Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There were 1334 tiles on the walls, and 356 on the floors and ceilings, in total there were 2046 tiles in his cell. 

…

Fun right? 

Yeah don’t worry, Izuku thought it was a boring fact too, but there was nothing else to do besides counting them, he tried convincing the guards to get him paint and brushes so that he would have something to do, but it was to no avail, they thought he was going to somehow use those things as weapons, and sure, he could . But he wouldn’t, he was really just bored. 

So as someone who was extremely bored there was only one thing to do: Think. 

His mind however was not a fun place to be, so instead of thinking too hard on life he tried to distract himself, for example he really wondered what was the exact shade of gray that his ceiling was. Was it mushroom gray? Frog Gray? Sardine Gray? There were so many options. What if it wasn't even gray? What if he saw it as being gray because of a light trick? What If it was actually coconut white? Or blue? Yeah, he could see the ceiling being blueish, perhaps it was dolphin gray… Or shark gray… 

Are dolphins even gray or are they also just a light trick? 

Well, technically, everything he could see was a light trick, nothing was real, color wasn’t real, life wasn’t real. Could he just from sheer will stop being and become just atoms in their pure form? Having a conscience and a body was so tiresome, he would like to return to his most basic chemical state now thank you, please. 

…

“Damnit” He sighed, sheer will wasn’t enough, maybe he needed drugs, shrooms, he had heard of the effect that having certain hallucinogens had on the mind, some people experienced going back to that basic state where they weren’t a person anymore, where they were just atoms in the universe, just like the bed he was currently lying on. 

Wasn’t that crazy to think? That the only thing that separated his being from a bed were a few atoms behaving differently? 

Well, at least he thinks that’s all it takes, he’s an artist, not a scientist. 

“OOOOOOOOOOOM AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM OOOOOOOOOOOOM AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM He sat on the bed after giving the chanting a test. 

Maybe that’s what he needed, to become a buddhist. “Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom” 

“SHUT UP!” Shiggy screamed from across his cell, which.. Rude. He was on the path to become a buddhist, he needed to meditate and chant for ten hours straight to achieve inner peace. Buddha knows he needs it. 

“YOU SHUT UP” He screamed back and once again closed his eyes “OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM” 

As the child his cell neighbor was, Tomura decided to make his own loud sounds as a way to prevent him from doing his Om’s. 

It quickly became a competition between the two, to see who could OM harder and louder. 

Then Himiko joined in, then Spinner, in a short time their entire prison ward was Om’ing, it was beautiful, they were harmonizing even. Unfortunately, the guards, being no fun as they were, didn’t appreciate that. So their cells were quickly filled with some random gas that had them sleep, and that was the end of his buddhist journey. 

A shame. He truly felt like he could become one with enough oms. 

---

Lava. He decided that was the color on his ceiling, well, either that or slate, it was a close race between them. Maybe it would be more productive to spend his days wondering about what the hell they were feeding him. It smelled like chicken, it tasted like chicken, but he was sure it wasn’t chicken. 

The color didn’t match that of a chicken. 

Of course, food color really depends on what goes with it, but he couldn’t taste anything other than chicken and potatoes, these always came differently but somehow with the same taste (He had dreams of potatoes chasing him, wanting to eat him as revenge for all the ones from their species that he had devoured). 

“Pam param pa pa param pa ram param parAM, I want to break free tum tum tum, I Want to BREEEEEak freeee!” He swirled with open arms “I want to break free from my cell, and kick someone’s groins.. I’ve got to break free…. 

GOD KNOWS, God knows I got to breeeeeeeeeeak free! TUM DUM” 

“I’VE FALLEN IN LOVE!” He heard Himiko continuing and smiled to himself “I’VE FALLEN IN LOVE FOR THE FIRST TIME, THIS TIME I KNOW IT’S FOR REEEEALLLLLL, I’ve fallen in love… GOD KNOWS, GOD KNOWS I’VE FALLEN IN LOVEEEE” 

“Pew pew pew pew pew” He could feel the gas once again coming in, to cloud his senses, they weren’t supposed to interact with each other, he knows that. 

But also, they are villains, why do they care? They should have made more thick walls, maybe this way, they wouldn’t have to spend so much money on that gas..

Well.. 

At least they enjoyed themselves a bit. 

----

Maybe it was oxford gray. Or Dove gray. 

He would kill to be a dove right now, to fly and fly until he forgot he even had a name, that he was someone once. He would call himself Kuro the dove, because they are usually white so it’d be ironic. Or maybe he could call himself something less poethic like.. Jorge. Jorge the dove. Or Mike the Dove. 

Would he be a prominent figure inside dove society? Would he also be forced in a role he did not want? Would he have to follow unjust rules to fit their society? Would he be shun out once they found out he was less than a perfect Dove? Locked away and forgotten in a golden cage, a pretty cage, where all those other doves who passed would admire him for his golden cage, the gold reflecting in his skin thanks to the light and making him almost ethereal, but untouchable. 

They would be too afraid to touch him, afraid that somehow he was diseased, or that the gold wasn’t just a reflection but a part of him, because he was different, because he didn’t follow the norms of DOVE society. 

Well, or maybe they were just doves. Just flying where the seasons took them, just living each day like they wanted to live, until a human shot them for sports, because they were doves. And did not belong with them. 

Maybe he’s reading too much into being a dove. It’s better to think of something else, like for example, the door shade. He was pretty sure that the door had an onyx tint.. Either that or charcoal. 

But it could also be just Iron… Or Pebble he supposes. 

“ One day I’ll flyy awayy… Leave all of this to yesterday.. ” 

He banged his head against the wall, how many years did he still have to his sentence? Right, 21 years, 10 months and 5 days to be exact. 

They were going to be loooong years. 

He found himself slipping next to the wall, slipping until he was sitting on the cold floor, the cold tiles, he stared at the ceiling once again but he couldn’t stand those gray tiles anymore.. Maybe he could turn the spoon that accompanied his food into a knife, maybe he could paint the ceiling red… 

Gods, it had been what? One year into his sentence? Better to stop thinking, thinking was very very - “Hello, Midoriya Izuku” - Dangerous. 

The door to his cell opened “That is your name, correct?” The man was tall in his late twenty, pastel purple hair, green eyes (more teal than anything), he looked uncomfortable. That made Izuku smile. Whoever that man was, he was not happy in being there. “I’ll take your silence as confirmation, you may correct me If I am wrong.” 

Two guards were quick to have him more cuffed and stand up to follow the man. The man who had the commission symbol on his clothes, Izuku immediately hated him. But it was nice to see how quickly the man took a few steps away from him, as if he could magically kill him, just by being near the guy. 

Five more guards followed them close behind and he could feel more eyes on him that he knew couldn’t be from any of the prisoners, given their cells had no windows. 

He was escorted into a room which he was sure was used to have people discuss their probations or early release and at that he was confused. He was pretty sure he was meant to be forgotten and alone while he rotted away for 20 more years. Just as he was supposed to. 

Inside the room was the HSPC president herself and she was looking at him with a ferocious smile, this greatly irritated him, you see, for he was pretty sure he had ripped her eyeballs out as a means for her to never look at him again. But there she was, with her smug eyes… He sort of wanted to rip them out again. 

In spite of her presence, it was not her that Izuku graced with his words. “Ah, my favorite hero and his pet principal” He said, nodding towards Eraserhead “To what do I owe the obvious blessing that your presence may bring? Is it Christmas already? Am I getting a gift from Santa Claus?” He continued to ignore the president as he sat on the chair “I asked him for some paint for my cell, it’s so tragically sad, all gray, I’m in dire need of yellow paint.”

“Izuku Midoriya-” 

“That is my legal name, yes, though, I would rather live without it, thanks” 

“Would you shut up for a second?” One of the guards growled, he called him Richard in his head, simply because he had a beard, and bearded people all looked like Richards to him. 

“This is the first human interaction I’ve had without immediately being knocked unconscious, so no, I’d rather not shut up” 

“That can be changed.” Richard mumbled. 

“Midoriya, we have a proposal for you” Nedzu chirped, sensing that if he didn’t intrude the conversation would never get anywhere. 

“Eh?” 

“The school year is starting in three weeks time” The president said, her teeth gritted, she seemed as unhappy to be there as he was that she was there. 

“And what’s that gotta do with me?” 

“We would like you to join it!” Nedzu once again interrupted by saying, he sounded way too chipper about the nonsense he had just spat. 

“No thanks, I’m supposed to rot here for the next 20 years, your own number one hero declared that, rather coldly, If I remember, and bitter that it wouldn’t be more than that” 

“You don’t get a choice” The president said with gritted teeth. “A hero has invested a lot of money on this and requested for you specifically to join, it’s the least you could do after all, clean up the mess that you started” 

“No . I’m not joining.” 

“Of course you are!” Nedzu replied. “You are quite fond of your found family , are you not? It really warmed my heart to see you and Toga Himiko singing together multiple times in your cells…” 

His fists found themself closing in rage “Are you threatening them?” 

“Am I? I don’t have a reason for that, do I? Since you are all joining the rehab together.” 

Izuku let himself breathe. It was slow, intended and painful in a way. “What exactly.. Are we going to be doing in this.. program ?” 

“You’ll become a pro hero of course!” Nedzu’s eyes were shining, it was worse than the president’s “A proud hero, who will serve their country and of course, the commission. You’ll spend the rest of your life serving all those you have wronged, paying for your crimes” His head turned much like the animal he was “Fitting, isn’t it?” 

He sighed, resigned “How will it work?” 

----

It worked like hell, that’s how it worked.  

He was branded like cattle with a tracking and dampening device on his skin, humiliated by some medical exams, tested like a lab rat so they could catalogue everything he could do.. But that wasn’t the worst of it all. 

No, the worst of it all was that in those three weeks before classes were to start he had to participate in a joke they called therapy. The therapist was obviously a hero fanatic with a grandeur complex, he wasn't helpful. At all. If anything he just fueled Izuku’s hate for society that had been calmed down in the year he passed restrained

But at least the week was over. 

And he was being transferred to UA, where he would hopefully never have to look at gray walls again. 

21 years of penitence versus a lifetime of servitude. 

…

Maybe one day, he would be able to fly away.

Chapter Text

There was a boy. 

A very strange enchanted boy. 

They say he wandered very far. 

Very far, over land and sea. 

A little shy and sad of eye. 

But very wise was he…

And then one day.

He was locked away.. 

To be forgotten, in a gilded cage. 

Of fools.. And… Kings. 

But this one boy. 

This one strange. And charming boy. 

Could see all, their fake smiles. 

That surrounded him. 

And this one boy. Earned to one day. 

Fly away.. 

But with shackles deep. 

And rooted curses. 

To fly away. 

Seemed like a distant dream. 

----

Sapphire. That was the color the sky was the day he was transported to UA. The car that took him, a midnight blue that was too close to charcoal gray for his comfort. But if he was supposed to be comfortable he wouldn’t have shackles deep on his skin, wouldn’t be wearing the rags that were considered his prison clothes. He would have been treated as a human being. 

But he was long past being that, in their eyes. He was a monster, a weapon. 

One being made to be put under a new liege, one that would profit and showcase him like was no tomorrow. Like yesterday didn’t exist. 

The car stopping had him also stop his musings. He basked in the sunlight no matter how short his basking was as he was quickly shoved to walk faster into UA, into his pretty new cage. 

In his opinion, UA wasn’t even that pretty. He could only imagine how many birds had been killed by those glass windows. He did appreciate all the nature surrounding it tho. He had been promised the freedom to roam within UA’s walls and couldn’t wait to just lose himself amongst the trees, it had been so long since he saw nature, he needed to redeem himself with it, especially after the whole destruction the war caused to the environment. That was his one regret. 

Well, that and losing the war. 

Eraserhead met him at the gate. He seemed as discontent with his presence as Izuku. Fun. 

“Congrats, you are the first one to arrive, which means you have the pleasure of introducing the program to the rest of the students alongside me”

Izuku chuckled without any mirth behind it “This was Nedzu’s idea wasn't it?” 

The hero didn’t answer him, but he didn’t have to, not really, his silence was an answer in itself. The rat really was a sadist. 

“How did the public react to UA harboring the villains that destroyed their families?” Izuku found himself asking

He knew he would get no answer, and he didn’t, but Eraserhead did clench his fists which he already considered a small win. 

“Right, you lost your family too, didn’t you Aizawa?” 

“Keep walking and keep quiet.”

“I am walking” 

“But you aren’t quiet.” 

Izuku huffed in amusement. Behind them he could see another car parking, he knew that the league was participating with him, but besides them, who else? Who else would be put through this hell, this farce? 

They stopped upon arriving near a building called 2A Heights Alliance. 

“Is this where I’ll be staying?” 

“No”

“Then why did we stop here?” 

“Because as I said. You’ll be introducing the program to our students. Inside are the people you’ll have classes alongside.” 

“You mean the people whose friends I definitely ended up killing at some point?” 

“Indeed” 

“Fun” 

Aizawa walked in first, he asked Asui to gather all the students in there and once they were gathered and looking at him sighed “I’m sorry.” He bowed to them “I tried to stop this” 

“Sensei? What’s happening?” Uraraka asked 

“UA was forced by a lot of hands to create a new program” He looked at Todoroki as he said those words “A villain rehabilitation one, from today onwards, you’ll be studying side by side with villains, are you going to make me do all the talking? Come in, Midoriya”

Izuku opened the door after that, his hands trembled as he did but he managed to hide all his insecurities behind a mask he was well used to playing. 

All eyes were on him. Ones lingering more than other “Surprise bitches” He made jazz hands, after that it was pandemonium. 

It was impossible to know who was screaming what, as they screamed at the same time how insane the idea was, how he had killed a bunch of their friends and yadda yadda. 

Izuku was almost relieved to have been punched by Kacchan. 

Relieved because it did make everyone shut up, almost because he was punched for the silence to be accomplished. 

“You should’ve fucking died” Kacchan said, going for another punch, Aizawa stopped the second one for his digress. 

“Cockroaches never do.” Mina spat. 

“I’m not the only one coming to this program” He looked at Shoto, understanding dawned on the half and half’s face. “And don’t worry, Kacchan , I’m not happy to be here either.” 

“Don’t fucking call me that you vermin, you have no right after what you did”

“Bro, it’s not worth it” 

Izuku ignored Katsuki’s words in favor of watching the way his childhood bestie relaxed at Kirishima’s touch, that was interesting to say the least. Had he known of their relation during the war maybe that tape guy would be alive instead of the red head. 

Funny, how some things worked. 

“Can I go to my own dorm now, Eraserhead? I’ve introduced myself and the program as well as I could, I’m really interested in all the commodities Nedzu promised me” 

“Right” Aizawa seemed to leave whatever daze he was in “Any questions? No? Good, I’ll be back later” 

Izuku waved his goodbye as he walked out of the 2A dorms. “Lovely bunch” 

“Keep quiet.” 

Eraserhead was such a bundle of joy. Makes him wonder If they should have killed him instead of Mic. But well, it wasn’t like their deaths had been meticulously planned, it was war.. It just.. Happened. 

What felt like an eternity later they stopped in front of a dorm with a shared appearance as the Height Alliance’s one, but a sole V instead. 

“Please tell me the V isn’t for villain, that’d be so uncreative of Nedzu” 

Aizawa’s silence was all he needed for an answer 

“It’s not that surprising, he is an animal I suppose, I don’t think they are known for their creative ways, but who am I to know? I’m not an anima- HUMF” 

“KUMO!” 

