Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The exact origin of Quirks was shrouded in myths and mystery:

The people with Quirks believed that they were a gift from some God; a divine power bestowed upon a select few and passed down through the generations.

The Quirkless had a starkly different idea of where they originated. They believed that a demon made the first people with quirks as a punishment to mankind for becoming too prideful; a way to knock everyone down a peg.

Regardless of the origin of Quirks, they very much did exist and created a sort-of divide between those who had them and those who didn't. The 15% of the world’s population who possessed Quirks (referred to as the Blessed) were at an advantage; they had power that everyone else didn't. So therefore, they rose through the ranks to the point where the majority were either royalty or worked for royalty. The world became a place where you could only get so far without a Quirk; you could only achieve so much. Some of the Blessed took advantage of their power.

Toshinori Yagi was not one of those people. He was a king, yes, but he ruled fairly, and kept all the occupants of the kingdom happy. He viewed the Quirkless and the Blessed all the same, and treated everyone as equally as possible. Over half of the castle staff was Quirkless, which was particularly notable.

Yagi was also in possession of a great power. His Quirk was not the normal possession of one superhuman power (like Duke Tensei’s speed Quirk or the neighboring King Enji’s fire Quirk), but several. Superhuman strength, speed, stamina, defense, intellect, and a slew of other general powers made up his Quirk, called One For All. His token ability was the power to create high-speed winds, which is what he showed the public. The rest was kept a secret, where only blood family members (and the king's right-hand man, Shigaraki Tomura, who had overheard a conversation about it and had been sworn to secrecy by Yagi) knew. Another part of the secret was that the power was not passed down normally. It skipped generations, seemingly randomly. This was why Yagi’s daughter, Inko, only had a normal Quirk, the singular ability of telekinesis.

As the years passed, the kingdom thrived. Yagi got older, but never lost the favor of the Quirkless public. Once Inko was older, she married a young noble from King Enji’s castle, a man named Midoriya Hisashi. Since Yagi was old, he allowed Hisashi to become king after their son, Midoriya Izuku, was born. Hisashi ruled the kingdom with an iron fist, and quickly undid all the good favor Yagi had built up over his years of ruling. He thoroughly believed that the Blessed were inherently better than the Quirkless, and that they should know their place. When Izuku was 6 years old, he fired every Quirkless worker in the castle, including Shigaraki Tomura. This action set into motion what would eventually lead to the downfall of the so-called Blessed.

Since Hisashi and Inko were frequently busy, Yagi ended up almost single-handedly raising Izuku. This actually proved to be ideal when Izuku discovered that he had inherited Yagi’s Quirk. He taught him how to control it (and how to keep the family secret), and he had amassed a great deal of control over it in little over a year. With the combination of training and raising, Toshinori Yagi became more of a father to Izuku than Hisashi ever was.

-

It was celebration of Izuku’s 8th birthday when all hell broke loose. Hisashi threw a grand party at the castle, where only the Blessed were invited; any Quirkless person caught attending would suffer a severe punishment. Everything was going according to schedule until a cloaked figure burst through the doors to the ballroom. The large room was immediately shrouded in darkness and overcome with an eerie atmosphere. The figure stepped forward, started scratching at his neck, and laughed.

“Apologies for crashing your birthday party, Izuku, but I have some business with the king that needs attending to.” He stepped closer to the throne, where Hisashi was now standing.

“State your name and your Quirk! If you do not have one, you will be tried for treason.”

“Oh, do you not recognize me, King Hisashi? I see that Yagi over there knows exactly who I am.” He pointed a hand at the space beside the throne where Toshinori was standing with Izuku.

“Shigaraki Tomura,” Yagi’s voice, weakening with age, called out, “what is your business here?”

“Hmm, I suppose that since you trusted me with your secret, I can let you in on mine. I've been very busy these past three years, Yagi. I've been in contact with a very powerful entity, you could call him a friend of mine. Why don't I give you a little show of the gifts he's given me?” Shigaraki plucked the tiara off a terrified woman and turned it to dust in his hand. Several gasps were heard from the crowd. “And that's just the beginning. I can get any power I want, anytime I want it, thanks to my friend here,” he said, pulling a glowing, cylindrical object out of his pocket, “can you believe I only had to give my soul away for this? A pretty good deal, I'd say.” Yagi put his hand on Izuku’s trembling shoulder.

‘All For One…’ he thought. “I will ask you one more time, Tomura. What is your business here?”

“Ah, I almost forgot! My business here is with King Hisashi. I have a request- well, more of a demand. We want you to treat the Quirkless as equals. And by ‘we’ I mean myself and the entire population of your kingdom. I've made a lot of friends during my time away from the castle, and they all share the same beliefs as I do. So, what do you say, Hisashi?” Shigaraki cracked a smile. Hisashi walked to stand in front of him and spat at his feet.

