Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

All men are not made equal.

That was a commonly known phrase in his home. His father, a powerful hero, with a fire breathing quirk. His mother, a loving woman, with a weak telekenesis quirk. And then there was him, a weak, scrawny boy, with no quirk at all. Or so he thought.

Midoriya couldn't even remember his parents that well. He remembered that they had gone with him for his quirk examination, only to realise that he had two toe joints, and no quirk at all.

He remembered some villains breaking into his house in the middle of the night. He remembered his mother's screams as they burnt her alive. He remembered that gloved hand, clutching at his neck, rendering his father's power useless as he was cut down.

He remembered fire.

He loved fire.

He hated fire.

He was sent to a foster home at the age of seven.

Midoriya didn't have any friends. And he didn't want to make any. All he had was, a kitten he had adopted when he was ten and...

He didn't want to remember.

The yowls, the sound of glass breaking, that horrible feeling in his heart as he watched, his limbs were frozen in place, rain pelting against the window and thunder roared.

He felt horrible.

And people called animals savage?

Animals kill to survive.

Humans kill for fun and entertainment.

And Midoriya hated it. He hated his new "family". He hated his classmates. He hated how everyone was judged for their quirks, some stupid genetic thing that ancient people didn't have.

People could make things explode. People can become human generators. People could bring buildings down. People can hurt and cause so much more harm, so much more easily!

Yay.

After all, there's no such thing as friendship. People aren't selfless saints. With minds that only aim to make life better for themselves, humans will step over others, and make use of whatever resources they have at their disposal.

Humans won't do things if it doesn't benefit them. Humans were smarter than most animals, but their way of life was certainly crueler than any wild animal that roamed free.

Or so he thought.

Heroes? They were jokes.

Todoroki Enji, otherwise known as Endeavor? He probably didn't give a shit as to who he killed as long as he caught the villain, and that defeated the entire purpose of being a hero in the first place.

There were a few heroes he did actual like though, and that knowledge pushed him forward.

Some like Nezu. The poor animal with a quirk had been experimented on, but still ended up being a hero, and using his massive intelligence to help others. But Midoriya knew that some people were still not accepting of him being a hero despite his intelligence, saying that he was an animal and wasn't on the same tiers as a human.

What utter bullcrap. Nezu was easily smarter than at least ninety five percent of the human population.

And Aizawa. Midoriya loved underground heroes, because they chose to stay out of the limelight so they could better help people. They actively made the choice to stay away from the attention and media. They won't be praised by everyone as they walked along the streets, the only credit they got was from the police, their agencies, and their paycheck.

But Midoriya didn't want to be an underground hero. Not because he didn't want to save people, but just because they weren't influential enough. No one knew them, who cares about what they may have to say about controversial matters?

He wanted to rip this world apart from the inside out, this world that only cared about quirks, about what family you came from, your genetics, your heritage, your blood line.

Quirks have done nothing for the society but be a hindrance. Technological advancements have all but stilled, except for building technology to enhance quirks. Quirks are everything now.

No one cares about who you are. Just your genetics and status.

And Midoriya Izuku wanted to change the world for the better.

He wanted to show that quirks weren't what made a person, that their background didn't make them who they were. He wanted to be an influential hero. A hero like All Might, who gave everyone a sense of peace just because he smiled.

He wanted to prove that a failure of a person with a useless quirk like him could be a hero.

Chapter Text

Midoriya hopped along the rooftops, before he slid down a pip and landed firmly on the ground. A faint meow rang out from inside his hoodie, and Midoriya sighed.

"Rei, I told you already. A few more minutes and then we'll be there."

Reiko, or Rei, as Midoriya called her, was a five year old kitten. She had all the traits of a Maine Coon, but with her small size, there was no way she was a pure breed. His foster mother didn't allow pets in her house, as after what she did to Reiko's mother? There was no way Midoriya was going to let Reiko stay in his room without him.

Reiko was smart. She always knew when Midoriya's foster mother was about to barge into his room. That was one of the rules imposed on him. Midoriya was not allowed to lock his door. Reiko always knew when to hide under Midoriya's bed, to prevent his foster mother finding her.

Midoriya often brought her out whenever he went out doing his vigilante stuff. She often helped him with reconnaissance, alerting him when people were nearby, or just sniffing out trails whenever possible.

He didn't exactly want to bring her into his dangerous life, tangled with fighting villains and avoiding cameras, but it was a much better fate than if his foster mother found her. All his hoodies had a compartment sewn into it, which Reiko stayed in as he rushed and jumped around, and his school bag also had another secret compartment where she would stay in as he went to school.

"Hey! Look what I found here! The animal!"

Midoriya scowled, and made his way towards the sound. He hated it when people were biased against animals simply for being animals. It was the genetics thing all over again.

He peered down the rooftop, and found five men surrounding what looked to be a bear? A large dog? He couldn't tell in the absence of light, but he just watched. Maybe they were just tracking down a lost pet, or a wild animal? Midoriya thought it was unlikely, hearing the tone they spoke with, but it was possible that they were just tired and snappy.

One of the men brought up a knife, "An animal with a quirk, huh? What utter bullshit!"

"You're not a human, you don't deserve to be treated like one."

With that, they struck, and the bear swerved to the side, letting one man crash into the wall, and dodged a slash of a knife. Midoriya hopped down from the rooftop, smashing into a villain, knocking him out, before he proceeded to knock out the remaining four men.

He realised that the bear, wasn't just a bear.

It was Nezu, the principal of U.A. High School, an extremely rare case of an animal who manifested a Quirk.

He promptly took out his phone, and texted Tsukauchi. The detective knew him, as a vigilante, and he was probably too exasperated with him to figure out how to catch him. His phone was also untraceable, so they couldn't trace him anyways.

He had come close a few times, but Reiko was a huge help in letting him escape.

He put his phone back, and turned to Nezu.

"Are you okay?"

"I am fine, thank you very much." Nezu nodded, "And you are? I don't think I know a hero with your appearance and size."

"Void." Midoriya replied. That was the name he usually went by, and all the heroes he had encountered knew him by that name. He didn't want to hold a conversation with Nezu, as much as he liked and admired the animal hero, and leapt up a ladder, climbing up onto the roof.

He made his way to the park to take a breather. He often stopped by the park in the dead of night. Reiko liked the fresh air, and Midoriya just enjoyed the peace and quiet.

He hopped off the roof, landing in a crouch, before he looked around, feeling someone following him but not noticing anything amiss. He jogged to the park, and sighed, before finding the bench he usually sat on and plopped down.

His mother used to bring him to this park when he was younger, and they used to have picnics there and -

Midoriya shook his head. No more bad memories. He didn't want to break that mask that he had spent so hard making, the metaphorical mask that made him apathetic to everything around him. Nothing matters anymore, humans were scum, and those who weren't were not influential enough to do anything.

Reiko popped out of his hoodie, looked around, before mewling and hiding back into his hoodie.

Someone was there, and Midoriya tried to look around without appearing to be looking out for someone, and found that someone was walking towards him.

Nezu, to be exact. The hero wasn't exactly the most discreet, and he was easily recognizable a mile away when he was wearing clothes and walked on his hind legs. Midoriya had no idea how he didn't recognise him before he jumped into the fray.

"Hello, Void. I wasn't expecting to see you here." Nezu greeted.

"I am pretty sure you knew I would be here." Midoriya snorted.

"Well, if you don't mind, may I sit here?"

Midoriya raised his eyebrow at Nezu's question, "Why are you asking? Of course you can sit here. I don't own the bench, I literally can't stop you from sitting down."

Nezu gave him a small smile, as he climbed up onto the bench to sit next to Midoriya. "Most people don't approve, even if they aren't vocal about it. You're one of the very few who seem completely fine with it."

It was silent for some time, until Midoriya spoke up, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure. Ask away."

"You were experimented on before, weren't you? How can you tolerate humans? Work with them, ignore the discrimination, make your way to the top despite everyone being against you?"

Nezu looked at the boy in surprise. Not many people nowadays didn't really know about that, he's been the principal of UA for a pretty long time, even when Aizawa and Yamada were students.

"Aren't you a human yourself?"

Nezu watched as the vigilante's form slumped, and he leaned against the back of the bench. The principal of UA was good at reading people, but he found that he could barely read Void at all. He could tell he wasn't malicious ... but that was about it.

"Unfortunately. Humans are scum. They lie, they cheat, they'll do anything in order to make them feel better about their pathetic selves and they're completely okay with using others as stepping stones for them. They take advantage of others for their own gain. They're selfish, and they cause everything around them to suffer. They destroy so much and yet they complain that they don't have enough. It's a pity that they're the dominating species when they're even more savage and monstrous than even the worst carnivores. At least animals just do it for survival. Humans make animals, and even other humans suffer just because they're sick bastards and get a kick out of it."

Nezu noted how Midoriya used the word they to describe humans, almost as if he's not a part of them. Then again, if he does have that kind of mindset, it's no wonder why he didn't want to be associated with them.

Void had always been described as a mysterious person, appearing to enter a fight, win, and disappearing without a trace. Several heroes have encountered the vigilante, such as Nishiya, Yamada, and Kamihara, and one thing in common that they mentioned was that the vigilante seemed to have an analysis quirk of some sort, easily being able to figure out what their quirk is and how exactly they work.

Void would usually give them tips on how to better use their quirks, and then mentioning something about learning not to be reliant on their quirks before he disappeared. None of the other heroes have ever seen him for more than five minutes, and never more than once. And Void was the one that tipped Yamada off about a case from five or six years back, which ended up in Aizawa busting in to rescue, and end up adopting a kid with a brainwashing quirk who was being abused and bullied.

Aizawa did mention once in a meeting that Void didn't seem to have a quirk, since he always claims that he fights quirkless and there is no trace of quirk usage whenever the police came to pick the criminals up other that the obvious ones that the villains used, but it seemed unlikely given how quickly the vigilante appeared and disappeared, and the insight he gave on their quirks.

Most of the heroes found Void slightly annoying. He wasn't vicious, his methods used to take criminals down had to be questioned slightly, but to Nezu, Midoriya just looked like a kid who was tired of the world, broken from everything thrown at him. And his voice, gods, Nezu swore that he was barely thirteen, fourteen at the maximum. Why was the vigilante so young?

Hissing, Midoriya replied, "I thought about it… All they care about is quirks. You have a powerful quirk and you're a hero? You can do whatever you want and literally no one would bat an eyelash. That's all they care about. And if you don't have a quirk… are you even considered human when eighty percent of the population have a quirk and most that don't are from the older generations?"

Nezu stared at him blankly.

"That's… some interesting insight there. You don't seem to think that quirks are just that important?"

"They're not. Just look at Eraser Head, or Aizawa Shouta. You probably know him, he works in your school as a homeroom teacher. His quirk lets him erase quirks, and he can't erase mutant quirks. Yet he is still a decent underground pro hero. And then look at freaking Endeavor. He has a strong quirk, one that people all over Japan praises as a heroic, powerful quirk, but that guy is the literary definition of an abusive asshole."

Nezu really had no idea how to react, or more like he wasn't sure how to react. This was something that clearly upset Midoriya, and while he wanted to pry, he didn't want to say something wrong by accident that would set him off.

Maybe he was abused too. That's why he says this about Endeavor.

"Mind explaining?"

Midoriya growled, "Endeavor is an asshole to people, he causes more property damage than the rest of the top ten heroes combined, he has the highest villain kill count, and his wife is in a psychiatric ward. The news states that she poured hot water on Todoroki Shouto's face, but based off other people's comments, she's a loving and caring person, and would not do something like that to her youngest son. While Rei was being escorted out of their house to the psychiatric ward, the pictures in the article also show that the kids, namely Shouto, were afraid of Endeavor, and you can see in one of the pictures that Todoroki Fuyumi and Todoroki Natsuo were running after their mother while Endeavor held them back. Endeavor has four kids, Todoroki Touya, who ran away quite some time ago, Fuyumi, Natsuo, and Shouto. Based on their hair colour, Touya has a fire quirk, Fuyumi and Natsuo have ice quirks, and only Todoroki Shouto has a balance between both quirks. Based on most of the pictures on their social media pages, Endeavor ignores Fuyumi and Natsuo, and has been training Touya and Shouto, presumably because of their fire quirks. Touya ran away, even before Rei poured boiling water on Shouto. If Endeavor was a good father, there's no way that he would ignore two of his kids, make Touya run away, and make Shouto fear him so much."

Nezu hummed. He had suspected that something was off, but at the time, Enji had been so insistent that Rei was at fault, and he couldn't investigate at all. Most of the police and detectives didn't want to work with him, and he didn't want to work with other heroes he was familiar with in case this entire matter was publicised and they got into trouble with the number two hero.

Now? He really wanted to go investigate. He needed to. The fact that a teenager was able to deduce all this from a few social media posts and newspaper clippings shows that this is a huge problem. Even if Enji wasn't abusive, he could give people the wrong idea about everything.

"Hm. Thank you for the insight. I did suspect that something was wrong… I'm surprised that no one else saw the signs."

Midoriya sighed, and leaned back on the bench.

"They won't let you investigate?"

MIdoriya took Nezu's silence as a yes.

They sat there in silence, until Nezu sighed, and looked at his watch, "Well, it's rather late, or early, in this case."

"You never did answer my earlier question."

Nezu glanced at Midoriya, who was looking at him out of the corner of his eye, before replying, "There's not much you can do when you're different. I'm smart, yes, but it's not enough to change the world. I can't change how people perceive me, I just have to deal with it. If I had a choice, I definitely wouldn't choose to work with most humans that I have to interact with. That's why I plan to change the rules to let quirkless students enter UA's hero course. I want to teach the future generation to not be biased just purely based off someone's quirk."

Midoriya stayed quiet, before responding, "Really?"

Nezu turned to the boy and waited for him to clarify.

Midoriya spoke with disbelief lacing his voice, "You're willing to let someone quirkless enter the hero course? Even if they have no powers? Even if they're unable to stand up for themselves? Even if everyone considers them useless and an utter waste of space? Even if they're better off dead?"

Nezu frowned, "I didn't think you would be one to say that after what you just said. The quirkless aren't useless. If they try, I'm sure they can accomplish what they set out to do."

".. Thank you…. That's the first time anyone has ever said that to me…"

Nezu blinked, "What?"

Midoriya gave a dry, humourless laugh, "I have two pinky toe joints."

He was taken aback. He wasn't expecting Midoriya to actually say something like that. The quirkless had always been discriminated against, and the suicide rate for the quirkless population was increasing. No wonder he was so angry and upset.

Nezu was glad this boy hadn't decided to try take his life yet.

He didn't know how wrong he was.

Midoriya stood up.

"You're recording this, aren't you?"

Nezu chuckled, "Worried I'm going to do something with it?"

"No. I didn't break any rules, I never used a quirk against anyone, you can't turn me in or use this against me."

"True."

Midoriya stood up, and started to make his way out of the park.

"Thanks for... letting me talk. It's nice to finally be able to interact with someone who isn't human."

"Void."

Midoriya stopped walking, and turned around when he heard Nezu call his name.

"Would you like to meet again? Next week, same day, same time?"

Nezu swore he caught a small smile on the vigilante's face, and maybe some faint mewing, but that could just be a stray cat.

"If it's no bother to you."

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

"Alright, are all the applications in?" Nezu asked, as he sieved through the piles of papers on his desk. While he was supposed to dealing with the UA entrance examination stuff, he was working with Tsukauchi on Enji's case, mainly because Tsukauchi would be overseas for the next few days and Nezu was trying to shove as much stuff at him as possible before then.

The UA teachers were trying to put all the students into piles according to their quirks, before they could designate them to individual arenas so as to not have too many powerhouses in one arena by accident.

"One more batch. Ectoplasm's getting them." Aizawa grumbled, as he placed an application of a boy with an electric quirk in the pile for elemental emitter quirks.

"Oh, yes." Nezu looked up, "We have chosen six recommendation students this year for the hero course. Usually we only have four, but we've just hit the maximum of six so we're okay."

"Who got in?" Maijima asked, as he stared at an application of a girl with long pink hair and a quirk that let her see up to five kilometers.

"Uh, Yaoyorozu Momo, Todoroki Shoto, Yoarashi Inasa, Tokage Setsuna, Honenuki Juzo, and your purple brat!" Nezu grinned.

"Oh? He got in?" Snipe raised an eyebrow, "I'm surprised. We had a lot of people which strong physical quirks that would easily overshadow Hitoshi's mental one, no offence Aizawa, Mic."

"There is a reason why he wants to be an underground hero." Aizawa snapped.

"No need to get so pissy." Yamada laughed, "He's growing up so fast!"

"Who's in whose class?" Kan asked.

"Yaoyorozu, Todoroki and Hitoshi are in 1-A, Tokage, Honenuki and Yoarashi will be in your class, Vlad King." Nezu nodded, "Once we sort these out, I'll get to sending the invitations letters out. Aizawa, I'll leave it on your desk."

Aizawa grunted as he picked up the next form.

"Nezu?"

"Yes?"

"Where do I put a quirkless student?"

Silence enveloped the staffroom, as all the teachers look up.

"Quirkless?" Maijima asked.

"Yes. Midoriya Izuku, male, quirkless."

"Hmm. Put it aside first. We'll fit him in later." Nezu nodded.

"Midoriya Izuku?" Tsukauchi asked, "He's a… weird kid."

"How so?" Nezu frowned.

"I met him yesterday. He was all covered in blood, but he said not to worry about it. Said he saw a suicide around my office, went to that park, and was going home. We searched the backstreets, and we did find a large puddle of blood but no body, with some bloody shoe print tracks, but they eventually dried out, or was washed away by that drizzle this morning." Tsukauchi shrugged, "We did run a blood test, but it didn't match everyone in the database. Not to mention it matches the DNA of the blood that we have found almost all over Musutafu over the course of the past few years in what looked like to be suicides."

"So there's a guy who wants to die, but can't die?" Snipe asked, "Or maybe someone's just playing some kind of sick prank."

"Wait." Aizawa blinked, "Void is quirkless. Is it possible that Midoriya is Void?"

Nezu shook his head, "I doubt it. Void isn't quirkless."

Aizawa paused, trying to sort his thoughts out, before looking up, "I reported that I met Void around a month ago, right?"

Everyone in the staffroom nodded.

"I did use my quirk on him when he snuck up on me. I didn't sense a quirk."

"That's odd." Nezu mused, "I met him yesterday. He seemed shaken up, and asked me if there was a way to remove quirks, before revealing that he had one."

"Ok ... wait what?!" Kan paused, "You met him?"

"Yes, for quite some time already. I first met him after I was ambushed a few months ago. He's a pleasant child. We've been talking for quite some time already."

"Okay, that explains why you seem to like him so much, but why didn't you tell us?!" Kan shot back.

Nezu just had that shit-eating grin on his face, "You didn't ask."

Tsukauchi sighed, "I'm not sure if you know, but the fact that Midoriya is still alive and applying here is a miracle. Almost every single quirkless child in Japan has commited suicide, and regardless of whether they survived or not, it is pretty troubling. Quirk discrimination has gotten really bad. I did check up on Midoriya's records. He fell off a school building once."

"Uh… what?" Snipe asked, completely dumbfounded.

"It was in the newspapers five years ago." Tsukauchi frowned, "According to the article, he fell off the school roof. The school denied that there was any bullying taking place, and that it was an accident. Midoriya himself admitted that it was an accident, and went to the roof to get some fresh air. He claimed that he leaned forward too much and lost his balance."

"So, he isn't suicidal, right?" Yamada let out a sigh of relief, "That's good to hear."

"We'll just keep an eye on him." Nezu declared, "I think it is possible for him to get into UA, but he's definitely going to struggle against the robots, but… uh… Aizawa, hand me the application form."

Aizawa did as he was asked, and Nezu flipped it over, "Let's see, uh… he has a ton of college credits already. Online courses, for quite a lot of things. He doesn't even need to go to high school or university, he's already completed them. He also has perfect scores in the UA preliminary examination."

"Smart ass." Yamada grumbled.

"Yeah, we should keep an eye on him." Ishiyama nodded, "Even if he doesn't get into the hero course, he'll probably do well in the general education course."

"Uh, Nezu, can you access the security feeds?" Ectoplasm asked, as he carried a box under his arm as well as what looked like to be one of Nezu's flasks.

"Oh?"

"Uh, Void wrote a note. He said he's returning it, and he's thanking you for the tea? He also added that it was the first time anyone has made a drink for him out of the goodness of their heart."

"I do have to say, poor kid." Yamada sighed, as Ectoplasm tossed the flask over to Nezu, "He was the one that helped us save Hitoshi."

"Void is… a weird kid. Nothing about him makes sense." Aizawa mused, "Nezu, what do you know about Void?"

"He hates humans." Nezu spoke up, "In simple terms. He also has a cat."

"Why would he help humans if… he hates humans?" Aizawa asked.

Nezu shrugged, "He says there are exceptions. Honestly, even I can't figure the kid out. Who knows?"

Enji growled, as he chased the kid in front of him.

It was that damned vigilante, the one that almost all the heroes are talking about. They called him Void, and that he usually popped out of nowhere before disappearing just as suddenly.

Fucking villain. Vigilantes are just villains, opposing the law.

Enji raced forward. He would admit, the kid was fast, and he was nimble. The vigilante was racing through alleyways, climbing up ladders, jumping off roofs, trying to escape from him, but Enji was faster and a lot more resourceful than he looked.

Aizawa turned when he heard yelling, and to his shock, Void raced past him, Enji not to far behind him. Enji threw a fireball, and it missed Void by a hair, before Void made a turn and bolted down another road.

"Zashi, come on. He's gonna kill him."

Aizawa grabbed Yamada's arm, yanking him towards the chase, and with his capture weapon, he hauled the both of them to the rooftop.

"Why is he so slow?" Aizawa hissed. "He's faster than this."

"Maybe he's injured?" Yamada replied, as they continued to follow along. They had to save a few civilians who had accidentally gotten in Enji's way, and Aizawa, who already disliked Enji before, hated him. He didn't know if he could hate him even more.

Then, the chase stopped. Not because of Void, but because of Enji.

Enji had fired off a fireball, and it had almost hit a person if Void hadn't intercepted the fireball with his own body.

Yamada had to stifle a yell as Void slammed into the ground, rolling across the concrete harshly. He finally came to a stop, and Void attempted to push himself up.

Key word: attempted.

He was promptly slammed into the ground, as Enji punched him in the back with a flaming fist, forcing his fist closer and closer to the ground with Void's body as the only barricade.

Midoriya stifled a cry of pain as he felt his back burning, his flesh on fire, his spine cracking and melting, as the fist hit his stomach and continued through, burning a hole straight through his body.

Thank god there's fire and it's kinda cauterized. It would be a mess to clean up if there's blood.

Midoriya's head was spinning, and he could feel Enji remove his fist from his back.

"Stupid vigilantes. Just a bunch of fucking villains."

Midoriya heard Enji turn his back, and in a split second, ignoring the gaping hole in his torso that was starting to heal, he pushed himself to his feet and scampered into a nearby alleyway.

"You! How!?" Enji growled, whirling around and attempting to give chase, but in that split second he put down his guard, Void was already gone, disappeared into the inky black abyss of darkness.

Aizawa and Yamada gave chase, following the vigilante from the rooftops, until Void finally stopped, collapsing against a wall and pulling his hoodie up to examine the damage.

The two pro heroes gaped at the damage. They just thought that Enji had injured his back, not having burnt a hole through his body.

"Tch. Even that didn't kill me?"

Aizawa froze, and blinked.

What?

The two pro heros jumped down, careful not to make any sound, but Void still perked up, and pushed himself up despite the massive injury he had.

Aizawa tried to inch closer, to help the injured boy, but Void just snarled as the two heroes came closer, and ran off.

"Did we… Did I…. Did he…" Yamada babbled, trying to comprehend what he had just seen, what he had just heard.

"Shit." Aizawa hissed.

The next day, after Aizawa and Yamada dropped Shinsou off at school, and flung the door of the staff room open.

"So, the media has no idea who he is?" Ectoplasm asks.

"To be fair, he only tells heroes his name, and he always runs off after he rescues civilians." Ishiyama replied, "This is the first time he has been seen out in the open."

Aizawa stomped to Nezu's desk, and growled, "Nezu, what's Void's quirk?"

Nezu frowned, and asked, "He said something about it being the difference between life and death. Aizawa, what's going on?"

"Next time you see the kid, wrangle him back to UA."

"Why?" Snipe asked, as he looked up from his phone.

"He tried to get Endeavor to kill him!" Aizawa hissed. "I don't know if it's a one time, heat of the moment kind of thing, but that kid needs serious help."

Nezu frowned. It was obvious he was fond of the boy, there was no doubt about that, and the only reason that Nezu or the other heroes didn't catch him was mainly because the boy had claimed to not have a quirk, and therefore, he wasn't breaking any laws, technically.

There was also the fact that besides from Yamada and Aizawa, no hero has ever seen Void twice, and that was kind of embarrassing since Void takes down a lot of villains. Tsukauchi knows, he's the one having to handle all the vigilante paperwork as well.

"Well, I won't be meeting him until next week, when the exams are over." Nezu mumbled, "If you happen to see him, try to bring him in. Aizawa, how bad is his injuries?"

Yamada was being oddly quiet, and Aizawa hissed, "Endeavor's attack should have killed him. He burnt a hole through his torso, all the way through. Kid managed to get away, luckily, and his injury seemed to be healing on its own. We heard him lament that Endeavor was unable to kill him."

"Regeneration, huh?" Nezu mused, "At the very least, he should be fine. But I agree, we should try to find him before he does anything too drastic and could get himself killed for real."

Kirishima sighed, and looked up at the UA building.

"We're finally here, huh?"

"We still need to do the exam, dummy." Ashido laughed, "Come on, we need to register."

"Come on, I'm sentimental!" Kirishima grinned, "It's now or never! This is going to change our lives!"

They watched as a girl with brown hair ran into the school, before they heard a yell, "Ha ha ha! Deku, you seriously applying for UA?!"

They turned around, and saw three boys standing outside of UA, laughing at a green haired boy. The green haired boy stopped walking, his head lowered, almost like he was trying to avoid attention.

"You quirkless freak! There's no way you can even get into UA's general education course, useless Deku!"

"Hey, that's not very nice -" Ashido turned around to try and defend the green haired boy, before a menacing aura burst out of nowhere, engulfing everyone in the vicinity.

The green haired boy lifted his head, and Kirishima caught a glimpse of his eyes.

They were terrifying.

Emerald, green glowing slits that pierced his soul, even if he wasn't being looked at directly.

The boy turned around, and growled.

"Fuck it, he's nuts!" A boy with wings yelled.

"Get away from him!" Another with an overly large nose screamed, as the three students scampered away.

Kirishima and Ashido gasped, inhaling a large gulp of air as they tried to calm their beating hearts.

Gods, that kid was terrifying.

They flinched as the green haired boy suddenly squatted down, as a small white cat ran up to him. Much to their surprise, the boy reached out, and the cat nuzzled his hand as he pet it. The cat licked his hand, before it ran out of UA.

"Man… that was pretty cool, to be honest." Kirishima whispered, as the boy turned around and walked towards the UA building.

Aizawa shuddered.

Nezu had sent him to take a look at the quirkless student, Midoriya Izuku.

He hadn't expected some of the green haired boy's classmates to follow him, and mock him from outside UA's walls.

He hadn't expected the boy to scare them off with nothing but a terrifying, pressuring aura and a growl.

Aizawa sighed, until he felt a pair of eyes on him. He looked around, trying to figure out if maybe a bird landed on the tree he was in, before he found the source of the feeling.

Midoriya Izuku.

He had stopped in the middle of the pathway, looking at him out of the corner of his eye, and Aizawa gulped as he felt those emerald slits were trained on him, eyeing him, like it was trying to find his weakness and tear him to pieces.

How does he know I'm here?

Much to his relief, Midoriya continued on his way, and Aizawa slipped out of the tree once all the students had entered UA to register for their exams, trying to calm his beating heart.

It wasn't just Void, no doubt that Midoriya was also going to be a problem child.

Aizawa was spooked by the boy before the exams even started.

Snipe was scared after the boy handed in his written paper in a third of the given time and left without saying a single word.

Thirteen was trembling as they graded Midoriya's paper as he read through page after page of neat handwriting, and as Midoriya scored full marks after full marks despite not even taking the full amount of time to write at least three times as much as the second person to write the most.

Nezu laughed as his colleagues suffered at the hands of the quirkless enigma.

And now, it was time for the practical exam.

Yamada was giving the introduction to the practical exam, until that Iida kid (Yamada swore that was Tensei's little brother, though he acted nothing like him) stood up, and pointed at Midoriya, "You, with the green hair! Stop tapping your nails against the arm rest, it's annoying everyone!"

Midoriya barely flinched at the accusation, and did comply to Iida's first request to stop tapping the armrest as the blue haired boy continued to rant, "Also, you left the written examination venue early! Do you think that the UA exams are a joke?! Why are you even here if I you aren't going to take this seriously and -"

Iida was promptly cut off as a sudden pressure filled the room. The tension was so thick, Yamada swore that even Tatsuma's powerful dragon claws wouldn't be able to slice through it easily.

And just as quickly as it appeared, the pressure dissipated, and Iida fell back into his seat in shock.

And Midoriya Izuku hadn't even moved a muscle.

"Ahem." Yamada coughed, trying to garner the attention from all the stunned students who had no idea where the pressure came from, "Uh, now, about the zero pointer…."

Bakugou was doing pretty well, Nezu noted. His quirk is well suited to destroy the robots. Not to mention his maneuverability with his quirk is pretty impressive for such an explosive quirk. Shoji's formation of extra limbs allows him to scan the area for bots, and gives him the firepower to take them out. Kirishima and Tetsutetsu's hardening quirks are great defence and offence against the robots.

Some of the other teachers were keeping an eye on Midoriya though. Midoriya was skinny, and honestly, he was short. He didn't look like he was able to put up a fight against anyone, and Snipe was honestly wondering if the kid was malnourished or something.

Poor Midoriya didn't seem to know how to deal with the robots, or more like, he wasn't dealing with the robot in the first place. He was evading their attacks pretty well, but all he wasn't attacking back.

What he was doing, on the other hand, was saving other examinees from falling debris. Tackling people out of the way of robot attacks, and accidental misses from other examinees, Midoriya seemed to care more about keeping the other examinees safe rather than stocking points up for himself.

"Honestly, I don't think Midoriya can do anything against the robots without a quirk. You saw the kind of pressure he is able to give off. If there were other opponents, like maybe humans, we could probably see him fight." Aizawa grumbled.

Yeah, Aizawa was pretty salty about it.

And then, Midoriya literally kicked the head off a three pointer and started pulling it apart.

And Nezu got bored and slammed his paw down on the button that released the zero pointer.

Uraraka had somehow gotten stuck under some debris, and while it wasn't really surprising that no one had tried to help her with the zero pointer towering behind, it was disheartening that they were willing to let her get crushed to save themselves.

Until Midoriya, of all people, ran towards the zero pointer.

Maijima leaned forward, his eyes open in alarm, "What is he doing!?"

Much to their surprise, Midoriya threw something at the zero pointer, causing it to stutter, before coming to a complete halt.

"Turn up the volume!" Nezu ordered, as Ectoplasm, who was closest, reached for the knob.

"Come on, the EMP isn't going to last forever." Midoriya grumbled, as he heaved the block up just enough for Uraraka to climb out from under it, before scooping her up and running away as the zero pointer regained power.

"Damn, an EMP?" Maijima exclaimed, "He made it out of the robot parts?"

Nezu rubbed his paws together, grinning from ear to ear.

Midoriya Izuku was an interesting kid, for sure.

Too bad that his score of thirty three was only enough to net him thirty sixth place.

But he still had a chance in the Sports Festival.

And Nezu wondered what kind of chaos would ensue if he introduced the formerly quirkless vigilante to the quirkless student.

Chapter Text

It was the first day of school.

Shinsou took a deep breath, and tried to calm his nerves.

His first day in UA. Hopefully, the students here would be nicer than those in his previous schools. All his life, he had been called a villain. The horrible laughter and mocking that all he could be was a villain filled his mind, and Shinsou tried his best to shut them out.

He had a new life now. Much better parents, and a true friend in Iida Tenya, the younger brother of a friend of his parents. He had kept his original last name, as a reminder that things had changed, and he wasn't going to let anything from the first nine years of his life affect him now. Not to mention Aizawa was his homeroom teacher and Yamada was his english teacher, and they couldn't exactly call him by his first name without giving their connection away.

His life had gotten much better after he had met that hooded vigilante. He had run away from home after a particularly bad beating, to escape the pain for a little while, but had somehow ended up in a back alley and had almost gotten killed for running into someone by accident.

He didn't even get a hint of who the mysterious boy in a hoodie who saved his life. All he knew was that the boy called himself Void, which wasn't very helpful at all since it was probably his vigilante name and not his real name, and that he had no quirk. Heck, he didn't even know what colour eyes and hair the vigilante had; it had been too dark at the time so even make any features out. Plus, he could be lying about being quirkless, but Shinsou honestly doubted it.

Once he trusted his new parents enough, he had told them, only for Yamada to nod and say that the vigilante did say that he was quirkless.

The vigilante had helped him get back home, and even promised to help him out of the abusive hellhole he lived in. And true to his word, the very next day, he was saved by an underground hero by the name of Aizawa Shouta who ended up adopting him, and raised him with the help of Yamada Hizashi.

He hadn't even had the chance to thank the vigilante before he had run off that night. He really needed to find some way to seek him out and thank him for saving his life properly. Maybe someday he'll be able to find him again.

"Still thinking about Void?" Aizawa asked, as he stopped next to Shinsou, waiting for him so that they could make their way into school. Yamada had hopped off at a coffee shop and would be coming in later, and Aizawa wanted to make sure that his own kid wasn't late, even though they were there fifteen minutes before the first bell was even set to go off.

Shinsou sighed, and Aizawa just pat him on the back, "Don't worry about it, Hitoshi. Even most of the heroes have only seen him once."

"I never even got to say thank you."

Aizawa shrugged, "Void is a kid around your age. You'll probably have a chance to find him again. Now, shoo, get to class. I don't want to expel my kid on the first day."

Shinsou gave a mock gasp in shock and horror, "You wouldn't."

"I expelled everyone last year. I would." Aizawa rolled his eyes, and Shinsou just snorted as he ran into UA.

"I'm still surprised that Yoarashi kid rejected his invitation to UA." Kayama muttered, "He seemed pretty enthusiastic the last time we saw him."

"Who had Midoriya in their class?" Snipe asked, "I'm curious."

"I do." Yamada spoke up, "Why?"

"Dunno. He seems like an interesting kid." Snipe shrugged, picking up his stack of papers, "We should get going to our classes now."

Yamada laughed, "Shouta's probably gonna be barely on time for his class, but eh." He put his speaker around his neck, before he grabbed his attendance list and headed for the 1-C classroom. He threw himself onto his seat, and waited for homeroom to start.

There were five minutes left, and Midoriya had taken a seat right at the very back near a window, sleeping.

Yamada swore he saw something peek out of his bag, but it was probably his imagination. He hadn't gotten a new pair of glasses in ages.

He waited until everyone was in class, before he cleared his throat, "Alright, welcome to UA's general education course, listeners! I'm Present Mic, and I'm going to be your homeroom teacher as well as your english teacher! I would like everyone to do a small introduction about themselves, then we'll go down for orientation, so you, there, step right up and we'll get this show started!"

The boy sitting in the first row next to the door stood up, and made his way to the front, and introduced himself, and this carried on until it was the last person's turn.

Yamada was honestly curious as to how Midoriya may do his self introduction. Most of the kids would reveal their quirk, though it wasn't a requirement, and start doing into detail of how their quirks functioned.

Midoriya stood up slowly, before walking to the front of the classroom, his footsteps firm and precise. The entire room was tense, almost as if Midoriya himself was putting pressure on everyone as he moved.

He stood in front of the class, standing up straight, and said, "My name is Midoriya Izuku. I'm quirkless."

The class erupted into an uproar.

"Quirkless!? How the heck did you get into UA!?"

"I saw you at the hero course exam! Just give it up already!"

"Him!? In the hero course? That sounds like a joke!"

Yamada eyed Midoriya warily, but Midoriya didn't even seem to register that his new classmates were currently mocking him for his quirkless status, and was just standing at the front of the classroom cooly, seeming like he didn't even care.

"Hey, hey, listeners, quiet down!" Yamada ordered, but even then, it took some time for the noisy, surprised students of the General Education to quieten down; Yamada did not want to yell over his students, especially when his quirk was a voice quirk.

He didn't want to deafen them, even though they were being mean to Midoriya.

"Look, listeners, we take quirk discrimination very seriously here at UA. Midoriya's quirkless, but he earned his place here, so please treat him like any other student at UA." Yamada sighed, as the other students still shot looks at the supposedly quirkless student, "Midoriya, you can go back to your seat."

Midoriya gave a small nod, before returning to his seat, not making a single sound.

"Alright, listeners! Let's all go for orientation! We don't want to be late." Yamada yelled, and herded the students out of the classroom.

He was going to need to talk to Nezu about enforcing the anti quirk discrimination rules. Something told him that with Midoriya around, and talkative students, word was going to spread quickly.

Shinsou stretched, and yawned.

Aizawa had made them do a quirk apprehension test, and while he couldn't use his quirk at all in any of the tests, he had gotten twelfth place overall. The invisible girl had gotten last, but like him, her quirk couldn't be used during the test at all, and Aizawa hadn't expelled anyone at all….. Surprisingly. Even the perverted creep with grapes for hair wasn't expelled, and Shinsou was going to be honest when he said he really, really hated him.

Iida had somehow become friends with another girl called Uraraka Ochako, and while Shinsou hadn't been there, he was guessing it was because she had almost gotten crushed by a zero pointer and he was guilty he hadn't helped her.

Bakugou and Kirishima were with them, somehow. Bakugou was grumbling about them being more tolerable extras or something, and Kirishima had somehow decided that he wanted to be friends with the explosive potty mouth.

They turned a corner, and Uraraka exclaimed, "Oh!"

Shinsou looked up, and saw a green haired boy walking out of a classroom, looking at the ground.

Iida adjusted his glasses, "Ah, I believe that he is the one that saved you."

He saved her from the zero pointer? Wouldn't that net a quite a bit of rescue points? Shinsou frowned. Maybe he's in 1-B.

Bakugou promptly turned as white as a sheet, and grabbed onto Uraraka and Iida and covered their mouths before they could take a step towards the boy.

But that was all they needed to alert the boy to their presence. The green haired boy turned around, looking at them with a dead, emotionless gaze, before turning back around and walking down the hallway.

"Hey, Blasty, what the hell was that for!?" Uraraka demanded, as Bakugou loosened his grip and released the two students.

"Uraraka, his name is Bakugou, and while it may be rude of him to not call us by our real names, that does not mean we should do the same!" Iida butt in.

Bakugou was shaking, ever so slightly.

"Round Face, Legs, whatever you do, don't get near him."

That was enough to calm Iida and Uraraka, and they looked at Bakugou in confusion.

"He's dangerous."

"Wow, coming from you, that must be something." Shinsou snarked.

Bakugou shook his head, "You don't live in my area. There's these…. Rumours… surrounding him. Midoriya Izuku, they say that he can paralyze people with just his eyes alone."

"So, what's wrong with that?" Kirishima asked, "Could be his quirk."

"Not possible. He's quirkless."

Shinsou's words died on his tongue.

"A brainwashing quirk isn't a bad quirk. I mean, I'm quirkless, and I'm still aiming to be a hero. I'm sure that you can too! You can save many people with that quirk without causing any damage!"

Shinsou shoved that memory at the back of his head. He could figure out the connection between Void and Midoriya later. Maybe it was just a coincidence.

"He may be quirkless, but don't underestimate him. I saw him getting mugged around three years ago by one of the local gangs, it didn't take him more than five minutes to deal with ten opponents."

Kirishima whistled, "Damn, that means he's strong, then?"

Uraraka nodded, "Yeah. He made an EMP out of nowhere to knock the zero pointer out and helped me escape. But if he's quirkless, maybe he wasn't able to destroy robots to earn points."

Shinsou shook his head, "It's a hero school. As far as I know, as long as the robot is destroyed or restrained, you get the points. Mineta and Hagakure have the lowest score in our class, at thirty four. Hagakure's quirk doesn't let the robots see and detect her, and Mineta's sticky orbs can restrain them. There should be rescue points, and I honestly don't know how his score was so low. Maybe we can go ask Present Mic."

Bakugou snorted, "Whatever, extras, do as you please, just try not to aggravate the green little shit. I'm not saving your ass again if you piss him off."

Bakugou turned around and stomped away, and Uraraka sweatdropped, "I'm not sure if he respects him, or downright hates him."

"Probably both." Shinsou muttered.

But Midoriya Izuku had piqued his interest. And he was lucky that his parents were teachers in the school. Maybe he could get something out of them.

"Dad, who is Midoriya Izuku?"

Aizawa merely raised his eyebrow, as Yamada choked on his soda.

"Why… do you want to know?"

"Bakugou mentioned that he's dangerous, and quirkless."

"Oh…" Aizawa muttered, before he sighed, "You think he's connected to Void in some way?"

"Yeah?"

"Look, Hitoshi, I'm going to tell you something, but promise you can't tell anyone else, got it?" Aizawa hissed, and Yamada looked at him in alarm, "Are you sure we can tell him?"

"We saw it for ourselves, it's not like he's the only one that found out." Aizawa grumbled, and Shinsou sat up straight, trying to catch any details of his saviour that he could get.

"Void isn't quirkless. He was attacked, and nearly killed by Endeavor, and it appears that he has some kind of regeneration quirk that allows him to heal from his injuries."

Ishiyama sighed, and started grading the essays he had assigned the kids to do. It was the first official day of school, and they had to write about friendship and emotions, and while it may seem like a cheesy topic, it was also to assess their mental state, to give Inui a good sense of who may need help in the future.

The essays weren't bad, by any means, but they were very superficial. Most of the students wrote about what made them feel what kind of emotions, that kind of stuff.

And while it wasn't too bad... it wasn't fun. He taught five first years classes, and it was like reading a hundred essays of the same thing over and over. Kirishima and Tetsutetsu's essays were horrifyingly similar, both talking about manliness and heroes. The similarity had earned a chuckle from Snipe, and while Shinsou never explicitly mentioned it in his essay, it was clear that he looked up to Yamada and Aizawa and they made him happy.

Then, he picked up the next essay, and started to read it.

"Positive emotions are just a drug, something that people get addicted to. And when that feeling is gone, they crave it, wanting it more and more, until they snap, and give in to that urge. They will do anything to feel that way again, even if they have to resort to selfish means to get what they want."

Ishiyama stared at the first paragraph. And then he reread it again.

He was starting to wonder which kid wrote this. Compared to all the other essays that were all happy and sunny, this one was downright depressing, and it was only the first paragraph.

His eyes shifted over to check the name written in the corner.

Midoriya Izuku.

And while he had told the class to write a page or so, Midoriya had gone and written ten pages, and Ishiyama was not looking forward to finishing it. Not when his student seemed to have such a twisted outlook on something so essential.

He was going to have to talk to Nezu.

Chapter Text

Positive emotions are just a drug, something that people get addicted to. And when that feeling is gone, they crave it, wanting it more and more, until they snap, and give in to that urge. They will do anything to feel that way again, even if they have to resort to selfish means to get what they want.

People hurt others to feel happy. People kill others to feel happy. Others have to suffer for one man's pleasure. Is it worth it?

No.

Every death, every kill, they will lose a piece of themselves, until there is nothing left of them to save.

In the grand scheme of things, emotions are worthless. Whether you laugh or you cry, no one cares. No one will bother you, unless you have something that they want. Then, they'll flock around, playing nice, pretending to be your friend until they get what they want, before they dig into your carcass like vultures.

Friendship is a relationship that has many negative emotions attached to it. All you can do is wait for the eventual betrayal, but is it betrayal if you both agree on it, if you both agree that one person does not deserve anything, not friendship, not companionship, not anything at all?

In this world, you can't rely on anyone. Trust the wrong person, and they'll come and stab you in the back, figuratively or literally.

Emotions only hold you back. Anger clouds your thoughts and cause you to make rash decisions. Sadness stops you from doing anything productive, and you waste time wallowing in self pity. Happiness makes one blind to what's going on around them by making them complacent, and it allows them to fall into obvious traps right in front of them.

Combine them together, and all you have coming for you is the imminent pain and horror, that you made such a mistake, that the people you once thought to be friends are the ones causing the pain, that in reality, no one cares about you.

There's so many people on this planet.

So many people with problems worse than yours.

Why should people waste their time on you?

They shouldn't.

They only do so when there's something that benefits them. They don't do it for you, they do it for themselves.

Humans are selfish creatures, and all they think about are themselves. They want to feel good, they want to be happy. To them, it's justified to step over others as long as it makes them happy, in extreme cases, killing others makes them happy.

But there's a limit.

Humans are like glass.

You can hurt them, break them, make them crack.

But once they shatter, no matter how hard you try, they're beyond repair.

Even if you find every single glass fragment, and put all the pieces back together in the right place, all the weak points are still there. Weaknesses that can be exploited by others for their personal gain, weaknesses that still hurt no matter what.

It's an injury that does not cause physical pain.

An injury that cannot be truly healed.

It lingers, deep at the back of their mind, and strikes when they least suspect it. When they think they're over it. When they think that they're no longer affected by it.

It is a weakness that will always be there. It is a liability.

Emotions are a liability.

The ability to push emotions aside, to not let them affect you when you are doing things is important. The ability to not rely on others, no matter what you do, is essential. People will not help you out of the goodness of their heart. They'll only offer their assistance if you can offer something in return.

Even heroes.

Most heroes choose their profession for the fame and money. They don't choose to help people because they want to, they do it so they can get more famous, and as a result, a higher revenue.

It is not in a human's nature to give without taking. Humans are selfish, and if they could, they would keep on taking, more and more, until there is nothing left for them to take.

And after that, they're still not satisfied.

Humans are greedy, they're never happy with what they have. They just want more and more, even things that do not exist. Their greed and desire fuels them, and their strong emotional need and want for these kinds of things results in absolute idiocy.

Drinking mercury in an attempt to achieve immortality.

Murdering millions of innocents under the assumption that they will continue to be catered to in the afterlife.

Killing for territory and wealth.

In the end, humanity's greed and desires just hurt people.

It's one thing if they hurt themselves. It's another thing if other people are getting hurt for completely self centered reasons that don't amount to anything.

Death is a normal part of life.

Yet, people despise it, simply because they do not appreciate what they have. Life is not something everyone deserves to have, it is a gift that can be taken away at any time. People who think they deserve to live forever do not understand that living hurts a lot more than death.

They get to see everyone they care about die, while not being able to do so to join them. They'll live with all their regrets, knowing that they chose to suffer. Eventually, everything will lose their meaning, and by that time, they will wish that they were not alive to witness it.

And if they do not care about what they have lost, if they don't care that people close to them have died, do they even deserve to live in the first place?

Acting on emotions destroys lives, other people's and one's own.

Creating relationships with others just creates more opportunities for their grasp on their emotions to slip, to let them, to act on their emotions.

Humans claim that these are essential for the survival of humanity, that these are the main traits that separate them from animals, what makes them above animals. But they're no better than the beasts that they claim are mindless and bloodthirsty, vicious and savage.

Animals care about each other. They only kill to eat, to survive.

Humans do not. They kill for fun, for sport, just because it makes them feel something that they could not or never felt before.

Humans are in no way above animals, and they will never be.

They let their emotions take over, let themselves get controlled, and do stupid things. And then, they don't blame themselves for it. They blame others. They will never accept that they are in the wrong. They always think they're right, that their actions are justified, even if they are not.

Humans are hard to understand.

They actively try to sabotage others of their kind, for no reasons at all. They do things that hurt others, and themselves at the same time.

Why would we do something to hurt ourselves on purpose?

Ishiyama stared blankly at Nezu as the animal finished reading the entirety of the essay and placed it down. Midoriya didn't even seem to have finished his essay before time was up.

"I think he needs help. He thinks emotions and friendships are burdens, and can only hurt him. It's not healthy." Ishiyama said.

"I know that." Nezu sighed, "But given how he writes it, it didn't just come from nowhere. To him, it is justified. This isn't something that a couple of counselling sessions with Hound Dog can fix."

Kayama burst into the staff room alongside Yamada, complaining about some purple grape or something, before they noticed Nezu sitting on Ishiyama's chair as the cement quirk user stood behind him, peering over his shoulder.

"There is a possibility that he was just in a bad mood or someone made him upset." Nezu said.

"Who?" Yamada asked.

"Midoriya." Ishiyama replied.

"Oh. Poor kid. The others in 1-C mocked him on the first day. I told them that we don't tolerate quirk discrimination, but I'm pretty sure it's going on whenever we aren't there." Yamada sighed, "He didn't seem to care, either because he's hiding it or he's used to being mocked all the time, and neither of those possibilities are good for his mental health."

Kayama frowned, "He was real quiet today, but he's a decent kid." She peered at the papers in Nezu's paw, "Is that the cheesy essay that Cementoss makes everyone write in the beginning of the year."

"Hey, it's not cheesy. Well, it kinda is, but it also helps to assess their mental state and figure out who might need counselling." Ishiyama protested, "Also, it's helpful. Midoriya needs help, and sooner is better than later."

Kayama stretched her hand out, "He's a sweet kid. Real quiet though. Lemme see the essay."

Ishiyama shrugged as Nezu passed her the essay, "I'm warning you, it's pretty dark."

"It can't be that bad." Kayama took the essay from Nezu, and looked at it, and blanched almost immediately.

She hadn't even finished reading the first paragraph.

"You're right. It's really dark."

Nezu tapped his paw against his chin.

"I'm busy this week, but there should be time for me to see him next week. Next time you see him, tell him to go see Hound Dog. Or if he has lesson time, let him talk to him." Nezu said, "If he can't sort things out with Midoriya, I'll talk to him myself."

Ectoplasm stared at the paper in his hands.

He had started off by giving the kids a pop quiz, and he wasn't expecting to get a test paper back in thirty minutes when the entire test was supposed to take an hour and a half to finish.

He scanned through the paper. Nezu said that Midoriya had finished a lot of college credits, but even so, he wasn't expecting the kid to have finished it so quickly. All his answers looked right too, and he didn't really want Midoriya to waste an hour in lessons sitting there like a statue.

Ectoplasm walked up to Midoriya's desk and said, "Alright, Cementoss believes you should go talk to Hound Dog. You should know where his office is, it's upstairs. I'll tell him you're going to talk to him."

Midoriya blinked at him blankly, and Ectoplasm had this feeling of unease as he looked back into the emptiness of the boy's eyes.

Why was he so inexpressive?!

"How was it?" Nezu asked, as he typed on his laptop in the staff room. He usually liked to work in his office, but there were times he preferred having some company, and there was no way all the heroes could just squeeze into his office.

Saying that Inui looked mildly traumatised was an understatement.

"Horrible." Inui admitted, "He didn't say a single word. He just stared at me with that blank expression the entire time, and, oh gods ..."

"Did you ask him questions?" Kayama asked. She also had a lesson that day with him, and Midoriya had remained quiet the entire day. She swore he was signing to himself, but other than that, he was completely still.

"I did. I asked him if he was okay, and if he didn't want to answer any questions, he didn't have too. I hate to say it, but it's unnerving. His eyes looked completely empty, like a never ending void."

Nezu frowned, and opened up a program to view the security cameras.

They found Midoriya sleeping at his desk.

"He's not eating?" Kayama asked. "He's so skinny though."

Nezu sighed, and his eyes shifted to a photocopied version of the essay that was in his file. "I'll talk to him next week. All Might, you're going to see Tsukauchi today, right? Can you tell him I'm cancelling my monday lunch meeting with him?"

Yagi nodded.

"I hate to say this, but it might be a lost cause."

Nezu turned to face Inui so fast, he almost got whiplash.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm just warning you, Principal. We can't help him if he doesn't want help." Inui scratched his head, "Maybe we should get him a psychologist or a therapist."

"If he isn't willing to speak to a person who is part of the school, what makes you think he's going to speak to a complete stranger?" Nezu raised his eyebrow, "He has stated that he can't understand humans. Maybe he's just shy or uncomfortable."

The first week of the school had passed relatively quickly, and Midoriya found himself back in the comforting presence of the animal pro hero, sitting on the couch in his office opposite Nezu.

He still felt awkward, though. He prefered having his hood on.

"So, how's UA so far?"

Midoriya wasn't really sure how to reply. UA was pretty good, but his peers liked to mock him behind the teachers' backs. On the first day, he had gone to the cafeteria for some water, and he could hear whispering all around him, with mentions of "creepy" and "emotionless" and "green" popping up all the time.

There was a reason he preferred napping in the classroom with Reiko sleeping on his lap, out of view of the security cameras.

"It's been… okay." Midoriya said, "The syllabus is….. too simple… though."

Nezu hummed, "Hmm. You did complete a lot of online college courses, so it's no wonder you're not struggling. I'll work with the teachers to figure out something for you."

He saw Midoriya eyes widen slightly, "Really? You'd …. do that?"

Why did he seem so surprised?

Nezu put that in his mental file of "Things to note about Midoriya", and replied, "Yes. I believe Ectoplasm and Present Mic would want your help with some stuff since you pretty much aced their pop quizzes effortlessly."

The rest of the hour passed relatively quickly, and it wasn't long before Midoriya had to return back to lessons for class.

Nezu just deadpanned at all the heroes that were eavesdropping, hiding behind the door like idiots as Midoriya exited the staffroom.

"You are aware my room is soundproof, right?"

Kayama gave a nervous laugh, "Yeah… how did it go?"

"Are you sure he doesn't speak at all?" Nezu frowned, "We had a pleasant conversation. He was a bit awkward with his word choice, but he did speak."

"I knew it - WAIT WHAT!?" Yamada almost screeched, if Aizawa hadn't activated his quirk in time, "The only time I heard him speak was his self introduction on the first day of school!"

"I never even heard him say a single word before." Kayama sighed, "The last time I tried to call on him, the boy sitting in front of him just turned around and kept on mocking him. He didn't mention his quirkless status, so I can't like, put him in detention for quirk discrimination, but I wouldn't want to answer a question if people did that all the time. Does that happen in your classes?"

Ectoplasm nodded, "It's happened, a lot. Except that he can answer questions since he just has to write the entire thing on the board. I feel bad calling on him a lot, but he's the only one that actually knows his stuff in class."

"It is troubling, though. Every time I ask a student to go around the class to collect homework or worksheets, he just refuses to give his worksheet to the kid. He just walks right up to me, puts it on my desk, and walks back without saying a word. It's almost like he doesn't trust that the other students won't do something with his work." Snipe sighed.

"So, he's selectively mute?" Yamada confirmed, "Because if that's the case, we're going to have to figure something out for the oral assessments."

"I don't think it's as simple as that." Nezu replied, "But at least he's willing to talk. I'll try to figure it out."

Chapter Text

Nezu was still trying to figure Midoriya out.

"He reminds me of Void, in a way." Nezu admitted, when Aizawa entered the staff room after he had entered the school with Shinsou. "I'm not sure why."

Aizawa shrugged, "Maybe they're cousins or something."

Nezu shook his head, "Nope. I looked into it. Midoriya Inko and Midoriya Hisashi don't have siblings, and neither did their parents or grandparents. "

"Why don't you ask him?" Kayama asked, "You're meeting him today, right? Void seems knowledgeable about our society."

Nezu just paw-palmed, and rubbed his eyes, "I can't. Midoriya looked so surprised that someone was willing to do something for him… this is something sensitive. On the off chance that they are connected in a way, asking about that would destroy the trust that Void gave me. I can't afford to do that. Not when Void has made it very clear that he prefers interacting with animals instead of humans."

"Also, just a note, since you mentioned animals, Midoriya volunteers at that pet rescue center a few blocks away. I saw him there yesterday, bringing in a black stray, and he just glared at anyone who told him that it was just a stray and shouldn't be there."

Aizawa swore he heard Nezu mumble something along the lines of, "Where do you think the damn stray came from in the first place?"

Kan poked his head into the staffroom, "Alright, my students did mess up the boat at the USJ up a bit, as well as destroyed the Conflagration Zone the other day, but Thirteen says that the USJ is ready for 1-A to use tomorrow."

"Alright." Aizawa noted. "I should go help Mic deal with the damn press."

Suddenly, a loud clang of metal resonated throughout the school, and Nezu clicked on a blinking button on his laptop, "The press activated the barrier. It should be fine."

It wasn't fine.

Somehow, the press had created a hole in the wall, and had gotten in.

Aizawa and Yamada growled as they tried to keep the press out of UA, but they kept on pestering them with more and more questions, and Aizawa was sure that his patience was going to run out soon.

Then, all of a sudden, the entire area grew silent. The reporters and cameramen were all frozen in place, stunned into silence. Aizawa was pretty sure the only reason why he could feel the presence but still had full mobility was that he wasn't the target of the strange aura, and that he had felt it before.

However, the boy that he had thought to be associated with the aura was nowhere to be seen.

But still, it gave him a moment of clarity to sort his thoughts out, and he hissed, "Look, this is a place for students to learn. You triggered the intruder alarms, and this is probably the result of a panicking student's quirk. We already called the police for vandalism and trespassing, and now, you're scaring the students as well."

Aizawa sighed as the police finally came along, and as suddenly as the pressuring aura appeared, it dissipated.

He still needed to figure out who was the person behind this. Midoriya was still a possibility, but he wasn't anywhere near the area. Or it really could just be some student's quirk that activated by accident.

Midoriya was quirkless. Even if he were to have some sort of quirk that he didn't know about, Aizawa would assume that it was an analysis quirk. Snipe taught the general education course skills that would be useful, regardless if they managed to transfer into the hero course or now. After all, most general education students did end up working for heroes as their secretaries, accountants, or becoming police officers and detectives.

And when Snipe had covered the analysis class, Midoriya had truly shined. Snipe had wanted the students to write an analysis of any heroes' quirk, as long as they were well known enough so that Snipe didn't have to figure out who the hero was in the first place, and Midoriya had ended up writing a report on Eraser Head, stating that he was an underground hero, but was a teacher at UA, so technically Snipe should know him.

And Snipe had no idea how to even grade his work since Midoriya had handed up a stack of papers that was ten times thicker than those of the other students.

Midoriya's work included sketches, diagrams, and just a huge load of information, and Aizawa had no idea how the kid even knew of him where there was just a singular video of him that had been released four years ago, and even that had been removed in five minutes within its upload.

His report had included his capture weapon, his quirk probably not working on mutant types, his goggles being there to make it harder for enemies to discern where he's looking, and his hair floating up whenever he used his quirk.

And the only question Aizawa had when Snipe shoved the paper in his face was how the heck did Midoriya know so much about him!?

They had even asked some of the third year hero course students that Aizawa didn't teach, and even they had no idea that the person standing in front of them was Eraser Head.

And that was the reason why Nezu had pulled the kid out of his maths class to investigate the gaping hole in the UA barrier. He needed to address his class, and all the other teachers had lessons to teach. Their reaction to the "break in" was horrible. He needed to lecture them all. At least Iida and Uraraka managed to stop anyone from getting hurt in the stampede, and Shinsou had to calm down several of the students with quirks that went nuts.

"A disintegration quirk." Nezu said, "We were thinking along the lines of rusting, but upon further examination, some of the dust wasn't of metal, but of cloth as well. It may be a distraction for an infiltration, but the security feeds didn't show anything wrong and the database shows no signs of tampering. But Midoriya thinks it's a villain, since if it were one of the press, they would have disintegrated the wall long ago."

Aizawa nodded, "So, basically, don't tell the students or we'll cause more panic. What if Midoriya tells the others?"

"Shouta, the kid doesn't even speak to his classmates, what makes you think he'll say anything about this?" Yamada retorted.

"He agreed not to tell anyone either." Nezu nodded. "Just make sure to keep an eye out for anything suspicious."

Midoriya ran.

He was going to meet with Nezu at the park again, but he had somehow ended up with a huge bunch of villains, and a man with hands all over him announcing that they were going to launch an attack on the USJ the next day to take All Might down.

He needed to alert Nezu that there was going to be an attack on UA. He couldn't tell him as Midoriya, he would definitely know something was up, but as Void, he could. He didn't like All Might, but he did admit that All Might did his job properly with minimal property damage, even though he lied to everyone with that stupid smile on his face and his other Yagi Toshinori form.

He knew that Nezu was curious about him, and was trying to figure out who he was, both as Midoriya and as Void, but Nezu had never done anything to overstep his boundaries, and for that Midoriya was grateful.

Maybe it was because no matter what, Nezu was smart enough to find a way out of any situation, which was why he was so relaxed around him. But Midoriya really did like and cherish his weekly meetings with the principal.

He ran all the way to the park, and stood around, waiting.

"Ah, hello! It's nice to see you again!" Nezu grinned and waved as he made his way towards the bench that he and Midoriya usually sat at.

"They're going to attack the USJ tomorrow."

"Pardon?"

"Villains. The ones who destroyed the UA barrier. They want to go to the USJ when your hero course students are there with All Might and kill him." Midoriya repeated his statement.

"Oh dear." Nezu frowned, "Thank you for alerting me. I'm sorry our first meeting after a month has to start on such a sour note."

"It's fine. It doesn't matter how I feel." Midoriya shrugged, before taking his usual spot on the bench. Nezu crawled up the bench to sit beside him.

"Void, I don't know why you think so, but how you feel matters to me." Nezu admitted, "If there's anything you want to vent about, or you just want to rant about something, you are free to do so. You're human, after all. We all are. It's not healthy to think that you don't matter."

"You're the most humane being that I've ever met."

Nezu swore that he heard Void mumble that, but he already felt that he was overstepping his boundaries by telling Void that he could vent to him and didn't ask him to repeat it or ask for an explanation. Void was clearly socially awkward, even though he seemed to like talking to him, and Nezu didn't want to pressure the kid any more than he already was.

And all of a sudden, a realisation popped into Nezu's head.

Void didn't usually wear a mask, and he was used to hearing his real voice for the past few months. Then, he didn't meet Void for a while, due to the UA entrance exams, and he in the meantime, had met Midoriya in the second week of school.

He didn't realise it when he first talked to Midoriya, it had been a month since he had met the vigilante, and now that he had bet both boys only ten hours apart, he could make the comparison.

Void sounded exactly like Midoriya. They both slouched, shared similar statures, heck, both of them were so similar to each other that even Aizawa thought they were related, and he hates making theories about people because he claimed it was a waste of time.

He was wrong, obviously. Void and Midoriya were related, but not in the way Aizawa meant.

They were the same person. Void was Midoriya's vigilante persona. Void was the person that Midoriya wanted to be. Void was the hero that Midoriya was never allowed to be due to bullying and society's view on his quirklessness.

But Void wasn't quirkless. He had explicitly stated that he had a quirk, and that was before the deadline for the UA applications to be submitted. Midoriya would have known that he had a quirk, and would have stated it, wouldn't he?

It was pure speculation at this point, and while Nezu didn't have any concrete evidence, he was fairly sure that Midoriya was Void. At least the two problem children he was fond of was actually one single problem child with a lot more problems than he thought.

It made it easier, and also, more difficult. Midoriya's problems were just that much complex.

But at least, he could help him, both as Void and as Midoriya.

"So, you can do that, and that's how to get that formula." Shinsou explained.

Uraraka nodded, trying to understand what he had just said. She and Iida had become fast friends, which had ended up with her becoming friends with Shinsou as well.

"Thanks! I can do my homework now! See ya!" She waved, as she bounded towards the train station with Iida walking behind her.

Shinsou himself was waiting for Yamada, but they were all at the USJ for something and was going to be running late.

"Oh, hey, look, it's the fucking villain!"

Shinsou cringed internally. Sure, he was in the hero course, but still, being called a villain still hurt a ton.

He looked up, and hissed as he saw several of his old classmates stalking towards him.

"I wonder how you even got into UA, let alone the hero course." One sneered.

"Did you brainwash them to let you in?"

"Just like a villain!"

Shinsou just stood there. He didn't want to react, they would scream about his quirk again and yell to the heavens that he should kill himself.

He had told his dad before, but without proof they couldn't actually do anything and all they had gotten was detention. And it wasn't like Shinsou kept his phone on to record the daily serving of abuse from his classmates.

He waited for the next series of taunts and insults, except there weren't any more.

"Calling other people a villain? Maybe you should look at yourselves first."

Shinsou wasn't expecting a voice from behind him to speak up.

He turned around, finding the green haired boy that Bakugou had called Midoriya walking towards them.

"Oh. You." A boy sneered, "We heard stuff about you, quirkless freak. How the heck did you get into UA?"

Midoriya didn't reply, and just stared emotionlessly at them.

"Are you even going to react, freak?"

"Shit man, he looks like a fucking zombie."

Shinsou had no idea what Midoriya had done, but all of a sudden, it felt like they were in a freezer. The only thing he felt was a sudden blast of pressure, and then there was nothing but a thick, uncomfortable silence that seemed to fill the area.

"This kid's a monster! Let's go!"

Apparently, that was all that was needed for Shinsou's former bullies to run off, and he have a sigh of relief.

He turned to Midoriya, who still looked as impassive as usual.

"Thanks for.. uh.. standing up for me."

Midoriya's emerald green eyes flicked to him for a split second as acknowledgement, before he looked forward again.

"Uh… would you, uh… like to eat lunch together or something?"

Midoriya just turned to face Shinsou once more, his blank expression slowly shifting to that of mild confusion and distrust.

Shinsou stuck his hand out, "Sorry, it's rude of me to, uh… not introduce myself before asking… if you wanna hang out. I'm Shinsou Hitoshi."

Midoriya just stared at his hand questioningly, before he signed something instead of replying.

"Didn't the explosive blonde B-a-k-u-g-o-u tell you about me already?"

Shinsou blinked, trying to decipher the fingerspelling.

"Wait, you heard that?"

The green haired boy just nodded as a response.

"I mean… I thought it would be better if you introduced yourself?" Shinsou replied, "I guess…"

"M-i-d-o-r-i-y-a I-z-u-k-u."

Well, Midoriya didn't speak, instead opting to fingerspell his answer, but that was a start.

"So… uh… lunch?"

Midoriya seemed to ponder over it for a while, retaining his creepy blank stare the entire time, but eventually, the boy nodded.

Shinsou heaved a sigh of relief.

"Alright. Awesome. I'll see you tomorrow?"

Midoriya nodded again, before he turned and left the school.

The green haired boy rounded the corner, and Reiko popped out from his bag and nuzzled him.

It wouldn't last anyways. They never did.

He wondered how long he would have to wait this time.

Chapter Text

"Dad, why didn't Midoriya get into the hero course?"

Aizawa blinked as he plopped his capture weapon on the table. The USJ had been attacked, like Nezu said, and while the damn misty portal, the hand-covered man and their big black monster had escaped the second they noticed all the heros standing around, alongside All Might, they had to round up the other hundred or so villains that had dropped into the facility.

The public just knew that Nezu had somehow predicted the attack after the presumed infiltration the previous day, but in reality, he had revealed to all the UA teachers, as well as Tsukauchi, that Void had been the one to alert him of the imminent attack.

It was more annoying than dangerous, rounding up so many villains who decided it would be nice to attack UA. At least no one was hurt, and that most of the villains were in jail. None of the other students knew about the attack, since Nezu had decided to distract the students by giving a very long lecture to all three grades at the same time.

"Why are you asking?"

"Uraraka said he saved her from the zero pointer, and I know that there are rescue points. Mineta and Hagakure got thirty four points, and if he managed to stop the zero pointer to rescue her, I thought he'd get a lot more points."

Aizawa sighed, and sank into the couch.

"It's complicated."

"I bet." Shinsou moved over to plop himself down next to Aizawa.

"Rescue points are… given by five teachers and Nezu. None of us were the ones giving rescue points. Not Ectoplasm, Yamada, Recovery Girl, none of the teachers that teach you are in charge of that. Most of the other teachers… they may be a bit biased towards Midoriya." Aizawa groaned. "Also, because we're keeping track of so many students, usually the people flashier quirks will get more attention because it is easier to see. Honestly, after looking through the camera feeds, Midoriya should have gotten a much higher score, but most of his rescuing wasn't noticed by the other teachers. Nezu did point it out, but we can't change the scores after the exam had finished."

"That's dumb." Shinsou snorted.

"It is true, as much as I hate it." Aizawa growled, "We get distracted when there's a huge explosion or something like it. And Midoriya with his EMP…. even Nezu couldn't give him a very high score because he did stop the zero-pointer in a very precarious position, though it did buy him time to rescue Uraraka. The other teachers were skeptical since he had an EMP, and gave him a really low score since they assumed he knew about the rescue points. He still got an impressive thirty three though, given that a lot of his points were skipped over. Although I am curious as to why Midoriya even had an EMP in the first place."

"So, he can still get in from the Sports Festival, right?"

"Probably, if he can win. Robots are a lot sturdier than humans, but the students have pretty powerful quirks that he will have to find a way to get around. Just look at Todoroki, Midoriya will have a hard time just getting near him." Aizawa sighed, "I am curious to see how he'll perform, though.".

Shinsou looked around for the mop of green hair, before he found Midoriya standing at the doorway to the cafeteria.

He gave a quick wave, and Midoriya turned in his direction, before he weaved his way through the crowd of people. He finally made his way to Shinsou's table, and Uraraka and Iida raised his eyebrows at the General Education student.

He gestured towards the seat opposite Shinsou, beside Iida, and Shinsou nodded, "It's empty, go ahead."

He caught the questioning looks from Iida and Uraraka, and Shinsou just replied, "I invited him."

"Ah, okay." Uraraka's face lit up, and she turned to face Midoriya, "Uraraka Ochako! Thank you so much for saving me from the zero pointer!"

"Iida Tenya! I apologise for snapping at you at the exam! You have a good heart to stall the zero pointer and save Uraraka even though there was no benefit to it."

There was a benefit to it. Shinsou thought internally, just that some of the other teachers are dumb.

Midoriya merely nodded in acknowledgement, before Iida and Uraraka dissolved back into the conversation about support items.

"Not going to eat anything?" Shinsou asked, as Midoriya just sipped water from his water bottle.

Midoriya shook his head, and signed, "Not hungry."

Shinsou did the translation for Uraraka and Iida, and the blue haired boy sighed, "It's not healthy, you should eat three meals a day! It helps you build muscle and strength, and not to be rude, but you're a little on the… skinny side."

"Come on, Iida, that's just rude. Maybe he had a heavy breakfast this morning." Uraraka butt in, and Midoriya just stared in mild confusion as the two of them dissolved into minor bickering.

"Don't worry about it. This happens often. Iida and Uraraka have vastly different perceptions of things since Iida comes from a better off family, but they generally get along just fine. They bicker for about five minutes, and then they're civil again."

Midoriya just looked at the arguing duo impassively, before turning back to his water.

A few days later, Aizawa announced the Sports Festival.

And the students from the other classes started crowding around 1-A and 1-B, deeming them as the ones to beat since they had training in both fighting and quirk usage. Shinsou was honestly hoping that the green haired boy would pop by their classroom as well, like his peers, but to his dismay, aside from Asui, Tokage, Kamakiri and Shiozaki, there wasn't a hint of the smaller boy. He did join them for lunch, though remaining quiet throughout, and he wasn't a very social person. He was probably sick of the crowd.

"Tch. Get out of my way, extras!" Bakugou snorted, as he let off a small explosion from his palm in his rage.

"Also, if you think we're the monsters, then you guys better look out for your wolf in sheep's clothing. That green broccoli in your course is no slouch. You guys, on the other hand, are."

Most of the 1-A students froze.

They knew that Bakugou didn't compliment anyone. In fact, he raged that the other students weren't strong enough, and that Todoroki was only used half his power against him for some reason and was just looking down on him.

But Bakugou had literally just said that there was someone not in the hero course that they had to look out for.

Uraraka, Iida, Shinsou, and Kirishima were the only one's aware of Midoriya's existence, and they knew right away who Bakugou was talking about.

"You mean Midoriya?" One of the General Education students sneered, "That kid's just a nerd. He never says anything. He's just a weakass idiot who is always getting called out of class to talk to the principal for some reason in the middle of tests. Totally a teacher's pet."

"Maybe because he actually finished his test and the teachers didn't want him sitting around?" Shinsou offered.

"Tch. He's so scrawny and weak, what can he do, besides staring at us like an emotionless freak?" The other student snorted.

Bakugou just shrugged, pushing his way through the crowd, "Underestimating someone stronger than you is going to be your downfall."

This sports festival was going to be fun, Shinsou thought to himself, especially if even Bakugou is acknowledging him. Maybe I'll get the chance to fight him.

Nezu sighed as he stretched. Midoriya was doing absurdly well in lessons, and Maijima has even requested for him to pop by the Support Course during his free time since he apparently knew how to make an EMP.

His reasoning for somehow deciding to make an EMP in the middle of the exam was surprising though, even to Nezu.

"The zero pointer was.. Probably hiding underground? And was probably very large since… there's no tight spaces. Someone would get hurt if it just… emerged from the ground?"

Seriously, Midoriya was too selfless for his own good, both as himself and as Void. While Nezu really prefered to not disrupt Midoriya's lesson time to try and speak to him, he didn't want to disturb the kid's nap time during lunch. The boy already had horrifyingly dark eye bags and looked like he was barely getting enough sleep, and now Shinsou was trying to befriend Midoriya. He couldn't ruin that chance for Midoriya to actually make a friend.

It wasn't like Midoriya needed to attend his lessons, though. He was smart enough without them, and the boy would no doubt end up napping or getting bored in lessons that he already knew.

He was already getting the boy's help in filing some papers on some lower criminals. And while he specifically said not to look at them, he knew that Midoriya was, no doubt, going to check the papers and go after the criminals himself.

If he was going to continue his vigilantism, then Nezu was going to do his best to make sure he knew exactly who he was targeting. It was the safest option for him, taking care of lesser criminals that Midoriya could definitely take out, and it cleared the villains off the street. Midoriya was good at his job, even if he was borderline on a legal standpoint.

And for some odd reason, there was a cat in the staff room.

Nezu had no idea why there was a cat. Aizawa owned a few, but none of them were as white or as small as the feline was currently looking around the staff room with its heterochromatic mint green and aquamarine eyes.

The cat looked to be about fifteen centimeters long, not counting its head or tail. It looked like a Maine Coon, but it was way too small, so probably a mixed lineage. It didn't wear a collar, but it was probably a house cat since its fur looked really clean.

"Hey."

He squatted down in front of the cat, and much to his surprise, and cat's eyes lit up and it pranced over to him.

"Well, friendly, aren't you." Nezu laughed as he reached out, and the cat pressed its head against his paw, "Do you have an owner?"

The cat meowed at him, and Nezu blinked.

"Izuku. Not owner. Friend. Takes care of me."

She was a female, and she said… she belonged to Midoriya.

That was surprising. He hadn't expected Midoriya to actually bring his cat to school, and he was wondering how the hell no one found out about it until she decided to pop in.

"Do you have a name?"

Reiko. Her name was Reiko. Nezu frowned, and tapped his paw against the ground. He wasn't sure what to do with Reiko, or Midoriya for that matter. Bringing pets was against the school rules, but Midoriya didn't do things for no reason. There had to be a reason why he would bring his cat to school.

"May I ask, why does he bring you here? Isn't it better if you stayed at home?"

Reiko purred once more.

"Not safe. They hurt him. They let him hurt. They're bad. He doesn't tell, he thinks it's fine."

Shit, Nezu thought. This was bad. Worse than he thought. Midoriya was never keen to talk about his home situation, heck, he wasn't keen to talk about anything in relation to his life. If he was not only suffering in schools, but also at his home, and then went out capturing villains at night, when did he ever get a break?

When did he ever get the chance to enjoy being a kid?

"Nezu, why is there a cat here?"

Nezu was shaken out of his thoughts, and looked up, seeing Aizawa staring at the small white feline with a stack of papers in his hand.

"Ah, Aizawa, this is Midoriya's cat, Reiko. She apparently thought it was a good idea to follow Midoriya to school without his knowledge." Nezu smiled, lying through his teeth. "I figured she could stay here for the rest of the day in case any of the other students find her."

Aizawa blinked, before plopping his papers down onto the table and reached down, offering his hand to Reiko. Reiko trotted over, sniffed his palm, before purring and rubbed her head again Aizawa's hand.

"Well, she's quick to trust. The complete opposite of Midoriya." Aizawa commented. Rubbing his fingers through her silky fur, "He takes good care of her."

Reiko let out another sad sounding purr, and Nezu sighed, "I know. We're trying."

"What did she say?" Aizawa asked.

"She said that a lot of people hurt Midoriya before, and that he was a very different person when he first found her." Nezu replied. "She asked us to help him."

Aizawa scowled, "Probably bullies. He is quirkless after all, no doubt other kids in his elementary and middle school would make fun of him for it. I'll go check his previous school records. Meanwhile, he seems to only be willing to talk to you. Maybe you can get something out of him."

"I've probed before. I'm not going to push him to reveal something he's not comfortable with." Nezu mumbled, "Reiko, stay here for now. I'll bring you back to Midoriya after school."

Aizawa wanted to pet Reiko more, but she had stalked over to Nezu and rested at his feet, batting at the principal's tail.

"Well… I guess I should talk to Midoriya later about leaving his cat at home." Nezu shrugged, before he turned back to enter his office, "Come on, Reiko. Maybe we can figure something out if you prefer to follow Midoriya around."

Chapter Text

Midoriya frowned internally as Reiko slinked out his bag in the middle of Yamada's lesson. He couldn't go and retrieve her, lest the teachers find him with his cat and possibly confiscate her.

Nor could he avoid having lunch with Shinsou and his two hero course friends to go look for her. What was he supposed to tell them without telling them that he brought his cat to school?

He didn't want to ruin his chances of getting into the hero course, but he also wanted to make sure Reiko was okay. She knew how to hide and avoid people, being surprisingly perceptive, and he just hoped that she would run into Nezu or Aizawa or Yamada. Nezu would probably take care of her, and Aizawa and Yamada were fond of cats.

Thank goodness she didn't have a collar.

Midoriya just sank into his chair and tried to listen as Yamada droned on and on about the difference between "Your" and "You're".

But his thoughts kept slipping back to Reiko, and where she could possibly be. Reiko was the first friend he had since he was ten, and she was more like a sister to him than just a cat.

Midoriya hoped that she would be okay.

"Midoriya, Nezu would like to meet you for a bit. Can you go to his office?" Snipe asked, as he stared at the new stack of papers in his hands. He had requested everyone to analyze support items this time, and this time, Midoriya had doing his analysis on Yamada's directional speaker system.

It included several sketches of what looked like the inside of the speaker, and Snipe didn't want to know why Midoriya seemed to know how to build the device from scratch.

Not to mention that he had plenty of ideas of how to upgrade and improve the device while making it lighter and more sturdy, as well as possibly ideas for Yamada himself to try and improve his quirk.

He was really going to have to be harsher on the word limit for Midoriya. He spent more time on Midoriya's work than on all the other General Education students' work combined.

Maybe he should have Midoriya analyze villains instead of heroes.

Midoriya just nodded, before grabbing his bag and making his way to the principal's office, his body moving on its own in the direction he wanted. He had visited Nezu many times, upon the animal's request, and it was just muscle memory by now.

Midoriya stopped in front of Nezu's office, before he paused and knocked.

"Come in."

Midoriya hesitantly pushed the door open and stepped into the room, closing the door gently behind him.

Almost immediately, a small ball of fluff tackled his legs. Midoriya looked down, and his eyes lit up when he found Reiko pawing at his shoes. He quickly bent down, and scooped his cat up, running his fingers through her soft fur.

Nezu never thought he'd see the day where Midoriya would actually express some emotion, even if it was just through his eyes. He loved it. And he was going to try to find a way, as the principal of the school that he was attending, and as a friend of Void, to make sure it happened more often.

He swore he saw something around Midoriya's neck, but he dismissed it for now. Midoriya was short, and he had a tendency to slouch, much like Aizawa did. It was probably a habit from being a vigilante, having to hide and creep about, trying to make himself appear as small and non-threatening as possible. Not to mention Midoriya seemed to like having the collar of his uniform up, as if he was trying to hide his neck from other people.

Plus, wearing jewelry wasn't against the school rules, as long as it didn't dangle about or was a hazard to the wearer or those around them.

Nezu wondered what Midoriya would do in the Sports Festival, though. It was a chance for him to join the hero course, and considering that he's a vigilante, Nezu figured that it was what he was aiming for. Luckily, if Midoriya managed to win, he wouldn't be allowed to go on internships with the other hero course students, so the problem of what to say about his quirk could wait for later.

"Ahem, Midoriya." Nezu cleared his throat, "It has come to my attention that Reiko had decided to… follow you to school today."

Midoriya almost blanched, as Reiko stuck her paw out to pat Midoriya's nose.

"Now, as we both know, pets aren't allowed in school. Family, on the other hand, is." Nezu grinned, "As long as none of the other teachers see her around, feel free to bring her. You can drop her off here in the morning if you wish as well."

Midoriya just blinked at Nezu, stunned into silence. Not that he spoke much anyways.

"It's clear that her mere presence improves your mental state. I'm not going to take her away from you. It's not like her being here affects your grades negatively. Also, speaking of grades, from now on, when Snipe has lessons, you are to come find me here, okay? He has spoken well of your analysis abilities, and I would like to make good use of that and find something suitable to challenge your skills. Not to mention that some of the information you have analyzed would be detrimental in the wrong hands."

Midoriya nodded, and placed Reiko on his shoulder. She quickly found the hole next to the shoulder strap of Midoriya's bag, and popped inside. She poked her head out, her mint and cyan eyes trailing down to look at Nezu.

"Alright, that's it. For now, we'll be working on your analysis skills, but later on, if you decide you want to continue these lessons instead of your normal lessons, we'll be working on some other things to ensure your notes are safe." Nezu nodded, "You're free to go. I don't want to hold you for too long, the Sports Festival is coming soon and you should get all the rest you can."

He didn't want to tell Midoriya that Reiko had told him about his home situation, that it wasn't normal to be neglected and ordered around by the other children that shared the same foster home, that he didn't deserve to be treated like a lesser being simply because he lacked a quirk, or was functionally quirkless.

If he couldn't enjoy his time at home, then Nezu was going to make sure he enjoyed his time at school, doing things that he is good at, and being appreciated for it.

Or, at least, Nezu hoped he could enjoy it. He hadn't seen Midoriya express much emotion, speaking mostly in a monotone voice or slight anger. The happiest he had seen him was when he saw Reiko, and even then, he continued to keep a straight face.

Nezu was probably going to assign one of the teachers to do a home visit, just in case. Or maybe he should just do it himself, since Midoriya seemed to trust him the most.

Midoriya walked out of the principal's office, pondering over Nezu's words. He wanted to get into the hero course, even though he had long forgotten the reason why he wanted to be a hero in the first place. Heroes just did it for the money, after all, with a few exceptions like the teachers he knew in UA, and a couple others. But just because he felt they were good heroes didn't mean that he trusted them.

And he didn't need to be a hero to help people, after all. It made capturing criminals much more difficult since all the idiotic reports and civilians just stand around, some even inching closer, just to watch the ensuing fight like it was some kind of street show, making the heroes have to look out for them as well, and not being able to concentrate solely on the villain.

It wasn't like he had an offensive quirk and needed a license either. All he had was some dumb quirk that he couldn't control that didn't let him die. What, was he going to be arrested for being a vigilante simply because someone stabbed him and ripped out his lung or something and he was still alive and well?

Midoriya sighed, and headed in the direction of the animal rescue center. At the very least, the animals there liked him, and could help soothe his fraying nerves. The workers there never liked him, thinking he was weird for signing all the time even though he wasn't mute, but they kept him around simply because the animals liked him the most, and that he could calm most of them down with his presence alone.

It was kind of stupid, really. They knew these were animals with abusive owners, or strays that had never had positive contact with humans, and they thought that man-handling them was a good idea?

He just hoped that he wouldn't have to sign aggressively at people. The last time he had to do that, one of the caretakers had dumped a black stray cat onto the ground even though it looked terribly sick.

He pushed all his thoughts of the Sports Festival to the back of his mind. Win first, then decide later. He wouldn't have to decide if he lost, after all.

Midoriya sat still as a rock as he listened to Uraraka rant about something or another. To be completely honest, he had no idea what she was talking about, and was trying his best to not fall asleep right there and then.

He had been pushing himself further, as preparation for the Sports Festival. Hunting more criminals, trying to be more efficient and deal maximum damage in as little time as possible.

He may be able to fend off ten low level criminals at the same time, but he couldn't use weapons for the Sports Festival, and if he were to go up against someone like Tokoyami or Todoroki, he might end up having a little problem.

Thank god that he didn't feel too much pain anymore.

He remembered this guy from the files he skimmed over that had a quirk that allowed him to paralyse people temporarily as long as they held direct eye contact. Taking him down would be great practise for learning how to fight blind.

After all, the world wasn't going to slow down and wait for you as you wallowed in self pity. They'll just take advantage of that and swallow you whole.

He needed to get better, faster, if he wanted to prove himself.

But Midoriya no longer knew why he wanted to do so.

He could no longer remember what he was fighting for.

Midoriya popped open his water bottle, and took a sip, ignoring its tangy taste. One of the friendlier kids in his foster home had a quirk that allowed him to turn water into sedatives, and had more often than not, been called by the other kids to mess with their water when they had trouble sleeping.

That's probably what they had done to his water. His quirk didn't need direct contact, and could work through the wall of his bottle, but Midoriya really didn't want to waste his water, or risk the spiked water ending up in a drain that some poor stray would drink from.

He'll just have to sleep it off later. It's not like he has never done anything while sleep deprived before.

Midoriya yawned as he made his way to Nezu's office. Snipe was conducting his lessons, and Nezu did tell Midoriya that they were going to do something to challenge him. To be honest, Midoriya was kind of looking forward to it, since a lot of things in school weren't difficult in the slightest for him.

But Nezu wasn't there when he arrived.

Ectoplasm, the teacher who was in the staff room, informed him that Nezu was speaking to the police, and the meeting had probably taken longer than expected.

"Go take a seat in his office. I'll tell him I sent you inside first when he comes back."

Midoriya carefully pushed open the door of Nezu's office, finding Reiko sitting in a corner in Nezu's office, poking at the bookshelf curiously. Midoriya didn't own a lot of things, most definitely not a bookshelf, so there was no doubt that Reiko would be curious about something new.

She immediately lit up when he entered the office, and she leapt up onto the sofa, waiting for Midoriya to take a seat before she hopped onto his lap. Midoriya yawned and cracked his neck as Reiko pawed at his chest and licked his cheek. He proceeded to nuzzle her gently and sank into the soft couch.

He was tired, Midoriya would admit that. Chasing after villains all the time and getting less and less sleep was getting to him. Not to mention that his water wasn't actually water.

He leaned back against the sofa, and closed his eyes. A small nap wouldn't hurt anyone, right?

Nezu decided that Midoriya was pushing himself too much.

Tsukauchi was lamanting about the vigilante again, saying how he was getting a sudden influx of texts everyday, with villains tied up and restrained all over Musutafu. He had to deal with all the paperwork, so honestly, Nezu didn't blame him.

At least, his tactic of indirectly feeding Midoriya information was working. Midoriya continuously seeked out a harder opponents, and was doing a pretty good job in taking them down. But he seemed to be working harder at the cost of having fewer breaks and less time to rest.

It wasn't healthy for him to be pushing himself so hard.

Nezu sighed, as he brisk walked to his office. The talk with Tsukauchi had taken much longer than intended, overshooting by half an hour, and Midoriya was probably getting bored waiting for him.

Nezu really didn't want to break the trust that Midoriya had put in him.

He quickly pushed open the door to his office, before blinking at the sight in front of him.

Midoriya was curled up on the sofa in his office, cuddling Reiko protectively as he slept. His feet were hanging off the side of the couch, probably so as to not dirty his furniture, but other than that, Midoriya seemed perfectly content snoozing in the principal's office.

Nezu couldn't help but walk towards the boy, gently patting the boy on the head. If he needed to sleep, then Nezu was going to let him. They could always reschedule their talk for another day. Midoriya's health and well being came first.

Much to his surprise, Midoriya let out what sounded like a purr, relaxing ever so slightly to his touch, and Nezu just gave him a soft, gentle, reassuring pat on the head. Reiko opened her eyes, giving him a quick glance, before she snuggled back into Midoriya's grasp.

He really was getting attached to the boy.

Chapter Text

Midoriya groggily opened his eyes and blinked, trying to figure out where he was. Reiko licked his cheek as Midoriya pushed himself up into a sitting position, and blanched when he saw Nezu sitting at his desk, typing away.

"Ah, hello Midoriya, had a nice nap?"

Midoriya was quick to stagger to his feet, clutching Reiko tightly as he tried to apologise while bowing.

Nezu just chuckled, "Don't worry about it. You looked like you needed a nap."

His expression hardened, "Though you have never fallen asleep like this before. Are you okay, Midoriya? Are you getting enough rest at home?"

Midoriya blearly blinked, and nodded. He was getting enough rest, though it was barely enough to keep him functioning throughout the day. But it would be pretty embarrassing to admit that he had drunk spiked water.

His eyes unconsciously trailed to his water bottle, and Nezu caught the motion.

"Oh dear… Do you know who may have done that?" Nezu asked.

Midoriya just shook his head. He didn't want that kid in his foster home to get into trouble. He was one of the nicer ones, and hadn't really bothered Midoriya before. Nezu hopped off his chair, and plucked the bottle out of Midoriya's bag.

"I'll just hand this to Recovery Girl to check if it's dangerous or just a mild sedative. It's rather late now, so I'll just escort you home so you won't get into trouble for taking a nap."

Midoriya was grateful that Nezu had brought that up. If he went home on his own, no doubt he was probably going to get smacked on the head a couple of times for getting home late, since today was a day where he didn't go to the animal rescue shelter.

"Thank… you…"

"Don't worry about it, Midoriya." Nezu grinned, reaching up to pat Midoriya's arm.

Based on Reiko's description of Midoriya's living conditions, Nezu expected Midoriya's foster parent to be loud, brash, possibly cursing and swearing a lot.

He wasn't expecting for Midoriya to be smacked harshly on the head the second he entered the house.

"How many times have I told you to be back on time?!" His foster mother roared, as Midoriya just stood there, letting her yell at him.

"Ahem." Nezu cleared his throat, gaining the woman's attention, "About that -"

"Excuse me, who are you?" The woman scoffed, "What kind of quirk made you look like that?"

"I should introduce myself. My name's Nezu. I'm the principal of UA, the school that Midoriya currently goes to."

The woman just rolled her eyes dramatically and sighed, "What did Midoriya do this time?"

Nezu raised his eyebrow, "Midoriya didn't do anything, in fact. Someone messed with his drink and he ended up passing out in his class. That's why he came home late."

The woman scoffed, "Seriously?"

She turned to Midoriya, "That's a new one. What other lies are you making up now? First it was classmates destroying your homework, messing with your locker, taking your worksheets, and now spiking your drinks? Can't you come up with something more believable instead of filling people's heads with lies?"

Nezu blanched at how uncaring she seemed to be towards Midoriya. How could he stand to live with someone like that?

He was about to say something when he saw Midoriya signing something behind his back.

"Don't. Please."

"We already did a quick check. His water really was mixed with a mild sedative." Nezu confirmed, biting back his comment about her attitude, "Well, I just came to tell you that he's not in trouble in any way."

"Midoriya, go to your room." The woman ordered, and Midoriya followed almost immediately.

Nezu was about to protest that she treat Midoriya with respect when the door to Midoriya's room closed, and the woman sat down on her chair.

"Don't associate yourself with him. In case you're not aware, he's quirkless. I have no idea how he even managed to get into UA, but he's honestly not going to end up getting anywhere without even a useless quirk. He's also non-responsive, doesn't show any emotions, and is just weird in general. A useless freak, even. He's just going to end up being a disappointment."

Nezu growled internally. He really hated how she just talked down on Midoriya without even seeing what he was capable of, but he also wished to respect Midoriya's wishes and not pick a fight with her. If she was the cause for Midoriya's conditioning to not respond to anything and his complete lack of self esteem, he really needed to get him out of her clutches once and for all.

"I understand." Nezu gave her a fake smile, "Midoriya has, however, been doing excellently in lessons, so I'm positive he will be able to do great things later on. I will say goodbye to my student, and I'll be heading out."

"Good." She nodded.

Nezu made his way towards Midoriya's door, and knocked on it gently.

"Midoriya? It's Nezu."

"He's not allowed to lock the door." The woman called out, "Just open in."

Nezu grimaced. No privacy at all?

He still waited until Midoriya himself opened the door, and judging by how quickly he did so, Midoriya was probably trying to listen to the conversation, and Nezu just smiled gently at the teenager. "Hey, I'll be heading back to UA soon. Just… don't listen to her, okay? You're clearly good at analysis and all your other subjects, and that's important. Just because you're quirkless, doesn't make you a freak, and you're certainly not useless."

Midoriya just stared at him, stunned.

Nezu reached up to pat his hand, "If you ever want to talk about it, you'll know where to find me."

Midoriya nodded, and Nezu shot him a small smile as the teen gently closed the door. He made his way out of the house, before he let out a small groan and dialed Aizawa's number.

"Yes, Principal?"

"How do you take custody of a human child from someone?"

"Midoriya."

Shinsou, Uraraka, and Iida turned at the sound of Midoriya's name, only to find that Nezu, of all people, was the one to had called out.

Midoriya just got out of his chair and stood up, as Nezu appeared by their table with a huge pile of papers and folders.

"I'll be busy for the next week, so take a look at these villains and see if you can get anything out of them. There's videos, some images, lots of articles, tons of stuff for you to look at."

Midoriya squatted down and collected the huge stack of files and papers from Nezu's paws, and the principal just grinned up at him.

"It's probably not enough to keep you entertained for the entire week, but just take your time with it." Nezu grinned.

Midoriya quietly nodded, and Nezu made his way out of the cafeteria like nothing had happened, ignoring all the 1-A and 1-B students as they watched the exchange in mild shock and fear.

Aizawa and Kan had already told them about Nezu's quirk, High Spec, and for him to actually take an interest in a student and interact with them means that the particular student had probably done something to catch his attention.

Midoriya had never said a word, and through rumours, they had heard that Midoriya was smart, getting through tests and homework without making any mistakes, which was almost a feat in itself as almost no one has done so well before. The only difference between the heroics course and general education was that of the hero lessons, which meant that Midoriya would also be acing their lessons if he were in the hero course.

Also, he seemed to have something around his neck. Probably a choker. No one wanted to question him.

"Hey, Bakugou, is he the one you talked about the other day?" Kirishima gently elbowed Bakugou and asked. The blonde just nodded.

Yaoyorozu shivered. She had no idea who Midoriya was, and to think that both Nezu and Bakugou had acknowledged him….

He might be a troublesome opponent for the Sports Festival.

"Just who is he?" Yaoyorozu groaned.

"Midoriya?" Asui asked, "You've been stressing about him for some time, kero."

"There's nothing about him that's interesting. There has to be some reason why Nezu has taken him under his wing." Yaoyorozu sighed, "It just doesn't make any sense."

"Tch. Don't underestimate him." Bakugou growled, as he stalked out of the waiting room into the stadium where cheering could be heard from all over the place.

"Damn, this Sports Festival is going to be a riot." Kaminari gasped as he stared at the sheer number of spectators that filled the stadium.

And then Bakugou had to give a small speech since he had gotten the most points in the entrance exams.

"You guys are just stepping stones for my victory. You better give it your all if you even want to stand a chance."

He did manage to find Midoriya's prominent green hair in the crowd of General Education students and sent him a subtle wary glance.

The first event was an obstacle course.

Except that it was not any normal obstacle course. The first part of the obstacle course was a thick forest. And one couldn't just walk or run between the trees, since the ground was, in actuality, waist-height quicksand. It was simply impossible to get through the quicksand fast enough to gain any distance, and the students were forced to either climb the trees and make their way through the forest, or precariously hop along the elongated tree roots in order to pass.

"Alright, Bakugou and Sero seem to be in the lead! Uraraka is doing good too, in fact, most of 1-A seems to be doing well! Ah, some of the 1-B students are struggling, and uh…. Midoriya? From Class 1-C?"

Midoriya was just leaping from tree branch to tree branch, running along like he was just running normally on land.

"What?" Monoma gaped as Midoriya just leapt past him, grabbing the nearest branch with his hands and swinging himself up to the next branch. Monoma himself was borrowing Kendo's quirk to get a firm grip on the trees, and he had snagged Uraraka's without her knowledge, and yet he was still having trouble getting through the forest. And there was this guy who was just jumping off like he had lived in a forest his entire life.

Midoriya easily surpassed Uraraka and Iida, the former who was getting nauseous from the usage of her quirk, and the later not having much stable footing to work with.

Then, Ashido accidentally melted a branch with her acid and fell.

Or she would have fallen, if Midoriya didn't seem to have sensed it beforehand and had lunged at her, wrapping his legs around her chest as he hung from a nearby tree branch.

"Woah! Damn, thanks a lot, man!" Ashido grinned, as Midoriya seemed to haul them both up without much of a problem.

Bakugou and Todoroki had taken the lead, clearing the first section of the obstacle course without many problems. Sero was close behind them, after Todoroki had used his ice to slice through his tape. He had fallen into the quicksand, but had managed to save himself in time.

In front of them, lay a few long metal poles that stood up from a large chasm. The poles didn't span the entire length of the chasm, instead, being very randomly placed so there was no clear path to the other side.

Bakugou, always the hotheaded one, shot forward, ignoring the obstacle all together with his quirk, until he was hit by a powerful stream of water right in the face. He tumbled down, and managed to blast himself back onto the side.

Todoroki peered down the chasm, and stared at the massive water cannons that littered the bottom of the chasm.

"You fall to the ground, you're automatically out! Oh! Monoma and Iida are catching up, Midoriya's behind them, with Sero, Hatsume and Shinsou! Asui's making good progress too! And Uraraka!"

Iida braked when he saw the chasm, and Shinsou and Sero leaned over the edge to see what lay below. Hatsume tried to cross, but she got a blast of water to the face as she did so, blasting her back to the edge. Asui had caught up and made her way across slowly, hopping to the next bar when she sensed that water was coming her way, and Todoroki made his own protected path of ice and ran across. Bakugou had given it another shot, blasting the water away when it came near as he propelled himself further over the chasm with his quirk.

Then Midoriya came running up. Without even stopping to check his surroundings, he leapt onto a metal pole.

"Hey, watch out!" Shinsou yelped, as he saw a water cannon revving up and taking aim at Midoriya.

Midoriya swiftly leapt to the next bar as a jet of water flew at him, dodging the pressurized blast of water. He kept up the pace, not even missing a beat as he quickly raced along the metal bars towards the other side of the chasm, dodging water blasts left and right.

He weaved through the attacks effortlessly, almost as if he were dancing, smoothly, and just gaped at the green haired boy, blinking like an idiot.

He wasn't the only one. Asui had almost gotten blasted off her pole by water as she stared at the boy who was making good headway, and Kirishima and Tetsutetsu, who had just caught up, were dumbfounded.

Two pressurized blasts of water flew at Midoriya, and much to their surprise, Midoriya jumped, performing a backflip as he twisted midair, dodging both water blasts and landing back on the metal bar in a crouched position.

Even Yamada and Aizawa were gaping from their commentators position, and Aizawa glared at the animal principal who was sitting innocently on his seat and staring at the television, a smile creeping onto his face.

Damn it, Nezu. What are you teaching him?

It didn't take long for Midoriya to overtake Bakugou and Todoroki, crossing the chasm. Asui, Iida and Yaoyorozu, who were hot on their heels, until they came up to the next segment.

A huge field of darkened splotches, coupled with robots that littered the area. Midoriya immediately bounded forward, avoiding the splotches completely as Bakugou roared, blasting forward. Todoroki made an ice path to keep up with Bakugou, as the three of them raced for the finish line, Midoriya somehow able to keep his lead despite having to leap and jump all over the place.

Bakugou easily blasted apart a robot, as Todoroki froze another in place. Midoriya, on the other hand, sped up. He jumped, spinning midair as he kicked the robot's head, easily decapitating it. He took it in stride, leaping off the robot and continuing to make his way past the mines.