Himiko, it was Himiko. 

Immediately he found himself relaxing in her arms and hugging her back, Eraserhead didn’t seem to deem his presence necessary after he was delivered, so he simply left without looking back. 

He wasn’t ashamed to say he must have stayed in her embrace for more than ten minutes. Nor ashamed of how easily his mask slipped from his face, he was so relieved she was there, so relieved to see Dabi, Tomura, all the faces that he considered family, even some he did not, but that didn’t matter, he had Himiko with him. 

“You smell like shit” She told him, muffled by his own clothes. 

“So do you” 

The two giggled at each other 

“Oh great, the psychotic pair are together once again” Dabi said, rolling his eyes, but there was fondness in his voice that he could not hide, and making fun of them proved to be a great mistake, because seconds later he was being tackled by them both and forced to hug them back. 

Horrible. Terrible. 

He hugged them back even so, with the strength a protective older brother has. 

Of course as an older brother the hug quickly became an assassination attempt on his part. 

Which ended with bites and kicks from all of them. 

They honestly didn’t care if they were behaving like fools in front of other villains that they did not know, they were known enough to be feared with or without displays of affection. 

Besides. 

They were all fools there. 

---

Primrose. That was the color he decided to paint his bedroom wall as soon as he saw that they were a horrible gray-ish white. 

Nedzu had promised him paint and brushes which upon further inspection were in his closet so it was only a matter of time until he got rid of it. He had a multitude of clothes along with the special UA uniform they had that clearly distinguished them from the other students and the best part, a phone and computer. 

It had barely any access to anything but at least he and Tomu could play games with it. 

All of this almost made it all worth it. 

Almost. 

It was still a cage, no matter how pretty it was, and he couldn’t let himself forget that. He couldn’t forget who put him there. 

After a long bath, a long look through everything he now had in possession and a few mental breakdowns he went back to the common room. “Hey, Himichan, you want to go exploring the woods around us?” 

“HELL YEAH!” 

“I’m joining” 

They both looked at the voice that said that, they had no freaking clue who the hell that guy was, but he had gray hair, and that simple fact already put him on Izuku’s shit list, still, he was a nice villain, and he only had these guys to count on If they wanted a chance to get out of there. 

“Sure, but uh, who are you?” 

“Hoyo Makihara” 

Himiko and Izuku looked at each other and back at him, she let her head fall, like a puppy “Do we know you?” 

“You don’t, but I’d like to.” 

Tomura immediately glared at the guy from the other side of the room, but it wasn’t like the brats couldn’t take care of themselves, still, he didn’t like the situation, not one bit. 

“Alright then Makihara, let’s gooo!” 

The three followed into UA’s woods, Himiko and Izuku skipping ahead with their arms crossed while Makihara followed them silently behind, occasionally joining in their conversation. 

It was almost relaxing. If not for the dread that came with the calm before the storm.

Chapter Text

From twenty occupied seats to ten. 

That’s the reality class 2A was facing, half their class had been slaughtered by the people standing in front of them. Nine villains, special in their ways but none less responsible for their friend’s deaths. They all had their roles in the war, they all participated one way or another. 

For anyone watching the classroom from outside, they would notice an obvious separation happening inside, the students did not mingle. Alphabetical order for the seats was completely forfeited and for once the teachers were okay with that. 

It was surreal for everyone, for the hero students to have the villains there and for the villains to be in school again after all they had done. 

Aizawa was talking about the hero constitutions and laws but it was safe to say barely anyone was paying attention. 

“Sensei.” Mina interrupted after a while “Are we just going to pretend that this isn’t fucked up?” 

Aizawa sighed 

“Ohh, what’s this? The little hero is uncomfortable with the choices of higher people in power?? Careful~~ That’s what makes a villain” Dabi sing said. 

Shoto stared at his brother and then at Mina “He’s not wrong…”

And once again pandemonium started, everyone talking at the same time, no one really hearing each other, but in the midst of all that, two brothers just stared at each other in silence. 

“ Shut up!” Aizawa flared up his quirk, it was a sight that didn’t scare anyone there anymore, but still caused it’s intended effect. “If you all wish to have a discussion about laws and morality then we are doing it in an organized manner.”  He turned to the hero student’s side of the classroom “You lot are going to be defending the villain’s side” There were immediate cries of outrage “And you lot” he turned to the villains “Are going to defend the hero’s side, everyone got that?” 

“ Did he really just turn this into a learning moment? ” Izuku whispered to Tomura who nodded happily

“Eraserhead is awesome”  

“You’ll be talking in turns, the side that wins will get a prize. I’ll give you all ten minutes to strategize with your groups.”

The hero side was quick to gather in hushed tones, but they just didn’t get it. It was ingrained in their DNA that they shouldn’t empathize with villains, and without empathy, you can’t really win an argument where you are supposed to defend something you don’t believe in. 

Meanwhile the other side had been raised being taught everything the heroes had. The only difference was that they saw how ridiculous the system was and tried to change it. They didn’t even have to strategize. 

And so it started. 

On one side: sarcastic and witty arguments showing that the students speaking didn’t take the assignment seriously. 

On the other side: Villain’s defending the system with all their might and gritted teeth. 

At least until Shoto took the stand. “It is easy to blame the people and not the system. And the system works, it was made to work exactly the way it is, there can’t be heroes without villains but the same is also true, there can’t be villain’s without heroes, because for every villain out there is a hero that did them wrong, is a system that failed them because it worked too well.” Everyone was silent listening to his words “It is easy to blame the people, to see villains as monsters and forget that they are people. Everyone does something for a reason.. Everyone in this room did something for a reason, and to understand that is the most basic thing we can do.” He bowed “Thank you for your time” 

And Izuku followed soon after, with his head held high he nodded at Shoto “What the other sides seems to forget, is that there is a limit to the something people do in reaction of things, to level a building because they were fired is to forget their public responsibility to others, to put aside empathy and think only of themselves. Villains are monsters . And nothing more than that, we are taught they aren’t worthy of redemption because they are too lost, too deep in this path to be anything else than monsters. There is no more humanity, nothing to save. Not when they start putting aside other people’s rights above their own.” 

“But..” Kaminari took the stand “For them to get to the point of forfeiting other people’s rights something happened, maybe they weren’t just fired.. All it takes is one bad day to make people go insane, not one bad situation, it’s an cumulative experience, maybe he tripped on his way to work, maybe a bird pooped on his head, maybe it was the first time ever he had gotten there late and he was exemplary employee but his boss was simply looking or any excuse to fire him and this one time was it, this one moment that he had no control over and he snapped. No one is born a villain, no one is born a hero, they are made by the environment they are in so it’s the enviroment’s fault, not the person’s.” 

“No one is forced to do anything they don’t want to, everybody has some choice in life, one way or another ” Zookeeper said, for the irony of it “Sure, they were forced into a bad situation by external forces, sure they were controlled by something or someone into a terrible situation but instead of destroying that building for being fired they could have just sued the company, or find another job, because when you are living in a society you are making concessions all the time for other people. Your individual happiness does not matter when we are talking about society as a whole.”

“But that’s not fair!” Uraraka said “No one should have to do something they don’t want to just because society says so” 

“Indeed” Izuku mumbled “And yet, here we all are, are we not?” 

“Alright, we are done, the ones defending heroes win” He turned to his problem children “I expected more out of you, but Todoroki and Kaminari, congratulations, you get extra points, for the rest of you… Reflect on how you act in a debate.”   

“What’s our prize?” Himiko asked 

“You all will get the chance to skip one class each without consequences” 

“HELL YEAH” “Damn, I thought it was going to be something shitty” “Well, it could have been better-” 

“Quiet.” 

They all shut up. 

“Good, now, as I was saying before you all seemed fit to interrupt me..” 

----

Katsuki punched first. 

He always punched first. 

With his mighty right hook he striked right on Izuku’s nose. 

It broke, obviously, with a loud and resonating crunch. 

Their heroics teacher looked away. She didn’t care. Not when the league had been responsible for her current lack of quirk. Not when she felt it was justified. 

A lot of them thought it was justified. 

“HEY, YOU BROKE HIS NOSE!” Himiko, she was always by his side, wasn’t she? She was the next to be attacked. 

One of Jiro’s earjacks found their way accidentally into Himi’s eyes. 

Her scream was so loud that it startled all of them, and after the screams came the crazed laughter. 

The teacher didn’t even bat an eye, even when Dabi started complaining, even when they excused themselves out towards the infirmary. 

No one cared. 

But it was Recovery Girl’s job to heal them, whether she wanted to or not. 

So even though her gritted teeth were obvious, she did her minimum. 

---

“So, when are we escaping?” Himiko asked, with a somber look as she scratched the bandage around her eye. 

And wasn't that the question in all of their minds.. It was obvious that staying in UA wasn’t an option. But their eventual escape also needed the finesse that they couldn’t achieve at the moment. 

The finesse required of them being able to break off those damned chips whenever they wanted. 

The destruction they would cause would be beautiful. 

“Stop scratching” Izuku answered, instead of giving her a real answer. 

“But it’s so scratchy” 

“It makes you look like Tomu” 

That made her stop. Nothing like being compared to him for her to suddenly focus on something else. 

Of course, it didn’t go unnoticed by said Tomu: “Fuck both of you” he declared, loud and clear.

Still as they bickered Izuku couldn’t help but think that a plan to escape wouldn’t hurt. 

It would be hard but not impossible…. “I would kill for Kurogiri to be here” he mused instead

“Do you think they would let us see him?” Himi asked as she plopped down next to him on the couch. He took advantage of the fact that they were close to have her lie on his lap so he could play with her hair 

“Probably not, they would claim we are trying to corrupt him or something” 

“They couldn’t just take away our freedom, they had to take away our father figure too” 

“Stop being whiney” Dabi complained, “It’s fucking annoying” 

“They should have taken the older brother figure too” Izuku said to her

She nods her head “Preach” 

“I’m going to kill both of you one day” 

“Imi kii yii bith ini dii” Himiko mocked 

“So basic” 

“So uncreative” 

“Even Tomu can do better, and he’s totally basic too” 

They should have expected the shoe to be thrown at their faces. 

And yet, somehow, they didn’t account for that possibility. 

----

Friday came, and with it an unexpected event. 

Lady Nagant was waiting for them at their dorm downstairs. 

All around confused faces met hers. 

“I’m as displeased about this as you all are” Was the first thing she said upon meeting them “But the commission decided that If they were fixing your families faces, their were also saving their own, I’m here as a teacher however I am as much as a prisoner as all of you are” 

Surprisingly it was Genten who raised his hand “What do you mean as a teacher?” 

“I mean you are all going to learn what the commission wants from heroes like me, and as a defected hero my punishment is to teach it.”

They should have known it could always get worse. 

She turned around and started walking only stopping at the door “We are training in the woods outside today, put on some comfortable clothes and meet me outside, I’ll wait” 

“No uniforms then?” Himiko asked, sounding excited about the prospect 

“No uniforms forever, I won’t demand you all to wear them during my classes and you’ll all get me every friday”  

Okay, maybe it wouldn’t be all that bad. 

Thirty minutes later they were fighting for their lives against Nagant’s bullets and the thought that it wouldn’t be that bad had already been set aside and completely forgotten. 

It would be a different story if they could fight back, or even use their quirks. But they were supposed to hide and dodge, that was their exercise. 

Just.. Running, hiding and dodging. 

They were going to end up dead at the end of this. For sure. 

And when the end did finally arrive she grinned at how defeated they all were “You lot might not think so, but I’m on your side here, I’m probably the only one in this entire school at your side, so, If any of you need anything, reach out to me, I might be able to help”

Chapter Text

Broken minds, broken children converging in one place. 

Silence engulfed them as the mood was visibly sour. 

Spots previously filled were empty with the promises of yesterday and their smiles couldn’t reach their eyes anymore. 

They were survivors, most of them were barely seventeen but they had fought in a war, they had won a war but at what cost? 

“Ragdoll didn’t even flinch” out of all of them, Shinsou was the only one who looked.. haunted, for lack of a better word. “You ruined his nose and she didn’t flinch” 

Shinsou was lucky, he had found his way into the hero course, he barely knew any of them as the war started so he didn’t feel the weight of the pain, of the loss as most of them, don’t get him wrong, 2A was his family, they had to be after all they had gone through, no one else understood what it was like to be that young and have the weight of the world in your shoulders. 

To have the role that would define the outcome of the war in the hands of one fifteen year old boy. 

“He got it fucking coming” Bakugou snarled, but even the snarling seemed subdued for them. 

“Nothing makes sense” Mina started crying. “Everytime I look at them I just..” 

“I know” Kirishima hugged her “I can’t get it out of my head either” 

“Still.. If we just attack them like that, we are no better than them” Shinsou tried arguing, but all he got was a snarl coming from Bakugou and the silence that followed his sentence. 

“I was with Iida when he died” Shoto said, breaking the silence that had once formed “He used my own ice” He breathed heavily “My own ice to pierce through Iida’s heart” 

“I can’t sleep without hearing her scream” Jirou said hugging herself “Every night, I close my eyes and Momo is-” she gagged at the memory “screaming, she never stops, never stops, it’s so loud, and Toga was laughing and sometimes the two sounds mix and-” 

“We can’t forgive them” Uraraka said, anger surging through her like it had always been there. “And there is no fucking reason why we have to make this joke easier for them, they destroyed, they killed, they ruined everything”

“And now they are exactly at the same place as us” Kaminari said, it was the wrong thing to say based off everyone’s reaction but he didn’t care 

“It makes it all senseless, doesn’t it kero ? Like they died for nothing”

“Don’t fucking say that” Jirou was quick to interrupt “It had to mean something, it has to matter” 

Shattered minds, clinging onto any hope. 

Shattered minds willing to go to extremes to get even a little bit of satisfaction 

“Ragdoll didn’t bat an eye when you broke his nose” 

Anger festers so fast. 

And with it, what once seemed like the unthinkable becomes law. 

A spiked shoulder while passing by in the corridors. 

Acid in their homework, hair, clothes. 

Loud sound waves as they try to sleep. 

Fake blood spattered through their dorms along with the pictures of those they killed. 

Ice jamming the ventilation system, making their dorm feel like the arctic. 

A punch harder than it was meant to be during training. 

A kick well delivered with way too much force. 

It was not right. 

But no one was stopping them. It was justice. 

Payback. 

And it didn’t even scratch the surface of the resentment they were all feeling. 

“This isn’t what heroes do” Shinsou tried arguing. 

“You guys aren’t behaving any better than them” Kaminari defended. 

But the deaf can’t hear. 

So stuck in their bubble of righteousness. 

If it was wrong then why was no one stopping them? 

If it was wrong then why did it feel so good? 

In silent halls a villain and a hero stared at one another. 

You could barely tell which one was which. 

Shinsou heard crying. 

Kaminari saw the pain being inflicted. 

Shinso took a step forward into their dorm.

Kaminari turned his head away. 

-----

Knocks were not something they were used to hearing. Most of the teachers simply marched in with no regard for their privacy. 

The knock was uncertain, almost fearful. Hesitant. 

Konako Haizono was the closest to the door at the time, she opened the door not knowing what to expect. 

But despite the threat of the unknown. A hero student from 2A was not it in her wildest dreams. It was impossible to not let her surprise show. “What do you want?” 

Shinsou Hitoshi bowed his head “My classmates plan to release a swarm of rats here” 

There was immediate outroar. 