“That is what I have to say to your little demand, now beg-” he stopped mid-sentence as two hands wrapped around his neck. His screams were deafening.

“Ah, I was kinda hoping you'd say something like that! I did tell everyone to storm when they heard screaming, anyway.” There was a sudden pounding and yelling at the gates, and Hisashi could no longer scream. Shigaraki reduced him to a pile of dust as gates gave way and hundreds of yelling, torch-wielding townspeople flooded the castle. Inko scrambled to where Hisashi stood, screaming “No!” as Shigaraki dissolved her throat as well. Yagi grabbed Izuku and ran.

“Young Midoriya, I need you to keep up with me. I'm not going to lose you!” He said as they ran frantically down the hall. Smoke filled the air and almost nothing could be heard above the yelling and crashing noises. Izuku tripped on a wrinkle in the rug and twisted his ankle. Yagi stopped and tried to pick him up. Suddenly, there was a presence next to Izuku.

“Ah, I'm sorry Yagi, but to go through with our revolution it is imperative that I kill you. You see, I can't just have that powerful Quirk of yours keep getting passed down!” Shigaraki reached for Yagi, only to be punched from below by Izuku, crackling green energy jumping off his small frame. He recovered as Yagi picked him up and ran off. “Damn it, that brat already has One For All? I guess I'm going to have to kill him as well, though I won't like it.”

-

Yagi and Izuku dove into a room and barricaded the door. They noticed another boy only a bit older than Izuku in the room as well, with bright purple hair and bags under his eyes, wearing a baggy-looking uniform. The child of one of the castle’s servants, no doubt. He was shaking underneath a table. Yagi walked up to the boy.

“Is there any other way out of here that you know of?” He asked, gasping as the door started to shake. Either the angry townspeople or Shigaraki had found them. The boy crawled out from under the table and stood up meekly.

“Th-through the servant’s corridor, hurry!” He pointed to a door that looked like part of the wall. Yagi grabbed Izuku and ran through it as the barricaded door burst open. Shigaraki and some townspeople armed with shotguns came in.

“I know they were in here, where did they go?” Shigaraki walked up to the boy and asked him.

“Who?” The boy asked. Two of the armed men came over.

“You know exactly who! Ya-” one man froze mid-sentence, his eyes glazing over.

“The fuck?” The other man asked.

“He's using his Quirk, knock him out.” Shigaraki sounded annoyed, rolling his eyes. The man complied and hit the boy in the head with the butt of his shotgun. He dropped to the floor.

-

As Yagi and Izuku scrambled outside through the snow and across the frozen lake, a plume of black smoke revealed Shigaraki trailing after them. Since Izuku’s ankle was sprained, he trailed a little after Yagi and yelped when he felt a hand grabbing his upper arm. The skin started to flake off and he screamed.
“Let me go!! Get off me!!” He cried, trying to pry Shigaraki’s hand off him.
“Stop struggling, brat!” Suddenly, Izuku crouched down and punched the ice under Shigaraki’s feet, using his Quirk. He released his hold on Izuku’s arm as he fell in, trying to grab onto the edge of the ice. The ice just dissolved as he grabbed it and he started to thrash and sink as Izuku ran away with Yagi. “No! Sensei, help me!” He cried as he sank into the icy depths, his glowing trinket just out of reach above the ice.

They ran all the way to the train station, where a huge crowd of people were trying to escape. Yagi leapt onto the train’s steps as it was pushing off. His grip on Izuku’s hand faltered, though, and he fell onto the ground below. He hit his head on one of the railroad spikes and got knocked out cold.

“Young Midoriya!! Izuku!!!” Yagi yelled as the train picked up speed. He tried to jump off since Izuku wasn't getting up, but the other passengers of the train pulled him back. Soon, the train was going too fast for him to jump off without risking death, and his precious grandson Izuku was seemingly lost forever…

Chapter Text

“DEKU!!” The shrill yell reverberated through the halls of the orphanage, “stupid brat, I thought I told you to get out here half an hour ago!” a woman’s voice said, pounding the door to the communal bathroom.

“That was two minutes ago, Bakugou-san. I'm just finishing up getting dressed,” the boy calmly replied from inside the room, throwing his scarf around his neck.

“hAH? Don't talk back to me after I've gone and graciously gotten you this job! And that's Bakugou-sama to you!” she said as the door swung open and nearly hit her in the face.

“Ready!” He stepped out and investigated the area, “...Bakugou-san?”

“-SAMA!” The door swung back around as she angrily stepped to face the boy, which was not as intimidating as it used to be, considering he was now only about an inch or two shorter than her, “let’s just get you outta here before I end up killing you,” she grabbed his upper arm and drug him towards the large front door of the orphanage, “this is the happiest day of my life, really, I'm in a good mood today, so don't ruin it! You've been a pain in my ass for ten long, grueling years, and I finally get to get rid of you today! Did you know that when the bastard police brought first brought you here, you couldn't remember a single goddamn thing? Not even your own name! How stupid is that?”

