (My Hero Academia), League of Villains (My Hero Academia), Todoroki Shouto

Additional Tags:

Sensei | All For One is Midoriya Hisashi, Midoriya Izuku Has All for One Quirk, Villain Midoriya Izuku, Heroes to Villains, Villain Shinsou Hitoshi, Villain Yaoyorozu Momo, Villain Monoma Neito, Sensei | All For One is Midoriya Izuku's Parent, Angst, Fluff and Angst, League of Villains as Family (My Hero Academia), League of Villains Shenanigans (My Hero Academia), Protective League of Villains (My Hero Academia), Slow Burn, Yagi Toshinori | All Might Bashing, Todoroki Enji | Endeavor's Bad Parenting, Todoroki Enji | Endeavor Being An Asshole, Bakugou Katsuki Faces Consequences, Midoriya Izuku Has a Quirk, BAMF Midoriya Izuku, Good Parent Midoriya Inko, BAMF Midoriya Inko, Supportive Midoriya Inko, Villain Midoriya Hisashi, Good Parent Midoriya Hisashi, BAMF Midoriya Hisashi, Midoriya Izuku is a Ray of Sunshine, Analyst Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku is a Dork, Midoriya Izuku is a Little Shit, Shinsou Hitoshi is So Done, Hero Public Safety Commission Bashing (My Hero Academia), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, who's canon?, never met her, Morally Ambiguous Midoriya Izuku, Dorks in Love, Gay Disaster Midoriya Izuku, Polyamory, Maybe - Freeform, Traitor Midoriya Izuku, Traitor Shinsou Hitoshi, Traitor Yaoyorozu Momo, Traitor Monoma Neito, no beta we die like sir nighteye, Blood, Blood and Injury, Blood and Gore, Canon-Typical Violence, Violence, Murder, Abuse, Child Abuse

Collections:

Rhynes MHA favs, Hero Acadamia

Stats:

Published: 2021-07-20 Updated: 2021-09-28 Chapters: 11/? Words: 56388

Kings Gambit

by XysidheQueen

Summary

“Not everything is what it first appears, look more into those heroes you believe to be paragons of purity and tell me what you find. “

Midoriya Izuku spent his life looking up to Heroes, believing they were what it meant to be good. Slowly he realizes the dark truth behind the glittering facades. When his last Idol fails him and leaves him with the understanding that nothing is what it appears Izuku rises from the ashes of his hopes. He's determined to tear down the corrupt society they live in and build a better one from the rubble that remains. One where flashy Quirks don't excuse evil hearts, where someone's Quirk or lack of one doesn't automatically determine their life path. Slowly he gains friends and allies, other lost souls desperately searching for a place to finally belong. All of them failed by the society they live in.

The world wrote them off as useless, as villains, as unworthy. They'll bring the world to it's knees.

Follow me on Twitter!

Notes

See the end of the work for notes

All That Glitters is Not Gold

Chapter Notes

Hey! This Fic Idea came to me yesterday while talking to a friend. They gave me the idea that Izuku/Momo/Neito/Mei/Hitoshi would be a completely terrifying villain group and well, it inspired me to write this. I have a major soft spot for villains, especially the LOV and I wanted to take this work in a different direction from my other fic. This one won't be updated as often because Striving is my main fic. If I can update this one more than once a week I will but I won't guarantee that. I've also recently fallen in love with Dad For One fics, I enjoy his character as absolutely evil and as a soft Dad so I'm trying him being soft here. As well, there is a startling lack of Villain Hitoshi fics in existence so we're fixing that right now. The main ship for this fic will be Izuku/Hitoshi but it may evolve to be a poly ship if the story goes that way.

Also the slime event happens a year before canon, I needed the extra year for story purposes! Hope that clears any confusion!

Thank you Bummer for inspiring this fic, and helping me name it!

Hope you guys (if anyone reads this) enjoy this story!

“Not everything is what it first appears, look more into those heroes you believe to be paragons of purity and tell me what you find. “

Those words rattled around in Izuku’s mind as he brushed dirt off of his newest uniform. This was the latest middle school he had made an attempt to join. The eighth one this year alone. Everytime the bullying picked up he’d drop out and return to the tutors his Dad hired for him instead.

Izuku checked his bag and sighed, several of his notebooks had been destroyed before he’d walked in on the bullies doing it. He wasn’t injured personally, he'd been learning self defense too long to let some egotistical bullies be able to take him down but it didn’t save his belongings. However despite his lack of physical injuries the insults stung, what hurt worse was the impassive gazes the teachers had sent his way. The silence they treated him with. He knew, if he confronted them about it they’d play dumb or blame him.  He’d seen this song and dance a hundred times before, knew the lines to every scene in this play. There was no point in going to the teachers, or the principal.

No, the only adults that had ever seen him or cared about him truly were his Mom and his Dad. Uncle Kurogiri too. He supposed his tutors were nice to him, they didn’t insult him and they let him ask as many questions as he wanted, but they were paid. They didn’t really care for him, but they weren’t cruel and Izuku had long ago realized that was the best he could hope for. And yet, it was still so rare for him to even get the bare minimum of human decency outside of the walls of his Dad’s mansion.

He slung the strap of his backpack over his shoulder and walked away from the school. He wouldn’t be returning.

At thirteen years old he was far too aware of the cruelties of the world. The scars, years old now, told a tale of a boy who’d been abused too harshly at the hands of his peers and teachers. He held onto hope with a desperation that bordered on ridiculousness. Because not everyone could be bad. One day, he’d find a place where he was accepted. There was good in the world, there were heroes like All Might.

His fathers words emerged through his mind again, a reminder that even Heroes weren’t all good. It was three years ago that his Dad had told him that, days before his Dad was severely injured in work and could no longer come home in person.

He still talked to his Dad, almost daily. But perhaps because those were some of the last words he’d heard from his Dad in person they were etched into his mind. He’d looked into it, of course he had. Izuku was relentlessly curious and couldn’t bear to leave a riddle unanswered.

What he’d found, it had slowly shattered that pure image he had of Heroes. Civilian death tolls, unnecessary deaths during captures, property damage. Those were the light things Izuku had dug up. The further he searched and the more he dug the worse he turned up. Drug use, human trafficking, bribes, abuse, sexual assualt charges. Dark, horrible things that were covered up and quickly wiped as soon as they were posted online.

Slowly in Izuku's mind heroes toppled off of the pedestals he’d put them on. Their perfect images cracked and bleeding with their corruption.

Still, there were a few heroes he hadn’t found anything bad out about. They were few and far between though, sadly. However Izuku’s idol, All Might, stood unblemished and bright, a shining beacon of what it meant to be good.

The more darkness he uncovered in the world the tighter Izuku gripped that image of All Might. The last symbol of hope in his mind, the one Hero who hadn’t failed him. Day after day, when the loneliness got too strong or the jeers rang too loudly in his mind Izuku could always count on that video of All Might’s debut chasing his pain away and bringing a smile to his face.

‘I am here’

Izuku was distracted on his walk, mind so caught up in his thoughts of All Might that he didn’t hear the sound of gurgling behind him, didn’t notice the malevolent presence until he was drowning in slime.

“Don't worry, I'm just taking over your body. It'll be easier for both of us if you don't fight back. It will only hurt for a minute. You'll feel better soon.” The villain's voice filled his ears and Izuku clawed at the slime covering his face and forcing itself down his throat.

Like hell, is that supposed to be comforting?

“Grab all you want, my body's made of fluid. Thanks for the help. You're a real hero to me, kid. I didn't know he was in the city. I gotta get outta here fast, before he tracks me down.” Izuku barely registered the words as his movements got slower, light darkening around him as his body begged for air it wasn’t getting. He didn’t have any weapons on him and he couldn’t fight slime.

Wait, he can see. He can talk. He’s not all slime. Izuku’s mind provided. Izuku’s eyes struggled to focus and he saw it, floating above him were two eyeballs. With the last of his fading strength Izuku grabbed a pen from his pocket and forced it into the villain’s eye.

A scream rang out through the underpass and the slime pulled away from him, still screaming about his eye. Izuku didn’t care as he scrambled back, gulping down lungfuls of air between wracking coughs as his body tried to eject the foreign fluid.

Izuku looked up, eyes bleary from tears as another figure joined them. Izuku crouched into a fighting stance, ready to fight the villain's ally when he finally registered who he was looking at.

All Might.

“Have no fear, you’re safe! Now that I’m here, that is!” All Might shot out a bright grin that faltered the smallest amount when he took in the situation. A rumpled middle school boy, coughing and gasping but with his body held in a familiar fighting stance and a screaming slime villain with a pen protruding from his eye.

Izuku was starstruck, unable to move or speak as the Hero recovered from his shock.

“Looks like you helped me out a bit, young boy! I’ll take it from here!” All Might declared as he primed for his signature punch.

“Texas...SMASH!” All Might yelled and with a single punch he blew the villain into bits, his slime body not able to withstand the wind force. All Might quickly stored the villain inside soda bottles, perhaps not the most preferable vessels but they seemed to be working. Izuku carefully looked away from where a damaged eyeball was floating, hate filled glare directed at him.

Izuku directed his attention back to his Idol who was approaching him, obviously looking to be sure he was okay.

“Well, looks like you're moving around all right. Sorry about that back there. I didn't mean to get you caught up in my justice-ing. Usually I pay more attention to keeping bystanders safe. But it turns out this city's sewer system is pretty difficult to navigate! Anyway, you were a big help. Thank you! I've captured the evil-doer!” Izuku beamed up at his Idol, overjoyed to have his actions recognized by The All Might he gazed up at his idol with shining eyes.

“Can I have your autograph?” The words flew out of Izuku's mouth before he could think and he blushed when he realized the first thing he’d ever said to his idol was asking for an autograph. All Might took it in stride though and Izuku scrambled to pull out an intact notebook for him to sign. With a flourish Izuku was the proud owner of his very own All Might autograph. Izuku stared at the scrawling signature in shock, holding the notebook like it was the most precious thing he’d ever owned.

“Thank you so much! This will be an heirloom, a family treasure passed down for generations to come!” Izuku babbled, tears in his eyes as he hugged the notebook to his chest.

“Uh-huh! Well, I've gotta get this guy to the police so they can take care of him. Stay out of trouble, see you around!” The Pro Hero started to move to leave and Izuku felt his heart stop. He couldn’t leave yet! Izuku had to ask him, if he could get his Idol to answer him he would know without a doubt that there was still good in the world. There was still hope.

“Wait, you're leaving?” Izuku called out to the Pro who paused for a moment to look back at him.

“Pro heroes are constantly fighting time as well as enemies!” All Might declared as he crouched to get ready to jump away.

“Now stand back, I'm taking off! Thanks for your continued support!”

Izuku didn’t entirely understand what he was doing, his body moved before he could think. When he realized what he’d done he was already hundreds of feet above the ground, gripping All Might’s leg with every last bit of strength in his exhausted body.

“Hey, hey, hey! What do you think you're doing?! Let go! I love my fans but this is too much!” All Might yelled as he tried to shove Izuku off.

A hero wouldn’t try to drop a civilian hundreds of feet in the air. A voice, suspiciously similar to his Dad's, floated through his mind.

“No way, we're flying! If I let go now, I'll die! Oh, that's a good point. I just have a lot... of things I want to ask you, personally. You're my all-time favourite hero, All Might please!” Izuku had to know because surely there was still light in the darkness of this world. There was still good, soon Izuku would be able to finally quash the last of his fears.

“Okay, okay! I get it. Just keep your eyes and mouth shut.” All Might conceded and as Izuku hid his face against the Hero’s leg he felt a hand grab onto the back of his uniform to keep him steady. He glowed because of course All Might would make sure he was safe, he was silly for ever doubting him!

They landed on a tall building, Izuku collapsing as soon as there was solid earth under his feet. Flying had not been the fun experience he had thought it would be.

“Not a very smart move. Bang on the door for a while, someone will let you in. Now, I have to go. See you on the flip side.” All Might walked towards the edge of the building,g etting ready to leave again. Izuku shot straight up, he couldn’t leave yet! He had to ask him, he hadn’t just risked his life to let his question go unanswered!

“Wait, not yet.  One second!” he reached out, a feeble attempt to stay the Hero just long enough.

“No! I don’t have any time.” All Might responded, voice uncharacteristically harsh to Izuku's ears, he pressed on though.

“I have to know!” Memories flashed through Izuku's mind. The doctor, shattering his dreams. Different schools every few months, different faces but the same endless taunts.

“Is it possible to become a hero, even if I don't have a Quirk? I'm a normal kid without any powers. Could I ever hope to be someone like you?” His voice was tinged with desperation and hope. The last hope he still held, weak and so very fragile after the world had taken every chance to snuff it out. Izuku kept his eyes squeezed shut, not willing to see his Idol’s face as he answered, some remaining fear telling him he couldn’t look.

“Without a Quirk?” All Might asked.

“People think I don't have a chance. That not having any powers makes me some kinda weakling. My classmates like to make fun of me.” Izuku opened his eyes but he still couldn’t look at All Might, his voice tinged with bitterness, the years of pain coloring his words. “But you know what? That makes me wanna prove them wrong. Ever since I was a kid, I've thought that saving people is the coolest thing you can do,” a smile broke through although he still kept his eyes down, tha thope burning past the pain, “I want people to see my fearless smile and feel safe. And be the kind of hero everyone in the world looks up to. Just like you!” Izuku finally raised his eyes to meet All Might's, a grin on his face. Quickly his face morphed into shock because standing there was not his Idol but a skeletal man surrounded by smoke. Izuku’s mind struggled to understand as fear pulsed through him, he didn’t scream but he wanted to.

“Wait. Who...? What happened, you deflated! Ah! Where'd All Might go? You! You're not him. You're a fake! An imposter!” Izuku stumbled over his words, mouth moving as fast as his mind as the words poured out, as he tried to understand. Was he on the roof with a villain? Could he call for help?

“I assure you that I am All Mi-” The man cut off as blood spilled from his mouth, scarlet red dripping down his face. Izuku blanched at the image, was this man injured? Did he need medical attention?

“Impossible!” Izuku declared, for surely the symbol of Peace, the strongest hero in history couldn’t be this man who looked like death and spat up blood. There was no way. The man before him looked like he should already be dead and buried, his clothes seeming to be too heavy for him to even hold up on his skeletal frame.

“You know how guys at the pool are always suckin' in and flexin' and tryin' look buff? I'm like that.” The man explains as he wipes off the blood staining his face, voice tired. Perhaps, if the man didn’t look like a stray gust of wind would send him flying, if his voice didn’t sound like he was exhausted, if his face wasn’t still stained with scarlet blood Izuku would have believed it.

“This can't be real! No. I'm dreaming. All Might's a giant of a man who saves everyone. He defeats all obstacles, and wins the day with a fearless smile.” Izuku tried to rationalize it, he’d be waking up soon. His Mom would be knocking on his door and telling him it was time to see his tutors for the day. He’d sit down with her and eat a delicious breakfast and maybe call his Dad to talk before he started his day. Maybe he’d even get to see Kurogiri and convince him to warp him to his favorite Ice Cream parlor in Tokyo and he’d finally get the man to sit and eat with him. He pinched his arm hard enough to bruise but the scene before him didn’t change. It wasn’t a dream.

“There's plenty of fear behind that smile.” The man, All Might? Sighed as he slowly sat down against the railing, “I'm counting on you to keep your mouth shut. Don't go talking about this online or telling your friends.” The man, it was All Might there was no other explanation, raised his shirt. Izuku gasped and pulled back. There was a huge twisted scar that took up most of his chest and abdomen, the skin still red and angry, pulling in and distorting his body.

“Pretty gross, right? I got this in a big fight five years back. My respiratory system was basically destroyed. I lost my whole stomach. All the surgeries have pretty much worn me out. And it can't be fixed. Right now, I can only do hero work for about three hours a day. Rest of the time, this is what I look like.” All Might's voice was still tired, but there was a bit of bitterness tingeing it. It is nothing like the All Might Izuku knew, the one who was loud and boisterous and always laughing. It made it even harder to connect the two of them, the stark differences in their personalities jarring.

“ No way...Five years ago? So does that mean it was the fight with Toxic Chainsaw?” Izuku remembered that fight, had watched every clip available but he’d never seen All Might get hurt in the videos to this extent.

“Wow, you know your stuff. But no. The punk may've landed some hits, but he couldn't bring me down. Most of the world has never heard of this fight. I did everything I could to keep it under wraps. I'm supposed to be the guy who's always smiling, right? I'm the Symbol of Peace. People everywhere have to think that I'm never afraid. But honestly, I smile to hide the fear inside. It's just a brave face I put on when the pressure is high. This job isn't easy. Pro heroes are always having to risk their lives. Some villains just can't be beaten without powers.” All Might's voice was so weary, as if the weight of the world was resting on him. Perhaps it was, he was the pillar that held society up. The Symbol that everyone looked to when the world was dark, the guiding light that gave them hope. Izuku felt his image of All Might shattering though, the knowledge that his Idol was lying to the public. To everyone. This man before him was the real All Might. Nothing more than a skeletal man, injured and ultimately mortal.

“So no, I don’t honestly think you can become a hero without a Quirk.”

Crack

The last bit of hope Izuku had shattered along with the image of All Might in his head, the two so interwoven that they couldn’t be separated. So long had he grasped onto All Might’s smile, so long had he equated it with what was good in the world. Everything disappeared as he felt his world view finally disintegrate, drifting along on the wind like scattered ashes.

“Not everything is what it first appears, look more into those heroes you believe to be paragons of purity and tell me what you find. “

His Dad’s words rose through his mind, climbing from the ashes of his hopes like a phoenix. The light it spread wasn’t the same as his hope, no this light shone on all the darkness that plagued their society. The bloodstains on the hands of the mighty, the lies they told as sweet as honey and as deadly as venom.

“I see,'' Izuku said, voice numb.

Izuku could see it now, what his Dad had been trying to show him. There weren’t Heroes, not really. Just charlatans and liars that used their power to oppress and hurt. They used their masks to hide their true corruption. Izuku looked at the man before him, yet another liar, another trickster who put on a pretty mask to fool the world.

He paid no mind to the rest of what All Might said, not willing to listen to more of the man's lies. His poisonous platitudes meant to deceive him. He was done listening to Heroes. What had they done for him? They lied to him, they didn’t help him. No hero had been there when he was getting burned by his friend. No heroes came for him when his teachers turned a blind eye. No hero came for him when he was surrounded by students who used his Quirklessness as an excuse to beat him bloody.

No, no hero had been there for him. No hero ever would be, because they weren’t really heroes.

Izuku waited for him to leave, when the door slammed shut behind him he pulled out his phone and pressed a familiar contact. It rang once before it was picked up, as always.

“Dad? You were right, the Heroes, they're all just liars.” His voice was no longer numb, no anger bled through, hate coloring his words as his hand gripped the phone like a vice.

“I knew you’d find the truth, Izuku you always were bright. I think it’s time we met face to face again,” His Dad’s warm and familiar tone filled his ears and he felt some of his pain diminish. His dad would always love him, had always loved him no matter what. He should’ve seen the truth sooner, when had his Dad ever lied to him?

“I’d like that,” Izuku said with a small smile as a black and purple portal opened before him, with steady feet he stepped through.

History is Written by The Victors

Chapter Summary

We see history told from a different viewpoint

Chapter Notes

Whoop chapter 2!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Izuku blinked in mild confusion, warping was always disconcerting. Being on top of a building one second and now in a windowless room full of beeping machines.

“Izuku,” A familiar voice called and Izuku jolted, looking around the medical equipment. A man was sitting behind a desk, tubes connecting him to the plethora of machinery around him. That wasn’t the most striking thing about him though, it was the extensive scarring that obscured most of his face, stopping just above his mouth. Izuku stared dumbly, unsure who this man was. He’d heard his Dad’s voice, where was he?

“I’m sorry son, I know seeing me like this isn’t easy. That's why I stayed away.” The man spoke, with his Dad’s voice and Izuku felt tears burning down his cheeks again.

“D-Dad?” he asked, voice so small and weak, his feet started to move forward slowly.

“It’s me, Izuku.” His Dad’s voice was gentle and he was smiling with that same kind turn to his lips that Izuku was so very familiar with.

Izuku’s feet moved faster until he could fling himself into his Dad. Closing his eyes and burying his face into his Dad’s chest he felt arms wrap around him and any doubt that this was his Dad were pushed away. He’d spent hours hugging his Dad over the years. When nightmares kept him awake, when the pain from society's treatment of him got to be too much his Dad had always pulled him into a hug just like this and everything that hurt him disappeared.

Izuku finally let all the sobs he’d been holding in out as his Dad held him. The pain from the day, the fear, the heartbreak of having his hope extinguished, he let all of it out into a familiar chest while his Dad stoked his back and murmured quietly to him.

Finally when the last of the tears had fallen and his breathing became steady he pulled back. His Dad held out a handkerchief for him before he could wipe his face with his sleeve and he smiled at the familiar gesture as he cleaned his face. When his face was cleared of snot and tears he looked at his Dad again, forcing himself to take in the graphic scarring.

“Wh- How??” Izuku asked, voice hesitant as he traced the scars with his eyes. Who had done this to his Dad?

“All Might,” His Dad said, voice tight with anger as he practically spat the words out. Izuku gasped and jolted. All Might had done this? To his Dad? Why?

“It’s a long story spanning several hundred years, if you’re ready I can tell you the sordid history of our family.” His Dad’s voice was kinder now and Izuku clenched his fists and nodded, determined. He wanted to hear what had caused this to happen. His Dad motioned to a seat beside him that Izuku hadn’t noticed originally and Izuku fell into it, eyes staying locked on his Dad as his hands worried at the handkerchief still in his grasp.

“While you, and Inko, know me as Midoriya Hisashi, most of the world knows me as All For One. Or the Symbol of Evil,” his Dad’s mouth twisted at the alias as if he found it distasteful. Izuku could understand, he refused to believe his father could ever be evil; he was a far better person than any hero Izuku had seen.

“I’ve been around for close to two hundred years now,” his Dad smirked at Izuku’s deep gasp, “I was around when Quirks first started appearing. I’d managed to get incredibly lucky and was born with a Quirk that could take and give Quirks,“ his Dad held up a hand to stall him before Izuku could even start asking questions. Izuku snapped his mouth shut and let his Dad continue his story, “I used my ability to help out anyone I could find. I’d take Quirks from those who didn’t want them; understand at the time people born with Quirks were hunted down and killed. Entire families wiped out in the night,” his Dad’s voice was haunted, and Izuku had to wonder how many friends his Dad had lost in the early time of Quirks.

“I presented a unique opportunity for people, those who wanted to live free of fear could. They’d give me their Quirks in exchange for a favor. I could also give Quirks to those without them, the ones who wanted the power to protect themselves and their family. I’d give Quirks to those who asked, provided they had no plans to use them in less than savory manners, and all I’d ask would be a favor to be returned,” his Dad was smiling, it was bittersweet and again Izuku had to wonder at the tragedies his father must have seen. He was amazed at his Dad’s Quirk, he’d never been told what it was. For years it had been the one riddle he could never solve. It had always been fun to bring a new theory to his Dad and watch him laugh, eyes sparkling with mirth before he denied a theory and ruffled his hair.

He could understand why his Dad hadn’t told him, he had never heard of a Quirk like his Dad’s and based on what he was telling him, his Dad had enemies. One wrong word to a peer or a stranger could’ve been fatal for his family.

“I worked to make the world better for those who were trod underfoot, the ones thrown to the side. I wanted to share that world with my brother,” Izuku gasped again but didn’t try to interrupt. He had an uncle?

“My brother, Yoichi, was born Quirkless, or so we thought. He was also born incredibly sickly. The time we lived in was a violent one. You couldn’t go anywhere without fearing for your life. My brother, sweet and kind but so very fragile, wouldn't be able to survive in that world.” His Dad’s voice held a deeper sorrow than he’d ever heard, tugging at Izuku’s heart. Tears trickled down Izuku's face as he felt his Dad’s sadness, crying for a man who no longer had eyes to release the tears his voice said were there.

“I also had begun to get attention from powerful parties. People who didn’t want to see those with Quirks live freely, who wanted to eradicate anyone with a Quirk and who saw me as a threat to the society they wanted to build on the bodies of my friends, my comrades.” Izuku felt the anger now in his Dad’s words despite the years that had passed. The emotions seemed as fresh as if the events had happened far more recently.

“For that reason, I kept my brother hidden. Where he’d be safe from the world until I could build a world that we could live easily in. He hated it though, and I couldn’t blame him. Not really. No one likes being cooped up,” his Dad turned a wistful smile to him and a large hand reached out to wipe tears off Izuku’s cheeks, “He was so very much like you. Everyday when I look at you I see my little brother. I think you two would’ve liked each other,” his Dad sighed and dropped his hand. Izuku found himself missing the warmth but he didn’t move, not wanting to stop the story.

“So as a compromise I gave him a Quirk. I hadn’t originally because he didn’t want it. I’d never wanted to violate his consent that way. However, things were getting more violent by the day, more dangerous. His health was failing, he was fading away before my eyes,“ his Dad’s voice shook and Izuku watched as his Dad worked to regain his composure.

“It wasn’t right, I won't deny that. But how could I sit back and let my brother die when I could help him?” his Dad asked and there was something hidden in the words that Izuku picked up. This question wasn't entirely rhetorical, his Dad was asking for someone to tell him that it was okay. That what he’d done out of love and a deep need to protect and care for his family was the right choice. Izuku reached out and grabbed his Dad’s hands in his own much smaller ones, he squeezed them tightly offering his silent support.

In his place, Izuku knew without a doubt he’d have done the same. If he had the choice of saving the life of someone he loved, even if he knew it would mean they’d hate him for the rest of their lives he’d always make that choice. That’s what love was sometimes, putting the people you loved before your own wants or needs. Taking whatever pain you had to, to see them happy and healthy and safe.

His Dad smiled at him, the brightest smile he’d seen since his Dad began telling this story. Izuku knew that he’d given his Dad the answer he’d desperately needed for who knew how long.

“I gave him a stockpiling quirk, I couldn’t give him anything too physical, his body wouldn’t have been able to handle it. I hoped that a stockpiling quirk would help his body become stronger,” his Dad’s smile drooped, wilting at the edges as more memories came to him, “It worked, a little. And had unexpected side effects. See my brother did have a Quirk that neither of us knew about. He had a quirk that could be passed on.” His Dad sighed and paused for a few moments, trapped in history, lost in memories that Izuku couldn’t see.

“So my brother was finally allowed out, when his health started getting better and I was sure he could survive. He was so happy, that first time he got to leave. The last time I saw him for years,” His Dad’s voice finally broke, shattering like glass. Izuku lunged forward, moving without thought at the pain in his Dad’s voice. He wrapped his arms around his Dad and held him tightly to him. For a moment his Dad’s shoulders shook, as if his body was trying to cry even if it couldn’t. Izuku just held his Dad until he pulled back. A large hand ruffled his curls and a small smile graced his Dad’s face.

“Thank you, Izuku.” His Dad said, voice soft. Izuku smiled back at his Dad and sat down again, waiting for his Dad to continue.

“I didn’t know at the time but he’d been taken by enemies of mine. They’d kidnapped him almost as soon as he had left. They filled his head with lies about who I was, about what I was doing,” his Dad was angry again, an almost palpable aura flickered around him.

“When I saw him again, years later I was so happy . I’d given up hope of finding my brother alive. But there he was, alive and healthy,” His Dad’s voice didn’t hold happiness as he spoke, no it was a grave sadness, “Imagine my surprise when my brother tried to kill me.” His words were almost a whisper now. Izuku choked on a gasp. Why? Why would his uncle have done that? After his Dad had tried to keep him safe, loved him, and wanted the best for him?

“You see, some of the people with Quirks had begun joining the government, fighting to protect the people who had tried for so long to exterminate us like pests. They were the first ‘heroes’, little more than government funded mercenaries,” his Dad’s voice was bitter as he let out a dry mocking laugh at the word heroes, “I had been opposing them for years, trying to change the world we lived in and take the power from the corrupt officials who wanted to see us dead or shackled.” Izuku’s mind turned to their current government. The very government and officials who enabled the current ‘Heroes’ to do whatever they wanted with no consequences. The same government that was slowly stripping away the rights of the Quirkless. He wondered, what would their society have looked like if his Dad had managed to do what he had planned? Would he have had to fear for his safety every time he went to school? Would he have to wonder if he’d be refused service for his Quirkless status?

“Those same ‘Heroes’ had found my brother and spent years filling his head full of lies. My brother, my dear Yoichi, had a very strong sense of justice,” his Dad smiled kindly at him again and Izuku blinked in surprise, “Another way you remind me of him. He always wanted to help everyone, to do what was right. However they manipulated him using those strong morals of his and convinced him that I was the evil one.” His Dad tilted his head down, as if he was looking at his hands curled in his lap.

“So they used him as a weapon, hoping he would be able to kill me.” His Dad sighed, a tired and defeated noise, “It didn’t work. I tried to reason with him, and when I was beginning to get through to him one of his allies attacked us. My brother didn’t see it, and he thought the attack came from me.“ His Dad’s hands were shaking and Izuku was at a loss for what to do. How did he comfort his Dad through the death of his brother? A brother who had died thinking his Dad had killed him?

“They managed to take him as he was dying. I don’t know where, they had several quirks that were useful to escaping and I lost him. That was the last time I saw him.” His Dad’s voice was shaking and Izuku knew, if his Dad could cry he would be.

“Several years later, long after his death, I found out, one of the new ‘Heroes’ found me. I recognized him from that day but then I saw he was using two quirks. One of which was far too familiar.” His Dad was shaking now, but not with sadness, he was shaking with pure rage.

“Apparently, after they’d fatally wounded my brother and took him away they convinced him to pass his Quirk on. In the hopes that another, stronger, ‘Hero’ would be able to kill me.” His Dad let out a bitter laugh, “I don’t know if it was for the strength or if they hoped that the shock of seeing my dead brother's Quirk used by someone else would cause me to falter.”

Izuku felt sick, his stomach roiling inside him as bile climbed his throat. He couldn’t comprehend the pure agony of finding out your brother was dead by seeing his quirk being used by someone else. Maybe even the very person who had killed him.

“I-I admit, what I did wasn’t kind or good, but I was so mad. '' His Dad’s voice seemed to plead again for Izuku to understand, and Izuku grabbed his fathers hands again to give his support. Izuku knew, if someone had tricked his Mother or even his Father into trying to kill him and years later he had seen the person who had been the cause of their death come back with their Quirk he wouldn’t be able to restrain himself either.

“The ‘Hero’ managed to escape, sadly with my brother's quirk,” His Dad squeezed his hands back as he sighed again, “For the next two hundred years it would follow the same pattern. Someone with my brother's Quirk would seek me out to try to kill me with my beloved brother’s Quirk. I would fight them, maybe you won’t approve but I would try to kill them so my brother’s soul could finally rest in peace. Yet so far they’ve always managed to pass on my brother's Quirk before then.” His Dad tried to pull his hands away, as if expecting Izuku to recoil from him. Izuku grabbed his hands tighter. Maybe, before today, before this story, he wouldn’t have approved. Now though, after seeing his Dad break down, after understanding he had gone centuries of being tormented by these false heroes taunting him with his brother's Quirk, he couldn’t hold it against his Dad.

His Dad smiled at him, wide and relieved at Izuku’s continued support and he stopped trying to pull his hands from his grasp.

“The latest holder of my brother’s quirk is the man you know as All Might,” His Dad continued on and Izuku gasped, pieces falling into place. However something else rose into his mind.

All Might had a Quirk that could be passed on, given to another. All Might had seen him, a Quirkless boy desperately begging for hope and he had held the power in his hand’s to change Izuku’s life, and he had just turned his back on him.

If anyone in the world had a right to the Quirk that All Might held it was Izuku, whose own flesh and blood had created that Quirk. All Might was nothing but a thief and a charlatan. Prancing around with a stolen Quirk living on a throne of lies.

Izuku suddenly understood what hate was, as it roared through his veins burning him inside and out. He had never hated someone before, but now. Now he hated All Might with every last fiber of his being.

“He confronted me three years ago. My brother’s Quirk had grown immensely over the years and he, unlike any before him, managed to injure me,” His Dad motioned to his scarred face and Izuku felt that hatred in his chest burn higher, growling inside him like a rabid beast and demanding recompense.

“I almost died that day,” Izuku let out a quiet cry, grabbing his Dad’s hands tighter to reassure himself that his Dad was still alive, “Without Garaki I would’ve died. He managed to stabilize me and even get me to the point where I can mostly function normally again.”  Dad smiled and motioned to his body as if to say, ‘see? I’m alright’

“And that’s the story, the bloodstained and sordid past of the Midoriya family.” His Dad finished with a sardonic smile. Izuku blinked, mind running through the influx of information. He had so many questions.

“Why did you let me believe in heroes for so long? Why did you let me believe in All Might so long? Even after what he did?” The question burst out of Izuku, his confusion plain in his voice. Just last week he’d asked his Dad for a limited edition All Might figurine and he’d had it delivered to Izuku an hour later. How could he do that? After all the man had done to him?

“Because I learned a long time ago that you can’t make decisions for others. I wanted you to make your own choices, form your own opinions without my prejudice staining them.” His Dad answered kindly and Izuku sobbed, tears pouring down his face with renewed vigor. Despite everything Hero society had done to his Dad, despite the pain it had put him through he still managed to put Izuku’s welfare and freedom before his own wishes and needs.

His Dad pulled Izuku back into a hug, holding him through the sobs and tears until he managed to calm down again.

“Why...why didn’t you give me a quirk?” Izuku asked, voice small. It was the other question that had been burning in the back of his mind. His Dad had the power to give him a Quirk, make his life easier with the snap of his fingers. So why hadn’t he?

“That one is a little more involved. I wanted you to be able to consent to that. For that, you had to be able to listen to our entire history. I wanted to wait until you were old enough to fully understand. I promise Izuku, everything I do is for you. I only want to see you happy and healthy.” His Dad assured him and Izuku nodded, he could understand that.

Would he have been able to hear this story a year ago? A month ago? Would have been able to sit down and fully listen to the entire tale? Without arguing about heroes being good with his Dad? He didn’t know, and he could understand that his Dad hadn’t wanted to risk having another precious member of his family turn their back on him.

“If you want one, now I can give you one.” His Dad offered, voice hopeful and Izuku laughed wetly as he pulled back and sat in his own chair again.

Did he want a quirk? This morning he would’ve jumped on the chance. Now, he wasn’t so sure.