“You need to get out of here!” Shinsou yelled when the indignant cries became loud and unfocused. 

“And go where, baby hero?” Tomura asked, his scratchy voice causing everyone to shut up and stare at the hero student again. Shinsou at that moment wanted to crawl into a hole and die, but he kept his head high and said with certainty

“There is an old dorm, in the woods, no one goes there. I don't think people even know it exists..”

“We have to save the food.” Zookeeper said, “Who knows when they’ll send it again and if the rats touch it.. Who knows when we will be able to eat again” 

“I’ll help” Shinsou said “What do you need me to do?” 

“Why are you so willing to help, little hero?” Midoriya Izuku asked, it was like he was looking right through Shinsou’s soul. 

“If half the things they say about you is true, then you know why” 

Midoriya laughed wickedly, “Oh, I like this one, can we keep him Tomu?” 

“We will see.” Shigaraki started scratching his neck “What time are they sending the rats?” 

“When I left they were talking about it, but with Koda there.. It shouldn’t take long”

“Can’t we barricade?” Beros asked 

“Every drain?” Dabi scoffed, “we are better off running. How much food we got?” 

“Enough for the month” Zookeeper answered

“Everyone grabs at least three boxes, hero, lead the way, and hurry” 

They started rushing left and right to throw what was out inside whatever box they could find, and run towards the old dorm. Except.. It wasn’t there. 

“Fuck, they must have destroyed it and recycled the cement to make yours” Shinsou was clearly looking as distraught as them at the empty lot. 

Still.. 

“Where do we go now?” Genten asked. 

Izuku grinned. 

“The only other dorm they wouldn’t touch and we wouldn’t get framed for invading. The teacher’s dorm.” 

---

Aizawa was not paid enough for this. 

Actually none of them were but Aizawa was the one suffering most at the moment since he was voted to deal with it. 

Damn them all, he missed Mic. He would have been able to deal with this easily. 

But no. 

He was alone, the fault of that on the people currently storming in their space with a bunch of boxes. 

They were really just pretending he wasn’t even there, and the worst of all, was Shinsou, his own student. He treated him like a son, he was the one to push forward his application to the hero course. 

And the kid was alongside the villains refusing to look into his eyes and moving boxes like there was no tomorrow. 

“Problem child” He pinched the bridge of his nose “Explain. Now.”

“Sorry sensei” Shinsou said before anything else “It’s 2A, they have been mistreating them for the last week there wasn’t anything I could do to stop it and I tried but.. Now they are going to send rats to destroy everything in their dorms and I couldn’t just stand still, this is the only place their stuff will be safe”

“I’m not so sure of that kid..” He sighed “But this madness needs to stop. I’ll gather your class, we will talk abou-”

Himiko burst through the door carrying other two smaller boxes “THE RATS ARRIVED!” 

“Fuck” Zookeeper started counting everything they managed to save 

“I talked with the commission about this” Nagant said as she returned to the common room “They said whatever internal issues you guys have it’s not their job to handle it” 

“So no more food” Dabi concluded

“We are going to have to ration it” 

“No” Shinsou said “Whatever your missing you can take from my class”  

“I don’t think your classmates will agree to that Shinsou-kun” Himiko said 

“Fuck that, I’m a part of that class too and I say to take it” 

Aizawa would be proud, if those were not the people that had killed his husband. 

No matter how much he tried to separate everything, he couldn’t. 

But he was also a teacher. And his kids were behaving like villains, so he had to do something about it. Even though his heart wanted to look the other way. 

“Alright, you can all sleep here tonight, Nagant, have the cleaning robots be sent there I’ll have a word with 2A.” 

“Thank you sensei” Hitoshi said, looking at him with those eyes that always saw Shouta like he was a shining star. 

“It’s my job” He said and left the building towards the height alliance. 

He hated that he had to do this. 

But he had to do this. 

----

Broken minds sharing one space, their dorm dark and gloomy along with their soured mood. 

Aizawa entered it feeling like the devil visiting his underlings. 

“I can’t believe I’m having to do this” He said. 

Instantly he felt all his students freeze, like they had been caught committing a crime. And they had. 

“I expected something out of this from the villains, never in my wildest dreams I thought I would have to reprimand my entire class for torturing people” 

“BUT SENSEI, IT WAS JUSTICE!” 

“We were just giving them what they fucking deserve!” 

“You can’t do this!” 

“They’ve done worse and you know it” 

“They killed your husband, why are you on their side-” 

“QUIET” He shouted. 

Sometimes he forgot that even though they had fought in a war they were still children. 

Broken minds that did not know how to function anymore. 

Throughout all the shouting, he noticed Kaminari quiet, he looked deep in thought but no word had been uttered, there was almost satisfaction behind those eyes, glad that they had been caught. 

Kaminari Denki, son of the hero Kaminari Rin and the villain Spark-plug. 

“Kaminari” The boy looked at him as a deer caught at a headlight “What do you think of all of this?” 

Immediately the boy tensed, eyes closed and a deep breath taken “I hate it sensei, but being complacent is also a crime, and I did nothing besides uttering words to stop it” 

“What do you think the appropriate punishment for your class is?” 

Denki ignored the eyes from his classmates that lingered on him. He lowered his head “Expulsion, sensei” 

Immediately there were cries of outrage that followed his words. 

But at Aizawa’s nod, the class fell silent again. 

“Usually, that would be what I would do.” 

Rage became shame. 

“Sending a hoard of rats to destroy people’s food and housing, bullying them in the halls, making someone’s life hell, those are the kinds of things a villain does, not a hero, if we were in normal circumstances, you’d all be expelled without hesitation” He sighed “But these aren’t normal circumstances, so instead, first, I’m suspending all of you” 

“SENSEI!” 

“Shut up, I’m not done. I’m suspending all of you for three weeks and except for Kaminari, all those present here are not participating in this year’s sport festival” 

“THAT’S NOT FAIR!” “THEY ARE VILLAINS!” 

“Yes, they are. But today, the villains were you. Maybe if you repent enough I’ll reconsider but for now that’s my decision. Kaminari, you are right, being complacent is also a crime, but you at least acknowledge this was all wrong, so you are only staying one week suspended.” 

“Yes sensei” 

“I thought I had taught you all better than this, to be better than them. All revenge does is souring yourselves. And the world does not need more heroes that behave more as villains than anything.” 

He stared at them one last time, “be better.” 

And left. 

“How could you do this?” Jirou stared at Kaminari, as if he had betrayed them all. 

Instead of answering he simply turned and left for his room, they wouldn’t understand. 

They would never understand.

Chapter Text

Take a big breath. 

Count to ten. 

Trees of green, red roses. 

A sky full of clouds that somehow never ceases to amaze. 

Freedom, so close, yet so far. 

He could feel himself reaching for it, could feel the breeze caressing his hair and whispering to him how this isn’t forever, there has to be a way out. 

If he closed his eyes he could almost see himself falling. He just had to.. Let go and-

“Whatcha doin here Zuzu?” 

The sun seemed to smile brighter when Himiko appeared. Tomura liked to say that she had enough energy for all of them, enough happiness to fill a room all by herself. 

“Just watching the clouds” 

“Ooh alright” She sat down next to him and immediately pointed to one “That one kind of looks like Spinner” 

He smiled sadly, “Do you miss him?” 

“Jeesus Zuzu, you speak like he’s dead, he’s probably better off than us” 

“Still, you guys were pretty close, the uncertainty of not knowing how he is in there is worse than being knees deep in shit together” 

She shrugged “At least I have you here, I don’t really trust Genten tho” 

“Pff, why?” 

“He keeps staring at Dabi, kind of makes me want to rip his eyes out” 

Instead of answering Izuku patted her head “Do you think we are ever escaping here?” 

“Absolutely, and then we are getting Spinny out and killing our families”

“Deal” 

They intertwined their pinkies and looked once again at the sky. 

“What shade is that?” 

“Blue” 

“You know I mean the exact one, fucker” 

“Blue.” 

Alright, he had chosen death. 

She tossed him from the roof, he fell showing her his middle finger

But as he fell from the roof, passing by the window, inside the dorm it was peaceful. 

With most of 2A suspended from UA and in their homes, they had nothing to worry about anymore. 

Nothing besides the knowledge that they couldn’t even breathe without being allowed to by those chips inside them. 

“Is that Mikumo falling from the roof?” Konako inquired. 

“Shit, hey, mummy dude, can ya catch him? That’d be great” Dabi asked

The ‘mummy dude’ aka Hoyo, just stared at him as if he was crazy, he didn’t have his quirk, how the hell was he supposed to catch him? 

But instead of hearing the sweet sound of death that they were all used to, all there was was laughter, that they were also used to. 

“It’s good to see you are all having fun.” Nedzu chirped, as he appeared out of nowhere like the devil. Behind him Aizawa dragging Izuku in his capture weapon, having caught him before he could die, albeit bregundly. 

Immediately the villains there shut up to pay attention to the principal. It was less a sign of respect and more of contempt and distrust. 

“As you all know, the sports festival is happening in one week.” Nedzu started “In which you are all expected to participate and show how you’ll be able to help improve society from now on. We do not expect any of you to win, BUT” he clapped his paws “we do expect a spectacle worthy of the ticket prices” 

“Is Endeavor going to be here?” Dabi found himself asking before he could think, to which Nedzu answered

“All your families will be here, to check on your process of course, If any of you throw the game there will be consequences”

“What are they?” Tomura asked, already scratching his neck

“A one-on-one unsupervised meeting with your sponsors” 

Most of them winced at the idea. 

“Can you let me go now, Eraserhead?” Izuku asked from the weapon. He was indeed let go “Are we going to be allowed to use our quirks during the tournament?” 

“Of course, not!” Nedzu answered with a chirp “I have no doubt you’d all immediately use it to escape here!” He looked right into Izuku’s eyes as he said “You are all expected to give your best while quirkless.” 

Tomura couldn’t help but scoff “This got to be a fucking joke” 

But no one was laughing. 

Except maybe Nedzu, seeing how sadistic he was. 

---

A spectacle worthy of the ticket prices, it was what Nedzu had said. 

And that was exactly what Izuku gave them. 

His glare was pointed as he took the first place in all the games. 

And it was even more when in front of all cameras and the entire country he tossed the medal in the ground breaking it with a sneer. 

No one cheered. 

But no one had been cheering for a long time. 

It almost made Izuku happy, to see how the population there watching seemed as mad that they were being given a second chance as they were. 

To finish it off he bowed. 

Bowed mockingly, his eyes focused on the person that had caused all of this. 

He could barely stand the face watching him with intent, could barely handle the fact that he was even there. 

And then there was the number one fucking hero. Endeavor. That had been the one to deliver the medal. 

He was silent as he did, no sneers, no words of disrespect. He didn’t need any of them, his face showed it all. 

The disdain. The hate. 

Izuku thought he would leave as he came, no words, just a face full of hatred, but in the end he did have words. “You should have died that time. Worthless waste.” 

It shouldn’t have hurt as much as it did. 

But it did. 

“Thanks for the words of encouragement, uncle” 

That night he cried. 

He hated that he cried for a man like him. 

He hated that he still had tears to shed for that family. 

Dabi hugged him, as he always did. 

It reminded him so much of their childhood. The broken child locked up in the golden cage, the child no one wanted, the child they wanted to make disappear. 

And the child that had been promised the world, only for it to be taken from him. 

Izuku used to hug Touya too. 

Izuku used to hug Touya until one day Dabi was the one hugging him. 

“Don’t you want a way out?” He had asked him that night, and it was the thing Izuku most desperately needed. 

And now what? 

He was back in another pretty cage. 

Back despised by everyone. 

Back hugging Touya as he was hugged back. 

There had been no change. 

There was a small part of him that was hoping, hoping for some validation. 

Hoping that they could see past his quirklessness. He had won a sports festival. He had won against quirkied people, he had showed them that he never needed a quirk to be all they wanted him to be. 

“ You should have died that time, worthless waste” 

Should have died. 

Should have died. 

Should have died. 

Maybe.. He was already dead. For he certainly did not feel alive at all. 

Dabi would whisper him sweet words, promises of death, promises that one day they’d get to be happy, promises that one day they’d get to live as they wanted, without the shackles of their families holding them down. 

Once upon a time Izuku would be comforted by those promises, once upon a time he would believe his cousin, he would make plans with him, he would make plans for an after. 

An after where they would get to live free. 

But now

Now Izuku wasn’t so sure there would ever be an after.

Chapter Text

Gentle words whispered in his mind

About shadows of a distant sun

Maybe then they’ll find their hiding place

Clear across the milky way. 

The hero students were back. 

They felt rage. 

They had the right to feel vindictive. (in their minds) 

Maybe they’ll find their hiding place

On the farthest star we can see. 

A world only for them. 

A world where there are no villains, no heroes, just people. 

A world where families love each other, where there are no expectations

Being different should not feel like a curse. 

Our worth should not be defined by the things we do or the things we can offer. 

What is it about humans that they find it so easy to hate each other? 

Did you hear the words? 2A is back

Did you hear the words? 2A shunned two of them out. 

Did you hear the words? Kaminari and Shinso are staying with 2B

Did you hear the words? The teachers told them to not get found out

Did you hear the words? 

Did you hear? 

Did you hear? 

Did you hear the screams from the nightmares coming from a girl's bed? 

Did you hear the screams that come from 2V’s dorm sometimes? 

Did you hear what they say about Endeavor’s kin? 

Did you hear? 

Someday I’ll fly away. 

Someday I’ll leave this wretched word behind. 

What is flying? 

What is flying? 

What is dying? 

What is flying? 

What is lying? 

What is flying? 

What is dying? 

What is flying? 

What is living? 

What is living? 

What is living? 

What is living? 

What is life? 

I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that the whole world wants to drive a sword through my heart, or that sometimes I want to do that myself. 

“I wanted to live once. I dreamt of being a painter, I was going to paint my sorrows away and forget that I was ever born” 

“Not anymore?” 

Izuku shook his head “My wings were clipped. My dreams were shunned. I was asked to disappear. I was asked to die gently and quietly..” 

And why didn’t you?

“I was too stubborn for that” The sky seemed like a warm embrace compared to everything else. How small must the problems of humans be to the universe beyond. “My cousin came to me, he said he was going to make a world where I would have my wings back, where no one would ask me to die for some kind of image” 

“But that didn’t work out” 

“I wouldn’t be here today if it had, Shinsou-kun.. Thank you, for warning us about the rats the other day” 

Shinsou shrugged and looked away, his eyes also seemed to drift towards the night sky “I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself If I hadn’t” 

“And now you aren’t able to live with your class” 

“They are assholes anyway” 

“Aren't you worried? About what people will say about you getting close to me?” 

“Fuck them.” Shinsou found his eyes closing, a semblance of comfort, a semblance of kinship “I’ve spent all my life hearing I was a villain for simply existing, what’s a few more people spouting bullshit?” 

“You’d make a good hero Shinsou-kun” 

“Thank you.” It was sincere. Few had said that to him, and even fewer meant it. 

“You shouldn’t get near them” Aizawa sensei had said. Shinsou took that to heart. 

“THEY ARE MONSTERS!” Mina yelled at his face. Shinsou took that to heart. 

“If you care for them so much, why not move dorms to stay with them?” Jirou had said. Shinsou. Took. That. To. Heart. 