Bakugou growled, and attempted to attack Midoriya, but Midoriya merely moved his head, like he had predicted that Bakugou would do that, and latched onto his arm with one hand. He twisted his upper body, and jumped, kicking Bakugou to the ground, right onto a mine.

The mine exploded, erupting into pink, glittery smoke, that blasted Bakugou backwards into Todoroki, causing them to activate more mines. Meanwhile, Midoriya was midair at the right angle that the very same blast that sent Bakugou flying backwards propelled him forwards, allowing him to clear the minefield.

Midoriya raced through the tunnel, back into the stadium, where he was declared the winner by Yamada.

"Damn."

That was the only thing that Yamada had said as Midoriya took both Bakugou and Todoroki down. Luckily for him, his microphone was muted, so no one heard him.

Aizawa was just sitting there, blinking, trying to process what the quirkless, selectively mute teen had done.

"He could have gotten into the hero course." Aizawa muttered, after Yamada announced Midoriya as the winner, "He should have. He chose to save others over gathering the set villain points. He chose to take down the zero-pointer with an EMP because he thought someone would get hurt instead of using the time to take out more robots."

"Well, if he wins, he has a good chance of transferring, right?" Yamada turned to the other pro hero.

"Once people find out he's quirkless, they're gonna flip their shit. That's the main reason why he got so few rescue points." Aizawa growled.

"Alright! Our next event! Spin the wheel!" Kayama grinned, as she waited for the next event to be displayed on the wide screen television.

"And next, we have the two man cavalry battle! Now, you may be wondering what this is about! There are forty two students who have passed the first round. There will be twenty one groups of two. The person who ranked last would be worth five points, and each rank above that would be worth 5 more points than the previous position, with the exception of first place, who was worth a thousand points!"

Everyone turned to Midoriya, who had gotten first, but the lone green haired general education student didn't even flinch as forty one pairs of eyes stared at him like predators.

"Each team will have a headband that is the sum of the points of the two teammates. One person will carry the other rides on their backs, and the rider is the one wearing the headband. The horse can use their hands, but once your rider falls off your back, it's game over. You're not eliminated if you lose your headband, and quirk usage is allowed, but should you attack with malicious intent to injure or harm another student, you will be disqualified! Now, you have five minutes to make your teams, alliances, whatever!"

Shinsou had no idea who to team up with. Kirishima was with Bakugou, and Uraraka had gone with Iida. He was about to go ask Midoriya, but a pink haired support course student had already asked to team up with him.

He had ended up paired with Tokoyami. Dark Shadow was sentient, so they technically had three members instead of two, so Shinsou was certain that the second event wouldn't go too badly. Shinsou was the rider, and he could hear Dark Shadow grumbling that the second event made no sense and there was no practical use in it.

"Actually, it is useful. We may have to do rescue or stealth operations that require us to jump around with people on our backs. If we can't even carry young and healthy teenagers without them falling off, we may accidentally drop any injured or elderly people and result in their deaths." Yaoyorozu pointed out.

Shinsou could hear Hatsume babbling on about her inventions as Midoriya heaved her onto his back, testing his own mobility. Uraraka was sitting on Iida's shoulders instead of being piggybacked, and it seemed to be working well for them as long as Uraraka didn't overuse her abilities.

Kaminari and Sero were trying to figure out who would be the rider and the horse, and Ashido was cheering as Asui clung to her back.

"Todoroki and Bakugou are going to go after Midoriya for sure." Ashido commented, dragging Asui with her, "He has the most points. I pity Kirishima and Yaoyorozu."

"Kero, just be glad that Mineta isn't with any of us, kero." Asui said, seeing as Mineta had somehow ended up with Shoji as a partner and was screeching at Todoroki and Iida for having a female partner, much to the two males confusion and the anger of the two other females.

Ishiyama placed his hands on the ground, manipulating the ground so that it was blocky and uneven.

"Woah! This is awesome!" Kirishima grinned, as the earth beneath him shifted and moved, cement columns rising and sinking.

"Shut up, Shitty Hair." Bakugou snapped, "Keep an eye on Midoriya!"

Midoriya was grabbing onto Hatsume's legs as she clung to his back like a koala, wrapping her arms around Midoriya's neck.

Kayama yelled, "And go!"

Kirishima leapt up androcketed towards Midoriya, powered forwards by Bakugou's explosions, but the green haired boy merely leapt up onto the nearby elevated platform, dodging Bakugou's attempt to steal Hatsume's headband. Shinsou seriously wondered how strong the teen was if he was able to carry Hatsume and all her equipment, which included a pair or large metal boots and a jetpack, without any problems at all.

He clicked his tongue.

"Gotcha." Hatsume activated her jetpack as Midoriya jumped again, giving him a huge boost in speed as they rocketed away from the two hero course students. He immediately pushed off a wall with his foot and tackled Bakugou, knocked him off balance, but he grabbed on to Kirishima in time as the red-head righted himself.

Tokoyami, Uraraka, Iida, and Shinsou were staying at the sides, trying to avoid conflict. Uraraka's quirk would be useful for offence, while Iida's quirk could allow him much more mobility in midair, while Dark Shadow was just focussing on defending. Both teams had enough points to take fifth or sixth place, so they were just focussing on keeping their points safe.

Todoroki immediately shot towards Midoriya, as Yaoyorozu created a metal pole, and aimed it at Hatsume, but Midoriya just dodged and stepped on the pole as they came close, jumping and swerving aside as he narrowly avoided being frozen in Todoroki's ice.

He clicked his tongue twice.

"This one, right?" Hatsume grinned, activating her hover soles. It wasn't powerful, but it propelled the non-hero course duo away from Todoroki, giving Midoriya some breathing space as he shot backwards. Todoroki hissed under his breath as Midoriya put some distance between them, as Midoriya jumped onto another elevated platform, before dropping down directly onto Kendo and Bondo.

Hatsume swiftly grabbed Kendo's headband, and Midoriya jumped and clicked his tongue once. Hatsume activated her jetpack again and by the time Kendo and Bondo realised what was going on, they were already out of the two 1-B students' reach.

"Jeez, is he a pro at this?" Monoma muttered, watching as Midoriya effortlessly twisted and maneuvered Hatsume and himself around, dodging attempts at Hatsume's headband and any other obstacles that others like Shiozaki, Kamikiri, Yaoyorozu, and Awase were creating.

Heck, he was even using it to his advantage, kicking up a blade that Kamikiri had shot out and using it to slice away Shiozaki's vines with one foot, using his other foot to support both his and Hatsume's weight.

It came to the point where Bakugou and Todoroki got so frustrated that they decided to form an alliance, albeit an uneasy one, to team up on Midoriya. They'd rather let each other win then to be bested by a General Education and a Support Course student. Even though they had already snagged Mineta and Tsunotori's headbands respectively, they didn't have enough to beat Midoriya.

Iida, Uraraka, and Shinsou just stared in horror from their safe zone, after both groups had managed to snag Shoda's and Kodai's headband respectively. Shinsou's quirk was also freezing both teams in place, so neither group could fight back.

Kirishima and Todoroki raced towards Midoriya, and the green haired boy didn't even flinch as he noticed both teams coming towards him. Todoroki's ice shot out, and Kirishima blasted forward.

Being forced to dodge the ice, Midoriya swerved, giving Bakugou the perfect opportunity to snatch Hatsume's headband off, eliciting a yelp of surprise from the pinkette.

What no one expected was for Midoriya to lunge forward as Hatsume clung onto him to prevent herself from falling off, his head snapping forward as his teeth clamped down on the headband in Bakugou's grasp. He jerked his head backwards, and Kirishima braked as Bakugou tried to yank the headband out of Midoriya's bite.

Todoroki growled, as Yaoyorozu lashed forward with another pole to try and get Midoriya away from Bakugou.

Midoriya just clamped his teeth down harder on the headband, and yanked it backwards as he dodged Yaoyorozu's attack, as a loud ripping sound filled the stadium.

"And times up! It looks like Team Hatsume has the majority of their headband, since it tore, so they still retain their 1010 points from the Sports Festival! They also took Team Kendo's headband, leaving them in first place with 1175 points!"

Bakugou stared at the torn headband in his hand, and his gaze shifted to Midoriya as the boy spat out the remainder of the headband onto the ground, with Hatsume still clinging onto his back, almost choking him as she cheered.

Yaoyorozu and Todoroki had ended up in second place with 530 points, while Kirishima and Bakugou earned third with 455 points. Tokoyami and Shinsou received 390 points and fourth place, Uraraka and Iida got 385 points in fifth place, Kaibara, Yanagi, Shiozaki and Kamikiri all tied for sixth place with 270 points per team, and Monoma and Tetsutetsu had made it in eighth place with 255 points.

"Now, we'll take an hour's break for lunch before we start the afternoon festivities! See ya! Hey, Eraser, let's go grab some food!"

"I'm going to sleep."

"You were awesome, Midoriya!" Uraraka gushed, "I thought you were done for when Bakugou and Todoroki teamed up on you guys! You really showed both them!"

Midoriya just glanced at her and nodded, acknowledging her compliment but still not saying a word, instead sipping his energy drink that Lunch Rush had provided. Shinsou noted that he had something around his neck from the previous events, but he didn't question it. Midoriya could wear whatever he wanted to.

"You think you're too good to eat with us, huh?"

Everyone looked up as a boy growled, glaring at Midoriya. Shinsou, Iida, and Uraraka flinched as he slammed his palms down on the table, right in front of Midoriya, but the green haired boy didn't even flinch.

Midoriya was roughly grabbed by the collar of his UA sports uniform and lifted out of his chair.

"How did a quirkless nobody like you manage to get so far!?"

Yaoyorozu paused, noodles still hanging from her mouth, as she processed his words in shook. Other members of both 1-A and 1-B were also staring at the commotion, gaping at the green haired boy.

Midoriya was quirkless? He placed first in both the first and second events, without a quirk? Sure, pretty much everyone was struggling with the second event, save for him, who seemed right in his element as he zipped around with Hatsume on his back, but the first event?

Midoriya just hung limply from the other boy's grasp, not even struggling or making a move to free himself from potentially being choked. He just gazed lifelessly at the other General Education student, his green eyes dim and empty.

"What's this? A collar?" The boy sneered, using one hand to hold Midoriya's uniform, and his other to tug lightly at the black band around MIdoriya's neck.

Oh. So that's what it was. Shinsou bleakly realised, as he was frozen to his seat.

"What are you, some kind of pet?" The boy growled, pushing Midoriya to the ground.

Shinsou snapped as Midoriya's head made contact with the wall, producing a loud bang.

"Hey, what did he do to you?" Shinsou hissed, standing up and blocking the downed Midoriya from the other boy's view, "He didn't do anything to you! Leave him alone."

Midoriya picked himself up from the ground wordlessly, as the other male just snapped, "He doesn't deserve to be here. He's powerless. Sure, he's smart, but there's absolutely no reason how to had gotten so far without any physical enhancements. And what about you, with your vile, disgusting, villainous quirk? How the hell did you get into the hero course anyways!? Did you brainwash the teachers and the principal?"

Shinsou flinched.

He hated it. Hated that people would assume he would use his quirk to get his way. Hated that other people don't care that some people actually work hard and don't rely on their quirks all the time.

"Hey, that is completely uncalled for! Shinsou didn't - " Iida tried to stand up for Shinsou, but all of a sudden, he felt like he couldn't breathe.

The boy froze as Midoriya stared at him coldly, eyes gleaming like emerald, cold, hard, uncaring. He flinched, and panicked, falling to the ground as Midoriya took a step forward. Midoriya wasn't even doing anything remotely threatening, but the air around him seemed to darken, crackling with pressure that squeezed the air out of everyone's lungs and made it hard to breath.

Midoriya wasn't tall, but he towered over the general education student who was sitting helpless on the floor, completely at the mercy of the silent boy. Midoriya just looked at him, his hair casting a shadow over his eyes, making them appear to glow an eerie shade of green. His expression was empty, like a void, betraying none of his thoughts as he looked down at the student who had insulted him and Shinsou.

As suddenly as the oppressing pressure had appeared, it dissipated.

"You… you monster! Freak! You're not even human!" The boy yelped, scrambling to his feet and running out of the cafeteria.

Midoriya just walked back to his seat and sat down, drinking his energy drink like nothing had happened at all, his eyebags standing out as he sat there emotionlessly.

Everyone in the vicinity heaved a sigh of relief as the activities in the cafeteria returned to normal, though rumours were flying all over the place in hushed whispers.

"I'm so sorry, Midoriya. He shouldn't have said that. You don't deserve that." Shinsou sighed, as he went back to his seat.

Midoriya just glanced at him, uncaring, eyes vacant and empty.

"As the class representative, I shall go report him to the teachers." Iida made a move to stand up, "I believe a description of his appearance will be enough. You may not be in my class, but a class representative should take care of students outside of their class as well."

"Don't worry about it." He signed apathetically, as Shinsou's heart sank at what the boy signed next.

"It's not like it's the first time I've been called that."

Chapter Text

Kan eyed the snowy white cat that sat on Nezu's lap, staring at the television screen intently.

"I wasn't aware you had a pet, sir."

"Ah, she's Midoriya's cat." Nezu turned to the teacher, "She followed Midoriya here again and he didn't have time to bring her home."

"Sounds like this happened before." Kan noted that Nezu said "again".

"Quite a few times. She's pleasant company." Nezu grinned, choosing to omit the fact that Midoriya brought her to school pretty much every day.

Reiko purred at the praise, and Kan hesitantly reached his hand out to pet her. Reiko froze, before cautiously sniffing Kan's palm, before she let out a purr and rubbed her head against his palm.

"Well, it seems like the second event has ended." Thirteen spoke up, eyes trailing to the seemingly affectionate feline, "Do you think Midoriya will want her back?"

"Perhaps." Nezu stood up, as Yamada and Aizawa bantered over the loudspeakers as they announced the lunch break. He placed Reiko on the ground, and made his way towards the stairs, making his way towards the cafeteria, Reiko trotting along beside him.

It took a much longer time for the teachers to reach the cafeteria from their position in the stadium, and when Nezu was close to his destination, he found a boy which he recognised as from being in Midoriya's class to be running in the direction opposite that of the cafeteria.

He didn't seem to notice either or Nezu, and the boy nearly kicked Reiko had the cat not lunged out of the way in time, his foot barely nicking her tail. Reiko hissed as the boy ran away and turned the corner, and Nezu didn't even have time to call out for him to stop before he was gone.

"Well… that was interesting." Nezu muttered, as he continued on his way to the cafeteria, Reiko hissing the direction that the boy had run in.

"Bad. Bad human. Hurt Izuku."

Nezu kept that in mind as he finally reached the entrance to the cafeteria, and finding his way blocked by Tensei's little brother.

"Ah, Principal. I was just going to find Aizawa-sensei. I'm sorry for blocking your path!" Iida yelped as he immediately jumped to the side, standing perfectly straight.

"No problems." Nezu replied, "May I ask, why are you looking for Aizawa?"

"Well… I would like to report a boy who pushed Midoriya to the ground, insulted him for being quirkless, and then insulted Shinsou for his quirk when he tried to stand up for Midoriya. He ran out of the cafeteria after calling Midoriya a monster and a freak." Iida bowed at a perfect angle of ninety degrees, purposefully lowering his voice when he mentioned the last few words.

Nezu seethed internally, "Alright. I shall deal with it. Do you know who it was?"

Iida shook his head, "I apologise. I do not know his name. I just know that he's around my height, and he has grey hair and yellow eyes."

The same guy who had run past just now, Nezu noted. "Alright. I'll call Shinsou and Midoriya later to decide a suitable punishment. Please enjoy your lunch and the rest of the Sports Festival."

"Thank you, sir." Iida nodded, before he turned around to join Uraraka, Shinsou and Midoriya at their table.

Nezu followed behind him, before he picked Reiko up gently and deposited her on Midoriya's lap.

"Your cat. You can leave her with Aizawa or me before the third event."

Shinsou blinked at the cat, and Reiko leapt up onto the table, careful to avoid knocking over Midoriya's drink, as Midoriya looked at her in mute, emotionless confusion.

Then Reiko reached up to boop Midoriya's nose with her paw.

Uraraka burst into laughter as Iida berated her for being rude, as Midoriya just blinked and looked at Reiko, dumbfounded. Shinsou was doing his best to hide his own laughter, and Reiko seemed pleased with her action, leaping up onto Midoriya's right shoulder and nuzzling him.

Midoriya let her do so, not making a single movement in case she fell off by accident, and he closed his right eye as Reiko continued nuzzling him, her tail flicking around erratically.

Even though Midoriya's facial expression had barely changed at all, Shinsou couldn't help himself from thinking when he saw Reiko being so affectionate with him, Holy crap. He's adorable.

Uraraka caught Shinsou's expression, and she giggled as Iida continued to berate her. Reiko was purring all the while as she perched on Midoriya's shoulder, before licking his cheek and hopping down curl up in his lap.

"I would like to speak with Shinsou and Midoriya in private, please." Nezu spoke up, as Reiko nudged Midoriya's arm. Shinsou frowned and stood up, as Midoriya picked Reiko up, both of them following Nezu out of the cafeteria.

"I wonder what's that about…" Yaoyorozu mumbled.

"Iida did talk to Nezu about what happened when he entered the cafeteria." Jiro pointed out, "Maybe he's going to talk to them about that."

"Now…. Iida told me what happened." Nezu sighed, as the trio were standing outside the cafeteria, just around the corner. "Quirk discrimination isn't tolerated here. In most cases, we would just give the student a warning, and expel the student if it happens again, but... I think I should get your opinion on it."

Shinsou frowned, as Midoriya placed Reiko on the ground and started signing at a breakneck pace.

"No you can't expel him! He's probably just frustrated that he didn't manage to pass the first round and just took it out on me in the heat of the moment, and anyway it's not like he's wrong. You can't blame him for that, even though acting on emotions is irrational. Maybe just give him detention or something?"

It took Shinsou a couple of seconds to process what Midoriya had just signed, and he just gaped at the smaller teen, "What do you mean, he's not wrong?"

Nezu just watched the interaction with an emotionless expression face.

Midoriya just looked at him blankly and signed back, "I don't have a quirk. Twenty percent of the population doesn't have a quirk, and most of them are from the older generation. There's probably only a couple of quirkless people in our generation scattered around the world."

Nezu thought about why Midoriya never got help, or never got offered help in the first place.

He's quirkless. No one would listen. He's not the one who doesn't want help, no one was willing to listen to him at all.

But then, there was the other thing. As Void, Midoriya had a quirk. If he was getting bullied for being quirkless, logically, once he realised he had a quirk, he would try to tell others to try and fit in, right?

Of course not. If he was quirkless for his entire life and suffered for it for fifteen years before suddenly gaining a quirk, obviously he wouldn't be sure how to handle it. He's going to need counselling for that… once he decides to open up about that quirk he has. He said it was life and death… and Aizawa swore it was regeneration….

Nezu just hoped that if he went up against someone like Todoroki or Bakugou, he wouldn't get injured too badly. Revealing that he had a quirk on live television would be the last thing he wanted.

"So what? You're not a freak, not a monster, and you're still human like the rest of us, quirk or no. Heck, you're doing pretty well in the Sports Festival compared to others who have a quirk." Shinsou tried to reason with the boy, "He insulted you, and bullied you, because you don't have a quirk. He shouldn't treat you like that."

"Midoriya, Shinsou's right. A quirk doesn't define a person. The lack of a quirk likewise does not define a person. You made it this far without a quirk, you should feel proud of yourself for getting as far as someone who has extra abilities to do so."

"Being proud makes one egoistical and ignorant to others around them. It's irrational."

Reiko just purred and rubbed her head against Midoriya's leg, making the green haired boy pick her up. She licked his cheek comfortingly.

Jeez… he's just like Dad…, Shinsou thought, What happened to him before? Why didn't anyone help him before?

"Shinsou."

Shinsou was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the principal call him.

"Uh, yes, sir?"

"Are you okay with giving the boy another chance? He did insult you as well, according to Iida."

"Well… I won't tolerate him calling Midoriya names and hurting him for no reason again." Shinsou growled. "I don't know how you can be so nice to someone who treats you like that, Midoriya, but if you want to give him a chance, then I'll let it slide."

"It's fine. Everyone treats me like that, sometimes worse. It's normal, I'm used to it."

Nezu merely sighed internally. Midoriya had so many problems and most of them were caused by other people. There was only so much abuse a person could take until they snapped. It was a miracle the boy hadn't done something foolish yet to escape the harsh words and bullying.

"Well, that's it for now. Midoriya, after the Sports Festival, would you like the continue our lessons?"

Midoriya gave a curt nod, and Nezu continued, "Alright. Go and enjoy the rest of the Sports Festival. I'll deal with everything else."

Midoriya bowed, and Shinsou thanked Nezu, before they both turned around to go back to the cafeteria.

"Shinsou, a word, please?"

Shinsou stopped, and Midoriya followed suite, turning around the face Shinsou. Shinsou gestured that he could go back first, and the purple haired boy turned back to the principal.

"This may seem like a huge request, but please, take care of Midoriya. You're the first person that tried to help him… I'm sure it means a lot to him."

Shinsou nodded. He had a villainous quirk. His former family tormented him, his classmates bullied him, he had a general idea of what Midoriya might have been through.

And Midoriya was quirkless. No doubt that it was a lot worse for the green haired teen.

"Yeah. I'll do my best."

The rest of lunch time went by smoothly. No one wanted to bother the three hero course students and the lone general education student, and while they did get some weird looks for the cat sitting on Midoriya's lap or on the table, nothing else really happened.

There were conversations between Uraraka and Iida, occasionally with Shinsou, but Midoriya remained silent throughout. Uraraka and Iida did try to drag Midoriya into their conversation, but Midoriya merely signed his answer and Shinsou translated it for him.

Midoriya had excused himself to go to the bathroom at one point, and Shinsou just glared at Uraraka and Iida.

"Okay, what's your deal?"

Uraraka snorted, "We're not blind, Shinsou. You like him."

Shinsou immediately turned red, "Of course I like him. He's a friend."

"Not in that way, dummy. You like like him."

"No I don't."

Shinsou turned away, only for Reiko to playfully pat his cheek before returning to her position by Midoriya's seat.

"Uraraka, I think you should let up a bit. A lot of things has happened today, and we still have the third round of the Sports Festival." Iida butted in. "I suggest we leave this matter for another time. Also, Midoriya may come back from the bathroom any time."

"Alright! For the third round! We will first be having team battles! Two versus two! And the teams and matchups will be decided randomly right here and now!"

Shinsou just gulped when Yamada announced that. The third round was usually one versus one battles, and now he was going to have to work with someone he may not even know?

It was logical, like their first lesson with All Might and randomly picking their partners, but at the very least, they kind of already knew each other from Aizawa's quirk apprehension test.

"Alright! We have our eight groups!" Yamada announced, once the flickering images of the students finally stabilized, "First group,Iida and Shinsou! Second group, Kamikiri and Yaoyorozu! Third group, Tetsutetsu and Hatsume! Fourth group, Bakugou and Shiozaki! Fifth group, Tokoyami and Kirishima! Sixth group, Todoroki and Kaibara! Seventh group, Uraraka and Yanagi. Last but not least, the eighth group, Monoma and Midoriya!"

Well shit. Monoma thought. He didn't necessarily dislike Midoriya, per say, he had proven himself to be capable even without a quirk. He would need to borrow his classmates quirks beforehand, but what if they ran out?

No. He was the one in the hero course. Why did he have to be the sitting duck, the weak one without a quirk?

"And now, for the first round matchups! Todoroki and Kaibara versus Uraraka and Yanagi! Bakugou and Shiozaki versus Tokoyami and Kirishima! Iida and Shinsou verses Tetsutetsu and Hatsume! And lastly, Kamikiri and Yaoyorozu versus Monoma and Midoriya!"

This is even worse. Kamikiri knows how my quirk works… Shit.

Midoriya merely turned to him, signed something to Shinsou after formerly being dragged to the 1-A viewing platform by Uraraka, and made his way towards him.

"Shit." Monoma cursed again, Midoriya was right next to him. "I don't know sign language."

Chapter Text

Monoma stared as Midoriya just looked at him blankly, before pulling him aside. Who cares about the others if they couldn't even get past the first round?

"Are you mute? Or do you just not like speaking." Monoma started, "Because we can't win if we can't communicate."

Midoriya paused, hands frozen in place as he thought, before he fingerspelled.

"M-o-n-o-m-a?"

It took Monoma some time to decipher Midoriya's gestures, but he did figure it out.

"Yeah. Midoriya Izuku? Quirkless, right?"

Midoriya just nodded.

"C-o-p-y."

Midoriya then stuck three of his fingers up, before he used his other hand to tap at his wrist, then stuck four fingers up.

Monoma's jaw dropped. To any outsider, the gestures may not have any meaning, but those specific values were significant to Monoma. He could copy three quirks, for up to four minutes for each.

"How… did you… know that?"

Midoriya just stuck his fingers up in the gestures for one and two, before pointing at his eyes.

"Ah… you… observed me? Just me or everyone else?"

Midoriya drew a circle with his finger, and it was pretty obvious that he meant everyone instead of just Monoma himself.

"Well… that's good to know…" Monoma really wasn't sure what to do at this point. Discuss strategies against Kamikiri and Yaoyorozu? Try and befriend the boy and show that he, and by extension, his class, was better than 1-A?

He knew that they were going to have a tough time. Yaoyorozu was definitely strong, being a recommendation student, and the fact that Todoroki picked her as a partner showed her versatility.

Kamakiri was also no slouch, and he had excellent combat prowess. He was fast, had an excellent reaction time, and his quirk allowed him to produce razor sharp blades, which meant that he was pretty much untouchable to a quirkless boy and another functionally quirkless boy.

"Kamakiri fast, quirk blades. Yaoyotozu quirk create anything, tendecy for poles, knives. Copy Tetsutetsu quirk for defence? Yanagi quirk to steal weapon? Kaibara drilling quirk?"

Midoriya was clearly having trouble fingerspelling so many words in one go, but he kept it up to try and communicate. Monoma appreciated it. And Monoma was really getting afraid of Midoriya. How the hell was he that familiar with his classmates quirks when he wasn't even in the hero course? How did he know Tetsutetsu, Yanagi and Kaibara's quirks? Did he also keep his eye on them throughout the cavalry battle?

If so, how the hell did he do so?! They barely used their quirks, they only really used them in the obstacle course, and they were nowhere near the general education student after Hatsume had stolen Kendo's headband in the second round. They did their best to not stand out at all, and yet, Midoriya was still able to figure them out?

And this was the guy that Bakugou was referring to, when the Sports Festival had just been announced. The wolf in sheep's clothing, Bakugou had called him. The dark horse of the general education course. Who would have thought that a quirkless student had made it this far?

"So… do you have a plan to beat them?" Monoma asked.

Midoriya looked away for a second, as if contemplating the question, before he nodded. He brought his hands up to his face and positioned them by his mouth.

Monoma squinted, trying to make sense of the hand gestures.

"Uh… Mouth? Your mouth?"

Midoriya shook his head, repeating the hand gesture, until Monoma finally made the connection that his gesture looked like the mandible-looking structures on Kamakiri's face, and that Midoriya was trying to find another way to communicate.

He gawked.

"You wanna take on Kamakiri? Do you even know what his quirk is?"

Midoriya nodded, before he fingerspelled Kamakiri's name, gestured to Monoma, and made a cross with his fingers.

"You think Kamakiri won't want to fight me?"

He nodded, and started fingerspelling again, "P-o-w-e-r-f-u-l. H-e k-n-o-w-s q-u-i-r-k. N-o C-o-p-y."

"Ah… that makes sense…" Monoma muttered. Kamakiri was in his class, no doubt that he would want to keep Monoma away to prevent him from copying his quirk.

"I'll take on the 1-A girl, then?" Monoma asked, and Midoriya nodded once more.

It was a shame, truly. Uraraka and Yanagi were no match for Todoroki as they were almost immediately frozen solid by Todoroki. Kaibara just stood there, stunned, as the match was over in an instant.

Tokoyami and Kirishima were also no match for Bakugou and Shiozaki. Bakugou's explosions were weakening Dark Shadow to the point where they couldn't rip through Shiozaki's vines. And Kirishima? Bakugou just had to blast him again and again while Shiozaki kept Tokoyami occupied, until he pushed Kirishima out of the arena.

Hatsume had given Iida tons of support items to use, but Shinsou managed to stop Hatsume almost immediately after she tried to use Iida as a guinea pig to advertise her inventions. All he had to do was ask Hatsume some questions about her technology, and took that chance to brainwash her and force her to walk out of the area. Iida, with the help of Hatsume's tech, pushed Tetsutetsu out of the arena, ignoring the fact that Tetsutetsu had turned himself into steel in an attempt to slow him down.

Hatsume may be an eccentric person, but her ability to create support items was no joke.

And then, it was finally the last match of Round One, Kamikiri and Yaoyorozu versus Monoma and Midoriya.

The second Kayama announced that they had started, Kamakiri shot towards Midoriya, and Yaoyorozu immediately created a long metal pole, before charging towards Monoma.

"Yaoyorozu, Monoma's quirk lets him copy anyone's quirk when he comes into contact with them. You said your quirk is dependent on how much food you consume, right?"

"Yes? Why?" Yaoyorozu asked, as they stood in the waiting room, getting ready for the match.

"You can deal with Monoma. Monoma generally has a poor appetite, and he doesn't eat a lot. Copying your quirk, no matter how powerful and versatile it is, will be limited for him."

"And you're going to deal with Midoriya? He's quirkless. With a quirk like yours ... won't it be too much of an overkill?" Yaoyorozu asked, worried.

"You saw how he acted in the second round. I have a feeling it's going to be far from being an overkill." Kamakiri sighed, "Plus, he knows what he's doing. He's been bullied before, and it's not a nice feeling. I admire that he made it this far without a quirk, and I'm going to show my respect for him by giving him my all."

Monoma growled. Midoriya had no quirk to defend himself from Kamakiri, and while Midoriya said that he would handle it, he was worried for his green haired partner.

He quickly dodged a strike from Yaoyorozu, and took a quick glance at Midoriya's fight with Kamakiri. Yaoyorozu caught his gaze, and also turned to look at the other fight, and her jaw dropped.

Kamakiri was fast, his attacks swift and accurate, extending and retracting his blades to make him even more unpredictable, but Midoriya was dodging everything, every single one of Kamakiri's attacks.

He swerved to the side, dodging a slash, before he ducked and moved out of the way, slowly moving backwards. Kamakiri sidestepped, trying to feint, but Midoriya just jumped out of the way. Over and over, Midoriya continuously evaded Kamakiri's attempts to even lay a hit on him.

Of course, Kamakiri thought to himself, internally berating himself for thinking that Midoriya could even fight back in the first place, he can't defend against the blades without getting hurt. He can only evade with his limited reach.

"You know, it's pretty amazing that you made it this far, with your circumstances." Kamakiri said, as Midoriya moved back and stood there, as if contemplating Kamakiri's words, "As a show of respect, I'm going to take you out with everything I have."

Kamakiri jumped back, before he lunged forwards, extending his blades to the maximum, charging at Midoriya.

To his surprise, Midoriya didn't dodged. In fact, he didn't even move from his spot.

He just reached out with his hands, clamping his fingers down firmly on the flat of Kamakiri's extended blades to ensure that he wouldn't get cut.

He did skid back a few inches from Kamakiri's momentum, but that was it. The two of them were locked in a power struggle as Kamakiri attempted to free his blades from Midoriya's grasp, to no avail.

Monoma just gawked internally. That was one of Kamakiri's strongest attacks, and he had used it to slice through the robots in the entrance exam with no trouble at all; Monoma had happened to be in his group during the exam and had seen him do so.

The fact that Midoriya stopped it so effortlessly, he truly was a monster, and somehow…. Monoma felt relieved.

All his life, he had been teased, bullied, for having a quirk that was reliant on others. He had tried to strengthen himself, build muscles, but he never got far until someone saw him and called him names.

"You can never be a hero with a quirk like that! You might as well be quirkless!"

And here Midoriya was, easily fending off a boy with a powerful quirk.

He could do so while quirkless.

Maybe he should ask the boy for pointers after the Sports Festival.

Midoriya suddenly swerved to the side, causing Kamakiri to lose his balance, and fall over. Midoriya used that opportunity to toss Kamakiri past the line, eliminating him, before looking at Monoma and Yaoyorozu.

Shit, Yaoyorozu thought, as Monoma quickly used that opportunity to snatch her weapon away, smacking her aside with her own weapon, and he shot towards her, forcing her out of bounds.

Kamakiri just stood up, and made his way towards Midoriya, as Kayama called the match.

"I underestimated you. That was a great fight. You want to make it to the hero course, right? I hope you make it in, and hopefully we can have a rematch?"

He stuck his hand out, and Midoriya just looked at his extended hand, then at him, before he hesitantly stuck his hand out to shake Kamakiri's.

Huh. That's weird. Monoma thought, it's almost as if he didn't know what to do next when Kamakiri wanted to shake his hand.

It definitely wasn't normal. Wasn't it a universal gesture of goodwill? Midoriya looked like he was expecting Kamakiri to attack him the second he did so.

Maybe he was still upset over what that dumb kid in the cafeteria said to him. That's probably why he was being so cautious. Monoma just sighed, and pushed it to the back of his mind.

There was still the quarter finals.

Well, the matchups could have been better. Shinsou and Bakugou were teamed up against Iida and Monoma, while Todoroki and Midoriya were to go up against Shiozaki and Kaibara.

Bakugou did managed to knock Iida out of bounds with a well timed blast to obscure Iida's vision, before literally blasting him out of the ring, while Iida hammered him with a Recipro Burst, with Bakugou barely managing to blast himself back in bounds with his quirk. Monoma had copied Iida's quirk, and had attempted a Recipro Burst, but Shinsou barely managed to dodge his attacks and he was pushed out of bounds when his temporary engines stalled.

As for Kaibara and Shiozaki?

Todoroki was in a seemingly bad mood, and made a gigantic glacier again, but Kaibara's quirk was perfect to counter it, and he completely destroyed the glacier, his hands wrapped with Shiozaki's vines in an attempt to protect them as he did so, sending the ice back at Midoriya and Todoroki in the process.

Todoroki made more ice to defend himself, while Midoriya just evaded the ice, not moving more than necessary.

"Shiozaki, get Midoriya! I'll deal with Todoroki!" Kaibara yelled, as he rushed at Todoroki, smashing through his ice easily.

Vines erupted through the ground under Midoriya, but the boy merely served aside to evade the initial attack.

Shiozaki shot her vines at Midoriya, fully intending on grabbing him, but Midoriya dodged everything, from vines that emerged from the ground to the twisting tendrils that raced after him. Midoriya was crouched on the ground, supporting himself with his arms, as he ducked under vines, twisted past tendrils and generally, didn't let as much as a thorn come close to him.

Even the normally calm Shiozaki was getting frustrated that she wasn't getting anywhere against Midoriya.

Todoroki and Kaibara were at a standstill, Todoroki just making more and more ice as Kaibara kept smashing through them. Midoriya was still crouched on the ground, as if waiting for her to attack again, and Shiozaki contemplated her choices.

Going after Midoriya was fruitless. He would just dodge everything. Or maybe she could attack Todoroki, but there was no doubt that he could freeze her vines in no time flat. But it may distract him enough for Kaibara to land a hit on him -

She felt a sharp pain at the back of her neck and then, all she saw was black.

"Shiozaki is knocked out!"

Kaibara turned to find his partner, barely having time to see Midoriya carrying Shiozaki before Todoroki sent another wave of ice at him.

"Oi! Put her down!" Tokage yelled from the stands, but Monoma just shushed her, "Just watch."

They watched as Midoriya carefully lifted the knocked out Shiozaki to the other side of the arena, away from Kaibara and Todoroki's fight, before gently depositing her on the ground, out of bounds.

He stood up, looked at her for a moment, before he turned around.

"SHIT!" Kaibara yelled, as he accidentally sent a large chuck of ice flying in Midoriya and Shiozaki's direction.

Much to everyone's surprise, Midoriya immediately turned around and scooped Shiozaki up, and raced out of the way of the ice. Kaibara just stared at Midoriya, stunned, and he didn't even protest as Todoroki encased him in ice, Yamada announcing that Midoriya was out of bounds and that he himself was immobilised.

Midoriya had taken himself out.

He had opted to save Shiozaki from the ice instead of remaining in bounds.

And while he technically still won because of Todoroki, it was mind boggling to think that someone would actually risk their position in the Sports festival to save someone, and even more absurd, taking into consideration that he had saved his opponent.

Kaibara felt numb as Todoroki defrosted him with nothing more than a quick, quiet "Sorry", but it wasn't the ice that shook him to the core.

He had almost hurt his classmate, his partner. One moment of carelessness, and he could have killed a potential hero.

How could he be a hero like this?

He stalked towards Midoriya, who was squatting down and checking on Shiozaki, who had just woken up.

He squatted down next to Midoriya, perfectly aware that the smaller boy was looking at him warily out of the corner of his eye. He didn't blame him. He hated himself too.

"Hey, Shiozaki, you okay?"

"Ow.. my neck… what happened?" Shiozaki asked, still slightly dazed.

Midoriya pointed to her neck.

"I got hit in the neck?"

Midoriya signed something, then seemed to remember that not everyone knew sign language.

"Uh, he hit your pressure point." Kaibara translated. He knew sign language, since when he was a kid, he had tugged on his father's ear and his quirk had activated for the first time, and in his panic, he had accidentally damaged his ear. His father was deaf in one ear, from an accident in a photoshoot, and poor Kaibara had been unlucky enough to damage his father's lone good ear.

"Oh…" Shiozaki tried to stand up, but she just fell on her butt again. Midoriya carefully pulled her up, as Yamada announced the matchups for the semifinals.

Shinsou and Midoriya versus Todoroki and Bakugou.

"Well shit." Kaibara cursed as he carefully took Shiozaki from the green haired boy, "I'll take her to Recovery Girl. Good luck with your next match, Midoriya."

Midoriya merely nodded in acknowledgement.

"Start!" Kayama yelled.

Immediately, Bakugou shot himself forwards, as Todoroki created a widespread ice barrier. That alone would probably have ended the match, except that Bakugou had ended up caught in the ice.

"You little shit!" Bakugou roared, as he destroyed Todoroki's ice, "I've been really nice to you so far, fucker. So stay out of my way and let me fight Midoriya!"

Midoriya had predicted that. He knew Bakugou would come after him, and Todoroki would attempt his usual ice glacier attack. It was amazing how accurate his predictions were.

Todoroki didn't say a thing, and Shinsou used that opportunity to yell, "Wow, you guys really aren't working together?"

Todoroki just glared at Shinsou, and Bakugou just downright ignored the boy and shot himself at Midoriya, who swerved aside to dodge the attack.

Midoriya jumped, twisted, spin, as Bakugou tried over and over to land a hit, but Midoriya just seemed to be able to dance out of his reach.

Until Bakugou overextended himself and Midoriya flipped him over, fully intending to throw him out of the arena. Bakugou managed to blast himself back in bounds, before trying to attack Midoriya again.

But that was all he did. Dodge, dodge, dodge, use Bakugou's momentum against him, rinse and repeat.

Todoroki, on the other hand. was having trouble trying to reduce the area his ice took up to avoid another confrontation with Bakugou, at least, not in front of his father, and Shinsou was using that to his advantage, easily weaving around Todoroki's attacks, kicking the ice that formed to close to smithereens.

All that training with Aizawa and Yamada really paid off. He could do so much better with his own version of Aizawa's capture weapon that he used in hero lessons, but that meant Bakugou would have his gigantic grenade blasters. That would be... highly undesirable.

"Stop holding back!" Bakugo roared, as he righted himself after who knew how many times Midoriya had flipped him over his shoulder, "You piece of shit, don't look down on me! I know you can fight better than this! I've seen you fight before, you fucker!"

Midoriya suddenly straightened up, his eyes obscured by his face, and suddenly, everyone on the field froze.

The same pressure that they had felt in the cafeteria erupted from the smaller teen, though nowhere near as powerful as it had been, yet, Bakugou couldn't do anything as Midoriya suddenly looked up at him, his eyes seemingly glowing in the shadows.

Midoriya shot forward, and Bakugou barely had enough time to blast himself backwards to avoid Midoriya as the boy suddenly appeared in front of him, having launched himself into the air and was aiming a kick downwards.

Bakugou tumbled away, and gawked in horror as the concrete platform they were fighting on cracked as Midoriya's foot made contact with the ground.

Midoriya had always appeared to be meek, never trying to stand out, always the nerd, the prey in the food chain.

Now?

Midoriya was no longer the innocent, weak herbivore that let others push him around. He was the predator, the one in charge, and he wasn't going to stop until he won.

Bakugou was forced to dodge as Midoriya struck again, his movements erratic, unpredictable. No matter how good Bakugou was, Midoriya was better, faster.

It didn't matter that he had great mobility while in the air. Bakugou's style had always been, and will always be close combat, something that Midoriya excelled in.

Shinsou and Todoroki just stared, seemingly forgetting about their battle, mesmerized as Bakugou attempted to counterattack, but to no avail. Midoriya just seemed to predict his actions and acted accordingly.

Midoriya leaned back after Bakugou attempted to nail him with a right hook, grabbing his arm, and rolled backwards. He aimed his foot at Bakugou's stomach, and knocked the breath out of him as he kicked him out of bounds.

"Bakugou is out of bounds!"

Todoroki just hissed, aiming a wave of ice at Shinsou. He was closer, and Midoriya was way more of a threat than Shinsou at this point in time.

He wanted to fight Midoriya properly, without any distractions.

Except that when Shinsou tried to evade, he accidentally tripped over a huge chunk of ice on the ground.

If Todoroki's attack hit, the jagged ice spikes could possible run him through. But his ice quirk didn't give him the ability to manipulate the ice after it has formed, and Todoroki's view of Shinsou was obscured by his own ice.

Shinsou closed his eyes and braced for the impact, hoping that the ice would hopefully hit something that wasn't vital. He liked being alive, thank you very much.

Something hit him, and Shinsou tumbled across the ground. He blearily stood up, and stared at the scene in front of him in horror.

Midoriya was standing where Shinsou initially was, bleeding from his shoulder as an ice spike impaled it. Todoroki had managed to stop his ice in time to prevent any major damage, but if Shinsou had fallen... he would probably be staying overnight in the infirmary.

Midoriya didn't even make a sound as he broke the ice off the glacier Todoroki had made, and slowly pulled the ice spike out of his shoulder, blood staining his uniform, dripping down his arm and the ice spike and dying the ground red.

Kayama looked like she wanted to call the match, but Midoriya suddenly lunged at Todoroki, and earned a face full of fire for his efforts.

"Midoriya!" Shinsou called out, as Midoriya was engulfed in flames, but Todoroki seemed to realize what he had just did and immediately put out his fire, raising his right arm instead. Midoriya got iced at point blank range, but Midoriya still managed to nail Todoroki in the chest and pushed him out of bounds.

Shinsou immediately picked himself off the ground and rushed to Midoriya's side, trying to stem the bleeding on his arm. Midoriya was shaking ice shards out of his hair, and Shinsou gently tried to steer him towards the infirmary, "Come on, let's get that fixed up."

Nezu frowned. He was certain that Midoriya was Void, and that Void had a regeneration quirk, based off Aizawa's words.

Yet, the wound Midoriya received from Todoroki never healed.

Why did one wound heal and the other didn't?

Nezu contemplated the question as he watched Ishiyama fix the stage.

The boy also had a unique fighting style. Using the opponents' power against them, it was effective and also conserved energy. Midoriya had only truly attacked twice, once on Shiozaki's pressure point, and once against Todoroki.

If he had the skills to attack, why didn't he do so in the first place?

"Alright…" Shuzenji frowned, "You need to be more careful. You guys have one more match, so I'm not really worried but…"

She trailed off as she moved to get some papers, noticing that Midoriya's eyes were following her, but she had moved to a brighter area, and yet, Midoriya's pupils didn't seem to register the change in light intensity.

She walked back towards Midoriya, and told him to sit down. She grabbed a light from her pocket, and shown it in Midoriya's eyes.

No reaction.

"Midoriya, can you see?"

He shook his head.

"Why didn't you tell me you couldn't see? Thank goodness it's temporary. If you had left it any longer, the damage could be permanent." Shuzenji scolded, as she checked his eyes again, "Todoroki's fire and ice damaged them, but I can heal it. Problem is, they'll be sensitive. Fight out in the open and you'll feel like your eyes are burning out. Do you still want to fight? If so, I will have to cover your eyes to protect them. and I don't think that fighting blind will do you any good."

Midoriya seemed to think about it for a second, before he nodded.

"Stubborn kids..." Shuzenji grumbled, "Good luck, Midoriya."

"Uh... I have some news from Recovery Girl, it seems like Midoriya's eyes were damaged in the semifinals! Not to worry, they're all fixed now, but Midoriya will be fighting in the finals blind to let his eyes heal. Now that is unfortunate, but this General Education student has already made it so far! Let's welcome them into the finals!"

Shinsou gulped as he walked onto the stage Ishiyama had fixed.

Midoriya? Fighting blind? With no proper hero course training?

Sure, he was good, but that was just way too unfair for him, though he didn't seem to have too much of a problem finding his way up the stage with layers of bandages covering his eyes.

At least Todoroki looked somewhat guilty. Kamakiri, Kaibara, Uraraka, Iida, Monoma, and even Shiozaki were glaring at him up on the stands.

"Start!"

Almost immediately, Shinsou lunged, wanting to push Midoriya out of bounds as soon as possible without injuring him further. Midoriya couldn't see, so it shouldn't take too long to end this fight, right?

He couldn't be more wrong.

Midoriya had dodged.

Not only that, he had also lunged, aiming a hit at the side of his neck, but Shinsou had countered, falling back and lunging again. But no matter how much he fainted, how he moved around to try and confuse the temporarily blinded boy, Midoriya somehow was able to keep track of him. He turned his head wherever Shinsou was, tried to defend whenever Shinsou tried to attack, trying to attack Shinsuo's pressure points whenever he could.

Almost like he could see him.

But that was impossible. Midoriya was quirkless, and even with just one layer of bandages it would be impossible to keep track of him. Aizawa and taught him how to move silently, and there was no way thatMidoriya could track him via his footsteps, if his hearing was even good enough to do so against normal opponents.

Midoriya lunged again, aiming at his neck again, but Shinsou sidestepped.

That was his mistake.

Midoriya immediately drop down, using his arms to support himself and swept Shinsou's legs out from under him. He pinned the teen to the ground, but Shinsou easily overpowered him and pushed him off.

The power from Midoriya's hits came from his speed. The boy himself was horribly light, almost like he wasn't eating right and was malnourished.

Both of them wanted to end the match quickly, with as few injuries as possible.

Both of them were quirkless, one literally was and the other was functionally quirkless since his opponent barely spoke.

Both of them wanted to win.

Shinsou lunged, and Midoriya countered. Midoriya attacked, Shinsou defended. Back and forth they went, but while Midoriya lacked in mass, he made up in stamina. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Midoriya tossed the exhausted Shinsou out of bounds, not even looking at the slightest bit winded.

"Shinsou is out of bounds. Midoriya wins!"

Kaibara and Shiozaki raced out of the stadium. They wanted to find Midoriya. The poor kid literally looked emotionless as All Might hung the gold medal around his neck, and had immediately slinked off the second he was allowed to, most likely to retrieve his cat.

They were lucky enough to see Midoriya walking out of the stadium onto the pavement, and they jogged to catch up with him. The bandages were gone, though Midoriya just looked weary with his eyes partially closed to reduce the amount of light entering them.

"Wait! Please, Midoriya!" Shiozaki yelled, as they ran to catch up with him.

Midoriya stopped, and turned around, as the two 1-B students caught up with him.

"I... my classmates told me what happened. You saved me, but went out of bounds... Thank you." Shiozaki bowed, as Midorita immediately gestured at her to stop.

"You have my thanks as well." Kaibara nodded, after translating Midoriya's sign language to Shiozaki, "I almost hurt my classmate in my frustration and carelessness, and if your didn't save her... Thank you, Midoriya. Also, great job fighting Shinsou. You must be proud of yourself."

But all he got was a solemn reply from Midoriya.

"Acting on emotions is illogical and irrational. They're just chemical reactions in your head, making something just a little bit different. Emotions aren't real, and they don't mean anything. It just results in someone hurting, whether it be you or someone else. Neither of you are hurt, so that's good. Pride makes one egotistical and ignorant to others around them. It's useless and meaningless."

Midoriya just turned and walked away, and Kaibara was too stunned to react.

"What did he sign?" Shiozaki asked,

"I… don't think I ...want to tell you." Kaibara stammered.

Chapter Text

Shinsou wasn't sure what he felt at that very moment when Midoriya claimed victory. Sure, there was the surprise that Midoriya could still track him accurately even while blind, and even as they traded blows, Shinsou knew that they both wanted to end this fight quickly.

So when Midoriya finally flipped him out of bounds, Shinsou ignored the ache where his butt had come into contact with the cold cement, fully intending to congratulate his friend, if Midoriya even considered him one, for his victory.

He wasn't expecting his mouth to immediately run dry, and his mind to go blank, as he looked up, right into the eyes of Midoriya Izuku, who was looking down at his opponent. He definitely wasn't expecting his head to seemingly shut down, as the emerald eyes gleamed in the light, no matter how empty they appeared to be.

He most definitely wasn't expecting the first thing to come into mind when his brain finally rebooted to be, Oh shit. He's hot.

He was pretty sure he was sitting there like an idiot for some time, since Midoriya had actually kicked him lightly in the legs, and when he finally realised what was going on, Midoriya had actually stuck his arm out in an offer to help him up, and his dad was yelling at him from the announcers booth to get up so they could conduct the prize giving ceremony.

Yep. Of all the people he had to fall for… it had to be him.

Midoriya made his way to the pet rescue center, Reiko sitting on his shoulder and purring.

He won, at what price?

His eyes hurting a ton, apparently.

He didn't need to see to fight Shinsou, his well honed instincts told him where the other boy was, and he could feel the slight change in air pressure whenever he moved. His father had taught him how to do that, since his fire quirk could end up hurting an unintended target should the wind be blowing in the wrong direction, and having fought in dark alleyways for a few years, Midoriya wasn't nearly as reliant on his sight as other people were. It had proved to be useful for the functionally quirkless boy.

Midoriya fingered the collar around his neck, adjusting it once more. His almost back to back fights and his visits to the infirmary had shifted the collar, and while it was still covering that horrible scar that lay beneath, it was shifted a tad bit to the left of how he normally wore it.

But he couldn't adjust it in front of his schoolmates. They knew he had it, his idiotic classmate from general studies had literally let every single first year know about, but he didn't want to appear to be reliant on it. The collar was a reminder that he had failed, five years ago. He made a promise, and it had been broken in like, ten minutes.

He failed.

He couldn't afford to fail again.

He came close to the entrance of the pet rescue center, and Reiko suddenly gave a sharp yip and hopped off his shoulder, prancing towards the door. Reiko wouldn't do that for no reason, so Midoriya moved to take a closer look.

By the staircase, hidden under some shrubs and under the cover of darkness, sat a small box, with what looked like to be a rock in it. Midoriya carefully picked up the box, and under the light that passed through the transparent door, he found that, to his horror, it was not a rock.

It was an egg. A bird's egg.

Judging by how cool the egg was, there was no doubt that someone had dumped the egg here for quite some time already. Eggs took several weeks to hatch, and Midoriya wasn't even sure if it was dead already. But if it was dumped here, specifically at a pet rescue center, then that meant that it was probably alive at the time it was left here.

There was a note to be found with the egg, though. Someone's bird had eggs, most hatched, and the owner decided to leave the lone egg that didn't hatch here. Hopefully, it wasn't too late.

Midoriya quickly took out his phone, and using its flashlight function, candled the egg. It was opaque, and Midoriya took it as a good sign. It was close to hatching, but how close, Midoriya wasn't sure. There was also the problem of whether it was still alive or not.

Just at that moment, he felt the egg twitch.

Midoriya quickly made his way into the center, and quickly wiped the egg down with a warm, damp cloth, making sure to dry it since the pores on the egg were for the developing chick to breathe. He was about to search for a towel or something to keep the egg warm, but Reiko apparently decided that she was better suited for the job. She just curled up around the egg, and lay there, unmoving.

Midoriya wasn't really sure what to do. Let Reiko take care of the egg? She was small enough that she wouldn't damage it, and she would definitely do a much better job than he could.

He gently shifted Reiko and the egg to a corner of the room, where she should be safe, before he went to calm some of the more anxious animals down.

Koda was going to the pet rescue center. He worked there, and his quirk was great for communicating with animals. Except this time, he was being accompanied by Uraraka, Shinsou and Iida.

Koda prefered using sign language, and while he knew that Shinsou knew it, he had been way too shy to interact with pretty much everyone. But somehow… watching Midoriya kick everyone's ass' just… made him want to give it a shot, as much as the green haired boy was scary. Try to make friends, try to talk to someone.

He had tried to talk to Shinsou, who immediately just pulled him into his friend group which consisted of Uraraka and Iida. It didn't take them too long until Koda remembered he had to go for his shift at the pet rescue center, and Shinsou jokingly followed along, saying that maybe he would adopt a new cat. Uraraka was eating dinner on her own, so she didn't mind staying out with her friends a little later, and Iida mentioned that he was curious and tagged along, since he had never had a pet before.

Koda pushed open the door to the rescue center, and he paused, blinking. Shinsou, Uraraka, and Iida tried to look past him, trying to figure out why he had stopped.

They were surprised to see Midoriya standing there, looking at them blankly, a black tabby on one arm, an orange and grey calico in the other, and a large golden retriever pawing at his leg.

"Oh, hi Midoriya! Didn't expect to see you here!" Uraraka greeted, as she walked into the center, "Do you work here?"

Upon getting closer, the retriever immediately flinched, and shifted to hide behind Midoriya, and the green haired boy gently put the tabby cat down and moved to scratch the dog's neck.

Koda was completely still, stunned. The golden retriever was called Kogane, and they had found her by the side of the road just the previous day. Kogane was absolutely afraid of humans, and no one could get close to her unless they wanted to reduce her to a whimpering mess. Koda himself had tried just the previous day, but made no progress.

And here was Midoriya, having done the seemingly impossible task of befriending the dog. Koda was unaware that Midoriya worked in the same rescue center, but he did hear rumours from the other workers that there was a volunteer worker who was a lifesaver, calming down the animals with no problems at all. Even the most skittish animals warmed up to him within a few hours.

"So, where's your cat?" Shinsou asked.

Midoriya merely turned his head, gesturing in the direction where a small white ball of floof sat, seemingly with a rock of some sort.

Reiko looked up, gave a purr in greeting, before shifting and curling around the rock even more, before laying down again.

"So.. you never answered Uraraka's question. Do you work here?" Iida asked, as he looking curiously at the golden retriever as he pulled Uraraka away so as to not spook the canine again.

Midoriya carefully put the two cats back in their cages, before he signed, "Volunteer. Not work. Sometimes they pay me if they specifically call me in."

"Sounds cool." Shinsou replied, translating for the others as he took a closer look at the black tabby. It had lime green eyes, and it just stared at Shinsou for a while, before it went back to grooming itself.

The sound of a bird chirp rang out, so soft that Koda would have missed it if it weren't for the fact that he was used to discerning soft sounds over the chaos of much louder ones.

Reiko shifted slightly, and Midoriya quickly stopped whatever he was doing to go check on her. Reiko unwrapped herself from the rock, and the four hero course students inched closer. Midoriya didn't stop them, but the glare he gave them practically screamed, "Do anything wrong and I'll rip you apart."

And that was when they realised it wasn't a rock. It was an egg.

It twitched, and shook, before more chirping was heard. Reiko looked utterly confused as to what to do next, and just sat next to the egg, staring at it.

The egg shook again, and suddenly, a crack appeared on the surface of the egg. More cracks appeared, more chirps, and a small hole had formed on the egg. Reiko leaned down, and gently pawed the egg, as chirps rang out. The egg was rocking back and forth as the hatchling tried to free itself from the confines of its egg, as the hole progressively became bigger and bigger.

Midoriya did read that some hatchlings needed help getting out of their eggs, except that he wasn't sure if he should do it now. The hatchling had been making good progress, but now, all sounds and movements had ceased, almost like the poor chick was tired and needed to rest.

Reiko meowed at the egg, like she was trying to encourage the hatchling, and the shaking started up again, much weaker this time.

Koda was close to panicking. He could talk with animals, yes, but had no idea what to do when it came to a baby animal. Uraraka and Iida were stunned, looking on silently, and Shinsou looked like he wanted to help, but was equally clueless as to what to do.

With what seemed to be a final burst of strength, more hairline cracks appeared on the surface of the egg, until it suddenly cracked into two, revealing a newly hatched chick that barely had any feathers. The newly hatched avian was lying on its back, its little talons kicking about weakly, as it flailed its featherless wings about.

Reiko leaned down, and Koda tried to stop her in alarm, as Iida hurriedly pulled him back as Midoriya suddenly grew defensive, and snarled at Koda, shifting his body so that he was shielding Reiko from the hero course students.

And much to his pleasant surprise, Koda found that Reiko was not, in fact, eating the chick, but was just licking it as if she were trying to clean it. The hatching gave a small tweet, and Reiko, feeling satisfied, gave the chick one final lick and curled up around the hatchling, with the baby avian letting out a small tweet and snuggling up to the larger, warmer cat.

Midoriya gently ran his fingers through Reiko's fur, and the cat gave a contented purr and snuggled closer to the hatchling.

And all Shinsou could think about was how absolutely adorable Midoriya was when he was finally calm and not ready to kick someone's ass. That small light that shone from his eyes, the sparkle that Shinsou had never seen in the teen's eyes before, and a look that Shinsou would definitely want to see much more often on the usually apathetic boy's face.

"Had fun with your friends, Hitoshi?" Aizawa asked, staring at his reports as Shinsou walked through the front door. The television was switched on, playing reruns of the Sports Festival, and Shinsou had no idea if his father was watching television or reading his reports.

"Dad…"

Aizawa looked up, and Shinsou looked away, almost like he was nervous about something.

"What is it?" Aizawa raised an eyebrow, "Did you break something? Injure yourself? Was someone kidnapped?"

"No…" Shinsou fiddled with his fingers, before he took a deep breath and said, "I think I'm gay."

Aizawa just looked at him, "So?"

Shinsou just gawked at him, "You're not mad?"

Aizawa rolled his eyes and sighed, "Who is the other person we live with?"

"Uh, Pops? Oh… ha...ha…" Shinsou sheepishly laughed, forgetting that his own adoptive parents were hopeless gays and it would be very, very hypocritical of them to get mad at him for it.

"To be fair, it is hard to remember that since Zashi acts like a girl all the time -"

"Shouta! Why are you doing this to me!? Meanie!" Yamada yelled from down the corridor, and judging by the amount of steam that he could see, Shinsou assumed that his other dad had just finished his shower.

"See? A girl." Aizawa shrugged, as Shinsou let out a small laugh at his parents' antics.

"Don't worry about it, kid. We're not going to judge. Who's the lucky guy? I swear, if it's another annoying blonde -"

"Shouta! Stop it!"

A flash of green caught Shinsou's attention, and his eyes trailed to the television where the rerun of Midoriya's fight with Kamakiri was being played.

Aizawa caught his line of sight and sighed, "The other problem child. Why am I not surprised?"

"He's really nice. He stood up for me." Shinsou blurted out, "And he's adorable. But more importantly he's really nice."

Aizawa just raised his eyebrows, "Really? He's an interesting kid, to be honest, Zashi's only heard him introduce himself at that was it. He never said a word after that."

Shinsou just cocked his head in confusion, "Wait what? But that other day… he spoke up for me against my older… classmates."

"What did they say? Do I need to hunt them down again?" Aizawa growled, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think it was important then?" Shinsou sheepishly replied, "They just ... you know, called me a villain and that I didn't deserve to be in UA, the usual. Midoriya just told them to look at themselves, and they turned on him, before Midoriya just glared at them until they ran off. Then I invited him to have lunch with Iida, Uraraka and I, and he accepted."

Aizawa sighed again, "That's good… at least… as far as we know he hasn't said a single word since the first day of school. He spooked Hound Dog pretty badly when they met. He speaks to Nezu pretty willingly, though."

Shinsou's shoulders dropped, "Nezu told me to take care of him. Even if he didn't do so... I want to help him. He thinks it's justified that he's treated like some lesser being… and he just lets others step over him all the time… I want to help him. Someone as nice as him doesn't deserve it."

Aizawa just pat his back, "Go for it. I don't know him that well, but what I can tell is that he's been hurt for a long time and hasn't gotten help. It will take some time, but don't get discouraged if you don't see results immediately.

Shinsou gave Aizawa a sheepish smile. "Got it. Thanks, Dad."

Chapter Text

Midoriya decided that he had a lot on his hands.

Not only did he have to hide a cat from his foster mother, now he also had to hide a bird.

At the very least, both of them were very quiet, so Midoriya didn't have to worry about one of them waking someone up by accident.

And upon doing further research at one in the morning, instead of going out as Void, he discovered that Reiko, as gentle as she was, could have killed the bird. He should probably ask Nezu about a vet… He really didn't know how to care for a bird, let alone deal with diseases and bacteria and other stuff he couldn't fix with normal equipment.

Reiko did look somewhat guilty when he had mentioned that to her, and she just wrapped herself around the bird and cuddled it. They were sitting on his lap, and Midoriya was more than happy to let them rest on him if they wanted to.

On that note, Midoriya was around… seventy percent sure that he somehow had a baby hawk, based on the pattern on the egg. Which raised another legal question, if he was allowed to keep it.

Midoriya was sure as heck not giving up the little bird any time soon, he and Reiko were already attached to the baby avian, but he was aware that hawks were wild creatures, and that once his little baby grew up, they will probably want to go free. If they wanted to, Midoriya was more than willing to let them leave.

Midoriya shut off his laptop, and climbed onto his bed, cradling the already asleep Reiko and the baby bird, before he curled up around the two smaller animals and tried to fall asleep.

"So… a hawk?" Nezu raised his eyebrow, as he found Midoriya wanting to talk to him early in the morning.

Midoriya just held the baby bird gently in his hand, as Reiko groomed herself on the ground.

"Well… People do own hawks around here. There are a couple of places where you can buy hawks on the outskirts of Musutafu." Nezu pointed out, "And since you hatched it, I don't think it's a good idea to send him away, especially since he's so young."

"He?"

"Yeah. He's a male." Nezu replied, gently reaching out to pat the baby avian, and Midoriya gently handed the bird to him. "He seems okay, even though Reiko licked him. Cats tongues are very rough, and the bacteria on their saliva can be deadly to birds, let alone a baby bird. I'll talk to Recovery Girl about it. You go on for your lessons, I'll take care of him."

"Thank you." Midoriya bowed, but just as he turned to leave, the baby hawk started chirping in what sounded like distress. Reiko leapt up onto Nezu's chair, then his table, and meowed, staring at the chick in Nezu's paws. Nezu gently placed the chick in front of Reiko, and Reiko leaned down and stuck out her tongue, before freezing.

She quickly retracted her tongue, before just opting to nuzzle the baby hawk. She still remembered what Midoriya had mentioned before, and Nezu's words echoed in her head as well.

"Well…" Nezu hummed, "I'll deal with it, somehow."

Midoriya merely bowed again, scratched Reiko behind her ears, and left the office.

Internships.

They were to go on internships next week.

Shinsou stared at his list of heroes that had sent him an offer. He had many offers, being the runner up of the Sports Festival, but he wasn't sure who to choose. None of them were underground heroes, which would be preferable for him, and most of them focused on using their quirks too much. Completely different from how Shinsou fought, since he wanted to use his quirk as little as possible, and have it as a hidden trump card instead.

Mineta wanted to go with Takeyama, and Iida, much to everyone's surprise, had decided to go with Mizushima instead of Tensei. Though to be fair, Tensei had been attacked by Stain during the Sports Festival, and while he was one of the lucky ones where he was just injured and not permanently paralysed for life, or dead, he was still pretty out of it and Iida hadn't heard back about his brother's condition for some time.

Iida definitely didn't look too happy about it.

And on that note, they also had to choose their hero names. Shinsou definitely had no idea what he wanted to call himself. They were given their lunch time to think it over, and Shinsou, Uraraka, Iida, and the recent addition of Koda were sitting at their usual spot, discussing names.

And suddenly, a hush fell over the cafeteria.

Shinsou looked up, trying to figure out what happened, until he noticed the crowd parting like a wave, and he could make out Midoriya's figure.

The rumours started up again, how Midoriya won the Sports Festival without a quirk, how he was a monster, and there was no way he could have won, especially while blinded in his last match.

"Hey! Midoriya!" Uraraka called out, waving him over, "This is Koda! You met him yesterday, but we never introduced you! Koda, this is Midoriya, from the General Education course!"

Midoriya just looked at Koda blankly for a few seconds, before nodding in acknowledgement, and Koda nodded back, before turning to his vegetarian burger.

Midoriya then turned to Iida, and signed, "I saw the news."

Shinsou translated it for Iida, who snapped to attention, before Midoriya dug around his pockets, and procured an envelope, passing it over to Iida. Iida took it, and with a small nod from Midoriya, gently opened it up. Shinsou turned his head, and focused on his spaghetti.

This was between Iida and Midoriya.

"I heard what happened to Ingenium. I am sorry that it happened, and I hope that you will think about the consequences of your actions before deciding to go after the Hero Killer. Ingenium will recover, and be up and about soon, with no major, permanent injuries. Don't be blinded by your emotions, and end up doing something you'll regret. You can't beat the Hero Killer, and you'll just be breaking the law. I do not think that Ingenium will want you to seek the Hero Killer out for revenge."

Iida had a stoic expression on his face when he finished reading it, and he neatly folded it back up and tucked it away in his pocket, "I will keep that in mind."

Somehow, somewhere in that blank, void expression, Shinsou could tell that Midoriya wasn't very convinced, as the boy rested his elbows on the table and stared at his glass of water.

"Aren't you going to eat anything? The only thing I've seen you eat so far has just been… water." Shinsou mumbled. Midoriya merely shook his head, and continued looking at his water, as if he were deep in thought.

"Wow, you're really hanging out with him, you guys must be weirdos too." A general education student from 1-D spoke up, "You guys got curb-stomped by someone who isn't even in the hero course, weaklings."

"Leave them alone." Kamakiri grumbled, holding his empty tray, on his way to return it, "They did nothing to you."

"Well you got beaten too!" Another student laughed.

"Well, if students who were actually trained and were decent in fighting lost, do you think you could even stand a chance against him?" Kaibara retorted, coming to Kamakiri's defence, "Use your common sense."

Pretty much everyone's attention was on the argument at hand, including Koda, Shinsou, Uraraka, and Iida.

Midoriya closed his eyes.

Inhale.

Hold it.

Cleared your mind.

Erase your presence.

Ishiyama and Snipe had heard the commotion, and they rushed to break up the argument.

"Whew… that almost got out of hand. They didn't seem to happy with you, Midoriya… uh… Midoriya?" Uraraka turned to face the green haired boy, only to find that he wasn't in his seat. His cup was also gone, and there was no trace of the boy.

"When did he leave?" Shinsou asked, as Iida looked utterly confused, and Koda scratched his head.

Outside the cafeteria, Midoriya took a deep breath, and internally sighed, before making his way back to class.

They stood up for him time and time again. He may not be fond of humans… but them… maybe he'll make an exception for these ones.

"Midoriya."

Midoriya looked up, and turned, finding Todoroki looking at him, "I want to talk."

Todoroki led him to an empty classroom, and Midoriya just followed along, silently. The dual elemental user clearly had something on his mind, and it definitely had something to do with his quirk. Fire and ice, but with a heavy preference for ice.

What a waste of a quirk. He's going to die if he doesn't use the full extent of his power.

"I was overpowered. I broke my pledge, and used my curse in an attempt to fight you."

Midoriya just stared at him emotionlessly, as Todoroki continued talking, "You were the only one that overpowered me. Not Kaibara, with his powerful drilling quirk. Not Kaminari, with his uncontrollable electric powers. Not even Bakugou, with his powerful explosions and explosive personality to match. But you're quirkless. You may have defeated Bakugou, but he doesn't particularly have any long range attacks that would be effective against you. There is absolutely no reason why I couldn't beat you. I was shocked that you were willing to bleed for Shinsou, but other than that, I used my fire instead of my ice when you came close. A quirkless person cannot hold so much power and skill, or emit such an aura for no reason. Where did you come from? What turned you into this monster that managed to crush every single person in our first year? Or do you have a hidden quirk that you are ashamed to use, like me, and would much rather ignore it's presence than to announce to the entire world that you have a quirk."

Midoriya just stared blankly at him. He was fairly sure he had a quirk… and Todoroki was right. He wasn't sure if he was ashamed of it, per say. He wasn't sure he felt anything towards it, actually. It was more of an annoyance, more than anything, and there had literally been no use for it except it being a hindrance to five years worth of suicide attempts.

And it wasn't like he could prove it to anyone, unless he wanted to throw himself off a building and yell, "Hey, this is my quirk."

People were probably going to stuff him in a psychiatric ward if he did something like that. People with quirks that allowed them to see ghosts, or rebirth, or come back after death… life for them was not pleasant. They can't prove it, as no one believes them. There was no reason to tell everyone that he couldn't die from suicide, all it would do would be counterproductive.

"I am aware you don't like talking. My old man has a strong desire to rise in this world. Since he couldn't surpass All Might, he moved onto his next plan. Have you heard of quirk marriages? Choosing a spouse based purely on strengthening your own quirk, and passing it on to your children, forcing people into marriage. He's trying to fulfill his own desire by raising me to be a hero to surpass All Might. I refuse to be a tool to scum like that. In my memories, my mother was always crying. 'Your left side is unsightly', my mother once said, as she poured boiling water on my face. I'll reject him completely by surpassing All Might without ever using his quirk. And that means I'll have to beat you, a General Education student. I'm hoping that your win in the Sports Festival would result in a transfer to the hero course, so that I can have a rematch and prove that I'm stronger than you with just my right side."

Todoroki was foolish, Midoriya decided, Not using his quirk just to spite his father? To be fair… Dabi also had the same reason to become a villain. Does everyone just act rashly and make decisions without thinking anything through? If Todoroki hadn't used his fire, he would have ended up freezing himself to death. In fact, him using his fire was probably more of an instinctual thing because he cryopreserving himself.

That was why Midoriya decided to throw his emotions out the window. Because they did nothing but force you to make stupid, rash choices, and because emotions only serve to hurt you.

Todoroki's mother had hurt him because of his father. Because of Enji. Midoriya had suspected as much, comparing pictures of the Todoroki family, Touya's disappearance, combined with the sheer amount of property damage that Enji caused… if he was willing to do so much while people were looking, how much would he do if no one was watching? No prying eyes to report his actions to the rest of the world.

Midoriya quickly fished into his pockets again, procuring a small pen and a crumpled piece of paper. He had started bringing paper around, in case Shinsou wasn't around the translate for him, and quickly scribbled something down, and passed it to Todoroki.

"Use your fire. It's your quirk, not his. He doesn't have a say in how you use it. One day, you will find yourself in a situation that your ice cannot solve, and you will die if you don't use your fire. People will die, and you will live with the regret that you could have saved them, except you chose not to because you wanted to spite your father.

Talk to Nezu about your father. You may not know me well, but trust me on this."

Todoroki blinked, and looked up to question Midoriya, but by the time he did so, Midoriya was already gone. He made no sound, no footsteps at all. Todoroki liked to think he had sharp senses, but in the few seconds he had read Midoriya's note, the green haired boy had disappeared into the void, and he was completely unaware that it had happened.

Just who, and what the hell was Midoriya Izuku?

"What's going on?" Sato asked, "Why do we have an assembly?"

"No idea. We were just told to assemble." Yaoyorozu replied, fidgeting with her skirt. The field was filled with students from all three grades, all talking and chatting as they waited for the teachers to start.

"Now. I'm sure some of you… know what happened yesterday, during the Sports Festival at lunch." Nezu started, as all the students fell into silence, "Not to mention what happened today."

Some of the hero course students glanced at Shinsou briefly, and the entire class of 1-C and 1-D tensed up.

"I've heard some things from the teachers, and I would like to bring this up to everyone. We do not condone bullying and quirk discrimination. Normally, if we find out that anyone has partook in activities like this, with sufficient evidence, you will be expelled."

Most of the general education students glanced at the student who had openly insulted Midoriya and Shinsou that day, before Nezu continued, "Keiso Meika, you have one warning, because Midoriya had actually spoken up for you and has given you another chance, and you will have detention for this week as your punishment. That also goes for the rest of the general education students. I have received reports that you have made the lessons very uncomfortable for Midoriya, and have harassed him when there are no teachers in class."

Most of the hero course students were gaping in shock at Midoriya, who was standing at the back of his class, slouching.

"Some of you were also harassing some of the hero course students during lunch due to their loss against Midoriya. I would recommend you highly refrain from doing so. You may dislike someone, or hold certain emotions towards certain people, but that does not give you the right to act on it. On that note, if any of you are being bullied or suffering from quirk discrimination, either in school or by someone you know, feel free to tell the teachers. We're here to help you, and we wish to make UA the best learning environment for all of you. That's it, have a nice day. I do not wish for a repeat of something like this."

"Why... would you forgive him? He was being horrible to you!" Uraraka whispered, as they made their way back into class, "Shinsou, why? You were insulted too!"

Shinsou shrugged, and Midoriya merely signed, "Not worth it. Less trouble."

Todoroki stood in Nezu's office, looking weirdly at the snowy white cat that was in his office, as well as what looked like to be a bird in it's paws. The cat certainly was affectionate, she had nuzzled him almost the second he had entered the room, and it also seemed to be overprotective of whatever small animal is had in its grasp.

"I knew it." Nezu growled, after Todoroki finished telling whatever he told Midoriya about his father, minus all the parts about beating the smaller boy and the hopeful transfer to the hero course, "He was right. We had enough evidence, but none of it was circumstantial enough to form a case… he could also say we were trying to tarnish his name and all the reports were pretty old and none of them well preserved…"

"Excuse me, 'he'?" Todoroki frowned.

"Ah, don't tell anyone I told you this," Nezu said, prompting a nod from Todoroki, "A vigilante called Void brought up your case a couple of months ago, with the analysis of social media posts and newspaper clippings, suggesting that there was something was wrong with your family. I did have my suspicions, but there were too many things going on and not many people wanted to work on a case like this when… your water accident occured. But we currently have a full police force investigating this, but honestly, given how secretive Endeavor has been about his children, with all the private schooling and whatnot, you can tell we're having trouble collecting substantial evidence. Most of what we have is speculation at best and nonsense at worst. If you wish, we can file a case against your father, and transfer custody of the rest of your siblings to your sister, who I believe is to be of age, but you and the rest of your family will have to speak in court, or at least be present for the hearing."

Todoroki frowned slightly. His father had sent him an internship request, and since Midoriya had been right about talking Nezu… did he really want to let people die just because his fire was untamed? Just so that he could spite his sperm donor?

"I will talk to my family about this matter." Todoroki replied, "I wish to discuss it with them. Also, I wish to take up my father's offer at an internship, so that I can learn to use my fire quirk proficiently. I cannot do that if he is behind bars."

Nezu gave a sharp bark of laughter, "Oh? Why now? What changed your mind about using your quirk?"

Todoroki looked away, "I told Midoriya about my father, and he told me to talk to you. He recommended that I should learn to use my fire, and not just hide it because of him. I think he's right. I hate my father, yes, but I am being very selfish if I let someone die because I don't use my fire."

Nezu gave the boy a small smile, before he dismissed him.

Midoriya really did work wonders. He didn't talk much to his other schoolmates, but his effect on the others were obvious. The hero course students wanted to work harder, he tried to help Iida (It was obvious, a letter from MIdoriya after Tensei was attacked, addressed to Iida?), and now, Todoroki. Midoriya's heart was too big, even if he was impassive, apathetic, and ridiculously stubborn.

He was fairly sure that months back, during the entrance exam for recommended students, Yamada did try to talk to him about using his fire, but the boy have vehemently refused. Now, he was asking that they not put a case against his father yet, just so that he could pick up a few tricks.

And Midoriya knew about the Enji case, that Void had brought up. Another piece of evidence that Midoriya was Void, though Nezu thought that was obvious enough already, but that little thing about the inconsistency of the two reports he had of Void's quirk were just niggling his brain.

Midoriya was seriously wondering if this was a good idea.

He still had to attend his lessons while the hero course were on their internships, but he was considering hopping over to Hosu everyday that week. Stain had a habit of attacking roughly once a week, in order to keep a lower profile to main and murder unworthy heroes, and he usually attacked at night.

Midoriya wanted to keep Iida safe.

It didn't matter that Iida had read his letter. He was interning with Mizushima, after all. Even if Iida didn't actively seek Stain out, if he just so happened to run into the villain, there was no doubt that Iida would act on his emotions and attack Stain.

Plus, Stain had a habit of attacking three to four heroes, sometimes even five, before moving on to another city. He had only attacked Native and Tensei, it was highly likely he was still lurking around Hosu.

Hosu wasn't that far from Musutafu, just an hour away, and that was by running on rooftops, hiding in the back alleys, and Midoriya was really hoping that he could take a short cut and save some energy in case he needed to fight by taking the train, but nope, the trains didn't run at the time when he usually snuck out of the house.

He fiddled with his collar.

He had promised to protect her. He had failed. His parents were dead because he was worthless, quirkless failure in life. Reiko's mother was dead because he was just that utterly useless. He had always kept the collar around his wrist, in his pocket, around his ankle, just somewhere on him, as a reminder of her, that he couldn't afford to fail again.

Then, he had made a stupid choice, and had done something dumb. He didn't think, and the marks on his neck were something that were impossible to hide casually under his clothes. He had tried other things, bandanas, just leaving it out in the open, scarves, but no matter what, he still got picked on for it.

If he was going to be picked on no matter what he appeared like or what he wore, might as well wear something he actually wanted to keep on his person, in order to hide it.

And the collar, always wiped down and cleaned at least once a week, moved up to around his neck, impossible for him to look at directly, not tight enough to choke him, but tight enough that he could feel his pulse against it, always constant reminder of his failure.

He didn't want to fail anyone again. If he could save a life, he would do it. If he was going to die, he might as well save someone with the life he would lose.

Even though he didn't promise Iida anything, the boy had still stuck up for him, defending him. While Shinsou and Uraraka were clearly more vocal about it, Iida still supported him. Not many people would do that, especially for a quirkless kid. He was one of the few people who were willing to treat him like a normal human instead of a piece of glass that needed to be protected, or a wild animal that didn't deserve anything at all.

And if Void could take down Stain, that would be a bonus. Though he really hoped that Stain could take Enji down first….

Midoriya carefully tucked a box into the back of his cupboard. He didn't want to leave Reiko and the baby bird at home, where someone may just pop in and discover them, but he didn't want to bring them all the way to Hosu. It was uncharted territory, and while he had memorized the entire map of Hosu and had several locations that he felt Stain was likely to strike, studying the map was nothing like going there in real life. Normally, he would have brought Reiko, but now with the baby hawk… someone needed to take care of him.

Reiko purred, as she wrapped her paws around the hawk. His room was in the worst condition out of all the rooms in his foster home, and there were plenty of holes that led into the fake walls within the apartment. Nowhere large enough for a human, but definitely spacious enough for a cat and a baby bird. That was one of the hiding spots if someone barged into the room and Reiko happened to be near the closet. No sane human would tear the walls down simply on a whim.

But not bringing Reiko meant that he had to be a lot more cautious. She had an innate ability to sense her surroundings, Midoriya wasn't sure if it was an animal thing or she was just special, but she always seemed to know exactly where villains were within a three meter radius. His hearing was relatively good, and he could detect who was good and who wasn't, but it was nice to have someone else's opinion. Plus, he couldn't really do anything if someone was just around the corner and didn't make any noise; the walls would interfere with the air current and he wouldn't be able to sense anything. His instincts will scream at him, yes, but he never acted on his instincts unless he knew that he was supposed to fight the people around him.

Midoriya took a deep breath, and jumped out of his window, landing six stories down, pulling off a quick roll before jumping to his feet, and he started his jog to Hosu.

Chapter Text

Midoriya climbed up the tree that just happened to be next to his window, and hopped into his room, careful to not bump into anything, moving with practiced ease. He had been doing this for years and knew how to move and navigate in his barren room, but he was being careful just in case someone decided to play a prank on him and leave something in his room.

According to Nezu, Recovery Girl said that the hawk was, luckily, healthy, though she was surprised that Nezu was bringing a baby bird to see her. The bird ate meat, and Midoriya had taken to buying small amounts of it, alongside Reiko's cat food that he hid right at the bottom of his bag, and feeding the bird with a pair of chopsticks.

Reiko and the hawk were probably still in his closet, considering how his room seemed untouched, and he made a beeline for the closet in the dark, gently flinging it open. He really needed to figure out a name for the hawk, just calling it by its breed was no doubt rude.

He saw mint and cyan eyes looking directly at him, and he gently reached out, scooping Reiko, and by extension, the bird in her grasp. Reiko purred softly, nestled in the crook of Midoriya's neck, and Midoriya gently tucked her into his oversized hoodie. He didn't bother changing out; he was usually sleeping in his vigilante outfit, with the blanket always stuffed behind the door or under his bed. He hated the damn thing; they were suffocating, quite literally. Even in winter, he couldn't bear to use it, and just opted to curl up in a corner and try to preserve his own body heat with pillows and his hoodie.

The chick gave a small peep, and nestled into Reiko's paws, and Midoriya lay down on his bed, curling up into a ball and positioning himself so he wouldn't crush them by accident, before he dozed off, but not before he nuzzled Reiko and closed his eyes.

Midoriya's foster mother, luckily, had decided to go out to the mall for the day, bringing some of the other kids out as well. She had never bothered asking Midoriya if he wanted to go, and Midoriya's didn't really want to go out anyways. Malls had too many people, were too noisy, were obvious targets for villain attacks, and things were way too pricey. People were wasteful, not even bothering to repair stuff when they broke and just opted to get a new one. Everything Midoriya owned, which included his phone, laptop, his lamp, was salvaged from the dump.

Sure, it was annoying to have to keep finding new parts whenever something stopped working, but everything could be reused. People took whatever they had for granted.

Midoriya just looked around, and listened, making sure that the other residents weren't anywhere near his room, before he closed his door and pulled out a piece of paper. The baby hawk was a few days old, and he was starting to grow some feathers, so Midoriya decided that it was time to name him.

He scribbled down a few ideas on the paper, as Reiko curled up against his arm, and the hawk was nestled comfortably between her paws.

Midoriya gently nudged her, and Reiko opened her eyes, before turning to the paper that Midoriya was writing on.

"Name ideas for him, Rei?" Midoriya scratched the back of his head, "I thought you'd want to choose."

Reiko gently licked Midoriya's cheek, before she looked over the names. The hawk gave a small chirp, and Midoriya gently ran his thumb over the chick's head, careful not to press too hard. The hawk nuzzled his finger, and Midoriya let a small smile grace his features.

He hated showing his emotions around others. People would only use his emotions against him and hurt him. He put on a mask to protect himself, and had been putting on the mask for so long that he could no longer tell if he was wearing it or not. He pushed everything away; emotions only served to hurt, and they made you make poor decisions. It wasn't worth it, when dealing with people.

But when he was alone, with Reiko, and now, with the baby bird, he could let whatever emotions that still lingered, the small spark of happiness that he never revealed around other people.

Reiko stood up, and pressed her paw against one of the names that Midoriya had written down.

Ryuto.

Midoriya gently pat the newly dubbed Ryuto's head, as the hawk chirped.

"Welcome to the family, Ryuto."

"So, anything you particularly wish to achieve on this internship?"

"I would like to learn hand to hand combat." Uraraka blurted out, upon Gunhead asking, before she realised that she was being rude and blushed, "I mean, you know, that boy... he beat everyone pretty much in hand to hand, and ..."

"Ah. Midoriya, right?" Gunhead nodded, "I was surprised too, seeing a General Education student winning once more after so much time."

"Wait… a General Education student won the Sports Festival once?" Uraraka asked, intrigued.

"Yep. Your teacher is Eraserhead, right?" Gunhead replied, " Aizawa Shouta. He won the Sports Festival in his first year and transferred into the hero course. His quirk to erase other people's quirks were pretty good against other people, but against robots, and without any other gear? He was at a huge disadvantage and that was probably why he didn't get into the hero course directly."

Uraraka gaped, as Gunhead continued, "I watched the Sports Festival. Midoriya's fast on his feet, and while I can't see him using a proper fighting style, his way of fighting clearly works for him. You may have a versatile quirk, but if you can't even touch him, you're quirk is useless. Like the vine girl, the second you take your eyes off him, you lose. It will take some time for you to learn the basics of hand to hand combat, but I believe if you have the determination to do so, you can do it."

Uraraka clenched her fists and nodded. If a quirkless boy could be proficient in hand to hand combat, even managing to defeat Bakugou and Todoroki, then she could too.

"Iida… you chose my agency because of its closeness to the Hero Killer, didn't you?"

Iida paused, and spluttered, as Mizushima laughed, "I'm not exactly the best hero, and my style is definitely anywhere near yours. My water quirk isn't the most powerful one out there, and with your powerful engine quirk, I think you only chose Hosu because of what happened to Ingenium, didn't you? Pretty sure if he wasn't hospitalised with a broken arm and two broken legs, you would have gone to him for your internship."

Iida froze, and looked away. He wanted to be in Hosu for two reasons. To be close to his brother and, if given the chance, take Stain down for his brother. Tensei's injuries would heal; with a variety of healing quirks and his injuries just being broken bones, all Tensei needed was some surgery to put the bones back in the right place, and he should be able to get back to his job after a month or two of rehabilitation.

But then there was another thing.

Stain only killed and attacked those he deemed unworthy of being heroes.

The fact that he attacked Tensei meant he thought he wasn't worthy?

Iida was offended. His brother was one of the best heroes out there, willing to put his life on the line to save others. He had taken care of Iida when he was young, and no matter how Iida saw it, he could not pinpoint any ways that Tensei was not worthy of being a hero.

But he wouldn't seek him out. Midoriya had told him not to, and seeing how little Midoriya communicated with pretty much anyone, the fact that he had written him a note shows that Midoriya cared, in some way.

Plus, Tensei didn't want him to seek out the hero killer. He had mentioned that when Iida had gone to visit Tensei right before his internships; Tensei seemed adamant on Iida not even going anywhere near Stain.

But if Iida just happened to see him, there was no guarantee that he wouldn't intervene. 

So far so good.

Midoriya had been hopping over to Hosu for four days by now, and luckily, nothing much had happened. He had seen Iida and Mizushima patrolling at night once or twice, and Iida seemed to be listening to Mizushima and not running off on his own, so at least he was taking Midoriya's, and most likely Tensei's as well, advice to heart.

The fact that someone was finally kinda listening to what he had to say (Or write, for that matter), just made Midoriya feel.... weird inside, but he pushed them aside.

Focus on what's important, dammit.

Nezu had asked him to submit a couple of sketches for potential support items, since he was going to be transferred into the hero course, most likely after the UA annual hero training camp since he was "quirkless", or at the latest, in the beginning of his second year. He had several of his older sketches, plus a few of his own prototypes made out of junk from the dump, and he just decided to bring them along. He hadn't ever needed to use them before, but seeing as it was Stain he may have to fight… it was better to be safer than sorry.

Midoriya was still trying to figure out just what was going on between some of the other students and himself. Shinsou? The first one that reached out to him, gave him an offer to be friends, and introduced him to the others. Uraraka? She was cheerful, always trying to engage him in a conversation or try to drag him into their conversations. Iida? Iida was like the class's unofficial dad, in a way, trying to make sure no one swore and all the topics were school appropriate, and was generally very eager to be a good role model for his classmates. Midoriya was only willing to write to communicate with Uraraka and Iida; they had tried to understand him, with the help of Shinsou translating, and it was only fair for him to cater to them instead of them just catering to him all the time.

He was definitely not as close to the 1-B students as he was to Uraraka, Iida, and Shinsou, and even then, Midoriya wasn't very sure how he felt about them.

They were nice, sure, but how much of that was a facade? How many of them were waiting for him to open up, to drop his guard, and brutally stab him in the back?

"You really thought we wanted to be friends?! You worthless Deku, who would wanna be friends with you? You might as well take a swan dive off a roof and wish you were born with a quirk in your next life, loser!"

And then there was Todoroki. He had literally stated that he wanted Midoriya to succeed so that he could stomp him flat into the ground.

At least he was being truthful about it.

And Midoriya didn't like to leave problems unsolved. He prefered to tie up loose ends. Enji was Todoroki's father, he was the one that caused pretty much all the problems in the Todoroki family. In the end, Todoroki was the one with the most proof that could land his father in deep trouble. He was the one who could decide Enji's fate. Midoriya was just showing him the path, it was his choice whether he wanted to take it or not.

He shook the thoughts out of his head. He needed to concentrate, dammit. This was definitely not the best time and place to be figuring out the feelings that he had pushed away for five years.

He may not like them, but if he knew the danger was coming, it was only the right thing to do to save them. There were plenty of people he disliked, but he still saved them because it was the right thing to do.

People became villains because they chose to do the wrong thing even though they knew it was wrong. Accidents were fine, but that was the path they chose. They deserved getting beaten up and knocked out before being thrown into jail. It didn't matter what their circumstances were; the wants of one person do not outweigh the needs and wants of the many.

One person is in no way more important than anyone else; they do not deserve any special treatment.

He wasn't in UA to make friends. He didn't want to make friends.

There was no such thing as friendship. Friends weren't necessary.

He didn't want to care.

Caring can only hurt you more.

"I am aware that Todoroki has chosen to intern with his father." Aizawa nodded, "You want me to keep an eye on them?"

"Yep. Todoroki clearly dislikes Endeavor, and only took up this opportunity to learn to control his quirk. I don't want Endeavor to accidentally do something that may set Todoroki off. Plus, there is a high chance that Stain is still in Hosu. If Endeavor decides to try and pop in to claim victory from him, no doubt Stain will go after him. Todoroki will be in danger." Nezu replied, "Shinsou is interning with Edgeshot, so he'll be relatively safe. Edgeshot doesn't work anywhere near Hosu.

Aizawa nodded, and left the room.

"Nezu… I'm not trying to imply anything… but are you sure it is okay for Young Midoriya to be transferred into the hero course?" Yagi asked.

Nezu just turned to face the hero, "Of course. He won the Sports Festival, against the hero course. He's proven that he's capable of protecting himself. I don't know why you seem so against him joining, given that you yourself used to be quirkless. A bit hypocritical, I might say. I thought you would be proud that the quirkless can still stand up for themselves."

"It's not just that." Yagi sighed, "It's a Sports Festival; the hero course students were not aiming to kill. Villians in the real world, they will kill if they can. Without a quirk to protect himself -"

Nezu sighed, "Heroes always have a chance of dying on the job. I admit, Midoriya will be at a disadvantage, but he clearly has the brains to make up for it. Just ask Snipe, that boy's analysis is more than enough to land him a job in a hero agency, even if he isn't a hero that fights directly. I don't think it's fair to just bar him entry simply on the basis that he doesn't have a quirk. You were okay with Aizawa transferring, weren't you?"

"Yes -" Yagi spluttered, managing to take out a handkerchief in time as he turned back to his normal form, "But Aizawa's quirk allows him to erase other people's quirks."

"It doesn't work on mutant type quirks." Nezu replied, "And if Midoriya can analyse his opponents to disable their quirks, or just avoid them outright all together, how is he any different from Aizawa?"

Yagi fell silent, as he pondered Nezu's words.

"I know you're concerned about his safety. But all heroes, quirk or no quirk, carry the risk of injury and death. That's why we teach them, so that they can collaborate and protect themselves and others. Plus, some of the others in the hero course do want him to get transferred in."

Plus… I don't think he's quirkless… I'm pretty sure his quirk is some kind of self healing quirk… but the specifics of the quirk still seems rather…. Obscure… Nezu thought, plus… Midoriya doesn't like to talk, so communication is definitely a huge problem. Most of the teachers know sign language, and I don't think he's aware of that.. Sign language is part of the syllabus, but until then…

Akaguro was taking his own sweet time, looking around Hosu, when suddenly, he felt a shift in the air. He quickly unsheathed his katana, as the misty villain materialised right in front of him,

"Hero Killer, Stain."

"Who are you? What do you want?" Akaguro growled, holding his blade up to where he assumed was Kurogiri's neck.

"Nothing. I would just like to propose a meeting between the League of Villains and you, since we appear to have relatively similar goals." Kurogiri replied.

Akaguro frowned, "I will listen, but depending on your… goals… I may or may not join. I do not know what your little League does, you haven't done anything remotely interesting, or anything at all, in fact, but the fact is that you have a teleportation quirk. How they managed to recruit you is a feat indeed. I will go, but step out of line and you will regret it."

"Very well." Kurogiri nodded, warping Akaguro and himself away.

Void may have been unknown to the heroes, but to the villains, Void was a name that was put fear in the villains' hearts. He hid in the shadows, he attacked and took villains down in a blink of an eye, and disappeared without a trace.

Kurogiri looked around, and grumbled under his breath. Shigaraki wanted to recruit Void. He was fast, efficient, and based on reports from various others, Void was at their first call for the attack on the USJ. He was most likely the one to have leaked the news to the heroes, given he was more of a vigilante than a villain, and Shigaraki wanted that power on his side.

Except for one small problem. Kurogiri had no idea where to find Void. He had no idea where he usually struck, or what targets he went after. He only knew that the vigilante had a black hoodie and attacked under the cover of night.

Until he got lucky and just happened to notice the boy leaping over and alleyway on the rooftops.

There was no reason why Void wouldn't attack, or just outright refuse. Better teleport him into the bar first, then talk later.

And so he struck, Kurogiri materialised right under Midoriya as he jumped again, but much to his surprise, Void turned around in mid-air, whacking Kurogiri's neck plate, and landed on the roof, rolling, before he shot up, ready to attack.

Kurogiri teleported himself back onto a rooftop, and just sighed, "Well, hello, Void."

Midoriya just growled at him, "What do you want?"

"I know someone who wants to talk." Kurogiri replied, "We won't hurt you, the League of Villains just want to extend an offer to you to join us."

Midoriya hissed internally. These were the ones that originally wanted to attack the USJ, and they may be planning to try again. Maybe… if he followed and listened… at least, for now, he could get more information. Maybe he could protect UA from another imminent attack.

"Very well." Midoriya forced himself to appear to loosen up, but was prepared to attack if they didn't anything remotely out of line, "I have not heard of this League of Villains, but I am curious."

And Kurogiri nodded, teleporting them both away, with Midoriya wondering if he had made the right decision.

Well, at least if I made a mistake, I'm the only one that gets hurt.

Chapter Text

"I've looked into it." Tsukauchi looked down at his notebook, "There shouldn't be any legal issues if you wish to take Midoriya in. I can easily get the forms and, and with the connections we both have, everything should be completed in a day or two. But if you really do decide to take care of him, it's best to keep the entire matter quiet. You should wait a while, preferably until the hype of the Sports Festival dies down."

"Ah... I understand." Nezu frowned. He knew what Tsukauchi was talking about. In the system, he was considered a responsible adult with a proper job, and no doubt would be able to take care of Midoriya, especially since Midoriya was enrolled in the school he was in charge of.

But to the public, no doubt that it's going to cause an uproar.

After all, it has always been the humans taking care of the animals. Since when was it the case where the animal took care of the human, even if that very animal was considered one of the smartest beings on the planet?

"Your case is a unique one..." Tsukauchi sighed, "There aren't many animals with quirks, and even fewer animals with the mental capacity to be on par with humans. If word of this gets out, nobody knows how it will turn out."

Nezu shook his head. Tsukauchi was right about one thing; no one knows what the consequences of adopting Midoriya would be. Nezu didn't really care about it, but if it would negatively impact Midoriya's life, then this situation would have to be handled even more delicately than before. This was already complicated enough, given Midoriya's current mindset, and whether Midoriya even trusted Nezu enough to take care of him. Nezu didn't want to do anything that would make Midoriya's situation even worse for him. Plus, High Spec granted Nezu a high intelligence quotient, but emotional stuff… was iffy. There was no right answer when it came to emotions.

And Tsukauchi was wrong about the other thing.

Animals with quirks weren't exactly rare. In fact, they were rather common. Animals with empathetic quirks, especially, were commonly used in therapy, and they were specifically bred for that cause. Horses with minor speed quirks were also bred for horse racing, and animals like fish and pigs with quirks that gave them a larger body mass were practically mass bred for consumption. People just assumed that those were natural traits in those animals, and with nothing to compare them against, it was, in a way, a justified assumption.

Humans had relatively nice lifestyles and were generally smart enough to avoid death in a variety of methods, and thus, even people with weak, useless, or even quirks that harmed themselves could survive and live a normal life. But animals had to fight for their own survival, so animals, without that evolutionary edge, or even quirks that were detrimental to their survival, wouldn't make it. Animals have had quirks ever since humans have had them, but the process of natural selection just made it appear that animals didn't. No one would think that a shark swimming in the ocean had a quirk that made it swim faster, or an eagle had a quirk that gave it better eyesight.

It's just that humans considered animals as lesser beings and just assumed that they weren't "good" enough to have quirks. For an animal with a quirk that made it seem abnormal, they were usually abandoned or just killed by humans, or just ignored by its parents and left to die, or were just killed and eaten if it were a wild animal. It severely limited the type of quirk mutations that different types of species could go through.

Nezu wasn't going to say anything about this topic though. He was both lucky and unlucky; he had a quirk that put him on the same stage as humans, but his intelligence had initially backfired on him and caused him to be experimented on. Nezu wasn't going to let any other animals suffer the same fate.

"Just think about it." Tsukuachi finished up, smiling, "I'm nowhere as smart as you are. You can probably come up with an ideal solution that no one else would think of."

"So, you want to add me to your numbers? No matter what you want me to accomplish, it is necessary to have conviction and desire. Those who don't have them and those who are weak will be weeded out. It's only natural, that's why it turned out like this."

Midoriya honestly wasn't surprised to find Shigaraki lying on the ground, stabbed in the shoulder, with Akaguro talking while holding him at knifepoint. What he was surprised to see was that Shigaraki was the only one in the room, with no henchmen, or underlings in the room. Surely, if Shigaraki was the boss, he was smart enough to have a couple of bodyguards. Then again, he may be completely reliant on Kurogiri, or he had severely underestimated Akaguro.

What he was surprised about was that Akaguro had immediately taken his attention off Shigaraki the second Kurogiri dropped him into the bar, and had rushed at Kurogiri almost immediately. The warping villain had his arm cut by Akaguro, and Midoriya barely had enough time to dodge the knife that was aimed at his shoulder. In fact, if Akaguro had decided to attack him first, no doubt that he would be a goner.

Akaguro brought up his knife, and licked it, Kurogiri falling to the ground almost immediately.

Midoriya stared at the fallen form of the villain, before he looked up at Akaguro.

He licked his blood. That's his quirk. I can't get hit, or more specifically, bleed. Or I'm done for, he'll paralyse me.

"This society is overgrown with fake heroes, and the world itself has lost its true meaning. Heroes and criminals alike who wave their power around idly should be killed.

Shigaraki reached up to grab the knife embedded in his shoulder and disintegrated it, before standing up, "You sure talk a lot. Conviction? I don't have anything grand like that. If I had to say… yeah. It'd be All Might. I feel like I really want to completely crush this society where trash like that gets worshipped."

"We don't have a healer in our party, you know. Will you take responsibility for this?" He sighed, scratching his neck.

"So that's what you are…" Akaguro growled, "It seems that our goals oppose each other. However, we do agree on one thing; to destroy the present."

He turned to Midoriya, "You, Void. What do you want? What do you aim to achieve?"

Midoriya hissed internally; he didn't want to end up saying something wrong and have both parties turn on him - that was practically suicide. But he also didn't want to lie. People always said to treat others how you want to be treated, and he didn't want anyone to lie to him.

And honestly, he had no idea what he wanted. He didn't know what his ultimate goal was; and it would be selfish to just assume that everyone would agree on what he thought was a better world to be ideal.