“I have copies of my own Quirk, All For One, that I could give you.“ His Dad asked, voice almost hesitant and Izuku perked up.

“Most people wouldn’t be able to handle my Quirk, if they had it. However because you’re my son the Quirk will recognize your DNA and will be able to bond to you easily. As if you’d been born with it,” His Dad explained, voice lilting in that way he got when he was excited about something.

His Dad had always loved to talk about Quirks, he and Izuku would spend hours analyzing Quirks and arguing about theory. Now he could understand why.

Izuku didn’t respond immediately, he wanted to think about it. This would change his life, undeniably. If he accepted the offer he’d have infinite possibilities. He wouldn’t have to have one Quirk; he could have hundreds, thousands.

His mind went over scenarios. With All For One he could take the Quirks from those who used their Quirks for evil. He could make a difference, in a way that he couldn’t as he was. Quirkless, what could he do? Sure he knew with his mind he could find a way to shake up the world with his Dad’s support. He could do that with All For One though, and he could make a bigger impact.

He grinned, a darker expression that he had ever held before as a thought occurred to him. Those false Heroes who used their Quirks to hurt others, to hide their dirty dealings, he could take the very things they used to hold themselves up.

“Yes.” He answered, emerald green eyes shining with determination. He’d take this quirk and he would use it to change the world, use it to tear down the diseased society they lived in and help build it into one where others didn’t have to fear, where people with flashy Quirks couldn’t use them as masks to hide their true natures.

His Dad grinned, wide and bright at his son as he held his hand out. The movement wasn’t done in a fatherly way, it was more ceremonious than that as he rested his hand on Izuku's head.

“Let’s change the world together, Izuku.” Was the last thing he heard before light flashed and pain burst in Izuku’s head before the world faded to black.

Chapter End Notes

Something that's always interested me about history is how much the story can change, based on who is telling the story. I wanted to explore that with this fic. What did the events of the past 200 years look like from AFO's perspective? It's been made rather clear that the man did actually care about his brother, but we only ever see things from the Heroes perspective and never really from AFO's side of things. I mean realistically, seeing some rando with your dead brothers Quirk would undoubtedly hurt, especially as I think in canon AFOs brother is the only person he ever actually loved, in his own way.

And I think Izuku would be a bit peeved if he found out that 1. All Might is a major hypocrite (cause he is) and 2. He's prancing around with his Uncles Quirk while Izuku has no Quirk and 3. He tried to murder his Dad. I dunno that would make me mad. In canon the only time we really see Izuku mad is when he's upset on behalf of others, so knowing All Might outright tried to merc his Dad would probably make the bean angry.

Also I always loved the 'Hero Society Made Their Own Villains' trope cause its true. Wonder how All Might will take finding out he caused not one, but two people directly to become Villains, that'll be interesting to see.

Appearances can be Deceiving

Chapter Summary

We see how Izuku takes getting AFO!

Chapter Notes

Alright, you guys get to see what Izuku does with AFO and a bit of small family fluff.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Izuku woke up slowly, eyes blinking as he registered he was in his room.

For a moment he was afraid it had all just been a dream, a quiet shuffle to his right drew his head and he turned to see his Dad sitting beside his bed. Face still scarred but with a familiar kind smile breaking through.

It wasn’t a dream. Izuku realized, euphoria filling him as his mind registered a new feeling inside of him. It felt like a buzzing energy and some instinctual part of him recognized it as his Quirk.

His Quirk. He’d dreamed of this day for years, for the past nine years he’d dreamed of having a Quirk of his own. Now he had the greatest Quirk to ever exist. The knowledge of how to use it, how to take a Quirk, how to give them came to his mind as if he’d always known. The Quirk felt so undeniably right inside of him, as if he’d been made for it, it felt like the missing piece to the puzzle he’d been blindly searching for his entire life.

And yet, the Quirk still felt empty. As if it craved having other Quirks inside of it, Izuku wasn’t sure if it was the Quirk or him projecting his own greed onto it. Whatever the answer, Izuku wanted more Quirks. Wanted hundreds of shining lights dancing inside of him, there for him to discover, test and analyze. He wanted the power he sensed from his Dad to rage under his own skin.

That was another thing about his new Quirk, he could feel other Quirks nearby to him. He supposed he could ask his Dad for the exact range but for now he sensed the thousands of Quirks his Dad held. They twisted and danced just under his skin, a dizzying array of vivid colors and possibilities. Further away he felt his mom’s Quirk, feeling at once so familiar and foreign. Nearby he could even sense the flickering smoke of Kurogiri’s Warp Quirk and oh how Izuku wanted it.

It was an overload of information that Izuku’s fast mind worked to categorize. As if his mind had been training for this since he was born. Maybe it had been, his fascination with Quirks had always been unmatched by anyone other than his Dad. He’d always thought faster than his peers, mind working through problems at a speed that startled his tutors.

Maybe he really had been made for this Quirk, it felt like he was.

“Now that you have All For One, I can give you a few useful Quirks for you to use.” His Dad’s gentle voice interrupted Izuku’s thoughts. He turned wide, excited eyes to his Dad and nodded vigorously. His Dad smiled back, matching his energy.

“Okay, we’ll have you use your Quirk to take them. I’ll walk you through the process to pull just the Quirks I want you to have.” His Dad dropped into his ‘teacher’ tone, still gentle but with a sternness beneath. Izuku sat up quickly, turning to his Dad as he listened intently.

“Alright, first Izuku put your hand on my head,” his Dad instructed and Izuku barely hesitated before placing his hand on his Dad’s scarred head. The texture was odd, and felt so very wrong. He still remembered so clearly the snow white color of his Dad’s hair, the sparkling ruby of his eyes. Hate and rage swirled in his heart as he was reminded again of the atrocities All Might was responsible for.

“Now it’ll be easiest at first for you to close your eyes and concentrate. Focus on the connection between us and the Quirks inside of me,” Dad’s voice broke Izuku out of his vengeful thoughts and pulled him back to the present. Izuku closed his eyes and did as instructed. As he focused on the feeling of his Dad’s Quirks he gasped, all of them coming into startling clarity. Thousands of brightly shining orbs floated inside of his Dad. All of them beautiful, more precious than words could describe. They danced playfully behind his eyes, all of them begging to be taken to be used.

“Ah I see you can feel them,” his Dad’s voice held humor, a warmth at being able to finally share this with his son. “They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” His Dad’s voice held the same reverence Izuku felt for himself. This moment felt sacred, more divine than anything Izuku had ever experienced. Izuku didn’t know if he believed in Gods but right now was the closest he'd ever come to believing.

“Now I want you to focus on one Quirk specifically. It’s a strong Glamour Quirk. It should be a dusty pink, it can change your appearance. It can also change other’s appearances with a five point contact. Base limit for it is three people, yourself included. For others the time limit will be a few hours, yourself you can keep it going until you feel exhaustion. Should be a day or so. I’m sure you can train it to be more,” Izuku found the Quirk easily, the information he was given helping him easily sift through the Quirks floating there waiting for him to grab them. He found several Quirks matching his Dad’s description, all of them perfectly identical. He paused, a confused noise emerging from him as he hesitated over which one to take.

“Ah so you noticed. Smart boy,” Izuku beamed at the pride in his Dad’s voice, still keeping most of his focus on the Quirks he was looking at though, “I have a multiplying Quirk. I can copy any Quirk an unlimited amount of times. Go ahead and take one of the Glamour Quirks,” Izuku didn’t hesitate and he grabbed one of the floating lights, cradling it as if it was delicate china he ‘pulled’ it into him. He gasped as the feeling overcame him, the Quirk acting almost excited to be given a new ‘home’. He could feel it now, floating inside of his Quirk bouncing around and just begging to be used.

Izuku wanted nothing more than to spend the next several days playing with the Quirk, testing it’s limits and possibilities. He almost pulled his hand off of his Dad to play with it when a small clearing of a throat brought him back to his task.

“Good job Izuku, that was much less painful than it usually is,” his Dad’s praise filled him with light, almost making him miss the small comment about pain.

“You didn’t say this would hurt!” Izuku's eyes shot open and he looked accusingly at his Dad. He didn’t want to hurt his Dad!

“It’s alright Izuku, I’m well used to pain,” a small smirk came across his Dad’s face, and he nodded his scarred head slightly as if to emphasize what he’d already endured.

“However, other than a small bit of discomfort you didn’t hurt me in the least when you took that Quirk. I’m honestly shocked at the finesse you already show with All For One,” the warm and proud tone eased Izuku’s worry, but he couldn’t stop the pout he gave the man. A large hand ruffled his hair, a small chuckle accompanying it.

“Now don’t turn those puppy dog eyes on me, your Mother is bad enough,” his tone was teasing as his Dad continued to ruffle his curls. Izuku rolled his eyes but finally smiled at his Dad.

“There you go, now let's continue. There's a few more Quirks I want you to have,” his Dad adopted his teacher tone again and walked Izuku through taking several other Quirks. A basic Physical Enhancement Quirk, it would make him stronger, faster and give him better stamina along with improved reflexes.

He was also given a Perception Quirk; it was a type of analysis quirk that focused on picking out details. It let the user's brain read the smallest bit of information and quickly come to conclusions. It even picked up on things the user wouldn’t notice on their own. It was more instinctive and like the Physical Enhancement Quirk it would always be ‘on’. The combination would make him nearly unbeatable in physical combat and able to read other people in moments. Paired with his natural intellect it would make him a truly terrifying opponent. Combined with Glamour he’d be able to get in and out of any situation without anyone the wiser.

Izuku leaned back from his Dad who just sat silently while Izuku felt over his new Quirks, marveling at the way they sat below his skin. Already he found them working. He’d accidentally torn his cover when he went to examine it, mind picking up miniscule stains and tears he’d never seen before. His Perception Quirk had already picked up on the subtle airwaves in the area, the buzzing of electricity and further on the sound of his mother making breakfast. Based on her steps, the way she was humming and the sounds of pans and pots Izuku could tell she was making tamagoyaki.

He could tell his Dad was more exhausted than he appeared at first glance, his heartbeat was faster than normal, his breathing ever so slightly labored. His hands were twitching the barest amount as if they wanted to clench.

The air that circulated through the room, pulled in from the outside, had the slightest hint of wetness to it and an undercurrent of electricity. They’d be having a thunderstorm within the hour.

The new information would’ve been overwhelming if Izuku’s mind wasn’t already accustomed to taking in large amounts of data and sifting through it. After the first few moments of disorientation his mind adjusted and the Perception Quirk melded easily with his mind, as if they’d been working together his whole life.

The Enhancement Quirk was a bit more of an adjustment. Izuku wasn’t weak by any means, he’d been trained to fight and defend himself ever since he’d first come home with burns and bruises. When he’d come home with a broken foot his Dad had added weapons training to his lessons. However that was strength he’d slowly gained, his body had been accustomed to it because of the slow speed with which it was acquired.

The new Quirk was a sudden addition of what felt like three times his natural strength, his muscles ached at the changes as if he’d had the most taxing workout of his life. Yet he had more energy than he could ever remember. It was an odd, yet logical, side effect of gaining a brand new Quirk that was always on and active. He was curious as to what his speed would be, the improved reflexes and the Perception Quirk would mean he’d be able to handle the increase in speed but he was nervous to try it out.

“I’m sure you’re going to want to spend a long time going over those Quirks, however your mother is excited to have a family breakfast,” the amused sound of his Dad’s voice dragged Izuku out of his thoughts on his Quirks. He beamed at his Dad, more than getting Quirks the thought of having his family together again made him happier than he’d been in years. Izuku bounced out of the bed, and promptly ran into a wall when his body moved faster than he’d predicted.

There was a surprised snort of laughter from his Dad before Izuku turned around and pouted at his Dad. That just spurred the man into more laughter and even Izuku had to give in a chuckle. It had been a bit comical. Perception was working with the new information and Izuku knew he wouldn’t make the same mistake again, the Quirk needed information to work off of and now it had the necessary guidelines. When he moved to his closet he reveled in the speed but it was controlled now and he didn’t careen into any other surfaces.

He’d have to run a full test of his new Quirks so he could know his own current limits and abilities, but that was for later today. First thing first he needed to dress and eat with his family. His Dad rose up and Izuku was tempted to interrogate him about the equipment he was using, he still had tubes coming from his mouth but he was wearing an almost collar like device that seemed to provide him with what he needed. Izuku wondered how long he could use it before needing to return to the dedicated medical equipment he’d seen his Dad with yesterday.

The knowledge that it had only been yesterday that he’d had his entire world view shattered and reformed struck Izuku almost dumb, it felt like too many things had happened for it to be a mere twenty four hours. Less actually based on the lighting he was seeing. His new Quirk provided him with the information that it was in fact 8:03am give or take a few seconds.

He blinked away the thoughts and new information as his Dad ruffled his curls before walking out to give Izuku time to get changed. The boy easily slipped into a pair of dark sweatpants and a hoodie. His Dad, despite his own strict fashion sense, had no problems with Izuku’s more laid back sense of style. He’d be spending most of his day in the gym anyways and there was little point in dressing up just to eat breakfast only to change again.

Izuku sped out of the room, enjoying how quickly he got to the kitchen, stopping just before so he could watch his parents. He realized his mom must have been meeting his Dad over the years, he could understand why it had been kept secret from him until now. His mom showed no surprise over Hisashi’s appearance and the easy affection they traded was the same he remembered. The only difference was Izuku couldn’t see the love shining in his Dad’s eyes anymore, the way he’d watch his mom like she was the single most precious thing in the world, like she had hung the stars and sun.

Still his Dad’s body language communicated it loudly to Izuku’s overly perceptive gaze. His body always stayed turned to her. The way his hands twitched towards her if she was too far away or the way he’d reach out to brush her hands or sides, always in contact where he could be. The way his head followed her every movement, as if he couldn’t stand to not devote his full attention to her at all times. His Dad was like a sunflower, following his mom like the sun, desperate for her shining light and soaking it in as if it was all he needed to survive.

Izuku smiled, heart full and warm. This was what he’d missed, the pure love between his parents, the kind smile on his Dad’s face. The way his mom laughed, bright and free as the sound danced through the kitchen like dust motes in a sunbeam. He leaned against a wall and just watched a bit more, taking comfort in this small slice of pure happiness.

He was reminded again, that this is what All Might had tried to cruelly rip from him. If All Might had his way there would never have been a morning like this again, where his mom was glowing with happiness and love. Where his Dad was shamelessly flirting with her just to get her to smile wider. Izuku’s eyes trailed to Kurogiri who was reading a newspaper at the table while he sipped his tea. Izuku could see the amusement the smoke man tried to hide, the way his eyes crinkled and how his smoke occasionally swirled in time to Inko’s laughter.

Izuku felt the hate and righteous anger swirling with the love in him, a burning combination. That sad excuse for a ‘hero’ who was nothing but a villain in a mask had tried to tear their perfect family apart. Izuku reminded himself he’d get his revenge for that, for all he had done to him and his family. He’d protect his family.

With that decided Izuku easily let the love and contentment he felt overwhelm the anger for now as he finally walked into the room. His mom turned to him, eyes sparkling with mirth as she smiled at him. Izuku found himself mimicking the expression, filled with happiness at seeing his mom so carefree.

“Izuku darling! I heard you got your Quirks today! Congratulations!“ His mom wrapped him in a tight hug and Izuku felt the last of his anger and worry fade, no awful feelings could ever survive a patented Inko Midoriya hug, it was impossible.

“Yea! They’re super awesome mom! I can’t wait to test them out!” Izuku bounced as his mom pulled away and she laughed as he practically vibrated with excitement.

“Well let’s eat first then you can go try out your Quirks,” Inko said, booping his nose before she motioned for him to the table. Izuku easily sped to it, still so ecstatic at his new Quirk that had him there in a blink.

“Uncle Giri! I got new Quirks!” Izuku announced as he plopped down in the chair across from the other man.

“I heard, which ones did you get?” Kurogiri placed his newspaper down and fixed Izuku with his attention. Izuku had easily bonded with the man when he’d met him years ago. He always gave Izuku his full attention and let him talk about anything he wanted to. He’d even add in bits of advice, observations or thoughts in Izuku’s mad rambles showing he was actually listening. It had stunned Izuku the first time it had happened, only his Dad and mom had ever shown the same kind of attention to him. Even his tutors got a glazed look in their eyes when he rambled for too long. Never Kurogiri though, he’d sit there for hours just talking to Izuku.

Izuku started going into detail about the Quirks he’d gotten, the information he was told about them and what he’d already observed himself. Kurogiri even dropped a few ideas for Izuku to test the Quirks and other theories for what they could do combined. Izuku was starting to get into a discussion about potential combinations when his mom dropped plates in front of them, effectively ending the conversation.

Inko Midoriya had a few rules about meals. No weapons, no work talk, no death threats, no fights, and no mad rambles.

“ Itadakimasu,” Everyone intoned, bowing over the meal before they began to dig in. Izuku found himself eating double what he normally did, likely a side effect of his new Quirks. He’d have to notate down how many calories he ate now to get an idea for how much his body would need to sustain itself effectively.

He watched Uncle Kurogiri eating his food, he always had small portions since he didn’t need to eat but no one came into Inko Midoriya’s home and didn’t get fed. It was the greatest sin in his mothers eyes.

When the food was finished Izuku gathered the plates to clean up, an easy rhythm they’d fallen into years ago. His Dad had offered time and again to hire servants for them but his mom refused, only permitting a once weekly cleaning service since the mansion was far too large for her to clean herself. Even so his mom didn’t like to use money frivolously, not if it was something she could do herself. Izuku had picked up her habits of self sufficiency to a degree and was more than happy to do the dishes, giving his parents more time to talk and enjoy being together in their home again.

“I’ll need to be going now,” his Dad informed them when Izuku returned to the table. Two sets of sad viridian eyes looked at him and he groaned at their obvious ploy.

“I wish I could stay, I do but this equipment only works for a few hours a day right now. I’ll stop by tomorrow though,” his Dad promised, giving Inko a kiss and ruffling Izuku’s hair.

“I can’t wait to hear about your Quirk progress tomorrow Izuku,” his Dad said before he and Kurogiri stepped through a dark portal, leaving the home feeling far too empty again.

Izuku sighed, sad to see his Dad gone but happy that he’d see him again. The irresistible pull of his Quirks overrode any melancholy and with a quick hug and kiss to his mother he ran to the gym to get started. He stopped to grab a notebook and pen first, to notate everything he found.

Izuku found himself almost unsure of where to start until he decided to try the easiest Quirk to quickly quantify, his Enhancement Quirk. A few hours of testing, running exercises he’d been doing for years, yielded a considerable amount of data. While his muscles were still tender he could already see the results.

He could run at 25mph at a full sprint for roughly twenty minutes before he needed to stop. He could easily keep a pace of 14mph for an undetermined amount of time, he’d had to give up after an hour with little sense of exhaustion but a deep and gnawing hunger. He’d quickly run to the pantry to grab handfuls of protein bars to keep his energy up through the testing, his new Quirk seemed to have increased his metabolism to power his enhancements. An understandable side effect and while originally perhaps inconvenient not one that was hard to cater to.

His lifting amount had also considerably improved, where before he could bench 160lbs easily he could now do the same with 350lbs, meaning a more than double increase in his strength. When pushed he could lift 400lbs but it tired him quickly and had him shoving protein bars in his mouth as fast as he could chew them.

He also had a chance to see the physical changes in his body, and the exhaustion in his muscles was explained. He had bulked up considerably for him. He’d always had a lithe musculature as a result of his training, but now he looked rather jacked for his age. He traced stretch marks that stood out across his skin now, a side effect of the sudden changes in his size. He wasn’t sure how he felt about the markings but he did appreciate his new physique, it would also mean they’d need to replace his wardrobe as his old clothes that were more form fitting likely wouldn’t fit him easily anymore. His workout clothes still fit because they’d been a few sizes large anyways as he enjoyed looser clothing when he trained. Now they actually fit him appropriately.

He also examined his reflexes, setting up an automatic ball thrower and testing himself to see if he could doge them, gradually increasing the speed until he was dancing through a veritable storm of blurred balls. He wasn’t sure if it was just the enhancement Quirk or a mixture with the Perception Quirk that let him easily dodge the projectiles but even at the highest speed he managed to spend twenty minutes dodging with only a handful of hits.

Satisfied with his findings he notated the results down, setting them as his new baseline to further improve off of. He wondered if his normal training would see a slow increase in strength and speed or if the Enhancement Quirk would also double or triple his gains. Time would tell.

The next Quirk he tested out was his Glamour Quirk. He stood in front of one of the many mirrors in the gym and started with easy things. First changing his hair color, cycling through black, brown, white, grey, easy colors. Then slowly he worked up to more vibrant colors, a toxic green he found utterly delightful, hot pink, magenta, neon orange. After moving through every possible color he could imagine vividly he had no difficulty. Other than a sparkly shimmer when he changed it there was no other way to tell he wasn’t actually born with whatever hair color he picked. He decided to wear white with rainbow highlights spaced out through it for a bit, delighting in the vivid color that looked so very foreign on him.

Next he did the same with his eyes, going so far as to remove his pupils and sclera, even at one point sticking with a galaxy set of eyes that sparkled and moved like the stars themselves. Next he changed the length or style of his hair, spending far too much time trying out every possible style he could imagine and even pulling out his phone to find more, having fun just playing an almost advanced form of dress up.

Having his phone out gave him the idea to try and change his appearance to look like someone else. While he found, much to his annoyance, that he couldn’t make himself look taller he could change his facial structure somewhat to look similar to someone else. Anything that needed more drastic changes didn’t seem to work, it was almost like he could only change as much as was possible with makeup. He also noticed that the less clear his mental image the worse the glamour looked, at times almost blurry and fuzzy.

Colors were easy since he just had to imagine his hair as a specific color to get it to change, but the delicate nature of faces meant he had to examine a face for several minutes to have it firmly in his mind. It was both easier and harder to just subtly change his face. He played with adjusting his skin tone, even at times changing it to vibrant colors to match whatever hair color he had at that moment. He removed and increased his freckles, added scars or wrinkles, hollowed or filled out his cheeks.

Focusing on one aspect of his face at a time made the process easier but could mean he ended up with an uneven finished product, the more he changed the more time he had to spend on it carefully imagining each part until it was perfect with no blur or warped portion.

His mom came to check in on him at one point, nearly screaming when she didn’t see her normal son but instead a boy with bottomless black eyes, almost too wide for his face, long lanky toxic green vines for hair, a too wide shark toothed smile and what looked like tar black scales littering paper white skin. Izuku fell over laughing, releasing the glamour he’d been playing with much to his mothers relief.

“Sorry mom! I was trying out a few different things at once!” he gasped out, his mom still holding a hand to her heaving chest. She shot him a distinctly unamused look before she walked over. He was surrounded by empty protein bar wrappers, empty water bottles and his notebook. He blinked, suddenly realizing that his eyes were stinging from the lights in the room. They hadn’t bothered him before but it seemed his new Glamour Quirk made him photosensitive after prolonged usage.

A nagging feeling in the back of his mind that perhaps he was still wearing the Glamour and maybe he didn’t really look like this flashed through him before his logical side shut it down. It seemed it had a dual side effect of photosensitivity and perhaps a more subtle sense of not recognizing oneself. Since Izuku had just gotten the Quirk and knew his mental and physical state before it made the side effects more obvious rather than subtly insidious. It was something he’d have to be mindful of if he used the Glamour for extended amounts of time. Perhaps he should take a photo of himself as he was now so he could use it as a reminder.

“You’ve been in here for about six hours, Izuku it’s time for a break,” His mom interrupted his thoughts and Izuku blushed, he hadn’t realized he’d been in here for so long. His notebook was full of notes and theories and new tests to try out and he now realized his hand ached from the amount of note taking he’d been doing. Slowly he cleaned up his mess and brightened up when he figured out an easy test he could do for his Perception Quirk with his mom. Grabbing a set of playing cards from his room he dropped them on the coffee table in front of the couch his mom was sitting on. She turned a curious glance to him as he plopped down next to her.

“I want to run a test on my Perception Quirk! Nothing physical, just some simple probability tests.” He assured his mom with a grin. His eyes still stung a bit from the light but it was easy to push the discomfort aside. His mom gave him a considering glance before she nodded in acceptance.

“Okay but just for an hour, okay? You shouldn’t push yourself too much.“ His mom chided before she slowly pulled the cards out and started shuffling them.

It started out with her pulling cards and holding them where he couldn’t see them for him to guess. He ended up usually getting the card correct after a few minutes, through a mix of his new Quirk reading all the subtle body language he’d never noticed before, the reflection of the card in her eyes or even by an almost unconscious card counting. Soon they ended up in a game of Texas Hold em that Izuku didn’t do too badly at all things considered. His mother was a master poker player but his new Quirk put him at her skill level for once. He still managed to lose, Inko Midoriya’s skills at games was not one to be underestimated and his mom turned positively vicious during any kind of game.

Monopoly had to be officiated by Kurogiri for years since there had been an entire instance of weapons being pulled while his mother cackled surrounded by fake money. Suffice to say any of his Dad’s underlings who they had met no longer accepted any invitations to Family Game Night.

Eventually his mom had to call a halt to the game when Izuku started noticeably wincing. His photosensitivity had barely dulled and he was now sporting a migraine from extended conscious use of his Perception Quirk. It looked like as long as it simply stayed in the background he didn’t suffer anything but when he focused on using it it had drawbacks. His mom gave him several extra strength migraine painkillers before hustling to his room with a glass of water. He gratefully fell into his bed, lights off and blackout curtains tightly closed over his windows. He stared at the dark ceiling, content despite his pain. His entire body was sore from his testing but it was so satisfying. His pain was a result of his Quirks . Any amount of pain he dealt with because of them was worth it because he finally had power.

He fell asleep as the meds kicked in, a smile on his face and mind working through a million different plans, he had power now and it was time to start figuring out how to use it to bring society crashing to the ground.

Chapter End Notes

If anyone has more suggestions for Quirks for Izuku to acquire let me know! Ive had a lot of fun coming up with them but I always love more ideas!

Unlikely Friends

Chapter Summary

Izuku makes a new friend!

Chapter Notes

Welcome back! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Izuku curiously explored his father’s office, examining the different machines and giving a cursory glance to the papers on his Dad’s desk.

It had been two months since that fateful day that had changed his life. He’d gotten far more used to his new Quirks and using them was as easy as breathing. He’d found his Enhancement Quirk did increase his gains when it came to working out but not as much as he’d hoped. Still he had grown noticeably, his mother constantly bemoaned the amount of clothes he went through. He also found a great amount of delight in changing his hair and eye color daily, matching it to however he felt or even to his clothes. Today he had thought it prudent to match his Dad’s normal look, his curly mop of hair was snow white and he sported bright ruby red eyes.

Since that first day he hadn’t been back to his Dad’s office, wherever it was. His Dad had come to the mansion often now and was more than happy to spend hours discussing Izuku’s Quirks with him. Izuku had asked for more Quirks, unabashedly greedy but his Dad had said he’d need to find more Quirks on his own. Izuku had pouted but accepted, it made sense his Dad had given him all the tools he needed to go out on his own and get what he wanted. He hadn’t just yet but he was starting to feel an undeniable itch, an almost hungry feeling in his chest. All For One was a greedy Quirk, he was coming to find. It wanted more Quirks, always more. He was curious how long he could go before the itch became unbearable.

Today was a special day though, his Dad said he had someone he wanted to meet. He wasn’t told anything more and Kurogiri had teleported him here a few minutes ago. His Dad wasn’t here yet which left Izuku nothing to do but to explore. A familiar feeling behind him heralded a portal and Izuku turned to see his Dad stepping through. Izuku grinned broadly at him, practically bouncing to him, his energy palpable.

“Dad!” he called before crashing into the man, reveling in the immediate hug he received. After being without his Dad’s hugs for three years he took every chance he could to get them now.

“Hello Izuku,” his Dad chuckled and ruffled his hair, “I like the new look,” he praised. Izuku practically preened under the compliment as he pulled back and tugged at the white hair.

“I wanted to look like you today,” He said, suddenly a bit shy. He was rewarded with a large smile that banished his nerves.

“I’m glad Izuku, now I brought you here to meet someone very special,” his Dad moved to his desk and rummaged through some of the papers before he found something he was looking for. He folded it and put it in a pocket before turning back to Izuku.

“He’s close to your age, only about five years older. He’s a sort of protege you could say,” Izuku’s Dad leaned against his desk as he explained, seeming ready for Izuku’s inevitable questions.

“Why haven’t I met him before?” Izuku asked, his Dad had brought underlings or business partners home before for them to meet. Izuku had always been more or less aware that his Dad wasn’t a typical businessman but since he’d been made fully aware of their families history his Dad had been more open about discussing his actual businesses. He played in the grey line between legal and illegal mostly while occasionally dipping straight into illegality. Izuku found he no longer cared what the laws decided were illegal or not, if the people who made those laws were so corrupt, what did their rules matter?

“I got him soon after a very traumatic Quirk accident. He was very volatile for a long time, and closer tied to my more less than reputable business ventures,” his Dad explained patiently. Izuku smiled softly at how open his Dad was with him now, before he knew the truth his Dad would’ve never brought this kind of thing up but now Izuku had proven he was trustworthy enough to be privy to more. Their long rants about society and it’s blatant need for reformation had done much to foster an even closer bond between them. The past two months had done a lot to open Izuku’s eyes to the even darker sides of Hero Culture than what he’d originally found on his own.

“Now however I think you two would get along. He’s highly impulsive and can be ruled by his anger, you’ll be a good counter weight for him. I think you two can do great things together,” his Dad smiled proudly at him and Izuku beamed in response, his Dad had faith in him to do something amazing and that knowledge lifted him high.

A portal opened next to them and his Dad nodded at it before walking through, Izuku eagerly followed him. He came out in what looked to be a very expensive penthouse apartment. Sounds from a video game console filled the room before it was suddenly cut off.

“Sensei!” A masculine voice cried out. It was rough, far more raspy than seemed to be appropriate for the young adult he saw rushing towards his dad. The teen had shaggy light blue hair, eyes a darker red than Izuku’s at the moment, his skin seemed dry and scarred around his eyes and lips. Small scars and red scratches littered his neck, between what looked to be life sized tattoos of hands grabbing his neck. Izuku looked at them, curious if the teen had others, he’d always found tattoos interesting and had even used his Glamour Quirk to give himself a few occasionally. His mom had nearly had a heart attack when he’d come out one day with tattoos covering his face, neck and arm. She had calmed down when he made them vanish in the blink of an eye and barely scolded him about them, since they were not technically permanent.

The other boy came to a screeching halt when he noticed Izuku, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. Izuku gave him his best grin before his eyes caught on the video game in the background. It hadn’t in fact been paused but had been muted.

“Oh hey is that World?” Izuku asked, leaning forward. He’d found he enjoyed playing video games, the one time he could interact with other people without them judging him for his Quirklessness. Well back when he didn’t have a Quirk. Sure there were toxic players but they were toxic because they sucked as people, not because of his Quirk status.

“Uh yea?” The other boy responded, more of a question than a statement. His eyes were still narrowed in suspicion and his hands were flexing, one twitching as if it wanted to add to the scratches on his neck. Izuku’s Quirk informed him he was in a battle stance with muscles tensed. If he attacked he’d open up with a right handed grab towards his face. He had a five finger activated Quirk, something highly destructive...ah a disintegration Quirk based on the abnormal amount of dust in the apartment and the faint feeling of decay he could feel from the others Quirk.

Izuku carefully kept any kind of emotion that would show he was aware of these facts off of his face. Instead he turned excited eyes to the other boy, not even faking his enthusiasm.

“What’s your level? You got through the tempered Elders yet? Man Toasters a major bitch to deal with,” Izuku babbled and winced when his Dad frowned at his cursing. It was normal when he gamed but his parents didn’t approve of such language. That however was what seemed to be necessary to get the other teen to calm down. His body relaxed and his hands stopped twitching as he looked back at the screen.

“Eh I think Kushala’s more of a pain personally. I always seem to get carted in his tornadoes,” the man shrugged but he was smiling the barest amount.

“I’m Midoriya Izuku!” Izuku greeted, holding his hand out for a greeting. The other boy stared at him, surprise and hesitancy on his face. Ah so he didn’t have control over his Quirk, Izuku didn’t drop his hand until the other boy delicately took it, pinky finger kept raised as he shook the offered hand once.

“Shigaraki Tomura,” the other boy answered as he quickly pulled his hand back. His Dad was smiling now as he looked between them, clapping his hands once to get their attention.

“Tomura, this is my son, he’s recently been brought to see our side of things. You two will be working together in the future,” Dad said, voice slightly excited but leaving no room for argument. The other boy just nodded, although Izuku got the sense he wanted to argue or roll his eyes. Izuku grinned brightly at him again and got a small huff in response from the other boy.

“Yes Sensei.” Shigaraki answered with a small bow. His Dad nodded before he motioned to Kurogiri, a portal opening behind him.

“I’ll be on my way. You two get to know each other. Whenever you’re ready to go Izuku just text Kurogiri,” His Dad ruffled both their hair before he left. Shigaraki grumbled quietly about it but Izuku noticed the way the boy subtly titled his head towards it and the light in his eyes. Seemed this boy saw Izuku’s Dad in a fatherly manner. Izuku hoped it meant they could bond, he’d always wanted a sibling.

Soon the two boys were left alone and Shigaraki just stared at him for a moment before he shook his head and turned to drop back on the couch. Izuku looked around for a moment before he dropped next to him, despite the lack of invitation.

For fun while the boy gamed silently Izuku changed his hair color to match Shigaraki’s, even adding a few of his favorite tattoos to his neck and bare arms. When the other boy turned to look at him the way he dropped his controller with a surprised yelp and fumbled for a moment had Izuku cackling.

“Sorry! It’s one of my Quirks!” Izuku giggled as he consciously dropped the glamour, back to his normal looks. The other boy glared as he carefully picked up the controller again, still keeping his pinky fingers raised.

“Why not wear gloves?” Izuku asked, checking to be sure the boy was in the gathering hub and not mid quest before he asked.

“Do you know what my Quirk is?” The other boy asked as he kept his attention on the screen, his shoulders tensed slightly though. Izuku mentally noted it, he was used to being judged for his Quirk.

“Disintegration of some kind I’d assume,” Izuku shrugged nonchalantly but the comment made the other boy fully turn his head to stare at him, surprise evident.