“I’m worried about your student Eraser, he’s been spending time with my kids and he’s not with his head in the right place, siding with the villains and all” Vlad had told Eraser. And Shinsou.. Shinsou wanted to cry. “Maybe suspension will do him good” He wanted to scream. “Maybe what he needs is to spend some time away from all of this to get his head back in the right place” 

He had fought so hard to be there. 

But- 

Did you hear? The villain kid is actively friending the actual villains. 

Did you hear? The villain class might get someone new. 

Did you hear? Hitoshi Shinsou is a disgrace to UA! 

Similar worlds, but different. 

Hitoshi came from a world where there are plenty of alarms, but they are all false, he comes from a world that only has one pulse, he comes from a world where nothing is immutable. Our nature is gentle and the divine is mental. And inside this realm of shared understanding. Everyone floats when ideas are landing

izuku comes from a world that suffers from neglect. 

His world has got him controlled and silent. 

His world has got him far beyond repair, it’s a world bound to fail. They weren’t taught how to win. They were taught to be hostages in cages. 

Souls wanting to break free. 

Souls wanted to break free. 

Souls that couldn’t break free. 

But the crack was made in the wall. 

“Have you ever wondered why people let themselves dream, Shinsou-kun?” 

“What’s got you all philosophical?” 

“Well, you are the only person with their sanity still intact that came to talk to me, let me take advantage of that for a second will ya?”  

“Alright, alright, what was the question again?”

“Why do people let themselves dream?” 

“Maybe if they dream hard enough, the dream will come true” 

“They have no place in our society!” 

“They killed my son” 

“My aunt”

“My mother” 

“Who does the rat think he is? Playing God with those wretched souls!” 

“The sport’s festival turned into a joke” 

“A quirkless won” 

“Freaks” 

“Monsters” 

“They don’t deserve a second chance!” 

“They should hurt” 

“They should suffer” 

“They killed my dog” 

“My cat” 

“My brother” 

“They destroyed my entire city” 

“It’s amazing how people don’t ask why.” Tomura said, his hand already on his itchy neck. “So quick to blame, blame blame but they never ask why” 

“That’s not true at all” Himiko joined in “They always ask; Why me? As If every injustice was about them and the world was black and white enough that any injustice against them meant that whoever caused it had the entire fault” 

“They ask why, but they don’t look for the source” Beros

“They ask why, but accept anything the media feeds them as an answer” Zookeeper

“They ask why, but are too apathetic to care” Genten

“They ask why, they get their answers, but when the answer doesn’t fit their world views, they call those with the truth, liars” Dabi 

“They ask themselves why they should ask why, If not knowing the answer makes their trouble go away easier” Izuku 

“Already back? Tomura asked, after Izuku put in his thoughts on the matter “How was the chat with the little hero?” 

And Izuku, he grinned. “He’s questioning why”

Chapter Text

Nagant was on their side. 

They knew her story. 

How the commission had driven her to insanity. How she was left broken. 

She shared their hatred. 

She wanted their fall as much as them. 

To see it all turn to dust and ashes, to see people finally regret their actions. 

To see the beat and the broken, the lost and forsaken finally stepping into the light, finally having a place in society. 

There had to be a reason her training was hell. 

There had to be a reason her classes drove them to the brink of death every time. 

They hadn’t found the reason yet, but there had to be one

“So, you guys do this every friday?” Shinsou asked, he had been spending more and more time at their dorm as of late. Izuku believed it was his charming personality that had led to it, but in truth it was probably Himiko’s friendliness, it was almost impossible not to befriend her. 

“Yep” Izuku answered, he had a massive black eye, was bleeding in several places and honestly he was just ready to die. 

“Why?” 

“I honestly don’t remember anymore, I’m sure nagant explained why she was hired, but right now I all can think of is how much death must be peaceful and hurt less than moving anything right now” 

“She’s a prisoner too.-” Himi answered. She, unlike everyone else, was completely unharmed. “-Said that her having to teach us is the same as us having to study here, it’s how the commission chose to save face” 

“Why did you all agree to come if you all clearly didn’t want to?” 

“They threatened us if we didn’t” Dabi answered, plopping down next to Izuku and resting his head of top of his little cousin’s head “They are still using Spinner as leverage” 

“That’s why we HAVE to escape here and break him out at the same time” Himiko added

“Which is almost impossible” Dabi, ever the pragmatic said

“I bet we can do it” Izuku said

“It’d take a miracle” Dabi argued back

Izuku grinned knowingly and simply looked back at Shinsou who was silently watching them “So, Shinsou, how are you enjoying your segregation in class?”

“It’s fine, it’s not like It’s any different from middle school or last year, the general course does not forgive and 2B is cool, Kaminari is.. cool”

“Yeesh” Himiko patted him “It’s amazing you lasted this long with how hateful they all are” 

“Yeah” Shinsou’s eyes unfocused, just staring at the window “I thought it’d be different, since we are at a hero school” 

“Take it from someone who was born in a hero family, the title of heroes don’t mean shit” Dabi said and Izuku agreed wholeheartedly

Shinsou looked back at the cousin duo with curiosity in his eyes “How was it? Growing up with Heroes?” 

“Well, our sperm donors always hated each other” Izuku started

“Pff that’s putting it lightly” Dabi joked

“So you can imagine it was a healthy environment to live in” 

“You should have seen the christmas parties, so fun” 

“Remember when Hisashi literally tried to kill Enji?”

“Still sad he didn’t manage”

“Same, it would have saved me from being beat up because he deemed all his failures on me for some reason”

“Probably your natural charm” 

“Oh, for sure”   

“Oooo, is it tragic backstory time???” Himiko said enthusiastically “My turn! My turn! My parents starved me to death! Then they tossed me out when I tried to eat anything!!! Silly parents, rather me dying but looking normal than eating blood and looking like a freak to their eyes” 

Shinsou had this look of horror on his face from hearing all of that. He couldn’t help but reach Himiko’s hand in comfort, she squeezed it back.. That didn’t go unnoticed by everyone. 

But Hitoshi didn’t mind, he’d rather them knowing that he felt for them than the uncertainty of being another one to betray them. “I’m sorry this happened to you” 

“Well, starving wasn’t fun” She said pensively “But it did get me to meet my real family!!” She said, side hugging Izuku with her free arm “So in the end, it all worked out” 

“Nothing fucking worked out” Shigaraki grumbled out, it honestly startled the shit out of Shinsou, but the rest of them seemed to be used to him joining conversations out of nowhere “We wouldn’t be in this shit hole if things had worked out” 

“Yeah, that part is sad” Himi agreed “I really wanted the world we were going to build” 

“What was it going to be like?” Shinsou asked, still holding her hand, she started playing with his fingers as a way to distract herself as Shigaraki spoke.

“The freaks, the weirdos, the ones with shitty quirks, with no quirks at all.. We’d all belong.” 

“We were going to build a world where people weren’t judged by their quirks, just their actions” Himiko finished for him “Where people like me wouldn’t starve to death just because we require blood to eat.. Or like Spinny! Who had literal cults after him because he looks like a lizard” 

“A world where a higher power wouldn’t kill Twice, just because his quirk was dangerous” Dabi said with anger in his voice 

“No heroes, no villains, just people” Izuku said, staring right into Shinsou’s soul. 

He felt seen. For the first time. So he smiled sadly and squeezed Himiko’s hand one more time “That would have been nice”

----

It was at dawn when Shinsou returned to his dorm room. Well, it was less his dorm and more a dorm room that the 2B folks let him sleep in. It had his things, because he didn’t trust 2A to not ruin them in some kind of petty revenge against his beliefs, but it was not his dorm room. 

The fact that he even had to use another dorm because it was unsafe for him was ridiculous at a hero school. 

It was ridiculous that he felt more safe and welcomed at the villain dorm and 2B’s than his own classroom. 

He was swarmed by looks the second he walked inside the building. Monoma practically skipped to him “Sooo, how was it??” 

“Fine” 

“Just fine?? Come on! You were supposed to be a helpful spy!” 

“They are like us” He shrugged “Not monsters, just.. People who suffered a bunch of prejudices and wanted to change everything so other people wouldn’t have to suffer too” 

There was a pregnant pause at that. 

“You do realize” Monoma started, pausing to find the words and putting a hand on Shinsou’s arm in a comforting motion “That they killed a LOT of people” 

“The system has killed more than they ever did” 

“... I can’t argue against that, but still. They killed puppies bro”

“I know.. It’s just all so messed up, it’s not like they targeted the puppies, or anyone for that matter…” 

“Toshi… Can we talk?” Kaminari asked, shyly looking at him

“Yeah, sure man” 

As the two walked away, the gossip began but they were too far to hear any of it. 

The next day Kaminari joined Shinsou at lunch and the two joined 2V. It was a statement. 

One that although small was LOUD. 

And then Monoma joined them. 

And soon 2B followed and a clear division had been made. 2V had allies in one of the hero classes. 

And 2A was pissed. 

See but 2B and 2V created a system as they came to an understanding. No 2V student would ever walk alone without a hero student with them just in case 2A tried anything. The teachers wouldn’t turn a blind eye if their own students were involved and being harassed too. 

It worked. 

For a while at least. 

The culmination of that came almost in the format of a civil war within the school. 

One that 2A quickly found they were severely outmatched, 8 people VS 23. 

They simply lacked enough people to get them all. 

They just didn’t understand how 2B could do this. 

How could they betray the heroes?

Why were they doing it? 

What had the villains say to convince them all? 

2A was starting to doubt their beliefs.

They were angry but being angry all the time was so tiring. They were angry but they were mostly sad by those who were not among them. 

2B had also lost people, no one was left unscathed from the war. So why? 

Why were they in the way?

Questioning why was the start to the change. 2A was starting to crack. Starting to change their beliefs. 

Uraraka was wavering. 

She was the first to change her mind, the first to try to understand them after declaring to never be able to forgive them. 

She wanted to know how could Monoma sit so easily with them, even knowing his parents had died in the war. 

“I’ve seen myself in their shoes to many times to take their actions by the surface. Yes, they killed my parents, yes I miss them, yes I’m still grieving, yes I don’t think I’ll ever get over it… But I’ve seen myself in their shoes Uraraka. I’ve seen it way too many times to look away when they are in pain.” 

She didn’t understand. 

They were monsters, they had done terrible things. 

But Himiko Toga had once asked her what she ‘wanted to do to her’. It was a strange question to ask in the heat of battle wasn’t it? 

She couldn’t get Himiko out of her head. 

It wasn’t “What are you going to do to me” as in are you going to arrest me, that would be a clearer question. It was personal. 

It showed vulnerability, hope, ‘what to do to her’. 

‘What to do to me’ Like she knew she was a problem, like she thought she should be punished (she should, but why would a villain think that?)

She couldn’t sleep, and her lack of sleep took her to outside 2V’s dorm on night. 

A girl wails in despair every night for her nightmares. Her life was a nightmare so what were her dreams about that made her scream so much? 

She talked to Himiko during lunch time after that. 

“I just don’t get why I’m so wrong Ocha-chan.. Don’t you have the feeling you want to become someone when you love them? Izu-kun lets me become him all the time, why do other people scream running? Is my smile that ugly?”

She didn’t know how to answer. 

But she didn’t think she had a ugly smile. 

Next came Asui, who from the start was surrounded by hopelessness. All the deaths were for naught. They being here made everything they went through worth nothing. All that pain, all that desperation, all those deaths, for the end the people who caused it be in the same classroom, not as equals no, but still in the same class. 

She could see clear as day how the school treated them. 

No food came after Koda sent the rats to eat it all. No extra clothes for the ones destroyed, she saw how Shinsou took food from their deposits and how the next day they were already replenished. 

They were there but there were not equals. 

She understood as she was made to stay at home how their situations were not the same. 

They shared the same space but they were not the same. 

2A had their gym clothes fixed/replaced the same day after a single scrap. 

He had seen Shigaraki wearing less than a shirt to gym because he had no spares and to fix it would take time. 

2A never had to worry about food, comfort or their needs being met at school. 

2V seemed to have every meal like it could be their last, seemed to ration food even though Shinsou actively took everything he could for them, believing every second the school would stop sending them food, Shinsou’s kindness wouldn’t be enough and they would slowly starve

Same space. 

But not equals. 

The knowledge that they were suffering. 

The knowledge that despite seeming like they were being forgiven so easily, there was no forgiveness, that this was just another type of torture for them. 

That made Asui stop. 

When Bakugou and Jiro started new plans as to how make their time a living hell Asui did not participate. 

After all, they were already living in hell. 

And finally Kirishima. 

Kirishima’s time at home made him think. 

Think about his values as a hero, think about the time he was bullied in school for things he couldn’t control, think about the expression the 2V people made everytime one of them messed with them. The hopelessness that Kirishima himself felt when he was younger and was ridiculed for his dreams. 

He returned from his time home and decided that he would no longer bug them. 

He decided to be the bigger person, that if it was forgiveness they wanted, he could try. He was doing it all for Sero, and Sero would probably rather he didn’t become old and spiteful of everything. 

What kind of hero was that?? 

An unmanly one, that’s for sure. 

He was the biggest hit to 2A’s ego (ergo, Bakugou’s ego). 

It was after he decided to no longer be a part of the ‘war’, and only after he decided that that they all decided that they should talk. 

And so it was done at the expense of Aizawa’s class. To be clear, the man was late to teaching his own class, so it was his own fault really. 

“YOU FUCKING TRAITORS!” 

And it was going great, as we can see here

“Don’t you get tired of being angry all the time Kacchan?” 

“Shut the fuck up deku!” 

“You are such an idiot. Grow the fuck up Katsuki, this isn’t about you!” 

Alright, it was mostly Izuku and Katsuki fighting verbally rather than an actual talk, but it was something. And for the first time villains and heroes students were truly united to watch them argue. 

“No, it’s about how you are all fucking killers that somehow weaseled your way into this school and tricked everyone into thinking you are all somehow victims.” 

“We didn’t fucking weasel anything, this is the last fucking place we even wanted to be! THEY LITERALLY THREATNED US TO BE HERE YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE” 

“THEY YOU SHOULD HAVE CHOSEN TO DIE” 

“I DID. I DID CHOSE TO DIE, BUT IT WASN’T ME I WAS WORRIED ABOUT OKAY?!” 

“Oh Zu..” Came Himiko’s sad response

The two were finally silent for a while, the rest of the class thought they were finally over. Until Katsuki spoke again “Why do you care so much for them that you stopped that from killing yourself?” 

“Jesus Kat” Kirishima expressed

“Hah are you scareeeed Kacchan” He went to his face “Are you scared after all of this our parents are still going to make us marry?” 

“Wait. What?” Came Kirishima’s confused pained voice from the crowd of students 

Bakugou looked at him like he was physically pained to be reminded of that. 

“You are. That’s what this is all about isn’t it?” Izuku looked away from him “Don’t worry I’m not thrilled about it either.” 

Mina leaned into Shoto as Izuku said that “What is he talking about?” 

“The Bakugou’s are broke. To not be broke they asked to marry into our family. Uncle accepted in hopes to make Izuku useful to him” He recited like a robot. 

“That sucks” 

“Our lives suck” Dabi responded “Hisashi really didn’t break it off?” 

“Of course not” Shoto responded immediately “He was already sold away like mom for their factories” 

“Of course” Dabi rolled his eyes “The factories” 

The two almost seemed like regular brothers there for a second. Himiko was proud. 

Katsuki looked at all the class watching them without shame, grabbed Izuku’s hand and literally fled the scene with him. 