“You've reminded me many times, Bakugou-sama, it was very stupid of me,” he rolled his eyes. Bakugou Mitsuki, the head of the orphanage, never missed a chance to insult him and he was beyond used to it. His name was even an insult! Her son, Bakugou Katsuki, who was practically just another resident of the orphanage, had coined it a few days after he arrived when he was put on sweeping duty and he didn't know how to do it right. That was when Katsuki grabbed the broom from him, called him a ‘stupid Deku’, and proceeded to show him how to do it. Despite his constant reprimands, he always ended up teaching him how to do things properly and shielding him from the brunt of Mitsuki’s punishments. They ended up having a weird brand of friendship, actually. It made sense, considering Deku was the only other kid Katsuki’s age in the place.

“Wait, Bakugou-sama, before I go, can I say goodbye to the kids?” Deku asked nicely, hoping to appeal to the shred of humanity left in this woman.

“...five minutes, then you better be outside! This is only because this better be the last time I see your ugly face around here, ya hear me?” She yelled as she walked outside.

“Yes, thank you!” He called out before rushing to the cafeteria-type room where everyone else was. As soon as the little kids saw him, they ran over and tackled him in a big hug, “oof! Hey guys, I just came to say my goodbyes, okay?”

“Come onnnnn, you can’t leave us!” Whined one of the younger kids, a short brown-haired girl named Ochako.

“Yeah, it'll be no fun without you, Deku-chan,” Agreed the strange-looking girl named Tsuyu.

“Guys, it'll be ok! I bet you all will be outta here sooner than later, you'll get good homes with good families and maybe someday you can even visit me and tell me all about it!” He stood up and patted their heads as they pouted.

“As much as I hate to admit it, they're right, shitty Deku,” said a voice from the back of the room. Bakugou Katsuki walked over to where the kids and Deku were standing, “I can't believe you're just going to leave me with the old hag and these brats to take care of,” he huffed and crossed his arms.

“Kacchan, you know this isn't my decision,” Deku smiled sadly, “Bakugou-san has been trying to get me out of her hair for years, and now that I'm 18 there's no excuse you or me can come up with for me to stay. She's gotten me that job at the farm, so now I'm on my own,” he didn't really see the point in getting the job in the dead of winter, but Mitsuki was quick to jump on the chance to get rid of him as soon as he had become an adult.

“Can't you just blow her away with that stupid power of yours?” He was referring to Deku’s Quirk, which everyone (including Deku) assumed was the ability to produce winds. Shortly after he arrived at the orphanage, he discovered that he had no idea how to control it, so he was banned from using it due to the chaos it could cause.

“For someone who's an adult now, you sure complain like a child, Kacchan,” he laughed a little as Katsuki playfully punched him in the arm.

“Well, shit, I guess this is goodbye for good, huh?”

“I guess so, I know your mom would probably kill me if she ever saw me again,” Deku sighed. Katsuki looked to be debating something, his brows furrowed and his scowl a bit lighter than usual.

“Fuck it.”

“Kaccha-” he started to question until he was cut off by a rough hug from Katsuki.

“Shut up for a second, ok?” He squeezed harder and buried his face in Deku’s shoulder. The other just smiled and nodded and hugged Katsuki back. He felt wetness on his shoulder and pretended not to notice when Katsuki rubbed his eyes before pulling away, “don't do anything stupid. If you die I'll kill you.” He sniffed.

“I promise I'll stay safe, Kacchan. I've gotta get going before Bakugou-san yells at me again! Bye guys, be good okay?” He looked to the small children standing beside him. They all nodded. “Goodbye, Kastuki,” he put a hand on his shoulder before walking away.

“...bye, Deku.”

-

Deku met back up with Mitsuki in front of the orphanage.

“Took you long enough, moron,” she huffed.

“Sorry sorry, I was just saying my goodbyes. I'm ready to go now.”

“Good. Now you'll head down this road here until you reach the fork in it, and you'll go left. I figure it’d be hard for even a dumbass like yourself to fuck that up,” she pointed down the snowy path that barely counted as a road, lined with intimidatingly-tall trees and slick with ice.

“Alright, I'll be off then!” Deku started down the road.

“Aren't you even gonna thank me, brat? Figures that an ungrateful little shit like you would just head off like that,” she crossed her arms, “after I’ve got you this job, fed you-”

“Put a roof over my head,” she was interrupted by Deku, “you've told me a million times Bakugou-sama. Thank you for the hospitality, now I'll be off,” he continued down the road, not stopping at the frustrated yelling sounds of Bakugou Mitsuki. He didn't care about appeasing her anymore, he was finally out on his own.