“Did Sensei-”

“Tell me? No, I have a type of Perception Quirk. I noticed the way you held your hands, and the abnormal amount of dust in the apartment,” Izuku interrupted carelessly. The boy's mouth tightened when he did and Izuku noted that down as well, he didn’t like to be interrupted. Izuku wondered if he put up with it because of who Izuku was. Or perhaps he’d garnered more goodwill than he’d assumed.

“And you still shook my hand?“ The other boy raised an eyebrow as he looked at him. Izuku grinned brightly in response and got a scoff from the teen.

“Yup!” He responded, voice high and chipper. Shigaraki rolled his eyes and leaned back as he actually looked at him. For once seeming to see him as a person rather than just his Dad’s son here solely to annoy him.

“Don’t know if you’re dumb or brave,” Shigaraki muttered but he was relaxing more, tension leaking from his body like water through a chipped bucket.

“Maybe I’m smart and realized you wouldn’t hurt me,” Izuku argued, he got a dry bark of laughter.

“I could kill you,” Shigaraki said, leaning forward and holding out a long fingered hand to stop a few inches from Izuku's face. Izuku stared at the other boy, completely  unimpressed.

“Yea? And? So could a particularly angry goose.” Izuku folded his arms and rolled his eyes, a perfect mimicry of Shigaraki’s earlier motion, “Didn’t answer my question, why don’t you wear gloves?” Izuku pushed, true interest shining through. What he really wanted to do was ask the other boy every detail of his Quirk, but he got the sense Shigaraki would close up if he did.

“Tch,” Shigaraki pulled his hand back and grabbed the controller again, running off to check his gardens, seemingly done with the conversation. It was several minutes before he responded.

“I’d disintegrate them, since all five fingers touch them,” Shigaraki said, voice quiet. Izuku jolted, he’d been looking through posts on a hero hate forum and had almost forgotten their entire conversation.

“Then wear artist's gloves,” Izuku said, voice exasperated. That made Shigaraki pause, face scrunched in obvious confusion. Izuku sighed, a small smile on his face as he pulled up an example and showed it to Shigaraki. The way the boy’s eyes widened, then sparkled made a matching smile pop onto Izuku’s face. He’d never made someone who wasn’t his family look like that before. It felt...nice. To help someone.

Izuku turned his phone back around and sent the image to Kurogiri with a request to have them sent to Shigaraki as soon as possible. The other boy was staring at his hands at the moment, seeming wonderstruck by the idea that there was a way for him to prevent himself from accidentally destroying anything he touched.

Kurogiri must have been very eager to stop Shigaraki’s accidental destruction because ten minutes later several packages dropped on the coffee table before them, coming through a small portal. Both boys stared at the packages then each other before Izuku burst out into laughter again. Shigaraki actually chuckled a bit too before he started opening the boxes.

“Man I don’t know I’ve ever seen Uncle Giri get something that fast before,” Izuku commented as his laughter subsided. Shigaraki paused and looked at him with a raised eyebrow, half way through slipping on a pair of red artists gloves.

“Uncle Giri?” He asked, Izuku nodded.

“Yea he’s been around since before I can remember. I call him Uncle Giri cause that’s what he basically is for me,” Izuku shrugged as he leaned back. Shigaraki finished pulling the gloves on but didn’t resume his game yet.

“What’s your opinion on All Might?” Shigaraki asked the new question suddenly enough to give Izuku pause. Izuku hummed as he considered his response, he knew what he felt for the man. A deep and fathomless well of loathing filled him at the man's name. However he wasn’t sure how the other boy would respond. His Dad implied Shigaraki was a villain, which would mean he probably didn’t like heroes. However did that mean he didn’t like all Heroes or just some? Perception hadn’t picked up on any...oh nevermind there was a picture of All Might on a wall he couldn’t see originally, it was slashed as if it’d been used as target practice for knives.

“I think he’s a fucking fraud, a sack of self righteous shit.” Izuku stated bluntly, letting his true anger leak into the words. Shigaraki stared at him, an almost manic light in his eyes as a wide smile broke across his face.

Geeze, does that hurt his skin? It’s so chapped. Izuku found himself musing. Perhaps he could convince Kurogiri to leave some strong moisturizer around. Shigaraki hadn’t thought of the gloves, maybe he hadn’t considered skincare for his dry skin. Izuku shifted a bit nervously when Shigaraki just kept smiling at him, staring at him with that almost mad look.

“Wanna play Smash?” The silence was finally broken and Izuku sat up straight, smiling broadly as he took the offered controller.

When Kurogiri came to pick up Izuku hours later he was treated to the sight of the normally well mannered Izuku standing on the couch screaming obscenities at a laughing Shigaraki as a victory screen on the TV lit the room up. Both boys froze when Kurogiri coughed, Izuku’s eyes widening before a gentle kick from Shigaraki sent the boy tumbling to the ground. Izuku had changed his appearance to match Shigaraki again and as Shigaraki gloated from the couch at a very flustered Izuku Kurogiri couldn’t help the thought that the two really did look like brothers.

“Master Izuku, your mother says it’s time to come home for dinner,” Kurogiri interrupted the antics, saving Shigaraki from the pounce that Izuku had been gearing up for. Izuku sighed and pouted, not wanting to leave his new friend. His first friend since his diagnosis so many years ago.

Izuku brightened when an idea struck him and he turned to fix Shigaraki with sparkling eyes. The other boy backed up, suspicion clear in his face.

“Want to come to dinner with me?” Izuku asked, leaning forward. Shigaraki seemed unable to respond, apparently never having had such an offer given to him before. Izuku turned to Kurogiri when the other boy never responded.

“That would be okay, right Uncle Giri?” Izuku asked, pulling out the puppy dog eyes and pout that always worked on the shadow man. Kurogiri’s yellow eyes closed and he noticeably sighed before he nodded in answer.

“Master Tomura would be most welcome to join us for dinner,” Kurogiri responded and Izuku squealed, grabbing a gloved hand with no hesitation and dragged a still shellshocked Shigaraki through the portal. The other boy seemed to have completely bluescreened, either because of the easy contact or the offer Izuku wasn’t sure.

“Izuku!” His mom’s familiar voice called out as Izuku arrived in their dining room, Shigaraki a step behind him. The other boy stiffened but when he tried to pull away Izuku just grabbed tighter, he shot the boy with a kind smile. Shigaraki’s face had closed again in the new environment and he looked ready to flee or fight at the slightest hint of a threat.

“Ah I see you brought a friend! Good thing I made extra Katsudon!” His Mom smiled a similarly kind smile at Shigaraki and Izuku turned to watch the confusion playing across the older boy's face.

“Go ahead and sit down boys,” his Dad chimed in from the table and Shigaraki noticeably startled, turning to see his Sensei at the table, sipping tea as he looked through his phone.

“Sensei?” Shigaraki asked as Izuku led the boy to a seat. Izuku sat next to him and shared a smile with his Mom before she vanished back into the kitchen.

“Hello Tomura, it’s good to see you and Izuku are getting along,” Dad responded, the kind words and proud smile he sent the boys positively lit Shigaraki up. Izuku hadn’t realized the other teen could look so happy, he was practically glowing. Izuku smiled, wondering if he looked the same when his Dad praised him. Probably.

“Oh, are those the gloves Kurogiri acquired for you?” Dad asked, noticing the bright red gloves on Shigaraki’s hands when he went to scratch at his neck. The other boy froze, face blushing as he quickly hid his hands.

“It was my idea,” Izuku said, taking the attention off the other boy. Shigaraki ducked his head as he tugged at the gloves, obviously not used to the attention. Izuku wondered if the other boy had any interactions besides his Dad and Kurogiri. Perhaps they were similar in more ways than he thought, both of them alone for so long except for the three adults.

“I’m not surprised, you’ve always been rather inventive Izuku,” His Dad responded, voice still proud. Izuku grinned at his Dad.

His Mom chose then to appear with food, depositing plates before everyone. After thanking her for the meal, Shigaraki a step behind as he seemed unfamiliar with the tradition, they all dug in. Shigaraki still seemed amazed that he could pick up the cutlery without disintegrating it, touching the plate and glass occasionally, eyes wide when they didn’t disappear. Izuku hid his smile at the child-like actions, shoving food into his mouth. He didn’t miss his Dad’s smile at the action though, showing Izuku that the man definitely cared for Shigaraki.

“So, Tomura was it?” Inko chimed in, distracting Shigaraki from picking his cup up for the tenth time in five minutes. The boy jolted, almost knocking the cup over if Izuku hadn’t reached out to steady it as the teen’s head whipped to stare at his Mom.

“Shigaraki Tomura,” Shigaraki responded, “Ma’am,” he added nervously. Izuku hid a giggle in his own drink. Inko was in her Mom role right now, practically radiating a warm aura and Izuku had to wonder if Shigaraki had bad experiences with his own mother because he looked like a fish out of water.

“I’m glad Izuku seems to have finally made a friend,” Inko continued and Izuku almost choked on his food as Shigaraki’s head whipped between them all, trying to figure out what she meant. He looked practically panicked, this man who had shown such a terrifying aura and threatened Izuku’s life was defeated by a Mom . He didn’t seem to want to contradict her on calling him Izuku’s friend although the greenette doubted they were at that point yet. He’d like to be though, the boy seemed like a kindred soul. Someone failed by their society in the same way Izuku had been, ostracized for something he couldn’t control.

He assumed so anyways, based on his awkwardness and completely absent social skills. The surprise he showed when someone willingly initiated any kind of hand contact with him. His hyperfixation on games as a means to escape, his utter hatred for hero society. He’d heard a few choice opinions from Shigaraki during their gaming session about Heroes that Izuku wholeheartedly agreed with.

“So what do you do for fun Shigaraki?” Inko plied, another warm smile on her face that just served to further confuse and fluster the awkward teenager. Everyone else hid smirks or laughs in their food as they watched Inko mercilessly attack Shigaraki with kindness.

“ Fatality,” Izuku muttered just loud enough for Shigaraki to hear. That earned him a glare from the boy but the game lingo seemed to calm him a bit.

“I game,” Shigaraki responded, staring at his food as he picked at it. Izuku noticed he didn’t seem to have a large appetite, although it could be nerves. His almost unhealthily skinny frame implied he didn’t eat very well though. Izuku frowned but mentally noted it as a problem to address eventually. It could be a Quirk side effect along with the dry skin.

“Oh? Izuku enjoys gaming too. I’m sure you two can play together,” Inko noticed both boys seemed to have finished their food, although she noticeably frowned at the pitiful amount Shigaraki had eaten, “Why don’t you take Shigaraki to the game room Izuku? Grab any snacks you want,” she practically ordered and Shigaraki noticeably relaxed at the mention of being able to get away from the dinner.

“You sure Mom?” Izuku asked, looking at the dishes, he always did them.

“It’s fine Izuku, it’s your first time having a friend over. I’ll do the dishes,” Inko responded and Izuku frowned but slowly rose.

“I’ll take care of them Inko-san,” Kurogiri offered and the two boys quickly left as the adults devolved into a rather heated argument about who would in fact do the dishes. Izuku detoured in the pantry and let Shigaraki pick out whatever snacks he wanted. He seemed to prefer candy and chips. When both boys were loaded with enough junk food to give a nutritionist a heart attack, Izuku led the way to the game room.

Shigaraki was abnormally quiet as he followed Izuku and it wasn’t until they’d dropped their bounty on the table before a pair of bean bag chairs that Shigaraki finally spoke up.

“Are Mom’s usually like that?” Shigaraki asked, voice far more vulnerable than Izuku thought the teen was capable of.

“I’m not sure, she’s the only one I’ve ever really known,” Izuku responded carefully as he plopped into a beanbag. He had some faint memories of a childhood friend he’d had when he was younger, even hazier memories of his mom. More just flashes of colors, smells and emotions than solid memories though.

“We’re not friends,” Shigaraki said, voice back to normal now and a slight sneer in it that had Izuku rolling his eyes.

“Yea okay,” He answered before tossing a controller to Shigaraki. There were multiple consoles in the room, his Dad having a tendency to go overboard whenever Izuku asked for anything. So they could both easily pull up Monster Hunter World on different screens and start a joint Quest. Izuku found it strangely easy to fall into a rhythm with the other boy once they both got an understanding of their playstyles.

Maybe Shigaraki said they weren’t friends, but this was the closest Izuku had ever come to it. Both cursing the game and jumping up when they completed a particularly hard quest or screaming in fear when they came a hair's breadth from dying. Hours flew by as they fell into the game, walls dropping between them as they worked together.

When both their eyes were heavy from staring at screens they switched to watching popular streamers they both enjoyed neither realizing they were falling asleep. The two were soon passed out in the bean bag chairs, quiet videos playing in the background and surrounded by half eaten chip bags and candy wrappers.

Neither woke up when Inko and Kurogiri finally checked on them, nor did they wake when phones were whipped out to take a multitude of pictures. Even when Kurogiri carefully warped them to their respective beds, both boys stayed deeply asleep, small smiles on both their faces.

Chapter End Notes

Even Shiggy is unable to fight against Izuku's determination to make friends, and is utterly defenseless to Mamadoriya.

Damsel in Distress

Chapter Summary

Izuku goes out, and runs into trouble.

Chapter Notes

Hey guys welcome back! New chapter for you guys to enjoy and Izuku starts meeting the first of the upcoming villain group!

Trigger Warning:

This chapter includes mentions of bullying, threats, a panic attack, and blood and violence. It's kinda all through the chapter though nothings really gorey but do be mindful of your mental limits while reading!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Izuku hummed as he kicked his feet, hundreds of feet above street level as he lounged on a rooftop.

It was a familiar rooftop, one he’d visited four months ago and where he’d had his dreams shattered and then reforged in the fires of truth and hate. Now he sat on it with a quiet smile on his face as he gazed at the mindless sheep walking below him. All of them were so happy in their own little fantasy world where Heroes would always be there to save them.

Unless they were Quirkless, or had an undesirable Quirk. Then the sheep below him would turn into wolves, descending on them until they were nothing but broken bones and bleeding skin. The ‘Heroes’ would just look the other way, if they didn’t actively take part in the violence.

Izuku sighed as he looked around, deciding what he would do today. Tomura had been disappointed when Izuku had declined another gaming marathon. They did those most days now but Izuku needed to get out and get a new Quirk. The hunger was becoming something he could no longer ignore. It woke him up at night, it ached in his chest like a gaping hole he couldn’t fill.

He had Quirks he wanted to get, a teleporting or flight Quirk would be amazing. Even an elemental Quirk would be good. Hell he’d take a Quirk that could make sparkles, anything to fill the hunger.

Izuku ruffled his long electric blue hair. Despite knowing it was a glamour his fingers still registered the strands as if they were real. There was only a subtle difference between his natural hair and the Glamour hair. He’d worked hard on his current disguise, knowing he’d be doing something that was most definitely illegal he hadn’t wanted to be tracked. His eyes were opalescent, no pupil or sclera visible. He had paled his skin to be nearly bone white, erasing his freckles and adding a few facial scars. He even had a few tattoos peeking out over his wrists and neck. All very distinguishing marks, things people would focus on and never be able to tie back to him.

Deciding he’d spent long enough reminiscing and admiring his own progress with Glamour, Izuku texted Kurogiri his coordinates, along with a request for him to be taken to a different city. Within minutes a portal had been opened, Izuku shot a thank you to Kurogiri as he stepped through, coming out in an unfamiliar alleyway.

Izuku flipped his hood up on his nondescript black hoodie, easily merging into the crowd. He looked around, deceptively bored looking as his eyes picked up every detail. Most of the information was useless, his Perception Quirk picked far too much up but his mind had gotten used to sifting through all the nonsense. It was highly useful though, like when it picked up the panicked staccato of feet running clumsily on pavement. When it alerted him to desperate gasps coming from the runner, an almost tearful edge to the breathes. It even let him recognize the sounds of pursuit, harsh slaps of three sets of footsteps following, he picked out the growls of anger from them as well.

Izuku melted out of the crowd as he locked in on the information. A young teen like himself, based on the running sound and breathing. Their pursuers were too, based on the voices he heard grumbling and biting out insults.

This all would’ve been nothing more than a passing amusement, something to observe and little else if the insults didn’t spark a fire in Izuku.

“Fucking villain needs to be taught a lesson”

“Someone with a Quirk like that should be dead”

“We’ll teach him a lesson he’ll never forget,”

Izuku fists clenched instinctively as anger roared to life in him, there was little in this world that Izuku detested more than Heroes now, bullies were the one thing he hated more. Perhaps because of his years dealing with them himself, but nothing else could fill him with quite the same level of fury as bullies. Focusing on the victim Izuku could tell based on the running that the victim was going to try to duck into a nearby alleyway and Izuku quickly entered, shrouding himself in shadows as he waited. Moments later he saw a frantic looking boy, similar to his age and wearing a middle school uniform, enter. The boy had wild violet hair and wide, terrified purple and white eyes.

He’s pretty, Izuku’s mind thought, unbidden before Izuku shoved that thought way down. Take care of the bullies, get a new Quirk and then he could see about getting the pretty boys number.

The boy looked around, missing Izuku hiding further in the shadows, trying to find somewhere to hide. He wasn’t fast enough. His three pursuers skidded into the alleyway and started to close in on him. Sadistic grins lighting their faces as they stalked closer to the terrified boy. The victim tripped over a piece of trash, going down with a pained yelp. Izuku noticed none of them talked, odd as it was, usually bullies couldn’t get enough of hearing themselves talking. He didn’t have time to really examine it though because the bullies were right above the victim, cruel eyes flashing as they readied their attacks.

Izuku darted forward, his hood dropping and letting the long blue hair catch the little light in the alleyway. His form blurred as his Physical Enhancement Quirk made itself known, putting him between the fallen boy and his aggressors in a flash of black and blue. Before the bullies could even recognize the new threat Izuku grabbed one of the bullies raised fists with his own. It was child's play to twist the arm around, almost to the point of breaking when he stopped. Three sets of eyes locked in on him in surprise, he assumed four but he couldn’t see the victim at the moment.

“Whatcha doing?” Izuku asked, voice sweet even if the look he gave the bullies definitely wasn’t.

“Who the fuck are you?” One of the bullies demanded, not the one being held he was too busy whimpering in pain.

“A concerned bystander,” Izuku answered with a sickly sweet tone, all honeyed venom and dripping with an almost palpable threat, “Now why don’t you tell me what you were about to do, hm?” Izuku asked as he twisted the other boy's arm a little more, getting a pained cry that seemed to put real fear into the other two bullies' eyes.

“We were teaching this fucking villain a lesson,” spat the other bully and Izuku sighed.

“Why is he a villain?” Izuku asked, not even paying attention to the still trapped kid who was frantically trying to pull away from Izuku. Were all Middle Schoolers this weak? Izuku was hardly even using his Quirk anymore to keep his grip.

“He can fucking Brainwash people with his Quirk if you talk to him, he’s a villain with a Quirk like that.” The first bully glared at the victim behind him, who was staying far too silent in Izuku's opinion. His breathing had picked up, nearly hyperventilating and Izuku realized he needed to get this over with now because the other boy was going into a panic attack.

“What are your Quirks?” Izuku asked, the sudden change of subject seeming to shock the bullies enough to get a response. Izuku even made sure his voice actually sounded like he was on their side. Going so far as to finally drop the kid's arm finally, hiding his amusement when the freed boy immediately stumbled back, almost tripping and falling.

“I have prehensile hair, he can make his nails into knives, and he has a Quirk that gives him perfect aim, we’re going to be Heroes,” The first bully spoke with pride as he motioned to his friends, apparently now under the impression that Izuku was now on their side. Honestly, it wasn’t even difficult to trick such imbeciles, were these the kinds of kids they were making into Heroes? Dumb and violent? Seemed par for the course, based on what kind of Heroes were constantly praised by the media and the public. The thought further stoked the anger burning in Izuku's viens, his disgust almost choking. These lowlifes would likely get into a hero school with their Quirks, and never correct their awful behavior because it would be encouraged by their society, in a few years they’d probably be Heroes or sidekicks and turning their self important and vile behavior on even more victims. Really, taking one or all of their Quirks would be a boon to society, ensuring they’d never be Heroes would only benefit the world.

“Huh useful Quirks,” Izuku hummed and got proud smiles in return, he resisted the urge to laugh at them. So easy to make them just trust a stranger with a few simple words.

Idiots. Izuku thought and it was with utterly no remorse that he attacked. He whipped out a baton he had collapsed in his hoodie pocket and knocked out the bully with the perfect aim Quirk, he wanted it, All For One practically demanded he take the Quirk and it was hard to resist that almost living hunger that raged with that same power as his anger in his chest. The other two bullies startled at the sudden and unexpected violence of the attack, almost unconsciously they started backing up as soon as their friend dropped like a bag of rocks. Fear was flashing over their faces and Izuku didn’t hold in his scoff, yea some Heroes these two would make.

“What? Not going to try to get your friend? “Izuku taunted, voice still sweet as he flashed a dangerous smile their way. That seemed to spur them on as they turned tail and ran away without even a backwards glance to their fallen friend. Izuku sighed in disappointment, what a boring fight, he’d been hoping for some more excitement from today. He pressed a hand to the other kid's head and gently took his Quirk from him. The hunger in his chest disappeared as the feeling of a new Quirk filled him. It buzzed, begging to be used but Izuku ignored it for now. He checked the boy's pulse and made sure he wasn’t situated where he could accidentally die before he turned to the victim.

The other boy was in a full blown panic attack, his eyes hazy as he looked at Izuku. He was curled up and flinched when Izuku came close, like a scared animal. Izuku collapsed his baton and slid it back in his hoodie pocket as he crouched next to the boy.

“Hey, I’m not going to hurt you, okay? But we need to get out of here,” Izuku kept his voice calm and collected as he looked at the other boy. Now that he had the chance he could see bruises and cuts covering him. There were scabs on his face and a sudden realization spurred on by Perception made Izuku nauseous.

A muzzle. He’s been muzzled. The thought hit him and Izuku felt that rage resurface, it took every last bit of willpower he had to not murder the bully behind them. Oh he wanted to, so very badly, to make the bully hurt like he’d hurt this other boy. But that certainly wouldn't get this boy out of his panic attack, no matter how good it would feel to Izuku he found his concern for this scared stranger even stronger than his anger.

Izuku cursed under his breath but he didn’t know how long it would take those bullies to find a cop or a Hero and then Izuku would have to fight them and it would get really messy. He might be itching for a real fight, but not when it meant an innocent person could get caught in the crossfire. And, his mind supplied, he couldn’t get the boy’s number if he had to run from a Hero.

Decision made Izuku reached out and grabbed the other boy, wincing at the way he flinched, and started to drag him through the alleyway. He changed his appearance as he went, shifting his hair to a neutral grey, his eyes to a matching shade and he erased his tattoos. By the time they exited the alley onto another sidewalk Izuku looked like a different person.

His tagalong just stared at him, shock on his face but Izuku could tell he was a bit less panicked now with something new to focus on. His breath was still too fast and he could feel the boy’s pulse thundering through his grip on the boy's wrist. Izuku just kept tugging him along, ducking down alleyways and onto random sidewalks as they moved. Never too fast, just enough to look like two kids excited to get to a store or an arcade. Izuku finally pulled them into a park and he released the other boy when they were away from view of the street.

“There, we should be far away enough now, '' Izuku decided as he looked around, noting the other people in the park but disregarding them as threats. None even shot them a look.

“Who? Why?” The other boy finally found his voice and Izuku’s eyes widened, because wow a voice like that could be classified as a deadly weapon. It was deep, far deeper than anyone their age had a right for their voice to be. Izuku would pay to have the boy just speak to him, or narrate audio books so he could fall asleep listening to that voice. He almost came out and asked if he could do that for him. Izuku wondered if it was part of his Quirk, was his voice more alluring to get people to respond?

“Ah I don’t like bullies,” Izuku shrugged, careful to not say his name. He hadn’t decided if he liked the other kid enough to give a name, not sure which one he’d even use. He’d talked about an alias or two with his Dad but he’d use one if he didn’t think he’d see the boy again. He hadn’t tried to take his Quirk though, no matter how cool it sounded. He couldn't bring himself to take from someone that society had already hurt.

“Why are you talking to me?” The boy asked, voice suspicious now as his eyes narrowed. Izuku pouted at the sudden coldness. He’d just saved him and now he was being suspicious? Rude. He might be unreasonably pretty and have the voice of an angel but that didn’t give him a pass for bad manners.

“Cause I feel like it, sheesh,” Izuku responded. He looked around again, already done with this conversation. Jeeze good thing he wasn’t going to be a Hero if people usually reacted like this to being saved. He should get to an alley way and have Kurogiri teleport him out. He’d gotten his Quirk, he didn’t need to be here anymore.

“If you’re gonna be rude to the person who just saved your ass I’m leaving. Bye,” Izuku said as he turned, scowling as he started to leave the park, finally spotting a promising alleyway to get warped out. Maybe he could convince Tomura to spar with him or take the boy to that fun ice cream parlor he’d found a few months back, he could forget those pretty violet eyes while he was filling himself with far too much ice cream.

“Wait!” The boy called out, voice desperate. Izuku froze and turned, the look in the other boy's eyes nearly broke his heart. He looked so scared, so lonely and Izuku knew exactly how he felt.

“Sorry, no one’s ever…” the boy averted his eyes, looking down as he shoved his hands into his pocket and oh did Izuku understand. Far too well, he knew what it was like. To be relentlessly bullied and to never get a helping hand. To never have someone to talk to, to never have a kind smile sent your way from someone your own age.

“Yea, I get it,” Izuku said as he walked closer, giving the boy a bright grin, “Like I said bullies suck,” that got the other boy to meet his eyes, violet eyes searched his face. Whatever he was looking for he found because the tense set of his shoulder relaxed.

“Fucking assholes,” the other boy muttered and Izuku chuckled before nodding.

“I’m Shinsou Hitoshi,” the boy said, eyes dropped again, almost shy.

“ Akatani Mikumo” Izuku answers, deciding to use an alias he and his Dad had come up with.

“Thanks, Akatani,” Shinsou said, a slight blush darkening his pale cheeks. Izuku grinned and with a thought he changed his hair and eyes to mimic Shinsou. That got the other boy to blink in shocked surprise.

“Your Quirk?“ Shinsou asked as he stared at a very similar looking Izuku.

“Yea! I like to copy things I think look cool!” Izuku responded as he fingered violet hair before shifting it to be longer black hair, falling over half his face and leaving one white and amethyst eye still visible.

“That’s cool, I wish my Quirk did something like that, '' Shinsou said, voice darkening as he mentioned his Quirk. Izuku frowned, he really hated Quirk Discrimination. There was no such thing as a useless, or ‘evil’ Quirk. All Quirks had potential, and all of them were endlessly fascinating and special in their own ways.

“Your Quirk is Brainwashing, yea?“  Izuku asked, despite them both being well aware of the fact that Izuku already knew. He plopped down on the grass, getting ready for a conversation. Shinsou looked at him for a minute before he cautiously settled himself down in front of Izuku.

“Yea, if I use it and someone responds me I can control them,”  Shinsou’s voice was quiet, he picked at grass, pulling baldes apart as he very pointedly didn’t look at Izuku. His shoulders were tensed again and he looked as if he was just waiting for a strike to come, or for harsh words to be hurled at him. Izuku felt a painful lurch in his heart as he looked at this boy, his own age and already so hurt and scared of the world.

“That's super cool! There's so many uses for it!” Izuku noted how he stiffened again, hands clenched into fists. Ah he’d have to be careful here.

“You could calm people down in bad situations instantly! You could help so many people out, get them out of hostage situations easily.” Izuku was careful to not say heroics, but he got the sense that the other boy didn’t want to be a villain.

Not yet anyways. However society was pushing him that way, that was evident. After long enough of hearing it, of being failed time and again by their society it was likely inevitable that Shinsou would walk that path. Though, Izuku thought, it would be far easier if he had a helping hand.

“You mean that?” Shinsou’s head shot up and Izuku found himself pinned by those unfathomable eyes. Really, how was any of this boy fair, mesmerizing eyes, a spellbinding voice that made you want to do anything to hear just one more word. Izuku pushed those thoughts back, focusing instead on the boy’s question.

“Yea, I do,” Izuku responded, voice earnest. It was true, as much as he hated to admit it Shinsou’s Quirk would be perfect for Heroic’s. It would be even better if turned to villainy but Izuku kept that thought very firmly unsaid. The other boy brightened, a wide smile coming over his face and Izuku forgot to breathe for a moment as Shinsou practically shone . Those mesmerizing eyes danced with light and Izuku thought he could spend hours just falling into their depths. His face lightened with his smile, turning him from pretty to closer to an ethereal beauty that felt a bit too fantastical to be purely human in nature.

“Would you mind if I asked more about your Quirk? I just love Quirks and yours is super cool!” Izuku leaned forward, his curiosity about Quirks overriding his pesky hormones, producing a small notebook and pen from his pockets. Shinsou blinked at him in shock, the grin fading but a small smile taking its place, Izuku silently mourned the loss of that gorgeous grin but he found even Shinsou’s smirk was dazzling.

“Sure, if you want?” Shinsou responded, shy again and Izuku was reminded of Tomura. Both of them were so awkward, he thought the two of them might actually get along. If the boy liked gaming of course.

“Awesome! So how many people can you hold?” Izuku started off and time passed, the sun sinking as the boys chatted about Quirks. Only stopping when Shinsou pulled his phone out and grimaced.

“Mom’s asking where I’m at,” Shinsou said, his face falling as he looked at Izuku. Izuku pouted but brightened when he pulled his own phone out, maybe he could get this boy's number after all.

“Let's trade numbers!” Izuku said and after a moment of shock, Izuku seemed to be constantly surprising the other boy, they traded numbers. Shinsou held his phone as if it was priceless, the smile he shot at Izuku was almost blinding again. Izuku thought he looked quite charming when he smiled, although based on how quickly the smiles fell he got the impression Shinsou didn’t do it often. It hurt, being able to guess that the boy didn’t regularly have reason to smile like that, making the expression foreign on the other boy’s face. Izuku was reminded again of how vile their society was, that it robbed such a kind and beautiful boy of his smile.

Izuku waved Shinsou off, watching until he vanished into the crowd. Izuku dropped his cheery smile as he turned, appearance changing again. He backtracked until he got to the alleyway he’d met Shinsou in. The bully from before was still there, apparently his friends really had left him not even bothering to get a cop or a Hero. He crouched next to the prone boy, tapping a finger against his chin. He wanted to leave Shinsou with a good impression and if the same boy Izuku had knocked out suddenly vanished it would be strange. Which would happen if Izuku called his Dad for help with handling this. He also didn’t want to call his Dad for this, it would be like saying he couldn’t handle himself just fine on his own. This was the first time he’d gone out to get his own Quirk, and he didn’t want to disappoint his Dad by needing help with something so small.

It would raise too many questions from Shinsou if the boy said he suddenly didn’t have a Quirk, but returning it was out of the question. Izuku hummed, he had quite a conundrum on his hands.

Sufficient brain damage would give credence to a loss of a mental type Quirk. Izuku’s mind provided and a sharp grin broke out on his face. Ah yes that would work. Perhaps Izuku should have been disturbed at the lack of guilt he felt at the plan he was forming. However when the guilt tried to rear his head he was reminded of beautiful amethyst eyes, white pupils blown wide in panic. He remembered porcelain skin littered with cuts and bruises. He remembered ugly scabs marring delicate cheeks and visualized that beautiful face being locked behind a muzzle. Suddenly the guilt disappeared, as if it had been scared away by the horrifying images that danced behind Izuku’s eyes.

A few moments later the boy was far bloodier and damaged than he had been before. Izuku riffled through his bag and pockets until he located a wallet. Pulling out his ID he noted his address, pulling it up on his phone he mapped the direction before he pocketed the wallet. He had to make it look like a mugging to avoid any suspicion, a simple mugging even with injuries wouldn’t garner a lot of police interest, perhaps a token investigation would be done but little else.

Izuku hummed happily as he picked the boy’s body up, pushing his Glamour to cover them to disguise the boy’s bloodied state. It was blurry and sloppy but the darkness of night hid the lackluster Glamour. He started moving through alleys, as night descended the traffic on the sidewalks had slowed and Izuku worked to move as quickly as he could. Looking like a friend carrying his sleeping classmate he hoped.

When he estimated they were about halfway between the boy's address and the original alleyway Izuku ducked into another alleyway and dropped the glamour on the boy. He yanked his backpack off and dumped it on the ground. Nothing of value in it but it would make it look like the kid had been mugged.

Izuku checked his breathing and pulse, still alive but he had what looked like a few fractures in his skull and Izuku grinned. That would certainly explain his Quirk loss. With a thought Izuku changed his appearance again, wincing at how the streetlights now pierced his eyes as a result of using the Glamour Quirk so much in a day. Mouse brown hair framed his face in a bowl cut, he gave himself bright pink eyes with slitted pupils, he tanned his skin to a caramel color and plumped his cheeks. He put on a scared expression and ran out of the alleyway screaming at the top of his lungs. A cop who had been rounding the corner onto the sidewalk froze at his screams before rushing towards him.

“What's wrong?” the canine headed man asked, looking over Izuku for any injuries.

“M-m-m-my f-fr-fri-friend h-he g-got m-m-mugged!” Izuku cried, for once thankful for how easy it was to get his eyes to water. The police officer's eyes widened in concern as he looked around. Izuku pointed back to the alleyway, even letting his hand shake to really sell the act.

“Okay you wait here, okay? I’ll be right back,” The officer said and Izuku nodded as more tears fell. The second the officer turned into the alley way, Izuku scurried off into another one, appearance changing one last time to his original Glamour from earlier. He found it easiest to put on Glamours he’d used before and he was a little fond of this one.

Izuku hummed a song quietly to himself as he wandered away from the officer and bully, waiting until he was far enough that the sound of sirens had faded to nothing before he sent Kurogiri his location. As he stepped through he grinned in satisfaction, it had been a good day.

Chapter End Notes

Izuku goes out to get a new Quirk...gets a cute boys number. Gotta say I've been excited for Izuku to get a Perfect Aim quirk, because I love giving Izuku guns. So yea that'll be fun!

Also go ahead and take a guess of how long before I traumatize Hitoshi severely.

Take Your Aim

Chapter Summary

Izuku gets some new toys!

Chapter Notes

Hey welcome back everyone! New chapter for ya'll. Its a bit fluffy but uh. You'll thank me for this after the next two chapters comes out cause those are going to HURT.