“DON’T FOLLOW US” It was all he yelled, seconds later Aizawa finally arrived at the class he was supposed to be teaching, he seemed a little drunk and by that I mean completely drunk but he still somehow managed to teach them. Not that any of them could focus enough to actually listen to class but still…

Something good came from all of it. Despite hours later no one knowing where Izuku and Katsuki were. Throughout all the fighting also came the gossip. 

Uraraka and Mina stayed up late at 2V’s dorm chatting up with Himiko, Kaminari and, weirdly, Genten, about all the Todoroki-Midoriya-Bakugou gossip they could muster. 

It was late when Izuku returned looking like crap. Even later that the gossip crew left after realizing they wouldn’t get anything from him. 

Which left them to their other victim. Bakugou. 

But he had locked his bedroom door and not even Kirishima was able to get him out of there. 

Morning came so did class so did both of them having to face class. 

But somehow they managed to avoid talking about everything and anything. Just focusing on class and then on leaving. 

Of all people the only two outside of them who actually knew what had happened after they left class were Dabi and Himiko, but that was because they were pretty much family (Tomura could have been a part of the conversation if he wanted, but he didn’t want to)

On Bakugou’s side, he had told no one. 

And as such. 

He grew distant from his own class. 

2A was finally asking why, their anger subdued by their curiosity. 

Who had threatned them to come?

Why UA? 

Why them of all people? 

Things got.. 

Stale. 

Once they stopped fighting with each other. 

School became school. 

And that was when they realized that there was something really really wrong with UA.

Chapter Text

Who do you turn to when the person you usually turn to doesn’t have a person of their own? 

Do you still burden them with your troubles? Do you allow them to suffer in your place as you unwind all your feelings on them? 

Or do you hold it all in to yourself? Allowing yourself to eventually let your feelings explode as they take form while being repressed. 

Would the selfless thing be to let it all in? Repress it until you can’t and then flee without giving people any reason why. 

Or would it be to talk with that person even knowing they have no one to unwind to? Knowing that they have no way to help you without hurting themselves? 

Eijirou had no one. Katsuki knew that. He used to have Sero, but he was dead. He used to have Mina but she had her own troubles… They all had their own problems. And they all refused to make things worse to each other. 

How could Katsuki demand one of them to listen to him wine about how life never went his way when they were still grieving? 

How could he even trust them, after they decided to side with the villains? With Izuku? 

Desperation makes people do crazy things. 

And Katsuki was feeling alone, like he was back in war but this time it was his own friends on the other side. 

How could they? 

How could they all have lunch together? 

How could they act friendly in class? 

They had killed the people that they were grieving for. 

They were responsible for all the trauma and the shit that they would never be able to forgive nor forget. 

He wasn’t the only one that felt this way. 

He met with Mirio once, their senpai also thought this was absurd, the third graders, the first graders, they all thought 2A and 2B were insane. 

How could they not see how unreasonable they were to give those monsters a second chance? They didn’t deserve a second chance, they deserved to rot in oblivion. 

His kohais would stop him at the hallways to ask If they were truly safe, the seniors didn’t even look in their direction. 

They saved Japan from those freaks. 

Just to then eat lunch with them like nothing had fucking happened. 

Like they hadn’t destroyed Jakku. 

Like they hadn’t committed atrocities in the name of their so-called perfect society. 

What made their society better? That there would be no judgment? Bullshit. By saying that this society was broken they had already laid judgment on people. 

Awww kids can be whaaateverrr they wantttt, even if that means a sociopathic bitch who sucks others dry to the bones just for the momentary satisfaction of being them, like that wasn’t just murder. 

What would happen to the ones with the “perfect quirks” like Katsuki? The ones who grew up in the old system when they got to this new one? Would they just kill everyone? 

Would they deem them the product of an old generation and erase their existence like they erased their society? 

Now, Katsuki isn’t saying that there is some fucked up shit in their society, just the fact that he was fucking sold like livestock to Izuku’s dad in exchange of some factories was already proof enought that shit did need to change. 

But change didn’t mean destruction. 

The idea that to build something new you have to destroy the old is as flawed as killing everyone who stands in your idea of peace. 

Peace cannot be achieved through war. 

For new things to ascend you must instead of erasing the past, learn from it so that the same mistakes are not commited. 

What would become of a society built upon the ashes of another? 

A society with a looming shadow of death that would not be able to forget all those who died to get there. It was doomed to failure. 

If something begins with death, then the only path forward is one of death. 

The only way society would change positively would be by first acknowledging what was wrong, and deciding as a whole to not behave like that anymore. 

And even then there would be people who would still want to live like they already were before, change is scary, and you can’t force people to change, you can’t kill people until someone gives up and says: fineee we will try it your way then! 

Just look at all the examples we’ve had throughout history. Romans tried to force christians to not behave like they did, they killed their symbol like he was a Rat because they didn't want to change their beliefs. Then a few years later Rome was the pinnacle of christianity because they either talked and teached or they’d all kill each other. If they had talked in the first place instead of choosing aggression, then things might have gone their way without all the bloodshed that took them somewhere they didn’t even want to be in the first place. 

Then we have the crusades, the same christians but unlike those that were just fighting to believe what they wanted to, now they decided to force their views onto others, to kill everyone who refused to think like them, who refused to follow their religion, and what did they get? 

Nothing. They lost every territory they had, a bunch of people died and the muslims and them just hated each other even more than they already did. Ohhh but commerce prospered at that time, sure, let’s make the rich richierrr everybody!! I’m sure that’s what everyone wants. 

You can’t force people to do whatever you want. 

You can’t expect to kill a bunch of people to make a point and then just hope that those you’ve mercifully left alive will now follow your point. 

People rebell, people hold grudges. 

And they specially hold grudges against those who destroy what they had. 

And in the end the only ones that benefited from it all were the rich bastards. Just look at the commission, using this tragedy to clean their face with Lady Nagant, just look at Endeavor and Hisashi forcing Izuku and Touya into this joke because they could. 

It was all a joke. 

One big fucking joke. 

And worst of all was that by choosing to go to war, by choosing aggression instead of words their entire beliefs are now tainted. 

If you now believe that people should be treated equally then you support the terrorists. If you think that yeah, it is a fucked up system, then somehow you are on their side, and people now hate you because you agree with monsters. 

They tainted everything. 

They ruined everything. 

And for what? 

For fucking what? 

They didn’t get what they wanted. They’d never get what they wanted. 

They didn’t give people the choice to choose this new society or move elsewhere that still lived in the old. 

They just fucking forced their way. 

Killed a bunch of people. 

And in the end they became puppets to the exact same system that they were trying to destroy. 

Idiots. 

Bastards. 

Traitors. 

Morons. 

“FUCK.” 

-------

The last thing Izuku expected was to see Katsuki voluntarily deciding to talk with him without any outside influence. The last thing Katsuki expected to do was exactly that. But it was necessary. He needed to understand or he’d go crazy. 

“We need to talk.” 

“Anything I had to say to you I already did Katsuki.” 

“Fine, I need to talk then, and you are going to fucking listen.” 

He was such a brat with that attitude, to look the other way like Katsuki wasn’t even worth his time. Like he was better than him when in the end, they were both fucked. 

“Go on then” 

“Not here” 

He knew Izuku would follow him as he turned away from those staring eyes, away from all the extras watching the two of them like they were a circus act. 

“Great, a secluded location.. No one will know If you kill me here, great, just great” 

“I’m not going to fucking kill you deku” 

“I might you If you keep calling me that”

He gritted his teeth but kept whatever insult he had at bay inside. 

“Why.” 

“Why I’ll kill you? That’s simple, I’m sick and tired of people treating me like shit” 

“No fuckhead, why the fuck did you run away to join that circus?” 

“I wanted to change the world” 

“No you fucking didn’t, you wanted to kill yourself, you said so yourself, so why?” 

“What do you want to hear?”

“The truth” 

“... I don’t know… Touya made compelling arguments to why I should flee with him instead of dying.” 

“I fucking knew you. You were set on dying, you were depressed, there were no calls for help, you didn’t want to be saved, there was no drama, no threats, nothing. You were ready to die, so why?” 

“Can’t I have just changed my mind?” 

“Depression doesn’t work like that.” 

“Look, I’m sorry If I didn’t kill myself like you wanted but-” 

“That’s not the point.” 

“No? Because it feels like it” 

“I’m sorry-” 

“Little late for that” 

“That your brain is so small that you can’t even form basic comprehensive thinking but-” 

“I honestly don’t know what you want from me” 

“I want to know, what or who convinced you and Touya that you needed to kill people instead of yourself to accomplish anything. And why my extras are so set to believing that you deserve a second chance”

“Those are very different questions” 

“If you think they are then you are fucking stupid” 

“Well I’m a failed artist who never recieved proper education not a mathematician/philosopher/whatever.” 

“Answer my fucking question” 

Izuku seemed to consider for several minutes that felt like hours how he would answer him, and he settled with the shittiest answer ever. 

“Manipulation. They want to believe we are good just because they realized we are humans too, so they are projecting their lives onto us so that us being here has any sense, but in all honesty, I’m less scared by how you are acting than them.” 

“Were you manipulated into projecting a cause by whoever was in charge of you all? Was that why you were suddenly “cured”?” 

“Why are you asking something you know the answer for” 

“Who was it? Who was it that sold a purpose to you? That convinced you to destroy the world?” 

“Hah you also know the answer to that Kacchan.”

“All For One?”

“Pff.. There is only one person in our worlds who is capable of convincing people they have value Kacchan, you know who” 

“All Might”

Izuku smiled sadly at the reminder. 

“Then why did you kill him?” 

Chapter Text

The clock seemed to tease him. 

Each passing of those pointers pointing at his mistakes. 

Mistake a: Being born

Mistake b: Thinking that life would be easy because he was born rich. 

Mistake c: Choosing burgundy for his bedroom wall. 

He spent most of his days staring at those same burgundy walls, and red is really not a good color for sleep. 

They say it’s best to choose lighter colors, but no, he had to go with burgundy. 

Well. It wouldn’t matter. In a few hours the clock would hit five, his father would leave their house, he’d be alone until nine with no chances of being found before ten. 

That’d be long enough time for him to die and a revival being impossible. 

So he’d only have to look at those walls for three more hours and then never again. 

…

A part of him didn’t want to die in the same cage that made him want to kill himself in the first place, but he knew it was for the best, other places had a chance of him being found and helped and that wouldn’t do. 

Still… He didn’t need to wait until five at home, he could arrive at home ten to four, say his to father goodbye like normal so he wouldn’t suspect and then kill himself. 

Great, it was a plan. 

He left home with nothing on him. 

And in the first thirty minutes of being outside he was almost killed by a sludge being. 

It was almost like the universe was telling him the best course of action was truly to die. If he had any doubts, well, no longer, but he didn’t have doubts in the first place so…

There was just one tiny problem with his plan. 

All Might for some reason, refused to leave him alone. 

First he took him to the hospital, to get treated for whatever might have happened to his lungs, he tried explaining that it didn’t matter but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. 

Then he took Izuku to an ice cream parlor, where he bought Izuku whatever he wanted and then some more. 

Somehow that still wasn’t sufficient to him and by then, he had started to comprehend that All Might wasn’t leaving him alone because he couldn’t smile. 

What a strange man. 

It was almost five but All Might asked him to meet him again tomorrow and he'd pay him another ice cream. 

“Sorry, I can’t make it” 

“And the day after that young man?”

“I can’t” 

He tried giving him a smile so that he’d feel accomplished but it just didn’t work

So, at five he arrived at his cage, prepared to take his life, but his father decided that he needed to have more than one meeting with his future fiance, so he would have to leave with them too this time. 

It’s a shame.. 

He really wanted to end it all the same day it all started. But oh well, the next day would have to do. 

“So.. mom told me it’s your birthday today” Katsuki? Was that his name? Either way, it was surprising that he knew that, not even Hisashi remembered it. 

“Yeah, it is” 

“Here” A gift was shoved in his hand and.. 

The last time he got a gift from Touya was still alive. He opened it like it was the most precious thing in the world and it was such a stupid thing.. Just a scarf, All Might themed. 

“How did-” 

“Saw the card last time we met, I have one too” 

He might have fallen in love with Katsuki right there and then, if he wasn’t ready to die, that is. 

“Thank you..” 

“Yeah, whatever, If my hag asks, say you loved it will you?” 

“I did”

He put it on and saw the way his dad looked at him like just taking the gift wasn’t enough. Gods, he’d have to marry Katsuki wouldn’t he? That was actually happening and they were both just eight. 

His father pointed at his own cheek and he got the message, although he’d rather not. 

He kissed Katsuki’s cheek and that was that. 

Dinner went smoothly, all the parents were happy. 

The transaction was completed. 

And Izuku didn’t manage to kill himself that night. A shame, because the next day there would be no possibility, and the next All Might met him accidentally and took him to have another ice cream. 

Really.. How long would the number one hero keep that up??

The answer was apparently 6 months. 

6 months in which Izuku got the will to live again, funny how it was as simple as feeling like he had value for him to beat depression… 

Well that and therapy.. 

It was mostly therapy. 

if he died there was no deal with the Bakugou’s so suddenly Hisashi cared about his well being. 

Well anyway. 

Katsuki’s visits also became frequent and he started calling him Kacchan and Kacchan called him Deku and it hurt. 

It hurt a lot but neither of them were happy with what was happening and after it was all settled there was no reason for them to pretend to please their parents anymore. 

It was apparent their opinions did not matter. Which meant that they could be openly disdainful with one another and no one cared. 

When All Might disappeared for two months he realized that maybe, just maybe his entire estate of happiness was dependent on one person and that wasn’t entirely healthy. 

But he was also nine and such a level of self awareness was too much. So he just admired the man from a distance, collecting merchandise, following him around.. 

Izuku became the expert on all that related to his hero. After all, All Might was his hero, he had personally saved Izuku’s life, he had made him smile. 

It was when he was ten that Izuku decided he was going to be a hero. 

And it was when he was ten that he decided to kill himself again. 

So maybe he wasn’t well and depression wasn’t beaten with ice creams… Either way, It isn’t an odd thing. To want to follow the steps of what made you happy, All Might made him happy therefore being a hero was sure to cause that same feeling in him, even if he had to tolerate Kacchan for the rest of his life. 

Kacchan didn’t like that he decided to be a hero. 

Neither did his father, nor his uncle, his cousins, nor anyone in his life. 

Too frail, too stupid, only a flower.. 

But surely All Might would support his dream, right? 

Surely. 

The man put so much energy into Izuku. 

Put so much thought into his smile. 

He knew All Might. 

All Might knew him, even if superficially. 

He was his boy. 

The fanboy he always took for ice cream every week. 

h̶i̸s̵ ̵P̸R̸ ̷s̵t̵u̴n̸t̴.̴ ̶

̸H̵i̶s̸ ̷c̷h̴a̴r̵i̶t̴y̵ ̵c̶a̵s̷e̵.

“A hero?” 

“One like you, I want to bring smiles to people’s faces! I want to be a symbol for them, just like you!” 

“My boy..” All Might put a hand on his head “It’s nice to have dreams but.. You are not ready yet and.. You need to think realistically because I… Well.. There are plenty of jobs for quirkless people in society! You could be in the support industry, a designer, a police officer, a..” 

He stopped listening around there. 

All Might didn’t believe in him either. 

Dream realistically. 

The light wasn't for him. 

He could never be a symbol. 