He remained quiet.

Akaguro just shrugged, "Well, if you want to keep quiet, so be it. I've heard about you; you're strong in your own right, and if these clowns brought you here, you must have something that they want, whether it be information, manpower, or some other obscure thing."

"Stop messing around. Go home. Die." Shigaraki grumbled, "I'm the kind of person you hate most, right?"

"I was testing your true motives. People show their true colours when they're on the verge of death. It's different, but you do have a desire, a warped sprout of conviction inside of you. How will it grow? It might not be too late to see until after I've seen that to dispose of you. That goes for you too, Void. Plus, you haven't done anything to go against my goals yet, so I'll wait."

"I can move?" Kurogiri grunted as he picked himself off the floor.

"Kurogiri, I don't want someone this crazy as this as a party member." Shigaraki snapped, but Kurogiri merely replied, "Shigaraki, he'll be a great asset if he joins us, especially for the next step of our plan. The negotiation was successful."

"My business here is done." Akaguro spoke up, "Return me to Hosu. There are still things that I must attend to there."

Midoriya honed on to those words. That feeling of bloodlust that emanated from Akaguro; he was going to strike today.

Kurogiri immediately warped Akaguro away, and Shigaraki turned to Midoriya, as the villain reappeared almost immediately.

"Void. I'm well aware that you are the one that leaked our first attempt to attack UA to the heroes."

Midoriya just remained silent, trying to pick every single detail about the "plan" that Kurogiri mentioned apart. Shigaraki mentioned first; they were definitely going to try again.

"Honestly, we don't need you, or the Hero Killer. You are just upgrades; this level can still be cleared, with or without you. Get in our way again, and I'll erase you in an instant. Kurogiri, put him back where you found him."

Kurogiri looked like he wanted to facepalm, but he still followed Shigaraki's orders.

Midoriya found himself dropped on top of a rooftop, and he grit his teeth.

Forget about the League for now. He needed to stop Akaguro first.

"Shigaraki, he's a vigilante, not a villain. Why are you letting him go free?" He asked, as he warped back to the bar without Void.

"It doesn't matter." Shigaraki sat on a chair and scratched his neck, "If he joined us, he would make a good party member. Remain silent, and he'll live with the guilt of UA's downfall. But if he decides to tell the heroes… that would work to our advantage as well. The heroes already underestimate us because of our first failed attempt. Giving them a heads up would make them even more overconfident, and we will crush UA, students, heroes, even All Might."

Shigaraki turned to Kurogiri, "Sensei told us that he noticed All Might appearing less and less frequently over the years, and he's getting weaker. If we can draw All Might's attention away from UA before attacking, we can definitely do more damage instead of attacking him outright. We know the layout of the USJ, and we also know the hero student's quirks, they won't be a problem at all. The only one who will pose a threat is that Midoriya Izuku, the winner of the Sports Festival, but from what we gathered, he's quirkless. Definitely not a threat. Plus, we still have the Nomu specifically engineered for him, and all the other Nomus; wearing him out before the battle will definitely give us the opportunity to kill All Might. Tonight, we'll just test some of the weaker Nomus."

Their first failed attempt on All Might's life was no doubt a wake up call for Shigaraki, and Kurogiri couldn't help but feel proud that the man-child he chose to follow was starting to live up to what Sensei had promised.

Iida hissed, as he found himself in an alleyway, his mentor lying on the ground, slumped, as Akaguro towered over him. He had somehow found himself in a situation where he had to fight him, and despite all his previous thoughts, he knew that he couldn't fight Stain. He was too strong, too fast.

Midoriya was right; there was no way he could beat him. Even if Iida could keep his Recipro Burst active for longer than ten seconds at a time, Akaguro's reaction time allowed him to keep up with him. He could easily get Mizishima out of there, but Native was also there, bleeding out. Mizushima had seen Native's body, and had tried to help him. Iida was right behind him, trying to help in any way he could, until Akaguro had hopped out of nowhere and stabbed Mishushima right in the gut.

Iida slowly reached up towards his helmet, and tapped it three times. Aizawa had ordered Maijima to install some kind of emergency flare signal connected to their phones in pretty much everyone's costumes, and they were to alert pretty much any other student or teacher in their vicinity of their location.

"Signal received by: Todoroki, Eraserhead."

"I have no idea why Endeavor of all people will be in Hosu, but thank goodness." Iida thought, "Aizawa-sensei's strong, and Todoroki is interning with Endeavor. I just need to hold out until then."

"Step aside." Akaguro hissed, "I don't kill children, but get in my way and you'll be a target too."

"No. Leave now." Iida tried to keep his calm, and stepped between Akaguro and the two downed heroes.

"Kid, get out of here!" Native yelped, as Mizushima yelled, "Iida, go! Don't get caught up in this!"

Akaguro grit his teeth, "Your outfit looks familiar. Have we met before?"

"You met my brother, Ingenium! You hurt him!" Iida growled, trying to keep his cool, "They say that you go after those unworthy of being heroes, but my brother is no doubt a true hero!"

"Ah, that guy." Akaguro's stance relaxed, but Iida didn't make another move, "That one… I agree with you. He's a true hero. I went after another hero but Ingenium happened to be nearby and took the hit for him. Normally, I would have still killed him or paralysed him, but someone spoke up for him, small child from a couple of years ago. As far as I know, I just broke a few of his bones, and he should recover. I do applaud you for not acting on your emotions and outrightly attacking me in revenge, but I will not hesitate to cut you down if you try to protect these fakes."

Iida still refused to move, and Akaguro sighed, "That's it. Time's up, kid."

He immediately dashed forward, and Iida moved forward to tackle him, but Akaguro swiftly dodged and slashed him in the shoulder, before kicking Iida to the ground. Akaguro brought the knife with Iida's blood to his mouth, but before he could do anything with it, a blast of fire forced Akaguro to dodge and move away from Iida, Native and Mizushima.

"Ah, so I guess that's why you sent your location." Todoroki spoke up in a monotone voice, "I told Endeavor where I was going, backup should be here soon."

"Tch." Akaguro clicked his teeth, and threw his knives at Todoroki. Todoroki didn't have time to react, and he found three knives embedded in his arm. Todoroki winced in pain, and looked up, only to find Akaguro right in front of him, but before the Hero Killer could do anything, he was immediately kicked backwards.

Akaguro slid backwards, and Iida and Todoroki looked up to see a figure in black hoodie.

"Void." Akaguro hissed, "What are you doing here? I did say that you haven't done anything that opposes my goals, but now you're trying to interfere?"

"Stop it. Leave them alone." Void replied, and Todoroki let out what sounded like a squeak.

This is the vigilante that told the principal about my dad.

Akaguro jumped forward and tried to strike, but Void just blocked Akaguro's katana with what looked like metallic fingerless gloves.

"Get Native and Manual!" Void hissed, locked in a power struggle against Akaguro, "I'll hold him off."

Todoroki hurriedly nodded and yanked the knives out of his arm, and quickly put up an ice barrier between the heroes and the fight, before making his way to Native's side, as Iida tried to support Mizushima on his good shoulder.

Midoriya knew that Akaguro wasn't really trying; Akaguro was just smiling at him as they struggled against each other. Midoriya wasn't a power fighter; he didn't have enough muscle mass to go up against a full fledged adult that killed heroes with no problems at all, not to mention his poor eating habits. His power mostly came from his speed, agility, unpredictableness, instincts, quick reaction time and his ability to analyze his opponents on the spot, but up against someone faster than him, Midoriya was barely keeping up.

Plus, he had to keep track of two injured kid and two paralysed heroes. The ice wall Todoroki made definitely helped, though.

"I do wonder why the League wanted you." Akaguro admitted, "You're a vigilante, they're villains. Even if you do go against the law, you take down criminals, not help them. Why did they let you go free?"

"They just wanted to threaten me." Midoriya replied, as the two fighters backed down before lunging at each other again.

Aizawa didn't want to admit that he nearly had a heart attack when he received Iida's coordinates. He had the support course install something that would allow the students to call for backup, and while Aizawa definitely didn't want students running into danger to save their friends, considering that most of them were on internships, the students could also alert their mentors, and the pros would definitely be able to help.

Aizawa would have preferred it to be able to alert any hero nearby, but the students haven't gotten their provisional licences, and given that they were still greenhorns at pretty much everything, it would be way too easy to hack into the students equipment. Plus, the support course didn't have long to work on them, and considering it was supposed to be for emergencies and had to be discreet and compact, it could only broadcast a signal in the nearby vicinity.

He wasn't expecting it to actually be used, or it to be at a time where Aizawa couldn't help.

Enji had gone over to Hosu to deal with a couple of monstrosities, and Aizawa couldn't just leave the fight when there were three monsters roaming around, attacking civilians. He had quickly lost track of Enji in the fight, and at this point, he could only hope that Iida could stall for time.

"Hmm…" Shigaraki hummed as he looked at the chaos the Nomus were creating, "Not bad. Those NPCs will definitely take them down, though injuring them will be a bonus, but if these are considered weak, imagine what the others could do. UA will definitely fall."

"Shigaraki, I have found Stain. He's fighting with Void." Kurogiri reported.

Shigaraki's eyes glinted, and he nodded, "Good. Let's go. I want to see that fight."

Midoriya rolled aside, dodging Akaguro's slash, but Akaguro used that opportunity utterly destroy the ice wall Todoroki put up and raced out of the alleyway, Midoriya following close behind him.

"Shit." Todoroki cursed, turning around upon the ice shattering and seeing Akaguro racing out. Void quickly tackled him, and both of them were sent sprawling across the ground, rolling into a crouch and immediately leaping at each other.

"Come on, I told my father our location." Todoroki mumbled, as Akaguro attempted a slash at Void, who blocked the attack with a knife.

"I… I think I see Endeavor!" Mizushima spoke up, and Todoroki and Iida bother turned in the direction that Mizushima happened to be facing, seeing Enji's signature flames in the distance.

It didn't take long for Enji to close the distance, and the second he was close enough to see what was going on, he bellowed, "YOU!"

"It's Stain! And Void, he's helping us -" Iida spoke up, but Enji just ignored him and extended his arm.

Fire roared from his hand, and all Midoriya could feel was fire and pain.

Thank goodness Reiko and Ryuto aren't with me… and that my hoodie is somewhat fire-proof.

Luckily for them, the three monsters were quickly taken care of, but not before pretty much all of the other heroes at the scene were injured in some way and needed medical treatment.

Enji had immediately gone off in another direction after the monsters were defeated, and Aizawa quickly followed behind, realising that Enji was heading in Iida's direction. He suddenly stopped, allowing Aizawa to catch up and figure out what was going on.

Todoroki and Iida were supporting Native and Mizushima respectively, while Akaguro and Void were locked in a battle.

And before he could do anything, Enji fired off his flames, not at Akaguro, but at Void.

The flames washed over Void, and Aizawa quickly used his quirk on Enji, erasing his quirk.

"What is wrong with you!? Iida clearly told you he's on our side!" Aizawa snapped, as he deactivated his quirk and turned to check on Void.

Void was standing a few inches away from where he originally stood, pushed back by the fire. His clothes were steaming, but other than the bout of coughing from the vigilante, Void looked relatively fine.

"Why!?" Todoroki burst out, turning to his father in horror, "He was helping us!"

"You fake!" Akaguro snarled, his bloodlust bursting out, paralysing everyone in his vicinity, "I must make things right. Someone must be dyed in blood. I must take back what it means to be a hero!"

He dashed forwards. Aizawa could only look on helplessly as he felt his entire body freeze, not due to a quirk or anything, but out of fear.

And Akaguro's katana hit metal.

"Stop it." Void growled, knife against katana, as they tried to push each other back.

"He attacked you, and yet you still protect him?!" Akaguro growled.

"You want to change the world, but killing does nothing. It's not right." Void spoke up, in a completely dead tone that was devoid of emotion, "Lead by example. Do what's right. Show the world what's right, and what isn't. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Akaguro sighed, and pulled back, "Last warning. Get out of the way. You're a good kid, Void. I don't want to hurt you, but you're in the way."

Void just lunged forward, and attempted to sweep Akaguro's legs out from under him, but Akaguro just jumped up and avoided it. He aimed his katana downwards, and attempted to slash Void, but Void just flipped up and kicked his blade away, landing in a crouch.

They leapt at each other, dancing, weaving around, as metal continuously scraped against metal as they kept up their dangerous tango. They were a whirl of red and black, and any time Akaguro attempted to break off the fight to go after Enji, Void would be there, blocking his way. The high speed battle kept up, until one final clash sent Void and Akaguro skidding away from each other.

"So, Izuku, what do you notice about these fights? What do they have in common?"

Six year old Midoriya looked up from the laptop at Hisashi, and frowned, "Uh… they're all very good?"

"No, silly." Hisashi ruffled his hair, "Well… you're not wrong, but now, rewatch them, but try to keep a mental beat in your head."

Midoriya did as he was told, and his eyes widened, "They keep a steady beat as they fight."

"Correct." Hisashi praised, "Every person has a tempo they prefer to fight at, and it's important for things like keeping balance. Some are better at slower fights, where every single movement is important, and some are better at fast paced fights where they overwhelm their opponents with speed, and there is the group in between. And even then, between each group of fighters, everyone has a specific tempo that they fight the best at. But suddenly switching that tempo, even slightly, can throw them off. It's easier to increase the tempo of the fight, but if the fight is already really fast, then the fighters are most likely acting on instinct. For you, it's especially important for you to learn to take control of the fight. Keep switching up tempo of the fight, don't keep it the same for too long. As long as you're in charge of the tempo, you have an advantage."

Midoriya just cocked his head in confusion.

"Uh… think of an orchestra. Everything is in harmony, everything runs smoothly, but even if only one instrument is off by even just one beat per minute, then the entire thing would sound horrible. Oh! Yes, basketball. Everyone in the team plays at a certain tempo. When two teams battle against each other, the team that can play by their tempo, and force the opponents to fight at a different tempo than their used to, they get an advantage by forcing the opponent to do something different. But if one person in a team is off, then the entire team formation falls apart. Makes sense?"

Midoriya eyes lit up in understanding, and Hisashi grinned, "Alright. Someone in the agency I worked at explained it to me, but I'm too old to change my fighting style. Your hand to hand is decent, so I'm going to try and teach you how to switch up the tempo in a fight before your fighting style solidifies."

Midoriya relaxed, and pretended to let his guard down, and Akaguro acted instinctively, rushing at him once more. Midoriya waited, as Akaguro got closer, and closer. Akaguro's blade glinted in the moonlight, and Midoriya focused on it.

Increase the tempo, just to throw him off guard.

Midoriya quickly ducked under the katana, and raised his hand, grabbing the blade, and twisting it out of Akaguro's grasp. He pivoted on his foot, kicking the back of Akaguro's knee, and from then on, it was a downhill battle for Akaguro.

No matter how Akaguro tried to attack, something felt off, but Akaguro couldn't tell what. He was almost always off balance, and Void was just attacking left and right mercilessly, avoiding all his attempts to attack back while landing all his own hits. Something was definitely wrong, but no matter how much Akaguro tried to orientate himself, he was just off by a couple of milliseconds.

Aizawa tensed up, as he felt Enji heating up, and he yelled, "Void! Watch out."

Void gave Akaguro one more kick in Enji's direction, before he dove aside as Enji's fire washed over Akaguro. Aizawa quickly rushed in the second Enji's flames died down, erasing Akaguro's quirk and knocking the villain out, before he looked around, trying to find Void. Todoroki and Iida were also the same, and it seemed like Akaguro's quirk had worn off, since Mizushima and Native were standing around, trying to figure out just what the hell had happened.

"Where is that damned vigilante!?" Enji roared, and Aizawa just snapped, "You almost killed him once before, and you almost killed him again! What's wrong with you!?"

Midoriya just looked on impassively from his perch on the rooftop, before he ran off, headed back to Musutafu.

Chapter Text

Midoriya stumbled through his window, trying to push down the feeling of dread and anxiety that was starting to bubble up in his stomach.

He really hated fire.

Or, to be more exact, he didn't necessarily hate all kinds of fire.

His father, Midoriya Hisashi, had a fire breathing quirk. That fire didn't hurt him, it protected him.

Todoroki's fire was unstable, full of rage and anger, but Midoriya could deal with it. It wasn't gentle, like Hisashi's flames, but it wasn't outrightly malicious.

Like Enji's.

Like the man who hated and and set fire to his house, the fire that had taken his parents lives.

After gently lifting Reiko and Ryuto out of their hiding place in the cupboard, Midoriya hastily peeled his hoodie off, almost letting out a hiss as the cool air his singed skin. His hoodie was fire-proof, yes, he had specifically made it that way, but that just meant that it wouldn't burn easily, just to protect his identity. Inside, he could still feel the fire licking at his skin, and it wasn't the fire itself that hurt him, but the memories it triggered hurt so much.

He shakily wrapped his arms around himself, ignoring the numbing pain that shot throughout his body as his hands rubbed against his tender skin, as Reiko looked on in concern, but unsure of what to do to make him feel better. He curled up on his bed, trying to calm himself down, trying to shut off the memories that were filling his brain and overwhelming him, the memories that he couldn't handle ever since he was seven.

The smell of burning flesh filled his nose, and Midoriya squeezed his eyes shut, biting his lip in an attempt to distract himself from the memory that had haunted him for so long. He didn't want to remember, but he didn't want to forget. He swallowed down his anxiety, his anger, his sorrow, and tried to relax, trembling on the bed, curling in on himself.

He wanted to be a hero. He couldn't let stupid things like his emotions overwhelm him. The man who killed his parents acted on his emotions, his rage, his anger; Midoriya couldn't afford to do the same.

Midoriya was doing his best to try and keep as quiet as possible, to stifle the whimpers that came out of his mouth, not even thinking about the fact that someone could just barge into his room at three in the morning and see his burnt and scarred skin.

He probably looked equally pathetic as he did now as he was when he was seven, just lying there haplessly, like a beaten and broken doll, a useless, worthless child that shouldn't even be alive.

"Shh… Izuku... " Inko cradled her four year old son gently as he wept into her shirt, clinging to her like a lifeline, his arms and legs covered in cuts and bruises, "The world will always be cruel to you, Izuku. If you want to be a hero, you can't cry. Heroes don't cry. They can't cry, or they'll appear to be weak and everyone would take advantage of that. You shouldn't cry for something that wasn't your fault. It's my fault. I wasn't strong enough to give you a quirk, a quirk that would have made your life better."

Inko gently ran her fingers through Midoriya's fluffy hair, pulling him in for a hug.

"You can cry in front of you father and I, but until you can find someone else out there that loves and cares for you, no matter your quirkless status, you can't cry. You can't show other people how much they are hurting you. People would just hurt you more. Do you understand, Izuku?"

Midoriya rubbed his eyes and nodded, as Inko rested her chin on Midoriya's head, rubbing his back comfortingly.

"I'm so sorry, Izuku."

He knew that if he were still his old self, he would probably be tearing up, and crying his heart out. But he hadn't cried for so long, locking that feeling away in the depths of his very being.

He didn't want to think about the past, he didn't want to remember everything that he had lost, everything that had happened, losing the only two people on this entire planet that loved him and everyone else doing everything in their power to destroy him from the inside.

"You know, Deku? Falling off the roof of a building? What a farce. I know the truth. Sure, my quirk did give you a little push, amplifying all your emotions by tenfold… but honestly, I wasn't expecting you to actually jump. Just how desperate are you, attention seeker? Did you really think that taking a swan dive off the roof would make you get a quirk?"

He really hated the fact that she was right, the girl in his class who was always quiet, always passive, listening to others, and being well liked in general. Her quirk allowed her to amplify the emotions of anyone she talked to for a certain amount of time.

But in the end, it was still his fault, not hers. It was his emotions were what drove him to this point, drove him to have this stupid quirk that he didn't want, never wanted. He couldn't blame her for his emotions, his pure stupidity and nativity, for him trusting her despite having been fooled time and time again.

Midoriya quickly exhaled, desperately trying to stay as quiet as possible so as to not wake anyone up by accident. But he felt like he was suffocating, everything pressing down heavily on his chest, pushing down. He felt like he was drowning, every breath he took being so dense that it wasn't even helping his situation at all, the pressure gradually getting stronger and stronger the longer he sank.

And he did the only thing he could think of, the only thing that he could do that wouldn't disturb anyone else, to regain some semblance of control.

He hastily ripped the knife out from its sheath on his leg, and plunging it into his left forearm, right between his ulna and radius, and twisted it harshly.

The familiar, grounding feeling of pain blossoming in his arm brought him back to reality, forcing him to focus on the pain instead of the bubbling emotions that threatened to erupt, the memories that filled his mind like a broken tape record on a high, replaying over and over again, the words, the shouts, everything echoing, an endless cacophony of noise filling his brain.

His grip on his knife weakened, and there he lay, limp on his bed as he breathed, inhaling and exhaling, taking deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart. Reiko gently padded over to him, Ryuto awkwardly jumping and waddling behind her, flapping his tiny wings, constantly getting his tiny talons stuck within the folds of the bed sheets as he tried to follow the cat.

Ryuto had really grown in the past week, his first set of feathers having already grown, covering the baby hawk in a layer of fluffy light grey feathers. He was no longer completely blind and helpless like he was when he just hatched, and was literally just a small, adorable, warm ball of fluff that cheeped and chirped for Midoriya's attention whenever he was on his way to school, coming back from school, or in the pet rescue center.

He was smart, or maybe Reiko was influencing him, or maybe it was just his baby hawk instincts that told him to remain quiet whenever he wasn't safe, and never made a single sound whenever he was in his foster home.

Nezu did comment that he made some noise whenever he was with Reiko in his office, but it wasn't enough to garner his attention and he usually did so whenever he wanted Reiko's attention, or whenever Midoriya entered the room for his daily meetings with the principal.

Reiko licked his cheek gently, as Midoriya looked at her, tired, completely drained of energy, ignoring the blood that trickled out of his arm and staining the bed sheets. Ryuto just hopped over to Midoriya, and tucked himself under Midoriya's chin, rubbing his head against Midoriya's neck and chirping softly.

Midoriya swallowed, feeling the pressure of his collar against his neck. He collected his thoughts, and pushed them to the back of his mind, stuffing his emotions, his thoughts, his memories, everything into a mental, metaphorical bottle and capping it tightly.

He had failed too many times already. He had already failed his parents. He had failed Reiko's mother.

He couldn't fail whatever family he had left. He couldn't afford to fail again.

Midoriya wearily pushed himself up, and made his way to the bathroom to clean himself up, before dealing with the bed sheets. Someone would scream in the morning if they found out what had happened.

Nezu nearly had a heart attack when he watched the news the next day, sitting in his office.

He knew that Midoriya had been hopping over to Hosu for the past few days; the local heroes like Moro, the wolf based hero that one of the monstrosities had attacked, and several others had mentioned that Void had dropped down, talked for around a minute or two, before disappearing into the shadows the second they turned away from him, repeating the same pattern that usually took place in Musutafu.

And then, he caught most of the fight between Midoriya and Akaguro that was captured by a news helicopter, with Midoriya being able to escape the cameras and disappearing as Enji and Aizawa landed the finishing blows.

Nezu was seriously getting more and more worried about Midoriya. His foster household was clearly not treating him properly, not even allowing him basic privacy in the form of locking his door.

Not to mention that despite that, no one noticed that he was sneaking out of the house to be a vigilante. That was kind of the point, but considering he seemed to be active at around the same time in Hosu as he was in Musutafu, and that the boy probably needed at least an hour each to get to Hosu and back, he was leaving the house a whole hour early, and coming back a whole hour late.

Nezu just hoped that after the entire Stain incident, Midoriya wouldn't have to push himself anymore, and would take a break, at least for a little while.

And maybe he should just get Midoriya's opinion of being under someone else's care.

Nezu almost jumped when his office was flung open, and he looked up, seeing Aizawa stomp into his office, with Ishiyama and Thirteen standing behind Yamada awkwardly.

Nezu frowned. He thought Aizawa was still with Enji and Todoroki.

"Principal, we need to do something about Endeavor. He almost killed Void, again. He tried to burn him the second he laid eyes on him."

Nezu blinked, before registered what Aizawa had just said.

"Repeat that again, and don't leave a single detail out."

Aizawa gave him a recount of what happened, about them fighting off monsters that seemed to be similar to that large hulking beast that had appeared at the USJ but they couldn't be very sure, that Iida had sent out a distress call with his location, and he and Enji were heading in the same direction that Todoroki had assumably disappeared to.

"And then, we saw Stain and Void fighting, and Endeavor immediately tried to set Void on fire. I erased his quirk, and Stain tried to go after Endeavor, but Void was still trying to protect that sorry excuse for a hero. The rest of the fight was probably on the news." Aizawa snapped. He clearly didn't have his coffee that morning in his haste to talk to Nezu, not that anyone could blame him.

Nezu growled, and added that to his mental list of things to look out for when he talked to Midoriya. By this point, he was pretty sure that Midoriya was Void. His quirk was iffy, but quirks in general were iffy.

"Got it." Nezu replied, scribbling something down in his notebook, "I'll make a note on it, if I can get access to the security cameras, maybe I can add it to the file… but you, Iida and Todoroki are witnesses…"

Aizawa nodded, somewhat calmer but still upset, and walked out of his office, grumbling about getting coffee.

Yamada scratched his head, "How did Endeavor become the number two hero again?"

"People are stupid?" Nezu piped up, "No offence, but people are the ones voting to give the heroes rankings. They probably don't take note of the mass amounts of damage he creates, or the number of people that he injured. Either that or they're just blind."

"No offence taken." Yamada shrugged, "It is true. Also, do you have a bird in your room? I swear I hear chirping sometimes whenever Midoriya comes to see you."

Ishiyama raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

Thirteen spoke up, "Nezu likes to leave his window open in summer. It's probably the birds outside."

Nezu just placed a smile on his furry face and remained silent.

"Midoriya, are you okay?" Nezu asked, as Midoriya glanced away from him, staring at the ground. Midoriya always looked exhausted, and for the past few days he had been visiting Hosu, he had been looking even worse.

But now? Midoriya looked dead. His face was completely pale, his dark eye bags even more prominent before. And while it probably wasn't noticeable unless one were watching him very closely, he was trembling ever so slightly, even though he was sitting, as though he were cold.

He didn't look burnt in any way, so his hoodie must have been fire-proof to an extent, which was a huge relief.

Midoriya tried to sign something, but his hands were shaking too much for him to sign anything coherently, to the point where he just gave up signing and just rested his hands on his lap.

Reiko was curled up on his lap, and Ryuto, for some reason, was somehow nestled in the teen's hair.

"I'm… fine…" Midoriya mumbled, sounding like he was being strangled.

"Ah. Rough day?" Nezu gently asked, "Want to talk about it?"

Midoriya shook his head, and Nezu couldn't help but wonder what had happened to make him like this. It didn't seem to affect his work too much, but bottling up his feelings was definitely not doing him any good.

Reiko nudged his arm gently, purring, but Midoriya still seemed reluctant to talk.

"So… " Nezu started, trying to change the topic, "Did you hear the news about Stain?"

Nezu swore that Midoriya seemed to flinch ever so slightly, and wondered if that was the reason why he was in such a bad form. Sure, he didn't seem to have any injuries at all, even managing to take Akaguro down, somehow, but with a black hoodie, there was no way to tell at all. Not to mention the fact that Enji, a hero, had tried to burn him alive. But he wasn't sure how to change the topic without making it seem too obvious that he knew Midoriya's vigilante identity, or making the entire conversation worse for him.

"I saw."

Nezu blinked as Midoriya spoke up, still not making eye contact, "At least… no one got hurt."

You were hurt, you silly idiot. Stop thinking about others for once and think about yourself.

"Well, that's good indeed." Nezu pretended to agree, trying to look out for more clues as to determine just what was wrong.

The two fell into silence again, until Ryuto started chirping. Midoriya reached up, shakily untangling his talons from his hair, before bringing him to rest on his lap with Reiko.

"Ah, yes, that reminds me. Midoriya, from what I've seen, your home situation… isn't that great. What do you think of being taken in by someone else?" Nezu brought up.

Midoriya looked at him impassively, seemingly confused, before replying, "It's fine. It's not like… they're hurting me or anything. They… leave me alone… for the most part."

Nezu sighed.

"Not hurting you doesn't mean they're taking care of you. You're clearly malnourished and severely underweight from Recovery Girl's quick checkup at the Sports Festival, you're constantly tired and you looked like you're never getting enough sleep, you're way too pale to be healthy." Nezu admitted, "You're clearly not taking care of yourself, you don't even eat in school, all you do is drink water. And if no one at home is taking care of you… I'm honestly worried about you, Midoriya."

Midoriya did look somewhat guilty, though his expression hasn't changed in the slightest. Nezu had gotten pretty good at reading Midoriya's emotions through his eyes, as Reiko leaned against Midoriya's chest and purred.

"It's… going to be the same. Nothing will change." Midoriya said, and Nezu couldn't help but worry about him more. He made a mental note to try and find out more about Midoriya, even if reports from more than seven years ago were hard to find and some information recorded from those times were dubious at best.

"What if I told you that I want to take you in?"

Midoriya froze, staring at him for a long hard minute, as Nezu just looked back at him, before Midoriya blinked and finally stammered, for once, a bit of emotion leaking into his voice, "Wh...why?"

"Midoriya, you don't deserve to be treated like that. They're not taking care of you. They're ignoring the fact that you're hurt and they're not giving you the help you need. Bottling up all your problems and troubles aren't going to help, they'll just fester and the only thing you're doing is hurting yourself." Nezu stood up to sit next to Midoriya, "You may not trust me enough to tell me what's wrong, but I hope you'll at least trust me enough to make sure that it won't get worse."

Well… the idea seems to make him feel better… plus… I'm pretty sure my foster mom will be pretty happy to be rid of this worthless quitter of a child.

Midoriya hesitantly nodded, and he looked like he wanted to say something, but pursed his lips.

"Midoriya? If you want to say anything, feel free to say it."

"It's… stupid." Midoriya replied, looking away, "I keep calling you Nezu ... and you call me Midoriaya… It's rude of me to keep calling you by your first name…. So… can you please… call me Izuku?"

Nezu gave a small bark of laughter, "It isn't rude. I let you call me that."

Midoriya just looked at him, and Nezu pat his arm, "Yeah. If you want me to, I'll call you Izuku."

Midoriya stood up to leave and bowed, and Nezu called out at he exited the office, "Oh, yes, currently, I think the first year course is too simple for you. Do you want me to find something more challenging for, Izuku?"

Nearly every single teacher froze when they heard Nezu say that.

First name basis?

They watched at Midoriya mutely nodded before he left, and they looked at Nezu incredulously.

"He insisted." Nezu looked at the expressions on his colleagues faces, somewhat proud of himself, "He thought it was rude since I don't have a last name."

Chapter Text

Nezu huffed as he drummed his fingers along the table. Midoriya, as Void, had informed him that it was possible the villains may try to attack UA again, and Nezu wasn't sure how to counter the possibly imminent attack.

Unlike the first time, Midoriya didn't tell him when or where the attack would take place. That wouldn't be a problem, if not for the fact that one of the villains had a warping quirk that allowed him to teleport. He was the linchpin of the attack, and he had teleported out the second he had seen all the heroes. The energy left behind was unidentifiable, and Nezu couldn't really do much to stop teleporter.

Plus, if Hosu was any indication, then they probably had a few more of those monsters, like the black one they had originally brought into the USJ.

But considering the fodder that was brought in the first time, and the fact that they had fled the second they saw the heroes suggested that they probably weren't very bright. It seemed like they didn't have a plan, and it shouldn't be too hard to take them out. As long as nothing too drastic happened, they should be able to defend the students.

Nezu moved on to the next thing. All Might had been called by the police for the next few days regarding some villains. Apparently, several groups of villains claimed that they could kill him, and while they weren't necessarily a threat, the government had said it gave the hero system a bad reputation if villains were able to openly bad mouth the number one hero. Humans and their pride was definitely a huge problem, but All Might probably won't be able to teach at UA for the next week or so to fully flush out the villains, deal with the paperwork, investigations, and other stuff.

Also, speaking of paperwork, Nezu was going to have to clear out one of his days to speak to Midoriya's foster mother and deal with the paperwork for that. Nezu could take custody of him directly and charge her with child neglect, but Midoriya clearly didn't want to cause any more trouble, so Nezu was going to take the more roundabout method. It was slower, yes, but Nezu was going to do it if it made Midoriya feel better. The boy clearly thinks he's a burden, and Nezu was going to do his best in order to help him.

Nezu had done his best to look up past events about Midoriya thoroughly, and what he found shocked him.

Both Midoriya's father and mother had been killed in a fire in their own home. The other person who had been in the house, presumably the one who set the entire place ablaze, had apparently also died in that fire, leaving a seven year old Midoriya as the lone survivor of that incident.

No doubt that was a traumatizing experience for the poor boy, not to mention that Midoriya had also almost been burnt alive by Enji had Aizawa not erased his quirk before it had gotten too powerful. No wonder Midoriya seemed so off. He was really hoping that he could coax the boy to talk; bottling all his emotions inside wasn't doing him any favours.

Nezu continued flipping through his notes. The second and third year support course students wouldn't be in school on Monday, since there was a talk by several lecturers from I-Island Academy. The third year hero students would be having their internships then, since some heroes had invited students from both the first and third years and the teachers had decided to separate them into two different weeks so each student could get the hero's undivided attention, and the lone hero course 2-B class would be busy in Ground Beta for their mid-year projects. The third year management students had a talk on founding and managing hero agencies from a pro hero in Australia, and the second year management students were entitled to a hands-on lessons in venture capitalism by a lecturer from America. The general education students were also having a field trip, the third years to Best Jeanist's agency, and the second years to Uwabami's agency.

It was a pity that there will be a day or two were only the first years were in UA's main building, but Nezu didn't really have much of a say in the timetable for those days. Those lecturers will only be in Musutafu for those few days, and they were already lucky enough that their students could attend those lectures, and the hero students had to complete their projects to ensure that they were good enough to try for their provisional licences.

Nezu closed up his notebook. Tons of things to do, tons of things happening. First, he was probably going to clear up his home, fit an extra bed in the spare room for Midoriya, before he went to talk with Midoriya's foster mother on Wednesday. Everything should be done by Friday, All Might should also be back in UA, and the students should all resume their regular timetables by then, so everything should be fine.

"You've improved a lot, Uraraka. It's your last day of the internships, right? I was thinking... maybe ask that Midoriya kid for pointers?" Gunhead suggested, "You seem to interact with him a lot, I think you can learn a thing or two from him, if he's willing to teach you."

Uraraka shook her head. It was a good idea, sure, but Midoriya coaching her one to one didn't around right to her. Midoriya was clearly a lonely person due to being quirkless. He didn't have any friends, and clearly wasn't sure how to interact with people. Even when he was with them for lunch, all Midoriya did was listen and stare at this water. She didn't want to bother him outside of school, and maybe take time away from others from being his friend.

She knew he had a cat, and maybe a bird, if he had decided to keep the little ball of floof on that day of the Sports Festival, and the cat was the only being that he clearly knew how to show affection to.

Plus, while she knew Midoriya didn't really do it unless he was trying to protect someone else, the kid could be terrifying at times. He just gave out that… pressure, a kind of pressure that practically yelled, "Take one more step and I'll break every bone in your body." Not to mention that he also had the ability to back his words up. Honestly, who wouldn't want to be his friend? He was an interesting person, he was a nice kid, a bit on the quiet side, but he was generally a pretty cool person to hang out with.

"I don't think that's a good idea. I can try though." Uraraka replied, scratching the back of her head, "We have hung out at lunch and stuff, but he just keeps quiet and doesn't say a word. He already seems uncomfortable enough just sitting at the same table… I don't want to stress him out even more."

Gunhead frowned, though Uraraka couldn't tell under his mask, "Well… that's surprising. He seems like a decent kid, at least, from what I can see on television. What quirk does he have?"

Uraraka snapped her head upwards, and replied in an almost accusatory tone, "What does that have to do with anything?"

Gunhead sighed, "I hate to say it, but nowadays, quirks have dominated our society. People judge people based on how powerful and flashy their quirks are, and seeing how Midoriya is, it is highly probable that he hasn't been treated well when he was younger. He probably taught himself to fight to keep up with his peers if he doesn't have a physical quirk, so he's not just using one fighting style, but a mixed style."

Uraraka looked down at her shoes, "Promise you won't tell anyone?"

Gunhead gestured for the sidekick that Uraraka had been sparring with to move away, before he nodded.

"He doesn't have a quirk." Uraraka looked away, rubbing her hands together. Gunhead just reached down to pat her head, "You're a good kid, Uraraka. Most people treat quirkless like they're useless because they don't have a power. In your generation, being quirkless is almost unheard of… and… I'm going to tell you something, don't freak out."

Uraraka looked up at him curiously, and Gunhead sighed, "Usually, most quirkless kids would end up taking their own lives."

Uraraka gasped, eyes widening in shock, "You mean...committing … suicide?"

Gunhead nodded solemnly, "I hate to say it, but it's the harsh truth of the world. Years and years of constant bullying, being told they're useless, that no matter what they do, it wouldn't matter, all that can make anyone snap. It's just that the quirkless are much more susceptible to bullying than others since at this point, they're so rare that considered anomalies. You guys want to help him, right?"

Just the mere thought of losing a friend… of someone hurting inside so much to the point where they were willing to end it all… it left a horrible taste in Uraraka's mouth. She was fond of Midoriya, despite how different and closed off he was, and after whatever Gunhead had told her? She wanted to protect him.

She vigorously nodded, not trusting herself to say something in her emotional state.

"Don't worry. Midoriya hasn't done it yet, and you still have time to help him." Gunhead nodded, patting her on the back, "How does he usually communicate, then? I don't think he could do anything if he didn't somehow communicate with the teachers?"

"Uh… sign language, mostly." Uraraka hummed, "My friend translates for us. But he did write something for another friend of mine to read."

"Hmm…" Gunhead mused, "I suppose you can try to learn sign language? It is a necessary part of your course, I believe, so it will be useful in the long run as well, but most students will start in their second or third year. Maybe just try to learn, and let him know that you're willing to… listen? I'm not sure that's the right word, but you know what I mean. Let him know that you want to help, that you're willing to listen. I think that's the most important step right now, let him know that he can trust you."

Uraraka vigorously nodded her head, "Yes! Thank you!"

Gunhead pat her on the head, "Alright. Go pack your stuff. I believe you still need to get back to UA."

Uraraka rushed off to pack her hero costume back into its case, promising herself that second she got home, she would try to start teaching herself JSL.

Todoroki sat by his desk, frowning.

Just who was Void?

He had tried to help him by telling the heroes about his father.

He had saved him once again when he rescued both he and Iida from Stain.

And then, his father tried to set him on fire. His god damned father, trying to kill the one person who had helped him.

He clenched his fist, and stood up, packing a small bag, before walking out of the house.

"Shouto? Where are you going?" Fuyumi asked, concerned.

Todoroki looked up as he was putting on his shoes.

"I'm going to talk to Mom."

"You were saved by Void, right?" Tensei asked, as he stretched gently on his hospital bed, "It was on the news. That wasn't Void's first encounter with Endeavor. Endeavor's tried to burn him once already."

Iida's head snapped up, as Tensei grabbed his phone and scrolled through websites, before finally stopping and handing the phone to Iida, "Take a look."

Iida shakily took the phone, and quickly read through it. The article had described how Enji was seen chasing down a figure in a black hoodie, and had hit him in the back, downing the unknown person. The second Enji's back was turned, the unknown person had gotten up and run away.

"But… how do you know?" Iida asked, passing the phone back, "That could be anyone."

"Shou-... er… Aizawa confirmed it." Tensei corrected himself, "He and Mic happened to be there while off-duty. Honestly, it's pretty amazing that he managed to beat Stain, or at least, rough him up enough for Aizawa and Endeavor to finish him off. Though I really would have liked a shot to get back at him, but the sooner he's behind bars, the better."

Iida looked away, almost guiltily. He didn't actively seek Stain out, but that was the only reason why he was in Hosu. If he didn't take up Mizushima's internship offer, maybe he wouldn't have been attacked.

"Tenya, it's not your fault. Sure, you chose Manual's agency to be in Hosu, but that's fine. You didn't expect that Stain may attack you guys, nor did you go around trying to find him. Honestly, I would have expected you to do that, seeing how much you looked up to me ever since you were a kid. I'm proud of you, Tenya."

Iida clenched his fist.

"It wasn't that… Someone, a friend... told me not to go after him."

"Must be a special friend if they could convince you not to go after him without you even telling them, seeing how hard headed you are." Tensei gave a dry chuckle, as Iida pulled over a chair to sit down, "Come on, spill."

"Midoriya Izuku. He told me… not to go after Stain. Not to break the laws, to think about how you would feel about everything…" Iida replied.

"The kid who won the Sports Festival?" Tensei asked, "Seems like a decent kid, though honestly… I don't see how he managed to convince you."

"He doesn't talk at all." Iida looked away, "He just listens, signing occasionally, and… I think his other classmates may be bullying him."

"Oh… then it makes sense… for him to actually voice his opinion on something…" Tensei mused, "I thought UA didn't condone bullying."

"UA doesn't." Iida confirmed, "But as far as I know, they make lessons hard for him, and say rude and hurtful things when the teachers aren't in class. One boy had insulted both Midoriya and Shinsou during the Sports Festival… called them pretty horrible stuff… but Midoriya still forgave him for what he said… I think it's better now… the Principal addressed everyone about this issue already."

"Oh…" Tensei sighed, "Let me guess, quirk discrimination."

Iida's head shot up, "How did you -"

Tensei looked directly at Iida, "Quirk discrimination is the main reason for bullying in this age, especially among kids. People who are quirkless, or have very weak quirks, or quirks mostly associated with villany are often mocked. As much as I hate to say it, this society defines us by our quirks. Your classmates, you, your teachers, you guys are lucky to have powerful quirks that are also versatile. You're lucky to have never seen that dark side of the world."

Tensei continued, "Look, Tenya, what I'm going to say isn't going to be pretty. Quirks are dominant traits, so the quirkless population is decreasing exponentially. But that isn't the only reason why the quirkless population is decreasing."

Iida froze, "You mean… they…"

"That's why I said you're lucky." Tensei sighed, "It something I think you should cover sooner or later, but there are things that the government would rather just sweep under the rug and call it a day. Quirk discrimination is against the law, yes, but they'll just say kids are kids, that bullying is normal and that they'll grow out of it. People do not have ideal quirks are often considered useless and worthless. Constantly being told, reminded, that they're lives don't matter, that they're a waste of space, people do things when they truly believe in it, when they're emotional. Sometimes, these things are irreversible. That's the harsh reality we live in, Tenya."

Iida just remained quiet.

"You want to help him, don't you? This Midoriya Izuku?"

"I… yeah." Iida replied, "He doesn't deserve it. He just lets everyone push him around. But he did defend Shinsou though…"

"He's probably thought that Shinsou was more important than himself. He has a good heart, but mixed in with bullying, he just thinks that he's not worth it." Tensei sighed, "Quirks grow more and more powerful over generations. When I was a kid, bullying and quirk discrimination took place really often."

Tensei tried to reach out to pat Iida's head, but forgot that his arms were still in casts and he grumbled under his breath. "Look, you're his friend. I think… as long as he knows that you're there for him no matter what… that's enough. That someone will listen if he wishes to talk."

Iida nodded, and shot up, "Yes! As the class representative, I must look out for my fellow students!"

"That's my little bro." Tensei laughed.

Chapter Text

"You seem a little distracted today. Worried about school?" Kamihara asked, turning behind him. Shinsou trailed behind him, looking around absentmindedly, before he realised that Kamihara was talking to him, "Huh?"

"It's the last day of the internships." Kamihara sighed, "What's wrong? You seemed okay this entire week."

"I'm just … worried about a friend, honestly." Shinsou scratched the back of his neck, "I know that some things would be hard to get over… but…"

"Midoriya Izuku, right? Quirkless." Kamihara asked, and Shinsou looked up at him in shock, "I did my research. He won the Sports Festival, after all, without showing any signs of quirk usage. Don't worry about it, I'm not judging that your friend is quirkless. Quirk discrimination is a thing, but some of us heroes have actually gone through it. Take Best Jeanist, or even your teacher Aizawa. Their fighting styles rely more on their technique rather than the quirks themselves. Look at yourself, you're using your equipment rather than your quirk."

He walked towards Shinsou and patted him on the shoulder, "Look, I'm not going to try and pretend to understand what he's going through. People with ideal quirks just keep on increasing as time goes on, and I'm sure that the discrimination has gotten much, much worse. Being discriminated for being quirkless has always been way worse than just regular quirk discrimination… Honestly, I think the only thing you can do to help him is to just show that you'll be there for him. You can't force him to just spill all his troubles, things like this take time."

Shinsou nodded. It had been exactly like that with him. After he had been rescued and taken in by Aizawa and Yamada, it had taken him weeks to even start talking, even though he was perfectly aware that Aizawa could erase his quirk if he accidentally brainwashed someone. It had also taken a long time for him to adjust to a new environment, and the lack of restrictions he had. He could talk when he wanted, do whatever he wanted, it was all so new to him and it had taken him a long time to process all of it.

He had gotten help, help that brought him to where he is today.

Midoriya deserved help as well.

Nezu hoped that Midoriya was getting enough sleep. After all, Akaguro was already behind bars, so there was no reason for Midoriya to sacrifice his already scarce sleeping time in order to make his way to and back from Hosu.

He drummed his paws on the table. Midoriya had looked horrible when he had last seen him on Friday. He just hoped that things would go a lot better after the weekend. Hopefully, Midoriya had decided to take a break, and get his much needed rest.

He had already finalised all the transportation arrangements. On Monday, 1-A where to go to the USJ to see what they had learnt in their internships and how to apply their new knowledge. That was also one of the days where only the first years were in school, with everyone else being busy with internships, field trips and lectures.

It didn't seem to bad. But Nezu had a feeling in his gut that something… something was about to go horribly wrong, but he couldn't put a finger on it.

Maybe he should try to beef up security once more, but then again, he couldn't do anything about warpers unless he had a sample of the energy they use to teleport around. Or maybe he should try and think of some universal force field that kept warpers in general out? But the amount of radiation that something like that would give out wouldn't be healthy…

He would discuss that with Maijima, and maybe Yagi. That purple misty warper was associated with the monstrosities from Hosu, and seeing as those things seemed to be modified in order to hold multiple quirks. They were definitely related to All for One in some way.

And if that was the case, then this was something that would be too large for the students to handle alone. Yagi was the only one who could stand a chance against All for One, and even he had been grievously wounded by that villain.

He needed to protect his students.

"Midoriya!"

Midoriya heard the shout, and immediately turned around, seeing Uraraka running up to him. She had a huge grin on her face, and signed, "Hi!"

Midoriya just blinked, and she smiled, "I've been learning sign language! I only know the real basic stuff, like 'Hi', 'yes' and 'no', and it's amazing how you know how to sign fluently! It's hard!"

Midoriya had no idea how to react to that, until Iida came running up to them, "Ah! Hello Uraraka, Midoriya! I wasn't expecting to meet you here!"

Iida flashed Midoriya a smile, "Thank you for convincing me not to go after the Hero Killer. I was unfortunate enough to chance upon him, and he's way out of my league."

Midoriya merely nodded in acknowledgement, before the trio continued their way to UA, with Uraraka and Iida talking about their internships.

"It's a pity you're not in the hero course. You would have loved the internships." Uraraka commented, "Also, you won the Sports Festival, right? So will you be joining the hero course?"

Midoriya merely shrugged. He was, but not now, and Nezu didn't want any of the other students to know, so he kept quiet. But that wasn't the only reason he seemed even more withdrawn than usual.

He had a bad feeling in his gut. A flame, burning intensely, warning him that something ominous was going to happen. Something big, something horrible, but Midoriya had no idea what was going to happen. He couldn't let these… so-called friends distract him from what's important. He needed to be on the lookout for anything amiss.

Maybe he should tell Nezu that something felt wrong.

He felt Reiko and Ryuto shifting slightly in his bag, and could tell that Reiko probably felt his unease. Reiko couldn't protect herself from humans, given her smaller size, and Ryuto was way too young to even consider protecting himself.

They were his family. He couldn't afford to lose any more of his family. He could survive being killed, they couldn't. He could take hits, they couldn't.

He would do anything to protect them.

"1-A's going to be at the USJ today, Shigaraki." Kurogiri reported, "All Might's occupied with our distractions. Most of the students are out of UA for their respective activities. The support course students will leave at lunch, and everyone in the USJ is in place. The control room has been taken over, UA's security systems are bugged, and everything is ours to use."

"Good." Shigaraki nodded, looking at his hand, "We have the Nomu for All Might. One of our flying Nomus was killed in Hosu but that was a low end Nomu. Bring along three more Nomus. Those kids don't stand a chance. We'll give those brats a fighting chance, and then crush their hopes right in front of them."

"Are we going to kill them?" Kurogiri asked.

"If they die, they die. It doesn't matter. We'll break them, break their heroes when they come to rescue them. We'll bring down the newest generation of heroes. We'll tear UA's reputation to shreds. We'll destroy those damned heroes, and finally, when we finally let All Might see what has happened, we'll bring him to his knees. The Symbol of Peace dies today, and hero society as a whole will crumble with it."

Chapter Text

This wasn't supposed to happen.

It was just supposed to be a field trip to the USJ, where they were supposed to check their skills and what they had learnt during their internships.

Not a villain attack.

The day had started off decently, in Iida's opinion. He had met up with Uraraka and MIdoriya in the morning, before heading for their respective classes. Kaminari, for some reason, had found Stain's intriguing, but to be honest, Iida agreed with him, in a way. He had the determination and drive and the power to execute his ideals. That was admirable, but his way of doing so was completely wrong.

But Iida could learn something from this. He knew what he wanted; to become a hero as great as his brother, Ingenium. In order to do that, he needed to know what was right and what was wrong; going after Stain would have definitely been a mistake, he would have been massacred on the spot before he could even say a single word, if Stain wished that to happen. He wasn't strong enough, and he needed to pay even more attention in class, work harder, train harder, in order to grow strong enough to protect himself and the others around him.

Lunch was pretty normal. Kamakiri, Kaibara and Shiozaki had joined them at their table. Monoma looked like he wanted to join in as well, except that he had literally just insulted Bakugou and Todoroki for being cocky and was partially out of it from a chop to the neck by Kendo.

Midoriya, as usual, remained completely silent, and it was only then that Iida realised that Midoriya made absolutely no sounds at all. When he drank his water, when he walked, when he put his cup back on the table, it was quiet. He wondered what had happened for Midoriya to be like this.

Then it hit him.

Tensei had told him about bullying. No doubt that Midoriya had grown to attract as little attention as possible, in order to prevent others from noticing him and hurting him. Not making any sounds, slouching to make himself appear as small as possible, they were self-preservation tactics to make himself as unnoticeable as possible.

Midoriya was his friend. He may not know much about bullying, but Iida knew that Midoriya did not deserve it. He was a nice person, willing to stand up for others over himself, and after Tensei told him that most victims of bullying had a screwed up sense of self-worth? No wonder he had jumped in to take the hit for Shinsou, or jump out of bounds to protect Shiozaki. He felt that they were more important for him, and was willing to sacrifice his chance to get into the hero course, and even his life for them.

Somehow, Iida felt the need to protect Midoriya, even though Midoriya could probably kick his butt to the moon and back.

Then, they had to go on a trip to the USJ. They had gone their once, before their internships, but the Unforeseen Simulation Joint still looked as impressive as it had been the first time. Thirteen had announced them that the Mountain Zone had been replaced by the Frost Zone, given that they already had the Ruins and the Mountain Zone which were similar to the Landslide Zone.

But the second they had entered the facility, the lights flickered, and a portal swirled into existence, bringing with it more monsters like the ones he had seen on the news in Hosu, where he had been busy with Stain, and villains.

Aizawa and Kaminari tried to call for help, but something was jamming their signals, so Thirteen had told him to run, to get back to UA and to get help since he was the fastest as Aizawa leapt off the podium into the sea of villains in an attempt to buy them some time. But the second that Iida had run out the open door, he heard the ominous sound of the air swishing, curling in on itself, and against his better judgement, he turned around.

All his classmates had been sucked into the vortex of mist, disappearing into thin air, leaving Thirteen behind with the man made of mist, yellow eyes glowing in the misty depths like the light of an angler fish, luring in its prey before those jaws snapped shut.

This was a trap.

And Iida did the only thing he could do at the moment. He ran back to UA, putting his engines into full thrust as he sped forward, not looking back. He couldn't help anyone who wasn't there, and he had no idea where they were. All he could do was get help from the pro heroes in UA.

Kurogiri smiled to himself as he turned Thirteen's Black Hole on themself, partially disintegrating the Space Hero. The Engine boy had escaped, the rest of the students scattered, and the doors were left open, inviting the heroes to come and save them.

Perfect.

He left the broken Thirteen lying on the ground, before teleporting back to Shigaraki. Thirteen wouldn't die yet. Kurogiri made sure of it. He wanted to heroes to see what exactly had been made of their comrade, a warning never to cross the League of Villains, that is, if they survived this encounter.

"Everything's going according to plan, Shigaraki. Thirteen is crippled. The Ingenium lookalike is getting back up. The doors are open, the students are scattered exactly where they're weakest. All Might's signal is jammed as well, so the heroes can't call for All Might to come help them." Kurogiri said.

"Good. Keep a lookout for the rest of the heroes." Shigaraki murmured, as he and the rest of the villains watched Aizawa getting pummeled into the ground, "We'll let them have a glimpse of what's going on, before we disappear before their very eyes. This facility was upgraded in case of an attack, like our first attempt. A facility with quirk proof metal, to keep whatever is inside it trapped. But we have control over it now. We'll trap them, those meaningless NPCs, right in their little dungeon."

Kaminari opened his eyes, and they stung from the salt water he found himself in. He could make out a pink blob in the distance, and Kaminari cursed to himself. Salt water, his friend was here, he couldn't use his quirk, even by accident, or he'll fry Ashido. His quirk was useless here, and he didn't even know how deep the water was.

He never liked swimming. He was a social person, but he couldn't swim with anyone else lest he fried them. And now, he was stuck in the water, not knowing how to swim properly, with a useless quirk, and what was that swimming towards him?!

Ojiro seemed to be having a better time, making his way towards the surface, when he was suddenly assaulted by a set of claws.

"Why hello there! I have nothing against you, but you look like some tasty prey!" A man with what seemed to be an alligator quirk snapped, "See ya later!"

Ojiro hastily swung himself around, but in water, his maneuverability was severely hindered, and instead of whacking the man with his tail like he intended, he found himself biting his lip in pain as sharp teeth locked themselves onto his tail.

Ashido wasn't doing much better. Even her most potent acid was diluting rapidly, making her quirk useless in water, and she was being mercilessly assaulted by a woman with a piranha quirk and another man with a shark quirk. She could swim decently, but she couldn't move around as well as she could on land. She had gotten bitten in the arms and legs, and she tried to swim upwards, to catch her breath, but found herself being pulled downwards, into the depths of the Flood Zone.

Kaminari floundered around desperately in the water, trying to prevent his panic from overriding his senses and shocking everyone around him senseless, but all of a sudden, he felt something wrapping around his neck, squeezing tighter and tighter. He could feel a slight electric charge as angs bit into his shoulders, and pain flared throughout his body, electricity running through him. He wasn't immune to electricity, like most people would think. That was why releasing too much electricity short circuited his brain for some time. But electricity that wasn't his was running through his veins, and Kaminari tried to hold his breath, squeezed his eyes shut, trying to contain all the electricity so that he wouldn't hurt his friends.

He heard a whisper in his ear.

"Sayonara, electro boy."

The man with the eel quirk upped the current, and the sudden influx of charges shocked Kaminari, quite literally, and the last thing the boy could think of before he passed out was "Sorry guys."

Kirishima was lucky. It seemed like the villains hadn't noticed him yet, but he barely had time to reach before he saw electricity escaping from Kaminari's prone form, and quickly hardened to protect himself.

It worked, to his surprise, except that he sunk like a literal stone, shooting downwards to the bottom of the Flood Zone, the pressure on his skull increasing. He quickly released his quirk, but the water pressure clamped onto his head, into his ears, and it took all of Kirishima's willpower not to activate his quirk again and let himself shoot upwards due to his less dense form.

His veins burned, as the nitrogen bubbles in his blood expanded too quickly for him to handle, and he coughed, forgetting that he was underwater and that he couldn't regain oxygen. His vision blurred, and he desperately reached up with his aching muscles, trying to make the ascent to the surface to replenish his burning lungs. It seemed like Kaminari's attack had knocked out most of the villains, though he had shorted himself out and had shocked both Ojiro and Ashido, and Kirishima carefully grabbed onto his unconscious friends, gently pulling them along as he tried to kick to the surface, grabbing onto Kaminari's shirt with his teeth, and with his hands, Ashido's shirt and Ojiro's tail, which was closest to him.

He hated how he had to grab Ojiro by his tail, but he was unconscious, so he wouldn't feel it, right?

Asui was drying out. Her outfit, while waterproof, was definitely not fireproof. She was unlucky enough to land right on top of some burning rubble, and her hero outfit caught on fire almost immediately. She would make a mental note to inform the Support Department about that, but she had more important things on her hands. Her skin was quickly drying out, and frogs breathe through their skin while it was moist, meaning that while the human part of her body could aid in breathing, she wasn't getting enough oxygen as much as she used to. Her body was definitely not enjoying the fire and the smoke that came with it.

Uraraka didn't have as much as a problem with the fire, but she was having a horrible time with the smoke. Using her quirk to evade villains left and fight, and with the thick, grey smoke she was forced to take in when breathing, the regular nausea caused from her quirk had quickly turned into something worse. Uraraka's vision was getting blurry as she threw a beam at a set of villains, and her nausea kicked in again, making her trip over her own shoes and falling flat on the ground. She pushed herself up, ignoring the urge to throw up, as she tried her best to defend Asui, who was definitely not in any shape or form to fight.

Sero was plainly horrible in fire. His tape was somewhat comparable to plastic, but also consisted of organic material since his body produced the tape, meaning that whenever someone set his tape on fire, not only did it give off poisonous smelling gas, but there was also the stench of burning flesh, making Uraraka, and pretty much everyone else feeling sick to their stomach. Asui was definitely not doing well with the toxic gas in the air, but none of them had a choice since Sero's tape was keeping the villains somewhat at bay, flinging floating debris around and pulling others out of the way of attacks.

"Sero! Watch out!" Uraraka yelled, and Sero immediately released the tape his elbows were producing as it caught on fire.

Tokoyami, on the other hand? It was all he could do to evade attacks left and right. The fire all around them cast a nastly glow on Dark Shadow, so the poor weakened quirk couldn't do much in the harsh, blinding light caused by the fires all over the place. Dark Shadow could only stay under Tokoyami's cloak, trying to filter the air for Tokoyami and occasionally doing the same for the others if they were close enough.

But the students were in an environment that didn't suit them, while pyromaniacs, and flame throwing villains converged on them.

Yaoyorozu was cold, and that was a severe understatement. Her hero costume left nothing to imagination, with her need to have exposed skin in order to use her quirk, leaving her freezing as she was suddenly dropped into the Frost Zone. She resisted the urge to make a coat for herself; she didn't know if any of her friends were dropped in here as well, and she could see villains stalking closer and closer to her.

She felt a thump, and she turned around, seeing a set of gloves and boots beside her that was distinctively Hagakure's. Hagakure wasn't even wearing any clothes, since her Invisibility quirk didn't work on her clothes, resulting in her being pretty much naked at this point.

She heard a splash behind her, and she quickly whirled around, glad that the villains were taking their own sweet time with converging on them. Jiro had been dumped into the ice cold water surrounding the ice block they were on, and with her jacket, long pants and her speakers, they were going to drag her down, no doubt.

Yaoyorozu, with a slightly warmer Hagakure's help, managed to pull the freezing and shivering Jiro out of the icy water, and tried to evaluate the situation. Jiro's speakers were waterproof, thank goodness for that. Otherwise, Jiro could have been electrocuted by the internal circuits and they would have one less thing to defend themselves with. But Jiro's clothes were soaked, and she was definitely going to get hypothermia.

Those villains probably had ice related quirks, and Yaoyorozu knew they were cornered. Ice-cold water behind them, a group of villains in front of them, and Jiro was the only one with a ranged attack. Yaoyorozu could make metal poles, it wasn't even a good idea to go up against Todoroki with a metal pole, let alone tens of villains who were probably willing to kill. The most she could do was to make clothes to keep every warm, but that would be bulky and probably impossible to manoeuvres in. She couldn't even make something like a flamethrower in fear that the ice was thinner than she initially thought and they all fell through the melted ice, making them even more of sitting ducks.

She quickly created some grenades, and motioned for Jiro to prepare to use her quirk. If they timed it right, she could toss them and have Jiro use her quirk to denote them remotely instead of pulling a pin and having a timer. It was definitely risky, but at this point, they were already sitting ducks. They had to buy time for themselves, until a hero could come and help them.

"FUCK!"

Todoroki watched as Bakugou roared out swears left and right. They were currently in the Downpour Zone, and as drenched as they were, neither of their quirks were working right. The rain water was diluting Bakugou's sweat, and washing it away. On the other hand, the water was putting out Todoroki's fire, not to mention that the strong squalls were blowing his fire all over the place, and Todoroki couldn't even use his ice to a large extent since he would probably freeze the rain by accident to create hail, and chill the water on both him and Bakugou enough to freeze.

They were completely surrounded by villains, and they had no choice but to use hand to hand combat to defend themselves. Bakugou wasn't too bad at it, given that he mixed in hand to hand combat with the maneuverability and the versatility of his explosive quirk, but without his quirk to back it up, and Todoroki's lack of knowledge of hand to hand combat, it was all they could do to not get themselves killed. Bruises and cuts were nothing when faced with possible imminent death.

Plus, their surroundings were completely wet. Another reason Todoroki couldn't use his quirk; he would freeze both himself and Bakugou in place, leaving them as sitting ducks. Not only that, they had to take care not to slip and fall given how they were jumping and dodging all over the place.

Although the villains do seem somewhat amused by Bakugou's constant usage of choice words, so they probably weren't fighting as hard as they were capable of since they were all laughing.

Mineta, Shinsou, and Koda had found themselves stuck in the Mountain Zone. There were no animals in sight, so Koda's quirk was useless, and Shinsou's quirk wasn't a physical quirk. Mineta also couldn't carelessly use his quirk lest he got his classmates stuck, and they were currently stuck in a valley, surrounded on all sides by cliffs. Mineta could get himself out with no problem, and Aizawa had brought Shinsou rock climbing a few times so he should be fine, but Koda was going to have a little problem.

They did come up with a plan for Mineta and Shinsou to climb out, then using Shinsou's capture weapon as a rope to pull Koda out, but just at that moment, a couple of villains jumped down from their vantage point on the cliff, surrounding the three students. Mineta tried using his sticky orbs to try and stick the villains to the ground, or the cliffs, or to each other, as Shinsou desperately tried to brainwash a couple of villains to knock themselves out while fighting some others. Koda didn't have enough experience in hand to hand combat, but with his larger size, he could easily steamroll some of the dumber villains.

That was until another villain on top of the cliff started throwing boulders down on them. Mineta and Koda ended up being pinned down by the volley of rocks, while in his haste to dodge the rocks, a villain had used that opportunity to pin him down and had wrapped a piece of rope around his neck, slowly strangling the lavender haired boy.

"You're the one with the brainwashing quirk, huh? Such a villainous quirk, I wonder, how did you even manage to get into the hero course?"

Of all the people to be stuck in the Ruins Zone, it had to be Sato, Aoyama and Shoji.

There were villains everywhere. Shoji could detect them, using his quirk to create more eyes and ears, but fighting them off would be a problem. Two powerhouses, Sato and Shoji, who could not use their powers effectively with buildings in precarious positions and rubble all over the place, and Aoyama, who couldn't carelessly fire off his quirk. All of them had to be very, very careful; in the event that they dislodged something and triggered a chain reaction.

The trio of students stood, back to back, as the villains converged on them slowly. They needed a plan, and they needed one fast. Aoyama had a powerful long ranged attack, but if he missed, he could potentially bring the broken buildings and rubble tumbling down on them. Shoji and Sato also had to be careful of where they punched the villains to. They didn't even want to think about the villains purposely dislodging something in desperation, that was always a possibility as a final gambit.

"I can shoot my laser in short bursts instead of a steady stream, but it's much weaker." Aoyama stated, so that was a good start, and Shoji and Sato had no choice but to just toss the villains into the ground instead of away from them.

That plan was working out for them pretty well.

That was until the villains did something that the trio were really trying to avoid; bringing down all the precariously placed buildings down directly onto them.

Kurogiri warped back into the USJ, where he had been standing guard.

"The heroes are all on their way here, led by the Ingenium kid." He reported, eyeing the Erasure hero who was lodged into the ground, shaking as he struggled to push himself up.

"Heroes are so annoying. Who's coming?" Shigaraki asked.

"Power Loader, Present Mic, Cementoss, Snipe, Ectoplasm, Hound Dog, Midnight, Vlad King and Nezu. All the remaining teachers in UA are coming, Shigaraki. Lunch Rush and Recovery Girl aren't here for obvious reasons, but they aren't threats to our plan."

"Good. Prepare the portals. This is where the real fun starts."

"May all teachers present, please head to the USJ."

Ectoplasm immediately looked up, and put his marker down, and with strict orders to just complete the worksheet he had given out earlier for homework, he rushed out of the classroom, leaving the General Education students alone in the classroom.

While most of the students would have used this time to harass Midoriya, after what Midoriya had done in the Sports Festival, and Nezu's warning, no one dared to life a finger or even look in Midoriya's direction. Midoriya just buried his nose in his work, quickly finishing the questions, before flipping his notebook open to work on more sketches of support items.

He couldn't do anything now. All he could do was wait and hope that the teachers could handle what was thrown at them.

And then, he tensed up.

The air felt wrong. That fire in his stomach blazed to life, twisting and curling uncomfortably in the depths of his very being.

Something was going on.

And suddenly, the alarms blared, just like on the day the UA barrier was destroyed and the press had entered UA.

The students scrambled out of the classroom haphazardly, though not as bad as the first time it had occurred, since the teachers had all gone through the emergency evacuation procedures after seeing utter failure of the first time. Pretty soon, all the students were standing outside UA's buildings in neat rows, separated by classes, as they murmured about what was going on.

1-A was in USJ, as far as Midoriya knew, and the second and third years were all out due to various reasons. 1-B was super confused, looking around. There were no teachers at all, all of them having left their classrooms prior to head to the USJ.

Something was definitely going horribly wrong.

Suddenly, in front of them all, a huge portal opened, dropping hundreds of villains onto UA's lawn. Monsters and villains littered the area, and one large black one with it's brain exposed was crushing Aizawa with it's huge hand.

Not only him, but the 1-A students weren't in any better shape. Asui was on fire, Yaoyorozu, Hagakure and Jiro were freezing and shivering. Kirishima, Ashido, and Ojiro were completely drenched, while somehow looking fried, hacking and coughing all the while, puncture and electric burn marks littering their bodies. Kaminari was passed out on the ground, sparking continuously, as if he had short circuited. Uraraka and Tokoyami were covered in burn marks, and Sero was coughing harshly. Todoroki and Bakugou were completely drenched, and Bakugou was shivering, covered in a light layer of frost as he tried to warm up, and Todoroki was partially frozen by his own quirk while his other size was sizzling, like a fire doused by water. Shinsou was coughing heavily, desperately trying to untangle the rope around his neck, while Mineta and Koda were all covered in bruises. Aoyama was clutching his stomach in pain, while Shoji and Sato fell to the ground, panting, with claw marks covering their skin.

Iida, on the other hand, was nowhere in sight.

Midoriya quickly loosened his tie, and palmed the small pocket knife that he kept in his pocket. This was going to come to a fight, no doubt. He stared at the man with the Decay quirk from his position at the back of the class, a silent flame of fury and anger burning in his eyes.

Shigaraki did this. He started another attack on the school. He brought four Nomus into his school, and a shit ton of villains.

Thank goodness Ryuto and Reiko were still in Nezu's office, safe from the chaos so far. But if they didn't get rid of the villains, they may decide to attack the school building itself, and Midoriya could not let that happen.

Midoriya wasn't sure what to do now. Shinsou had managed to free himself from the tangle of fibres, and was rubbing his sore neck, looking around the area. Shoji had gotten up as well, but Sato seemed to have a broken leg or something, as he clutched his leg in agony. Todoroki looked fine now, the ice having melted off, and he had made his way towards the three freezing females in an attempt to warm them up. Dark Shadow had picked up Mineta, Asui, Aoyama, and a passed out Uraraka and put them behind Tokoyami, as Koda gently helped Sato up with Ojiro's help. Ashido and Sero carefully brought the short circuiting Kaminari aside, before the students who were still conscious and able to fight turned around to face the villains, staring in horror as Aizawa was continuously smashed into the ground time and time again.

Bakugou had shaken himself dry like a pomeranian, and was facing the villains, explosions popping from his palms, and he blasted himself forwards, "You fucking villains! Die!"

He blasted the closest villain in the face with a powerful explosion, before he turned around and snapped, "Well?! Are you fucking extras just gonna sit there all day and let them kill you or are you actually gonna be useful!?"

1-B had run in to join the fight.

Or rather, those that were more suitable for fighting without their hero gear. Kendo, Kamakiri, Tokage, and Tsunotori had rushed in, with Bondo and Shishida helping to bring the knocked out 1-A students somewhere out of harm's way. Kuroiro's quirk was rather useless in broad daylight, given how small the shadows were and the fact that he was probably going to be trampled on somehow, but he had teamed up with Tokoyami and they were taking down the villains one by one, since the sun wasn't as bad as the fire glowing directly in Dark Shadow's face.

Yanagi's quirk was rather useless here, as was Awase's, so they opted to form a defence line in front of the non-hero course students, along with Shiozaki, Bondo, and Shishida, after they had returned. Koda joined in with the defence line, and Ojiro had leapt off to join the fight, though he did freeze at random times due to the electricity. Shoji wasn't in any shape to get up, so he opted to join the defence and look out for any enemies.,

Honenki had gone off to help Bakugou and Todoroki fight, as Shinsou pulled a semi-conscious Ashido and a burnt Sero back from the fighting and had Shiozaki pull them back to refrain them from injuring themselves more, before rushing into the fray himself. Monoma was rushing around, copying quirks left and, trying to help take out the villains.

Rin and Tsuburabu were blocking stray shots from hitting other students, opting to stay on defence since they had to defend over 180 students, and while the non-hero course students were being pretty useless, but they weren't running around in a frenzy and were actually staying put, so it was a lot easier for the hero course students to defend them, but it was still difficult trying to cover for such a large group of students.

Tetsutetsu and Kirishima had teamed up, somehow, and where knocking villains down, only for them to get back up again. Kaibara, with a bit of a still kinda frozen Yaoyorozu's help in making gloves to protect his hands, was mowing the villains down as quickly as they got up. Jiro and Hagakure were still freezing, and Fukidashi was trying to help warm them up with fire related onomatopoeias. Kodai and Komori were keeping a lookout, and Shoda aided Rin and Tsuburabu by knocking projectiles back at the villains with Twin Impact, but those trees were really not helping and got in the way of half the reflected projectiles.

But it was no good. Tsunotori had gotten hit with an electric shock, knocking her out, and Ojiro had finally given in to the paralysis he had been inflicted with in the Flood Zone. Shiozaki had managed to pull them back before they got even more hurt, but even then, their fighters were starting to wear out. Thirteen kids against a huge hoard of villains was really getting them nowhere. The man with a dismembered hand on his face, the misty purple man, and the two smaller monsters weren't even doing anything yet, and they were probably the true bosses behind this invasion. The hoard of villains that were brought along with them? They weren't even fodder, they were actually decent, and putting up a good fight.

"Where are the teachers!?" Monoma demanded, panting as he copied Bakugou's quirk and blasting a villain in the face, shaking as his entire body ached as he transited from quirk to quirk, his body constantly changing to accommodate the quirk finally taking its toll on him, "I thought… they were going to the USJ!?"

"They were?!" Kirishima replied, dodging a punch to the face, giving Tetsutetsu an opening to lash out, "I don't… know… we were there… then we were fighting… and then we were here…"

"Watch out!" Komori screeched, as everyone turned around, only to see that two villains had made it past the defence line, while they were busy with other villains, and they were making their way towards the General Education students. They couldn't do anything, technically, since UA did not allow quirk usage in school, with the only exception for the Hero Course during their Heroics classes, and everyone else was too far away to do anything.

Suddenly, a blur of green jumped out, nailing one villain in the face and kicking him towards the other villain. Midoriya landed on the ground, parrying away a knife that was about to stab him with a small pocket knife, before kicking one villain into the ground and the other in the back of his head, knocking them both out, having forgone the tie and UA jacket, just wearing the white UA uniform and long pants.

Komori gulped when she saw Midoriya. He still had that emotionless, void expression on his face, but his eyes, gods, his eyes were practically glowing like cold, hard emeralds. She knew it was just the unease that she felt, and the pressure that the smaller boy emanated, and the pure stress of the situation messing with her eyes, but Midoriya honestly looked terrifying, even though he was quirkless and only held one small pocket knife with him.

Midoriya rushed forward, vaulted over Shoji, before running into the fray.

"Midoriya, stay back!" Shiozaki yelled, concerned for the quirkless boy, "You can't fight them!"

Midoriya may have won the Sports Festival, but fighting against his classmates one to one while quirkless was nothing like fighting against a hoard of blood thirsty villains while quirkless.

He wouldn't stand a chance, or so they thought.

Some villains had decided to take on the winner of the first year stage Sports Festival, but Midoriya was perfectly capable of holding his own against five villains at a time. He dodged, paried, dishing out deadly accurate kicks and punches as he did so.

Bakugou, Kaibara, Kamakiri and Todoroki were still going strong, with Honenuki dragging villains into the ground to buy them some time. Kirishima and Monoma were starting to slow down, exhaustion from their constant quirk usage taking their toll, and Shiozaki and Rin pulled the back to rest before they dropped and became sitting ducks. Kuroiro was unfortunate to be smacked into a tree, and Dark Shadow quickly brought him back to their not-really-so-safe-anymore safe zone.

Villains had started to converge of Midoriya, as the rest of the hero course students were slowly being worn down, but Midoriya was still going strong, knocking out villains that were near him as well as defending his peers from cheap shots that the villains decided to try.

And then, almost like someone had flipped a switch, Midoriya started ploughed through the villains like a hot knife through butter, taking out villains left and right at an absurd pace. The villains were kind of helping, crashing into each other and tripping over themselves for absolutely no reason.

Something about Midoriya left Jiro confused. Her knees had buckled while she was stuck in the Frost Zone, and the only useful thing she could do was to blast villains with soundwaves from her speakers while sitting on the ground.

Midoriya fought like a well-oiled fighting machine, and while it was terrifying because why did a quirkless kid need to learn how to fight so viciously like his life depended on it, but also because of how he fought.

She had grown up with music from a young age, knowing how to play a variety of different instruments, but the most important thing she had learnt was tempo. She found out that pretty much everyone fought with a certain tempo, an internal beat that they kept to no matter the fight. In a match, being the first to attack and to set the tempo of the fight was almost vital, because forcing someone to fight at a pace they weren't used to made it much easier. The only thing the victim to this could do was to try and pull back, to create some space, before attacking and being the one to set the pace of the fight.

Midoriya was the same, but not exactly. He fought at his own pace, and changed his pace to adapt to other people's fighting tempo, which was impressive in itself. He could handle fights of all different types of speeds, so it would be difficult for anyone to force him out of his comfort zone.

Those villains were idiots, letting Midoriya set the pace of the fight, though to be honest, unless they knew about tempos, it would be difficult to fight against.

But then, something changed. Midoriya's tempo seemed to stay constant, except that it was fluctuating continuously, subtly, speeding up and slowing down just the tiniest bit that it was pretty much noticeable while close up. It confused her, her sense of balance was off even just looking at the fight from a distance, and it was no wonder that the villains were also unconsciously changing the tempo they moved at, except that unknown to them, their bodies were already moving at a different tempo, which resulted in them tripping over each other like a bunch of idiots. He didn't even need to use his pocket knife against so many villains, and was just using his fists and feet as he twirled around graciously and mowed down villains like a machine gun.

The only problem was that even some of the students were getting dragged into it. Kamakiri had literally tripped over his own feet, luckily crashing into a villain and taking her out.

But this was something that Midoriya had not used in the Sports Festival. He wasn't even fighting to his full capacity, and he had mowed both Bakugou and Todoroki down.

That was the scary part; he didn't need to fight the strongest students in 1-A with his full strength.

Who knew what else the boy was hiding up his sleeve?

Shigaraki watched the ensuing fight with mild interest in his eyes. He would let the kids fight, let them think they could win. But the second he ordered the Nomus to enter the picture, it was the end. Eraser Head was no longer a threat, the man was lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood, and the black Nomu was just sitting on him, content.

But the second that Midoriya entered the fight, everything changed. Midoriya felt… familiar, somehow, but Shigaraki couldn't put his finger on it. That fighting style definitely looked familiar, and it was not the one that the boy had used while fighting during the Sports Festival.

He decided it was time to step in, figure out just how Midoriya fit into this little puzzle. Plus, he was mowing down the villains much more effectively than his peers, even while quirkless, so that curiosity to figure out what power ups Midoriya was using was gnawing at Shigaraki.

But he needed an opening. He didn't want to go near Honenuki, Tokage, Todoroki, or Bakugou, since the first could go underground, the second could split apart, and the other two have somewhat ranged attacks. The Nomus and Kurogiri could definitely deal with them, and if worse comes to worse, even he was fast enough to beat them..

He could definitely deal with Kendo, Shinsou, Tetsutetsu and Kaibara now, but they were all busy with villains, and Shigaraki was content with standing back and watching the chaos.

Until Shinsou finally crumpled, almost being strangled, tanking hits from villains and exhaustion taking hold as the boy was nailed harshly with a knee to the stomach, and Shigaraki struck. He weaved between the few remaining villains, his hands outstretched, aiming for Shinsou's neck. The boy wouldn't even know what hit him.

Shinsou literally had no idea what had hit him. He was trying to desperately catch his breath as a villain got a lucky hit in, possibly breaking a rib or two, before something had crashed into him like a freight train. He was literally smacked aside, and Shinsou barely had the energy to stop himself from rolling aside.

That was, until he heard a chorus of yells from several of his classmates, but he couldn't really make out what they were saying.

Shinsou winced as his muscles burned and shrieked in agony, but he still pushed himself up to see just what was going on.

He was not expecting to see Midoriya lying on the ground, where he stood, blood pouring out from his back, biting his lip and squeezing his shut as Shigaraki thrust his hands into Midoriya's back.

Midoriya didn't know why he had decided to rush in to defend Shinsou. Probably because the boy had stood up for him, and had tried to befriend him, but Midoriya knew that the friendship would never last. He would wait, try and break down Midoriya's walls, and the second that Midoriya let him in, would break his already broken heart, just like everyone else had done.

But he was still more important than him. He had an awesome quirk, he was a decent guy, he didn't deserve to die to a piece of shit like Shigaraki. He was more important than Midoriya; Midoriya was just a useless, worthless Deku.

He shoved Shinsou aside, and felt Shigaraki place both his hands on his back, shoving Midoriya to the ground in the process.

And it burned.

Shigaraki's hands disintegrated his shirt, dig into his back, destroyed his spine and his insides. Midoriya bit his lip to prevent himself from making a sound.

I've snapped my neck countless of times before. Endeavor's punched me all the way through before. This is nothing.

And he could feel his stomach regenerating, his back slowly fixing itself, his ribs healing itself, and there was that initial flash of fear that someone would see him healing himself and realise that he had a quirk.

But lucky for him, Shigaraki's disintegration quirk worked faster than his regeneration, and his back was probably so bloody and mangled that no one could tell the difference. At least, Shigaraki seemed amused that he wasn't screaming in agony to noticed him healing.

Until he finally felt the regeneration spluttering to a halt, like a car that had run out of fuel, and that feeling of fear died down.

Midoriya exhaled. The skin on his back was definitely destroyed, but Shigaraki's hands had moved during the process of disintegrating him and was no longer directly pressing on his spine. He wasn't sure if all his insides were intact, but that was okay; it wasn't like he could die from them anyways. His back still hurt like hell, but it was manageable. It was better that suffocating in his own puke while being burrito wrapped with thick, stuffy blankets with an unbearable weight sitting on him, pressing down on him, preventing him from breathing.

A foot to the stomach sent him rolling a fair distance away from Shigaraki, rubbing Midoriya's back against the grass and ground, but once he came to a halt, Midoriya tried to push himself up, stumbling slightly but managing to regain his balance, ignoring the looks of horror pretty much everyone was shooting him.

"Midoriya Izuku. Honestly, I wasn't expecting much of you, but you seem like a lot of fun!" Shigaraki cackled, eyeing Midoriya with a glint in his eyes, before shooting forwards again. Midoriya ignored the burning sensation on his back, and tried to kick Shigaraki, only for Shigaraki to catch his foot firmly with his hands and disintegrate it, painfully and agonisingly slowly. Midoriya didn't even make a single sound as his skin peeled off, followed by his muscles as they disintegrated to dust.

Feeling it was one thing, but seeing its effects first hand was, in some masochistic way, somewhat intriguing. Midoriya found himself wanting to analyse that quirk, figure out how it worked. Seeing it work on metal, and seeing it work on organic material was two completely different things. He wanted to know, he needed to know; that was the only way he could be useful to Nezu, by knowing.

"He's gonna die at this rate!" Tokage reformed and yelled, "We should go help him!"

She almost got whacked in the face by a fire punch, but Kamakiri covered for her, "Focus on the villains first. If we can't even take them down, we can't make out way to him to help him."

Just at that moment, the damned portal decided to throw a few more villains into the fray, as Bakugou cursed to the heavens.

Midoriya decided that it was enough, and pulled his leg back towards him. Shigaraki promptly lost his balance, and stumbled forwards, allowing Midoriya to twist his injured leg, ignoring the pain that flared through his veins. Supporting himself with his arms, Midoriya kicked Shigaraki away using his free foot, knocking the man away from him.

Thank goodness I know how to fight with broken bones… Midoriya thought to himself.

Five year old Midoriya swung his foot the wrong way, and he felt something break as his foot made contact with the punching bag. He fell to the ground, clutching his leg in agony.

"Come on, Izuku. Just twenty more kicks." Hisashi encouraged, and Midoriya looked up at him with tears in his eyes, "Papa... my foot..."

Hisashi merely sighed, "Do it with the broken foot, Izuku. Try and block out the pain.

Midoriya stared at his father his shock, and Hisashi bent down to ruffle his son's hair.

"We don't have a choice, Izuku. You don't have a quirk. If your body fails on your, you'll be completely defenceless. Villains aren't going to care if your foot is broken or not. Fighting and making an injury worse is better than dying. You need to get used to the pain, block it out, and continue fighting. I promise you, finish up the exercise, then we'll go see a doctor about your foot, okay?"

Midoriya nodded, wincing as he stood back up, trying to ignore the pain that shot up from his leg, and kicked the punching bag once more, trying to repress his screams of pain as his injured foot made contact with the punching bag.

"Interesting! You're the mini boss, I see!" Shigaraki cackled, "You know, something about you is familiar, but I don't know why. Something annoying, probably. Have we met before, some time in the past? Are you some kind of recurring main character in my life?"

Kurogiri warped beside him, whispering to him, "The heroes got out faster than expected."

"Yes, they think they got the upper hand, but we'll still crush those NPCs! Let them call for backup! The students are falling, we'll need a new challenge soon! The Nomu's need something to play with."

Nezu knew that something was going to go wrong. But he was thinking that the students on the buses got caught up in a villain attack, or some of the third year hero students were involved in something during their internships and the situation had escalated. All the teachers that were going along with the second and third years had strict instructions to reports back to him every hour, or when something out of the ordinary cropped up. Even if they were stuck in traffic for longer than usual. Nezu wanted, no, he needed to know what was going on. Midoriya had told him that he had the same uneasy feeling, so it was possible that this was something completely unrelated to UA, but still, the security systems that were supposed to conduct checks to ensure that everything was alright once every ten minutes had been changed to once every thirty seconds; increasing the rate further would just put the entire system into overdrive and cause it to overheat, and Nezu could not let that happen. Nezu didn't care that he was getting annoying alerts that everything in UA was going along normally every thirty seconds rather than every ten minutes; the safety of his students were more important than whether he was getting annoyed or not.

And an attack on the USJ was the very last thing that Nezu had expected. After all, when sane people fail, they usually don't go about doing the same thing again because it was probably going to fail again. Seeing how successful Hosu was, Nezu didn't think that they would attack the USJ again, and would move on to other locations.

Everything seemed to be okay, until Yamada had run into his office, Iida by his side, telling him that the USJ was under attack. He had broadcasted the announcement to all the teachers, which were pretty much just the first year teachers since everyone else was out and not in UA, told Shezenji to get ready in case anything happened, and forced Iida to tell him everything that had happened.

He did find it weird that everyone was warped away in the USJ after Iida escaped, but seeing as how Iida had noted that the portal man had stayed to fight Thirteen, it was highly likely that all the students were scattered around the USJ, which was bad no matter how he looked at it. He temporarily chalked up the weirdness as Iida being too fast to be warped away, but he was certain that this wasn't the plan at all.

The second all the teachers had made it to the USJ, they saw Thirteen's broken form, the monster destroying Aizawa by tossing him around like a limp ragdoll, as villains littered the central plaza. They heard screams and shouts from all over the place, boulders falling, fires raging, explosions ringing out.

Nezu swore he heard the emergency alarm ringing in the distance.

And suddenly it was all silent.

No one was in sight, not a single villain, not a single student.

Only Thirteen, lying on the ground, injured, the only remnant, the only reminder that something had gone terribly, horribly wrong.

And this was something he absolutely hated; having no information at all. Without anything to analyse, without any plans to pick apart, he was useless. While Nezu could defend himself, he wasn't a front field fighter, and would never be one. He could make plans and analyse his opponents, but he couldn't do any of that without any fucking data.

And there was that other thing he hated; people assuming he had an unlimited brain capacity to remember everything. His quirk was called High Spec, god dammit, which was literally short for High Speculation, meaning that he could analyse and put data together to create a theory that had an extremely high chance of being correct, not that his analysis were perfect, or that he could remember everything that he was told word for word.

His quirk was like Shiretoko's; he could take in a lot of information, but feed him too much information and he wouldn't know what data is unnecessary, and he would end up analysing everything down to their details and in the process, overlook something that could potentially be important.

He just makes the speculation that makes the most amount of sense and is highly likely to be right. It doesn't mean he's always right, he was just right most of the time if given sufficient data. And it was impossible to know everything; the one constant in the world was that everything was changing. He may have sufficient data to make the correct speculation, but the whole thing could be wrong the very next second due to the change in some small, random variables here and there. The world wasn't a computer game where every single thing, every single variable was included and coded into the game; no one knew what would really happen in the future.

And Nezu had this problem where he whenever he was given any information; he wanted to squeeze it dry, analyse it down to its finest details, just to make sure that he didn't miss anything important before noting everything down in a journal and just being done with the information given to him because if he didn't do so, he'll have to keep referring back to data from ages ago and it would just pile up and create an even bigger mess that would be utter shit to sort through. Sieve through the entirety of the data and then, just be done with it. He didn't have the time to go through every single drop of information throw at him over and over again; there was just too many things to do without running the risk of burning out.

People just assumed he was like some kind of supercomputer, able to retain everything that was told to him, able to process everything perfectly, able to remember everything. But even supercomputers have a limit to their RAM and memory, even though it was much higher than regular computers. Supercomputers even had defragmentation processes where they physically organize the data it has, and sorts them into the smallest number of continuous regions, much like him and his note taking.

Nezu growled to himself in frustration, as he turned around, only to find that the doors slammed shut, locking in place.

A hulking figure with an exposed brain lumbered up to them, screeching.

"Vlad King, Cementoss, Snipe, kill that thing and protect Iida and Thirteen. Aim for the exposed brain." Nezu ordered, a silent fury burning in his eyes as he quickly formulated a plan, "Midnight, Mic, Ectoplasm, Hound Dog, check to ensure that there are no students or villains left, and if you need to, make sure that the monster stays here and doesn't go to the other zones. Power Loader, come with me, we need to go to the control room."

None of the heroes objected. When Nezu used that kind of tone, he expected to be obeyed, because things were seriously out of hand and he had come up with the fastest and most effective method with all the information he had.

"Wait.. kill!?" Iida spluttered, "You're heroes… right? You don't ... you shouldn't kill -"

Nezu snapped, "Change of plans, Iida, follow us. I'll explain as we go along."

Iida followed, not wanting to anger the principal any further, as Nezu hopped from Ishiyama's shoulder into Maijima's, and they made the trek to the control room.

"Right now, all your friends back in the main UA building are in danger. Over two hundred students now are at the mercy of these villains, and this thing is literally a brain dead monster, just like the ones in Hosu. It's literally an overpowered genetically modified undead zombie that probably only takes orders from a select few people. This place was reinforced to contain villains on the inside, that means we can't just blast out way out, plus we need to take out that monster or it will just be more of a threat to your friends."

Iida nodded at Nezu's explanation; it made sense, and he felt sorry for making Nezu explain it to him even though he was already pretty upset over this.

"I knew something was going to happen, why didn't I think that they would attack the USJ again!?" Nezu growled, running his paws through the fur on his head in frustration, as Maijima came up to the control room, and easily knocking out the lone villain inside it.

"Dammit, our systems are hacked." Maijima growled, "It's going to take some time for me to get through the firewall -"

"Give it to me." Nezu hissed, and Maijima backed away, scared of the angry principal, giving Nezu access to the control board. He tapped away at the keyboard, accessing a protocol that Maijima was sure did not disable the USJ's security system, and he couldn't help but ask, "Uh… Nezu, that's not the pathway to -"

The lights flicked back on. All the facilities in the USJ promptly shut off, and the door snapped open in an instant. Nezu tossed the keyboard aside angrily, and Iida looked around in amazement.

"Go back down and tell everyone that we need to get back to UA as fast as possible, but if the monster is still there, keep out of sight until it's safe to do so." Nezu ordered, as Iida was much faster than both himself and Maijima. Iida saluted, and raced off, leaving Nezu to hop back onto Maijma's shoulders as they made their way back down.

"Emergency disable protocol. I added it a couple of days ago into the programs of every area in UA to disable any facility in case we get trapped in it, but in order to keep it hidden, the code had to be very short and could not be connected to UA's main systems or the signal will be easily detectable. I can only disable a facility if I'm in it physically. Only I know about it, now you know about it." Nezu grumbled in frustration.

"Stop beating yourself up over it. We all know that you're not perfect; it's okay to make mistakes. This just happened to be a horrible mistake, but you've bought us some time given how you had a personal emergency protocol that the villains overlooked and no one else knew about." Maijima tried to comfort Nezu, resisting the urge to pat him on the head because Nezu would definitely not appreciate the gesture.

Even with an injured leg, Midoriya was a beast in fights.

Shigaraki was trying to attack him again, but Midoriya was evading all his attempts to land a hit on him. Both of them lunged at each other, side stepped, twisted, turned, attacked and defended, and if their lives weren't at stake, Tetsutetsu was sure he would be mesmerized.

Midoriya had already shown himself to be a competent fighter, being able to fight blinded and could take on a horde of villains on his own, but being able to swallow the immense pain he must be feeling from his back and leg, and still being able to fight through it and still be on par with what must be one of the fastest villains he had seen that did not possess a speed quirk was on a whole new manly level.

Midoriya had managed to land a hit on Shigaraki's leg, before somehow noticing that a villain was about to hit Tokoyami behind, and had decided that defending Tokoyami was more important, opting to knock the villain down instead. This, however, had left Midoriya open to an attack by Shigaraki, and red eyed villain clamped his hand down on Midoriya's arm, partially disintegrating it before Midoriya managed to kick Shigaraki in the sides to dislodge his grip.

But Tetsutetsu could tell that Midoriya was tiring. The boy was starting to pant, and sweat dripped from his brow, though Tetsutetsu couldn't tell if it was from fighting in a uniform or from the fighting. But his injuries looked horrible; his entire back was covered in his own blood, dying his shirt red, and he could see the muscles of Midoriya's arm and leg, maybe even a bit of bone if he looked properly.

And seriously, Midoriya was being very manly, but had absolutely zero self preservation. He just wanted to tell, "Stop defending others and look after yourself!" after Midoriya had shoved Kendo away from an incoming attack, only to be nailed in the back, right where his injury was, and Shigaraki used that distraction to shove his hand into Midoriya stomach and shoulder, before kicking him right where he had just disintegrated, sending Midoriya tumbling to Shoji's feet.

Much to the larger boy's horror, Midoriya arm shook, and the smaller boy winced, desperately trying to push himself up, even as blood dripped off his tiny frame.

Shigaraki stalked closer and closer, snapping his fingers and ordering the monsters, the Nomus, as he called them, to attack. The students were all busy with their own fight, but the two smaller monstrosities shot forwards, forcing the students to turn their attention away from Shigaraki. The Nomu's were definitely not as strong as the ones from Hosu, but even with the eleven remaining hero course students fighting, they couldn't even put a dent on them. Luckily for them, the Nomu's seemed content being punching bags, just smacking some of the students away lightly every once in a while. The larger, black one was still sitting on Aizawa, much to Shinsou anger, but the lavender haired boy didn't have the energy nor the strength to do anything about it.

"Tell me, Midoriya Izuku, why do you even bother trying?" Shigaraki asked, and Midoriya tried to look up at him. "The world took everything away from you, ripped you to shreds, putting you back together just to tear you down again. Everyone thinks that they were better than you, everyone betrayed you, broke your heart time and time again, and crushed the broken pieces underneath their feet. I can see it in your eyes, and I've seen those eyes before. I see them in myself every time I look at myself in a mirror. We're not too different, are we, Midoriya Izuku?"

"Leave him alone!" Shiozaki growled, attempting to attack Shigaraki with her vines, but Shigaraki just grabbed them and disintegrated them in no time flat.

"You're just an NPC, don't interfere." Shigaraki snapped, before turning his attention back Midoriya, who was still trying to push himself up, "Oh well, you're kinda out of the picture now, aren't you? I guess I don't have to bother about you anymore. Kinda impressive how you're still conscious though, but eh. You probably have more Health Points than I expected."

Shigaraki started to rush at Shiozaki and Awase. Tsuburabu desperately created a Solid Air barrier, but Shigaraki just smashed through it without a problem. Yanagi tried to control the rubble, but the smaller piece went completely ignored that Shigaraki easily disintegrated the larger pieces, and continued making his way towards the hero students' defence line.

No, I can't let them get hurt… They don't deserve to get hurt… Midoriya thought, and with a desperate, final shove of energy, he pushed himself up and lunged forward. Shigaraki brought his arms out to disintegrate him, but Midoriya ignored the pain that shot up his injured foot as he twisted, grabbing Shigaraki's arm with his good hand.

Shigaraki's other hand shot out, aimed directly at him, but Midoriya swerved, evading the hand clearly meant to disintegrate his face and clamped his teeth down on Shigaraki's wrist.

Shigaraki hissed in pain as Midoriya's sharp teeth dug into his flesh, though he was well aware that while Midoriya probably had powerful jaws, he definitely didn't have enough power to break anything; he could only grab his hand and inflict pain, but that was about it. And he could tell that Midoriya was getting desperate, and was doing everything, anything he could to protect his peers.

Midoriya pulled him towards him, digging his knee into Shigaraki's gut, before he flipped the villain over completely, smashing him into the ground. Shigaraki picked himself off the ground in anger, as Rin stared at Midoriya's shaking form, unsure of whether to be horrified that he was getting himself torn apart, or amazed that Midoriya was still standing.

Midoriya took a deep breath. He reached out, and found that mental switch, and flipped it. His head cleared, no longer foggy with pain, and he glared at Shigaraki. Unknown to him, his pupils had contracted as he focused on the villain right in front of him, as everything faded into a dull buzz in the background.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, and Shigaraki jumped back just in time before he got hit by a bullet.

Nezu was undoubtedly pissed when he heard about the attack on the USJ. He was upset when he realised that the attack was just a ruse, a ruse to draw the teachers away from UA. He was even more angry when he found out that their systems had been hacked and bugged, and that the attack was probably planned on that very day when most of the staff and more experienced students were gone. That damned thing about All Might was probably even staged just to lure him away from UA.

But when they returned to UA, when he saw his students injured, trying to protect those who couldn't protect themselves, that the villains were hurting them, that pissed Nezu off even more.

And upon seeing Midoriya, the poor child and vigilante who probably suffered more that most heroes did in their lifetimes, bloodied and battered, and yet, still trying to desperately to protect his classmates, rage bubbled up from his gut.

His kid was getting hurt. The vigilante he had befriended, the boy that he took under his wing, the child that he had promised to protect...

He had failed. Midoriya was hurt because UA's security wasn't good enough, he was hurt because Nezu failed to think, to consider that the villains would choose to attack the USJ once again.

He couldn't let him get even more hurt than he already is.

"Ectoplasm, Midnight, Hound Dog, evacuate the students. Mic, Snipe, Power Loader, go help the students deal with the monsters. Cementoss, leave Thirteen here and go help them fight, I already called Recovery Girl and she'll be here soon. Vlad King, go help Izuku get away from the hand guy. Iida, help get your friends out of there." Nezu ordered.

Snipe had immediately aimed a shot at Shigaraki, creating some space between the villain and the injured boy, but his attention was immediately taken away as one of the smaller Nomus charged at him. Ectoplasm had created copies of himself, and was slowly ushering the non-hero course students away, and Nezu looked at his phone and growled.

He had called for help, but they weren't here yet.

Why the heck were they so god damned slow!?

Nezu watched the fights, unable to do anything. He didn't have the physical power or mobility to fight off villains without any weapons and equipment; he could only defend himself with his claws and sharp teeth, and there was no way he was going to ask Yaoyorozu to make something for him to use. The poor girl looked like she was suffering from hypothermia already.

Now that the teacher had taken the Nomu's attention off the students, the villains had moved in. The villains that the students were dealing with weren't just simple fodder; they weren't strong, but they knew how to use their quirks effectively and proved to be a challenge for the students. Bakugou and Todoroki were wearing out fast, and the villains that Honeuki had dragged into the soil were starting to free themselves. Kendo was running low on stamina, and Kamakiri and Tokoyami were going to drop soon, as they were surrounded, and Tetsutetsu and an exhausted Shinsou were trying to help an equally exhausted Tokage away from the chaos.

The Nomus were just toying with the students, but they were definitely not playing around when going against heroes. They were taking on the heroes effectively, but Ishiyama's cement walls were definitely slowing them down, giving Maijima, Yamada, and Snipe ample opportunities to whittle away at them.

Midoriya had somehow decided to engage Shigaraki again, weaving between Shigaraki's attempts to disintegrate him, and lashing out with kicks with deadly accuracy as he twisted and turned, moving like he was dancing.

But all that action just allowed Nezu to assess Midoriya's physical state completely. His back was disintegrated, and bleeding heavily. His stomach, shoulder, arm and leg were also disintegrated, but while they weren't as bad as his back, it was still horrible to see Midoriya dripping blood like a leaky faucet.

And suddenly, Shigaraki tripped over his own two feet and crashed into the ground for some reason. He immediately got back up, and attempted to attack again, only for him to miss by a wide berth as Midoriya dodged his attack.

Instead of trying again, Shigaraki stood up, and laughed.

"Ah. That's why you're so familiar. I couldn't really tell during the Sports Festival, but observing you in Hosu, and observing you here… You have the exact same fighting style that somehow allows you throw your opponents off balance. The same desperation to protect anyone who wasn't yourself."

Shigaraki looked at Midoriya straight in the eye, as his next statement made Nezu's blood run cold.

"You're Void, aren't you, Midoriya Izuku?"

Chapter Text

Midoriya stared at Shigaraki with a completely blank expression, as the villain continued to cackle.