Also small warning? I didn't (still dont) know much about firearms. I looked up what i could but if anything comes off wrong give me a headsup! This chapter deals with them the most but I like for my writing to be more or less accurate where possible.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“Dad, I want a gun,” Izuku announced over breakfast.

There was a round of choking as everyone at the table whipped their heads to stare at Izuku. The greenette paid no mind as he continued eating, as if he hadn’t just asked for a very illegal weapon.

“Why?” Hisashi asked, when he’d stopped coughing from the shock. Inko shot him a glare as that had not been the appropriate response to his fourteen year old son asking for a gun.

“The new Quirk I got the other week. I don’t know what it was normally named so I’m calling it Perfect Aim,” Izuku clarified and his Dad nodded cautiously.

They’d talked about the new Quirk when Izuku came home with it, his Dad had even been rather proud when he said how he’d ‘handled’ the original holder of the Quirk. He’d agreed that people who bullied others for their Quirks didn’t deserve the power, they’d only misuse it after all.

“It lets me hit any target I focus on with any projectile. I want to see if it translates to guns too, if so it’ll be very useful,” Izuku continued, voice matter-of-fact as if this a completely logical conclusion to come to and therefore a logical request to make.

“So you’d have an aim-bot basically?“ Tomura spoke up, his eyes sparkling with excitement at the idea.

Izuku grinned back at his friend, because they were friends no no matter what the other boy said. He even had a room at the mansion now and spent most of his time here. Izuku was working up to calling him Tomura-nii. He’d do it when they were a pvp game to throw him off because it definitely would.

“Yup! If it works how I think it’s gonna be really OP!” Izuku gushed and now two sets of red eyes, Izuku had changed his during their conversation, turned to Inko. Because everyone at the table knew Inko was the real final boss here, whatever she said went with no arguments. Inko glanced between the two sparkling eyes and sighed in defeat, a small smile flitting across her face when Izuku cheered and Tomura grinned again.

Since Tomura had started staying with them Izuku had noticed the boy seemed to be happier than he was when he’d first met him. He would’ve assumed he had just been having a bad day if he hadn’t asked Kurogiri about it directly. The mist man had confessed early on to being Tomura’s guardian of sorts and was the best to ask questions about the sometimes mysterious teen. Kurogiri had told him that he’d never seen Tomura so happy before in his life, and that while he had always been childish and prone to tantrums he’d never actually had a chance to be a kid really. That had broken Izuku’s heart a little and he regretted that he hadn’t been able to meet Tomura earlier, so he’d vowed to make it up to the boy by giving him the best time he could now.

“I’ll have Kurogiri deliver some to the gym tomorrow for you Izuku,” Hisashi answered, smiling at his boys.

“Oh awesome! Wait, do we have a shooting range?” Izuku paused as he realized it might not be a good idea for him to start shooting guns inside.

“Not here, Kurogiri can take you to one though. We can have one built at the house if your Quirk works with the guns however.” Hisashi answered easily and Izuku nodded, grin back in place. Breakfast, and world shaking requests, over the boys cleared the plates going to the kitchen to clean them.

“I don’t know how you got Master Tomura to do dishes, Inko-san,” Kurogiri confessed as the two boys vanished into the kitchen. Inko just shrugged her shoulders as she delicately sipped her tea.

“I simply asked him to,” She answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Kurogiri turned wide eyes to the woman who had engaged her husband in a conversation about some of his business ventures.

----

“We should put All Might’s face on the targets,” Tomura suggested, a cruel grin in place as he lounged on a stool behind Izuku in the range.

Izuku snorted a laugh as he examined the multitude of guns his Dad had procured for him. He’d assumed he’d get a couple handguns, maybe a hunting rifle. He should’ve known better, his Dad always went overboard with everything.

“If you can get me one I’ll do it,” Izuku said as he held a rather large sniper rifle.

He’d spent some time looking up guns since he’d had the idea to try them with his new Quirk but he still didn’t know the real names for half of the ones he saw. He picked up several, trying to find the ones that at least felt somewhat comfortable for him to hold.

“Hah!” Tomura crowed in victory and Izuku set the gun he’d been holding down to look at Tomura. He was waving around a stack of All Might posters and Izuku burst into laughter.

“Alright let’s put them up,” Izuku said and the boys quickly ran to the targets and got to work stapling the posters onto all the targets. Soon there was a veritable army of smiling All Might’s before them and the boys shared equally excited grins before they headed back.

When they walked back in the room both boys froze. An unfamiliar woman was standing there waiting for them. Tomura slid his gloves off and a cold look dropped over his face as he subtly stepped between Izuku and the threat.

“Who are you?“ Tomura demanded, voice dangerous, Izuku was looking over the woman, Perception picking up every detail he could.

She had steel gray hair, shorn short in a pixie cut. Pure white eyes looked at them and instead of pupils she had crosshairs over the white of her eyes. Emotions were harder to read as her eyes weren’t normal but Izuku thought he could detect some amusement and interest. Her skin was a caramel color, warm and sun bronzed as if she spent a lot of time outdoors. The muscles on her arms bulged the slightest amount as she crossed her arms as she watched them. She had no other obvious evidence of mutations other than her eyes and Izuku found himself curious about her Quirk.

“Call me Kira-sensei,” the woman, Kira, answered as she looked over the weapons now. He watched her eyes spark with interest as she looked at the spread.

“And why are you here?“ Tomura asked, voice grating and Izuku knew they were a few seconds away from Tomura dusting the strange woman.

“Your Dad called in a favor for me to teach you how to shoot,” Kira answered as she walked towards the guns and started to pick them up, handling them with far more comfortability than Izuku had.

Tomura glared at her but didn’t attack, he didn’t put his gloves back on though as he sat on his stool. Izuku dithered between the two, unsure if he wanted to stay near Tomura where it was safe or talk to the woman.

“You’re the one who wanted to learn right? You have some sort of aiming Quirk?” The woman took the choice from him when she pinned him with those disconcerting eyes. Izuku nodded, excitement overcoming suspicion as he walked closer. He ignored Tomura’s growling in the background as he watched the woman look at him then the guns.

“Hm you have a good amount of muscle but still, we should start you out with something easy,” She hummed before she pulled out a few handguns.

Izuku sighed in relief, he hadn’t wanted to go through the process of learning the more complicated guns just yet. He didn’t even know if his Quirk would work. He’d feel really guilty though if his Dad went through all this effort for nothing. He was a bit surprised when she grabbed a bigger gun, one he actually recognized as an AR-15. He didn’t speak up yet about it though, willing to let someone with more experience make the choices.

“Alright first rule with guns. Treat every firearm as if it’s loaded until you clear it,” The woman’s voice was stern and Izuku's straightened at the tone, familiar with it from his tutors.

“Second rule, only point the firearm at things you are willing to destroy ,” She stared at him for a moment until he nodded and she decided he’d got the lesson.

“Third, always be sure of your target and what's behind it . Fourth, only put your finger on the trigger when you’re ready to fire.” She kept her gaze on him and Izuku pulled out a notebook he’d grabbed specifically for his gun experiment today. He hadn’t realized it would be an entire lesson but that was undoubtedly for the best. Even if his Quirk let him hit the target it didn’t give him knowledge on firearms. She smiled when she saw him seriously noting down her rules on the first page, underlining them for emphasis.

She turned to the guns and started showing him how to clear them of ammo. Time passed as she went through various safety lessons and how to dismantle, clean, and reassemble the guns. She went over the proper terminology for the different parts and Izuku found his game knowledge had horribly prepared him for this. He was frantically writing down the different terms, he’d have to go over them a bit to get rid of the bad habits gaming had given him.

“Why can’t he just start shooting already?” Tomura whined, obviously bored with the tedious lessons. Izuku was also eager to shoot but he enjoyed learning new things and soaked the information up. He could also understand that if he did use the guns it would be best if he knew how to care for them.

“He needs to learn how to take proper safety precautions, and how to properly care for his gear before he can shoot, as well as knowing what he’s shooting with,” Kira-sensei answered, not in the slightest bothered by the whining from the older teen. Tomura just grumbled before he pulled up a game on his phone and fiddled with it.

Izuku continued through his lesson, eyes shining as Kira even went into the specifics of how everything worked together to fire. His curious mind wondered if he could even modify that more, although he lacked severely in the inventing department. Between training, playing with new Quirks, his time spent with Tomura, and analyzing Heroes he simply didn’t have the time. He did still analyze Heroes, and villains now too, at his Dad’s insistence that it could be very useful for the future. At first Izuku hadn’t wanted to look at any more Heroes until he realized that by analyzing them he could figure out their weaknesses, and how to take them down. That had sparked a near blazing fire in his chest and he had taken his analyzing far more seriously than he had before.

“Alright, it’s time for you to start,” Kira said after they’d dismantled and reassembled the guns she’d picked out for him five times.

Izuku blinked in surprise, he’d been half expecting they wouldn’t even get to this point today. Kira-sensei grabbed a few pairs of earmuffs from the wall and she handed Izuku two pairs and nodded to Tomura. Izuku grinned and fitted the earmuffs on Tomura, earning him a surprised squawk and then glare from the grumpy teen. Tomura didn’t rip them off though and actually stood up to stand near Izuku, seeing he was actually about to shooting those All Might’s they’d put up.

“Just remember the rules, I’ll show you what it looks like and then you copy me, okay?” Kira said before she placed her own earmuffs on, Izuku mirrored her and watched as she smoothly picked up a gun, loaded it and aimed at a target.

Despite the muffling of the earmuffs Izuku could still hear the loud ‘ pop’ s of the gun going off. Holes appeared in the center of an All Might poster and Izuku felt his eyes widening even more. He had to ask about her Quirk. Kira smiled at him and nodded to his own gun and magazine waiting for him.

Remembering her movements Izuku loaded the gun, far more hesitant than Kira had been. He was careful to keep the gun pointed towards the range the entire time, that second rule fresh in his mind. When he got another nod from Kira he raised the gun, mimicking the stance Kira had taken he focused on a target. He felt Perfect Aim activate as he looked at his target, a smugly smiling All Might, when he pulled the trigger the recoil of the shot was less than he’d been expecting but enough to make him pause. It almost felt like too little recoil for the power he knew the gun held. He then looked at his target and a disbelieving smile broke out over his face, sitting dead center in All Might’s face was a bullet hole.

Izuku raised the gun again, a bit better held now that he knew what to expect, and started focusing on different targets, absolutely delighted when his bullets hit the target every time. As soon as he’d emptied the magazine he carefully locked the gun and set it down before he turned to Tomura. Both boys pulled off their earmuffs and Tomura was beaming at him.

“You have the perfect cheat!” Tomura said, as he looked between Izuku and the targets.

Izuku nodded vigorously in response. He’d been fairly certain this would work, but seeing the results was amazing. His other Quirks weren’t strictly combat orientated. His enhancements could be but not like this. His new Quirk made him positively deadly and Izuku found he quite liked the thought. He was powerful now, more powerful than many who had tormented him over the years. Izuku’s eyes slid to the targets and a darker smile took over his face, more deadly than some Heroes too.

“Damn kid, that’s a nice Quirk,” Kira-sensei chimed in and Izuku whipped around to look at her, shining under the praise.

“Alright now try this one,” Kira-sensei handed him the next gun and Izuku soon lost more hours as he tried out different firearms.

He always hit the target he focused on, and after a little testing his Quirk even helped him hit things that wouldn’t normally be able to be hit. Almost like it was guiding his hands to get the perfect ricochet. He’d even seen a bullet, almost unnoticeable if he hadn’t been watching, curve just enough to hit a target. The curves weren’t anything drastic and unless he set up a ricochet he would miss if he was aiming too far from a target but even so his aim was frightening.

After properly dismantling, cleaning, and reassembling his guns Kira-sensei bid them farewell and stepped into a portal to go back to wherever she had been before. He had gotten to ask about her Quirk while they were cleaning, Tomura grumbling in the background the entire time. Kira had a Quirk called ‘Target’ she could place a trace on someone and always find them no matter what. Her comfortability with the vast array of firearms around them had let Izuku infer rather well what her career was and he wasn’t even surprised his Dad knew a hitwoman.

The fact that she seemed whole, healthy and in her early thirties spoke to her skills as well and Izuku was glad that she’d be teaching him again next week. He frowned at his sore wrists and arms. It wasn’t anything concerning but apparently firing different firearms for hours placed strain on ones arms. His shoulder was a little sore as well from where a few guns had rested, the larger ones.

He didn’t really enjoy the larger guns, something about them simply didn’t draw him in the same way. He almost felt natural when holding the different pistols though, they were a comfortable weight in his hands and he could see himself easily getting used to using them.

His eyes trailed to the sniper rifle that was safe in its case now. He had enjoyed that gun too but it wouldn’t be very useful in combat. Izuku strayed from the idea of using it to actually kill someone, although he understood that was the point of guns. He had grown a bit more used to the idea of murder, Tomura making no mystery of his opinion on the matter. The older teen would talk about killing someone as if it was as normal as going out to get groceries. His Dad had also let slip a few details every now and again that made it clear what he meant when he said he ‘took care of a problem’, and his Mom even didn’t seem to care as that had been mentioned at the dining table. Well she had been annoyed because of the whole ‘no work talk’ rule she had but not appalled. Still Izuku didn’t think he was at that point just yet.

His eyes looked at the many hole ridden posters of All Might and he amended his thoughts. Maybe he was closer than he realized, and when he looked inside himself he found no guilt about that. He felt a fleeting emotion of almost excitement at the idea of removing people who would try to hurt his family. As he imagined taking out some of the Heroes he’d found information out about he smiled. Yea, perhaps he was closer than he thought he was.

A buzzing in his pocket distracted Izuku from his musings and he smiled a far more bright and sweet smile when a familiar name popped up.

DeadTired:

Hey, we still on for raids tonight?

Also how did your mystery training go?

SunnamonRoll:

Yea! We’ll be back in a few minutes!

It went really well! Dad even got me a teacher!

o(*>ω<*)o

DeadTired:

Oh really? That’s cool.

SunnamonRoll:

What’s wrong Shin-kun?

DeadTired:

You realize it’s weird that you can always tell right?

Just. Dicks from my school that’s all.

They got quiet after that one dude got mugged

But apparently now they’re back at it.

For some reason they’re blaming me for it,

And just. It’s a lot.

SunnamonRoll:

Need me to take out some kneecaps?

‾͟͟͞(((ꎤ ✧曲✧)̂—̳͟͞͞o

DeadTired:

Maybe, I dunno. It’s just.

Fuck it feels pointless sometimes.

Half the time I think they’re right

Maybe I should just be a villain.

But I don’t want to let them win

SunnamonRoll:

Shin-kun they’re not right. Don’t let those dicks

Decide what you do with your life.

Do what makes YOU happy, fuck them

凸ಠ益ಠ)凸

Speaking of, do you even want to be a hero

Or just to prove them wrong?

●﹏●

DeadTired:

Fuck I don’t know. I used to?

Now I can’t tell what I want anymore,

I just feel so angry so often, and I just want to

make them pay. And what better way than

becoming what they said I couldn’t be?

SunnamonRoll:

I think you should do what makes you happy

Be a Hero if that’s it, or not.

You could always be a street performer

Or an acrobat!

(ง ͡ʘ ͜ʖ ͡ʘ)ง

DeadTired:

Pfft. Thanks Akatani.

See you in VC

Izuku hummed as he closed his phone and met a pair of curious ruby eyes.

“That the Brainwashing kid you met?” Tomura asked as a portal appeared for them. The boys stepped through into their gaming room, now complete with two computer rigs right next to each other for them.

“Yea, his bullies are getting to him again,” Izuku answered as they both sat down, already snacks and drinks were laid out for them to grab.

“Tell him to kill them,” Tomura said easily and Izuku snorted, rolling his eyes.

“Tomura-kun not everyones cool with murder.” Izuku admonished Tomura, the older teen scoffed as if that was a truly ridiculous idea that others didn’t simply kill the people who bothered them.

“He’d make a good villain,” Tomura said, a thoughtful expression on his face and Izuku nodded. He knew that, and he’d love for Shinsou to see that and accept it but he wasn’t there yet.

“Don’t tell him that yet, please Tomura-chan.” Izuku asked, he got an annoyed sigh as a response but he knew Tomura would respect his request. He had so far, keeping all talk of murder and villainous extracurriculars off the voicechat they joined with Shinsou for raids. Izuku was half convinced it was because Shinsou was a spectacular DPS and a pivotal player in their raids rather than any kind of altruism on Tomuras part.

“Whatever, let's get this raid started,” Tomura grumbled as he started to chug a Monster. Izuku chuckled as they dropped into the VC, the noise of their guildmates washing over him. He smiled when he heard a familiar voice chiming in every now again, sounding a bit tired but also with the slightest amount of happiness.

Chapter End Notes

I did definitely decide to make a chapter about guns when I had little to know knowledge on them myself. that was a fun several hours of research.

Also Tomura came over that first day and Izuku and Inko didn't let him leave, they both decided 'this is ours now' and his stuff was moved to the manor. Kurogiri was happy that he was no longer the only person watching over Tomura, he needed a vacation.

Oh and with Perfect Aim, eventually it can be trained up to be stronger but as the person he'd taken it from hadn't trained it too heavily it's not at its 'final form'. Basically Izuku CAN become Dead Shot with this Quirk, if he trains it up. It doesn't have a range per se, it's based on eyesight. If Izuku can see a target he can hit it, provided theres not stuff like bulletproof glass or something in the way.

It All Falls Apart

Chapter Summary

Hitoshi doesn't have a good day.

Chapter Notes

Hey guys! Welcome back!

So I found a great song for this story. Where's The Justice from the death note musical. It fits the theme of the story pretty well.

Also this begins the angst, so buckle in.

****!!!!!!!!TRIIGER WARNING!!!!!!!!*********

Death, blood, suicidal thoughts:

Begins: “Shinsou Hitoshi?” he asked, voice gruff and polite.

Ends: Hitoshi reached out with numb fingers

This chapter also mentions bruising from bullying, muzzles, and scars. Oh and cursing, a good bit of that too. It's a heavy chapter so mind your limits when reading!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Hitoshi stumbled into his apartment, small gasps of pain leaking from his lips.

For a moment Hitoshi looked over the empty apartment, his back against the door as he tried to gather the energy to move again. His bullies had been particularly irked today and his body had paid the price. New bruises had joined the healing ones that colored most of his skin under his uniform. His face was thankfully free of any new muzzle cuts, the principal, in a rare show of benevolence, had fired the teacher who had used it on him. Nothing else had been done for his regular bullying, but he could be thankful that the scars tracing his face wouldn’t get worse.

He was still a bit surprised by that, his mother had gone to the school time and again about the injuries he’d come home with that he couldn’t hide. Nothing had ever been done, even when she brought it to the police. But something had gotten the principal to step in about the muzzle, perhaps some lingering feelings of guilt if Hitoshi had to guess. With a groan of agony Hitoshi moved, his body a cacophony of pain as he forced his body to stumble to his room. He knew he should eat, he hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast since his lunches were always ruined by his classmates if he bothered to bring or buy one. Despite the fact that he needed to eat he couldn’t stomach the thought of food, he had a giant bruise in the shape of a shoe on his stomach that had ruined his appetite.

He didn’t turn on the lights in the living room as he moved, afternoon light still filtered in through the window and his mother wouldn’t be home until late afternoon, he wasn’t staying out in the main room and it would be a waste of energy. He limped to his room, throwing the door open and kicking it closed behind him before he collapsed onto his bed. His bag thumped against his side and he whined out a small noise as it collided with yet another new bruise.  For a moment Hitoshi just took solace in the warm safety of his room, far from the cruel hands and words of his peers.

After a few minutes Hitoshi gingerly sat back up, wincing as he did. With slow and methodical movements he removed his uniform to look at his new collection of black and blue bruises painting his skin like abstract tattoos. His fingers traced the large splotches, hissing when they pressed a bit too hard into the tender flesh. There were no cuts, and despite the pain he didn’t feel like anything was broken. He was rather well versed in the pain of broken bones, he’d had to wrap his own ribs more times than he’d care to count.

Hitoshi pulled himself to his feet, cursing quietly under his breath as he made his way to his bathroom, pulling out a cooling bruise salve to slather on the new injuries. The numbing and chill the salve provided him was a welcome reprieve as he coated his skin in it. The tub was thankfully large, he bought in bulk whenever he went to restock knowing how often he used it, and he applied it liberally to his body. By the time he was done and wrapped in bandages to keep the salve from getting onto his clothes most of his body looked mummified. He dropped a sweatshirt over his head and pulled on sweatpants, loose, comfortable clothes that wouldn’t agitate the bruises.

Hitoshi dropped into his desk chair and pulled his bag to him. He needed to get his course work done before his mom got home. It took an hour to get through most of the homework, leaving the homework he detested the most for the end. Math. With a beleaguered sigh Hitoshi grabbed the workbook and spare paper as he set himself to the task.

The bruises on his skin complained when he moved, and the bandages under his shirt rustled against the fabric. Years of experience let him push the dulled pain down as he sighed over the next problem. He’d rather be playing games with Akatani or Shigaraki, they always made the games more fun than they had been before. For however many hours he spent with them he could forget the pain of his body, he could forget the cruel words of his peers.

Checking the time on his phone he saw it was past time for his mom to be home. He checked for any messages or calls from her that he might’ve missed and frowned when he saw nothing new. Maybe she’d been kept late at work? It was rare but it did happen. Disregarding the thought he redirected his attention to his homework. His mom would be mad if he gamed without finishing it first.

His phone chimed and he perked up, Akatani had sent a message.

SunnamonRoll:

Hey Ｏ(≧▽≦)Ｏ get on, Tomura wants to run a dungeon

He’s been desperate to get this one mount (ฅ⁍̴̀◊⁍̴́)و ̑̑

DeadTired:

I have to finish my math homework first （三ФÅФ三）

SunnamonRoll:

Send me a pic of the questions （‐＾▽＾‐）

DeadTired:

℃ↂ_ↂ Why…?

SunnamonRoll:

Just do it U=๏ x ๏=U

DeadTired:

∑(O_O；) ( bullshitproblems.jpeg)

SunnamonRoll:

Hm okay one sec

(finishedproblems.jpeg)

ೕ(⁍̴̀◊⁍̴́ฅ)

DeadTired:

(☉_☉) How the fuck

SunnamonRoll:

Now get on!

⤴︎ ε=ε=(ง ˃̶͈̀ᗨ˂̶͈́)۶ ⤴︎

Hitoshi blinked at the picture of the completed problems for another moment before he hastily copied them down, smiling at his finished homework before he shoved the booklet and notebook to the side and booted up his computer. He slipped his headset on and joined Discord as soon as his computer had come on.

“Shinsou! Ready to play?” Akatani’s bright voice came over his headphones and Hitoshi found himself smiling at his screen, Akatani had that ability. He could make anyone smile with a few words, a type of undeniable charisma the other boy wielded naturally. If Hitoshi didn’t know that his Quirk was some kind of glamour or illusion Quirk he’d have said he had an emotional manipulation Quirk, because any time Hitoshi talked to him his spirits lifted instantly. Hitoshi wished he could see Akatani again in person but since that first day he hadn’t found the courage to ask, and Akatani had never offered.

“Yea I’m logging in now,” Hitoshi responded, voice carefully droll as he appeared in a city on the game.

“Fucking finally, Mind. We’ve been waiting forever .” Shigaraki, DustedDecay in game, whined over the voice chat.

“Tomura it’s been five minutes calm down,” Akatani’s voice soothed the older teen and Hitoshi found himself stifling chuckles.

The two were so different, and he’d been a bit shocked to learn that the two lived together. Tomura being a type of adopted older brother of Akatani’s. At first it had been unbelievable that the two were close friends, Shigaraki was often angry and prone to tantrums. Akatani was far more happy, and calmer. Though Hitoshi had heard a rather startling string of curses from the normally sweet boy during one failed dungeon that would make the most hardened criminal blush. The two worked well together, Akatani was one of the few people Shigaraki would listen to with no hesitation. He helped curb the other player’s more heated moments and could usually calm him down.

However the both of them tended to get heated if anyone tried to argue Heroes with them. It had been odd at first for Hitoshi to find out neither boy held love for their current society or many Heroes, and based on the articles and sources Akatani had sent Hitoshi the two’s opinions were far from unfounded. Despite that Akatani had been nothing but supportive of Hitoshi’s goals, always checking to be sure it was what Hitoshi wanted to do and then letting him know that no matter his choices he was sure Hitoshi would succeed. It was...odd to hear someone who wasn’t his mother encouraging and believing in him. And for it to come from someone that Hitoshi admired as well made it all the sweeter. Akatani had obvious combat experience, his easy way of dealing with Hitoshi’s bullies had shown that.

The other boys Quirk wasn’t what most would consider Heroic either, and perhaps it was why Hitoshi had so easily trusted him in the beginning. Seeing someone else who was similar to him in a way, and after hearing about the bullying the other boy had suffered himself, it had strengthened that trust. He was glad he had made the choice to trust Akatani, his life was far brighter now that the other boy was in it. Even if it was just over text, or voice chat the best moments of his days were when he was talking to the other boy.

“Let’s go!” Shigaraki called out and Hitoshi accepted the party invite before the other started the dungeon, immediately pulling Hitoshi and Akatani into it. They fell into an easy rhythm built from playing with each other for a month now. This dungeon was low level so they didn’t need a full party for it and all three focused solely on DPS, the mobs too low leveled to actually hurt their max leveled characters.

“Fuck I didn’t get it!” Shigaraki complained over his mic when they’d finished the clear. Hitoshi examined his loot and started cackling.

“I got it!” he called out and Shigaraki screamed into his mic before it muted. Akatani was laughing hard before a yelp came out over the voice chat followed by the sound of a crash.

“Mother fucker ! Tomura that was rude!” Akatani yelled out and Hitoshi’s cackles only grew as he listened to the two having one of their regular spats.

“Fucker…” Shigaraki mumbled into the mic after unmuting and Hitoshi gasped between laughs.

“Hey Mind, would you sell your account to me? “Shigaraki asked and Hitoshi paused, was he serious?

“Look I know the mount's account bound, I’ll buy your entire account, “Shigaraki practically pleaded before Akatani sighed loudly.

“Tomura, you can’t buy peoples accounts!” He chided and Hitoshi heard Shigaraki whining before grumbling.

“How about we switch to LoL instead?” Akatani offered and it did the trick, Shigaraki loved playing PvP games and League was one of his favorites. The three switched over and jumped into queue.

Hours passed and when Hitoshi realized the time he cursed.

“Fuck I gotta go guys, I have school tomorrow,” he apologized and the other two immediately spoke up with complaints.

“Just skip!” Shigaraki ordered and Hitoshi sighed, this was a common argument they had anytime he had to leave.

“You don’t need sleep!” Akatani agreed and Hitoshi snorted, with his insomnia sleep was usually a lost battle but he needed to at least try.

“I gotta go guys, we can do a twenty four hour session this weekend,” Hitoshi offered as a compromise and with reluctant grumbles the other two accepted, letting Hitoshi jump off the game and voice chat.

Leaning back Hitoshi stretched out his arms and cracked his neck, his body was complaining at him for sitting in the same position for hours. His stomach was also yelling at him, he hadn’t eaten since breakfast and it wasn’t pleased. Hitoshi stood up and made his way to the kitchen, a bit surprised his mom hadn’t come in to call him for dinner a few hours previous. She normally did, it was odd she’d let him play for so long.

When he entered the living room he froze, the lights were still turned off and the living room was bathed in darkness. He looked back at the hallway that held the doors to his and his mom’s room, only his door had light shining under it. He looked back to the living room and connected kitchen, dread settling in his gut. His mom hadn’t come home. Her job had never kept her this late.

Cold fear was residing in his body as he mechanically flipped the lights and moved to the kitchen to make a sandwich despite the fact that he was no longer hungry. His mom would be mad if she came home and found out he hadn’t eaten. And she would come home, there must be some kind of villain attack on the train rails that had stopped her train. Or her boss had put her on a major project last minute and she had to stay late. She’d been mentioning she might be up for a promotion soon so maybe she stayed late to impress her bosses?

She’d have sent him a text though if she was going to be so late, and when Hitoshi checked his phone again it was still bare of any missed calls or texts from his mother. Hitoshi moved into the living room with his sandwich and instinctively turned on the TV to watch the news. He chewed his sandwich on instinct, the flavors tasting like ash in his mouth as he forced himself to swallow. Maybe she’d lost her phone? Or it had been stolen?

Hitoshi watched the news, barely aware that he was carefully examining any news coverage of villain attacks looking for a flash of violet hair, the same shade as his own.

The only villain attack in their area had been at a grocery store his mother frequented, but the villain had been subdued by Death Arms. It was said that currently it was unknown if any civilians were injured. Maybe his mom had been involved and got held up talking to the police? Surely that was it, just something simple like that. No reason to worry that the event had happened four hours ago and his mother hadn’t called or texted him.

A loud knock at the door to the apartment jolted Hitoshi. He stood swiftly, moving to the door before he paused. His mom wouldn’t knock, was it a neighbor? Or someone worse? With wary steps Hitoshi moved to the door and looked through the peephole, he saw two police officers waiting outside the door and his heart stopped.

No, no they were probably here to tell him his mom was injured. Yes, that was why. It didn’t matter that such things were usually reported by the hospital themselves calling a person emergency contacts. Maybe the hospital was too busy and had sent the officers.

Hitoshi opened the door slowly, looking out at the two officers. His mind noted one had the head of a doberman and the other had the head of a cat. Both looked at him for a moment before the doberman-man sighed.

“Shinsou Hitoshi?” he asked, voice gruff and polite.

“Yes,” Hitoshi responded slowly, eyes flicking between the two. It was hard to tell with animal faces but they looked...grave.

“We’re here to inform you that...your mother Shinsou Yui lost her life during a confrontation between the Hero Death Arms and a villain,” The doberman got the words out, his voice sympathetic as he mercilessly destroyed Hitoshi’s world. Hitoshi stared at the man, eyes wide as he tried to process what was just said.

“We wished to inform you that social services will be over in the next few days to talk about where you’ll be staying going forward,” The man continued but his words became nothing but whitenoise as Hitoshi felt his mind shutting down. His mother...dead? No, it wasn’t possible. She’d been here just this morning, singing along to one of her slow songs while she made him breakfast. She’d given him a kiss and ruffled his hair, telling him she’d see him tonight!

Had he...had he said he loved her? He couldn’t remember. What was the last thing he’d said to his mom?

“He deserves the truth at least!” A second voice cut through the fog in Hitoshi’s mind and he looked up to see the cat-headed officers fur standing on end. The doberman looked equally agitated as he stared the cat man down.

“We can’t tell him that!” The doberman answered and the catheaded officer glared before turning pointedly to Hitoshi.

“Your mother was killed by Death Arms while he was attempting to subdue the villain. You deserve to know the truth,” The cat headed officer’s eyes were angry, but also kind as they looked at Hitoshi before he turned and left with the other officer trailing after him yelling. Hitoshi stared at the empty space the two officers had just occupied before he slowly shut the door and locked it, habitual movements he didn’t have to think of.

He stumbled to the couch and fell into the cushions as his mind whirled. His mother...killed by a Hero?! He didn’t...why? Was it...was it because of her Quirk? It was like Hitoshi’s but it was touch activated and only worked as long as she was touching someone.

Hitoshi felt his heart shattering in his chest, shredding his soul as the full truth of the event hit him. His mother was dead , never again would he hear her voice singing along to a song as she cooked. Never again would he get to hug her and smell her vanilla perfume. Never again would he get to cry into her shoulder while she told him there was nothing wrong with his Quirk, nothing wrong with him. There would be no more spontaneous trips to different cities, or vacations at the beach. Never again would he have to pretend he loved her baking while trying not to gag because she was a truly awful baker but a spectacular cook.

His mom, his wonderful, strong, funny and always tired mom had been taken from him. Her light snuffed out so suddenly and by a Hero who was supposed to protect her. Instead of protecting her, the Hero had been the one she’d needed protection from. A noise registered in his ears, a wretched thing choked in pain and agony and he realized belatedly that the noise was coming from him.

Hitoshi curled in on himself, in the couch that still had a faint scent of vanilla, of her, and he sobbed into the cushions. He clutched at his skin, not minding that his nails were biting viciously into bruised flesh; the pain was nothing compared to the burning pit he felt in his chest. He felt like he was dying, and in that moment he wished he was. If he was dead he could at least be with her, he would be away from this pain.

Hitoshi wasn’t sure how long he laid on the couch, sobbing and screaming until his throat was raw and he tasted blood on his tongue. He moved a bit and a loud thump on the floor drew his attention for a moment. His phone had dropped and the screen had woken up, sitting front and center was a text from Akatani.

Hitoshi reached out with numb fingers and opened the phone, staring at the familiar name. A memory of happiness, of warmth, floated through his mind as he looked at his friend’s name. As illogical as it was, Hitoshi felt that if anyone could make the pain go away, Akatani could.

He pressed the call button and held the phone to his face, one thought in his mind as he listened to the phone ringing.

He hoped Akatani would save him.

Chapter End Notes

So apparently I can't go more than 7 chapters without traumatizing Hitoshi when I write him. Poor baby. Next chapter will be equally angsty so be prepared.

Also this chapter is probably the least angsty one of the angst ones I've already written (they're not posted yet), so suffice to say things are only getting darker from here. It won't all be dark, but this story will have dark chapters and moments.

Oh and I know this is a short chapter, next one is double the length to make up for it!

Where is the Justice?

Chapter Summary

Izuku gets a concerning call, Izuku and Tomura find out a sickening truth and Inko adopts another stray.

Chapter Notes

Happy Tuesday!

So warning for this chapter, this is dark. darker than the last one so be mindful of it.

****!!!!TRIGGERT WARNINGS!!!!!!!!!********

Panic Attack:

Starts: "M-My m-mom"

Ends: "H-How?"

Graphic depiction of death:

Starts: Kurogiri leaned closer ever so much,

Ends: Izuku had to drop his phone as he ran

Starts: Kurogiri explained the situation

Ends: Inko started sobbing as she hugged

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Izuku jumped out of bed, violently awoken by a loud ringing.

He fumbled around in the dark room, looking for his phone. Only six people had his number and they only called for emergencies. Panic filled him as his phone continued to scream at him.  Had All Might found his Dad again? Had Heroes found Tomura? Or Kurogiri? Was his family okay?