His worth had ended. 

He couldn’t do anything to make his father love him. 

He couldn’t bring anything of value to the world. 

Was there any reason for him to marry Kacchan at all besides his dad wanting it? Would this finally make his dad love him? 

Or did he simply remind his mother too much for that? Was he cursed from the day he was born and she died? 

There was nothing he could do to have worth. 

If there was nothing he could do to have worth, then there was no reason to keep clinging into hope, to keep clinging into a love he would never receive from no one. 

But All Might still expected him for Ice cream every week. 

Would he cry if he stopped showing? 

Or would he simply keep going like it was normal? 

Would he find another kid to parade in front of cameras? 

Just move on.. 

Move on.. 

Move.. 

“Boo.” 

One word. 

One word and his cousin was back from the dead. 

“Missed me, Izu?” 

Three words and he forgot all about his troubles because Touya was back from the dead and no one had told him. (How could they?)

“I’m sorry I took so long.. But your dad’s security was tougher than I thought it would be and I don’t want them to know..”

A lot of words, and he realized he was the only one who knew. 

The two hugged and a secret was shared. 

“Wanna get out of here?” 

The two hugged and suddenly Izuku was in the light. 

“I can’t promise you a house as comfortable as this one but.. At least you won’t have to see your dad ever again unless you want to” 

His cousin had come back to save him. 

“I can’t promise much actually but.. I love you Zu, so please let me save you” 

His cousin loved him, and he had never done anything for him. 

Touya’s love didn’t come from a sense of value. It came from a shared sense of understanding. 

They were both promised to be the pride of their homes just to be shoved aside when their lack of value was discovered. 

Of course he went with him. 

And he will never regret having done so. 

He saw one time that All Might cried for him. 

It was two years later, the war was starting to brew and Izuku passed by that ice cream place the two used to go. 

And All Might was sitting in their spot, there was an ice cream waiting for Izuku in the other spot while All Might himself cried as he ate his own. 

It was Izuku’s favorite one. 

He didn’t hate All Might. 

He never did. 

It pained him to kill him. 

It truly did. 

But there was no other way. 

All Might was going to take Touya from him, there was no other way. 

And the two of them promised each other, they’d always keep each other safe. 

They’d always keep each other safe. 

And All Might discovered that Dabi was Touya Todoroki. 

He was going to tell Endeavour and it’d be all over. 

Their peace would be over. 

The war started with All Might’s death. 

The war started because of him. 

He was finally seen. 

Guilt threatened to eat him alive. 

“You need to join the league Zu” 

Guilt threatened. 

“It’s the only way to keep you safe, I can’t do it alone” 

“I can take care of myself” 

“This isn’t just one hero anymore Zu, it’s going to be the entire country, the tensions are already high, this means war, they will come from all sides, we can’t trust anyone except each other.” 

“Then why the league?” 

“Unified front, the only way we can win, the only way we can actually bring change, the only way we can get our payback, is if we have an army” 

“And they have an army” 

“They have an army.” 

For three years they fought. 

For three years they were killed. 

The whole country was devastated. 

Children fought when adults began to fall. 

And in the end. 

He was back where he started. 

The only difference now was that he wasn’t desperate for love anymore. 

But the cage was the same.

Chapter Text

There are several people in society that aren’t noticed where they go, people that are usually ignored as they walk by someone else, brushed shoulders that they don’t even feel. Faces that you’d dream about as a stranger you’ve never met before. 

But it’s those people that make the biggest difference. The room that is sterilized at the hospital thanks to the janitors that prevent you from having an infection, the people behind the TV shows that only get 2 seconds of end credit time, but without them there would be no show, the people living in the streets, without no food, abandoned by society.

There are multiple ghosts in society, people existing without ever getting noticed. 

And no matter how great of a hero figure one is, no matter the high specs that one is known for. People don’t care about the small people. Animals don’t either. 

Before the war, Izuku was one of those people, just another nobody, he knew that If you treated everyone right, then everyone treated you right in return. 

And UA had janitors too. 

Their fight resonated with them. Who the hell wants to be a Janitor in a school of heroes in a society of heroes? They had no choice. A weak quirk lets you clean the hero's shit instead of being one. 

Not everyone was happy the commission had won the war. 

“Tomura, bedroom, now” 

“Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo” 

Touya’s disgusted face at Himiko’s lil oooo was all Izuku needed to go upstairs more light hearted than the anxiety of the discussion they were going to have. 

 “So, what is it that you couldn’t say down there?” 

Izuku pulled him close, avoiding looking directly at the place he thought there could be a camera. "Shinsou is acting weird around me" 

Hand movements, the way they breathed, secret language. Understanding about something they had been mad about. "You think he's falling?" 

Nagant was truly on their side and they had the means to see how now. "It would be a shame If he was" 

Acting about this information had to be fast. Three beats to Izuku’s heart from Tomura’s fingers meant in three hours they acted. "How Romeo of you" 

The movements in their hands between their chests, hidden from any camera by the hug, showed them how. "I'm tired Tomu"

The words out of their mouths saying shit that anyone one who didn’t know would believe them to be words of consolation, “I’m tired” “I miss them” “I’m sad” 

They were always the planners, and they never trusted anyone else with shit. 

Too many secrets. 

It all started with All Might's secrets, stuff All For One couldn't know, and he was always listening. 

It all ended with a hand on Tomura’s chest and a controlled breath in his cheek that meant a whole phrase to them. 

“Now, you good?” Tomura asked, the masked end of their conversation. 

“Yeah.. Sorry I needed to talk about this and Touya can be..” 

“An ass” 

“Yeah, but that’s family for ya haha” 

They had to be smart about it all. 

The others didn’t know the language. So how to tell people about a plan, without actually telling them of the plan? 

You don’t. 

You don’t even need to. 

You get them to do as you want to, move them as you want to. 

No need for communication. 

Just chess. 

And you get Nedzu analyzing the footage repeatedly over and over for several days later. 

You get all the villains free and out in the world in three hours. 

[PANIC IN ALL OF JAPAN!] 

[UA TERRORISTS OUT ON THE LOOSE AGAIN]

[COORDINATED STRIKE, VILLAINS BROKE OUT OF JAIL TODAY, A GROUP OF CIVILIANS STORMED THE BRIDGE WITH BOMBS] 

[IS THIS THE START OF THE CIVIL WAR AGAIN?] 

[HOW COULD THEY LET THIS HAPPEN?] 

[WHAT IS UA DOING?]

[HAS NEDZU LET THEM ESCAPE?] 

[COMMISSION ANGRY] 

[CHAOS] 

[PANIC] 

[WAR?] 

So. 

What happened? 

We were talking about invisible people. 

About Nagant. 

And then out of nowhere they were completely free. 

Here’s the thing…

When you fight a war for ideals, killing the head doesn’t stop people from thinking. That’s why the USA always thought it was better to kill communists than Narcos, who cares about people dying?? Thoughts and ideas are much more dangerous than drugs, than serial killers. 

They are something you can’t end unless you hunt them. 

They are something you can’t end unless you make thinking illegal. 

But that’s a dictatorship, and you can never truly make them stop. If you force them to stop without giving people someone to hate alongside it, they’ll hate you for controlling them. 

Tell the heteros the gays are the enemies, they’ll destroy your family with their devil ways. Tell the gays the heteros are the problem, with their bigot heads they’ll never understand, never accept. 

Just don’t tell anyone you are the one feeding both sides with the ideas so that they don’t think on their own.. Too absorbed in the hate to think for themselves. 

That works, that has always worked. Until it becomes too blatant. 

Make someone who killed one rich guy a terrorist! Sentence him to death! KILL THE WITCH! But protect your rich dude who ruined hundreds of lives with drugs, traffic, and all the human violations possible. Protect your Wizard who wasn’t even a wizard at all. 

No amount of circus, bread and hate can erase a thought from catching on and becoming a wildfire. 

“People with weak quirks deserve to be treated as human beings too” 

“People with mutations are still people.” 

“There are no things as evil quirks, just evil people” 

“The commission is controlling the type of quirks that become heroes” 

“Heroes are fake” 

“Heroes shouldn’t exist” 

Like wildfire. 

And people start realizing the only way for the fire to burn is to set it all on it. It won’t catch on alone. 

So they make plans. 

They organize. 

No one ever looks at the Janitor, but janitors think too. 

Janitors map out where they work, to get easier. 

They hear things, like weak spots the teachers comment about how Nedzu needs to fix. 

About where the villains are being restrained. 

And Izuku was always good with the invisible people. 

So that’s puzzle piece number one. 

Puzzle number two: How, without training, without planning, were they able to take advantage of the situation in three hours before Nedzu found out they had a mole problem? 

“It might not look like it, but I’m on your side here” 

The first friday there was, that was what Nagant said. 

And the rest of it all they spent Running. Dodging. Hiding. 

The same path every friday. 

The same training, no matter how good or how bad they went. Always the same. 

How do you communicate a plan without saying it? 

How do you tell people how to move, which traps to avoid? 

What to dodge. 

When to hide. 

When to run? 

Without saying it? 

Nedzu never noticed she was teaching them how to get out because it was the woods, it looked random. 

But all Tomura had to say to all of them was “Just another Friday” and they knew exactly how to leave the place. 

And that’s all you need to give Nedzu a headache and free a bunch of villains. 

And yet the cage remains. 

Organized people waited for them by the exit. 

Organized people said that they had a chance to win this time. 

There is no rest for the wicked, they must always keep being so. 

They took them to a safe hidden place, Spinner was there along with several other people who had escaped thanks to them. The rest were in other locations, harder to hit them if they were not all in one place. 

“Last time, killing All Might kickstarted it all” Touya wasted no time to get on top of a table and spread his words “I say, let’s kill the number one again, let’s kill Endeavor” 

And the crowd roared. 

With pitchforks and blood in their eyes.

Later Izuku would sit in the corner, Himiko speaking about how everything was great again and he could not shake the feeling that the only difference was the people locking the cage and the quality of the food. 

Don't get him wrong, If everything worked out this time, If they won, it was going to be great, no more cages ever again. 

But there was no All For One in their corner this time, no All Might telling him that he could make a difference. 

It was hard to believe it was going to work this time, when the time before they were even more organized and it didn’t work. 

The commission was going to kill them all this time, it was brutal before, it was going to be worse. 

But the boots kept moving up and down again

Chapter Text

There were three fronts. 

The Heroes, that wanted to maintain the status quo. (10% of the population) 

The Meta Liberation army, those were supremacists, extremists, they took the word liberation and twisted it so only people with powerful quirks had worth, they wanted basically the same as the “Heroes” however they wanted to kill all those weak more directly than the commission did. (40% of the population)

And the Paranormal Liberation Front, the ones considered villains, these were most of the population, they had the numbers but they didn’t have the quirks, they were the hybrids, the quirkless, the dreamers, the artists, the ones whose quirks never suited any fight. They were fighting for a world where they had value. (50% of the population)

The advantage of the three fronts was that no group could focus 100% on the other. The disadvantage was the same. 

The fear the Paranormal front had was the supremacists and the heroes to join together, the fear of the “heroes” was the same. 

The problem with the heroes was that except the meta army, no one bought their propaganda, they were still trying to sell the Paranormal front as monsters, but now instead of a small group hellbent on destruction; they were your neighbors, your uncle, your brother. Sure they were also the criminals, the yakuza, the person who killed your son, but the Paranormal Propaganda was simply better than the other side. Crimes of need. Accidents, the truly psychotic ones were with the meta army. 

So. The Meta Army was fighting because they wanted your ‘weird’ neighbor to die. 

The ‘Heroes’ were fighting to maintain the commission’s power. 

The Paranormal Front was fighting for the wellbeing of the people. 

So. 

Death. 

Power. 

Salvation. 

Those were the choices. It wasn’t really hard to choose, if you weren’t a psychopath really the only choice was to join up the Paranormal Front. 

If the Meta army won: Concentration camps. 

If the Heroes won: Poverty, discrimination, hunger, a world without empathy. 

If the Paranormal front won: A government from the people, to the people. 

They couldn’t call those things what they really were, because the people were too scared of what they were called to try to understand what they represented. 

Here is the thing. 

Tomura Shigaraki knew that despite them having the manpower they didn’t have the power, weapons were a thing of history, no one made them anymore, the blueprints had all been burned and the way to make them forgotten and forbidden, after all in a world of peace guns weren’t needed, guns were also not needed when a person’s own body is a gun in itself. 

Give a person a gun and they’ll shoot someone, give them nothing and they will either become the gun or end violence. 

They needed the heroes to side with them. 

But the “heroes” were much more inclined to agree with concentration camps than equal rights. 

If the Meta Army and the “heroes” joined together it was game over, they would simply kill everyone, they had the money and power to simply restrain and nuke the population with their quirks. If everyone died It would be a win for them both. But the “heroes” didn’t want that. 

They still thought they were right, the idea of killing all those poor weak people they were meant to protect didn’t sit well with all of them. They thought that the people were being deceived by the wretched villains, that somehow a group of twelve people had manipulated half of Japan’s population and were keeping them hostages or some shit. They wanted to save them. 

“HAPPY BIRTHDAYYYY ZUU!!” Himiko was missing an arm but she still somehow managed to hug him in a way that made him feel complete. “You are finally an adult!” 

Dabi had a cake in his hands but all Izuku could focus on was Tomura’s face as he followed Dabi in. He asked what happened in that way only the two of them could communicate but all he got was a ‘later’

The War’s birthday was the same day as Izuku’s. He couldn’t get that information off his mind as they all sang happily for him. 

He put out a candle with probably the same wish everyone had made since the start of the war six years ago ‘I wish we win, so the war ends’.   

“Soooo, how do you feel, birthday boy?” His cousin asked as he pulled him in for a hug. 

“My bones are already hurting just by thinking about my new age” 

“It only gets worse” A kiss on his head and he was passed to Tomura for a hug

“You better give the first piece to me” Tomura said as they hugged 

“Himi has dibs” 

“But she had dibs last year” 

The two separated “That’s because she has them for life” 

“DAMN RIGHT I DO!” She said, already separating the plates, she always set for those who weren’t there too as if they were going to materialize at any moment.  

He cut the pieces, first one to her as always, second to Dabi, he was family, Tomura was last one. 

“Uau. I give you an entire revolution and you give me the last piece” 

“First of all, If it weren't for me you’d be dead and All For One would be inside your body right now” 

Tomura shuddered 

“Secondly, this revolution would have died a long time ago If it weren’t for me” 

“You are so full of yourself”

“I’m just right” 

Moments of normalcy like these were rare for them, there was always a fight, always something happening that needed their attention, moles, opportunities, deaths. 

“NO TALK AbOUT THE WAR!” Himiko suddenly shouted 

“But we weren’t.” “We were barely.” Izuku and Tomura said at the same time while they rolled their eyes almost at the same speed, a testament that they were spending way too much time together.

“I know you both, you were going to start, I could feel it, and then our moment of peace would end” 

Dabi simply agreed with his head while he ate the cake. 

“What do you want to talk about then, Himi?” 

“LET’S DANCE!” She grabbed Izuku’s arm and dragged him to the center of the room. 

“There’s no music” 

“Dabi can sing” 

“No he can’t” Dabi said, his mouth full

“We don’t need music” She started dancing despite the silence that had instilled the room, not long after Izuku followed, and then Tomura, Dabi, and they were all jumping in circles while holding hands and laughing. 