-

“Ungrateful? Oh I'm grateful; grateful to get away from you!” Deku kicked the snow on the side of the road as he continued on the path, “ugh, I'm glad to be out of there, definitely, but I don't exactly want to work on a farm, either. Plus, knowing that demon Mitsuki, she’s probably sold me off to the meanest farmer in this tiny dirt village,” he sighed and watched as his breath was visible in the cold air. Up ahead, he spotted the fork in the road.

“Let's see, she said to go left, right?” Deku questioned aloud to himself. He brushed the snow off of the signs at the fork, hoping to get a clue from them.

‘Left is the Chisaki Family Farm, Right is Okinawa City,’ the signs read.

“‘Chisaki Family Farm,’ huh? Sounds about right. I've heard the rumors about the Chisaki family. Signing up for a position there is like signing a death wish. But Okinawa City… that could be an opportunity! Oh, but what would I do in a city like that? It's too big, too many people, I'd get trampled! Ugh, I need a sign or something, what should I do, Universe?” He overdramatically gestured towards the sky. Suddenly, a small grey cat dashed out from the snowy bushes. It jumped at the end of Deku’s long scarf, grabbing the end of it with its claws.

“Hey! Stop, it's cold and I need this!” He yanked the end of the scarf away from the cat. It settled back down and he noticed it was shivering, “oh, you're cold too, huh? Well… I guess I could part with one of my layers for you,” He said, unwrapping the scarf from his neck and gently picking the cat up with it. He tried his best to cover it up in his arms as it gratefully snuggled against his chest, “what are you doing all the way out here? This sad little village is no place for a cute cat like you, you have potential!” The cat meowed at Deku, looking up into his emerald green eyes, “well, I can't just leave you out here. Do you think Chisaki-san will let me keep you at the farm?” Suddenly, the cat leaped out of Deku’s arms and ran along the path to the right.

“Hey! That's not the right way, come back here!” He said loudly. The cat stopped in its tracks some yards down the right path and looked Deku in the eyes, “that's weird. You kinda look like you're… waiting for me? That can't be right though, you’re just some cat,” he scoffed and started down the left path, “well, I'm going to the farm and either you can come with me or you can stay.”

“Meow!” Deku jumped. He didn't think a sound that loud could come from such a small cat. He looked over at it, and back at the sign that said Okinawa City. He contemplated for a few seconds.

“Maybe… maybe you're my sign? I didn't think that'd actually work. I guess I should take my chances then? If nothing works out, maybe I can come back and say that I got lost on the way and beg for my job,” he laughed a little, “well, lead the way then!” He fell into a overdramatic march behind the cat as it continued to walk along the right path.

‘Maybe I am as stupid as Mitsuki-san says,’ he thought, but he couldn't help being a bit excited as he stepped into his new, uncertain future.

Chapter Text

The semi-frozen streets of Okinawa City were rampant with poor to middle-class villagers. Some were there to get food from the markets, some hoping to sell counterfeit royal memorabilia in the seedier alleyways, and a couple were there for a much different purpose.

The man picked up a newspaper from the stand and tossed a few coins at the seller. The pages were a bit warped from snow landing on them, but everything was still clearly readable.

“‘Former King Toshinori Yagi still searching for missing grandson and former prince Midoriya Izuku, offering a grand total of 100,000,000 yen for his safe return to his estate in Tokyo,’” he read aloud as he approached his friend on the street, “and that nice reward is gonna belong to us soon, my dear Kiri. After today’s lost prince auditions, we’ll finally have everything we need to pull this off.”

“Shinsou, let me just say that I love the enthusiasm, it's totally manly! But you seem awfully confident that a guy with green hair and freckles that'll also, coincidentally, be willing to help us con the ex-king is just going to waltz into the castle today.”

“Hair dye and makeup, duh. Plus, he only has to vaguely look like Midoriya, remember? We get the interview, we see Yagi, then bam! I hit em with my Quirk, make em think that he's found his grandkid, he gives us the reward money, and we’re home free! I'll make him forget he ever saw us and we'll be on a cruise to America before you can say ‘the greatest con in all of Japan,’” Shinsou gestured wildly in the air despite his voice remaining deep and calm and his expression only baring a smirk.

“I know, I know. I still can't help feeling sorry for the old guy, though. Don't you feel even a little bad about it?” Kirishima looked down and pouted. Shinsou threw his arm around the other man’s shoulder in a comforting manner.

“Kiri, you wound me,” he overdramatically put his other hand over his heart, “of course I feel bad, but without money, we’ll never be anything more than petty criminals! Even the lowest jobs won't hire us because we have Quirks, nevermind the fact that yours is highly intimidating and mine just screams ‘villain.’ This is gonna be our ticket out of here, and with how many times we’ve been screwed over in our lives, I think we can stand to screw over one old man for the opportunity of a lifetime.” Kirishima laughed a bit.