His panic didn’t lighten when he saw the name on his phone, Shinsou was calling him. In the two months since the boys had met, Shinsou had never called him. They communicated via text or through voice chat during a raid or a dungeon or other co-op game. But not once had Shinsou called his phone.

“What's wrong?” Izuku asked as he answered the phone, voice betraying his panic.

“I-I..” Sobs were heard over the line and Izuku's heart-rate skyrocketed. Setting the phone on speakerphone Izuku started to throw on clothes. He didn’t care what he was wearing at this point, but he needed to be dressed to get Shinsou away from whatever had him breaking into heart wrenching sobs. Whining was filling the room, complete agony colored the sounds and Izuku felt his heart lurch painfully at the noise. Anger was a close second, whoever had made Shinsou hurt like this was going to pay.

“Shinsou, it’s me, it's all going to be okay. Tell me what's happening,” Izuku kept his voice calm, trying to get the boy to be coherent enough to at least give Izuku a location so he could have Kurogiri warp him there.

“M-My. He killed her, ” Shinsou’s voice picked up at the end, a wail cutting through the end that had tears pouring down Izuku’s face. Oh the pure torment in his friend's voice, it shredded Izuku’s soul.

“Who?” Izuku asked, his voice dangerously calm. He picked up the guns he kept in his room now, Kira-sensei had said his skill was enough that he could be trusted to not accidentally kill anyone or himself and he’d wanted them for the next excursion he went on. He fumbled through putting the holsters on for a moment, the movements still fairly new. When they were a steady weight at his sides he dropped his overlarge hoodie over them, disguising some of their bulk

“M-My M-Mom, a-a H-Hero,” Shinsou’s voice sounded so small and broken now, there was the sound of panicked breathing picking up. He was about to have a panic attack and Izuku had to get his location before the boy retreated too far into himself.

“Text me your address. I'll be there in a few minutes,” Izuku ordered, voice still deadly calm. He’d get Shinsou somewhere safe, then he’d fill the Hero who hurt his friend with lead.

“O-O-Okay,” Shinsou stammered, voice breathy and Izuku could hear in perfect clarity the way he was wheezing, breaths coming fast and short.

A ping on his phone alerted him to the sent text, Izuku wasted no time sending the location to Kurogiri, knowing the man didn’t sleep and would always respond to warp requests. A portal opened in his room within seconds and Izuku dove through.

Looking around Izuku saw a quaint, if small, apartment. His eyes took over every detail, noting the plethora of family photos showing a tired looking violet haired woman and Shinso, who he saw was a spitting image of his mom. Sobs drew Izuku’s gaze to a huddled form on a couch and Izuku vaulted over the back of the couch to drop next to his friend.

“Shinsou,” Izuku said, voice soft as he held a hand out, not quite touching. The other boy startled as if electrocuted, his head whipping to look at Izuku. Izuku felt tears pooling in his own eyes again, his friend looked so destroyed. His eyes were bottomless pits of pain, his face blotchy and red from the tears. Shinsou stared at him for a moment before he grabbed him and buried his face in Izuku’s chest, sobs starting up again. His breathing was still too fast and bordering on panic territory as Izuku carefully wrapped his arms around his friend, rubbing gentle circles on the other boy's back.

“It’s okay, I’m here,” Izuku murmured quietly into his friend's wild locks, not caring that Shinsou was gripping him tight enough to bruise.

“Hey, try to follow my breathing, can you do that Shinsou?” Izuku asked in a calm voice as he slowed his own breathing, taking in deep breaths, holding and then releasing. With an aching slowness Shinsou started to follow him, as he did the sobs died off to be replaced by pitiful sniffles and weak whimpers. Izuku just kept taking his breaths, hands moving in gentle patterns across the other boy’s backs.

“H-How?” Shinsou finally asked, though he didn’t pull away, his voice was raspy. Raw from all the crying, Izuku had no idea for how long his friend had sat here, alone with his pain.

“My Uncle has a warp Quirk,” Izuku answered, voice still soft as he looked around for the kitchen. Slowly he pulled away, stopped by Shinsou grabbing him tighter at the prospect of losing the contact.

“Shh, I’m going to get you some water, okay?” Izuku kept his words slow, knowing how volatile Shinsou’s emotions were right now. The other boy  didn’t answer but he did let Izuku go. Izuku stood and almost sat back down when he looked at his friend. He looked so small and lost sitting there, his agony an almost visible weight pushing him down.

Every step Izuku took away from his friend was painful, he hurried to grab a glass and fill it with water before he rushed back to his friend. He sat back down next to Shinsou and held out the glass, with shaking hands Shinsou took it. Izuku steadied his friend's hands with his own and watched as he gulped down the water. Izuku tenderly removed the glass and set it to the side. Looking in his friends eyes he could see no light or life in them, their brightness dulled by the cruelties of their world.

“Do you want to stay here or do you want to come to my house?“ Izuku asked gently, trying to meet his friends' downcast eyes. Shinsou didn’t seem to have heard him but Izuku didn’t push it, he simply waited for Shinsou to tell him what he needed.

“Don’t want to stay here,” Shinsou answered, voice weak as broken spidersilk. Izuku nodded and hesitantly took his friend's hand in his own, he was so cold . As if his body was trying to succumb to the tragedy of what had happened and pass from this world with his mother. Shinsou didn’t pull away though, he gripped tightly as if Izuku’s hand was the only thing keeping him grounded to the world. Izuku pulled out his phone and asked Kurogiri for another portal home from the same location.

The familiar purple and black warp gate opened and it was frighteningly easy to tug Shinsou through it, the other boy following him like a barely living doll. They stepped into Izuku’s room and with no hesitation Izuku pulled Shinsou to his bed, the other boy merely following where he was led.

Izuku ignored the tears running down his own face at the sight of his friend looking so empty . Shinsou made no sounds as Izuku sat him on the bed, didn’t protest when Izuku carefully laid him down and pulled blankets over him. The closest he got to a response was when he tried to pull away and Shinsou’s grip tightened enough that Izuku felt his bones straining. The grip loosened a bit as soon as Izuku stopped pulling away.

With a small sigh Izuku clumsily removed his guns and set them in a night stand drawer. He kicked off his shoes and awkwardly climbed into the bed with his friend. As soon as he laid down Shinsou turned to him, hiding his face in Izuku’s chest. Izuku didn’t hear sobs but he felt the wetness spreading on his hoodie from the silent tears falling.

Izuku didn’t know how long they laid there, nothing but silent tears and quiet grieving surrounding them. Eventually Shinsou’s breathing evened out into the peaceful rhythm of sleep and Izuku could slowly untangle himself. He bit his lip when he saw the tears still streaming down the other boy's face, even in sleep the pain didn’t leave him. Izuku hesitated for a moment before he traced light fingers over the other boy's swollen cheeks, brushing away wet trails. With one last heartbroken look Izuku slipped out of the room.

He paid no heed to the dim lighting of the mansion as his feet followed familiar paths. Soon enough he found himself in the kitchen and he set to making himself a cup of tea. A rustling behind him had him setting out another cup.

“Uncle Giri,” Izuku said, voice tired. He couldn’t hope to sleep though, not with a broken boy crying through his dreams in his bed.

“Master Izuku,” The shadowy man responded, voice as polished as ever. Izuku sighed, shoulders drooping.

“Please call me Izuku, Giri,” Izuku requested, barely having the energy to be annoyed at how childlike his voice came out.

There was a pause before the sound of rustling clothes came closer, he sensed the presence behind him but didn’t move when familiar hands ruffled his hair. He soaked in the affection, a much needed balm for the stinging in his heart. Whistling from the kettle interrupted the silent moment and with practiced movements Izuku poured them both a cup of tea. He dropped several spoonfuls of sugar in his own, leaving Kurogiri’s alone. He picked his own cup up and sat down at the bar in the kitchen, leaning against the counter he just held the warm cup in his hands.

When had his own hands gotten so cold? It wasn’t until he felt the heat of the cup that he realized his entire body felt like ice, he felt brittle as it too. As if one hit would shatter him to pieces over the white marble counter his mother so loved.

“What happened?” Kurogiri finally spoke up, Izuku sighed and took a sip of the warm tea. Not quite hot enough now to scald, but still it felt like it was burning a trail through his frozen throat and stomach.

“Shinsou’s mother was killed by a Hero,” Izuku finally said the words, hate and anger bleeding through them and dripping from his lips like acid. He took another sip of his tea and this time the fire that burned down his throat was mirrored by the blaze igniting in his chest.

“Who was it?” Kurogiri continued, voice still even but Izuku could detect the emotions in the others voice.

He had known Kurogiri since before he could remember, and his Perception Quirk magnified that. Kurogiri was upset, not angry, but he had never liked it when Izuku was hurt. Izuku knew how often he’d talked to his family about Shinsou, how could he help it when those hauntingly beautiful violet eyes flashed through his mind so often? Kurogiri knew how much Izuku cared for Shinsou, his first friend other than Tomura. His first crush as Tomura liked to tease.

“I’m not sure yet, '' Izuku said as he took another sip of the cooling tea.

However that did give him a focus for the emotions running rampant inside him. He’d find the Hero who did it and he’d make them hurt for what they did. Setting the cup down, Izuku pulled out his phone, Kurogiri a silent spectator as Izuku scrolled news sites. He had to remind himself of the city Shinsou lived in to narrow the search but one thing he could say about reporters is they were fast.

In moments Izuku had found the fight that had resulted in his friend having his world destroyed. Conveniently the reporters didn’t release the information about the casualties, didn’t even deign to give them names . Just mentioned there were a ‘few civilians caught in the crossfire despite a hero's devoted attempts to save them’. Izuku sneered but dug deeper, there were always videos posted to deeper forums after fights. They were usually removed hastily but if you got to them in enough time you could save them. It took far longer to scroll through different forums, going deeper and deeper until he finally found a video that showed what happened.

Kurogiri leaned closer ever so much, betraying his interest as Izuku pressed play on the video. There was cursing, panicked breathing before the camera caught a woman that Izuku recognized far too well for having never met her. She looked so very much like his friend, seeing the naked fear on her face hurt him in a way he hadn’t expected. Perhaps because it was so easy to imagine the same terror filled eyes on another face that was dear to him.

“She used her Quirk on him! Thank fuck she saved us,” The voice came from whoever was holding the phone. Shinsou’s mom had her hand on what looked to be a robber, who held an assault rifle in loose hands. Shinsou’s mom was shaking with fear but her shoulders straightened and determination filled her scared eyes.

“Put the gun down and get on your knees, put your hands behind your head,“ Her voice called out and it was so startlingly unlike Shinsou’s deeper voice, hers rose high and clear, a perfect soprano that could make angels weep and demons repent.

As the robber dropped his gun and followed her instructions Izuku noticed her hand never left his skin, her Brainwashing was touch based only.

“Halt villain!” A voice shouted and Izuku watched as the voice distracted Shinsou’s mom, almost causing her to lose her control but not quite enough.

“It’s alright! I’ve got him controlled you ju-” Shinsou’s Mom was cut off from whatever she was about to say as a large fist appeared, wrist wrapped in telltale black and yellow cuffs. Izuku watched, horror filling his stomach and bile climbing his throat as Shinsou’s mom flew through the air limply before she collided with a wall a distinct crack filled the air. As she slid to the ground she left a trail of bright scarlet and her neck was bent at a horrifying angle.

“No need to worry anymore citizens! I’ve handled the villain!” Death Arms declared, grinning a cocky grin. Izuku could feel the horror and fear filling the scene, or maybe it was the horror and fear he felt from himself. From the corner of his eye he could see that Kurogiri’s smoke had frozen in place.

“Sh-She wasn’t a villain, she stopped the villain!” Some brave soul spoke up and the look of confusion on Death Arms would’ve been comical if it wasn’t for the too still body in the background. Blood was leaking slowly down her neck that was still bent far too wrong and her chest wasn’t moving. Someone broke from their trance and the bystander rushed forward to press a finger to her neck. After a few seconds they pulled away, blood shining crimson on their fingers.

“She’s dead,” the voice was unnaturally loud, the video cut off then and Izuku had to drop his phone as he ran for a bathroom to let out the vomit that was rising. He coughed out the acid, not much coming out but still his stomach rebelled and he struggled as tears and snot ran down his face, choking his throat as his body tried to expel the twisted emotions resting like a stone in his stomach.

Eventually his body stopped trying to expel the meager contents of his stomach and he lay down on the cold tile floor, a weak comfort to his too hot skin. He closed his eyes and tried hard to forget what he’d just seen, tried to erase the image of the easy violence of a so-called hero that had taken a life so carelessly.

A door opened and he heard the near silent sound of clothing rustling, felt the presence sit next to him and a familiar hand stroking his hair.

“Why?” It was all Izuku could ask, and god he sounded so small, so unsure. He sounded like a child trying to make some kind of sense of this cruel, awful world.

“Because he could,” Kurogiri’s answer eventually came and it wasn’t enough, it wasn’t even close to enough. A life was gone forever erased and snuffed out. Maybe Izuku shouldn’t care so much about that, what was the loss of life to a villain-to-be? What was murder to someone who easily chatted with Tomura about the best methods of killing someone? This was different though, she hadn’t deserved that. She had been honestly trying to help and she’d been killed for it.

Something clicked in Izuku, something he didn’t have the mental strength to examine but it was as if a pivotal moment in his life had just been reached. Tomura would’ve called it an unlocked achievement no doubt. The strange thought brought a maniac laugh to his lips, yet Kurogiri didn’t cease his stroking of his hair even as Izuku cackled like an insane man on the bathroom floor. The man kept stroking his hair, through the laughter that transformed into sobs, through the whimpers the sobs devolved into, the man's hand just kept stroking. He didn’t even stop when Izuku sat up and leaned into him, the smoke man just wrapped an arm around him and resumed stroking his hair with the other hand.

“I’m going to change it,” Izuku said some time later. After the tears had stopped, after his throat had long ago cracked asking for water, after he’d felt the last of his emotions fade and left him feeling empty.

“I’m going to bring all those so called Heroes down, I’ll fucking destroy their rotten soceity that lets good people die and raises putrid pieces of shit onto pedastals,” Izuku vowed, voice raw and rough from the abuse his throat had suffered.

“I imagine you will, Izuku,” Kurogiri said, not a trace of doubt in his voice. Izuku smiled a weak smile, Kurogiri had called him just Izuku. He’d never done that before.

“Let’s get you some tea,” Kurogiri said and he gently helped Izuku stand.

Perhaps it was a frivolous use of his Quirk but Kurogiri warped them from the bathroom back to the kitchen and Izuku gladly took a seat at the bar. Their abandoned teacups were still there and Kurogiri took them, turning to make them tea. Izuku melted into the comforting normalcy of having Kurogiri make him tea. So often he’d sit at this very counter and watch Kurogiri make tea, or his Mom make food. Sometimes he’d even get to watch both of them cooking at the same time during one of the rare instances where Inko would allow the smoke man to help.

Izuku looked at his phone, still unlocked and on that disturbing video of Shinsou’s mom’s last moments. He realized, distantly, that he didn’t even know her name and that felt important. He should know what her name was, someone should remember other than Shinsou. Her name shouldn’t be relegated to civilian casualty statistics that were buried deep, available to the public but made purposefully difficult to find. She deserved to be remembered, deserved for her name to be said, deserved to have her killer brought to justice.

Izuku mechanically saved the video, always keeping information he found, letting the steady bits of evidence build until he could one day make use of it.

A steaming cup of tea was placed before him and Izuku stared at it for a moment, looking at the delicate porcelain of the glass, almost the same shade as Shinsou’s skin, as his moms, and in the end just as delicate. A simple punch had shattered porcelain skin much like it would this cup. Izuku picked up the cup and cradled it in his numb hands, holding it as if it was precious, before he raised it to his lips and sipped it. Tastes of lavender and vanilla filled his mouth before the warm tea washed down his throat, easing the aching pain in it. He sipped the tea, not speaking to the man next to him as he emptied the cup before placing it back on the counter with utmost care.

“Izuku? Kurogiri? What are you two doing up?” Inko’s familiar warm voice filled the kitchen and Izuku startled, looking up to meet his mothers warm emerald eyes. He felt tears welling in his eyes again, he’d thought he had cried them all out.

“Oh honey,” Inko said, her face falling as she hurried over to wrap him in a warm embrace, the smell of his Mom’s familiar floral perfume filled his senses as he sobbed into her.

“Master Izuku’s friend, Shinsou Hitoshi, lost his mother last night at the hands of a Hero. I warped them both back here and Izuku saw the video of the altercation. Young Shinsou is currently resting in Master Izuku’s room,” Kurogiri explained the situation to Inko and Izuku just sobbed harder as the memories hit him again. Shinsou, looking so small and desolate in his empty apartment. The expression of fear and betrayal that flashed across Shinsou’s mom's face moments before the fist connected with her skin. The way her neck bent, wrong and so obviously broken. The sound of another civilian pronouncing her dead.

Inko started sobbing as she hugged Izuku closer to her, as if she was trying to squeeze the pain out of him, hide him from the vicious truths of their world. Izuku wished she could, as good as his Mom’s hugs felt he knew now better than he ever wanted to of the darkness that paraded around in their world, hidden behind flashing lights and dazzling smiles disguising it like masks. But for a little bit, he could push those thoughts down just enough and feel like a small child being held by his mom. He could for those precious minutes believe that when she let him go everything would be right in the world again.

When she pulled away Izuku’s tears had stopped, but the world had not regained its brightness. He wasn’t filled with sadness any longer however, fiery hate and anger had pushed the hurt down. The heat of the flames raging in him felt so much better than the dragging weight of sorrow. They filled him with energy, with purpose. When he met his Mom’s eyes he blinked to see his own emotions reflected back at him. Never before had he thought he’d see his sweet, sometimes frightening, but always warm mother look out with so much fury .

“Well I guess I had better start making some breakfast, since we have a new resident,'' Inko decided and the fires of anger in her eyes disappeared as if they hadn’t been there. It left Izuku wondering though, how much did his mother have to do with his Dad’s darker enterprises? He watched her cook, bustling around the kitchen and the only sign of her anger was her lack of singing or whistling. Perhaps she was a little rougher than normal as she pulled out pans and went about cooking, nothing anyone else might notice but Izuku couldn’t help but notice everything now.

“You should go and check on Shinsou, honey,” Inko called out and her voice was strained but she shot him a warm smile that was natural. Izuku nodded and got down, padding back to his room he paused in front of the door, suddenly shy. How did he help his friend? His hand was frozen on the handle as he slowly gained the confidence to open his door.

He didn’t turn on the light and his eyes struggled for a moment to adjust to the little light in the room, eventually he saw a pair of eyes staring at him. Izuku jumped, startled to find his friend awake and staring at him silently.

“U-Uh breakfast...M-my M-Mom is making breakfast,” Izuku stammered, raising a hand to the back of his neck as he looked around, suddenly shy and uncomfortable. His eyes darted back when he heard Shinsou moving in the bed.

“You left,” Shinsou spoke, voice tired and weak. Izuku jumped again and he was glad the darkness hid his blush.

“Sorry, were you up long?“ Izuku asked as he walked closer to his friend, ready to catch him if he fell or if he just needed another hug.

The boy was standing but not moving, looking lost and unsure. After a moment of deliberation Izuku reached out and grabbed one of his hands. Shinsou flinched a little and Izuku almost released him but the boy gripped his hand in a tight grip reminiscent of earlier in the night.

“Thank you, f-for coming,” Shinsou said, looking down at their hands that were clutched tightly together. Izuku gave his friend a kind smile as he slowly started to lead him out of the bedroom.

“I’ll always come, Shinsou,” Izuku vowed, truth ringing in the words and giving them weight.

“Hitoshi,” Shinsou said, voice hesitant before it gained strength, “Call me Hitoshi,” he said it as if it was final and Izuku smiled at him. The small movement to first names felt far more important than it normally would.

“Call me Izuku, it’s my real name,” Izuku said as they entered the hallway, the light making both boys squint for a moment until they adjusted. Izuku could see the weak curiosity in the other boy’s eyes at the admission.

“Ah Akatani Mikumo is a fake name I give, Midoriya Izuku is my real name,'' Izuku clarified a bit but he could tell by the sparking bemusement in his friend's face that he’d created more questions than answers.

“Your hair is green,” Shi- Hitoshi stated, eyes wide. Izuku blinked in surprise as he ruffled his messy curls. Ah yes, last time Hitoshi had seen him he hadn’t shown his actual features.

“Yea this is what I really look like,'' Izuku said sheepishly with a small shrug before he tugged the shell shocked boy towards the kitchen. He supposed it was a good thing that all the revelations were giving Hitoshi something else to focus on rather than the recent tragedy.

When the two boys finally emerged into the kitchen Inko had wiped any and all trace of her ire from her person and she was able to level them with a warm and kind gaze. Izuku felt Hitoshi stiffen, though his grip on Izuku’s hand only tightened further, seeking a small bit of comfort in the midst of the upheaval of his life.

“Hello boys, Shinsou, go ahead and take a seat. Breakfast will be ready momentarily,” Inko’s sweet voice eased some of Hitoshi’s stiffness and he didn’t pull away when Izuku led him to the dining room and sat him at seat. Izuku dropped quickly beside him but Hitoshi’s gaze was locked on the other presence in the room, Kurogiri.

“Ah, that’s Uncle Kurogiri. Uncle Giri, this is Shinsou Hitoshi,” Izuku introduced the two and Hitoshi nodded slightly before he dropped his eyes to the table.

“A pleasure to meet you Shinsou-san,” Kurogiri answered, voice calm and cultured as always.

“Thank you, Kurogiri-san,” Hitoshi responded, voice so quiet Izuku wondered if Kurogiri even heard it. Silence descended upon the table and Izuku resisted the urge to fidget, silence had always been difficult for him. He always had the urge to fill it with random babble about Quirks, or the latest Hero scandal he’d uncovered but he imagined Heroes were the last thing Hitoshi wanted to talk about.

In his pocket Izuku’s phone felt like a leaden weight, holding that damning video of Hitoshi’s Mom’s last moments of life. He wasn’t sure if he should show it to Hitoshi, if the boy would ever find it on his own. He knew it could be the very last shove the other boy needed to turn his back on all Heroes, but it could also be the last shove off the edge that Izuku could feel the boy teetering on.

Izuku wondered too, if he was in Hitoshi’s shoes, would he want to see the video? See his own mothers last few moments in all their bloodstained and twisted glory? Or would he rather live in ignorance, leave that last shred of innocence to persevere despite the tragedy? For now Izuku decided to push the decision to the side, perhaps he’d show him one day. For now he sensed it would be the wrong choice to make, Hitoshi felt as fragile as spun sugar, liable to shatter with the lightest of breaths.

Izuku dug his phone out and opened a new search, remembering Hitoshi’s deep love of cats and memes he scrolled until he found a video and positioned his phone so the other boy could see. Dull violet eyes locked on the phone and while no smile graced his lips Izuku saw the barest glimmer of light return to his eyes as they watched a compilation of funny cat videos.

Plates dropped in front of both boys and they jolted as they looked at the steaming breakfast. Izuku shut off his phone and after everyone thanked her for the food they dug in. Izuku wondered idly if Tomura or his Dad would show up, that could be interesting with Hitoshi here. He shot a look at his Mom, the question clear on his face. She gave a subtle shake of her head, ah so his Dad had been warned.

“Who the fuck?” A scratchy voice declared and Izuku turned to see Tomura glaring at Hitoshi from the entranceway to the dining room.

“This is Shinsou Hitoshi, he’ll be staying with us for awhile Tomura, be polite,” Inko declared and the look Tomura shot at the woman was far more submissive than normal. There were two people Tomura would never talk back to or disobey, Hisashi and Inko. Izuku was fairly certain Tomura was actually more afraid of Inko than Hisashi, as one should be.

Hitoshi stared at the other boy, eyes still dull but a considering look on his face as the older teen dropped in front of a plate of food that had already been left out for him.

“Dust?” Hitoshi asked, voice still weak despite the near empty glass of juice in front of him that Kurogiri refilled when the boy's eyes were averted.

“Mind?” Tomura asked, his look of mild disgust changed to one of interest. Izuku huffed as he resumed eating, he’d told Tomura time and again that Hitoshi was MindRuler and yet the other teen always had an easier time remembering gamer tags than actual names.

“Yea,” Hitoshi said, looking down and picking at his food. Inko was frowning in concern but no one was willing to push Hitoshi right now.

“Well I guess if I had to deal with another twerp in the house, you’re probably the one that will irritate me the least,” Tomura confessed, and from the hermit boy it was a glowing compliment. Hitoshi seemed to have understood that, the time they’d all spent together playing games had enabled Hitoshi to understand the other boys oftentimes antagonistic language.

The rest of the breakfast was mostly quiet, Kurogiri and Inko discussing some business deals that Hisashi was moving forward with while the teens were far more subdued. When the food was done Kurogiri warped all the dishes away before anyone could grab them. The man himself warped away and seconds later they heard the noise of dishes being washed. Izuku stared at the empty spot his plate had just occupied in mild shock, Kurogiri had never done that before.

“Why don’t you boys go to the game room? Shinsou dear, stay back for a few moments okay?” Inko said and despite how Izuku didn’t want to leave his friend he detangled their hands and followed Tomura to the game room.

“So what actually happened?” Tomura asked as soon as the game room door shut behind them. The room was sound-proofed, a necessity with how loud the two of them got when gaming.

“His Mom was killed by Death Arms,” Izuku answered as he dropped into a beanbag chair. He dragged his phone out and sent Tomura the video. The other boy was kind enough to use headphones while he listened but the look of horror on his face was something Izuku hadn’t expected. He’d thought of everyone, Tomura would’ve taken this in stride and not given a shit. Perhaps he hadn’t been giving the older teen enough credit, he did have a heart under his very dry and crusty exterior.

“He hasn’t seen the video,” Izuku added when Tomura removed the headphones.

“He deserves to,” Tomura said, his own voice haunted by demons that Izuku wasn’t privy to.

“Yea, but not right now,” Izuku reasoned, remembering the dull glaze to Hitoshi’s eyes, the way he could barely eat and already looked half dead.

“Eventually though,” Tomura said as he slid his phone back into his pocket. Tomura grabbed a controller and booted up a console but he didn’t pick a game, just stared at the screen blankly.

“ Fuck ,” Tomura said, his fingers clenched around the controller and Izuku knew if he wasn’t wearing gloves Tomura would’ve decayed it.

“Wanna spar?“ Izuku asked, he didn’t think games would be enough to get the excess energy out of the two of them. They were both pissed right now and had nowhere to put those feelings.

Tomura nodded and both of them got up just as the door opened and a very red-eyed Hitoshi walked in. For a moment they all stood there frozen before Izuku moved and wrapped Hitoshi in a hug, pulling the other boy's head down to hide in his shoulder.

He could feel the way Hitoshi’s body shook as more sobs worked themselves out of his body. He didn’t know what Hitoshi and his Mom had been talking about but it had left Hitoshi a sobbing mess.

“What happened?” Tomura chimed in, ever tactless.

It took a few minutes for Hitoshi's sobs to die down enough for him to lift his head, for him to suck in enough air to respond.

“She wanted to know if there’s anything I wanted from home,” Hitoshi answered, his voice monotone, not betraying the anguish clear in his eyes.

Izuku hugged him tighter before he pulled back and looked up into Hitoshi’s eyes, giving him a small smile as he wiped away the still falling tears.

“Wanna come watch me and Tomu-nii beat the shit out of each other?” Izuku asked, ignoring the grumbles from the boy behind him. They were brothers and the angry teenager knew it.

“Sure,” Hitoshi responded, the barest hint of a smile flickering on his face. Izuku entwined their hands again, the tight squeeze from Hitoshi showing the gesture was much appreciated, before Izuku led them to the gym. He studiously ignored the quiet gagging noises behind them from Tomura. The other boy was always uncomfortable with affection and strong emotions, sadness especially.

Izuku smiled when he remembered the first time he’d cried in front of Tomura. The other boy had immediately panicked and screamed for Kurogiri .The mist-man had appeared, brandishing a metal bat and fully prepared to fight off whoever had infiltrated their house. Instead he’d been confronted with a sobbing greenette who could only say ‘the-the animals’ and a hyperventilating Tomura who had curled up in a corner and was staring at Izuku as if the boy had become an eldritch abomination.

Suffice to say Tomura had banned Izuku from watching any animal videos in his presence and Kurogiri had a four hour lesson with Tomura about how to appropriately approach people who were distressed.

‘Does the dog die,’ was now a frequent search on Tomura’s phone. It had saved  him from many tears but with Izuku there was no stopping all of them. At least Tomura didn’t scream and cry for Kurogiri at any hint of wetness, they were working up to physical comfort though. Tomura was, justifiably, wary of offering physical comfort.

Izuku sat Hitoshi against a wall of the gym before he and Tomura got to work on their warmups, the purple headed insomniac watched them with more attention than Izuku had seen him show anything.

“Quirks? “Tomura asked sarcastically and Izuku snorted in response.

“Like fuck I’m letting you near me with those deadly weapons,” Izuku quipped nodding towards Tomura’s gloved hands. Since he’d gotten the gloves Izuku hadn’t seen him without them, it still made him smile when the thinly veiled wonder would take over Tomura’s face when he’d touch things. The first time he’d gotten a hug from Mom had been too sweet to not sneak a few pictures of.

“Fine, weapons?” Tomura asked with excitement and Izuku groaned. He couldn’t use his guns, for obvious reasons it was rather messy. He could use airsoft or paintball guns. Though his mom had let out a rather concerning shriek after the first time they’d used paintball guns and inadvertently coated the walls of the gym in abstract art. Izuku had never quite feared for his life as much as he had that day.

“Nah just hand to hand,” Izuku answered as he finished his stretches. Tomura pouted but didn’t press it. The shadow that passed his face showed he was remembering one of the many patented Midoriya Inko lectures after they’d left the gym with more holes than they’d entered with.

“Let’s go,” Tomura said, his face gleeful in a way that probably would frighten anyone who wasn’t on his skill level. Izuku was one of the lucky few who could hold his own against the older teen.

Time blurred and between dodging punches and landing his own hits Izuku caught the almost hungry gaze Hitoshi watched them with. His attention never wavered, despite the hours that passed as the two sparred, running off of caffeine, anger and spite. Izuku didn’t miss the flickering anger that would appear in Hitoshi’s eyes, and he had to hide his smirk.

Soon.

-----

It was a week later that Shinsou Yui was laid to rest.

Four figures were all that came to her funeral, Hitoshi, Izuku, Tomura and Inko were the only living souls in the graveyard that day. Izuku gripped his friend’s hand tightly as they stood there. Hitoshi’s face was puffy and red again, tears leaking uncontrolled down his cheeks. Izuku and Inko were similarly crying, Tomura was uncomfortable but even his eyes were saddened as he looked on.

Hitoshi’s legs gave out and Izuku followed him to the ground, grabbing his friend and pulling his shaking body into his arms. Hitoshi gripped his suit tightly, wailing as he sobbed into the fabric and Izuku felt this heart breaking all over again as he cried for his friend. Izuku held him tightly, as if he could squeeze the pain out of his friend. In that moment he hated Death Arms more than All Might, for bringing his friend so low. For breaking the heart of such a beautiful boy and leaving him to struggle to pick the pieces up again. For ripping the last bit of hope Hitoshi had in the world away from him, and forcing him to confront the darkness that lurked in their society far sooner than Izuku wanted him to.

The sun lowered in the sky, shadows deeping as they day waned on them. It took hours for the tears to finally slow and stop, for Hitoshi’s sobs to weaken until his body stopped trembling. When Izuku pulled back to look at his friend his eyes were dulled again, little light left in those violet eyes. Anger and pain roared to life in Izuku’s chest as he looked at his friend, the boy who had at one time burned with so much life despite everything he endured that it was beautiful to see. He was reduced to little more than an empty doll, staring out at the world as if he no longer saw anything.

“Let’s go home,” Inko’s soft voice was rough from her own tears as she held out her hands to the two boys.

With Izuku’s aid they got Hitoshi standing again and Inko wrapped the boy in a warm hug, and for a brief moment Izuku saw light flickering in Hitoshi’s eyes again before he shut his eyes and buried his face into Inko’s shoulder. A small whine filled the air, a pained and wretched noise that ripped into the hearts of anyone hearing it. Izuku leaned into Hitoshi and added his own arms to the hug and seconds later even Tomura joined in. They stood there for several moments longer, a tight huddle of warmth and pain that managed to chase the chill of dusk away. When everyone pulled back Izuku could see life in Hitoshi’s eyes again, there was a deep pain that was almost unbearable to see but his eyes no longer looked dead.

“Let’s go,” Hitoshi whispered, his voice ruined from the day but it was something, and though none of them could smile, the small bit of relief that gave them all was almost intoxicating.

Izuku slipped his hand back into Hitoshi’s, the smallest flicker of happiness came when the other boy grabbed his hand like a lifeline. The four of them turned to the portal that had appeared, and with one last heavy look to the lonely grave Hitoshi let himself be led away from the last vestiges of his innocence and into his new life.

Chapter End Notes

Uncle Giri his the best Uncle, and I will hear no disagreements on this.

Sorry for the violent and dark nature of this chapter, but this fic was always going to be darker. Poor boys are just getting started on the angst and trauma that's planned for them...

Anyways, hope you guys don't hate me too much for this! see you next Tuesday!

Find Your Purpose

Chapter Summary

Izuku ruminates about society, he learns Tomura's origin story, Hitoshi finds a reason to live, MHW is a great team-building game, and Izuku adopts another stray.

Chapter Notes

Hey guys welcome back!

This is a pretty beefy chapter, it could've been cut into two but I didn't want to so here ya go.

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See the end of the chapter for more notes

It was a month after Hitoshi had officially moved in with them.

While Hitoshi was smiling more now, the darkness was an ever present companion to the boy now. Izuku could see it lurking in his violet eyes, haunting his far too  rare smiles. He could hear it, when Hitoshi would wake up screaming in the room next to Izuku and send Izuku careening out of his own bed in a panic.

It had become increasingly more common to see one of them leaving the other's room in the mornings, Hitoshi desperately craved the physical comfort of another person and Izuku wasn’t able to deny him that. A small part of him reveled in being able to hold the enchanting boy in his arms until they both fell asleep, and as long as Hitoshi wasn’t alone he didn’t wake up screaming. Though it was far more normal than Izuku would’ve wished to wake up and see Hitoshi crying in his sleep.