"You are, aren't you. I wasn't expecting you to be here, Void. But now I can take out two birds with one stone. Double the EXP, you might say!"

Midoriya merely kept his gaze on the villain, as he heard Ectoplasm herding the students away some distance behind him, as well as carrying some of the injured and knocked out hero course students away. He heard Snipe firing bullets at a Nomu, Yamada and Kan trying to take them down, Ishiyama trying to slow the Nomu's down, Shuzenji treating Thirteen and the rest of the students, Nezu barking out orders left and right to Maijima, and Kayama to round up all the fallen villains and save the students who were still fighting.

Midoriya was well aware that he wasn't fighting at full power, and this was on purpose.

After all, he had to keep an eye out for all the other villains and students that were fighting all around him, and he couldn't pour all his focus into the fight. It had never crossed his mind to hold back simply because he wanted to hide his vigilante identity; that was just illogical.

He had held back during the Sports Festival, but he didn't want to break everyone's bones and utterly humiliate them in front of the entire world. It was a logical course of action that allowed everyone to benefit.

But now, the teachers were here. The pros who could handle themselves better and weren't on the verge of collapse. They could take care of themselves, right?

He needed to hurt Shigaraki, hurt him badly enough, but not damage his jaw, or he wouldn't be able to talk and order his Nomu around. He needed to hurt him and annoy him to the point of frustration so that he would get his stupid Nomu to turn its attention away from Aizawa and to himself instead.

Aizawa's life was far more important than his. He would gladly give his life up for the downed pro hero, if he were able to die in the first place.

So it wouldn't hurt to go full throttle, wouldn't it? He couldn't die from snapping his neck multiple times, or getting a hole burnt through him; blood loss would probably not do anything to him. He kept his focus on Shigaraki, before he shot forwards, aiming a jab at Shigaraki's side.

Todoroki didn't know what to think when he heard Shigaraki's statement. He was busy freezing several villains in place, when Shigaraki's voice rang out.

Midoriya was Void? Midoriya was the one that knew about his past? That knew about Enji? The one that had saved him and Iida from Stain? The one that his dad had fucking torched!?

He didn't want to believe it, that Midoriya was the one his father tried to kill, that he was the same one that tried to encourage him to use his fire.

Until Midnight knocked the villains in his vicinity out, and he was allowed to take a breather and observe the ongoing fight between Midoriya and the man covered in hands that had introduced himself as the leader of the League of Villains, the one that he heard someone call Shigaraki.

He had considered the fight between Midoriya and Bakugou as a total brutal annihilation of the blonde pomeranian, but this, this was true brutality. Midoriya, beaten and battered and pretty much dripping blood like leaky faucet, suddenly gave off this menacing aura that made Todoroki freeze in his tracks. It was like the one Midoriya exuded during the Sports Festival, while defending Shinsou, while fighting against Bakugou, except that it felt infinitely stronger.

He wasn't even anywhere near Midoriya, nor was he Midoriya's intended target, and yet, Todoroki felt like he was suffocating, his throat tightening for absolutely no reason as he observed Midoriya from a distance.

Then, Midoriya threw himself at Shigaraki in an instant, faster than Todoroki could process, aiming for his side, at the villain was also similarly frozen in place. Midoriya expertly twisted on the ankle that Shigaraki had partially disintegrated, swiftly ducking under a disintegrating palm to his face, and nailed his heel into the back of Shigaraki's knee.

Shigaraki's leg buckled, and Midoriya took that opportunity to land on his arms and swing his body, kicking Shigaraki directly in the face and knocking him backwards.

As frail and skinny as Shigaraki looked, the villain was much more resilient than anyone had expected, and could actually take a few hits, and got right back up.

And then there was Midoriya. Todoroki had no idea how he was still standing, given the extent of his injuries, let alone leaping around landing attacks like it was nobody's business.

Midoriya proceeded to punch Shigaraki, but he managed to dodge it in time, and tried to grab Midoriya's hand. Midoriya immediately pulled back, causing Shigaraki to overexerted and lose his balance, leaving him open to a knee in the stomach. He immediately put his foot on the ground, and whacked Shigaraki's back with his injured foot.

Shigaraki stumbled forwards, falling to the ground, slamming his chin against the ground, before he scrambled to his feet once again.

This shouldn't be happening.

Shigaraki felt his entire body tense up, no, freeze up. Void was just a quirkless General Education student. There was no way a kid like that should be exuding that kind of pressure, let alone a kid who was seemingly half dead.

Something had changed. Void's eyes seemed to glow under the shadows cast by his hair, his pupils slit, staring at him like he wanted to tear him apart. They were exactly like name, empty, endless voids of green, and Shigaraki found it hard to breathe, to comprehend what was even going on.

And then, before he could even process the change, Void was on him. Shigaraki hastily tried to defend himself, but Void swiftly evaded his attack and whacked him in the knee. And no matter how much Shigaraki tried, he couldn't even land a single hit on the small teenager as he leapt about, twisting past his attempts to attack in ways that should aggravate every single wound he had.

This wasn't Midoriya Izuku. It couldn't be Midoriya Izuku. Midoriya Izuku was a simple, quirkless, General Education student, who is somehow stronger and much harder to fight against than the Hero Course students.

This being in front of him was a monster, an unfeeling, emotionless fighting machine that fought with not only broken bones but a broken and bleeding body.

Shigaraki could barely keep up with him. Void weaved around him effortlessly, and no matter how hard Shgaraki tried, Void's movements just threw him completely off balance. Shigaraki had shifted his attention from attacking to defending, trying his best to dodge Void's attempts to focus his attacks on his joints.

But he knew he couldn't dodge forever. Dodging wasn't his forte, attacking was. Shigaraki was used to being able to control the pace of his fights, but somehow, Void had his fighting rhythm wrapped about his little finger, controlling the pace that he fought at however he pleased, forcing him off balance as and when he liked.

Shigaraki snarled, as he tripped over his feet again, and used that opportunity to roll away from Void, creating some distance between the vigilante and himself.

The next thing he knew, there was a knife flying at his face.

"Remember, Izuku." Hisashi gestured to the beach of garbage and trash in Dagobah Municipal Beach Park Beach, "On a battlefield, anything can be a weapon. No one is going to make sure that the fight is fair; you have to balance the playing field yourself."

Hisashi hooked his foot under a decently sized rock, tossing it into the air and kicking it out to sea in one swift movement, "Always keep an eye out. Most people use weapons to attack with the upper body. Usually, unless a person's quirk is related to their legs or their legs are armed, most people would use their hands, and even then, their arms are usually required to support their body. It's better to keep your options open; kicking rocks or any other random trash and being able to aim them at the soft spots can get you out of a pinch."

Six year old Midoriya nodded in understanding. No wonder his dad had asked him to wear his boots instead of his normal shoes.

"If you can learn to do it right, it opens up a lot of options. Sand, rocks, metal poles, fallen knives. We'll start uh... with this."Hisashi dug around in the trash, and pulled out a very deflated volleyball, and placed it in a clearing of sand, "Now, see the tip of your shoes? Extend your foot, and try to slip it under the ball, and flick your ankle upwards quickly. You should be able to get the ball airborne."

It took a couple of tries for Midoriya to understand what Hisashi meant, but in about half an hour he could kick the ball upwards, but it just flew all over the place. Yet, Hisashi just looked at him with pride on his face when Midoriya turned to get some sort of confirmation from his father.

"Alright, good job, Izuku. Practice the movements a bit more, and we'll work on getting the ball up straight."

Midoriya expertly hooked his foot under a knife that one of the villains had been using, flicking it up in the air. He aimed a kick at the handle, and sent the knife rocketing in Shigaraki's direction. Shigaraki dodged it, but Midoriya used that opportunity to get in close and smack his elbow into Shigaraki's throat, knocking the wind out of him, as the dismembered hand that was located on his face fell off.

Shigaraki's blood red eyes glowed with anger, and he snarled from his position on the floor, coughing as he did so while desperately reaching for his deceased father's hand, "Nomu!"

Midoriya, as fast and as skilled as he was, didn't even get a chance to even twitch. He didn't even feel the monster move. One moment, the large, black Nomu was sitting on Aizawa like it was a boulder, and the very next moment, the Nomu's fist was slammed into his back, right where Shigaraki had disintegrated him, smashing his entire body against the ground.

Midoriya's jaw snapped shut as his chin met the ground, and the pain that Midoriya had pushed away slammed into him. Midoriya bit his lip to prevent himself from letting out a whimper of pain, and desperately tried to push himself up.

Except that through the pain, he didn't notice the Nomu rearing up to attack again, and once more, his entire being was slammed into the ground, before the Nomu stepped down on his arm. He was pretty damned sure that the monster had snapped his ribs, and the arm that hadn't been disintegrated by Shigaraki was a meat sack of broken bones at this point, and he couldn't stop himself from spitting out some blood.

"Keep them occupied! Ectoplasm, get Aizawa out of there and go help Izuku!" Nezu yelled.

Where the hell were Kamui Woods, Death Arms and Ryukyu? They were the ones that had responded to his emergency broadcast signal. Or All Might for that matter!?

Speak of the devil, and they shall appear. Nezu's phone started vibrating in his paws as he saw the huge body of Takeyama walking towards UA in the distance.

"Nezu, we're on our way." Nishiya's voice rang out, "We're bringing Mt Lady with us as well, since she happened to be nearby. We should be there… uh… now… OH MY GOD DEATH ARMS IT'S THE MONSTERS FROM HOSU!"

"I can just stomp on them, right?"

"NO DON'T STEP ON THEM MT LADY THEY'RE STRONGER THAN THEY LOOK!"

Nezu wasn't amused by the fact that he heard Nishiya shouting twice, once from Takeyama's palms as she easily stepped over UA's gates, and the second time through the phone. Heroes shouldn't be panicking in the face of any situation, Nishiya should know that. Maybe he should drill it into the hero once again like he had done when he was a student in UA.

He promptly hung up, as Tatsuma leapt down from Takeyama's humongous palms and turned into her dragon form immediately. She slammed into one of the Nomu's that Ishiyama and Yamada were fighting. Her much larger size let her grapple with the Nomu evenly, allowing Ishiyama and Yamada to disengage and fight off the straggler villains in the distance.

The teachers' fight with the Nomus had pretty much leveled the trees near UA's entrance, giving Tatsuma more room to fight. Takeyama had the other Nomu in her hand, though she was wincing in pain as the Nomu bit and scratched at her hand with insanely sharp teeth. She clenched her fists shut, trying to restrain the wriggling Nomu as best as she could.

"See this, Void?" Shigaraki cackled, as he placed the hand back on his face, much to Nezu's anger, "This Nomu was made to fight All Might! You think that you can take him on!?"

"Wait, Void's here?" Nishiya cursed under his breath, as he picked up a couple of villains and slammed them to the ground, "Dammit. We need to get him out of here."

Nezu saw Nishiya wince as he saw the Nomu pick the kid up, before slamming him into the ground once again, as a sickening crack rang out, this time, coming from the boy's leg.

"Cementoss! Put up a wall between the kids and the fight!" Nezu ordered, looking around erratically, trying to see if there was any other effective way to save Midoriya besides waiting for Yagi to appear.

"You're quirkless, Void. Even with a quirk, you'll be no match for Nomu!" Shigaraki cackled, as Midoriya still tried his hardest to get up even with the weight of the Nomu on top of him, "Just give up! It's game over for you! Your Health Points are depleted, you don't have any items to use, and the rest of your party is occupied! This is the final boss!"

A sonic boom was heard, as a voice echoed out, "Do not fear, for I am here!"

Someone, shot out of the sky and slammed into the Nomu that was sitting on Midoriya.

"So, if we attack here, we can flush them out of their hideout, and -"

"You have a call! You have a call!"

Yagi promptly turned red as his phone rang, and Tsukauchi laughed at Yagi's ringtone. Yagi whipped the phone out of his pocket, and his eyes widened when he saw what it was.

"Shit. I'll have to go back to UA, Nao. Nezu sent out an emergency signal. Something's going on." Yagi quickly pocketed his phone, and looked around for a deserted alleyway where he could turn into his hero form without being seen.

"Go. We'll talk later." Tsukauchi nodded, "I'll get a squadron of police to UA as well."

"Thank you." Yagi nodded, as he rushed out of his seat, and stumbling into a dark alleyway. He promptly transformed into his hero form, and leapt into the air, and with one more powerful leap, he was well on his way back to the school he was supposed to be teaching at.

He saw Tatsuma grappling with a Nomu, Takeyama struggling to keep hold of another Nomu, before he honed in on the lone Nomu that was currently smashing the ground, the very same Nomu that he recognised from the first invasion of the USJ that had gone in the heroes' favour.

His followed his instinct; smash the Nomu.

He tackled the Nomu, his impact with the monster causing a shockwave that rippled outwards.

"All Might, you idiot! Be more careful!" Nezu screamed at him, and out of the corner of his eye, noticed that the Nomu, in fact, was not smashing the ground; it was smashing a student into the ground. The poor kid was sent tumbling from his attack on the Nomu, and was just lying on the ground in a pool of their own blood that was slowly getting bigger and bigger.

"Cementoss, give Snipe a proper vantage point to kill those things." Nezu snapped, "Then go help Ectoplasm defend the kids! Kamui, drag that tree behind the Nomu that Ryukyu is fighting!"

Nishiya obeyed without hesitation, and Tatsuma gave the Nomu one final shove, forcing it to step on the tree trunk and slip. Nishiya immediately restrained the Nomu as Tatsuma pinned it to the ground.

Nezu was tempted to go check on Midoriya, but he couldn't; Midoriya was too far away for him to reach on his stubby little legs, and even if he could reach him, he couldn't help him; Nezu didn't have the physical strength to bring Midoriya away from the battle, and the two pro heroes who weren't fighting had to defend roughy two hundred and twenty students.

Snipe took the clear shot, and fired a few bullets directly at Tatsuma's Nomu, going straight through its brain, effectively killing it, before he leapt into the air. A block of cement erupted underneath him, courtesy of Ishiyama, pushing Snipe upwards towards Takeyama's Nomu.

Meanwhile, Yagi and his Nomu were currently brawling it out, matching each other punch for punch, attack for attack, with Shigaraki in the background gloating about how superior the Nomu was.

Nezu swore he saw Midoriya twitch, ever so slightly.

Snipe leapt up onto Takeyama's arm, and raced upwards towards her hands. He aimed his gun at the Nomu, and like the previous one, shot a couple of bullets through his brain, killing it.

"You know, our toys are all broken." Shigaraki sighed, scratched at his neck, "I think it's time to end this."

Yagi tensed up, prepared to battle the Nomu once again. His time was up, and it was taking everything Yagi had to not just deflate there and then. He needed to end this fight fast.

His throat ran dry from Shigaraki's words as he pointed in Midoriya's direction, "Let's give UA a gift that they'll never be able to forget. Nomu, go!"

Before Yagi, or any of the other heroes could react, the Nomu had sped off towards Midoriya, as the poor kid lay on the ground, unmoving.

Midoriya knew that Shigaraki's finishing blow was going to be aimed at him. Shigaraki hated him; he had foiled the League's first attempt to attack the USJ, and had turned out to be a wild card in his current invasion of UA. He had made him temporarily lose the hand that he was attached too, had annoyed Shigaraki enough to make him sic the Nomu on him.

Shigaraki was a stubborn person. If he wanted Void dead, he wanted him dead. No one, not even All Might, was going to get in his way. Shigaraki's original intention for the USJ attack was to kill All Might, but now, he wanted to kill Void; kill the pesky kid that constantly disrupted his plans.

Midoriya discreetly reached out for the knife that was just within his reach; it probably belongs to a villain that had brought knives to this fight and was defeated by one of the students.

He swallowed, trying to push the pain away once again, to clear his mind once more, for one last final attack. He was lucky; his spine, somehow, was still intact through everything that had happened. His ears were ringing, his eyesight was blurring, and he could feel his breaths coming in fast.

He felt it. He felt thundering footsteps. He could see the rough outline of the Nomu speeding towards him, hands outstretched, and his hands tightened around the knife.

He waited.

If he got the timing wrong, his plan would fail.

"Villains aren't going to just step back when they see you fall. They're going to take any opportunity they have to kill you. But once they get tired, once the battle had gone on for some time, they get impatient. Use this against them. Wait, wait for them to do something stupid, to make a mistake. That's your chance."

His father's words rang in his head. He forced himself to concentrate, to clear the buzzing sensation in his ears, to shove everything unrelated away to the back of his mind, to focus on his sole task at hand.

The Nomu's left hand was almost reaching him. The monster had too much momentum due to the rushed attack by Shigaraki, leaving its right side open, a direct path to the monster's head.

Now.

With one last final burst of energy, Midoriya shoved himself upwards, biting down the pain that erupted from his torso as he wasn't fast enough, the Nomu's sharp knife-like claws ripped through his chest like tracing paper, abusing his already broken ribs, and bringing the knife downwards. The Nomu did the rest of the work for him; the momentum the Nomu possessed forced the monster to ram itself right into Midoriya's knife, impaling its brain all the way through.

Midoriya let his grip on the knife loose, and let himself fall to the ground. His eyesight was fading to black, as static buzzed in his head, his head feeling like it was filled with cotton.

He had done his job, but Shigaraki and Kurogiri were still there.

"No! Void! How dare you!" Shigaraki spat, but the ground under him rumbled, and Shigaraki jumped away before the ground caved in from under him, courtesy of Maijima. Shigaraki swiftly dodged a bullet, before two more bullets found themselves embedded in his hand and shoulder. There weren't any other fodder villains left either; all of them were either taken out by the students, knocked out by Kayama's quirk, or restrained by Death Arms and Nishiya.

"We should retreat, Shigaraki." Kurogiri snapped, protecting Shigaraki with more portals, "The kid will die from his injuries. All Might has been pushed beyond his time limit like Sensei had said. UA's students are scarred, and their reputation will fall. We've done what we were supposed to do."

"Tch. Fine." Shigaraki muttered, nursing his injuries, as Kurogiri teleported both himself and Shigaraki away. Almost immediately, Snipe and Maijima went to go check on Midoriya.

Kan quickly picked Nezu up and rushed to Midoriya's side, before gently depositing the principal down next to the downed student, Tatsuma and Takeyama not too far behind him.

"He's not responding." Maijima quietly said, as Nezu watched Snipe try to coax Midoriya, his shallow breaths coming in fast, to just do something, anything, just to show that he was alive.

Nezu squatted down beside the boy, his ears drooping as he took in the poor, injured state that the child was in, "Izuku?"

Midoriya's eyes opened, ever so slightly, as those dull, dark green orbs looked up at Nezu. He shifted, trying to reach out for the principal, and let out a small whimper of pain as he did so.

"Shi...ga...ra...ki…?" The boy desperately whispered, his fingers shaking.

Nezu's heart ached as he tried to comfort Midoriya, "Shh. Just relax, Izuku. It's over. They're gone. It's all over. Just hold on, okay? Help's coming real soon, just hang on."

"The ambulances are coming, give or take a minute" Nishiya reported, as he walked towards the group. Midoriya let out a soft, weak whine, and proceeded to close his eyes, but Nezu reached out to pat Midoriya's cheek gently.

"Can you stay awake, please, Izuku?"

Midoriya opened his eyes again, accidentally letting out a whimper again, as Nezu sat down next to the boy, as close as he could without the chance of accidentally hurting him even more. None of the other heroes could even try to perform first aid on him; Midoriya had too many injuries and probably so many broken bones that he should be long gone at this point.

"…Sor...ry…."

Nezu's heart was pretty much broken at this point.

Why was Izuku apologising for something that wasn't his fault?

Unless he blamed himself for this.

"It's not your fault, Izuku. Help's coming real soon, just hang on, okay?"

Chapter Text

Ever since he met that vigilante that eventually led to him being rescued from his former abusive household, Shinsou had always wished that he could see Void again, to thank him for giving him hope and another chance. To thank him for everything that he had done.

He had searched all over the internet for anything about Void, skimming through forum posts, scanning through pretty much any article he could get his hands on to see if Void had popped up in it, and had even hammering his parents with questions about the mysterious vigilante, only to find out that he had more interaction time with the vigilante than both Yamada and Aizawa combined. In fact, Aizawa hadn't even met Void before, and had heard about Shinsou and Void through Yamada.

And Shinsou had gotten even more curious about Void. He still tried to find out more about Void, and was hoping that anything he found out about Void was true. He had seen the article about Enji trying to attack him, and Enji's second attempt on the boy's life through Iida and Todoroki. He was glad Void still seemed to be doing fine, and hope that he would one day get another chance to speak with the boy who had changed his life.

But that one piece of information, Shigaraki's words about Midoriya being Void, was one piece of information that he hoped was utterly wrong.

Because that would mean that the boy that had saved his life once had saved him once was saving him again, by literally getting tortured by Shigaraki right in front of him.

Once again, Midoriya was saving him while he was sitting back uselessly.

Guilt pooled in Shinsou's stomach as he watched Midoriya get torn apart mercilessly; as he got up, time and time again, only for Shigaraki to rip him apart over and over.

It was cruel.

And yet, Midoriya's expression didn't even change, besides from the occasional wince in pain. He continued to fight on, despite the fact that his broken body was leaking blood and dyeing the ground red.

It was as if he was used to pain being inflicted on him, as if he was used to being torn up and left for dead.

He didn't care that Midoriya was able to fight.

He just wanted them to stop. He wanted the fighting to stop. He didn't want his friend to get ripped apart, to self destruct, to tear himself apart from the inside out simply to protect someone else.

And then the Nomu struck.

And he felt like his heart was getting ripped apart as the monstrosity smashed Midoriya into the ground over and over.

That was all he was able to process until All Might tackled the Nomu away, and Ectoplasm herded him away with the rest of the hero course students. He just followed along blankly as the teachers coaxed him to get the multitude of cuts and bruises that he had obtained from the USJ checked.

He rubbed his eyes, but couldn't erase the image of Midoriya's broken body, lying still in a puddle of his own blood that seemed to be growing bigger as time ticked by, and the weight in his chest only grew heavier.

And the fact that he actually liked Midoriya, despite the younger's lack of emotions, didn't help at all. He felt like his heart had gotten ripped out of his chest and doused in acid.

Midoriya wasn't even in the hero course, and yet, he sported injuries much, much worse than all the hero course students combined. Shinsouwas the closest, and yet, Midoriya had to put his life on the line to save his once again.

Shinsou felt like he had utterly failed Midoriya.

Most of the hero course students, as well as Midoriya, Aizawa and Thirteen, had to go to the hospital in some way or form. Shuzenji, whose healing quirk was required, had gone with the students to the hospital, which meant that the teachers, much as they hated not being able to check on their students immediately, had to find their own ways to get to the hospital.

Nezu gave the teachers the go ahead to visit the hospitals first, before taking out his phone to finish some important tasks, which mainly consisted of calling every single parent of the first years to inform them of what had happened, minus Shinsou's parents cause Yamada and Aizawa were there.

But first, he needed to pull a few strings to keep all of Midoriya's files, everything about him, any articles, school records, anything that even mentioned him, under wraps. Midoriya was registered as quirkless, and no doubt that the attack on UA was going to be the hot topic for the next week or so.

Anyone who didn't participate in the fights, mainly the Support, Business, and General Education courses, had been checked on by paramedics, and they were free to go home. Ectoplasm and Ishiyama were staying with them, waiting for their parents to pick them up, and Nezu made a mental note to make every single student, especially the hero course students, and Midoriya, to talk with Inui, or another hero or counselor, at least once. There was no way any of them were going to be getting out unscathed.

After what seemed like hours, calling and informing the parents of the all the Hero Course, the General Education, Business, and Support Course students, Nezu paused, his paw hovering over the contact listed under Midoriya's name in the school database.

Nezu sighed, and pressed the call button.

He waited, as he waited for his call to get through, only for his call to be sent to voicemail.

Nezu stared at his phone, before taking a deep breath, and walking back to his office.

Reiko pawed at the door desperately.

She could see the battle going on outside, through Nezu's humongous window, and could hear explosions and yelling, but she couldn't tell who was who when she was looking down from ten floors up. There was no way she could even break the huge window that sat between her and the fight; let alone surviving a fall from such a height.

She wanted to figure out what was going on. Why was there a fight? Why did Yamada and Iida rush into Nezu's office in such a panic? What was going on? Who was fighting who? What were those giant hulking monsters?

But more importantly, where was Izuku? Was he okay?

Sure, the vents were still an option, but she had no way of removing the grate; her paws weren't dexterous enough to use a screwdriver, and she didn't have a way to get one anyway. Plus, she didn't have any idea how to navigate the vents, and Ryuto was just sitting on Nezu's desk, completely confused as to what was going on as he flapped his stubby wings wildly.

He hopped down onto Nezu's chair, before jumping onto a stack of papers in an attempt to break his fall. He fell onto the floor, but quickly righted himself, before hobbling awkwardly to the window in curiosity. Reiko wrapped her tail around Ryuto and pulled him in, and the two animals looked down through the window at the ongoing fight, trying to figure out just what was going on.

Reiko saw the teachers popping out of nowhere, and Takeyama storming in, followed by All Might, and from then on, it didn't take too long for the fight to wrap up.

There was a lot of blood though, and Reiko was seriously hoping that for all of Midoriya's suicidal tendencies, that it wasn't his. There were a few ambulances to take some of the students who had been fighting to the hospital, coupled with the teachers dismissing the majority of the students directly.

She wanted to know what was going on, and Reiko immediately turned back to paw at the door. She finally felt a presence, and she immediately stood back as the door opened, revealing Nezu in the doorway, looking around forlornly.

"What's going on? Where's Izuku?"

"In the hospital. Come on." Nezu replied, as he quickly grabbed a folder off his desk, and scooped Reiko and Ryuto into his other arm, before running out of the room.

Ectoplasm and Ishiyama were waiting at UA's main entrance, by Ishiyama's car, while the UA building itself was crawling with police officers. Maijima had, according to Ectoplasm, opted to stay back to fix the bugged security system. The two heroes said nothing as Nezu climbed into the backseat with Reiko and Ryuto in his grasp, before Ishiyama started the engine and they started to make their way to the hospital.

Nezu quickly texted Yamada that they were going to be at the hospital soon, but he didn't get any reply from Yamada.

That was how bad the situation was. Usually, Yamada would reply almost immediately, spamming the group chat with a multitude of emojis that made no sense to anyone. He had never not replied to a message at all, whether it was directed to him or not.

Nezu stuck his phone back in his pocket and sank into the car seat, Reiko nuzzling his neck and Ryuto remaining eerily quiet throughout the entire ride as he sat by Reiko on Nezu.

Tensei stared at his phone. He had just been released from the hospital, still on crutches but overall feeling pretty good, due to not being cooped up in a hospital room, and his parents had told him to pick Iida up from the hospital a few blocks away from UA. Apparently, there had been another attack on UA, and unlike the first one, this one had been successful.

Tensei stuck his phone back in his pocket, and proceeded to hail down a taxi to the hospital.

When he got there, he told the taxi driver to wait for a few minutes, before he hobbled out to find Iida. He was expecting Iida to immediately call out to him, waving his arms wildly while complaining that he shouldn't be moving around while still injured, but all he saw was a group of students, Iida included in the group, huddled together, with Kayama supervising them.

This was way worse than he thought.

"Hey, Nemuri!" Tensei greeted, as he made his way to Kayama's side with the aid of his crutches, and Kayama just looked up from her phone and raised her eyebrows at him. Iida, as well as several others, looked up when he spoke up, but other than that, the students didn't do anything at all. He recognised Shinsou, the kid that Aizawa and Yamada adopted a few years back, Uraraka, who his brother teamed up with in the second round of the Sports Festivals, and a couple others like Todoroki and Shiozaki.

"Really, Tensei? Did your mom tell you to pick up your little bro again?" Kayama sighed, trying and clearly failing to lighten the mood. Tensei hobbled over to them, "Who you texting, Nemuri?"

"Midoriya's guardians. We've sent an email as well, and I'm trying to call them to alert them of Midoriya's current situation, but they aren't picking up. It keeps being sent to voicemail."

Tensei swore that Midoriya was in the General Education course, and shouldn't be involved in whatever was going on. He chose to ignore it, and tried to focus on his little brother first, moving to Iida's side, supporting himself one one crutch, and using the other to tap Iida's leg slightly, "Ready to go, Tenya?"

Iida nodded, not saying a word, as Tensei led him back to the taxi. They settled down in the backseat, before the taxi headed off towards the Iida Household.

Tensei was curious. His parents didn't know what was going on, and Kayama hadn't been eager to share any details with him. Despite liking to talk a lot, when there was something she wanted to hide, she will quickly switch topics and start talking so much that one would forget what they were initially talking about.

And he didn't want to force Iida to talk about it. If his baby brother wanted to talk, he'll let him talk. But this must be something very, very serious if even Iida wasn't saying a single thing, whether it be about his classmates disheveled uniforms, his brother hobbling about on crutches or upholding their reputation as UA students.

But the second they closed the door to their house behind them, Iida had wrapped his older brother in a hug, and shoved his face into Tensei's chest. Tensei ignored the feeling of Iida's glasses pressing against his chest, and ran his fingers through Iida's hair.

"What's wrong, Tenya?"

Iida remained quiet, but Tensei could feel his shirt becoming slightly wet. Eventually, Iida finally spoke up, "He got hurt."

Tensei patiently waited for Iida to continue.

"Midoriya. He isn't even in the hero course… but he had to fight that man with all the hands on him…"

Tensei carefully manoeuvred the duo around the house, despite being on crutches, until they were both sitting on the sofa.

"Hey, he'll be fine, right? I saw the Sports Festival reruns. He's pretty good."

Iida shook his head, "He got hurt… the monster got him… and there's so much blood…

Tensei swore under his breath. He really hated those damned Nomu. First in Hosu, then in UA. And those damned things seemed to have multiple quirks, as if a regeneration quirk wasn't hard enough to deal with, those damned things had wings, super strength, and they were just pretty messed up in general.

And there were at least four of them; three in Hosu, and at least one in UA. They weren't just mutations; someone had to be making them, or at least, could influence their development. Tensei just hoped that they wouldn't have to fight more of them any time soon; many heroes were still injured from the Hosu Incident, and he had no idea what state UA was in.

Iida tried to take a deep breath, as if he were trying to keep his cool, "He looked like he was dead… but Midnight-sensei said that he's still in surgery..."

"Hey, don't worry about him, okay? He's a strong kid; he'll pull through. If you want, I'll text Nemi and once I get some news, you'll be the first to know, okay? Just calm down, drink some water, get some sleep and we'll probably get some good news by tomorrow morning, how's that sound?"

He gently patted Iida on the back, before the younger finally nodded and made his way towards the kitchen.

Tensei quickly fished his phone out of his pocket, before the opened his private chat with Kayama.

"Nemi, Tenya told me about Midoriya. How's he? Also, anyone else hurt?"

It took some time for Kayama to reply.

"Besides Midoriya? The rest of the kids are fine. Some have to stay overnight in the hospital but they're pretty much okay. Shouta and Thirteen are injured, though they're already patched up and resting. Only telling you cause Nezu said it was okay."

Tensei heaved a sigh of relief, and slumped into the sofa, forgetting that his arms were still injured as he winced in pain.

At least no one else was hurt.

He really hoped that Midoriya would be fine. He really wanted to meet the kid who managed to change his hard-headed little brother's mind.

The nurse at the front desk stared at Nezu as he ran in with a cat and a baby bird in his paws.

"Sir, you can't bring animals into the hospital." She stated, eyeing the cat in particular.

Another nurse came up from the hallway, patting the lady who was sitting by the front desk on the back.

"It's UA's principal. I think two small animals are fine. They seem well behaved." She sighed, and Ryuto gave her a small chirp.

"Come on. Mic said you'll be coming over." She stated, turning around to walk back down the hallway. Nezu, Ectoplasm, and Ishiyama followed close behind her, as their footsteps echoed solemnly throughout the hallway.

They saw Tatsuma and Nishiya sitting down on the chairs, waiting by a door with the word "Emergency" glowing in bright red capital letters.

"Aizawa had gotten out of the operation theatre some time ago. Present Mic went to check on him. Mt. Lady had gotten called back to the agency she was working with." Tatsuma spoke up at once, her voice almost as quiet as a whisper. Nishiya remained completely quiet, as he gazed at the ceiling absentmindedly.

"What about Izuku?" Nezu asked almost immediately.

Tatsuma looked down towards the ground, and sighed, so quiet that they could barely make out what she was saying, "He's not out yet."

Reiko struggled out of Nezu's grasp and hopped onto the chair between Tatsuma and Nishiya. Nezu gently placed Ryuto down on the chair, and she curled up around the baby bird, letting out a sad purr. Ryuto nuzzled the cat, and buried his head in her neck, before waddling over to Nishiya. He let out a small chirp, and rubbed his head against Nishiya's hand.

Nishiya gently rang his fingers through Ryuto's feathers.

"If what the villain said was true… and he's really quirkless…" Nishiya started, but he was cut off almost immediately by the Dragoon Hero.

"Not the time, Kamui." Tatsuma grunted, and Nishiya froze, before turning his attention back to the bird.

Ectoplasm and Ishiyama sat down on the chairs, as Nezu paced up and down the hallway, his tail twitching erratically as he contemplated how the hell everything had gone so wrong. His phone vibrated, and he irritatedly pulled his phone out of his pocket to see who had contacted him.

To his confusion, it was Kayama, who Tensei had apparently contacted for details about the USJ attack. Nezu gave her the go ahead to tell him; Tensei was a responsible pro hero, and was Iida's older brother. He would find out about it sooner or later.

It felt like an eternity before the illuminated "Emergency" sign was shut off and the door open. The doors finally opened, and Shuzenji walked out, with a small stack of papers and a collar in her hands.

Reiko perked up almost immediately, as Nezu made his way in front of Shuzenji, the other heroes following behind him, "How is he?"

"He's alive. We did manage to fix up the worst of the damage, but I'm honestly not sure he'll make a full recovery. There may be injuries that linger, and there's no doubt he will feel pain, even after he recovers. He's suffered from way too much physical trauma, not to mention that we're unsure of his mental state when he wakes up."

The heroes heaved a sigh of relief, but Nezu felt that Shuzenji was still hiding something from them.

"First… there's this." Shuzenji quietly passed over the collar to Nezu, and the principal inspected the item carefully.

"An abuse case?" Ectoplasm asked, but Shuzenji shook her head, "I doubt it. One of the nurses in the ambulance tried to remove it so that we could assess the damage. He tried to fight her even in his weakened state, and let me tell you, even in his current condition, he can land a nasty left hook. It clearly means something to him."

"Alright." Nezu pocketed the collar, making a mental note to give it back to Midoriya when he woke up.

"He's currently being moved to room 7B, right next to Eraser Head's room. Can you lead them there, please?" Shuzenji addressed one of the nurses who exitted behind her, and she nodded, before leading the rest of the heroes away.

Nezu could tell from Shuzenji's tone that she was definitely hiding something from them, but she just tapped Nezu on the shoulder and whispered to him, "Later. When the rest of the teachers are here and the other heroes have left."

Chapter Text

The elevator ride and the walk to Midoriya's room took an agonizingly long time. Nezu flicked his tail in annoyance, internally wishing for the damned lift to just move faster.

He wasn't the only one. Nishiya was tapping his foot on the floor of the elevator, Ectoplasm was fidgeting on the spot, Ishiyama was fiddling with his fingers and Tatsuma's fins were twitching. Reiko was lying limply in Nezu's grasp, while Ryuto sat in the crook of Nezu's arm and pressed himself against Reiko.

The seventh floor was reserved for underground heroes, but none of them were questioning why Midoriya was placed in the very same ward as Aizawa. After all, very few people knew that he had been involved in the USJ attack, let alone getting injured to the point where he looked like he should have bled to death on the spot. But then again, Thirteen was sharing the room with Aizawa, so they probably just wanted to keep all the UA patients together.

Yamada was standing outside a room, and the heroes could Aizawa lying on the bed in the room, wrapped from head to toe in bandages. He nodded at the incoming heroes, and the nurse led them to the next door, and carefully pushed it open.

They found Midoriya inside, lying on the bed. An oxygen mask was placed over his nose and mouth. His dark eyebags stood out even more prominently against his pale skin, and he was covered in a thick, white blanket from the chest down, but his forehead and arms were wrapped with snowy white bandages. He had an IV connected to his hand, and a multitude of other machines were beeping incessantly, creating a cacophony of sounds that made up a discordant melody, repeating over and over, reminding Nezu that this was the outcome of his failure.

Reiko let out a strangled sounding chatter when she laid her eyes on Midoriya, and would have lunged at him had Nezu not tightened his grip on her. Ryuto perked up, and gave a small squeak, but didn't make a move.

Tatsuma's fins drooped further when she saw Midoriya, and Nezu quietly walked forward, and placed Reiko and Ryuto down on the bed. Reiko poked Midoriya's cheek gently with her paw a few times, giving a pathetic sounding whine, as Ryuto waddled forward. He nudged Midoriya weakly, before giving a sad sounding trill, before huddling down and tucking himself into the crook of Midoriya's neck. Reiko curled up next to him, and just lay there, unmoving.

Yamada walked into the room behind them quietly.

"How's Aizawa and Thirteen?" Ishiyama asked.

"Shouta's probably going to be up soon. You know how much he hates the hospital." Yamada mumbled. "The second those damned painkillers and the anesthesia wears off, he's going to demand to go back to teaching even if he looks like a mummy. Thirteen, according to the doctor's just now, they're fine. They just needed a couple of doctors with healing quirks to fix them up. Just a couple of days of rest and they'll be as good as new."

"That's good." Nishiya stated, as he settled down in one of the chairs and gazed at Midoriya, "The rest of the kids are fine, right?"

Yamada nodded, "Yep. Some of the students got hypothermia, but that's like, the worst of the injuries besides Midoriya."

"We're lucky, then. Three Nomu and a huge batch of villains ambusing a school filled with teenagers, and only three serious casualties, with only one being a student." Nishiya sighed."This could have been so much worse."

"Just keep quiet, okay? I know you mean well, but it's not the time for this conversation." Tatsuma grumbled. Nishiya just slumped back into his seat, before Tatsuma's phone vibrated, and she quickly dug it out of her pocket.

"Sorry, looks like something's going on. Some of my sidekicks want me back in the office." Tatsuma apologised, as she turned towards the exit to leave, "Kamui, let's go."

"Alright. Hope he gets better soon." Nishiya bowed slightly, before he followed Tatsuma out the door. There was some beeping from Aizawa's room, and Yamada quickly turned around to rush to the other room to check on the other two heroes.

"So… about Midoriya?" Nezu asked, as Shuzenji sighed, with a grave expression on her face. Ishiyama and Ectoplasm looked towards Shuzenji worriedly, as Snipe and Kan brisk-walked into the room.

"I want to wait until Aizawa gets better, since he's getting transfered, but -"

Yamada quickly poked his head into the room, "Shouta just woke up. I think some doctors are gonna come and check on him."

It didn't take long for the doctors to quickly check over Aizawa, as the Erasure hero lay there boredly, grumbling all the while. Meanwhile, Snipe reported, "Er…. All the 1-A and 1-B kids except Shinsou have gone home. Midnight's still with him. We couldn't bring him in here; the nurses didn't let us."

"Alright. Thank you." Nezu replied, "Should we let him in? I think Midnight should here whatever Recovery Girl has to say as well."

"I think so." Yamada sighed, "I bet you he's worried about Midoriya as well."

It took a couple of minutes of Nezu talking with several nurses as doctors rushed in and out of Aizawa's room, but it didn't take too long for the doctors to check up on Aizawa and for Kayama to rush in, dragging a completely drained Shinsou behind her.

The second Shinsou saw Yamada, he ran forward, almost tripping over his own feet in his haste, and latched onto Yamada, wrapping his arms tightly around his adopted father.

"Hey, it's okay, Hitoshi. It's alright now." Yamada wrapped an arm around Shinsou, before using his other to run his fingers through the purple haired boy's hair, "Shou just got up. Ya wanna see him?"

Shinsou nodded, and Yamada slowly pulled him into the room, and Shinsou quietly watched as the doctors finally left, and Aizawa huffed and grumbled, "... Hitoshi?"

"Hey, Dad." Shinsou swallowed, and inched closer, "I'm fine… everyone's fine and has gone home…. But I don't know about Midoriya..."

"How's…Midoriya? I swear… that monster -"

"Ah, yes. Shinsou, Midoriya's in the next room. Can you stay with him for a couple of minutes while we talk?" Nezu spoke up, and Shinsou nodded, quietly exiting the room. Aizawa looked irritated that at that, but Kayama just closed the door after Shinsou had left.

Shuzenji took a deep breath, and sighed, "I'm going to be completely honest with you. His injuries… all of them… they aren't pretty. It's a lot worse than you may think."

Nezu didn't like the tone of Shuzenji's voice. He just looked at Shuzenji, not knowing at all what to say as his heart dropped. He finally found his voice, and tried to control his heart rate, "Alright. What is it?"

"The worst of his injuries consisted of broken ribs, some of which pierced his lungs, severe blood loss, a damaged spine and a cracked neck. He's also suffering from a serious bacterial infection, and his insides are completely messed up, especially his stomach, and lungs; they're a complete wreck. Do you know what I'm talking about?"

Nezu had a sneaking suspicion of what Shuzenji was talking about, but he didn't want to believe it. He refused to believe it, "No. What are you talking about?"

"If a person with injuries like that were treated immediately, even with the most sophisticated medical equipment and the best healing quirks, it would still take nothing short of a miracle to save them. Even then, they would probably be crippled for the rest of their life and would need all sorts of machinery to keep them alive. There is no way Midoriya that should have survived all those injuries for such a long time." Shuzenji gravely stated.

Nezu felt his heart sink to his stomach.

Ishiyama blurted out, "But… you just said Midoriya's alive and that you fixed up the worst of the damage."

"Exactly. His spine was the first to be damaged during the fight, as far as I know, and an injury like that should have killed him immediately. Take a look at this."

Shuzenji pulled out an x-ray, and pointed to it, "This is Midoriya's lower back, where it was damaged. It looks completely fine, but look at it and compare it to that." She pointed to another portion of Midoriya's back. The only difference Nezu could make out were a few black pixels not present where Shuzenji claimed it was damaged.

"Calcification occur when a lot of calcium is deposited, mainly between joints, and these can cause pain and other problems, and depending on the person's body type and quirk, the amount of calcium deposits can differ. What most people don't know is that everyone has a miniscule, almost unnoticeable amount of calcium deposits between the spine vertebrae, mainly being a response to infections, but here, there are no calcium deposits at all. Not even a small speck. It's like it's brand new."

Nezu breath hitched, and Aizawa mumbled, "Regeneration. Zashi and I… saw it... Void..."

"I don't think it's just that. We all know that the injury that he received from Todoroki in the Sports Festival didn't heal, but Endeavor's first attack on him, as Void, did heal. I think his quirk can only heal injuries that would kill him." Shuzenji replied.

"But he received a lot of injuries that could have killed him, and he clearly wasn't healing either. I saw it. He was just lying there in a pool of his own blood... " Nezu was trying his best to stay calm and figure it out, but he was finding it very hard to do so. He was still shaken up by the fact that Midoriya should have died in that very attack on UA.

"I have a theory that his quirk is similar to Yaoyorozu's. The more food she eats, the more items she can make. Since Midoriya is clearly malnourished and doesn't eat a lot, there's a limit to how much he can heal before he runs out of resources to use. After all, he needs to get the nutrients to heal himself from somewhere." Shuzenji dryly stated, "Not only that, his quirk keeps him alive no matter the condition of his body. Any normal person would have died just from the amount of blood that he's lost over such a long period of time, and that was the least of our worries at the moment."

Nezu took a minute to process everything that he had been told, before he tried to give a brief summary of what she had said, "So you think that Izuku's quirk doesn't let him die no matter what, and can only heal injuries that would no doubtedly kill him, and even that has a very low limit."

Shuzenji nodded.

"Well, he has a quirk, and he clearly knew about it before the entrance exam." Kan stated, "That means that he lied."

"Can you blame him for hiding it, though?" Ectoplasm replied, "He'll have no way of proving it unless he really got into a situation where he would lose his life. And imagine that you've been made fun of and mocked your entire life for not having something that you actually have. It would be extremely hard to accept it."

Nezu wanted to resist the urge to throw up, "So… assuming he had a bad experience in trying to prove that he had a quirk… it is possible that he had tried to kill himself before, and failed."

Shuzenji nodded again, before speaking up again, "Yeah. His cracked neck, I believe it was a suicide attempt, given the amount of force required for a break like that isn't something you encounter on a daily basis for no reason. It wasn't a recent injury, and it seems like it's from a few months back, more precisely, a month before the UA entrance exams. Not only that, it is cracked in several places which suggests that it wasn't just one; it was several suicide attempts."

Nezu froze, and his blood ran cold, as he made the connection between Shuzenji's words and what had happened that day,

He had smelt blood. Midoriya's blood.

Midoriya's hoodie wasn't stained with mud; it was blood.

Midoriya had told him he had a quirk, one that was related to life and death.

Midoriya had tried to kill himself, and had gotten the confirmation that he had a quirk that didn't let him die.

Nezu didn't know what to feel. He's dealt with suicide cases before, many, in fact, so while his heart did ache slightly for the loss of a talented individual, other than that, Nezu didn't know any of them personally, and it didn't really mean much to him. It was just a death that could have been prevented if society wasn't so shitty towards the quirkless or the weak, and it harboured his resolve to teach all the students in UA to be caring towards everyone and not discriminate against anyone.

But now, with Midoriya, knowing that he had tried to kill himself left Nezu with a horrible taste in his mouth. He felt like he had completely failed Midoriya; the poor kid felt like his life wasn't even worth keeping, and had a quirk that didn't let him die.

None of the other teachers were better off either. Kayama and Yamada looked like they wanted to throw up, Ectoplasm and Snipe had frozen on the spot, while Ishiyama and Kan just gaped at the school nurse. Even Aizawa's eyes had widened in horror at the revelation.

"To make things worse… I don't think Midoriya knows the details behind his quirk, or at least, didn't know until recently. He just knew he had one, probably when Aizawa reported that he had encountered him, and had spent some time trying to figure it out." Shuzenji mused, "I honestly don't think that he's dumb enough to try and commit suicide if he knew that it wouldn't work."

Nezu's shoulder's slouched, and Ishiyama reached out to pat his shoulder, "It's fine. Recovery Girl already said that he'll get better. Once he does, then we can all help him."

Shinsou carefully pushed open the door.

Reiko immediately lifted her head and bolted up, alert, hissing in his direction until she realised who it was. She relaxed, nudged Midoriya's cheek gently, before meowing sadly and settling back on the bed. Ryuto shifted slightly, before settling down again, as Shinsou made his way closer to the bed.

He eyed Midorirya's unconscious form, before he pulled up and chair so that he could sit beside the bed. He leaned backwards, and closed his eyes, trying to sort out the whirlwind of thoughts that occupied his mind.

If Midoriya was in a room, that meant that he was okay, right? Maybe the damage wasn't as bad as it appeared to be….

But Shinsou still couldn't shake the memory of Midoriya shoving him aside to tank Shigaraki's attack for him, as the smaller green haired boy's back erupted into blood.

"I'm so sorry, Midoriya." Shinsou whispered, as he melted into his chair, physically and mentally drained from what had occurred.

It took some time until Yamada entered the room to bring him home, promising that he could visit whenever he wanted to. Shinsou just staggered up from his chair, trailing behind his adoptive parent. He turned around to take one last look at Midoriya, before he gently closed the door behind him.

Nezu sighed, as he exited the hospital. It was already dark, the sun having set some time ago.

Midoriya's foster parent still hadn't picked up any of their calls, nor did they seem to acknowledge that Midoriya was injured at all.

So Nezu decided to make a house call. After all, he knew where to go, and he still had all of Midoriya's papers with him. Midoriya had already agreed to the change in custody; his foster parents just had to agree to it.

He made his way up to the apartment, and knocked on it gently.

"Who is it?" He heard a familiar voice, before the door opened. Midoriya's foster mother opened to door, looked around, before her gaze trailed downwards, finally taking notice of the principal.

"Oh dear. What did Midoriya do wrong this time? He was supposed to be back ages ago." She sighed.

"Nothing, actually. There was an attack on UA and he's involved in it." Nezu dryly stated, "We called you several times, and even sent a couple emails, but we didn't get any responses so I decided to come here personally."

She just raised her eyebrow, "Seriously? If he's even got the principal of the school pulled into this…. Tell me the truth. Just what exactly did Midoriya do?"

Nezu just frowned, "There was a villain attack. I'm not hiding, and Midoriya's currently in the hospital right now, after he got severely injured."

She still didn't seem convinced, "Okay? Assuming that this is actually true… which it probably isn't, how much are the hospital fees?"

"It will be covered by the school. And you don't really seem to care that he's injured."

"The boy's always getting injured, and they're always his fault." Midoriya's foster mother grumbled in irritation, "He disturbs his classmates, constantly tries to cause trouble, picks fights with other students… I won't be surprised if the villain attack was actually his fault, even though I have no idea what they'll want, with him being quirkless."

"I can assure you that Midoriya has done nothing wrong and this has nothing to do with his quirk." Nezu hissed, starting to get frustrated with every single bad thing that she had said about Midoriya so far.

"Midoriya Izuku will be under my custody from now on." Nezu growled, finally getting pissd off with the woman. Much to his surprise, she merely shrugged, "Okay. Do you have the papers?"

"Aren't you going to let him have a say in this?" Nezu asked.

"He doesn't have a choice."

She didn't care about him, Nezu realised, in this world, no one has ever taken Izuku's side. Simply because he was quirkless, everyone stood against him. It wasn't just his classmates, the entire world had pushed Izuku down, constantly oppressing him. He could only take what everyone threw at him.

Nezu grit his teeth as he pulled the papers and a pen out of his folder, handing it over to her to sign and trying to calm himself before he lost his temper completely. She quickly added her signature to the papers, "Well, once he gets out of the so-called hospital, you can stop by to pick up his things."

Izuku doesn't want to cause any trouble…. Nezu told himself, reminded himself why he wasn't going to outrightly arrest this woman. If Midoriya didn't want any necessary actions to be taken, he wouldn't do it. He wanted to give him a choice, to tell him that his opinion deserves to be heard, that his choice matters.

"Thank you." Nezu carefully placed the papers back in his folder, before he turned to leave.

He won't let Midoriya feel that he's alone anymore.

He won't fail Midoriya again.

Nezu was currently having another problem with Reiko and Ryuto. They absolutely refused to leave Midoriya's side to eat or drink, though if according to Snipe, when any of the other teachers tried to feed them, Ryuto ate readily enough as long as he remained close enough to Midoriya, though he still didn't eat much. But Reiko, she just lay there, barely moving, only getting up occasionally to nudge Midoriya lightly, before settling down again. The most she did was take a small nibble of whatever she was given, before giving up and curling up again, and that was with Ryuto constantly nudging her towards the food. Some of the teachers had tried to just pick her up to bring her out, but they had gotten clawed by the tired stubborn cat.

Nezu barely had time to check on Midoriya in the hospital, only managing to pop in for the last ten minutes of the visiting session given that he had to sort out to profiles of all the students in the school, upgrade the security of the school and fix all the facilities with Maijima, and trying to analyse whatever data they had on the teleporting villain to prevent another attack from happening again, alongside the police force. Not to mention that he had to talk with all the higher-ups about what had really happened, as well as upgrading all the firewalls and securing every single database that they used.

And Nezu finally decided to take a break, and after sitting in Midoriya's room for half an hour, he brought Ryuto and Reiko out for some fresh air. Reiko had protested weakly, but he had somehow managed to get them out of the hospital without too much trouble.

"Come on. You both know that Izuku wouldn't want you to be like this because of him." Nezu chidded them gently, as he sat on the bench in the park, which ironically, was the very same bench that he used to meet Midoriya at.

Reiko shot him a guilty look, before she sluggishly took a nibble of the canned tuna that Nezu had also brought along with him. Nezu gently ran his paws through her fur as the small feline sluggishly consumed her food. Ryuto let out a small chirp, and huddled against Reiko, bumping his head against hers gently.

"He'll be fine. Don't worry about it. He'll wake up soon."

Nezu wasn't even sure if that statement was direction to Reiko and Ryuto, or himself.

He really hoped that Midoriya would be fine.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Shinsou nearly dropped the card; his hand was just shaking so much.

Who sent the damned thing? Kirishima was way too nice to do something like this, and it was nowhere near his handwriting anyways. Who would tell Midoriya to go kill himself? Why would anyone do something like that?

"Shinsou, are you okay?" Yaoyorozu asked, and Shinsou shakily nodded. Bakugou glanced at the newspaper article on the ground.

"What the fuck?!"

He turned towards Shinsou, and snatched the card out of his grasp.

"Bakugou, stop looking at other people's letters! It's very disrespectful!" Iida yelled, but Bakugou just snapped, "Shut up, Four-eyes. Whichever fucking asshole sent this doesn't deserve any fucking respect!"

Uraraka had picked Ryuto off the ground as Aizawa slowly made his way to Bakugou's desk.

"Bakugou, stop swearing. Give me that."

Bakugou angrily handed the card to Aizawa, while Shinsou picked the newspaper article up and passed it to the teacher.

Koda was holding onto Reiko, and while she had stopped struggling, she was hissing at the remaining letters on Kirishima's desk.

Aizawa quickly skimmed through both items, before he turned to Kirishima, "Which one is yours? And who gave you those letters?"

"This one," Kirishima picked out an envelope with his name written on it, in his usual handwriting, "I told you, some other kids and a few neighbours."

"How well do you know them?" Aizawa asked.

"My neighbours? Pretty well. But the other kids, I just happened to meet them on the way to school. They saw my uniform and asked me to pass them along."

"Yaoyorozu, pass me the remainder of the letters in another stack. They're going through Nezu before they go anywhere near Midoriya." Aizawa ordered, before he pocketed the card and the newspaper article. He gestured towards the shreds of the envelope that Reiko had torn up, and Shinsou picked them up and handed them to him.

"Wait, what happened?" Kirishima asked, completely confused, "What was on the card? It can't be that bad, right?"

"Not bad, my ass! That fucker told Midoriya to go kill himself!"

Bakugou was surprisingly mad over the entire matter. Shinsou was still trying to process what he had read.

The entire class was stunned into silence, before a chorus of "What!?", "Who would do something like that?!" and "Eh!?" rang out.

"Quiet down. All of you go back to your seats." Aizawa ordered, his quirk flaring, making everyone shut up almost immediately. "Bakugou, this is sensitive information. Don't go yelling it around. I don't want to hear a peep about this from any of your outside this classroom. I don't want anyone else hearing about this. I will bring this matter to the teachers and Nezu, and we'll deal with it."

"I…. Sensei… I'm sorry…" Kirishima looked downwards, "I.. I didn't know… they would give me something like that to pass to Midoriya… It's so unmanly…"

"This isn't your fault, Kirishima. It's the fault of whoever gave it to you." Aizawa sighed, "I'll tell you guys how we'll deal with it later. Reiko, can you calm down first?"

Reiko let out an irritated sounding meow, but she did stop hissing and just lay there in Koda's arms, glaring at Kirishima. Koda carefully put Reiko down, before she made her way to Uraraka's desk. She pawed at Uraraka's leg, and Uraraka gently placed Ryuto on the ground next to her.

Reiko nuzzled Ryuto, before she curled up around the bird, settling down on the ground.

Yaoyorozu finished collecting all the cards and placed them on Aizawa's desk, keeping the unnamed letters and the small pile of cards that Kirishima had obtained in a separate stack.

"Anyways, moving on to what we were supposed to do today." Aizawa continued, "All the first years are required to have at least one counselling session with Hound Dog, especially the students who were fighting in the front lines. You're still children; what happened on that day shouldn't have happened."

"We're fine!" Bakugou snapped, "We don't need stupid counselling. We're going to fight villains sooner or later as heroes anyway."

"Fighting is one thing. Did you see Midoriya?" Aizawa merely stated, and Bakugou froze at the mention of Midoriya's name.

"Exactly, my point." Aizawa sighed, "It's something that none of you were ready to see. Even the best pro heroes would need therapy and counselling after something like that. Anyways, some of you may end up having sessions during lunches or homeroom lessons. You guys can also book your own therapy and counselling sessions with Hound Dog outside of school hours, if you wish. Now, I believe you have Modern Hero Art History right now with Midnight, and she wants you to go the library. If you want to talk more, you can come and find me after lessons."

Aizawa sank into his chair as he watched his students leave the room, their shoulders tense, and rested his head against the table. His phone had vibrated during the lesson, indicating that he had a message, and he slowly fished his phone out of his pocket. He quickly read the message about Midoriya and Yagi, and sighed in relief.

At the very least, Midoriya had woken up. He was okay, for now.

He pulled out the malicious card, the newspaper article and the torn envelope as Reiko slowly walked up to the teachers table, Ryuto trailing behind her, and rested by Aizawa's sleeping bag. She heard footsteps, and she perked up, curling around Ryuto protectively as she glanced at the doorway. Aizawa looked up in curiosity, as Nezu appeared by the doorway and walked in.

"Hello, Aizawa…" Nezu glanced at the torn envelope in Aizawa's hand, "Your students were… upset... What happened?"

"See for yourself, Principal." Aizawa mutely handed the letter and the article to Nezu, and the principal skimmed through them both. He narrowed his eyes, and growled, "Who sent this?"

"No idea. A student from another school asked Kirishima to pass it Midoriya." Aizawa grumbled, "Kirishima mentioned that his neighbours also asked him to pass on a few cards. I separated the letters from the students from those that came from an unknown source or his neighbours. It may be an invasion of privacy, but I think we should go through all of them to make sure that Midoriya doesn't any malicious letters."

"Who opened this one?" Nezu asked, and Aizawa nodded at Reiko, and just growled and hissed.

"Ah." Nezu stuffed the letter in his pocket, and walked over to Reiko. He reached down, picking both Ryuto and Reiko up, and grabbed the second stack of letters off Aizawa's desk.

"I'll deal with this. Thank you for bringing this to my attention."

Nezu walked back to his office, remaining quiet along the way.

Who would be so cruel as to send something to Izuku?

What did he do to deserve this?

Nezu dumped the letters on his desk, keeping a tight hold on her in case she decided to shred any more letters. He placed Ryuto on his table, and the bird sat down obediently, before pecking at one of the pens on Nezu's table.

"Reiko, what tipped you off about that card? How did you know it was… about this?" Nezu asked.

Reiko hissed.

"Smell. Familiar smell. Bad person. Hits Izuku. Always hurts Izu. Always told him to die."

"Who is this… person? A foster sibling, an old classmate?"

"Some school person. Don't know name. Doesn't matter if they live with him or they're from school. They're all the same."

Nezu bit the bottom of his lip, "What do you mean by "They're all the same"?"

Reiko let out an enraged yowl.

"They call him useless, they tell him to die, they only hurt him! Says he has no powers and he's lower than them, less than human. They take his things, they get him in trouble. Teachers know, they don't care. They never care! Nobody else cares about Izu."

Nezu blanched.

It wasn't just a select few that hated Midoriya and tried to make his life a living hell.

It was everyone.

Everyone discriminated against him for being quirkless. Everyone threw him aside and discarded him, treated him like trash, simply because he didn't have a super power.

It was sickening.

"Reiko, do you know anything about Izuku's parents? Not the woman that he used to live with, his real parents?" Nezu desperately asked. There had to be at least someone in his life who saw Midoriya for who he really was and loved and cared for him.

"Don't know. He was with the bad woman when he found us and she hurt him. She only hurts him."

Nezu sank back in his chair, his ears drooping.

Why were people so cruel to the poor kid?

Reiko leapt out of his grasp, landing on the table, and started sniffing each envelope, pushing some of the cards to the left and to the right. Nezu watched on wearily, and sighed, rubbing his head.

Nezu blinked, before he bent down to dig Midoriya's english essay out of his drawer. He flipped through its pages, reading every single word that Midoriya had written, with the context that Reiko had given him.

People hurt others to feel happy.

Everyone had hurt Midoriya because it made them feel better about themselves. They hurt an innocent child simply because he didn't have a quirk.

Every death, every kill, they will lose a piece of themselves, until there is nothing left of them to save.

There's so many people on this planet. So many people with problems worse than yours. Why should people waste their time on you?

They shouldn't.

Humans are like glass.

You can hurt them, break them, make them crack.

But once they shatter, no matter how hard you try, they're beyond repair.

Even if you find every single glass fragment, and put all the pieces back together in the right place, all the weak points are still there. Weaknesses that can be exploited by others for their personal gain, weaknesses that still hurt no matter what.

An injury that cannot be truly healed.

Emotions are a liability.

Midoriya wasn't just referring to every other murderer and villain out there. He was referring to himself. Every suicide he attempted, he broke himself more and more. He didn't think that he was worth saving, considered himself a lost cause, and had long given up trying to ask for help.

Emotions are worthless.

No one cares.

Happiness makes one blind to what's going on around them by making them complacent, and it allows them to fall into obvious traps right in front of them.

Positive emotions are just a drug, something that people get addicted to. And when that feeling is gone, they crave it, wanting it more and more, until they snap, and give in to that urge.

They will do anything to feel that way again.

Combine them together, and all you have coming for you is the imminent pain and horror, that you made such a mistake, that the people you once thought to be friends are the ones causing the pain, that in reality, no one cares about you.

Then, they'll flock around, playing nice, pretending to be your friend until they get what they want, before they dig into your carcass like vultures.

All you can do is wait for the eventual betrayal, but is it betrayal if you both agree on it, if you both agree that one person does not deserve anything, not friendship, not companionship, not anything at all?

They had played with Midoriya's emotions, very literally pretending to befriend him, making him happy, making him fall into the trap that they had created. Then they stabbed him in the back, hurt him, broke his heart over and over again, until finally, it completely shattered. And Midoriya, desperately wanting to be accepted as a person, had naively tried time and time again to make friends.

And time and time again, they broke him, more and more.

Until even Midoriya gave up on trying to be accepted. He believed everything that everyone else had said, that he was useless, that he didn't deserve anything at all, or maybe he had believed that all along, and his interactions with his classmates and foster family only reinforced it.

This was messed up. And Nezu wasn't sure how to help Midoriya at all. He was emotionally stunted; he didn't want to show his emotions because he considers it a weakness. A weakness that would just allow people to hurt him again, over and over.

His entire life, the poor child had been neglected, ignored, bullied, suicide-baited. He had been lied to, time and time again, until he was no longer able to trust anyone, heroes or civilians alike.

Midoriya was afraid of being hurt again. So he locked his emotions away, and put up a facade to make it appear that nothing could hurt him anymore.

But he was still hurting horribly inside.

Reiko gave a loud meow, catching Nezu's attention.

"The stack on the left are the okay ones. The ones on the right smell wrong."

"Alright, thanks Reiko. I'll check through all of them just in case." Nezu nodded, and fished Midoriya's collar out of the drawer on his desk, placing it in his pocket. He grabbed a stack of paperwork off his table, before snatching up the oversized fluffy jacket that Yamada had gotten him a few years ago for April Fools.

"Come on, let's go back to the infirmary."

Midoriya had fallen asleep by the time Nezu had gotten back to the infirmary, curled up in a small, tight ball. It wasn't surprising; Midoriya was still recovering from injuries that should have killed him.

Nezu placed his papers on the table, and scooped Reiko and Ryuto up, making his way towards the bed.

Midoriya blearily opened an eye when Nezu got close, and Nezu placed both animals on the bed. Ryuto immediately leapt forward and nuzzled Midoriya, and Reiko pawed over and licked him on the cheek. Midoriya let out a small squeak, uncurling himself slightly. He wrapped his arms around Reiko and Ryuto, before he looked up at Nezu tiredly.

Nezu gave him a small smile, and took the collar out of his pocket. Midoriya's eyes widened slightly, and Nezu passed the collar over to him.

Midoriya slowly reached out to take it, and sat upright, attempting to put it on.

Except that he couldn't.

No matter how much he tried, Midoriya just could not undo the buckle on his collar. His fingers were trembling, and his hands were shaking so much that he was having problems just holding it.

Nezu could tell that Midoriya was starting to get frustrated, as the kid bit his lip as he tried, again and again, to no avail. Nezu wasn't sure if it was because of his nerves, or his injuries, but he still climbed up onto the bed and reached his paw out, "Here, I'll help you."

Midoriya stopped fiddling with his collar, and turned to look at Nezu, a blank expression of confusion sitting on his face. He stared at Nezu, until Reiko gave a purr and nudged him. Midoriya hesitantly handed the collar back to Nezu, and he quickly undid the collar.

Nezu passed the collar back to Midoriya, and with a quiet, hoarse sounding, "Thank you," the boy slipped around his neck. Midoriya managed to shakily slip the strap back through the buckle, but was unable to fasten it properly; his hands were still trembling too much. He finally managed to fasten it, after a couple long minutes of struggling, and exhaled slowly.

Nezu noted that Midoriya was definitely much calmer than before, and gave a small smile as Midoriya sluggishly lay back down, curling up around Reiko and Ryuto protectively as he did so. His eyelids slowly slid shut, and Nezu hopped off the bed, grabbing the jacket and draping it over Midoriya's sleeping body, before he picked up his paperwork and proceeded to finish it up in the infirmary.

Kayama wanted everyone to look up some old art pieces about heroes from books in the library, and Shinsou happened to be stuck in the same aisle as Iida, Uraraka,Todoroki, Kirishima, and unfortunately, Bakugou.

Uraraka turned to Bakugou, "Are you okay? I honestly didn't think you'd get so riled up over this matter."

"Midoriya is capable enough without a quirk. Midoriya beat me at the Sports Festival." Bakugou snarled, "Midoriya beat all of us. Telling him to kill himself for being quirkless is like telling all of us to kill ourselves for being weaker than him."

Bakugou stalked away from them, and Kirishima moved to follow him.

Shinsou stared at Bakugou's back as he walked away.

"I wasn't expecting that from Bakugou." Uraraka admitted, "I thought he hated Midoriya."

"He doesn't hate him. Bakugou is strong and he knows it. Bakugou knows that Midoriya's strong as well. Being beaten at his best by Midoriya, who is quirkless… Bakugou respects him for it. He wants to beat him fair and square." Todoroki said.

"You think we can visit him if we ask Recovery Girl directly?" Shinsou asked.

"Probably, as long as we promise to be quiet." Iida replied. "I hope we can see him."

Chapter Text

The lessons passed relatively quickly. Modern Hero Art History, English, Mathematics.

Shinsou was seriously just waiting for the lunch bell to ring so that he could grab a quick bite before going to the infirmary; his parents would kill him if they found out that he had skipped a meal, and the fact that they worked at the school he attended didn't help.

It wasn't like he needed to listen in class anyways. Kayama had given them some homework, Kaminari and Ashido were struggling with their grammar, and he was really good at permutations and combinations, which was the topic that Ectoplasm was covering. Once they had been released, Shinsou, Koda, Iida and Uraraka had made a beeline for the cafeteria, aiming to eat as fast as possible, before heading to the infirmary.

What they weren't expecting, though, was for another group consisting of Shoji, Kaminari, Kirishima, Jiro and Yaoyorozu following them.

"I guess everyone is worried about Midoriya, huh?" Uraraka gave a small laugh, scratching the back of her head.

"No surprise there." Yaoyorozu sighed, "He jumped into the fight protect everyone, to protect us…"

They finally reached the infirmary, and Kirishima knocked on the door gently. Shuzenji opened the door, and sighed, "I figured you'd be here even though I specifically told all the teachers to tell you guys not to visit. Midoriya woke up earlier today, but he fell asleep again. As long as you're quiet, and don't touch anything, you're welcome to visit."

Iida bowed slightly, "Thank you."

Shizenji nodded, "Nezu's inside as well; you should be on your best behaviour. Also, be careful. If you shock him, Midoriya might attack you? He doesn't come to the infirmary as frequently as you hero course kids, he's a bit jumpy in a foregin environment."

Shinsou replied, "Yeah, we understand."

Shuzenji pushed the door open wider, and the group of students carefully walked into the infirmary. To their confusion, the blanket had been hastily shoved into a cupboard, and Midoriya was curled up on the bed under a fluffy jacket. Why he wasn't using the blanket when there clearly was a clean one available, nobody knew.

Nezu was reading over some paperwork, and he raised his head when he saw the students enter, nodding in acknowledgement.

Shoji was roughly a couple arms length from Midoriya, and he took a step closer to avoid bumping into a cupboard.

Midoriya's eyes shot open, and he let out a strangled yelp as he tried to push himself up. He faltered, and Shinsou saw a miniscule wince on the boy's face as his arm gave way slightly. Yaoyorozu and Jiro gave a small yelp in surprise and took a step back as Shoji flinched at the boy's sudden movement.

Midoriya's emerald green eyes were clouded with pain and confusion, and he glanced around, eyeing each student warily, almost like he was trying to figure out who they were. He finally seemed to figure out what was going on, and he relaxed slightly, before lowering himself back down on the bed gently.

Shinsou could see his arms shaking visibly with the effort, and guilt pooled in his stomach.

He had been injured much more because of him. If he had more stamina… if he had noticed Shigaraki targeting him….

He pushed the thoughts away. It wasn't the time for him to be wallowing in self pity.

Midoriya curled back up around Ryuto and Reiko, and the cat nuzzled Midoriya in an attempt to calm him down.

"Hey, Midoriya, how you doing?" Shinsou asked.

Midoriya reached out a bandaged hand in an attempt to sign, but his hand and fingers were trembling too much for Shinsou or Koda to make out what he was trying to sign.

"You're still recovering, right?" Uraraka waved her hands at Midoriya, "You don't have to reply if you can't. Just rest first, okay?"

Midoriya glanced at her, and reluctantly nodded.

"Well… you won the Sports Festival, didn't you, Midoriya." Yaoyorozu started, "You'll probably be transferred into the hero course next year… are you excited for it? I think it's really amazing that you managed to get so far without a quirk."

Midoriya glanced at her briefly, before he turned his gaze away from her and curled up even tighter, pulling the jacket over his body. Yaoyorozu didn't really bring it up, but Midoriya was completely covered in bandages from the neck down. She felt a shiver down her spine, and clenched her fists.

She was in the hero course, dammit, and a recommended student to boot. And yet, the quirkless General Education student without any proper training was the one that suffered the brunt of the physical and psychological damage and trauma.

"Well, he's going to have to catch up with the lessons, right, if he's going to transfer?" Jiro asked.

"No, not really. The only difference between the Hero and General Education courses are the Foundational Hero Studies and access to the different facilities." Yaoyorozu stated, "He might have to catch up on those lessons, and maybe a bit of Modern Hero Art History with Midnight sensei, but that should be it. How are you doing in lessons?"

Midoriya blankly glanced at her again, before he gave her a small shrug even though he was curled up in a ball.

"Well… I guess he's doing okay?" Yaoyorozu sighed, "I suppose you wouldn't have any problems keeping up. If you do need help, feel free to ask us. We can help you."

They stood there awkwardly, not sure what to do next.

"Ahh… you guys should be heading back to class right now, shouldn't you? The bell would ring soon. I don't think Aizawa would tolerate you being late, even though he's all wrapped in bandages. He always was a stubborn one." Nezu stated, breaking the silence, not even looking up from his paperwork.

"My apologies, sir!" Iida saluted, before he started ushering everyone out of the room, "We shall head back right now! Midoriya, take care of yourself, okay?"

Todoroki turned to leave, before the stopped. He took and deep breath, and bowed, "Thank you…. For saving Iida and I in Hosu. I don't think we would have come out unscathed if you didn't do so… and I apologise for what Endeavor did in the beginning of your fight with Stain. I… I tried to tell him that you were on our side and -"

"That wasn't your fault." Iida insisted, "You couldn't control what Endeavor did. But I also have to thank you for saving us back there, Midoriya. And for… what happened in UA…"

Midoriya weakly shook his head. He did not want to remember being bashed into the ground over and over again, his broken bones piercing random organs left and right. Bleeding out from all over the place was a much worse experience from what he had thought, and he wasn't eager to recall what had happened.

Ryuto bumped his head against Midoriya's, and Reiko licked Midoriya's cheek, before letting out a meow. Koda quickly signed, Reiko says not to talk about it, and Shinsou translated it for the rest of the group.

"Get well soon, Midoriya!" Uraraka waved, as she left the room.

Yaoyorozu stood outside, waiting for Iida and Todoroki to exit and close the door, before she hissed, "Midoriya fought Stain!?"

Midoriya sat up on the bed. Shuzenji had updated him on his condition and had healed him up again, and while her quirk supposedly was supposed to drain his energy, Midoriya had been sleeping far too long and was used to operating under minimal energy for him to actually feel tired again.

He was sick and tired of just sitting around and doing nothing, even though his veins still felt like they were on fire and his head spun whenever he made any violent movements.

He didn't care, though. If he didn't do anything, then he was as good as useless.

If he were useless, then he should just go and die.

Nezu had left the infirmary for some sort of staff meeting, which probably meant that he wouldn't be back for another hour, at the very least.

Midoriya swung his legs off the bed, and tried to push down his nausea from his sudden movement.

Reiko leapt onto his hand and latched onto it, whining, but Midoriya just shot her a tired look. Reiko stared back at him sadly, and Midoriya slowly reached out to pet her, before he pushed himself off the bed.

Pain flared through his entire body, and Midoriya bit his lip, trying to steady himself as he swayed unsteady on his feet. His head was spinning, but he just squeezed his eyes shut and willed it away. The pain eventually subsided, and Midoriya took another step, then another.

Shuzenji was right. His injuries were pretty much healed at his point, and it was his torso and upper body that had taken the brunt of the damage. He just needed to get used to moving about and walking, though she did mention that he should get some sort of supervision when he did so.

"Stay … here, Reiko. Take care… of Ryuto…" Midoriya croaked out, before slowly made his way out of the infirmary. Walking was gradually getting easier, although he was still aching all over the place.

Maybe I should go to the classroom and find my bag… Ectoplasm Sensei did give us some math homework… and Nezu did give me some extra exercises…

Midoriya walked through the hallways slowly, before he turned a corner, almost walking right into Yaoyorozu. Jiro, Iida, and Shinsou turned as she stopped, before they gaped at Midoriya.

"What are you doing here!?" Jiro gasped, "You should be resting… how… Aizawa sensei said it should be a few more days before you should be able to move around…"

Midoriya blearily looked at her, confused, before he raised his hands in a failed attempt to sign.

"No, stop. You may be able to walk, but more precise actions like that will definitely be harder for you, especially while you're still recovering." Yaoyorozu reached out to grab his hands in an attempt to stop him.

She didn't expect Midoriya to flinch so harshly, recoiling violently at the slightest touch, and he fell back onto the floor. Midoriya gave a small wince as he hit the ground, and he hunched over, coughing.

Jiro quickly bent down to try and help him up, but Iida managed to pull her back in time before she startled him even more.

Midoriya's coughing fit finally wore off, and the boy desperately tried to get up. He placed his hand against the wall, and tried to push himself up. Shinsou carefully made his way over to Midoriya, and crouched down, offering his hand, but Midoriya just ignored him.

Shinsou took a step back as Midoriya staggered to his feet, leaning against the wall, but he could clearly see the green haired boy straining himself. His entire body was trembling from the effort, and Shinsou could see the wince of pain and weariness written on the boy's face.

He never showed any emotions whatsoever, Shinsou realised, but he does express pain and exhaustion, though he does his best to hide it.

This wasn't anything surprising to him. Shinsou had personally experienced that want, that need to hide his true feelings from everyone, to put up a facade and wear a mask to try and pretend that everything was fine.

Because if you appeared to be affected by what everyone did to you, they would just hurt you more.

It had taken Aizawa and Yamada over a year to gradually break through his shell, and even then, there were times where Shinsou wanted to throw the mask on and stop being a burden to the two heroes who not only had two jobs, but also had to take care of an abused child.

Given the letters from past classmates that he would have received had Reiko not sniffed them out… It was no surprise that Midoriya was wary, hell, probably terrified about trusting other people. Midoriya had no one to fall back on. If all everyone did was hurt him… no doubt Midoriya would try to put up a front to protect himself, except that the line between the mask that he put up and the real Midoriya was blurry, almost indistinguishable.

Midoriya staggered forwards, using the wall as support. Shinsou tried to stop him, but Midoriya weakly pushed his arm away. Yaoyorozu and Jiro moved aside to let him pass, worry written across their features.

Shinsou turned back to face him, "Where are you going? Are you going to get something? Can we help you?"

Midoriya merely ignored his question, and slowly walked towards the classrooms. He paused, bursting into another coughing fit, before he continued on his way.

Yaoyorozu worriedly gazed at Midoriya's back, "I can see why he wouldn't trust Jiro and I ... but why not you two? I thought that you guys hung around him a lot during lunches and even during the Sports Festival."

"I wouldn't be surprised that he hasn't warmed up to you." Jiro mumbled, "If those letters he was supposed to get were any indication… I wouldn't want to trust my peers either if they told me to kill myself."

Iida could only gaze at him helplessly, before he sighed, "We can't help him unless he lets us. All we can do at the moment is to let him know that we're willing to help, and just wait."

Chapter Text

Maijima sighed as he made his way back to the support course classrooms. He wanted to tweak the security systems again, and the remainder of the staff meeting didn't concern him, so he had been given permission to leave early.

He just happened to pass by the 1-C classroom, when he heard the sound of papers being shuffled.

That's weird, he thought. If it were in 1-A or 1-B, he would understand; they were given a group assignment for their heroics lessons, and some had requested to stay back in order to get it going, but there was no reason for a general education student to still be in school.

Maijima carefully took a peek into the classroom, and much to his surprise, he found Midoriya rummaging through his papers that were sitting in the compartment under his desk. He had no idea what the boy was looking for, but given where he was looking, it was most likely his homework.

Goddammit, kid. Just relax for once.

Maijima knew that he wouldn't be able to get close to the exhausted child without making matters worse. He had already heard how vicious the boy was with Yagi, and he really didn't want to do anything that may spook or harm the boy further.

He quickly walked away, and whipped out his phone to text Nezu. The mouse bear thing would know how to deal with the problem child. For now, all the rest of the teachers could do was wait and hope for the best.

Shinsou yawned, and stretched, as the four passed by the infirmary. Yaoyorozu figured that while they wouldn't be able to wrangle the boy back to the infirmary, but another authoritative figure, such as Shuzenji or Nezu, might. But they weren't going to go out of their way to inform someone and snitch, no, that would just break all the trust that Midoriya may have put in them.

But if they just happened to meet Nezu or Shuzenji and they asked…. well, it wouldn't hurt to tell them. Nezu was the principal and Shuzenji was the nurse.

Speak of the devil... and they shall appear.

Shuzenji had almost barrelled into Jiro and Yaoyorozu as she exited the infirmary, mumbling, "Where on earth is he?!"

"Uh… are you talking about Midoriya?" Yaoyorozu stammered, "We saw him going by the hallway, but we're not sure what he wants. I accidentally startled him and he fell down, but he managed to get back up and continued on his way. He didn't want us to help him."

Reiko padded out of the infirmary, looking around before she faced Shinsou. She purred and rubbed her head against Shinsou's pant leg. The lilac haired boy squatted down and scratched Reiko under her chin, "Don't worry about him. He's strong, right?"

"He shouldn't even be able to move around, let alone leave the room, especially with all those painkillers." Shuzenji grumbled, "He's too stubborn for his own good. Aizawa really was right in calling him a problem child."

She looked up at the group of students, and sighed, "Go home first. I'll deal with Midoriya. Normally, I would be mad that you never helped him, but seeing how he is right now… It was a good call. At the moment… you won't be able to help him."

"Recovery Girl… What happened to him? I… I honestly have never seen anyone act like he does… I'm kinda worried… and I don't know enough about things like this to help him..." Yaoyorozu faltered.

Shuzenji bit her lip for a second, before she replied, "You should go talk to Hound Dog about this matter. I don't know enough about psychology in order to advise you on what to do. All I can say is to be patient with him; Midoriya's been through a lot, I honestly don't know the full extent of it."

Iida and Jiro silently nodded, not knowing what else to say.

"Anyways, Aizawa must have told you already, but you should go see Hound Dog regarding the… other incident." Shuzenji continued, "Your mental health is just as important as your physical health."

"Cementoss, you can oversee the building of the student dorms right?" Nezu asked, and the hero nodded, "Power Loader is already trying to up the security systems. Mic, we're pushing the sign language lessons up."

"Ya sure? Some of them can't even speak English, or even understand it properly." Yamada asked, "We're not doing this because of Midoriya, right?"

"This has nothing to do with Izuku." Nezu replied, "Most of the students are going to be working in Japan anyways. It's more important for them to be able to understand sign language than English, especially for hero work."

Kayama piped up, "Yeah, you have no idea how grateful I am to have learned sign language when dealing with deaf and mute victims, or when villains try to communicate with each other using it."

Yamada slowly nodded, before making a quick note on his phone to change the schedule.

"Hound Dog… have you had any appointments with anyone yet?" Nezu asked.

"Hmm… I've talked with Monoma and Shiozaki from 1-B, as well as Ojiro just now." Inui replied, "I'm going to be talking with Monoma again next week, but I think they're all doing okay. Uraraka, Kendo, Iida, Kamakiri, and Shinsou have their sessions tomorrow."

"Alright… that's good…" Nezu hummed, as he tried to think if there was anything that he had missed, when his phone vibrated. Nezu quickly grabbed his phone to check who was messaging him, and groaned.

"What is it?" Aizawa frowned. He was currently seated on one of the couches in the meeting room, instead of at the table, but that was the only way anyone would let him attend the meeting.

"Izuku's in his classroom for some reason." Nezu replied, "He's probably looking for his homework. I think we've covered everything. If there's anything else that needs to be dealt with, I'll email you." Nezu stood up, "I'm going to try and get Izuku back to the infirmary and finish up the rest of the paperwork."

"Wait… I thought Recovery Girl used her quirk on him." Kayama pointed out, "Shouldn't she have noticed that he had gone out?"

She didn't get a reply from the worried principal.

"I'll come with you. I think my quirk will come in handy. Ectoplasm, you too." Kayama stated, standing up to follow Nezu out of the room.

Midoriya frowned as he finished looking through the papers in his desk. He didn't have that many papers, but none of them were the maths homework that Ectoplasm had given out.

Midoriya carefully stumbled out of the classroom. His head was starting to pound, and his legs were shaking under his exertion. He stopped and pressed his hand against the wall as he coughed, his arms trembling as he did so. He used his free hand in an attempt to cover his mouth, and he stood there.

He could feel pain flaring up in his chest as he continued coughing, and he slumped against the wall, trying to stabilize himself. His coughing fit finally died down, and Midoriya leaned against the wall.

He took a deep breath, before taking the next step forward.

He heard footsteps, and he immediately looked upwards, trying to find the source of the noise, but the sudden movement caused his head to throb.

Midoriya could blearily make out a short person with what looked like a pink helmet and a white coat walking towards him.

"Midoriya? Midoriya, are you okay?" The figure asked, and sped up their pace.

Midoriya wasn't sure who this person was, but it sounded like a woman. It was familiar, but he couldn't really place it.

He instinctively took a step back.

You can't trust anyone. They just want to hurt you. She just wants to hurt you.

Midoriya bared his teeth, growling, and the figure stopped, "Calm down, it's just me, Recovery Girl."

Suddenly, Midoriya felt a wave of pain flood through his entire system, and he bit his lip, waiting for the wave of pain and nausea to pass. He could hear the figure walking closer, but he no longer had the strength to do anything else to try and chase them away,

Midoriya felt another coughing fit come up, and he desperately tried his best to hold it in, only for him to hunch over in agony as his body acted on reflex. His throat was burning, and he could distinctly hear more footsteps behind him.

There were three people; he could tell that much from the footsteps. One sounded like they were running in heels, another sounded like they were walking with peg legs. The last one seemed to be shorter than the other two, and it sounded like they were wearing shoes that were way too big for them.

Midoriya whirled around, trying to figure out what was going on, but it was much too fast for his weakened body to handle, and he lost his balance, falling harshly to the floor.

"Izuku, are you okay?"

Midoriya would have perked up at the voice, except that his head was pounding and he currently felt like throwing up despite having not eaten anything. He wrapped his arms around himself, almost as if he were cold, to try and stem his nausea, and Nezu couldn't do anything but crouch down and gently pull the boy in for a hug.

"Calm down, Izuku. No one's going to hurt you anymore."

He motioned for Shuzenji, Ectoplasm, and Kayama to stand back, and he waited, standing there patiently, until Midoriya finally relaxed, lifting his head ever so slightly, eyeing the principal with those dull, emerald eyes.

"Alright, feeling better, Izuku?" Nezu asked, getting a small nod in reply, "Do you think you have enough energy to make it back to the infirmary?"

Midoriya nodded again, and carefully, using the wall as support, pushed himself up. He leaned against the wall, taking deep, heavy breaths, waiting for his vision to clear before taking the next step.

"Come on, let's go."

Nezu looked towards Shuzenji, Ectoplasm, and Kayama, before putting a paw to his face, signaling them to be quiet. He didn't want them to spook Midoriya even further, and the only being that Midoriya trusted was the one that had absolutely no means of carrying him.

They made the slow, tedious trek back to the infirmary, and Ectoplasm couldn't help but wonder why the boy was so determined to come to get his homework when it had been very clear that he shouldn't even be able to get up without any help.

Why was he pushing himself so far? Why didn't he ask for help? Doesn't he know that he can rely on others as well?

Chapter Text

Shuzenji really wanted to scold Midoriya for leaving the room without anyone's permission, but she really couldn't find it in her heart to do so. The boy looked completely worn out, and his gaze was so blank and empty that Shuzenji could only wonder what had happened to him to reduce him to such a state.

He had literally passed out out of exhaustion when he had gotten back to the infirmary, and she actually had to check on him to make sure he was okay. His face was pale, and even as he slept, he was trembling like a leaf in a hurricane.

Reiko and Ryuto were pressed up against his neck, and she draped the oversized jacket over Midoriya's small body. The fact that he didn't even stir even as she did so was evidence of how tired he was.

She really wanted to help him, but while she could do so physically, she didn't know how to do so psychologically.

Midoriya didn't trust anyone, and he only believed that people would hurt him. It wasn't because he was a violent kid that he attacked Yagi; he was afraid that Yagi would hurt him.

The poor child believed that he was worthless. He was willing to throw his life away for his classmates, willing to push himself beyond his limits, even if it meant breaking himself in the process.

Midoriya was also a vigilante, and that was another whole can of worms that Shuzenji didn't want to open now. She could see some scars that were stitched together rather badly, and she had specifically checked if Midoriya had gotten any check-ups for any of them before.

His last check up was when he was ten, for a head injury after "falling" off the school building.

That was utter bullcrap. No one could just fall off the roof of a school; Midoriya was either pushed off, or he had tried to kill himself.

Given that he had to be admitted to the hospital that one time, his trauma induced quirk must have activated after the incident. Trauma induced quirks weren't rare, but they weren't exactly common either. And usually, the quirk that manifested was usually something that the person would have gotten if they had developed a quirk normally; it was usually a mixture of their parents' quirks.

But Midoriya's quirk was nothing like his mother's weak telekinesis quirk or his father's fire breathing quirk; his ability of not being able to die and being able to somewhat recover from fatal injuries just seemed to come out of nowhere.

Shuzenji just hoped that she and the other teachers could eventually gain Midoriya's trust. That was the only way that they could help him.

"This isn't going to work."

Yamada turned around to face Aizawa.

"We can't keep relying on Nezu to help Midoriya whenever he's being stubborn and pushing himself too far. We're his teachers; we need him to be able to trust us if we want any chance of helping him." Aizawa lamented.

"Yeah, especially for you, right?" Snipe sighed, "You're to be his new homeroom teacher. I would give you tips on handling him if I could... but I'm as lost as you are when it comes to helping him."

"I'm also stumped as to how to help Midoriya." Inui admitted, "I have never seen a case as bad as his. There are also cases that are better than his that didn't...turn out well. As much as I hate to say it-"

"Midoriya's not a lost cause." Aizawa interrupted, "The fact that he's willing to talk to Nezu shows that he still has a chance of healing and getting better."

"I wasn't going to say that." Inui growled, "I don't think I can help him. His condition is beyond what I am capable of handling, but if Midoriya isn't even willing to trust us, his teachers, or his schoolmates, it's going to be even harder for him to trust an outside psychiatrist."

"Mental scars like this takes a lot of time to heal." Aizawa sighed, "Midoriya just has especially deep scars that were left to fester. Take suicide baiting and -"

"Wait, suicide baiting? Who would do that to him?!" Inui growled.

"You guys remember that Nezu told you to dump those letters in his office, right?" Aizawa asked, and the rest of the teachers nodded apprehensively, "Well, apparently, Reiko sniffed out a couple of letters, telling Midoriya to… kill himself….. They're probably from former classmates, and now, Nezu's probably going to get Reiko's help in checking through all the letters to make sure Midoriya doesn't get any letters like that."

"Well… Most of the letters were from the rest of the students." Snipe leaned back into his chair, "I doubt any of them would tell Midoriya any derogatory like that, but it's better to be safe. I don't think there's that many anyways; there's only like, one letter per class that everyone had written in. The hero course are more recognisable due to the Sports Festival, and were probably sought out for that."

"There's that other problem with Midoriya being a vigilante." Aizawa grumbled, "He actually talks when he goes around as Void. Not a lot, but still. I personally think that he's self-conscious and afraid of how people view him, and when he's Void, no one knows who he is and he can let his guard down a little."

"We're just lucky this hasn't gone out to the media. Midoriya's identity is still safe, and pretty much only heroes have met his vigilante identity, though he technically isn't breaking the law." Ishiyama sighed.

Aizawa hobbled to the infirmary, with the help of Yamada. His injuries weren't that bad; just a few broken ribs, a snapped arm, a slightly broken leg, and just some internal bleeding. Nothing that Shuzenji couldn't fix within a week or two. Shuzenji just wanted him mummified for a few more days before he was free from the offending white bandages, and Aizawa did want to talk to Nezu about some things.

"So… what do you think?" Yamada asked, "There usually aren't any transfers in the middle of the year."

"We don't have a choice." Aizawa hissed, "Midoriya's involvement with the League of Villains… both as himself as a student and as Void, has painted a huge target on his back. I was pretty much out of it when we landed back in UA, I'm not sure how Midoriya's fights, but given that he fights quirkless, he's going to need all the training he can get. We can't wait until next year; it will be too late."

"I honestly think that Midoriya… well… we should try to fix his mindset first." Yamada mumbled, "Putting others before himself is fine… but he such a skewed sense of self worth that he's breaking himself. Nezu wanted to put him in Vlad King's class, but it made more sense to put him in your class because he seems to be familiar with Shinsou, Iida, Koda and Uraraka."

"Zashi… what was Midoriya like when you saw him as Void? When he came to ask for help regarding Hitoshi?" Aizawa asked, "That was ages ago, but… was he different?"

"Well…" Yamada scratched the back of his head, "Now that you mention it… He was really different. He was definitely way more relaxed and outgoing, even though we were talking about a serious matter… Shouta, don't give me that face."

"My face is all bandaged up." Aizawa grumbled, "You can't see my face."

"I know you well enough to tell." Yamada grumbled, "You think we could have stopped this from even happening, don't you?"

"He was right there in front of you." Aizawa sighed, "He's dealing with so many problems, and yet, he only asked for help to help someone else. If we had known about it then -"

"It wouldn't have made a difference." Yamada admitted, "Midoriya's a stubborn kid, and clearly his mental state had severely deteriorated in that six year timespan. No one would have been able to tell that he's been suffering on his own. At the very least, we should be glad that he isn't alone; I'm sure he would be much worse off if he didn't have Reiko. Just calm down first, let Recovery Girl do her stuff, and then we can decide how best to help Midoriya."

Nezu carefully dumped all the notes and letters into a small paper bag, grabbed his paperwork and laptop, and made his way to the infirmary.

Midoriya was out like a light the second he had gotten back to the room, and Nezu had taken the opportunity to grab his stuff from his office. He couldn't just sit on his butt all day, not when his pile of paperwork was constantly growing, and he was constantly being sent data to analyse.

He had checked through the rest of the letters fairly quickly and found no problems with them; only 1-A and 1-B had sent in individual letters, while the remainder of the classes only had one giant class card that everyone signed, with the acception of Hatsume, who had included in her letter a blueprint to some kind of knife blade thing and Nezu was too tired to make out what it was.

At least, the 1-C students seemed especially apologetic for how they used to treat Midoriya.

Midoriya was still sound asleep, luckily, and Nezu picked up a piece of paper about school management. Aizawa and Yamada had popped in to see Shuzenji as well, and Nezu had to stifle his laughter as Shuzenji berated Aizawa for taking off a few of his bandages again in exchange for mobility.

Aizawa was finally released from Shuzenji's clutches, still with his bandages on, as the nurse sighed with exasperation at Aizawa's stubbornness.

It didn't take long before Aizawa and Yamada left the infirmary, and Nezu sank back into his chair. He too was at a loss as to how to help Midoriya. He had a pretty good idea of what Midoriya had gone through, but was that it? Was there more to the abuse that he didn't know about?

Knowing that problem was one thing, but solving it was a whole new problem altogether.

And even though Midoriya had wanted to let it slide… Nezu was not comfortable with just letting his foster mother go scot free. Sure, she may be a decent parental figure to the rest of her kids, but she still mistreated Midoriya, and Nezu was not okay with that.

At the very least, he wasn't going to just drop the matter when she had a clean record. He was going to discuss it with Midoriya once he was better.

It didn't take more than another week for Midoriya to get back on his feet. The green haired boy was restless, no doubt, having been confined to the infirmary for so long with nothing to do, though he did spend most of his time asleep due to Shuzenji using her quirk on him to help speed up the healing process.

Yaoyorozu had left several books in the infirmary, but they either contained information that Midoriya already knew, or was stuff that Midoriya could easily absorb. Needless to say, the books only occupied Midoriya for a few hours, and the boy was probably eager to get back to studying. Nezu had given him the letters that his classmates had given him, but Midoriya had practically skimmed through them all in record time, almost like he was searching for something, though he didn't seem to find what he was looking for. He did seem pretty confused when he was done, though.

Midoriya's mobility had also improved. He could actually walk around normally without anyone's help, though he did tire much faster than usual. While he didn't have any trouble doing regular things like reading and showering, he was having problems with dexterous, repetitive actions like signing, eating, writing and typing.

Not being able to write and type wasn't really a problem. Midoriya didn't really take notes in class, preferring to listen to the teacher and then going back to compile his notes. He could just listen in class and fix his notes when his mobility recovers.

Eating was another problem altogether. Midoriya seemed content with just soup for now, but still, he didn't eat a lot of it, not to mention that his hands still trembled as he held his spoon.

Midoriya was recovering physically, but mentally… Nezu wasn't too sure. In all the time he had been awake, Midoriya had not said a single word. Not to the teachers, his classmates, Shuzenji, or even Nezu. Shuzenji didn't mention any problems with his throat, but then again, Midoriya didn't like to talk in general unless he was asked a question.

He did seem more tolerant of everyone's presence, though Nezu could see him tense up whenever they came too close to him. Nezu had talked to Inui about it, and they suspected that Midoriya had recovered sufficiently and was now much more aware of his surroundings, and wasn't so easily spooked as he was when he had just woken up.

And now, Nezu had a few more problems to deal with, the first being that he wanted to bring Midoriya back to his foster home, just to pick up his belongings. Snipe had volunteered to drive, so there was that.

The second was problem wasn't actually much of a problem. The 1-A student dorms were almost complete, in fact, Ishiyama had reported that it would be finished within the day, and they would need another day to inspect the building.

He decided that they would deal with those two first before moving on the other problems.

Snipe leaned back in his chair and killed the engine, before taking off his gas mask, "Alright, we're here. Do you need me to go up and help you grab your stuff?"

Reiko and Ryuto sat down at the backseat of the car, as Reiko started grooming herself. They had accompanied Midoriya on the trip, but they had to stay in the car since Midoriya was not keen on bringing them into the house, under the probable watchful eyes of his former foster mother.

Nezu would have to dig into that later.

Midoriya hesitantly shook his head. He didn't have much anyways; one or two bags would be sufficient for all his belongings.

"Alright, make it quick though. Lunch ends soon and you wanted to sit in for the training lesson, didn't you?" Snipe stated. He could tell that the boy wanted to sign, probably trying to state that they didn't have to rush for him, but his hands were still not strong enough for him to sign without his hands shaking.

They had specifically left for Midoriya's foster home in the middle of a school day, so that Midoriya could retrieve his belongings in peace. Only his foster mother was at home, and Nezu had already rung up ahead of time, ensuring her that it would only take up a few minutes of her time.

Nezu and Midoriya made their way to the door, and Nexu turned towards the green haired boy, "It's going to be fine, Izuku. We'll be in and out before you know it."

Nezu knocked on the door, and Midoriya's former foster mother opened the door, not saying a single word.

Midoriya led Nezu to his room, and pushed the door open. His room was practically empty, barren, with nothing but a table beside the bed. The blanket was stuffed in a closet with so few clothes it made Aizawa seem like a shopping freak, mostly consisting of torn and tattered hoodies and school uniforms. Midoriya didn't even seem to own a normal, casual t-shirt.

Nezu watched as Midoriya gathered up his belongings, and almost gawked at how fast Midoriya was done with packing. He had just taken a minute or two to grab his laptop and hard drives, which looked like they were all fished out of a dump, his toothbrush, his spare UA uniform, his hoodies, a couple of notebooks, a small box with sewing needles and thread as well as a small bottle of rubbing alcohol, and probably more knives and blades than necessary that had been hidden at the back of his closet.

"Is that… it?" Nezu asked, and Midoriya nodded, shoving them all in his bag.

"Leave the hoodies. We can get you new ones. And the toothbrush." Nezu ordered. He somehow knew that those were the hoodies that Midoriya used to wear as Void, and knowing that one of them had been practically soaked in Midoriya's own blood right in front of his face wasn't appealing to him at all.

Midoriya shook his head weakly, his voice hoarse from not using it for quite some time, "You don't… have to… waste money… on me…"

Nezu sighed, trying to come up with reasons to convince Midoriya on the spot, "Izuku, those clothes are already torn apart, and those needles, thread and toothbrush has been left here for so long, it's not hygenic to use it. We can easily get you as many hoodies and toothbrushes as you want, and it's not even that expensive. Come on, please?"

Midoriya's eyes drooped, and he wordlessly complied, digging out his toothbrush, makeshift first aid box and hoodies, which made the bag even more empty than it already was.

Nezu did a quick inspection throughout the room, but besides from the furniture and clothes, Midoriya literally did not own anything else. His records stated that he had been living here since he was seven, but Nezu couldn't even seem to find a trace of anything that seemed like something a child would.

Nezu made a mental note to ask Midoriya if there was anything he wanted, but knowing him, he'll probably not ask for anything. Plus, he was too old for toys. He'll find something to buy for Midoriya as a gift, eventually.

"Alright, that's it. Let's go, Izuku."

Shinsou was surprised when he found realised that 1-A and 1-B were having a joint training session.

He was even more surprised to see Midoriya standing at the side, wearing a short sleeved shirt and short pants, eyeing his surroundings carefully. Reiko was sitting by Midoriya's feet, while Ryuto, who looked like he had grown a tiny bit, was perched on Reiko's head. The bird definitely was much fluffier than before.

"Hey! It's Midoriya!"Ashido whispered excitedly, nudging Kaminari, "Let's give him a surprise! I'm sure that he's bored from being cooped up the infirmary."

Kaminari giggled, shooting her a thumbs up.

"Guys, that isn't a good idea -" Shinsou tried to stop them, but they were off before he could even finish his sentence.

Luckily for Kaminari and Ashido's health, Iida had managed to grab them by the back of their shirts, dragging them back as he berated, "I don't think you should tackle him. Look, he still has his bandages on. If you want to say hi, approach him properly."

Shinsou heaved a sigh of relief as Iida held them back, before walking in Midoriya's direction. He had heard rumours, through his parents from other heroes, that Midoriya, as Void, was perfectly capable of dislocating joints and breaking villains' bones, and he doubted Ashido and Kaminari would be able to function with broken bones, unlike Midoriya and his twisted sense of self worth.