“Yeah, you're right. You just have to promise me that you won't ditch me when we get to America, no matter how much of a rich and famous actor you end up becoming,” he cracked his signature toothy smile that always made Shinsou’s heart melt, even in the dead of winter. His smirk softened into a hint of a genuine smile.

“You seriously think I'd leave my best friend of nearly 10 years for some stuck-up American actor? Not a chance, Eijirou,” he pulled him into a one-armed hug and ruffled his hair with his other hand while Kirishima giggled like a schoolgirl.

“Thanks, Hitoshi.”

-

Deku was both excited and terrified at the amount of people roaming the streets in Okinawa City. On one hand, he'd never been around this many people before, and none of them knew anything about him.

‘This could be a fresh start,’ he thought, ‘maybe I can even make myself a new name?’

On the other hand, the amount of people made it increasingly difficult to keep following this cat that was apparently a sign from some deity. He lost sight of it for a bit and after silently freaking out for a moment, he saw it sitting right next to where a large amount of people were boarding a boat. A long sign next to the ramp read ‘Now Boarding Passengers To: Tokyo.’ The cat meowed loudly at Deku.

‘Tokyo, huh? Well, I suppose I've already made it this far, might as well go all the way,’ he shrugged and started up the ramp when a large, buff man with silver hair stopped him.

“Ticket?” The man barked. Deku gave him a puzzled look for a second before registering what he said.

“O-oh! Of course,” he slapped his hand against his forehead, “of course I need a ticket, what was I thinking? Dumb cat…” he muttered as he walked back down. Suddenly, a plain-looking teenager with shoulder-length black hair came up to him.

“Hey, forget your ticket?” The strange teen asked.

“Oh, no, I never had one,” Deku replied. The other hummer in response.

“I know someone who can get one for ya, but you didn't hear it from me,” he leaned in, “there's a guy named Shinsou who forges those kinds of things. You can find him at the abandoned castle; purple hair, looks like he hasn't slept in ten years, can't miss em.” He winked.

“Um, alright! Thanks?”

“No problem!” The stranger replied, walking away. Deku walked back over to where the cat was still sitting.

“Well, I guess we’re gonna go talk to this Shinsou guy,” he nervously smiled. He went to pick up the cat, but it bolted through the crowd instead. “Hey! Is this because I called you dumb? I'm really sorry, I was just kinda frustrated! Please come back!” He called after it as he ran. He hoped this cat wouldn't get him too lost before he could find Shinsou.

-

Deku’s chase almost ended when the cat paused for a second after arriving at the boarded up entrance to a broken-down building. It was huge, but so destroyed on the outside that it was almost impossible to identify what it used to be. Old scorch marks littered the outside and there were scattered piles of rubble everywhere. It looked as if one more stone went missing from the walls, the entire thing would collapse.

“Come on, kitty! We gotta go find that guy, uh, crap I already forgot his name!” He tried to scoop the cat up in his scarf like before, but it just slipped through a gap in the boards instead. “No no no no! You can't go in there, it looks really dangerous! Come on, come back!” He loudly whispered into the gap, but it didn't return. Deku sighed, looked around quickly to make sure no one would see him, and started removing some of the boards. They came off surprisingly easy, and before too long he'd made a large enough opening for him to get inside. He stumbled a little, his foot catching on a sock as he entered, and fell flat on his face. The impact kicked up dust from the rug and he sneezed. In front of him was a grand staircase, and at the top sat the cat.

“Geez, you act like you own the place,” Deku spoke quietly as he pulled himself up, “come on now, we’ve got to get out of here.” The cat seemed to either ignore him or choose to directly defy him, though, as it walked away and disappeared into the second floor. He sighed, walking up the steps. At the top, there was a very large picture frame depicting what he assumed was a family. Two of the people in it were unrecognizable, as fire damage had burnt the canvas they were painted on. The two remaining people in the picture were fairly clear: a tall, skinny, blonde old man, and a short young boy with forest green hair and emerald eyes. Deku traced the depiction of the boy with his hand, but looked especially up at the old man. He had strange eyes that looked both intense and comforting. The picture gave him a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach. He turned away, walking instead in the direction that the cat had gone in.

Old ornate furniture lined the walls of every room. Lots of it were toppled over and burnt. ‘There must have been a great fire here, considering all the damage,’ he noted. Some of the furniture, however, seemed to be decently preserved. He gazed at vases painted with dancing bears and patterns of gold wings. ‘Why does this whole place make me feel so weird?’ he wondered. He didn't have time to elaborate on that thought, though, as he spotted a grey fluffy tail moving lazily through a large, fantastic doorway. He walked faster until he reached the doorway, ready to reprimand the cat for intruding, but he stopped in his tracks when he saw where the cat had walked into.

It was a large, grand ballroom, from the looks of it. The ceiling in this room was impossibly high, and the walls were covered in beautiful decorations. On the upper half of the walls sat many big, elaborate paintings, like the one from the staircase, but these had all different people painted on them. All of the families depicted looked rich and important. One even seemed to have a younger version of the old man from before painted on it. Deku gazed at the room, dark and dingy from time abandoned and whatever fire had previously broken out.