One of the few times that Izuku could see Hitoshi regaining any light in his eyes was when they were sparring. From the second day he’d been with them Hitoshi had joined in, throwing himself into training with a single minded determination that would have killed him. Thankfully the others in the house had collectively set to watching over him and forcing him to rest when he was trying to drive himself to exhaustion. Even Tomura would drag Hitoshi from the gym and plop him down in the game room, shoving a controller into his calloused and oftentimes blistered hands in his own show of care.

Izuku had also noticed a strange, though if he was honest not unwelcome, clinginess in the other as well. Hitoshi was almost always with Izuku, whether it was training, in classes with their tutors, or even just sitting in Izuku’s room while he spent hours analyzing Heroes and Villains. The few times Izuku had to head out on his own Hitoshi looked like an abandoned puppy, all wide sad eyes. It made it difficult to leave the house, even when it was necessary because of All For One’s ever present need for more Quirks. Hitoshi had asked, even begged, to come with Izuku but Izuku had to deny him. The activities he participated in to acquire his Quirks weren’t always legal, and Hitoshi was yet unaware of the extracurricular activities of the household. They had been careful to keep him separate from them, though Izuku’s activities were the most tame in comparison to the adults and Tomura.

At first it had been a bit of an adjustment for Izuku to accept that Tomura was a murderer with blood on his hands, but he had overcome that fairly quickly. He found, when it came down to it, if it was between the boy he saw as a brother surviving or some unknown person dying...he’d always pick Tomura. Besides, he’d accepted that the changes he wanted to enact wouldn’t come without bloodshed. He could admit as well, he could feel the desire to coat his own hands in blood. The hatred he felt for All Might was a strong ever present companion, always waiting to ignite his blood in a fury of righteous anger. He knew if given the chance, he’d slit the man's throat himself for what he’d done to his family. For what he’d tried to do to his family. He knew it would be necessary, because until All Might was dead his family would never be safe, and there was no legal way of getting his family safe because the law would always see them as villains. So eventually it would come down to All Might or his family, and that was a choice he wouldn’t have any struggle making.

Then there was Death Arms, a man that Izuku hated with his entire being, almost on par with All Might. Because he’d killed someone precious to a person who Izuku cared for, and that was an unforgivable sin in Izuku’s mind. He could justify it as well, if he wanted to, as Death Arms killing a civilian, and many more as he’d discovered with enough research. Really the world was better off with a man like that removed permanently. And there was an entire list of Heroes with transgressions matching or even exceeding Death Arms that had joined Izuku’s hit list that he knew one day he’d begin clearing out. But the truth of it was, Izuku wanted Death Arms dead for more selfish reasons, he wanted to kill him for revenge. For hurting Hitoshi, for robbing the boy of the light and hope he’d once held in his heart. For that alone Izuku would see the man dead, preferably in as painful a manner as he could devise.

Six months ago such thoughts would’ve made Izuku sick to his stomach, overwhelmed with guilt at the thoughts. Now though, he was too angry to be guilty. And if the guilt tried to rise up he simply had to present it with the empty eyes of his friend to quell it. These monsters were allowed to continue on as if they didn’t have the blood of innocents staining their hands, they got to smile for the cameras and be lauded by the public as perfect bastions of justice, of goodness. There was nothing that could be done for them legally either, Izuku had seen how thousands of cases brought against these Heroes were lost or closed out quietly. That fact had hit Izuku hard, the knowledge that their system was so warped that Heroes could literally get away with murder in broad daylight and suffer no repercussions for it. There was no fixing a system so fundamentally flawed, and there was nothing else that could be done to stop these Heroes but taking justice into his own hands. If the government and other Heroes wouldn’t stop them then someone had to.

In his own way, Izuku mused, he would be a Hero. Though he knew many wouldn’t ever see him as such, he would be doing the world good by removing the fake Heroes permanently. The government, the police and Heroes themselves had been given the chance to fix these issues, and they hadn’t. So he’d step in and do what they refused to do, and fix their system in the only way that would work now.

“It’s time for him to know,” Tomura said, pulling Izuku out of his philosophical musings.

They were outside of the house now on the hunt for another Quirk for Izuku. After Izuku had come back last week with his favorite ‘Don’t be Suspicious’ hoodie singed from a rather unnecessary fireball from Endeavor, Tomura had refused to let Izuku leave the house again without him. He claimed it was because he was bored, they both knew he was worried.

To be fair to Izuku, that fireball had been an unnecessary escalation on Endeavors part. Izuku had been actually doing something commonly viewed as good, he’d stopped a mugging. Sure the mugger had a few extra bullet holes in him but he was fine , a few stitches, maybe a blood transfusion and he’d be as good as new!

Apparently though Endeavor had taken that personally, or maybe it had been the couple of pot shots Izuku had sent at the flame Hero after he blasted his way into the alleyway. The shots didn’t hit, of course, because Izuku wasn’t quite ready yet to move onto actually taking out Heroes yet. So really, the oversized fireball Endeavor had tried to flambe him with was a severe escalation that was 100% uncalled for.

“I don’t know,” Izuku shoved his hands into his pockets as they walked through one of the seedier areas in the current city they’d been dropped off in.

Tomura had requested this area, claiming it had a low Hero presence and high crime rates. Meaning higher likelihood of a fight, which Tomura was excited for, and possible lowlifes for Izuku to grab a Quirk from. Izuku wasn’t of a mind to take a Quirk from someone who had done nothing wrong, but if someone was trying to hurt someone else, well such people didn’t need a Quirk to use towards more abuse.

“He deserves to know,” Tomura argued, a common one between them now. Tomura had been pushing more for Hitoshi to be shown the video of his Mom’s death. Izuku had been resisting, afraid that the video would shove Hitoshi off the cliff he was teetering on.

“And if doing so ruins him?!” Izuku asked, voice heavy with frustration.

He knew Tomura had Hitoshi’s interests at heart, he honestly believed seeing the video would be good for him so Izuku couldn’t be too mad at Tomura. But Izuku was scared and mad that this argument even had to happen in the first place. Fire burned in his chest and he wished more than anything to have Death Arms in front of him, so he could make the man suffer for the pain he was still causing.

“He’s lost right now, he has no purpose. The hate and anger would give him something to ground him,” Tomura scratched at his neck, a tic that showed he was frustrated too.

Izuku reached out, an unconscious habit of his own now, and grabbed the older boy's hand from his neck. He gave Tomura’s gloved hand a squeeze to show he had no hard feelings before he released his hold. Tomura didn’t resume scratching at his neck, he also didn’t speak as Izuku thought it over. Izuku knew what it was like to feel as if you no longer had purpose, as if the world had fallen out from under you. He’d felt that when All Might had dashed his hopes and dreams on that roof, and he had grabbed the anger and hate that had filled him after his Dad told his story with a chokehold, using it to help tether himself back to the world and drive him forward. But having your dreams crushed was far different from having your mother killed, and Izuku didn’t know if the same thing would apply.

“Trust me, I’ve been there. Having hate, someone to focus all that pain on...it helps,” Tomura muttered, and this was a new addition to the script they typically followed with this argument.

Izuku paused, looking at Tomura’s face that was hidden behind pale white hair right now. They were both Glamoured, since they were out with the intent to commit crimes, but Izuku could clearly see pain and ghosts of memories long past in Tomura’s currently green eyes. Tomura hadn’t been very forthcoming with his history, he said his family was dead and that Hisashi had saved him when no one else would even look at him. Izuku had never pushed further, able to see it was a sensitive topic though he suspected the hand tattoos he knew covered the other had something to do with it.

“Tomu-nii,” Izuku breathed, he had picked up calling Tomura that shortly after Hitoshi had moved in. It did the trick, a bit of warmth filled the other boy's drawn features. Though he had vehemently complained about the familial term being used for him, he had never been good at hiding how much he loved it.

“I killed my family, when my Quirk manifested,” Tomura suddenly said, they both stopped in the empty sidewalk they’d been walking down. Izuku barely breathed, shock and sadness filling him. Quirk accidents were common, and with some Quirks they could be fatal. He could see how Tomura’s could be, it was a highly destructive Quirk he’d seen used several times.

“My father was...cruel,” Tomura grimaced as he remembered something he didn’t voice, “I was distressed, the day it happened, it was after one of my fathers lessons,” Tomura chuckled, a dry laugh filled with pain, “I wanted to be a Hero. My father didn’t like that very much,” He said, turning a too wide grin and slightly manic eyes to Izuku. Izuku didn’t feel scared of his brother, he felt pain. Pain for the small child Tomura was at one point, one who had dreams that he was punished for so badly his Quirk went out of control the day it manifested.

“Guess he got what he wanted, I’m no Hero and never want to be,” Tomura muttered, grin falling as he looked at his hands. Izuku moved towards his brother, wrapping his arms around the other boy. After a moment Tomura returned the hug, for once not bothering to gripe or complain about it.

“It was after that day, when I walked down populated sidewalks and everyone just turned away from me. Saying ‘A Hero will come and help him’ while they moved along, and no Hero came to save me. It was Sensei who took me in, gave me a home. Gave me a safe place to be. That’s when that hate started, hate for the Hero who had abandoned my father, and made him so cruel. Hate for the Hero she had abandoned him for. Hate for the Heroes who never came to save me from him. Hate for the Heroes who didn’t come for me afterwards, that hate gave me purpose. It kept me alive when I wanted nothing  more than to die,” Tomura whispered into Izuku’s curls, and Izuku gripped his brother tighter.

The thought of losing Tomura, it was unthinkable, as catastrophic as losing his mom, his Dad, Uncle Kurogiri. It would rip a piece of his very soul away, a fatal wound he’d never recover from. He hated the Heroes more, every story he heard from his loved ones added fuel to the fire. The Heroes had tried time and again to remove those he loved from his life, and Izuku would never forgive them for it.

“Okay, we’ll show him,” Izuku said into his brother's chest, Tomura gripped him tighter in response before pulling back. His eyes were tired, but some bit of glee floated in their depths now.

“Let’s find some people to take our frustrations out on, eh?“ Tomura asked and Izuku, burning with a rage that felt like it would consume him if he didn’t channel it, nodded with a matching feral grin that would chill the blood of anyone unlucky enough to see it.

----

It was several more days before they finally showed Hitoshi the video. Izuku had nearly chickened out several times and Tomura had to be the one to show him.

Hitoshi watched it with a completely blank face, emotions unreadable. Izuku and Tomura sat near him and waited while Hitoshi watched the video one time, then another, and another. It was an hour before Hitoshi turned from the screen and met Izuku’s eyes. The dullness in his eyes was fading, replaced with violet flames that burned with so much pure hatred that Izuku almost flinched back.

“I want to kill him,” Hitoshi said, his voice faint, as if he was speaking from a great distance rather than a few feet.

“Is that wrong?” Hitoshi asked, and his eyes held fear with the anger, a desperation that Izuku was eager to wipe away.

“No, what you’re feeling is right. People like him shouldn’t be allowed to live,” Izuku said, voice filled with conviction that eased the fear he saw in Hitoshi’s eyes. Though there was still uncertainty, it was nothing in comparison to the anger and rage flashing in amethyst eyes.

Izuku forgot to breathe for a moment, caught up in those mesmerizing eyes, again blazing with light and life. He’d been afraid he’d never see those wondrous eyes shining again, afraid that they’d always be dulled and dark. Yet the way they swirled and burned now was incomparable to what he’d seen the first time he’d met Hitoshi. It was like comparing a flickering candle flame to a raging inferno, Hitoshi looked transcendent in his anger. Izuku had never in his life seen something quite so beautiful.

“We’ve been planning,” Izuku started, looking momentarily at Tomura to get an encouraging nod, it was time to tell Hitoshi everything, “To reform society. To remove fake Heroes like Death Arms,” Izuku took a deep breath, looking into Hitoshi’s eyes and matching the fire he saw there with his own, “ permanently .” Izuku kept their eyes locked, looking to see if the fires of hate dimmed in Hitoshi’s eyes. They didn’t, if anything they flared higher, swirling in a way that almost pulled Izuku under.

“We want to tear Hero Society down, and build a better one from the rubble. One where Heroes can’t get away with murder, where they can’t abuse the people they’re supposed to protect. A society where one's Quirk doesn’t immediately decide their life path, one where people don’t walk past others desperate for help while expecting a Hero to save them instead. Would you like to join us?” Izuku asked, holding a hand out to his friend, hopefully still his friend after this.

Hitoshi stared at him, eyes examining first Izuku then Tomura who was looking on with the same determined and raging fire in his eyes as they did, he too had his reasons for wanting to see Hero society destroyed. Hitoshi looked back at Izuku and for a few moments he seemed to think, yet that light in his eyes didn’t dim again, and a small smirk worked onto his face as he came to a decision. And oh, that smirk, it wasn’t the sweet thing it had been at one time. It was sharp, and a bit cruel, yet it set Izuku’s heart pounding in his chest.

“Yes,” Hitoshi said, voice and eyes certain, grabbing Izuku’s hand and intertwining their fingers.

Izuku stared at Hitoshi, letting out the breath he didn’t know he’d been holding, as he looked down at their hands. He looked back up and saw a smile steal across Hitoshi’s face, one full of darkness and malice. Izuku’s heart stopped for a moment as he saw it and combined with the fire blazing in Hitoshi’s eyes it was truly like he was looking at some kind of fallen angel, or ancient deity of wrath sitting before him. Beautiful, terrifying and eternal.

“Welcome to the League of Villains,“ Tomura spoke up and the somber mood fled as Izuku turned exasperated eyes to his brother.

“For the last time Tomu-nii, we are not calling it that!”

----

“Ugh I’m going to need to go out again,” Izuku whined in his beanbag chair.

“F,” Hitoshi muttered, his eyes locked to the screen. Tomura threw an empty energy can at Izuku that he easily swatted out of the air.

“Focus! I don’t feel like wiping to tempered Kushala again ,” Tomura hissed right before he screamed, frantically pressing his dodge roll button, barely avoiding a tornado.

Izuku muttered but focused back on the game, cackling madly after a few minutes as he twirled through the air.

“I’M THE REAL LORD OF THE SKIES BITCH!” Izuku screamed as he finally managed to mount the elder dragon. Yells of victory ran out from his friends as he popped off a finisher and brought the annoying windy shit down.

“TASTE MY STICKY BOMBS YOU METAL CHICKEN!” Hitoshi screeched right as Izuku and Tomura rolled out of the way of the rather explosive barrage.

A round of groans rang out as Kushala got back up, taking off. Hitoshi was grinning madly and seconds later an explosion brought the dead corpse of the elder dragon down.

Three teenagers fell back into their bean bag chairs with relieved sighs. Grumbles were heard when certain parts still weren’t acquired but they didn’t queue up again.

“Take me with you,” Hitoshi finally responded to Izuku’s original statement. Izuku shot his friend with a thoughtful look. It had been two weeks since Hitoshi had been shown the truth, since he’d been made actually aware of what Izuku and Tomura were planning.

The week afterwards Hitoshi had formally been introduced to Hisashi, he’d met him before of course but only as Izuku’s father. He’d finally met him as he truly was, the oldest and strongest supervillain in Japan's history. Hitoshi had seemed even more intimidated by the man at that point, and it had been a bit odd for Izuku to watch. He knew his Dad was powerful, but he was the same man who had healed his scraped knees and hugged him when he woke up from a nightmare when he was five. He was the man who had gotten snowcones with Izuku when he was six, and pushed him on swings. So Izuku struggled to ever feel any kind of fear for his Dad, unless he’d done something he wasn’t supposed to of course but even then it was his mom he really feared.

Watching Hitoshi sweat and stutter before his Dad had been enlightening, Izuku finally was able to see his Dad how others did. He’d thought Hitoshi would faint when Hisashi had asked to take his Quirk momentarily to examine it, and copy it. Hitoshi had calmed a little when Izuku and Hisashi had immediately fallen into a rapid pace analysis of the Quirk and possibilities for it as they passed it between them like a particularly interesting gem. Hitoshi had been less scared and more awed when Hisashi had offered to strengthen his Quirk by merging it with another. Hitoshi had accepted with reverence and awe in his voice that had only multiplied when he was regifted his improved Quirk and felt the changes. Hisashi had seemed rather pleased by Hitoshi’s excitement over his Quirk, and had invited the boy to refer to him as either Sensei or ‘Dad’ like Izuku, since he was legally his son now.

Hitoshi had elected to call him Sensei, much like Tomura did. While he did still seem to have a healthy amount of fear and respect for the man he wasn’t trembling when they left the meeting. Hitoshi had immediately roped Izuku and Tomura into practicing with his new Quirk. Izuku had been excited to try it out, to see everything it was capable of now in comparison. His father had merged the original Brainwashing with a Mental Manipulation Quirk, the second Quirk had worked on suggestions, able to affect others emotions and thoughts even their memories. Though the original Quirk could only lightly alter memories, and the more absurd the suggestion the less likely it was to stick. The two merged together had become more powerful than their previous parts had been on their own. Now Hitoshi could fully control a mind, affect their thoughts, memories, emotions and actions. In theory anyways, the Quirk still needed to be trained to reach its full potential but it was promising.

For now Hitoshi could affect some thoughts, even make people forget memories from the past five hours or so though rewriting them was something they hadn’t had much success with yet. A secondary side effect that they had been surprised by was that Hitoshi could now activate Brainwashing through verbal response, or eye contact. The Mental Manipulation Quirk had been eyesight activated and that had transferred, which meant Hitoshi would be able to control others even easier now. Though Izuku theorized that Hitoshi could eventually grab control simply by having others hear his voice, or even if they had emotional reactions to his words but that would take excessive training to get to that point.

Izuku and Tomura weren’t too excited to have their memories completely re-written so it meant to really practise his new Quirk Hitoshi needed opponents to use it on, and for that he would need to get out. While his Quirk was incredibly powerful now, Hitoshi had only been training for a month and a half physically. He was nowhere near where he’d need to be if a real fight happened. He would have Izuku and Tomura with him though, but Izuku was a bit reluctant to bring Hitoshi somewhere he could get hurt.

One look at Hitoshi though dissolved Izuku’s willpower, the other boy had turned his big purple eyes on him, and even added a heartbreaking pout. Honestly, Izuku mentally complained, it wasn’t even remotely fair how adorable Hitoshi was. Izuku might be on the path to becoming a villain but he wasn’t a monster who could ignore such beautiful puppy dog eyes with a stone heart. Izuku sighed heavily, smirking a bit when a grin bloomed on Hitoshi’s face, he’d gone so long fearing he’d never see those kinds of smiles on Hitoshi’s face again he’d do just about anything to keep them on the other boy's face.

“No trouble,” Izuku raised a finger and Hitoshi pouted again but nodded.

“No murder,” Izuku raised a second finger and Hitoshi raised an eyebrow but behind them Tomura cursed quietly. The rule existed for a reason .

“No picking fights with Heroes,” Izuku raised a final finger but it was a warning to all of them. A round of grumbles erupted but the other two agreed. Izuku smirked, Tomura would’ve sworn to every god in existence six months ago that he’d never be caught dead out with two fourteen year olds and now the three of them were inseparable.

Izuku would give credit, despite his clumsy beginning Tomura was actually a good older brother. He even gave hugs now, what a shocker. He’d even figured out Hitoshi’s favorite energy drink brand and would produce a can from thin air whenever Hitoshi looked particularly sad. He’d even gifted the insomniac a green bunny stuffed animal on his ‘adoption day’. Izuku certainly would never admit to the fact that seeing Hitoshi cuddling the bunny had sent his heart racing, or that he had turned such a deep red his mother had been concerned he had a fever.

Tomura had even gifted Izuku a very ornate pair of black and silver Desert Eagle 50’s. Izuku loved them more than anything else in his life, excluding his parents. Maybe. They were very gorgeous guns.

Izuku sighed and waved the other two off to get into their going out gear. Which was to say, as weaponized as possible without attracting attention. Izuku holstered his guns and dropped a very oversized hoodie over them. Steel toed boots over loose black cargo pants. He slid a few knives into different spots, grabbing a baton for good measure. It had helped him get the first Quirk he’d acquired himself, he was a bit emotionally attached to it.

When the three met in the living room, where Kurogiri was watching them with thinly veiled suspicion, Izuku spent a moment changing everyone's appearance. Tomura got a bright pink mohawk this time and Izuku took great joy in erasing the dried skin and scars. Though the moisturizer mom had forced the boy to use was doing wonders for the other boy's skin. He’d even cut down drastically on his itching, he only did it now when he was particularly frustrated though Izuku was able to stop it if he was nearby. Izuku hesitated before giving Tomura Midoriya green eyes and a spackling of freckles, lightly tanning his skin. Leaving the older teen to squawk over his reflection Izuku turned to Hitoshi.

He grinned, making the insomniac gulp, before he lengthened Hitoshi’s hair and flattened it, turning it a pure white and shifting his gorgeous eyes to an equally eye-catching shade of gold. He tanned Hitoshi as well though darker than what he’d given Tomura. For a final touch he was unable to resist giving him a few piercings that Izuku would never admit to blushing over. Izuku quickly turned away as the other boy checked his reflection, easily adopting a familiar glamour of his own. The same one as when he’d first met Hitoshi.

Electric blue hair tickled his face as it fell around him, tattoos climbing over previously clear skin. Opalescent eyes gazed out at the world, facial scars appeared over bonewhite skin. Izuku double checked his appearance and nodded when it looked completely natural.

“Alright! What city should we head to?” Izuku asked with a wide grin at the other two, who had finally finished their own checkups. Tomura was grumbling about his hair but Izuku noticed he didn’t mention the freckles or the eyes.

“Musutafu?” Hitoshi offered and Izuku shrugged. Was fine with him either way, he just needed to find a Quirk since his Dad still refused to give him another. He had a feeling he was just a few more puppy dog eyes away from success though. Or he could get his mom to convince his Dad that Izuku needed a healing Quirk at the least, since it would be the hardest to acquire on his own. Those with Healing Quirks were usually guaranteed a successful life in the medical field, no matter what degree of healing it offered. They were rare, and so demand for doctors with healing Quirks was high. It also meant that taking one could garner far more attention than Izuku was comfortable with yet.

“Uncle Giri, could you drop us off in Musutafu?“ Izuku asked in his sweetest voice. The smoke man sighed wearily before a portal appeared, a round of ‘thank you’s’ came from the group and Izuku could detect the happiness the man got at the recognition. Tomura had been far less demanding since he’d met Izuku and he could tell Kurogiri liked it, to think on it Tomura had become a much more pleasant person to be around since he was officially adopted into the Midoriya family. He certainly smiled a lot now, and it wasn’t even the creepy smile it was the nice one!

“Ugh couldn’t he have dropped us off somewhere that wasn’t a dingy alley-way?” Hitoshi grumbled but he kept his voice quiet so Kurogiri wouldn’t hear, otherwise the next portal might be straight into a landfill.

“He normally drops me off on a roof,” Izuku shrugged at the questioning looks from the other two. They easily merged with the crowd, drawing no eyes as they moved. In the age of Quirk's abnormal appearance were rather commonplace. Izuku checked his time again, nodding that it was about the time for schools to let out. Maybe he’d get lucky and he’d find another teen needing rescuing and some convenient Quirks just waiting to be confiscated.

“So what do you normally do?” Hitoshi asked and Izuku hummed.

“Well I normally walk around and wait for trouble to find me,” Izuku shrugged and Tomura’s snort and dry laugh had Izuku elbowing his brother.

“At least I don’t look for it, Tomu-nii you actively cause it!” Izuku hissed and the older teen just chuckled, he couldn’t argue and Izuku knew the other reveled in the chaos he wrought.

“And how many have you uh... acquired that way?” Hitoshi whispered and Izuku smiled. Hitoshi had taken the revelation of Izuku’s real Quirk remarkably well, and had seemed incredibly pleased when Izuku said he was the cause of the boy’s once bully losing his Quirk.

Perhaps before everything Hitoshi’s eyes wouldn’t have shone with sadistic glee at the idea of his old tormentor going through his life Quirkless. Now though Hitoshi seemed to take great delight in such things, and Izuku was more than happy to facilitate that. Perhaps he could go back and grab some more Quirks from the kids in Hitoshi’s old school? They could even work out a list, maybe over some boba tea in a cute little cafe. Izuku felt himself blushing at the thought of plotting revenge over drinks with Htioshi, it would be rather close to a date, wouldn’t it?

“Three so far. Perfect Aim, Immunity, and Track,” Izuku counted off the Quirks on his fingers. Since that first time he’d been out a few more times on his own though without any success, Tomura had tagged along for the last two Quirk acquisitions. They’d actually just picked up Track a few days before they’d shown Hitoshi the video. That day had also been the reason Izuku had the no murder rule, while Tomura had more or less been justified since the man he’d killed had been trying to stab him with bone claws coming out of his fingers it was still a mess that Izuku would prefer to avoid dealing with in the near future.

“Leave me alone!” A quiet cry rang out and Izuku grinned widely. What perfect timing!

“Ugh,” Tomura groaned while Hitoshi shot the two of them confused looks right before Izuku bolted after the voice.

“Zuku!” Hitoshi cried out and only received a mad cackle in response. Izuku dodged around pedestrians, ignoring the grumbles and shouts as he finally turned into a large park. A blonde boy was backing away from a group of five boys, violence and promised pain on all their faces.

“You’re a damn no good thief Monoma,” one bully growled out and the blonde, Monoma? Was holding his hands up as if to ward off their accusations.

“I didn’t take anything!” The boy tried to reason, but even to Izuku it was obvious these bullies were past the point of any kind of reason.

“You took my Quirk !” One of the bullies shouted and Izuku immediately perked up. Someone else had a Quirk like AFO?

“My Quirk is Copy you troglodyte!” Monoma spat out, anger flaring in the blonde boy's eyes.

“What did you call me?” One of the bullies asked and Izuku estimated it was a good time to step in. He heard Hitoshi and Tomura approaching behind him too. Throwing on a confident grin, and adding some extra fangs to his mouth, Izuku strolled up to the other teens.

“What’s going on here? “Izuku asked, voice sweet as poisoned honey he looked over the gathered teens. Monoma’s Quirk held no interest to him, what good was a Copy Quirk when he could keep the Quirks? Though that hate in his eyes was promising.

He dismissed two of the bullies with obvious mutation Quirks, a Mouse Mutation and an Insect Mutation of some kind. He didn’t even want to experiment with those yet. One of the bullies had glowing eyes though, which was interesting since Izuku didn’t have an eye-contact Quirk yet. One had what appeared to be some kind of transformation Quirk, he was growing knives from his skin. Eh not ideal but if pressed Izuku could take it. The last one had fire escaping his mouth and Izuku felt an almost immediate hunger in All For One. Oh yes he needed that Quirk.

“Just teaching a no good thief a lesson,” The fire breather stated, eyes narrowing at the three new interlopers. It put them closer to a disadvantage, though even all five of them would be child's play for Izuku alone.

Izuku made eye contact with Hitoshi, whose own eyes were flickering with white hot rage and hate. Oh yes, hadn’t his own bullies said something similar? When Izuku caught his eyes he nodded discreetly at the fire breather and he got a nod in response. Tomura was slouched, watching the teenagers with ill-hidden excitement. The older teen was always excited at the thought of a fight, even against such poor opponents as these.

“ What kind of lesson are you going to teach him ?” Hitoshi’s voice was deceptively bored for all the anger Izuku could almost feel radiating off him.

Izuku couldn’t resist watching the way Hitoshi’s eyes flashed, violet light flashing even through the Glamour as his Quirk activated. He shivered a little in excitement, this would be the first time Hitoshi got to try it out against someone who wasn’t Izuku or Tomura.

“We-” The firebreather stopped talking when Hitoshi’s Quirk took hold and Izuku attacked. He avoided the fire-breather and it took precious few hits before the rest were turning tail to run. Izuku lashed a punch to the temple of the glowing eyed one to knock him out, maybe it was greedy but he didn’t much care.

Soon they were left with an unconscious boy, a controlled one and a very confused and slightly grateful blonde.

“Ugh I didn’t even get to join in,” Tomura whined from behind them and Izuku chuckled a bit, despite how much Tomura had matured he still was a child at heart.

Izuku ignored Monoma for a moment to touch the unconscious boy, sighing when he detected it was an emotional manipulation Quirk. Useful, though he didn’t know if it was worth the risk of stealing Quirks from two victims in the same place.

Izuku tore himself away, reason overriding his greed, if only barely. He ghosted fingers across the fire breather and grabbed the Quirk, gentle so as to not disrupt Hitoshi’s hold on him. While since being improved it took a good deal of pain to drag someone out of it, it was always best to be careful.

“Forget everything about the last thirty minutes,” Hitoshi ordered and Izuku grinned, tongue licking his lips as he watched Hitoshi using his Quirk now. Forcing someone to forget the past half hour was child's play for Hitoshi, but it was different seeing him use his Quirk in practice and seeing him use it against someone like this. Seeing him use his Quirk to help Izuku, that sent his heart fluttering in a way that was becoming familiar whenever he was around the purple haired boy.

“ You will no longer attempt to use your Quirk, the guilt for how you used it in the past will be a mental block you’ll never overcome,” Hitoshi added and Izuku beamed at the boy, proud of his forward thinking. Mental blocks should be possible with his new abilities, though they hadn’t been willing to practice them on each other yet since it could be inconvenient. Really coming out today was perfect for Hitoshi’s training. If Hitoshi hadn’t been here Izuku would’ve likely had to do something like give enough physical trauma to the boy's throat to justify him not being able to use his Quirk, and that would’ve been rather messy.

“ Now go home, and never bully another person ever again,” Hitoshi ordered, finally dropping his control. The orders were imprinted on the other boy's mind though and he walked out of the park like a sleepwalker, eyes unseeing.

“What the fuck,” Monoma whispered, though he hadn’t fled and when Izuku met his eyes there was curiosity, and interest. Izuku tilted his head in intrigued, the boy was pretty too. Though not quite as ethereal as Hitoshi, Izuku was beginning to wonder if he had some odd luck that he kept stumbling across attractive people with useful Quirks.

“Sorry about that! Monoma, right?” Izuku asked, getting rid of his fangs so he could beam at the blonde. After a moment's hesitation the smile was returned.

“You okay? Any injuries?” Izuku asked as he got closer. Tomura grumbled about ‘picking up more strays’ and Hitoshi chuckled but the two held back. Neither of them was very extroverted and they were content with Izuku initiating any social interaction.

“Yea I’m okay, but holy shit ,” The boy looked at the unconscious boy and a cruel grin surfaced for a second before it was gone. Izuku smiled again, oh this one might be easier than Hitoshi to convert. He also had an intriguing Quirk, similar to his own but different.

“They deserved it,'' Izuku shrugged and the blonde snorted before he devolved into laughter.

“That’s true!” he said, wiping some tears from his eyes.

“I’m Akatani Mikumo! Forgot to introduce myself earlier!” Izuku chirped and the blonde gave him a large smile and he bowed, like an actor on a stage.

“And I’m the Marvelous Monoma Neito!” The blonde declared and his grin grew as Izuku devolved into giggles, Hitoshi snort-laughing behind him and Tomura sighing in defeat.

Izuku's eyes caught the way the blonde winced though when he straightened up, and as he looked him over he saw the bruises around his neck, the scabbed cuts on his arms and the bitten down nails.

“This happen a lot?“ Izuku asked, smile melting as concern overtook his voice. Monoma seemed to flinch and his eyes seemed to harden.

“It’s nothing,” yet Monoma couldn’t meet his eyes and Izuku felt a familiar anger flicker in his chest.

“Want to get something to eat? My treat?” Izuku offered instead. He saw the gauntness in the boy's cheeks, the pale tint to his skin and the way his clothes seemed to hang off his frame.

Monoma took a second to search Izuku’s face before he looked back at the unconscious boy. A smile graced his face again and he nodded.

“Who am I to deny someone the wonder of my presence?” Monoma declared haughtily and Izuku snorted before he gently linked arms. After an initial flinch Monoma recovered and what seemed like a true smile broke out on his face as the four of them walked down the sidewalk. Izuku hid a blush and pleased smile when Hitoshi took his other side, an almost possessive look being shot Monoma’s way when Hitoshi interlocked their fingers.

“I feel like a babysitter, is this how Kurogiri felt? Fuck.” Izuku heard Tomura grumbling behind them, laughter erupting from the three younger boys at the grumbles of the older teen. When Izuku turned his head, he caught the smile Tomura was trying to hide.

Chapter End Notes

So that whole 'unlocked achievement' moment Izuku had last chapter? it was him losing his innocence, and his aversion to murder. He's not okay with doing it himself quite yet, but he's very close. Which is why we see him thinking on how he's going to handle hero society and bringing up murder, because at this point he doesn't think theres any other option.

Tomura would be the one pushing for Hitoshi to see the video, just because he has been in a similar situation himself, and has empathy for Hitoshi. It's also why Tomura is so okay with Hitoshi being there, he's a kindred soul.

Also hope everyone enjoyed the video game session. All these phrases have been said by me while attempting to fight various tempered elder dragons. Or by my husband when we played together.

Also Hitoshi getting a powerup! No way would Hisashi let his son's first recruit have anything but a broken OP Quirk. Now I am running with the 'no more than two Quirks, or one merged Quirk' thing, where anymore would result in Nomuification. So this will be the final form of Hitoshi's Quirk, at least if he doesn't awaken it. Now the Quirk can honestly be called Brainwashing now, since he can affect the actual mind vs just the body.

Tomura's love language is gifts, and no one can change my mind. its because Hisashi and Kurogiri were at a loss for what to do with a very volatile and traumatized child and showered him in presents, so now Tomura does the same thing to people he cares for.

Hey Monoma! how ya doing buddy? Feeling traumatized enough? No? Good to know!

The Vengeful One

Chapter Summary

Monoma has a Very Bad Day, Izuku doesn't like when people mess with his things, Hitoshi is honestly a bit terrifying.

Chapter Notes

Hey guys! Back with another chapter!

This is the darkest chapter so far, I'm not kidding. It is dark, bloody and full of angst. I'll put the trigger warnings up too but please be mindful of your limits. I'll be putting a summary of this chapter in the notes on the next, so if you need to skip you won't feel lost. This chapter is also longer than normal, I wanted to fit all of this in one chapter this time. Also to make it easier for anyone who wants to skip the gruesome parts of this story.

One last thing, I've decided to actually use my twitter. Sometimes life, and my constantly mutinous body, happens and I might be delayed in posting or unable to. I'll update my twitter when that happens. I'll also be posting Quotes and snippets of not yet posted chapters from this fic and my others. Feel free to ask me questions there, or yell at me for hurting our boys!

Follow me on Twitter!