Ashido and Kaminari pouted, but they heeded Iida's words, following Shinsou from behind as he approached Midoriya properly. Shinsou had learnt from Aizawa how to walk without making any sound, but he purposely put a bit more force into his steps to ensure that Midoriya could hear him walking towards him.

Midoriya caught onto the sound of his footsteps, and warily glanced in his direction, before realising who he was. The tension in his shoulders remained; he had caught sight of the electric blonde and the acidic pinkette behind Shinsou.

"Hey, Midoriya, you doing okay over there?" Shinsou asked, and Midoriya looked at him, before staring hard at Ashido and Kaminari.

"Ah, that's Mina, and Kaminari. They're classmates. They're pretty energetic, and play pranks sometimes, but they're harmless for the most part." Shinsou tried to introduce them, and convince Midoriya that they wouldn't hurt him, and it seemed to be working until Ashido leapt up in front of him, pretty much sticking her hand in Midoriya's face, startling the poor boy.

"Hi! You saved me during the Sports Festival and you pretty much saved everyone's ass! You're really awesome! I'm Ashido Mina, but people I like can call me Mina! I know you're Midoriya Izuku, cause Uraraka and Iida and Shinsou talk about how cool you are and Todoroki also likes to talk about you and that's like pretty much the only thing he talks about and -"

She paused to take a breath, but found that Midoriya had jumped backwards, having adopted a fighting stance. His arms and hands were shaking, but Midoriya just hissed at her. Reiko had shot up from her position on the ground, her entire body tense and ready to attack at a moment's notice, growling at Ashido. Ryuto didn't seem to know what was going on, but the three week old bird was doing a pretty good job remaining on Reiko's head.

Shinsou and Kaminari didn't even notice that he had moved until they heard Reiko growling.

Heck, even while not fully recovered, he's hella fast, Kaminari gulped. He had already seen Midoriya completely demolish his opponents, especially Bakugou, at the Sports Festival, but he had assumed that Midoriya had been fighting at the best of his abilities.

Apparently not. Midoriya could get even faster, and he was still recovering from his injuries from the mass attack on UA. Kaminari had been unconscious after he had fried the villains in the USJ, but he had heard from his classmates that Midoriya had been an absolute beast, mowing the fodder villains down, and even taking on the lead villain and the hulking pet monster that the villains had brought him.

Kaminari couldn't help but feel a little guilty for Midoriya's condition. He had a quirk, a pretty powerful one at that, but Kaminari knew that he wasn't very smart when it came to strategizing. Maybe…if he hadn't attempted a kamikaze shock-everyone-in-salt-pool attack, he wouldn't have shorted himself out and potentially injured his classmates. And maybe, just maybe, he could have taken out a few more villains when they were somehow teleported back to UA.

"I think you startled him. You did just stick your hand in his face." Kaminari reached out to grab Ashido's arm, slowly dragging her away from Midoriya. The tension on Midoriya's shoulders disappeared, but his gaze never left the hand that Ashido had thrown in his face.

"Sorry man!" Kaminari grinned, shooting him a thumbs up, "Don't worry about it, if I were you I would have thought I would be punched in the nose too, so no biggie!"

Midoriya just straightened up, and blinked at Kaminari.

"Alright, leave Midoriya alone." Aizawa groaned, as Kan laughed teasingly at how uncontrollable 1-A was and how 1-B was much better. Aizawa's bandages were already off, though Midoriya could tell there was some discomfort as the older man moved around.

"I think the self introductions between the hero classes are unnecessary, but we have Midoriya here so we might as well just do it. If he already knows you or fought you in the Sports Festival before, don't bother introducing yourself. Then we'll start quirk usage practice." Aizawa blankly stated.

"I don't think that's necessary…" Monoma scratched his head, "I think he kinda knows all of us, somewhat."

"You think?" Komori asked.

Meanwhile, Midoriya was digging through his bag, much to the confusion of his peers, before he took out two labelled notebooks and handed them to the teachers.

Well... I'm not getting those back... but I'm supposed to help them any way I can, right?

Aizawa raised an eyebrow as he took the notebook labelled "1-A" and Kan did the same for the notebook labelled "1-B", before the teachers flipped open the books for their respective classes.

And Kan's jaw pretty much dropped. Aizawa would have had the same expression, but he was much better at controlling his facial features than his colleague.

Kan looked up at Midoriya, confusion and amazement and maybe even a small hint of fear glinting in his eyes, because Midoriya wasn't even in the hero course yet and it just wasn't possible for him to have seen all forty students fighting at some point or another and to have enough time to observe them all in order to make such detailed and concise notes.

"Uh… Midoriya… do I even want to know how and why you have at least five pages of notes on all of the hero course students, including the strengths and weaknesses of their quirks and possible improvements and ideas for them, personality traits and how they can be beneficial or detrimental in being a hero, things to work on, support gear ideas, as well as possible combination moves among friend groups? How did you even find the time to observe everyone?"

Chapter Text

There was silence as the students processed what the 1-B form teacher had said, before they all gawked.

Monoma was surprised, but not as much as his peers; Midoriya had already told him during the Sports Festival that he had kept an eye on them, but wasn't five pages of notes per person a bit extreme?! How was he even able to get so much information in the first place?!

Aizawa scratched the back of his head, before grumbling, "Problem child. I really shouldn't be surprised at all… Snipe's still not done marking that forty page essay you handed in weeks ago about me, and that other thirty-five page essay you did on Mic's speaker, and I don't even want to know you managed to figure out all the inner workings of Mic's equipment. Snipe's still trying to convince Power Loader for the blueprints."

The essay was so long because a third of it practically included sketches, diagrams, and mathematical calculations, and while it was just supposed to be an essay, it was still relevant and they were accurate.

Aizawa flipped through a few more pages, before sighing, "I have to say, though, this saves a lot of time. We know exactly what they should be working on. Do you mind if I photocopy it to give to the class?"

Midoriya blinked in confusion.

Wait… did he imply that I did good?

Midoriya didn't really know how to reply, and blankly shrugged. If Aizawa wanted to let the class see, Midoriya couldn't care less. As long as Aizawa wasn't handing it over to criminals, Midoriya was perfectly fine with it.

He probably wasn't going to get his notebook back though. He never got anything back from the teachers whenever they "confiscated" his stuff, aside from tests and examination papers.

"Alright. Now, all of you go find a spot to practise. On your own or in pairs, I don't care, just don't be too noisy. Vlad King and I will come around to tell you guys what to work on." Aizawa ordered, "Midoriya, you're free to do whatever you want, just be careful, okay? There may be some stray attacks."

Midoriya have a nod of acknowledgement, before he stepped back to the side, carefully eyeing his surroundings as the students split off to find some space.

Training was going pretty smoothly. Midoriya was observing all the students as they practised their quirks, mentally noting down everything from the power of their quirks down to their forms.

Bakugou's form is good, but he should concentrate the power of his explosions. Todoroki as well, but his form absolutely sucks, and he doesn't know how to fight without his quirk. Shinsou's form is okay, not too bad but could use some adjustments. Ojiro's form is fine, Iida's accelerating at the wrong times, Uraraka's form could also use some adjustments.

He turned to where Hagakure was supposed to be, and resisted the urge to facepalm. Hagakure's form was just terrible, though to be fair, no one could see her properly and correct her form, especially since she was pretty much naked. Which idiot didn't make her a costume!? And not being able to make an invisible costume was just bullshit; that third year Lemillion had a costumed made based off his hair so that he wouldn't end up being naked. He would need to get closer in order to get a better idea of how to correct her form, but she wasn't even pointing her toes in the right direction; Midoriya could tell that much at the very least from the Sports Festival.

He was about to get closer to take a better look, until something caught eye.

The purple sticky haired boy was slowly sneaking closer to Yaoyorozu. They were all wearing their hero costumes, and Yaoyorozu's hero costume was so revealing, it was revolting to think that it was actually made by grown adults who thought it was okay for her to have more skin exposed than covered.

Mineta was slowly creeping closer to her, but Yaoyorozu was so absorbed in trying to create lighter and stronger items that she didn't even notice what the pervert was doing.

Midoriya decided to focus on this problem at hand first. Hagakure could wait. This had to be dealt with now.

Midoriya made his way towards Mineta, neither the purple haired boy nor the Creation quirk user noticing his presence.

Mineta crept closer.

No one had noticed him; the teachers were occupied with other students and everyone else was busy working on their quirks. The only people close to him were Yaoyorozu and Shoji. He just had to get a little closer and -

A sudden pressure burst out of nowhere, freezing everyone in the near vicinity in place.

He couldn't breathe. He felt like the air was forcefully being pushed out of his lungs.

And Mineta slowly turned around to find the source of the terrifying aura, shaking in fear. He found cold green eyes looking at him, gleaming menacingly from the shadows. The air around him seemed to darken, Midoriya's hair casting a shadow over his eyes, an empty void of nothingness. His eerie green pupils were slit, locked on him.

Midoriya looked like he wanted to tear him apart.

And somehow, Mineta knew that he was only moving because he was allowed to.

He could only look up as the green haired boy helplessly as Midoriya gazed down at him, a silent flame of rage burning in his eyes.

Shit shit shit shit…

Midoriya didn't even need to say anything. What he wanted to say was obvious, his intentions were easily understood by anyone with even just a single mere brain cell, "Leave her alone."

And after what felt like an eternity, Midoriya finally let up on the pressure, and Mineta promptly fell on his butt, completely stunned and dazed.

What was that?! Just who is this monster?!

Midoriya took a step closer, and Mineta hastily scrambled up and hid behind Shoji, shaking the taller male out of his stupor. He hadn't been anywhere near Midoriya, and he wasn't even Midoriya's target, and the pressure he could give out already threatened to suffocate him, paralysing him, not letting him move even a single inch.

Yaoyorozu had also felt the pressure, locking her in place, and the second it died down, she whirled around, trying to figure out what was going on.

"What's your problem!?" Mineta whined meekly from behind Shoji, but one more glare by Midoriya sent the small helpless boy cowering as he spluttered, "I'm sorry, I won't do it again, I promise, please don't kill me, I promise I won't do it again! I promise! I'm sorry!"

Midoriya let out a growl, glaring harshly at Mineta for a good minute, before he stalked off towards Hagakure.

Hopefully, the purple midget learnt his lesson. If he hadn't…

"Uh… what happened…?" Yaoyorozu asked, completely confused.

"He tried to touch you while you were concentrating." Jiro pointed out, "I was going to stab him in the eye again, but Midoriya came up and settled it."

"Oh…" Yaoyorozu muttered, taking in her surroundings. She was located between Jiro and Shoji, and there was quite a distance between where they were practising and where Midoriya had originally been standing. How he managed to even catch Mineta in the act from that distance was amazing.

"I think… it wouldn't be much of a problem anymore…"Jiro laughed, nodding at Mineta. Yaoyorozu turned to face the purple haired boy, only to find that he was too terrified to even hold eye contact with her, opting to hide behind Shoji instead.

"Alright, you're all dismissed. Midoriya, before you head back to the infirmary… may I please have a word with you?"

Midoriya glanced up at Aizawa, and remained rooted in place, not even moving a single inch. The last time he had gotten fidgety around a teacher, the teacher had forced him to clean the bottom of the desks in his classroom for an entire month. The bottom of the desks were nasty enough, with mouldy candy wrappers and chewed up gum stuck all over the place, but when his classmates had caught wind of his punishment, they started to leave all sorts of nasty stuff and letters for Midoriya to see and clear up. He was not eager to go do that again.

Aizawa patiently waited until Kan ushered all the students back to the classrooms, before he turned to face the green haired boy.

"Midoriya… I know you don't trust us. Not me, not Vlad King, or Recovery Girl… heck, I'm pretty sure you still don't trust Iida, or Uraraka, or even Shinsou. I have a few things to say, will you listen? I would just like to ask for one thing." Aizawa started.

Midoriya just blankly looked at Aizawa, and internally sighed. Of course his teacher wanted something from him. He wasn't really sure where this conversation was going, and he was pretty sure it wasn't either of the three students Aizawa mentioned that started it; they all looked equally confused when Aizawa had called him to stay back for a while.

His blank, empty stare didn't change, but Aizawa figured that Midoriya was listening and continued.

"Can you please give us a chance?"

Midoriya looked at his teacher in confusion.

Give you a chance? For what?

"I know you've been through a lot, Midoriya, and I'm not expecting you to trust any of us any time soon." Aizawa continued, trying to choose his words carefully so as to not startle the traumatized boy, though he felt that in his request, he had already worded it incorrectly. "We just want you to feel better. All I ask for is for you to give us just one percent of your trust. We will earn the rest. Can you please, just give us just that? If not me, or the teachers, but your classmates, at the very least?"

Midoriya thought about Aizawa's request. It was an odd one, definitely. No one had asked, requested for him to trust them. But why should Midoriya trust him, even consider it, when all people did with his trust was to break it, smash it to bits, and grind the broken shards to dust? Aizawa may be a pro hero, one that he had once admired, but Aizawa had called him a problem child, something all his previous teachers had called him whenever he had been harassed by his peers. And Aizawa wanted him to trust them!?

Then again, Shinsou, Uraraka and Iida had stood up for him… but how much of that was a facade, and how much of that was real? Were they going to be like all the others, pretending to be his friends, and one day, when they were finally sick and tired of their little game, finally tell him that he was useless, worthless, and should go and just kill himself?

He would pretend. Pretend that he trusted them, test the waters, see just how far they were willing to play with his feelings. It didn't matter, he had already thrown all his emotions out the window. He would just wait, wait until they were sick and tired of him, until they discarded him like the useless trash he was.

After all, they could pretend, then he could pretend too, couldn't he?

Midoriya didn't react in the longest time, and Aizawa, as much as he didn't want to push against Midoriya's boundaries, was worried that something was wrong and that Midoriya was non-responsive, until Midoriya nodded, slowly, almost hesitatingly, but it was no doubt a nod. Midoriya had given him, or more likely, his peers, the small amount of trust that Aizawa had asked for, and that was a start.

They had to earn the rest, but Aizawa was okay with that. He had done that with Shinsou, he could do that with Midoriya as well, albeit at a much slower pace.

Aizawa gave an internal sigh in relief, "Thank you. You can go back to the infirmary now, or would you like me to accompany you?"

Midoriya shook his head.

"Alright, then. Take care."

Aizawa could only watch as Midoriya headed back into the school building, before looking at the notebooks that Midoriya had given him. He also had the 1-B notebook, under Kan's request to help him print out Midoriya's notes, since Kan had been called out to deal with a batch of villains that night.

He better get those notes photocopied fast, and return the notebooks to Midoriya as soon as possible.

Chapter Text

The second they had headed back to the changing rooms, Ashido immediately latched herself onto Yaoyorozu, "Oh my god, I heard that the grape shit tried to touch you! Are you okay?"

"Uh… who?" Kendo asked, and Hagakure whirled around, "Ah, Mineta Minoru. He's a major pervert. We keep trying to chase him away, but nothing we do manage to get him to stop."

"Ah, I'm fine. He didn't do anything, really." Yaoyorozu replied, "Midoriya stopped him before he could do anything."

"Wasn't Midoriya like, all the way on the other side of the field, though?" Uraraka scratched her head, as she changed into her UA uniform.

"Yeah. I have no idea how he knew about it. I only noticed it because I saw Midoriya walking towards Yaoyorozu." Jiro admitted. Her hearing was sharp, sharper than most of her peers, and she had no idea how she didn't notice Mineta creeping towards her friend.

"But Midoriya is like, scary observant." Hagakure piped up, "It's awesome! He somehow knew where I was the entire time he was looking at me!"

"But… you're invisible…" Kodai pointed out.

"Exactly! I have no idea how he managed to see me, and I have a feeling he was scrutinising me!" Hagakure waved her arms about.

"So! Spill! How did Midoriya kick Mineta's butt?" Ashido grinned excitedly.

"Nothing at all." Yaoyorozu replied, before looking at her female peers. She waved her hands in front of her frantically, "No, seriously! Midoriya just stood there and looked at him!"

"Maybe we'll ask Shoji… he was also there..." Hagakure hummed.

"No, Yaomomo isn't lying. I saw it. He legitimately just stared at Mineta." Jiro commented.

"Midoriya's pretty awesome, ain't he?" Ashido grinned, "I bet he's going to be really good friends with everyone!"

Iida turned back from his conversation with Uraraka, finding Todoroki walking some distance behind them, slowly, almost like he was lost in thought. Iida gave Uraraka a signal to stop talking, before he sneakily pointed at Todoroki.

Uraraka immediately understood what Iida wanted to do, and she smiled at him, "So, see you tomorrow then!"

Iida waited for Todoroki to slowly catch up, before he asked, "You doing okay?"

"After the Sports Festival, I told Midoriya that I wanted him to succeed, to get into the Hero Course, so that I could crush him under my foot. And despite everything I've done to him… he was still willing to help me out. He's already helped me so many times… and I feel that… It's not right. Whatever I told him before."

"How has he helped you? Besides from… Stain, obviously." Iida asked.

"He…" Todoroki paused, unsure of whether to continue, "Family problems. No one outside my family knows about it… but Midoriya… somehow knew. He told Nezu, and he's currently compiling a case about it. After I told him about the matter… that was after I told him I wanted to crush him… he redirected me to Nezu. There's actually a chance that this matter could be solved after so many years. He's saved us from Stain, and he's saved us when those villains decided to attack the USJ."

"So… you kinda feel bad for what you told him. Maybe you should go and apologise to him?" Iida deduced, though it wasn't too hard to do so once all the facts were on the table.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure how to do so, or how he'll take it. He didn't even seem to take Aizawa-sensei's compliment regarding his work well." Todoroki sighed.

"Hmm… I think you should just go up to him and apologise directly." Iida offered, "It will feel more genuine, and due to Midoriya's past… I think it will be better. I also don't think he'll take it too badly. Just tell him directly."

Midoriya only had to stay in the infirmary for one more day, before Ishiyama confirmed that the 1-A dorms were ready for Midoriya to live in. It was a Saturday, plenty of time for Midoriya to "move in". Nezu had wanted to bring Midoriya out to buy some new stuff, but sadly, the Hero Public Safety Commission had just dumped a huge load of work on the principal that Nezu couldn't ignore.

Nezu also didn't want another teacher to go out with Midoriya instead. Aizawa had already told him of his request to Midoriya to give them a chance, and he was already hesitant to do so. Too many things were happening at once, and Nezu didn't want Midoriya to get spooked by the multitude of changes.

It didn't take too long for Midoriya to move it. The room itself already had a bed and a table, and Midoriya had so few things that it only took a minute or two before he was done. They had spent the rest of the day in the 1-A common room, Nezu trying to sieve through all the information he had been given, and Midoriya sitting on the couch, not very sure of what to do.

He stared at the television remote control, before staring at the television, before his gaze travelled to the busy principal, then to the empty kitchen, then to the hallway leading to the elevators, before glancing at the remote control.

He wasn't sure what he could do. He wasn't allowed to use the television at home unless someone else turned it on, and they usually watched useless cartoons instead of important channels like news, so Midoriya didn't even bother with the television most of the time and just checked up on the news on his laptop.

It was rude to go back to his room, and leave Nezu alone in the common room, but it wasn't like he could help Nezu with his work. Most of the hero and villain stuff that Nezu asked him to analyze for him were Nezu's personal projects, and Midoriya could tell that Nezu was purposely feeding him with information so that he could easily take out those villains. But these, these were projects that the Hero Commission had shoved at Nezu, and he wasn't a verified hero; he wasn't allowed to help, even if Nezu had asked him to.

Reiko was grooming herself, while Ryuto was occasionally preening, and jumping around on the sofa. He accidentally wandered too close, and would have fallen off had Midoriya not caught the bird in time. Ryuto gave a small chirp, nuzzling Midoriya's hand.

Based on his research, Midoriya had found out that Ryuto was a rough-legged hawk, and when he started growing in his flight feathers, his plumage would turn from white and black to predominantly brown in colour with speckling. Unlike most of his species, which had grey and yellow beaks as well as yellow talons, Ryuto's beak and talons were completely grey.

Midoriya looked up as Nezu yawned, and stretched, before hopping off his chair.

"Oh, I thought you would have gone back to your room, Izuku." Nezu grinned, "It's lunch time, let's go grab a bite. Maybe get you some fitting clothes as well."

Midoriya wasn't really hungry, despite not having eaten much the entire week, but he still complied with Nezu's request, moving to grab one of the few hoodies he owned that weren't torn to shreds. He was wearing an oversized blue t-shirt that Kayama had bought, as the hero had decided to go clothes shopping without his measurements and had gotten a few shirts and pants that were a size too big for Midoriya. They still fit, though, so Midoriya didn't really mind.

Midoriya placed Ryuto and Reiko the small hidden pocket in his hoodie, and Reiko and Ryuto poked their heads out of the front of the hoodie. He let Nezu tidy up his work, before he headed towards the door, "Come on."

Lunch took up less time that Nezu thought. They had gone to a mall near to UA, and headed for the food court, but the only thing that Midoriya seemed okay with Nezu ordering for him was a small plate of fried rice, and he couldn't even finish it. He had packed the remaining of it in a take-away box for dinner, and while Nezu wasn't really happy that Midoriya wasn't eating much, he couldn't do much to stop him. No one had cared for Midoriya, and it was obvious that Midoriya would take some time for him to get adjusted to someone willing to help him out and care for him. He didn't want to be too overbearing, and pushing Midoriya away in the process; he just needed to be patient.

Nezu had also tried to bring Midoriya clothes shopping, but most of the shops that they had come across were way too expensive in Midoriya's opinion, and he wasn't willing to even touch any of the clothes.

They had also gone to the supermarket in case Midoriya wanted some snacks or drinks, but other than a few cans of tuna and some raw meat, they didn't buy anything before going back to UA. Midoriya cared more about Reiko and Ryuto than himself.

Midoriya had insisted on paying for his own items, and Nezu could only look on helplessly at the stubborn boy. There was only so much he could do, and even Nezu wasn't sure how to best balance caring for Midoriya and not being overbearing.

It's just a matter of time for him to get used to it, Nezu told himself, It'll be fine. I just have to be patient.

"Izuku?"

Nezu called out, expecting Midoriya to be sitting on the couch, like he had been doing in the morning, only to realise that Midoriya wasn't even in the common room. He definitely hadn't left the building, Nezu would have heard him open the front door.

He hopped off his chair, and made his way to the stairs. If Midoriya wasn't in the common room, he most likely in his room.

Nezu noticed that Midoriya's door was slightly open, and he could hear Reiko meowing from inside his room. He knew that he was invading Midoriya's privacy, but he couldn't help but feel that something was wrong, and carefully pushed the door open.

Only to find that Midoriya was biting his lip, grabbing his right hand as his entire body shook. Midoriya was wincing slightly, glaring at his hand in frustration

"Izuku? Are you okay? What happened?" Nezu asked, as he rushed into the room to check what was wrong. Nezu noticed that Midoriya's pen had fallen on the floor, and there were some crooked writing on the paper on Midoriya's desk.

He cursed inwardly; Midoriya had tried to write despite the condition of his hands.

Nezu gently cradled Midoriya's shaking hands, watching Midoriya carefully. His facial expression didn't change, but Nezu noticed that small glint of pain in his eyes.

"Just hold for a few minutes, okay? I'll get Recovery Girl here."

Midoriya really had no idea what he was supposed to do in the dorms. He had his own room, on the second floor, but he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with it. Sleep in it, sure, but what was he supposed to spend the weekend doing?

His hands still haven't fully recovered, and despite efforts, all he did was get a muscle cramp in his hand, and his continuous attempts to write, resulted in him tearing a few muscles and worsen its condition.

Shuzenji had focussed her quirk on healing his hands, to the point where she said that he could start writing and signing by Monday, and he wanted to, he could participate in the hero course exercises, but he wouldn't be at full power and had to rest his hands for the entire weekend. He could do simple things like flipping pages in a book, but Shuzenji absolutely forbade him from doing anything that would require him to hold something with his fingers, which limited his meals to practically just a bowl of soup.

Not that Midoriya cared. Anything was better than being stuck on the bed like a useless, worthless idiot, even though there was nothing that he could do at the moment.

Needless to say, Midoriya was bored. Nezu was finished with his work and was currently watching the news on the couch, and Midoriya didn't want to bother the principal, especially after all the work he had done.

The boy sighed, and placed his head on the sofa, before curling up into a ball. He really didn't like just sitting around and doing nothing. Maybe he should just take a quick nap, regain the energy that Shuzenji had used for healing his hands. Reiko and Ryuto were playing with each other, but they had come over to Midoriya's side and nuzzled him. Ryuto chirped and playing fully tugged on MIdoriya's finger with his beak.

Midoriya had to admit, he was slightly tired; Shuzenji's quirk had taken a lot more out of him than usual, but that was probably because he was stubborn and refused to sit still and recover properly.

The front door to the dorms opened, and Midoriya looked up from his position on the couch, only to find that Aizawa had pushed to door open, closing it carefully.

"Ah, hello, Aizawa." Nezu grinned, waving to the taller man, taking his eyes off the television for a second to see who had entered, "I didn't expect you to still be in school. I thought you had gone home."

Midoriya pushed himself up as Aizawa started, "Well, I would have left earlier if the printer hadn't jammed; that idiot All Might had accidentally broken it and didn't tell anyone. I had to go get Power Loader to fix the damned machine before I could finish photocopying Midoriya's notes. Speaking of which, here, Midoriya."

Aizawa carefully procured the two notebooks from his pockets, and placed them on the table in front of Midoriya.

Midoriya's eyes widened slightly, staring at his notebooks, before shifting his gaze towards Aizawa, before looking back at his notebooks.

He actually gave them back?

Aizawa looked at the boy, confused by his reaction, not knowing that Midoriya was equally as confused as him, albeit for a different reason.

Reiko rubbed her head against Midoriya's arm, and the boy looked at his notebooks one last time, before looking back at Aizawa, and nodding slightly in acknowledgement.

Chapter Text

Midoriya continued sitting at his table, thinking, before he stood up, and grabbed his hoodie.

Nezu had informed him that he had been called out for a board meeting with the Hero Commission, and would probably be back by dinner, since the principal did stay in UA most of the time and practically lived there, but several teachers such as Ectoplasm, Snipe, and Lunch Rush were still in the UA main building, so if he needed any help with anything, he could just go up to them. Lunch Rush already knew about his hands, so food wouldn't be a problem.

But Midoriya didn't want to spend an entire day doing nothing again. Plus, he had some other plans.

No, he wasn't going to go out fighting villains again; Shuzenji would be mad at him, and he could either choose to be crippled for one more day, or crippled for a whole lot longer. He would choose the former, and make up for it once he was finally allowed to fight.

Midoriya grabbed his wallet, before making his way out the door. He did leave his laptop on the table, with a message that he was going out, courtesy of Reiko who had typed out the note letter by letter with Midoriya's guidance. He also had the password deactivated; all his personal research and files were safely stored on his hard drives and weren't on the main device itself.

Midoriya tucked the two animals into his hoodie, before he made his way out of the dorms.

Nezu's eyes flickered to his phone, before he turned his attention back to the meeting at hand.

He had expected Midoriya to leave the dorms, especially when no one was around. He had also informed the teachers that Midoriya may do that, and not to bother him as long as he wasn't get himself into trouble, though he honestly did doubt that any of the teachers would want to do so.

Nezu wasn't sure where Midoriya was going, but that wasn't really any of his business; Midoriya was allowed to have his own secrets, and could do whatever he wanted as long as it wasn't detrimental to his health. He had brought both Reiko and Ryuto with him, and most likely wouldn't be doing anything dangerous with the bird around.

He was curious, though, but that didn't matter at this point in time. Giving Midoriya his freedom to do as he pleased was the only way to slowly break through his shell, to let him know that he could trust them. Nezu may have Midoriya's trust, but the other teachers didn't, and Nezu knew perfectly well that he couldn't be around all the time to communicate between the teachers and Midoriya.

He dragged himself out of his thoughts, and re-focussed on the meeting. The sooner they were done the sooner he could go back to his school.

Midoriya looked up at the sign in front of the flower shop, ensuring he was in the right place, before walking inside cautiously. He kept an eye on his surroundings as he picked out two pink anemones, and moved to the cashier to pay for them.

He had gotten a few coins as change, and he just swept them into the pocket after fumbling around with the zipper for a few seconds. He would deal with that later when he got back to the dorms.

Midoriya put his hood up and carefully crossed the road, walking past several streets, before turning a corner and walking for a few more minutes. Reiko and Ryuto popped their heads of his hoodie, enjoying the sights and the fresh air.

That was until a passerby puffed cigarette smoke directly into Midoriya's face, causing the green haired boy to recoil at the horrendous smell. He shook his head to try and ignore the smoke, as Reiko gave an annoyed yowl and hissed at the ignorant passerby.

Midoriya ran his fingers through her fur, careful not to put anymore stress on his hands, and continued on his way.

It didn't take him long to find where he wanted to go; it just felt like a long time since he hadn't fully recovered his stamina.

Midoriya finally walked into the park, before made his way to the graveyard that was located inside it. He wandered around aimlessly, trying to find the headstone he was looking for, having never gone to the field of tombstones in the day.

"Here lies Midoriya Hisashi and Midoriya Inko. Rest in peace."

He finally came across it; the old, moss-covered headstone that had been standing in the same spot for eight years. Midoriya never did notice how much moss covered his parent's tombstone; he was going to come and clean it all off one day.

The graveyard was mostly deserted; almost no one came to this deserted part of the park. Midoriya carefully took one of the anemones out of his pocket, and crouched down, gently placing the flower by the base of the headstone.

Midoriya straightened himself out, before taking a step back. He carefully scooped Reiko and Ryuto out of his hoodie and placed them on the floor, giving them a bit more freedom. Reiko remained at Midoriya's feet, staying completely quiet, and Ryuto was a bit more curious and started exploring the area, though he always remained in Midoriya's line of sight and never strayed too far.

Midoriya stood there, still, for almost half an hour, biting his lip, trying to keep all his emotions in.

They died for you. You deserve to feel bad.

It's your fault they died. If only you had a damned quirk! If only you weren't so useless!

You should have died instead of them!

There was a voice roaring at him from the back of his head, and Midoriya didn't bother pushing it away. Why would he, when what everything the voice said was right?

Reiko looked at Midoriya, before rubbing herself against Midoriya's leg, shaking the boy out of his stupor. Midoriya tensed up, before he relaxed, looking down at the cat, "Thanks, Reiko."

Reiko rubbed herself against Midoriya's leg again, before letting out a small meow, catching Ryuto's attention. The bird immediately perked up, before running and jumping towards Reiko, flapping his wings as he did so. He tripped over a blade of grass once, but he pushed himself up and made his way back to the older cat.

Midoriya scooped up both the bird and cat, before he left the graveyard. He took one of the paths, and made his way towards the playground, before straying off the path, walking towards a fairly small, seclusive grove that was located just at the edge of the park.

Midoriya looked around, before locating one of the smaller trees and made his way towards it. He crouched down, placing both animals down again, and carefully swept some of the fallen leaves and twigs away from the base of the tree. There was a decently sized rock placed there, with some messily scrawled words written on it with a permanent marker.

"Rikaru, Reiko's mom. Rest in peace."

Midoriya placed his remaining anemone in front of the rock, before reaching up to touch his collar.

That collar had originally belonged to the older cat when Midoriya had found them. Then Rikaru had died, had been killed, and Midoriya had taken the collar as a reminder of his failure.

"Oh, it's raining really badly. Are you okay?"

A black cat with cyan eyes looked up him from her position in the storm drain, curling up around a small white kitten protectively. Ten year old Midoriya reached out to pet her, but the soaked cat just hissed weakly at him.

"Hey, I don't want to harm you…" Midoriya stammered, "You guys are going to get sick in there. I just want to help you, that's all."

Midoriya placed his small, tattered umbrella on the ground, before he carefully climbed into the drain. The water had come up to his ankles, and Midoriya wanted to get them out as fast as possible before the water got any stronger.

The cat tried to protest, but she was already weak from the cold and hunger, and couldn't do much as Midoriya lifted both her and her kitten out of the storm drain, placing them down.

"Man, you guys are lighter than I thought. And thin. Have you eaten anything at all?" Midoriya asked, as he clambered out of the drain, and picked the two felines up again. The larger cat couldn't help but press herself up against Midoriya's neck.

"That tickles!" Midoriya laughed before trying to rub the water out of their fur, his fingers brushing up against something around the larger cat's neck.

"What's this?" He asked, and carefully parted the wet fur to figure out what it was, "A collar? Your owner abandoned you guys?"

The larger cat meowed, as Midoriya attempted to read the name on the collar, "Rikaru, huh? That's a nice name. My name's Midoriya Izuku. My housemate brought a stray dog home the other day, and my guardian didn't seem too mad about it. I'll take you home for a while, get you guys all dried up and fed, then we'll decide what to do. Oh no… you're shivering!"

Midoriya carefully tucked the smaller white kitten into the hidden compartment he had sewn into his hoodie, warming up the kitten with his own body heat. He never knew when he would need a secret compartment, and now it was coming in handy.

"There, nice and warm." Midoriya smiled, before picking up Rikaru, trying to warm her up as much as possible, "I'll keep you guys safe, I promise."

He then proceeded to make his way back to his foster home, trying to think of how to make his foster parent let him keep the felines. One of the other foster kids had brought a stray puppy back, and his foster mother was merely exasperated, so it should be fine, shouldn't it?

He didn't expect the first thing that happened when he got home was for his foster mother to yell, "How many times have I told you not to be late?!"

"I'm sorry… I found these strays and they were cold and starving so I thought I could bring them back and keep them until the storm died down before sending them to a shelter…" Midoriya timidly replied, just as a massive clap of thunder reverberated throughout the room.

His foster mother caught sight of Rikaru, before snarling, and ripping the black cat directly out of Midoriya's arms.

"Vermin! They all are! Filthy, dirty, disease spreading vermin!" She shrieked, throwing the cat out of the conveniently open window. Midoriya heard the sound of glass shattering and a faint yowl in pain echoing loudly in his ears. His foster mother quickly checked the pockets of Midoriya's hoodie, finding nothing, and growled at the stunned Midoriya, "You useless child! Back to your room! You're grounded for a month! How dare you bring vermin into my home!?"

Midoriya was on the verge of crying as he made a mad dash for his room. He quickly snatched his chair up and placed it under the doorknob.

He wasn't allowed to lock or block his door, but he would deal with the consequences later; he had to check on Rikaru first.

Midoriya threw his window open, before jumping out, grabbing onto the rope that was tied onto the tree branch by his window. That was how he always escaped whenever he went out as a vigilante, carefully climbing down, but time was of the essence as of now. He slid down, getting friction burns on his hands, but he ignored the pain.

He quickly jumped to the ground, before turning a corner to where Rikaru should have landed.

He saw a small body in the darkness, and he immediately rushed forwards, tears leaking out of his eyes. He lowered himself to the cat's side, and carefully rubbed his hand against Rikaru's ear, before he gently cradled the larger cat, taking notice of a large glass shard sticking out of her abdomen.

The smaller white kitten poked her head out of Midoriya's hoodie, nuzzling Rikaru.

Rikaru gave a weak meow, sniffing Midoriya's face, giving one last meow before she fell limp in Midoriya's arms, never to move again.

"Hey…" Midoriya stammered, "Wake up, please? I've had enough of jokes from the people in school, please, wake up?"

But she didn't respond, and her body gradually became colder as the heat faded from the small body.

Midoriya blankly stood up, still cradling the cat, as he inspected his surroundings. There was broken glass all over the ground, as well as several broken bottles, and he scowled; maybe if people hadn't been so inconsiderate and had thrown all their glass bottles in the trash instead of out the window; maybe, just maybe, Rikaru could have survived.

Midoriya fished out his phone, dialing in a few numbers, before he pressed the phone to his ear.

"Hello? Animal protection services, how may I help you?"

"Hello?" Midoriya quietly answered, "I have an injured cat here that landed on some glass and -"

"Ok, hold up there. It's probably just a stray, it would die sooner or later anyways out there on the streets. it's none of our business. Just leave it and go home kid. It isn't worth it."

The man promptly hung up on Midoriya, and the child lowered his phone, blankly slipping it into his pocket, before making his way to the nearby park where his parents had been buried.

He quickly found an isolated grove by the graveyard, and dug a small hole. He slipped the collar off the cat, before gently lowering the small body into the hole. The white kitten stood by his feet as he did so, not even making a single sound.

As an afterthought, Midoriya slipped the name tag off the collar and carefully placed it next to Rikaru. That was her identity; she wasn't just some stray.

Midoriya carefully covered the cat's body with dirt, patting it down gently and evenly, before he sat down next to his makeshift grave.

He curled in on himself, as tears started leaking from his eyes.

"Why are people so cruel? Why don't people care?" He whispered to himself, and the white kitten padded over to him, climbing clumsily into his lap.

"I'm sorry. I useless; I couldn't even protect a single cat! I'm worthless. Why didn't I just die from that fall from weeks ago?!"

Midoriya continued crying to himself, mourning the loss of an innocent cat's life.

He wrapped his arms around the white kitten, and she stared back at him with her mismatched cyan and mint eyes.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He tucked the small feline into his chest, before his small body was wracked with sobs as he cradled the kitten, "It's my fault, it's all my fault. I'm useless and I'm worthless and I can't even do anything right! I'm so sorry."

Midoriya shook the painful memory away. That had been the day he had seen the worst that humanity had to offer, the day he snapped, the day he had truly broken.

Midoriya scooped up Reiko and Ryuto, and the cat lifted her paw, carefully wiping away the tears that had started to form in Midoriya's eyes.

Midoriya had just gotten back to the dorms an hour before Nezu, who was not only carrying tons of paperwork, but also a small paper bag.

"Alright, here you go!" Nezu grinned, putting the small bag on the couch, "Go on, Izuku."

Midoriya carefully opened the paper bag and stared at the brand new UA uniform inside it. The boy still felt guilty over the destruction of his old uniform, "I'm sorry about my old uniform- "

"Well, it isn't really your fault that the old one got wrecked, and the hero course has a slightly different uniform from the general education course." Nezu stated, politely interrupting the boy, "You're officially in 1-A starting tomorrow, so you kind of needed to get the hero course uniform anyways."

Midoriya looked like he wanted to protest again, but Nezu just carefully pat the boy's hand, "Look, Izuku, there are some things that you can't control, so don't feel bad about it. If it makes you feel any better, we have tons of spare uniforms just in case students wreck theirs. You're definitely not the first one who needed uniform replacements."

The only person that had actually been the cause of all uniform replacements had actually been Enji, who often could not control his very literal fiery temper when he was a teenager, and often burnt his and his classmates uniforms by accident, but Nezu couldn't exactly say that to Midoriya; he already knew how much Midoriya hated Enji, and Midoriya wasn't even the type to like or dislike people because he felt it was a waste of time.

As much as Midoriya didn't want Nezu to keep providing for him, Midoriya knew he had to go for lessons in a proper uniform and he didn't even have the hero course uniform, even though it literally only consisted of an extra button on the shoulder strap.

He was going to have to pay Nezu back for his hospitality.

"Well, you're officially going to be a part of 1-A tomorrow. New classroom, new classmates. Rest up, Izuku."

Yaoyorozu had never appreciated a death glare so much up till today.

She was one of the few students who were pretty early for classes, along with Uraraka, Bakugou, Shinsou, and Iida, but much to her surprise, for once, she was the first to enter the classroom among that group.

The classroom was pretty much empty, but Yaoyorozu noticed that there was another table next to hers, right by the window. She frowned, confused, and did a headcount of all the tables in the room.

There were twenty-one tables. That meant… they were getting a new classmate. Yaoyorozu really hoped that it was Midoriya; he had practically stopped Mineta from doing anything disgusting and she hadn't even gotten the chance to thank him for it. But she also knew that UA usually didn't do course transfers in the middle of the year; they usually do it at the end of the year or between semesters.

So she could only wonder who their new classmate will be.

It wasn't long before Iida, Uraraka, and Shinsou entered the classroom, followed by Bakugou, and the rest of the class slowly trickled in as the classroom became noisier and nosier with each passing second.

Until Aizawa finally pushed the door open and entered with a stack of papers in his hand.

"Alright, I guess by now, some of you have already noticed the extra table. Those who didn't, that's a lesson for you. Now, your new classmate is Midoriya Izuku, from the General Education course. Now, as you know, normally we won't conduct transfers in the middle of a semester, but given what had happened…" Aizawa paused, unsure of how to word the event, but everyone already knew what he was talking about, "We made an exception this one time. Midoriya, you can come in now."

The door opened, and Midoriya warily walked into the classroom, eyeing each of his new classmates carefully.

"Midoriya, your seat is right at the back, by the window." Aizawa stated, "Now, given that the seating arrangement is a bit weird, some of you are going to be moving a bit, so pack your stuff. Mineta, you're moving to the side. Grab your stuff and come here."

Aizawa glanced around as the students did as he said, before he continued, "Ojiro, you also come to the side. Kaminari, move up. You're not paying enough attention in class. Shoji, you will sit where Yaoyorozu sits, you're blocking some of the other students. Yaoyorozu, you will sit in front of Midoriya."

Aizawa quickly managed to coordinate the class to move their seats according to the new seating plan, and the students quickly got settled in their new seats. The first row on the left consisted of Mineta, Ojiro, Yaoyorozu, and Midoriya. The second row consisted of Hagakure, Bakugou, Shinsou, and Shoji, while the third row had Jiro, Sero, Tokoyami, and Todoroki. The fourth row had Kaminari, Kirishima, Koda, and Sato, and the row closest to the door remained the same.

"This is your new seating arrangement. Any other problems, come tell me or the teachers and we'll fix it. Now, you guys can unpack and get ready for your next lesson. Self-study until then, you can make groups but just stay quiet." Aizawa ordered.

Midoriya had started reading something that Yaoyorozu was sure was out of the syllabus, and Hagakure and Jiro moved over to talk to Yaoyorozu.

It wasn't long before homeroom was over and Aizawa left the classroom. And while Mineta was perfectly well behaved while right in front of the Erasure hero, the second he left the room, it was a whole new story.

Mineta leapt out of his seat, and moved over to the group of three girls.

Then, he froze.

Midoriya hadn't moved at all, but he had shifted his gaze until it rested on Mineta. That was more than enough to send the short boy scrambling back to his seat.

Midoriya didn't even react. He just went back to reading his book.

Yaoyorozu quickly remembered what she wanted, and whirled around, catching Midoriya's attention almost immediately, "Hey… Midoriya... Jiro told me what you did last week… thank you so much."

Midoriya just looked at her staring at her for a few seconds. Yaoyorozu was getting slightly unnerved, but Midoriya just blinked, before giving her a small nod in acknowledgment, turning back to his book.

"Man, he doesn't talk much, does he?" Hagakure sighed. "Has he ever talked before?"

Shinsou had overheard Hagakure's question, before he was lost in his own thoughts.

Midoriya was Void. And Midoriya almost never talked; he was nothing like the Void that Shinsou had met when he was nine. He talked about being quirkless, how he knew how the boy with the "villainous" quirk felt, before promising to save the lavender haired boy from his family.

The Void, no, the Midoriya that Shinsou had met was quiet, but at least, he still talked.

Shinsou could only wonder what happened to Midoriya to have such a huge change in personality.

"Alright, get to the field right now and grab your hero costumes." Aizawa ordered, "Midoriya, yours is case 21."

Shoji carefully picked out the box from the top of the shelf, handing it to the green-haired boy gently. He was the tallest in class, and usually helped his classmates grab their hero costumes when they were on the highest shelf. He didn't see why he shouldn't help Midoriya.

MIdoriya looked at his case, before looking up at Shoji, and Shoji was seriously considering if had done the right thing under Midoriya's suspicious, scrutinizing gaze. Midoriya finally took the case from Shoji, giving him a small nod, and Shoji heaved an internal sigh in relief.

Heck, he was sure that Midoriya wasn't even trying to be terrifying.

And he sympathized with Midoriya.

When Shoji was a kid, he had often been teased and bullied by the other kids for his "villainous" and "monstrous" appearance. That was, until he was shown to be much stronger than his peers when he easily lifted up a cupboard like it was nothing. His classmates stopped teasing him, but they did stray away from him, slightly scared of his powers.

He wondered if Midoriya had been treated the same for being quirkless.

"You guys are too slow. Midoriya was out ages ago." Aizawa huffed, as the boys for both 1-A and 1-B made their way out of the changing rooms. Kan had been talking to Kendo, and he just sighed when the boys finally made their way to the training field. He knew that the students were most likely chatting as they changed, and that Midoriya was, in a way, socially awkward, but MIdoriya had changed into his hero costume and had exited the changing room almost instantaneously.

Granted, his hero costume was pretty simplistic compared to some of the others, but still, it shouldn't take them so long just to change. They took an even longer time than the girls to come out, and that was something that shouldn't even happen. Aizawa swore that as long as Kayama took to change, it wasn't anywhere as slow as the hero course males.

Iida started bowing, trying to explain that Kaminari had accidentally activated the shower, which caused him to start sparking and electrocuting Kirishima and Bakugou in the process. While no one was injured, Bakugou had gotten pissed at Kaminari and there was just chaos in general. Midoriya had slinked out before anything had even happened.

Aizawa just sighed, and resisted the urge to facepalm. It was just a stupid accident; he should have figured it was something like that. He wasn't worried at all for those idiotic kids. Nope, not at all.

He looked over to Midoriya to check his hero costume, since he had been more concerned with why the students were taking so long to change.

Midoriya was wearing a short-sleeved black hoodie, with a mint green trim around the sleeves. He wore black tights, and much like Aizawa, he had black combat boots, as well as fingerless gloves with green cuffs.

He must really like the black and mint aesthetic… Aizawa thought, slightly amused.

Midoriya still donned bandages around his arms and fingers, and he also had his collar fastened around his neck. Reiko and Ryuto were positioned securely in his hood, looking around curiously.

"Alright, we've wasted enough time." Aizawa declared. "We're going to start with stretching and warm-ups, then we're going to have you fight each other. Five minutes, then we'll start."

It didn't take too long for the students to get into pairs to start stretching.

Shinsou groaned as Iida pressed against his back, trying to get the lavender haired boy to touch his toes. He didn't think he was too inflexible; he just had long legs. Iida finally let up on the pressure, and Shinsou sat back upright, massaging the muscles that had been stretched.

"Hey, Midoriya need any… help…?" Shinsou asked, only for his voice to die down in disbelief as he stared at the green-haired boy.

Midoriya didn't need any help at all. Heck, he wasn't even having any trouble touching his toes or even doing splits.

Apparently, he wasn't the only one staring. Iida and Uraraka also had their eyes glued on the former vigilante, as well as Ashido, Kaminari, and Yaoyorozu.

They could tell that Midoriya knew they were staring looking at him; Midoriya was occasionally shooting glances at the other students, but more of the most part, largely ignored them and continued doing his own stuff.

"Damn." Ashido's jaw dropped.

"Alright, time's up. Gather around!" Kan hollered, and the students slowly huddled by the teachers.

"Now, we will pick one person from each class to fight, one at a time, until one is defeated or thrown out of the designated area." Aizawa started, pointing at the large white box that had been drawn on the ground,"The person who wins remains in the area, and the next person will come in, and we'll tell you when to start."

"So basically, like some mass Pokemon match without substitutions." Kaminari offered, and Aizawa sighed at the game references.

"Kamakiri, you're up first." Kan said, and Kamakiri gleefully entered the box.

Aizawa hummed, before he called out, "Midoriya."

Kan raised his eyebrow at Aizawa's choice, as the green-haired boy silently made his way into the box. The rest of the students made their way out of the box, standing on their respective teachers' sides.

"Really? Aizawa, just because he beat Kamakiri in the Sports Festival doesn't mean that Midoriya's going to beat him again. Kamakiri has improved by leaps and bounds! Plus, Midoriya still hasn't fully recovered yet." Kan proudly teased, but Aizawa merely ignored the other teacher, "Midoriya, I don't want you to be holding back like you did in the Sports Festival. I've seen you fight before, you weren't even going all out against Bakugou. I want you to give it your all, don't just stay on the defensive, but also don't push yourself too far, okay? I need to see what you can do before we decide what to work on."

Kamakiri had originally been confident that he could beat Midoriya, but after what Aizawa had said, he wasn't too sure anymore.

Even against Bakugou, he was holding back!?

Don't be silly. You've trained in hand to hand, your quirk is powerful, and while Midoriya is an experienced battler, he can't fight me at full power. I can beat him.

Midoriya just looked at Aizawa, not saying a word, before he turned back to Kamakiri, regarding his opponent emotionlessly. Kamakiri felt a shiver down his spine, but he just got into a battle stance, waiting for the signal to start.

"Alright, start."

Midoriya shot off towards Kamakiri immediately, and Kamakiri barely had time to bring up his blades to block a foot in the face.

Holy crap, he's that fast?!

Midoriya's assault didn't end there, as he attempted to kick Kamakiri in the side, before landing on one leg and whacking the back of Kamakiri's knee. Kamakiri managed to dodge the attack, but Midoriya merely advanced, swerving behind Kamakiri to attack him from behind. Kamakiri couldn't catch a breather as Midoriya always seemed to attack from his blindspot, constantly moving around, not letting Kamakiri guess where he would attack from and forcing him onto the defensive.

Kamakiri got a lucky shot in, swinging his blade at Midoriya. Midoriya blocked the hit with his foot, but Kamakiri pushed him back, sending the boy tumbling backwards, before rushing towards Midoriya.

Midoriya was barely even fazed, though, smoothly rolling back onto his feet, before springing forward towards Kamakiri. Kamakiri growled, extending his blades, in an attempt to stop Midoriya in his tracks, but Midoriya seemed to speed up, grabbing the flat of his blades with both hands, much to the 1-B student's surprise.

Midoriya yanked the blades towards him, pulling Kamakiri off backwards and propelling himself forward. Kamakiri gasped as Midoriya's knee made contact with his stomach, and he didn't have time to react as Midoriya followed up by kicking him into the ground, before one more powerful kick sent him rolling out of the box.

Monoma's jaw practically dropped. Heck, he thought that Midoriya was impressive for beating Kamakiri during the Sports Festival itself, but Midoriya had literally just knocked Kamakiri around like a rag doll. The one time that Kamakiri had gotten to attack, Midoriya had used the boy's speed against him.

He's not letting any of his movements go to waste. Aizawa mused. All his movements are smoothly transitioning from one to another, and he's keeping his center of gravity lower to allow for more balance and control over his movements, even being able to use the energy from Kamakiri's attack against him by relaxing his muscles at the right time.

Aizawa really wanted to know who the heck trained this kid. It was actually slightly terrifying that Midoriya knew how to fight that like that at such an age.

Kamakiri rubbed his sore ribs as he sat up, thinking, damn, Midoriya hits hard.

He saw a hand in front of his face, and he looked up, only to find that Midoriya was standing right in front of him, extending his hand.

And he laughed.

Midoriya looked at the boy with an almost confused expression, but Kamakiri grabbed his hand and Midoriya pulled him up.

"Damn. I knew it would be a tough fight after what Aizawa-sensei said, but I didn't think I'd been wrecked so badly." Kamakiri shot Midoriya a smile, "That was an awesome fight."

So, he can handle blades… but that's to be expected. I've seen him fight villains with knives before, using his speed to increase the power of his attacks. Aizawa thought, but how would he handle someone who can easily overpower him with pure strength alone?

"Shoji, you're next."

Chapter Text

Shoji entered the box, and trained his gaze on Midoriya. He might have been hesitant to go up against the boy before; he didn't want to make Midoriya's injuries worse. But seeing how he practically wrecked Kamakiri, Shoji wasn't taking any chances.

The second Kan gave the signal, Shoji shot forward, intending to grab onto Midoriya and just wrestle him to the ground. Midoriya wasn't particularly strong, as far as he could tell, but his speed combined with his technique let him hit hard and fast.

Unsurprisingly, Midoriya shot forward as well, but slid under Shoji's arms at the very last second. Shoji tried to stop him, and reached out his left arm, trying to grab onto Midoriya, but Midoriya swiftly kicked Shoji in the back of his knee, knocking the larger boy slightly off balance.

Shoji managed to stabilize himself easily; Midoriya didn't have enough strength to knock him down, but the green haired boy had enough time to pivot around on his foot, kicking Shoji in the chin as he turned around to face Midoriya.

Midoriya jumped backwards after his assault, before charging in again, aiming at Shoji's elbow as he tried to block Midoriya's attack.

Midoriya's attacks aren't as effective against Shoji as they were against Kamakiri… Aizawa stared at the ongoing fight as Midoriya feinted, then landed another kick against Shoji's side when the larger boy tried to block a punch to the face. But he is slowly wearing Shoji down. Shoji's way too bulky to keep up with Midoriya.

He was going to have to work on Shoji's mobility. Shoji was strong, alright, and he's stood out based on his appearance and strength. But up against someone as agile and nimble as Midoriya, coupled with the smaller boy's experience with fighting against multiple opponents at once, Shoji didn't stand a chance.

What Midoriya lacked in physical strength, he made up with relentless attacks, forcing Shoji to stay on the defensive.

The rather one-sided fight ended when Midoriya finally gave Shoji a breather, letting the boy get up as he purposely relaxed, making Shoji think that he had an opening. Shoji had charged at Midoriya, only for the smaller boy to duck beneath Shoji's arms and swiftly knocking his legs out from under him, making Shoji land outside the box, albeit barely.

Kan frowned, and looked towards his students. Shiozaki had fought Midoriya in the Sports Festival, but he's clearly shown that he is able to evade most of Shiozaki's long-ranged attacks, and she still needed practice in hand to hand combat. Kodai and Awase's quirks relied on their effects on other items, and the field itself was rather barren. There were several students that he felt could take Midoriya down, but Midoriya was smart as well; after seeing his notebooks, Kan was certain that Midoriya could easily bulldoze his way through half the class, if not more, without much of a problem if he had fully recovered.

And as much as he wanted to send Komori out to take Midoriya down, Midoriya still wasn't fully recovered, and he had a feeling that Shuzenji would chew him out if she found out that there were mushrooms growing in Midoriya's lungs, courtesy of Komori's quirk.

"Tetsutetsu! You're up!" Kan barked out, and the metallic quirked boy gleefully took his place on the field.

Aizawa raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment on it. He did want to see how Kirishima would fare against Midoriya, but Tetsutetsu would be an example, given the similarity between Kirishima and Tetsutetsu's fighting styles and quirks.

Midoriya scowled internally as he eyed Tetsutetsu. Both Tetsutetsu and Kirishima were the opponents that Midoriya had the most trouble facing; given that he couldn't just get past their defences with agility and speed. He probably couldn't punch him; he'd break his hands again, and he wanted to avoid that as far as possible. He needed his hands to do his homework.

He ignored the aching sensation that originated from his fingers. If punching Shoji was that bad, then what would punching steel be like?

He could kick him, sure, but kicking steel was a lot worse than kicking concrete. At least his combat boots were lined with steel so that he wouldn't break his toes.

And if Kan sent out Tetsutetsu, then it was unlikely that Aizawa would send out Kirishima.

The first thing that Tetsutetsu was to charge at him, and Midoriya resisted the urge to facepalm.

Why did everyone start off with charging at me?

Then again, there isn't much else they can do to start off without a ranged attack.

Midoriya moved forward to defend, catching Tetsutetsu's first steel-coated punch. Tetsutetsu attempted another punch, but Midoriya caught it as well, resulting in a stalemate between the two students.

Midoriya's arms shook as he struggled to overpower the metallic Tetsutetsu; he definitely wasn't strong enough at the moment to do so.

Tetsutetsu pressed his weight forward, as Midoriya's arms gave way. Midoriya quickly disengaged, harshly pushing Tetsutetsu away with his foot. Midoriya used the momentum from Tetsutetsu's attack, and rolled backwards, landing firmly on his feet, before shooting forwards.

If he couldn't overpower Tetsutetsu directly, he would just have to get in close, and mess up Tetsutetsu's tempo, then use that moment as a distraction to toss him out of the box.

Tetsutetsu skid backwards, and watched as Midoriya shot towards him. He brought his arm up, activating his quirk, ready to punch Midoriya as he got close, but even while he did take into account that Midoriya would attempt a feint, he wasn't able to hit Midoriya.

The green haired boy swiftly danced past Tetsutetsu's attack, and Tetsutetsu whirled around, ready to attack again. Tetsutetsu kept on punching, kicking, yet Midoriya continuously dodged everything, and this kept up until Tetsutetsu finally felt that he had fallen into a trap when Midoriya made a weird movement that just felt wrong.

It was too late. He had already tripped over his own feet, and Midoriya grabbed him by the arm and tossed him out of the box.

"What was that?" Kirishima's jaw dropped. He was certain that Tetsutetsu was doing well, forcing Midoriya to dodge, and Tetsutetsu wasn't that clumsy; there was no reason for him to trip over his own feet. "I swore Tetsutetsu had got him."

The rest of the students were equally confused, and Jiro rubbed her eyes, trying to regain her own sense of balance; being more in tune with tempo than her peers, she was more affected by it, and just looking at the fight messed up her own internally tempo, "No. Midoriya did this during the attack on UA as well. He gave Tetsutetsu the opportunity to attack, drawing him into his tempo, before messing up Tetsutetsu's tempo. He completely disrupted Tetsutetsu's sense of balance and used that opportunity to take him out."

Aizawa sighed internally. That was a big card to play, and wasn't that tempo thing some concept that a hero in America came up with? How did Midoriya come to know of it? And how on earth did he even manage to implement it into a fighting style? For every question he had answered about MIdoriya, ten more questions popped up.

But that meant that Midoriya was getting desperate, though Aizawa had a feeling that wasn't the case; he probably knew that trying to attack Tetsutetsu directly would only do more harm to himself, and had no other choice. Midoriya wouldn't be using it against anyone else besides from Kirishima, since he was the only one with a quirk that increases his defences.

"Hagakure."

Midoriya didn't look impressed as Hagakure walked into the box and removed her gloves and shoes.

"Hey! Just because I'm a girl, doesn't mean that you can go easy on me!" Hagakure yelled, before taking a fighting stance, not that anyone could see it anyway.

Midoriya just closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. There was some dust in the air that revealed Hagakure's position, but it was so faint that he would take more effort trying to see her than just listening out for her breathing and footsteps.

"Is he underestimating her?" Ojiro asked, feeling insulted for his friend. He sparred with Hagakure sometimes, to improve his senses, and if he was going easy on her, it kind of felt like Midoriya was looking down on him too.

"No. He can't see her anyways. Plus, Midoriya doesn't need to see to fight like a beast." Shinsou grimaced, almost feeling sorry for Hagakure if not for the fact that he knew that Midoriya knew how to hold back at the appropriate time.

Midoriya remained still, listening out, trying to feel the faint air currents around him. The fact that his classmates were talking rather loudly and the bandages pressed against his skin weren't helping, but he pushed his annoyance away and focused on the task at hand.

The air behind him shifted, and he heard a soft intake of breath as Hagakure got ready to attack.

Before she could even react, Midoriya had whirled around and kneed her in the stomach. She let out a small cry of pain as she was sent tumbling backwards, past the line.

"Man, I thought I had you there!" Hagakure exclaimed, "How did you know I was there?"

Midoriya stared at her for a second, before he signed, "Breathing."

"Aww. I thought I was quiet enough!" Hagakure pouted, after Shinsou translated the signing for her, "Thanks for the feedback! I'll work on it!"

Midoriya just looked at her weirdly as she grabbed her gloves and slipped on her shoes.

"Hmm… Kuroiro." Kan stated.

Kuroiro grinned, as he walked onto the box. Midoriya was tiring; the boy was starting to pant slightly after fighting four students in a row in quick succession. There were a few shadows, cast by clouds, and it was more than enough for him to use his quirk.

Midoriya didn't seem particularly worried, though, but Midoriya wasn't expressive in the first place.

Kuroiro immediately dived into the shadows when Aizawa gave the signal, making a beeline straight for Midoriya. He popped out right beneath Midoriya, intent on punching him, but Midoriya wasn't on the ground.

Midoriya had jumped, avoiding Kuroiro's attack, and kicked Kuroiro right in the face. Kuroiro tumbled to the ground, diving back into the shadows to recover, and Midoriya landed back on the ground, looking around in anticipation for an attack.

Every time he comes up, the shadows ripple slightly. I just have to keep an eye out for that. He's faster in the shadows, so he might pop out from somewhere and rocket towards me. I should just watch one side and purposely keep my back open. He'll take that opportunity and try to tackle me.

Midoriya kept his eyes on the ground, watching out for any sign of movement. He sensed some form of movement behind him, and he tensed up, before whirling around. Kuroiro was right in his face, and Midoriya hurriedly brought his legs up and kicked the white haired boy in the face, sending him out of bounds.

Aizawa bit his lip, "Aoyama, your turn."

Midoriya's doing great in close combat, Aoyoma is a long ranged fighter.

Aoyama started off by firing off lasers in several short bursts in quick succession, but Midoriya swifted dodged them all before charging at the flamboyant blonde. Aoyama tried to mow him with a couple larger lasers, but Midoriya dodged them all as well, before charging at Aoyama.

But the blonde boy wasn't done yet, surprisingly.

Aoyama had charged his laser up, wanting to fire it off the second Midoriya got close. But Midoriya had promptly sidestepped the massive laser attack, before ramming his shoulder into Aoyama, taking him out.

Midoriya panted; he was tiring, and didn't expect Aoyama to be charging up a close-ranged laser attack, and had barely managed to dodge it. He rubbed the sweat off his forehead, and took a big gulp of air, readying himself for the next opponent.

Kan scratched the back of his head. He knew that Midoriya was competent fighter, but damn, he was severely underestimating Midoriya. He didn't expect Midoriya to be able to fight so well, especially since he had been unconscious for a week and pretty much out of practise. But all the fights were slowly wearing the boy down, and Kan called out the next student, "Shoda."

I can't fight him directly. He's too good. Shoda thought, as he readied himself to fight. He may know my quirk, but he probably doesn't know the specifics of it. Maybe, if I pretend to make the same mistake Tetsutetsu did, I can just draw him in, land a few hits, and then use Twin Impact to knock him out of the box.

Midoriya regarded the light blue haired boy as another troublesome fighter. Twin Impact allowed Shoda to create a second impact at any site where he had hit, and it would be several times stronger than the original hit. A powerful hit in the wrong place could knock Midoriya directly out of the box, and Midoriya knew that he had to limit where Shoda struck to only his palms; at least, if Shoda tried to activate his quirk, Midoriya wouldn't break anything or twist them the wrong way, and, if he had to, he could use it for himself.

After all, Shoda himself had several tells that he could exploit. Shoda had a habit of looking at the points of impact before activating his quirk, and the boy wasn't particularly fast.

Unlike all the others, Shoda merely moved into a fighting stance, but didn't make the first move. Midoriya had no choice, but to charge forward. Shoda leapt forward, towards Midoriya, before he activated his quirk on his feet, propelling himself forward even faster.

He aimed a punch at Midoriya, but Midoriya caught his first punch. Shoda attempted another punch, but Midoriya caught that as well. Midoriya quickly kicked Shoda away, before holding his hands up, purposely close together so that they were both in Shoda's line of sight, ready to attack again, and Shoda got back to his feet.

Shoda subtly glanced at Midoriya's hands, and Midoriya narrowed his eyes.

Now.

The instant that Shoda glanced at his hands, Midoriya quickly moved his hands behind him, shifting into a stance like Bakugou usually did before he used his explosions to propel himself forward, just as Twin Impact activated.

Shoda didn't even have time to gape as Midoriya rammed into him like a bullet train, knocking the shorter boy out of the box.

Midoriya ignored the pain that flared through his arms and fingers. He certainly hadn't been expecting that the impact would have taken such a huge toll on his arms.

"Woah. He used Shoda's quirk against him?" Tokage exclaimed, grinning excitedly, "That's pretty awesome! I didn't think you could do something like that! I wanna fight him!"

"Just wait your turn." Monoma pulled her back, "After he defeats the next 1-A kid, maybe Vlad King sensei would choose you."

Aizawa tried to think of who to pit against Midoriya next. Shoda had been a good choice by Kan; his ability to launch secondary impacts would disorientate most people. Even if a person knew Shoda's quirk, it would be nearly impossible to read the shorter boy in order to use it against him.

Yet, Midoriya had just gone and done just that, even though he hadn't even fought Shoda properly before. And Aizawa wasn't sure what to make of the situation. Midoriya was fast, decently powerful, he was agile and nimble, and had enough experience to even take on Stain, for goodness sake.

"Iida, your turn." Aizawa ordered. He wanted to see how Midoriya would deal with someone much faster than him. The only pity was that the box wasn't large enough for Iida to go full throttle, but second gear was already far faster than what Midoriya could go.

"Yes, Sensei!" Iida saluted, before walking into the box. He was already thinking about how to defeat Midoriya. He knew that Midoriya couldn't keep up with his speed, so he was most likely going to stay in one spot and evade. He should just keep on attacking. Midoriya would tire out sooner or later, and it wasn't like he had a ranged attack.

Iida had started off with charging at Midoriya, forcing the smaller boy to evade. Iida just pivoted on his foot, turning back around, before revving his engine back up and launching himself at Midoriya again. He glanced at Midoriya's position, before sticking his leg out, kicking Midoriya as he passed. Midoriya managed to stop the attack, using his arms as a shield, and Iida took a step back, before trying to kick Midoriya again, activating his quirk right before his foot made contact with Midoriya.

Midoriya blocked the kick again, and Iida kept on attacking, trying to push Midoriya out of bounds. Midoriya continued using his arms to tank the attacks. He growled under his breath, and tried to get some distance between Iida and himself, but Iida took that opportunity to kick Midoriya harshly in the stomach, sending the green haired boy skidding backwards.

"He actually managed to hit Midoriya?!" Sero gaped, and Todoroki replied, "It's not that surprising; Midoriya's already fought seven students before Iida. Plus, Midoriya hasn't been training for quite a while; it's going to take some time for him to get back to full power."

Midoriya resisted the urge to cradle his bruised arm, and pushed the pain to the back of his mind. He'd deal with it later. He's fought with worse injuries before. He had an engine to scrap.

And he had an idea.

Midoriya rushed at Iida, and Iida activated his quirk once again, charging back at the green haired boy. Midoriya hastily grabbed onto the bandages on his arms, and swiftly dodged Iida's next attempt to kick him.

Iida braked, and turned around to charge at Midoriya again, but found himself tangled up in bandages. Before he could even figure out what was going on, he was pulled upwards.

Aizawa and Shinsou could only gape as Midoriya unravelled the bandages around his arms, before flinging them at Iida, effectively ensnaring and immobilizing the taller boy. Midoriya yanked Iida upwards, before turning around and slamming Iida into the ground, out of bounds.

"Dude, he needs those as a permanent part of his hero costume, that was badass!" Kaminari grinned.

"Hey, Shinsou, I thought only you and Aizawa-sensei know how to use the capture weapon thingy?" Uraraka nudged Shinsou.

Shinsou admitted, "I can do basic stuff, yeah, but I can barely control the damned thing properly."

Midoriya carefully pulled the bandages back, before trying to re-wrap his arms.

"Midoriya, stop."

Midoriya listened, and paused, but made no other moves. Aizawa moved in to help Midoriya, before he noticed just how much his arms were trembling. He carefully grabbed Midoriya's shaking hands, internally cursing as Midoriya flinched away from him.

He should have noticed it sooner. Midoriya was strong, yes, but he hadn't fully recovered; he was pushing himself way beyond what his body could handle at the moment. Not to mention that Midoriya also had a tendency to hide his injuries, and would probably never tell anyone. He was foolish to think that Midoriya would have told him that he was going past his limits and couldn't continue fighting.

"Midoriya, sit out. You're not fighting anymore." Aizawa ordered, and Midoriya just looked at him blankly, his expression betraying nothing. Kan just looked at Aizawa in concern, while the rest of the students stood around in confusion.

"Just look at how much your hands are trembling. You've reached your limit. I'm not going to let you continue fighting like this and make them even worse." Aizawa stated. Midoriya didn't even spare a glance at his arms, and just glared at Aizawa harshly.

"It wasn't just one; it was several suicide attempts."

Aizawa felt like he was doing the wrong thing while trying to gain Midoriya's trust, but he couldn't just let Midoriya self-destruct, especially after what Shuzenji had said in the hospital rang through his mind.

"Midoriya, you're going to tear yourself apart at the rate you're going." Aizawa sighed, trying to reason with the boy, "I don't care if you are able to fight with broken limbs, or that you're able to take on high level villains and come out unscathes. I'm not letting you make a small problem even worse. You're just hurting yourself. You don't have to go the Recovery Girl now, you can see her after lessons; I just don't want you to be hurting yourself because you think you have to beat everyone here to prove yourself."

And Midoriya had already proved himself, defeating a fifth of the hero course before he had even fully recovered.

Midoriya didn't seem to believe his words, as the teacher carefully rewrapped the bandages around Midoriya's arms. He continued glaring at Aizawa warily, before he finally relented and walked out of the box, standing in a corner, away from the other students.

Iida had already returned to his position by Todoroki, Shinsou, Koda, and Uraraka.

"That's no way to interact with a teacher. Midoriya should still treat Aizawa-sensei with respect. Glaring at him is no way for a student to act!" Iida quietly protested, and was about to make his way to Midoriya's side to lecture him. Todoroki and Uraraka quickly pulled him back before he could do anything stupid.

Shinsou just looked at Midoriya, as he stood away from everyone else. Midoriya had picked Reiko and Ryuto up and placed then in his hood, and Reiko was trying to cheer Midoriya up by nuzzling him.

Midoriya reminded him of himself when Aizawa and Yamada had just adopted him; not wanting to interact with anyone at all in fear that they would hit him or call him a villain.

Koda's heart just dropped when he saw how Midoriya looked at Aizawa. He didn't even bother to sign.

"He's scared."

Todoroki almost got a heart attack when Koda spoke up, and the group turned to face the normally silent boy.

"His actions… they remind me of the animals I saw at the shelter. Aggressive on the outside, but that's only because they're terrified. Terrified that they're going to be hurt again. Scared that the only treatment they're going to get is to be beaten and abused. They try to act tough to try and scare other people away, but they're just scared." Koda spoke so softly, the group could barely hear him, but they understood what Koda was saying.

Midoriya still wasn't sure if he could trust Aizawa. He regarded the older man with hostility because he was afraid that Aizawa would hurt him. He refused to let his guard down because he didn't want to risk it.

How many people had hurt Midoriya before? How many people had taken Midoriya's trust and threw it away? How much more abuse could Midoriya take before he snapped? Before he broke completely?

And could they still help him? Could Midoriya still be saved?

"We're not like those people." Uraraka stated coldly, "Anyone who hurts someone as nice as Midoriya is a piece of shit."

"Uraraka, language!" Iida scolded, before declaring, "Though I share the same sentiments, I wouldn't word it like that! People who hurt others for no reason are just degenerates! As the class representative, I will do my best to ensure that Midoriya is safe!"

Chapter Text

The rest of the lesson carried on without a hitch, and Aizawa and Kan distributed Midoriya's notes out to the rest of the students, "Okay, here's some notes that Midoriya has written about your. Take a look at it, and if you have any questions, come talk to Vlad King or I. Please don't harass Midoriya about it."

Hagakure nearly jaw dropped as she looked at her paper, before looking down at her invisible form, shifting around uncomfortably, "Is my form really that bad?"

"Uh… I can't tell?" Ojiro scratched his head, "None of us can really see you."

"Why didn't I think of using diamond? It's just carbon, one of the simplest elements!" Yaoyorozu exclaimed, "Also, I should probably work on my hand to hand… Monoma was able to easily take my weapons from me."

"Ha!" Monoma laughed, but was promptly smacked in the back of the head by Kendo, "You know, you're the only one involved in this stupid 1-A and 1-B rivalry. Just drop it already."

Iida stomped up to Midoriya, as the green haired boy turned around to face him. Iida took a deep breath, before he started waving his arms around erratically, "I'm sorry that I injured your arms even more! As the class representative, I should be helping you fit in and instead, I ended up injuring you instead! I am very -"

Midoriya tensed up almost immediately, keeping a wary gaze on Iida's arms as he swung them about like he was trying to chop something.

Iida was immediately pulled back by Shinsou with his capture weapon, "I told you to cool it. You're stressing him out."

"Sorry about Iida. He's just overly enthusiastic." Uraraka laughed, "I've read the notes you've done on us, and they're really awesome! I was wondering… could you give me a few lessons in close combat fighting?"

Koda almost squeaked as Midoriya turned his gaze towards the bubbly girl, staring at her. Uraraka shifted uncomfortably; she was hoping that by maybe spending more time with him, Midoriya would eventually warm up to them, but it seems that Midoriya was still hesitant to take the first step.

Midoriya lifted his hands to sign, but Uraraka quickly stopped him, "No, you don't have to answer right away… especially with your arms in that state… " She smiled at him, "If you don't want to, you also don't have to teach me… "

Midoriya just looked at them, confused, as Aizawa called out, "Iida, can you accompany Midoriya to the infirmary?"

"Yes, sensei!" Iida saluted, "Come on, Midoriya, let's go get your arms checked."

"You're lucky it's nothing serious; it's just bruised, not broken or sprained. You really have to be more careful, Midoriya." Shuzenji sighed, as she examined Midoriya's arm. The green haired boy was clearly uncomfortable around her, but remained completely still, watching her every movement warily. "One day, I won't be able to heal your injuries anymore. There's only so much that your arms can take."

She gently kissed Midoriya's arm, careful not to sap too much of his strength, but Midoriya didn't even look bothered by the usage of his energy; in fact, he didn't even seem to react at all.

"I keep saying this, but just take it easy for now, Midoriya. You can train, but please, don't use your arms to block any more attacks until I say that you can. You need to let your body rest recover before all the damage accumulates and becomes permanent."

Midoriya just gave Shuzenji a small bow as he stood up, and Iida resisted the urge to reach out to help him up; that would most definitely not help them in getting Midoriya to trust them. They had to let Midoriya initiate things, to let him know that they would be there for him no matter what.

"Hey, Midoriya." Iida piped up, and Midoriya turned to look up at the larger boy, "What are the things you like and dislike? I know you don't really like people touching you, so I was thinking… maybe we can tell the class so you'll be more comfortable."

Midoriya merely shook his head. It didn't matter what he liked or disliked. He had been pretty jumpy the past few days, he would admit that, but once he finally fully recovered, it wouldn't matter anymore. He'd be back to normal, barely reacting as people grabbing him to bash him against a wall or tripping him down the stairs.

"Are you sure? I'm sure we can work something out. It won't be too much trouble, I promise." Iida prodded a bit more, but Midoriya just shook his head again.

People don't keep promises, they never do so. Promising to do something was as good as not promising to do it in the first place.

Who even cared that much anyways?

Midoriya knew Nezu did, at the very least, but he also knew it was impossible for Nezu to enforce it anyways, and Nezu did have way too many things on his paws lately to deal with trivial matters in lesson.

Todoroki, Uraraka, and Koda stood outside the infirmary, patiently waiting for Iida and Midoriya to come out; Shinsou had gone off for his counselling session with Hound Dog. They heaved a sigh of relief as Iida and Midoriya walked out of the infirmary, the later with fresh new bandages wrapped around his arms, both of them still in their hero costumes.

"So, how is it?" Uraraka asked.

"He's fine. Recovery Girl thinks he should just rest." Iida replied, "I think we should tell Aizawa-sensei."

"Wouldn't Recovery Girl tell him herself?" Todoroki pointed out, "She's the nurse, won't the teachers be the first to be informed of his condition?"

"Hmm… that is true." Iida mused, "What do you think, Midoriya, Koda?"

Koda quickly signed something that none of them understood, and Midoriya merely shrugged.

He didn't really care anyways. As long as he was still functioning, he would train to the best of his abilities. He couldn't afford to waste time and stagnate; without a quirk like the others, he knew that he would reach his limit much faster than they would. He wanted to go back to his classroom and start with his homework.

"Midoriya… can I speak to you in private?" Todoroki suddenly asked, and Koda and Uraraka looked at him in confusion. Iida just had a small, knowing smile on his face, and he quickly spoke up, "Ah, then Koda, Uraraka and I will get back to class first. We'll see you tomorrow?"

MIdoriya just looked at his classmates in confusion as Todoroki nodded, before the dual-colour haired boy led Midoriya to an empty classroom.

What does he want to say this time?

"I want to apologise."

Midoriya just stared at Todoroki blankly.

"I was selfish, and didn't think about how you felt. I was insensitive to your emotions, and I ended up saying some really rude things to you. You've helped me so many times, telling the principal about my father, helping me, encouraging me to use the side of my quirk that I detest so much, and even saving both Iida and I from Stain. And yet, all I did was to insult you and your abilities. I just want to apologise for acting so rudely towards you."

Todoroki ended off with a small bow, and Midoriya really wasn't sure how to deal with it at all.

Since when did people even care about how he felt? Since when did people even apologise in the first place? Why was he apologising?

Somewhere deep in his heart, he could tell that Todoroki was telling the truth, that he genuinely felt bad for his treatment towards Midoriya.

But he could never be too sure.

But Midoriya was tired. He just wanted to finish his work, and then go to sleep. He wanted to go out and patrol, but he knew that Nezu was watching the security cameras and he didn't want to bother the principal. He still needed to learn more about his surroundings, where he lived, before he could even figure out how to sneak out.

Midoriya shoulders sagged, gaining Todoroki's attention, and Midoriya merely nodded in acknowledgement.

He should just accept Todoroki's apology, and keep an eye on him. After all, even after people had apologised to him, they never were sincere, and all they did was to try and gain Midoriya's trust before telling him to kill himself. Who's to say that Todoroki wasn't the same?

"Thank you. I will do anything I can to make up for my bad attitude towards you."

Midoriya just shook his head, before making his way to the door, Todoroki trailing slowly behind him.

"Ah, Shinsou, how are you doing?" Inui asked, as Shinsou slipped into the seat opposite the pro hero.

"I'm fine… for the most part." Shinsou replied.

"So, do you want to… uh… about what happened in the USJ?" Inui asked, "You don't have to say anything if you don't want to, just take it easy."

"Uh… I'm going to be honest… I still think about… what happened…" Shinsou started, "It's silly… but every time I close my eyes… I just can't forget … the Nomu… how Midoriya kept…"

Shinsou shook his head, "Sorry… I don't wanna talk about it."

"That's alright." Inui sighed. Most of the heroics students had taken it pretty badly. That wasn't to say that the other departments weren't affected, but they were further away from the chaos that the hero class students, and for the most part, were safe from the more… graphic parts of the fight.

Todoroki, Iida, Shinsou, Bakugou, and Monoma had taken it pretty badly, compared to their peers. Bakugou had started blowing stuff up a few minutes into their counselling session, swearing as he yelled that he couldn't be number one if he wasn't even strong enough to protect one quirkless kid, and how he needed to get stronger.

Todoroki had remained quiet for the most part, but he had mentioned that he had severely underestimated Midoriya and had treated rather rudely, and while he knew that he wanted to apologise to Midoriya, he wasn't sure how to make it up to him. Inui had told him to just apologise first, and then decide on what to do later, since he too wasn't even sure how Midoriya would react to it.

Iida had been pretty vocal about his viewpoint, and had said that he wanted to a proper job as a class representative and welcome Midoriya into 1-A, but wasn't too sure how to go about it since Midoriya seemed to simultaneously be affected by everything, and yet didn't seem to care about what happens at all. He did want to be useful and tell the class what was appropriate to do around Midoriya, since he knew that most of the class was concerned about Midoriya's complete lack of self preservation.

Uraraka was pretty similar to Iida, except that she had been unconscious when the villains teleported everyone back to school, but she had heard from Jiro and some of the others that Midoriya fought tooth and nail to protect everyone without a care for his own life. She was really protective of Midoriya, and wanted to beat up anyone and everyone who had insulted Midoriya, which included his former 1-C class.

Monoma was pretty similar to Bakugou, lamenting that he wasn't strong enough to help Midoriya. Inui originally had thought that Monoma's attitude towards 1-A had been because Monoma had an inflated ego, but that wasn't the case at all; Monoma knew that 1-A was strong due to their quirks, and apparently had an inferiority complex due to his quirk being called "weak" and "useless" in the past. Inui was seriously wondering what had happened to this deteriorating society.

"You're still guilty over Midoriya's condition, aren't you?" Inui asked, "We all know that he was the reason why Aizawa and Mic saved you."

Out of everyone, Midoriya seemed to be the one that was least affected by it. He had tried to have one counselling session with the green haired victim of the attack, but Midoriya just continued looking at him blankly, not even seeming bothered by the fact that he had almost died in the attack. It was unnerving to see the one that had suffered the most physical trauma, and probably the most mental trauma, to be the one that seemed to care the least about the events that had happened.

Shinsou nodded mutely, before he looked up at Inui, "I want to help him… a lot of my friends do as well, but we're not really sure how to go about doing that."

Inui sighed, and rubbed the back of his head, "Pretty much half of your class has asked me that question, and I'm going to be honest and tell you exactly what I told them. I myself have no idea how to help Midoriya. I think you should just stick by him, just let him know that there is someone there for him. Don't rush him; it would just do more harm than good. I've seen you guys in the canteen sometimes, just continue what you're doing, and don't prod too much. Let Midoriya set the pace."

Inui was going to try and ask other pros for help with dealing with Midoriya first. Maybe some of them could give him advice on how to help the poor apathetic child who had no care for his own life and wellbeing.

"Aizawa-sensei said that you wanted to see me?" Midoriya asked, as he carefully settled down on the couch in Nezu's office. Reiko and Ryuto curled up on the boy's lap, and Nezu leaned back into his chair.

"I've been thinking, Izuku." Nezu started, "You may want to let your old foster parent go for her actions towards her, but she's breaking the law. She can't just treat you like that, and get away unscathed. She should be arrested for child abuse, negligence, and quirk discrimination."

"But… the other kids would be forced to transfer to other homes… that they may not be comfortable in…" Midoriya tried to reason, but Reiko just butted her head against Midoriya's arm.

Nezu stopped him, "Think about it, what if she treats another kid like that? What if there's another child like you who's like you, but she just mistreats them them the same way she treated you?"

He thinks he deserves it. He thinks that he's worthless and should be treated so. It's not right.

Nezu hated manipulating Midoriya's feelings like that, but that was the only way to make Midoriya see reason, to see that actions performed by his former foster mother should not go unpunished.

"Izuku, how were your real parents like?" He couldn't help but ask.

Midoriya's eyes widened at the question, before he slouched, quickly averting his eyes from the principal.

"Did they care about you? Did they love you?" Nezu asked.

Midoriya didn't make a single movement for a long time, before he nodded, his action so small that Nezu wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't been paying attention.

It's a touchy subject. I shouldn't bring it up now.

"Sorry for bringing it up. My bad." Nezu scratched the back of his head, "I know you don't want to cause any more trouble, but I can't just sit down and let her go knowing that she has broken several laws."

"Even if you did… no one would believe you anyway." Midoriya muttered, "You don't have any evidence. No one would believe anything I say, and you have no substantial proof."

Nezu faltered, pausing to consider Midoriya's statement.

He was right, as much as Nezu hated to admit it. Nezu had no concrete evidence at all; all of Midoriya's recent injuries were inflicted at the USJ, and it wasn't like anyone would believe Midoriya, especially with all the reports about how he was a troublemaker at school.

Nezu just growled under his breath, before he forced himself to calm down. At least, now in UA, no one would ever hurt Midoriya again.

"Alright! Let's have some ground rules!" Iida placed his hands on his hips as he stood in front of the class, "As the class representative, I have taken it upon myself, with some help from Shinsou, Koda, and Todoroki, to compile a list of what to do and what not to do around Midoriya. As you can tell, he's new, and there's probably some actions that you may think is fine, but Midoriya would probably take it the wrong way!"

Aizawa was already informed of what Iida was planning to do, and had sent Midoriya to Nezu's office so that he wouldn't be in class. Nezu was also filled in, and he wanted to talk to Midoriya about that other matter that was lingering heavily on his mind.

Iida took out a thumb drive and inserted it into his laptop, and a word document appeared on the screen, "I originally wanted to make a handbook, but it used up too many pages, and wasn't eco friendly. A digital version will have to do. Yaoyorozu has also suggested to make a group chat. I will add all of you in it, and shared the document. Once all of you have downloaded it, I will clear the chat before adding Midoriya into the chat."

Aizawa hummed under his breath. That was a pretty good idea. Midoriya didn't seem to be familiar with people caring about him, or putting in the extra effort to do things for him, so not letting him know that they had actually made a handbook was probably a good idea.

"First, if you're going to talk to him, don't jump him. Make sure that he knows that you're coming closer before advancing, especially if he's disoriented." Iida started off, "Secondly, try not to make any sudden movements. He might take it as a sign of aggression. Thirdly, please don't try to prank him by trying to surprise him..."

Iida continued droning on and one, swinging his arms around, until Sato piped up, "I don't mean to be rude… but isn't this a bit excessive?"

"Not really, unless you're ready to have your joints dislocated." Aizawa replied blankly, stepping out of his sleeping bag, "Midoriya's been a vigilante for a long time, at least six years. He isn't well known because he prefers to stick to the shadows and takes down villains at night, and I'm going to tell you right now, he's the one that battled Stain until Endeavor and I were able to take him out. He was able to go toe to toe with the Hero Killer, after Endeavor had tried to set him on fire."

"What!? How?!" Ashido gaped.

Aizawa sighed, before continuing, "Midoriya prefers to knock out his opponent as quickly as possible, but he can just as easily break your bones. Years of training and practise means that some of his actions would be ingrained into muscle memory. These guidelines are in place not just to help Midoriya fit in, but also because he may act on instinct and hurt you if you approach him wrongly. Ashido, you're lucky that he only hissed at you that time you stuck your hand in his face. I've heard rumours that the last time some villain tried to sneak up on him, Midoriya just flipped them over completely and drop kicked him to the ground, dislocating his shoulder and knocking him out on the spot. Not to mention that the villain was at least twice Midoriya's size."

"Kero, not to be rude, Sensei, but how was he allowed in the hero course in the first place?" Asui asked.

"Because we believe he still has a chance to recover. You all remember what was on that card, don't you?" Aizawa replied, and he could see angry, frustrated expressions on the faces of his students, "He didn't have it easy in his old school, so he might perceive you as a threat as well and may attack accidentally. I already asked him to give you a chance, to show that you won't hurt him. He's trying, but he can't do it alone."

"Just… don't force him to do anything that he's not comfortable with, okay?" Aizawa sighed, "I know it's not easy, having to follow a ton of rules just to interact with him, but just treat it like any normal lesson. This is how you deal with victims from traumatic events, it's not going to be easy to recover from it. Let Midoriya be the first person that you help to save."

Chapter Text

Midoriya felt that something had happened while he was gone. The vibe he had gotten from his classmates were definitely different from when he had left in the morning, but Midoriya couldn't figure out what it was.

"Ah, Midoriya, you're back." Iida smiled, having hastily slammed the laptop lid shut when he heard footsteps outside of the classroom. He had already created the class chat, with Aizawa's permission, and had shared the document with everyone in 1-A.

"We all decided that having a class chat would be beneficial to everyone, but I do not have your phone number. Homeroom will end soon, so I will add you to the chat later. Can you give me your phone number?" Iida asked, taking his phone out and passing it to Midoriya.

Midoriya's eyes narrowed as he hesitantly took Iida's phone and inputted his number, before handing the phone back to Iida. His phone was filled with messages from his old classmates, and as much as Midoriya knew it was wishful thinking, he really didn't want anymore messages telling him to jump off a building or hang himself. He had already done it and it wasn't a good experience at all.

"Thank you!" Iida bowed, grabbing his laptop and running back to his seat as Kayama entered the classroom, finally relieving Aizawa of his homeroom duties.

Reiko and Ryuto just sat on Midoriya's table, looking around curiously. They never bothered anyone, and never made any noise during lessons, nor did they distract Midoriya or anyone else from their work for no reason, so Aizawa really didn't care that they were there. The other teachers didn't really mind their presence, so Reiko and Ryuto were allowed to remain by Midoriya's side at all times.

The class didn't mind either. They were all fond of the two animals, especially Uraraka, Yaoyorozu and Koda, and it was hilarious to see Reiko smacking Kaminari's hand with her paw every time he wrote the wrong math equations. Ectoplasm was especially amused whenever that happened.

"Yes, Principal?" Aizawa asked.

"You don't have any lessons for the rest of the day, do you?" Nezu asked.

"No."

"Alright. I need you to do something." Nezu started, "You know Aldera Junior High, don't you?"

"Isn't that Midoriya's former middle school?" Aizawa asked, and Nezu nodded.

"Yep. I did some digging, and there are reports saying that Midoriya is a huge trouble maker in lessons and constantly disturbs his classmates."

Aizawa frowned, "Uh… are you sure you have the right report?"

"Positive." Nezu nodded, "That's why I want you to go and check the logs and the security cameras. I was originally going to go myself; I already have the permits and documents for an investigation, but I have some last minute work assigned by the Hero Commission and I would like this to be done as soon as possible. You up for it?"

"Obviously." Aizawa grinned, "Can I leave school now?"

"Go ahead." Nezu passed Aizawa several forms and a few hard drives, "You can download all of them for us to analyze later; I also have the permits for that as well."

Midoriya pushed the stopper into the sink, placing a small towel over it to cover the metal before filling the basin with warm water. He had already showered, and rewrapped the bandages around his arms; Shuzenji had already removed the bandages around his fingers, but had ordered him to keep the bandages around his arms for a few more days. He had just gotten back to UA after volunteering at the pet rescue center, and he had brought Reiko and Ryuto with him. Midoriya had taken the opportunity to buy shampoo for the both of them, since he realised that he didn't bring any after he had moved out from his foster home, though he doubted that it was necessary right now.

He regularly combed his fingers through Reiko's fur, so she didn't need much brushing, and he wasn't planning to let Ryuto shower just yet; he was just going to wipe him down with a wet towel.

Midoriya exited the bathroom, before scooping Reiko and Ryuto up and gently placing them on the counter. Reiko didn't particularly like being soaked with water, probably due to her experience in the drain when she was just a few months old, but she didn't seem to mind as long as the water was warm.

Midoriya carefully coaxed Reiko into the sink, before she started grooming herself in the sink. He took that opportunity to rinse a towel with warm water, and gently wiping Ryuto down with the damp towel, being careful not to accidentally rip any of his feathers out. Ryuto pressed his head against the towel, chirping.

Midoriya put the towel away, as the slightly damp avian started preening. Midoriya grabbed a dry towel and carefully rubbed any access water away, before giving Ryuto a second to dry himself off naturally. He reached into the sink, gently rubbing Reiko's fur to get any dirt that she had missed.

Much to Midoriya's chagrin, Ryuto decided it was a good time to hop into the sink right after getting dry, creating a small splash, before shaking himself off. Reiko took that as a challenge, and started splashing water gently at the smaller bird. Ryuto flapped his wings, sending a bit of water at Reiko, and Midoriya just sighed. They weren't making that much of a mess, but the water was already cooling down, and at the rate that they were splashing water around, the water was going to get cold even faster.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when water was splashed on his face. He shook his head, before trying to find the source of water, only to find Reiko looking at him with a smug expression on her face. Midoriya mock-glared at her, "Don't do that."

Reiko just splashed water at him again, and Midoriya huffed, before reaching into the sink to splash water back at her in return. Ryuto splashed water at Reiko again, and Reiko just growled lightly at him, before sending more water his way with her tail.

"Okay, cool it, that's enough." Midoriya finally said, grabbing another dry towel to dry them both off. He gently lifted Reiko and Ryuto out of the sink, before placing them on the towel. Reiko shook herself, getting Midoriya's shirt wet, but he didn't really care; it wasn't that much water, and it would dry off once he finished his homework.

He dried Ryuto off again, before rubbing the towel against Reiko, getting the excess water out of their feathers and fur. He made sure not to rub too hard, since he didn't want to hurt them by accident, and they would dry off naturally after some time.

Midoriya picked Reiko and Ryuto up and placed them on the bed, before clearing the bathroom of all the water. He rinsed all the towels and wrung them dry, before hanging them up on his chair.

He grabbed his bag, and dug out the english and math homework that Yamada and Ectoplasm had set respectively, before sitting down at the desk that was already in the room when he had arrived in Heights Alliance.

The set of math homework he had been given definitely wasn't what was taught in class, thought Midoriya finished it without much of a problem, before realising that it was a third year past paper. Nezu must have told Ectoplasm to give him something more challenging to do, though it was still pretty easy.

He packed all his work back into his bag neatly, before throwing himself back onto the bed, careful not to crush the two smaller balls of fluff that had curled up near the headrest, already dry and asleep. He was slightly tired, though it wasn't something that he hadn't handled before; he just figured that he should get all the rest he could before he went back out patrolling, though he still needed to figure out how to get past all the security cameras that Nezu had put up.

Midoriya curled up into a ball, and carefully wrapped his arms around Reiko and Ryuto, pulling them in protectively, before falling asleep.

1-A had been trying their best to abide by all the rules that Iida had given them, always letting Midoriya be aware of their presence before approaching, and always keeping their hands within Midoriya's line of sight so that he knew that they weren't going to try anything.

The day had ended, and Kirishima wrapped his arm around Bakugou's neck, teasing him about having some fun as he and Sero dragged him towards the door. Ashido looked around, before seeing Midoriya walking down the hallway as he left the classroom. She grinned, and before anyone could stop her, she bounded towards Midoriya and grabbed his arm, "Hey! Midoriya! We're all going to that cafe nearby ...?"

Midoriya braced himself, not even react to her grabbing his arm. It took a ton of concentration and will to not to lash out and break whoever approaches him, especially knowing that they were going to hurt him, but Midoriya just forced himself to ignore his instincts screaming at him and just clenched his eyes shut, ready for the inevitable; was he going to be slammed into a wall or punched in the face this time? He just stood there, unmoving, waiting for something to happen.

Ashido merely looked at Midoriya in confusion, before she let go of his hand, "Wait, I'm not supposed to do that! I forgot! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!"

Midoriya opened his eyes, noticing that nothing had happened, and realised that Ashido had let go of his arm. He turned around to face Ashido in confusion, only to find that she was apologising to him.

It didn't make any sense. Why didn't she hit him? Why was she apologising for grabbing his arm?

"Midoriya… are you okay?" Ashido couldn't help but ask, seeing the weird reaction from her classmate, "You're acting like you're expecting me to hit you or something."

Wait, he literally got suicide baited by his former classmates, Ashido almost gasped as realisation hit her, Obviously he would be expecting me to hit him if I just randomly grabbed him like that! I'm so stupid! I should have known!

Midoriya just stared at her, unmoving, emotionless, before he tilted his head slightly.

"Uh… I was just thinking, we were going to a cafe and was wondering if you wanted to go as well?" Ashido shifted awkwardly on her feet, forcing herself to meet Midoriya's steely gaze. She was getting slightly unnerved by the emptiness in Midoriya's eyes, but she refused to stand back and let her classmate continue hurting on the inside.

"You're just monster! There's no way you can ever be a hero!"

Ashido couldn't do anything as her classmates threw her to the ground, punching her in the cheek.

"Your quirk's just destroys stuff, and you look like a freak! Just give up already, you can't do shit!"

Midoriya continued looking at her, before he shook his head.

"Ah… that's okay then… there's always other times for us to hang out. Take care of yourself, Midoriya!" Ashido waved at him. Midoriya merely nodded, before continuing on his way down the hallway.

Ashido promptly lost her enthusiasm after Midoriya disappeared out of sight, and Kaminari patted her on the back, "Hey, Aizawa-sensei did say it was going to take some time."

"I scared him again." Ashido wailed, sinking to the floor, tears pooling in her eyes, "Why am I so stupid?! I completely forgot that I shouldn't shock him in any way! I'm a terrible person! I probably just set back any progress with him that we may have made!"

"It's just a small mistake." Sero sighed, "We all make mistakes sometimes. Don't beat yourself up over it."

"Don't worry about it. It will be fine, we can make back all that progress as long as we try." Kirishima reached out and ruffled her hair, "Come on, Bakugou, come cheer her up."

"Tch." Bakugou rolled his eyes, "At least he didn't fucking flip you over and break your bones like Aizawa-sensei said that he would. That seems like progress to me. Stop crying, for fucks sake, it's not going to help anyone, especially not him."

"Alright, as homework, I would like you all to write an analytical essay about any of these topics written on this piece of paper." Aizawa stated, handing out worksheets to the rest of the class, eyeing Kaminari and Ashido, "It is due next week, so don't procrastinate. I can tell whenever you do so."

Ashido and Kaminari laughed sheepishly, as Aizawa continued, "You guys can do research, and I don't want you to be citing Wikipedia again. It's obvious. Also, no asking Yaoyorozu or Iida or Midoriya for help. Do your own research."

Sato raised his hand, "What's the page limit?"

"There is no page limit for all of you except Midoriya." Aizawa replied. Some of the students were about to protest when Aizawa continued, "Midoriya, please do not write more than twenty pages, which means you should be handing in a maximum of ten pieces of paper. Snipe still hasn't finished marking your two essays and I don't think that I will be able to properly review such a long essay."

"How do you even write that much?!" Kaminari jaw dropped, turning to look at the green haired boy sitting at the back of the classroom, who didn't even react.

"Also, use the lined paper that the school provides, with only one line of words per line. I don't want you cramming two or three lines of text into one line, like the last time Cementoss gave you an essay while you were still in the General Education course, or writing on blank paper to avoid the margins like you had done for Midnight's last piece of homework." Aizawa continued; he had already been to Aldera, and he didn't like what he had seen at all. He didn't know how to sue people, but Nezu was working on it. "Look, Midoriya, your work is fine, but you're submitting work that's way beyond what you should be doing. You're doing too much and you aren't getting any benefits from it. Plus, we don't have time to mark such a lengthy essay."

Midoriya looked at Aizawa, at a loss. Every time the teachers made them write essays as homework, his work was often taken while they were being collected. Midoroya had been scolded way too many times for not submitting his work on time, with his punishment being that he had to write double, turning normal two page essays to four pages.

And since his homework was also stolen by his classmates and torn to shreds before he could hand it in a second time, his punishments kept adding up until he usually had to hand in twenty page essays. And analysis was something he was good at, compared to normal essays, so he usually ended up writing a lot more when he had to analyze anything.

He just made it a point to write really long essays and made a few copies by hand to avoid being punished. He used to use the photocopier, but the school librarian complained that he used too much paper and he had been subsequently banned from using the photocopier.

Midoriya just nodded mutely at Aizawa. How the hell was he supposed to cram so much information into ten sheets of lined paper?

Chapter Text

Aizawa chugged the can of coffee, before crushing it in his hands and tossing it in the trash can by the door, nearly hitting Yamada in the process, who had just walked into the staff room along with Kayama and Snipe.

"Geez, someone's in a bad mood." Kayama muttered under her breath, "You okay there, Shouta?"

"Yes, I am." Aizawa growled sarcastically, before he paused the video he was watching and jotted some tally marks down on his notebook.

"Security camera feeds?" Yamada asked, "What case?"

"Aldera." Aizawa hissed, "Midoriya's past school records depict him as a troublemaker in lessons, and Nezu got a permit to investigate Aldera since it didn't add up. I just went to download the security feeds. We have three years worth of feeds, and gone through a few months of them, and Nezu's already planning to tear Aldera down brick by brick."

Snipe frowned. The name of that school… sounded familiar.

"Geez, what happened over there?" Kayama asked.

"I've only watched about two month's worth of feeds so far. Midoriya had his homework stolen and torn up fifteen times, had been smacked into the wall twenty times, and has been pushed down the stairs thirty seven times. Someone poured acid on him once in the science lab, and he's been tripped in the classrooms or along the hallway at least seventeen times. There's no audio, but the teachers clearly don't give a shit about him. They either punish Midoriya, or not do anything about it at all. And that's all in Midoriya's first year." Aizawa snarled.

Kayama growled, "Who are his teachers!? I'll tear them apart!"

"That's not the point. Look." Aizawa pointed to one of the videos, "According to the date, Midoriya would be twelve, but he's already so… apathetic."

The teachers leaned over to look at Aizawa's laptop, seeing someone grab Midoriya's arm, and swinging him around, before nailing him in the stomach with a kick. Midoriya slammed into the wall, and crumpled to the ground, before trying to push himself up. Another student picked up a neatly stapled stack of paper, before ripping it to shreds, right in front of Midoriya. He threw the paper shreds onto the floor, just as the teacher walked in.