‘This seems weirdly… familiar. Like somewhere I've seen in a dream,’ he thought. As soon as he stepped foot into the room, everything changed.

The room exploded into vibrant light and colors, everything sparkling like the place had never been abandoned. Glowing people dressed in beautiful suits and gowns talked and laughed and danced idly to the orchestral music on the huge hardwood floor. He looked to the large chairs to his side. A man and woman sat there talking and laughing, gazing lovingly at each other from time to time. The woman was short and stout, and had long, beautiful green hair. Seeing her made Deku feel happy. He saw a softly glowing hand place itself on his shoulder. He looked up and saw the old man from the painting, eyes as intense and soft as he remembered. His heart jumped and he felt himself break into the biggest smile he'd let himself show since Kacchan first called him his best friend. He had no idea why any of this was happening, but for once his seemingly endless train of thoughts had ceased. He recognized a bit too late that the man had been talking to him.

“Hm?” He made a questioning sound.

“Young Midoriya,” the man smiled gently, “I asked if you'd care to dance.”

“Yes, I’d love to, grandpa!” He felt himself saying. His voice sounded younger, somehow. The man took his hand and led him out to the middle of the ballroom. Everyone continued to talk and laugh around them. They seemed to be having a great time. Deku and the man stopped walking, and he took both on Deku’s hand into his own. They started to playfully sway and move in time to the music. Deku giggled and it sounded pointedly childlike. The man spun him around and suddenly Deku was much shorter. His rags from the orphanage were replaced with a brilliant glowing suit, and his arms were clear of the scars from Mitsuki’s beatings, covered in freckles instead. The beautiful music filled his ears and he allowed himself to laugh and smile freely. Everything about this felt right.

A loud sound coming from outside the room caused the scene to dissipate. Deku blinked and he was sitting on the floor in the middle of the dusty room. The scars were back on his arms and he was 18 again. His vision went blurry from tears and the back of his head hit the ground, and everything faded to black as he fell into a deep sleep.

Chapter Text

A rough tongue and two voices woke him up.

“Hey, guy, I'd appreciate it if you didn't come here to do drugs or whatever the hell else caused you to pass out in the middle of the floor, we’re kinda busy here,” spoke a deep, annoyed-sounding voice.

‘Ugh, what happened? The last thing I remember is walking through the doorway to the big room…’ Deku thought.

“Shinsou, don't you have any sympathy? He could be in real trouble!” A brighter voice, filled with worry reprimanded the first voice. “Are you okay?” Deku lifted his arm from his face and the cat licking him backed away. He blinked his eyes groggily, sat up, and took in his surroundings.

Two men were beside him, one on his knees and one standing up and bending over. Both looked to be his age or a bit older. The man on his knees was obviously the one who sounded worried about him, considering he seemed relieved that he was awake. He had shockingly red hair that was spiked up tall, and weirdly sharp teeth. The man that was leaning over him was taller than the other. He had wild purple hair and deep bags under his eyes. He frowned down at Deku. Upon taking in the second man’s appearance and matching it to the name the redhead called him, he realized that this was the person he was looking for. He also looked vaguely familiar, but he shook this feeling off quickly.

“...Shinsou?” He asked, his voice rough. The man furrowed his eyebrows and his frown tightened.

“Huh? Do I know you from somewhere? Or are you here for the auditions and you just somehow passed out?”

“Auditions?”

“Nevermind, just get out of here before I get Kiri here to kick you out,” he grabbed Deku from under his arms and pulled him up to his feet like a child. Shinsou was surprisingly strong for someone that skinny. Deku blushed and sputtered.

“W-wait! I was looking for you because I need something!” His voice echoed off the walls of the large ballroom. Shinsou pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

“Ok then, what did you need?” He sounded exasperated.

“I. Um. Uh, I'm trying to rem-” Deku suddenly froze and his eyes glazed over.

“What do you want from me?” Shinsou asked, his voice clear and forceful.

“I want you to forge a boat ticket for me to go to Tokyo,” he replied robotically. Shinsou then pinched his arm, releasing him from the trance-like state. He blinked a few times. “What was that?”

“That was my Quirk. If you'll just comply next time I ask you something, I won't have to use it on you again.” Deku’s eyes lit up and he smiled brightly, very unlike the usual reaction Shinsou got whenever he brainwashed someone. He was taken aback a bit.

“Woah, you have a Quirk too? And such a cool one! I'm kinda jealous actually, I hardly even know what my Quirk is,” he spoke quickly like he'd been waiting his whole life to say this.

“Woah woah woah, slow down,” he put his hands on the green-haired boy’s shoulders, “first of all, yes I have a Quirk. Second of all, you have one and don't know what it is? How does that even happen?”