Surprisingly it was Tomura who started singing first, hooked on a feeling, they all followed soon after. 

Happy times, happy times of ignoring the outside. 

Could you kill someone innocent? 

What about a loved one?

That was the question the recent graduates were asked the most out of all. 

If their mothers and fathers decided to side with the villains, would they be able to kill them? 

Uraraka heard talks, talks about how the commission was having discussions with the Supremacists, how they were thinking of building camps because the prisons wouldn’t handle the entire population. 

And wasn’t that wild? They were made to fight with the same people they were made to protect. 

Her mother was talking about how she didn’t trust the heroes anymore and how the hell was she supposed to keep fighting for something her own mother didn’t think she was right in trusting? 

It wasn’t only her that thought this way. 

Everyone doubted Shoto’s dedication since Endeavor died (he was the only one who knew his father was going to be alone in the place he was attacked), Hitoshi never made his afflictions a secret, Kirishima had openly talked about how things were wrong. 

No one was happy. 

And it wasn't only the people from her class that had doubts, she could see it in everyone around them. 

This wasn’t a war they agreed anymore. 

Maybe it never was. 

Really, how many people currently working for the commission even agreed with what they had them do? Agreed with the orders that came from up top? 

Without them, the commission would have nothing. 

And weren’t they supposed to protect the people? Why were they fighting them? It made no sense. Everyday the Supremacists influence grew and those.. Those were actual villains, they hated and hated, their only goal was to spread even more hate and eradicate, massacrate, everyone who didn’t fit their norms. 

They were psychotic killers even, but the commission was TALKING with them? They were considering teaming up with them? 

Uraraka started a movement. 

The hero who turned, the hero who decided she wouldn’t take orders blindly anymore. 

She was the first to be so public about it, about how she felt, about the things the commission made them do, how she didn’t agree with them. 

The first of many. 

It was like a dam had been broken thanks to her, like people before her didn’t realize they had a choice to simply leave, in one of her interviews she said she didn’t even know If she really was going to join the other side or not, but she knew she had to stop fighting for something she didn’t believe in 

“One day it’s going to be an old friend on that other side and the commission will expect me to kill them, and I didn’t sign up to kill people when I decided to be a hero, I’m out” 

“Then are you going to join up with the Liberation Front?” 

“I don’t know what I am going to do. Maybe leave the country? I just know that I don’t agree with this and they can’t force me to do anything” 

Of course she joined the other side, many of them did. But there were also several people who simply left the fight to live their lives somewhere else, it was like they didn’t even realize that the choice wasn’t just to fight or die, they could leave. 

The commission tried as a desperate attempt to shut down airplanes saying flight zones were too dangerous because of the war, but the Liberation Front quickly took control of them and simply kept them going. 

Then the commission itself tried shooting down every plane they saw and blame it on the Supremacists, planes full of civilians, of people that didn’t want to be involved in all of it anymore and that just made even more people leave their side. 

In the end, what was left of them joined up with the Supremacists, but by them, the Liberation Front was finally up in their numbers and with people that could actually fight. 

“There’s been a big influx of them joining up” Tomura said, he always knew how to say exactly what he needed to get whatever he wanted from Izuku. The same was also true the other way around, but it was Izuku under Tomura’s spot at that moment. As such, he did his best to not meet his eyes

“Yep” 

“Did you look through the names?” 

“Yep” 

“Did you see that Bakugou joined?” 

“I did” 

“And is that going to be a problem for you?” 

Izuku finally met his eyes “Why would it be?” 

“He was on your list” 

“That list is old Tomura, things changed” 

“I finished mine, Himiko hers, hell even Dabi-” 

“There is still one name in Dabi’s list and he scratched out the other”

“What I’m saying is, you are the only one who never went after the list” 

“Things change, we are at war” 

“Izuku, come on you can be selfish” 

“Bakugou is powerful, and each day he only grows more powerful, besides If I go after him now that he joined, then we will lose a LOT of people” 

“No one needs to know it was you” 

“Everyone would know” 

“We can sell it as the other side that did it” 

“No, Tomura, leave it be, besides I have a bigger target that Is actually helpful for us and It will scratch out one name of mine and Dabi’s last” 

Of course Tomura knew exactly how much Izuku was stalling to kill that bigger target. It was hard killing your own father, even If you hated him, even Dabi and Shoto almost didn’t do it, and to this day they don’t really know which of the two gave the final blow to Endeavor. 

“I can do it for you, you know” 

“Tomu..” 

“It’d be no problem, we lure him out, I kill him and you are free forever from that bastard”

“I have to do it” 

“You killed All Might for me, it’s the least I can do” 

“That-” 

“Do you want me to?” 

“I need to do it” 

“Why? Is it just to prove to him that you are stronger than he thought you were? To prove that you could have been a hero after all this time?” 

“...” 

“Izuku, you don’t need to kill him for that, there is not a single person in this Front who doesn’t recognize your strength, let me get rid of your burden for you” 

Izuku took a big breath “Fine.” 

That same night Hizashi Midoriya was nothing but ashes in the pathetic excuse of a hideout the coward had. 

And instead of murder he was just another casualty of war. 

Bakugou Katsuki had been in love with Kirishima Eijirou since the first time that fucker had cracked the stupidiest joke ever to his face. 

So yeah, he joined the stupid Liberation Front alongside him. 

He… The nightmares didn’t get better. 

Eijirou thought that If they were on the “right” side then the nightmares would stop but all Katsuki could see was that little girl he couldn’t save. The little girl with the Unicorn horn, she had so many scars, she begged him to take her away but he froze. 

He froze and then he never saw her again. 

Her cries still haunt him. 

The worst part is not knowing what happened to her. So he fought for the commission to forget her, and when that didn’t work, he decided to fight for someone else. 

Maybe the problem was in fighting, maybe he needed to do more, help more, be better. But he fucking knew that to be more than a pawn in this front he needed to talk to Izuku. And that was something that neither of them was willing to do. 

So he tried to forget, he tried to sleep it off. 

Until he started making mistakes. 

Until Eiji went to Izuku himself and begged the fucker to help him find the girl. 

And that’s how the two ended up working together. 

Neither of them were happy about it. But apparently Izuku had crossed some name from some list and was slightly panicking about it, and Katsuki was panicking about the girl so they were fixing two problems at once. 

The worst part was having to feign respect for him. 

Sure Izuku had obviously earned the respect of the nation, he was the proof that the supremacists propaganda was wrong, but Katsuki couldn’t not see him as All Might’s murderer and nothing else. 

He still didn’t know how he was able to do it. Sure, he heard the story Izuku told him, All Might and him were besties and he had his guard down. 

But what? Because of that All Might didn’t fight back? 

There was no way he’d die with only one knife to the back. And no way he wouldn't fight back. So how the fuck did Izuku win? 

He honestly considered that All For One had given Izuku a quirk to do the job and then taken it back before he died, or that when he died Izuku lost it again, or that he still had it but was keeping it a secret for obvious reasons. But there was no way he killed All Might. ALL MIGHT. Completely quirkless and on a whim as he made it sound it was. 

IT MADE NO SENSE! 

He said that he killed him because All Might was going to tell Endeavor Touya was alive… 

But that also made no sense, it didn’t fit with the view he had of the hero. 

There was something more to this story that Izuku left out when he decided to tell him his sob story (granted, Katsuki did ask for it, but regardless) and Katsuki was hell bent on finding out what. 

So it wasn’t entirely unwelcome that they had to spend actual time together to figure out what happened to the girl, but having to respect Izuku was extremely harder than everything else. 

Hour one of their investigation Izuku checked to see If her description matched any of the people they had on record in their bunkers, the answer was no. 

Hour two he asked a dwarf lady to look for the kid through every camera still standing and Katsuki discovered another person he’d never cross. 

Still they didn’t find the girl. They tried to go back to that day, look for any cameras in that street and track her that way but shocker, there were no working cameras left at that street. 

Day two they decided to go to the place and track back Katsuki’s movements to try and figure out where she might have gone. 

Going back to the place where he had his biggest regret did not go without personal struggle, Izuku kept asking him questions and questions and he didn’t want to answer them. 

But he wasn’t a coward like Izuku, so he did his best to tell him everything that had happened that day, from the way that the little girl clung to him, to how a man he didn’t manage to see called out to her and then she, before he could even think, went running back to the alleyway. 

No, he didn’t see what the man looked like. Yes, he remembered what he sounded a bit like because he was wearing a mask so his voice was muffled and that was distinct, right? 

“No, It just means without a mask you probably wouldn't recognize him” 

“At least I fucking know it’s a dude” 

“You are so useless, how the hell did you even graduate” 

“I least I went to school” 

So their investigation was going great as you can see. They tried to follow some path in search of where the creepy guy might have gone but the path was pretty much only rubbles from whatever battle happened there. 

Day three a guy named Chisaki Kai offered up to help, he was apparently part of the intelligence’s division, was working on something that was going to shift the war and maybe the world forever according to Izuku and apparently he also had shit going on that had him needing to unwind and finding a little girl seemed to help everyone. 

They had no leads but the guy’s quirk let him pretty much rewind shit to the way it was so they once again returned to that same place and with the help of some refined trigger shit he pretty much rebuilt everything as Katsuki remembered. 

The only path possible for the little girl to have taken took them nowhere. 

That was three days without any leads.. Katsuki wasn’t really positive this whole thing was going to work. 

Chapter Text

They had no secrets between them. 

Day four of looking for the girl. Katsuki was sure it was going to be once again useless, so he, Izuku, the Chisaki dude and a chick whose quirk was drawing shit sat in a room and went once again through what he remembered of her until they had a good enough drawing of the girl that the computer could use it to find her. 

Still, no results. 

He felt like he was being tested, each passing day of not finding the girl and exploding something lead to him wanting to explode Deku, so the fact they hadn’t fought yet was a miracle.  

Day five he decided the Chisaki dude was a freak that needed to be put down. It was the way he looked at Deku, and sure, they were all adults, but fuck they were barely adults, and the freak was an adult adult, he was thirty plus for sure. Still he kept his hands to himself and made no move towards him but the eyes couldn’t lie. Such a freak. 

Day six he had enough of both of them. They were suggesting nonsense and Katsuki had the feeling that all their suggestions were just taking them further away from the girl. 

Day seven the dude called the girl Eri. He said it with such certainty, as If that was her actual name despite them not knowing it. 

“Eri?” 

And the guy froze, he froze a second when he realized it he had said it

“Just thought it’d be easier to name her instead of continuing to call her ‘the girl’ it is logical” 

Logical, sure, but that wasn’t a move made out of logic, it was one made out muscle reflex, he was used to calling her that and it slipped. 

That same day he had told Izuku the guy knew her, that he had something to do with her, maybe with her scars even. But fucking Deku dismissed him as if he was crazy. 

Day fucking eight the bomb exploded, that is, Deku and him fought, they had a big gym and even bigger egos. Neither of them backed out, they would have both killed each other if not interrupted by Eijirou and that vampire.

That fight haunted him during the night, it was a stupid thing, Katsuki said he didn’t care about finding her and he agreed, seeing how dismissed of a CHILD deku had become just.. fueled unrelenting rage in him. That was not the Deku he knew it was like looking at a distorted mirror. He was an imposter and Katsuki had to kill it. 

His eyes were toxic. Toxic. How had they changed colors like that? Or maybe it was just the perception of those greens that had changed.

Day nine and they fought again, but this time verbally, he asked about the girl, Deku said Katsuki should treat his eye before asking more questions, he asked what really happened to All Might, and deku punched him, in the same fucking eye that was already black. Yeah.. the verbal part of the fight didn’t last long. 

But there was no fucking Recovery Girl anymore to help them patch up. 

Still, day ten and Katsuki was all fucked over and Deku looked like he didn’t have a scratch on him. Did they have a secret healer? A secret quirk? 

Fuck him, he was going insane and there were still no traces of the girl. 

Day eleven.. He was going insane over the several questions in his head, specially how shady the Chisaki fucker was about the girl, so he tracked down exactly where he was stationed while everyone had lunch (including him, he checked.. See Eraser, he could do stealth missions, suck it). Near where he was stationed there was a lab. But he had a choice to make, he went to the fucker’s bedroom first. It was bare and it smelled of disinfectant, if he had more time he’d grab gloves and make sure no traces of him was there, but he had no idea how long he took to eat (damn, he should have spied more before making a move, maybe Eraser was right after all). 

He trashed the whole place but found nothing. Sure the fucker would know he was there, but what would he do???? Either he killed Katsuki and that would lead to all the recently joined heroes to leave (which meant he had protection) or he’d complain about him to the generals and it would lead nowhere becase they fucking needed him and his people all the same. 

So he trashed it all and didn’t even try to hide all the sweat that came from him. (A blessing and a curse). He found nothing. But that didn’t deter him. 

Once he left he checked the lab and it was still empty, checking the clock he believed he had time if he was quick, and he had to be because once Chisaki saw the state of his bedroom he would hide anything related to the girl, he had chosen the wrong place to look first but he didn’t want to pay the price. 

So he checked the lab, there were vials and vials of blood. He caught the name Eri in some reports, traces of white hair, he had to be quick so he didn’t see everything. 

He didn’t see the other vials. 

Footsteps.. Time was up. 

There was a choice to be made. 

The door was opening, the choice was made for him. 

“How’s the production going?” Shigaraki’s voice, what the hell was going on?

“Worse than it was supposed to be, but better than expected thanks to Midoriya's help” That bastard Chisaki’s voice. What the fuck.

“I don’t fucking like it” 

He heard the sound of glass being moved around, he needed to see but the place he found to hide didn't exactly have a peeping hole. But he could.. Open the cabinet door just a bit, just a bit and hope that they didn’t notice him. 

“Ever since Eri went missing..” Chisaki started.. Eri.. The bastard really knew her. Katsuki wasn’t crazy. 

“We are doing everything to find her” 

“Everything is not enough.”

Katsuki couldn’t resist, he peeked a bit, from Chisaki’s arm a tube was connecting, removing his blood into a few vials

“It’s not like we can’t find her on purpose” 

“Inslisting the hero brat has certainly not helped” 

“Abusing her didn’t either” Shigaraki said. 

… Chisaki turned around and the fucking mask.. That fucking mask that haunted Katsuki’s dreams was on his face. 

“I needed her cooperation” 

“Since when cooperating with someone means giving them trauma?” 

Chisaki was clearly angry “Just find her.” 

“Bullets?” 

A case was shoved in Shigaraki’s chest and he left, just like that. 

“That fucking deseased looking zombie thinking he can tell me what to do, someday. Someday.” 

He grabbed a vial, Katsuki struggled to read the name in it, but the bastard, Eri’s abuser, Eri.. Her name was Eri, the girl he failed to save, and he was helping her fucking abuser to find her, disgusting. Did Deku know? was in front of it, the weirdo mixed his own blood with the blood already in the vial, it was all so disgusting. 

He kept watching the weirdo for hours, because he couldn’t exactly leave, he didn’t know the bastard’s quirk, but he was definitely a villain. And the worst kind of them. So he stayed put for hours learning what he could until the man left after getting a call. 

Seconds later of him leaving his cabinet doors opened themselves and fucking Toga Himiko of all people was the one to open it. 

“Peekaboo, found him!” 

So this is how he died. 

“Oh thank god” 

Or not. 

Fucking Deko of all people appeared and offered his hand to him. He slapped the hand away and got up on his own. 

“You are so dumb” 

“Chisaki fucking knows the girl, he called her Eri! He’s the thing she was running from!” 