The teacher took one look at the sight before him, and all the students started pointing fingers at Midoriya, and the teacher merely ordered Midoriya to stand up, before dragging him out of the classroom.

The second they left the room, the entire class burst into laughter.

Even though there wasn't any audio, the teachers still had a very good idea what was going on; Midoriya was getting bullied by all of his classmates and the teachers didn't even care. They had kind of expected the bullying, but not the teacher's reactions. No wonder Midoriya didn't trust them; if all of Midoriya's teachers were like that, it wasn't surprising that Midoriya would expect all of his teachers to be the same.

"Those pieces of shit! How dare they treat him like that." Kayama growled. "Can I go murder them?"

"No." Ectoplasm deadpanned, but inside, he was seething.

"We're just looking through the feeds and recording down every instance where Midoriya was bullied and neglected by his teachers." Aizawa stated blankly, "When Hitoshi and Zashi met Midoriya, he wasn't anything like this, so I believe the change was brought about in his elementary school. We're just going to compile everything and sue Aldera first, get that out of the way, before investigating his elementary school."

Snipe clenched his fist, "That's just cruel. What did he do to deserve this?"

"Absolutely nothing." Nezu growled, exiting his office, before passing Ectoplasm another past year paper, "Give this to Izuku the next time you have a test. I compiled all the hardest questions from the third year paper for him."

"Eh?!" Yamada gawked, "The third year math paper is hard."

"Well, he isn't having too many problems with it. I gave him a past paper a few days while giving the rest of the class normal algebra homework and he handed it with the rest of the class. Perfect marks."

"Wait, didn't you have to assign them some essays, Aizawa?" Kan asked, peering down at his phone, "The compulsory one for the hero courses."

"Yeah."

"Please tell me you gave him a word limit." Snipe begged, "I don't think I can stand seeing another super thick essay that looks like something Nighteye would write."

"I did. Twenty pages, ten pieces of paper only." Aizawa growled, "But I'm betting you that he'll find some way to play by my rules and still hand in a super long, detailed essay, even though there's literally no benefit for him to do so.".

"Alright, time's up." Ectoplasm announced, collecting all the test papers.

He wasn't surprised that Midoriya was the first one to finish, even though his paper was much harder than the ones his peers had received. Even though most third years were allowed to use calculators, Midoriya didn't seem to have any problems at all without one.

The problem was that Midoriya did not own a calculator. Nor did he know how to use one. Ectoplasm was under the assumption that he had used a calculator when he finished the paper as homework, and thought he had forgotten to bring it, and had offered to lend him one for the test, but Midoriya just stared at the device in confusion. With Ectoplasm's coaxing, he tried to use it for a few questions, but it took him longer to input the numbers into the calculator than just solving the question without it, and Ectoplasm gave up forcing the poor boy to use the device.

"Hey, I was thinking, Midoriya's pretty strong, isn't he?" Kaminari piped up. He didn't stop and talk to the others as he packed, and he had already left the room. "Maybe we can see how he trains!"

"Yeah! Sounds awesome!" Kirishima cheered, "He's so manly!"

"No. I absolutely forbid it!" Iida chopped his arms, "You're invading his privacy! Didn't you forget that we're supposed to be patient with him and take it slow!?"

"Well, just watching isn't going to hurt, will it?" Ashido piped up, "We won't even get near him, promise! Please!?"

Iida glared at his classmates, before he sighed, "If Shinsou and Koda are okay with keeping an eye on you, fine. Shinsou, Koda, you guys know Midoriya's boundaries the best. You think you can go with them and make sure that they don't do anything that would make Midoriya uncomfortable?"

"Well, I have nothing to do today. Why not? I'll just text my dad real quick." Shinsou replied, grabbing his phone, and sending Aizawa and Yamada a quick text. Aizawa replied with a short "Okay" while Yamada sent a flurry of thumbs up emojis, "Well, yeah, I can go."

Koda shot them a thumbs up, and Iida slouched, "Well, I guess I can't stop you. I will come along as well."

"Awesome!" Ashido grinned, jumping into the air, "Let's go!"

"You're going to train?" Nezu asked, frowning. Midoriya wasn't fully recovered yet, and Nezu wasn't really happy that Midoriya was still pushing himself. He was even more upset because he was currently compiling every single misdeed that Aldera had committed against Midoriya, and his list was continuously getting longer.

But he also knew that Midoriya was forced to be independent for the most part, and it would take some time to ease him into being able to let other people do stuff for him.

"Yeah… I'm getting rusty. Iida… he managed to hit me the other day. I should have been able to dodge it." Midoriya replied blankly, but Nezu could tell that he was a tad disappointed in himself for getting hit.

"Very well." Nezu sighed, "You can train, but don't push yourself too far, okay?"

Midoriya nodded, though Nezu knew he was going to push himself past his limits.

"Where will you be training? Just so that we can go find you in case something happens."

"Uh… Dagobah Municipal Beach Park." Midoriya replied.

Nezu looked at the boy in surprise. That beach was practically a beach up to a few years ago, where is was gradually cleaned up. Trash continued to wash up on the beach, but it was no longer as dirty as before.

Plus, there was that rumour that if you littered on the beach, you'd be paralysed by an angry spirit, before being promptly chased off. Nezu should have figured that it was Midoriya's doing; he liked to keep the place clean.

"Very well. Make sure you're back by dinner time, okay? Reiko, take care of him, okay?" Nezu said, and Reiko gave a meow in confirmation.

"There's Midoriya!" Ashido whispered, pointing at Midoriya as he walked out of UA in shorts and a hoodie. His legs were still covered in bandages, and Iida had to resist the urge to drag Midoriya to the infirmary and order him to rest. Midoriya wouldn't listen; he knew that much.

They watched as Reiko hopped out of his hood, licking Midoriya's cheek, before popping back into the hood.

"Shhh." Kaminari hushed her, and Shinsou facepalmed, "You're just drawing more attention to yourself."

"He's on the move!" Kirishima grinned, moving to trail after Midoriya.

They made sure to keep their distance from the green haired boy so he wouldn't sense them. Midoriya's green hair stood out prominently; their only problem was that Midoriya was short, and they easily lost the green haired boy in the crowd.

With some strays' help, Koda managed to track Midoriya down, only for the group to find that they were a beach.

"Wait… this is Dagobah Municipal Beach Park." Iida scratched his head, "I thought it was a dump?"

"It was. It got cleared up years ago and is said to be guarded by an angry spirit." Shinsou rolled his eyes, "Look, there's Midoriya."

They watched as Midoriya took his shoes and socks off, before collecting all the litter that he could find, and dumping it into a nearby trash can. The boy then examined the trash that had washed up on the beach, which included a washing machine, a broken car, a few gigantic tires, and several old appliances.

The first thing Midoriya did was to kick the tire with his bare foot.

"No, wait!" Ashido hissed, but Iida pulled her back before she could do anything.

Midoriya's foot smashed against the rubber, and he stabilised himself. He shoved the washing machine off the tyre, before pushing the tires out of the pile. He stacked the tires neatly on top of each other, before taking a step back.

"Woah, aren't those heavy duty truck tires pretty damn heavy?" Kaminari asked, "How can he lift them?"

"He can't lift them entirely." Kirishina noted, "The tire is always being supported by something else, even as he pushes it."

"Being able to push it is impressive enough." Ashido grinned.

Midoriya examined the pile, before he lunged, landing a kick against the tyre. He attempted a punch, before moving in for a roundhouse kick. He pivoted on his foot, smashing his heel into the pile of tires.

"Oh, fighting on sand increases his stability, and allows him to keep his balance easier." Iida muttered, "He's using the tires as a punching bag, using the rebound from rubber to charge up his next hit."

They watched as Midoriya spent the next few hours mercilessly attacking the tires, before moving to smash the washing machine and other appliances apart. The boy then collected the remains of the broken machines, before tossing the appropriate parts in the nearby recycling bins and trash cans.

He did pick up a few wires and a computer battery, to their confusion.

Midoriya ended off with running, pull the tires one by one across the beach, before restacking them neatly by the side of the road. Iida knew for a fact that a recycling truck for plastics and rubber passed by the beach often, so it was no wonder that Midoriya put them by the side of the road for them to be picked up easily.

Kirishima just stared as Midoriya ran, though it wasn't as fast as how he ran in battle, "What?! How?! Isn't he tired out yet?!"

"He's still wearing his hoodie. Is he nuts?" Kirishima hissed, but Iida chopped him on the back of his head, "Don't be rude."

Reiko and Ryuto were sitting on the broken car, watching Midoriya work out, while meowing and chirping out encouragement.

Midoriya returned back to where he started, and made his way towards the car. Reiko shook her head, giving him a purr, but Midoriya just sighed.

Reiko shook her head and meowed again.

"What's Reiko saying?" Ashido whispered.

Koda quickly signed as Shinsou translated, "She's saying that Midoriya's pushed himself far enough and she wasn't going to let him do anything with the car."

She continued staring defiantly at Midoriya, before Midoriya gave up and picked both the cat and the bird up, placing them gently in his hood.

He turned to glare at the students who were trying hopelessly to hide behind a bench, before walking away.

"Wait, he knew we were here the entire time?" Kaminari asked.

Aizawa wasn't wrong, per say.

He was originally relieved when Midoriya handed in what seemed to be a normal-lengthed essay, that was much shorter than the essay he had given Ishiyama and Snipe, and from first glance, it appeared to be fine; Midoriya didn't even write in the margins.

Only to find out that while Midoriya did technically use the lined paper that the school provided, only for him to draw his own freaking lines between the ones printed on the paper and write between them, which also abided by the condition that Aizawa had set; that he didn't want a few lines of text crammed into one line.

Not only that, Midoriya's handwriting was small, but also tall and thin, allowing him to squeeze a horrendous number of words onto one line, while still having ample spacing between the characters for him to make out each word clearly.

Not to mention that his essay was lined with post-it notes, with dictionary definitions and explanations plastered all over his essays in order to adhere to the limited length of the essay he had to write in.

And Aizawa didn't even want to mention the super long appendix that Midoriya had passed him personally after all the essays had been handed in. The appendix itself was longer than the "essay" that Midoriya was supposed to hand in, and Aizawa couldn't even berate Midoriya for it since an appendix was technically not part of the essay itself, and was just supposed to be this section at the end of most essays and reports that gives additional information and analysis on the topic, without eating into a student's word count or essay length.

Midoriya had listed all his important points in the main body of his twenty page essay, referencing different parts of his appendix for explanations and analysis. Aizawa was wondering if Midoriya's trauma induced quirk was intelligence instead of not being able to die.

Not to mention his defiant look when he just looked at Midoriya in exasperation. Midoriya may be quiet and emotionless, but he was really, really stubborn.

And could Aizawa even scold Midoriya for putting in so much effort? What kind of teacher did that? Only an asshole would look at all the work Midoriya put in and throw it away like it was trash.

Aizawa wasn't like Midoriya's middle school teachers. He didn't want break Midoriya's fragile trust, to destroy all the hard work that everyone was putting in to try and help Midoriya heal. He couldn't afford to break Midoriya's heart even more than it was broken.

"He got you too, didn't he? I thought you set him a page limit. He usually abides by those conditions." Ectoplasm asked, watching Aizawa staring at the thick stack of paper on his table.

Aizawa groaned, and leaned back into his chair, "I told him to use school paper, not to avoid the margins, to only write one line of text in one line, and that he could only hand in a ten page essay at maximum. He went and did all of that. Except that he drew his own lines between the provided ones, writing super thin to squeeze more words on one page, as well as using post-its and an appendix to explain everything that was in his main essay. He technically abided by all the conditions I gave him, and I'm not sure whether to be impressed that he managed to find so many loopholes or horrified that he's able to write so much on such an obscure hero."

"Well, he did write a lot about you that one time." Snipe pointed out.

"I've been a hero for at least ten years. The topics were all about new heroes that had just recently debuted." Aizawa stated, "They were supposed to analyse their fighting style and quirks, but there isn't too much information about them online. There aren't even that many videos of them fighting since they aren't that famous as other heroes that steal the spotlight more often. This particular hero that Midoriya had chosen," Aizawa searched said hero up on the internet, "Just debuted, around two months before the second USJ incident, and her fighting style changed drastically about a month after."

"Well, admittedly, Midoriya is a vigilante. Or, was." Snipe replied, "He might have encountered her before, and could analyse her fighting style and quirk up close. Plus, many other heroes had made significant progress regarding their quirks and collateral damage after encountering him. I wouldn't be surprised if Midoriya had actually met her before."

"Why do you make so much sense? I saw him take on Stain, of all people, and yet I keep forgetting that Midoriya was a vigilante." Aizawa facepalmed, almost slamming his face on the desk.

"It's hard to imagine him being one, I suppose." Yamada piped up, "I honestly thought that Void was young adult when I met him, a very short one, but still a young adult. I was not expecting a nine year old, if I'm doing my math right."

"You're the only one who could have mistaken a child for an adult." Aizawa snapped.

Chapter Text

"Yes… I know. But I'm worried about some of them. The ones who were closest to the fighting are taking it the worst… and him as well… yes… alright, he can come as well. Thank you so much, Kyoken. I owe you one." Inui put the phone down, and sighed, "He agreed to come help me out in about a week. He's bringing his colleague as well."

"That's great." Nezu nodded, "It would be good to check on the other students, especially Shinsou, Monoma, Todoroki, Bakugou, and Uraraka."

"Even though Iida wasn't part of the fighting for most of the time, he's still guilty, because he feels that he was too slow in getting help." Inui sighed. "But it's probably nowhere as bad as Midoriya's."

"His mental state is particularly worrisome, since he had taken the brunt of the attacks, and probably the most pain and trauma. Not to mention the abuse under his previous schools and foster parents." Nezu agreed. "What does his colleague do?"

"Well, you know Kyoken's quirk is an empathic one. It allows him to … feel… for a lack of a better term, the emotions and mental state of a person through contact, though in a much dampened state so he won't be overwhelmed. He might get flashes of memories, but that would only be the case if the memory is tied to a particular emotion. His colleague is a therapist, the one that asks questions, using Kyoken's quirk as a base to figure out what is appropriate and what isn't. His quirk allows him to calm people down in case they end up panicking." Inui replied, "They've handled much worse cases than I have, like military trauma, so I feel that they are best suited to handle this."

"Alright." Nezu sighed, "I really hope that they can get over this. They deserve that, at the very least."

Aizawa stood at the table, waiting for Yagi to enter the room. He was supposed to teach the heroics class now, and he seemed to be late.

He eyed Midoriya, who was sitting at the back of the classroom, staring blankly ahead.

"I don't know where the big oaf is, but -"

"I AM COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!"

Aizawa watched as Midoriya winced slightly. It was almost unnoticeable, but definitely a wince. He resisted the urge to facepalm. He had already run through will Yagi on how to act with Midoriya in the class, and the idiot had already forgotten the first two rules that Aizawa had put down; not to suddenly yell or make loud noises, and to make Midoriya aware of his presence before doing anything.

Yagi burst into the room in his muscle form, and he saw a small glint of displeasure that appeared in Midoriya's eyes, that disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Nezu had already told him to read Midoriya by his eyes, not by his posture or actions, and Aizawa could definitely read Midoriya much better than before.

Midoriya disliked Yagi for some reason. Aizawa felt that while Midoriya might have been semi-conscious after being smashed by the Nomu, he had a vague idea of what was going on, and somewhat knew about Yagi accidentally smacking him away. Not to mention the man had freaked him out when Midoriya had just regained consciousness.

Aizawa didn't like Yagi as well; the man had no tact at all.

"I told you to tone it down." Aizawa growled, and Yagi scratched his head sheepishly, "Ah, I'm sorry."

Yagi fished his script out of his pocket, and turned to address the class, "Alright, now we're going to go to Ground Gamma!"

Apparently, the activity Yagi had in mind was an obstacle course in the fake factory labrinth in the industrial site. He had already grouped the twenty one students into four groups of four and one group of five.

The first group consisted of Bakugou, Aoyama, Iida and Sero. Bakugou initially had the upper hand, blasting himself into the air, but once Iida gotten a high enough vantage point, they were neck and neck with each other. Bakugou eventually won, followed by Sero, Iida, and lastly Aoyama.

The second group had Todoroki, Asui, Mineta and Ojiro. Todoroki had merely made an ice path to victory, while Ojiro had taken advantage of the ice path and gotten second. The cold severely slowed Asui down, but she managed to jump her way to the end before Mineta, since Todoroki had accidentally frozen him in the ice. He wasn't sorry when he set him on fire thawing him out.

The third group consisted of Koda, Kirishima, Ashido and Tokoyami. Surprisingly, Ashido managed to get first, followed by Kirishima, Tokoyami, and Koda. Poor Koda didn't have a quirk that was useful in the test at all; at least, Dark Shadow was able to carry Tokoyami across large gaps if they wanted to.

The fourth group consisted of Shoji, Sato, Uraraka and Jiro. Uraraka, with her quirk, was easily able to float over all the obstacles. Shoji and Sato's quirks were useful in getting to the finishing point, and Jiro didn't perform that badly, considering her Earphone Jack quirk wasn't really helpful in the trial.

The last group consisted of Shinsou, Midoriya, Kaminari, Yaoyorozu and Hagakure. Yaoyorozu had immediately formed a grappling hook to get herself up to higher ground, but Midoriya had instantly scaled a pipe, before making his way towards the finishing point. He jumped over and slid under pipes, and easily jumped over the gap between the buildings. Shinsou was close behind him, having used his capture weapon to fling himself to the roof, only for Midoriya to put on a huge burst of speed.

Unsurprisingly, Kaminari was the last due to his poor stamina. Aizawa made a note to up his endurance training.

"Damn… I expected Yaoyorozu to get first." Jiro scratched the back of her head, after Yagi had dismissed them, "Midoriya's really fast. Though I guess I should have expected this after the Sports Festival."

"Man… I guess this nothing for you, huh, Midoriya?" Kaminari laughed, once he regained his breath, "I suppose that compared to pulling truck tires on a beach, this really is no biggie."

"I guess so - Wait did you say pulling truck tires!?" Sero gaped.

Kaminari snapped his mouth shut, and Shinsou facepalmed, "I thought we agreed to keep quiet about this."

Midoriya just glanced at Kaminari, remaining quiet, before going back to staring at his feet.

"Midoriya, you okay, man?" Kirishima asked.

Midoriya looked at Kirishima blankly, before turning around, and making his way towards the changing rooms, ignoring the rest of his peers who were making small talk.

"I hope he's okay… he seems a little on edge." Kirishima muttered, looking towards the boy in concern.

"I guess he's upset about us following and watching his training yesterday." Kaminari scratched the back of his head.

"I honestly don't think it's about that." Yaoyorozu replied, "If he trains at a beach, it's a very open area. No doubt that other people would have chanced upon him training as well. I guess he's just not used to the idea of people… caring about him."

"We should all stop talking about him behind his back. It's very rude." Iida put his hands on his hips, stopping all the ongoing conversations, before ordering, "Now, we should go back to class and go home. We had been given tons of homework, so we should finish them as fast as possible."

Iida stared at his phone, and sighed.

Midoriya had been added to the 1-A group chat a few days ago, and the only thing he had said in the chat was a confirmation that he had been added. Despite Ashido and Kaminari acting like idiots and spamming the chat with memes, or Iida ordering people to do their homework or sleep, or even Bakugou filling the chat with swears after someone had insulted him, Midoriya had not responded at all.

He was sure that Midoriya was alright; he saw him in classes all the time. Maybe he didn't know how to use a group chat? Or maybe he wasn't sure if he was welcome?

Iida sighed again. He was the class representative, and yet he was having so much trouble trying to welcome Midoriya into their class. He understood that due to Midoriya's past, he needed time to slowly get used to his new environment, but Iida wasn't a very patient person; he would admit that much.

Maybe he should ask Tensei for some advice on how to handle this.

"A sleepover?" Uraraka gaped.

Yaoyorozu nodded, "Yes. My parents will be out for the weekend, and they gave me permission to invite my friends over. Since our exams are also in a few weeks, I think we can use this opportunity to study together, and hang out."

"Who are you planning to invite?" Hagakure asked excitedly.

"Well, I was originally planning to invite everyone from 1-A and 1-B, excluding you know who, but I wanted to just having 1-A over first, just to test it out." Yaoyorozu replied.

"Are you sure we all fit in your house?" Jiro frowned, "There's twenty of us. Six girls and fourteen boys."

"Yep." Yaoyorozu gave a small smile, "We have several guest rooms; it's more than enough for all of us. I'm going to ask Iida if it's a good idea, before asking if people can come."

It wasn't surprising that Iida agreed to it; he was up for anything that was remotely related to class bonding, but he did bring up another problem, "What about Midoriya? Do you think that he'll accept the invite?"

"If he doesn't want to come, we can't force him to. You know that." Yaoyorozu sighed, "I hope he does choose to come though; he needs to learn to loosen up a bit."

"No… I don't mean that." Iida shook his head, "If he thinks that we want him to come… I think he'll feel pressured into coming. I don't… want him to come if he thinks that he has no choice."

Yaoyorozu bit her lip, "You… have a point…"

"Why would he feel pressurized, though?" Jiro asked.

"Er… I asked my brother. He said it is possible for victims of bullying to feel more... inclined to listen to what they're being told to try and avoid being hurt. I know that Midoriya may not seem like that… but he does care more about others than himself. He risked his life for us at the USJ. He defended Shinsou even though he was the one being made fun of. He doesn't even eat lunch in school. I'm just worried… that we might be pushing too much and making him uncomfortable. That wouldn't be productive to any one of us."

"Well… at least if he's with us, we can take care of him, can't we?" Yaoyorozu smiled, patting Iida on the back, "Don't worry about it too much."

Midoriya froze when he processed what Yaoyorozu had told him.

A study session and a sleepover? What's that? Sleep over where?

He signed his confusion to Yaoyorozu, and she looked over to Shinsou for a translation. He translated it, and she replied, "You just… come over? We'll study, play games, fool around for a bit and sleep at my house. "

Midoriya blanched. It didn't sound that bad, but he was sure that their definition of "playing games" were different from his.

"You can bring Reiko and Ryuto if you'd like; I don't mind." Yaoyorozu continued.

Midoriya really didn't want to go, even if he could bring Reiko and Ryuto. He didn't trust them, who knew what they would do once he was trapped in their house. But they were asking so nicely; Midoriya felt that it would be rude to say no.

Plus, who knew what they would do if he refused. If he fought back, it would only be worse. He would just have to do his best to protect Reiko and Ryuto.

But Midoriya also knew that he wasn't the only one who had to make the decision. He needed to ask Nezu for permission. After all, the principal had custody over him; that meant that Nezu had to make the final decision whether he could go or not. He just hoped that Nezu didn't agree that it was a good idea, though he seriously doubted it; after all, Nezu had so many other things to do, he wouldn't think sleeping over at someone's house was a big deal.

Midoriya hastily signed back, "I'll get permission first."

"Alright. No rush. I'm glad you're considering it." Yaoyorozu gave him a small smile, and Midoriya did his best to not flinch. Usually, when people smiled at him, they were getting ready to beat him up.

Midoriya quickly nodded, before slinking away, much to the confusion of his peers.

"Huh… that was… weird…" Jiro muttered.

"At least, he's considering it?" Yaoyorozu asked, "That's a win?"

Midoriya walked back from the principal's office and flung himself on his bed. He rolled over, and groaned.

Nezu had given him permission to go, but had also said that if Midoriya truly didn't want to go to Yaoyorozu's house for the study session and sleepover, he shouldn't force himself to do something he didn't want to do.

Midoriya didn't know how to make a choice. He hadn't been given any choices since he had been transferred to his former foster home, why start now? His former foster mother had chased him to every study session that he was invited to, just to get him out of the house, disregarding whatever protests the boy had.

Despite knowing that his classmates were pretty much harmless for the most part, Midoriya couldn't push down his fear and paranoia. He did want to go; he never had a sleepover before, and he was curious about it. But he didn't want to push his luck; the last time he had been invited to a study session by his "friends", he had ended up in the hospital, and Midoriya did not want a repeat of that experience.

Midoriya rolled over onto his back, and Reiko crawled onto his chest and sat there, looking down at him with her cyan and mint eyes. Ryuto buried himself in the crook of his neck, and squeaked, gently nibbling on Midoriya's ear.

"What do you think, Rei? You think we should go?"

He knew it may seem silly to be discussing this with a cat; he wasn't like Koda or Nezu and could understand her word for word. But he could understand Reiko's intent, he knew what she meant, even if he didn't know what she was saying. They had a connection, a bond, and that was good enough for him.

Reiko tilted her head, letting out a whine, before settling down on his chest. She rubbed her head against Midoriya's chin, and purred.

"I know they seem nice, but what if they're like them? I can't trust them; I can't risk it. She said I could bring you and Ryu along; what if they decide to hurt you guys instead?"

Reiko looked at him again, before smacking her paw against his cheek lightly. She pressed herself against the crook of his neck, purring softly.

Midoriya sighed, and rubbed Reiko's ears affectionately, "Fine. If you say so, Rei. I'll go."

Chapter Text

Midoriya hesitantly looked around his room, and checked his bag for the umpteenth time in the past hour. He had packed the day before, but had woken up two hours earlier, just to get ready and check to ensure that he had packed everything.

He had packed three sets of clothing, as well as a towel, his toothbrush and toothpaste. Although Yaoyorozu had mentioned that he only had to bring two sets, Midoriya didn't want to end up borrowing anything should something go wrong. He didn't bother about a comb; his hair was untamable, and Midoriya didn't really care anyways.

He had also packed his notebooks for all his subjects, as well as his homework. Yaoyorozu had mentioned a study session, and while Midoriya was confident he didn't need any help, he wasn't too sure if his peers would expect him to contribute to the study session. It was better to just bring everything instead of risking angering them.

He also packed enough food for the two animals; he didn't want to bother Yaoyorozu any more than was necessary. As an extra precaution, he packed two pocket knives and stuffed them at the bottom of his bag.

Midoriya grabbed his wallet, and checked that he had enough for train tickets to and from from Yaoyorozu's house. He could run there if he needed to, but he wanted to save his energy just in case something happened. Plus, if he happened to leave Yaoyorozu's house with someone, he had to be able to buy train tickets so he wouldn't appear to be suspicious.

Midoriya hastily made his way down the stairs, and was about to leave the house when he spotted something on the table. He curiously made his way over to check it out, realising it was a small bag of cookies, alongside a note.

"Dear Izuku, sorry that I couldn't send you off to the train station, some last minute work cropped up. I know you don't normally enjoy breakfast, so here's a little something in case you feel like taking a bite or two. Regards, Nezu."

Midoriya bit his lip, almost dropping the note, and stuffed the bag of cookies into his bag. He wasn't really fond of eating anything in general; he preferred bland or instant food because they were simple, and he threw usually threw up most kinds of other food because of his bad experiences with his former foster mother.

Midoriya gently closed the door to the dorms behind him, before walking towards the front gate. He looked around warily, before deeming it safe enough to move, and started walking towards the train station.

Midoriya gulped as he stood at the entrance to Yaoyorozu's house, his relaxed posture betraying none of the fear and anxiety that he felt inside. Thank goodness for the oversized clothes; no one would notice him twitching nervously as he surveyed his surroundings. He would have to thank Kayama for that when he got back to UA.

Yaoyorozu, surprisingly, had decided that she would bunk with the girls instead of in her own room, but she would still be going to her room whenever she needed something. She quickly opened the gates, letting the group into the front hall.

Out of everyone, he had packed the least, aside from Yaoyorozu for obvious reasons. All the girls, as well as Aoyama and Todoroki, had luggage that were bigger than his torso. Shoji, Sato, Tokoyami, Koda and Ojiro had large backpacks, while everyone else had bags that were around twice the size of their school bags. Pretty much all of them also had another smaller bag for bringing stuff like their phones around. Midoriya himself just had a small backpack, but it was more than enough to fit all of his belongings; he stuffed his phone and wallet in his hoodie pocket anyways. Ryuto was perched on his shoulder, while Reiko surveyed the room from Midoriya's hood.

"Guys, is there anything you'd want to eat? It's almost lunch time." Yaoyorozu asked, "The maids can make pretty much anything; they're an awesome, talented bunch! So just state your requests, I'm sure they can make it."

Midoriya wasn't sure how to respond at all. He hadn't eaten breakfast; he didn't have the habit of doing so, but he had forced himself to eat cookies on normal school days so that Nezu wouldn't worry. He didn't really like them, and neither did his stomach; he often felt like puking it all up. He was used to not eating a lot anyways; it wasn't healthy, but hey, it saved money and Midoriya could spend his time doing something else. He wasn't hungry at all, but he didn't think that Yaoyorozu would accept it he just flat out rejected lunch.

"Alright, Midoriya, do you want anything?" Yaoyorozu asked, after everyone else had told her what they wanted.

Midoriya just shook his head. He felt sick just thinking about eating something prepared by someone else; at least, he knew that he wouldn't be throwing anything into his cup noodles.

"You sure? I mean, I know you normally don't eat lunch in school…" Yaoyorozu trailed off, before continuing, "Alright, I supposed. But if you ever feel hungry and want to snack on something, don't be afraid to ask."

He did request that they should refrigerate Ryuto's food, and heat it up slightly; he didn't want it to go bad, and possibly make the baby bird sick. Yaoyorozu passed the list over to one of her maids, before she whirled around to face the class again, "Okay! Now that's done, I'll show you to the guest rooms!"

She led them through the main hall, and past a few hallways, before she pointed out one of the larger rooms, saying that they would be studying there. Midoriya did his best to try and memorize the layout of the house; it would prove useful should he need to escape. She then showed two rooms to the girls, before leading the boys a bit further down the hall.

"Alright, you can put your stuff here!" Yaoyorozu threw open three doors, "Two of them have five beds and one has four beds! You guys can choose your roommates, but make it quick! I think we can squeeze a small study session before lunch."

"Aww! Party pooper! Can't we enjoy the rooms? This is so cool!" Ashido whined, and Iida stood up straight, and adjusted his glasses, "The earlier we start studying, the earlier we will finish! Therefore, there will be more time for you to "fool around", so to say. It's a weekend tomorrow, so I will set a later bedtime at midnight instead of ten."

"Well, that's Iida for you. The class dad." Ojiro scratched his cheek, while Kirishima cheered, "Awesome! That's manly! Let's get started as soon as possible!"

It didn't take too long for the students to split into groups, surprisingly. Bakugou, Sero, Kirishima, and Kaminari grabbed the four person room, and Shoji, Tokoyami, Aoyama, Sato, and Ojiro took the other room, leaving Koda, Shinsou, Iida, Todoroki and Midoriya to bunk together.

"Well, it's not that bad, right? At least we're not with the Bakusquad; they're going to be a riot at night." Shinsou laughed, as he dumped his backpack on the bed, before sitting down on the bed, "Woah! Soft! There's even a bathroom directly connected to the room."

Reiko leapt off Midoriya's shoulder, landing on the bed gracefully, as Midoriya stifled a growl in disdain at the thick blanket that was draped over his bed. He would deal with the stupid, suffocating monstrosity later, though he was going to be careful with how he did that; he was sure Yaoyorozu wouldn't appreciate the bedsheets being torn apart.

"As much as I'd like to enjoy the room, I believe we should get going. Like I said earlier, the earlier we start studying, the earlier we will finish." Iida said, "Let's grab our study materials and make our way to that room that Yaoyorozu pointed out earlier.

Koda shot them a thumbs up, before digging into his bag to fish out his worksheets. Meanwhile, Midoriya merely dumped his clothes out of his bag and neatly folded them, placing them at the foot of the bed, secretly slipping his pocket knives into his pants pocket. What good were knives if they were too far away to be used?

Midoriya tried his best to stop his hands from shaking. It was just a sleepover, right? There was nothing to be scared of. He was just at the complete mercy of his new classmates, it wasn't too different from what he was used to.

So why did it feel so different?

Midoriya shook himself out of his daze as he heard footsteps coming towards him. He looked up, seeing Koda standing in front of him.

"We're good to go." He signed, "Iida's chasing the others out of the room. You okay to leave now?"

Midoriya quickly nodded, grabbing his bag, and following Koda out of the room, seeing Iida poke his head into one of the other rooms, "Come on, guys! Stop delaying!"

The room they were using had one large table, and Midoriya found himself wedged between Shinsou and Todoroki. Reiko was curled up on his lap, and Ryuto was napping in his hood.

"So, should we start with maths?" Yaoyorozu asked. The class cheered, and Iida started saying, "Alright, guys, we'll start with the algebra homework that Ectoplasm-sensei set us."

Midoriya blinked. Ectoplasm didn't give him any algebra homework; he had given him a set of university level calculus questions. Iida surveyed the table to see if everyone had brought their work, and frowned slightly when he saw that Midoriya didn't have it.

"Midoriya, where's yours?"

Midoriya almost panicked, hastily trying to defend himself, "I didn't get it."

"What do you mean, you didn't get it?" Shinsou asked, confused, "Ectoplasm-sensei gave you homework as well."

Midoriya fished his huge stack of calculus questions out of his bag, and tried not to flinch as Todoroki leaned over to look at it, "You are aware that we're not learning calculus now, right?"

The green haired boy nodded, trying to push his panic down, and Reiko uncurled herself from her position on his lap, and rubbed herself against Midoriya's arm in an attempt to calm him down. Ryuto popped out of his hood, before he sat down on Midoriya's shoulder, rubbing his head against Midoriya's neck.

Iida's sharp eyes caught sight of Reiko and Ryuto, and he clenched his fists; all the attention on Midoriya and his homework was stressing him out. He quickly pulled Todoroki and Shinsou away from the green haired boy, "Well, if Ectoplasm-sensei gave him something else to do, then we can't do anything about it. Midoriya, I honestly don't think that any of us are good enough to help you with that… but should you need any help… we'll try our best, okay?"

Midoriya relaxed when Shinsou and Todoroki finally got out of his bubble of personal space, and nodded at Iida tiredly. He knew they were curious why he had a different set of questions, but he didn't think Ectoplasm would be too happy if Midoriya couldn't hand in his homework due to it being torn apart. None of his previous teachers ever believed him; why should the pro hero, who had many other duties to take care of, bother about him as well?

Plus, it was no excuse. If he couldn't even protect and take care of a flimsy piece of paper, then he really was useless.

Midoriya quickly grabbed his pen, and worked through his calculus questions, not even bothering with a calculator even though the question had asked him to use one. He finished the first five-part question, before flipping over to the next page.

He could feel Ashido and Kaminari staring at him from across the table, and he hastened the pace at which he wrote. It didn't take him too long to finish his worksheet, and he quickly checked his work, before he put his worksheet back into his bag.

He looked up, and stared right back at Ashido and Kaminari, whose jaws had dropped as they gawked at him.

"What? How did you… you're done already?"

Midoriya just blinked, confused, as Jiro sighed from beside Ashido, "Focus, Mina. We're not going to get anywhere if you keep getting distracted."

The group finally finished their maths homework, and Yaoyorozu led them to the dining area, where all the food was already set on the table.

Midoriya wasn't hungry at all; the sight of so much food just made him sick. He found a quiet corner to sit in, and grabbed Reiko and Ryuto's bowls. He carefully emptied out the food into their bowls, and they tucked in. Ryuto had grown enough that he was capable of eating on his own, given that the meat was in small enough pieces for him to pick up.

Midoriya sat back against the wall, pulling his legs to himself, and closed his eyes, trying to relax and save his energy, blocking out all the sounds of his classmates chatting and eating while trying to figure out who was where. He never did like mealtimes; he always left the dining table after eating as fast as possible, or just didn't eat dinner at all and holed himself up in his room. His foster mother stopped bothering to cook for him, and Midoriya was more than happy to just grab cup noodles from the nearest convenience store before reaching home. He usually ate one on the way home, and bought another home to eat in the middle of night while doing homework, before going out to patrol.

He tolerated lunchtimes in the canteen because there were so many people that he wouldn't draw attention to himself. In such a large room with just twenty people, it was obvious that he was the odd one out when he stuck himself in the corner.

"Hey! Midoriya! Come eat with us!" Sero waved at the green haired boy. Midoriya opened his eyes slightly, and shook his head. He wanted to stay as far away from that nauseating smell as he could.

"You have to eat something." Kirishima pointed out, "You need energy."

"Yeah! You can have some of my pie if you like?" Ashido offered.

They got up, and walked towards Midoriya with their plates, "Come on, please? It's not healthy to just starve yourself."

Midoriya tensed up as they got closer; he wasn't hungry at all, dammit. He hated that he had decided to stick himself in a corner; now he couldn't go anywhere without going through both Ashido and Kirishima, and they had quirks that he'd prefer to use weapons to deal with rather than barehanded.

Iida was about to stop Ashido and Kirishima, but much to everyone's surprise, Bakugou was the one who grabbed the two students and dragged them back to their seat.

"Leave him be, you noisy assholes. If he doesn't want to eat, then he doesn't fucking eat." Bakugou snapped, tossing Ashido and Kirishima back into their seats, "Stop being such nosy fuckers for once and mind your own fucking business."

"Thank you for that, but you could have said that with less swearing, Bakugou." Iida scolded.

"What is it to you, Four Eyes!?" Bakugou slammed his palms on the table, "You wanna go!?"

"Well… maybe you'd want to drink something, Midoriya?" Uraraka asked, trying to diffuse the situation, standing up to get a clearer view of Midoriya; her view was being blocked by Sato.

Now that he thought about it, Midoriya did want coffee; he had forgotten about it that morning. Maybe Yaoyorozu wouldn't so much about his lack of appetite if he got coffee to drink, except he didn't trust that they wouldn't mess it up like anyone else.

Reiko nudged his arm, and Midoriya shifted, extending his legs slightly so that she could sit in his lap. Midoriya tiredly looked at her, and she rubbed herself against his arm, urging him to do something.

Midoriya just looked back her and shook his head. He wasn't going to ask them for anything at all; he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, and he wasn't going to need their help any time soon. It wasn't like they could help him anyways.

Reiko glared back at him, and growled, before she pranced up to perch on Midoriya's knees and meowed, grabbing Koda's attention. Koda looked up from his vegetarian fried rice to face Reiko, and she purred.

Koda quickly signed something to Shinsou, and Shinsou raised his eyebrow, "Coffee? Do you have that, Yaoyorozu?"

"Well, yes. Latte, mocha, or espresso?" Yaoyorozu asked, after calling the maid over to ask some questions.

Midoriya mock-glared at Reiko, and she just looked up at him smugly.

He sighed. He only knew that he got the cheapest kind of coffee from the convenience store; what the hell was a latte or a mocha or an espresso anyways?

Reiko looked equally confused, and she turned to look at Midoriya. Ryuto had decided to nestle himself in the crook of Midoriya's arm, and chirped. Midoriya looked back and Reiko, and shrugged, gently running his fingers through the soft downy feathers on Ryuto's head.

"Do you know the difference between the different types of coffee?" Shinsou asked, and Midoriya hesitantly shook his head; not knowing anything was a weakness, and he wasn't happy showing it.

At this point, Midoriya just wanted to finish his homework and call it a day. Interacting with his peers was tiring, even more than hunting down villains and kicking their asses.

"Which is the strongest?" Midoriya tiredly signed, and Shinsou replied, "Espresso. It's bitter though."

Midoriya just shrugged again; he didn't mind bitter, the coffee he usually drank was bitter anyways. Did he always get espressos?

"Sugar or no?" Yaoyorozu asked, and Midoriya shook his head.

It didn't take too long for the drink to be made, and Midoriya hesitantly peeled himself off the ground to pick up the warm beverage. He usually drank his coffee cold, but at this point, he didn't really care anymore.

"Careful! It's hot." Yaoyorozu stated, "You might want to let it cool for a while."

Midoriya ignored her and held the drink with both hands. It was hot, but nowhere as hot as the flames that Enji had used to burn him; if he could withstand that, then a hot cup was no biggie. Midoriya sat back down in the corner, letting the heat from the cup warm up his cold, shaking hands.

Calm down, it's just coffee. How bad can it be?

Midoriya hesitantly sniffed the drink. It smelt like… well… coffee, and it felt safe, but he still couldn't be sure. But still, it was really rude to ask for a drink, and not drink it, even if Reiko was the one who ordered it for him.

He just decided to take the chance and drink it. It wasn't like he could die from it anyways; he'd deal with the consequences later.

Would they care if he could die anyways? Probably not. He didn't really care either.

Maybe they really did hate him.

Maybe he was really better off dead. He had to bother half of his class simply because he couldn't suck his nausea down and just eat something. He had to bother one of Yaoyorozu's maids after they had already finished making so much food for everyone else.

Maybe he should just -

Midoriya placed the cup to his mouth, and took a huge gulp. The scalding hot liquid trickled down his throat, and burning pain that came from his scalded throat anchored him to reality, pulling him away from all the thoughts swimming around in his head.

It was bitter, but Midoriya didn't really know if it tasted nice or not. Taste, after all, was just like emotions, just impulses travelling through neurons, just chemical signals that were meaningless in the long run.

It didn't matter.

Midoriya gulped down the remainder of the drink, exhaled. He usually never drank coffee in the middle of the day; he wondered how the caffeine would affect his sleep schedule. Not that it mattered anyways, it had always been messed up.

He just sat in the corner, feeling more awake than before, and trained his sights on the rest of his classmates who had, under Iida's coaxing to leave him alone, gone back to their meals.

Midoriya stood up, picking up the bowls that Reiko and Ryuto had used, and with a silent order to stay, he moved to the bathroom to wash the dishes clean.

Midoriya wasn't too sure what to do when they had decided to go through the english quiz, or the physics test that Snipe given; he had gotten full marks and didn't need to do any corrections. His papers had ended up being used as the mark schemes as Iida and Yaoyorozu tried to figure out how to best explain the problem to the weaker students. Kaminari was surprisingly good at physics, but it did make sense, given his quirk.

Midoriya leaned back into his chair, and closed his eyes. He needed to file his work for later reference; hopefully, if he just acted well… maybe they'd spare his tests and assignments.

Midoriya looked around the room subtly, trying his best to stop his hands from shaking.

Why were these people so nice?

Why couldn't he sense any traces of malice in them?

What's going on?

Trying to keep calm was harder than he had expected. He was hoping that he'd be getting beaten up; at least, that was normal and he knew how to handle it.

But this? People being nice? It made no sense; this was something knew, something he hadn't analysed, hadn't experienced before.

And Midoriya hated being stuck in situations where he had no idea what to do.

He'd rather let Enji burn him again, he'd much rather let that stupid Nomu rip him to shreds; at least, in those scenarios, he knew what to do in order to get out, even if it meant being bedridden again.

Against his classmates, Midoriya was helpless. He knew he couldn't fight back, or he'd be the one getting in trouble.

You don't deserve to fight back, you worthless quitter.

Midoriya bit his lip, trying to push that voice to the back of his mind.

"You quirkless fuckers are just defects! Leave everyone alone, you vermin! Go and die like the rest of your useless, worthless kind!"

He remembered fire, the horrendous stench of burning bodies and gasoline mixed into one nauseating smell. He remembered his own hoarse cries, as he cried over his mother's corpse, his father dying right in front of him.

Midoriya dug his nails into his palms, snapping him out of his thoughts.

Stupid useless emotions. Leave me alone.

Midoriya exhaled. It was going to be a rough night, whenever that happened, it was a cycle that Midoriya had gotten used to. He looked up as someone was shoved in front of him, and he blinked; his test papers were neatly stacked and clipped together. Midoriya couldn't help himself, and picked up his papers, scanning over them warily.

They're not damaged? At all?

"Well, we're done! Aw yeah!" Ashido cheered, leaping out of her seat, "I feel so smart right now!"

"Make sure to revise as well; just because you remember today, doesn't mean you'll remember it tomorrow." Iida stated, "You should try and make your own notes as well, and not do all of your homework in the last minute."

"Okay! We still have an hour before dinner, so we can figure out what you guys want to eat, and maybe, go to the nearby mall to get stacks for later?" Yaoyorozu suggested.

Midoriya did not want to go out. He was already tired of just sitting there with his classmates, the last thing he wanted to do was to go to a crowded mall, filled with people and possibly villains that could know his vigilante persona and might target him because of that.

Because this was Shigaraki he was talking about. The man that had successfully staged an attack on UA and almost destroyed the hero course students. Who knew how many villains he had under his watch, or who many he had told about his Void persona.

What if they got hurt because of me?

He could feel his paranoia setting in, but he couldn't outrightly refuse; not unless he wanted to tell his classmates about his fears, about the true worthless, useless freak that he was.

He couldn't show any weaknesses; people would just take advantage of it.

All he could do was to just stay vigilant, to keep an eye out for anything weird, to make sure that his classmates got to the mall and back safe and sound.

He wouldn't let anyone get hurt because of him, even if he didn't get anything out of it. He may not like his classmates, but that didn't mean it would stop him from doing the right thing.

After all, what else could he do with his worthless life?

Shinsou could practically feel the pressure emanating off the green haired boy. They were currently in the supermarket, picking out snacks, but Midoriya was just standing at the side of the aisle, unmoving, glancing around warily. In fact, besides from the 1-A students, there wasn't anyone else in the aisle.

None of the other patrons went anywhere near him, leaving a wide berth around him. Iida and Uraraka were standing next to him, chatting, but other than that, there was no one near him at all.

"Hey, Midoriya, want anything? There's a huge variety of food here!" Kaminari waved, and Shinsou grabbed Kaminari by the collar before he could jump Midoriya again.

Midoriya glanced at Kaminari emotionlessly, before shaking his head. Midoriya originally wanted to get a cheap, six-pack coffee, but Yaoyorozu refused to let him have it, saying that they had more than enough coffee back at her house.

He spotted Reiko peek out of Midoriya's hood, surveying the area, before ducking back inside. He wondered if Midoriya brought Reiko out on patrols; she seemed wary of anyone who came anywhere near Midoriya, and overprotective of Ryuto.

"Everyone has their snacks? Great!" Yaoyorozu grinned, before facing Midoriya, "You sure you don't want to buy anything besides the instant noodles?"

Midoriya shook his head again. He never ate snacks; they weren't very filling, and they were way too expensive. They weren't worth the money; he didn't have a lot to spend in the first place, just whatever money he got from being called in to the pet rescue center to deal with some of the animals, and from occasionally manning the cashier when no one was around.

"It's fine. I think we have more than enough for everyone. If you want any of ours, just ask, okay?" Ashido shot him a thumbs up, and Midoriya just indulged her enthusiasm with a half-hearted nod.

Dinner passed by relatively quickly. Midoriya had tucked himself into the corner, along with Reiko and Ryuto, and the cat was currently sleeping on the boy's lap while Ryuto was getting his talons tangled up in Midoriya's hair again.

Midoriya wasn't hungry, but he just ate the cup noodles so his classmates wouldn't bother him about not eating at all. It was supposed to be for the middle of the night, but either way, it was going to get eaten one way or another, so Midoriya didn't care.

They had gone to the guest rooms after eating, and Ashido ripped open her bag of chips, and nibbled on one, "So, what are we going to do now?"

"Uh… I don't really… know… I never had a sleepover before." Yaoyorozu sheepishly scratched her neck.

Kaminari leaned over and stole a chip from Ashido, "Well, we can play Uno? I brought a set of cards. Or we can just go with the usual Truth or Dare kinda games?"

"Uno is fine, I think. We can go to the study room and play, since I don't think that all of us won't fit in a room." Sato scratched his head.

"Truth and Dare is fine… just… I don't think it's a good idea for him." Jiro stated, using an earphone jacks to point at Midoriya, "Forcing him to talk about something that he doesn't want to talk about won't help the situation at all, and he might take the dares as an order and end up going too far."

"How about Hide and Seek? Yaomomo's house seems large enough for that!" Hagakure suggested.

"As long as we have a rule that states that you can't off your clothes, I don't mind." Ojiro scratched his cheek, "That would be cheating, and very inappropriate."

Hagakure merely huffed at him, but agreed nonetheless.

"Alright, can we go with Hide and Seek?" Iida asked, and everyone nodded.

Midoriya didn't really care. He hated Hide and Seek, detested it; it was a game that had tormented him since his first camp when he was five. He knew it was stupid to be scared of a child's game, but his pain tolerance when he was five was nowhere near his current threshold. Every time he had been found, he had been viciously thrown out of his hiding place, and mocked and laughed at as he got beaten up for being absolutely worthless at it. Even if he did win, he was still beaten up and accused of cheating. He was forced to get good at the game, he didn't have a choice, and had several strategies made just to beat this game.

But he didn't want to ruin the mood; everyone else seemed eager to go.

"Here are the rules." Iida ordered, "Quirks can be used, but you cannot damage the property!" He glared at Bakugou.

"Secondly, don't force a door open; if it's locked, it's locked. Third, Hagakure, what Ojiro said; no taking off your clothes. You guys can move and change hiding places as you please, and you have to be tagged by the seeker for you to be considered out. Once you are out, you can help the seeker find the others. Also, we are going to be restricted to those few areas that we had been to today. We don't want anyone getting lost."

"Okay! I'll just find that random number generator application, and whoever's index number pops out will be the seeker. We'll have five minutes to hide." Ashido fished her phone out of her pocket, selecting the app, "Okay, number twelve. That's Jiro! Alright guys, let's go!"

Jiro sighed, and sat on her bed, grabbing her phone and setting a timer for five minutes.

The students rushed out of the room, and Midoriya just scooped Reiko and Ryuto into his arms, and walked blearily out of the room.

This was going to be a long night.

Rule One of Hide and Seek: don't go to the places with tons of hiding spots. Everyone would go there, and the seeker would obviously know where everyone would go. He would just have to move around, and go to places where the seeker had last checked; it would usually take a long time for them to check the remaining areas before coming back to recheck areas.

Midoriya walked into the study room, it's doors already open, and surveyed the darkened area, his eyes already well trained to make out the different objects and furniture in the dark.

Rule Two: Hiding in plain sight is better than specifically finding a hiding spot. The seekers would usually be looking for anything out of the usual, and would often not check the more open areas as they were more often looked over, since usually no one hid there.

Midoriya had considered the vents; Yaoyorozu's house was huge, and it was almost impossible for any of his classmates to enter them. And that was the reason why Midoriya refused to hide there; it wasn't fair.

Midoriya slipped behind the door, and sank to the ground. No one checked behind the doors for some reason, and there was a bookshelf that would block the seekers view of his hiding spot.

He sighed, and leaned back against the wall, content to just wait it out.

He hated tricking people that weren't villains, but this was one instance where he was willing to do so.

Rule Three. Manipulate their emotions, and use it against them.

Because emotions don't help you at all, they just hinder you.

Jiro scratched her head. Most of her classmates had gone to the dining area and the kitchen for some reason; she could tell that much just by listening. She ran out of the room, and made her way to the dining room.

She did pause by the study room and the way there, and she glanced through the open doors.

The room was barren save for the table and the bookshelves. There wasn't anywhere to hide there; none of her classmates would come and hide here, surely.

She continued on her way to the dining room.

"Where is he!?" Yaoyorozu asked.

Jiro had caught Shoji, Sato and Koda the second she entered the dining room; they were just way too bulky to hide anywhere. Todoroki, apparently, didn't even try to hide; he had been sitting under the dining table.

Bakugou, Kirishima, Sero, Kaminari and Ashido were next; they had all been crammed in a closet and Bakugou had been screaming at them to leave him alone in his hiding place. Jiro had checked the closet right next to theirs, just for good measure, and ended up finding Ojiro in there.

Asui had just gotten unlucky; she had hidden herself in plain sight on the ceiling, but Jiro had accidentally tripped over Ojiro's tail, and had seen her on the ceiling. Aoyama had holed himself up in the bathroom, and was looking at his reflection in the mirror.

Tokoyami and Shinsou were hiding on the top of some bookshelves in the main hall. They were really quiet, and Jiro wouldn't have found them if not for Shoji; his height and sharp eyes caught sight of Shinsou's fluffy purple hair.

Uraraka had tried the same method as Asui, hiding on the ceiling using her quirk. But her nausea got the better of her. Shoji managed to catch her before she hit the ground. Iida was wedged between the refrigerator and the wall, and Dark Shadow was the one that dragged him out. Hagakure had tried to hide in a cabinet in the kitchen, but she had taken out the pots and pans and didn't think to hide them before diving into the cabinet.

Yaoyorozu had done the same, but did it smarter than Hagakure; she had placed the cutlery neatly on the counter instead of strewn all over the ground. Iida had found her when he had opened all the cabinets in the kitchen.

They had backtracked to find Midoriya, checking the guest rooms again, and even the barren study room, but they couldn't find a single trace of the green haired boy anywhere. Not even a single strand of fur or feather.

"I don't know, we checked everywhere." Shinsou scratched the back of his head.

"He was here before, I can tell." Dark Shadow spoke up.

"Maybe he changed hiding spots. Let's check the dining room again." Yaoyorozu suggested.

It was no good.

They had checked the entire area another five times; the main hall, the dining room, the kitchen, the guest rooms, the study room, and the bathrooms.

They had even stationed people inside each room after the third cycle in case Midoriya kept changing hiding places, but even that didn't work on the former general education student.

There were several times when they thought they had found him; the cabinet was closed when the last time it had been left slightly open, the door to the kitchen was open when they had closed it behind them, the potted plant in the dining room had been shifted slightly.

Midoriya still hadn't been found, and they were getting worried.

"Should we just give up? I'm getting worried. It's creepy, it's like he just disappeared into thin air." Kirishima stated.

"Yeah… we should." Iida sighed, before calling out "Okay, Midoriya! We give up! You win! You can stop hiding now!"

The door that led from the dining room to the hallways creaked, and everyone whirled around. The doors had been left wide open, with a potted plant standing between the open door and the wall.

Midoriya pushed the door away from the wall, slipping out of his hiding spot. Reiko and Ryuto both popped out of his hood, and Reiko gave the students a meow.

"Were you there the entire time?!" Ashido jaw dropped.

Midoriya shook his head, and Shinsou translated his signing, "Nope. He's been continuously changing rooms until we stationed Shoji and Tokoyami outside the hallway. But he has been hiding behind the doors in every room."

"Why didn't I think of that?!" Yaoyorozu sighed.

"But… the door? And the potted plant? And kitchen cabinets?" Hagakure stammered, "Was it a ghost or did you move them? Why?"

"Diversions."

"Oh… That's honestly really smart, Midoriya!" Uraraka smiled, after Shinsou had to, once again, translate the signing, "Constantly changing your hiding place to make you harder to find, and creating diversions to distract us!"

Midoriya just stared at her blankly.

It was a dirty trick.

It was to make them excited, thinking that they had found him.

To make them disappointed, when they realised that they hadn't found him.

It distracted them, stoped them from thinking about other hiding places.

What on earth did theymean by "smart"?

Yaoyorozu stretched, and yawned, "Well… I was honestly thinking we could play a few rounds, but this round took so long, and I'm kinda tired. I think we should sleep now."

"Agreed! We can sleep earlier, wake up earlier, and start studying." Iida nodded, "If we finish it quickly, we can still have more bonding exercises before going home!"

It's fine?

They're okay with it?

Midoriya merely slouched in confusion, and Reiko rubbed her cheek against Midoriya's comfortingly.

Yaoyorozu's house had several guest bathrooms, and everyone who was sharing a room took turns to use them.

Koda had been the first to shower, followed by Iida and Todoroki. Shinsou had volunteered to be the last to shower since he needed the hair dryer; his fluffy hair, while it wasn't that long, was pretty thick, and he would need quite a bit of time with the hair dryer.

Reiko sat on Midoriya's bed, grooming herself as Ryuto tried to preen himself by copying her. Needless to say, it took some time for him to figure out how to preen properly.

"Hey, Reiko, can I ask a quick question, if it's not too personal?" Iida spoke up, out of nowhere, "Koda, you'll translate, right?"

Reiko looked up from her grooming, and faced the purple haired boy as Koda nodded.

"Does Midoriya usually bring you out for patrols, or does he leave you at home? And what about Ryuto?" Iida asked.

Reiko tilted her head slightly, wondering how they knew about Midoriya being a vigilante, before remembering that Nezu had told her that Shigaraki had revealed Midoriya's identity during the attack.

"Brings me out most of the time. Then he went to Hosu. I stayed with Ryuto. Said it was foreign territory and Stain was too dangerous for us."

Koda haphazardly signed her reply to Shinsou, who translated it once again for Todoroki.

"Ah… that makes sense… I didn't remember seeing you there." Todoroki mused, "It was the right call… Stain wasn't even the problem; my dad tried to set him on fire."

Reiko glanced at him, and hissed.

"He did what?!"

Everyone flinched at the sudden hostility the cat displayed.

Midoriya had never really been fond of fire, and she knew that Midoriya had lost his parents in a fire from the bullying in his secondary school while being hidden in his school bag. She already knew that Enji was Todoroki's father; it had been mentioned time and time again in the cafeteria and during lessons.

But he tried to set him on fire?!

No wonder Midoriya was a terrified, shaking mess who had to stab himself in the arm to snap himself out of it when he got home. She really wanted to go give Enji a piece of her mind, but one, he couldn't understand her, and two, he would probably set her on fire when he deemed her annoying.

The door to the bathroom popped open, and they turned around, finding Midoriya with a towel around his neck. He was wearing another black hoodie and black pants, and he was holding the clothes that he had just worn for the day.

Midoriya walked out, and sat on his bed. He folded his clothes neatly, and placed them on the floor, next to his bed, before he started rubbing the towel through his green fluffy hair.

"Oh... I guess it's my turn…" Shinsou muttered, grabbing his clothes from his bed and making his way to the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind him.

Reiko and Ryuto promptly hopped up onto Midoriya's lap and curled up, and Midoriya stopped drying his hair to look at the two animals, before continuing to work the towel through his hair.

He draped the towel over the headboard of the bed, and he carefully placed Ryuto and Reiko on the ground. He grabbed the thick blanket, and flung it off the bed, before chucking it in the closet. He proceeded to place Ryuto and Reiko on the bed, before climbing onto it himself.

"You don't… need the blanket?" Todoroki asked awkwardly.

Midoriya just stared at him, not answering the question, before he curled up protectively around the two sleeping animals. The tension never left his form, thought, but Todoroki settled back down on his bed, grabbing his phone to text Fuyumi.

It was another twenty minutes until Shinsou was done with his shower and his hair was finally dry, and Iida had gone out of the room to force everyone to go to sleep; there was shrill screaming from Bakugou's room and it sounded like it was either from Sero, Kaminari, or both of them.

Shinsou slipped under his blanket, and yawned, scratching the back of his head, and Iida walked into the room and closed the door behind him gently.

"It's nothing. Kaminari and Sero thought it would be funny to scare Bakugou after he got out of the bathroom. Bakugou couldn't blast them, but they're all running from him." Iida sighed, "Well, it's late. We should sleep now. Can I turn off the lights?"

"Sure." Shinsou shrugged, and Iida flipped the light switch, throwing the room into darkness.

Todoroki bolted awake, and blinked, cold sweat lining his brow.

He pressed his hand against his scarred face, trying to slow his heavy breathing.

Just a nightmare.

Todoroki looked around the room, trying to see if he had woken anyone by accident.

Iida was tucked under his blankets, Koda was curled up around his pillow, Shinsou had partially thrown the sheets off his bed -

He found a pair of emerald eyes gleaming in the moonlight, staring at him, right into his soul.

Todoroki froze, unsure of how to react to the predatory gaze of Midoriya, until Midoriya's gaze softened, and he closed his eyes, seemingly going back to sleep.

Todoroki heaved a sigh of relief as the pressure died down.

At least Midoriya seemed to be doing it on reflex instead of on purpose.

"Papa! Mama!"

"Shut up! You useless, quirkless scum!"

"What do you want!?" Hisashi hissed, throwing a broken bat that he had just broken to the ground.

Izuku couldn't do anything; he was scared, frozen stiff, dangling limply in the villain's grasp. There was a weird smell in the air, one that he recognised whenever his mother turned on the gas before cooking, and the furniture was drenched, for some odd reason.

"Get out of the way. Mr and Mrs Midoriya, you both have great quirks, fire breath and minor telekinesis. But your child, on the other hand….. He's quirkless. He doesn't deserve to live."

"Leave Izuku alone. It isn't his fault he doesn't have a quirk." Hisashi growled at the stranger that now stood in their living room.

"Last chance! Protect that useless freak of nature and I will kill you!"

"Never! Forget it! Izuku's my son and I'll protect him with my life! I don't care what you say! He's not useless and he'll never be!" Inko glared harshly at the man holding Izuku, as another held a knife against her neck, "He's just a child! Leave him alone!"

"Why do you even bother!? He's quirkless! He doesn't deserve anything! He's just a useless waste of space!" A villain cackled.

"What do you have against him anyway? Who are you, even!?" Hisashi took a step forward threateningly, but was stopped with a knife pressed against his throat.

"He's weak and worthless! He can't do anything, even if he does grow up! Just a waste of valuable resources!" The stranger shouted, "He's worse than nothing! He's better off dead rather than living a meaningless, worthless life!"

"Now, you may have your own viewpoints, but you do not treat my child with disrespect." Hisashi snapped, "Now get out before I arrest you and charge you with assault, trespassing of property and quirk discrimination."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" The villain shrieked, "Your house is drenched in gasoline and filled with petroleum gas! Take one breath of air and you'll die! You may breath fire, but I don't think that you're fireproof, are you!? Now let me kill the worthless child!"

Hisashi and Inko refused to budge, despite being threatened, and the man just growled, fishing a lighter out of his pocket.

"Very well, then. You just signed your own death warrant! You'll just die with him! You quirkless fuckers and everyone that accepts them are just defects! Leave everyone alone, you vermin! Go and die like the rest of your useless, worthless kind!"

He heard his mother screaming as gasoline was dumped directly over her and set ablaze, and Hisashi lunged, roaring in anger, ripping Izuku out of the villain's grasp, ignoring one of the other villains that slashed him in the chest with a knife.

And all he could see was fire.

He was surrounded by malicious orange and yellow flames that licked visciously at the walls of his home. The nauseating smell of burning bodies and gasoline filled the air. His mother's burning corpse, or what even remained of it, was on the other side of the room, where their assailant had once stood.

His father's body was still, wrapped around him limply on the ground. Izuku's shirt was drenched was blood, his father's blood. Izuku's hands shook, tears running down his cheeks as he tried to process what was going on.

"... Mama? … Papa?" Izuku cried out, shaking Hisashi's dying body.

"Zuku… get out of here…" He coughed, spitting out a bit of blood, "I'm so… sorry… Zuku…"

"No! Papa!" Izuku wailed, kneeling next to Hisashi's body and grabbing his hand. His legs and back were slowly turning black as the fire crept closer and closer to his upper body, and Izuku desperately tried to pat the flames away, burning his own hands in the process.

"Come on… we can get help… It's not too late"

"I'm so sorry, Zuku… there's no time..." Hisashi apologised, weakly pulling Izuku's hands away from the fire, "This… was the worst birthday ever… wasn't it… I'm sorry… "

"I don't care about that!" Izuku hiccupped, tugging weakly at Hisashi's hand, "Please? We can ask the heroes -"

"It's too late … I'm sorry… please… get out of here, hurry… " Hisashi hoarsely replied, the light in his eyes fading, "Remember… it's not your fault… you're not worthless… and you'll never be. Go be… the hero… that we all believed that you could be…"

He closed his eyes, and fell silent.

"No! Papa!" Izuku weeped, trying to shaking his father awake, "Papa!"

The front door burst open, and a man rushed into the house.

"There's a child! I'm going to bring him out!" He said, carefully making his way over to Izuku, and picked him up.

"No! Go away! Papa!" Izuku wailed, reaching out as he was picked up against his will, getting carried further and further from his father's corpse.

"PAPA!"

Midoriya forced himself to snap awake.

Just a nightmare, just a nightmare, you're fine, you're safe, it's just a nightmare -

He was biting his lip harshly, clenching his fists so tightly that his nails drew blood from his palms. He was curled up in a tight, shaking ball, Reiko having grabbed Ryuto and pulled him away the second she sensed Midoriya having a nightmare.

She looked down at him, wrapped around Ryuto protectively, and Midoriya looked up at her blearily. Midoriya pushed himself up, his head in a daze, and stumbled clumsily to the bathroom. He flung the door open, and turned on the tap, splashing cold water on to his face, waking the boy up instantly.

Stupid, useless, worthless emotions. Leave me alone.

He closed the bathroom door gently, and walked back to his bed. He climbed onto the bed wearily, and sank onto it, still breathing heavily.

Reiko leaned down, and licked Midoriya's cheek gently. Ryuto waddled over and pressed himself against his neck, before proceeding to nibble Midoriya's ear again.

Midoriya's heart clenched as he thought about his nightmare, or more accurately, his memory, replying over and over in his mind. His head was buzzing with static, and Midoriya tried to push away the revolting smell of burning bodies that surfaced from his mind.

He should have died that day, not his parents.

He wasn't useless? Yeah, right. He was the villains target. He was the one they wanted dead, not his parents.

Not worthless?

The villains were right. He didn't deserve to be alive.

Chapter Text

Midoriya was tired.

He had barely slept a wink the entire night. Shinsou was flipping around in his bed, Iida's engines spluttered occasionally throughout the night, and next door, Sato was snoring while Shoji kept hitting the wall by accident.

The one time he managed to fall asleep, he had been plagued by a nightmare. He had been expecting it; it always happened, but Midoriya couldn't sleep for the rest of the night.

He was tired, but he couldn't let that show; it was a weakness that would be exploited. At the very least, he could function normally under these conditions; he was used to hunting down villains while hungry and exhausted, studying was no big deal.

He just really hoped that people would stay out of his personal space. It was uncomfortable, annoying, and just felt downright suffocating.

Maybe he could ask for another coffee; that would perk him up immediately. The first one didn't seem to be harmful at all.

He would just deal with the consequences later.

Shinsou yawned, and stretched, before climbing out of bed. He didn't sleep well, and had tossed and turned throughout the night, but that was normal for him; it had taken him a month or so to get used to sleeping in his new room once Aizawa and Yamada had adopted him.

He got out of bed, and proceeded to go to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Todoroki and Koda were still sleeping, but Iida was already up and packing. He found Midoriya staring at his phone, texting someone. Reiko was lounging by his side, and Ryuto was trying to walk across the headboard without falling.

"Morning, Iida, Midoriya." Shinsou greeted, and Iida looked up from his bag, and replied, "Good morning to you too, Shinsou!"

Midoriya glanced up at him, nodding in acknowledgement, and Shinsou noted that his eyebags just looked a lot worse than usual. Did he not sleep well?

"You look tired, Midoriya. You okay?" Shinsou asked, and Midoriya just shrugged. Reiko leapt off the bed, rubbing herself against Shinsou's leg, before meowing and jumping back onto Midoriya's bed. She purred, and Midoriya absentmindedly reached out to scratch her behind the ear.

Ryuto lost his balance, and fell onto the bed, before he chirped and moved over to Midoriya's size, settling down by his foot. A few stray downy feathers fluttered onto the bed, and Midoriya looked at them in confusion. Ryuto didn't seem to be bothered by the lost feathers, and he hopped onto Midoriya's leg, giving a small squeak, before settling down.

Shinsou just shrugged to himself and walked to the bathroom. It was too early for this.

"You barely ate anything at all yesterday." Yaoyorozu sighed, "Come on. Please?"

Midoriya resolutely shook his head. He wasn't hungry at all, and it would most likely make him sick; can't they just understand that and leave him alone?

"Hey, at least he's getting coffee?" Iida shrugged, "That's a start. It's not healthy not to eat breakfast, but I suppose you're not used to eating a lot."

Yaoyorozu stared at Iida, before sighing. Iida was technically the class representative, and if he said something, she would have to follow. Even though it technically wasn't an order, what he said still made sense.

Plus, Iida was a strict follower of rules, but he tended to bend them slightly in Midoriya's case. He knew him better than she did; it would be wise to listen to what he said.

"Fine."

Midoriya curled up in a ball in the corner, wrapping himself around Ryuto, and Reiko leapt onto his shoulder, before curling up herself. Midoriya glanced up at her, and she merely rested her head on her paws and pat Midoriya's cheek with her paw.

"You know, honestly, I don't think it's that hard to help him, is it?" Kirishima stated. Shinsou and Todoroki turned to glare at him.

"I don't mean it like that! I mean, easier than we originally thought." Kirishima pointed out, "He's not completely emotionless or stuff; he knows how to show affection, just not to humans. We just need to let him get used to us, right?"

"It's not that easy." Shinsou sighed, "What you're saying is true, but it's not going to be so easy to get him to trust us. Also… we don't know what's going to happen in the future."

"So we just have to be careful, right?" Kirishima grinned toothily at Shinsou, and shot him a thumbs up, "We'll just be really manly and help Midoriya!"

The rest of the day went much better than Midoriya had expected. Ashido and Kaminari, while they had been noisy pretty much all the time, were busy trying to make notes to study for their upcoming mathematics test. Jiro and Yaoyorozu were the ones keeping them in check, while Bakugou simultaneously tutored and blasted Kirishima as they dealt with english.

Sato, having finished most of his work and not in the mood to study, had made huge, weirdly shaped sugar cookies, or Midoriya thought they were sugar cookies. They were really just huge lumps of dough with holes in the center, covered with that overly sweet, tooth-rotting sugary substance that kids liked to eat for some reason. Midoriya just avoided the so-called "treat"; it smelt absolutely nauseating and revolting.

The others seemed to like it though. Kaminari had asked him if he could take his "donut" – that was what they called it? – but he and Sero had ended up fighting over it, before Ashido joined it. They eventually called a truce after Bakugou blasted them all away for being noisy, and they decided to cut it into three pieces to share it.

Midoriya had nothing else to do; he had already finished his homework, and he had already memorized everything that would be in the upcoming tests. Reiko was curled up around Ryuto, who had grown a lot, and was slightly smaller than Reiko herself. Both of them were just sitting on the ground, watching the rest of the class fool around while studying.

He pulled out one of his spare notebooks, and started sketching. He had some ideas for some built in weapons in his gloves, which not only would help him attack, but could also help him climb up uneven surfaces. He had heard Kaminari's suggestion of keeping the bandages on as a capture weapon, and Midoriya thought it might be good as a last resort to surprise villains.

Reiko got up from her seat on the floor, and padded over to Midoriya, leaping onto his lap. Ryuto followed suit, and hopped onto Midoriya's elbow, before peering at the paper that Midoriya was scrawling. He twitched, before turning around to peck the feathers at his back.

Midoriya noticed that some of Ryuto's feathers were taking on a brownish hue instead of the white and grey feathers he currently had. It had been around four weeks after he had hatched; he was most likely growing out his first set of flight feathers, and it was probably really itchy and uncomfortable.

Midoriya reached out with his left hand and gently poked Ryuto's beak, distracting him from whatever he was doing with his feathers. He ran his fingers through the feathers on his head, and Ryuto let out a content purr.

Midoriya stared at him, blinking, before continuing to scratch Ryuto's head. He had no idea that hawks could make purring sounds; you learn something new every day, he supposed.

The class had decided to play Uno for some reason, before they left, and he had somehow gotten roped into playing. It didn't make any sense at all; why could you only put red on red?! Why could you only put a different colour if it was the same number? Why did skip and reverse cards exist!?

He knew it was just the rules of the game, but damn, the rules made no sense at all. Midoriya didn't even know how to play the game; he just kept an eye on the colours and numbers and mentally noted them down to narrow down the possible cards that his classmates could have.

Kirishima had to leave before the game ended, luckily, so it was cut short. However, Midoriya did have to endure a train ride back to UA with Shinsou and Iida. They weren't that bad; they actually knew where his boundaries were and tried not to cross them, but still; he didn't like hanging out with people in general.

The train was super crowded by the time they had hopped on, which made matters worse; body contact with absolute strangers. Midoriya had gotten shoved by several elbows in his very sore ribs, and coupled with his exhaustion, Midoriya really wanted to just snap at them. But he couldn't do that, that would just be rude; he knew what he was getting into when he accepted the offer for a sleepover, if he was paying the consequences, then so be it.

Plus, he had more important things to worry about; Reiko and Ryuto. He wasn't allowed to bring animals onto the train, so he had no choice but to hop on the train with Reiko and Ryuto, who were safely tucked within his bag. He needed to make sure that they weren't hurt; he was willing to pay the price for his bad choices, but Reiko and Ryuto didn't deserve too.

Just staying in the train with so many people around was exhausting; he felt like he could hear everyone's thoughts echoing within him.

Die, you worthless brat!

Useless freak!

No one wants you here!

Midoriya was relieved when he finally made his way out of the train, and the second he got out of the station, he hastily unzipped his bag, letting Reiko and Ryuto pop out for fresh air.

He quickly walked in the direction of UA, almost running directly to the dorms, before stumbling into his room, flopping onto the bed, not even bothered to change into cleaner clothes. Reiko immediately hopped up onto the bed, but Ryuto, who was way too small to do anything, just hopped about on the ground.

Midoriya reached down, scooping the avian up onto the bed, before sighing.

"I'm going to sleep." Midoriya muttered, before slamming his face into the pillow. The sound of his heartbeat thundered in his ears, and Midoriya did his best to control his heavy breathing.

The exams were coming up in a month's time; and the teachers were trying their best to teach the students all the necessary content.

"Does anyone want to tell me how Ashido and Kaminari managed to master algebra over a weekend?" Ectoplasm scratched his head, "They could barely do a single question last week, but the worksheet they just did in class is almost perfect. Just some careless mistakes. And they weren't copying off anyone, I checked."

"Apparently, 1-A, minus the grape boy, had a study session and sleepover at Yaoyorozu's house." Aizawa muttered, grading the second set of essays that he had assigned 1-A to do.

"You gave them another essay?" Snipe shook his head, "I just finished grading his essays. Wasn't the first one more than enough work for you?"

"Well, let's be fair here. Midoriya's essays are actually quite pleasant to read." Aizawa countered, "It's a very nice change compared to the work the rest of his class does. I wouldn't actually mind reading more of his work."

"Well… here." Snipe tossed Midoriya's past essays at the Erasure Hero, "Read them. I still have to give them back to Midoriya; you mind doing that for me?"

"Sure. Whatever." Aizawa placed the extra essays aside and focused on Kaminari's messy scrawls.

"So… I heard that the other therapy people are here?" Kayama asked, as she burst into the staff room, "I heard Bakugou complaining about it in the cafeteria."

"Yep." Yamada replied, grading his english worksheets, "I think it's Hitoshi's turn right now."

"Shinsou! Hurry! Or you won't be able to finish your lunch!" Iida waved Shinsou over to their regular seat, as Shinsou grabbed his tray off the counter.

"How was your counselling session?" Uraraka asked.

"Pretty normal, I think? There were these new guys that could apparently feel emotions or something?" Shinsou scratched the back of his head, wolfing down his noodles, "He's a pro as well, I think; Hound Dog called him in for some help counselling help."

"Hmm… They must have just come in today. I have a counselling session yesterday but there wasn't any new people. Who else has counselling today?" Uraraka asked. Shinsou whipped out his phone, despite Iida's protests, and brought up the google spreadsheet that Inui had shared so everyone could keep track of their appointments, "Er… Oh, Apparently, Yaoyorozu has her session during homeroom, then Satou, Kamakiri, and then Midoriya."

"I guess homeroom is going to be self study, then." Todoroki stated, "I don't think Aizawa-sensei will teach anything while students keep coming in and out of the classrooms."

"Fair point. We can finish the homework that Midnight-sensei had just set." Iida nodded, before turning to Midoriya, "Do you think you'll be okay with a stranger in the room? We can go with you to tell Aizawa-sensei or Nezu-sensei if you won't be comfortable."

Midoriya stared at his water, before looking up at Iida, signing, "I'll be fine."

He didn't know Inui that well either, he was as untrustworthy as these supposed new strangers, even if they were heroes. It was just another useless counselling session anyways, right? He didn't need help, or saving; they couldn't help him anyways; it was just a huge waste of time.

"You sure?" Shinsou asked, and MIdoriya just glanced at him in mild annoyance.

Midoriya closed the door gently behind him, before settling down on the chair. Inui was sitting in the corner of the room with a notepad, while there were two men sitting where Inui usually sat. One was a man with long black hair tied up neatly in a ponytail, and the other saw sitting with his arms crossed, with short white hair.

"Welcome. I go by Kyoken, and this is my colleague, Nanji. These are our hero names, not our real names, obviously. Hound Dog invited us to possibly help out with the aftermath of the… of that incident." The black haired man paused, "Now, I'm just going to confirm some things with you. Just simple yes and no questions. Are you okay with that?"

Midoriya nodded hesitantly, and Kyoken clapped his hands together, "Great. Okay, your name is Midoriya Izuku, right?"

He nodded.

"Age 15?"

Another nod.

"You were involved in that incident directly, weren't you?"

Kyoken got another nod in reply.

"And you were the one that… ended up in the hospital for quite some time?"

Midoriya nodded again, and Kyoken closed his notebook, "Alright. We're just going to be checking your current mental state, alright?"

Midoriya tilted his head slightly, and Kyoken explained, "My quirk allows me to feel your mental state, and what you're feeling through physical contact. I won't be sieving through your memories; my quirk doesn't let me do that."

Midoriya eyed Nanji, and Kyoken spoke up again, "His quirk just calms people in the general vicinity down. We're not going to harm you, nor do we have the ability to do so. Is that alright?"

They watched as the green haired boy considered Kyoken's words, before he nodded.

Inui heaved an internal sigh of relief. At least, Midoriya was trying to be cooperative, even if he was still taking quite some time to consider his choices.

"Excellent. Now, can you place your arm on the table? Just relax." Kyoken ordered, and Midoriya did as he was told. Kyoken opened Midoriya's palm, taking note that MIdoriya was trying to stifle a flinch as he did so. The hero closed his eyes, and activated his quirk.

Almost immediately, his head was empty, cold, desolate, until it was suddenly filled with intense, white hot flashes of pain. He could see fire, and his arms felt like they were on fire. His chest was aching, his arms were as heavy as lead, he felt like his body was constantly being ripped apart and put back together.

"You might as well take a swan dive off a roof and wish you were born with a quirk in your next life, loser!"

Angry thoughts swam around in his head, haunting him from the inside out. He felt like he was on fire, he was burning, as pain flared through his veins like acid. His head was blasted with pain, like someone had cracked his skull open with a sledgehammer, and was pounding the insides over and over again. He no longer knew if they were Midoriya's thoughts or his own; he just knew that everything hurt.

"You quirkless fuckers are just defects! Leave everyone alone, you vermin! Go and die like the rest of your useless, worthless kind!"

His brain was flooded with emotions. Anger, despair, sorrow, sadness, guilt, hatred, worthlessness, self-loathing; all the negative thoughts and emotions swirling around haphazardly. He couldn't think anymore; he could only feel pain.

"You useless Deku! Just go kill yourself already!"

His body shook as he desperately tried to process everything that was going on; the cacophony of voices all around him, spewing nast words at him, the pain that flared throughout his body, the panic and fear rising up out of nowhere, the intense anger and hatred that lingered throughout his entire being. When he first saw Midoriya, he didn't know what to expect. Maybe emptiness, maybe something else.

But not this. He wasn't expecting this at all.

He felt the inner turmoil that Midoriya felt. He felt like his mind was being broken, shattered, torn apart from the inside out. He felt like he was being ripped open and put back together like a mangled toy, over and over again.

He heard a voice viciously snarling from the back of his mind, conjuring up dark and foreboding thoughts.

"They're all right! The only thing you can do right is hurt people! They died for you! They got hurt because of you! You're just worthless and useless!"

Midoriya didn't know what was going on.

One minute, Kyoken was calm, collected, and was lighting touching his palm with the tips of his fingers. The next, the hero was shaking, hunching over on the table, clenching his fists tightly, cold sweat appearing on his forehead.

Midoriya sat perfectly still as Kyoken grabbed his hand harshly; he didn't know what else to do. He stifled a grimace as the hero gripped his hand tighter. He felt like Kyoken would end up breaking his hand all over again; Shuzenji would definitely not appreciate that.

Nanji looked at his colleague worriedly. His quirk dampened emotions and feelings just so that he wouldn't be overwhelmed; this shouldn't be happening at all. It had to be Midoriya's doing, a quirk, or something. He put his hand on Kyoken's shoulder, trying to calm him down.

Inui turned to Nanji, "What's going on!?"

"I'm not sure… to be honest." Nanji replied, turning to glance at Midoriya warily.

Midoriya looked up at Nanji in mild panic. He had absolutely no idea what was going on, and the usual comforting presence of Reiko and Ryuto weren't around; Reiko was in Nezu's office and Ryuto was interested in that toy cockatoo on Yamada's desk. They didn't want the heroes to think that Midoriya was getting special privileges.

Kyoken shook violently, and let out a pained screech.

"They're all right! The only thing you can do right is hurt people! They died for you! They got hurt because of you! You're just worthless and useless!"

Midoriya yanked his arm out of Kyoken's grasp harshly, stumbling backwards, unsure of what to do next. Nanji almost immediately turned his attention to his colleague, placing his hand on Kyoken's shoulder, a small glow emitting as he activated his quirk.

He remembered his mother screaming in pain as she was burnt alive.

Midoriya took a step back.

He saw fire all around him. He could smell gasoline and burning bodies. He could feel the shortness of breath, the hazy smoke all around him, the weakness in his limbs, the tears pouring down his face as he cried and screamed for his parents.

"Go be… the hero… that we all believed that you could be…"

Hero? What hero? He was useless; he couldn't be a damned hero.

Midoriya backed towards the door, and Inui stood up, "Midoriya, please, calm down -"

He didn't even get to finish his statement, before Midoriya took a sharp intake of breath and ripped open the door. He ran out of the room, startling Ectoplasm and Kayama, who were in the staff room.

"Midoriya?" Kayama asked, turning around, "Was he the one that screeched?"

"No." Inui replied, "I'm going to go stop him."

"Stop it. Going after him won't help." Nezu ordered, opening the door to his office. Reiko slinked out of his office like a bullet, bolting after Midoriya, as Ryuto looked up from his spot on the table. He hopped off the table, but Kayama caught him in time, "You can't fly yet. Be patient."

"I'll find him later. Give him a second to cool down." Nezu stated.

Kyoken's breathing slowed, desperately trying to suck oxygen into his lungs.

"Kyo? You okay there, buddy? Was that his quirk or something?" Nanji asked, helping Kyoken up, leading him out of the room to get some fresh air.

"Huh?" Ectoplasm asked, confused, "What happened?"

"He didn't … do anything." Kyoken panted heavily, "So many emotions… so much pain… "

Nanji looked at him in confusion, "But your quirk… it's supposed to dampen them!"

"Exactly." Kyoken nodded, rubbing his arms; he could still feel the phantom ache that seeped into his bones, "His broken sense of self worth, his anger and hatred, all his pain. There's so much pain, but he's grown used to it, and they only grow stronger with time, festering, only getting worse. He's hiding everything behind a mask; a mask that grows stronger, trapping all his thoughts and emotions inside. He's been broken and abused by everything and everyone around him, he's shattered, breaking down inside, but he pushes everything away; he can't trust anyone, he thinks that he can't be saved, that all this is a waste of time. And that's not even the worst part."

Nezu's gaze hardened, "What can be worse than that?"

"The only reason he hasn't fully snapped is because he believes he deserves it. He fully believes that he's worthless and useless and doesn't deserve to live. It's terrifying, a child so young having to suffer so much before he's even given a chance to live his life, believing that he doesn't deserve anything at all."

Nezu looked up at Kyoken worriedly. He already knew that Midoriya was messed up inside, but he didn't think that it would be that bad. Aldera had screwed him up inside, sure, but just bullying and suicide baiting couldn't have shattered him that badly, could it?

Plus, from the records they had seen, Midoriya was already broken before he had entered Aldera; emotionless, non-responsive, letting himself get pushed around, giving up.

That left his former foster mother and his elementary school. Once Aldera goes up in flames, Nezu was going to turn his attention to the damned elementary school.

"This is only a fraction of his pain, and it's already horrible and terrifying. How much pain does he truly feel? And he's completely numb to it." Kyoken shook his head, "You guys have to help him."

"We know." Nezu snapped, "Everyone who did this to Izuku aren't going to get away with it. I'm going to go find him now."

Chapter Text

When an ear-piercing screech rang through the air, Aizawa wasn't too sure what to expect. He had given the students homeroom lesson as a free period since some of the students had counselling sessions, and it wasn't like he had anything to teach. He just wanted to sleep, dammit.

"What was that?" Uraraka asked, looking up from her worksheet.

"No idea. If I didn't know better, I would think that it was Kaminari." Shinsou admitted.

"Hey!" Kaminari whined indignantly.

"Stay here. I'm going to check. Iida and Yaoyorozu are in charge until I'm back." Aizawa sighed, slipping out of his yellow cocoon and walking out of the classroom. Inui's office, along with the staff room and Nezu's office, were a floor above his classroom's floor, and Aizawa internally groaned at the thought of having to climb stairs.

He reached the top of the stairs, before making his way to the staffroom.

Suddenly, a blur of green raced past him.

Aizawa whirled around, trying to figure out what just happened, "Midoriya?"

He heard a meow, and he looked at the ground just in time to see Reiko running past him, in the direction that Midoriya had headed.

Aizawa turned in the direction Midoriya had run in, and was just about to chase down the green haired boy when a voice called out, "Aizawa, don't."

Kayama poked out of the staffroom, and beckoned him inside, "Stuff happened. Give the kid some time to cool down. Nezu will go find him later."

"What happened?" Aizawa demanded, crossing his arms, glaring at Kyoken and Nanji, "Was it you two?"

He wouldn't admit it, but he might have developed a small soft spot got the broken child. He himself had suffered from quirk discrimination when he was younger, until he had problem himself in the UA first year sports festival. Plus, he had been the one to rescue Shinsou from his former household; Aizawa owed him for that.

"He overloaded my quirk and I might have freaked him out." Kyoken admitted, rubbing his arm nervously. He didn't know who Aizawa was, but he did not want to piss of an angry pro hero.

Aizawa narrowed his eyes, "As far as I know, one, you deal with military trauma and stuff like that. Two, your quirk is supposed to dampen the emotions that you felt from him. Mind explaining how he managed to overload it?"

Kyoken sighed, "There is a difference between normal abuse trauma and military trauma. In most cases, soldiers and fighters are at least somewhat aware of what they are getting into, and they have appropriate training to handle and deal with their circumstances. They're not jumping in blindly, they know what is and isn't normal."

Aizawa nodded grumpily.

"In Midoriya's case… at least, from what I can tell, he's had a lot of negative emotions festering since he was a child. He didn't know what he was getting into, and he slowly started accepting his negative circumstances at the norm and tried to get used to them." Kyoken continued, "But the more he got used to them… I'm guessing… the more he was hurt and bullied and abused by those around him. It's just a vicious cycle that continuously gets worse and worse, and his mentality just deteriorates exponentially the more he tries to hide his pain and suffering. He's not emotionless… like I originally thought. He's angry, guilty, sad, upset, and he can't trust the people around him. He just believes that people are going to harm him. But he just hides everything behind a mask and tries to act normal so he wouldn't influence other people, because he believes that he can only harm people. He didn't know beforehand what to expect, and it resulted in him growing up thinking that way."

Aizawa sighed, "This is a problem."

"We'll leave it at that for now." Nezu stated, "He trust me, at far as I know. He's giving his classmates a chance, according to Aizawa. We'll just take baby-steps for now. Nanji, Kyoken, thank you for your time."

"No problem… If you don't mind… keep me updated? I can't help but be worried about him, after what I ... felt." Kyoken asked, and Nezu nodded, "Sure. But we can't involve you, I think. Introducing strangers to him, who immediately freak out… It wasn't a good idea."

"Yeah… my bad…. I'm really sorry." Kyoken apologised.

Midoriya reached the staircase, and ran up two at a time.

His heart was racing; Kyoken's ear-piercing screech had triggered a painful flow of memories that threatened to overwhelm him. He couldn't see anything, his vision was hazy, blurry. He bit his lip, pivoting on his foot to run up another flight of stairs.

He finally reached the top, and he barged the door open with his shoulder, before racing out onto the rooftop. Midoriya raced to the edge, grabbing the railings with his hands, and tried to take a deep breath of air.

Midoriya was gripping the railing so tightly that his arms were shaking, his palms having turned white. He greedily sucked the cool air into his lungs, and looked down the few tens of floors.

The UA main building was tall, but it had never really registered to Midoriya how tall his school was. UA had around fifteen floors, and while Midoriya had jumped from much higher buildings before, he had never been up so high in the day.

He looked down at the ground, and bit his lip even harder.

It looked terrifying. How did he jump from even higher up?

Midoriya swallowed his saliva, before sinking to his knees, still grabbing onto the railing. Without thinking, his hand reached for the pocket knife that he always brought with him, and gingerly fished it out. In one swift, smooth movement, he rolled up the sleeve of his uniform, and stabbed himself in the forearm, the familiar mild, stinging sensation of the blade being buried in his flesh and cutting through his muscles snapped him out from his frenzied haze.

Midoriya took a final deep breath, before he flipped himself around, wearily leaning against the short wall of the rooftop. He stared at his bloodied arm, and sighed, dropping his pocket knife to the ground.

Why was he even in UA? UA was a prestigious school, meant to shape teens to be the best that they could in order to be ready for the real world. He couldn't help anyone; the only thing he was good at doing was destroy lives and hurt people. His parents died for him. Rikaku died because of him. Who else had to get hurt because of his mistakes, because of his mere existence, simply because he himself was a mistake that never should have happened?

Blood was starting to trickle down his arm, and Midoriya used his free hand to cover up his self-inflicted injury.

Breathe.

I can't breathe I can't breathe why can't I breathe?

Even if he didn't deserve to live, it wasn't like he had a choice; that damned quirk, that curse, prevented him from dying.

He never had a choice.

Reiko made her way to the staircase, and sniffed the ground. She perked up, before racing upwards.

She didn't know why, but she could generally sense anyone's presence in a three meter radius. She wasn't sure if her mother had that ability, but the other cats at the pet rescue center most certainly didn't.

Her human wasn't anywhere in her area, she could tell that much. The hallway they were in was deserted; everyone was having lessons.

But she had been with Izuku for so long that she could generally tell where he was. Combined with her sense of smell and gut feeling that tugged her along whenever she got closer to Izuku, it never took her too long to find her human.

She often saw people parading their animals around, showing them off like they were objects or something of the sort. She didn't like attention unless they were from people or animals she already knew, so Reiko was pretty glad that Midoriya wasn't like all the other weird people who dressed their animals up against their will. She had heard way too many dogs complaining that those little costumes that the humans made then wear were tight, scratchy, and hot.

Humans also call the animals "pets" or something like that. She didn't really like that term. The other animals at the shelter also said that she shouldn't call Midoriya "her human", and that they called the humans their owners or masters. Honestly, Reiko never really understood the appeal of that; Midoriya didn't own her, and she didn't own Midoriya. If Midoriya called her "his cat", then she was justified in calling him "her human". It honestly didn't even matter; they still cared about each other.

Reiko climbed up staircase after staircase, tracing Midoriya's scent. The teachers in the staff lounge were trustworthy, and would take of Ryuto in their absence; she knew that for sure. They wanted nothing more than to help Midoriya, though some of them were a bit slow when it came to his preferences.

Then there were his classmates from 1-A. The engine boy, gravity girl, the dual hair-coloured boy, fluffy haired guy and the animal speaker were really nice; if she remembered correctly, their names were Iida, Uraraka, Todoroki, Shinsou and Koda. The earplug girl and the one with the huge house were nice as well. The guy with the bird head, the frog girl, and the other one with many arms seemed decent, and she did like the pink skinned girl and the electric boy's enthusiasm; it just wasn't the right time for it. The rest of the class seemed okay as well; she just really hated the short purple orb-haired kid.

She hadn't interacted with the 1-B kids much, but they were decent enough, in her opinion. The blonde copycat was a bit annoying at times, but he was nice enough to Midoriya. The orange haired girl with big hands was okay, and that green haired kid with mandible-looking structures on his face was nice given that her human had kicked his butt twice already.

But Midoriya didn't know that. She knew that her human couldn't feel what she felt. She also understood why Midoriya didn't trust them; she had witnessed the abuse that her human had suffered under every single human that he had met before entering UA.

She wasn't very sure what Midoriya was like before he had broken, but she vaguely remembered a smiley, happy boy who chattered aimlessly about superpowers called quirks; she had been too young at the time.

She just wanted her human to be happy again; that was why she wanted him to go for the sleepover.

Reijo reached the top of the staircase, and slipped through the slightly open door. She found Midoriya slumped on the ground, leaning against the wall, using one hand to grab his other arm.

She smelt something metallic, and immediately identified it as blood. He must be having flashbacks of that day, the day his parents died; that was one of the few memories that haunted him to the point of self-mutilation to snap himself out of it.

She let out a meow, alerting Midoriya to her presence, before she slowly padded over to Midoriya's side. Midoriya looked up her, and she looked at his bloody arm, and leaned down to sniff it.

He was warm, but that was normal; her human was always very warm, even in winter, for some reason. She looked up at him, mewing sadly.

"I know, Rei." Midoriya whispered hoarsely, "I should... find another way... other than stabbing myself..."

Reiko meowed again, and Midoriya sighed, "Yeah... I should clean this up... Recovery Girl and Nezu aren't going to be happy to see this..."

Midoriya put his arm under the tap, trying to wash all the blood away. It was still bleeding, albeit much slower. He quickly grabbed some clean toilet paper from the bathroom cubicle and wrapped his arm up, with Reiko helping him hold the paper down as he did so.

It wasn't ideal, but it would have to do until Midoriya could get back to his room, he had bandages and could disinfect the wound properly.

Midoriya rolled his sleeves down, careful to not affect his makeshift toilet paper bandage, before exiting the bathroom. Lessons were still in session; he could hear various teachers assigning homework to their classes, and Midoriya made his way to the staircase, slowing making his way down to the floor where the teachers' lounge was.

He slid open the door to the room, and slipped in, careful to avoid making any noise whatsoever; he could see Kayama, Ectoplasm, and Yagi at their desks, marking a few papers.

Midoriya crept quietly to Nezu's office, and gently opened the door, slipping inside and closing the door behind him.

Ryuto, who was standing on the table by the couch, perked up, and chirped, flapping his wings as he did so.

Nezu looked up from his pacing, and heaved a huge sigh of relief, "You're alright! We were so worried when you ran off like that! We wanted to give you some alone time, before going to find you."

Nezu walked up to the boy, and led him to the couch, "Would you like something to drink?"

Midoriya shook his head wearily.

Reiko leapt up beside Midoriya, and Ryuto chirped from the table. He took a few steps backwards, before rushing forwards, wings outstretched. When he reached the edge of the table, he jumped, flapping his wings in an attempt to fly.

Midoriya nearly panicked as Ryuto dropped like a stone, and he reached out to catch the bird before he injured himself. Ryuto wiggled slightly in Midoriya's grasp, before pecking at Midoriya's sleeve and squacked.

"Do you... want to talk about it?" Nezu hesitantly asked.

As he expected, Midoriya shook his head. He sighed, "Alright, then. Just... remember... we just want to help you."

Nezu climbed up onto the couch, beside Midoriya, and leaned against the boy, wrapping his tail around Midoriya's arm, "Class will be ending soon. If you want, you can stay until everyone has left before retrieving your stuff from the classroom and heading back to the dorms."

The first thing Midoriya did when he reached the dorms was to disinfect his injury. He peeled the toilet paper off, dumping it into the toilet bowl, before swiftly grabbing the rubbing alcohol. He carefully poured the liquid over his wound, ignoring the stinging sensation, before wrapping his arm up tightly in bandages.

He inspected his handiwork, before deeming it good enough. Midoriya flushed the toilet, before washing his hands and making his way towards his room. He had homework, and he was going to finish it, before sleeping the rest of the day away.

Reiko sat on the bed sadly, watching as Midoriya slipped onto the chair by the desk. Ryuto waddled over to her, settling down by her side, before they both watched as Midoriya started on his science homework.

She jumped off the bed, before making her way to the balcony, while Ryuto kept an eye on both her and Midoriya.

Midoriya finally finished up his homework, before spotting Reiko. He put his work away, before walking to the balcony and slowly sitting down beside her.

"You okay, Rei?"

Reiko meowed, before jumping into Midoriya's lap and pawing at his shirt. Midoriya quickly scooped her up into his arms.

She sniffed the collar that Midoriya wore, before pressing her head against Midoriya's neck.

"I'm fine, Rei."

Reiko looked at him, unbelieving, and pushed her paw against Midoriya's cheek, mewing.

"Fine." Midoriya replied in slight exasperation, "I'm not fine, okay, Rei? But what else can we do?"

"If that isn't enough proof, then I have three more folders full of evidence for you... Yes... no. Do NOT get him involved with this! I told you before... no he DOES NOT have to testify, the security feeds are more than enough proof..."

Nezu paused, listening intently to what was being spoken on the other side, before growling. "No. I refuse. Take the evidence, and press charges. Aldera clearly does not know how to deal with this on their own... They hurt him. The teachers saw it, and turned a blind eye. They bullied him for absolutely no reason and the teacher's didn't care. This is physical and mental abuse! There's something wrong with the management of that school and I'm not going to let that school stand any longer!"

He paused again, "Quirk discrimination, yes. He's quirkless... No, you shut up! Do not tell me to just "chill". It doesn't matter that he's quirkless! There are a ton of laws that they broke, and I'm not going to let this go unpunished..."

Nezu snapped, "Okay, you shut up with your stupid "You can't discriminate against someone with no quirk" bullshit. He still has his rights! They hurt him to the point where he thinks it's normal... No, I'm not going to get him involved with this any further! This isn't a problem about him now, it's a problem about you and your attitude. I'm telling you to do your stupid job! That school deserves to burn in hell! I want to speak to your boss right now... yes... "

Nezu sighed as he heard a new voice over the phone, "Yes, thank you... Alright, thanks a lot. I'll leave the pressing of charges to you... I'll get Tsukauchi to deliver it when he comes over."

Nezu put the phone down in relief, and sank into his chair.

Stupid people.

But at the very least, Aldera was going down. Now, it was time for Midoriya's elementary school.

Chapter Text

Midoriya found that Ryuto was shedding a few of his feathers. The small, fluffier, downy ones, to be precise. He was also growing out longer, more sturdy ones. Clearing them wasn't too bad; for some reason, Ryuto liked to sweep his fallen feathers into small piles, which made it a lot easier to clean up.

He was also starting to develop the habit of randomly jumping off things; the cabinet, the kitchen counter, the table, all sorts of places. Midoriya had no idea how many times he nearly had a heart attack and rush to save the bird because he was afraid that Ryuto would injure himself.

He knew that Ryuto was growing out his flight feathers, falling down or out of trees was a natural process for birds to learn how to fly, but he couldn't help but get worried whenever he threw himself off something. There were a few times where he had stretched his wings fully, but it only lasted for a few seconds before he pulled his wings back in and fell.

Midoriya was seriously going to teach his baby bird how to fly. He was going to start with the basics of gliding, getting Ryuto used to stretching his wings out, before moving on to flying once he grew his first set of flight feathers.

He wasn't sure how to do it, though. Maybe he should give Ryuto a demonstration,thought he had no idea how he would go about doing it.

Midoriya flopped down on the sofa in the common room, Ryuto nestled comfortably in his arms. Reiko was sitting on his lap, napping.

Midoriya looked down at the bird, "Ryuto."

The hawk turned up to look at him, and chirped. Midoriya lifted him up to eye level, "Listen to me, Ryu. No more jumping off things randomly, okay? It's dangerous. I know you want to fly, but you can't do that if you have a broken wing."

Ryuto chirped again, before using one of his talons to scratch at Midoriya's arm.

Midoriya narrowed his eyes slightly in exasperation, "Come on, Ryu. Focus. I'll help you fly, okay? Just... stop jumping off stuff, okay?"

Ryuto turned his attention back to the green haired boy, giving a happy sounding trill, before nibbling on one of Midoriya's fingers.

Midoriya gently shifted his position to wrap his arms around the bird. He held Ryuto on one hand, and picked up Reiko with his other, pulling both of them in for a hug.