“Well, I mean, I've never really been allowed to use it since I'm not good at controlling it,” he looked down and gave a nervous smile.

“This old castle is all trashed anyway, why don't you try it out here?” Kirishima smiled, waving his arm around.

“Yeah, this castle is old and broken-down, but that's exactly why he shouldn’t use it in here. What would we do if it's destructive and it causes the ceiling to collapse?”

“I could protect us!” He hardened his body, as if to demonstrate. Deku gasped.

“Both of you have Quirks? What are the chances?!” He practically vibrated with excitement. It was apparently contagious, as Shinsou practically felt Kirishima smile brighter, if that was even possible.

“I'd rather not take my chances at getting buried under rubble, thanks. Anyway back to what brought you here. You want a boat ticket to Tokyo?” He faced Deku and asked. Deku jumped a bit and nodded.

“Yes please!”

“No can do.”

“What? Why?” He visibly deflated.

“You see, Kirishima and I are on a very tight schedule. We’re going to Tokyo as well, but we only have three tickets. One for me, one for Kiri, and one for Midoriya Izuku,” Shinsou replied, smirking a bit at the last part.

“Midoriya Izuku? Who's that?” Deku looked puzzled.

“You're kidding, right?”

“No, I don't know who that is.”

“Oh! Midoriya Izuku is the grandson of Toshinori Yagi, the super manly ex king! He went missing a long time ago, right after the revolution, and he's been looking for em ever since. We’re looking for him too, so we can return him!” Kirishima answered, forgetting to mention the reward money.

“Oh, well, that's nice of you!” He smiled sadly.

“Yeah yeah, we’re practically saints,” Shinsou grabbed Deku’s wrist and led him out of the room and towards the stairs, with Kirishima and the cat following close behind. “Now come on, I told you that we’re busy. It’s time for you to go,” he let go of his wrist at the top of the stairs, pointing towards the large gap in the boards where Deku entered. Kirishima came and stood next to Shinsou as the cat decided that now was the perfect time to purr and rub itself against Deku’s legs.

“Aw, well, I wish you luck with your search!” He said, bending down to gently move the cat away from his legs. As he bent down, Kirishima looked over at the large portrait behind them. Midoriya Izuku’s likeness was right behind where Deku was. He stood back up fully, starting to leave.

“Wait!” Kirishima shouted and shot his arm out in a ‘stop’ motion.

“Huh?” He raised an eyebrow. He was now standing right beside where the young prince was painted.

“Shinsou, look!” He pointed to the two pairs of emerald eyes staring back at them. Shinsou squinted for a second, and then his eyes widened in shock. Painted green hair mixed with lively green locks, the freckles matching up almost exactly. The only difference was the man standing before him was older and covered in a smattering of scars. Shinsou opened and closed his mouth a few times, before leaning over to Kirishima and shielding their faces with his hand.

“Are you thinking what I'm thinking?”

“They're like, the exact same! Do you think he could actually be Izuku?” Kirishima excitedly whispered.

“Well, I don't know about that, but he's a damn good doppelgänger. Our plan would be perfect with him!” He broke the small meeting and looked back over to the green-haired boy, who looked more confused than ever. The cat was back around his legs, purring up a storm. Shinsou cleared his throat. “I don't believe I ever caught your name,” he smiled at the boy. This just confused him even more and made the tips of his eyes go a bit red.

“...Deku.”

“Is that a last name, or?” He waved his hand around lazily.

“It's… just my name, I guess. I don't really have a proper last name or first name,” he looked down and started messing with his hands. “I was just kinda found wandering around alone when I was 8. I don't remember anything before that. Oh! Geez, sorry, didn't mean to give you my life’s story,” he laughed nervously. Shinsou’s face seemed to soften a bit before going back to the almost fake-looking smile.

“Ah, that's alright. So you don't remember a thing before you were 8?” He asked.

“Nope, not a thing.”

“That’s… interesting. Did you know that Midoriya Izuku went missing on his 8th birthday?”

“Uh, no. I hadn't heard of him until today, remember?” He had a puzzled look on his face again.

“How old are you now, Deku?” Kirishima chimed in.

“I'm 18. Or, at least, I think I’m 18. Not too sure when my actual birthday is,” Deku replied. Shinsou hummed.

“Did you know that it's been about 10 years since the prince went missing? That would make him 18 now.” Shinsou added, him and Kirishima starting to circle around the boy.

“No, I- are you even listening to me? I just said I don't know anything about this guy,” He huffed, getting a bit annoyed.

“I know, I know, but don't you think it's pretty strange?” He stepped closer to Deku.

“What are you implying?”

“I'm implying that you may be exactly who we’re looking for.”

“...you know what? I think I just realized something.”

“Hm? And what would that be?” Shinsou’s smile grew into something Cheshire-like.