“Fuck” 

“I know!!!!” 

“First let’s get out of here, then we can talk about what we are going to do” 

“Fucking fine!” 

“So obviously we have to take him out of the investigation” Bakugou said, sometimes he was so small minded

“If we do, he’s going to know we know… No, we have to use him for information, he’s the only one who knows the last place she was”

Objectively Bakugou knows it’s true, but he doesn’t want to see his face again. 

“You are a fucking villain aren't you??? Can’t you.. torture him and kill him for information or something?” 

Izuku didn’t even answer him. Honestly he didn’t see the problem. 

So.

Day twelve, day twelve Izuku said he’d talk with the guy alone because frankly Katsuki didn’t want to and basically promised to at least punch him, witch objectively he knew that it wasn’t a bad idea, day twelve Katsuki used to spent it with Eijirou, great day, it was awful, how dare he have fun while Eri was out there? 

Day thirteen Izuku looked worse for wear but he had new information, apparently that day she went missing was the day the bombing happened, they were underground, everyone escaped in a hidden passage but not her, she took upstairs, and that led directly near one of the commission’s bases, so the probability that they had them and were using her was grand. 

That same day they started plans to invade that base searching for her. 

The problem was that Hawks took care of it. 

The solution was that he and Dabi had a history that they were going to exploit greatly. 

Day fourteen to thirty was spent planning and getting reconnaissance on the place. Day twenty eight was the day that they confirmed that Eri was indeed being kept there, that they had decided to train her, to use her as a weapon. 

Day twenty one Izuku asked him what he was planning to do with Eri once she was saved, since obviously she couldn’t stay there with Chisaki wanting to put her grubby hands on her. It was a day he had a serious talk with Eijirou about what they should do. Obviously the only person they trusted with her was Aizawa. But currently Aizawa was a drunkard who could barely talk most days. 

So while the attack was being planned and all, he tried to rehabilitate his teacher into a functioning member of society. 

It worked.. Sort of. Telling him about Eri, giving him a purpose, making him feel like a hero instead of the man who was now working for his husband’s killers seemed to snap him a little out of it. And trusting him to keep her safe sparked something new at him. 

Day thirty one was spent preparing for the attack that would happen the next day. 

Day thirty two they attacked the stronghold. It was a bloodbath. Realistically speaking he knew this was war, that until someone surrendered people would die. But to know and to see it happen, to make it happen were different things. 

Still he wasn’t in the front rows, those who were would have serious nightmares for the rest of their lives, Katsuki knew because the few people he, Izuku and Toga had to deal with were enough to make him sick. They were brutal. They had to be brutal. 

They found Eri. The girl did not know how to smile anymore, and she was no longer the little girl she remembered, she was older, sader. “I came back for you flakes, I came back and it’s going to be alright now”

Eri ran to him crying, as Izuku and Toga had a silent conversation. 

The moment of truth came when they arrived back at their base. Katsuki and her were taken aside by Izuku who looked pained “You need to run, she can’t stay here” 

“I fucking know that” 

“Don’t send letters, don’t get involved, he can’t find her.” 

“Don’t fucking worry Deku, I’ve got it all figured it out. Aizawa is going to take care of her, he’s fleeing the country with her”

“I don’t trust him” 

“And you trust me?” 

He did. He didn’t answer but Katsuki knew he did. His silence spoke volumes. “Wow, I-” 

“There’s no time to unpack, just get her to safety. I’ll distract him” 

With that Izuku left. Why the fuck did Izuku trust him? Well, it didn’t matter. He took Eri to Aizawa, had to explain to her that when it was all over, when he didn’t have to fight anymore for her safety he was going to visit her but that Aizawa was going to take care of her in a place no one would ever force her to do anything again. 

That same day Aizawa took a plane with a little girl to another country to never be seen again. 

That same day several planes were shot from the sky by the other side and Katsuki for the first time in his life prayed that the plane she was in wasn’t one of the targets. But he would never know. 

Not until the war was over. And even then, the possibility of actually meeting her was slim, for her safety he had no idea where Aizawa took her, all he knew was that they were going to be safe. Both of them. 

Katsuki could sleep soundly again. 

Except he couldn’t because Izuku’s pained expression didn’t leave his mind. 

Why the fuck did he look like giving her up meant he was going to die? What the fuck was Chisaki’s work? Why was he even still a part of this if they knew he was such a monster? Did war truly mean that there were no crimes? That people could do whatever they wanted? He had to get to the bottom of it. 

Day thirty three he snooped around Izuku’s room, but the only weird thing he found was a yellow hair in an airbag that was so fucking weird, he even compared it to his own hair just in case but it was a toxic yellow that he couldn’t think of a single reason for Deku to have it. Aside from that pictures and pictures that told him nothing, this time he did tidy up before leaving just in case. 

So day thirty four he resorted to stalking him. His plan was to follow him the entire day. He was noticed second one of the stalk but Izuku did not stop him so he took it as his permission to stalk him. 

His day was busy, meeting with the commands, interesting shit, checking up on as many people as he could from the priors day raid, then Chisaki came into view and suddenly he sobered up. 

The two went to the bastard’s lab and Katsuki was about to take to the vents to not be seen when Izuku actually motioned for him to go inside. 

“What is he doing here?”

“Don’t mind him, he’s just curious of why I seem to hate you and I’ve decided to show him why” 

“A necessary evil, he will find” 

Izuku handed Kai his arm, and the bastard proceeded to inject a thing to remove his blood, and then did the same thing to himself. 

“What the fuck is this?” Katsuki asked, he was starting to get freaked out

Izuku slumped in the medical chair, grabbed himself a gassed juice that Kai offered to him and drank a bit before answering “Kai here found a way to make quirk erasing bullets” 

Katsuki blenched. 

“Originally he was using Eri as her quirk can do that to a person, along with killing them with one touch but details, but since she’s gone forever-” 

“And I’m still not happy about that” 

“We are using ourselves to resolve that problem” He pointed at himself “Quirkless” At Chisaki “Quirk can break things, it’s science shit” 

“Holy-” 

“See Kacchan.. That’s why I look like shit, but don’t worry, soon it will all be over, the war’s not going to last that long anymore, so you can rest easy, it will all be fine.” 

Bakugou turned and walked away. Only two words coming from Izuku’s mouth as he did “Weak coward.” 

He should have never followed him. He should have remained ignorant, he should have taken the win. 

By saving Eri, by taking her away he had traded lives, instead of experimenting on her now the bastard was experimenting on Izuku. And the worst of all was that he didn’t seem to care. 

Always the savior never the fucking saved. 

Even a villain he had a fucking hero complex. 

Could he really let it be? 

Could he really ignore it for the sake of the war? 

He wondered what All Might would do in a situation like this? The irony of asking himself that was that Izuku would know. 

Wait, All Might. 

All Might had that hair color. 

Was that All Might’s hair? Why the fuck did Deku have All Might’s hair in his stuff???

Chapter Text

The day the war was over started with laughter, dancing, singing, a party to lift everyone’s spirits. 

It was like they knew it would all be over that day, they were so sure of themselves in their win that they even started talking about rebuilding the country afterwards, they were selecting people for jobs, all the talk was hopeful, everyone was cheerful. 

Except for Midoriya fucking Izuku and Chisaki Kai, both looked drained, spotted hooked to IV’s, whoever passed by Chisaki’s office would see the two laughing like maniacs. 

Dabi specifically was one to find Izuku like that, he was pissed. He fucking trusted Shigaraki, he trusted htat fucker when he said he was looking out for them. 

And what did he do? Used his cousin to make bombs. 

Granted Izuku allowed him to, but that didn’t matter, it shouldn’t have been an option in the first place. 

He was going to do something stupid if he saw their so called leader, so he simply didn’t appear at the celebration, instead going to the detention cells and visiting his birdy. 

Hawks was muzzled, beaten, his feathers gone, a bullet wound in his arm that hadn’t been healed and his face was nothing if not murderous. 

“Cute” Dabi said, it was disarming, the murderous look fell from the birds face in seconds as blushing came into place, dangerous, stupid “We could work ya know, once this is all over, we could work”

Hawks simply shook his head as he tried to glare because that was all that he could do. 

“You killed my friend I took your quirk” Dabi sat on Hawk’s lap and started burning his shoulders, the birdy screamed in pain and anger “We could work” He kissed Hawks nose once he was done got up went behind the birdy and took off his muzzle “Now, you were about to tell me where they kept all the good stuff weren’t you?” 

Hawks coughed, took a big breath and.. told him everything. There was no point anymore in hiding anything. 

“Atta boy” 

There were never any secrets between them. 

With the attack underway, Izuku found his way towards Tomura, he was better, looked better at the courtesy of Kai, but felt shittier “Touya won’t speak to me” 

Tomu took his hand “Dance?” 

“And he wants to kill you” The two started a familiar valse 

“So nothing new” 

“We should run, once it’s all over, we might have won for the people, but they haven’t forgotten, what happens when they don’t need us anymore?” 

Tomura hummed and twirled Izuku “Your friend is still living in the same place?” 

“Thought you hated him” 

Their legs intertwined “Better than be homeless”

When Izuku met Tomura the two clicked like they never had before with anyone else, it was like they knew fate intertwined them. It was something they didn’t even understand but could almost sense it. 

It was the way they gravitated towards each other, the way Izuku could spot his lies to the team, the way Tomura could easily read the teen. 

Tomura questioned if they were secretly brothers, and it turns out they were more than that. “Mortal enemies” Izuku had said “All Might wants me to turn into the new him and All For One wants you to turn into the new him” 

They refused. Izuku wasn’t going to turn into someone else to live his dream, and Tomura wasn’t going to let himself be abused to live his. 

They both opened up their minds with talks, secrets, whispers, their language that even All For One couldn’t understand, their language which planned for a war. 

It all started with All Might’s death. The apprentice’s betrayal. Stabbing in an old wound that would never let a man turn into a symbol again. The throat would have been easier to deal with after. 

All For One was so elated he didn’t realize he was the next one that needed to be gone. 

With that, war. But they failed to rally enough people, they failed to be seen as heroes because of All For One's deep roots of hatred. It was over, they lost. Their beliefs shattered along with their senses of greatness. 

“It is.. But what about your dream?”

“Pff, my dream was over the day I became the face of this ugly thing” Tomura said, the steps now gentle between them, moving in tandem. “It’s probably over by now” he cracked a wicked smile “You think they came down screaming?” 

“Probably” Izuku himself smiled “If we turned off the music we could probably hear people celebrating” 

“I’d rather celebrate here” 

“I killed Chisaki, just so you know” 

“Good, I hated his fucking guts” 

Izuku laughed and they both twirled again. 

Then came Hisashi Midoriya, he will never know it but If not for him then they wouldn’t have had a second chance. 

So blind to his sense of image the man gave them the perfect stage for them to be seen as the heroes. And UA played their roles as the true villains without them even having to ask them to. 

Suddenly they had another chance, and they were going to do it right this time. And so they did. The sport's festival the perfect display of power, the invisible people spreading news of what was happening inside UA's walls, La Brava streaming their daily lives inside UA for anyone who wanted to watch. Nedzu let it happen and they didn't complain. 

It ended like it started. On a quiet day and hushed conversations, but this time instead of a group stealthy disappearing, several bombs went off around the other side’s camps. 

At first they were confused, as the bombs didn’t hit much. But the wind kept the smoke that came from the explosions trapped, Shoto Todoroki built a dome of ice and fire to keep everyone from escaping- I mean, for protection, against the people from the outside while they regrouped. 

Shoto Todoroki never liked his quirks, so he was more than happy sacrificing himself. 

The effects came quickly. 

People gasping for air, trying to use their quirks only to find there was nothing there. 

Some couldn’t handle the transition and died, some infiltrated inside, had gas masks and were killing off anyone who resisted. 

As these things happened strike teams saved the people locked up in the concentration camps the supremacists had created. It was the perfect win as Bakugou Katsuki would later call it in an interview. 

The mighty fell because of a dead man’s work and a child’s blood. But they would never know that. 

35% of Japan’s population became quirkless in a few minutes. 

Their bases all attacked at once, all with means to keep them trapped inside. 

The “Villains” had won.

And they were praised like heroes. 

They killed people crying on their knees who had lost their senses of self but refused to surrender. 

They had parades thrown in their honor. 

They helped create a new government, to elect people, to write a system of justice. 

The country was finally rid of injustices. 

There were statues of them.

But they were broken minded people who finally had a place in society. Who could finally heal. So they let the public aside, let them see them as heroes instead of wicked creatures that had their way. 

The league of villains vanished like they had never existed in the first place, vanished to turn into legends passed along to generations to come. 

They left because of how quick it would be to turn into villains to the public eyes again. 

Left because despite the win, they had killed too many.

Izuku and Tomura were the first ones to vanish, to live as hermits with a man called Yagi Toshinori, he was such a nobody that Touya still wasn’t sure why the hell they did that. 

Himiko moved countries, she was a killer, she liked killing, it was too late for her, her addiction to blood and killing ran too deep, she made sure little girls like her, people who needed blood otherwise they’d become like her would be taken care of by the government before leaving, but she didn’t want to sour their image by simply existing, so she left. 

In later years she would be found and thrown into all kinds of therapy by Ochako Uraraka, she would never give up on her, and Himiko would never understand why. 

Spinner became a teacher in quirkied history and biology, he was renowned thanks to the fact that he was a prominent figure in the history he so happened to be teaching, his students loved him, he was truly happy. 

Touya spent years and years not knowing what to do with his life, so many that he ended up wasting it away until he became the John Constantine of real life… it was the coat, there were no demons for him to hunt but there were people and he wore a coat and smoked and that was it. 

The rest’s graves were really pretty. 

Once a year for a few years the original members of the league met to honor the ones who had fallen, there were memorials and murals throughout the entire country as a means for them to never forget the sacrifice that led them there. 

Compress, Magne, Twice, even Kurogiri, had special graves. 

Their graves were even better than the heroes who had fallen fighting them in the first war. That was one of the reasons Aizawa never returned to Japan, another reason was that his daughter had friends that she wasn’t willing to give up. 

Class 1A dealt with their demons one step at a time, they helped rebuild, they atoned for their teen mistakes. 

Except Bakugou. Bakugou became a goddamn hero even with those being fucking outlawed. He didn’t fucking care that he police was after him, didn’t care that he was souring shit, all he knew how to do was fight and so he did. 

Until Eijirou stopped him and told him to either chill out or join the police like he had. 

He ended up relenting but he was NOT happy about it. Also the two got married. Yay them. 

There are an estimated 250 thousand flowers in the field in front of their house. Probably a third of those were yellow, while the rest of the colors like white and pink shared the rest of the camp. 

However Izuku never counted them, he never counted them because his days were too busy and he was too fulfilled to do so. 

He finally took painting classes, started journaling. He took care of the old man who never hesitated to go with a crazy plan of faking his own death to a world that loved him. 

He took care of Tomura, who was finally learning how to live. 

He took care of himself until he knew how to breathe. 

Until one day, he finally tossed that damn hair in a bag in the trash, in the world he was living it, he had no need for it. 

There was a boy

A very strange enchanted boy

They say he wandered very far

Very far

Over land and sea

A little shy

And sad of eye

But very wise was he

And then one day

One magic day he passed my way

And while we spoken of many things

Fools and kings

This he said to me

The greatest thing

You'll ever learn

Is just to love

And be loved in return.