Reiko and Ryuto both snuggled up to the boy, and Midoriya could feel their breathes against his neck. He bit his lip, and closed his eyes, as Ryuto rubbed his head against Midoriya's chin and Reiko nuzzled him.

"Something on your mind, Mina?" Kirishima asked, looking up from his math homework. Ashido was aimlessly twirling her pen, staring into space.

Kaminari and Sero looked up from their worksheets.

"You know, I can't stop thinking about that time... when I grabbed Midoriya's arm." Ashido admitted, "I know you kind of called me cool in middle school, Kiri, but... I wasn't always so outgoing and friendly."

"What do you mean?" Kaminari asked.

"I look weird." Ashido stated, "Pink skin, horns, I don't look human. When I was in elementary school... I was very insecure about my appearance. People matured in middle school, but in elementary school -"

"You were bullied." Sero finished for her.

"I was trying to avoid using that word, but yeah." Ashido sheepishly laughed, before she turned serious, "I was never well liked in elementary school. I was pushed around, beaten up every now and then... I eventually told the teachers and they stopped."

"That's good. I've never been bullied before." Kaminari pipped up, "Made fun of, yes... but it was just funny that I had a powerful quirk that I couldn't control."

"I got called names, but that's about it." Sero shrugged, "Some names are pretty funny."

"Things got a lot better in middle school. I would say that I kind of understand what Midoriya went through... but he probably had it so much worse than me that it isn't even comparable." Ashido sighed.

"Hey... don't worry about it." Kirishima pat her on the shoulder, "We don't hate you over your appearance, and we don't hate Midoriya for being quirkless either. Shinsou, Iida, even Aizawa-sensei said that he'll need some time to adjust. Don't sweat it, okay?"

"I know." Ashido sighed, "I just feel bad, okay?"

"Well... " Kaminari offered, "If you want, we can all hang out at my place later? I just got that new game that we all wanted to play? It would take your mind off things."

"Sure, Kami." Ashido replied, picking her pen up, "We should finish our work first, or Iida would just go Dad-mode on us and nag about our homework."

Tokoyami mindlessly scribbled down whatever Yamada was writing on the board. Dark Shadow hadn't been annoying him as much as he used to; usually, the quirk would be peeking over his shoulder, trying to see what he was writing, or making screeching sounds that only Tokoyami could hear, or nibbling his pencils. Tokoyami had to buy a lot of replacement pencils for the ones that Dark Shadow had eaten.

He seemed to have taken a liking to Ryuto, but Tokoyami suppose that it was because they were both birds; or at least, Ryuto was a bird, and Dark Shadow was a bird-like creature.

They were currently having a staring contest, and Tokoyami was glad for the distraction; he could actually concentrate in lessons for once.

Dark Shadow also seemed to take a liking to Midoriya, and oddly enough, Midoriya didn't seem to mind the quirk as much as he did the others. Dark Shadow liked to perch on Midoriya's head often enough, watching him work, but Midoriya didn't seem to care that he was there, just continuing to write like nothing was going on.

Midoriya did give Dark Shadow head scratches occasionally, and he seemed to like it. Maybe Tokoyami should ask Midoriya how he did it.

"Tokoyami, Lunch?" Shoji asked, pointing towards the door. Kaminari, Sero, Ashido and Kirishima was leaving for lunch.

"I would like to ask Midoriya something. You can go first?" Tokoyami replied, neatly stacking his notebooks under his table. Shoji shrugged, leaving the classroom, "Sure. I'll save you a seat."

Tokoyami made his way over to Midoriya's seat, where Shinsou, Uraraka, Iida, Koda, and Asui were standing. Ryuto was nestled in Midoriya's hair, and Reiko was being held by the green haired boy. Dark Shadow was currently perched on Midoriya's shoulder, and Todoroki looked at him curiously from the back of the classroom as he finished tidying up his notes.

Dark Shadow looked back towards Tokoyami, before patting Midoriya on the shoulder and pointing in his direction, alerting Midoriya to his presence.

"Midoriya." Tokoyami started, and Midoriya nodded in acknowledgement, "I realised that Dark Shadow really likes it when you scratch his head... I was wondering... if you could show me how you do it?"

Dark Shadow immediately perked up at the mention of "head scratches", and Midoriya stared at Tokoyami, seemingly in confusion, before turning to Dark Shadow. Dark Shadow looked back at Midoriya, before the green haired boy scooped the quirk up and deposited him in Tokoyami's arms.

Midoriya reached out to grab Tokoyami's hand hesitantly, and Tokoyami stuck his hand out, letting Midoriya know that it was okay to do so. Midoriya took Tokoyami's hand, and guided him slowly, until his hand was hovering over Dark Shadow's head. Midoriya pushed Tokoyami's hand gently onto Dark Shadow's feathers, and Dark Shadow let out a purr as Tokoyami gently scratched his shadowy feathers.

Tokoyami shot Midoriya a small smile, "Thanks, Midoriya."

Midoriya merely looked at the bird-headed boy in confusion, and Reiko rubbed her head against Midoriya's neck.

"There's something that I feel that I should tell you, Izuku. The rest of the staff thinks it's better for you if I didn't tell you, but you deserve to know what's going on." Nezu started, and Midoriya looked at the principal, waiting patiently for him to continue. Reiko and Ryuto were currently with Inui and Koda, and Midoriya was just assuming at Koda felt more comfortable talking to the counselor with them.

"After that… unfortunate incident with the League… Recovery Girl came to know of your quirk." Nezu continued, "Now, the rest of your teachers, and Power Loader, are aware of your quirk. And she also made some other... speculations about your past actions."

Midoriya narrowed his eyes warily. They knew that he wasn't quirkless, that he had lied about his quirkless status, and he was probably in trouble and -

"Izuku, calm down." Nezu reached out, patting Midoriya's leg gently, "You're not in any trouble at all. They all agreed that a quirk like this should not be made public. It's too dangerous; if other people came to know of it, who knows how they might react to it. Plus, it's a quirk that should never come up; you should never have gotten into a situation where your life is at stake, at least... not at this point. Your status as quirkless still remains. We just need to know some details in order to help you."

Midoriya's shoulders sagged.

"Izuku, I need you to be honest with me." Nezu spoke up, "I know this may bring up bad memories... but have you... even thought about committing suicide?"

Midoriya bit his lip, and the boy sank into the couch, staring at his feet, before nodding.

"Have you ever acted on those thoughts? Like -"

Before Nezu had even finished, Midoriya nodded again.

"Have people... suicide-baited you before?"

Midoriya looked away from Nezu guiltily, before nodding.

"And... you listened?"

Another nod.

Nezu gulped nervously; he was coming to the question where he didn't want the answer the most,"How... how many times?"

Midoriya shook his head, "A lot... I... don't remember..."

He reached up to rub his neck, "I know... I jumped... a few times... and cut... and tried to overdose... I tried to hang myself once..."

Midoriya paused. He knew that admitting a weakness like that, telling Nezu that he had tried so many times to kill himself, could get him into trouble, or even expelled, but he couldn't bring himself to lie to Nezu. Nezu deserved to know the truth; he deserved to know that Midoriya was broken to the point where he couldn't be fixed, and that it was a waste of time to even care about him and to even think that he could be helped and -

Nezu reached his paws out, and much to Midoriya surprise and shock, wrapped his stubby little arms around Midoriya's waist.

"I'm so sorry, Izuku."

Midoriya was still trying to comprehend why Nezu was apologising to him when the principal continued, "None of this was ever your fault. Society failed you, Izuku, and no one ever gave you any help."

Even if Nezu believed so, Midoriya thought differently. He was useless, he couldn't do anything right, the only thing he was capable of doing was fucking up and messing things up.

Nezu looked up at Midoriya's blank gaze. While Midoriya never spoke, he was ridiculously easy to read through his body language and his eyes.

"This was never your fault. People mistreated you to the point where you think that you're always in the wrong, where you're useless and unwanted, but all that is wrong. People do care about you, Izuku. Society is messed up, and that's the fault of the pro heroes. Our jobs aren't just to defeat villains and act like super-powered police officers; our job is to make sure society runs smoothly and properly, to give faith to those who need it, and to keep everyone safe. We are the ones that failed you, Izuku, so please, never think that it's ever your fault -"

"It's not anyone's fault." Midoriya bit his lip, interrupting Nezu, "I'm weak, I'm quirkless, I'm useless, I don't deserve to be here. It's no one's job to care. People are just like that. They hate what's different, and -"

"That's no reason to condone suicide-baiting." Nezu stated, "There will never be a reason to condone it. It's just wrong on so many levels. No one deserves treatment like that, and especially not you."

Nezu sighed, "Can you just... promise me one thing, Izuku? Please... don't do it again. Please, stop hurting yourself, okay?"

As much as Midoriya knew that he should agree, he knew that he couldn't uphold a promise like that.

And Midoriya had sworn never to make a promise that he couldn't keep. He couldn't afford to break any more promises.

"I'll try."

"Okay. Ryuto. Stand there. Don't do anything yet." Midoriya ordered, pulling his chair over to his bed and placing Ryuto on the backrest. He climbed up onto his bed, and grabbed his pillow, propping it against the wall; at least, if Ryuto overshot, he wouldn't smack into the wall.

"Now, spread your wings." Midoriya reached out, gently pulling at Ryuto wings so the bird knew what he was talking about. Midoriya removed his hands, and Ryuto just stood there, looking at Midoriya, his wings still outstretched, waiting for the next instruction.

"Keep your wings up, and just... glide."

Midoriya had already given him a demonstration on how to land; he had spent the afternoon jumping out of trees so Ryuto would get an idea of what to do. He knew he looked stupid, but he would do anything for Reiko and Ryuto; looking stupid was included.

"Give it a try."

Ryuto gave a small squawk, readying himself, before leaping off the backrest, wobbly gliding down onto the bed. He stretched out his talons in an attempt to land, but tripped and ended up smacking into the bed. He stood up immediately, shaking his head, before trying to make his way back up the backrest to try again.

It took a few tries for Ryuto to get it right, and Ryuto looked up at Midoriya proudly. Reiko had already given him a meow of approval, he was just waiting for Midoriya's approval.

Midoriya scratched Ryuto's head, eliciting a content purr from the hawk, "That was great. Try it a few more times and we'll practice more tomorrow, got it?"

"Alright, your midterm exams are coming soon, in about two weeks, and there's a practical and a written test, so we're just going to be doing training." Aizawa stated, as the students gathered in one of the facilities. "Just practice or something. I'll come around to check on you individually later. You can work in groups or on your own, I don't care. Just do something productive. Midoriya, don't push yourself. We don't want anyone getting any more injuries, especially at such a crucial time."

Midoriya stood at a corner of the room. He wasn't sure what to practise; unlike most of the others, he actually needed something or someone to fight against, and even then, Midoriya wasn't sure what else to do. Ryuto was pretty good at gliding already, and he had finally grown out all of his flight feathers, so he was ready to start learning to fly. Midoriya wasn't sure how to teach Ryuto how to fly; just by showing him bird videos? He knew the concept of flying, but humans couldn't fly; it wasn't like Midoriya could give him a demonstration of that.

He also wanted to wait a few days for Ryuto to get used to his new feathers.

He watched as Uraraka got into a fighting stance, with Iida and Shinsou watching, and attempted a punch. Iida scratched his head, "Sadly... I do not excel in punching. I usually kick opponents, so I do not know how to help you with your stance. What about you, Shinsou?"

"I know how to throw a punch, sure, but coaching is out of my league." Shinsou shook his head, "I'm not even sure if my own posture is right."

Midoriya thought about the time where Uraraka had asked him to coach her in hand to hand combat. She hadn't bugged him since then; in fact, Midoriya wasn't even sure that she had remembered asking him about it at all. He was grateful for that; he never liked people bugging him. In fact, he really, really disliked human interaction. Shinsou, Uraraka and Iida changed the way they interacted with him, making him more comfortable and at ease, and stopped others before it reached the point where it got uncomfortable. Koda and Todoroki were more quiet, and kept to themselves, but Midoriya could also see that they were trying to make an effort to interact with him.

Reiko tapped Midoriya's leg, and nudged him in their direction.

Midoriya bit his lip. He wasn't sure that it was a good idea, but he moved towards the trio of students. He owed them that much, at the very least.

Midoriya eyed Uraraka's stance, and mentally sighed. Her feet were pointing in the wrong direction, her fists were clenched wrongly, her knees weren't bent enough; Midoriya could see so many problems with her posture.

"Sup, Midoriya." Uraraka grinned, throwing a rather sloppy punch at a punching bag, in Midoriya's opinion. It was decent, and would do enough damage against an amateur, but it wasn't very powerful and would be easily stopped. The punching bag barely moved.

"Ow." Uraraka shook her hand, before getting back into a fighting stance, "I thought that would do more."

Midoriya hesitantly moved his hand to sign something, before he stopped. He took a deep breath, and clenched his fists, looking towards the ground, "Point your front foot ... a bit more to the right."

Shinsou had always been translating his signing, and Uraraka and Iida were even trying to learn sign language themselves to understand him.

It was only fair.

Uraraka stared at him in shock, and Midoriya reached out with his foot, nudging Uraraka's foot, and she shifted her stance.

"You... spoke."

"I..." Midoriya tensed up, and forced himself to continue, "You put in so much effort... to try and understand... my signing... I just... thought... it was only fair... to make it easier... sorry -"

"You have nothing to be sorry for." Uraraka smiled at him, "Thank you for trying."

Midoriya's shoulders relaxed.

They weren't mad at him.

Don't get your hopes up.

Midoriya looked away again, before he softly continued, "When you punch... bend your knees. Use your body weight... it makes the punch stronger... and uses less energy. Also... angle your hand downwards... Hit with your knuckles... not your fingers. They hurt more."

He hesitantly fixed up Uraraka's posture, and she tried again. This time, the punching bag moved by a significant amount, and Uraraka's face lit up, "Yes! Thank you so much!"

Midoriya nodded slightly, and he turned to face Iida and Shinsou. Shinsou had gotten into his own fighting stance, and was adjusting his posture based on what Midoriya had told Uraraka, while Iida was just smiling at him brightly.

Koda carefully made his way over to Midoriya, and signed something, before pointing upwards, to a railing on the second floor.

Midoriya turned, and almost blanched when he saw Ryuto perched on the railing, flapping his wings experimentally. Ryuto had glided from trees before, not from the second floor. He wasn't even sure how Ryuto had gotten there; he must have hopped up the stairs while Midoriya had been distracted with Uraraka and her friends.

He could only hope that Ryuto remembered to glide.

Ryuto spotted him, giving a happy screech, before jumping off, his wings tucked against his body. Midoriya's heart clenched as Ryuto dive-bombed towards the ground, accelerating, before Ryuto stretched out his wings, slowing his decent. He caught a small updraft, and rode it, rising upwards, before gliding steadily towards Midoriya.

Midoriya relaxed when he saw that Ryuto was fine, and reached out his arm for Ryuto to land on. Midoriya poked Ryuto in the chest, and shook his head.

Ryuto gave a squeak, and rubbed his head against Midoriya's nose, before flapping his wings. Midoriya inwardly sighed, before shaking his head again.

"When did he learn to fly?" Iida asked, and Ryuto perked up, screeching four times.

"Uh... days?" Iida frowned, and Ryuto moved his head, mimicking a nod.

"Four days?" Iida asked, confirming and Ryuto nodded again.

Koda signed something, and Shinsou translated, "Er... it's more of gliding rather than flying... but close enough."

Midoriya scratched Ryuto's head, and the avian purred, before hopping onto Midoriya's shoulder, nuzzling his cheek.

Uraraka smiled.

He spoke. Midoriya had actually spoken. He actually trusted them enough to use his voice.

It was a small step, but it was a step nonetheless.

Chapter Text

Midoriya gave a sharp whistle, and Ryuto screeched, flapping his wings and shooting into the air.

His baby bird had finally learnt how to fly, and Midoriya was just... really, really proud of him. It felt weird, really; that warm, fuzzy feeling in his chest. Midoriya held out his arm, and Ryuto flew over to him, landing gently on his arm. He pecked gently at Midoriya's nose, before he fluttered to the ground, right where Reiko was standing. He was slightly larger than the cat, but Ryuto still lent forward, nuzzling Reiko.

Ryuto took off into the air again, before settling down on Midoriya's head. He really seemed to like perching on Midoriya's head, and Midoriya didn't really care either. Ryuto gave a small screech, before leaning downwards to nuzzle the green haired boy.

Midoriya gave a small smile, and reached up, scratching Ryuto under his beak, "Yeah, love you too, Ryu."

Reiko whined from her position on the ground, and Midoriya scooped her up, depositing her on his shoulder. Ryuto gave a delighted cry, and Reiko reached up to pat Ryuto's talons.

"You're going to fall, be careful." Midoriya grumbled, before he grabbed his bag and made his way back to the dorms. Yagi had just set the class an assignment to write an essay about him, and he had stupidly enough, not given them any restrictions.

Which meant Midoriya was free to write as much as he wanted.

Yagi had been a hero for a very long time, so there was tons of information and data flying around the internet. He had also allowed the class to type the essay out on their computers and print it out, which meant that Midoriya could write a lot more given the same amount of time.

Midoriya may not like to hold grudges, but he really, really didn't like Yagi. The man was too loud, too flashy, and while he knew he was probably being very passive-aggressive, he didn't care.

He was going to make Yagi's life miserable.

Yamada and Kayama were making their way to the staff room, when they heard laughter.

"Is that... Shouta?" Kayama's jaw dropped, before she grabbed Yamada's arm and yanked the door open.

"Help. Aizawa's lost it!" Snipe yelped, pressed himself against the wall.

Aizawa was sitting at his usual seat, head pressed against the table, laughing.

"Aizawa-san! Please! It's not funny!" Yagi whined, waving his red pen in the air.

"You... stupid... fucking... idiot..." Aizawa hissed through his laughter, "You didn't ... give him any restrictions... and you're a pro with... a super long history... and it's Midoriya... we're talking about... what else did you... fucking... expect..!?"

Kayama blinked.

"What is going on?"

Ectoplasm made his way towards Kayama and Yamada, shutting the door behind them.

"We all know that Midoriya... isn't too fond of All Might, right?"

"Yes?" Yamada asked, confused.

"And that he... I wouldn't call it a habit... but generally, the more he dislikes a person... the more he writes when it comes to essays?" Ectoplasm continued.

"Yeah. We know that." Kayama replied. Without restrictions, Midoriya usually gave her thirty paged reports, Yamada and Aizawa forty paged reports, and Ishiyama around twenty five paged reports. Ishiyama was quieter than the rest of them, so it was obvious that Midoriya would be more comfortable around him. Yamada was way too loud, especially with his quirk, and she felt that Aizawa might have offended Midoriya by constantly calling him "problem child".

There were differences in how many pages Midoriya handed in depending on the subject and topic, but he usually handed in fewer pages when he was more comfortable with a teacher.

"Wait, so, didn't All Might give them this essay about himself?" Yamada asked, "How many pages did he write?"

Yagi held up a stack of paper that was about hlaf a centimeter thick. It was too thick to be stapled together, and there were several paper clips holding the entire report in place.

"Around a hundred." Yagi sighed, "Proper report format, with a contents page, and coloured tabs for easy flipping. He handed it in in a ring binder."

Kayama stared at the report, and blinked, before she let out a peel of laughter.

Midoriya really, really didn't like Yagi, and he showed it by writing him a super long essay.

"Also, Nezu and Aizawa both said that they weren't going to help All Might mark it, though Midoriya sent them the soft copy; Midoriya stated that if he gave All Might a thumbdrive, he was most likely going to crush it by accident. All Might's going to have to cross reference everything and check the citations himself." Ectoplasm finished off.

"It's kinda funny, but I'm also terrified of the kid." Snipe whispered, almost begging, "I don't want to see any more long essays, please."

"Midoriya's scary." Ojiro admitted.

"How so? He seems okay." Kamakiri asked, as he sat down opposite Yaoyorozu. Jiro was sitting beside her, and Hagakure, Ojiro, Kendo, Monoma, and Honenuki were also at their table. Monoma was annoying at times, always saying how 1-B was better than 1-A, but Yaoyorozu never minded as much; he was much nicer to her after her defeat at his hands during the Sports Festival, for some reason. She supposed that Monoma had already felt that they had showed that they were better than her, and there was no longer the need to be so haughty towards her.

"You know how All Might made us write that essay about him, right?" Yaoyorozu whispered.

"Yeah. We wrote it too. It wasn't that hard. Are you saying that 1-A can't even handle - mpppf!" Monoma started saying, until his mouth was covered by Kendo, "Come on, stop it."

"So... continue?" Honenuki asked, grabbing his spaghetti.

"He handed in a binder. A ring binder, and just gave it to All Might directly." Ojiro stated.

Monoma raised his eyebrows, "Okay? So?"

"He handed in fifty sheets of paper. It was like... this thick." Hagakure replied, pinching her fingers, though no one could see her.

Honenuki choked on his spaghetti, "Wait, what?"

"Yep." Jiro sighed, "All Might got Iida to collect the reports, but Midoriya just stood up, walked from his seat right at the back of the classroom to the front, and plopped the binder, right on his desk. I swear, it's almost like he purposely wanted to make All Might's life difficult. We all know how much trouble All Might had with marking reports."

"Well, All Might might not be the best teacher, but he's awesome for moral." Kendo admitted, "Having the Number One hero on our side just makes me feel that we can do anything."

Midoriya sat down, as he waited for the teachers to start the exam. They had finished the written papers, and they had held several study sessions, so Midoriya was fairly sure the rest of the class would pass. There were twenty one students in 1-A, and Midoriya wasn't too sure how the exam would be conducted.

"Alright." Nezu popped out of Aizawa's scarf. Midoriya wondered how he managed to hide in there in the first place, "There's an odd number of students in this class, and we've grouped you into groups of three. Each group will be facing two heroes, or just All Might, if you happen to fight him. In order to pass, you either have to cuff both of the heroes, or to have two students pass through the gate."

Nezu pressed a button, and the list of groups popped up.

Kirishima, Shoji and Bakugou were a group, while Ashido, Todoroki and Kaminari were in another group. Uraraka, Jiro and Hagakure were together, as were Iida, Mineta and Ojiro.

Midoriya looked down the list.

Asui, Aoyama and Sero were grouped together, as well as Tokoyami, Yaoyorozu and Sato.

Which left Shinsou, Midoriya and Koda together in a group.

Midoriya bit his lip. Three students, with non-offensive quirks. As much as Midoriya hated to admit, they were at a huge disadvantage. All the other groups had a nice balance of long and close ranged fighters, and their group didn't have a single directly offensive quirk.

"We've also invited other UA alumni to help us with the fights!" Nezu finished off.

Midoriya just hoped that they wouldn't be as unlucky with the groupings as they were with the teachers they had to fight.

Kirishima, Shoji and Bakugou had to fight Yagi, which was probably for the best. Kirishima could tank Yagi's weaker punches, albeit barely, but Shoji and Bakugou's attacks were barely making a dent on the Number One hero.

"Throw me!" Kirishima yelled, activating his quirk, and Shoji nodded, picking the red-haired boy up and hurled him at Yagi. Bakugou aimed an explosion in Yagi's face, blinding him, just as Kirishima shot down like a bullet and collided with Yagi. He was lucky to hit the hero right where his injury was, and Yagi winced, as pain shot through his body. He was aware of Shoji creeping up behind him, and let the boy cuff him.

Any other hero would probably be knocked out after having Kirishima collide with them like that, and Nezu did mention that they had to give the students a chance to win somehow.

Ashido, Todoroki and Kaminari were facing Inui and Nezu. Nezu was currently knocking buildings over, and all Todoroki could do was to use his ice to freeze all the debris in place before it crushed him and his teammates, while making sure that his ice didn't reach Kaminari and Ashido, as they tried to fend Inui off. The school counselor, while not a teacher, was still a formidable opponent; Ashido could barely dance out of his reach, and while Kaminari was trying his best to shock Inui without harming Ashido, his attacks wasn't really reaching Inui through all that fur.

"Move." Todoroki ordered, and shot out his ice. Ashido and Kaminari were barely able to get out of the way before the ice froze them, but Inui had heard Todoroki and had also dodged the ice attack.

"Attacking your own teammates? Is that how a hero should act?" Inui growled, taking a step forward, dodging once against as Todoroki fired off his flames.

"Who said I was aiming for you." Todoroki blankly replied, as Kaminari raised his hands, "Eat this!"

He placed his hands against the ground, which was now drenched with water, and let his electricity loose, paralyzing Inui. Ashido was with Todoroki, and had melted the ground with her acid so that the water didn't reach them.

"Wheee!" Kaminari grinned, having shocked himself into Idiot Mode, and stuck his thumbs up as he wandered aimlessly around. Ashido had quickly cuffed the paralyzed hero, and Todoroki spoke up, "We'll make our way to the exit, and I'll stop any debris with my ice. Let's go."

Ashido grabbed Kaminari's arm, before she followed Todoroki as he headed towards the exit.

"Wait, we're not going after the principal? Then why did we cuff Hound Dog?" Ashido asked.

"Once they're cuffed, they're out. They can't interfere. If we headed right for the exit, he can still chase after us. I can easily stop the principal from raining more debris on us." Todoroki replied.

Uraraka, Jiro and Hagakure had to fight Snipe and Thirteen. Thirteen was trying to suck them in with her Blackhole, while Snipe kept shooting them, forcing Jiro and Uraraka to use their quirks in order to defend, while desperately trying to not get sucked into Thirteen's Blackhole.

"Hagakure, take off your gloves and shriek." Jiro whispered, blasting away another wave of bullets, "Then take out Snipe."

Hagakure immediately complied, and yelped, whipped off her gloves. Uraraka let go of the railing, and they all got sucked towards Thirteen, who panicked, and stopped their quirk. She looked around, watching as Hagakure's gloves fluttered weightlessly to the ground, before she got kicked in the face by Uraraka.

Snipe had also stopped his assault on the three girls, only to find himself cuffed by Hagakure.

Iida, Mineta and Ojiro were up against Kan and Kayama. While Iida had a helmet that helped to protect against Kayama's quirk, Ojiro was trying to hold his breath and use his tail in a failing attempt to filter out the sleeping gas. Mineta was rushing around helplessly as he tried to dodge Kan's attempts to catch him.

"Ojiro, fall back!" Iida ordered, distracting Kayama with a kick and pulling Ojiro away from the sleeping gas, "Take on Vlad King with Mineta. I'll take on Midnight-sensei."

Iida was trying his best to avoid getting hit by Kayama's whip, but he couldn't get close; his quirk required him to get up close, but would leave him open to an attack.

Mineta screamed as he almost got hit by Kan's blood, and whirled around, desperately throwing his sticky orbs in an attempt to slow Kan down.

Ojiro intercepted Kan, taking the attention off Mineta, as the small purple haired boy dived behind a rock in an attempt to catch his breath. He looked over the boulder, seeing Iida and Ojiro fending off Kan and Kayama, and bit his lip.

I can't be a hero like this...

"Iida!" Mineta shrieked, popping off a handful of sticky orbs and lobbed them where Iida and Kayama were fighting. Iida quickly moved out of the way, as the sticky orbs rained down on them, but Kayama wasn't as lucky; the orbs landed on her and her whip, immobilising her.

"Alright, nice job!" Ojiro shouted, "Go for the exit! I'll hold him off!"

"Got it!" Iida replied, rushing forwards, quickly scooping Mineta up and making a run for the exit.

Asui, Aoyama and Sero were grouped together, against Ectoplasm and Maijima, in an open field. Aoyoma was trying to fire off his lasers in short, small bursts in order to prolong his chances of getting a stomach ache, destroying the Ectoplasm clones one by one. Maijima was tunneling through the ground, and Asui and Sero did not know where he might pop up. There were very few trees, and Maijima had already knocked them all down to prevent them from using their quirks to cross.

"Kero, I have an idea, but we need to make it fast." Asui leapt up from the ground, wrapping her tongue around Aoyama as Maijima erupted from the ground. She landed near Sero.

"I'll throw you two towards the exit. Aoyama, use all your power and blast the clones, and Power Loader, when he comes up; it doesn't matter if you get a stomach ache, kero. Sero, grab the gate after I throw you and pull yourselves past. I'll try to buy you time."

"Alright. Gotcha." Sero shot her a thumbs up, and Aoyoma gave them determined nod.

"Power Loader's going to come up… in around five seconds. Aoyama, get ready, kero."

Aoyama powered up his quirk, and Asui wrapped her tongue around her male teammates, before leaping up in the air, just as Maijima struck. Aoyama fired off his laser, right in Maijima's face, destroying a good half of the clones in the process, and Asui threw Sero and Aoyama towards the gate.

Ectoplasm was about to respond, but she lashed out with her tongue again, destroying a few more clones.

"Gotcha!" Sero grinned, grabbing Aoyama with his tape, before shooting more tape out of his other arm, attaching it to the gate, "It's going to be a little bumpy, hold on."

Sero reeled his tape him, and both him and Aoyama shot towards the gate, flying right through and tumbling to the ground.

Tokoyami, Yaoyorozu and Sato found themselves against Ishiyama and Snipe. Apparently, Snipe was fighting again, due to the lack of available teachers for the exam. Sato was smashing through Ishiyama's cement walls, while Yaoyorozu had created a shield to block against Snipe's bullets. Dark Shadow was trying to get closer to Snipe, but Ishiyama kept creating more walls to block Dark Shadow.

"Tokoyami, cover yourself with Dark Shadow. I'm going to make a smoke bomb. Sato, keep on making noise, we'll make a break for the exit." Yaoyorozu whispered, as the device appeared in her hand. She lobbed it at the heroes, before making a gas mask for herself. She put it on, just as the device exploded.

Tokoyami covered himself with his quirk, protecting his vision and his sense of smell, and Yaoyorozu placed her finger to her lips, telling him to be quiet, as they crept towards the exit. Tokoyami sensed something behind him, and he lashed out, nailing Snipe in the chest with a punch, with Dark Shadow's help.

Sato leapt at Snipe, distracting him, allowing Yaoyorozu and Tokoyami to make their way towards the exit.

Shinsou, Midoriya and Koda found themselves against Yamada and Aizawa, and they were fighting in an open field. Ryuto and Reiko were with Nezu, probably watching the fight somewhere outside the area from the safety of the security cameras.

Aizawa practically fought quirkless, so it wasn't a big problem. Yamada was the problem; his yelling could easily burst all their ear drums, and he could attack from anywhere. Aizawa would also be affected, but Midoriya figured that they had been working together for so long that they would have found a way around it.

Midoriya also knew that Nezu had probably put him with two students he was more familiar and comfortable with on purpose.

"Okay, we're fighting Mic-sensei and Aizawa-sensei. Any ideas?" Shinsou asked.

Yamada and Aizawa were Shinsou's parents, so he should know the best, though Midoriya figured that even Shinsou didn't really think that he would end up fighting them.

"Present Mic is entomophobic," Midoriya signed, "Ï'm not sure if Koda's quirk extends to them, but if it does, then we can incapacitate Present Mic first. Aizawa-sensei will most likely come after us. I can handle him, but if he erases Koda's quirk, assuming it does work on insects, then you might have to deal with Present Mic again."

Koda blanched almost immediately, and shook his head, "No. Please. I really, really don't like bugs."

"Well, it's either bugs or -" Shinsou immediately slammed his hands over his ears as Yamada let out a loud screech that reverberated through the entire area. Midoriya and Koda did the same, and they waited until Yamada stopped screaming.

"- going deaf. Ow." Shinsou finished, rubbing the ringing noise out of his ears. "Come on, Koda, please?"

"Mic-sensei is most likely going to be stationed by the exit, and Aizawa-sensei would probably be trying to hunt us down. We need to move fast." Midoriya hastily signed, before slamming his hands over his ears again and Yamada let out another shriek.

"WHERE ARE YOU!? AREN'T YOU GOING TO COME AFTER US?!"

The boulder they were hiding behind cracked, before crumbling, leaving them completely exposed to the loud, harsh soundwaves that Yamada was letting off.

Koda shook, waiting for Yamada to stop, before he hastily dove towards the ground, where there were a few centipedes and ants, "Please, can you find that guy standing near the exit and crawl up his leg? And also find your friends to help?"

The critters agreed almost immediately, diving back underground almost immediately.

Koda shakily shot them a thumbs up, and Shinsou sighed, "Alright, let's go."

The trio started making their way towards the exit, before Shinsou yelped as Midoriya pushed him out of the way. A capture weapon sped towards them, but Midoriya caught the weapon before it reached anyone.

Aizawa leapt out of the trees, his goggles placed firmly on his face, and reeled his capture weapon back in. Midoriya growled at him, before he looked towards Koda and Shinsou, just as they heard a girlish screech somewhere in the distance.

They got the message almost immediately; go towards the exit, and don't let Aizawa erase Koda's quirk.

"Got it! Koda, let's go!" Shinsou yelled, grabbing Koda's arm and leading him towards the exit.

Aizawa turned to chase after them, but Midoriya literally pounced on him, tackling the hero to the ground. They were both sent tumbling, and Midoriya quickly got to his feet. Aizawa pushed himself up, hastily dodging as Midoriya attacked, and whipped out his capture weapon.

Midoriya caught the weapon, and Aizawa pulled him in, but Midoriya just used that opportunity to use Aizawa's strength against him and aimed a punch at the man's stomach. Aizawa quickly blocked it, but at that point, Shinsou and Koda were long gone.

He didn't have too long to think about it, though. Midoriya was still attacking, and Aizawa wasn't too keen on getting hit by the boy if he had the power to keep up with Stain.

"Alright, I have news. Everyone passed both the written and the practical, so you're all going for the training camp." Aizawa wearily stated, and gave 1-A five seconds to cheer and celebrate before he silenced them with his quirk, "I'm going to give you a packing list for the camp, and you have one last piece of homework to hand in before the camp."

"Aww. Another report?" Ashido sighed, and Aizawa nodded, "Yep. Write a report about the hero that I'm going to assign to you. Pros and cons, improvements, the usual. No restrictions."

Midoriya sat in his seat as Aizawa rattled off hero names. Uraraka had gotten Ryukyu, Iida had gotten Kamui Woods, Shinsou had gotten Gang Orca, among others, and Midoriya waited patiently for Aizawa to assign a hero to him.

Endeavor.

Midoriya blinked.

That guy?

Midoriya looked up at Aizawa, confused, but Aizawa just gave a shit-eating grin, "Remember, no restrictions. Go for it."

Excitement bubbled in his stomach.

Midoriya was going to have so much fun writing about Endeavor.

Chapter Text

"Nezu, are you sure that's a good idea?" Snipe asked, as Nezu watched Kan and Aizawa walk towards their classes, "You are aware that Midoriya probably hates Endeavor's guts, right?"

"Yep." Nezu smiled.

"You already saw what he gave All Might." Snipe replied.

"Well, it's not that bad." Nezu laughed, "Aizawa and I already marked it. It's just an essay. It's no big deal."

"No big deal. He's marked everyone else's essays just so that he doesn't have to mark Midoriya's, and you already know that he procrastinates when it comes to marking essays." Snipe grumbled, "You just want them to suffer."

"Maybe so." Nezu grinned, "Aizawa's definitely having fun, though."

"That's cause Aizawa hates All Might too." Snipe mumbled, "Ectoplasm is so lucky he teaches math; he doesn't have to mark any written reports."

"Hey, you try and mark these students messy handwriting and incomprehensible mathematical equations." Ectoplasm retorted.

Uraraka watched as Midoriya dumped a stack of notebooks on the table."Midoriya… what's that?"

"Notes." Midoriya merely replied, slipping into his seat. He arranged his notebooks neatly in a pile, before taking out his laptop and turning it on.

Aizawa had given them the homeroom period to work on their essays, since he wasn't planning on covering anything. Most of her classmates were also on their laptops, typing away, though Ashido and Kaminari seemed to be playing games instead of working. Reiko was sitting on their table, watching whatever was on their computer screens, and Ryuto was perched on Tokoyami's desk, hanging out with Dark Shadow.

Most of the class heard Midoriya's response, but chose to pretend that they didn't hear that Midoriya had said anything. There was finally some progress, and they didn't want to destroy all that by giving Midoriya more attention than he was comfortable with. But internally, they were all screaming that Midoriya was talking, even if it was only to Shinsou, Uraraka, Koda, Todoroki, and Iida. It made sense; they were the ones that had reached out to Midoriya first.

Uraraka's laptop was really old; it was her father's old laptop, and she had the device since she was ten. She took a good look at Midoriya's laptop; his laptop seemed to be made out of mismatched computer parts, and really broken and beaten up. It looked like he had salvaged it from a dump and had taken to repairing it with whatever materials he could get his hands on.

"Wow… Your laptop looks… really… broken." Iida commented, for lack of a better term, "Are you going to get a new one?"

"Don't need one. This works." Midoriya replied, as Todoroki tried to peer over his shoulder to look at his essay before Uraraka pulled him back, "Don't be nosy."

Todoroki let out a constipated looking pout, and Uraraka just laughed at the expression the ice and fire user had on his face.

"Shut up, Round Face! You're so fucking noisy!" Bakugou roared, and Kirishima laughed, pointing to something on his screen and tugging at Bakugou's arm, "You too, Shitty Hair! Leave me the fuck alone!"

"Oh, yeah, that reminds me." Aizawa spoke up, and everyone turned up to face the tired teacher, "If you write more than five hundred pages, just give me a thumb drive and the printed cover page with the page count. We don't want to waste paper."

Everyone gulped. After that essay that Midoriya had given to Yagi, it was obvious that the statement was directed at the green haired boy.

They could only wonder how much Midoriya would write about Enji. After all, Midoriya was Void, and Enji had set him on fire that one time when he was dealing with Stain. It was obvious that Midoriya hated that pro hero.

But five hundred pages? Wasn't that a bit much?

"Uh oh." Shinsou laughed, "I see that "I'll do you one better" expression in your eyes."

Midoriya cracked his knuckles.

Five hundred?

Easy.

He was almost at the sixth hundred page anyways. He was certain that Aizawa and Nezu weren't going to read it, or maybe they'd just read it for the kicks.

"Alright! We're here!" Ashido smiled, grinning as 1-A gathered in the shopping mall.

Midoriya was missing quite a bit off stuff on the shopping list, but they were mostly unimportant stuff like insect repellent and sunblock and Midoriya did not want to get out of the safety of the dorms and interact with strangers for them. He would rather get bitten by a few bugs.

But Reiko was insistent, and Midoriya was stuck in the middle of a huge shopping mall with his noisy, hyper classmates.

"We should split up into a few groups. We all need different things. We'll meet up back here in about... four hours. Okay?" Yaoyorozu asked, and received a chorus of replies from the students.

"Come on." Shinsou beckoned Midoriya, as he, Todoroki, Uraraka, Iida, and Koda went off to buy whatever they needed.

Midoriya just aimless followed behind the group as they entered shop after shop. Ryuto was in his hood, and Reiko was hidden in the secret compartment in his hoodie.

"Aren't you going to get anything?" Uraraka asked, and Midoriya shook his head.

Reiko peeked out of Midoriya's hoodie, and looked behind a corner. She gave a small meow, before ducking back inside.

Midoriya turned around to face where she was looking, catching sight of light blue hair peeking out from under a black hood.

"Well... if you see anything that you like or need, feel free to tell us and we'll just make a stop. Trust us, it won't be too much of a trouble." Iida smiled, before going back to the shopping directory of the mall that they had gone too. Midoriya just stood behind them awkwardly. Something just felt wrong, but his classmates seemed to be having fun shopping, and although Midoriya did not understand what was so fun about looking at goods through windows when they didn't actually need anything, he didn't have the heart to bother them.

Shinsou and Koda shifted themselves so that they, along with Todoroki, Uraraka and Iida, were shielding Midoriya from the rest of the crowd; it was obvious that the sheer number of people around them were making Midoriya jumpy. Midoriya never voiced his thoughts and feelings, but Koda had realized that it was much easier to read Midoriya by his body language instead of his expressions.

Todoroki needed to get some new shoes to deal, since his were wearing out; his constant usage of ice, and now, fire, were wearing them out much faster than they had expected. Luckily, it didn't take them too long to find shoes that were both ice and heat resistant; they just happened to be next to a shop that sold shoes like that, and they moved on to the next shop.

Midoriya just trailed along aimlessly; he had no intention of buying anything, and he was only here because Reiko wanted him to be here.

His classmates were finally done with their shopping, and Midoriya heaved an internal sigh of relief as they gathered at the meeting point. Just a few more minutes… and he could go back to the safety of his room.

But there was something that he had to attend to first…

He hadn't missed the blood red eyes that had been glued on him from around the corner, the entire time he had been at the mall.

Midoriya waited for Yaoyorozu to dismiss them, before he quickly disappeared into the crowd, and made his way to the bathrooms.

"Ah. Midoriya Izuku. I'm not surprised to see that you've noticed me."

Midoriya eyed the blue haired villain warily. Shigaraki was wearing a black hoodie, and did not have that hand on his face; obviously, he wasn't here to kick up a ruckus, but if Midoriya didn't play his cards right, they would have a huge problem on their hands.

"You know... I hate you. You should have died in that attack.. and yet... were we are, chatting like this event was programmed into the game files. I was surprised when I heard the news that you were injured and hospitalized, instead of being dead, but I guess the code wouldn't allow for it just yet."

Shigaraki leaned down, so that he was looking at Midoriya right in the face, "So, I'm sure you're wondering why I decided to... spawn here... to talk to you. After all, I'm not some NPC who's stationed here for eternity, just waiting to pass you the same bit of information over and over again no matter how many times you ask."

Midoriya just remained silent.

"Well, you were never one for talking." Shigaraki shrugged, "I'm just going to warn you, Void, a storm's coming, and there's nothing you can do to stop it."

Midoriya pondered the villain's words, and Shigaraki turned around to make his leave, "Well, that's all I have to say. Adios, Void."

Midoriya couldn't do anything as he watched Shigaraki disappear into the crowd.

He needed to report this to Nezu.

"So, Shigaraki sought you out." Nezu frowned, as Midoriya nodded in agreement.

"He said a storm was coming... and that I couldn't stop it... I'm still not sure what he means... sorry... I just let him get away..." Midoriya apologised. Ryuto was settled on Midoriya's shoulder, and Reiko was nestled in the green haired boy's lap, both of them desperately trying to comfort the boy.

"You have nothing to be sorry about. You took the route that resulted in the least casualities, and that's what's most important. As long as you're not hurt, it's fine." Nezu pat Midoriya's arm, before he bit his lip, deep in thought.

"You know there's that training camp for the hero course, right? The one where we were considering letting you sit out so that you could continue resting and recovering?" Nezu spoke up, and Midoriya nodded again. Nezu had mentioned it a few times before.

"I think... it's best that you go. Shigaraki knows that you're still alive and you're in UA, and I fear that he might be targeting you specifically." Nezu continued, "Only the teachers and pro heroes involved in the camp know where it's located. Plus, you'll be under the protection of other strong pro heroes, Aizawa, Vlad King, and your classmates. I think it will be the safest for you."

Midoriya rubbed his hands together. He had always felt the safest in UA, for some reason; just something about being with Nezu just made him feel safe.

But he also knew that UA wasn't impenetrable. The League had infiltrated UA twice already, even though their first attempt was a complete flunk.

Should he go on the camp?

If Nezu felt that it was safer for him to go on the camp, then Midoriya would go. He knew that the rat mouse dog bear thing would never do anything to hurt him.

"Alright. If you... think it's the best."

Nezu smiled up at the green haired boy and pat his arm, "Take care of yourself, okay?"

Aizawa tapping his fingers on his desk in the staffroom as he waited for his lesson to start. His class was supposed to hand in those reports before the camp, and his colleagues were making bets on how long an essay Midoriya would write. It wasn't too surprising; his colleagues did that really often.

All the bets placed were more than a hundred pages long. The reason was obvious; Midoriya didn't like Yagi, and had wrote a hundred-page essay, so he would probably write much, much more about Endeavor, a hero Midoriya absolutely despised.

Snipe had placed a bet of two hundred pages, and he was really, really happy that he no longer had to mark super long and detailed essays. Ectoplasm had bet two hundred and fifty, and Thirteen, despite everyone telling her that her bet was too low, and placed a bet of a hundred and fifty pages."Come on, he only has a week to write it, and 1-A went on that shopping trip over the weekend. How much can he actually write in that amount of time?" Thirteen reasoned.

"I'm not taking part in this." Inui backed out, and Kayama just laughed at him, "Spoil-sport. Three hundred."

"Er... three hundred and fifty." Yamada offered, "All Might does have a longer hero career than Endeavor."

"Apparently, in the week he was given to write All Might's essay, he also spent one afternoon jumping out of trees trying to teach Ryuto how to fly." Aizawa dryly replied, "And he did the same thing a week before to teach him how to glide. Nezu nearly got a heart attack from watching the cameras. Now that he doesn't have to teach Ryuto to fly, and with the lack of other homework, I bet he's going to write a lot more, and he also includes diagrams, and an appendix. Four hundred fifty, minimum."

Yagi was still on page fifteen of Midoriya's essay, chewing his red pen nervously as he read the paragraph for the twentieth time that hour.

Nezu laughed, "I'll be disappointed if he wrote anything less than a thousand pages."

Ectoplasm wasn't too surprised to see that Snipe was hiding in the broom closet in the staff room; the man was practically traumatized by super long essays written by a certain green haired boy, and Aizawa's class had just submitted theirs before lunch.

What he was surprised to see was Kayama and Yamada rolling on the ground, laughing their heads off, as Ishiyama stared at the laptop on Aizawa's desk with an incredulous expression on his face. The owner of the laptop was currently lying on the couch in the staffroom, also laughing.

Nezu was sitting on Ishiyama's shoulder, sipping a cup of tea.

"Okay, what now?" Ectoplasm asked.

"Essay." Snipe peeked out the closet, giving him the one-word reply, before slamming the closet door shut.

"That much was obvious." Ectoplasm mumbled under his breath, before walking over to Ishiyama, "Wasn't he assigned Endeavor? What's so funny about that?"

Ishiyama was close to laughing himself, and pointed at the laptop, "Just… read the contents page."

Ectoplasm leaned down to peer at the screen, and stared.

Midoriya had listed down several sections, including the pros and the cons of the pro hero. The section on pros was only two pages long, and the section on cons was over two hundred pages, and was divided into twenty plus other subsections which included the hero's personality, quirk, civilian casualties, and other categories that Ectoplasm was having trouble registering at this point in time.

Ectoplasm's eyes trailed to the number of pages of the document, and his eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets.

"Three thousand, nine hundred, and seventy three pages?"

Ishiyama nodded, smiling, "That's not even counting the appendix, which is around another thousand pages. Midoriya's not expressive by any normal means, but ... I'm just happy he is able to express himself somehow. Even if it's by being really passive-aggressive when it comes to homework."

Ishiyam grabbed the mouse, and scrolled down a few hundred pages to the section labeled as Enji's pros.

Which literally just contained a few paragraphs about how nice Todoroki was and the only good thing about Enji was that his kids were around.

And a few more paragraphs about Todoroki, Touya, Fuyumi, Natsuo, and Rei, with no mention of the hero himself.

Ectoplasm couldn't help himself, and scrolled down to the next section.

"While every hero has their pros and cons, most heroes have a balance of them, and with the help of other heroes, can help to negate the cons. However, in Endeavor's case, many heroes are required in order to negate just a few of this man's cons."

Ectoplasm chuckled; Midoriya certainly was correct about that.

"Heroes are supposed to ensure that collateral damage remains at a minimum, and civilian casualties should be avoided as much as possible. But clearly, a certain fire hero was not given the memo, though it was probably left somewhere, forgotten in his wake of fruitlessly attempting to become the number one hero.

In the past month alone, from the writing of this report, there have been eighteen cases of minor civilian casualties and thirty-seven cases where unfortunate victims that were caught in the crossfire had to be hospitalized.

Perhaps he would have better luck if he tried to avoid all this. At least All Might does not damage a building every time he takes down a villain."

Ectoplasm could barely contain his own laughter as he scrolled downwards. Midoriya's essay was hilarious, accurate, on point, and he was continuously throwing shade at Enji. How could that not be enjoyable?

"Endeavor's ego is inflated to the point where he cannot see what is in front of him, very literally. Apparently, he thinks that it is a good idea to not let his youngest son interact with the rest of his siblings for "training", which, in his dictionary, means "constantly attacking and hoping that his son will learn to use his quirk from being attacked." It is no wonder that Todoroki Shouto would have such a huge aversion to using the fire side of his quirk; who would want to use a fire quirk if they were constantly being set on fire and burnt?"

"Snipe, you should seriously read it. It's not as bad as you think." Ectoplasm stood up, and he spotted Snipe peeking out from the broom closet, "Seriously. It's hilarious, and I'm sure that as long as you don't need to check the references, it would be alright."

Out of the corner of his eye, Ectoplasm saw Nezu placing an order for fireproof paper. He wondered what that was about. Maybe he was giving something to Todoroki and he didn't want the boy to burn it by accident.

Midoriya looked around nervously. Aizawa had given him permission to bring Reiko and Ryuto, so there was that, but something about the trip just made him uncomfortable.

I'm probably overthinking it.

"Is that all you have?" Uraraka asked.

Midoriya looked down at his bag. He had a backpack, with a few days' worth of clothes inside, as well as his toothbrush, toothpaste and towels. He also had a few knives stashed everywhere, including in a few secret compartments in his shoes.

The perks of salvaging everything he owned from the dump; it was eco-friendly, and he could make as many modifications as he wanted.

"Hey, Midoriya." Shinsou greeted, walking over to stand next to the boy, "Sit with me on the bus?"

Midoriya nodded, trying to ignore the violent churning in his stomach. He was honestly glad that the purple haired boy had brought it up; he was more comfortable around Iida, Uraraka, Koda, Shinsou, and Todoroki, and he honestly didn't want to bother them and ask to sit with them. He did not want to end up with Ashido or Kaminari or Kirishima; as sweet as they were with trying to befriend him, they talked too much, too loudly, and constantly invaded his personal space.

Iida was talking to Yaoyorozu about the camp, chopping his arms left and right as he tried to order his classmates around. Apparently, they were going to board the bus soon, and Iida wanted everyone to get into pairs so that they could board the bus in an orderly fashion.

Same old Iida.

Shinsou heaved a sigh of relief, "Awesome."

Just thinking about asking to sit next to the green haired boy made Shinsou nervous, and he wasn't sure if Midoriya would agree or not. He was glad that Midoriya had accepted his offer.

"Can I take the aisle seat? Or do you have a preference?" Shinsou asked.

Midoriya shrugged, mumbling, "It's okay. I don't mind."

"Alright. I guess we should be getting on now." Shinsou turned, finding Ojiro and Hagakure boarding the bus with the rest of the students trailing behind them. Midoriya was trying to stop Shoji from putting his bag in the storage compartment of the bus, and Uraraka gave Shinsou a thumbs up while Midoriya was distracted.

"Midoriya." Aizawa stated, and Midoriya warily walked over to Aizawa. The bus had stopped by the side of the road, and there wasn't a toilet or anything around them, just a cliff and a forest below them, so there was absolutely no reason for Aizawa to call a stop here.

It had to be another one of his logical ruses.

"The Pussycats are here, and Pixie Bob will be using her quirk to send everyone down into the forest to fight her earth beasts."

Midoriya blanched, and immediately turned to face the pro hero in question.

"I'm just telling you beforehand so you can decide whether or not you want to join your classmates in this exercise. This camp is supposed to be for them to train their quirks, and you don't have a quirk that we can train. You can choose whether to sit out."

Midoriya clenched his fists, and his eyes trailed over the cliff. If Tsuchikawa made them fall…

He didn't want his classmates to get hurt.

As much as he hated to admit it, he kind of liked his classmates. No one telling him to kill himself, no one pushing him down the stairs or smashing him into walls. But they were probably just waiting for him to lower his guard before they broke his heart again.

He couldn't afford to let that happen. His heart wouldn't be able to take the damage.

But how he felt towards his classmates didn't change the fact that it wasn't fair that he could choose to sit out while the others didn't have a choice.

Midoriya looked up at Aizawa, and signed, "I'll join the exercise, but Reiko and Ryuto aren't going to."

"Alright then. Don't tell the others though, and please, don't stop Pixie Bob. She won't hurt the others on purpose." Aizawa replied.

Midoriya carefully handed Reiko over to Aizawa, before nudging the hawk that was on his shoulder and tilting his head towards Aizawa. Ryuto gave an annoyed squawk, and shook his head, but Midoriya just nudged him again.

Ryuto reluctantly flapped his wings, hopping over to perch on Aizawa's shoulder, and Midoriya shot Aizawa one final glare, before walking over to join Shinsou and Koda as they admired the scenery.

That glare was a warning. If either Reiko or Ryuto got hurt on his watch, Aizawa was going to have hell to pay.

"So... the Wild Wild Pussycats, huh?" Shinsou grinned, "Know anything about them?"

"Four-person agency hero team. Veteran team that specialises in mountain rescues!" Midoriya signed back. All his classmates were crammed in a relatively small space; he didn't want to talk.

"Huh, that's the kid, right?" Sosaki asked, moving over to stand next to Aizawa, "Nezu's little cub."

"Yep." Aizawa replied, as Ryuto looked at Sosaki curiously, wings slightly outstretched. Reiko gave a small meow, and Ryuto looked down at the cat. Sosaki cautiously stuck out her hand, and Reiko sniffed at her hand, before looking up at the hawk, meowing.

"They're more friendly than the pup is, that's for sure." Sosaski laughed, scratching Reiko gently behind her ears.

"Midoriya knows about the agreement."

Sosaki frowned, "You told him?"

"Figured it was for the best." Aizawa shrugged, "Plus, if Midoriya figured it out on his own, he would probably try to attack her, and I'm sure he had a few knives hidden… somewhere. Plus, he wouldn't trust Pixie Bob for the rest of the camp."

"Oh… yeah… trust issues. Got it." Sosaki nodded, "I'll tell her to start?"

Aizawa nodded, and Sosaki sent a telepathic message to Tsuchikawa, before replying, "All set. Now just one... two..."

"It's nine thirty in the morning. If you're fast, maybe around noon?" Tsuchikawa's claws glinted as she licked her lips.

Kirishima yelped, "Not good! Let's get back!"

"Back to the bus!" Ashido screamed, and all the students made a mad dash to the bus, save for Midoriya. The boy was just stood there, waiting for Tsuchikawa to make her move.

"Kittens who don't make it back by twelve thirty don't get lunch!" The pro hero grinned. She smashed her fist into the ground, setting off an avalanche of rocks and dirt that swept everyone off their feet and into the forest below.

"This is private land, so feel free to use your quirks as you see fit!" Tsuchikawa grinned, yelling down the cliff, watching as Midoriya balanced himself on one of the larger rock slabs, easily riding the wave of dirt and stones to the bottom of the cliff.

"The pup's scrawny as hell, but he's got skill." Tsuchikawa whistled.

Kota just watched the green haired boy as he skidded down the cliff.

Why did he seem so familiar?

"Help! What are these!?" Kaminari screeched as he ran from one of the beasts. Midoriya whipped out one of the knives out of back pocket, and leapt onto the earthen monster, viciously stabbing his knife into the monsters neck. With a quick twist, the rock that made up the beast's neck cracked, and the monster's entire head fell off.

Midoriya jumped off the beast, landing on the ground, just as the monster he had decapitated crumbled and disintegrated into nothingness.

"Whew. Thanks." Kaminari sighed, leaning against a tree, panting, before another earth monster burst out of the trees, flapping its wings before taking to the sky.

"Holy shit! What the hell!" Ashido screamed, spraying one monster directly in the face with her most potent acid.

"Does anyone have a plan?" Jiro asked, stabbing her earphone jacks into a monster, distracting it, before Iida rushed in and kicked the beast to pieces.

Midoriya pointed to Jiro and Shoji, pointing to his ear before pointing into the forest. Iida immediately got the message, "Jiro, Shoji, take the front! You guys have the best hearing, try to head in that direction!"

Jiro plugged her earlobes into the ground as Shoji transformed his limbs to into ears.

"Camp's that way." Jiro pointed, "I hear someone called... Tiger, or something?"

Midoriya nodded.

"Alright! Gather in a group, stay together, don't get separated from each other!" Yaoyorozu yelled, whipping out a metal pole and bashing a beast into the ground. "I don't think these are real animals! Koda, stay away from them!"

Midoriya immediately hacked away at the beast that Koda was trying to talk to, slicing it's arms and legs off. Todoroki finished the job with a well aimed blast of fire.

"Aim for the joints!" Shinsou shouted, as he bashed another beast to dust with a pole that Yaoyorozu had given him.

Kirishima and Sato were easily smashing through the earth beasts, and Jiro was sitting on Shoji's shoulders, guiding the group through the forest.

"On your left, Midoriya!" Kaminari yelled, ducking under a monster that Ashido melted with her acid. Midoriya promptly whirled around, kicking another beast's clean off, before nodding at Kaminari.

Kaminari squealed, and Sero pulled the electric boy out of the way as a flying beast swooped down on him.

Midoriya snapped his fingers, getting Sero's attention, before pointing at the beast's wings. The tape boy grinned, "Gotcha!"

He shot his tape out, tangling the beast's wings with the tape, and yanked the monster towards the ground, where it collided with another monster and they both crumbled to dust.

"Fuck you!" Bakugou roared, blasting one monster to bits, before he turned around to blast another, "And fuck you too!"

Dark Shadow was cackling as he tore the monsters apart.

"Hey guys!" Kendo waved.

Kan and Aizawa talking about something, with the four Pussycats by their side, and 1-B standing next to them, patiently waiting for instructions.

Monoma looked down at 1-A's disheveled uniforms. Bakugou and Todoroki's uniforms were singed and torn, and everyone's uniforms were pretty much covered in holes and scratches. All save for Midoriya, whose uniform looked completely untouched, pristine and clean.

Ryuto gave a squeak, hopping off Aizawa's shoulder and flying over to Midoriya. The bird settled down in Midoriya's messy bush of hair, before starting to preen, and Midoriya reached up to scratch the hawk's head. Reiko had leapt out of Aizawa's arms, and was currently pawing at Midoriya's pants. Midoriya scooped her up, and deposited her on his shoulder.

"Well, looks like everyone made it one piece." Sosaki grinned, "Go grab your stuff and see the rooms. The bus already dropped off all your bags. The boys and girls rooms are labelled. We'll have dinner in two hours, and you guys can also use the hot springs later, so get moving."

"Who's that?" Kirishima asked, pointing at the black haired boy that stood with the Pussycats.

"Ah, that's my nephew, Kota. He's currently staying with us." Sosaki replied, watching curiously as Kota kept his eyes glued on Midoriya.

"Hi!" Kirishima waved, but Kota just huffed and looked away from them.

"I like him." Bakugou grinned, only for Todoroki to reply, "Well... he does act a lot like you."

"What you say, Icy Hot?"

"The truth."

Kendo sweatdropped as Bakugou and Todoroki started bickering again, and pulled Monoma away before he could start commenting on 1-A's lack of teamwork.

Midoriya moved to pick up his bag, before he turned to look at Kota, who was looking at him again.

There was something familiar about him, Midoriya had noticed that when he first saw the boy on top of the cliff, but he still couldn't put his finger on it.

"Aw man, this tastes awesome!" Kaminari wolfed down his food.

"This is the only time we will make food for you. Any other times, you will have to make your own food, so enjoy it while it lasts." Tsuchikawa grinned, watching the students shovel food into their mouths.

Except for one.

Midoriya Izuku.

The boy was just watching his classmates eat, having pushed his plate away in favour for a glass of water. As far as Sosaki was concerned, Midoriya had just taken a small helping of rice. Wasn't he hungry?

"Hey, Kota, wanna eat with us?" Kirishima offered, but the small boy just snapped back at him, "Shut up! I don't want to be friends with hero wannabes like you!"

Kota got up, before walking over to the cliff, settling down by the edge.

Sosaki sighed.

Reiko nudged Midoriya's arm gently, before turning back to the carrot that she was nibbling on. Ryuto was eating some of the meat that the Pussycats had served to the students, curiously listening as the students chattered.

Midoriya continued to look at Kota.

It finally clicked.

He recognised that look in his eyes; he saw it every time he looked at himself in the mirror.

Those were the eyes of someone who had lost everything that they had cared about.

He turned back to his water, taking a large gulp of it, before putting the cup down.

"You seriously not going to eat anything?" Monoma asked, and Midoriya shook his head, his stomach churning uncomfortably from the sheer sight of so much food on the table.

Midoriya stood inside the locker room, watching as his classmates changed their clothes. He had seen his classmates changing before, since he always changed relatively quickly inside a cubicle and leaving while his classmates were talking, and he had no intention of actually soaking in the hot springs. He would just keep an eye on Mineta, take a quick shower, and maybe do some personal training before going to sleep.

What was a hot spring, anyways?

Uraraka had insisted that Reiko go to the female's side of the hot springs, since she was a female, and Midoriya reluctantly let his cat follow Uraraka, since Reiko seemed pretty excited about the thought of a hot spring.

His classmates finished wrapping their towels around their waists, and made their way out. Midoriya followed behind them, keeping his eyes glued on Mineta.

He watched as his classmates slipped into the water, and Ryuto glided down from his perch on Midoriya's shoulder, sticking a talon into the shallow part of the water experimentally. He gave a content purr, before hopping into the water, creating a small splash.

"Food and stuff isn't that important. That's not what I want." Everyone turned to look at Mineta, who was starting at the wall that separated the female and the male baths. Midoriya turned to look at the orb-haired boy, reaching into his pocket to fish out a knife.

Kaminari splashed some water at Ojiro.

"What I want is far beyond that wall!"

"What are you talking about?" Kamakiri asked, turning his attention from his friends to face the orb-haired boy.

"You see, for them to not stagger bathing times for men and women is an accident. Yes, an accident waiting to happen." Mineta continued, and Shinsou sighed, sinking into the water, watching as Midoriya glared at the shorter boy.

Mineta had just dug his own grave.

"Mineta, no!" Iida yelled, standing up, and Monoma poked Shinsou, "You seem to be way too calm about this."

"Eh. Midoriya would deal with it. He's less tolerant of Mineta's antics than all of us combined." Shinsou shrugged, sitting up to watch the drama.

"What you are doing is demeaning for both you and the girls!" Iida shouted, starting to march out of the hot springs, "It is shameful behaviour!"

"You're too fussy." Mineta calmly replied, reaching up to pop an orb off his head, before leaping upwards, scaling the wall, "Walls are meant to be - AAACKK!"

Mineta was cut off as a knife was lodged into the wall, mere millimeters from his face. Mineta promptly lost his balance, and crashed into the cold, hard ground.

Monoma blinked. He had been watching Midoriya, but the boy had just acted before his mind had even registered it.

"Oww... what was that for?" Mineta groaned, sitting up to see who had thrown the knife, "Who even brings a knife to -"

He shrieked again, as a knife flew past his face, tumbling to the ground. He looked up, seeing Midoriya leaning against the door, casually twirling yet another knife between his fingers.

"You can't just -" Mineta tried to protest, but Midoriya just looked up, glaring at Mineta right in the eye.

He raised the knife, and Mineta shrieked once more, bringing his arms to protect himself as he heard the knife flying through the air for the third time.

Mineta blinked, as he felt nothing, and looked around, only to jump in shock as a knife fell downwards, almost stabbing his foot. Monoma's jaw dropped. Midoriya had just easily dislodged the knife from the wall with another well aimed throw, and that was no small feat at all.

Midoriya walked towards Mineta, and bared his teeth, growling. Mineta yelped in fear, immediately diving into the hot springs. The green haired boy proceeded to collect his thrown knives, before returning to his position by the door.

"That was so manly." Kirishima grinned, and Tetsutetsu replied, "I know, right?"

"Mineta really is the worst, isn't he?" Ashido was heard over the wall, "I thought he would have learnt his lesson after that first time Midoriya scared him."

"Thanks, Midoriya!" Hagakure yelled, and Midoriya just gave a small grunt.

Kota peeked over from his position on the wall, eyeing the boy's side of the hot springs warily, before turning to look at Midoriya.

Midoriya looked up at the black haired boy, and Kota growled, before ducking back down, out of sight.

Chapter Text

"Pity you missed out on the hot springs, Midoriya." Kaminari laughed, as he tried to dry his hair with his towel, "It was really nice and warm. You would have liked it."

Midoriya was also trying to rub the water out of his hair. He had taken a cold shower, and he could feel the chill seeping into his bones, washing the tiredness away.

Something was definitely wrong. He had to keep his guard up. He couldn't afford to be distracted.

He remained quiet, listening to the aimless chatter of his classmates as they arranged their futons. Midoriya waited as his classmates argued over who took which spot, until there was only one futon left available.

It happened to be right next to the window, the one spot that no one wanted to take due to the wind that came in.

Midoriya didn't mind too much. He wanted the spot by the window anyways.

He laid down on his futon, trying to calm his beating heart and slow his breathing. The lights were switched off, and the chattering slowly died down into silence. He waited for the last of his peers to fall asleep before he creeped out of the window, Reiko in his hood and Ryuto on his shoulder. He made his way to the edge of the cliff, before climbing up a tree.

From his vantage point, he could see all that land that was the Pussycats' territory. He pulled out his notebook, and began to sketch.

Something was going to happen, and it was going to happen soon.

He needed to be as prepared as possible, and in order to do so, he had to know his surroundings inside out.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Today, we will begin the training camp to increase your strength in earnest. The goal in this training camp is to increase everyone's strength, and with that, for everyone to obtain their provisional licenses. It is to prepare all of you to face threats that are becoming more real by the minute. Proceed carefully." Aizawa ordered.

He kept a close eye on Midoriya. Midoriya had been up long before the others had woken up. Aizawa had found him in the common room at four in the morning with a cup of coffee, scribbling in his notebook. Ryuto and Reiko had been curled up in his lap, sleeping.

His eye bags even more prominent than usual, and Aizawa wasn't even sure that the boy had slept.

And once again, the boy had barely eaten anything for breakfast; he just had some reheated leftover rice from the previous night, and the only reason it was hot was because Aizawa insisted he do so in case of insects and bacteria.

Aizawa and Kan quickly told the students how they were supposed to train their quirks, before turning their attention to Midoriya.

"Midoriya, you don't have a quirk, so here's what you're going to do." Aizawa started, as 1-A and 1-B watched on curiously, "I want you to explore. Every nook and cranny about this place. That should help with your analysis skills. If you can, make a map of the area as well."

Midoriya merely fished his notebook out of his pocket, flipping a few pages, before presenting it to Aizawa.

Aizawa blinked. In his hands, was a complete, hand drawn map of the Pussycat's territory, with details like the stream all in place, as well as a legend.

He mentally facepalmed.

"Alright, then, can you analyse the Pussycats' quirks? They will be working with the students, so you can -"

Aizawa was cut off as Midoriya flipped a few more pages, revealing twenty full pages of notes about the Wild Wild Pussycats as a whole, their individual quirks, personalities, as well as pros and cons.

Shiretoko doubled over in laughter, "The pup's prepared, got to hand it to him!"

The students were also laughing as Aizawa attempted to find something for Midoriya to do.

"Well... since we'll be busy managing forty students, he can help take care of Kota." Sosaki suggested, and the black haired boy snapped, "I don't need a baby sitter!"

Midoriya turned to face Kota, and Kota merely growled, "Get away from me. Leave me alone!"

He stomped away from the group, and Midoriya watched as Kota moved further and further away from them.

Midoriya turned to look at Aizawa, and Aizawa nodded, "Go after him. But come back at around noon."

The green haired boy nodded, and gave a sharp whistle. Reiko and Ryuto were in one of the trees that surrounded the students, and the hawk immediately burst out of the foliage, landing on Midoriya's shoulder. Reiko leapt down from the branch she was on, landing gracefully, before running up to Midoriya's side.

Midoriya picked Reiko up, before heading in the direction that Kota had gone in.

"So... you've noticed, too." Aizawa grunted, watching as Midoriya easily picked his way through the forest as if he had lived there his whole life.

"They're both curious about each other, for some reason." Sosaki muttered, "This is the first time I've seen Kota take an interest in someone."

"Well, what are you guys looking at?" Kan turned to face the students, "Get training!"

Kota made his way to his secret hideout, and plopped down on the ground. It was quite a distance from where the students were training, so there was no way that the green haired boy that his aunt had told to babysit him would follow him all the way here, right?

He heard footsteps behind him, and sighed.

Midoriya had actually followed him all the way up here.

He knew who the boy was; he had watched the UA Sports Festival on television because he was bored, and his name had been mentioned several times by the students and the heroes.

But he did not know that Midoriya didn't have a quirk.

Kota turned away as Midoriya walked up to him, pretending not to notice as the greenette sat down beside him, hanging his legs off the edge of the cliff. A white cat curled up on his lap, and the bird on his shoulder started nibbling on Midoriya's earlobe affectionately.

It took an hour of both of them sitting there silently, with the only sounds being the meowing and the chirping from the two animals, before Kota lost his patience.

"What do you want?! Aren't you going to say anything?!" Kota growled, turning to look at the green haired boy, "Why are you just sitting there and not doing anything!?"

Midoriya looked at Kota from the corner of his eye, before he went back to looking at the trees beneath their feet.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

Kota blinked, confused, "What?"

Midoriya didn't even turn to face the Kota.

"Losing your parents. I'm sorry."

Kota snapped, "What are you even talking about!? You don't know anything about me at all! Who are you to say "sorry" like that would help anything!? It's not like you've lost anything too!"

Midoriya turned to look at Kota, right in the eye, and Kota flinched.

That was why he was so familiar.

Kota stared right back into Midoriya's empty, emerald orbs.

He understood.

Kota settled back down beside Midoriya, watching as the cat eyed him curiously. It sniffed his arm, before crawling into his lap and laying down there.

"Is it your cat?"

Midoriya nodded, "She. Not it. Reiko."

Kota looked back down at Reiko, and touched her head curiously. Reiko purred, patiently letting the small boy pat her all over.

The hawk fluttered off Midoriya's shoulder to his leg, and looked at Kota. Kota reached his hand out cautiously at the bird, and watching as the hawk leaned forward, lightly nibbling at his finger.

"Ryuto."

Kota turned to face Midoriya, "His name?"

The greenette nodded once again.

"Cool."

Kota didn't know why, but he felt oddly at ease. Finally, someone wasn't praising his parents for being heroic or that kind of bullshit. Everyone else just said that he should be proud to have heroes as parents, praising them like heroes were the most perfect beings ever. There was absolutely nothing heroic about dying and leaving a three year old kid orphaned.

For once, someone understood how he felt.

How it felt to lose the only people that they loved.

"Midoriya." Aizawa greeted, as the green haired boy walked over to him. He had requested that the boy come back at around noon, and it was currently half past eleven. Kota was sitting on a bench, Reiko and Ryuto sitting beside him.

"I think it would be okay for you to have a small fight, but be careful." Aizawa said, before calling Chatora over, "Hey, Tiger. Give him a shot."

Chatora grinned, and cracked his knuckles. He did notice that Midoriya seemed to have something around his neck, a collar of some sort. But who was he to judge? He was a fully grown macho man rocking a mini-skirt, the pup could wear whatever he wanted.

Midoriya eyed the tired forms of his peers scattered all over the training field.

"Alright, guys, go get some water."

"Ah, he's fighting Midoriya?" Kaibara panted, pushing himself up, "Come on, guys."

"I don't wanna move." Kamakiri grumbled, but Kaibara just pulled him up.

"So... I saw the Sports Festival. You're not too bad, kid." Chatora smiled, eyeing the green haired boy. He certainly didn't look like much, given his small stature, but Chatora knew that this boy wasn't to be underestimated.

Chatora shifted into a fighting stance.

"Throw a punch."

Midoriya eyed Chatora suspiciously, but the pro hero merely laughed, "Come on, you can make the first move."

Confused, Midoriya did as he was told, barely putting any power into his punch. Chatora caught his fist, with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm serious, Midoriya. You're going to have to do better than that."

Midoriya blinked, still confused, and signed, "Why would you let the enemy hit first? That's illogical."

Chatora blinked, before internally facepalming.

"Kid, it's just training, okay?" Chatora sighed, "Just sparring. I need to see what you're capable of before I can tell you what to improve on, got it?"

Midoriya nodded, before shifting into a proper fighting stance, and lashed out. He dished out a punch, eyeing Chatora as he used his quirk in order to dodge the attack.

Midoriya quickly changed the trajectory of his punch, shocking the hero as he hastily moved out of the way.

Chatora delivered a punch of his own, as Midoriya jumped out of the way, dodging.

"You're not that bad, pup, but there's more to come." Chatora grinned.

He delivered a volley of punches, but Midoriya dodged them all, before jumping up onto a nearby tree to create some distance between them.

Chatora elegantly leapt after him, but Midoriya just jumped to the next tree. Midoriya grabbed the branch and swung around, aiming a kick at Chatora's chest, but the hero just grabbed his foot at threw him to the ground.

Midoriya rolled, and got up almost immediately, and Chatora jumped down from his perch on the tree.

Suddenly, he felt the air shift, ever so slightly, and he turned, looking into the forest.

Chatora lunged forward, and Midoriya continuously danced around Chatora's endless assault of attacks, weaving in and out of Chatora's fists as the hero tried to hit the agile boy.

And suddenly, the hero stopped, and frowned, as Midoriya's movements dulled.

"You're distracted."

Midoriya didn't seem to register that Chatora was talking to him, and continued looking into the forest.

"Hey, hey, kid?" Chatora walked over to Midoriya, waving his hand in front of his face. Midoriya blinked, before he turned to face the taller man.

"What's going on?" Chatora asked.

"Something's going to happen."

Chatora blinked, quickly deciphering the boy's signing, "You sure?"

He quickly called Tsuchikawa over, "Hey, can you make more earth beasts to patrol the area? The pup thinks that something bad is going to happen."

Tsuchikawa merely shrugged, "Alright. But we're all safe here. No one knows you're here, and we're pretty out of the way. I really think he's just paranoid."

"Why do they keep calling Midoriya a pup?" Yanagi asked, "I know they're based on cats... but it's not like baby cats are called pups."

"Can you really imagine anyone calling Midoriya a kitten?" Kendo sweatdropped.

"Well... he's as fluffy as one." Kodai muttered.

They found that Midoriya could not cook.

Sure, he could cut up the vegetables and meat in record time, but he refused to go anywhere near the stove.

The students were okay with just letting Midoriya deal with cutting. They had more than enough people to man the stoves, after all, and the last time they tried to coax Midoriya into cooking, he had immediately charred the wok they were using.

Which shouldn't happen at all.

It didn't take too long for the curry and the vegetables to be cooked, and pretty soon, and students were happily eating and talking about their day.

"Eat!"

Sosaki looked up, only to see Kota shoving a plate in Midoriya's face.

"You need to eat more than that! That's why you're so short and scrawny compared to everyone else!" Kota growled.

Midoriya did not look impressed at all, just staring as the small boy continued ranting on why he needed to eat proper food.

"Even Reiko eats more than you." Kota snapped, "And you didn't even eat breakfast! I saw! Don't try to deny it."

Everyone watched as Kota climbed up onto the bench Midoriya was sitting on, and stuck his finger in his chest, "You want to be a hero, don't you!? Then eat!"

"Okay... what is going on?" Tsuchikawa blinked, "Is Kota actually talking to him?"

"Err... yes?" Chatora replied, watching as Midoriya just continued staring at the little boy who was ranting on how short Midoriya was, "Look! You're like, shorter than everyone! Except the grape kid and the bird-headed one!"

Mineta immediately took offence that Kota didn't remember his name, and Tokoyami merely snorted in amusement. Shinsou and Uraraka were trying their best to cover their mouths to prevent them from laughing out loud.

Probably to satisfy the black haired boy, Midoriya grabbed his chopsticks and reluctantly picked a small piece of broccoli out of one of the plates, and put it in his mouth.

Kota just stared at him.

"That's cannibalism."

Kaminari and Sero could not hold back their laughter, and promptly fell out of their seats, roaring with laughter. Kirishima was smacking the table as he laughed, and even Iida had a small smile on his face as they processed what Kota meant.

Midoriya merely stared at Kota, before looking at the rest of his classmates, chewing on his piece of broccoli in confusion.

Aizawa was the only one who managed to keep a straight face. Kan had choked on his rice from laughing too much.

Midoriya quickly signed, "What's so funny?"

"Oh, Kota just called you a broccoli." Shinsou replied, finally calming down from his laughing fit.

He saw the slightest hint of a frown on the boy's face.

"But I'm not a vegetable."

"You're hair, Midoriya." Iida replied, taking another spoonful of curry, "It's green and fluffy."

Midoriya was very bored.

1-B was stationed in the forest, and they were supposed to scare the 1-A students who were supposed to go into the forest, grab some tags with their names on it and return back to the group.

It was supposed to have some bonding exercise, or something, but it seemed more like a hide and scare game in a dark forest; one of the very games that Midoriya hated.

Hide and Seek was bad enough, but the version where they were supposed to scare others on purpose?

Not fun at all.

Still, it wasn't like he could complain. The others seemed hyped about it, and the Pussycats were the ones who suggested the game, on their territory. He didn't have the right to complain.

Kota was probably on his own, sitting by the edge of the cliff. Midoriya wanted to tell Sosaki about Kota's so-called "secret hideout", but that would be an invasion of Kota's privacy, and Midoriya didn't want to do that.

Aizawa and Kan were back in the common room, probably working on more plans for the students.

They had an odd number of people, so one of the groups ended up having three people instead of two. Midoriya just so happened to end up with Shinsou again, somehow, and Sero. Bakugou was unlucky to end up with Todoroki, and Mineta had been paired up with Shoji, much to the relief of the other girls.

Yaoyorozu and Jiro were grouped together, and they had just set off into the forest. Asui, Uraraka, Tokoyami, Shoji, Bakugou, and Todoroki had set off before them.

"Hey, don't worry about it." Sero laughed, jumping around excitedly, "We've got Midoriya, we're so going to win!"

Midoriya looked around cautiously.

The wind direction was different. The leaves were rustling more violently than before. There was a weird smell in the air, but Midoriya could not place his finger on it.

Something had changed.

Kota stood by the cliff, before plopping himself onto the ground.

He didn't like heroes, never liked them, really, but there had been a time when he had loved and admired heroes like any other kid his age.

When his parents were alive, he thought they were the best people ever. They never made it to the top ten, but they were well within the top two hundred.

He loved them, admired them, wanted to be a hero just like them. His father could create water, and his mother could control it, making them the perfect duo for any mission, dousing their opponents with water with ease.

His quirk had manifested a few days after their death; the ability to shoot water from his palms and control it at will.

He hated his quirk.

It reminded him too much of his parents.

Then there was Midoriya, who was quirkless.

He wondered what Midoriya's parents were like, before they died. When did they die? When did they leave Midoriya alone? Were they heroes as well, like Water Hose? Or were they just normal civilians?

Kota was lost in his own thoughts, when the forest burst into flames. He staggered up, watching as cyan flames slowly consumed the forest, when the ground rumbled.

He quickly whirled around, a voice echoing in his head that he distinctly recognised as Sosaki's, "I'm sorry! I don't know where you usually go off to! I'm sorry, Kota! I can't go save you!"

A figure dressed in a black cloak and a white face mask appeared in front of him.

"I tried searching somewhere with a nice view, and I ended up finding a face not on our list. Hey, by the way, nice hat, kid. Trade with me for this lame mask. They made me wear this since I'm new, saying they couldn't get the shipment in time or something."

Kota stepped away from the cloaked figure, and turned around, trying to run away, but the masked man merely jumped in front of him, blocking the exit, and whipped off his masked. Muscle fibres erupted from under his skin, enveloping his arms, and Kota found the face of his parents' killer staring back at him, "Let me get a shot in to cheer up."

Muscular punched the ground right in front of Kota, grinning as Kota tumbled backwards, yelping in terror.

He aimed a punch at Kota again, purposely missing, and he laughed maniacally as Kota shrieked, trying to get as far away from the villain as his legs could carry him.

"I love it when they scream!" Muscular cackled, "Scream for help! Yell for your little heroes! Shout louder!"

"You know, on second thought, maybe I'll just take you with me!" Muscular laughed, picking Kota up in his hand and jumping off the cliff, ignoring Kota's attempts to get out of his grasp, "It will be much more fun to kill you in front of those other kids, won't it? Watch them scream and cry! Killing is so much fun!"

"Everyone! We're being attacked by two villains, but it's possible that there are more! Pixie Bob's down! Everyone who can move, get back to camp immediately! If you come across the enemy, don't attack and just retreat!"

"Villains? Why are there villains here?" Kan asked, standing up.

"Stay here, Vlad King. The students will most likely be coming back here, I'm leaving his place to you." Aizawa ordered, and Kan nodded in acknowledgement.

Aizawa rushed out of the room, out into the open, only to find thick black smoke filling the air above.

"Is your worry taking precedence?" A man with black hair asked, grinning, before shoving his hand into Aizawa's face, blue fire erupting from his palm.

Aizawa quickly leapt into the air, lashing on to the roof with his capture weapon and dodged the fire, before jumping down and wrapping his capture weapon around the intruder. The Erasure hero smacked his face into his knee, before smashing the villain into the ground.

"Tell me your purpose, numbers, and positions." Aizawa ordered

"Why?" The villain sneered.

"Otherwise, this would happen." Aizawa harshly twisted the man's arm, and a loud crack was heard as his shoulder was dislocated. "You're other arm's next. Let's do this logically. Breaking your legs would just make transport more annoying."

"Are ya in a hurry, Eraser Head?" The man taunted. "Are your students important?"

Aizawa growled, and kicked him again, only for the man to melt into brown goop.

"I hope you can protect them to the end."

"Fuck... A clone..." Aizawa cursed, as he surveyed the smoke that was emerging from the forest, the sky alight with cyan flames.

He ran into the forest.

Mineta shrieked in terror.

Tsuchikawa had glowed red for some reason, before flying backwards, a sickening crunch ringing out as she was bashed into the ground by a long, thick staff held by a person with long red hair and sunglasses, alongside a person with green skin and purple hair.

Koda was hugging both Reiko and Ryuto, as Midoriya turned to see who the villains were.

He didn't recognise the green skinned man, but he did recognise Hikiishi. She had committed nine armed robberies, three murders, and twenty attempted murders, at the very least, and her Magnetism quirk was going to be a pain to deal with, given how many students there were.

Hikiishi laughed, "How are you this evening, UA High School?"

"We're the Vanguard Action Squad of the League of Villains!" Iguchi yelled.

"The League? What are they doing here?" Ojiro hissed.

"Should I crush her face?" Hikiishi mocked, placing a foot on Tsuchikawa's body, as Sosaki's claws emerged, "Don't you dare!"

"Like we'd let you!" Chatora growled.

"Wait up, Big Sis Magne. You too, Tiger. Calm down. Don't be hasty. It just depends on whether having power over life and death follows Stain's tenets or not." Iguchi pulled Hikiishi back slightly.

"You're the ones his ideology brought!?" Iida demanded, but Kirishima pulled him back before he could attack.

"Oh yeah! You! With the glasses!" Iguchi grinned, taking out his weapon, which looked like a multitude of blades tied together, "You were the one that helped bring about Stain's end in Hosu City, along with Endeavor's kid! I apologise for the late introduction, but I'm Spinner! The one who spins his dreams into reality!"

Midoriya pushed his way to the front of the group, just as Iguchi's eyes trailed over to the green haired boy, his eyes widening.

"Void. Or should I say, Midoriya Izuku." Iguchi bowed slightly, "Stain called you a true hero, and it's an honour to meet you, finally, face to face."

Sosaki was shocked that Midoriya was the infamous vigilante than almost all the heroes were talking about, but she pushed it to the back of her mind; she had more important things to think about at this point of time.

"Get out of here." Sosaki ordered, "I sent out instructions. Vlad King and Eraser are back at camp, and Ragdoll should be helping 1-B and the others in the forest. Don't fight. Class Rep, you're in charge! Go now!"

"Yes ma'am!" Iida nodded, "1-A! Let's go!"

Midoriya looked like he wanted to fight the two villains, but he still followed Sosaki's orders.

Suddenly, something shot through the air, and Midoriya pushed Kaminari and Ashido out of the way before it collided with the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Ohh, look what we have here." A voice rang out, as the dust faded, revealing Muscular, "Look, all of your little friends!"

Sosaki whirled around, sparing a glance at Muscular, before she eyed the small figure in the hero's grasp, "Kota!"

Midoriya's eyes zeroed in on the boy, struggling in the villain's grip.

Muscular is going to be much more of a problem than Magne.

"Let's see how loud you can scream when I do this!" Muscular laughed, dropping Kota on the ground, before raising his arm, ready to attack.

Midoriya rushed in as Muscular pulled his punch, scooping Kota up in time and skidding out of harm's way. He deposited Kota on the ground, before he whipped a knife out of his pocket and threw it at Muscular, cutting through several muscle fibres.

"Midoriya! Get away!" Ashido yelled.

Before Midoriya couldn't even register what he had done, he swerved to the left, narrowly dodging another punch that Muscular had thrown at him.

"Ah! A face on our list." Muscular muttered, as more muscle fibres popped out to replace the ones that Midoriya had cut, "You don't look too interesting though. Pity. That Bakugou kid seemed like more fun."

Midoriya tried to dodge the next hit, but sadly, Muscular was too fast. He smashed his fist into Midoriya's body, sending him smacking into a tree, before leaping after the downed boy. Sero quickly used his quirk to lash Kota towards the group, out of the way of the fight.

Midoriya coughed out some blood. He tried to bring his arms up to block Muscular's attack, but Muscular was just too strong, easily pushing past Midoriya's defence and smashing him into the ground, a cracking sound ringing out through the air.

"Midoriya! We've got Kota! Just retreat, you can't beat him!" Kaminari yelled.

This was was starting to remind him of the fight that Midoriya had with the Nomu.

Muscular was way out of his league. He was too strong, too fast, and with Midoriya's quirkless status, there was no way he could outspeed or overpower the villain.

Midoriya just bared his teeth, before what Muscular said registered in his mind.

He was on the list.

They villains came because t he League of Villains wanted him.

Kota was hurt because of him.

A spark of anger erupted from the depths of his very being.

His mind was racing.

Robotic eye.

More muscles, more nerves, more pain.

He's a villain! Hurt him like they all hurt to you. HURT HIM! MAKE HIM HURT! HE DESERVES IT -

Midoriya pushed himself up, and spat the blood out of his mouth, growling, glaring at the villain.

"Ready to take more?" Muscular grinned, "That's really cute."

Midoriya dodged the incoming punch, ignoring the pain that flared through his arm.

It was broken, so what?

Midoriya whipped out another knife, twirling it between his fingers, before he dodged another attack. He slashed at Muscular's muscle fibres, before taking out another knife and jabbing it into Muscular's shoulder, giving him some leverage, and pulled himself up to slash at Muscular's face.

"Midoriya, stop!" Chatora growled, as he dodged an attack by Hikiishi, "Just retreat! We'll cover for you!"

Muscular turned around to punch him, but Midoriya merely dislodged the knife and dropped to the ground, taking a few steps back to create some distance between them.

Midoriya merely lunged again, aiming a slash at Muscular's side that the villain caught. The green haired boy just used that distraction to yanked out another knife and flung it at Muscular, the blade embedding itself in the villain's robotic eye.

The eye sparked, before it exploded, Midoriya jumping away as Muscular roared in pain at the device exploding in his skull.

"Now... now you've done it." Muscular hissed, glaring at Midoriya with his lone good eye, "I'll get you for that."

Before Midoriya could even react, Muscular had grabbed onto his broken arm, crushing it with his bare hands. He threw Midoriya to the ground, before stepping on his leg, snapping it almost instantly. He picked the boy up, and Midoriya hissed as Muscular tightened his grip, putting more and more pressure on his ribs until they snapped. He threw Midoriya to the ground, before punching his other leg, and kicking the boy into a tree.

"Oi! Muscular! Don't hurt him!" Iguchi snapped, but Muscular just flipped the lizard man off, his empty socket smoking from the explosion, "I do what I want! I want to hurt him! I'm going to kill him! I want to kill, it's fun, so I kill!"

And that fire in his stomach roared to life.

Fun?

It's fun?

Killing is fun?

Inflicting pain on others is fun?

Muscular had killed Water Hose, and many other heroes, but Water Hose's death was the most notable. Midoriya knew that the female hero of Water Hose was related to Sosaki, there were many pictures of them together in their youth that Midoriya managed to find from digging through the archives.

Which meant -

His mind connected the dots.

The two members of Water Hose were Kota's parents.

Muscular had killed Kota's parents.

Midoriya had never liked Muscular; the man seemed to have fun killing others, something that Midoriya couldn't tolerate at all.

But something about seeing Kota, trapped in the villain's grasp, and knowing that Muscular was the one that made Kota so cynical, the one who hurt him by killing his parents?

"… please… get out of here, hurry… "

Midoriya felt his anger boiling over, erupting into a burning inferno.

Muscular turned his attention away from the broken boy, and advanced on the group of students, before he froze. A menacing aura had erupted out of nowhere, putting so much pressure in the air that he could barely breathe.

"I hate... people like you..."

Muscular slowly turned around, seeing the green haired boy pushing himself to his feet, despite his broken body. Every fibre in his very being was screaming at him to run.

1-A slowly took a few steps back from the fight; they recognised that aura anywhere, and this was so much stronger than the last time Midoriya unleashed it.

"You just... hurt others... for the fun of it..."

Midoriya ignored the pain running through his entire body.

He had something more important to deal with.

Midoriya lifted his head, his emerald orbs meeting Muscular's, locking the blonde villain in place.

"I'm so sorry, Zuku… there's no time..."

"What... what are you?!" Muscular breathed, wanting to tear his gaze away from this monster that was standing in front of him, but he couldn't find it in him to do so.

"You... hurt him... Kota..."

Midoriya took a step forward, and Muscular took a step back unconsciously, snapping, "How are you still standing!? I broke your bones!"

Heroes and villains alike didn't faze him at all. He just easily crushed them with his overwhelming strength; there was no reason to be afraid.

So why was he so scared of this scrawny, little green haired boy who was barely half his size? Why was fear seeping into his very being, clouding his mind and body?

Midoriya bared his teeth, roaring, "I won't let you get away with it! You'll pay for that!"

His parents were dead, as were Kota's. But the villain that had done the deed was still alive, standing right in front of him, and he was only here because they wanted Midoriya. He couldn't make his parents murders' pay for their crime, but he could do it for Kota.

He won't let Kota get hurt anymore.

He wouldn't let Kota break.

He wouldn't let Kota turn out like him.

He lunged at the larger villain. Muscular barely registered that Midoriya moved, and sloppily dodged as Midoriya appeared in his face and slashed with his knife.

Sosaki and Iguchi had stopped their brawl when they felt the intense pressure hanging into the air, trying to figure out what was going on, before their eyes landed on the green haired boy who seemed to be getting faster as he landed on a tree, immediately jumping off and slashing apart the muscle fibres on Muscular's arm.

"Woah..." Iguchi breathed, "He's really awesome."

Sosaki could only watch in awe as Midoriya smoothly twirled around Muscular's sluggish attempts to hit him, skidding under Muscular's arm before bringing his leg up to knee the villain in the gut.

He flicked one of his knives that had fallen to the ground into the air, before kicking it towards Muscular. The blade rocketed through the air, stabbing into his side. Muscular stumbled backwards, bringing his arms up to defend as Midoriya shot forward, stabbing his knife with so much force into Muscular's unprotected hand that it broke, but not before the blade was embedded in the villain's hand, penetrating the metacarpals.

Muscular clutched his hand in agony, as Midoriya threw the handle of the now-useless knife at Muscular, the handle hitting the villain's head.

The villain turning around desperately to find the boy, before Midoriya made an odd movement and he felt himself falling to the ground. Midoriya sped up even more, and lunged, flipping himself over and smashing his foot into Muscular's unprotected face, breaking the villain's nose.

For good measure, Midoriya brought his leg up, and kicked one of the trees that Muscular had partially destroyed, completely knocking it over. It crashed into the villain, pushing the knife that was embedded in Muscular's side further into his gut.

"You won't die. That would be too much of a mercy for someone like you."

Muscular tried to push himself up, but was met with a foot to the face, and passed out.

The green haired boy lowered his foot, before turning his head to the side to spit out more blood, as he surveyed his handiwork. He had kicked Muscular in the face one more time, and it seemed like that was more that enough to knock him out. The villain as strong, but he was hella stupid; the face was one of the more delicate and weaker parts of the body, and he hadn't bothered to defend it.

What an idiot.

Midoriya closed his eyes and exhaled, feeling the rush of adrenaline seep away, and the fire that was pooling in his stomach simmered down to nothingness in satisfaction.

He turned to his classmates, eyeing them carefully. None of them seemed injured, so that was good, at least.

His eyes landed on Kirishima, holding onto Kota tightly, and the black haired boy teared up.

Kirishima was openly gaping as Midoriya mercilessly assaulted the villain.

He was pissed, that was for sure, and it was scary to see the normally calm boy continuously attacking so viciously.

He finally heaved an internal sigh of relief as Muscular finally fell, and Midoriya reeled that terrifying aura back in, panting.

He watched as Midoriya's eyes skimmed over them, almost like he was checking them for any injuries. Midoriya's hoodie had been completely ripped to shreds, as were the bandages that were wrapped all over his body. There was blood running down the left side of his face, and all over his body, and his arms and legs were distinctively broken.

That was really manly and all, but how the hell was he still standing?

The two green eyes settled on him.

Kirishima heard a sniff, before Kota broke out of his grip and ran towards Midoriya, wrapping his arms around the injured green haired boy, not even caring that there was blood all over the place.

"Why... why did you do so much..."

"Kota, about your mother and father… Water Hose… It's true they ended up leaving you behind… But there were definitely lives saved because of what happened to them. I'm sure that someday, you'll meet someone, and then you'll understand. Someone who'll risk their life to save you, someone who'll be your hero."

Midoriya just stood there, motionless, panting, not even seeming to what the smaller boy was doing.

"Crap... he beat Muscular..." Hikiishi muttered, "I don't think we can get him. Spinner, let's go and just focus on Todoroki and Bakugou."

"Got it." Iguchi nodded, as they both turned to run into the forest.

"Crap." Sosaki hissed, before activating her quirk, "They're after Todoroki and Bakugou, and they're in the forest. Ragdoll? Ragdoll?"

She turned to Chatora, "Something's wrong. Ragdoll hasn't replied."

Midoriya had heard what Hikiishi had said, and he lifted his broken arm, patting Kota on the shoulder, muttering, "Stay with them... There's something... I have... to do..."

"You're injured! What else can you do in that state!?" Kota shouted, but Midoriya gently pried himself out of Kota's grip. He shot a look at Reiko and Ryuto, before running into the forest. Both of them were trying to get out of Koda's grip, but one look from Midoriya stopped them, and they could only look on helplessly as Midoriya disappeared into the forest.

"Hey! Hey! Midoriya! Come back!" Chatora shouted, as Shinsou ran after Midoriya.

"I'm not a target, I'll be fine!" Shinsou yelled over his shoulder, "Iida, bring the others and Kota back to camp, and get Aizawa-sensei."

"Tiger, follow the pup." Sosaki ordered, "I'll go with them."

"Got it! I won't disappoint you!" Iida nodded, before herding the rest of the class away from the clearing, towards the camp.

Chapter Text

"Mandalay!" Aizawa yelled, as he spotted the Pussycat, along with the rest of the students.

"Eraser, I take it you got the telepathic message." She asked, and Aizawa nodded.

She continued, "Midoriya just took out Muscular, he's injured, but he went into the forest, and Shinsou followed him. He won't listen to Tiger or I; I've been sending him telepathic messages to come back, but he's too stubborn. If you tell him to come back, maybe he'll listen."

Sosaki heard Aizawa mumbled, "Problem child." under his breath, before the Erasure hero looked at her, "Okay, what about 1-B?"

"Still in the forest, I think. Magne and some other guy called Spinner went into the forest, and Tiger went after them already."

"Got it." Aizawa nodded, "Tell the students to use their quirks; I'll take full responsibility!"

"Huh?" Sosaki was taken aback as Aizawa growled, "There's a villain with a fire quirk, and I'm sure he's the one setting the forest on fire, which means they also have another villain with a cloning quirk. They're targeting the students, Bakugou and Todoroki specifically. As of now, they need to survive, and to be able to match up against villains who are willing to kill and have much more experience, they need to use their quirks! Also, Midoriya may be a target as well. He's had previous interactions with the League, and I'm sure that Shigaraki holds some sort of grudge against him."

"Alright." Sosaki muttered, quickly sending out the message, "I'll bring the kittens back, you take care of the villains."

Sosaki turned to leave, before she paused, "Doesn't Shinsou have a mind control quirk? Can't he use that on Midoriya?"

"Tch." Aizawa sighed, "Midoriya won't speak if he has to, and if he's injured by Muscular, the damage can't be good. He's probably in so much pain that he'd snap out of Hitoshi's mind control immediately."

Sosaki blinked.

First name basis?

She waved the thought away. They had more important things to deal with. She would question the Erasure hero once all the students were safe.

"Get away from me! You'll die!" Tokoyami screamed, as Dark Shadow rampaged about.

Shoji ducked behind a tree, trying to hide from Dark Shadow, as he heard footsteps. He eyed the forest warily, before a bleeding Midoriya burst out of nowhere, with Shinsou close behind, hot on his heels.

"Midoriya, slow down - Shoji? Tokoyami? What's going on?"

Shoji quickled shushed them.

"We got the warning. A villain came out of nowhere, and we managed to get out at the cost of losing a bit of my arm. It's just a duplicate, so it will heal, but I don't think he took it well." Shoji showed them his limb, which was already starting to heal, "We heard Mandalay's messages, and you... Midoriya... I don't think you should be moving around like that."

Midoriya just shot Shoji a small glare, before turning to look at Dark Shadow.

"Righteous indignation and regret are strong emotions. Coupled with a sentient quirk…" Shinsou muttered.

"Yep." Shoji nodded, "It's attacking indiscriminately, reacting to any kind of sound. Getting fire, or finding Aizawa should help."

"Where's Bakugou and Todoroki? They went before you." Shinsou asked, but Shoji shrugged, "Don't know. We've been here on our own, before this guy in black and really long teeth-knives popped out of nowhere and - Midoriya, what are you doing?"

Midoriya had walked out from the trees, right into Dark Shadow's line of sight. Dark Shadow caught sight of him, and screeched, but Midoriya didn't even flinch.

"Midoriya! Get away!" Tokoyami yelled, tearing up, but Midoriya merely faced the quirk.

"Calm down."

Shoji blinked.

"He'll speak if he has to. There's no time to translate anything now... and I don't think he can sign anyways. And he's more comfortable around the quirk." Shinsou muttered, before Shoji could ask any questions, as Dark Shadow screamed, "Calm!? Calm!? You want me to calm down!? They hurt him! They hurt him, they hurt him, they hurt -"

The quirk dived down towards Midoriya, "How dare you! Who are you to even - Mi... doriya?"

Dark Shadow halted his movements, eyeing the injured green haired boy, who didn't even react.

Midoriya reached his hand out, placing it on Dark Shadow's beak, "You're angry."

"Of course I'm angry!" Dark Shadow spat, "Shoji's injured, and I can't find the damn bastard that DID THIS TO HIM! Who hurt you!? I'll tear them apart!"

Midoriya just looked up emotionlessly at Dark Shadow, "Dealt with. Calm down. Your letting your anger get the better of you and it's not helping anyone. You're scaring Shoji and hurting Tokoyami."

Dark Shadow froze, before he turned backwards, staring as Tokoyami panted and cried out in pain, before looking at Shoji and Shinsou, who were hiding behind a tree.

"You rampage in the dark because Tokoyami can't see his enemies, and you want to protect him." Midoriya moved closer to Dark Shadow, "You want to protect them. Don't let your anger blind you. Use the anger to motivate you, but don't let it control you."

Dark Shadow nodded, calming down slightly, letting Midoriya pass as he went to help Tokoyami up.

"I... I didn't know..." Tokoyami shook, taking Midoriya's hand, "I thought... he was rampaging for... no reason... and tried to control him... I'm so sorry..."

Midoriya turned to look at Shoji, and Shoji, somehow, got the message.