“You're crazy,” Deku said plainly. The smile dropped instantly. He marched into the adjacent room and came back a minute later with a small mirror in hand, shoving it in Deku’s face.

“Look at you, and then look at him,” he said, pointing at the canvas face of Midoriya Izuku, “and tell me you aren't the same person. Everything lines up!”

“I mean… yeah, I guess we look similar. But me? Royalty? What a joke,” he started towards the stairs.

“Technically you'd be ex-royalty!” Kirishima said, trying to help.

“Oh, yeah, that definitely makes it more likely. Thank you for that insight, sentient rock,” Deku scoffed, continuing down the steps. “Sorry, but I'd rather not hang around here getting my hopes up,” as he arrived at the ground floor, the cat practically flew down the steps and locked itself around his legs. He stopped in his tracks, not wanting to inadvertently harm it.

“Are you sure you'd like to leave? It seems Bean has taken a liking to you,” Shinsou jogged down the steps, followed by Kirishima.

“Bean?” He turned his head to look at the two men, “is this your cat?”

“Yes, she is. Why?”

“She's the one who led me here. I was actually on my way to start work at a farm, but then I came to a fork in the road and I asked for a sign. She came pouncing out of the bushes at me, and then led me to the dock and back here. That explains why she looks cared for, actually. Bean… that's a really cute name!” He momentarily forget his annoyance to gawk at the cuteness of the cat and her name, “a cute name for a cute cat,” he looked back up at the purple-haired man, “ya know, you two actually look a bit alike, in a weird way.”

“Does that mean you think I'm cute?” Shinsou smirked.

“What? N-no!” He stammered, his face flushing, “anyway, I'll be leaving now, no matter how cute your cat is,” he tried to head towards the entrance, but Shinsou grabbed his wrist.

“Come on, just think about it, Deku. You asked for a sign, and you were led here. Maybe it's fate. And anyways, even if we’re wrong, you'll still get a free trip to Tokyo! At the very least, you can start a new life there instead of at some old farm.”

“At least think about it! We’d love to have you come with us, and maybe you can find your family!” Kirishima spoke hopefully.

‘My family? I mean, I've certainly thought about it; I doubt any orphan doesn’t wonder at least a little about their family, but I gave that up a long time ago. That man in the picture though, Toshinori Yagi, he does seem vaguely familiar. But then again, so does Shinsou. Maybe I'm the crazy one here,’ he thought.

“Ah, frick, I guess you're right. I've really got nothing to lose, anyway,” Deku said. Shinsou snorted at that. “What?”

“‘Frick’? You know you can say ‘fuck’ right? You're 18 and neither me nor Kiri cares,” he smirked as Deku’s face darkened again.

“The head of the orphanage was not a good person, and she swore constantly, so I guess it’s become a sort-of personal goal to refrain from it.”

“Hm, makes sense,” Shinsou shrugged.

“I think that's very manly, Deku!” Kirishima beamed, “you do what you need to to feel comfortable!” Deku looked at Kirishima and smiled. Shinsou silently decided that he liked that look on him.

“So, you are coming with us?” He asked, making sure everything was in the clear.

“I guess so!” Deku said, picking up Bean, “I really didn't want to leave this little guy anyway,” he lightly scratched her behind the ear.

“Alright, well, I supposed that since we’re going to be spending quite a bit of time together, we should properly introduce ourselves,” he stood next to Kirishima and nodded to him.

“Oh, yeah, good idea! I'm Kirishima Eijiro! This guy usually calls me Kiri, but you can call me whatever you want, really! I'm 19 and I'm hoping to work in construction someday,” he flashed a toothy smile.

“Nice to meet you, Kirishima-kun,” Deku smiled and jokingly curtsied with Bean still in one arm. Shinsou bowed, took Deku’s hand in his own, and pressed a chaste kiss to it, which caused Deku’s ears and face to practically go up in flames.

“Shinsou Hitoshi, at your service. 20 years old and before you ask, my Quirk messes with my mind and has made me an insomniac, hence the eyebags,” he pointed to his eyes and Deku suppressed a giggle, “I'm hoping to become an actor.” Deku suppressed the urge to tell him that the occupation seemed perfect for him.

“Well, nice to meet you too, Shinsou-san,” he gave him a bright smile, like the one from when they were talking about Quirks. Shinsou’s heart pounded, and suddenly he felt embarrassed about kissing the boy’s hand.

-

“Well, lead the way. You are the one who broke in here, after all,” said Shinsou. Deku huffed a small laugh and complied, going through the gap in the boarded entrance. When he was out of earshot, Kirishima hummed and whispered to him.

“I haven't seen you act that dramatic in a long while, something going on with you and him?” He nudged his shoulder.

“Pff, no,” Shinsou hoped his slight blush didn't betray him, “I'm just trying to convince the kid that this whole thing is real. The more he believes it, the easier this is for us. We’re going to be filthy rich in no time at all.”