**********!!!!!!!!!!!TRIGGER WARNING!!!!!!!!!********

Neglect/Abuse/Dried Blood

Starts: Neito woke up in his dreary room

Ends: Akatani had asked him if he’d like to skip school entirely today

Signs of Abuse/ Scars

Starts: These boys had made his life a

Ends: Not until Akatani and Shinsou

Starts: his heart pounding already with fear.

Ends: Izuku had been trying to work up t

Bullying

Starts: Since the first time

Ends: As he slung his bag over his shoulder he wondered what

Starts: Did he want to be a Hero?

Ends: That raised the question though

Abuse/ Verbal Abuse/Violent Abuse/ Assault/Broken Bones/ Blood

Starts: “Where do you think you’re going?”

Ends: “Don’t come back,”

Blood/Injuries

Starts: Even in the dim lighting of the alleyway

Ends: “Midoriya?” The same nurse asked and Izuku jolted

Blood/ Mentions of Abuse/Graphic depiction of murder

Starts: He remembered the different classrooms

This ends at the end of the chapter.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Neito woke up in his dreary room, shivering under the threadbare rags that no one could call blankets.

Despite the aching hunger in his stomach, the throbbing bruises on his body and the cold that seeped into his bones he was excited. Despite the way his eyes lingered too long on the rust brown splotches on the walls of the empty room he was in he had a spark in his eyes. A smile flitted across his face as he sat his sore body up and gently started to pull on his school uniform. It was obviously worn, patches littered it and despite how good Neito had gotten at patching his meager clothes up it was still obvious. He could disregard the state of his clothes, no matter how much he’d prefer far more luxurious fabrics and more decadent styles, because today was going to be a Good Day.

Akatani had asked him if he’d like to skip school entirely today, something he’d asked of Neito a few times. Before Neito had always said no, but the other day he’d finally said yes. So Akatani had told him they would do something especially fun today, and Neito was excited to find out what it was.

He’d been meeting with Akatani and Shinsou for weeks now. It was almost everyday now, he’d go to the park he’d met them in and the two boys would be waiting. They almost always had different hair colors and eye colors, sometimes piercings and tattoos sometimes not. But he could always recognize them, the way Akatani would beam at him as if Neito was someone amazing. Someone who deserved to have such brightness shone his way, that remained no matter how the other boy looked. The secretive smirk and kindness in Shinsou’s eyes always remained the same as well, as did the way the other seemed to gravitate to Akatani at all times.

Since the first time his bullies had been chased off by Akatani there had only been one other incident at the park. That time it had been Shinsou who had dealt with them, he’d used his Quirk on all of them and proceeded to force them to bark like dogs and perform the macarena while doing so. Neito supposed he should’ve been appalled at the public Quirk usage, but he couldn’t find it in himself to be upset. These boys had made his life a living hell at school, giving him no respite from the pain he suffered. Neito looked down at his arms, covered in cigarette burns, scars and bruises. He had no respite from pain, not at home and not in school. Not until Akatani and Shinsou had burst into his life and finally brought light back into his days.

His bullies still tried to accost him at school, though the teachers would at least step in if it got physical. They didn’t do anything about the verbal abuse. Nor did the teachers seem to care when Neito would come in with various injuries. They didn’t care if Neito didn’t eat, or if he fainted from hunger. But, at least he was guaranteed physical safety in the school. Provided Neito could sneak out of the school and get to the park fast enough he could avoid any physical harm until he returned home. It was enough, it had to be.

As he slung his bag over his shoulder he wondered what Akatani and Shinsou would want to do today. Sometimes they’d just sit in the park, Akatani discussing Quirk theory with Neito for hours. Never before had Neito found someone who was as interested in Quirks as he was. His Quirk made it more or less necessary for him to get good at analysing Quirks, so he could better utilize his own.

Others had found it creepy, the fact that he could figure out their Quirks so quickly on top of his ability to copy them. None of them appreciated it when he would offer tips for them to better use their Quirks, no they usually got so mad at the thought of Neito thinking he knew their Quirks better. So he had learned to keep his analysis of other Quirks to himself, until he met Akatani. The other had spent an hour muttering about Neito’s own Quirk and while his mutters were a bit hard to follow Neito had been amazed to find someone like him. Quickly the two had bonded over their shared interest in Quirks and it had become common for them to analyze random passersby Quirks or Hero Quirks.

Sometimes though Akatani and Shinsou would take Neito to restaurants for food, the type of restaurant would vary from upscale to hole in the wall. Akatani never blinked at whatever the cost of the meal was and never hesitated in paying for it all himself. Neito would’ve been annoyed at the act of charity if Akatani didn’t act like paying for meals was natural, and the lack of pity he saw in the others' eyes. He’d see concern, even empathy in his ever changing eyes but never pity. Sometimes he’d even see anger flaring in his friend’s eyes, an anger that felt as dangerous to look at as the sun, like staring for too long would blind you. Like it would burn you up and leave nothing but ashes behind.

Shinsou was similar, though his eyes flared with anger more often than Akatani, anytime Neito mentioned his bullies and treatment in school it was like Shinsou transformed from a bored teenager to some kind of avenging angel, ready to depart justice on those who dared to harm his friend.

It was...nice, to have someone else actually care about Neito. It wasn’t something he was used to. He couldn’t remember the last time anyone had cared about him, and now he had two people who got angry on his behalf, one who would cry over the stories he’d share. Though Akatani seemed to cry easily, he’d once cried over a particularly cute kitten they saw in a petstore window.

Occasionally Akatani and Shinsou would even drag Neito to arcades, or once even a movie that Akatani had been very insistent to see. It was new for Neito, going out and doing things he’d seen others his age do. Never him, not until Akatani and Shinsou. He’d had so many new experiences since he met the two of them, they gave him a reason to get up each day and face the world.

Before it had been a hope to be a Hero that he could cling to, but that hope paled in comparison to the warmth he felt when he thought of his friends. His hope to be a Hero felt hollow, like a fabricated and false hope. He’d even wondered if he actually wanted to be a Hero; it had been a question posed to him by Akatani, who seemed to have a disdain for Heroes himself. Neito had honestly considered the question, before he would’ve been insulted but he’d been doubting his own desires for a while, but he’d never been willing to abandon the only hope he’d had. Now that he had a new reason to wake up and get through his days, he could afford to rethink his aspirations.

Did he want to be a Hero? There were students in his school who were told by the teachers, by other students, that they’d certainly be Heroes. They were students who would mercilessly torment Neito. He had scars on his body from people who were continuously applauded for their Heroic Quirks. Then there were the upperclassmen he remembered who had also left their own marks on Neito's body and heart, who had been accepted into Hero schools across the country.

One of the upperclassmen who had left a rather nasty scar on Neito’s ribs had even been accepted into UA. If their society so readily accepted people like that as Heroes, did Neito want to become one of them? Would being a Hero be any different a life than the one he suffered in right now, if his tormentors were lifted onto pedestals so easily?

That raised the question though, what did he want to do with his life then? As soon as he had the thought his mind brought the image of Akatani’s bright smile and Shinsou’s warm eyes to the forefront. Perhaps it was silly, but Neito thought a life where he helped the first two people who had saved him wouldn’t be a bad one. He had no idea what Akatani and Shinsou wanted to do with their own lives, they were rather vague about their own hopes and dreams. Neito thought he’d like to find out though, perhaps asking them could help give him a better idea of what future he could dream of for himself.

Neito smiled as he thought of it, yes that’s exactly what he’d ask them today. As he opened the door to his small room he stepped out with a lightness to his step he hadn’t had in years.

Sadly, the universe rarely let him have any kind of happiness for long.

“Where do you think you’re going?” His foster dad’s voice rang out, rough from the cigarettes he chain smoked all day.

Neito felt his smile drop as ice flooded his veins. Nothing good ever happened when his foster father noticed him. His life was easiest when his foster parents pretended he didn’t exist. He didn’t get fed, but he didn’t get hurt. If his foster parents decided to remember him he usually ended up with painful injuries that took days to heal enough to go back to school. Though they were usually careful enough to not do anything that would end with him in the hospital.

“Going to school,” Neito said, eyes downcast and voice soft as his shoulders hunched up.

Be small, be meek, don’t get hurt. It was a mantra he repeated in his mind, and usually it kept him safe. He’d made the mistake of smiling in the house, his foster parents never seemed to take him being happy well. He couldn’t believe he’d been so distracted that he’d made such a mistake.

“Don’t talk back to me!” His foster father roared and Neito flinched. His mind snapped back that he’d only responded to the man, not talked back. But he was careful to keep the words locked behind his teeth and his emotions from his face. They’d only make it worse.

“You’ve been staying out late for weeks, what have you been doing hm? Are you out stealing people’s Quirks you freak? Have you made some villain friends? After everything we’ve done for you, you can’t be bothered to come home at a reasonable time and help us?” His foster father was ranting, when Neito snuck a look up through his greasy hair he saw the man was practically foaming at the mouth.

Fear paralyzed his limbs, his heart skipping a beat as he realized the danger he was in. He’d rarely seen the man so angry, the last time had been one of the few times he’d had to go to a hospital. The questions the nurses and doctors had asked had further incensed the man and the beating Neito got after they got back was almost as bad as the one that had put him into the hospital.

Neito couldn’t think of what he’d done to set the man off, he’d been staying out late but other than that he’d made no changes to his behavior. He hadn’t cleaned the apartment of course because the last time he tried he’d gotten a backhand so hard he’d been dizzy for days. His foster parents hadn’t liked the fact that his cleaning had implied their apartment was dirty. It was. The ground was filled with trash and rubbish, molding food and discarded cigarettes. The walls were so coated in grime it was impossible to tell what the original paint color was. Yet his foster parents seemed to be fine living in such abject filth.The only time they cleaned was when a social services agent was scheduled to make a check, and then Neito was forced to do the cleaning himself.

But Neito hadn’t tried to clean up, hadn’t talked back or even talked to either of his foster parents. Him staying out late shouldn’t have set the man off this badly. It must be something else. Was it his work? His bets? Neito knew the man gambled, and he was always more angry if he lost big. That must be it, the staying out late combined with a large loss would’ve explained this.

Neito was so distracted by his thoughts that he didn’t notice his foster father getting up, didn’t see the man drawing back his arm until he was punched hard enough in his stomach that he immediately fell over, gagging and retching as his body tried to violently expel the contents of his stomach. There was nothing to throw up though, nothing but bile that splattered on the man’s feet.

“You’ll pay for that, boy,” His foster father growled, voice thick with malice as he drew back his foot and kicked Neito in his ribs hard enough that Neito heard them crack.

Neito let out a gasping scream, weak as it was since he couldn’t pull any air into his lungs. That just made his foster father more angry, and as he pummeled Neito in the hallway every noise Neito made was punished.

A meaty fist driven into his face turned his vision red as his skin split and blood poured over his eyes. Already the skin was swelling, blocking sight from one of his eyes and his vision in the other was already wavering from the pain and probable concussion from the hit.

A foot drove down on his chest again, more loud cracks rang out in the apartment as more bones were violently broken. Neito couldn’t even scream, he could barely pull in air as every breath sent a fresh wave of agony washing over him. At some point his nose must’ve been broken, because all he could taste in his mouth was the bitter copper tang of blood.

Neito tried to curl into himself, despite the way his body screamed at him for moving, the fists and feet hadn’t stopped their abuse, if anything they had gotten worse as Neito’s blood dripped and stained the wooden floors of the apartment. Neito desperately wanted the pain to just stop, he prayed for the blessed nothingness he could find in unconsciousness. Anything to not feel the next hit making bones creak and forcing the little bit of air he had flying out of his mouth.

He couldn’t help the scream he made though when the man grabbed his arm in a vice grip, a foot stomping on it hard enough that the bone snapped and ripped out of his skin. Blood covered him at this point, his uniform soaked in the crimson liquid. As he felt the hot blood coating him he felt the world take on an almost dreamy state. The pain was distant now, but he was so cold. The edges of his vision were darkening, only kept at bay by the starburst of agony that assaulted him with each new hit.

“You’ll kill him,” A feminine voice drifted through Neito’s pain haze and the assault paused before Neito felt himself be lifted roughly by the neck of his uniform.

A door opened and Neito was thrown out into the hallway of the apartment building, his back colliding with a wall hard enough that a weak scream ripped itself out of him. He saw his foster father’s disgusted face, his hands and body splattered with what looked to be red paint.

Not paint, blood. My blood. Neito realized in a detached way as the man walked out of the apartment and grabbed Neito again. At some point Neito passed out because one moment he was in that hallway, the next they were on the sidewalk outside the apartment building.

Blearily Neito looked around, trying to see if anyone was around that could help him. The blurred figures he could see just kept walking, ignoring the broken and bloody boy being dragged along. They lived in a rough side of town, one where people kept their heads down and didn’t interfere in other people’s business. It meant no one stopped to help a hurt kid. No Heroes came to save him as his bloody form was dragged like a bag of trash through the sidewalks.

Neito blacked out again, only to come out of it when his body was thrown again, this time into a brick wall that hurt more than the wooden walls of the apartment. Neito cried out, a weak and small thing as he fell into the trash that littered the dark alley his foster father had abandoned him in.

“Don’t come back,” his foster father called out as he turned and left Neito in the darkness, among the trash. Neito shook as he grabbed a piece of cardboard and pulled it over himself. He felt so cold, like his body was made of ice.

Neito knew he was going to die in this alleyway, no one would come for him. No one had stopped to help him when they saw his foster father dragging him along. No Hero had come to save him.

Before he returned to the dark void of unconsciousness Neito had one hope as futile as he knew it was.