"The villain went that way." Shoji pointed into the forest, and Midoriya nodded, starting to move in that direction.

Tokoyami, Shoji, and Shinsou followed suit.

"Ohhhhh... tasty... so many targets..." Moonfish muttered, blocking with his teeth as Todoroki blasted him with ice, doing his best to protect an unconscious Tsuburaba. Monoma growled, blasting some fire at the villain with Todoroki's quirk. He had been with Tsuburaba, when Todoroki and Bakugou stumbled into their area, before this giant blade tooth monster started ripping the ground apart.

Tsuburaba had tried to protect himself with his quirk, but his Solid Air shield was easily torn to shreds by the villain, and he had been knocked out.

Bakugou blasted a blade away, screaming, "DIE, YOU MOTHERFUCKER!"

"We're getting nowhere. You guys are the main targets! I'll hold this thing off." Monoma growled, "Bring Tsuburaba back to camp!"

He didn't have time to be hostile to 1-A at the moment. He'd just make up for it later, when they were safe.

"Are you underestimating me?! I dont need your fucking help, blondie!" Bakugou screamed, completely destroying another blade, as Monoma smiled to himself.

Yep, as easy to aggravate as usual, but the angrier he got, the more he attacked, so it all worked out well.

"Some people are coming." Todoroki said, looking behind him, the fire on his hand blazing to life in case he needed to attack. Midoriya, Shoji, Tokoyami and Shinsou emerged from the foliage, and Todoroki sighed in relief.

"You! You were the one who hurt him!" Dark Shadow screeched as he erupted out of nowhere, harshly grabbing Moonfish and snapping all of his blades off, "You'll pay for what you've done!"

Dark Shadow roared as he smashed Moonfish into the ground, over and over, before he finally sent Moonfish flying. The villain crashed into tree after tree, before he came to a rest, sprawled motionless on the ground.

"Take that, bastard! That's what you get for hurting my friends!" Dark Shadow snapped, before he shrunk down to the he normally was in the daylight.

"Thank you." Tokoyami gave a small smile, scratching the quirk's head affectionately.

Monoma rubbed his arms, "Alright, now that's done... Thanks, Tokoyami."

The blonde eyed the students that had just appeared, and his gaze stopped on Midoriya, "Jeez, are you okay?! What happened? Why aren't you helping him!?"

The green haired boy was supporting himself against a tree, panting, as blood dripped off his body.

"I tried. He won't let me touch him." Shoji retorted, before turning to Shinsou expectantly for an answer.

"He beat up Muscular. Got injured in the process. Badass as usual." Shinsou replied, and Todoroki's eyes widened.

Wasn't he that super powerful villain that smashed everything up? How the hell did Midoriya beat him?

"Anyways, we need to head back to camp. They're after both Bakugou and Todoroki, and we don't know how many other villains are out here." Monoma stated, and Shinsou and Todoroki both nodded.

Midoriya decided to keep quiet about the fact that he, too, was also a target. His life didn't matter; he'd gladly give his life up for the others if he had to, if he could even die in the first place.

"Okay. Dark Shadow can lead; he can cover more ground and tell us if we're going the right way." Todoroki stated, "Bakugou and Todoroki can still fight; you guys take the sides. Shoji, your hearing is the best out of all of us; you stay in the back so you can check if anyone's following us. Midoriya's injured, and Monoma... you don't look like you're holding up to well. Carry Tsuburaba and stay in the middle?"

Midoriya gave a small frown, and raised his hands to sign something when another telepathic message shot through their heads.

"Midoriya may also be a target, and he's pretty badly injured too. If you guys see him, try to get him back to camp as fast as possible."

"Yeah... makes sense, since he killed the League's pet bird thingy." Monoma muttered, "Come on, the more we loiter here, the higher the chance of use getting jumped."

A shriek tore through the air, and Todoroki turned in the direction of the yell.

"Uraraka?" He muttered, just as Midoriya growled and ran in that very direction, whipping another knife out of nowhere.

"Midoriya! Don't run off on your own!" Shinsou yelped, running after him, as Shoji, Monoma and Todoroki followed behind.

"How many of those things does he have?" Tokoyami asked, starting to chase after the group, and Bakugou snapped, "Who the fuck cares!?"

Uraraka shrieked as a needle was plunged into her leg, sucking out her blood. She had tried to pin Toga down, but the blonde villain was nowhere near defeated, and she had been distracted by trying to get Asui to restrain her. Asui was still pinned to a tree by her hair, her tongue bleeding from Toga's previous attack.

Toda quickly pushed the stunned Uraraka off her, before raising her knife.

Suddenly, a knife shot out of the forest, and Toga jumped away, barely managing to dodge the blade, as a green haired boy rushed out of the forest, lunging at Toga with another knife.

"Midoriya!" Asui yelled, dislodging the knife that pinned her to the tree. She quickly ran over to Uraraka, as Midoriya slashed his knife at Toga.

The blonde villain managed to parry it away, but Midoriya kept up the relentless attack, growling as he glared at the villain.

"So much blood..." Toga breathed, and she grinned like a maniac, "Midoriya... Izuku... Shigaraki speaks highly of you."

Midoriya blinked in confusion, and took a step back, putting himself between his classmates and the villain.

"Ne, I want to be friends! I call her Tsu!" Toga smiled, pointing at Asui, "You're so cute, Izu-kun! Can I call you that?"

"Midoriya!" Monoma yelled, and Asui turned to, seeing Tokoyami, Shinsou, Monoma, Bakugou, Shoji and Todoroki running up them.

"Aww... there's more people now, and I don't want to be killed..." Toga gave Midoriya one last smile, "So bye!"

"Who was that woman just now?" Todoroki asked, watching as Toga ran into the forest. Midoriya coughed, spitting out some more blood, before wiping his mouth with his hand.

"A villain... a crazy one... kero..." Asui replied, just as Uraraka surveyed Midoriya from head to toe, rubbing the slash on her arm.

"Midoriya?! What on earth happened to you?!" Uraraka yelled, and Midoriya turned to look at her blankly.

"Villain. This isn't the time to stand around and talk." Shoji cut in, "Let's go back to camp."

"Fuck you, don't order me around!" Bakugou screamed, but Monoma just snapped, "Shut up. Stop making so much noise. The villains will hear you!"

"Tch, as if that crazy psycho bitch won't tell them our position." Bakugou growled, and Shoji muttered, "That's exactly why we need to move."

"Mandalay said that you may also be a target, so we've got Bakugou, Todoroki, and Midoriya that the League are after." Asui spoke up, "We should stay together; we have strength in numbers and everyone here is strong. Err..."

Asui looked around, "Weren't Shinsou and Tokoyami here with you?"

Midoriya blinked, and straightened up, looking to where he swore Shinsou and Tokoyami were standing, right at the back of the group.

"Ah.. the boys you're looking for... I took them with my magic." A cloaked figure standing in a tree replied, holding up two marbles, "They're not on our hit list, but their talents don't belong to heroes. We'll take them to a stage where they can stand out more."

Midoriya growled.

Shit... I let my guard down for a second...

This is all my fault.

"Give them back!" Uraraka snapped, "Who are you?"

"My my, my name is Mr. Compress! And give them back? Shinsou and Tokoyami don't belong to anyone, you egoist. And yes, I do know all your names." Sako replied, fiddling with his marbles.

"Move!" Todoroki snapped, stepping forward, unleashing a torrent of ice that Sako easily dodged from his position in the tree.

"A brainwashing quirk, and a rampaging creature of darkness." Sako spoke up, "Moonfish is a cutthroat on death row with a dismissed appeal, and his quirk took him out one-sidedly. Don't think I didn't see the little bird's rampage."

"He got them without making any noise? And even Midoriya and Shoji didn't notice him?" Monoma growled, "He must be good."

He eyed Midoriya, as the boy panted, glaring at Sako. He didn't blame Midoriya, the guy shouldn't even be standing right now, let alone noticing villains that even Shoji, who had excellent hearing, couldn't detect.

"To go out of your way to talk to us... Don't underestimate us!" Todoroki growled.

"It's a bad habit." Sako admitted, "I was once an entertainer, and bad habit die hard."

Todoroki quickly stuck out his foot, about to create another glacier, when suddenly, Sako appeared behind him, hand on his shoulder.

"Bad move, Todoroki. You're leaving yourself open." Sako shook his head, activating his quirk and encapsulating Todoroki within another marble.

What kind of quirk is that?

He dodged as Midoriya threw another knife at him, stumbling slightly, before jumping up onto a tree, twiddling the three encapsulated students between his fingers.

"I'm not going to stay and fight heroes who are hero candidates." Sako said, turning around to run, dodging another knife that Midoriya had thrown.

Midoriya growled, running after Sako, slipping two knives out of his shoes and dumping them in his pocket. He usually had two knives in his hoodie, four in his pants pockets, and another two in his shoes, with three more in his bag. One knife was broken from his fight with Muscular, and another was buried in the villain's gut, but Midoriya had been stupid enough to not retrieve his two other knives that he had thrown from his fight with Muscular. Three of his knives where somewhere in the forest, after he attacked Toga and Sako, but he didn't have time to go look for them now. He'd just have to make do with the three remaining ones he had.

"Dammit! Leave Purple Fucker, Bird Brain and IcyHot alone, you fucking Mask Bastard! The only one that can kill them is me, got it!? I'll fucking kill you, bitch! Don't think you can get away from me!" Bakugou roared, chasing after Sako, Asui, Shoji, Monoma, and Asui hot on his heels. Uraraka had used her quirk on Tsuburaba, making him easier for Monoma to carry.

"If only Iida were here... he would be able to catch up in no time..." Uraraka panted,

Sako reaching up to tap his earpiece, "Vanguard Action Squad! Target Two and two more kids successfully collected, but I've got Target One and the other one close on my tail! I'm bringing them all in! The show will come to a close soon! Head to the retrieval point in the next five minutes!"

"Shit... they're expecting us to chase him!" Shoji snapped.

"What the fuck do you expect us to do, Arm Fuck!?" Bakugou growled, "Let this fucking Marble Asshole Bastard take them!? Hell no!"

"This... just confirms it..." Asui exclaimed as she hopped along, "Midoriya isn't a target, kero..."

Midoriya growled, his eyes practically glowing with rage, and he seethed, "Who cares about that!?"

"But we're not fast enough. At this rate, he's just getting away!" Shoji replied.

"Uraraka, make us float! Bakugou, Shoji, and I." Midoriya snapped, "Asui, throw us as far as you can with your tongue! Measure the distance with your eyes and drop us. Shoji, use your arms, and Bakugou, your explosions, to correct our trajectory! Then you three bring Tsuburaba back to camp!"

He didn't want to bring Bakugou and Shoji into this, but he wasn't dumb; in his current state, there was no way he could take on all the remaining villains who were at the so-called retrieval point, let alone single Sako out, wrestle his classmates away from him, and find some way to release his quirk.

"Whatever, just hurry the fuck up!" Bakugou screamed, as Asui wrapped her tongue around the three students. Uraraka quickly activated her quirk and tapped them, and Asui flung them in Sako's direction.

"Go get em!" Uraraka yelled, tapping her fingers together and releasing her quirk, causing Bakugou, Shoji, and Midoriya to crash into Sako like a human bullet. She turned around, and reactivated her quirk on Tsuburaba, "Let's go."

Monoma nodded, as they started making their way back to camp, before Monoma blinked.

"Wait, did Midoriya actually talk!?"

"Man... these gas masks Yaoyorozu made really helped." Tetsutetsu panted, collapsing to the ground as the gas slowly dissipated, "I hope they're doing okay, bringing the others back to camp."

Kendo flexed her fingers, watching as gas disappeared, "Come on. We need to go and help them. Awase, Jiro, and Yaoyorozu can't carry all of them. Can you move, Tetsutetsu?"

"Yeah... he got me in the arm, but my quirk blocked most of the damage. It's just bruised." Tetsutetsu panted, slowly pushing himself up onto his feet, "Let's go."

They ran back in the direction they came from, ducking behind some trees as a Nomu lumbered pass them. They continued on their way, coming across Jiro, who had Kodai, and Awase, who was picking Shiozaki up from the ground as Yaoyorozu carried Honenuki unsteadily, her forehead bleeding.

"We saw a Nomu... are you okay?" Kendo asked, before she glanced at Yaoyorozu, taking Honenuki from her, "What happened to you?!"

"There was a Nomu!" Awase growled, "Many arms, bashed Yaoyorozu into the ground and started chasing us with a fucking buzzsaw! Then it stopped for no reason and walked away! And then she made me stick something on it!"

"A tracker." Yaoyorozu mumbled, her eyes foggy with pain from the wound on her head, "Let's go back..."

"Yeah. There was some other lizard guy and woman but they just ignored us and left, saying that they didn't need us." Jiro muttered, "Did you guys hear Mandalay's message? About Bakugou, Todoroki, and Midoriya?"

"Yeah." Kendo nodded, "But we don't know where they are, so we can't help them. We should go back first, and get Yaoyorozu some help."

"No..." Yaoyorozu muttered, as Tetsutetsu supported her, "It's over... we can't help them..."

"What do you mean? We can't just give up like this!" Tetsutetsu retorted, but Yaoyorozu shook her head, "No... those things... only respond to orders... someone gave it an order to leave..."

"Oh..." Jiro gasped, "That means... they got what they came for. One of them... at the very least."

"Yeah... they're smart... ambushing us in a foreign environment. They can't handle all three of them at one go, that's for sure. But Midoriya's injured... and he went after Bakugo and Todoroki..." Yaoyorozu muttered, before she shook her head, "Midoriya may be quirkless... but he's strong."

"Whatever it is, let's get back to camp." Kendo clenched her fists, "The teachers and the Pussycats can do something about it, but they can't do anything while we're not all accounted for. We'll help them by lessening the burden on the teachers."

Kan quickly ushered Kodai, Jiro, Yaoyorozu, Shiozaki, Awase, Kendo, and Tetsutetsu into the building, ordering some of the other students to help them while getting Sosaki to send a message to Aizawa about their arrival. Some of the 1-B students were passed out due to the gas, but some, like Kamakiri and Kuroiro were starting to stir, while most of the members of 1-A were safe and unharmed.

Most of the students were in the building, save for Monoma, Bakugou, Todoroki, Tsuburaba, Shoji, Tokoyami, Midoriya, Shinsou, Asui, Uraraka, and some of the 1-B students that had stationed themselves deeper into the forest.

Kan continued to keep on the lookout for any students, as Chatora came and went, slowing bringing back the 1-B students. He wanted to go out and search for them, but he couldn't leave Sosaki to take care of everyone and to look out for villains at the same time. Reiko was taking watch with him, since she could detect anyone getting near the camp much better than he could. She had sniffed out one of the villain clones and Kan had smashed it to bits before it could do any damage.

Reiko turned her head towards the forest, as Monoma, Asui and Uraraka, carrying Tsuburaba, finally ambled into sight. Kan growled as they reported that some masked guy had captured Tokoyami, Shinsou and Todoroki, and the remaining students were going after them. He ordered Sosaki to relay the message to Aizawa, before clenching his fist tightly.

How the hell did they find them here?

It was supposed to be safe, unknown to anyone except for the teachers involved, as well as Nezu. They couldn't even call the other teachers in case the villains intercepted the calls and found their location.

Nezu had purposely placed Midoriya in the camp so that he would be safe, away from danger.

So how the hell had it turned out like this!?

Aizawa headed straight for the heart of the fire; the gas was already gone, but he needed to stop the fire so that he could find Tokoyami, Shoji, Midoriya, Shinsou, Bakugou, and Todoroki.

And if what Sosaki said was accurate... they already had Tokoyami, Shinsou and Todoroki.

He made his way into a clearing, watching as a black haired scarred man talked to another guy in a bodysuit and another blonde girl. He was about to take them down when he heard screaming, and the Erasure hero looked up into the air.

"Ohh! This is so much fun!"

"Shut up, Toga. Dabi, that's Compress!"

"I know, Twice."

Aizawa quickly identified the villains, as Sako crashed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. Dabi stepped back as three cyan marbles rolled to his feet. Dabi blinked, trying to comprehend what had happened, before a green blur shot out of the dust, snatching them up. Bakugou blasted Sako in the face with an explosion, "Let them go, bastard!"

Sako shot out his hand, and Shoji pushed Bakugou out of the way, resulting in the multi-limbed boy being encapsulated as well.

"Fuck!" Bakugou cursed, as Dabi raised his hand, "Get out of the way."

"Got it." Sako nodded, compressing himself with his quirk as Dabi's flames washed over him, forcing Bakugou to retreat. Sako unencapsulated himself, and moved towards the villains, Dabi lighting his arm on fire once again as Bubaigawara took out his tape measure, moving in to protect Sako.

"Izu-kun! Remember me?" Toga asked, waving her arms about.

Dabi's eyes trailed to the green haired boy, his entire body shaking as he clutched the three encapsulated students. Shigaraki had said that Midoriya was Void, but Dabi didn't quite believe him at first. But he recognised those emerald green orbs; that very boy had saved his life before.

He didn't want Shigaraki to get his hands on him.

Aizawa growled, "Midoriya, let go!"

He turned to face Sako, activating his quirk, and Midoriya threw the three capsules behind him just in time as Shoji, Todoroki, Shinsou and Todoroki were released from their prisons. Sako had been holding the capsule containing Shoji, and the multi-limbed boy blinked in confusion, before promptly smashing all six of his fists into Sako, leaving the villain dazed and confused.

"Eraser... I did ask if your students were important... but I'm impressed that you re-aquired one of our targets." Dabi grinned, turning slightly to face Shoji. He reached out with a blazing arm, and Shoji jumped backwards to dodge the attack.

"Get behind me, all of you." Aizawa ordered, "Especially you, Midoriya. You're in no state to fight right now."

Midoriya glared at Aizawa, as Bubaigawara lashed out with his measuring tape, forcing Midoriya to dodge. Midoriya stumbled slightly, but quickly regained his balance, bringing out another knife as he tried to slash Bubaigawara.

Shinsou growled, as Toga bounded up to them, grinning as she raised her knife, "Aww, you're pretty cute too!"

"You think so?" Shinsou raised his eyebrows.

"Mhm! I think -" Toga stopped her assault, her eyes glazed over, and Shinsou heaved a sigh of relief as he activated his quirk.

"Toga, you idiot." Dabi sighed, "We did warn you about him. Twice, deal with it."

"Alright! Why the fuck can't you do it?!" Bubaigawara snapped, disengaging from his fight with Midoriya to slam his measuring tape at Shinsou's feet, forcing the purple haired boy to dodge. The villain smacked Toga on the back, snapping her out of her brainwashed state.

Iguchi and Hikiishi ran out of the forest, "Sorry, we got lost."

"Well, fuck." Shinsou hissed.

"Ah... sorry..." Sako apologised, finally regaining his bearings and pushing himself to his feet, "I lost them."

"It's not okay, bastard! People make mistakes all the time, don't worry!" Bubaigawara replied, as Hikiishi activated her quirk on Toga, pulling her out of the way as Todoroki blasted ice at her. She then activated her quirk on Midoriya, and the functionally quirkless boy couldn't do anything as he was violently tugged towards Hikiishi's magnet.

He smashed into the magnet, and Hikiishi plunged her weapon into the ground, crushing Midoriya underneath.

"Hey!" Iguchi protested, "He's injured enough already! Leave him alone!"

"After what he did back there!? I'm not taking any chances!" Hikiishi retorted, lifting her magnet and smashing Midoriya into the ground again.

"You're going to kill him!" Iguchi protested.

"It doesn't matter." Sako mumbled, "He's the one Shigaraki really wants, dead or alive. But preferably alive. The others are merely bonuses."

"Midoriya! Dark Shadow, go!" Tokoyami yelled, watching as the green haired boy desperately tried to push himself up from under Hikiishi's magnet, and Dark Shadow emerged, enlarging his claws and smacking Hikiishi away. He grabbed the magnet and crushed it to bits in one claw, using his other claw to carefully pick up the injured boy.

"Dabi, fire. Light weakens it." Sako yelled, and as much as Dabi didn't want to do it, the villain lifted his arm and shot his cyan flames towards Dark Shadow, careful not to hit Midoriya. Dark Shadow screeched as he was enveloped in flames, and dropped Midoriya as he weakened, shrinking under the light from Dabi's fire.

Midoriya pushed himself to his knees, yanking a knife out of his thigh; Hikiishi's attack had dislodged one of his knives and Dark Shadow dropping him had accidentally forced it into his leg.

He was on his last legs, and he was drained, quite literally.

He was too far away from his classmates and teacher to be able to get out of this. Midoriya reached up to his neck, and shakily peeled off his collar.

He had no intention of dying, not yet, not when he was their real target.

Not like he could anyways.

Out of the corner of his eye, Iguchi saw Midoriya moving, but made no comment about it. He liked Midoriya, and he did not approve of Shigaraki trying to capture him; the kid was going to be a hero no matter what anyone said.

Midoriya forced himself to his feet, ignoring what felt like liquid fire coursing through his veins, and hissed.

He was fucked up in the head ever since his parents died, he knew that at the very least. There was no way he could ever live a normal life like the others; it was just wishful thinking.

He was the only one that deserved this fate. The others deserved a chance to live without him dragging them down.

He had his own demons, his own personal monsters to deal with.

Midoriya threw his collar at Shinsou, before he twirled his knife between his fingers.

And the monsters are my only friends.

He knew Shinsou the longest; he had saved the boy from his previously abusive household, and the boy was aware of his boundaries and did his best to prevent himself and his other classmates from crossing them, and was just sweet in general as he translated everything he signed to his other peers.

If there was anyone he trusted the most within the group of students, it was him.

His eyes glinted in the darkness, and he growled, before lunging.

Shinsou felt something flying at him, as he tried to kick Iguchi away, and he instinctively reached out to catch it. He unclenched his hand, and blinked as he looked at the collar, trying to process what had just happened, before ducking down as Iguchi tried to hit him with a knife.

"I told you not to take any chances -"

Shinsou looked up, watching as Midoriya swung his knife with deadly accuracy, parrying Toga away as he kicked Hikiishi in the back of her neck, knocking her out. Aizawa was busy fighting Dabi to prevent him from setting them on fire, and Tokoyami, Todoroki and Bakugou were trying to keep Sako away from everyone with their long ranged attacks; they were very, very, wary of his quirk, but Sako was just throwing encapsulated objects at them, and they were forced to dodge.

Shoji was currently grappling with two Iguchi clones, while Shinsou himself was dealing with the real Iguchi with a knife that the villain had given him for a "fair fight".

Bubaigawara had gone off to drag Hikiishi clear of the fight, before going to help Toga deal with Midoriya. Midoriya whipped out another knife, blocking Bubaigawara's attack. Midoriya could feel his arm giving way as Bubaigawara pressed on with his attack, and jumped out of the way, rolling backwards, before getting up again and charging.

Midoriya was never a power fighter, the only thing he had going for him was his speed, but with his injured, beaten up body, his mind foggy with pain, even that wasn't going well for Midoriya. He barely spun out of the way as Bubaigawara slashed at him, knocking his knife out of his hands, only for Toga to sink a knife into his back.

"Ne... Izu-kun... you're really cool and pretty with all that blood on you..." Toga cooed, as Shoji destroyed the two Iguchi clones and tried to make his way over to Midoriya. Bubaigawara merely made two more and sent them after Shoji.

"Get back here, Midoriya!" Aizawa growled, erasing Dabi's quirk again and flinging him into a tree a fair distance away.

Midoriya disengaged, and turned, trying to take another step towards the group, when he felt pain shooting through his entire body. His knees buckled, and he crashed into the ground harshly, as Toga and Bubaigawara pounced on him.

"We got him! Yay! We can go now!" Toga stood up and waved at Dabi, as Bubaigawara sat on Midoriya, preventing him from getting up.

Midoriya tried to reach for his fallen knife, but Bubaigawara smacked it out of the way. He desperately tried to push the villain off him, but his body finally failed him and he just couldn't move.

Dabi pushed himself up and sighed, as Sako reached up for his earpiece, "We got the highest priority target. We're good to go."

Aizawa felt a shiver run down his spine, as Iguchi pushed Shinsou to the ground and helped Hikiishi up.

They had been fooled.

They had never been after Bakugou or Todoroki this entire time. Their main target had been Midoriya all along, using his classmates to lure Midoriya into a situation where he couldn't win.

A portal appeared out of nowhere, and Iguchi made a dash for the portal, as Toga helped him with Hikiishi. Sako hastily broke free from his fight with Tokoyami, Todoroki and Bakugou, dropping an encapsulated boulder on top of Shoji, before grabbing Dabi and rushing to the portal. Bubaigawara picked up the limp but still conscious Midoriya up, before running for the portal.

The green haired boy tried to bite Bubaigawara in desperation, Bubaigawara merely ignored him; the boy was too weak at this point to do any kind of damage at all.

"Midoriya!" Shinsou yelled, lunging at the portal, as Aizawa, grabbed his capture weapon and threw it at Bubaigawara. The portal closed just as Aizawa's capture weapon reached it, and Shinsou tumbled to the ground, collar tight in his grasp.

"FUCK!" Bakugou angrily blasted the bolder off of Shoji, as Todoroki and Tokoyami stood there, stunned.

"Dammit!" Shinsou growled, slamming his fist into the ground, as he looked up at the forest that was set alight with cyan blue flames.

The air at camp was gloomy.

Chatora had found the rest of the 1-B students that had fallen prey to the gas, and now, all they were missing were Aizawa, Shiretoko, Tokoyami, Todoroki, Bakugou, Shoji, Shinsou, and Midoriya.

"Fuck off, shithead!"

"Hey, it's Bakugou!" Ashido grinned, making her way to the door, watching as Aizawa emerged from the forest, along with Tokoyami, Todoroki, Bakugou, Shoji and Shinsou, all of them covered in cuts and bruises.

They currently were missing six students, and Kan did a mental count in his head.

One, two three, four, five -

Kan frowned, and counted again.

One, two three, four, five.

"Shinsou! Where's Midoriya!" Uraraka and Iida yelled in sync, running out towards them, as Reiko desperately pawed at Shinsou's leg, meowing, but Shinsou just had his eyes glued to the ground, refusing to look at his friends, "They took him."

"But... weren't Bakugou and Todoroki the targets?" Kan asked, as he ushered the tired students into the building, as Bakugou snapped, "Does that even fucking matter!? They fucking took him!"

"They tricked us. Midoriya was their highest priority target all along." Aizawa mumbled, "They pretended to be after Bakugou and Todoroki to lure Midoriya away from us, so they could take him down once his body gave out. They knew that Midoriya would fight even after sustaining all those injuries."

Reiko froze, taking a few steps back. She ran towards the forest, watching as the smoke rose into the air, before letting out the most sad, pitiful wail that anyone had ever heard.

Chapter Text

Nezu slammed his paws into the table in frustration. He had just heard the news, and he was absolutely livid with himself. Chatora had called the emergency services, and it didn't take too long for the fire in the forest to be put out, and for the students to be sent to the hospital. Muscular, Mustard, and Moonfish had been arrested, but Nezu didn't give a shit about that.

Who cared if the villains were arrested!? They had taken his kid and no one had any idea where the fuck they had brought him.

The camp was supposed to be safe. He had sent Midoriya to the camp specifically to avoid a situation like this.

And yet, he had been taken as the main target of the villains' raid.

He pressed his head against the table, as tears formed in his eyes.

If he hadn't sent Midoriya to participate in the training camp, this wouldn't have happened. One pro hero missing, and one seriously injured. Fifteen students unconscious from the gas, twelve injured, and one missing.

He had failed once when the USJ had been attacked the second time.

And he had failed once again.

Midoriya slowly opened his eyes, but his vision remained black. He moved his arms experimentally, and was surprised to find that he could move them, but there was something cold around them, and there was a clanking sound as he did so. He tried to move his head, feeling some weight on it as he did so. There was definately something blocking his vision, and there was also something pressing uncomfortably against his jaw, preventing him from opening his mouth.

"Midoriya Izuku."

He strained his ears to figure out what was going on; he couldn't see, he couldn't move, all he could smell and taste was his own blood, he could rely only on his hearing at this point in time.

"So, he's the one that you suspect to have some of anti-death quirk?"

It was a voice that Midoriya didn't recognise.

"Yes, Sensei."

Ahh... that was Shigaraki for sure. He recognised that malicious, deranged aura.

A man took a step towards him, before he could hear the faintest sound of a door being opened.

His heart hammered in his chest.

Where was he?

He felt someone pressing a hand against his forehead, and a phantom feeling of something inside poking around, looking for something in him. He felt something else, something sifting through his thoughts, invading his personal privacy.

The hand let go of him.

"Interesting... You're right, Tomura. He does have a quirk. He can keep it." The unknown voice continued, "Do whatever you like with him."

"You're not going to take his quirk?" Shigaraki asked.

"It won't be beneficial to us." The unknown voice replied, before Midoriya heard some footsteps that grew softer and softer, but he was still there in the room; Midoriya could sense that.

"Huh. Hello, Void." Shigaraki's voice rang out, pressing all five fingers against his shoulder, slowly disintegrating it, "We have a lot to talk about."

Midoriya could feel his skin peeling off, exposing the blood vessels and muscles beneath, and in one quick movement, he leaned forwards, and shoved his forehead where he assumed Shigaraki's face was. A loud bang rang out, before another sound of something hitting the ground, before there was a harsh sound of someone hitting what seemed to be metal bars.

"Feisty..." The unknown voice muttered, echoing about; Midoriya could tell that he was currently in a pretty small room.

"Why you..." Shigaraki growled, "I would really like to get back at you for that, but there's some stuff I have to do first. You're going to be here a while, don't get too comfortable."

The villain let go of his shoulder, before standing up, slamming what sounded like a metal door shut.

Midoriya shook his head, trying to get rid of the dizziness, before slumping back against the wall.

He needed to save as much energy as he could, if he wanted to get out.

Shinsou turned back to the couch in the dorms, before speaking, "Reiko, Ryuto, Dad's driving me to the hospital again... you guys want to come?"

He had moved into the dorms before everyone else, since his parents were also teachers, and he had also been taking care of Reiko and Ryuto since Midoriya was also living in the dorms. Midoriya's collar was in his pocket, and even though Shinsou did not feel that he deserved to have it, Reiko had insisted that he keep it.

According to her, with Koda's translations, Midoriya had given it to him for safekeeping, because he trusted him enough to do so, and Shinsou wasn't going to break that little bit of trust that Midoriya had placed in him.

There was no response, and Shinsou looked into Midoriya's room, only to find it empty.

"Reiko? Ryuto?"

Shinsou looked all over the dorms, in the empty rooms, the kitchens, everywhere, but there wasn't even a single feather or a strand of fur anywhere. He was worried; the cat and hawk had barely eaten since Midoriya's kidnapping, and only ate the smallest bit if Shinsou coaxed them.

Though... come to think of it... they did finish all their food last night for some odd reason...

Where were they?

Shinsou hastily grabbed his phone, and dialed Aizawa, "Dad... they're gone. Both Reiko and Ryuto..."

"Hitoshi, calm down. They're probably somewhere in the building, so don't worry. They can't open doors on their own. I'll bring you to the hospital, and I'll tell Nezu so that he can come and check, alright?"

Shinsou wearily agreed, before making his way out of the dorms and towards the car.

The ride to the hospital didn't take too long. He had been injured, but like many of the others, they were just minor cuts and bruises that didn't need too much attention.

Most of the 1-B students were awake, luckily, since the gas had been quite a fair distance away from the forest they were using for their activity, but Shiozaki, Bondo and Kaibara were still out cold. Yaoyorozu was also still in the hospital from being hit in the head, but she was conscious, and Shinsou was currently heading in the direction of her room; he had been there the previous day with Uraraka and Todoroki, before the police had come to speak with her.

He found the door, and push it open.

"Does this mean you're going to have her make another receiver?"

"What if it does?"

"This is something we should leave to the pros! This isn't the place for us to act, you idiots!"

Shinsou blinked, "What's going on?"

Uraraka turned to face Shinsou, "We went to visit Yaoyorozu yesterday... and when you went to the bathroom during the questioning, she told us she had placed a tracker on the Nomu they encountered and she can create a device that can receive its signal. We were thinking -"

"Todoroki! This is going to end up like that incident with Stain all over again!" Iida yelled.

"Please... quiet down..." Yaoyorozu spoke up, sitting on her hospital bed, "This isn't the place for you all to be yelling."

"I know that, but you weren't there." Todoroki muttered, barely loud enough for everyone to hear, "Midoriya was focused on protecting Bakugou and I... he literally fought to the point where he couldn't even move. He did everything in his power to save us, and I couldn't even do a thing when he needed us the most!"

Todoroki looked up at Iida.

"Midoriya saved us from Stain, and from the League twice. He risked his life over and over for us, and now that he's gone, we can't even repay him that favour!? You want us to just stand back?"

"Iida is right." Asui spoke up, "We don't have the strength or the power to help. Even Midoriya... he had the experience of being a vigilante and knows how to deal with situations like this."

"You're all right." Shinsou spoke up, pushing himself to the front, and turned to look at Todoroki and Uraraka, "But I don't care. Count me in."

Iida's face fell, "Shinsou! You can't just -"

"You weren't the only ones that Midoriya saved." Shinsou glanced at Iida, "If it weren't for him... I wouldn't be here. I'm going to go help him because that's exactly what he did for me six years ago; helping someone he didn't even know when he didn't have to."

"Wait... so you want Yaomomo to make a receiver, follow it, and save Midoriya?" Ashido asked.

"I think that's the plan?" Shinsou scratched his head.

"They weren't actually after Bakugou and I... they just said that to lure Midoriya away so they could take him down." Todoroki added, "I don't think they want to kill him, but we all know how deranged Shigaraki is... he could just snap and decide to kill Midoriya any time. Shinsou, Uraraka and I are going."

"Don't go overboard with your messing around." Iida snapped, but Shoji stepped in, "You weren't there, Iida... Midoriya literally fought until his body couldn't handle the strain. I understand their frustration of having Midoriya stolen from right in front of them. I'm frustrated too... we all are... but we can't let our anger get the better of us. It's just like Midoriya said to Dark Shadow; we can't let our anger consume us and make rash decisions."

"We should leave this to the heroes... plus... Aizawa's order for us to use our quirks was only for the duration of the raid." Aoyama stammered.

"Aoyama is right. I can't say much since I needed saving as well, though." Tokoyami sighed, and Asui spoke up, "We're all shocked from Midoriya's kidnapping, but let's think this through calmly. No matter how you feel, if you say that you want to fight and break the rules... those are the same acts as those of a villain."

"You don't get it."

Everyone turned to Shinsou, as he clenched his fists tightly.

"You don't get it. You'll never get it! Midoriya never fought for himself. He fought Muscular for Kota. He fought the League for Bakugou and Todoroki! You guys won't understand cause you've all got awesome quirks... you don't know what years of abuse and suicide baiting can do to a person!"

"Shinsou?" Uraraka asked worriedly.

"Midoriya doesn't do anything for himself! He didn't care about his life when he went in to fight Muscular, or the rest of the League! He was willing to die there for Kota! He was ready to fight to the death to protect us! He was fully prepared to die if it meant we got out unharmed!" Shinsou growled, "He keeps breaking himself over and over again, and he thinks it's okay for him to get hurt for us! You can't just expect me to sit back knowing that he's willing to throw his life away so easily, because he thinks so lowly of himself!"

The door opened, and a doctor poked his head in, interrupting the ongoing argument, "Uh... I would like to check up on Yaoyorozu?"

"Ah... okay... we should leave..." Sero pointed out, and Yaoyorozu lifted her head, "Alright. I would like to speak with Todoroki, Shinsou, Uraraka, and Iida for a second."

The rest of 1-A nodded, and exited the room, leaving the five students standing by Yaoyorozu's hospital bed. She paused, and took a deep breath, "Heroes started out as vigilantes too."

"Yaomomo?" Uraraka frowned, but Yaoyorozu continued, "Vigilantes break the law, using their quirks to save people as well. The earliest heroes started out as vigilantes."

"Yaoyorozu, you can't be serious -"

"I am, Iida... on one condition." Yaoyorozu looked up at the class representative, "The law states that you cannot use your quirk to harm others, but they can be used in self defence. Your quirks can only be used to protect Midoriya, not to attack villains. No fighting. We'll save Midoriya while toeing the line on the rules. Only then, will I agree to help you. Do you agree to my terms?"

"Sensei... I have a question."

All for One looked up at Shigaraki, "Yes, Tomura?"

"I don't understand... he has a quirk that doesn't let him die... and while you do have a quirk that allows you to be immortal, you're not immune to being killed on the battlefield." Shigaraki pointed out. "I would have killed that boy long before the Nomu should have been in the picture, and yet, he killed it. It's clearly somewhat useful."

"Tomura," All for One reached out his hand, and placed it on Shigaraki's shoulder, "I have several reasons for not taking his quirk, and it not being useful to your cause being one of it."

"Then... you have some kind of plan?" Shigaraki asked hesitantly.

"Of course." All for One replied, "Like I told you before; do whatever you want with him. He can most definitely take it. In fact, if you want to, you can get your little band of friends to play with him as well."

Shigaraki frowned, as All for One continued, "Midoriya, or Void, as you prefer to call him, won't die. He can't die, and his suffering can only get worse. Do you know why I suggested to keep him in a different building, away from the hideout?"

"Because he's bleeding and he'll make the hideout dirty? And if the heroes come and try to take use out and save him, they won't find him here." Shigaraki asked, and All for One laughed, "Smart boy. Those, among other reasons. The main reason is that we can use him to take down the hero society as a whole."

"Really?"

"Tomura, think about it. UA, one of the best hero schools in the world, allowing a student to get kidnapped on what was supposed to be a safe, secure camp; that would shake the entire world, and make them lose trust in the heroes. And imagine; if the public finds out that the heroes, probably the best few in Japan, tried to save him, and failed, the trust that the public has in heroes would just fall even more."

"So..." Shigaraki's eyes glinted, catching on to the plan, "You want us to break Void. He won't die... and he'll slowly lose faith... even he'll stop trusting that the heroes will find him. But the heroes will find him eventually... and Void will blame them for letting him suffer and for not saving him earlier. That's why you also want Void's status as quirkless to be revealed at the press conference... the mass media outbreak will completely destroy Void's faith in the society of heroes, and break him even further."

"Exactly." All for One nodded; his boy was catching on quick, he was really proud of him.

Shigaraki grinned menacingly, "Those heroes... they think they're all so perfect, that they have to follow the rules and keep everyone safe... Void won't die... the heroes will find him eventually... and the guilt for not being able to prevent him from getting hurt so badly to the point where he should be dead... it will eat them from the inside out."

"I got it... UA's press conference is in a few days." Shigaraki spoke up, "They're most likely to try and take him back then, assuming that we're distracted with watching the trust the public has in heroes crumble. I'll tell Kurogiri to be on the lookout. They may target the Nomy factory too, but I don't think they know where it is."

"I'll take care of that; don't worry about it." All for One pat Shigaraki's head, "That other pro is inside as well... they can't be too reckless. Now, rest up, I'm sure you have some things planned for our little guest."

"To have a student kidnapped is UA's greatest failure." Snipe sighed, "They have stolen the trust people had in us heroes, along with Midoriya. And for him to be the same person that had gotten injured in that attack on UA... the news outlets are filled with criticism of UA right now."

"Midoriya had thwarted both the League's initial attack on the USJ and the secondary attack on UA." Nezu seethed, "It's no wonder that Shigaraki holds a grudge against him for that. We were complacent, and assumed that the camp would be safe."

Kayama nodded. Nezu had informed them that Shigaraki and specifically sought Midoriya out during their shopping trip, and they had all agreed that Midoriya should go on the camp. Midoriya's kidnapping wasn't just Nezu's fault; it was all their faults.

"We need to guarantee the safety of our students." Nezu stated, trying to push his emotions away, "The dorms are built, and we should have the students stay in UA."

Yagi lifted his head, and spoke up, "I just talked with Tsukauchi. He has stated that there has been an unexpected development. They have determined the location of the League's hideout, and Yaoyorozu had apparently placed a tracker on a Nomu, so we also know where they are being stored."

"So we can go save him." Ishiyama replied.

"Yes." Yagi nodded, "The police force is currently asking other pro heroes for their cooperation on this, and Tsukauchi mentioned that they may need Present Mic and Midnight's help, as well as mine."

"But Aizawa has to be present for the press conference." Kan pointed out, "If Aizawa doesn't show up, the public would lose even more trust in UA."

"We'll focus on the details later." Nezu stated. "Present Mic, Midnight, All Might, all of you take care and be ready in case you really get called in."

He was also worried. He had checked in the dorms, and all over the campus with the aid with the teachers, but Reiko and Ryuto weren't anywhere in UA at all. There had been a mini-blackout in the night, while everyone was asleep, but that was the last time they had been seen, sitting on Midoriya's bed.

He really hoped they were all okay.

"We have gathered some of our finest heroes here. Now.. let us begin our strategy meeting." Tsukauchi started. "We currently have two places of interest. One, the League of Villain's hideout, and two, the Nomu Warehouse. Both places are located in buildings that are supposed to be empty, so we can strike."

"The pup is quirkless, so I really doubt that they will be trying to use him to make a Nomu." Chatora stated, "He fights well; they may be trying to turn him into a villain."

Most of the heroes were somewhat aware of Midoriya's quirkless status. Nishiya and Takeyama knew about it from the previous USJ incident, Kamihara had heard it from Shinsou during his internship, and Torino knew about Midoriya from Yagi. Enji had known through Todoroki, while Hakamata and Sakamata only knew about Midoriya because Nezu liked to talk about him.

"What use could he be? He doesn't have a bloody quirk." Enji snapped.

"Quirk discrimination." Kayama stated, "As far as we've known, Midoriya's suffered from quirk discrimination. They might be trying to use that and turn him against us."

"Whatever the reason, I think we all agree that Midoriya won't be at the Nomu Warehouse, and that he'll be in the main hideout." Tsukachi nodded, "Now... for Ragdoll... her quirk is useful for keeping track of people, so she's probably at the Nomu Warehouse."

"So, one hostage per building. We should proceed with caution." Kamihara dryly said.

"We should have All Might, Gran Torino, Kamui Woods and Edgeshot take the main hideout." One man suggested, "All Might can easily power through the villains, Edgeshot can take the teleporter, Kurogiri, out before they can escape, and Kamui Woods can easily restrain them. Gran Torino and Midnight can easily knock them out, and the boy in question has trust issues; a friendly face might be good to calm him down."

"I should go too." Enji growled.

"According to the reports... they brought three Nomus to the training camp. It's very possible that they may have more. The police will be standing guard in Kamino, and with so many people, we're bound to be a target. If they do decide to send the Nomus at us, you're quirk will be perfect to prevent them from regenerating." Tsukauchi stated, "Present Mic, you too. You're quirk can prevent the Nomu's from getting any new orders."

Yamada and Enji nodded, the later very much reluctantly.

"Tiger can infiltrate the Nomu Warehouse and rescue Ragdoll. Mt Lady can then destroy the warehouse with all the Nomus inside, while Best Jeanist and Gang Orca can take down any active Nomus and any other villains, if they are inside." Another man suggested, and Tsukauchi nodded.

"Alright, that's the plan. Any disagreements? If there aren't, then you're dismissed. Just rest until we move out."

Tsukauchi watched as the heroes exited the meeting room, as Yagi stopped right in front of him.

"What if... it's really him?" Yagi whispered, and Tsukauchi just pat him on the back.

"Don't worry about it. If we have to, we'll call Aizawa; the police and hero commission will take full responsibility for disrupting the press conference."

"And now, please watch a clip from UA High School's apology press conference that just occured!"

"Oh... it started..." Yaoyorozu muttered, pulling her classmates along to one of the televisions in Kamino. Nezu, Aizawa and Kan were standing up, but Nezu was so short that only his head could be seen from behind the table.

"Aizawa-sensei and Vlad King-sensei... and even the principal..." Uraraka gasped.

"We deeply apologise for the incident that allowed harm to come to twenty eight first years of our hero course due to being unprepared. We apologise for causing unease in society due to our negligence in properly defending ourselves as a place of learning. We are truly sorry."

Kan, Aizawa, and Nezu all bowed, and Kirishima stammered, "Even... Aizawa-sensei?"

"I'm from Yomiuri Television! This isn't the first time that this so-called League has targeted UA, and not only were there were even more students injured, the same boy who had gotten injured in the second attack on UA is the one that got kidnapped. How are you going to explain this to their parents, and what specific countermeasures are you taking?"

"We will increase policing in the surrounding area, and review the security within the school, ensuring the students' safety with a strong position. That is what we told them." Nezu stated.

"What bullshit. They're not being protected at all." One man said.

"Hero schools aren't usually defeated by villains..."

"How's that supposed to ensure anything?"

"Shit... this is bad..." Yaoyorozu mumbled.

"How can they say things like that? It isn't like UA wanted to be attacked..." Uraraka was close to tears.

Another reporter stood up.

"We've overheard some students claiming to be Midoriya Izuku's old classmates... stating that Midoriya, the missing student in question, is in fact, quirkless."

Shinsou bit his lip.

Shit... now everyone knows...

"Quirkless? And that kid beat Todoroki? What a farce." A man laughed, and Todoroki internally seethed. Not because he was beaten, but because they never saw how hard Midoriya worked, how determined he was, and just assumed that he sucked.

The reporter continued, "And apparently, he's managed to beat very promising students from the Hero Course, such as Kamakiri Togaru, Bakugou Katsuki and Todoroki Shouto, who possess quirks that far surpass him in strength and power, despite being from the General Education course where they have no lessons on fighting at all. What does this have to say about the lessons that the Hero Course are receiving?"

"Exactly! How is a quirkless kid supposed to keep up with people with quirks?"

Yaoyorozu took a step back, "I... didn't know... that they thought so badly of the quirkless..."

"Midoriya is a very hardworking child, and he's very intelligent. He is able to analyse his situation well and make appropriate decisions in order to defeat his peers." Aizawa stated calmly, "Analysis is a skill that can be learnt and taught, but it does come easier for some people. It isn't a quirk, but it is a very useful tool that we are also teaching our aspiring heroes."

Another reporter spoke up, "There has been no such thing as a quirkless hero as we're all aware that they don't have any powers, like everyone else. Is that, by chance, the reason why -"

"Are you implying that we let them take him because he's quirkless?" Aizawa growled, and Kan also turned to glare at the reporter.

"No..." The reporter stammered, "But everyone knows that he can't be a hero -"

"No buts." Much to everyone's surprise, the most civilized of the trio, Nezu, stood up on his chair and hissed, "Midoriya has worked very hard, much harder than his peers to make up for his lack of a quirk. We don't know much about his past, but he's been pushing and training himself in order to keep up with his classmates. Just because he's quirkless, you looked past all the hard work that Midoriya put into his training!"

"That doesn't just mean that he can -"

Nezu continued, "Listen to yourselves. What if the villains are letting Midoriya listen, letting him watch this right now?"

All the reporters at the press conference promptly clammed up.

"What if he can see just how little you believe in him?" Nezu spoke up, breaking the silence, "What if he can see just how little people care about him?"

"Are you suggesting that the villains can win him over?" One brave reporter shakily asked.

"Midoriya's heart is too big; there's no way he'd turn to the villains side." Nezu growled, hopping to the ground. "I suggest that you think about your next questions carefully. We will not tolerate any more questions about Midoriya. This press conference is supposed to be about how UA will deal with the current influx in villains, not to badmouth Midoriya behind his back on whether or not he can be a hero because of his lack of a quirk."

"Come on. Jiro said that she'll record it for us." Yaoyorozu muttered, as a receiver emerged from her palm, "We don't have time to waste. Let's go save Midoriya."

Chapter Text

"So, Void," Shigaraki started, unlocking the metal door and stepping into the confined space. Midoriya barely reacted to his words, but he was aware that the villain was here.

He heard Shigaraki step closer, and felt a hand reach out, slowly but surely disintegrating his shoulder.

"Do you think the heroes care about you?"

Midoriya paused at the question; he definitely hadn't been expecting that from the man. He had to be careful; Shigaraki was up to something for sure.

"I mean... I know it's not publicly known and all that you're quirkless... but do you think they'll come and save you? Even with that knowledge?"

Midoriya split his focus between his leg and Shigaraki's words. He needed to figure out what was going on. Shigaraki knows that he'll get out of his alive due to his quirk... so what on earth was he planning? Was he trying to make him lose faith in the heroes?

"I know that you know that you can't speak. You have a fucking muzzle." Shigaraki growled, "But you can fucking nod and shake your head. Answer me."

Midoriya weakly nodded his head. He knew that this event would probably be broadcasted all over Japan... and he knew for a fact that Nezu would want to save him. The other heroes... Midoriya wasn't too sure about. They'd probably do it for the publicity; that, and it would look bad on the hero society if they didn't save a student from one of the best schools in UA.

"Do you think they really want to do it? Do they really want to save a useless, quirkless child?"

If Shigaraki wanted him to lose faith in heroes... he was doing a pretty bad job at trying to hide his real intentions.

Which meant that Midoriya shouldn't agree with him. He'll just refuse to agree with everything Shigaraki said... piss him off... make him frustrated...

Use his emotions against him... cloud his mind...

If he made Shigaraki angry enough... maybe he'd find out more about their real intentions. Find out what they were planning.

That was the only way he could be useful; by knowing.

Midoriya nodded his head again.

"Well then... you're pretty stupid then." Shigaraki laughed, "But you'll learn, in time. Well, hope you're having fun."

Midoriya could feel that Shigaraki's quirk had sped up, disintegrating his muscles, eating away into his shoulder until he reached the bone. Blood was flowing profusely out of his arm, and Midoriya bit his lip to prevent himself from making a single sound.

You deserve it... don't you agree... you deserve to suffer... after all, you're just a worthless, pathetic child who can't do anything right... you deserve to die... but you can't even do that right...

Midoriya tried to block his own thoughts on his head, and focused on the fresh, metallic smell of blood in the air.

... no one really wants to save you...

"Hi, Izu-kun!" Midoriya heard Toga chirp, as the female villain stepped into his cell, "I hope you missed me!"

Midoriya didn't reply; he didn't want to, and he couldn't even if he had wanted to.

"You look so pretty, you know? All covered in blood… though it's a pity I can't see your cute face… Shiggy said that we can't remove that thing for safety reasons or something. I bet you're cute with all that blood on you..." He could feel her staring intently at him.

"Aww... pity it ain't fresh, though... except for your arm... Fresh blood is way better than dried up blood, don't you agree?" Toga cooed, and Midoriya heard her squat down in front of him.

He heard the sound of a knife being taken out of a sheath, and the rustling of Toga's sleeve, almost as if she were resting her elbow on her knee and bringing her head to rest on her hand.

Toga pressed the knife against his stomach, and pushed against it slightly, breaking the skin.

"Do you mind? Don't mind if I do -"

Midoriya couldn't stop himself from taking a sharp intake of breath as Toga sunk the knife into his gut and ripped it out harshly, tearing apart more of his flesh as she did so.

"Whoopsie! Fresh... red... blood... so tasty... Does quirkless blood taste different from other kinds of blood?" She laughed, and sank her knife into Midoriya's chest again.

"You should struggle a bit more... it's more fun!" She giggled hysterically.

Midoriya internally sighed. This girl was crazy. He probably wasn't going to be able to get anything out of her. He'd just sit back and wait it out.

"Sup, kid."

Midoriya shifted slightly. His entire body hurt; apparently the metal cell he was in was electrified, and Hikiishi had fun using her quirk on him and standing her ground from outside the cell, letting him slam into the cell bars and constantly get electrocuted.

Initially, the chains that connected his cuffs to the wall were short, and he could barely even stand up, but they were eventually elongated before Hikiishi came in.

"We, well, Spinner and I saw what Magne did to you, from the hideout. Shigaraki said we can do whatever we wanted with you."

Despite not being able to see anything, Midoriya blinked.

Security cameras?

He heard the cage door open, and Dabi walked into his cell, settling down to the left of the chained boy.

"And I don't feel like harming you. You cold, kid?" Dabi asked.

Midoriya seriously didn't know. He wasn't even sure if all his limbs were intact at this point; the electricity was numbing his senses and Toga had stabbed and slashed him all over the place.

Midoriya suddenly felt some warmth on his left, and Dabi chuckled.

"I can't remove the muzzle; Shigaraki might be watching. You hungry? I can try to convince Shigaraki to let you have a bite or two."

Midoriya wasn't hungry at all, and that wasn't surprising at all; he wasn't even sure his stomach was in one piece. His quirk had activated when he fought against Hikiishi; his back had snapped when she had shoved him into the ground with her gigantic magnet. And even though he was sure that he was supposed to be bleeding out, at the very least, his quirk wasn't doing anything to heal him. There was also blood leaking into his lungs from where his ribs had pierced them, and Midoriya was really not sure what was intact and what wasn't. He really didn't know what the heck his quirk was supposed to do; he just knew that it was as fucked up as he was.

He didn't want to respond; he knew Dabi was somewhat of a decent guy, but he didn't want to waste his energy.

Dabi chuckled, "You don't have to reply if you don't want to. I do know you're trying to conserve your energy. You gave Shigaraki a very good thwack on the head last night, I can tell you that."

The two of them continued to sit in silence, the only sound being the wind that was blowing from a few small cracks in the walls and blood dripping to the ground.

"I'm not sure if you remember me... six years is a long time, after all... you saved me from those thugs after I overused my quirk and burnt myself." Dabi gave a dry laugh, "I really thought they were going to kill me... You even went to a pharmacy and bought burn cream, trying to treat my self inflicted injuries, berating me about taking care of myself. You're the only people that... went out of their way to help me... and I'm grateful for that."

Dabi pat Midoriya on his undisintegrated shoulder, "The look in you eyes have changed since then... but I'm not going to ask about it. Don't lose hope, okay, kid? Those heroes better fucking bust you out of this hellhole, or Spinner and I will have to do it ourselves."

Iguchi sighed, as he kept an eye on the camera. Midoriya could actually walk around his cell when he actually had the strength and energy to do so, which was very rarely. Shigaraki, Hikiishi and Toga were constantly with him, and this was one of the rare times when they left him alone.

Sako had spent a couple hours with him in total, but all he did was just talk and talk, and then, talk some more, his dramatic flair getting the better of him. He even said that it was too dark in the room for him to put up a show, and asked Shigaraki if they could install a light, but Shigaraki vehemently refused. The same went for Bubaigawara; the man just kept talking and contradicting himself. Iguchi himself, as well as Dabi, usually just spent their time talking to the boy.

"How's the squirt?" Dabi asked, as Kurogiri poured him a glass of water and another for Iguchi.

"Moving a little. Probably regained some energy and is curious about his surroundings." Iguchi replied, taking the water, "Thanks."

Dabi drained his glass, "At the rate they're going... they're going to kill him before the press conference comes around. Heck, probably sooner. Shigaraki said he could take it without dying... but I'm not sure how he's going to do that without a quirk. Pure determination? Ha."

Iguchi sighed, "Shigaraki hates him, Toga likes blood, and Big Sis Magne is terrified of him after he beat Muscular to a pulp."

"Good. I never liked Muscular; that bastard deserved it." Dabi grumbled, eyeing the screen, "He stood up? I thought his legs were broken."

"They were broken." Iguchi winced at the memory, "Twice checked; he apparently had cloned this random guy with a x-ray quirk in his youth. The only bones that aren't broken is his spine and neck; heck, the kid's skull is cracked a bit here and there."

"Yeah..." Dabi watched the screen intently, "I think he's making it worse."

"Huh?" Iguchi frowned, before he turned to the screen and nearly fell off his chair, "Holy fuck. What is he doing?"

"Charging at the bars and getting electrocuted." Dabi dryly replied.

"I can see that." Iguchi growled, "I'm not blind. Should we stop him? He's going to die even faster."

Kurogiri frowned, and he put the glass he was wiping down, "I'll deal with it."

Minutes later, the security feed buzzed out.

Midoriya could hear the sound of a portal opening.

His entire body was numb and hurting at the same time, but he was too tired to care at this point. The chains, while long enough to let him move, weren't long enough to let his hands reach the bars. He charged against the metal bars again, bashing his head against the metal, ignoring the pain that flared down his spine. He heard electricity crackling, and he could feel the tingle running through his body.

Kurogiri watched helplessly as Midoriya desperately threw himself against the bars, again and again. He may be a villain, but he wasn't heartless.

At least, he wasn't as heartless as Sensei and Shigaraki.

"Stop." Kurogiri muttered. He knew that Midoriya had heard him, he had seen that small, miniscule, almost unnoticeable flinch from the boy, but the child merely ignored him and continued bashing himself against his cell, electricity racing through his body.

Kurogiri teleported into the cell, and quickly grabbed Midoriya's arms, pulling him away from the bars.

"You're not stupid. You know that's not going to help." Kurogiri berated, gently helping Midoriya to the ground.

Okay, so maybe he was slightly sorry for the boy, but who wouldn't be sorry, after seeing him so desperately trying to escape by using himself as a human hammer.

Kurogiri teleported back out of the cell. Midoriya seemed to have calmed down, or at least, had stopped throwing himself at the bars. Satisfied with his work, Kurogiri teleported back to the hideout.

Reiko sniffed the ground, before letting out a meow. Ryuto swooped down from the sky, landing next to the cat, before they looked around Kamino Ward, watching as people rushed to and fro, cars honking loudly in the busy streets.

They could finally start looking for their human.

Reiko had been on Yaoyorozu's bed when she had been interrogated by the officers, and had watched as Yaoyorozu created the receiver, and switched it on, just to make sure it was working, before passing it to the police. She managed to get a quick glimpse of the screen, and caught two words on the screen, Kamino Ward.

And as much as she didn't feel like it, she forced herself, and Ryuto, to finish all the food that Shinsou had set out for them.

They were going to get their human back; they were going to need the energy.

Reiko had a general idea of where to go; Midoriya had shown her a map of Japan a couple of times. Musutafu was located near Tokyo, and Yokohoma was to the southwest of Tokyo. She wasn't sure exactly how to get there, but she just followed that tingly feeling in her gut that got stronger when she was closer to Midoriya.

They had left UA in the middle of the night; Shinsou and Aizawa had been asleep, and while she hadn't figured out how to sneak out without anyone, especially Nezu, noticing, there had been a small blackout as Yamada had accidentally short circuited the the main generators, so that had solved that problem for them. Reiko and Ryuto had used the few minutes before the back-up generator kicked in to slip out of Midoriya's room and exit the premises.

The doors were the easiest part of the plan; actually getting to Kamino Ward was the hard part, and then they had to figure out how to get Midoriya out of the clutches of those stupid villains. They'd burn that bridge when they got to it; they had to get to Kamino first.

They had gotten lost in the messy placements of buildings a few times, and there were a few times where kids were chasing after them for being "cute", and they had been forced off track.

The only people who could call her cute was Midoriya and his friends, dammit. The only reason she didn't claw their eyes out was because it would just bring more attention to them, and it was more trouble than it was worth.

They had started seeing street signs with directions to Kamino Ward, and while Ryuto couldn't exactly read, he recognised the characters well enough for him to scout a straight path to their destination.

It had taken them around twelve hours in total for them to reach Kamino Ward, but now, they were finally here. They had left at around four in the morning, and now, it was afternoon; the sun was going to set soon, and they needed to find Midoriya before the evening rush hour started.

Reiko ducked into an alleyway, before nodding upwards. Ryuto immediately got the message, and shot into the sky. He couldn't fly for a very long time, or do complicated manoeuvres, but his elevated vantage point and keen eyesight would be vital in finding Midoriya quickly.

Reiko looked around, and closed her eyes, trying to block out all the loud sounds and nauseating smells, focusing on that small tingle that had gotten stronger since they had arrived. Nezu had suggested that it was a quirk, but Reiko didn't really care; quirk or no, she was finding her human no matter what and no one was going to stop her.

She turned her head, and tried to locate the direction where that tingle grew stronger. She let that feeling guide her, as she weaved between buildings, ducking behind trash cans and hiding behind bushes, making her way forwards. She knew that Ryuto could see that she was on the move, and was following her in the skies, flying smoothly and silently over buildings.

Slowly, the crowd thinned, and Reiko looked around in confusion. She eyed the dilapidated buildings around her warily; this was certainly not what she was expecting.

Ryuto let out a small squawk as he fluttered down beside her, but Reiko quickly pressed her paw against Ryuto's beak, shushing him immediately. She couldn't sense anyone malicious, but she wasn't going to take any chances, not when they were this close to finding their human.

Ryuto sniffed the air, and shrunk back, fluffing up his feathers. Reiko tilted her head; her sense of smell wasn't as acute as Ryuto's, and she wondered what happened to make her baby bird flinch like that. It didn't matter that the seven week old bird was bigger than her; he was still her baby.

Ryuto took another sniff, before he perked up, and started walking in one direction. Reiko followed behind him; they were close, very close, but she couldn't figure out which building Midoriya was being kept it. Ryuto slowly led her towards one building, and Reiko paused, picking up a very familiar smell in the air.

Blood.

It was Midoriya's blood, for sure. She had been around Midoriya long enough, and as much as she hated to admit it, she had smelt enough of his blood from his injuries, from villains and self inflicted, to recognise it immediately.

Ryuto turned to look at her, tilting his head slightly, and Reiko nodded, giving her confirmation that they were on the right track. They followed the metallic smell, reaching a broken, abandoned building, and paused. Ryuto fluttered up to the door, and tried to push the handle down, to no avail.

He looked down at the cat, and shook his head. He tapped a talon against the door, and gave a low purr.

Locked.

Reiko growled slightly, before surveying the building. There was a tinted window, but they couldn't just break it; they had no means of doing so, Ryuto would most definitely injure himself if he outrightly kamikaze-crashed into it, and they had to find a way in without doing any damage, or the villains would find out about their presence.

She walked around the building, sniffing the ground. It was an old, abandoned building; there had to be an opening somewhere. With all their hiding and sniffing about, it had taken them another few hours to figure out Midoriya's location, and the sun was setting.

There was the tiniest crack between the wall and the ground. It was smaller than Reiko herself, but cats are known for fitting into small, narrow spaces, after all. Ryuto wouldn't fit, though; he was too big, and the cracked wall could damage his flight feathers.

Ryuto fluttered down beside her, and Reiko pawed at the hole, before nuzzling Ryuto and placing her paw on the ground, telling him to stay put. They couldn't understand each other's native tongue; Reiko didn't speak bird and Ryuto didn't speak cat. But they understood each other; their body language, combined with their bond, allowed them to get the message across just fine, and it was the same with Midoriya.

The hawk waited patiently by the hole as Reiko squeezed herself through the miniscule hole, before quickly shaking herself all over, getting rid of all the dust and dirt on her fur. She looked up, and the metallic scent of blood hit her like a freight train; her sense of smell was being overwhelmed by all the blood.

Midoriya's blood.

Reiko quickly looked around the room, as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. There was a vent in the room, on the ceiling, but they didn't have a screwdriver, and she couldn't reach it from her position on the ground anyways. The door wasn't barricaded, merely locked, but Reiko couldn't unlock reach the doorknob either, and there wasn't anything in the room that she could climb and jump from.

She heard a faint tap on another tinted window, one that was just above the whole she had slipped through, and she froze.

There was silence.

And then, another tap, followed by a chirp.

Reiko released the breath she was holding, and she let out a faint meow, letting Ryuto know that she was still there; there wasn't anyone around to hear them. There were a bunch of metal bars connecting the ceiling and the floor together, and she made her way over to investigate.

She went to sniff at a metal bar, but she stopped. She could sense something else in the metal bar, and she wasn't eager to find out what it was. She slipped through the metal bars, careful not to touch them, before spotting a figure lying against the wall lifelessly, barely breathing, sitting in a puddle of water.

Midoriya.

There was something over his eyes, and another thing, a muzzle, she noted, covering his mouth.

She took a step forward hesitantly, placing her paw in the puddle of water. She lifted her paw, and paused. It didn't feel like water at all; it was too sticky, and stuck to her fur uncomfortably.

Blood.

Reiko didn't like getting her fur dirty, but at this point, she didn't even care. She rushed up to Midoriya, not caring that blood was spilled all over the ground, not caring that she was making the blood splash around as she ran, ignoring the fact that she was getting more of it stuck to her fur.

She stopped when she reached Midoriya's arm, and sniffed it, getting nothing but that horrid metallic scent.

Reiko nudged his arm lightly, got no response.

His arm was cold.

Reiko looked up, and meowed, pushing his arm again, but slightly harder this time.

She heard the sound of metal hitting against each other, and she spotted the faint twitch of his finger. She looked upwards, seeing Midoriya move to look at her despite his vision being blocked. Reiko settled down by Midoriya's hand, and tried to think. She didn't know how much time she had spent thinking, but by the time she got up and made her way back outside, the sun had already set.

Reiko climbed out of the hole, and let out a meow. Ryuto had been perching on the window ledge, and he glided downwards. Reiko nudged her head towards the sky, and made a faint, rumble-like purr that sounded like an engine.

Ryuto blinked, before flapping his wings slightly, elevating himself a few centimeters off the ground, before landing. He fluffed up his feathers, and let out a high pitched screech, before tilting his head. Reiko nodded, and Ryuto let out an exhausted but determined chirp, flapping his wings and zooming into the sky; it didn't matter if they found Iida or Uraraka or Shinsou or Yamada or some other pro hero, they just had to find someone that could help Midoriya.

Reiko slipped through the hole again, before carefully climbing up onto Midoriya's lap, careful to avoid any injuries that he had, which wasn't easy; there was so much blood everywhere that she wasn't too sure where Midoriya was injured and where he wasn't.

She let out a faint purr, and stayed completely still.

Chapter Text

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Shinsou asked.

"Yes." Yaoyorozu nodded, "This is the spot the receiver is showing."

"Looks... kinda rundown. You sure we're going to find him here?" Uraraka pointed out.

"Well... I guess this is their hideout. Or, at the very least... some sort of storage facility." Shinsou spoke up, "The tracker was placed on the Nomu, right? Not on the villains themselves."

"That is true..." Todoroki muttered, "Also... just because the Nomus, and maybe the villains as well, are here, doesn't mean that Midoriya is here too."

"We have very little to go on." Yaoyorozu admitted.

"The only person who excels in sneaking around is Shinsou, given that he's aiming to be an underground hero, but I will still stop you if I think it's dangerous." Iida stated, "Just because I'm your friend, I will not hesitate to call the police if you attack."

"Well... Kamino is huge." Shinsou sighed, "We should check this place first. It's our only lead so far."

The group cautiously made their way closer to the building.

"No reaction. The lights aren't on either. It doesn't look like anyone's inside." Todoroki stated. "There's not a lot of people... but there are a few."

"We can't do anything to stand out." Uraraka whispered, "What should we do?"

"Let's try the back. Maybe we'll find something." Yaoyorozu muttered.

They made their way into an empty alleyway, trying to figure out how to get around the building, when suddenly, a squawk reverberated through the air. Shinsou looked up just as something shot towards them like a bullet. He reached his hands out just in time, catching the object before it hit the ground.

"What was that?" Iida asked, "A projectile?"

Shinsou took a closer look at the object, when he saw a bird in his grasp, shaking its head. He recognised the white and brown feathers, "Ryuto?"

The hawk looked up at the mention of his name, letting out a tired sounding cry.

Shinsou carefully smoothed out Ryuto's feathers. The bird was trembling, his feathers covered with dirt, and he looked completely exhausted.

"Where have you been all this time? What are you doing in Kamino? What happened to you?" Shinsou asked, carefully cradelling the hawk in his hands.

Ryuto gave a weak warble, but there wasn't anyone around that understood him.

"Shinsou, take care of Ryuto." Yaoyorozu ordered, "We'll continue looking for Midori-"

Ryuto's head shot up at the mere mention of Midoriya's name, and started screeching, flapping his wings wildly. Shinsou feared that he would fall out his grasp, but one thing was clear; whatever the bird had been doing since he disappeared, it was clearly related to Midoriya.

"Ryuto, shush! Calm down, look at me." Shinsou spoke up, and the hawk tucked his wings back in and turned to face the purple haired boy.

"Midoriya. Do you know where he is?"

Ryuto's eyes lit up, and he nodded.

Uraraka felt hope bubbling up in her chest, "Is he okay?"

Ryuto paused, thinking, before he shook his head, though he seemed a bit hesitant as he did so.

Shinsou bit his lip nervously, "Alright. Can you lead us to him?"

Ryuto nodded, and leapt out of Shinsou's arms. He staggered slightly, before straightening out, flapping his wings as he zoomed off in one direction, the students trying their best to keep up with the hawk. They could barely see the avian against the night sky, but Shinsou managed to keep an eye on the bird, until they finally reached another section of Kamino, where it consisted of mostly old and broken buildings.

"Huh... this is quite a fair distance from there..." Yaoyorozu looked at the tracker, "This section has been marked to be torn down to free up space in a few weeks, and it's pretty near the main streets; they're just a block or two away. All the plumbing and electricity, as far as I know, has been cut off. Is this really their hideout?"

"I guess we'll find out." Todoroki muttered, eyeing Ryuto carefully as he flew towards one building in particular, "Ryuto seems to have found something."

Ryuto suddenly paused, as a figure walked out of the shadows.

"You." Todoroki growled, as Dabi smirked, putting his hands up, "Relax, kid. I'm not guarding the kid or anything. When it comes to Void, I'm on your side."

"What?" Uraraka blurted out, confused, as Dabi sighed, "Kid saved my life a few years back. I owe him this."

The villain reached into his pocket, and fished out a key, before dropping it on the ground, speaking with a very sarcastic tone, "Oh no. I'm so clumsy. I dropped the key to the cell door and now I can't find it."

The students stared at the villain in confusion, as Dabi walked away, "I don't have the keys to the main door or his cuffs. The generator is around the back. Have fun."

"What was that about?" Iida asked, frowning, bending down to pick up the key, and Shinsou muttered, "We got lucky. One of the villains, Spinner, I think... thinks very highly of Midoriya, and didn't want to hurt him. Now, this other guy is working behind the League's back to save Midoriya."

Ryuto looked where Dabi had disappeared to, before he flew off again, and landed on the door handle. He pecked at the keyhole a few times, before he looked up expectantly at the group.

"He's in here?" Iida asked, "It's so... quiet."

Ryuto let out another warble, and flew to Uraraka's shoulder as Todoroki tested the doorknob, "No good. It's locked."

"Yaoyorozu, can I borrow two hairpins?" Shinsou asked, and Yaoyorozu took them out of her hair, "You know how to pick locks?"

"My dad taught me." Shinsou replied, inserting a pin inside the keyhole and fiddling the other about inside. A few soft clicks were heard, and Shinsou twisted the pins around, before he stood up and reached for the handle. The door opened, and all they saw was darkness.

They heard a meow.

"I can't see anything. Todoroki, can you make a small fire?" Yaoyorzu asked, and Todoroki nodded, complying.

Immediately, the fire in his palm lit up the room, and behind a multitude of metal cell bars, they made out a figure slumped lifelessly against a wall. He had a thick, secure blindfold on, as well as a muzzle, and there was a lot of blood on the floor.

Ryuto let out a chirp, and they saw something move. By the figure's lap, they saw mismatched cyan and mint eyes gleaming, and Shinsou bit his lip nervously.

"Reiko? So... this really is... Midoriya -" He reached out for the cell door, and flinched backwards as he felt the electric shock.

"That's what he meant by generators. I'll deactivate it. I've seen my father do it before." Uraraka clenched her fists determinedly, before running out. It took a minute or two, before Uraraka re-entered the room, "Alright, it's done."

"Shigaraki is a greenhorn, a new villain. There is no way he could have come up with all their plans on his own, not without help. The League definitely has a brain behind it. And his strength is comparable to that of All Might, and he's also crafty and cautious. If his safety isn't guaranteed, he will not appear. We must capture Shigaraki and arrest the others as soon as possible."

Tsukauchi paused, "This is a race against time. The press conference was in place to deceive the villains. Nezu is upset, the entirety of UA is, but they're not supposed to show it usually. I told them to let the cameras see how distressed they are, so the villains won't think that we'll rush in on the very same day."

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Yamada scratched the back of his head, "Doesn't this seem a bit too... straightforward?"

"We don't have a choice, Mic. Time's running out." Kayama grit her teeth, "We need to get Midoriya out of there as soon as possible; Shigaraki hates his guts, and the longer he remains in their grasp, the more he suffers."

Jeanist pat Yamada on the back, "I know you're all worried about your student. Have some faith. Heroes are supposed to be able to turn any situation around, aren't they?"

Shinsou stuck the key into the keyhole, unlocking the metal cell door. He flung the door open, and ran into the cell, squatting down beside the green haired boy, "Midoriya?"

Yaoyorozu felt like throwing up. The metallic smell in the room was nauseating, and in the flickering light from Todoroki's flame, she couldn't even tell if Midoriya was alive or dead. There was a lot of blood splattered all over the ground, most of it dried up, though it glistened slightly, signifying that it had just dried up recently.

"Is he..." Uraraka trailed off, not wanting to finish her statement. Shinsou gently reached for Midoriya's bloody neck, careful to avoid what looked like a couple slashes across his throat, trying to search for a pulse.

"I found a pulse... it's faint... but it's there." Shinsou nodded, "Midoriya, you awake?"

A clunking sound rang out, as Midoriya attempted to move his arm. Shinsou gently grabbed his hand, "Stop, don't move, okay? I'm going to try and take off your blindfold and muzzle, alright?"

There was no response from Midoriya, but Shinsou still reached out, carefully trying to undo the mess of knots and loops that kept the thick blindfold on Midoriya's face. Shinsou growled, "They're dead knots, and they're too tight. Midoriya, can I cut the string?"

Shinsou saw Midoriya nod slightly, and the lavender haired boy slipped a penknife out of his pocket, and began gently sawing away at the string.

Iida opted to survey the room. There was a camera in one corner, but he wasn't sure if it was working or not, but besides from that, the room was pretty much barren.

Shinsou finally sawed through the string, and gently removed the blindfold. He passed it to Uraraka, who placed it gently on the ground. They didn't want to make any loud sounds that would startle Midoriya and set him off.

Midoriya weakly opened his eyes, and blinked, his eyes adjusting to the light from Todoroki's fire.

"Alright, I'm going to try and take the muzzle off now. Just... stay still..."

Shinsou rested his knees on the ground, trying to ignore the fact that his was kneeling down in Midoriya's blood. He reached up, much more stable this time, and slowly undid the buckle, carefully slipping the contraption off Midoriya's face.

Almost immediately, Midoriya lurched forward, gurgling noises erupted from his torn and battered throat. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and coughed, before he lurched forwards again, spitting out some more blood.

"Midoriya! Are you okay?" Uraraka asked, although the answer was pretty obvious at this point.

Shinsou wanted to help Midoriya, but the problem was that he didn't know where Midoriya was injured.

Midoriya's harsh coughing fit finally died down, and he leaned back, breathing heavily. His was bleeding from the chest, and Midoriya lifted his hands to try and rub the blood off his mouth.

"Midoriya. Stop. You're just going to make it worse." Uraraka mumbled, carefully grabbing Midoriya's hand and guiding it back to the ground. "Shinsou, can you pick the cuffs?"

"I don't see a keyhole." Shinsou shook his head, as Midoriya weakly slumped against his arm. The lavender haired boy felt his heart stop as he realised just how cold Midoriya's limp form was. Shinsou carefully shifted himself so that he could sit down beside Midoriya, and let the green haired boy rest his head against his shoulder.

"You're cold. How long have they left you like this?" Shinsou seethed.

Iida bent down and gently pressed his head against Midoriya's forehead, trying to avoid the blood that was currently dripping down the boy's face.

"He's burning up, though. He's sick, too." Iida muttered, as Midoriya coughed out more blood, "We need to get him help, fast."

The fire coming from Todoroki's arm flickered, as the boy growled, "I can try to melt the chains."

"And you'll hurt Midoriya if you do that." Uraraka shook her head, "We need to get some help from the pros."

"But we can't just leave Midoriya here like this." Yaoyorozu stated, as the ground rumbled.

"Hello, this is Pizza-La, Kamino store."

Dabi facepalmed. Really? This was the best that the heroes and police could come up with?

The wall behind him exploded, as Yagi burst into the room with a punch.

"They brought All Might?" Iguchi gasped, as Nishiya elegantly swung into the room with his quirk, binding the villains and pinning them to the ground.

"A tree? Are they stupid?" Dabi grumbled, activating his quirk, only for Torino to zoom in and kick him into a daze, "Don't be impatient! It'll be in your best interests to stay put."

"You can't run anymore, League of Villains!" Yagi declared, "Why? Because we're here!"

Kamihara slipped in and letting Kayama in.

"You bastards! If Void were in the same room as us, you would have killed him!" Iguchi angrily snarled, struggling as Nishiya tightened his grip on the lizard man, "That's hella irresponsible!"

"Wait... Midoriya... isn't here?" Kayama surveyed the room carefully.

"The warper isn't here either..." Kamihara muttered, before he blinked, "Don't tell me -"

"Holding a press conference right after we kidnapped a student... did you really think we were that stupid to fall for that?" Shigaraki cackled, standing up, "You won't find your precious little Void here... we didn't want to keep his broken, bleeding body here, after all!"

Kayama gasped, "What did you do to him!?"

"Oh... wouldn't you like to know." Shigaraki smirked, "Justice... peace... I'll destroy this garbage heap that you put a lid on with such vague ideas. It was for that reason I set All Might apart... until Void came into the picture."

"Get to the point. Where is he?! What did you do to him?!" Kayama demanded, stomping up to the villain, but Shigarakia merely laughed, "Void leaked our first attack on UA, killed my Nomu in the second, and then took down that powerhouse Muscular..."

Torino and Kamihara blinked. This was about Midoriya... so why were they talking about that mysterious vigilante? And didn't Sosaki say that Midoriya was the one that beat Muscular, and Nishiya did mention that Midoriya killed the Nomu that was designed to take out All Might -

It finally clicked.

Midoriya was Void.

It seemed that Kayama had some knowledge about this, though Yagi looked as confused as they were. It was highly likely that Nezu knew as well, given his relationship to his cub, but this wasn't the time to be wondering about that.

They had to get the pup back, then they'll get their answers.

Shigaraki smiled, "He always was a pain, you know. Why would I want to give him back when I can make him suffer more?"

A portal erupted out of nowhere, depositing a few Nomus in front of the heroes. Before any of them could react, more portals appeared, sucking all the villains right out of Nishiya's grip and out of the room.

"Ah! I'm sorry!" Nishiya yelped.

"It wasn't your fault. We didn't do anything either!" Kamihara growled, evading a Nomu.

"Endeavor! We need backup!" Nishiya turned around, only to find that the police force on the streets below them were swarming with Nomus that were being deposited via portal.

"Warehouse Team, are you there?" Kayama yelled, dodging a strike by a Nomu.

"Aim for the exposed brains!" Yamada screamed, ripping a knife out of his belt, "Eraser, I fucking love you for teaching me to use a knife."

"Yeah... we got the warehouse and Ragdoll. Mission accomplished." Hakamata's voice reported.

"Is Midoriya with you?" Kayama asked, driving a knife into the exposed brain of the closest Nomu.

"No... isn't he supposed to be at the hideout?"

"Shit..." Kayama growled, "Midoriya's not here, and he isn't at the warehouse either! Tsukauchi!"

"What a mess. Tsukauchi! Expand the evacuation area!" Enji growled, as he roasted two more Nomus.

"All Might, you mentioned some guy with a face mask... he's here." Hakamata continued, and Tsukauchi hissed; they must have more than two hideouts.

"All Might! Go to the warehouse! He's there, Jeanist said so! Also, keeps the comms open! I'm calling for backup!" Tsukauchi yelled, tapping his earpiece twice, barely managing to dodge out of the way of a Nomu before Yamada killed it.

"Endeavor... are you okay?" Yagi asked, and Enji hissed, "What on earth are you looking at to ask a question like that? Do you need bifocals? If you need to go, then just go, dammit!"

"Yeah. I'll leave it to you!" Yagi nodded, before he leapt into the air.

Takeyama smirked, as she brought her foot down on the warehouse, completely obliterating it. She grabbed a wriggling Nomu in her hand, and crushed it. Chatora had already found Shiretoko, and had already checked the entirety of the building; as predicted, Midoriya was nowhere to be found.

Hakamata and Sakamata restrained the rest of the Nomus, as the police force came charging in.

"Urg... are these really alive?" Takeyama grimaced, "Isn't this too easy, Jeanist? Maybe we should have been on the Hideout Team instead of the Warehouse Team."

"Don't think about difficulty and importance together." Hakamata, ensuring that the Nomus were firmly bound with his denim fibres, "Riot squad, get ready. Be careful, they may still be here. Please continue to give it your all."

"Yes sir!"

Hakamata tapped his earpiece, hearing Kayama's voice coming through, "Warehouse Team, are you there?"

"Yeah... we got the warehouse and Ragdoll. Mission accomplished." Hakamata replied.

"Ragdoll? Please answer me! Ragdoll?" Chatora cradelled Shiretoko in his arms, and Sakamata walked up to him, "Is that your teammate? She's breathing, so that's good."

"But her condition... what did they do to you?" Chatora sighed.

"It was the perfect opportunity, so I took it."

"Tiger, get your teammate to the medics, fast, and come back to help."Sakamata whirled around, hissing at the voice that was approaching from the shadows, "Are you with the League? Someone get a light! "

"Got it." Chatora nodded. They had already called for an ambulance earlier, and the vehicle was already waiting, a stretcher already taken out and ready. Chatora gingerly placed Shiretoko's limp body on the stretcher, and the medics expertly carted the stretcher onto the ambulance.

"After my body turned into this, I also depleted a lot of what I stocked up." The voice continued, as the ambulance sped off, and Sakamata growled, "Stop. Don't move."

The figure that emerged from the shadows continued walking, and Hakamata quickly activated his quirk and forced the fibres of the man's clothes to weave together tightly, restricting his movements.

"Wait! What if he's an ordinary citizen?" Takeyama asked, and Hakamata merely replied, "Think about the situation. That instance of hesitation could decide the fight. Don't let the villains do anything."

Suddenly, a shockwave blasted outwards. Hakamata tried to do his best to keep this newcomer restrained, but the masked man was just that strong, and merely sent everyone flying a fair distance back.

"Is Midoriya with you?"

"No... isn't he supposed to be at the hideout?" Hakamata growled, pushing himself up. The shockwave wasn't that strong, and Sakamata and Chatora were already pushing themselves up, and Takeyama had barely been fazed, "All Might, you mentioned some guy with a face mask... he's here."

"Well, I'm out of practice." He flexed his fingers, as red electricity crackled around his arm, before a much larger shockwave tore through the ground.

Hakamata quickly grabbed Sakamata, Chatora and Takeyama, yanking them out of the way as the ground exploded beneath them.

"As expected of the Number Four hero, Best Jeanist." The masked man merely stood where he originally was, "I thought I would have blown everyone away. To be able to manipulate everyone's clothes and pull them to the side in an instant... that quick decision making and skill... you must have nerves of steel. This is strength from a huge amount of practise and practical experience... Just like Void. I don't need your quirk... it doesn't fit with Tomura's disposition."

Yagi burst through the sky, a punch aimed at All for One's torso, "I'll have you return everything, All for One!"

All for One reached up and grabbed Yagi's fists, attempting to block the hit. He was sent skidding back, but managed to hold off most of the damage, and watched as the rest of the heroes tried to hold their ground as another shockwave rippled outwards.

"Will you kill me again? You're a little late, you know? It's a little more than five kilometers from the bar to here. It was easily thirty seconds after the first part of the plan was enacted before you arrived. You've gotten weaker, and more forgetful as well."

Chatora pushed himself up, and hissed. Midoriya was Void... he knew that much at the very least, from Iguchi's interaction with Midoriya at the training camp.

But Midoriya wasn't at the League's hideout, like they expected. He wasn't at the Nomu Warehouse either.

So where on earth were they keeping him?

"Where is Midoriya?" Chatora growled, helping Hakamata up. The Fibre Hero raised his hands, ready to restrict All for One again as the denim of his hero outfit unraveled, though he knew that they were hopelessly outmatched without Yagi.

"At least... someone seems to remember the child... the child that should have died a long, long time ago." All for One chuckled.

"What are you talking about?" Yagi snapped, readying his fists, as All for One laughed, "Oh, you really don't know, do you? Then again, I doubt the boy knew about it himself."

All for One reached his hand out, "Just how much do you know about Midoriya Izuku?"

"What are you talking about?" Yagi growled, very much confused.

All for One cackled, "Do you want to know why he isn't dead yet?"

The villain didn't even wait for a reply, as he watched the heroes readied themselves for a fight.

"Because he wants to die."

Chapter Text

Usually, when a member of the League came into the tiny room, whether they were malicious (Hikiishi, Toga or Shigaraki), downright confusing (Kurogiri, Sako and Bubaigawara) or nice (Dabi and Iguchi), they had always entered via a portal. It had happened so often that Midoriya could always sense the portal whenever it opened; a small, cold spot outside his cell, the air slowly but surely moving towards it, as if it were being sucked in, before that faint, hissing sound as the portal opened.

And the second the portal opened, he could also tell which member of the League it was.

Shigaraki was the easiest to identify. He had the air of confidence and a complerely deranged aura. Toga had a more playful, cheeky, but equally deranged feel to her. Bubaigawara had a very clonflicting aura; there were times where he was calm, then agitated, then happy, then sad, all in a span of a few seconds. Sako had the most grandeur aura; he always wanted to show off, but it seemed that he couldn't figure out how to do that when all the boy could do was listen. Hikiishi seemed the most afraid of him out of all the members of the League; she was the easiest to discern from the rest.

Dabi was warm, literally. It didn't take much to tell him apart form the others. And Iguchi... he seemed to have an air of admiration around him, for some reason? It was confusing, to be honest, but Iguchi really seemed to like him a lot... it was odd.

Kurogiri was the weirdest, though. Midoriya could sense emptiness from him, a certain hollowness. It reminded him of those Nomus... except Kurogiri could talk, and had his own opinions. He was either a very weird Nomu... or he was trying to figure out what his purpose in life was, besides serving Shigaraki. Midoriya didn't dwell on it too much.

So, when Midoriya could hear the door opening, he found it odd. He was immediately on guard; Reiko was with him, and he wasn't going to let anyone hurt her. He had a muzzle on, and he couldn't see what was going on, but he wasn't going down without a fight.

"I can't see anything. Todoroki, can you make a small fire?"

Wait, was that Yaoyorozu?

He could sense some heat from where he presumed Todoroki was, and heard a chirp.

Ryuto.

"Reiko? So... this really is... Midoriya -"

He could practically smell the ozone in the air as Shinsou shocked himself by accident; it had a very distinct smell that Midoriya had gotten accustomed to after being slammed into the bars repeatedly and getting electrocuted. It was nasty, but at least Shinsou didn't seem too hurt by it.

"That's what he meant by generators. I'll deactivate it. I've seen my father do it before." He heard Uraraka walking out, before walking back in a few minutes later, "Alright, it's done."

What on earth where they doing here?!

He heard the sound of a key being inserted into a lock, and the sound of a metal cell door opening. He knew that there was a door, but how his classmates had gotten their hands on the key...

Did they actually come all the way here to save him?

He heard footsteps as someone got closer; Midoriya couldn't tell.

"Midoriya?"

It was Shinsou.

He felt Shinsou's hand pressing against his neck, and suppressed the urge to hiss; Toga had slashed him across the throat a few times, but Shinsou's hand was warm and it just felt nice, for some odd reason, that his classmates had come all this way for him.

For you? Don't be silly. Do you actually think they care about you? Or is this just a more drastic way of trying to gain your trust? So that they can break you again?

"I found a pulse... it's faint... but it's there. Midoriya, you awake?"

Midoriya didn't know anymore, as he tried to respond. His heart told him that they really came because they cared about him... but logically, it made sense that they didn't really want anything to do with him. No one did.

"Stop, don't move, okay? I'm going to try and take off your blindfold and muzzle, alright?"

He felt a warm sensation on his hand; Dabi was warm, but the contact between someone's hand, probably Shinsou's, since he was the closest, and his just made him feel weird inside; it was odd.

"They're dead knots, and they're too tight. Midoriya, can I cut the string?"

Midoriya nodded slightly, pushing the pain in his throat away as he did so. His mouth was filled with blood, and he often felt like throwing up, but he couldn't do anything; he couldn't open his mouth due to the muzzle, and he couldn't swallow, it would just make his throat hurt more from the bile.

The pressure around his head drop, and he could feel the blindfold being taken off his head. He experimentally opened his eyes; he had slammed his eyes shut the second he had realised he was blindfolded; leaving his eyes open would just distract him from focusing on his surroundings.

Almost immediately, a white hot pain flashed through his retinas, and he prompty slammed them shut, trying to block out the nausea that came with it.

"Alright, I'm going to try and take the muzzle off now. Just... stay still..."

Midoriya felt Shinsou fiddling around with the buckle of the muzzle; he had tried to undo it once on his own, but just moving his fingers hurt like shit.

He could feel the damned contraption being slipped off his face, and he couldn't resist the urge to throw up anymore. He jerked forward, emptying his mouth of its bloody contents, before he felt more blood rushing up his battered throat. He promptly spat it out, before he slumped back against the wall weakly. He reached up to try and wipe the blood that he could feel dripping down his jaw, but padded fingers, that was Uraraka for sure, no doubt, grabbed a hold of his hand and stopped him from doing so.

"Midoriya. Stop. You're just going to make it worse. Shinsou, can you pick the cuffs?"

He sensed some warmth, and his body instinctly moved against his will, and he pressed himself against the source of warmth. Almost immediately, his body was flooded with a warm, fuzzy feeling, and the tension in his body immediately leaked away to nothing.

It was oddly  comforting.

It was probably against his better judgement, but it just felt nice. He could feel someone reaching out for him, a muscular arm that was most definately Iida, but at this point, he no longer cared. There was more to come, but for now, he just felt completely relaxed. He felt that he no longer had to put his guard up, he no longer had to worry about who was going to step through that damned portal.

For the first time since the training camp started, he finally felt safe.

"What on earth are you talking about?" Yagi snapped, "Where is Midoriya Izuku?"

Because he wants to die... All for One's statement echoed in his head.

"Of course, you don't know." All for One was oddly calm as he stood amongst the rubble, facing Yagi, "Are you aware that the poor child... has attempted suicide on many, many occasions in the past? He tried to give himself an overdose thrice, slit his wrists open a few more times. He's jumped twenty seven times, at the very least, and even tried to hang himself on one occasion."

"Tsukauchi, is everything he said true?" Chatora asked, and there was a long pause until Tsukauchi replied, "... yes."

"Why is he telling us this?" Sakamata growled.

"Shut up! What does this have to do with anything?" Yagi snapped, rushing forward with a punch as Takeyama gasped in horror as the sheer number of times that the boy had tried to kill himself.

"Everything. That boy shouldn't even be alive now." All for One grinned beneath his mask, and Hakamata growled, "Well, there's something wrong with your quirk, Tsukauchi. Midoriya's quirkless; there's no way he could be alive if this villain is really telling the truth."

"That's where you're wrong. The boy does indeed have a quirk." The villain reached out and intercepted Yagi's punch with a powerful blast of wind, knocking the hero back into a building.

"That's impossible." Sakamata hissed, "We saw the boy's medical records. Two pinky toe joints."

"Have you ever heard of trauma induced quirks?" All for One asked patronisingly, shaking his head, "Of course you don't. Ignorant fools. Everyone has the capacity to develop a quirk, but not all of them are so straightforward in their unlocking. Some people are just unlucky... and the conditions required to activate them are more... complicated. Not impossible to unlock, but it requires so many specific conditions for its usage that they might as well be non-existent. But the coding for a quirk exists within; quirks are, after all, just genetic mutations. Of course, in self preservation, the body itself may mess up the coding."

"What are you trying to say?" Yagi dislodged himself from the building, and rushed at All for One again, and the villain brought his arm up block it.

"Not much. Merely the fact that you heroes are failures. The boy has a quirk that allows him to live, and that it is so deeply tied to his soul that I can't take it. Trauma induced quirks are special, in their own way." All for One growled, using the long spikes from his Forced Quirk Activation quirk to stab Yagi's arm, casually deflecting the hero's attack.

"Wait... so that means... Midoriya isn't dead..." Chatora's eyes widened, as he processed what All for One had said. He looked around, eyeing all the broken

"Only by sheer dumb luck." The villain calmly replied, "You're very lucky that the boy wants to die so badly."

"Hang on. Keep him talking. We're on our way with backup! Endeavor's mopping all the Nomus up." Nishiya's voice came over the earpiece.

The villain raised his hands, his arms crackling with more electricity. Sakamata fired off a massive hypersonic wave, but All for One easily intercepted it with a powerful shockwave, causing a huge explosion that destroyed all the neighbouring buildings.

"What kind of heroes would let a child die like that?" All for One asked, shaking his head patronisingly, "You can't even save one child. You don't even know where he is. How are you going to "save" him like that?"

The ground was shaking violently, and Shinsou smacked away a wooden board that fell from the ceiling in an attempt to protect Midoriya. Uraraka and Yaoyorozu were crouching on the ground, trying to stabilize themselves, as Iida growled, "What's going on?"

Todoroki swerved aside as a chunk of concrete fell downwards, "Fighting on a wide scale. I'm going to deactivate my quirk."

The room was plunged into darkness, and Yaoyorozu hastily created a flashlight, "We're good... I think the shaking stopped."

"We need to get out of here, fast." Todoroki looked upwards, "I don't think the building can take two or three more quakes like that."

"But Midoriya's still chained up." Urakaka harshly whispered, "And we don't know what's going outside. If the villains see us, it's all over."

"We'll stand out like a sore thumb." Iida mumbled, before his eyes lit up, "Do you have some pen and paper?"

Uraraka dug into her pockets, fishing out a small ballpoint pen and a crumpled up piece of paper, "Yeah... I don't know why I bought them. I thought it may be useful."

"Thank goodness. Pass it over."

Iida took the pen and paper from her, and hastily scribbled on it. He retrieved the blindfold, and with Shinsou's penknife, cut off the string.

"A note. But we can't deliver it." Yaoyorozu stated.

"We can't, but Ryuto can. They won't pay any attention to a bird." Todoroki's eyes glinted, turning to the hawk that was currently settled with Reiko on Midoriya's lap.

"That would work..." Uraraka hummed, as Ryuto perked up, and hopped over to Iida. He stuck a talon out, much to Iida's surprise, but Iida rolled the note up and quickly tied it to Ryuto's talon.

"Alright. That should do. Be careful, alright?" Iida pat Ryuto on the head, before the bird flapped his wings and zoomed out of the door, disappearing into the night.

"Now... we just wait." Yaoyorozu sighed, as the building was hit by another quake.

"Now, we're going to -"

Nezu was cut off as Aizawa's phone vibrated, and the Erasure hero leaned over to check on it. It was set to only vibrate if he was contacted by the police or any other heroes...

... that meant they needed him for something.

The press conference was purposely located three cities away from Kamino, so Aizawa could get there quickly, while not being affected by the attack on the League. The only thing All for One had going for him was his ability to steal and use multiple quirks. Even if Aizawa couldn't fully erase the effects of All for One's quirks, he would definitely give the heroes an edge.

Aizawa quickly unlocked his phone, and opened up the message that Tsukauchi sent him. He quickly glanced at Nezu, and the animal principal nodded.

"Where are you going!?" A reporter yelled.

Nezu turned to address the crowd of reporters as Aizawa slipped out of his seat, "Aizawa has been called to do some hero work, and will not be present for the rest of the press conference."

"You can't just do that! You didn't do your job when-"

"So let him do his job, right now." Nezu growled.

Aizawa quickly donned his hero costume, and exited the building via the backdoor. He hopped onto a motorbike, and fished the keys out of his pocket. It was Kayama's bike, but she was participating in the attack on the League, and had lent him her bike in case he was called in as well. He started up the engine, before he sped off towards Kamino Ward.

It only took him a few minutes to get to the city right next to Kamino, and he quickly parked the bike, and hopped off, opting to go the rest of the way by foot.

"Eraser!" Nishiya yelled, spotting the Erasure Hero as he made his way to where All for One was, "Come on. Gran Torino, Present Mic and Endeavor's got the hideout covered, we need to go to the warehouse, fast."

"Where's Midoriya?" Aizawa asked, running alongside Nishiya, as Kamihara caught up to them, "Not in the hideout, and apparently, not in the warehouse as well. We're were planning on finding him while you help All Might deal with that villain."

"He's called... One for All? Or was it All for One?" Nishiya asked.

"Doesn't matter." Aizawa growled, "Let's go."

They quickly reached the evacuation perimeter that Tsukauchi had set up, and the police force quickly parted to let the three heroes through.

"How are you going to find Midoriya?" Aizawa asked, as the sound of an engine was heard, gradually getting louder and louder.

Tensei skid to a stop, "Alright, I'm here. Tsukauchi told me that we had to find Midoriya?"

"Yep. He could be anywhere, but our top priority is the area surrounding the fight between All Might and the villain." Nishiya said, "They're causing a lot of destruction; if Midoriya were to be in any of them..."

"Let's go. We don't have time to waste." Kamihara stated, as a screech rang out through the air, "What was that?"

Aizawa looked upwards, as a small black speck in the sky suddenly dived downwards, barrelling towards them. Nishiya quickly extended the wood on his arm to try and catch the object, but it merely swerved out of the way, dodging Nishiya's attack entirely.

"Watch out!" Kamihara growled, and was about to activate his quirk when Aizawa realised who it was and put his hand out, "Stop."

"What? This is that villain with multiple quirks we're talking about." Nishiya protested, "Anything could be -"

"He's harmless." Aizawa glared at Nishiya, before holding his arm out slightly, "Ryuto!"

The bird, they finally managed to make out what it was, swooped down, slowing his descent, before landing on Aizawa's arm.

"I didn't know you had a pet." Tensei stared at Ryuto, as the hawk moved to his leg, grabbing the note that was tied there, before turning to face Aizawa, chirping.

"He's Midoriya's bird, and he went missing this morning from the dorms." Aizawa grumbled, unrolling the note, as Tensei blinked, "Uh... UA is seven hours away by foot."

Aizawa stared at the note, and groaned, shoving it in Tensei's face, "Ingenium, what is your little brother doing here?!"

Tensei took a close look at the note.

"Dear Heroes. We have currently found Midoriya Izuku. He is located in an abandoned building, badly injured, and is chained to a wall. This hawk will lead you to his location. Please come and save him."

It wasn't signed, but it was clearly Iida's handwriting.

"Well, we don't have time to waste. Let's go. Ryuto, right? Lead the way to Midoriya." Kamihara spoke up, "Ingenium, Kamui and I will get him back. You go help All Might."

Ryuto perked up at the mention of Midoriya's name, before taking to the skies once more, Kamihara, Nishiya and Tensei hot on his trail. Aizawa turned as a shockwave blasted outwards, kicking a huge cloud of dust up into the air. He growled, running towards the cloud of dust, "You hurt my student, I'm going to make you wish you never even attacked UA in the first place."

"I'll tell you this, the child you seek is somewhere in this city." All for One spoke up, catching Yagi's punches, "Are you saving your strength, just in case he's close? Well... it's too late for that, anyways. He could be a blood splatter under one of these rocks right now. It's rough, ain't it? To be these creatures called "heroes"."

All for One reached out to try and attack, and frowned slightly when there wasn't any red electricity. A band of grey was wrapped around his hand and yanked to the side, and All for One looked up, just in time to see an angry Aizawa charging at him.

"You!" Aizawa spat, using his capture weapon to knock All for One off balance, kneeing him in the face. He quickly dove out of the way as Yagi charged, All for One quickly regaining his balance and blocking another one of Yagi's punches.

"An erasure quirk. Haven't seen one of those in a very, very long time. You're a rare breed, Eraser Head." All for One stated, "And your scarf. Interesting. Did you know that your kind used to be killed, back in the days. No one wanted their powers to be gone, after all."

"Says you." Aizawa growled, throwing his capture weapon out again.

All for One easily dodged it, "Too bad you weren't caught alongside Void and ... Ragdoll, was that her name?"

"Don't get near him." Yagi faced Aizawa, "He wants your quirk, now. If he touches you, he can take your quirk."