He hoped Akatani would find him. He hoped Akatani would save him.

~~~

Izuku tossed a knife, watching it spin through the air in a glittering arc before he caught it.

“How much longer before Monoma gets here?“ Hitoshi asked, he was laid out on the grass next to Izuku, pretending to be asleep.

“He was supposed to get here ten minutes ago,” Izuku said as he tossed and caught the knife again. They were getting suspicious looks from the other park patrons but Izuku didn’t much care.

“Think something happened?” Hitoshi asked and Izuku’s grip on the knife tightened.

He’d had a sinking feeling that something wasn’t right when a minute after the agreed upon time had passed. For the past three weeks they’d been meeting Monoma almost every other day, and he’d never been late. He was always early in fact, so this was very odd behavior.

“Let’s go,” Izuku said and Hitoshi jumped to his feet, his movements far more fluid than they had been all those months ago when they’d met.

Almost three months of training had done a lot for Hitoshi’s balance and control of his body. Now Izuku couldn’t deny that Hitoshi resembled a hunting cat when he moved, all graceful movements and restrained ferocity hidden beneath a deceptively unassuming facade.

Tomura hadn’t come with them today, he generally didn’t for their hangouts. He said he wasn’t a babysitter and had better uses for his time. What he really meant was he was painfully introverted and his social battery had been drained.

“Should we check his home or his school?” Hitoshi asked as Izuku pulled out his phone to text Kurogiri coordinates as they moved towards an alleyway.

Since the incident with Hitoshi Izuku had done research into Monoma and found the address for his school and home after they’d met the first time. He didn’t want to be unable to come to a friend's aid because he didn’t have the necessary information ever again.

“School first then home,” Izuku said as he got the text sent to Kurogiri.

A portal opened and both boys walked through, coming out at another alleyway close to Monoma’s school. Izuku dug out a sealed bag with a scrap of fabric inside of it. It was from Monoma’s clothes, he’d grabbed it the second day they’d hung out. Activating Track he sniffed the fabric, a light blue smoke trail lit up around him, denoting the ‘Quarry’s’ path. All of it was the lighter blue shade of a day old trail. Monoma hadn’t been to school today.

“Fuck,” Izuku cursed and he whipped his phone out to text Kurogiri the next address, his heart pounding already with fear.

He knew Monoma’s foster family was abusive, though the boy had never told them as much. It had been painfully obvious. The flinches, the gaunt cheeks, the bruises and scars. The haunted look in his eyes. Izuku had been trying to work up to having his family adopt him instead, or facilitating him running away, he thought he had time to save his friend. Now there was a real chance of that time running out, and Izuku hated the way his hands shook with fear. The familiar feeling of powerlessness filled him as his mind raced over the thoughts that with all his new Quirks he still hadn’t been strong enough to save someone he cared about.

Hitoshi’s face had paled, and his eyes were wide with fear.  Yet the fear was mixed with that familiar anger that so often lit up Hitoshi’s eyes now, as they stepped through the new portal. They walked out into a rather dingy alleyway, at this point Izuku had become more or less a connoisseur of alleyways. The ones in nicer parts of a town were still dirty, but didn’t have needles, broken beer bottles and stinking puddles of piss in them. This one had all three in spades. As Izuku picked his way around the multitude of biohazards Track lit up a bright blue trail, Monoma had been in the area very recently.

Izuku hurried, barely restraining himself from flat out sprinting as he followed the trail, Hitoshi hot on his heels. He modified their glamorous as he went, adding more scars, more tattoos, fangs and bottomless black eyes. To keep any of the thugs hanging around from trying to pick a fight with them. While he’d love a chance to show off his Quirks he didn’t have time to entertain some third rate street thugs.

Izuku followed the trail to an apartment building that looked like one strong wind would tear it apart, Monoma's home. The trail flowed past it, the color brighter than ever and Izuku’s legs sped up, the beat of his feet on concrete mirroring the bruising rhythm of his heart in his chest. Wherever Monoma was he’d left his home, yet he didn't come to the park. Izuku felt fear filling his veins with the thought that he wasn’t able to get to the park because he was dead. It felt like hours before the trail led into yet another dark and decrepit alleyway, and finally condensed around a huddled form covered in trash in the back.

“Monoma?” Izuku asked, pointless as it was because Track had his entire form lit up in a bright blazing blue. Yet he was scared to step forward, to confirm if his new friend was alive or dead.

“A-Ak-Akatani?” A thin, weak voice rasped and Izuku darted forward, crashing down next to the form of his friend, unconcerned for the grime and muck leaking through his clothes.

Even in the dim lighting of the alleyway he could see that Monoma was heavily injured, his face was crusted over with so much blood he could barely see skin under it. One of his eyes was swollen shut, bruised and abused flesh hiding his bright blue eyes from sight. Blood covered his ratty and ripped shirt, wounds weakly dripping blood onto the grime coated cement of the alleyway. One of his arms was bent the wrong way, and Izuku felt bile climbing his throat when he realised the white he could see in the battered and torn flesh of his friends arm was bone. When Monoma tried to push himself up he winced and fell back, coughing weakly as blood bubbled past his lips.

Izuku felt like he was swimming in an ocean of ice as he looked over the ravaged body of his friend, the one still visible eye swirling with a dimness and lack of comprehension that scared Izuku on an instinctual level. Distantly he recognized the rasping breaths and inhuman growling as coming from Hitoshi, yet he couldn’t spare the effort to look at his friend or to try to calm him, it took all his mental will to keep himself focused.

“We’ll get you help,“ Izuku promised as he scrambled to text Kurogiri the location, and requested for him to drop them somewhere with a doctor.

He knew his Dad had an entire hospital somewhere, he just needed to get Monoma there and everything would be alright. It had to be. Izuku would accept no other possibility. In seconds a portal appeared and Izuku shook with a poisonous mix of white hot anger and ice cold fear as he and Hitoshi tried to delicately lift Monoma between them. Monoma had passed out, from pain, blood loss or shock Izuku didn’t know. As Izuku met Hitoshi’s eyes above the mangled body of their friend he saw a promise of retribution flashing in his friend's currently black eyes.

Whoever had done this to their friend wouldn’t last the week. That was a silent oath both boys made, written in the blood of a boy they both called a friend, unbreakable and forged in the fires of hate.

With gentleness that didn’t match the anger in their eyes both boys carried their friend through the familiar portal. Stepping out they found themselves in a hospital, one Izuku fervently hoped was the one his Dad owned.

“Midoriya?” A nurse asked, hastening to them.

Her eyes caught the bloody boy they were holding and she turned to call for a gurney and immediate help. Izuku and Hitoshi handed their friend off to the far more professional care of the doctors and nurses, though it was hard to just stand and watch as their friend was wheeled away.

“Midoriya?” The same nurse asked and Izuku jolted, turning to face her. He nodded though and she let out a strained smile.

“Thought I recognized one of Kurogiri’s portals, though you don’t look like Master Izuku,” her voice trailed off as suspicion lit her eyes and Izuku smiled sheepishly as he released enough of his glamour to show off his eyes, leaving Hitoshi’s glamour fully in place.

After a moment of staring at him the nurse nodded, apparently showing his eyes and Kurogiri’s portal were enough for the woman. He assumed his Dad had informed any of his underlings Izuku might deal with about his Glamour Quirk, since he always used it when he went out now.

“Okay, your Dad will deal with the paperwork. I assume you don’t want any of this getting around? We can keep your friend off any logs and give him a false name while he stays here,” She seemed well practised with this and Izuku was firmly out of his element. He just nodded along, trusting that one of his Dad’s people, as she appeared to be, would be competent. His Dad didn’t tolerate idiots or the incompetent afterall.

“Good, follow me to your private waiting room, we’ll take you to your friend when he’s stable,” She turned on her heel and began to briskly walk further into the hospital. Izuku and Hitoshi shared a bewildered look before they hastened after the nurse.

Izuku finally came out of his near shock-like state, able to actually take in the nurse's appearance. She had blue scaled skin, and had fin-like appendages where her ears should be. He thought he saw gills laid down on her neck. He wondered if the mutation was her Quirk or if it was just something from her parents and she had some other type of Quirk. Maybe something with water?

When he focused on her he felt an almost, healing coolness. The kind of cool you got when you ran water over a burn, a relieving and blessed chill against too hot skin. He’d gotten better with ‘feeling’ Quirks nearby him with AFO, the Quirks he knew were easiest to do it with, strangers were harder because he didn’t always know what he was looking for. Though physical contact would give him all the information he could wish for about a person’s Quirk, but in a battle one didn’t always have the liberty of getting a touch in so he had been trying to get better about his Quirk detection.

His Dad though could tell what any Quirk was within a mile radius of him, so Izuku knew he could do it; he just needed to train more. He thought her Quirk might be something to do with healing water, or perhaps some kind of pain relief with water. Whatever her Quirk was it had to do with water, and was useful in a medical field.

Finally they arrived at a door, the nurse pressed her finger to a scanner and the door opened upon a very posh room. Luxurious couches were spread out, flat screen TVs decorated the walls between artwork that Izuku knew costs more than some in this hospital probably made in a year. Top of the line gaming systems rested under several of the TVs and several doors sat in the room, presumably leading to other rooms or bathrooms. Though Izuku wouldn’t be surprised if an entire apartment was connected.

The nurse, Mizu, he saw now on her name tag, how appropriate, nodded to them before she turned and walked off to do...nurse things he assumed. Or maybe something more sinister, she was his Dad’s employee afterall. Izuku and Hitoshi quickly entered the room, closing the door and cutting off the overwhelming sounds of the hospital.

For a moment Izuku and Hitoshi just stood in the room, both lost in their own thoughts as the events of the day finally crashed on them. Izuku wasn’t sure how long it was before he was able to take a step forward on shaking legs. He stumbled to a couch and dropped onto the plush cushions before he leaned his head into his hands. He felt Hitoshi dropping next to him but he couldn’t look at his friend yet. With a thought he removed both of their glamours, knowing no one his Dad didn’t trust would have access to this room and it would be without cameras.

Izuku leaned back, hands dropping to the comforting weight of his guns at his sides. They helped ground him from the maelstrom of emotions running through him. He was terrified that the last time he’d see his friend would be when he was almost completely unrecognizable, his body warped and abused by the people who were supposed to love and care for him.

If one thing had been made painfully clear to Izuku it was that the government and society they lived in did nothing but fail those who were not blessed at birth with some arbitrary ‘Heroic’ Quirk. He had lived that story himself, had scars on his body that told a violent and bloody tale. Viridian eyes darted, meeting violet ones, and Izuku was reminded of Hitoshi’s struggles. Of a life filled with hateful words, cruel hands and neglect because of some stupid genetics. Of the way his friend had lost everything because society never looked further than a Quirk.

Now yet again he had been shown, with words written in scarlet blood, that their society was so far past diseased that there was only one cure left for it. Death. The only way to fix this poisonous society was to burn it to the ground and rebuild a better one from the ashes.

Still trapped in that amethyst gaze Izuku saw the same steadfast determination swimming in their depths that he felt swirling in his own chest. He’d known, since Hitoshi had seen the video, that he’d be with him until the end. Now, if it was possible, Hitoshi seemed more set on this path that both of them were walking, and he knew. No matter what, Hitoshi would see this society razed for what it had done. It was funny, in a way. Society had beaten them, hurt them and broken them. Yet it had also built them, this society so obsessed with Heroes had made its own villains. Izuku promised himself, he promised those blazing violet eyes, he promised the world that he’d bring this society that had made them to its knees.

For now though, there were more pressing matters. Crumbling their Hero obsessed society could wait for tomorrow. Today, they had simpler things to focus on. Getting vengeance for their friend. Controlling the raging fire in his chest, Izuku collared that anger, made it bow to him, as he thought. Izuku might have power now, might have more power than any others could ever dream of, but his biggest strength had always been his mind. So he turned from Hitoshi and glared at the wall as his mind planned, and plotted. As he sat there and rolled his mind over plans Hitoshi stood and checked a few doors, his movements sharp and a bit more forceful than strictly necessary as he searched.

Izuku paid him no mind as he ran through scenarios in his mind, working out kinks in his plan to make sure it was perfect. Afterall, his first murder should be well thought out. It had to be perfect, to make sure none of this came back to bite them in the ass. He was so caught up in his mind he didn’t notice Hitoshi coming back but he certainly noticed when a warm cup was forced into his hands. Hands, he saw with a painful thumping of his heart, covered in the dried blood of his friend.

The very real reminder of how his friend had suffered did much to push down the guilt that tangled in his gut as he planned. He was planning a murder, with every intent to follow through. Memories of his friend curled in a dirty alley, coated in blood filled him with a rage that eclipsed his guilt easily.

Izuku’s first thought was to wash them, to scrape his skin raw until all traces of the dark red staining it was gone. Then he thought, with a small terrifying smile, how appropriate it would be for him to end the lives of the ones who had hurt his friend with hands covered in their sins.

Izuku couldn’t keep his smile from his face as he sipped his sweet coffee. Hitoshi had learned how he liked his coffee early, since he enjoyed drinking it so often he usually made everyone's coffee in the mornings. Izuku liked his with a ‘Truly disgusting amount of creamer and sugar’ according to Hitoshi. The only one who enjoyed a drink that Hitoshi found even more disgusting was Tomura, who liked his so sweet you could get cavities just looking at it.

Izuku sipped his drink and met his friend's eyes, Hitoshi didn’t flinch at the probably psychotic face Izuku knew he was wearing. Instead a matching murderous gleam sparkled in his friends eyes, a cruel grin sliding across his face. There was a bit of hesitation in his eyes, but the anger and rage shone stronger.

“Got a plan?“ Hiotoshi asked before sipping his own black coffee.

Izuku nodded as he set his drink down, pulling out a knife to play with. A nervous habit he’d developed at some point, flipping and throwing knives always helped center him. Guns were better, in his opinion, but playing with those in public would get the cops called on him.

“Yup I’ve got a plan, “ Izuku nodded, and he looked into Hitoshi’s eyes, his own hard and serious.

“Now you have a choice of following it through with me or not. It’s not going to be pretty, and people are going to die. Are you in?” Izuku asked, his voice cold and hard.

He knew Hitoshi was with them, was willing to see their plans through. But this was a big step, for both of them really. This would firmly put them into the ‘villain’ category and there would be no coming back from it. Izuku had been ready for this day since his Dad had told him the truth, but Hitoshi was still new to seeing things the true way.

Hitoshi didn’t balk though, the fire in his eyes didn’t fade, despite the small bits of fear, hesitation and uncertainty that flashed through his face. They were gone as quickly as they appeared, much as Izuku’s own had been. What they were doing was a big step, a terrifying plunge off a tall cliff, they could never take back when it was done. But the choice had been made the moment they saw their friend, ravaged and bleeding out in that alley. There had never been another outcome from that. The face that Hitoshi turned to Izuku finally settled on an all encompassing resolve, all traces of hesitation cleansed.

“I’m in,” Hitoshi said, and those words held so many undercurrents of  meaning. It wasn't just this plan Hitoshi was in on. He was in on everything, Izuku had seen it in his eyes before but saying the words cemented that oath.

“Alright, so this is how we’re going to do this.” Izuku said, leaning forward as he started to lay out the plan he had decided on.

It would have the lowest possibility of being tied back to them, and would give Monoma a legal out, along with no culpability in this. Hitoshi listened with rapt attention, his grave face slowly transforming into one full of vicious glee. Izuku matched the energy, the thrill of what they were about to do filling him, the adrenaline shoving the remaining guilt away from him. He’d finally get to do what he’d decided on so long ago, rid this world of the diseased that infected it with their discrimnation and prejudice while the fake Heroes just averted their eyes or joined in.

“When do we start?” Hitoshi asked when Izuku finished laying out the plan. Izuku grinned, viridian eyes almost shining with an unholy light as he looked at his friend.

“Now,” he said as he stood up and pulled out his phone.

He sent a text to his Dad first, giving him the information for what they were going to do. For the administrative parts of this he’d need his Dad to do a few things for him. Just a few simple things, first he’d have Monoma logged to the hospital by his legal name, and erase any footage of how he got there. He’d simply be said to have been brought by concerned citizens.

He waited for his Dad to send an approving response, while he had known his Dad wouldn’t really have an issue with this he still wanted to be sure. Yes he was planning a murder, yes he was the son of the biggest supervillain in known history but it was always a good idea to get parental permission.

A simple ‘It’ll be done, be sure to be home in time for dinner’ was sent as a response and Izuku couldn’t help the small giggle. What other kid could say they’d told their parents they were going to murder someone and were told to be back in time for dinner?

Izuku then sent a text to Kurogiri and asked to be placed back in the alleyway they were teleported from. In seconds another portal was opened, before they stepped through Izuku redid their glamors. He did something different this time. He wanted any images captured of them to remember what they looked like, so their true selves would never be caught. For himself he paled his skin until it was light as snow, giving himself matching milk white hair that fell to his waist. His eyes were also pure white, and he added a mouth full of pointed teeth like a sharks. Turning to Hitoshi he did the opposite, darkened his skin until it was so dark it looked like the void of space, giving him long hair as dark as onyx. His eyes were similarly dark, neverending expanses of shadows.

They looked like the physical embodiments of Yin and Yang, and he knew anyone who saw them wouldn’t be able to forget them. For a last touch he added veins of white to Hitoshi’s face and visible skin, the color standing out against the darkness of his glamoured skin. He did the same to himself, adding lines of inky black to his skin. Satisfied with the disguises Izuku led them through the portal, bringing them to the same alleyway they’d found Monoma in.

It was too dark to see but Izuku knew their friend’s blood stained the cement beneath their feet, the reminder further stoking the rage in him. As Izuku stalked towards his friend’s apartment people stepped aside as they walked, the murderous intent so strong that it was palpable to others around them. Izuku could feel the fearful gazes sent their way, saw the way others jumped out of their path and a cruel delight filled him.

For so long others looked down on him, belittled him and did their best to grind him into the ground. Now people moved out of his way, looked at him with wide, fearful eyes. It was intoxicating, the power he now held even just in the aura he exuded. He was powerful, and others could feel it. Never again would he bend and scrape, never again would he be weak.

Hitoshi was a silent shadow beside him, his rage evident but less corporeal as Izuku’s. Still, the two of them cut a terrifying image that had their paths cleared as they stalked to the apartment building and climbed the stairs. Izuku ignored the others he saw on the stairs, or in the hallways. He knew they’d see them, and if the cops came there would be more than enough witness reports to put the cops on the wrong trail.

Finally they reached the correct floor and Izuku felt excitement and anger flowing through him, a heady mix that had him feeling both drunk and clear headed at the same time. They stopped in front of the door and Izuku paused to look at Hitoshi. One last chance to turn around, to make the ‘right’ choice. In his chest Izuku’s heart thumped with nerves, and a small part of him screamed that what they were about to do was wrong and to turn around and run away. That part he silenced with images of his friend’s body, his too thin form broken, bruised and tossed away like trash.

He met Hitoshi’s eyes that flickered with steely resolve, it helped Izuku calm more of his nerves. Hitoshi showed none of the same guilt or hesitation Izuku felt, though he could be hiding it. He couldn’t tell if Hitoshi was feeling the same nerves, the nauseating guilt trying to curdle his stomach, or the screaming voice in the back of his mind insisting it was wrong.

All he could see in Hitoshi’s eyes was a killing intent, and Izuku let that knowledge steel his own nerves. He took a breath, filling his lungs with the fires of rage that flickered in him, letting it burn away that guilt and fear. Izuku turned to the door and let a smile drop onto his face, forgetting the fear and guilt he reveled in the delicious excitement of what they were about to do.

Perception could pick up the sounds of the occupants, it told him that there were two adults in there based on the way their weight shifted across the creaky wooden floors. One was two meters from the door, to the left. Another was four meters in, likely sitting based on the sounds of squeaking springs in an old couch.

Izuku pulled out a knife and handed it to Hitoshi before he pulled two of his own. If this went correctly neither of them would need to use the knives, but it was best to have them in hand just in case the plan went sideways. He nodded at Hitoshi and the other boy pounded on the door.

“Maintenance! Anyone in there?” Hitoshi called out, his Quirk lacing his voice. Thankfully his voice was deep for his age, and anyone who didn’t know him would think he was an adult.

“What?” Called a masculine voice and Hitoshi grinned viciously as his Quirk caught him.

“Open the door, let us in and then close it.” Hitoshi ordered and they heard the sounds of someone coming to the door and opening it.

A portly man in a blood stained white wife-beater and similarly disgusting looking sweatpants appeared at the door, rage flared hotter when Izuku realized that the man was walking around in clothes soaked in his friend's blood. His eyes were the dulled white of Brainwashing and he stepped aside to let them in. The door was shut behind them and they heard another set of feet coming to investigate.

“Hello, we're here to look at your sink?” Hitoshi addressed the woman who appeared from the hallway.

“We didn-” She started and stopped when her eyes faded to white.

Hitoshi grinned at Izuku, phase one was done. Izuku felt excitement fill him at how well his plan was going, filled with morbid curiosity he walked further into their house, looking around at the trash littered floor. No pictures hung on the smoke stained walls and what furniture was there was old and decrepit. Izuku grimaced as he nudged away a pizza box half filled with molded pizza.

“Have him write a suicide note,” Izuku ordered Hitoshi as he continued to explore the small apartment.

He couldn’t believe his friend had lived in this shit hole, Monoma had always tried to give off a refined air, and despite the bad quality of his clothes he always tried to be presentable and put together. He couldn’t imagine such a bright and flamboyant boy growing up in a house littered in trash, with stained floors and mold on the walls. Was this what the government determined to be suitable living arrangements for a child? Or did they simply see he had an undesirable Quirk and care no further than that? Did the people in power give so little thought to the children their system chewed up and spit back out?

“You write a suicide note, stating how you realized you and your wife are horrible pieces of shit for what you did to your foster son. And how you had to rid the world of both of you,” Hitoshi ordered the man and the zombie-like man turned to rustle through the trash until he came out with a stained piece of paper and a pen.

He immediately set to writing it as Izuku started opening doors. Eventually he found what he assumed was Monoma’s room and he nearly turned around to kill the two brainwashed adults that second when he realized the rust brown stains on the ground and wall of the room were blood . Like macabre art it splattered the walls and the floor, abstract paintings done in a single color.

The room didn’t even have a bed; it just had a small pile of threadbare blankets in a corner. There was a neatly stacked pile of clothes beside it, likely Monoma’s doing since his foster parents apparently hadn’t heard of cleaning in their lives. There was a bookbag in the corner but nothing else, no proof that a young man had been living here for years other than those meager positions and his lifesblood staining the walls and floor. Izuku shook as he turned around and went back to the main room where Hitoshi stood with the two adults.

“Have him grab a kitchen knife, make sure he gets his prints on it,” Izuku ordered as he sheathed his own knives and pulled on a pair of gloves he kept in his pocket. Never knew when you’d need to be careful to not leave fingerprints, that had been a lesson Tomura had been sure to drill into him. Perhaps it was odd that the boy he saw as a brother had taught Izuku multiple things when it came to the art of murder, but Izuku found it normal. Tomura talked about murder as easily as he did games, just another facet of who he was.

“Grab the sharpest, biggest kitchen knife you own,” Hitoshi ordered and the two boys watched the man grab it.

When Izuku was satisfied that the evidence would show fresh fingerprints from the man he took the knife from him and stepped up to the woman. Her face was wrinkled and even brainwashed there was a cruel tilt to her lips, as if the expression was so common it was her default now. For a moment his conscience and fear froze him in place, as he looked at her blank and helpless face. Was he really going to do this? End a life? Was he going to really turn his back on being a Hero, and become the very thing he had despised a year ago?

He remembered being left on a roof, alone after the number one Hero had dashed his dreams. He remembered finding out that the same Hero had hunted his father and done irreversible damage to him, ensuring Izuku had lost years with his Dad. That Hero had tried to kill his Dad, for simply not agreeing with the government hundreds of years before. That a ‘Hero’ had tried to tears Izuku’s family apart with no remorse. He remembered the articles he found, the deep secrets the Heroes hid from the world, murder, child and human trafficing, rape, assault, hundreds of crimes hidden and shoved away because they could smile so prettily for the cameras.

He remembered the different classrooms he’d come into, how every one of them had filled with taunts and pain, turned glances from teachers when he begged for help while he was mercilessly attacked by other students. Because he was born Quirkless, and that meant others thought he was worthless. He remembered how the same children who proclaimed they’d be Heroes, who teachers constantly praised and encouraged to be Heroes, turned those same Heroic Quirks on Izuku until he could fight back. Then how those same Heroic students would turn their words to him, getting more creative the older they were until hearing suicide baiting had become a regular occurance for Izuku no matter which school he tried.

He remembered finding Hitoshi, alone and ganged up upon in an alleyway by three students who said they were going to be Heroes. He remembered the late night conversations where Hitoshi told him of his treatment in school, how any time he talked he was punished. How he was beaten day after day, unable to even cry out for help or he’d be punished by the adults for using his Quirk. He remembered with a painful wrench in his chest, seeing a Hero mercilessly kill Hitoshi’s mother because he’d never bothered to look deeper than her Quirk.

Finally, Izuku remembered early this day when he and Hitoshi frantically searched for their friend. Finding him curled up under trash, as if he was a broken doll to be discarded with the rest of the garbage. He remembered the dulled light in once shining blue eyes, he remembered swelling and bruised skin obscuring familiar features, he remembered seeing the harsh white of bone poking through pale, bloodless skin.

Izuku didn’t want to be a Hero, Heroes had done nothing to help him or those he cared about. Heroes had continually hurt them, shoved them into the ground for no reason other than a random genetic lottery they were unfortunate enough to lose. Heroes and their society had tried their best to kill them, to end their lives before they could begin. Despite their only crimes being the mistake of being born unlucky.

Well if the Heroes could kill, could soak their skin in the blood of the innocent all while flashing grins at reporters and cameras...then was it really so bad for Izuku to soak his own skin in the blood of the damned? Was it wrong for him to rid the world of the scourge that infected it? In a way, he was doing something far more Heroic than any Hero. He was ensuring that these people would never get another chance to hurt a child, to kill their hope and light. Never again would these people lay their hands on another child.

Izuku grinned as the sense of purpose filled him, a knowledge that he was finally doing something right. The feeling overwhelmed him, his veins flooded with it. Yes, this was what it meant to truly start changing their society for the better. There would be bloodshed, for the biggest changes in history didn’t come without a cost measured in rivers of blood. This might seem small in the grand scheme of things, yet it was a necessary first step. He’d rid the world of these people who got joy in hurting a child, the first he’d cleanse their world of. Later he could move on to removing bigger targets, those so steeped in cruelty and vile sins they oozed it.

Izuku held the knife to the woman's throat, relishing the power he held for a moment before he pressed forward with his enhanced strength, slicing her throat open as easily as he’d cut through butter. Ruby red blood sprayed out, covering him as it fountained out of her, Hitoshi and the man were splattered but Izuku took the brunt of the scarlet fluid. It painted the yellowed walls in a beautiful crimson as the woman fell, her eyes fading from white to brown as Hitoshi’s hold faltered in her last moments. She couldn’t make a noise and instead could only weakly grasp at her ruined neck as life slowly faded from her eyes.

Izuku looked at her, that same mad grin on his face as he watched the light slowly seep from her eyes. As her life ended, so too did he feel his guilt dying with her. In his mind his conscience was quiet, as if the act of killing the woman had also sliced the throat of that irritating voice. It was for the best, the plans Izuku had for their society had no place for voices like that, he wouldn’t be able to see the dreams he had been building come to fruition if he held hesitation in his heart.

He shuddered in joy as he felt the blood cooling on his skin, the euphoria he felt while soaked in the liquid was unexpected. He never knew that it would feel so empowering, to stand there as scarlet drops dripped off of you onto the ground. That the knowledge that he, a ‘useless’ boy, had been able to rid the world of one dark and diseased life. Getting Quirks had made him feel powerful, but it paled in comparison to the power he felt knowing he had been the one to end a life, to mercilessly snuff out that light forever. This was what true power felt like, and it was addicting.

Izuku slowly turned to look at Hitoshi, well aware his eyes were probably shining with a mad kind of joy. He was sure he probably looked like some kind of nightmare monster, soaked in blood with bottomless white eyes and a grin that felt like it was splitting his face. Despite the visage Izuku was sure he showed Hitoshi didn’t look disgusted, as many would be upon watching someone die in a graphic and violent way, no he looked hungry like he wanted to do it himself. The way his fathomless eyes raked over Izuku who was soaked in the liquid set the greenettes heart thumping. If he ever had any doubts about Hitoshi being the right choice to bring into their world, they were dashed as he looked into the other boy's eyes.

“You want to take care of him?” Izuku asked, holding out the bloody knife and Hitoshi grinned, showing off those sharp teeth of his glamour and for a moment Izuku thought, if demons were real, they’d probably look something like this. He found that thought was fitting, for they were here to enact punishment for sins after all, to drag these two straight to hell where they belonged.

Hitoshi had the man take the knife before stepping behind the brainwashed man. They came up to close to the same height, Hitoshi being tall for his age and the man rather short for his. Hitoshi stepped behind the man, grabbing the man's hand that held the knife in his own hand. Hitoshi raised the knife to the man's neck.

“Cut your own throat,” Hitoshi ordered the man, not dropping his hold on the man's hand.

Izuku watched, his eyes locked on Hitoshi’s own as the other boy forced the man to cut his own neck, another spray of blood soaking the apartment. Hitoshi released the man’s arm and let him fall to the ground, the entire time his eyes stayed locked on Izuku’s own. Izuku shivered as heat filled his body and he knew never in his life had he ever seen someone look as beautiful as Hitoshi did in that moment, with sadistic glee flickering in his eyes and coated in the dripping blood of the damned.

Chapter End Notes

I re-wrote this chapter 3 times. And had my Husband (who doesn't even read FF's) read it to be sure it came off right. It's the first time I've written a murder from the POV of someone doing the murdering. But first iteration i forgot that Izuku should probably be struggling with guilt during some part of this. So yea. Had to add that. Fun stuff. hope my first venture into writing murderous villains was passable!

Anyone pick up on a trend or two yet? Want to see if anyone noticed.

I'm sorry for hurting the boys like this but it was a very important moment in their development. There is no going back now, they can't be Heroes. They had to know how far they would go, could go. And...it's pretty far. Especially when it comes to people they care for.

I struggled for a bit to figure out the chapter title, but settled on this one. I found the song by Disturbed, with the same name, very fitting for this chapter. And for Izuku as well.

Anyways, see you guys next week for a far less dark chapter!

Chapter 11

Chapter Summary

Monoma update, villain families see first kills as a coming of age, Hisashi has a present for Izuku, and Shiggaraki is going to have nightmares for weeks because of it.

Chapter Notes

Welcome back! Another week, another chapter. This one is far less angsty compared to the last one, so take this small reprieve from the bloodshed and pain. With a small bit of crack sprinkled in for flavor.

*******!!!!!!!!!!TRIGGER WARNINGS!!!!!!!!!************

Mentions of blood

Starts: It had been a week since that day

Ends: Making Izuku and Hitoshi go over the events

Stars: So he held that first kill

Ends: A society where one was not

The murders are also mentioned a few times through out the chapter so be mindful.

Recap from the last chapter:

Monoma has some mental revelations that he might no longer want to be a Hero, as he's found his reason for living has transferred from his hope to be a Hero to Izuku and Hitoshi. he also ruminates about how several of his bullies are either already in Hero schools or said to be on the track for it. He is grievously injured by his foster parents on his way to meet Izuku and Hitoshi. His foster father dumps him in an alley to die. Izuku and Hitoshi find him using Izuku's Track Quirk and take him to a hospital owned by Hisashi. Monoma is taken and saved, Izuku and Hitoshi head to a private room and Izuku plans the murder of Monoma's foster parents. Disguising themselves Izuku and Hitoshi warp back. They use Hitoshi's Quirk to get into the apartment and mind control the adults. They have the foster father write a suicide note and then kill both parents. They're careful to not leave fingerprints and warp back out. Izuku and Hitoshi firmly join the 'Murder is okay if the people are dirt bags' group, and the two subtly fall for each other a bit more.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“Master Izuku, Monoma is awake,” Kurogiri’s voice cut through the air in the gym and Izuku and Hitoshi froze in the middle of their spar.

Tomura looked up from where he was sitting in a corner, cooling down from his own spars. The older teen’s eyes flashed with relief that was quickly hidden as Izuku and Hitoshi ran to Kurogiri.

“Is he okay? Were there any complications? Have the police talked to him yet?“ Izuku’s questions were fired at a rapid pace that the mist man had little issue deciphering.

“He’s tired, and a bit confused. He doesn’t remember who saved him. Apparently he has short term amnesia and doesn’t remember much from the day. There’s no long term complications, though he is going to need a month or two to get back to full health. The police will be speaking with him today, though based on what I’ve been told they’re mostly tying off loose ends. They believe his foster parents death were suicide, likely they’ll get his statement and place him back in foster care,” Kurogiri explained the situation and twin sighs of relief rang out as tension fled Izuku and Hitoshi.

It had been a week since that day, after they’d killed Monoma’s foster parents they’d warped out and cleaned up. It had felt odd, almost as if they’d been in a dream. Going from that blood soaked apartment to the clean and familiar mansion. If not for the blood painting their skin Izuku may have thought it had been a dream. It had taken Inko finding them standing in a bathroom staring at nothing to finally jolt the two boys from their shock. Izuku had felt panic when his mom came upon them, soaked in blood and with probably some of that manic glee still in their eyes. He shouldn’t have been afraid though, his mother was the wife of Japan's strongest villain and it was blatantly obvious Inko was aware of his Dad’s activities, if not actively involved in them.

Inko had simply sighed about the blood stains before she helped the boys clean up. Izuku had thought their clothes would need to be disposed of, a true shame since he’d only just replaced the hoodie Endeavor had burned and it would be irritating to have to buy it again. But his mother had employed whatever dark magics she knew and returned their clothes the next day, freshly laundered with no hint of blood left on them.

When they’d washed the blood off, and had been filled with hot chocolate, Inko had interrogated them on the plan. Making Izuku and Hitoshi go over the events several times to be sure they’d left no possibility of being found out. When she was satisfied that the plan had been well thought out and executed Izuku had seen pride shining in her eyes, the same look she held whenever he showed her the latest test he had aced. That motherly pride had killed any remaining threads of guilt he felt, and he thought it may have done the same for Hitoshi based on the way the boy had positively shone with quiet pride.

His Dad and Tomura had been elated at their first kills and they’d had a special dinner that night, with katsudon and a cake bought from Hitoshi’s favorite bakery in Japan. Hisashi had gifted Hitoshi a new set of knives and Izuku got a Barrett M82 as well to truly celebrate. It felt like a coming of age party, or he supposed a coming of villainy party. The thought made Izuku smile in amusement. Other kids had big parties for various coming of age moments, depending on religion and culture. His family had celebrated their first kills with the same excitement. It was still odd to think on, and at times Izuku wasn’t certain it hadn’t been some kind of fever dream. It felt like his family should’ve been...horrified by their actions. Wasn’t that how most families would act? His family wasn’t normal though, now more than ever that was obvious.

Izuku was dying to take his new sniper rifle out to play with but for now they were laying more or less low so he had to satisfy himself with practicing in the range. Izuku knew his plan was flawless, the fact that his Dad’s contacts in the police force had reported that the case had been labeled a murder suicide meant they had little to fear. Apparently despite the multiple witnesses seeing them in their glamors go into the apartment no one had spoken up to the police. Something that did tend to be common in lower income areas where trust for the police was nonexistent.

Tomura had grabbed all of them a newly released game that had been on pre-order and instigated a twenty four hour gaming marathon to fully celebrate the successful murder and plan. Izuku had welcomed it, while he felt no guilt about what he’d done, some part of him had been disgusted by the joy he took from killing someone. The approval of his friends and family, and the twenty four hours of straight gaming, had helped him shove that small spark of remaining conscience down.

Besides, Izuku reasoned, in a way they had done something Heroic. They had prevented those awful people from ruining anyone else's lives, after all the Heroes and the police were never going to stop them. So he held that first kill in his heart, precious as the first true step on his road to reforming their awful society. It was just a single drop of blood in the eventual river he knew he’d spread across their country. He’d drown their society in their bloody sins and cleanse it in fire and life blood, so the next reincarnation of their society could be one that was far more pure.

A society where one was not immediately labeled because of their Quirk, or lack of one. One where Heroes couldn’t do whatever they pleased with no repercussions, where they were actually held accountable. A society where there wasn't a HPSC playing in the shadows, raising up monsters they labeled as Heroes while they hid the atrocities they commited. He wanted a society that was kinder, that didn’t breed sheep who would turn their heads on the hurt and helpless in the hopes a Hero would step in. He wanted a society where there were Heroes, yes, but they were held to a strict standard and never allowed absolute power. He wanted a society where others weren’t shoved in the dirt relentlessly.

Perhaps he was a dreamer, as absurd as Heroes would find a Villain dreaming of a utopian society, he couldn’t help it. He wanted a better society, and he was no longer afraid to get his hands as dirty as necessary to make it so.

“How long before we can take him home?“ Izuku asked Kurogiri, pushing his thoughts aside to focus on the important thing, his friend.

His Dad was already ready to have the paperwork submitted to have Monoma adopted into their family, like he had done with Hitoshi. Of course the ‘people’ they were adopted under would have different names and addresses to avoid any potential trails coming back to them but Monoma would be living with them. Izuku had discussed it with his parents long before the incident and upon hearing about Monoma’s quality of life his Mom had practically demanded he be brought to them, Izuku was fairly certain she would’ve fought All Might himself for Monoma. He had always known his mom had a soft spot for hurt children, and having Tomura and then Hitoshi in their house had further stoked her fire. Izuku was certain if Inko could she’d adopt every child who had been cast aside by their system. He might have gotten his brains from his Dad, but he knew he’d gotten his heart from his mom.

“After the police finish their investigation, close it and the hospital approves his discharge we can. It should be another three weeks before we can bring him home,” Kurogiri informed the boys and Izuku hissed, clenching his fists.

Another three weeks before they could see Monoma. They couldn’t risk anything coming up odd to the police so they couldn’t visit their friend. If the police, or some curious nurse, doctor or patient spotted two people visiting Monoma it may end up being reported to the police, who would have questions. Izuku wanted to avoid any and all possibilities of being caught, so until Monoma was foisted back into the system to be forgotten and abandoned they couldn’t see him.

“I want to see him now,” Hitoshi muttered as he looked at his feet, face set in a scowl. Izuku felt the same but he knew it was simply too risky. He grabbed his friend’s hand and intertwined their fingers. Hitoshi looked up and gave him a small smile as he squeezed Izuku’s hand back.

“Also Master Izuku, your father wished for me to bring you to him, he has some matters to discuss with you,” Kurogiri continued after giving the boys a moment to collect themselves. Izuku perked up, excited at the possibility of seeing his Dad. He saw him every day now but they still had three years to make up for, and maybe his Dad was going to give him a mission! Or a new Quirk! Maybe he’d finally worn his Dad down enough!

With one last squeeze of Hitoshi’s hand, Izuku disentangled their fingers and walked to Kurogiri. He looked back at Hitoshi and saw the small bit of sadness that flickered across his friend's face. Since Hitoshi had moved in with them they spent the majority of their time together, and Hitoshi never seemed to enjoy it when Izuku had to go on his own anywhere. Izuku tried to give his friend a reassuring smile before he made eye contact with Tomura. With a beleaguered sigh Tomura climbed to his face, pretending to be inconvenienced by the unspoken request.

“Let's go Mind,” Tomura sighed, dropping a gloved hand on Hitoshi’s shoulder. Izuku didn’t miss the way the teen’s eyes stared at Hitoshi, waiting for the flinch that never came. Even after months of having his gloves and being around a household of people who didn’t shrink away from contact Tomura still always looked like he was waiting for a flinch.

“Fine, but I pick the game,“ Hitoshi surrendered as he shot a smirk at the older boy. Izuku snickered as he walked through the portal, the sounds of bickering fading in the portal. The two of them got along, and Hitoshi and Tomura both seemed to take a ridiculous amount of joy in ribbing each other.

“Izuku, it’s good to see you in better spirits,” Hisashi called out from his desk. Izuku perked up and scampered to his Dad’s desk, ignoring the medical equipment that still filled the room. He’d gotten used to seeing them, and had just accepted it as the new normal.

“Well our plan went through well and soon we’ll have Monoma with us!” Izuku gushed, though he was still hurt from seeing his friend so injured. The revenge he’d taken had helped ease a good deal of that anger and pain though, it had been a cure for a virus he hadn’t realized he’d been suffering from. So many claimed revenge never satisfied, Izuku found that to be untrue. Nothing had ever felt quite as good as slitting the throats of the monsters who had hurt his friend.

“Speaking of your plans, I actually have a small gift for you in celebration,” Hisashi started as he motioned for Izuku to take a plush seat next to his own. Izuku dropped down, head tilting in curiosity. He’d already gotten a celebratory dinner, a new weapon and a new game. Plus he was going to have his friend living with them, safe. What more could his Dad be gifting him?

“I can’t tell you how proud I was to see you sticking up for your friend, and helping rid this world of those who taint it,“ his Dad began and Izuku leaned back to listen. His Dad liked to go on for a while when he explained, Izuku had figured it was where he got his own tendency to mutter and go on tangents from. As a result, Izuku loved to listen to his Dad, he always had something interesting to teach him.

“The way you had planned that endeavor as well, in a few hours you’d come up with a flawless plan and successfully executed it. I’d known you would be an amazing tactician Izuku but I admit I hadn’t thought you’d be starting so soon,” His Dad continued and Izuku beamed at the pride he heard in his Dad's voice. He had impressed his Dad with his plan, that filled him with joy at having his Father’s approval.

“As well you’ve already brought a powerful partner into the fold, I admit at first I wasn’t sure if Shinsou would see things our way. But you’ve shown to have a talent for finding those who society has failed, those who can become catalysts for change if given the time and support they need to flourish. Soon I’m sure you’ll have young Monoma on our side as well, another invaluable person to add to your plans,” His Dad reached out to ruffle his curls and Izuku leaned into it, drinking in the praise gladly.

“Now I want you to remember to foster your relationships with the people you bring into the fold, they are not simply chess pieces or pawns. The people you depend on will be your strength. Having strong allies in your corner can mean the difference between a victory or a defeat. Remember we are not like the Heroes who think they can stand alone, we need to be smarter than that and build networks and strong allies. And we will be stronger for it. As much as you can weaponize the anger and hate inside of you, so too can you weaponize love. Those emotions don’t make you weak, they make you strong,” His Dad continued and Izuku nodded, listening intently.

He knew it was common in the media to paint villains as people who were evil for evil's sake, who saw love and friendship as weaknesses and used people like pawns or nameless minions. His Dad though had always stressed the importance of family, since he was little Izuku could remember his Dad telling him how being kind, being loving and caring for people had never been a weakness. Now he could see his Dad had been teaching him for when he was older, when he started to build his own bonds and found people to join him on his journey.

Already he’d seen it, with Hitoshi. While Izuku had done several things that he could’ve gotten done on his own they were far easier and cleaner with Hitoshi there with him. From getting his fire-breathing Quirk, and Hitoshi ensuring there would be no evidence of the Quirk theft. To the murder they’d carried out, cleanly and with no one the wiser because of Hitoshi.

He could see it in Kurogiri, the speed and willingness the man showed when he’d warp Izuku and his friends wherever they needed it, no matter the time. Without Kurogiri he didn’t know where he and his friends would be. He could see the way having friends and people who cared for him had helped Tomura mature too, he’d gone from a whiny man child to a whiny but slightly more mature teenager. Perhaps Izuku mostly saw it in games but Tomura was getting more comfortable about leading, or calling shots. He didn’t get as irritated if someone questioned him and would often even listen to suggestions now. Perhaps because of how often Izuku would stand up to him and explain in detail why a different tactic would work better.

Izuku was afraid to think what Tomura would’ve been like without them meeting. Would he have remained an irritable and introverted child? Who was unwilling to listen to any plans he himself didn’t come up with? Who wouldn’t pay attention to his party members and make fatal mistakes? Luckily Izuku never had to find out, because he knew he’d be with Tomura no matter what, always there to help him and for Izuku to lean on when he needed to.

“So I think in celebration for what you’ve achieved already and for your growth, I will give you two new Quirks that I believe you’ll have many uses for,” His Dad spoke up after giving Izuku the time to mull over his words. At the mention of new Quirks, Izuku sat straight, eyes shining with hunger. All For One had been mostly sated since the last Quirk he’d acquired but the hunger never really faded away, an ever-present urge to have more .

“Go ahead and place your hand on me and I’ll walk you through the Quirks you need to take,” His Dad instructed and Izuku eagerly reached out to lay his hand against his Dad’s own. He’d gotten better with taking Quirks and now he could touch anywhere on someone's body to get them, he still needed five-finger contact but his Dad had said eventually he’d need just the lightest brush of skin.

“Okay, the first one is an eyesight Quirk called Blink. It should be navy blue. When activated your eyes will glow and you can teleport anywhere in your eyesight when you blink,” Hisashi instructed Izuku and this time it was easier to sift through the thousands of floating lights to locate the ones that matched his Dad’s description. He gently pulled the new Quirk into himself, feeling his eyes burn momentarily as the Quirk slotted into him, eagerly waiting for him to activate it.

“Good, that was much faster than your first time but just as gentle. You’re doing quite well with learning All For One, Izuku,” His Dad’s warm praise filled Izuku with elation, he had been able to practice taking Quirks more often now that he was going out.

Hitoshi and Tomura were willing to let him practice with their own Quirks and switch them out. Hitoshi even had a fun time borrowing one of Izuku’s Quirks in exchange when Izuku was practicing taking and giving Quirks. Glamour in particular being one of Hitoshi’s favorites since he could make realistic-looking cat ears. It was always a bit of an argument to get Hitoshi to give it back.

He wanted to show his Dad that he deserved the Quirk he’d been given, that his Dad had made the right choice. He knew, logically, that his Dad would never take All For One from him but he still wanted his Dad's praise and approval, needed it. For so long the only people who would give him the validation he needed were his parents and Uncle Kurogiri, so to him their opinions and praise were the most valuable.

“Now for this next one I’m actually going to show you how I combine two Quirks,” Hisashi began and Izuku nearly started bouncing in excitement. He’d seen the result of a merged Quirk with Hitoshi’s improved Brainwashing, but he hadn’t been shown how to do it himself yet.

“So I copied your fire breathing Quirk you acquired,” Hisashi began and Izuku nodded eagerly. Everytime he got a new Quirk his Dad would take it, copy it and return one of the copies to Izuku. His Dad said the original Quirks retained a ghost of the original holder of the Quirk and that Izuku wasn’t ready to deal with them yet. He hadn’t been happy to find out his new Quirks meant more effort for his Dad but he’d been reassured that his Dad had hundreds of years of experience dealing with the ghosts attached to Quirks and it was no issue.

“Okay watch as I combine one of the copies of that Quirk with something else,” His Dad instructed and Izuku focused, he found the glowing orange of the fire breathing Quirks and watched as a golden light was pushed into one of them. For a moment the Quirks resisted until suddenly they swirled together, forming a golden orange light that pulsed momentarily before it settled. Curious Izuku examined the new Quirk, it still felt like fire but it had an undercurrent of revitalization, almost like...healing?

“Is it a healing Quirk now?” Izuku asked curiously as he continued to look over the new Quirk.

“Yes, I added a weaker healing Quirk with it as the fire breathing Quirk was quite powerful. The fire quirk amplified the power of the healing tenfold, though it likely will have side effects as healing Quirks are known to,” His Dad explained and Izuku grinned, that was amazing. By merging Quirks he could make previously weak Quirks into something stronger.

“Now not all Quirks can be merged, they have to have compatibility. You can usually tell if you can or not by trying to, if they resist too much they can’t be combined. Some Quirks are so compatible that they’ll merge without your permission if you’re not vigilant, so do take care. Some are violently opposed to being merged and may cause you pain if you attempt to. The more you try the more you’ll be able to tell at a glance what Quirks can or cannot be combined,” His Dad continued explaining and Izuku was bouncing in his seat, eager to try for himself though he had no Quirks that would be able to be merged at the moment.

“Now go ahead and take the new Quirk, after the most recent incident me and your mother thought it would be prudent for you to have a healing Quirk strong enough to help if such a thing occurs again,” Hisashi encouraged and Izuku pulled the new Quirk into himself, feeling the heat flood his body before it settled in his throat momentarily until it faded.

“Now as this is a new Quirk you can give it a name,” Hisashi’s voice was happy, obviously enjoying being able to show his son something new.

“Phoenix Fire!” Izuku blurted out, bouncing a bit in his seat and earning himself a chuckle from his Dad.

Izuku examined the details of the Quirk inside him. All For One let the user know the particulars of any Quirk they acquired, and he was examining in closer detail his newest Quirk. Phoenix Fire would still be mouth activated but the flames it let out wouldn’t be able to burn anything, they’d only work to heal. They could heal any wounds with no scarring but the tradeoff was that the worse the injury the longer the fire would burn, which wouldn’t leave a mark but would feel exactly like being burned.

Izuku winced, that was a nasty drawback but it was an incredibly powerful healing Quirk. Most healing Quirks were either minor as the original healing Quirk of this had been, or very powerful with a severe catch. Recovery Girls for instance could only heal what the body would do on its own, and used the body's stamina. Meaning if an injured person was exhausted she couldn’t heal or if she did she could inadvertently kill the person, and if someone was too badly hurt where the body couldn’t heal it her Quirk wouldn’t do much.

Still, with a healing Quirk like this he could save his friends if they were ever hurt again. Which, based on what their goals were, they would end up hurt again. Izuku wasn’t too egotistical to think his plans would always succeed, even the best plans had a margin for error and in a battle of life and death any mistake could be fatal. With this Quirk though those mistakes could be a bit less fatal.

“How do you like the new Quirks?“ His Dad asked and Izuku looked up to see his Dad smiling at him, Izuku responded with his own dazzling grin.

“They’re amazing. I can’t wait to use them and make them stronger!” Izuku gushed, already vibrating with energy. He wanted to try them right now! Maybe Tomura would let him cut him a little bit so he could try healing?

“Well woe be it to me to keep you from playing with your new Quirks, Kurogiri will take you home. I expect come dinner time I’ll be hearing all about the tests you’ve run with your new Quirks,” Hisashi said, chuckling a little when Izuku started nodding frantically. Izuku gave his Dad a tight hug before he bounced through a portal opened by Kurogiri, coming out in the game room where Hitoshi and Tomura were.

“Hey guys!” Izuku trilled out and two heads whipped to look at him.

Hitoshi seemed to relax as soon as he saw Izuku, letting out a small smile. Tomura had a curious expression on his face that became more concerned as Izuku pulled out a knife, eyes glinting with eagerness. He had to try out his new Quirk!

“Uh whatcha got there brat?” Tomura asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“A knife!” Izuku sung out, Hitoshi was chuckling as Tomura slowly stood up to back away from the knife wielding greenette.

“Why?” Tomura asked, Izuku spun his knife around, still grinning at Tomura as his eyes lit up a neon green.

“I got some new Quirks I wanna try out!” Izuku answered before he blinked, appearing behind Tomura.

“Now just let me cut you a little!” Izuku said, lunging forward to stab his adopted brother.

“NO!” Tomura shouted, barely dodging the flashing blade.

“I got a healing Quirk. I need to try it!” Izuku pleaded, going for another swipe as Tomura scrambled further back.

“Stab Hitoshi!” Tomura pleaded as Izuku’s eyes lit up again, teleporting him beside the older teen.

“Don’t bring me into this,” Hitoshi drawled, grinning as he watched the game of cat and mouse the two were playing.

At another dodge from Tomura the greenette frowned before blinking and vanishing. Tomura looked around, frantically trying to find the knife wielding teen. Some instinct saved him as Izuku launched himself off the ceiling fan he’d been crouched on, knife raised to stab into Tomura. The older boy barely rolled away in time to avoid a very sharp dagger to the shoulder.

“Isn’t there a better way to test out the Quirk?” Tomura pleaded as he continued to scramble away. He didn’t want to start dusting things, Inko didn’t take kindly to her house being decayed and Tomura didn’t want to know what she would do if he disintegrated her kid.

“Someone needs to be injured before I can use a healing Quirk Tomu-nii!” Izuku said slowly as if explaining something to a kid. Hitoshi was giggling uncontrollably from his beanbag and Tomura was able to throw a controller at the purple haired boy whilst dodging another lunge from Izuku.

“What is going on here?” Inko asked from the door, the three boys froze in place to slowly look at her. Izuku was halted mid thrust at Tomura with his knife, poised to stab his older brother in the stomach. Hitoshi had fallen to the ground after the controller had nailed him in the head and Tomura was in the middle of removing a glove.

“Uh Quirk training?” Izuku tried as he slowly stepped away from Tomura, sheathing his knife. Hitoshi nodded from the ground and Tomura glared at the two of them.

“He tried to stab me!” Tomura accused and Izuku rolled his eyes.

“I have a healing Quirk Tomu-nii you would’ve been fine ,” he said, pouting a bit as he crossed his arms. Tomura looked at him like he was insane before looking at Inko with a pleading expression. Inko looked over them and sighed, rubbing her temples.

“Izuku please don’t stab Tomura. There’s other ways to practice your new Quirk,” She explained slowly and Izuku cried out before flopping to the ground to pout more.

“Please don’t kill each other,“ Inko pleaded as she turned and left the room. Tomura looked to the door, and then back to the moping Izuku before carefully sitting back in his beanbag chair, shooting suspicious looks at Izuku.

“Just a small cut?” Izuku nearly begged and Tomura groaned.

“Fine,” Tomura sighed as he held out an arm for the now excited greenette.

“Yay!” Izuku cheered.

“I hate this family,” Tomura muttered.

Chapter End Notes

I know this AFO is a bit OOC, but Inko helped bring him around to the idea that love can be as strong a motivator as hate. He knew from experience too, from his own brother. He's watched Inko get her hands bloody a few times when it came to defending her family so he's not one to discredit her motivation. He did also push Shiggy in canon a bit to get a strong team together, so he obviously knows the value of teamwork. Which is also something I noticed was seen more often in villains than Heroes. The LOV, the Yakuza, the MLA. All are huge organizations that are strong BECAUSE they're made up of multiple villains and force the Heroes to work together, which oftentimes leads these typically solo Heroes to be a bit snippy about the teamwork. While the Heroes can work together they don't often, but it's rare to see Villains working completely solo. And that's what makes them such a threat.

Oh and a small scene

Hitoshi *making cat ears with Glamour*: I love this Quirk

Izuku *mentally panicking because Hitoshi looks adorable*: Okay but you need to give it back now.

Hitoshi: No *proceeds to run away*

Hisashi also gave Izuku a healing Quirk instead of Super Regeneration because currently, he doesn't have that Quirk yet. It's not a plot hole I promise, it comes into play later and is a catalyst for another moment of character growth for Izuku.

End Notes

This will be Updated every Tuesday!

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Table of Contents

Preface

All That Glitters is Not Gold

History is Written by The Victors

Appearances can be Deceiving

Unlikely Friends

Damsel in Distress

Take Your Aim

It All Falls Apart

Where is the Justice?

Find Your Purpose

The Vengeful One

Chapter 11

Afterword